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THE  T     p    Q 

HARRISON 

COLLECTION  OF 

NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

BRITISH  SOCIAL  HISTORY 

Harrison 

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UNG  UNIVE 


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>*  "■ 


THE  MORAL  REFORMER, 


AND 


AGAINST  THE 

VICES,  ABUSES,  and  CORRUPTIONS 

OF  THE  AGE. 


BY   J.   LIVESEY. 


VOL.  I. 
1831. 

LONDON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  SHERWOOD  AND  CO.,  PATERNOSTER  ROW, 
AND  BY  J    WALKER,  BOOKSELLER,  PRESTON. 

Sold  also  6y  the  following  Agents: 
Beiitbein,  Market  Place;  Forrest,  Market  Street;  and  Wroe,  Great  Ancoats  Street, 
Manchester:  D.  Marples,  T.Smith,  and  E.  Wilmer,  Liverpool;  0?le,  and  Hol«  en, 
Bolton;  Browu,  and  Critchley,  Wigau;  Wood,  and  Hargreaves,  Blackburn;  Robinson, 
Choriey;  Holme  &  Jackson,  Lancaster;  Hudson,  and  Nicholson,  Kendal;  i.  Barr, 
Briggate,  L«eds;  Parry,  Chester. 


,5i; 


« 


PREFACE. 


It  is  with  no  small  pleasure  I  now  present  to  my  sub- 
ecribers  the  first  volume  of  The  Moral  Reformer.  Of  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  the  work  the  public  must  judge.  Com. 
meuced  by  an  obscure  individual,  got  up  amidst  a  multitudi- 
nous number  of  engagements,  professing  to  be  the  organ  of. 
no  party,  and  constantly  aiming  to  discountenance  the  vices 
of  all,  the  extensive  sale  of  the  work  cannot  but  be  gratifying 
to  the  feelings  of  its  conductor.  Conscious  of  the  utility  of  the 
undertaking,  I  commenced  in  opposition  to  the  persuasions  of 
friends ;  and  in  the  face  of  serious  losses,  which  others  had 
sustained  by  provincial  periodicals,  I  have  pressed  on  confident 
of  success ;  and  though  I  have  had  to  brave  many  discourage- 
ments, I  now  take  a  gratifying  retrospect  of  my  twelve  months*, 
labour,  and  feel  as  vigorous  as  ever  for  commencing  again  with 
the  new  year.  The  preparation  of  the  original  articles  which 
appear  in  this  volume  has  been  a  great  demand  upon  my 
time  ;  and  when  it  is  considered,  that,  with  a  numerous  f4mily, 
I  am  entirely  dependent  upon  my  business  for  my  support,  and 
when  my  various  other  engagements  are  also  taken  into  the  ac-. 
count,  I  shall  be  believed  when  I  say,  that  nothing  but  the  jj/ea- 
sure  I  felt  in  the  work  could  have  induced  me  to  persevere,  I 
am  often  asked,  how  1  find  time  for  all  my  work;  and  my 
answer  is,  the  time  which  others  spend  at  the  pot  house,  or  in, 
visiting  and  attending  parties,  I  spend  in  active  pursuits;  aud. 
never  taking  any  liquor  at  home  or  elsewhere,  my  head  is  sel- 
dom out  of  order;  1  lose  no  lime  in  the  evenings  to  extinguish 
m\^  reason,  or  in  the  mornings  to  try  to  regain  it;  and  thanks 
to  a  kind  Providence,  my  health  was  never  better  for  many, 
years  than  it  is  at  this  day. 

Though  the  articles  in  this  volume  are  various,  yet  one  ob-; 
ject  has  constantly  been  kept  in  view — the  reformation  and  hap- 
piness of  mankind.  It  was  never  expected  that  this  work  would 
come  in  close  contact  with  the  most  vicious  part  of  our  popu- 
lation, and  therefore  its  object  has  been  rather,  to  arouse  ihe 
energies  of  all  parties  to  begin  to  labour  among  the  disso- 
lute, for  the  purpose  of  correcting  their  vicious  habits.  la 
tracing  the  immediate  and  distant  causes  of  the  evils  which  af- 
flict this  country,  I  could  not  pass  over  the  Established  Church  j 


IV. 

and  without  a  single  ill  feeling  towards  any  of  its  members,  I 
have  not  attempted  to  disguise  my  conviction,  tJiat  it  is  one  of 
tlie  gieate-)t  obstacles  to  the  pt-ace,  unanimity,  and  happines^T  of 
the  people.  The  Reformer  is  now  extensively  read,  and  from 
the  tone  of  those  amongst  whom  it  circulates,  it  is  evident  its  re- 
marks are  not  forgotten.  I  presume  that  it  has  already  done 
some  good,  and  that  the  seed  which  has  been  sown  will  yet 
bring  forth  more  fruit  every  year. 

To  fall  iny  contributors  1  offer  iijy  thanks,  to  those  whose 
articles  have  not  been  inserted,  as  well  as  to  those  whose  com- 
wunicatidns  form  a  part  of  this  volume;  and  I  invite  both  to 
participate  in  the  only  reward  1  myself  enjoy — tlie  pleasure  and 
satisfactiorl  of  attempting  to  better  the  condition  of  man.  Mo- 
ral reform  is  an  exhabstless  subject ;  and  I  hope  I  may  look  for- 
ifrard  with  cohfidence  to  all  those  correspondents,  whatever  their 
j^cuharitieki  in  other  respects,  who  approve  of  the  object  pursued 
iti  this  work.  As  for  myself,  I  can  say,  sincerely,  that  my  best 
exertions  shall  not  be  wanting  to  make  The  Moral  Reformer 
increasingly  useful. 

I  expected  to  be  able,  at  this  time,  to  lay  before  my  sub- 
scribers a  particular  statement  of  the  Jinancial  part  of  the  busi- 
ness; but  1  find  it  impossible  to  do  so  at  present.  I  have  sent 
jiftrcelij  to  abolit  sixty  places,  from  many  of  which  no  returns 
haVe  been  received  ;  and  as  1  have  printed  500  copies  monthly 
more  than  I  ortginally  intended,  a  considerable  number  are  yet 
unsold.  About  500  copies  are  sold  monthly  at  half  price  ;  and 
when  the  commission,  carriage,  losses,  and  broken  sets  are  cal- 
culated, those  sold  at  the  regular  price  will  not  yield  more  than 
httif  price  to  me.  The  expence  of  advertising  has  been  very 
h"e«ivy :  this,  together  with  the  duty,  postages,  carriages,  and  in- 
cidentals, amount  to  £45.  This,  added  to  the  cost  of  printing, 
iBftke  the  whole  sum  expended  to  something  more  than  j£iOO. 
When  the  numbers  on  hand  are  sold,  of  which  I  have  no 
doubt,  my  own  calculation  is,  that  1  shall  be  minus  for  the 
year  about  £25.  This,  besides  all  my  labour,  is  certainly  a 
l^s;  bi)t  it  is  much  less  tlian  I  had  reason  to  expect.  Mobt 
of  the  expences  will  not  occur  again  ;  the  work  is  now  esta- 
blished, and  pretty  extensively  known;  and  I  proceed  to  a 
second  volutoe  without  any  diminution  of  confidence  in  the 
result.  One  great  cause  of  loss  in  periodicals. is  the  sale  of  odd 
mimbeis,  producing  broken  sets,  and  therefore  i  have  come 
to  the  dtetermiuation  of  allowing  any  person  engaging  to  take 
a  dozen  (Copies  monthly,  ft>r  the  whole  of  the  ensuing  year,  to 
h«ve  them  at  3d.  each. 

J.  LIVESEY. 
i^'  'Prestdn,  December  1,  1831, 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  1.]  JANUARY  1,  1831.  [Vol.  I. 

A  STATEMENT  OF  THE  IMMORALITY  AND  IRRELIGION  OF  THE  AGE ; 
AND  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  POINT  OUT  THE  CAUSES  AND  REMEDIES. 


We  live  in  an  age  distinguished  for  extensive  research  and 
strict  investigation,  and  the  effect  of  this  scrutinizing  spirit  is  vi- 
sible upon  all  our  social  institutions.  Men  have  not  merely 
exerted  their  abilities  in  pointing  out  the  defects  of  old  systems, 
but,  in  many  cases,  have  suggested  and  adopted  salutary  reforms. 
The  policy  of  nations  is  a  popular  subject  of  discussion,  and 
changes  and  reforms  are  constantly  urged  in  reference  to  existing 
abuses.  To  enumerate  and  classify  these,  as  they  appear  every 
day  in  the  public  prints,  would  shew  that,  however  little  seems 
to  be  accomplished,  the  people  are  alive  to  such  changes  as  they 
consider  necessary  to  improve  the  condition  of  society. 

Whilst,  upon  the  whole,  I  admire  this  spirit  of  activity,  it 
constantly  occurs  to  me  that  our  reformers  are  working  at  the 
wrong  end,  and  to  this  chiefly  is  to  be  attributed  the  little  fruit 
which  has  hitherto  resulted  from  their  labours.  If  a  general 
change  is  looked  for,  each  element  concerned  must  first  be  fitted 
for  that  change,  and  especially  that  which  gives  tone  and  vigour 
to  all  the  rest.  All  the  wheels  of  a  machine  may  be  correctly 
placed,  but  if  the  power  of  the  main  spring  be  wanting,  it  cannot 
proceed.  How  many  institutions,  formed  upon  the  best  model, 
possessing  the  best  external  regulations,  and  speaking  largely  in 
reports,  have  neither  energy  or  usefulness  !  Religious  principle 
and  7noral  character  are  uanting  ;  these  are  the  true  base  of  every 
improvement ;  and  were  it  possible  to  advance  to  the  greatest 
degree  of  theoretical  perfection,  the  permanent  happiness  of  the 
people,  without  the  influence  of  these,  can  never  be  attained. 
Most  people  are  anxious  to  improve  the  bodily  part  of  our  insti- 
tutions, and  many  are  deceived  by  these  attempts,  but  few  have 
turned  their  attention  to  the  life-giving  vigour  of  moral  principle 
and  moral  feeling,  without  which  all  beside  is  but  as  a  dead  letter. 


If  is  my  intention,  therefore,  to  shew  that  moral  principles  and 
moral  feeling,  or  a  deep  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  an  earnest 
desire  to  please  God  and  to  be  useful  to  man,  and  a  contempt  of 
all  the  sensual  indulgences  of  the  world,  are  what  are  most  neg- 
lected ;  and  that  until  these  have  taken  root  in  the  hearts  of  all 
classes,  our  hopes  of  improving  the  condition  of  society  to  any 
considerable  extent,  are  nothing  better  than  a  dream.  The  best 
plans,  without  persons  morally  qualified  to  carry  them  into  efFecf, 
will  prove  abortive  ;  for  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  failure  of  so 
many  useful  attempts  to  remove  the  evils  which  abound,  has 
arisen  principally  from  the  want  of  character  and  principle,  in 
the  agents  employed.  And  1  am  sorry  to  say  that,  though 
there  is  an  increase  of  civilization,  education,  and  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  among  the  people  generally,  there  is  not  a  propor- 
tionate increase  of  moral  excellency,  and  real  religion. 

Few,  perhaps,  will  dissent  from  this  opinion,  but  then,  they 
will  say,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  We  have  a  powerful  police,  and 
Tigilent  magistrates,  to  detect  crime,  and  the  severity  of  the  law 
is  repeatedly  enforced  upon  offenders,  in  order  to  deter  others. 
TVe  have,  on  the  other  hand,  day  schools  for  educating  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  at  a  trifling  expence,  and  sunday  schools  also,  in 
which  they  are  taught,  along  with  the  elements  of  learning,  the 
principles  of  religion.  The  opportunities  of  attending  the  or- 
dinances of  religion  are  greatly  multiplied  by  the  erection  of 
new  churches  and  chapels  almost  in  every  populous  neighbourhood, 
and  what  more  can  be  done  ?  We  lament  the  pre  valency  of  im- 
morality, so  contrary  to  the  design  of  all  our  institutions,  but 
what  means,  hitherto  untried,  can  be  found  to  prevent  it  ?  In 
answer  to  these  enquiries,  I  observe,  that  the  means,  as  well  as 
the  agentS^  commonly  made  use  of,  are  not  suited  to  the  end, 
and  only  serve  to  blind  mankind  as  to  the  nature  of  those  efforts 
which  every  philanthropist  ought  immediately  to  adopt. 

It  is  painful  to  witness  the  futility  of  the  present  popular 
(efforts  to  spread  religion,  whilst  the  rational  methods,  recom- 
mended by  the  scriptures,  and  acted  upon  by  Christ  himself,  lie 
almost  neglected.  The  immorality  of  the  present  age  is  deeply 
rooted,  and  the  probabilites  of  a  remedy,  can  only  be  found,  un- 
der the  blessing  of  heaven,  in  the  use  of  such  powerful  means  as 
are^irectly  suited  to  the  case. 

To  give  but  a  cursory  view  of  what  I  wish  to  press  upon  the 
mind  of  the  public,  it  will  be  necessary — to  glance  at  the  present 
condition  of  society  as   to  religion    and   morals, — to  shew   the 


inefficiency  of  the  present  mode  to  effect  a  change,— •and  to  expiam 
tvkat  I  consider  coinpetent  for  that  purpose. 

Any  elaborate  proof  of  the  prevalency  of  vice  and  immorality 
is  unnecessary.     The  fact  is  not  only  recognised  in  every  public 
print,  but  we  are  the  painful  witnesses  of  it  ourselves  every  day. 
Let  me  not  be  mistaken,   I  include  not  only  those  gross  violations 
of  the  rule  of  duty  betwixt  man  and  man,  of  which  the  law  of  the 
land  takes   cognizance,   such  as  theft,  murder,  &c.  but  all  those 
sins  of  omission  and  commission  also,  which  affect  society,   and 
which,  in  many  of  their  features,  can  only  be  investigated  at  the  bar 
of  the  Almighty.    Of  these  I  might  enumerate — swearing  and  lewd 
tliscourse,  drunkenness  and  gluttony,  gaming,  fornication  and  adul- 
tery, oppression,  coveteousness  and  extortion,  slothfulness,  pride 
and  excesses,  evil  speaking,  tale  bearing,  railing  and  resentment; 
the  neglect  or  omission  of  conjugal,  parental,  and  filial  duties; 
the  improper  behaviour  of  masters   and   servants,  the  want  of 
chastity   in   youth,  the  want  of  active  benevolence,  the  disregard 
of  promises  and  engagements  by  men  in  business,  and  the  neglect- 
ing of  the  important  religious  and  family  duties  of  reading,  medi- 
tation,  and  prayer.     This   is  no  imaginary  list  of  existing  evils  : 
too  many  of  these  vices  exhibit  themselves  with  unblushing  front, 
and  their  consequences  are  too  extensively  felt  in  every  circle  of 
society.     Whether  we  refer  to  old  or  young,  rich  or  poor,  govern- 
ers  or  governed,  we  find  a  strong  developement  of  many  of  these 
immoralities.     Religious  creed   seems  to   make   little  difference, 
for  whilst  there  are  honorable  exceptions  of  numbers  who,  among 
the  Catholics,    Churchmen,    and   all   classes  oi  Dissenters,  do 
justice,  love  mercy,   and   walk  humbly  before  God,  there  ar« 
also,  attached  to  each  profession,  persons,  whose  conduct  evidently 
betrays  a  total  absence  of  moral  principle.     Take  up  your  resi^ 
<Jence  in  the  poorest  parts  of  any  of  our  large  towns,  and  you  will 
find  idleness,  broils,  drunkenness,  juvenile  depravity,  and  a  gen- 
eral absence  of  domestic  happiness.     This  in  part  is  occasioned 
by  their  situation  in  society,  and  the  inadequacy  of  their  means 
to  make  them  comfoi'table ;    but  where  this  is  not  the  case,  whea 
labour  is  fairly  rewarded,  and  wages  equal  to  wants,  the  character 
of  the  people  is  much  the  same.         The  duties  they  owe  to  them- 
selves,   their  families,  their  neighbours,  and  their  God,  are  neg- 
lected, in  order  to  lead  a  life  of  sensuality  and  excess.      From  the 
want  of  early  instruction,  parental  authority,  and  good  example, 
we  trace  the   alarming  increaseof  juvenile  delinquency,  and  of 
the  youthful  immoralities  which  are  daily  exhibited  in  our  streets. 


It  is  distressing  to  witness  the  behaviour,  and  to  hear  the  language 
of  those  boys  who  meet  at  the  corners  of  our  streets,  and  who 
seem  to  emulate  each  other  in  sin.  Oaths  of-the  most  awful  des- 
cription are  mixed  up  with  their  common  discourse,  and  the  most 
brutal,  vulgar,  and  shameful  conduct  is  exhibited  without  dis- 
guise. Many  of  these  boys  never  breathed  a  purer  atmosphere  ; 
vice,  villainy,  and  degradation  have  been  familiar  to  them  from 
their  boyhood.  These  will  become  the  fathers  of  the  next  gen- 
eration, and  hence  the  present  deplorable  state  of  morals  actually 
becomes  hereditary.  What  an  awful  list  of  crimes  and  of  juven- 
ile offenders  our  calendar  of  the  last  quarter  sessions  exhibited  ! 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  our  female  youth,  whose  modesty, 
purity,  and  domestic  habits  ought  to  be  such  as  to  form  a  strong 
bulwark  in  defence  of  virtue?  Alas!  the  scene  is  shocking ! 
Weak  in  intellect,  but  strong  in  vice  ;  loose  from  every  restraint, 
and  exhibiting  the  most  decisive  proofs  of  deep  rooted  depravity. 
In  towns,  vice  has  dissolved  the  ties  of  domestic  order,  and  tlie 
girls,  no  longer  under  the  direction  of  a  father's  or  a  mother's 
teaching,  or  the  protection  of  the  domestic  roof,  are  doomed  to 
inhale  the  immoral  contagion  of  our  factories.  In  this  soil  the 
intellect  of  youth  can  never  shoot,  and  moral  feeling  has  nothing 
whereon  to  live.  Bad  as  is  the  influence  of  factories  upon  their 
physical  constitution,  it  is  still  worse  as  it  respects  their  morals. 
Listen  to  the  language  of  these  girls  as  they  pass  you  in  the  streets, 
and  take  notice  of  their  immodest  carriage  ;  they  seem  to  glory 
in  their  shame,  and  to  defy  by  their  menaces,  every  restraint  of 
yirtue.  Many  of  them  meet  with  disgrace,  and  are  doomed  to 
ftiourn  the  consequences  of  early  guilt. 

Turn  we  to  that  miserable,  and  alas  !  numerous  race  of  fe-. 
males,  wht)  live  by  prostitution  in  a  christian  country,  and  our 
hearts  sicken  at  the  sight.  In  Preston  they  are  numerous,  in 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  London,  they  abound.  Do  we  need 
any  proof  of  the  immorality  of  the  age  with  these  examples  before 
•us  ?  The  increase  in  the  number  of  this  class  of  miserable  be- 
ings, may  be  taken  as  a  good  criterion  of  the  character  and  virtue 
of  too  many  of  the  other  sex.  What  we  see  in  the  streets,  indeed, 
are  but  slight  symptons  of  those  abominable  excesses,  which  are 
carried  on  every  night  in  hundreds  and  thousands  of  places  in 
every  part  of  the  kingdom. 

If,  from  the  poor,  we  turn  to  the  sons  of  the  rich  who  are  better 
educated,  we  find  a  great  number  who  exhibit  very  little  improve- 
ment of  character.    They  endeavour  to  escape  the  vulgar  forms 


n 


under  which  vice  is  practiced  by  the  lower  classes,  but  many  of 
them  eagerly  pursue  the  same  sins  in  a  more  p.olite  shape.  Mak- 
ing every  allowance  for  the  vivacity  of  youth,  it  is  evident  their 
education  has  had  but  little  influence  in  subduing  the  passions, 
and  regulating  the  affections  of  the  mind.  Highly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  world,  tliey  pursue  the  flowery  path  of  pleasure, 
and,  sensual  in  all  their  desires,  they  care  for  little  beyond 
their  own  gratification.  Though,  brought  up  under  the  name  of 
that  religion,  which  teaches  all  to  live  "soberly,  righteously  and 
godly  in  this  present  world,"  they  spurn  the  restraints  it  imposes, 
and  turn  to  ridicule  the  pretensions  of  those  who  endeavour  to  live 
uprightly.  I  need  not  say  where  such  are  to  be  found  ;  would 
that  1  knew  a  place  where  the  baneful  influence  of  their  example 
had  not  been  felt. 

If  we  step  into  the  world  at  large,  and  observe  the  conduct 
of  those  in  the  grades  above  the  working  classes,  whose  age  and 
circumstances  fairly  entitle  them  to  be  considered  as  persons 
from  whom  the  standard  of  our  national  character  ought  to  be 
taken ;  we  shall  come  to  the  unhappy  conclusion,  that  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  the  characters  of  the  different 
classes  of  the  people  in  this  country,  are  the  same,  whatever  be 
their  station  in  life.  It  is  true  we  have  still  a  "  remnant ;"  we 
have  still  both  men  and  women,  whose  glory  it  is  to  serve  their 
Creator  faithfully,  and  to  devote  themselves  to.  the  good  of  their 
fellow  creatures.  But  it  is  still  true  that  the  broad  road  is 
crowded  with  passengers  to  destruction,  whilst  on  the  safe  and 
narrow  way,  there  is  but  a  traveller  here  and  there.  I  do  not 
mean  to  say,  they  never  go  to  church  or  chapel,  or  give  support 
to  charitable  institutions.  These  they  may  do,  but  it  is  with  deep 
concern  I  affirm,  that  though  there  is  theybrm  of  godliness,  its 
practical  and  personal  T^YOok^diYe  %c^vcQ\y  iohQ  found.  Does  it 
shed  its  influence  upon  men's  transactions  in  business  ?  Do  their 
dealings  with  each  other  evince  a  consciousness  that  every  action 
shall  be  brought  before  the  j  udge  of  all  .J*  Are  not  selfishness 
and  avarice  prevailing  motives  in  trade,  and,  where  circumstances 
permit,  are  not  extortion,  deception  and  roguerj^  practised  with 
impunity  ?  Politeness,  it  is  true,  is  largely  cultivated,  and  serves 
by  its  insinuations  to  cover  the  intentions  of  designing  men. 
Assignments  and  bankruptcies,  which  now  form  part  of  the  news 
of  the  week,  are  bad  symptons"  of  tlie  morality  of  trade;  they  not 
only  remind  us  of  the  dissipated  lives  of  too  many  of  those  wita 


are  said  to  be  "  unforhinate,"  but  offer  fresh  opportunities  for 
fraud  and  villainy. .  Indeed,  at  best,  the  anxieties  of  business, 
and  the  passion  for  acquiring'  of  wealth,  seem  to  have  deprived 
men  of  all  leisure  time  or  thought  for  relig-ion,  or  for  almost  any 
thing',  except  personal  indulgence. 

How  sordid  are  many  of  those  who  are  immensely  rich  ! 
They  have  no  idea  of  their  connexion  with  a  world,  where  pover- 
ty and  distress  are  crying  on  every  hand  :  they  have  little  know- 
ledge of  the  poor,  nor  any  fueling  to  commiserate  or  relieve  their 
condition.  They  move  in  a  circle  where  money  is  considered  the 
only  object  of  desire,  and  where  morals  are  practised  in  propor- 
tion as  they  answer  this  end.  Blind  to  the  arrangements  of 
Providence,  and  insensible  of  the  uncertain  tenure  of  life,  instead 
of  dispensing  their  bounty  to  the  poor,  and  relieving  themselves 
of  the  cares  of  coveteousness,  they  go  on  adding  wealth  tq  wealth, 
till  arrested  in  this  career  of  folly  by  the  hand  of  death.  Is  it 
possible  for  moral  improvement  to  take  root  while  a  disposition  of 
this  sort  so  generally  prevails  ? 

Another  class  is  more  sensual.  They  spend  their  money 
in  eating  and  drinking.  How  many  precious  evenings  are 
spent  in  a  course  of  intemperance,  which  leads  to  nothing 
less  than  the  ruin  of  both  body  and  soul.  Some  at  home, 
some  at  parties,  some  at  taverns,  and  others  at  places 
which  I  will  not  name,  excited  by  animal  gratification, 
sacrifice  their  character,  and  debase  themselves  to  the  level  of 
the  brute.  Whatever  be  their  intellect  they  are  sunk  in  vice, 
and  have  neither  hearts  nor  time  to  care  about  either  their  own 
or  their  families'  spiritual  welfare :  their  favourite  notion,  as 
expressed  in  the  infidel  motto,  is,  "  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for 
to-morrow  we  die.** 

The  votaries  of  fashion,  more  anxious  for  a  reputation  in  the 
world,  avoid  the  excesses  of  the  voluptuous,  but  are  not  clear 
from  the  charge  of  contributing  to  the  cause  of  immorality. 
Though  they  attend  upon  the  services  of  the  true  God,  as  giving 
them  an  opportunity  of  display,  dress  and  equipage  are  their 
deities,  and  all  their  time,  attention,  and  fortunes  are  spent  in 
their  wortlilcss  service.  They  are  not  altogether  inattentive  to 
the  social  duties  of  life,  and,  the  females  especially,  are  sometimes 
forward  in  assisting  the  poor.  But  the  tendency  of  this  mode  of 
living  is  injurious  to  the  best  feelings  of  the  heart;  it  blinds 
by  its  dazzle  the  concerns  of  futurity ;  and,  for  charity  and 
hope,  substitutes  vanity  and  pride.      It  not  only  produces  envy 


and  disg-ust  in  others  who  behold  it,  but  too  often  leads  to    a 
course  of  expenditure,  the  most  appalling  in  its  effects. 

Would  that  I  could  say,  "  the  strict  professors  of  religion  are 
all  exceptions  to  this  general  list."  Whoever  asserts  that  this  is 
the  case  will  not  be  believed.  Persecution  is  now  fled,  religious 
profession  is  now  fashionable,  and  is  often  found  the  road  to  profit 
and  popularity.  Confined,  as  is  the  religion  of  numb  ers,  to  the 
external  services  performed  in  the  chapel  or  the  meeting,  it  can 
be  taken  up  and  maintained  without  any  self-denial.  Every  sect 
knows  too  well,  and  is  constantly  lamenting  the  fact,  that  of  great 
numbers  belonging  to  its  body,  it  may  with  propriety  be  asked, 
*'  what  do  ye  more  than  others?"  In  strict  integrity,  in  speak- 
ing tire  truth,  and  in  keeping  engagements,  some  of  the  most 
zealous  religionists  are  often  defective.  And  1  have  no  doubt,  if 
(as  most  assert)  infidelity  be  upon  the  increase,  its  growth  is  to  be 
attributed,  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  to  the  inconsistences  of 
religious  professors,  and  especially  the  clergy. 

If,  after  this  outline,  any  man  want   proof  of  the  prevalency 
of  vice,  let  him  traverse  the  streets  of  our  towns  in  an  evening, — 
let  him  visit  the  public  houses  and  the  dram  shops,  and  he  will  be 
shocked  to  see  and  hear  all  that  is  beastly,  wicked,  vile  and  im- 
pious.    Let  him  attend  the^  petty  sessions  held  by  Magistrates 
every  week,  where  such   scenes  of  domestic  discord,  juvenile 
depravity,  and  malicious  feelings  will  be  opened  to  his  view,  as  are 
calculated  to  make  humanity  weep.     Let  him  examine  the  county 
gaols  and  prisons,   the  number  of  debtors  and  felons  in  confine- 
ment, and  learn  their  previous  history.     Let  him  attend  the  courts, 
when   all   the  civil  and   criminal   causes  are  tried — hear  the  in- 
dictments, view  the  immense  number  of  lawyers,   and  amount  of 
law   proceedings,  andi  consider  that  if  all    these   are   required 
merely  for  the  cognizance  of  legal  crime,  what  must  be  the  state 
of  moral  turpitude  in  that  country,  in  which  such  a  state  of  things 
can  exist.     Surely   he  will  exclaim — this    cannot    be  civiliz-^d  " 
England,  the  land  of  bibles,  the  emporium  of  missions,  the  nur- 
sery of  religion  ;    so  devoted  to  piety  as  to  bestow  a  tenth-part 
of  the  land,  and  immense  sums  of  money  for  its  support. 

These  are  ordinary  cases,  and  come  round  as  constantly  as 
the  week,  or  as  the  year  ;  on  occasions  less  frequent,  the  latent 
viciousness  of  the  people  is  easily  called  into  exercise.  If  we 
visit  the  race-ground,  or  the  cock-pit,  what  scenes  of  revelling, 
debauchery,  and  wickedness  we  behold  !  The  snares  which  are 
laid  for  the  incautious,  and  the  retreats  afforded  for  the  veterans 


8 

in  crime,  shew  clearly,  that  those  who  oug-ht  to  have  been  the 
guardians  of  virtue,  have  tacidly  given  their  approbation  to  this 
diabolical  course  of  corrupting  the  people.  If,  indeed,  we  want 
a  general  test  of  the  state  of  the  country,  as  to  principle,  sobriety, 
patriotism,  or  self-respect, — to  say  nothing  of  piety—I  would 
ask  for  nothing  hut  a  general  election.  Without  shame,  almost 
without  rebuke,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  rioting,  bribery,  per- 
jury, drunkenness,  and  every  enormity  is  practised  in  open  day, 
almost  in  every  place  where  a  contested  election  takes  place. 
Indeed,  in  this  country  the  seed  of  immorality  is  so  thickly  spread, 
the  soil  so  well  prepared  for  its  reception,  the  climate  so  conge- 
nial to  its  growth,  and  the  efforts  to  eradicate  it  so  puny  and 
inefficient,  that,  cause  and  effect  must  have  ceased,  if  we  had  not 
had  at  this  day  the  most  overwhelming  production  of  crime. 

The  present  irreligious  and  immoral  state  of  the  people,  is 
traceable  to  two  great  causes,  first,  the  great  change   in  the 

CIRCUMSTANCES  OF  SOCIETV,— secondly,  THE  ABSENCE 
OF  A  MORAL  COUNTERACTING  POWER  SUITABLE  TO 
THIS    CHANGE. 

The  first  of  these  is  seen  in  an  increase  of  numbers, — an  in- 
crease of  wealth, — and  increase  of  poverty, — and  a  change  in  the 
habits,  employment,  and  local  situation  of  the  people.  All  these 
have  had  a  powerful  effect  upon  morals.  Where  there  is  not  a 
counteracting  influence;,  the  increase  of  numbers,  is  not  only  a 
numerical  increase  of  agents  for  doingevil,  but,  reaching  the  point 
of  ascendency,  is  capable  of  destroying  altogether  those  restraints 
which  would  have  kept  in  subjection  a  smaller  number,  and,  like 
a  torrent  let  loose,  of  spreading  destruction  and  desolation  a  round. 
The  means  of  correction,  which  were  once  amply  sufficient  far 
the  coimtry,  are  not  so  now.  When,  to  the  increa-?e  of  numbers, 
we  add  the  altered  state  of  the  people,  as  to  residence,  employ- 
ment, and  circumstances,  and  trace  attentively  the  workings  of 
these  changes,  we  shall  discover  a  cause,  sufficient  to  account 
for  all  the  evils  which  we  so  much  lament.  When  the  people 
were  distributed  into  families  and  hamlets,  all  over  the  country, 
employed  in  rural  exercises,  enjoying  wholesome  air,  and  a  re- 
m'.mc-ration  which,  with  frugality,  Avas  adequate  to  their  wants, 
how  vastly  different,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  were  their  circum- 
stances from  what  they  are  now  !  When  the  rising  youth  were  not 
exposed  to  the  contamination  of  vicious  associates,  when 
every  child  was  under  its  parent's  care,  and  when  the  ties  of 
nature  were  the  safe-guards  of  virtue.     I  read  with  no  ordinary 


pleasure,  of  the  times,  whsu  oar  worthy  matrons  and  their, 
daug'hters, — on  whose  cheeks  the  beams  of  ianocency  and  health 
did  smile, — spun  their  j'arn,  and  wove  their  cloth,  without  coming 
in  contact  with  a  train  of  temptations,  scarcely  to  be  resisted. 
Contentment,  harmony,  and  peace  prevailed,  and  the  poor  man's 
cot  was  a  place  of  comparative  happiness.  Real  sympathy,  true 
hospita'ity,  and  genuine  friendship  were  flourishing  virtues  ;  and 
the  rich  and  the  poor  discovered  a  mutual  kindness  and  attachment 
which  have  no  existence  in  the  present  day.  The  influence  of 
trade  and  commerce  has  so  changed  the  face  of  things  in  this 
country,  that  hamlets  have  become  villages,  and  villages  large 
towns,  and  so  dense  is  the  population,  and  so  changed  are  the 
modes  of  living,  and  the  kind  of  employment,  that  to  these,  as  a 
first  cause,  may  be  traced  the  loss  of  moral  character.  Besides, 
the  extremes  to  which  these  changes  have  led,  contribute  much' 
to  the  same  end.  Instead  of  a  happy  medium,  as  the  general  lot, 
we  have  constantly  before  our  eyes,  overgrown  riches  and  extreme 
poverty.  This  state,  and  the  steps  which  have  led  to  it,  throw 
off  an  effluvia,  which  is  destructive  to  the  moral  health  and  vigour 
of  the  great  mass  of  our  manufacturing  population.  Some  of  the 
rich,  voluptuous,  oppressive,  austere,  pride  themselves  upon  their 
wealth  and  honours,  despise  the  poor,  and  treat  them  with  con^ 
tempt.  The  poor  envy  the  rich,  revenge  their  inj  uries,and 
rejoice  at  the  downfall  of  their  oppressors.  Borne  down  by 
labour,  destitute  of  every  comfort,  they  drag  out  a  life  of  misery, 
such  as  few  would  believe,  unless  they  were  to  visit  their  dwel- 
lings. Wealthy  as  a  nation,  and  yet  the  best  part  of  the  people 
paupers  !  Can  virtue  grow  in  such  a  soil  ?  can  religion  thrive 
amidst  the  choaking  cares  of  destitution  and  want  ? 

The  chavged  circumstances  of  the  country,  then,  I  maintain 
to  be  the  primary  cause  of  the  present  immorality.  But  this 
might,  and  ought  to  have  been  accompanied  with  a.counteractinof 
influence  ;  and  the  want  of  this  is  the  second  cause,  to  which  I 
have  already  alluded. 

The  counteracting  power  should  always  be  suited  to  the  state 
of  the  people,  and  those  changes  which  are  constantly  taking 
place  in  the  circumstances  of  society.  This  counteracting  in- 
fluence, maybe  divided  into  two  parts  ;  that  oi  civil  arrangements, 
and  that  of  religious  teaching.  Under  the  head  of  civil  arrange- 
ments, I  include  the  whole  of  our  external  regulations,  in- 
tended to  operate  favourably  upon  the  morals  of  society;' 
and,  all   the  coercive  incas^ires,    which  are  necessary  to  deter' 

B 


others  from  crime.  These  are  proposed  and  supported  by  the 
Government,  the  Magistracy,  and  other  influential  persons  in  the 
country.  In  this  department  of  counteracting  the  vices  of  the 
age,  though  much  remains  to  be  done,  there  is  not  the  same  room 
for  complaint,  as  in  the  religious  department.  Bulls  are  not 
baited  in  the  suburbs  of  our  towns,  lottery  papers  do  not  cover 
our  walls,  and  more  order  and  decorum  is  enforced  in  all  our 
Bational  institutions.  Education  has  been  diffused  among  th<» 
working  classes,  with  commendable  effect.  The  Magistrates  are 
more  active  in  suppressing  open  profligacy  ;  and  institutions  for 
acquiring  useful  knowledge  are  well  supported  by  numbers  who 
were  once  opposed  to  them.  If  what  I  now  speak  of,  be  that 
which  is  usually  called  cioilization,  1  readily  admit  that  in  this 
respect  we  have  made  some  advancement.  But  much  remains  yet 
to  be  done,  not  only  in  originating  new  measures,  but  in  carrying; 
into  operation  those  schemes  which,  so  far  as  they  have  been  tried,, 
are  working  well  for  society..  In  this  department,  however,  there 
is  no  reason  to  despair. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  I  would  recommend  aJl  regulations 
which  lead  to  civil  improvements;  for  though  these  are  not  al- 
ways a  certain  criterion  of  religious  attainments,  yet,  under  favour- 
able circumstances,  they  often  prove  powerful  auxiliaries.  Like 
a  ship  sailing  against  the  wind,  they  have  hitherto  had  no  chance 
of  discovei'ing  the  rapidity  of  their  movements  j  for  though  they 
have  necessarily  kept  pace  with  the  changes  in  society,  (the  safety 
Qf  the  State  requiring  it)  the  corruptions  of  religion,  and  the  obli- 
quity «f  its.  influence,  have  concealed  many  of  their  excellencies- 
from  publie  view.  Indeed,  whilst  the  popular  religions  have 
left  the  world  to  itself — except  that  part  of  it  called  wealth — these 
changes  in  civilization,  based  upon,  and  regulated  by  the  princi- 
ples of  Christianity,  have  been  the  main  support  of  morals.  1  in- 
clude in  these  regulations,  every  enactment  of  the  legislature 
which  connects  itself  with  tke  improvement  of  man  ;  such  a* 
placing  all  religious  parties  upon  equal  footing  as  to  civil  rights, 
providing  for  the  equal  and  speedy  administration  of  j  ustice,— — 
suppressing  slavery  in  our  colonies, — reforming  the  mode  of  car- 
rying on  elections, — protecting  the  poor,  and  easing  them  of  Oji- 
pressive  burdens,— forbidding  cruelty  to  animals, — encouraging 
education,  and  granting  assistance  to  the  reailt/  useful  in- 
stitutions,— putting  down  the  horrid  vice  of  drunkenness,— 
requiring  the  people  to  keep  one  day  as  a  day  of  rest 
•—and  other    enactments  of  a    similar    cast.      I  include,    next,. 


11 

the  proceedings  of  the  magistracy ;  such  as  keeping  gooA 
order  in  the  public  houses,  and  closing  them  at  an  early  hour*—, 
keeping  order  in  the  streets,  and  preventing  fighting,  bull-bait'* 
ing,  and  obscene  exhibitions— enforcing  a  decent  maintainance  for 
the  poor — regulating  and  judging  intpartially  betwixt  contending 
parties,  and  persuading  tbem  to  peace — putting  down  houses 
of  ill-fame — appointing  a  vigilant  and  effective  police,  such  as  is 
not  only  calculated  to  detect  and  punish  crime,  but,  if  possible,  to 
prevent  it.  I  include,  especially,  those  numerous  efforts  of  private 
individuals,  to  whom  society  is  so  much  indebted,  some  from  pure 
philanthropy,  and  others  in  the  way  of  business  ;  such  as  erect- 
ing hospitals  and  assylums  for  the  infirm,  and  sc1k>o1s  for  educating 
infants  and  youth ^  establishing  institutions  for  the  diffusing  of 
useful  knowledge,  and  societies  for  printing  and  circulating  books 
at  a  cheap  rate,  and  especially  the  Bible  society  ; — promoting  the 
increase  of  newspapers  and  periodicals,  in  most  of  which  vice  is 
deprecated,  and  the  best  precepts  of  our  religion  frequently  en- 
forced ;  and  forming  charitable  institutions,  by  which  the  aged, 
the  infirm,  tlie  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  are  relieved  and  assist- 
ed. In  these  arrangements,  we  ought  to  encourage,  above  all 
others,  those  measures  which  are  calculated,  not  merely  to  relieve 
the  poor,  but  to  reinstate  them  in  that  condition  in  society  which 
would  abolish  pauperism,  and  enable  every  sober,  industrious  man 
to  obtain  for  himself  and  family  an  honest  competency^  While 
poverty  bears  down  the  people,  religion  and  morality  can  never 
thrive.  I  envy  not  that  man's  religion  (if  I  should  call  it  religion) 
who,  possessing  his  thousands,  and  strict  in  his  routine  of  religi- 
ous duties,  beholds  with  unconcern  the  best  part  of  our  population, 
physically  and  morally  degraded  by  poverty,  without  making  a 
single  effort  to  better  their  condition.  I  despair  of  the  success  of 
every  means  of  reforming  the  people,  civil  or  religious,  unles« 
labour  be  so  rewarded,  as  to  afford  the  means  of  a  comfortable 
subsistence  to  the  working  classes. 

In  what  I  have  said  under  the  head  of  civil  means  for  refoi*m- 
ing  the  people,  I  have  avoided  many  things,  which  might  have 
been  named,  because  I  view  them  as  improperly  substituted  for 
the  labour  and  teaching  of  christian  ministers.  Innumerable 
projects  of  a  moral  cast,  under  the  names  ©f  "  societies,"  "associa- 
tions," "  unions,"  Sac.  have  arisen  of  late,  of  the  propriety  of  which 
I  feel  very  doubtful.  Like  the  increase  of  crime,  to  me,  they  pro- 
claim aloud,  the  idleness  and  inefficiency  of  tl>e  present  race  of 
religious  teachers.     1   know   they-   are  supported  by  luaay  good 


12 

men,  who,  instead  of  g-oing^  to  the  root  of  the  evil,  and  calling  for 
a  change  in  the  mode  of  instructing  the  people,  are  perpetuating 
the  evils  of  a  system  which  they  ought  to  abolish. 

But  that  which  is  most  powerful  in  its  nature,  and  durable 
in  its  effects  for  correcting  vice  is  religious  instruction,  con- 
ducted on  the  plan  of  primitive  Christianity ;  but  this,  I  lament 
to  say,  in  its  legitimate  character,  has  never  in  modern  times 
penetrated  the  mass  of  society.  B;.t  why  is  it  that,  at  this  day, 
we  haye  to  deplore  the  want  of  this  correcting  power  >  Has  God 
permitted  evil  to  enter,  and  has  he  withheld  the  counteracting  prin- 
ciple of  good  ?  Does  he  delight  to  seethe  fairest  of  his  works  de- 
faced with  sin,  or  has  he  any  pleasure  in  the  death  of  a  sinner  ? 
Or,  has  he  favoured  other  countries  with  the  means  of  reformation, 
and  left  England  the  solitary  spot  of  darkness  without  li^ht  ? 
Thank  heaven  !  the  reverse  is  the  fact.  The  standard  of  Chris- 
tianity has  long  been  planted  in  this  country,  whose  power  to 
diflFuse  holiness  and  happiness,  and  to  eradicate  corruption,  is 
superior  to  every  other.  We  have  the  bible  ;  we  have  it  in  our 
own  language  ;  and  the  people  in  general  are  able  to  rtad  it.  The 
Authorities  of  the  State,  if  they  have  not  promoted  the  interests 
of  real  Christianity,  have,  at  least,  forborn  to  persecute,  and  have 
never  forbidden  its  extension  in  any  part  of  their  dominions. 
And  yet,  this  grand  correcting  power  has  never  been  applied, 
suitable  to  its  nature,  as  an  antidote  for  the  evils  which  affiict 
society.  Some  may  seek  a  remedy  in  political  changes,  but 
unless  the  spirit  of  Christianity  be  diffused,  disappointment  will 
ensue.  When  it  caught  the  hearts  of  its  first  converts,  we  are 
told,  its  influence  was  such,  that  "  there  was  none  among  thera 
that  lacked,"  and  if  it  were  as  sincerely  embraced  now;  those 
remedies  for  our  suffering  population,  which  are  vainly  sought 
in  mere  political  changes,  would  be  instantly  at  hand. 

But  have  we  not  religion  to  excess  ?  Places  of  worship, 
some  splendid  and  costly,  and  others  plairi  and  unassuming,  hava 
been  erected,  and  are  becoming  exceedingly  numerous.  An- 
nouncements of  sermons  and  public  meetings  for  the  spread  of 
religion,  incessantly  appear  on  our  walls,  as  if  the  people  were 
absorded  in  religious  matters.  We  have  services  and  meetings 
of  every  hue,  from  the  ceremonial  solemnities  of  the  Catholics 
to  the  plain  and  noiseless  worship  of  the  Friends.  We  have  also 
a  host  of  men,  called  "ministers,"  who  are  regularly  trained  at 
college,  excluded  from  secular  labour,  solenmly  appointed, 
and  maintained  at  an  expence,  in  tythts  and  contributions,  amount. 


13 

ing  by  a  recent  calculation  to  nine  Millions  a  year  !  And  yet,  in 
the  face  of  all  this,  we  are  exclaiming — and  every  public  writer 
joins  in  the  cry — Oh  !  the  prevalency  of  crime  !  Such  is  the 
paradoxical  state  of  this  country,  that  with  a  mass  of  ostt^ntatious 
religious  machinery,  we  have,  as  it  respects  that  which  is  sincere 
and  practical,  less  religion  than  many  of  the  heathens. 

Let  us  not  suppose,  however,  because  a  refoimation  has  not 
been  effected,  that  therefore  it  is  impossible.  Let  us  rather  believe, 
the  effect  having  failed,  the  proper  means  have  never  j-^et  been 
tried. 

The  guardianship  of  the  people's  morals  and  the  care  of  their 
souls  have  been  committed  into   the   hands  of  the  clergy  ;    and 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  wisdom  of  placing  this  trust  with 
them,    they    have    been    represented    as  our   exclusive     guides. 
The  State  has  endowed  a  Church,  established  a  form  of  religion, 
and  constituted  them  the  only  Ha^iowa/ guides  in  spiritual  things. 
This    church  was   considered  competent  to  supply  the  religious 
necessities  of  the  people,  and  to  question  this  competency,  even 
in   the    present   day,   is  looked  upon  by  some  as   heresy.     This 
church,    though   modelled    upon  the  principle  of  worldly  policy, 
was  at  one  time,  more  suited  to  the  dispositions  of  the  jieople  than 
at  present.     Those  who  resided  in  the  country,   with  the    parish 
church  always  in  vieAv,  and  the  minister  as  a  neighbour  and  a  friencF, 
would    find   it    a   stay   to   their   minds,  and   from  its  lessons  and 
uiinistrations,   derive  much  good.     The  changed   circumstances 
of  the   country,  has, — however   much    men    may  contend  to  the 
contrary, — discovered   the  total    inadequacy   of  this  system,  to 
diffuse,   with    any  degree  of  success,  the  energetic  principles  of 
Christianity  among   the   mass   of  the  people.     Weak  at  best  for 
this  purpose,  it  is  doubly  so  now ;  for  as  there  is  a  deep  rooted  moral 
disease,  the    remedy  must   be   suited  to  it,    and  powerful  in  its 
operations.     Its  forms  are  such   that   it  cannot  reach  the  ears, 
much  less  the  hearts,  of  the  corrupt  part  of  the  population.     It  is 
not  generally  respected  ;    its  enormities,  its  avarice,  the  worldly 
spirit   of  its  ministers,  its  carnal  appendages,  its  oppressive  spirit 
towards  other  parties,  have  made  it  unpopular.     Disgusted  with 
its  exactions',   and  with  the  hypocrisy  of  those,  who  have  beeu 
constantly  fleecing,    instead  of  feeding  the  flock,  the  people  have 
'flunk  into  a  state  of  indifference,  embraced  infidelity,  or   adopted 
a  course  of  open  profligacy.    •  ;«> 

The   corruptions   of  the  church   have  given  rise  to  variotis 
denominations  of  Dissenters,  whose  efforts  to  spread  religion  and 


I4 

promote  a  reformation,  liavo  in  many  iiititaiiccs,  been  successful. 
Indeed,  but  for  the  a'ctivity  of  dissenters,  and  the  rival  zeal  of 
the  Church  which  it  has  provoked,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive 
the  dreadful  state  of  darkness  which  would  have  covered  the 
land.  Many  noble  attempts  have  been  made,  by  individuals  of 
different  parties,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  crime,  but  these  efforts, 
gravitating  too. much  towards  the  old  system,  though  successful 
for  a  time,  have  never  developed  a  power  which  warranted  the 
expectation  of  a  permanent  triumph.  Primitive  Christianity  alone 
can  do  this  ;  and  until  ])oth  its  principles,  its  spirit,  and  its  mode* 
of  action  be  adopted,  we  rnay  for  ever  lament  our  inability  to 
conquer  the  reign  of  sin.  There  is  something  rat//c«//y  wrong 
in  the  machinery,  by  whicli  the  reformation  of  the  people  ha* 
been  so  long,  and  so  inefleclually  attempted.  It  is  not  enough, 
that  we  have  the  implements  of  war,  lying  scattered  here  and 
there  ;  they  must  be  brought  into  the  field  ;  the  enemy  must  be 
attacked,  and  no  quarter  given,  till  he  disown  hostilities,  and  sub- 
mit to  the  government  of  Him  who  is  King  of  kings. 

I  have  no  doubt  1  shall  be  able  to  shew,  in  "  The  Moral 
Reformer,"  that  a  wrong  system  has  been  pursued  ;  but  tho 
length  to  which  this  article  is  already  extended,  forbids  those 
explanations  and  details  which  I  had  intended  to  give.  A  few 
remarks,  admitting  of  further  explanation,  must  at  present  sufKce. 

Instead  of  taking  a  rational  view  of  the  spiritual  wants  of  so- 
ciety ;  considering  what  methods  would  be  the  likeliest  to  supply 
those  wants;  what  agents  are  capable  of  so  mighty  an  under- 
taking ;  and  above  al),  what  plan  was  pursued  by  our  Saviour 
and  his  apostles,  under  similar  circumstances — instead  of  taking 
a  comprehensive  view  of  the  enemy's  camp,  marking  the  for- 
tresses of  crime,  and  the  means  of  defence,— instead  of  feeling 
that  it  is  the  cause  of  God  and  immortal  souls,  arousing  all  our 
energies,  braving  every  danger,  and  making  every  sacrifice 
which  so  noble  a  work  requires, — instead  of  these,  what  have  wo 
done  ?  We  have  built  fine  churches  and  chapels;  we  have  paint- 
ed the  windows  and  decorated  the  walls  both  inside  and  out  ; 
we  have  pleased  the  ears  with  bells  and  organs ;  we  have  spent 
vast  sums  of  money  upon  childish  ornaments,  paid  for  out  of  the 
hard-earned  money  of  the  labourmg  man  ;  we  have  decked  religion 
in  all  the  trappings  of  finery,  and  clothed  it  in  all  the  allurements 
of  sense,  till,  as  the  "whore  of  Babylon,"  ''  the  kings  and  merchants 
and  great  men  of  the  earth,"  have  become  enamoured  of  her 
beauty,  aud  have  enticed  her  by  their  bribes  frqoi  her  subjection 


to  her  exalted  "Head."  We  have  selected  for  those  who  are  to 
teach  the  self-denying  way  to  heaven,  men  of  all  others  the  most 
nnlikely.  Instead  of  those  who  pant  for  an  opportunity  of  doing- 
good  to  their  fellow  creatines,  who  are  willing'  to  live  or  die  for 
Christ — we  choose  the  thoughtless  drone  of  some  genteel  or  titled 
family  ;  or,  if  of  an  hiinihler  cast,  in  too  many  instances,  a  man  who 
measures  the  itnporfance  of  the  office  by  the  amou7it  of  the  salary. 
Treating  divinity  as  a  science,  and  religion  as  a  tra^,  instead  of 
being  qualified  by  being  able  to  speak  plainly,  fearlessly,  inces- 
santly, and  in  every  place,  (he  simple  truths  of  the  gospel  of  repen- 
tance, and  to  warn  men  of  their  darger ;  they  go  to  some  college 
or  academy  to  qualify  themselves  by  spending  so  many  years  in 
learning  to  become  '*  mathematicians,  natural  philosophers,  meta- 
physicians, logicians,  and  classical  scholars  j"  in  studying  syste- 
matical theology,  and  the  mysterious  art  of  composing  a  sermon  ! 
Instead  oi' going  to  the  people,  seefcivir  them  out,  and  being  always 
among  them,  visiting  the  abodes  of  vice,  and  getting  into  the  com- 
pany of  the  profligate — instead  of  going  from  "  house  to  house,'* 
not  forgetting  the  ces^fs  of  wickedness  rn  "high  places,"  they  are 
too  often  found  at  the  houses  of  the  rich,  places  of  literary  recrea- 
tion, and  fashionable  parties,  (not  to  mention  such  places  as  the 
tuif,  th^  race-ground,  the  theatre,  and  the  bench,  being  applicable 
only  to  a  part,}  or  at  the  best,  the  "  meeting,"  the  "  pulpit  and  the 
study,"  are  the  places  where  these  "heralds  of  salvation,"  spend 
their  time.  Instead  of  their  time  being  wholly  devoted  to  their  work, 
and  "night  and  day"  labouring  incessently,  they  "do  duty*'  on 
Sundays,  and  occasiofially  at  such  times  through  the  week,  as  are 
uot  included  in  the  ordinary  hours  allotted  for  labour  :  and  if 
a  sick  person  should  want  their  assistance,  it  is  not  unfrequently 
a  difficidty  to  obtain  it.  Perhaps  the  best  of  them  spend  mosrf 
of  their  time  in  *''study,"  but  will  this  compensate  for  their  nez- 
lect  of  " going  about  doing  good}' ^  Instead  of  their  teachin"- 
being  plain,  simple,  seasonable,  personal,  powerful,  practical, 
and  without  ostentation,  adapted  to  the  lowest  capacities,  and  giv- 
en to  individuals,  to  small  companies,  to  families,  or  to  congre- 
gations, as  circumstances  may  recjuire,  it  is  regularly  couched 
in  the  abstract,  laboured  form  of  a  sermon,  with  little  or  no  ref- 
erence to  the  passing  events  in  society,  which  have  so  direct  an 
influence  upon  character  and  morals.  So  accustomed  to  a  routine 
of  ritual  service  are  they,  that  no  teaching  is  considered  either 
regular  or  efticacious,  unless  accompanied  with  the  usual  course 
of  religious  ceremonies.     Instead  of  appearing  as  the  /nimblest  of 


w 

their  fellows,  without  any  distinction,  excs'pt  their  goodnes«  and 
their  zeal,  they  affect  great  personal  importance,  assume  a  pe- 
culiar g'arb  and  divine  titles,  and  can  neither  publicly  pray  to  God, 
nor  teach  the  people,  unless  they  first  be  clothed  in  sacerdotal 
attire.  Their  general  demeanour  forbids  their  free  access  to  tht 
pt!Ople,  and  hence,  while  they  themselves  are  the  most  ignorant 
as  to  the  general  affairs  of  lifo,  the  people  either  treat  them  with 
superstitious  reverence,  or  hold  them  in  real  contempt.  Instead 
of  being  moved  by  their  duty  to  God,  and  the  love  of  souls,  and 
encouraged  in  all  their  labours  and  their  conflicts,  by  the  promises 
of  the  "  chief  shepherd,"  who  is  gone  before  ;  instead  of  being 
determined  to  "  spend  and  be  spent "  in  so  God-like  a  work  as 
*•  saving  souls  from  death  ;"  the  first  thing  is  to  seek  each  '*  his 
gain  from  his  quarter."  Having  represented  preaching  as  a 
''profession,"  and  succeeded  by  the  credulity  of  the  people,  in 
establishing  the  position  that  they,  as  well  as  others,  have  a  right 
to  make  the  most  of  their  abilities,  burdens  are  imposed,  in  many 
instances  to  support  pride  and  extravagance,  such  as  not  only  bear 
down  the  people  to  the  earth,  but  produce  in  their  minds  a 
disgust  at  every  thing  connected  with  religion.  I  use  no  disguise  y 
on  such  a  subject  it  is  out  of  place ;  religion  is  made  an  article  of 
trade,  and  bui/ing,anA  selling,  and  trucking,  in  the  advantages  of 
**  curing  souls,"  is  as  notorious  as  the  sun  at  noon-day.  However,, 
numbers  of  the  "people  love  to  have  it  so,"  and  they  have  them- 
selves principally  to  blame,  for  tolerating  such  awful  departures 
from  the  pure  religion  of  Christ. 

Having  attempted  to  shew  that  the  present  order  of  reli- 
gious teachers  have  not  answered  the  object  of  their  appoint* 
ment,  it  will  be  expected  that  I  should  have  a  suitable  remedy  t() 
propose.  The  remedy,  in  my  own  mind,  is  as  clear  as  noon-day^ 
though  I  fear  I  shall  have  some  difficulty  in  making  it  as  clear  and 
satisfactory  to  others,  arising  principally  from  men's  habits  of 
thinking  on  this  subject,  and  the  alterations  in  those  powerful  sya- . 
terns  of  mental  tyranny  which  this  remedy  will  require.  But  ther^ 
are  great  numbers,  like  myself,  who  have  no  interest  to  serve,, 
whose  only  good  is  the  public  good,  and  who,  however  comfort- 
able in  worldly  circumstances,  can  never  be  happy  whilst  their: 
fellow  creatures  are  miserable.  By  such  I  shall  be  understood,^ , 
and  with  such  I  hope  to  succeed.  I  am  not  sanguine  as  to  the! 
adoption  of  the  means  I  have  to  propose,  but  I  shall  not,  on  that 
account,  be  less  urgent  in  pressing  them  upon  the  attention  of 
the  public.     The  remnant  of  my  life  is  pledged  to  the  welfare  qC 


17 

my  species,  and  in  pursuing  this  object,  disappointments  will  not 
discourage  me. 

Religions  teaching  on  the  primitive  plan  is  what  I  offer  as  the 
retnedy.  The  other  arrangements,  have  for  their  motives  the 
well-being  of  society,  and  their  end,  the  proper  conduct  of  maa 
to  man  ;  but  this  derives  its  sanctions  from  our  duty  to  God,  and 
belief  in  o.J'nture  state.  In  this  department,  compulsion  or  coer- 
tion  has  no  place ;  the  only  means  made  use  of  are,  argument 
and  persuasion  ;  and  where  persons  are  obstinate,  their  fate  is  left 
in  the  hands  of  Him  who  judges  righteously.  But  how  and  by 
lehom  are  the  people  to  be  taught  ?  Both  these  points,  though 
already  partially  anticipated,  call  for  illustration. 

As  to  the  present  plan,  it  is  impossible  that  a  system,  though 
including  many  good  things,  inefficiently  arranged,  made  up  of 
idleness,  hypocrisi^,  avarice,  and  worldly  policy,  can  ever  en- 
lighten the  people,  or  lead  them  to  repentance  and  reformation. 
I  pity  the  simplicity  of  those  (if  such  there  be)  who  sincerely 
think,  that  by  builmng  new  churches,  and  establishing  ritual 
services,  they  can  prevent  the  increase  of  crime.  The  bulk  of 
the  people  go  to  no  place  of  worship ;  many  of  them  are  too  poor 
to  get  decent  clothing;  and  others  are  disgusted  by  seeing  all 
that  bears  a  semblance  of  religion,  prostrated  at  the  shrine  of 
mammon.  And  if  efforts,  more  rational,  more  scriptural,  and 
more  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  our  population,  are  not  made, 
crime  will  continue  to  increase,  religion  be  contemned,  and  the 
foJly  of  giving  stones  for  bread,  be  manifested  when  it  is  too  late. 
Some  persons  flatter  themselves  with  the  prospect  of  an  improved 
liturgy,  commutation  of  tythes,  a  more  equal  appropriation  of 
church  livings,  and  other  ecclesiastical  reforms  ;  but  to  look  to 
these  changes  as  likely  to  give  rise  to  a  rational  system  of  teaching 
suited  to  the  circumstances  cf  the  people,  will  prove  a  delusion. 

An  improved  system  of  teaching  is  likelier  to  originate  with 
the  dissenters,  for  though,  at  present,  they  are  pursuing  chapel 
religir.n  too  exclusively,  in  a  manner  which  the  world  calls  re- 
spectable, yet  they  are  not  in  bondage  to  a  s^'stera  established  by- 
law ;  they  are  their  own  masters,  and  they  can  change  any  time. 

The  sort  of  teaching  I  mean,  and  to  which  I  have  already  al- 
luded, is  remarkable  most  for  its  simplicity;  and  is  so  plainly 
t^evelopcd  in  the  historical  •  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  that 
if  I  could  persuade  my  readers  to  peruse  them,  another  word 
from  me  would  be  unnecessary.    Doubtful  of.  this,  I  therefore 

C 


^I 


18 

remark,  that  it  consists  in  instruction  being'  carried  to  the  people^ 
whatever  they  bo,  or  wherever  they  reside ;  and  this  not 
casually,  but  constantly  and  perseverhtgly ;  delivered  with  a 
plainness,  sincerity,  disinterestedness  and  an  affection,  wliich  will 
give  it  a  ten-fold  energy.  If  there  be  moral  disorders,  where,  but 
on  the  place  of  their  existence,  should  we  apply  the  remedy  ? 
Would  a  physician  cure  a  wide  spreading  infectous  fever,  by  de- 
livering lectures  on  the  nature  of  disease,  and  the  virtues  of 
ijrugs  ?  Would  a  shepherd,  instead  of  seeking  his  sheep,  ever 
expect  those  to  join  his  flock,  which  never  heard  his  voice  ?  Or 
uld  a  warrior  ever  gain  conquest,  who  never  came  in  contact 
with  his  foe  ?  In  every  thing,  but  in  religion,  the  means  are 
adapted  to  the  end. 

But  where  are  the  men  to  be  found  who  will  work  in  this 
way  ?  Not  generally  among  the  hireling  clergy  of  whatever 
name;  (these  in  the  calculations  I  shall  make  will  be  left  out  of 
the  question)  but  such  there  were  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
a  few  such  there  have  always  been;  and  of  this  cast,  I  have  no 
doubt,  we  have  many  among  us  at  this  day.  Some  of  these  are 
already  employed  as  teachers,  though,  from  the  restraints  which 
are  imposed  upon  them,  and  the  usages  of  the  sect  to  which  they 
belong,  they  may  not  be  as  decidedly  useful  as  they  otherwise 
would.  By  a  false  view  of  what  teaching  is,  the  qualifications 
necessary,  the  call,  appointment,  &c.  many  able  men  are  diverted 
from  their  obvious  duty,  of  warning  sinners  to  repent.  The 
plainest  men,  and  the  worst  paid,  have  generally  done  the  most 
good.  In  my  opinion,  the  "  Local  Preachers"  among  the  Me- 
thodists, have  done  more  good,  in  the  way  of  reforming  the  dis- 
solute, than  any  other  body  of  men  among  us.  The  spirit  of 
these  men,  universally  adopted,  and  regulated  by  the  simplicity 
of  primitive  teaching,  is,  what  I  would  loudly  proclaim  to  the 
world,  as  the  means  of  effecting  a  general  reformation.  If, 
iBstcad  of  attending  three  meetings  on  the  Sunday,  and  one  or 
two  in  the  week-day  for  their  own  edification,  the  serious  mem- 
bers of  different  congregations,  would  spare  half  of  these  oppor- 
tunities, in  visiting  and  teaching  the  dissolute,  both  poor  and 
rich,  what  an  immense  power  of  instrumentality  would  be 
brought  immediately  into  action  !  We  will  take  Preston  for  an 
example.  1  have  no  doubt,  to  speak  in  moderation,  we  have 
sixty  individuals,  who  are  both  able  and  willing  to  teach  their 
f«llow-men  the  way  to  heaven ;  the  po[mlation  is  30,000,  or  6,000 


19 

families  ;  so  that  the  agents  for  correcting  vice  and  giving 
christian  instruction,  would  be  as  one  to  every  hundred  families  ; 
and  one  of  tliese  agents,  without  fee  or  reward,  in  my  opinion, 
would  do  more  real  good  than  a  dozen  clergymen.  Of  course 
I  would  not  be  regulated  by  defined  numbers,  but  T  make  this 
calculation  to  shew  the  practicability  of  the  plan.  Besides, 
the  spirit  for  teaching  and  raising  the  people  in  the  moral 
scale  of  society,  would  become  so  difliised,  that  numbers 
would  co-operate,  in  various  ways,  to  promote  the  same  end. 
For  the  country,  persons  of  the  same  cast  would  be  found, 
willing  to  devote  their  whole  time  in  travelling  and  teaching, 
and  who  would  be  perfectly  content  with  that  voluntary  sup- 
port which  such  have  never  failed  to  receive.  Thtis  we  should 
have  a  "  minislry''''  without  money,  religion  without  hypocrisy, 
and  moral  improvement  and  happiness,  without  ostentation  ! 

While  parties  and  systems  remain  a«  they  are,  I  am  not  so 
vain  as  to  think  that  this  plan  will  meet  with  much  countenance, 
hut  I  am  not  without  hope  of  seeing  it  partially  carried  into 
eifect;  and  I  would  say,  and  that  with  earnestness,  let  every 
man  who  wishes  well  to  society  and  true  religion,  declare  his 
entire  disapprobation  of  every  mercenary  system  of  religion. 
Let  him,  in  the  next  place,  consider  well  the  deplorable  anii 
abandoned  state  of  our  immense  population.  Let  him  be  de- 
termined to  unite  his  efforts,  with  all  those  of  similar  feelings, 
to  effect,  in  tlie  name  of  the  Almighty,  a  complete  Moral 
Revolution.  Let  persecution  be  met  with  patience,  and  insult 
with  christian  charity.  Let  christians  no  longer  stickle  for 
forms  and  ceremonies,  but  unite  in  the  plain  duty  of  doing 
good  to  others.  Let  every  man  enjoy  his  own  belief,  but  let 
tliat  be  no  hinderance  to  the  noble  attempt  of  snatcliing  sin- 
ners from  the  gulph  of  ruin. 

In  conclusion,  I  observe,  that  the  causes  of  the  present 
immorality  may  be  traced,  first,  to  the  changed  circumstances 
of  the  people ;  and  secondly,  to  the  want  of  a  suitable  counter- 
acting power  ;  and,  as  the  circumstances  of  the  people  are 
not  likely  to  be  altered,  as  to  situation,  employment,  &c. 
the  remedies  consist,  in  such  civil  arrangements,  as  are  suited 
to  the  case  ;  and,  especially,  in  the  adoption  of  a  system  of 
religious  teaching,  sufficiently  powerful  in  its  efforts,  and 
{appropriate  in  its  character. 


20 

This  latter  must  originate  with  the  people  ;  we  must  not 
expect  the  government  to  take  it  up,  for  tlie  most  that  tliey 
can  do,  consistantly,  is  to  remove  some  of  the  obstacles 
which  lie  in  the  way.  The  time  may  not  yet  be  come,  but 
I  hope  it  will  shortly  arrive,  when  every  humane  and  pious 
man,  will  not  only  see  his  duty  to  societ}',  but  fearlessly 
perform  it.  J.  L. 


OATHS. 

What  is  an  Oath  ?     An  appeal  to  the  Omniscience  of  the 
Deity  ;    the  judge  of  the  thoughts,  and  words,  and  actions  of 
all  mankind  ;  to  reward  or  punish,  according  to  tlie  truth  or 
falsehood  of  what  is  asserted.     It  is  so  serious  and  auful  a 
duty  that  it  ought  never  to  be  resorted  to  but  under  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  importance.     Being   an   appeal  to   tlie 
Highest  Tribunal,  either  in  earth  or  heaven,  it  is  spoken  of  in 
the  scriptures    as  the  "end  of  all  strife.''     Bearing  this  in 
mind,  what  a  sad  spectacle    do   our  custom   houses,  excise 
offices,  courts  of  justice,  and  elections,  exhibit !     Any   re- 
flecting man,  attending  at  our  quarter  sessions,  must  be  shock- 
ed at  the  constant  appeals  to  the  Almighty,  required  by  law 
as  to  the  most  trifling  concerns  ;    and  at  the  thoughtlessness, 
irreverence,  and  inattention,  manifested  in  the  act  of  swearing. 
The  frequency  of  it  has  destroyed  its  solemnity,  and  the  bre- 
vity of  its   form  has  concealed  its  meaning.     There  is  no 
difference  betwixt  delivering  evidence,  affecting  the   life   of 
a  fellow-creature,  and   that  which  states  that  a  witness  has 
travelled   ten  miles  ;  each  requires  an  oath.     As  it  respects 
the  customs,  says  Paley,  "  A  pound  of  tea  cannot  travel  re- 
gularly from  the  ship  to  the  consumer,  without  costing  half  a 
dozen  oaths  at  least ;  and  the  same  security  for  the  due  dis- 
charge of  their  office,  namely,  an   oath,  is  required  from  a 
churchwarden,  and  an  archbishop,  from  a  petty  constable, 
and  the  chief  justice  of  England."    On   this  subject,  several 
excellent  letters  have  appeared  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine, 
from  one  of  which  tlie  following  is  an  extract. 

**  To  call  upon  the  high  and  lofty  One,  who  inhabiteth 
eternity,  to  witness  the  truth  of  the  commonest  assertions  in 
the  details  of  commercial  life ;  in  the  hurry  of  distracting 
engagements  perpetually  to  invoke  that  sacred  name,  whicli 
the  Jews  in  their  solemniiies  were  scarcely  permitted  to  pro- 
nouiice,  is  in  the  highest  degree  irreverent,  if  not  absolutely 
profane.  If  a  merchant,  in  the  discharge  of  his  vessel,  finds 
that,  in  consequence  of  some  error  in  the  documents  received 
from  abroad,  he  has  paid  the  duty  on  a  greater  quantity  of 
commodities  than  were  actually  in  the  ship,  he  is  compelled 


21 

io  take  an  oath  before  lie  can  recover  the  excess,  aitliougli  tlie 
custom  house  officer,  who  attended  the  discharge,  has  certi- 
fied that  his  statement  is  correct.  If  he  is  g"oiug  to  receive 
the  di'awhack  on  goods  shipped  to  foreign  parts,  he  is  compel- 
led, after  producing  an  official  certificate  that  they  havel>eea 
landed  at  the  destined  port,  4x)  swear  that  they  have  not  been 
landed,  nor  intended  to  be  relanded,  in  any  part  of  Great 
Britain,  &c. ;  and  that  they  were  at  the  time  of  entry  the 
property  of  A.  B.  This  oath  is  required,  although  the  mer- 
chant may,  at  the  same  moment,  inform  the  collector  that  the 
goods  have  been  relanded  in  Great  Britain,  in  consequence  of 
the  vessel  being  stranded  on  hor  passage,  but  that  they  were 
subsequently  reshipped,  and  arrived  at  the  destined  port. 
When  the  merchant  is  preparing  to  ship  particular  descrip- 
tions of  goods,  which  he  has  received  promiscuously  from  tJie 
interior  of  the  country,  he  is  compelled  to  swear  that  he  be- 
lieves the  duties  of  excise  to  have  been  fully  paid,  although  it 
is  known  that  he  has  no  precise  information  on  the  subject  I 
Before  he  can  recover  the  duties  on  particular  goods,  which 
lie  is  going  to  re-export,  he  is  compelled  in  the  first  place 
to  obtain  an  oath  from  the  parties  by  whom  they  were  origi- 
nally imported,  and  then  an  oathyj-o?n  all  the  iniermediaie 
persons  through  whose  hands  they  may  have  passed  !  If  an 
accident  prevent  him  from  shipping  his  goods  by  the  vessel 
he  intended,  he  must  take  an  oath  before  he  can  enter  them 
for  another  ship.  Indeed,  the  instances  in  which  Gpd's  holy 
name  is  officially  and  commercially  taken  in  vain  are  such  as 
to  exceed  almost  all  belief." 

But  the  most  disgusting  scenes  of  false  and  irreverent 
swearing  are  seen  at  elections.  Last  srmimer  at  Preston,  four 
or  five  oaths  were  imposed  upon  the  electors,  and,  except  occa- 
sional remissions,  when  the  parties  v.'ere  on  pretty  good 
terms,  they  were  taken  by  t!?e  people  with  as  little  ceremony 
as  if  there  had  been  no  God  to  witness  their  profanitv,  nor 
man  to  report  their  apparent  insensibility.  I  believe  I  am 
within  bounds  when  I  say,  ten  ihousaud  oaths  were  admin- 
istered to  the  electors,  many  of  them  in  a  state  of  reeliuw 
intoxication,  and  most  under  such  feelings  of  party  excite- 
ment, as  to  make  them  utterly  regardless  as  to  what  they 
were  swearing.  Was  the  reverend  name  of  the  Deity  ever  so 
insulted?  Was  a  religioue  ordinance  (for  such  I  call  it,) 
ever  so  profaned  ?  Was  tlie  necessity  of  a  change  in  the 
law  of  elections  ever  more  manifest  ?  Or  the  necessity  of  a 
change  in  the  character  of  those  who  profess  to  be  conserva- 
tors of  e\  ery  thmgsacred  ?  Isit  to  be  believed, that  ministers 
of  religion  could  witness  this  profanity,  this  moral  degreda- 
tion,  in  the  electors  of  Preston,  and  never  since  seem  as  if 
they  had  been  affected  by  it,  by  raising  a  determined  voice 
to  the  legislatm'e  for  its  suppression  ? 


22 

The  House  of  Commons  have  been  directing  their  atten- 
tion to  the  absurdity  of  some  of  the  oaths  which  thev  them- 
selves take,  and  this,  I  hope,  may  be  viewed  as  a  prelude  to 
a  complete  reformation,  as  to  tin  necessary  oaths,  in  every 
department  of  the  state. 


THE  STATE  OF  THE   POOR. 

I  would  suggest  to  Mr.  Baines,  the  able  editor  of  the 
intended  "History  of  the  County  Palatine  of  Lancasler," 
to  include  in  his  "plan,"  a  description  of  the  reaklevce^y 
condiiiou,  employment,  and  manner  of  Uvittg  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  people, — the  poor  ;  and  especially  the  poor  wea- 
vers. As  he  intends  to  visit  every  parish,  to  form  correct 
materials  for  his  work,  let  him  not  overlook  those  numberless 
streets  in  every  large  flhrn  in  Lancashire,  where  the  sicken- 
ing sight  of  poverty  ajfirmisery  has  long  been  manifest.  lu 
works  of  this  sort,  we  have  generally,  descriptions  of  all  the 
public  buildings,  public  offices,  corporate  arrangements,  and 
every  thing  connected  with  wealth  and  splendour,  whilst  that 
which  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  be  known~///p 
conditioTi  of  the  working  class, — is  overlooked  as  a  matter  not 
worth  recording. 


RAIL-WAYS. 

The  establishing  of  these  improved  modes  of  conveyance, 
ought  to  be  encouraged,  not  merely  for  the  advantages  to  the 
mercantile  world,  but  for  the  moral  changes  which  they  are 
likely  to  produce.  Unfortxmately,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
those  connected  with  coaching  and  carrying,  are  persons  of 
dissipated  habits.  What  a  number  of  persons  there  are  em- 
ployed as  coachmen,  porters,  horsekeepers,  &c.  who  are  ad- 
dicted to  swearing,  drinking  and  other  excesses,  and  who 
never  seem  to  come  within  the  influence  of  moral  or  religious 
teaching.  Besides,  the  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  poor  ani- 
mals are  such  as  to  make  every  feeling  man  wish  for  a. 
change. 


INCREASE  OF  CRIME. 

At  our  Quarter  sessions, held  October,  1830,  the  Calendar 
was  very  heavy  ;  no  fewer  than  47  cases  of  felony  were  tried, 
24  of  which  referred  to  persons  under  21  years  of  age  : — divi- 
ded as  follows,  5  of  20  years  of  age, — 6  of  19, — 1  of  18, — 1  of 


23 

17,-1  of  16,-1  ofl5,— 1  of  14,— 1  of  13,— 3  of  12,— 2  of  11, 
and  1  of  10. 

In  the  report,  delivered  by  the  Rev.  J.  Clay,  Chaplain, 
the  number  of  commitments  and  re-commitments  for  the 
last  ten  years,  is  as  follows:  1  821,  150,-1822,  124,-1823, 
131,-1824, 168,-1825,  186,-1826,  230,-1827,  322,-1828 
167,-1829,  243,-1830,  273. 

He  endeavours  to  show  that  this  scale,  by  no  means 
favoured  the  idea  that  in  years  of  distress  there  was  the  most 
crime, — and  that  few  ever  pleaded  necessity  as  the  cause 
of  their  crime;  but  generally  attributed  it  to  drunkenness. 

"  Is  it  not  evident""  says  he,  "  that  among  those  of  the 
labouring  population,  where  the  absence  of  sound  information, 
lias  rendered  them  indifferent  to  the  necessity  and  duty  of  pro- 
viding for  the  future,  the  temptations  arising  from  a  state  of 
prosperity,  are  greater  than  those  by  which  distress  and  pover- 
ty are  accompanied  ?  It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  such  is 
thetjase  :  it  is  only  too  true  that  the  people  are  destroyed  for 
lack  of  knowledge ;  and  their  state  of  ignorance  permits 
the  careless  and  immoral,  to  put  an  enemy  into  their  mouths 
to  steal  away  their  brains." 

But  where  is  the  remedy  proposed  by  the  Chaplain  of  tlie 
Preston  House  of  Correction  ?  He  has  given  us  a  skilful 
arithmetical  demonstration  of  the  increase  of  crime  ;  he  has 
told  us  that  the  people  are  destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge  ; 
that  the  prisoners  generally  attribute  their  crimes  to  drunken- 
ness ;  but  he  has  said  nothing  about  the  means  for  removing 
all  this  evil.  The  Magistrates  must  have  been  equally  indif- 
ferent, or,  instead  of  receiving  a  dry  report  merely,  they  would 
liave  said  to  Mr.  Clay,  to  wliom  they  give  £'200  a  year  for 
"  doing  duty"  at  the  prison, — "  This  is  a  most  painful  picture 
of  the  state  of  society,  and  especially  the  juvenile  class.  You, 
the  ministers  of  religion,  are  the  guardians  of  virtue;  tell  us, 
we  beseech  you,  how  this  state  of  things  must  be  remedied. 
Instead  of  being  obliged  to  convict  and  transport  to  so  great 
an  extent,  are  there  no  m,eans  by  which  crime  can  be  pre- 
vented, honesty  diffused,  and  the  happiness  of  the  poor  pro- 
moted ?  Turn  your  attention  to  these  points,  and  if  you  are 
not  able,  with  such  patronage  and  influence  in  your  hands, 
to  arrest  the  progress  of  crime,  and  produce  a  general  res- 
pect for  the  precepts  of  our  holy  religion,  give  up  your  trust  to 
abler  hands." 


INFANT  SCHOOLS. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  establishment  of  these 
interesting    seminaries  of  learning,  liealth  and  amusement, 


31 

sTioald  |>roc<»ed  with  so  mucb  tardiae.93.  We  are  often  rermiir- 
ed  of  the  improved  system?  of  education,  but  we  have  liad 
nothinof  tang-ible,  that  deserves  the  name,  compared  with 
the  infant  ayatein,  as  practised  in  places  wlxere  there  are 
teachers  of  ability.  Many  of  the  schools  now  in  existence 
are  dreaded  by  the  children,  as  if  they  were  places  of  pun- 
ishment, but  a  well  conducted  infant  school  has  such  attrac- 
tions, as  to  make  it  difficult  to  keep  children  away.  At 
present,  1  shall  not  undertake  to  detail  the  plan  of  instruction, 
to  many  it  is  unnecessary,  as  they  must  have  had  opportunities 
of  making  themselves  acquainted  with  it ; — but  merely  observe 
that  nature  has  been  the  model  on  which  it  has  been  cast, 
and  to  which  it  owes  its  evident  superiority.  Until  otiier 
schools  adopt  the  same  principle,  they  will  still  continue  to 
drag  on  without  satisfaction  either  to  teacliers  or  parents.  In 
Preston,  we  have  but  one  Infant  School,  the  average  attend- 
ance in  which  is  about  80.  There  ought,  at  least,  to  be  ten 
schools  of  this  description ;  and  nothing  presents  a  fairer 
prospect,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  to  persons  who  may  be 
disposed  to  learn  the  system,  whether  male  or  female.  There 
are  many,  just  now,  boring  at  the  loom  for  about  eight  shillings 
p£r  week,  who  would,  with  a  few  weeks  instruction,'  at  some 
neighbouring  town,  be  able  to  conduct  an  infant  school,  and 
to  turn  it  to  a  good  account  both  to  themselves,  and  the  neigh- 
bourhood in  which  they  might  make  the  attempt.  The  infant 
plan  is  the  model,  and  well  would  it  be  for  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion, if  our  leading  men,  instead  of  contenting'  themselves  with 
fontributingto  theerectionof  a  school,  or  the  salary  of  the  teachor, 
would  labour  to  introduce  the  leading  features  of  this  system  into 
every  national  and  sunday  school  in  the  kingdom.  The  subject 
of  schools  will  be  frequently  referred  to. 


INTEMPERANCE. 

To  give  any  thing  like  a  full  view  of  the  evils  of  intemper- 
ance, would  require  an  essay,  rather  than  a  single  page.  For 
this  montli,  therefor,  I  shall  content  myself  with  giving  a  few 
incidents,  all  illustrating  the  consummate  folly  of  intemper- 
ance, and  the  importance  of  a  sober  life. 

Dnim-drinking. — One  evening  three  individuals  under- 
took to  watch  the  number  of  persons  who  entered  three  well- 
frequented  dram  shops,  in  Manchester,  in  as  many  diffei'ent 
parts  of  the  town,  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  from  ten  min- 
utes past  nine  to  twenty  minutes  to  ten. .  The  following  is  the 
result  of  their  observations  : — Into  the  first  there  entered  59 
males,  and  47  femalesj  into  the  second  109  males,  and  122  fe- 


25 

males;  into  the  third,  88  males  and  82  females — total  number, 
507. — Manchester  Mercuri/. 

Sale  Drinking. — At  a  Farmer's  sale,  near  Bolton,  in  one 
afternoon,  the  attendants  drank  fourteen  gallons  of  gin,  and  two 
barrels  of  ale  ;  the  most  extravagant  bidding  was  the  conse- 
quence ;  and  the  whole  was  a  disgraceful  sight  to  all  connected 
•with  it. — One  great  reason  assigned  for  the  farmers  taking  their 
farms  at  a  higher  rent  than  they  can  afford  to  pay,  is,  the  influ- 
ence of  liquor,  so  plentifully  served  out  on  the  occasions  of  lettirig. 
The  Consumption  of  Spirits. — "  It  appears,  from  the  Parlia- 
mentary and  other  returns,  that  in  the  year«1820,  the  quantity  of 
ardent  spirits  which  paid  duty  in  the  united  kingdom,  amounted 
to  Twelve  Millions  of  gallons,  and  in  1829,  to  Twenty-five  Mil- 
lions. The  continued  increase  will  be  more  strikingly  shewn  by 
giving  the  returns  of  the  quantities  of  home  manufactured  spirits, 
•which  paid  duty  for  home  consumption  in  England,  Ireland,  and 
Scotland,  in  the  years  1827  and  1828.  For  the  year  ending 
January  5th,  1828— 20,382,425  imperial  gallons.  For  the  year 
ending  January  5th,  1829—24,093,555  imperial  gallons.  Now 
look  to  the  calendar  of  crime,  to  the  annals  of  pauperism,  and 
to  the  returns  of  misery  during  the  same  period,  and  you  will 
arrive  at  the  result,  that  these  evils  have  gradually  increased 
from  1820  to  l829  ;  and  that  the  same  in  the  latter  period  wa« 
nearly  double  that  in  the  former." 

Crime  and  Dntnkenmss . — '♦  A  person  who  had  long  held  a  high 
place  in  the  police,  and  who  is  now  keeper  of  a  house  of  correction,  lately 
expressed  to  me  his  cooTiction,  that  eight  out  of  ten  of  ail  the  men  in  jail 
throughout  the  United  Kingdom  owe  their  degradation  to  intemperance. 
The  proportion   in    Scotland  is  stated  to  be  nine  out  of  ten." 

"  Mr.  Poynder,  for  three  years  Under  Sheriff  of  London  and  Middlesex, 
made  the  following  declaration  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons : — "  I  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of  hearing  criminals  refer  all  their 
misery  to  drinking,  so  that  I  now  almost  cease  to  ask  them  the  cause  of 
their  ruin.  This  evil  lies  at  the  root  of  all  other  evils  in  this  city  and 
elsewhere.  Nearly  all  the  convicts  for  murder,  with  whom  I  have  convers- 
ed, have  admitted  themselves  to  have  been  under  the  influence  of  spirits 
at  the  time  of  the  act." 

"  Dr  Willan,  in  his  report  on  the  diseases  of  London,  states  his  convic- 
tion, that  considerably  more  than  one-eighth  of  all  the  deaths  which  take 
place  in  persons  above  twenty  years  old,  happen  prematurely  through  ex- 
cess in  diinking  spirits." 

"  A  gentleman  of  very  amiable  disposition,  and  justly  popular,  contract- 
ed habits  of  intemperance ;  his  friends  argued,  implored,  remonstrated  ;  at 
last  he  put  an  end  to  all  importunity  in  this  manner.  To  a  friend,  who 
was  addressing  him  in  the  following  strain  :— "  Dear  Sir  George,  your  fami- 
ly are  in  tl.e  utmost  distress  on  account  of  this  unfortunate  habit  ;  they 
perceive  that  business  is  neglected;  your  moral  influence  is  gone  ;  your 
health  is  ruined  ;  and,  depend  upon  it,  the  coats  of  your  stomach  will  soon 
give  way,  and  then  a  change  will  come  too  late."     The  poor  victim^  deeply 

D 


26 

conviaced  of  the  hopelessness  of  his  case,  replied  thus:—"  My  good  friend, 
your  remarks  are  just,  they  are  indeed  too  true  ;  but  I  can  no  longer  resist 
temptation  :  if  a  bottle  of  brandy  stood  at  one  hand,  and  the  pit  of  hell 
yawned  on  the  other;  and  if  I  were  convinced  thai  I  would  be  pushed  in 
as  surely  as  I  took  one  more  glass,  I  could  not  refrain.  You  are  very  kind  : 
I  ought  to  be  grateful  for  so  many  kind,  good  friends,  but  you  may  spare 
yourselves  the  trouble  of  trying  to  reform  me, —  the  thing  is  impossible." 

"  The  example  of  the  Quakers  is  well  worthy  of  imitatioa.  They  have 
set  themselves  decidedly  against  the  customary  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  the 
results  are  before  the  world.  •'  In  a  quarter  of  a  century"  says  a  physician 
in  extensive  practice,  "I  have  had  but  a  single  patient  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  whose  disease  was  referable  to  intemperance;  and  at  present,  when 
the  number  of  Friends  is  very  considerable,  there  is  in  this  whole  city  but 
one  addicted  to  intoxication."  From  the  London  bills  of  mortality  it  ap- 
pears, that  one  out  of  every  forty  lives  to  the  age  of  eighty; — among  the 
Quakers,  however,  one  out  of  every  ten  reaches  eighty  :  while  one-half  of 
all  the  children  born  in  London  die  before  attaining  their  third  year, 
one-half  of  those  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends  live  to  the  age  of 
forty  seven  yeax6,"—Edgar''s  introductory  Essay  to  Beecher's  six  sermons  on 
intemperance. 

The  Neiv  Beer  BUI. — However  they  may  applaud  this  mea- 
sure in  London,  and  however  it  may  favour  the  course  of  living^ 
which  labouring  men  are  obliged  to  adopt  there,  in  the  country, 
in  Lancashire  in  particular,  1  shall  be  supported  when  I  say,  it 
is  con.sidered  as  a  great  curse.  This  is  the  declared  sentiment, 
from  the  magistrate  on  the  bench,  to  the  wife  of  the  humblest  wea- 
ver. Cheap  ale  is  a  temptation  which  few  labouring  men  can  re- 
sist, and,  when  taken  at  the  public-house,  where  company  and 
every  thing  is  enticing,  seldom  leads  to  any  thing  less  than  intoxi- 
cation. The  «' retail"  act  was  made  to  induce  people  to  drink  it 
at  home,  but  this  was  evaded,  and  never  answered  the  desired 
end.  The  fact  is,  that,  till  the  people  are  morally  educated,  as 
recommended  in  other  parts  of  this  number,  they  should  not  be 
enticed  by  temptations  which  they  cannot  resist.  If  the  taxes  on 
candles  and  soap,  and  such  like  useful  articles,  had  been  taken  off, 
instead  of  the  beer  tax,  the  whole  country  would  have  felt  the 
benefit,  and  been  grateful  for  the  boon.  What  a  pity  that  one 
good  measure — the  destruction  of  the  licence  monopoly — should  be 
saddled  with  such  a  serious  draw-back.  In  the  event  of  this 
measure  being  revised,  the  magistrates  will  be  able  to  tell  a 
plain  tale. 

He  has  killed  himself  lokk  drinking. — Killed  himself !  Yes  i 
And,  awful  as  it  is  to  contemplate  the  fact,  the  remark  is  constantly 
made  with  as  much  coolness  as  if  it  referred  to  the  state  of  the 
■weather. 

**  Ah  !  Drunkenness!  thou  base  tyrannic  crime. 
Which  spoils,  O  Britain  !  thy  prolific  cHme  ; 
Thou  bane  of  all  that's  good,  thou  subtle  (oe^, 
Thou  universal,  curse  to  high  and  low  !'• 


2y 


REFORM  AT    ELECTIONS. 

Parliamentary  Reform  seems  to  be  the  all  engrossing 
topic  in  political  circles  ;  and  of  the  necessity  of  such  a  change 
there  can  but  be  one  opinion.  And,  as  it  is  a  question,  in  which 
is  involved  the  investigation  of  the  causes  which  lead  to  that  aw- 
ful degradation  of  the  people,  exhibited  at  every  election,  it  will 
fairly  claim  the  consideration  of  "  The  Moral  Reformer."  On 
these  occasions,  drunkenness,  violence,  rioting,  bribery,  perjury, 
maliciousness,  and  a  wanton  waste  of  time  and  money,  are  what  we 
are  doomed  to  witness.  That  the  clergy,  the  magistracy,  and  the 
better  informed  of  the  people,  should.have  borne  so  long  with  such 
a  diabolical  system  of  electioneering,  is  truly  surprising.  We  have 
had  two  elections  in  this  borough  during  the  present  year, 
and  though  thoy  have  been  peaceably  conducted,  compared 
with  those  of  former  years,  yet  such  a  laxity  of  princiciple, 
so  much  agitation  and  tumult,  such  basenes  of  conduct,  and 
such  open  defiance  of  every  moral  restraint  have  been  exhibited, 
that  every  good  man  must  heartily  wish  they  might  never  occur 
again.  Party  feeling  destroys  all  sense  of  honour,  and  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  contest  leads  men  to  break  through  every  restraint ; 
volies  of  oaths  re-echo  through  the  crowd  -;  black  eyes  are  dis- 
played both  by  men  and  women,  as  marks  of  honour  ;  perjury  is 
considered  venal  by  the  <:ause  which  it  promotes  ;  malice  and 
revenge  towards  the  opposing  party  are  inculcated  as  obligatory  ; 
and  bribery,  in  the  shape  of  meat,  money,  or  drink,  is  practised 
as  a  meritorious  duty.  Indeed,  every  obligation,  civil  and  sacred, 
seems  obliterated  from  the  minds  of  those  who  are  carried  away 
with  the  spirit  of  electioneering. 

Now,  when  we  consider  that  this  is  nothing  less  than  the  per- 
forming of  an  act,  by  which  our  lives,  and  property,  and  liberty, 
may  be  considerably  affected  ;  that  it  is,  to  choose  members  of 
tliat  legislature,  which  is  to  make  those  laws,  on  whi<'h,  in  a  great 
measure,  depend  the  happiness  or  misery  of  millions  of  the  humaii 
family  ;  it  strikes  me,  as  being  one  of  the  most  important  duties 
of  life,  and  ought  to  be  performed  with  judgement,  deliberation, 
seriousness,  sobriety  and  sincerity,  and  with  no  other  view  than 
the  public  good. 

Custom  has  sanctioned  a  vicious  course  of  proceeding,  and 
both  rich  and  poor  lend  themselves  to  its  perpetuation.  Un- 
less, therefore,  we  have  reformed  elections,  may  we 
never  see  the  elective  franchise  oft'ered  to  Manchester,  or  any 
other  large  town.  With  the  Liverpool  Election  before  them, 
surely  our  rulers  will,  before  they  extend  the  franchise,  probe 
this  evil  to  the  bottom,  and  establish  those  regulations  which  may 
lead  to  what  has  never  yet  had  an  existance,  but  in  words — purity 
of  eleciion. 

I  leave  to   politicians  the  discussion  of  the  extent  of  the  fran- 
chise, and  the  length  of  parliameots,  but,  as  it  respects  the 


28 

mode  of  electing   members,   I  would   offer  a  few  suggestions. 
Elections  must  be  reformed.     Hell   itself  could  scarcely  have  de- 
rised  a  more  corrupt,  demoralizing,   system  than   that   whir^h   is 
acted  upon  at   present.     Part  of  the  evil  arises  from  the  ex-.^rcise 
o{  undue  injiuence.     Instead  of  every   voter  exercising   his  own 
privilege,    without  interfering  with  others,  either  by   bribes  or 
threats,  we  find  every  man  disposed   to  prostrate   the  minds   of 
others   at   his  own  caprice,  or   for  his   own  interest.     Another 
cause  of  the  evil  is,  the  length  to  which  elections  are  extended  ; 
and  to  both  these  1  may  add,  an  utter  rogardiessness  of  the  proper 
object,  and  a  wish   for   the  display  of  valour  and  bravery  in  the 
defence  of  a  party. 

The  franchise  being  fixed,  I  would  recommend,  as  a  simple, 
but,  I  flatter  myself,  an  effectual  remedy  ; — first,  that  a  register 
should  be  kept,  and  revised  annually,  of  all  persons  eligible  to 
vote  ;  next,  that  the  election  should  commence  and  finish  on  the 
same  day  ;  and  that  no  swearing  should  be  requisite.  In  case  of 
a  contest,  instead  of  the  present  absurd  plan  of  polling  ;  in  the  first 
instance,  a  place  should  be  procured,  sufliciently  large  to  hold  all 
the  electors  who  would  be  likely  to  attend  ;  in  the  next  place, 
none  should  be  admitted  but  those  who  were  regularly  registered 
as  eligible  to  give  a  vote  ;  and  then,  after  the  formalities  ef  nomi- 
nation, &c.  the  sense  of  the  electors  should  be  taken  by  a  division 
to  right  and  left ;  and  those  candidates,  for  whom  thore  was  the 
greatest  number,  should  be  declared  duly  elected.  Questions  of 
ten  times  more  importance  are  decided  in  this  way  by  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  that  which  is  practable  there,  can  be  made  so 
in  any  part  of  the  kingdom.  This  I  consider  a  specific  cure  for, 
at  least,  most  of  the  evils  which  we  lament  at  elections.  If  wo 
must  have  polling,  I  would  say,  the  ballot,  in  the  present  circum- 
stances of  society,  is  indispensible  ;  but  1  think  the  plan  here 
suggested  is  more  expeditious,  quite  as  correct  in  its  results,  and 
neither  requires  secresy,  nor  admits  of  much  ostentation.  With 
any  degree  of  integrity  in  the  people,  this  plan  is  the  least  liable 
to  objections. 


VARIETIES. 

A  seasonable  hint.-— It  is  just  the  time  when  tradesmen  will 
be  busy  delivering  their  new-year's  bills.  When  we  consider 
how  dilficult  it  is  for  many  of  them  to  meet  their  engagements, 
owing  to  the  want  of  promptness  in  their  customers  paying  their 
bills, — when  we  consider  that  Ihe  low  price  of  labour,  and  the 
distress  of  the  working  class  is  owing  in  part  to  the  want  of  capi- 
tal in  circulation, — and  when  we  consider  that  to  keep  back  a 
payment  after  it  is  due  ;  to  promise  and  not  perform  the  promise  ; 
is  a  violation  of  those  principles  of  justice  and  truth,  which  are 
the  great  moral  supports  of  society, — it  would  be  well,  if  every 


2& 

individual  would  try  to  set  an  example  of  cheerful  and  prompt 
payment^  instead  of  harra^sing  theii*  creditors  by  frivolous  and 
false  excuses.  Money  circulates  with  such  rapidity  from  hand  to 
band,  that  almost  every  individual  would  feel  the  benefit ;  and  it 
would  certainly  be  an  important  moral  change,  of  the  necessity 
of  which  every  one  is  convinced. 

Another. — We  are  just  now  arrived  at  the  season  of  festivi- 
ties. Are  there  not  many  things  in  connection  with  our  chiisttnas 
feasts  that  want  reforming  ?  t  will  only  mention  one.  It  is  the 
constant  custom  to  invite  those  who  are  able  to  invite  us  again. 
What  does  He  say,  whose  coming  into  the  world  we  profess  to 
commemorate  on  these  occasions  .''  "  When  thou  makesta  dinner 
or  a  supper,  call  not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  bretheren,  nor  thy  rich 
neighbours,  lest  they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  recom pence  be 
made.  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  call  the  poor,  the  maimed, 
the  lame,  the  blind  ;  and  thou  shalt  be  blessed,  for  they  cannot 
recompense  thee  ;  and  thou  shall  be  recompensed  at  the  resur- 
rection of  the  just."  How  is  it  that  we  have  so  long  neglected 
this  plain  injunction  ?  Well  may  we  say  "  we  have  left  undone 
those  things  which  we  ought  to  have  done,  and  done  those  things 
■which  we  ought  not  to  have  done.*'  If  we  seeonr  folly,  and  in- 
tend to  reverse  our  practice,  let  no  man  wait  for  the  example  of 
his  neighbour;  but  every  one  s  t  the  example  himself. 

Christmas  Gifts. — I  was  glad  to  see,  in  some  of  the  papers, 
the  shopkeepers  advised  to  discontinue  the  practice  of  giving 
ale  and  spirits  to  their  customers,  as  a  christmas  gift,  and  to  sub- 
stitute something  less  objectionable.  It  is  a  shame  to  connect 
drinking  with  the  celebration  of  the  birth  of  the  Saviour.  Ser- 
vants, and  labourers  of  different  sorts,  go  round,  begging  for  what 
they  call  a  cbristmas  box,  and  it  would  be  well  if  their  employers, 
instead  of  giving  them  money  to  drink,  would  present  them 
with  something  that  would  be  permanently  useful.  But  whilo 
the  rich  revel  and  carouse,  how  can  we  blame  \\w  poor  ? 
.  Singing  and  Ringing  on  a  Christmas-day  Morning. — Wh;it- 
ever  may  have  been  its  origin,  the  practice  of  ringing  the 
bells,  and  going  up  and  down  the  streets  singing  soon  after 
midnight  on  this  occasion,  is  one  which  might  very  prudently 
be  laid  aside.  Are  men  so  enthusiastically  pious,  as  to  leave 
their  homes,  to  perform  nocturnal  worship  in  the  streets  ?  I  would 
just  as  soon  believe  the  story  of  bees  leaving  their  hives,  and 
oxen  going  down  on  their  knees  when  the  cli>ck  strikes  twelve. 
The  excesses  sometimes  connected  with  both  singing  and  ringing 
at  this  season,  are  too  well  known. 

Markets. — In  catholic  times,  holidays  were  not  merely  noticed 
in  the  calendar  in  the  beginning  of  the  prayer  book,  but  were  kept 
with  all  due  strictness.  From  this,  doubtless,  arose  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  markets  at  christmas.  This,  however,  is  fast  wearing 
away,  and,  as  no  person  seems  now  to  have  any  scruple  on  his 
mind,  as  to  buying  and  selling  at  this  season,  it  would  be  well  if 
«omp  general  declaration   could  be  entered  intc,  stating  that  wo 


30 

interruption  would  hereafter  take  place.  Beth  farmers  and 
tradesmen  experience  many  disappo.aiaients  for  want  of  an  un- 
derstanding of  this  sort. 

The  Poor  and  the  Poor  Laws. — These  form  a  constant  sub- 
ject of  discussion  among  the  "  Economists,"  and  are  likely  to  at- 
tract much  interest  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament.  This  subject 
involves  in  it  matters  of  the  first  importance  to  the  cotnmuuity, 
and  is,  therefore,  interesting  to  all  classes.  This  question  has 
too  often  taken  a  wrong  turn.  That  great  distress  exists  in  the 
country  is  now  universally  admitted  ;  that  it  is  not  a  temporary 
suffering,  but  the  regular  effect  of  the  settled  order  of  things 
among  us  is  quite  clear  ;  and  that  men  are  not  to  starve  in  the 
midst  of  plenty,  is  a  feeling  which  no  reasoning  can  overthrow. 
Now,  before  we  legislate  as  to  a  provision  for  the  poor,  might  it  not 
be  prudent  first  to  ascertain,  tu/?y  it  is  that  so  many  able-bodied 
young  men,  with  small  families,  are  in  a  state  of  poverty  ?  In- 
stead of  providing  for  them  by  poor  laws,  would  it  not  be  better 
to  attempt  to  alter  their  condition,  so  as  to  make  parish  provision 
unnecessary.  The  aged,  the  infirm,  the  fatherless  and  the  widow, 
we  shall  always  have  among  us,  and  many  of  these  will  constantly 
have  to  be  relieved ;  but,  for  the  other  class,  it  is  my  opinion, 
such  changes  are  capable  of  being  made,  with  honour  to  the  na- 
tion, as  would  enable — except  in  emergencies — every  sober,  in- 
dustrious man,  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  his  family,  without  the 
disgrace  of  becoming  a  pauper.  The  possession  of  property,  and 
the  distribution  of  wealth,  are  secured  and  regulated  by  our  laws ; 
and  whilst,  of  late,  we  have  witnessed,  by  a  single  enactment,  con- 
siderable revolutions  in  property,  is  it  not,  beyond  doubt,  in  the 
power  of  our  rulers  to  say  with  effect — let  every  man  enjoy  the 
fruit  of  his  labour;  let  every  man's  hands  be  sufficient  for  his 
family  ?  The  labourer  ;«»*/  be  supported  ;  and,  had  he  not  better 
receive  it  as  the  reward  of  imiustry,  than  as  a  mark  of  degradation 
at  the  hands  of  the  overseer  ? 

Liverpool  Election. — This  scene  of  bribery  and  corruption, 
jt  is  said,  has  cost  the  two  candidates  £90,000 ;  of  which  Mr. 
Denison  and  his  friends  will  have  to  pay  £50,000.  What  im- 
mense good  might  have  been  done  with  this  amount,  spent  on 
briber}'  and  drunkenness  !  NVe  have,  I  believe,  about  4,500 
persons  in  Preston,  who  are  not  able  to  maintain  themselves,  and 
who  have,  less  or  more,  to  depend  upon  others.  Now  the  interest 
of  this  sum,  at  5  per  cent,  would  buy,  at  the  average  of  a 
pound  each,  a  new  suit  of  clothes  for  the  whole  of  this  number, 
man,  woman,  and  child,  every  year  while  the  world  stands  ! 

"  Church  JReJbrm.— Being  a  friend  to  reform  in  general,  and 
fixing  my  attention  on  an  advertisement  of  a  Letter  to  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  London,  entitled  "  Church  Reform,  by  the  Rev.  James 
Slade,  M.  i\.  Vicar  of  Bolton,  and  Prebendary  of  Chester,"  I 
thought  I  should  like  to  see  what  he  had  to  recommend  on  this 
subject.  Though  I  cannot  say  I  was  without  prepossessions 
in  reference  to  the  work,  yet,  when  I  found  afourpenny  pamphlet 


31 

charged  a  shilling,  I  could  not  resist  the  feeling  of  dissatisfaction 
at  an  extortion,  like  numbers  of  others,  masked  under  the  garb 
of  religion,  and  under  the  imposing  name  of  "  Reform."  Cow- 
per's  verse  struck  my  mind. 

"Quoth  one,  'A  rarer  man  than  you. 
In  pulpit  none  shall  hear  ; 

But  yet,  methinks,  to  tell  you  true. 
You  sell  it  plaguy  dear." 
As  to  the  performance,  it  is  of  such  a  milk-aud-water  cast,  that  it 
gives  a  person  no  chance  either  of  decidedly  approving,  or  yet  of 
refuting  it.  It  is  a  complete  letter  of  generalities.  Scarcely  one 
speclfii:  change  is  recommended,  and  if  it  be,  it  is  with  so  much 
deference,  to  "  My  lord  "  the  Bishop,  and  so  much  fear  of  any- 
material  change,  that,  however  much  he  may  have  satisfied  his 
own  mind,  nobody  will  be  much  disturbed  with  what  he  has  writ- 
t^xi.  I  should  like  to  see  a  manly,  clear,  defined  system  of 
Church  Reform  recommended  by  the  friends  of  the  church  ;  be- 
cause I  have  no  doubt  the  agitation  of  the  subject  would  lead  to 
results  at  present  unknown  ; — but  really  such  letters  as  this,  are" 
absolutely  worse  than  nothing. 


■ — — — '—— « 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

It  will  be  admitted  by  all,  rich  as  well  as  poor,  that  comfort  and 
happiness  are  inseparably  connected  with  the  preservation  of  a  sound  miud 
in  a  sound  body.  Disease  has  been,  and  will  most  certainly  continue  to  be 
the  lot  of  humanity;  and  it  would  consequently  be  highl>  preposterous  to 
suppose  for  a  moment,  that  we  can  entirely  escape  those  ills  which  flesh  is 
heir  to.  But  I  am  well  convinced,  from  a  pretty  extensive  sphere  of  obser- 
vation, which  I  have  enjoyed  for  many  years,  that  most  of  the  maladies  ta 
which  man  is  subject,  are  the  result  of  depraved  and  slothful  habits  and  I 
am,  therefore,  desirous,  throagh  the  medium  of  your  periodical,  to  addres* 
a  few  hints  to  the  poor,  as  to  the  best  means  of  preserving-  their  health.  I 
do  nut  design  to  advance  any  idle  speculations,  but  to  direct  them  to  suck 
means  as  are  attainable  and  practical.  1  would  con6ne  my  observations  to 
the  poor,  because  I  conceive  that  their  circumstances  have  been  almost  en- 
tirely  neglected,  whilst  the  rich  have,  in  all  ages,  had  their  counsellors-  and 
if  they  have  not  profited  by  their  advice,  by  rational  and  temperate  habits 
securiuq;  to  thems' Ives  and  their  posterity  the  enjoyment  of  health  with 
themselves  must  restllie  blame;  so  that  while  we  lament  the  effects  we  must 
ccnsuie  the  crime.  But  the  poor  man,  who  snfl'ers  from  the  coasequeuces 
of  his  injurious  habits,  claims  our  deepest  commiseration,  pvo  monitor  haa 
pointed  out  to  him  their  evil  tendency — no  band  has  been  extended  to  snatch 
him  from  the  calanities  into  ul.itb,  often  unwittingly,  he  plunges  himself— 
-no  warning  voice  has  wispered  in  his  ear  that  he  is  pursuing  a  couise  whick 


S2 

will  enfeeble  both  his  mind  and  bi)dy  long  ere  they  arrive  at  maturity,  and 
ifhich  will  consign  him  to  an  early,  premature  grave.  It  is  true  that  laws 
have  been  enacted  to  supply  him  with  the  means  of  subsistence,  when  his 
own  efforts  fail,  and  it  is  true  that  benevolent  men  have  founded  institutions 
to  furnish  him  with  assistance  when  suffering  from  disease,  but  the  former 
have  debased  him  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  obliged  unwillingly  to  con- 
tribute to  his  support,  and,  what  is  still  more  deplorable,  have  degraded  hinj 
in  his  own  estimation,  so  that  instead  of  relying  ou  his  own  resourses,  he  be- 
comes compelled  to  subject  himself  to  an  ignominious  dependancy  j  and  the 
latter,  although  highly  commendable,  and  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  every 
poor  man,  yet,  being  designed  only  to  administer  relief  when  disease  has  ac- 
tually made  its  appearance,  and  when  assistante  is  often  extended  in  vain» 
do  not,  in  my  opinion,  effect  so  much  as  the  poor  man  himself  is  able  to  ac- 
complish by  prudently  avoiding  those  vicious  habits  which  engender  dis- 
easej  for,  it  is  perfectly  obvious,  that  it  is  better  to  avoid  au  evil,  than  to 
suffer  it  under  the  expectation  of  receiving  relief. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  happiness  and  wealth  should  so  often  be 
associated  in  the  minds  of  men;  and  labour  and  misery.  Poverty  is,  with- 
out doubt,  frequently  a  source  of  much  misery,  but  to  obtain  the  means  of 
subsistence  by  honest  industry,  tends  to  promote  both  cheerfulntss  of  mind 
and  health  of  body,  whilst  wealth,  when  accompanied  by  indolence  or  dissi- 
pation, uniformly  enfeebles  the  mind  and  depresses  the  vigour  of  the  body. 
To  be  indigent  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  crime,  because  poverty,  not  hu- 
frequently,  is  attributable  to  circumstances  over  which  we  have  no  control, 
and  against  which  no  exertion  or  foresight  can  guard  us.  But,  for  any  one 
to  allow  himself  to  sink  into  indigence,  without  struggling  to  deliver  him- 
self therefrom,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  is  certainly  both  irrational  and 
criminal.  When  we  consider  how  little  is  really  essential  for  the  subsistence^ 
and  even  the  welfare  of  man,  we  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  many  who 
are  now  suffering  from  the  deficiency  of  a  regular  supply  of  those  requisite* 
might,  by  economy  and  pruden(;e,  enjoy  comparative  comfort  and  he  .Itb. 
No  wealth,  however  great,  can  purchase  any  thing  that  a  rational  being  can 
rationally  desire,  except  food,  dwelling,  and  raiment,  for  the  support  and 
comfort  of  the  body,  and  knowledge  for  the  mind  ;  and  there  are,  perhaps^ 
but  few  who  cannot  procure  them,  both  for  themselves  and  families,  if  they 
conducted  their  affairs  with  judgement  and  discretion.  Perhaps  one  half  of 
the  extreme  indigence,  and  certainly  one  half  of  the  disease,  we  at  present 
witness,  is  occasioned  by  indolence  and  dissipation  I  am  desirous  of  point- 
ing out.  to  the  poor  their  evil  tendency,  and  the  benefit  that  wouldaccrue  to 
them  fiom  accustoming  themselves  to  habits  of  industry  and  temperance,, 
both  ill  improving  their  comfort  and  health.  With  your  permission  I  shall 
at!eui))t  to  do  so  in  a  sei-ies  ofhints,  through  the  medium  of  your  periodical, 
and  which  I  will  subject  to  your  approval.  With  my  best  wishes  for  thfr 
success  of  your  projected  work, 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  respectfully, 

A  BURGEON. 
JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTKR,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    RRFORMER. 

No.  2.  FEBRUARY  1,  1831.  Vol.1. 


A  STATE.MEN'T  OF  THE  IMPOVERISHED  CONDITION  OF  THB 
DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  THIS  COUNTRY;  THE  IMMEDIATB 
CAUSES  OF  THEIR  SUFFERINGS;  AND  THE  PROPER  METHODS  OF 
AFFORDING  RELIEF. 


The  earth  on  which  we  live  is  abundantly  fruitful ;  natur* 
yields  to  us  her  exhaustless  supplies  at  the  command  of  Provi- 
dence ;  t^e  productive  powers  of  the  labour  and  ingenuity  of  men 
are  immense  ;  and  the  accumulation  of  wealth  in  this  country, 
is  visible  on  every  hand  ;  yet,  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  amongst  a 
numerous  class  of  our  countrymen,  the  pressure  of  poverty  has 
long  been  severely  felt ;  and  at  present  there  seems  to  be  no 
theme  on  which  more  is  said, — ^no  subject  which  excites  more 
attention.  The  poor,  it  is  tnie,  we  shall  always  have  with  us, 
and,  whilst  seasons  vary,  whilst  human  laws  are  imperfect,  whilst 
there  remains  a  vast  difference  in  the  mental  and  physical  en- 
dowments of  man,  and  whilst  a  Sovereign  Hand  directs  the  affairs 
of  the  world,  we  may  expect  an  unequal  distribution  of  the  bounties 
of  Providence.  But,  in  my  opinion,  that  extent  of  poverty  and 
misery  which  we  now  behold,  ought  never  to  have  existed  ;  and " 
even  that  degree  of  it  which  is  unavoidable,  ought  to  be  relieved, 
in  a  manner  different  to  what  it  is  at  present.  However  we  may 
deplore  the  length  and  severity  of  the  peoples'  sufferings,  in 
devising  a  remedy,  we  must  take  the  condition  of  the  people  as 
we  now  find  it.  And  as  there  seems  to  be  a  general  willingness, 
either  from  necessity  or  philanthropy,  to  better  their  condition,  I 
bog  leave  to  contribute  my  mite  to  this  important  end. 

In  all  ages,  and  under  every  dispensation,  it  has  been  a  pro- 
minent part  of  true  religion,  to  defend  the  oppressed,  and  to  re- 
liave  the  poor.     Passing  through  a  world  of  trouble,  and  fixed  ia 

E 


34 

a  state  of  probation,  preparatory  to  our  final  retribution,  it  is  not 
intended  that  men  should  be  all  alike  in  their  circumstances ;   but, 
•where  any  are  suffering  for  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  huma- 
nity and  religion  teach   us  to  do  all  that  we  can  to  aflfbrd  them 
relief.     Christianity  not  only  teaches  this  duty,  but  enforces  it 
by  the  strongest  motives,  exemplifies  it  by  the  exalted  examples 
ofits  first  converts,  and  often  refers  to  it  as  a  decisive  mark  of 
genuine  religion.     The   same  principles  are  equally  applicable  to 
a» general  effort  to  ameliorate  the   condition  of  the  people,  and, 
•where  they  have  taken  root  in  the  heart,  will  be  found  equally 
operative,    on  a    large   scale  as  a  small  one.     If,  instead   of 
depending  upon  the   forms  of  human   laws,    and  the  principle 
of  compulsion,  generated  by   a  spirit  of  coveteousness,   ise  had 
carefully,  affectionately,  and  perseveringly  watched  and  protected 
the    interests    of  the   poor,    as   christians   ought    to     do,   we 
should  not  now^be  in   a   state   of  alarm,  at  the   total   want   of 
•union  and   sympathy  betwixt  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  master 
and  the  servant.      We   have  really  been  so  selfish,   so  deter- 
mined upon  getting  money,  that,— though   a    stranger  might   be 
deceived  with  so  many  out-side  works  connected  with  charities, — 
liberality  from  principle,  a  delight  in  doing  good  to  others,  and  a 
disinterested  willingness  to  labour  for  the  happiness  of  the  people^ 
seem  to  be  the  rarest  productions  of  the  age. 
,    Something,  however,  either  from  feeling  or  necessity,  is  likely 
to  be  done  ;  and,  as  it  appears  that  we  are  upon  the  eve.  of  some 
important  change,  in  the  laws  which  affect  the  condition  of  the 
noor,  both  English   and  Irish,  1  beg  to  offer  a  few  suggestions 
npon  the  subject.     These  will  include,,  the  distresses  of  the  coun- 
try, its  causes  and  remedies^ 

Though  the  existence  of  distress  has  been  called  in  question, 
t|ie  poverty  of  a  great  number  of  our  countrymen  has  not  been 
denied.  Indeed,  poverty  has  become  so  naturalized  among  us^ 
that  nothing  short  of  what  we  call  distress^  will  induce  men  to 
to  use  any  exertions  to  afford  relie£  With  a  poor  tax  of  seveo- 
iftillions  a  year,  besides  innumerable  ebaritable  institutions,  we 
must  either  have  extensive  poverty ,^  07  extensive  abuses  in  the 
management  of  the  poors'  affairs.  Now,  while  I  maintain  that 
as  a  nation  we  are  wealthy,  and  that  our  extravagances,  and  our 
excessive  intemperance  would  lead  any  observer  to  this  conclu- 
sion, I  lament  to  say,  that  if  we  examine  the  recesses  of  society, 
•we  shall  find  numbers,  old  and  young,,  educated  and  not  educated. 


ill  such  a  state  of  i&isery  and  degradafion,  as  could  never  have 
existed,  if  the  principles  of  real  Christianity  had  ever  found  t&lr 
way,  among  the  influential  part  of  the  community, '     . 

I  divide  the  poor  into  three  classes,  and  I  conceive  this  divisicfa 
will  be  found  useful,  both  in  ascertaining  the  causes  of  poverty, 
and  the  means  of  relief.  First,  those  who  are  poor,  in  consequence 
of  their  own  vicious  and  immoral  conduct ; — secondly,  those  who 
are  poor  from  the  operation  of  unequal  laws,  leading  to  the  iMi~ 
application  of  the  wealth  of  the  nation  •;— hud  \hird\y,  the  ncHi&dlh/ 
poor,  or  those  whom  nature  has  intended  as  objects  for  the  exer- 
cise of  our  feelings  of  pity  and  benevolence.  . 

The  first  class  of  poor  is  exceedingV  nttmei*efiis ;  niatjydf 
them  are  worthless  characters;  but  one  gToimd  upon  vi'hich 
they  are  entitled  to  our  regard  is,  that  they  have  not  been  more 
frequently  and  faithfull}-  admonished,  by  those  who  are  appointed 
to  watch  for  their  welfare.  The  poverty  of  these  persons  can  Be 
traced  to  their  idleness,  drunkenness,  exti*avagance,  and  unso- 
cial  conduct ;  and  there  is  no  saying  as  to  the  extent  of  povertj^, 
in  other  persons,  produced  by  such  baneful  examples.  So  tip- 
palling,  and  so  common,  are  the  exhibitions  of  poverty,  whilst  the 
causes  are  concealed,  that,  without  careful  discrimination,  we 
should  be  led  to  think,  that  the  state  of  the  country  is  actually 
worse  than  it  is.  Many  of  these  persons  have  double  theVage^ 
of  others  who  live  in  respectabilitv,  yet  their  extravagant  living^ 
their  being  addicted  to  pledging,  shopping,  litigation,  and  fre- 
quenting the  public-house,  consume  all  their  riieans,  and  leaVe 
them  the  most  wretched  beings  :  fearing  neither  God  nor  man, 
they  live  like  brutes,  and  in  case  of  difficulty,  violate  every  re- 
straint. Besides  labouring  men,  1  iuclucle  nnder  this  head,  number^ 
of  well  educated  individuals,  who,  for  dishonesty,  idleness,  dis- 
sipation, or  some  sort  of  bad  conduct,  have  lost  their  situations* 
and  are,  in  fact,  in  a  worse  condition  thait  any  other  class.  And 
it  is  a  most  lamentable  truth,  that,  whilst  there  are  hundreds 
always  at  hand,  who,  as  to  education,  are  fit  to  enter  any  person^s 
service,  so  few  can  be  met  with,  whose  sobriety,  honesty,  and 
integrity  are  sufficient  to  recommend  them  to  the  confidence  of 
their  employers.  '^"' 

The  second  class  comprises  the  weavers,  labotirers,  and  trer- 
sons  with  no  proper  trade,  who;  able  bodied,  just  in  their  prime 
with  a  wife  and  a  small  family  of  children,  are  eithef  without 
employment,  or  are  working  for  wa^s  so  low,  as  to  render  it 


86 

impossible  to  procure,  honestly,  for  their  families,  the  necessaries 
of  life.      This  ought  to  be  the  very  harvest   time   of  domestic 
enjoyment*     A  man  in  this  situation  is  the  most  pitiable  object 
in  creation.      His   residence   partakes  more  of  a  prison  than  a 
home ;  often  a  dark  and  noisome  cellar.     He  has  nothing  to  call 
furniture ;    his   bed,   because  concealed,   is  often   in  the  most 
wretched  condition,  and  fit  for  no  human  being, — to  say  nothing 
of  one  who  is  fatigued  with  excessive  labour— to  lie  upon.     Five 
or  six   sometimes  lie  upon  the  same  berl,  and,  though  they  add 
their   personal  clothing,  are   unable  to  defend  themselves  from 
the  cold.     They  get  little  refreshment,  and  rise  to  perform  their 
arduous  labour  with   bodies  and  spirits  alike  depressed.     It  has 
fallen  to  my  lot  to  visit  many  of  the  worst  cases  in  Preston,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  feelings   I   experienced,   or  to 
convey  the  reflections  which  arose  in  my  mind,  on  viewing  their 
condition.    I  would  give  any  thing,  if  1  could  carry  these  cases,  as 
they  are,  into  the  presence  of  kings,  and  nobles,  and  the  great  men 
of  the  land,  who  loll  at  their  ease,  who  are  surrounded  with  splen- 
dour,  and  who   are   indulged   with  all  the  luxuries  of  sense,     i 
have  often  beheld,  with  distressed  emotions,  the  scanty  board  of 
these  poor  famihes,  and   been  sorry  to  think  that  the  men,  by 
whose  sweat  and  toil  our  country  is  enriched,  should  want  a  suf- 
ficiency,  either   in  quantity  or  quality,  of  that  which  is  the  first 
article  of  life.     The  wife,  disperited,  unhealthy,  mortified  by  tb» 
recollection  of  better  days,    and  sometimes  flattered  by  delur 
sive  hopes  of  better  days  to  come,  bears  with  patience  and  resig- 
nation her  lot,  in  a  manner  truly  admirable ;  whilst  the  children, 
in   general,  especially  when  young,  exhibit  a  quiet,  orderly,  sub- 
missive deportment,   far  exceeding  those  of  wealthy  parents.     la 
times  of  difficulty,  these  families    are  tempted,  in  hopes  of  being 
able  to  pay,  to  contract  debts,  which  are  often  a  sourse  of  annoy^ 
Ance   and  distress.      Hard  as  it  may  seem,  they  are  also  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  the  poor  rates,  and  I  have  known  persons 
who  have  been  forced  to  part  with  the  last  penny,  to  pay  both 
this  and  the  church  tax.    With  few  exceptions,  they  are  paupers  ; 
forced  by  their  circumstances,  they  apply  to  their   parishes,  and 
are  obliged   to  submit   to  a  most  degrading  dependency.     They 
have  nothing,   and  they  can  get  nothing  by  their  own  efforts,  to 
make  them   comfortable.     Their  clothing,  their   attendance   in 
sickness,  the  education  of  their   children,   are   all   of  charity. 
To  visit  them   when  either  the  man  or  bis  wife. is  confined  with 


'  rickness,  affords  a  most  melancholy  picture  of  their  entire  wrrtclj- 
edne?s.  They  have,  at  best,  no  external  means  of  happiness, 
and  were  it  not  for  a  support  super-hnman,  they  would  soon  sink 
beneath  a  load,  which,  to  a  mere  observer,  appears  intolerable. 
Visiting-  them  sometimes  after  dinner  on  a  Sunday,  I  have  noticed 
"with  a  sig^h,  the  fragments  of  their  scanty  fare,  yet  have  been 
plea  ed  to  find,  that  thoug-h  the  parents  were  prisoners  themselves, 
they  were  anxious  to  send  as  many  of  their  children  as  were 
decent  to  some  sunday-school.  They  have  no  change  of  clothing' 
for  themselves;  ashamed  to  go  out  of  doors,  they  are  deprived 
tither  of  relaxation,  or  the  opportunities  of  religious  instruction, 
and  are  obliged  to  submit  to  a  cheerless  confinement ;  siinday 
and  work-day,  in  this  respect,  are  the  same  to  them. 

Who,  it  may  be  asked,  are  the  persons,  of  whom  I  have  given 
this  description  ?  Are  they  aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of 
England  ?  Are  they  of  the  negro  tribes,  of  whose  slavery  we 
have  heard  so  much  ?  Or,  are  they  so  weak  in  intellect  as  to 
have  no  consciousness  of  their  wrongs  ?  What  have  they  done  ? 
Are  they  the  idle,  the  profligate,  the  pests  of  society,  who  live 
upon  the  labour  of  others  ?  Have  they  any  claim  upon  British 
soil,  or  have  they  contributed  any  thing  to  the  wealth  of  the 
country  ?  Have  they  the  feelings  of  men,  or  do  they  deserve  the 
regards  of  the  humane,  or  the  sympathies  of  christians  ?  In  a 
word,  I  reply,  they  are  the  best  men  among  us  ; — best  for  labour, 
for  subordination,  for  piety  ; — and  yet  (heaven  forgive  this  na- 
tion  !  )  they  have  been  treated  like  slaves. 

The  third  class  consists  of  all  those,  who,  according  to  nature, 
will  always  be  objects  of  relief ;  they  are  afflicted  with  mental  or 
t)odily  infirmities,  or  are  overtaken  by  misfortune,  and  are  not 
able  to  provide  for  themselves.  Under  this  head,  I  include,  the 
fatherless,  the  widow,  the  sick,  the  aged,  the  insane,  and  the 
really  unfortunate.  Though  these  persons  have  always  been 
dependent  upon  the  bounty  of  others  for  their  support,  3-et,  from 
special  causes,  they  are  not  only  with  us  unusually  numerous,  but 
more  entirely  dependent.  The  prevalency  of  vice,  has  not  only 
brought  numbers  to  a  premature  age,  but  it  also  prevents  the 
discharge  of  those  natural  duties  to  relatives,  which  both  rqason 
and  scripture  constantly  enjoin.  There  are  many,  in  consequence 
-of  dissipation,  who  are 

"  Old  ere  of  age,  worn  out  when  scarce  mature." 
And  there  arc  many  aged  fathers  and  mothers,  and  infirm  persons. 


«8 

whom  their  relatives  cast  upon  the  world,  with  the  utmost  un- 
concern. Besides,  the  employment  of  some  of  our  artisans  is 
such,  as  to  impair  their  constitutions,  and  to  render  them  infirm 
and  disabled,  when,  as  to  years,  they  have  scarcely  .passed  the 
prime  of  life.  Many  spinners  are  deformed  by  early  and  intense 
labour,  and  few  of  them  are  retained  by  their  employers  after 
the  age  of  forty-five.  Poverty,  ciime,  sickness,  infirmity,  awl 
mortality,  are  all  here  specially  connected. 

Here,  then,  we  have  three  classes  of  poor  persons,  most  of 
■whom  are,  less  or  more,  dependent  upon  others.  The  business 
cf  our  legislature,  and  of  every  philantliropist,  therefore,  is,  to 
find  out  the  most  appropriate  means,  consistent  with  the  .general 
welfare  of  the  community,  for  raising  these  people  from  a  state 
of  dependency,  and,  where  nature  does  not  admit  of  it,  for  afford- 
ing them  effectual  relief.  Before  I  venture  to  offer  any  sugges- 
tions of  my  own,  I  would  briefly  mention  what  has  been  done , 
and  also  what  some  writers  have  recommended  yet  to  be  done. 

What  has  been  done  may  be  included  under  the  heads  of 
charities  and  the  poor  laws.  Instead  of  exulting  in  either  of 
these,  and  pointing,  as  some  do,  to  our  various  institutions, 
for  mitigating  human  suffering,  as  proofs  of  the  progress  of 
Christianity,  I  never  think  of  them  without  deep  regret.  They 
prove  two  things  ;  first,  that  the  condition  of  the  poor  is  an  un- 
natural one  ;  that,  instead  of  having  to  be  dependent  almost  for 
every  thing  but  life  itself,  they  ought,  by  honest  industry,  to  be 
able  to  enjoy,  independent  of  charity,  all  the  necessaries 
and  comforts  of  their  state  : — and  second,  that  their  superiors, 
for  the  last  twenty  years,  instead  of  fearlessly  investigating  the 
toMses  of  the  accumulated  misery  of  the  people,  have  either  aban- 
doned them  to  their  fate,  or  have  contented  themselves  with 
merely  rendering  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  tolerable,  by  the 
operations  of  numerous  charities.  I  am  perfectly  convinced  of 
the  evils  of  this  course,  and  that,  instead  of  removing  here  and 
there  an  excrescence,  we  ought  to  have  discovered  the  real  cause  of 
the  malady,  and  to  have  restored  the  whole  constitution  to  health 
and  vigour.  The  operation  of  the  present  poor  laws,  is  equally 
unsatisfactory.  A.  great  part  of  the  money  collected,  is  not 
spent  upon  the  poor  ;  fraud,  imposition,  disputes  and  contentions, 
constantly  attend  the  operation  of  the  poor  laws  ;  and  instead  of 
fostering  kindness,  sympathy,  and  good  will,  amongst  all  clas- 
ses, they  have  operated,  continually,  towards  producing  that  ei^- 


39 

Tatty  which   reigns  in  the  minds  of  the  poor  towards  the  higher 
classes.     If  I   had  no  other  proof,  I  should  say,  that  the  iraposi- 
tibns,  falsehoods,  and  degradation  of  one  party,  and  the  apparent 
cruelty,  tyranny,  and  domination  of  the  other,  are  sufficient  to  con- 
demn the  present  system  of  poor  laws.     The  minister  of  the  par- 
ish  is,  ex  officio,  the  chairman  of  meetings  connected  with  the 
affairs  of  the  poor,  and  instead  of  his  active  labours,  assisted  by 
a  number  of  feeling  and   worthy   persons,   in   proper  divisions, 
the  whole  is  attempted  to  be  managed  on  an  unwieldy   scale,   and 
is   principally  committed   to  a   number  of  persons  who  have  no 
motive  for  taking  care   of  the  poor,   but  the  salary  attached  to 
their  office.       As  in  the  case  of  religion,  the  effects  are  just  what 
we   shall  always  find,  when  we  hire  persons  to  do  that  which  co- 
thing  but  rea/y^f//»o-  is  capable  of  performing.     It  is  not  in  the 
nature  of  the  poor  laws,  as  at  present  administered,  either  to  satisfy" 
the   giver  or   the   receiver,   much  less  to  restore  the  labouring 
poor  to  an  independent  competency. 

The  remedies,  recommended  as  yet  to  be  tried,  are  various, 
and  sometimes  complicated  ;  to  some  of  them,  properly  systemized, 
I  can  see  no  objection  ;  but  there  is  one  measure,  often  brought 
forward,  though  at  present  upon  the  wane,  against  which  I 
would  enter  my  decided  protest;  it  is  that  of Jbrcibli/  reducing 
the  population.  This  is  r^ommended  to  be  done,  by  an  extensive 
system  of  emigration,  and  by  restrictions  on  the  marriages  of 
the  poor.  However  I  may,  in  other  respects,  esteem  the  opinions 
of  those  who  advocate  these  measures,  I  declare  plainly,  that  I 
regard  these  projects  as  delusive,  impracticable,  and  dishonour^, 
able  to  the  feelings  of  a  christian.  As  to  emigration,  ought  we. 
Task,  tacitly  to  approve  of  such  a  system  of  national  mismanage- 
ment, as  to  render  it  imperative  upon  the  poor  man  to  transport 
himself,  because  of  his  poverty  ?  If  he  has  not  a  comfortable 
home,  let  us  try  to  make  him  one,  but  let  him  not  be  banished 
from  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  labour  is  the  price  of  his  citi- 
zenship, aad  he  is  the  last  man  to  whom  it  should  be  said,  "you 
had  better  begone,  we  can  do  better  without  you."  The  greater 
the  population,  when  the  people  are  well  governed,  industrious, 
aud  have  national  facilities  for  producing  such  articles  as  can  be 
exchanged  with  other  countries  on  advantageous  terms,  and  the 
greater  the  security  of  the  country  that  contains  them.  If  we 
compare  this  nation  to  a  farm  of  given  extent,  capable  of  main- 
taining only  a  certain  number  of  cattle,  where  every  additional 


beast  above  that  number  would  impoverish  the  rest,  aad  wheitr* 
if  the  number  should  be  doubled,  the  whole  would  linger,  or  die 
from  hunger,  the  emigrating  theory  would  be  correct ;  but  if  we 
view  our  country,  as  connected  with  all  other  countries  ;  and  the 
sea,  as  nature's  passage  by  which  all  kinds  of  commodities  are  ex- 
changed, calculations  founded  merely  on  numbers  and  geograplrical 
extent,  must  be  falacious.  Those  who  are  determined  to  be  far- 
mers, may  probably  emigrate  to  advantage,  because  the  sphere 
of  their  operations,  the  facilities  of  production,  and  their  kind  of  la- 
bour, may  possess  advantages  in  a  foreign  soil,  uuburthened  with 
rents,  tythes  and  taxes  ;  but  our  artisans  and  mamifacturers,  have 
their  advantages  here ;  and,  freed  from  improper  restrictions, 
they  can  change  their  labour  for  the  agricultural  produce  of  other 
countries  to  a  good  account.  Every  locality  has  its  advantages; 
Birmingham,  for  iron  work ;  Staffordshire,  for  earthenware ; 
Yorkshire,  for  woollen  cloth,  and  Lancashire  for  cottons ;  and 
each  person  finds  his  interest  in  producing  his  manufacture,  in 
the  place  where  nature,  and  other  arrangements,  give  him  an 
advantage  :  and  he  is  content  to  exchange,  on  equitable  terms, 
his  article  for  the  staple  articles  of  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
And  if  England,  then,  is  capable  of  being  made  the  best  work- 
shop for  Englishmen,  why  drive  them  abroad  ?  why  not  try  to 
clear  the  reciprocal  intercourse  of  nations,  and  give  to  the  supe- 
rior labour  of  our  people  those  advantages  at  home,  to  which 
they  are  entitled  ?  Instead  of  driving  genius,  labour,  anh  capi- 
tal f'-om  the  country,  remove  the  corn  laws,  and  unshackle  trade, 
and  the  doctrine  of  emigration  will  sink  beneath  its  own  ab- 
surdity. 

Some  of  the  economists,  perhaps  frightened  at  the  expense  and 
inconvenience  of  plucking  up  the  people,  and  planting  them  in  a 
foreign  soil,  have  advised-  a  shorter  method  of  preventing  a  sur- 
plus population.  They  have,  as  far  as  they  could,  for  shame, 
advised  restrictions  to  be  laid  upon  the  marriages  of  the  poor. 
They  philosophize,  very  gravely,  upon  the  quantity  of  food  and 
raiment  in  the  land,  as  being  only  calculated  to  serve  a  certain 
niunber,  and  that  every  increase  among  the  poor  is  an  encroach- 
ment upon  the  comforts  of  the  rest;  as  if,  in  the  first  place,  the 
present  stock  of  the  country  is  but  barely  sufficient  for  its  in- 
habitants ; — and,  secondly,  as  if,  by  judicious  changes  in  our 
laws,  it  is  not  capable  of  being  abundantly  increased,  and,  by  a 
proper  distribution^    rendered   capable  of  aflfording  more  than  a 


4t 

Competency  for  every  industrious  family  in  the  kingdom.  Malt-o 
hus  is  the  great  doctor  of  this  school ;  and,  I  must  say,  I  never 
read  a  work  with  less  satisfaction,  than  the  one  which  he  has 
published  on  population.  The  Scotsman  lately  had  an  arti- 
cle upon  this  subject,  in  which  he  very  coolly  recommends 
that  the  poor  should  not  marry  till  they  are  twenty-eight. 
The  following",  also,  is  the  laW  of  another  writer  on  this 
point : — 

*'  Let  mail-iage  be  prdliibitecl  among  pevBonswlid  c^tinot  shew  that  they 
•poS«es8  some  usefal  and  competent  means  of  trade  or  profession  to  bear  tho 
fxpenses  attending  nece<)aarily  un  matrimony.  Mo  person  has  a  right  to 
bring  a  child  into  the  world,  and  throw  its  maintenance  on  others.  When 
people  marry,  they  enter  into  a  contract  with  the  public,  to  provide  for  and 
educate  their  ofFspiing.  Marriage  is  not  a  contract  between  man  and  wo- 
man for  their  mutual  pleasure  ;  there  is  a  third  and  far  more  important 
parly  to  the  contract,  viz. -^the  public.  A  breach  of  this  Ought  to  subject 
both  parlies  to  indictment  and  punishment.*' 

Thus,  instead  of  insisting  upon  the  poor  being  properly 
instructed  in  the  duties  of  the  marriage  state — if  they  are  ig- 
norant ;  instead  of  taking  part  with  the  poor,  and  showing 
how  they  are  deprived  of  bread  for  their  families,  by  the 
operation  of  bad  laws,  and  by  the  extravagances  of  those  who 
have  the  power  to  oppress,  this  writer  would  indict  and  punisk 
in  the  poor,  what  he  would  approve  and  tolerate  in  the  rich. 
It  is  said,  the  poor  have  no  right  to  bring  a  burthen  upon  the 
public,  by  bringing  children  into  the  world  which  they  cannot 
maintain  ;  nor  has  the  public  a  right,  by  iniquitous  measures^ 
and  unequal  laws,  to  deprive  the  industrious  man  of  the  means 
of  supporting  a  wife  and  family.  These  reasoners  seem  tp 
take  it  for  granted,  that  in  adjusting  the  interests  of  the  coun- 
try, the  labourer  has  all  he  ought  to  expect ;  and,  therefore, 
reproach  and  condemn  him,  because,  in  conformity  to  all 
that  is  honourable  among  men,  and  acceptable  to  God^  though 
the  greatest  producer  of  wealth,  he  presumes  to  marry  and 
have  children.  If  a  curse  is  to  rest  upon  the  poor  man,  who, 
amid  his  cares  and  toils,  takes  a  lovely  companion  to  cheer 
the  rugged  path  of  life,  whom  God  favours  with  a  numerous 
offspring,  for  whose  support  he  labours  with  hard  industry,— 
what  shall  we  say  of  thousands,  who  corrupt  society  by  their 
licentiousness,  produce  nothing  to  tlie  general  stock,  but, 
individually,  destroy    as  much  as  would   support  fifty  pool 

P 


42 

families  ?  Instead  of  ascertaining  the  real  cause  tvhy  the 
labour  of  tlie  poor  man  is  not  rewarded,  why  his  unremitting 
efforts  are  not  siifficient  for  hia  family,  we  are  constantly  met 
by  the  cheerless,  cold-hearted  systems  of  Malthus,  and  Wil- 
mot  Horton.  The  first  teaches  that  man  (tliat  is,  the  poor 
man)  must  cease  to  "  multiply,"  and  the  second,  that  if  he 
do  not,  the  only  remedy  is,  to  remove  him  and  his  progeny 
beyond  the  seas.  Thank  God !  we  have  better  counsellors, 
and,  under  the  auspices  of  those  who  are  better  disposed, 
without  either  of  these  unnatural  expedients,  I  hope  a 
brighter  day  will  yet  dawn  upon  England's  industry, — an 
•industry  without  a  parallel  in  the  whole  world. 

Having  dwelt  longer  than  I  intended  on  the  anti-marrying 
scheme,  I  would  only  just  remark,  in  considering  the  mea- 
sures proposed  for  affording  relief,  that  though  a  revision,  and 
a  remission  of  Government  taxes,  ought  to  be  insisted  upon, 
it  is  possible  to  expect  too  much  from  this  quarter.  Other 
measures,  in  connection  with  this,  will  be  found  indispeusible. 
We  want  a  repeal  of  the  government  taxes,  the  land-owners' 
tax,  the  bishops'  tax,  the  monopolists'  tax,  the  extortioners' 
tax,  and  all  the  taxes  which  the  people  lay  upon  themselves 
by  their  vicious  indulgences.  It  is  not  the  government  only 
that  can  effect  this  change  ;  it  will  also  require  the  consent 
and  co-operation  of  persons  of  authority  and  influence.  Nor 
will  it  be  effected  merely  by  the  enactment  of  wise  and  saluta- 
ry laws;  just  principles,  cordial  feelings,  and  benevolent 
actions  will  be  requisite  among  all  parties.  It  is  high  time 
that  selfishness  should  cease  to  be  the  sole  spring  of  our  ac- 
tions, and  that,  by  philai>thropy  and  good  will,  we  should  try 
to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  people,  and  restore  to  unity  and  hap- 
piness, in  the  place  of  strife  and  misery,  the  contending  par- 
ties of  the  country. 

I  proceed  now,  in  reference  to  the  three  classes  of  the  poor, 
to  offer  what  I  consider  to  be  the  best  and  most  effectual 
remedies.  These  proceed  from  a  rational  view  of  society, 
and  would  require  considerable  sacrifices  in  some  instances 
for  the  general  good ;  and,  as  they  pre-suppose  a  considerable- 
influence  of  Christianity  upon  the  minds  of  men,  I  may  expect 
that  what  I  shall  advance  will  be  pronounced  by  some,  vain 
and  cliimi^ri  al.     If,  for  fear  of  probing  the  evil  to  the  bot~ 


43 

torn,  men  are  disposed  to  drag:  on,  as  at  present,  in  the  midst 
of  civil  commotions,  and  at  the  risk  of  person  and  property, 
let  tliem  do  so ;  but  I  prefer  pointino;  out  a  better  course, 
and,  in  carrying  forward  the  work,  none  will  be  more  ready 
to  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel.  -'^^  ^*^ 

As  to  the  first  class,  their  poverty,  proceeding-  from  their 
own  vices,  can  only  be  removed,  by  removing  the  cause.  .  A 
greater  diffusion  of  wealth,  in  all  probability,  would  increase 
the  evil  with  them,  and  would  hurry  them  on  to  final  ruin. 
What  a  pitiable  object  is  a  man,  who,  with  decent  parts,  in  a 
good  business,  and  prosperity  within  his  grasp,  is  debased  and 
ruined  by  intemperance,  his  famih*  abandoned  to  the  world, 
and  cast  as  a  burthen  upon  society  !  Now,  what  can  be  done 
for  such  ?  We  ought,  at  least,  to  endeavour  to  reclaim  them, 
by  removing,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  every  temptation  ;  by 
introducing  them  to  the  company  and  association  of  exempla- 
ry characters  ;  and,  especially,  by  faithfully  and  affectionately 
warning  them  of  their  folly.  Our  success,  througli  the  bles- 
sing of  God,  in  reclaiming  one,  who  is,  or  may  be  the  father 
or  master  of  many  others,  may  involve  in  it  the  well  being 
and  happiness  of  numbers.  I  would  not  omit  here  to  remark 
that,  as  the  poverty  and  misery  of  many  families  is  owing  to 
female  vices,  and  to  juvenile  crime,  our  christian  women  would 
also  do  well  to  seek  out  such  characters,  and  endeavour  to 
reform  them.  After  all,  many  will  have  so  reduced  them- 
selves in  their  circumstances,  impaired  their  constitutions,  and 
forfeited  the  confidence  of  others,  that,  even  with  a  change  of 
conduct,  they  will  not  be  able  to  raise  themselves  from  a  state 
of  poverty.  Such,  like  the  prodigal  son,  ought  to  be  received 
with  affection,  and  classed  with  those  infirm  and  unfortunate 
persons  who  are  properly  objects  of  our  charity.  yic-a 

In  reference  to  that  numerous  class  who  are  suffering'  from 
incompetency  of  wages  or  want  of  employment,  I  beg  to  be 
rather  particular.  They  have  suffered  long  and  patiently  J 
and,  while  other  interests  have  been  protected,  theirs  has 
been  sacrificed.  Pressed  down  beneath  a  load  of  taxation, 
their  labour  depreciated  by  the  operation  of  machinery,  their 
bread  kept  dear  to  support  the  land  owners,  and  burthened 
with  the  impositions  of  various  monopolies,  whilie  number^ 
have   beea  amassing  wealth,  they  have  been  reduced  te  the 


4i 

last  extremity  of  suffering.  God  has  made  of  "  one  blood" 
all  the  families  of  man,  and  it  cannot  be  His  will  that,  in  a 
nation  abounding'  with  wealth,  the  laws  of  society  should  be 
so  perverted,  as  to  deprive  the  sober  and  industrious  labourer 
of  the  means  of  a  comfortable  sutwistence.  It  is  by  the  laws 
of  a  country  that  property  is  secured,  and,  by  the  same  laws, 
varying  with  circumstances,  the  wealth  of  the  country  is  va- 
riously distributed.  Mr.  Peel  was  correct  in  referring  to 
the  railways,  the  increased  value  of  property,  &c.;  as  proofs  of 
increasing  wealth.  If  we  want  other  proofs,  I  would  say, 
look  at  the  public  roads,  railways  and  canals,  and  the  vehicles 
which  are  used  upon  them, — tlie  amazing  increase  of  costly 
buildings,  the  magnificent  mansions,  the  princely  palaces  of 
the  rich;  the  spacious  factories,  and  public  works,  which 
every  year  are  raising  their  towering  heads, — the  vast  increase 
of  expensive  machinery  in  every  department  of  manufacture — 
the  immense  stock  of  manufactured  goods  stored  up  in  every 
part  of  the  kingdom,  and  consigned  to  various  parts  of  the 
world, — the  value  of  the  shipping  belonging  to  England,'-' 
and  which  is  constantly  requiring  an  increase  of  harbour, — • 
the  improved  stock  of  cattle,  which  now  cover  an  extensive 
and  highly  cultivated  soil, — the  riches  of  our  mbies,  whidi 
maybe  deemed  exhaustleas,-^the  costly  clothing  and  furni- 
ture of  all  the  middling  and  upper  ranks  of  society, — the  im- 
mense valufe  of  the  precious  metals  in  the  article  of  plate, 
<fec. — our  antique,  scientific,  and  literary  stores, — foreign 
loans,  foreign  possessions,  and  foreign  produce,  belonging  to 
persons  in  this  country ,-^added  to  an  extented  circulating" 
medium  of  gold  and  silver  to  a  very  great  amount.  With 
these  tangible  proofs  before  our  eyes,  to  say  that  there  is  any 
scarcity,  (I  had  almost  said,  limits)  of  wealth  in  this  country 
is  little  less  than  madness.  The  consumption  of  all  kinds  of 
luxuries,  tJie  vast  sums  spent  in  superfluities,  the  annual  sale 
of  twenty-four  millions  of  gallons  of  spirits,  are  demonstra- 
;tive  proofs  of  the  same  fac-ti  Of  the  utter  destitution  of  tlic 
poor  I  have  remarked  already.  Why  these  wide  extremes  ;  ' 
Ahat,  while  numbers  have  been  getting  immensely  rich,  the '^ 
working  people  have  been  reduced  to  the  lowesfstate  of  pover"-"* 
^  ?  The  laws  hy  which  wealth  has  been  distributed  are  de-~ 
jfective,   and  have   constantly  operated  in  favour  of  a  Viw,  i^ 


45 

ihe  ruin  of  the  many  ;  and  the  rdiyious  obligalwns  qfjuHiice 
and  kumanitif  have  been  lost,  amidst  the  pride  and  avarice  of 
the  age.  And,  instead  of  the  rich  bein^  called  upon  to  contri- 
bute a  little  to  the  poor,  throiigli  the  hands  of  the  overseer,  as 
is  the  case  at  present,  we  ought  to  seek  a  just  and  leg-al  pro- 
tection for  their  labour,  sud  to  set  an  example  of  a  generous, 
and  warm  hearted  anxiety  to  raise  them  in  tlie  scale  of  socie- 
ty. The  Government,  tlie  Magistracy,  the  ricli,  and  all  clas- 
ses ought  to  join  in  the  work ;  wliich,  to  be  done  well,  must 
«])ring  frova  Jeelingy  and  not  hoxa. policy. 

Whoever  be  in  power,  I  would  urge,  as  the  greatest  mea- 
sure of  relief  that  can  possibly  be  afforded  to  the  labourers  of 
this  country,  a  revision,  if  not  a  total -abolition  oj" the  corn 
lan-8  ;    for  .this  the  country  ought  to  be  united,  and  never  to 
suffer  their  minds  to  be  diverted  from  it  by  any  other  mea- 
sure.     Competition  is  so  strong  in  most  branches  of  manu- 
facture, and  labour  so  plentiful,  that  a  fall  in  wages  has  been 
inevitable,  and  therefore  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  bread,  the 
article  which  regulates  all  other  sorts  of  provisions,  is  rendered 
indispensible.    It  is  not  of  much  consequence  how  manv,  or  how 
few  shillings  a  man  receives  for  his  week's  labour  ;  what  he 
wants  is,   that  the  price  of  his  food  a-nd  labour  may   coiTes- 
pond.     There  is  no   labour  monopoly  ;  it  has  not  been  pro- 
tected from  incessant  encroachments  ;    and  tlierefore  to  allow 
a  monopoly  of  the  staff  of  life,  is  decidedly  to  oppress  the 
poor.     It  is  true,  the  laud  has  peculiar  burthens  to  bear  ;  but 
«ajm9t  these  burdens  be  either  partially  or  wholly  removed  ? 
There  is  the  land  tax,  the  malt  and  hop  tax,  the  church  tax, 
the  poor  tax,  &c.     But  if  it  were  unencumbered  with  these 
charges,  it  might  surely  be  fairly  left  to  foreign  competitioa- 
A  free  trade  in  corn,  by  bettering  the  condition  of  the  people, 
would  produce  a  great  revival  of  trade  at  home.     Those  ^ho 
scarcely  ever  spend  a  shilling,  would  become  custqmera  for 
every   domestic  article  they  want.     I  belie\  e  all  parties  are 
convinced  that  this  change  would  give  general  relief;  but  the 
landed  gentlemen  (though,  it  is  clear,   in   several   respects, 
they  would  themselves  share  in.  the   benefit,)  are  inporver, 
and  though  many  of  them  have  chaplains  and  confessors, 
they  have  not  yet  learned,  to  "  iQve  their  neighbours  as  well  as 
thfimae^^s.;'.,  .  ,..«f. ..  . 


46 

I  would  next  recommend,  a  general  revision  of  tTie  iaxe^^ 
and  a  iotal  repeal,  to  a  considerable  amount.  Taxes  should 
always  press  easily  upon  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  upon  those 
home  manufactured  articles,  in  which  the  principal  expence 
is  labour.  The  taxes  upon  candles,  soap,  tea,  prints,  &c.  are 
severely  felt;  and  such  a  tax  as  tliat  upon  bricks  is  very  in- 
jurious, because  nearly  the  whole  value  of  the  article  is  in 
the  labour.  The  assessed  taxes  are  not  only  vexatious,  but 
operate  against  employment  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  Pro- 
pertif,  and  not  p&verit/y  in  my  opinion,  ought  to  bear  tlie  taxes  ; 
and  it  is  unreasonable,  after  suffering  labour  to  be  so  seriously 
depreciated,  still  to  continue  an  intolerable  burthen  of  taxa- 
tion upon  it.  The  changes  in  the  system  of  trade,  and  espe- 
cially the  adoption  of  machinery,  has  thrown  immense  wealth 
into  the  hands  of  some,  and  has  impoverished  others ;  and 
therefore  I  maintain,  that  properfi/,  in  whatsoever  shape  it 
exists,  and  not  labour,  should  be  taxed.  Besides,  the  govern- 
ment might  ease  the  country  of  many  local  burthens,  (perliaps 
impositions)  such  as  corporation  taxes,  church  taxes,  tythes 
and  easter  dues,  and  (if  the  able  bodied-poor  were  provided 
for)  the  poor  taxes  also.  The  monopolies  which  are  kept  up 
in  the  country,  to  enrich  a  few,  at  the  expense  of  the  many, — 
such  as  the  game  monopoly,  the  church  patronage  monopoly, 
the  corporation  monopoly,  and,  above  all,  the  East  India  mo- 
nopoly,— ought,  for  the  sake  of  the  country,  to  be  dealt  with 
as  they  deserve. 

In  devising  a  remedy  for  the  able-bodied  poor,  I  cannot 
4miit  to  mention,  that  a  great  ad  vantage  would  accrue  from  plac- 
ing a  check  upon  the  practice  of  absenteeism.  It  is  unnatural 
■for  a  man  to  derive  his  property  from  a  country  which  sup- 
ports and  protects  it,  or  from  the  labour  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
•  yet  J^pend  it  in  another  country  which  has  no  claims  upon 
him.  Well  might  Mr.  Atwood,  when  speaking  of  the  drain 
«f  money  from  this  country,  ask,  "  Did  the  100,000  English 
-travellers  on  the  continent  take  no  sovereigns  with  them  ?" 
The  evil  of  absenteeism  ought  not  to  be  tolerated.  If  a  poor  fel- 
low happen  to  leave  his  family  chargeable  upon  his  neighbours, 
,fce  is  immediately  advertised,  and  a  reward  oiFered  for  his  appre- 
.hension  ;  but  these  gentlemen  take  the  proceeds  of  their  estates, 
■which  ought  to  be  circulated  amongst  their  neighbours,  and  spend 


*7 

tlicm  in  a  foreign  country,  with  inipiinity.  Jf  cheap  living  fee 
their  object,  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws,  and  the  remission  of  taxes, 
might  tempft  them  to  stay  at  home,  for  they,  as  well  as  every  other 
<:lass,  would  feel  the  benefit.  However,  something  ought  to  he 
done  to  mitigate  the  evil. 

The  measures  I  have  hitherto  mentioned,  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  Government,  and  it  will  doubtless  be  said,  the  legislature  can 
do  nothing  for  the  people,-  while  the  House  of  Commons  is  princi- 
pally composed  of  men  who  are  interested  in  the  present  abuses. 
This,  I  know,  is  the  great  difficulty ;  but  let  the  people  be  peacea- 
ble, persevering,  and  stand  upon  the  justice  of  their  cause  ;  let  them 
not  forget  the  unseen  Hand  of  Omnipotence,  which  can  turn 
the  hearts  of  men  like  the  waters  of  the  sea  ;  and,  viewing  the 
signs  of  the  times,  I  cannot  despair  of  a  speedy  reformation. 

The  magistrates,  the  gentlemen,  the  tradesmen,  and  (if  I  may 
again  be  allowed  to  mention  the  name)  the  clergy,  ought  1© 
turn  their  attention  to  social  economy.  They  ought  to  consider 
their  connection  with  a  suffering  population,  and  remember  that 
pride,  selfishness,  and  oppression,  are  sins  which,  sooner  or  later, 
will  fall  upon  their  own  heads.  The  people  work  for  them,  and 
they  ought  to  sympathize  with,  and  protect  the  people.  Covete- 
ousness  leads  to  extortion,  and  of  this  we  have  many  instances  ia 
the  grinding  systems  connected  with  trade.  "  Moderate  labour 
and  reasonable  wages,"  ought  to  be  every  master's  motto,  as, 
*' obedience  to  masters  and  contentment  with  acompetency,"  ought 
to  be  every  servant's.  The  rage  for  machinery  has  been  carried 
too  far;  the  labour  of  the  poor  ought  never  to  be  invaded,  unless 
there  are  obvious  advantages  :  the  thrashing  machine  and  the  pow- 
er loom  are  now  considered  unprofitable  speculations,  and  happy 
for  this  country,  if  they  had  never  been  known  !  Rich  and  poor, 
masters  and  servants,  ought  to  mix  more  together,  and  cultivate 
kind  and  christian  feelings  towards  each  other.  In  the  words  of 
Lord  Fife,  I  would  say,  ^'  Much  of  the  present  difficulties  arise 
from  a  want  of  consideration  Jhr  each  other  among  the  different 
classes  of  the  community.  All  parties  should  be  united  in  a  dis- 
position to  relieve  the  poor,  and  in  the  principle  of — live  and 
.let  live." 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  no  single  measure,  n© 
isolated  effort,  no  formal  enactment,  no  mere  act  of  policy,  cas 
work  a  cure  in  favour  of  our  labourers ;  it  will  require  a  deejj 
sense  of  duty  in  all  classes,  a  pervading  spirit  ofphilantropy,  and 
a  combination  of  important  and  persevering  efforts.  All  I  fear 
is,  that  virtuous  principles  are  too  rare,  especially  in  the  hio-her 
orders,  for  accomplishing  so  necessary,  and  so  God-iike  a  change. 
The  system  of  paying  the  labourer  by  poor-taxes,  cannot  be  to© 
much  deprecated  ;  but  still,  if  the  country  will  not  endeavour  to 
pay  them  in  some  better  way,  this  must  be  continued  ;  thev  cannot 
starve  ;  and,  at  the  present  price  of  labour  and  provisions,  it  is 
impossible  to  live  by  their  own  industry. 

I  pass  onto  the  third  class  of  poor  persons.    Charity,  in  sosne 


48 

shape  or  other,  is  tlie  only  means  of  affording  them  suitable  as- 
gistance.  Our  obligations  to  relieve  the  fatherless,  the  widow,  the 
aged  and  the  infirm,  are  most  sacred,  and  can  never  be  violated, 
without  offending  Him,  who  is  the  Father  of  us  all.  Owing, 
probably,  to  so  many  claims  from  able-bodied  men,  these  cases 
are  awfully  neglected  ;  orphans,  widows,  and  aged  persons,  are 
obliged  to  labour,  and  live,  in  a  manner  the  most  afflicting  to  a 
feeling  mind.  The  present  poor  laws,  unsatisfactory  at  best,  are 
especially  so,  as  a  source  of  relief  to  those,  whose  claims  are  found- 
ed on  natural  infirmities.  They  are  objectionable  on  the  follow- 
ing grounds  : — The  relief  they  afford  is  too  uniform,  and  far  from 
sufficient  in  most  bad  cases — audacity  and  impositions  are  una- 
voidable, and  are  practised  to  a  great  extent, — the  country  is 
unnecessarily  taxed  to  support  the  complicated  and  expensive 
machinery  of  settlements  and  poor  offices,  besides  for  the  relief 
given  to  the  poor  ; — the  attention  paid  to  the  poor,  and  the  spirit 
in  which  relief  is  generally  given,  is  any  thing  but  that  of  christi- 
an kindness, — the  rich  and  the  poor  are  kept  at  a  distance,  which 
is  one  cause  of  the  want  of  cordial  feeling  betwixt  them, — in 
fact,  these  laws  are  a  mere  form,  without  feeling  ;  and,  when  any 
good  work  is  to  be  supported,  they  are  a  standing  excuse  for  tire 
sordid  and  the  selfish.  Instead  of  these  laws,  then,  I  would  recom- 
mend a  plan  in  the  spirit  of  older  times.  I  would  divide  every 
large  town  into  districts  or  parishes  ;  say  Preston,  into  ten  ;  each 
containing  about  500  families  ;  for  every  district  the  people  should 
choose  two  judicious  and  humane  persons,  who,  with  such  volun- 
tary assistance  as  they  might  obtain,  should  take  the  gratuitous 
oversight  of  the  poor.  With  a  regular  s3-stem  of  inspection,  re- 
siding near  or  among  the  people,  and  all  the  districts  acting  in 
concert,  every  worthy  case  would  be  attended  to,  and  imposition 
and  fraud  easily  detected.  I  would  know  nothing  of  seHlements: 
residence  and  real  distress,  should  entitle  a  person  to  relief.  Next, 
as  to  the  means  :  all  should  be  voluntary  contributions,  either 
once  a  year,  or  once  a  quarter  ;  not  at  the  church  or  chapel  doors, 
but  regularly  through  the  town,  and  with  periodical  state- 
ments as  to  the  state  of  the  poor  and  the  state  of  the  funds  ;  the  con- 
tributors would  have  the  privilege  of  awarding  their  bounty 
to  any  particular  district,  or  appointing  persons  for  that  purpose. 
The  overseers  of  a  district  (for  such  1  would  call  them)  should  in- 
vestigate every  case,  and  give  direct  relief,  or,  which  in  some 
cases  would  suit  quite  as  well,  allow  a  ticket  of  recommendation  to 
persons  who  make  it  a  regular  and  praise-worthy  duty  to  give 
meat,  clothing,  cordials,  and  other  assistance  to  the  poor.  As  no 
person,  without  a  ticket,  would  be  considered  worthy  of  relief,  they 
mi'^ht  be  so  contrived  as  entirely  to  remove  mendicity,  one  of  our 
greatest  nuisances.  Even  if  the  money  was  raised  as  at  present, 
this  plan,  and  the  division  of  labour  here  recommended,  in  my  opi- 
nion, would  be  attended  with  incalculable  advantages.  This  is  my 
mode  of  relieving  the  naturalltj  poor,  and  1  am  only  sorry  that  I 
have  not  now  an  opportunity  of  giving  further  details,  and  meet- 
ing probable  objections.  J.  L. 


PUBLIC  CEMETERIES. 

However  justly  we  may  complain  of  the  demoralizing  habits 
df  a  great  portion  of  our  population,  it  is  evident  that  rational 
principles  are  fast  supplanting  the  reign  of  superstition,  in  the 
management  of  many  of  our  social  institutions.  Amongst  other 
instances,  the  establishment  of  Cemeteries  in  large  towns,  deserves 
to  be  pointed  out.  Those  who  have  visited  these  modern  im- 
provements in  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  cannot  help  but  admire 
how  well  they  are  adapted  to  ensure  the  end  of  a  decent,  secure, 
retired,  and  respectful  interment  of  the  dead.  In  London,  a  com- 
pany is  formed  to  establish  one  upon  an  extended  scale ;  -and 
every  town  ought  to  follow  the  example,  according  to  the  extent 
of  its  wants.  In  those  towns  where  there  has  been  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  population,  the  scenes  exhibited  in  the  church  yards, 
for  want  of  room,  are  often  revolting  to  our  feelings.  Be- 
sides this,  there  are  strong  reasons  in  our  regard  for  health,  why 
the  dead  should  not  be  interred  in  the  heart  of  a  dense  population  ; 
whilst  there  can  be  no  good  reason  assigned  why  the  interment  of 
the  dead  should  be  confined  to  the  ground  surrounding  a  place 
of  worship.*  At  the  general  revival  of  the  dead,  the  distinction 
of  sects,  and  the  sanctity  of  places  will  be  unknown,  and  why 
may  we  not  allow  the  ashes  of  all  parties  to  amalgamate  in  some 
secluded  place,  during  their  previous  repose  ? 

Of  the  success  of  these  undertakings,  I  cannot  entertain  a 
doubt :  strong  opposition  may  be  expected  from  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  present  arrangement  of  burials  ;  but  their 
obvious  utility,  would  command  the  support  of  those  whose  prin- 
ciples and  circumstances  leave  them  at  liberty  to  think  and  act 
for  themselves.  In  Manchester,  though  the  land  was  purchased 
at  nine-pence  per  yard,  and  the  inclosure  and  the  arrangements 
completed  when  labour  was  higher  than  at  present,  the  last  time 
I  enquired,  I  was  told  that,  besides  affording  a  handsome  remun- 
eration to  the  registeiar,  the  concern  yielded  a  profit  of  12  per 
cent.  Undertakings  of  this  sort  are  not  so  hazardous  as  most 
other  speculations  ;  for,  the  unoccupied  ground  being  made  to  pay 
for  itself,  the  expence  of  the  inclosure  seems  to  be  the  extent  of 
the  risk.  A  botanical  garden,  upon  a  small  scale,  might  also  be 
included  in  the  plan.  Inside  of  the  wall,  all  around,  might  be 
planted  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  of  a  great  variety,  and  which, 
whilst  they  would  facilitate  the  studies  of  the  botanist,  would  have 
a  most  interesting  appearance  to  the  every-day  observer  :  these 

*  "Agreeable  to  the  Old  Roman  Law  of  Twelve  Tables,  the  places  of  inhumation  of 
the  ancients,  were  universally  excluded  from  the  precints  of  their  cities.  In  England, 
church  yards  for  burials.are  not  of  earlier  dntetliau  the  year  750,  and  the  moderns  would 
have  done  well,  if  they  had  followed  the  custom  of  the  ancients  in  burying,  not  within 
the  city,  but  without  its  walls. 

The  tombs  of  the  Saints,  in  all  probability,  led  to  the  erection  of  places  of  worship, 
for  at  these  the  people  frequently  weiit  to  wornhip  ;  and  the  continuance  of  this  connec. 
tion,  is  a  strong  proof  that  superstition  has  still  a  strong  hold  in  this  land  of  bo»»t«<l 
liberty." 

G  . 


objects  combined  would  render  the  place  pleasing^,  healthy,  retired 
and  solemn.  Thus,  by  the  expence  of  one  inclosure,  these  desir- 
able additions  to  the  conveniences  and  ornaments  of  our  towns, 
would  be  easily  accomplished.  Undertaken  in  shares,  with  .the 
benefit  of  others'  experience,  I  have  no  doubt,  every  reasonable 
expectation  of  profit  would  be  fully  realized,  and  another  step 
gained  towards  the  good  order  and  rational  arrangeanents  of 
society. 


HOLIDAYS  AND  RECREATIONS. 

In  consequence  of  the   result  of  our  Election,  it  is  reported, 
we  are  to  have  no  more  cock-fighting,  and  that  the  races  will  not 
be   supported  as  heretofore.     Now,  whatever  I  may  think  of  the 
election,  I  should  be  glad  if  these  should  prove  the  results.     As 
to  the  cockings,  they  are  a  low,  vulgar,  cruel  sport,  suited  only  to 
grovelhng   minds,    and   have  a  demoralizing,  vicious  tendency. 
And  the  probable  reason   why  this,    as  well  as  racing,  was  not 
included  in  the  cruelties,  punishable  by  Mr.  Marten's  act,  is,  its 
being  so  extensively  practised  by  country  gentlemen.     The  races, 
cruel  in  themselves,  and  attended  with  great  expense  in  training 
of  horses,  &c.,  draw   together  the   very  scum   of  the  country. 
Prostitutes,   gamblers,   pickpockets,  and  such  like,  bring  among 
us  their  pestiferous  influence,  and  live  upon  that  which  the  people 
are   so   foolish  as   to  squander  among  them.     The  effects  of  the 
races  on  the  comforts  of  famihes,  the  shopkeepers,  as  well  as  the 
poor  themselves,  know  too  well;    for   at  this   season,    many 
persons  get  behind  in  their     circumstances,    so    as   never  to 
recover  themselves.     The  races  are   pregnant  with  innumerable 
evils,   and  I  should  be  heartily  glad  to  see,  next  summer,  instead 
of  drinking  booths,  gambling  stalls,  and  thousands  of  idle  specta- 
tors on   the  moor,   the  ground  ploughed  up,  and  sown  with  the 
staff  of  life. 

But  are  the  people  to  have  no  holidays  ?  no  recreation  ?  Is 
the  wearisome  routine  of  labour  never  to  be  broken,  and  is  the 
spirit  of  man  never  to  be  exhilerated  ?  I  answer  ;  the  present 
toil  of  the  labouring  man  is  far  too  intense ;  his  hours  every  day 
are  too  long;  and  I  would  not  only  advocate  occasional  relaxa- 
tions, but  an  abridgment  of  the  hours  of  his  daily  labour.  But  let 
his  recreations  be  rational,  both  as  to  the  kind,  and  the  time 
of  pursuing  them.  Though  we  have  one  day  in  seven  as  a  day 
of  re^tj  I  know,  that  other  occasional  remissions  from  labour  are 
real  enjoyuicnts  to  the  labouring  class,  and  are  reasonably  expec- 
ted. There  was  a  time  when  holidays  were  numerous  in  this 
country  ;  and  even  now,  where  the  people's  circumstances  admit 
of  it,  the  Catholics  are  more  favoured  than  the  Protestants.  I  am 
an  advocate  for  holidays,  but  at  the  same  time,  reason  ought  to 
regulate,  both  the  occasions,  and  the  manner  of  observance.  How 
disgusting,  to  see  those  days  which  were  set  apart  for  the  purpose 


51 

of  calling  to  mind  some  important  event  connected  with  christia- 
nit)%  devoted  to  gaming,  cruelties,  intemperance  and  excess  !     We 
might,    with   propriety,    fix  upoa  two  or  three  days  in  the  course 
of  the  year,  as  memorials  of  events,  connected  with  our  relii^ion  ; 
such   as    christmas-day,    in  romemberance  of  the  birth  of  Chrigt, 
and  good-friday,   in  rememberance  of  his  death  ; — a  few  days  in 
commemoration  of  national  events  ;  such  as  the  termination  of  the 
late  war  ;    the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  our  present  beloved 
King  ;    and  (what  we  expect  soon  to  take  place)  the  passing  of 
the  act,  for  restoring  the  rights  of  the  people,  to  choose  their  own 
representatives   in  Parliament: — and   also,    a  few  days,  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  to  celebrate  such  events  of  a  ^Qca/cActrac^er, 
as   might  afford  juist  and    profitable    grounds   for  perpetuating 
their  rememberance  in   the   way  of  innocent  festivity.     If  these 
days,  thus  properli/  connected  with    important   events,  were   set 
apart,  and  observed  in  a  manner  the  most  likely  to  promote  friend- 
ship  and   kindness,  piety  and  religion,  gratitude  and  patriotism, 
it  would  form  a  striking- contrast  to  the  irrational  and  beastly  man- 
ner in  which  some  of  our  present  holidays  are  kept ;  and  these  sea- 
sons woiddbc  anticipated  and  remembered  with  pleasure,  without 
producing  that  demoralization,   and    family   distress,  which   are 
inseparable  from  our   present  customs.     Various  methods  might 
be  contrived,   to  amuse,  entertain,  and  instruct  the  people  ;    and, 
under  the  controul  of  judicious  and  influential  example,    these  oc- 
casions  would  afford  the  finest  opportunities  for  innocent  relax- 
ation, rural  exercises,  and  the  acquirement  of  scientific,  historical, 
and  religious  knowledge.     How  pleasant,  after  a  morning  spent 
in  religious  exercises,   to    see   parents  and  children,  traversing 
nature's  paths,    beholding  the  stupendous  works  of  God  !     How 
pleasant   to   see   rich  and  poor,  mingling  together,  exhibiting  the 
sympathies  of  humanity,  and   striving   to  strengthen  the  social 
bond  !     So  important  is  it,  to  give  a  proper  direction   to    all  the 
movements  of  society,  that  nothing  should  be  overlooked,   which 
can   be  made  to   contribute  to  the  well  being  and  happiness  of 
man. 


COMMUTATION  OF  TYTHES. 

Farmers  and  land  owners  ought  to  be  dissuaded  from  enter- 
taining, for  a  moment,  the  question  of  commuting  for  tythes. 
First,  because  compulsatory  payments  in  religion  are  becoming  so 
unpopular,  that  the  clergy,  in  opposition  to  the  good  sense,  and 
strong  feeling  of  the  country,  willprobably  not  presume  long  upon 
the  prudence  of  collecting  them.  They  talk  of  their  rights,  truly, 
but  the  public  have  rights  as  well  as  they,  and  the  government 
has  also  aright  to  remove  all  causes  of  disaffection  and  disorder. 
■Circumstances  are  changed,  and  these  gifts,  perverted  from  the 
original  object  for  which  they  were  bestowed,  ought  not  to  be 
insisted  upon  in  the  face  of  the  nation,  but  should  be  placed  at  the 


52 

disposal  of  the  government,  as  the  trustee,  for  tlic  general  good 
of  the  people.  But  if  the  clergy  can  succeed  in  obtaining,  in- 
stead of  every  tenth  sheaf,  a  fixed  sum  of  money,  they  will  then 
be  able  to  draw  from  the  people  their  enormous  incomes  in  a 
manner  that  will  be  less  likely  to  excite  opposition.  The  troubles 
of  "  ty thing  time"  would  then  be  over,  and  the  demands  of  the 
priest  would  stand  in  a  few  figures,  under  the  significant  signs  of 
£.  s.  d. 

But,  secondly,  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  agree  to  a  fixed  sura 
regulated  by  the  present  prices  of  agricultural  produce.  We  can- 
not expect  these  prices  to  be  maintained,  and  hence,  this  is  ono 
reason  why  the  clergy  are  favorable  to  the  change.  It  was  the 
advance  in  land  which  put  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  in 
possession  of  such  itnmense  revenues  ;  and  for  the  land  owners 
to  consent  to  an  adjustment,  which  would  again  give  this  body 
an  advantage  from  its  depreciation,  would  nrgue  little  skill  iti 
defending  themselves.  The  effect  of  fixing  payments  in  money 
may  be  seen  in  the  low  charges  which  are  demanded  for  the 
attendance  of  the  minister  at  funerals,  &c.  These  were  fixed 
when  money  was  much  more  valuable  than  it  is  now.  The  ^uU 
lowing  is  the  charge  in  this  parishfor  funeral  dues  : — 

S,        D. 

Minister 0  9 

Clerk 0  4 

Fassing-Bell 0  6 

Tolling 0  9 

Grave |  6 

Beadle,. .,.. 0  6 

4  4 

Dues  at  St.  Peter's 1     1* 

5  3 

If  these  charges  were  to  be  fixed  now,  with  the  present  value 
of  money,  does  any  man  think  that  the  minister  would  be  sa- 
tisfied with  a  paltry*nine-pence,  the  sum  demanded  by  the 
person  who  tolls  the  bell  ?  The  period  when  these  items  were 
agreed  upon,  was  the  time  for  farmers  to  have  commuted  for 
tythes  ;  but  at  present,  they  will  act  wisely  to  stand  still,  and 
wait  the  result  of  events. 


VARIETIES. 

Toleration, — The  following  advice  was  addressed  by  a  Ca- 
tholic Bishop,  to  the  Pretender,  son  of  James  II. — "Above  all 
things,  never  force  your  subjects  to  change  their  religion.  No 
human  power  can  force  the  impenetrable  entrenchment  of  the 
human  heart.  Force  can  never  convince  men.  It  only  makes 
them  hypocrites.     When  kings  meddle  with  religion,  in  place  of 

#  Some  of  mjf  readers  are  accustomed  to  sur-cliarfjes ;  and  Qiauy  of  them  will  not  be 
iguoraut  of  the  thiricen-pence,  appcnclfed  to  the  above  I 


53 

protecting  it,  they  make  it  their  slave.  Grant  civil  toleration  to 
all,  not  ajiproving  every  thing  as  indifferent,  but  as  bearing 
■with  patience  whatever  God  permits,  and  endeavouring  to  lead 
men  by  gentle  persuation." 

Athanasion  Creed. — Parson  Paten  was  so  much  averse  to  the 
Athanasian  Creed,  that  he  never  would  read  it.  Archbishop 
Seeker  having  been  informed  of  his  recusancy,  sent  the  Arch- 
deacon to  ask  him  his  reason  : — "  1  do  not  believe  it,"  sai.l  the 
priest.  "  But  your  Metropolitan  does,"  replied  the  Archdeacon. 
*'lt  may  be  so"  replied  Mr.  Paten,  "and  he  can  well  afford 
it, — he  believes  at  the  rate  of  seven  thousand  pounds  a  year,  and 
I  only  at  that  of  fifty  pounds." 

Tithes. — The  Rev.  Mr.  Beresford  has  instituted  twenty-four 
actions,  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  against  the  parishioners  of 
St.  Andrew's,  Holborn,  from  whom  he  claims  tithe  on  inhabited 
houses.  The  Parishioners,  at  a  meeting,  resolved  to  persist  in 
defending  the  actions. 

The  Church. — We  meet  with  an  article  of  intelligence,  almost 
in  every  one  of  the  weekly  papers,  headed  "  The  Church." 
Now  as  the  only  valuable  object  of  the  Church,  or  any  church, 
can  be,  to  reform  the  people,  to  teach  them  to  be  good  and  vir- 
tuous, and  happy,  one  might  reasonably  expect  that  these  articles 
would  constantly  include  successful  instances  of  this  description. 
Alas  !    they  consist  merely  in  telling  us  that  The  Rev. — or  the 

very  Rev., — or  the  hon.  and  very  Rev. is  appointed  to  the 

vicarage to  the  rectory is   licensed  to  (he  perpetual 

curacy on  the  presentation  of  some  Bishop;  Patron,  Earl 

so-and-so.  Verily  "  The  Church"  must  have  been  made  for 
parsons,  and  parsons  for  the  church.  Is  the  history  ofhirelingism 
all  that  the  newspapers  can  give  us  as  to  the  progress  and  utility 
4jf  this  mighty  ecclesiastical  corporation  .'' 

Lies  in  Advertisements,  ^c. — "  Positively  the  last  week," 
was  hung  up  at  a  glass  exhibition,  for,  I  think,  six  or  eight  weeks 

together. — *'  The  whole  of  the  furniture,  of  Mr. to  be  sold,'^ 

when  two  cart  loads  had  been  taken  away. — Bell's  Life  in  Lon- 
don is  called  "the  best  and  cheapest  newspaper."  If  tbi^  be 
true,  what  sort  of  a  paper  must  the  worst  be  ? — The  following 
belongs  to  that  tribe,  whose  system  of  delusion  is  nearly  closed  in 
this  country  :  "  Dr. is  numerously  resorted  to  by  the  af- 
flicted of  all  classes.  The  poor,  to  whom  the  doctor  kindly  gives 
his  advice  gratis,  feelingly  express  their  gratitude  for  the  benefit 
which  they  have  derived  from  his  skill  and  experience.  We 
regret  to  acquaint  our  readers,  that,  notwithstanding  the  many 
solicitations  which  he  has  received  to  prolong  his  stay,  he  finds 

it  impossible  to  remain  later  than (mentioned.)      We  have 

been  most  respectfully  informed,  thaty^f*  to  a  considerable  extent 
have  been  offered  him  to  prolong  his  visit,  wluch  he  has  most 
decidedly  refused.^' — Genteel  families  frequently  order  their  ser- 
vants to  say,   they  are  not  in  the  house,  when  they  really  are; 


54 

though  they  thus  toach  them  lying  by  rule,  yet  they  often  complain 
of  their  servants  being  great  liars. 

Faithfulness. — "Fear  not  them  who  can  only  kill  the  body," 
said  our  great  Master,  who  exemplified  in  his  own  death  an 
exalted  example,  and  whose  injunctions  remain  authoritative  to 
the  end  of  time.  What  an  adherence  to  this  command,  do  we 
find  in  the  case  of  John  the  Baptist  !  He  was  a  "burning  and  a 
shining  light ;"  and  I  so  much  admire  the  noble  feelings  of  his 
soul,  and  his  integrity  to  his  ofiice,  that  I  would  strongly  recom- 
mend, as  a  standing  admonition  to  all  teachers,  who  are  privileged 
with  an  audience  of  kings  and  nobles,  h\a  faitlifulncss  in  warning 
guilty  Herod,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  beheaded  in  prison. 
John,  not  only  reproved  the  king  for  his  adulterous  intercourse 
with  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife,  but  '^  for  all  t/ic  evils 
which  Herod  had  done."*  He  did  this,  not  by  any  distant  al- 
lusions, not  by  general  declamation  ;  but  indiciditalli/  and  per- 
sonalli/,  he  said,  "  it  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  have  her."  This 
is  the  sort  of  teaching  we  want,  hut  how  can  we  expect  those, 
whose  object  is  the  ease,  the  honours,  and  the  riches  of  the  world, 
to  act  like  John  the  Baptist? 

Price  of  Religions  Instruction. — Even  in  America,  where 
religion  and  liberty  are  said  to  be  peculiarly  caressed,  we  find 
heavy  complaints  of  the  expence  of  the  clergy.  '  In  fact,  when 
giving  instruction  and  receiving  money  are  associated  together, 
no  matter,  whether  under  the  sanction  of  a  government  or  a  sin- 
gle congregation,  the  progress  will  be  uniformly  that  which  is 
here  described. 

"  By-and-by,  the  rapacity  of  the  clergy  will  accumulate  hci-e,  as  mucb 
property  as  that  most  dangerous  body  of  men  have  grasped  and  held  in 
England.  Governor  Lincoln,  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  message  preceeding 
Lis  death,  stated  that  the  clergy  had  levied  upon  the  people  of  Massachu- 
setts thirty  millions  of  dollars  in  six  years. 

*'  Let  the  incomes  of  the  clergy,  and  church  property,  be  subject,  like 
other  property,  to  taxation.  Religion  is  to  them  a  trade,  as  much  as  the 
taa^king  of  shoes  is  to  a  shoemaker  ;  and  Sunday  is  their  day  of  labour." 
'.."  January,  1830. — We  have  13,000,000  of  people  now  ia  the  United 
States,  who  employ  about  13,000  clergymen,  at  1,000  dollars  a  year  each. 
We  pay,  therefore,  to  the  discordant  sects  of  theology,  1 3,000,000  of  dol- 
lars a  year,  besides  the  expense  of  churches,  and  irregular  exactions  and 
fees.  In  half  a  century  our  population  will  be  6o,O0O,O00,  and  we  shall  far 
outrun  the  clerical  taxes  of  the  English  hierarchy,  which  are  now  40,000,000 
of  dollars  annually.  Sir  James  Macintosh,  in  his  Vtndiciae  Gallicae,  has 
shown,  by  argument  not  easily  controverted,  that  charch  property  is  public 
property  " — Lectures  on  Political  Economy,  by  Dr.  T.  Cooper,  president  of 
the  United  States  South  Carolina  College. 

The  zealous  labours  of  this  friend  to  the   important  cause  of 
public  education,  has  obtained  for  him  the  honorable  appellation 

of  "the  Brougham  of  North  America." 

«MarkVI,  18.    Luke  111,  19. 


55 

Liberality.—*'  May  we  not  be  allowed  to  believe  and  hope  in  the  case  of 
Roman  Catholics,  what  in  other  cases  we  are  obliged  to  fear,  or  to  lament, 
that  men  do  not  always  act,  or  speak,  or  think,  in  exact  accordance  with 
the  rules  to  which  they  have  assented,  or  the  words  or  formularies  which 
they  recognize  as  their  own." — Letter  of  the  Bishop  of  Chester. 

Newspaper  Instruction, — In  the  Morning:  Herald  of  Wednesday,  are  two 
suicides  recorded, — the  one  of  a  boy,  the  other  of  a  man  :  the  first  had  in- 
jured his  uncle's  horse,  and  the  second  his  master's  gi^.  The  fear  of  cen- 
sure deprived  these  poor  people  of  the  power  of  calculation  :  they  preferred 
settling  the  greatest  and  last  account,  before  the  trifling  one  immediately 
presented  to  them :  the  frown  of  a  master  or  uncle,  himself  perhaps  some 
poor  creature  trembling  at  a  dun  or  at  a  neighbour's  ill  opinion,  seemed 
more  terrible  to  their bcwiUlered  apprehensions  than  the  awful  countenance 
of  the  Omnipotent.  Newspapers  are  full  of  instruction  :  here  is  a  text  t(f 
preach  from,  both  for  servants  and  masters — undue  severity  and  undue 
servility — vices  each  unworthy  of  men,  and  greatly  injurious  to  society. 
They  who  would  really  read  lessons  to  the  world,  ought  to  take  a  newsr 
paper  into  the  pulpit,  and  their  instructions  could  not  fail  of  a  practical 
effect.  The  general  fault  of  preachers  is,  that  they  are  dreaming  of  a 
world  that  never  existed  ;  and,  learning  their  wisdom  from  books,  their 
advice  is  perfectly  general,  and  the  particular  case  of  an  individual  escape* 
the  apprehension.  Newspapers  would  be  thought  but  irreverend  things  i6 
a  church;  and  yet,  if  the  good  of  society  be  the  object  of  preaching,  the^ 
might  afford  the  best  instances  for  the  application  of  biblical  texts.  Ther^ 
is  not  a  question  of  morality  which  does  not  occur  in  tlie  week''8 
newspaper  ;  and  if  they  were  to  be  made  the  subject  of  enlightened  com- 
ment, the  cases  would  have  the  advantage  of  being  perfectly  understood. 
The  most  touching  of  all  sermons  are  those  special  ones  which  arise  out  of 
parish  accidents  ;  but  there  is  an  odium  in  this.  If  the  events  of  the  week, 
as  recorded  in  the  Spectator,  were  taken  for  the  text,  there  would  be  all 
the  advantage,  and  none  of  the  scandal,  of  a  particular  case.  In  one  pingle 
Morning  Paper,  the  number  of  cases  of  society  susceptible  of  improvement 
is  almost  innumerable.  In  the  very  paper  befoie  us,  there  is  the  sad  sub- 
ject we  have  alluded  to;  the  cases  embrace  the  whole  circle  of  duties 
between  master  and  servant.  The  case  of  Ann  Hunley,  who,  under  the 
pressure  of  great  distress,  stole  a  piece  of  beef  from  Mr.  Atkins,  t lie  but- 
cher,—here  is  a  text  on  the  subject  of  fortitude  and  resistance  of  tempta- 
tion in  the  moment  of  distress,  besides  the  occasion  for  giving  sound  prac- 
tical advice  in  the  emergency.  There  is  the  abominable  case  of  Mr.  C. 
Smyth,  his  alleged  treatment  of  his  wife,  their  dreadful  quarrels,  their 
miserable  home,  and  ultimately  their  exhibition  in  public  about  a  chaldron 
of  coals.  Domestic  happiness  is  an  art,  whatever  people  may  say  about 
temper,  good  and  bad  ;  and  as  it  ought  to  be  taught— what  better  place  for 
teaching  than  the  pulpit  ?  The  law  reports  would  shew  how  disputes 
might  be  avoided,  and  the  folly  of  litigation  The  very  advertisements, 
indicative  as  they  are  of  all  kinds  of  wants,  and  of  endless  ingenuity  ia 
supplying    them,    would   in  their  turn   afford  ample  food  for  enquiry  and 


5r> 

tnitioD.  The  newspaper  may  be  thought  but  an  odd  vade-meciim  for  a 
clergyman  ;  but  we  do  not  see  why  the  newspaper  might  not  be  made  the 
vehicle  of  instruction.  The  newspaper  is  usually  considered  a  profene 
thing,  like  a  pack  of  cards :  but  this  is  the  remains  of  an  old  prejudice, 
connected  with  the  history  and  abuse  of  these  journals  of  society:  they 
are  in  themselves  no  more  profane  than  the  History  of  England.  This  is 
not  to  say  that  there  are  no  profane  newspapers  —Spectatoi . 

Soutliwark  Election. — It  was  resolved,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Calvert,  that,  instead  of  wasting  the  money  in  the 
pageantry  of  chairing  the  new  member,  it  should  be  distributed 
amongst  the  poor  and  distressed  residents  in  Southwark.  The 
expense  of  chairing,  it  is  said,  would  amount  to  between  j^500 
and  £600. 

Stale  of  the  Metropolis. — Hubert  Smith,  lamenting  the  evils 
cf  Sunday  travelling,  and  the  difficulty  of  suppressing  it,  says, 
"  cannot  there  be  found  a  ievf  individuals  in  the  city  of  London, 
say  only  ten,  five  clergymen,  and  five  laymen,  who  will  make  a 
trial  of  what  can  be  done  in  effecting  this  great  object  ?"  If  ten 
righteous  could  have  been  found  in  Sodom,  it  would  have  beeiT 
spared  ;  I  hope  there  is  no  comparison  intended.  Religioiife 
idleness  seems  to  prevail  in  London,  as  elsewhere. 

Every~day  Language  in  the  Public  Streets. — Passing  down 
the  Old-Shambles  on  a  Saturday  evening,  a  number  of  boys 
were  tossing  by  the  light  from  a  draper's  window,  when  one,  ela- 
ted, J  suppose,  by  his  success,  exclaimed  with  an  emphasis,  "  It 
is  a  tail,  by  G — d."  Meeting  three  drunken  fellows  in  Church- 
Street,  disputing  about  something,  one  gave  vent  to  his  feelings 
with  "C — d  d — m  his  soul  to  hell  fire."  Speaking  of  a  market 
looker,  in  a  neighbouring  town,  two  persons,  each  in  a  sentance, 
brought  in  "  G — d  d — m  him, — that  d — md  monkey, — G — d 
rl — md  scamp."  A  porter,  at  a  coach-office,  dissatisfied  with 
some  order  he  had  received,  replied  "  I'll  be  G — d  d — md 
if  I  do."  - 

I  am  sorry  to  pollute  my  pages  by  a  repetition  of  the  awful 
and  profane  language  which  the  above  sentences  contain,  and  which 
are  but  sjiecimens  of  what  we  constantly  hear  in  the  streets ; 
but  I  am  still  more  grieved  to  think,  that  no  check  seems  to  have 
been  imposed,  nor  any  effectual  attempt  made  to  convince  the 
j.ersons  who  indulge  in  swearing,  of  its  impropriety  and  sinful- 
ness ;  and  this  must  be  my  apology  for  introducing  the  subject 
in  so  unusual  a  way.  The  indifference  which  is  now  manifested 
towards  the  prevailing,  and  even  ostentatious  commission  of  vice, 
1  hope,  will  justify  the  means  which  I  here  adopt  for  arousing  the 
s>tteulion  of  every  friend  to  the  reformation  of  the  people.  I 
would  K,trongly  recommend  to  every  good  man  to  reprove  the 
practice  of  swearing,  whether  in  the  poor  or  the  rich,  the  gentle- 
man or  the  leggar,  and  to  encourage  every  likely  means  of  im- 
parling that  instruction  which  would  lead  the  people  to  abandon 
it.     If  we  had  suitable  men  for  teachers,  I  would  say  to  them. 


57 

instead  of  compiling  your  sermons  from  abstract  materials,  and, 
in  a  great  measure,  confining  them  to  incidents  of  antiquity, 
turn  into  the  world,  visit  every  street,  frequent  the  market,  call 
at  the  ale-houses  and  gin-shops,  be  present  at  the  public  sports, 
parade  the  town  at  nights,  listen  to  the  language  of  the  youths  as 
they  leave  the  factories,  and  mix  with  the  multitudes,  especially 
on  market-day  evenings  ;  and  you  will  obtain  by  these  exercises 
so  much  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  of  the  state  of  morals, 
as  will  furnish  you  with  the  most  valuable  materials  for  instruc- 
tion, and  enable  you  to  become,  what  jou  are  frequently  repre- 
sented to  be — the  salt  of  the  earth,  and  the  light  of  the  world. 

Crime. — At  our  Quarter  Sessions,  held  this  month,  it  was 
painful  to  behold  the  usual  exhibition  of  juvenile  delmcjuency. 
Out  of  about  the  usual  number  of  felons,  I  noticed  22  under  the 
age  of  2 1  ; — some  of  whom  are  but  15,  14,  12,  11,  and  one  as 
young  as  9.  Imprisonment  being  found  of  no  service  for  the 
purpose  of  reformation,  the  punishment  of  transportation  is  now 
frequently  resorted  to. — The  following  extract  will  give  some 
information  as  to  the  increase  in  this  mode  of  punishment.  "  In 
the  year  1825,  there  were  233  persons  transported  to  Botany 
Bay,  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  in  1826,  the  number  in- 
creased to  1,815  ;  in  the  year  1827,  it  was  still  further  increased 
to  the  enormous  number  of  2,587  persons  :  and  in  1 828,  there 
was  a  trifling  reduction,  leaving  the  number  at  2,449."  I  ask 
again,  do  our  judges  and  magistrates  never  think  of  tracing  this 
increase  of  crime  to  its  proper  source  ? 

Incendiarisfn.^The  diabolical  rage  for  wantonly  destroying 
property  in  the  southern  counties,  seems  to  have  somewhat  sub- 
sided ;  and  it  is  now  a  distressing  task,  to  read  the  statements  of 
the  trials,  convictions,  and  sentences  of  the  unfortunate  persons 
who  have  been  implicated.  May  the  men  of  Lancashire  take 
warning,  and  regard  those  men  as  their  greatest  enemies  that  would 
endeavour  to  incite  them  to  any  such  lawless  deeds  !  Oppres- 
sion in  masters,  and  insolence  in  men,  are  equally  reprehensible  ; 
but  for  any  to  have  recourse  to  such  measures  as  those  which 
have  been  practised  under  the  name  of  "Swing,"  betrays  a  total 
want  of  regard  for  personal  safety  and  the  social  good,  and  such 
an  abandonment  of  all  moral  obligation,  as  nothing  but  the  deepest 
depravity  could  have  created  or  maintained.  Even  poverty  itself, 
where  there  is  any  principle,  would  scorn  the  crime  and  the  folly 
of  destroying  property,  to  get  relief.  The  fact  is — the  people 
have  not  been  instructed ;  they  have  been  oppressed  ;  and,  as  is 
obvious  from  the  rage  against  the  clergy  and  the  tythes,  the 
clergy  have  fed  themselves  and  not  the  flock.  Cannot  every 
man  see  this  ?  Shall  we  labour  for  ever  under  a  system,  which, 
whilst  it  monopolizes  the  good  things  of  this  life,  is  every  day 
exhibiting  its  utter  incompetency  to  diffuse  and  strengthen 
those  sacred  ties  which  are  intended  to  bind  society  together  ? 

Blackburn  Church. — The  damage  which  this  splendid  church 
has   sustained    by   fire,  and  which,  of  course,  every  person  nmst 

H 


58 

deplorp,   seems,  at  this  moment,  to  render  it  a  subject  of  attrac- 
tion.    1  mention  it,  principally,  as  affording  anotlier  opportunity 
of  protesting  against  so   shameful   and  scandalous  a  waste  of  the 
public   mom'y,   under  the  garb  of  religion.     Does  the  promotion 
of  real  religion  require  such  buildings?  or  is  Blackburn,   one   of 
the  poorest  districts  in  the  county,  the  place  that  required  so  nwg-? 
nificent  a  temple  ?    What  contention  it  created,  and  is  still  creating 
in  the  parish  !      What  consummate  folly,  to  suppose,  that  those 
who  live  in  huts  and  cellars,   would  even  venture  to  put  their 
heads  into  a  place  so  majestically  forbidding  !     But  religion,  now, 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  rich.    The  gross  expense  of  this  church,  acts 
©f  parliament,  and  other  matters  connected  \vith  the  building  of  it, 
as  detailed  in  the  churchwardens'  accounts,  is,  £37,510  :  11  :4: 
but  as  all  was  not   wound  up  at  the  time,  and  as  there  has  been 
a  grand  organ,  and  a  constant  expenditure  since,  I  should  say,  the 
round   sum   of  forty  thousand  pounds  will  not  be  far  incorrect. 
How  the  £4,000  for  repairing  it,  is  to  be  raised,  perhaps  is  not 
yet  known.      Forty  thousand  pounds  for  a  church  in  Blackburn  t 
spent  on  a  place  of  worship  for  a  people  that  cannot  boast  of  a 
single  resident  magistrate  1      For  this  sum,  eighty  good,  com- 
modious, useful  places  of  worship  might  be  erected,  well  adapted 
for  the  worship  of  the  Almighty,  on  the  Sabbathj  and  for  schools, 
reading  rooms,  lecture  rooms,  and  other  useful  purposes  through- 
out the   week.      The   church    people,  in  building  their  national 
schools,  act   with  good  sense,  and  combine  decency,  utility,  and 
economy ;    but  in  building,  churches,   they  seem  to   be   giiidet^ 
by    notions   the  most  absurd  and  extravagant ;  in  the  one  case, 
they  spend  their  own,  in  the  other,  the  public's  money. 

Truck  Bill. — In  connection  with  Mr  Littleton's  bill  to  abolish 
the  Truck  system,   the  introduction  of  a  clause  to  the  following 
effect,   would   be  found  of  service  : — :"  Be  it  further  enacted,  that 
every  master  spinner,  manuficturer,  artisan,  or  any  other  person 
who  hires  labourers,  shall  pay  the  wages  of  every  mnn,  woman, 
and  child,    weekly,    (unless  a  written  agreement  be  entered  into 
to  the  contrary,)  that  he  shall  pay  them  on  the  premises,  in  which 
the  works  are  carried  on  ;    and  that  the  master  or  his  agent  shall 
pay  them  individually.^^     Persons  conversant  with  trade  will  be 
fully  acquainted  with   the  reasons  which  support  the  above  sug- 
gestions.    The  work  people  in  few  places,  are  paid  as  honourably 
as  they  are  in  Preston.     The  truck  system  has  never  been  intro- 
duced  here,  or  any  of  those  dishonourable  moc'es  of  payment,  by 
which  the  labourers  in  other  places  have  been  so  much    harassed. 
Montlily  payments,  in  some  parts,  are  quite  established,  and  I 
have   known  instances  where   the   payments    have    been  at  the 
distance  of  six,  eight,  or  ten  weeks  from  each  other.     What  must 
be  the  condition  of  the  work-people  under  these  circumstances  ? 
if  they  can  subsist  at  all,  it  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  shop-keeper. 
It    is  also   well   known  that,  owing  to  an  understanding  betwixt 
some  master  artisans  and    landlords,   tliey   regularly   take  their 
men  to  a  public-bouse  to  pay  them  their  wages ;  the  consequence 


I  need  not  tletail.  Paying  indiridHuUy^  is  also  important.  Instead 
of  being  at  the  trouble  of  getting  changV',  ami  even  when  they  have 
change,  to  save  the  trouble  of  payin^'  the  children  and  workmen 
separately,  they  unite  a  number  together,  and  pay  them  in  07?e 
amount^  leaving  them  to  get  the  change,  and  make  the  division 
themselves.  The  evrls  of  tfeis  practice  I  have  often  witnessed  ; 
I  have  seen  about  a  dozen  cbildrtn,  hooked  together  (as  the 
phrase  is,)  whose  wages  were  from  l*^.  3rf.  to  bs.  each,  and  after 
getting  change,  generally  all  in  copper,  complaints  of  short  count, 
short  payments,  and  defrauds,  occurred  almost  every  week.  But 
this  is  not  the  worst ;  the  men  often  go  to  a  public-house  to  make 
the  division  ;  and  I  am  credibly  told,  by  a  friend  in  a  neighbour- 
ing town,  that  persons  at  certain  trades,  go  every  Saturday  night 
to  certain  houses  for  this  purpose.  He  says,  that  they  first  get 
a  pint,  then,  by  the  pressing  invitation  of  some  of  the  party, 
another  pint ;  they  get  rathef  cheery,  and  begin  to  drink  spirits  ♦ 
they  remain  then  till  late  in  the  evening ;  and  often,  in  con- 
sequence ofthelangour  felt  next  morning,  pursue  the  same  course 
on  the  Sunday.  Ti)ese,  I  think,  are  strong  reasons  for  the 
above  clause.  Let  the  men  be  paid  iceekly,  individually,  and 
071  the  premises,  and  these  evils  will  be  avoided. 

"  Silver  at  the  Door.'" — I  would  advise  ti)e  Methodists,  on 
the  occasions  of  their  public  sermons,  to  discontinue  the  obnox- 
ious demand  of  ^'siloer  at  the  door.'^  1  had  hoped  that  the 
light  of  a  liberal  age  would  have  shamed  them  out  of  it;  but  I 
find,  from  an  advertisement  on  our  walls,  it  is  still  retained. 
Does  it  not  give  a  theatrical  air  to  tbe  whole  service  ?  a  first-rate 
preacher  is  announced,  and  not  less  than  six-pence  for  entrance  ! 
What  aspect  does  it  bear  towards  the  poor  ?  Oh  !  that  passao-e 
in  James  (II.  1 — 11)  is  still  a  dead  letter!  I  question  the 
policy,  also,  of  such  a  measure.  There  may  not  be  many  that 
would  absent  themselves  on  this  account,  but,  for  myself,  ever 
since  I  was  capable  of  thinking,  I  have  always  refused  every 
invitation,  coupled  with  these  terms.  I  hold  by  Paul's  advice 
**As  every  man  purposeth  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give  •"  I 
dislike  compulsatoiy  payments  in  religion  in  every  shape.  But 
there  is  another  objection,  which  I  think  cannot  fail  to  have 
weight  with  the  most  serious  of  tbe  Methodists.  Infidelity,  ever 
ready  to  revile,  seizes  upon  this  practice,  and,  identifying  it 
with  the  christian  religion,  with  whose  honourable  name  it  is 
connected,  tries,  by  such  occasions,  to  rivet  upon  the  minds  of 
its  votaries,  tbe  sentence  of  condemnation. 

But,  to  me,  there  always  seenfs  a  misgiving  in  the  person's 
mind,  who  draws  up  the  advertisement ;  and  this  is  conveyed' 
by — "as  usual."  Why  mention  "as  usual?"  Does  that 
sanction  or  justify  any  thing,  not  good  in  itself?  The  fact  is 
an  aipology  seems  to  be  necessary,  and  here  we  have  "  as  usual  '* 
for  the  apology. — In  l825,  besides  this,  we  had  "  the  low  state 
of  the  funds,"  and  in  another  advertisement,  at  a  distance 
it  was,     "  according  to   custom,  for  the  better    accomodatioa 


60 

of  friends."  Mr.  Newton,  in  a  conversation  I  once  had  with 
him  on  the  subject,  said,  "the  charge  of  silver  was  to  keep  out 
the  multitude,  and  to  secure  accommodation  to  those  who  were 
likely  to  give;"  and  I  remember  Mr.  Lessie,  assigning  a  reason 
some  what  similar.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  too  glaring  a  feature 
of  that  mercenary  system,  which,  so  long  persisted  in,  has  brought 
society  to  its  present  wretched  and  immoral  condition. — The  best 
friends  of  methodism,  despise  the  practice. 

Modern  Indelicacy. — Engravings  of  a  very  immodest  cast 
have,  of  late,  been  exhibited,  especially  in  Manchester,  in  the 
windows  of  the  shops  devoted  to  the  sale  of  these  articles.  Female 
figures  are  publicly  represented  in  a  manner  which  every  modest 
lady  will  condemn  ;  and,  from  the  groups  of  persons  frequenting 
these  places,  no  doubt,  the  owners  have  found  their  interest,  in 
thus  corrupting  the  morals  of  the  people.  The  same  thing, 
though  not  to  any  extent,  was  attempted  here,  in  a  shop  in 
Cheapside,  which  was  engaged  for  a  short  time  for  the  sale 
of  prints. 

Important. — A  hair-dresser,  in  his  advertisement,  announces 
"  embellishments  for  the  head,  whether  for  the  senate,  the 
bar,  the  pulpit,  or  the  stage!" 

Refortnation. — In  the  Christian  Guardian  is  advertized  a 
book,  entitled,  "  Infant  baptism  the  means  of  national  refor- 
mation."    It  deserves  a  most  extensive  circulation — if  it  be  true. 

Yorkshire  Bite  ! — The  misapplication  of  the  original  of  this 
terra  is  very  general.  We  always  use  it  to  convey  a  feeling  of 
mistrust ;  or  a  fear  of  coming  in  contact  with  one  more  adept 
in  cunning  than  ourselves.  It  is  true  Yorkshire  men  are  keen 
dealers ;  this,  however,  is  no  detraction  ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
may  be  an  evidence  of  industrious  habits:  The  hospitality  for 
which  they  are  so  famous,  gave  rise  to  the  term  "  Yorkshire 
bite.  It  is  said  the  fatted  calf  and  generous  feelings  greet  the 
stranger  at  every  step,  and,  after  the  common  salutation,  will  you 
bite  ?  or,  will  you  sup  ?  is  sure  to  follow ;  and  from  this 
originated  a  terra,  used  as  a  sarcasm,  but  which,  in  point  of  fact, 
ought  to  be  used  as  a  compliment, 

Augean  Stable. — Augeas,  akingof  Elis,  had  a  stable,  which 
would  hold  three  thousand  oxen,  and  had  not  been  cleansed  for 
thirty  years.  He  hired  Hercules  to  clean  it,  which  he  did 
by  turning  the  river  Alpheus  through  it.  Hence  is  derived  the 
classical  quotation  of  "  the  Augean  Stable." 

A  Finish  ! — "  Well,  Mr.  Livesey,"  said  a  person  in  a  respecta- 
ble business,  but  who  has  been  given  incessantly  to  drinking,  having 
met  me  at  a  barber's  shop,  "  I  suppose  you  believe  there  will  be  a 
resurrection  ?"  "  Don't  you  ?"  I  replied.  He  answered  "  I  don't 
know."  'But  you  might  know,  if  you  were  disposed  to  learn." 
*  Pub  !  it's  all  a  hum  !"  "A  time  will  come,''  I  added,  "  when  you 
will  view  the  matter  with  more  seriousness  ;  on  the  approach  of 
death,  perhaps  when  it  is  too  late,  you  will  see  your  folly."  "I 
shall  not,"  he  rejoined  with  a  determined  air,  "  I  shall  live  till  I 
die,  and  after  that  the  devil  may  take  me  if  he  will !  1" 


61 


^owe^pontfence* 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

At  a  time  when  a  great  part  of  the  population  of  this  country  are 
groaning  beneath  a  complication  of  evils,  both  mural  and  political,  a  work 
whose  design  is  to  "  promote  as  extensively  as  possible,  by  every  laudable 
means,  the  individual  and  social  happiness  of  the  people,"  cannot,  methinks, 
be  unacceptable. 

The  morality  of  the  conntry,  I  have  ever  considered,  as  a  brilliant  orna- 
ment, and  the  most  productive  source  of  comfort  to  its  inhabitants:— for 
where  morality  is,  industry  and  comfort  go  hand  in  hand.  Ere  the  Per- 
sians, under  the  command  of  Cyrus,  acquired  the  empire  of  the  east,— 
when  they  contentedly  ranged  amongst  their  own  barren  hills,  and  were 
renowned  neither  for  the  magnificence  of  their  courts,  the  luxury  of 
their  tables,  nor  the  number  of  their  sanguinary  victories, — they  pursued 
with  avidity  the  paths  of  moral  rectitude,  and,  radient  with  heathen  vir- 
tues, set  examples  not  unworthy  of  imitation,  even  in  these  days  of  civili- 
zation and  Christianity.  The  children  of  the  most  powerful  amongst  them, 
instead  of  being  trained  up  amidst  scenes  of  luxury,  dissipation,  and  effemi- 
nacy,  (as  now  is  the  c  ise  amongst  us)  underwent  no  easier  discipline  than 
what  was  assigned  to  the  most  destitute  orphan,  or  the  hardest  son  of  the 
meanest  herdsman ;  their  palates  were  not  vitiated  by  the  mixture  of 
"  sauces  and  ragouts  j"  they  were  not  early  taught  to  impair  their  undei"- 
slandings  by  an  immoderate  use  of  ardent  spirits  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
(and  in  direct  opposition  to  the  present  mode  of  this  country)  their  diet 
was  plain,  their  exercises  were  innocent,  and  both  contributed  to  invigo- 
rate the  body,  lay  the  foundation  of  future  health,  and  render  old  age 
comfortable  and  happy. 

Bat  what  strikes  us  with  still  greater  admiration  i^,  the  reasons  which 
they  assign  for  this  mode  of  early  tuition.  .  Unlike  other  legislators, 
who  are  satisfied  with  establishing  punishments  for  criminals,  it  was 
their  wish  that  they  might  have  none  to  punish;  being  persuaded 
that  it  was  much  better  to  prevent  crimes,  than  to  chastise  them.  Such 
were  the  Persians  560  years  before  Christ.  I  do  not  hei-e  bring  forward 
the  Persians  as  a  tit  model  whereby  to  form  a  system  of  education  amongst 
us,  but  merely  to  contrast  the  education  of  the  powerful  amongst  them, 
with  that  of  the  rich  amongst  us  ;  and  to  shew  the  great  value  at  which 
their  legislatnrs-raled  temperance  and  sobriety  ;  whilst  our  government,  by 
a  late  measure,  has  not  hesitated  to  strike  at  the  very  root  of  morality. 
That  the  government,  in  the  latebeeract,  has  let  loose  a  powerful  opponent 
to  morality,  1  think,  Sir,  you  will  not  deny.  Sins  of  lewdness,  which 
wound  the  constitution,  and  deaden  the  finer  feelii:gs  ot  humanity  ;  tempo- 
rary stnpifdction,  morbid  iasensibility,   and    mental  derangement ;    exti^. 


C2 

vagance,  povei'ty  the  most  humiliating',  aud  the  most  wretched  ;  domestic 
strife,  aud  all  its  attendant  disadvantages  to  the  younger  branches  of  the 
family;  and,  lastly,  cheerless  death  itself,  make  part,  and  swell  the 
retinue  of  the  habitual  drunkard.  Such  are  the  evils  of  ebriety  ;  and  yet, 
our  legislators,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  prevent  it,  countenance,  and 
even  encourage  it. 

I  will  not  now  trespass  longer  upon  your  patience,  1  will  only  add, 
that  every  exertion,  although  it  may  he  only  efficient  in  part,  is  laudable, 
and  ought  not  to  lack  support.  With  sincere  wishes  for  the  success  of 
your  undertaking, 

1  remain,  Sir,  Yours,  &c. 

JUBA. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

It  is  obvious  that  man  was  designed  for  bodily  labour,  from  the 
fact  that  his  body  is  provided,  hy  the  All-wise  Creator,  with  nicchanisra 
fitted  for  action  ;  which  would  be  almost  useless,  were  it  merely  intended 
that  we  should  give  ourselves  up  to  indolent  inactivity,  anil  would  manifest 
a  useless  display  of  contrivance.  The  Creator  has  uniformly  adjusted, 
throughout  the  whole  of  his  works,  with  the  nicest  ingeimity,  the  most 
simple  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  wise  and  necessary  purposes;  and, 
as  far  as  our  discernment  can  perceive,  there  is  not  a  single  phenomenon, 
presented  to  us  in  nature,  without  some  adequate  cause ;  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  there  any  contrivance  or  mechanism,  which  has  proceeded  di- 
rectly from  the  hand  of  God,  that  is  not  designed  to  effect  appropriate 
results.  If  such  be  the  case,  we  cannot  hesitate  to  conclude  that  the 
body  of  man  is  eminently  fitted  for  labour.  Look  at  his  bands,  capable  of 
grasping  and  wielding  the  heavy  sledge  hammer,  and  equally  capable  of 
picking  up  a  grain  of  sand.  Consider  their  varied,  rapid,  and  graceful 
motions,  the  flexure  of  the  fore  arms— the  diversified  movements  of  the 
whole  extremity — the  erect  posture  of  the  body — the  graceful,  easy,  and 
powerful  inflexions  of  the  whole  frame,  and  the  facility  and  rapidity  of  its 
loco-motion  ;  and  to  these  considerations,  add  the  ability  of  man  to  con- 
ceive and  design  ;  and  then  we  shall  be  convinced  that  we  are  admirably 
constructed  for  effecting  the  most  complicated  and  varied  operations. 
Accordingly,  we  uniformly  observe  that  the  symmetry  of  our  bodily  propor- 
tions are  improved— the  strength  of  our  muscular  power  is  increased,  and 
the  functions  of  our  whole  structure  are  preserved  in  a  state  of  healthy 
activity  by  exercise ;  whilst  disproportion,  muscular  weakness,  aud  dis- 
ordered functions  are  occasioned  by  inactivity.  Labour  also  contributes  to 
promote  mental  energy;  for,  when  the  body  is  enfeebled,  the  mind  can 
never  be  vigorous.  Also,  so  far  from  happiness  being  deminished  by  labour, 
and  promoted  hy  inglorious   ease  (as  some  have  erroneously  supposed)  wc 


63 

have  the  clearest  proof  that  it  is  consonent  with,  if  not  dependent  npo», 
exertion,  by  the  fact,  that  previous  to  the  fall  of  man,  Adam  was  placed  in 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  in  order  to  cultivate  it ;  clearly  manifesting  that  tliC 
Creator  appointed  labour  as  one  of  the  blessings  of  life.  Let  not  the  poor 
man  then  repine  that  his  lot  is  toil — that  his  occupations  are  laborious, 
nor  desire  the  indolence  of  the  rich  ;  but  remember  that  labour,  while  it 
promotes  both  health  and  happiness,  is  the  very  design  for  which fais  beau- 
tiful and  wonderful  body  was  constructed. 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  admitting,  that  when  labour  is  too  long  continu- 
ed, or  too  violently  exercised,  it  is  perverted,  and  becomes  an  evil ;  aad 
when  labour,  diligently  pursued,  ceases  to  yield  an  abundant  supply  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  the  intention  is  frustrated.  That  there  are  some  de- 
partments of  labour  in  the  country,  which,  though  highly  useful  to  man, 
do  not  afford  the  artisan  any  thing  like  a  fair  remuneration,  all  good  mea 
must  sincerely  deplore.  Also,  that  man  should  be  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  occupying  so  large  a  portion  of  his  time  in  order  to  procure  the 
means  of  a  subsistance,  is  neither  consonant  with  right  reason,  nor 
with  the  clcsigns  of  Providence;  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  grievous  evil. 
Was  man  merely  possessed  of  a  body,  and  vital  energy  to  give  it  activity, 
then  it  might  be  proper  that  he  should  devote  the  half  of  hisexistance  to 
bodily  activity  :  but  when  we  consider  that,  as  well  as  corporeal  powers,  be 
is  endowed  with  an  intelligent  mind,  we  must  reasonably  infer,  that  some 
portion  of  his  existence  ought  to  be  appropriated  to  mental  improvement. 
In  tJie  present  state  of  tliiiigs,  however,  in  this  country,  we  cannot  hope 
that  the  labourer  can  enjoy  invich  time  for  intellectual  pursuits.  Whilst 
taxation  is  oppressive,  provisions  dear,  machineiy  multiplying,  and  popu- 
lation increasing,  the  workman  cannot  have  much  relaxation,  but  must  be 
obliged  to  toil  long  and  diligently,  and  subsist  upon  a  very  scanty  supply 
of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

Many  occupations  also,  which  are  at  piesent  followed,  are  highly  detri- 
mental to  health,  and  therefore  contrary  to  reason  and  the  design  of  Pro- 
vidence ;  such  as  spinning,  power  loom  weaving,  &c.  The  bleeched 
cheeks,  the  relaxed  frame,  and  the  premature  old  age,  which  we  almost 
uniformly  witness  in  those  who  pursue  such  employments,  sufficiently 
evince  their  relaxing  tendency  ;  and  when  we  add  the  low  vices  and  mental 
imbecility  of  those  who  are  let  loose  upon  the  world,  -at  the  intervals  of 
labour,  from  these  hot-beds  of  immorality  and  disease,  to  spread  their 
moral  devastation,  it  cannot  but  call  forth  our  regret,  that  such  places  as 
our  factories,  unless  better  regulated,  should  ever  have  been  established, 
I  am  very  fai-  from  being  an  enemy  to  any  real  improvement,  but  I  must 
say,  that  when  labour  becomes  a  cause  of  bodily  weakness  and  mental 
depravity,  it  is  diverted  from  its  legitimate  intention.  Necessity,  it  is 
said,  is  the  mother  of  Invention,  but  in  the  establishment  of  many  large 
works,  and  in  the  contrivance  of  some  species  of  machinery,  1  am  pretty 
well  satisfied,  that  invention  has  too  often  preceeded  necessity,  nay, 
has  CTcn  created  it,  and  tended  much  to  bring  wn  the  present  unnatural 
state  of  society. 


64 

Much  as  we  may  lament  the  ai]v<>ntitious  state  of  things  which  at  pre- 
sent exists,  and  grievously  as  the  labourer  especially  must  feel  it,  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  rational  being,  imlividually,  to  consider  if  he  cannot,  in  some 
measure  at  least,  alleviate  his  own  distresses  by  prudent  industry,  rather 
than  by  venting  his  dissatisfaction  in  useless  complaints.  This  hint  is 
intended  more  particularly  for  the  consideration  of  those  individuals,  who 
pursue  their  occupations  at  their  own  houses,  and  who  are  the  arbiters  of 
their  own  time.  Diligence  is  the  chief  requisite  for  them  to  cultivate,  for 
without  it,  labour  is  unproductive  and  irksome.  How  many  of  those,  belong- 
ing to  this  class  of  labourers,  spend  many  precious  hours,  and  days, 
and  weeks,  in  demoralizing  company  and  beastly  revelry  !  Such,  to  regain 
their  loss,  are  compelled  to  protract  their  labour  to  a  late  hour  of  the  day, 
and  to  toil  with  double  exertion  towards  Ihe  termination  of  the  week  ; 
when,  by  a  regular  and  diligent  economy  of  their  time,  they  would  perform 
much  more  work,  and  have  some  hours  for  relaxation,  at  proper  periods, 
which  they  might  devote  to  mental  improvement,  or  healthy  bodily  recrea- 
tion. It  is  very  lamentable  that  so  few  appreciate  the  value  of  time,  and 
are  sufficiently  disposed  to  regulate  it  with  economy.  If  the  workman 
.  will  but  consider,  that  when  he  misemploys  his  time,  he  is  making  a  pecu- 
niary sacrifice,  inasmuch  as  it  is  by  the  right  use  of  time  that  money  ia 
obtained,  I  think  that  he  would  he  convinced  that  it  is  his  most  valuable 
property.  How  much  more  comfortable  is  the  man  who,  with  prudent 
calculations,  diligently  pursues  his  labour  !  If  he  cannot  get  all  that  may 
be  necessarv,  in  general  he  can  obtain  a  more  regular  supply  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  His  wife  is  cheerful  and  contented,  his  children  present  the 
rosy  bloom  of  health,  and  they  all  seem  blessed  with  comparative  happi- 
ness. If  at  any  time  his  mind  is  over-cast,  the  engaging  smile  of  his  af- 
fectionate wife,  and  the  prattle  of  his  happy  offspring,  disperse  the  gloom, 
and  urge  him  to  persevere  in  the  path  ofduty.  Embarrassments  do  not 
sink  him  in  hopeless  despair,  nor  impel  him  to  purchase  present  relief  at 
the  expence  of  future  aggravated  evils.  Let  no  one  mistake  me  ;  I  am  not 
wishful  to  urge  the  labourer  to  exert  himself  above  his  powers  ;  I  am  only 
desirous  of  convincing  him  of  the  necessity  of  diligence  in  his  occupation, 
as  a  means  of  lessening  his  pecuniary  difficulties,  and  ofpreservingacheer- 
fulness  of  spirits,  and  a  healthy  state  of  body.  No  one  can  appreciate  the 
value  of  diligence,  nor  credit  the  extent  of  the  labourer's  dependance  upon 
it  for  happiness  and  health,  without  observation  ;  and  I  am  well  convinced 
that  few  who  compare  the  state  of  the  man  who  follows  his  employment 
with  diligence,  and  that  of  the  m.in  who  only  works  at  intervals,  will 
dissent  from  my  opinion  of  the  juipoitance  of  this  duty. 

Yours  respectfully, 

A  SURGEON. 


JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  3.  MARCH  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 

EDUCATION; 

OR  A  BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  DUTIES  OF  PARENTS, 
PARTICULARLY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  AND 
RELIGIOUS  DUTIES  OF  CHILDREN  ;  WITH  REMARKS  ON 
SOME  OF  THE  EXCELLENCIES  AND  DEFECTS  OF  THE  PRESENT 
SCHOOLS. 


"TBE  day  must  come  when  maukiiu]  will  act  upon  the  knowledge,  that  happiness  is  a 
feeHiig  uud  not  an  opinion,  and  virtue  a  state  of  the  heart  and  not  of  tlic  intellect — a. 
time,  when  it  will  he  the  object  of  our  schools  and  puljiits,  our  literature  and  social 
system,  to  make  men  gentle,  humble,  brave,  beneficent,  and  self-denying,  and  to  actuate 
tliem  by  no  motives  but  love  to  God,  and  love  to  man."... A/henteum 


Education,  especially  as  pursued  in  schools  and  seminaries, 
has  been  a  popular  subject  for  many  years ;  its  acknowledged  im- 
portance has  stimulated  persons  of  all  ranks  to  lend  their  aid  to 
its  diffusion.  Though  much  has  been  said  and  much  has  been 
•written,  in  some  of  its  departments  the  subject  is  far  from  being 
exhausted.  Its  utility  to  every  family  in  the  empire,  is  sufficient 
to  force  it  frequently  upon  our  attention  ;  and  if  any  errors  can 
be  pointed  cut,  if  any  additions  can  be  made,  if  we  can  approach 
only  one  step  nearer  to  perfection,  in  such  a  cause,  it  will  be  an 
ample  compensation  for  our  labour. 

Without  regarding  the  etymology  of  the  term  "education," 
for  my  present  purpose  I  define  it — That  mental,  moral,  and 
physical  training  of  youth,  which  is  calculated  to  lead  to  the  per- 
formance of  all  those  duties,  on  which  their  personal  and  social 
happiness  depends.  Every  animal  which  God  has  made  is  in- 
tended for  some  particular  purpose,  and  though  in  its  earlier  stages 
it  may  exhibit  a  very  unappropriate  character,  the  same  wisdom 
that  created  it  supplies  the  means  of  its  future  progress  and 

I 


66 

perfection.  Education  must  be  a  favourite  employment  among  eve-^ 
rj' species  of  animals,  inasmuch  as  the  maintainance  of  their  order, 
and  probably,  the  security  of  many  of  their  comforts  depend 
upon  it.  Man,  though  superior  in  the  scale  of  creation,  requires 
a  longer  course  of  training  than  the  rest,  and  oftener,  perhaps, 
defeats  the  aim  of  his  instructors.  This  frequentfy  happens,  how- 
ever, from  the  ignorance  of  the  teacher,  or  from  the  application  of 
improper  means,  and  therefore  leaves  us  still  to  conclude,  that 
though  little  progress  has  hitherto  been  made,  in  the  moral  edu- 
cation of  youth,  if  the  efforts  of  the  public  be  properly  directed, 
great  results  may  yet  be  accomplished. 

Directing  my  enquiries  solely  to  that  education  which  is  ne-^ 
cessary  for  every  family,  and  which  ought  to  be  overlooked  by 
none,  I  may  observe  that  what  are  called  the  higher  branches 
of  education,  are  as  foreign  from  my  enquiry,  as  they  are  above 
my  ability  to  investigate.  Though  I  shall  not  overlook  scholastic 
education,  as  carried  on  in  most  of  our  common  schools,  it  is  to- 
the  domestic  department,  that  I  am  most  anxious  to  direct  the 
attention  of  my  readers. 

No  one  can  view  the  deplorable  condition  of  our  youth,  with- 
out  coming  to  the  conclusion,   that  if  education  is  to  teach  the 
rising  generation   to  fulfil  their  duties  to  society,  and  to  answer 
the  end  of  their  creation,  a  vital  mistake  somewhere  exists,  wliicii 
ought  immediately  to  be  corrected.     A  mechanical,  or  an  intel- 
lectual education,  generally  speaking,  is  all  that  is  attempted  j 
the   moral  feelings,  the  social   dispositions,   are   suffered  to  lie 
dormant ;    and  thus,  while  we   boast  of  physical  greatness,  of 
intellectual  superiority,  of  mechanical  enterprise,  we  are  astonish- 
ed to  find,   that  what  is   peace  to  the  soul,  comfort  to  families, 
happiness  to  society,  and  safety  to  communities,  has  been  incul- 
cated so  feebly,  so  inefficiently,  as  to  present  the  alarming  anomaly 
of  a  great  muss  of  population  without  any  cementing  bond.     Let 
the  admirers  of  the   "  schoolmaster"   suspend   their   cheering, 
till,  by  a  fresh  mission,  he  has  successfully  diffused  the  principles 
of  moral  reformation,  and  social  happiness  !     Juvenile  depravity 
is   alarmingly  on   the  increase  ;    and  when  we  view  this  fact  as 
resulting  from  the  arrangements  of  our  manufactories,  from  the 
absence  of  christian  instruction,  and  from  the  Tices  of  the  parents 
themselves,     I   fear    there   are  reasons  for   despondency,   and 
little    hope    of    children     being    better    taught,   unless  some 
important  change  takes  place.      The  stock  is  corrupt,  and  the 


67 

branches  are  the  same.     The  character  of  society,  faithful  as  the 
die  is  sure  to  cast  its  own  impression. 

The  responsibiUty  of  the  task  of  teaching  the  young  devolve, 
prindpa  ly  upon  parents  ;   the  chUdren  are  theirs,  and  ,t  .s  the. 
Wden  dut/  to  ''  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admomt.ou 
o^The  Lord-     This  is  a  weighty  consideration  connected  wjth 
the  marriage  state.     How  awful  to  bnng  children  into  the  worid. 
IndrTnsterd  of  caring  for  them,  and  training  them  up  m  the  path. 
Z  ;irtue  and  usefulness,  to  abandon  them  to  all  the  vices  and 
temptations   of  the   age  1     Would  that   the  duty  of  training  up 
children  in  the  fear  of  the  Almighty,  was  deeply  impressed  upon 
he  mind  of  every  parent !     Indeed,  so  satisfied  am  I  that  the  pre- 
sent  immoral  and  disorganized  state  of  society  is  closely  connected 
^Uh  the  neglect   of  domestic   instruction,   that   I   see  stronger 
Reasons  than  ever  for  advocating  ageneral  change  in  the  system 
of  relioious  instruction.     If  the  great  bulk,  who  go  to  no  place  of 
worship,  (and  who,   1  venture  to  predict  never  will,  as  things  are 
at  present)  were  visited  and  taught,  either  in  their  own  houses  or 
intheirimmediateneighbourhoods,inaplain,simplemanner  suited 
to  their   capacities,   we  ir.ight  then  hope  to  get  to  the  root  of  the 
evil  •  and  every  reformed  parent  might  not  only  be  the  means  of 
reforming  a  family,  but  of  extending  the  influence  of  his  example 
^„d  instruction  among  all  his  neighbours.      This  I  maintain  to  be 
the  order  of  Providence,  and  which  was  sanctioned  by  all  the  first 
teachers  of  Christianity.     Parents  are  the  proper  guardians,  and 
instructors  of  their  children  in  spiritual  things  ;  but,  as  parents 
often  find   difficulties  in  their  duty,  and,  like  others,  are  apt  to 
grow  slack  and  weary  in  welUdoing,  it  is  obligatory  upon  those 
who  profess  to  be  teachers  of  the  people,  constantly  to  strengthen 
their  hands,  to  encourage  them  in  their  exertions,  and  to  stimulate 
them  by  their  own  example. 

I  know  that  by  far  the  greatest  number  of  parents  have  nei- 
ther time  nor  ability  to  superintend  the  literary  part  of  their 
children's  education.  In  such  cases  reading,  writing,  accounts, 
^e.  may  be  safely  entrusted  to  others,  who  are  properly  quaUfied ; 
but  the  moral,  social,  and  religious  instruction  of  children,  ought 
to  proceed  from  their  parents,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  take 
root  without  a  father's  teaching,  a  mother's  <ta re,  and  the  good 
example  of  both.  Fortunately,  this  kind  of  learning  requires  no 
money,  and  very  little  time.  The  intervals  of  labour,  and  the 
leisure  of  the  sabbath  are  amply  sufficient,  even  for  the  poorest. 


68 

It  requires,  however,  a  well  regulated  mind,  stored  with  religions 
knowledge,  and  an  anxious  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the  children. 
To  every  father,  and  to  every  mother,  who  reads  these  pages,  I 
would  say— make  this  duty  a  subject  of  serious  meditation  ;  well 
performed,  it  is  a  source  of  abundant  happiness,  but  if  neglected, 
as  it  generally  is,  the  cause  of  domestic  broils,  misery,  and  deg- 
radation. Your  own  neighbourhood  offers  to  you  a  thousand 
proofs  of  the  consequences  of  neglecting  it.  *'  Make  the  tree 
good  and  the  fruit  will  be  good,"  but  in  vain  do  you  expect 
children  to  behave  well,  while  you  take  no  pains  to  tutor  them  in 
their  youth.  "  Children  are  an  heritage  from  the  Lord,"  and 
to  neglect  providing^  either  for  their  mental  or  their  bodily 
necessities,  is  a  piece  of  base  ingratitude,  and  a  high  atlront  to  Uie 
Majesty  of  Heaven.  Those  that  t'o  this,  whatever  be  their  formal 
profession,  are  said  to  be  "  worse  than  infidels."  (1  Tim,  V,-p-8.) 
To  perform  this  duty  well,  husbands  and  wives  should  be  equally 
yoked  ;  they  should  be  of  the  same  mind.  Unless  they  strive  in 
mutual  concord,  unite  their  judgements,  agree  upon  their  plans, 
avoid  clashing  with  each  other,  and  mainlain  and  support 
what  each  other  proposes,  most  of  their  efforts  will  be  fruitless 
and  unavailing.  Whatever  they  may  differ  in  besides,  let  them 
mutually  agree  to  take  each  others'  part  in  this  important  duty. — 
Having  made  these  general  remarks,  I  now  beg  ypur  attention  to 
the  following  particulars  :— 

1st. — Convince  your  children,  in  the  first  place,  of  the  antho' 
rity  of  parents  and  of  the  duty  of  subordination.  "While  young, 
before  reason  can  become  a  guide,  you  must  exercise  your  pow- 
er, without  assigning  any  cause  ;  for,  at  this  age,  absolute  au- 
thority is  requisite.  As  they  advance  in  years,  you  must  teach 
them  their  dependance  upon  yoy,  the  vast  expense  and  labour 
requisite  for  their  maintainance,  the  weakness  of  their  own  un- 
derstandings, and  the  duty  of  their  being  obedient  and  submissive  to 
their  parents.  Remind  them  of  the  divine  command,  "  Children, 
obey  your  parents  in  all  things,  for  this  is  right.  Honour  thy  father, 
and  mother,  which  i^  the  first  commandment  with  promise." 
(Ephe.  Vl.-i— 1,  2.)  This  \st\iefoiindqt}ori',  and,  if  you  produce 
a  cordial  impression  in  favour  of  your  authority,  you  will  find, 
by  a  proper  course  of  conduct,  no  difiiculty  in  maintaining  it.  If 
you  fail  to  do  this,  you  commit  a  vital  mistake,  vyhich  will  render, 
abortive  all  your  future  endeavours.  At  the  same  time,  you  must 
retain  this  authority,  not  by  threatening,  not  by  cruel  and  harph 


69 

treatment,  or  arbitrary  measures,  but  by  convincing  them  that 
all  your  proceedings,  whether  of  instruction  or  correction,  are 
directed  by  parental  affection,  and  are  absolutely  necessary  for 
their  own  good. 

2. — From  the  moment  your  children  are  capable  of  imita- 
tion, (and  this  is  earlier  than  we  conceive)  keep  them  from 
coming  in  contact  with  bad  example.  Precepts,  however  excel- 
lent, are  powerless,  if  accompanied  with  bad  examples  ;  a  living 
copy  has,  of  all  others,  the  gieatest  impression.  You  will  see 
the  propriety  of  beginning  with  your  first  child,  and  training 
them  all  in  succession  as  examples  for  the  ethers  to  imitate.  How- 
ever careful  you  are  as  to  example  in  your  own  house  while  they 
are  young,  knowing  that  on  this  may  depend  the  turn  of  disposi- 
tion for  life,  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  you  are  to  preserve  them 
from  the  contamination  of  bad  example  abroad,  after  they  come 
to  riper  years.  They  have  necessarily  lo  mix  with  the  world, 
and  will,  at  play,  at  school,  or  at  the  place  of  their  employment, 
frequently  associate  with  dangerous  characters.  However  care- 
ful you  are  in  instructing  your  children  at  home,  the  public 
exhibition  of  vice  is  such,  that  you  di-ead  the  effect  which  it  is  likely 
to  have  upon  their  minds.  I  have  long  and  seriously  lamented 
this  evil.  If,  after  teaching  your  children  the  best  precepts,  you 
allow  them  to  go  out,  the  first  thing  they  hear  is  some  obscene, 
blackguard  expression,  or  some  awful  imprecation ;  the  first  thing 
they  see,  a  hord  of  boys  disputing,  or  fighting  ;  or,  perhaps,  a 
drunken  fellow  reeling  in  the  street.  Parental  watchfulness  may 
mitigate  the  evil,  but  cannot  remove  it.  If  the  schoolmasters 
would  make  morals  their  study  ;  if  the  owners  of  factories  would 
suppress  vice  so  far  as  their  influence  extends  ;  and,  above  all, 
if  the  teachers  of  religion,  after  the  primitive  example,  would  go 
about  daily,  teaching  the  people,  in  a  rational  form,  then  might  the 
ensigns  of  iniquity  be  destroyed,  and  innocent  youth  be  permitted 
tp  breathe  the  air  of  heaven,  without  inhaling  a  moral  contagion. 
In  the  presfent  state  of  society,  all  you  can  do  is  to  be  exceedingly 
watchful ;  keep  the  younger  children  as  much  as  possible 
either  under  your  own  eye,  or  at  some  infant  school  ; — 
instruct  and  warn  the  elder,  and  fortify  their  minds  by  the  best 
principles. 

3. — Justice,  sinceriti/,  and  speaking  the  truth,  are  duties 
which  you  ought  to  explain  and  enforce,  as  early  as  the  infant 
^ind  is  capable  of  receiving  them.     The  intercourse  of  children 


7b 

gives  many  favourable  opportunities  for  enforcing;  ttiese  virtuesr. 
So  soon  as  they  see  that  different  things  belong  to  different  per- 
sons ;  so  soon  as  they  can  say — this  book  is  mitt",  they  ought  to 
be  taught  the  duty  of  giving  to  every  one  his  own,  to  scorn  » 
dishonest  action,  and  to  disapprove  of  the  conduct  of  any  boy  who 
is  guilty  of  injustice;,  Truth  and  sincerity  are  so  necessary  to 
the  very  existence  of  society,  that  they  ought  to  bo  forcibly  incul- 
cated upon  the  youthful  mind,  and  no  instances  of  their  violation 
ought  to  be  tolerated  even  in  trifling  matters.  The  bad  conse- 
quences of  these  sins  may  be  pointed  out  to  them,  as  they  con- 
stantly occur  in  society.  They  ought  also  to  be  told,  that  these 
are  heinous  offences  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  marked  by  the  most* 
decisive  expressions  of  his  displeasure. 

A.—Kindness,  compassion,  and  fte/jtft'o/ejice  must  also  be  enJ 
forced.  Children  ai*e  easily  won  over  to  practise  these  virtues. 
They  should  not  only  be  explained,  but  the  reasons  of  their  excel- 
Itency,  and  the  necessity  of  their  being  practised,  should  be  set 
before  children.  They  fully  appreciate  kind  behaviour ;  they 
can  read  the  smile  of  parental  pleasure  before  we-  are  aware. 
The  cultivation  of  these  good  dispositions,  will  be  found  to  con-' 
tribute  much  to  the  peace  of  a  family,  which  I  view  as  the  greatest 
domestic  enjoyment.  Children  should  be  kind  to  all,  brothers,: 
sisters,  servants,  parents,  teachers,  friends  and  enemies,  The^ 
miseries  of  mankind  should  be  often  brought  before  them,  and  o^ 
these,  alas  !  we  have  too  many  examples  always  at  hand.  I  have 
always  found,  taking  them  to  the  houses  and  cellars  of  the  poorest 
people,  the  best  mode  of  imprinting  upon  their  recollection,  » 
true  and  vivid  representation  of  human  suffering.*     The  children 


♦  After  visits  of  tliiseort,  I  sometimes  oblige  my  boys  to  make  memoranda  of  the' 
eases  they  have  visited.  The  fullowing  is  a  v«rbatim  copy,  (lGaviii»  out  tlie  oamcs)  of  a. 
visit  oil  Sunday  afternoon,  Ja.n.  16th,  which  they  gave  me  merely  for  private  perusal:  and> 
it  may  be  pro)>er  to  state  that  all  these,  or  some  one  belonging  to  them,  had  applied  a» 
ieggars,  and  it  was  to  be  satisfied  as  to  their  necessity,  that  the  visit  was  made.— 

«i  w ,  1  ives  in  C ,  F ,  by  traf'e  a  dealer  in  bones,  rags,  old  iron,  brass,  &c.; 

for  which  he  gives  toffy  in  exchange.  When  we  called  he  was  in  bed,  but  got  up  and 
apologised  for  being  in  l>ed,  by  saying  be  had  been  ou  the  tramp  fortbelaSt  two  orthreo. 
4ays  and  he  whs  very  tired.  They  have  six  children,  most  part  of  whom  appeared  to  be 
in  be'd  ;  they  have  one  poor  boy  who  has  lost  one  of  his  legs,  and,  as  his  parents  are  nolf 
well  o£F,  be  goes  a  begging  to  assist  in  getting  the  family  a  livelihood." 

•'  s ,  lives  at  a  lodging-hfuse,  No.  6,  D Street.    When  we  called  there  wer« 

seven  or  eieht   very  dirty  looking  people  sitting  round  thefire.and  two  very  dirty  SDiallj  • 
children  playing  with  a  rat ;    she  statett  herself  K>  be  very  ill  off,  but  has  no  family  de- 
pendent upon  lier,  nor  any  husband."  •        i 

••  J F— ; lived  in  W ,  he  was  a  jobber  about  the  coaches,  had  his  knee  lamed 

a  short  while  ago,  and  his  shoulder  put  out  of  joint,  had  been  ill  a  short  time,  and  died  on- 

Saturday  evening  the  15thof  Jnnuary.    His  wife,  R.     ■  F ,  is  now  left  a  widow,  and 

seems  to  be  a  trry  ckun  and  induitrious  woman." 

"G ,  live  in  G street,  have  five  little  children;   she  is  very  ill  and  not  able  t4 


71 

of  some  of  the  rich  ai'6,  in  this  respect,  much  neglected  ;  instead 
of  being  taught  that  we  are  all  of  one  family — that  we  should  be 
"  pitiful,  courteous,  love  as  bretbern,  and  bear  each  others'  bur- 
thens," they  are  pampered  with  too  many  good  things,  remain 
ignorant  of  the  state  of  the  poor,  and  cherish  no  feeling  tpwards 
them  but  that  of  disdain.  The  children  of  the  poor,  it  is  true, 
have  little  to  give,  but  as  the  cultivation  of  kind  feelings  does  not 
depend  upon  wealth,  their  parents  cannot  excuse  themselves  oh 
this  score.  There  are  instances  of  benevolence  on  the  part  of  the 
poor,  which  cast  into  the  shade  the  most  renowned  beneficence 
of  the  rich,  and  which,  though  overlooked  by  man,  will  be  fully 
acknowledged  by  the  Judge  of  all. 

5.— As  connected  with  the  above,  let  correct  principles  of 
sociability,  be  early  imparted.  As  man  has  to  sustain,  through 
the  course  of  his  life,  the  character  of  a  rel-ltive,  a  neigl>- 
hour,  a  shop-mate,  a  tradesman,  or  a  subject,  it  is  of  the  fir^ 
importance,  that  he  should  be  so  instructed,  as  to  behave  with  credit 
to  himself,  and  pleasure  to  others.  Every  child,  therefore,  should 
be  taught  to  cultivate  courtesy,  kindness,  diffidence,  sympathy, 
honour,  and  every  other  disposition  which  makes  one  person 
agreeable  to  another.  Children  are  naturally  fond  of  being  es- 
teemed, and  nothing  will  raise  them  so  much  in  the  estimation  of 
others,  as  a  rigid  adherence  to  every  thing  which  leads  to  socijd 
happiness.  "Selfishness,  petulancy,  rudeness,  revenge,  and  du- 
plicity should  be  exhibited  in  all  the  ugliness  of  their  natures, 
and  in  all  their  baneful  influence  upon  social  and  domestic  com- 
fort. Peevish  contradiction,  a  rude  and  fierce  address,  striking, 
or  snatching  things  out  of  each  others'  hands,  telling  tales,  in- 
civiHty  to  neighbours,  intruding  upon  the  discourse  of  superiors, 
and  such  like  unconrteous  conduct,  ought  not  to  be  "allowed.  The 
propriety  of  a  respectful  demeanour   to  parents,  deference  and 


ilo  any  thing,  and  he  I'.as  to  take  care  oftlie  rhildrpn, to  takpcareanrl  attfnci  to  hfs  wife, 
?D<J  to  weave  to  earn  them  a  very  poor  livelihood,  he  not  bein^  ahle  to  earn  much  at  pre- 
»ent.  Tl'.ey  seem  to  be  very  rhan^wA  industrious,  but  are  very  short  of  meat,  not  beino- 
■  hie  to  get  more  than  two  meals  a  day.  The  children  are  very  clean,  and  as  decent  ^ 
their  circuvnstauces  will  allow;  the"  youngest  child  has  been  very  iH,  having  had  a 
gatherinj?  under  its  chin  ;  the  other  children  have  been  very  poorly,  and  are  extremely 
ill  off  at  present." 

"  W— — ,  live  in  Q— — street.  They  have  four  children,  three  boys  and  one  girl,  twe 
of  them  go  to  school,  but  the  others  stay  -at  home  ;  they  Are  ol  a  deserving  rase,  tlie 
children  clean  and  tidy.  They  earn  about  six  shillings  per  week  by  weaving,  ai;d  itavr 
two  shillings  from  the  town." 

"  O ,  live  in  M street-    Th'-y  ^laveonly  one  tny,  who  goes  regularly  a  beggiitg 

and  selling  matches ;  his  father  makes  and  r<jpaiis  urahreilas  ;  they  were  very  poor,  l>ia 
Kt  not  deserving  characters. 


obedience  to  teachers,  and  subjection  to  all  iu  authority,  should  be 
peremptorily  enforced. 

C. — Order  and  clcanlin-ess  are  habits  which  have  to  be  form- 
ed. Inexperienced  youth,  know  not  the  advantages  of  these 
habits,  nor  have  they  lived  to  observe  the  effects  of  their  oppo- 
sites ;  it  is  only  by  injunction  and  authority,  therefore,  that 
children  can  at  first  be  induced  to  attend  to  them.  The  volability 
of  their  feelings  makes  them  impatient  of  restraint,  and  naturally 
leads  them  to  be  disorderly ;  and,  though  they  are  often  proud  to 
be  clean  for  a  moment,  .yet  we  know  that  caution  as  to  getting 
into  dirt,  seldom  troubles  a  child.  Let  them  enjoy  their  frolics  ; 
let  them  try  to  gain  the  smile  of  a  mother,  by  some  achievement 
on  the  floor,  but  let  this  be  done  at  proper  times.  "  A  time  for 
every  thing,  and  every  thing  in  its  time ;  a  place  for  every  thing, 
and  every  thing  in  its  place,"  can  never  be  learned  too  soon. 
On  these  points,  children's  fathers  and  grand -fathers,  have  yet 
much  to  learn.  If,  instead  of  having  to  teach,  admonish  and  cor- 
rect on  every  occasion,  you  can  impress  the  youthful  mind  with 
general  principles^  you  will  find  your  labour  much  reduced.  If, 
for  instance,  you  can  teach  them  the  principle  of  order,  they  will 
place  their  shoes,  hats,  clothes,  books,  &c.,  in  the  place  appoint- 
ed ;  they  will  arrange  themselves  at  table,  will  sit  with  order 
before  the  fire,  and  will  each  attend  to  the  duty  appointed  for 
him,  in  any  domestic  department.  Let  cleanliness  be  visible  in 
all  the  arrangements  of  jour  family,  and  let  every  child  be  taught 
to  love  cleanliness,  and  to  practise  it.  However  poor  your  cloth- 
ing, let  it  be  cleaned  at  proper  tiroes ;  your  walls,  and  your  uten- 
sils also.  Personal  dirt  and  filthiness  ought  to  be  held  in  abhor- 
ence,  and  it  ought  to  be  considered  indispensible,  that  all  the 
children  should  be  well  washed  once  every  day.  The  poorest 
families,  who  hitherto,  on  account  of  the  depression  of  their  cir- 
cumstances have  neglected  it,  will  find,  upon  experiment,  great 
advantages  from  a  course  of  cleanliness. 

7. — Halbits  of  itidustry,  if  cultivated  early,  are  easily  formed, 
but  if  neglected  for  some  time,  are  with  great  difficulty  establish- 
ed. Industry,  exercise,  and  health  are  connected  together,  and 
it  is  the  declared  will  of  heaven  that  "  those  who  will  not 
work  shall  not  eat."  Exercise  is  children's  pleasure,  and  it 
only  requires  judgement  to  direct  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make 
the  transition  to  labour  easy.  Children  will  be  doing  something  ; 
even  when  very  young,  we  find  them  brushing  the  floor,  making 


n 

dinners  of  bits  of  brea<l,  imitatin*  horses,  soldier?,  carpenters, 
gardeners,  and  any  handicraft  tUey  may  have  seen.  This  is  in- 
4nstty  in  embryo,  and  needs  only  the  experience  of  a  father  to 
improve  it  into  ^  fised  habit.  I  deprecate  confined,  monoton- 
ous labour  for  chikJren,  and  never  think  but  with  horror  of  the 
BMmber  of  children,  of  8,*  9,  or  10  years  of  age,  who  are  turned 
out  these  cold  dreary  mornings,  half  naked  and  half  fed,  to  be 
confined  in  a  polluted  atmosphere,  till  seven  or  eight  in  the  even- 
ing. Bnt  let  parents  attend  our  quarter  sessions,  and  witness  the 
effects  of  idleness  in  youth,  and,  if  they  have  any  love  for  their 
offspring,  they  will  conclude  that  employment  of  any  description 
is  to  be  preferred  to  a  course  of  idleness.  In  selecting  occupa- 
tions for  your  children,  you  should  be  judicious;  but  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  working  class,  almost  deprive  them  of 
any  choice.  The  rich  themselves  are  not  always  attentive 
to  this.  The  developement  of  the  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  powers  of  children  should  be  carefully  watched,  and  nature 
should  be  strictly  followed,  in  the  choice  of  businesses  for  them. 
All  other  animals  are  employed  as  qualified  by  nature,  but,  in 
reference  to  man,  her  laws  arc  constantly  reversed.  Would  we 
Iblect  the  mastiff'  for  pursuing  the  hare,  or  a  full  blood  horse  for 
the  yoke  of  a  heavy  waggon  }  but  youth  are  employed  with 
equally  as  little  regard  to  their  respective  geniuses.  Many  are 
fixed  in  professions  who  are  only  fit  for  the  spade  ;  and  others  are 
toiling  at  the  loom,  who,  had  fortune  smiled,  might  have  been 
ornaments  to  the  state. 

8. — Amidst  all  these,  you  must  make  the  teaching  of  religion 
and  piety  pre-eminent.  As  soon  as  a  child  has  any  idea  oi  existence, 
it  should  be  reminded  of  the  Being  of  God  ;  that  He  made  us  and 
every  thing  we  see,  and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  honour  and  serve 
Him.  As  the  child  grows  in  perception,  the  power,  the  wisdom, 
the  goodness  of  the  Almighty  should  be  further  explained.  So 
soon  as  it  can  discern  good  from  evil,  it  should  be  taught  to  love 
the  one  and  abhor  the  other.  Every  incident  in  society  should 
be  seized  upon  to  prove  the  Government  of  Jehovah,  the  amiable- 
ness  of  virtue,   and  the  deformity  of  vice.     Creation  is  a  grand 


*  Though  the  Act  f.f  Parliament  does  not  allow  Rtiy  children  to  be  employed  in 
factories  uniitr  nine  years  of  a;;e,  yet  many  instances'liave  come  to  my  knowledge  of 
mothers,  pressed  by  ne<-e-s;ity,  bavins-  imposed  upon  tlie  managers,  by  stating  that  their 
children  were  of  age,  when  ibej  really  were  not ' 

K 


74 

seminary  for  pious  instruction  to  children  ;  the  green  lawn,  the 
flowery  garden,  the  corn  fields,  the  warbKng  brook,  the  shady 
wood,  the  collected  vapours,  the  etherial  blue,  the  heavenly  bodies, 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  little  songster  upon  the  twig,  and 
the  busy  bee,  are  all  objects  to  which  the  parent  can  point ; 
and,  while  they  proclaim  a  "  Hand  divine,"  tend  to  enlighten, 
and  purify,  and  please  the  youthful  mind.  When  more  able 
to  attend  to  abstract  subjects,  be  recounts  the  contents  of 
revelation,  and  shews  that  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and 
divers  manners  spake  to  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in 
these  last  days,  spoken  to  us  by  His  Son."  He  traces  the 
history  of  the  world  from  Adam  to  Moses,  and  from  Moses  to 
Christ,  and  shews  that  through  every  succeeding  dispensation, 
the  Lord  has  been  proclaimed  "  IMerciful  and  gracious,  slow  to 
anger,  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth."  The  teaching,  mir- 
acles, example,  sufferings,  death,  resurrection,  and  exaltation 
of  Christ,  and  his  coming  again  to  judge  the  world,  afford  the 
most  useful  and  powerful  lessons  for  youth,  and  are  the  ap- 
pointed means  of  repentance,  faith,  hope,  and  obedience. 
Every  parent  on  these  points  w  ill,  doubtless,  endeavour  t^ 
enforce  his  own  peculiar  views,  but  no  well  meaning  man  or 
woman  will  inculcate  them  for  any  other  purpose  than  that 
of  producing  practical  godliness.  Children  should  be  fre- 
quently told  of  the  vanity  of  the  world,  the  frailty  of  man,  the 
vmcertainty  of  life,  and  tlie  avvfulness  of  eternity.  Let  me 
here  give  a  caution  or  two.  Parents  should  aim  at  euligliten- 
ing  the  uudersianding,  and  affecting  the  heart ;  if,  by  com- 
pelling them  to  read  a  chapter,  to  repeat  a  prayer,  or  rehearse 
the  articles  of  their  belief,  or  bow  the  knee  at  some 
religious  service,  they  think  they  have  performed  their  duties, 
they  are  sadly  mistaken.  God  requires  the  heart,  and  there 
can  be  neither  love  nor  piety  without  it,  either  in  parent  or 
child.  Above  all,  never  think  of  delegating  this  part  of  your 
duty  to  others.  You  may  safely  entrust  others  with  teaching 
your  children  grammar  or  mathematics,  but  not  the  duties  of 
religion.  Excuse  not  yourselves,  therefore,  by  sending  them 
to  a  Sunday  school,  or  even  to  a  place  of  worship  ;  for,  without 
your  co-operation,  without  parental  care  and  instruction, 
without  seasonable  and  affectionate  reproof,  without  that  pre- 
serving concern   for   their  welfare,  which  parents  alone  can 


feel,  the  impiety  which  you  witness  every  day  in  the  g-pneral 
demeanour  of  neg-lected  children,  will  soon  mark  that  of 
j'ours.  Remember,  that  with  the  means  before  you,  [filicy 
live  and  die  in  ignorance  and  vice,  their  blood  n-ill  be  required 
at  your  hands.  Being- deeply  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  this  duty,  and  actuated  by  a  constant  desire  to  lead  the 
youthful  mind  to  God  and  goodness,  be  ready  to  improve  every 
incident  that  may  occur  in  the  family,  or  elsewhere,  to  this  end. 
Thoug-h  incidental  msktwctxon  is  often  impressive,  yet,  besides 
this,  I  would  strongly  recommend  stated  family  instruction, 
and  family  prayer  ;  these  should  be  united  ;  and  if  ever  we 
may  expect  the  blessing"  of  heaven  upon  a  parent's  efforta,  it  is 
when  he  assembles  his  family  around  him,  and,  with  simplicity 
and  earnestness,  talks  to  them,  reads  for  them,  admonishes 
them,  and  prays  that  God  would  bless  them  !  I  deprecate  all 
formality,  all  mere  word  worship  ;*  however  little  you  say, 
and  however  plain,  if  it  come  from  the  heart,  and  is 
properly  understood,  it  is  likely  to  do  infinitely  more  good, 
than  merely  reading  the  words  of  others.  Family  teaching 
is  generally  most  profitable  when  it  assumes  the  character  of 
familiar  conversation  ;  when  the  children  ask  questions,  raise 
difficulties,  and  shew  a  spirit  of  enquiry.  The  poor  man  ob- 
jects for  want  of  time  ;  but,  though  the  intensity  of  his  labour, 
and  the  arrangement  of  working  hours,  place  some  difficulties 
in  the  way ;  when  husband  and  wife  are  agreed,  I  would  ask, 
cannot  at  least  fifteen  minutes  be  spared  each  day,  morning 
or  evening,  for  the  performance  of  a  duty  on  whicli  depends 
both  our  temporal  and  spiritual  prosperity  ?  We  have  also 
one  day  in  seven,  which  affords  us  plenty  of  time  for  perform- 
ing tills  important  duty.  And  wherever  you  go  yourself  to  re- 
ceive religious  instruction,  be  sure,  also,  not  to  leave  your 
cliildren  behind,  but  to  take  them  witli  you. 

9, — Children  are  naturally  fond  of  play,  and,  as  too  intense 
an  application  to  learning,  or  labour,  is  injurious  tb  health, 
they  ought  to  be  allowed  time  for  recreatiotu      But  this  must 


*  I  liave  been  present  on  several  occasions  when  grace  has  been  said,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  shew  that  it  was  a  mere  matter  of  form  without  feeling.  1  distinctly  remember 
one  occasion,  a  funeral  dinner,  where  the  minister  presided,  when  it  was  saiJ  so  rapidly 
and  so  iuaudibly,  that  I  could  not  catch  a  single  word  !  Would  Buy  man  address  hi^ 
tellow  in  this  imoherent  maimer  1 


be  properly  regulated  as  to  time^  place,  and  teudcucv.  Mo- 
derate exercise,  connected  with  cheerfulness  of  spirits,  not 
onlj-  produces  health,  but  assists  in  raisitig-  grateful  and  pious 
feelings.  It  should  not  be  taken  by  stealth,  for  parents  should 
allow  it  so  willingly,  as  to  conviuce  the  children,  that  they  do 
not  wish,  unnecessarily ,  to  abridge  their  enjoyments.  But, 
instead  of  permitting  tJiem  to  run  where  they  please,  to  mix 
with  all  sorts  of  company,  and  to  be  exposed  to  vicious  temp- 
tations ;  in  this,  as  in  every  thing  else,  parents  must  keep  a 
watchful  eye.  In  winter,  it  is  easy  to  invent  little  amuse, 
ments  to  please  the  children,  and  to  keep  them  together  within 
doors,  and  which  sometimes  may  be  made  to  assist  their  stu- 
dies at  school ;  but  for  out-door  amusements,  such  as  are  safe 
and  innocent,  I  know,  that  parents  are  oflen  at  a  loss.  Parents 
may  occasionally  superintend  their  play,  or  go  with  them 
abroad ;  but  in  these  times  of  difficulty,  both  for  labourers 
and  tradesmen,  it  is  impossible  to  spare  as  much  tiiueas  the 
case  requires.  It  lias  often  occurred  to  me,  that  public  play 
grounds,  devoted  to  the  most  harmless,  useful,  and  healthy 
sports,  superintended  by  persons  ofa  suitable  turn  of  mind, 
wlio  would  join  the  children,  keep  them  in  order,  and  act  as 
moderators,  would  be  valuable  acquisitions  to  every  large 
town.  When  I  pass  groups  of  lads,  who,  over  their  marbles, 
are  raising  violent  disputes,  trying  to  clieat,  and  ready  to 
pluck,  each  other's  eyes  out,  I  always  think  how  easy  it  would 
"be,  under  a  proper  superintendance,  in  tlie  place  of  all  this 
strife,  turbulence,  and  perfidy,  to  cultivate  just  and  generous 
feelings,  along  with  harmless  mirth  and  healthy  exercise ! 

10. — Having  adverted  to  the  principal  heads  of  moral 
education,  before  I  proceed,  permit  me  to  add  a  few  words  of 
^miscellaneous  cast,  as  to  the  means  by  which  you  are  to  give 
effect  to  your  teaching.  The  first  is,  to  begin  betimes.  Early 
impressions  are  often  strong,  and  if,  by  successive  culture  and 
good  example,  they  grow  into  habits,  they  may  prove  abiding, 
and  never  bend  to  any  adverse  influence.  This,  you  will  re- 
member, respects  moral  impressions.  I  disapprove  of  forcing 
the  purely  intellectual  powers  of  children  too  soon,  or  of  aim- 
ing to  produce  a  youthful  prodigy  in  learning  ;  but  moral  and 
social  training,  cannot  commence  too  early :  the  consequences 
of  neglecting  this,   often  appear  when  there  is  no  remedy. 


77 

Your  teaching  should  be  always  familiar,  easy,  affectionatej 
and  well  timed.  Secure  their  affections  and  g-et  them  to  love 
their  home,  and  they  will  listen  to  your  advice.  Shew  no  par- 
tiality, and  if  you  have  reason  to  use  more  severity  towards 
some  than  others,  convince  them  that  the  reason  is  in  their  con-; 
duct,  not  in  your  feelings.  Never  be  content  with  teaching 
merely,  but  always  endeavour  to  ascertain  what  impressions 
your  instructions  have  produced.  If  you  read  for  them,  let 
vour  lessons  be  short,  and  always  followed  by  suitable  interro- 
gations. The  interrogative  system  is  the  best,  both  for  ascer- 
taining the  extent  of  the  children's  knowledge,  and  leading 
them  to  research  and  i*eflection  ;  and,  when  pursued  in  clas- 
ses by  a  cheerful,  kind  hearted  father,  is  a  most  pleasant  and 
interesting  exercise.  In  applying  a  stimulus,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  vary  it  according  to  the  dispositions  of  the  cliild- 
ren.  Some  are  easily  persuaded,  some  require  rewards,  and 
others  can  only  be  moved  by  shame,  or  the  fear  of  punishment. 
Human  nature  is  adapted  to  all  these  means,  and  if  we  have 
recourse  to  them  to  influence  meiif  how  much  more  cTiUdren? 
Unwilling  as  I  am  to  inflict  bodily  pain,  yet,  after  giving  the 
subject  much  consideration,  notwithstanding  what  has  been 
said  against  it,  I  believe  there  are  some  children  that  cannot 
be  governed  without.  Before  reason  dawns,  authority  alone 
can  controul ;  and  afterwards,  when  stubbornness  takes  pos- 
session of  the  mind,  when  acts  of  disobedience  are  constantly 
jrepcated,  if  every  other  means  fail,  we  must  have  recourse  to 
stripes.  Let  not  angry  blows  and  hasty  coercion,  however, 
defeat  the  end  ;  let  time  be  given  for  reflection,  let  the  neces- 
sity of  severe  means  be  explained,  and  let  nothing  be  attempt- 
ed but  what  is  calculated  to  produce  repentance  in  the 
culprit,  and  a  salutary  warning  to  the  other  parts  of  the 
family. 

11. — I  proceed  to  the  subject  of  sc/ioo^  education.  Most 
parents  feel  anxious  to  get  their  children  a  little  loai-aing ;  I 
am  sorry  that  this  wish  is  not  universal,  and  more  so,  that  the 
wishes  and  efforts  of  parents  are  mei-ely  confined  to  this.  1  Jidis- 
pensible  in  s(mie  situations  in  life,  and  useful  in  all,  considering 
the  facilities  for  their  acquisition,  it  is  a  pity  any  boy  or  gii*l 
should  be  brought  up  without  being  able  to  read  and  write.' 
As  1  am  not  intending  to  give  any  diicctious  for  the  education 


78 

necessary  to  qualify  for  different  businesses  or  professions,  my 
observations  will  be  confined  to  tlie  common  pursuits  of  schools. 
Your  first  enquiry  ought  to  be — wlxat  scliool,  or  which  teach- 
er, is  the  best  ?  This  is  the  first  and  most  important  step, 
and  for  want  of  proper  care  here,  many  parents  have  found  their 
error  when  it  was  too  late  to  retract.  In  selecting- a  school- 
master you  ought  to  be  as  careful  as  in  selecting  a  person  to 
teach  any  of  your  children  a  trade ;  and  it  would  be  well  if 
parents  were  always  equally  as  attentive  to  the  progress  of 
their  children,  after  they  send  them  to  school.  Though  it  is 
not  absolutely  necessary  that  a  school-master  should  be  edu- 
cated on  purpose  for  his  profession,  yet  the  public  ought  not 
to  support  those  who  are  evidently  not  qualified  for  the  work. 
It  is  a  most  honourable  situation,  and  much  more  respectable 
than  formerly,  yet  we  find  that  persons,  witli  some  education, 
after  failing  in  every  other  enterprise,  take  to  this  as  the  last 
resource ;  and  therefore,  tliough  this  is  no  impeachment  of  itself, 
unless  parents  are  careful,  they  are  in  danger  of  being  deceived 
by  mere  professions,  where  there  is  no  merit.  Never  place 
your  children  under  the  care  of  a  person  whose  moral  charac- 
ter is  not  perfectly  satisfactory.  The  natural  dispositions  of 
a  master  are  also  deserving  of  notice  :  a  man  who  is  kind  and 
affable,  is  to  be  preferred  to  one  who  is  proud  and  austere. 
Before  you  make  any  engagement,  visit  the  school  yourselves, 
and  mark  the  order  and  arrangements,  and  the  abilities  of  the 
master :  this  is  a  little  unpleasant,  but  it  is  a  necessary  step. 
If  you  find  a  dirty  school,  blotted  books,  and  no  order, — if  you 
see  the  children  noisy  and  turbulent, — if  quietness  cannot  be 
commanded  without  threats, — if  the  reading,  writing,  &c.  are 
not  satisfactory,  you  will  know  how  to  act.  Comparison  is 
the  best  criterion  ;  and  if  you  visit  several  scliools,  you  will 
find  no  difficulty  in  coming  to  a  satisfactory  decision.  I  am 
quite  aware  that  this  discretion  can  only  be  exercised  by  tliose 
who  are  able  to  pay  for  their  children.  But  in  schools  for  the 
poor,  the  managers  and  subscribers  ought  to  be  as  careful  as  if 
they  were  judging  for  their  own  families. 

Until  your    children  arrive  at  about  seven  years  of  age,  I 

would  recommend,  as  infinitely  superior  to  any  old  woman's 

'  school,  the  infant  establishments.    These  are  grand  seminaries 

for  young  children,  and  only  require  to  be  more  known,  to  be 


99 

niore  generally  adopted ;  and  I  am  really  sorry  that  a  portion 
of  the  same  is  not  diflFused  into  every  system.  Learning, 
health,  and  happiness  are  here  promoted,  and  no  person  can 
conceive  of  the  delight,  happiness,  and  improvement  exhibited 
in  these  schools,  without  he  visit  them.  I  hope  the  time  is 
not  far  distant,  when  all  who  are  anxious  to  extend  the  most 
rational  means  of  education,  will  unite  together  in  giving  this 
system  an  extensive  diffusion.  After  this  age,  Lancasterian, 
and  national  schools,  afford  the  only  means  of  an  elementary 
education  to  the  greatest  part  of  poor  families.  Witli  able  su- 
perintendants,  and  confined  to  the  legitimate  object*  of  schools 
these  institutions  are  greatly  superior  to  any  other  means 
that  ever  came  within  the  reach  of  the  poor;  and,  indeed, 
frequently  surpass  many  private  establishments  where  a  con- 
dderable  charge  is  made.  Sunday  shools  also,  are  now  ex- 
ceedingly numerous,  and  though  the  managers  often  reject 
tlie  idea  of  considering  them  as  literary  establishments,  but 
support  them  as  a  medium  of  conveying  religious  information, 
and  as  nurseries  for  their  respective  societies,  yet  different 
motives  evidently  actuate  the  parents  of  the  children ;  and, 
viewed  in  their  results,  it  is  clear  that  the  parents'  expecta- 
tions are  ofteuer  realized  than  those  whose  object  is  religious 
instruction  alone.  Viewed  as  the  means  of  religious  instruc- 
tion, I  place  them  among  the  overwhelming  proofs  of 
ministerial  neglect.  Instead  of  neglecting  tlie  parents,  and 
employing  young  men  and  women  to  teach  the  children, 
ought  not  the   parents,   who  are    the  natural  guardians  and 


*  One  objection  that  I  have  against  the  nalioaal  schools,  (properly  church  schools) 
is,  thai  the  saying  of  prayers,  tlie  church  catechism,  &c.  forms  a  regular  part  of  their  schn- 
Ustic  eKercise.  looependeut  of  a  serious  loss  of  time,  I  appeal  t>  every  reflecting  person 
whether  it  does  n  >t  eugeu(ler/#rm<i/iVy,  make  sacred  things  too  common,  and  lead  to  a  vaiu 
and  an  irreverent  use  of  the  name  of  God.  Let  the  children  be  examined  astothenieauing 
of  what  tlit^y  repeat,  and  answer  \xi  then  own  ^mnU,  and  it  will  boon  be  perceived  that 
flwoiory.and  not  the  an<ifrti<iii4ing,  has  been  the  faculty  enuploytd,  and  that,  like  too  many 
of  our  modern  services,  it  isme.ely  in  irorJa.  Besides,  there  are  ina.ny  parents  who  con- 
scientiously object  to  thesr  forms  ;  and  because  they  are  poor,  and  have  no  other  oppor- 
tunity of  getting  their  cliildren  learning,  is  it  not  a  hard  case  to  do  violence  to  tlieir  con- 
Vict  ions?  If  Ixithcatbolicsand  clmn-hraen,  would  adopt  a  more  liberal  principle  in  their 
scliotds,  and  reserie  tiieir  peculiarities  to  more  appropriate  times  and  pUicts,  1  think  all 
parties  would  soon  perceive  the  advantage.  What  has  the  church  rained,  1  would  ask, 
vy  tius  forced  religious  conformity  !  If  an  atTection  had  been  produced  for  the  established 
religion,  Wi, at  overflowing  congregations  might  we  by  this  time  have  expected,  of  those 
who  had  been  e.irly  taugiit  in  our  national  schools  !  But  the  contrary  is  the  fact.  It 
isth*  ojiiniuu  of  ni  iny  thinking  persons  lint  tliese  s^Miools  are  working  the  overthrow 
ot  the  church;  tlic  people  become  aide  to  read  and  judge  for  themselves,  and  with  the 
scriptures  in  it'eir  hands,  they  conclude  justly,  that  the  system,  when  impartially  in- 
Virstigaleil,  is  directly  opposed  both  to  the  letter  and  geniu<of  the  religion  of  Christ  ; 
and  if  one  fatt  Iw  .  liMrer  than  another  it  is  tills,  that  the  increase  of  national  schools,  anj 
diuSectiou  for  the  cuurch,iMte  mutually  grown  up  together. 


80 

teaclicra  of  tlie  children,  to  be  instructed  first?  Make  tlic 
tree  good  and  tho  branches  will  be  good  also.  The  fact  is, 
the  better  our  ministers  are  paid,  the  worse  they  seem  to  do  their 
work,  and  the  more  they  are  incline<1  to  cast  it  upon  others. 
Sunday  schools,  while  they  do  much  good,  certainly  carry  with 
them  tho  continuance  of  a  great  evil.  Modified  as  to  time,  design, 
and  influence  upon  parcntSy  they  would  have  my  unqualified 
support. 

Tmproreroents  are  visible  in  most  of  our  common  schools,  and, 
as  the  scrutinizing  spirit  of  the  age  will  assuredly  beget  further 
improvements,  it  is  unnecessary  to  make  many  observations  un- 
der this  head.  1  will  venture,  however,  to  throw  out  a  few 
hints.  In  menial  education,  and  in  a  proper  division  of  labour 
in  teaching,  we  are  far  behind  our  Scottish  neighbours  :  they 
instruct  the  understanding  ;  we,  tho  memory,  the  bands,  and  the 
tongue.  The  science  of  morals,  as  a  distinct  subject  for  instruc- 
tion, is  almost  entirely  overlooked  ;  but  I  put  it  to  every  sen- 
sible school-master,  whether  it  is  not  as  necessary  as  grammar 
or  geography,  and  much  more  important  than  mere  accomplish- 
ments. How  easy,  by  familiar  illustrations,  and  by  the  actions 
of  the  children  themselves,  to  explain,  and  fix  upon  the  mind, 
every  moral  virtue  !  In  preference  to  so  much  book  instruc- 
tion, I  would  recommend  short  lectures  upon  every  useful  sub- 
ject;  and  thus  lay  a  foundation  in  the  youthful  mind  for  further 
study  and  investigation.  With  plainness  of  language,  and  a 
constant  reference  to  Si^nsible  objects,  they  would  be  as  instruc- 
tive and  interesting  as  they  are  in  infant  schools.  A  course  of 
interrogations,  answered  in  the  children's  own  language,  is  very 
interesting.  Mast^^rs,  like  parents,  should  be  always  firm,  but  at 
the  same  time,  kind  and  condescending  ;  and  should  try  to  make 
the  children  happy  and  cheerful.  I  like -to  see  every  part  of  a 
school  clean  and  orderly  ;  well  swept  and  dusted  every  morning  ; 
ur.d  the  hats,  bags,  books,  slate.s,  rulers,  &c.  in  their  proper 
places.  An  attenton  to  all  these  points,  would  considerably 
lessen  the  difficulty  of  parental  teaching. 

Correct  colloquial  speaking,  I  have  always  thought,  should  be 
taught  in  schools,  as  well  as  reading  and  writing  ;  they  are  all 
but  different  modes  of  communicating  and  receiving  information  ; 
and  as  sneaking  is  first  in  order,  most  frequently  used,  and  cpr- 
tainly  most  important,  it  ought  to  be  made  a  distinct  branch  of 
instruction.     This  has  Icng  b"cn  overlooked  ;  and,  did  mylimiJs- 


81 

|>ermit,  I  think  I  coald  offer  weighty  reasons  why  it  should  claim 
precedence  of  many  other  subjects.  For  a  boy  to  be  able  to  choose 
appropriate  words,  and  to  convey  his  sentiments  and  ideas  to  hi* 
parents  and  associates,  correctly,  forcibly,  and  without  any  hiatus 
or  confusion,  is  certainly  a  most  valuable  acquisition.  Let  any 
man  attend  to  the  torrents  of  confusion  and  absurdity,  that  fall 
from  the  lips  of  persons  of  every  grade,  in  conversation,  and  then 
say,  whether  it  is  not  desirable  to  attempt  to  find  a  remedy  ; 
and  where  is  it  so  likely  to  begin  as  in  our  public  schools  ? 

The  art  of  reading,  in  some  schools,  is  very  badly  taught; 
it  is  a  naere  succession  of  syllabic  sounds.  Such  unintelligible, 
droning,  monotonous,  sounds  ard  uttered,  as  bid  defiance  to  any 
attempt  to  attach  meanings  to  them.  I  lately  visited  two  country 
schools,  and  I  was  really  vexed  to  hear  the  children  read  in  so 
ludicrous  a  style  ;  they  made  noise  enough,  but  were  clearly 
unconscious  of  any  meaning,  or  of  the  propriety  of  making  others 
to  understand.  This  prevailing  evil  is  exclusively  the  fault  of  the 
masters.  It  may  arise  from  a  habit  of  carelessness  ;  byt  it  oftener 
arises  from  the  use  of  improper  lessons,  and  from  their  inordinate 
length.  The  Bible  was  never  intended  for  a  school  book,  and,  in 
in  its  present  form,  it  is  very  unsuitable  for  this  purpose.  Child- 
ren, in  schools,  should  be  set  to  read  what  they  caa  understand, 
for,  with  very  little  care,  if  the  mind  be  engaged,  the  delivery  will 
be  correct.  Give  one  boy  a  story  about  Charles  and  the  apple 
tree — a  happy  family,  or  a  pretty  horse— and  another  a  chapter 
out  of  the  prophecies ;  and  yov  will  easily  per<;eive  one  of  the 
causes  of  so  much  bad  reading.  So  soon  as  an  infant  can  tell 
names,  such  as  dog,  can,  pot,  ink,  I  would  direct  it  to  the  things 
themselves  ;  so  soon  as  it  can  read  such  verbs  as,  sit,  run,  jump, 
.&c.  I  would  shew  it  the  meanings  in  real  life ;  and  if  it  were  at 
home,  its  own  actions  should  be  its  instructor;  sense  and 
sound  ought  always  to  go  together.  Instead  of  long,  dry,  and 
tedious  lessons,  let  them  be  short  and  in,teresting  ;  and  an  under- 
standing of  their  contents  will  be  the  best  guide  for  tones  and 
emphasis.  An  excellent  letter  will  be  found  under  the  head  of 
"Correspondence,"  upon  this  subject.  The  same  principle 
should  be  adopted  in  relation  to  spelling. 

Writing  is  an  art  in  which  but  few  excel.  As  in  reading,  I 
always  maintain,  that  the  pupils  do  too  much.  They  scribble 
over  whole  copy  books,  without  any  visible  improvement.  In- 
■tcad  of  frequent  change  and  variety,  only  one  copy  is  allowed  for 


one  page,  consisting  frequently  of  seven  or  eight  lines ;  ati^ 
if  yon  examine  the  writing,  you  will  generally  find,  as  a  conse- 
quence, that  the  last  lines  are  the  worst.  This  speaks  for  itself. 
The  scholars  should  write  in  classes,  according  to  their  proficien- 
cy ;  should  write  the  same  copy,  keep  the  same  time,  and  may 
change  seats  according  to  merit.  No  boy  should  be  allowed  to 
leave  his  seat  during  the  process.  Three  or  four  lines  will  be 
quite  sufficient  for  a  lesson  ;  and  the  writing  should  be  inspected 
every  line.  They  should  frequently  be  employed  in  classes  to 
write  pieces  recited  from  the  best  authors  ;  this  serves  t©  improve 
their  minds,  and  to  call  into  exercise  their  different  attainments. 
In  these  exercises,  when  well  conducted,  the  feeling  of  emulation 
becomes  very  strong.  It  is  strange,  that  while  writing  is  more 
practicable  in  classes  than  any  other  school  exercise,  it  sliould  be 
llie  last  to  be  practised.  In  reading,  every  bey  has  to  wait  in 
silence  for  his  turn,  in  ciphering  there  is  a  danger  of  one  boy 
copyrng  the  calculations  of  another,  but  in  writing,  all  are  fully 
employed,  without  any  danger  of  improper  imitation. 

Both  writing  and  accounts  should  be  studied  as  preparations 
for  real  life,  and  lience  every  circumstance,  in  which  these  use- 
ful branches  of  education  are  likely  to  be  brought  into  use,,  should 
be  anticipated  in  our  schools.  Indeed,  a  school  ought  to  be  a 
community  in  miniature.  To  see  the  addresses  of  letters,  to 
read  their  contents,  and  to  examine  the  book-keeping  even  of 
persons  who  have  gone  to  school  for  many  years  in  their  youth. 
Would  convince  any  one,  that  this  is  a  point  which  has  long  been 
neglected.* 

<  12. — In  conclusion,  let  rae  remind  you  of  the  great  importance 
of  exemplifying  in  your  own  conduct,  every  thing  you  enjoin  upon 
ybxit  children  If  you  teach  them  to  avoid  bad  company — to  be 
just  and  sincere — to  be  sociable  and  well  behaved — to  be  clean: 
and  orderly — to  be  innocent  in  their  recreations,  and  industrious 
in  their  habits, — to  be  virtuous  and  pious — you  must  give  an 
illustration  of  your  precepts  in  your  own  conduct.     Deficient  in 


*  I  would  just  beg  here  to  hint  to  schoolmasters,  the  impropriety  of  long  holidays  aX 
midsummer  and  Christmas.  la  boarding  schools,  where  the  students  have  to  go  home 
-to  a  diitance,  it  raav  be  iiroper  ;  but  it  is  a  decidedly  bad  regulation  for  other  schools. 
Like  too  much  of  a  good-thing,  four  or  five  wevks  tu^juther  ceases  to  bea  holiday  ;  leads 
boys  into  loose  and  idle  habits;  and  often  is  the  cause.uftheir  loiyettingmuch  that  they 
bad  learned.  Many  beys,  wiiose  minds  are  not  retentive,  will  require  otner  four  weeks  to 
lorn  what  they  have  forgotten,  and  thus  at  least,  we  have  a  loss  of  si.xtecn  weeks  ia  tlie 
\ear.  1  have  no  objection  to  occasional  holiihys,  evuisi'metiraes  for  a  whole  week,  if  it 
were  requisite,  but  I  know  that  the  present  i>lau  of  holidays  is  a  subject  of  loud  aud 
j^eueral  complaint. 


83 

this,  it  will  be  quite  an  exception,  if  3'our  children  do  not  follow 
the  example  instead  of  the  precept,  and,  as  they  a^^lvance  in  years, 
trample  your  authority  beneath  their  feet. — Spare  no  pains  to 
educate  your  children  well ;  and,  as  far  as  your  means  will  alloV', 
never  grudge  the  expence  of  their  instruction  at  school.  This 
is  the  best  legacy  you  can  give  them,  and,  with  their  own  industry 
and  integrity,  will  prove  more  valuable  than  riches.  Bear  in 
mind  also,  that  this  watchful  care  is  not  to  be  confined  to  th& 
first  stage  of  your  children's  lives  ;  it  must  be  continued  till  they 
arrive  at  manhood  ;  even  through  life  there  ought  to  be  no  period 
when  the  father  does  not  feel  a  pleasure  in  instructing  his  son, 
and  the  *on  in  paying  respect  and  deference  to  the  father.  From 
the  age  of  14  to  20  isjthe  most  critical  period  for  youth,  and 
the  greatest  caution  is  requisite,  lest  by  too  much  severity  you 
create  a  hostile  feeling,  or  by  too  lax  a  discipline  you  allow  pride, 
sensuality,  and  bad  companions  to  be  their  ruin.  At  this  ago 
the  mind  exerts  itself  with  more  independency,  and  often  takes, 
that  bias  which  continues  through  life.  Forgetting  their  childish 
habits,  youth  seek  association,  which,  if  ill  chosen,  as  is  too  often 
the  case,  leads  to  a  vicious  course  of  life  and  the  most  ruinous 
results.  The  youthful  passions  begin  also  to  acquire  strength, 
and,  if  not  regulated  by  moral  principle,  lead  to  that  dissipation 
of  which  we  have  so  many  examples  in  the  present  day.  I  par- 
ticularly mention  this,  because  I  fear,  from  observation,  that 
at  this  critical  period,  some  parents  have  been  culpably 
negligent.  Taking  a  general  view,  you  perceive  what  powerful 
obligation  you  are  under,  to  "  train  up  your  children  in  the  way 
they  should  go;"  and  instead  of  believing  tlie  common  assertion, 
"  it  is  just  as  they  turn  out,"— you  are  assured  by  the  wisest  of 
men,  that  *'when  they  are  old  they  will  not  depart  from  it." 
Can  you  any  longer  neglect  this  sacred  duty  ?  Will  you  suffer 
the  fruit  of  your  body,  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  and  vice,  to  be- 
come a  curse  to  themselves,  a  pest  to  society,  and  a  source  of . 
trouble  and  misery  all  the  days  of  your  lives  ?  Nature,  huma« 
nity,  religion,  interest,  patriotism,  all— 

Demand  your  lime,  your  thoughts,  your  cares, 
To  guide  the  young  from  dang'rous  snares. 
To  imbue  the  soul  with  truth  divine. 
And  make  each  life  with  virtue  shine. 


84 


A  VISIT  TO  MANCHESTER  : 

CONTAINING    REMARKS    ON    THE    MORAL,    SOCIjVL,   ANS^ 
RELIGIOUS    STATE    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

A  person  wisLing  to  contribute  to  the  melioration  of  society^ 
Ivill  take  every  opportunity  of  making'  himself  well  acquaintetf 
with  its  true  condition;  will  try  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  tho 
misery  and  vice  which  abound,  and  to  discover  the  most  practical 
and  efficient  remedies.  In  his  family,  business,  intercourse  with 
the  world,  religious  connections  ;  in  his  porambulaJions  through 
the  town,  in  his  visits  to  the  country ;  by  day  and  by  night,  he 
should  be  making  his  observations  upon  the  characters,  condi- 
tion, habits,  pursuits  and  prospects  of  all  classes  in  society.  A 
visit  to  any  of  our  large  manufacturing  towns,  affords  a  fine  scope 
for  interesting  remark. 

In  the  way  of  business,  I  visited  Manchester  on  new-year's 
day,  and  was  there  part  of  Saturday,  and  the  whole  of  Sunday. 
Arriving  about  eleven  o'clock,  I  was  surprised  to  notice  the  vast 
number  of  people  who  were  crowded  in  every  main  street.  This 
was  owing  to  new-year's  day  being  usually  kept  as  a  great  holi- 
day in  Manchester,  and  also  to  the  entry  of  Mr.  Hunt  from  Old- 
ham, in  his  new  character  as  member  for  Preston,  The  appear- 
ance and  demeanour  of  the  people  were  especially  objects  of  my 
observation.  I  was  sorry  to  notice  from  the  general  complexioa 
all  those  symptons  which  indicate  distress  and  misery.  Many, 
were  badly  clothed,  very  dirty^  and  with  countenances  niuclr 
dejected  ;  and  still,  as  I  fancied,  indicated  by  their  movements  and 
riianners,  were  supported  by  a  hope  of  better  times.  The  mise- 
ry of  these  people,  was  evidently  owing  to  their  poverty  ;  but 
from  several  incidents  it  was  equally  clear  that  this  poverty  was 
ill  too  many  cases  the  product  of  idleness  and  excess.  Most  of 
the  wretchedly  poor  hide  themselves  in  their  miserable  hovels, 
and  do  not  trouble  the  public  streets.  Here  I  beheld,  what  I 
have  seen  and  lamented  in  every  other  place,  a  total  want  of  fa- 
mily ties.  On  a  holiday,  when  there  is  a  little  time  for  recreation, 
I  love  to  see  the  people  iny6»«7/<?5 ;  thehusbatid,  wife,  and  child- 
ren, forming  a  happy  band.  Instead  of  this,  we  find  the  men  in 
groups,  the  women  in  groups,  and  the  children  in  groups.  And, 
While  the   order  of  Providence  is  thus  trampled  upon  in  families^ 


85 

how  can  we  expect  that  the  parties  will  fulfil  their  duties  to  so- 
ciety ?  A  very  considerable  number  of  those  who  were  drunk 
in  the  streets,  consisted  of  lads  and  young  men,  who,  tempted 
with  cheap  ale  and  cheap  spirits,  if  they  can  raise  a  few  pence, 
think  it  an  actof  bravery  to  get  drunk.  Though  I  was  assured 
there  was  less  drunkenness  than  on  the  preceeding  years,  yet  to 
me  the  scene  was  awfully  disgusting.  The  public  houses  were 
crowded,  so  much  so  in  some  places,  that  the  fumes  of  the  liquor 
impregnated  the  atmosphere  of  the  street.  The  dram  shops  were 
in  full  operation  ;  and  it  is  almost  incredible,  the  number  who 
slip  in,  take  their  glass,  and  post  away.  Being  attracted  by  the 
bustle  of  one  of  these  "  hells,"  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New-cross, 
though  it  was  a  very  cold  evening,  I  undertook  to  count  the  num- 
ber of  visitors  in  a  single  half  hour.  Though  it  was  early  in  the 
evening,  from  five  minutes  to  thirty-five  minutes  paist  six,  there 
entered  into  this  single  place  162  persons  !  two  thirds  of  whom 
were  women,  and  many  of  them  young  girls.  After  1  had  finish- 
ed this  task  I  went  in  myself,  and  found  in  the  room  where  the 
liquor  was  sold,  no  fewer  than  47  persons  waiting.  The  pros- 
titutes, of  whom  there  are  great  numbers  infesting  that  part  of 
the  towHj  make  to  these  dram  shops  ;  here  they  get  treated  with- 
spirits,  and  too  often  seize  upon  their  unhappy  victims. 

Parading  the  streets  for  several  hours  in  the  evening,  I  often 
said  to  myself — here  is  an  immense  population  of  immortal  beings, 
created  and  supported  by  the  kind  hand  of  the  Almighty,  and  laid 
under  infinite  obligations  to  praise  him  and  to  live  to  his  glory;, 
endowed  with  rational  intelligencej  and  furnished  with  every  in- 
centive to  promote  the  happiness  of  their  kind — depraved  in  prin- 
ciple, dead  to  the  noblest  feelings  of  humanity,  pursuing  merely 
animal  gratifications,  and,  regardless  of  consequences,  are  posting 
forward  headlong  to  ruin!  Here  is  also  a  train  of  temptations, 
which  nothing  but  an  unusual  depravity  of  manners,  a  combina- 
tion of  vicious  agents,  and  a  general  absence  of  corrective  opt  ra- 
tions, could  possibly  have  established.  Here  are  public  Jiouses 
j«rry  shops,  and  dram  siiops  at  Ihe  ends  and  sides  of  every  street. 
The  bving  are  caught  in  these  traps  of  iniquity,  and  become  an 
easy  prey  ;  while  the  dead  lie  slain  in  thousands,  exhibiting  their 
insensibility  and  disgrace. — Indte<l,  to  paiade  the  streets  of 
Manchester  on  certain  occasions,  observirg  the  general  current 
of  character,  a  stranger  would  be  led  to  think  that  men  had  suc- 
ceeded in  erasing  from  their  minds  every  impression  of  a  (uUhq 


88 

state  ;  and  that,  instead  of  pursuing'  virtue  as  the  road  to  bappi* 
ness,  they  had  fixed  upon  animal  gratification  as  the  sole  end  of 
their  creation.  And  all  this  (strange  paradox)  in  the  face  of 
churches,  chapels,  prisons,  priests,  parsons  and  police  !  But  the 
stranger  might  say, — you  give  us  only  one  side  of  the  story  ;  we 
have  heard  of  the  religion  of  Briton,  of  its  overflowing  zeal  for 
bibles,  and  tracts,  and  missions,  and  of  its  anxiety  to  convert  aU 
the  heathens  into  true  christians  ;  and  we  have  often  read  in  the 
reports  of  its  societies,  of  the  great  good  that  is  accomplished  at 
home,  and  of  the  improvement  of  the  people  ;  be  impartial,  and 
tell  us  of  all  the  efforts  you  met  with  of  this  description,  in  your 
perambulations.  Alas  !  this  is  too  easy  a  task ;  I  met  with 
none.  The  current  ran  all  oneway  ;  the  temptations,  the  influ- 
ence were  all  on  one  side.  Layal  as  I  am,  with  all  these  reflections 
upon  my  mind,  I  could  not  help  accusing  the  government  either 
of  consummate  ignorance,  or  of  sheer  hypocrisy  ;  fur  it  aflfects  to 
provide  ifor  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people,  to  base  the  law*,  of 
the  country  upon  the  morality  of  the  bible,  and  to  suppress  blas- 
phemy and  vice ;  yet,  it  not  only  tolerates  drunkenness  and  de- 
bauchery, by  suffering  public  houses  to  be  perverted  from  their 
original  design,  but  actually  gives  a  bonus  for  these  excesses,  by- 
reducing  the  price  of  ale  and  spirits.  As  for  the  popular  minis- 
ters of  religion,  who  talk  of  the  value  of  souls,  and  profess  to  be 
nioved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  care  of  them  ;  who  preach  up 
self-denial,  earthly  crucifixion,  and  heavenly  rewards,  I  can 
scarcely  trust  myself,  in  giving  vent  to  that  settled  feeling  of 
dissatisfaction  which  I  experience,  at  beholding  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  left  without  any  guide  or  restraint,  while  they  are 
rioting  in  wealth  and  luxury,  or  at  least,  enjoying  themselves  in 
sweet  retirement.  With  the  enemy  in  the  field,  and  his  emissa- 
ries in  every  street,  there  should  be  no  rest  for  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross.  I  read  of  the  first  teachers,  that  "  daili/  in  the  temple 
and  in  evert/  house,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus 
Christ  ;"  so  much  so,  that  ^' they Jilled  Jerusalem  with  their  doc- 
trine." But  this  is  not  the  casein  Manchester  ;  these  were  men 
of  different  spirits  ;  were  actuated  by  different  motives  ;  and 
having  no  sinister  ends  in  view,  and  embodying  in  their  plans  an 
appropriate  agency,  made  a  direct  attack  upon  the  common  foe. 
♦'  But  stay,"  says  one,  "  tomorrow  you  shall  see  the  banners  of 
the  cross,  and  religion  in  all  its  glory."  Well,  I  will  wait. 
Morning  arrives,  the  bells  ring,  and  uumbers  of  people  are  mov-/ 


89 

ing  in  every  direction  to  the  churches  and  chapels,  But  these 
seemed  quite  a  different  order  of  people  to  those  I  bad  snen  the 
night  before.  These  were  all  well  clothed,  and  allof  the  middling 
and  upper  ranks  of  life.  Pursuing  the  sayings  of  the  scriptures, 
that  "  God  had  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in  faith," — that 
"not  many  rich,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called,"— 
that  of  Christ's  teaching  it  was  said  "  the  common  people  heard 
him  gladly,"  (  said  to  myself,  what  a  mighty  contrast !  Con- 
founded for  a  moment,  it  was  wispered  to  me — "eighteen  hundred 
years  have  made  many  changes,  not  the  least  of  which  is  in  the 
article  called  "  Christianity ;"  and  this  is  the  true  reason  why, 
instead  of  the  people  you  saw  yesterday,  the  rich  and  the  opulent 
are  the  ostensible  friends  of  religion."  While  this  class  was  per- 
forming the  Sunday  duty  of  "  attending  divine  service,"  1  found 
from  inspection,  that  the  bulk  of  the  working  people,  and  the 
poorest  of  the  inhabitants,  attended  no  place  of  worship. 

But,  intending  to  go  somewhere  myself,  and  deeply  depressed 
with  the  wickedness  1  had  witnessed  the  night  before,  I  thought, 
surely  this  will  be  the  topic  of  every  sermon  this  day  :  and  I  fan- 
cied, instead  of  some  detached  sentence  from  Ihe  scriptures,  if 
some  such  text  as  the  following  were  adopted,  what  a  vast  field  it 
would  open  for  useful  investigation, — "  There  are  thousands 
upon  thousands  in  the  town,  who  have  no  religion;  who,  ignorant, 
depraved,  and  miserable,  are  spreading  an  immoral  contagion  all 
around-^there  are  thousands  of  temptations  of  the  most  danger- 
ous description  ;  ale  houses,  dram  shops,  bouses  of  bad  fame,  &c. 
and  we,  with  an  immense  population,  and  with  all  the  parade  of 
religion  amongst  us,  are  becoming  thoroughly  corrupt — what  i* 

TO  BE  DONE  .^" 

I  attended  in  the  morning  at  the  Independent  Chapel,  Oxford 
Road;  it  is  a  spacious,  splendid  building,  and  finished  in  the 
first  style  ;  galleried  round,  and  a  second  gallery  for  the  school 
children.  The  pulpit,  neither  box  or  tub,  but  more  like  a  fami- 
ly pew,  is  really  superb,  and  can  be  entered  by  a  flight  of 
stairs  at  each  side.  The  congregation  was  very  slender,  con- 
sisting of  genteel  persons,  but  very  few  with  their  families  with 
them.  The  preacher  was  a  youth,  apparently  of  very  amiable 
dispositions,  and,  as  a  pulpit  orator,  above  mediocrity.  He 
took  for  his  text,  "  Revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years  ;'* 
and  seemed  to  endeavour  very  sincerely  and  zealously  to  impress 
his  hearers  with  the  importance  of  a  revival  in  religion.     Though 


88 

be  was  surrounded  with  the  worldly  app?ndajes  of  religion,  ha 
strongly  dissuaded  them  from  taking  up  with  these  instead  of 
religion  itself.  But  though  I  was  disposed  to  give  full  credit  to 
the  young  man's  intentions,  to  me  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been 
tutored  in  a  school,  and  was  bound  by  established  customs,  which 
will  prevent  his  usefulness  in  that  way  which  the  state  of  society 
so  loudly  calls  for.  Though  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  fruit 
of  his  labour,  he  must  continue  to  sow  his  seed  three  times  every 
Sunday  in  the  same  place,  instead  of  ploughing  up  the  "  fallow 
ground,"  and  visiting,  and  teaching,  and  mixing  with  the  multi- 
tudes who  either  are  too  poor  to  get  clothes,  or  too  depraved  to 
feel  inclined  to  go  to  any  place  of  worship. 

In  the  Afternoon  I  attended  Cold-bouse  chapel,  adjoining 
Shude-hill.  The  people  are  generally  known  by  the  name  of  Scotch 
Baptist.  It  is  a  small,  neat,  commodious  place  ;  there  are  no 
pews,  but  comfortable  forms,  and  all  the  seats  are  free;  very 
much  resembling  the  chapels  belonging  to  the  Friends.  ,  Their 
teachers  are  plain  men,  who  follow  their  respective  callings 
through  the  week  for  a  livelihood  ;  and  the  gospel  is  always 
offered  without  charge.  They  have  among  them  two  most  ex- 
cellent practices,  and  which  exhibit  a  great  deal  of  the  primitive 
spirit; — the  first,  a  liberal  collection  every  Lord's  day  for  their 
own  poor  ;  and,  having  no  pew  rents  or  minister's  salary  to  pay, 
they  are  able  to  spare  it.  The  next  is,  what  may  be  called  a 
"love  feast,"  which  they  hold  after  the  service  is  over  in 
the  afternoon  ;  most  of  the  members  stop,  perhaps  to  the  number 
of  fifty  or  sixty,  with  the  children,  and  they  all  partake  of  a  friend- 
ly repast  of  tea  or  coffee.  They  really  seem  quite  happy  in  each 
other's  company  ;  and  the  poor,  who  have  nothing  to  pay,  are 
made  equally  as  welcome  as  the  rich.  The  sociability  of  this 
sect  is  only  equalled  by  that  of  the  Quakers.  But  whilst  I  admire 
their  order,  and  attention  to  each  other,  I  must  say  that,  like 
other  denominations,  hitherto  they  have  exhibited  by  far  too 
little  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  that  licth  in  wick- 
iidness. 

In  the  evening  I  went  to  the  Methodist  Chapel,  Grosvenor 
Street.  It  is  a  most  spacious  building,  and  fully  equals  the  In- 
dependent chapel  in  splendour.  They  have  a  fine  organ  •  and 
indeed,  every  thing  seemed  fascinating  to  one's  senses.  The  chapel 
was  well  attended  with  respectable,  and,  I  should  suppose  from 
appearances,    wealthy    families.      We   have  however  a  better 


«9 


criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  the  real  state  of  religion,  than 
our  popular  cougregatious,  or,  with  such  specimens  as  this,  our 
anticipations   would  be   gloomy   as  to  the  finaUtate  of  the 
poor     A  Mr.  Scott  was  the  preacher  ;  he  seemed  a  very  plai  \Xf 
and  talented  preacher  ;  and  gav^e  us  a  good  sermon  ou  "living 
and  dying  to  the   Lord-"     After  service  was  over,  on  my  way 
to  visit  a  friend,  I  stepped  into  Oxford-road  chapel,  belonging 
also  to  the  Methodists,;    and,  though  I  had  heard  much  of 
relio-ious  grandeur  among  the  dissenters,  upon  entering  this 
pla^e  I  felt  an  impression,  something,  I  fancy,  like  that  of  the 
Queen  of  ShebTi,  when  she  first  beheld  the  glory   of  Solomon. 
It  is  the  grandest  chapel  I  ever  saw.- It  is  in  the  nature  of  all 
:iT,9titutions  to  decay;   religion  can  only  flourish  when  it  is 
adverse   to  the   world;    but,  so  soon  as,  by  the  favour  of  the 
rich,  the    sunshine   of   prosperity  beams  upon  it,  it  becomes 
corrupt.     It  may  retain  its  name,  may  suit  the  formalist  and 
the  hypocrite,  but  loses  its  power  for  reforming  the  world. 

Thus   ended   my  attendance  for  ^he  day   at  the  several 
places  of  worship,  and  I  returned  to  my  lodging  with  a  mix- 
ture of  reflections,  for  which  I  cannot  here  find  room.     And 
thouo-h  the  scenes  of  the  previous   night  haunted  my  mmd 
throuo-h  the   whole  of  the  day,  every  preacher  abstained  as 
much  from  making   any  dtred  representation  of  the  evils, 
as  if  they  had  never  existed.      Their  labours  are  of  another 
cast,  and  suited  to  a  different  state  of  society,  and  I  venture  to 
affirm,  that  without   a   thorough  revolution  in   the   system 
of  religious  teaching,  neither  Manchester,  nor  Preston,  nor 
any  other  place,   will  ever  partake  of  that  moral  renova- 
tion,  which  is  so  desirable.     There  is  much   that  is  praise- 
worthy   among    all    these   denominations,   and   I    have   no 
doubt  many  of  the  preachers   are  very  sincere  and  active 
in  thnr  way,  but  I  maintain  that    their  labours    are   not 
calculated   to    remove    the   evils   which   at   present   afflict 

.?"<^^^*y-  J.  L. 


¥ 


m 

SEPARATION  OF  CHURCH  AND   STATE. 

So  soon  aa  the  important  queation  of  Parliamentary  Reform 
is  disposed  of,  it  is  evident  from  tlie  signs  of  the  times  tliat  the. 
*^  Church  and  the  Tithes"  are  the  next  subjects  for  public  agi- 
tation. Though  commuting,  compromising,  and  modifying, 
are  recommended  by  what  are  called  church  reformers; 
there  are  two  parties  which  this  course  will  not  suit — those 
who  regard  tlie  churcli  just  as  the  priests  of  old  regarded  the 
temple  of  the  Babylonian  Bel ;  and  those  who  aim  at  pure 
Christianity,  and  are  wishful  to  bring  the  establishment  to  the 
primitive  mod6l.  If,  instead  of  going  to  the  root  of  the  evil, 
we  leare  the  church  the  same  in  constitxition,  and  merely  re- 
move a  few  external  deformities,  which  are  too  monstrous  for 
the  present  age ;  it  will  be  like  putting  a  new  patch  upon  an 
old  garment,  and  the  rent  will  be  ultimately  worse.  To  judge 
what  the  church  ought  to  be,  we  should  take  it  in  a  scriptural 
and  a  religious  point  of  view,  and  not  merely  as  the  play  thing 
of  politicians.  Let  the  legitimate,  the  scriptural  object  o€  the 
church  of  Christ  be  kept  in  view,  and  we  have  correct  data  ta 
proceed  upon.  This  would  lead  at  once  to  tlie  discovery,  that 
the  church  is  made  a  handle  of,  for  purposes  the  most  distant 
from  true  religion.  It  has  been  used  as  a  strong  political  instru- 
ment to  assist  in  giving  a  ramified  influence  to  the  purposes 
of  despotism, — it  is  made  the  fish  pool  of  the  titled  orders  of 
the  country,  and  of  those  who  are  in  love  with  "  filthy  lucre," — 
it  is  a  fine  medium  through  which  patrons  can  shew  favour,  and 
command  imfluence  without  any  personal  cost — and  it  is  a 
source  of  petty  tyranny  and  oppression  of  one  party  over 
others,  throughout  the  whole  country.  Strip  it  of  all  these  false 
characters  ;  thk6  away  its  vrealth,  the  source  of  all  its  corrup- 
tions, and  its  arm  of  flesh,  the  source  of  all  its  oppression  ; 
let  it  stand  on  ita  own  internal  excellency,  and  if  it  be  of 
God,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against  it.  Let  tlve 
whole  of  the  church  property  be  sold  aud  applied  to  the  pur- 
poses of  state,  and  let  the  government  protect  the  professors  of 
all  religions  ^like,  so  long  as  they  are  good  subjects,  and  fa- 
vour none.  If  the  church  system  be  so  "apostolical,"  as  soiwe 
would  have  us  believe,  why  do  they  make  wealth  its  foundation 
and  power  its  hiding  place  ?  To  separate  the  church  from  the 
state  would  be  the  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  it ;  it 
would  then  be  respected ;  would  be  an  instrument  of  real 
utility  ;  and  hatred  and  animosities  would  cease.  When  the 
relief  bill  passed,  a  certain  writer  said  "we  have  now  nothing 
left  worth  contending  for."  But  if  the  church  was  even  sev- 
ered from  the  state  tomorrow,  I  say,  that  every  thing  that  is 
worth  contending  for,  as  a  religious  institution,  would  still 
remain.    Indeed,  if  there  were  no  bishops,  no  ecclesiastical 


I 


PI 

courts,  no  spiritual  peers,  no  acta  of  parliament  far  cliurcl* 
worship,  no  earthly  head,  I  cannot  see  where  the  real  useful- 
ness of  the  church  would  be  abridged  in  one  single  instance. 
The  people  would  have  the  same  faith,  meet  in  the  ^aane 
churches,  and  would  have  the  same  liturgy  to  regulate  their 
prayers  and  praises.  Those  who  are  pious  and  sincere  would 
never  know  the  difference  ;  every  thing  estimable  with  them 
would  still  remain.  One  change  alone  would  be  felt ;  and  I 
believe  it  would  be  acceptable  to  many  who  wish  well  to  the 
church  ;  like  all  other  denominations,  they  would  have  to  sup- 
port their  own  religion.  To  appeal,  therefore,  to  parliament, 
for  to  reform  and  to  modify,  is  only  to  perpetuate  <in  evil ;  and 
to  make  it  a  subject  of  endless  agitation.  Parliament,  at  best, 
is  but  ill  qualified  to  make  a  r-eligion  for  the  country ;  and 
how  much  more  so,  after  admitting  catholics  and  dissenters 
into  its  number.  L(?t  thepeopl«,  therefore,  be  honest,  and  ex- 
press their  minds  fearlessly ;  let  the  gentlemen  of  the  press  sjieak 
out,  and  never  mince  tlie  matter  by  "a sincere  respect  for  our 
church  ;"  let  our  petitions  be  for  an  entire  separation  of  church 
and  state  ;  leaving  the  members  of  the  church  themselves,  to 
adopt  such  reforms  as  tliey  tliink  proper.  With  the  firsts  the  na- 
tion has  a  right  to  interfere  ;  with  the  second,  it  has  no  right 
to  meddle. 


WEAVERS'  WAGES,  AND  CORN  LAWS. 

To  me  it  is  quite  clear,  after  the  opening  of  the  budget, 
that,  in  the  present  circumvstances  of  the  country,  to  expect 
an  efftcient  relief  for  the  poor  and  labouring  classes,  from  a 
^•eduction  of  taxes  merely,  would  be  the  greatest  delusion. 
What  relief  is  there  offered  to  the  poor  weaver  ?  About  a 
penny  a  week  in  candles  !  Is  this  likely  to  conciliate  the 
country  ?  To  live  like  human  beings,  the  weavers'  wages 
must  be  doubled  ;  but,  as  that  is  not  practicable,  the  price  of 
his  bread  ought  to  be  balanced  with  his  wages.  The  curse  of 
the  country  is  the  corn  law,  and  till  that  is  repealed,  persons 
may  drag  tlieir  weary  limbs  about,  may  beset  the  dispensary 
for  physicians,  crowd  the  workhouse  to  excess,  may  sink  be- 
neath their  sufferings,  and  die  for  hunger  ;  but  there  will  be  no 
relief.  I  could  fill  a  volume  with  detailing  the  most  miserable 
and  wretched  cases,  which  have  come  before  me  during  the 
past  month.  Oh!  how  hard,  that  honest  and  industrious 
men  should  hunger,  while  God  gives  bread  enough  and  to 
spare ! 

The  following  is  a  correct  statement  of  the  respective  earn- 
ings of  nine  weavers,  upon  an  average  of  the  last  six  weeks, 
after  deducting  for  candles,  winding,  sowing,  &c.       These 


02 

persons  devote  the  whole  of  their  lime  to  weaving",  and  some  of 
them  work  from  5,  to  9  or  10  at  night.  This  statement  is 
taken  from  the  books  of  a  respectable  maniifactnrer,  and  to 
which  reference  at  any  time  maybe  mailc.  The  first  on  the 
list  gets  the  most  money  of  any  weaver  he  Iihs,  and  tlie  list 
itself  maybe  considered  as  a  fair  specimen  of  all  his  weavers; 
So  many  exaggerated  statements  are  abroad,  that  I  tliought 
this  might  be  useful : — 

W.  M.—Ss.ld.     W.  N.— 6«8|rf'     R.  G.~U.  lOr/. 

R.    ll.—7s.3d.      R.   M.— 6s.0irf.     J.    P.— 4.<<.  6d. 

J.    p.—6s.9d.      J.     H.—5s.0d.      T.    G.—  U.  2d. 
Making  an  average  of  5s.  11 /id.  each,  per  week. 

Such  is  the  miserable  pittance  of  the  weaver,  and,  with  pro- 
visions at  the  present  exhorbitant  price,  if  any  man  in  the  coun- 
try can  behold  this  state  of  things,  without  raising  his  determined 
voice  against  it,  he  must  be  destitute  of  the  common  feelings 
of  humanity. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

The  impiovenaeat  of  the  working  classes  in  understandine^  and 
morality  is  a  sprecies  of  refoim,  at  once  practicable  and  Iiighly  valuable. 
It  readily  receives  the  patronage  and  exertions  of  indi^'iduals  who  hesitate, 
oi*  perhaps  object,  to  join  in  the  use  of  means  strictly  religious.  It  is  a 
subject  very  suitable  for  discussion  in  "The  Moral  Reformer,"  and  I  trust 
it  will  not  fail  to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  its  pages.  Allow  me  then  to 
call  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  the  inutility,  as  a  corrective  montl 
influence,  of  the  present  mode  of  teaching  the  art  of  reading ;  and  the 
means  of  effecting  a  beneficial  change. 

Great  exertions  have  been  made  of  late  years  to  instruct  the  lower  clas- 
ses ;  much  improvement  has  been  made  in  the  method  of  teaching ;  and 
the  patriotic  wish  of  the  Sire  of  our  present  Monarch,  that  every  child  in 
his  dominions  might  be  able  to  read  the  Bible,  has  nearly  been  accomplish- 
ed. But  has  a  corresponding  increase  of  knowledge  and  morality  accom- 
panied it?  Most  assuredly  not.  Multitudes  who  can  read,  are  nearly, if 
iiot  altogether,  as  ignorant  as  those  who  cannot.  And  the  reason  is*,  they 
were  taught  only  to  read.  Reading  i-;  undoubtedly  a  most  excelltnt  means 
of  attaining  knowledge;  but,  as  the  most  powerful  and  best  constructed 
engine  is  motionless  in  the  absence  of  the  moving  power,  so,  mere  reading, 
will  not  make  a  person  wise.  Chapter  after  chapter,  or  section  after  section 
may  be  accurately  read,  but  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  it  is  understood,  that 
knowledge  is  obtained.  The  question  therefore  to  the  reader,  is,  ♦'  Under- 
standest  thou  what  thou  readest  ?"  And  the  original  answer  is  equalfy 
bpplicabl^ere,  "  How  can  1,  except  some  one  guide  mc." 


Tliere  is  no  necessary  connexion  between  sounds  and  sense ;  merely 
pronouncing  words  does  nol  necessarily  communicate  ideas;  nor  is  there 
any  secret  charm  in  the  characters  perused  to  inform  the  judgement. 
Would  a  boy  ever  learn  drawing  by  daily  turning  over  a  number  of  paintiiigu, 
and  rhyming — "  this  is  a  hoi-se  and  that  is  a  cow,  that  colour  is  black,  and 
this  is  blue?"  no,  he  must  himse'f  work  at  the  art,  and  *' use,  as  well  as 
name  his  tools  :"  so  instruction  in  reading  must  be  rendered  rational  and 
intellectual,  or  mental  and  moral  improvement  is  not  to  be  expected.  It 
may  be  said,  that,  "the  individuals  referred  to  can  speak,  and  books  exhibit 
only  written  language,  the  readers  cannot  therefore  fail  of  gaining  mental 
improvement,  provided  they  read  attentively  and  correctly."  To  this  I 
reply,  that  a  large  proportion  of  what  they  (the  lower  classes)  read,  is  com- 
prised in  words  of  which  they  make  no  use  in  their  ordinary  conversation; 
or,  if  they  do  occasionally  use  them,  they  only  shew  how  egregiously  ther 
mistake  their  meaning  ;  and  of  tfiose  which  they  do  use,  the  vulgarity  and 
provincialism  of  their  pronunciation,  render  the  same  words  iinintelligible 
to  them,  when  they  ineet  with  them  in  perusing  a  volume.  Thus  a  boy  at 
school  reads  a  familiar  story  of  a  bird  ;  but  he  is  accustomed  to  call  a  bird,  a 
6rid,  and  till  he  has  by  some  means  discovered  that  the  words  are  syuoui- 
mous,  he  is  unable  to  comprehend  what  he  has  read. 

1  come  now  to  notice  the  remedy  •,  and  it  is  gratifying  that  I  am  not 
under  the  necessity  of  speculating,  but  can  recommeud  an  experiment 
that  has  been  tried,  aud  has  most  triumphantly  succeeded.  We  have 
been  surprised  aud  delighted  with  the  accounts  of  movements  on  railways 
at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  per  hour;  and  it  is  a  source  of  unmingled  satis- 
faction, that  a  power  has  been  introduced  into  education,  that  gives  to  the 
boy  of  ten  years  more  information  than  his  father  probably  possessed 
at  thirty. 

Mr.  Wood,  and  Mr.  Gall,  of  Edinburgh,  have  bc^n  the  honoured  instrn- 
iuents  of  eftecting  this  iniprovement ;  but,  the  efforts  of  the  latter,  bein^ 
directed  chiefly  to  sabbath  schools,  1  shall,  at  present,  confine  my  remaiks 
to  day  school  instruction  as  improved  by  Mr.  U'ood. 

The  method  is,  to  instruct  children  from  the  very  commencement  of 
their  learning  to  read,  in  the  meauing  of  what  they  read  ;  to  teach  them 
sense  as  well  as  sound.  This  very  desirable  object  is  accomplished  by  a 
judicious  coui"se  of  questioning,  perseveringly  pursued,  after  every  lesson. 
The  questions  should  be,  fiist  general,  as  to  the  subject  read  ;  and  then 
particular,  as  to  the  meaning  and  formation  of  words.  By  this  means 
"  the  acquisition  of  the  mechanical  art  of  reading  is  rendered  more  easy  and 
pleasing  ;  the  invaluable  habit  of  attention  is  formed  iu  the  youthful  mind  • 
much  iufurmalion  on  a  variety  of  subjects  is  aflforded;  and,  by  means  of  (he 
uiiuute  analysis,  a  general  commund  of  his  own  language  is  given  to  the 
pupil."  It  is  necessary  that  the  teacher  should  acquire  a  facility  ofaskinr 
questions  extempore,  rather  than  take  llieni  from  books  or  previously  pre- 
pared notes,  as  the  most  useful  questions  aic  tVequcnIly  those  suggested  bv 
the  answer  just  received.  Of  course,  Icss^uns- <in  the  illustrative  mode  of  in- 
Etruction  occupy  moietime  than  when  (he  art  of  rcadingonly  islanght  and 


noaitors,  to  a  certain  extent,  are  rendered  necessary  j  but  this  is  a  bcof  fit, 
inasmuch  as  it  keeps  a  larger  number  of  the  scliolars  actively  employed,  and 
prevents  them  from  acquiring  indolent  and  pernicious  habits. 

The  success  which  has  attended  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Wood  iu  the  Edin- 
burgh Sessional  School  has  roused  the  teachers  of  Scotland,  and  "there  ia 
DOW  scarcely  any  account  of  the  public  examination  of  a  school  to  be  found 
in  any  of  the  newspapers,  which  does  not  particularly  notice  the  manner  in 
which  the  children  have  been  taught  to  understand  and  explain  what  they 
read."  1  regret  I  am  not  able  to  »efer  to  any  school  "  south  of  the  Tweed  " 
as  affording  a  specimen  of  this  valuable  method  of  instruct  ion  :— the  writer 
of  this  paper  has  adopted  it  in  part,  and  is  confident  thai  it  is  capable  of 
producing  the  benefit  ascribed  to  itj  it  was  stated,  however,  some  weeks  ago 
in  a  Manchester  newspaper  that  a  school  on  the  plan  of  the  Edinburgh 
Sessional  School,  was  about  to  be  commenced  in  that  town.  Such  a  school, 
under  a  skilful  teacher,  would  be  of  great  seivice  in  affording  teachers  the 
opportunity  of  personally  ascertaining  tlie  whole  of  the  madus  operandi  ^ 
and  would  also,  by  drawing  public  attention,  be  the  means  of  raising  many 
similar  institutions.  In  the  mean  time  1  beg  to  recommend  to  the  notice  of 
teachers,  and  of  everyone  interested  in  the  promotion  of  Education,  Mr. 
Wood's  "  Account  of  the  Edinburgh  Sessional  School." 

I  am,  Sir,  Yours  respectfully, 

A  TEACHER. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 

Sir, 

As  very  intimately  connected  with  diligence  in  worldly  avocations, 
I  would  wish  to  point  out  to  the  labourer  the  necessity  of  Enterprise. 
Let  a  man  pursue  his  labour  with  what  diligence  he  may,  still  he  cannot 
(especially  in  thb  age  of  invention)  ex.pect  materially  to  impiove  his  cir- 
cumstances if  he  do  not  perseveringly  aim  at  attaining  a  more  elevated  sta- 
tion in  society.  The  man  who  fixes  his  attention  on  high  objects,  and  is 
resolved  by  perseverence  and  prudence  to  attain  them,  will  seldom  be  disap- 
pointed ;  and  even  if  he  fail  to  gain  all  that  he  maydesii'e,  he  will  at  least  raise 
himself  much  above  his  present  condition.  Let  the  poor  man  ask  himself 
why  many  who  formerly  occupied  the  same  station  in  life  with  himself  are 
now  possessed  of  all  the  comforts  and  necessaries  of  life,  and  fill  the  rank  of 
masters  instead  of  servants,  and  I  think  he  will  agree  with  me  in  attributing 
the  cause  to  diligence  and  enterprise. 

A  favourable  combination  of  circumstances  over  which  we  have  no  con- 
trol, undoubtedly,  sometimes  contributes  to  the  advancement  of  men  in 
society,  as  well  as  in  lowering  them  from  their  elevation  ;  but,  I  believe, 
these  fortuitous  circumstances  hnve  too  generally  been  regarded  as  a  cause 
of  both  wealth  and  poverty,  and  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  indolence  and 
indifference.  At  all  events,  we  seldom  find  tliem  opposing  an  insurmount- 
able barrier,  which  diligence  and  enterprise  cannot  overcome. 

Superior  natural  endowments,  either  of  mind  or  body,  have  likewise  beeu 


m 

assi^ed  as  requisite  for  success  in  life.  I  caa  by  no  means  deny  that  Pro- 
vidence has  gifted  men  with  very  different  natural  abilities.  To  some  He 
has  "iren  slender  and  delicate  bodies,  whilst  to  others  He  has  assigned  great 
muscular  power.  Some  He  has  endowed  with  very  comprehensive  minds, 
whilst  others  have  mental  abilities  of  much  humbler  capacities.  Hence  it 
would  be  the  extremity  of  folly  for  a  feeWe  roan  to  attempt  to  compete  with 
a  strong  man  in  those  occupations  in  which  strong  muscular  power  is  the 
chief  requisite;  but  where  rapidity  or  delicacy  of  movement  is  wanted  he 
mny,  and  generally  will,  excel  his  more  brawny  competitor.  It  would  be 
very  foolish  for  a  man  of  but  moderate  mental  abilities,  to  expect  that,  with 
the  same  exertions,  he  would  ever  equal,  much  less  surpass,  in  those  scien- 
ces or  arts  which  require  ingenuity  and  invention,  a  man  endowed  with 
much  superior  mental  powei-s.  Frovidence  obviously  demonstrates  to  us, 
in  this  diversity  of  endowments,  that  He  has  qualified  individuals  for  differ- 
ent pursuits,  all  designed  to  contribute  towards  the  numeroos  wants  of  the 
whole  community.  But  this  fact  does  not,  by  any  means,  prove  that  the 
strong  man  shall  necessarily  i-ank  in  society  above  tlie  weak,  nor  that  the 
man  endowed  with  a  ^'ery  compi-ehensive  mind,  shall  rank  above  him  whose 
mental  powers  are  more  humble.  Each  is  necessary  in  the  station  for 
which  God  has  obviously  fitted  him,  and  each  excelling  in  his  respective 
occupation,  is  entitled  to  equal  lionor,  and  may  attain  to  equal  competence. 
The  man  possessed  of  great  rautcular  power  may  rise  in  society  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  strength  ;  the  feeble  man  may  rise  by  his  activity  and  expert- 
ne.<!S  ;  the  man  of  great  mental  abilities  may  rise  by  the  exercise  of  his  inge- 
nuity, and  the  man  of  more  limited  capacity  may  rise  by  his  pereeverence 
and  application.  Thus,  each  may  profit  equally  by  a  diligent  and  deter- 
mined effort  to  exercise  his  individual  powers  to  the  best  of  his  ability; 
whereas  indigence  and  misery  will,  most  certainly,  be  the  lot  of  those  who 
neglect  the  means  which  are  at  thciv  disposal,  and  it  will  be  but  a  very 
sorry  excuse  that  they  have  omitted  this  duty  because  they  were  not  gifted 
with  abilities  which  some  other  men  possess. 

Again,  it  is  objected  that  circumstances  are  very  much  altered  fiom 
what  they  formerly  were.  Then  labour  was  better  reran utr.ated — the  de- 
mand, t«>r  articles  of  manufactory  especially,  was  greater  than  the  snpplv, 
and  consequently  the  sale  of  them  was  rapid,  and  the  profit  upon  them  con- 
siderable; whereas,  now  the  «npply  exceeds  frequently  the  demand,  and 
the  profits  are  proportionably  low  ; — then,  a  man  had  but  to  compete  in 
his  labour  with  manual  powei  and  dexterity,  whereas,  now  he  is  not  only 
subject  to  the  same  competition,  but  he  has,  besides,  to  contend  against 
mechanical  and  chemical  power  applied  by  means  of  machinery  in  a  state 
of  great  perfection — then,  he  could  easily  accumulate  a  small  sum  of 
money  without  depriving  hinisrlf  or  family  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  a 
small  sum  of  money  wa.<i  then  sufHcient  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  a  small 
trade,  the  profit  of  which  being  considerAJ>le, caused  a  rapidincrease  of  capi- 
tal— no*  a  man,  in  many  instances  can  scarcely  obtain  a  sufficiency  to  sup- 
ply his  daily  watUs,  ind  even  if  !ie  cuuld  now  accumulate  a  small  capital, 
he  would  fiud  a  ditHeulty  In   employing    it  to  adrautage,    as   most    of  our 


w  4 


m^iuifactured  goods  are  wrought  by  the  aid  of  mnrhinery,  and  marhioery 
can  only  be  purchased  by  those  possessed  of  ample  funds.  All  this  is  true, 
but  yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  difficulties,  some  men  still  continue  to  HAceiid 
iQ  the  ranks  of  society,  and  they  do  so,  for  the  most  part,  by  diligence  and 
cjiterprise.  It  is  an  axiuja  well  woith  the  consideration  of  every  man,  that 
what  one  man  has  accomplished,  other  men,  under  similar  circumstanres, 
may  accomplish  by  adopting  the  same  means.  Though  all  men  cannot 
attain  to  the  rank  uf  masters,  yet  all  may  aspire  to  that  station,  and  with  a 
spirit  uf  enterprise  attempt,  at  least,  to  attain  to  it.  Some  may  succeed; 
and  if  they  do  so  by  honest  means,  they  will  gain  the  praise  and  esteem  of 
their  fellow-men  :  and  if  many  fail  in  gaining  the  object  of  their  laudable 
aVabition,  yet  they  will  materially  improve  their  condi,tion  as  workmen,  coo- 
tract  a  habit  of  diligent  industry,  imbibe  an  independence  of  mind,  and 
be  able  to  appreciate  the  stimulus  of  enterprise;  and  these  results  will  more 
than  repay  them  for  their  exertions,  and  will  prepare  them  for  embracing 
any  future  favourable  opportunity  which  may  be  presented  to  them,  with  a 
very  considerable  assurance  of  success  :  J 

Yours  respectfully,  ^ 

A  SURGEON. 


INCREASE  OF  CRIME. 

It's  not  by  coercion  that  crime  will  decrease. 
It's  not  by  increasing  the  power  of  police. 
It's  not  by  compulsion  that  men  will  begin 
To  love  the  .Supreme,  to  repent  of  their  sin. 

^Vhat  an  increase  of  lawyers  and  magistrates  too. 
Of  legal  made  paisons — far  more  than  enow; 
Of  tread-mills,  and  prisons,  and  runners  so  bold, 
And  all  inefHcient — we  g.ravely  are  told. 

Stern  justice  and  judgement  are  on  the  alert, 
Whose  means  of  reform  can  ne'er  reach  the  heart : 
'Tischristian  teaching,  with  motives  most  pure. 
Will  lead  us  to  see  that /^rereH^icn'i-  the  cure. 

The  jnind  must  l)e  nurtnr'd  and  guarded  with  care        ' 
From  evil  example — that  daug-rous  snare- 
Remove  the  dark  veil,  make  conscience  to  smart; 
To  efiect  any  good,  you  must  aim  at  the  heart. 

If  parents  and  preachers  and  all  who  are  good, 
Mould  feel  for  mankind  and  do  what  they  could  ; 
To  urge  and  persuade  men  from  vice  to  withdraw,— 
'Twould  ten  tinies  exceed  the  strong  arm  of  the  law. 

In  public  and  private  where  sin  does  abound. 
To  \v:irn  an;l  to  teach,  let  tlieni  always  he  found  ; 
If  those  would  ar(  thus  who  are  paid  for  their  time, 
ll  would  e^ily  prevent  i\\e . increase  of  crime. 

ANTl-BOANERGES. 


JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  4.  APRIL  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 


THE    WANT   OF    PRINCIPLE. 


In  surveying' all  the  rast  movements  and  operations  of  society; 
in  remarking'  upon  the  actions  and  conduct  of  mankind  ;  w^e  cannot 
help  canvassing  over  the  variety  of  motives  by  vphicb  the  human 
mind  is  actuated.  Ease,  honour,  avarice,  sensuality,  ambition, 
may  be  the  spring  of  action  ;  sometimes  one  of  these  alone,  some- 
times several  combined.  There  are  also  higher  motives ;  philan- 
thropy, patriotism,  and  piety,  or  a  deep  sense  of  duty  to  God  and 
man.  Whilst  Omniscience  alone  can  read  the  heart,  mark  the 
motives  of  particular  actions,  and  adjudge  the  true  value  of 
each,  it  is  clear,  from  the  accuracy  with  which  characters  are 
constantly  pointed  out,  and  from  the  utility  of  seasonable  ex- 
posure, that  we  are  neither  destitute  of  the  means,  nor  interdicted 
from  the  attempt,  of  endeavouring'  to  trace  the  principles  of  hu- 
man action.  If  these  be  good,  the  actions  of  a  man,  as  a  whole, 
are  sure  to  be  good  also  ;  if  they  be  bad,  however  specious  his 
pretences,  however  legally  correct  his  deportment,  his  actions 
altogether,  will  produce  no  good  to  society.  *'  We  cannot  gatha- 
grapes  from  thorns,  nor  ligs  from  thistles;" — "by  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them." 

Of  the  principles  of  those  who  openly  violate  every  restraint 
both  of  God  and  man ;  who  are  thieves,  drunkards,  or  whore- 
mongers ;  who  curse,  and  swear,  and  fight,  and  destroy  the 
peace  of  society,  we  can  have  no  doubt ;  these  carry  with  them 
no  deception.  Yet  if  we  are  to  believe  our  own  observations,  if 
we  are  to  give  credit  to  well  authenticated  testimony,  if  we  are 
to  believe  arty  portion  of  what  daily  issues  from  the  press,  we 
shall  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  worst  characters  are  not 

N 


99 

afways  found  amongst  the  openly  immoral,  but  that,  beneath  great 
professions,  there  are  persons  so  unprincipled  as  to  be  de- 
nominated "ravening' wolves.**  As,  without  principle,  all 
reformation  is  only  a  name,  it  is  important  to  give  it  an  early  and 
a  serious  investigation.  We  may  vociferate  against  corruption 
as  long  as  we  please,  we  may  amend  our  laws  and  remodel  our 
institutions^  but  unless  we  succeed  in  changing  the  principles  of 
mankind,  we  leave  the  most  important  part  undone.  The  bodily 
proportions  may  be  fairly  adjusted,  but  if  the  motives,  the  springs 
of  action,  are  perverse  and  bad,  how  can  we  expect  any  bene  fi- 
cial  results  ?  If  happiness  be  the  end  for  which  society  was  con- 
stituted ;  if  virtuous  conduct  be  the  means  of  obtaining  tTiis  end  > 
and  if  this  can  only  be  produced  by  the  operation  of  good  princi- 
ples, let  us,  in  seeking  the  elevation  of  our  (;puntry,  strike,  at 
once,  at  the  root  of  its  evils.  If  good  principles  universally  pre- 
vailed, the  laws  could  scarcely  be  wrong ;.  without  them,  they  can 
scarcely  ever  be  right.  Were  it  not  for  the  evils  which  might 
afterwards  arise,  despotic  power  itself,  if  held  by  men  of  princi- 
ple, would  be  preferable  to  a  system  of  liberty,  stripped  by  unprin- 
cipled agents  of  every  thing  but  the  name.  Is  it  not  evident, 
in  numerous  instances,  that  while  one  instifeition  flourishes,  and 
attains  a  permanency  of  character,  others,  possessing  equal  means 
and  opportunities,  languish  or  become  extinct }  The  cause  lies 
in  the  principles  and  conduct  of  those  to  whose  care  the  manage- 
ment of  them  is  committed.  Whilst  I  cordially  join  our  reformers 
in  seeking  to  obtain  constitutional  rights,^  and  repairing  in  our 
political  system  the  delapidations  of  time,  1  would  caution  them 
not  to  be  too  sanguine  as  to  the  effects,  unless  the  persons  who 
seek  these  changes,  and  the  persons  by  whose  efforts  they-  are  ac- 
complished, become  reformed  themselves.  If  principle  had  but  in  a 
partial  degree  actuated  the  leading  men  of  this  country,  the- 
corruptions  now  so  justly  complained  of,  could  never  have  had 
an  existence»^ 

As  I  purpose  devoting  this  article  to  the  consideration  of  this 
subject,  it  may  be  necessary,  before  I  proceed,  to  explain  what  t 
mean  by  the  wa7it  of  principle.  In  the  commonest  acceptation  of 
the  term,  it  refers  merely  to  the  want  of  honesty ;  and  hence, 
when  a  man  cheats  us,  breaks  his  promise,  and  witholds  our 
right,  we  say,  he  is  a  man  of  no  principle;  This  want  of  honesty, 
however,  is  rather  an  effect  of  that  improper  state  ofminid,  which 
denotes  the  want  of  principle^    An  ardent  wish  to  please  God,  a 


599- 

moii\scientious  sense  of  duty  to  all  mankind^' and  an  impression  of 
>the  great  day  of  retribution,  constitute  what,  in  this  essay,  1  deno- 
minate principle.  And  it  is  not  only  as  to  the  exercise  ofjustice^^ 
that  I  shall  trace  the  want  af  it,  but  also  in  reference  to  various 
duties  which  partake  of  the  character  of  benevolence.  Thoug-h 
there  will  often  be  error  of  judgment,  where  the  ^*  heart  is  right," 
l  presume  not  to  find  fault.  Properly  speaking,  it  is  "the  want 
o/"  GOOD />rmcip/e,"  which  I  am  here  attempting  to  elucidate; 
and,  as  the  mind  is  the  receptacle  of  principles,  whether  good  or 
bad,  if  these  be  absent,  others  of  an  opposite  description  are 
sure  to  be  in  their  place.  Pride,  selfishness,  and  misanthropy,  take 
possession  of  the  mind,  when  unoccupied  by  love  to  God  and  love 
to  man. 

I  pass  over  the  overwhelming  proofs  of  my  position,  exhibited 
in  the  vicious  and  criminal  conduct  of  the  people,  every  day  before 
our  eyes,  in  the  public-houses  and  in  the  open  streets,  all  of  which 
must  proceed  from  an  absence  of  principle ;  and  purpose  rather  to 
trace  it  in  its  less   ostensible  forms,  and  amongst  persons  from 
whom  we  might  be  led  to  expect  better  things.     Indeed,  where 
conduct,     either   good   or   bad,   is   under   any  sort  of  compul- 
sive influence,    we  make   no  remark  as  to  principle  ;  it  is  only 
where  individuals   are  so  situated  as  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
acting  conscienciously  ov  not,  and  where,  in  a  great  measure,  it  is 
left  to  a  man's  owp  feelings,  that  we  presume  to  measure  his  princi- 
ples by  his  conduct."    Most  men,  of  reputed  respectability,  like   to 
have  the  credit  of  doing  right,  and  hence  proceed   the  hypocrisy 
and  deceit   for  which  this  age  is  especially  distinguished.     For 
though  politeness  and  civility  are  generally  cultivated,  and  though 
the  externals  of  religion  are  attended  tOj  we  hear  incessant  com- 
plaints of  men  not  being  what  they  appear  to  be.  Depraved  as  we 
are  in  morals,  their  obligation  is  still,  however,  formally  acknow- 
ledged, and  none  have  ever  dared  to  become  the  open  advocates  of 
vice  and  perfidy,  so  that  we  have,  in  this  enquiry,  to  trace  the  want 
of  principle,  beneath  the  shroud  of  assumed  integrity.  The  fact  is, 
that  where  morals*  have  been  taught,  they  have  been  enforced  by 
considerations  of  too  inferior  a  cast ;  honour,  health,  and  advan-- 
tage,  are  uniformly  brought  in  as  reasons  of  good  conduct ;    but ' 
the  authority  tff  God,  the  love  of  mankind,  and  the  accountability 
of  man,  are  motives,  though  infinitely  superior  to  every  other, 
which  are  but  seldom  adduced.     These  are  not  motives  (rf  conve- 
nience, they  change  not  with  time  or  place  ;  and  they  give  to  the 


m 

man  'that  is  actuated  by  thorn,  a  peace  which  the  world  canisot 
give.  The  poor  man,  labouring  in  the  most  servile  way,  faithful 
to  his  conscience,  and  anxious  to  please  his  Maker,  has  a  portion, 
which  the  wealthy  tradesman,  with  all  his  chicanery  and  deceit, 
can  never  possess.  If  all  our  labourers,  manufacturers,  and  com- 
mercial gentlemen,  were  gTiided  by  the  principles  of  that  religion 
whose  name  they  bear,  what  a  different  world  this  would  be  1 
How  much  more  pleasant  to  ])ortray  the  workings  of  upright- 
ness  and  philanthropy,  to  those  of  duplicity  and  selfishness  ! 

I  proceed  to  trace  the  want  of  principle,  first,  in  reference  to 
situations  of  trust.  Here  honesty  is  indispensible,  and  is  a  pre- 
supposed condition  of  the  confidence  reposed.  Here  are  no  bolts 
or  bars,  and  in  many  cases  no  regular  means  of  detecting  fraud. 
Under  such  circumstances,  nothing  but  principle  affords  any  secu- 
rity to  the  employer ;  and  thoug'h  masters  themselves  may  be 
*'  wanting,"  they  have  good  sens  >  enough  to  know  the  value  of 
servants  who  are  faithful  and  honest.  But  though  crowds  may 
be  met  with  every  day,  who,  in  every  other  respect,  are  well  qua- 
lified, yei  it  is  painful  to  think  that,  amongst  so  many  who  are 
respectably  educated,  there  are  so  few  in  whom  confidence  can  be 
reposed.  If  I  were  to  detail  the  cases  of  defection  in  this  respect, 
I  might  mention  numerous  instances  which  have  come  under  my 
own  notice  ;  such  as — apprentices  pilfering  the  shop  drawers  of 
their  masters,  and  conveying  away  their  goods, — collectors  of  tax- 
es defrauding  the  government  of  considerable  sums, — cashiers  in 
the  offices  of  overseers  and  church-wardens ;  and  cashiers  be- 
longing to  manufacturing  and  commercial  houses,  improperly 
appropriating  the  money  entrusted  to  them, — carriers  misappro- 
priating money  confided  to  their  care, — individual  workmen  ab- 
sconding who  have  been  entrusted  with  the  wages  of  others, — 
collectors  and  secretaries  for  popular  societies  and  unions,  betray- 
ing their  trust,— with  numerous  instances  which  are  daily  occur- 
ing,  of  a  similar  character.  If  good  principles  had  been  sown  in 
the  mind  by  the  parents  of  these  persons,  and  the  same  had  been 
fostered  and  matured  by  the  assiduous  labours  of  christian  minis- 
ters, can  we  suppose  that,  for  the  sake  of  animal  gratification,  or 
the  increase  of  riches,  these  persons  would  have  deliberately 
sacrificed  character,  and  all  their  prospects  for  another  world  ? 

The  want  of  principle  is  also  observable  in  the  conduct  of 
labouring  men.  In  reference  to  those  it  is  said  : — "not  with  ei/e 
Service  as  men   pleasers,    but  in  singleness  oj" heart  as  unto  the 


101 

Lord,"  they  are  to  perform  their  service.  But  how  many  are 
there,  who  have  no  higher  motive  than  their  own  advactage,  and 
who,  in  the  presence  of  their  employers  will  be  exceedingly  dili- 
gent, but  in  their  absence  equally  idle  !  So  obvious  is  this,  that 
the  common  observation  is, — "  these  men  work  by  the  day  ;  those 
by  the  piece.''* 

In  reference  to  trade  and  commerce,  it  is  manifest,  that  lying 
and  cheating  are  looked  upon  as  venial  offences,  and  that,  provi- 
ded they  can  get  an  advantage,  many  persons  make  no  conscience 
about  the  means.  "The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil," 
and  perhaps,  there  never  was  a  time  when  men  were  more  under 
its  influence.  I  could  excuse  an  excessive  ardour  in  a  person 
who,  discharging  his  duties  to  society,  with  honourable  and  honest 
motives,  seeks  to  raise  himself  in  the  scale  of  society.  But  when 
tliis  ardour  is,  to  add  wealth  to  wealth,  without  regard  to  the 
morality  of  the  means,  or  the  effect  of  such  conduct  upon  society, 
it  canpot  be  too  severely  condemned.  As  for  conscience,  many 
make  a  laugh  at  it ;  yet  we  have  many  conscientious  tradesmen, 
and  if  they  were  not  so  anxious  about  acquiring  riches,  conscience 
would  not  to  them  so  often  be  felt  as  an  unwelcome  intruder. 
The  deceptions  which  are  practised,  the  lies  which  are  sported^ 
the  false  promises  of  payment  which  are  made,  are  crying  sins 
among  commercial  men.  The  excessive  civility,  the  insinuating 
politeness,  the  affected  compliments,  are  often  but  covers  to  the 
designs  of  roguery  and  imposition.  Some,  indeed,  without  any 
higher  principle,  are  honest  from  policy,  and  honourable  for  its 
gains,  but  those  who  are  governed  by  an  enlightened  conscience, 
maybe  safely  relied  upon,  when  every  other  motive  has  lost  its 
influence.  Tradesmen,  in  general,  seem  to  allow  themselves  no 
time  for  reflection  ;  business  and  getting  money,  seem  to  be  "  the 
first  and  the  last ;"— "  the  all  in  all."  If  they  claim  any  remis- 
sion from  the  pursuits  of  business,  it  is  for  private  pleasure,  the 
hilarity  of  a  party,  or  the  exhileriLtions  of  a  debauch.  They  go  to 
church  or  chapel,  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  they  have  no  tin>e  for 
self-examination,  for  the  retirements  of  devotion,  or  for  active 
benevolence.  The  cares  of  the  world  and  the  deceitfuintss  of 
riches,  choak  every  good  impression,  and  the  pursuits  of  time  car- 
ry them  thoughtlessly  down  the  stream  of  life  ;  when  at  last,  con- 
vinced that  they  have  been  deluded  by  a  "  vain  shadow,"  they 
mourn  their  iriej-arable  folly.  Let  young  tradesmen,  who  early 
glide  into   the   habits   of  iheir  seniors,  beware  cf  their  sins  an(i 


102 

follies,  and  ever  bear  in  mind  that  neither  the  happiness  nor  tlie 
security  of  a  man's  life,  consists  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
■which  he  possesseth. 

In  recording  my   decided .  protest  against  the  unprincipled 
conduct  of  great  numbers,  both  high  and  low,  as  to  the  want  of 
punctuality  in  paying  their  accounts,  I   know    I    shall   obtain    a 
response  from  almost  every  counting  house  in  the  kingdom  ;   yea, 
even  from  persons  who   forget  that  they  are  guilty  of  the  same 
themselves.     The  dishonest  manceuvering,  the  false  excuses,  the 
direct  lies,  and  the  insolence,  resorted  to  by  individuals  in  the  place 
of  payment,  are  so  well  known,  as  to  make  it  unnecessary  for  me 
to  attempt   a  detail.     If  there  be  one  thing  more  than  another 
which  embitters  the  pursuits  of  trade,   it  is  the  difficulty  of 
getting  in  money.      It  is   true,   there    are  many  honest  persons 
who  would  pay  if  they  could ;     these  are  to  be  pitied,  and  if  they 
act  a   straight  forward  course,  and  confess  their  inability,  they 
ought  to  escape  censure,  excepting   when  they  get  goods  under 
such  circumstances  as  give  them  no  hopes  of  being  able  to  pay. 
But  the  greater  part  are  not  of  this  cast ;   they  promise  freely, 
but  seem  to  think   but  little  of  the  moral  obligation  of  keeping 
their  word.     So  connected  are  the  transactions  and  engagements 
of  society,  that  the  omission   of  payment  in  one  instance,   may 
disappoint  a  hundred  more  in  succession.    To  keep  money   after 
it  is  due,   against  the  will  of  a  creditor,  is  in  fact  a  species  of  rob- 
bery, and  though  it  may  not  be  cognizable  by  law,   will  not  be 
overlooked  by  Him,  who  measures  the  merits  of  actions  by  the 
disposition  of  the  mind.     Misfortunes  and  adversity  ought,  doubt- 
less, to  lead  creditors  to  the  exercise  of  lenity  j  and  where  the 
principles  of  candour  and    integrity   are   clearly  developed,   no 
honest  hearted  debtor  need  to  fear.    But  the  great  bulk  of  defaul- 
ters are  not  of  this  description  ;  destitute  of  principle,  they  have 
no   desire  to  pay  their  debts,  but   so  far  as  it  serves  their  own 
interest.     Though  tradesmen  have  the   toil   and  pain  of  these 
disappointments,   the  fact  is,  that  in  most  instances,  the  burden 
falls  upon  the  public  ;    the   best  customers  pay  for  the  worst ; 
the  profits   from  the  one,   make  up  for   the  losses  sustained  by 
the  other.  * 

When  persons  get  embarrassed  in  their  circumstances  and 
find  it  necessary  to  halt,  in  how  few  instances  do  we  meet  with 
men  of  principle  !  where  justice  to  their  creditors  prevails 
over  every  other  selfish  consideration  I     Instead  of  an  honest  and 


I 


103 


'oluBtary  surrender  of  all  their  property,  and  a  disposition  t» 
make  up  the  deficiency  if  ever  they  should  be  able,  we  find  that 
they  use  their  utmost  dexterity  in  providing  for  themselves,  and 
what  remains,  the  lav?yers  and  bailiffs  generally  divide  among^ 
them.  Imprisonjnent  does  not  mend  the  matter ;  here  they  take 
the  "  henefiV  of  the  act,  (and  truly,  no  body  but  themselves  and 
the  lawyers  henejit  by  it)  by  which  villany  obtains  that  legal 
protection,  which  at  first  was  humanely  intended  for  misfortune. 
Such  is  the  defectiveness  of  the  law,  and  such  the  unprincipled 
disposition  of  men,  that  many  of  these  debtors  return  in 
the  teeth  of  their  creditors,  and  never  pay  a  farthing*. 
Legally  secure,  they  seem  quite  indifferent  as  to  the  moral 
obligation  of  paying  every  man  his  own  ;  subsequent  opportunities 
are  seldom  embraced  for  this  purpose ;  and  they  not  unfrequently 
add  insultf  to  injustice.  Inde©4,  out  of  the  thousands  of  bankrupts 
and  insolvent  debtors,  if  a  person  now  and  then  be  fosnd  honest 
enough  to  pay  his  debts,  it  is  considered  so  rare  a  case,  that  it  is 
inserted  in  the  papers  as  something  extraordinary. 

The  absence  of  principle  has  beera  remarked  in  connection 
with  some  of  the  professions.  I  wish,  however,  to  speak  most 
respectfully  of  the  medical  profession.  In  doing  so,  I  mean  no 
flattery  ;  my  good  opinion  is  the  result  of  the  many  opportunities 
1  have  had  of  observing  their  conduct.  I  know  that  at  one  time 
the  land  was  infested  with  unprincipled  quacks  ;  that  a  few  "doc- 
tors" yet  remain,  who,  by  a  system  of  audacious  puffing,  rob  the 
jjeople  ;  that  some  of  the  regulars  are  not  "  without  sin  ;"  yet, 
when  I  view  the  self  denjing  labours  of  many  of  them,  their  per- 
severing industry,  their  gratuitous  services,  their  moderate 
remuneration,  their  difficulties  in  obtaining  it,  and  their  numerous 
losses,  I  should,  as  a  body,  be  doing  them  injustice  by  any  com- 
parison with  those  with  whom  they  are  usually  associated. 

In  the  profession  of  the  law  there  are  many  honourable  cha- 
racters, men  who  would  wish  to  guide  others  aright,  and  to  take 


*  It  appears  from  the  official  returns  just  made  up,  that  tlie  number  of  Insolvent 
Debtors  discliarged  under  the  Act  up  to  the  eud  of  1829,  was  51,000,  their  debts  lour 
imliions,  assets  assigned  afarlhirnj  in  tiie  pound, and  the  expense  of  eacli  dischart^e  £25. 
Nut  more  than  65  out  of  every  1200  estates  produced  any  assets.  The  amount  of  salaries 
oftbe  four  commissioners  amounted  to  £11,254, — besides  travelling  expenses  to  a  great 
amount  It  is  computed  t'lat  tue  law  has  profited  twelve  millions  of  pounds  sterd'ny,  hy 
tluse  iiis<dvent  debtors,  wl.ile  tlie  creditors  have  received /our  millions  of  farthings  '!  is 
there  no  reform  wanted  here  ? 

+  !  lately  sent  niy  man  to  ask  for  a  debt  of  this  description,  when  the  wife  answered 
very  furiuusly,— "  Yo  mun  guo  to  Jobuny  Gaunt's  for  id."  I 


104 

BO  advantage  of  their  weakness.  But  there  are  many  of  a  con- 
trary character.  How  often  have  persons  bi;en  injured  by  bad 
advice  ;  by  the  cupidity  of  a  lawyer,  been  led  on  in  a  course  of 
ruinous  litigation  !  How  often  has  oppression  been  strengthened 
and  justice  thwarted,  merely  by  legal  quibbles  !  How  often  has 
innocency  suffered,  when  connected  with  poverty,  because  there 
was  no  fee  !  Unfortunately,  in  many  cases,  the  duty  and  interest 
of  this  class  are  at  issue  ;  and  when  the  latter  is  the  prevailing 
motive,  there  is  no  calculating  the  misery  which  an  unprincipled 
lawyer  is  capable  of  producing".  If  they  act  faithfully,  and,  as 
christians,  advise  their  clients  to  peace  and  forgiveness,  they  fre- 
quently loose  all  the  advantage  which  most  generally  results  froni 
a  contrary  course  ;  and  therefore  in  all  legal  affairs  there 
is  no  safety  but  by  having  to  do  with  really  consciencious  men. 
Proofs  are  quite  superfluous,  that  there  are  numbers  who  are 
not  such  ! 

Tho  profession  of  divinity  is  as  little  honoured  with  the  deve- 
lopement  of  principle  as  any  other.  It  is  connected  with  matters 
which  of  all  others  render  sincerity,  uprightness,  and  disinterest- 
edness, indispensable.  A  teacher  of  religion  should  not  only  be 
free  from  guile  and  hypocrisy,  but  also  from  the  very  appear- 
ance of  them.  He  should  be  so  convinced  of  the  importance  of 
his  trust,  so  anxious  to  benefit  mankind  and  to  rescue  them  from 
ruin,  so  indifferent  about  worldly  pomp  or  possessions,  so  strong 
in  faith  and  hope,  so  willing  to  part  with  the  world  and  its  vani- 
ties ;  in  a  word,  so  wholly  engrossed  with  his  duty  to  his  God  and 
to  bis  fellow  men,  as  to  devote  all  his  thoughts,  his  time,  his 
strength,  his  very  lift.*,  to  the  duties  of  his  profession  ;  actuated 
by  no  lower  motive  tnan  that  of  pleasing  God,  beneft'ing  man, 
and  enjoying  his  reward  in  heaven  !  Tlie  real  servant  of  Christ, 
never  thinks  of  gain  ;  he  seeks  no  emolument  ;  the  world  is  not 
bis  home  ;  contented  with,  simple  food  and  raiment,  which  will 
never  be  witheld  fiom  a  faithful  teacher,  his  labours  have  no  con- 
nection with  the  influence  of  money  !  With  this  view  of  the  mat- 
ter, (the  correctness  of  Avhich  can  be  demonstrated  from  the 
scriptures)  I  re^Sird  as  unprincipled  all  those  who>e  services  are 
stimidatf'd  by  the  love  of  money.  Religious  teaching  admits  of 
nothing  mercenary  ;  and,  though  termed  a  Ir-arned  profession,  and 
often  associated  with  law  aud  phasic,  yet  in  its  native  puiity  it 
has  no  affinity  to  cither.  With  this  conviction,  what  view  can  we 
take  of  men,  subscribing  and  swearing  to  articles  which  they(:!o  not 


believe — reading  services  which  they  do  not  feel — delivering 
instructions  which  the  tenor  of  their  own  conduct  condemns — - 
preparing  for,  and  enteringf  upon,  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel as  other  men  do  upon  any  worldly  occupation— making 
the  amount  of  salary  tlie  principal  guide  in  fixing  upon  a  place 
or  in  removing  from  it — swallowing  up  the  libei-ality  of  the 
people  to  the  injury  of  the  poor — tenaciously  pressing  their 
effensive  and  vexatious  claims  upon  an  impoverished  people — ^ 
taking  every  advantage  for  making  such  charges  as  every 
other  person  would  be  ashartied  of — assuming  earthly  power, 
and  pomp,  and  dignity — spending  their  time  upon  the  plea- 
sures of  the  world,  or  in  animal  gratifications — -neglecting  the 
poor,  and  courting  the  friendship  of  the  rich — apparently  un- 
concerned, while  surrounded  by  immortal  beings,  whose  final 
happiness  or  misery  depends  principally  on  their  faithfulness  ? 
This  is  a  state  of  corruption  which  I  always  behold  with  the 
deepest  feelings  of  regret,  and  which,  while  I  have  breath,  I 
will  never  cease  to  expose.  Were  it  necessary,  every  allega- 
tion here  brought  forward  could  be  easily  proved  by  a  refer- 
ence to  facts,  the  existence  of  which  are  too  painfully  felt. 
If  want  of  principle  be  found  in  those  who  should  ieacft  prin- 
ciple ;  if  corrupt  motives  actuate  those,  whose  conduct  we  are 
called  upon  to  imitate  ;  need  we  wonder  at  the  growth  of  in- 
fidelity, the  declension  of  principle,  or  the  increase  of  hypo- 
crisy ?  It  is  true  that  hireling  ministers  have  no  chance  of 
success  but  in  connection  with  corrupt  systems,  and  the  sup- 
port of  the  people,  and  therefore,  this  may  serve  to  shew  that 
bad  as  we  are,  if  we  will  open  our  eyes,  tlie  remedy  is  still 
in  our  own  liands. 

In  our  day,  the  press  has  an  amazing  influence  upon  the 
public  mind  ;  and,  when  employed  in  the  cause  of  virtue,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  men  of  principle,  it  has  the  power  of 
doing  immense  good.  It  can  convey,  in  the  compass  of  a  sheet 
of  paper,  to  tens  of  thousands  of  people,  in  a  short  time,  infor- 
mation the  most  valuable.  It  can  find  its  way  where  no  other 
messenger  can  set  his  foot ;  and  is  able  to  spread  the  principles 
of  purity  and  happiness  around.  But  when  this  power  is  in 
the  hands  of  unprincipled  men,  who  for  gain  will  write  rough 
or  smooth,  will  argue  for  black  to-day,  and  white  tomorrow, 
or  who,  knowing  the  depravity  of  the  age,  will  pander  to  the 

O 


-rfices  of  the  people,  it  becomes  an  eng-ine  for  disseminating' 
licentiousness,  libertinism,  and  human  misery,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. Tlve  cause  of  the  people  has  often  been  betrayed  by 
Lirpling"  scribes,  who  always  sliift  sides  with  the  prospect  of 
profit.  The  public  prints  are,  upon  the  whole,  not  unfavoura- 
ble to  morality ;  but  there  are  some  newspapers  of  extensive 
circulation,  which  are  made  the  vehicles  of  information  of  the 
most  demoralizing  tendency.  That  there  should  be  unprin- 
cipled establishments  in  London,  whose  object  it  is  to  publish 
weekly,  the  most  degrading'  and  vicious  intelligence  tlirouglv 
the  whole  of  the  British  dominions,  is  a  circumstance  wliicli 
is  not  less  to  be  lamented,  than  that  there  should  be  such  im- 
mense numbers  ready  to  read  It. 

I  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  geverned  by  any  thing  but 
facts,  when  I  include  in  ^y  list,  many  of  those  who  have  had 
Uie  principal  share  in  governing  and  making  iJve  larvs  of  this 
nation.  Thougli  state  policy  is  undoubtedly  necessary,  yet 
it  should  nev^er  be  opposed  to  right  principles,  but  should  go 
along  with,  and  be  modified  by  them.  To  talk  of  christian 
principles,  and  of  the  influence  of  religion,  in  connection  with 
governments,  will  be  treated  by  many  as  a  species  of  cant  j 
but  I  hold  these  as  necessary  for  tlie  governors  as  the  govern- 
ed, for  the  King  as  his  subjects.  Those  who  look  only  to 
physical  means,  and  give  but  inferior  importance  to  moral  in- 
fluence, know  little  of  the  true  constitution  of  society.  If 
former  governments  had  nniformly  made  principle  their  guide 
and  exemplified  the  same  in  their  own  conduct,  the  year  1831 
would  not  have  opened  upon  us  with  such  an  accumulated 
mass  of  corruption,  pressing  with  pecuniary  difficulties  upon 
every  class,  and"  almost  threatening  a  'convulsion.  Every 
thing  but  principle  seems  to  have  guided  our  rulers,  for  the 
tendency  of  their  measures  has  constantly  been  opposed  to  ther 
interests  of  the  people.  Does  the  corrupt  state  of  the  repre- 
sentation exhibit  any  proofs  of  principle  ?  Do  th#  infamous- 
eorn  laws  shew  any  sympathy  and  good  feeling  towards  the 
people  ?  Has  a  constant  wish  to  do  what  is  right  guided  our 
successive  parliaments  ?  Have  the  mis-called  representa- 
tives of  the  commons  preferred  the  interests  of  the  country 
to  tlie  aggrandizement  of  themselves  and  families  ?  Have 
u(A  tJie  aristocracy  legislated  for  themselves  alone .''    Have  not 


^■Eiiebii 


107 


e bishops  also,  as  the  saying  is/'taken  care  to  makeliay  whfle 
the  sun  shone  ?"  Despotic,  as  the  government  certainly  has 
heeu,  if  there  had  been  principle  at  tlie  bottom,  some  good 
would  still  have  resulted,  but  despotism  governed  by  depravity, 
is  the  forerunner  of  destruction.  It  is  true,  there  lias  always 
been  an  Opposition,  but  it  could  bear  no  head  against  the  tor- 
rent of  corruption ;  and  indeed,  in  many  instances,  it  was 
perhaps  influenced  more  by  the  feeling  of  hostility,  than  by 
the  principle  of  doing  real  good."  How  many  political  apos- 
tates have  tliere  been  amongst  those  who  professed  friendship 
for  the  people;  and  how  often  have  they  been  duped  and  betray- 
ed by  pretending  patriots  I  Power  and  principle  seem  seldom 
to  unite  cordially.  Let  our  reformers,  therefore,  learn  the 
folly  of  trusting  to  outward  measures  merely  ;  we  should  not 
be  content  with  an  improvement  in  the  external  arrangements 
of  the  country,  or  with  a  restoration  of  civil  rights  merely  ; 
we  should  have  reformed  characters,  as  well  as  reformed  laws  4 
and,  to  be  consistent,  every  man  ought,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
reform  liimself.  ISIany  a  good  cause  has  been  injured ;  many 
a  victory  over  oppression  has  been  lost,  ^entirely  for  want  of 
principle  in  those  who  took  the  lead. 

When  the  principle,  with  which  I  set  out,  has  taken  pos- 
session of  the  heart,  the  conduct  will  always  correspond ;  and 
this  is  the  only  criterion  by  which  I  have  been  guided  in  my 
remarks  on  this  occasion.  If  in  any  thing  we  might  expect  a 
proof  of  principle,  it  would  be  in  connection  with  our  charities 
and  public  institutions  ;  but  even  here,  liow  little  do  we  wit- 
ness of  that  willing,  spontaneous,  and  active  benevolence, 
which  is  the  legitimate  fruit  of  a  right  state  of  mind.  That 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  good  feeling,  and  many  charitable 
deedsperformed,I< am  willing  to  admit,  many  of  which  are 
known  only  to  Him  "  who  seeth  in  secret ;"  but,  generally 
speaking,  the  means  by  which  our  public  charities  are  support- 
ed are  any  thing  but  free  will  offerings.  How  few  make  the 
meriia  of  a  case,  the  only  subject  of  deliberation  !  We  sel- 
dom calculate  how^  much  we  can  spare,  and  liow  much,  ac- 
cording to  our  circumstances,  God  requires  from  us  !  How 
seldom  do  we  seek  opportunities  of  doing  good,  and  hail  them 
with  pleasure  when  tliey  come  before  us  !  Every  person  who 
has  gone  round  for  subscriptions,  knows  the  frivolous  excuses 


lOB 

And  evasions  which  are  made,  and  tliat  to  appeal  to  principlfr 
would  be  to  commit  the  greatest  blunder  :  importunity,  thw 
influence  of  names,  the  feeling  of  shame,  public  applause,  any 
thing,  but  a  sense  of  duty,  maybe  likely  to  succeed.  In  the 
absence  of  principle,  as  a  still  greater  stimulous,  we  have  re- 
course to  balls,  concerts,  festivals,  and  masquerades  !  and  by 
the  proceeds  of  these,  the  funds  of  our  charities  are  replenished. 
Indeed,  in  some  places,  charity  sermons  assume  the  character 
of  a.  perform  mice !  without  which  the  usual  collection  would 
be  attempted  in  vaiu.  The  necessity  of  this  carnal  influence, 
this  worldly  policy,  is  to  me  a  convincing  proof  of  the  want  of 
principle  ;  and  brings  us  to  this  plain  conclusion,  that  though 
we  have  the  name  andjlush  of  religion,  the  genuine  proofs  of 
inward  piety  are  thinly  scattered. 

When,  in  addition  to.  my  own  observations,  I  find  that 
every  individual  and  party,  the  speakers  at  all  our  public 
meetings,  the  debaters  in  Parliament,  and  tlie  conduotora  of  the 
press,  are  uniformly  declaiming  against  the  want  of  princi- 
ple, I  cannot  help  thinking  that  I  have  a  strong  case,  and  one 
which  ought  to  excite  in  the  breast  of  every  good  man  a  spirit 
of  alarm.  Swords  and  guns  are  formidable  weapons,  but  the 
consequences  of  these  are  far  less  to  be  dreaded,  than  the  ge- 
nerally unre'strained  viciousness  of  the  human  heart.  Where 
there  is  power  without  principle,  wealth  without  honesty,  and 
talents  witliout  the  Iwe  of  God,  the  foundation  of  happiness 
is  removed,  the  bonds  of  society  are  broken,  and  the  most 
trifling,  uuforseeu,  circumstance  may  throw  all  into  confu- 
sion. If  these  be  "  the  days  of  reformation,"  let  it  be  uni- 
versal;  let  every  man  begin  with  his  own  heart,  reform  his 
own  conduct,  infuse  the  same  spirit  into  all  his  commercial 
transactions  and  intercourse  with  society;  let  parental  duties 
be  strictly  performed,  and  the  rising  youth  of  onr  country  plac- 
ed beneath  the  influence  of  those  principles  which  alone  can 
form  good  characters  ;  let  every  ^cal  institution  be  based 
upon,  and  supported  by,  principle  ;  and  then,  and  not  till  then 
sliall  we  have  a  government  so  reformed  as  to  be  a  source  of 
universal  good  to  the  nation. 

J.  L. 


109 


THE  QUESTION  OF  ALL   QUESTIONS 
FOR   POLITICIANS. 

Thoug-h  the  country  is  considerably  absorbed  with  the  great 
q-uestion  of  reform,  and  other  political  subjects,  I  beg  leave  a- 
gain  to  intrude  upon  the  notice  of  my  country-men,  tJie  suffer- 
ings of  Ike  lahonring  poor.  With  many,  this  tale  of  poverty 
has  become  stale,  and  the  alarm  and  horror  which  would  have 
been  felt  at  a  first  developement,  on  account  of  its  long  conti- 
nuance, no  longer  remains.  The  eye  has  become  familiarized 
to  human  wretchedness,  and  the  ear  has  become  indifferent 
to  the  thousand  times  repeated  tale  of  woe.  Year  after  year 
flies  on  without  any  relief,  and  the  poor  sufferer,  hitherto  par- 
tially borne  up  by  the  glimmerings  of  hope,  has  had  also  to  en- 
dure the  miseries  of  successive  disappointments.  The  Go- 
vernment has  been  hard-hearted,  the  Country  has  been  hard- 
hearted, or  so  large  a  portion  of  our  brethren,  of  our  honest 
and  sober  labourers,  would  never  have  been  permitted 
to  pine  in  want,  and  to  die  ifi  wretchedness.  The  higher 
classes  know  little  personally  of  the  poor,  and  seldom 
make  common  cause  with  them  ;  and  the  government,  acting 
in  concert  with  the  same  feelings,  has  never  yei  done  justice  to 
the  cause  of  the  poor.  They  have  evermore  been  evading  the 
point,  and,  to  secure  the  interests  of  the  great,  have  deluded 
the  people  by  false  legislation.  What  are  all  the  cumbrous 
mass  of  poor  laws,  the  voluminous  reports  of  emigration  com- 
mittees, and  the  establishment  of  savings'  banks,  and  a  number 
of  projects  of  a  similar  kind,  but  a  tacit  declaration  that  there 
has  been  no  intention  of  reinstating  the  poor  in  that  honorable 
condition,  which  is  the  right  of  every  sober  and  industrious  fa- 
mily. The  crumbs  of  charity  have  sometimes  been  liberally 
dispensed,  but  the  bread  of  industry  has  l)een  wickedly  denied. 
The  unparalelled  industry  of  the  people,  aided  by  the  powers 
of  science,  supplied  from  the  store-house  of  nature,  and  gene- 
rously blessed  by  the  smile  of  heaven,  creates  a  fund  of  wealth, 
unknowji  elsewhere,  and  much  more  than  sufficient,  without 
any  interference  with  the  established  orders  of  society,  for  re- 
moving every  ves(ag(>  of  misery,  and  for  elevating  the  charac- 
ter of  our  degraded  brethren  to  llic  rank  of  rational  beino-s. 


110 

Great  questions,  (so  called)  have  been  agitated,  and  decided  in 
Parliament, but  I  maintain  that  this  is  the  Question  of  all 
QUESTIONS ;  every  other  matter  is  subordinate,  and,  ought  to 
give  way  till  this  is  decided  in  favor  of  the  people.  It  is  the 
question  of  hunger  and  nakedness,  of  houseless  misery  and  fa- 
mily distress  :  it  is  not  merely  w  hether,  in  the  scale  of  honor, 
one  subject  shall  be  equal  to  another,  but  whether  millions  of 
British  subjects  shall  have  bread  to  eat,  and  clothing  to  wear  ; 
or  whether,  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  they  shall  perish  for  want. 
Poor  men !  deceive  not  yourselves  by  the  present  applauded 
measure  of  reform.  Like  the  repeal  of  the  Test  Acts,  and  the 
Catholic  Relief  biU,  it  may  satisfy  political  theorists,  but  what 
will  it  do  for  you  ?  it  will  fill  no  empty  bellies;  it  will  bring  no 
supper  to  supperless  families;  and  therefore  it  is  equally  as  im- 
portant to  press  your  case  as  it  was  before.  After  such  a  state 
of  exhaustion,  in  bringing  forth  the  baby  of  reform.  Parliament 
will  think  it  too  much  to  conceive  again  this  year,  and  there^ 
fore,  if  left  to  themselves,  your  cause  must  still  stand  over. 
If  you  are  not  to  be  represented,  if  you  are  not  to  enter  the  ho- 
norable House  to  tell  your  own  tale;  you  are  allowed  to  petition- 
This  you  must  do,  one  and  all ;  and  the  change  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  House  certainly  holds  out  theTiope  that  your  hi- 
therto rejected  prayers,  may  yet  be  attended  to.  The  removal 
of  all  oppressive  burdens  Jrom  the  land,  and  the  repeal  of  titer 
Corn  Lan-s  is  your  only  hope,  and  for  these  you  ought  to  cry 
with  all  your  remaining  strength.  Patriots  of  England!  merge 
all  your  differences  into  sympathy  and  Iwe  for  your  suffering 
countrymen,  and  be  determined  now  to  discuss  no  other  sub- 
ject to  make  every  other  political  question  subordinate,  and  to- 
oive  Government  no  rest  till  justice  be  done  to  the  industrious 
tribes  of  Britain.  Oppose,  "tooth  and  nail"'  tlie  Emigration  bill, 
and  every  bill  that  does  not  candidly  enquire  into  the  causes  • 
of  distress,  and  honestly  adopt  the  only  rational  remedy.  The 
tithe  owners,  and  the  land  owners  will  make  any  sort  of  bills 
but  the  rio"ht  one  :  while  they  can  get  their  rents  and  tithes, 
they  care  not  for  the  people:  tlieir  best  advice  is,  "you  had 
better  leave  the  country  !''  The  voice  of  poverty  and  misery 
echos  throuo-h  the  land,  but  they  are  deaf  to  its  pitiable  accents  ; 
the  miseries  of  the  people  have  a  thousr.ud  times  been  spread 
before  them,  but  they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  revolting  picture. 


Ill 

is  in  the  power  of  the  aristocracy,  at  any  time,  to  relie%'e  ihe 
nation  :  why  then  do  they  tantalize  tlie  people,  by  plans  &f 
emigration,  and  all  such  cold  hearted  schemes  ?  K  the  Bri- 
tish poor  are  not  to  he  raised  to  comfort  in  their  own  land  ;  if 
tliey  are  to  he  born  in  poverty,  brought  up  like  slaves,  and, 
after  a  life  of  degrading  pauperism,  sent  to  seek  their  bread  in 
a  foreign  country,  why  not  at  once,  with  a  true  Malthuf'an 
spirit,  re-issue  the  edict  of  Pharaoh  to  the  midwives  of  Egyp^  r 

But  let  us  not  yet  despair:  worse  cannot  come,  and  better  is 
probably  at  hand.  Let  the  people  be  true  to  themselves ;  let 
them  follow  no  visionary  scheme,  be  loyal  to  their  King,  and 
sober  in  their  habits.  Thus  prepared,  let  them  fix  upon  the 
aholition  ofilie  Corn  Lairs,  as  the  rallying  point,  and  never  be 
driven  from  it  till  they  get  cheap  bread.  Let  the  middle 
classes  take  them  by  the  hand.  Principally  consisting  of 
weavers,  labourers,  &c.,  they  have  no  protectors  :  they  have 
no  money  to  subscribe ;  no  union  to  look  to  for  support. 
Their  strength  has  manured  our  soil;  fheir  labours  have  enriched 
our  country  ;  our  comforts,  our  luxuries,  are  supplied  from  the 
sweat  of  their  brows  ;  to  suffer  them  to  pine  away  for  want  of 
the  common  necessaries  of  life,  would  be  a  piece  of  detestable 
ingratitude.  Prompted  by  the  higher  feelings  of  humanity, 
I  hope,  the  rich  will  see  tiie  propriety  of  defending  the  poor 
man's  interest  ;  and,  instead  of  suffering  him  to  live  on  charity, 
and  to  be  insulted  because  he  is  poor,  they  will  seek  relief  for 
him  where  alone  it  can  be  had — in  the  reduction  of  provisions  to 
the  price  of  labour.  To  secure  to  the  industrious  labourer  a  com- 
fortable subsistance,  is  the  end  of  all  good  government,  and  my 
estimation  of  the  value  of  the  present  reform,  will  just  be  in  pro- 
portion as  it  produces  this  result. 


THE  FIRE-BELL ; 

OR     A     CONVERSATIOX      BETWIXT      A      FRIEND     AND      A 
iHLRCH-MAN. 

"  What  is  the  matter ;  is  yon  the   tire-bell .-" — "  The   fire- 
boll  !    don't  you    know   that   it  is   Easter-Monday  r    it  is  only 


112 

ringing  to  warn  the  people  to  come  and  pay  their  Eastor  dues.*^ 
*'  Easter  dues  !  a  Popish  custom,  like  many  others  retained  in 
the  church,  for  the  sake  of  the  money  it  yields  to  the  priests." — 
"  I  don't  like  it  myself,  but  it  is  but  a  trifle,  and  as  I  always 
attend  church,  I  thiuk  it  is  better  to  pay  than  run  the  risk  of  a 
summons."—^"  Thou  mayest  think  so,  but  I  am  of  a  different  mind, 
and  J  regard  the  tiukling  of  yonder  bell  as  a  call  upon  every  sin- 
stTi*!-C.hristian  for  fresh  fortitude  to  suffer,  rather  than  support 
such  an  anti-christian  imposition.  While  I  yield  to  no  one  in  loy- 
alty to  my  country,  and  while  I  readily  pay  every  parochial  de- 
mand for  the  assistance  of  the  poor,  I  have  always  respectfully, 
but  firmly,  raised  my  testimony  against  such  hireling  impositions, 
and  for  which  I  have  several  times  had  to  suffer.  Those  hats, 
clogs,  candles,  &c.  which  thou  sawest  auctioned  at  the  obelisk, 
were  the  property  of  myself  and  several  other  friends ;  and  were 
seized  for  the  professed  purpose  of  supporting  the  religion  of 
Him  who  said — "my  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  Thou  knowest 
very  well  that  your  minister  has  neither  reason,  justice,  not* 
scripture  in  his  favour  for  collecting  these  dues,  ;  and  that,  while 
he  is  thus  presssing  his  vexatious  claims,  the  people  are  cursing 
him  for  a  Mammonite.  So  arbitrary,  unequal,  and  absurd  is 
this  mode  of  supporting  your  ministers,  that  if  it  were  only  for 
the  purpose  of  allaying  the  bad  feelings  which  it  creates,  it  ought  to 
be  abolished." — "  Indeed,  I  believe,  TPeare  upon  the  eve  of  great 
changes  ;  the  church  seems  to  be  the  object  of  attack  from  all 
parties,  and  at  present  is  treated  with  very  little  of  that  respect, 
which  such  a  venerable  establishment  is  entitled  to," — "  Its  own 
eorniptions  are  destroying  it  ;  and  I  will  answer  for  it,  that  the 
very  sound  cf  the  bell  which  we  hear,  is  at  this  moment,  com- 
mented upon  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  with  unmeasured  terms 
uf  condemnation.  I  suppose  we  shall  he  annoyed  with  this 
"  free-will  offering"  bell  every  day  this  week  ;  after  which  the 
"higher  and  lower  divisions"  will  be  favoured  with  a  similar  visi- 
tation ;  and  subsequently,  a  man  will  be  sent  round  to  glean  all 
that  remains  of  those  "offerings."  This  last  will  be  an  un- 
grateful task  ;  Biling'sgate  will  be  supplied  profusely  ;  and  the 
rancorous  spirit  and  revengeful  feelings  which  this  practice 
create?,  are  sufhcient  to  condemn  it  to  everlasting  infamy."- — 
'•  Stop,  my  friend,  you  are  growing  warm  ;  we  had  better  drop 
it  for  the  present — good  bye." 


113 
PIECE  WORK. 

Nothing  seems  to  puzzle  the  enlig^htened  people  of  this 
country  more  than  the  subject  of  paving  the  clergj.  As  to 
the  public  duties  of  their  office,  u)  person  seems  disposed  to 
become  innovator ;  these  are  fixed;  are  comprised  in  read- 
ing" over  morning  and  evening  service,  and  delivering  a 
half  hour  sermon  twice  or  thrice  in  a  week.  These  be- 
ing so  exactly  defined,  it  seems  strange  that  no  principle  has 
been  discovered  by  which  the  value  of  these  services  could  be 
satisfactorily  estimated.  Some  would  even  think  ci'oO  a  year 
enough  ;  some  say  £'100.  is  a  fair  thing.  The  Magistrates  of 
the  county  have  declared  in  favour  of  both  £200  and  £300 
And  as  we  pursue  the  difiereut  estimates,  we  ascend  by  Awra- 
«frerf,?till  we  reach  a  ^Ao?/sa;?c?,-  and  this  also,  by  other  cal- 
culators is  not  considered  a  suificiently  honourable  remuner- 
ation for  a  clergyman's  duties.  Preferment  goes  even  much 
beyond  this,  and  the  income  of  some  of  them  is  several  thou- 
sands a  year.  Amidst  all  this  irregularity  and  confusion,  I  am 
surprised  that  it  has  not  been  discovered  that  there  exists  in  every 
church  a  principle  which  has  been  acted  upon  from  time  imme- 
morial, and  by  tlie  application  of  which,  this  point  might  easily 
be  set  at  rest.  This  is  no  other  than  what  isnoW  almost  UHivei*- 
sftUy  adopted — paying  hy  ilie  piece.  If  a  minister  receives 
so  much  for  a  wedding  service,  so  much  for  a  churching 
service,  and  so  much  for  a  funeral  service^  why  should  he  not, 
in  consistency,  receive  so  much  for  his  other  services  ?  If 
religious  serxices  are  to  be  paid  for,  this  I  seriously  maintaia 
to  be  the  only  equitable,  rational,  and  satisfactory  ground  of 
payment.  The  profession  of  divinity  is  often  compared  to 
that  of  the  law  and  physic ;  and  as  these  are  all  paid  by  the 
piece,  this  regulation  would  make  them  analogous  to  each 
other.  It  would  be  a  famous  cure  for  pluralists  and  non-. 
residents ;  it  is  often  said  "  no  penny  no  paternoster,"  it 
would  then  be  reversed, "  no  paternoster  no  penny."  Having 
thrown  out  the  principle,  I  doubt  not,  any  of  my  mathematical 
readers  will  be  able  to  apply  it.  If  a  minister  be  allowed  Id. 
for  churching  a  woman,  what  will  he  deserve  for  reading  over 
the  whole  of  the  morning  service  "^  If  4*.  lOrf.  be  a  liberal  al- 
lowance for  performing  the   marriage  ceremony,   (double   in 

P 


tu 

lent !)  wliat  will  he  deserve  for  reacliag:  over  a  eerinon  of  3(^ 
minutes  length  ?  After  making'  these  calculations,  if  any 
person  shonld  feel  disposed  to  publish  u  "  traders  list  of  pri- 
ces," providing  it  is  not  immoderately  high,  1  shall  have  n© 
objections  to  lay  it  before  the  public.  But  if  the  subject 
should  still  seem  beset  with  difficulties,  I  have  efficient  assist- 
ance at  hand  ;  I  can  introduce  a  book  that  will  solve  every 
difficulty,  and  make  the  matter  perfectly  clear. — But  more  of 
tfii^.hext  month. 


VARIETIES. 

Factory  Hours. — A  bill  is  now  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, which  is  intended  to  repeal  all  preceeding  acts  relating 
io  the  hours  of  labour  in  factories.  The  bill  proposes  to  fix 
the  hours  of  labour,  for  all  below  18  years  of  age,  from  6  in  a 
morning  to  7  at  night,  and  3  hours  less  on  a  Saturday,  includ- 
ing half  an  hour  for  breakfast  and  an  hour  for  dinner.  This 
regulation  is  to  extend  to  all  factories,  whether  employed  in 
working  cotton,  silk,  linen,  or  woollen.  And  in  no  case-, 
excepting  that  of  a  mill  being  destroyed  with  fire,  are  they  to 
be  allowed  to  work  in  the  night.  These  are  humane  regula- 
tions; though  I  think  12  hours,  including  meals,  are  quite' 
sufficient ;  and  that  to  commence  at  7,  especially  in  winter, 
would  be  found  a  great  convenience  to  thousands  of  poor 
children,  and  to  women,  many  of  whom  are  obliged  to  leave 
their  children,  unprotected,  and  to  run  with  breathless  haste 
in  the  cold,  half  dressed,  to  escape  being  fined>  In  its  pre- 
sent shape,  this  bill  has  other  defects  ;  it  is  confined  to-  places- 
where  *'  steam  or  water  power  is  used,^'  and  makes  no  regula- 
tion for  those  above  18  years  of  age,  and  therefore- it  does  not 
include  **  dandy  loom  shops,"  or  any  other  place-where  only 
manual  power  is  used.  In  these  shops,  the  weavers  not  only 
work  long^  hours,  but  their  labour  is  excessively  hard,  and'  in 
eomre  places  bounties  are  given  to  those  who  can  turn  off  the 
greatest  number  of  pieces.  This  act  should  provide  for  all 
above  18  as  well  as  below ;  and  slwuld  be  made  to  include  all 
work  shops  of  the  above  description.  The  fact  ife,  that  labour 
is  too  plentiful',  that  there  is  too  much  in  the  market,  or  there 
would  be  no  need  of  such  bills  as  either  this  of  the  truck  bill  ? 


113 

if  this  irere  not  the  case,  workmen  would  have  the  means 
«f  defence  in  their  ownhands.  With  provisions  cheap,  8  honrsa 
day  would  be  sufficient;  with  high  prices  an  increase  of  labour 
is  required,  and,  whilst  every  working  man  does  the  work  of  one 
and  a  half,  need  we  wonder  that  labour  is  at  such  a  discount 
that  masters  have  to  be  kept  down  with  legislative  enact- 
ments. However,  under  present  circumstances,  the  proposed 
regulations  are  good,  and  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  thejr.are 
supported  by  not  fewer  than  thirty-seven  of  the  most  extensive 
cotton  spinners  of  Manchester. 

Poor  Laws. — There  is,  it  seems,  to  be  no  poor  laws  for  Ire- 
lend.  I  am  glad  of  this.  It  appears  to  me  now  quite  plain, 
that  the  operation  of  the  poor  laws,  is  not  only  destructive  of 
all  social  feeling,  but  a  pretext  for  refusing  to  investigate  the 
real  condition  of  the  poor,  in  the  place  of  raising  them  to  the 
level  of  independent  citizens.  Let  the  price  of  living  and  the 
j^r ice  ^/labour  he  adjusted^  so  that  every  able-bodied  man  may 
bie  able  to  supply  the  wants  of  his  famUy  ;  and  voluntary  cha- 
rity, in  its  various  channels,  will  be  found  amply  sufficient  to 
supply  the  wants  of  the  aged  and  infirm.  Who,  that  knows 
how.  the  poor  are  treated  by  the  parishes  of  this  country, 
would  ever  wish  so  convey  such  a  system  to  the  sister  island  ? 

Savingof  the  time  of  ike  Poor. — The  fate  of  the  poor  is 
really  hard — half  clothed,  and  half  fed,  they  are  constantly 
applying  as  patients  of  the  Dispensary  ;  and,  in  many  cases, 
thougli  the  doctors  give  them  physic,  they  know  that  their 
diseases  arise  from  the  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  I 
mention  this  in  order  to  suggest  to  the  committee  of  that  in- 
stitution, whether,  by  some  fresh  arrangement  in  the  attend- 
ance of  patients,  much  of  the  time  which  they  now  lose  by 
having  to  wait  so  long,  might  not  be  saved.  The  time  lost  by 
the  poor  is  very  considerable  ;  besides  the  wearisomeness  of 
standing  hour  after  hour  in  the  yard  ;  and,  in  cases  of  females, 
who  leave  their  children  unprotected  at  home,  it  is  peculiarly 
distressing.  It  is  the  same  at  the  poor  office  ;  persons  go 
down  on  a  Wednesday  with  their  applications,  and  have  fre- 
quently to  wait  a  number  of  hours  for  their  turn.  They  have 
also  -to  attend  again  on  Saturday  for  their  money,  when 
a  similar  delay  often  takes  place.  Happening  to  be  near  the 
effice  on  Saturday  about  twelve  o'clock,  a  poor  old  man  came 


Iltf 

tip io  me  and  said, '^  I  came  here  at  Jialf-past  seven  withemf 
breakfast,  and  I  have  only  just  got  served  ;  it  is  hard  work/' 
I  wish  not  to  dictate,  but  I  respectfully  submit  that  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, something-  should  be  done  to  remove  tliis  cause  of  com- 
plaint among  the  unfortunate  poor.  When  the  soup  was 
delivered  out  last  winter,  I  remember,  at  the  first  there  wa» 
much  waiting,  and  many  complaints ;  but  afterwards,  by  a 
judicious  arrangement  of  the  districts,  five  hundred  persons 
Were  served  each  day,  from  ten  till  one,  witli  scarcely  any  loss 
of  time. 

Lioing  in  Cellars. — In  these  times  of  improvement  in 
houses  and  furniture,  is  it  not  distressing  to  find  so  many  poor 
families  living  in  cellars  ?  It  may  be  a  subject  beneath  the 
consideration  of  some  persons,  who  never  descend  into  these 
places  of  wretchedness,  and  whose  dogs  and  horses  are  better 
provided  for  than  these  unfortunate  creatures.  Many  of  these 
places  are  unfit  for  human  beings  to  inhabit,  and  nothing  but 
extreme  poverty  could  induce  people  to  live  in  them.  They 
are  dirty,  damp,  confined,  inconvenient,  and  in  every  sense, 
unwholesome.  Some  people  take  them  on  account  of  the  low- 
ness  of  the  rent,  but  others,  on  account  of  their  being  able  to 
have  the  bed,  fire,  and  the  looms,  on  the  same  floor,  so  that  the 
wife,  whilst  working  at  the  loom,  can  have  all  the  children 
under  her  eye.  These  poor  families  often  get  behind  witifi 
their  rent,  so  that  when  they  feel  disposed  to  leave,  they  are 
not  able.  Inconsiderate  overseers  also,  encourage  this  misera- 
ble cellar  system  ;  th^  frequently  relieve  their  paupers  by 
paying  their  rent;  and  they  care  nothing  about  the  comfort 
of  the  place,  provided  the  rent  be  sufficiently  low.  I  wish  we 
had  an  Act  of  Parliament,  strictly  to  prohibit  the  use  of  them 
as  places  for  human  dwellings. 

Free  Trade  in  Beer. — The  grand  jury  of  Essex,  in  pre- 
senting a  memorial  to  the  judge,  which  is  to  be  laid  before 
the  Secretary  for  the  Home  Department,  alleging  that  *'  many 
of  the  offences  in  the  calendar  resulted  from  the  baneful  influ- 
ence of  the  new  beer  shops,''''  arc  likely  to  render  to  the  coun- 
try an  acceptable  service.  All  classes  are  heartily  tired  of 
tliis  measure,  and  as  Parliament  becomes  acquainted  with  the 
feeling  of  the  country,  it  is  not  unlikely  but  the  matter  may  be 
le 'Considered.  A  Magistrate  in  this  borough  ^aid  whea  tlie  act? 


n 


117 

passed,  that  as  a  consequence,  "tlie  prisons  would  be  full,  and 
the  workhouse  more  than  full ;"  aud  I  believe  his  word  has 
been  verified.  Because  Magistrates  had  improperly  used. 
their  power  in  grantingf  and  refusing  licenses,  there  was  sure- 
ly no  necessity  of  going  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  deluging 
the  land  with  ale,  and  offering  a  bounty  for  drunkenness.  It 
lias  been  a  fatal  measure  to  the  morals  of  the  people.  To  ar- 
gue in  favour  o^free  trade  in  the  article  of  intoxicating  liquors 
is  as  absurd  as  to  require  the  druggist  to  leave  the  vessel  con- 
taining poison  without  a  label,  or  the  toy  slu)p3  to  sell  loaded  • 
pistols  for  boys'  play  things.  To  tax  these  liquors  is  a  duty  of 
police  ;  it  is  a  protection  from  the  common  foe  of  man  ;  aud 
a  certain  good  to  many  distressed  families.  What  an  egre- 
gious blunder — when  all  interests  are  so  heavily  pressed, 
that  the  grapling  iron  of  taxation  can  scarcely  get  hold, — 
to  have  given  up  the  sum  of  three  millions,  three  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds, — the  amount  of  the  duty  received  from 
beer. 

Excessive  Drinking. — ^It  is  said  that  the  year  before  last 
the  Temperance  Societies  of  America  reclaimed  700  drunk- 
ards :  but  in  the  same  year  30,000  perished  with  drinking  I— 
In  Scotland,  the  consumption  of  whiskey  during  1822  was^ 
2,077,000  gallons  ;  in  1829,  it  had  increased  to  6,777,000 
gallons  I 

Ringing  for  Races. — I  have  somewhere  read  tliat  bells 
were  rung  formerly  to  drive  evil  spirits  out  of  the  air,  but  they 
have  long  been  appropriated  to  many  other  purposes  equally 
foolish.  I  know  nothing  about  the  consecration,  or  holi- 
ness of  bells  in  this  country,  though  in  other  parts  they  are 
baptized  with  due  solemnity,  and  entrusted  to  tlie  godly  keep- 
ing of  god-fathers.  They  are  now  used,  however,  upon  a 
latitudinarian  principle ;  they  are  applicable  to  a  sacred  or  pro- 
fane  purpose,  just  as  it  may  happen  to  appear  propitious  to 
the  prospects  of  those  who  pull  the  ropes.  As  an  illustration 
1  may  mention  a  case  : — The  bells,  ringing  one  day  in 
Manchester,  a  gentleman  asked  the  cause  ;  he  was  answer- 
ed, "  they  are  ringing  for  Eaton  Park  Races.''''  Eaton  Park 
is  a  short  distance  from  Manchester,  aiid  the  races  belong 
to  the  owner,  who  is  a  nobleman.  Persons  with  carria- 
ges, coaches,  gigs  and  horses,  are  allowed,   but  those  of  the 


118 

rank  of  pedestrians,  are  not  tolerated  upon  the  ground.     The 
attendance  of  a  minister  at  church  is  always  invited  by  tlie 
ringing  of  the  bell,  and  as  it  is  probable  tliere  would  be  many 
©f  the  clergy  as  visitors  at  Eaton,  wlif>  know*  but  tlie    bells 
were  ringing  in  the  same  spirit,  on  this  occasion  ?    I  find  from 
the  "  Record''  newspaper,   tliat  the  clergy  of  Sliefiield,  and 
also  the  vicar  of  Chesterfield,  have  been  involved  in  4isputei^ 
with  their  parishioners,  in  order  to  put  down  similar  practices. 
Projected  Union. — 1  was  glad  to  meet  with  a  letter  in  the 
« world"  newspaper,  urging  the   importance   of  impartially 
investigating  the  projected  "  union"  among  the  Independent 
churches.     The  tendency  of  confederations  like  the  one  whicli 
is  in  contemplation,  sliould  be  well  weighed.      Every  one 
knows  that  power  and   influence  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy 
have  been  abused   to   the   oppression  of  the     people,    and 
the  perversion  of  true  religion.    The  Court  of  Rome  originated 
in   friendly  union ;    the  Conference  of  the  Methodists  in  the 
same.     The  disposition,  and  the  influence  of  both  these  pow- 
ers are  well  known  ;    and  it  will  be  more  than  some  people 
expect,  if,  upon  trial,  this  union  should  be  so  constituted  as  to 
prove  an   exception.      Let  the  people  beware  of  any  foreign 
jurisdiction;    and  never  trust  their  liberties  into  the  hands 
of  others. 

Charity  Sermons. — As  we  are  approaching  the  season  for 
Charity  Sermons,  I  would  beg  leave  to  throw  out  a  hint  in 
reference  to  the  mailer  of  these  sermons.  I  v^  ill  not  now  en- 
quire into  the  merit  of  sending  for  popular  preachers,  and 
employing  extra  singing  and  music,  in  order  to  secure  a  larger 
attendance,  instead  of  resting  the  collection  upon  the  merits 
of  the  cause  ;  what  I  mean  is,  that  when  an  assembly  is  con- 
vened to  support  the  cause  of  religious  education,  the  subject 
of  the  discourse  ought  to  have  an  immediate  connection  with 
the  occasion.  A  detail  of  the  advantages  of  education,  the 
most  effectual  plans  for  promoting  it,  and  an  exposure  of  all 
tlie  popular  mistakes  upon  the  subject,  or  something  of  this 
kind,  is  what  one  would  naturally  look  for.  Instead  of  this, 
a  detached  sentence  or  part  of  a  sentence  is  taken,  and  though 
selected  from  the  bible,  has  generally  no  connection  with  the 
subject  of  education.  A  sermon,  in  the  xisual  style  of  division 
and  sub-division,  must  be  preached  till  the  words  of  the  text 


}]9 

are  fully  gone  through,  and  after  the  time  and  attentfott 
of  the  people  are  exhausted,  the  subject  of  the  school,  which 
ought  to  liave  been  the  leading' topic,  is  then  introduced,  and  a 
few  minutes  occupied,  very  feebly,  in  stating  its  claims.  The 
interest  of  other  institutions,  at  their  anniversaries,  are  not 
Advocated  in  this  way ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  stubbornness  of 
pulpits  in  favour  of  the  easy  mode  of  teaching  by  sermons,  our 
annual  meetings  for  the  support  of  Sunday  schools  would  be  much 
more  instructive. 

Parliamentary  Reform. — Something  approaching  towards  the 
long-prayed-for  Parliamentary  Reform  is  now  likely  to  be  car- 
ried ;  and  it  would  be  ungrateful  in  the  "  Moral  Reformer  and 
Protestor  against  all  abuses,*'  not  to  join  in  the  general  exulta- 
tion. This  measure,  till  very  recently,  has  been  always  unpopu- 
lar, and  those  who  were  its  advocates,  set  down  as  disaffected 
and  troublesome  characters.  How  strangely  have  the  enemies 
of  reform  turned  round  and  become  its  supporters  !  and  when  the 
whole  is  impartially  reviewed,  it  shews  at  once,  how  few  sup- 
port or  oppose  a  measure  from  personal  reflection.  Now  that, 
the  King  and  his  ministers  see  the  necessity  of  reform,  a  flood  of 
light  seems  to  have  burst  upon  the  minds  of  numbers,  of 
whose  conversion,  little  or  no  hope  was  ever  entertained.  The 
"ascendency"  folks,  when  the  catholic  bill  was  carried,  all  turned 
round,  and  for  spite  became  clamorous  reformers  ;  but  they  have 
overshot  the  mark  ;  the  subject  which,  in  couseqisence  cf  their 
defeat,  they  forced  upon  the  attention  of  the  nation,  is  likelv  again 
to  be  turned  against  themselves.  The  writers  of  thi<!  class  per- 
ceive very  clearly,  that  a  reformed  parliament,  will  beget  a  re- 
formed church,  and  that  corruption  and  jobbing  will  be  made  to 
tremble  before  it.  Though  this  measure  will  bring  no  immedi- 
ate relief  to  the  poorer  classes,  yet  we  may  reasonably  hope  that 
their  petitions  will  not  be  neglected  as  they  have  been,  and  that 
the  interests  of  the  niany  will  not  always  be  sacrificed  to  support 
that  of  the  ^/fU".  In  its  results  only  will  its  value  be  properlv 
perceived,  and  I  sincerely  hope  these  will  not  disappoint  the  high 
expectations  of  the  nation.  It  is  a  magnanimous  attempt,  and  if 
the  next  parliament  be  as  honest  and  well  disposed  as  the  minis- 
ters who  are  now  struggling  to  open  the  way,  the  wounds  of  in- 
jured England  will  soon  be  healing.  But  Members  of  Parlia- 
ment have  to  be  sent  by  their  constituents  ;  and  if  the  new  rac<j 
of  electors,  in  returning  members,  pursue  the  abominable  exam- 


120 

j^es  of  the  old,  what  hotter  shall  we  ha  ?  Instead  of  regarding 
an  election  as  a  set  hattlo  betwixt  two  parties,  in  which  every 
base  and  corrupt  practice  is  resorted  to,  instead  of  supporting 
and  electing  the  man  who  will  spend  the  most  money  in  bribery 
and  drunkenness,  be  he  ever  such  a  dotard  ;  the  electors,  in 
every  place,  to  whom  so  important  a  trust  is  confided,  ought  to 
seek  out  persons  who  are  qualified  by  their  knowledge,  talents, 
and  tried  integrity,  and  to  return  them  free  of  all  expense.  The 
man  who  buys  his  return,  can  never  be  trusted  ;  instead  of  hav- 
ing to  pay,  he  ought  rather  to  be  paid  for  bis  services,  and  he 
would  be  more  likely  to  serve  the  people  with  a  single  eye  to  their 
interests.  If,  in  choosing  representatives,  the  people  were  as 
judicious  as  they  are  in  choosing  servants  for  themselves,  we 
should  have  a  really  reformed  House  of  Commons ;  but  if  the 
electors  act  upon  the  old  system,  depend  upon  it,  though  we  shall 
have  a  change  of  men,  many  of  them  will  inherit  the  disposition* 
and  follow  the  footsteps  of  their  unworthy  predecessors. 

Reli'^ion  tmd  Vice — The  object  of  the  one  is  to  destroy  or  put 
down  the  other,  and  wherever  they  live  together  in  peace,  there 
is  reason  to  suspect  that  some  unholy  compromise  has  been  made. 
In  a  pfcice  like  Chester,  for  instance,  where  churches  meet 
yonr  eye  in  every  direction,  and  where  a  small  city  and  the 
suburbs  are  divided  into  nine  parishes,  where  there  are  all  the 
orders  of  the  clergy,  and  where  there  is  even  the  seat  of  our  dio- 
cesian  bishop,  we  shouhl  expect  that  every  irregularity  would  be 
suppressed  ;  we  should  expect,  in  fact,  that  religion  had  had 
such  a  long  and  firm  standing  in  the  place,  that  vice  would  at 
least  never  appear  in  any  ostensible  character.  The  reverse, 
is  the  fact.  Though  surrounded  with  the  paraphernalia  of  religion, 
the   people,    generally,  appear  to  be  just  as  good — or  rather  just 

ag  bad in  reference  to  morals,  as  they  do  in  other  places.    Drink- 

inff  swearing,  pride,  and  profligacy  are  too  manifest.  As  in 
other  places,  the  children  are  neglected  ;  beneath  the  window 
where  I  lodged,  the  terms,  devil,  damn,  blast  and  such  like,  were, 
used  with  such  freedom  by  the  children  who  were  playing,  as  to 
be  distinctly  heard  in  the  inside  of  the  room.  The  church  esta- 
blishment is  every  where  proving  itself  powerless  as  a  corrector 
of  morals  :  and  it  would  be  well  if  its  friends,  who  cannot  but 
acknowledge  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  would  be  candid  enough 
to  avow  it.     Confession  is  the  forerunner  of  reformation. 

J.  L. 


Mil 
SELECTIONS. 


'Christian  Precepts^  from  "  The  Epistle  of  Barnabas,"  suppos- 
led  to  be  the  same  Barnabas  who  accompanied  the  Apostle 
Paul:— 

"  Now  the  way  of  light  is  this,  if  any  one  desires  to  attain  to 
the  place  that  is  appointed  for  him,  and  will  hasten  thither  by  his 
works.  And  the  knowledge  that  has  been  given  to  us  for  walk- 
ing in  it,  is  to  this  effect  : — Tliou  shalt  love  Him  that  made  thee  : 
thou  shalt  glorify  Him  that  hath  redeemed  thee  from  death. 
Thou  shalt  be  simple  in  heart,  and  ri^h  in  the  spirit.  Thou  shalt 
not  cleave  to  those  that  walk  in  the  way  of  death.  Thou  shalt 
hate  to  do  any  thing  that  is  not  pleasing^  to  God.  Thou  shalt  ab- 
hor all  dissimulation.  Thou  shalt  not  neglect  any  of  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord.  Thou  shalt  not  exalt  thyself,  but  shalt 
he  humble;  Thousiialt  not  take  honour  to  thyself.  Thou  shalt 
not  enter  into  any  wicked  counsel  against  thy  neighbour.  Thou 
shalt  not  be  over-confident  in  thy  heart.  Thou  shalt  not  commit 
fornication,  nor  adultery.  Neither  shalt  thou  corrupt  thyself 
with  mankind.  Thou  shalt  not  make  use  of  the  word  of  God,  to 
any  impurity.  Thou  shalt  not  accept  any  man's  person,  when 
thou  reprovest  any  one's  faults.  Thou  shalt  be  gentle.  Thou 
shalt  be  quiet.  Thou  shalt  tremble  at  the  words  which  thou  hast 
hear<i.  Thou  shalt  not  keep  any  hatred  in  thy  heart  against  thy 
brother.  Thou  shalt  not  entertain  any  doubt  whether  it  shall  be, 
or  not.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain.  Thou 
«halt  love  thy  neighbour  above  thy  own  soul.  Thou  shalt  not 
destroy  thy  conceptions  before  they  are  brought  forth  ;  nor  kill 
them  after  they  are  born.  Thou  shalt  not  withdraw  thy  hand 
from  thy  son,  or  from  thy  daughter  ;  but  shalt  teach  them  from 
their  youth  to  fear  the  Lord.  Thou  shalt  not covelthy  neighbour's 
goods  ;  neither  shalt  thou  be  an  extortioner.  Neither  shall 
thy  heart  be  joined  to  proud  men  ;  but  thou  shait  be  numbered 
among  the  righteous  and  the  lowly.  Whatever  events  shall  hap- 
|)en  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  receive  them  as  good.  Thou  shalt  not 
be  double-minded,  or  double-tongued;  for  a  double  tongue  is  the 
snare  of  death.  Thou  shalt  be  subject  unto  the  Lord,  and  to  in- 
ferior masters  as  to  the  representatives  of  God,  in  fear  and  rever- 
ence. Thou  shalt  not  be  bitter  in  thy  commands  towards  any  of 
thy  servants  that  trust  in  God ;  lest  thou  chance  not  to  fear  Him 
who  is  over  both .;  because  he  came  not  to  cal  1  any  with  respect 
of  persons,  but  whomsoever  the  spirit  had  prepared.  Thou  shalt 
•communicate  to  thy  neighbour  erf" all  thou  hast ;  thou  shaft  not 
call  any  thing  thine  own  :  for  if  ye  partake  in  such  things  as  are 
incorruptable,  how  much  more  should  ye  do  it  in  those  that  are 
corruptable  ?  Thou  shalt  not  be  forward  to  speak  ;  for  the 
iUiouth  is  the  snare  of  death.      Strive   for  thy  soul  with  all  thy 

Q 


TS3 

might.  Reach  not  out  thy  hands  to  receive,  and  withold  them  nof 
when  thou  shouldest  give.  Thou  shalt  love,  as  the  apple  of 
thine  eye,  every  one  that  speakejh  unto  thee  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 
Call  to  thy  rememberance,  day  and  night,  the  future  judgment. 
Thou  shalt  seek  out  every  day  the  persons  of  the  rightcous^ :  and 
Both  consider  and  go  about  to  exhort  others  by  the  word,  and 
meditate  how  thou  mayest  save  a  soul.  Thou  shalt  also  labour 
with  thy  hands  to  give  to  the  poor,  for  the  redemption  of  thy 
sins.  Thou  shalt  not  deliberate  whether  thou  shouldst  give  ; 
nor  having  given,  murmur  at  it.  Give  to  every  one  that  asks  ; 
so  shalt  thou  know  who  is  the  good  rewarder  of  thy  gifts.  Keep 
what  thou  hast  received;  thou  shalt  neither  add  to  it,  nor  take 
from  it.  Let  the  wicked  be  always  thy  aversion,  lliou  shalt 
judge  righteous  judgment.  Thou  shalt  never  cause  divisions  • 
but  shalt  make  peace  between  those  that  are  at  variance,  and 
"bring  them  together.  Thou  shalt  confess  thy  sins;  and  not 
come  to  thy  prayer  with  an  evil  conscience.  This  is  the  way 
of  light.'" 

The  Tithe  System. — "  I  have  the  misfortune  to  be  a  land- 
owner in  J?«e  parishes,  only  one  of  which  has  escaped  the  visita- 
tion of  a  Tithe  suit ;  and  even  there  we  dread  to  anticipate  the 
death  of  its  venerable  incumbent.  When  I  was  young,  thougft 
the  harmony  of  the  Church  was  certainly  ruffled  by  Mr.  Wesley 
and  Methodism,  and  the  serenity  and  meekness  of  its  ministers  a 
little  troubled,  we  hadno  suits  at  law  concerning  tithes,  like  those 
the  last  twenty  years  have  seen,  to  kindle  discontent,  discord  and 
estrangement,  which  we  must  grieve  to  confess,  are  now  so  alarm- 
ingly spreading,  not  less  to  the  dispargement  of  the  clergy  as  a 
body,  than  ta  the  prejudice  of  religion  itself.  Indeed,  scarcely 
need  we  wonder,  when  we  cannot  but  regret  to  see,  that  a  greaf 
part  of  these  suits  are  instituted,  not  for  the  recovery  of  rights 
which  are  ivithheld, — (then,  justice  itself  might  defy  any  asper- 
sions,)— but  for  the  very  avowed  object  of  breaking  agreements^ 
made  between  pious  pastors  and  their  flocks,  in  remote  times, 
when  christian  regard  and  tenderness  on  the  one  hand,  with  res. 
pect  and  veneration  on  the  other,  happily  conspired  to  extermi- 
nate every  root  of  bitterness,  and  bone  of  contention  by  "Moduses 
in  lieu  of  Tithes,"  they  fondly  hoped,  for  ever. 

For  my  own.  part,,  whatever  might  be  the  origin,  or  antiquity 
or  legality  of  titheSy  or  whoever  were  their  receivers,  wishing  as 
I  do,  in  common  with  every  rational  member  of  our  church,  an 
honourable  income  to  the  very  humblest  of  its  ministers  for  their 
services,  no  mode  of  its  accruing  could  seem  to  my  view  so  preg- 
nant with  unfortunate  consequences,  as  the  modern  history  of 
tithes  exhibits.  That  the  functionaries  of  an  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem, with  "  peace  and  good  will  to  men"  as  its  watch-word, 
should  have  their  maintainance  to  spring,  if  a  figurative  term 
may  be  applied,  by  carrying  "fire  and  sword"  into  the  bosom  of 
so  many  of  their  parishes,  is  a  most  mortifying  frustration  of  the 
holy  and  benevolent  purposes  of  its  institution.     In  the  four  par- 


128 

i^hes  for  instance  to  wliicli  I  have  adverted,  all  withm  ten  miles 
of  Lancaster,  what  heart-burnings  of  animosity  have  been,  and 
are  still,  engendered,  by  these  tithe  suits.  In  our  own,  ten  or 
twelve  years  was  their  continuance,  till  a  compromise  was  effected 
by  a  Commutation  Act  of  Parliament,  at  a  cost  to  the  parishioners 
of  perhaps  £8000,  besides  doubling  the  revenue  of  the  Vicar  to 
361358  per  annum  for  Vicarial  Tithes!  In  another, a  similax- 
means,  it  is  true,  though  at  a  rather  less  rate  of  expense,  has 
restored  external  harmony^  In  a  third,  a  Dean  and  Chapter, 
the  Impropriators,  have  refused,  from  some  strange  cause,  to 
sanction  the  same  legislative  palliation^  And  the  last  is  still 
enjoying  the  ail  but  intermiiiable  agitation  of  the  Court  of 
Chaocery. ''^-^Coi^respmident  of  the  Lancaster  Herald. 

FisJi  Tithe. — "  There  has  been  a  considerable  agitation  at 
Mousehole,  relative  to  the  disputes  respecting  the  fish  tithe.  The 
fishermen  say  that  the  composition  has  been  raised  from  Gs.  to 
"81.  a  boat ;  that  however  severe  upon  them,  they  have  hitherto 
paid  the  latter  sura,  but  that  lately  they  have  been  required  to  pay 
Gl.  a  boat,  and  an  additional  guinea  for  such  boats  as  go  to  iish 
for  herrings  on  the  coast  of  Ireland.  They  say  that  this  is  a  most 
intolerable  imposition  on  them,  who  risk  their  lives  in  a  mast 
precarious  occupation,  and  that  they  are  not  permitted  to  pro- 
ceed to  a  distantcoast  to  fish  during  the  winter,  without  paying  a 
sum  for  tithe,  even  if  they  should  take  nothing.  This  demand  of 
fish  tithe,  it  is  said,  arose  out  of  a  free-will  offering  made  in  the 
days  of  Catholic  superstition,  to  purchase  the  prayers  of  ihe 
monks,  but  that  it  has  been  tenaciously  retained  after  Pfotestant- 
isra  has  banished  the  superstitions  of  the  church  of  Rome. 
The  fishermen  declare  they  will  pay  no  more  tithe,  unless  com- 
pelled to  do  so  by  law,  and  as  tliey  are  a  most  determined  race, 
very  serious  consequences  may  result  froai  the  attempt  to  enforce 
the  present  dema.u(i."-^tVest  Britxai. 

The  Corn  Laws.- —  "The  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  alone 
and  only  their  repeal,  will  set  the  country  right,  and  every  thin^- 
else  will  be  ineffectual  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  svstem 
calculated  to  improve  the  condition  of  all  classes,  and 'make 
them  really  happy.  No,  Sir,  it  is  not  the  repeal  of  four  or  five 
millions  of  Government  taxes — it  is  not  shifting  the  tithes  from 
the  rich  land-owner,  who  purchased  his  land  subject  to  those 
tithes,  and  throwing  the  burthen  of  the  clergy  on  the  people  ;  it 
is  none  of  these  that  will  benefit  the  country.     It  is  not  mending 

the  •  condition  of  the  agricultural  labourers  that  is  sufficient all 

classes  (the  landlords  excepted)  v/ant  relief,  and  they  must  be  re- 
lieved— (i.e.) — they  must  have  their  ri^7/?5 — the  Corn  Law  tax 
of  one  hundred  miliiGns  UX5S1:  he  rQ\)ea.\e^(\.  The  white  stai-vhw- 
slaves,  as  well  as  the  better-fed  black  slaves,  must  have  their 
cause  taken  up  and  advocated.  And  I  sincerely  hope  that  the 
liberal  portion  atleast  of  the  public  press  will,  in  earnest,  take  up 
and  support  the  cause  of  fallen  England,  and  without  prejudice  of 
party,  either  religious  or  political,  stick  closely  to  a  free  trade  ia 


t24 

die  necessaries  of  life.  Nine  shilling's  to  a  labourer,  wifTi  no* 
Corn  Laws,  would  be  belter  than  twelve  sliillings  with  Corn 
Laws,  and  then  all  other  classes  would  be  benefitted. "^Cor. 
World. 

Pluralities. — "If  Pluralities  disqualified  from  sacred  offices, 
no  less  than  six  bishops  consecrated  during  the  last  short  reign 
o??/y,  WOULD  HAVE  BEEN  DISQUALIFIED.  In  the  first  year  of 
that  reign.  Dr.  John  Kaye,  (now  Bishop  of  Lincoln)  was  con- 
secrated Bishop  of  Bristol.  This  gentleman,  at  the  time  of  his 
consecration,  was  Master  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  Regius 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  that  University,  and  Rector  of  Somers- 
bam,  in  Huntingdonshire  ;  not  one  of  which  preferments  did  he 
resign  upon  his  elevation  to  the  See  of  Bristol.  In  the  fifth  year 
(1824)  of  the  same  reign.  Dr.  Robert  James  Carr,  was  nomfnst- 
fed  to  the  See  of  Chichester.  This  gentleman,  at  the  time  of  his 
consecration,  held  the  Deanery  of  Hereford,  the  Deputy  Clerk- 
ship of  the  Chapel  Royal,  a  Prebendal  Stall  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Hereford,  and  another  in  the  Cathedral  of  Salisbury.  In  the 
same  year,  Dr.  Charles  James  Blomfield,  now  Bishop  of  London, 
was  nominated  to  the  See  of  Chester  ;  at  that  time  he  was  also 
Archdeacon  of  Colchester,  Rector  of  St.  Botolph's,  Bishopgate, 
Vicar  of  Great  Chesterford,  and  Rector  of  Little  Chesterford, 
Essex.  In  the  year  1827,  Dr.  Robert  Gray  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Bristol  ;  at  the  same  time  he  held  a  Prebendal  Stall 
in  Durham  Cathedral,  the  Rectory  of  Bishop's  Wearmouth,  and 
a  Prebendal  Stall  in  Chichester  Cathedral.  In  the  same  year, 
the  hon.  Dr.  Hugh  Percy,  now  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  was  conse- 
crated to  the  See  of  Rochester,  holding  at  the  same  time  the 
Deanery  and  a  Prebendal  Stall  in  Canturbury  Cathedral,  the 
Chancellorship  of  a  Prebendal  Stall  in  the  Cathedra!  Church  of 
Salisbury,  a  Prebendal  Stall  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  the  Rectory 
of  Ivy  Church,  in  Kent,  and  the  Rectory  of  Bishopsbourne,  in  the 
&anie  County.  In  the  following  year,  (1828)  Dr.  Edward  Cop- 
plestone  was  consecrated  to  the  See  of  Llandaff.  He  then  held 
the  Deanery  of  Chester,  the  Provostship  of  Oriel  College,  a  Pre- 
bendal Stall  in  Rochester  Cathedral,  another  Prebendal  Stall 
in  St.  Paul's,  the  Rectory  of  Purleigh,  in  Essex,  and  the  Vicarage 
of  Sutton  at  Hone,  situated  in  Kent. — Englishmen  !  behold  this 
scandalous  picture  !  Is  it  to  sustain  such  a  system  as  this,  and 
to  uphold  the  morality  of  the  country,  that  the  farmers  are  de- 
prived of  the  Jifih  part  of  the  produce  of  their  land  and  their 
labour? — A  fifth;  for  it  is  monstrous  to  call  it  a  *  tenth.**-^ 
Ballot. 

Another  Specimen. — "  We  turn  to  the  *  Clerical  Guide,'  and 
perceive  in  the  list  of  the  Clergy  in   the   first  half-page,  under 
the  letter  A,  as  follows  : — 
Affleck,  Robert,.  . .  .Prebendary  of  York. 

Rector  of  Silkston. 

Curate  of  Bretton  Monk. 

Ditto  of  Stainborougb. 


i 


125 

Rector  of  Treswell  East  Madiety. 

Perpetual  Curate  of  Thockington. 

Vicar  of  Weston. 
Allen,  David  Bird,.  .Prebendary  of  St.  David's  and  Brecon 

Rector  of  Beerton. 

Rector  of  Llandewi  VVelfry. 

Rector  of  ManerdifFy. 
AllFREE,  E.  M.  ..... .Minor  Canon  of  Rochester. 

Rector  of  Canterbury,  St.  Andrew. 

Rector  of  St.  31ary,  Biedon. 

Donative  Strood." fVorld. 

Decisive. — "VVljenever  it  is  proved  that  the  possessions  of  the 
Church,  or  of  any  other  corporation,  or  individuals  in  a  state, 
are  absolutely  incompatable  with  the  happiness  of  the  people, 
thei/  must  be  sacrificed.^'^-'  Cleric  as,',  Lancaster  Herald. 

Hours  of  Labour  in  Cotton  Mills, — "The  hours  of  labour  in 
cotton  mills  are  from  13  to  14  hours  per  day,  and,  at  a  distance 
from  large  towns,  even  longer.  The  rooms  are  artificially  heat- 
ed from  60  to  9O,  and  some  100  or  110  degrees,  while  those  tro- 
pical atmospheres  are  impregnated  with  oily,  gaseous,  acid,  and 
other  noxious  effluvia.  At  their  labour  there  is  no  sitting ;  but 
the  attention  of  children  and  females,  the  delicate  and  feeble,  as 
well  as  the  most  healthy,  must  be  as  incessant  as  the  revolution 
ef  the  machinery  for  6  or  7  hours  before  dinner,  and  as  many 
after.  There  is,  therefore,  no  proportioning  of  labour  to  ability  ; 
and,  consequently,  many  arc  out  of  employ  merely  because  they 
cannot  endure  the  hours  of  labour.  This  has  the  same  effect,  upon 
all  classes,  as  a  redundant  population  ;  aud  the  excess  of  goods, 
which,  by  means  of  this  extensive  labour,  gluts  every  market  in 
the  world,  operates  exactly  in  the  same  way.  An  act  to  diminish 
those  hours  would  have  the  same  effect  as  an  extensive  emigration 
or  dimunition  of  such  redundant  population." — Cor.  of  the 
Voice  of  the  People. 

V  ... .  .\  

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

reflections  produced  by  the  subject  of  a  general  or 

national  fast,  brought  before  the  house  of 

commons,  by  mr.  percival- 

Sir, 

I  wish  it  to  bp  fully  understood  that  I  neither  question  the  piety 
nor  sincerity  of  the  honourable  member,  nor  yet  the  utility  and  great  im- 
portance of  the  subject,  either  as  an  act  performed  by  an  individual,  01  by 
a  nation  ;  in  both  cases,  advantages  may  be  secured,  beyond  all  human 
calculation.  But  while  we  are  encouraged  by  the  numerous  examples 
which  the  Scriptures  present  to  our  view,   to  seek  the  good   which  others 


186 

liave  obtained  tbraugl)  the  inediura  of  Fasting  and  Fi'uycr,  we  arc,  ou  tlm 
other  hand,  cautioned  agaiust  presuming  to  come  into  the  presence  of  a 
ju&t  and  holy  Gud,  under  circumstances  calculated  to  excite  his  indignation 
rather  than  his  approval.  Now,  if  we  enquire  into  tLecharac-terof  the 
Jewish  nation,  when  it  was  charged  by  Gud  with  crimes  of  the  most  re- 
volting nature,  and  compare  it  with  onr  own,  at  the  present  day,  we  shall 
discover  a  striking  similarity.  It  this  assumption  be  correct,  it  will  follow-, 
that  whatever  punishment  th.Tt  nation  subjected  itself  to,  by  its  unrighte- 
ous conduct,  will  justly  apply  in  our  case,  with  increased  condemnation; 
for  surely  it  will  be  admitted  •'  where  more  is  given,  more  will  be  required." 
I  proceed  to  notice  the  Ktate  of  morals  as  exhibited  by  the  conduct  of 
the  Jews,  under  the  reproof  of  Jehovah —First,  their  ministry  was  venal  j 
their  priests  taught  for  hire;  (see  Micha  111,2)  It  was  hypocritical; 
"  for  a  pretence  they  made  long  prayers;"  (Matt.  XXUt.  M-)  It  was 
selfish  and  tyrannical—"  They  devoured  widows'  houses."  Their  religion 
was  vain,  their  professions  insincere,  aiid  cojisequeutly  their  solemn  services 
were  an  abomination  to  Jehovah— (Isa.  I.  \i  to  l6  )  Their  liws  w«re  un- 
just,  and  grievously  oppressive— (ChroB  :  1  &  LVIIl.)  and  iu  the  midst 
ef  these  abominations,  they  had  the  audacity  to  insult  the  Majesty  of  Hea- 
rea  with  their  hypocritical  solemuities— their  new  moons  aiul  fast  days  :— • 
hence  we  trace  the  solomn  reproofs  as  delivered  by  Jeliovah— "  your  new 
moons  and  your  appointed  fasts  my  soul  hateth  ;  they  are  a  trouble  to  me-. 
I  am  weary  to  bear  them.  When  ye  make  many  prayers  1  will  not  hear— 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood — wash  you,  make  you  clean  ;  put  away  the 
evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes.  Cease  to  do  evil— learn  to  du 
well.  Seek  judgement,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead 
for  the  widow.  Is  not  this  the  fast  which  I  have  chosen  ?  to  loose  the 
bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed 
go  free  and  to  break  every  yoke.  Hear  this,  I  pray,  ye  heads  of  the  house 
ef  Jacob,  and  princes  of  the  house  of  Israel,  that  abhor  judgement  and 
pervert  all  equity;  that  buildup  Zion  with  blood,  aud  Jerusalem  with 
iniquity.  The  heuds  thereof  judge  for  rewards,  and  the  priests  thereof 
for  hire,  &c.  Go  to  now  ye  rich  men  !  weep  and  howl,  for  your  miseries 
that  shall  come  upon  you  ;  your  riches  are  corrupted,  and' your  garments 
are  moth  eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered,  and  the  lust  of  them 
shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  up  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire. 
Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together  for  the  last  day.  Behold  the  hire  of  the 
labourers  who  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  wiiidi  is  by  you  kept  back  by 
fraud,  crieth,  and  the  cries  of  them  which  havereaped,  are  entered  into  the 
ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabbaoth,  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth,  and 
been  wanton;  ye  have  uouiislied  your  hearts  as  in  a  day  of  slaughter. 
What  dot  h  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk 
humbly  with  thy  God!"  These  are  a  few.  out  of  many  charges  which 
were  brought  against  the  Jewish  nation  at  various  periods  of  its  history, 
which  are  amply  sufHcient  to  shew  the  extent  of  their  infamous  conduct  ; — 
that  whilst  they  were  committing  every  species  of  iniquity,  they  assumed  a 
chaiacter  the  most  opposite  to  truth.     Let  us  now  look  impartially  on    th^ 


f27 

ctrcumstanocs  coslnectcd  with  onr  nation  ;  comparin]^  our  moral  character 
tprth  that  of  the  Jews.  Surha  survey  will  brinf  to  our  view  crimes  of  as 
deep  a  dye,  and  as  criminal  in  their  nature,  as  any  practised  by  the  revolting 
Israelites  :  and  to  do  this,  we  need  not  pry  into  the  secret  recesses  of  criise. 
Jbe  things  of  «hich  we  speak  are  committed  io  open  day,  in  the  sight  of  the 
sun,  and  with  impunity  !  Under  the  sanction  of  British  law,  and  in  defi- 
ance of  ciiristian  principle,  eight  hundred  thouBaod  of  our  fellow  creatures 
are  at  this  moment  (unless  the  A  Imighty  has  just  broken  their  bonds  asunder) 
held  in  Slavery  !  a  ■system  which  necessarily  includes,  fosters,  and  secures 
every  crime  named  and  nameless,  that  ever  was,  or  can  be  committed. 
It  is  a  violation  of  the  most  saeied  laws  of  nature,  because  it  takes  away 
personal  liberty.  It  is  sacrilege  of  the  most  irapious  description.  It 
robs  God  of  his  creature,  and  man  of  hims.elf ;  it  is  a  robbery  the  most  ext«n* 
ded— unparalellcd  in  its  grasp  ;  it  includes  all,  body  and  soul  ;  it  is  an  act 
of  injustice  which  embraces  all  other  unjust  arts  ;  it  witholds  every  thing 
which  ought  njt  to  be  wit  held  5  it  is  cruelty  in  its  must  terrific  aspect; 
it  tortures  every  fibre  of  the  body,  and  every'facult\  of  tbe  soul ;  it  is  mtir- 
der  without  precedent,  for  it  may  be  committed  with  impunity,  by  night  o<* 
by  day  5  suddenly  or  deliberately  ;  in  the  absence  of  any,  or  in  the  presence 
of  many,  witnesses.  All  these  are  the  natural  coacommitants  of  Slaveiy  jt— 
not  difficnlt  to  discover,  but  sach  as  cannot  be  hid  from  tlieLare  inspection 
into  its  nature  aed  history,  by  any,  excepting  those  who  dismiss  from  their 
presence  reason  and  reflection.  And  must  we  under  the  mask  of  religion 
once  more  insult  the  King  Eternal?  He  who  cannot  look  upon  sin  with  the 
least  allowance  ;  He  who  reads  the  heart,  and  detests  hypocrisy.  Must  ws 
tell  Him  that  we  repent  of  our  manifold  sins,  and  that  we  are  truly  sorry 
for  our  misconduct  ? — That  we  will  refrain  from  our  delicate  food,  aod 
cease  from  our  cups  for  a  few  hours,  if  He  will,  in  His  goodness,  still  per- 
mit us  to  go  on  in  our  own  way,  aud  not  punish  us  acccording  to  our  desert  ? 
How  pointedly  does  that  word  apply,  which  is  given  in  mercy,  for  reproof^ 
correction  and  instruction  !  "  Who  hath  required  this  at  your  hands  ? 
Bring  ne  more  vain  oblatiocs.  Y'our  prayers  I  will  not  hear.  Who  hath 
warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come?  Bring  forth  fruits,  tlierefore, 
meet  for  repentance.  Your  hands  are  full  of  blood.  Wash  you,  ra;'ke  you 
clean;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings.  Cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to  do 
well.  Seek  judgment,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead 
for  the  widow.  To  obey  is  better  than  to  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the 
fat  ofrarns." 

Let  tlie  British  nation  attend  to  the  voire  of  reason,  and  promptly  per- 
form one  great  natioual  act  of  justice,  so  long  desiie.l,  aud  yet  so  Ion* 
delayed  !  give  that  up  which  ought  never  to  have  been  taken  away.  Emcn- 
apate  the  slaves  instantly  and  for  ever.  Follow  up  this  act  with  another  for 
whi«h  justice  aud  reason  loudly  call :  the  act  of  remuneration  forlhe  wr  ):igs 
inflicted,  not  certainly  upon  the  oppressor,  but  the  oppressed  ;  let  his  case 
be  met  fully  and  speedily,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  his  best  interests. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  come  forward  with  all  the  solemnity  of  fasting  and 
prayi^r^and  we  may  expect  to  be  beard  and  answered  in  our   petition,  when 


128 

we  evidence  by  oar  actions  the  sincerity  of  our  professions.  Let  no  incli< 
vidua!  in  the  British  nation  suppose  the  subject  docs  not  concei*n  him.  Alt 
are  concerned,  though  the  shades  of  guilt  may  be  various.  Let  no  one  sup- 
pose he  can  do  nothing ;— every  one  onght  and  may  do  something^he  who 
cannot  speak  may  pray  that  the  abominations  may  cease  from  the  earth; 
uor  need  we  despair  of  the  speedy  accomplishment  of  this  most  desirable 
object ;  tens  of  thousands  are  alive  to  the  justice  and  necessity  of  the  case, 
and  \re  hope  their  numbers  will  daily  increase,  until  the  voice  of  justice 
triumphs,  and  our  labours  are  crowned  with  success.  Then  may  we  ration- 
ally expect  that  progress  will  be  made  in  the  other  branches  of  christian 
science,  Mercy  and  Humility,  with  all  their  attendant  blessiings  to  man. 
Then  our  land  may  yet  become  a  praise  in  the  Earth,  exalted  upon  the 
Pedestal  of  Righteousness. 

H 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Blanchester^  February  \Qth,  1831. 

SIR» 

I  am  much  pleased  with  the  first  and  second  numbers  of  your 
"Moral  Reformer,"  and  have  determined  to  offer  my  services  as  one  of  your 
correspondents.  Notwithstanding  the  vast  va^-iety  of  periodicals  which,  for 
many  years  past,  have  been  regularly  issuing  from  the  press,  you  seem  to 
have  selected  a  department,  in  a  great  measure  unoccupied,  and  in  which,  I 
trust,  you  will  be  enabled  to  confer  an  important  benefit  upon  the  public. 

Having  said  thus  much  by  way  of  commendation,  and  with  the  view  to  en- 
courage your  efforts,  allow  me  to  commence  the  work  which  I  have  further 
in  contemplation.  Passing,  a  few  Sunday  evenings  ago,  down  Piccadilly,  in 
this  town,  I  noticed  a  large  placard,  hung  at  one  of  the  shop  doors,  contain- 
ing the  following  announcement :— "The  Cigar  Divan  is  now  open."  I  ob- 
served that  the  shutters  were  removed  from  the  door,  and  that  there  weie 
very  brilliant  lights  within.  From  placards  which  I  afterwards  found  on 
the  walls,  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  it  appeared  that,  besides  what  is  evi- 
dent from  the  placard,  first  mentioned,  this  Divan  affords  also  accomodation 
for  a  certain  kind  of  play,  or  gaming.  Now,  whether  this  latter  part  of  the 
business  is  prosecuted  on  the  Lord''s  Day,  1  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain, 
but  surely  the  Divan  itself  there  announced,  with  the  inviting  ci-cumstan- 
res  of  open  door,  brilliant  lights,  &c.,  deserves  the  attention  of  those  per- 
sons whose  special  province  it  is  to  watch  over  and  check  any  violation  of 
whate»^er  the  law  of  the  land  evidently  requires  as  to  the  decorous  observance 
of  the  christian  sabbath. 

Should  this  communication  be  deemed  admissible,  you  will  probably 
soon  hear  again  from, 

A  MANCHESTER  MAN. 

JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


\ 


TilE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  5.  MAY  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 


REMARKS    UPON    THE    MORALS    AND    BEHAVIOUR    OF    THE 
PEOPLlE,  OCCASIONED  BY  A  RECENT  JOURNEY  TO  CHESTER. 


PersoiJs  who  travel  the  country,  either  in  the  way  of  busU 
ness  or  pleasure,  have  many  opportunities  for  acquiring  know- 
ledge, and  making  themselves  useful  to  society.  And  we  also 
find,  whether  on  foot  or  by  coach,  persons  of  ordinary  capacities 
are  fond  of  making  their  observations  and  remarks  upon  the  dif- 
ferent objects  they  behold.  But  I  would  ask,  to  what  do  these 
remarks  generally  refer  ?  and  what  idea  do  they  give  us  of  the 
moral  culture  of  the  minds  from  whence  they  proceed  ?  Many 
persons  admire  the  beauties  of  nature,  but  how  seldom  do  they 
trace  them  up  to  nature's  God  !  They  extol  the  discoverers  of  sci- 
ence, the  effects  of  which  meet  our  eye  in  every  direction,  but  do 
they  discover  in  all  these,  as  a  first  cause,  the  intelligence  of  the 
Deity  ?  The  animals  which  pass  before  them  are  the  objects  of 
their  praise,  but  that  Almighty  Being  in  whom  every  animal 
lives,  and  moves,  and  has  its  being,  is  scarcely  ever  mentioned. 
Man,  the  noblest  of  the  works  of  God,  is  also  the  subject  of  their 
remarks,  but  seldom  in  a  strain  that  indicates  either  an  anxiety 
for  his  welfare,  or  gratitude  to  his  Maker.  His  follies  are  ap- 
plauded, his  foibles  are  admired,  and  his  profligacy  is  made  the 
subject  of  a  jest.  Beyond  this  sublunary  world,  they  seldom 
look,  and  the  solemn  subject  of  death  and  a  future  state,  are 
regarded  as  unseasonable  intruders.  Born  to  die,  and  carrying 
with  them  all  tbe  symptoms  of  mortality,  though  warned  by 
a  thousand  voices  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  they  still  make  this 
world  their  home,  and  seek  all  their  happiness  in  things  which 
are  "seen  and  temporal." 

R 


130 

I  have  hejn  involuntarily  led  to  these  reflections  by  the  impres- 
sion made  upon  my  mind,  during  a  journey  this  week,  of  consi- 
derable extent.  Travelling  frona  Preston  to  Chester,  by  the 
circuitous  route  of  Bolton,  Manchester,  and  Liverpool,  and  home 
again,  several  incidents  occurred  with  which  I  was  imieb  affected, 
and  which  I  think  are  worth  recording,  especially  as  illustrative 
of  the  t,vo  standing  propositions  of  this  work — the  prevalence  of 
immorality  J  and  the  want  of  corrective  influence.  These  iaci- 
donts  shall  form  the  basis  of  the  remarks  I  intetid  to  offer  in  the 
present  article. 

.. ,  Drunkenness  is  a  vice  so  prevalent,  that  I  doubt  whether  it 
would  be  possible  to  travel  half  a  dozen  miles  on  any  public  road 
fn  Lancashire,  without  seeing  some  indication  of  it.  So  soon  as 
we  left  Preston,  we  overtook  two  young  men  walking  on  apparent- 
ly expecting  to  be  takfen  up  by  the  coach ;  they  had  a  bottle  in 
their  keeping,  and,  though  as  early  as  half-past  six,  they  were 
eagerly  swallowing  its  contents.  Relaxed  by  perpetual  excesses, 
and  depressed  by  a  previous  night's  debauch,  young  men  like 
ihese,  who  are  strangers  to  that  manly  vigour  and  cheerful  ani- 
mation which  are  consequent  upon  sobriety,  forcibly  endeavour 
to  raise  their  spirits  by  artificial  means,  and  in  a  few  years  madly 
destroy  their  own  lives.  But  this  isolated  act,  compared  with  what 
I  witnessed  in  the  after  part  of  the  day  at  Bolton,  was  but  as  a 
sparkto  a  burning  mountain.  It  was  Easter-Monday,  and  like 
new-year's  day,  seems  regularly  devoted  to  Bacchanalian  ex- 
cesses. On  most  occasions,  Bolton  and  the  neighbourhood  are 
notorious  for  drinking  ;  "^wemun  hev  ns  drink*^  is  quite  as  ready 
as  "how  do  you  do?"  and  few  transactions  of  any  note  take 
place  without  the  intervention  of  riTin  or  gin.  Sex  and  age  make 
little  difference  ;  boys  will  drink  like  men,  and  children  often 
come  to  sup  with  their  mothers.  Here  women  go  to  the  pub- 
lic house  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  in  open  day  may  be  seen 
sitting  with  long  pipes  in  their  mouths,  and  their  glasses  before 
them.  Many  a  time  have  I  counted  the  crowded  rooms  of  the 
public  houses,  when  there  has  been  a  considerable  majority  of 
femali  s.  On  this  occasion,  the  disgusting  scenes  of  drunkenness 
were  principally  confined  to  young  people.  From  the  surround- 
ing country,  there  was  an  influx  of  many  thousands  of  young- 
persons.  Rude,  uneducated,  and  exceedingly  vulgar  in  their 
habits,  some  of  these  fellows  when  they  get  into  liquor  are  al- 
nojGst  like  mad  bulls.     They  come  purposely  for  a  spree,  and  whcu 


131 

they  return  to  their  work,  if  they  cannot  boast  of  a  good  fudfTlc,' 
and  recount  a  number  of  lawless  exploits,  they  would  consider 
they  had  fallen  short  of  acting  their  part.  The  streets  were 
crowded  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  numbers  were  staggering 
and  vociferating  under  the  influence  of  drink.  But  in  the  even- 
ing the  scene  was  stjil  more  affecting  ;  so  many  drunken  men  were 
prowling  along  the  streets,  that  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  move 
without  being  entangled  with  them  ;  they  uttered  the  most  fil- 
thy speeches  and  awful  imprecations  as  they  went  along.  Tl  e 
public  houses  were  crammed  to  suffocation  ;  into  some  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  a  person  could  force  his  way  through 
the  lobby.  Here  we  have  a  melancholy,  but  a  demonstrative 
proof  of  the  prevalency  of  vice  and  wickedness,  and  of  the  futil- 
ity of  the  misguided  religious  efforts  of  those  who  may  even  wish 
well  to  society.  If  the  Bishop  of  Chester  had  been  with  me  when 
I  was  traversing  the  Bolton  Streets,  I  would  have  said — "  Most 
of  these,  my  lord,  were  pronounced  at  their  baptism,  'members 
of  Christ,  children  of  God,  and  inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven;' and  about  two  years  ago,  they  reneived  the  promises  of 
their  God-parents,  '  to  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the 
pomps  and  vanities  of  this  wicked  world,  and  all  the  sinful  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  and  to  keep  God's  holy  will  and  commandments  all 
the  days  of  their  lives.'  You  then,  with  your  own  hands,  pro- 
nounced them  blessed,  '  certified  them  of  God's  favour  and  graci- 
ous goodness  towards  them,'  called  them  regenerate,  and  declared 
that  all  their  sins  u-ere  forgiven.  Since  then  they  have  been  under 
the  watchful  care  of  the  shepherds  of  your  own  appointing, — and 
here,  my  lord,  you  see  the  result.  Lay  aside,  I  beseech  you,  all 
your  ecclesiastical  prejudices  ;  take  a  lesson  from  facts  ;  and 
if  there  be  truth  in  the  world  it  is  this,  that  the  tendency  of  the 
system  with  which  you  are  connected  is,  to  perpetuate  immorality 
and  vice  amongst  mankind.  What  I  said  in  a  tract  which  I  left 
at  your  lodgings  when  you  was  confirming  at  Preston,  I  now  re- 
peat, •  that  before  you  permit  any  more  boys  and  girls  thought- 
lessly to  promise  to  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the 
pomps  and  vanities  of  this  wicked  world,  you  ought  to  make  di- 
ligent enquiry  how  many  of  those  whom  you  confirmed  last  time 
have  done  this.'  A  thousand  answers  are  ready  before  you  ;  the 
conduct  of  these  youths  is  decisive  of  the  point." 

But  apart  from  all  this,  what  an  affecting  sight  to  behold  men 
drowning  their  reason,  and  obliterating  that  noble  faculty  which 


182 

distin^lshes  man  from  the  brute.  If  a  man  come  into  th^ 
world  deformed,  or  if,  by  some  misfortune,  his  mental  faculties 
become  deranged,  his  loss  is  considered  a  sore  affliction  ;  but 
what  shall  we  say  of  those  who  voluntarily  unman  themselves,  and 
deprive  themselves  of  all  mental  and  physical  capability  1  "  Who 
but  a  madman  would  dash  out  his  own  brains,  or  deprive  himself 
of  the  use  of  his  own  legs;  and  who  is  that  madman  but  every 
person  that  indulges  in  intoxicating  liquor  ?  Jf  an  asylum  be 
necessary  for  the  insane,  to  keep  them  from  mischief,  and  for  the 
protection  of  society,  there  ought  to  be  one  in  every  town  for 
drunkards,  and  one  of  the  largest  magnitude  would  be  required 
for  Bolton.  Into  these,  every  person  offering  signs  of  inebria- 
tion ought  to  be  placed,  and,  as  drunkenness  is  an  offence  against 
society,  he  ought,  when  sober,  to  be  publicly  corrected.  Talk  of 
drunken  men  being  as  bad  as  brutes  !  why,  if  any  man's  beast 
were  to  begin  to  reel  first  to  one  side  af  the  street  and  then 
to  the  other,  or  to  lie  down  instead  of  performing  its  work,  what 
would  its  drunken  owner  do  ?  Lash  it  most  furiously.  Could 
the  master  of  the  dumb  slave  grumble  at  the  same  punishment. 

With  most  of  these  drunken  fellows,  I  observed  young  girls 
who  had  come  with  them  to  enjoy  a  pastime.  Females  always 
grace  the  appearance  of  an  assembly,  and  when  our  pursuits  are 
virtuous  and  innocent,  their  mirthful  tones  and  soft  sympathies 
give  a  zest  to  social  intercourse,  for  which  there  is  no  substitute. 
I  love  to  see  young  men  and  women  mix  cheerfully  together,  and 
when  purity  of  heart  and  goodness  of  disposition  pervade  the 
intercourse,  there  are  few  views  in  life  half  so  interesting. 
This  mutual  fondness  of  disposition  was  the  finishing  touch  cf  the 
Creator,  and  is  well  worthy  of  being  renowned  as  the  completion 
of  His  works.  But  oh  !  to  see  the  pervertion  of  that  which  was 
once  pronounced  "  very  good  :"  to  see  these  girls  support- 
ing a  drunken  clown,  clinging  to  him  that  begins  his  manliness 
by  an  abandonment  of  his  senses,  and  to  see,  in  too  many  in- 
stances, the  girls  even  encouraging  the  vice  themselves,  is  really 
distressing.  Would  any  woman  of  reflection,  put  herself  beneath 
the  protection  of  a  man.  who  cannot  protect  himself  ?  In  the 
prospect  of  a  family,  would  she  choose  for  a  guardian  the  man 
who  spends  all  his  money  at  the  ale  house,  who  would  be  likely  to 
render  her  days  miserable,  and  to  terminate  them  with  a  broken, 
heart  ?  Temperance  societies  have  done  much,  but  if  they  could 
succeed  in  persuading  all  the  young  women  to  join  in  aresolutioi^ 


13a 

never  IQ  consent  to  marry  any  man  who  is  addicted  to  dj'inldng^ 
they  would  gain  a  strong  influence,  the  power  of  which  is  not 
yet  known. 

I  proceeded  from  Bolton  to  Manchester ;  thence  to  Liverpool 
by  the  Railway,  in  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes.  Of  the  superio- 
rity of  railway  conveyances  there  is  but  one  opinion  amongst  the 
vast  numbers  who  are  constantly  passing  betwixt  Manchester  and 
Liverpool.  But  there  are  reasons  for  admiring  this  mode  of  (ra- 
velling with  which  every  one  may  not  be  impressed,  though  fully 
equal,  in  my  mind,  to  the  greatest  commercial  advantages.  I 
will  mention  two, — discouragement  of  drinking,  and  the  absence 
of  cruelty  to  horses.  The  drivers  and  guards  on  the  old  conve^'^- 
ances  are  notorious  for  drinking,  and  it  seems  to  be  settled  with 
the  publicans,  that  all  accomodation  afforded  them  is  to  be  paid, 
for  in  this  way.  From  five  to  nine  miles  is  generally  the  length 
of  a  drive,  and  at  each  stopping  place,  the  glasses  are  in  frequent 
request.  Not  long  since,  returning  from  Manchester,  1  happen- 
ed to  enter  with  an  extra  coach ;  not  being  exactly  tied  to  time, 
it  stopped  not  less  than  three  times  in  the  first  five  miles  ;  at  each 
place,  every  passenger  had  a  fresh  glass.  Indeed,  I  soon  found 
that  they  were  what  is  called  a  jovial  party,  and,  to  use  their  own 

language,    "  they  were   going  to  Bolton  to  have  a  d d  good 

spree.''''  Now  mark  the  difference  betwixt  this  and  the  railway 
conveyance.  I  do  not  remember  the  number  of  passengers  with 
the  train ;  there  might  be  eighty  or  a  hundred  ;  but  this  I  can  say 
with  perfect  truth,  that  from  starting  at  Manchester  to  arriving 
in  Liverpool,  there  was  not  a  single  halfpenny  spent  in  liquor  ! 
I  was  much  pleased  with  this  contrast,  and  I  hope  the  day  is  not 
far  distant  when,  for  the  sake  of  the  moral  effects  as  vrell  as  the 
pecuniary  advantages,  railways  will  be  universally  established. 
Indeed  the  order,  quietness,  and  good  behaviour  of  every  man 
connected  with  the  railway,  strongly  recommend  it ;  and  in  the 
very  movement  of  the  carriages,  there  seems  something  so  soft 
and  soothing,  as  to  neutralize  the  brutal  vulgarity  of  many  who 
travel  upon  it. 

As  to  cruelty  to  animals,  which  is  a  crying  sin  connected 
with  travelling  in  every  part  of  the  country,  if  there  were  the 
disposition,  fortunately,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  exercising  it. 
Though  we  sometimes  travelled  a  mile  in  two  minutes,  there  was 
no  flogging,  stamping,  or  swearing  ;  no  noble  animals,  like  the 
coach  horses,   laden  beyond  their  strength,  driven  beyond  their 


I3i 

speed,  sweating,  and  bleeding,  and  gasping  for  breath.  Wl-  bad 
several  instances,  the  same  morning,  of  the  shameful  treatment 
to  which  these  animals  are  exposed.  Being  market  day  at  Man- 
chester, as  we  approached  the  town,  I  suppose  there  would  be 
twenty  coaches  on  the  road.  Running  against  each  other,  and 
passing  on  the  road,  is  what  they  caliyMn.  At  Pendleton,  a 
eoach  from  Wigan  came  up,  and  though  the  horses  had  come  but 
a  short  stage,  they  seemed  dreadfully  abused.  Our  driver,  look- 
ing back,  aroused  by  its  approach,  ^aid — **  You  horses  are  as 
white  a  sheet,  by  G — d  !"  How  long  will  the  cruelty  and  bar- 
barity of  these  horse  butchers  be  endured  by  a  professing  christ- 
ian people  ? 

Just  beyond  Newton,  on  an  adjoining  moor,  a  crowd  of  people 
were  assembled,  I  asked  a  gentleman  what  the  cause  might  be. 
*'  In  all  probability,"  he  answered,  *'  it  is  some\f  ght,  for  meet- 
ings for  this  purpose  are  common  in  that  place.*'  This  is  another 
Horrid  vice,  prevalent  not  only  among  the  vulgar,  but  encouraged 
and  sanctioned  by  persons  of  higher  grades.  In  this  age  of 
refinement,  we  have  dog  fighting,  cock  fighting,  and  man 
fighting,  with  all  the  disgraceful  accompaniments  of  swear- 
ing, drinking,  thieving  and  gaming.  1  pronounce  the  pro- 
moters of  these  wicked  sports,  nothing  better  than  brutes  in  hu- 
man form  ;  men  of  tninds  could  not  support  such  cruel,  inhuman 
exhibitions  ;  men  of  reflection  would  see  in  their  causes  and 
effects  the  strongest  reasons  for  holding  them  in  detestation  ;  and 
men  of  refined  taste  or  virtuotcs  habits  would  shun  them  as  dia- 
bolical. I  care  not  by  whom  they  are  supported  ;  titled  names, 
by  attracting  the  unthinking  crowd,  perpetuate  and  extend  tha 
evils  and  deserve  from  every  well  wisher  to  the  morals  of  the 
people,  a  proportionate  degree  of  censure.  The  day  is  not  far 
distant,  I  hope,  when  the  people  will  be  belter  taught,  and  instead 
of  reading  the  sporting  papers,  and  joining  in  the  ring,  will  de- 
vote their  time,  and  influence,  and  money,  to  purposes  of  personal 
and  general  improvement.  Passing  on  to  Liverpool,  and  thence 
by  a  steamer  to  the  Cheshire  side  of  the  river,  the  only  circum- 
stance I  would  here  name,  as  it  occurred  both  as  I  went  and  came 
back  is  the  cruelty  with  which  dumb  animals  are  used  in  ship-' 
ping  and  unshipping.  We  had  on  board  calves,  pigs,  sheep,  cows 
and  horses ;  and  to  see  the  unmerciful  manner  in  which  these 
poor  defenceless  creatures  are  treated,  by  being  dragged  on 
with  ropes,  beaten  with  cudgels,  and  sometimes  precipitated  iHtd 


^35 

the  river,  and  to  hear  the  oaths  and  imprecations  of  the  drivers 
and  their  assistants,  would  astound  the  stoutest  heart.  I  said 
what  I  could  to  moderate  the  men,  but,  amid  so  much  confusion, 
a  person  can  scarcely  get  a  hearing. 

Arriving  at  Chester,  my  first  anxiety  was  to  see  whether  the 
bills  of  "The  Moral  Reformer— No.  4,"  were  posted.  Along 
with  the  numbers,  they  had  been  sent  a  few  days  before,  but  I 
was  doubtful  as  to  their  safe  arrival.  However,  I  soon  caught  a 
view  of  the  yellow  papers,  but,  to  my  surprise  and  mortification, 
I  found  a  number  of  them  partially  covered  with  a  small  hand- 
bill of  a  different  colour.  Hasty  in  my  conclusion,  I  said,  this  is  a 
paltry  piece  of  persecution,  worthy  only  of  so  distinguished  a  place 
as  Chester ;  but  upoji  making  further  enquiries,  it  appeared 
probable,  that  it  arose  out  of, the  rival  feeling  of  the  diiFerentmon 
who  post  the  bills  in  that  city.  But  when  I  present  a  copy  of 
this  little  plaguy  "  centre  piece,"  most  persons  will  allow,  that 
though  there  might  be  something  ominous  in  the  connection  of 
the  bills,  there  is  at  least  no  affinity  in  their  contents.  Here  it 
is  verbatim  ;— 

"  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  CHESTER  INFIRMARY. 

ASTRONOMY   &    ASTROLOGY;  J 

OR,  THE  ART  OF  FORETELLING  FUTURE  EVENTS. 

"  OXLEY'S  Lectures  in  the  Ball  Room  of  the  Albion  Hotel, 
will  prove  clearly  that  it  is  very  possible,  and  perfectly  easy,  to 
fpretell  by  the  Stars,  the  Good  or  Hi  Fortune,  the  TIMES  OF 
MARRIAGE,  the  description  of  a  FUTURE  HUSBAND  or 
WIFE,  the  Periods  of  Preferment,  Health  or  Sickness,  Jour- 
neys, Success  in  Business,  Birth  of  Children,  Acquirement  of 
RICHES,  &c.  and  (if  required)  the  LENGTH  OF  LIFE 
of  any  individual.  The  truth  and  usefulness  of  this  means  of 
foreknowledge  clearly  shewn  from  the  Bible,  and  right  reason. 
\  And  God  said  let  them  be  for  Signs.' — Genesis  1st  chap. 
14th  verse. , 

"The  Lectures  will  be  given  on  Wednesday,  Thursday, 
and  Friday  Evenings,  this  week,  at  half-past  seven  o'clock 
in  tlie  evening. 

admission. 

"  Front  Seats  for  the  Course,  ^s.  6d. ;  Back  Ditto,  2s.  Cd.— 
Single  Lecture — Front  Seajs,  Is.  Cd. ;    Back  Ditto,  Is, 


136 

*•  Tickets  to  be  had  at  the  Newspaper  Offices,  the  Albion  Ho- 
tel, at  several  Shops,  and  of  Mr.  OXLEY,  at  31,  Pepper-street  ; 
who  gives  private  Instructions  in  Astronomy  and  Astrology. 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  taught  to  work  their  own  Nativities 
without  calculations. — Terras,  Five  Shillings  a  Lesson. 

«N.  B. — One-half  of  the  clear  receipts  of  these  Lectures  will 
be  given  to  the  Funds  of  the  Chester  Infirmary." 

"  J.  Fletcher,  Printer,  Chroniclei-OSice,  Chester." 

Upon  this  splendid  affair,  this  improved  mode  of  supporting 
charities,  I  will  impose  no  commentary  except  to  say,  that  faith 
like  this  can  scaacely  be  found — even  in  Ashton  ! 

Having  thus  taken  my  reader  with  me  to  Chester,  I  will  not 
detain  him  longer  with  any  detail  of  my  return  home.  The  usu- 
al exhibitions  of  vice  presented  themselves  in  every  direction ; 
but  as  I  have  so  often  referred  to  them,  a  repetition  would  be 
tedious.  At  Liverpool,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  at  a  dram  shop  at  the 
lower  end  of  Dale-street,  and  at  a  fish  mart  at  the  corner  of  one 
of  the  docks,  I  saw,  in  open  day,  specimens  of  female  depravity 
beyond  any  thing  I  recollect  elsewhere.  Indeed,  the  country 
altogether  is  in  a  sad  state  as  to  principle  and  morals.  Dr.  Doyle 
has  lately  given  a  melancholy,  and  I  fear  but  too  true  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  principles  and  morals  of  the  Irish  ;  and  what  do  the 
newspapers,  which  daily  teem  from  the  press,  contain,  but  an 
endless  detail  of  vice  and  wickedness  in  every  possible  shape  ? 
We  may  talk  of  infidelity,  that  is  arowed  infidelity,  but  there  is  a 
fatent  infidelity  spreading  abroad  of  a  far  worse  description,  and 
if  not  checked,  is  likely  to  leaven  the  whole  lump.  Of  what  use 
is  it  for  men  to  **  rehearse  the  articles  of  their  belief,"  or  to  at- 
tend all  the  performances  of  worship,  while  their  lives  and  conver- 
sation demonstrate  that  selfishness  and  sensuality  are  the  only 
deities  they  serve  with  sincerity. — "  Not  every  one  that  saith 
unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."— 
**  This  people  drawelh  near  unto  me  with  their  lips,  but  their 
Aear^«  are  far  from  me."  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  building  of 
churches  and  chapels,  the  increase  of  ministers  and  religious  ser- 
vices, and  the  multiplication  of  societies  for  suppressing  vice,  are 
no  criterion  of  the  progress  of  reformation  amongst  the  bulk  of 
the  people  ;  otherwise,  by  this  time,  a  great  improvement  must 
Lave  been  manifest.  Was  there  ever  so  great  a  stir  ab  reli- 
gion and  so  little  accomplished  >    Let  any  man  view  the  adver- 


137 

iBements  on  our  walls,  and  he  will  perceive  that  the  number 
of  announcements  of  "  sermons,  anniversaries,  ordinations, 
missionaries,"  &c.  far  exceed  those  for  meetings  of  every  other 
sort.  Do  these  things  never  strike  the  reflecting  part  of  the 
community  ?  or  are  they  so  intimidated  by  self-interest  as  to 
be  afraid  to  speak  out  ?  Boast  we  of  Christianity  ?  Her 
God-like  greatness  is  only  to  be  seen  in  subduing  sin,  and  pro- 
moting holiness  and  happiness  in  the  world.  Boast  we  of  a 
Protestant  faitli  and  of  a  scriptural  religion  ?  Let  them  be 
valued  by  the  fruits  they  have  produced.  I  am  prepared  to 
prove  that  the  irreligion  and  vices  of  the  age  stand  intimately 
connected  with  the  present  popular  systems,  and  that,  beyond 
the  name,  the  article  which  now  passes  current  for  Christianity, 
bears  no  similarity  to  the  pure  and  exalted  system  of  Christ 
and  his  Apostles.  Having  frequently  made  this  assertion,  I 
intend  next  month  to  enter  fully  into  this  point,  and  to  give  a 
pretty  extensive  explanation  and  analysis  of  both  primitive 
and  popular  Christianity,  and  to  mark  the  contrast. 


REAL  RELIEF  FOR  THE  SUFFERINGS  OF 
THE  POOR. 

Amongst  the  social  duties  of  life,  none  is  more  important 
<3ian  that  of  taking  care  of  the  poor.  Under  the  best  guarded 
system  of  policy,  there  will  be  instances  of  distress,  and  which, 
no  doubt,  are  wisely  permitted,  to  call  into  exercise  the  bene- 
volent feelings  of  our  nature.  Every  child  of  misery,  every 
son  of  affliction,  is  a  call  upon  our  sympathy ;  and,  in  a  world 
where  trouble  is  the  common  lot,  it  ought  to  be  cherished  to 
the  greatest  extent.  To  relieve  the  poor  is  every  where  c<yai- 
manded ;  and,  if  done  from  proper  motives,  has  the  sanction  of 
religion,  and  the  promise  of  its  best  rewards.  I  have  before 
divided  the  poor  into  iJiree  classes — those  who  are  impover- 
ished by  their  own  vices, — the  able-bodied  poor,  whose  wages 
are  so  much  below  the  price  of  their  living, — and  the  naturally 
poor,  including  the  widow,  the  fatherless,  the  infirm,  and  the 
aged.     For  the  first  there  is  no  remedy  but  a,  personal  reform- 

S 


138 

ation  ;    in  favour  of  the  second  and  third  classes  I  begpagaih 
to  put  in  my  plea. 

While  we  hear  of  whole  counties  in  Ireland  in  a  state  of 
famii>e  and  starvation  ;  whilst  nearly  the  whole  of  our  labour- 
ers and  weavers  are  reduced  to  the  degraded  rank  of  paupers  ; 
whilst  cases  of  appaling  misery  are  daily  occuring — in  the  midst 
of  a  land  abounding  with  wealth,  and  favoured  with  almost 
unlimited  powers  of  production, — if  efforts  are  not  made,  and 
made  immediately,  to  afford  a  general  and  permanent  relief, 
who  would  regret  what  consequences  came  upon  a  nation  so 
deadly  insensible  to  the  obligations  of  justice,  and  to  the  duties 
of  humanity  ?  Every  man  ought  to  make  the  subject  his  own, 
and  deem  himself  unworthy  of  any  enjoym?nt,  till  he  has  used 
his  best  efforts  for  obtaining  a  fair  reward  for  tlie  poor  man's 
toil.  To  talk  of  relieving  distress  by  cheap  leather,  cheap 
prints,  cheap  ale,  is  to  mock  the  poor.  Some  of  these  cheap 
things  may  be  well  in  their  place,  but  they  are  not  to  the 
point, — the  poor  of  England  want  Cheap  Bread.  Shoes 
they  get  none  but  those  cast  off  by  others  ;  their  prints  are  the 
second-hand  dresses  of  the  benevolent,  made  over  again ;  and 
as  for  cheap  alej  they  are  better  without  it ;  but  bread  19  what 
the  cravings  of  the  stomach  demand  every  day.  Oh  !  how  I 
grieve  to  think  of  the  sparing  divisions  which  the  mother  is 
obliged  to  make  in  every  meal,  among  her  hungry  children  ; 
and  especially  when  she  has  to  delay  the  breakfast  an  hour  or 
two,  in  order  to  meet  the  impossibility  of  providing  for  the 
usual  number  of  meals  !  Think  of  this  ye  bloated,  overgrown 
epicures,  ye  hard  hearted  tyrants,  who  not  only  reap  the  labour 
of  others,  but  impose  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  rational 
relief.  For  the  sake  of  maintaining^  an  overgrown  monopoly 
with  the  nameiif  RELIGION  on  its  front ;  for  the  sake  of  pros- 
trating the  people's  labour  at  the  feet  «)f  the  landed  aristoci-acy, 
shall  famine  be  perpetuated  ?  Shall  the  hitter  cry  of  woe  ne- 
ver cease  ?  Shall  the  embargo  upon  the  bounties  of  heaven  be 
eternal  ?  Shall  we  make  laws  to  allow  foreign  competition  to 
bring  down  the  wages  of  our  artizans,  and  at  the  same  time, 
laws  to  keep  up  the  price  of  their  bread  ?  Every  thing  has 
been  tried — reduction  of  taxes — poor  laws — emigration  acts — 
and  a  hundred  local  institutions,  perhaps  well  intended — but 
all  in  vain.      As  well  might  the  Israelites  have  attempted  to 


^^K 


139 


make  bricks  without  straw,  as  the  people  to  buy  dear  broad 
with  clieap  wages.  A  re^tmval  of  all  useless  burdens  from  the 
land,  and  a  repeal  of  tJie  Corn  Laws,  I  repeat,  is  the  only  re- 
maining hope ;  and  I  flatter  myself,  if  the  electors  who  are 
like^  soon  to  be  called  upon  to  choose  a  new  Parliament,  will 
but  demand  a  pledge  1o  Uiis  measure,  as  an  absolute  condition 
of  their  votes,  another  year  cannot  pass  without  bringing-  with 
it  a  full  measure  of  relief. 

Many  objections  are  started.     It  would  reduce  the  value  of 
labour.     Can  it  be  much  lower  ?  has  it  not  come  down  already 
50  per  cent  ?      It  is  dear  bread  that  reduces  labour,  because 
every  workman  is  obliged  to  do  so  much  more  work  to  earn  a 
livelihood.     M^ke  tJie  poor  man's  living  one  thirxl  cheaper,  he 
can  then  earn  the  same  support  in  ten  hours  as  he  does  now   in 
fifteen  ;    and  this  would  be  eqiial  to  employment  for  one  third 
more  labourers.      It  woxild  throw  land  out  of  cultivation,  say 
others.  Well,  provided  it  did,  are  the  people  to  starve  in  order 
to  induce  the  cultivation  of  rocks,  instead  ofbeing  permitted 
to  partake  of  the  fertility  of  foreign  soils  ?     This  objection, 
however,  I  believe  to   be  unfounded.      Have  cheap  calicoes 
tended  to   the  destruction   of  weaving,    or  cheap  yarn  to  the 
abandonment   of  factories  ?      No  :   but  they  have  done  this ; 
they  have  compelled  every  person  of  capital  connected  with 
these  branches  of  manufacture,  to  apply  all  his  inventive  pow- 
ers to  produce  more  and  more  from  the  same  extent  of  works. 
And  this  is  the  way  it  would  operate   ia  agriculture.       The 
land  owners  would  then  look  about  them  ;    like  merchants  and 
manufacturers,  they  would  have  to  give  their  personal   atten- 
tion occasionally ;   they  would  know  the  meaning  of  bad  mar- 
kets, and  would  be  led  to  make  up  for  diminished  prices  by  an 
increased  production.     Good  times  and  high  prices  have  made 
the  land  owners  into  wholesale  dealers  ;    they  liave  driven  small 
farmers  from  the  soil,  destroyed  the  partitions. of  their  estates, 
and  let  their  farms  by  hundreds  of  acres  in  a  hand.     A  change 
in  the  corn  laws  would  bring  them  to  the  retail  system  again ; 
which  would  not  only  produce  more  to  the  common  stock,  but 
would   distribute  the  people  over  the  country,  and  produce  an 
increase  of  independent  employment.     Like  the  manufactu-" 
rers  who,  for  the  sake  of  profit,  are  obliged  to  make  various 
clianges,  they  would  feel  the  stimulus  of  competition,   and 


J  40 

would  have  other  reasons  for  visiting  their  e^-itates  besides  kil- 
ling hares  and  shooting  game.  Ill  manufa  Jures,  what  is  the 
efiFect  of  free  trade  ?  Abundant  production  and  Ion  prices 
for  the  country,  and  an  increased  exertion  and  moderate 
profits  for  the  owners ;  precisely  the  effects  which  would  fol- 
low a  free-trade  in  com ;  with  tliis  additional  advantage,  that 
whereas  the  poor  experience  little  benefit  from  cheap  articles 
of  manufacture,  on  account  of  their  inability  to  purchase  theirr, 
the  benefit  of  cheap  provisions  would  be  felt  every  time  the  pot 
comes  to  the  table.  This,  I  believe,  will  be  found  to  contain 
an  answer  to  the  often  repeated  question,  **  how  is  it,  that  with 
such  an  increased  production  by  mechanical  poWer,  the  people 
etill  get  poorer  ?"  What  advantage  can  the  poor  derive  from 
the  reduction  in  needles,  tape,  lace,  calicoes,  &c.  ?  The  mo- 
ney they  lay  out  in  these  is  so  trifling,  that  the  difference  is 
never  felt.  But  let  things  be  fairly  balanced  ;  let  corn  be 
reduced  to  the  price  of  calicoes  ;  let  the  woman's  dinner  be 
as  cheap  as  her  bed  gown,  and  then,  I  assert,  we  shall  see  the 
return  of  the  rosy  bloom  of  health,  and  the  smile  of  satisfaction 
into  many  a  poor  man's  cot.  If  we  bear  in  mind  that ybocf  is 
in  request  at  least  three  times  a  day,  that  a  moderate  sized 
family  should  spend  about  fifteen  shillings  every  week  in  food, 
and  that  the  same  family  perhaps  does  not  spend  one  shilling 
in  a  month  in  any  of  the  cheapened  articles  of  manufactare, 
we  may  easily  see,  whilst  the  middling  and  higher  classes, 
including  all  the  landowners,  are  benefitting  by  cheap  goods, 
there  is  little  or  no  advantage  to  the  poor.  Bread,  they  must 
have,  and  until  that  is  cheap,  either  by  improved  methods  of 
cultivation,  or  by  foreign  importation,  we  might  as  well  think 
of  moving  the  heavens,  as  persuading  the  people  to  be  content. 
It  is  true,  the  value  of  laud  would  come  down,  and  why  not  ? 
Every  other  class  has  had  to  sacrifice  to  the  exigences  of  the 
state,  and  other  descriptions  of  property  have  suffered  a  con- 
siderable depreciation.  Think  of  the  difficulties  with  which 
every  tradesman  has  to  grapple  in  order  to  make  ends  meet, 
and  much  of  this  is  to  keep  up  the  price  of  land.  With  the 
removal  of  the  tithes,  church  tax,  poor  tax,  (which  would 
certainly  follow  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws)  and  all  other 
unnecessary  burdens,  and  with  labour  at  its  present  price,  the 
land  might  be  fairly  thrown  open  to  foreign  competition.     So 


far  from  throwing"  land  out  of  cultivation,  tbere  would,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  be  an  increased  cultivation.  What  is  it  but 
cheap  land  that  tempts  people  to  America  ?  and  if  it  were 
cheap  here,  would  not  every  person  prefer  settling-  at  home, 
and  attempt  the  cultivation  of  those  immense  tracts  of  laud 
which  yet  remain  in  England  ?  If  i-ents  were  moderate,  small 
farms  with  about  land  sufficient  to  find  employment  and  sup- 
port for  a  single  family,  would  be  in  great  request ;  and  thus 
divided,  it  would  produce  a  double  quantity  of  domestic  ne- 
cessaries to  what  it  does  at  present.  Land  is  beyond  the  poor 
man's  reach ;  and  therefore  he  seeks  employment  in  the  town, 
and  his  children  are  forced  from  the  salubrious  air  of  tlie 
country,  to  inhale  the  pestilential  vapours  of  a  factory.  Every 
person  of  experience  knows,  that  in  proportion  as  any  article 
is  high  in  price,  it  gets  into  few  hands,  but  when  it  is  low,  and 
requires  little  capital,  it  becomes  a  temptation  for  every  man 
to  meddle  with.  Viewing  the  'matter  impartially,  there  is  no 
fear  of  a  diminished  cultivation;  and  if  there  were,  affording 
a  comfortable  livelihood  to  the  labouring  class,  is  a  reason 
paramount  to  every  other  consideration.  I  have  extended  these 
remarks  much  beyond  what  I  intended ;  hut  when  I  see  the 
legislature  pass  one  bill  and  another  bill,  and  propose  first 
one  measure  and  then  another,  evidently  passing  over  the 
main  question,  I  intend  to  do  what  I  can  to  keep  it  alive. 

Still,  however  well  the  able-bodied  poor  were  pro\'ided 
for,  there  is  a  third  class,  consisting  of  the  aged,  the  infirm, 
the  fatherless,  the  widow,  and  the  stranger,  who  will  always 
have  a  claim  upon  our  charityv  But  though  such  we  shall 
always  have  with  us,  the  burdeji  would  be  comparatively  easy, 
if  all  the  rest  could  support  themselves.  As  I  totally  disap- 
prove of  the  present  poor  laws,  and  as  I  before  gave  a  few 
hints  as  to  the  plan  I  \vctild  recommend  as  a  substitute,  I 
will  now  attempt  to  give  a  more  ample  detail.  The  advocates 
of  the  poor  laws  may  take  credit  to  themselves,  if  they  please, 
for  exclusive  knowledge  of  "moral  and  political  economy,'' 
but  all  arguments  for  the  English  poor  laws,  are  arguments 
for ])ei^etiiaU)iff  misery.  We  have  had  a  pretty  hmg  expe- 
rience of  their  workings,  and  what  is  the  result  ?  Are  the 
contributors  kind  and  tender  hearted,  and  wishful  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  the  poor  ?  or  are  the  receivers  humble,  grate- 


143 

ItJ,  and  sul>mi8sive  ?  No  :  oppression,  tyranny,  imposlnrc^ 
«ruelty,  and  the  worst  feelings  are  engendered  hy  this  system. 
Look,  first,  at  the  litigation  and  expenses  of  the  settlement 
part  of  the  systfem  ;  what  can  the  poor  expect  from  tliose  who 
would  sooner  spend  a  hundred  pounds  in  a  law  nuit,  than  re- 
lieve their  wants  ?  Next,  the  cruelty  and  degradation  of 
removals,  and  the  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way  of  poor  persons 
iaking  up  their  residence  wtiere  their  interest  seems  to  lead 
them.  This  settlement  law,  and  the  removing;  of  paupers,  are 
libels  upon  common  sense,  and  are  pregnant  with  con- 
«equences  the  most  ruinous  and  degrading  to  the  poor. 
To  explain  the  manner  in  which  the  poor  are  brow  beaten* 
and  the  usuage  they  receive  when  tliey  apply  for  relief ;  and 
in  return,  the  methods  they  adopt  to  deceive  the  overseers, 
and  to  conceal  their  true  cases,  would  require  a  long  detail  i 
it  is  enough  to  say,  that  the  system  which  admits  of  such  con» 
duct  is  defective  both  in  principle  and  practice.  The  aim  of 
many  "  vestries"  is  not  to  understand  the  whole  truth  of  the 
«ase,  and  to  give  them  sufficient  relief,  but  to  get  clear  of  then* 
with  as  little  as  possible  ;  and,  when  every  other  argument 
fails,  they  have  the  norhhoitse,  which  is  almost  dreaded  like 
the  tread-mill.  As  a  place  of  employment,  exclusively  pro- 
vided for  those  who  cannot  get  emploj-ment  for  themselves,  i 
see  no  objections  to  a  ?i'0?'A-house  ;  butj  as  a  regular  esta- 
blishment for  the  maintainance  of  promiscuous  families,  which 
happen  to  be  burdensome  to  a  town,  workhouses  are  objec- 
tionableon  many  grounds.  I  have  met  with  families  greatly 
distressed,  yet  enduring  the  greatest  sufferings,  rather  than 
go  to  the  workhouse.  Every  poor  man  with  a  family,  likes  to 
have  a  fire-side  of  his  own  ;  and  it  seems  unnatural  to  pluck 
«p  settled  families,  to  treat  them  like  aliens,  and  to  board  them 
together  in  one  large  house,  without  any  distinctive  rights  or 
privileges.  I  have  encouraged  the  repugnant  feelings  of  many 
a  poor  man  and  his  wife,  and  have  persuaded  them,  never,  if 
it  were  possible,  to  cdlisent  to  be  "  removed.*'  Loss  of  inde- 
pendent feeling,  I  have  always  found  the  result  of  such  remov- 
als :  inmates  of  workhouses  generally  become  life  paupers 
upon  the  parish.  It  is  true,  there  may  be  no  want  of  meat, 
and  every  thing  may  be  clean,  but  domestic  enjoyment  is  what 
"die  poor   man  can  never  forget,  and  those  who  have  children, 


I43r 

verv  properl}-,  like  to  have  them  under  their  own  controuL 
Starvation  and  mendicity  are  the  result  of  the  present  laws  ; 
the  total  refusal  of  relief  in  some  cases,  such  as  the  Irish,  and 
persons  who  are  on  tramp,  and  the  insufficient  relief  given  to 
others,  are,  if  not  the  reasons,  the  pretext  of  so  much  mendicity  ; 
and  whilst  these  laws  are  the  only  regular  sources  of  relief,  com- 
mon begging,  one  of  our  greatest  nuisances,  is  sure  to  continue. 

The  plan  that  I  would  recommend  is  based  on  Charity,  and 
is  suited  in  all  its  operations  to  the  nature  of  the  case.  It  con- 
sists, as  I  once  hinted  before,  in  dividing  a  population  into 
small  districts,  (or  parishes)  such  a«  would  be  most  convenient 
for  two  or  more  persons,  to  ascertain  the  real  situation  of  all  the 
resident  poor,  and  to  relieve  them  according  to  their  need.  The 
lately  discovered  absurdity  of  con-resident  voters,  may  draw 
attention  to  the  equal  absurdity  of  non-resident  paupers.  How 
is  it  possible,  were  a  suitable  disposition  to  exist,  for  one  or  two 
persons  to  know  the  circumstances,  or  to  sympathize  in  the  suf- 
ftrings  of  all  the  poor  who  are  mixed  up  with  a  population  of 
30,000  persons,  besides  the  absent  paupers  in  perhaps  twenty 
different  townships,  all  claiming  relief  ?  The  thing  is  prepos* 
terous  ;  and  the  consequences  are,  neglect,  harsh  and  unjust 
treatment,  deception,  and  a  liberal  support  of  extravagance 
and  imposition  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  immense  expenses  which 
ate  unnecessarily  incurred. — The  districts  being  fixed,  let  two* 
judicious,  humane  persons  be  appointed  to  each  district,  who 
should  procure  such  other  voluntary  assistance  as  they  might 
think  proper,  whose  duty  should  be  to  enquire  into  the  real  cir- 
cumstances of  every  applicant,  to  relieve  the  deserving,  and  to 
expose  imposture.  Being  possessed  of  facilities  for  acquiring 
accurate  information,  every  zqjplication  for  relief  at  the  door  of 
any  person  in  the  district,  should  be  referred  to  their  decision 
and  those  only  who  received  from  them  tickets  of  recommendation 
shnuld  be  permitted  to  attend  at  private  houses  to  receive  that  re- 
lief which  many  are  in  the  habit  of  giving.  Upon  this  plan,  the 
poor  would  be  well  taken  care  of,  imposition  would  be  detected 
and  the  begging  system  completely  put  down.  Many,  I  doubt 
not,  will  appreciate  this  plan,  but  they  will  say,  how  is  it  possible 
to  meet  with  a  number  of  persons  sufficient  for  this  purpose  ? 
At  first,  I  admit,  there  might  be  some  difficulty,  and  the  reason 
of  this  admission,  is  a  strong  condemnation  of  the  present  poor 
la«s.     If  relieving  the  poor  had  been  eonstantlv  enforced  as  a 


1^4 

refigious  duty,  and  if  it  liad  not  been  supplanted  by  a  '*  legal  pro- 
vision," there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  finding  two  men 
in  a  thousand,  both  qualified  and  willing  to  sacrifice  a  few  hours 
every  week  for  so  good  a  purpose.  But  when  it  is  considered, 
that  I  am  supposing  (except  on  emergencies)  that  few  of  the  able 
bodied  would  be  objects  of  charity, — that  a  district  might  not 
contain  more  than  fifty  cases, — that  the  appointed  overseers 
would  get  their  friends  to  assist  them  in  obtaining  information, — 
that  the  time  of  serving  would  be  limited  to  a  year, — the  difficulty 
of  gitting  suitable  persons  wi  1  be  considerably  diminished. 
Men  of  moral  qualifications,  instead  of  rank  and  wealth,  should 
be  preferrefl,  and  professional  gentlemen,  who  are  now  exempt, 
should  by  all  means  be  included.  Every  minister  of  religion 
should  be  either  a  principal  or  an  assistant,  not  because  they  are 
all  the  best  qualified,  but  because  it  is  so  congenial  to  what 
ought  to  be  their  oflice.  Being  a  plan  for  the  diffusion  of 
cliarity,  many  benevolent  ladies  would  render  their  efficient  servi- 
ces ;  and  there  are  also  many  philanthropic  individuals,  who  have 
not  yet  come  before  the  public,  but  who  would  be  willing  to  act 
in  a  cause  of  so  much  importance. 

This  plan  I  would  recommend,  whether  the  means  were  rai- 
sed by  voluntary  subscriptions,  or  by  a  parish  rate.  I  prefer 
the  former ;  for,  as  relief  given  to  the  naturally  pcor  is  an  act 
of  charity,  it  ought  not  to  be  compelled  by  law.  Though  the 
burden  might  fall  unequally  upon  different  persons,  the  penuri- 
ous refusing,  perhaps,  to  give  at  all,  yet  not  more  so  than  it  does 
at  present;  for  great  numbers  of  poor  families,  including  the 
Irish,  pay  heavily  to  the  poor,  whilst  others,  with  little  tangible 
property,  pay  comparatively  nothing.  A  vohintary  contribution 
wodld  create  better  feelings  towards  the  poor,  and  it  would  give 
the  greatest  security  for  the  provident  application  of  the  money. 
I  am  quite  willing  to  admit,  while  I  have  full  confidence  in  the 
superior  claims  of  this  plan,  that  some  evils  and  inconveniences 
niio-bt  arise  ;  but,  if  placed  in  opposition  to  the  numerous  and 
over«-rown  evils  of  the  present  system,  they  would  appear  as 
nothins. 

1  recommend,  therefore,  as  a  remedy  for  the  first  class,  the 
adoption  of  such  means  as  are  likely  to  lead  to  personal  reforma. 
f^^i, ;— for  the  second,  such  ptl.tical  regulations  2ls  would  give  a 
week's  food  and  clothing  for  a  week's  labour.  While  1  have, 
uni^er  this  head,  particularly  dvfdi  on  thQ  abolition  of  the  com 


145 

taU'Sf  I  by  no  means  wish  to  orerlook  the  abolition  oftvert/ 
expensive  monopoly — the  remission  of  the  most  oppressive  taxes — 
the  correction  of  absenteeism — and  the  discovery  of  fresh  sources 
of  employment  ;  hut  I  believe  the  first  is  the  principal  measure, 
.  and  that  many  of  the  other  would  naturally  follow.  I  have  paid 
some  attention  to  the  state  of  the  Irish,  and  when  I  was  in  that 
country,  was  frequently  among  the  poor,  and  I  give  it  as  my  de« 
cided  opinion,  both  from  local  circumstances  and  from  a  general 
view  of  the  subject,  that  to  attempt  to  cure  the  evils  of  Ireland, 
by  introducing  a  system  of  poor  laws,  would  be  beginning  en- 
tirely at  the  wrong  end,  and  would  tend  to  perpetuate  the  degra- 
dation of  the  people.  Were  it  not  for  existing  interests,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  I  am  persuaded  our  government  are  acquainted 
with  means  infinitely  more  efficacious. — For  the  third  class,  the 
plan  I  have  here  laid  down  I  ofier,  not  only  for  the  relief  of  the 
indigent,  but  for  the  suppression  of  mendicity.  This  system, 
properly  arranged,  unlike  those  formed  by  acts  of  parliament, 
would  bend  to  exigencies,  might  be  extended  or  contracted  as 
circumstances  required,  and  would  produce  an  increase  of  social 
feeling  and  mutual  respect.  May  the  time  soon  arrive  when 
crime,  poverty,  and  misery  shall  no  longer  disgrace  our  land  ! 
when  every  one,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  will  be  ready  to 
exclaim — England,  with  all  thy  faults,  I  love  thee  well ! 


CHURCH    VESTRY. 

I  am  admonished  by  the  gentle  manners  of  the  Preston  paper*, 
in  describing  the  vestry  conflict  on  Easter-tuesday,  to  trea^  this 
affair  with  becoming  reverence.  The  office  of  these  vestry  gentle- 
men is  doubtless  very  sacred,  and  the  object  of  their  confederation 
purely  the  promotion  of  religion  !  They  are  the  pillars  of  the 
church  ;  consumptive  as  it  is,  but  for  their  labours  vitality 
would  long  since  have  become  extinct.  It  so  happens  that  in 
this  country  we  like  the  best  of  every  thing,  and  our  notion  has 
been  to  esteem  that  the  most  for  which  we  paid  the  highest  price. 
This  being  our  rule,  an  inferior  article  in  religion  would  have 
been  a,  disgrace.  But  in  this  respect  also,  we  are  satisfied  to 
our  heart's  desire ;  we  have  got  a  religion  which,  as  to  its  cost, 
will  challenge  the  world.  Such  an  article  requires  special 
keeping,  and  wa«  not  to  be  put  off  with  an  every-day  attendance, 

T 


146 

Lite  *oocl  *<  nursing  fathers,"  iii  this  parish,  we  have  had  tv^ 
dozen  apostles  who  voluntarily,  and  for  nothing,  have  undertaken 
the  "  care  of  all  the  churches."  If  any  of  them  should  happen 
to  be  worn  out  in  this  service,  they  cheerfully  provide 
for  thetnselves  a  successor  j  and  indeed,  they  have  never  "  trou- 
bled the  parish"  for  any  thing,  except  now  and  then  a  modest 
request  fot  fivepence  or  ninepence  in  the  pound.  As  a  matter 
of  form,  ♦'^payment  t?ill  be  compelled,"  was  always  printed 
at  the  foot  of  the  bill  j  yet,  full  of  forbearance,  and  not  willing  to 
have  recourse  to  harsh  measures,  they  were  willing  rather  to  suf- 
fer wrong  thati  inflict  injury.  To  "live  peaceably  with  all  men," 
was  tbeir  rule,  and  therefore,  instead  of  using  compulsion,  they 
preferred  the  labour  of  laying  a  fresh  rate.  As  it  was  never  a 
rule  to  publish  the  accounts,  little  did  the  parishioners  think  that 
in  some  divisions  the  anwuot  of  the  raie  and  the  **  arrears"  were 
exactly  <be  same. 

It  is  true,  complaints  have  sometimes  been  heard,  and  errors 
whispei  ed  abroad,  but  these  were  raised  and  cherished  only  by 
the  disaffected.  A  hostile  spirit  has,;  however,  been  gaining 
ground,  and  at  last,  through  over  much  indulgence,  a  disposi- 
tion to  revolt  has  been  exhibited  towards  the  vestry ;  the 
dissatisfied  parishoners  have  lately  organized  a  fsrmidable  oppo- 
sition. They  are  not  only  grumbling  at  having  paid  more 
than  their  neighbours,  but  have  gone  so  far  as  to  question  the- 
leo"alitv  both  of  the  constitution  and  proceedings  of  this  body.. 
The  people  seem  to  be  going  mad  for  cheap  religion  ;  and  are 
even  avowijg  openly,  that  no  man  ought  to  be  compelled  to  pay 
for  any  but  bis  own.  As  usual,  on  the  morning  of  Easter^ues- 
day,  though  the  barometer  was  low,  and  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere evidently  betokened  a  storm,  the  vestry  met  in  the  church 
(whether  with  fasting  and  prayer  I  have  not  heard)  to  review 
■tiie  proceedings  of  the  past  year,  and  to  lay  a  rate  for  the  ensuing- 
one.  Business  had  not  proceeded  long,  when  in  comes  a  depu- 
tation of  nonvestry  men,  asking  the  liberty  of  looking  at  the 
accounts,  demanding  their  publication  for  three  years  past,  and 
hinting,  if  (here  were  no  objections,  that  the  parishioners  were 
now  willing  to  take  into  their  own  hands  the  management  of  their 
own  affairs.  Though  agitated  a  little  by  such  an  unexpected  ar- 
raio-nment,  the  vestry,  Well  convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  sub- 
mitting the  matter  to  a  fair  investigation,  conducted  themselves 
■with  considerable  decorum,  and  asked,  before  going  to  trial,  for  a 


147 


afhort  respite.  The  favour  was  granted  ;  the  party  withdrew  ;  and 
upan  their  return  a  plea  of  guilty  was  handed  in.  Wishing  to 
use  no  severity,  upon  an  offer  to  publish  their  submission  to  the 
public,  it  was  finally  agreed  that  judgment  should  be  suspend- 
ed ;  and  thus  the  matter  has  terminated  at  present,  far  more 
;^niicably  than  most  persons  expected. 


VARIETIES,  EXTRACTS,  &:c. 

Paying  by  the  Piece. — Dues  payable  at  the   Parish   Church, 
Preston  : — 

Minister.         clerk, 
S.      D.  s.       D- 

Churching  of  Women 0     7        0     2. 

Publishing  Marriage  jBands 2     6        1     0. 

Dues  when  Mari-ied 2     4        0     6. 

Marriage  by  License 13  10        1     6. 

For  the  Privilege  of  laying  a  grave  stone  21     0        2     0. 
Funeral  Dues 0     9       0    4. 

Besides  the  charges  for  tolling,  grave,  and  beadle.  The  Vicar  is 
said  to  be  entitled  also  to  10s.  for  mortuary,  on  account  of  every 
one  who  dies  in  the  parish,  possessed  of  property  worth  £A% 
in  either  chattels  or  money. 

Dues  at  the  Chapelry  of  Walton-Ie-Da'e  :^- 

Minister.         Clerk. 

S,      D.  8.     D. 

Churching  of  Women 04        06 

Publishing  Marriage  by  Bands 26  10 

Paid  at  Marriage 0  0         0  6 

Marriage  by  L  icense 5  0         16 

Privilege  of  laying  a  grave-stone 180         30 

Funeral  Dues OS        lO  8 

Besides  the  charge  for  Grave,  Passing  Bel!,  Sec, 
Though  the  above  is  part  of  the  data  I  promised  to  give  as 
•the  ground  work  of  a  calculation  of  the  worth  of  religious  ser- 
vices, I  am  almost  ashamed  to  offer  it,  for  I  shall  be  accused  with 
leaving  the  subject  as  perplexed  as  it  was  before.  How  it  is,  that 
what  is  worth  4d.  in  Walton,  is  charged  7d.  in  Preston, — or  how 
it  should  happen  that  5s.  should  pay  for  the  same  article  that  is 
valued  at  13s.  lOd.  at  a  mile's  distance, — or  how  in  one  instance 
the  clerk  should  happen  to  get  33  and  some  odd,  per  cent,  more 
than  the  parson,  exceeds  my  learning.     I  must  leave  it  as  it  is. 

Fights  to  cowie.— The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  contents 
ofa  Sporting  paper,  "  Bell's  Xife  in  London."  The  extensive 
sale  of  this  paper,  is  a  most  decisive  proof  of  the  corrupt  ta«te 
and  immorality  of  the  age  :-!• 


148 

May  24th.-— Burke  and  Blissit je250  a  sid«. 

May  24th. — Pixton  and  Murphy 50     " 

May  24th. — Richmond  and  Adams 25     " 

June     7th. — Harry  Jones  and  Dick  Hill. .       50     " 
July   12th.— Jem  Ward  and  Simon  Byrne.     200     " 

Brown  and  Sampson  not  fixed," 

Female  Depravity. — "  On  a  careful  and  minute  enquiry  into 
the  condition  of  the  female  sex  in  London,  it  has  been  calculated 
that  the  number  of  females  of  a  certain  class  exceeds  80,000,— 
that  there  are  at  present  15,000  girls  who  are  children  of  the 
poor,  who  have  no  visible  means  of  subsistence  ;  the  greater 
part  of  whom  are  trained  to  every  variety  of  vice,  and  are  with- 
out shelter  or  home." — Mor.  Herald. 

Drinking  in  Manchester. — "  It  is  a  fact,  that  more  than 
£180,000  were  expanded  by  the  working  classps,  in  this  town 
and  neighbourhood,  upon  liquor,  in  the  year  1830" — Man.  Times. 
New  Bills. — Lord  Nugent  has  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  a 
bill  to  abolish  the  greater  part  of  101,596  oaths  in  the  customs, 
and  194,012  oaths  in  the  excise,  and  to  substitute  declarations, 
with  penalties  of  £100  for  false  ones. — There  is  also  a  bill  beforo 
the   house  to  repeal  part  of  the  settlement  law. 

Priests  and  their  appendages  generally  become  objects  of 
popular  fury.  At  Paris,  during  one  of  the  late  commotions,  the 
Archbishop's  palace  was  attacked,  and  received  much  injury, 
and  "down  with  the  priests"  was  the  cry.  If  they  were  the 
real  and  known  benefactors  of  mankind,  would  this  be  the  case  ? 

Public  JVorks.— Whenever  sums  of  money  are  expended  on 
public  works,  it  should  be  asked,  what  will  be  the  annual  return 
to  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  society.!*  Beyond  that  of  finding 
employment  during  their  erection,  we  generally  find  them  not 
only  unproductive,  but  expensive  to  the  country.  Erect  splendid 
buildings  like  Blackburn  church,  the  intended  Liverpool  Cus- 
tom House,  Brighton  House,  and  Windsor  Palace,  and  though 
there  may  be  something  to  gaze  at,  where  is  the  annual  produc- 
tion to  the  country  .>— In  this  respect,  the  gold  and  silver  which 
built  them  might  just  as  well  have  been  buried  in  the  earth. 
Lay  out  £500,000  on  inclosing  and  cultivating  land,  which 
•would  produce  a  supply  of  the  necessaries  of  life  for  ever,  and 
the  same  sum  in  heaping  stones  upon  each  other,  and  the  result 
will  shew  the  difference.  The  people  of  this  generation  are  build- 
ing mad.  Capital  by  this  means  is  irrecoverably  sunk  ;  and  to 
grant  money,  for  any  ♦' public  works,"  in  order  to  relieve  either 
England  or  Ireland,  which  are  not  calculated  to  yield  an  annual 
return  to  the  country,  is  short  sighted  policy.  We  are  indebted 
to  mother  and  grand-mother  chureh  for  this  blessing  also.  Bent 
always  upon  splendid  externals,  no  sum  was  too  great  to  spend 
upon  cathedrals  and  godly  buildings  ;— and  new  churches  we 
find  even  yet  out  of  the  earnings  of  the  people,  take  the  lead  in 
architectural  grandeur.  The  church  of  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome, 
took  146  years  to   build  it,  and  19  successive  Po^^es  showered 


1 19 

wealth  and  honours  upon  it  !     When  shall  we  arrive  at  the" "era 
of  common  sense  ? 

A  Bad  Example. — The  following-  simple  statement,  given  me 
bv  a  poor  woman  fi-om  a  neighbouring  village,  I  know  to  be  too 
true.  "  We  have  as  drunken  a  parson  as  there  is  for  a  hundred 
miles  round';  he  was  burying  a  child  and  he  had  nearly  fallsn 
into  the  grave ;  and  on  gooti-fi  id^y,  though  sacrament  day,  they 
could  scarcely  get  him  home  ;  tht^v  had  a  weary  mess.  He  mindg 
nothing  but  eating  and  drinking,  and  he'd   go  twenty  miles  to 

gtuff. .     His  nasty  talk  to  young  people  as  he  meets  them 

does  me  worst  of  all  ;    he  had  the  baili-fs  last  friday  ;    he  is  really 
a  bad   man." — But   what   do   the  people  say  ? — "Oh!   he  suits' 
mostoftbcra;   if  you  talk   to  them,  they  always  find   excuses; 
he  was  turned  out  on.ce,  and  they  were  never  easy  till  they  got 
him  in  again." 

Beer  Act. — Though  I  have  constantly  stated  what  I  know  to 
be  capable  of  demonstration,  that  there  has  been  a  great  deal 
more  drunkenness  since  the  passing  of  the  new  beer  act  than 
there  was  before,  i  by  no  means  wish  this  act  to  be  repealed  with 
a  view  of  reviving  the  old  system.  The  licensing  system  was 
thoroughly  corrupt,  and  I  would  never  advocate  any  change  that' 
could  by  possibility  lead  to  its  revival.  The  changes  tll^tl 
would  recommend  are,  first — make  the  public  houses  all  alike  ; 
let  any  man  who  is  qualified  to  sell  ale,  be  qualified  to  sell  all 
sorts  of  spirits.  Second — Charge  something  considerable  for  a 
license,  say  £20  ;  let  them  be  granted  by  the  excise,  and  to  all' 
persons,  without  parliality.  Third — Let  the  former  duties,  if  not 
heavier,  be  laid  upon  the  sale  of  both  ale  and  spirits.  And  fourth 
—Let  the  duty  be  taken  oflT  malt.  These  regulations,  I  think, 
would  secure  a  cheap  beverage  to  those  who  would  take  it  home, 
would  tend  to  discourage  ale  house  excesses,  would  maintain 
equal  rights  to  the  people,  and  deprive  the  magistracy  of  arbi- 
trary power. 

(Jliullenging, — A  new  mode  has  lately  been  discoveied  for 
raising  money  for  the  support  of  our  institutions,  Sec,  ;  and  as  it 
is  likely  to  become  fashionable,  having  received  the  sanction  of 
the  Parisians,  it  may  be  proper  to  apprise  those  of  mv  readers 
who  may  be  a  little  behind  the  times,  what  it  consists  of".  When 
there  is  an  anxiety  to  make  a  push  in  raising  the  ne»>dfid,  hut 
ordinary  means  afturding  no  hope,  some  generous  individual  ^^ives 
a  challenge  : — "if  any  person  will  give  so  much  1  will  give  so 
iKUch."  To  refuse  such  an  offer  would  be  pusillanimous,  nod 
therefore  it  is'  not  only  accepted,  but  the  spirit  of  enthu-iastic 
liberality,  or  the  love  of  fame,  spreads  like  wildfire.  A  sub- 
scription for  replenishing  the  treasury  is  now. raising  in  France, 
«pon  this  principle.  The  Manchester'  Missionary  Met  ting  has 
been  twice  afl'ccted  with  this  rhallenging  mania  {  and  strange  as 
it  may  appear,  the  pMrgmalic  people  of  Preston  have  lately 
caught  the  infection.  A  ceitain  chapel,  iu  this  town,  b«- 
'  ig  considerably  in  debt,  and  tiie  cj.ngi-egstion  fc<>:i5!g  naturally 


U 


150 

desirous  of  its  liquidation,  one  of  them  offered,  that  if  they  could, 
by  a  given  day,  raise  the  sum  of  £700,  he  would  make  it  into 
jCIOOO.  Impossible  as  the  attempt  would  seem,  in  a  place  so 
Httle  noted  for  liberality  as  Preston,  the  challenge  was 
met,  and,  to  the  no  small  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  the  sura  has 
been  raised  !  To  shew  the  comparative  merit  of  two  cases,  and 
the  benefit  of  the  challenging  system,  I  may  mention,  that  when 
collections  were  made  in  aid  of  the  fund  for  relieving  the  dis- 
tressed in  the  manufacturing  districts,  £5,  ISs.Od.  was  the  amount 
collected  at  this  same  chapel. 

.  Conjinementof  Sunday-School  Children. —  As  it  is  the  approach 
«f  summer,  I  would  again  plead  the  cause  of  the  thousands  of 
ppor,  puny  children,  who  attend  our  sunday  schools,  and  whose 
unreasonable  confinement  I  would  urge  upon  the  consideration 
of  the  managers.  I  was  at  a  place  of  worship  last  sunday  after- 
noon, where  the  children  were  quite  overpowered  with  sleep  ; 
and  their  confinement  evidently  a  great  hardship.  Num- 
bers of  them  are  very  young,  and  perhaps  confined  in  factories, 
during  the  other  six  days,  so  that  the  present  confinement  ia 
Sunday  schools,  is  a  positive  punishment  to  these  poor  children, 
and  the  surest  method  of  leading  them  to  abandon  the  school  ask 
soon  as  they  are  at  liberty  to  choose  for  themselves.  We  know 
how  difficult  it  is  to  keep  awake  ourselves  in  oppressive  weather,, 
during  an  afternoon's  service ;.  what  state  then  must  the  child^.^ 
len  be  in,  who  are  not  only  confined  in  chapel  during  the  whole 
of  the  service,  but,  including  school  exercises,  an  hour  and  a  hal^ 
morning  and  afternoon,  longer  than  the  congregation  !  Let  the 
children  be  taught  the  principles  and  duties  of  religion,  but  let  it . 
be  done  in  a  manner  suited  to  their  tender  frames  and  to  their  in». 
fantile  capacities.  A  short,  plain,  familiar  address,  delivered  ia 
an  affectionate  manner  by  some  of  the  teachers,  no  doubt,  woul(i 
both  please  and  profit  them,  but  pulpit  discourses  generally  are 
not  suitable  for  children,  and,  when  connected  with  such  unrea* 
sonable  confinement,  are  sure  to  fail  of  their  effect.  The  super,, 
intendents  and  teachers  of  these  schools  are  amongst  the  most 
judicious  and  disinterested  of  the  age,  and  I  doubt  not,  when  they 
see  the  evil,  will  be  ready  to  apply  a  suitable  remedy. 


To  ike  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

Hating  observed  in  your  Periodical  of  this  Month  a  letter  pnf- 
poi'ting  to  come-  from  a  "  Manchester  Mauy''  making  some  very  "  outr^ 
ebeervations  upon  a  thing  which,  by  his  own  confession,  he  knows  nothing 
«f,  save  and  except  that  he  has  seen  the  door  open,  and  a  lamp  burning, 
•r  rather,  *<  brilliant  lights"  as  be  chooses  to  denominate  them,  allow  m* 


^^■Vo  obsei 


151 


observe  to  yoa  thai  rnnny  of  your  readers  may  be  prejudiced  by  hisstate- 
ineut,  for  want  of  better  or  other  iaformation. 

As  I  am  coaviuccd  that  it  is  not  your  object  (o  misrepresent  things,  «r 
still  more  to  hinder  a  deserving  individual  from  being  encoaraged,  perhapi 
an  impartial  view  of  the  matter  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  you. 

Allow  me  then  first  to  inform  you  that  there  is  no  shambling  at  tbe 
Divan  on  Sunday  evenings,  or  on  any  other  evening,  unless  your  monstrouB- 
ly  punctilious  friend  can  construe  an  innocent  game  at  dra\iglits  or  chess, 
into  gambling ;    bat  even  this  is  not  allowed  at  the  Divan  on  Sundays. 

I  appeal  to  your  candour  and  good  sense,  Mr.  Editor,  when  I  ask  yon, 
what  possible  evil  can  arise  from  reading  the  papers,  smoking  a  cigar,  and 
taking  a  cup  of  coffee  on  a  Sunday  Evening.  Now  I  do  not  doubt  that  Ma*. 
Manchester  IVfan  likes  his  pipe  and  his  glass  of  negus,  by  his  own  fiie-side, 
where  there  are  no  open  doors  or  brilliant  lights  to  betray  him,i^why  then 
should  he  be  so  severe  ? 

If  your  kind  Correspondent  would  attack  the  tap-rooms,  the  flaming; 
dram-shops,  those  gross  receptacles  of  vice,  instead  of  this  refined  mode 
for  a  gentleman  to  pass  his  evenings,  i  and  the  public  would  think  better 
of  him.  But  why  so  much  explanation,  perhaps  yowr  Correspondent  is  a 
keeper  of  one  of  the  said  dram-shops,  and  is  afraid  of  his  customers  being 
converts  to  the  coffee  system. 

I  trust  you  will,  if  not  insert  this  letter,  at  least  do  the  public  and  the 
proprietor  of  the  Divan  the  justice  to  refute  the  statement  contained  in 
your  Mora)  Reformer  of  the  first  of  April. 

i  am,  Mr.  Editor,  with  much  respect, 

Yours  very  truly, 
Hulme,  9th  April, )  331 .  AMICUS  JUSTITI/E, 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Srii, 

I  was  no  little  surprised  the  other  day  on  accidentally  perusing  your 
last  number,  to  find  an  attack,  audi  most  unjustifiable  one,   made  by  some 
person,  subscribing  himself  a  **  Manchester  Man,"  on  the  proprietor   of  the 
Cigar  Divan  in  this  town.     Your  Correspondent  states,  that  heon  a  Sunday 
passing  the  above  named  establishment,  saw  large  placards  on  the  door  stating 
that  it  was  then  open        I  would  ask  him  if  that  was  during  divine  service 
B»  many  of  your  readei-s  would,  from  the  illiberal  style  of  the  "  Manchesttf 
Man,"  suppose  that  it  was.     Whatever  may  be  his  answer,  I  deny  that  the 
Divan    was    ever  open   during  divine  service  ;   and  can  for  one  see  no  great 
%m  committed   by  a  man,  even  after  service,  preferring  a  cup  of  coffee  to  a 
more  intoxicating  beverage;     indeed,    1    thiuk  that   such    establishments 
ought    to   be  encouraged,  as  tending  more  to    "  moral   reform"  than   the 
numerous  dram-shops  and  taverns,  which  the  "  Manchester  Man"    was    s& 
Wind  as  not  to  perceive  in  his  Sunday's  walk.     As  to  the  charge  of  a   "  sQit 
ofZaning;'  why  docb  ke  not    openly    declare    what  it  is,   instead  of  thirs 


152 

throwing  out  ambiguoas  bints,  or  wliy  not  inform  the  Police,  who  would  a 
once  {suppress  it ;  he  says  that  he  does  not  know  whether  the  practice  allti 
ded  to,  is  there  exercised  on  a  Sunday  or  not ;  why,  as  he  is  so  anxious  foi 
the  strict  obserrance  of  the  Sabbath,  did  he  not  at  once  go  in,  and  then 
if  he  could  have  discovered  any  gaming,  have  taken  the  proper  measurci 
to  expose  and  suppress  it,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  mislead  others  wh< 
know  as  little  about  the  matter  as  himself.  I  must  disclaim  any  connectioi 
with  the  owner  of  the  Cigar  Divan,  other  than  that  of  an  occasional  visitor, 
and  in  the  coarse  of  my  stay  there,  I  have  never  seen  nor  heard  of  anj 
practice  similar  to  what  has  been  stated.  Let  me,  in  conclusion,^  recommend 
the  writer  of  the  article  contained  in  your  last  number,  in  future,  not  tc 
form  too  hasty  au  opinion,  and  above  all— to  adhere  to  truth.  With  goo< 
wishes  for  the  success  of  your  publication,  allow  me  to  subscribe  my. 
■elf, 

ULTOR. 

Manchester,  l6th  April,  I8SI. 


THE  CHURCH  ESTABLISHMENT  OP  ENGLAND  AS  AT  PRESENT  CONSTI- 

TUTED,    PROVES    A    CHIEF  CAUSE  OF  THE  PROMOTION  AND 

SPREAD  OF  INFIDELITY,  IMMORALITY  AND  VICE. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

When  we  see  immorality  and  infidelity  making  rapid  increase  iar 
any  nation,  it  is  a  bad  omen  of  its  lasting  prosperity,  for  they  are 
generally  the  forerunners  of  a  national  dissolution.  To  any  persoa 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  France  before  the  first  Revolution,  thi» 
fact  will  not  appear  strange,  when  they  know  that  the  infidels  of  that 
country  before  that  event,  expended  nearly  a  million  of  money,  annually, 
iu  the  publication  and  distribution  of  sceptical  tracts. 

No  person  then  who  has  a  regard  for  morals,  or  who  is  possessed  of  one 
spark  of  religion,  can  look  at  the  rapid  strides  which  infidelity,  immorality, 
and  crime  are  making  in  our  highly  favoured  land,  without  feelings  of  tb« 
deepest  regret.  All  Buch  must  find  the  inward  suggestions  of  conscience 
urging  upon  them  (be  lie  churchman  or  dissenter,)  the  necessity  of  doing 
all  ill  their  power  to  stop  the  current  of  their  baneful  effects.  They  can- 
not but  atlmire  the  spirit  of  your  endeavours  in  such  an  undertaking. 
Trusting  that  they  may  be  crowned  with  entire  success,  I  wish,  through 
the  medium  of  the  Reformer,  to  draw  the  attention  of  your  readers  to 
the  subject  of  morals, — shewing  a  few  of  the  .  causes  (beginning  at  the 
Buurce,  aird  proceeding  along  with  the  stream)  which  are  productive  of  aaf 
iiiicreaae  of  infidelity  and  immorality. 

When  nations  are  to  perish  in  their  sins, 

' Tis  in  the  Church  the  leprosy  begins  ; 

The  Priest  whose  office  is  with  with  zeal  sracere, 

To  watch  (he  fountain  and  preserve  it  clevr, 


153 

Careleas,  nods,  and  sleeps,  upon  the  Biiak, 

While  others  poison  what  the  flock  in«st  drink  ; 

Or  waking  at  the  cry  of  lust  alone, 

Infases  lies  and  errors  of  his  own, 

And,  tainted  by  the  very  name  of  cure. 

His  unsuspecting  sheep  believe  it  pure  ; 

Catch  frona  each  other  a  contagious  spot. 

The  foul  forerunner  of  a  general  rot. 
"  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  an!/pe»ple" 
I.— The  lukewarmness,  vice,  and   inamorality  of  the  clergy,  is  the  gfeat 
cause  of  the  increase  of  immorality  and  infidelity. 

Even  if  Christianity  be  inculcated  and  preached  from  the  pulpit,  with- 
out example  and  precept,  in  conformity  with  the  christian  doctrines  they 
preach,  it  is  almost  certain  to  take  no  eflfect,  or  make  no  lasting  impression 
on  the  heart.  We  see  one  class  of  christian  tutors  preaching  most  strenu- 
ously against  drunkenness,  and  propounding  and  explaining  the  dreadful 
nature  of  that  vice;  not  even  neglecting  to  add  as  an  improvement,  what 
sort  of  punishment  will  be  inflicted  upon  those  who  do  not  repent,  and  be- 
come changed  characters.  This  doctrine  is  all  very  good  and  very  com- 
inendable,  hut  the  hearers  know  that  he  who  thus  addressed  them  is  a. 
drunkard  himself :  perhaps  at  the  time  he  is  addressing  them,  scarcely  re- 
covered from  his  last  night's  debauch.  They  can  scarcely  believe  that,  if 
the  truths  he  advances  be  in  reality  true— if  such  be  the  nature  of  the 
punishment  they  may  expect  in  a  future  state,  he  .himself  would  continue 
in  the  actual  practice  of  drunkenness  and  debauchery  :  they  therefore  believe 
the  word  of  inspiration  a  humbug,  and  a  future  state  of  retribution  a  dream. 
This  conduct  certainly  tends  to  increase  infidelity  and  immofality. 
But  know,  the  law  that  bids  a  drunkard  die. 
Is  far  too  true,  to  pass  the  trifler  by. 
.Another  class  of  these  icor/Aee*  preach  most  strenuously  against  "the 
▼aoity  of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,"  and  maiataiD  "  that  a 
good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches,  and  loving  favour  ra- 
ther than  silver  and  gold,"  &c.  enforcing  the  necessity  of  laying  up  their 
treasures  iu  heaven,  for  where  the  treasure  is  there  the  heart  will  be  also  : 
a.nd  with  folded  hands  and  uplifted  eyes,  address  the  Supreme  Being  in  the 
words  of  Agur  the  prophet,  saying,  "  Remove  far  from  me  vanity  and  lies, 
give  me  aeither  poverty  bdt  riches,  feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  me." 
No  fault  can  be  found  with  such  doctrines,  nor  such  a  prayer,  if  it  were 
piireseated  with  sincerUy,  and  by  pei  sons  whose  characters  are  conformable. 
But  the  very  reverse  is  perhaps  the  case;  they  are  known  to  be  both  proud 
and  penurious,  hoarding  up  riches  year  after  year,  and  grasping  all  within 
their  reach  ;  oppressing  the  poor  and  needy,  and  screwing  from  them  the 
last  farthing,  in  the  shape  of  support  to  the  church.  Can  this  be  a 
fit  example   to  the    flock  over  which  such   individuals  are  placed? 

Will  not  'he  negligent  sheep  of  every  flock, 

Resort  to  this  example  as  a  rock  ? 
They  will  take  it  for  granted  that  this  is  the  place  where  they  are  to  lay  up 
their  treasure,  and  that  they  should  look  after  the  boarding  of  money  as  the 

u 


154 

one    tbing   neeJfuT,   seeing   their  teachers  appear  to  put  all  their  mind  and 
energy  to  the  accumulation  of  riches.      In  fact,  they  take  it  for  granted,  the 
minister   is  the  pattern,  and  if  they  follow  his  example,  it  is  all  that  can  be 
expected  of  them.    Can  any  thing  be  more  hurtful  to  the  morals,    or  better  ' 
calculated  to  promote  the  cause  of  infidelity,  than  such  conduct  ? 

Another  class  of  teachers  might  be  particnlarized  as  strenuous  advocates 
fjr  the  sanctification  of  the  sabbath,  and  protest  most  solemnly 
against  persons  frequenting  ale-houses,  news-rooms,  attending  parties, 
&c.  that  they  should  not  so  much  as  think  their  own  thoughts,  speak  their 
own  words,  nor  do  their  own  actions,  on  that  day,  for  it  is  a  day  appointed 
by  God  himself  to  be  kept  holy.  This  is  the  doctrine  they  preach  from 
the  pulpit;  the  doctrine  itself  is  perfectly  good,  but  how  do  they  them- 
selves act  up  to  these  precepis?  What  will  the  hearers  think  when  they 
see  a  person  of  this  description  come  straight  from  the  news-room,  ascend 
the  pulpit,  and  deliver  this  discourse  ?  Perhaps  after  the  sermon  they  may ' 
see  him  off  to  a  dinner  party  with  some  friend  ;  after  dinner,  first  one  bot- 
tle, then  another  ;  if  a  sporting  character,  conversing  on  hunting,  coursing, 
or  shooting,  or  perhaps  a  peep  at  Bell's  Life,  to  see  the  state  of  the  odds  ; 
if  a  politician,  on  the  news  of  the  week,  the  state  of  our  domestic  and  for- 
eign relations,  &c.*  Can  any  truths  which  such  an  individual  advances  from 
the  pulpit  make  any  impie.ision  on  the  minds  of  others?  when  they 
know  his  character,  will  they  not  follow  his  example— with  this  excuse 
on  their  lips  : — 

I  f  Apostolic  gravity  be  free. 
To  play  the  fool  on  Sundays — why  not  wt  f 
Strike  up  the  fiddles — let  us  all  be  gay, 
Laymen  have  leave  to  dance,  if  Parsons  play. 
These  exa  nples  are  not  rare  in  the  establishment,  if  they  were,  the>  would 
not  be  worthy  of  notice.      But  though  they  are   numerous,  yet  there  are  a 
great  many  Pastors  in  the  establishment,  that  would  be  an  ornament  to  any 
church.     I  am  fiilly  persuaded  that  these  individuals  long  as   much   as  any 
can  do  for  a  removal  of  these  evils,    and  for  a  reform  in  what  may  be  amiss 
in  the   church.     The  only  way  of  reforming  these  abuses  is,  to  remove  the 
causes,  to  remove  eveiy  thing  which  prevents  the  facility  of  excommunicat- 
ing such  individuals  from  the  ministry,  and    giving   their  livings  to  more 
worthy   chai-acters,  who  may  be  almost  suffering  from  want,  and  these  are 
by  no  means  few. 

IT. — The  exactions  of  tithes  by  the  clergy  may  be  considered  another 
cause  of  the   present  degenerate   state   of  morals,  and  of  the  increase  of 

infidelity. 

Some  people  may  say  this  cannot  be,  as  it  only  affects  them  politically ; 
that  it  affects  them  politically  it  is  true,  but  it  is  quite  as  true  that  it  af- 
fects  them  morally.      Persons   who  nse  such    an  argument  will  not  be 


#  Upon  first  reading  this  description  1  thought  it  a  little  too  high  coloured,  but  when  T 
remember  that  even  in  the  district  of  the  Fylde,  it  is  said,  that  there  are  no  fewer  than_/fi« 
icft  parsons,  itis  probable  this  Correspondent  has  stated  no  more  than  what  he  knows  to  b« 
contct.—L'dit. 


IS5 

«;ilinc  <o   affirm   that    the  farmer  is  not  obliged  to  give  a  tenth  of  his  ifl- 
Istry"  towards  the  support  of   the  church.       The   law   of  tithes  ts   an 
f„„o7ation    on    the    revealed    word,     was    introduced    by    an  avaric.ons 
spirit  of  coveteousoess,  and  not  established  or  enforced  by    Chnst  or  his 
isciples,   nor   even  exacted   in    England  before  the  ninth  centa.-y  5   the 
'Luive    preachers     being    supported    entirely     by    free   wdl   offerings 
And   even    when    established     by     the     popish   priesthood   in    the   ninth 
«nt«ry,   a   fourth  only    went   to   the   support  of  the  clergy,  a  fourth  to 
,,,e  poor    a    fourth  towards  building  and  repairing  churches,  and  a  fourth 
^owardsthe  support  of  the  poor  clergy.      These  are  facts   which  none  can 
deny    The  farmer  sees  and  knowsthat  by  the  avance  of  our  reformed  chu.ch, 
the   parsons  take  the  whole  to  themselves  ^  he  is  obliged,  besides  his  tenth, 
to  build  and  repair  churches,   and  support  the  poo.- j  the  farmer  grieves, 
and   that    very  justly,  that  he  should  contribute  so  large  a  proportion  to- 
wards   the  maintainance  of  a  man  perhaps  he  never  .aw,  much  less  heard 
preach      This  law  tends  to  xnafce  the  farmer  absent  himself  from  a  place  of 
worship,  because  he  detests  the  sight  of  a  man  who  takes   a   larger   fee  for 
his  services  thaa   be  considers   right  and  equitable  to  bestow.     It  is  a  la- 
mentable  fact,  and  not  more  lamentable  than  true,  that  not   more  than  o»e 
family   in   six  through   the   farms    scattered  over  the  country,  ever  shew 
their  faces  within  the  walls  of  a  church.     Is  this  at  all  to  be  wondered  at. 
when,  upon  reflection,  we  ^e   that  the     doctrines    of  chriUuuuty     m- 
elude  a   far  different  conrse,  and  the  clergy  themselves  must  be  aware  that 
it  is  only  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law,  that  they  can  support  the  system. 
Until  this  unnatural  state  of  things  be  removed,  we  may  expect  an  increase 
of  infidelity  and  immorahty.     Certainly  any  thing  that  can  be  a  h.nderance 
to  people  attending  divine   worship,   must  be  morally  considered   bad   m 
principle.     Any  thing  that  can  pass  for  an  excuse  for   absenting  from   the 
church,  must  be  equaUy  hurtful.     This  law  of  tilhts  then  ought  to  be  im- 
mediately  removed. 

Theway  which  seems  most  likely  to  satisfy  the  laity,  and  to  suit  the 
temporal  (and  I  might  say  spiritual)  wants  of  all  the  clergy  is,  to  do  away 
with  tithes  altogether,  seeing  there  is  no  divine  authority  for  de- 
manding them,  and  that  they  are  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  nature.  Im- 
pose a  property  tax  ;  out  of  this  tax  form  an  ecclesiastical  fund,*  and  out 
of  this  fund  pay  to  each  minister  of  the  establishment,  or  rather,  to  each 
church  or  chapel  belonging  to  the  establishment,  an  equal  sum,  say  fifty 
pounds  perannum,  to  be  paid  on/y  during  the  lifetime  of  the  present  in- 
cumbents, and  after  their  decease  to  revert  again  to  the  state ;  and  allow 
them  to  make  up  the  rest  of  their  stipend  by  free  will  contributions,  as  is 
the  case  amongst  almost  all  sects  of  Dissenters.      This   plan   would   make 


*  A.  H.  elsewhere  recommends  us  to  "tbe  Christian  Standard  the  ^Vord  of  Gpd  as 
th*  best  guide  in  our  attempts  to  reform  the  Church.  Where  111  that  word  does  he  hnd  any 
tiling  comporting  either  will,  the  principle  or  detail  of  what  he  here  suggests  ?  Somet  unff 
infiuhely  transceTidiug  the  establishment  oi  a  fund  is  wanting,  in  order  to  secure  atten- 
tioutothe  "soul's  wants  of  the  people."  The  proper  performance  of  this  duty,  liketlw 
gias of  the  spirit,  cau  never  be  "  purchased  wjtlimoney,'  —hdit. 


1^ 

them  take  more  care  in  administeriog  to  tUt  soul's  wants  of  the  peopl% 
Some  will,  indeed  a  many  would,  make  objectious  to  this  plan,  as  likely  ta 
equalise  the  clergy,  which  they  consider  quite  inconsistent  with  epiatupaT 
cy.  This  however  would  not  be  the  case  ;  would  a  small  country  church 
or  chapel,  situated  in  a  farming  district,  capable  of  not  holding  mure  than 
300  or  400  individuals,  raise  the  same  voluntary  stipend  (although  the 
minister  has  the  same  grant  from  government)  as  a  wealthy  congregation 
of  1,000  or  upwards?  Certainly  not.  There  would  not  be  an  individual 
with  a  yearly  income  of  6o,oooi  whilst  his  more  worthy  brethren  per* 
haps  only  receive  30/.  It  is  high  time  that  he  who  works  hard  in  the  vine- 
yard should  receive  more  remuneration  for  his  labours,  and  he  that  dues^ 
coroparitively  speaking,  nothing — be  reduced,  and  both  put  on  the  same 
footing.  Nothing  would  be  the  means  of  improving  the  state  of  morals  in 
this  country  more,  especially  in  agricultural  districts,  than  the  abolition  of 
this  unnatural  law. 

III. — Pluralities  and  non-residences  form  another  glaring  cause   of  in»- 
morality  and  infidelity. 

None  can  deny,  however  interested,  that  such  cases  do  exist,  or  that 
they  are  far  from  being  partial.  Such  arguments,  if  advanced,  must  fall  to 
the  ground  by  their  own  falsity.  They  not  only  do  exist,  but  that  to  aa» 
awful  extent.  Wesee  individuals  possessed  of  from  6  to  )6*  church  livings 
and  preferments,  amounting  to  immense  sums,  merely  because  they  have 
wriggled  themselves  into  the  favour  of  some  high  personages,  and  that  very 
often  by  mean  compliances.  And  it  is  nothing  nncommon  for  a  Bishop  to 
enjoy  at  the  same  time,  preferments  which  are  quite  incompatible  with 
each  other,  such  as,  a  bishopric,  a  headsliip  of  a  college,  a  prebendary,  a 
rectory,  and  other  emoluments.  As  Bishop,  a  man  ought  to  be  in  his  owa 
diocess ;  as  head  of  a  college  he  must  be  resident ;  as  a  prebendary  certain 
duties  are  required ;  as  a  rector  of  a  parish  his  presence  cannot  be 
dispensed  with^  and  I  might  add,  as  a  lord  of  parliament  his  attendance  it 
frequently  and  justly  required.  What  account  their  lordships  can  give  to 
either  Gpd  or  man  of  each  preferment,  it  behoves  them  well  to  consider. 
Whatever  they  may  think  of  such  conduct  themselves,  no  person  who  looks  at 
the  matter  impartially,  will  say  that  it  is  not  hurtful  to  morals.  They  maj 
preach  against  infidelity,  and  the  cause  of  its  progress,  as  they  will,  but  a 
deist  is  a  saint  compared  with  such  characters.  Indeed,  what  can  be  more 
beneficial  to  the  promotion  of  infidelity  than  such  conduct.  The  word  of 
God  says,  "  that  a  Bishop  should  preach  the  word  in  season  and  out  of 
season," — commands  them  "  To  give  themselves  ivholli/ Xo  the  ministry, 
and  to  take  heed  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  them 
overseers,— in  all  things  shewing  themselves  a  pattern  of  good  works,  &o." 
This  is  the  instruction  that  Paul  gave  to  Timothy,  first  Bishop  of  Ephe- 
sus.  How  do  tlie modern  Bishops  act  up  to  these  exhortations?  If  they 
do  vouchsafe  once  in  a  day,  as  an  extreme  favour,  to  indulge  the  people  of 
their  diocess,  where  they  happen  to  spend  a  little  time,  they  usually  affect  so 

*  Query  —Is  this  contiV.— Editor, 


157 

much  pomp  ind  dignity  in  their  manner,  and  their  disconrdes  afft  so  dry 
and  unevangelical,  so  stiff,  so  cool,  so  criticrff,  so  heathen  like,  that  the  poor 
of  the  flock  can  receive  little  or  no  benefit. 

The  onlv  way  of  reformation  is,  to  reduce  thciii  to  the  christian  stand* 
aid— the  word  of  God,  Then  morality  would  increase,  infidelity  and  vice 
would  receive  a  deadly  blow  ;  and  finally,  1  would  exhort  all  pluralists  id 
the  words  of  the  poet :  — 

«'  To  cast  your  orders  at  your  Bishop's  feet, 

Send  your  dishonoured  Gown  to  Monmouth-Street  ; 

The  sacred  functions  in  your  hands  is  made, 

Sad  sacrilege! — no  funcliou — but  a  trade." 
In  making  the  fjregoing  observations,  1  wish  it  to  be  perfectly  un- 
derstood that  ihey  are  not  intended  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  religion 
lower  in  the  estimation  of  your  readers.  What  1  wish  is,  that  a  reformation 
may  take  place  in  the  church,  cleansing  from  it  all  the  dross,  and  leaving 
nothing  but  the  pure,  primitive  religion.  This  is  what  every  uninterested 
individual  wishes  to  see  accomplished,  be  he  clergyman  or  layman,  who  is  a. 
friend  to  religion  and  morals.  What  occasion  have  wc  for  drunken,  im- 
moral, sporting  parsons,  with  stipends  from  three  hundred  to  three  thour 
sand  pounds  a  year  ;  or  what  occasion  have  we  for  bishops  with  stipends  of 
from  ten  to  sixty  thousand  pounds  a  year,  fordoing  nothing  towards  the 
spiritual  advancement  of  the  people,  bat  who  in  reality  do  a  great  deal  of 
harm  by  their  example  and  conduct  ?  Better  far  wouKl  it  be  that  tiieir  liv- 
ings and  estates  were  sequestered  and  given  to  the  state,  and  their  places 
supplied  with  truly  moral,  evangelical,  and  affectionate  ministers. 

I  might  have  drawn  a  great  many  more  traits  of  character  from  the 
pastoral  life,  which  are  but  too  common  amongst  the  clergy,  hurtful  both 
to  the  cause  of  religion  and  morality  ;  I  might  have  here  also  laid  before 
^our  readers  a  short  sketch  of  religion  in  the  primitive  ages  of  Christianity, 
contrasted  with  religion  at  the  piesent  time  ;  this  peihaps  may  appear  in  a 
future  number.     Wishing  you  every  success  in  your  undertaking, 

I  remain  &c. 

A.  H. 


0>    NEWSPATERS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

In  your  last  number  but  one  there  were  some  very  good  remarks 
concerning  the  improvement  which  ministers  of  the  gospel  ought  to  make 
of  particular  facts  that  are  stated  in  the  newspapers.  Approving  as  1  do 
of  those  remarks,  I  beg  leave,  through  the  medium  of  your  Kcfoi'nier,  to 
say  that  I  think  there  is  need  of  a  "  Kadically  Rcformeil"  newspaper. 
Sinc6'(he  Bchoolmasterhas  been  abroad,  thcrf  is  a  dtshe  for  CENEiiiL  is- 


158 


J 


FORMATION.  Bat  I  know  of  no  newspaper  in  which  it  Is  to  be  obtati 
ed  ;  consequently,  apcison  must  either  read  a  great  many  papers,  or  retnakki 
in  ignorance  of  much  that  is  going  on  in  the  world.  But  reading  many 
papers  is  so  great  a  tax  both  \i[K)n  time  and  the  pocket,  that  few  can  aiFord 
the  sacrifice.  All  the  papers  that  I  know,  while  they  profess  impartiality, 
are  partial  in  a  very  high  degree.  They  are  ranged  either  on  one  side  or 
another,  and  seldom  give  much  more  than  one  side  of  a  question.  I  speak 
of  the  weekly  papers  ;  for  I  seldom  see  any  of  those  which  are  published 
daily.  To  refer  to  facts.  There  has  been  great  agitation  in  Ireland  con- 
cerning the  repeal  of  the  Union.  Now  the  papers  I  see,  tell  what  is  said 
against  the  repeal,  bat  nothing  that  is  said  in  its  favour.  They  give  the 
charges  against  Mr.  O'Connel,  but  not  his  defence  The  same  is  the  case 
with  ParUamentary  Reform;  a  paper  gives  nine  columns  to  the  speech  of 
one  member  who  is  in  favour  of  the  measure,  but  liai'dly  as  many  lines 
to  each  speaker  on  the  opposite  side.  Now,  Sir,  I  am  a  heaity  friend  to 
parliamentary  reform,  but  I  like  to  see  fair  play.  There  has  long  been  a 
controversy  respecting  the  Apocrypha,  between  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
London  and  Edinburgh  Bible  Societies  ;  and  there  is  a  paper  war  naio  go- 
ing on  among  the  fiiends  of  the  London  Society,  concerning  the  omission 
of  prayer  at  their  public  meetings;  but  respecting  these  thuigs,  all  the 
newspapers  I  see  are  as  dumb  as  the  dogs  of  Egypt.  Some  weeks  since, 
the  deputies  of  the  three  denominations  of  Dissenters  in  London,  put  forth 
a  manifesto,  in  the  World  newspaper,  in  which  they  reflected  upon  country 
ministers  and  congregations  not  making  collections  for  them,  as  they  had 
requested  nearly  two  years  befoje.  The  writer  of  this  sent  a  letter,  post 
paid,  to  the  Editor  of  the  World,  which  he  requested  him  to  insert  in  that 
paper,  as  in  it  the  complaint  had  been  made.  In  that  letter,  I  gave  my 
reasons  for  not  making  a  collection  for  these  deputies;  but  the  Editor,  who 
by  the  bye,  professes  to  be  an  impartial  journalist,  and  a  christian  too, 
would  not  give  it  insertion.  Thus,  Sir,  the  charge  appears  against  country 
ministers,  but  their  defence  must  not  see  tlse  light.  Now,  Sir,  I  do  not  find 
fault  with  editors  for  giving  their  own  opinion,  far  from  it :  in  their  leading 
article,  let  them  say  what  they  please  ;  but  let  them  also  give  both  sides  of 
the  question,  and  not  attempt  to  put  their  readers  into  leading-strings,  by 
giving  them  just  whnt  information  they  please.  We  have  no  objection  to 
read  their  commentary,  but  we  demand  the  text  in  full  in  order  that  we  may 
judge  for  ourselves.  We  discard  implicit  faith.  I  must  aUo  remark  that, 
in  the  papers  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  there  is  not  only  reason  to  com- 
plain of  partiality,  hut  also  of  scanty  information.  Notwjlhstanding  the 
present  unprecedented  state  of  Europe,  which  has  excited  such  intense  feel- 
ing every  where,  and  such  anxiety  to  obtain  information,  all  the  information 
which  ouv  weekly  journals  give,  may  be  often  comprised  in  a  single  column. 
Now,  Sir,  we  must  either  be  satisfied  with  this,  or  have  recourse  to  a  num- 
ber of  papers,  in  order  that  we  may  get  one  piece  of  information  from  one, 
and  another  from  another.  I  have  remonstrated  with  the  editor  of  a  paper 
1  have  long  taken  in,  and  his  answer  is,  that  his  readers  in  town  seethe 
daily  papers,  aud  they  do  not  wish  to  sec  the  same  things  over  again.      I 


159 

eonsider,  therefore,  that  a  newspaper  suited  to  country  readers,  which 
would  give  a  fair  abstract  of  all  that  is  going  oriy  both  foreign  and  do- 
mestic, without  partiality,  and  as  fully  as  the  limits  of  a  weekly  newspa- 
per could  afford,  is  truly  a  desideratum.  Persons  would  then  obtain  the 
necessary  information  without  much  sacrifice  of  either  time  or  money,  and 
the  money  saved  might  be  turned  to  a  good  accouut.  As  you.  Sir,  are  a 
moral  reformer,  I  hope  you  will  give  this  a  place  in  your  useful  miscellany. 
If  there  is  such  a  paper  as  the  one  I  have  described,  I  do  not  know  of  it ; 
but  if  any  such  exists,  inform  me  when  and  ivhere  it  is  published,  which  will 
much  oblige.  Sir, 

Yours,   &c. 

A  COUNTRY  MINISTER. 

[  Unable  to  give  this  Correspondent  any  satisfaHory  inforraation  myself    I  sliall  te 
glad  at  any  time  to  couvey  to  him  the  iuformatiou  of  any  of  my  readers. — Edit.'] 


tHE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PARENTAL   AND    MINISTERIAL  EXAMPLE. 


"  And  seems  it  notTiing  in  a  father's  eye, 

That  unimproved  so  many  moments  fly? 

And  is  he  well  rontent  his  son  should  tind 

No  nourishment,  to  feed  his  growing  mind. 

But  conjugated  verbs,  aud  nouns  declined  V'—Cowper. 


Tq  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 


Sir, 


Much  lias  already  been  written  on  the  subject  of  Education,  but  no  reflectin<' in- 
dividual  will,  I  feel  convicced,  say  there  has  beee  too  much  ;  and  those  who  account  the 
ntbject  dry  and  unprofitable,  need  only  look  for  a  moment  into  the  nurseries  of  private 
individuals,  or  dissect  the  opinion  of  the  acquitted  collegiaii,  and  he  will  find  abundant  an^ 
convincing  proofs,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  proper  education  of  the  human  mind,  is  still 
very  defectire ;  and  that,  to  render  the  system  of  education  complete,  much  remains  vet  to 
be  done.  The  pains  which  have  of  late  been  taken  to  disseminate  knowledge  through  all 
classes  of  society,  have,  I  believe,  done  much  in  effecting  the  emancipation  oftlie  middle 
and  lower  orders  from  the  thraldom  of  ignorance.  How  many  are  there  now  who,  though 
they  have  received  no  college  education,  nor  have  been  favoured  with  the  patrona<re  of  the 
powerful ; — who,  though  they  have  not  travelled  the  theoretical  mazes  of  heathen  authors 
nor  embellished  their  minds  with  the  splendid  dogmas  of  antiquity,  cau  criticise  with  ability 
the  literary  labours  of  the  most  estiblished  and  popular  authors.  Happily  mankind  now 
begin  to  perceive  that  utility  and  improvements  are  the  productions  of  a  far  different  soil 
than  the  classics,  and  that  the  lore  of  heathen  philosophers  is  eclipsed  by  modern  improve- 
ments, and  the  effulgence  of  an  intellectual  sun. 

But  my  present  object  is  not  to  send  you  an  Essay  on  Education,  ,but  a  few  Remarks  on 
the  necessity  of  Partnts  and  Teachers  seconding  their  precepts  and  admonitions  by  their  own  ez- 
amptes.  From  the  ease  and  facility  with  which  young  minds  receive  impressions,  and  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  are  afterwards  retained,  this  portion  of  education  cannot  be  t«o 
frequently  enforced,  nor  too  strictly  attended  to.  There  are,  I  nelieve,  ftw  parenis  who 
do  not  feel  a  peculiar  anxii-ty  for  the  welfare  and  Aitiire  happiness  of  their  otTsprin"-,— but 
there  are,  I  am  sorry  to  add,  thousands  who  nested  !o  regulate  Iheir  own  conduct  by  such  rules 
as  can  alone  insure  Iheaccomplishraent  of  their  wishes.    .\ppireBtIy  satisfied  if  thtir  cliilj. 


160 

fen  rival  their  fellows  in  the  common  routine  of  scholastic  education,  tlieyseglect  by  <af 
the  mxist  importiiut  p?rt-r-tliat  of  leading  them,  with  parental  love,  through  the  paths  of 
moral  reclilude  find virlur.  1  will  not  deny  that  many  parents  frequently  rehearse  to  their 
children  lessons  of  morality,  admonish  them  of  the  dangers  of  disobedience,  and  lay  down 
fcr  tliera,  as  upon  a  map,  that  line  of  conduct  they  ought  to  pursue ; — but  how  few  are  fount} 
who  are  willing  to  lay  aside  their  fancied  pleasures  for  what  they  consider  the  dull  mono. 
Mny  of  treai'in;;  with  their  children  those  paths  of  real  enjoyment  which  lead  to  the  bliss. 
fraught  regions  of  a  glorious  immortality. 

Many  parents,  I  have  frequently  observed,  rather  than  forsake  their  pernicious  habits,  draw 
their  children  within  the  baneful  circle  of  their  follies— many  appear  to  consider  precept 
ofmore  utility  than  example.aud  place  little  or  no  restraint  upon  their  own  conduct— au4 
others  wlio  arc  aware  of  the  necessity  of  surrounding  their  children  with  such  circumstan-. 
res  as  have  a  tendency  to  inspire  them  with  a  love  of  virtue,  make  a  thousand  resolutions  to 
act  as  reason  and  religion  dictate,  and  a  thousand  times  desert  them.  Thus  is  the  educatioo  ' 
of  children  totally  neglected  in  the  most  vital  part.  With  minds  vigorous,  though  weak 
and  inexperienced,  they  reject  the  cold  formality  of  precept  when  unaccompanied  by  ex- 
ample, and  with  silent  unobserved  activity,  treasure  up  the  seeds  of  those  propensities 
which  not  unseldom  overshadow  their  future  years  with  infamy. 

It  is  also  a  matter  of  the  first  iraportmce  that  the  Ministers  of  Rdigion— they  who  under- 
takethe  important  office  of  watching  over  oureternal  interest,  should  regulate  their  own 
conduct  by  those  rules  they  so  repeatedly  recommend  to  their  respective  assemblies.  But 
liow  many  are  there  who  display  religion  in  her  native  simplicity,  and  exhort  their  hearers 
to  "deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,"  and  "live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world,"  but  not  relishing  the  rigid  economy  which  such  rules  enjoin,  yield  to  tile 
flattering  temptations  of  worldly  enjoyment,  and  encourage  by  Uieir  examples  those  vices 
and  imm.)ralities  against  which  the  duties  of  their  profession  compel  them  to  disclaim  ? 
Such  ministers,  I  hesitate  not  to  assert,  instead  of  staying  the  progress  of  the  sinner  by  their 
admonitions,  h.isten  hisruin  by  theirpernicious  examples;  and  instead  of  enlightening 
the  minds  of  their  hearers  by  the  precepts  they  deliver,  and  elevating  their  thoughts  from 
the  vanities  of  the  world,  to  Him  who  accounteth  the  splendour  of  kings,  andthe  wealth 
of  empires  as  naught,  teach  them  to  adopt  a  course  of  dissimulation,  and  to  hide  their  real 
characters  beneath  the  disgusting  cloak  of  hypocrisy.  It  is  confessedly  the  duty  of  all 
men  to  set  rjood examples  to  the  rising  generations ;  but  when  an  individual  undertakes  the 
important  task  of  instructing  his  fellow  brethren  in  that  on  which  their  future  happiness 
or  misery  so  intimately  depends,  it  is  an  obligation  which  he  cannot  infringe  upon,  without 
justly  alarming  the  apprehensions  of  the  christian  and  the  philanthropist.  Those  who 
mike  it  their  rule  to  regulate  their  conduct  by  that  of  their  minister,  will  not,  it  is  more 
th.an  probalile,  hesitate  to  embrace  those  immoralities,  which  his  conduct  seems  to  sanction. 
And  will  not  they  who  have 

"Fallen  from  the  wings  of  reason  and  of  hope" 
rejoice  when  they  behold  the  reputed  minister  of  Him  whom  they  deny,  tied  to  the  folliet 
of  the  wrold  — the  servant  of  voluptuousness,  and  the  votary  of  its  fleeting  enjoyments? 
Will  it  not  confirm  them  in  their  disbelief!    Will  not  it  cause  others  to  waver,  and  not  a 
few  1o  stumble?    May  every  minister  ask  himself  these  questions,  and  they  who  have  hi- 
therto neglected  the  great  end  of  their  calling,  henceforth  labour  in  the  cause  of  religion 
with  redoubled  ardour ;— for  truly  can  1  say  in  the  words  of  Cowper: 
"  T  venerate  the  man.  whose  heart  is  warm 
AVhose  hands  are  |>ure,  whose  doctrine  and  whose  life, 
<'oix('ll)iNT,  exhibit  lucid  nroof 
That  he  is  hnnoet  in  the  sacred  cause." 
To  tresp.iss  longer  at  this  time  upon  your  patience.  Sir,  would  be   unkind —^That  your 
strenuous  exertion"  in  th:-  cause  of  morality — your  laudable  defence  of  the  indigent — and 
fe.Trlpps  promulgation  of  the  lessons  of  truth,  may  meet  with  that  reward  they  so  justly 
nieri!,  is  the  .sincere  wish  of 

Yours,  &c. 

.TUBA. 


JOHN    WALKER,    IMUNTEK,     t  UURt  U-STREET,     PKESTOW. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  6.  JUNE  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 

PRFMITIVK  AND  MODERN  CHRISTIANITY,  PRIMITIVE  AND 
MODERN  TEACHERS,  AND  THEIR  RESPECTIVE  EFFECTS  UPON 
SOCIETY. 


Deeply  impressed  with  the  prevalency  of  vice,  and  with  the 

unchecked  reign  of  moral  evil,  I  have  from  time  to  time  endea- 
voured to  describe  its  workings  in  the  different  circles  of  society. 
I  have  also  frequently  hinted,  that  though  the  professed  object  of 
all  religions  is  to  destroy  sin,  yet  in  this  country,  the  most  popu- 
lar  of  them  have  not  only  failed  in  their  object,  but  stand  charge- 
able with  being  its  promoters.  Here  we  find  the  same  paradox- 
ical state  of  things  in  spirituals  as  in  temporals  :  in  the  midst 
of  super-abounding  wealth,  poverty  and  wretchedness  prevail* 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  profusion  of  religious  privileges,  depravity 
and  crime  disgrace  the  land.  In  attempting  an  explanation  of 
the  reasons  why  the  religions  of  the  day  do  not  answer  the 
object  of  iheir  appointment,  J  may  probably  appear  to  some  se- 
vere ;  but  I  owe  it  to  the  cause  I  have  espoused,  not  to  shrink 
from  the  truth,  whatever  may  be  the  result.  If,  with  the  present 
systems,  I  could  see  the  probability  of  a  successful  conflict  against 
the  powers  of  evil,  most  happy  should  I  be  to  abandon  so  un- 
pleasant an  office  as  that  of  censurer,  and  to  join  in  promoting  the 
furtherance  of  the  popular  plans.  Of  this,  however,  I  have  not 
the  least  hope. 

Good  laws,  and  the  best  civil  arrangements,  are  calculated  in 
part  to  remove  vice  ;  but  the  rational  and  consistent  diffusion  of 
primitive  christianitij,  is  the  only  effectual  remedy.  This  power 
attacks  the  root  of  the  evil ;  it  begins  with  the  heart ;  is  univer- 
sally applicable  ;  and  by  its  effects  has  proved  itself  to  be — "  the 
power  of  God."  In  the  hands  of  its  first  agents,  it  "prevailed 
mightily,"   was  effectual  in  pulling  down  strong  holds,  and  sub- 

W 


162 

duin"  every  opposing  power.  Unlike  the  Jewish,  or  any  worldly 
system  of  religion,  which  derives  its  influence  from  external 
grandeur,  worldly  policy,  or  human  power,  it  appealed  to  the 
understanding  and  the  heart,  and,  by  the  sanctions  of  an  unseen 
world,  made  the  most  abandoned  sinners  to  tremble.  Alike 
adapted  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  it  proclaimed  peace,  and  forgiveness, 
and  eternal  life  to  all  ;  unlimited  in  its  operations,  and  possessing 
a  character  equally  suited  to  men  of  every  clime,  it  knew  no 
limits  of  space  but  that  of  "  every  nation  ;"  nor  time,  but  "  the 
end  of  the  world."  It  needed  no  eulogist,  it  required  not  the 
praise  of  man  ;  in  the  face  of  insidious  friends,  and  in  the  front 
of  hostile  fops,  opposed  by  the  combined  power  and  wealth  of  all 
the  great  and  influential  in  every  place,  it  not  only  set  at  defiance 
their  puny  efforts,  but  took  possession  of  the  hearts  of  myriads 
of  the  people.  Its  success  was  a  miracle  in  itself,  and  is  a  stand- 
ino-  proof  of  the  divinity  of  its  claims. 

If  such  was  its  native  greatness,  and  such  the  effects  it  pro- 
duced, how  is  it  that  now,  with  its  name  as  the  ba-is  of  all  our 
institutions,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  law  of  the  land,  as  renog- 
nized  in  all  our  social  intercourse,  as  patronised  by  the  highest 
authorities  of  the  state,  distributed  by  civil  sanctions  all  over  the 
country,  advocated  by  thousands  officially  devoted  to  its  interests, 
supported  by  the  nation's  treasury,  and  by  the  most  liberal  con- 
tributions, rendered  fascinating  by  splendid  temples  and  by  every 
sensible  attraction,— how  is  it,  that  with  all  these,  and  with  the 
civil  power  in  its  favour  for  fifteen  centuries,  our  religion  has 
lost  its  inherent  power  of  giving  life  to  the  world,  and  of  turning 
men  from  sin  and  Satan  unto  God  ?  How  is  it,  that  profanity, 
lewdness,  drunkenness,  extortion,  oppression,  hypocrisy,  and 
every  vice,  both  secret  and  open,  prevail  in  all  classes  of  society  ? 
Excepting  in  name,  that  which  now  intrudes  itself  upon  us  as 
Christianity  is  totally  unlike  the  system  whose  powerful  eflTects 
upon  the  world  was  compared  to  a  "  new  creation."  It  is  in  this 
change  alone  that  we  find  an  answer  to  the  above  enquiries.  It 
is  here  the  unbeliever  stumbles  ;  the  religion  of  the  age  condemns 
itself  by  its  own  enormities,  and,  taking  no  pains  to  enquire  fur- 
ther, he  considers  that  the  whole  is  a  "  cunningly  devised  fable." 

The  change  which  has  taken  place  must  be  obvipns  to  every 
one  who  will  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  principal  means  by 
which  the  present  system  is  supported,  and  from  which  it  de- 
rives all  its  anti-christian  influence.     Poivery   ivcalth,  and /ash~ 


163 

io7i,  have  moulded  religion  after  their  own  likeness,  and  arc  now 
propogating  a  spurious  article  under  a  genuine  name.  As  real  Chris- 
tianity was  always  repulsive  to  these  agencies,  nothing  but  a  deep 
corruption  in  its  vital  parts,  could  have  enlisted  them  into  its  ser- 
vice.   "  My  kingdom,"  said  the  Saviour,  **  is  not  of  this  world  ;" 
and  hence,  no  worldly  means  were  ever  admitted  as  its  auxiliaries, 
either  to  defend  or  to  extend  it.     The  great  object  being  to  pro- 
duce conviction  in  the  inind,  and  allegiance  in  the  heart,  the  means 
of  worldly  influence  were  useless ;   the  interests  of  this  kingdom 
require  not,  they  admit  not,  the   assistants  which  belong  to  an 
earthly  hierarchy.      For  what   purpose,  then,  all  this  power,  in- 
fluence, wealth,  and  fashion,  all  alike  unknown  to  primitive  Christi- 
anity ?     As  it  is  evidently  not  the  good  of  mankind,  or  the  spread 
of  real   religion,  other  unworthy   ends   must  be  had  in  view. 
There   was  nothing  in  the   religion  of  the  first  christians  upon 
which  these  influences   could  be  made  to  bear ;   as  well  might 
they  have  attempted  to  mix  iron  and  clay,  as  to  mix  up  the  influ- 
ence of  power  or  wealth  with  the  legitimate  objects  of  primitive 
Christianity.      All  the  facts  of  the  case  confirm  this.     Poverty, 
and  a  humble  station  in  life,   was  the  voluntary  choice  of  Jesus 
himself,  and  he  selected  for  his  assistants  men  of  the  same  condi- 
tion.     He  disdained   the   appearance  of  earthly  authority,  and, 
at  the  risk   of  bis  life,   taught  a  doctrine  which  was  universally 
hated  by  men  in  power.       His   apostles,   walking  in  the  same 
steps,  were  treated  as  the  *' ofFscouring  of  all  things."  They  were 
opposed  by  the  wealthy  and  the  great,  and  they,  as  faithfully,  op- 
posed the  reigning  vices  of  the  age.      All  that  was  influential  in 
the  world  was  arrayed  against  them,  and  they  never  thought  of 
modifying  their  course  so  as  to  make  their  teaching  more  palatable 
to  carnal  men.      If  their  religion  had  consisted  of  a  priestly  order 
with  costly  robes,  a  pompous  ritual  service,  performed   in  splen- 
did temples  made  with  hands,  such  as  is  now  palmed  upon  us  for 
Christianity,  money  would   certainly  have  been  (as  it  is  now)  the 
one   thing  needful.      If  it  had  consisted  in  uniting  nations  toge- 
ther, in  conformity  to  articles  of  faith  and  worship,  and  claiming 
a  domineering   ascendency  in  society,  earthly  power  would  have 
been   indispensible.     But,   aiming  only  to  affect  the  mind  by 
heavenly   principles,  and  to  change   the  conduct  by  divine  sanc- 
tions, and  seeking  no   ostensible  greatness  beyond  the  personal 
conviction  and  reformation  of  mankind,  not  Caesar  himself  could 
facilitate  its  progress. 


ir>4 

These  remarks  have  often  been   confirmed  by  writers  on  f  h«? 
evidences  of  Christianity,   but  I  am  astonished  that  they  have  not 
seen  that  their  own  arg^uments  are  a  cl*>ar  condemnation  of  llie 
means  now  made  use  of  for  propagating  religion.  If  the  christianitv 
of  the  New  Testament  claims  our  confidence,  on  account  of  the 
spirituality  of  the  means  by  which  it  was  established,  the  adop- 
tion of  opposite  means  now,  is  calculated  to  persuade  us  that  the 
cause,   though  the  same  in  name,  is  materially  different.      It  is  in 
the  nature  of  all  institutions,   connected  with  human  agency,  to 
decay,   and  the  lapse  of  eighteeii  centuries    has  produced  such 
changes   here,   as   few   are  sufficiently  unprejmliccd  to  concede. 
Poverty,    persecution,   and  reproach,    have   been   succeeded    by 
prosperity,   wealth,   and  honours, — labour   and  self-denial    have 
been  changed  for  ease  and  luxurious  indulgence,— personal  piety 
for  ritual  services,  and  uniform  obedience  for  the  religion  of  times 
and  places, — candour    and   sincerity  for    imposture,   fraud    and 
hypocrisy, — universal  love  for  avarice  and  selfishness, — 'and  sen- 
sual gratification  and  present  enjoyment,  for  that  lively    hope   of 
a  better  world,  which  supported  the  first  christians.      I,et  it  not 
be  said  that  any  of  these  changes  are  necessary  on  account  of  the 
cessation  of  miracles.     If  either  wealth,  or  power,  or  influence,  . 
could  be   considered  as  substitutes,  miracles  had  not  been  neces- 
sary,  for    these   could  have   been   commanded  ;   and  whilst  it  is 
quite  clear  that  the  conviction  of  the  unbeliever  was  the  effect  of 
the  one,  the  opposite  is  constantly  the  effect  of  the  other.     Chris- 
tianity is  not  of  yesterday,  its  authenticity  is  demonstrable,   and 
therefore  we  neither  require,  nor  can  have,  any  substitute  for  the 
primitive   miracles.     The  corruptions  I  speak  of  were  introduced 
gradually,  and   without   any  design  of  making  up  for  the  loss  of 
miracles  ;    a  rapacious  clergy,  with   selfish  and  worldly  designs, 
laboured  to  mould  religion  after  the  maxims  of  the  world,  through 
which  they  could  foresee  the  wealth  and  honours  of  their    order. 
Viewing  things  thus  in  their  consequences,  Nero,  the  cruel  tyrant, 
was  a  greater    friend  to  Christianity  than  Constantino  the  Great. 
He   persecuted  and  destroyed,  it  is  true,  but  the  seed  that  was 
left   was   pure  ;    but  Constantine   corrupted  the  whole  mass,  and 
centuries  of  superstition,  cruelty,  and  murder,  have  degraded  re- 
ligion, in  consequence  of  the  unholy  alliance  of  church  and  state, 
of  which  he  was  the  author. 

Though    other  powers  have  infused  the  leaven  of  corruption, 
and   though  the  people  have  blindly  yielded .  to  the  change,  the 


165 

ri.ERGY  have  been  the  principal  authors  of  all  the  evil  Theii* 
character,  in  th'^  aijg-reg'at^  is  sn  well  undersfootl,  that  it  is  un- 
necessary to  attempt  a  description.  The  great  evil  is  that,  in- 
stead of  being  actuated  by  a  simple  wish  to  pronioe  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  good  of  man,  and  nf  being  content  with,  and  rely- 
in'^  upon,  the  innate  power  an  I  principle  of  christ  anity  ils  if,  t.ey 
have  given  way  to  the  operation  of  selfish  motives,  and  have 
sought  alliances  with  the  idols  of  the  world,  in  order  to  gain  their 
unhallowed  ends.  Many  also  of  the  laity  (so  called)  either  with 
a  mistaken  view  of  making  religion  respectable,  or  from  the  pride 
of  party  competition,  which  at  present  run's  very  high,  or  some- 
times as  a  pecuniary  speculation,  have  appended  to  religion  so 
much  of  the  "glory  of  the  world,"  that  the  veriest  worldii:  g 
among  us  is  ready  to  do  it  homage.  Take  Christianity  as  it  is  iu 
the  New  Testament,  and  what  a  poor,  naked  creature  it  appear^, 
as  it  respects  this  world  ;  but  behold  it  in  the  nursery  of  kings, 
in  the  keeping  of  the  clergy,  and  amidst  the  caresses  of  its  rich 
friends,  and  it  rises  to  a  splendid,  powerful,  domineering  hierarchy, 
before  which  every  man  is  expected  to  fall  down  and  worship. 
The  spouse  of  Christ  has  commitied  fornication  with  the  kings  of 
the  earth, who,  by  adorning  her  with  meretricious  ornaments,  have 
tempted  the  amours  of  all  the  great  and  noble  of  the  laud.  But 
let  the  impartial  reader  take  the  New  Testament  in  his  hand,  and 
study  the  genius  of  the  system  devoloped  there,  then  turn  to  the 
popular  establishments  around  liim,  and  if  he  do  not  discover — in 
the  appointment  of  an  earthly  head — the  ruling  of  churches  by  aits 
of  parliament — the  wealth,  titles,  and  honours  of  the  clergy, — the 
order  of  bishops,  and  their  holy  courts — tlie  s;)lend>;ur  of  churches 
and  chapels — the  pompuus  celebration  of  ceremonies — and  the 
corapulsatory  demands  of  large  suras  of  money  for  religion, — if 
he  do  not  discover  in  these  a  mass  of  corruption  unknown  to  the 
apostles,  and  inimical  to  the  existence  of  pure  Christianity,  1  will 
bear  the  b!ame  of  a  caluniniat'^r  for  ever. 

Passing  from  general  observations, .  I  propose  noticing,  the 
difference  between  the  primitive  and  modern  teachers,  in 
reference  to  their  qualiji  cat  ions — employment — and  remune- 
ration. I  fix  on  these  particulars,  because  I  find  they 
stand  connected  with  almost  every  other  objectionable  mat- 
ter ;  and  that,  if  these  were  reformed,  every  other  improvement 
would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course.  Nine-tenths  of  the  squab- 
bles in  every  denomination,  either  originate  with  the  prcacliLrs, 


IGG 

or  have  some  connection  with  them.     Get  a  primitive  "  miiiistiy" 
and  every  other  evil  will  be  good  to  manage. 

Quatljicatioiis. — No  employer    would    tliink    of  engaging   a 
servant    before    he    had  first   satisfied    himself  as  to  his  fitness. 
That  such  is  not  the  case  in  reference  to  religious  teachers  it  were 
useless  to   affirm.     If,  indeed,  their   work   principally   consists 
in  reading   over    ready-made  prayers,  or  pronouncing  sermons 
from  the  pulpit,  some  of  them  may   lay  a  claim  to  a  fitness  for 
office  ;  but  if  we  derive  our  views  of  the  work  of  a  teacher  either 
from  scriptural   example,   or  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,   we 
shall  come  to  a  different  conclusion.     In  the  first  place,  the  mo- 
tives of  a  teacher  should    be  purely  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  ; 
in   the  next   place,   he  should   reject  all  formality  and  will  wor- 
ship, and,    in   zeal  for  the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom,  be  de- 
termined to  find  his  way  to  sinners  of  every  class,  and  with  ear- 
nestness and  sincerity,  day  and  night,  to  call  them  to  repentance. 
Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  men  of  this  character  are  to  spring  from 
noble  families  ;  or  that  those  who  select  "  the  Church"  for  their 
sons,  have  any  such  view  of  the  work  of  christian  pastors  }     Is  it 
not  on  these  occasions,  purely  a  question  of  pecuniary  calculation  ? 
And  is  this  not  the  sim|>Ie  reason  why  a  black  gown  is  preferred 
to  a  red  jacket  .*      If  they  had   read    the  scriptures  attentively, 
and  had  learned  that,  so  far  from  teaching  being  a  "  learned  pro- 
fession,"   persons    thus   engaged   are  compared    to    "  soldiers- 
shepherds — ploughers — sowers — labourers — and  husband-men." 
the  idea   of  putting  fowai'd  Master  John  for   such  a  thankless 
drudgery,  would  vanish  into  wind.     "  Livings''  are  the  things  in 
request ;  these  secured,  the  dullest  collegian  is  qualified  to  enjoy 
them.      Indeed,   here  is   the  prevailing  mistake  ;  we  constantly 
blame   the  clergy   for   not  doing  their  duty,  when,  in  fact,  they 
cannot  ^0  it.     Some  of  them  may  be  able  to  expatiate  upon  the 
doctrines   of  ihe  church,  and  most  of  them  to  read  over  the  regu- 
lar services  appointed,  but  to  labour   after  the  primitive   model, 
they  are  totally  unqualified.      Is  it  in  the  nature   of  things,  that 
the  sons  of  gentlemen  who  pass  their  days  in  luxury  and  excess, 
are  likely   to   go  about  teaching  the  people  self-denial  and  an 
abandonment  of  the  world  } 

The  dissenting  teachers  are  generally  chosen  from  their  so- 
cieties, without  much  reference  to  birth  or  wealth  ;  and  being,  for 
the  most  part,  persons  of  piety,  and  of  observed  usefulness,  stand 
well,  in  the  first  instance,  as  to  qualifications ;  and,  if  they  were 


167 

Continued  in  their  own  spheres,  many  of  them  would  be  burning' 
and  shining  lights  ;  but  unfortunately  (and  I  speak  it  as  the  result 
of  twenty  years'  close  observatioti)  they  are  removed  to  the  acade- 
mies, where,  as  to  plain,  useful,  zealous,  disinterested  labourers, 
they  are  entirely  spoiled.  The  old  ministers  are  nearly  all  gone, 
and  I  leave  it  to  every  plain  man  among  the  dissenters  to  say, 
whether,  with  all  the  expence  of  accomplishing  these  academics, 
instead  of  any  symptons  of  increased  usefulness,  they  are  not 
often  disgusted  with  the  fulsome  pride  and  vanity  of  these  young 
divines.  Plain  John  soon  becomes — The  Reverend,-~'h\s  plain 
dress  and  manners  are  changed  for  the  fopperies  of  fashion, — the 
man  who  delighted  to  teach  in  a  cellar  becomes  ambitious  of  be- 
ing a  pulpit  luminary, — his  disinterested  feelings  give  way  to  the 
sound  of  a  nice  round  salary  and  a  comfortable  house,— the  lad 
that  left  his  father's  house  with  all  the  rusticity  of  a  country  life, 
returns  metamorphosed  into  an  exquisite  gentleman,  and,  in  a  few 
years,  his  very  shadow  is  picked  up,  to  grace  the  front  of  "  The 
Evangelical."  For  fashionable  religion  this  is  indispensible,  but 
for  doing  real  and  extensive  good  to  the  souls  of  men,  I  ret^-ard  it 
as  the  most  wwqualifying  process  that  could  be  attempted.  Learn- 
ing, it  will  be  said,  is  absolutely  requisite.  If  by  learning  is 
meant  the  study  of  Horace  and  Homer,  Euclid  and  Bonnycastle, 
I  beg  to  dissent;  but  if  it  be  meant  that  a  man  should  be  able  to 
speak  sensibly  and  forcibly  to  his  fellow  sinners  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, I  produce  a  host  who  never  studied  beneath  the  academic 
bower.  Natural  talents  are  not  scarce,  and,  as  they  are  greatlv 
improved  by  exercise,  it  often  strikes  me,  that  if  the  way  were 
sufficiently  open,  speakers  would  emanate  from  most  of  our 
congregations.  Talents  lie  dormant,  disinterested  zeal  is  not 
encouraged ;  and,  while  preaching  is  a  trade,  and  going 
to  an  academy  an  indispensible  apprenticeship,  the  present 
bands  will  take  care  to  prevent  too  great  a  supply  in  the  market. 
Some  may  be  offended  at  this  language,  but  1  declare  plainly, 
that  in  my  opinion,  it  is  the  system  of  hirelingism,  that  prevenfs 
the  world  from  enjoying  the  benefit  of  the  most  Hiseful  talents, 
possessed  by  individuals  both  in  and  out  of  the  establishment. 
The  system  of  local  preaching  among  the  Methodists,  approaches 
to  an  exception,  and  I  hope  they  will  never  suffer  any  encroach- 
ment upon  this  privilpgp.  But  why  reason  while  so  many  /ac/* 
before  us  proclaim  the  unfitness  of  our  present  teachers  ?  The 
ascendency  of  vice,  the  unchecked  wickedness,  the  latent  and 


168 

oprn  Irrfidelity  of  the  people,  prove,  not  merely  that  our   preser 
tearhors  neglect  their  duty,  but  that  they  are  not  qualijied  to  per- 
form it.       It  is  not  from  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  or  from  the  dis 
senting'  arademies,  that  we  are  to  expect  men  likely  to  reform  thel 
world.     These  may  do  to  preside  over  respectable  congregations,! 
or  to  move  and  second  resolutions  at  public  meetings,  but  they  are 
not  the  men  to  send  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  to  plough  up 
the  fallow   ground.       Most  of  our  benevolent  and  rehgious  insti- 
tutions have  arisen  entirely  from  the  incompetency  of  the  clergy, 
and  are  intended  to  do  that  which  they  have  left  undone.      Thus, 
many   zealous   laymen,    have  not  only   to   pay  the  minister,  but 
actually  to  assist  in  doing  his  work  besides.     So  convinced  am 
I  of  the  want  of  proper  qualifications  on  the  part  of  our  ministers, 
that  I  think  they  are  objects  of  pity  rather  than  censure,  and  that 
in  future,  instead  of  finding  fault  with  them,  1  shall  blame  thesi/s^ 
tern  that  brings  them  into  office.      This  distinction  I  take  to  be 
important  ;  for  we  can  scarcely  read  a  newspaper,  or  get  into  any 
sort  of  company,  but,   without    investigating  the  cause,    we   find 
the  clergy  censured  for  neglect  of  duty.     As  well  might    we   ex- 
pect a  corporation  to  be  honest  to  the  public,  or  the  members  of 
it  to    patronize  our  temperance  societies,  as  the  present  class  of 
religious  teachers  to  engage  to  do  the  work  of  the  primitive  minis- 
ters.    This  will  be   still  more  obvious  if  we  consider  what  should, 
constitute  their 

Emp/oymiH, — Extensively  as  the  bible  has  been  circulated, 
it  is  astonishing  how  inattentive  most  readers  are  as  to  matters  of 
fact.  Numbers  believe  at  this  moment,  that  what  takes  place  in 
our  churches  and  chapels  on  a  Sunday,  is  just  what  was  practised 
in  the  primitive  meetings ;  hence  their  present  views  of  the 
duties  of  teachers,  and  hence  their  slowness  to  detect  the  imposi- 
tions which  are  constantly  palmed  upon  them.  What  constituted 
the  work  of  the  primitive  teachers  ?  We  may  take  a  two-fold 
view  of  if,  corresponding  to -the  characters  to  be  taught.  The  first 
part  consisted  in  teaching  "  the  nations, — the  world, — and  every 
creature,"  as  it  is  expressed  in  our  Lord's  commission  ; — the 
second,  in  instructing,  admonishing,  and  exhorting  the  societies 
which  were  formed  in  different  places.  Of  the  first  class,  Jesus 
himself  was  the  example,  and  the  work  was  carried  on  by  the 
twelve  apostles,  and  those  who  were  chosen  in  different  places  to 
assist  them.  These,  properly  s'jeaking,  were  missionaries.  They 
wciit  from  place  lo  place,  from  city  to  ciiy,  and  wherever  they  found 


169 

jnen  ignorant  and  depraved,  there  was  tlieir  work  pointed  out. 
Time  and  place  made  no  difference,— in  tlie   synagogues,  by 
the  sea  side,  on  a  mountain,  in  a  ship,  at  a  publican's  table, 
in  the  temple,  on  Mars  Hill,  by  the  way  side,  or  in  the  market 
place,  they  were  equally  ready  to   instruct  the  people.      Re- 
pentance towards  God,   and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  were  what  they  shewed  and  taught  publicly,   and  from 
houHe  to  house,  both  to  Jews  and  Greeks.     (Acts  XX,  20,  21.) 
Had  I  room,  I  could  fill  pages  with  quotations  of  the  apostolic 
labours  in  this  respect.      Paul  says,    "  Having  obtained  help 
of  God,  I  continue  unto  this  day,  witnessing  both  to  smull  and 
great,  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  that  he  should  be  the  first 
to  rise  from  the  dead. — I  shewed,  first  to  them  at  Damascusy 
tlien  at  Jerusalem,  and  throvghont  all  the  coasts  of  Jiidea,  and 
then  to  the  gentiles,  that  men  should  repent  and  return  to  God, 
and  do  works  meet  for  repentance."      (Acts  XXVI,  20 — 23.) 
Ever  bearing  in  mind  that  their  commission  was  "Go,'^  they 
did   not  fix  upon  a  place  and  wait,  if  peradventure  the  people 
would  come  and  hear  them,  but  they  went  among  tliem,  and 
such  were  their  labours,  and  such  was  the  agitation  they  pro- 
duced,  that  when   they  entered   certain  places,  it  was  said 
"  they  that  have  turned  tlie  world  upside  down  are  come  hither 
also."     Would  to  God  that  we  had  a  few  such  men  in  Britain, 
and  that,  in  this  respect,  our  world  was   also   turned  upside 
down  I     The  effect  was,  tha^t  "  great  multitudes  believed  and 
tiu-ned  to  the  Lord."     These  had  to  be  instructed  in  the  way 
of  God  more  perfectly,  and  to  be  taught  all  things  whatsoever 
Christ  had  commanded,  and  this  is  the  second  part.     For  this 
purpose,  the  apostles  appointed  from  among  the  societies,  "faith- 
ful men  who  should  be  able  to  teach  others  also."     These  were 
appointed  to  "  watch  for  their  souls  as  those  who  should  give 
account,  and  to  take  the  charge  of  the  flock,  not  for  filthy  lu- 
cre's sake,  but  of  a  ready  mind."     There  was  a  nmnber  of  these 
teachers  to   every  congregation,   and  though  they  were  plain 
men,  and  distinguished  only  from  their  brethren  by  tlieir  age, 
experience,  and  ztal,  and  iliovgiiiliey  worked  with  their  own 
hands  for  their   support,   tliey  are  the  persons  constantly  re- 
cognised by  the  name  of  «  bishops,"  (or  overseers.)     What  a 
mighty    contrast    betwixt    these    and  a   mitred  lord,    lawn 
skeves,   a  carriage  and  four,  and  five  fat  livings  !      Diocesan 

X 


17^ 

Tbisliopricks  were  not  then  invented ;  and  such  is  the  perv'ei'- 
sion  of  Christianity,  that  now  we  have  a  number  of  churches 
to  one  bishop,  whilst  the  primitive  christians  had  a  number  of 
bishopi  to  one  church  !  The  qualifications  and  duties  of  theser 
worthy  characters  are  pointed  out  in  1st  Tim.  Ill,  1 — 7.  Tit. 
Ij  5 — 9.Acts  XX,  17 — 35,  and  oug-ht  to  be  consulted  by  every 
person  who  wishes  to  leaf  ni  what  constitute  tlie  duties  of  christian 
teachers.  These  societies  seem  to  have  had  no  idea  of  erect- 
ing temples,  or  of  establishing  a  ritual  service.  Nothing  is 
said  about  building  "  places  of  worship,"  nor  is  it  ever  hinted 
that  it  was  a  part  of  their  "  manifold  sufferings"  that  they  were 
not  allowed  to  do  so.  As  to  teaching  the  world,  they  went 
and  sought  them  out ;  and,  as  it  respected  their  own  edification, 
they  met  as  friends  in  their  own  houses,  or  in  upper  rooms, 
vi'ithout  any  ostentation,  and  taught  and  admonished,  each 
other  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity.  These  were  the  gold- 
en days,  and  my  heart  sickens  when  I  turn  to  the  contrast  in 
the  nineteenth  centui*y.  I  will  not  weary  the  reader^ss  patience 
with  tracing  the  employment  of  our  "bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons  ;"  for  this  would  be  to  recite  a  list  of  doings,  which 
are  either  sinful  in  themselves,  or  at  least  tend  to  neutralize 
the  real  object  of  the  christian  ministry.  If  the. magnanimous 
Paul  were  permitted  to  visit  this  countty,  as  at  Athens,  liis  spi- 
rit would  be  stirred  in  him  to  see  the  people  and  the  clergy 
given  up  to  the  idolatry  of  the  wdrld. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  part,  without  entering  my  decided 
protest  against  the  universal  mode  of  teaching'  by  sermons. 
No  plan  ever  tended  more  to  pervert  the  true  meaning  of  the 
scriptures,  to  keep  the  people  in  ignorance,  or  to  encourage  the 
idleness  of  teachers.  It  is  without  any  analogy,  in  the  whole 
course  of  communicating  knowledge,  upon  any  subject  what- 
ever. It  is  condemned  by  every  page  of  the  evangelists  and 
the  acts  of  the  apostles.  Paul  never  taught  by  sermons,  nor 
do  I  think  he  was  capable  of  such  a  drivelling  method.  Though 
we  hear  of  "  Christ's  setmon  on  the  Mount,"  yet,  if  we  examine 
this  discourse,  it  was  any  thing  but  a  sermon.  Rational  teach- 
ing consists  in  ascertaining  what  the  people  are  ignorant  of, 
and,  v.ith  plainness  and  sincerity,  communicating  such  infor- 
mation as  they  need,  without  any  circuitious  rout  of  imparting 
knowledge  ;  and  not  in  taking  a  detached  sentence,  or  part  of 


171 

a  sentence,  and  divicliug-  and  subdividing-,  till  the  word?  are 
exhausted,  a  great  part  of  which  are  frequently  strained  be- 
yond the  real  meaning  and  desig-n  of  the  writer.  Indeed,  the 
whole  is  looked  upon  rather  as  an  effort  o{ ability  than  as  in- 
tended to  convey  seasonable  advice.  It  is  the  man's  delivery  that 
is  admired,  and  it  is  for  this  he  is  paid  ;  as  for  his  sermons,  if 
they  should  g:et  to  a  book  stall,  their  true  value  is  ascertained  ; 
they  are  the  last  thing  a  person  would  think  of  purchasing^. 
Any  man,  if  he  can  keep  his  mouth  open,  may  preach  a  ser- 
mon ;  for,  if  he  has  not  sufficiently  studied  "  the  rules  for  the 
composition  of  a  sermon,"  he  can  supply  himself  with  volumes 
of  "skeletons  ;''  and,  for  the  "  divines  of  the.church  of  Eng- 
land," there  are  plenty  full  grown;  not  only  with  bones  and 
sinev/s,  but  covered  with  flesh  and  skin,  and  struck  off  ii> 
'•'lithography,"  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  people. 
Twenty  of  these  "  exact  imitations"  can  be  had  for  thirty 
shillings.  I  am  astonished  that  our  dissenting  ministers  are 
not  ashaijied  of  spending  so  much  time  in  studying  sermons, 
and  preaching  theni  to  sleepy  congregations,  instead  of  going 
about  talking  to  the  people  plainly ,  telling  them  'of  their  sins, 
and  warning  them  to  repent.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  there 
are  many  exceptions,  but  these  persons,  in  their  zeal  for  the 
good  of  their  hearers,  are  apt  to  ramble  from  their  texts,  and 
are  not  considered  gq.od  preachers. 

I  can  but  briefly  notice  a  few  acoompanying  circumHancea, 
connected  with  teaching  the  people.  In  every  sense,  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ  was  opposed  to  ceremony ^  but  it  was  soon  cor- 
rupted, and  a  distinction  of  times,  and  places,  and  ritual  per 
formances,  soon  became  prominent.  Though  the  church  of 
England  parried  off  a  little  from  the  catholic  stock,  and  though 
dissenters  have  cast  away  a  much  larger  portion,  yet  we  are 
still  fond  of  pomp  and  ceremony  ;  the  men  of  this  generation 
still  love  to  be  priests,  and  to  magnify  their  office  by  some 
exclusive  service.  They  carry  a  peculiar  air,  are  solemnly 
ordained  as  a  seperate  order  from  the  people,  have  a  special 
place  to  administer  in,  are  clothed  with  sacerdotal  attire, 
arid  always  accompany  their  teaching  with  a  round  of 
devotional  exercises.  They  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  that 
plain,  homely,  every-day,  every -place  instruction,  which  we  sp 
much  need  ;  but  every  piece  of  instruction  must  be  a  aermon^ 


172 

delivered  at  a  fixed  time,  and  accompanied  by  a  certain  nmn- 
ber  of  hymns  and  prayers.  The  consequence  is,  that  instead 
of  getting- access  to  thousands,  they  have  to  speak  to  as  many 
dozens ;  instead  of  meeting  with  fresh  hearers  in  every  pla<*e, 
the|same  persons  come  and  sit  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel, 
till,  to  use  their  own  phrase,  they  are  *<  gospel  hardened." 
Give  me  the  man,  whose  heart  is  warm  ;  whose  soul  is  pure ; 
whose  motives  have  never  been  corrupted  by  the  love  of  lucre; 
whose  ardour  was  never  damped  with  the  chilling  blasts  of 
academic  learning  ;  who,  ignorant  of  the  petty  arts  of  embel- 
lishing truth,  and  regardless  of  his  own  ease  or  gain,  studies 
the  condition  of  man,  beholds  his  misery  and  his  woe,  and 
makes  every  sacrifice  for  his  welfare  ;  rustic  in  his  habits,  and 
clad  in  liis  own  apparel,  visits  every  abode  of  vice  and  wicked- 
neBs  ;  and,  whether  to  two  or  three,  or  to  hundreds  or  thou- 
sands, unceasingly  devotes  his  time  and  his  strength  in  pro- 
moting  the  happiness  and  salvation  of  mankind  I 

Remuneration. — If  a  man  is  justified  in  becoming  a  minis- 
ter from  the  same  motives  which  lead  others  to  beconf>e  doc- 
tors or  lawyers,  I  cannot  blame  any  of  those  who,  by  studious 
preparation,  by  the  influence  of  friends,  by  an  exhibition  of 
their  powers,  by  changing  stations  and  listening  to  fresh 
**  calls,"  make  the  very  best  of  their  speculation.  If  a  "  preach- 
ed gospel"  is  to  be  soldj  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  de- 
serves so  high  a  price,  and  if  a  man  is  at  liberty  to  bargain  for 
a  hundred  a  year,  I  know  of  no  principle  which  forbids  him  to 
tak.efice.  indeed,  it  is  the  supposed  possession  of  this  invalu- 
able trenBure,  that  has  given  priests,  in  all  ages,  such  an  ascend- 
ency over  both  the  minds  and  the  pockets  of  the  people  ;  for, 
rather  than  be  deprived  of  what  is  so  consoling  both  in  life 
and  death,  they  would  submit  to  receive  it  upon  any  terms  the 
priests  might  propose.  Having  extended  this  article  already 
beyond  what  I  intended  it,  I  miiist  be  excused  in  this  place 
from  attempting  to  dive  into  the  unfathomable  abyss  of  church 
livings  and  church  property  ;  a  task  not  only  requiring  Her- 
culeian  strength,  but  a  greater  share  of  patience  than  Ipretend 
to  possess.  I  shall  content  myself,  therefore,  with  attempting 
to  trace  out  the  primitive  example,  contrasting  it  occasionally 
with  matters  as  they  now  stand. 

To  come  to  any  satisfactory  vieiw  upon  this  point,  we  must 


I 


p 

^■^ear  1 


173 


ear  in  mind  the  sort  of  work  which  the  first  christians  had  to 
perform,  and  what  it  was,  on  account  of  which  they  may  ap- 
pear to  have  been  paid.      We  find  that  the  primitive  teachers 
are  constantly  called  labourers.     It  appears  to  me  that  we  are 
under  a  great  mistake  as  to  what  the  scriptures  call  labour. 
We  call  composing  and  preaching  sermons,  lalxtur  ;    but  it  is 
quite    clear  that   this  was  applied,  not  to   any  process    of 
speaking,  but  principally  to  the  toil  and  hardships  which  ac- 
companied their  travelling  from  place  to  place.     To  "preach"" 
we  are  assured  by  the  best  critics,*  means  primerly  to  "pro- 
claim" like  a  crier,  and  therefore  if  we  would  learn  what  that 
labour  is  which  is  entitled  to  its  hire,  we  are  not  to  iix  upon 
one  of  our  ministers,  pronouncing  a  neat,  compact  discourse 
from  a  pulpit,  but  upon  the  apostles,  travelling  from  place  to 
place,  from  city  to  city,  and  I  may  venture  to  say,  from  street 
to  street,  proclaiming  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand."     (Mat.  X,  7 — 14.)     How  words  change  their  ap- 
plications !     That  which  was  once  applied  to  the  proclamation 
of  a  single  fact,  is  now  confined  to  the  delivery  of  an  expository 
discourse  from  the  pulpit.      In  that  noted  passage,  1st  Corin. 
IX,  where  it  is  said,  "  those  who  preacli  the  gospel  should 
live  of  the  gospel,"  it  is  evident  that  what  is  meant  by  preach- 
ing is  a  course  of  toil  and  labour  unknown  to  modern  apostles. 
Who  or  what  are  these  teachers  compared  to  ?    to  gentlemen, 
counsellors,    magistrates,    esquires,  or  lords  of  parliament  ? 
No,  no  ;    but  to  soldiers,  tnne -dressers,  shepherds,  plovghers, 
thrashers  ; — nay,  to  *'  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn ;"  and 
I  suppose  it  will  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  say,  that  those  who 
were  thus  employed  should  "live"  and  not  die.     I  shall  be  the 
last  man  that  will  ever  grudge  our  preachers  a  living,   on 
these  terms.     No  man  in  the  apostolic  days,  I  believe,  ever 
receiv^ed  any  thing  merely  on  account  of  his  office,  talents,  or 
wisdom,  but  exclusively  on  account   of  that   toil  and  labour 
which  were  requisite  to  plant  the  gospel  in  every  nation  under 
heaven. 

But  I  must  remark,  tliat  what  thej-  received  was  rather 
St,  mxaiier  oi  necessity,  than  of  choice.  Paul  himself  assures  us 
in  this  same  chapter,  "  that  he  had  used  none  of  these  tilings — 

■ _ _ia>. 

♦  See  Campbell's  Preliminary  Dissertation*. 


174 

Uiathe  had  been  Jtermined  "  to  preach  the  gospel  witholtt 
CHARGE  ;"  and  in  other  places  he  affirms,  "that  he  had  preach- 
ed unto  them  the  gospel  of  God  freely  ;"" — "  for,  labouring 
nio"ht  and  day,'*  says  he,  "  because  we  would  not  be  chargeahle 
unto  any  of  you,  we  preached  unto  yon  the  gospel  of  God.'* 
(2nd  Cor.  XI,  7— 9.— 1st  Thes.  II,  9.)  In  his  admirable 
farewell  address  to  the  bishops  of  Ephesus,  he  says,  "  I  have 
coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel;  yea,  ye  youi'selvea 
know  that  THESE  hx^^ds  have  ministered  nnio  my  necessities, 
and  to  tliem  that  were  with  me.  I  have  shewed  you  all  things, 
how  that  80  labouring,  ye  (bishops !)  ought  to  aiipport  the 
weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  J  esus,  (and  not  to 
apply  them  to  others,  instead  of  yourselves,)  that  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  (Acts,  XX.)  These  passa* 
ges  neither  require  note  or  comment,  they  develope  the  noble 
spirit  of  an  apostle,  and  condemn  the  worldly,  mercenary,  axar 
ricious  conduct  of  tliat  order  which  has  long  trampled  the  es- 
sence of  religion  beneath  its  feet.  When  Paul  was  settled  at  a 
place,  as  at  Corinth,  (Acts  XVIII.  1--3,)  and  had  opportunities 
for  working  at  his  business,  he  did  so ;  on  other  occasions, 
when  in  "  necessity"  or  "  want,''  he  received  q,ssistance.  Just 
upon  the  same  principle,  the  disciples  who  were  sent  through 
all  the  cities  of  Israel,  were  told  "  tliat  into  whatsoever  house 
or  city  they  entered,  and  were  well  received,  they  were  to  re- 
maia,  eating  and  drinking  such  things  as  were  set  before 
them,  for  the  labourer  was  worthy  of  his  hire."  To  such  a 
principle  of  remuneration,  I  repeat,  every  good  man  will  give 
his  heart}'  consent.  But  here  let  me  remark,  there  were  no 
ready-made  "  livings,"  either  large  or  small;  no  "salaries"  of 
so  much  a  year;  no  "calls"  with  the  amount  attached  to 
them  ;  no  "  bonds"  for  the  payment  in  full;  no  uneasiness  be- 
twixt minister  and  people  on  money  matters  ;  no  pretexts  of 
"  increased  usefulness"  to  get  to  a  better  place  !  I  maintain, 
then,  first,  that  the  only  support  received  by  the  first  teachers 
was  as  a  matter  of  necessity  ;  secondly,  that  it  was  casual ; 
and  thirdly,  it  was  voluntary.  Nothing  that  could  by  possi- 
bility approach  to  compulsion  was  allowed.  When  the  apos- 
tles required  assistance,  their  wants  were  readily  supplied  by 
t lie  churches ;  (Philipp.  IV,  10 — 19)  but  from  the  people 
among  whom   there  was  the  least  murmerjng  or  suspicion. 


175 

ley  would  receive  no  help,  even  though  they  were  labouring  for 
them.  (2nd  Cor.  XT,  7 — 10.)  All  was  voluntary,  and  such 
was  the  trifling- amount  required  to  assist  these  worthy  men  (for  the 
tree  of  life  did  not  then  grow  in  a  silvery  soil,  and  the  "want 
of  funds,"  were  terms  not  known,)  that  the  noble  example  of  re 
Ueving  the  poor  meets  us  in  every  part  of  the  New  Testament* 
I  hare  made  diligent  search,  and  1  can  find  no  other  object  fof 
which  collections  were  made  by  the  first  christians.  The  auda- 
cious libels  upon  Christianity,  and  the  abominable  impositions 
upon  the  people,  under  the  heads  of  tithes,  dues,  and  church'taxes^ 
are  such  as  surely  never  can  continue  long.  From  no  party 
ought  ministers  to  expect  support,  unless  their  labours  be  sotli  as 
to  merit  it  voluntarily  at  the  hands  of  the  people.  My  conclusion 
under  this  head  is  tbis,  that  church  and  chaptl  exeixises  performecl 
on  the  sabbath,  ought  not  to  be  paid  for  ;  but  if  a  congregation, 
in  addition  to  their  numerous  and  gratuitous  instructors,  (whom 
they  ought  to  have  from  their  own  body)  think  proper  to  encou« 
rage  a  person  or  persons  (for  I  generally  find  two  together)  to 
employ  their  whole  time,  in  teacliing  and  preaching,  and  labouring 
for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  society,  either  in  town  or  country, 
they  ought  to  make  up  any  deficiency  in  the  support^  which  such 
individuals  may  receive  from  those  amongst  whom  they  labour* 
And  I  am  sure,  if  they  were  as  faithful  and  a  s  laborious  as  they 
ought  to  be,  such  would  be  the  readiness  of  people  to  assist  them, 
that  neither  taxing  seats,  nor  any  other  similar  measure,  would 
ever  be  requisite.  The  fact  is,  that  corrupt  as  we  are,  where  a 
man  is  found  discharging  honestly  and  zealously  the  real  duties 
of  a  servant  of  Christ,  the  greatest  danger  is,  (and  all  history  con- 
firms the  fact)  that  he  will  be  corrupted  by  the  excessive  kind- 
ness of  those  who  benefit  by  his  labours.  The  best  "  bond"  is 
the  peoples'  affections ;  and  the  only  way  to  secure  it  is  the  coc- 
scienciuus  discharge  of  those  duties,  the  effects  of  which  are  seea 
in  the  hioral  and  religious  improvement  of  society. 

In  conclusion,  I  observe,  that  at  present  religion  is  nearly  all 
outside  work,— a  system  oi  uuiomotonism  which  unites  both  in 
teacher  and  people,  a.  form  of  godliness  with  a  love  of  the  world. 
Power  may  invent  and  pati-onize  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  fill 
the  country  with  the  externals  of  devotion ;  wealth  may  give 
them  an  imposing  and  a  deceitful  appearance,  whilst  the  essence 
of  religion, — piety  and  devotedness  to  God,  charity  and  benevo- 
lence I  j  man,  and  a  strict   atloution   to  all  the  duties  <>f  lift?— -r* 


17G 

rarely  to  be  found.  And,  while  religion  is  made  the  medium  o/S 
wealth  to  the  clergy,  these  effects  are  sure  to  follow.  Corrup- 
tion acts  reciprocally  ;  the  church  and  the  world  keep  each  other 
in  countenance  ;  the  moral  hemisphere  is  terribly  over-clouded, 
and,  until  heaven  be  pleased  to  develope  the  genius  of  a  purer 
age,  men  will  continue  to  "love  darkness  rather  than  light,  be- 
cause their  deeds  are  evil."  J.  L. 


VARIETIES. 

Scales  for  the  Poor. — Contracted  as  are  the  means  of  the 
poor,  they  are  often  still  more  reduced  by  the  deceptions  which 
are  practised  upon  them.  They  are  often  gulled  by  cheap 
articles,  which,  considering  their  inferior  qualities,  are  really 
dearer  than  those  which  are  purchased  for  something  more  in 
price.  In  weight  also,  many  impositions  are  practised  ;  for,  in 
some  articles,  a  half-penny  less  in  price  is  made  up  by  an  ounce 
less  in  weight.  Bags  of  coals,  which  are  called  a  hundred 
weight,  I  know,  are  frequently  not  more  than  ninety  |)ouods.  Now, 
how  are  the  poor  to  defend  themselves  ?  They  cannot  afford  to 
keep  scales  to  weigh  every  article  they  buy.  To  remedy  thi$ 
evil,  persons  have  been  appointed  as  juries  to  inspect  weights  and 
measures.  This  is  but  a  partial  check,  and  is  easily  eluded. 
The  only  permanent  cure  for  short  weights  would  be  to  afford 
every  person  a  convenient  opportunity  of  weighing  every  article 
he  purchases.  This  might  be  effected  by  establishing  a  set  of 
scales  in  tivo  or  three  different  parts  of  a  town,  for  the  free  use 
of  the  people.  Something  more  than  the  expenses  of  the  present 
juries  would  be  sufficient,  and  no  small  sum,  defrayed  by  the 
county  rate,  could  be  better  applied. — We  want  a  reformed 
magistracy  as  well  as  a  reformed  parliament ;  and  then  we  might 
hope  that  regulations  like  this  would  sometimes  get  beyond  the 
existence  of  mere  suggestion?. 

Churching  of  Women. — Among  the  remnants  of  superstition 
is  the  notion  that  women,  after  child-bed,  ought  not  to  be  seen 
abroad  till  they  are  churched.  By  this  foolish  idea,  delicate  fe- 
males make  a  sudden  change  of  a  u-arm  room  for  a  cold  church, 
and  numerous  are  the  instances  of  its  pernicious  effects.  Would 
not  a  thanksgiving  in  the  clo-set  be  as  acceptable  as  in  the  church? 
But  if  it  be  desirable  to  make  a  public    acknowledgm<'nt,   instead 


177 

of  on  a  Friday,  when  there  is  no  congregation,  why  not  defer  it 
till  a  more  distant  day,  when  the  people  would  be  assembled, 
and  when  the  women  would  be  quite  stout  ? 

Inhumunity  of  the  Poor  Laws. —  An  instance  of  this  lately 
occurred  ;  the  particulars  are  as  follows  : — A  miserable  female, 
in  an  advanced  state  of  pregnancy,  took,  up  her  lodgings  at  a 
lodging  house  in  this  town.  One  pf  the  overseers  gave  strict 
orders  that  she  should  be  sent  away,  lest  the  child  should  be  born 
and  belong  to  the  town.  Some  delay  occurred  ;  she  was  delivered 
in  the  place,  and  but  for  the  prompt  attention  of  a  female  neigh- 
bour, she  ^'ould  have  been  totally  without  assistance,  and  without 
any  bed  to  lie  upon.  And  though  the  owuer  of  the  house  was 
ejjtreated  to  give  her  a  Jodging,  lest  the  overseers  should  get  to 
know,  the  miserable  woman  was  turned  out  the  sauie  night  —7 
A  proof  of  the  working  of  the  abominable  settlement  law. 

C/iester  Races. — Though  it  is  about  twenty  years  since  I  was 
at  a  race,    being  detained  at  Chester  on   thursday,  the  5th  ult., 
and  the  race  course  adjoining  the  city  walls,  as  I  had  frequently 
spoken   against  this  sport,   I  embraced  the  opportunity  of  taking 
a  full  view  of  the  whole  afiair.    And  though  1  am  willing  to  allow 
that  persons   may  go  and  return  without  any  bad  motives,  yet, 
reviewed  altogether  as  to  their  effects  upon  society,   vice   and 
misery  are  the  inevitable  effects  of  the  races.     Unfortunately,^ 
where  wealth  is  bestowed,  there  is   generally  but  little  intellect, 
and  often  less  moral  principle.      What  answer  will  our  sporting 
gentlemen  be  able  to  give  at  the  last  day,  for  lavishly  squander- 
ing away  their  property  in  maintaining  blood  horses,  aad  uphold- 
ing a  system  of  gaming  and  debauchery  ?     Upon  the  leading  men, 
must  fall,  in  the  first  place,  the  charge  of  this  guilt.     There  ii  no 
barm,  1  readily  admit,  in   people  enjoying  a  holiday,  or  leaving 
their  employments  for  a  little  relaxation,  but  thia  should  never  be 
connected  with  evil  temptations  to  themselves  or  others.     It  is 
true,  that  at  the  races  there  may    be  pleasure  for  the   time, 
but  the  after  rejlections  are   the   surest   criterion  :    in    many 
instaaces  it  is  only  necessary  to  ascertain  these  to  know  the  value 
of  the  races. — Viewing  the   immense   mass  of  people  collected 
and  having  visited  the  stands,    and  camps,  and  hovels  of  every 
sort,  I  thought  the  whole  of  the   people  might  be  fairly  divided 
into  the   following  classes  : — the  genteel — -the  rogues  and  va«»-a- 
bonds — the  outwardly  vicious — and  (he  quiet,  in^differenl,;specta  . 
tors.     The  first  included  most  of  the  wealth,  rank  aud  fashion  tt 

Y 


tlie  county.  The  gentlemen  seemed  to  enter  into  the  meetiag- 
with  all  their  life  and  soul,  and  were  sporting  their  money  fluent- 
ly ;  the  ladies,  in  a  long  train  of  carriages,  looked  on  with  great 
composure.  To  females,  the  opportunity  of  displaying  their  dress 
and  ornaments,  is  probably  the  greatest  temptation.  I^  instead 
of  supporting  these  tumultuous  sports  and  barbrous  pleasures, 
these  persons,  who  possess  so  much  of  this  world's  goods,  would 
employ  their  time,  influence,  and  money,  in  promoting  the  com- 
fort, contentment,  and  happiness  of  the  classes  below  them,  and 
avoid  setting  them  so  bad  an  example,  what  a  happy  change  we 
should  soon  experience  !  The  second  class  consisted  of  a  collec- 
tion of  gamesters,  rogues,  and  fools  of  all  sorts  ;  such  as,  I  should 
suppose,  could  be  found  in  no  place  in  Uie  world  but  on  a  race 
ground.  Every  art  of  deception,  enticement,  and  swindling, 
was  put  into  practice  ;  organized  gangs  of  genteel  robbers  were 
constantly  on  the  alert ;  and  sovereigns  were  tossed  about  as  if 
they  were  of  no  more  value  than  button  tops.  Men,  women,  and 
children  were  fixed  to  allure  and  to  rob  the  unwary  visitor.  The 
races  bring  together  the  very  scum  of  society,  and  yet  the  rich 
and  the  respectable  (so  called)  are  not  ashamed  to  be  seen  in  their 
company.  An  attempt  was  made  to  put  down  the  gamblers,  but 
it  was  as  feeble,  as  it  was  probably,  insincere.  These  men  reap  a 
lich  harvest  from  the  gullibility  of  our  countrymen.  The  third  were 
those  who,  in  every  place,  as  well  as  at  the  races,  embrace  every- 
opportunity  of  indulging  in  sensual  excesses,  and  violating  every 
law  of  decorum  and  propriety.  The  public  houses  and  tents  were 
filled  with  these,  and  in  the  evening  many  of  them  were  strolling 
in  the  streets,  to  the  annoyance  of  every  peaceable  person.  The 
fourth  class  was  made  up  of  those  who,  without  being  enamoured 
of  the  races,  leave  their  homes  or  business,  just  to  enjoy  an  after- 
noon's relaxation.  Many  of  these  were  farmers  servants,  who  come 
more  "  to  see  and  be  seen,"  than  from  any  other  motive.  These 
conduct  themselves  with  propriety,  and  return  peaceably  home  ; 
and,  at  first  sight,  I  have  no  doubt  it  appears  to  many  that  in  go- 
ingr  to  the  races  in  this  manner  there  is  no  evil.  But  let  me 
observe  to  such,  that  the  increase  of  immorality  and  vice,  to  an 
awful  extent, — that  the  misery  and  ruin  of  many  individuals 
and  families, — that  worldly  miudedness  and  an  unfitness  for 
death — are  fostered  and  promoted  by  the  races  to  a  serious  ex- 
tent ;  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  decidedly  wrong  to  countenance 
them.      If  there  be   a  record  in  heavea  of  the  guilty  actions  of 


179 

men,  I  fear  there  will  be  a  black  pag^,  headed — *'  Chister 
Races." 

Preston  Races. — The  cockings  iu  Preston  are  finally  aban- 
doned ;  and  it  is  probable  the  races  will  share  the  same  fate.  So 
far,  I  think,  the  result  of  a  late  election  may  be  considered  a  per- 
manent good.  Still  I  should  be  sorry,  if,  on  this  account,  our  spin- 
ners, mechanics,  apprentices,  and  sunday-school  children,  should 
loose  their  midsummer  holiday.  1  know  their  confinement  is  so 
severe,  and  their  opportunities  for  relaxation  so  very  few,  that  it 
would  be  considered  a  great  misfortune  to  loose  the  day  or  two 
they  have  generally  had  during  the  races.  Let  the  men  adopt,  ia 
good  time,  the  likeliest  means  to  secure  the  continuance  of  this 
privilege  ;  and  their  masters,  I  hope,  \vill  not  deny  so  reasimab'e 
an  indulgence.  And,  if  the  men  will  only  act  a  rational  part, 
they  will  find  a  thousand  ways  of  spending  their  time  without 
being  exposed  to  the  temptations  of  a  race  ground. 

Corporations. — Various  societies  and  orders  of  men  have 
arisen  out  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times  which  gave 
them  birth.  They  answered  the  end  of  their  appointment  with 
utility  to  the  public,  so  long  as  the  circumstances  of  society 
continued  the  same ;  beyond  that  they  often  become  nuisances, 
and  press  as  an  incubus  upon  the  aspiring  feelings  of  the  nation. 
This  applies  forcibly  to  those  bodies  of  men  called  corpora- 
tions ;  and,  if  they  could  but  see  themselves  as  the  public  see 
them,  they  would  pray  heartily  for  a  speedy  annihilation.  They 
are  excrescences  upon  the  body  politic  ;  they  belong  to  another 
age,  and  can  never  amalgamate  with  the  materials  of  the 
present  generation.  The  public  want  not  their  services,  and 
would  be  heartily  glad  to  get  quit  of  their  demands.  For  a  long 
time  this  borough  has  been  taxed  in  various  shapes,  by  one  of 
these  self-represented  authorities  ;  and,  without  any  equivalent, 
immense  sums  have  been  extracted  from  the  people  visiting 
Preston.  These  pretended  dues  were  never  publicly  defined, 
and  the  man  who  farmed  the  tolls  had  constantly  to  contend  for  his 
demands.  Every  means,  but  those  of  justice,  were  made  use  of 
to  compel  payment;  and  I  well  remember,  that  the  neighbour- 
hood of  one  of  the  toll  bars  was  a  constant  scence  of  litigation 
and  strife,  which  were  often  terminated  by  physical  strength.  Ly- 
ing or  evasion,  in  order  to  cheat  the  toll  man,  was  considered  no 
sin  by  the  carters.  Disgusted  with  so  much  imposition,  and  with 
such  a  riotous  mode  of  collecting  the  toll,  a  number  uf  tradesmen. 


m 

carriers,  kc.  determined  to  resist  the  demand,  and  forthwitfi  join- 
ed in  a  bond,  to  try  the  question,  and  to  bring  the  dispute  to  a 
final  issue.  These  persons  have  constantly  refused  to  pay  tolls  for 
about  four  years,  and  though  the  corporation  commenced  actions 
against  one  or  two  of  them,  they  have  not,  though  fairly  invited, 
dared  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  trial.  This  is  a  great  triumph, 
and  has  been  a  saving  to  some  individuals  as  much  as  forty  pounds 
a  year.  But  notwithstanding  this  salutary  check,  they  still  em- 
ploy a  catch  at  each  end  of  the  town,  and  get  what  they  can  from 
those  who  are  timid  enough  to  pay.  Thus  a  corporation,  res- 
pectable as  individuals,  but  corrupt  as  a  body,  continues  to  make 
claims  which  can  neither  be  demanded  by  justice  northe  charters 
of  the  town,  and  employs  agents  to  interrupt  and  to  badger  the 
poor  carters  out  of  their  hard-gotten  money. 

The  souls  of  all  corporations  are  alike,  hence  at  \V{gan,  I 
have  been  told,  tiie  old  fashioned,  summary,  niPthod  of  seizing  by 
the  waistcoat  collar  is  still  kept  up.  At  Lancaster  south  bar  I 
have  stood  several  times  to  watch  the  game.  The  collector,  who 
is  also  landlord,  seems  gifted  with  admirable  tact  for  the  business* 
He  is  weight  for  the  best  of  them,  and  as  the  people  in  those 
parts  are  not  sufficiently  rt»/z-corporated,  they  seldom  prolong  the 
dispute.  They  cheat  him  if  they  can,  but  if  detected,  durst  hot 
refuse  to  pay.  At  Chester,  these  demands  are  so  evaded  and 
frittered  away,  that  they  are  scarcely  worth  collecting,  and  I  was 
told',  that  at  a  meeting  lately  held  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
abandoiiing  them  altogether,  this  laudable  purpose  w-as  lost  by  a 
majority  of  one.  The  abandonment  of  these  tolls  would  be  a 
grand  thing  for  the  country,  and  no  person  vt'ould  suffer,  except- 
ing the  doctors,  who  would  haVe  fewer  gouty  subjects  to  attend 
to.  The  great  RusseUing  comet  of  reform  is  beginning  to  be 
visible  in  the  heavens,  and,  if  but  the  tip  of  itfe  tail  should  touch 
pome  of  these  protuberant  bodies,  so  inflammable  are  their  sub- 
stances, they  are  sure  to  ignite,  and  a  joyful  explosion  we  shall 
have.     May  the  "  schoolmaster"  hasten  it  in  its  time. 

Institution  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge. — It  may 
not  be  known  to  persons  at  a  distance,  that  in  Preston  we  have  an 
Institution  under  the  above 'designation,  which  is  generally  allow- 
ed, considering  the  population,  to  be  second  to  none,  in  the  king- 
dom. Though  of  little  more  than  two  years'  standing,  it  can 
boast  a  romniodiou.s  reading  room,  a  respectable  museum,  a 
good  stock   of  philosophical  apparatus,  a  constant  supply  of  the 


hiost  popular   lectures,   and  a  splendid  library,  containing  1700 
volumes,  many  of  which  are  of  first  rate  excellence.     The  room 
is  open  for  reading  and  the  delivery  of  books  every  day  from  noon 
till  half-past  nine  at  night ;     and  several  classes  meet  for  mutual 
instruction  on  different  evenings  in  the  week.     The   number  of 
members  is  about  600,  and  the  average  number  who  actually  paid 
last  year  was  551.   Members  are  admitted  upon  the  frecommend- 
ation  of  another,   without  any  previous  notice,  and  the  charge  is 
only  6..  6d,  per  year,  or  1*.  7 id.  per  quarter.      The  funds  are 
in  a  prosperous  state,  and  altogether,  the  original  promoters  can- 
not but  be   gratified  to  see  the  unexpected  result  of  their  well 
intended    labours.      I  hope,   in  the  language  of  the  committee, 
«  the  town  will  long  continue  to  enjoy  those  intellectual  and  moral 
benefits  which  it  is  the  great  object  of  this  institution  to  impart." 
Mr.  Frankland  Lewis  is  delivering,  this  week,  to  the  members  of 
this  Institution,  a  course  of  lectures  on  Astronomy,  on  the  usual 
terms.     An  institution  of  a  similar  character   has   recently  been 
established  at  Chorley.     1  wish  it  every  success. 

/2e/igioMsJ(/yerfi5mert?5.— Amongst  the  number  of  large  ad-  . 

vertisements  which  at  this  season  of  the  year  appear  on  the  walls, 
announcing  the  anniversaries  of  societies  and  the  preaching  of  char- 
rity  sermons,  I  am  glad  for  once  to  be  able  to  bestow  unqualified 
praise  upon  that  connected  with  the  parish  church.  It  is  a  simple, 
modest  afmotiAcement,  that  a  sermon  will  be  preached  on  such  a 
day.  Here  is  no  pufi'  about  services ;  no  popular  names  and  honour- 
ary  titles  to  attract  a  large  congregation  ;  and  above  all,  no  charge 
,  for  entrance.  The  Methodists  still  stick  to  this  "  silver,"  but  it 
is  now  introduced  with  so  much  diffidence,  and  accompanied  witb 
such  nice,  soft  words,  that  it  disarms  all  hostility.  The  Catho- 
lics have  varied  the  thing  a  little  ;  they  will  take  either  silver  or 
copper,  but  the  amount  must  not  be  less  than  "  sixpence."  Ah  ! 
what  chance  of  entrance  would  there  have  been  for  their  first 
pope,  who  declared,  "  silver  and  gold  have  I  none,"— or  for  the 
Head  of  the  church  himself  who  said,  "  The  foxes  have  holes,  and 
the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  son  of  man  has  not  where 

to  lay  his  head  ?" 

The  comparitive  results  of  the  sermons  and  services  in  favor 
of  the  national  school  and  the  catholic  school,  confirm  what  I  have 
often  said,  that  spontaneous  liberality  is  but  a  rare  article.  To 
secure  a  good  collection,  there  must  be  a  performance,  or  some 
sort'of  sensible  excitement.— For  the  fonw^r,  i;-20  was  culkxted  ; 


182 

for  the  latter,  £76.  A  great  part  of  the  diiFerence,  I  presume^ 
was  owiiig^  to  the  entrance  money,  and  to  the  presence  and  support 
of  the  Preston  Choral  Society. 

The  Hi'form  Bill. — The  final  success  of  this  measure,  which 
was  once  extremely  doubtful,  is  now  certain.     But  how  different 
do    parties    view    it  in  its  consequences  !     Its  wannest  admirers 
view  it  as  a  perfect  panacea,  and,  frum   its   passing,  promise 
themselves   the   commencement   of  an  era  of  national  felicity, 
-    The  opposite  party  denounce  it  as  revolution,  and  affect,  at  least, 
to  forbode  the  results  as  terrible.      I  think  it  is  probable  that 
both  parties  go  to  extremes  in  their  anticipations.     I  have  al- 
ways  maintained,   that   the   result   of  good  laws  depend  princi- 
pally  upon   the   character   of  those  who   administer  them  ;    and 
until  we  have  a  reformed  constituency,  and  persons  of  .reformed 
characters   for   our   representatives,   many  of  our  expectations 
will  never    be   realized.      Slill    I   think  this  measure  will  give  a 
decided   turn   to  the  tide  of  influence  in  favour  of  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  nation  ;    and,  if  coupled  with,  or  followed  up  by, 
such  regulations  as  would  secure  purity  o/electio7i,  it  will  still  be 
more  acceptable,     I  repeat  here,  what  I  have   before  suggested, 
that  I  would  expunge  the  word  "  polling"  altogether ;  and,  after 
the  example  of  the  House  Commons,  would  ascertain  the  minds 
of  the   voters   simply  by  a  division.      Few   places  will  contain 
as   many  voters  as  Preston,  yet,  in  the  area  of  the  Exchange,  it 
would   be   perfectly  practicable.      By  this  mode  the  real  sense 
of  the   electors   would  be  ascertained,  for  those  who  felt  indif- 
ferent or  wished  to  stand  zieutral,  would  keep  away.     Suppose 
the  doors  open  at   eight  o'clock,  and  the  court  to  Open  at  ten. 
The   nominations   and  speeches  would  last  perhaps  two  hours ; 
during  all   this  time,  admit  every  person  whose  name  was  found 
in   the   regular   register.     This  done,  if  more  persons  be  nomi- 
nated than  the  borough  returns,  let  the  doors  be  locked,  and  at  the 
order  of  the  returning  officer,  let  the  electors  divide  successive- 
ly, according  to  the  number  of  candidates,  which,  by  the  means 
of  tellers,  would  decide  the  election  at  once.      I  think  every  re- 
flecting person   will  see  in  this  plan  a  cure  for  many  of  the  evils 
which,  on   the  polling  system,   will  always  attach  to  elections. 
Indeed,   the   register  is   the   principal   thing ;    with   this,   and 
scrupulously  admitting  none  but  voters,  the  election,  except  when 
the  numbers    were  nearly  equal,  might  be  decided  by  a  show  tif 
hands.     The  whole  would  be  over  by  one  o'Clock,  J.  L. 


183 


To  the  Editor  ofihe  Moral  Reformer. 

Bolton,  \8th  May,  1331. 

Sir, 

In  your  last  number  T  stated,  through  mistake,  that  some  indi- 
viduals in  the  church  enjoyed  from  six  to  sixteen  livings  and  preferments. 
It  ought  to  have  been  from  six  to  ten.  To  prove  that  this  statement  is 
correct,  I  will  subjoin  an  extract  from  the  Black  Book,  p.  27 — being  the  au- 
thority from  which  I  derived  my  information.  After  giving  the  number 
of  Sees,  Chanceliorships,  Deaneries,  Archdeacons,  Prebends,  Rectories, 
Vicarages  and  Chapelries,  &c.,  it  proceeds,  "  Thus  there  are  twelve  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  twenty  seven  places  of  preferment,  divided  among 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  .ninty  four  individuals,  affording  nearly 
two  for  each.  This  extraordinary  monopoly  of  offices  accounts  for  the 
vast  number  of  pluralities.  The  whole  number  of  incumbents  in  England 
and  Wales  is,  seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninty  one  •,  of  this  num- 
ber two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  six  hold  two  or  more  reel  ones, 
vicarages,  and  chapelries.  From  data  in  the  Ecclesiastical  DtctionarVf 
we  have  drawn  up  the  following  classification  of  parochial  patronage, 
exhibiting  the  number  of  parochial  preferments  enjoyed  by  each. 

"Parochial   Patronage,   shewing  the   number  of  individuals,  and  th« 
number  of  rectories,  vicarages  and  chapelries,  held  by  each  : — 

Number  of  Livings  held  Total  No.  of 

iKdividuah.  by  each,  Livingt, 

1 11 J I> 

I 3 8 

5 7 35 

12 6 73 

64 5 320 

909 , 4 835 

567 3 i701 

2087 2 4054 

4305 1 4305 

7l9>  '  11,342 

A.  H. 


To  the  Editor  ofihe  Moral  Reformer. 

"  Sir, 

I  have  read  the  gentlemanly  letters  in  your  last  number,  in  reply 
to  my  remarks  on  the  Manchester  Cigar  Divan.  It  is  not  my  intention  to 
trouble  you  with  a  long  rejoinder,— a  few  words  will  be  quite  sufficient. 


184 

I  would  bex  ti>  inform  \iniciis  .Ftislitise,  that  all  his  suppositions  rei- 
pectiiig  me  are  hy  the  mirk;  asiil  that  my  views  of  the  sanctity  of  tlie 
sahliath  extend  a  litUe  heyoiul  his;  at  least  as  it  respects  reading;  the 
newspapers,  and  the  company  whom  I  should  expect  to  meet  at  a  Cigar 
Divai). 

With  regard  to  your  ot'icr  correspondent,  Ultor,  I  have  only  to  remark, 
what  first  attracted  my  attention  was  a  demy  placard,  hun^  at  the  outside 
of  the  door,  annoiincin?  that  the  Cigar  Divan  was  then  open;  and  that  I 
Lad  come  directly,  without  loss  of  time,  from  a  place  of  public  worship 
about  three  hundred  yards  off,  where  the  service  had  not  been  unusually- 
long.  As  to  what  is  said  respecting  the  time  of  divine  service,  I  have  only 
to  remark,  that  I  know  of  no  authority  admibsible  in  matters  of  this  sort, 
which   makes    any    distinction   between    one   part   of  the    Lord's  Day  and 

another. 

A  MANCHETSER  MAN. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  the  use  of  undefined  words  by  early 
theological  writers,  luis  been  one  cause  of  the  laborious  disputes  of  latter 
times.  And  it  is  very  true,  that  a  clear  understanding  of  the  meaning  of 
words,  is  of  the  first  importance,  e'lher  in  acquiring  knowledge,  or  commu* 
nicating  instruction.  The  patrons  and  teachers  of  many  of  our  Sabbath 
schools,  however,  have  either  disbelieved  this  maxim,  or,  from  want  of  con- 
sidcration,  have  failed  to  act  upon  it.  The  children  have  been  taught  to 
read  the  scriptures, — chapters,  hymns,  and  catechisms,  have  been  treasured 
in  their  memories,  they  have  regularly  frequented  the  house  of  God,  and 
exhortations  have  been  addressed  to  them  in  their  schools  ;  and,  if  they 
hod  understood  all  this,  an  invaluable  benefit  had  been  ccmferred  on 
them.  But  they  have  not  understood  it,  and  one  reason  was,  they  did  not 
know  the  meaning  of  the  words  employed. 

It  is  a  gratifying  reflection,  that  much  attention  has  been  directed  of 
late  to  the  mental  culture  of  sabbath  scholars,  and  many  valuE^b)e  helps 
have  been  published  ;  but,  with  children  who  had  been  previously  neglected, 
and  those  of  country  villages  especially,  general  questioning  on  chapters 
and  catechisms,  is  of  small  utility  ;  it  is  rearing  a  fabric  without  examining 
the  foundation  :  general  questions  are  useful  as  a  means  of  drawing  atten- 
tion to  a  particular  object,  but  it  is  instruction  in  the  meaning  of  the  words 
brought  under  notice,  that  is  advantageous.  For  instance,  I  have  asked, 
'*  For  what  did  Christ  die?"  and  received  for  answer,  "  To  save  sinners." 
But  upon  further  examinp.tion,  the  boy  could  not  explain  the  words  "  sin- 
Di'rs,"  and  "  to  save  ;"  the  explanation  however  of  these  terms  was  the 
most  profitable  part  of  the  instruction,  as  it  brought  the  subject  to  a  prac- 
tica'i  and  individual  heaving.  I  suiijniii  another  instance — A  young  man 
of  respectable  abilities  took  a  frieml's  class  on  a  sabbath,   and   the    answer 


185 

to  the  IweBty-niDth  question  of  the  Assembly's  Catechism  was  repeated  by 
the  s»  holars,  in  order  to  its  being  explained.  The  repetition  was  accurate, 
and  several  general  questions  were  answered  without  much  difhculty;  but 
when  he  came  to  enquire  respecting  their  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  tlw 
words,  with  the  exception  of  one  boy  »ho  had  received  superior  instruction, 
the  word  "  redemption,"  was  the  only  one  of  which  they  had  any 
knowledge. 

But  these  are  by  no  means  the  least  favourable  descriptions  of  the  mental 
fferility  to  befonnd  in  our  country  sabbath  schools  Cases  have  come  un- 
der TO)  ohsen  ation,  and  I  have  received  similar  testimony  from  others,  that 
bovs,  who  hud  been  previonsly  destitute  of  intellectuat  instruction,  have 
read  a  passage  correctly,  yet,  on  a  question  being  asked  upon  a  verse  just 
read,  and  in  the  exact  words  of  the  foimer  part  of  it,  the  latter  part  of  which 
would  be  the  answer,  they  have  not  been  able  to  give  the  answer.  Now, 
there  is  surely  not  an  individual  to  be  found,  who,  upon  discovering  such 
consummate  ignorance,  would  not  condemn,  in  the  most  unqualified  man- 
ner,  a  mode  of  teaching,  by  which  boys  who  had  been  advanced  to  read  in 
the  New  Testament,  should  be  so  completely  devoid  of  mental  power;  but 
such  a  mode  of  teaching  in  a  sabbath  school,  where  instruction  is  employed 
as  a  moral  agent,  is  a  perfect  monster  :  it  possesses  a  human  voice,  but  the 
whole  of  its  other  parts  are  bestial,  and  the  sooner  the  monster  is 
destroyed,  the  better.  Indeed,  it  is  surprising  that  its  existence  has 
continued  so  long,  and  that  with  the  many  striking  proofs  of  the  ig- 
norance and  immorality  of  the  lower  classes,  the  inefficiency  of  our  sab- 
hath  school  tuition  has  not  been  exposed,  and  removed.  Surely  another 
generation  will  not  pass  under  the  same  stupifying  proce^-s  ;  let  us  set 
ourselves  instantly  and  earnestly  to  the  use  of  such  means  only  as  have 
a  direct  tendency  to  promote  the  great  objects  we  have  in  view, — so  shall 
our  sabbath  school  instruction  prove  a  real  blessing, — so  shall  a  future 
generation  as  it  were  lift  up  their  hands  in  astouishment  at  the  stupidity  of 
a  system  once  denominated  instruction.  The  infant  schools  demonstrate 
that  the  mind  of  a  mere  infant  may  be  stored  with  a  valuable  stock  of  know- 
ledge, while  the  child  is  yet  scarcely  able  to  read  ;  why  then  should  readers 
be  found  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  whose  minds  are  less  f^rnishe4 
than  the  minds  of  these  infants  ? 

But  the  greater  part  of  sabbath  school  teachers,  having  heen  trained  oa 
the  old  plan,  are  in  a  great  measure  incapable  of  imparting  mental  instruc- 
tion, and  must  themselves  first  be  taught.  Of  this  1  had  an  impressive 
illustration  lately.  1  remarked  to  one  of  our  teachers,  a  young  man  who, 
like  others,  had  been  tauglit  only  to  read,  but  who  is  now  anxious  to  un- 
derstand what  be  reads,  that  he  may  instruct  others,  that  the  greatest  ob- 
stacle in  communicating  instruction  to  the  scholars  was,  their  ignoraace  of 
the  meaning  of  words.  He  replied,  he  found  it  so;  and  added,  it  was  the 
.gieatest  hinderance  to  his  obtaining  knowledge;  that  lie  had  become  a  sub- 
(jcriber  to  the  World  newspaper,  and,  being  anxious  to  know  the  debates  oa 
Ihe  reform  question,  had  sometimes  read  a  paragraph  several  times  over, 
but  met  with  so  many  words  of  which  he  did  not  know  the  meaning,  that 
be  knew  not  the  arguments  either  for  the  measure  or  aguinst  it,      1  advised 

z 


18^ 

him  by  no  neans  to  pas<  a  word  in  reading  that  he  did  not  know,  without 
searching  a  dictioHary  for  its  meaning,  however  slow  such  a  method  might 
rendM-  bis  progress.  1  ought  to  add,  that  this  young  mau  makes  himself 
useful  in  his  class  to  the  extent  of  his  abilities,  and  this  is  more  than  can  be 
«aid  of  many  others.  Let  not  teachers  rest  satisfied  whea  their  scholars 
havfe  read  a  chapter  or  repeated  a  task  correctly,  but  ascertain  by  easy 
conversational  questioning,  if  they  are  any  wiser,  and  especially,  if  they  know 
the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  lesson  ;  we  cannot  expect  that  teaching 
to  make  them  better,  which  does  not  make  them  wiseT  ;  and  remember^  a 
few  ideas  are  considerable,  compared  with  none.  The  assistance  which 
teachers  may  derive  from  books  is  great  and  valuable,  but  I  would  caution 
them  against  asking  questions  verbatim  from  any  book,  as  it  is  much  bet- 
ter to  form  their  method  according  lo  the  state  in  which  they  find  the  minds 
of  their  scholars;  and  by  the  disuse  of  helps  in  the  school,  they  will  be 
compelled  to  come  prepared^  and  thus  their  own  understandings  will  be 
greatly  improved.  I  have  seen  most  of  the  catechetical  works  for  sabbath 
schools,  aad  I  give  the  decided  preference,  to  Mr.  Gall's:  his  catechisms, 
with  their  Keys,  Helps  to  the  Gospel,  and  Introduction  to  the  Helps,  are 
all  of  them  very  excellent  and  useful  works,  and  I  cannot  conclude  this  pa- 
per better,  than  by  earnestly  recommending  them  to  the  notice  of  all  engaged 
in  sabbath  instruction,  and  anxious  for  its  success. 

1  am,  Sir,  Yours  &c. 

A  TEACHER. 


PRUDENCE. 


To  the  Editor  of  ilxe  Moral  Reformer. 

There  is  perhaps  no  virtue  whicli  "s  more  essential  to  the  pros^ 
perity  and  happiness  of  man,  in  whatever  condition  of  life  he  may  be  placed, 
than  Prudence.  Unless  men  conduct  their  affairs  with  discretion,  they 
will  find  themselves  frequently  involved  in  diflBculties,  and  suffer  much 
anxiety  and  distress.  To  the  labourer,  whose  means  are  very  Hmited,  and 
who  is  so  much  dependent  upon  his  own  exertions  for  his  sustinence,  this 
consideration  has  many  and  strong  claims  to  his  serious  consideration. 
There  are  three  very  prevalent  breaches  of  this  duty,  sources  of  much  em- 
barrasment  and  misery,  to  which  I  wish  particularly  to  call  his  attention. 
The  first  is  that  of  credit,  the  second,  pledging,  and  the  third  imprudent  and 
premature  matrimonial  connexions. 

Those  labourers  who  pursue  a  system  of  credit  may  be  arranged  into 
three  classes.  The  first,  such  as  are  honest  and  industrious,  and  whose 
means  are  adequate  to  the  supply  of  their  necessities.  The  second,  such  as 
are  induced  to  have  recourse  to  the  system,    as  a  temporary  measure,   when 


187 

they  areout  of  employment,  or  sabjecUd  to  some  un«'Oii ted  cause  of  in- 
creased expenditure  ; — and  the  third,  such  as  are  indolent  and  fraudulent, 
and  who  adopt  it  in  order  to  procure  an  idle  subsistence,  with  a  tfishonest  in- 
tention of  cheating  those  who  trust  them.  Such  are  the  people  to  whom 
the  small  shopkeeper  has  to  dispose  of  his  goods.  From  the  first  he  usually 
receives  punctual  weeklypayment  5  from  the  second,  protracted  instalments; 
and  by  the  third,  he  suffers  grievously.  Under  such  a  system  the  shop- 
}£eeper''s  losses  must  be  very  considerable,  and  tliey  must  either  be  made  up 
by  exorbitant  profits,  exacted  from  his  honest  customers,  or  bankruptcy 
would  inevitably  ensue.  The  tradesman's  choice  is  thus  limited  to  undue 
exaction,  or  certain  ruin.  If  he  adopts  the  former,  bis  honest  custiimer  is 
obliged  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  base  and  indolent  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  product  of  his  industry  ;  and  if  he  do  not,  the  shopkeeper's 
creditors  must  do  so.  Thu?,  in  either  case,  fraud  is  committed,  and  vice 
is  fostered;  audit  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that,  in  very  many  instances, 
the  tradesman  will  choose  that  expedient  which  will  be  most  Jo  his  own 
advantage :  and  that,  consequently,  the  iudustrious  and  upright  artizan 
must  be  the  sufferer.  If  this  system  of  ci edit  were  not  supported  by  the 
first  class  of  customers  that  1  have  mentioned,  it  would  speedily  fall  into 
disuse  ;  so  that  upon  the  honest  and  respectable  artizan,  unwittingly  rests 
the  chief  responsibility,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  evil  of  this  impolitic, 
injurious  practice.  Besides,  by  this  system,  the  shopkeeper  is  compelled 
to  puichasf  his  articles  on  credit  also,  at  a  great  disadvantage,  the  burthen 
of  which  again  is  thrown  upon  the  consumer.  By  this  practice  too,  the 
labourer  prevents  himself  from  going  to  the  best  market  for  his  goods, 
even  if  he  chose,  for  beiias  expended  his  wages  before  he  receives  them, 
and  is  obliged  to  take  them  to  pay  for  what  he  has  already  consumed,  and 
must  throw  himself  upon  the  confidence  of  the  tradesman  for  another 
week's  supply  ■,  and  should  sickness  attack  him,  or  his  employment  fail, 
he  is  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his  creditors,  and  perhaps  will  remain  sq 
during  the  remainder  of  his  existence,  without  the  power  of  lesenting  any 
insult  to  which  he  may  be  exposed.  How  much  better  then  would  it  be  for 
the  honest  labourer  to  disengage  himself  from  this  highly  imprudent  prac- 
tice, and  purchase  the  necessaries  of  life  when  he  has  the  means  of  present 
payment !  By  this  means  he  would  maintain  his  independence,  would 
avoid  exorbitant  charges,  cease  to  encourage  fraud,  indolence,  and  dissi- 
pation, and  would  insure  credit  when  he  might  be  in  absolute  need  ;  aod 
he  would  thus  also  confer  no  small  obligation  on  the  shopkeeper,  by  ren- 
dering him  likewise  independent  of  his  creditors,  and  enabling  him  to  pur- 
chase his  Wiii-es  at  a  great  advantage.  I  really  cannot  conceive  what 
advantages  this  deserving  class  of  people  can  see  in  the  present  system ; 
for  my  own  part,  I  have  sought  for  them  in  vain,  so  that  I  am  disposed 
to  think  if  there  are  any,  they  must  be  very  trifling,  whilst  the  evils  are 
very  conspicuous  and  gieat.  It  may  have  some  advantages  to  the  second 
class ;  but  if  they  could  possibly  avoid  the  system,  I  think  they  would  find 
it  much  to  their  advantage ;  for  when  they  are  once  involved,  their  escape 
svill  often  be  diflicult,  and  sometimes  impossible.     The  chief  gainers  by  the 


188 

•Tstcm,  anil  those  to  whom  alone  it  is  really  useful,  are  the  third  clas!<< 
■nd  they  would  lament  if  it  were  abDlished,— perhaps,  the  only  mournerB 
over  Its  fall.  '  h 

The  second  great  improvidence  of  the  working  classes,  in  mitny  caset^A 
results  from  the  former.  I  allude  to  Pledging.  The  laljourer,  when  ■ 
thrown  out  of  employment,  is  often  unable  to  procure  his  wonted  weekly 
provisions  from  not  being  possessed  of  the  means  of  making  his  customary 
payments ;  his  children  must  be  supplied  with  food,  and  his  shopkeeper 
is  urgent  for  the  discharge  of  his  debt,  and  as  a  miserable  expedient  his 
wife  is  dispatched  to  the  pawilbroker''s  to  borrow  a  small  sum  of  money 
upon  some  personal  security,  for  which  he  has  to  pay  an  enormous  per* 
centaoe.  Many  I  am  aware  adopt  the  system  with  this  pretext;  some  per- 
haps from  fancying  they  can  discern  in  it  an  advantage;  but  by  far  the 
greatest  majority  rashly  sacrifice  future  comfort  to  present  gratificutioUi 
and  will  embrace  any  expedient  which  promises  present  enjoyment,  how- 
ever pregnant  it  may  be  with  future  evil.  Such  are  not  only  improvident^ 
but  slaves  ^o  their  passions,  and  to  them  reason  would  plead  in  vain  ;  so 
that  I  can  entertain  no  hope  of  inducing  them  to  relinquish  the  sjstein. 
But  I  would  willingly  persuade  myself  that  there  must  be  many  among  the 
great  numbers  who  pursue  this  praci ice,  who  would  relinquish  it  if  tliey 
could  be  impressed  witha  just  view  of  its  disadvantages  and  degradation, 
and  in  the  hope  that  some  such  may  peruse  this  letter,  i  am  liesiruns  of 
very  briefly  noticing  its  evil  effects. 

If  I  am  rightly  informed,  the  pawnbroker  exacts  upon  his  loans 
2oi.  per  tent,  and  charges  for  the  tickets  of  the  articles  pledged  ^J. 
for  a  sum  of  5*.  id.  for  lO*.  l^  for  \bs.  Zd.  for  20*.  ire.  Every  time 
the  loan  is  renewed,  the  same  sums  are  charged  for  the  tickets ;  and 
though  the  borrower  has  only  had  the  use  of  the  loan  for  one  day, 
he  is  obliged  to  pay  a  percentage  of  2i)/.  for  a  month.  Js  h  not  a 
strange  inconsislency,  Sir,  in  our  legislature,  that  laws  should  be  enacted 
to  prevent  usury  in  lending  large  sums  of  money,  a  provision  which  can 
only  protect  those  who  are  in  the  higher  or  middle  classes  of  society,  while 
such  an  usurious  system  as  that  of  pledging  should  be  permitted  to  dipi  ite 
the  poor  man  of  such  large  sums  of  his  hard  earned  wages  ?  Why  are  men 
permitted  to  take  such  an  unjustifiable  and  cruel  advantage  of  the  poor 
man's  imprudence,  ignorance,  or  vice?  Why  is  such  a  system  allowed  to 
pollute  a  christian  couutry?  Religion  has  cursed  it,  humanity  views  it 
with  grief,  reason  turns  from  it  with  abhorrence,  and  poverty  bleeiis  by  it  at 
every  pore.  If  I  use  strong  lamguage,  it  is  because  the  magnitude  of  the 
evil  demands  it.  Can  any  one  see  the  miserable  and  degratSed  women 
skulking  into  these  abominable  re|)Ositorics  lu  pledge  their  husbauii''s 
clothing,  and  even  in  some  cases  the  bed  limn  which  is  all  they  have  to 
protect  themselves  and  children  during  the  night;  weekly  to  redeem  and 
repledge  the  former,  and  daily  the  latter  ;  and  consider  the  sums  the  delu- 
ded creatures  pay  for  the  use  of  what  was  once  their  own — can  any  one 
consider  all  this,  Sir,  and  remain  unimpa^siuned  ? 

The  object  of  laws  ought  to  be  to  protect  the  weak  ag^iiiat  the  opprcs- 
cions  of  the  strong, — the  poor  against  the  tyranny  of  the  rich,— 'aad  the 


J8§ 

timple  and  io;norant  against  the  wiles  of  tlie  knave  anil  tlic  crafty.  Yet  iti 
the  Jaws  that  relate  to  usury  in  this  oonnlry,  we  find  the  strong,  rich,  and 
inteliiwent,  pi-otettrrl  against  any  undtie  imposition,  while  the  weak,  poof» 
and  simple,  are  suif^'red  to  become  a  pi'ey  to  those  who  are  disposed  to  tak«i 
advanta2:e  of  tbeir  miserips.  These  _however  are  considerations  for  th6 
legislature,  and  1  must  theri  fore  return  to  the  effects  of  the  system  upoU 
Ihe  poor,  which  they  may  prevent  by  relinquishing  the  piattice  altogether) 
6ut  caunot  modify  while  they  continue  it. 

The  common  practice  of  pledsfin^  is  to  deposit  gooi's  in  the  hands  of  thtf 
pawnbiokerat  the  beginning  of  the  week,  to  obtain  a  loan  npon  them,  ana 
to  redeem  them  at  the  termi;iation  of  ihe  week,  by  refunding  the  m  mey 
which  has  been  advanced  upon  their  security,  with  the  customary  intercsti 
If  the  goods  a;e  pledged  and  redeemed  weekly,  and  a  loan  of  10.?.  obtained 
npon  ihcm,  a  penny  is  paid  f  jr  the  ticket,  ami  twopence  for  a  month's  in- 
terest. Thus  at  the  end  of  the  yeai",  for  the  loan  of  the  sura  of  lO*  lli«5 
poor  man  has  to  pay  I3v.  or  130/.  per  cent.  If  many  who  pursue  this 
practice  were  told  that  one  of  their  more  wealthy  neighbours  had  borrowed 
of  another  loo/  ,  which  he  returucd  at  the  eud  of  the  year,  aiyd  had  given 
130/  for  the  use  of  tliemonev,  besides  b:\ving  been  obliged  to  attend  weekly 
tjpon  the  nsnrer,  losing  much  valuable  time,  and  incurring  much  vexation^ 
insult  and  degradation,  would  they  not  think  that  their  neighbour  had 
taken  leave  of  his  senses  ?  And  yet  tins  is  precisely  their  case,  except  that 
the  sum  is  smaller  in  the  oue  instance  than  the  oilier,  wliich  caiinol  by  ^n^ 
means  diminish  the  imprudence  and  folly,  as  their  limited  income  may  mor6 
than  counterbalance  the  difference;  But  supposing  a  person  pledges  and 
Redeems  his  bed  linen  daily  for  lOs  ,  (which  I  am  told  is  no  very  uncom- 
Inon  circumstance)  then  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  the  use  of  io.».  he  will 
have  to  pay  the  enOi-mous  sum  of  4/  1 1*.  3d.  or  above  Qv.ol  per  cent.  Is 
it  possible,  Sir,  that  any  rational  being  can  be  induced  to  submit  to  such 
imposition?  Had  I  not  known  that  such  is  the  fact,  1  should,  for  the  sak^ 
of  humanity,  have  utterly  denied  it.  The  poor  perhaps  do  not  kbow  the 
extent  of  the  injury  they  inflict  upon  themselves  by  this  proceeding,  in  pre- 
venting the  assistance  which  many  charitable  people  would  willingly 
extend  to  render  their  situation  more  comfortable.  1  know  it  to  be  a  factj 
that  it  is  a  common  observation  when  any  clothing,  bed  linen,  or  other 
articles  essential  to  domestic  comfort,  are  solicited  from  the  wealthyj  "What- 
ever we  do  for  the  poor  is  of  no  avail,  if  we  clothe  them  ever  so  well  to-d-.ivj 
to-morrow  our  gifts  will  be  on  the  pawnbroker's  shelves,  an(i  they  will  be 
as  wretched  and  as  ragged  as  ever !"  What  reply  can  be  made  to  such  ;t 
remark?  IVo  one  can  doubt  its  truth,  and  under  the  pi esent  practices 
of  the  poor,  uo  one  can  wonder  t!ie  rich  are  indifferent  toliieir  misery. 

If  any  who  are  addicted  to  tie  practice  shonhl  read  this  letter,  let  iue 
beg  of  them  as  rational  beings  to  submit  no  longer  to  such  a  flagrant  breach 
of  prudence,  not  to  Suffer  themselves  to  continue  to  pay  so  exorbitant  ati 
usury, — not  to  value  their  hard  earnings  ko  lightly,  as  to  pay  so  large  a  pori 
tion  of  them  into  the  usurer's  coffer,— not  to  continue  to  damp  the  wishesj 
hod  restrain   the    hand  of  (he  charitable,  by  so  imprudent  a  aiea&ure,-^noi 


190 

to  permit  their  wives  to  spend  their  valuable  time  among  the  dissolute 
wretches  who  frequent  the  pawnbroker's  shops,  where  their  morals  can 
hardly  escape  contamination,  and  their  minds  sufTer  much  degradation. 
Can  they  think  of  the  sharer  of  their  toiU,  the  partnerof  their  joys  and  griefs, 
the  inotliir,  the  guardian,  and  the  moral  instructress  of  their  children, 
kkuking  into  those  pernicious  repositories,  conscious  that  they  are  about 
to  commit  an  act  that  the  world  has  stamped  with  disgrace,  and  fearful  of 
observation  ?  Can  they  think  of  them  exposed  to  this  degradation,  with 
indiflerence  ?  I  would  hope  out  of  thousands,  some  few  may  have  a  sense  of 
honour  and  prudence  remaining,  and  could  even  these  be  induced  to  con- 
sider their  true  interest,  every  friend  of  the  poor  would  sincerely  rejoic«| 
Aud  none  more  than 

Yours  Fespectfully, 

H. 

P.  S. — Having  perhaps  already  trespassed  beyond  the  limits  of  a  letter, 
I  must  leave  the  consideration  of  the  last  breach  of  Prudence  to  which  I 
have  alluded  until  some  future  opportunity. 


BETTERING  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  POOR. 


The  followiDg  letter,  though  written  for  another  publication,  is  inserted  in  the  He, 
former  as  being  exactly  in  accordance  with  the  general  tenor  of  the  work.  Though  H. 
proceeds  upon  a  recognition  of  the  present  poor  laws,  it  is  clear  that  the  sort  of  societies 
here  recoramei)d£d,  if  properly  detailed,  might  be  soon  made  tu  supplant  ihexa.— Edit, 


EvEiiY  reflecting  person,  governed  by  the  principles  of  humanity 
and  religion,  must  be  convinced  that  in  the  present  state  of  society  there 
exists  a  great  degree  of  poverty  and  distress.  And  this  is  often  made  to 
cover  the  practices,  and  sanction  the  pretensions  of  a  numerous  race  of  im- 
postors. Mendicity,  carried  on  by  deception,  is  practised  to  an  alarming 
extent,  to  the  annoyance  of  every  respectable  family,  and  often  to  the  in- 
jury of  those  who  are  really  deserving.  While  the  law  has  been  unable  to 
suppress  the  practice  of  bogging,  the  l^al  provision  raised  by  the  parishes 
has  also  been  found  inefficient  to  meet  the  varying  necessities  of  the  deserv- 
ing poor  J — hence  so  many  charitable  institutions  supported  by  a  liberal 
public,  which  nre  a  strong  testimony  as  to  the  necessity  of  something  more 
thun  parochial  relief  Each  of  these  institutions,  however,  generally  refers 
ouiy  to  one  particular  in  the  long  list  of  human  sufi'crings  ;  and  these 
arc  not  calculated  to  meet  those  pu/iVi/ causes  of  distress  which  are  con- 
stantly occurring. 

Under   these  circumstances,  societies  for  bellering  the  condition  of  the 
poor  upon  genera/ /?n«f«/»/e*,  it  is  conceived,  are  very   desirable.      Under  a 


toi 

iudirious  anangemcut,  a  society  of  this  sort,  l.ca.ling  its  mo<le  of  ope.alio.1 
to  the  peculiar  cases  which  may  occur,  uouM  not  only  be  calculated  to  do 
MtensiFC  good  to  the  poor  with  moderate  means,  but  would  tbrm  a  strong 
check  up»n  mendicity  and  imposition.  Numerous  applications  are  made, 
almost  everv  day,  at  the  doors  of  the  opuU-tit,  and  in  most  casee  the  relief 
or  the  refusal  is  ^iven  in  painful  nncertainly.  It  is  too  much  to  expect 
that  persons  can  either  have  the  means  or  the  time  rc.pns.te  for  investigat- 
ing any  proportion  of  the  cases  which  come  hefore  them.  'I  he  object  of 
this  society  is  therefore  two-fold. 

First— To  relieve  the  distresses,  and  improve  the  condition  of  the  de- 
serving poor. 

Second— To   discourage  mendicity,  to  detect  imposition,  and  to  icraoYe 
that  unnecessary  annoyance  to  which  every  respectable  family  is  at  present 

exposed.  ,.      .  ,  ^  •  » 

The  plan  would  be,  first,  to  divide  a  town  into  districts,  and  to  appoint 
suitable  agents  in  each.  By  which  means  a  free  intercourse  would  be  es- 
tablished with  the  poor,  many  cases  of  extensile  snflFering  which  are  at  pre- 
«nt  passed  over  without  assistance  would  be  noticed,  and  the  unworthy 
practices  of  numbers  who  depend  on  charity  would  be  brought  to  light. 
K\\  urgent  and  distressing  cases  might  be  relieved  in  such  a  way  as  c.rcnm- 
'stances  might  require,  either  by  food,  money,  nourishment,  clothing,  or 
beddin-.  Ordinary  cases,  by  assisting  them  in  their  applications  to  their 
parishel,  and  defending  them  from  the  oppression  of  their  overseers_by 
seekin-out  fresh  sources  of  employment-by  recommending  to  situations 
BQch  Is  are  sober  and  indast.ious-:.nd  by  any  other  mode  which  the 
beoevolence  of  the  subscribers  might  suggest.  In  rase  of  an  unusual  pres- 
•nreofthe  times,  such  as  we  have  more  than  once  witnessed,  such  a  society 
would  be  an  established  organ,  through  which  the  pablic  might  dispense 
its  bounty,  and  escape  that  imposition  and  deception  to  which  every  sudden 
attempt  to  relieve  the  poor  is  liable. 

One  part  of  the  plan  might  be  to  keep  a  depot  for  old  cast  oflf  clothes, 
and  for  a  few  new  articles  purchased  at  a  cheap  rate-  Numbers  of  poor 
men  with  large  families,  who  have  not  a  decent  thing  to  wear  on  a  Sunday, 
p.i..bt  be  furnished  in  a  way  most  suitable  to  their  circumstances.  The 
Babbath,  to  many,  is  a  season  only  of  close  confinement ;  being  destitute  of 
any  other  clothing  except  their  working  clothes,  which  are  generally  dirty 
aud  ragged,  they  shame  to  be  seen  by  their  neighbours.  To  assist  such 
would  be  worthy  the  attempt  of  ev€ry  benevolent  mind. 

With  such  a  profusion  of  blessings  bestowed  upon  us  by  the  Father  of 
all  can  we  be  content  while  numbers  in  our  own  neighbourhood  arc  Uft, 
unnoticed,  to  grapple  with  all  the  miseries  of  poverty  and  disease  ?  \A  hat 
a  pleasure  t^ere  is  in  making  a  poor  family  comfortable!  and  how  pleased 
they  are  to  be  noticed,  advised,  and  assisted  by  those  in  the  upper  ranks  of 
life!  There  is  no  want  of  means  i  if  some  would  give  their  time,  some 
iheir  advice,  and  other,  their  money,  tic  object  h»re  prcpesed  would  easily 
be  accomplished. 


n2 

liEFORM  IN  CHOOSING  COMMITTEES. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

My  former  communication  having  been  inserted,  I  am  encouraged  to  address  yow 
Kgnia.  My  present  subject  is,  the  usual  way  in  which  committees  for  literary  institutions, 
benevolent  societies,  &.c.  are  formed.  At  tlie  institutiuii  of  a  society,  tiie  pers  ms  se- 
lected to  constitute  tlieir  officers  f.  r  the  first  year,  arc  nominated  hy  some  leading  indivi- 
duals, and  their  names  are  mentione<l  at  a  general  meeting,  for  the  approral  of  members  or 
subscribers  To  noii'"  nf  these  circumstinces  do  1  mean  to  start  any  objectiou.  At  the  end 
of  every  following  year,  one  half,  or  a  certdin  proportion  of  the  committee  men  who  have  been 
least  able  to  attend,  go  out  of  office.  Then  the  remaining  committee  men  nominate  such 
a  number  as  shall  make  up  the  deficiency,  aud  here  the  mischief  commences.  For  wli« 
does  not  perceive,  without  any  extraordinary  degree  of  penetration,  that  this  system  afford* 
a  fine  opportunity  for  restricting  office  to  rertaiu  families,  or  parties,  or  i lasses  of  per> 
toaal  And  he  must  have  moved  within  a  very  narrow  circle  indeed,  who  has  not  had 
sufficient  evidence  that  opportunities  of  this  kind  have  seldom  been  .luffered  to  pass  unim- 
proved for  any  cousi  'erable  length  oftime.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  management  even  of  our 
(tunday  schools,  and  Sunday  school  libraries,  become,  in  very  many  cases,  little  close 
boroughs,  to  the  privileges  of  which  no  person,  whatever  qualifications  of  other  descrip- 
tions  he  raiy  posses,  can  be  admitted,  unless  he  i>elong  to  the  riglit  clan 

It  may  perhaps  be  s  id  tliat  members,  or  subscribers,  have  the  opportunity  of  objecting 
at  the  annual  meeting.  Perliaps  they  have;  bul  such  a  mode  of  proceeding  would  be 
ntist  unpleasant,  and  sometimes  even  danserous.  The  best  that  an  objector  could  expert 
under  these  circumstances,  would  be  to  h.ve  hin  self  designated  a  person  of  "  bad  spirit," 
for  which  he  should  revet  be  firgiven 

The  evils  resulting  from  this  close  borough  system,  iu  the  management  of  religions, 
benevolent,  or  literary  institutions,  are  by  no  meuus  inconsiderable,  or  of  trifling  consc- 
quence.  It  cerlainly  has  the  effect ,  of  depriving  societies  or  associationsof  those  tslenti, 
and  that  information  which,  in  many  case's,  ther<;  can  be  no  doubt,  might  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  tlie  welfare  of  such  institutions.  It  must  he  obvious,  that  a  society  ought  to 
derive  all  tl.e  ac'.vautnge  tliat  uiiglit  ba  obtained  from  the  knowledge  of  its  various  mem- 
bers; and  t'lat  t'lese  persons,  whatever  their  jirofessions  may  be,  who,  by  their  narrow 
minded  or  selfish  pc)licy,  circumscribe  otFice  within  their  own  families  or  immediate  con- 
nexions are  really  enemies  to  the  institutions,  whose  prospeiity  they  ought  by  all  meant 
to  consult  and  promote. 

Again,  the  proceedings  which  this  communication  is  meant  to  condemn,  are  calculated, 
in  no  slight  degree,  to  destroy  that  general  iBteissl  amongst  members  or  subscribers,  which 
ought  to  be  m».st  sedulously  cultivated.  It  should  be  borne  iu  mind  that  institutions, 
mich  as  I  here  alhide  to,  are  in  generil  voluntary  associations,  and  that  it  requires  a  very 
strong  degree  of  benevolent  teeling  to  insure  the  contiuaed  support  of  those  persons  who 
are  systematically  and  very  obviously  excluded  from  any  office  or  honours,  except  that 
of  paying  their  money. 

The  fairest  and  most  satisfact'^ry  mode  of  choosing  committee  men,  deputies,  and  repre- 
seutativcs,  is  by  a  general  ballot.  Here  every  member,  bubscriber,  or  qualified  person 
has  not  only  then  an  opportunity  of  assenting  to  the  choice  of  officers,  but  of  giving  in  the 
names  of  tUose  verv  persons  whom,  above  all  others,  he  Jeems  most  eligible  ;  and  if,  after 
the  names  are  collected,  those  persons  who  bave'the  most  votes,  and  express  a  willingness 
to  serve,  arc  c-'usidered  as  the  officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  you  are  likely  to  obtaiu  all  the 
efficiency  which  ihe  institution  or  association  afforda. 

A  MANCHESTER  MAN. 


JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTEH,     t  KURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  7. 


JULY  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 


Amidst  a  variety  of  topics,  which  suggest  themselves  aa 
fit  subjects  for  the  Reformer  of  tlie  present  month,  none  is  so 
agreeable  to  my  feelings,  and  none  more  important  than 

An  Address  to  the  WoRKfNG  Classes,  as  to  the  best 

MEANS  OF  PROMOTING  THEIR  OWN  HAPPINESS. 

Dear  Friends, 

To  you  I  claim  a  special  kindred,  to  your  interests 
the  energies  of  my  mind  have  been  especially  devoted,  and  to 
promote  your  happiness  and  welfare,  no  sacrifice  I  can  make 
shall  ever  be  withheld.    Great  in  numbers,  exemplary  for  in- 
dustry, docile  in  disposition,  and  influential  in  your  sphere  of 
life,  your  well  being  and  happiness,  the  principal  spring  of 
all  social  good,  demand  the  first  efforts  of  every  patriot.    You 
are  the  body  of  the  community,  the  strength  and  sinews  of  the 
nation;   and  on  your  knowledge,  character,  and  conduct,  de- 
pend, in  a  great  measure,  the  peace  of  the  country,  the  diffu- 
sion of  virtue  and  religion,  the  comfort  and  contentment  of  the 
poor,  and  the  security  and  happiness  of  the  rich.     This  view 
of  your  relative   character  in  society,  which  is  by  no  means 
exaggerated,  ought  to  lead  you  to  reflect  on  your  great  respon- 
sibility, and  to  endeavour  to  discharge  every  duty  with  a  pro- 
per regard  to  its  consequences  ;  and,  by  reviewing  what  is  past, 
to  avoid  every  step  which  you  now  perceive  to  have  had  a  per- 
nicious tendency.     Too  long,  alas  !  have  the  working  classes 
been  looked  upon,  by  some,  merely  as  beasts  of  burden  ;  and 
too  long,  also,  ignorant  of  their  own  dignity,  and  sunk  beueath 

Aa 


194 

the  low  vices  of  the  age,  mauy  of  them  have  contributed  ttf 
their  own  degradation.  Instead  of  deliberate  councils,  and  a 
display  of  moral  power,  they  have  sometimes  suffered  them-' 
selves,  by  a  recourse  to  impracticable,  or  illegal  measures,  to 
be  lowered  in  the  scale  of  society,  and  have  been  made  to  feel, 
with  greatei"  severity,  the  iron  rod  of  oppression.  The  days 
of  fraud  and  collusion  are  gone  by,  and  therefore,  to  persuade 
you  that  your  degradation  is  natural,  is  not  only  to  affront 
your  understandings,  but  is  calculated  to  provoke  your  just 
resentment.  The  special  miseries  which  afflict  the  working 
class  are  unnatural ;  they  belong  not  to  your  order  ;  your  situ- 
ation in  life,  of  all  others,  by  a  wise  appointment  of  Provi- 
dence, is  the  least  contributary  to  human  misery.  What  then 
are  the  causes  of  these  sufferings  ?  Allowing  for  that  portion 
which  is  the  lot  of  every  human  being,  I  answer,  they  are 
attributable  to  iivo  great  causes  ;  first,  your  own  conduct ;  and 
second,  the  conduct  of  your  superiors.  Unless  we  take  this 
candid  view,  and  shape  our  enquiries  accordingly,  we  shall 
never  discover  the  true  principles  of  solid  and  permanent 
improvement.  - 

I  have  never  concealed  my  conviction  of  the  oppression  of 
many  of  your  superiors  ;  of  the  selfishness  and  tyranny  of  those 
who  have  governed  this  country :  and  if  it  were  now 
asked,  after  enjoying  so  long  a  time,  advantages  which 
other  nations  envy  in  vain,  why  is  our  country  a  seat  of  mi- 
sery, discontent,  vice,  and  pro-fligacy,  aiid  saddled  with  a  debt, 
unparalleled  in  the  world  ?  I  would  answer  that,  in  the  first 
place,  it  is  owing  to  the  vices  of  our  great  men  ;  that  the 
kings,  and  lords,  and  commoners,  and  magistrates,  and 
clergy,  wliose  political  course,  in  the  management  of  the 
nation's  affairs,  is  now  universally  execrated,  have  been  men, 
though  great  in  dignity  and  power,  whose  principles,  example, 
morals  and  policy  have  been  productive  of  the  worst  consequen- 
ces to  the  nation  at  large  :  and  until  we  have  better  men  in  all 
the  great  offices  and  situations  of  the  state,  and  until  the  rich, 
and  especially  those  who  are  proprietors  of  works  where  num- 
bers of  persons  are  employed,  act  upon  principles  more  conci- 
liating and  equitable,  we  will  still  have  to  lament  the  want  of 
one  great  remedy  for  the  evils  which  afflict  you. 

But  on  this  occasion  you  will  allow  me  to  speak  more  par* 
ticularly  to  yourselves.     Reformation,  like  charity,  should  be- 


1^ 

g-jit  at  liome.  Let  us  first  pull  the  beaui  out  of  our  owu  eye; 
and  then  we  shall  see  clearly  to  pull  the  moat  out  of  our  bro- 
ther's eye.  So  numerous,  so  powerful,  and  so  intrinsically  va- 
luable  are  the  working  men  of  this  country,  that,  constituted 
as  society  is  now,  a  change  of  morals  and  deportment  among- 
them,  would  be  an  imperative  notice  for  advancement  in  every 
other  class  in  society.  Let  but  the  stock  be  well  gi'aft- 
ed,  the  branches,  the  foliage,  and  the  fruit  are  sure  to 
partake  of  its  excellencies.  So  important  is  it,  then,  that  you 
should  start  first  in  this  moral  revolution  ;  and  let  it  be  your 
and  my  determination,  on  all  occasions,  never  to  find  fault 
with  conduct  whicli  we  are  equally  guilty  of  ourselves,  or  with 
the  proceedings  of  our  superiors,  while  we  are  under  the  in- 
fluence of  dispositions  which  evidently  lead  to  the  same.  In^ 
stead  of  an  ineffectual  course  of  perpetual  clamour,  instead  of 
repeatedly  projecting  plans,  which  as  constantly  fail,  for  want 
ef  character  and  integrity  in  the  agents  employed  ;  for  once, 
I  would  advise  you  to  be  determined  to  regard  good  principles, 
and  a  virtuous  course  of  life,  as  the  only  rational  foundation  of 
improvement  and  happiness.  The  energy  and  success  of  your 
various  enterprizes  will  just  be  in  proportion  as  these  are  revey;; 
red.  '^ 

Possessing  a  desire  of  happiness  and  a  dread  of  miserv ; 
connected  by  the  cords  of  sympathy  to  friends,  to  families,  and 
to  the  world ;  viewing,  perhaps  with  little  satisfaction,  the  past 
spent  part  of  your  lives,  and  conscious  of  the  uncertain  tenure 
of  existence,  let  me  beseech  you,  just  now,  for  once,  to  h.alt,. 
and  to  ask  yourselves,  before  yon  proceed — What  has  been 
tlie  past  course  of  my  life  ?  have  my  attainments,  my  years,  my- 
earnings,  been  applied  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  giv-' 
en  ?  have  I  respected  myself  ?  formed  in  the  image  of  my 
Maker,  have  the  noble  faculties  of  my  body  and  mijid  been 
duly  improved  and  devoted  to  the  objects  of  my  creation  ?  have 
I  been  solicitous  to  promote  to  the  utmost  the  happiness  of  my 
domestics?  has  my  wife  been  the  object  of  my  cordial 
esteem,  and  my  children  of  my  unceasing  care ;  and  has  my 
own  fire  side  been  the  happiest  spot  on  earth  ?  have  universal 
peac^  and  good  will  to  men,  in  my  humble  sphere,  been  mani- 
fest in  all  my  actions,  and  have  my  example  and  deportment 
tended  to  cement  the  best  bonds  of  eocietv  ?    have  the  solemn 


196 


obligations  of  serving  God  been  duly  impressed  on  my  mind  ? 
A  worm  of  the  earth,  a  creature  of  the  dust,  do  I  constantly  a- 
dore  that  Supreme  Being  in  whom  I  live,  and  move,  and  have 
Hiy  existence  ?  have  his  goodness  and  mercy  been  a  constant 
theme  in  my  family,  and  do  I  daily,  in  their  presence,  make 
my  grateful  acknowledgments  ?  in  the  midst  of  many  troubles 
and  crosses,  have  I  discovered  the  only  sourse  of  permanent 
peace,  and  unmixed  consolation  ?  With  the  affection  of  a 
sincere  friend,  1  lay  these  questions  before  you,  and  earnestly 
entreat,  as  you  regard  your  present  or  your  future  welfare,  to 
apply  them  individually  to  your  hearts,  and  let  conscience,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  give  a  faithful  answer.  To  those  who 
can  answer.  Yes!  I  would  say — Hapjiy  men!  you  need 
not  envy  the  princes  of  the  world  ;  the  power  of  potentates  is 
contemptible  in  your  eyes  ;  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  could  not 
add  a  grain  to  your  happiness.  If  you  get  food  and  raiment 
you  are  content ;  fearing  God,  and  loving  all  mankind  ;  affec- 
tionate towards  your  wives,  and  tutoring  and  training  up  your 
children  in  all  goodness,  you  have  a  sourse  of  happiness  which 
the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away.  Though  obscure 
your  names,  they  are  written  in  heaven  ;  though  unnoticed  by 
the  world,  you  shall  dwell  with  Christ,  and  behold  his  glory ! 
Go  on,  my  friends,  go  on  !  supported  by  the  testimony  of  con- 
science, cheered  by  the  smile  of  heaven,  put  your  trust  in 
the  arm  of  Omnipotence,  and  your  conquest  is  sure  to  be  com- 
plete. Let  not  the  dazzling  baubles  of  the  age  divert  you  from 
your  course  ;  let  not  the  strong  currents  of  popular  depravity 
shake  you  from  your  purpose  ;  and  let  not  the  indulgence  of 
sense  weaken  your  hopes,  and  obscure  your  views  of  that  ho- 
nor, glory,  and  immortality,  which  lie  beyond  the  grave  ! 

"Far  distant  land  !  could  mortal  eyes 
But  half  its  chai-ms  explore, 
How  would  our  spirits  long  to  rise, 
And  dwell  on  earth  no  more  ! 

There  pain  and  sickness  never  come. 
And  giief  no  more  complains  ; 
Health  triumphs  in  immortal  bloom, 
And  endless  pleasure  reigns ! 

No  cloud  those  blissful  regions  know. 
For  ever  bright  and  fair  ! 
For  sin,  the  sourse  of  mortal  woe, 
Can  never  enter  there." 


I 


197 


■ 

^^  But  I  fear,  by  far  tli-e  greater  number,  when  pres- 
'^"  sed  with  my  questions,  will  be  obliged  to  answer — no  ! 
Your  condition  invites  the  commiseration  of  every  feeling 
man.  My  heart  bleeds  for  you.  Toil,  and  labour,  and  sick- 
ness, and  suffering  have  been  your  portion  for,  perhaps,  twenty 
or  forty  years.  Instead  of  enjoying,  during  this  long  period,  a 
healthy  body,  tranquility  of  mind,  comfort  and  happiness  at 
home,  and  being  able  to  look  forward  to  the  peaceful  termina- 
tion of  your  days,  and  to  the  rest  and  glories  of  a  better  world, 
your  souls  are  like  the  troubled  sea,  which  cannot  rest ;  your 
bodies  emaciated  by  excess;  recollection  reproaches  you  with 
your  mispent  life,  and  your  anticipations  of  the  future  are  all 
gloomy  and  distressing.  Jarring,  strife,  and  contention,  mar 
your  peace  at  home  ;  and,  instead  of  concord  and  love,  there 
is  mutual  crimination  and  disgust.  The  children,  (poor  lambs) 
are  entirely  neglected  ;  and,  instead  of  the  affectionate  teacli- 
ing  of  a  father,  and  the  fostering  care  of  a  mother,  they  are 
abandoned  to  the  world,  and  are  imitating,  with  youthful  ar- 
dor, all  the  pernicious  practices  which  ensure  the  corruption  of 
the  next  generation.  You  thus  drag  on  a  miserable  existence  ; 
having  early  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  numbers  be- 
ing willing  to  associate  in  your  vicious  career,  you  have  gone 
on,  from  year  to  year,  blending  your  example  and  influence  in 
spreading  misery  around  ;  though,  so  little  satisfied  with  your- 
selves, at  every  interval  of  reflection  you  have  been  ready  to 
exclaim — "Oh  !  wretched  man  that  I  am  !"  Amidst  so  much 
gloom  and  perplexity,  entangled  by  the  fascinating  snares  of 
sin,  instead  of  repentance  and  reformation,  on  occasions  of  dis- 
tress and  trouble,  yon  have  madly  fled  to  the  ale-house  to  assuage 
your  griefs.  At  a  great  expence  of  money,  time,  health,  and 
character,  at  these  places  of  riot  and  disorder,  you  have  endea- 
voured to  purchase  a  short  respite  from  your  damning  reflec- 
tions. What  a  shocking  course  of  life  for  a  rational  being  to 
lead  !  for  a  man  who,  if  he  would  but  use  his  reason,  might  be 
a  blessing  to  all  around,  and  be  blessed  himself  I  If  such  be 
the  state  of  misery,  even  at  the  prime  of  life,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  comparative  health,  and  in  the  receipt  of  sufficient  earnings, 
what  must  we  expect  when  sickness  comes,  when  affliction 
spreads  her  gloomy  shade,  when  the  earnings  are  almost  redu- 
ced to  nothing,  and  when,  from  long  continued  disease,  svnip- 


tons  bcin  to  portend  the  melauclioly  approach  of  dcaith  r  Ah  I 
sucli  scenes  are  far  from  being  imaginary  I  The  emaciated  lius- 
band  lies  stretched  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  stnng' with  the  reflec 
tions  of  his  past  life— struggling  between  the  fears  of  death, 
and  the  resolutions  of  amendment— attended  by  a  wife,  whose 
previous  conduct  adds  nothing  to  liis  relief,  and  surrounded  by 
the  children,  whose  present  cravings  can  scarcely  be  supplied, 
and  for  whose  future  welfare  a  single  step  has  never  been  ta- 
Hen  !  Poor  man  !  his  l>osom  heaves  with  sorrow  ;  the  shaking 
of  his  head  denotes  the  conflicts  of  his  soul ;  and,  execrating 
the  days  of  his  folly,  his  uplifted  eyes,  and  the  tremour  of  Ium 
lips,  denote  his  cry  for  mercy  ! — I  leave  the  scene — I  turn  to 
vou  who  are  in  health,  and  earnestly  warn  you,  lest  this  me- 
lancholy fate  should  be  yours.  I  address  myself  to  those  who 
are  in  full  employment,  and  whose  wages  are  sufficient,  with 
economv,  to  meet  their  wants.  You  have,  doubtless,  many 
hardships  which  you  are  bound  to  endure,  and  over  which,  at 
present,  you  have  no  controul ;  but  it  is  in  reference  to  your 
onn  conduct,  on  which  depends  a  great  proportion  of  happiness 
pr  miser}-,  that  1  presume  to  give  you  my  advice. 

And,  first,  your  personal  duties.  I  make  this  distinction, 
because  I  wish  what  1  have  to  say  under  this  head,  to  apply  to 
young  men  as  well  as  those  who  have  families.  In  urging  these 
duties  what  a  variety  of  motives  present  themselves — health  of 
body,  length  of  life,  mental  enjoyment,  competency  of  means, 
advancement  and  respectability  in  society,  peace  of  conscience, 
and  the  cheering  hope  of  ?i  better  world  I  >'',}_, 

Convinced  that  these  advantages  will  frequently  resnit 
from  doing  your  duty  in  that  state  of  life  to  which  Gotl  has 
oilledyou, — I  urge  at  the  onset  the  duty  of  reflection.  This 
is  the  first  and  most  important  step,  and  without  it,  should  you 
even  become  reformed,  it  will  be  more  the  result  of  temporary 
impulse  than  of  settled  pri.nciple.  If  the  duty  of  considering 
our  ways — if  the  advantages  of  self -investigctt ion  were  but  suffi- 
ciently attended  to,  few  directions  as  to  the  details  of  duty 
would  be  requisite.  But  while  men  do  not,  and  will  not  ////«/?, 
while  they  are  led  by  animal  feeling  and  sensual  appetite,  and 
suffer  thejnselves  to  be  carried  by  the  stream  of  bad  example, 
they  have  no  lielm  tp  guide  them,  and  carelessly  float  along  the 
nelf-dcludiiig  elements  of  the  world,     if  vou  would  but   iliink  5 


\t    v<»u   Would    but   use   tliat  puwer  of   /•£-//ft7/y«  witli  v,  liich  kind 
Heaven  has  favored  you  aliove  the  brutes  that  perish,   you  would 
j)osst5s  a  lisht  in  your  own  breasts,    exceeding  in  importance  all 
that  vou  can  hear,  and  all  thai  any  man  can  teach  jou.     It  would 
not  only  dlsroTer  the  follies  of  your  past  life,  the  excellency  of  re^ 
li(»ion  and  rirtue,  but  bi^come  the  best  regulator  in  all  your  minor 
and  less  important  affairs.     The  frivolities  and  vapid  pleasures  of 
many  vouiig  persons  prevent  them  from  serious  thought  •    whilst 
others,  whose  vicious  habits  have  kept  pace  with  their  years,  have 
almost  lost  the  power  of  thinking.  The  intellect  becomes  drowned^ 
reason  confused,   and  passion  and  sensuality  lay  both  prostrate  at 
their  feet.     What  a  work  of  seif-destruction  !  The  powers  of  the 
mind  destroyed,  buc  a  few  steps  more  in  dissipation^  and  the  whole 
man  becomes  a  complete  wreck  !  1  ref)eat  again,  with  all  the  en.^ 
ero-y  of  one,    whose  happiness   is   bound  up  with  yours — Stand 
still  atid  reflect  !     If  your  sabbaths  and  your  evenings  are  not 
sufficient,  your  mode  of  labour  affords  you  maay  advantages.  Men 
of  business  arc  absorbed  in  the  cares  and  schemes  of  trade,    and 
suffer  themselves  to  be  carried  away  with  the  flattering  but  delu- 
sive prospect  of  riches ;  bat,  in  most  cases,  your  mrnds  are  at  liber- 
ty, while  your  hands  are  employed.     Every  sober,  working,  maoj 
after  leaving  his  employment,  can  enjoy  his  corner  at  home,  with 
a  calmness  and   serenity,   to    which    our    tradesLneu  are  entire 
strangers.     Possessed  of  ordinary  means,  I  know  none  who  havd 
superior  advantages  to  the  working  classes  of  acquiring  that  spe- 
cies of  information,  on  which  the  happiness  of  life  depends.    Free 
from  the  curses  of  wealth,  if  you  can  also  escape  the  privations  of 
poverty,  your  state  is  by  far  the  best ;    and  your  minds  are   left 
much  more  free  for  reflection  and  meditation,    than  those  who  are 
exposed  to  the  peculiar  temptations  either  of  poverty  or  riches* 
'J  0  these    advantages    1    am   much    indebted    myself.     Left   an 
orphan    at  the   age  of  seven,    I  was  obliged    to  labour   fur   my 
bread,  and  for  about  nine  years,  1  toiled   at  the  loom  in  a  dark 
and  loathsome  cellar.  With  about  as  much  education  as  is  obtain- 
ed ia  our  national  schools,  and  withoot  the  means  of  purchasing' 
books,  in  a  literary  sense  I  laboured  tinder  many  disadvanfa^-es. 
But  i  thought  the  more ;   my  mind  was  always  at  liberty ;    whilst 
my  hands  and  my  feet  were  driving  on  at  full  speed,  [  could  sum- 
mon the  world  before  me,  ai  d  criticise  its  character  and  preten- 
sions.    So  busy  and  active  was  my  youthful  mind,  that  in  ihe  ab- 
sense  of  every  other  object  of  attraction,  I  would  sometimes  eno-ao-9 
to  ascertain  \vh^  tijer  there  were  mi-Tc'  males  ur  ft'n;ali  s  pasas^d  my 


200 

window  in  an  hour.  It  is  from  these  circumstances,  principally, 
instead  of  being  the  dupe  of  education  and  custom,  1  lay  claim  toj 
some  degree  of  originality  of  thought;  having  never  submitted 
to  the  trammels  of  authority,  I  have  always  ventured  to  think  for" 
myself,  and  to  shape  my  course  by  the  convictions  of  my  own 
mind.  It  is  from  hence  I  learned  the  important  duty  of  caring 
for,  and  sympathizing  with  the  poor,  and  of  anxiously  supporting 
anv  plan  calculated  to  better  their  condition.  To  that  very  spot, 
and  to  these  circumstances,  under  the  direction  of  a  kind  Provi- 
dence, I  attribute  the  commencement  of  a  course  of  self-examina- 
tion, which  I  shall  never  regret.  Here  I  had  an  opportunity  cf  re- 
viewing the  world,  before  I  was  much  entangled  in  its  snares.  On 
the  weaver's  breast  beam  I  learned  the  English  grammar  ;  and, 
having  never  had  an  instructor,  if  you  meet  with  any  thing  which  is 
more  than  common  place  in  any  of  my  productions,  attribute  it 
principally  to  that  practice,  which  I  am  now  so  anxious  to  enjoin 
upon  you.  I  remember  with  greater  pride,  my  early  studies,  and 
my  midnight  toils  in  the  cellar  at  Walton,  than  I  should  any  honor 
that  the  greatest  monarch  could  have  conferred  upon  me.  It  is 
generally  acknowledged  that  wealth  and  ease  are  unfavorable  to 
mental  improvement',  and  I  can  say  to  you  from  experience,  in 
this  respect,  that,  your  employments  afford  opportunities  oi thinks 
ing,  which  you  can  never  sufficiently  prize.  All  businesses  which 
consist  in  a  repetition  of  the  same  operations,  are  favor- 
able to  study,  and  I  doubt  not  among  these  are  many  men 
of  bright  genius,  correct  discernment,  enlarged  minds,  and 
ennobled  feelings,  and  who  are  better  qualified  for  useful  situa- 
tions, than  those  whom  fortune  and  caprice  have  forced  upon  us. 
But,  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  live  honestly  in  the  sight  of  all 
men,  never  envy  wealth  nor  those  who  possess  it ;  let 
your  anxiety  be  to  know  your  duty,  to  perceive  your  mis- 
takes, and  to  weigh"  deliberately  the  importance  of  every  thing  you 
undertake  to  perform.  The  light  of  truth  has  long  shone  upon  us  ; 
and,  though  its  rays  are  much  obstructed  by  the  clouds  of  avarice, 
pride,  and  sensuality,  they  easily  penetrate  the  honest,  the  en- 
quiring mind.  As  men,  as  labourers,  whose  bodily  faculties  are 
often  over  exerted,  as  fathers,  as  citizens,  and  as  immortal  beings, 
let  me  again  entreat  you  to  exert  your  minds,  and  to  pray  God 
to  give  you  a  right  and  an  understanding  heart. 

In   this  progress  of  reformation,    I   advise  you,   in  the  next 
place,    lu  break  off'  every  bad  association,    whether  consisting  of 


k 


201 


companies  or  individuals.  I  need  not  tell  you  of  the  influence  of 
bad  companions  ;  it  is  superior  to  every  other.  You  must  there- 
fore give  up  every  connection  that  would  in  any  way  involve  you 
in  vice,  and  retard  your  course  of  improvement.  Let  this  be  done 
by  an  open,  frank,  avowal  of  your  resolution,  and  the  reasons  upon 
which  it  is  founded  ;  which  will  not  only  free  you  from  the  diffi- 
culties of  half  measures,  but  may  possibly  lead  some  of  your  old 
companions  to  go  along  with  you.  This,  of  course,  does  not  affect 
your  connection  as  work-fellows,  or  in  any  of  the  civilities  of  life, 
but  refers  to  that  voluntary  friendship,  leading  to  a  course  of  life, 
which  you  are  now  determined  to  oppose.  A  man  is  known  by 
the  company  he  keeps.  And  achievements,  both  good  and  bad, 
which  men,  as  individuals,  would  never  think  of  attempting,  are 
easily  performed  by  the  same  persons  when  acting  in  concert.  In 
proportion,  therefore,  as  we  yield  to  the  influence  of  connections, 
how  important  is  it  that  they  should  be  of  the  best  kind,  and  that 
our  bosom  friends  should  be  "the  excellent  of  the  earth." 

In  proceeding  to  your  relative  duties,  there  are  many  details, 
which  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  enter  upon,  because  your  own  good 
sense  will  point  them  out.  As  servants,  in  the  language  of  scrip-  . 
ture,  I  would  say,  "be  obedient  to  your  masters,  not  with  ei/e 
service,  as  men  pleasers,  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fearing 
God  ;  and  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  with  good  will,  as  to  the  Lord, 
and  not  unto  men,  knowing  that  of  the  Lord  ye  shall  receive  the 
reward."*  (Ephes.  VI.  5— S.  Col.  III.  22—25)  If  both  men 
and  masters  were  actuated  by  these  motives,  those  disputes, 
and  violent  measures,  which  are  now  so  common,  would  ne- 
ver occur ;  and,  without  beginning  here,  I  candidly  confess,  I 
know  no  remedy  ;  for,  merely  on  the  maxims  of  worldly  policy,  I 
believe,  it  is  entirely  futile  to  attempt  to  give  any  directions.  Both 
parties  ought,  doubtless,  to  stand  up  for  their  own  interests,  but 
if  this  is  to  be  done  by  a  spirit  of  hostility,  by  an  insatiable  desire 
for  gain  ;  if  it  is  to  be  made  a  question  of  wealth  against  poverty 
and  patience,  we  are  sure  who,  generally  speaking,  are  to  be  the 
sufferers.  If  both  masters  and  men.  were  mutually  considerate, 
and  wishful  to  promote  the  happiness  of  each  other ;  if  they  would 
endeavour  to  walk  together  in  peace,  and  submit  every  dispute  to 


♦  "  Masters"  are  also  enjoined  to  "  forbear  threatening,"  and  to  "give  unto  their  ser- 
vants that  which  is /u^/ and  f^uaf;  knowing  also  that  they  have  a  MASTER  IN  HEA> 
V£N."_Eph.  vi.  9.— Col.  vi.  1. 


Bb 


•202 

the  test  of  reason,  and  not  revenge,  the  alarm,  terror,  and  misery 
of  turn  outs  would  seldom  occur.  These  remarks,  of  course,  ap- 
ply to  business  In  its  present  state  ;  as  to  the  systemof  co-opera- 
tion,  of  which  many  plausible  things  have  been  said,  I  have  never 
ypt  had  sufficient  opportunities  of  observing  its  permanent  work- 
ings, to  be  able  to  pronounce  a  decided  opinion. 

As  citizens,  "let  all  your  things  be  done  with  charity,"  and, 
«'  if  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all 
men."  As  subjects,  love  your  country,  respect  the  laws,  and 
"honor  the  King."  At  the  same  time,  practically  and  firmly  seek 
the  improvement  of  our  institutions,  and  those  salutary  changes, 
which  the  welfare  of  the  country  requires.  With  these  principles, 
and  with  a  corresponding  conduct,  in  an  age  of  liberality  like  the 
present,  the  moral  force,  which  so  great  a  body  as  the  working 
class  is  capable  of  displaying,  would,  if  properly  directed,  be  able 
to  accomplish,  peaceably  and  speedily,  many  wise  political  chan- 
ges. But  measures,  pursued  in  the  spirit  of  sheer  hostility,  and 
carried  on  by  suspicious  agents,  are  not  only  sure  to  fail,  but  to 
add  to  the  numerous  instances  of  disappointment  and  loss,  which 
the  working  men  of  this  country  have  so  often  sustained. 

As  husbands  and  fathers,  I  would  beg  to  offer  to  you  a  few 
words  of  admonition.  Happiness  at  home  is  the  wish  of  every 
one  of  you  ;  and,  though  some  are  enjoying  this  blessing,  you 
will  bear  me  out  when  I  say,  that  by  far  the  greatir  pau  are  not 
happy.  The  contentions  (if  wives  and  husbands  ;  his  studied  ab- 
sence from  home,  and  her  neglect  of  domestic  duties  ;  their  embar- 
rassment in  circumstances;  the  untoward  conduct  of  the  chiid'cn, 
and  their  entire  want  of  respect  for  their  parents,  are  symptons 
which  are  exceedingly  cqmmon,  and  are  evident  proofs  of  the  *»ant 
of  happiness.  Remember,  you  are  the  h?ai  of  the  family  ;  it  is 
therefore  for  you  to  lead,  to  plan,  and  to  give  effect  to  every  regu- 
lation by  your  own  example.  An  awful  responsibility  attaches  to 
you,  and  in  proportion  as  you  neglect  your  duty,  will  you  bring 
on  your  own  punishment  and  loss  of  happiness.  How  many  are 
now  wading  through  seas  of  grief  and  trouble,  which  they  have 
accumulated  for  themselves,  by  a  neglect  of  early  domestic  duties  ; 
who,  by  a  different  conduct,  might  have  descended  the  vale  of  life 
in  peaca,  and  closed  their  days  in  perfect  tranquility.  If  we  are 
not  l.appy  at  home,  there  is  no  real  happiness  to  bo  found  ;  and  no 
attention,  or  time,  or  sacrifice,  is  too  much  for  a  man,  entering 
Upop  life,  to  make,  in  order  to  ensure  this  blessing.     Considera- 


r 

^H  Hnn. 


203 


Hon,  the  duty  I  have  already  enforced,  j'ou  will  find  of  importance 
here,  and  if,  for  want  of  it,  you  miss  your  way  at  the  beginning, 
you  will  have  deeply  to  deplore  your  folly.  Where  there  is  com- 
petency of  means,  it  is  in  the  power  of  almost  any  man,  if  he 
begin  right,  to  make  his  home  comfortable.  Remember,  that 
you,  and  the  woman  of  your  choice,  are  "no  longer  irvain,  but 
one  flesh."  To  consolidate  this  union,  at  the  beginning,  is 
the  first  and  most  important  step.  You  are  "yoked  together'* 
for  life,  and  by  all  means  try  to  bring  your  dispositions  and 
designs  as  near  together  as  possible.  Where  you  cannot  agree 
in  opinion,  agree  in  charity.  Tolerate  every  conscientious  dif- 
ference, as  to  religion,  or  any  other  matter  ;  but  try  to  be  of 
same  judgment  as  to  the  management  of  your  domestic  affairs ; 
as  to  what  pertains  to  the  comfort  of  yourselves  and  children. 
Oh  !  the  cries  of  conjugal  infelicity  that  resound  from  every 
street !  Why  is  it  that  those  lips,  which  often  gave  the  pledge 
of  lasting  love,  should  so  soon  be  employed  in  nmtual  defama- 
tion ?  that  those  hands,  which  were  often  clenched  in  fervent 
affection,  and  joined  at  the  holy  altar  of  matrimony,  should  be 
employed  to  menace  and  injure  each  other  ?  Why  is  it,  that 
the  woman,  who  has  forsaken  all,  should  be  maltreated  by  him 
whom  she  has  chosen  for  her  protector  ?  The  fault,  I  readily 
allow,  is  not  always  on  the  man's  side,  but  the  healing  power 
is  generally  in  his  breast,  if  he  were  willing  to  apply  it.  In 
the  present  order  of  things,  while  the  employment  of  factories 
prevents  young  girls  from  learning  the  art  of  domestic  manage- 
ment, it  is  impossible  to  expect  any  great  number  of  women, 
nell  qualified  for  poor  men's  wives  ;  and  therefore  it  will  of- 
ten happen,  that  this  part  of  their  education  (if  finished  at  all) 
will  have  to  be  finished  in  the  wedded  state.  And  if  husbands 
were  kind,  and  patient,  and  forbearing,  there  are  few  young 
wives  who  would  not  be  found  willing  to  strive  to  improve,  and 
to  please  them  in  every  reasonable  thing.  Let  each  married 
couple,  at  the  onset,  subscribe  this  short  resolution — We  will 
love  and  cherish  as  we  have  promised  ;  we  will  act  together  in 
unity  and  concord ;  our  mutual  happiness,  and  the  happiness 
of  our  offspring,  shall  be  our  first  and  last  desire,  to  the  end  of 
our  lives. 

This  great  point  of  union  gained,  in  reference  to  domestic 
matters  I  offer  only  a  few  hints  more  of  a  miscellaneous  cha- 


•204 

racter.— Be  friendly  with  all  your  neighbours,  but  exchang-e 
viaits  sparingly  ;  be  mostly  at  home,  and  never  let  your  wife 
have  to  seek  you  in  unsuitable  places,  and  especid.lly  at  late 
hours.  Caution  your  good  woman  against  gossiping,  and  ne- 
ver suffer  tea  drinking  parties  in  your  absence.  Ke6p  your 
house,  furniture,  and  every  thing  belonging  to  it,  in  good  re- 
pair. Assist  your  wife  in  every  plan  of  economy,  and  go  with 
her  when  you  can  to  market.  1  like  to  see  a  woman,  clean 
and  tidy,  going  to  market  on  a  Saturday  evening,  with  her  hus- 
band on  one  side,  and  her  basket  on  the  other.  Let  it  be  a 
standing  rule  to  buy  nothing  on  credit,  and  never  to  enter  the 
doors  of  a  pawnbroker's  shoji,  except  some  unforseen  affliction 
should  compel  you  to  do  so.  Be  particular  in  the  choice  of 
your  house,  as  it  regards  a  healthy  situation,  and  particularly 
as  to  the  probable  effects  of  the  morals  of  the  neighbourhood, 
upon  your  children.  Beware  of  extravagance  ;  always  keep 
a  little  belov^'  your  means  ;  it  is  not  the  earnings,  but  the  spend' 
inga,  that  make  the  greatest  diflerence  in  people's  circumstan- 
ces. I  have  no  taste  for  splendid  buildings,  and  I  should  feel 
quite  as  comfortable  in  a  cottage  of  Is.  6d.  a  week  as  I  should 
in  a  mansion,  but  still  I  like  to  see  every  thing  clean,  tidy,  and 
convenient.  A  clean,  orderly  house,  a  comfortable  fire  side,  and 
the  good  natured  smiles  of  a  lovely  wife,  are  attractions  which 
no  man,  deserving  the  name,  can  resist ;  and  those  who  leave 
these  for  the  pleasures  of  revelry  and  dissipation,  have  yet  to 
learn  the  first  principles  of  happiness.  Such  enjoyments,  con- 
nected with  a  really  pious  disposition,  and  an  attention  to  reli- 
gious duties,  enable  us  to  pass  the  time  of  our  sojourning  here 
in  comparative  happiness.  Admitting  all  the  salutary  afflic- 
tions to  which  flesh  is  heir,  and  all  the  troubles  to  which  we  are 
born,  there  is  yet  happiness  on  this  side  the  grave,  and  while  it 
flees  the  palaces  of  the  great  and  the  profligate,  it  delights  io 
dwell  in  the  humble  cottage  of  the  pious  working  man. 

Your  children  next  claim  your  attention  in  no  ordinary  de- 
gree. They  are  the  fruit  of  your  own  body,  dependent  upon 
you  both  for  physical  support,  and  for  the  training  of  their 
minds.  On  whom  should  these  duties  devolve,  but  the  parents  ? 
and  ignorant,  depraved,  and  inhuman  must  they  be,  who  refuse 
or  neglect  them.  \'our  own  happiness,  net  less  than  tlie  children's 
themselves,  is  involved  in  the  strict  performance  of  every  pa- 


•205 

rental  duty.  Children,  neglected  in  youth,  become  the  scourg-^ 
t)f  their  parent's  old  age.  How  can  fruit  be  expected  when 
the  seed  is  never  sown  ?  So  convinced  am  I  of  this  duty,  that 
I  devoted  19  pages  to  this  subject  in  my  number  for  March> 
to  which,  in  place  of  any  further  observations,  I  beg  your  seri- 
ous attention.  The  whole  may  be  summed  up  in  three  parti- 
culars— judicious  and  affectionate  teaching  and  admonition — 
the  prevention  of  every  bad  association — and  a  standing  good 
(example  of  your  own. 

1  have  reserved,  as  the  last  subject  of  admonition,  my  re- 
marks upon  that  all  ruinous,  poverty  producing,  health  and  life 
destroying  practice  oi  frequenting  the  public  house.  This  is 
the  bane  of  Britain's  greatness  ;  an  universal  curse  to  high  iand 
low.  Where  genuine  hospitality  is  on  the  wane,  houses  for  the 
accomodation  of  strangers  are  necessary  ;  and,  in  mercantile 
districts,  places  of  public  accomodation,  indispensible  ;  but, 
in  either  c;ase,  to  be  obliged  to  guzzle  and  drink,  in  order  to 
remunerate  the  owner,  is  a  monstrous  regulation.  But  for 
persons  who  are  under  no  tie,  voluntarily  to  go  and  spend  their 
evenings,  and  sometimes  even  whole  days,  at  public-houses,  in 
drinking  and  bawling,  to  the  manifold  injury  of  themselves 
and  families,  is  such  a  piece  of  consummate  folly  and  wicked- 
ness, as  can  arise  only  from  deep  depravity,  and  confirmed  ha- 
bits of  vice.  To  visit  these  places,  on  many  occasions,  would 
lead  one  to  think  that  men  had  succeeded  in  persuading  them- 
selves that  there  was  neither  God  nor  future  state.  Through 
the  week,  many  of  you  have  no  opportunities  of  going  to  the 
ale  house,  (though  the  dram  shops  are  frequently  visited,  more 
particularly  by  the  women)  but  on  the  Saturday  evenings,  and 
on  Sundays,  you  sometimes  go  to  shameful  extremes.  Instead 
of  going  home,  and  taking  charge  of  your  families,  and  assist- 
ing your  wives  in  laying  out  your  wages  to  the  best  ad\antage, 
you  go  and  get  drunk  on  the  Saturday  night,  repeat  it  again  on 
Sunday,  and  on  monday  morning,  in  place  of  an  invigorated 
body  and  cheerful  spirits,  you  feel  a  depression  and  langour, 
the  sure  effects  of  your  previous  excess.  You  spend  your 
money,  you  loose  your  time,  you  distress  your  families,  your 
inorals  are  corrupted,  and  you  corrupt  others,  aftd  all  for  the 
delusive,  momentary,  excitement  which  tlie  liquor  imparts  ; 
the  forerunner  of  disease,   arid  the  cause  of  pretnature  death. 


906 


1 


Those  of  you  to  whom  these  remarks  apply,  are,  in  general, 
aware  of  tJie  j  u^jtness  of  this  representation  ;  for,  amongst  all 
the  hard  drinkers  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  I  do  not  recol- 
lect one  who  ever  seriously  justified  the  practice,  or  ventured 
to  recommend  it  to  others.  Once  formed,  it  is  an  inveterate 
habit;  and  the  man  who  said  to  his  friends,  "  If  the  pit  of  hell 
yawned  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  bottle  of  brandy  stood  on  the 
other,  and  if  I  was  sure  1  should  be  pushed  in  if  1  took  one 
fflass  more,  I  could  not  refrain,"  forms  a  melancholy  specimen 
of  a  confirmed  drunkard.  What  then  would  you  have  us  to 
do  ?  Leave  off  public-house  company  altogether  :  this  is  the 
only  sure  course,  for  if  you  trust  yourselves  into  these  places, 
you  are  sure  to  be  overcome.  I  am  decidedly  opposed  even  to 
moderate  drinking  in  any  place,  but  if  you  think  (as  I  know 
you  do,)  that  a  pint  of  ale  is  useful,  take  it  at  home  by  all 
means.  Nothing  but  a  deep  conviction  of  the  horrible  conse- 
quence of  public-house  drinking,  and  an  anxious  M'ish  ior  youp 
welfare,  could  induce  me  to  speak  so  as  to  prejudice  the  inter- 
est of  any  class  of  men.  The  trade  of  some  of  these  houses 
is  founded  principally  upon  the  vices  of  the  people,  and  the 
more  sensual,  more  depraved,  more  extravagant  men  are,  and 
the  more  this  trade  prospers.  Can  any  man,  therefore,  feeU 
ino-  for  the  morals  of  his  country,  support  and  connive  at  such, 
a  system  as  this  ?  If  any  of  your  employers  are  in  the  habit 
of  paying  your  wages  at  the  public -ho  uses,  represent  the  evil 
of  it  to  them,  and  a  single  request  from  you,  I  am  sure,  would 
induce  them  to  change  their  plan.  In  many  of  your  societies 
you  have  a  bad  rule,  which  obliges  your  members,  at  your  se- 
veral meetings,  to  spend  so  much  "  for  the  good  of  the  house.'* 
I  am  in  possession  of  several  facts  relative  to  this,  wliich  would 
convince  any  one,  that  whilst  you  are  doing  good  in  one  way, 
you  are  doing  much  evil  in  another.  If  you  could  agree  to 
pay  the  landlord  so  much  for  the  use  of  the  room,  the  weight 
of  my  objection  would  be  removed,  for  it  is  against  the  ohli- 
gation  for  the  persons  present,  be  they  few  or  man\',  to  con- 
sume a  certain  quantity  oi  liquor  to  remunerate  the  landlord, 
that  I  solemnly  protest.  While  drinking  continues,  poverty 
and  vice  will  prevail ;  and  until  this  is  abandoned,  no  regula- 
tions, no  efforts,  no  authority  under  heaven,  can  raise  the  con- 
dition of  the  working  classes.     It  is  worse  than  a  plague  or  a 


20t 


^^^stilence,  and  the  man  is  no  friend  to  his  country  that  deed 
not  lift  up  his  voice,  and  proclaim  his  example  ag^ainst  it.  So 
shocked  have  I  been  with  the  effects  of  intemperance,  and  so 
convinced  of  the  evil  tendency  of  moderate  drinking,  that  since 
the  commencement  of  1831, 1  have  never  tasted  ale,  wine,  or 
ardent  spirits,  I  know  others  who  are  pursuing  the  same 
resolution,  and  whose  only  regret  is,  that  they  did  not  adopt 
this  course  twenty  years  since. 

With  these  imperfect,  but  well  intended  hints,  I  leave  yoU 
to  your  own  reflections.  You  are  at  age  to  judge  for  your- 
selves }  the  means  of  information  are  at  your  command  ;  and 
to  the  judge  of  all  you  most  shortly  give  an  account.  Thiilk 
of  your  eternal  interests  : — but  a  few  steps  on  this  side  eter* 
nity,  and  yet  many  of  yoii  Unprepared  to  meet  your  God  ! 
Think  of  your  families ;  think  of  those  little  ones  (and  my 
blood  thrills  in  my  veins  when  I  think  of  the  thousands  who 
are  entirely  neglected)  jumping  around  yciU,  fain  to  receive 
the  aifectionate  word'from  your  lips,  but  never  regarded.  On 
you  depends  the  welfare  of  numbers  yet  unborn.  Your  child-* 
ren,  well  taught,  would  teach  others,  and  the  fruit  of  your  pre- 
sent exertions,  would  be  conferred  upon  future  generations. 
Say  not,  my  readers,  say  not  "  this  is  all  very  good,"  and, 
laying  down  the  number,  thoughtlessly  go  on  as  you  have  done 
before,  referring  the  admonitions  to  others.  Allow  me  to  say 
to  each  reader,  seriously, — this  address  is  written  for  i!ou.  In 
the  midst  of  bustle  and  business,  I  have  stolen  these  few 
hours,  if,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  I  might  be  the  meand 
of  arresting  your  attention  to  a  true  sense  of  your  duty. 
Grant  me  only  one  request,  and  I  have  done ;  that,  after 
a  deliberate  reading  of  this  address,  you  will  relire,  the 
first  opportunity,  and  seriously  meditate  upon  your 
past  lijh,  your  present  condition,  and  your  future  prospects^ 
and  pray  God  to  enable  you  "  to  repent  and  turn  to  God,  and 
to  do  works  meet  for  repentance."  Most  of  you  I  shall  never 
see  till  that  day  when  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment 
seat  of  Christ.  "  The  heavens,  then,  being  on  fire,  shall  hQ 
dissolved;  the  elements  shall  melt  with  .eiveni  heat;  the 
earth,  and  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burnt  up."  Oh ! 
the  awful  realities  of  the  scene  !  The  wicked  shall  be  ban-' 
ished  from  his  presence j  but  the  righteous  shall  shine  in  the 


208 

kino-dom  of  tlieir  God  I  That  you  aud  I,  on  that  momentous 
day,  may  hear  His  welcome  voice,  "  Come  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  found- 
ation of  the  world,"'  is  the  fervent  desire  of 

Your  affectionate  and  devoted  Friend, 

J.  LIVESEY. 


IRISH  POOR,   AND  THE  POOR  LAWS. 

The  papers  are  all  clamouring  again  for  Irish  Poor  Laws, 
and  a  Manchester  paper  of  June  1 1th,  among  other  things,  ob- 
serves, "  never  will  there  be  an  end  to  the  miseries  of  the  Irish 
people,  till  they  have  a  legal  provision  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
Never  will  there  be  security  for  property  in  Ireland  till  they 
have  poor  laws."  Now  1  would  ask,  does  any  man  think,  after 
considering  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Irish  people,  the  con-: 
dition  of  the  country,  and,  moreover,  after  reflecting  upon  the 
operation  of  the  poor  laws  in  this  country — does  any  man  think 
that  the  adoption  of  poor  laws  will  be  an  end  to  Irish  misery  ? 
or  that  the  present  insecurity  of  property  is  owing  to  the  want 
©f  poor  laws?  With  all  our  advantages,  have  they  operated  in 
preventing  the  molestation  of  property  in  England  ?  Look  at 
the  riots  in  Whales,  the  burnings  in  the  south,  and  the  spirit  of 
insubordination  which  is  constantly  manifesting  itself.  Have 
the  English  poor  laws  produced  an  end  af  misery  in  England? 
If,  with  English  industry  and  perseverance,  with  English  capi- 
tal, and  all  the  almost  infinite  productive  sources  of  wealth,  the 
misery  of  the  people  of  this  country  is  as  far  from  being  at  "end" 
as  ever,  there  is  an  end,  1  say,  of  the  argument,  as  it  respects  poor 
laws  in  Ireland.  So  degraded  are  the  people,  and  so  accustom- 
ed to  live  upon  the  assistance  of  others,  that  if  assistance  could 
be  had  without  labour,  almost  the  whole  mass,  in  some  parts, 
would  be  paupers.  In  England,  if  a  man  is  not  content  with 
what  the  overseer  offers  him,  he  is  threatened,  as  a  punishment, 
to  be  sent  to  the  workhouse  ;  in  Ireland,  such  an  accommoda- 
tion would  be  hailed  with  delight,  and  the  unnatural  establish- 
ments for  the  poor,  like  barracks  for  the  soldiers,  would  spread 
over  the  land.  Instead. of  these  expedients,  let  us  go  to  the  root 
of  the  evil  at  once.     U^  like   the  great  Eabalonian  Bel,  the 


209 

church  devours  all  within  its  reach,   let  it  share  the  same  fete. 
The  Government  created  it,   and  the  same  authority  can  say, 
"thou  hast  not  answered  the  end  of  thy  appointment ;   instead  of 
doing  ^ood,    thou  art  asourse  of  aggravated  evil  ;    thy  services 
are  no  longer  needed  ;    thy  vast  riclies  are  ours,  in  trust,  and  we 
are  determined  that  the  country,  whose  produce  thou  hast  gorged 
so  long,  shall  henceforward  enjoy  the  benefit  of  its  own  wealth." 
Again  ;   if  the  absentee  landowners,  instead  of  spending  their  in- 
comes at  home,  take  the  produce  of  the  soil  to  other  countries, 
what  check  so  effectual  as  an  aholitioii  of  the  corn  laws?     Inde- 
pendent of  a  thousand  other  advantages,  supposing  an  absentee's 
income  is  £10,000  a  year  ;    instead  of  taking  £l,000  back  in  the 
shape  of  a  poor  law,    only   reduce    the    value  of  his   estates, 
by   reducing  the   value   of  the   produce,   and  you    afford    ge- 
neral relief,    without   the  odiousness  of  the  tax.     T  see,  in  one 
place,  these  poor  creatures  are  crying  out  for  land  at  £8,  instead 
of  j£l2  an  acre.      Nothing  but  an  abolition  of  the  corn  laws  can 
do  this.     It  is  the  excessive  price  of  provisions  that  drains  Ire- 
land ;   let  the  prices  come  down,  less  will  be  exported,  more  will 
remain  for  the  producers,  though  the  church  and  the  landowners 
may   both  be  losers.     Let  the  monstrous  system    of  religious 
taxation  be  annihilated,   let  the  corn  laws  be  abolished,   and  let 
the   people  learn  to  husband  their  earnings  properly,   and  poor 
laws  will  not  be  required  either  for  Ireland  or  England.  I  should 
like  this  point  fairly  canvassed,    and  if  it  should  appear  that  the 
greatest  remedy  is  the  removal  of  the  corn  laws,  let  tlioso  writers 
who  profess  to  be  for  the  people,  abide  by  it,    and  not  divert  the 
attention  of  the  public  by  measures,    which,  at  tlie  be&t,  propose 
only  to  relieve,   not  to  remove  poverty.     Instead  of  extending: 
pauperism,  I  advocate  its  extinction;   and  I  afllrm,  that  in  conn- 
tries  so  productive  as  England  and  Ireland,  no  aide  bodied  man, 
who  is   willing  to   work,  ought  to   be  a  pauper.     God  send* 
us  rain,  and   fruitful  showers  to  f, II  out  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness  ;  how   impious,  then,  for  men,  by  a  system  of  bad  laws, 
to  fill  the  people  with  hunger  and  misery.     If  a  reformed  parlia- 
ment does  not  make  it  the  first  part  of  their  business  to  see  that 
the  productive  classes  are  properly  rewarded,  and  not  degraded 
;,nto  paupers,  I  hope  the  country  will  demand  a  re-reformation. 


Cc 


210 
THE  BRIGFITER  SIDE. 

During  the  last  six  months,  I  have,  with  some  exceptions, 
been  constantly  endeavouring  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  pub- 
lic to  the  prevalency  of  vice,  and  to  expose  the  evil  and  inutility 
of  many  popular  systems.  As  a  consequence  of  the  observations 
anil  reflections  of  the  whole  of  my  previous  life,  and  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  protestor,  it  was  likely  1  should  make  an  early  and  an 
uncompromii^ing  attack  upon  the  evils  of  the  age  ;  and,  having' 
no  interested  motives,  that  this  would  be  especially  directed, 
against  those  practices  which  are  felt  most  grievous  in  society. 
Though  I  have  constantly  been  disturbing  the  nests  of  corrup- 
tion, and  exposing  the  works  of  darkness,  it  is  with  great  plea- 
sure I  now  advert  to  what  I  call  the  brighter  side.  Though 
what  appears  to  us  good  and  evil  is  found  through  all  nature, 
and  in  every  department  of  social  intercourse,  owing  to  some 
cause  or  other,  the  evil  always  strikes  us  first.  Ask  the  first  person 
you  meet  with  how  he  and  his  family  are,  how  the  times  are  com- 
ing on,  the  state  of  his  trade  or  business,  or  any  such  questions, 
and,  in  four  cases  out  of  five,  at  least,  the  answer  will  contain  all 
the  real  or  imaginary  evils  which  he  can  think  of.  This  propen- 
sity may  be  a  mistaken  view  of  what  is  really  good  or  evil,  or  it 
may  spring  from  a  laudable  desire  to  check  the  one,  and  to  pro- 
mote the  growth  of  the  other.  But  no  man  will  deny,  that  when 
we  meet  with  what  is  good  and  commendable,  it  is  both  a  duty 
and  a  pleasure  to  offer  to  it  the  tribute  of  our  praise.  If  this 
were  done  more  frequently,  if  the  good  were  more  nourished 
and  cherished,  perhaps  it  might  exhilerate  its  growth,  and  ren- 
der it  more  visilile  and  |>rominent  on  the  earth. 

The  evils  in  society  are  so  prominent,  so  pressing  upon  so- 
ciety, and  have  been  so  often  pointed  out,  that  no  effort  is  neces- 
sary to  convince  others  of  their  reality  ;  the  difficulty  is,  to  con- 
vince some  that  any  good  still  remains.  Like  Elias  of  old.  after 
viewing  the  general  defection,  we  are  ready  to  conclude  that 
every  thing  is  become  corrupt.  "  Lord,"  says  he  "  they  have 
killed  thy  prophets,  and  digged  down  thy  altars,  and  I  am  left 
alone,  and  they  seek  my  life."  But  whatsaith  the  answer  of  God 
unto  him.*  "I  have  reserved  to  myself  ^eten  thoiLsand  men  who 
have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal."  (Rom.  xi.  4.) 
So  then,  in  the  worst  of  times,  when    prophets    even  concluded 


w 


1U 

that  they  were  left  alone,  God  had  a  remnant  to  serve  him  ;  and 
are  we  not  justified  in  concluding  that  the  same  is  the  case  still  ? 
Let  us  see  if  we  can  find  any  traces  oi'  them.  1  leave  out  all 
theological  distinctions  ;  and,  where  I  can  find  devotedness  to 
the  Lord,  purity  of  character,  and  a  decided  disposition  to  do 
good  to  others,  I  am  sure  1  have  the  best  proofis  of  what  is  pleas- 
ing to  God.  Many  of  the  characters  to  whom  I  t-liail  refer  are 
not  noticed  in  society,  and  consist  of  such  as  the  world  is  not 
worthy  of;  but  they  are  the  favourites  of  heaven,  and  will  be 
acknowledged  by  the  Lord  before  an  assembled  world. 

1.  Though  tied  down  as  are  the  regular  ministers  o? reWgion, 
to  a  certain  routine  of  services  prescribed  by  the  several  parties 
to  which  they  belong,  and  to  transgress  which  would  be  a  breach 
of  order,  there  are  among  them,  all  must  admit,  many  excellent 
men.  1  leave  out,  of  course,  those  <,vho  enter  the  office  for  a 
piece  of  bread,  or  those  who  convert  it  into  a  sinecure  ;  but  I 
include  many,  notwithstanding,  who  are  receiving  emoluments 
upon  principles  which  it  would  be  hard  to  justify  from  scrip. 
ture  ;  for,  in  many  cases,  their  friends,  and  not  they,  are  to  be 
blamed  for  this.  They  are  irre[)roachable  in  character,  exem- 
plary at  home  and  in  the  world,  give  good  instruction,  and,  ac- 
cording to  their  means,  are  ready  to  join  and  follow,  though  sel- 
dom lead,  in  any  good  work.  There  are  many  plodding 
ministers  who  are  good  men,  though  the  sphere  of  their  exer- 
tions is  very  contracted.  And  it  is  well  known,  that  so  disposed 
are  the  people  of  this  country  to  respect  the  ministerial  character, 
that  when  a  man  has  been  distinguished  for  activity  and  use- 
fulness, he  has  almost  been  adored. 

2.  Descending  a  grade  lower,  and  fixing  upon  those  whom 
1  ma.y  ca.\\  irregular  ministers — such  as  are  in  the  habit  of  eiifi- 
ploying  their  Sundays,  and  other  opportunit>es,  in  teaching  the 
people — I  would  express  my  warmest  approbation  of  their  con- 
duct. Those  that  wish  to  keep  up  a  distinetian,  call  them  "lay 
preachers."  They  are  encouraged,  in  part,  by  all  denomina- 
tions, but  particulaly  by  dissenters,  and  more  especially  by  the 
Methodists*.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  exertions  of  these,  the 
dark  corners  of  the  land  would  still  have  remained  unvisited. 
If  the  erection  of  country  chapels  be  any  evidence  of  good  done, 

*  The  number  of  these  on  the  Preston  circuit,  according  fo  the  presentMethodisls" 
plan,  is  twenty-six.  In  all  the  advertisements  these  are  termed  Mr  ,  l)ut  never  duMied 
Revereud,    How  exact ' 


2i2 

thev  raav  "ow  be  met  with  almost  in  every  village,  the  success 
of  which  is  mainly  attributable  to  their  efforts.  Having  no  sala- 
ries tosocure,  they  are  generally  faithful,  and  especially  atten- 
tive to  that  class,  the  poor,  whence  spring  most  of  the  real  disci- 
ples of  Christ.  They  are  workmen  of  the  right  sort,  and  feel 
infinitely  happier  on  a  sunday  evening,  after  travelling  ten  or 
twenty  miles,  for  no  earthly  gain,  than  any  of  the  men  who  re- 
ceive from  one  to  ten  guineas  for  religious  working  on  the  Lord's 

day. 

3.  Belono^in"-  to  most  parties,  are  other  official  individualaj 
many  of  whom  are  persons  of  exemplary  characters,  and  full  of 
zeal,  and  who,  while  they  especially  attend  to  the  duties  of  their 
office,  never  lose  sight  of  the  great  object  of  all  religious  offi- 
ces  the  instruction  and  spiritual  advancement    of   the    people* 

They  are  known  by  different  official  designations,  and  will  be 
easily  recognized  by  those  to  whom  they  belong. 

4.  I  next  fix  upon  a  numerous  and  valuable  class  of  christian 
ao'euts — the  superiulendants  and  teachers  of  sunday  schools.  I 
do  not  say  that  they  are  all  pious  persons,  or  of  the  brightest 
genius  ;  but,  generally  speaking,  I  believe  they  are  second  to 
none  in  the  goodness  of  their  designs.  They  are  disinterested, 
zealous,  kind,  and  laborious;  and  feel  a  pleasure  in  doing  that 
which  manv  noisy  professors  will  not  touch  with  one  of  their  fin- 
gers. These  labour,  unobserved  by  the  world,  and  neither  hoii 
nor  nor  emolument  attaching  to  their  office,  they  are  not  often 
disturbed  by  envious  intruders.  Like  ministers,  their  efforts  are 
bound  down  to  the  systems  they  are  under,  but  their  excellen- 
cies, notwithstanding,  every  discerning  person  must  admire.  If 
every  family  were  a  sunday  school,  (as  it  ought  to  be)  and  the 
father  and  mother  the  teachers,  what  an  agency  for  higher  pur- 
poses we  should  have  in  those  who  at  present  are  labouring  al- 
most unseen. 

5.  However  questionable  may  be  the  characters  of  some  of 
the  various  "  societies"  which  are  continually  starting  up,  it 
cannot  be  concealed  that  the  number  of  worthy^  benevolent  per- 
sons, acting  in  connection  with  them,  is  very  considerable.  We 
may  often  admire  tlie  excellencies  of  a  person  in  supporting  a 
cause,  the  utility  of  which  we  may  be  disposed  to  questioni 
Without  entering  upon  a  general  view  of  the  necessity  of  many 
of  our  institutions,  or  giving  my  approval  to  their  operations,  I 
caimot  review  iheir  progress  without  coming  to  tliis  comfortable 


rHfeoDcl 


213 


nclHsion,— that  without  a  considerable  degree  of  goodness^ 
^-of  piety,  benevolence,  and  philanthropy — in  the  agents  con- 
cerned, these  things  could  never  be  set  in  motion,  nor  carried 
on  with  their  present  energy.  That  there  is  eorruption  and 
jobbing  I  well  know,  but  there  is  a  great  number  of  disinterested 
persons,  whose  disposition  is  to  assist  in  every  thing  where  even 
partial  good  can  be  etfected.  Some  of  these  institutions,  it  is 
true,  bespeak  an  unnatural  state  of  society  ;  still,  like  the  props 
of  a  dilapidated  building,  they  have,  perhaps,  prevented  worse 
from  happening. 

6.  All  the  above  seem,  less  or  more,  to  partake  of  a 
public  character;  but  a  great  number  of  christians  are  of  a  re- 
served turn  of  mind  ;  having  fixed  their  hopes  on  "things  above" 
they  are  content  to  be  "unknown  to  the  world."  They  humbly 
pursue  the  calling  which  Providence  has  appointed  for  them,  and 
are  content  to  enjoy  the  peaceful  retreats  of  a  good  conscience. 
Their  religion  is  best  seen  in  their  tempers  and  disposition, — at- 
tention to  domestic  duties— ^the  discharge  of  every  equitable  ob- 
ligation— and  the  little,  unostentatious  services  they  can  render 
to  others.  Content  with  the  faith  and  forms  of  religion  which 
their  fathers  adopted,  or  which  some  circumstance  in  life  has  led 
them  to  prefer,  they  attend  constantly  upon  the  services  of  public 
worship.  They  may  seem  to  be  less  useful,  but  they  are  not  less 
sincere  than  others,  and  much  of  their  goodness  is  concealed  from 
human  view. 

7.  Below  these  there  is  a  grade  which  is  overlooked  by  ma- 
ny professors.  They  are  among  the  poorest  of  the  people.  These, 
sometimes  from  choice,  but  oftener  from  poverty, — their  inabi- 
lity to  get  clothing,  and  to  leave  home — seldom  go  to  any  place 
of  worship.  By  the  world,  and  by  some  strict  professors,  they 
are  not  deemed  religious  persons.  God  only  knoweth  their  hearts. 
But,  amongst  these,  so  far  as  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak,  I  have 
Been  those  evidences,  which  fill  me  with  nope  that  many  of  them 
will  be  favored  to  sit  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  I  have  observed  their  resignation  and 
patience  in  affliction — their  contentment  in  poverty — their  con- 
fidence in  Providence — their  compunction  for  their  sitis,  and  their 
faith  in  the  divine  promises — their  gratitude  for  mercies  received 
— their  consistent  deportment — and  their  readiness  to  share  their 
morsel  at  any  time  with  their  suffering  neighbours.  To  some, 
even   these  may  not  be   satisfactory,     but,   I  confess,    I  alw^iys 


214 

behold  them  with  admiration.  And  when  I  read  the  Saviour's 
notice  of  the  poor  widow,  whose  mile  was  declared  more  than  the 
abundance  of  the  rich — of  Lazarus,  whose  sores  were  licked  by 
the  dogs,  and  who  craved  in  vain  for  the  rich  man's  crumbs,  be- 
in"  carried  by  angels  into  Al)raham's  bosom,  I  feel  justified  in 
hoping,  that  many  who  are  now  extremely  poor,  will  at  one  day 
appear  among  the  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom. 

When  on  the  one  hand  I  turn  my  attention  to  the  multitude 
of  profligate  and  dissipated  characters  ;  to  the  vice  and  misery 
which  so  generally  abound  ;  to  the  corrujitions  and  impositions 
of  TSlrinus  corporate  bodies  ;  to  the  mercenarj'  and  oppressive 
character  of  the  clergy  ;  it  gives  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  be 
able  to  exhibit,  by  way  of  contrast,  so  man\  instances  of  an  oppo- 
site character.  To  pourtray  and  denounce  vice  is  a  serious  duty, 
but  to  praise  the  op[)osite,  and  to  trace  it  in  its  various  move- 
ments in  society  is  not  merely  a  duty,  but  a  treat,  such  as,  to 
one  occupied  as  I  have  been,  is  particularly  gratifying.  And 
whilst,  owing  to  my  determination  to  oppose  everj'  organized  evil, 
some  have  been  led  to  think  that  1  viewed  every  thing  as  wrong, 
they  will  be  led  to  see  from  this  article,  that  J  am  also  capable  of 
giving  praise  wherQ  praise  is  due. 


Mi 


VARIETIES, 


\ 


Diffnalon  of  Knonledge  in  France.—K  mag-nificent  scheme' 
for  diffusing  knowledge  in  France,  Tias  lately  been  noticed. 
It  is  intended,  by  a  very  cheap  and  practicable  method,  to 
provide  useful  reading  to  the  whole  body  of  the  working  popu- 
lation. This  is  to  be  done  by  placing  a  library  in  exevy  one 
of  the  40,000  communes  (or  parishes)  into  which  the  kingdom 
is  divided.  A  capital  is  to  be  created  by  a  subscription  of 
shares  of  15  francs,  or  12s.  each.  Eacfi  library  to  consist,  iw 
the  commencement,  of  200  volumes,  printed  expressly  for  the 
society,  of  nniform  dimensions,  and  upon  a  certain  sort  of  pa- 
per, such  as  that  the  collection,  with  illustrative  maps  and 
plates,  may  cost  only  300  francs  or  £12.  Thus,  twenty  shares 
will  be  sufficient  to  purchase  a  library,  and  any  person  may 
have  any  number  of  shares.  The  books  are  to  consist  af  the 
best  elementary  works  on  the  arts  and  sciences,  literatui-e," 
history,  biography,   poetry,  and  other  subjects,,  selected  by  a' 


•215 


"mmittee  at  Paris,  by  whom  the  affairs  of  the  ui.titution  are 
to  rmaaaged,  under  the  responsibility  of  the  subscribers  - 
Donations  of  bioks,  maps,  &c.,  of  courseware  received  by  every 

'^ThSs'anolt'attempt  to  diffuse  knowledge,  and  based 
uDon  a  principle  which  secures  its  success.     It  affords  a  stnk- 
hfrcontrast  to  the  plans  of  diffusing  knowledge  in  this  coun- 
;r  These  are  often  projected  by  disinterested  individuals, ' 
and  receive  the  gratuitous  services  of  many  worthy  persons  ; 
but  theTe  are  so  many,  in  the  way  of  trade  and  agency,   who 
have  to  be  paid,  that  the  good  intended  is  but  very  partially 
effected      The  committee   of  the   society  for  the  diffusion  of 
useful   knowledge  in  London,  might  learn  an  useful  lesson 
from  this;  and  how   much  better  if,  instead   of  making   the 
Sica   ons  articles  of  trade,  they  had  taken  the  plan  here 
Cmmended.     Every  town  and  village  in  tlie  kingdom  might 
thusZ-e  been  provided  with  an  useful  library,  at  an  expence, 
pobabU,  oi  one  third  the  price  of  their  sixpenny  numbers, 
wMch  are  published  twice  a  month.  The  French  plan  is  rea  ly 
rnchanthil   and  if  but  a  single  individual,  with  suitable  qua^i- 
fications    can  be  found  in  England,  who  would  devote  all  his 
timet  t  lis  project,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  its  success      It 
sTue  we  should  not  be  able  to  stock  a  library  quite  so  cheap 
as  thTy  can  in  France,  where  we  find  they  can  ft  up  two  hun- 
dred volumes,  quite  new,    and  umformly  printed,   with  maps 
and    dates,  for\-l2.,   or    1- 2^^.  a  volume  ;  but  w.    could 
have  them,  of  a  moderate  size,  for  about  Is.  6d.,   or  £15.,  toi 
a  Ubrarv  of  two  hundred  volumes.     These  would   be  a  sufii- 
cint  stock  for  some  small  places,  and  in  lai^er  towns  they 
co'ud  be   extended   to   any   number,     ^e  have   a  national 
church,  (suchasitis)     we  have  national  schools;    and  why 
should  we  not  have  national  libraries  .  j    4.  4.1  „  „„ 

y«....e/o/M/«e«fer..--In  a  speech  delivered  at  the  an^ 

nual  meeting  of  one  of  the  societies  held  -  Londmi,  duruig 
the  month  ofMay,  it  was  stated,  that  m  London,  /  0,000  per- 
tnsTo^e  every  iirning  who  had  no  -sourse  ^or^^  com  n| 
dav  and  whose  only  means  were  begging  or  robbing,  besides 
a  Seat  number  of  children  who  were  trained  up  in  all  kinds 
of^vce.  Tnd,  as  a  remedy,  «  it  was  proposed  to  form  a  «.r. 
«L  of  minister  ,  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  carry  the  gospel 
,  to  those  abodes  of  vice,  wretchedness,  and  miseiT,  wW  ^he 
reaiilar  preacher,  owing  to  the  nature  of /«s  labour,  could  not 
b^Cpec'ted  to  penetratl  and  where,  -^^^^.iso^^rtT:^ 
of  instruction,  Christianity  could  never  find  its  wa> .  H^J^  ;^^ 
«  wholeitruth"  is  out,  and  clearly  confirms  what  I  have  con- 
strnrmaintained  :-that  the  present  -ce  of  mimste- 
tirelv  different  from  the  primitive  ones— that  the  nature  01 
S  etSovment  is  totalll  different-that  they  are  incapable 


216 

ofanaweringthe  end  for  which  christian  ministers  were  ap- 
pointed—and  that  a  "  new  set "   is  indispensable.     But  here 
it  is  evidently  intended  that  the   old  net  shall  still  remain  in 
office,  to  please  and  edify  our  rich  and  respectable  congreg-a- 
tions  by  a  performance  of  services,  to  attend  public  meetings, 
and  to  do  all  the  finer  work  ;  and,  of  course  to  receive  those 
salaries  and  emoluments  which  their  superior  education  and 
abilities  entitle  them  to  expect.      The  "  set "  now   proposed 
may  be  "  new"  in  the  eyes  of  our  metropolitan  divines,  but,  in 
reality,  they  are  no  other,  in  character,  than  the  very  men  we 
read  of  in  the  New  Testament.     From  the  nature  of  their  la- 
bour   the  regular  ministers  cannot  be  expected  to  penetrate 
the  abodes  of  rice  and  misery  !     Bless  me  I  who  could  think 
of  such  a  dcradation  !     How  absurd  to  think  that  a  man,  edu- 
cated at  college,  sequestered  from  everj-  scene   of  wretched- 
ness dazzled  with  the  honors  of  an  ecclesiastical  order,  flat- 
tered with  the  caresses  and  adulation  of  the  rich  ;    taught  to 
view  the  ministry  as  an  avenue  of  wealth,  to  make  the  display 
of  learnino"  and  oratory  one  of  its  principal  duties,  and  to  re- 
gard a  personal  exhibition  of  a  well-dressed  head,  sacerdotal 
garments,  a  gold  ring  on  his  left  little  fiuger^nd  heaps  of  su- 
perstitious finery  as  the  proper  appendages  of  office — how  ab- 
surd to  to  think  of  such  a  man  visiting  the  alleys  and  lanes  of 
London,  descending  the  cellars,  and  ascending  the  garrets  of 
the  miserable  inhabitants,  and  bringing  themselves  into  con- 
tact daily  with  every  species  of  vice  and  iniquity  !     No,    no  ; 
we  must  have  a  "  new  set.''     I  subscribe  heartily  to  the  pro- 
posal,  and  if  any  of  them  should  take  an  excursion  to  this 
part,  most  gladly  will  I  furnish  tliem  with  meat  and  lodgings, 
and  go  with  them  myself  to  the  worst  ])1{icps    in  the   neigh- 
bourhood.    They  need  not  be  discouraged  ;  beside  the  exanir 
])le  of  the  apostles,  they  have  the  sanction  of  Him,  who,  by  his* 
intense  anxiety  to  seek  out  and  save  the  lost,  obtained  the  ap- 
pellation of  being  "  a  friend  of  jnihl icons  a7id  sinners.'''' 

Beverly  of  Beverly. — The  clever  pamphlet  which  this 
gentleman  put  forth,  gave  hopes  that  we  had,  in  him,  a  re- 
former of  the  right  ■  sort ;  but  thef' subsequent  notices  which 
have  appeared  of  his  proceedings  (if  true)  show  that  he  is  still, 
in  practice,  far  behind  many  of  his  contemporaries.  He  has 
begun  to  preach  ;  is  to  have  a  modified  liturgy  ;  and  to  give 
due  weight  to  his  ministrations,  he  appears  in  gorrn  and  bands  ! 
He  has  contrasted,  in  a  most  striking  and  convincing  manner, 
the  proceeding  of  the  English  clergy  with  the  examples 
of  the  primitive  teachers ;  and  if,  after  this,  in  the  teeth 
of  his  own  arguments,  and  in  opposition  to  the  pervading 
principles  of  his  pamphlet,  he  can  adopt  at  the  onset,  an 
appendage  of  clerical  pride  and  avarice,  I  can  only  say 
that  he  is  tieing  his  own  hands,  fettering  his  own  feet]  and 


2i7 

fiirnisliing-,  in  his  own  example,  the  most  successful  reply  to 
iiis  own  arg-uments.  His  constant  arg-nment  is,  that  the  practice 
pf  the  apostles,  and  the  primitive  church  is  a  perfect  uiodel, — 
"Let  our  church  be  such  as  it  was  when  the  New  Testament 
was  written.  "  But  who  shall  say  that  one  item  of  tliis  long: 
list  of  dignities  and  power,  has  even  the  slightest  connectioii 
with  the  relig-ion  of  Christ?"  "We  may  call  our  prelates,  'bish- 
ops,' and  we  may  find  the  word  'bishop'  also  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, but  there  is  no  more  resemblance  between  our  modern 
Fiathers  in  God,  and  the  ancient  Overseers,  than  there  is  be- 
tween a  preacher  of  the  Ranters,  and  the  Grand  Lama  of  Thi- 
bet." Let  Mr.  Beverly  read  over  his  own  burlesque  upon 
clerical  dress,  (page  27,)  and  I  think,  from  his  honest  zeal,  he 
will  be  led  to  strip  his  own  gown. 

"But  indecent  and  unpopular  as  is  the  spectacle  of  a  fox-hunting  par- 
eon,  perhaps  one's  bile  is  not  a  little  agitated  in  these  exhiljijions,  by  that 
vestiary  hypocrisy  with  which  they  choose  to  decorate  the  scandal :  for  it 
seems  to  be  a  received  dogma  of  ecclesiastical  decorum,  that  a  Parson  is  not 
to  hunt  in  a  red  coat :  provided  only  the  scarlet  does  not  appear,  the  reverend 
successor  of  the  Apostles  may  leap  over  hedge  and  ditch  without  the  small- 
est impropriety :  give  these  successoi-s  of  the  Apostles  a  black  or  dark  grey 
jacket,  a  pair  of  whift  corderoy  breeches,  and  handsome  top  boots,  and  then 
you  save  the  character  of  the  Church  ;  but  if  a  young  Priest  were  to  give 
the  view-holloa  in  a  red  coat,  all  men  would  be  shocked,  and  I  suspect,  that 
e'er  long,  a  grand  and  verbose  epistle  would  come  to  him  from  the  Bishop- 
thorpe. 

The  same  farce  in  clothing  is  kept  up  throughout ;  at  balls  the  success- 
ors of  the  Apostles  must  appear  clad  in  black,  or  any  of  the  shades  of  black. 
Thanks,  however,  to  the  ingenuity  of  tailors  and  haberdasheis,  such  exqui- 
site tints  have  of  late  years  been  discovered  in  silk  stockings,  and  silk  waist- 
coats, such  delicious  varieties  of  light  black,  raven  black,  french  black,  and 
french  whiles, — the  black  has  been  softened  into  winning  lavender  tints,  and 
the  white  has  been  so  dexterously  made  to  blush  a  morning  blush,  that  it 
requires  very  great  ingenuity  to  discover  a  layman  from  a  Priest  in  a  brilli- 
ant ball-room.  Those,  however,  who  are  more  apostolical,  take  the  bull  by 
the  horns,  and  venture  to  place  black-tinted  buttons  on  the  breasts  of  their 
shirts  ;  a  mark  of  the  priestly  ofhoip  not  to  be  mistaken  I  Of  such  a  toilet 
there  is  great  hope,  and  it  would  be  a  shame,  indeed,  if  the  black-button- 
bearing  Friebts  did  not  become  rich  pluralists  at  last.  1  pray  your  Grace  to 
remember  them." — I  also  pray  Mr.  Beverly  to  remember  them. 

Education  without  schools. — The  following  statement,  made 
by  Dr.  Henderson,  who  has  I'jecently  visited  Iceland,  is  worthy 
of  notice. — "On  enquiring-  into  the  state  of  mental  cultivation  in 
Iceland,  we  were  striick  with  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  ge- 
neral principles  of  knowledge  among  its  inhabitants.  Though 
iliere  is  only  one  school  in  Iceland,  and  that  solitary  school 
.exclusiv^ely  designed  for  the  education  of  such  as  are  afterwards 

D    D 


218 

to  fill  offices  in  church  or  state,  yet  it  is  exceedingly  rare  tc 
meet  «ith  a  boy  or  a  g-irl,  who  has  attained  the  ag-e  of  9  or  IC 
years,  that  cannot  read  and  write  with  ease.  Domestic  educa- 
tion is  most  rigidly  attended  to,  and  I  scarcely  ever  recollect 
entering  a  hut,  where  I  did  not  find  some  indiv  idual  or  other, 
capable  of  entering  into  conversation  with  me  on  topics,  which 
would  be  reckoned  altogether  above  the  understandings  of  peo- 
ple in  the  same  rank  of  society  in  other  countries  of  Europe." 
This  is  the  sort  of  education  I  admire,  but  which  we  may  never 
expect,  while  our  schools  are  on  the  present  system,  and  while 
the  parents,  eitlier  for  want  of  time  or  disposition,  surrender 
the  faculties  of  their  children  exclusively  to  the  schoolmaster. 

Value  of  consistencjj — A  minister  of  religion,  who  attends  to 
do  duty  regularly,  at  a  chapel  about  three  miles  from  his  resi- 
dence, one  Sunday  morning  took  up  with  him,  in  his  gig  or 
cart,  a  landlord  in  that  neighbourhood.  In  the  course  of  con- 
^•ersation,  the  latter  asked  this  teacher  if  it  were  wrong  to  sell 
ale  on  Sundays.  "It  must  be,"  was  the  reply  ;  "any  thing  that 
is  done  for  the  sake  of  money  on  the  sabbath  must  be  sinful." 

<*But  don't  you  go  to  W chapel  for  the  sake  of  money  ?" 

reioined  the  enquirer.  Very  little  more  was  said,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  shrewd  landlord  had  cut  vei'y  deep.  If  such 
men  are  really  in  earnest  about  checking  the  breaking  of  the 
sabbath,  why  do  they  not  set  the  example  ?  Here  arc  tlie  par- 
son, clerk,  beadle,  ringers,  singers,  organist,  organ  blower,  all 
hard  at  work  less  or  more  for  profit ;  and  some  preachers  mak- 
ing, in  three  hours,  more  than  other  men,  as  wise  and  as  good, 
can  make  in  three  weeks  ! 

The  Church. — Complaints  are  perpetually  being  made  a- 
gainst  the  Established  Church:    they  are  reiterated  in  every 
company  you  meet  with,  and  almost  in  every  paper  you  read. 
But  what  is  the  extent  to  which  any  of  these  parties  would  ap- 
ply a  remedy  ?     Do  tliey  want  that  form  of  Christianity  whicl^ 
would  condemn  the  excesses  of  the  rich,  reprove  and  correc 
the  vices  of  the  poor,  and  penetrate,  by  its  invincible  powei 
every  movement  in  society,    and  every  lurking  place   of  siuj 
No  ;  they  want  a  few  verbal  alta|^tious  in  the  liturgy,  the  pi 
rification  of  some  sort  of  a  court,  called  Ecclesiastical, — thai 
every  clergyman  should  live  in  his  parish,  and  that  some  should 
liave  more,  and  others  not  so  much,  of  the  money  paid  for  re-v,. 
ligion.     Supposing  these  changes  were  effected,  what  would  icl 
do  towards  accomplishing  that  which  is  the  real  end  of  every 
religious  institution — the  efFectual  diffusion  of  knowledge  and 
piety  among  all  classes,  and  the  plain,  and  affectionate  teach- 
ing of  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  kingdom  ?     Fori 
abstruse  sermons,  we  want  plain,   practical  teaching — for  thej 
prayer  of  words,  we  want  the  simple  and  fervent  aspirations  of  j 
the  heart — instead  of  consecrated  ground,  and  church  houri^,| 
we  want  that  "night  and  day,"'  and  "every  house"  instructior 


21 9 


„.acli  at  first  raised  the  dead  to  life  by  thousands— instead  o? 
those  who  only  save  souls  for  hire,  we  want  those  who  are  look- 
ing for  an  eternal  crown— instead  of  a  church,  created  ^nd  re- 
gulated bv  act  of  Parliament,  proped  up  by  an  arm  of  flesh,  and 
whose  bond  of  union  is  its  wealth,  and  its  honors,  we  look  for 
a  church,  professing-  few  ostensible  features,  scarcely  known  to 
the  worldling,  but  regulated  and  governed  by  the  will  of 
Christ ;  the  greatness  of  which  is  best  known  by  the  exemplary 
lives  of  its  members,  and  their  activity  in  doing  good  to  others; 
The  fact  is,  instead  of  religion  in  the  church  and  chapel  only, 
we  ought  to  meet  with  it  in  every  cottage,  in  men's  transactions 
with  each  other,  and  in  all  the  social  relationships  cf  life  ;  and 
any  church  reform,  which  does  not  contemplate  these  as  its  ob- 
jects, is  unworthy  of  the  name.  '   '  '  \ 

A  Jerry  Sign. — Next  door  to  my  shop,  is  the  attempted 
likeness  of  a  certain  Duke,  but  the  execution  is  so  wretchedly 
bad,  and  the  whole  so  truly  grotesque,  that  it  excites  the 
laughter  of  almost  every  passenger.  In  viewing  the  numbers 
who  gaze  at  this  badly  executed  painting,  it  has  struck  me, 
that  if  some  of  them  could  see  themselves,  when  in  a  state  of 
intoxication,  they  would  behold  a  picture  not  near  so  harmless, 
and  ten  times  more  ugly,  than  this  modern  Duke  William. 

«0/t  these  Jerry  Shops,"'  cries  one;  "they  are  the  ruin  of 
many  a  poor  family."  "But  I  have  discovered  a  perfect  re- 
medy for  all  the  evils,"  cries  another.  "Indeed  !  it  is  the  best 
discovery  that  ever  was  made;  pray  what  is  it?"  "It is 
simply  this — never  to  go  into  them.'''' 

Vulgar  Sports.— As  a  proof  of  the  low  state  of  intellect  and 
morals,  I  may  mention,  that,  amidst  numerous  complaints  of 
the  badness  of  the  times,  a  few  shoiv  men  have  been  here,  drain- 
ing the  money  of  the  people,  principally  the  poor,  and  the  fac- 
tory girls,  with  admirable  art.  It  is  stated  that  on  Whit-Mon- 
day  they  drew  £60.  Though  such  like  exhibitions,  "by  per- 
mission of  the  Mayor,"  are  not  expected  to  stop  more  than  a 
few  days,  these  fellows  were  permitted  to  collect  crowds  of  tu- 
multuous persons  together  for  three  n-eeks  ;  dui-ing  which  time, 
it  is  conjectured,  they  drew-^om  £10  to  £20  every  night.  To 
attract  the  people,  they  had  recourse  to  every  species  of  low  and 
ridiculous  practices— boys  were  set  to  strive  against  each 
other,  in  climbing  a  pole  covered  with  grease  ;  to  secure  a 
piece  of  silver  at  the  bottom  of  a  mug  of  water ;  to  eat  hot 
porridge  without  the  use  of  their  hands,  &c.  And  this  was  the 
sort  of  entertainment  that  was  provided  every  night,  in  the 
centre  of  a  town,  that  can  boast  a  host  of  magistrates  ! 

The  Militia.— The  Third  Regiment  of  the  Lancashire  Mi- 
litia has  been  here  on  duty  for  a  month,  and  the  men  are  now 
about  to  be  distributed  to  their  homes.  It  is  easy  to  praise 
iem  in  learning  their  military  exercise  ;     but  it  is  quite  auo- 


220 

tiier  matter  to  take  an  impartial  view  of  their  morals,  and  the 
effects  produced  upon  society  by  their  behaviour.  In  conse- 
quence of  their  being  here,  we  have  had  a  considerable  influx 
6f  depraved  females,  whose  conduct  is  truly  disgusting  Un- 
fortunately, those  who  engage  in  this  service,  are  generally 
persons  of  loose  habits  ;  and,  at  seasons  like  this,  they  are  ex- 
posed to  additional  temptations.  A  soldier's  life  is  the  last 
that  should  be  desired  on  this  account ;  and  well  would  it  be 
for  the  country,  and  the  nations,  if  it  were  never  required.  The 
gallantry  of  soldiers  and  sailors  often  raises  their  fame  among 
men,  and  it  is  often  more  than  hinted  that  military  glory  is  a 
passport  to  heaven.  Let  them  not  be  deceived.  "Without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." — 'Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  (only)  shall  see  God." 

The  Races. — Thj  Races  commence  on  the  12th  Instant,  but  I 
think  it  is  likely  to  be  a  flat  concern.  The  tarl  of  Derby  having 
withdrawn  his  patronage,  the  great  folks  who  follow  in  the  gaudy 
crowd,  will  prefer  being  absent.  The  six  horse  coach  being  want- 
ing, those  who  can  only  run  four  will  recede  of  course.  Let  the 
pedestrians  turn  their  backs  upon  them  also,  not  because  there  is 
no  lord  on  the  ground,  but  because  it  is  a  practice  pregnant  with 
all  manner  of  evil.  By  hand-bills,  and  other  means,  I  have  been 
labouring  against  the  Races  for  many  years  ;  and  1  heartily  hope 
they  are  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption,  and  that  next  year  at 
this  time,  I  shall  be  honored  with  reading  their  funeral  service. 
The  landlords  will  weep,  but  the  shopkeepers  will  rejoice,  and 
hundreds  of  poor  families  will  bless  the  change. 

The  annual  assemblage  of  Sunday  schools  will  be  held  as  usual 
on  the  Race  Days.  There  will  also  be  exhibited,  in  the  Preston 
Institution  Room,  in  Cannon  Street,  the  Wonders  of  Creation,  by 
the  Solar  Microscope.  Admission  has  generally  been  free,  both 
to  members  and  others  ;  and  to  those  who  have  never  seen  any 
thing  of  the  sort,  it  will  prove  an  extraordinary  treat.  The  elec- 
trifying machine  will  also  be  in  good  order,  and  kept  iu  exercise 
for  the  amusement  of  the  visitants. 

The  Census. — Notwithstanding  the  doctrine  of  Malthus,  and 
the  emigration  committees,  the  population  of  the  country  continues 
to  increase.  This  is  as  it  ought  to,be ;  it  is  the  course  of  nature  ; 
and  the  opposers  might  as  well  attempt  to  stop  the  currents  of  the 
ocean,  as  to  impose  unnatural  restraints  upon  marriage.  "Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply,"  was  not  only  a  command,  but  an  endow- 
ment of  nature.  Children  were,  (and  ought  to  be  so  considered) 
an  heritage  from  the  Lord  ;  and  blessed  is  the  man  who  has  his 
quiver  full  of  them.  Every  animal  and  every  plant  that  we  keep 
is  valued  according  to  its  J'tuiffulness  ;  and  why  should  it  be  re- 
versed in  reference  to  the  rational  species  ?  Is  it  said,  there  is 
not  food  and  raiment  for  them  ?  1  deny  it.  Behold,  in  this  coun- 
try, the  vast  extent  of  nature's  stores  !  and  annex  to  this  the  pro- 
duce of  both  East  and  West,  pointing,  as  it  were,  to  the  shores  of 
Britain  ;   and,  with  the  ingenuity  and  industry  of  the  people  of 


r 


221 


fengland  to  exchange,  ivant  and  scajit  ought  never  to  be  known. 
But  no  matter,  under  the  present  system  of  distribution,  how  large 
soever  the  supply,  the  rich  will  be  fed,  and  the  ptjor  sent  empty 
away.  Mouths  are  not  too  numerous  ;  but,  while  one  consumes 
the  supplies  of  five  hundred,  no  wonder  we  should  seem  to  have 
a  redundant  population. 

Poor  Ireland. — Let  me  just  give  my  humble  thanks  to  the  gen- 
tlemen, whoever  they  be,  who  have  taken  up  the  cause  of  the  suf- 
fering Irish,  and  arranged  a  collection  on  their  behalf  at  Trinity 
Church.  1  hope,  before  this  number  gets  into  their  hands,  every 
class  of  the  Dissenters  will  have  determined  to  follow  so  good  an 
example.  "  To  do  good  and  to  commiserate,  ybr^'-f/  not,  for  with 
inch  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased."  J.  L. 

EXTRACTS. 


THE  AMERICAN  PHYSICIANS'  OPINION  OF  INTEMPERANCE. 

TheCommittee  of  the  New  York  Temperance  Society  circulat- 
ed a  list  of  questions,  addressed  to  the  physicians  of  that  city,  as  to 
the  benefits  of  using  ardent  spirits.  The  following  are  selected 
from  No.  14,  of  the  Glasgow  tracts,  containing  the  answers. 

0.  1.  Is  the  use  of  distilled  liquor,  by  persons  in  health,  ever  beneficial  for 
the  preservation  of  health,  or  for  the  endurance  of  fatigue  or  hardship  ? 

"It  is  possible  there  may  be  particular  occasions  in  which  a  greater  amount 
4)f  sudden  exertion,  both  physical  and  intellectual,  may  be  elicited  by  the  use 
of  distilled  spirit,  than  without  it.  But  it  is  to  be  considered  that  this  state 
of  excitement  will  be  followed  by  a  corresponding  depression,  or  collapse." 
—Dr.  J.  L.  P. 

"Under  these  circumstances,  the  vital  powers  have  iv  doable  force  to  con- 
tend with  ;  the  labour,  or  long  continued  exertion,  which  produces  fatigue, 
and  the  stimulus  of  the  liquor,  both  acting  on  the  excitability  of  the  system. 
Dr.  Parris  says,  'The  more  simply  life  is  supported,  and  the  less  stimulus 
we  use,  the  better  ;  and  he  is  h»\>py  who  considers  water  the  best  drink,  and 
salt  the  best  suuce.^  " — Dr.  P.  C. 

^•General  Jackson  was  once  asked  if  soldiers  needed  ardent  spirits.  He  re- 
plied that  he  had  observed,  in  arduous  duty  and  excessive  cold,  that  those 
performed  the  one  and  endured  the  other  better,  who  drank  nothing  but  wa. 
ter."— Dr.J.  B. 

"When  persons  are  exposed  to  the  excessive  heat  of  tropical  climates,  the 
n&e  of  spirit  produces  a  tendency  to  fever,  which  is  most  likely  to  terminate 
in  malignant  and  fatal  disease." — Dr.  S.  A- 

*'I  answer,  in  no  case  whatever,  in  which  there  is  health  and  vigour  of  con- 
stitution."— Dr.  D  H. 

**Distilled  liquors  arc  never  necessai7  (o  the  .preservation  o£  be^Uh^  they 


22*2 

may  produce  a  temporary  increase  of  muscular  slrcn^tli ;  though  lheexhauS> 
tioii  aflrrwanls  will  correspond  with  the  increase." 

Q.  4.  What  is  the  etfect  of  u  frequent  moderate  use  of  such  liquors,  in  the 
production  or  the  at^gravatiun  of  diseases  ? 

"Proof  abundant  and  sorrowful,  of  its  freq.uently  acting  as  the  exciting  cause 
of  many  diseases." — Dr.  V.  R. 

"Even  the  moderate  use  produces  many  diseases  ;  and  almost  all  the  disea- 
fps  incident  to  the  human  system  are  materially  aggraraled  by  therti."— 
Dr.  L'  B. 

"It  impairs  the  tone  of  the  stomach,  and  ag»ravates  aiHuflanninatory  dis- 
eases " — Dr  \V.  B. 

"The  digestive  organs  are  essentially  aftecled;  the  «pleeji,  the  liver,  the 
panei-eas  are  hardened  ;  their  secretions  become  irregular  and  degenerated. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  brew-houses,  wheie  fjwis  are  fed  upon  the  se- 
diment of  the  liquor,  their  viscei-a  becomes  schirrous,  hard,  and  eularged  ; 
the  mesentary,  Ac.  enfeebled  and  engorged,  and  disposition  to  hemorrhage 
produced.  In  tipplers  the  appetite  is  destroyed,  digestion  destroyed,  speisms 
of  the  stomach  often  produced.  It  disposes  to  stone  and  gravel.  The  res- 
piratory and  circulating  oigans  of  the  skin  present  a  large  number  of  disea- 
ses, which  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  tends  sfiongly  to  produce,  aggravate,  and 
develope.  But  to  enumerate  all  the  diseases  which  this  abuse  serves  to 
augment,  or  bring  forward,  would  be  to  go  over  almost  the  whole  catalof^ue 
the  human  system  is  liable  lo.  There  is  hardly  one  avenue  to  the  grave 
that  is  not  widened  by  the  use  aud  abuse  of  this  pernicious  beverage.*' 
— Dr.  J.B. 
Q  9.  What  is  the  effect  of  alcohol  on  the  moral  sense  of  those  who  use  it  ? 
Q.  10.  What  upon  the  intellectual  powers? 

"It  has  a  powerfully  degenerating  influence  on  the  moral  sensibilities  ;  it 
gradually  undermines  or  perverts  any  serious  or  religious  impressions  that 
may  have  previously  existed  ;  it  relaxes  honorable  and  honest  principles  ; 
the  social  and  Christian  principles  lose  their  inflaence  over  the  mind." 
— Dr.  S.A. 

"Alcohol,  by  stroog4y  stimulating  the  animal  spirits,  destroys  the  present 
judgment,  and  while  it  increases  the  ttesire  for  the  gratification  of  the  animal 
passion,  renders  the  person  reckless  of  future  consequences.  By  continued 
Bsc,  the  finer  feelings  of  the  human  breast  are  destroyed,  and  the  happiness 
of  others  is  ficqucntly  s.icrificed  to  present,  though  momentary  gratifies* 
tion." — Dr.  J.  B. 

"No  man  can  long  remain  in  his  right  senses,  either  moral  or  iatellectual, 
•who  makes  free  use  of  ardent  spirit.  'When  wine  is  in,  wit  is  out.'  Intem- 
perate drinking  produces  so  much  commotion  in  the  system,  that  very  little 
exercise  is  given  to  calm  thought  and  sobei  reasoning,  and  as  a  natural  con- 
5equence,  to  a  conscientious  regard  of  duty.  Some  persons  under  the  morbid 
influence  of  ardent  spirit,  verge  very  near  to  insanity,  others  sink  almost  to 
iiliutism;  some  become  rude  and  disgusting  in  their  manners,  and  totally 
regardless  of  their  morals  :  some  seem  utterly  bereft  of  all  sense  of  shame  : 
intleed,  when  the  sweeping  flood-tide  of  intemperance  sets  in,  all  the  nicer 
sensibilities  of  our  nature,   the  refinement  of  education,   habits  of  business. 


11 


223 

Sldu's'ry)  regularity,  and  economy,  the  good  impressions  of  moral  and   religi- 

is  culture,  the  decencies  and  proprieties  of  life,  the  dignity  of  our  nature, 

Earning,  capacity,  talent,  genius,  health,  wealth,  and  character,  one  and  all 
are  swept  away  in  promiscuous  confusion  and  ruin."— Dr.  L.  B. 

Q.  12.  What  proportion  of  the  deaths  among  adults  that  come  under  your 
observation,  are  fairly  attributable,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  use  of  alco- 
hol ?    and  in  what  way? 

"I  am  unable,  from  bare  recollection,  to  state  the  proportion  of  deaths  in 
adults  attributable  to  the  use  of  alcohol.  The  diseases  caused  by  alcoholic 
drinks  are  loss  ofi.«ppetite,  nausea,  and  puking,  dyspeptia,  scirrhus  of  the 
stomach,  diseases  of  the  liver  both  inflammatory  and  chronic, gout,  apoplexy, 
insanity,  §c  ,  all  of  which  tend  to  make  life  miserable,  and  sooner  or  later 
terminate  fatally.  One  of  the  earliest  effects  of  intemperate  drinking  is  loss 
of  appetite.  The  poor  inebiiate  finds  the  stomach  is  torpid,  and  will  not 
act.  Jt  requires  warming  and  stimulating  to  urge  it  into  activity,  and  the 
morning  dram  or  noon-tide  bitter  is  taken,  to  force  the  sinking  powers  of  the 
stomach  into  viguor  and  activity.  This  want  of  vigour  is  sometimes  accom- 
pnnied  with  nausea  and  even  vomiting,  particularly  in  the  morning.  The 
throat,  which  had  been  previously  scalded  by  alcoholic  potations,  becomes 
feverish  and  dry,  and  the  natural  mucus  of  the  fauces  is  rendered  hard  and 
tough,  and  difficult  to  expel.  Efforts  to  raise  it  produce  sickness  and  vo- 
miting, but  it  still  adheres,  and  is  not  expelled  until  a  spirituous  potation 
loosens  it  by  forcing  the  mucous  glands  to  throw  it  off  by  a  new  secretion. 
Some  of  the  cases  of  dyspeptia  are  produced  by  spiiituons  drinks  giadually 
overcoming  the  powers  of  the  stomach,  and  larger  and  stronger  potations 
ape  resoi'ted  to,  because  its  susceptibility  has  been  impaired  by  a  repetition 
of  smaller  ones,  and  now  it  requires  large  doses  to  goad  it  into  action." — 
Dr.  S.  A. 

"In  casting  about  in  my  mind,  I  discover,  that  in  the  course  of  about  two 
years,  and  within  a  stone's  throw  of  my  residence,  twelve  adults  have  died, 
and  nine  of  their  diseases  are  fairly  attributable  to,  or  greatly  aggravated  by, 
intemperance.  The  manner  ofthcir  death  has  in  many  instance  been  awful. 
And  what  is  very  remarkable,  1  believe  almost,  if  not  all,  have  been  insensi- 
ble, or  incapable  of  exercising  their  reasoning  faculties  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  previous  to  death.  This  is  an  observation  which  I  do  not  recollect 
to  have  seen  noted  by  any  author,  but  which,  nevertheless,  is  sustained  by  a 
reference  to  ray  own  practice  generally,  and  which  will,  I  believe,  be  con- 
firmed by  the  observations  of  others.  If  th  is  be  trMe,itshould  speak  forth 
with  a  voice  like  thunder,  and  carry  terror  and  confusion  to  every  votary  of 
intemperance.  As  far  as  1  am  able  to  judge  at  present,  I  should  think,  in 
ray  practice,  at  least  one  fifth,  and  perhaps  one  fourth,  die  directly  oi-  indi- 
rectly of  intemperance." — Dr. . 

Q.  IS.  Is  alcohol  a  digestible  substance?  or  is  it  carried  out  of  the  system 
without  undergoing  any  change  in  its  chemical  cliaracter? 

**  1  think  it  is  as  much  nutritious  to  man,  as  a  whip  is  to  a  horse." 
—Dr.  L    H. 

"It  is  probably  decomposed  ;  but  if  received  into  the  texture  of  the  organs 
it  is  not  iioiirishing,  but  deleteriousl-^Dr.  H.  T.J, 


224 

"Alcoholic  drinks  are  not  digestible  or  nourishing  :  they  only  stimulate; 
Ihe  system  into  an  unnatural  action,  and  break  it  down,  as  a  hack-horse  is 
broken  down  by  over-driving.  When  these  drinks  are  taken  into  the  sto- 
mach they  undergo  a  change  by  mixing  with  the  fluids  and  secretions  of  the 

body,  and  are  carried  out  of  the  system  by  urine,  by  perspiration,  and  by  the 

breath.  The  spirit  appears  to  be  carried  off  by  the  breath  without  change, 
as  if  it  was  the  vapour  arising  from  a  still.  Cases  have  occurred  where  the 
cavities  of  the  brain  have  contained  alcohol,  deposited  there  unchanged,  from 
excessive  drinking  causing  death,  the  fact  being  ascertained  by  a  morbid  ex- 
amination. I  once  bled  a  man,  (who  was  afterwards  iiscertftiued  to  be  a  great 
drunkard,)  whose  blood  smelled  strong  of  spirit,  and  when  agitated  in  the 
basin  the  fumes  of  rum  arose  as  if  from  the  pure  liquor.  Frequent  fits  were 
the  consequence  of  this  man's  intemperance.  Some  employments  cause 
men  to  drink  large  quantities  of  liquor.  Labour  and  perspiration  carry  off 
the  inebriating  effects,  but  the  practice  of  such  heavy  draughts  creates  a 
habit  of  much  drinking  when  unemployed,  and  hence  the  baneful  effects  of 
intemperance  soon  show  themselves  in  distressing  diseases."— Dr.  S.  A. 

Q.  2'2.  What  has  been  the  effect  of  strong  drink  upon  physicians  them- 
selves? 

"From  ev  ery  sourse  of  information  which  we  have  consulted,  we  suppose 
that  about  one  hundred  physicians  liave  died  in  this  city  within  the  last 
thirty  years,  of  whom  about  forty  were  intemperate.  Tne  present  character 
of  the  profession  in  that  respect  is  much  improved  ;  we  cannot  now  recot 
lect  half  a  dozen  cases." 


Corv^jSjponli^uce. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Respected  friend, 

If  "Plodder  in  the  dark"   will  throw  a  little  more  light    upon   the 
subject  of  his  wants,   either  by  a  note  to  thee,   or  a  personal  application  to 
me,  1  will  endeavour  to  supply  the  needful  information  j    but  unless  I  know 
the  exact  state  of  his  case,   I  should,   in  attempting  his  relief,  prore  myself 
only  a  teacher  in  the  dark. 

In  Grammar,  a  plan  may  be  presented  to  him,  which  will  render  compa- 
ratively easy  its  acquirement. — In  Reading,  some  hints  can  be  offered,  tba^ 
will  enable  him  rapidly  to  improve  himself,  if  he  be  a  man  of  industry. 

1  am  respectfully,  thy  Friend, 
fv  Geo.  Edmondson. 

Lower  Bank  Academy,  Blackburn,  6th  month,  igth,  i33i. 

JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


i 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

ffi - 

iio.  8.  AUGUST  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 

Last  month  I  ventured  to  publish  "  An  Address  to  the 
Working  Classes ;"  this  month  I  address  myself  to  the  Rich  ; 
and  though  I  may  be  deemed  somewhat  presuming  in  attempt- 
ing to  teach  those  vrho  are  so  much  above  me  in  point  of  cir- 
cumstances, yet,  if  I  can  accomplish  the  least  good,  I  am 
willing  to  run  all  the  risk  of  being  censured.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  getting  an  audience  of  the  poor ; — their  doors  are 
always  open ; — but  persons  in  different  circumstances  are  not 
so  easy  of  access ;  and  I  think  it  probable  that  many  will  pur- 
chase, or  obtain  a  reading  of  this  number,  who  would  shame 
to  be  seen'  in  company  with  the  writer.  I  write  tliis  for  the 
rich  exclusively,  by  whom  I  mean,  not  only  those  whose  titles 
and  property  always  lead  them  to  be  considered  as  such,  but 
those  also,  whose  -incomes  from  trade  and  professions,  place 
them  a  grade  higher  than  what  are  called  the  lower  and  mid- 
dling classes.  Though  I  believe  the  greater  part  of  my  pur- 
chasers are  of  the  middling  class,  and,  on  this  account,  the 
present  attempt  may  be  deemed  inappropriate,  yet  I  know 
that  sentiments,  once  diffused,  circulate  rapidly  through  many 
tmseen  channels.  I  also  particularly  request  every  subscriber 
to  lend  this  mmiber  to  those  whose  circumstances  point  them 
out  as  the  persons  intended;  and,  in  addition,  I  shall  avail 
mj^self  of  several  opportunities  of  distributing  a  number  or. 
copies  among  the  nobility  and  gentry.     I  entitle  this  article — 

HINTS  TO  THE  RICH. 
.   Gentlemen, 

I  ADDRESS  you  under  this  title,  not  so  much  by  way 
of  compliment,  used  in  publi<;  harangues,  as  to  denote  those 
persons  of  superior  rank  and  wealth  for  whom  these  hints  are 

E    E 


226 

especially  intended.  You  have  various  monitors,  and  some, 
dare  say,  of  the  best  kind ;  but  so  numerous  and  powerful  are' 
the  temptations  of  your  station,  and,  indeed,  so  strofig  are  the 
allurements  of  vice  in  all  classes  of  society,  that  line  upon  line, 
and  precept  upori  precept,  ar6  absolutely  necessary.  Yod 
may  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  my  advice,  or  you  may  laugh  at  it  as 
of  too  saintish  a  cast,  but  rest  assured  I  have  no  object  in  view 
but  your  own  happiness  and  the  happiness  of  the  world  ;  and 
great  as  these  blessings  undoubtedly  are,  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying,  that,  in  a  worldly  sense,  their  progress  is  capable  of 
being  facilitated  or  retarded  more  by  your  conduct  than  by 
any  otlier  cause. 

I  enter  not,  in  this  address.  Upon  a  detail  of  alt  your  se- 
veral duties,  but  shall  principally  confine  myself  to  tliose 
points  which  I  deem  most  important,  and  which  peculiarly  be- 
long to  persons  of  your  station.  Nor  is  my  object  to  request  you 
to  descend  from  that  grade  in  society  in  which  fortune  has 
placed  you  ;  to  make  any  change  which  id^duld  unsettle  the 
proper  distinctions  in  society;  but  to  persuade  yon  to  act  a 
rational  and  a  christian  part  in  that  state  of  life  in  which  you 
are  placed  by  a  kind  Providence.  Feeling  anxious  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  all  mankind,  I  hope  to  meei  w'ith  a  fellow 
feeling  in  your  breasts,  and  in  this  hope,  permit  me,  first  of 
all,  to  draw  your  attention  to  the  duty  of 

Reflection.  I  do  not  suppose  that,  in  the  abstract,  you 
are  any  way  deficient  in  thisj  but  I  fear>  as  it  respects  your 
past  conduct,  your  future  prospects,  your  duty  to  God,  and 
your  numerous  obligations  to  society,  some  of  you  have  noff 
made  that  minute  investigation  which  th^ir  importance  de-« 
mands.  Led  either  by  the  impressions  of  early  training,  or 
by  the  more  irresistable  influence  of  prevailing  customs^ 
you  have  never,  perhaps,  allowed  yourselves  to  ask, — **  What 
have  I  been  doing  ?  what  are  my  present  pursuits  ?  and  with 
what  do  I  intend  to  occupy  the  remaining  part  of  my  life  1 
What  is  my  character?  how  has  my  life  been  spent?  and 
what  are  my  prospeicts  for  another  world  ?  Wafted  as  with 
a  whirlwind  of  sense  and  fashion  from  youth  to  manhood,  and 
from  manhood  to  old  age, — if  reason  could  but  speak,  and 
reflection  gain  the  ascendency ;  if  we  could  but  survey  dis- 
passionately our  mortal  career, — holv  often  should  we  pro4ll 


227 

nouuce  iadignantly  upon  ourselves  the  sefttence  of  condemna- 
ilo9 !  Infatuated  as  most  men  are  with  «  the  things  which  are 
seea  and  temporal,"  it  is  the  most  difficult  thing  i»  the  world 
to  persuade  them,  especially  those  who  are  surrounded  with 
the  fascinations  of  wealth  and  honors,  to  sit  in  judgment  upoii 
themselves,  and,  at  the  risk  of  being  singular,  to  begin  to  des- 
pise the  caprices  of  th^  world,  and  to  be  led  by  the  voice  of 
reason  au4  tr»th..  Thousands  are  now  living  witnesses  of  the 
C<?nsequence  of  neglecting  the  duty  of  reflection.  How  many 
are  pining  away  their  days  in  poverty  and  Wi^nt,  wl^o,  had  they 
attended  to  this  duty,  would  still  have  been  in  their  previous 
exalted  stations !  Proper  foresight  and  sober  calculation 
would  have  deprived  the  gazette  of  many  names  which  have 
appeared,  and  kept  ^thome  many  of  those  who,  by  a  wild,  rash, 
ftnd  thoughtless  life,  have  so  reduced  their  fortunes  as  to  be 
obliged  to  leave  tlieir  country.  But  worse  than  all  this ; — 
many  talented  individuals,  neglecting  every  duty,  and  wal- 
lowing in  selfrindulgence,  have  lived  a  life  of  infamy,  and 
died  with  the  most  melancholy  forebodings ! — Their  fate  I  leave 
to  the  judge  of  all.  What  I  wQuld  urge,  then,  upon  all,  I 
especially  urge  upon  you — ikff  duty  of  dispct^sionate,  delihep' 
Qie,  and  impartial  reflection.  Without  this,  you  read  and  / 
write  in  vain.  A  compliment  may  be  passed  upon  the  inten- 
tions of  the  writer,  but  unless  I  can  persuade  you,  honestly  and 
fearlessly,  to  examine  your  own  conduct,  and  to  perform  your 
relative  duties  to  society,  my  labour  is  lost.  Without  sabei? 
reflection  you  know  nothing  df  yourselves ;  you  pass  througli 
the  world  as  if  in  a  trance,  and  at  the  end  of  a  short-lived  ex- 
istence, wonder  what  you  have  been  doing.  Let  not,  I  beseech 
you,  the  sound  of  empty  names,  tlie  dazzle  of  a  splendid  equir^ 
page,  or  the  flattery  of  false  friends,  deceive  you.  Try  for  a 
moment,  to  forget  every  thing  artificial.  Children  of  the  dust, 
creatures  of  a  day,  your  best  estate  is  altogether  vanity  I  If, 
9t  the  commencement  of  my  address,  I  can  only  secure  a  dlsrr 
position  for  reflection,  then  I  may  hope  that  tlie  observations 
I  have  to  make  will  meet  with  a  serious  perusal. 

Your  connection  with  society  should  never  be  lost  sight  of ; 
you  are  spoken  of  under  a  distinct  appellation,  and,  though  yonr 
property  may  be  perfectly  distinct  and  independent  of  any 
other's,  it  is  not  so  with  respect  to  yourselves.     Created  froiu 


t 

228 

the  common  clod,  and  dependent  upon  others  for  every  enjoy- 
ment you  possess,  you  stand  connected,  in  a  thousand  ways, 
with  all  your  kindred  dust.  In  society  there  are  many  mem- 
bers, but  only  one  body,  and,  in  a  certain  sense,  you  are  more 
dependent  upon  the  labouriug-  poor  than  they  are  upon  you: 
even  the  king-  himself,  we  are  told,  is  served  from  the  field. 
Never  conceive,  therefore,  that  your  interest  is  separate 
from  theirs ;  that  your  property  can  be  safe,  eventually,  if 
theirs  is  not  respected ;  or  that,  in  any  crisis,  a  neglect  of 
the  common  interests  of  society,  will  bring  with  it  a  respect  foP 
yours.  Where  there  is  no  higher  feeling,  the  best  policy  of 
the  rich  is,  always  to  beliave  well  to  the  poor,  and  to  take 
their  part  against  every  oppressor.  Think,  then,  whether  in 
this  respect  you  have  not  "  done  many  things  which  you  ought 
not  to  have  done,  and  left  undone  many  things  which  you 
ought  to  have  done."  When  you  hear  of  disaffection  and 
commotions,  when  you  are  told  of  po\'erty  and  distress  among 
the  sober  and  able-bodied  part  of  the  population,  it  would  not 
be  out  of  place  to  ask  yourselves,  "  Have  I  in  any  way,  directly 
or  indirectly,  been  contributory  to  this  ?  or  can  I,  by 
any  possible  effort,  assist  in  the  removal  of  these  evils  ?'' 
Behold  the  multitude  with  vi'hom  you  are  surrounded, 
whose  fortune  it  has  been  neither  to  inherit  nor  acquire  pro- 
perty; mark  attentively  the  condition  of  millions  who  havei 
never  known  any  thing  but  labour  and  toil ;  and  try  so  far  to 
acquaint  yourselves  with  their  true  condition,  as  to  enlist,  by 
your  influence,  those  of  your  6wn  rank  to  join  you  in  the  no- 
ble design  of  raising  them  to  a  state  of  competency  and 
rational  enjoyment.  With  good  intentions  and  perseverance 
you  will  not  fail  of  success.  v 

To  accomplish  the  duties  to  which  I  am  drawing  your  atten- 
tion, you  will  be  aware  that  several  important  personal  quali- 
fications will  be  necessary,  and  without  which  every  thing  else 
will  be  unavailing.  You  must  cultivate  an  humble  disposition  ; 
you  must  ^'not  mind  high  things,  hut  condescend  to  men  of  low 
estate.'''^  You  must  be  sober,  self-denyed,  not  given  to  wo- 
men or  v/ine,  or  any  sensual  indulgence.  You  must  abandon 
the  love  of  ease,  and,  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  people,  you 
must  be  as  bold  as  a  lion.  The  fear  of  man  must  be  forgotten ; 
impelled  by  a  consciousness  of  duty,   you   must  persevere 


I 


229 


tiirougli  good  aud  througli  evil  report.  la  taking  part  witli 
the  people,  and  defending  their  cause,  yon  must  calculate  upon 
the  loss  of  friends,  aud  upon  many  personal  and  pecuniary 
sacrifices ;  but  your  gains  of  another  kind  \nR  infinitely  ex- 
ceed them  all.  You  will  be  persecuted  even  by  those  from^ 
whom  you  would  expect  better  things.  Perhaps  the  wife  of 
your  own  bosom,  and  the  members  of  your  own  household  will 
be  amongst  your  greatest  foes.  For  so  stupid  and  selfish  is 
the  world,  that  improvements  are  often  branded  with  the  curse 
of  innovations,  and  their  authors  arraigned  as  guilty  of  a  new 
lieresy,  or  are  suffered  to  labour  unassisted  and  alone,  if  a  rieh 
man,  therefore,  wish  to  dohis  duty,  these,  and  other  considera- 
tions, must  not  be  overlooked.  How  many  rich,  holding  of&ces  of 
great  public  utility,  are  comparatively  useless  for  want  of  per- 
sonal qualifications !  Addicted  to  drinking,  feasting,  gam- 
ing, and  other  splendid  sins,  they  have  neither  time,  disposi- 
tion, or  influence,  to  effect  any  real  good.  Until  we  have  better 
men  in  every  department  of  public  afikirs,  aud  more  humble, 
sincere,  and  courageous  leaders  in  society,  we  may  continue  to 
lament  the  prevaleucy  of  vice,  and  to  mourn  the  fact  of  per- 
verted talents,  and  wealth  misapplied. 

Possessed  of  these  qualifications,  I  would  offer  a  few  con- 
siderations as  to  ihe  employment  of  your  time,  in/iuence,  4*c. 
Though  there  is  no  want  of  suggestions  aud  plans  for  the  re- 
moval of  various  evils  amongst  us,  yet  every  body  must  see 
that  there  is  a  great  lack  of  public  spirit,  and  of  active  agents. 
The  working  class  have  neither  time  nor  influence  to  carry  on 
those  plans  of  national  civilization  which  are  so  often  recom- 
mended. Relieved  from  the  toils  of  obtaining  a  livelihood  by 
your  own  efforts,  your  time  is  at  your  own  disposal ;  and  after 
deducting  all  that  may  be  requisite  for  attention  to  your  neces- 
sary duties,  were  you  disposed,  you  would  have  a  considerable 
portion  to  offer  to  the  public.  And  what  higher  honor  could 
you  wish  than  that  of  being  able  to  contribute  to  your  coun- 
ty's greatness  ?  In  Preston,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  we  have  ve- 
ry few  among  the  higher  classes  who  are  ready  to  step  forward, 
on  any  occasion,  to  serve  the  public ;  and  hence,  many  pro- 
jects, pursued  with  ardour  in  other  places,  are  either  neg- 
lected, or  carried  on  feebly  by  us.  Public  spirit  is  not  iudige- 
nons  to  Preston.     The  prevailing   disposition  of  n^any  who 


290 

lM-<?  already  ricli,  seems  to  be,  to  get  money.  Many  are  de- 
voting all  their  energies  merely  for  tlie  purpose  of  amassing 
wealth,  wiH  such  have  neither  disposition  nor  time  for  those 
pnrsuit*  vrhioh  would  secure  for  thouaatids  of  others,  a  neces. 
eary  portion  of  those  good  things  wliicli  they  enjoy  in  so  great 
an  abundance.  Another  class,  less  under  tlie  influence  of  ava- 
rice, merelr  live  to  skip  from  one  scene  of  vanity  to  another. 
Thev  live  up  to  their  incomes,  and  the  whole  of  tlieir  time  is 
taken  up  in  preparing  fur,  and  pursuing,  every  amusement  and 
pleasure  witliin  their  reach,  Xa  this  point,  Preston,  1  believe, 
is  not  near  so  bad  as  other  towns.  Liverpool  affords  a  first- 
rate  specimen  of  this  class.  Some  of  the  rich  sacrifice  a  great 
portion  of  their  time  in  eating,  drinking,  and  carougiug. 
Infidel-like,  the  language  of  their  conduct  is,"  Let  us  eat  and 
drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die.'* 

♦' Like  biulea  ihcy  lire,  like  Itrutes  Ibey  die." 

The  whole  of  their  time  is  taken  up  in  animal  indulgence,  or 
in  correcting  the  injurious  effects  of  their  own  intemperance. 
Thev  are  reallv  a  pest  to  8ociet^•,  and  seldom  live  out  half 
their  da\-9.  Thus,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  time  and  influ- 
ence of  tlie  rich  are  lost  upon  avaricious  enterprises,  personal 
decorations,  and  sensual  indulgences.  Can  tliis  ha  right? 
Upon  serious  reflection,  can  you  justify  your  conduct  ?  Have 
vou  no  misgivings,  no  fearful  forelwdiags,  wheu  you  think  of 
the  state  of  retribution  to  which  we  are  all  fast  hastening  ? 
Bonnd  by  the  chain  of  your  sins,  and  by  the  imperative  exam- 
ple of  yonr  order,  you  seem  securely  to  tread  the  beaten  track, 
not  suspecting  tliat  it  may  be  the  **  broad  road  which  leads  tq 
death." 

Without  Infringing  upon  any  reasonable  pursuit,  what  Im-t 
mense  good  might  be  accomplished  if  the  rich  would  but  take 
the  lead,  bv  devoting  their  time  to  the  good  of  the  poor  and 
the  improvement  of  society  ;  going  about  ascertaining  die  real 
condition  of  the  people ;  discovering  and  putting  down  every 
receptacle  of  vice  and  infamy ;  planning,  and  carrying  into  exe- 
cution every  plan  for  the  melioration  of  society,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  the  people's  happiness.  Instead  of  caring  so  much 
for  yoarsrhes,  for  birds,  hares,  dogs,  and  horses,  dou't  y»u 
think  it  would  be  much  more  rational  to  care  for  yoor  fel- 
low men?     What  a  God-like  effort  to  endeavour  to  remove 


I 


231 


poveHy,  to  annihilate  crime,  to  dissipate  misery,  and  to  Spread 
content,  ch«^ef-fulness,  social  affecftoni  and  happiness   all  around 
t doubt  Hot  5f  the  power  ;  would  to  God  the  will  was  present! 
If  all,  or  any  pj'opbrtion  of  the  Wealthy  families  of  this  country, 
possessed  of  the  personal  qualifications  1  have  named,  did  but  feel 
their  obligations,  they  might  soon  change  the  ostensible  charac- 
ter of  society.     No  mdn,  whatever  be  his  station,  ought  to  live  to 
himself,  and   in  proportion  as  dur  time  and  means  are  increased* 
are  our  obligations  increased.     Let  m6,   then,  just  ask  many  of 
you,  when  did  you  visit  the  poor  ?    when  did  you  attend  to  thai 
part  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  which  consists  in  "  visiting  the 
widows  and  the  fatherless  in  their  afflictions,"  and  affording  them 
^very  necessary  relief?  How  many  times  have  you  given  up  ybur 
time  and  attention  to  promote  the  welfare  of  others^   independent 
of  your  own   interest?     Lay  these  questions  seriously  to  your 
hearts.     Possessed,   by  good  fortune,   of  the  riches  of  the  worid, 
of  the  surplus  proceeds  of  our   national  industry,   what  less  can 
you  return  than  a  kind  attention  to  the  vrants  of  your  less  fortu^ 
nate  neighbours,  and  to  the  best  interests  of  the  labouring  poor  ? 
Those  ^ho,  in  addition  to  their  wealth,  hold  high  and  honourable 
stations  in  society,  such  as  magistrates,  members  of  parhamen^ 
&c    have  additional  opportunities  of  usefulness.     And  if,  instead 
of  the  pride  of  office,  and  the  pomp  of  names,  they  would,  each  in 
his  own  sphere,  devote  himself  to  the  eradication  of  long  standing 
evils,  they  would  be  an  ornament  and  an  honor  to  the  country^ 
and  bring  upon  themselves  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  peo- 
ple.    What  so  noble,  so  honorable,  so  gratifying  to  our  great  mfett 
as  such  a  course  of  self-denial  and  publk  exertion,  as  would  lead 
the  humble  classes  to  the  paths  of  virtue,  goodness,  and  ConteftU 
l^^i     Innumerable  are  the  opportunities  which  a  good  magis. 
trate  has  of  usmg  his  power  and  influence  in  effecting  so  valua- 
We  a  purpose;  and  innumerable,  alas!  are  the  instances  which 
Have  occurred  of  examples  having  a  contrary  tendency.     We 
should  have  good  men  to  make  the  laws,  and  good  men  to  enforce 
obedience  to  them  ;  but  not  until  the  good  sense  of  the  nation  is 
entrusted  with  the  appointment  of  both,  can   this  be  expected. 
And  so  far  as  I  can  see,  self-election  to  the  office  of  magistrate, 
is  not  less  improper   than   self-election  to  office  in  parliament. 
And,  as  in  national  affairs  we  owe  many  of  our  corruptions  totha 
one,  so,  in  provincial  and  local  affairs,  we  owe  many  of  our  ear- 
ruptions  to  others.    Merit  and  respectable  suffrage  ought  to  elect 


•232 

those  who  should  be  the  guardians  of  the  peace,  and  tlie  fathers 
of  the  people.  Can  any  man  believe,  if  we  had  an  united, 
active  magistracy,  that  vice  vpould  be  permitted  to  raise  its  un- 
daunted front  in  every  street,  that  drunkenness  and  public- 
house  rows,  would  be  carried  on  as  they  are  at  present  ? — Whilst 
I  give  to  religious  priticiple,  diffused  without  the  sanction  or 
assistance  either  of  power  or  wealth*  and  resting  for  its  effects 
upon  its  own  intrinsic  efficacy  and  the  blessing  of  God,  the 
greatest  poicevy  as  a  7noral  renovator,  I  still  maintain  that,  by 
the  good  arrangements  of  civil  institutions,  the  temporal  happi- 
ness of  mankind  is  promoted,  and  many  auxiliaries  developed 
for  promoting  that  which  is  eternal. 

The  possession  of  wealth,  being  that  which  gives  you  a  dis- 
tinguished situation  in  life,  will  admit  of  a  few  rather  extended 
remarks.  The  possessions  of  the  world  have  always  been  un- 
equally divided ;  there  always  have  been,  and  always  will  be, 
rich  and  poor.  For,  provided  there  was  a  sufficiency  of  employ- 
ment, and  sufficient  wages  for  the  great  body  of  the  working 
pieople,  the  unfortunate,  the  sick,  the  infirm,  the  widow  and  the 
fatherless,  will  always  remain  in  the  land.  The  accutruilation 
of  wealth,  like  the  store-houses  of  Pharoah,  or  like  the  reservoir 
of  the  ocean,  is  intended  to  supply,  in  due  season,  the  places  of 
greater  destitution.  There  is,  therefore,  no  fault  in  being  rich, 
but  there  is  often  much  evil  connected  with  acquiring  and  using 
these  riches.  Instead  of  aspiring  to  a  happy  medium,  and  being 
satisfied  with  a  moderate  competency,  we  are  always  bent  upon 
getting  more.  The  possession  of  wealth  is  looked  upon  as 
the  great  desideratum  of  life  ;  and  hence  we  are  character- 
ised, and  most  justly, as  a  money  getting  people.  Virtue,  useful- 
ness, and  intelligence,  have  been  treated  as  minor  acquirements  ; 
wealth  has  been  the  road  to  the  possession  of  power,  and  the  ob  - 
ject  of  the  people's  blind  idolatry.  Though  immoral  in  prac- 
tices, puerile  in  intellect,  and  a  mere  blank  as  to  usefulness  in 
society,  a  man  with  a  large  property. is  sure  to  be  honored 
by  the  world,  and  flattered  with  the  roost  fulsome  praise. 
How  many  crimes  are  condemned  in  the  poor  which  are  excused 
in  the  rich  !  It  is  the  want  of  equal  justice,  equal  faithfulness 
to  the  rich  and  poor ;  it  is  the  want  of  awarding  praise  to  merit 
only,  and  not  where  its  greatest  recommendation  is  the  elevation 
of  its  possessor ;  it  is,  in  fact,  that  false  and  erroneous  estimate 
of  riches  which  had  taken  hold  of  the  public  miod,  that  leads  so 


i 


233 


tnauy   people  to  be  anxious  to  enjoy   wealth.     But  do  ricjiea 
make  their  possessors  happy  ?     Scripture,  experience,  facts,  all 
answer— No.     Held   as  a  trust,  with  a  willingness  to  use  them, 
on  all  ocedsions,  as  God  directs,  they  are  a  real   blessing  ;  but 
when  hoarded  up  as  a  man's  own  possession,    or  spent  upon  hig 
lusts,  they  are  a  source  of  accumulated  evils.     What   cares, 
what  anxieties,  what  temptations,  attend  a  state  of  affluence  ! 
Many  a  heavy  heart  is  concealed  beneath  the  richest  vest,    and 
a  thousand  difficulties  exist  where,  from  appearances,  you  would 
suppose  there  was  perfect  bliss.       Buoyed  up  with  artiGcial  en- 
joyments, which  will  not  abide  reflection,  and  eagerly  pursuing 
the  novelties  of  a  fantastic  world,  every  sober   moment  is  a  sea- 
son of  mortification.    C)r,  sensual  in  all  their  pursuits,  many  rich 
men  kill  their  time  by  pursuing  barbarous   pleasures,  and  by- 
epicurean  excesses ;    the  effects  of  which,  upon  mind,  body, 
and  estate,  are  such  as  must  convince  all  that  riches  are  a  dan- 
gerous snare.     "  Where  a  man's  treasure  is,  there  will  his  heart 
be  also;"  and  hence  the  earthly  mindedness  ;  the  pursuit  of  every 
thing  but   heaven  and  heavenly   things  ;  which  are  exhibited  in 
the  conduct  of  the  rich.     Well   might  it  be  said,   "They  that 
be  rich  fall  into  temptations  and  snares,  and   into  many  foolish 
and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown   men    in  destruction   and  perdi- 
tion :" — that  "  the  rust  of  their   gold   and  silver  shall  be  a  swift 
witness  against  them,   and  shall  eat  their  flesh  as  with  fire  ;"— 
that  "a  rich  man  shall  hardly  enter  the  kingdom  of   heaven*;" 
— why  then  all  this    anxious  care  ?  why  so  entirely    bent  upon 
laying  up  treasures  for  yourselves  amidst  so  many  uncertainties, 
and  in  the  face  of  so  much  evil?     "A  man's   life,"   (that  is,  the 
happiness  and  security  of  a  man's  life)    says  our  Saviour,  "con- 
sisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth.'* 
And  the  man  who  pulled  down  his  barns  and  built  greater,  and 
stored  up  his  surplus  stock  of  produce  to  secure  himself  ao-aiust 
future  want;  and,  in  the  true  spirit  of  thousands  amongst  us, 
said,  "  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years,  take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry  ;"   is  properly  denominated 
A  FOOL.      We  read  of  ^'uncertain  riches;^'  that  "  riches  take 
to  themselves  wings  and  fly  away;"  and   that   "  the  rich  man 
fades  away  in  his  ways."     Indeed    the   Scriptures   abound  with 


*  See  I  Tim.  Vr.  6, 10  and  17, 19.— James  V.  6.— Luke  XIL  15,  21«     XVI.  19, 3i._ 
MukX  23,26.— Col  UI.o. 


Ff 


'234 

declarations  as  to  the  folly  of"  hastening  to  be  rich,"—"  as  to  the 
deceitful  ness  of  riches," — and  the  awful  end  of  those  who  trust  in 
them.  However  successful  a  man  may  be,  at  one  season  or  another, 
he  will  feel  an  "aching  void"  which  this  world  can  never  satisfy. 
Gold  and  Silver  can  never  supply  the  wants  of  an  immortal 
mind;  the  favor  of  God,  the  well-founded  hope  of  lieaven,  alone 
can  satisfy  the  desires  of  the  soul.  However  a  rich  man  may  de- 
lude  himself  by  his  anxiety  for  the  world,  a  time  will 
come  when  the  fashion  of  it  will  pass  away,  when  the  delusive 
mask  will  be  removed,  wlien  he  will  exclaim — 

"  I  clasp'd  the  phantoms,  and  I've  found  them  air  :— 
O  liad  1  weigh'd  them  ere  my  fond  embrace ! 
What  darts  of  agony  had  miss'd  my  heart  1" 

Whether  you  are  excessively  or  moderately  rich,  I  feap, 
after  the  example  of  the  world,  you  are  still  wishing  to  get  more. 
Now,  beware  of  the  means  you  make  use  of  pei-sonally,  or  sanc- 
tion officially,  lest,  by  increasing  your  own  wealth,  you  are  actu- 
ally depriving  others  of  their  moderate  enjoyments.  There  is 
iioevil  in  acquiring  riches  in  itself;  but,  if  you  are  influenced 
by  "the  love  of  money,  which  is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  whether  you 
are  connected  with  the  interests  of  agriculture,  manufacture,  or 
commerce,  you  are  in  danger,  by  such  a  disposition,  of  acting 
the  part  of  an  extortioner  or  oppressor.  We  read  of  some,  of 
wTiohi  it  was  said,  "  The  hire  of  your  l;?bourers,  which  Is,  by  you, 
kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth ;,  and  the  cries  of  these  are  entered 
into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabbaoth."  **  He  that  getteth 
riches,  and  not  by  right,  shall  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  his 
days,  and  at  his  end  shall  be  a  fool."  Zacchens  was  chief  among 
tli'e  publicans,  and  he  was  rich  ;  but  his  offer  of  restitution  of 
four  fold,  implies  the  probability  that,  "by  false  accusation," 
he  had  taken  the  property  of  others.  The  weak  generally  be- 
come a  prey  to  the  strong  ;  hence  we  find,  that  one  of  the  sins  of 
the  covetous  Pharisees  was  "  devouring  widows'  houses."  With 
the  admonitions  which  these  examples  afford  us,  how  careful  we 
ought  to  be,  lest,  through  a  love  of  "  filthy  lucre,"  we  should 
be  tempted  to  injure  others  !  Rich  men,  it  is  true,  never  rob 
or  steal  to  get  money, '  but  are  there  not  many  transactions  in 
which  the  rich  are  implicated,  that,  in  the  sight  of  God,  are 
equally  criminal  ?  In  business,  therefore,  never  do  to  others 
what,  in  reason,  you  would  not  wish  others  to  do  to  you.  Let 
the  standard  you  fix  for  the  conduct  of  others  be  invariably  the 


235 

^ndurd  of  your  own  actions.     Behave  well  to  all  your  servants  ;• 
and  if  you  have  large  works,  where  numbers,  especially  ofyotttb,.' 
are  employed,  consider   that   they  are   of  the   same  species  as 
yourselves ;   that  thie  distinctions  of  honor  are  inerely  ideal,   aud- 
that  the  distinctions  of  property  are   but  for  a  few   short  years*! 
Don't  use  them  merely  as  beasts  of  burden,    as  slaves  at  the 
crack  of  the  whip.     Make   their  employment   as  easy   arid    as 
healthy  as  possible,  and,  especially,  pay  attention  to  the  state  of ' 
their  morals.     What  a  reflection  for  a  master  spinner  on  his.  die-f 
ing-  bed  to  say, — *'  In  this  street   I    see  feebleness  of  body,    de»t 
crepitude,  and  premature  old  age ;  in  the  other,  poverty,  debase-  f 
ment,  debauchery  and  crime  ;  and  much  of  this  is  the  result  of  • 
that  unguarded,  unchecked,  association  which  was  permitted  at 
iny  factory  !"  Be  good  to  the  men,  and  you  will  find  it  the  surest, 
mode  of  making  them  good   servants.     In  case  of  any  dispute^* 
give  them  the  advantage  of  a  fair  discusssion  ;  let   reason  and 
not  dictation,  be  your  guide.     While  your   profits  arfe  modern - 
ate,  never  be  disposed  to  promote  the  dropping  of  wages,   and,: 
in  case  of  necessity,  let  it  be  done  with  a  spirit  of  conciliation*. 
In  this,   as  in  all  our  transactions,   may  we  every  one  remember, 
that  short  but  forcible  admonition, — "  Take  heed,  and  bcwane  of 
covetousness/*     There  are  many  ways   by    which  rich    men  inr 
crease,  or  retain  their  riches,  at  the  expence  of  the  poor,  especi-1 
ally  by  enacting  laws  in  their  own  favour.  S'lich  is  the  presentcbru . 
law ;  such  are  the  laws  which  compel  the  poor  toasbist  in  luaintain- 
ing  the  poor ;  such  is  our  general  system  of  taxation,  which,  instead. 
of  fixing  upon  the  property  of  the  great,   enhances  the  price:  of 
almost  every  article  of  the  poor  man's  consumption.     The  rich 
have  long  had  hold  of  the  supplies,  and  no  proof  is  neciessary  to 
show  that  they  havenot  forgotten  themselves.  Corporateand  cleri-. 


*  I  h^ve  often  been  grieved  at  the  usaje  which  some  of  the  hand-loom  wearers  receive 
at  some  of  the  warehouses.     A  raoreaffecting  view  of  human  misery  is  not  to  be  met  with  ' 
than  when  twenty  or  thirty  of'these  miserable  being's  are  collected  at  tlie  takiug-iu  place. .' 
Meagre  in  person,  dejected  in  spirits,  clothed  in  rags,  what  lessons  might  our  squirearchy 
learn  from  periodical  visits  to  these  places!    They  are  often  treated,  especially  when   mar- 
kets are  bad,  with  too  much  severity  ;  are  suffered  to  wait  an  unreasonable  length  of  time ; 
and,  what  is  worse  than  all,  their  poor  pittance  is  abridged  with  severe  abatements.    It  is 
very  true  that  some  of  the  weavers  are  great  rogues,  and  are  so  very  careless  about  their 
work,  that  severity  is  necessary ;  but  it  is  worth  the  consideration  of  masters,  who  are  nol  • 
seeking  a  benefit  from  abatements,  whether  greater  kindness  would  not,  in  most  cases,  ren-  . 
der  "  bating"  unnecessary.    The  conduct  of  the  late  Mr.  France,  in  this  respect  was 
truly  admirable.    I  wove  for  him  seven  years,  andi  during  the  whole  time,  1  don't  think 
we  had  seven  wrong  words. 


236 

cal  demands  are  urged  with  the  greatest  pertinacity  ;  they  ar« 
greatly  oppressive,  and,  though  they  are  founded  neither  in  rea- 
son nor  equity,  yet  the  |»eople  are  compelled  to  submit  to  them* 
if  we  could  trace  the  steps  by  which  some  of  our  great  men  have 
become  so  immensely  rich,  we  should  come  to  this  conclusion: 
— that  their  wealth,  in  no  few  instances, is  "ill  gotten  good."  We 
are  not  quite  ignorant  that  many  lords  and  commoners,  in  favour 
with  the  government,  have  taken  care  to  "  feather  their  own 
nests,"  which,  of  course,  among  other  causes,  must  have  added 
to  the  privations  of  the  poor.  Rich  legislators,  ancontroUed  by 
the  popular  voice,  will  legislate  Jbr  the  richy  and  no  bounds 
can  be  set  to  the  ambition  of  some  who  have  it  in  their  power  to 
serve  themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  public.  Many  who  emerge 
from  a  state  of  poverty,  it  is  often  remarked,  are  no  better  than 
others,  and  though  they  know  what  it  is  to  be  in  low  circum- 
stances, are  haughty  and  oppressive,  in  proportion  to  their  ele- 
vation. Indeed,  such  is  the  deceitfulness  of  the  human  heart, 
that  without  reflection,  and  a  truly  religious  principle,  no 
station,  no  situation  in  life,  is  exempt  from  the  danger  of 
covetousnesa.  And  the  man  of  the  world,  carried  along  with 
popular  fashions,  who  measures  his  importance  by  his  number  of 
acres,  by  the  ex  lent  of  his  streets,  by  the  height  dnd  length  of 
his  factories,  by  the  tonnage  of  his  ships,  or  by  his  balance  in  the 
banker's  hands,  is  a  truly  pitiable  being. 

But  I  know  many  respectable  persons  who  would  disdain 
every  improper  means  of  acquiring  wealth ;  who  are  honorable 
and  uprightj  in  all  their  dealings.  Yet,  it  may  be  a  question 
whether  they  are  not  too  intense  in  their  application  to  get  mo- 
ney. Though  possessed  of  thousands,  they  are  as  diligent  as  if 
their  bread  depended  upon  it.  Early  in  the  morning,  and  con- 
stant through  the  day,  are  they  as  busy  as  possible,  '*  buying  and 
selling  and  getting  gain."  Call  upon  them  when  you  will,  or  for 
any  purpose,  however  important,  and  they  have  no  time  for  any 
thing  but  business.  Though  much  is  said  against  covetous- 
ness  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  an  acknowledged  fact,  that  the 
professors  of  religion  are  more  addieted  to  it  than  many  others. 
They  seem  not  to  have  discovered  a  medium  betwixt  spending 
all  and  saving  all ;  and  as  they  are  taught  to  be  sober,  and  dili- 
gent in  business,  they  are  too  apt  to  forget  every  other  object  but 
srl/.  Covetousness  is  idolatory  ;  and,  though  we  may  deceive 
ounselves,  yet  it  is  still   true,   "ye  cannot  serve  God  and  man>< 


i 

I 


w 


2.37 


mon."  Instead  of  being  anxious  to  add  house  to  bouse  and 
6eld  to  field,  how  much  safer,  how  much  pleasanter,  how  much 
more  in  the  spirit  of  the  example  of  Clirist,  to  devote  a  por- 
tion of  our  time  every  week,  and  the  surplus  of  our  incomes,  to 
the  good  of  others  ! 

It  is  not  only  the  getting,  but  the  using  of  our  property 
which  wants  regulating ;  and  this  brings  me  to  consider  this 
point  more  particularly  than  I  have  yet  done.  Possessed  of 
abundance,  are  you  justified,  I  would  a«k,  in  hoarding  up  yearly, 
with  a  groveling  spirit,  the  proceeds  of  all  your  property?  or  do 
you  think  it  right  to  spend  it  upon  your  lust:*,  in  eating,  drink- 
ing, gaming,  carousing,  and  all  kinds  of  carnal  pleasures  ?  or 
are  you  as  good  stewards,  holding  your  property  with  a  ready 
hand  to  bestow  a  portion  upon  every  laudable  object  ?  Riches, 
like  manure,  do  no  good  till  they  are  distributed  abroad,  and  if 
a  disposition  to  do  so  were  generally  prevalent,  unconnected  with 
profligacy  of  manners,  it  would  be  productive  of  the  happiest  re- 
sults. The  miser  who  hoards  up  his  treasures  is  the  most  detesta- 
ble of  beings  ;  he  has  no  soul  to  part  with  any  thing,  and  is  unfit 
for  any  society  where  social  feeling  is  cultivated.  It  is  charity 
and  philanthropy  in  the  essence  that  I  would  plead  for ;  not  the 
mere  forms  and  hired  operations  of  the  thing.  There  is  already 
considerable  apparent  liberality,  but  little  merit  due  to  the  au- 
thors. In  most  cases,  il  is  a  forced,  not  a  voluntarv  feeling; 
and,  that  being  the  case,  wherever  we  depend  upon  the  sponta- 
neous glow  of  charity,  we  are  uniformly  disappointed. 

Gentlemen  !  let  me  address  your  better  feelings.  Brought 
up  iu  affluence,  and  associated  with  the  fashionable  part  of 
society,  the  difficulties  of  your  station  are  considerable.  To  de- 
viate from  the  usual  path,  is  to  forfeit  your  present  eminence, 
and  to  ensure  censure.  If,  however,  you  are  conscious  of  vour 
duty,  never  mind  all  this.  Honor  is  a  puff  of  empty  breath, 
and  is  truly  contemptible  when  contrasted  with  the  pleasure  of 
pleasing  God,  and  the  enjoyment  of  a  good  conscience.  Just 
go  with  me,  then,  to  the  abodes  of  some  of  the  neglected  poor, 
and,  contrasting  their  condition  with  yours,  resolve  to  do  your 
duty  to  them.  You  are  surrounded  with  plenty ;  you  have 
fe>od  without  labour  or  toil,  served  up  with  all  the  adjuncts  of 
fashion — are  supplied  with  all  the  vanities  which  season  or  fancy 
can  produce.  Behold  the  scarity  board  of  the  labouring  man 
who  works  hard  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  a  day.     His  food  is 


238 

of  tlie  coarsest  kind,  and  measured  not  by  his  appetite,  but 
the  limited  stock  on  hand.  Visit  his  cot  at  breakfast  and  din- 
ner and  note  the  frugal  board  surrounded  by  his  numerous 
family.  To  notice  the  poor  weaver,  when  he  has  just  receive^ 
his  three  or  four  shillings  for  his  work,  dividing  the  amount, 
planning  and  re-planning,  resolving  and  hesitating,  as  to  articles 
he  wishes  to  purchase,  would  give  a  rich  man  an  idea  of  the  value 
of  money  of  which  he  has  no  conception.  Pinched,  when  in  health, 
to  get  the  barest  supply  of  the  commonest  necessaries  of  life, 
what  may  we  expect  when  sickness  visits  the  family.^  During 
the  last  two  months,  few  families  have,  altogether,  escaped  the  dis- 
ease which  has  been  prevalent ;  and  many  poor,  unableto  follow 
their  employment,  have  had  to  suffer  much.  You  know  no- 
thing of  this.  In  sickness  you  have  the  best  advice,  are  nursed 
with  the  greatest  care,  and  are  supplied  with  every  article  calcu- 
lated to  restore  your  health.  Whilst  your  cellars  are  loaded 
with  wines  and  spirits,  and  well  stored  with  good  supplies  of  ale, 
these  poor  creatures  are  destitute  of  the  least  drop  of  nourish- 
ment;  and,  when  it  is  recommended  by  the  dispensary  surgeons, 
if  they  can  muster  about  ten-pence,  you  will  see  them  going  to 
the  wine  vaults  for  a  gill  of  something  called  wine.  As  to 
clothing,  what  a  mighty  contrast !  You  have  every  thing  requi- 
site to  protect  the  body,  to  change  as  often  as  you  please,  to 
suit  the  seasons,  and  to  imitate  the  varying  fashions  of  the  day, ' 
What  changes  of  apparel  are  to  be  found  in  the  wardrobes  of 
the  rich  !  The  poor,  on  the  contrary,  have  scarcely  wherewith, 
to  cover  their  nakedness.  Fashion  and  change  are  out  of  place 
with  them ;  it  is  very  rare  to  get  a  single  new  article  of  the  poor- 
est description  ;  and  the  bare  covering  which  they  have,  con- 
sists principally  of  second-hand  things  which  others  have  given 
them.  For  want  of  change,  the  children  have  to  be  stripped  on 
a  Saturday  night,  in  order  to  ensure  a  clean  shirt  for  Sunday. 
Audit  is  with  feelings  of  great  regret  that,  in  so  many  instances, 
I  have  found,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  the  father  of  the  family, 
who  has  laboured  hard  through  the  week,  confined  a«  a  prisoner 
because  he  had  no  decent  clothes  to  put  on.  To  remind  you  of 
all  the  sufterings  of  the  poor,  would  require  a  long  detail ;  they 
are  such,  however,  as  you  ought  seriously  to  reflect  upon.  E 
mention  all  this,  not  to  excite  their  envy,  nor  to  lead  them  to  re- 
pine, but  as  powerful  reasons  why,  instead  of  spending  your  time 
*nd  your  money  upon  the  vanities  of  theworld,  you  should  learn 


239 

to  consider  the  poor,  to  defend  their  cause,  and  to  try  to  better 
their  condition.  Though  I  appeal  to  your  charitable  feelings,  it 
is  not  alms,  exactly,  that  I  ask  on  their  behalf.  What  I  long  to 
see  is,  an  universal  sympathy  existing  throughout  all  classes,  and 
an  united,  vigorous,  effort  on  the  part  of  the  rich,  to  free  every 
working  man  from  the  stigma  of  being  a  pauper,  to  that  state  of 
independency  and  comfort  which  he  certainly  ought  to  enjoy. 

However  we  may  be  flattered  with  the  increase  of  riches,  we 
should  remember  that  •*  we  brought  nothing  into  this  world,  and 
it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out.''^  "  Having  food  and  rai- 
ment," says  the  apostle,  "  let  us  be  therewith  content."  He 
charges  those  who  are  rich  in  this  world,  to  *'  be  rich  in  good 
works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communicate,  and  thus  to 
lay  up  a  good  foundation  against  the  time  to  come."  Deceive 
not  yourselves  ; — if  the  scriptures  be  true,  your  situation  is  dan- 
gerous. Those  who  have  riches  and  hold  them  fast,  are  said  to 
*' trust  in  uncertain  riches,  instead  of  tlie  living  God,  who  gives 
us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy."  And  Jesus  has  told  us  that  "it 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for 
a  rich  man  who  trusts  in  his  riches  to  enter  the  kingdom."  Take 
warning  then ;  instead  of  having  to  "  weep  and  howl  for  the  mea- 
sures which  are  coming  upon  you,"  seek  the  Lord  with  all  your 
hearts ;  **  break  off  your  sins  by  righteousness,  and  your  iniqui- 
ties by  shewing  mercy  to  the  poor."  Where  much  is  given, 
much  is  required,  and  both  you  and  I,  ere  long,  shall  have  to  give 
account  of  our  stewardship;  shall  have  to  "stand  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ,  to  receive  according  to  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad."  May  we  stand  ac- 
cepted at  that  great  day !  J.  L. 


THE  UNRULY   MEMBER. 

<<  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart,  the  mouth  speaketh.'^ 


In  reflecting-  upon  the  members  of  tlie  human  body,  none 
is  more  inviting  than  the  tongue.  It  is  truly  a  little  member, 
but  it  boasteth  great  things.  As  the  principal  instrument  of 
speech,  by  which  the  Seutimenta,  feelings,  and  desires  of  men 


•240 


are   expressed,  it   is   very   important.      Though    admirably- 
adapted  to  assist  in  producing- all  that  variety  of  sounds  nhich 
are  intended  to  convey  ideas,  and  to  administer  to  social  inter- 
course, it  is   still  but  an  instrument.     Language  represents 
thoughts  and  feelings,  and  these  proceed  from  the  heart ;  this, 
then,  is  the  main  spring   from  which   all  both  good  and  evil 
flow-.     The  tongue,  though  not  a  perfect,   is  a  good  index  to 
the  human  heart ;  and,  if  taken  at  separate  times  and  places, 
may  be  relied  upon  as  a  safe  criterion  of  character.     View- 
ing speech  in  the  abstract,  what  a  mass  of  confusion,  contradic- 
tion, and  nonsense  is  uttered  every  day !     Though  but  one 
idiom,  it  has  still  the  features  of  Babel.      Were    it   possible 
to  analyze  all  tlie  articulate  sounds  which  strike  the  ear  of  one 
person  in  a  single  day,  it  would  be  a  perfect  curiosity ;  and  if  the 
sum  total  of  what  any  one  of  us  delivers  in  the  course  of  a  day, 
could  be  presented  to  us  in  the  evening,  we  should   blush  at 
the  statement,  and  be  unwilling  to  own  it  as  our  own.     If  an 
individual  were  to  note  down  the  conversation  of  any  party, 
where  there  was  even   an  absence  of  every  gross  violation 
of  propriety,   he  would  fiud,  upon  a  revisal,  that  which  was 
.  really  useful,  to  be  vastly  disproportioned  to  the  rest.     I  have 
once  or  twice  been  thrown  into  the  company  of  evening  par- 
ties, and  I-haVe  wished  much  that  I  could  have  been  able  to 
exhibit  to   each  individual  afterwards,  the  mass  of  useless, 
senseless,  pernicious   words  that  he   had  uttered.     And  this 
brin^  to  my  mind  the  observation  of  a  sensible  young  man  of 
this  town,  who  had  been  pressed  to  attend  a  company  that  meet 
regularly  at  a  certain  public-house  to  take  their  evening  glass. 
His  observation  was, "  1  staid  about  half  an  hour,  and,  daring 
the  whole  time  I  did  not  hear  a  rational  sentence  uttered." 
The  reason  of  all  this,   obviously,  is  not  ignorance  of  the  pro- 
priety o'i  languAgfe,  but  the  want  of  an  enlarged  mind,  a  better 
dispoeition,  more  virtuous  habits,  and  the  operations  of  an  en- 
lightened conscience. 

Wliat  power  is  given  to  words !  The  tongue,  though  di- 
minutive in  form,  is  mighty  in  effect.  Great  as  is  the  influ- 
ence of  .the  press,  it  principally  consists  in  reflecting  that 
which  has  been  spoken  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  tliat  in- 
dividuals, by  personal  address,  so  far  as  that  extends,  can 
often  put  down   and  overpower  every  tiling  which  can  be 


I 


241 

pointed  against  them.  See  tlie  efiects  of  tlii^  little  member  hi 
addressing  juries,  in  haranguing  public  assemblies,  or  in  lead- 
ing on  an  army  to  battle.  It  is  the  tongue  of  the  flatterer  that 
ensures  his  deceptions ;  and  it  is  sofl  words  that  turn  away 
TTrath.  How  soft  and  soothing  are  kind  words  to  the  discon- 
solate !  and  a  word  spoken  in  season,  how  good  it  is  !  To 
know  the  peculiar  value  of  language,  look  at  the  loss  endured 
by  the  deaf  and  dumb,  who  never  enjoyed  its  benefits.  With 
great  labour  and  expense,  some  of  them  are  taught  to  con- 
vey ideas  to  each  other  by  signs  ;  but  the  very  limited  iitility, 
and  the  great  expense  of  this  contrivance,  shew  the  high  value' 
of  the  gift  of  speech.  Both  motions  and  writing,  in  the  fa- 
miliar intercourse  of  life,  are  awkward,  and  attended  with 
great  inconvenience.  "  The  word  Is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy 
mouth  and  in  thy  heart,"  say  the  scriptures,  refering  to  a  dif- 
ferent subject;  and  how  vastly  superior  is  the  use  oi speech  to 
that  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper !  The  tongue  is  always 
in  order,  is  fixed  in  a  most  advantageous  part  of  the  body, 'and 
scarcely  needs  to  be  touched  to  perform  its  operations.  Even* 
John,  the  apostle,  seems  to  have  felt  this ;  for,  in  his  two  short  *■ 
epistles,  consisting  together  of  only  27  verses,  he  ends  with 
tliis  remark :  **  I  had.many  things  to  write,  but  I  will  not  with 
ink  and  pen,  but  I  trust  I  shall  see  thee  shortly,  and  will  gpeak 
face  to  face."  The  want  of  speech  would  increase  the  age  of 
childhood  to  many  times  its  present  length ;  for  children  are  not 
capable  of  those  artificial  means  which  older  persons  adopt. 
From  their  birth,  their  feelings  and  wants  are  expressed  b3r 
soundSfWhich,  considering  their  utter  helplessness,  is  one  of  the 
\visest  provisions  of  nature :  to  a  majority  of  infants  it  may  be  '  • 
considered  the  safety  valve  of  life.  They  also  soon  begin  to 
lisp  their  mother's  accents,  and  to  imitate  the  sounds,  and  to 
fix  them  to  things,  which  they  hear  from  others.  So  soon 
as  they  can  walk  and  waddle  about,  external  objects  open  to 
their  view  ;  their  wants  and  their  enquiries  increase,  and  na- 
ture soon  furnishes  them  with  language  for  making  them  all 
known.  The  contrivances  for  communicating  Imowledge, 
and  perpetuating  facts,  have  varied  with  the  times  and  the  dis- 
coveries of  nations  ;  but  the  use  of  speech  has  been  uniform  ; 
the  rudest  barbarians  have  a  language  ;  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  tongue  is  as  old  as  the  creation.     Its  capability,  also,  of 

G  G 


•24-2 

oonveviiil?  tlie  feeling's  and  passions  of  men  to  each  other, 
unequ'nlled.  By  sentences,  points,  and  the  varied  characters 
the  alphabet,  some  little  of  the  spirit  of  a  speaker  may  be  in^ 
fused  into  print ;  but  it  is  the  peculiar  vibrations  of  huma| 
sounds  upon  the  ear,  the  modulation  of  tones,  the  force  of  ei 
phases,  and  the  natural  accompaniments  of  gesture  and  actioi 
that  alone  can  carry  to  the  hearers  the  electricity  of  passionJ 
ate  and  persuasive  eloquence.  Pleasing  and  enchanting  a^ 
are  tlie  tones  of  instrumental  music,  the  music  of  the  voice  ii 
the  sweetest  of  all,  and  its  power  will  be  acknowledged  whei? 
every  otlicr  fails.  No  exercise,  perhaps,  is  so  universally 
admired,  as  the  unaffected  display  of  human  eloquence  ;  and, 
combined  with  intelligence,  and  engaged  in  the  cause  of  virtue, 
what  can  resist  it?  But  after  all,  like  other  good  things, 
it  has  its  use  and  abuse.  Though  capable  of  being  made  the 
instrument  of  the  greatest  good,  if  associated  with  a  depraved 
heart,  it  is  capable  of  being  made  the  instrument  of  the 
greatest  evil.  Even  in  a  good  cause,  how  seldom  does  it 
take  the  safe  course  of  moderation  ;  and  where  it  is  openly 
engaged  in  the  service  of  evil,  its  operations  are  awful. 

In  contemplating  tlie  activity,  utility,  and  injury  con- 
nected with  this  peculiar  member,  its  proceeds  may  admit 
of  being  classed  under  five  particulars.  1,  Trifling,  or  neither 
good  nor  evil ;  2,  Vicious ;  3,  Malignant  and  Impious ; 
4,  Good  and  Useful;  5,  Excellent  and  Impressive. 

First, —  Trifltvg.  This  includes  the  greater  part  of  child* 
ren'g  discourse.  From  minds  unmatured,  we  cannot  expect  the 
language  of  sages,  and,  if  unimportance  in  words  be  a  mark  of 
childhood,  we  shall,  as  is  often  observed,  find  children  of  all 
ages.  The  conversation  at  genteel  tea  parties  ;  the  "  how  do  yo' 
do;"  the  off  and  on  talk,  so  plentifully  supplied,  is  all  of  this 
class.  Though  the  excessively  grave,  and  those  of  a  philosophi- 
cal turn,  may  sometimes  find  fault  with  this  vapidity  of  speech, 
yet,  to  criminate  such  discourse,  except  when  unreasonably 
and  immoderately  indulged  in,  would  be  to  fix  a  standard,  by 
which  we  should  not  consent  to  be  tried  ourselves.  Relaxa- 
tion tends  to  improve  the  most  exalted  character,  and  it 
is  sometimes  a  relief  to  persons  of  mature  judgment 
iind  deep  study,  to  feel  themselves  in  a  mood  for  a  little  fire- 
■ide  chat.     At  all  our  public  meetings  of  a  religious  order. 


^9 


243 


13  laivguage  is  uuiformly  sanctioned,  and,  if  seasoned  with  a. 
little  wit,  is  much  applauded.  In  some  cases  it  fills  up  a 
chasm  in  our  social  intercourse,  without  whicli,  the  civility  of 
persons  would  frequently  be  called  in  question.  Still,  to  guard 
against  it,  and  to  direct  our  conversation  to  something  prq/ii- 
able,  is  much  more  commendable. 

Secondly, —  Vicious  discourse.  This  is  a  most  compre- 
hensive head,  and  is  only  distinguished  from  tlie  maliffnanf 
and  impious,  by  its  not  including  the  highest  degrees  of  wicked 
language.  This  includes  every  expression,  observation,  and 
discourse,  which  indicates  a  want  of  the  f<?ar  of  God,  or  love 
to  our  fellow  creatures ; — such  as  is  indicative  of  pride,  lewdr 
ness,  sensuality,  ingratitude,  injustice,  peevishness,  raillery, 
revenge,  cruelty,  &c.  An4  to  attempt  to  point  out  the  per- 
sons, places,  and  circumstances,  connected  witli  instances  of 
tliis  description,  wo«ld  require  an  elaborate  workj  though  it 
would,  perhaps  be  much  easier  to  say  where  they  are  to  be 
found,  than,  with  certainty,  where  they  are  not.  To  one  wlio 
feels  for  the  welfare  of  society,  the  vicious  language  which  he 
hears  in  every  street,  and  in  almost  every  company,  is  very 
distressing.  Of  righteous  Lot,  it  is  said,  that,  dwelling  in 
Sodom,  "  he  was  vexed  with  die  filthy  conversation  of  the  wick- 
ed ;  that  seeing  and  hearing  their  unlawful  deeds,  his  righ. 
teous  soul  was  vexed  from  day  to  day."  And  if  it  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  the  cities  of  Israel,  where  the  word  of  Christ 
was  preached,  what  may  we  expect  to  l?e  the  fate  of  this  our 
favoured  land  ? 

Thirdly, — Malignant  and  Impious.  By  this  I  mean,  that 
sort  of  language  which  denotes  a  hardened,  callous,  villain- 
ous, impious,  state  of  mind  ;  filthy  and  obscene  expressions, 
cursing  and  swearing,  perjured  appeals  to  heaven,  furiou:^ 
threatenings,  and  all  sorts  of  profanity.  Awful  as  it  is  to 
hear  this,  it  is  really  very  prevalent :  it  is  rare  to  paas  a  group 
of  boys  standing  in  the  street,  without  hearing  specimens  of 
this  dreadful  abuse  of  the  noble  faculty  of  speech.  Boys  of 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  and  numbers  of  girls  who  work  at 
factories,  not  only  use,  but  are  addicted  to  the  use  of  this  lan^ 
guage.  Public-houses  are  the  very  hot-beds  of  this  vice;  the 
confusion  and  uproar  so  common  in  these  places,  are  always 


244 

mixed  up  with  a  profusion  of  the  blackest,  the  most  dreadful 
expressions.  Many  of  the  awful  scenes  connected  with  drink- 
ing are  concealed  from  our  view,  but  the  loud  sounds  of  "  hell" 
and  "  damnation,"  and  the  curses  of  God  upon  each  other's 
souls,  are  audible  out-side  as  we  pass  the  doors.  About  a  fort- 
night since  I  had  occasion  to  stop  at  a  certain  inn,  and  in  the 
parlour  I  found  what  some  would  call  a  gallant  company. 
Among  them  there  was  one  man  (wlio,  I  was  told,  had  had  a 
large  sum  of  money  left  him,  wliich  he  was  spending  as  fast 
at  possible)  who  mixed  oaths  and  fcurses  almost  with  every 
sentence,  and  who  was  utterly  regardless  of  any  thing  that 
was  said  to  him.  When  I  left  he  was  still  cursing  and  swears 
ing  at  the  same  rate.  On  the  same  evening,  having  been  up 
at  the  stable,  I  was  attracted  by  the  voice  of  a  woman  display- 
ing her  talent  at  swearing  and  Billingsgate  language  towards 
some  man,  who,  she  said,  had  made  free  to  come  into  her 
house.  Her  language  was  really  awful ;  and  she  said  she  had 
''gotten  six -pence  worth  of  spirits  on  purpose  that  she  might 
speak  her  mind."  A  day  or  two  after,  as  I  was  passing,  I 
reminded  her  of  her  conduct,  and  expostulated  with  lier  on  its 
impropriety.  She  acknowledged  to  all,  but  blamed  some  man 
that  she  wanted  to  drive  away  ;  at  the  same  time  she  seemed 
much  ashamed  tliat  I  should  have  heard  her.  Well  may  it  be 
said,  "  Their  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bitterness ;  their 
throat  is  an  open  sepulchre ;  with  their  tongues  they  use  deceit> 
and  ^e  poison  ofasjjs  is  under  their  lips  !" 

Fourtly, —  Useful.  Much  as  we  may  be  annoyed  with  the 
injurious  and  immoral  sounds  which  echo  through  our  streets, 
the  tongue  is  constantly  employed  in  useful  services.  Wd 
might  trace  its  u:,eful  occupation  from  the  most  humble  abode 
of  the  cottager,  through  all  the  vast  and  multitudinous  proceed- 
ings of  society,  to  the  discussions  and  decisions  of  our  "  high 
court  of  Parliament."  Like  the  rain  of  heaven  and  the  shin- 
ing of  the  sun,  the  utility  of  speech  is  bestowed  on  the  evil  and 
on  the  good,  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  And  it  is  not  less 
remarkable  than  true,  that  from  the  same  organ  proceed,  much . 
that  is  jpernicious  and  much  that  is  useful.  Tlie  man  that 
siiears,  also  confesses  ;  the  tongue  that  rails,  also  imparts 
consolation  ;  «'  therewith  bless  we  God,  and  therewith  curse 
we  men  ;  and  out  of  the  same  mouth  proceed  blessing   and 


\ 


'^c'dri 


2ir> 


sing."  Ill  making  known  our  wauls — conveying  informa- 
tion— giving  advice — dissipating  sorrow — restraining  vice — 
teaching,  exhorting,  and  reproving  eacli  other — the  utility  of 
speech,  even  as  we  hear  it  amidst  the  corruptions  of"  this  pre- 
sent evil  world,"  is  above  all  conception-.  Like  many  other 
common  blessings,  enjoyed  by  every  one,  it  is  little  appreciated, 
though  its  univefsality  is  its  greatest  recommendation. 

Fifthly, — Excellent  and  Impressive.  Pursuing  the  useful- 
ness of  speech  to  its  highest  degree,  we  trace  it  in  its  most  ex- 
alted marches  here,  and  follow  it,  when  it  attempts  to  emu- 
late the  efforts  of  the  "angelic  choir."  Where  are  the  speci- 
mens of  the  touching  and  sublime  effects  of  speech  ?  In  the 
exhortations  to  the  penitent — the  confessions  of  the  prodigal — 
the  faithful  reproofs  of  a  friend — the  sincere  promises  of  lovera 
— the  parting  adieu — the  father's  affectionate  teaching  of  his 
children — the  entreaties  of  a  loving  wife — the  plaintive  voice 
of  misery — the  sentences  of  a  judge — the  mandates  of  a  king — 
the  dying  speech  of  a  criminal — the  pathetic  and  elegant  ad- 
dress of  the  pulpit,  the  senate,  and  the  bar — the  sweet  melody 
of  song— the  earnest  prayer  and  supplications  of  the  faithful 
— the  last  words  of  a  dying  christian — the  rejoicings  of  the 
righteous  on  earth,  and  their  triumphant  praises  in  heaven. 
What  an  exalted  view  do  these  instances  give  us  of  the  capa- 
bilities of  speech  !  But  for  this,  ihe  noble,  the  extatic,  and 
the  melancholy  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  would  have  been 
misunderstood,  and  tlie  moral  world  deprived  of  its  most  re- 
splendent luminary.  Though  much  neglected,  and  by  the 
multitude  never  admired,  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  wonders  of 
creation,  and  well  worthy  of  that  God  who  created  all  things 
by  his  own  Word. 

From  the  preceeding  view,  I  would  beg  to  ojffer  to  my 
readers  a  few  words  of  advice.  First,  to  cultivate  an  ac- 
quaintance with  every  propriety  of  speech,  and  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  own  language ;  to  study  its  variety  and  uses,  and 
with  as  little  pedantry  as  possible,  to  speak  it  in  a  style  at  once 
plain,  correct,  and  forcible.  The  proper  use  of  words,  though 
of  great  importance,  is  seldom  studied ;  and  it  is  clear  that, 
like  many  other  useful  pursuits,  it  is  much  neglected.  If  tlie 
instruments  of  our  musicians  were  generally  in  no  better  tune 
than  the  tongues  of  mankind,   they  would  be  abandoned  as 


246 

nseless.  What  a  pity  to  see  a  man  of  forty  or  fifty  years  of 
age  unable  to  deliver  a  single  intelligible  sentence  !  and  hovr 
demeanin"  for  men  of  business  and  ladies  of  fashion 
to  be  heard  pouring  into  the  air  the  most  incoherent, 
incorrect,  and  ridiculous  sounds.  Let  a  person  make 
a  point  of  listening  to  all  that  "proceeds  out  of  the 
mouth  of  man,"  and  he  will  soon  be  convinced  that 
I  have  not  advanced  any  unfounded  insinuation.  1  do  not  see 
why  the  proper  use  of  the  tongue  is  not  as  necessary  as  a  pro- 
per use  of  our  hands  or  our  feet ;  but  if  a  man's  irregularity 
of  walk  was  like  that  of  his  talk,  he  would  be  a  laughing-stock 
for  every  body.  If,  instead  of  a  steady,  regular,  straight  for- 
ward step,  he  was  off  and  on  the  parapet,  sometimes  in  the 
middle  of  the  street,  now  halting,  and  anon  treading  upon  our 
toes,  he  would  not  be  more  ridiculous  than  many  are  in 
their  familiar  discourse.  1  do  not  say  that  every  man  must  be 
a  grammarian  or  a  rhetorician  ; — that  is  impossible  ; — but  I 
would  advise  every  man,  after  learning  to  think  correctly,  to 
supply  himself  with  a  stock  of  words  commensurate  to  his 
ideas  ;  to  ascertain  the  correct  meaning  of  the  words;  and  then 
try  to  deliver  them  with  that  ease,  order,  and  precision,  which 
always  makes  conversation  pleasant.  Never  tax  the  patience 
of  your  friend  by  using  about  five  times  as  many  words  as  are 
necessary  to  convey  your  meaning  ;  never  shout  and  bawl 
when  plain  speaking  only  is  required.  If  you  ha\  e  nothings 
to  talk  about,  never  tell  a  tale  seven  times  over  to  fill  up 
the  time :  loquacity  is  a  gift  which  very  few  admire,  and 
which,  every  wise  man  will  avoid.  "  Be  swift  to  hear  and 
slow  to  speak,''  is  good  advice,  for  in  the  multitude  of  words 
there  wauteth  neither  absurdity  nor  sin.     Muttering  is  very 

disagreeable,  and  the   running  iin wn through  your 

statements  should  always  be  avoided.  Always  commence 
your  sentences,  and  direct  your  discourse  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  prevent  that  ever  troublesome  "  what  ?"  demanding  a  repe- 
tition of  what  you  have  said.  Provided  the  discourses  of  men 
were  easy,  their  statements  concise,  and  their  words  appro- 
priate, any  person  would  readily  tolerate  a  provincial  accent, 
or  many  other  unimportant  and  unavoidable  peculiarities,  it 
has  often  been  remarked  how  few  good  readers  we  have ;  it  is 
equally  true  that  we  have  few  good  speakers  ;  and,  in  proper- 


247 


m 


\on&'A\]ie  press  has  hecome  popular,  the  cultivation  of  speech 
seeras  to  have  been  neglected.  Good  speaking  should  form  a 
part  of  every  system  of  education,  whether  domestic  or  scholastic. 
Boys,  left  to  themselves,  will  justspeak  as  their  associates  speak, 
and  it  is  a  great  pity  that  both  parents  and  teachers  should  seem 
:o  have  treated  so  important  a  subject  with  so  much  indifference. 
In  the  next  place,  let- the  moral  tendency  of  your  language 
and  conversation  be  strictly  attended  to.  The  current  of  immo- 
rality is  replenished  more  from  the  influence  of  words  than  any- 
other  source.  It  gains  strength,  not  only  from  open  expressions, 
but  even  from  hints  and  tones,  which  have  a  bad  tendency. 
Words  are  so  ready  that  we  let  them  slip  before  we  are  aware 
of  their  consequences.  How  often  do  we  see  the  evil  tendency 
of  unguarded  expressions  when  it  is  too  late  to  recall  them. 
The  heart  is  really  the  seat  of  all  evil ;  but  how  easy  is  the  trans- 
mission of  the  evil  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  tongue  and  the 
ear!  Whilst  others  diffuse  pollution  with  their  breath,  sow 
seeds  of  discord,  and,  with  a  tongue  like  a  two-edged  sword, 
cast  aboiit  fire-brands  and  death,  let  those  who  wish  well  to  so- 
ciety, keep  the  •*  unruly  member"  in  subjection.  "He  that 
seemeth  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiv- 
elh  his  own  heart,  that  man's  religion  is  vain."  Silence  itself  is 
sometimes  the  best  course;  but  on  all  occasions,  when  we  are 
led  to  communicate  with  others,  whoever  is  before  us,  we 
should  make  it  appear  that  we  detest  vice,  that  we  respect  vir- 
tue, and  that  it  is  our  wish  to  diffuse  goodness  as  extensively  as 
possible.  We  are  apt  to  be  hasty  in  our  remarks  ;  we  use  angru 
words,  and  harsh  expressions,  of  which  we  have  afterwards  rea- 
son to  repent.  W^e  should  not  render  evil  for  evil,  or  railing 
for  railing,  but  contrariwise  blessing.  So  connected  are  words 
with  designs  and  actions,  that  it  is  said,  "by  thy  wore?*  thou 
shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  tvords  thou  shalt  be  condemned." 
*•  He  that  made  the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear  ?"  for,  says  the  Psalm- 
ist, "  there  is  not  a  thought  in  my  heart,or  a  word  on  my  tongue 
but  lo  !  ()  Lord  !  thou  knowest  it  altogether."  If,  then,  we 
would  learn  "  to  love  life,  and  see  good  days,  let  us  refrain  our 
tongues  from  evil^  and  our  lips  from  guile  ;  let  us  eschew  evil 
and  do  good  ;  let  us  seek  peace,  and  ensure  it."  For  thus  con- 
cludes the  apostle  Peter,  describing  the  universal  conflagration  : 
— "Seeing  that  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what 
manner  of  persons  ought  yc  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness!"  J.  L, 


t>4b 
VARIETIES. 

Beer  Bill. — Discussions  are  still  going  on  as  to  the  merits 
of  this  bill,  one  party  reprobating  the  measure,  and  another  as 
keenly  defeuding  its' principal  provisions.  This  bill  either  had, 
or  should  have  had,  two  objects— the  depriving  of  the  magis^r 
trates  of  an  authority  which  they  had  long  abused  :  and,  the 
benefitting  of  the  labouring  classes.  The  former  has  been  par- 
tially accomplished,  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  the  only  good 
that  has  resulted  from  this  measure.  As  to  the  difference  in  the 
price  of  ale,  the  man  must  be  insane  who  can  for  shame  mention 
it  as  a  relief  to  the  poor.  Surely  the  writer  who  volunteers  such 
statements,  must  think  that  the  labouring  class  have  everything 
but  "cheap  ale,"  and  that  nothing  was  wanting  to  perfect  their 
bliss  but  this.  Let  any  man  examine  the  dwellings,  the  furni- 
ture, the  bedding,  the  clothing,  and  the  food,  of  the  poor,  and  he 
will  be  satisfied  of  the  folly  of  talking  about  tlie  beer  bill  as  a 
*'  legislative  boon  to  the  poor."  But  it  has  not  orily  done  them 
no  •'■ood,  but  it  has  positively  done  much  harm.  The  common 
argument  is,  "  increase  the  number  of  houses,  and  you  divide 
the  knots  of  drunkards,  and  render  them  less  liable  to  run  to 
extremes."  This  might  be  conclusive  if  it  were  not  attended 
with  another  evil — the  creating  a  great  number  of  J^resh  drunk- 
ards. In  the  present  depraved  and  immoral  state  of  society, 
facts  prove,  that  to  fix  an  ale  house  at  the  ends  and  middle 
of  every  street,  even  the  poorest  streets,  is  to  provide  the  most 
effectual  temptation  to  make  men  drunken.  Many  persons  who 
previously  were  sober  characters,  slip  into  these  houses,  and 
become  habitual  drunkards.  In  the  leading  article  of  tlie 
Preston  Chronicle  of  July  9th,  a  great  deal  is  said  in  favour  of 
the  bill;  but,  in  my  opinion,  neither  with  much  force  of  argu-? 
ment,  nor  deference  toyac^5.  It  is  there  asserted  :—*•  In  our 
own  populous  manufacturing  district  these  complaints  (of  the 
effects  of  the  bill)  are  almost  wholly  groundless."  Now  as  I 
am  sure  the  Editor  has  no  wish  to  give  a  false  statement,  I 
must  say,  that  in  this  assertion  he  has  suffered  himself  to  be  mis- 
led. Surely  every  body  cannot  be  mistaken.  I  know,  from 
individual  testimony  of  persons  from  every  part  of  Lancashire, 
that  "  these  complaints"  are  based  upon  astounding  facts.  I 
will  refer  the  matter  for  decision  not  to  magistrates  or  their  friends, 
who  may  be  supposed  to  be  partial,  but  to  every  class  of  people 
in  Preston,  Kirkham,  Lytham,  Blackburn^  Chorley,  Bury,  Bol- 
ton, and  their  respective  neighbourhoods.  Not  that  I  wish  a 
return  to  the  old  system  ;  but  a  change  that  removts  one  evil 
by  substituting  two  in  its  place,  certainly  wants  changing  again. 
Let  our  labourers  have  cheap  bread;  let  them -have  plenty  of 
wholesome  food,  decent  clothing,  and  a  comfortable  home,  and 
the  loss  of  "the  little  enjoyment  of  the  poor"  in  drinking  ale  at 
three-pence  instead  of  four-pence  a  pint,    will  never  be  felt. 


1 


I 


249 


Jf  the  duty  had  been  kept  upon  beer,  and  the  value  of  the  mo. 
nopoly  been  diverted  to  the  national  treasury,  either  by  a  sale 
of  licenses,  or  by^  charging  them  a  considerable  sum,  the  taxes 
upon  many  useful  and  necessary  articles  might  have  been  remit- 
ted. Beer,  I  am  aware,  is  considered  an  essential  article  of  liv- 
ing' in  some  parts  of  Eiiglami  more  than  in  Lancashire.  I 
would  suggest,  therefore,  if  the  malt  duty  cannot  be  taken  off, 
that  the  licenses  of  brewers  to  sell  ale  for  non- consumption  on 
the  premises,  remain  at  £2,,  and  that  the  police  be  empowered  to 
enter  the  premises  when  they  please.  By  this  last  regulation 
most  of  the  evils  connected  with  the  first  "  retail  beer  act"  would 
have  been  removed.  In  the  next  place,  make  the  public-houses 
ail  alike ;  raise  the  licenses  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
premises,  and  the  respective  articles  which  are  sold,  from  £20. 
to  £50.  a  year  ;  and  allow  any  person  the  liberty  of  licensing  a 
house  where  he  pleases.  At  first  sight  this  sum  may  appear 
large ;  but  when  it  is  considered  that  it  is  not  more  than  the 
price  of  the  previous  monopoly  ;  that  no  duty  is  paid  upon  the 
ale, — with  this  amount  of  license,  I  will  answer  for  it,  we  should 
have  quite  as  many  public-houses  as  we  had  before.  Supposing 
we  had  100  in  Preston,  this  would  raise  perhaps  £4000.  a  year  : 
and  when  it  is  considered  that  this  extra  charge  would  fall  ex- 
clusively upon  those  who  go  to  sit  at  these  houses,  to  whom  a 
penny  a  glass  is  no  object;  that  the  poor,  who  fetch  their  ale 
from  the  breweries,  would  get  it  at  the  lowest  price  ;  and  that 
these  proceeds  would  enable  ministers  to  reduce  other  taxes,  [ 
humbly  submit  these  suggestions  to  the  legislature,  and  to  the 
public,  as  worthy  of  adoption.  Persons  who  have  sunk  their 
money  in  public  house  property,  upon  the  faith  of  what  had  so 
long  been  considered  law,  are  entitled  to  some  consideration,  and 
part  of  this  amount  might  be  applied  as  an  indemnification. 

The  C'oronation.^The  ceremony  of  the  Coronation  is  to  be 
celebrated  next  month ;  and  though  I  perceive  it  is  intended  to 
be  less  pompous  and  expensive  than  others  have  been ;  yet,  ow- 
ing to  the  popularity  of  the  king,  it  is  probable  that  an  unusual 
.nanifestation  of  rejoicing  will  be  displayed  through  the  country. 
Wishing  that  we  may  be  blessed,  not  only  with  a  popular  king, 
but  an  united  people,  and  especially  with  a  good  feeling  between 
the  rich  and  poor,  I  beg  to  recommend  the  revival  of  a  custom 
which  has  long  grown  into  disuse, — I  mean  the  free  and  liberal 
entertainment  of  the  poor  on  occasions  of  public  festivity, 
♦'Giving  portions  to  the  poor"  constituted  part  of  the  rejoicings 
among  the  Jews ;  and  in  this  country,  formerly,  this  good  prac- 
tice prevailed;  but,  by  the  reign  of  pride  and  selfishness,  it  is 
almost  annihilated.  We  read,  almost  every  week,  of  public 
dinners  in  London  and  in  the  country,  to  celebrate  this  and  the 
other  event,  but  who  are  the  guests?  The  rich  and  the  great; 
Buch  as  can  afford  to  pay,  or  such  as  are  in  favour.  If,  instead 
of  this,  on  occasions  of  national  rejoicing,  the  rich  would  mix 
>vith  the  poor,   and  give  them  a  friendly   entertainment,    wha( 

H    H 


2,50 

good  feeling*  it  woiil«l  create,  and  would  often  lead  to  an  aban-. 
donnient  of  those  jealousies  and  envious  dispositions  which  are 
the  bane  of  national  happiness.  No  occasion  can  be  more  appro-, 
priatethan  that  of  the  Coronation  for  a  return  to  this  good  old 
English  practice.  I  hope  it  will  be  kept  in  mind  and  acted 
upon  throughout  the  country.  As  it  respects  Preston,  if  I  cannot 
succeed  in  persuading  others  to  join  in  making  this  a  part  of  the 
public  ceremonies  for  the  occasion,  I  intend,  on  a  limited  scale, 
to  act  upon  it  myself. 

Camp  Meetings. — It  has  now  become  a  custom  every  summer 
with  the  Primitive  iVlethodists  (or  Ranters)  to  hold  camp  meet-, 
ings  in  Preston  and  several  of  the  neighbouring  villages.  Being 
in  the  open  air,  and  held  at  a  favourable  season  of  the  year,  im- 
mense numbers  of  personsoftenattend.  The  motivesfor  thisprac- 
tice  are,  no  doubt,  good,  bufc  I  would  beg  to  suggest,  whether  all 
the  o-ood  intended  might  not  be  answered  by  omitting  that  part 
of  the  service  which  consists  in  dividing,  in  the  field,  into  parties 
for  praying.  There  is  clearly  much  confusion  connected  with 
it,  and  less  solemnity  than  we  look  for  ia  devotional  exercises  ; 
and,  perhaps,  too  much  occasion  given  to  wanton  spectators  to 
laugh.  I  have  attended  several  times,  and,  really,  I  can  scarcely 
describe  my  feelings  at  beholding  a  number  of  men  on  their 
knees  praying,  some  of  whom  were  uttering  excited  exclama^ 
tions,  whilst  numbers  of  spectators  were  laughing,  mocking,  and 
making  sport  at  what,  I  suppose,  they  considered  the  fanaticism 
of  the  worshippers.  If  this  part  of  the  service  were  dispensed 
with,  it  would,  in  the  opinion  of  most  people,  be  a  great  im- 
provement. 

Perhaps  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  how  readily  we  perceive  the 
incongruities  of  others,  while  at  the  same  time,  weare  blind  to  our 
own.  I  have  seen  several  church-going  people  making  sport  at 
these  meetings,  and  I  have  said  to  myself,  "ifyowrservice  wereas 
modern  as  this,  and  if  its  being  so  often  repeated  had  not  neu- 
tralized its  impressions,  you  would  see  a  strong  resemblance 
in  the  two."  Abrupt  exclamations  form  a  striking  feature  in 
the  liturgy.  For  instance,  in  a  certain  part,  the  minister  pro-, 
nounces  "with  a  loud  voice,"^"The  Lord  be  with  you!", and 
is  answered,  "and  with  thy  spirit!'*  Then  follows,  *<  Lord 
have  mercy  upon  us  5"  people,  ''Christ  have  mercy  upon  us  !" 
minister,  *♦  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us  !"  Again  ;  "  O  Lord  open 
thou  our  lips;"  answer,  ♦' and  our  mouth  shall  shew  forth  thy 
praise."— *'0  God  make  speed  to  save  us;"  answer,  *'0  Lord 
make  haste  to  help  us  !"  Now,  however  cold  and  formally  these 
exclamations  from  the  desks  of  the  clerk  and  the  minister  are 
now  made,  still  it  is  clear,  that  if  they  were  taken  from  real  prac- 
tices, there  must  have  been,  originally,  a  great  degree  of  enthu^ 
biasm  in  the  worship.  And  as  to  confusion,  I  take  the  anoma- 
lous practice  of  minister  and  clerk  repeating  audibly,  at  the  same 
time,  to  be  a  specimen  unequalled  by  any  thing  connected  with 
Protestant  worship.      After  all,   many    persons   attend  to  all 


251 

these  with  good  minds,  and,  as  to  the  essentiiiis  of  religion,  may 
be  classed  among  the  best  christians- 

Theanti-race^  entertainment. — The  public,  and  the  friends  of 
the  rising  generation,  are  much  indebted  to  the  few  spirited  in- 
dividuals connected  with  the  Preston  institution,  who  succeeded 
80  well  in  providing  innocent  entertainment  to  tiie  children  of 
the  various  Sunday  schools  who  assembled  on  the  Marsh  during* 
the  races.  The  number  of  spectators  was  considerable,  and  I 
believe  they  were,  generally^  much  gratified  It  is  in  contempla- 
tion to  get  up  the  entertainments  next  year  on  a  moi'e  extensive 
scale ;  and  among  other  things,  it  is  expected  that  a  silken  bal- 
loon of  large  dimensions,  will  ascend.  How  interesting  it  is  to 
see  those  who  work  hard  every  day  and  every  week,  enjoyinj^ 
themselves  where  harmony, charity,  and  good  feeling,  prevail; — ^ 
where  selfishness  and  cruelty  are  forgotten,  and  where  every  one 
seems  ambitious  to  administer  to  the  pleasure  of  the  spectator  ! 

Proclamations. — W«  have  lately  had  several  "proclamations" 
upon  the  doors  of  our  town-hall,  and  as  they  refer  to  matters  of 
national  concern,  I  notice  them,  to  complain  of  the  absurd  man- 
ner in  which  they  are  drawn  up-.  As  in  the  building  of  churches, 
utility  is  constantly  sacrificed  to  old  and  fooUsh  forms.  A  pro^ 
clamation  should  be  as  clear  as  words  and  sentences  can  make  it, 
but  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  there  is  not  one  person  out  of  twen- 
ty who,  by  a  bar€  reading,  can  arrive  at  any  proportion  of  the 
real  meaning  of  most  of  them.  A  proclamation  of  lialf  a  yard  long, 
and  a  foot  wide,  embodied  in  xme  sentence  !  If  the  ancients 
delighted  in  such  prodigious  sentences,  I  am  sure  the  minds 
of  the  moderns  are  not  adapted  to  them. 

J.  U 


Corf^jsijionJy^n^. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 

Sib. 

You  have  lung  aimed  at  the  improvement  of  the  morals  of  all  elas- 
"•es  of  society  5  and  as  the  Rich  stand  on  an  eminence,  and  have  great  influ- 
ence, it  would  be  well  if  they  were  strictly  moral.  Permit  me,  therefore,  to 
draw  your  attention  to  the  faults  of  the  rich,  especially  those  connected  with 
the  domestic  and  social  circle.  The  sins  of  the  poor  are  constantly  des- 
canted upon,  atid  laid  before  the  public ;  and  it  is  but  fair,  if  there  be  an 
advantage  in  this,  that  the  rich  should  enjoy  it.  I  shall  not  surmise  any- 
Ihing,  but  state  facts  of  which  I  myself  have  been  witness.  There  are, 
doubtless,  many  good  men  among  the  rich,  but  of  many  of  them  w«  are 
itompelled  to  say  otherwise. 

With  each  other  the  rich  often  act  very  deceitfully ;  they  appear  to  ict 


252 

k»  If  it  wcr«  considered  quite  vulgar  to  speak  any  thing  contrary  to  the  opjnli^ 
on*  or  feelings  of  those  of  the  same  class,   whom  they  have  occasion  to  ad*  I 
dress.     I  should  judge,  by  their  actions,  that  polite  planners  are  considered 
of  far  greater  importance  than  moral  rectitude  : — faithfulness    in  reproving 
■eems  to  be  considered  a  departure  from  good  breeding.     The  most  fulsome 
flattery  is  made  use  of  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  whilst,    behind  their 
backs,  they  will  call  each  other  almost  every   thing  but  good.     Instead  of 
keeping  in  view  the  improvement  one  of  another   in  the  social  circle,   their    v, 
chief  object  is  to  amuse  and  please  each  other's  fancies;  and   by  this  means 
their  pride  and   vanity  is  increased.     Their  extravagancies,    both    in   dresa 
and  in  food,  are  often  very  great,    when  they   will  scarcely  allow  their  ser-» 
vants  those  things  which  are  absolutely  necessary.     This  hardens  the  hearts 
of  servants  against  them,  and   makes    theai  take  no  interest  in    the  welfare 
of  such  roasters  and  mistresses.     Many  good  servants  are  often   deprived  of 
suitable  characters,  and,  females  in  particular,   are,  through  this,    driven  to 
that  last  resourse  at  which  one  shudders  to  think.  I  have  known  many  that 
invariably   refuse  characters   to  those  servants  who  leave  of  their  own  ac- 
cord.    They  often  injure  themselves,   and  others,  by  not  exercising  a  little 
discrimination  ;  because  they  have  had  to  do  with  one  or  two  dishonest  per- 
sons, they  act  to  all  as  if  they  were  thieves.     Where  there  is  strict  honesty, 
this  gives  pain  ;  where  there  is  no  principle,  this  conduct  Operates  to  their 
own  disadvantage,    by  making  those  about  them  wasteful  of  their  property 
out  of  mere  revenge.     There  is  a  practice  of  teaching  servants   to  lie  that 
cannot  be  too  much  condemned  : — If  they  don't   want   to  see  persons  who 
may  happen  to  call,  servants  are  ordered  to  say,   they  are  not  in  ;  this  they 
have  often  to  say,  when  their  very  countenances    give  the  lie  to  their  state- 
tnents.    Truth  might  answer  every  purpose  in  this  case,  and  good  servants 
be  spared  an   unpleasant  task.     They  often  set  themselves   against  persons 
who  refuse  to  serve  them  from    conscientious   scruples,   and  treat  them  as 
base  and  impertinent,  when,   al  the  same  time,  such  persons  would*  gladly 
please  them  if  they  could  do  it  without  displeasing  their  Maker.     On  Sun- 
days, most  of  them  go  to  some  place   of   worship,  but  it  is  evident  to  those 
about  them,  that  their  minds  are  not  occupied  with  the  things  of  eternity. 
Their  parties  are  often  fixed  for  that  day  ;  the  invitations  are  written  out, 
and,  very  often,  their  servants  have  to  run  about  with  them  on  that  sacred 
day.     Most  of  them  read  prayers  to  their  families  on  sunday  evenings,  and 
all  in  the   house  are  expected  to  attend ;  but  what   effect  has  this   upon 
serv&nts,  when  they  see  one  perhaps  reading  or  answering  letters,   another 
reading  a  newspaper,  a  third  probably  reading  a  novel  ?     These  things  are 
laid  down  for  a  few  minutes,  and  resumed  again  as  soon  as  ever  prayers  are 
over.     They  make  their  servants  attend  some  place  of  worship,  but,  instead 
of  avoiding  to  give  trouble  on  that  day,  many  of  them  will  have  work  done 
that  is  not  attended  to  on  the  week  days.     I   knew  a  Lady   well   who   com- 
pelled her  servants  to  attend  sacrament  at  the  parish  church,  and   as   soon 
as  dinner  was  over  she  made  them  put  all  the  clothes  to  bteep  for  washing 
the  next  day.     This  was  regular.     She  is  now  dead,  and  was  blazoned  forth 
in  the  papers,  as   eminent  for  piety.     It  is  awful  wlien  wc  consider  the  iu- 


™  253 

fl.ence  of  their  example  on  poor  ignorant  pcrsous,  I  have  heard  such  sAy* 
that  because  of  the  superior  learning  of  their  masters,  they  must  know  what 
Higion  was  better  than  the  poor,  and  that,  if  they  thought  there  was  a  re- 
ality  in  it,  they  would  never  act  as  they  do. 

Now  I  consider,  that  if  the  rich  were  to  cultivate  an  acquaintance  with 
those  who  arc  their  inferiors  in  society,  and  study  human  natare,  as  it  is 
developed  in  the  umefined  by  education,  they  might  correct  many  of  the 
evils  of  which  we  hear  them  so  bitterly  complain.  They  would  get  stores 
of  knowledge  that  would  make  them  more  contented  in  their  own  situa- 
tions, and  they  would  have  the  happiness  of  knowing  that  they  had  made 
»dtber»  happier  in  theirs.  They  would  know  better  how  to  reward  tlie  de- 
Mfviiig,  and  to  punish  the  undeserving.  Instead  of  having  to  look  back 
CO  their  death  beds,  upon  a  life  spent  oni;/  in  amassing  wealth,  and  enjoy- 
iog  riches  and  worldly  pleasures,  they  might  have  to  remember  that  they  had. 
In  some  measure,  answered  the  ends  of  their  creation,  by  benefitting  their 
fellow-creatures,  and  thereby  glorifying  God. 

Sir,  I  remain,  yours, 
A  WELL-WISHER  TO  ALL  MANKIND. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  persons  talk  very  fluently  on  the  na- 
Cure  of  a  pawnbroker's  business,  and  to  make  assertions  of  the  most  lu- 
dicrous  kind,  and  that,  too,  in  the  form  of  truisms  5  but  if  interrogated 
closely,  we  find  them  totally  ignorant  of  the  subject ;— their  assertions 
prove  to  be  palpable  falsehoods,  or  misrepresentations,  at  the  least ;  and 
all  their  dogmas  end  in,  "  1  conceive  this,  and  suppose  that."  Yes,  truly, 
such  persons  conceive  falsehoods,  and  bring  forth  a  numerous  and  corres- 
pondent progeny.  That  the  business  is  capable  of  being  abused,  and  that 
it  is  actually  abused,  argues  nothing  against  its  general  utility.  Such  abuses 
are  not  necessarily  attached  to  it,  but  are  to  be  attributed  exclusively  to  th^fe 
mode  in  which  some  conduct  it.  But  to  stigmatize  every  pawnbroker  with 
disgraceful  and  opprobrious  epithets,  because  some  have  merited  them,  is 
most  unreasonable.  It  might,  with  equal  propriety,  be  asserted,  that 
«  because  some  people  have  purchased  poison  to  destroy  themselves,  chem- 
ists and  apothecaries  are  to  bear  the  blame  in  its  fullest  extent,  and  deserve 
to  be  calumniated  and  reproached  as  the  promoters  of  suicide  by  poison." 
Again,  because  some  of  the  clergy  and  lawyers  have  disgraced  the  piofession 
to  .which  they  belong,  aie  the  whole  of  them  to  be  traduced,  vilified,  and 
defamed  ?  And  the  same  interrogations  might  be  proposed  in  reference  to 
every  branch  of  business ;  and  certainly  it  is  extremely  illiberal,  as  well  as 
unreasonable,  to  make  pawnbrokers  an  exception.  Yet  this  is  tht  prarlice 
of  many,  >vho,  with  a  kind  of  unmerciful  severity,  condemn  the  conduit 
*ad  business  of  a  pawnbroker,  though  they  know  nothing  about  either,  and 


254 


1 


treat  them  with  as  much  degiadation,   as  is  evinced    towards  gamblers  <* 
peijured  characters.  ll 

The  very  mention  of  pawnbrokers  is  sufficient,  with  persons  of  a  narrow 
and  bigotted  spirit,  to  lower  the  individual  in  the  scale  of  society  and  public 
esteem.  Let  a  pawnbroker,  however,  relinquish  bis  occupation,  and  en- 
gage  in  any  other,  and  he  will,  without  any  change  of  character,  receive  his 
•hare  in  the  honors  and  respectability  of  the  world.  Is  not  this  to  be  at- 
tributed to  prejudice,  which,  like  a  fake  mirror,  distorts  every  object  placed 
before  it  ? 

Are  not  the  businesses  of  confectioners  and  frditerers  too,  oftea  attended 
with  great  domestic  evils?  and  do  they  nol,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  furnish 
many  powerful  objections  ?  These  have  presented  temptations  to  many  of 
our  youth,  both  apprentices  and  others,  who  have  been  known  to  pilfer  their 
masters'  property  to  indulge  their  palates ;  which,  in  connection  with  a  rea- 
dy access  to  them  through  a  great  part  of  the  sabbath,  (a  most  baneful  cus- 
tom)  has,  in  many  instances,  proved  injurious.  But  are  these  occupations 
to  be  considered  as  altogether  improper  ?  No  ;  they  have  their  uses.  To 
these  we  might  add  others,  and  point  out  some  things  objectionable  in  each 
without  being  considered  invidious;  such  as  banlcers,  lawyers,  money  scri- 
veners, stock-brokers,  medicine-venders,  and  a  long  list  of  et-ceteras  In 
abort,  I  ask,  where  does  the  institution  exist,  even  for  a  good  purpose,  that 
some  will  not  abuse  ?  i 

Public  charities  are  not  free  from  the  invidious  attacks  of  narrow  mind- 
ed and  Ill-natured  persons,  who  will  do  nothing  but  pry  into  every  person's 
busmess  but  theirown.  Of  that  self-same  stuff  must  your  correspondent 
be  made,  who  wrote  so  vilifying  an  attack  on  the  pawnbrokers'  trade  in 
your  June  number  of  the  Moral  Reformer:  and  as  to  his  calculations  of 
interest,  &c.,  I  would  advise  him  to  be  more  acquainted  with  the  charees 
they  take  for  their  tickets  and  interest,  as  bis  letter  to  you  had  nothing 
m  It  but  unfounded  assertions. 

1  am^  your  iconstaut  reader, 

A.  B. 


Sir, 


CO-OPERATIVE  SOCIETIES. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 


«ow  th.  ^tH       ,     .",  '       ''''""  ^'"  '"""■"°'=«  y°"  »^«t  co-operation  isnol 
now  the  h  tie  cloud  hke  a  man's  hand,  just  rising  out  of  the  sea,  that  is 

IZT  Tr  r."'!'^^'^P-P'«  «'•  England,  huf  that  it  is  the  sky  cove^! 
edove  w.th  clouds,  md.catingcopious  showers  of  blessings  upon  the  head- 
of  the  long-neglected,  despised,  and  impoverished  labourers.     The  labour 
crs-who  create  all  the  wealth,  provide  all  the  comforts,  supply  al  the  ax- 


255 

uries,  and  pay  all  the  expenses  of  their  own,  and  of  every  other  class  in 
society,  fioin  the  King  upon  tlie  throne  to  the  blind  and  decrepit  inmate  of 
the  parish  workhouse — are  now  become  generally  sensible  of  this 
truth.  They  see  that  the  cause  of  all  their  poverty  and  distress  lies 
in  the  pi-esent  irrational  and  vicious  arrangements  of  society ;  that  they 
want  only  knowledge,  virtue,  and  union,  and  that  these  will  produce  capi- 
tal and  power,  and  enable  them  to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  liberty,  plenty, 
and  peace.  Let  not  the  rich  and  great  be  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  these 
principles ;  for,  in  proportieu  as  they  spread,  ignorance,  drunkenness,  idle- 
ness, lawless  violence,  and  every  species  of  vice,  will  fly  away. 

Co-operation  has  nothing  in  it  to  scare  any  industrious,  useful  member 
of  society ;  it  has  terrors  only  for  the  vicious,  the  idle,  and  the  worthless. 
It  says  to  our  worthy  King,"  Thou  hast  acted  the  part  of  father  to  thy 
people ;  1  love  thee,  I  will  cheerfully  labour  for  thee,  I  will  furnish  thee  in 
abundance  with  every  thing  that  the  heart  of  a  wise  King,  as  thou  art,  can 
desire.  Millions  will  surround  thy  throne,  and  defend  it  better  than  walls 
of  iron  and  gates  of  brass."  It  says  to  our  venerable  constitution  and  re- 
presentative form  of  government,  *'  I  admire  and  venerate  you;  my  last 
efforts  shall  bo  exhausted  to  reform  and  render  you  perfect- — the  envy  of 
surrounding  nations,  and  a  blessing  to  the  world."  It  says  to  the  sluggard, 
<*Go  to  the  ant ;"  and  to  the  useless,  "Go  to  the  bee,  consider  their  ways 
and  be  wise."  Tothe  fundholder  it  says,  *' My  father  might  lend  his  own, 
or  borrow  thine,  to  the  extent  of  his  means  of  repaying  thee ;  but  he  had 
no.  right  to  reduce  me  to  the  condition  of  a  slave,  by  taking  the  fruits  of  my 
industry  to  support  thee  in  idleness.  Such  conduct .  is  not  tolerated  by 
ant  or  bee.  Nevertheless,  since  half  the  money  thou  chargest  me  with  was 
borrowed  by  my  father,  or  by  some  other  person,  perhaps  without,  or  even 
contrary  to,  his  wish,  the  whole  of  the  principal  shall  be  repaid  by  instal- 
ments of  one  shilling  in  the  pound  annually  ^  and,  since  I  was  no  party  to 
thy  unrighteous  contract,  I  break  no  faith  with  thee  when  I  say,  /  will  pay 
thee  no  more  of  what  thou  art  pleased  to  call  interest.  As  God  commanded 
the  Israelites  every  seven  years,  so  I  demand  from  thee,  at  the  end  of  twen- 
ty, a  year  of  jubilee."  To  the  money  lender  it  says,  "I  amobligedtothee  for 
the  use  of  thy  cash  :  lo !  there  thou  has  what  is  thine.  I  have  now  capital 
of  my  own,  and  have  no  need  of  thipe ;  live,  therefore,  upon  it,  as  bees  live 
upon  their  winter  stock.  When  it  is  gone,  thou  wilt  be  compelled  to  gather 
honey  for  thyself,  and  thus  beconae  a  useful  member  of  society."  To  the 
landowner  it  says,  "  Make  thyself  governor  of  a  community ;  thy  lOOO  acreg 
will  make  9000  of  thy  fellow  creatures  as  full  of  comforts  as  man  can  be, 
without  detracting  from  any  of  thy  enjoyments.  Surround  thyself  with 
labourers  of  eveiy  trade,  and  grow  and  produce,  upon  thy  own  property, 
every  thing  that  can  make  life  a  blessing.  Retain  thy  land  in  thy  posses- 
sion, but  share  its  productions  with  those  who  create  them.  Thou  wilt  thus 
become  ten-fold  richer  than  thou  art  at  present,  a  hundred  fold  more  secure 
jn  thy  possessions,  and  a  thousand-fold  more  happy."  To  the  useless  place- 
pian,  sinecurist,  pensioner,  dignitary,  pluralist,  and  a  thousand  other  idlera, 
it  says,  "  The  summer  is  over,   and  every  drone  must  be  expelled  from  the 


256 

hire"  To  merchants,  shopkeepers,  and  other  distributors  of  wealth,  it 
lays,  "  Ve  are  too  numerous  ;  ye  destroy  each  other,  and  cause  the  business 
of  its  distribution  to  cost  more  than  the  production  of  all  our  wealth, 
ftlany  of  you  must  go  and  labour,  as  ye  formerly  did  ;  ye  will  then  become 
useful,  but  ye  are  now  mischievous  members  of  society.  Some  distributors 
we  must  have,  but  we  will  have  no  more  than  our  wants  require."  To  the 
instructors  of  the  people  it  says,  "  Parents,  ministers  of  icligion,  and  leach- 
ers  of  youth,  leflect  seriously,  1  beseech  you,  upon  the  awful  nature  of  your 
charge  and  vocation.  3}an  is  the  creature  of  circumstances,  and  it  rests 
with  you  whether  circumstances  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  train  up  every 
individual  of  the  rising  generation,  to  wisdom,  industry  and  virtue,  and  to 
the  enjoyment  of  health,  liberty,  plenty,  and  peace,  or  whether  the  vast 
population  of  this  great  empire  shall  continue  to  be  cursed  with  disease,  ig- 
norance, poverty,  misery,  and  crime.  Co-operation  says,  with  Solomon, 
train  up  a  child.  Begin  with  the  infant ;  secure  him  from  unfavourable, 
surround  him  with  favourable  circumstances;  expand  gradually,  as  natuie 
points  out,  his  little  faculties;  teach  the  '  young  idea  how  to  shoot ;'  and 
fix  steadily  the  germ  of  generous  pupose  in  the  infant  breast.  At  the  age  of 
nine  or  ten,  remove  him  upon  the  land;  give  him  agricultural,  manufactur- 
ing, architectural,  and  scientific  instructors  of  the  best  abilities;  and  en- 
able him  thus  to  provide  himself  with  all  the  necessaries,  comforts,  and 
conveniences  of  life,  whilst  at  the  same  time  his  mind  is  stored  with  useful 
science.  You  will  then  have  trained  up  the  child  in  the  way  he  should  go. 
But  man  is  the  creature  of  circumstance  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave; 
leave  him  not  without  protection  and  support.  Having  thus  trained  up 
wise  and  virtuous  beings  qualified  for  it,  furnish  them  with  land  and  with 
the  means  of  creating  wealth,  and  let  the  remainder  of  their  days  be  spent 
in  communities,  formed  on  the  principles  of  united  capital,  labour,  and  ex- 
penditure, and  an  equality  of  rights  and  of  the  means  of  enjoyments.  You 
will  then  see  the  fruits  of  your  labour, — liberty,  knowledge,  virtue,  plenty, 
and  peace, — and  be  abundantly  satisfied."  Oh,  King  William !  rpore  belov- 
ed by  thy  people  than  all  the  other  kings  of  the  earth,  here  is  the  way  to 
complete  the  good  work  thou  hast  so  nobly  begun  ;  walk  thou  in  it,  and 
generations  yet  unborn  shall  call  thee  blessed.  To  a\l  the  world  it  says, 
"  Man  is  the  creature  of  circumstances."  Nations,  reflect  upon  this  truth ! 
Let  it  be  acted  upon,  and  knowledge  and  virtue,  liberty,  peace,  and  happi-. 
uess,  will  bless  mankind. 

Yours,  &c., 

JOHN  FINCH, 

Liverpool,  June  28,  1831. 


JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  9.  SEPTEMBER  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 


Ati  ENQUIRY  INTO  THE  MERITS  OF  NATIONAL  CHURCH 
ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  GENERAL,  AND  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 
IN  PARTICULAR,  AS  INSTITUTIONS  FOR  THE  PROMOTLON  OF 
MORALITY  AND  RELIGION.  ,, 

>rr 

"Nothing  is  more  necessary,  either  in  a  republic,  ao  ecclesiastical  establishment,  or 
a  monarchy,  than  a  frequent  reformation  of  the  abuses  that  have,  from  time  to  time  crept 
into  tliera, '  by  reducing  them  to  their  first  principles,  in  order  to  restore  their 
original  vigour  and  reputation." — Machiavel. 

"  Pure  and  genuine  Christianity  never  was,  nor  ever  can  be,  the  national  religion  of 
any  country  upon  eartli.  It  is  a  gold  too  refined  to  be  worked  up  with  any  human 
institution,'  without  a  large  portion  of  alloy ;  for  no  sooner  is  this  small  grain  of  mustard 
seed  watered  with  the  fertile  showers  of  civil  emoluments,  than  it  grows  up  into  a  large 
and  spreading  tree,  under  the  shelter  of  whose  branches  the  birds  of  prey  and  plunder  will 
not  fail  to  make  for  themselves  comfortable  habiUtions,  and  thence  deface  iUbeauty,  and 
dfstrey  its  fruits."— JENYNS.  •    . 


In  pursuing-  the  above  enquiry,  I  am  aware  of  tlie  many  deli- 
cate points  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  touch,  and  of  the  ma- 
ny and  deep-rooted  prej  udices  with  which  1  have  to  contend  ; 
yet  I  purpose  meeting  the  subject  fairly  and  openly,  and  dis- 
cussing it  entirely  upon  its  own  merits.  From  the  strongest 
declaimers  against  the  Church,  we  often  find  warm  protesta- 
tions of  friendship  for  it ;  such  persons,  assuming  no  distinctive 
character,  are  alike  distrusted  by  all  parties.  1  use  no  dis- 
guise ;  I  consider  the  Church,  as  by  law  established,  a  greftt 
evil  to  the  countiy,  and  wliich,  by  every  Christian  effort,  the 
country  ought  to  get  rid  of.  Indepe^idently  of  my  sincere 
conviction  of  the  evils  of  this  system,  1  can  have  no  natural 
reasons  for  opposing  it :  my  parents  and  relatives  were  all 

I  I 


258 

church  folks,  and  I  tlie  only  dissenter.  In  the  way  of  business 
I  have,  no  doubt,  forfeited  the  favours  of  many,  and  am  likely, 
by  protracted  opposition,  to  continue  to  do  so.  With  me 
these  considerations  have  no  weight ;  convinced  of  the  anti- 
cliristian  character  of  the  establishment,  and  of  the  sufferings  of 
the  people  from  its  oppression  ;  of  the  prevalency  of  im- 
morality and  irreligion  to  which  it  has  contributed,  and  tlie 
hopelessness  of  its  ever  regaining  the  esteem  of  the  people, 
I  deem  it  a  serious  duty  to  protest  against  it  witli  all  the 
force  that  just  reasoning  and  scriptural  argument  can  af- 
ford. Notwithstanding  the  clamour  of  "  Great  is  Diana," 
I  know  that  the  country  is  against  her ;  her  fate  is 
flecided,  and  every  attempt  at  reform  will  but  discover  so 
much  more  of  her  deformity  as  to  prove  that  her  corruptions 
are  incurable.  Some,  indeed,  admire  the  system ;  some  sub- 
mit to  it  in  the  absence  of  a  better ;  many  as  a  matter  of 
fashion,  or  as  a  medium  of  interest  and  wealth,  are  numbered 
with  its  friends  ;  but  few  are  willing  to  prove  their  attachment 
by  any  sacrifices  for  her  cause.  The  only  rational  course,  in 
attempting  to  correct  the  abuses  of  the  church,  is  to  give  her 
entirely  into  the  hands  of  her  own  admirers,  and  to  let  tliem 
change  and  modify  as  they  think  proper.  This  will  be  found 
the  safest  and  the  most  politic  measure  for  the  nation  and  the 
government  to  take.  Alive  as  the  people  now  are  to  their  juat 
rights,  jealous  of  every  civil  and  ecclesiastical  encroachment, 
and  entirely  divided  in  their  views  of  religious  doctrine  and 
discipline,  what  religious  system  could  be  devised  that  the  na- 
tion would  approve  of,  or  for  whose  support  the  people  would 
consent  to  be  taxed?  They  abhor  the  present  system,  though 
they  submit  to  it ;  begin  to  remodel  it,  and  the  late  unex  ~ 
pected  enthusiasm  for  the  condemnation  of  borough  corrupt 
tions,  willbe  equally  displayed  against  the  corruptions  of  the 
church.  A  national  church,  in  consistency,  belongs  to  no  sys- 
tem but  the  catholics ;  for,  where  free  enquiry  is  permitted,  it  is. 
impossible  to  form  a  system  of  belief  and  practice  for  all  par- 
ties. If  the  parliament  of  England  possessed  the  alleged 
properties  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  unity  a,n A  infallibility,  and 
the  people  believed  it,  then  a  satisfactory  religion  might  be  de- 
vised; but  while,  not  only  the  people,  but  the  legislators 
themselves, are  divided,  there  willbe  constant jarrings;  once 


r 


25^ 


open  to  change  and  free  discussion,  the  established  forms  will 
be  liable  to  incessant  changes,  just  as  parties  happen   to  be 
dominant.     Tf  the  church  were  national,  in  the  same  sense  as 
the  schools  are  called  national^  no  person  would  object;   but 
while  it  claims  a  legal  "  ascendency,"  and  compels  support 
from  those  who  conscienciously  disapprove  of  it,  it  will  con- 
tinue to  be  a  cause  of  national  discontent.     With  propriety 
an  honest  government  might  say  to  the  people,  "  Amongst 
ourselves  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  and  practice  irf 
religion  ;  some  believe  in,  and  admire  '  the  Holy  Catholic^ 
Chnrch ;'  some  adhere  to  the  faith  and  forms  of  the  prayer 
book ;  some  worship  in  the  meeting-house,  and  believe  the  as-; 
sembly's  catechism ;  and  others  doubt  the  correctness  of  any 
of  these  modes;  we  therefore  presume  not  to  interfere  with  you 
in  these  matters.     We  respect  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  we 
think  it  wrong  to  compel  you  to  support. a  religion  of  which 
you  disapprove.     While  you  obey  the  laws,  and  are  good  sub- 
jects, you  are  equally  entitled  to  protection,  however  diversi- 
fied your  views  of  religion.     Civil  power  is  all  that  we  claim  ; 
beyond  that  our  interference  is  an  encroachment  upon  the  pre- 
rogative of  God,  and  calculated  to  do  much  e>  il.     Choose  your 
own  faith,  worship  in  your  own  way,  bear  your  own  burdens; 
and  live  in  peace  with  each  other.     The  love  of  religion  itself, 
the  liberal  collections  for  its  support,  and  the  zeal  of  rival  par- 
ties, are  greater  assurances  of  its  beneficial  extension  thaii 
any  power  we  possess.     Diversified  as  are  our  own  views,  we 
each  believe  that  the  native  energy  of  truth,  when  possessed  of 
a  clear  stage,  will  secure  its  own  triumphs.     We  see  clearly 
the  mischievous  tendency  of  a  state  religion, — are   annoyed 
constantly  with  its  effects, — we,   therefore,  cheerfully  give  up 
our  ecclesiastical  trust  unto  the  bishops  and  clergy,  and  those 
who  please  to  adhere  to  their  council.     The  adherents  of  the 
reformed  religion,  though  not  more  numerous,  are  much  more 
wealthy  than  either  the  Catholics  or  Dissenters,  and,  therefore, 
they  cannot  complain  in  having  merely  to  support  their  own 
establishment.      The  tithes  and  property  which  once  belonged 
to  the  catholics,  but  which  our  predecessors  have,  for  the  last 
three  centuries,  appropriated  to  the  Protestant  Church,   we 
again  resume,  and  shall  apply  them  for  the  good  of  the  nation, 
in  such  a  manner  as  the  representatives  of  the  people  shall 
direct." 


260 

But  I  object  to  the  national  church,  not  only  as  impolitic, 
but  as  unacriptumly  and  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  religion  itself. 
Christianity  can  never  submit  to  be  promulg-ated  and  estab. 
lished  in  the  world  by  means  diametrically  opposed  to  its  own 
injunctions.  Until  it  is  corrupted  it  cannot  possibly  be  made 
the  :;reature  of  the  state,  nor  its  ascendency  maintained  by 
those  means  which  state  influence  affords.  Religion  consists 
— not  in  the  prostration  of  the  understanding,  and  the  automa- 
ton performance  of  ceremonies,  otherwise  a  government  with 
a  power  either  to  bribe  or  to  punish,  might  diffuse  it  exten- 
sively— but  in  the  free  conviction  of  the  mind,  the  devotion  of 
the  heart,  and  a  conduct  regulated  by  genuine  principle ;  and 
these  are  properties  which  neither  pope,  nor  king,  nor  parlia- 
ment, nor  bishops,  nor  inquisitions,  nor  preferment  of  any  sort, 
can  ever  produce.  Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  and 
it  is  incapable  of  being  regulated  by  the  principles  of  the 
world.  Government  influence,  therefore,  can  never  be  a  le- 
gitimate auxiliary ;  it  tends  only  to  corrupt  it,  to  retard  its 
real  progress,  and  to  prevent  its  influence.  The  legislature 
may  organize  something  with  the  same  name,  clothe  it  with 
worldly  attractions,  provide  for  it  wealth  and  influence  in  the 
state,  and  fix  a  stigma  upon  those  who  refuse  to  conform,  but 
it  will  be  destitute  of  the  essence  of  that  pure  and  spiritual 
kingdom  of  which  Jesus  is  the  head.  But  we  are  often 
told  that  these  regulations  are  only  the  out-works  of  religion, 
and  are  merely  looked  upon  as  helps  for  its  extension.  In  an- 
swer to  this  I  observe,  Christianity  requires  not,  admits  not, 
such  assistance.  It  was  purest,  it  flowed  most,  effected  the 
greatest  results,  when  it  was  a  persecuted  cause,  and  when  the 
powers  of  civil  government  were  employed  for  its  suppres- 
sion. In  its  prmiitive  state  it  was  not  known  by  that  osten- 
sibility  of  character,  by  its  temples  made  with  hands,  by  its 
wealth  and  honors,  or  by  its  numerous  body  of  clergy,  as  it 
was  when  Constantine  became  its  protector,  (or  rather  corrup- 
ter) and  as  it  has  been  through  all  the  subsequent  ages  of  its 
pomp  and  splendour ;  but  it  was  infinitely  more  efficacious ;  it 
pervaded  the  mass  of  society,  it  made  the  heart  its  seat,  and, 
by  the  infusion  of  heavenly  principles,  it  produced  a  sincerity 
of  obedience,  such  as  the  decrees  of  councils  could  never  ef- 
fect.    I  say,  therefore,  that  those  who  look  upon  all  the  pre- 


261 . 

sent  paraphernalia  of  relig-ion  as  necessary  to  the  furtkeraace 
of  Christianity,  have  mistaken  its  nature  ;  and,  however  unde-, 
siguedly,  are  placing  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its 
divine  progress.  But  it  is  evident,  that  this  argument  of  out- 
side-work is  a  mere  quibble:  our  national  council  not  only 
assumes  to  be  an  auxiliary  to  christianit}-,  but  decrees  what 
Christianity  is,  and  calls  upon  the  people  to  receive  it  upon 
their  definition.  Indeed,  every  thing  is  made  ready,  from  the 
thirty-nine  articles,  which  we  are  to  believe,  to  the  very  pos- 
ture and  tone  of  voice  in  which  we  are  to  perform  our  devo- 
tions. It  deals  not  only  in  plain  forms  of  service,  adapted  to 
every  station  and  circumstance  of  life,  and  in  the  common 
truths  of  Christianity,  but  even  the  difficult  and  mysterious 
subject  of  the  trinity  is  presumed  to  be  explained  so  fully 
that  not  to  believe  it  is  to  incur  condemnation.  And  who  are 
they  that  presume  authoritatively  to  judge  for  us  in  these  mo- 
mentous affairs  ?  Are  they  the  wisest  of  men,  chosen  by  the 
people  to  compound  a  religion  in  which  all  may  agree  ?  The 
answer  is  obvious.  Wliat  government  can  assume  to  pro- 
nounce authoritatively  what  articles  of  faith  are  orthodox,  and 
what  the  nation  ought  to  believe  and  practise  ?  Where  is  there 
combined  in  any  number  of  individuals  either  knowledge, 
zeal,  or  purity  sufficient  for  this  ?  Is  the  nation  to  be  reli- 
gious by  proxy,  and  the  houses  of  lords  and  commons  to  be  the 
sponsors  ?  By  a  national  religion  all  this,  and  much  more,  is 
assumed  ;  but  every  sensible  man  must  see  the  inconsistency 
of  all  such  pretences. 

The  fact  is,  that  priests,  in  all  ages,  have  played  upon  the 
credulity  of  the  people.  Assuming  great  pretensions,  and 
claiming  a  divine  commission,  they  have  found  no  difficulty 
in  shackling  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  making  their  own  as- 
cendency subservient  to  their  sinister  designs.  They  have, 
therefore,  constantly  truckled  with  the  state,  whilst  despotic 
rulers,  conscious  of  the  power  of  priests,  have  availed  themselves 
of  their  assistance  for  enthralling  and  oppressing  their  subjects. 
**  Protect  our  religion,  our  tithes  and  offerings,"  say  the 
priests,  "  and  we  will  surrender  into  your  hands,  when  requir- 
ed, the  rights  of  the  unsuspecting  people,  who  have  placed 
themselves  in  our  keeping.  Give  us  a  share  in  the  legislature, 
that  our  interests  may  be  secure  ;  the  king  shall  be  our  head, 


262 

ttnd,  as  rulera  of*  temporals  and  spirituals,'  we  will  share  with 
you  all  the  g-ood  things  which  the  kingdom  can  afford."  To 
every  discerning  man  it  must  be  as  plain  as  the  sun  at  noon-" 
day,  that  the  church  is  regarded  by  most  of  the  aristocratical'  ^ 
families,  and  by  many  who  minister  in  its  service,  not  as  an 
institution  for  diffusing  religion  and  morality  among  the 
pe<^le,  but  as  an  advantageous  channel  through  which  to  drain 
tlie  wealth  of  the  country  into  their  own  pockets.  Such  are 
the  abominations  connected  with  religious  traffic,  and  so  long 
have  they  been  tolerated,  that  respectability  is  often  attached 
to  the  names  of  men  who  are  amassing  wealth  under  the  pre- 
tence of  "  curing  souls."  To  receive  a  portion  for  doing  no- 
thing is  harmless  compared  with  the  conduct  of  the  man  that 
professes  to  be  a  follower  of  Him  who  gave  his  life  for  sinners ; 
and  yet,  while  making  gain  of  godliness,  and  grasping  in  sil 
his  wealth,  he  professes  to  teach  others  the  way  to  heaven." 
Those  who  suffer  with  Christ,  it  is  said,  shall  reign  with 
him ;  but  can  they,  who  reap  their  reward  here,  expect  that 
crown  which  the  chief  shepherd  has  promised  to  bestow? 
With  the  New  Testament  in  their  hands,  when  will  the  peo- 
ple read  attentively  :  and,  contrasting  the  purity,  simplicity, 
and  good  effects  of  Christ's  religion,  compared  with  the  ex- 
pensive, pompous,  and  sinister  systems  of  the  day,  declaim 
boldly  against  all  national  religions,  with  the  same  spirit  that 
actuated  Paul  when  he  exclaimed,  **  They  are  no  Gods  that 
are  made  iviih  hands .'" 

These  remarks  are  intended  not  only  to  discover  th^ 
impolicy  of  the  connection  of  church  and  state,  but  to  shew 
that  this  connection  is,  of  itself,  an  unnatural  alliance.  Td 
attempt,  therefore,  to  reform  the  Church,  instead  of  placing' 
it  in  a  situation  where  it  might  admit  of  salutary  changes, 
by  continuing  it  in  the  trammels  of  the  state,  would  be  a 
species  of  bad  legislation.  A  considerable  number  of  people, 
no  doubt,  think  well  of  the  church,  and  they  are  the  persons  to 
reform  their  own  system  :  give  the  church,  therefore,  into  iheip 
hands.  If  the  legislature  claim  the  right,  and  once  begin 
their  reforming  progress  in  church  matters,  depend  upon 
it,  they  will  find  themselves  in  a  dilemma  such  as  they  have 
not  been  in  before.  A  reformed  parliament  must  speak  the 
sense  of  the  people,  and  the  people  are  not  for  an  excltmve 


263 

Chnrcli.  What  a  burlesque  upon  religion  to  see  Uuitarians, 
Arians,  Trinitarians,  Presbyterians,  Catholics,  Churchmen, 
aud_probahl}'  Deists  and  Jews,  all  engaged  in  mending  or 
making  new  the  religion  of  the  state  !  By  reason  of  long  use 
the  absurdity  of  parliamentary  religion  does  not  strike  us,  or 
else,  if  it  were  aatf  broached  for  the  first  time,  I  am  quite  sure 
there  would  appear  more  consistency  in  parliament  undertak- 
ing to  supply  every  parish  with  bread,  potatoes,  hats,  shoes,  and 
physic,  than  in  supplying  them  with  articles  of  belief  and  forms 
of  prayer,  •■  ■„  . 

But  the  merit  of  any  system  is  known  best  by  its  effects.  A 
corrupt  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit,  neither  can  a  good 
tree  bring  forth  evil  fruit — this  is  the  surest  criterion.  Every 
institution  is  established  to  accomplish  certain  objects;  and  if, 
either  owing  to  the  defects  of  its  own  machinery,  or  the  influence 
of  concurrent  circumstances,  these  objects  are  not,  and  cannot 
be  produced,  it  ought  to  be  discontinued,  and  the  public  eased 
of  the  expense.  Supposing  the  prison  so  dilapidated  as  not  capa- 
ble of  securing  the  prisoners;  the  dispensary  so  badly  managed 
as  tx\  diffuse  sickness  instead  of  health  ;  the  fountain  of  the  wa- 
ter establishment  so  polluted  as  to  cause  the  inhabitants  to  nause- 
ate their  food  ;  the  gas-works  to  diffuse  noxious  vapours  instead 
of  pure  light;  would  it  not  be  proper — independently  of  every 
sympathy  for  those  who  were  jobbing  in  these  establishments^ 
and  the  numerous  sources  of  profit  to  the  officers  and  proprie- 
tors arising  from  the  abuses — for  the  public  to  rid  themselves 
of  these  nuisanees  altogether,  or  else  to  place  them  upon  such  a 
footing  as  to  produce  the  efiFects  for  which  they  were  appointed  ? 
The  application  of  this  to  the  church  is  easy.  1  do  not  sav  we 
will  have  no  church,  but  I  say  that  the  public  should  give  it  up; 
they  have  been  tormented  with  it  long  enough.  It  assumes  to 
bean  institution  for  promoting  morality  and  religion,  for  pre- 
venting crime,  and  diffusing  peace  and  good-will  among  man- 
kind. Though  there  are  many  excellent  men  within  its  pale, 
and  many  good  things  incidentally  connected  with  it,  I  main- 
tain that  the  tendency  of  the  system,  as  a  whole,  is  the  reverse  of 
all  this.  Even  the  common  people  in  the  country,  who  know 
nothing  of  the  corruptions  in  "high  places,"  or  of  the  labyrinths 
of  ecclesiastical  jobbing,  are  well  enlightened  into  the  pernicious 
workings  of  this  system.  Where  are  the  individuals  through  all 
the  ranks  of  Bishops,  Deans,  Prebendaries,  Canons,  Chancellors* 


264 

Commissaries,  Proctors,  Rectors,  Vicars,  Curates,  &c.,  wl 
breaflie  the  spirit  of  the  apostles,  enter  the  church  merely  fortl 
good  of  others,  and  labour  in  spiritual  things  after  thtir  exanai^ 
pies,  purely  in  the  expectation  of  a  reward  in  heaven?  Tli  ' 
church  and  the  function  of  teaching  are  in  the  hands  of  the  ricY 
and  are  they  the  persons  from  whom  religion  is  to  emanate  ? 
Only  look  at  the  birth,  education,  connections,  and  patronage,  of 
the  various  officers  in  this  establishment,  and  the  objects  to  which 
it  is  made  subservient  as  a  political  instrument,  and  without  any 
further  enquiry,  1  should  say,  that  while  cause  and  effect  con- 
tinue, the  church  cannot  diffuse  that  which  its  constitution  ren- 
ders it  impossible  to  possess.  There  is  nothing  strange  in  this; 
corrupt  at  its  beginning,  what  can  be  expected  as  the  growth  of 
thirteen  centuries?  It  was  first  introduced  into  this  country  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  pope,  was  modelled,  in  a  great  measure, 
to  suit  the  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  and  continued  until  the 
time  of  the  reformation,  under  the  councils  of  the  Catholic  hie- 
rarchy. It  degenerated  with  the  age,  like  its  kindred  establish- 
ments in  other  nations.  Though  at  this  period  a  partial  change 
of  constitution,  a  change  of  forms,  and  a  change  of  belief  took 
place,  the  principles  of  avarice  and  ambition  were  retained  ;  and, 
finding  ample  scope  to  revel  in  the  confiscated  property  of  the 
Catholic  spoils,  they  have  combined  ever  since  to  cast  a  blasting 
influence  upon  the  otherwise  good  effects  of  this  important  event. 
Religion  was  still  made  tiie  stalking  horse  to  secular  interests, 
and  every  subsequent  regulation  has  proceeded  upon  its  obliga- 
tion to  do  so.  I  blush  for  the  audacity  of  church-men  when  I 
hear  them  reviling  the  catholic  priesthood,  and  praising  their 
own  clergy  as  the  most  respectable  and  useful  order  of  men, — 
calling  the  papal  power  "antichrist,"  and  their  own  church 
••  pure  and  apostolical" — denying  the  authority  of  the  pope,  and 
professing  to  regard  "  the  bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  !"  Was  ever  error  so  glaring  as  in  the  assumption  that 
the  system  of  our  reformed  religion  and  the  system  of  the  New 
Testament  are  tlie  same?  Where  are  the  points  of  resem- 
blance ?  or  where  are  the  glorious  effects  of  the  one  which  were  _ 
produced  by  the  other  ?  ]l 

Having  stated  my  disapprobation  of  all  religious  establish- 
ments managed  by  the  state,  I  now  proceed  to  mention  more 
particularly  some  of  the  objectionable  features  in  the  ns 
tional  Church   of  this   country,  and  which,   1  think,  will  full 


265 

prove  that  the  corruptions  of  the  church  are  contribbtary  to  the 
irreligion  and  inamorality  of  the  age. 

If  a  nation  is  to  be  taught  effectually  the  important  lessons 
of  religion,  the  best  and  most  appropriate  agency  ought  to  be  se- 
lected.    What  rank  of  society  are  the  agents  to  be  selected  from  } 
what  are  the    suitable    qualifications  ?  and  by  whom  are  they  to 
be  chosen  ?  are  questions  of  the  first  importance.     Let  them  be 
fairly  answered,  and  they  will  develop  a  great  source  of  church 
corruption.     The  church  belongs  to  government,  and  the  titled 
and   the   rich   are  incorporated  with,    or   are  receiving  fevours 
from  the  government ;  the  office  of  teaching  religion  is  made  a 
lucrative   one,      and    the    relations    and    dependants   of    the 
rich  are  generally  preferred.      Here  is  the  root  of  all  the  evil  ; 
it  is  that  very  thing  called  money,  for  which  almost  every  rehgious 
party  is  constantly  panting,  that  leads  to  the  appointment  of  an 
agency,  every  way  unsuited  to  the  object.     Can  any  thing   be 
inore  at  variance  with  the  plain  examples  of  Christ  and  his  apos'^ 
ties,  than  the  appointment  of  gentlemen's  sons,  of  college-edu- 
cated boys,  to  be  instruments  of  converting  the  world  from  sin 
to  God  }     A  peeress  is  just  as  likely  to  manage  the  concerns  of 
a  weaver's  family,   as  many  of  these  to  teach  and  diffuse  the  spi- 
ritual, the  self-denying  religion  of  Jesus.     This  corrupt  patron- 
age is  the  hot-bed  of  hypocrisy ;  teachers  of  divinity  must,  of 
course,  be  divine  themselves ;  and  hence,  with  hearts  as  hard  as 
adamant,  they  enter  the  office  of  curing  souls,  and  profess  to  be 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.     Through  their  whole  official  career, 
they  are  obhged  to  affect  a  solemn   air,   and  assume  a  religious 
earnestness,  to  which,   in  reality,   they  are  entire  strangers,     I 
could  give  numerous  instances  illustrative  of  this.     Their  high 
birth  and  their  college  education  may  fit   them  for  associating 
with  the  families  of  the  rich,  or  acting   as   chaplains  to  the  no- 
ttility,  but  not  for  encountering  all  the  dangers  and  sufferings 
attendant  upon  a  constant  course  of  going  about  doing  good. 
The  canonical  duties  of  a  clergyman  consist   principally  in  read- 
ing over  the  ritual  services,  and  no  great  degree  of  either  moral 
or  mental  attainment  is  requisite  for  this.     Efforts  certainly  are 
made,  both  by  clergymen  and  laymen  of  the  church,  to  teach 
the  people  on  a  more  .scriptural  plan  ;  and,  in  some  instances,  the 
good  effects  are  visible  ;  but  this  is  a  departure  from   the  ortho- 
dox practice ;  is  stigmatized  as  Methodistism ;  and  is  often  re- 
strained} or  put  down  by  church  power, 

Kk 


266 

As  to  the  settlement  of  a  person  as  teaclier  in  any  place,  the 
jirinciple  of  utilit}/  is  not  consulted.  It  is  not  ascertained  whether 
he  is  likely  to  be  useful  to  the  people,  or  whether  they  are  likely 
to  be  suited  with  him.  No,  no  ;  ray  Lord  John  ha^  a  relation 
waiting  for  preferment;  a  living  being  vacant,  the  patron  sends 
him,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  but  because  the  living  ^ 
is  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  the  clergyman.  If  his  son  || 
happen  to  be  trained  for  the  church,  and  no  favour  be  likely  to 
fall  out,  the  good  father  purchases  the  next  presentation  of  some 
suitable  vicarage,  and  makes  his  darling  son  a  priest.  Ill  or 
well  qualified,  satisfied  or  not  satisfied,  he  conies  among  them, 
claims  to  be  their  spiritual  leader,  and  compels  them  to  pay 
tithes  and  offerings.  Once  settled,  however  objectionable  his 
teachino-,  however  offensive  his  conduct,  it  is  next  to  impossible 
for  any  thing  but  death  to  remove  him.  What  would  be  the 
consequence,  if  a  neighbouring  gentleman  were  to  send  his 
son  to  some  of  our  large  manufacturing  concerns,  insisting 
upon  his  admission,  demanding  his  salary,  and,  contrary  to  the 
■wishes  of  the  proprietors,  declaring  that  he  would  not  allow  them 
to  discharge  him  !  Our  cotton  lords  would  soon  wage  war,  and 
veryjustly,  against  such  a  species  of  despotism.  And  it  is  really 
astonishing  that  the  people,  who  have  contended  so  long  for  the 
right  of  electing  their  own  representatives,  should  suffer  every 
parish  in  England  to  be  a  spiritually  corrupt  7iOffiiwa/ioraiorowg-/t. 

In  a  religious  institution,  the  conduct  of  every  official  person 
is  of  the  first  importance.  They  are  commanded  to  be  "  exam- 
ples to  the  flock  ;"  and  Paul,  referring  to  his  own  and  his  fellow- 
labourers'  conduct,  observes,  "  Ye  are  witness,  and  God  also, 
how  holily,  justly,  and  tmhlamably  we  behaved  ourselves  among 
you  ;  we  were  gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her 
children  ;  being  affectionately  desirous  of  you,  we  were  willing 
to  have  imparted  unio  you,  not  the  gospel  of  God  only,  but  al- 
so our  own  souls,  because  you  were  dear  to  us.  For  ye  remem- 
ber, brethren,  our  labour  and  travail ;  for,  labouring  night  and 
day,  because  we  would  not  be  chargeable  unto  any  of  you,  we 
preached  unto  you  the  gospel  of  God."  (iThess.  II.  7 — 10.} 
Here  is  a  noble  example,  and  well  worthy  the  cause  in  which  it 
was  exhibited;  but  do  we  find,  or  can  we  expect,  under  the 
present  system*  such  disinterested  appeals  to  conduct  ?  No. 
Young  men  are  selected  for  the  church,  not  on  account , of  any 
Buperior  piety  or  spirittial  gifts,  but  for   the   sake  of  a  living., 


267 

and  hence  the  conduct  of  many  of  them  is  a  disgrace  to  society. 
Provided  the  bells  ring  at  the  time,  and  service  get  celebrated 
according  to  the  forms  of  the  prayer  book,  churchmen  do  not  seem 
very  parti<*ular  as  to  the  conduct  of  ani/  of  their  officers. 
From  the  churchwarden  down  to  the  sexton,  ]  have  known 
numbers  of  drunken  and  immoral  characters,  fully  recognized  m 
efficient  servants  of  the  church.  In  country  places,  this  is  so 
common  as  to  excite  no  surprise.  Well  may  religion  degene- 
rate into  mere  forms,  under  the  withering  influence  of  idle  parsons, 
drunken  clerks,  and  reprobate  sextons.  Being  one  of  a  new- 
set  of  ringers  when  a  youth,  I  had  many  opportunities  of  observ- 
ing the  conduct  of  those  connected  with  the  church  service.  No- 
tliing  was  more  common  than  for  many  of  the  ringers,  singers,  the 
clerk,  and  sexton,  after  contributing  their  quota  to  the  glory  of 
God,  to  offer,  in  the  evening,  a  willing  sacrifice  at  the  shrine  of 
Bacchus.  Such  scenes  were  disgusting  to  a  reflecting  mind  ; 
but,  though  they  were  known  to  the  whole  parish,  no  person 
thought  it  his  duty  to  complain.  Those  who  "  minister  in  holy 
things"  should  be  Ao/y  themselves,  but  it  is  evident  that  if  there 
be  a  fitness  for  the  performance  of  the  external  duty,  this  quali- 
fication is  regarded  as  a  non-essential.  If  evidence  were  want- 
ing, if  more  were  necessary  for  my  argument,  I  could  point, 
just  now,  to  numerous  places  where  the  conduct  of  the  various 
officers  is  a  disgrace  to  society,  religion  out  of  the  question, 
I  think  the  substitution  of  organs  for  singers  is  a  good  device  ; 
for,  while  they  answer  the  same  end,  they  have  the  merit  of  cor- 
rupting none  by  their  bad  example :  would  that  many  parsons 
and  clerks  could  be  supplanted  in  the  same  way  I  Can  that 
Church  be  deserving  our  sanction  or  support  which  permits  vice 
and  profanity  to  revel  in  her  courts,  and  actually  makes  her 
'services,  for  such,  into  a  city  of  refuge  ?  Need  I  press  this  point 
by  observing  that,  as  example  is  more  powerful  than  any  pre- 
ceptive instruction,  the  conduct  of  the  officers  of  the  church  is 
among  the  most  powerful  means  for  diffusing  vice  and  immo- 
i^lity?  Persons  without  principle,  lax  in  morals,  find  here  a 
justification,  and  are  encouraged  to  proceed  in  their  wickedness, 
because  the  parson  does  the  same.  The  debasement  of  country 
people  is  often  owing  to  this.  Indeed,  so  rare  are  useful, 
active,  pious  men  in  country  churches,  that_where  they  are  met 
with,  they  are  almost  adored. 

Owing  to  the  rank,  education,  and  habits  of  the  churiph  mi- 


268 


glisters,  and  the  influence  of  belonging  to  an  "ascendency"  estab* 
lishtnent,  it  is  observable,  that  they  often  exhibit  a  reserved,  for- 
bidding, austere  disposition.  They  carry  with  them  an  air  of 
authority  which  ill  becomes  the  humble  feachers  of  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus.  Called  by  reverend  names,  clothed  with  pe* 
culiar  attire,  bowed  to  by  the  laity,  they  seem  to  have  very 
dignified  ideas  of  their  office  ;  and,  deceived  by  the  flattery  of  the 
rich,  and  by  the  civil  authorities,  they  are,  perhaps,  but  little 
aware  of  the  tendency  of  their  demeanour  upon  the  lower  classes. 
On  all  public  occasions  they  seem  to  expect,  and  actually  re- 
ceive, precedency  of  dissenting  ministers.  This  is  all  incon- 
sistent with  religion,  and  prevents  their  freedom  of  access  among 
the  people.  One  is  our  master,  even  Christ,  and  all,  both  teach-» 
ers  and  taught,  in  his  kingdom,  are  brethren.  But  this 
equality  can  never  exist  where  there  are  different  orders  of  the 
clergy,  and  where  their  ambition  is  excited  by  wealth,  and  so, 
many  marks  of  worldly  honour. 

But  the  expence,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  raised,  is  the 
most  appalling  part  of  my  subject.  Ministers  of  religion,  with  few 
exceptions,  are  expensive  articles,  and  the  ascendency  they  some- 
times gain  over  the  minds  of  others,  gives  them  peculiar  advant- 
age for  gaining  their  ends.  But  where  the  cost  is  the  effect  of 
mutual  agreement,  no  third  party  has  any  ground  of  complaint. 
"Where  theie  is  no  compulsion,  if  persons  overrate  the  value  of 
another's  services,  they  do  so  at  their  own  expence.  But  the 
case  is  vastly  different  in  our  national  church.  Ministers  are  not 
only  forced  upon  the  people,  but  the  people  are  obliged  to  main^ 
tain  them,  without  even  a  single  reserve  as  to  the  amount.*i 
"  Go,"  says  the  Earl  to  his  grandson,  "  take  possessfon  of  yonde^J 
pulpit,  read  over  for  the  people,  twice  every  Sunday,  the  service 
appointed,  and  claim,  for  this  laborious  succession  of  duties,  tt 
tenth  part  of  those  flowing  forrests  of  corn,  which  will  gladdeij 
thy  heart.  Secure  thy  rights,  and  give  the  people  all  the  merit 
of  paying  tithes  and  offerings.  If  another  living  should  fallout, 
thou  wilt  be  competent  for  that  also ;  thou  canst  oversee  the 
growth  of  the  corn,  and  as  for  the  '  curing  of  souls,'  (as  the  cant 

term  is)  poor  M who   is  out  of  a  job,    will  do  it  for  £70  a 

year."     Money,  actually,  is  every  thing  in  the  church  ;  there  i&i 


«  For  a  few  )>articulara  as  to  the  incomes  of  the  clergy,  and  the  expense  of  the  i 
tiontl  church,  «cc  the  statements  in  this  number,  under  the  head  "  SSLECDOHS." 


" 


2G9 


ilhing  to  be  had  without  it,  and  it  is  demanded  and  paid  witii  as 
much   formality  as  in  any  mercantile  transaction.     No  trust,  no 
deductions,  no  exceptions  in   favour  of  poverty  ;  the  clergy  will 
have  their  fees  down  on  the  nail,    and  to  the  last  penny.     It  has 
been  said  that  the  passion  for  money  is  always   strongest  nearest 
the  altar;   and  no  wonder  that  while  the  clergy  are  thus   serving 
themselves  and  fleecing  the   flock,   the  people  should    be  left  as 
sheep    without    a  shepherd,     to    follow      the     wicked    desires 
of  their  own  hearts*     The  working  clergy  (as  they  are,   hot  very 
appropriately,  termed)    are  by  no  means  an  exception.     Their 
case  proves  nothing,  but  that  the  eagles  are  so  numerous,  that  the 
carcass  is  not  sufiiciently  large  to  allow  every  one  to  gourge  him- 
self as  he  could  wish.  So  voracious  are  those  who  gt-.t  the  preference 
that  the  last  comers  are  sure  to  have  bare  picking.     But  is  this  a 
matter  of  choice  .''     Are  they  not  all  looking  up  .''     Does  not  the 
man  of  £50,  enjoy  his  £500,  as  comfortably  as  any  one,  if  hj  is 
fortunate  enough  to  get  preferred  ?     Do   we  hear  of  any  prefer- 
ing  a  small  to  a  larger  living  ?  or  do  we  find  any  who  can  adopt 
the  language  of  Paul : — "  These   hands   have  ministered  to  my 
necessities,  and  to  those   who  were   with  me ;'' — "  I  laboured 
night  and  day  that  I  might  not  be  chargeable  unto  any  of  you  ?" 
They  are  introduced  to  the  ministry  for  the  sake  of  its  gains,  and, 
as  in  reference   to    the  Bar   and  the  Stage,   every  one  seems  to 
keep  the  goal  of  preferment   constantly  in  view.     In  this,  as  in 
many    other     respects,   priaiitive     Christianity    can   never   co- 
alesce    with   a   national  religion.     Thank  God  !    none  of  these 
secular   systems    were    known     or    acted   upon    by   the   first 
christians  ;  otherwise   the  infidel  would  now  gain,  in  argument,, 
a  complete  triumph.     Many  of  the  working  clergy  are  certainly 
objects  of    pity,    not  merely   because  they  are  only  receiving 
£50  or  £60  a  year,  but  because  their  parents  or  friends  had 
not  prudence  to  put  them   to  some  honourable  employment,  for 
which  nature  had  fitted  them,  and  where  they  would   have  been 
under  no  necessity  of  doing  violence  to  their  own  feelings,   or  be- 
ing dependent  upon  others.     This  system  is  not  only  a  source  of 
corruption  and  taxation,  but  of  cruelty  also.     A   lad  trained   to 
be  a  parson  is  scarcely  fit  for  any  thing  else  ;  he  cannot  dig ;  he 
l^nows  nothing  of  the  world ;  he  has  no  enterprize ;  and  if  he 
should  be  unsuccessful  in  divinity,  what  is  he  to  do  }     He  is  ex- 
pected to  appear  respectable,   and  to  move  in  the  higher  circles, 
but  he  h^s  no  income  to  maintain  it ;  he  must,  (herefoic,  either  be 


2/0 

a  burden  to  liis  friends,  or  sink  under  accumulated  difficulties. 
Man}- dissenting  ministers  are  in  the  same  dilemma  ;  those  of  in- 
ferior abilities;  and  those  who  are  grown  too  old  to  please  a  fan- 
tidions  congregation,  are  often  cast  aside,  and  have  to  pine  away 
their  days  in  wretchedness.  Numbers  of  the  ckrgy,  by  the  love 
of  money,  have  stopped  their  own  mouths;  the  people  will  not 
hear  them  ;  "they  care  nothing  for  uS,  money  is  all  they  want," 
is  the  common  observation  among  the  working  people.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  can  we  be  surprised  at  the  prevaleney 
of  vice  and  the  want  of  religion  ? 

How  are  all  the  immense  revenues  of  the  clergy  raised  } 
Are  the  clergy  so  highly  esteemed  for  their  work's  sake,  that 
the  people  are  led  to  contribute  voluntarily  for  their  su|)port  ? 
Upon  this  principle  were  the  first  christian  ministers  maintained 
when  they  had  occasion  to  depend  upon  others;  but  it  is  not  so 
now.  If  the  affections  of  the  people  were  the  source,  some  few 
ministers  would  be  as  well  supported  as  at  present,  but  by  far 
the  greater  part,  would  be  turned  adrift.  They  rest  not 
their  claims  upon  their  services,  but  eat  the  bread  of 
idleness,  which  they  co?n/3e/ others  to  supply  without  any  equiva- 
lent. Corn  tithes,  small  tithes,  offerings,  and  dues,  and  various 
other  demands  are  made  by  the  clergy,  and  the  people  of  this 
country  are  permitted  to  be  robbed  in  the  most  audacious  man- 
ner under  the  garb  of  religion.  Religion  1  Let  not  her  sacred 
name  be  found  associated  with  proceedings  so  gross  and  offen- 
sive as  those  of  the  clergy  !  What  a  wretched  system  must  that 
be  that  allows  an  idle  rector  to  enter  every  farmerl*  corn  field 
and  take  away,  against  his  content,  and  without  any  equivalent, 
every  tenth  sheaf  ! — that  allows  the  spiritual  pirate  to  enter  the 
meadow,  potatoe-field,  and  orchard  ;  to  inspect  the  shippon,  pig- 
sty, hen-roost,  and  the  bee-hive,  to  seize  an  unhallowed  tithe- 
that  allows  parish  after  parish  to  be  convulsed  by  protracted  law- 
suits to  recover  claims  of  which  the  present  generation  never 
heard  before — that  allows  every  peaceable  inhabitant  in  large 
towns  to  be  insulted  at  his  own  door  by  the  beggarly  demands 
of  pence  and  half-pence  by  the  agents  of  these  monks  of  the  re- 
formation— that  actually  promulgates  war  and  dissention,  envy 
and  hatred,  among  those  who  should  be  bound  in  the  bonds  of 
peace  !  To  day  in  the  pulpit,  with  his  pious  people,  praying 
againsst  envy,  hatred,  and  all  uncharitableness  ;  to-morrow,  me- 
nacing the  farmers  for  more  tithes;    or,  if  in  a  town,  sending  out 


271 

summonses  by  Ixundreds,   to  frighten  the  poor  in  his  parish,  to 
part  with  the  last  penny  they  have  in  the  world !     Did  ever 
heaven  witness  such  impositions  before ;  or  was  ever  nation 
so  plundered  and  insulted,  by  priests,  as  this  has  been  ?     Talk 
of  these  men  as  teachers  of  the  people !  the  people  hate  them  j 
and  though  the  country  people  are  obliged  to  cringe  to  them  , 
as  known  despots,  yet,  in  their  hearts,  they  cultivate  towards 
them  a  deadly  hostility.     The  prayer  of  the  oxen,  sheep,  pigs, 
geese,  ducks>  hens,  and  bees,  is — "  from  these  rapacious  men 
goodLord  deliver  us  !"     Of  the  oppressions  of  this  church  there 
is  noend ;  driven  from  the  church  by  the  conduct  of  the  clergy, 
the  people  have  been  additionally  taxed  for  becoming  dissent- 
ers :  new  churches  have  been  built  out  of  the  public  money,  and 
thus  additional  heavy  burdens  have  been  laid  upon  the  par- 
ishes.    Among  the  long  list  of  taxes,  we  have  now  "  Church 
Taxes"  to  pay.     These  are  managed  by  the  church-wardens, 
with  about   as  much  honour,   and  satisfaction  to  the  people, 
as  all  other  church  matters  are  managed.     The   cursing  and 
swearing,  and  blackguardism,   occasioned  by  these  demands, 
are  equal  to  any  thing  which  has  yet  appeared  in  the  Reformer. 
With  this  very  imperfect  sketch  of  church  and  clerical  ava- 
rice and  impositions   before  us,  do  1  need  to  say  more  under 
this  head  to  prove  that  this  establishment  has   contributed 
largely  to  the  present  depraved  state  of  morals  ? 
-:^.  But  I  shall  not  discharge  my  duty  in  examining  the  merit  of 
the  national  church  as  a  promoter  of  religion,  if  I  do  not  ad- 
vert to  the  services  she  has  established  for  this  purpose.     Tak- 
ing in   charge   the    spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of  twenty 
millions  of  souls,  what  has  she  done  to  accomplish  this  ?>     Has 
she  pondered  over  the  footsteps  of  Him  in  whom  dwelt  all 
the  treasures   of  wisdom  and  knowledge.''     Has  she  marked 
the  proceedings  of  the  apostles   under   the  guidance   of  the 
Spirit,  and  selected  the  means  by  which  the  word  of  God,  at 
first,  prevailed  so  mightily  ?     No.     Content  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  forms  and  ceremonies  ;  preferring  the  religion   of 
times  and  places,  the  most  she  has  done  is  to  establish  a  splen- 
did ritual  service.     All  that  she  has  provided  is  deeply  tinged 
with  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world,   and  calculated  to 
lead  to  formality  at  the  expense  of  real  piety.     Her  religion 
is  nearly  all  confined  to  consecrated  ground,  and  seeks  no  in- 


272 


twconrae  with  all  the  outcast  parts  of  society,  where  the 
bisliop's  blessinfir  has  never  been  pronounced.  Buildings  are 
erected,  but  what  are  they  like  ?  Look  at  them,  inside  and 
out ;  ascertain  the  expense,  and  let  reason  say  if  these  are 
parts  of  the  christian  religion.  Instead  of  gorgeous  temples 
made  with  hands,  adorned  with  all  the  superstitious  foppery 
of  bv-gone  ages,  tlie  proper  way  to  diffuse  religion  is  to  go  to 
the  people,  and  instead  of  a  cold  adherence  to  form  of  worship, 
to  teach  them  divine  knowledge,  inward  piety,  and  practical 
goodness.  In  addressing  another,  to  enlighten  Lis  mind  and 
impress  his  heart,  or  in  presenting  the  prayers  and  thanks- 
givings of  his  brethren  before  the  throne  of  grace,  what  sin- 
cere christian  would  think  of  clothing  himself  in  fantastic 
apparel  ?  Contrary  to  all  our  ideas  of  simplicity,  unaffected- 
ness,  and  the  solemnity  of  such  services,  the  church  has  ordained 
that  all  her  ministers  shall  be  clothed  in  sacerdotal  attire,  and 
has  appointed  certain  shapes  and  colours  of  garments  to  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  service.  Those  who  have  always  sat  in  the 
same  seat  scarcely  notice  these  matters ;  but  to  the  man  who 
reflects  upon  every  thing  he  beholds,  and  who  contends  for 
consistency  in  religion,  the  white  gown  for  prayers,  and  the 
hlack  one  for  sermons,  accompanied  with  various  marks  of 
literary  honors,  and  the  lawn  sleeves  for  his  reverence  the 
bishop,  are  really  more  than  he  can  away  with.  He  sees  in 
all  these  the  spirit  of  priestcraft,  and  a  violation  of  that  sim- 
plicity whicli  characterized  the  religion  of  Christ. 

I  know  that  to  endeavour  to  detract  from  the  fame  of  the 
celebrated  and  long  established  service  taught  in  the  liturgy, 
will  be  considered  a  sacrilege  of  the  most  heinous  kind.  But, 
whilst  I  have  no  wish  to  give  any  unnecessary  disturbance  to 
the  prejudices  of  others,  I  cannot  omit  briefly  remarking  up- 
on the  ritual  services  of  the  church,  for  to  these  also  I  attribute 
the  want  of  more  inward  piety  among  the  people,  the  surest 
source  of  good  morals. 

If  the  people  are  to  be  instructed,  one  would  think  that 
the  church  would,  at  least,  adopt  the  plainest  mode  of  instruc- 
tion. The  construction  of  ths  sermon  is  left  to  the  minister'a 
discretion  ;  of  fhe  originality,  the  fervour,  and  the  approjjri- 
ateness  of  these  discourses,  little  can  be  said ;  -ye^jj  after  all, 
this    is  the    most  instructive    part  of   the    service.       Th^ 


273 


^iS^f^^afe  read,  it  is  true,  but  how?  The  parts  are 
cut  from  their  connections,  and  mang-led  into  short  lessons,  and 
these  are  sent  forth  without  a  single  illustrative  observation. 
The  reading  of  the  psalms,  which,  if  well  managed,  would  be 
very  edifying,  is  deprived  of  its  utility  by  the  school-boy 
method  of  reading  alternate  verses  by  the  parson  and  clerk. 
Some  ministers  read  very  correctly;  and,  after  a  verse  read  in 
a  clear,  impressive  manner,  how  mortifying  it  is  to  hear  the 
next  verse  read  in  a  voice  twice  as  loud,  and  with  the  droning, 
singing  tone,  peculiar  to  the  lower  desk.  Perhaps  some  men 
may  please  themselves  with  attending  to  such  a  mode  of  instruc- 
tiojii  and  worship,  but,  if  reason  and  common  sense  alone  were 
consulted,  these  incongruities  woujd  never  be  continued. 
Some  persons  profess  to  be  much  enamoured  of  the  pray- 
ers, but  I  am  sure,  if  they  were  revised,  many  useful  altera- 
tions might  be  made.  The  constant  use  of  the  same  words 
is  analogous  to  no  mode  of  petitioning  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted, and  evidently  tends  to  reduce  the  mind  to  a  cold 
formality.  By  many,  the  service  is  attended  to  as  a  sort  of 
incantation,  more  than  as  one  calculated  to  act  upon  the  feel- 
ings through  the  medium  of  the  judgment.  The  most  absurd 
part  of  the  dev^otional  exercises  is  in  the  minister  and  clerk 
reading  audibly  different  parts  at  the  same  time.  It  may  be  a 
corruption  of  an  useful  practice,  but,  in  its  present  shape,  no 
sensible  man  can  approve  of  a  custom  which  is  confusion  it- 
self. To  print  the  same  sentences  twice  on  the  same  page, 
and  on  the  same  lines,  the  second  impression  being  a  few 
words  behind  the  first,  would  give  some  idea  of  the  confusion 
of  this  practice.  But  custom  can  sanction  any  thing.  On 
'  these  points,  T  know  that  so  deeply  rooted  are  the  prejudices 
of  some,  that  it  is  vain  to  reason  with  them.  In  the  churdi 
every  thing  seems  disposed  to  degenerate  into  formality.  As 
for  hireling  ministers,  they  never  care  how  little  they  do,  or 
how  soon  they  get  it  over.  The  manner  in  which  they  fre- 
quently repeat  the  service  at  baptisms,  weddings,  and  funerals, 
and  sometimes  morning  and  evening  prayer,  shews  that  beyond 
the  repetition  of  the  words,  they  feel  little  concerned  for  their 
beneficial  eifects  upon  others.  Absorbed  in  forms  made  ready 
to  tlieir  hands,  mental  cultivation,  the  enlargement  of  the 
understanding,  and  the  excitement  of  good  feelings,  seem  to 

L    L 


274 

be  no  part- of  the  established  system.  This  uiiaehievous  fur-^l 
mality  follows  the  people  iato  all  their  private  and  domestic ^ 
devotion  ;  content  with  a  form  of  words  at  church,  the  sftm'e 
mode  of  worship  is  made  to  serve  in  private  and  in  the 
family.  Where  the  heart  never  bursts  fortli  in  its  own  lan- 
guage, we  shall  find  no  great  attainment  in  practical  religioni 
nor  efforts  to  extend  it  among  others. 

There  are  many  things  enjoined  in  the  canons  and  the  prayer- 
book  which,  owingto their  unsnitableness  to  the  spiritof  theage> 
are  discontinued  in  practice.  One  hundred  and  fifty  days  in 
^aeh  year  are  appointed  to  be  kept  as  feasts,  vigils,  fast&, 
&c.,  but  they  are  generally  disregarded,  and  so  are  maiiy  other 
things  enforced  by  the  same  authority.  It  is  clear  that  tlte 
cai'e  of  the  poor  belongs  to  the  church ;  the  minister  is  chair- 
man of  the  vestries,  and  the  churchwardens  are  regularly  con-< 
nected  with  the  overseers,  but  where  do  we  find  any  attention 
■paid  to  these  important  duties  ?  The  fact  is>  that  every  thing" 
that  yields  profit  to  the  parson  is  attended  to,— ^very  thing  in 
which  he  has  no  interest  grows  into  disuse. 

Had  my  limits  permitted  I  purposed  to  make  a  few  re-' 
marks  on  the  nature  and  tendency  of  the  eereftiohies  of  bap-' 
tism  and  confirmation,  the  services  adopted  at  marriages  and' 
funerals,  and  the  observance  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's' 
supper  ;  but  to  treat  upon  them  at  any  length  would  exceed  the^ 
limits  of  this  essay.  These  all  sprang  from  the  Catholie' 
church,  and,  unless  viewed  in  Connection  with  their  peculiar 
tenets,  seem  pregnant  with  absurdity.  Does  any  Protestant 
seriously  believe  that  children  are  regenerated  in  baptism ; 
made  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  and  inheritors  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ?  To  compel  sponsors  to  personify  the 
child,  and  to  make  vows  and  promises  in  its  stead,  which  are 
liever  fulfilled,  is  such  an  act  of  solemn  mockery  as  ought  to 
make  the  parties  tremble.  What  is  a  christening  but  a  sea- 
son of  drinking  and  revelry?  How  often  do  these  pliant 
saints  give  as  a  reason  of  their  illness  on  a  Monday,  that  they 
were  at  a  christening  last  night  ?  The  farce  being  over, 
though  the  god-parents  make  three  of  the  most  important 
promises,  they  pay  little  or  no  attention  to  the  spiritual  instruc- 
tion of  the  child ;  andasto  fulfiling  their  promises,  thatis  impos- 
sible. As  if  it  were  designed,  a  church  and  a  public -house  gene  J 


275 

j-ally  stand  together,  and  parties  at  cliristenings,  and  alpo  at 
funerals,  go  from  one  to  be  entertained  at  tlie  otJier ;  aaid  in 
some  country  places,  tlie  minister  is  invited,  to  gi^e  a 
zest  to  the  enjoyments.  The  new-born  infant  is  uncOj^? 
scions  of  what  is  done  at  its  baptism,  and  is,  therefore,,  a^ 
deceived  ;  but  at  the  ceremony  of  confirmation — so  solemn  as 
only  to  be  performed  by  a  bishop— in  teaching  the  thoughtless 
thousands  of  young  persons  that  they  are  regenerated,  and  that 
all  their  sins  are  forgiven,  the  church  is  chargeable  with  pro- 
pagating an  awful  deception.  Let  any  thinking  man  observe 
the  conduct  of  these  youths,  both  before  and  after  their  con- 
firmation, and  they  will  be  satisfied  of  this.  If  ever  the  friend)? 
of  the  church  should  determine  to  reform  it,  so  as  to  make;  jt 
an  instrument  for  promoting  real  piety,  they  must  abolish  a 
great  number  of  unmeaning  and  pernicious  ceremonies,  and 
direct  the  labour  of  their  ministers  to  suph  lAJ^tt^s  of  re^l 
utility  as  will  show,  by  their  effects  ^pp^  society^  ^]i?.t.  t^egr 
are  approved  of  God.  .  ,     '  \'..t 

The  time  of  church  ministers  being  so  much  occupied'  ^n 
ritual  services,  no  wonder  that  we  find  a  constant  omissiqn  of 
what  the  scriptures  lead  us,  to  expect  from  a  christian 
minister ;  and  hence  it  is  cial  only  in  the  infusion  of  evil, 
bnt  in  the  withholding  ojTgood,  that  we  mark  the  church  as  an 
imperfect  establishment  for  the  promoting  of  religion.  The 
effects  of  so  great  a  pertinacity  for  church  and  chapel  religion, 
so  great  Mt  anxiety  for  ministering  at  the  altar,  must  lead  to 
the  neglect  of  the  people  at  large.  Go  where  you  mil,  and  at 
whatever  time  you  please,  and  you  meet  with  the  most  deploe-« 
able  proofs  of  wickedness,  and  exhibitions  of  sin,  but  seldom, 
if  ever,  can  you  meet  with  these  heralds  of  salvation,  calling 
sinners  to  repentance.  A  most  serious  charge,  therefore, 
stands  against  the  church,  for  suffering  the  encroachments  of 
vice  without  appljring  sttiiable  means  for  its  prevention.  Pass 
through  the  town,  jor  perambulate  the  streets  by  night  or  by 
day,  filthy,  disgusting,  and  profane  scenes  are  exhibit-^ 
ed,  and  you  will  perceive  vice  taking  deep  root,  and 
luxuriantly  shooting  forth  without  let  or  hinderance.  It 
would  appear,  sometimes,  a&  if  all  the  soldiers  of  the  cross 
were  fled,  that  the  officers  had  retreated  through  fear,  and  thivt 
the:enemy  was  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  field.     j>ayj 


m 


ramglatl  to  find  itat  public  wfiterS   notP  so  (Jften  notice 
^he  vices  of  society,  and  especially  the  prevalence  of  juvenile 
depravity  ;  but  I  amSori'y  to  perceive,  from  their  aug:g'egtion^ 
an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  cause.     Fresh  plans  for 
forming  societies,  and  establishing  institutions  to  counteraqt 
*aie  alarming  spread  of  vice,  and  to  correct  every   branch  of 
crime,  are  mooted  every  week.      This  is  the  age  of  «  socie- 
ties ;"  the  last  twenty  years  have  been  rich  in  their  productioft^ 
but,  so  far  as  morals  are  concei-ned,   we  are  not  a  wit  better. 
What  does  every  new  institution  intended  to  prevent  crim<e^ 
and  to  promote  virtue,    say,  but=^"  this  is  tlie  work  of  the 
clergy ;  they  have  left  it  undone,  and,  though  we  pay  them 
liberally,  we   have  to  do  it  ourselves  ?''     In  the  poverty  and 
rags  of  a  family,  whose  means  are  amply  sufficient,  I  read  their 
idleness  and  neglect  of  duty ;  so,  in  the  demoralization  of  th^ 
people,  I  trace  the  same  conduct  in  reference  to  the  clergj 
I  beg  the  attention  of  every  philanthropist  to  this  particular, 
for  I  believe  on  this  very  point  the  publie  are  sadly  mistaken, 
and  have,  in  consequence,  committed  the  greatest  mistakes^ 
^hey  have  appointed  persons  to  teach  religion  to  the  world,  a/U^ 
'fhrnishedthem  with  all  the  aid  which  was  necessary;  and  nov 
having  proved  their  incompetency,  why  do  the  public  conoid 
at  tlie  imposition;  and,  suffering  the  clergy  still  to  retain  tlieil 
appointments,  try  to  do  their  work  by  other  means  ?  But  wha 
must  be  done?    We  seem  to  be  in  an  awful  condition  ;  everj 
where  vice  appears  unrestrained,  and,  facilitated  by  our  lar^ 
manufacturing  establishments,   without  any  proper  correcti\ 
power.     Tlie  prospects  of  the  country  are  gloomy;  the  cler^ 
assuming  to  be  what  they  really  are  not,  liave  prevented  other 
properly  qualified,  from  entering  the  field.     The  country  lu 
been  actuated  by  a  blind  confidence,  and  has  not  liked  to  ii 
trade  upon  whatwas  considered  the  proper  sphere  of  the  clergj 
I  therefore  say,  once  for  all,   that  if  we  look  to  the  nations 
clergy,   or  even  the  popular  ministers  among  the  Dissenterd 
to  reform  the  country,  we  shall  be  disappointed  ;  and  that  "  i 
new  set "  of  ministers  is  indispensable.     These  must  be  ra€ 
of  God,  not  of  the'  world  ;  inspired  by  the  love  of  Jesus,  not  bj 
ffilthy  lucre  ;  who,  instead  of  courting  the  friendship,  of  tl 
^^f^orld,  must  aini,  like  Paul,  to  turn  it  "  upside  down.*'     Sue 
are  not  in  the  church  ;  sucji  tlie  church  will  never  sanction. 


Thus,  though  the  church  has  not  failed  to  perpetuate  super- 
stition and  formality — to  afiford  a  disgnise  to  the  prtifligacy  of 
the  rich — to  strengthen  the  hands  of  despotism — to  gratify  the 
covetous  and  ambitious  wishes  of  priests — to  afford  endless  opi 
portunities  of  jobbing — to  assist  in  impoverishing  the  people — - 
to  aow  strife  and  discord  in  parishes — to  connive  at  sin,  revel 
in  corruption,  and  oppose  every  liberal  attempt  at  improve- 
ment— as  an  institution  for  diffusing  morality  and  religion, 
taken  altogether,  it  ha^  no  claims  upon  the  public ;  and 
justice  demands,  at  least,  at  the  hands  of  an  enlightenedpeople, 
its  immediate  rpaovatipn. 

r  J.  L. 


VARIETIES. 


Public  Works. — On  the  evening  of  July  25th  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  obtained  a  grant  of  one  million  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  on  public  works  of  utility,  which  would  give 
eraploymeni  to  the  unemployed  poor.  Money  could  not  be 
granted  for  a  more  laudable  purpose;  but  then  it  is  an  important 
question  how  this  money  is  to  be  expended.  Two  things  should 
be  kept  in  view,  a  constant  creation  oj' labour,  and  a  projitahle 
returUi  Money  spent  on  public  buildings  flatters  the  vanity  of 
the  nation — -more  concerned  for  external  pomp  than  the  happi- 
ness of  the  people— but  it  is  generally  not  only  unproductive, 
but  brings  with  it  additional  burdens,   and   creates    little  or  no 

dvidemaud  for  labour.  But  let  a  million  of  money  be  spent  in  in- 
closing, draining,  and  cultivating  land,  and  this  will  yield  per- 
petual sources  oj^ employment.  In  the  application  of  our  surplus 
capital,  we  should  imitate   our  industrious   farmers;  instead  of 

•'"8iWp«ndiag  their  means  on  ornamental  matters,  every  penny  is  cast 

-  upQn  the  land,  with  a  view  of  its   future   return  of  profit.      If, 

for  instance,  ihejvriy  thousand  poutids  expended  on  Blackburn 

Church,  had  been  spent  in  cultivating   and  improving  the  vast 

tracks  of  land   which  lie  on  every  side  in  a  neglected  state,  what 

i^^-a  difference  in  the  result.     Instead  of  a  heap  of  stones,  entailing 

f,  »  an  annual  burden  upon  an  impoverished  people,  there  might  have 
T)een  a  great  accession  of  corn  fields,  meadows,  orchards,  and 
gardens,  yielding  every  year  a  return  of  profit  and  labour.  The 
same  remark  will  apply  to  every  part  of  this  country.  If  indi- 
viduals expended  their  money  with  no  more  discretion  than  the 
late  governments  have  done,  their  neighbours  would  pronounce 
them  fit  only  for  Bedlam.    On  the  otie  hand,  thereis  redund- 


278 

fcntlabour-  on  the  other,  unemployed  ca|)ital:  why  not  bring 
them  together ?  If  individuals  are  too  sordid,  or  too  timid  to 
do  this,  let  the  gorernment  do  it,  and  employ  suitable  perspqa 
in  each  county  to  carry  it  into  effect.  It  is  employment,  not 
charity,  that  the  poor  want.  The  land  is  nature's  provisiort-l 
other  sources  of  employment  are  artificial — and  happy  would  it 
be  for  many  distressed  families,  if,  by  a  removal  of  the  intnlera- 
ble  burdens  the  land  is  doomed  to  bear,  and  the  revision  of  the 
laws  by  which  its  price  is  enhanced,  they  could  again  return 
to  a  rural  life,  from  a  state  of  poverty  and  misery,  in  tbe  midsl 
of  a  dense  and  over-grown  manufacturing  population. 

Clerical  /nipos^Vio/w.— These  grow  insensibly,:  in(roduGe4 
under  some  plausible  pretext,  and  but  feebly  opposed  by  tbose 
who  object  to  them,  they  soon  become  Taw,  and  of  permanent 
obhgatio'n.  We  have  an  illuj^tration  of  this  in  the  charge  of  an 
extra  Is.  id.  for  every  funeral  at  the  new  churches  in  this  town. 
This  was  opposed  at  first,  but  the  claim  is  still  persisted  in, 
and  as  it  is  made  at  a  time  when  the  parties  are  in  trouble  for  ihe 
loss  of  tlieir  friends,  rather  tlwn  contend  with  the  clergyman,  they 
pay  it;  and  if  church  dues  continue  upon  tiieir  present  principle 
(which  heaven  prevent)  this  claim  will  soon  be  admitted  as  just 
and  valid.  The  fact  is,  that  this  thirteen-pence,  cluimed  by  the 
vicar,  for  dohig  nothing,  is  a  downiight  robbery.  He  c^^^.i'ns.'* 
because,  if  the  corpse  were  interred  in  the  yard  of  the  pai-isft 
church,  he  and  his  clerk  would  get  the  job,  of  which  they  are 
now  deprived  by  the  interment  taking  place  in  the  yards  of  the 
new  churches.  This  shews,  full  well,  the  disposition  of  jjarsons, 
and  their  notions  of  the  [)rinciple  of  justice.  Upon  this  principle, 
if,  by  the  iufluence  of  two  new  competitors,  1  should  be  obliged 
to  sell  cheese  for  a  farthing  a  pound  less  profit  than  I  got 'before, 
1  must  come  upon  some  defenceless  persons  to  make  up  the  de- 
ficiency.     1  hope  a  stand  will  be  made  against  this  imposition. 

Blue-School. — I  have  been  waiting  several  months  to  see  if 
the  Vicar  would  re-consider  his  conduct  in  reference  tolheBlu'e'- 
School,  before  I  adverted  to  the  matter  in  public.  He  is  the 
exclusive  trustee  (and  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance  it  is  that 
clergymen  should  be  made  trustees  for  so  many  charitable  en- 
dowments) and,  however  he  may  have  discharged  his  duty  with 
satisfaction  to  himself,  no  other  person  can  feel  satisfied. 
Though  there  must  be  hundreds  of  applications,  the  school  is,  and 
lias  been  for  a  long  time,  almost  without  children.  Those  vvhp 
have  noticed  them  as  they  go  to  the  parish  church,  kiioiv  that 
for  a  long  time  their  number  was  but  seven  or  eight,  and  that 
at  present  it  does  not  exceed  ten  or  eleven.  There  is  a  cbmmo'^ 
dious  school-room,  and  a  master  with  a  regular  salary,  but  next 
to  no  scholars.  If,  as  has  been  hinted,  the  income  is  iiot  suffi- 
cient to  clothe  the  full  number  of  boys,  instead  of  making  a 
mockery  of  the  thing,  let  the  state  of  the  school  and  its  funds  be 
laid  before  the  public,  and  the  trifle  wanted  for  this  purpose 
would  easily  be  raised.     It  would  be  better  to  gi^e  a  competertt 


E 


27a 


ier  education,  if  they  had  no  clothing,  than  to  maintain  all 
the  expenses  of  the  establishaient  for  doing  comparatively 
nothing.  :  i  ,    .  ./.,..; 

Easter- Dots^^-r^Tht  bell  continues  to^tiokje,  but  with  a  dif- 
ferent tone  ;  the  che>t  for  holy  offerings  is  removed  from  the  vestry 
tothe  tO'.vn-hall;  and  tiuiugh  "  Easter"  is  past  and  gone,  "  dues"; 
arestili  iu  season.  Unwilling  to  bring  their  "  offerings"  accord* 
iug  to  "ancient  custom,"  a  great  number  of  individuals  are 
summoned  before  his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace,  for  having 
"subtracted  and  refused  to  pay  the  small  tithes,  offering,  obla- 
tipus,  and  obventioiis  (!)  jusili/  grown  due  (mark  these  words) 
ifl  the  borough  and  parish  of  Preston,  to  ll^esaid  Rogek,  Carus 
WiI-soN,  according  the  the  rights,  customs,  and  prescriptions, 
commonly  used  within  the  said  borough,  to  the  value  of  one 
shilling  and  one  penny  !^'  We  often  meet  with  an  ugly  word 
called  "costs,"  and  here  we  have  a  fair  specimen.  This  moderate 
demand  of  the  Vicar's  is  attended,  in  the  first  process,  with  a  tax 
of  about  o^H<?  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent.  Thus  the  Justice, 
thi^ugh  not  the  first  in  the  firm,  gets  a  full  share  of  the  profits. 
A,:tinae  will  come,  and  I  hope  it  is  not  far  distant,  when  these 
things  will  appear  too  ridiculous  even  to  laugh  aU  It  is  now 
ixTftny  years  since  I  paid  any  Easter-Duj's,  and  I  think  it  is  a  glar- 
ing instance  of  oppression  to  the  poor,  to  summon  them  and  to 
pass  me  over.  If  they  are  to  suffer  1  should  like  to  suffer  with 
■thena.  '.-^...'. 

Rearings. — The  rearing  of  housed  Jike  the  footings  of  ap* 
prentices,  and  new  workmen,  is  nearly  always  attended  with  a 
"speU"  of  drunkenness.  It  was  well  remarked  by  an  indi- 
vidual, that  instead  of  real  gratitude,  the  workmen  actually  meet 
to  give  thanks  to  the  Uevil  for  the  completion  of  their  work  !  If 
the  builder  of  a  house  wish  to  entertain  his  workmen,'^^well  ;  but 
if,  instead  of  taking  them  to  a  public-house  to  get  drunk,  h6 
would  provide  them  a  supper  at  his  own  house,  and  entertain 
them  in  a  rational  manner,  he  would  find  it  would  contribute 
both  to  his  own  and  to  their  interest.  Once  introduced  to  a 
public-house,  and  inebriated  with  intoxicating  liquor,  workmen 
sacrifice  several  days  to  this  ill-judged  custom.  The  flag  re- 
mains upon  the  building,  and,  iu  some  cases,  may  be  fitly  d^" 
nominated  a  signal  of  distress  ! 

Writing  on  the  Walls. — The  eyes  of  our  youth  should  be 
carefully  guarded  from  every  thing  that  would  contaminate  the 
-mind.  Hence  the  necessity  of  defacing  from  the  walls  those 
wanton  and  obscene  scrawls  which  we  often  notice.  Rising  the 
brow  beyond  Swill-Brook,  on  the  foot  road,  are  a  number  of 
these.  In  the  centre  of  the  populous  town  of  Liverpool,  adjoin- 
ing Castle-street,  I  noticed,  the  other  day,  the  following,  in  large 
characters: — "  Sandon  for  ever ;  damn  the  Unitarians."  Thje 
magistrates  ought  to  give  orders  for  the  defacing  of  these  pu^ 
rages  on  decency.  .     ^  ,  ^  :- 

.ItifideUtij. — The  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  iu  convocation^ 


280 

complain  bitterly,  in  their  address  to  the  King,  of  the  growth  of ' 
infidelity.  If  there  be  an  increase  of  open  and  avowed  infidelity,' 
these  dignitaries  should  be  anxious  to  ascertain  whence  it  arises  ; 
for,  in  that  case,  they  might  discover  that  their  own  conduct  is 
a  fruitful  source  of  this  evil.  The  gorgeous  pageant  exhibited  oa 
the  occasion  referred  to,  by  persons  professing  to  be  the  succes- 
sors of  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  is,  of  itself,  enough  to  shake  the 
faith  of  some.  I  am  sure, if  I  had  never  learnt  more  of  the  chris- 
tian religion,  than  what  I  have  seen  in  the  popular  systems,  I 
should  have  rejected  it  as  unworthy  the  name  and  character  to 
which  it  aspires.  But  the  fact  is,  it  is  the  infidelity  of  the  heart, 
or  a  total  indifference  to  the  threatenings,  promises,  and  precepts 
of  Jehovah,  and  to  the  declarations  of  a  future  state,  which  is 
now  so  widely  spreading,  and  for  which  we  ought  to  feel  alarmed. 
The  Coronation. — In  endeavouring  to  bring  into  display  the  feel- 
ings of  the  people  on  any  public  occasion,  the  great  danger  is  of 
encouraging  various  excesses,  and  bursting  the  bounds  of  modera- 
tion. The  coronation  is  an  occasion  of  this  description.  No- 
thing is  more  proper  than  to  encourage  loyal  feeling,  and  a  pro- 
per display  of  it,  at  a  time  like  this,  is  very  desirable;  but  un- 
less it  be  guarded  with  the  hand  of  reason,  and  superintended  by 
those  who  care  for  the  nu)rals  of  the  people,  the  most  shameful 
profligacy  of  manners  will  be  encouraged.  Can  God  be 
pleased  with  that  kind  of  rejoicing,  which  consists  in 
revelry  and  beastly  intoxication  ?  In  some  places,  the  peo- 
ple, imitating  an  old,  barbarous  custom,  are  intending 
to  roast  whole  oxen,  accompanied  with  barrels  of  ale.  This  is 
often  attended  with  a  brutality  which  is  a  disgrace  to  civilized 
society.  How  much  more  good  might  be  done,  if  persons  of 
character  and  influence  would  engage  to  superintend  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  to  regulate  them  according  to  the  principles  of 
good  order  and  decorum. 

Bathing. — At  this  season,  the  temptation  to  watering-places 
is  very  strong,  and  those  which  are  deemed  respectable,  are 
crowded  with  visitors.  But  there  is  a  numerous  class  of  persons 
who  cannot  spare  time  or  money  to  make  a  regular  visit,  for  any 
length  of  lime.  These  content  themselves  with  a  day's  excur- 
sion to  such  secondary  places  as  Lea-Marsh.  Here,  I  am  told, 
the  greatest  indecencies  are  practised;  and  that,  unrestrained 
either  by  principle,  custom,  or  authority,  the  scenes  exhibited 
are  just  what  might  be  expected  from  savage  nations.  We  may 
write  and  declaim  against  vice  till  doomsday,  if  we  merely  de- 
pend upon  the  present  magistrates  and  parsons  to  prevent  it,  or 
put  il  down. 

JVreck  of  the  Rothsay  Castle.— The  melancholy  event  of  the 
wreck  of  this  steamer,  by  which  about  a  hundred  persons  have 
lost  their  lives,  is  another  proof  of  the  effects  of  drinking.  War 
and  pestilence  have  slain  their  thousands,  but  strong  drink  iU 
ten  times  tens  of  thousauds. 

J.  L. 


281  1 

SELECTIONS. 

;\> 

''A 

f! 

fumher.  Offices,  and  Revenues  of  the  Clergy. — The  follow- 
ing are  froic  the  "Black   Book,"  recently   published,   which 
coatains  a  fund  of  valuable  informatioD.     The   statemeots  are  ' 
tlie  result  of  laborious  calculation. 

"  We  shall  uow  collect  the  different  items  and  exhibit  a  general  state-- 
meat  of  the  revenue  of  the  Established  Clergy.  The  sum  put  down  for 
tithe  is  church-tithe  only,  after  deducting  the  tithe  of  lay»impropriations, 
and  allowing  for  abbey-land,  and  land  exempt  by  modus  from  tithe.  The 
church-rates  are  a  heavy  burden  on  the  people ;  but,  being  levied  at  uncer- 
tain intervals,  for  the  repair  of  churches  and  chapels,  they  do  not  form  a 
part  of  the  personal  income  of  the  clergy,  and  are  omitted. 

iikKi  ,     ■R^''^'"*^*  of  the  Established  Clergy  of  England  and  Wales. 

^TChurch-tithe £6,884,800 

Incomes  of  the  bishoprics    , 297,115 

Estates  of  the  deans  and  chapters... 494,000 

Glebes  and  parsonage-houses 250,000 

Perpetual  curacies,  73^.  each 75,000 

Beuefices  not  parochial,  250^  each 32,450 

Church-fees  on  burials,  marriages,  christenings,  &c 500,000 

Oblations,  Offerings,  and  compositions  for  offerings  at  the 

four  great  festivals. 80,000 

College  and  school  foundations 682,150 

Lectureships  in  towns  and  populous  places 6o,000 

*?**Chaplainships  and  offices  in  public  institutions 10,000 

^^ew  churches  and  chapels  .........^ • 94,050 

Total  Revenues  of  the  Established  Clergy £9,459,565 


^MfJWeare  confident  sevewl  of  these  sources  of  emolument  are  rather  under- 
rated. Perhaps  it  may  be  alleged  that  some  items  do  not  properly  appertain  to 
ecclesiastical  income — that  they  are  the  rewards  pro  opera  et  Lahore  extra- 
officially  discharged  by  the  clergy.  But  what  would  be  said  if,  in  stating 
the  emoluments  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  or  Sir  George  Murray,  we  limit- 
ed ourselves  to  their  military  pay,  without  also  including  their  civil  appoint* 
ments?  The  sums  placed  to  the  account  of  the  clergy  are  received  by  them 
either  as  ministers  of  religion,  or  from  holding  situations  to  which  they  have 
been  promoted  in  consequence  of  being  members  of  the  Established  Churcb« 

M   M 


282 


1 


There  are  sereral  sums  annually  raised  on  the  people  which  we  have  omhl 
ted,  but  which,  in  strictness,  ought  to  be  placed  to  the  account  of  the 
Clergy.  Large  sums  are  constautly  being  voted  by  Parliament  for  building 
churches  in  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  England  ;  more  than  21,000^  has  been 
granted  for  building  churches  and  bishops'  palaces  in  the  West  Indies; 
], 600,000/.  has  been  granted  for  the  aid  of  the ;>oor  clergy,  as  they  are  called, 
and  who  have  been  also  favoured  by  their  livings  being  exonerated  from  the 
land-tax;  nearly  a  million  has  been  granted  for  building  houses  and  pur- 
chasing glebes  for  the  clergy  in  Ireland  ;  upwards  of  1 6,000/.  a-yearis  voted 
to  a  society  for  propagating  Church  of  Englandism  in  foreign  parts  j  and 
more  than  9,000/.  is  granted  to  some  other  Societies  for  Discountenancing 
Viccy—a.  duty  which  one  would  think  especially  merged  in  the  functions  of 
our  paid  pastors:  All  these  sums  have  been  omitted;  they  certainly  tend 
to  augment  the  burden  imposed  on  the  public  by  the  church  :  but  as  it  is 
to  be  hoped  they  do  not  all  form  permanent  branches  of  ecclesiastical  charge^ 
they  are  excluded  from  our  estimate  of  church  income." 


**  The  real  situation  of  the  parochial  clergy  is  this;  in  England  and 
Wales  there  are  5098  lectories,  3687  vicarages,  and  2970  churches  neither 
rectorial  nor  vicarial ;  in  all,  11,755  churches.  These  churches  are  can- 
tained  in  10,674  parishes  and  parochial  chapelries;  and,  probably,  after  a 
due  allowance  for  the  consolidation  of  some  of  the  smaller  parishes,  form 
ahout  as  many  parochial  benefices.  Now,  the  whole  of  these  10,674 
benefices  are  in  the  hands  of  7191  incumbents;  there  are  2886  individuals 
with  7037  livings;  567  with  170I  livings;  209  with  836  livings;  64  with 
320  livings.  Let  any  one  look  into  the  Ecclesiastical  Directoryy 
and  he  will  find  nearly  one  half  of  the  whole  number  of  incumbents  are 
pluralists.  Some  are  rectors  at  one  place,  vicars  at  another,  and  curates  at 
another  ;  some  hold  three  or  four  rectories,  besides  vicarages  and  chapel- 
ries ;  some  hold. two  vicarages,  a  chapelry  and  a  rectory  ;  in  short  they  are 
held  in  every  possible  combination.  But  what  does  the  secretary  to  four 
bishops,  Mr.  Wright,  the  "Informer,"  as  Bragge  Bathurst  termed  him, 
say  on  this  subject  ;  in  one  diocese  the  roojority  of  the  clergy  had  three  liv- 
ings, some  five,  and  some  six,  besides  dignities,  and  "  yet  a  great  part  of 
them  did  not  reside  upon  any  of  their  preferments, 

"This  is  exactly  the  way  in  which  the  property  of  the  church  is  monopo- 
lized. Some  persons  imagine  that  there  are  as  many  rectors  as  rectories^ 
vicars  as  vicarages,  prebendaries  as  prebends,  deans  as  deaneries,  &c.  No 
■uch  thing :  the  26  bishops,  700  dignitaries,  and  about  4000  non-resident 
incumbents,  principally  belonging  to  the  .Aristocracy,  enjoy  nearly  the  whole 
ecclesiastical  revenues,  amounting  to  more  than  nine  millions,  and 
averaging  upwards  of  2OOO/.  a-year  each. 

"And  for  what  service?  what  duties  do  they  perform  ?  what  benefit  do^ 
the  people  derive  from  their  labours  ?  The  bishops  ordain  the  priests; 
tometimes  visit  their  dioceses  ;  sometimes  preach;  and  this   we  believe  i» 


I 


26a 

the  extent  of  their  performances,  and  which,  in  our  opinion,  amounts  to 
very  little.  As  to  the  venerable,  very  reverend,  and  worshipful  dignitaries, 
they  perform  still  less.  Let  any  one  visit  the  cathedral  or  collegiate 
churches;  go  into  St.  Pauls,  Westminster  Abbey,  or  York  Minster,  for  in- 
stance; and  observe  what  is  doing  in  these  places.  No  service  is  performed 
which  interests  the  public.  Persons  may  be  found  admiring  the  stone  aad 
iuortar  ;  but  the  vicars-choral,  the  priest-vicars,  the  chanters,  or  sub- 
chanters,  or  fifth  or  sixth  canons,  are  very  little  regarded :  and  as  to  the 
dignitaries  themselves,  why  they  are  never  to  be  seen ;  many  of  them  proba- 
bly reside  some  hundred  miles  off,  in  more  pleasant  parts  of  the  country, 
enjoying  the  amusements  of  the  chase,  or  whiling  away  their  time  at  cai-d- 
tables  or  watering-places.  Then,  as  to  the  non-resident  incumbents,  ittnust 
be  admitted  they  are  sinecurists,  whose  duty  is  performed,  and  for  which 
they  receive  the  salary,  by  deputy.  Thus,  it  appears,  that  these  three  clas- 
ses, without  perfurming  any  duties  of  importance,  absorb  almost  the  entire 
revenue  of  the  church  " 


"  Statement,  skewing  the  Mode  in  which  the  Revenues  of  the  Chureh,  am»uni'- 
ing  to  £9,459,665.,  are  divided  amongst  the  different  orders  of  the  Clergy. 


Class. 
Episcopal  ( 
Clergy.     ( 


r 


Average  income 
of  each  individual. 

2  Archbishops ;£26,465 

24  Bishops 10,174 


Dignita- 
ries, &c. 


Total 

incomes. 

£52,930 

244,185 

44,250 

45,126 

12,844 

280,130 


28  Deans JoSO 

61   Archdeacons 739 

S6  Chancellors     494 

5 1 4  Prebendaries  and  Canons 545 

330  Precentors,     Succentors,     Vicars. ' 
General,  Minor  Canons,   Priest- 
Vicars,  Vicars-Choral,  and  other >      338       11]>650 
Members  of  Cathedral  and  Col-| 

legiate  Churches 

''2886  Aristocratic  Pluralists,  mostly  non- 
resident, and  holding  two,  three,  | 
four,  or  more  livings,  in  all  7037  >    1863    5,379j430 
livings,    averaging  each,   tithes,  | 
glebes,  church-fees,  &c.,  764/... 
Parochiat       ^^^^  Incumbents,    holding    one    living^ 
Clergy     -i  each,  and  about  one  half  residents      754   3,289,020 

>  on  their  benefices j 

4254  Curates,  licensed  and  unlicensed, 
who&e  average  stipends  of  about 
75 {.  per  annum,  amounting  to- 
gether  to  319,050^.,  are  included 
in  the  incomes  of  the  pluralists 
and  other  incumbents. 


Total, , 


•  £9*459,565 


284 

HOLY  TRAFFIC. 

The  following  is  a  Scale  of  Charges  put  forth  by  an  agent 
who  keeps  an  office  for  the  transaction  of  clerical  business.  I 
extract  it  from  Mr.  Beverley's  recent  Discourse,  entitled,  "  The 
Tombs  of  the  Prophets  ;"  an  effort,  like  his  previous  one,  caU 
culated  to  make  the  Bishops  tremble. 

*'  MR. submits  to  the  notice  of  the  Clergy,  a  Scale  of  Chargen  for 

business  intrusted  to  his  care  ;  he  also  takes  this  opportunity  to  expiesshit 
acknowledgments Jor  the  veiy  extensive  patronage  he  has  had  during  the  last 
ten  years,  and  to  assure  the  Clergy  that  every  Commission  confided  to  his  care 
will  continue  to  be  executed  withfidelity  and  promptitude. 

TERMS ; 

INTRODUCTORY  FEE,  ONE  GUINEA, 

To  be  considered  as  part  payment  of  the  first  commitsion  exceeding  that  amount. 

For  the  Sale  of  an  Advowson  ..  ..   (  If  the  purchase  money  does  not  ex- 

For  the  Purchase  of  an    Advowson  i  ceed  4000/  25  per  cent. 

For  the  Sale  of  the  next  Presentation  If  the  purchase  money  is  above  4000/. 

to  a  Living     and  under  7000I ,  2^  per  cent. 

For   the  Purchase   of  the  next    Pre-  If  the  purchase  money  is  aboVe  7000/. 

sentation  to  a  Living and  under  1 0,00()/.,  2  per  cent. 

For  the  Sale  of  a  Chapel    }  If    the    purchase    money    is    above 

For  the  purchase  of  a  Chapel    . .  . .  i  10,0O0Z  ,  I|  per  cent. 

For  Procuring  a  Foreign  Chaplaincy 

For  Procuring  a  Lectureship    ....  j 

For  Procuring    for  a  Client  in  Or-  {  5  per  cent,  on   the  amount  of  On^ 

ders,  a  Curacy   j  Year's  Emoluments. 

For  Purchasing  an   Exchange  of  a  | 

Living  or  a  Curacy "^ 

Every  description  of  Clerical  Business  transacted ;   Livings  valued,  fifc.  Sjc. 
FOR  EVERY  LETTER  WRITTEN,  3s.  6d. 

««  Mr.  I  begs  very  respectfully  to  inform  Clergymen  who  may, 

on  account  of  absence  or  indisposition,  desire  to  have  their  professional  du- 
ty performed  for  them,  that  he  has  always  the  names  of  several  highly  re- 
apectable  Clergymen  on  his  books,  ready  to  take  occasional  duty  ;  and  that, 
at  two  or  three  days  notice,  he  can  undertake  to  provide  for  any  duty  that 
may  be  required,  either  in  or  out  of  Town. 

"  IVfr.  ■  is  also  happy  to  add,   that  from    his  extensive  connexion 

with  the  Clergy,  he  has  not  unfrequently  (on  being  satisfied  that  the  appli.^ 
cants  are  truly  respectable,  and  likely  to  pass  an  examination)  been  enabled 
to  obtain  for  a  client  a  title  for  Holy  Orders,  with  a  CuraCy,  where  required. 
jFee*,  in  this  case,  regulated  according  to  circumstances. 

"  Mr. has  generally  on  his  books,  an  extensive  list  of  Livings  for 

sale.  Curacies  vacant,  and  also  Livings,  Chaplaincies,  and  Curacies  for 
exchange. 

An  Inspection  of  the  Letters  of  Orders,  and  testimonials  of  Clergymen, 
is  always  requested,  previous  to  recommendation  to  any  Curacy  or  Duty. 


i 


285 

c(  ]yf  r.  ,  begs  (o  slate  that  all  instructions  received,  and  information 

given  by  him,  relating  to  clerical  affairs,  are  to  be  considered  as  strictly 
ccnfidential, 

<'  Mr.  has  respectfully  to  request  that,   after   the  first  communi- 

cation of  particulars,  all  letters  which  he  may  be  required  to  wiite  may  be 
considered  as  subject  to  the  above  charge,  excepting  when  a  sale  of  Proper- 
ty is  ultimately  effected,  in  which  case,  the  charge  for  correspondence  is 
included  in  the  commission,  and,  to  give  time  for  negotiation,  no  application 
is  made  during  the  first  six  months  for  any  letters  written. 

"Mr.  begs  further  to  state,    that  after  the  payment  of  his  intro- 

dactory  fee,  the  party  having  done  so  will  be  entitled  to  Confidential 
Information  for  twelve  months,  respecting  all  or  any  of  the  Livings,  Cura- 
cies, &c.  on  his  books,  for  disposal  or  otherwise.  The  letters  only  contain- 
ing the  leading  particulars  being  charged  on  the  terms  stated  above.  But 
in  all  cases  where  a  purchase  or  exchange  is  effected,  the  commission  only, 
as  per  above  scale,  is  charged,  and  from  such  amount  the  Introductory  Fee 
is  deducted. 

"  When  Mr. is  requested  to  leave  Town  for  the  purpose  of  valu- 
ing, or  to  inspect  any  Church  Property,  for  sale  or  otherwise,  a  written 
agreement  is  always  entered  into  respecting  the  charges  for  so  doing,  and 
generally  those  costs  are  included  in  his  commission. 

"To  persons  connected  with  the  clerical  or  scholastic  profession,  who 
may  have  occasion  to  advertise,  but  are  averse  to  the  personal  piibiicify 
which  it  involves,  as  well  as  the  inconvenience  of  answering  applications, 

Mr  offers  his  services  on  the  following  terms  :  viz. — 

For  preparing  an  advertisement,  causing  the  same  to  be  inserted  in  a  Lon- 
don or  Country  Newspaper,  and  receiving  the  personal  or  written  anwers 
at  his  Offices,  5s.  for  each  advertisement,  in  addition  to  the  ^Newspaper 
charge. 

Accounts  invariably  to  be  considered  as  due,  and  to  be  paid  on  delivery. 
ALL  LETTERS  MUST  BE  FREE  OF  POSTAGE. 

"  Mr. begs  to  state,  that  for   the  first  eight  or  nine  years  of  the 

period  during  which  he  has  had  the  honor  of  being  concerned  for  the  Clergy, 
no  Introductory  Fee  was  ever  charged,  but  in  consequence  of  the  great  num- 
ber of  Clergymen  for  whom  he  has  been  engaged,  (upwards  of  5000)  a  large 
portion  of  his  time  has  been  occupied,  and  he  has  been  put  to  much  trouble 
and  expense,  from  motives  of  mere  curiosity  ;  therefore,  injustice  to  himself, 
he  has  been  compelled  to  adopt  such  a  course,  and  he  trusts,  when  Gentle- 
men perceive  it  is  not  either  intended,  or  wished  to  make  a  charge,  without 
affording  an  opportunity  of  receiving  an  equivalent  for  the  said  Fee,  that 
his  plan  of  conducting  Clerical  business  will  meet  with  genera  l,  as  it  has 
ah'eady  met  with  very  extensive,  approbation ;  for  it  is  an  admitted  fact, 
with  those  who  are  conversant  in  such  matters,  that  they  ought  not  to  be 
conducted  as  common  business  usually  is,  and  also  that  no  arrangement  re- 
lating to  Church  Property  can  be  satisfactorily  entered  into,  unless  the  par- 
ties concerned  have  confidence  in  each  other." 


286 
THE  DAY  OF  RECKONING. 

•*  In  rain  for  the  clerpy  does  the  thunder  roll  and  tlie  lightening  ttaaW 
in  the  distant  clouds;  they  hear  not,  and  they  see  not ;  and  as  the  flood 
came  upon  the  antediluvians  when  they  were  dancing,  feasting,  marrying, 
and  giving  in  marriage,  so  will  the  day  of  confiscation  come  upon  the  priest- 
hood, when  they  are  gathering  tithe,  and  feasting  on  their  pluralities  It 
will  find  the  Bishops  moving  up  the  steps  of  the  Mithraic  ladder  to  the 
seventh  heaven  of  the  Primacy;  those  right  reverend  fathers  will  he  elbow- 
ing and  pushing  one  another  in  their  scramble  for  translations,  grasping  at 
more  preferment,  cramming  their  sons  and  nephews  with  spiritual  guineap, 
bullying  the  Dissenters,  and  praising  themselves  ;  the  inferior  clergy  will 
be  severally  at  the  card-table,  watering-place,  or  cock-pit,— they  will  be 
leaping  double  ditches,  imprisoning  poachers,  taking  tithe  in  kind,  dancing 
the  gallopade,  or  firing  oft"  their  artillery  at  grand  batlus,  when  the  deluge 
©f  Reform  will  come  upon  them  in  a  moment,  and  overwhelm  them  in  a  wave 
of 'apostolical  poverty,'  and  *  primitive  economy.'" 

»»— ^^™— i^— ^— »"^— ^~»»— »^— ■^— — ^—— ^■*~— ■^"^■— — ""■■™— ~- 

[Lastmoutli  I  inserted  a  letter  in  favour  of  Co-operation,  a  subject  which  is  now 
making  some  noise  in  the  world : — the  following  is  against  it,  and  as  discussion  i»  Uie  licst 
mode  of  eliciting  truth,  1  think  it  fair  to  hear  both  sides. — Edit.'\ 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer* 

(Re-printed  from  the  Kendal  Chronicle.) 

Sir,— 1  have  now  before  me  No.  ]  of  the  Lancashire  Co-operator, — also, 
lesolutions,  &c.,  passed  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Co-operative  Congress, 
held  at  IManchester,  on  Thursday  aad  Friday,  May  26th  and  27th,  1831, 
and  composed  of  delegates  from  co-operative  societies,  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  I  perceive  there  was  one  delegate  from  the  co-operative 
society  in  Kendal.     The  following  are  extracts. 

"That  labour  is  the  source  or  fountain  of  wealth, 

"  That  the  labouring  people  must,  therefore,  have  created  airwealtb. 

"  That  as  they  have  created  all  riches,  they  ought  to  be  the  richest  elass. 

"That  those  who  labour  would  now  be  the  richest  persons,  if  they  had 
never  tvorked  for  masters, 

*'That  under  the  present  institutions,  they  work  against,  instead  of 
for,  each  other's  benefit. 

"  That  as  labour  is  the  greatest  value  of  all  commodities,  the  labourers 
might,  with  a  little  capital,  emjdoy  themselves,  and  gain  the  full  value  of 
their  labour.  That  all  shopkeepers,  wholesale  dealers,  master  man ufac.' 
turers,  merchants,  &c.,  gain  their  incomes  by  the  sale  of  the  labour  of  the 
producers,  which  the  producers  ovght  not  to  allow.  Should,  however,  the 
labourers  sell  their  own  produce,  each  might  add,  on  the  average,  70  to  100 
per  cent  tohi»  income,  by  turning  it  over  several  times. 


28r 

"Tliat  this  congress  considers  it  highly  desirable  that  a  comraunilf  oa 
tlse  principles  of  Mutual  Co-operation,  United  Possessions,  and 
Equality  of  Exertions,  and  of  the  means  of  Enjoyments,  should 
be  established  in  England  as  speedily  as  possible,  in  order  to  shew  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  co-operative  scheme. 

"  Let  it  ever  be  remembered  that  Trading-Fund  Associations  a>c  only 
stepping  stones  to  covumunities  of  mutual  co-operation,  they  are  only  means 
to  an  end,  which  end  should  be  kept  constantly  in  view.  Co-operatioa 
seeks  to  put  the  working  classes  in  that  situation  where  they  shall  enjoy 
the  whole  produce  of  their  labour,  instead  of  that  small  part  called  Wages.'''' 
*  From  these  extracts  we  leara  what  is  the  object,  design,  and  end  of  co- 
operation. It  is  to  establish  a  perfect  equality  in  civil  society  ;  it  professes 
to  have  nothing  to  do  with  religion  ;  but  to  teach  a  morality  far  superior  to 
what  is  taught  in  revelation.  As  rich  and  poor  are  only  relative  terms,  we 
aie  to  have  neither,  but  United  Possessions.  A  reasonable  person,  who 
is  only  a  little  acquainted  with  human  nature,  might  suppose  that  the  com- 
munity to  be  established,  is  to  consist  of  a  new  creation  of  human  beings, 
both  as  it  respects  body  and  mind  ;  for  in  it  there  is  to  be  no  lame  or  blindf 
no  wea}c  or  strong,  all  are  to  be  possessed  of  the  same  mental  qualifications, 
for  it  is  to  be  founded  upon  "an  equality  of  exertion  and  of  the 
MEANS  of  enjoyments."  Upon  auy  Other  supposition  than  the  above, 
all  must  admit  that  such  a  state  of  society  is  impossible. 

That  religion  is  founded  upon  the  attributes  of  the  deity,  and  is  revealed 
in  the  christian  scriptures,  goes  upon  the  principle  that,  there  must  always 
exist  a  gradation  of  rank  in  civil  society,  and  not  an  equality.  Hence  we  read 
of  the  duty  of  rich  and  poor — talented  and  not  talented — master  and  sei-vant, 
and  on  whatever  part  of  the  scale  it  be  our  lot  to  stand,  the  well-being  of 
society  depends  upon  the  proper  discharge  of  our  duty,  and  for  this  we 
shtiWfheTeafter,  be  personally  accountable.  The  man  who  contends  for  aa 
equality  in  civil  society,  must  be  an  infidel  to  revealed  religion. 

It  may  be  a  question  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  labouring  classes  forming 
themselves  into  trading  associations,  for  the  purpose  of  exclusive  trade ;  ex- 
perience has  taught  us  that  large  monopolies,  with  such  objects  in  view,  have 
always  been  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of  society  ;  and,  very  frequently, 
of  no  advantage  to  those  immediately  concerned.  It  is  true,  that  while  the 
members  of  such  associations  continue  to  subscribe  their  3§d.  per  week,  to 
purchase  the  necessaries  of  life  with,  and  sell  them  to  each  other  again  at  a 
profit,  they  must,  if  they  have  honest  managers,  accumulate  a  fund.  The 
leaders  of  their  trading  associations  teach,  that  any  surplus  fund  they  may 
have,  **/Aey  had  better  bury  it  in  the  ground  than  lend  it  out  to  interest.'"'' 
What  then  is  to  be  done  with  it?  The  Congress  answers  this  question : 
*'  trust  it  to  us,  and  as  soon  as  you  can  spare  30/.,  you  shall  have  the  privi- 
lege of  electing  one  of  your  number  to  be  a  member  of  the  co-operative  com- 
munity, (nothing  is  said  about  a  wife  and  children.)  This  you  are  requested 
to  do  "  Speedily,''''  and  as  soon  as  200  Trading  Associations  have  done  so,  a 
ruramunity  of  200  will  be  immediately  established  in  some  part  of  England, 
with  a  capital  of6ooo/.  which  may  serve  as  a"  model,''  to  shew  the  practica- 


288 

bility  uf  the  wliule  mass  ufsuciety  going  into  communities,  on  the  principles  of 
mutual  co-operation,  united  possessions,  and  equality  of  exertions,  and  the 
means  of  enjoyments.'"  "  Here  the  hands  of  the  diligent  will,  indeed,  make 
rich;  here  the  hope,  nay,  the  certainty  of  reward,  will  indeed  sweeten 
labour."  , 

Whatever  my  readers  may  think  of  this  scheme,  to  me  it  appears  vain  and 
visionary.  Its  foundation  is  not  laid,  or  its  superstructute  built,  on  the 
immutable  principle  of  reason  and  justice.  It  is  without  any  analogy  in  the  . 
wholecourse  of  divine  providence,  or  God's  government  of  his  rational  crea- 
tures. It  is  directly  opposed  to  the  plainest  and  most  important  pi  ecepts 
of  the  christian  religion.  And,  to  teach  society  that  they  ought  to  have 
united  possessions,  &r.,  in  order  to  enjoy  happiness,  is  so  delusive,  and  so 
sure  to  end  in  disappointment,  that  it  is  naturally  calculated  to  produce 
disaffection,  and,  ultimately,  a  race  of  thieves  and  robbers  upon  principle, 
as  it  did  among  the  ancient  iS/jar/ans.  It  is  my  firm  persuasion  that  co- 
operative communiti«s  must  ultimately  terminate  in  a  rope  o(  sand. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Kendal,  July  19,  1831.  WM.  JENNINGS. 

To  the  Editor  oflhe  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

I  WAS  much  pleased  to  observe  in  your  July  number  of  the  *'  Moral 
Feforiacr,"  that  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  George  Edmondson  had  expres- 
sed his  readiness  to  comply  with  an  enquiry  contained  in  oneof  your  former' 
numbers,  as  to  the  best  method  of  self-education.  Now,  Sir,  1  am  likewise 
a  "Plodder  in  the  dark,"  and  wishful  to  obtain  some  directions  as  to  the 
best  method  I  can  adopt  in  order  to  facilitate  my  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
And  as  I  have  no  doubt  but  many  of  your  readers,  as  well  as  myself,  feel 
considerable  interest  in  the  subject,  I  beg  to  request  that  you  will  solicit 
Mr."  Edmondson  to  communicate  the  methods  of  facilitating  an  acquiremeut 
of  Grammar,  and  the  hints  on  reading  to  which  he  alludes. 

As  "  Plodder  in  the  dark"  does  not  appear  disposed  to  explain  the  spe- 
cific subjects  on  which  he  ib  desirous  of  obtaining  information,  I  irust  Air. 
Edmondson  will  not,  on  that  account,  deprive  us  of  the  anticipated  valua- 
ble communication. 

I  perceive.  Sir,  that  Mr.  Edmondson  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  as  the  members  of  that  society  are  generally  possessed  of  very 
considerable  proficiency  in  common  education,  and  as  Mr.  Edmondson  is,  I 
likewise  perceive,  by  profession  an  Instructor,  allow  me  earnestly  to  request 
that  you  will  forward  my  wishes  to  him,  and  enforce  the  probable  benefit 
that  will  accrue  from  his  intelligence. 

Your  obedient  Servant, 
ANOTHER  PLODDER  IN  THE  DARK. 

Preston,  Aug.  6,  1S3I. 

JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  10. OCTOBER  1,  1831. Vol.  I. 

LOYALTY ; 

CONTAINING  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  ENFORCE  THE  DUTY  OF  SUBJEC- 
TION, THE  SPECIAL  CLAIMS  OF  OUR  KING  AND  HIS  GOVERN- 
MENT, THE  CAUSES  OF  REMAINING  DISAFFECTION,  AND  THE 
PROPER  MEANS  OF  ENLIGHTENING  AND  RECONCILING  THE 
PEOPLE. 

In  selecting  subjects  for  discnssion,  I  always  prefer  tliose 
which  are  not  only  useful  in  themselves,  but  seasonably  import- 
ant. Among  these,  I  conceive,  that  Loyalty  to  the  Kitiff, 
end  respect  for  the  Government,  may  fairly  claim  a  prominent 
place.  His  Majesty ''s  coronation,  and  several  connecting  cir- 
cumstances, have  forced  the  following  reflections  upon  me, 
and  I  humbly  wish  that  they  may  have  the  same  beneficial 
effects  upon  the  minds  of  my  readers,  which  they  already  have 
had  upon  my  own.  1  have  no  wish  to  offer  the  incense  of 
adulation  ;  I  deal  not  in  flattery  ;  1  have  no  motive  for  it ;  but 
it  is  my  wish  to  give  "  honour  to  whom  honour  is  due,"  and  to 
apeak  of  all  "  without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy."  On 
this  subject,  with  some  people  prejudice  is  perversely  inveter- 
ate, and,  instead  of  reasoning  dispassionately,  and  judging 
from  indisputable  evidence,  they  seem  to  think  that  patriotism 
and  opposition  must  necessarily  be  synonymous. 

It  is  not  the  primary  design  of  the  Moral  Reformer  to 
discuss  politics,  nor  does  the  writer  think  himself  qualified  for 
the  task ;  but  subjection  to  lawful  authority  is  not  only  an  im- 
portant moral  duty,  but  one,  in  his  opinion,  which,  both  in 
teaching  and  practice,  is  much  neglected.    **  Let  every  soul 

N    N 


290 

be  subject  to  the  higher  powers ;"— <-  Render  to  all  their  dues, 
tribute  to  wliom  tribute,  and  honour  to  whom  honour,  is  due  ;" 
— "  Submit  yourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the 
Lord's  sake,  whetlier  to  the  King  as  supreme,  or  unto  governors 
sent  by  him ;" — "  Fear  God  and  honour  the  King ;  " — are  in- 
junctions which,  though  they  may  be  turned  to  ridicule,  are 
binding  upon  the  conscience  of  every  christian.  And  I  am 
not  without  hope  that  a  few  words  at  so  seasonable  a  time, 
may  have  the  effect  of  recalling  the  attention  of  some  who  have 
never  thought  seriously  upon  this  subject. 

Loyalty  to  the  throne  is  a  feeling  which  we  ought  uni- 
formly to  encourage.  Nations,  like  families,  can  never  be 
happy  without  a  ruler,  and  without  due  subordination.  No 
matter  whether  the  supreme  power  be  a  president  or  a  mon- 
arch ;  no  matter  what  circumstances  originally  led  to  the  as- 
cendency, if  he  be  the  acknowledged  and  legally  constituted 
head,  we  ought  not  only  to  own,  but  to  yield  subjection  to  him. 
Authorities  are  constituted,  not  for  the  good  of  the  individu- 
als who  rule,  so  much  as  the  good  of  those  who  are  ruled;  and 
witli  all  the  train  of  evils  which  is  usually  laid  to  the 
charge  of  kings,  (and  who  would  be  deemed  innocent,  if 
subjected  to  the  keen  scrutiny  of  a  jealous  public?)  great  com- 
parative good  has  generally  resulted  to  the  people  from  their 
appointment.  Till  we  are  more  perfect  ourselves,  till  our 
own  conduct  evince  that  we  are  actuated  by  purer  principles, 
better  feelings,  and  more  disinterestedness,  how  inconsistent 
is  it  to  expect  perfection  in  those  who  are  surrounded  with  al- 
mast  irresistible  temptations.  Believing  that  this  is  unattaina- 
ble, our  censures  should  always  be  mitigated  by  the  conviction 
that  the  worst  government  is  better  than  none,  and  that  a  state 
of  privation  is  to  be  preferred  to  anarchy  and  confusion.  I 
almost  hesitate  to  quote  the  injunction  of  the  Apostle,  "Be 
subject  to  the  powers  that  be,"  because  this  text  has  been  so 
often  mistaken  and  misapplied.  What  we  learn  from  this 
passage  is,  without  reference  to  individuals  or  their  conduct, 
that  "  Powers," — supreme  and  subordinate  powers — are  "  or- 
dained of  God."  And  viewing  the  state  and  the  character  of 
society  as  it  really  is,  I  should  as  soon  question  that  the  hills 
and  dales  were  ordained  of  him,  as  question  this  manifest 
truth.     The  Apostle  was  not  discussiug  politics,  and  therefore 


291 

lie  gave  the  injunction  with  as  little  reserve  as  he  did :— *'  Child* 
ren,  obey  your  parents;" — "  Wives,  be  obedient  to  your  hus- 
bands." In  each  case,  doubtless,  exceptions  might  arise ;  but 
they  would  be  exceptions,  not  the  rule.  Husbands  have  faults, 
fathers  have  faults,  and  governments  have  faults,  but  still  they  are 
authorities,  recognised  by  the  will  of  heaven,  and  ought  to  be 
reverenced  and  obeyed.  This  interferes  not  in  the  least  with  the 
liberty  of  the  people  to  oppose  any  corruption,  and  to  seek, 
by  every  constitutional  means,  the  reform  of  abuses,  but  does 
forbid  the  indulgence  of  treasonable  designs.  The  evils 
which  exist  are  sometimes  as  unsatisfactory  to  the  monarch 
and  the  government,  as  they  are  to  the  people,  and  are  merely 
permitted  from  necessity  ;  and  in  striving  to  eradicate  them, 
we  have  to  contend  principally  with  ''those  of  our  own  house- 
hold." There  are  cases  where,  owing  to  the  incurable  profli- 
gacy of  a  father,  the  children  would  be  justified  in  throwing 
ofiF obedience,  and  also  of  a  wife  to  a  husband;  yet,  whether 
we  consult  facts  or  reason  as  to  the  expediency  of  such  con- 
duct, the  cases  will  be,  perhaps,  as  one  to  five  hundred.  This, 
though  it  justifies  every  attempt  at  obtaining  a  change  in  the 
laws  for  the  better,  and  even,  to  efi*ect  that,  in  extraordinary 
cases,  to  remove,  by  physical  force,  obnoxious  individuals,  yet 
it  can  never  sanction  that  licentious  liberty  that  wishes  to  de- 
stroy authority  for  the  purpose  of  plunder. 

Allegiance  to  the  King,  and  obedience  to  the  laws,  are, 
manifestly,  not  only  duties,  for  the  neglect  of  which  we  are  as 
accountable  as  for  the  neglect  of  any  other  duty,  but  an  act 
of  self-interest.  Here  it  may  be  truly  said  that  "  self-love  and 
social  is  the  same."  How  many  have  injured  themselves,  de- 
stroyed their  own  peace,  and  effected  no  good,  by  an  impru- 
dent, ill-judged  attempt  to  coerce  or  overthrow  the  govern- 
ment. The  principle  of  authority  and  subordination  is  mix- 
ed with  all  human  associations  ;  we  are  prepared  for  it  from 
our  infancy;  and  it  is  clear  that  it  is  every  man's  interest  to 
discourage  the  subversion  of  a  principle  which  is  one  of  the 
strongest  bonds  in  society.  But  for  this,  every  man  would  do 
what  is  right  in  his  own  eyes!;  there  would  be  no  protection 
for  person  or  property;  the  strongest  would  prey  upon  the 
weakest;  men  would  be  driven  to  live  like  the  savage 
tribes,  8;id  there  would  be  an    end  to  civilization  and  social 


292^ 

enjoyment  To  all  reflecting  persona,  whether  rich  of  poof, 
such  a  state  must  be  any  thing  but  desirable,  and  none  but  un- 
principled desperadoes  can  contemplate  it  without  abliorrence* 

Dol,  therefore,  advocate  bad  government?  No.  But  in 
applying  a  remedy,  let  not  the  turbulent  passions,  but  the 
reaaon  of  mankind,  suggest  the  safest  course.  Let  patience 
and  pure  patriotism,  and  not  the  vicious  desire  of  plunder  and 
the  lust  of  revenge,  lead  the  way.  Let  a  nation,  justly  discon- 
tented, demonstrate  its  wishes  by  a  strong  and  successive  dis- 
play of  moral  power ;  let  every  thing  be  tried  before  physical 
force  is  appealed  to.  Revolutions  may  sometimes  be  attended 
with  beneficial  effects,  but  it  is  a  question,  balancing  tlie  evil 
against  the  good,  whether,  in  most  instances,  by  patience  and 
perseverence  in  milder  measures,  greater  good  would  not  have 
accrued.  The  train  of  evils  attendant  upon  a  national  con- 
vulsion are  truly  appalling ;  it  is  like  reducing  creation  to 
chaos;  and  happy  is  it  for  those  countries  whose  stability  is 
secured  by  the  honesty  of  its  government,  and  whose  liberty  is 
achieved  by  the  bloodless  conquests  of  "  the  inarch  of  mind ! " 

England,  long  the  subject  of  misrule  and  bad  government, 
is  noit)  emerging  from  its  thraldom,  and  its  people,  I  hope,  are 
destined  to  be  happy.  Events  in  this  country  long  portended 
a  crisis ;  but,  owing  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  tlie  activity 
of  tlie  people,  the  efforts  of  our  patriots,  crowned  with  the  ef- 
forts of  a  Patriot  King,  the  danger  is  over,  and  the  elements 
of  discord  are  fast  subsiding.  It  is  a  happy  omen  to  see  the 
nation,  on  the  occasion  of  his  Majesty's  coronation,  so  cordi- 
ally united,  and  so  loyal  in  their  attachment  to  the  throne.  A 
more  sincere  attachment  to  the  King  and  Queen,  I  believe, 
was  never  manifested.  Excepting  a  few  who  are  wailing  over 
the  expiring  embers  of  a  vicious  system,  and  a  few  others 
whose  natural  element  is  discord,  the  people  are  with  the  King 
as  the  heart  of  one  man.  He  is  worthy  of  being  beloved, 
and  his  ministers,  though  too  prudent,  to  attempt  to 
push  their  own  measures  with  precipitancy,  have,  by  their 
steady  and  firm  adherence  to  the  principles  of  reform,  entitled 
themselves  to  the  support  of  every  Englishman.  Whatever 
infirmities  may  attacli  to  their  proceedings,  they  are  allowed 
to  be  Jionest  men.  With  this  qualification,  confidence  will 
not  be  displaced ;  and  while  the  genius  of  a  Brougham  per- 


293 

vades  tteir  councils,  the  improvements  of  tte  people  can 
never  be  stationary.  They  mean  well  for  the  country,  but, 
annoyed  and  opposed  by  those  who  are  making  a  last  effort 
in  the  cause  of  corruption,  we  must  not  expect  them  to 
work  miracles.  They  are  clearing  their  way  gradually,  and, 
by  and  bye,  they  will  have  a  firmer  ground.  Let  but  the  mi- 
nisters get  a  real  House  of  Commons,  and  they  will  not  disap-. 
point  the  reasonable  hopes  of  the  nation.  As  for  their  oppo- 
nents, they  will  fall  powerless;  they  have  neither  reason^ 
justice,  nor  the  people  witli  them,  yet  they  bandy  about  the 
word  "  revolution"  with  as  much  confidence  as  if  the  armies  of 
the  rotton  boroughs  were  already  on  the  march  to  besiege  the 
metropolis,  and  to  take  it  by  storm ! 

As  to  the  two  small  parties  which  are  opposed  to  the  gov- 
ernment, each  ought  to  be  viewed  in  a  totally  different  light.  It  is 
well  known  that,  generally,  they  are  the  very  extremes  of  society 
as  to  their  pecuniary  circumstances.  The  first,  usually  denomi- 
nated "  Tory,"  is  comprised  of  those  who  have  been  wont  to 
bask  in  the  sun-shine  of  corruption,  and  whose  measures  have 
been  gradually  reducing  the  country  to  slavery  and  pauperism. 
The  opposition  of  this  party  is  sordid  and  selfish,  arising  froiji 
chagrin  at  the  loss  of  the  power  of  perpetuating  a  system, 
which,  while  it  worked  well  for  them,  had  well  nigh  convulsed 
the  nation.  This  is  the  cause  of  their  disloyalty ;  they  see  in 
the  measures  now  pursued  by  the  present  government,  the  loss 
of  those  opportunities  by  which  their  wealth  has  been  accu- 
mulated, and  their  influence  and  arbitrary  power  maintained. 
However  unfeeling  they  may  have  been  towards  others,  it  is 
clear  that  their  perceptions  for  their  own  interest  are  suffi- 
ciently acute.  Turbulent,  and  factious,  as  they  clearly  are, 
they  have  been  treated  with  decent  respect  by  those  in  power, 
and  this  is  all  that  is  due,  and  the  very  utmost  that  ought  to 
be  offered.  The  people  cannot  confide  in  them,  and  every  at- 
tempt at  compromise  with  this  party,  will  be  to  wound  the 
feelings  of  the  nation.  Little  or  no  hope  can  be  entertained 
of  their  conversion ;  they  will  gradually  fall  off,  will  exile 
themselves  in  holes  and  corners,  and  will  soon  become  extinct 
for  want  of  successors.  Charity  says,  "  Let  them  alone ;" 
foi:  though  the  state  of  the  country  testifies  their  guilt,  their 
o;  ^  disgrace  is  a  sofficient  punishmeut. 


294 

llie  opposition  of  the  other  party,  usually  denominated 
"  radical,"  but  now  confined  to  a  small  number  of  persons  so 
denominated,  arises  from  different  motives,  and  ought  to  be 
allayed  by  the  use  of  totally  different  means.  There  are  some 
whose  disaffection  is  purely  the  offspring-  of  vicious  feelings 
and  profligate  habits,  and  these,  alas,  too  often  assume  the 
character  of  leaders;  hut  poverti/,  in  most  instances,  is  the  rea- 
son of  the  opposition  which  government  receives  from  this 
class.  But  here  I  beg  distinctly  to  say  that,  at  present,  it  is 
poverty  accompanied  by  deception,  arising  from  the  want  of 
the  means  of  obtaining  correct  information.  Why  is  it,  that 
whilst  those  who  have  the  means  of  information  see  reason  to 
support,  and  give  credit  tp  the  present  administration,  these 
persons  cultivate  the  same  hostility  as  they  did  towards  the  last 
administration,  whose  policy  was  diametrically  opposed  to  that  of 
the  present  ?  Exasperated  by  the  pressure  of  their  circumstan- 
ces, and  unable,  therefore,  to  take  a  deliberate  and  comprehen- 
sive view  of  political  changes,  they  suffer  themselves  to  be  nxis- 
led  by  their  own  feelings,  or  by  designing  persons.  Inattentive 
to  the  tremendous  task  of  changing  the  current  of  national 
policy,  unless  they  feel  the  benefit  immediately,  they  raise  a 
disaffected  clamour,  and  by  thus  weakening  the  hands  of  a 
reforming  government,  increase  the  delay  of  those  very  mea- 
sures in  which  their  own  amelioration  is  involved.  I  sincerely 
sympathise  with  them  in  their  sufferings,  and  am  looking  with 
intense  anxiety  to  those  measures  which  I  know  will  afford 
them  relief,  particularly  the  abolition  of  the  corn  tax,  and  all 
tlie  taxes  which  press  upon  the  industry,  and  the  articles  of 
consumption,  of  the  working  class.  But  such  a  mighty 
change  cannot  be  accomplished  in  a  moment,  rior  without 
agents ;  those  agents  which  alone  can  do  these  things,  are  a 
reformed  House  of  Commons :  so  that  every  sensible  man,  in- 
stead of  launching  his  favourite  bark  amongst  rocks  and 
shoals,  should  be  assisting  first  to  clear  tlie  obstructions,  and 
to  make  the  passage  safe  and  navigable.  Besides  the  natural 
impatience  of  a  remedy  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  misery, 
and  the  gleaming  of  a  first  beam  of  hope,  there  are  persons 
whose  culpable  cupidity  alone  is  made  to  aggravate  the  evil. 
The  press  is  a  mighty  engine,  but,  in  too  many  instances,- is 
directed  by  mercenary  motives.     Like  lawyers,  who  canpmd 


•295 

on  either  side,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  politics  of  some  of  our 
Editors  are  just  those  which  are  likely  to  bring  the  greatest 
profit.  This  is  not  general  :  yet  when  we  find  that  the  papers 
intended  to  circulate  among  the  poorest  people,  or  among  the 
most  profligate  characters,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  among  the  ex- 
loyalists,  are  constantly  charged  with  falsehoods  and  misrepre- 
sentations, and  calculated  to  throw  odium  upon  the  intentions 
of  o-overnment — when  we  recollect  that  some  of  these  papers 
which  became  suddenly  loyal,  have  lately  turned  the  sails,  and 
veered  to  the  point  of  hostile  opposition — we  cannpt  but  fear  that 
they  find  more  profit  in  ministering  to  the  cause  of  disunion, 
and  misleading  the  unwary,  than  in  promoting  the  diffusion  of 
good  principles,  and  the  cause  of  national  harmony. 

It  is  the  duty  of  government  to  remove  every  possible  cause 
of  discontent.  Though  I  fear  the  high  party  is  so  untractable, 
and  likely  to  receive  so  ri^uch  additional  annoyance,  that  nothing 
can  be  done — that  ought  to  be  done — to  win  them  over;  yet,  with 
the  exception  of  some  of  the  leaders,  I  have  a  better  opinion  of 
the  other  party.  They  have  never  plundered  the  people;  they 
have  always  been  sufferers ;  their  poverty  prevents  their  access 
to  the  sources  of  correct  information;  some  of  them  are  brave 
and  patriotic  ;  their  theories  are  generally  correct,  and  I  do 
sincerely  believe  that  their  opposition  has  arisen  principally  from 
want  of  leaders  and  instructors  who  would  have  told  them  the 
truth.  In  fact,  the  rational  diffusion  of  correct  principles  a- 
mong  the  poorer  part  of  the  population,  both  as  to  morality,  re- 
ligion, and  politics,  has  been  woefully  neglected. 

I  will  not  here  introduce  those  great  measures  which  will 
shortly  be  discussed  in  parliament,  and  in  which  the  melioration 
of  the  people,  and  the  continuance  of  the  government's  popu- 
larity, are  involved  ;  but  one  point  I  wish  to  enforce,  and  which  I 
deem  an  important  preliminary  measure,  and  that  is — the  ne- 
cessity ©fa  Free  Press.  If  knowledge  is  power,  how  necessary  is 
it  that  this  knowledge  should  be  of  the  right  kind.  But  the  re- 
strictions upon  periodicals,  and  the  tax  upon  newspapers,  forbid 
the  approach  of  the  poor  to  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  guard 
its  fruit  with  a  flaming  sword.  The  regulations  by  which  the 
press  is  shackled  are  so  many  fetters  to  keep  the  people  in  ig- 
norance, for,  by  the  odious  acts  now  on  the  statue  book,  cheap 
political  publications  are  positively  forbidden.  With  a  free 
competition,  a  small  sized   newspaper,  which  is  now  charged 


296 

7cl.,  would  probably  be  sold  at  2d.;  and  amid  aD  increase  of 
competitors,  many  of  tliose  dull  and  thread-bare  papers,  which 
have  an  exclusive  circulation  in  country  places,  would  be  soon 
supplanted  by  better  works.  Persons  of  smaller  capital  could 
then  embark  in  the  business;  the  article  would  not  only  be 
cheaper,  but,  to  ensure  success,  must  be  of  a  superior  quality. 
The  bulk  of  the  working  class  do  not,  and  cannot,  get  newspa- 
pers ;  they  are  guided,  therefore,  by  the  mistaken  surmises  of 
their  own  prejudices — by  the  thousand  vague,  visionary,  false, 
and  wicked  reports  which  circulate  in  the  neighbourhood — by 
the  harangues  of  persons  whose  importance  depends  on  their  ca- 
pabilities for  mischief — or  by  some  incendiary  pamphlets,  which, 
published  in  defiance  of  law,  are  in  open  hostility  to  the  govern-  . 
ment,  and  bent  upon  distorting  facts  to  inflame  the  public 
mind.  1  have  seen  some  of  these  publications,  and  it  is  really 
grievous  to  think  that,  by  such  unnatural  acts  of  parliament,  the 
people  should  be  deprived  of  wholesome  instruction,  and  left  to 
place  themselves  beneath  the  guidance  of  those  whose  main  ob- 
ject seems  to  be,  not  to  reform,  but  to  destroy.  Allow  a  cheap 
weekly  publication  to  find  its  way  to  every  poor  street,  and  al- 
most to  every  poor  man's  cot,  and  you  furnish  him  with  correct 
information,  and  assist  him  to  think  rationally  upon  politics,  as 
well  as  every  other  subject.  Let  the  present  government,  there- 
fore, no  longer  continue  the  fences  of  corruption,  set  up  by  their 
predecessors,  but  let  every  facility  be  afforded  for  enlightening 
the  minds  of  the  people.  Whilst  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
from  the  pulpit,  the  stage,  .the  hustings,  from  meetings  of  all 
sorts,  is  free  and  without  restraint,  the  diffusion  of  the  same  by 
the  press,  which  is  more  guarded  and  defined,  ought  to  be  free 
also.  That  this  will  be  the  case,  I  have  no  doubt,  but  it  ought 
to  be  so  immediately.* 


*  I  would  just  observe  here  that,  though  I  would  recommend  the  remittance  of  the 
stamp  duty,  there  is  not  the  same  reason  for  giviog  up  the  duty  on  advertisements.  These 
are  a  sure  source  of  revenue,  and,  by  a  proper  modification,  may  be  retained  without  in- 
Jury  or  opposition.  An  uniform  charge,  however,  is  quite  unreasonable.  To  put  the 
Talueof  a  dog,  or  the  services  of  a  servant  girl,  upon  the  same  footing  as  an  estate  of  tea 
thousand  pounds,  is  a  great  incongruity.  A  graduated  scale,  varying  from  Is.  to  £l.  upoa 
oK  advertisements,  whether  in  hand  bills  or  otherwise,  would  not  affect  the  poor,  and 
with  the  stamp  duty  remitted,  would  be  cheerfully  submitted  to  by  all  classes. 

Whilst  all  newspapers  would  thus  circulate  free  from  duty,  those  which  passed 
through  the  post-office,  would  be  still  liable  to  a  charge,  and  this  would  bring  about  a 
change  in  post-office  charges,  which  is  very  much  wanted .  Though  an  useful  institution, 
the  poet-office,  which  is  a  governmeitt  iqoDopoly,  is  capable  of  many  improTemeots. 


297 

Many  other  important  measures,  including  those  which  re- 
fer directly  to  the  interests  of  the  working  class,  will  shortly  come 
before  the  public,  and  before  parliament,  for  discussion.  The 
popularity,  nay,  the  very  existence  of  the  present  administra- 
tion depends  upon  the  success  of  some  of  those  qnestions  ;  and 
if  they  oppose  the  will  of  the  nation  in  reference  to  such  ques- 
tions as  the  corn  lawsj  for  instance,  their  downfall  is  inevitable. 
But  let  the  ministers  be  deemed  honest  till  they  shew  symptoms 
to  the  contrary  ;  let  them  be  trusted  till  they  prove  themselves 
unworthy  of  confidence.  What  they  have  done,  and  what  they 
have  intimated  their  intention  of  attempting  to  do,  are  strong 
presumptions  of  their  integrity.  If  the  working  classes,  after  so 
long  and  so  unsuccessful  a  contest  under  former  administrations, 
have  not  been  able  to  obtain  redress,  would  it  not  be  better,  with 
prospects  so  favourable,  for  them  to  unite  with  the  other  classes 
in  society,  in  their  endeavours  to  promote  the  objects  of  their 
wishes  ? 

But  let  no  man  delude  himself  by  expecting  too  much. 
Many  are  so  deceived  as  to  refer  all  the  evil  in  society  to  bad 
government,  and  hence  are  led  to  expect  a  thorough  remedy 
from  the  same  quarter.  Composed  of  the  best  elements,  no 
government  is  competent  to  the  task ;  and  it  would  be  much  better 
if,  instead  of  regarding  the  folks  at  London  as  the  source  of 
all  evil,  every  man  were  to  look  occasionally  to  himself, 
and  at  the  circle  of  his  own  influence.  Besides,  the  legis- 
lature has  to  spring  from  the  people,  and  while  we  find  so  little 
honesty,  disinterestedness,  and  public  spirit,  amongst  the  ruled, 
how  can  we  expect  these  qualities  in  a  superlative  degree  among 
the  rulers  ?  If  virtue  and  goodness  were  the  prominent  features 
in  society,  the  want  of  which  is  so  often  censured  in  governments, 
the  statute  book  would  not  be  swelled  so  enormously- every  year 
with  new  laws.  And  this  is  obviously  the  greatest  difficulty,  not 
only  in  legislating  for  the  country,  but  in  establishing  any  regu- 


The  charges  are  regulated  upon  no  principle  of  justice  or  consistency.  Neither  weight, 
bulk,  nor  value,  seems  to  be  the  principle  which  is  acted  upon.  A  small  letter,  if  it  hap- 
pen to  be  in  two  parts,  is  charged  double  the  amount  of  one  of  much  greater  bulk.  Near 
fourshillings  is  demanded  far  an  ounce  weight,  though  a  newspaper  of  aheavier  weight  is 
coDTeyed  for  nothing,  A  letter  with  a  thousand  pound  note  is  doable,  but  two  five 
pound  notes,  or  even  a  returned  bill,  with  a  bit  of  paper,  about  an  inch  square,  tacked  to 
it,- is  charged /rfW? — Every  accommodation  is  now  afforded  for  tlie  transit  of  geodsaud 
passengers,  but  it  is  tar  from  being  the  case  in  reference  to  letters  and  parcels.  Both 
as  it  regards  the  charge,  the  dispatch,  the  safety,  and  the  times  of  forwarding  th^m,  very 
great  improvements  might  and  ought  to  be  made. 

O  o 


298 

lations  or  institutions  for  the  public  good.  Men  with  principle, 
character,  and  public  spirit,  are  exceedingly  rare  ;  any  great 
number  of  good  agents  are,  positively,  not  to  be  found ;  and 
hence  the  failure  of  many  noble  attempts  to  exalt  the  character, 
and  to  better  the  condition,  of  the  people.  One  single  step  in 
morals,  affecting  the  whole  people,  would  surpass  a  hundred 
new  laws;  and  it  often  surprises  me,  when  reading  the 
debates  in  parliament,  that  instead  of  recognizing  the  depravity 
of  the  people  as  the  reason  of  so  many  new  laws,  a  stricter  in- 
vestigation is  not  instituted  as  to  the  causes  which  have  led  to 
the  evil.  Make  the  people  better^  and  the  increase  of  legal  re- 
straints will  no  longer  be  required.  But  till  such  a  change  do 
take  place,  how  can  we  expect  perfect  rulers  ?  It  is  very  easy 
for  me  to  sit  and  write  long  and  heavy  charges ;  it  is  very  easy 
for  individuals  to  canvass  over  tlie  proceedings  of  government, 
and  to  censure  for  this,  and  to  condemn  for  that ;  but  is  it  as 
easy  for  the  same  persons  to  adopt  their  own  standard,  and  to  act 
up  to  it  in  the  sphere  in  which  they  move  themselves  ?  A  man 
censures  an  M.  P.  for  bartering  his  vote  for  gain ;  but  an  election 
comes,  and  he,  in  the  same  spirit,  votes  with  his  employer, 
against  his  own  conscience,  to  secure  his  place.  Another  vo- 
ciferates against  the  extravagance  of  government  and  unjust  tax- 
ation, though  but  lately,  as  the  result  of  a  long  course  of  profli- 
gacy and  dissipation,  he  has  compounded  with  his  creditors,  and 
stands  suspected  of  fraud.  Another  reproaches  the  authorities 
with  want  of  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  whilst  his 
earnings  are  squandered  at  the  pot-house,  and  his  family  are 
starving  for  want.  A  host  will  come  forward  to  tell  how  little 
the  parliament  has  done,  but  if  they  are  requested  to  lend  their 
aid  in  any  ijndertaking  of  public  utility,  with  one  consent,  they 
all  begin  to  make  excuses.  lam  sick  of  such  patriotism  as  this. 
Even  now,  that  the  elective  franchise  is  about  to  be  extended,  there 
are  towns  with  a  population  of  30,000,  in  which  a  suitable  indi- 
vidual, of  wealth,  public  spirit,  poUtical  knowledge,  and  disin- 
terestedness, cannot  be  found.  While  the  country  is  so  defi- 
cient io  moral  attainments,  neither  the  reform  bill,  nor  any  other 
bill,  will  have  any  chance  of  restoring  it  to  perfect  health.  Let 
the  provinces  try  to  reform  themselves  first ;  let  the  government 
also  try  to  reform  itself;  and  then  they  will  be  able  reciprocally 
to  reform  each  other. 

3y  way  of  conclusion  to  these  remarks,  I  would  beg  to  offer 


I 


299 


to  my  readers,  and  especially  to  those  who  are  hostile  to  the  King, 
or  his  government,  a  few  words  of  advice. 

As  nine-tenths  of  the  evil  reports  you  hear  in  circulation 
respecting  others  are  either  not  true,  or  greatly  exagerated,  be 
cautious  of  giving  credit  to  the  slanders  which  are  constantly 
east  upon  those  in  power.  Many  charges  are  false,  and  even 
when  partially  true,  are  so  perverted  with  being  circulated  and 
believed  by  persons  destitute  of  the  means  of  correct  information, 
that  it  is  really  laughable  sometimes  to  hear  the  accounts  which 
are  stated  to  be  as  true  as  gospel.  But  independently  of  this,  it 
is  an  unhappy  disposition  that  delights  in  nothing-  so  much  as 
finding  fault  with  the  proceedings  of  government.  There  may 
be  »ome  sparks  of  patriotism  in  the  minds  of  such  men,  but 
they  become  too  virulent  and  captious  ever  to  be  very  useful. 
Be  careful,  then,  as  to  the  sources  of  your  information,  and 
never  give  credit  to  doubtful  statements,  because  they  hap- 
pen to  favour  the  side  you  support.  Think  for  yourselves,  de- 
liberate maturely,  try  to  exercise  an  impartial  judgment,  and 
let  truth  be  the  object  of  your  pursuit.  Regard  no  man  as  a 
leader,  however  orthodox  his  opinions,  unless  he  has  proved 
himself  a  man  ofstirtutg  integrity.  Your  last  twenty  years'  ex- 
perience will  tell  you  how  often,  in  this  respect,  both  your  money 
and  your  confidence  have  been  misplaced.  Your  political  con- 
duct may  be  productive  of  consequences  more  important  than 
yon  imagine,  and  therefore,  instead  of  either  joining  or  oppos- 
ing the  multitude  through  party  excitement  and  popular  cla- 
mour, think  seriously  and  deliberately  for  yourselves. 

As  many  of  you  have  no  source  of  income  but  the  honest  labour 
of  your  own  hands,  without  at  all  wishing  to  persuade  you  from  due 
attention  to  politics,  it  may  be  proper  to  intimate  the  propriety  of 
wioderafion  in  this  respect.  Everyman  is  connected  with  the 
politics  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  with  the  affairs  of  the  county 
or  parish,  in  which  he  resides,  but  very  few  are  justified  in  absorb- 
ing all  their  time  and  attention  in  either  one  or  the  other.  I 
speak  not  against  the  study  of  politics,  but  the  immoderate  pur- 
suit of  them.  If  your  station  and  opportunities  afford  you  the 
chance  of  doing  little  good,  why  distract  your  minds,  lose  youf 
time,  and  neglect  your  families,  by  an  exclusive  devotion  to  na- 
tional affairs  ?  This  is  not  intended  to  dissuade  you  from  joining 
to  promote  the  progress  of  every  wise  and  salutary  change,  but  to 
induce  you  to  moderate  your  fervour  in  the  pursuit  of  minor 


300 

objects,  to  the  neglect  of  others  of  greater  importance.  A  maa 
may  attend  to  the  duties  he  owes  to  himself,  to  his  family,  and 
to  his  God,  and  have  opportunities  also  of  assisting  to  promote 
the  success  of  important  national  measures ;  and  I  would  persuade 
you  to  try  to  give  eveiy  duty  its  projier  plate.  Besides,  in  proposing 
to  accomplish  any  object  which  requires  a  sacritiee  of  time  and 
labour,  we  should  be  careful,  viewing  all  the  circumstances,  to 
propose  something  which  is  practicable.  Correct  theories  are 
pleasing  to  the  imagination,  but  when  a  nation  is  to  be  consulted, 
and  when  circumstances  are  untoward,  we  had  better  seek  a 
practical  good,  than  soar  in  some  speculative  region  after  fancied 
perfection. 

Let  me  also  remind  you  of  the  necessity  of  patient  persever- 
ance. With  some  good  in  view,  never  sacrifice  the  prospect  by 
precipitency.  Patience,  1  know,  is  unpalatable,  especially  to 
those  who  are  suffering  privations,  but  how  can  it  be  dispensed 
with  ?  You  have  waited  for  years,  and,  supported  first  by  one 
gleam  of  hope  and  then  another,  your  sufferings  have  been 
borne  with  exemplary  resignation.  Thesalvation  of  your  coun- 
try, I  hope,  is  now  nearly  achieved,  and,  by  patience  and  cor- 
dial co-operation,  will  shortly  be  established.  Do  your  best, 
therefore,  to  allay  commotion,  and  let  sedition  and  violence 
be  the  objects  of  your  detestation.  You  know  how  difficult  it 
is  to  accomplish  great  changes  in  any  of  your  own  concerns, 
without  waiting  for  events ;  that  you  are  often  obliged  to  be  con* 
tent  with  accomplishing  a  little  at  a  time — waiting  patiently  for 
the  rest; — how  much  more  so  must  it  be  to  effect  a  change  iu 
the  workings  of  a  national  system,  in  which,  so  many  opposite 
interests  are  involved,  and  respecting  which,  there  are  so  many 
conflicting  opinions  !  A  liberal  policy  is  already  in  operation  ; 
let  us  hail  it  as  the  harbinger  of  better  times;  and  instead  of 
peevishly  interposing  our  threats  and  our  complaints,  let  us 
strengthen  the  hands  of  our  rulers,  and  wish  them  God  speed  in 

heir  glorious  efforts  to  save  the  country. 

Above  all,  let  us  try  to  govern  and  reform  ourselves.  If 
every  man  would  reform  one,  political  corruptions  would  soon 
vanish.  And  as  there  cannot  be  good  government,  (properly 
speaking)  nor  a  happy  nation,  till  we  have  good  people,  the  best 
policy  is,  first  to  reform  the  mass  out  of  which  the  selection  is 
to  be  taken.     How  can  we  preach  reform  to   others,    unless  we 

fir»t  reform  ourselves  ^  jipd,  how  jCau.  we  consistently  reproach 


I 


I 


301 


others  for  neglect  of  duty,  of  which  we  ourselves  are  the  most 
striking  examples  ?  Perhaps  we,  also,  are  governors  in  an  inferior 
sense ;  we  may  have  children,  servants,  or  work-people  under  us; 
how  do  we  conduct  ourselves  towards  them  ?  Until  we  first  pull 
the  beam  out  of  our  own  eye,  how  can  we  attempt  to  take  the 
mote  out  of  our  brother's  eye  ?  Though  the  inconsistencj' of 
this  is  obvious,  yet  we  generally  find  that  the  most  turbulent 
and  noisy  in  politics,  are  men  of  slender  character.  Having  no- 
thing to  lose,  neither  shame,  honour,  nor  interest,  can  subdue 
their  audacity  ;  but  let  those  who  have  some .  respect  for 
themselves,  or  for  the  connections  to  which  they  belong,  act  a 
more  consistent  part.  A  man  of  base  conduct,  by  delusive  pro- 
mises may  marshal  around  him  the  desperate  and  the  vile ; 
but  the  reflecting  and  the  virtuous  will  choose  for  their  leaders, 
men  whose  conduct  and  convereation  do  credit  to  the  profes- 
sions they  have  made.  Would  ihoX.  personal,  as  well  as  political 
reform,  were  carried,  not  merely  by  a  majority  of  votes,  but  by  a 
change  of  conduct  in  all  classes  of  society,  from  the  King  upon 
the  throne,  to  the  humblest  subject  in  the  land  ! 

To  speak  of  national  enjoyments,  notwithstanding  the  op- 
pression of  the  people,  and  all  the  evils  of  a  corrupt  system,  tak- 
ingitintheaggregate,  lam  inclined  to  think  that  few  countries  en- 
enjoy  greater  happiness  than  this.  This  island  has  long  been  a  fa- 
voured spot ;  for,  whilst  many  other  countries  lyave  either  been 
subject  to  revolutions,  or  been  the  seat  of  sanguinary  wars,  England 
has  enjoyed  uninterrupted  peace.  Her  trees  have  never  ceased  to 
blossom  ;  her  crops  have  not  been  trodden  down  by  the  ruthless 
invader;  her  commerce  has  been  protected ;  and  her  shores  have 
been  an  assylum  for  the  wretched  and  the  brave,  who  in  vain 
have  sought  a  home  elsewhere.  Her  own  people,  I  must  say,  have 
suffered  much  in  their  own  land,  and  this  is  a  blot  I  cannot  erase, 
but  so  far  as  human  means  can  apply  a  remedy,  L  believe  it  is 
about  to  be  done.  England  will  still  rank  where  nature  has 
designed  her  a  place ;  that  is,  amongst  the  greatest  nations  of 
the  earth  ;  and,  as  one  of  the  wisest  measures,  she  is  now  con- 
solidating her  strength  by  a  judicious  revision  of  her  great  insti- 
tutions. May  her  difficulties  soon  subside,  and  may  the  sun  of 
prosperity  never  cease  to  shine  upon  both  King  and  People  ! 

J.  L. 


■ 


302 

SPEAKING  EVIL  OF  OTHERS. 

The  practice  of  this  vice  in  all  ranks  of  socittj,  and  evett 
among  those  who  profess  to  be  strictly  religious,  has  become  sa 
prevalent,  that  it  calls  for  special  notice.  When  we  fall  inta 
company  we  have  no  disposition  for  silence  ;  we  must  discourse 
upon  something.  Now»  on  all  occasions,  before  we  launch  out^ 
might  it  not  be  useful  just  to  ask  ourselves  **  which  will  be  the 
most  useful  topic.'"'  It  almost  uniformly  happens  that,  though 
a  thousand  useful  subjects  might  be  introduced,  calculated  both. 
to  inform  and  amuse,  individuals  and  their  conduct  become  the 
burden  of  conversation.  If  it  were  to  speak  well  of  them,  it 
would  be  proper ;  but  when  it  is  to  report  all  their  misdeeds,  to 
magnify  their  failings,  and  to  produce  a  bad  impression  of 
their  character,  it  is  uncharitable,  unchristian,  and  betrays  a 
cowardly  disposition.  I  need  not  say  where,  and  in  what  parties, 
this  tattling,  this  evil  speaking,  is  to  be  found ;  for  there  is 
scarcely  a  company  where  the  time  is  not  occupied  in  this  way.  The 
precepts  of  Christianity  are  admirable  upon  this  point.  "Speak 
not  evil  one  of  another;" — ''Speak  evil  of  no  man  j" — "Lay 
aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and 
all  evil  speakings  ;" — "Charity  cofer^fA  {but  does  not  expose) 
a  multitude  of  sins;" — "Whoso  slandereth  his  neigbboar, 
liira  will  I  cut  off."  All  these  passages  teach,  that  whenever  we 
ean,  consistently  with  the  good  of  society,  we  should  screen  the 
feults  of  others  ;  that  it  is  sinful  to  indulge  in  the  habit  of  giving 
circulation  to  all  the  evil  we  know  of  them  ;  and  that,  instead  of 
blazing  abroad  the  faults  of  our  neighbours,  we  should  do  what 
we  can  to  maintain  their  good  name.  However  bad  an  individual 
maybe,  to  tell  his  faults  to  others  is  not  the  way  to  mend  him; 
we  should  rather  get  a  personal  interview  with  him,  and  try,  by 
every  gentle  means,  to  convince  him  of  his  faults.  When  per- 
sons find  that  their  character  is  gone  in  society,  they  seldom  feel 
disposed  to  use  efforts  to  redeem  it.  We  should  love  our  neigh- 
bours as  ourselves  ;  but  the  practice  of  reporting  evil  of  others, 
is  any  thing  but  this.  Compassed  as  tve  are  with  infirmities, 
would  we  like  others  to  make  our  failings  the  subject  of  their  open 
conversation  ?  Indeed  the  practice  is  too  often  an  indication  of 
the  person's  own  character.  Attend  to  the  discourse  of  the  wo- 
men who  group  together  while  their  husbands  are  from   home — 


i 


303 

of  the  young  men  and  women  who  assemble  at  our  street  comers 
— or  of  the  noisy  declamation  of  those  whom  we  find  in  public- 
houses — and  what  is  the  first  and  last  of  all  they  have  to  say  ?— 
to  detail,  and  enlarge  upon,  all  the  bad  deeds  of  every  person  that 
happens  to  bo  named.  In  reference  to  private  character,  it  wifl 
generally  be  found  advisable,  if  we  can  say  nothing  good^  to  say 
nothing  that  is  bad.  Whisperings  and  backbitings  are  the  bane 
of  society;  and  how  keenly  must  a  person  feel  when  he  hears 
that  he  has  been  charged  and  condemned  without  a  hearing;  that 
bis  faults  and  his  sentence  are  circulated  in  society,  with  a  cer- 
tainty of  great  exaggeration ;  and,  perhaps,  by  persons  from 
whom  he  expected  better  things.  To  reveal  the  faults  of  others, 
is  the  surest  way  to  make  ourselves  enemies,  and  it  will  be  well 
if  we  do  not  feel  the  re-action  of  the  same  disposition.  It  is  tru^ 
that  when  the  interests  of  oth'jrs,  or  of  society,  are  involved,  a 
different  course  may  be  justified.  But  it  is  against  the  common 
practice  of  retailing  the  fanHts  of  any  individual  that  happens  to  be 
named,  when  we  are  neither  contributing  to  his  own  reformation, 
nor  to  the  public  good,  that  I  wish  to  protest.  When  others 
would  evidently  be  injured  by  the  conduct  of  men,  for  their 
sakes  alone,  it  is  our  duty  to  speak  out ;  but  we  are  not  allowed  to 
gratify  a  revengeful  feeling,  by  reporting  the  misconduct  of  every 
person  we  know.  If  others  are  likely  to  suffer,  it  would  be  wrong 
to  be  silent ;  and  it  is  the  motive,  in  every  case,  that  determines 
the  merit  of  the  action.  Hence  all  oppositien  to  public  men,  and 
all  attempts  to  expose  the  abuses  of  public  institutions,  if  they 
spring  from  sheer  hostility  and  revenge,  are  not  j  ustifiable  ^ 
but  if  attempted  with  the  laudable  design,  and  fair  prospect,  of 
accomplishing  some  good  for  society,  they  are,  decidedly,  to  be 
approved,  l^his  distinction  is  highly  necessary,  and  cannot  too 
often  be  remembered  by  those  who  wish  to  preserve  a  clear 
conscience  towards  God  and  m«an.  J.  L, 


VARIETIES. 


Preston  Imtitutionfor  the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge. — The  an-r 
nual  meeting  of  this  Institution  will  be  held  in  the  Theatre,  on 
Tuesday,  the  4th  inst. :  the  public  are  allowed  to  attend  on  these 


304 

occasions  without  any  char;^e.  So  satisfied  am  I  of  its  utility,  that 
1  feel  a  pleasure  in  thus  noticing  it  publicly,  in  order  to  invite  the 
attendance  of  all  classes  of  my  townsmen,  and  especially  young 
men.  Nio-hta  are  now  getting  long,  which  will  afford  such  in- 
ducements to  reading,  that  I  am  sure  great  numbers  need  only 
to  be  told  of  the  institution,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  become 
members.  The  members,  at  this  season,  often  form  themselves 
into  classes  for  the  study  of  the  various  branches  of  knowledge. 
Last  winter  but  one  I  superintended  a  class  for  the  study  of 
English  grammar  and  composition,  in  which  I  found  a  great 
degree  of  both  pleasure  and  improvement :  from  this  class  were 
developed  talents  that  would  do  honour  to  any  station  in  life. 
1  hope  many  of  the  working  class  of  Preston  will  not  only  at- 
tend the  meeting,  but  enroll  their  names  as  members.  Instead 
of  being  carried  away  with  political  squabbles,  or  murdering 
their  precious  time  at  the  public  house,  how  much  better  would 
it  be  to  endeavour,  by  acquiring  a  stock  of  useful  knowledge, 
to  enlarge  their  minds,  purify  their  dispositions,  and  make  them- 
selves respectable  and  useful  members  of  society. 

As  this  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  institutions  in  the 
kingdom,  as  a  guide  to  others  it  may  not  be  improper  to  men- 
tion the  principal  particulars  to  which  its  success  is  attributable. 

1.  The  Charge.  This  is  only  6s.  6d.  a  year ;  is  collected  quar- 
terly, and  amounts  only  to  l|d.  per  week.  This  is  much  lower 
than  what  is  usually  charged  by  institutions  of  inferior  note. 
The  same  expense  of  rent,  lighting,  fire,  and  assistance,  will 
answer  for  five  hundred  members  as  well  as  fifty;  and  as  low 
charges  are  likely  to  secure  large  numbers,  it  will  always  be 
found  good  policy  to  make  the  price  low.  The  admission  of 
life  members,  for  the  donation  of  the  low  sum  of  five  guineas  in 
money,  books,  or  instruments,  brought  us  about  niiiety  of  this 
class  of  subscribers,  whose  gilts  alone  afl^orded  a  noble  beginning. 

2.  The  Character  of  the  Library.  '  Instead  of  its  being  com- 
posed principally  of  works  upon  the  "Arts  and  Sciences,"  it 
consists  of  every  variety  of  books,  excepting  those  which  are 
purely  romance,  those  which  are  devoted  to  polemic  theolog)', 
and  those  which  refer  to  the  party  politics  of  the  day.  Philoso- 
phers, lovers  of  history,  antiquarians,  literary  characters,  as  well  as 
artisans,  can  here  meet  with  something  to  their  taste.  By  these 
arrangements,  a  person  looking  over  the  register  of  names,  will 
see  that  the  members  consist  of  all  classes,  and  that  it  can  scarce- 
ly, vvith  propriety,  be  called  a  mechanic's  institution.  3.  The 
Room  and  arrangements.  The  room  is  very  commodious,  is 
well  lighted  and  aired,  and  kept  in  good  order.  The  tables  are 
supplied  with  periodicals;  and  wjiat  is  a  great  advantage  to 
readers,  the  room  is  open  every  day  from  noon  till  half  past  nine 
at  night.  4.  The  Lectures.  These,  at  the  commencement,  were 
a  source  of  great  attraction,  and  so  long  as  the  expences  were 
borne  by  the  auditors,  without  touching  upon  the  funds,  they 
were  a  cause  of  great  prosperity.     But   latterly,   owing  to  the 


305 

unwillingness  of  members  to  pay  sometliing  extra  for  the  lectures?, 
rather  than  waste  the  funds  of  the  institution,  they  have  been 
partially  discontinued.  5.  The  seasojiab/e  and  zealous  exertions 
oj'its  Friends.  Long  delayed,  when  they  did  commence  opera- 
tions for  establishing  an  institution,  it  was  with  spirit.  In  the 
infancy  of  a  cause,  almost  every  thing  depends  on  personal  exer- 
tion. In  an  object  like  this,  commending  itself  to  public  sup- 
port, it  is  astonishing  the  extent  of  good  that  can  be  accomplished 
by  half  a  dozen  active  and  zealous  individuals.  They  w^orked 
hard,  and  they  now  see,  with  pleasure,  the  fruit  of  their  labour. 
The  exertions  of  the  successive  committees  have  not  been  less 
deserving  of  praise.  With  few  exceptions,  they  have  met  weekly, 
and  have  devoted  much  of  their  time  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
^he  society.  May  it  long  contiibute  to  the  peace  and  happiness 
of  the  town  I  ' 

Bad  Times. — "Well,  Harry,"  said  I  one  day,  as  I  waiS 
travelling  in  the  Fylde,  "  how  are  you  going  on  now?"  ,  *'Us 
weel  us  we  con  expect,  bud  th'  times  ur  varro  bad  o'th  farmers ; 
these  plagy  pasons,  un  one  thin  un  'nother,  we  un  ne'er  dun 
we  urn,"  was  his  homely  reply.  "  Yes,"  replied  I,  "  you  are 
heavily  burdened  with  taxes  of  one  sort  or  another."  '*  Why 
just  think,"  he  added,  "  this  gross  that  we're  moin  pays  eight 
shillin  un  acre  for  tithe,  un  id  used  to  pay  bud  ten-ponce.  Be- 
side the're  soa  strict,  the' I  nod  loose  a  yard  :  they  used  to  throvv' 
odd  bits  un  corners  in,  bud  na  they  measure  pits  un  dikes,  un 
every  thin,  uti  meks  us  pay  for'th  last  perch."  "  Wait  a  little," 
said  I  again,  "  their  day  is  over,  sentence  is  pronounced,  and  the 
delay  of  its  execution  is  but  for  a  time.  How  comes  your  neigh- 
bour John  on  with  his  farm  ?"  *'  Like'th  rest  on  us  ;  he  haggles 
on  as  weel  us  he  con.  When  he  took  his  place  he  paid  nought 
fur  tithes,  bud  na  he  pays  e'ery  year  £14.  lis.  lOd.  Sum  a  ur 
other  that  Rectur  at  Lancaster  manag'd  to  do  um."  So  much  for 
tithes,  and  parsons,  and  farmers,  and  christian  feelings  !  I  query 
whether  the  ingenuity  of  man  could  discover  any  thing  so  calcu- 
.lated  to  render  the  clergy  odious  ra  the  sight  of  the  people.  No 
doubt  1  am,  at  present,  heartily  hated  by.  many  otthem,  but  sha^ 
.not  be  surprised,  if  1  should  live  twenty  years,  at  receiving  from 
;tlie  clergy  of  that  day,  a  vote  of  thanks  for  my  exertions  in  hasten- 
ing the  downfall  of  such  a  diabolical  system.  Whilst  a  remnant 
of  it  remains  the  clergy  will  be  unpopular;  remove  it  altogether, 
and,  possibly,  they  may  regain  the  affections  of  the  people. 

Ttco  great  Questions. — Upon  the  return  of  a  new  parliament, 
corn  laivs'An^  the  church  establishment  will,  as  to  home  affairs,  be 
two  of  the  most  engrossing  topics.  The  people  from  whom  this 
.parliament  is  to  emanate  will  do  well  to  bear  this  in  mind,  and  to 
.take  timely  steps  for  their  own  interest.  The  sentiments  of  all 
candidates  should  be  scrutinized  ;  and,  however  well  qualified  in 
other  respects,  if  they  will  not  give  satisfactory  pledges,  on  these 

p  p 


306 

points,  let  the  public  decline  their  services.  If  the  JifFusion  of 
reli'^ion  and  morality  be  the  object  in  endowing  a  form  of  religion, 
let  ft  be  impartially  considered  whether  these  important  ends 
would  not  be  much  better  accomplished  without  this  aid.  Blend- 
in*'  religion  (if  we  may  call  it  religion)  with  state  affairs  has  been 
the  cause  of  more  expense,  turmoil,  cruelty,  and  profanity,  than  any 
other  bad  piece  of  policy  with  which  the  public  are  acquainted. 
And  the  church  itself,  in  consequence,  if  it  has  not  felt  the  pains  of 
the  worst  punishment,  is,  at  least,  in  purgatory  ;  it  is  annoyed  and 
picked  at  by  every  scoffer  ;  and  by  none  more  than  some  of  its 
own  professed  friends.  Let  us  hope,  by  this  course  of  purgation, 
and  by  the  "fiery  trial"  which  has  yet  to  take  place,  that  it  will 
come  forth,  at  last,  purged  from  all  dross,  and  an  useful  institu- 
tion to  the  people.  And  as  to  the  other  point: — do  the  corn 
laws  promote  the  happiness  of  the  people,  and  serve  to  assimilate 
the  price  of  bread  to  the  price  of  labour?  or  do  they  not  cripple 
trade,  keep  bread  dear,  punish  the  poor,  and  drive  the  people 
into  foreign  lands  ?  are  questions  which  will  shortly  undergo  a 
fuller  discussion  than  ever.  From  my  acquaintance  with  the 
poor  I  can  perceive  that  the  price  of  corn  is  the  best  standard 
by  which  to  ascertain  their  condition : — when  provisions  are  dear 
a  terrible  gloom  hangs  over  their  countenances ;  but  when  they 
begin  to  be  cheap,  a  visible  hope  again  revives  in  their  breasts. 
Can  the  Commons  of  England,  or  the  Commons'  house,  suffer 
another  session  to  pass  without  repealing  those  laws  which  with- 
hold from  the  people  the  staff  of  life  ?  Let  the  electors  of  England 
but  say  the  word,  and  it  is  done. 

Memorandum. — Chester,  Wednesday  Evening,  Sep.  7. 
—Having  been  engaged  the  whole  of  this  day  in  business,  I  have 
had  occasion  to  pass  through,  and  visit,  various  parts  of  the  city, 
and  the  suburbs  ;  and  my  serious  conviction  is,  that  for  drinking, 
swearing,  and  all  kinds  of  vice,  Chester  is  not  exceeded  by  any 
place  of  its  size.  The  people,  in  general,  seem  to  be  well  off; 
and  hence  they  very  much  ff equent  the  public-houses  in  the 
evenings.  1  have  passed  by  many  groups  in  the  streets  from 
whom,  and  especiallyj^rom  those  connected  with  horses,  such  as 
ostlers,  carters,  coach  drivers,  &c.,  you  hear  oaths  and  impre- 
cations as  part  of  their  common  discourse.  Indeed,  judging  from 
what  is  most  ostensible,  a  person  would  conclude  that  the  people  ge- 
Tierally  are  given  up  to  vice  and  profanity.  But  what  shocks  me 
most  is,  that  there  is  all  this  in  the  face  of  so  much  apparent  reli- 
gion. I  should  judge  from  the  papers  I  constantly  find  on  the  walls, 
that  they  are  not  behind  any  in  institutions  and  societies  of  a  re- 
ligious order  ;  and  among  the  rest,  I  saw,  as  if  there  was 
nothing  to  do  at  home,  that  sermons  and  collections  were  on 
foot  for  converting  the  Jews.  Which  ever  way  you  turn,  you 
have  a  church  before  you,  and  the  tolling  of  some  bell  or  other 
scarcely  ever  ceases.  I  was  told  that  there  could  not  be  less  than 
forty  religious  teachers  among  them,  besides  a  Lord  Bishop,  of 


307 

whom  I  have  heard,  but  whom,  though  I  go  nearly  every  month, 
i  have  never  yet  had  the  good  luck  to  see.  Now  what,  I  would 
ask,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  are  these  men  for  ?  To  call 
sinners  to  repentance,  surely.  And  how  are  they  to  do  this  ?  By 
drumming  over  a  lot  of  prayers,  and  occasionally  preachinga  dry,' 
lifeless  sermon  to  the  same  persons  who  have  attended  till  the 
whole  has  become  a  matter  of  form  ?  No  :— But  after  the  plaii 
of  the  Apostle,  by  tracing  the  lanes  and  streets  of  the  city,  warn- 
ing men  of  their  wickedness,  and  persuading  them  to  turn  to  God. 
If  but  ten  individuals,  sincere  teachers,  void  of  all  college  quali, 
fications,  and  of  every  clerical  equipment,  were  to  labour,  two 
and  two,  every  day,  and  in  every  part  of  the  city,  in  doors  and 
out  of  doors,  addressing  themselves  to  individuals,  to  a  few,  to  a 
great  number,  just  as  it  might  happen,  in  a  plain,  conversational 
manner,  what  a  mighty  change  might  be  expected  !  And 
until  this  primitive  plan  be  adopted,  and  all  trading  parsons 
abandoned,  vice  and  crime  will  continue  to  overspread  the  land. 
If  I  want  to  hear  the  name  of  the  Lord  profaned,  I  need  not  step 
from  the  door ;  but  in  all  my  perambulations  through  the  city,  I 
have  never  met  with  a  single  appropriate  check  to  this  evil. 
Though  I  cannot  expect  churchmen  exactly  to  adopt  my  views, 
yet,  if  they  will  judge  of  their  system  by  the  quantity  of  good  that 
it  effects,  considering  its  expense,  we  shall  not  differ  far  as  to  the 
necessity  of  adopting  a  better. 

Case  q/"Co»*««ic^.— Mistakes  are  often  made  at  the  postr 
office  in  the  charge  of  letters.  Single  letters  are  not  unfrequently 
charged  double ;  in  such  cases  the  owners  never  fail  to  apply  for 
the  return  of  the  overcharge,  and  if  the  part  containing  the  posf 
mark  be  given  up,  the  money  is  returned.  Now  it  sometime? 
happens  that  treble  letters  are  but  charged  double ;  in  such  case? 
a  person  asks,  *'  ought  the  owner  to  go  voluntarily,  and  tendpr 
the  extra  charge  to  which  the  letter  was  liable  ;  or,  as  the  post,- 
office  is  satisfied,  ought  he  also  to  feel  satisfied  with  paying  merely 
what  was  demanded  ?  I  shall  be  glad  of  an  answer  for  JftcXft 
month. 

Bolton  Sheets. — As  we  are  beginning  to  feel  the  approach  of 
winter^  we  shall  not  only  want  better  fires,  but  we  shall  naturaEy 
jbe  asking  for  more  blankets  on  our  beds.  A  question  will  now 
and  then  arise  in  some  persons'  minds — how  are  the  poor  to  be 
kept  warm  at  night  during  the  long  winter  which  is  before  us? 
Where  they  have  few  beds  and  but  little  covering,  their  rest  can- 
not be  very  refreshing.  To  such  as  wish  to  afford  them  assistance 
I  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  Bolton  sheets,  advertised  on 
the  cover.  We  use  them  in  our  family,  and  I  can  truly  state  that 
they  ar£  the  cheapest  article  of  bedding  we  ever  met  witij. 
Though  called  sheets,  they  are  soft,  weighty,  and  exceedingly 
warm,  and  are  frequently  used  in  the  place  of  blankets.  I  should 
like  to  move,  if  I  had  others  to  second  and  carry  the  motion,  that  eve- 
ry poor  man's  bed  shouldbe  furnished  with  a  pair  of  Bolten  sheets. 


308 

{2G43  of  these  sheets  were  distributed  in  Preston  in  the  winter  of 
1830.  As  I  have  no  interest  either  in  the  article  or  the  advertise- 
ment, I  shall  be  glad,  as  I  go  to  Bolton  every  week,  to  forward 
the  orders  of  overseers,  or  other  charitable  persons. 

Sliver  again. — Mother  church  has  long  lagged  behind,  but  of 
late  seems  more  awake  ;  she  is  now  emulating  the  Dissenters  in 
many  points,  and  at  Blackburn  she  has  adopted  the  good  "  me- 
thod" of  charging  "  silver"  for  her  stores.  Whether  *' To  be 
sold,  &c.,"  was  fairly  exhibited,  I  have  not  heard.  The  follow- 
ing will  illustrate  the  point  in  hand  : —  , 

"  Blackburn,  30th  August,  1831. 

"NO  SILVER  NO  GOSPEL." 

**  To  the  Editor  of  the  Bolton  Chronicle.^''      , 

**SiR, — At  the  opening  of  a  new  organ  at  St.  Peter*s  chtircti 
in  this  town,  on  Sundav  last,  a  sermon  was  preached  in  the  morn- 
ing by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Piccope,  of  Manchester,  and  in  the  evening 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Grath,  of  Salmesbury,  when  the  collection 
amounted  to  upwards  of  £40.  But,  Mr.  Editor,  I  am  sorry  to 
inform  you,  and  the  readers  of  your  excellent  paper,  that  in  the 
evening  the  sexton,  and  a  whole  host  of  other  petty  officers  and 
whippers-in,  stood  at  the  doors  of  the  gallery  and  demanded  Sil- 
ver, or  no  admittance  ;  and  if  a  poor  man  who  paid  for  a  seat  in 
the  gallery  attempted  to  get  in,  he  was  insulted  and  turned  back, 
unless  he  would  satisfy  their  demands.  Some  of  the  hearers  who 
regularly  attend  the  church,  and  have  pews  in  the  gallery,  with 
a  number  of  their  friends,  were  anxious  to  get  to  their  seats,  and 
made  a  strong  attempt  to  pass  those  vigilant  guardians  of  the 
charity  boxes ;  but  the  deputy-constable  was  called  in  to  the  aid 
of  these  soldiers  of  the  church  militant ;  and  if  any  one  endear 
voured  to  force  his  way  without  paying  Silver,  he  was  threat- 
ened to  be  taken  to  the  lock-up.  1  am  far  from  thinking  that  the 
minister  who  preached  in  the  evening  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
the  arrangements  of  the  church  door  officers,  for  be  certainly 
■preached  a  most  excellent  sermon  ;  and,  1  must  confess,  he  is  an 
ornament  to  the  Church  of  England."  "  Spectator." 

I  have  long  viewed  these  matters  in  the  light  of  theatrical 
exhibitions.  The  best  "  performers"  are  sent  for  in  order  to  at- 
tract the  people  together  to  get  their  money.  This  is  the  plain 
"truth.  I  recollect  on  one  occasion  at  the  celebration  of  solemn 
mass,  that  the  front  seats  were  3s. — other  seats  2s.  and  others  Is.! 
How  conveniently  (but  for  the  name  of  the  thing)  the  church 
might  be  turned  into  the  theatre,  and  the  theatre  into  the  church, 
the  harmony  of  the  following  advertisement  willshow  :— 

"  Opening  of  the  Organ  at  Blackburn. — A  grand  selection  of 
sacred  music  will  be  pertbrmed  in  the  parish  Church  on  Thursday 
morning,  the  '28th  of  February,  1828.  And  on  the  evening  of 
the  same  day  will  be  performed  in  the  Theatre,  a  grand  miscella- 


309 

neous  concert  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music.  The  doors  of 
the  Church  will  open  at  ten  oclock,  and  the  performance  to  begin 
precisely  at  eleven.  The  doors  of  the  Theatre  will  open  at  six, 
and  begin  precisely  at  seven.  Tickets  for  the  Church — reserved 
seats,  7s. — body  of  the  church,  5s. — gallery,  3s.  Tickets  forlhe 
Theatre, — Boxes,  4s. — Pit,  '2s. — Gallery,  Is.  N.  B.  No  ma* 
ney  will  be  received  at  the  CAi^rc/i  door."     (Puh  !) 

In  connection  with  this  "magnificent  organ,"  I  take  the  fol- 
lowing from  the"  Blackburn  Mail.  To  the  Editor  it  might  be  a 
good  joke,  but  to  me  it  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  necessity  of  a 
more  rational  mode  of  worship  : — "  A  woman,  residing -'in  a  vil- 
lage not  many  miles  from  this  town,  came,  a  few  Sundays  ago, 
to  our  parish  church,  doubtless  attracted  by  the  fame  of  the  mag- 
nificent organ  which  has  recently  been  fixed  there.  It  was,  we 
S resume,  her  first  appearance  at  church,  for  when  she  returned 
ome,  in  giving  an  account  of  her  excursion,  she  said,  with  won- 
der and  astonishment  depicted  in  her  features,  '  Well  I  ne'er  wor 
at  such  a  pi  ce  in  o  moy  loif.  They  sung  eather  six  or  seven 
taimes,  and  then  there  was  a  mon  as  they  co'd  th'  parson,  in  a 
white  smock  we  a  black  thing  raind  his  shooders,  begun  talking 
to  us  ;  before  he  had  dun,  sometaimes  another  as  stood  below  him 
in  a  black  gane,  talked  too,  and  we  him  talking,  a  lot  o'  childer 
begun,  and  there  was  such  a  clatter.'  "  *' 

Surcharging  the  Dead. — I  referred  last  month  to  a  thirteen^ 
pence  which  the  vicar  unjustly  demands  for  every  funeral  at  the 
new  churches.  1  have  since  learned  that  the  Overseers  here 
have  disputed  the  matter  with  him,  and  that  now,  in  giving  or^ 
dersfor  payment  of  the  dues  for  paupers,  they  never  allow  it. 
Yet,  after  all,  when  the  friends  of  the  deceased  are  simple  enough 
to  pay  it,  it  is  extorted  from  them.  Let  it  be  circulated  in  every 
neighbourhood,  that  this  demand  is  an  imposition,  and  let  those 
who  pay  the  dues  tender  the  regular  fees  and  no  more,  and  let 
the  vicar  answer  for  the  consequences.  I  am  determined  not  to 
lose -sight  of  this  matter.  '» 

Suppressing  Mendicity,  and  bettering  the  condition  of  the 
Poor. — In  my  June  number  was  a  letter  iipon  this  sub- 
ject, to  which  1  beg  the  attention  of  my  readers.  This  is  the 
most  favourable  season  for  commencing  an  institution  of  this 
sort,  and,  managed  with  spirit  and  prudence,  would  entirely 
supercede  street  begging,  would  be  a  most  valuable  auxiliary 
to  the  poor's  office,  and  would  prevent  those  extremes  of  suffering 
to  which  many  of  the  worthy  poof  are  exposed.  It  is  remark- 
able how  benevolent  and  kind  the  first  christians  were  to  each 
other :  all  the  widows  were  attended  to  daily,  and  such  were 
their  diligence  and  liberality  that  it  is  said  there  was  none  of 
THEM  THAT  LACKED.  See  Acts  II.  44,  45 — IV.  34)  37 — VI.  I, 
4— XI.  28,  30.  Roiii*  Xy.  25>  27.  2  Cor.  I.  5.  I  Tim.  V.  9. 
1  John  III.  17.  J.  L. 


310 
SELECTIONS. 


IwjusTiCE  OF  Aristocratic  Taxation  --^ From  the  Black  Book. J 
•—"Nothing  can  demonstrate  more  incontestably  the  necessity  ofthediiferent 
ioterests  in  society  being  represented  in  Ibe  general  goTcrament  than  thfc 
course  of  fiscal  legislation.  The  political  power  of  the  state,  we  need  not 
repeat  nor  explain,  is,  in  this  country,  consolidated  in  the  aristocracy.  If 
we  only  glance  at  public  burthens  we  shall  see  with  what  admirable  adroit- 
ness they 'hare  been  distributed,  so  as  to  press  as  lightly  as  possible  on  thos« 
who  imposed  them,  and  with  disproportionate  weight  on  those  who  had  no 
Bhsre  in  their  imposition.  Does  not  this  show,  better  than  all  the  general 
icasofting  in  the  world,  the  utility  of  universal  representation  ?  Otherwise, 
whatever  interest  is  unprotected,  will  assuredly  be  sacrificed,  and  this  in- 
justice will  be  perpetuated  by  the  dominant  party,  however  exalted  thi» 
party  may  be  by  birth,  by  station,  by  education,  by  wealth,  or  other  adven- 
titious circumstances. 

**  Let  us  appeal  to  facts  in  illustration  of  this  principle.  The  landed 
interest  is  the  primary  interest  of  the  Aristocracy  3  wliatever  tends  tO'  en- 
Laoce  the  value  of  land,  or  its  produce,  tends  directly  to  augment  their  in- 
comes. Hence,  their  leading  policy  has  been  to  protect  agriculture,  to 
encourage  husbandry,  by  abstaining  from  burthening  it  with  imposts,  to 
impose  no  additional  tax  on  land,  and  above  all  things  to  secure  the  home 
vtarket  against  competition  from  abroad.  For  this  latter  purpoee  they  have 
passed  laws  the  most  unjust  and  outrageous;  the  importation  of  some  ar- 
ticles they  have  absolutely  prohibited;  others  they  have  loaded  with  heavy 
duties  ^  BO  that  they  have  been  able  to  sell  their  own  produce  at  a  monopi]Jy 
price. 

"The  following  list  of  articles  of  foreign  production,  and  the  import  duties 
to  which  they  are  subject,  will  shew  to  what  extent   the  land  owners  have 
availed  themselves  of  political  power  to  promote  their  own  interests,  by  ex 
eluding  foreign  competition. 

IMPORT  DUTIES  iJPON 

Jf.     S,    D. 

Bacon,  per  ewt , 1     8  0 

Beer,  per  thirty-two  gallons    ,,..  2  13  0 

Butter,  per  cwt ,....»..  1     0  0 

Bristles,  not  sorted,  per Ih.  .... ,.,»..,.,,  0     0  3 

Bristles,  sorted  ,,,.,,,,,,,,„,,.,,,, ,,,  .0     0  4 

Cider,   per  ton  ,.,.,,  ,,^,  .,.,.,,„,^,'',,,'g|'jO  o 

Cheese,  per  cwt ^,««,,.,,.^i,,»  Q  JO  6 

CucQTahers,  ad  valorem     ..«.«.^»*.  »..,.^...  20     0  0 

Eggs,  for  every  120  ..*....«..« o     0  10 

Hay,perload ,.« 14  0 

Hair,  cows  and  oxen,  per  cwt.,,,,,.  .„.,,,.  026 

Hair-powder,  per  cwt.  , ,.,  9|5  0 


3tt 

Hops,percwt.   ..  .V;;'.'/.^.. ...... ......     S  11     « 

Hemp  seed,  per  quarter   ^1'.'*  .i';. ■•■%....     3     0    O 
Hemp,  undressed, per cwtS   •,\ ."i'. .-. .......     0     4     6 

Lard,  per  cnrt.    ...... ..;';!, '.'4.;.'. 0     8     6 

Madder,  per  cwt.....'..Vi  i.i'i;.''.«'J. 4...     0     6    O  ' 

M  ules  and  A  sses,  each  .  L  ;'J  'ii'l I  .V.",  W ....     o  1 0    6  ''•* 

Horses,  each 1     O    O  ^  ^ 

Oil,  rape  aad  linseed,  per  ton 39  18     O 

Peas,  per  bushel    ....;... 0     7     6  "* 

Perry, perton    , J.i'.y.W.,. 22  13     8  ^> 

Potatoes,  per  cwt 0     2     0        ■         ' 

Seeds,  clover,  hay,  &c 1     0     O  '■'> 

Spirits,  fm-eign,  per  gallon  (I.  M-} 1     2     6  '-iJ 

Rum,  per  gallon 0     8     6:  '>n. 

Tallow,  per  cwt 0     3     2  ->«* 

Tares,  per  quarter....  «.i. ....  i..ii.-...;     o  10     0  -4 

Timber,  per  load  .itvv.'.b'.'.irft.l';^..<.^.U-    2  15     O  »•*♦ 

"Wheat    16s.  5d.  a  quarter  to  is.  according  as  the  price  rises  fr«m  61si 
to  70s.  a  quarter.  :    .     i  1      . 

•♦  Barley,  13S.  l6d.  a  quarter  to  is.  according  as  the  price  rises  from  328. 

to  40s.  a  quarter.  '  • 

"Oats,  IDS.  gd.  a  quarter  to  is.  according  as  the  price  rises  frdm'24s.to 

31  s.  a  quarter.  ' 

•*  Beef,  lamb,  mutton,  pork,   sheep,   and  swine  are  prohibited  to  be  ita- 

ported,  by  6  Geo.  IV.  c.  1 17. 

"  While  the  landowners  have  been  strenuously  exerting  themselves  to 
close,  hermetically,  if  possible,  the  home  market  against  foreign  agricul- 
tural produce,  theybave,  with  admirable  consistency  of  policy,  been,  attbe 
the  same  time,  endeavouring  to  throw  it  wide  open  for  the  admission  Kii 
^reign  manufactures.  This  places  their  conduct  in  a  most  conspicuous 
light.  Surely,  if  a  free  trade  in  manufactures  was  for  the  benefit  of  the 
community,  so  was  a  free  trade  in  the  produce  of  the  soil.  But,  then,  our 
feudal  Solons  do  not  deal  in  cotton,  nor  silk,  nor  hardwares;  tliey  are  only 
dealers  in  corn,  and  that  makes  all  the  difference. 

"  It  is  not  a  difficult  problem  to  ascertain  the  annual  burthen  imposed 
on  the  community  by  the  corn-tax.  It  appears,  from  the  resolutions  sub- 
mittedto  the  House  of  Commons  last  session,  by  Lord  Milton,  that  the 
average  price  of  wheat  in  this  country,  in  the  year  ending  February,  1830, 
had  been  64s.  2d.  per  quarter.  The  average  price  on  the  continent,  and  in 
America,  during  the  same  period,  had  been  46s.  3d.  per  quarter.  Now,  if 
there  were  no  restrictions  on  the  importation  of  com,  the  price  in  England 
would  be  nearly  the  same  as  in  Poland  or  in  the  United  States;  but  in  con- 
sequence of  the  boroughmongei-s'  tax,  the  price  is  about  20s.  per  quarter 
higher:  so  that,  if  the  annual  consumption  of  corn  by  the  community  be 
4S  millions  of  quarters,  they  pay  exactly  so  many  pounds  additional,  in 
order  to  swell  the  rents  of  the  landowners 

"  A  tax  upon  bread  is  the  most  oppressive  and  unjust  that  could  be  im- 


312 

pose<]  on  the  industrious  classes.  A  man  with  £50.  a  year  con*umes,  indi- 
Tidually,  as  much  bread  as  a  nian  with  50,000/.,  and,  consequently,  sus- 
tains as  great  an  annual  loss  by  the  artificial  eubancemeDt  of  its  price.  All 
taxes  on  articles  of  ordinary  consumption  fall  in  the  same  disproportionate 
manner.  They  are  like  a  fixed  per  centage  on  income,  levied  indiscrimi- 
nately on  every  person,  without  regard  to  large  or  small  revenues.  Sugar, 
tea,  and  malt,  are  articles  of  general  use;  and  the  labourer  and  artizan  con- 
tribute exactly  in  the  same  proportion  as  a  lord  on  their  individual  con- 
sumption of  those  commodities  In  fact,  it  is  to  duties  of  this  description 
the  Aristocracy  have  always  shewn  a  markeil  partiality  :  the  excise,  it  is 
known,  being  the  most  productive  branch  of  the  revenue.  Mr.  Pitt  used 
to  say  that  the  high  price  of  labour  in  England  was  chiefly  from  the  excise  ; 
three-fifths  of  the  wages  of  the  poor  man  passing  into  the  exchequer.  But 
no  such  proportion  of  the  incomes  of  the  Aristocracy  flow  into  the  public 
treasury. 

"  If  the  Boroughmongers  ever  charge  themselves  with  any  burthens, 
they  are  always  prompt  to  get  rid  of  them  the  first  opportunity,  though 
they  touch  them  ever  so  lightly,  and  have  been  rendered  necessary  by 
their  own  infatuated  measures.  Thus,  immediately  after  the  peac^ 
before  any  reduction  in  the  public  establishments,  or  in  the  amount  of 
the  monstrous  debt  they  had  contracted,  the  income-tax  was  abolished. 
Again,  the  duty  on  horses  employed  iu  husbandry  has  been  long  since 
repealed,  but  the  malt-tax  is  still  continueJ,  and  the  beer  duty — the 
most  unfair  and  oppressive  of  all  duties — was  only  repealed  last  session  of 
parliament.  .,, 

"  From  some  duties  the  peerage  is  e*  empted  altogether.  A  lord  of  par- 
Jiameut  sends  and  receives  all  lettersyre«  of  postage ;  he  usually  franks  the 
letters  of  all  his  relatives  and  friends;  he  enjoys  also  the  privilege  of  send- 
ing a  letter  from  London  by  the  post  on  Sunday — a  sort  of  sabbath-breakr 
ing  which  would  be  considered  impiety  or  perhaps  blasphemy  in  anothtir 
person. 

"It  would  be  tedious  to  go  through  the  whole  roll  of  taxes,  to  show  bo^ 
indulgent  our  legislators  have  been  to  themselves,  and  how  unjust  towards 
the  rest  of  the  community.  If  a  lord  by  inheritance  succeed  to  an 
estate  worth  ioo,ooo/.,  he  has  not  a  Ebilling  to  pay  the  government. 
If  a  rich  merchant  die  and  bequeath  as  much  to  his  children,  they 
are  taxed  to  the  amount  of  1500/.,  or,  if  there  is  wo  u>i//,  to  the  amoant  of 
2250/.  If  a  poor  man  buy  a  cottage  for  lo/,,  he  has  los.,  or  one-twentieth 
part  of  the  purchase-money,  to  pay  for  a  conveyance.  If  a  nobleman  buy 
an  estate  worth  5o,000/.,  the  stamp-duty  is  only  one-hundred  and-eleventh 
part  of  the  purchase  money,  or  4?o/.  A  similar  unequal  tax  is  incurred  in 
borrowing  small  sums  on  bond  or  mortgage,  while  special  favour  is  shown  to 
those  who  borrow /arge  sums.  If  a  man  have  eight  windows  in  his  house 
he  is  assessed  l6s.  6d. ;  if  he  have  one  more  ,he  is  charged  4s.  6d  for  it. 
If  a  lord  have  130  windows  he  is  chaiged  46/.  lis.  3d.  j  and  if  behave 
one  more,  he  is  charged  only  is.  6d. ;  and  be  may  have  as  many  more 
additioiml    windows   as  he  pleases  at  the  same  low   rate    of  assessipeut. 


313 

The  house  tax  falls  heavily  on  the  industrious  tradesman,  but  lightly  on  th« 
lord  and  esquire  ;  the  tradesman  must  reside  in  town,  and  occupy  spacious 
premises,  so  that  his  rent  is  large,  and  the  tax,  being  proportionate,  deducts 
materially  from  his  income,  while  the  lord  and  esquire  may  reside  in  the  coun- 
try, occupy  a  fine  mansion,  and  not  be  rented  more  than  so/,  per  annum. 
Lastly,  lords  and  gentlemen  may  retire  to  Paris,  Florence,  or  Brussels,  for 
any  thing  they  have  to  do,  or  any  good  they  are  capable  of  doing,  by  which 
they  avoid  house-tax,  window-tax,  and  almost  every  other  tax ;  but  the 
tradesman  and  shop-keeper  are  necessarily  confined  to  this  country,— they 
must  stick  to  their  counting-houses  and  warehouses,  and  expiate,  by  toil 
and  frugality,  the  follies  and  extravagances  of  their  rulers. 

"These  are  a  few  specimens  of  our  fiscal  regulations  :  we  should  never 
have  done  were  we  to  notice  all  inequalities  and  oppressions  resulting  from 
aristocratic  taxation.  What  we  have  said  must,  we  imagine,  demonstrate, 
practically,  to  merchants,  copyholders,  shopkeepers,  tradesmen,  and  the 
middling  and  working  orders  generally,  the  advantages  of  having  a  friend  at 
courf— that  is,  of  having  political  rights— that  is,  of  having  real  representa- 
tives—that is,  of  not  being  taxed  without  their  consent — that  is,  of  having 
a  reform  in  the  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  instead  of  leaving  public 
affairs  to  the  exclusive  management  of  noble  lords  and  their  nominees,'?. „.,f.. 


The  following  Extracts  from-  The   Guiana  Chronicle  and 
Demerara  Gazette,  give  us  some  idea  of  what  slavery  is  :— 

TO  BE  SOLD,  BY  AUCTION, 

"On  Wednesday,  the  I2th  of  Januaiy,  1831,  by  order  of  Ann  Gillespie,  at 
the  Vendue  Office,— the  following  family  of  Slaves,  at  three,  six,  and  nine 
months  credit :— Rose,  afisld  negro;  her  daughter  Eve,  17  years,  a  house 
servant;  son  Adam,  17  years,  a  butler;  Mercury,  14  years,  a  house  boy; 
Kitty  Ann,  Phillis,  and  Sankey,  three  children." 


**0n  Wednesday,  the  19th  of  January,  1831,  at  the  Vendue  Office,   by 
order  of  Thomas  Forrester  and   U.  J.  F.  Bach,  as   administrators  to   the 

Estate  of   Joseph  C ,  deceased— 28   Slaves,  mostly  field  negroes — 

amongst  whom  are  some  fine  families,  and  some  able  single  men      Registrar, 
tion  list  to  be  seen  at  this  office.  "  "  S,  A.  Goodman." 


"  On  IVTonday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  and  Thursday,  the  9th,  lOtb,  llth 
and  l2th  of  November  next,  by  order  of  A.  Vyfhuis,  Junr. — Furniture,  Sil- 
ver and  Plated  Ware,  Glass  and  Earthenware,  Slaves,  Sundries,  Store  Goods, 
Provisions,  &c.  &c. 

"  Also,  by  order  of  the  Vendue  master — the  negress  Betsey,  bought  at 
the  Vendue  of  Joh^i   and  H.  Rogers,  qq.j  a  very  prime  domestic  and  fiel d 

Q  Q 


■1: 

314 

oef  ress.    Solrf  for  no  faull. Also,  the  negro  Nelson,  a  prime  field  negro.*^ 

S.  A.  Goodman." 

'-!         "  0»  Tuesday t  the  3rd  November,  by  order  of  Mary  O.  Brett,''''  , 

"The  following  effects,  viz  : — Household  Furniture,  consisting  of  ma- 
hogany dining  tables,  side-boards,  chairs,  bedsteads,  wardrobes,  wall  shades, 
chandeliers,  and  what  further  may  appear,  unsold  from  last  vendue.  . 

"Slaves. — The  woman  Betsey  Ann,  a  good  washer  and  house  servant^ 
and  Sally  Maycock,  a  good  huskstress  and  house  servant,  j 

"  Premise*.— That  large  and  commodious  dwelling  house,  situate  in  tb<^ 
corner  of  Murray-street,  with  coach-house,  stable,  water-house,  audothei^ 
outbuildings— the  late  residence  of  the  deceased. 

"  N.  B.— The  furniture  at  three  months,  the  slaves  at  six  and  twelve^ 
and  the  premises  at  six,  twelve,  eighteen,  and  twenty-months'  credit,  with, 
interest  on  thetwo  last  instalments."  S.  A.  Goodman." 


"TO   PLANTERS    AND   OTHERS." 

"For  Hire,  on  the  19th  July  next,  for  one  or  two  years  certain, — 24 
Field  Negroes,  consisting  of  8  men,  10  women,  and  6  young  persons — all 
strong  and  healthy.  Terms,  &c.,  may  be  known  on  application  to  Mrs.  E. 
Bell,  lot  No.  10,  Middle-road,  or  at  the  stol'e  of  Messrs.  M'Donald,  Wilson, 
and  Co." 
"New-Amsterdam,  30th  April,  1331." 


Slave  Market.—"  The  busiest  scene  at  Kano  is  the  Slave  Market, 
composed  of  two  long  ranges  of  sheds,  one  for  males  and  another  for  fe- 
males. These  poor  creatures  are  seated  in  rows,  decked  out  for  exhibition  j 
the  buyer  scrutinizes  them  as  nicely  as  a  purchaser  with  us  does  a  horse,> 
inspecting  the  tongue,  teeth,  eyes,  and  limbs,  making  them  cough,  and  per- 
form various  movements,  to  ascertain  if  there  be  any  thing  unsound  ;  and  in 
case  of  a  blemish  appearing,  or  even  without  assigning  a  reason,  he  may. 
return  them  within  three  days.  As  soon  as  the  slaves  are  sold,  the  exposer 
gets  back  their  finery,  to  be  employed  in  ornamenting  others.  Most  of  the 
captives  purchased  at  Kano  are  conveyed  across  the  desert,  during  which  their 
masters  endeavour  to  keep  up  their  spirits  by  an  assurance  that,  on  passing 
its  boundaries,  they  will  be  set  free,  and  dressed  in  red,  which  they  account  • 
the  gayest  of  colours.  Supplies,  however,  often  fail  in  this  dreary  journey; 
a  want  felt  first  by  the  slaves,  many  of  whom  perish  with  hunger  and  fa- 
tigue. Mr.  Clapperton  heard  the  doleful  tale  of  a  mother,  who  had  seen 
her  child  dashed  to  the  ground,  while  she  herself  was  compelled  by  the  lash 
to  drag  on  an  exhausted  frame.  Yet,  when  at  all  tolerably  treated,  they 
are  very  gay,  an  observation  generally  made  in  regard  to  slaves;  but  this 
gaiety,  arising  only  from  the  absence  of  thought,  probably  conceals  much 
secret  wretchedness." — Edinburgh  Cabinet  Library,  No.  II. 

[It  is  gratifying  to  learn  from  a  statement  of  Lord  Althrop's,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  directions  have  been  given  by  the  government  for 
the  emancipation  of  all  slaves  in  the  crown  colonies  belonging  to  the  crown. 


315 

Attd  Lord  Howick  stated,  that  in  a  dispatch  received  from  the  governor  of 
Antigua,  he  was  assured  that  during  the  five  months  which  had  elapsed 
since  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  there,  they  had  been  occupied  indus- 
triously in  providing  for  their  own  support,  and  that,  although  their  number 
was  37 1 ,  no  case  of  crime  had  occurred  amongst  them,  nor  were  there  .apy 
complaints  of  poverty. — Edit.'\  '  ,r' 

•  "Legh  Richmond's  Advice  to  his  Daughters.— 3/y  Dear 
jf         :— .1  leave  you,  in  much  love,  a  few  fatherly  hints. 

«  1 ,  Be  constant  in  private  prayer. 

"2.  Be  wise  in  the  choice  of  books  ;  shun  every  thing  of  the  romance 
and  novel  kind  ;  and  even  in  poetry,  keep  to  what  is  useful  and  instructive, 
us  well  as  pleasant. 

"3.  In  company,  show  that  the  principles  of  your  father's  house  and 
ministry  are  your  rule  of  conduct  and  your  real  delight.  Be  consistent- 
cheerful,  but  not  light;  conversible,  but  not  trifling. 

«<4.  Keep  ever  in  view  that  you  are  supporting  my  character  and  credit 
as  well  as  your  own. 

"5.  Show  a  marked  preference  to  such  conversation,  remarks,  persons, 
discussion,  and  occupations,  as  may  tend  to  essential  good. 

"  6.  Always  think  before  you  speak  j  say  and  do  neither  hastily  nor 
unadvisedly. 

•*7.  If  any  proposal  is  ever  made  to  you,  in  which  you  hesitate  how  to 
act,  first  say  to  yourself— how  would  God  have  me  to  act  ?  Secondly,  what 
would  my  parents  have  me  to  do,  if  they  were  here   to  advise  me? 

"  S.  Never  lose  sight  of  this  :  that  the  more  public  my  name,  charaC' 
ter  and  ministry  are  become,  the  more  eyes  and  ears  are  turned  to  my  child- 
ren's conduct }  they  are  expected,  in  knowledge  and  circumspection,  in 
religion  ^nd  morals,  in  opinions  and  habits,  to  show  where  they  have  been 
educated;  and  to  adorn  not  only  the  Christian  profession,  but  their  parents' 
principles. 

9.  In  music,  prefer  serious  to  light  compositions ;  and  in  vocal  keep 
close  to  sacred  words. 

"  10.  Pray  much  for  your  affectionate  father." 

The  necessity  of  Method  or  Rule. — "Method  is  of  great  import- 
ance in  all  the  affairs  of  life.  It  is  a  true  saying,  He  that  doeth  little  with  Ms 
head  must  do  much  with  his  hands;  and  even  then,  the  business  is  not  half 
done,  for  want  of  met^o(2.  Now  he  who  hath  the  proper  method  of  doing 
business,  will  shew  it  in  every  affair  of  life,  even  the  least.  He  who  has  a 
disorderly  family,  has  no  government  in  that  family ;  he  probably  has  none 
because  he  has  no  method  or  js^an  of  presiding.  It  was  natural  fur  the 
Apostle  to  say, "  If  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own  house,  how  shall  he 
take  care  of  the  Church  of  God  ?"  Look  at  a  man's  domestic  arrangements  5 
if  they  be  not  good,  he  should  not  be  trusted  with  any  branch  of  govern 
ment,  whether  ecclesiastical  or  civil.— i)r.  A.  Clarke. 

Gin  Drinking. — **  Asa  proof)  if  any  proof  be  wanting,  of  the  perni- 


1 


316 

cious  effects  of  diam-diinking,  a  letter  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  to  the  secretary 
of  the  London  Teropeiance  Society,  is  in  point.  Sir  Astley  observes—*  No 
person  has  greater  hostility  to  dram-diinking  than  myself,  insomuch  that  I 
nerer  suffer  any  ardent  spirits  in  my  house,  thinking  them  evil  spirits  !  and 
if  the  poor  could  witness  the  white  livers,  the  shattered  nervous  systems 
which  I  have  seen,  as  the  consequences  of  drinking,  they  would  be  aware 
that  spirits  and  poisons  are  synonymous  terms.  But  still  I  think  the 
scheme  so  Utopian,  that  1  cannot  annex  my  name  to  it,  for  I  could  as 
soon  believe  that  I  could,  by  my  own  efforts,  stop  the  cataract  of  Niagara, 
as  prevent  the  poor  of  London  from  destroying  themselves  by  intemperance.'  " 

Worth  Remembering. — "George  the  Third  reigned  59  years,  33  of 
which  were  passed  in  war,  and  26  in  peace.  ♦  The  Debt,'  at  his  accession, 
was  120,000,000/  ;  at  his  demise  820,000,000/. !  George  the  Third  found 
the  annual  charge  of  taxation  6,000,000/.,  and  left  it  60,000,000/.  including 
the  expense  of  collecting.  It  is  computed  that  during  this  '  reign  of  war' 
there  were  sacrificed  no  less  than  2,000,000  of  our  fellow-creatures." 

Readt-made  Sermons. — "  Many  booksellers  make  it  apart  of  their 
trade  to  employ  authors  to  write  sermons,  which,  being  printed  in  a  sort  of 
letter  that  at  a  distance  looks  like  manuscript,  they  are  enabled  to  supply 
the  clergy  with  sermons  ready-made.  Dr  Watkins,  the  compiler  ef  the 
Biographical  Dictionary,  is  one  of  these  authors  ;  the  booksellers  usually 
charge  los.  6d.  a  bundle  for  sermons  of  that  description.  An  amusing  cir- 
cumstance occurred  to  Mr.  Biddley,  of  Plymouth,  which  was  occasioned  by 
the  use  of  sermons  of  this  sort.  A  brother  clergyman  paid  him  a  visit,  and 
was  invited  to  preach ;  he  did  so  ;  and  on  his  coming  down  from  the  pulpit, 
Mr.  Biddley  observed  to  him  that  he  had  preached  a  most  excellent  sermon, 
but  unfortunately  that  he  had  himself  preached  the  very  same  sermon  only 
a  week  before."— Mr.   Curtis'  Speech  at  Cripplegate. 

Drunkards  IN  New  York.— "The  revised  statutes  of  New  York 
provide, '  that  upon  complaint   being   made  to   any  justice  of  the  peace 
against  any  drunkard  or  tippler,  he  shall   issue    his  warrant  for  the  appre- 
hension of  the  offender,  and  upon  record  of  the  conviction  of  such  drunkard 
before  a  Jury,  sufficient  sureties  may  be  required  for  good  behaviour  for  the 
space  of  one  year  ;  aud  in  default  of  such  sureties,  he  may  be  committed  to 
the  common  gaol.     The  gaol-keeper  is  directed  to  exhibit  a  list  of  such  in- 
mates to  every  Court  of  General  Sessions   of  the    Peace,   who  are  enjoined! 
to  enquire  into  the  circumstances  of  each  case,  and,  if  minors,  aie  empower-] 
ed  to  bind  them  out,  or,  in  their    discretion  in  every  case,  may  order  themj 
to  be  kept  in  the  common  gaol  for  the  term  of  six  months   at  hard  labour^  j 
on  bread  and  water  only.' " 

Remedies  for  Drunkenness,  recommended  by  Dr.  Rush  — 
"  The  remedies  which  are  proper  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  fits  of 
drunkenness,  and  to  destroy  the  desire  for  ardent  spirits,  are  religious, 
metaphysical,  and  medical.     1  shall  briefly  mention  them. 

**.  1.  Many  hundred  drunkards  have  been  cuied  of  their  desire  for  ardent 


317 

spirits,  by  a  practical  belief  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.  Ex- 
amples of  the  diviue  efficacy  of  Christianity  for  this  purpose,  have  lately 
occurred  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 

"2.  A  sudden  sense  of  the  guilt  contracted  by  drunkenness,  and  of  its 
punishment  in  a  future  world.  It  once  cured  a  gentleman  in  Philadelphia, 
who,  in  a  fit  of  drunkenness,  attempted  to  murder  a  wife  whom  he  loved. 
Upon  being  told  of  it  when  he  was  sober,  he  was  so  struck  with  the  enor- 
mity of  the  crime  he  had  nearly  committed,  that  he  never  tasted  spirituous 
liquors  afterwards. 

"3.  A  sudden  senseof  shame.  Of  the  efficacy  of  this  deep-seated  princi- 
ple in  the  human  bosom,  in  curing  drunkenness,  I  shall  relate  a  remarkable 
instance. 

"  A  gentleman  in  one  of  the  southern  stateis,  who  had  nearly  destroy- 
ed himself  by  strong  drink,  was  remarkable  for  exhibiting  the  grossest 
marks  of  folly  in  his  fits  of  intoxication.  One  evening,  sitting  in  his  par- 
lour, he  heard  an  uncommon  noise  in  his  kitchen.  He  went  to  the  door, 
and  peeped  through  the  key-hole,  from  whence  he  saw  one  of  his  negroes 
diverting  his  fellow-servants,  by  mimicking  his  master's  gestures  and  con- 
versation when  he  was  drunk. — The  sight  overwhelmed  him  with  shame 
and  distress,  and  instantly  became  the  means  of  his  reformation. 

**4.  The  association  of  the  idea  of  ardent  spirits,  with  a  painful  and  disa- 
greeable impression  upon  some  part  of  the  body,  has  sometimes  cured  the 
love  of  strong  drink.  I  once  tempted  a  negro  man,  who  was  habitually 
fond  of  ardent  spirits,  to  drink  some  rum,  (which  I  placed  ia  his  way,)  and 
in  which  I  had  put  a  few  grains  of  tartar  emetic. — The  tartar  sickened  and 
vomited  him  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  supposed  himself  to  be  poisoned.  I 
was  much  gratified  by  observing  he  could  not  bear  the  sight  or  smell  of 
spirits,  for  two  years  afterwards . 

"Our  knowledge  of  this  principle  of  association  upon  the  minds  and 
conduct  of  men,  should  lead  us  to  destroy,  by  means  of  other  impressions, 
the  influence  of  all  those  circumstances,  with  which  the  recollection  and  de- 
sire of  spirits  is  combined.  Some  men  drink  only  in  the  morning,  some  at 
noon,  and  some  at  night.  Some  men  drink  only  on  a  market-day,  some  at 
one  tavern  only,  some  only  in  one  kind  of  company.  Now  by  finding  a  new 
and  interesting  employment,  or  subject  of  conversation  for  drunkards,  at 
the  usual  times  they  have  been  accustomed  to  drink,  and  by  restraining 
them,  by  the  same  means,  from  those  places  and  companions  which  suggest- 
ed to  them  the  idea  of  ardent  spirits,  their  habits  of  intempeiance  may  be 
completely  destroyed. 

** « It  is  a  good  rule  for  drunkards  to  break  all  snch  habits.  Let  the 
■frequenter  of  drinking  clubs,  masonic  lodges,  and  other  bacchanalian  assem- 
blies, leave  off  attending  these  places,  and  if  they  must  drink,  let  them  do 
8oat  home,  where,  there  is  every  likelihood,  his  potations  will  be  less  liberal. 
Let  him  also  forswear  the  society  of  boon  companions,  either  in  his  own 
Jiabitation  or  in  theirs.  Let  him,  if  he  can  manage  it,  remove  from  the 
place  of  his  usual  residence,  and  go  somewhere  else.  Let  him  also  take 
abundance  of  exercise,   court   the  society  of  sober  and  intellectual  people> 


318 

and  turn  his  attention  to  reading,  or  gardening,   or  sailing,  or  whatever  in- 
BOcent  amusement  he  has  a  fancy  for.' 

"5,  The  love  of  ardent  spirits  has  sometimes  been  subdued  by  exciting 
s  counter  passion  in  the  mind.  A  citizen  of  Piiiladelphia  had  many  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  to  cure  his  wife  of  drunkenness.  M  length,  despairing  of 
fter  reformation,  he  purchased  a  hogshead  of  rum,  and  after  tapping  it,  left 
the  key  in  the  door  of  the  room  in  which  it  was  placed,  as  if  he  had  forgot- 
ten it.  His  disign  was  to  give  his  wife  an  opportunity  of  drinking  herself 
to  death.  She  suspected  this  to  be  his  motive,  in  what  he  had  done,  and 
suddenly  left  off  drinking.  Resentment  here  became  the  antidote  to  in. 
temperance. 

"  6.  A  diet,  consisting  wholly  of  vegetables,  cured  a  physician  in  Mary- 
land of  drunkenness,  probably  by  lessening  that  thirst,  which  is  always  more 
or  less  excited  by  animal  food. 

••  7.  I  have  known  an  oath  taken  before  a  magistrate,  to  drink  no  more 
•pirits,  produce  a  "perfect  cure  of  drunkenness.  It  is  sometimes  cured  in 
this  way  in  Ireland.  Pei-sons  who  take  oaths  for  this  purpose  are  called 
affidavit  men. 

*'  8.  An  advantage  would  probably  arise  frora  frequent  representation* 
king  made  to  drunkards,  not  only  of  the  certainty,  but  of  the  suddenness  of  ' 
^ath,  from  habits  of  intemperance.  1  have  heard  of  two  persons  being 
cored  of  the  love  of  ardent  spirits,  by  seeing  death  suddenly  induced  by  fits 
•f  intoxication ;  in  the  one  case  ia  a  stranger,  and  in  the  other,  in  an  inti* 
mate  friend. 

*'  g.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  disuse  of  spirits  should  he  gradual ;  but 
■>y  observations  authorise  me  to  say,  that  persons  who  have  been  addicted 
to  them,  should  abstain  from  them  suddenly  and  entirely.  '  Taste  not, 
Iiandle  not,  touch  not,'  should  be  inscribed  upon  every  vessel  that  cou- 
tains  spirits  in  the  bouse  of  a  man  who  wishes  to  be  cured  of  habits  of  in- 
temperance. To  obviate,  for  a  while,  the  debility  which  arises  from  the 
sudden  abstraction  of  the  stimulus  of  spirits,  laudanum,  or  bitters  infused 
in  water,  should  be  taken,  and  perhaps  a  larger  quantity  of  beer  or  wine, 
than  is  consistent  with  the  strict  rules  of  temperate  living.  By  the  tempo- 
rary use  of  these  substitutes  for  spirits,  I  have  never  known  the  transition 
to  sober  habits  to  be  attended  with  bad  effects,  but  often  with  permanent 
kealth  of  body  and  peace  of  mind. 

"There  are  some  cases  of  debility,  muscular  exhaustion,  and  tremour  of 
the  nervous  system,  brought  on  by  intemperance  in  spirituous  liquors, 
■wherein  greater  danger  might  arise  from  a  sudden  and  total  abstinence  from 
them,  than  from  a  gradual  withdrawal.  In  these  instances,  a  similar 
method  might  be  adopted  to  what  the  celebrated  Dr.  Pitcairn  put  in  suc- 
cessful operation  with  a  Highland  chieftain,  one  of  his  patients.  In  at- 
tempting to  break  his  habits  of  intemperance,  he  exacted  a  promise  that  the 
latter  would  every  day  drop  a  certain  quantity  of  sealing-wax  into  his  glass. 
He  did  so,  and  as  the  wax  accumulated,  the  capacity  of  the  glass  diminished^ 
and,  consequently,  the  quantity  of  whiskey  it  was  capable  of  containing. 
By  this  plan  he  was  cured  of  this  habit  altogether." 


319 


Corrc0powlr^te» 


CO  OPERATIQN. 

To  the  Editor  oftJie  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

I  AM  surprised  to  see  such  a  letter  on  this  subject  as  appeared  ia 
your  very  useful  publication  for  last  inontb,  from  my  friend  Jennings,  of 
Kendal,  whom  1  know  to  be  a  sensible  man,  a  friend  of  liberty,  and  a  reli» 
gious  reformer.  1  cannot  account  for  his  weakness  in  this  instance,  witb» 
out  attributing  it  to  his  being  personally  interested  in  opposing  the  Co» 
operative  System.  He  commences  his  letter  with  copious  extracts  from  the 
first  number  of  the  Lancashire  Co-operator,  and  the  resolutions  passed  aJt 
the  delegate  meeting  of  co-operative  societies,  held  in  Manchester  on  sjtk 
and  2Sth  May  last,  but  he  does  not  inform  his  leaders  which  of  tlie  extracts 
he  objects  to.  He  says,  at  the  end  of  his  letter,  that  the  system  is  no| 
founded  upon  the  immutable  principles  of  reason  and  justice,  is  without 
analogy  in  the  whole  course  of  Divine  Providence,  directly  opposed  to  the 
plainest  and  most  important  precepts  of  the  christian  religion,  naturally 
talculated  to  produce  disaffection,  and  ultimately,  a  race  of  thieves  and 
robbers  upon  principle  : — upon  which  of  these  extracts  does  he  found  this 
uncharitable  judgment  ?  Not  surely  upon  the  first  and  second,  -wliich 
merely  declare  "  that  labour  is  the  source,  and  that  labouring  people  havd 
created  all  wealth."  The  truth  of  these  cannot  be  denied  ;  nor  upon  the 
third,  which  says,  "  that  having  created  all  wealth,  they  ought  to  be  the 
richest  class  :" — surely  this  is  more  consistent  with  reason  and  immutable 
justice  than  that  the  idle  and  useless  should  be  the  richest.  As  to  the 
fourth,  that  "  the  labourers  would  have  been  the  richest  class  if  they  had  not 
worked  for  masters,"  let  him  prove  this  that  made  the  assertion.  The 
fifth,  "  that  labourers,  in  the  present  state  of  society,  work  against,  instead 
of  assisting  each  other,"  is  witnessed  every  day,  in  their  competition  witli 
each  other  to  obtain  employment.  Sixth,  seventh,  and  last,  "  that  labouf* 
ers,  if  they  had  capital,  might  employ  themselves;  that  tradesmen  livft 
upon  profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  articles  produced  by  the  labourer ;  that 
the  labourers  might  increase  their  incomes  by  selling  the  articles  they 
make  to  the  consumers  of  them  ;"  all  this  is  perfectly  true,  just,  and  rea- 
sonable. M.  J.  himself  acknowledged  that  Trading  Fund  Associations 
must,  if  honestly  managed,  accumulate  a  capital;  and  surely  it  cannot  bs 
inconsistent  either  with  immutable  justice,  reason,  or  religion,  that  they 
should  do  as  they  will  with  the  produce  of  their  own  industry ;  he  can  even, 
have  no  right  to  call  them  thieves  and  robbeis,  for  so  doing: — but  this  it 
the  head  and  front  of  their  offending.  When  Co-operative  Societies,  by- 
means  of  th  is  stepping  stone,  have  acquired  30/.  each   man,  if  200,  or  aay 


320 

other  number,  think  proper  to  purchase,  or  to  rent  land,  to  put  this  money 
into  a  common  fund,  and  to  work  for,  and  with  each  other  out  of  the  com. 
mon  stock,  it  will  not  be  inconsistent  with  Divine  Providence,  in  the  eco- 
nomy of  the  ant  and  the  bee,  nor  with  the  state  of  the  primitive  christians,' 
when  they  had  all  things  common,  and  no  man  said  that  ought  he  posses, 
sed  was  his  own,  but  distribution  was  made  to  every  man  as  he  had  need, 
and  the  widows,  orphans,  young,  aged,  weak,  and  lame,  were  amply  provid- 
ed for.  However  acute  Mr.  Jennings  may  be  when  reasoning  upon  its 
doctrines,  he  has  studied  the  practical  purt  of  Christianity  to  very  little  pur- 
pose; and  after  all,  this  is,  by  far,  the  most  important,  if  he  has  not  dis- 
covered that  it  was  intended  to  humble  the  great,  to  exalt  the  lowly,  and  to 
teach  the  perfect  equality  of  man  :— so  it  was  understood  and  so  it  was  prac- 
tised by  its  first  converts,  according  to  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
Before  Mr.  Jennings  attempted  to  write  upon  the  subject,  he  should  have 
made  himself  better  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  co-operation.  He 
stumbles  upon  the  phrase  "  Equity  of  exertions,  and  of  the  means  of  enjoy- 
ments." It  should  have  been,  "  Equity  of  Rights,"  instead  of  enjoyments. 
This  has  caused  him  to  say  a  deal  of  nonsense  about  there  being  no  lame 
or  blind,  weak  or  strong,  in  co-operative  communities. 

I  should  have  expected  Mr.  J.  to  be  one  of  the  last  men  in  the  world 
to  say  any  thing  against  the  perfect  equality  of  man,  unless  he  be 
of  a  numerous  description  of  men  who  bawl  loudly  for  liberty  to  be 
extended  to  their  own  grade  in  society,  but  have  no  wish  that  it 
should  descend  one  step  lower.  Christianity,  taking  men  as  it  found 
them,  entreated  every  man  to  be  faithful  in  the  situation  in  which  he 
was  placed,  and  not  to  be  over  anxious  about  worldly  things  ;  but  it  taught 
no  degrading  servility,  nor  submission  to  higher  powers,  further  than  was 
consistent  with  obedience  to  his  father  in  heaven — it  was  intended  for  pre- 
sent, as  well  as  future  salvation,  having  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come.  Co-operation  has  nothing  to  do  with 
cant,  or  sectarianism  in  religion;  its  morality  is  not,  andcannot  be  superior; 
but  its  grand  principles  are — every  man  is  my  brother,  therefore  it  is  my 
duty  to  seek  my  happiness  in  the  happiness  of  all.  As  such,  it  is  the  very 
opposite  of  a  monopoly — a  monopoly  being  the  union  of  a  few  to  promote 
their  own  private  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  I  would  recommend 
Mr.  Jennings  to  read  the  Revolt  of  the  Bees,  the  Reproof  of  Brutus,  Mr. 
Owen's,  and  Mr.  Thompson's  Works,  of  Cork,  before  he  writes  again  upon 
Co-operation. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

JOHN   FINCH. 

Liverpool. 


JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  n.  NOVEMBER  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 


DOMESTIC    HAPPINESS. 

However  varied  n>en*s  pursuits,  the  enjoyment  o? happiness 
seems  to  be  the  prevailing  desire,  though  the  non-attainment  of  . 
it  is  not  less  common  than  the  variety  of  opinions  as  to  the  course 
in  which  it  is  to  be  found.  There  is,  however,  one  species  of 
happiness  in  favour  of  which  there  is  little  diversity  of  opinion^ 
and  that  is,  domestic  happiness.  Though  some  may  never  desire 
it,  and  though  a  greater  aumber  have  never  enjoyed  it,  there 
scarcely  can  be  two  opinions,  in  the  abstract,  as  to  its  importance. 
It  is  of  divine  creation  ;  it  grows  with  the  growth  of  virtue,  and 
is  nourished  and  caressed  by  all  the  wise  and  good.  The  sound 
pf  its  name  is  enchanting :  the  sympathy  of  its  ties  ;  the  cordi- 
ality of  its  principles;  the  peaceful,  composed,  and  settled  cha- 
racter of  its  dominion;  and  the  stability  of  its  blessings,  give  it 
a  grace  and  a  character  most  endearing  to  man.  Domestic 
happiness!  thou  safe  retreat  from  all  the  turbulent  scenes  of 
life!  thou  salutary  stay  to  the  wandering  desires  of  mortals! 
thou  resting  place  along  the  thorny  and  rugged  p?th  of  life  ! 
thou  tuner  of  the  heart  to  sympathy,  charity,  and  contentment ! 
thou  only  remaining  corner  of  earthly  paradise !  thou  best 
school  of  virtBe,  and  preparation  for  a  better  world  !  before  thy 
shrine  I  humbly  bow,  and,  to  acquire  thy  favour,  I  would  cheer- 
fully part  with  my  all !  All  ages  praise  thee;  all  tongues  aci 
knowledge  tlie  superiority  of  thy  blessings.  If  we  ask  the  woo- 
ing swains  what  it  is  that  glitters  in  their  imaginations;  which 
turns  months   into  weeks  and   weeks  into  days — if  we  ask  the 

R  R 


'1 

newly  married  {)air  what  induced  them  to  leave  father  and  mo-; 
ther,  and  what  is  that  exquisite  enjoyment  with  which  they 
seem  so  much  elated  ; — if  we  ask  the  social  pair  at  the  age 
of  forty,  who  have  borne  all  the  labour  of  rearing  a  numerous 
family  which  now  surrounds  their  board,  by  what  they  have 
been  cheered  along  the  way— if  we  enquire  of  the  decrepit  man 
and  woman  of  four-score  years-rwhat  is  the  last  earthly  comfort 
of  which  they  would  be  deprived, — all  with  one  voice  exclaim — 
Domestic  Happiness! 

"  It  is  not  good  for  n\an  to  be  alone  y''  nor,  so.  far  as  his  owi\ 
hj^ppiness  is  concerned,  (though  the  public  good  may  require  itjj 
is  it  good  to  be  leagued  with  multitudes.  We  cannot  define 
the  exact  limits  of  association,  but  it  is  clear,  from  experience, 
that  the  greatest  social  happiness  is  of  a  household  character. 
But  domestic  happiness,  whence  is  it,  and  by  what  is  it  to  be  as-, 
certained  ?  Is  it  the  offspring  of  honour,  power,  or  wealth  ?  Are 
palaces  the  ordinary  places  of  its  abode  ?  or  are  sumptuous 
feabts,  a  splendid  equipage,  or  gallant  deeds,  the  marks  by  whicl]| 
it  is  to  be  known  ?  Alas  !  here  is  the  delusion.  Fancying  that 
domestic  happiness  is  allied  to  affluence,  and  can  never  germi- 
nate or  grow  in  any  other  soil,  men  seek  it  where  it  cannpt  be 
found,  and  overlook  it  when  it  is  present  at  hand.  Though  it  is 
excluded  from  no  condition  of  life,  it  finds  the  place  where  t^le^e 
is  *'  neither  poverty  nor  riches''  the  easiest  of  access.  The  ex-; 
tremely  poor  cannot  enjoy  much  domestic  happiness;  the  exr 
tremely  rich  know  little  but  the  name  :  it  is  a  plant  indigenous 
to  the  temperate  zone,  and  there  alone  it  will  be  found  in  the 
healthiest  state.  Though  every  observer  inay  say  something  of 
this  blessing,  ^i^d  trace  its  various  characteristics,  yet  the  man 
and  the  woman,  and  the  family,  who  really  enjoy  this  heaven- bo.rq 
gift,  would  find  it  impossible  to  convey  to  a  stranger,  through 
the  medium  of  words,  an  accurate  idea  of  its  pleasures  :— it  rnusl^ 
be  experienced  to  be  known. 

To  begin  with  a  happy  couple.  With  united  hearts  they 
cherish  a  faithful  regard  to  their  first  atld  iiiutual  pledge  of  love  j 
they  avoid  not  only  the  license  of  improper  wishes,  but  the  very 
appearance  of  such  an  evil.  Differing  as  they  may  do  iu  reli- 
gion, or  in  their  views  of  some  domestic  matters,  they  respect 
each  other's  judgments;  and  where  unity  cannot  be  had,  they 
supply  its  place  with  forbearance.  Convinced  of  each  other's 
sii^cerity,  and  anxious,  aboye  every  t^ing,  to  promote  each  other'iji 


I 


323 

prosperity,  they  proceed  with  mutual  confidence  aod  delight. 
United  together  for  better  and  for  worse,  perfornaing  their  parts 
with  the  best  intentions,  if  the  result  ib  sometimes  adverse,  they 
submit  with  mutual  complacency.  They  have  no  divided  inter- 
ests; no  motives  for  concealment-;  but,  lilie  true  heLp-mates, 
they  labour  together,  and  the  sticcess  of  one  is  the  snccess  of 
both.  They  have  "but^  one  home,  and  they  would  be  asliamed 
to  appear  to  prefer  the  enjoyments  of  any  other  place.  The 
^i'fe  avoids  the  disgraceful  habit  of  gossiping,  and  the  husband, 
'except  on  necessary  occasions,  loves  to  prefer  his  own  fire-side. 
They  join  in  sweet  donsultat'fon  as  to  the  order  of  the  house,  the 
tutoring  of  th'e  children,  the  expenditure  of  tht^T  money,  an4 
'every  other  branch  of  family  affairs.  The  judgment  and  pru- 
dence displayed  by  a  good  husband  renders  it  unnecessary  to 
put  in  his  claim  to  rule,  whilst  tlie  wife  delights  in  the  oppor- 
tunity of  submitting  to  such  a  husband.  The  best,  however, 
are  not  free  from  imperfections,  from  mistakes  ofjudgment,  and 
from  little  fits  of  bad  temper,  but  these  are  neither  frequent  nor 
settled  faults  ;  their  effects  are  like  those  of  tlie  thunder  storm  in 
Buinmer — a  purer  atmosphere  and  a  bluer'sky.  The  suspension 
6f  good  o'ffices,  by  those  whose  hearts  are  tight,  is  but  a  gain  of 
power,  by  which  to  rivet  the  affections  closer  than  before.  The 
husband  loves  his  wife,  and  values  her  at  a  price  above  rubies  ; 
the  wife  respects  and  reverences  her  husband,  and  delights  to  see 
him  pleased,  and  it  is  her  highest  ambition  to  deserve  his  esteem. 
But  I  must  notice  the  children—  the  dear  children.  Firsts  the 
lovely  babe  hanging  at  the  breast — see  a  mother's  embrace,  and 
listen  to  a  mother's  blessing.  Next  the  prattling  child  of  three 
years  old  tells  its  pretty  tales,  and  commands,  by  its  infant  elo- 
quence, a  seat  upon  its  father's  knee  :  the  older  boys  and  girls, 
allin  their  proper  places,  acting  as  they  are  told,  speaking  or 
keeping  silence  as  decorum  seems  fit.  Each  one^  as  sharers  in 
the  happiness  of  the  family,  seems  delighted  to  promote  its  in- 
crease. Though  not  without  the  thoughtlessness  of  childhood,  nor 
the  failings  ofhumanity,  they  have  no  pleasure  in  displeasing  their 
parents,  and  no  enjoyments  without  their  smile.  They  are 
liianaged,  not  by  physical  authority,  but  by  the  inculcation  of 
good  principles,  and  by  aji  attempt  to  convince  them  that  th^ir, 
duty  and  their  interest  are  inseparably  connected.  They  a^, 
watched  according  to  their  known  dispositions,  and  the  ttmpta- 
tions  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  are  guarded  from  evil  by 


324 

all  that  parental  anxiety  can  devise.  The  elder  are  taught  to 
consider  themselves  examples  to  the  younger,  and  the  younger 
are  enjoined  to  submit  to  the  elder.  Every  reasonable  indul- 
gence is  allowed,  and  nothing  enforced  that  would  alienate  their 
affections  from  their  parents  or  tlieir  home. 

In  this  supposed  scene  of  domestic  happiness,  we  find  every 
civil,  moral,  and  religious  duty  recognized  and  duly  attended  to. 
£conomy  and  cleanliness  are  always  visible,  whilst  the  growing 
prosperity  of  the  family  bears  witness  to  the  value  of  tlR-se  vir- 
tues. Moderation  is  practised  in  all  things,  and,  though  saving 
is  constantly  enforced,  it  is  not  a  sel^sh  saving.  It  is  a  standing 
rule  to  remember  the  poor.  The  surplus  of  meals,  and  the  cast- 
bfF  clothes,  are  not  the  ojily  things  they  impart,  but,  grateful  to 
Providence  for  his  numerous  mercies,  they  make  a  regular  prac- 
tice of  seeking  out,  and  assisting  the  distressed.  Though  affa- 
ble and  kind,  their  social  visits  are  rather  limited,  having  found 
that  visiting  and  "parties"  contribute,  in  various  ways,  to  under- 
mine domestic  happiness.  Order  is  a  large  contributor  to  do- 
mestic comfort ;  aad  hence,  though  the  poor  have  many  obsta. 
cles  to  contend  with,  we  always  find  its  principles  less  or  more 
recognized.  A  place  for  every  thing,  and  a,  time  for  every  things 
should  be  considered  as  the  two  great  commandments  in  family 
arrangements.  Where  you  find  order,  cleanliness,  industry,  and 
piety,  you  find  the  component  elements  of  domestic  happiness. 
With  these  things  before  him,  and  with  a  well  disciplined  family 
of  children  basking  beneath  his  smile,  the  father  is  highly  flat- 
tered and  proud  of  his  station ;  his  possessions,  though  limited 
to  his  wife,  his  children,  and  his  domestic  conveniences,  are 
greater  to  him  than  the  crown  of  a  kingdom  ;  and  his  situation 
is,  in  fact,  the  happiest  this  world  can  afford.  In  difficulties  or 
in  trouble  lie  has  a  counsellor  at  hand,  in  whose  sympathy  and 
advice,  or  in  whose  exalted  resignation,  he  never  fails  to  find  re- 
lief. On  a  bed  of  sickness,  where  all  the  world's  enjoyments  re- 
cede, the  kind  attention,  the  sympathetic  tear,  the  condoling 
accents,  the  pious  ejaculations  of  a  faithful  wife,  raise  his  mind 
with  fortitude,  and  create  a  feeling  of  aniolation  and  pleasure, 
which  must  be  experienced  to  be  understood.  The  man  is  also 
proud  of  his  offspring  ;  he  loves  them  as  his  own  life  ;  and  fpr 
their  support  and  education,  he  cheerfully  labours  hard,  and 
even  sufiers  privation.  He  delights  to  embue  their  minds  with 
heavenly  principles^  to  divert  their  feet  into  wisdom's  ways,  and 


1 


323 

to  stimulale  them  to  erery  thing  that  is  good  bj'  his  own  exam- 
Iple.  Whatever  else  liiay  be  neglectedj  so  important  is  it  **  to 
teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot,"  he  neglects  not  to  call  them 
together  to  give  them  a  father'^  lessons.  Neither  day  nor  sun- 
day-schools  are  his  proxies  ;  in  moral  and  religious  matters  he 
teaches  them  himSelf.  He  delights  in  the  prospect  of  bequeath- 
ing to  society  an  increase,  that  will  do  honour  to  themselves  and 
to  their  species.  Allowing  for  every  interruption — for  the 
infirmities  of  haman  nature — for  the  inconstancy  of  earthly  bliss 
—I  take  the  liberty  to  affirm,  if  there  be  happiness  in  the  world, 
it  is  to  be  found  here.  Come  here,  ye  selfish,  ye  sordid,  ye  sensual 
men,  and  visit  this  school  of  wisdom,  from  which  you  have  hither- 
to disdained  to  take  a  single  lesson.  Come  here,  ye  votaries  of 
uncleanliness,  who  shut  ybur  eyes  to  rational  enjoyment,  that  you 
may  wallow  in  licentious  pleasures  which  sting  you  to  the  heart, 
Undermine  yoiir  constitutions,  and  will  shortly  sink  you  to  per- 
dition— come  and  ledrn  where  pleasure,  most  pure  and  perma- 
nent is  to  be  had.  Come  ye  thousands  upon  thousands  of  vi- 
cious and  immoral  hdsbands  and  wives,  who  before  God  and  the 
world  promised  and  vowed  to  live  together  in  holy  matrimony, 
to  love  and  to  cherish,  to  comfort  and  esteem  each  other,  in  sick- 
ness and  in  health — for  better,  for  worse — for  richer,  for  poorer 
—as  long  as  ye  both  should  live  ; — and  behold  in  the  example 
of  a  happy  family,  how  vastly  you  have  fallen  short  of  perform- 
ing your  duty  ;  and  that,  unless  you  repent,  it  is  certain  yoa 
cannot  escape  the  condemnation  of  heaven. 

It  is  much  easier  to  characterize  and  praise  domestic  happi- 
ness, as  it  is  that  of  every  other  excellency,  than  to  point  out,  to 
lany  great  extent,  where  it  flourishes  in  real  life.  Though  all 
men  seem  to  pant  after  happiness,  few  are  really  happy  ;  and 
though  many  will  praise  domestic  happiness,  yet  but  few  have 
either  judgment  or  conduct  sufficient  to  secure  it.  This  brings 
me  to  a  painful  part  of  my  subject.  An  overwhelming  majori- 
ty of  those  who  might,  and  ought  to  be  enjoying  conjugal  happi- 
ness and  domestic  bliss,  are  living  in  a  state  of  contention,  ma- 
lice, and  confusion.  The  fair  flowers  of  nature  are  trampled 
upon,  and  open  rebellion  is  kept  up  against  the  ordinance  of 
heaven.  Travel  where  you  please,  insinuate  yourselves  into  the 
company  of  every  class,  and  you  will  find  that,  in  many  instances, 
there  is  scarcely  a  shadow  of  household  happiness,  and  that  in 
laost  it  is  much  interrupted  and  embittered  witli  pernicious 


k 


1 


326 

^fattices.  The  families  of  the  rich,  taken  altogeiner,  are  by  no 
Aneans  happy  ;  and  though  there  is  less  bustle  and  confusion 
than  in  the  houses  of  the  poor,  yet  a  minute  acquaintance  with 
many  of  them  would  convince  us,  that  there  are  aching  hearts 
beneath  splendid  dresses,  and  factious  interests,  and  unhappy 
Jarrihgs  in  the  interior  of  those  buildings,  Vvhere  all  seem  cahu 
and  quiet.  The  straits  to  which  they  are  reduced  to  tieep  up 
Appearances-^— the  in^ince^ity  of  their  conduct,  imposed  by  the 
]aws  of  respectabl'e  society — the  high  blood  of  their  sons,  and  the 
pride  of  their  daughters,  '^"s  that  of  "young'  ladies  and 
gentlemen" — the  vexatious  and  unmanageable  behaviour  of 
their  numerous  servants — their  routs  of  pleasure  and  their  jier- 
petnal  visits — and  their  generally  artificial  mode  ofVivin^ — how- 
ever they  may  contribute  to  **the  pleasures  of  sin, ''-—most  cer- 
tainly are  hostile  to  the  growth  of  domestic  happiness.  Amongst 
itie  pdor,  family  dissentions,  and  a  want  of  social  happiuess,  are 
go  cotftraon  as  not  to  be  concealed.  Instincts  of  husbands  get- 
ting drunk  and  beating  their  wives — of  wives  ruining  theii-  hus- 
Mnds  by  idleness  and  excess — of  pafeiits  absconding  from  their 
families — and  of  children  breaking 'every  restraint,  and  acting  a 
lawless  and  turbulent  part— are  fdmiliar  to  us  all.  If  any  per- 
son wish  to  be  acquainted  with  these  tnattei-s,  and  to  see  some  of 
the  most  striking  specimens,  let  him  attend  the  oVerseers*  oflice 
dn  the  days  for  granting  relief,- — and  especially,  let  him  attend 
the  prtty  sessions,  held  by  the  magistrates^  eVerj'  week.  But  the 
evil  is  not  confined  to  those  whose  conduct  is  before  the  world; 
a  great  ntimber  of  the  cases  of  conjugal  infelicity  are  not  made 
public  ;  many  men  and  their  wives  (to  use  a  homely  phrase)  "  live 
like  eat  and  dag,"  and  the  matrimonial  tie,  which  ought  to  be  a 
pledge  of  happiness,  becomes  the  bond  of  misery.  Great  num- 
bers who  seem  comparatively  comfortable,  n'Gglect  their  children 
—to^ teach  them  is  a  great  task,  and  to  bear  their  company  is  a 
burden.  On  the  week  day  they  consign  them  to  the  factory  arid 
to  the  street;  on  a  sunday,  if  young,  to  the  sunday-school— if 
older,  to  the  depraving  influence  of  out-door  association.  From 
whence  should  the  branches  derive  their  influence  but  from  the 
stem  ;  and  why  should  we  separate  that  which  God  has  joined 
together  ?  There  cannot  be  domestic  happiness  while  children 
are  divided  from  their  parents,  nor  will  there  ever  be  good  child- 
ren until  parents  themselves  become  the  teachers.  Oh!  ye  min- 
isters-of  religion,  why  don't  you  press  this,  and  never  cease  yout 


^ 


327 

afs'idtious  labours  till  every   fire-side  become  a  seminary  for  inr 
struction?     Indeed,   to  expect,  in  the  present  circmnstances  of 
society,   domestic  happiness  to  be   general,  would  be  as  absurd 
as  to  expect  a  harvest  in  the  month  of  February,     The  materi- 
als are  npt  in  existence  ;  the  people  are  not  prepared  for  it;  their 
habits   are  jincpmpatable    with  it  ;    the  moral    character    of 
society    renders    it    impossible.        Unfortunately,    in   tracing 
the  gre^d  cause  of  this  evil,    I  am  forced  to  the  same  uncomfort- 
able conclusion  as  I  have  been  when  considering  the  bad  habits 
of  society  generally  ;  and  that  is,   that  it  is  owing  first,  to  an  un~ 
natural  state , of  association  ;  and  secondly,   to  the  almost  entire 
absence  of  that  corrective  influence  which  real  christian  teaching 
affords.     Domestic  misery,  in  the  main,   arises  from  ignorance 
and  vice  ;  ignorance  jmd  vice  from  the  absence  of  the  lessons  of 
Christianity  ;  and  that  absence  from  the  character  of  the  veligious 
systems  of  the  day  ;  which,  instead  of  being  formed   simply  to 
teach  the  people,  and  to  diifuse  piety  and   goodness  through 
every  grade  of  society,  even  to  the  most  obscure  places  both  in 
town  and  country,  are  lormed    to   promote   the  popularity  of  a 
sect,  and  to  minister  to  the  importance  and   secular  interests  of 
official  men.     As  well  might  we  expect  corn    to  grow   without 
seed,  as  the  peppletp  be  good  or  happy  without  being  properly 
taught.  What  can  we  expect  from  a  young  couple  trained  in  the 
hottest  beds  of  vice,  whose  ears  have  been  familiarized  to  nothing 
biitavyful,  obscene,   and  wicked   language;   who  have  had  con- 
stantly before  them  a  hotit   of  bad  examples;  whose  work  days 
have  been  spent  in  labour,   and  sabbaths  in  vulgar  and  brutal 
pleasures ;  whose  minds   have   never   been   impressed  with  the 
glory  of  God,  the  love  of  Christ,  or  the  awful  realities  of  another 
world — what  can  we  expect  from  such,    but   that  they   will   be 
personally  wicked  ;  and  that,  united  in  marriage,   so  soon  as  the 
perplexities  and  cares   of  housekeeping   begin  to  trouble  them, 
their  conduct  will  he  exactly  that  which  we   are  doomed  eyery 
day  to  witness?     Though  the  radical  remedies  are — an  itpprove- 
ment  in  the  civil  and  social  arrangements  qf  society ;  and  espe- 
cially the  universal  adoption  of  the  primitive  plan  of  diffusing 
christian  instructipri — remedies  which  would  supplant  by  far  the 
greater     part    of    raodernly    instituted    "societies" — yet    this 
article   may   be   the  medmm    of  conveying  a  few   hints,    which 
may  be  of  use  to  those  who,  having  made  domestic  happiness  th^ 
pbject  of  their  wishes,  find    many   difficulties   in  the  way  of  i|4 
atlHinment. 


328 

Having  always  maintained  that  domestic  happiness  is  the 
greatest  earthly  blessing  ;  that  ifa  man  is  not  happy  at  home, 
his  other  pleasures  are  not  worth  the  name  ;  I  urge,  in  the  first 
place,  that  he  ought  not  to  grudge  any  reasonable  sacrifice  in 
order  to  obtain  it.  If  we  propose  years  of  bliss,  we  must  not 
murmur  at  a  few  days  of  pain.  Having  preferred  the  noarried 
state,  instead  of  a  giddy,  flippant  demeanor,  we  should  learn  to 
be  steady  and  thoughtful.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  steps 
in  life,  on  which  depends  the  welfare  or  misery  of  ourselves,  our 
ofFspring,  and,  perhaps,  that  of  generations  unborn,  both  for 
this  world  and  the  next.  Having  secured  the  aflfections  of  a 
woman,  and  flattered  her  with  a  view  of  the  promised  land,  we 
should  do  every  thing  in  our  power  to  put  her  in  possession  of  it. 
Instead  of  clinging  to  our  old  associates;  instead  of  rambling 
abroad  and  seeking  out  our  pot  companions,  we  should  rejoice 
•with  the  wife  of  our  youth  ;  man  should  *'  leave  all  and  cleave  to 
his  wife."  The  firet  years  should  be  spent  like  the  seven  plenti- 
ful years  in  Egypt — in  laying  up  a  stock  against  future  want. 
Before  the  haims  begin  to  be  troublesome,  the  house  should  be 
well  furnished  ;  household  arrangements  should  be  made  as  per- 
fect as  possible,  and  a  little  stock  of  money  collected  against  a 
**  rainy  day."  The  wife  should,  therefore,  put  away  her  lassish 
habits  ;  she  is  now  a  partner  in  the  establishment ;  the  mistress 
of  the  house,  and  should  be  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  her 
duty,  and  her  responsibility  also.  I  feel  it  important  to  press 
this  point,  the  first  years  of  many  of  the  wives  of  working  men 
being  so  very  ill  spent.  1  have  known  many  commence  in  lodg- 
ings, and  in  lodgings  they  have  still  been  found  at  the  end  of 
three  or  four  years.  If  your  stock  consist  only  of  a  bed,  a  cou- 
ple of  chairs,  a  table,  and  a  few  pots  and  pans,  I  would  say  to 
every  couple  intending  to  be  married, — never  commence  your 
wedded  life  in  lodgings.  I  could  point  out  its  injurious  ten- 
dency in  many  different  ways;  Take  a  cot  of  your  own,  and 
never  tie  the  fatal  knot  till,  by  your  own  industry  and  carefulness, 
you  have  a  little  to  begin  with  ;  this  little  will  soon  increase,  and 
every  step  you  advance  will  increase  your  ambition  to  get  a  step 
higher.  How  inconsistent  that  the  girl  who  was  a  known  hard 
worker,  should,  upon  becoming  a  wife,  become  idle  r  or  in  the 
homely  adage,  that  she  should  "  break  her  elbow  !"  For 
want  of  industry  at  the  commencement,  how  often  is  she  forced 
to  the  factory,  or  to  the  loom,  at  a  time  when,  with  three  or  four 
little  ones  about  her  feet,  her  sole  attention  is  required  to  manage 


i 


329 

her  fatnil)'.  Neither  wife  nor  busbond,  therefore,  should  be  idle» 
put  co-operate  in  ever}'  possible  way,  in  laying  for  themselves  the 
foundation  of  future  prosperity.  1  need  not  add,  that  saving  as 
we\l 'ds getting  is  indispensable;  that  e.TC6'55f5  of  all  sorts  must 
be  avoided,  and  aboveevery  other,  that  t)f  social  drinking,  whether 
at  home  or  at  public  houses,  must  be  detested,  as  the  sure  rodd 
to  poverty,  misery,  infamy,  and  everlasting  ruin.  A  good  be- 
ginning is  the  surest  earnest,  and  I  have  seldom  knowrn  any  fail 
to  secure  their  own  respectability  and  happiness,  who  have  com- 
menced and  proceeded  in  the  way  Hiave  here  advissed. 

Whilst  I  make  no  exceptions  in  giving  tliis  advice,  I  know- 
that  there  are  many  who  become  husbands  and  wives,  so  entirely 
iu^norant,  so  destitute  of  every  qualification  for  entering  into  the 
married  state,  that  upon  them,  all  that  I  can  say  will  be  entirely 
lost.  If  not  even  unable  to  read,  they  have  little  or  no  aim  be- 
yond eating  and  drinking,  and  mere  animal  gratification;  num- 
bers marry  in  this  degraded  condition.  Some  object  strongly  to 
early  marriages;  but  though  I  am  not  of  this  school,  1  neverthe- 
less depricate  ignorant  and  imjTrovident  marriages  ;  but  the  evil 
is  to  be  remedied,  not  by  extending  the  period  of  marriage,  but 
by  teaching  the  partners,  at  the  proper  age,  the  duties  and  im- 
portance of  the  engagement,  I  never  meet  wooing  couples, 
though  they  be  young,  if  the  parties  be  well  instructed,  if  they  have 
learned  to  act  with  judgment,  and  to  be  faithful  and  true  to  each 
other,  without  an  emotion  of  sincere  pleasure.  Though  in  some 
instances,  late  marriages,  and  even  a  perpetual  single  life,  may 
be  honourable,  yet  I  have  never  considered  either  the  one  or  the 
other,  especially  in  toivns,  as  the  greatest  contributors  to  virtue. 
If  our  yout-h  were  but  under  the  direction  of  a  proper  guardian- 
ship, and  were  well  instructed,  we  should  seldom  have  to 
deplore  the  effects  of  early  marriages,  either  as  to  health  or  mor- 
als ;  or  to  witness  the  conduct  of  parents,  whose  neglect  of  duty 
is  followed  by  a  rash  interference,  the  bitter  effects  of  which  are 
often  coeval  with  life. 

I  may  here  advert  to  the  unequal  and  injudicious  connections 
which  are  formed,  even  by  those  who  are  old  enough  to  know 
better.  When  men  intend  to  marry,  they  ought  to  reason  upon 
the  importance  of  the  connection,  and  the  permanent  nature  of 
the  tie;  to  listen  to  the  advice  of  friends  ;  and  at  least,  to  be  so 
consistent  as  to  pursue  the  course  they  have  often  recommended 
toothers.  If  two  be  unequally  yoked,  how  can  they  draw  to- 
igether?     This  inequality  may  refer  to  age,  property,  rank,  r^- 

S  s 


33a 

ligion,  dispositions,  aud,  perhaps,  personal  appearance.     In  mosli 
of  these  particulars,  the  baneful  consequences  of  inoproper  mar- 
riages are  so  notorious  as  to  render  a  formal  statement  unneces- 
sary.    Even  ten  years  is  a  disparity   in  age^  but  what  shall  we 
say  when   we     meet   with  a   diflFerence  of  from  twenty  to  fifty 
years?      Young  women   seem   not  less  adepts   at  insinuating 
themselves  into  the  graces  of  men  old  enough  to  be  their  fathers, 
than  older  maids  at  ensnaring  the  giddy  and  thoughtless  youth. 
And  I  may  reverse  it  and  say,  that  young  men  are  not  less  fool- 
ish in  taking  to  wife  a  woman  as  old  again  as  themselves,   than, 
the  old  dotard  of  sixty  is  ridiculous  in  taking  a  girl  of  twenty. 
The  inequality  may  be  borne  for  a  time,  but,  besides  numerous 
other  evils,  if  the  elder  p^krtner  lives  to  be  very   old^  the  love  of 
X\\Qyounger  often  **  waxes  cold."  Again,  when  a  woman  possessed 
of  money  has  been  selected  by  am^nwho  has  none,  it  often  happens 
that  so  soon  as  he  has  secured  her  property,   which  was  his  only, 
choice,  he  treats  her  as  any  thing  but  his  beloved  wife.     In  pjther 
cases,  the  party  which  brings  the  money  will  put  in  a  superior 
claio3,  and  wranglings  and  contentions  are  sure  to  ensue.     In  all 
cases  where  money  is  the  bond  of  union,  affection   will  he  fickle 
and  lukewarm ;  and  if  poverty  should  succeed,  it  becomes  totally 
extinct.     There  are  'so  many  circumstances,  and  so  much  family 
influence  subsequently  bearing  upon  the  happiness  of  those  who 
enter  the  marriage  state,   that,  excepting  where  there  is  mutual 
and  genuine  love,  a  difference  in  rank  is  often  followed  by  other 
differences  of  a  serious  cast.     It  is  much  better  for  those  whose 
education,  manners,  and  family  connections,  are  assimulated  to 
each  other,  to  go  together,  than  to  risk  the  consequences  of  a  disr 
similarity  in  these  respects.      A  difference  in  religious  senti- 
ment and   connections^  is  one  which,   with   the  serious  and  well 
disposed,  of  all  others  should  be  avoided,   if  possible.     When  I- 
say  a  difference,   I  do  not  mean  a  mere  shade  oi,  difference,  but 
such  a  one  as  cannot  be  accpnirnodated   without  a   violation  of 
conscience,  a  seism  in  family  instruction,  and  frequent  personal 
jarring.     In  other  respects  when  there  is  a  liberal  feeling,  a  con- 
viction of  the  right  of  private  judgment,   and  an  abhorrence  of 
bigotry,  persons  may  agree  to   differ   and  still  live  happy.     But 
after  all,  it  is  the  best,  for  persons  of  the  same  religion  to  marry 
together.     Courtships  are  attended  with   so  little  caution,   and 
fears  and  suspicions  lie  dormant  beneath  the  potency  of  prepos- 
sessive  love,  or  else  it  would  be  of  unspeakable  advantage  that  una-, 
nimity  in  disposition^  should  never  be  overlooked.     If  one  be 


af3l 

cheerful,  the  other  morose — one  reserved,  the  other  loiquaciotiffiis- 
one  tidy  and  ekact,  the  other  slothful  and  careless— one  meek  and 
gentle,  the  other  angry  and  turbulent— one  sordid  and  penurious, 
the  other  liberal  and  free — one  intellectual,  the  other  barren  of 
information — ^oriereligioufiiy  inclined,  the  other  a  thorough  world- 
ling in  disposition — if  these,  or  other  disparities  exist  to  any  con- 
siderable extent,  if  they  should  not  mar  the  peace  of  the  married 
pair,  they  will  considerably  diminish  tlieir  pleasures.  Though,  as 
Solomon  says,  "  favour  is  deceitful,  and  beauty  is  vain,"  it  is  a 
'ftiatter  not  to  be  overlooked.  Personal  attractions,  we  know,  of- 
ten strike  the  first  dart ;  yet  here  also,  the  whisperings  of  reason 
should  be  suffered  to  have  their  weight.  It  is  true,  charms  often 
meet  charms,  and  the  second  rate  are  often  left  for  their  like ;  and 
where  there  is  a  fair  balance  of  other  properties,  this  is  very  pro- 
per. A  wise  man  will  always  prefer  the  qualities  of  the  mind  to 
those  which  are  merely  external,  and  set  a  high  value  upon  "  the 
ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,"  compared  to  the  adorn- 
ing of  "  gold  and  pearls,  and  costly  array."  Where  there  ar6 
■first-rate  personal  accomplishments,  unless  both  parties  share  in 
them,  there  are  too  often  fears  and  jealousies  on  that  side  Where 
nature  has  been  less  indulgent. 

Upon  the  whole,  though  a  perfect  agreement  in  many  parti- 
culars is  not  to  be  expected,  yet,  as  close  an  approximation  as  is 
practicable  should  never  be  overlooked,  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
things,  both  men  and  women  find  their  errors  when  it  is  too  late. 
To  those,  whose  lot  is  cast,  and  whose  case  I  may  have  touched 
in  some  of  the  above  remarks,  I  can  only  say,  try  to  make  the  best 
of  your  bargain.  You  think  you  might  have  done  better  ;  if  yoii 
had  made  any  other  choice,  possibly,  you  might  have  done  worse* 
■Remember,  it  is  the  mixture  of  evil  that  gives  a  zest  to  that  which 
is  really  good.  But  those  who  are  yet  untied,  1  would  sincerely 
entreat  to  be  cautious.  There  is  nothing  that  has  a  greater  influ* 
ence  in  destroying  domestic  happiness,  than  the  choice  of  an  ira- 
^proper  partner.  Marriage  has  been  described  as 
*'■  a  lottery  where  there  hes 

More  than  a  hundred  blanks  to  one  good  prize;" 
but  I  think  this  view  is  not  correct.  I  neither  think  the  blanks 
so  far  outnumber  the  prizes,  nor  that  a  lottery  is  a  fair  or 
a  judicious  comparison  of  marriage.  And  it  may  be  this 
delusion — this  uncertainty — that  makes  tickets  so  plentiful,  and 
puachasers  so  few  !  Let  young  candidates  for  the  wedded  state, 
act  sincerely,  prudently,  and  in  the  fear  of  God  ;  considering  well 


33-2 

the  momentous  consequences  depending  upon  this  single  sfej*. 
Let  the  fault  of  those  who  have  got  blanks  be  attributed  to  them- 
selves ;  and  let  not  others,  who  feel  disposed,  be  deterred  fron^ 
endeavouring  to  obtain  a  "capital"  prize. 

Before  I  proceed  to  notice  soma  of  the  internal  arrangements 
of  families,  connected  with  my  present  subject,  it  is  proper  to  ad- 
mit, and  I  do  this  most  explicitly,  that  domestic  happiness  is  not  to 
be  the  uninterrupted  portion  ot  every  individual,  however  he  may 
strive  to  attain  it.     Men  become  heirs  to  many  ills  in  Me,  and  es- 
pecially in  their  domestic  capacity,    which  they  cannot  possibly 
avoid.     Poverty,    misfortune,  sickness,  and  death,  will  often  dis- 
turb, and  sometimes  destroy,  domestic  peace.      Whete  the  minds 
of  every  individual  in  a  family  are  piously  resigned,  there  is  some- 
times happiness  amidst  extreme  poverty ;  but  poverty,  in  general, 
is  a  most  ungenial  sail  for  the  growth  of  happiness.     It  operates 
unfavourably  upon  the  temper  of  the  parties  ;    false  imputations 
are  cast  upon  each  other ;  and,  unable  to  get  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  to  keep  out  of  debt,   how  can  we  expect  them  to  be  hap- 
py ?     Reverse  of  fortune,  to  which  commercial  men  are  ever  ex- 
posed, is  an  invader  of  the  peaceful  retreats  of  home.     Brooding' 
over  the  melancholy  anticipations  of  evil,  the  distracted  tradesman 
goes  home,  and  would  fain  forget  his  troubles,  but  he  cannot.  The 
smiles  of  a  wife,  the  prattling  of  the  children,  the  splendour  of  the 
parlour,  the  sumptuous  meal,   and  the  downy  pillow,    all,  cannot 
remove  the  anxieties  of  bad  markets,  bad  debts,  payments  due  and 
empty  coffers.     Sickness  and  death  are  the  sure  visitants  of  every 
house  ;    they  come  with  messages  of  sorrow,  and  make  every  ha- 
bitation,  by  turns,  into  a  house  of  mourning.     Who  can  describe 
the  devastations  of  the  king  of  terrors  }     To-day  all  seems  calm 
and   serene  ;    preparations  are  making  for  enjoyments  yet  months 
to  come  :   but  ere  the  end  of  the  week  every  thing  domestic  seems 
marked   with  the  gloom  of  death.     The  tongue  that  gave  good 
counsel  is  now   silent ;     the  eyes  that   sparkled    with  domestic 
joy  are  for  ever  set ;    the  hands  which  were  always  employed  in 
doing  good  are  unnerved  ;    and  the  wife  is  left  without  a  husband, 
and  the  children  without  a  father  !  Sad  change !  but  one  to  which 
we  must  all,  sooner  or  later,  yield.     Here,  then,  is  a  domestic  af- 
fliction which  no  pen  can  describe,  no  imagination  pourtray.;   but 
which,  after  all,  is  no  doubt  wisely  intended  for  our  good.    On  all 
such  occasions  may  we  be  enabled  to  say,  "the  Lord  gave  and  the 
Lord  hath  taken  away,  and  bJessed  be  his  name  !" 

Having  given  a  general  view  of  domestic  happiness,  and  its 


333 

ireveirse,  and  alluded  generally  to  many  of  the  duties  and  errors  df 
husbands  and  wives  ;  in  pressing-  the  subject  still  further  upon 
their  attention,  there  are  a  few  particulars  which  I  still  wish  to 
mention.  I  have  said  before,  never  commence  in  lodgings ;  I  here 
add,  let  your  house  be  suitable  to  your  station ;  and,  whilst  you 
shun  a  mean,  dirty  situation,  and  especially  ce'lars,  get  a  house, 
the  rent  of  which  you  can  pay  without  embarrassment.  For  a  fa- 
mily to  be  comfortable^  they  should  have,  at  lea^t,  two  decent  sized 
rooms  below,  one  for  cooking  and  all  the  dirty  work,  and  the  other 
for  the  family  to  eat  and  sit  in  :  they  should  also  have  sleeping  a- 
apartments  sufficient  to  divide  the  family,  as  age  or  sex  may  ren- 
der proper.  A  back  yard,  and  a  garden,  be  it  ever  so  small,  adds 
much  to  the  comfort  of  a  house.  But,  while  provisions  are  high, 
and  land  dear,  this  can  seldom  be  had,  and  especially  by  those  who 
are  crowded  together  in  the  middle  of  large  towns.  Sickness  is  a 
great  drawback  upon  our  social  enjoyments,  but  we  can  never  ex- 
pect healthy  families  without  paying  proper  attention  to  the  situa- 
tion of  our  dwellings.  Order,  as  to  time  and  place,  has  already 
been  noticed ;  and  so  important  is  it,  that  nothing  should  be  suf- 
fered to  stand  in  its  way  :  regularity  is  not  only  seemly  in  itself, 
but  is  a  sourse  of  many  positive  advantages  to  a  family.  We 
should  be  neither  penurious  nor  extravagant  in  our  expenditure, 
taking  the  utmost  care  that  we  never  exceed  our  means.  Children 
should  be  allowed  to  enjoy,  with  generous  feelings,  the  kind  boun- 
ties of  Providence  ;  still,  frugality  and  moderation  should  always 
be  before  them.  The  peace  and  composure  of  some  families  are 
sacrificed  to  the  love  of  business  ;  from  Monday  morning,  till  12 
o'clock  on  Saturday  night,  every  mtjment  seeras  devoted  to  this 
object.  Success  in  getting  money,  however  brilliant,  is  but  a  poor 
compensation  for  a  neglected  family,  and  a  disordered  house.  If, 
instead  of  saving  or  spending,  we  were  to  make  enjoying  the 
ftiark,  we  should  shew  some  wisdom  in  the  choice  :  but  in  this, 
also,  "men  never  a?T,  but  always  to  he  blessed."  Instead  of  be- 
ing content,  and  enjoyingj  as  we  go  on,  the  pleasures  of  rational 
and  social  life,  many  persons  in  business  are  involving  themselves 
in  anxieties,  in  the  vain  and  delusive  hope  that  when  they  get  rich 
they  will  be  more  contented,  and  that  an  independency  is  the  on- 
ly proper  goal  of  ambition.  lu  visiting  the  poor,  a  stranger  would 
suppose  that  poverty  alone  was  the  cause  of  their  misery  ;  but, 
though  it  is  so  in  numerous  instances,  yet  there  are  other  causes 
operating  more  extensively.  Drunkenness  stands  in  the  front ;  and, 
to  detail  all  the  domestic  evils  consequent  upon  this  pernicious  ha- 


334 

bit,  would  be  to  fill  a  volume.  This  is  a  tax,  heavier  in  its  amoan^ 
and  operation  than  all  the  taxes  besides.  Oh  !  the  infatuation  of 
those  men  and  v?omen  who,  with  ample  means  in  their  possession, 
are  degrading  themselves,  impoverishing  their  families,  and  con- 
taminating society  by  a  vicious  example.  More  than  one  half  of 
family  suffering  is  attributable  to  this  detestable  practice.  Even 
where  the  individuals  are  seldom  seen  iucbriated,  many  hour$ 
which  ought  to  be  spent  in  the  bosoms  of  their  famifieS,  are  spent 
amid  the  din  and  confusion  of  a  public-house  ;  and  there  are  many 
tradesmen,  whose  evenings,  till  11  or  1-2  o'clock,  are  sacrificed  to 
this  insatiable  desire  for  company  and  drink.  There  are  cases 
where  working  men  bring  in  from  thiry  to  forty  shillings  a  week, 
and  yet  they  are  always  poor ;  the  men  drink,  the  women  shop 
and  gossip  !  every  thing  goes  wrong,  and  their  income  actually 
becomes  a  source  of  greater  misery.  For  the  sake  of  some,  one 
heartily  wishes  for  better  times,  yet  such  is  the  prevalency  of 
abuse,  that  one  dreads  the  effects  upon  those  who  have  no  control 
of  themselves.  Next  to  drinking,  there  is  no  practice  among  the 
poor,  more  to  to  be  depricated  then  that  o{  shopping.  Frugality, 
independency,  and  family  comfort,  cannot  exist  with  this  practice. 
Every  man  and  woman  who  wishes  to  be  happy,  must  be  deter- 
mined to  be  independent ;  to  lay  out  their  money  to  the  best  advan- 
tage ;  to  take  no  credit,  either  from  the  hawker,  the  provision 
shop,  or  the  pawn-broker.  As  to  the  peace  and  quiet  of  families, 
to  those  who  have  had  experience,  I  need  not  say,  with  all  your 
best  attempts,  you  will  find  it  hard  to  steer  the  domestic  bark  clear 
from  rocks  and  shoals,  and  quite  safe  from  the  effects  of  boister- 
ous storms.  Gales  of  cross  tempers  will  sometimes  blow*  of- 
fences will  arise,  but  it  should  be  the  desire  of  every  individual 
to  make  peace  and  to  controul  his  own  passion ;  to  deny  himself  if 
he  can  promote  the  general  good, 

"  The  kindest  and  the  happiest  pair. 

Will  find  occasion  to  forbear  5 

And  something,  every  day  they  live, 

To  pity,  and  perhaps  forgive." 

Oh !  I  do  love  to  see  a  comfortable  house,  a  little  cot  clean  and 
tidy,  a  happy  husband  and  a  smiling  wife ;  the  children  cheer- 
ful, orderly,  and  obedient,  and  the  father  and  mother  industrious, 
sober,  and  domesticated.  Why,  infatuated  man  !  shouldst  thou 
turn  thy  back  upon  bliss  like  this,  and  for  momentary  elation  at 
the  bottle,  betray  thy  trust,  and  bring  upon  thyself  and  tby  family, 
ttesolation  and  misery  !  J.  L. 


^^^^Tsuhjoin  ihefollotving,  which  I  printed  some  time  ago  on  a 
^^^arge  sheet,   and  uith  an  open  type  ;  and  copies  oj"  which  are  now 

to  he  found Jixed  np  in  the  houses  of  the  poor.      It   contains  an 

epitome  of  the  preceding  article. 


THE  FAMILY  MONITOR. 


x\ 

\        Remember  and  adore  your  Creator,  and  be  grateful  to 

\  1  him  for  all  his  favours. 

Believe  in  the  Saviour,  trust  in  his  promises,  and  en- 
deavour to  keep  his  commandments. 

Never  swear,  nor  use  bad  language,  nor  take  the  name 
of  God  in  vain. 

Avoid  every  thing  that  leads  to  drunkenness;  it  is  the 
ruin  of  mJ^ny  families. 

Be  honest,  open,  and  upright  in  all  your  dealings,  and 
beware  of  getting  into  debt. 

Feel  for  your  distressed  neighbours,  and  if  you  cannot 
relieve  th^m  yourselves,  make  their  case  known  to  the  be- 
nevolent. 

If  you  have  any  leisure  time,  devote  it,  not  to  lounging 
about,  but  to  the  acquirement  of  useful  knowledge,  to 
learning  to  read,  to  innpcent  recreation,  and  to  doing  good 
to  others. 

Be  patient  in  adversity,  and  humble  and  charitable  if 
God  should  increase  your  store. 

Choose  your  cottage  in  a  clean,  open,  airy  situation,  with 
as  many  conveniences,  and  at  as  low  a  rent  as  possible. 

Keep  your  house  whitewashed,  tidy,  and  in  good  order ; 
your  beds,  your  clothing,  and  yourselves,  as  clean  as  you 
can. 

Pay  attention  to  the  timely  repairing  of  your  furniture, 
your  domestic  utensils,  and  especially  your  clothes. 

Be  anxious  to  support  yourselves  by   your    own  indus- 
i  try,  and  never  depend  upon  the  parish,  or  upon  others,  for 
relief,  except  it  be  absolutely  necessary. 

Manage  your  affairs  with  economy,  and  pay  attention  to 
the  price,  weight,  measure,  and  quality  of  every  thing 
you  buy. 


336 


Never  tie  yourselves  to  shopkeepers,  coal-dealers,  haw- 
kers, or  manufacturers,  by  getting  the  articles  you  want 
on  credit ;  if  you  do,  you  are  sure  to  lose  by  it. 

Beware  of  the  ruinous  practice  of  pledging  your  goods 
and  clothing ;  poverty,  misery,  and  degradation,  are  its 
inevitable  consequences. 

Let  the  management  of  your  family,  the  peace  of  your 
house,  and  the  peate  of  your  neighbourhood,  be  your  con- 
stant study. 

Let  both  husband  and  wife  exercise  patience,  forbear- 
ance, and  forgiveness  towards  each  other. 

Let  husbands  love  their  wives  and  be  not  bitter  against 
them,  provide  for  them  in  sickness  and  in  health,  and  do 
every  thing  in  their  power  to  make  Ihera  comfortable. 

Let  wives  reverence  and  obey  their  husbands,  be  sober, 
keepers  at  home,  not  meddling  with  their,neighbour's  af- 
fairs, but  striving  to  promote  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  their  own  families. 

Be  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  your  children  ;  provide  for 
their  education ;  instruct,  admonish,  and  correct  them  in  a 
proper  spirit,  and  set  them  an  example  worthy  of  their 
imitation. 

Do  not  suffer  noise  and  clamour  in  the  bouse,  and  never 
suffer  more  than  one  to  speak  at  a  time. 

Let  the  children  see  that  they  love  and  obey  their  pa- 
rents, love  their  brothers  and  sisters,  keep  from  bad  com- 
pany, improve  their  minds,  and  aim  at  respectability  in 
the  world. 

Let  your  whole  family  unite  in  every  good  work,  strtdy 
your  present  prosperity  and  your  future  welfare,  and  be 
determined  to  live  as  you  would  wish  to  die. 

^  Let  all  in  faith  aad  hope  agree, 

^  Close  in  the  bond  of  charity  ; 

J  Let  discord  cease,   and  peace  abound, 

I  And  every  blessing  here  befound. 

i 


337 
VARIETIES. 


Horrid  Murder. — Early  on  Saturday  morning,  October  8th, 
was  committed  a  horrid  and  sanguinary  murder,  unprecedented 
for  cruelty  in  the  annals  of  history.  I'he  particulars  are  as  fol- 
lows : — Britannia  and  Gulielmns  having  at  length  completed  the 
union  which  has  so  long  been  devoutly  wished,  the  prospect  of  an 
heir  became  every  day  more  apparent.  His  Majesty's  exclusive 
devotedness  to  his  vows  became  the  source  of  much  clamour 
and  dissatisfaction  among  those  paramours  who  began  to  perceive 
that  they  were  no  longer  likely  to  succeed  by  their  unrighteous 
allurements.  After  a  long  and  jjainful  travail  his  worthy  Consort 
was  dehvered  of  her  first-born  son.  So  vindictive  were  some  of 
the  King's  professed  friends,  that  several  attempts  were  made  even 
to  strangle  the  child  at  its  birth  ;  and  some  few  scars,  occasioned 
by  the  same,  were  quite  visible  on  its  features.  It  was,  notwith- 
standing, a  fine  child,  the  King's  son,  the  nation's  hope,  and 
its  proper  name  was  Reform.  Delivered  in  safety  by  the  first  phy- 
sicians of  the  state,  and  the  simultaneous  pledges  of  millions  being 
offered  for  its  defence,  who  could  sup[>ose  that  a  band  of  assassins 
could  be  found  daring  enough  to  attempt  its  life  ?  It  must  needs, 
according  to  form,  be  christened,  and  have  its  name  registered  in 
the  national  records.  The  registrars,  in  the  main,  are  a  set  of  men 
far  more  devoted  to  their  own  exclusive  interests,  than  to  those 
who  come  before  them  ;  and,  in  this  instance,  fearing  the  result 
would.be  a  loss  of  their  illegal  authority,  they  gravely  indulged  the 
design  of  committing  infanticide.  On  the  presentation  of  this  royal 
child,  a  deep  sensation  was  manifested;  it  was  Monday  night;  flash- 
es of  anger  and  deep  designing  looks  pervaded  the  assembly.  "The 
matter  must  be  gravely  considered,''  said  they  ;  "we  suspect  both 
deception  and  danger  in  the  claims  of  this  child,  and  however  we 
may  be  calumniated,  we  will  not  flinch  from  'doing  our  duty,'"  A 
plot  was  formed,  and,  after  many  suggestions,  it  was  finally  deter- 
mined— "  This  is  the  A«>,  we  are  resolved  to  kill  him,  that 
the  inheritance  may  be  ours.  We  will  mock  the  King,  and 
as  for  the  royal  spouse,  we  care  not  though  her  conch  should  be 
made  to  swim  with  tears.''  The  darling  infant  was  presented 
each  successive  evening,  and  was  used  at  every  examination 
with  such  wanton  cruelty,  that  towards  the  end  of  the  week  faint 
hopes  were  entertained  for  its  life.  Its  godfathers.  Brougham 
and  Grey,  standing  at  the  baptismal  font,  urged  strenuously 
that  at  least  it  should  be  baptised,  and  its  mother  was  waiting  at 
the  same  time  the  intelligence  of  its  fate  with  the  greatest  anxiety, 
<  >n  Saturday  morning,  the  fatal  8th,  as  the  day  began  to  dawn,  a 
hundred  and  seventy  eight  of  this  ruthless  camp  laid  violent 
hands  upon  the  infant,  and   whilst  gasping  between   life  and 

Tt 


338 

death,  twenty-one  others,  graver  than  the  rest,  determined 
to  do  themselves  the  immortal  honour  of  sprinkling  the  royal 
blood  upon  their  lawn  sleeves,  rose  up,  and,  with  one  blow,  fi- 
nished the  fatal  catastrophy.  An  inquest  was  held,  and  a  verdict 
of  ivilful  murder  was  pronounced  against  a  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine — I  don't  say  what — in  the  shape  of  men.  Orders  have 
been  given  for  their  apprehension  ;  they  are  to  be  tried  before  a 
jury  of  the  nation,  and  great  fears  are  entertained  as  to 
tiie  result,  though  some  people  think  that  most  of  them  will  get 
clear  on  the  ground  of  insanity.  As  for  the  child,  it  wasinterred 
with  all  dne  solemnity,  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  a  speedy 
resurrection. 

Matrimony. -^The  following  short  prayer,  which  should  be 
lised  at  the  solemnization  of  matrimony,  contains  three  points  in 
■which  I  feel  considerable  interest,  and  which,  to  mark  them  more 
particularly  I  have  printed  in  italics. — "O  merciful  Lord  and 
heavenly  Father,  by  whose  gracious  gift  mankind  is  increased  ; 
we  beseech  thee,  assist  with  thy  blessing  these  two  persons  ;  that 
they  may  both  be  fruitful  in  the  procreation  of  children,  and  alsj^ 
live  together  so  long  in  godly  love  and  honesty,  that  tliey  may  see 
their  children  christianly  and  v'lrtuouly  brought  up,  to  thy  praise 
and  honour,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

The  first  is  truly  anti-Malthusian,  accords  with  all  nature, 
with  every  declaration  of  the  scriptures  upon  ihe  subject,  and 
with  the  best  feelings  of  mankind.  The  second  condemns  the 
unseemly  separations  in  high  life,  as  well  as  in  low  life,  and 
Reaches  the  duty  of  husbands  and  wives  loving  each  other  with  a 
godly  affection,  and  of  being  faithful  and  true  all  the  days  of 
fheir  lives.  The  third  inculcates  that  which,  if  possible,  is  more 
neglected  by  parents  than  any  other  duty — seeing  that  then' 
children  are  "  christianly"  and  "virtuously"  brought  up.  No 
plant  will  grow  properly  without  culture  and  training ;  and 
no  child  can  be  brought  up  well  without  great  care,  and  season- 
able and  persevering  instruction.  Let  parents  keep  their  child- 
ren from  every  bad  association — give  them  wholesome  and  af- 
fectionate instruction — and  set  before  them  a  good  example. 
These  are  the  best  antidotes  to  juvenile  depravity,  and  the  misery 
of  grey  hairs. 

hi:  Children's  Play.-^ChWdren  are  fond  of  play ;  they  cannot 
be  still ;  both  their  hands  and  their  feet  must  be  in  exercise. 
But  it  has  often  been  a  subject  of  lamentation  with  me,  that  the 
superior  reason  of  man  has  not  been  employed  in  providing  suit- 
able exercises  to  meet  the  vivacity  of  youth.  In  this  department, 
^hich  might  be  made  even,  a  branch  of  education,  nothing  has 
been  done,  excepting  what  ha^  been  attempted  in  infant  schools. 
J*lay  is  capable  of  being  made  innocent,  healthy,  exciting,  and 
instructive.  It  should  be  suited  to  the  years  of  tJje  children,  to, 
the  seasons  of  the  year,  and  to  their  situations  in  life,  and  should 
be  such  as  would  be  adopted  without  injunction  by  the   child-. 


iren  themselves.  It  should  be  such  as  would  frequently  no"t  only 
bring  iuto  exercise  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  but  lead  to  thoSe 
bodily  movements  and  actions  which  afford  a  resemblance 
to  something  in  real  life.  Children,  without  being  con* 
scious  of  the  tendency,  would  as  soon  attempt  a  plajful  trick 
that  was  the  embryo  effort  of  some  useful  operation,  as  one  that 
bore  no  relition  to  any  thing  useful.  Can  nothing  be  done  ? 
Is  mischief,  for  want  of  better  exerciser,  to  be  the  costant  calling  of 
our  infants  ?  or  is  bounce-ball^  marbles,  or  pitch  and  toss  for  ever 
to  be  practised  at  the  corner  of  every  street,  for  want  of  some  ra- 
tional amusement?  The  first  is  one  of  the  most  unmeaniig,  vacant 
exercises  that  could  be  adopted  ;  the  second  is  atteniied  with 
more  disputes  and  bad  blood  than  all  the  rest,  whilst  the  latter, 
it  is  too  well  known,  is  the  commencement  of  a  course  of  vici^ 
which  often  terminates  in  transportation  or  the  gallows.  It  is  a 
subject  worthy  the  consideration  of  every  welUwisht^  to  society, 
and  I  should  be  glad  to  receive  the  remarks  or  suggestions  of  any 
who  may  make  it  an  object  of  thtir  studies. 

County  Economy. — Though  it  is  clear  that  great  savings  in  tbte 
expenditure  of  the  county  are  not  onl}-  needed,  but  capable  of  be- 
ing made,  yet  so  many  of  the  county  magistrates  hai'e  been  instal- 
led during  the  reign  of  extra va^^ance,  that  such  worthy  men  as 
Mr.  Addison  and  Mr.  Gale,  must  consent,  for  a  time,  in  making 
their  manly  propositions  for  reducing  salaries,  tobefotind  in  the 
minority.  These  gentlemen,  and  a  few  others,  have  duties 
which  they  wish  to  perform  to  the  public,  but  the  others  have 
duties  which  they  are  mo^t  anxious  to  perform  solely  for  the  in- 
dividuals in  office.  Mr.  Feilden,  chaplain  at  the  S^ew  Bailey, 
has  but  £Q.  a  week,  (that  is  about  a  pound  a  day,  for  no  minis- 
ter of  Christ  would  be  so  impious  as  to  charge  any  thing  for 
ivorking  on  the  sabbath  )  and  surely,  Mr.  Addibon  has  not 
such  low  views  of  the  value  of  spirilual  blessings,  as  to  think  that 
they  could  be  had  for  less!  What!  go  into  the  market  and  en- 
quire the  current  price  of  a  chaplain  Do  not  defile  vodr 
hands  with  such  sacrilegious  attempts  !  Let  the  Rev.  gentle- 
man enjoy  his  salary  while  he  can  bear  up  under  so  accumulated 
a  load  of  duties,  and  also  the  retiring  pension  of  ha(f  pay,  as  an 
honourable  testimony  of  his  valuable  services.  It  is  all  riofht 
for  a  clergyman  to  go  "  higgling  about  the  country"  for  the  best 
living  he  can  catch,  and  to  change  every  month,  if  he  can  get 
more  money,  but  it  is  not  right  for  magistrates  either  to  give  low 
salaries,  or  to  change  them  while  the  holders  live.  They  mav  be 
raised,  with  great  propriety,  at  any  time,  but  four  dozen  of  us 
here  declare,  that  we  will  not  reduce  salaries,  except  as  "  vacan- 
cies arise."  WiUiara  Adam  Hulton,  Esq.,  is  now  to  be  cnunty 
treasurer,  at  the  'mitigated'  salary  of  j6400.  a  year  !  This  is  de- 
creed to  be  a  "fair  sum.''  Much  has  been  said  about  the  trea- 
surer's work  being  done  by  proxy,  and  I  bey- to  offer  an  instance 
-ih  point.  A  friend  of  mine  requested  me  to  call  with  an  ord^r 
-for  costs   awarded  at  the   Kirkdule  sessions  ;    1  kuock-ed  at 


340 

tire  door  of  the  late  Mr.  Hulton,  and  as  I  was  8crapitrj;^ 
my  feet,  expecting,  of  course,  to  be  called  in  to  receive  the  mo- 
ney, or  at  least  to  receive  a  cheque,  a  young  lady  appeared — • 
**  What  was  you  wanting  ?" — ^"  Payment  of  the  costs  of  a  trial  so 
and  »o." — "  Let  nie  see  the  order  ;  is  it  signed  ?"  She  looked  at 
it—"  Well,  you  must  goto  Mr.  Clayton's  bank."  I  went,  and 
with  no  other  order  but  the  paper  from  the  sessions,  the  money 
was  paid  down.  Want  of  space  alone  prevents  me  from  entering^ 
uponseveralof  the  arguments  of  the  justices  who  met  at  the  annual 
sessions,  but  amidst  a  mass  of  sopliistry,  Ihc  speeches  of  Mr* 
Hulton  deserve  prc-eminece.  The  county  rate  is  a  great  bur- 
den. A  saving  of  £1700  was  proposed,  but  was  lost ;  and  as  this 
is  a  species  of  taxation  without  representation,  the  people  have  na 
remedy. 

The  Cottage  Si/stem. — Mr.  Saddler's  motion  respecting  the 
poor  laws  was  well  received,  and  I  hope  will  be  followed  up  by 
suitable  exertions.  He  purposes  returning  to  the  cottage  sys-> 
tern.  This  is  the  system  I  have  always  advocated,  and  the  only 
one  which  contains  the  elements  of  sound  industry,  domestic 
happiness,  and  good  morals.  But  if  my  recollection  is  correct, 
he  is  an  advocate  of  the  corn  laws,  and  these,  to  me,  have  always 
appeared  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  distributing  the  peo- 
ple upon  the  land.  The  advance  in  the  price  of  land,  as  is  the 
case  in  every  other  article,  throws  it  into  few  hands,  and  nothing 
but  a  return  to  old  prices,  which  a  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  alone 
can  effect,  will  put  plots  of  land  within  the  reach  of  the  poor, 
ot  within  the  means  of  those  who  manage  the  poor's  affairs. 

Measuresfor  relieving  the  poor  of  Ireland  tvithout  poor  laws. 
—A  plan  has  been  formed  and  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  home  department  for  the  above  purpose.  It  is  proposed  to 
form  an  Incorporated  National  Company,  under  the  patronage 
of  their  Majesties,  and  the  chief  members  of  state,  and  under  the 
direction  of  influential  noblemen,  and  others,  of  all  parties.  A 
capital  of  three  millions  to  be  raised  on  exchequer  bills,  and  is- 
sued as  the  expenditure  of  the  company  may  demand.  This 
sum  is  to  be  secured  on  the  land  and  buildings  of  the  company, 
to  bear  legal  interest.  The  capital  thus  raised  to  be  vested  in 
the  purchase  and  reclaiming  of  lauds,  the  erection  of  edifices 
most  suitable  for  the  domestic  purposes  of  those  to  be  employed, 
in  the  building  of  manufactories,  and  the  providing  of  raw  ma- 
terials for  the  produce  of  consumable  articles,  and  the  purchasing 
of  farming  slock,  together  with  an  immediate  supply  of  food  and 
other  necessaries  during  the  progress  of  these  preliminary  ar- 
rangements. The  object  of  the  company  is  to  give  suitable  la- 
bour to  the  unemployed  poor,  in  erecting  their  own  buildiugs, 
raising  their  own  food,  and  providing  for  their  own  consumption 
all  the  necessaries  of  life,  its  tendency  is  expected  to  be  an 
immediate  and  permanent  relief  to  the  unemployed  poor,  with* 
out  the  burden  of  maintaining  them,  either  by  charity  or  poor 
laws.       All  the  details  are  promised  to  be  laid  shortly  before  the 


341 

public.  In  this  effort  to  give  rational  lelief  to  Irelartd  a  loan  of  a 
sum  is  expected,  amounting  only  to  one  half  of  what  is  expeud- 
fed  annuallj'  in  England  in  perpetuating  the  pauperism  of  the 
people.  Excepting  the  aged  and  the  infirm,  it  is  evident  that 
emplopnent  \s  the  proper  med'xam  through  which  to  afford  re- 
lief. In  this  effort,  the  previous  remission  of  the  corn  tax,  and 
lithe  tax,  would  be  found  an  immense  advantage.  The  land 
would  be  so  much  cheaper  to  purchase,  and  the  improvements 
would  not  be  retarded  by  sacerdotal  exactions.  May  the  friends 
of  Ireland  go  on  and  prosper  in  this  their  noble  undertaking  ! 

Corporations,— The  dinners  of  the  ex— *and  newly  elected 
members  to  the  chief  offices  in  these  public  bodies,  serve  to  in- 
duce the  public— though  they  should  never  hear  of  any  of  their 
good  worlcs — to  bestow  upon  them,  now  and  then,  a  few  reflec- 
tions. But  of  late  something  more  interesting  has  occurred. 
At  Wiganthe  corporation  has  at  once  become  liberal,  and  afirst- 
raterefortnerhas  been  the  Mayor.  In  Preston  also,  there  has  been 
a  considerable  addition  of  liberal  men,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen 
"whether  these  will  attempt  the  reform  of  abuses,  or  sink  down 
tjuifclly  amid  the  mass  of  old  defilement.  Is  there  not  one  who 
will  now  and  then  visit  the  toll  bar;--,  and  rescue  the  Corporation 
of  Preston  from  the  disgrace  of  making  partial  and  unjust  de- 
mands ?  The  late  plan  of  collecting  the  church  rates,  has  been 
the  plan  of  collecting  tolls  for  several  years  past.  They  frighten 
as  many  as  they  can,  and  the  rest  they  let  go  free.  Will  the 
new  common  council  men  be  parties  to  a  proceeding  so  disho- 
nourable as  this  ?  What  a  pity  it  is  that  so  fine  a  tract  of  land 
as  the  Moor,  should  lie  in  its  present  uncultivated  state.  Could 
not  an  active  and  liberal  corporation  come  to  some  understand- 
ctng  with  the  freemen,  so  as  to  bring  it  into  a  state  of  culture, 
"iilind  productive  of  wealth  to  the  town  ^  But  it  is  too  true, 
as  Cowper  says,  that 

'♦  Chartered  boroughs  are  such  public  plagues. 

And  burghers,  men  immaculate  perhaps 

In  all  their  private  functions,  once  combined, 
'   Become  a  loathsome  body,  only  fit 

For  dissolution,  hurtful  to  the  main. 

Hence  merchants,  unimpeachable  of  sin, 

Against  the  charities  of  domestic  life. 

Incorporated,  seem  at  once  to  lose 

Their  nature." 

Funeral  Charges,  Easter  Dues,  ^c— Statements  of  hard- 
ships endured  by  the  rigorous  demands  of  the  Vicar,  are  coui- 
stantly  coming  to  hand.  The  extra  thirteen-fwnce  at  funerals 
he  knows  is  illegal  and  ought  not  to  be  demanded  ;  however,  as 
the  best  and  most  peaceable  way  of  assisting  the  people  to  resist 
it  at  present,  an  exact  list  of  what  is  justly  due  will  be  drawn  up 
and  made  so  public  that  he  that  runs  may  read.  But  in  the 
event  of  the  establishmeiit  of  a  cemetry  in  Preston,  of  which  I 


342 

fcaVe little  doubt,  the  people  will  find  ample  redress.  They  will 
then  serve  the  Vicar  in  the  way  that  any  of  us  would  do  a  sharp- 
er  who  attempts  fo  make  us  pay  twice  for  the  same  article. 

Another  complaint  is'lhathe  claiins  the  grass  which  grows  irt 
the  yards  of  the  new  churches;  that  thirty  shillings  is  annually 
demanded  for  that  in  the  park,  and  that,  in  reference  to  the 
other,  because  the  worthy  minister  had  given  ^henseofthe 
grass,  thinking  no  ill  in  it,  some  very  severe  threats  followed. 
Now,  viewing  the  matter  in  a  mercantile  light,  we  never  wonder 
at  a  raau  making  the  most  of  his  oivn;  but  when  the  parish  has 
paid  for  the  ground,  it  ought  to  belong  to  the  parish  ;  and  selling 
the  grass,  trifling  as  it  is,  seems  to  me  not  less  improper  than  sell- 
ing the  graves  for  a  guinea  a  piece.  Though  the  poor  are  sent  to 
be  buried  at  the  new  churches,  because  it  is  alledged  there  is  no 
room  in  the  yard  of  the  parish  church,  yet,  I  am  told,  if  a  per- 
son want  to  purchase  a  grave  *'  there  is  room  enough  yet." 
Could  any  person  furnish  me,  against  next  month,  with  a  list  of 
articles,  from  which  Mr.  Wilson  derives  profit,  as  Vicar  of  the 
parish  The  blue  schools  remain  much  as  they  were^  though  I 
believe  the  girls'  school  is  even  in  a  worse  state  than  the  boys'. 

As  a  stand  is  intended  to  be  made  against  the  demand  far 
Easter  dues,  the  followin<;  may  be  useful, — at  any  rale  it  is  a  cu- 
riosity.— "  A  table  of  Easter  Dues  belonging  to  the  parish 
church  of  Preston,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster.  Names  of  town- 
ships  that  compose  the  parish  ;  Ashton,  Lea,  Cottom,  and  Ingol ; 
Preston,  Grimsargh,  Elsfon,  Kibbleton,  and  Fishwick  ;  Barton, 
Broughton,  and  Haighton. — A  man  and  his  wife,  6^d.  ;  a  board- 
er, Id.;  a  communicant,  |d.  ;  a  single  housekeeper,  5d.;  a 
widow  or  widower,  no  housekeeper,  3d.  ;  one  cow  and  calf,  l|d» 
two  cows,  6d.  ;  three  cows,  gd.  ;  four  cows,  Is.  ;  fivecows,  3s.  4d> 
seven  cows,  6s.  8d.;  and  all  milch  cows  above  this  number,  each 
2d.  A  white,  Id.  ;  a  plow,  id.  ;  a  half  plow,  |d.  A  swarm  of 
bees,  id. ;  a  foal,  id.  ;  wool  and  lambs,  per  score,  2s.  No.  7, 
a  tithe  goose,  or  8d.  Fishery,  l2s.  Mills,  Is.  Sacramentalia 
for  Fullwood,  3s.  4d." 

A  true  copy,  taken  from  the  old  Book  of  Collections. 

To  the  Editor  ofihe  Moral  Reformer^ 
Sir, 

T»  do  full  justice  in  answering  your  queriesj  as  to  whether  a  per- 
son ought  voluntarily  to  tender  the  full  charge  of  a  treble  letter  after  having 
been  charged  by  the  post-office  only  as  a  double  one — and,  as  *'  the  post- 
office  is  satisfied,  whether  he  ought  also  to  feel  satisfied  with  paying  merely 
what  was  demanded,"  would  require  more  time  and  attention  than  I  can^ 
at  present,  devote  to  it«  Many  individuals  may  imagine  that  a  simple  affir<^ 
mativeor  negative  would  be  quite  sufficient  3  but  such  answers  would  be  < 
little  value,  either  as  correctors  of  erroneous  ideas,  or  as  food  for  the  tuin 
of  the  youthful  moralist. 


343 

For  tbe  purpose  pf  arriving  at   a  satisfactory  conclusion  to  any  moral 
question,  we  ouglit  to  enquire— 

piist, — whether  or  not  the  action  is  right ;  ov,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
agreeable  to  the  will  of  God  ; — to  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  which,  two  ways 
present  themselves  1.  By  the  express  declarations  of  Holy  Writ.  But 
since  morality  is  taugfht  in  the  scriptures  only  by  general  rules,  (which  rules 
are  occasionally  illustrated  by  parables,  remarks  upon  actual  occurrences, 
^c.)  we  must  not  expect  to  find  ia  them  a  solution  to  every  moral  doubt 
which  may  arise.  2.  By  the  light  of  nature,  or  by  what  we  can  discover  of 
the  design  and  disposition  of  the  Creator  from  his  works.  By  these  two 
means,  any  question,  as  to  whether  right  or  wrong,  may  be  easily  solved.  For 
though  we  may  not  be  able  to  find  what  we  want  clearly  elucidated  in  the 
scriptures,  we  may  there  discover  so  much  of  Lis  will  and  disposition,  as  to 
be  assured  that  he  wishes  the  happiness  of  his  creatures ; — consequently, 
any  action  which  promotes  that  end  must  be  right,  and  vice  versa.  But 
since  there  are  manyacti'ms  which  are  decidedly  wrong,  yet,  nevertheless, 
apparently  beneficial  to  society,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enquire- 
Secondly, — into  the  utility  of  the  action,  or  its  probable  ultimate  effect 
upon  society  Whatever  may  be  the  immediate  beneficial  effect  of  any  par- 
ticular action,  if  its  tendency  is  bad,  the  action  is  wrong. 

But  to  return  more  particularly  to  the  question  under  consideration. 
You  enquire,  "ought  the  owner  to  go  voluntarily  and  tender  the  extra 
charge  to  which  the  letter  was  liable?"  Before  I  answer  I  ask  myself — is 
it,  or  is  it  not,  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  do  so  ?  I  next  refer  to  the 
scriptures,  and  in  Malt.  xxii.  21,1  filid,  in  Christ's  answer  to  the  pharisees, 
these  words: — "  Render,  therefore,  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Cae- 
sar's, and  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God's."  And  St.  Paul,  in  enforc- 
ing on  the  Romans  the  duty  of  subjection,  &c.,  says,  (xiii.  7.)  "  Render, 
therefoie  to  aW  their  dues;  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due;  custom  to 
whom  custom,  &c."  These  two  passages  (to  say  nothing  of  a  multitude 
of  others  which  might  be  produced)  I  consider  quite  sufficient  to  convince 
any  one  on  whom  moral  rectitude  has  not  lost  all  power  of  attraction,  and 
who  strives  after  the  approbation  of  God  in  the  hope  of  ultimately  gaining 
the  reward  which  that  approbation  will  secure  for  him,  that  not  to  tender 
to  the  post  office  that  which  is  evidently  their  due,  is,  in  effect,  to  act  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  God,  which,  I  think,  no  one  will  allow  to  he  right. 

If  he  tenders  not  the  full  charge  to  which  the  letter  is  liable,  the /jaf- 
ticular  consequence  will  be  the  saving  of  a  few  pence,  which  may  benefit  his 
family,  or  enable  him  to  assist  some  unfortunate  individual,  whilst  the  office 
would,  comparatively,  suffer  no  loss.  The  general  consequence  is,  to  en- 
courage a  practice  which  is  evidently  dishonest.  Its  tendency,  therefore, 
is  bad.* 

♦  Some  may  be  ready  to  argue  that  if  any  action  be  perpetrated   with    perfect  secrecy 
the  evils  resulting  fronitlie  force  of  example  will  be  obviated,  and  thus  render  the  crime 

less  unpardonable.     But  "when  God  shall  judge  the  ifcr«'/s  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ" 

when  he  shall  "bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  make  manifest  the  comisck 
of  the  hcari;^  will  the  severity  of  their  sentence,  on  this  account,  meet  with  any 
mitigatiou  ? 


I  344 

Having  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  to  enquire  whether,  ''as  the  post* 
office  is  satisfied,  I  also  ought  to  feel  satisfied  with  paying  merely  what  was 
demanded  ?"  is  to  ask  whether  1  ought  to  feel  satisfied  with  disobeying,  or 
acting  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  God?  As  far  as  regards  my  actions,  I  am 
Vifree  agent.  But  in  what  point  does  my  interest  lay?  Not,  surely,  in  dis- 
obeying God,  and  risking  all  the  effects  of  his  justly  excited  anger.  "  For, 
what  will  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul? 
or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  !Vfan 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  his  angels  ;  and  then  he  shall 
reward  every  man  according  to  his  works. 

These  hasty   remarks   embrace  but  very  indifferent   answers    to   your 
queries.     They  are,  however,  freely  offered  by 

Your  sincere  well-wisher, 

CAIUS  TORANIUS. 


To  Ihe  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer » 

Respected  Friend, 

In  reply  to  the  communication  of  "  Another  Plodder  in  the  dark," 
1  heg  to  state,  in  the  first  place,  that  "  Plodder  in  the  Dark"  addressed  me 
privately,  by  post,  which  may  account  to  thy  readers  unacquainted  with 
this  circumstance  for  the  appearance  of  apathy  shewn  towards  the  subject 
in  question  ;  and  I  take  leave  to  add,  that  his  letter  to  me,  and  a  subse- 
quent personal  interview,  prove,  to  my  satisfaction,  that  the  reverse  is  true* 
Before  entering  upon  the  subject  proposed  by  thy  correspondent.  Gram- 
mar and  Reading,  allow  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  Self-education  in 
general.  It  is,  as  implied  by  the  term,  a  mode  of  acquiring  the  knowledge 
of  any  science  by  private  study,  unassisted  by  a  living  instructer :— a  mode 
of  instruction,  though  possibly  the  best  within  the  pecuniary  means  of 
many,  liable  to  numerous  and  serious  objections ;  and  I  trust  thy  corres- 
pondent will  not  think  it  irrelevant  if  1  endeavour  to  state  some  of  the 
difficulties  which  attend  this  mode. 

1.  It  is  very  laborious,  since  the  knowledge  of  every  fact  has  to  be  ac- 
quired by  sedulous  reading  and  extensive  research ;  but  even  these  exer- 
tions are  not,  at  all  times,  successful. 

2.  Suppose  the  student  not  to  succeed  in  gaining  the  specific  information 
he  has  been  in  search  of,  in  this  situation  he  is  peculiarly  liable  to  discourage- 
ment, and  often  feels  inclined  to  abandon  a  study  in  which  difficulties  seem 
to  hem  him  in  on  every  side. 

3.  Yet  these  difficulties  might,  possibly,  never  have  presented  them- 
selves had  the  student  had  the  advantage  of  a  judicious  living  instructer, 
as  they  frequently  arise  either  from  his  not  thoroughly  understanding  some 
previous  part,  bearing  upon  the  one  under  consideration,  or  from  his  not 
taking  a  correct  view  of  that  before  him. 


a45 

4.  Solitary  study  is  dull,  iuert,  and  dispiriting.  Since  pecuniary 
means,  however,  limit  many  froai  availing  themselves  of  the  numerous  fa- 
cilities with  which  we  are  at  present  so  abundantly  supplied,  the  best  sub- 
stitute that  occujs  to  me  would  lie  for  n  small  number  of  individuals  to 
form  themselves  into  a  class  for  mutual  instruction. 

I  will,  then,  for  the  purpose  of  more  fully  exhibiting  the  plan  I  have  to 
recommend,  suppose  that  "  Another  plodder  in  the  dark"  has  induced  five 
other  young  men  to  unite  with  him  in  the  study,  and  that  they  are  each 
famished  with  a  copy  of  Lennie's  Giamm^r,  one  of  the  *'  Lists  of  Parts  of 
Speech,"  (a  number  of  which  I  seud  for  thy  disposal — 1  do  this  because  they 
cannot  be  procured  elsewhere)  and,  as  common  property,  one  Key  to  Lcnnie. 

I  will  agiiu  imagine  the  class  to  be  quite  unacquainted  with  the  subject, 
a«id,  therefore,  recommend  them,  in  the  first  place,  to  commit  thoroughly  to 
Bceinory  the  list  of  parts  of  speech,  ami  the  definitions  of  the  noun,  adjective, 
and  verb.  They  will  then  find  themselves  q  lite  able  to  determine  the 
part  of  speech  to  which  any  word  in  any  sentence  belongs.  In  order  to 
render  themselves  very  familiar  with  this  important  part  of  our  subject, 
let  them  turn  to  page  55,  and,  in  rotation,  tell  aloud  the  part  of  speech  of 
each  word ;  any  error  that  may  be  committed,  to  be  corrected  by  any  mem  • 
ber  of  the  class  who  may  observe  the  error;  and  much  will  depend  upon 
each  carefully  observing  his  neighbour's  steps. 

When  the  class  feel  themselves  masters  uf  this  operation,  they  may  turn 
their  attention  more  particularly  to  the  verb.  After  carefully  reading  over 
and  studying,  in  class,  the  definitions  of  the  active,  passive,  and  neuter 
verb,  page  tg,  let  them  then  proceed  with  their  parsing  as  before  with 
this  difference ; — they  should  now  state,  respecting  every  verb,  whether 
it  be  active,  psssive,  or  neuter.  Should  any  difficulty  arise  in  the  mind  of 
any  individual,  let  him  state  it  to  the  class,  when,  by  comparing  notes, 
some  one  will  be  found  able  to  assist  him. 

They  should,  also,  at  each  lesson,  conjugate  a  verb,  after  the  model 
given,  page  27,  each  in  turn  reading  a  tense  aloud.  At  first  let  them  sub- 
stitute the  appropriate  form  of  the  proposed  verb  in  the  place  of  the  model 
verb,  with  the  book  open,  as  their  guile  :— after  a  little  practice  they  will 
be  able  to  conjugate  verbs  without  the  help  of  the  model  before  them. 
This  exercise  I  consider  an  important  one. 

It  will  now  be  proper  to  study  well,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Key,  from 
the  7th  to  the  I3th  page  inclusive,  and  page  I5.  This  done,  the  class  will 
be  prepared  to  give  fuither  particulars  respecting  nouns  and  pronouns,  that 
is,  to  determine  the  number,  gender,  and  case,  of  every  noun  and  pronoun 
they  meet  with  in  their  parsing  lessons,  which  must  be  unremittingly 
persevered  in. 

After  this  operation  has  been  continued  some  time,  the  adjective  should 
be  brought  under  notife.  Page  14,  with  the  remarks  in  the  Key,  will  enable 
the  class  to  decide  the  degree  of  comparison  of  this  part  of  speech  :  they 
should  also  state  what  noun  each  adjective  qualifies.  Personal  and  relative 
pronouns  are  parsed  as  nouns,  except  that  the  relative  should  have  its  ante-r 


U  u 


346 

cedent  pointed  out,  the  gender,  number,  and  person  of  which  it  takes,  ac- 
cording to  rules  15  and  i6of  syntav. 

It  is  understood  that  the  conjugation  of  the  verb  has  been  persevered  in. 
That  alone  will  enable  the  class  to  give  all  the  particulars  of  mood,  tense, 
&c.,  of  this  important  part  of  speech.  It  will  now  be  requisite  to  tuin  the  at' 
tention  of  the  class  more  closely  to  syntax.  The  plan  1  would  recommend 
them  to  pursue  in  this  department,  is  this: — Let  each  member  come  prepared 
with  as  much  of  the  exercise  under  Rule  1st,  corrected  in  writing,  as  shall 
have  been  previously  agreed  upon.  Then  let  one  of  the  class  take  the  Key 
and  read  slowly  the  corrected  exercise  from  it,  while  each  observes  how  far 
his  own  corresponds  with  it.  This  done,  and  the  necessary  corrections 
made,  let  each  member,  in  rotation,  state  to  the  class  the  reasons  for  his 
making  the  alterations  from  the  grammar.  This  should  be  done  in  as  con-, 
cise  and  logical  a  form  as  possible,  to  save  time,  and  to  enable  the  class  to 
enter  fully  into  the  meaning  of  the  rule :  for  example,  in  "  1  loves  reading,"* 
say, /is  the  first  person  singular,  ^ue*  is  the  third  person  singular,  but 
"a  verb  must  agree,  &c,"  therefore  loves  should  be  love 

After  having  gone  through  syntax  in  this  way,  and  persevered  in  their 
parsing  lessons,  (for  upon  this  they  must  mainly  depend  for  their  knowledge 
of  grammar)  they  will  be  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  niceties  of  the  language, 
and  will  be  so  far  masters  of  the  subject  as  to  point  out  to  themselves  the 
best  path  to  be  pursued. 

My  letter  has  extended  to  so  much  greater  a  length  than  I  anticipated 
on  commencing,  that  my  remarks  on  Reading  must  be  short.  Indeed,  I 
conceive  little  more  need  be  said  upon  this  subject  than  this :— That  the 
great  object  should  be  to  get  thoroughly  at  the  meaning  of  your  author,  and 
then  to  adopt  an  easy,  natural  mode  of  conveying  the  sense  aloud  to  others. 
There  are,  however,  some  general  rules,  which  are  best  learned  firom  the 
living  voice.  But  Walker,  or  any  other  autlior  on  Elocution,  will  convey 
the  required  information  more  fully  and  e^ectuaily  than  my  ability  or  space 
will  admit. 

I  am  afraid  thy  correspondent  will  have  thought  I  have  entered  too  te- 
diously into  detail : — my  wish  to  be  explicit  must  be  my  apology. 

I  hope  "  Plodder  in  the  dark"  will  accept  of  the  foregoing  as  a  fuller 
answer  to  his  query  than,  as  we  were  situated  at  the  time,  I  was  able  tOt 
give  him  at  our  last  interview.  1  shall  be  glad  to  hear  how  he  succeeds  ii\ 
his  study  of  grammar. 

]  am,  respectfully,  thy  sincere  Friend, 

GEO.  EDMONDSON. 
hower-Bank  Academy,  near  Blackburn, 
Qth  Month  21sf,  1831. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  R^ormer, 
Sir, 

Intemperance  and  its  lamentable  consequenpes  have  been  ofteq 
noticed  in  the  pages  of  the  Moral  Reformer,  and,  so  long  as  the  «vil  not  oply 


34^ 

continues,  but  increases  in  so  alarming  a  degriee,  bur  atleiltioti  Musi  Ire 
repeatedly  directed  to  it.  To  View  the  full  extent  of  inteimpelpance,  to  wit- 
ness its  dreadful  effects,  and  contemplate  its  awful  consequences,  is  beyond 
our  power,  but  any  one  may  perceive  enough  to  cause  his  heart  to  ache. 
Drunkenness  ruins  families  and  individuals,  destroys  the  sensibilities  of 
humanity,  brutalizes  the  mind,  hardens  the  heart  against  the  influence  of 
religion,  and  finally  excludes  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  is  like  the 
pale  horse  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Revelations,  which  has  d6ath  for  its 
Hder,  and  hell  follows  after  him.  How  often  has  the  poor  unhappy  drunk- 
ard, upon  recovering  from  the  effects  of  a  recent  debauch,  feelingly  bewailed 
his  case,  heartily  condemned  his  conduct,  and  bitterly  reproached  himself^ 
and  he  has  resolved  that  he  will  never  again  sin  against  himself  and  his  God 
in  a  similar  manner.  In  the  house  of  God  he  has  listened  to  the  proclama- 
tion of  "peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:"  the  exhibition  of 
the  compassion  of  our  heavenly  Father,  and  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  has 
affected  his  heart  and  brought  tears  from  his  eyes,  and  he  has  then  vowed  to 
forsake  his  wicked  courses  and  seek  salvation;  but  the  next  temptation  to 
intemperance  has  slain  all  his  resolution,  broken  all  his  vows,  and  sunk  him 
lower  than  before.  He  awakes  from  his  drunken  insensibility,  and,  amidst 
the  torment  of  conscience  and  the  darkness  of  despair,  his  only  relief  is,  that 
be  is  not  yet  in  hell.  Alas  !  the  drunkard  is  in  bondage  ;  he  is  the  slave  of  a 
cruel,  unrelenting  tyrant,  and  nothing  but  his  soul's  blood  will  satisfy  the 
infernal  monster. 

The  case  of  the  confirmed  drunkard  is  all  but  hopeless,  and  the  recovery 
of  occasional  drunkards  is  vei-y  doubtful ;  the  means,  therefore,  to  suppress 
intemperance,  mast  be  employed  with  the  temperate;  for  it  is  an  indisputa- 
ble fact,  that  drunkards  are  produced  from  the  number  of  those  who  plead 
for,  and  practice,  the  "  moderate  use "  of  the  articles  that  destroy  euch 
multitudes. 

If  our  legislators  were  really  desirous  of  counteracting  the  spread  of  in- 
temperance, they  have  ample  means  to  do  so.  The  removal  of  the  tax  on 
malt,  the  imposition  o\  heavy  duties  on  ardent  spirits,  and  suitable  regula- 
tions respecting  public  bouses,  particularly,  non-consumption  on  the  pre- 
mises of  beer  shops,  would  give  a  powerful  check  to  the  evil.  But  if  we  wait 
till  these  alterations  arc  accomplished,  we  act  like  the  countryman  who 
loitered  on  the  bank  of  the  river  for  the  failure  of  the  stream,  that  he  might 
pass  over  on  dry  ground.  The  temperate  part  of  the  community,  and  par- 
ticularly those  professing  Christianity,  are  the  persons  who  must  renovate 
society  by  their  personal  conduct,  and  by  influencing  public  opinion,  and, 
through  it,  the  legislature  ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  if  they 
would  combine  to  employ  suitable  means  with  energy  and  perseverence,  the 
most  happy  results  would  follow. 

Temperance  societies  have  been  instituted  in  many  places  with  this 
specific  design,  and  seem  admirably  calculated  to  effect  it ;  but  owing  to 
the  fewness  of  their  number,  the  insincerity  of  some  of  their  members,  and 
the  general  apathy  of  those  who  ought  to  act  otherwise,  little  good  has  yet 
been  realized.     The  constitution  of  the  Glasgow    Temperance  Society  is 


548 

• 

ihu8  expressed  :—**  We,  whose  names  are  here  subscribed,  belicviug  thai 
intemperance  and  its  atteudant  evils  are  promoted  by  existing  habits  and 
opinions,  in  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  that  decisive  measuitsfor 
effecting  a  reformation  are  indispensable,  do  voluntarily  agree  to  abstain 
entirely  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  except  for  medical  purposes^  aud 
although  tlie  moderate  use  of  other  liquors  is  not  excluded,  yet,  as  the  pro- 
motion of  temperance  in  every  form  is  the  specific  design  of  the  Society,  it 
is  understood  that  excess  in  these  necessarily  excludes  from  membership." 

Respecting  this  "  constitution,"  which  has  been  adopted  by  other  simi- 
lar societies,  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  prevails,  and  many  who  wish  to 
s^e  ihtemperance  suppressed,  refuse  to  come  unilcr  its  obligations.  In  the 
first  place  :— The  doctrine  of  the  society  is,  that  "ardent  spirits  taken  by 
healthy  persons,  are  always  unnecessary,  aud  generaHy  injurious  ;  and  when 
taken  as  medicine,  frequently  produce,  by  their  iiijudiciu>is  use,  very  bane- 
ful consequences;"  aud  in  support  of  it  a  host  of  testimonials  from 
most  eminent  medical  men  in  Great  Britain  and  /America  are  produced. 
Multitudes,  however,  of  the  piofessed  friends  of  temperance,  deny  the  truth 
of  this  doctrine,  and  in  proof,  instance  their  own  case.  1  sball,  at  present, 
only  remark,  that  if  any  piece  of  machinery  whatsoever  is  made  to  move 
at  a  more  than  ordinary  speed,  the  "  wear  and  tear"  are  proportionably 
greater.  Every  housewife  knows  that  if  she  applies  a  pair  of  bellows 
to  the  fire,  the  heat  is  greatly  increased,  but  when  they  are  laid  aside,  the 
fire  either  sinks  lower  than  before,  or  fiesh  fuel  is  the  sooner  required.  In 
the  same  manner,  ardent  spirits  accelerate  the  vital  fluids  for  a  short  period, 
but  coriisponding  debility  assuredly  follows.  1  refer  tlie  reader,  likewise, 
to  Edgar's  Introduction  to  Beecher's  Sermons,  cited  in  the  Moral  Reformer 
for  January,  page  26th.  In  the  next  place:— Temperance  Societies  are 
based  upon  the  principle  of  "eutire  abstinence  from  ardent  spirits,  except- 
ing for  medical  purposes,"  and  their  advocates  maintain  that  it  is  in  vain 
to  attempt  to  suppress  intemperance  unless  this  be  strictly  enforced,  as  no 
limits  can  be  fixed  to  their  "  moderate  use,"  aud  chiefly,  because  the  ranks 
.of  drunkards  are  filled  up  from  the  class  of  "moderate  users"  alone. 
This  principle  of  abstinence  keeps  out  thousands,  some  of  whom  question 
its  propriety  and  efiiciency ;  some  deny  its  justness,  so  long  as  other  li- 
quors arc  at  all  allowed  j  ^id  others  will  not  make  so  great  a  sacrifice. 

In  the  last  place :— Temperance  Societies  permit  their  members  the 
"moderate  use  ofall  other  liquors  "  and  those  who  do  not  use  them  in  the 
strictest  moderation,  are  not  considered  temperate,  but  intemperate,  and 
thereby  "  exclude  themselves  from  membership."  But  this  part  of  the 
"  constitution,"  so  far  as  country  places  are  concerned,  is  considered  insuffi- 
cient by  several  judicious  individuals  j  and  their  reasoning  is,  briefly,  the 
following: — "In  America,  where  ardent  spirits  are  so  cheap,  aud  ia  large  towns 
where  dram  shops  arc  so  numerous,  and  among  the  higher  classes  of  society, 
who  place  the  decanters  upon  the  table  daily,  or  at  least  as  often  as  they 
have  company,  or  a  friend  calls,  the  principle  of  abstinence  is  an  excellent 
and  indispensable  regulation  ;  but  among  the  labouring  classes  in  country 
places,  the  prohibition  of  ardent  spirits  is  only  a  partial  remedy,  as  the  grca^ 


349 

mass  of  drunkards  are  produced  by  excess  iu  drinking  a/e  ;  and  they  prdi 
ceed  to  the  use  of  spirits  only  when  the  appetite  for  intoxication  has  become 
too  violent  to  be  satisfied  with  simple  malt  liquor  j — and  that  to  effect  a 
reformation  among  them,  all  drinking  at  public-houses  and  beer  shops  must 
be  strictly  forbidden,  and  all  butty-drinking,  footings,  and-the  abominable 
wedding-drinkings,  must  be  entirely  abolished."  The  correctness  of  this 
view  of  the  subject  will  not,  I  think,  be  denied  ;  and,  surely,  all  who  sin- 
cerely desire  the  welfare  of  the  community  will  come  forward  5  and,  by  the 
framing  of  suitable  regulations  and  strict  adherence  to  them,  labour  to 
check,  and  eventually  suppress,  this  giant  evil,  which  all  persons  of  charac- 
ter deplore,  and  even  drunkards  acknowledge.  What  a  mighty  change  in 
human  society  would  the  suppression  of  intemperance  effect!  The  evil  is 
at  present  so  completely  interwoven  with  the  intercourse  of  all  classes  and 
ranks,  that  we  must  *'  turn  the  world  upside  down"  to  eradicate  it.  Mas- 
ters must  cease  to  pay  or  treat  their  workpeople  at  public-houses  ;  friends 
must  forbear  to  treat  each  other  at  them  5  our  youth  must  be  taught  to  re- 
gard  them  as  "the  way  to  the  pit;"  and  clubs  and  benefit  societies  must 
be  instituted  iu  school-rooms. 

Hoping  the  subject  of  this  paper  will  often  be  ably    and   profitably  dis- 
cussed in  the  pages  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 

I  am,  Sir, 

A  MEMBER   OF   A  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Dear  Sir, 

Every  attempt  to  stem  the  torrent  of  vice  and  imtnorality  in 
this  country,  must  meet  with  the  approbation  of  every  real  patriot.  And, 
wishing  success  to  your  labours,  1  doubt  not  but  a  degree  of  success  will 
attend  them,  in  proportion  as  it  plainly  appears  that  you  are  actuated  by 
christian  kindness,  a  single  eye,  and  complete  impartiality  in  the  strictures 
you  administer.  * 

But  should  it  begin  to  appear  that  in  your  writings  there  is  an  undue 
leaning  towards  censure  of  the  rich — to  rail  against  whom  costs  little 
thought; — or  to  represent  {he  vicious  part  of  a  religious  establishment  as 
a  true  picture  of  the  establishment  itself — in  which  stale  device  every  black- 
guard will  join  you— the  good  that  might  result  from  your  labours  will  be 
neutralized.  By  nourishing  and  cherishing  envious  and  malignant  feelirags, 
you  will  at  least  do  as  much  harm  as  good. 

Do  not  mistake  me.  I  am  neither  minister  nor  member  of  the  Church 
of  England.  It  hates  me  as  fervently  as  it  hates  you.  But  in  studying  to 
repay  this  ill  will  by  the  kindness  of  putting  it  into  a  better  attitude  toward 
the  community,  I  think  care  should  be  taken  that,  while  we  expose  its  de- 
fects, we  may  not  appear  to  be  seeking  to  give  the  infidel  world  additional 


350 

caifst  to  blaeptieme.  There  is  good— and  there  are  realty  good  and  piouS 
■len  in  the  church  ;  and  with  all  its  enormous  abuses,  there  are  things  for 
which  the  country  is  deeply  indebted  to  it.  This  is,  at  least,  the  opinion 
frf  one  who  has  no  reason  to  be  prejudiced  in  its  favour. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  are.  most  likely  to  be  pleased  with  som6 
parts  of  your  attack  upon  it,  are  men  not  over-righteous,  nor  very  conspicu. 
«H3  in  any  mode  of  religion,  internal  or  external,  but  a  motley  tribe  of  loft- 
dels,  Huntites,  Cobbettites,  and  believers  in  all  unbelief.  You  cannot  but 
Mc  that  it  is  by  such  a  band  chiefly  (others  aid  them,  doubtless,  from  the 
heat  motives)  that  the  Church  of  England  isy  at  present,  throughout  th6 
coontry,  attacked.  I  know  you  are  not  of  iheni:  I  would  that  your  book 
were  not  praised  by  them.  For,  as  soon  as  ever  they  begin  to  find  fault  with 
it,  then  1  shall  conclude  that  you  have  begun  to  attack  vice  with  some 
effect. 

As  to  the  question  between  the  rich  and  poor,  (which  forms  the  othet 
feature  of  your  publication)  your  advice  to  the  rich  is  good.  Now  follow  it 
up  by  giving, — still  in  the  spirit  of  the  purest  christian  charity,— suitable 
advice  and  directions — for  you  can  do  it — to  the  poor.  Some  of  your  rea* 
ders  think  that  you  have  not  lield  the  balance  between  the  two  parties  with 
the  impartial  and  steady  hand  of  justice; — that  you  have  too  sedulously  in- 
cukated  upon  the  poor,  who,  you  acknowledge,  constitute  a  majority  of  you^ 
readers,  the  questionable  doctrine  that  the  greater  part  of  their  sufferings 
arises  from  the  misconduct  of  those  above  them.  Is  this  doctrine  true? 
Is  the  inculcation  of  it  useful  ?  As  you  would  have  ail  public  teachers  to 
befaithful,  dare  you,  at  the  risk  of  your  popularity,  tell  the  poor  man 
6ow  much  of  his  present  poverty  is  owing  to  his  own  improvidence;  how 
Bweh  to  his  not  knowing  how  to  use  economy;  how  much  to  his  wasting 
ti»  money  in  smoking  tobacco ;  how  much  to  his  want  of  foresight  in  not 
bying  up  against  a  rainy  day ;  how  much,  in  short,  to  the  time  he  has 
spent  in  the  Tom  and  Jerry  shop  ?  If  you  dare  do  this,  and  will  do  it,  faith- 
folly  and  perseveringly,  till  it  produces  effect,  tlien  have  we  found  a  Reformer 
of  the  right  sort.  And  if  you  insert  this  letter— not  omitting  to  point  out 
where  you  think  it  erroneous-~you  will  oblige  one  who  hopes  to  be 

A  FELLOW-LABOURER. 


[Upon  the  contents  of  the  foj-egoing  letter  I  beg  to  offer  a  few  observa^ 
f  ion».  1  admire  the  candour  of  the  writer,  though  he  ought  to  have  given 
Lis  name,  and  this  circumstance,  had  the  remarks  applied  to  any  other  indi- 
Tidaa),  would  probably  have  endangered  its  insertion.  Unfortunately,  io 
hUs  statements  and  inferences,  he  has  not  made  a  single  reference  to  any  ar- 
iieie,  or  to  any  passage,  in  the  Reformer  :  his  allusions  are  all  general,  and, 
therefore,  to  convince  readers  of  the  incorrectness  of  any  allegation,  general 
ttaawers  only  can  be  given.— First,  then,  as  to  conniving  at  the  sins  of  the 
poor,  I  think,  in  pleading  7iot  guilty,  I  shall  be  well  supported  by  those  who 


351 

have  read  the  work  from  thebee;inning.     I  hare  not  purposely  omitted  ot^ 
opportunily  of  remonstrating  witli  them  as  to  their  vices  and  follies.     Has 
my  correspondent   read   the  first  ailicle  in  the  July  number,   entitled  "Au 
address  to  the  Working  Classes,  as  to   the   best  means  of  promoting  their 
own  happiness?"     Besides   this    he  has  perhaps  not  seen  a  tract  called  "An 
Address  to  the  Poorer  Classes,"whichIpublishedsome  timeago,  and  of  which 
some  thousands  of  copies  have  been  pointed.     For  his  satisfaction,  however, 
I  will  order  a  copy  to   be  left   at   Mr.  Holden's,  Bookseller,  Rochdale,  (hi« 
letter  bearing  the  Rochdale  post  mark).     If  1  happen  to  have  been  severe 
upon  the  higher  classes,  it  is  because  I  have  found  very  few  public  writers, 
who  pay  a  respect  to  morals,  entering  their  protest  against  the  spirit  of  those 
practices  which   they    are   ready   to  condemn  in  the  poor.     A¥hilst  I  have 
never  hesitated  to  state  that   "  a  great  part   of  the  sufferings  of  the  poor 
arises  from  the  misconduct  of  those   above  them" — that  is,  those  who  have 
governed  this   country  by  oppression  and  misrule,  and  who  have  enacted  laws^ 
the  tendency  oj"  which  have  been  to  feed  the  rich,  and  to  distress  the  poor;—i. 
should,  at  the  same  time,  feel  sorry  if  1  were  conscious  of  having  said  any 
tkiug  calculated  to  excite  envy   or   resentment  towaids  the  rich  in  private 
life;    whose  wealth,  in  many   instances,  is  a  proof  that   they  possess  that 
diligence,  economy,   and   foresight,  the  want   of  which  we  often   lament 
among  the  poor. 

In  exposing  the  corruptions  of  the  Established  Church,  I  admit  there  is 
an  apparent  severity ;  but  I  utterly  disclaim  the  imputation  of  "  envi<ius 
And  malignant  feelings  "  For  "  malignant,"  read, "  an  intense  desire  to  rid 
the  country  of  ecclesiastical  enormities  j"  and  as  for  "envy,"  pray  what  have 
J  to  envy  ia  the  Establishment  ?  If  is  now  but  too  fashionable  to 
compliment  this  political  church  ;  and  if  there  happen  to  be  a  sprinkling  of 
evangelicalism  here  and  there,  with  some  it  is  considered  so  redeeming  a 
feature,  that  this  system— -based  upon,  and  built  up  by,  the  shameful  sacri- 
fice and  prostitution  of  the  essential  features  of  Christianity — should  be 
treated  with  tenderness!  And  why  ?  Because  it  is  the  dominant  church; 
because  men  of  wealth,  and  power,  and  influence  beloug  to  it ;  because,  as 
it  respects  the  circumstances  of  many,  it  has  power  almost  to  kill  and  to 
make  alive.  Like  the  boroughs  in  schedule  A,  when  once  the  royal  and  par- 
liamentary favour  is  withdrawn,  when  the  strong  chain  of  interest  is  bi-okeu, 
when  the  reason  of  man  is  made  to  bear  upon  the  subject,  "  the  country 
80  deeply  indebted  to  the  church  "  will  spurn  the  idol  which  it  has  long  affect- 
ed to  adore.  When  I  behold  the  prevalency  of  vice,  misery,  and  crime— wben  I 
behold  iniquity  and  irreligion  stalking  abroad  amid  every  class  of  society — ia 
the  face  of  a  national  institution,  established  for  the  professed  purpose  of 
teaching  the  people  piety  and  religion;  possessing  centories  of  maturity,  aad 
supported  at  a  most  tremendous  expense  from  government  and  from  the  par- 
ishes— I  boldly  proclaim  to  the  world  its  incompetency  to  answer  the  end 
designed.  We  must  bear  with  ordinary  and  unavoidable  imperfections  in. 
all  cases,  but  where  a  system  is  constitutionally  had,  wUere  the  prevail in^ 
principles  of  management  are  perverse,  where  its  deeds  belie  its  name,  where 
t^nsof  thousands  have  substantial  reasons   to  offer  for  subscribing  its  iair 


352 

peacbment,  what  can  we  sar,  but  that  to  love  the  church  is  to  hate  the 
people,  and  to  administer  to  its  permanency  is  to  proclaim  ourselves  the 
advocates  of  hypocrisy,  discord,  and  crime?  No  man  is  so  infatuated  as 
to  say  theie  is  nothing  good  in  the  church,  but  I  maintain  that  the  evil  so 
preponderates,  that  we  should  imitate  the  example  of  any  sensible  set  of 
men  who,  having  made  an  instrument  which,  after  a  fair  trial,  turns  out  to 
be  so  imperfect  as  not  to  answer  the  object  designed,  instead  of  saddling 
themselves  with  the  expense  of  its  maintainance,  and  suffering  with  indif- 
ference the  loss  of  all  the  good  intended,  would  abandon  their  scheme,  and, 
with  the  experience  of  disappointment,  zealously  pursue  another  in  which 
they  might  have  more  confidence  of  success. 

As  to  my  book  b^ng  approved  of  by  the  class  of  persons  whom  my  cor- 
respondent lumpingly  describes  as  "  a  motley  tribe  of  Infidels,  Hunlitcs, 
Cobbettites,  and  believers  in  all  unbelief,"  he  offers  no  evidence  of  the  fact ; 
but  granting  that  such  was  the  case,  his  inference  would  not  be  correct.  I 
have  never  pandered  to  their  vices;  I  hope  their  consciences  have  often 
smarted  beneath  my  remaiks;  but  as  politicians,  they  are  wise  enough  to 
know  that  the  church  of  Christ  was  never  intended  as  a  political  instrument, 
wherewith  to  scourge  the  country  ;  and,  evidently  desirous  to  rid  the  coun- 
try of  this  political  churchy  is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  that  whilst  many  pass 
over  the  inculcation  of  personal  morality  and  religion,  they  would  hail  the 
appearance  of  so  powerful  an  auxiliary  as  the  Moral  Reformer?  For  the 
same  reasons  has  Mr.  Beverley's  Letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
been  applauded  by  this  "motley  tribe."  And  I  am  also  free  to  confess  that 
I  feel  no  anxiety  for  the  company  or  friendship  of  those  who  "  wear  long 
robes,  love  salutations  in  the  markets,  take  the  chief  seats  in  synagogues, 
and  love  to  be  called  of  men.  Rabbi,  Rabbi)  who  tithe  anise,  mint,  and 
cummin  ;  who  devour  widows'  houses,  and,  for  a  pretence,  make  long  pray- 
ers." After  the  example  of  my  master  I  should  prefer  an  intercourse  with 
"  publicans  and  sinners,"  whose  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
stated  to  have  been  much  more  likely  than  the  entrance  of  those  who  deemed 
"  themselves  righteous,  and  despised  others."  Instead  of  despising  or  per- 
secuting the  infidel,  I  would  reason  with  him;  and  my  hope  of  success 
would  be  in  stripping  Christianity  of  all  the  follies  and  absui-dities  with 
which  it  has  been  clothed  by  hireling  priests,  and  presenting  it  to  his  un- 
derstanding in  that  truly  innocent,  lovely,  and  divine  character,  which  it 
originally  sustained. 

With  these  remarks  I  take  my  leave  at  prescni  ;  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
from  the  writer  at  any  future  opportunity,  and  if  he  be  sincere  in  his  hopes 
of  becoming  a  "  Fellow  Labourer,"  however  we  may  differ  in  other  matters, 
in  opposing  vice,  and  promoting  the  happiness  of  the  people,  I  shall  be 
most  happy  to  give  him  *'  the  right  hand  of  fellowship."         J.  L.] 


JOHN    WALKER,     PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREEt,     PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  12.  DECEMBER  1,  1831.  Vol.  I. 

NATIONAL   "UNITY,    PEACE,   AND    CONCORD.'* 

**  One  thing  is  lacking.''* 

Does  not  every  reflecting  man,  wishing  well  to  himself,  to 
his  species,  and  his  country,  view  the  present  condition  of  Eng- 
land with  unmixed  feehngs  of  sorrow  and  regret  ?     He  beholds 
a  country,  fertile  in  its  soil,  high  in  its  cultivation,  and  affording 
decisive  proofs  of  the  labour  and  ingenuity  of  its  inhabitants,— 
a  country,  whose  hills  and  dales,  and  mines  and  shores,  are  all 
laden  with  the  materials  of  human  enjoyment, — a  country,  rich 
?yith  the  productions  of  every  clime,  and  commanding  by  its  trade 
and  commerce,  a  share  in  the  capital  of  the  world, — a  country, 
peculiarly  favored  by  heaven,  girt  with  the  imperishable  bulwark 
of  the  ocean,  and   possessing  many  marks  of  a  special  protec- 
tion,— a  country,  to  which  science  and  literature  have  paid  their 
visits,  and  where  knowledge,  human  and  divine,  has  appeared 
to  progress ; — but  a  country,  alas  !  where  vice  has  become  pro- 
fessional, and  where  divisions  and  discord  are  the  most  promi- 
nent features  among  the  people.     T©  account  for  this,  to  detail 
its  evils,  and  to  suggest  an  effectual  remedy,  are  the  objects  of 
this  paper. 

There  is  a  constitution  in  society  which  is  not  purely  politi- 
cal, and  consists,  at  least,  of  three  distinct  estates — wealthy  in- 
telligence, and  moral  principle  ;  and  unless  the  power  and  influ- 
ence of  each  of  these  in  communities  be  properly  preserved,  and 
every  inteiest  emanating  from  them  duly  protected,  the  happiness 
and  equanimity  of  the  people  are  sure  to  be  endangered.  Import- 
ant as  the  other  two  may  be  cousidered,  and  revered  as  they  evi- 
dently are  by  the  great  mass  of  society,  it  is  the  moral  principle 
that  should  possess  sovereign  authority,  and  beneath  whose  reign 

AV  w 


354 

atone  this  or  any  other  nation  can  be  contented,  united,  or  Iiappr. 
If  this  agent  be  exiled  from  the  land,  or  deprived  of  its  lawful 
influence,  is  it  any  wonder  that  there  s^hould  be  anarchy  and  con- 
-fusion,  or  that  the  powerful  voice  of  the  law  should  be  con- 
demned to  silence  by  the  clamours  of  commotion  ? 

It  is  true,  indeed,  we  can  point  at  the  operations  of  genius, 
«n-d  at  the  achievements  of  labour  and  skill — a  well  cultivated 
soil,  large  towns,  expensive  canals,  public  buildings,  man- 
sions, and  palaces, — roads,  prisons,  and  churches,  in  excel- 
lent order,  and  every  demonstration  of  tangible  property  :  but 
still  "one  thing  is  laching ;''''  and  that  is  a  deep  sense  of  right  and 
wrong ;  the  fear  of  God  and  the  love  of  man  :  these  are  what  [ 
mean  by  moral  principle.  With  these,  I  say,  give  me  the 
poor  man's  ungarnished  cottage,  the  rustic  habit,  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  by-gone  ages,  in  preference  to  the  abstract  literary 
refinement,  and  the  dazzling  splendour  of  fortunes,  so  much 
sought  after  in  the  present  day.  Let  some  nations  boast  their 
wealth,  their  intelligence,  or  their  idol  **  liberty  :"  I  admire  that, 
where  the  people  are  "free"  from  vice,  *'rich''  in  good  works, 
and  "wise"  unto  salvation;  whose  hearts  are  ONE,  who,  strangers 
to  selfishness,  seek  the  good  of  all,  and  are  bent  always  upon  con- 
fcolidating  an  "  unity,"  not  of  name,  or  of  subscription  to  rules  or 
articles,  but  of  hearts  and  desires  for  the  good  of  all.  Such  a 
prevailing  disposition  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  this  country,  and 
such  cannot  exist  till  some  very  important  changes  are  accom- 
plished. Let  us  glance  over  the  surface  of  society,  and  assum- 
ing the  right  to  connect  actions  with  principles,  what  shall 
we  behold  but  one  general  manifestation  of  discord  ?  It  is  true 
there  is  a  smoothness  in  certain  departments;  but  where  this  can 
be  traced  to  the  principle  of  selfishness,  it  is  even  an  increase  of 
the  evil.  The  shake  of  the  hand,  the  affected  smile,  the  obse- 
quious bow,  the  pressing  invitation,  the  current  "My dear,"  are 
established  civilities,  but  not  decisive  proofs  of  either  unity  or 
alFection :  a  change  of  rank  or  circumstances  frequently  affords 
a  clear  illustration  of  this.  The  following  instances  I  present  as 
evidence  of  the  great  want  of  "  unity,  peace,  and  concord." 

The  state  of  feeling  betivixt  the  rich  and  the  poor.  Dispa- 
rity in  circumstances  is  indispensable;  and  the  man  that 
amuses  himself  with  the  phantom  of  an  equality  is  evidently 
iacapable    6f    reasoning  from    facts.       But  it    disunion  the' 


3&l^ 

.necessary,  or  the  natural  consequence  of  unequal  wealtlif  By 
no  means.  As  well  might  we  argue  for  an  equal  distribution  of 
the  waters  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  in  preference  to  the 
present  dispersion  of  that  useful  element  into  oceans,  rivers, 
brooks,  ponds,  and  vapours,  as  attempt  to  defend  the  idea  of 
€qual  possessions,  in  preference  to  the  beneficial  inequalities  es- 
tablished by  the  unchangeable  will  of  Providence.  Provided 
each  part  of  the  land  is  supplied  with  "fruitful  showers''  in  ■sea- 
son, it  is  a  wise  regulation  that  the  superabundance  should  be 
lodged  within  the  limits  which  nature  has  fixed;  and  provided 
the  lowest  in  capabilities^  can  get 'food  and  raiment,'  it  is  certainly 
better,  in  order  to  prevent  waste  and  an  exlravagent  evap-oration, 
that  the  stock,  instead  of  being'  distributed  in  equal  portions, 
should  remain  in  larger  and  smaller  collections.  1  mention  this, 
particularly,  to  show  that  our  present  disunion  is  not  necessarily 
the  effect  of  an  inequality  of  circumstances,  and  that  instead  of 
removing,  we  should  probably  increase  the  evil  by  an  equaliza- 
tion, Tlie  causes  are  obvious,  as  1  shall  afterwards  attempt  to 
shew;  but  here  I  must  confine  myself  more  particularly  to  the 
facts.  View  these  two  classes  m  whatever  direction  you  please, 
and  you  constantly  find  a  want  of  that  cordial  feeling  which 
ought  to  exist  in  members  of  the  same  society,  "God  has  made 
of  one  bloodaW  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;" 
and  a  man  is  not  less  a  brother,  though  he  be  as  poor  as  Laza- 
rus, But  too  many  of  the  rich  carefully  separate  themselves 
from  the  poor,  and  shun  the  company  of  the  industrious, 
while  they  lounge  and  carouse,  with  the  indolent.  Many 
of  the  rich  live  and  move  as  if  they  were  in  no  way 
dependent  upon  those  below  them,  and  as  if  they  were  born  tp 
live  entirely  for  themselves.  If  an  attempt  is  made  to  better  the 
condition  of  the  working  classes,  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  get 
t/iem  to  make  any  sacrifice,  to  attend  a  meeting,  or  to  make  a 
single  effort.  Many  a  philanthropic  mind  has  been  depressed, 
and  many  attempts  abandoned  entirely  for  want  of  assistance  from 
those  who  were  able,  by  their  wealth  and  influence,  to  give 
them  eflfect.  It  is  true,  we  find  great  names  as  "  patrons,"  "pre?.. 
«idents,"  and  "vice  presidents"  of  institutions;  but  this  is  little 
more  than  a  mere  form :  the  arrangement,  and  the  work- 
ing part,  fall  upon  others — or  all  would  remain  undone.  Though 
the  poor  are  to  be  provided  for  according  to  law,  yet  where  arfr 


356 
the  rich  who  come  forward  to  assist  in  this  laborious,  thoush  he- 

o 

cessary,  work  of  charity  ?  The  making  of  the  laws  has  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  rich ;  but  here,  also,  they  have  dealt  hardly 
with  their  working  brethren  :  a  constant  regard  to  their  -own, 
and  a  neglect  of  the  poor  man's  interests,  are  written  \n  legible 
characters  upon  the  face  of  the  statute  book. 

The  poor  man,  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  affection  for  the 
rich:  he  often  envies  their  enjoyments,  and  grudges  their  wealth. 
Considering  himself  overlooked  or  dispised  on  account  of  his 
poverty,  he  views  his  superiors  as  his  enemies,  and  gives  way  to 
a  feeling  of  revenge ;  or,  addicted  to  low  vice's,  and  deprived 
of  every  respectable  source  of  information,  he  walks  in  the  midst 
of  error,  and  in  seeking  a  remedy  for  his  ills,  succeeds  only  in 
embittering  his  already  contracted  enjoyments  by  a  breach  of 
the  peace.  They  remember  the  inquiry  of  the  apostle,  *'  Do  not 
rich  men  oppress  you  ?"  and  seem  determined  to  meet  it  by  hos- 
tile proceedings.  There  is  no  community  of  interests;  and  in 
every  place  there  is  a  considerable  number  who  only  watt  the 
hour  of  excitement  to  gratify  their  lust  of  revenge,  and  their  de- 
sire for  plunder.  The  burnings  during  last  winter,  the  riots  at 
Bristol,  and  still  nearer  home,  those  at  Wigan  and  Preston,  con- 
firm this  statement.  The  interest  of  both  classes  should  be  the 
same:  instead  of  two  bodies,  they  should  be  members  of  the 
same  body,  and  should  cordially  unite  together  for  their  mutual 
good.  But  being  once  divided,  like  every  other  schism,  the 
breach  grows  wider  and  wider;  and  no  expedient,  at  present 
adopted,  is  likely  to  effect  a  healing. 

Masters  and  worhtnen.  Instead  of  this  connection  being 
maintained  by  mutual  confidence,  mutual  concession,  and  for 
their  mutual  good,  each  party  seems  forgetful  of  every  interest 
but  its  own.  In  many  large  and  extensive  establishments,  there 
is  a  perpetual  strife,  and  nothing  but  the  necessities  of  the  par- 
ties, or  the  arm  of  the  law,  seem  capable  of  keejjing  them 
together.  Sometimes  right,  and  sometimes  might  prevails. 
Many  have  been  the  aggravations  which  the  men  have  received, 
and  many  have  been  the  insults  which  they  have  returned ;  and 
in  some  instances,  their  opposition  has  been  carried  on  by  the 
most  diabolical  attempts  to  destroy  both  life  and  property.  Not 
to  mention  other  instances,  the  death  of  Mr.  J.  Ashton,  of  Hyde, 
is  still  fresh  in  our  memories.     Instead  of  reason  and  good 


357 

will,  the  measures  adopted  b}-  both  partres  seem  to  have  left  the 
prospect  of  union  as  distant  as  ever.  Combinations  of  men 
against  masters,  and  masters  against  men,  not  only  injure  the 
parties  themselves,  but  diffuse  gloom,  disappointment,  and  po- 
verty amongst  their  numerous  connections.  Whilst  thousands 
have  witnessed  the  mischievous  effect  of  this  course  of  proceed- 
ing, few  can  tell  us  of  any  good  tliat  has  been  effected,  or  likely 
to  be  effected,  by  their  means.  If  both  masters  and  men,  like 
Christians,  were  united  together,  and  would  combine  against 
those  impolitic  restrictions  which  are  opposed  to  the  interests  of 
both,  instead  of  one  party  seeking  its  gain  in  the  loss  of  the  other* 
peace  would  be  maintained,  and  in  many  cases  they  would  suc- 
ceed in  their  efforts.  But  whilst  a  desire  for  accumulating 
wealth  is  the  ruling  passion,  we  need  expect  nothing  better  than 
discord  and  division.  What  a  pity  that  the  man  who  happens 
to  have  500  human  beings  under  his  care,  and  by  whose  toil  he 
expects  to  be  enriched,  should  be  so  frequently  insensible  to 
every  object  but  that  of  acquiring  wealth  !  that  he  should  shew 
more  compassion  to  his  four  footed  servants  than  to  those  of  his 
own  blood!  And  what  a  pity  that  men  should  suffer  themselves 
to  be  provoked  by  the  conduct  of  their  superiors,  or  be  led,  for 
want  of  information  and  moral  principle,  to  adopt  such  immode- 
rate and  impracticable  schemes  as  nearly  always  end  in  their 
own  ruin! 

Political  parties.  A  difference  of  opinion  may  associate 
with  a  true  spirit  of  patriotism;  but  the  present  violence  of  poli- 
tical parties,  1  fear,  is  to  be  attributed  to  motives  of  a  different 
cast.  In  some  cases,  especially  among  the  working  classes, 
want  of  information  is  the  cause ;  but  in  most,  selfishness  and 
revenge  seem  to  be  ruling  principles.  There  always  have  been 
parties  in  the  state,  but  few  now  living  remember  the  mind  of 
the  country  so  completely  absorbed  with  political  discussion,  or 
the  discussion  of  parties  marked  with  such  angry  and  vindictive 
feelings.  No  man  can  read  the  papers,  attend  to  the  proceed- 
ings at  public  meetings,  and  watch  the  popular  movements, 
without  coming  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  country  is  upon  the 
point  of  being  torn  to  pieces.  The  imperfect  institutions  of  the 
country  may  be  charged  with  the  cause;  but  these  are  only  the 
passive  channels  through  which  the  evil  designs  and  corrupt 
principles  of  men  find  an  opportunity  of  operating.     The  great 


I 


358 

cause  of  such  an  accumulation  of  corruption  is  the  want  of  mo* 
ral  principle.  What  is  it  that  makes  kings  extiavayant,  tyran- 
nical, and  oppressive?  Bad  principles.  What  is  it  thiit  makes 
Lords  selfish,  arbitrary,  and  opposed  to  the  people  ?  Bad  prin- 
ciples. What  is  it  that  has  induced  the  Commons  to  introduce 
partial  laws,  and  to  oppose  the  reasonable  requests  of  the  people.* 
Because  they  are  not  good  men.  What  is  the  reason  that  tlw 
the  people  should  be  bound  hand  and  fout  witti  restrictions  .* 
Because  they  have  no  moral  principles  to  guide  them,  and  by 
the  influence  of  which  they  could  be  trur^ted.  if  governors  and 
governed  were  but  actuated  by  good  principles,  ihe  J^cim  of  go- 
vernment would  be  a  matter  of  inferior  momtiit.  If  the  pre- 
dominant will  of  all  in  authority  had  been  to  serve  the  country, 
and  to  manage  its  affairs  and  resources  with  an  honest  desire  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  the  nation,  the  people  would  have  been 
contented  to  enjoy  its  blessings,  without  troubling  themselves 
with  the  theories  of  government,  or  taking  a  single  step  in  the 
course  of  political  piMty  agitation.  For  want  of  this  the  <lespew 
rate  have  been  called  into  notice,  and  a  host  of  reformers,  the 
principles  of  many  of  whom  are  just  as  bad  as  those  for  whose 
corruptions  they  profess  to  apply  a  remedy. 

The  governors  and  the  governed.  In  adverting  to  the  dis- 
unity which  exists  among  the  members  of  the  community,  and 
to  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  ruled  towards  those  who  rule,  we 
discover  a  striking  example  of  "a  nation  divided  against  itself." 
There  has  been  no  sympathy  for  a  long  time  betwixt  those  who 
have  been  appointed  to  make  the  laws,  and  the  people  who 
are  to  obey  them.  Instead  of  being  able  to  confide  with  secu- 
rity in  the  deliberations  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  people 
have  often  opposed  its  measures,  and  the  House  has  at  last 
been  compelled,  by  the  simultaneous  voice  of  the  nation,  to  con- 
demn its  own  decisions.  The  campaign  has  been  long  and  fu- 
rious, and  who  can  calculate  the  evil  produced  by  this  protracted 
warfare.*  To  oppose  the  nation  was  a  dereliction  of  duty  in 
those  who  should  have  been  its  deputies;  and  much  of  the  guilt 
of  the  wranglings  and  riots  of  the  people  lies  at  the  doors  of  the 
honourable  members.  The  House  of  Lords,  the  patron  of  the 
Commons,  has  been  also  opposed  to,  and  by,  the  people.  The 
Lords  are  not  of  the  people,  though  they  live  by  them; 
«nd  how  cun  we  expect  that  the  Peers  will  ever  undertake  to 


flefend  tlie  cause  of  |;opular  rights  ?  I  delight  not  hi  bring- 
hig  back  old  grievances,  or  it  would  be  easy  to  shew,  that  those 
who  have  governed  this  country,  both  Kings  and  Ministers,  sanc- 
tioned by  Lords  and  Commons,  have  been  often  opposed  to  the 
people,  and  instead  of  directing  industry  so  as  to  profit  the  la- 
bourer, have  divided  its  productions  amongst  themselves  and 
dependents.  But  we  have  had  enough  of  this  :  national  dis- 
union, and  violent  opposition  from  the  governed  to  the  govern- 
ors, have  long  distracted  this  country  :  may  their  dissention  be 
speedily  terminated  !  may  reason  subdue  the  excitement  of  fac- 
tion, and  the  attractions  of  industry  with  one  party,  and  the  ho- 
nest efforts  to  govern  well  with  the  other,  neutralize  or  banish 
every  remnant  of  political  agitation  !  The  country  wants  rest; 
it  is  debilitated  by  over  exertion,  and  unless  there  be  a  remedy, 
it  will  soon  sink  beneath  the  exhaustion  occasioned  by  fighting 
against  itself.  Would  that  the  day  of  repentance  and  reconcilia- 
tion was  at  hand  ! 

Under  this  head  I  cannot  omit  a  few  remarks  on  the  magis^ 
tract/.  Persons  appointed  to  this  office  are  the  King's  distant 
representatives,  and  ought,  by  their  contact  with  the  people,  to 
promote  peace  and  order.  Though  I  do  not  say  that  there  are 
frequent  collisions  betwixt  the  magistrates  and  the  people,  yet  I 
affirm  that  there  is  no  cordial  uniti/.  As  the  conservators  of  peace 
and  harmony,  the  magistrates  ought,  by  their  example  and  ef- 
forts, to  shed  such  an  influence  upon  society,  as  would  be  cal- 
culated to  strengthen  and  confirm  every  natural  and  social  tie. 
Though,  perhaps,  there  are  but  few  instances  where  the  conduct 
of  magistrates  is  positively  criminal,  yet  I  think  we  have  reason  to 
complain  of  o;«?wJow  of  duties,  and  the  want  of  a  good  example. 
If  they  would  act  like  fathers  to  the  people,  mixing  frequently 
with  all  classes,  visiting  every  part  of  their  charge,  and  making 
themselves  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  habits  and  proceedings 
of  society  ;  if  instead  of  indulging  in  luxurious  living  and  riotous 
pleasures,  they  would  take  the  lead  in  every  measure  for  raising 
the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the  people, — they  would  be- 
come the  most  respectable  class  of  persons  in  the  whole  country. 
How  much  better  to  keep  the  peace  by  rendering  persons  inca- 
pable of  breaking  it,  than  to  depend  altogether  upon  a  course  of 
•evere  coersion.  But  while  the  commission  is  taken  up  as  a 
mark  of  honour,  and  property  the  sole  qualification,  can  we  ex. 


pect  t]iat  the  magistracy  will  be  as  respectable  or  useful  as  it 
ought  to  be  ?  Few  of  the  working  people  have  been  enlight- 
ened into  the  duties  of  subordination  and  obedience  to  civil  au- 
thorit}',  and  the  limited  obedience  tliey  yield  is  generally  the 
offspring  of  fear.  Overlooked  and  neglected  by  the  civil  guardi- 
ans, or  corrupted  by  their  bad  example.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  in 
times  of  commotion  the  population  are  with  difficulty  controlled  ? 
The  performance  of  magisterial  duties  is  next  in  importance  to 
the  office  of  giving  religious  instruction,  and  both  are  equally  . 
essential  to  the  unity  and  well  being  of  the  people.  ■ 

Clergy  and  laity.     But  if  we  cannot  trace  the  soft  footsteps 
of  peace  and  unity  amongst  those  who,  with  the  best  of  motives, 
are  not  likely  altogether  to  forget  their  worldly  interests,  we 
shall  surely   not  find   the   same   evils  in    connection    with  the 
labours  of  the   "  man  of  God,"  or  within   the  sphere  of  in- 
fluence occupied  by  him  who  professes  to  be  guided  by  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit  of  Peace.    The  elements  of  the  world  are 
of  a  jarring  nature;  the  ebullitions  of  passion  are  often  stronger 
than  the  dictates  of  reason  ;  but  the  tranquillizing  power  of 
religion  is  calculated  to  allay  the  storms  of  contentious  feeling, 
to  reconcile  enemies,  to  teach  forbearance,  to  lower  the  attrac- 
tions of  this  world,  to  discover  a  '*  better  country,"   to  bring 
Christians  into  "one  body,"  and  to  lead  every  disciple  to  "e*- 
teem  their  teachers  very   highly  in   love  for  their  works'  sake." 
Prince  of  Peace  is  the  title  of  the  Saviour;  and  "peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  to  man'^  is  the  character  of  his  religion.    The 
ministers  of  his  kingdom  should  be  meek  and  gentle,   though 
bold  and  courageous  in  opposing  vice;  disinterested,  active,  and 
conciliating  in  their  conduct,  and  always,  after  the  example  of 
their  master,  ready  to  suffer  to  confer   blessings  upon  others. 
The  effect  of  this  religion,  properly  taught,  is  to  unite,  to  ce- 
ment, and  to  bind  the  .hearts  of  the  people  together ;  and  iii 
proportion  as  it  is  diffused,  I  am  confident   that  discord  and 
animosities  will  cease.     But  is  this  the  case  in   England?  is 
this  the  case  in  Ireland?     Ten  thousand  voices  answer,  no  !     I 
have  adverted  to  divisions  in  various  departments  of  the  state; 
but  there  are  none  equal  in  extent,  inveteracy,  or  in  the  difficul- 
ties of  adjustment,  to  those  in  which  the  clergy  are  involved. 
The  history  of  religious  dissentions,  which  have  originated  in  the 
pride  and  avarice  of  its  teachers,  is  written  in  characters  of  blood.'  '^  | 


361 

if  proof  were  wanting  of  the  impolicy  of  a  state  religion,  it  is 
this,  that  from  its  first  connection  with  kingly  authority  to  the 
present  moment,  the  meeljness  and  innocency  of  the  lamb  has 
been  metamorphosed  into  the  ferocity  of  the  tiger.  What  are 
the  facts  now  before  ns?  Parish  against  minister,  and  minister 
against  parish  ;  bishop  against  people,  and  people  against  bishop. 
Losing  sight  of  things  spiritual  and  eternal,  the  clergy  are  deter- 
mined upon  their  gains,  and  at  the  expeiice  of  provoking  the  re- 
venge and  curses  of  the  multitude,  they  are  everlastingly  hunting 
after  money.  No  matter  in  what  shape,  no  matter  at  whose  ruin, 
tithes  and  dues,  and  fees  and  offerings,  they  will  have.  Can  the 
laity  love  such  men?  Can  there  beany  good  fellowship  with 
men  whose  hypocrisy  and  tyranny  are  openly  before  the  world  ? 
Many  have  already  retired  from  the  temples  of  religion  with  dis- 
gust, and,  sickened  with  the  abominations  of  its  professed  advo- 
cates, have  either  abandoned  it  altogether,  and,  what  is  worse 
have  become  friends  of  infidelity.  The  clergy  and  laity  are 
two  bodies,  each  distrusting  the  other,  and  making  self-interest 
the  only  object  of  solicitude  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  law,  it  is 
clear  that  the  clergy  are  so  unpopular,  that  they  could  not  main- 
tain their  standing,  or  succeed  in  their  demands  for  a  single  day: 
the  whole  syslem  would  tumble  before  the  breath  of  commoa 
sense.  In  the  church  the  clergy  pray  for  "  unity,  peace,  and 
concord ;"  out  of  it  they  fling  abroad  arrows,  fire-brands,  and, 
death !  From  all  such  men  the  Lord  deliver  this  unhappy  coun- 
try! Can  we  wonder,  then,  at  our  universal  pollution,  while 
the  very  stream  itself  which  should  sweep  away  all  our  corrup- 
tions, casts  up  mire  and  dirt?  Can  we  wonder  at  the  alarm- 
ing divisions  in  the  nation,  while  the  church,  which  should  be 
the  centre  of  union,  is  convulsed,  by  the  elements  of  discord 
and  confusion  ? 

To  attempt  to  give,  in  detail,  other  instances  of  disunion, 
snch  as  domestic  strife,  literary  warfare,  commercial  bickerings, 
and  the  innumerable  inferior  exhibitions  of  contention,  would 
lead  me  still  further  beyond  my  limits.  Few  of  them  are  bid 
in  a  corner,  and  they  are  all  additional  and  lamentable  proofs 
of  the  necessity  of  speedily  applying  suitable  remedies. 

Surrounded  with  every  inducement  to  unanimity,  posses-, 
sing  the  heavenly  instruction  of  the  bible  to  the  same  eflFect, 
and   with   a   full   warning  of  the   fruits  of    national    discord, 

Xx 


362 

here  we  are,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  twentj--five  millions  of 
people,  with  a  host  of  religious  teachers,  who  should  be  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  the  work  of  making  peace,  in  so  conflicting  a 
condition  that  man  cannot  trust  his  fellow  man,  and  that  no- 
thing but  the  dread  of  punishment  keeps  one  part  of  society 
from  preying  upon  the  other!  The  case  is  really  awful ;  it  has 
Leen  bad  for  a  long  time,'  but  it  is  evidently  growing  worse. 
Oh!  what  a  reflection,  to  think  of  the  misery  and  distraction  ex- 
isting among  us,  and  to  anticipate  that  tremendous  day  when 
such  a  people  shall  have  to  stand  before  God ! 

Every  man,  therefore,  feeling  anxious  for  his  country's  wel- 
fare, asks,  what  is  the  remedy  ?  Many  things  have  been  tried, 
but  "one  thing  is  lacking."  It  is  true,  there  has  been  no  back- 
vrardness  in  making  suggestions,  and  proposing  plans  for  uniting 
the  people;  unfortunately,  however,  the  essential  part  has  not 
been  included  in  the  arrangement^  that  is,  a  change  in  the  dispO" 
sitions  of  the  people.  The  evils  in  society  have  either  been  at- 
tempted to  be  suppressed  by  coercive  laws,  ««■  removed  merely 
by  external  regulations.  The  public  journals  are  constantly  de- 
tailing the  evils  existing  in  the  country,  but  we  find  them  as 
constantly  proposing  for  remedies,  either  some  law  or  fresh  ad- 
justment of  the  powers  in  society.  Indeed,  they  seem  not  to  be 
aware  of  the  benefits  of  those  religious  restraints  which  are  cal- 
culated to  operate  upon  the  wicked  ;  or  else,  as  is  most  probable, 
thinking  that  the  function  of  religious  teaching  should  be  as- 
sumed by  none  but  the  clergy,  they  venture  no  further  in 
their  remedies  than  what  the  dictates  of  worldly  policy  may  ap- 
pear to  sanction.  Thus,  instead  of  attacking  the  root,  we  are 
haggling  at  the  branches;  instead  of  cleansing  the  fountain, 
we  are  filtering  the  streams.  The  depravity  and  disunion  of 
men  are  seated  in  the  mind,  and  no  corporeal  discipline,  no  ex- 
terna], rules  and  regulations,  can  reach  the  case.  Though  there 
will  be  ebbings  and  flowings  of  party  feeling,  and  changes  in  the 
external  characters  of  mankind,  I  put  it  down  as  certain,  that 
until  men  are  actuated  by  higher  motives  than  they  are  at  pre' 
sent,  we  shall  neither  have  unity  nor  peace.  Until  men  ai-e 
taught  to  love  God,  to  love  one  another;  *'to  deny  all  ungodli- 
ness and  wordly  lusts,  and  to.  live  righteously,  soberly,  and 
godly,  in  this  present  world;"  looking  for  the  blessed  hope  of 
the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  God ;  in  vain  do  we  try  to  tie- 

i 


363 

them  down  by  the  slender  thread  of  human  authority.     I  ap* 
prove  of  "societies,"    "associations,"   and  "unions,"   as   civil 
regulations,  so  far  as  they  are  not  intended,  or   calculated,  ta 
supplant  the   principles  of  Christianity;  like   pipes,  taps,   and 
burners,  they  are  useful  appendages,  but  it  is  the  gospel,  after 
all,  like  the  gas,  which  must  give  the  light.     The  heart  inust  he 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  :  and  this,  I  again  assert,  is  the  ouli/ 
remedi/.     We  cannot  get  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  this- 
tles:  make  the  tree  good,   and  the  fruit  will  be  good  also.     Let 
every  wheel  of  the  clock  be  correctly  fixed,  let  the  index  be  un- 
erring,— if  the  main  spring  be  defective,  all  besides  are  useless. 
We  have  laws  enough  on  tables  of  stone,  or  on  parchment;  it  is 
on  the  "fleshly  tables  of  the  heart"  that  they  slK)uld  be  written. 
It  is  not  the  proclamation  of  any  earthly  potentate  that  can  ensure 
a  real  peace;  it  is  the  voice  of  God  speaking  in  the  conscience. 
It  is  not  the  fear  of  imprisonment,  or  the  prize  of  human  ambi- 
tion ;  it  is  the  fear  of  God's  wrath,  and  the  hope  of  glory.     la 
tiiese  changes  we  should  have  the  principles  of  a  substantial  and 
permanent  moral  reform,  and  which,  regardlessof  the  caprices  of 
men,  would  endure  prosperity,  brave  adversity,  and  always  be 
suggesting  the  t>e8t  plans  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  mankiud. 
Here,  then,  is  the  remedy :  how  is  it  to  be  applied  ?     I  have 
no  difficulty  in  shewing  how  it  way,  but  considerable  doubt  as 
to  when  it  will  be  accomplished.     It  is  supposed  to  be  the  work 
of  the  clergy:  they  have  proved  themselves  incompetent  for  the 
task.     They  are  the  wrong  sort  of  men;  their  qualifications  are 
foreign  to  the  work ;  and  to  attempt  to  reform  every  individual, 
by  changing  his  principles,  is  evidently  not  the  task  marked  out 
for  them  in  the  systems  to  which  they  adhere.     Had  their  past 
conduct  or  present  professions  given  any  hope  that  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  people  was  safe  in  their  hands,   1  should  by  no 
means  wish  the  trust  to  be  removed.     One  part  are  decidedly 
worldlings  of  the  worst  description,  the  other  unfortunately  clog- 
ged to  systems  which  cramp  or  destroy  their  usefulness.     This 
view  may  safely  be  extended  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  es- 
tablished church.     I  come,  then,  again  to  what  has  been  called 
*'a  new  set''  of  ministers.     These  ought  to  consist  of  the  hum- 
ble, useful,  disinterested  men  who  are  now  engaged  in  teaching, 
and  of  all  others  who  have  hearts  to  feel  for  the  condition  of 
HiaD,  and  tongues  to  proclaim  the  message  of  mercy.    There 


364 

are  numbers  in  every  town  both  able  and  willing  to  do  thiSy 
and  probably  would  now  have  been  at  their  work,  if  the  hireling 
clergy  had  not  obstructed  the  way.  When  the  heart  is  engaged 
a  man's  talents  are  discovered  ;  and  how  many  have  I  known 
(and  I  know  many  in  Preston  now)  who  work  for  their  own 
bread,  to  whom,  in  |)oint  of  talent  and  activity,  the  clergy 
are  not  fit  to  be  compared!  Let  this  new  set  care  nothing 
about  the  worldly  appendages  of  fine  buildings  and  pulpits, 
music  and  pew  rents,  gowns  and  bands,  and  all  the  pride  and 
foppery  of  anti-Christ;  but,  plain  and  simple,  let  them  go  among 
^e  people,  and  enjoin  upon  every  soul  "repentance  towards 
God  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Let  their  ob- 
ject be,  not  the  competition  of  parties,  not  the  praise  of  men, 
not  the  profit  of  gospel  lucre,  but  the  glory  of  God  and  the  sal- 
vation of  souls.  The  showers  of  knowledge,  frigid  as  they  have 
been,  have  hitherto  fallen  within  consecrated  walls  ;  but  let  every 
corner  of  this  dry  and  barren  wilderness  feel  the  vivifying  influ- 
ences of  gospel  truth.  Let  that  floating  mass  of  human  beings 
upon  which  no  moral  impressions  appear  to  have  been  made,  be 
penetrated  by  the  word  of  life.  Let  every  man,  master  and  ser- 
vant, rich  and  poor,  magistrate  and  people,  be  told  of  his  sins, 
and  warned  to  flee  from  impending  danger.  All  this  can  be 
done,  like  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  at  the  beginning,  without 
tithes,  or  imposts,  or  a  single  compulsatory  demand.  F  give  this 
advice  to  all,  and  intend  to  act  upon  it  myself.  I  do  this  with- 
out requiring  any  sacrifice  of  opinions.  I  propose  no  union,  uo 
concessions,  no  amalgamation  of  parties,  but  that  every  indivi- 
dual, in  connection  with  those  with  whom  he  can  agree,  should 
go  forth  boldly,  according  to  his  own  creed,  to  convert  sinners 
from  the  error  of  their  ways.  Religious  opinions,  sincerely 
adopted,  cannot  be  renounced  at  pleasure;  it  would  be  intolerant 
to  require  it;  and  to  attempt  to  establish  unions,  where  opposite 
opinions  are  held,  for  the  sake  of  giving  fuller  effect  to  our  ef- 
forts, would  be  to  embody  suspicions,  and  to  form  so  unwieldy 
an  organization  as  would  be  likely  to  render  the  whole  inopera- 
tive. The  land  is  before  us;  let  every  party  send  out  its  detach- 
ment. Instead  of  Calvinists  and  Arminians,  Trinitarians  and 
Unitarians,  spending  their  time  and  their  strength  in  cavilling 
against  each  other,  let  them  all  turn  out  to  the  world,  and  attack 
the  commoja  enemy.     Instead  of  striving  which  must  be  great- 


365 

est,  let  them  strive  which  can  be  most  useful ;  instead  of  sig* 
nalizing  themselves  by  splendid  chapels,  imposing  services^ 
and  polemic  controversies,  let  them  display  their  zeal  by 
visiting  daily  the  abodes  of  wretchedness,  the  haunts  of  vice, 
and,  with  a  disinterested  heart,  sowing  the  seeds  of  unity,  peace, 
and  concord  in  every  place  wheie  man  is  found.  Politicians 
cannot  reform  our  land  ;  philanthropists  are  few,  and  can  do  but 
little :  ii  is  to  you,  then,  soldiers  of  the  cross,  that  the  coun- 
try must  look  :  the  weapons  of  your  warfare  are  not  weak  or  car- 
nal, but  ^^  mighty  through  God."  Tlie  country  is  in  rebellion 
against  heaven,  and  almost  against  itself,  and  can  you  remaia 
the  passive  spectators  of  such  s  scene  ?  The  bayonet  and  the 
cannon  may  keep  in  awe  the  rebellious,  but  it  is  only  the  "  two 
edged  sword  of  the  Spirit"  that  can  slay  the  enmity  of  the  heart. 
Come  forth,  then,  to  the  help  of  (aod  against  the  mighty  ;  come 
and  save  your  devoted  land.  Let  the  pious  and  the  zealous  of 
each  congregation  unite  among  themselves,  and  despising  the 
paralizing  example  of  money-hunting  teachers,  go  forth,  after 
the  plan  of  primitive  Christianity,  "  two  and  two,"  to  call  men 
"every  where  to  repent."  This  plan,  too  simple  for  fashionable 
Christians,  and  too  contemptible  for  religious  statesmen,  is  the 
plan  of  Christ,  and  contains  within  it  the  only  sure  principles  of 
a  real  reformation. 

J.  L. 


CHRISTIAN    BENEVOLENCE. 


To  all  who  call  themselves  Christians.  ,,i 

Dear  Friends, 

Permit  me,  at  the  approach  of  an  inclement 
season  of  the  year,  to  fix  your  attention  upon  that  part  of  our  re- 
ligion called  benevolence,  the  importance  of  which  is  generally 
acknowledged.  Presuming  upon  your  admission  of  the  princi- 
ple, my  attempt  will  be  briefly  to  detail  its  practical  application, 
and  to  set  before  you  the  inducements  and  advantages  of  the  same. 


366 

II  does  not  consist  merely  in  the  distribution  of  a  few  half- 
pence or  crusts  of  bread  to  the  importunate  at  your  door,  in  occa- 
sionally relieving  thosj  of  your  own  sect ;  in  yielding  to  the  com . 
pulsatory  demands  of  the  poors*  rates ;  in  subscribing  a  guinea 
on  some  public  occasion,  to  avoid  the  reflections  of  your  neigh- 
bours ;  or  even  contributing  to  the  funds  of  our  best  charilable 
institutions.  Though  the  spirit  of  philanthropy  may  breathe  in 
all  the  above  cases,  and  especially  in  the  two  latter,  yet  these  do 
not  of  themselves  constitute  universal  benevolr-nce.  It  has  a 
wider  range  of  exertion.  It  is  a  check  to  extortion  in  our  deal- 
ings, it  assuages  the  passion  of  revenge  towards  our  enemies ;  it 
Cries  down  oppression,  and  uses  its  influence  to  mitigate  the  la- 
bour, and  increase  the  comforts  of  the  working  man ;  it  devises 
liberal  things;  and,  thanks  to  our  kind  Benefactor,  notwith- 
standing the  increase  of  poverty  and  crime,  there  is  yet  a  feeling 
of  benevolence  among  the  people.  Hospitals,  dispensaries,  and 
schools  are  standing  monuments  of  this.  It  is  not,  however,  to 
these  public  institutions  that  I  would  at  present  direct  your  at- 
tention ;  they  are  amply  supported,  and  the  wealth  and  influence 
of  their  patrons  are  a  pretty  good  guarantee  for  their  continu- 
ance :  it  is  to  benevolence  in  a  humbler  sphere,  and  which,  re- 
quiring much  self-denial,  is  most  apt  to  be  neglected  ;  it  is  to  a 
general  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the  poor  ;  to  visiting,  feeding, 
clothings  and  relieving  the  destitute,  and  to  personal  exertions 
among  them  to  promote  their  happiness. 

Endeavour,  first,  to  ascertain  suitable  objects,  and  then  to 
give  them  suitable  relief.  These  occasionally  may  happen  to  be 
tramps,  overtaken  with  peculiar  distress ;  but  this  class  are  too 
often  found  to  be  deceivers,  and,  like  the  profligate  poor  amongst 
us,  ought  to  be  relieved  with  caution.  The  objects,  I  would 
suggest,  who  require  especial  assistance,  are,  the  aged  poor, 
widows  and  orphans,  the  sick  and  infirm,  and  the  industrious 
poor,  burdened  with  large  families.  Such  objects  of  charity  we 
may  always  expect  to  have  among  us,  and  the  peculiar  claim  of 
each  class  is  suflScient  to  commend  itself  to  every  considerate, 
humane  mind.  Though  the  claims  of  these  are  not  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  the  mournful  tales  which  are  brought  to  your  doors, 
yet  many  deserving  individuals,  impelled  by  necessity,  may  be 
emboldened  to  come  and  ask  your  assistance ;  but  the  worthiest 
are  often  the  most  diffident,  and  the  most  prone  to  conceal  their 


I 


misery.  To  ascertain  the  most  deserving,  you  must  conceive,  in 
the  first  place,  giving'  of  alms  to  be  an  indispensable  duty,  so  that 
as  a  consequence,  you  will  be  led  to  adopt  the  very  best  methods 
to  find  out  the  really  poor  whom  you  wish  to  relieve.  Visit  them 
yourselves;  make  yourselves  familiar,  not  only  with  their  resi- 
dences, but  with  their  habits,  their  wants,  and  the  best  mode  of 
relieving  them.  Never  be  ashamed  of  the  poor  man's  company; 
vou  will  be  humbler,  wiser,  and  better  for  it.  Encourage  a  free 
interchange  of  friendship  betwixt  the  poor  and  the  rich,  and 
never  be  governed  by  the  pi  evailing  custom  of  the  day,  of  divid- 
ing society  into  classes  according  to  their  wealth  ;  remember  that 
God  has  made  of"  one  blood^''  all  the  family  of  man.  Never  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  a  true  tale  of  woe ;  make  it  your  pleasure  to  do  good 
to  your  fellow  creatures,  and  always  have  your  eyes  and  ears  ' 
open  to  find  out  cases  of  real  distress.  Deficient  as  you  may  be, 
in  your  acquaintance  with  the  condition  of  the  poor,  you  will  find 
amongst  the  labouring  people  individuals  who  will  be  faithful 
auxiliaries,  and  able  to  give  you  necessary  information  as  to  the 
circumstances  of  their  neighboiirs.  Being  satisfied  with  your 
objects,  let  me  just  say  in  what  shape  you  may  relieve  them. 

This  should  be  done,  not  merely  by  an  uniform  sum,  nor  by 
an  uniformity  in  the  number  of  times  or  days  of  giving  assistance, 
but  by  such  sums  as  prudence  and  the  extent  of  distress  point  out, 
and  to  be  continued  till  the  desired  end  is  really  accomplished. 
It  is  to  be  lamented  that  so  little  is  done  in  this  way  effectually. 
Contributions  are  often  obtained  by  importunity ;  by  the  influence 
of  shame  or  honour ;  and  even  when  produced  by  the  best  mo- 
tives, how  often  does  protracted  misery  cool  our  feelings,  and  lead 
to  a  weariness  in  well-doing.  We  should  be  regular  in  our  visits 
among  the  poor,  give  them  the  best  advice,  and  in  every 
instance,  so  far  as  they  are  capable,  excite  a  spirit  of  co-operation 
with  us ;  without  this  you  will  often  have  to  regret  that  you  have 
laboured  in  vain.  We  may  be  useful  by  pointing  out  to  them 
the  errors  in  their  domestic  economy ;  by  obtaining  employment 
for  them  ;  or  by  assisting  them,  in  cases  of  difficulty,  to  that  pa- 
rochial relief  to  which  they  are  entitled.  Money  may  occasionally 
be  given  ;  but  if  we  can  lay  it  out  to  advantage,  provisions  of  the 
most  useful  and  substantial  kind ;  clothing  also,  either  new  or  old, 
as  most  convenient,  not  forgetting  clogs  for  children,  which  are 
very  acceptable.  The  bedding  of  the  poor,  being  generally  con- 
cealed from  the  view  of  others,  is  often  in  the  most  wretched  con- 


368 

dition;  this  is  a  fact,  whether  we  speak  of  bed-ticking,  chaffy 
sheets,  or  blankets,  and  as  to  bedsteads,  many  of  them  lie  on  the 
floor;  no  money  could  be  bettor  laid  out  than  by  renewing 
poor  people's  bedding,  especially  at  this  season  of  the  year;  and 
lest,  at  the  return  of  warm  weather,  the  things  should  be  impro- 
perly disposed  of,  as  has  often  been  the  case,  more  good,  perhaps, 
would  be  done  by  lending,  than  giving  them,  to  be  returned  at 
the  beginning  of  summer.  Fuel,  in  winter,  may  be  considered 
as  next  to  food,  and  to  the  aged  and  very  poor,  a  little  given  in 
this  way  is  found  a  most  seasonable  relief.  When  person^^  by 
misfortune,  have  got  into  arrears  with  their  renty  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, are  obliged  to  inhabit  damp  and  unwholesome  c  ellarsj 
the  loan  or  present  of  a  moderate  sum  will  effect  their  release, 
and  be  attended  with  incalculable  advantages.  In  cases  of  sick- 
ness, united  with  poverty,  we  may  give  assistance  by  getting 
medical  advice,  change  of  linen,  wine,  cordials,  &c. ;  and  in  ex- 
treme cases,  a  nurse,  a  washerwoman,  or  even  the  loan  of  such 
things  as  night-chairs,  bed-pans,  bed-chairs,  &c.  are  of  great 
service.  The  philanthropic  mind  will  invent  many  things  to 
serve  the  poor,  and  stands  not  in  need  of  details ;  but  there 
are  many  who  will  not  act  unless  impelled  by  persuasion, 
and  guided  by  special  rules.  To  do  all  this,  I  am  aware,  it  re- 
quires means ;  but  you  are  not  called  upon  to  do  beyond  your 
ability.  Whether  your  means  be  large  or  limited,  if  you,,  make 
conscience  of  relieving  the  poor,  you  will  economise  at  hdme  in 
order  to  give  effect  to  your  wishes.  "  Let  nothing  be  lost,''''  said 
our  great  master  ;  and  this  evidently  comports  with  all  the  ar- 
rangements of  Providence.  Let  your  broken  meat  always  be  dis- 
tributed while  it  is  good,  and  let  every  article  of  cast-off  clothing, 
bedding,  or  any  useful  kitchen  utensil,  be  carefully  laid  up  till 
suitable  objects  appear.  Let  the  necessities  of  the  poor  be  al- 
ways in  your  mind,  and  hence  take  advantage  of  any  bargains  in 
food  or  clothing  which  may  be  calculated  to  do  them  good.  Al- 
ways have  a  stock  in  hand  for  them,  as  well  as  for  yourselves. 
Encourage  the  same  feelings  among  your  servants,  children, 
and  friends,  and  by  your  example  and  exhortations,  endeavour 
to  render  your  utmost  services  to  the  cause  of  universal  benevo- 
Jence. 

I  would  also  just  hint,  that  a  feeling  of  humanity  and  gene-, 
rosity  will  lead  you  to  compassionate  and  assist  any  unfortunate 
tradesman  whose  character  for  industry  and  sobriety  is,  a  sufficient 


369 

warrant  that  his  losses  were  not  attributable  to  himself.  The 
loan  of  a  few  pounds  to  persons  just  emerging  from  poverty,  with 
a  spirit  of  emulation,  but  craniped  in  th?ir  means,  may  sometimes 
do  a  great  deal  of  good.  Indeed,  the  truly  benevolent  takes  a 
survey  of  the  whole  condition  of  society,  and  considering  himself 
only  as  a  steward,  sows  the  seed  of  his  liberality  in  every  soil 
where  it  is  calculated  to  bring  forth  fruit  and  prove  a  blessing. 

To  all  this  objections  will  be  raised.  "They  are  all  impos- 
tors,'' say  some.  This  is  a  hasty  conclusion,  produced  by  cal- 
lous feelings,  or  a  sordid  disposition,  and  generally  asserted  as  a 
pretext  for  illiberalit3%  That  there  are  impostors,  especially 
among  the  vagrant  tribe,  none  will  deny;  but  as  well  might  the 
tradesman  cease  to  seek  honest  customers,  because  he  has  met 
with  some  rogues,  as  the  Christian  to  relieve  the  "poor  indeed,'* 
because  there  are  some  who  are  only  pretenders.  Prudence  must 
guide,  but  not  close,  the  hand  of  charity. 

*'  But  the  poor  are  so  ungrateful ;  they  are  a  turbulent  set, 
and  just  now  many  of  them  would  rob  and  plunder  us."  Grant- 
ing that  this  charge  is  but  too  well  founded,  whether  is  it  likelier 
to  reclaim  by  kindness,  by  courting  a  mutual  intercourse,  and  by 
doing  them  good,  or  by  standing  aloof,  and  leaving  them  to  the 
workings  of  their  own  desperation  ?  Poverty  makes  men  rest- 
less ;  they  suspect  all  who  are  above  them  of  being  their  enemies, 
and  easily  become  the  prey  of  designing  men.  Let  the  wealthy 
take  their  part,  condescend  to  mix  with  them,  instruct  them,  and 
give  them  practical  proofs  of  real  attachment  to  their  interests. 
If  ingratitude  and  perverseness,  once  manifested,  were  to  be  con- 
sidered insuperable  obstacles  to  mercy,  what  would  be  our  owa 
fate?  Let  us  rather  hefoUoicers  of  God,  who  deals  with  us  not 
according  to  our  sins,  but  according  to  his  own  abundant  mercy. 

"But  they  have  parishes,  and  we  pay  to  the  rates."  It  is 
true,  some  of  you  do,  though  there  is  no  necessary  connection 
betwixt  this  and  the  possession  of  wealth;  but  supposing  it  to 
be  so,  is  it  from  motives  of  charity  that  you  pay  these  taxes  ? 
Does  the  collector's  demand  produce  a  sensation  of  pleasure, 
owing  to  j'our  belief  that  this  is  the  exclusive  channel  through 
which  your  charity  is  to  flow  ?  You  know  that  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  this  rate  comes  into  the  hands  of  the  deserving  poor,  and 
hence,  for  this  reason,  or  for  some  other,  it  is  generally  with  re- 
luctance that  tlie  tax  is  [)aid.  A  part  only  of  our  population 
have  a  legal   claim   for  regular  assistance  from  the  poor  rates, 

Yy 


370 

many  are  harassed  to  find  out  the  parish  to  which  tliey  befon^, 
aud  being  seldom  relieved  from  motives  of  humanity,  are  put  off 
■with  as  little  as  possible.  The  treatment  they  receive  in  some 
places,  together  with  their  loss  of  time,  deters  the  most  worthy 
from  *' troubling  a  parish."  At  the  best,  it  is  but  a  partial  re- 
lief, and  in  cases  of  emergency  and  extreme  distress,  is  far  from 
being  adequate.  Whilst  the  poor  laws  secure  us  from  that  ab- 
solute destitution  experienced  by  numbers  in  the  sister  island, 
good  men  of  all  persuasions,  by  their  individual  and  united  ef- 
forts, and  society  generally,  by  their  approbation  of  voluntary 
charity,  have  clearly  shewn  that  parochial  relief  can  never  be 
a  substitute  for  Christian  philanthropy,  though  the  latter,  by  its 
universal  adoption,  would  soon  render  the  former  unnecessary. 
ro  o«g-y^Q  have  nothing  to  spare,  and  we  don't  know  what  we 
"ifldy  v^ant  ourselves."  To  those  who  have  no  more  than  what 
will  barely  provide  themselves  necessaries  honestly  in  the  sight  of 
all  men,  I  have  little  to  say  ;  though  if  you  should  see  your  bro- 
ther in  great  distress,  I  hope  you  would  still  share  your  morsel 
with  him  ;  and  at  any  rate,  as  you  will  have  many  opportunities 
of  knowing  the  circumstances  of  your  neighbours,  you  ought  to 
endeavour  to  make  yourselves  useful  by  giving  information,  and 
acting  as  assistants  to  those  who  have  ampler  means.  Bat 
there  are  many  who  have  nothing  to  spare,  owing  to  their  extra- 
vagant expenditure,  and  who,  if  their  incomes  were  double, 
would  still  have  to  plead  their  inability.  We  think  nothing  at 
entertaining  a  friend  for  a  week  or  a  month,  or  a  numerous  visit- 
ing party,  on  a  scale  of  considerable  expence;  but  if  the  wants 
of  a  poor  familv  should  call  for  a  few  shillings,  or  a  few  meals 
of  meat,  how  ready  we  are  to  startle  at  the  expence.  But  with 
inany  this  objection  is  a  mere  pretext,  intended  to  cloak  a  cove- 
tous disposition.  *'  We  don't  know  what  we  may  want:"  and  so 
thinks  every  miser,  and  though  possessed  of  thousands,  cares  for 
nothing  but  increasing  his  store  ;  he  is  always  bent  upon  laying 
Tip  treasures  on  earth,  and  after  grovelling  through  a  short-lived 
existence,  the  impartial  hand  of  death  snatches  the  wretch  away. 
.Tust  so  it  is  with  those  who  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  instead  of 
the  living  God,  who  gives  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy.  But  are 
you  really  afraid  of  coming  to  want?  God  hath  said,  "I  will 
never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee ;"  and  if  you  believe  in  his 
promise,  whose  Providence  is  over  all  his  works,  by  whom  the 
hairs  of  your  head  are  numbered,  who  clothes  the  fields  with. 


371 

grass,  and  feeds  the  fowls  of  heaven,  though  they  neither  toil 
nor  spill,  have  neither  store-houses  nor  barns,  you  will  find  your 
tecurity  as  well  as  your  happiness,  in  laying  up  treasures  in  hear 
ven,  by  giving  to  the  poor,  and  which  will  be  received  aguiB 
with  a  double  blessing.  If  j-ou  have  confidence  in  a  man  that 
he  will  repay  what  is  lent,  is  God  unrighteous  that  he  should 
forget  your  work  and  labour  of  love  ?  "  He  that  soweth  liberally 
shall  reap  liberally,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 

*'  But  we  have  no  time."  No  great  deal  of  time  is  wanted; 
the  cultivation  of  benevolent  feelings,  a  sincere  desire  to  do  good, 
attended  with  such  occasional  and  regular  visits  among  the  poor, 
and  the  adoption  of  such  a  system  of  relieving  them,  as  your  op- 
portunities will  afford,  are  all  that  are  required.  Surely  you  are 
not  so  incessantly  employed  as  not  to  be  able  to  spare  two  or 
three  hours,  either  on  Sundays,  or  work-day  evenings,  for  the 
performance  of  that  which  constitutes  the  main  part  of  pure  and 
undefiled  religion.  You  have  time  for  many  other  things  of  less 
importance,  and  can  you  not  devote  a  little  of  your  time  to  serve 
a  distressed,  a  sick,  perhaps  a  dying  fellow  creature?  The  rea- 
son, I  fear,  is,  you  have  no  disposition.  Many  persons  can  relish 
the  relievmg  of  the  poor  as  a  theory,  and  express  their  admiration 
of  the  philanthropist;  but  few  are  disposed  to  imitate  his  exam- 
ple. How  busily  mankind  are  employed  in  discussing  the  prin- 
ciples of  national  policy,  economy,  and  morality  in  the  abstract; 
but  how  few  are  disposed  for  those  practical  duties  which  require 
any  degree  of  self-denial ! 

Excuse  me  while  1  biiefly  set  before  you  some  of  the  mo~ 
iives  to  this  useful  work.  To  say  it  is  a  duty,  though  this  is  the 
first  principle  of  obligation,  would  be  only  to  say  what  all  feel 
bound  to  acknowledge;  as  such  it  commends  itself  under  that 
general  law  of  doing  to  others  what  we  would  wish  they  should 
do  to  us  in  similar  circumstances.  But  it  is  a  privilege:  it  is  a 
part  of  that  salutary  discipline  which  our  gracious  Creator  has 
provided,  and  which  can  never  change  with  changing  time. 
Whatever  man  has  lost,  he  retains  his  sympathy,  which  involun- 
tarily exerts  itself  upon  objects  of  pity,  even,  on  many  occasions, 
without  the  stimulus  of  religion.  Such  scenes  of  misery  as  are 
sometimes  witnessed  among  the  poor,  or  by  the  bed-side  of  a 
dying  man,  will  frequently  soften  the  heart  incapable  of  being 
softened  by  any  thing  else.  No  man  can  visit  the  poor  without 
being  better  for  it ;  he  learns  humility,  gratitude,  and  submisit; 


572 

sion,  and  his  benevolent  zeal  receives  a  fresh  impulse.  There  is 
nothing  that  contributes  more  to  general  peace  and  substantial 
TiDion,  for  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  effect  of  human  laws 
upon  society,  mutual  affection  and  reciprocal  kindness  consti- 
tute the  strongest  bond.  If  the  idea  of  classes  were  entirely  for- 
gotten, and  a  free  interchange  of  kind  offices  amongst  persons 
of  all  ranks  adopted,  there  would  be  no  longer  any  necessity  for 
the  present  increase  of  coercive  iceasures :  relieving  the  poor, 
therefore,  is  both  a  privilege  to  individuals,  and  an  advantage  to 
society  at  large. 

This  is  the  best,  and  most  generally  admitted  criterion  of  a 
true  Christian.  It  is  not  the  articles  of  your  faith  ;  the  silence, 
the  solemnity,  or  the  ceremonials  of  your  religious  meetings; 
the  length  or  number  of  your  prayers,  so  much  as  your  icorks 
of  faith  and  labours  of  love,  that,  in  the  estimation  of  others, 
prove  the  sincerity  of  your  characters.  "By  this  shall  all  men 
.know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  for  another." 
It  is  this  that  adds  lustre  to  every  other  virtue,  and  is  approved 
of  by  society,  whether  in  priest  or  peasant,  in  sovereign  or  sub- 
ject. Nay,  it  is  this  feature,  more  than  any  other,  that  seems  to 
be  referred  to  at  the  day  of  judgment,  for  the  great  Judge,  in 
pronouncing  blessing  upon  the  righteous,  will  saj',  "I  was  an 
hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye 
clothed  me;  sick  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me:  for  inasmuch 
as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  ray  brethren,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me."  What  self-satisfaction,  what  a  luxury  must  there 
be  in  the  habit  of  doing  good  !  Indeed,  it  brings  with  it  a  pre- 
sent enjoyment,  and,  as  the  fruit  of  repentance,  has  the  promise 
of  an  everlasting  reward. 

On  this  point,  let  every  one  examme  himself.  So  easy  is  it, 
at  the  present  day,  to  pass  for  good  Christians,  merely  for  the 
correctness  of  our  faith,  or  our  constant  attendance  upon  reli- 
gious ordinances,  that  without  great  caution,  we  are  in  danger 
of  neglecting  that  which  the  scriptures  emphatically  call  ^^ pure 
and  undejiled  religion."  It  is  more  agreeable  to  the  flesh  to  go 
to  church  or  chapel  than  to  visit  the  loathsome  cellars  of  the 
destitute  ;  and  hence  many  who  frequent  the  house  of  God,  ne- 
ver personally  visit  the  houses  of  the  poor.  I  know  an  individual 
who,  after  having  been  many  years  a  professor  of  religion,  asked 
himself,  *' How   often   have  I   visited   the  fatherless  and  the 


373 

lividow  ?"     He  was   self  condemned  :    the  honest  answer  of  his 

conscience   was — not   once  !     So  deep  was  his  conviction,   that 

ever  since,   he  has  been  amongst  the  foremost  in  remeraberino- 

o 

the  poor. 

Would  examples  be  any  additional  stimulant  ?  Look  into 
the  New  Testament  :  jou  have  there  a  Cornelius,  "  who  gave 
much  alms  unto  the  people  ;"  a  Dorcas,  who  "made  coats  and 
garments  for  the  poor,  and  who  was  full  of  good  works  and  alms 
deeds  which  she  did  ;"  a  Zaccheus,  who,  besides  the  four-fold 
restitution  which  he  made,  "  gave  half  of  his  ^oods  to  the  poor." 
the  early  disciples  of  Christ,  who  maintained  all  their  aged 
widows  without  labour,  and  who  distributed  to  every  man  ac- 
cording as  he  had  need,  so  that  there  was  not  one  among  them 
that  lacked;  and  above  all,  the  glorious  example  of  the  Re- 
deemer, who,  though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor, 
that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  made  rich.  He  went 
about  doing  good.  He  made  the  widow's  heart  to  dance  for  joy, 
by  restoring  her  only  son.  He  had  compassion  on  the  multi- 
tude when  they  wanted  bread,  and  once  and  again  fed  them  by 
thousands.  He  gave  his  time,  his  labour,  his  miracles,  and  at 
last  his  very  life,  a  ransom  for  many.  That  we  may  imitate  his 
bright  example,  and  reign  with  him  in  glory,  is  the  fervent  de- 
sire of  your  affectionate  friend,  J.  LIVESEY. 


VARIETIES. 


Stamp  duties. — The  mischievous  policyof  taxing  knowledge 
was  never  more  manifest  than  at  present.  The  government  can- 
not subdue  the  excitement  of  political  subjects  among  the  poor, 
and  therefore  why  should  it,  by  attempting  to  put  out  their  eyes, 
leave  them  a  prey  to  every  fanatic  incendiary  ?  Let  the  people 
be  well  informed,  let  knowledge  be  made  as  cheap  as  possible, 
and  we  should  be  infinitely  better  defended  than  by  swords  and 
bayonets.  Poison  is  diffused,  but  there  is  no  auiidote,  and 
merely  because  the  real  friends  of  the  people  respect  the  laws. 
Let  the  press  be  free,  let  the  stamp  duty  be  remitted,  and  there 
will  be  no  lack  of  really  useful  "  penny  papers"  for  the  poor. 

Preston  church  rates. —  I  have  just  received  a  printed  notice 
for  the  church  tax,  which  differs  so  much  in  its  tone  from  all 
preceding  notices,  that  it  is  clear  the  visitation  of  last  Easter  has 
not  been  lost  upon  this  self  constituted  vestry.  The  notice  com- 
mences with — "T.  Clark's  respects,  and  begs  to  inform  you  that 
he  has  called  to  receive  your  church  tax,"     This  is  certainly 


374 

flbotliing ;  and  as  1  have  not  j'et  answered  this  note,  I  beoj  leave, 
through  this  medium,  to  return  the  following  : — «  Mr.  Clarke's 
pohte  note  came  safely  to  hand,  and  Mr.  Livesey,  in  reply,  be;.js 
to  say,  that  besides  publishing  the  accounts  annually,  if  Mr, 
Clark  will  do  his  utmost  to  assist  the  town  in  obtaining  a  con~ 
stitutional  vestry^  that  is,  a  vestry  chosen  by  the  parishioners,  al- 
though he  would  still  consider  the  demand  oppressive  upon  Dis- 
senters and  Catholics,  he  will  for  the  present  consent  to  pay. 
Or,  if  he  and  his  brethren  who  are  attached  to  the  Church,  will 
forego  all  compulsatory  demands,  and,  like  the  tirst  Christians 
and  all  other  religious  parties,  agree  to  pay  their  own  expenccsy 
he  will,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  contribute  oiie  guinea  annually  for 
this  purpose." — If  neither  of  these  propositions  be  jicccded  to,  I 
am  determined  to  cast  in  my  lot  with  the  Quakers.  ,1  don't  won- 
der at  the  present  anxiety  to  get  in  the  outstanding  accounts. 
Insolvent  tradesmen,  before  closing  their  business,  always  do 
this.  The  present  vestry,  I  believe,  will  never  lay  another  rate. 
Ecclesiastical  Impositions. — A  society  for  opposing  these  has 
been  estabHshed  in  Preston,  the  purport  of  which  may  be  under- 
stood by  the  following  resolution  passed  at  the  first  meeting  :— 
Resolved — "That  many  of  the  demands  of  the  clergy  of  the  Esta- 
blished Chui  I'n  are  become  intolerable ;  that  they  are  offensive  in  principley 
and  oppressive  in  practice,  and  are  made  the  pretext  of  much  imposition  ; 
and  that  in  order  to  enable  the  people  fairly  to  investigate  these  de- 
mands, a  society  be  formed,  for  the  purpose  of  opposing,  by  every -legal 
means,  all  ecclesiastical  impositions. 

The  necessity  of  the  case  will,  it  is  presumed,  induce  many  other 
towns  to  follow  the  example.  No  time  should  be  lost  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Preston  in  joming  this  society,  in  order  to  defend  them- 
selves; to  try  to  rescue  the  town  from  religious  tyranny;  and 
while  we  have  a  national  church,  to  prevent  its  continuing  any 
longer  to  be  a  party  to  the  promotion  of  strife  and  discord.  Dear 
me!  words  must  certainly  have  lost  their  meaning,  when  in  the 
face  of  all  the  rancour  and  malice,  all  the  falsehood  and  extor- 
tion, all  the  profanation  of  sacred  things,  that  are  connected  with 
the  demands  of  the  church,  it  is  still  attempted  to  be  puffed  off 
as  "  excellent,"  "  scriptural,"  and  "  apostolical "  ! !  Big  lies  do 
the  least  harm. 


Corf  CiSjJOttH^ce* 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

I  AM  glad  to  find  that  the  Moral  Reformer  admits  of  discussions 
respecting  Temperance  Societies.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  history  of  these  Societies  is,  that  their  principal 
opponents  are  amongst  the  professors  of  serious  piety,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
amongst  even  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  frothing,  however,  so  far  as  my 
observations  have  extended,  in  the  shape  of  argument  appears  to  be  made 


1 


375 

nseof  in  order  to  put  down  these  institution's,  or  to  retard  tlieir  progress. 
Eaiitcr  and  lidicu'e  are  the  weapons  by  which  they  are  invariably  assailed. 
Now  it  strikes  me,  simple  man  as  1  am,  that  drunkenness  is  much  too  serious 
an  evil,  ana  tl:e  benevolent  intention,  at  least,  of  the  leading  friends  of 
Terapeiauce  Societies  much  too  far  removed  from  suspicion,  to  render  this 
sort  of  opposition  in  the  slightest  degree  creditable,  either  to  the  heart  or 
the  head  of  any  man,  professing  and  cailinj;  himself  a  Christian,  much  less 
a  Christian  minister.  That  some  good,  nay,  that  nauch  good  has  been  done 
by  the  institution  of  Temperance  Societies,  cannot  be  denied;  and  that  this 
fifcnmsfance,  so  far  from  affording  matter  for  rejoicing,  should  still  leave 
room  for  witticism  and  lampoon,  is  amongst  the  most  extraordinary  of  ex- 
traordinary things  in  the  present  state  of  society;  and  this  will  appear  to 
be  the  case  in'a  very  especial  manner,  when  we  consider  who  those  are  who 
thus  seem  totnake  a  mock  at  sin 

How  are  we  to  account  for  the  circumstance  of  which  this  paper  is  in- 
tended to  complain  ?  I  will  not  suppose  that  even  any  considerable  propor- 
Tion  of  these  contemners  of  Temperance  Societies,  to  whom  I  have  more 
particularly  alluded,  are  fond  of  their  bottle  and  their  glass.  1  will  evea 
imagine  that,  with  respect  to  many  of  them,  it  would  be  no  real  sacrifice 
were  they  to  sign  the  temperance  pledge,  and  act  upon  it.  But  surely  they 
have  not  fairly  considered  the  subject.  They  do  not,  as  yet,  understand 
the  principles  and  aim  of  the  friends  of  Temperance  Societies.  Perhaps 
they  think  it  wrong,  or  at  least  useless,  to  attempt  to  improve  the  moral 
character  of  man  independent  of  a  religious  renovation.  1  am  much  mis- 
taken if  there  is  not,  in  the  present  day,  a  far  too  great  dependence  placed 
npon  the  reception  of  an  orthodox  system  of  belief.  I  trust  that  I  am  not 
behind  many  of  your  readers  in  attachment  to  what  are  frequently  denomi- 
nated evangelical  principles;  but  I  still  think  that,  to  a  certain  extent, 
man,  independent  of  the  higher  considerations  of  a  strictly  religious  nature, 
is  capable  of  being  influenced  by  moral  suasion  ;  and  that  a  mere  moral  re- 
formation may  remove,  and  frequently  has  removed,  very  serious  obstacles 
out  of  the  way  of  religioi-s  instruction.  Is  it  likely  that  a  drunkard  will 
attend  upon  religious  worship?  What  avails  it,  therefore,  so  far  as  he  is 
concerned,  that  strictly  orthodox  sentiments  are  taught  in  his  very  neigh- 
bourhood? He  regards  them  not,  nor  is  it  likely  that  he  will  regard  them, 
till  he  is  restored  to  some  degree  of  self  respect,  and  placed  in  circumstances 
under  which  he  would  not  be  ashamed  to  appear  in  the  house  of  God. 

But  the  reformation  of  confirmed  drunkards  is  not  the  chief  object 
which  the  friends  of  Temperance  Societies  have  in  view :  they  wish  to  do 
away  with  those  notions  and  customs,  by  which  persons  are  gradually  led 
on  from  moderate  to  immoderate  drinking.  They  wish  to  stem  the  torrent 
at  the  spring  head.  Now,  will  our  religious  opponents  of  Temperance  So- 
cieties, in  particular,  venture  to  contend  that  the  custom  of  bringing  for- 
ward spirits,  for  instance,  when  a  friend  happens  to  call  upon  us,  is  so  very 
important,  that  the  risk  of  thus  fostering  the  habit  of  drinking  is  compara- 
tively a  matter  of  small  moment?  Have  they  well  ascertained,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  highest  medical  autbority,  that  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  is  not 


376 

only  innoxious,  but  beneficial  to  health  ?  Now,  if  it  be  true,  as  the  most 
competent  judges  have  a?se!  ted,  and  as  experience  has  abundantly  proved, 
that  the  use  of  ardcLt  spirits,  except  in  some  cuses  of  disorder,  is  really  in- 
jurious to  the  human  constitution ;  that  the  love  of  it  is  only  acquired  by 
use;  and  that  when  the  love  of  it  is  once  acquired,  it  is  almost  sure  to  lead 
on  to  confirmed  and  inveterate  drunkenness  ;  can  tlu-re  be  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt  as  to  the  line  of  conduct  which  every  well  wisher  to  mankind,  every 
consistent  professor  of  religion,  and  especially  every  Christion  ministei 
should  adopt?  With  respect  to  the  Christian  minister,  in  particular,  who 
not  only  withholds  his  influence,  but  by  jeers  and  taunts  in  effect  oppose 
Temperance  Societies,  probably  no  ordinary  degree  of  guilt  is  incurred. 
Let  this  matter,  at  least,  be  well  considered. 

It  must  be  admitted,  even  by  the  most  determined  opponents  of  Tem- 
perance Societies,  that  drunkenness  is  a  great  evil,  that  it  is  an  increasing 
evil,  and  that  if  it  continues  to  increase  as  it  has  done,  the  consequences 
will  ultimately  prove  too  direful  to  be  contemplated.  It  must  be  allowed, 
also,  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  not  likely  to  reach  the  case. 
What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?  That  something  should  be  attempted,  is  quite 
evident.  If  the  present  constitution  of  our  Temperance  Societies  is 
objected  to,  let  some  other  plan  be  adopted.  To  endeavour  to  put  down 
or  discourage  the  societies  which  already  exist,  while  no  substitute  is  pro- 
posed, and  no  appropriate  efforts  made,  would  argue  sadly  against  the  sin- 
cerity of  any  profession  of  concern  for  the  present  state  of  morals  in  the 
population  by  which  we  are  surrounded. 

Manchester.  W.  ELLERBY. 


WINTER  EVENING  LECTURES. 

[The  following,  which  I  published  a  few  years  ago,  is  still  seasonable  ] 

Perhaps  my  readers  need  not  be  informed  that  it  is  the  practice  of  the 
ministers  of  various  denominations  to  deliver,  during  the  winter  months,  a 
course  of  lectures  on  Sunday  evenings.  These,  I  leiieve,  have  been  found 
more  attractive  than  the  customary  mode  of  instructing  by  sermons  But 
though  they  have  a  decidedly  religious  cast,  they  do  not,  iu  my  opinion,  bear 
sufficiently  upon  the  present  character  and  practices  of  society.  Virtue  and 
religion  may  be  encouraged,  and  vice  denounced,  but  it  is  in  a  manner  too 
general  and  indirect.  A  survey  of  the  present  behaviour  of  the  people 
should  be  taken,  and  direct  "  reproof,  correction,  and  instruction"  given. 
Instead  of  this,  in  these  lectures  instruction  and  reproof  are  merely  con- 
veyed through  the  distant  medium  of  inferences  arising  out  of  the  Ultistra- 
tion  of  some  past  event  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures.  It  would  be  well 
if  our  divines  would  deal  more  in  practical  theology,  and  anathematize  the 
heresy  of  an  immoral  life,  instead  of  the  heresy  of  mere  opinion  conscien- 
tiously adopted.  Practical  piety  should  be  the  end  of  all  instruction  ;  but 
from  reading  some  of  the  ancient  fathers  and  the  homilies  of  the  Church  of 


EnglanJ,  I  rannot  but  tLink  tliat  there  is  now  far  less  practical  teaching 
than  formerly.  Witli  your  permission,  1  will  give,  as  a  specimen,  a  list  of 
subjects  from  wliich  lectures  hare  been  delivered,  and  also  a  statement  of  sub- 
jects from  which  I  conceive  a  more  profitable  list  might  be  made. 

Specimen  list  of  lectures  delivered :— "  The  character  of  Moses,  the  call 
of  Moses;  Nadaband  Abihu;  Caleb's  fidelity;  Joshua's  resolution;  the  pray- 
er of  Jabcz  ;  the  widow  of  Serapta  ;  the  translation  of  Elijah  ;  Ruth's  choice  ; 
^he  three  Hebrew  youths  iu  the  furnace;  Nebuchadnezzar's  transformationj 
^e  character  of  Daniel." 

A  statement  of  subjects  applicable  to  t'.ic  present  state  of  society,  from 
which  a  list  might  be  made  : — "  Against  evil  speaking  and  talebearing;  in- 
toxication and  intemperance;  excess  in  apparel ;  excesses  at  fashionable  par- 
ties ;  hypocrisy  in  its  various  forms;  cruelties  ;  gaming;  swearing  and  lewd 
discourse  ;  rash  judgment ;  extortion  ;  covetousness,  &c.  On  benevolence 
and  liberality  from  principle;  parental  duties;  subjection,  and  the  duty  of 
children  to  support  their  aged  parents;  excesses  at  christenings  and  funerals; 
causes  and  cure  of  the  increase  of  crime  ;  causes  of  so  much  conjugal  infe- 
licity; the  best  plans  for  improving  the  morals  of  the  young  of  both  sexes, 
who  work  in  factories;  prevailing  deceptions,  especially  in  trade;  industry, 
and  strict  honesty;  non-resistance,  and  the  duty  of  living  peaceably  with  all 
men ;  fasting  and  self  denial ;  duties  of  husbands  and  wives ;  masters  and  ser- 
vants ;  consistency;  persecution,  and  the  various  forms  it  assumes;  zealoua 
perseverance  in  doing  good  to  others;  advice  to  tradesmen  ;  warnings  to  the 
rich;  promptness  in  paying  debts  ;  of  the  folly  of  animal  and  sensual  pursuits 
in  preference  to  rational  and  intellectual ;  and  of  the  value  of  a  good  con- 
science, both  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man  ;  enforced  by  every  motive  which 
the  gospel  affords." 

These  subjects  are  mentioned,  in  preference  to  others  which  may  be 
equally  important,  because  they  have  a  direct  reference  to  the  present  ha- 
bits of  society.  Hoping  that  the  ministers  of  religion  will  receive  these 
hints  with  the  same  good  feehng  with  which  they  are  given,  and,  at  least, 
before  they  draw  up  their  list  of  lectures  for  the  ensuing  winter,  they  will 
give  the  subject  that  consideration  which  its  importance  demands, 
1  am,  with  those  of  every  party, 

A  Lover  of  Practical  Religion. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 
Sir, 

I  SHALL  esteem  it  a  kindness,  if  any  of  your  numerous  corres- 
pondents will  favour  me  with  an  answer  to  the  following  query  : — 

You  are  aware,  Sii-,  tliat  many  persons  closely  employed  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  day,  are  very  anxious  to  spend  their  short  evenings  in 
self-improvement,  but  from  the  exertions  of  the  day  are  murli  disposed  to 
drowsiness.     Now,  the  question  I   have  to  propose  is,  "  What  is  the  best 

Zz 


378 

]|TaD  lo  leliere  a  student  so  ciromnstaiKed  and  disposed,  from  drowtmeis 
at  study?"  I  am,  respectfully, 

ALIQUIS. 


""'^  ilnswer. — Sleep  may  be  either  morbid  or  natural;  when  it  is  morbrd 
k  most  generally  arises  from  some  mechanical  cause  pressing  upon  the  sen- 
sorium,  and  cannot  be  obviated  without  medical  or  surgical  assistance. 
Natural  sleep  may,  I  conceive,  be  induced  by  bodily  exhaustion,  or  a  de- 
ficiency of  mental  exciten^ent.  When  sleep  is  produced  by  violent  or  pro- 
tracted bodily  exertion,  nothing  can  relieve  or  remove  the  torpor  which 
pervades  the  senses  but  repose.  The  voluntary  powers  can  only  perform 
their  functions  for  a  limited  time  without  fatigue,  and  whenever  that  fa- 
tigue is  induced,  relaxation  is  necessary,  in  order  that  their  nervous  energy 
may  be  restored,  that  the  organization  may  repair  the  injury  it  may  have 
sustained,  and  that  the  mental  faculties  may  be  refreshed,  and  prepared  for 
again  exercising  a  vigorous  and  conscious  direction  and  control.  If,  ther&. 
fore,  to  relieve  exhaustion.  Nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,  throws  her 
soft  mantle  over  his  weary  frame,  let  not  "  Aliquis"  wisli  to  counteract  her 
fiuendly  purpose,  but  rather  yield  himself  to  her  kind  control.     Let  him 

—"Hail  the  syren  Sleep,  whose  soft,  sweet  tune 
To  settled  slumber  lures  his  heavy  eyes. 

Till  every  sense  dissolves  in  gentle  swoon. 
And  o'er  his  limbs  lethargic  sweetness  flics, 
While  he  of  death  the  passive  picture  lies." 
Thus  to  yield  is  to  conquer-,  for  when  the  body  is  fatigued,  the  mind  can- 
never  be  vigorous  and  attentive:  but  after  the  bodily  energies  are  recruited 
by   repose,  the  mental   powers  will  be  refreshed,  and  capable  of  doubI<e 
exertion. 

But  when  sleep  arises  from  a  deficiency  of  mental  excitement,  where 
no  previous  bodily  fatigue  has  been  induced,  it  may,  1  think,  generally  be 
prevented  from  visiting  us  unseasonably,  at  least  in  all  those  who  are  pos- 
sessed of  a  tolerable  share  of  excitability.  There  are  some  phlegmatic 
people,  I  am  aware,  who  will  sink  into  the  deepest  sleep  almost  inevitably,, 
when  all  external  stimulants  are  withdrawn,  and  whose  minds  are  so  devoid 
of  irritability,  that  scarcely  any  kind  of  intellectual  motive  can  be  presented 
that  will  keep  their  attention  awake.  Such,  1  believe,  will  only  be  able  to- 
counteract  their  tendency  to  unseasonable  slumber  by  some  external  excite- 
ment, or  bodily  activity :  but  as  I  presume  your  correspondent  does  not 
belong  to  this  class  of  persons,  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  remedies  whiclv 
might  be  applicable  to  those,  but  proceed  to  submit  to  him  a  few  remarks 
which,  I  trust,  he  will  find  of  service,  if  he  will  reduce  them  to  practice.  I 
shall  suppose  that  he  is  not  engaged  in  any  very  laborious  occupation,  that 
the  languor  he  experiences  after  the  business  of  the  day  is  over  is  not 
occasioned  by  exhaustion  so  much  as  by  lassitude  of  mind,  and  that  he  is 
possessed  of  a  moderate  degree  of  enthusiasm  ^n  the  pursuit  o£  knowledge,, 


073 

«)  that  bis  interest  can  be  readily  cxcilcd.     Uiidcn  this  supposition  I  pro- 
ceed to  remark — that  sleep   is   banished   by  mental   excitement,   and  pro- 
moted by  a  deficiency  of  irritability  ;  and  so  long  as  we  feel  interested  in  the 
object  of  our  pursuit,  we  shall  be  in  little  danger  of  being  attacked  by  drow- 
-siness.     When  we  flag  in  our  studies,   it  is  les*:,   I   conceiTc,   owing  to  our 
minds  being  exhausted,  than  to  our  having  ceased  to  feeJ  excitetl  by  the  sub- 
ject on  which  we  have  been  tneditating.     If  this  he  true,  then  so  long  as  we 
can  succeed  in  supplying  the  mind  widi  the  stimulus  of  desire,  by  present- 
ing to  it  subjects  of  interest,  so  long  will  our  attention  be  fixed,  and  drow- 
siness effectively  warded  off  j   but  whenever  the  interest  we  felt  in  our  sub- 
ject subsides,   and  our  attention  relaxes,    we   shall  assuredly  experience  a 
powerful  inclination  to  sleep,  if  other  circumstances  he  favourable,  and  we 
have  not  recourse  to  some  other  study  in  which  we  are  tnt«e  interested. 
There  are  so  many  different  propensities  in  different   individuals,  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  lay  down  a  rule,  as  to  the  subject,  which  would  pro- 
duce the  greatest  excitement  in  every  mind.     Some  people  w  ill  sleep  over  a 
novel,  or  the  most  sublime  poetry  that  the  pen  of  inspiration  ever  wrote- 
while  others  will  peruse  them  with  th.e  most  intense  interest,  and  the  most 
wakeful  attention.     Some  persons  find  abstract  speculations  a  never  failing 
opiate,  while  others  peruse  tliem  with  ardent  and  deep  meditation.     Some 
feel   much  pleasure  in  ranging  the  wide  field  of  phjsics,  while  others  de- 
Ught  in  the  more  intiicate  iabyrmlhs  of  the  mind.     In  short,  almost  every 
human  intellect  seems  to  have  a  poition  of  knowledge  appointed  for  its  own 
individual  culture;  and  strangely  constituted  must  that  mind  be,  indeed 
which  cannot  find  excitement  in  any  branch  of  learning.     Every  one  must 
have  remarked  the  effect  which  an  allusion  to  a  favourite  topic  has  upon  a 
drowsy  companion.     How  all  his  mental  faculties  are  aroused,  how  speedily 
his  senses  regain  their  peiception,  and  bow  earnestly  his  attention  becomes 
fixed!  till  from  the  listless  and  yawning  being  he  was  when  not  acted  upon 
by  his  appropriate  mental  stimulus,  he  becomes  an  animated,  attentive,  and 
interesting  companion.     This  change  is  solely  effected  by  exciting  the  men- 
tal energies;  and  so  complete  will  the  renovation  sometimes  be,  that  eveii 
the  bodily  powers,  when  relaxed  by  fatigue,  will,  by  this  excitement,  regain 
tbeir  vigour,  and  be  prepared  for  fresh  exertion.    "Aliquis,"  no  doubt,  will, 
if  he  examine  his  own  taste,  discover  that  there  is  some  branch  of  learning 
in  which  he  feels  an  especial  interest,  and  which  will  seldom  fail  to  keep  his 
attention  awake.     I  would  advise  him,  whenever  he  finds  a  torpor  stealing 
over  bis  frame,  and  his  mental  faculties  flagging,  and  when  he  is  wishful  to 
protract  his  watchfulness,  to  have  recourse  to  his  favourite  study,  until  he 
has  awakened  his  drooping  senses;  and  after  he  has  succeeded,  he  may 
again  return  to  his  less  pleasant  task  with  renewed  energy.     To  some  per- 
Bons  any  change  of  subject,  even  though  no  particular  pi'edelictiou  may  be 
felt  for  the  one  more  than  the  other,  will  besuflicient  to  keep  the  attention 
Arom  flagging.     When  I  have  become  drowsy  over  a  book  that  has  required 
itonsidwable  exertion  to  comprehend,  I  have  always  found  that  1  could  eii. 


280 

tirety  dispel  the  gaftienng  mist  by  turning  to  a  work  of  a  light,  imaginative 
character;  and,  on  the  contrary,  when  I  feel  a  lassitude  creeping  over  my 
senses  while  perusing  a  book  that  requires  little  exertion  of  mind  to  under- 
stand, I  seldom  fail  to  dispel  slumber  by  directing  my  attention  to  some 
subject  that  demands  deeper  meditation.  By  this  means  I  generally 
find  my  mind  kept  in  a  state  of  greater  activity,  and  more  capable  of 
beiug  profitably  employed,  than  after  an  unseasonable  slumber.  Another 
plan  which  I  have  frequently  adopted  with  success,  is  to  lake  up  a  pen  and 
■write  a  brief  outline  of  what  1  have  been  reading,  to  note  dowu  any  remark 
the  subject  may  have  suggested,  or  to  write  a  short  essay  on  any  other  sub- 
ject which  may  present  itself  at  the  time.  The  attention  and  reflection 
which  this  exercise  renders  necessary,  with  the  exertion  of  writing,  (  have 
never  found  ineflicient  iu  removing  the  strongest  disposition  to  sleep,  unless 
it  has  been  induced  by  bodily  fatigue.  Should  all  these  means  prove  in- 
effectual, as  a  dernier  resource,  I  would  recommend  "Aliquis,"  when  he 
perceives  the  unwelcome  advances  of  sleep,  to  seek  the  society  of  an  intelli- 
gent and  lively  friend ;  and  if  he  is  w  ishful  to  continue  to  pursue  the  same 
subject  with  which  he  had  been  engaged,  he  may  make  it  the  topic  of  con- 
versation j  but  if  not,  he  may  relax  his  mind  in  cheerful,  general  conversa- 
tion ;  and  so  far  from  finding  that  his  intellectual  faculties  are  depressed  by 
his  previous  study,  he  will  experience  a  buoyancy  of  spirit,  and  a  flow  of 
ideas,  almost  in  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  his  former  application.  Nor 
will  he  generally,  1  believe,  when  he  again  retires  to  his  study,  find  that  his 
attention  is  less  awake,  or  his  reasoning  powers  less  active,  from  the  evapo- 
ration of  the  superabundance  of  spirit  he  felt  while  engagedin  conversing 
with  his  friend;  but,  on  the  contrary,  be  will  find  much  pleasure  in  again 
seating  himself  in  his  study,  and  giving  himself  up  to  silent  meditation,  or 
in  recurring  to  his  book,  and  partaking  of  the  intellectual  feast  it  spreads 
before  him.  These  are  the  most  efiii  ient  mental  means  1  am  acquainted 
with  for  counteracting  an  inclination  to  sleep  over  our  studies  ;  and  no  one 
who  is  in  the  possession  of  health  of  body  and  excitability  of  mind,  of  a  love 
of  knowledge,  enthusiasm  of  soul,  and  stability  of  purpose,  will  find  all  of 
them  inert  iu  warding  off  the  syren  sleep. 

There  are  several  remedies,  consisting  of  corporeal  stimulants,  which 
have  been  extolled  for  preventing  drowsiness,  such  as  ardent  spirits,  wine, 
strong  tea,  coffee,  an  uneasy  seat,  or  one  in  which  you  are  obliged  to  use 
considerable  muscular  exertion  to  enable  you  to  keep  your  station  upon  it, 
walking  about  the  room,  reading  aloud,  &c.  &c.  These  will,  no  doubt,  suc- 
ceed, in  many  instances,  in  keeping  the  mind  awake;  but  some  of  them  are 
injurious,  and  others  are  unpleasant  and  fatiguing.  Ardent  spirits,  wine, 
unless  in  great  moderation,  and  even  strong  tea  and  coffee,  must  be  depre- 
cated as  injurious.  Silting  upon  a  hard  stool  is  not  very  pleasant :  pacing 
about  the  room  and  reading  aloud  are  fatiguing. 

As  adjuncts  to  the  mental  means  I  have  mentioned,  I  may  observe  that 
the  temperature  of  the  room  where  you  study  should  neither  be  too  warm 


381 

not- too  cold,  but  rather  iiicliaiiig  to  coolness,  for  heat  has  a  great  tendency  (o 
make  you  drowsy:  your  chair  should  not  be  placed  too  near  the  fire,  nor 
Bhould  the  light  of  the  fire  be  suffered  to  fall  upon  your  eyes :  a  fire  screen  is 
very  useful  to  keep  from  you  too  much  heat  and  light.  The  light  you  read 
by  ought  not  to  be  too  bright,  nor  should  it  be  allowed  to  flicker,  otherwise 
you  will  scarcely  fail  to  become  drowsy.  The  light  of  a  common  lamp,  with 
a  ground  glass  over  it,  is  the  best  to  read  by.  No  light  is  worse  than  that  of 
gas.  1  have  freqtiently  tried  to  read  by  it,  but  it  is  generally  very  unsteady, 
and  so  brilliant  as  to  be  painful  to  the  eyes,  so  that  I  have  uniformly  been 
obliged  to  relinquish  the  attempt.  Perhaps  in  part  this  may  have  arisen 
from  my  not  having  been  accustomed  to  the  light,  and  the  effect  may  not  be 
the  same  upon  others.  The  print  you  read  should  not  be  too  small,  but  ra- 
ther large  and  clear.  I  never  could  read  at  night  the  cheap  publications 
with  double  columns  upon  a  page,  without  experiencing  a  tendency  to  sleep: 
The  eyes  have  to  be  kept  continually  on  the  stretch  todistingusih  the  words, 
and  when  they  become  fatigued  and  relaxed,  the  lines  appear  indistinct, 
which  produces  such  confusion  in  the  ideas  as  destroys  all  pleasure  in  the 
work,  and  thus  the  mind  droops  for  want  of  excitement.  The  seat  you  make 
use  of  should  not  be  over  easy,  nor  should  you  ever  assume  the  recumbent 
posture,  when  you  are  wishful  to  keep  awake.  All  these  circumstances  are 
worthy  of  attention;  but  I  am  inclined  to  regard  them  as  of  secondary  effi- 
cacy, w))en  compared  with  mental  excitation.  Should  these  hasty  and  im- 
perfect observations  enable  "  Aliquis"  to  pursue  his  studies  with  greater 
alacrity  and  pleasure,  and  suggest  to  him  the  means  of  overcoming  his  dis- 
position to  drowsiness,  I  shall  be  very  proud. 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

NEMO. 

CONTENTMENT. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sib, 

It  is  vain,  as  it  is  insulting,  to  call  upon  people  to  be  contented,  if 
they  have  not  a  fair  remuneration  for  their  labour, — that  is,  if  they  cannot, 
by  means  of  their  earnings,  procure  a  sufficiency  of  food,  clothing,  and  rea- 
sonable comforts  for  themselves,  their  wives,  and  families.  The  Scriptures 
even  do  not  call  upon  the  poor  to  be  contented  under  such  circumstances. 
The  Apostle  Paul  says,  "Having food  and  raiment,  let  us  be  therewith  con- 
lent."  He  does  not  say— let  us  be  content  without  a  sufficiency  of  food 
and  raiment.  He  could  not  have  been  so  unreasonable!  It  is  not  possibUy 
and  it  would  not  be  desirable  if  it  were  possible,  that  people  should  be  con- 
tent who  are  half  fed  and  half  clothed.  The  question,  then,  is  :  Is  it  a  fact 
that  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  poor,  as  a  body,  are  in  such  pitia- 
ble circumstances?  1  believe  that  it  is  too  true  that,  as  a  body,  their  com- 
fiWlB  are  yearly  decreasing,  and  that  there  are  thousands,  especially  among 


382 

the  mechanics,  who,  with  all  their  iadustry,  canuot  procure  what  any  feel- 
ing, Christian  man  would  afSrm  to  be  a  sufHciency  of  food,  raiment,  and 
reasonable  comforts.  Such  persons  must  be  excused,  if  tbey  are  discon- 
tented: and  any  one  who,  compassionating  their  misfortunes,  opens  his  eyes 
to  abuses  existing  in  any  department,  whether  of  church  or  stale,  in  the 
hope  (forlorn  though  it  may  be)  of  finding  or  expediting  a  remedy,  is  a 
friend  to  humanity  and  to  his  country;  although  there  will  ever  be  ignorant 
or  interested  persons  who  will  denounce  him  as  a  demagogue  and  rerolu- 
tionist  for  so  doing. 

But  there  doubtless  is  a  class  of  persons  who  declaina  against  real 
abases,  and  who  imagine  others,  that  cannot  plead  charity  as  an  excuse  for 
clamour.  There  are  multitudes  of  men,  whom  no  feeling  for  the  wretched 
makes  complainers,— who  are  malignantly  jealous  of  all  above  themselves, 
who  hope  to  benefit  by  confusion  and  rapine, — idle,  profligate  men,  who, 
under  no  circumstances,  would  improve  their  lots  by  industry  and  virtuous 
conduct,  and  who,  therefore,  under  no  circumstances,  would  be  good  citi- 
zens Such  men  do  incalculable  mischief;  aud  little  less  mischief  do  those 
who,  profiting  by  things  as  they  are,  who  finding  the  system  "work  well" 
for  themselves,  decry  all  change  as  revolutionary,  and  stigmatize  all  desire 
of  change  as  un-Christian  and  unholy;  and  who,  in  this  manner  betraying 
their  wretched  selfishness,  provoke  the  indignation,  disgust,  and  resentment 
of  the  suffering  classes,  anil  even  of  the  friends  of  order ;  and  are  thus  un- 
wittingly hastening  on  that  very  change  which  they  so  much  deprecate. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter,  in  a  time  of  distress,  to  say  where  the  blame 
should  justly  lie.  Perhaps  no  one  set  of  men  are  properly  chargeable  with 
mil  the  faults  of  the  present  system.  It  is  the  result  of  a  long  and  compli- 
cated chain  of  circumstances;  of  old  as  well  as  of  recent  abuses,  begun  in, 
and  aggravated  by,  ignorance  and  selfishness.  But  one  thing  may  be  af- 
firmed for  a  certainty,  that  no  individual,  who  leads  a  vicious  or  idle, 
self-indulgent  life,  who  does  not  consider  the  effect  of  his  conduct  upon  the 
happiness  of  his  fellow  creatures,  who  does  not  strive  to  arrest  or  mitigate, 
to  the  best  of  his  opportunities  and  abilities,  the  evils  under  which  so  many 
of  his  countrymen  are  groaning  or  sinking, — can  be  pronounced  guiltless! 

The  writer,  therefore,  earnestly  and  solemnly  calls  upon  every  one  who 
has  more  of  this  world's  goods,  or  talents,  or  time  at  his  disposal  than  the 
najority  of  his  suffering  countrymen,  to  spend  the  one,  and  employ  the 
other,  in  relieving  indigence,  and  in  enlightening  error  and  ignorance.  He 
calls  upon  all  those  who  love  order,  because  they  must  be  losers  by  disorder, 
not  insultingly,  or  at  least  idly^  to  preach  contentment,  or  disclaim  against 
discontent;  but  to  do  their  best,  to  bestir  themselves  each  in  his  proper 
sphere,  to  remove  the  causes  «f  discontent.  Let  them  never  forget  that 
the  half  clothed,  the  under  fed,  and  the  over  worked,  will  not,  can  not,  and 
«vght  not  to  he  content. 

In  these  times,  as  at  all  timesj  he  is  the  best  patriot  who  dees  mosl 
goodi  T.K. 


jBI 


3^3 
CO-OPERATION. 

To  the  Editor  of  ike  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

In  noticing  Mr.  Finch's  observations  on  my  letter,  which  yoa 
inserted  in  the  Reformer,  from  the  Kendal  Chronicle,  1  shall  be  very  brief. 
]Neither  his  personal  adulation,  nor  his  pert  insinuations  respecting  my  mo- 
tives, require  any  remarks  from  me,  as  they  can  have  nothi»g  to  do  with 
the  question  at  issue.  The  nature  of  his  comments  on  the  quotations  I 
made  from  the  writings  of  co-operators  convince  me  that  I  have  not  mis- 
taken their  import,  when  I  stated,  "  From  these  extracts  we  learn  what  is 
the  object,  design,  and  end  of  co-operation.  It  is  to  establish  a  perfect 
equality  in  civil  society;  it  professes  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  leligion, 
hut  to  teach  a  morality  far  superior  to  what  is  taught  in  revelation."  I  am 
now  prepared  not  only  to  assert,  but  also  to  prove,  that  its  object  is  to  su- 
persed*  the  Christian  leligion,  and  to  establish  that  of  nature  alone,  as  be- 
ing far  better  calculated  to  produce  a  moral  reformation  among  mankind. 
Mr.  Finch,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  letter,  recommends  me  to  read  the 
writings  of  some  of  their  authors  :  this  I  have  already  done,  at  least  copious 
extracts.  1  have  now  before  me  a  late  production  of  one  of  these  writers. 
It  i«!  issued  from  the  "School  of  Co-operation ,"  in  London,  and  it  distinctly 
states  that  the  ji/i^e.'B  is  "a  new  religion."  The  following  is  its  title:— 
**A  New  Religion,  or  universal  bond  of  unity,  affection,  and  confidence, 
founded  upon  indisputable  facts,  intended  to  remove  the  present  agitated 
and  confused  state  of  men's  minds,  and  to  relieve  them,  by  a  system  of  pre- 
ve.ition,  from  moral  and  physical  evil."* 

This  publication,  which  Mr  Finch  recommended  me  to  read  before  I 
wrote  again  on  cooperation,  if  I  understand  it  aright,  contains  a  distinct 
denial  of  a  wise,  intelligent,  first  cause;  and  because  finite  creatures  do  not 
understand  the  abstract  nature  of  the  Deity,  therefore  all  worship  is  ab- 
surd and  irrational.  At  present  I  wish  to  make  no  more  remaiks  upon  it, 
but  leave  our  rea()ers  to  draw  their  own  conclusions, 

Mr.  Finch  slates  that  he  should  have  expected  me  to  be  the  last 
man  in  the  world  to  have  said  anything  against  "the  perfect  equality  of 
man  ."  and  agaia,  I  have  studied  the  practical  part  of  Christianity  to  very 
little  purpose,  if  I  do  not  discover  that  it  teaches  "the  perfect  equality  of 
man."  His  general  reference  to  the  book  of  Acts,  to  prove  this  position, 
-may  be  either  correct,  or  not.  I  stated  nothing  about  man  in  the  abstract, 
fent  as  a  member  of  civil  society.  Why  Mr.  Finch  should  entirely  have  over- 
ijlooked  a  whole  paragraph  in  my  letter,  is  best  known  to  himself:  as  it  con- 

i  *  I  have  here  withdrawn  rather  a  long  extract  from  the  work  referred  to :  it  adds  no- 
thing to.  the  argument,  and  might  provoke  an  unprofitable  controversy,  The  title  saft* 
"Bitntly  characterises  the  publication.— Epit. 


384 

tains  as  clear  a  statement  as  I  can  make,  on  this  subject,  1  shall  conclade  at 
present  with  transcribing  it,  soliciting  Mr.  Finch's  attention  to  it,  and  hop- 
ing when  he  writes  again  that  he  will  stale  distinctly  what  he  means  by 
^^  the  perfect  equality  qfinanV 

"That  religion  which  is  founded  on  the  perfect  attributes  of  Deity,  as 
revealed  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  goes  upon  the  principle  that  there 
must  always  exist  a  gradation  of  rank  in  civil  society,  and  not  an  equality. 
Hence,  we  read  of  rich  and  poor,  talented  and  not  talented,  master  and 
servant;  and  on  whatever  part  of  the  scale  we  stand,  the  well  being  of  so- 
ciety depends  upon  the  proper  discharge  of  our  duty  ;  and  for  this  we  shall 
hereafter  be  personally  accountable.  The  man  who  contends  for  an  equality 
in  civil  society  must  be  an  infidel  to  revealed  religion." 

Yours  respectfully, 

\Vm.  JENNINGS. 

Kendal,  October  1 4,  1 83 1 . 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

Of  all  the  badges  of  slavery  which  pohtical  priests  have  wreathed 
round  the  necks  of  the  unhappy  laity,  the  marriage  ceremony  of  the  Church 
of  England  is,  I  think,  the  most  degrading  In  Scotland  and  Ireland,  when 
a  man  is  inclined  to  take  a  wife,  he  can  have  the  marriage  ceremony  per- 
formed by  a  man  of  his  own  choice  ;  but  in  England  every  man,  no  matter 
vrhat  his  religious  creed  be,  must  apply  to  a  pailiamentary  parson,  and,  in 
many  cases,  before  he  can  be  married,  must  tacitly  profess  what  in  his  heart 
he  does  not  believe. 

The  people  called  Unitarians  have  made  several  efforts  to  get  rid  of 
this  yoke  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and  although  they  have  hitherto  failed, 
1  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  their  noble  struggle  will  be  crowned 
with  success ;  for  it  is  my  opinion  that  our  British  Babylon  cannot  stand. 
Indeed,  her  own  most  reverend  and  right  reverend  fathers  in  God  have,  on 
a  recent  occasion,  given  her  a  shock  from  which  she  never  can  recover,  so 
that  they  may  truly  cry  out,  "  The  Church  is  in  danger ;"  and  I  rejoice  in 
the  thought,  that  you  and  I  may  live  to  see  her  fall,  never  to  rise  again. 
The  Society  of  Friends  is  the  only  body  of  Dissenters  exempt  from  this 
abominable  yoke  of  the  Established  Church  j  but  I  hope  that  all  the  genu- 
ine disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  will  enter  their  solemn  protest  against  this  relic 
of  Popery,  for  whilst  they  continue  to  submit  to  it,  I  can  view  them  in  no 
other  light  than  as  a  number  of  Israelites  bowing  to  the  idols  of  Canaan. 
Yours,  in  the  cause  of  freedom, 

D  xMATHEWSON. 

Compstall  Bridge,  Nov.  i,  1831. 

JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,     CHURCH-STREET,     PRESTON. 


INDEX. 


Adrertisements,  lies  in ..«..., ,  53 

Agricultural  imposts SIO 

Aristocratical  taxation 310 

Astrology,  lectures  upon 135 

Athanasian  creed,  anecdote. . . ,  53 

B. 

Beer,  free  trade  in Il6 

Beer  bill 26,  1 49 

its  evil  tendency    ....     348 
Benevolence,  nature  and  induce- 
ments of 365 

Beverley,  Mr  remarks  upon  ..  2l6 
Bolton  sheets,  cheap  and  capital 

for  poor 307 

Brighter  side  in  viewing  the 
character  of  the   people....     210 

C. 

Camp  meetings,  advice  upon..  950 
Cemeteries,  the  great  utility  of  49 
Census,  observations  upon  the  220 
Challenging,    a    new    mode    of 

raising  money 149 

Charity  sermons 113 

Chester,  the  vices  of 306 

Christianity,  modern  and  pri- 
mitive       I6I 

Christmas  hints,  on  paying  ac- 
counts, entertaining  the  poor, 
gifts,     singing    and    ringing, 

market  regulations,  &c 38 

Chuicb  establishment,  onecause 

of  the  spread  of  vice 153 

■  an  important  quas- 

tion  for  discussion 305 

Church  of  Eugland  services ....     37 1 
■   remarks  upon..     264 

-       ■  ■■    not   adapted   to 

reform  the  people 375 


Church  rates,  Preston 373 

•^— —  reform ,..,  39 

"Church,  The"   as   noticed   in 

newspapers gj 

-  the,  at  Blackburn,  the 

expence  of   57 

•             vestry  at  Preston ]  45 

■  and  state,    separation  of  90 
Churches,  national,  an  inquiry 

into  the  merits  of 353 

"  Cigar  Divan,"  remarks  upon  128 

— — — do.  answer  to  151,  159 

-^^-^— —  do.  reply 183 

Clergy,  number,  offices,  and  re- 
venues of  the »....  381 

■  their  greediness    , 305 

— — — —  and  laity,  divisions  be- 
twixt . .' s6o 

—  corruptions  of  the  ....  is 

Clerical  principles  corrupt  ....  I04 
—  impositions 278 

■  business     transacted, 
terms,  &c %  884 

Committees,  reform  in  choosing 

them   193 

Consistency    sis 

Contentment 381 

Co-operation,  its  excellences  ..  354 

— — ^— —    objections  to  ....  286 

— — — — .     defence  of  , 319 

Rejoinder 383 

Corn  laws,  the  abolition  of ... .  45 

— ■  and  weavers' wages . .  91 

^— — —   the    question   of    all 

questions    I09 

'        one  of   the   greatest 

questions 305 

Coronation     • 349 

Corporation  and  tolls.. . . . .   I79,  341 

Cottage  system 349 


366 


Connty   economy,    magistrates' 

annual  meefmjj.  ..•....•  ..      339 
Crime,  increase  of 23,  57,  96 

D. 

Pebta,  promptness  in  paying..  102 
Pivisions  araona:  the  people,   a 

remedy  fur s63 

Domestic  happiness •      323 

.1.      infelicity    3^5 

Pues  at  the  parish  clmrches  of 

Walton  and  Preston 1 47 

E. 

Easter dnes ill,  279 

Education^  a  general  view  of  . .  65 
Education  without    schools,    in 

Iceland   ......../....•.••••   ^  '7 

».  ■   self,     grammar,   and    , 

reading ..,..._.     34^ 

Elections,   the   abuses   and   ye-    , 

forms  of • ..  I. 82. 

M»i,i       ■  I    expencea  of  th6  Livejr- 

pool ..••..        30 

Emigration,  forced,  deprecated         39 

Engnirings,   indecent 60 

Enterprise,   encouragements  to       94 

Example,  a  bad J  49 

».— l^parental  and  ministerial    159 

Excessive  drinking   ..'••., 1 1 7 


F. 

Factory  hours 114 

Faithfulness 54 

Family  monitor ^95 

Fast,  reiflections  OB  a  general..  125 

Female  depravity 1 48 

Fuuereal  dues  at  Preston 52 

■..U-... ...-  iropoBilion   309,  34 1 

H. 

UoUdays  and  recreations 50 

1. 

Immorality  and  irreligion     ••..  } 

».  .                causes  of ti 

,. .    ■■■         means  of  counteract- 

,Mig 9,  7 

-.  .        ...    mistakes  respecting. .  14 
Incfndiarism,    the     evils    and 

causes  of    »•••,•! •''7. 

Infidelity,   the   cause  of 279 

Inetit uiiou  for .  the  diffusion  of 

k»i«.iv ledge.,... «•  180 

'    r-iii'-"":  of  its  prospi  rity  3'ia 


Intemper.nnre,  dram  drinking, 
sale  di'iukins;,  c«»isuinption  of 
spirits,  connected  with  crime  24-,  95 

-— ^  p.t  Bohon ,      J  30 

— — >it    public   houses     205 

• — . r-  the     Ameiicans' 

opinion  of 921 

and  gin  drinking     315 

,____— in   New    York  ..      31  (J 

— — -    remedies   for,    by 

Dr.  Rush    3l6 


Jerry  shops 219 

K 

Kmiwle'dgp,  the  di^'usion  of,  in 

Fran<> 214 

•  L. 

Labour,   llie  uses  and  abuses  of      62 
Lectures,  suitable  subjects  for. .      376" 
Leigh  Ri('hmond''s  advice  to  his 

dau<;hters 315 

Loyalty,   an  attempt  to  explain 

and  enforce  the  duty  of  ... .      289 

INT. 
Mag'st rates,  deficient  in  »».tten- 

tiun  loduties SSQ 

Mciltbusism 41 

Marriage  ceremony,  objections  to  384. 

Marriages,  unequal   329" 

Masters  ami  servants,  disunion  of  356 

M atrimoiiial  prayer 338 

Mendicity,  suppression  of. .....  309 

Militia,  the  vices  of 220 

Ministers,  "  a  new  set"  of  ....  8l5 
Morality,  education,  and  intem- 
perance   6r 

Morals  of  the  people,   remarks 

u  pon 1  sg 

Moral  Rtformer,  remarks  upon, 

vith  the  editor's  reply......  349 

N. 

Newspaper  instruction S-l 

Newspapers,  strictures  on    ....      157 

6. 

Oaths,  their  frequency  and  irre- 
verence condemned    30' 

Order  and  rulfc 31^ 


P;nenti»l  instruction. 


6a 


3?rr 

■parhaflient iiiy  rerorm    .........  1 1 <i 

I'awnbrokeis^  business,  remarks 

upon    IBS 

■  •  '    '• 1 —  a  defence  of  253 

Piece   work,    on    paying    ihe 

clergy 113,  1 47 

Political  parties 367 

Politics,   adtide    to    moderation 

upon    209 

Poor,   ibcir  condttiun  sbuulil  be 

recorded 22 

remarks  upon. .. .  3i>yllS,  II6 
f    i  '    address  to,  on   presei'viug 

health 31 

■  real  relief  for  the  suffer- 
ings of 1 37 

bettering  the  condition  of  190 

— — -  Irish,    relieving    witboot 

poor  laws 340 

Poor  laws,  inhumanity  of 177 

———  a  revision  of 48,  142 

I    as    they   respect    the 

Irish   208 

Post    ofSce    charges— icase   of 

conscience 307 

—————— answer  (o  342 

Pledging,  the  evils  of    1 89 

Pluralities  in  the  church..  ..liAy  )S3 

Press,  sometimes  unprincipled  106 
'             the   necessity   of  being 

free   395,  373 

Principle,  the  want  of ....... .  93 

Pi'oclamations,  the  style  of. . . .  95 1 

Precepts  from   the    Epistle  of 

Barnabas 131 

Prudence,  the  necessity  of  ... .  1 96 

Public  works 143 

f-  how  to  be  conducted 

to  benefit  the  working  clcsses  377 

R- 

Race,  anti-,  entertainment.. . .  251 

Races,  Preston I79,  290 

Chester 177 

■^          -ringing  for  , 117 

Railways,  their   good  tendency  92 

•i travelling  by    133 

Reading,    improvements  in  the 

art  of 8 1,  92  &  346 

RearingN,  abuses  at 279 

Recreations  for  children 338 

Reform  bill,  and  plan  of  taking 

votes   183 

—  >                  its  rejection  by  the 
Lords 337 


Religion  and  rice  .....,,...,  ^  if « 

Religions  instruction  in  America  54 

'■ — —taxation I8I 

Rich,   hints  to.., 223 

an  appeal  fo ,^  .037 

sitis  of,  particularly  In  db- 

mestic  capacity.......;..,.  '  ggj 

— — --  and  poor,  state  of  feeling  " 

•^etwixt   35^ 

S. 

Scales  for  the  poor |  yg 

School,    Preslon    Blue,     badly 

managed 37a 

Schools,  infant,  their  utility..  ..  gj 

education  in,  the  errors  of  77 

1-   Sunday,  confinement  of 

the  children  of 150 

Sermons,    tea<hing   by,   &   bad 

mode I70 

— ~           ready  made 31(7 

"  Silver  at  1  he  door" 59,  3118 

Slavery,  slaves  sold  by  auction  313 
Sleep,  inquiry  respecting  the  best 

means  of  preventing,    during 

study,  with  an  answer. . . .  377,  378 

Speaking  evil  of  others  censured  302 

Sports,  vulgar   gig 

Subjection   to   lawful   authority  ago 

Swearing  and  bad  language. . . .  56 

T. 

Tax,  a  property    46 

Teachers,    modern    and    primi- 
tive   16I 

"     remuneration    of,    in- 
vestigated    179 

Temperance   Societies,    the   de- 

sign  and  utility  of 347 

-      -^ defence  of  374 

Tithes,   against    the    commuta- 
tion of 51 

Tithe  sys(em,  the  evils  of  ....  113 

Tongue,   its  importance  and  va- 
rious uses 23fii 

•             the  moral  tendency  of  247 

Truck  bill 59 

tJ. 

"Union,"     the    Independent 

churches',  opposed    11S> 

"Unity,   peace,    and    concord," 

national .  •  35i 


388 


Y. 
Yifit   to   Maochester,  obMira- 
tioas  made  on 84 

W. 
Wealth,  the  possession  of  regu- 
lated         933 

I    I  ■■       abuDdanc*  of,    in  the 


country  .t««.. »*....* 41 

Weavers'  wages ., gi 

Words,    importance  of   under- 
standing the  meaning  of....     1S4 
Working  class,  an  address  to^  on 
the  best  means  of  promoting 

their  own  happiness 193 

Writing  on  the  walls,  obscene. .     279 


THE  END. 


Prtston :  printed  hy  J.  Walker. 


THE 


WORAL    REFORMER, 


AND 


AGAINST  THE 

fCES,   ABUSES,   AND    CORRUPTIONS    OF 
THE  AGE. 


BY    J.    LIVESEY. 


VOL.  II. 

1S32. 


LONDON ; 

PUSHED  BY  SHERWOOD  AND  CO.,  PATERNOSTER  ROW- 
AND  B\    J.  WALKER,  BOOKSELLER,  PRESTON. 


I! 


PREFACE. 


It  is  with  no  ordinary  satisfaction  that  I  this  day  present  to  my 
readers  the  completion  of  my  labours  for  1832.  The  second  volume  of  the 
Moral  Reformer  is  now  before  the  world;  and  whilst  I  take  credit  for 
having  kept,  in  the  selection  and  discussion  of  subjects,  within  the  limits  I 
originally  proposed,  the  increase  of  sale  and  the  flattering  testimonies  of  my 
readers  are  indications  of  an  increasing  estimation  of  the  work.  Amidst 
a  variety  of  topics,  the  corruptions  of  the  church  and  the  prevalency  of 
intemperance  have  frequently  come  under  review;  and  I  am  glad  to  per- 
ceive that  various  efforts  are  making  in  order  to  mitigate  or  remove  both 
these  evils.  This  volume  is  enriched  with  various  communications,  which 
are  well  worthy  of  a  serious  perusal ;  and  to  the  authors  of  which  I  take 
this  opportunity  to  tender  my  best  thanks.  No  season  calls  for  the  inter- 
ference of  the  moralist  more  than  that  of  political  agitation  ;  and  in  order 
to  impress  upon  the  country,  that  changes  in  the  laws,  however  salutary, 
without  personal  virtue,  will  not  secure  national  blessings,  I  have  some- 
what more  than  formerly  adverted  to  passing  politics.  Indeed,  it  is  my 
plan  to  be  a  spectator  of  the  world's  movements,  and  where  there  is  the 
greatest  necessity,  and  any  chance  of  success,  to  sound  an  alarm,  and  to 
display  the  standard  of  Christian  morals. 

I  close  the  year  not  only  with  satisfaction  as  to  the  contents  of  this 
volume,  but  also  as  to  its  sale  and  productiveness.  Authors  know  well 
that  their  accounts  are  really  running  accounts,  and  very  often  bad  to  catch, 
and  therefore,  though  I  am  not  able  to  speak  specifically  as  to  the  pro- 
bable proceeds,  I  doubt  not  but  a  part  of  my  last  year's  loss  (which 


I  now  find  was  underrated)  will  be  made  up  by  the  sales  of  this  year. 
When  the  prospectus  of  my  work  first  appeared,  I  was  advised  by  several 
of  my  friends  to  desist ;  I  was  reminded  that  no  provincial  periodical 
would  take,  and  that  many  clever  men  had  failed  in  the  attempt  both  in 
town  and  country.  This  I  knew  to  be  the  case,  but  satisfied  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  such  a  publication,  I  was  determined  to  risk  the  attempt,  and  I 
now  feel  exceedingly  thankful  that  a  discerning  public  has  given  to  my 
humble,  but  well  meant  efforts,  such  a  sanction  as  gives  me  the  greatest 
confidence  in  resuming  my  labours.  The  next  year  is  likely  to  be  an 
eventful  period,  and  while  some  will  be  seeking  to  extend  the  advantages 
of  commerce,  and  others  improving  the  laws  and  policy  of  the  nation,  it 
will  be  my  endeavour  to  spread  amongst  these  agents,  and  as  widely  as^ 
posisble,  the  indisputable  truth,   that  heavenly   principles   and    Gooni 

MORALS    ARE    THE    ONLY    SAFEGUARDS    OF    SOCIETY.  ^1 

J.  LIVESEY. 


Preston,  December  1st,  1832. 


Ik 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  1.  JANUARY  1,  1832.  Vol.  II. 


A    NEW    YEARS    ADMONITIOX. 


Life  may  be  compared  to  a  rug-g-ed  Mil,  in  the  ascension 
of  wliicli,  at  every  halting  place,  the  weary  traveller  beholds  the 
prog;ress  he  has  made,  the  dangers  he  has  escaped,  the  errors  he 
has  committed,  and  make  his  calculations  as  to  the  best  means 
of  attaining'  the  summit.  If  to  any  of  the  various  stag-es  of  hu- 
man life  this  can  be  applied,  it  is  to  that  upon  which  we  are 
now  entering".  The  periodical  return  of  the  year  is  fraug'ht 
with  instruction,  and  may  be  considered  the  starting  point  from 
which,  after  a  faithful  retrospect  of  our  errors  and  mistakes,  we 
should  commence  \vith  fresh  vigilance,  and  with  increased  de- 
termination to  act  more  becoming  the  great  end  of  our  creation. 
This  morning  ushers  in  the  birth  of  a  new  year.  To  many  it  will 
be  a  passing  period  of  jollity  and  excess;  and  regardless  of  either 
past  or  future,  they  will  "  nourish  their  hearts  as  in  a  day  of 
slaughter."  To  others  it  is  a  season  of  instruction  ;  and  a 
multitude  of  important  reflections  force  themselves  upon  the 
thoughtful  mind.  The  new  year  is  the  stock-taking  season ; 
ar  i  those  who  care  for  other  interests  as  well  as  getting  money, 
are  also  anxious  to  balance  accounts  as  to  their  moral  and  Chris- 
tian attainments.  With  many  riches  are  the  "  one  thing  need- 
ful," and  hence,  though  every  interest  be  neglected,  this  matter 
must  undergo  a  full  investigation :  with  others  sensual  in- 
dulgences is  the  god  they  worship,  and  this  secured,  all  besides 
may  run  to  ruin.  Do  we  not  perceive  tliat  all  these  are  subordi- 
nate, that  we  are  to  "  seek  Jirst  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
righteousness  thereof,"''  and  that  it  is  in  reference  to  this,  pri- 
marily, that  the  "  balance  sheet"  should  be  strictly  prepared? 
If  former  seasons  like  this  have  been  neglected,  if  twenty  or 
forty  long  years  have  r  n  round  and  succeeded  each  other  with- 
ont  ever  being  improved,  let  us  be  thankful  that  the  favoured 
period  has  again  arrived.  Since  this  day  twelvemonths,  thou- 
sands are  gone  to  their  eternal  homes ;  but  we  are  here,  the 

VOL.  II.  B 


monuments  of  morcy,  the  living  to  reflect  and  reform.  Shall 
we  claim  the  indulgence  of  judging  others  so  freely,  and  not 
bring  our  own  conduct  to  a  faithful  test?  Let  man,  frail  man, 
be  consistent  for  once ;  let  him,  as  the  result  of  sound  wisdom, 
begin  to-day  to  take  an  impartial  retrospect  of  his  life,  to  cor- 
rect what  is  wrong,  to  amend  what  is  defective,  and  to  form, 
upon  a  divine  basis,  his  hearty  resolutions  for  his  future  conduct. 
This  is  always  proper ;  but  there  are  special  periods  which  o-iye 
additional  effect  to  new  purposes,  amongst  which  we  class  espe- 
cially the  commencement  of  a  new  year. 

First,  as  to  personal  character.     What  have  I  gained  or 
lost  in  this  respect  ?  is  an  important  question.     Progression  is 
the  order  of  nature,  and  every  man,  according  to  his  talents  and 
opportunities,   should  be  making  progress.     The  apostle  Paul 
never  seemed  satisfied  with  stationary  attainments  in  his  con- 
verts ;  his  constant  exhortation  was,  "  abound  more  and  more." 
Should  not,  therefore,  every  rational  being  ask  himself.  Of  what 
use  have  the  last  365  days  been  to  me  ?     Have  I  made  any  pro- 
gress ?     Am  I  stationary,  or  have  I  been  retrograding  ?     What 
wag  I  this  day  twelvemonths,  and  what  am  I  now  ?     Men  are 
ready  enough  to  ask  these  questions  as  to  their  business,  their 
stock  in  trade,  or  the  profits  of  the  year,  but  reluctant  to  inves- 
tigate, with  the  same  scrutiny,  their  own  deeds.     Moral  and  re- 
ligious attainments  are  doubtless  of  the  first  importance  j  and 
nothing  but  a  latent  unbelief,  and  a  desperately  wicked  heart, 
can  account  for  the  infatuation  of  men,  who  to  gain  the  world 
seem  willing  to  lose  the  soul.     Oh  !  that  man,  amidst  his  boasted 
stretch  of  mind,  would  at  least  learn  to  know  himself!     There 
is  something  here  which  we  fear  to  approach  ;  though  always  at 
hand,  and  affording  an  exhaustless  source  of  enquiry,  we  startle 
at  the  attempt ;  we  would  weigh  the  planets,  and  measure  the 
deep,  but  to  place  ourselves  in  the  balance,  is  an  effort  we  are 
not  disposed  to  make.     Is  my  heart  right  in  the  siglit  of  God? 
do  my  life  and  conversation  correspond  with  the  precepts  of  the 
gospel  ?  and  have  I,  during  the  last  year,  been  making  prepa- 
ration for  another  world?  are  questions  at  which  we  startle. 
Every  deed  is  recorded  in  heaven,  and  we  shall  all  be  judged 
according  to  our  works ;  "  to  them  who  by  patient  continuance 
in  well  doing,  seek  for  glory,  honour,  and  immortality,  eternal 
life ;  but  to  those  who  obey  not  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteous- 
ness, indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every 
soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil."     With  these  denunciations  in  view, 
T  tremble  to  recall  to  my  recollection  the  scenes  wliich  I  have 


witnessed  during  the  year  which  is  just  closed.  The  overwhehn- 
ing"  nifignitude  of  vice  is  composed  of  parts,  and  it  is  by  indivi- 
dual contribution  that  it  is  made  up,  and  therefore  though  it  is 
hopeless  to  look  for  an  tiniversal  reform,  yet  if  every  reflecting 
individual  would  but  cease  to  contribute,  the  evil  at  least  might 
be  much  mitigated.  To  every  class  of  sinners,  to  drunkards 
especially,  I  make  my  appeal,  let  not  sin  hare  dominion  over 
you.  Its  curse  is  with  it ;  it  stings,  it  wounds,  it  condemns,  it 
kills.  Wretched,  truly,  is  our  population;  but  in  by  far  the 
greatest  number  of  instances,  it  is  the  wretchedness  of  vice. 
We  have  neither  had  pestilence  nor  plague ;  our  fair  coiintry 
has  not  been  trodden  by  the  ruthless  warrior  ;  the  genial  show- 
ers of  heaven  have  fallen  in  their  season  ;  the  bosom  of  nature 
continues  to  heave  with  blessings,  and  wealth  has  made  for  her- 
self a  safe  retreat  within  the  shores  of  Britain :  still,  still,  the 
people  are  poor  and  wretched,  and  vice,  I  say  again,  and  again, 
vice  is  the  prevailing  cause.  In  many  cases  the  connection  is  so 
marked  as  to  render  mistake  impossible ;  in  others  the  connection 
can  easily  be  traced.  If  the  poor  man  drink,  or  is  extravagant, 
it  comes  upon  him  directly ;  if  the  tradesman,  the  landowner, 
or  place-holder  do  the  same,  it  comes  out  of  the  common  stock> 
and  so  much  is  abstracted  from  the  comforts  of  the  poor.  la 
either  case,  indeed,  in  every  case,  vice  is  tlie  parent  of  misery 
and  wretchedness.  Oh  nee  !  thou  art  the  radical  cause  of  all 
our  ills,  and  the  man  who  seeks  a  reformation  without  attempt- 
ing to  conquer  thy  despotic  power,  might  as  well  attempt  to 
illumine  the  earth  without  a  sun.  I  say  again,  let  every  man 
stamp  his  foot  upon  this  common  foe,  let  every  man  reform^  his 
own  heart  and  life,  and  let  the  present  year  be  signalized  by  an 
universal  display  of  moral  principles  and  efforts,  such  as  has 
not  been  known  for  many  years. 

But,  my  readers,  your  efforts  to  effect  a  reformation  should 
not  be  limited  to  yourselves :  there  is  a  world  of  human  beings 
around  you,  many  of  whom  are  in  a  helpless,  wretched  condition. 
Though  these  have  been  favoured,  during  the  last  year,  vrith 
the  same  opportunities  as  yourselves,  speaking  in  the  aggregate, 
they  are  still  in  the  same  immoral  and  miserable  condition  as 
they  were  at  its  commencement.  Man  is  a  social  being,  and 
he  ouglit  to  know  no  limits  to  the  sphere  of  his  usefulness 
but  the  utmost  stretch  of  every  means  which  God  has  put  in  his 
power.  Self  is  the  great  idol  of  mankind,  and  thus  satisfied, 
they  care  little  for  the  condition  of  others.  How  few  are  tliere 
who  will  act  when  all  the  machinery  for  doing  good  to  others  is 


made  ready  to  their  hand,  aud  still  how  fewer  who  will  daily  em- 
ploy their  minds  to  invent,  and  their  hands  to  perform,  such_thing-s 
as  will  promote  the  happiness  of  society  !  Like  the  priest  aud 
the  Levite  who  passed  by  the  man  weltering  in  his  blood,  few 
will  condescend  to  commiserate  the  miseries  of  their  fellows, 
or  make  any  sacrifice,  though  they  be  beneath  the  very  step  they 
stand  on.  There  are  honourable  exceptions,  doubtless  ;  but  the 
number  is  so  small,  and  their  efforts  so  much  discouraged  by  the 
apathy  of  others,  that  little,  comparatively  speaking,  can  he  ac- 
complished. Let  me  place  before  such  the  unhappy  fate  of 
many  of  their  brethren,  bone  of  your  bone,  and  flesh  of  your 
flesh,  children  of  the  same  father,  heirs  of  tlie  same  soil,  posses- 
sing the  same  faculties,  capable  of  tlie  same  feelings,  destined  to 
the  same  world,  can  you  know  of  their  poverty  aud  suflerings, 
without  fleeing  to  their  aid  ?  Could  nature  have  blended  com- 
mon interests  more  effectually  together,  and  yet,  in  practice, 
could  they  be  more  effectually  disjoined?  And  is  tlie  posses- 
sion of  a  little  shining  dust,  or  the  empty  breath  of  a  flattering 
name,  to  disjoin  the  bonds,  and  sTipplant  the  sympathies,  which 
nature  has  decreed?  Is  man,  made  in  the  image  of  his  creator, 
to  be  passed  by  in  silence,  because  his  coat  is  not  of  the  finest 
wool,  or  because  he  happens  to  live  six  or  seven  steps  bolow  the 
ground  ?  Is  the  visit  of  fraternal  kindness  to  be  withheld,  be- 
cause a  stool,  or  a  broken  chair,  or  the  bed  side  is  the  best  seat 
the  poor  man's  house  can  afford,  or  because  the  sumptuous  boards 
of  the  rich  are  there  entirely  unknown  ?  I  plead  not  for  an 
equality  of  wealtl^ :  that  ia  impossible :  but  1  can  never  cease 
to  regret  the  culpable  neglect  of  duty  of  one  part  of  society 
towards  the  other.  Our  piety  may  pass,  as  of  a  sterling  quality  ; 
but  the  apostle  John's  interrogative  ought  never  to  be  forgotten, 
**  If  we  love  not  those  whom  we  have  seen,  how  can  we  love  God 
whom  we  have  not  seen  P" 

I  make  this  apparent  digression  from  the  particular  point 
from  which  I  set  out,  in  order  to  impress  the  minds  of  my  readers 
with  the  littleness  of  what  has  been  done,  and  how  much  remains 
yet  to  be  done,  in  order  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  man  ;  an( 
being  on  the  first  step  of  a  new  year,  to  arouse  a  timely  deter- 
mination to  redeem  all  our  misspent  time  by  double  exertion. 
Time,  like  every  other  gift,  must  be  accounted  for  :  it  is  an  in-j 
valuable  boon,  and  every  moment  ought  to  be  profitably  em- 
ployed. What  is  lost  we  cannot  recall ;  the  present  alone  being 
in  our  possession,  let  every  moment,  as  it  wafts  us  on,  carry 
along  with  it  some  good  report  to  heaven.     How  uncertain  is 


9 

the  Ufe  of  man  I  INlany  wliom  I  knew,  on  w  liose  cheeks  sat  the 
rosy  bloom  of  health,  when  my  January  No.  came  out  last  year, 
are  now  numbered  with  the  silent  dead !  and  possibly  both  the 
writer  and  the  reader  may,  ere  tliis  day  twelvemonth:,,  have  fol- 
lowed in  the  endless  train.  Like  the  vapojir  which  appears  for 
a  moment,  our  lives  vanish;  our  days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's 
shuttle  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death  !  "  Soul,  thou 
hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years,  take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry,"'  is  the  language  of  the  wordling ;  but  how 
often  is  it  decreed,  "  This  night  thy  sonl  sliall  be  required  of 
thee  !''  May  we  be  taught  to  number  our  days,  that  we  apply 
oar  hearts  unto  wisdom!  The  true  contented  Christian  is  al- 
ways willing  to  live,  and  ready  to  die ;  he  knows  that  his  Re- 
deemer liveth,  that  where  he  is,  himself  will  be.  Here  he  has 
no  ahiding  place ;  he  seeks  a  house  not  made  with  hands  eternal 
in  the  heavens  ;  a  city  which  has  foundations,  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God.  Thougli  an  htir  to  "  mansions  in  the  skies," 
he  delights  to  do  his  father's  will  on  earth ;  he  enjoys  ten  times 
more  rational  peace  and  pleasure  than  the  poor  grovelling  soul 
W'liich  has  *'  no  hope."  The  end  of  each  year  is  another  step 
nearer  his  home,  and  he  presses  on  towards  the  goal  of  his  en- 
lightened ambition.  He  works  while  it  is  day,  knowing  that  the 
night  Cometh  when  no  man  can  work. 

I  beseech  my  readers  to  let  the  beginning  of  this  year  be 
the  beginning  of  a  new  life.  Let  them  seriously  ponder  their 
ways,  and  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart  and 
life,  let  them  no  longer  delay  this  important  work.  To-day  is 
ours:  to-morrow  we  cannot  claim.  Let  it  be  a  day  of  pious 
Vows,  and  holy  resolutions,  as  to  our  conduct  during  the  year. 
God  will  help  you  if  you  call  upon  him,  and  strengthen  you  with 
divine  power.  Clirist's  yoke  is  easy  and  his  burden  is  light ; 
and  what  I  exhort  you  to  attempt  is  not  less  jour  happiness  than 
your  duty.  Begin  to-day,  and  your  answer  to  all  your  old  com- 
panions in  sin,  when  they  tempt  you,  will  be,  "On  new  year's 
day  I  vowed  to  the  Lord,  that,  with  his  help,  I  would  then  begin 
to  lead  a  new  life ;  and  to  this  pledge  I  am  determined  to  ad- 
here." Let  every  reader  adopt  these  resolutions :  "  I  resolve 
this  day,  with  the  help  of  the  Almighty,  to  change  my  course  of 
life — to  repent  of  my  \Hcked  deeds,  and  to  seek  forgiveness  of  my 
sins — to  shun  the  company  of  my  bad  companions,  except  to  re- 
claim them — to  abstain  from  all  ardent  spirits — to  avoid  swear- 
ing, lying,  and  malicious  language — to  detest  every  impurity, 
either  in  thought,  word,  or  deed — to  employ  my  leisure  time  in 


10 

asefal  pursuits — to  be  kind  to  my  wife — to  watch  over  and  in- 
struct iny  children — to  do  good  unto  all  men — to  be  diligent  in 
my  proper  business — to  pray  to  tlie  Lord  constantly,  to  read  the 
Scriptures,  and  to  attend  some  place  of  religious  instruction — in 
a  word,  to  live  like  a  rational  being,  to  love  religion,  and  to  pre- 
pare for  another  world." 

J.  L. 


REFLECTIONS  UPON  THE  LATE  EXTRAORDIN ARV  CASE 
OF  BURKINQ. 

On  Monday,  the  5th  December,  John  Bishop  nnd  l^homas 
Head  were  executed  for  the  murder  of  a  boy,  whose  body  they  after- 
wards sold  to  the  King's  College,  for  dissection.  The  manner  in 
which  this  youth  was  allured,  and  all  the  particulars  of  this  tragical 
event,  are  detailed  in  the  confession  which  these  unfortunate  men 
made.  They  both  confessed  their  guilt,  detailed  the  particulars  of 
the  atrocious  deed,  and  also  of  the  wicked  course  of  life  which  they 
had  led  for  many  years.  The  following  reflections  have  forced 
themselves  upon  me. 

1.  Sin,  like  every  thing  else,  has  its  extremes  ;  and  whilst  to 
the  virtuous  and  good,  it  is  abhorrent  in  every  shape,  sometimes  it 
assumes  so  offensive  a  character,  as  to  call  for  universal  execration. 
When  it  affects  the  interests  of  man,  and  does  violence  to  settled 
feelings,  whether  religious  or  superstitious,  it  meets  with  no  ex- 
tenuation, even  from  those  who  possibly  may  be  equally  guilty  in 
the  sight  of  God.  The  character  and  proceedings  of  Bishop  and 
his  comrade  are  certainly  of  the  most  hideous  cast.  *'  1  have  fol- 
lowed," says  he,  '*  this  course  of  obtaining  a  livelihood,  as  a  body 
snatcher,  for  twelve  years;  I  have  obtained  and  sold,  I  think,  from 
500  to  1000  bodies  ;  but  I  declare,  before  God,  that  they  were  all 
obtained  after  death,  and  that,  with  the  above  exceptions  (three 
cases  of  murder],  I  am  ignorant  of  any  murder  for  that  or  any  other 
purpose.'*  What  a  shocking  life  I  What  a  monster,  to  ransack 
the  abodes  of  the  dead  j  to  steal  away  the  mortal  remains  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  interred  with  the  tears  and  sighs  of  living 
friends ;  to  sell  human  flesh  for  butchery  and  dissection ;  and  when 
the  graves  could  not  yield  a  supply,  even  to  snatch  the  unfortunate 
in  the  street ;  by  false  promises,  to  allure  them  to  the  house  of 
death  ;  to  murder  them  in  cold  blood,  and  to  sack  and  prepare  their 
bodies  for  the  market !  And  this  continued  for  the  course  of  twelve 
years !  Can  a  parallel  to  this  be  found  any  where  in  the  annals  of 
crime  ? 


11 

2.  This  drondfiil  affair  is  another  among  a  thousand  proofs, 
that  oriine  and  drunkenness  are  almost  always  associated  together  ; 
and  also,  that  in  this  country  there  are  thousands  of  places  called 
public  houses  winch  deserve  no  better  designation  than  seminaries 
of  tucc.  During  the  slaughter  and  sale  of  the  )'oung  boy,  which 
occupied  them  most  of  two  nights,  according  to  Bishop's  own  con- 
fession, he,  or  his  associates,  visited  a  number  of  public  houses,  at 
all  hours  of  the  night,  amounting  to  tivcnty  times.  Is  it  to  be 
borne,  that  in  this  country,  and  at  this  age  of  society,  places,  once 
necessary  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  shoidd  now  be  con- 
verted into  dens  of  wickedness ;  and  that  in  this  character  they 
should  be  permitted  to  defile  the  character  and  deprave  the  morals 
of  every  neighbourhood  ?  Is  government  insensible  to  the  fact  that 
good  morals  will  govern  a  country  better  than  the  bayonet  oi'  the 
gallows  ?  Or  if  these  nuisances  are  to  be  continued,  do  not  our 
spiritual  instructors  perceive,  that  the  best  remedy  would  be  to 
persuade  the  people  never  to  enter  them  ?  If  all  the  enormities  and 
wickedness  practiced  in  public  houses,  during  one  single  Saturday 
night,  throughout  England,  could  be  publicly  exhibited,  we  should 
have  a  scene  that  would  horrify  the  stoutest  heart. 

3.  I  cannot  omit  remarking  here,  how  common  it  is  for  con- 
demned characters  to  declare,  previous  to  execution,  as  Head  did 
on  this  occasion,  *'  I  have  made  my  peace  with  God,"  meaning,  as 
I  suppose,  "  My  sins  are  forgiven,  I  die  in  peace,  and  shall  go  to 
heaven."  Whether  such  is  really  the  case,  or  it  is  a  state  of  mind 
produced  by  the  religious  exercises  and  constant  attendance  of  the 
clergyman,  is  not  for  me  to  determine.  Neither  is  it  for  mortal  man 
to  limit  the  exercise  of  that  mercy  which  has  heights,  and  depths, 
and  breadths,  and  lengths  unmeasurable  :  but  still,  it  may  appear 
difficult  to  many  to  account  for  the  frequent  occurrence  of  happy 
deaths,  preceded  by  a  long  life  of  depravity,  and  violation  both  of 
the  laws  of  God  and  man.  We  can  scarcely  conceive  that  the  gal- 
lows should  be  so  often  sanctified  as  to  be  a  passport  to  glory. 

4.  There  is  another  circumstance  incidentally  noticed  in  the 
confession,  which  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  Two,  if  not  all  the 
three  cases  of  murder  committed  by  these  wretches,  were  upon  the 
bodies  of  outcasts,  defenceless  persons,  without  homes,  without  she!, 
ter,  who  were  found  in  the  streets  at  untimely  hours  of  the  night, 
*' I  confess,"  says  Bishop,  "that  I  and  Williams  were  concerned  in 
the  murder  of  a  female.  We  saw  her  about  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock 
at  night,  sitting  on  the  steps  of  a  door  in  Shoreditch,  near  the  church ; 
she  had  a  child,  four  or  five  years  old,  on  her  lap.  I  asked  her 
why  she  was  sitting  there.  She  said,  she  had  no  home  to  go  to, 
for  her  landlord  had  turned  her  out.     I  told  her  she  might  go  home 


12 

with  me  :  on  arrivinji^  thoro,  aftor  po?-sna<linfr  lior  lo  driiik  a  quan- 
tity of  rum  mixed  with  laudanum,  sIjo  fell  aslcop  ;  wo  tlion  took  her 
cloak  off,  tied  a  cord  to  her  foet,  rarricd  her  to  the  well  in  the  yard, 
and  thrust  her  into  it  headlong  ;  she  struggled  very  little  afterwards, 
and  the  water  bubbled  a  little  at  the  top,  We  touk  her  out  of  the 
well,  cut  her  clotlies  otF,  put  them  into  the  privy,  and  carried  the 
body  into  the  wash  house,  which  we  doubled  up  and  put  into  a  hair 
box,  which  we  corded."  The  other  is  the  case  of  a  boy  who  was 
found  sleeping  under  the  pig  boards,  in  the  pig  market,  at  Smith- 
field.  He,  also,  in  consequence  of  his  misery  became  the  victim  of 
these  men,  and  was  enticed  and  murdered  i»  the  same  diabolical 
manner  as  the  woman.  What  do  these  instances  say,  but  that 
*'  Night  asylums  for  the  houseless  poor"  ought  to  be  provided  in 
every  large  town  ?  Mr.  Egerton  Smith,  of  Liverpool,  has  been 
indefatigable  in  his  exertions  to  establish  one  in  that  town,  and 
which,  I  believe,  may  now  be  referred  to  as  the  best  model.  The 
expence  of  providing  a  bed  of  clean  straw  for  those  unfortunate  be- 
ings who  happen  to  be  without  house  or  harbour,  be  they  deserving 
or  not,  cannot  be  much,  and  would  not  only  relieve  the  distressed, 
but  be  the  means  of  preventing  nocturnal  depredations.  Protection 
ought  certainly  to  be  provided  for  the  destitute  from  the  fangs  of 
these  midnight  monsters.  The  prophet  Isaiah,  speaking  of  an  ac- 
ceptable fast,  says,  "Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry; 
when  thou  seest  the  naked,  to  cover  him  ?  and  that  thou  brhig  the 
poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house P^  And  the  Saviour  himself, 
referring  to  the  good  works  of  his  followers,  amongst  other  things, 
observes,  "  I  was  a  stranger^  and  ye  took  me  w."  May  both  the 
spirit  and  letter  of  these  passages  be  acted  upon  by  us  all  ! 

5.  But  what  are  we  to  say  of  the  medical  gentlemen  who  pur- 
chase these  bodies  .''  If  one  individual  has  violated  the  graves  of 
from  500  to  1000  persons,  to  what  an  extent  must  this  inhuman 
species  of  robbery  have  been  carried  on  in  this  country  !  But  who 
are  they  that  have  encouraged  and  rewarded  these  horrible  deeds  .^ 
The  doctors.  The  necessity  of  the  case,  we  are  told,  justifies  the 
deed.  What  !  because  a  sufficient  number  of  bodies  cannot  be  ob- 
tained, is  robbery,  in  its  most  odious  character,  to  be  practised  as 
the  only  remedy  }  Would  any  other  person  be  defended  for  sup- 
plying his  necessities  upon  the  same  principle  }  The  daily  necessi- 
ties of  the  poor  man  are  often  short  of  being  supplied  ;  but  are  they 
to  be  told  to  steal,  or  to  employ  others  to  steal,  to  make  up  the  de- 
ficiency ?  If  the  resurrectionists  are  guilty,  and  amenable  to  the 
law  for  stealing  bodies,  ought  not  the  receivers  of  such  goods  to  be 
punished,  knoicing  them  to  be  stolen  ?  It  is  clear,  from  the  manner 
of  hawking  bodies  from  place  to  place,   and  from  the  quantity 


M 


13 

disposed  of  by  one  individual,  that  the  number  of  purchasers  miist 
be  great  indeed.  The  doctors  seem  to  have  no  misgiving  upon  this 
point,  and  htmce  the  bargain  for  a  "subject"  appears  to  be  made  with 
the  same  indifference  as  if  the  seller  had  committed  no  crime.  The 
sellers  miist  be  far  fewer  in  number  than  the  buyers  ;  and  whilst  the 
former  are  scouted  bj'  society,  and  pursued  with  the  rigour  of  the  law, 
I  should  like  to  know  how  many  of  the  latter  have  been  appre- 
hended, convicted,  and  punished  ! 

6.  But  we  are  told  that  the  medical  profession  cannot  be  kept 
up  without  a  supply  of  subjects  for  the  dissecting  knife.  True  : 
but  ought  not  this  abuse  of  humane  feeling  to  be  indulged  in  as 
sparingly  as  possible?  Might  not,  by  some  useful  regulations, 
fewer  subjects  serve  for  all  the  purposes  of  obtaining  anatomical 
knowledge  ?  A  limited  number  are  already  supplied  ;  and  I  think 
the  requisite  additions  might  be  obtained  without  either  warring 
with  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  or  marking  out  the  forlorn  poor 
for  this  purpose.  Legislative  authority,  of  course,  will  be  requisite 
to  effect  this.  Poverty  is  no  crime  ;  and  the  man  who  dies  in  a 
hospital  or  a  workhouse  is  as  deserving  of  being  protected  by  the 
living  as  the  first  nobleman  of  the  land.  But  the  case  is  different 
with  criminals.  If  a  man  violate  the  law  by  which  the  peace  and 
security  of  society  are  maintained,  he  forfeits  his  claim,  according  to 
the  nature  of  his  offence,  to  his  place  or  privileges  in  society, — is 
imprisoned,  transported,  or  hanged,  as  the  case  may  be.  Now,  let 
delivery  over  to  the  surgeon  after  death  be  considered  either  as  a' 
punishment  in  itself,  or  as  the  aggravation  of  a  punishment,  and  let 
it  be  applied  to  other  crimes  as  well  as  murder,  and  I  conceive  there 
will  be  little  or  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  supply  of  as  many  sub- 
jects as  might  be  deemed  necessary.  If  a  substitute  be  wanted  for 
the  punishment  of  death  in  those  cases,  respecting  which  there  has 
long  been  a  marked  dissatisfaction  in  the  country,  is  not  this  the 
likeliest  ?  Might  not  the  transports,  whose  offences  have  been 
great,  and  who  are  not  sent  beyond  the  seas,  be  sentenced  to  this 
fiite  after  death  .''  Society  has  a  right  to  claim  the  bodies  of  those  whose 
liberty  has  been  forfeited  by  crime  ;  and  as  ivhipping  is  adopted  to 
aggravate  the  punishment  of  temporary  imprisonment,  so  might 
dissection  be  added  to  many  cases  of  life  confinement.  I  am  not 
sure  that  the  terror  of  this  infliction  would  not  be  equal  to  hanging; 
and  if  the  use  of  the  gallows  could  be  dispensed  with  altogether, 
very  few,  I  think,  would  object  to  the  change.  I  could  concede 
the  free  use  of  the  body  after  death  for  the  purposes  of  science,  but 
the  violent  taking  away  of  life  is  revolting  to  my  feelings.  The 
terrors  of  the  knife,  I  believe,  would  operate  with  some,  upon  whom 
the  terrors  of  hell  seem  to  have  no  effect.     However,  beyond  the 

VOL.    II.  c 


14 

pale  of  aggravated  crime  I  would  not  suffer  the  right  of  dissect- 
ing to  approach;  and  would  protest,  with  the  country,  against  the 
liberty  of  touching  a  single  hair  of  any  poor  man  who  happened  to 
die  without  friends.  If  medical  gentlemen,  or  other  high  minded 
individuals,  will  bequeath  their  own  bodies  for  dissection,  and  their 
surviving  friends  could  be  induced  to  give  them  up,  the  difficulty 
would  be  met :  but  with  all  our  philosophy,  1  fear  we  are  far  short 
of  beicg  pi  epared  for  this.  J.  L. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  notice,  from  a  morning  pa- 
per,  that  the  Burking  system  is  supposed  to  be  incorporated  with 
some  of  the  establishments  of  ill  fame.     A  young  gentleman  (for 
all  rakes  are  gentlemen)  who  had  been  at  the  theatre,  was  allured 
by  a  splendidly  dressed  female  to  one  of  these  brothels,  and  had 
well  nigh  lost  his  life.     He  was  introduced  into  an  elegantly  fur- 
nished room,  and  having  taken  some  liquor,  which  appears  to  have 
been  prepared  for  the  purpose,  he  went  to  bed  and  fell  into  a  state 
of  stupor.     After  tome  time,  he  perceived  a  man  creeping  from 
under  the  bed.     The  ruffian,  after  collecting  his  clothes,  seized 
him  by  the  feet,  intending  to  drag  him  out  of  bed.     A  trap  door 
was  wide  open  at  the  bed  feet,  through  which  the  unfortunate  vie. 
tim  would  have  been  precipitated  through  another  trap  door  into 
a  deep  dark  cellar.     Fortunately  he  made  a  desperate  resistance, 
and  effected  his  escape  into  the  street.     He  alarmed  some  of  the 
police,  who  went  in  with  him  to  examine  the  house,  but  the  inmates 
were  all  f^ed.     This  was  a  narrow  escape  ;  and  who  knows  how 
many  dissipated  characters  have  thus  been  taken  from  the  midst 
of  revelling  and  pleasure  to  the  melancholy  fate  intended  for  this 
young  man  ?     Will  not  this  operate  as  a  warning  upon  those  who 
pollute  their  characters,   lose  their  money,  injure  their  health,  and 
distress  their  friends,  by  frequenting  these  sinks  of  iniquity  ?     It 
is  distressing  to  know  that  many  young  men  do  this,  but  it  is  still 
more  so   to  be  told  that  persona  of  mature  age,  some  even  with 
grey  hairs,   and   some  in   high   official  stations  in   society,   pur- 
sue this  filthy  and  abominable  course  of  life.      If  they  should 
escape  the  deadly  poison  and  weapons  of  the  Burkers,  let  them  be 
assured  that  instruments  of  destruction,  not  less  terrible,    hang 
immediately  over  their  heads.     How  true  is  it,  as  Solomon  say  , 
speaking  of  the  successful  allurements  of  a  strange  woman  upon'H 
a  wanderer  in  the  street,  that  "  He  goeth  after  her  as  an  ox  to  the 
slaughter,  or  as  a  fool  to  the  correction  of  the  stocks,  till  a  dart 
Strike  through  his  liver  ;  as  a  bird  habteth  to  the  snare,  and  know-  W 
eth  not  that  it  is  for  his  life.     For  she  hath  cast  down  many'  ■ 
wounded  ;  yea,  many  strong  men  have  been  slain   by  her.     Her 
house  is  the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  !" 


15 

COURT    OF    COMMON    SENSE  ! 

Many  efforts  have  been  made  to  establish  a  court  of  this  de- 
scription, but  ils  projected  character  being  so  much  at  variance 
with  the  interests  and  habits  of  numerous  individuals,  it  met  with 
violent  opposition.  Its  necessity  and  utility,  however,  has  still 
been  kept  in  view,  though  in  the  face  of  much  clamour,  it  is 
now  regularly  established,  and  The  Moral  Heformrr  is  to  be  ho- 
noured with  the  privilege  of  publishing  its  proceedings.  It  holds 
its  sittings  on  a  Friday  fall  Fridays  in  the  year,  except  Christmas 
Day,  being  by  the  calendar  appoinfedyas?*,  it  is  supposed  under 
this  regimen  the  minds  of  the  attendants  will  assume  a  more  re- 
flective turn.)  On  the  last  court  day,  numerous  cases  were  gone 
through,  but  the  one  which  excited  the  most  interest  was  that 
of  an  action  against  the  Reverend  Rector  Seize-all,  by  ninety 
individuals  belonging  to  an  extensive  parish  called  Armegeddon. 
He  was  charged,  in  several  counts,  with  taking  away,  contrary 
to  the  consent,  and  in  opposition  to  the  remonstrances  of  the 
owners,  and  under  false  pretences,  1500  sheaves  of  wheat,  600 
hattocks  of  oats,  and  a  large  quantity  of  beans  and  vetches.  A. 
Goodwill,  Esq,  was  chairman  on  this  trial.  Mr.  Agitator  was  coun- 
sel for  the  plaintiffs,  and  Mr.  Arch-corruptionist  ibr  the  defendant. 
The  speeches  on  each  side  displayed  much  ingenuity,  and  I  am 
sorry  that  the  trial  coming  on  so  near  the  end  of  the  month  leaves 
me  no  chance  of  reporting  them.  One  thing,  however,  was  very 
apparent — the  great  advantage  which  truth  has  over  falsehood, 
sound  reasoning  over  sophistry,  and  honest  designs  over  a  wish  to 
palliate  or  justify  villany.  The  facts  of  the  case  were  all  laid  be- 
fore the  jury,  and  various  witnesses  called  to  swear  to  their  truth. 
The  learned  assessor,  in  summing  up  the  evidence  before  the  court, 
remarked  nearly  as  follows  :  "Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  this  beingthe 
first  case  of  action  for  recovering  compensation  for  property  taken 
under  the  obsolete  principles  of  tithing,  and  one  similar  to  which 
I  have  no  doubt  you  will  have  aiaoy  before  you,  it  may  not  be 
improper  for  me  to  assist  you,  by  a  few  ob^servations,  in  coming  to  a 
right  decision.  You  will  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  a  court  of  com- 
mon SENSE,  and  that  tbii  is  the  principle  by  which  you  are  to  be 
guided  in  this  important  case.  The  evidence  and  the  defence, 
therefore,  in  all  probability,  v?ill  have  a  very  different  impression 
on  your  minds  than  if  you  were  the  proctors  in  an  ecclesiastical 
court.  The  facts  of  the  taking  away,  &c.  are  clearly  proved,  and 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  deny  them  ;  the  simple  point,  there- 
fore for  your  consideration  is,  whether  the  reasons  assigned  by  the 
counsel  for  the  Reverend  defendant  (who,  1  ought  to  mention,  has 
been  detained  without  fee  or  rewaiil,)  are  such  as,  in  the  judgment 


16 

of  men  of  common  sense,  are  sufiicient  to  justify  the  deeds.  Vou 
will  give  the  defendant  the  full  benefit  of  the  forms  ainl  customs 
of  antiquity,  provided  no  principle  appears  to  have  beeji  acted  upon 
contrary  to  justice,  social  peace,  and  true  religion.''  Tlie  learned 
chairman  further  remarked,  in  allusion  to  tli*^,  defence,  "  There  are 
two  particulars  which  ought  to  be  fully  and  inj[>artial!y  considered 
by  the  jury  :  the  first,  is  the  completely  changed  arrangements  in 
society  ;  and  the  second,  the  connection  which  ought  always  to  exist 
betwixt  services  perjbrmed  and  all  claims  for  remuneration.  Both 
these  considerations  are  material  in  the  present  case.  Many  centuries 
ago,  when  the  people  were  all  of  one  religion,  it  was  customary  for 
them  to  give  up,  ?;o/««^ari/y,  a  portion  of  their  produce  for  the  main- 
tenance of  their  religious  teachers.  The  people  gave  corn  and 
other  things  in  kind,  because  in  the  absence  of  a  circulating  me- 
dium such  as  we  have  now,  it  was  usual  to  make  their  payments 
in  this  way.  The  country  being  comparatively  uncultivated,  the 
tenth  of  the  produce  of  certain  lands  was  neither  immoderate,  nor, 
in  most  instances  beyond  the  extent  of  the  esteem  and  affection  which 
the  people  had  for  their  teachers.  The  difference  in  value  is  now 
immense;  the  face  of  the  whole  country  is  now  covered  with  coru, 
and  other  agricultural  products;  and  I  view  it  as  decidedly  unjust, 
under  these  changes,  if  there  were  no  other  objections,  for  any 
man  still  to  continue  to  demand  a  tenth.  Supposing  the  growth 
of  corn  had  diminished  in  the  same  ratio  as  it  has  increased,  would 
the  clergy  still  have  been  content  with  a  tithe?  Their  conduc) 
tells  differently.*    To  enable  you  to  judge  of  the  change  in  the  va- 


•  After  the  37th  Henry  VIII.  the  clergy  in  the  city  were  maintained  by 
9  certain  pounii-rate  levied  on  the  rental  of  buildings  in  their  respective  pa- 
rishes. This  practice  continued  till  the  great  fire  laid  the  major  part  of  the 
city  in  ashes,  burning  down  or  damaging  eighty-five  parish  churches.  After 
this  catastrophe,  the  legislature  enacted  that  some  of  the  parishes  destroyed 
should  be  united;  that  only  fifty-one  churches  should  be  rebuilt;  and  that 
the  ministers  of  those  churches  should,  in  lieu  of  their  former  allowance,  re- 
ceive certain  fixed  sums,  levied  by  an  equal  pound-rate  on  the  houses.  This 
was  the  22d  and  23d  Charles  II.  termed  the  Fire- Act.  The  clergy  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act  were  perfectly  satisfied,  till  the  effects  of  the  fire 
began  to  disappear,  the  rents  of  the  houses  to  rise,  and  the  city  to  get  rich 
again.  Then  it  was  our  reverend  gentlemen  became  discontented  :  they  saw, 
with  grudging  eyes,  the  increasing  wealth  of  the  capital,  of  which  their  fixed 
stipends  would  not  allow  them  to  participate;  they  talked  unceasingly  of 
their  former  pound-rate,  of  their  ^^  ancient  rights,''''  and  at  length  determined, 
in  good  earnest,  to  apply  to  parliament. 

This  was  in  1S04,  and,  in  consequence,  parliament  made  valuable  addi- 
tions to  their  salaries  ;  the  lowest  incomes  were  raised  to  300I.  a-year,  and 
pany  of  the  larger  parishes,  nearly,  if  nul  quite,  to  600I.  3-year,  exclusive  of 


17 

lue  of  livings,  I  give  you  the  following  as  a  specimen.  '  The  an- 
nual value  of  the  Rectory  of  Alresfoid,  in  the  King's  book,  is  only 
£8  ;  the  extent  of  the  parish  is  3  400  acres  ;  yet  the  composilion  pairl 
for  tithes  by  the  parishioners  amounts  to  £300  per  annum,  being  an 
increase  of  thirty-seven  tinxs  the  original  sum.'  Unless  it  can  be 
shewn  that  the  vahe  of  the  services  have  also  increased  in  propor- 
tion, I  fear  the  inquiry  will  prove  unfavourable  to  the  defendant. 
The  clergy  formeirly  from  tiiese  revenues  maintained  the  poor  ; 
now  supposing  that  the  same  was  still  the  case,  and  that  their 
number  had  increased  thirty-seven  fold,  would  not  the  clergy,  think 
you,  have  long  feinee  called  for  an  equitable  adjustment  f     The 


surplice-fees  and  other  valuable  emoluments.  Such  augmenlation,  to  all  rea- 
sonable men,  appeared  quite  sufBcient :  not  so  to  the  clergy.  In  IS17  they 
applied  for  a  further  augmentation.  This  application  was  refused.  In  iSlS 
they  came  forward  a  third  time,  with  their  famous  petition  of  the  4th  Feb- 
ruary, filled  with  grievous  lamentations  about  the  loss  of  their  "ancient 
rights."  The  bubble  now  burst.  Parliament,  disgusted  with  the  rapacity  of 
these  "  sturdy  beggars,"  determined  to  refer  their  petition  to  a  committee.  It 
was  soon  discovered  their  "  ancient  rights"  liad  no  foundation  ;  that  they 
never  were  entitled  to  2s.  gd.  on  the  rental,  or  any  part  of  it ;  that  with  the 
37th  Henry  VIII.  which  they  had  foisted  into  their  petition,  they  had  nothing 
to  do,  except  it  were  to  exhibit  the  craving  and  rapacious  spirit  which  ac- 
tuated them. 

Various  other  disclosures  were  made.  Of  the  thirty-five  poor  clergymen 
who  had  signed  the  petition,  none  of  them,  on  an  average,  was  receiving  less 
than  500I.  a-year.  Twenty-five  out  of  the  number  were  pluraiists,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  the  fattest  pluraiists  of  the  profession.  Some  of  the  incumbents 
received  annually  1200I.,  I500l.,  and  even  2000I.,  while  they  did  not  pay  their 
curates  more  than  60I.,  70I ,  or  80I.  a-year  Instead  of  residing  in  the  par- 
sonage house,  among  the  parishioners,  the  parsonage  houses  of  many  were  let 
to  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  for  counting-houses  and  warehouses,  fcr 
which  they  received  exorbitant  rents  of  200I  or  300I.  a-year.  Some  of  them 
were  archdeacons,  royal  chaplains,  or  honourable  and  very  reverend  deans ; 
some  canons  at  St.  Paul's,  some  were  precentors,  prebendaries,  and  held  othtr 
dignified  situations  in  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches.  Had  they  not  been 
the  most  unreasonable  and  rapacious  men  breathing,  there  is  little  doubt  but 
they  would  have  considered  the  emoluments  arising  from  their  numerous  pre- 
ferments sufficient.  But  the  wealth  of  India  would  not  satisfy  the  cravings 
of  this  profession.  Some  of  them  were  mean  enough  to  lay  in  wait  for  the 
members  going  to  the  House  while  their  petition  was  pending,  and  beseech 
them  to  support  their  claims  for  an  increase  in  their  stipends.  It  reminds  us 
of  the  monks  of  St.  Swithiu's,  These  gluttons  had  thirteen  dishes  a  day. 
Hume  relates  that  they  threw  themselves  prostrate  in  the  mire  before  Henry  II. 
and,  with  doleful  lamentations,  complained  that  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  had 
'«bt  off  three  dishes  a  day.  "  Hoio  many  has  he  left  ?"  said  the  King.  "  Tew,' 
replied  the  disconsolate  monks.  "I  myself"  said  Heniy,  "have  only  thre- y 
a*d  I  enjoin  the  Bishop  to  reduce  you  to  the  same  number.''''— -Black  Book. 


18 

majority  of  the  people  are  now  unfavourable  <o  tliat  form  of  reli- 
gion to  which  the  tithes  are  appended  ;  tliey  are  also  active  and 
liberal  in  extending  religious  instruction  according  to  their  own 
forms;  and  it  is  certainly  a  great  hardship  for  the  farmer  to  see 
his  corn  carted  out  of  his  tifld  to  support  a  religion  which  he  dis- 
approves, or  rather  to  support  a  lordly  Hector,  whose  surplice  is 
too  often  a  cloak  for  his  avarice.  Upon  the  whole,  Gentlemen, 
you  will  perceive,  that  though  the  practice  of  taking  away  grain  in 
the  shape  of  tithe  may  trace  a  connection  with  the  voluntary  offer- 
ings of  the  faithful,  just  as  the  present  Pope  can  be  traced  to 
Simon  Peter;  yet  the  identity  in  one  case  is  about  as  striking 
as  in  the  other.  Common  sense  approves  of  the  principles  acted 
upon  in  olden  times,  when  the  remuneration  to  the  clergy  was 
voluntari/y  consistent,  moderate,  yet  sufficiently  liberal,  and  was 
attended  with  satisfaction  to  both  parties  ;  but  I  must  caution  you 
against  sanctioning  the  avaricious  continuance  of  the  forms,  ta 
the  abandonoieut  of  the  principles  from  which  they  sprang,  fcccle.- 
siastical  matters  are  often  enveloped  in  the  mazes  of  uncertainty  : 
but  the  second  particular  which  I  named  will,  I  conceive,  assist  you 
in  forming  a  correct  judgment.  These  valuable  gifts  were  origi- 
nally bestowed  in  consideration  of  services  performed  :  this  connec- 
tion of  labour,  and  proportioned  remuneration,  is  lost  sight  of.  On 
the  one  hand,  there  is  little,  in  many  instances,  no  service  at  all,  or 
if  any,  of  a  kind  mach  different  and  much  less  acceptable  to  the 
people  than  that  which  they  once  felt  a  pleasure  in  paying  for: 
on  the  other  hand,  the  remuneration,  by  a  change  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  country  unforeseen  by  the  original  donors,  has  in- 
creased beyond  calculation,  and  has  become  a  grievous  burden 
upon  the  landed  iatereflt ;  and  to  enable  the  agriculturist  to  bear 
it,  protecting  laws  have  been  passed,  so  that  in  fact  the  corn  taken 
from  the  farmer's  field  is  virtually  taken  from  the  poor  man's  ta- 
ble. But  without  entering  further  into  the  general  question,  you 
learn  from  one  of  the  witnesses  that  this  gentleman  performs  next 
to  no  duty,  that  he  has  three  livings,  (three  livings,  though  there 
will  but  be  one  dying — but  that,  of  course,  is  out  of  the  question,) 
and  that  he  comes  down  but  once  a  year,  or  so,  to  the  pjirish  whence 
tliis  action  proceeds.  His  predecessor  collected  about  j£300  a-year : 
he  has  now  raised  the  price  of  souls  in  this  parish  to  £1500.  He 
keeps  his  carriage,  has  seven  servants,  and  lives  in  the  full  style  of 
•A  follower  of  him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head  !  The  church 
\Vork  is  done  by  two  curates,  to  whom  (exclusive  of  fees,  and  the 
proceeds  of  a  small  estate,  for  which  one  of  them  rattles  over  the 
prayers  six  limes  a  week,  sometimes  to  no  larger  an  attendance  than 
♦dearly  beloved  John')  he  pays  about  £l50.     Now,  Gentlemen  of 


19 

the  jury,  if  it  be  your  impression  that  such  was  the  duty  contemplat . 
ed  by  our  forefathers,  "/hei.  they  voluntarily  gave  to  their  confessors 
ami  spiritual  guides  a  tenth  of  their  produce,  and  that  the  famous 
doxology,  *  as  it  teas  in  tlie  beginning,  is  noWf  and  ever  shall  be,' 
can  safely  be  applied  to  tithing, — without  taking  into  the  account 
the  complete  revolution  of  every  circumstance  connected  with  it, — 
I  say,  if  such  be  your  views,  you  will  find  a  verdict  for  the  defend- 
ant :  but  if,  in  the  exercise  of  common  sense,  you  conceive  a  fair 
case  has  been  made  out ;  that  this  practice  of  taking  away  corn  is 
unreasonable,  vexatious,  and  contrary  to  all  approved  precedent ; 
that  no  duty  has  been  performed  to  merit  any  such  claim  ;  and 
that  the  charges  in  the  indictment  have  been  fully  maintained,—. 
your  verdict  will  be  for  the  plaintiffs;  to  whom  you  will  award 
such  damages  as  may  be  proper.  You  will  not  fail,  however,  to 
consider,  in  favour  of  the  defendant,  that  such  practices  are  ex- 
ceedingly common,  and  that,  at  the  expence  of  common  sense,  the 
law  has  been  constructed  to  favour  them ;  and  that  this  conside- 
ration ought  to  weigh  considerably  in  mitigation  of  dama"-es." 

The  jury  retired,  and  after  considerable  debate,  they  returned 
a  verdict  for  the  plaintiffs,  with  a  farthing  damages.  In  explana- 
tion they  said,  though  the  plaintiffs  had  sustained  great  losses,  yet 
they  were  not  so  much  disposed  to  criminate  the  Rector  as  the  law 
by  which  the  Rector  professed  to  be  guided.  And  they  were 
hopeful,  before  any  more  cases  of  a  similar  character  came  before 
them,  the  change  in  the  tithing  system,  intimated  in  his  Majesty's 
most  gracious  speech,  would  be  carried  into  effect. — The  decision 
was  anxiously  looked  for  at  Chester,  and  as  a  mark  of  liberality  it 
is  to  be  published  in  all  churches  and  chapels  in  the  diocese,  for 
three  successive  Sundays. — The  court  was  then  adjourned. 


Age  of  Cruelty.— We  have  hear<i  of  the  age  of  reason  and 
various  other  sorts  of  ages,  but  if  any  distinct  appellation  is  due  to 
the  present,  it  is  the  age  of  cruelty.  Without  collecting  the  num- 
berless instances  vphich  come  before  us,  I  would  mention  the  cruel- 
lies practised  upon  coach  horses.  The  increased  speed,  the  oppo- 
sition of  parties,  the  poverty  of  some  of  the  proprietors,  and  the 
unfeeling  character  of  coachmen,  all  contribute  to  this.  The  horse 
is  a  noble  animal,  and  well  worthy  the  protection  of  its  owner; 
Vjut  some  men  use  them  as  if  the  Creator  had  never  endowed  them 
with  the  sen?e  of  feelinu'-.  At  the  risk  of  life  and  limb  the  Jehus 
of  tlie  day  may  be  seen,  almost  on  every  road,  flogging  and  abus- 
ing these  poor  animals.  It  is  often  pursued  as  a  sport,  and  many 
of  the  passengers  seem  to  take  no  pleasure  in  anything  so  much  as 
the  galloping  of  the  horses  beneath  the  cruel  strokes  of  the  whip. 
Some  stages  are  supplied  with  inferior  cattle,  aged,  run  down,  and 
so  weak  that  tliey  can  scarcely  stand;  and  yet  they  are  driven. 


20 

gasping  for  hreath,  and  in  orfler  to  keep  time,  are  used  wfth  pro- 
portioned severity.  And  towards  such  horses,  I  have  often  ob. 
served,  the  cruelties  of  the  coachman  are  often  imitated  hy  the 
ostlers.  The  other  day,  heino;  on  a  jonrney,  I  happened  to  have 
the  box  seat ;  at  Horwich,  I  observed,  they  reined  up  a  very  infe- 
rior set  of  horses.  Without  any  ceremony,  a  whip,  with  a  short, 
heavy  lash,  was  put  into  my  hands  by  the  horse  keeper.  "  What 
is  this  for  ?"  said  I.  "  For  the  left  hand  driver,"  was  the  reply. 
*'  Nav,  nay  ;  you  are  not  going  to  get  me  to  flog  the  horses  ;  I 
shall  be  no  party  to  the  cruelty  of  coachmen."  The  driver  took 
both  the  whips,  and  though  the  poov  gals  seemed  fitter  for  the  tan- 
yard  than  to  travel  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour,  they  were 
kept  on  the  gallop  beiieath  the  terror  of  the  whip. 

Shortening  Factory  Hours. — Perhaps  it  is  not  known  to 
some  of  our  legislators,  that  though  they  have  abridged,  in  some 
small  degree,  the  hours  of  labour  infactories,  they  have  not,  in  pro- 
portion, reduced  the  labour  of  the  workmen.  1  believe  lam  cor- 
rect in  saying,  the  shorter  the  hours  the  harder  the  work ;  and  it  is 
a  well  known  fact,  that  the  mills  turn  off  now  a  greater  quantity 
than  when  the  hours  were  longer.  Improved  machinery  is  one 
cause,  doubtless;  but  1  am  informed  by  the  workmen,  thit  in  con- 
sequence of  an  increase  of  speed,  their  labour  is  much  harder,  and 
they  are  obliged  to  follow  with  greater  intensity.  In  some  depart- 
ments bounties  are  given  to  those  who  can  do  the  most  work, 
and  persons  who  are  not  able  to  reach  the  quantity  are  often  obliged 
to  leave  their  employment.  Indeed,  in  dandy  shops,  power 
loom,  and  spinning  factories,  the  people  seem  to  work  like  horses; 
which,  considering  the  confinement,  the  temperature  of  the  rooms, 
and  the  long  hours,  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  enfeebled  bodies 
and  premature  deaths  of  a  great  portion  of  this  class.  This  is  all 
attributed  to  the  competition  in  the  trade,  and  whether  it  is  in  th« 
power  of  those  who  wish  better  to  their  workmen  to  compel  others 
to  adopt  more  humane  regulations,  it  is  not  for  me  to  determine. 
1  doubt  the  remedy  will  not  be  found  in  statute  law:  it  must  either 
spring  from  a  law  of  mora/ and  generous  feeling  towards  the  men* 
by  a  large  majority  of  the  masters,  or  from  a  greater  scarcity  of 
hands,  whicli  would  enable  the  labourer  to  defend  himself.  At 
the  present  price  of  labour,  compared  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  a 
man  is  obliged  to  do  too  much  work  by  about  one-third  ;  and 
hence  the  want  of  employment,  and  the  glut  of  labour  in  the  mar- 
ket;  and  hence,  also,  the  sovereign  control  which  an  employer  has 
over  those  he  employs.  1  remember  the  time  when  fifteen  mile 
stages  were  not  uncommon  for  coach  horses  ;  now  they  are  reduced 
jterhaps  one- half ;  but  has  that  reduction  in  any  degree  bettered 
their  condition  ?  And  1  am  satisfied,  that  though  a  twelfth  part 
is  taken  from  the  time  of  the  spinner,  a  twelfth  part  is  not  taken 
from  his  labour. 

Cholera. — The  necessity  of  divine  chastisement  was  never 
more  obvious  than  in  the  eftects  which  the  fear  of  this  epidemic  has 
produced  The  lung  neglected  duties  of  the  clergy,  in  visitmg  the 
poor,  and  the  imperfectly  performed  superintendence  of  the  ma- 
gistracy and  police,  have  been  resumed  almost  in  every  town,  and, 
no  douht,  will  be  productive  of  incalculable  good.     It  is  a  mark 


1 


I 


1 


21 

of  the  ijoodness  of  God,  if  we  are  insensible  to  his  mercies,  to  teach 
us  by  stiHJiii^  liis  judgments  abroad  in  the  earth.  Would  that  the 
fear  of  the  cholera  tuay  close  the  door  of  every  dram  shop  !  It  was 
remarked  at  the  late  anniversary  of  tiie  Manchester  Temperance 
Hociety,  that  a  great  majority  of  those  who  had  died  at  Sunderland 
were  persons  inclined  to  be  intemperate.  The  hope  of  aif'ording^ 
relief  is  by  exciting  the  constitution  ;  but  that  of  tlie  drunkar<l 
like  thff  bow  always  bent,  loses  its  elasticity.  Drunkards  do  not 
live  out  half  their  days  ;  and  while  hard  drinking  remains,  added 
to  xhe  terrible  visitation  of  such  a  scourge  as  the  cholera,  surely 
Mr.  Malthus  will  be  content. 

pRKSTON  Clothing  Charity. — From  the  report  of  this 
unobtrusive  charity,  1  deeply  regret  to  find,  that,  during  the  last 
year,  the  committee's  means  of  usefulness  have  been  considerably 
abridged.  It  is  a  charity  which  I  have  always  admired  ;  it  breathes 
the  spirit  of  genuine  Christianity  ;  and  is  exceeded  by  none  in  the 
good  which  it  does,  considering  its  means.  1  sincerely  hope  that 
the  funds  will  be  replenished,  and  that  through  the  relief  afforded 
in  the  face  of  an  inclement  season,  the  heart  of  many  a  poor  crea- 
ture will  be  made  to  sing  for  joy.  The  managers  of  this  charity, 
like  those  of  the  Samaritan  Society,  are  real  benefactors  to  man- 
kind, and  whilst  they  are  labouring  in  secret,  their  reward  is  in 
heaven. — The  distribution  of  the  balance  of  the  kite  charitable 
fund  in  chaff,  bed  ticks,  and  Bolton  sheets,  will  more  than  make 
up  for  the  diminution  of  this  charity's  funds.  There  is,  just 
now,  in  certain  quarters,  an  unusual  hostility  against  doing  any- 
thing for  the  poor  ;  and  1  am  afraid  political  feeling  is  allowed  too 
much  to  prevail.  If  there  be  any  party  which  has  to  set  itself 
right  with  the  people,  it  is  that  which  by  every  species  of  extrava- 
gance in  church  and  state,  and  by  aristocratical  corn  laws,  has  long 
been  impoverishing  the  working  classes.  After  supporting  a  sys- 
tem, tlie  visible  effects  of  which  are  jyoverty  and  crime,  let  not 
these  gentlemen  turn  round  upon  their  victims,  and  say,  you  are 
not  deserving  our  notice.  At  any  rate,  before  they  pronounce  an 
opiijon,  let  them  exatnine  the  facts. 

Mechamc  Institutes  v.  Church  Establishments.— It 
has  often  been  asserted  that  the  tendcnty  of  mechanic  institutes  is 
to  iij>set  the  established  cliUich,  and  as  often  asserted  by  their  ad- 
vocatts  that  they  have  ho  suck  Itndeiicy.  This  deaial  1  consider  a 
vtry  di>iiigeiiuous  altempt  to  meet  a  d  fficulty.  The  charge  is 
tcdl jonndcd,  and  accords  with  this  oiivious  triuh,  that  whatever 
institution  tliffu^e^  correct  views  and  rational  inibnnatioa  is  oppos- 
ing tlie  church,  and  suji|!iug  its  foundation.  But  though  the 
diffusion  (»f  knowledge  is  silent  ly  workiiig  the  extinction  of  every 
superstitious  and  opf>rctsive  system,  it  will  always  be  found  a 
friendly  auxili^jrv  of  bibiicii  re!ii;io:j  and  ratioiiai  piety. 

Charges  for  AiiViLRTisfcnihNTi. — i  feel  lallejt  ui;on  to  no- 
tice the  propiet\  of  the  cliaige  iiiadc  io(  advr-rtisi  uients  by  ditlerent 
publitdtions  being  nolicci  on  the  works  iheaiseives,  su  that  per- 
sons at  a  distance  might  know  tiie  auiount.  And  not  he  tiisappointed 
when  the  bill  comes  in.  ii>  couimeiicing  tiiis  work,  1  advertised  it 
in  various  newspapers  and  oti.er  per.odiculs ;  and  tiiongli  there  was 
some  little  variation  in  tlie  lecgth  of  the  udvertisenienis,  when  the 

VOL.  II.  1> 


22 

bills  came  in,  I  found  the  charges  to  vary  from  7s.  6d.  to  £3.  On 
several  of  the  magazines  the  charge  for  advertisements  is  explicitly 
stated,  according  to  the  number  of  lines,  &c.  Why  is  this  not  the 
case  with  newspapers  and  all  the  periodicals  ?  In  answer  to  a  com- 
plaint that  I  made,  lam  told  that  six  guineas  a  page  is  charged  for 
advertising  on  some  octavo  periodicals. 

Law  Dispensary. — In  a  Liverpool  paper  I  lately  noticed  the 
wish  of  some  well  meaning  individuals  to  establish  au  institution 
for  dispensing  gratuitous  law.  We  have  already  dispensaries  for 
physic,  and  by  the  system  of  "  free  seats,"  we  may  be  said  to  be 
approaching  to  a  system  of  dispensing  a  free  gospel  to  the  poor  ; 
and  to  keep  up  with  this  march  of  gratuitous  services,  the  laivi/ers 
are  certainly  in  arrears.  This  free  dispensation  has,  however,  to  be 
made  up  by  a  greater  charge  upon  those  who  are  able  to  pay,  and 
this,  like  many  other  evils  connected  with  the  *'  unequal  distribu- 
tion of  wealth,''  is  most  degrading  to  those  who  ought,  and  wish, 
to  be  independent.  We  have  not  ooly  parish  paupers  in  immense 
numbers,  who  drag  out  a  miserable  existence  upon  the  crumbs  of 
the  overseer,  but  we  are  also  getting  physic  paupers,  education 
paupers,  gospel  paupers,  and  next,  (if  this  scheme  be  adopted)  law 
paupers.  The  three  professions  are  intended  as  separate  means  to 
counteract  the  evils  which  afflict  society  :  one  engages  the  disor- 
ders of  the  bodily  frame;  another  the  external  disorders  of  society, 
as  regulated  by  the  law  ;  the  third,  the  moral  and  religious  aber- 
rations of  mankind,  as  rational  and  accountable  creatures:  and  it 
is  a  matter  of  curiosity  to  note  what  proportion  these  "  doctors" 
bear  to  each  other,  and  how  their  several  efforts  may  seem  to  clash 
or  harmonise.  We  have,  I  believe,  in  Preston,  to  a  population  of 
30,000,  among  the  regulars  (for  there  are  what  are  called  quacks 
in  all  the  professions,)  about  15  of  the  medical,  '■ZO  of  the  clerical, 
and  82  of  the  legal  profession.  As  matters  are  managed  now, 
there  seems  to  be  no  jealousy  among  the  professions ;  the  clergy- 
man is  sufficiently  lax  in  his  duty  to  leave  plenty  of  employment 
for  the  other  two.  It  is  the  neglect  of  the  religious  tutor  that  sends 
so  many  to  the  attorney,  and  not  a  few  in  addition  to  the  care  of 
the  physician.  If  a  minister  loved  his  people,  and  was  loved  by 
them,  dwelling  in  their  midst,  supported  by  their  liberality,  and 
was  always  sowing  the  seeds  of  peace  and  unity,  and  teaching  them 
industry,  temperance,  and  every  Christian  virtue,  the  people  would 
seldom  want  the  physician,  and  much  seldomer  the  lawyer.  It  is 
clearly  in  the  power  of  the  parsons  (if  they  were  of  the  right  sort) 
materially  to  injure  the  other  professions,  and  therefore  the  gentle- 
men interested  ought  never  to  pray  for  church  reform. 

The  greatest  Pluralist. — The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
like  many  other  sagacious  reformers,  has  got  an  act  passed  to  limit 
the  evils  of  pluralism.  Whether  this  proceed  from  zeal,  or  is  an 
offering  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  it  is  certainly  not  dictated  by  an 
enlightened  judgment.  He  begins  at  the  wrong  end  :  instead  of 
curtailing  the  limits  of  the  clergymen's  sphere  of  operations,  he 
should  have  urged  them  on  to  the  diligent  performance  of  every 
duly.  Instead  of  gibbeting  them  by  allowing  all  the  fat  livings  to 
remain  within  an  arm's  length  of  their  reach,  yet  not  suffering  them 
to  touch,  he  should  have  removed  the  temptation  by  an  appropria- 


23 

tion  of  the  church  property  as  origiimlly  intended  ;  and  thus  he 
would  have  taught  the  clergy,  that  however  many  fields  and  ponds 
the  cure  might  include,  they  are  not  to  be  allured  by  either  loaves 
or  fishes.  In  opposition  to  a'l  this  outcry  against  pluralities,  I  beg 
to  say,  that  Paul  was  the  greatest  pluralist  that  ever  lived.  Some 
of  the  English  clergy  have  had  eleven  churches;  but  if  the  scrip- 
tures be  true,  Paul  had  '^  the  care  of  ali.  the  churches;''  and  yet 
he  had  neither  tithes,  dues,  fees,  pew  rents,  nor  class  money  !  And 
hence  it  is  not  about  tlie  work  that  the  Archbishop  should  have 
meddled,  but  that  which  is  much  more  acceptable  to  the  clergy, 
the  Jat  and  the  skin!  Paul,  when  he  was  making  some  stay  at  a 
place,  frequently  wrought  with  his  own  hands,  especially  where 
the  least  suspicion  might  be  attached  to  his  motives;  and  when  he 
did  receive  any  thing,  it  was  as  •a.voluntary  gift.  Voluntary,  1  say, 
and  the  minister  that  cannot  depend  upon  this  for  his  support,  and 
especially  in  a  Christian  country,  had  better  ask  himself  the  reason 
why?  If  we  had  a  few  "night  and  day"  labourers  like  Paul,  the 
only  danger  would  be,  that  the  peo[)le  would  over  respect  them, 
and  be  likely,  by  their  flattery  and  kindness,  to  render  them  high 
minded.  From  my  own  observations,  I  believe,  for  a  really  good, 
zealous,  disinterested  ministry,  the  people  would  almost  be  ready 
to  make  any  sacrifices  for  their  su()poft.  Hail!  happy  day,  when 
religion  shall  be  stripped  of  all  its  worldly  endowments  and  com- 
pulsatory  payments,  and  the  ministers  left,  in  the  love  of  doing 
good  from  heavenly  motives,  to  be  supported  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  the  people  ! 

Christenings,  Buryings,  &c. — "Now,  John,  I  wonder  how 
you  can  for  shame  come  here  for  relief,"  said  a  stern  overseer  to  an 
applicant  the  other  day  ;  "you  are  a  down  right  drunken  charac- 
ter." "I  am  sure  1  am  not,"  replied  the  pauper,  "1  can't  get  it 
to  drink  :  there's  nobody  ever  seed  me  spend  a  halfpenny."  "  But 
you  were  seen  drunk  on  Sunday  last."  "  Well,  ]  was  at  a  ker- 
sening  of  our  Turn's  child  ;  I  got  about  three  glasses,  but  it  cost 
me  nought;  and  a  very  little  takes  hold  of  me."  "  No  such  ex- 
cuses; we  shall  give  you  nothing;  you  may  go  your  way."  I 
mention  this  to  remark  upon  the  demoralizing  practice  of  drinking 
at  what  are  called  "  christening  stirs."  Is  it  by  copious  libations 
of  intoxicating  liquor  that  the  "  regeneration"  of  the  young  Chris- 
tian is  to  be  celebrated  .'"'  Excesses,  still  greater,  if  possible, 
attend  the  performance  of  our  last  duties  to  the  mortal  remains  of 
our  species.  For  two  hours  previous  to  the  removal  of  the  corpse, 
the  attendants  sit  drinking  and  smoking,  and,  frequently,  after  they 
return  from  the  church  they  renew  their  potations.  It  is  a  scandal, 
that  barrels  of  ale  should  be  fetched  to  drown  the  impressions  of 
60  solemn  a  season.  The  minister  who  officiates  at  both  these  ser- 
vices might  very  fitly  expostulate  with  them  upon  the  evil.  At 
funerals,  the  first  salutation  is  a  tankard  of  good  spiced  ale,  and 
afterwards  cold  and  hot  are  constantly  carried  round  the  room. 
We  have  often  heard  of  the  "  inventions  of  the  devil,"  and  if  this 
is  not  one,  I  know  not  what  is.  I  have  had  several  funerals  in  my 
own  house,  at  which  I  have  always  been  foolish  enough  to  allow 
the  old  custom  to  be  copied  ;  but  at  the  next  which  may  occur, 
(and  in  a  family  of  twelve  in  number,  humanly  speaking,  we  may 


24 

always  be  looking  for  sucli  an  event,)  I  mean  to  adopt  a  thorough 
reform. 

Fatal  Coach  Accidknt. — Tlie  accident  wliich  occurred 
nenr  Derby,  by  the  Pevtril  of  tlie  Peak  coach  coming  in  contact 
with  Pickford's  van,  by  which  the  driver  was  killed  upon  the  s>|(ot, 
reminds  us  of  the  culpable  conduct  of  cart  and  waggon  i- rivers 
ahnost  on  every  road.  Here  tiie  driver,  it  is  said,  had  stopped  to 
tlrink  at  a  public  house,  and  the  horses  had  started  themselves. 
On  a  Monday  evenhig,  returning  from  Bolton,  we  scarcely  pass  a 
public  house  betwixt  here  and  Chorley,  at  the  doors  of  which 
carts  and  waggons  are  not  standing,  whilst  the  drivers  are  drinking 
inside.  All  the  bleachers'  carts  come  on  that  day,  and  we  fre- 
quently pass  them  with  the  greatest  danger,  while  the  drivers  are 
drinking  in  the  houses,  or  drunken  on  the  to[>  of  the  loaded  carts. 
1  wish  their  employers  would  try  to  teach  them  a  better  lesson, 
either  by  one  means  or  anotiier. 

Adoption. — The  frequent  use  of  this  term  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament shews  an  allusion  to  a  laudable  custom  now  almost  grown 
into  disuse,  but  which,  consideiing  the  circumstances  of  society, 
was  never  more  desirable  tliat  at  present.  What  I  allude  to  is  the 
practice  of  the  wealthy,  and  others,  especially  those  who  have  no 
children  of  their  own,  adoptinginto  their  own  families  orphans  and 
the  children  of  the  poor.  VVhat  numbers  are  cast  upon  the  pa- 
rishes, and  brought  up  in  the  workhouse,  who  might  have  com- 
fortable homes,  and  become  the  means  of  cheering  the  lonely 
fire  sides  of  those  who  are  childless.  All  our  charity  now  fluws 
through  societies  and  committees  :  formerly  it  was  more  the  act  of 
individuals,  and  was  more  extensive  and  sincere.  The  various 
endowments  in  the  country  shew  that  was  the  case. 

Reform  Bill, — This  teaser  to  the  party  which  has  long  mis- 
ruled the  country  may  not  equal  the  wishes  of  those  who  can 
understand  that  the  poor  have  rights  as  well  as  the  rich ;  l)ut  the 
opposition  it  receives  from  the  aristocratic  side  makes  it  clear  that 
it  is  a  measure  intended  for  the  real  good  of  the  country  :  and  as 
far  as  we  can  ex[)ect  from  the  mere  operation  of  laws,  1  entertain 
no  doubt  but  it  will  be  the  beginning  of  a  political  regeneration. 
But  let  it  never  be  lost  siglit  of,  that  in  every  town  we  have  socie- 
ties and  institutions  with  the  best  arrangements,  with  a  perfectly 
organized  machinery,  almost  standing  still,  and  producing  no  re- 
sults, arising  entirely  from  a  want  of  tvell  qualified  living  agents. 
This  is  the  ground  of  my  fears,  even  bhould  the  reform  bill  pass. 
We  have  many  that  will  be  proud  of  an  M.  P.  appended  to  their 
names ;  but,  alas !  how  few  moral,  honest,  industrious,  upright 
men  are  to  be  found,  who  will  sincerely  sacrifice  their  time,  labour, 
and  influence,  simply  for  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  na- 
tion!    1  wish  1  may  be  mistaken  in  my  anticipations. 

Prompt  Payment. — The  return  of  the  new  year  is  a  busy 
season  for  delivering  tradesmen's  accounts.  It  is  a  time  of  fear,- 
care,  anxiety,  and  disappointment.  If  on  the  first  of  February  1 
were  to  ask  how  their  Christmas  accounts  had  come  in,  1  will  an- 
swer for  it,  99  out  of  100  of  them  would  be  complainants.  'Jhe  fact 
is,  every  year  seems  to  be  worse  in  this  respect  than  the  preceding 
one.     This  arises  from  over  trading,  from  a  contracted  circulation, 


25 

and  from  a  icant  of  principle.  Deferring  payments,  and  making 
false  excuses,  ;ne  now  §*►  coinmo-.i,  lluit  liuleor  no  remorse  of  con- 
science seems  to  he  fflt,  i'o  keep  other  peoples'  money  in  our 
possession  after  it  is  fairly  due,  is  oi;-e  -.ipproach  towards  robbery. 
Let  every  man,  ih--  refose,  be  resolved  to  jjuy  to  ihe  utmost,  and 
especially  tl;ose  who  have  it  in  tl:eir  [;Osses>ion,  iiiul  it  will  be  like 
adding  millions  to  the  circnl;ili'.>u.  Tiuoug'n  the  wdi\t  of  pro?npt- 
ness  on  the  part  of  one  bloated,  Chnstniah-keeping  gentleman, 
whose  constant  answer  is,  '-call  a;^a!n,"  hundreds  who  are  waiting 
one  of  anotiier,  are  kept  in  [)::i!!iLil  suspetise.  There  are  some 
words  1  neither  like  to  see  nor  ht-ar ;  the  term  "arrears"  is  one  of 
them. 

Temperance,  and  Tr.MPKUANfCE  Socikties. — Being  just 
returned  from  Manchester  (Dec.  -23]  it  is  with  no  smad  pleasure  I 
remark,  thut  though  drunkeatiess  still  rages  in  this  pop\dous  town, 
a  successful  resistance  is  being  made,  aad  titat  prospects  for  con- 
quest are  brightening  every  day.  Tl)e  annivers;iry  of  the  Tempe- 
rance Society  was  one  of  the  most  gratifying  meetings  that  was 
ever  held  in  Manchester.  About  3000  persons  have  joined  it,  and 
branch  associations  are  rising  up  in  evary  surrouiiding  village. 
The  object  is  made  a  matter  of  discussion  almost  in  everv  party, 
and  1  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  that  the  principles  are 
approved  and  acted  upon  by  great  numbers  v/iio  do  not  formally 
add  their  names  to  the  lists  of  members.  IVI my  tables  within  the 
liraite«i  circle  of  my  owr.  acquaintance,  which  used  to  ilash  in  the 
evenings  with  the  dtrcanters,  are  relieved  from  tlie  disgrace  of  pre- 
senting poison  to  their  guests ;  and  with  reflecting  people  it  bsgins 
to  appear  clear,  tliat  llie  apothecary's  shop  is  the  only  appropriate 
place  for  ardent  spirits.  I  attended  a  temi»erance  meeting  in 
Angel  Meadow  (the  most  prOiji:.cate  part  of  tiie  town,)  and  was 
much  pleased  to  see  the  spirit,  and  to  hear  the  sensible  and  hearty 
declarations  of  the  temperance  disciples.  Amongst  other  move- 
ments I  may  name  that  tiie  boroughreeve  and  constables  have 
placarded  the  v^ails,  requesting  ail  sliopkeepers  to  abandon  the 
practice  of  giving  spirita  to  their  customers  at  Christmas,  aiul  to 
bubstitnte  other  presents  in  their  stead.  Tnis  temperance  concert), 
like  the  relorm  bill,  is  more  "  efficient"  than  most  pooplii  ever  ex- 
pected ;  and  like  it,  also,  it  has  three  classes  of  enemies,  the  publi- 
cans (boroughmongers,)  the  spirit  merchwUs  (the  borough  patrons,) 
and,  with  few  exceptions,  tiie  ministern  of  religiou  (the  bishops,) 
.With  the  exception  of  two  or  three  clergymen  of  llie  Church  of 
lilogiand,  and  one  superannuated  dissenting  preacher,  of  whom 
^Preston  was  once  proud,  I  was  told  that  lione  of  the  ministers  of 
religion,  out  of  the  vast  number  in  Manchester,  iiuve  joined  the 
Society. 

Christmas  Day. — !  spent  tlsis  afternoon,  ns  1  often  do  the 
Sunday  aftern<on,  in  gomg  up  and  down  iii  ihe  back  parts  of  the 
"town ;  and  1  declare,  1  never  was  u)ore  disgusted  with  the  preva- 
lency  of  drunkenness  and  vice.  The  conteiits  of  overloaded 
stomachs  were  visible  in  the  streets,  tiie  jerry  >hops  and  public 
houses  were  thronged,  and  at  iiuU-j.ia^t  three,  i  actually  met  a  man 
■trucking  a  barrel  of  beer  on  tiie  parajieL  to  a  a  place  in  New  Pre.-v- 
ton.      Oil!  the  be^etiing  sin  of  my  Uiihaj.>[)y  country!  .).  L. 


20 

Commtmt  tattoujs . 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Mr.  Editor, 

There  are  few  men  who  will  deny  the  necessity  of  a  moral 
reform.  Almost  every  one  can  recollect  some  circun>stances  connected  with 
hi.s  own  personal  experience,  which  prove  the  deplorable  want  of  mural  prin- 
ciple amongst  our  population.  It  is,  therefore,  nut  to  be  wondered  at,  that 
many  schemes  for  effecting  a  moral  reformation  have  been  broached,  some 
calculated  to  do  temporary  or  local  good,  but  more  possessing  only  an  appear- 
ance of  theoretical  utility.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  disregard  these  partial  and 
unavailing  remedies,  and  propose  a  radical  cure,  which  will  penetrate  to  the 
root  of  the  evil.  Such  a  cure  you  find  in  the  principles  of  Christianity,— that 
is,  in  the  application  of  these  principles  to  the  hearts  of  men  :  fur  in  order  to 
remove  a  disorder,  a  real  remedy  must  be  made  use  of  To  effect  this,  the 
clergy  must  be  incited  to  turn  aside  from  the  beaten  track,  where  their  labours 
have  failed  in  effecting  a  general  reformation,  and  exert  tlicmselvcs  in  some 
other  way.  They  must  not  be  content  with  attempting  to  reform  only  those 
who  attend  religious  worship  :  the  great  mass,  which  must  needs  changing, 
because  most  corrupt,  is  not  there  to  be  found.  They  must  follow  the  exam- 
ple of  a  worthy  member  of  their  body,  now  labouring  in  an  adjacent  town,  who 
fiuding  the  drunkard,  the  fornicator,  and  the  binsphemer  would  not  come  to 
him  to  be  told  of  their  evil  ways,  and  to  be  made  to  tremble  while  he  reasoned 
of  "righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come,"  determined  to  seek 
them  in  their  own  haunts.  This  servant  of  him  who  went  about  doing  good 
frequently  preaches  in  the  streets  inhabited  by  the  poorer  classes,  when  pro- 
bably many  hear  Christian  reproof  and  exhortation  who  never  enter  a  church 
or  chapel.  On  a  fine  summer  Sunday,  he  has  a  tent  erected  ou  a  much  fre- 
quented spot,  by  which  method  he  induces  many  strolling  parties  to  stop,  and 
give  him  a  hearing.  .At  the  conclusion  of  his  address,  he  intites  them  to  at- 
tend his  place  of  worship,  and  also  intimates  that  his  friends  are  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  names  of  any  children  whose  parents  may  be  desirous  of  their  attend- 
ing the  Sunlay  school.  This  man  of  God  is  also  a  diligent  visitor  of  the  poor, 
blessing  their  bumble  homes  with  his  presence,  bestowing  his  instruction  and 
advice,  and  leaving  for  their  perusal  tracts  and  other  small,  useful  books. 
This  is  the  way  in  which  Jesus  and  his  apostles  laboured,  and  cannot  fail  to 
do  much  good.  And  I  respectfully  urge  the  example  upon  the  clergy  of  our 
town,  amongst  whom  1  know  theie  are  many  who  earnestly  wish  to  rescue 
their  fellow  men  from  wickedness  and  misery,  and  make  them  good  and  happy. 

So  far,  Mr.  Editor,  1  think  I  agree  with  you  respecting  the  best  mode  of 
effecting  a  moral  reform.  But  there  are  a  few  things  which  1  cannot  receive, 
though  they  come  recommended  by  the  Moral  Reformer. 

I  cannot  think  that  uneducated  men  would  constitute  a  more  efficient 
ministry  than  men  who  possess  the  advantages  of  education.  The  argument 
drawn  from  the  qualifications  of  the  primitive  teachers  is  not  apposite  j  be- 
cause, though  the  apostles,  or  some  of  them,  might  be  uneducated  men,  yet 
they  possessed  other  qualifications  for  their  office,  which  our  clergy  do  nut 
possess,  and  cannot  acquire.  The  first  teachers  of  Christianity  were  guided 
into  "  all  truth"  by  a  supernatural  instructor,  and  had  the  power  of  working 


i 


miracles  to  convince  the  gainsiiyer.*  Tlie  clergy  of  our  day  must  acquire  the 
knowledge  suitable  to  tbeir  office  by  a  systematic  course  of  instruction,  that, 
in  the  absence  of  the  more  direct  and  overpowering  species  of  evidence,  they 
n)ay,  by  tbe  assistance  of  learning,  be  enabled  to  demonstrate  the  divine  origin 
of  the  religion  they  teach.  Besides,  it  is  plain  that  the  amazing  success  of 
the  apostles'  preaching  was  not  owing  to  their  being  unlearned  men,  or  their 
not  receiving  monej  from  their  hearers ;  because  there  are  in  our  days  un- 
learned men,  honest  and  zealous,  who  labour  through  six  days  of  the  week, 
and  preach  the  gospel  on  the  seventh,  yet  we  never  hear  of  "  thousands  being 
pricked  to  the  heart,"  and  induced  to  cry  out  "  men  and  brethren,  what  must 
we  do  to  be  saved  ?"  On  the  contrary,  when  our  uneducated  preachers  suc- 
ceed in  drawing  followers  after  them,  it  is  generally  in  consequence  of  some 
perverted,  often  ridiculous,  views  which  they  broach  :  and  this  evil  would  be 
much  more  extensive,  if  not  checked  by  the  influence  which  the  writings  and 
discourses  of  the  educated  clergy  have  upon  their  opinions.  The  nearest  re- 
semblance to  apostolic  success  is  to  be  found  in  the  results  of  the  labours  of 
Westley  and  his  coadjutors,  who  were  learned  men.  It  is  when  talent  and 
education  combine  with  honest  religious  zc-al,  that  we  have  a  teacher  of  the 
right  sort. 

When  the  apostles  succeeded  in  making  a  number  of  converts,  we  inva- 
riably find  them  forming  a  Christian  community,  habitually  assembling  in 
some  certain  place  for  the  purpose  of  social  worship.  Now,  it  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve they  had  no  fixed  form  or  method  of  worship.  If  they  had  not,  their 
ingenuity  must  have  been  great  to  devise  so  much  variety.  We  know  the 
value  of  method  and  established  forms  in  the  every  day  occurrences  of  life, 
and  why,  then,  should  you  wish  us  to  forego  these  advantages  in  the  worship 
of  our  God?  If  our  ministers  were  faithful  aud  zealous,  these  trifling  mat- 
ters, and  the  various  little  differences  of  sects,  would  be  no  hiuderance  to  their 
usefulness  in  converting  sinners  from  the  error  of  their  ways. 

I  cannot  say,  the  civil  government  ought  not  to  concern  itself  with  reli- 
gion. We  all  admit  it  is  the  duty  of  a  parent  to  instruct  his  children  in  those 
religious  sentiments  which  he  deems  authorized  by  the  word  of  God  :  and  ought 
not  the  government  to  maintain  the  parental  character  towards  the  people? 
There  is  also  a  prophecy  foretelling  the  prosperity  of  the  church  of  Christ, 
when  kings  and  queens  should  be  its  "nursing  fathers,  and  nursing  mothers." 
I  do  not  say  that  the  influence  of  governments  has  always  been  judiciously  ex- 
ercised, when  they  have  attempted  to  support  Christianity;  but  supposing 
the  king  fully  impressed  with  the  importance  of  religion,  and  anxious  to  see 
his  subjects  Christians  indeed,  what  line  of  conduct  ought  he  to  pursue?  or 
is  he  justified  in  supporting  equally  what  he  believes  to  be  the  truth,  and  what 
he  believes  to  be  error  ?  1  notice  this  as  being  a  difficulty  in  my  own  mind 
respec(ing  this  subject.  X. 

*  The  mysterious  cessation  of  miracles  is  a  loss  which  nothing  else  can  supply;  for  a 
man  who,  in  confirmation  of  his  mission,  could  heal  the  sick,  and  restore  soundness  to  tlie 
palsied  limb,  would  attract  universal  attention, and  obtain  general  credence  to  his  statements. 
This  is  forcibly  illustrated  by  the  success  of  modern  pretended  miia.c\e  workers,  wlio  are  often 
enabled  to  draw  after  them  crowds  of  disciples  The  Saviour  promised  that  all  who  believed 
on  him  should  receive  the  power  of  working;  miracles;  and  accordingly  the  history  of  the 
primitive  teachers  shews  us  tliese  men  boldly  going  forth,  and  by  the  exercise  pf  this  power 
subduing  the  prejudices  of  the  most  inveturate  unbelievers.  Several  writers  have  givea 
reasons  why  the  gift  of  miracles  should  be  confined  to  the  primitive  teachers;  but  I  ha»e 
met  with  uothing  that  has  satisfied  my  mjud. 


28 

RE  VI  AUKS. 

The  difficulty  in  the  mind  of  this  concspoiidfut  respecting  t'le  authority 
of  kings  in  leligituis  matteis,  might   possibly  be  removed  by  referring  to  the 
aiticle  on  that  subject  in  my  first  vohime.    As  to  Ids  "  form  or  mothod  of  wor- 
ship," it  would  be  difiiiult  to  understand  his  precise  meaning  without  further 
explanation.     On  the  subject  of  an  uneducated  miuistro,   1   beg  to  offer  a  few 
remarks.     I  am  ijlad,  in  the  fnst  pi  ice,  to  be  able  to  meet  an  often  insinuated, 
though  obviously  false,  opinion — that  the  learning  of  the  colleges  is  to  stand 
iii  lieu  of  the  primitive  miracles — hy  X  's  own  remark.     He  observes  very 
justly,  "  the  mysterious  ctssation  of  miracles  is  a  loss  which  ■nolhhig  else  can 
supply."     This  has  been  often  urged  as  an  argument  for  a  learned  ministry; 
yet,   unless  their  objects  corresponded,  and  their  eiForts  were  the  same,   the 
argument  has  no  weight.     But  what  is  the  work  of  the  ministry?     If  we  know 
their  icork,  it  is  easy  to  ascertihi  what  qualifications  are  neces.sary.     Do  I  not 
speak  the  ser.se  of  the  scriptures,   when  I  say,  first  and  principally,  '*  calling 
all  men  every  where  to  repeat,"  and  afterwards,   upon  all  the  converted,    en- 
joining "all  things  that  Ciirist  hi>s  commanded."     Any  learning  essential   to 
this    work   should   be   sedulously  cultivated;    any  learning  that  leads  to  the 
neglect  of  it  must  be  deprecated.     Because  a  case  might  occur,  in  which  the 
attainments  of  great  chissical   Icr.rniug  vvould    be  required,  is  that  any  reason 
why  common  teacheis  should  [lossess  more  than   what   we  sec  is  necessary  to 
teach  and  enforce   the   plain   lessons   oftheliible?     [t  is  not  against  learning 
that  1  object,  or  ever  objected  ;   no  person  reveres   it    more;   hut   against  the 
learning  of  academies  and  colleges,    as  indispensable  qualifications  for  ieaehins 
religion,  that  I  have  always  declared.      Who  is   there,  if  he   fully  consi(iered 
tiie  loss  of  time,  the  immense  expence,  the  perversion  of  talents,  the  habitual 
unfitne.'-s  for  labour,  imbibed  at    the  colleges  connected  with  the  present  plan 
of  qualifying    men   for    religious   iastrurters,    that   would   not  declare  these 
schools  of  divinity   pcrnicio'u.s  in  their  tendency?     Is   it   not  in  every   mau''s 
mouth,  that  these  educated  teachers  know  less  of  the  world  than  almost  any 
uther  class,  «nd  are  the  most  useless  in  promoting  the  general  welfare  of  so- 
ciety ?     If  men  have  to  sl-.inc  in  a  pulpit,   to  collect  a  respectable  (a  monied^ 
congregation,  to  get  the  pews  Set,  toseture  ilic  return  which  they  are  expected 
to  make,  aiid  to  rank  with  the  families  of  the  wealthy,    it  will   be  necessary 
for  ther.i  to  be  academicians,  to  learn  the  "  Latin  aaJ  Greek  Classics,  Oriental 
Languages,  History,  Geography,  Mathematics,  Philosophy,  TLeory  of  Lan- 
guage, Gcr.tial  Grammar,    ^Uental  Philosophy,  Theology,  and  Ecclesiastical 
History:"*  but  if  they  are  designed  to   "call  sinners  to  repentance,"  and  to 
i-iboul'  like  shep'/.erds,   pioughiiicn,  ti!ra.«ilicrs,  and  soldiei's  (to  whoiu  the  first 
<tachers  are  ro!n;)ared,)  voinmon  seiisc,   a  ^c.ud  heart,  arid  divine  wisdom  aiB 
iliC  essential  snipJir.c^'.tir.us. 

Just  thiiik  what  it  is  that  the  comr.jon  people  «7)/;ro!'e  most  in  religious 
i.';achii!g,  asid  we  have  ai  or.ce  an  orguineiu  against  all  that  cnn  he  said  aliout 
H  learned  ruiiiifjtry.  Hut  the  spii  it  of  competition  ntnoiigst  parties  now  runs 
very  high  :  hc'cftuseoiic  parly  l.-as  ft  echape!s,  itiiother  mii.vt  lavefine  chapels^ 
..ml  iiecausc  one  paily  has  learned  uiinisiers,  atuitl.-cr  must  have  the  satnc.  If 
t:;«.'y  must  he  sent  to  the  acadet-.iy,  I  would  si;ggest,  instead  of  mathemaiics,  tliat 

*  F;ora  the  Repjrt  of  B'aikbu;!i  .^caJ-.niy;  iS25. 


29 

they  should  receive  a  tolerable  medical  education,  so  that  they  might,  by  such 
an  acquirement  (if  we  could  get  them  into  the  habit  of  visiting  the  poor,) 
render  themselves  exceedingly  useful  wherever  they  went.  I  purpose  renew- 
ing this  subject,  and  canvassing  over  fairly  all  the  arguments  in  favour  of  an 
educated  ministry,  the  first  opportunity, — Edit. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 
Sib, 

Your  remarks  upon  my  answer  to  your  case  of  conscience,  inserted 
in  your  last  No.,  calls  for  a  short  reply.     You  allow  that  an  individual  ought 
to    pay   the  post  office   that    which   is   evidently    due,  but  complain  that  I 
have  not  made  it  quite  clear  that  the  "  demands  are  fairly  due ;"    and,   if  I 
do  not  misunderstand  you,  you  would  have  us  to  believe  that  they  are  not  due 
on  any  one  ground.     Though  I  may  agree   with   you,   that  "  the  post  office 
is  a  government  monopoly,"  yet  since  the  charges  have  obtained  the  sanction 
of  our  representatives    and  have  been  confirmed  by  the  whole  body  of  the 
legislature,  they  must  be  due,  not  only  on  the  ground  of  law,  but  also  on  the 
ground  of  agreement.     But  you  ask,  "  Is  it  not  considered  that  paying  what 
is  demanded  is  all  that  the  law  requires  ?     Undoubtedly,  if  you  pay  what  the 
laio  demands  :  but  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  law  and  the  agent 
of  the  law.     If  your  landlord  has  a  demand  against  you  of  20l.,  and  his  stew- 
ard, through  mistake,  should  charge  you  only  ten,  do  you  suppose  that  the 
landlord  would  say  that  he  was  satisfied,  or  could  you  so'far  persuade  your 
conscience  to  second  your  feelings  of  self  interest  as  to  say  that  you  had  paid, 
him  his  *'due?"      I  am  not  inclined  to  advocate  post  office  charges  on  the 
ground  of  equity.     It  is  enough  for  me  that  they  are  due  on  the  grounds  of, 
law  and  agreement.     But  I  will  just  say,  that  though  the  post  office  may,  in 
some  cases,   be  unjust,  and  the  charges  unequal,  it  is  no  excuse  for  our  dis- 
honesty to  the  government.      If  your  tailor  charge  you  ll.  lOs.  for  making  a 
suit  of  clothes,  when,  in  justice,  he  ought  not  to  have  charged  more  than  ll. 
it  does  not  follow  that  you  ought  to  imitate  his  example,  and,  by  way  of  re- 
dress,  add  an  extra  lOs.  to  the  regular  charge  on  any  commodity  that  he  may 
afterwards  piirchapc  from  you  !     A  system  of  morality   that  would  admit  of 
such  a  rule  would,  if  adopted,  make  df  pravity  the  sovereign  of  the  world. 

Giving  receipts  upon  unstamped  paper,  sending  letters  by  coachmen, 
carriers,  &.c  ,  you  allow  to  be  contrary  to  law;  and  how  can  that  which  is, 
•  hostile  to  the  law  claim  the  public  approbation  of  the  strenuous  advocate  for 
morality,  loyalty,  and  submissive  obedience  to  Ihe  higher  powers?  But  were 
a  man  to  write  volumes  on  this  subject,  I  don't  suppose,  with  all  his  labour, 
he  could  influence  a  single  lawyer  in  the  whole  community  to  put  his  half 
score  of  letters  into  the  post  ofiice,  when  he  had  an  oppuriunity  of  sending 
the  whole,  snugly  tied  up  in  one  parcel,  by  a  coachman,  notwithstanding  they 
are  so  ready  to  pounce  upon  tiieir  unfortunate  victims  for  crimes  of  no  greater 
magnitude:  nor  would  it  be  an  easy  matter  to  persuade  any  great  number  of 
our  reverend  teachers  to  be  honest  in  this  point,  and  thus  honourably  sup- 
port a  government  which  has  but  too  long  cherished,  in  them,  a  viper,  now 
bloated  with  poison  extracted  from  the  sweets  of  luxury.  In  short,  before 
what  I  have  attempted  to  advocate  can  in  any  degree  be  adopted,  men  must 
possess  a  far  superior  stock  of  morality  than  what  now  pervades  society,  and 
VOL.  II.  E 


30 

must  cancel,  at  least,  nine-tenths  of  the  power  of  that  arbitrary  sovereign  of 
their  actions,  self  interest .         1  am,  Sir,  with  all  due  respect, 

Yours,  &c., 

CAIUS  TAURANNUS. 
November  I4th,  1831. 

REMARKS. 

1  confess,  there  is  a  plausibility  in  the  reasoning  of  thii  correspondent; 
yet  I  must  say  that  1  am  not  convinced,  either  as  lo  his  general  principle,  or 
to  its  particular  application  to  this  case.  The  question,  in  a  general  view, 
seems  now  to  come  to  this  :  Is  it  morally  right  for  a  man  to  do  anything  con- 
trary to  the  letter  of  the  law,  as  it  stands  in  the  statute  book,  by  which  any 
sum  would  be  taken  from  the  revenue  ?  And  if  particular  cases  are  required, 
we  may  ask.  Is  it  right  to  give  a  receipt  on  unstamped  paper  ;  to  send  a  letter 
by  a  carrier  or  a  coachman  ;  or,  upon  the  receipt  of  a  treble  letter,  lo  pay 
but  double,  if  no  more  is  charged  ?  C.  T.  in  all  these  cases,  says  it  is  not 
right ;  and,  if  I  understand  him  correctly,  to  refuseor  evade  paying  any  other 
illegal  impost  would  be  equally  wrong.  1  may  not  be  clear  of  "  self  interest" 
in  the  view  I  am  inclined  to  take  of  this  question,  and  if  1  am  mistaken,  I  will 
give  my  correspondent  another  opportunity  of  correcting  me.  He  does  not 
ground  bis  argument  on  the  equity  of  the  demands,  and  as  to  agreement,  in 
his  view  of  it,  it  is  too  far  fetched  to  carry  conviction.  It  is  upon  the  "  law" 
he  takes  his  stand,  and  I  commend  his  discernment,  for  if  his  view  can  be 
made  out,  it  must  be  upon  this  exclusively.  When  the  demands  of  the  law 
are  founded  upon  justice,  utility,  and  public  good,  and  are  generally  approved 
of  and  enforced,  there  cannot  be  two  opinions  of  the  obligation  to  submit;  but 
where  the  opposites  of  these  attach  to  any  enactment,  there  seems  to  be  a 
doubt.  What  is  the  law  but  the  declared  will  of  the  nation  constitutionally 
ratified?  Now  it  so  happens  that  m^ny  laws,  or  particular  parts  of  them,  are 
suffered  to  remain  on  the  statute  book,  though  inoperative  in  practice,  after 
the  will  of  the  nation,  in  reference  to  tliem,  has  undergone  a  decided  change. 
The  effects  of  many  enactments  are  not  perceived  till  they  have  been  suffered 
to  work  for  a  time  ;  and  if  their  woiking  is  evidently  injurious,  they  are  dis- 
approved of  by  the  country,  although  they  may  be  formally  retained  as  laws. 
If  the  matter  be  of  no  importance,  this  discrepancy  betwixt  the  sense  of  the 
country  and  the  language  of  the  statute  book  may  remain  for  a  generation  ; 
but  if  it  be  a  matter  of  interest,  it  will  soon  be  removed:  In  fact,  every  new 
law,  and  every  repeal  of  an  old  one,  is  but  a  declaration  of  a  change  in  the 
public  mind,  produced,  perhaps,  by  a  change  of  circumstances  ;  and  from  the 
importance  of  changing  the  laws  of  a  nation,  it  is  clearly  necessary  that  a 
demonstration  of  this  cliange  is  quite  necessary.  I  repeat,  there  are  frequently 
laws  on  the  statute  book  which  are  virtually  repealed-,  their  provisions  are, 
disapproved  of  by  the  most  judicious  members  of  society ;  their  breaih,  though'! 
known  to  the  law  officers  of  the  crown,  is  not  visited  with  punishment ;  anc 
it  is  the  general  impression  that  they  are  as  much  hououred  in  the  breach  aa 
in  the  performance.  Under  such  circumstances,  does  any  law  of  morality  re^ 
quire  us  to  make  sacrifices  to  a  comparatively  inoperative  act  of  parliament- 
1  have  now  befure  me  Burn's  Justice,  and  I  could  illustrate  this  point  bj 
numerous  references^-one  shall   suffice.     In  the  provisions  for  charging  du^ 


31 

ties  on  windows,  it  is  enacted,  "that  all  sky  lights,  all  windows  or  lights, 
however  constructed,  in  stair  cases,  garrets,  cellars,  passages,  and  all  other 
parts  of  dwelling  houses,  whether  such  windows  shall  be  in  the  exterior  or  in- 
terior, shall  be  charped  to  the  same  duliesy  Now,  the  hardship  of  acting  up 
to  this  is  so  apparent,  that  the  assessors  and  comaii=siouers  never  think  of 
enforcing  it  :  it  would  oblige  them  to  charge  a  single  square  of  glass,  in  any 
inside  wall,  the  same  as  a  large  front  window.  Upon  the  same  principle,  in- 
formations against  persons  for  giving  receipts  on  plain  pap»r  have  been  always 
reprobateil,  and  the  legal  officers  have  shewn  an  unwillingness  to  prosecute. 
Persons  may  be  compelled  to  obey  every  enactment,  but  it  is  a  question 
whether  in  morality  they  are  obliged  to  do  so,  where  the  provissions  are  nomi- 
nal, the  operation  unjust,  and  where  all  parties  treat  them  as  obsolete.  I 
think  C.  T.  must  perceive,  from  this,  that  mere  *'  law,"  independent  of  ils 
character,  and  other  circumstances,  does  not  always  carry  with  it  a  moral 
obligation. — As  to  the  post  office  case,  in  my  opinion,  it  the  treble  letter  con- 
tained value,  and  if  the  post  office  is  held  ansiverahle  for  losses,  the  full  postage 
ought  to  be  paid,  though  less  be  demanded  :  but  if  no',  as  tJe  law  requires 
nothing  more  than  what  is  demanded,  no  principle  or  equity,  which  is  the 
basis  of  morality,  would  lead  a  person  to  offer  more.  I  may  still  be  wrong; 
and  as  I  think  the  subject  of  considerable  importance,  in  its  various  hearings, 
I  shall  be  glad  of  any  fuither  communications  upon  the  subject — Edit. 

Gin  Drinking  at  Sales — (From  a  Bolton  Correspondent.) — There 
was  a  sale  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Bolton  last  Friday,  and  the  person 
who  was  writing  told  me  that  gin  and  ale  were  so  plentifully  distributed  that 
a  sofa,  that  cost  the  person  only  1 1.  19s  ,  sold  for  upwards  of  3I. ;  a  set  of  bed- 
steads, which  cost  only  2I  3s.  when  new,  sold  for  3I.  5s. ;  and  so  on.  He  said 
that  every  quart  of  gin  that  was  given,  he  believed,  made  the  seller  of  the 
goods  2I.,  and  that  it  was  his  firm  opinion,  that  at  the  close  of  the  sale,  the 
last  quart  given  made  him  upwards  of  5I.  At  another  sale  which  he  attended, 
at  the  commencement  there  was  no  gin  and  the  sale  was  very  flat:  they  found 
after  they  had  been  selling  some  time  that  they  could  not  get  on  :  the  auction- 
eer stopped,  and  they  sent  for  a  quantify  of  gin,  which  they  served  round  very 
freely  several  times,  and  then  commenced  again  :  the  result  was,  they  had  a  glo- 
rious sale,  as  they  call  it,  and  a  small  heifer,  that  was  considered  to  be  worth 
about  7I.  or  8l.  at  the  utmost,  sold  for  I5l.  ]6s  ,  and  all  other  things  in  pro- 
portion. 

Farmers  who  make  sales  may  be  encouraged,  from  the  above,  to  adopt 
this  method  of  stealing  away  the  senses  of  the  company  ;  but  1  would  say  to 
all  who  attend  sales,  never  taste  the  liquor,  or,  if  you  cannot  trust  yourselves, 
let  the  first  appearance  of  the  gin  bottle  be  a  signal  to  depart  home.  A  dread- 
ful head  ache  in  the  morning,  a  second  day's  fuddle,  and  a  lot  of  dear  bargains, 
by  this  means  will  be  avoided. — Edit. 

Law  of  Tithes. — (From  a  Salfurd  Correspondent.).— ^ir.  Eagle,  in  his 
pamphlet,  entituled  "  An  Argument,  showing  that  the  Tithes  belong  to  the 
Public  and  the  Poor,"  gives  a  form  of  notice  which  he  recommends  the  payers 
of  tithes  or  of  poor-rates  and  church-rates  to  serve  upon  the  til  he-owners,  in 
order  to  obtain  a  return  of  that  portion  of  the  tithes  which  ought  to  be  appro- 


32 

priated  to  the  relief  of  ihe  poor,  and  the  repairs  of  churches  We  subjoin  the 
form,  aad  should  be  very  glad  to  see  the  Very  Reverend  the  Warden,  and  the 
Fellows  of  our  Parish  Church  served  with  a  similar  notice.  Two-thirds  of 
heir]  revenues  directed  to  their  legitimate  use  would  ease  our  assessments  to 
the  amount  often  thousand  pounds  a  year.  ^ 

"To  ihe  Very  Reverend  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Ely. 

"We,  the  undersigned,  occupiers  of  land  and  rate-payers  in  the  parish  of 
Lakenheath,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  being  advised  that  the  rectorial  tithes 
of  Laken heath,  which  have  been  for  a  long  time  past  appropriated  to  the  pri- 
yate  use  of  you  and  your  predecessors,  and  former  deuns  and  chapters  of  Ely 
aforesaid,  are  not  vested  in  you  beneficially,  but  are  received  by  you  in  trust, 
as  to  one  third  part  thereof  for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  said  parish,  and  as  to 
one  other  third  part  in  trust  for  the  reparation  of  the  church,  and  the  other 
purposes  for  which  church-rates  are  assessed  upon  the  said  parish,  do  hereby 
request  that  you  will  henceforth  be  pleased  to  render  and  pay  over  two  third 
parts  of  the  said  tithes  to  the  parish  officers  of  the  said  parish,  to  be  applied 
by  them  to  such  religious  and  charitable  uses  as  aforesaid. 

*'And  in  respect  to  the  manor  and  lands  within  the  said  parish  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  monastery  of  Ely,  and  which  are  now  in  your  posses- 
sion, we  farther  require  you  to  exercise  those  duties  of  charity  and  hospitality 
wbich  constitute  the  tenure  and  condition  upon  which  the  said  manor  and 
lands  were  granted  to  your  predecessors,  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  the  8th; 
but  which  duties  have  been  wholly  neglected  and  abandoned  by  you  and  your 
said  predecessors."— Jl/aracAe^^er  Times, 

REPORT  OF  THE  PRESTON  BOARD  OF  HEALTH,   WITH 
REMARKS, 

In  consequence  of  a  recommendation  from  the  Central  Board  of  Health, 
established  in  London,  addressed  to  the  chairmen  of  the  provincial  Boards,  an 
inspection  of  the  town  of  Preston  has  been  made  by  a  number  of  gentlemen 
belonging  to  the  town,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  clergy  and  medical  men,  whose 
reports  contain  much  important  and  interesting  information,  andj  present  to 
us  many  reflections  which,  I  doubt  not,  will  be  acceptable  and  useful  to  the 
readers  of  the  Moral  Reformer.  I  have  procured  the  following  from  one  of  the 
visitors,  a  gentleman  highly  competent  to  detail  the  proceedings. 

"The  first  inspection  that  was  made  was  of  the  streets,  courts,  yards, 
&c,,  and  from  the  various  reports  of  the  result  of  that  inspection,  we  observe 
that  many  nuisances  exist  in  the  town  which  are  highly  detrimental  to  the 
health  of  the  inhabitants.  Some  of  these  it  may  be  well  to  name,  as  they  can 
only  he  removed  by  individual  exertion,  on  account  of  their  existing  on 
private  property,  and  being  beyond  the  surveillance  of  the  police,  they  can 
only  interfere  by  indictment  at  the  quarter  sessions,  proving  that  the  nuisance 
is  injurious  to  the  public,  a  rather  invidious  process,  which  the  commissioners . 
are  not  very  willing  to  undertake.  One  principal  source  of  complaint  was  tl« 
bad  repair  of  the  Bog-hole  walls  connected  with  cottage  property,  which,  in 
many  instances,  were  reported  to  be  so  delapidated  as  to  allow  their  content 
to  drain  off  into  the  streets,  yards,  or  open  spaces  of  ground  adjoining,  dia 
seminating  their  disagreeable  and  noxious  vapours  through  the  air,  so  as  tfl 
produce  the  most  unpleasant  effect  upon  the  inspectors,  and  which  cuuid  onl| 


33 

be  tolerated  by  the  neiglibours  in  consequence  of  tlieir  having  become  accus- 
tomed to  such  disagreeable  effluvia.  Some  of  the  Necessaries  were  said  to  be  in 
such  a  filthy  state  that  we  can  scarcely  conceive  how  any  human  being  could  be 
induced,  by  any  consideration,  to  enter  them  V^'e  have  witnessed  not  a  few 
ourselves  that  were  literally  flooded  with  human  foeculcnces,  and  from  which 
we  have  turned  away  with  feelings  of  disgust  and  humiliation  that  no  lan- 
guage could  describe.  Another  ground  of  complaint  was  the  quantity  of 
human  impurities  that  were  obseived  strewn  about  in  the  back  streets,  so  as 
in  some  instances  almost  to  obstruct  the  passage  to  all  who  had  any  regard  to 
decency,  and  were  wishful  to  avoid  defilement.  A  thiril  was  the  heaps  of 
ashes,  and  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  that  were  piled  up  beside  the  cot- 
tages, and  allowed  to  undergo  a  process  of  decomposilion,  and  to  spread  their 
deleterious  effluvia  through  the  neighbourhood.  A  fourth  was  the  stagnant 
ditches  into  which  all  kinds  of  refuse  were  thrown,  and  there  suffered  to  fer- 
ment, and  infest  the  atmosphere  with  pestiferous  emanations.  Besides  these, 
there  are  some  mud  traps,  especially  at  the  bottom  of  Marsh-lane  and  Fisher- 
gate,  placed  so  as  to  intercept  the  sediment  that  flows  down  the  common 
sewers,  where  it  is  retained,  and  exposes  a  large  surface  to  the  air,  for  the 
evolution  of  morbific  gases. 

These  are  the  chief  of  the  nnisances  that  can  be  removed  by  private  and 
individual  exertion,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  most  medical  men  we  have  con- 
versed with  upon  the  subject,  that  to  these  putrefactive  accumulations  we  are 
indebted  for  typhus  fever  and  other  infei'tiousdiseascs,  and  should  we  be  visited 
with  the  epidemic  cholera,  these  foaculences  would  exert  a  most  baneful  influ- 
ence over  the  inhabitants  of  the  districts  where  they  abound  primcrily,  and 
through  them  upon  the  general  population  of  the  town.  Such  being  the  case, 
it  becomes  not  only  the  duty  but  the  vital  interest  of  every  person  who  lives 
in  the  neigbourhood  of  the  nuisances,  to  exert  themselves  to  the  extent  of 
their  ability  to  accomplish  their  lemoval.  The  bog-holes  cannot  be  dispensed 
with,  but  with  a  very  little  labour,  and  at  a  very  trifling  expense,  the  walls 
might  be  made  impervious,  so  as  to  confine  the  manure  within  due  limits, 
and  prevent  such  an  abundant  dissemination  of  noxious  effluvia  as  we  at  pre- 
sent experience.  The  landlords  appear  to  be,  in  many  cases,  averse  to  incur- 
ring any  expense  in  the  repair  of  cottage  property  ;  but  surely  the  inhabitants 
will  not  be  so  obstinate,  so  indifferent  to  the  consequences,  and  so  lust  to  a 
sense  of  common  decency,  as  to  allow  so  great  and  disgraceful  an  evil  to  exist, 
which  they  have  it  in  their  own  power  so  easily  to  remove.  A  single  privy 
very  frequently  belongs  to  several  houses,  and  perhaps  this  is  the  reason  why 
it  is  usually  in  such  bad  condition,  each  family  throwing  oft'  the  opprobrium 
of  the  nuisance,  and  the  burden  of  the  trifling  labour  of  repair,  upon  their 
neighbours;  yet  when  individual  poverty  is  so  great,  we  should  natuially  sup- 
pose that  a  little  work  which  was  divided  amongst  many  sliould  be  speedily 
and  effectively  performed.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  this  is  not  the  case.  Did 
but  each  individual  consider  it  his  peculiar  duty  (as  it  is  certainly  his  peculiar 
interest)  to  remove  this  source  of  disease,  he  would  not  have  occasion  to  lament 
that  he  was  performing  work  which  more  properly  belonged  to  his  neighbour, 
for  he  would  find  himself  more  than  repaid  by  thoincreas-e  of  his  cunifort,  the 
preservation  of  the  health  of  his  family,  and  the  regard  to  cleanliness  and  de- 
cency that  his  example  would  beget  among  his  cliildren.  Another  circum- 
staace  with  regard  to  Necessaries  may  be  uoticcil,  and  that  is,  that  ihey  arc  so 


34 

seldom  cleaned  out.     This  is  perhaps  in  part  owing  to  the  police  regulation!, 
which  forbid  the  removal  of  manure  during  the  day,  and   the  unwillingness  of 
farmers  to  labour  during  the  night.     While  these  regulations  are  so  strictly 
enforced,  and  the  manure  continues  of  little  value,  we  fear  the  evil  of  accumu. 
lation  will  be  difficult  to  remove.     There  is  one  means,  however,  by  which  it 
might  be  effectually  obviated,  and  by  which  the  farnicis  would  equally  profit, 
that  suggests  itself  as  of  easy  application      We  would  priipi.sc  thai  the  I'ulice 
should  form  large  depots  at  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  upon  the  moor,  or  other 
vacant  ground,   consisting  of  deep  pits,  or  what  would  be   infinitely    better, 
large  vats  or  cisterns,  made  with  bricks,  and  coated  over  with  some  cement  im- 
pervious to  air.    These  cisterns  should  be  arched  over,  and  be  entirely  close,  so 
as  to  preventthe  escapeof  any  gas,  but  furnished  witha  wide  pipe  with  a  funnel 
shaped  mouth,  through  which  the  manure  should  be  allowed  to  flow  out  of  the 
carts,  after  having  been  previously  rendered  fiuid  with  an  admixture  of  water. 
Another  large  pipe  would   he  necessary,   for   the  purpose  of  conducting  the 
liquid  manure,  when   required  for  use,   into  the  carts  of  purcliasers.     Both 
these  pipes  ought  to  be  furnished  with  valves,  the  former  opfuing  downwaids, 
and  the  latter  upwards.     The  former  pipe  should  merely  go  through  the  arch, 
and  not  penetrate  into  the  contents  of  the  vat.     The   latter  should  go  down 
into  the  manure,  nearly  to  the  bottom  of  the  vat      A  forcing  pump,  wrought 
by  an  ox  or  horse,  would  be  required  to  propel  the  manure  out  of  the  vat  into 
the  cart  that  was  to  convey  it  away.     The  carts,  both  of  the  police  and  the 
farmers,  should  be  made  of  sheet  iron,  and  covered  over  with  close  tops,  both 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  noxious  gases,  and  to  prevent  the  overflowing  of  the 
manure  from  the  shaking  of  the  carls,  when   passing  througli  the  town.     The 
police  carts  would  require  one  pipe,  near  the  bottom,  through  which  to  draw 
ofT  the  manure  into  the  vats  ^  and  the  farmer's  two  or  three  short  ones,  with 
taps,  by  means  of  which  the  liquid  manure  might  be  distributed  over  his  land. 
The  advantages  of  this  plan  would,  we  conceive,  be  great      In  the  fiist  place, 
accumulations  of  patrefying  and  fermenting  animal  and  vegetable  substances 
would  not  be  suffered  to  take  place  in  the  town  ;  the  bog-holes  might  be 
cleaned  out  during  the  day,  with  comparative  safety  and  propriety  ;  a  constant 
supply  of  manure  would  be  provided  for  the  farmer,  in  the  best  possible  state 
for  enriching  his  land,  and  in  the  most  convenient  state  for  equal  distribution, 
and  thus  while  animal  health  was  preserved,  vegetable  growth  would  be  pro- 
moted.    At   present   the  most  valuable  parts   of  the  manure  are  lost  to  the 
agriculturist,  while  they  are  suffered  to  injure  man  by  endangering  his  health 
and  annoying  his  senses.     The  gaseous  emanation  from  putrefying  animal  and 
vegetable  matter  is  the  pabulum  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  the  dry  and 
fibrous  matter  which  is  at  present  strewn  upon  the  land  is  really  very  little 
better  than  simple  straw  or  arid  leaves,  or  even  when  it  is  rather  moist  when 
spread  upon  the  ground,  very  little  of  the  nutritious  parts  can  possibly  be 
conveyed  to  the  roots,  unless  the  weather  should^  be  wet,   and  then  indeed  the 
improvidence  of  man  will  be  counteracted  by  (be  mercy  of  heaven.  Should  the 
air  be  dry  and  the  sun  poweiful,  however,  the  wealth  and  toil  of  the  farmer  are 
given  to  the  winds,  instead  of  yielding  him  the  increase  he  anticipates.     On 
the  other  hand,  when  the  manure  is  run  upon  the  land  in  the  fluid  state,  its 
nutritious  parts  are  conveyed  immediately  into  the  earth,  and  applied  to  the 
bulbous  extremities  of  the  fine  fibrillse  of  the  roots,  in  solution,  ready  to  be 
absorbed  and  to  contribute  to  the  developement  ot  vegetable  organization,  till 


L 


i 


35 

the  land  exliil)ils  h  Inxiiii  nee  almost  equal  to  that  which  is  produced  in 
Egypt,  by  the  ovei flowing  of  the  Nile.  1  hese  are  advantages  which 
would  nu  re  than  ci)inj)cnsate  for  any  expence  that  the  adoption  of  such 
a  plan  wodid  render  nectssary ;  and  we  think  the  farmers  might  be  re- 
quired to  pay  so  much  for  the  manure  as  would  fairly  counterbalance 
the  expence  the  Police  would  incur.  We  have  little  hope,  however,  of 
seeing  any  thing  like  adequate  regulations  adopted  for  the  comfort  and 
health  of  the  people  of  this  country,  until  we  follow  the  example  of  our 
more  public  spirited  neighbours  on  the  continent,  and  establish  a  medical  po- 
lice, who  shall  be  authorised  by  law  to  carry  such  measures  into  effect  as  shall 
ajjpear  to  them  most  likely  to  conduce  to  the  public  security  and  happiness. 
At  present  we  must  appeal  to  individuals  to  obviate  the  nuisances  occasioned 
by  accumulations,  rather  than  confide  in  the  power  and  surveillance  of  the 
Police;  and  if  every  individual  cottager  would  exert  himself  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  we  should  be  less  disposed  to  complain,  and  be  less  apprehensive  of 
consequences.  Again,  therefore,  we  would  urge  upon  the  poor  the  necessity 
of  frequently  getting  their  Bog-holes  cleaned  out,  the  propriety  of  preventing 
such  loathsome fillhiness  as  the  Necessaries  in  some  instances  present,  and  the 
repairing  of  their  delapidated  walls. 

The  second  nuisance  we  havetnumerated,  common  decency,  and  every  feel- 
ing of  the  mind  vihich  distinguishes  mankind  from  the  inferior  animals  ciies 
out  against.  Every  sense  is  shocked  at  witnessing  women,  who  ought  to  be 
patterns  to  the  ruder  sex  of  modesty, cleanliness,  and  gentleness,  not  only  suf- 
fering but  encouraging  their  children  to  commit  impurities  promiscuously 
around  their  dwellings,  and  thus  oppose  an  effectual  barrier  against  those  who 
aredisposed  to  visit  them  and  assist  them  with  advice  or  relieve  their  distresses. 
We  have  seen  many  abodes  to  which  we  aie  suie  no  lady  could  be  disposed  to 
approach  unless  urged  by  a  strong  senseof  duty  orexalted  feeling  of  benevolence. 
We  are  exceedingly  sorry,  for  the  honour  of  humanity,  and  from  a  sincere  and 
deep  respect  we  entertain  for  the  female  sex,  that  we  should  be  obliged  to 
make  these  remarks  ;  but  we  should  but  ill  manifest  the  interest  we  really  feel 
in  their  welfare,  did  we  not  urge  them,  as  they  value  their  own  comfort,  as 
they  regard  the  morality,  respect,  and  future  respectability  of  their  children 
and  as  they  would  gain  the  esteem  and  merit  the  assistance  of  the  benevolent 
to  suppress  this  disgraceful  practice.  The  trouble  which  would  be  required 
in  order  to  obviate  this  nuisance  would  be  really  so  trifling,  and  the  benefit  so 
great,  that  we  would  hope  the  circumstance  need  only  be  hinted  at  in  order  to 
be  obviated. 

The  third  source  of  complaint  we  have  mentioned  can  be  justi- 
fied by  no  excuse.  The  ashes,  manure,  and  vegetable  and  animal  refuse 
should  never  be  suffered  to  lie  in  heaps  in  yards  or  in  front  of  the  cottages, 
but  ought  invariably  to  be  put  into  the   Bog-hole. 

The  fourth  nuisance, — the  accumulations  of  stagnant  water  in  ditches, 
pools,  &c.,  are  exceedingly  pernicious  to  those  who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  them. 
Irrespirahle  and  noxious  gases  are  constantly  emanating  from  them,  and  poi- 
soning the  atmosphere,  as  may  be  observed  by  all,  especially  in  summer,  as 
they  are  then  generally  covered  with  bubbles  of  gas,  which  burst  at  intervals 
and  liberate  their  contents  If  those  who  live  near  these  sinks  would  but 
take  the  trouble,  in  summer,  when  the  air  is  warm  and  the  sun  powerful,  to 
fill  a  jar  with  water,  and  suspend   it,    inveited,  with   its  mouth  in  the  water. 


11 


36 

over  the  sink,  ditch  or  pool,  for  a  few  days,  they  would  find  that  a  considera> 
ble  quantity  of  the  water  would  be  displaced,  and  its  place  filled  with  gas.  If 
they  then  take  a  deep  plate  or  dish,  fill  it  with  wafer,  and  sink  it  beneath  the 
mouth  of  the  jar,  and  then  lift  the  jar  and  dish  up  together,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  water  from  escaping  from  the  vessel,  carry  it  carefully  home  in  this  posi- 
tion, then  light  a  match,  while  an  assistant  gradually  and  gently  turns  over 
the  jar,  and  afterwards  immerse  the  lighted  match  in  the  vessel  above  the 
water,  they  will  find  that  the  flame  will  be  immediately  extinguished.  Now  it 
is  a  general  law  in  nature,  that  all  kinds  of  air  that  will  put  out  a  light  would 
destroy  animal  life  if  the  animal  were  obliged  to  breathe  it.  This  air,  there- 
fore, that  is  found  to  rise  out  of  sinks,  is  called  irrespirahle,  and  a  person 
Mould  die  as  speedily,  if  he  were  obliged  to  respire  it  alone,  as  he  would  if  liis 
head  were  put  under  water.  This  might  convince  all,  from  the  exercise  of 
reason  alone,  that  all  sinks,  ditches,  and  stagnant  pools  are  highly  injurious  to 
human  happiness,  and  a  fruitful  source  of  disease.  But  we  are,  unfortunately, 
not  left  to  speculation  to  infer  the  deleterious  influence  such  fermenting  pud- 
dles exert  over  the  health  of  the  human  race.  We  have  innumerable  incon- 
testible  facts  to  prove  that  the  gases  which  emanate  from  such  places  are  the 
occasion  of  plague,  typhus  fever,  fluxes,  agues,  and  other  frightful  and  des- 
tructive maladies  :  and  should  the  terrible  disease  which,  (after  having  tra- 
versed more  than  one  half  of  the  globe,  and  swept  away  many  millions  of 
human  beings, j  has  at  length  landed  on  our  shores,  reach  this  town,  these 
sink  pools  will  prove  no  insignificant  allies  in  the  work  of  destruction.  It  is 
to  be  hoped,  then,  that  all  who  value  either  their  own  or  the  public  welfare, 
will  exert  their  influence  in  draining  and  filling  up  these  noxious  sources  of 
human  misery,  and  where  the  tenants  are  too  blind  to  their  own  interests, 
and  the  landlords  are  obstinately  opposed  to  the  removal  of  snch  nuisances, 
wc  trust  the  Police  will  not  be  restrained  by  any  private  consideration  from 
enforcing,  by  indictment,  a  measure  so  essential  to  (he  public  weal. 

The  mud  traps  are  liable  to  the  same  objections  ;  but  as  they  are  really  of 
considerable  value  for  agricultural  purposes  they  cannot  perhaps  be  wholly  dis- 
p  nsed  M'ilh.  They  might  however  be  rendered  much  less  objectionable  by  deep- 
ening the  pits  so  as  to  allow  a  foot  or  two  of  water  always  to  remain  over  the 
mud,  ani  by  never  sufl'ering  the  deposit  to  continue  too  long  in  the  traps  be- 
fore it  is  removed.  By  these  means,  no  considerable  generation  of  gas  would  be 
suli'cred  to  take  place. 

We  have  occupied  more  space  than  we  intended  to  have  done  in  treating 
upon  this  part  of  our  subject ;  but  when  its  great  importance  to  the  public  is 
considered,  and  when  we  keep  in  mind  the  fact,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  such 
medical  men  as  have  had  the  most  extensive  opportunities  of  ascertaining  the 
truth,  that  the  nuisances  we  have  pointed  out  are  the  chief  sources  of  infec- 
tious diseases,  and  that  their  opinion  is  corroborated  by  the  fact,  that  almost 
the  whole  of  the  patients  who  are  received  into  the  House  of  Recovery  come 
from  those  parts  of  the  town  where  these  nuisances  exist  to  the  greatest  extent, 
we  shall  not  be  thought  to  have  bestowed  more  attention  upon  them  than 
their  importance  deserves,  nor  will  any  one,  we  trust,  be  disposed  to  slight  onr 
advice  as  coming  Irom  groundless  alarmists. "^The  interesting  statement  as  to 
the  number  of  families,  employment,  earnings,  and  general  condition,  shall 

appear  next  month.  

JOHN    WALKER,    PRINTER,    PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    IIEFOR31ER. 


No.  2.  FEBRUARY  1,  1832.  Yo!.  II. 

In  my  montlily  appeals  in  belialf  of  virtue  and  religion, 
and  my  attacks  upon  tlie  reigning  vices  of  tlie  age,  I  prefer 
selecting  those  cases  of  depravity,  of  the  reality  of  which 
there  can  be  no  dispute,  and  of  a  remedy  for  which  there  is, 
at  least,  a  partial  hope.  The  following  Address  refers  to  an 
interesting  portion  of  our  population,  respecting  whose  charac- 
ters, and  capabilities  for  good  and  evil,  much  may  be  said. 
This  work  circulates  extensively  through  the  hands  of  persons 
connected  with  factories,  and  though  the  females  there  employed 
are  not  much  habituated  to  reading,  I  hope  everv  subscriber  will 
endeavour  to  introduce  either  this  number,  or  the  contents  of  this 
article,  to  the  notice  of  as  many  of  this  class  of  individuals  as 
he  possibly  can. 


TO  THE  FEMALES  EMPLOYED   IN  FACTORIES  AND  ALL   OUR 
LARGE  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS*. 

When  you  hear  that  I  have  printed  an  Address  especially 
intended  for  you,  do  not  consider  that  I  am  actuated  either  by  a 
meddlesome  or  an  unfeeling  disposition.  Conscious  of  the 
purity  of  my  intentions,  I  make  no  apology  for  commencing  a 
communication,  which  an  excess  of  delicacy  might  deter  some 
persons  from  attempting.  I  know  the  temptations  of  youth,  and 
though  I  have  been  spared  to  see  my  children  approaching  the 
age  of  some  of  those  included  in  the  objects  of  this  address,  I 
cannot  forget  how  immensely  valuable  were  those  admonitions 
which  I  received  from  experienced  friends,  at  your  time  of  life. 
Give  me,  then,  your  candid  attention,  while  I  advise  you  in 
reference  to  your  best  interests.  I  address  you  as  a  sincere 
friend, — as  one  who  has  marked  your  conduct,  who  laments 
yonr  vices,  and  who  can  never  recount  the  miseries  of  sociely  to 
which  your  example  has  contributed,  without  an  anxious  solici- 

♦  1  hope  that  m^uy  parts  of  this  Address  will  be  found  useful  to  females  of  every  class. 
VOL.  11.  h 


tude  to  assist  in  effecting"  your  moral  improvement.  If  I  praise 
you,  it  is  noj;  in  the  spirit  of  flattery ;  if  1  censure  you  severely, 
it  is  that  you  may  see  your  errors  and  ho  persuaded  to  amend. 
Considering  your  numbers;  your  circumstances,  and  your  age, 
you  claim  the  special  attention  of  every  one  who  wishes  to  trace 
the  maladies  of  our  moral  constitution,  or  to  discover  the  true 
cause  of  much  of  the  physical  evil  which  prevails  in  society.  In 
Lancashire,  you  constitute,  as  it  were,  a  distinct  class ;  and  a 
stranger  would  be  surprised  to  notice  the  vast  number  of  girls, 
from  fourteen  to  tvrenty  and  upwards,  who  throng  the  streets  at 
the  dinner  hour  in  such  towns  as  Preston,  Bolton,  and  Manches- 
ter. In  reference  to  the  formation  of  character,  this  is  the  most 
critical  period  of  your  life  ;  and  from  this  age  may  be  dated  the 
commencement  of  those  habits  which,  in  many  instances  within 
your  own  knowledge,  are  now  producing,  poverty,  misery,  and 
crime.  Nursed  and  brought  up,  generally,  beneath  the  chilling 
influence  of  poverty,  and  without  the  inculcation  of  Christian 
principles,  you  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  influence  of  bad  ex- 
ample. The  daughters  of  the  rich  have  many  motives  for 
watchfulness  which  have  little  weight  with  persons  in  your  cir- 
cumstances, and  many  opportunities  of  improvement  with  which 
the  children  t  f  the  poor  are  not  favoured.  Indeed,  whilst  I  have 
often  joined  others  in  passing  censure  upon  your  conduct,  I  am 
afraid  we  have  not  made  sufficient  allowance  for  the  unfavourable 
circumstances  with  which  you  have  been  constantly  surrounded* 
Corn  will  not  grow  upon  sand,  nor  potatoes  upon  pavement :  and 
where  you  have  never  been  favoured  with  the  teaching  and  fos^ 
tering  care  of  pious  parents ;  when  labour  and  toil  have  been 
your  lot  from  childhood  ;  and  when  all  that  is  calculated  to  in- 
fluence character  has  been  on  the  wrong  side, — I  am  disposed  to 
make  great  allowances,  and  to  regard  you  as  objects  of  pity 
rather  than  censure.  The  melioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
inmates  of  factories  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  legislature, 
and  will  continue,  I  trust,  a  subject  of  agitation  till  both  male 
and  female  regain  that  dignity  and  moral  character,  which,  as 
rational  beings,  they  ought  to  enjoy. 

Your  sex  is  called  the  weaker  sex,  and  in  all  polished  so- 
ciety claims  the  polite  attention  and  special  regards  of  the  men. 
In  the  intercourse  of  life,  he  who  sliglits  a  female,  or  omits  any 
necessary  service,  is  considered  a  man  of  no  breeding,  and  unfit- 
ted for  the  connubial  enjoyments  of  life.  Though  confined  within 
the  walla  of  a  factory,  and  though  deficient  in  the  polished  man- 


39 

ners  of  the  ag-e,  yon  are  still  entitled  to  our  respect,  and  to  tbat 
civility  of  treatment  which  gives  point  to  admonition.  Though 
in  many  instances  sadly  depraved,  you  are  endowed  with  all  the 
excellences  of  nature,  and  are  not  less  the  splendid  workmanship 
of  your  Creator  than  the  young-  ladies  whose  education  and  con- 
nections have  raised  them  so  much  above  you  in  the  scale  of 
society.  Your  lot  has  been  cast  for  labour ;  and  resigned  tQ 
your  condition,  and  contributing  daily  to  the  supply  of  our  com- 
forts, it  were  inhuman  to  cultivate  towards  you  any  feelino-  but 
that  of  friendship  and  respect. 

But  why  do  I  address  i/ou  especially  ?  Because,  in  the  va- 
rious circles  of  the  labouring  part  of  the  people,  you  are  capable, 
every  step  that  you  take  in  life,  of  exercising  an  extensive  influ- 
ence upon  the  well  being  of  mankind.  To  whom  do  we  look 
for  the  happiness  of  the  poor  man's  house,  but  to  his  wife?  On 
whom  are  children  to  depend  for  the  best  instruction  and  care 
but  the  mother?  On  whom,  principally,  do  aged  parents  rely 
for  comfort  and  support  in  old  age,  but  on  their  dauffhfers? 
Who  are  most  capable  of  diffusing  a  sweet  influence  over  the 
manners,  morals,  and  general  demeanour  of  mankind?  Our 
females.  Who  can,  by  the  potent  spell  of  a  look,  a  word,  or 
a  smile,  soften  the  heart,  and  make  obedience  a  pleasure? 
Woman.  By  whom  is  the  world  of  fashion  governed,  and  who 
are  the  conservators  of  the  laws  of  etiquette  ?  The  ladies.  And 
in  accordance  with  all  this,  I  venture  to  say,  that  in  attempting 
to  reform  the  character  of  our  factory  population,  we  shall  utterly 
fail,  unless  sanctioned  by  the  powerful  influence  oiyour  example. 
It  were  easy  to  shew,  in  analyzing  the  causes  of  the  present  im- 
morality, the  influence  you  have  had,  directly  and  indirectly,  in 
producing  this  result;  and,  controled  by  different  principles,  it 
is  perfectly  plain  that  your  efforts  will  be  a  valuable  auxiliary  in 
all  our  attempts  at  reform.  If,  through  the  blessing  of  heaven, 
this  address  should  be  the  means  of  changing  the  conduct  of  a 
few  of  your  class,  the  effects  will  probably  be  reflected  where  the 
labour  of  others  could  never  reach.  Through  you  \  seek  the 
reformation  of  fathers  and  mothers,  sisters  and  brothers,  and, 
prospectively,  husbands  and  children,  and  generations  yet 
unborn ! 

I  proceed  to  remark  on  the  nature  of  your  emjyloyment, 
and  to  commend  your  industrious  habits.  Though  I  have  strong 
objections  to  the  kind  of  labour  in  which  you  are  engaged,  as 
being;  injurious  to  health,  destructive  to  good  morals,  and  pro- 


m 

ductive  of  the  subversion  of  the  order  of  nature  as  it  regards  the 
influence  of  family  ties,  yet  seeing-  no  chance  of  any  material 
change,  you  must  reconcile  yourselves  to  your  lot.  This,  and 
every  other  manufacturing:  town,  swarms  with  families  who  liave 
mig"rated  from  the  country,  where  at  one  time  they  enjojed  their 
seclusive  homes,  and  pursued  their  rural  occupations,  without  so 
much  as  a  knowledge  of  many  of  the  vices  which,  in  their  pre- 
sent situations,  stare  them  in  the  face  every  day.  However,  in 
the  present  changed  circumstances  of  the  country,  it  would  seem 
difficult  for  many  of  you  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  any  other  way^ 
Placed  at  the  factory  at  the  age  of  nine  hy  your  parents,  your 
habits  have  been  formed  for  nothing  else;  and  though  liable  to 
great  objections,  it  is,  after  all,  much  better  than  to  be  brought 
lip,  like  thousands  of  young  girls  in  tlie  sister  country,  amid  sloth 
and  idleness.  In  Ireland  the  young  women  suffer  for  want  of 
employment,  and  you  from  its  excess.  Barefoot,  ragged,  and 
dirty,  you  may  see  hundreds,  who  have  no  employment,  and  who 
seem  never  to  have  felt  the  necessity  or  the  honour  of  obtaining 
a  livelihood  by  labour.  Compared  to  you,  they  are  tlie  most 
miserable  of  beings.  Labour  at  the  spinning  factories,  power 
looms,  winding  frames,  and  especially  at  the  dandy  looms,  is,  in 
many  cases,  excessive,  yet  it  is  evident  that  it  agrees  better  with 
your  constitutions  than  it  does  with  boys.  While  many  of  yon 
are  full  grown,  exhibit  comparatively  healthy  countenances,  and 
generally  seem  cheerful  and  content,  the  boys  are  often  diminu- 
tive in  size,  are  pale  and  wan,  and  appear  much  more  dejected. 
It  is  also  evident  to  every  observer,  that  yon  are  much  better 
clothed  than  formerly.  \Vhatever  blame  I  may  attach  to  some 
parts  of  your  conduct,  I  will  award  to  you  what  I  am  sure  you 
deserve,  unmeasured  praise  for  your  industry.  When  I  see  the 
factories  in  full  operation  at  six  o'clock  these  cold  winter's  morn- 
ings, and  continuing  till  half  after  seven  in  the  evening,  I  cannot 
overlook  the  extent  of  your  labour,  or  avoid  lamenting  that  for- 
tune has  not  favoured  you  with  a  sphere  of  operation  both  more 
easy  and  more  favourable  to  the  growth  of  good  morals.  Both 
your  domestic  interests  and  those  of  the  upper  classes,  it  is  well 
known,  are  much  abridged  through  your  partiality  for  this 
sort  of  employment.  Good  household  servants  have  long  been 
scarce,  and  are  every  year  getting  more  so,  entirely  owing  to 
the  disposition  of  young  women  preferring  factory  work  to 
household  labour.  But  though  the  families  of  the  rich  expe- 
rience much  inconvenience  from  this  circumstance,  it  is  upon 


41 


[yourselves  that  the  greatest  weight  of  the  evil  will  fall.  Wliile 
young  and  giddy,  you  may  be  pleased  with  the  excitement  of 
tumultuous  association,  jou  may  think  it  a  great  pri\ilege  to 
have  your  evenings  and  yom*  Sundays  at  }our  own  command  ; 
but  when  you  come  to  think  soberly,  and  live  to  see  the  conse- 
quences of  your  choice,  you  will  deeply  regret  having  lost  the 
only  opportunity  of  learning  tlie  essentials  of  domestic  manage- 
ment. While  you  have  experienced  mothers  to  wash,  clean, 
and  cook,  you  seem  unconcerned  ;  but  if  you  should  become 
mothers  yourselves,  where  are  your  abilities  to  manage  as  you 
ought  to  manage  ?  You  were  created  as  "  help  mates"  to  man ; 
and  the  task  allotted  to  you  is  "to  keep  the  liouse;""  but  if  we 
must  judge  from  the  specimens  wliich  daily  appear,  we  come 
inevitably  to  this  conclusion,  that  you  are  at  a  wrong  school  for 
this  kind  of  learning.  Your  natures  and  faculties  adapt  them- 
selves to  tlie  work  of  the  cottage,  and  no  cottage  is  complete  or 
comfortable  without  the  superintendence  of  a  female  mind.  In 
my  estimation,  neither  rank,  nor  beauty,  nor  money,  in  the 
qualifications  of  a  wife,  is  fit  to  be  put  in  comparison  with  a  full 
acquaintance  with  domestic  economy.  Give  me  the  wife  who 
can  wash,  and  clean,  aiid  mend,  who  keeps  her  own  house,  who 
knows  the  wants  of  a  family,  the  quality  and  value  of  ever}-  ar- 
ticle of  consumption,  who  can  lay  out  the  husband's  earnings 
with  discretion,  and  who  will  always  take  care  that  the  expendi- 
ture never  exceeds  the  income.  Such  qualifications  you  ought 
to  aspire  after,  and  as  few  of  you  miss  becoming  wives  (in  many 
instances  sadly  too  soon)  never  consider  yourselves  deserving 
this  honour  till  you  are  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  required. 
And  if  young  men  were  more  careful  in  making  their  selections, 
those  who  found  themselves  rejected  through  a  lack  of  house- 
hold talents  would  feel  a  necessity  for  improvement ;  and  I  think 
I  may  venture  to  surmise,  that  if  this  stimulus  should  fail,  if' 
would  be  in  vain  to  try  any  other  !  As  many  girls  as  possibly 
can,  I  advise  to  become  servants  in  respectable  houses,  and  those 
who  may  not  change  their  employment  should  embrace  every 
opportunity  of  learning  and  practising  the  proper  duties  of  their 
station.  1  have  seen  so  much  wretchedness,  so  many  poor  dis- 
tressed children,  so  many  ruined  families,  and  so  much  litigation 
with  the  shopkeepers,  in  consequence  of  the  ])ad  management  of 
the  wives,  whose  maiden  years  had  been  s^ent  like  yours,  that  I 
feel  strongly  impressed  with  the  importance  of  urging  this  sub- 
ject upon  your  most  serious  atleation.     Your  opportunities  are 


42 

certainly  limited,  and  in  too  many  cases  you  are  not  favoured  with 
the  advantages  of  good  example;  but  still  as  the  house  where  you 
eat,  and  sleep,  and  live,  is  the  place  of  practice,  every  impediment 
will  vanish  before  a  determined  disposition.  In  addition,  [  would 
urge  the  propriety,  during  the  season  of  youth,  of  acquiring  a 
moderate  acquaintance  with  the  useful  arts  of  reading  and  writing. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  schools  which  are  establislicd,  I  know  that 
many  of  you  cannot  read,  and  very  few  indeed  are  able  to  write. 
"What  a  pity  you  should  let  (he  present,  the  only  opportunity  you 
may  ever  have,  pass  over,  without  acquiring  these  invaluable 
acquisitions  !  When  I  see  wives  unable  to  read  a  single  word,  antj 
whose  best  method  of  keeping  accounts  is  by  chalking  on  a  cup- 
board door,  do  I  not  see  a  clear  representation  of  the  degradation 
which  awaits  you  ?  At  any  rate,  nothing  but  your  own  reflection, 
good  sense,  and  an  early  change  of  conduct,  can  prevent  it. 

Yonr  personal  behaviour  next  claims  my  notice,  and  under  this 
head  I  am  afraid  I  shall  run  the  risk  of  offending  many  of  you.  Be 
assured,  in  exercising  faithful  reproof  I  have  no  object  but  your  own 
good  ;  and  though  you  may  not  see  it  now,  a  time  will  come  when 
your  own  reflections  will  convince  you  of  the  fact.  Factories  have 
been  called  the  "hot  beds  of  vice;"  but  this,  1  presume,  is  not  be- 
cause there  is  any  peculiar  influence  in  the  buildings  of  a  vicious 
tendency,  but  principally  because  of  the  unnatural  association 
which  prevents  the  happy  effects  of  the  people  being  selected  and 
employed  as  families.  Regular  associations,  exclusively  of  men  or 
of  women,  are  not  often  useful  ;  but  the  associations  of  hundreds  of 
thoughtless  youth^  unconnected  with  any  moral  influence,  uncon- 
troled  by  parental  authority,  unchecked  by  the  guardianship  of 
virtuous  example,  and  untaught  by  those  who  profess  to  care  for 
souls,  are  the  standing  and  prolific  sources  of  the  vices  of  the  class 
of  people  to  whom  1  refer.  The  long  hours  of  lobour  leaving  no 
opportunities  for  acquiring  useful  knowledge,  may  be  connected 
with  the  above.  It  may  also  be  added,  that  the  incessant  noise,  the 
working  of  the  machinery,  and  the  manual  exercise  of  numbers  in 
the  same  apartment,  are  all  against  mental  improvement,  or  moral 
culture,  and  tend  to  bear  you  down  within  the  sphere  of  the  brute. 
I  do  not  say  this  to  induce  you  to  fall  out  either  with  your  employ- 
ment or  your  employers,  but  to  put  you  upon  your  guard  against 
the  evils  of  your  situation.  We  have  all  our  peculiar  trials,  and 
whilst  it  is  perhaps  necessary  it  should  be  so,  our  duty  is  to  "  watch 
and  pray  lest  we  fall  into  temptation." 

The  most  valuable  ornament  to  the  female  sex  is  modesty :  a 
retiring  disposition,  a  chastened  address,  and  a  humble  deportment, 


43 

give  unrivalled  charms  to  a  woman,  and  are  the  basis  of  pure  affec- 
lion.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  these  are  attainments  which  many 
of  you  have  yet  to  acquire.  Your  bold  and  immodest  carriage  iu  the 
stieets,  and  in  the  presence  of  men,  have  long  been  matter  of  re- 
mark. You  g-row  up  under  the  debasing  influence  of  the  indelicate 
behaviour  of  your  associates,  and  within  the  hearing  of  the  most 
impure  and  disgusting  language  ;  and  without  extraordinary  cau- 
tion, you  ar^  sure  to  glide  into  the  same  practice.  Let  me  beseech 
Ton  to  guard  against  every  habit  which  robs  the  female  character  of 
the  charms  of  innocency  and  virtue.  I  argue  not  for  a  morose, 
sour  demeanor  :  I  like  to  see  the  smile  of  cheerful  contentment  sit 
upon  every  cheek,  and  there  is  none  to  which  it  adds  more  grace 
than  those  of  your  own  sex.  Of  course,  you  are  not  called  upon  to 
withhold  the  exchange  of  the  usual  courtesies  of  life,  and  especially 
with  those  who  may  have  bespoken  your  special  esteem;  but  all 
this  you  may  easily  distinguish  from  that  bold,  immodest  behaviour, 
and  those  rude  disgusting  freedoms,  with  which  your  names  have 
so  long  been  associated. 

Next,  your  language.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  much  as  to  its 
unceuthness  and  vulgarity,  inasmuch  as  many  of  you  have  had 
no  opportunities  of  learning  a  superior  dialect,  though  these  are 
generally  symptoms  of  an  unrefined  mind.  Bui  what  I  allude 
to  particularly  is  the  practice  which  some  of  you  are  addicted 
to  of  swearing,  oamning,  and  indulging  in  obscene  expressions. 
How  many  there  are  who  begin  their  sentences  with  a  profane  ap- 
peal to  the  sacred  name  of  Go»,  and  how  often  have  I  heard  t/oti, 
with  the  greatest  facility,  lival  the  worst  of  this  character  !  When 
a  number  of  you  are  together,  especially  when  just  let  loose  from 
your  employment,  it  is  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  pass  without  catch- 
ing your  offensive  language.  How  awful  to  think  that  that  tongue 
from  which  ought  to  flow  the  law  of  kindnes*,  and  which  ought  to 
be  the  instrument  of  adoration,  is  employed  in  reviling  man  and 
blaspheming  God  !  Do  you  never  reflect  upon  the  language  you 
use  ?  Does  conscience  never  reproach  you  ?  Does  neither  a  sense 
of  shame  nor  the  fear  of  future  punishment  ever  smite  ycu  with 
feelings  of  remorse?  "Out  of  the  abundance  of  (he  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh,"  and  if  we  are  to  judge  of  the  stc.te  of  your  minds 
from  the  language  which  some  of  you  use,  I  rrgret  to  say,  you  are 
far  gone  in  the  road  to  infamy.  Wanton  in  your  demeanour,  licen- 
tious in  your  language,  and  without  shame,  but  one  step  further, 
and  you  join  those  who  have  lost  all  sense  of  character,  and  are 
become  the  greatest  pests  in  societj'.  Think,  thoughtless  girls, 
think,  who  it  is  that  created  your  powers  of  speech,  by  whoso  gra- 


44 

dons  hand  your  breath  is  continued  ;  think  of  all  the  mercies  which 
kind  heaven  bestows  upon  3-011 ;  think  of  all  the  misery  yon  bring 
upon  yourselves  and  relatives  ;  above  all,  think  of  tlie  hour  of 
death,  and  of  the  day  of  judgment, — arid  then  proceed,  if  you  dare, 
to  pollute  the  streets  with  your  language,  and  insult  the  name  of 
your  Maker  ! 

Let  me  here  advert  to  another  evil  which  I  have  often  regret- 
ted, as  connected  with  your  class,  that  is,  a  neglect  and  contempt  of 
your  parents.  So  soon  as  you  are  able  to  earn  what  is  sufficient 
for  your  maintenance,  you  begin  to  shew  your  independency,  and  to 
assume  a  tone  of  insolent  dictation.  You  cast  off  parental  restraint, 
and  make  obedience  a  mere  matter  of  convenience.  In  this  you  are 
very  blameablc;  fur  as  they  ai-e  your  natural  guardians,  to  them,  at 
everif  period  of  your  lives,  you  ought  to  pay  respect  and  submission. 
"  Honour  thy  father  and  mother  is  the  first  commandment,  with 
promise,"  and  under  the  Jewish  law,  the  children  that  cursed  father 
or  mother  were  stoned  to  death.  Forgetting  your  duty,  some  of  you 
treat  your  parents  as  jour  equals,  and  if  they  interpose  their  de- 
mands, you  cherish  a  rebellious  disposition.  How  many  of  you 
leave  your  father's  house,  which  should  be  the  place  of  safety  to 
virtue  and  character,  and  take  lodgings  where  you  can  give  un- 
bridled license  to  your  wandering  desires.  As  soon  as  you  are  able 
to  earn  sufficient  for  your  maintenance,  instead  of  considering  the 
poverty  and  in  firmities  of  your  parents,  or  the  inability  of  your 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  to  obtain  a  livelihood,  you  claim  your 
whole  earnings,  while  the  rest  of  the  family  have  to  suffer  many 
privations.  Is  this  right  ?  Would  you  like  to  be  treated  in  this  man- 
ner yourselves  ?  For  nine  or  ten  years  your  parents  supported  you 
by  their  labour,  without  any  return,  and  is  this  no  debt  whi(  h  it  is 
obligatory  upon  you  to  discharge  ?  Do  for  your  parents  what  they 
have  done  for  you,  and  then  you  may  begin  to  think  of  being  inde- 
pendent of  them.  When  your  parents  get  aged,  you  ought  to  sympa- 
thise with  them  in  their  sufl'erings,  to  bear  with  their  infirmities,  and 
to  endeavour  to  make  the  end  of  their  journey  as  easy  as  possible. 
What  1  can  you  behold  the  knees  that  bore  you  bending  beneath  the 
feebienesf;  of  age  ;  the  cheek  that  once  beamed  with  pleasure  upon 
your  infant  play,  furrowed  with  anxious  care;  and  the  index  of  time 
pointing  the  once  nimble  step  towards  the  place  for  all  living, — with-  j 
out  surrendering  your  earnings,  and  performing  all  those  filial  duties 
which  nature  itself  enjoins  ?  It  is  a  fii  nd-like  ingratitude  to  teachj 
or  to  j>ractire  ani/  thing  that  hads  to  the  neglect  of  parents.'  Yoi 
ought  to  honour  the  hoary  head  in  every  case,  but  nature  claims  youi 
special  homage  to  those  who  gave  you  birth.    Hitherto,  I  know,  thisi 


45 

duty  lias  boen  awfully  nrgkctcd,  but  I  sincerely  hope  that  enough 
has  been  said  to  induce  you  to  act  like  good  children — like  virtuous 
daughters. 

In  addressing  persons  of  your  age  and  situation,  it  would  be 
considered  an  omission  not  to  touch  on  that  interesting  topic,  the 
choice  of  a  husband.  Parents  and  friends  often  act  with  an  unjusti- 
fiable delicacy  upon  this  particular.  They  avoid  mentioning  it,  as 
if  their  silence  would  tie  down  the  desires  and  anticipations  of  youth. 
Instead  of  acting  in  so  reserved  a  manner,  perhaps  followed  by  a 
violent  interference,  parents,  I  conceive,  ought,  at  a  proper  age,  to 
make  marriage  the  subject  of  plain  and  open  instruction.  In  the 
first  place,  then,  being  an  undertaking  of  so  great  a  magnitude,  and 
pregnant  with  consequences  so  vastly  important,  it  ought  always 
to  be  contemplated  with  serious  reflection.  The  thoughtlessness 
and  precipitancy  of  youth  lead  many  to  take  steps  which  they  have 
reason  to  regret  to  the  last  day  of  their  lives.  No  young  women  in 
the  tvorld  are  in  situations  more  calculated  to  lead  them  to  err  than, 
yourselves.  Frequently,  and  almost  necessarily,  in  the  company  of 
young  men,  and  accustomed  to  no  forethought,  many  marry  early 
and  precipitately,  or  are  forced  to  do  so  to  prevent  disgrace. 
You  ought  to  think  seriously  of  the  consequences,  and  at  your  age, 
no  caution  can  be  too  great  against  the  snares  which  are  laid  to 
entrap  you.  If  you  reflect  as  you  ought,  you  will  perceive  that 
there  are  reasons,  both  natural  and  circumstantial,  which  should 
lead  some  of  you  never  to  think  of  marrying.  A  reasonable  pros- 
pect of  being  able  to  provide  for  a  family  ought,  certainly,  in  every 
case,  to  precede  the  matrimonial  tie.  But  supposing  all  impedi- 
ments apart,  "  to  whom  shall  I  consent  to  be  tied,  for  better  or  for 
worse,  for  richer  fur  poorer,  till  death  us  do  part?''''  is  a  question 
which  demands  great  deliberation.  Do  not  be  led  away  with  ap- 
pearances ;  think  of  this  great  truth,  that  virtue  alone  is  the  basis 
of  real  happiness,  and  that  without  this  all  meretricious  qualities  are 
empty  as  the  wind.  Never  give  youc  hand  to  the  drunkard,  the 
idle,  or  the  profligate  :  why  should  you  yoke  yourselves  to  a  being 
sunk  lower  than  the  brute?  Never  salute  those  lips  whence  re- 
venge, ^  io'ence,  and  profanity  constantly  proceed,  for  upon  yowr- 
sc'lves  the  evil  will  fall.  "Oh!  silly  girl,"  have  I  often  said  to 
myself,  when  passing  young  coupljs  where  the  man  has  been  reeling 
drunk,  "  little  do  you  think  that  the  joy  of  the  moment  will  be 
changed  into  months  and  years  of  misery  and  pain  !"  There  are 
thousands  just  now  who  are  ready  to  say,  "  Had  we  been  favoured 
with  timely  caution,  and  posse.>sed  prudence  enough  to  have  acted 
upon  it,  we  should  not  now  have  been  the  living  spectacles  of 
wretchedness  in  a  world  of  trouble  through  which  we  have  to  fight." 


n. 


VOL.   II. 


46 

Do  act  I  beseech  yow,  with  suitable  cantion,  and  try  to  benefit  by 
the  meTancboly  examples  which  surround  you.  But  where,  .t  may 
be  asked,  amid  so  much  profligacy,  are  the  chances  of  obtaunng  a 
husband  of  good  character  ?  I  answer,  rather  than  marry  a  man  no- 
torious  only  for  his  vices,  never  many  at  all  ;  for  under  the  whole 
heavens  in  mv  estimation,  there  is  not  so  miserable  a  being  as  the 
woman  who,  disappointed  of  all  her  hopes,  and  surrounded  with  an 
impoverished  family,  lives  the  wretched  vassal  of  a  drunken,  sense- 
less infuriated  husband.  But,  further,  if  women  were  more  pa.  ticu- 
lar  as  to  good  character  in  their  suitors,  inen  would  be  more  anxious 
to  possess  it.  If  all  the  young  girls  were  to  make  a  declaration 
ao-ainst  drunkards,  is  it  not  to  be  hoped  that  many  of  the  young  men 
would  pay  deference  to  their  sentiments  ?  1  know  no  uepartment 
in  our  social  economy  where  the  women  have  not  great  influence, 
and  I  cannot  but  think  that  lessons  of  morality,  supported  by  their 
example,  and  delivered  with  earnestness  and  with  the  insinuations 
of  female  talents,  would  be  productive  of  the  happiest  results. 

But  why  should  I  expect  you  to  make  a  virtuous  choice? 
Alas  '  you  have  yourselves  this  lesson  yet  to  learn.  And  I  really 
cannot  conclude  without  urging  again  upon  you  the  necessity  of  i 
personal  reformation.  1  ask  not  to  what  party  you  belong  but  I 
urge  upon  you  what  they  will  all  approve,  the  necessity  of  a  new 
heart  and  a  change  of  conduct.  Your  years,  instead  of  being  an 
excuse  for  indifference,  afford  the  strongest  reason  why  you  should 
"  repent  and  turn  to  God." 

«•  Youth  is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord, 
The  time  to  gain  the  sure  reward." 

Flee    then,  from  bad  company  ;  shut  your  ears  against  the  profani 
and  impious  language  of  your  workfellows;  shun  every  place  of 
temptation ;  attend  to  every  filial  duty  ;  listen  to  your  instructors,  and^ 
love  to  get  wisdom;  associate  with  those  who  are  piously  inchned  J 
make  the  bible  your  constant  study,  and  shape  your  whole  hves  bj| 
its  holv  precepts  ;  give  your  hearts  to  the  Lord,  and  seek  his  blesJ 
sing  night  and  day.    Go  on,  my  young  friends,  in  this  holy  course  ^ 
your  pleasure  and  your  happiness  will  exceed  all  that  the  world  cal 
eive      You  will  diffuse,  by  your  example  and  influence,  goodnesj 
and  virtue  around  you,  and  your  latter  end  shall  be  peace.     Ifj 
through  the  blessing  of  heaven,  this  hasty  appeal  should,  in  a  leW^ 
instances,  be  made  the  means  of  effecting  so  important  a  result,  no» 
other  reward  is  expected  by  your  faithful  friend, 

J.  LIVESEY. 


47 


UEMARKS  ON   PRIMITIVE  CHRISTIANITY. 

Christianity,  the  most  exalted  of  all  institutions,  was  lovelj 
in  its  beginning-,  unblemished  in  its  character,  godlike  in  its  designs, 
the  joy  ofits  friends  and  the  wonder  of  its  foes.    Cod  was  its  author : 
devised  by  his  wisdom,  revealed  by  his  mercy,  established  by  divine 
power,  it  was  intended  to  mitigate  the  miseries  of  life,  to  raise  the 
moral  character  of  the  people,  and  to  prepare  them  by  its  hopes, 
for  a  better  state  after  death.      It  had  an  influence  peculiarly  its 
own  ;  unlike  any  other  institution,  it  sought  not,  it  admitted  not,  th« 
worldly  influence  of  riches,  of  power,  of  learning,  or  wordly  policy. 
Sanctioned  by  miracles  as  the  offspring  of  heaven,  it  arrested  the 
attention  of  the  beholder,  and  having  no  object  but  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  reformation  and  salvation  of  the  human  race,  it  com- 
manded  itself  to  every  well   disposed  mind.     It   promulgated  no 
amusing  theories  ;  it  dealt  not  in  numerous  articles  of  faith  ;  super^ 
stition  and  enthusiasm  were  alike  strangers  to  its  name  ;  it  carne  by 
its  appeals  directly  to  ihe  jiidgment  and  the  hearty  convinced  men  of 
sin,  revealed  a  gracious  forgiveness,  and  by  the  applications  ofits 
motives  led  men  to  turn  to  God.     Its  success  was  not  marked  by 
an  ostentatious  display  of  party  honours  j  designated  the  kingdom  of 
heavetiy  its  silent  but  sure  progress  was  overlooked  by  men,  whilst 
its  triumphs  over  moral  evil  were  celebrated  by  the  ciioirs  above. 
It  erected  no  stately  temples  ;   it  established  no  solemu  ritual  ser- 
vice ;  it  consecrated  no   order  of  priests  ;  it  mide  no  progress  by 
appeals  to  secular  interests :    but   possessing  the  sanction  of  the 
Most  High,  it  went  forth  without  the  support  of  any  worldly  auxilia- 
ries, aud  in  the  face  of  persecution,  by  its  constant  and  powerful 
appeals  to  the  heart,  evinced  its  own  greatnt-ss  by  the  great  good 
it  actually  accomplished.      Like  its  founder,   it  had  '*  no  form  or 
comeliness"   to  the  unthinking  world,  but  still  was  proved  to  ba 
both  "the  wisdom  and  the  power  of  God."     The  universal  monu«. 
ment  which  was  raised  was,  the  destruction  of  vice  and  error,  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  the  fame  of  their  good  wof ks,  and  their  con- 
stant firmness  amid  all  their  sufferings.     Unlike  the  system  of  the 
Jews,  or  that  of  the  heathens,  its  appeals  were  not  to  the  senses,  but 
to  the  judgment  and  to  the  heart,  which,  by  divine  evidence,  pro- 
duced a  belief  in  the  testimony  of  the  gospel  that,  without  external 
excitement,  changed  the  heart,  reformed  the  life,  and  made  the  soul 
meet  for  heaven.     Instead  of  a  multiplicity  of  metaphysical  notions 
of  belief,  and  a  routine  of  external  forms,  calculated  to  becloud  th« 
mind,  to  produce  indifference,  and  to  gratify  the  avarice  and  imibi- 
tion  of  official  men,  the  faith  of  its  first  converts  partook  more  of  tha 
assent  of  a  good  disposition  to  the  facts,  promises,  and  threateniagps 


48 

of  the  gospel,  than  of  the  stretch  of  intellectual  penetration  ;  itseffccta 
known  more  by  the  devotion  of  the  heart,  and  the  constant  practice 
of  the  duties  of  life,  than  by  their  regular  attendance  upon  mere 
ritual  service.  This  is  important  to  be  kept  in  mind,  for  losing 
sight  of  that  which  constitutes  the  essence  of  Christianity,  outward 
forms,  useless  ceremonies,  pompous  exhibitions,  pious  frauds,  and 
priestly  domination  entered  in  its  place,  and  pavtd  the  way  for 
every  absurdity  with  which  the  religion  of  Christ  has  been  ever 
since  disgraced. 

In  coauasting  the  csseyitials  of  primitive  Christianity  with 
what  appears  to  be  considered  such  noA,  it  were  easy  to  shew,  that 
it  was  mOre  spiritual  and  more  practicul — that  there  was  less  mys- 
tery and  more  faith,  less  form  but  more  worship,  iess  noise  but 
more  labour,  less  system  but  more  real  good.  That  a  ci.ange  has 
taken  place  I  think  all  admit,  but  few  have  endeavoured  lo  trace 
its  features,  or  to  sot  forth  a  detail  of  its  disadvantages.  '  The 
causes  of  this  change  are  deeply  rooted,  and  nothing  but  a  vigorous 
effort  of  Christians  themselves  can  effect  even  a  partial  eradicaliun. 
It  is  not  now^,  as  at  first,  a  system  of  pure  disinterested  benevolence, 
shedding  its  ramified  influence  over  the  motives  and  actions  of  every 
class  in  society,  restoring  moral  health,  diffusing  practical  goodness, 
without  alFordiog  any  shelter  to  the  vicious,  or  a  subterfuge  for 
avarice  and  ambition.  Reduced  to  a  mere  body  without  a  soul,  it 
is  now  become  the  idol  of  those  over  whom  it  has  no  control  They 
praise  it  because  it  is  passive  ;  they  support  it  because  it  corrects 
them  not.  Many  know  it  only  as  it  now  is ;  whilst  others,  with 
sharper  intellects,  penetrating  the  disguise,  affect,  from  the  basest 
of  motives,  to  admire  it  in  its  corrupted  garb.  It  is  not  of  yes- 
terday that  power,  wealth,  and  respectability  became  appended,  in 
the  states  of  Christendom,  to  an  ostensible  respect  for  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  day;  and  in  times  of  peaceful  Christianity,  there  have 
always  been  an  overwhelming  body  of  men,  who,  from  sinister  mo- 
tives, would  appear  as  champions  of  the  faith.  This  temptation 
has  never  failed  ;  "  the  glory  of  the  world"  is  Satan's  strong  hold  ; 
and  that  which  had  succeeded  so  often  was  likely  to  be  tried  upon  a 
system  too  pure  for  its  age.  There  was  little  to  generate  or  foster 
these  principles  while  the  church  was  poor  and  persecuted,  but  so 
soon  as  persecution  ceased,  wealth,  honours,  and  human  power,, 
under  the  pretext  of  supporfing  the  cause,  soon  gave  to  it  a  new 
character :  its  advocates  moulded  it  after  their  own  taste,  and  madej 
it  sufficiently  palatable  to  those  whom  they  attempted  to  gain  to  their  ^ 
party. 

In  adverting  to  the  character  of  primitive  Christianity,  and^ 
contrasting  it  with  its  present  corruptions,  it  may  be  proper  to  take  j 


40 

a  view  of  the  labour  and  character  of  its  founder,  by  whom  it  wag 
first  established.     "  1  am  not  of  the  world,"   says  Christ.     In  the 
establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,    he  had  no  recourse  to 
means  which  human   policy  now   employs.     He  borrowed  nothing- 
from  the  Jewish  ritual,  or  from  the  ht-athen  temples,  to  work  upon 
the  senses  of  the  people.    He  sought  not  the  aid  of  wealth  or  worldly 
respectability  :  poor  in  his  parentage,  lowly  in  his  habits,  to  accom- 
plish the  object  of  his  mission,   he  chose  the  illiterate  fishermen  of 
Gallilee.     He  was  obnoxious  to  the  rulers  of  the  state,  and  never 
courted  their  favour  to  serve  his  cause.     Tliey  could  have  rendered 
him  no  assistance ;  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  could  not  have  advanced 
his  cause  a  single  step.     His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  ivorkl,  for 
there  was  nothing  worldly  in  all  he  attempted  to  accomplish.     His 
system  of  religion  wanted  neither  wealth  to  set  it  up  nor  power  to 
defend  it.     But  coming  into  a  world  which  was  corrupt  in  its  prin- 
ciples and  wicked  in  its  practices,  he  begins  his  ministry  by  callino- 
upon  men  to   "  repent ;"  and  though  he  agitated  alt  the  cities  of 
Judea,  his  &ole  object  seemed  to  be  to  reach  the  mhids  of  men,  to 
touch  their  hearts,  to  change  their  dispositions,  to  lead  them  to  wor- 
ship God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  to  love  one  another,  and  to  do  good 
unto  all  mankind  ;  and  if  |  understand  the  scriptures  aright,  this  was 
the  grand  object  of  his  life,  ministry,  death,  resurrection,  and  as- 
cension into  heaven.    As  it  respects  the  visible  establishment  of  his 
kingdom,  to  acquire  these  we  may  easily  perceive  the  inutility  of 
riches   or   power  :  these  may   build   temples,    clothe   priests   with 
sacerdotal    atlire,   raise    them   in   the    ranks   of   society,    support 
an  expensive  ceremonial  service,  and  purchase  the   "pomps  and 
vanities"   of  the  world, — but  en  never  exalt  that  kingdom  which 
has  its  seat  in  the  hearts  of  men.     Few  besides  the  sincere  became 
his  followers  (there  was  no  motive  to  induce  others),  and  those  of  a 
contrary  character  soon  discovered  their  error,  and  walked  no  more 
with  him.     Real  Christianiti/  has  no  temptation  to  the  hypocrite ;  it 
is  in  its  corruptions  that  such  have  found  ample  field  for  their  impo- 
sitions.    Poor  by  choice,  he  became  a  companion  of  the  poor  :  he 
sought  not  the  favour  of  the  great,  but  testified  of  them  that  their 
deeds  were  evil.    Urlike  those  who  since  have  called  themselves  his 
ministers,  he  chose  reproach  rather  than  worldly  honour,  and  the 
extremes  of  poverty  rather  than  the  wealth  of  an  earthly  kingdom. 
How  opposed  through  the  whole  tenour  of  his  life  to  those  corrup- 
tions which  form  the  ostensible  character  of  modern  Christianity  ! 

His  apostles  were  guided  by  the  same  spirit  ;  plain,  honest, 
and  disinterested,  they  carried  the  glad  tidings  of  mercy  to  all  na- 
tions, .without  the  assistance  of  human  power,  or  wealth,  or  learn- 
ing, or  any  of  tliose  carnal  appendages  which  are  now  sought  after. 


50 

and  without  which  it  is  conceived  religion  could  scarcely  exist.  It 
was //jt'tr  glory  to  serve  others  and  suffer  themselves,  and  unin- 
fluenced by  carnal  motives,  they  laboured  incessantly,  supported  by 
the  hope  of  a  reward  beyond  the  sky.  What  was  their  success  ? 
the  erection  of  temples  made  with  hands?  the  establishment  of  an 
hierarchy  ?  the  submission  of  the  people  to  a  Christian  code  of 
ceremonies  ?  the  patronage  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  nations  ? 
No,  no ;  the  kingdom  of  Christ  sought  not,  it  admitted  not  such 
paltry,  such  delusive  appendages.  Thousands  were  convinced 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  and  coufessed  and  forsook  their  sins; 
but  they  were  taught  that  it  was  not  in  '*  meat  and  drink''  that  the 
essentials  of  Christianity  consisted,  but  in  "  righteousness  and 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  floly  Ghost."  It  was  the  apostles'  aim  to 
make  men  religious  from  principle,  and  therefore  they  appealed 
to  the  understanding  and  to  the  heart  :  il^  as  at  the  present  day, 
conforviity  had  been  their  principal  object,  other  means,  such  as 
have  since  been  employed,  would  liave  been  adopted.  '♦  Turning 
men  from  darkness  to  ligiit,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,"  was  what  they  sought  to  accomplish,  and  this  effected,  they 
had  no  other  end  to  serve.  They  wore  no  clerical  robes,  assumed 
no  personal  distinction,  no  worldly  wisdom  iu  their  teaching,  no 
stipend  to  encourage  them  in  their  labour  :  they  laboured  night  and 
day,  not  so  much  on  consecrated  ground,  as  in  every  public  place, 
and  from  house-to  house;  not  so  much  by  regular  methodical  dis- 
caurses,  as  by  plain,  energetic  reasoning,  faithful  reproof,  and 
snccessful  disputation.  They  were  not  bound  by  the  trammels 
and  fetters  which  are  the  growth  of  centuries  of  corruption.  In- 
deed, if  we  could  divest  ourselves  of  those  notions  which  education 
and  association  have  created,  we  should  see  that  the  apostles  \\ere 
altogether  unlike  those  who  now  profess  to  be  laljourers  in  ths 
•ame  cause. 

The  success  of  this  cause  was  as  eminent  as  its  purity  :  thou- 
sands, believing  the  word,  repented  of  their  sins,  and  became  the 
subjects  of  personal  and  practical  holiness.  They  were  taught  to 
deny  all  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present  world.  Those  who  resided 
in  the  same  place,  as  was  natural,  associated  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  teaching  and  edifying  one  another,  of  praying  together, 
eating  the  Lord's  supper,  collecting  for  the  poor,  and  of  partaking 
of  friendly  repasts;  thus  fortifying  one  another's  minds  against 
persecution,  and  stimulating  each  other  to  love  and  good  works. 
These  associations  are  called  in  scripture  churches  or  congregations 
of  faithful  men.  Their  attention  was  taken  up  with  things  of 
•vjdent  utility ;  it  does  not  appear  that  they  had   any  system  of 


1 


51 

worship,  but  meeting  as  friends,  they  emplo)-ed  their  social  hour* 
in  servinof  one  another  with  unaffected  simpHcity.  The  place  of 
Iheir  meeting  was  generi^lly  the  house  or  upper  room  of  a  brother, 
the  mania  for  erecting  costly  and  splendid  places  of  worship  bein^ 
reserved  for  times  of  anti-christian  corruptions.  Like  all  other 
^'oluntary  societies  whose  object  is  the  general  good,  they  chose 
from  auiong  themselves  persons  for  the  performance  of  any  work 
which  was  requisite:  they  created  no  offices  of  dignity,  nor  ap- 
pointed any  service  hr  form''8  saJce,  but  when  work  wanted  doing, 
lliey  fixed  upon  the  likeliest  of  their  brethren,  and  requeisted  them 
to  undertake  it.  In  the  absence  of  the  apostles,  they  needed  some 
who  could  tell  them  of  the  will  of  Christ,  who  should  be  over  them 
in  the  Lord  and  admonish  them  :  for  this  purpose  they  selected 
a  nunaber  of  their  own  body  who  are  called  bishops,  or  in  plain 
English  overseers,  and  whose  example  was  to  be  a  pattern  for  all 
the  brethren.  If  they  had  a  number  of  poor  to  support,  and  their 
wants  constantly  to  supply, — which  was  a  prominant  feature  in 
primitive  Christianity, — tlie}'  selected  suitable  persons  for  the- 
work,  whom  we  usually  call  deacons,  or  in  plain  terms  servants. 
To  assist  the  apostles,  to  labour  in  extending  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  to  send  on  special  messages  of  relieving  distant  poor,  or 
any  other  business,  they  employed  individuals  from  among  them- 
selves. These  were  a  class  of  men  whom  we  should  designate  as 
missionaries.  No  earthly  advantage  was  offered  them  in  conside- 
ration of  their  services  ;  they  were  exposed  to  more  suffering,  and 
taught  to  expect  their  reward  only  in  heaven.  They  were  taught- 
to  cultivate  a  perfect  equalitj',  and  to  allow  of  no  distinction,  ex- 
cepting that  some  did  more  work  than  others,  the  Lord  having 
fitted  them  for  it.  This  sketch  of  the  proceedings  of  the  first  so- 
cieties, under  the  sanction  of  the  apostles,  is  given  as  a  contrast  to 
the  corruption  now  existing  amongst  us,  and  with  which  most  of 
my  readers  no  doubt  are  familiar. 

The  continuance  of  this  state  of  things  was  but  sliort ;  the 
apostles  themselves  lived  to  witness  many  attempts  to  depart  from 
the  simplicity  of  their  teaching  and  practice.  Ambition  early 
manifested  itself  among  those  who  ought  to  have  been  servants  of 
their  brethren,  whilst  some,  actuated  by  the  love  of  mony,  endea. 
voured  to  make  merchandize  of  them.  The  presence  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  especially  their  powerful  letters,  served  as  a  constant  check 
to  prevent,  at  least,  anything  like  that  organization  of  corruption 
of  which  after  ages  have  given  so  melancholy  a  picture.  For  the 
first  three  centuries,  during  various  seasons  of  persecution,  with 
some  exceptions,  the  Christian  societies,  with  their  humble  minis- 
ters, exhibited  a  great  degree  of  life,  zeal,  holiness,  and  simplicity. 


52 

Many  of  their  teachers  were  martyr?,  and  loved  not  their  lives  nnto- 
death  ;  but  notwithstanding  this,  the  latent  workings  of  corruption 
were  occasionally  visible,  and  that  deterioration  which  attaches  to 
the  best  institutions  became  more  and  more  manifest.  Services 
which  arose  ont  of  necessity  were  created  permanent  offices,  and 
that  respect  which  was  voluntarily  given  to  merit  became  of  esta- 
blished obligation  to  official  designations.  Constantine,  the  Em- 
peror of  Rome,  became  a  Clu-istian,  and,  in  his  misguided  zeal, 
sealed  the  fate  of  pure  Christianity.  The  ministers  of  religion  be- 
came objects  of  his  royal  favour,  and  then  persecution  ceased  ;  the 
church,  called  from  a  state  of  exile,  which  it  was  the  will  of  her 
Lord  she  should  be  in,  was  invited  to  come  and  share  in  the  wealth 
and  prosperity  of  the  state.  It  was  here  she  lost  those  heavenly 
charms  which  not  only  supported  her  through  her  manifoUi  trou- 
bles,  but  had  attracted  thousands  to  repose  in  her  bosom,  because 
of  the  spirituality  she  possessed.  Constantine  became  her  king; 
the  assemblages  of  bishops  by  royal  authority  made  her  laws  ;  the 
reproach  of  the  cross  was  removed,  and  every  ostensible  attraction 
was  addetl  to  the  Church.  Heathen  temples  were  eclip>-ed  by  the 
buildings  for  Christian  worship,  and  the  social  services  of  the  saints 
became  encumbered  with  human  ceremonies:  many  of  the  hea- 
thens were  tempted  to  change  their  religion  by  an  assimilation  of 
Christianity  to  their  own  practices,  and  tb.eir  opposition  to  the  new 
religion  exposed  them  to  the  severities  of  royal  and  sacerdotal 
power.  Wealth  and  honours  were  bestowed  upon  the  clergy,  and 
royal  favour  became  the  object  of  their  ambition :  temptations  were 
offered  to  mercenary  designs,  and  those  who  had  been  humble  ser- 
vants were  encouraged  in  becoming  lords  over  God's  heritage. 

Thus  was  religion  corrupted  in  every  principle  and   in   every 
spring  of  action,  and  the  history  of  the  next  centuries  is  little  more 
than  a  history  of  superstition  and  cruelty, — of  fabulous  stories  for 
gospel  truth, — the  observance  of  ridiculous  ceremonies,  and  bodily 
service,  in  the  place  of  spiritual  mindedness  and  practical  piety,— 
coersion,    persecution,    cruelty,    instead   of  mildness,    gentleness, 
and   love, — of  an   idle,   avaricious,    domineering,  hireling  clergy, 
succeeding    the   plain,     laborious,    disinterested    servants  of    the 
humble  Jtsus.     Thus,  under  the  name  of  a  religion,  piire  as  hea- 
ven in  its  origin,  and  calculated  to  restore  earth  to  a  second  Para-^j 
dise,  have  the  nations  been  drained  of  immense  wealth,   the  mind»j| 
of  the  people  cast  in  the  mould  of  superstition  and  bigotry,  and  thei 
face  of  the  ertrth  cursed  with  the  reign  of  persecution,  rapine,  and] 
bloodshed  !     May  it  soon  regain  its  pristine  purity,   and  visit  thej 
earth  universally  with  its  presence! 

J.  L. 


53 

Just  Wfigtits. — In  estimating  the  value  of  any  article  three 
thiniis  must  be  considered — \\n' price,  the  qva/ity,  undthe  weigfit  or 
measure.     With  respect  to  the  Hist,  uiistHkes  rarelv  occur;    in  the 
second,  considerable  jndj^nient  is  nqnisite;   and  as  to  weight  and 
measure,   1   think  it    will  appear  that  iinpositiaiis  are   frequently 
practised.      I  am   told   by  a   respectable  tradesman  in   Bolton,  that 
at  the  price  at  which  candles  are  sold  in  that  town,    it  is   impossible 
to  realize  a  profit  and  give  sixteen  onncestothe  pound.     Last  week 
]  bouj^ht  a   load   of  «'f>als  in  the  market,   which  were  ticketed  at  si 
regular  machine    24|  cwt.  ;    but  being  sure,    from  the  appearance 
of  the  coals,  that  they  were  not   so   heavy,    I  told  the  man  that  1 
would   not   pay   him  till  the  follov^ing  day,  and  in  the  meantime 
would   get  them    re-weighed,   as    1    was   sure   there   was  an   error. 
Rather  than  abide  the  result  of  this,    the  wife  of  the  seller  came 
and   confessed   that   she   believed   they  were  no  more  than   22  cwt. 
How  this  fraud  was  contrived  i  cannot  tell,  whether  by  a  manceuvre 
of  the  carter,  or  by  a  design  of  the  machine  keeper.     Hut  1  remem- 
ber well  a  few  years  ago  getting  goods  weighed  at  the  different  ma- 
chines in  the  town,  on  purpose  to  ascertain  how  their  weights  agreed, 
and  the  fact  is,  that  there  was  a  considerable  diti'erence.      The  ad- 
justment of  the  machines,  like  the  weights  and  scales  of  the  shop- 
keepers,   is  a   mutter  that  shonUI   be  attended   to  by  the  proper 
authorities.      But  the  present  plan  of  regulating  the  weii*hts  and 
measures  is  so  ineffectual,  that  1  am  astonished  the  magistrates  will 
allow  an  item   to  appear  in  the  charges  against  the  county  under 
this  head.      In  the  first   place,   the  gentlemen  generally  appointed 
are  not  competent  :  ihey  go  about  their  work  with  a  levity  suited 
better  to  an  electioneering  canvass  than  the  correcting  of  the  stan- 
dards of  justice.      In  the  next  place,   many  of  tliem  do  not  under- 
stand the  principles  of  a  weigh    beam,   and   in  consequence,   pasg 
over  many  false  balances  which  have  been  in  use  for  years.     They 
imagine  that  if  a  beam  preserve  its  equilibrium  wiieu  file  ends  are 
empty,  the  beam  is  correct,  but  every  beam  maker  knows  that  this 
is  very  far  from  being\the  case.      I  have  known  beams  appear  true 
with  no  weight  upon  them,  where  there  was  a  difference  of  7lbs. 
when  about  4  cwt.  were  attached  to  each  end.   But  provided  these 
mistakes  did  not  occur,   to  examine  scales  once  in   six  or  twelve 
months  affords  no  effectual  chtck,  especially  when  the  people  have 
an  opportunity  of  anticipatinjj  these  visitations.     If  these  gentle- 
men are  anxious  to  know  whether  jwa-#  weight  is  really  sold   (and 
this  is  the  only  point  of  importance),  let  them  send  promiscuously 
for  different -articles  from  the  different  shops,  and  let  the  weight  of 
tht-  articles  so/a  be  strictly  examined.     But  as  this  does  not  corres- 
pond with  the  system   of  the  old   school,   and    is  not  likely  to  be 
adopted,   it  would   be  no    hard  matter  for  ai.y  private   person   to 
establish  a  set  of  slandurd  scales,  in  some  convenient  place,  which 
should  be  accessilde  to  all,  to  weigh  any  article  they  pleased.     A 
small  sum  would  procure  the  scales,  and  being  kept  in  repair  and 
constantly  corrected,  a  boy  would  be  able  to  attend  to  them,     t  ofJer 
tins  as  what  I  consider  an   useful  suggestion,   not  doubting  but  iu 
every  town  there  are  [.eisons  who  are  able  to  reduce  it  to  practice. 
Funeral  (>ver(  hakges. — Orders,  I  understand,  have  been 
received  from  head  quarters  to  discontinue  the  demand  of  an  ex-tra 
Vol.  II.  H 


thirteen  |ience  in  the  funeral  <]iies  at  the  new  cliurche*.  Th^  only 
point  that  remains  to  heailjustid  in  tliis  affair  is,  to  ascertain  the 
total  aiuount  oi'  money  leceivecl  in  this  oveicharf;;e,  tlie  individuala 
to  whom  it  ou^lil  to  be  retnrned,  and  the  time  when  it  is  to  be  r*'- 
tiuned.  In  one  instance  of  restitution,  a  little  man  of  the  name  of 
Zacheus  &aid  somethinjj;  about  fourfold,  but  in  tliis  case  the  indi- 
viduals concerned  would  periiaps  be  satisfied  with  -a  fourth, part  of 
that  amount. 

Bribing  Servants. — At  the  bottom  of  a  lonj^,  flaming 
bill,  extensively  circulated  by  one  of  the  new  fashioned  retail  spirit 
establishments,  it  is  stated,  "  An  allowance  to  carriers."  This  is 
perhaps  the  first  time  that  the  practice  of  bribing  servants  ever 
found  its  way  into  print.  The  principals  of  almost  every  large 
concern  must  make  many  of  their  purchases  through  the  medium 
of  agents.  There  are  many  tradesmen  base  enough  to  bribe  these 
agents  by  gifts,  treating-,  false  bills  of  parcels,  &c.,  by  which  they 

.  either  secure  their  exclusive  custom,  or  are  enabled  to  make  an  ex- 
orbitant charge;  and  there  are  but  few  servants  of  sufficient  in- 
tegrity to  resist  the  temptation.     1   have  been  told  of  instances  in 

.  which  it  was  impossible  for  persons  to  get  an  order,  however  cheap 

.or  however  good  the  article,  till  they  could  get  access  to  some  of 
the  masters,  and  then  their  chances  were  equal  to  otiiers.  In  the 
purchasing  of  a  horse,  last  year,  which  turned  out  to  be  lame,  it 
was  proved  that  the  person  whom  I  had  employed,  and  upon  whose 
judgment  I  relied,  had  received  from  the  seller  a  bribe  of  half  a 
sovereign.  How  desirable  to  have  servants  of  sterling  integrity, 
for  in  many  transactions  this  is  the  principal  security  which  mus- 
ters can  command  ! 

The  House  of  Reform  \ — Pray  where  is  this  ?  In  Bolton. 
How  is  it  occupied  ?  With  casks  of  rum,  gin,  and  brandy  !  with 
persons  of  all  grades,  and  ages,  and  sizes,  stepping  in  for  their 
morning,  forenoon,  dinner,  afternoon,  and  evening  t/ra?w*  /  As  I 
have  not  seen  the  place,  I  cannot  help  suspecting  that  my  informant 
is  mistaken  in  the  first  letter  of  the  last  word — that  it  ought  to  be 
D  and  not  R.  If  it  be  not  so,  I  can  only  account  for  it  in  the 
same  way  as  I  do  for  some  societies  adopting  such  interesting 
mottoes  on  their  flags  as  Brotherly  Society,  Amicable  Society,  and 
carrying  the  in* j^wia  of  sacred  history;  that  is,  on  the  princi- 
ple of  inconsistency,  it  is,  however,  one  honour  done  to  virtue, 
that  though  persons  neglect  her  dictates,  they  uniformly  have  f€- 
course  to  her  vocabulary  for  names. 

Truck  Bill. — There  is  one  point  to  which  I  fear  this  bill 
will  not  apply,  and  that  is  to  enjoin  upon  the  members  and  officers 
of  the  various  sick  societies  to  pay  for  their  accommodations  in 

.  money,  and  not  in  the  profits  of  ale  and  gin.  As  to  the  advantages 
of  the  landlord  I  cannot  speak,  but  to  the  men  it  is  a  change  de- 
voutly to  be  wished.  Where  they  pay  Qd.  to  the  box,  and  3d.  for 
ale,  there  is  an  extra  expence  of  about  thirty  per  cent  !  But  this 
is  not  all :  but  few  of  the  members  attend  many  of  the  meetings, 
and  then  the  little  knot  of  regular  attendants  have  to  stretch  their 
stomachs  to  guzzle  all  the  pints  which  the  absent  persons  are 
obliged  to  pay  for,  and  which  too  often  proves  the  beginning  of  a 
week's  fuddle.     These  are  the  persons  who  will  set  themselves 


55 

against  all  change  in  the  system,  thon^h  even*  s^nsil^le  man  must 
a^ree  that  the  onl^- rational  and  ef|uitable  mode  of  remunerating 
a  lan(1Iord  is  to  pay  him  a  sti[ju!ate(i  snm  for  the  use  of  his  roonis. 

Paying  on  the  Frkmises — Why  cannot  sj)inning  ina>ter» 
take  the  trouble  of  doing  this,  rather  than  oblii^e  their  men  to  gu 
in  companies  to  puhhc  houses  for  the  purpose  ?  In  Pies-ton,  th«; 
men  are  paid  at  the  works,  and  ought  to  be  in  every  other  phice  ; 
but  it  is  a  fact  that  at  Manchester,  and  perhaj)s  many  other  places,' 
a  large  sum,  includinif  the  wages  of  twenty  or  thirty  persons,  i« 
paid  to  certain  individuals  connected  with  dittVrent  departments,- 
to  be  divided  by  them  to  their  fellow  workmen.  Each  of  these 
parties  has  its  house;  the  landlord  provides  them  wiih  change; 
and  the  return  to  him  is  a  Saturday  night's,  and  sometimes  a  Sun- 
day's drinking.  In  sou^e  pldcas  sixpence  is  the  7niiniman  of  what 
is  to  be  spent.  It  is  no  severity  to  say,  that  every  master  wlio  does 
not  make  arrangements  for  putting  every  individual  in  possession 
of  hss  wages  before  he  leaves  the  mill,  is  an  aluttor  of  imim^rality, 
and  no  friend  to  his  workmen.  1  never  ol)ject  to  a  man  taking. a 
glass  of  ale  ;  but  let  him  enjoy  it  at  home  ;  for  I  should  as  soon 
expect  chickens  to  be  hatched  in  snow  as  to  find  any  man  upright, 
moral,  and  useful,  who's  evening  place  of  resort  is  the  pot  house. 

Cure  for  a  Drunken  Wife — A  gentleman,  who  had  tried 
in  vain  every  method  to  cure  his  wife  of  drunkenness,  hit  upon  the 
following,  which  haj)pily  proved  successful.  He  went  out  one  day 
and  bought  two  gallons  of  rum,  two  gallons  of  gir.,  the  same 
quantity  of  brandy  and  some  other  sorts  of  liquors:  each  of  these 
was  placed  in  an  open  mug,  and  all  set  together  in  one  of  the  apart- 
ments. "Whatever  does  this  mean  ?"  said  s!ie.  "  Why,"  replied 
the  husband,  "you  like  it  so  well,  that  for  once  I  thought  you 
t»hould  have  your  till."  "Oh  !  1  see  what  you  are  after:  you 
want  to  kill  me  that  you  may  have  another  ;  but  depend  u|)Oii  it, 
I  will  deceive  yon."  And  it  is  stated  as  a  fact  that  from  that  time 
the  womau  became  a  sober  character. 


SELECTIONS. 


One  day  as  a  clergyman,  with  a  good  round  living,  was  pas- 
sing a  large  building  which  ihe  workmen  appeared  to  be  finishing, 
he  looked  up,  and  saw  on  the  front  an  inscription.  Independent 
Methodist  Chapel.  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  Independent 
Methodist?'*  said  he  to  one  of  the  workmen.  "  VVIiy,"  replie<l  the 
man,  "  they  don't  pay  their  parsons, — they  preach  for  nothing.'' 
The  reverend  gentleman  shook  his  head,  moved  on,  and  with  a 
significant  look  ejaculated — a  poor  trade  !  a  poor  trade  !  1  don't 
know  that  1  coul.d  give  a  more  appropriate  preface  than  the  above 
to  the  following  extract,  copied  from  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
Morning  Herald.  It  appears  from  this  that  trade  is  bad  in  the 
church  as  well  as  out  of  it,  and  that  the  free  trade  system,  or  some 
other  cause,  is  bringing  dowu  the  price  of  parbons'  work. 


56 

The  writer,  after  noticing  a  letter  which  had  enninerated  a 
nuraber  of  miserable  curacies,  [iroceeds  to  state — "  A  salary  of  from 
£20  to  ^^40  is,  I  assure  von,  not  uncommon,  nor  thonj>iit  by  o\tn- 
lent  beneficiaries  insufficient  for  a  cure,  espej-iallv  if  the  duty  be 
what  is  termed  single.  I  have  often  known  a  worthy  cleryyman 
obliged  to  serve  two  parishes  for  £40  a-vear,  and  provide  him^elf 
a  habitation.  1  have  known  a  clergyman  serve  three  parishes,  as 
curate,  at  jfSO  a-year  each,  and  compelled  to  rent  a  house  for  a 
family.  Within  a  very  few  years,  /  saw  a  clergyman  serve  four 
churches  for  £'■20  each,  and  out  of  that  miserable  pittance  he  hud 
to  rent  a  house  for  his  family.  V\  hen  the  poor  man,  by  my  advi<-e, 
petitioned  his  diocesan  to  order  a  parsonage  house  in  one  of  the 
parishes  (which  house  was  let  by  the  incnmlient  to  a  farmer),  to  be 
given  up  to  him  for  the  free  use  of  himself  and  family,  he  was  an- 
swered, •  I  will  order  two  or  three  of  the  rooms  of  the  parsonage 
house  to  be  allotted  to  you,  but  you  must  constantly  reside  there, 
and  you  must  serve  only  two  adjoining  parislies  at  £20  each,  be- 
cause the  parishes  are  small  and  the  duty  single.'  How  decenti)', 
how  satisfactorily,  and  beneficially  the  duties  of  two  or  three  pa- 
rishes can  be  done  by  one  poor  curate,  1  need  not  inform  you  ;  nor 
need  I  inform  you  hoyv  respectably,  charitably^  and  becomingly  a 
gentleman  can  afford  to  live  on  such  a  paltry  and  pitiful  stipend  as 
£20,  £^40,  £60,  or  jf  80  a-year.  I  say,  a  gentleman,  because  a 
curate  is  as  well  educated  as  his  most  opulent  rector,  and  in  every 
good  sense,  is  his  rector's  equal.  So  crowded,  Sir,  is  the  clerical 
profession,  and  so  very  distressed  are  great  numbers  of  clergymen, 
that  beneficiaries  (and  the  r^j^^r*  of  chapels  J  can  get  their  churches 
and  chapels  served  for  whatever  sum  they  please  to  give.  A  few 
weeks  ago,  I  was  offered  ten  shillings  to  go  three  miles  and  do  the 
afternoon  duty  at  a  chapel,  and  when  I  said,  I  will  not  go  for  less 
than  a  sovereign,  I  was  answered,  '  if  you  will  not,  many  will.'  A 
few  years  ago,  a  brother  of  a  peer  offered  me  £50  a-year  to  serve 
one  of  his  livings  as  curate,  on  condition  that  1  assured  tlie  bishop 
of  the  diocose  that  I  was  to  receive  £75  and  the  free  use  of  parson- 
age house,  which  was  let  to  a  farmer  !  1  disdained  the  vile  pro- 
posal, and  1  related  it  to  the  bishop,  whose  only  reply  was,  '  1  am 
sorry,  but  1  cannot  relieve  you  unless  yon  were  now  the  curate, 
and  were  now  licensed.'  1  assure  you.  Sir,  that  curacies  and 
readerships  are  now  frequently  sol  <  :  I  myself  have  been  offered  a 
village  on  condition  that  1  returned  to  my  employer  the  first  year's 
stipend.  Another  village  curacy,  I  know,  was  lately  to  be  sold  for 
£•200,  altl.ough  the  stipend  was  to  be  but  £6'0  a-year.  'Tis  high 
tnnt  that  we  had  a  more  equitable  distribution  of  church  property, 
and  that  translations  of  bishops,  pluralities,  sinecures,,  and  dispeu 
sations  were  erased  IVoiu  clerical  dictionaries. 

L.  L.  D. 


GENTEEL  DEBT  CONTRACTORS, 

The  fashionable  morality  of  this  country  takes  no  cognizance 
of  debt.  No  disgrace  attaches  itself  to  contracting  debts  beyond 
means,  so  lung  as  the  party  contrives  to  keep  up  the  appearances 


Jl 


57 

accordant  with  his  pretensions  or  plac*^  in  society.  Many  a  man 
dines  at  a  sumptuous  table,  perfectly  aware  that  his  host  has  no  ho- 
nest means  of  supporting-  it,  and  that  in  fact  he  is  dining  throuijh 
the  ingenuity  of  his  entertainer,  at  the  cost  of  the  tradesmen  who 
have  furnished  the  treat;  but  this  knowledge  does  not  disturb  the 
guest's  gratification,  and  in  nouise  ditninishes  his  regard  for  the 
hberal,  hospitable  fellow  at  the  foot  of  tlie  table.  He  merely  con- 
siders how  long  it  is  likely  to  last,  and  booking  his  friend  ultimately 
for  Boulogne,  or  the  King's  Bencli,  resolves  to  have  as  large  a  share 
as  is  offered  in  his  fortune,  up  to  the  day  of  the  "  break  up." 
Among  the  young  men  of  fashion,  or  pretention  to  fashion,  there  are 
few  who  do  not  spend  three  times  their  incomes  or  allowances,  and 
they  make  a  jest  of  their  consequent  embarrassments,  and  brag  of 
success  in  contracting  fresh  debts  as  in  success  in  the  debauchery  of 
women.  One  of  those  rakes,  whose  maxims  are  received  as  oracles 
by  the  young  fry  of  profligates,  used  to  say  that  he  rated  his  income 
by  the  amount  of  his  yearly  bills  ;  '*  for,"  argued  he,  "  if  I  have 
not  the  money,  I  have  had  so  much  money's  worth,  for  which,  with- 
out a  miracle,  I  can  and  shall  never  pay.  So  it  is  clear  acquisition." 
The  slang  phrase  *' who  sufTeis?"  for  who  supplies?  expresses 
with  sufficient  clearness,  the  correct  apprehension  of  the  relation  o 
debtor  and  creditor.  The  laws  of  humanity  are  not  supposed  to  run 
into  shops,  and  the  ruin  that  may  be  brought  upon  tradespeople  by 
the  exchange  of  bad  debts  for  expensive  goods  is  never  thought  of. 
The  reasoning  which  satisfies  the  spendthrift,  if  he  reasons  at  all, 
and  which  even  makes  him  esteem  himself  an  instrument  of  justice, 
ijs  this, — "  These  people  charge  more  than  they  ought — they  im- 
pose,— they  are  exorbitant,  and  therefore  not  to  pay  them  is  to 
punish  them  properly."  ^o  long  as  the  proflig-ate  supports  himself 
and  his  establishment  on  credit  with  tradesmen,  or,  more  correctly 
speaking,  by  the  deceit  of  bis  tradespeople,  he  will  retain  the  repute 
of  society,  and,  however  notorious  among  his  acquaintances  his  dis- 
honest expedients  may  be,  not  a  door  will  be  closed  against  him,  not 
a  hand  refused  to  him,  not  an  address  cooled  to  him,  not  an  inter- 
course declined.  It  is,  then,  an  affair  of  the  bourgeois  who  may 
take  care  of  themselves,  and  it  is  known  that  no  men  live  so  well 
according  to  their  stations  as  those  whose  orders  for  supply  are  un- 
checked by  the  remotest  idea  of  pay.  The  moment,  however,  that 
the  gentleman  attempts  to  lay  contributions  in  the  way  of  loans  oa 
his  friends,  he  is  marked  as  dangerous,  and  if  he  succeed  according 
to  his  usual  manner,  he  is  put  down  as  a  decided  black  sheep.  This 
game  of  borrowing  never  begins  till  the  other  of  credit,  so  much 
easier  and  more  comfortable  to  dishonest  pride,  is  played  out  to  the 
last  card.  With  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  the  symptoms  are 
then  discerned  by  associates.  We  once  heard  a  prince  of  exquisites 
say,  after  some  moments  of  silent  and  apparently  profound  cogita- 
tion, "  I  don't  know  what  is  the  matter  with  D ,"   (continuing, 

with  emphasis  on  every  syllable)   "  I  observe  that  of  late  he  wears 

very  shabby  clothes  !"     This  D was  his  bosom  friend,  that  is 

to  say  the  confidant  and  companion  of  all  his  debaucheri<'S,  and  the 
shabby  clothes  alarmed  him  as  portentous  of  the  exhaustion  of  his 
mn  of  credit.     The  life  of  Sheridan  is  familiar  to  every  one,  and  it 


5B 

\»ill  be  remarked,  that  so  long  as  be  could  get  credit  of  tradesfieople, 
be  kept  his  friends  and  his  respect,  which  is  inde»'d  the  same  thing 
with  his  table.  A  man  never  loses  his  respect  while  he  keeps  his 
table.  Let  us  see  the  charcoal  fires  glowing  in  the  rod  brick 
ranges  ;  let  us  hear  the  sfovps  simmering,  and  the  sauce-pans  bub- 
blino-,  and  the  spits  turning  ;  let  us  see  the  chief,  with  white  apron 
and  mitre  of  culinary  episcopacy  on  head  ;  let  us  see  these  things 
in  the  kitchen  below,  and  we  know  that  nothing  in  the  world  above 
will  strip  that  man  of  friends  and  the  considerafitm  of  society,  for 
the  stomach  of  the  world  is  open  to  him.  The  story  of  Jonas  is  a 
parable  to  this  effect — though  cast  away,  he  lived  in  the  world's 
stomach,  as  many  a  Jonas  docs  now.  There  is  no  law  of  morality 
which  the  kitchen  will  not  melt.  Cover  a  man  with  fraud,  false- 
hood, nay,  sprinkle  him  with  blood,  yet  if  his  cookery  and  wines  be 
good,  society  shall  cleave  unto  him.  This  is  the  formula  of  excusa- 
tion — "  They  tell  some  ugly  stories  about  him,  of  which  I  know 
nothing.  They  may  be  true,  or  they  may  be  false — all  i  know  is, 
that  he  keeps  a  devilish  good  table,  and  gives  capital  wines."  Who 
will  throw  the  first  stone  at  a  man  who  does  this  ?  Who  will  throw 
a  stone  which  might  upset  the  turtle  soup  before  him,  or  peradven- 
ture  would  demolish  a  bottle  of  the  line  old  hock  ?  A  good  table 
serTes  any  one  as  a  wall  of  brass,  and  even  a  mediocre  table  is  a 
■ound  defence.  One  of  the  two  courses  would  hold  out  against 
breaches  of  all  the  articles  of  the  decalogue,  and  secure  to  boot  a 
chaplain,  to  say  grace  at  the  foot  of  it,  tiiough  the  devil  himself  sat 
at  the  head.  Poor  Sheridan,  therefore,  as  we  observed  before,  so 
long  as  he  could  by  credit  maintain  his  table,  never  lost  his  friends, 
or  the  great  world's  respect,  but  immediately  his  dining  set  was 
broken  up,  his  associates  took  alarm  at  his  irregularities,  and  pro- 
fessed scandal  at  his  shifts. 

Tepmebance. — Some  preliminaries,  I  understand,  have 
been  entered  into  for  establisliing  a  Temperance  Society  in 
Preston.  Its  object  is  so  praiseworthy,  that  I  hope  it  will  meet 
with  the  encourag-ement  and  countenance  of  all  who  are  con- 
cerned for  the  happiness  and  well-being  of  society. 

School  Holidays.— I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  upon 
what  principle  a  month  or  five  weeks  holiday  at  Christmas  and 
midsummer  can  be  justified.  The  master  does  not  need  it,  and 
it  is  quite  at  variance  with  the  habits  of  all  tradesmen  to  expect 
it.  The  boys  are  thrown  back  in  their  learning  and  habits  of 
study,  and  often  through  idleness  acquire  very  bad  habits.  In 
fact,  every  circumstance  considered,  one  quarter  out  of  the  four 
i»  thrown  away.  A  recess  at  boarding  schools  of  a  moderate 
length  may  be  proper,  but  schools  of  quite  a  different  character, 
especially  endowed  schools,  are  among  the  worst  for  long  holi- 
days. A  week  at  the  end  of  each  quarter,  or  perhaps  a  fortnight 
at  Christmas  and  midsummer  might  be  allowed,  but  a  month  or 
five  weeks  at  each  of  these  seasons  is  too  bad,  and  is  now  with 
parents  a  subject  of  universal  complaint. 


59 


"THE    MEMORY    OF    THE    JUST    IS    BLESSED." 

T  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass  of  expressing  my  deep 
regret  at  the  unexpected  death  of  my  friend  Jno.  Gilbertson, 
who  departed  this  life  on  the  12th  of  January.  Hewas  cutoff 
at  a  week's  sickness,  amidst  a  multiplicity  of  benevolent  en- 
gagements. Judicious,  temperate,  kind,  and  persevering, 
he  was  connected  with  almost  every  benevolent  institution, 
and  his  life  has  been  a  life  of  labour  in  the  exalted  path  of 
doing  good  to  others.  Equalled  by  few,  and  excelled  by 
none  in  this  neighbourhood,  his  death  produced  a  general 
gloom,  and  all  classes,  high  and  low,  seemed  deeply  sensible 
of  the  loss  we  have  sustained.  He  has  finished  his  course, 
and  though  but  in  his  prime,  yet,  measured  as  a  man's  life 
ought  to  be  by  the  good  that  he  has  done,  he  was  an  old  man. 
He  has  left  a  wife  and  yousg  family  to  lament  liis  loss,  and 
whilst  I  cannot  withhold  a  parting  tear  at  the  remembrance 
of  one  who,  as  a  neighbour,  a  friend,  a  philanthropist,  and  a 
christian,  I  dearly  loved,  I  indulge  the  hope  that  we  shall 
meet  again  in  a  world  where  parting  will  be  no  more. 

J.  L. 


Commuutcation^. 


To  tlie  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

The  following  question  has  very  often  forced  itself  upon  my 
attention  :  Is  it  right  to  keep  open,  in  connection  with  our  places  of  worship, 
general  libraries  and  sale  rooms  for  books  and  tracts,  on  the  Lord's  Day? 
1  know  that  there  are  many  persons  who  would  answer  this  question  in  the 
affirmative  without  hesitation  ;  but  notwithstanding  this,  I  cannot  suppress 
my  conviction  that  such  a  conclusion  would  arise  entirely  from  the  want  of 
due  consideration.  This  custom  has  grown  up  gradually  ;  and  that  which  is 
common  and  of  long  standmg  is,  in  general,  admitted  without  much  examina- 
tion. I  am  aware  that  certain  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  will  be 
alleged  in  jnstifiration  of  the  custom  to  which  1  refer.  But  these  cases  are 
Dot  parallel.  We  cannot  imagine  that  the  obligations  of  the  Sabbath  should 
inteitVre  with  the  regular  demands  of  nature,  or  the  urgent  requisitions  of  he- 
nevoleure,  humanity,  and  brotherly  kindness :  but  they  do  stand  opposed  to 
whatever  work  is  unnecessary,  and  does  not  partake  of  the  important  qualities 
here  mentioned.  The  least  evil  resulting  from  the  regulation  objected  to  is 
the  waste  of  time  occasioned  to  the  agents:  but  this  is  a  considerable  one. 
If  our  congregational  libraries  were  strictly  religious,  the  impropriety  of  at- 
tending to  them  on  the  Lord's  Day  would  be  somewhat  diminished:  but  this, 
I  should  think,  is  seldom  or  never  the  case,  and  that  when  a  recently  published 
history,  or  new  book  of  travels  or  voyages,  is  procured  in  the  moruiug  of  the 
Sabbath,  young  persons,  in  particular,  are  under  very  strong  temptations  to 
spend  the  rest  of  that  day,  or  a  considerable  part  of  if,  in  a  kind  of  employ- 


60 

ment  which  it  would  be  ilifficult  or  rather  impossible  to  justify.  Imlepfl,  the 
writer  of  this  paper  has  more  than  once  detected  the  younj»ster,  in  the  adjoin- 
ing pew  to  that  in  which  he  usually  sits,  perusing  the  entcrtaiiiin^r  publica- 
tion, just  procured  from  the  chapel  library,  even  when  he  should  have  lieen 
listening  to  the  instructions  of  the  pulpit,  or  joining  in  the  more  inimedtiite 
worship  of  God. 

Suppose  you  were  a  bookseller,  excluding,  as  I  believe  yo«  would  do, 
whatever  was  inimical  to  the  interests  of  religion,  would  it  be  thought  right 
that  vou  should  keep  open  shop  for  the  accommodation  of  your  customers  on 
the  Lord's  Day  ?  I  verily  believe  that,  if  you  were  to  act  in  this  manner, 
and  were  a  member  of  a  Christian  church  of  any  description,  where  discipline 
is  at  all  exercised,  you  would  be  excluded  without  much  delay.  Does,  then, 
the  vicinity  of  a  place  of  worship  sanctify  what  would  otherwise  not  be 
tolerated  ? 
♦  NIL. 


To  the  Editor  oflhe  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

At  page  24  of  your  last  number  you  remark,  that  all  our  charity 
now  flows  through  the  medium  of  societies  and  committees.  You  might  have 
added  that  there  exists,  at  i)re8ent,  a  strange  fondness  for  making  London 
committees  our  almoners,  even  in  cases  in  which  our  own  immediate  neigh- 
bourhoods piesent  abusdant  scope  for  the  very  same  kind  of  beneficence  which 
our  contributions  are  intended  to  promote  I  was  forcibly  struck  with  this 
circumstance,  when,  a  few  days  ago,  I  was  looking  over  some  of  the  later 
reports  of  the  Religious  Tract  Society.  It  appears  that  the  friends  of  that 
important  institution  in  Leeds  regularly  remit  to  the  London  committee  the 
sum  of  lool.  per  annum,  while  there  is  not,  it  would  seem,  above  the  value  of 
one  half  of  a  farthing  tract  of  the  society's  publications  distributed,  upon  an 
average,  to  each  one  of  the  residents  in  that  parish.  Now,  I  would  ask,  and 
ask  under  deep  feelings  of  the  importance  of  the  subject,  are  there  not  vast 
numbers  of  ignorant  persons  to  be  informed,  and  of  profligate  persons  to  be 
reclaimed,  in  that  town  and  neighbourhood?  and  are  not  the  publications  of 
the  Religious  Tract  Society  as  much  adapted  to  the  state  and  circumstances 
of  su<-h  persons,  as  they  are  to  those  who  inhabit  the  far  distant  regions  of  the 
globe?  But,  then,  the  publications  of  this  society  are  now  far  too  numerous, 
and  the  work  to  be  done,  in  such  a  district  as  this,  far  too  extensive,  not  to 
requite  a  stipendiary  agent,  extensive  premises,  and  constant  attendance, 
while,  most  unfortunately  for  situations  of  this  kind,  the  advantages  which 
the  Religious  Tract  Society  presenis  to  subscribers  and  auxiliaries  are  mainly 
deiived  from  tlie  circumstance  of  its  intending  to  superse<le  the  intervention  of 
interi  sted  country  agents,  just  as  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkslure  manufacturers 
derive  their  profits,  in  a  great  measure,  from  lessening  or  wholly  avoiding  the 
expeuce  of  manual  labour  by  the  introduction  of  machinery. 

In  further  explanation  of  my  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  this  paper, 
permit  me  to  remark,  that  it  may  suit  the  convenience  of  men  of  business 
▼ei7  well  to  get  rid  of  a  particular  object  of  beneficence  for  twelve  months  by 
a  respectal)le  donation;  but  the  society  mentioned  above,  as  it  is  adapted  for 
great  usefulness,  so  it  ought  to  be  supported  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it 
available  for  the  spiritual  inteiejts  of  that  population  which  immediately  sur- 
rounds UB,  as  well  as  for  thai  with  which  we  have  uo  such  close  conuectiutt. 


61 

It  is  right,  in  many  cases,  tliat  our  chanty  should  begin  at  honae.  Congre- 
gational Ttact  Depositories  must  now,  with  regard  to  home  objects,  in  a  very 
extensive  degree  be  inefficient  as  to  the  great  ends  of  t\\e  society,  especially  iu 
large  and  populous  districts.  It  is  very  desirable  that  facilities  should  be 
aftbrded  for  purchasing  the  various  publications  of  the  Religious  Tract  So- 
ciety, even  in  small  quantities  :  and  till  tins  is  done,  and  while  our  contribu- 
tions are  regularly  remitted  to  London  regardless  of  such  recommendations 
for  our  immediate  neighbours,  our  benevolence  seems,  in  a  great  measure,  in- 
congruous and  absurd. 

O. 


To  the  Editor  oftUe  Moral  Reformer. 
Sir, 

You  are  aware  that  the  people  of  Scotland  bury  their  dead  without 
the  aid  of  a  parson,  and  1  cannot  perceive  that  this  practice  is  a  breach  of  any 
command  in  the  New  Testament,  whereby  I  am  led  to  think  that  this  piece 
of  Scotch  economy  is  not  sinful.  In  Scotland  many  of  the  people  are  so  pro- 
fane that  they  call  the  burying  service  of  the  Church  of  England  "  taxing  the 
dead."  This  is  an  ugly  phrase,  but  very  applicable  ;  and  as  I  consider  a  re- 
form in  the  burying  service  very  necessary,  I  should  like  to  see  the  subject 
discussed  in  the  pages  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Yours,  in  the  cause  of  freedom, 

D.  M.4THEWS0N. 
Campstall  Bridge,  Dec.  13,  1831. 


RESULT  OF  AN  INSPECTION  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  PRESTON 
BY  THE  BOARD  OF  HEALTH,  WITH   REMARKS. 

In  my  last  number  I  gave  the  result  of  an  inspection  of  the  streets, 
courts,  yards,  &c.  of  Preston,  handed  to  me  by  a  gentleman  connected  with 
the  Board  of  Health  which  has  been  recently  formed  in  this  town,  and  I  now 
proceed,  pursuant  to  promise,  to  present  to  my  readers  a  few  interesting  facts 
relative  to  the  domestic  ECONOiii-y  of  the  operatives,  with  such  remarks 
as  the  nature  of  the  subject  has  suggested. 

"  We  are  sorry  that  we  cannot  give  so  full  a  statistical  account  as  we 
could  have  wished,  owing  to  many  of  the  visitors  not  having  made  their  in- 
spections with  the  necessary  minuteness,  and  to  several  having  omitted  to  dis- 
close to  the  Board  a  particular  description  of  the  state  of  the  poor  in  their 
respective  districts.  Such  being  the  case,  we  are  disposed  to  confine  our 
fitalemenl  to  one  division  of  I  he  town,  which  was  investigated  with  great  care 
and  considerable  minviteness  ;  and  we  do  so  the  more  readily,  because  it  is  one 
of  the  po«!'est  districts,  and  will,  therefore,  enable  us  to  form  a  tolerably  accu- 
rate estimate  of  the  condition  of  the  working  classes  of  Preston.  The  district 
to  which  we  allude  (No.  9)  contains,  according  to  the  parish  books,  439 
houses.  These  houses  were  almost  all  of  them  visited,  and  a  register  of  the 
state  of  241  families  was  preserved.  Tliese  families  were  found  to  comprise 
VOL.  II,  I 


62 

1887  individuals,  making,  on  an  arerage,  5.296  individuals  for  each  femily. 
The  weekly  income  of  these  243  families  was  1441.  4s.  gd.,  making  lis.  lo^d. 
for  each  family,  or  2s.  Q^d.  for  enth  individual.  Of  the  243  lamilics,  ijc^ 
were  hantl- loom  weavers.  Thc-se  139  families,  asfain,  contained  G.34  individuals, 
or  4  561  individuals  to  each  family.  The  weekly  income  of  these  139  families 
was  73I.  3s.  3d.,  which  makes,  on  an  aversge,  los.  6:^d.  for  each  family,  or 
28.  3^d.  for  each  individual.  From  the  los.  6id  ,  however,  we  Ought  to  de- 
duct 23.  a  week  for  looms,  paste,  brushes,  candles,  &c  which  are  expended  in 
the  production  of  their  manufactures,  and  from  which  expence  many  other 
classes  of  operatives  are  exempt.  This  will  leave  8s.  6^d.  a  week,  on  an 
average,  for  rent,  taxes,  fuel,  clothes,  and  food,  for  4.561  individuals,  or  about 
is  lO^d.  for  each  individual.  Thus,  though  the  hand  loom  weavers  in  this 
district  were  receiving  above  the  average  absolute  income  of  other  operatives^ 
yet  in  reality  their  available  income  was  considerably  less.  There  is  another 
disadvantage  under  which  these  operatives  labour.  They  are  obliged  to 
have  workshops  attached  to  their  houses,  and  are  therefore  compelled  to 
occupy  houses  higher  rented  than  those  labourers  who  find  employment 
abroad.  In  many  instances,  the  visitors  of  this  district  found  the  weavers 
paying  a  weekly  rent  of  is.  Gtl.,  2s  gd  ,  and  in  some  instances,  so  much  as  3s. 
for  their  houses  and  woikshops  or  cellars,  while  few  of  the  other  classes  of 
operatives  pay  more  than  2s.  or  2s.  3d.  per  week  for  house  rent.  If,  then,  we 
deduct  2s.  6d  from  8s.  fr^d.  the  neat  average  income  of  a  weaver's  family,  we 
shall  have  6s.  old  :  from  this,  again,  we  must  take  3d.  a  week  for  direct 
taxes,  and  7d  for  fuel,  which  will  leave  5s.  2|d.  a  week  for  the  food  and 
clothing  of  4  561  individuals,  or  about  is.  id  a  head.  This  is  the  average, 
and  of  course  we  must  expect  to  find  many  of  the  cases  much  below  this  state- 
ment:  accordingly,  we  have  selected  53  of  the  worst  cases  from  the  whole 
number  of  243  families,  and  we  find  that  these  58  families  consist  of  318  per- 
sons, or  5.481  to  each  family.  Their  weekly  income  was  25l.  15a.  id, 
8s.  I0|d.  per  family,  or  is,  7^d.  a  head  A  number  of  these  are  weavers, 
from  whose  incomes  if  we  deduct  2s.  for  expences  connected  with  their  labour, 
2s.  6d.  for  house  rent,  3d.  for  direct  taxes,  and  7d  for  fuel,  we  shall  have 
3s  6\d.  left  for  clothing  and  feeding  5.481  individuals,  or  not  quite  sd  per 
head  per  week,  or  about  id.  per  day. 

"It  may  be  difficult  to  conceive  how  these  poor  people  contrive  to  subsist, 
and  in  some  instances  of  extreme  distress  the  visitors  had  the  curiosity  to 
inquire  into  the  manner  in  which  the  parents  apportioned  their  income.  The 
result  of  which  inquiries  in  two  cases  we  will  give  :  one  of  a  very  extreme  case, 
and  the  other  below  the  average  of  the  worst  cases. 

*'  The  first  case  is  that  of  the  family  of  John  !VIc  GiUie»,  formerly  an  Irish 
labourer,  but  owing  to  some  injury  which  he  sustained  in  his  arm  some  time 
since,  he  has  been  unable  (as  he  states,  but  perhaps  unwilling  in  reality)  to 
pursue  his  former  employment,  and  has  taken  up  the  trade  of  beggar  and 
hawker  of  small  wares.  He  resides  in  a  cellar.  No.  7,  in  Moor  Lane.  The 
family  consists  of  himself,  his  wife,  four  children,  (two  of  which  arc  twins  at 
the  breast),  and  his  wife's  mother.  He  formerly  resided  in  Cailisle,  to  which 
place  bis  wife  and  her  mother  belonged,  but  owing  to  the  daughter's  having 
married  him,  she  has  lost  her  settlement,  and  belongs  now,  with  her  hapless 
children,  to  the  wide  world.  If  her  statement  and  that  of  her  mother  may  be 
believed,  (aad  their  appearance  and  manners   led  the  visitors  to  thiuk  thee* 


03 

miglit,  at  least,  be  some  troth  in  their  relation)  she  has  seen  better  days.  The 
niotber  (if  the  report  be  true)  was  possessed  of  a  small  annuity,  which  she 
sold  when  her  daughter  mirried,  in  order  to  furnish  the  husband  with  the 
means  of  erecting  a  stall  and  carrying  on  the  trade  of  a  hawker.  The  man, 
with  the  usual  improvidence  and  thoughtlessness  of  the  Irish,  becana*  buund 
with  a  friendf  who  decamped,  and  left  the  poor  fellow  to  pay  his  debt.  The 
consequence  was,  that  Mc  Giliies's  goods  and  chattels  were  seized,  and  he 
with  his  family  was  reduced  to  beggary.  The  OQOther's  relatives  were  offended 
with  her  for  having  entrusted  her  small  income  to  her  son-in-law,  and  refused 
to  aid  her  aud  her  daughter  in  their  distress.  Being  unwilling  to  submit 
to  the  taunts  of  their  former  friends,  the  whole  family  left  Carlisle  about  seven 
months  since,  and  took  up  their  abode  in  Preston,  where  they  have  subsisted 
by  begging  and  selling  tapes,  thread,  and  other  small  articles  about  the  street;', 
and  where,  in  addition  to  two  children  the  poor  man  possessed  before,  his  wife 
has  given  birth  lo  twins,  which,  as  well  as  the  mother,  appear  to  thrive  sur- 
prisingly amid  their  destitution  and  hopelessness.  In  the  front  cellar  there 
were  scarcely  any  articles  of  furniture,  and  in  a  small,  back,  dark  cellar,  the 
visitors  found  a  heap  of  straw  placed  in  a  corner,  which  coustitutetl  the  only 
couch  of  the  family,  and  on  which  the  man,  his  wife,  four  children,  and  his 
wife'i  mother,  lay  with  no  other  covering  than  that  which  their  body  linen 
afforded.  After  the  most  strict  inquiries  and  cross-examination,  it  was  found 
that  the  regular  incoaie  of  the  family  did  not  exceed  4s.  6d.  per  week,  and 
most  generally  fell  even  below  this  small  sum.  The  rent  of  their  cellars  is  is, 
a  week,  and  they  consume  regularly  a  hundred  weight  of  coals,  for  which  they 
pay  jd.,  in  th«  same  period  of  time.  Every  week  they  purchase  two  scores  of 
potatoes,  for  which  they  pay  Sd.,  and  on  alternate  days  they  buy  one  day  albs, 
of  meal,  and  on  the  next  ]  jlb.,fi>r  porridge.  Since  they  came  to  town,  seven 
months  ago,  all  the  flesh  meat  they  had  purchased  was  one  sheep's  head,  and  a 
few  days  before  the  visitation  a  good  lady  had  given  them  a  little  broken  meat. 
"  This  case  might  present  us  with  ample  grounds  for  many  important  re- 
marks, b  it  we  must  not  stay  to  make  them  at  present,  hut  rest  satisfied  with 
observing,  that  an  improvident  and  unreasonable  matrimonial  connection  has 
been  the  original  cause  of  all  this  misery,  and  m.*y  entail  destitution  on  num- 
bei-s  yet  unborn.  Could  the  humm  mind  be  brought  to  exercise  the  same 
rational  calculation  and  foresight  in  the  important  affair  of  marriage  as  is 
usually  displayed  in  matters  of  trivial  concern,  how  many  evils  wtjuld  be 
spared,  how  much  misery  avoided!  Thousands  rush  precipitately  into  matri- 
mony without  one  reasonable  prospect  of  happiness,  and  with  a  certainty  of 
propagating  wretchedness  and  reaping  destitution.  While  such  is  the  case,  we 
cannot  wonder  that  poverty  is  an  increasing  calamity,  and  misery  a  growing 
evil.  Until  the  poor  are  taught  lo  avoid  rash  matrimonial  connections,  and  to 
calculate  upon  the  consequences  of  marriage,  we,  at  least,  never  hope  to  see 
their  condition  improved  and  their  moral  renovation  accomplished.  Let  no 
one  misunderstand  our  meaning  :  we  are  not  averse  to  marriage,  and  never 
could  we  dream  of  debarring  a  man  from  all  the  humanizing  effects  and  social 
pleasures  of  a  married  life.  It  is  our  anxious  wish  that  the  poor  should  enjoy 
every  privilege  that  the  rich  possess,  and  we  know  of  no  blessing  that  can  fall 
to  the  lot  of  a  poor  man  greater  than  that  of  a  virtuous  wife,  nor  any  condition 
of  life  more  honourable  than  that  of  matrimony,  nor  any  greater  boon  he  can 
make  lo  society  than  a  wdl  regulated  and  rirtuous offspring    But  we  know  not 


64 

how  marriage  can  be  expected  to  prove  a  blessing,  how  a  wife  can  be  a  suitable 
companion,  nor  how  an  offspring  can  be  broiiglit  up  with  decency,  while  con- 
nections are  formed  without  judgment,  and  scaled  without  reflecting  on  the 
consequences.  This  is  a  very  important  consideration,  and  well  worth  the 
most  serious  investigation  of  all  those  who  have  yet  their  connubial  <-oiinec- 
tions  to  form,  as  upon  it  depends  not  only  their  indi»  idual  happiness  or  r.iisei  y, 
but  that  of  perhaps  thousands  who  may  succeed  them  in  the  career  of  life; 
for  in  this  respect,  most  assuredly,  the  improvidence  of  the  parents  is  visited 
upon  the  children  to  many  generations. 

"The  .second  case  that  we  shall  specify  is  that  of  Ann  Ducket.  We  se- 
lect this  case  not  because  the  district  dots  not  present  us  with  any  worse  (fi)r 
we  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  might  have  chosen  many  more  bimentable),  but 
because  we  happen  to  have  the  particulars  before  us.  The  husband  of  Ann 
Ducket  left  her  some  time  since,  so  that  her  family  are  depmdent  upon  her 
exertions  and  parish  relief  for  support,  The  family  consists  of  six  individuals, 
fire  children  and  the  mother.  The  mother  earns  by  weaving,  on  an  average, 
4s.  6d.  per  week,  and  the  parish  to  which  she  bckmgs  allows  her  4s.  a  week, 
making  in  all  8s.  6d.  per  week.  She  lives  with  her  mother  and  brother,  so 
that  she  only  pays  part  of  the  house  rent,  or  is.  6d.  per  week,  and  54d.  a 
week  for  coals.  She  purchases  weekly  a  score  of  potatoes,  at  4d.  a  score, 
is.  6d.  worth  of  seconds  flour,  fd.  worth  of  milk,  jd.  worth  of  oat  bread,  fid. 
worth  of  meal,  jd.  worth  of  bacon,  3d.  worth  of  <offee,  ]\d.  of  sugar,  and  3d. 
worth  of  treacle — the  whole  6s.  8d.,  leaving  Is.  lod  forexpenc.es  connected 
with  her  loom,  clothing,  taxes,  &,c.  According  lo  this  statement,  each  indi- 
Tidual  will  have  for  his  or  her  daily  support,  not  quite  half  a  pound  of  pota- 
toes, a  halfpenny  worth  of  wheat  bread,  soz  of  milk,  one  sixth  of  an  oat 
cake,  i^oz.  of  oat  nseal,  two  fifths  of  an  ounce  of  bacon,  the  same  of  treacle, 
and  a  minute  portion  of  sugar  and  coffee,  which  will  be  about  a  pouud  of  food 
each  day  for  each  individual,  Soz.  of  which  are  potatoes.  The  weight  of 
food  for  each  individual  per  day  of  Mc  Gillies's  family  is  about  170Z.,  13oz. 
of  which,  however,  consist  of  potatoes. ;  and  in  this  family  there  are  three 
adults,  while  in  the  former  there  is  only  one.  Tempted  as  we  are  by  the  in- 
teresting nature  of  the  suiijcct,  to  comment  upon  these  statements,  want  of 
leisure,  and  the  apprehension  of  being  necessitated  to  suppress  other  impoitant 
practical  matter,  forhids  us  to  speculate.  We  will,  therefore,  proceed  to 
make  a  few  general  observations  on  the  habits  of  the  poor  of  this  district. 

*'  The  visitors  were  grieved  to  find,  in  many  instances,  where  the  people 
were  receiving  considerably  above  the  average  income,  the  children  were  dirty 
and  squalid,  thi;  houses  neglected,  and  the  bedding  deficient  and  filthy.  This 
they  could  generally  trace  to  the  indulgence  of  the  father,  the  improvidence, 
disposition  to  indolence,  and  indifi'erence  to  decency,  of  the  matron  of  the 
family;  and  in  such  cases,  there  was  an  unusual  degree  of  dissatisfaction,  dis- 
affection towards  those  whom  Providence  has  placed  in  circumstances  superior 
to  their  own,  and  complaints  against  the  conduct  of  their  governors.  These 
are  politicians,  who,  though  unable  to  manage  their  own  domestic  affbirs, 
judge  themselves  competent  to  dictate  concerning  the  intricate  policy  of  a 
great  empire.  We  say  this,  not  so  much  by  *ay  of  reproof,  as  pity.  We  are 
sorry  to  find  that  any  class  of  individuals  should  be  so  led  away  by  a  weak 
judgment  and  corrupt  passions,  as  to  sacrifice  their  domestic  comforts  by  as- 
sembling at  the  jerry  shops  or  taverns,  to  discuss  matters  which  they  do  DOt 


Jl 


65 

understand,  and  talk  of  events  wliich  they  cannot  control,— who  multiply  their 
difficulties  by  their  own  im|>iovidence  and  indulgence,  and  then  cast  the  blame 
upon  a  govcrnmeut  under  whom  many  who  possess  much  less  incomes  thaa 
they  enjoy  peace,  moderate  competence,  and  much  contentment.  We  would 
not  refuse  to  this  class  of  society  the  privilege  of  canvassing  the  conduct  of 
government,  and  of  expressing  their  opinions  of  the  measures  of  our  legisla- 
ture; but  we  r.re  sorry  to  find  that  a  subject  of  so  much  intricacy,  and  which 
requires  so  much  calm  investigation  to  understand  in  all  its  extent,  should  be 
discussed  under  the  inflaming  influence  of  inebriating  liquors,  with  the  clamo- 
rous confusion  of  public  house  uproar,  and  by  men  who  so  signally  evince,  by 
their  domestic  derangement,  their  utter  incompetency  to  judge  of  any  prudent 
conduct  of  our  rulers,  and  wise  enactment  of  our  legislators.  Indeed,  we  hold 
it  to  be  inconsistent  for  any  man,  whether  poor  or  rich,  to  assume  the  charac- 
ter of  a  political  censor  until  he  has  first  reformed  both  himself  and  his  family. 
When  the  fault  rested  with  the  matrons,  the  visitors  generally  could  discover 
much  improvidence  and  indolence.  These  dispositions  they  were  sorry  to  wit- 
ness on  many  accounts.  No  income,  however  great,  would  be  sufficient  to 
protect  many  from  the  consequences  of  improvidence:  they  will  purchase  their 
articles  on  credit  at  the  small  shops,  where  they  must  either  pay  a  large  pre- 
mium, or  the  shopkeeper  would  speedily  be  ruined  by  the  number  of  his  bad 
debts  and  the  length  of  time  he  has  to  wait  before  his  capital  is  returned  to 
him:  they  feast  at  the  beginning  of  the  week,  and  starve  at  the  conclusion: 
theit  messes  are  often  expensive,  but  never  well  cooked,  seldom  palatable,  and 
never  digestible  :  their  food  is  often  not  prepared  till  the  moment  it  is  required, 
and  then  but  seldom  half  cooked.  The  visitors  frequently  had  reason  to  regret 
that  so  many  of  this  class  of  persons  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  tea  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  instead  of  more  solid  and  less  expensive  food,  and  sodden 
bread,  without  yeast,  half  baked  over  the  fire,  and  then  soaked  with  butter. 
This  is  a  great  and  a  very  prevalent  evil  among  the  poor,  and  is  especially 
conspicuous  among  the  improvident  and  indolent.  We  presume  these  articles 
of  food  are  selected  not  because  they  are  thought  to  be  cheap  and  nutritious, 
but  because  they  are  found  to  be  easily  prepured,  and  in  many  instances,  be- 
cause having  been  brought  up  in  factories,  the  females  have  no  correct  notions 
of  domestic  economy.  Other  prevalent  evils  conspicuous  in  this  class  of 
operatives  are,  the  filthy  state  of  their  abodes,  the  raggedness  of  their  chil- 
dien's  clothes,  the  dirtiness  of  the  children  themselves,  and  the  wretched  and 
unseemly  state  of  their  bfeds  and  bedrooms.  We  are  alluding  to  a  class  whose 
poverty  is  not  great,  and  who  have  the  means,  at  least,  of  supporting  their 
families  in  tolerable  decency.  In  such  families  comfort  is  unknown,  disease  is  a 
frequent  visitant,  and  dissatisfaction  and  vice  are  enshrined  with  sloth  and 
misery  as  household  gods,  to  which  many  a  victim  is  sacrificed,  and  many  a 
wound  inflicted  both  on  the  moral  and  physical  condition  of  the  unhappy  vo- 
taiies  at  these  unhallowed  altars.  If  anythingcan  render  a  home  comfortable, 
if  anything  can  confine  the  husband  within  the  precincts  of  his  own  threshold, 
and  restrain  him  from  the  pollution  of  taverns, — if  anything  can  hallow  the 
domestic  hearth  in  the  memory  of  a  grateful  offspring, — if  anything  can  gain 
the  respect  and  commendations  of  the  wise  and  the  good — it  is  to  witness  the 
anxious  desire  of  a  female  to  keep  her  cottage  neat  and  orderly,  her  children 
decently  clad  and  frequently  and  regularly  washed,  and  the  sleeping  apartments 
cleaned,  well  aired,  and  the  bed  linen  such  as  may  solicit  repose  instead  of  (as 


66 

is  Bometimes  the  case)  such  as  make  you  turn  away  with  disgust  and  grief. 
Surely  these  are  not  objects  that  any  rational  being  will  despise.  Surely  com- 
fort, the  society  and  approbation  of  a  grateful  husband,  the  allectiunate 
remembrance  of  chihiren,  and  tlie  commenilation  of  the  wise  and  virtuous,  will 
not  be  thought  to  be  purchased  too  dearly  by  a  little  exertion  and  a  little  do- 
mestic arrangement.  But  even  if  they  should,  selfishness  may  still  plead  with 
success.  To  such  disease  will  come  as  an  arenger  of  offended  decency,  and 
his  ravages  will  afford  a  fearful  demonstration  bow  genial  aie  the  abodes  they 
have  fitted  for  his  reception,  and  how  withering  is  the  embrace  they  have 
courted  with  their  neglect  of  cleanliness.  Besides,  from  such  the  hand  of 
charity  is  turned  aside,  and  pity  gives  place  to  disgust.  Moreover,  clothing 
of  all  kinds  is  not  nearly  so  warm  when  dirty  as  when  clean.  Thus  we  see 
that  indolence,  like  every  other  vice,  is  sure  to  bring  its  own  punishment,  and 
none  ought  to  be  surprised  that  they  do  not  enjoy  an  immunity  from  the  lat- 
ter, if  they  indulge  in  the  former.  We  are  perfectly  aware  of  the  excuses 
which  have  been  offered  for  the  want  of  domestic  comforts  of  this  class  of 
people,  and  we  are  disposed  to  give  them  full  weight  in  judging  of  their  con- 
duct, and  to  none  more  are  we  inclined  to  do  so  than  to  the  circumstance  of 
many  of  these  females  never  having  received  any  instruction  in  domestic 
economy,  and  never  having  experienced,  or  perhaps  even  witnessed  the  bles- 
sings of  a  comfortable  home  and  a  well  regulated  family.  They  know  not  how 
to  appreciate  the  extent  of  the  evil  of  improvidence  and  indolence,  nor  how  to 
estimate  the  great  value  of  providence  and  domestic  activity  There  is  one 
plan  which  suggested  itself  to  us  some  time  ago  which  we  doubt  not  would, 
if  carried  into  practice,  entirely  obviate  this  difficulty,  and  in  many  other 
respects  conduce  most  materially  to  the  domestic  and  moral  reform  of  the 
working  classes  of  the  community,  at  the  same  time  that  its  influence  would 
not  be  lost  upon  those  whom  Providence  has  placed  above  them  in  rank,  though 
below  them  in  real  usefulness,  we  mean  the  ladies  The  plan  is  this:  sup- 
posing the  town  were  divided,  as  at  present,  into  ten  districts,  and  each  dis- 
trict info  three  or  four  subdivisions,  consisting  of  about  loo  families  in  each 
subdivision,  let  there  be  a  society  formed,  consisting  of  80  ladies,  and  So  gen- 
tlemen, clergymen,  medical  men,  and  others,  of  whom  two  matrons,  or  elderly 
ladies,  and  two  gentlemen  should  be  appuiuted  visitors  to  each  subdivision,  who 
should  call  upon  all  the  poor  in  their  respective  divisions  at  least  once  a 
month,  to  inspect  the  condition  of  the  families,  endeavour  to  gain  their  esteem 
by  kind  and  conciliatory  demeanour,  and  then  to  give  them,  with  all  forbear- 
ance, advice  respecting  every  branch  of  domestic  economy  and  the  education 
of  their  children,  and  to  enforce  the  necessity  of  strict  morality,  and  exhibit  the 
excellence  of  virtue.  And  in  order  to  give  more  effect  to  their  recommenda- 
tion, they  might  extend  rewards,  consistiug  of  soap,  brushes,  or  other  small 
articles  which  appertain  to  cieanliness,  to  the  most  meritorious,  encouraging, 
at  the  same  time,  all  to  strive  to  emulate  each  other  in  their  domestic  and 
moral  condition,  by  the  prospect  of  reward  and  by  judicious  commendation. 
The  benefits  which  would  accrue  from  the  adoption  of  such  a  system  would, 
we  are  convinced,  be  great  both  to  poor  and  to  rich.  The  one  would  receive 
valuable  instruction,  encouragement,  and  comfort,  and  the  other  would  have 
the  delightful  pleasure  of  employing  their  time  and  abilities  to  a  benevolent 
and  rational  purpose:  they  would  build  for  themselves  a  lasting  and  honourable 
monumeat  in  the  hearts  of  the  indigent,   the  best  feelings  of  humanity  would 


C7 

be  cultivatc.1,  a  pleasing  retrospection  would  be  constructed  for  age  to  repose 

upon  ainJ  f'n-  memory  to  review;  they  would  evince  that  they  were  indeed  the 
followers  of  liim  who  went  about  doin?  gool,  and  last  (not  least)  the  bonds  of 
society,  that  seem  in)w  about  to  sever  and  plunge  us  into  party  collision  and 
ntlcr  and  almost  hopeless  disorganizution,  would  be  riveted  by  the  gentle  but 
powerful  agenry  of  gratitude  and  atTection.  We  speak  from  experienre  when 
we  say,  that  though  there  are  many  of  the  poor  who  are  looking  forward  to  a 
convulsion  with  a  wish  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  judicial  restraint,  and  with  a 
design  of  taking  vengeance  upon  the  rich  for  the  evils  they  fancy  their  supe- 
riors have  entailed  upon  them,  yet  we  are  convinceil  that  a  much  greater 
number  are  well  disposed  towaids  those  whose  temporal  circumstances  are 
better  tiian  their  own,  and  would  respectfully  receive  instruction  and  grate- 
fully acknowledge  an  oblisjation.  Tboiigh  many  of  the  poor  are  disaffected, 
dissolute,  and  indolent,  let  none  he  so  unjust  as  to  censure  the  whole  for  the 
fault  of  a  part.  The  poor  getierally  are  deserving  of  much  respect,  and 
anxious  to  improve  their  condition.  We  have  witnessed  many  a  noble  mind 
pining  under  hopeless  poverty,  and  struggling  with  heioic  effort  against  insur- 
mountable difHculties  :  we  have  adm-«.red  more  honourable  pride,  more  uncom- 
plaining endurance,  and  more  domestic  harmony  and  affection  amongst  the 
poor  than  we  ever  did  amongst  the  rich.  We  have  heard  the  untaught  voice 
pour  forth,  in  rude  but  impress>ivc  language,  the  eloquence  of  niiturc,  move 
powerful  than  all  the  studied  displays  of  art  and  the  chilling  effusions  of  a 
frigid  heart.  We  have  seen  unsullied  virtue  clad  in  mean  array,  and  Christian 
principles  enshrined  in  indigence,  and  glowing  in  the  midst  of  discouraging 
circumstances.  These  are  not  objects  to  be  judged  with  precipitancy  and 
prejudice,  and  treated  with  harshness  and  contempt.  Did  ^ro/e.wors  of  Chris- 
tianity believe  the  declarations  of  him  whom  they  designate  the  "  Truth"  can 
we  for  a  moment  suppose  tiiat  any  of  them  would  be  heard  to  address  the  poor 
followers  of  the  Nazarine  (who  himself  knew  not  where  to  lay  his  head)  with 
insolence,  or  be  seen  to  pass  them  by  with  a  frown  ?  How  awful  is  his  decla- 
ration! *'  Whosoever  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  ichich  believe  in  me,  it 
were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  he  tvere 
drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea"  Can  any  one  lead  this  denunciation  and  not 
tremble  at  the  thought  of  exposiiig  lhpii)selve:<  to  its  infliction?  Can  any  one 
seriously  consider  it,  and  not  be  careful  to  respect  Christianity  wheresoever  it 
may  be  found,  and  honour  virtue  wherever  it  may  nppear?  One  iniliscriniinate 
treatment  of  a  whole  class  in  society  certai.ily  e.\poses  men  to  the  penalty  of 
offended  j  tstice,  the  chastisement  of  despised  » irtue,  and  the  vengeance  of 
insulted  Deity;  and  we  cannot,  therefore,  act  with  too  much  caution  in  this 
respect,  and  form  our  opinions  with  too  much  investigation  and  deliheration. 
How  animating  is  the  converse  declaration!  "  Whosoever  giveth  to  the  pgor 
lendelh  to  the  Lord.  Inasmuch  as  yo<i  did  it  to  one  of  the  least  of  theie  mif 
brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  we."  If  these  declarations  fail  to  arouse  the  attention, 
and  these  motives  cannot  move  the  heart,  vai.)  must  hnman  appeals  i)rove, 
unproductive  would  be  the  eloquence  of  facts;  but  we  hope  tlieie  are  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  hearts  in  this  town  which  will  warmly  respond  to  these  senti- 
ments, and  a  sufficient  number  of  philanthropists  who  will  api)rove  of  our  plan 
of  visitation,  and  tome  forward  to  aid  in  its  practical  application.  We  have 
dwelt  on  this  part  of  our  subject  longer  than  we  at  first  intended,  but  the  im- 
portance of  its  object  must  plead  our  apology. 


C8 

The  second  class  of  poor  may  be  called  those  who  are  ertremcly  poor,  but 
such  as  struffgle  against  their  difficulties,  who  manage  their  small  income  with 
great  prudence  and  calculation,  and  who  keep  their  dwellings,  furniture,  and 
children  clean,  and  under  as  good  regulations  as  can  be  expected  to  be  met  with 
amongst  the  uneducated  and  the  unassisted.  Several  cases  the  visitors  met  with 
of  this  description,  in  which  they  were  surprised  to  find,  that  with  less  than 
Is.  6d.  per  head  per  week,  the  honourable  females  contrived  to  give  an  air  of 
comfort  and  cheerfulness  to  their  houses  and  families,  which  they  sought  in  vain 
amongst  those  whose  incomes  much  exceeded  this  small  pittance.  These  poor 
and  deserving  people  labour  under  great  discouragements  in  seeing  their  families 
increase  without  a  proportionate  increase  of  the  means  of  support,  in  seeing  their 
virtues  unrewarded  and  their  exertions  uncommended  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  to  be 
wondered  at  that  they  do  not  lose  their  love  of  decency  and  their  habit  of  cleanli- 
ness by  the  uncounteracted  influence  of  evil  example  and  the  constant  prospect  of 
filth  which  often  surrounds  them.  This  class  of  people  would  be  delighted  with 
the  notice  of  their  superiors  in  rank,  and  grateful  for  any  little  assistance  that 
might  be  afforded  them  ;  and  if  it  were  only  to  reward  and  encourage  merit,  the 
labour  of  visitation  would  be  more  than  repaid. 

The  third  class  may  be  called  those  who  are  extremely  poor,  extremely  im- 
provident, and  extremely  filthy  and  miserable.  The  condition  of  such  is  truly 
lamentable,  and  would,  we  know,  make  many  a  female  heart  pant  to  alleviate 
their  sufferiugs,  could  they  but  be  brought  to  divest  themselves  of  prejudice,  pity 
their  misery  rather  than  contemplate  their  faults,  and  to  visit  their  impure  habi- 
tations. Think,  O  think !  ye  who  dwell  in  abundance,  who  wallow  in  luxury, 
and  who  lavish  your  wealth  on  irrational  frailties  and  demoralizing  pursuits ! — 
think — there  are  very  many  of  your  fellow  creatures  on  the  utmost  verge  of  sub- 
sistence, who  are  pining  on  the  brink  of  starvation,  who  are  without  hope,  without 
principles  of  virtue,  and  are  merely  restrained  from  bursting  forth,  like  hungry 
wolves,  upon  society,  and  satisfying  their  craving  appetites  with  rapine,  by  the 
apprehension  of  punishment ;  and  should  any  civil  commotion  take  place,  you 
would  be  the  first  victims  of  men  whom  hopeless  misery  has  almost  driven  to 
desperation.  And  think,  at  the  same  time,  that  you  have  the  power  to  render 
them  comparatively  happy,  of  gaining  their  affections  and  gratitude,  of  instilling 
into  their  minds  principles  of  morality,  of  giving  them  habits  ot  industry  and  do- 
mestic economy,  and  making  them  peaceful  and  valuable  members  of  society. 
Think  of  these  truths,  and  then  we  would  trust  you  will  see  how  awful  it  is  to 
abuse  the  means  of  usefulness  with  which,  as  stewards,  you  have  been  intrusted, 
how  excellent  is  genuine  bcnevolenee,  how  solid  are  its  pleasures,  how  important 
are  its  operations,  and  how  divine  are  its  exertions  !  And  we  hope  you  will  not 
continue  to  fritter  away  your  valuable  time  in  pursuits  that  can  yield  you  no  last- 
ing enjoyment,  that  you  will  not  squander  your  money  iu  idle  amusements  tliat 
will  sooner  or  later  occasion  you  much  remorse,  that  you  will  not  deaden  your 
feelings  by  dissipation,  and  debase  your  minds  -n-ith  the  light  and  fleeting  joys  of 
busy  but  ridiculous  fashion.  You  are  responsible  for  ever)'  hour  that  you  pass  in 
this  scene  of  trial,  you  must  account  for  the  use  you  make  of  the  trust  that  Pro- 
vidence has  reposed  in  your  hands,  and  for  every  facultj'  of  your  minds,  every 
feeling  o\  j-our  hearts,  and  eveiy  action  of  your  lives,  you  will  have  to  reckon  with 
God.    Thick !  O  think !  and  may  your  thoughts  lead  you  to  action  ! 


J.    WALKER,    PRINTER,    PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 


No  .3  MARCH  1,  1832.  Vol.  11. 


IRELAND. 


Important  as  it  is  to  superintend  the  aflfairs  of  our  own  allotment,  we 
may  occasionally  be  allowed  to  ramble  into  the  territories  of  others,  espe- 
cially if  we  can  so  far  benefit  by  the  excursion  as  to  be  additionally  useful 
to  both.     A  confined  sphere  of  observation  and  experience,  contracts  the 
mind,  localizes  the  feelings,  and  is  a  constant  source  of  ignorance  and 
bigotr)''.     By  an  enlarged  association  we  correct  our  errors,  we  become 
confirmed  in  that  which  is  right,  and  by  a  knowledge  of  the  world,  receive 
a  fresh   impulse  in   disseminating   the   principles    of  social   happiness. 
Ireland  is  our  next  neighbour,  and  is  appropriately  called  the  "sister 
island;  "  and  though  her  history  is  any  thing  but  inviting,  yet  her  poverty, 
misery,  and  commotions,    render   her    inccessantly   an  object  of  atten- 
tion.    Curious  to  know  the  state  of  this  country,  and  to  have  an  opportu- 
tunity  of  personally  examining  her  social  system,  I  went  over  about  three 
years  ago,  and  spent  nearly  a  fortnight  in  Dublin  and  the  Neighbourhood. 
Though  I  did  not  travel  a  great  distance  from  the  city,  I  took  every  oppor- 
tunity of  acquainting  my  self  with  what  was  passing  among  this  interesting 
people.  Every  day  was  spent  in  active  exercise,  and  every  evening  brought 
me  to  my  lodging  much  fatigued.     I  lodged  at  Home's  Hotel,  an  establish- 
ment superior  in  extent  and  arrangments  to  any  I  ever  met  with  ;    it  con- 
tained above  a  hundred  bed-rooms,  and  the  most  eligible  accommodations 
for  visitors.     Any  person  could  have  a  bed  here  and  be  made  welcome, 
without  feeling  any  obligation  to  purchase  liquors  to  remunerate  the  host ; 
such  were  the  arrangments,  that  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping  were  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  and  paid  for  separately  ;  and  such  was  the  support 
that  this  place  was  then  receiving,  that  if  it  continue  to  be  conducted  on  the 
same  principle,  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  proprietor  will  soon  realize  a  for- 
tune. 

The  prejudice  with  which  I  set  out  from  home  was,  that  I  was  going 
among  a  people  next  akin  to  barbarians,  amongst  whom  fi/J?  itself  was  con- 
stantly in  jeopardy;  and  I  was  cautioned  by  my  friends,  above  every 
VOL.   n.  K 


70 

tiling,  not  to  be  out  late  at  nights,  lest  I  should  be  murdered.  But  on 
this  point,  I  confess,  I  was  much  mistaken,  and  from  the  moment  I  set  my 
foot  on  Irish  ground  I  saw  my  delusion.  And  though  Dublin  and  the 
Neighbourhood  may  not  afford  a  fair  specimen  of  the  character  oi^tbe  people 
in  some  parts  of  the  country,  I  am  still  inclined  to  attribute  most  of  the 
cruelties  said  to  be  committed,  to  the  unjust  provocation  of  their  enemies. 
Though  cruel  in  revenge,  the  Irish  are  certainly  not  forward  to  ^?»e offence. 
No  kinder  people  exist,  if  kindness  is  shewn  to  them,  and  yet  none  more 
determined  to  resent  an  injury  and  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  oppressor ;  and 
this  accounts  for  the  excesses  which  sometimes  take  place  in  reference  to  the 
collection  of  tythes  and  other  impositions.  But  it  is  to  the  English  News- 
papers, principally,  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  impressions  we  have  re- 
ceived of  the  character  of  the  Irish  Nation.  In  them  we  have  regularly  an 
article  headed  "Ireland;  "  and  every  instance  of  outrage,  collected  from 
the  Irish  Papers  with  the  exaggerated  ccrmments  of  the  Editors,  is  care- 
fully detailed,  and  thus  published  together,  and  sent  forth  without  a  single 
redeeming  statement,  a  decidedly  false  impression  is  produced  upon  the 
minds  of  the  English.  Indeed,  so  magnifying  are  the  powers  of  the 
"  broad  slieet,"  that  events  which  have  scarcely  a  reality  in  the  minds  of 
competent  judges,  are  not  unfrequently  ushered  forth  as  of  awful  import- 
ance. If  the  enormities  committed  in  this  country  were  carefully  reported 
and  placed  in  one  focus  under  the  head  of  "  England,"  in  my  opinion 
Ireland  would  lose  nothing  by  the  comparison.  It  is  when  exasperated 
that  the  Irish  are  cruel,  but  when  fairly  treated*  civility  and  kindness  are 
distinguishing  traits  in  their  characters.  My  apprehensions,  in  this  re- 
spect, were  soon  removed,  and  I  durst  venture  to  perambulate  the 
streets  of  Dublin  at  any  hour  of  the  night  with  less  fear  than  I  durst 
those  of  any  of  our  large  towns  in  Lancashire.  We  have  certainly  not  so 
good  a  sample  in  many  of  those  of  the  lower  class  who  come  over  to  this 
country,  but  tJtese  are  not  a/aiV  specimen.  We  know  that  the  Avorst  cha- 
racters have  the  greatest  need  to  change  their  residences,  and  that  a  great 
])roportion  of  those  who  migrate  from  any  country  are  of  this  class.  Though 
my  companion  and  I  mixed  with  all  sorts  of  company,  and  visited  every  sort  of 
place,  from  the  dark  and  dirty  cellar  to  the  Castle  of  His  Excellency 
the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  we  uniformly  met  with  the  kindest  treatment. 
Before  we  landed  at  Kingstown  we  fell  into  company  with  an  Irish 
])assenger,  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends;  he  gave  us  a  kind  invita- 
tion to  his  house  where  we  were  entertained  in  the  most  hospitable,  man- 
ner, and  would  not  leave  us  till  he  saw  both  us  and  our  luggage  safe  at 
the  Inn.    Some  days  after,  passing  up  a  certain  street,  a  respectable  shop- 


71 


^^^er  ran  after  us,  brought  us  into  his  diniag-rooin,  and  made  us  wel- 
come to  the  best  in  his  bouse,  merely  from  the  circumstance  that  he  had 
noticed  us  in  the  company  as  he  came  over  in  the  vessel. 

As  to  civility  and  good  manjurs,  the  people  of  this  country  are  far 
behind.  I  will  venture  to  affirm  that  if  any  person  were  to  traverse  the 
streets  of  Dublin  for  a  week,  he  would  not  meet  with  a  tjnhe  of  the  in- 
sults that  he  would  be  exposed  to  in  passing,  during  dinner  hour,  along  a 
single  street  in  many  parts  of  our  large  manufacturing  towns.  The  dif- 
Perence  was  so  great,  that  I  frequently  made  this  remark  to  my  friend.  If  vou 
speak  to  any  individual,  or  to  a  group  of  persons  whom  you  meet,  you  get 
a  civil,  courteous,  and  direct  reply  ;  and  if  you  were  to  pass  silently  b\-  a 
Hundred  times  in  a  day,  you  would  not  be  accosted  with  those  gratuitous 
•emarks  and  taunts  which  in  this  country  are  a  disgrace  to  those  who  boast 
;o  superior  an  education.  Freed  from  the  phlegmatism  of  John  Bull's 
:hildren,  if  you  want  an  answer,  you  never  need  ask  an  Irishman  twice  ; 
md  if  you  want  him  to  do  you  a  service,  he  not  only  starts  immediatelv, 
)ut  in  the  flippancy  of  his  feelings,  almost  engages  bej-ond  what  he  can 
jerform.  He  never  sta3-s  to  bargain  beforehand,  he  falls  to  his  work,  and 
rusts  to  your  generosity  and  bis  own  importunity  for  a  fair  return.  They 
.re  the  most  willing  people  I  ever  met  with,  and  have  learned  by  habit 
he  useful  lesson,  that  "  civility  of  manners  may  be  acquired  without 
est." 

The  houses  in  Dublin  are  generally  well-built,  and  the  main  streets 
side  and  in  good  repair.  This  city  abounds  with  public  buildings  upon  a 
Mgnificent  scale ;  and  many  of  the  areas  are  graced  with  monu- 
lentsand  statues  of  a  majestic  cast.  That  of  Nelson,  Wellington,  Geo. 
I,  Geo.  Ill,  and  King  William,  are  very  conspicuous,  and  though  these  upon 
people  tainted  with  superstition,  might  have  a  fascinating  effect  in  favor  of 
le  country  by  which  they  ^re  ruled ;  y^X  under  present  circuumstances, 
ley  appear  to  have  just  as  much  influence  in  producing  hyalty  as  the  ex- 
ensive  architectural  grandeur  of  our  New  Churches  has  in  the  production 
^  piety.  To  attempt  to  describe  the  magtiificence  of  the  various  fine  build- 
igs  which  meet  the  eye  of  tlie  stranger  at  every  turn,  would  be  impossible, 
id  altogether  beyond  my  design.  We  visited  the  Castle,  the  Barracks, 
•.e  Bank,  where  the  Irish  Parliament  formerly  met,  the  College,  the  Four 
ourts,  the  Exchange,  the  Blind  Institution,  the  House  of  Industry,  the 
ying-in  and  the  Old  Man's  Institution,  the  Botanic  Gardens,  the  Deaf 
nd  Dumb  School,  the  Kildare  School,  the  Mendicity  Institution,  St. 
atrick's  and  Christ  Church,  and  several  Catholic  and  Dissenting  places 
f  worship,  besides  many  other  places,  the  names  of  which  I  now  forget. 


72 

But  a  stranger,  merely  from  the  mention  of  these  places,  can  have  no  ide. 
of  the  immense  extent  of  the  buildings  connected  with  most  of  them.  Th( 
College,  including  lecture-room,  hall,  museum,  the  anatomical  departmeni 
&c.,  is  more  like  a  village  than  a  single  Institution.  In  this  latter  departmen 
are  a  set  of  casts  that  cost  £40,000,  and  a  single  marble  statue  that  cos 
£10,000.  While  I  have  these  buildings  in  recollection,  in  connection  will 
the  condition  of  the  Irish  poor,  and  the  miserable  dungeon-like  huts  spreat 
all  over  the  country,  I  cannot  help  making  two  remarks — the  first,  tha 
where  Parliamentary  Grants  are  awarded  for  the  support  of  Institu 
tions,  and  entrusted,  as  they  usually  are,  to  injudicious  hands,  the  *?/»i« f« 
pendecl  bear  no  proportion  to  the  good  either  attempted  or  eftected.  We  set 
much  of  this  in  England,  but  it  js  in  Ireland,  principally,  that  the-unproduc 
tiveness  of  the  annnual  Parliamentary  Grants  are  clearly  seeq.  My  secon( 
remark  is,  we  have  here  a  decided  proof  of  the  general  effect  upon  societ) 
of  attempting  to  meet  its  wants,  gnd  to  improve  its  character,  by  publi( 
Institutions  and  charitable  Societitis.  Instead  of  teaching  the  people  to  ma- 
nage for  themselves,  and  securing  to  them,  by  equitable  laws,  the  necessary 
means  of  doing  so,  we  are  now  trying  to  do  every  thing  for  them,  to  remove 
all  their  ills,  first  by  one  new  society  and  then  by  another;  and  in  propor- 
tion as  we  go  on  in  this  course  shall  we  approximate  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
condition  of  the  Irish.  As  to  moral  and  religious  influence,  while  we  art 
so  infatuated  as  to  pay  large  salaries,  for  inefficient  men,  who,  either  from 
incapacity  or  want  of  disposition,  are  sleeping  at  their  posts,  we  have  by 
the  establishment  of  these  societies,  been  long  attempting  to  do  the  work 
for  them.  If  ever  the  so-nmch-boasted-of  Public  Charities  couW  havt 
brought  society  into  a  prosperous  state,  Dublin,  not  to  mention  many  parts 
of  this  covintrv,  would  long  since  have  been  in  the  happiest  condition.  Bui 
if  we  take  a  right  view  of  the  matter,  what  the  well-disposed  and  benevo- 
lent part  of  the  people  has  to  do  for  the  other,  is  this^ — not  to  erect  large 
establishments,  to  appoint  committees,  and  to  drain  the  money  of  the  pub- 
lic, and  to  expend  it  in  the  maintenance  of  these  unavailing  and  unnatural 
concerns, — but  to  secure  to  the  poeple  in  the  first  place,  a  fair  share  in  the 
productive  wealth  of  the  country,  and  in  the  next  place,  to  bring  every 
J'amiiy  under  the  influence  of  correcf  teaching,  tliat  they  may  feel 
their  own  importance,  manage  their  own  resoarces,  ipeet  their  own 
wants,  and  be  induced  to  diliuse  among  thjeir  children  and  dependants 
the  principles  of  morality  and  true  piety,  the  tnje  b^sls  of  all  real  happi- 
piness.  We  Must  Come  to  this  ;  and  we  now  begin  to  see  that  while  schools 
and  societies  have  been  multiplying  upon  us/poverty  and  misery,  depra- 
vity and  crime,  continue  to  increase.     Though  we  may  be  pleased  with  the 


Wmi 


73 


re  spirit,  which  is  abroad  to  benefit  the  people,  we  ought  not  to  be 
jatisfied  with  the  mode  of  its  operation. — The  contrast  of  the  buildings  be- 
twixt those  of  the  poor  and  the  rich  in  Dublin,  is  like  the  contrast  in  their 
:)ersonal  appearance ;  for  while  we  were  called  upon  to  gaze  at  extensive 
Tiansions,  anon  we  were  mortified  to  see  human  families  crammed  in  pla- 
:es  the  most  miserable  and  wretched.  .:uA-s:.r.uT(r' 

The  cleanliness,  neatness,  and  order  of  the  city,  however,  fall  far 
;hort  of  the  magnificence  of  the  buildings.  The  streets  are  neither 
lean  nor  orderly,  and  the  fronts  of  all  the  houses  have  a  dull  and 
lirty  appearance  ;  the  dirt  on  the  windows  is  rarely  disturbed,  and  the  ac- 
umulation  of  mire  on  the  steps,  in  many  places  was  such,  that  it  was 
:ither  peeling  o|Fin  cakes  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  affording  support  to 
he  moss,  which  in  several  places  was  very  luxuriant.  So  dirty  were  some 
vindows,  that  it  is  a  fact,  that  gentlemen's  servants,  who  were  wishful  to 
ee  what  was  passing,  had  actually  to  open  the  windows  tohavea^ir 
lew  ;  and  in  the  whole  city,  with  the  exception,  I  believe,  of  one  instance, 
/here  either  an  English  or  a  Scotch  family  resided,  I  did  not  find  the 
teps  belonging  to  the  best  built  houses  either  washed  or  whitened,  I  need 
ot  say  that  the  effluvia,  in  hot  weather,  arising  from  such  streets  was  any 
ling  but  agreeable.  The  insides  of  many  places  agreed  with  their  ex- 
.rnal  appearance ;  and  though  allowances  may  be  made  for  those  who 
ihabit  the  densely  populated  parts  of  the  city,  yet  want  of  attention  to 
eanliness  seemed  to  be  general.  The  servants  flirt  about,  and  are  exces- 
ve\y  obliging,  but  they  w^nt  the  system  and  penetration  of  the  Scotch,  and 
ye  intense  and  persevering  application  of  the  English^^the  consequence  is 
lat  the  pots,  tables,  glasses,  carpets,  and  furniture,  generally,  are  not  in  that 
ean  and  orderlj'  state  that  we  find  them  in  this  country.  The  buildings  are 
snerally  high,  and  in  the  poor  parts  of  the  city  one  house  will  be  occupied 
y  eight  or  ten  families,  one  over  another ;  the  rents  of  the  cellars,  with  a 
oor  as  black  as  a  turf  moss,  frequently  with  no  window,  and  in  some  in- 
ances  with  no  chimney,, in  the  streets  noted  for  trade, are  rated  from  three  to 
ur  shillings  and  eightpence  a  week.  Their  wet  clothes  they  hang  out  to 
•y  and  bleach,  from  room  window  to  room  window  across  the  streets,  and 

for  a  -back  convenience  it  were  almost  in  vain  to  enquire  for  such  a  place, 
his  is  the  state  in  which  they  have  been  bred  and  matured,  and  though 
sgusting  to  a  stranger,  they  seem  perfectly  at  home  in  it.  The  poorer 
iss  of  females  go  bare  leg  and  many,  barefoot,  and  though  they  wear  no 
•nnets,  almost  the  youngest  must  have  a  muslin  cap.      Cloaks  for  women, 

dtpp  coats  for  the  men,  are  worn,  without. any  respect  to  seasons,  and 
ese  being  often  j»p  nftiserably  ragged,  add  much  to  the  appearance  of  theiF 


74 


wretchedness.  Groups  of  women  are  seen  sitting  on  the  pavement,  and 
is  not  unusual  to  see  the  mistress  of  a  shop  sitting  on  the  steps.  Manyi 
the  poor,  especially  the  aged,  are  very  filthy,  indications  of  which  meetyoxi  a 
you  pass.  Extreme  poverty  having  been  so  long  the  fixed  lot  of  thi 
people,  their  rich  brethren  seem  little  affected  at  their  condition,  or  eve; 
demeaned  by  the  connexion.  Every  menial  seems  poor  and  wretched 
and  when  to  these  are  added  the  vast  number  of  vagrants  that  throng  th. 
streets,  we  mav  account  for  that  unconcern  manifested  by  the  ladies  am 
gentlemen  who  are  approached  and  attended  upon,  by  men  whose  appear 
ance  would  be  considered  disgusting  in  England.  I  have  seen  ladies  deck 
ed  with  all  that  fashion  could  display,  driven  up  and  do%\-n  in  cars  by  dirt; 
fellows,  whose  ragged  top  coats,  afforded  famous  sport  for  the  mind,  wit 
as  much  glee  as  if  attended  by  a  livery  servant.  The  hackney  coache- 
andjanting  cars,  of  which  there  are  hundreds  rattling  in  the  streets,  are  ge 
nerally  nnder  the  direction  of  such.  I  saw  O'Connel  riding  from  the  Ex 
change  one  day  under  the  guidance  of  a  hearty  fellow  of  this  stamp 
whose  whip  consisted  of  a  rude  hedge  stick,  and  a  piece  of  an  old  rop- 
With  a  brushy  end.  If  the  pride  of  attendance  were  what  it  is  in  this  countfj 
a  considerable  change  would  take  place  in  the  appearance  of  the  lowe 
classes  of  the  Irish;  but  I  am  not  sure  whether  the  rich  do  not  pride  thett 
selves  in  the  contrast ;  at  any  rate  they  take  no  pains  in  assimilating  th 
difference. 

But  what  is  remarkable,  amidst  poverty  and  rags,  the  people  ahvay 
seem  cheerful,  and  comparatively  contented  ;  they  can  always  pass  a  jokt 
aiad  are  capable  of  being  excited  to  merriment  by  the  most  trivia 
circumstance.  Sport  and  mirth  seem  indigenous  to  Ireland ;  an* 
whether  from  the.  climate,  or  the  influence  of  association,  I  canno 
tell,  but  I  never  spent  a  fortnight  in  all  my  life  so  free  from  care- a. 
I  did  this.  Every  company  seems  lively;  the  language  and  the  looks  o 
those  who  were  even  crawling  on  the  ground  indicated  a  vivacity  of  spiril 
The  morose,  isullen  disposition  has  no  place  here,  whilst  gaiety  and  mirth 
are,  perhaps,  in  several  instances,  carried  to  an  extreme.  Though  the  povert 
of  tte  people,  in  my  estimation  was  extreme,  and  though  it  is  often  forcei 
ppon  tf»e  observation  of  strangers,  from  the  prevalency  of  begging,  yet  I  be 
Jieve  there  is  really  kss  repining  than  in  Engknd  ;  and  many,  apparency 
without  borne  or  employment,  with  a  few  potatoes  twice  a  day,  seem  quit 
contented.  They  have  no  losses  to  mourn,  no  possessions  to  care  for,  an 
po  prospiects  to  escite  either  hope  or  fear ;  and  therefore  their  pleasure 
tiKwgh  little  more  than  animal,  are  unbroken  by  the  anxious  cares  too  tffte 
«C«fiected  with  wealth,   Every  season  has  its  sports,  not  excepting  the  burl; 


7# 

f  the  dead  and  other  religious  solemnities.     I  attended  the  interment  of  a 
erson,  in  a  parcel  of  ground  at  the  outside  of  the  town,  allotted  to  the  free 
se  of  the  poor.      It  is  situated  on  an  elevation,  and  I  was  told  that  at 
lis  place  the  most  ludicrous  sti'ife  takes  place,  if  two  funerals  should 
appen  to  be  together,  as  to  which   can  catch  the  entrance   first;    the 
earers  of  the  corpses  literally  run  races  for  some  supposed  advantage,  re- 
orted  to  them  by  tradition.     The  ground  was  in  the  most  disorderly  state, 
ad  the  bearers  threw  down  the  coffin  without  any  regard  to  the  propriety 
Tits  position.  The  grave  was  then  to  make ;  two  men  in  their  top  coats,  and 
;hers  by  turns,  set  to  work  with  spades,  the  handle*  of  which  were  about 
re  feet  long,   but  before  they  had  dug  deep  their  tools  came  in  contact 
ith  the  coffins  and  remains  of  those  previously  interred,  which  they  scat- 
red  abroad  without  ceremony.      In  the  meantime  some  of  the  attendants 
ere  kneeling    on  the  ground  praying,    some  vociferating,  and  others 
aking  an  amusement  of  fetching  bones  and  throwing  them  at  each  other, 
slipping  them  slyly  into  the  pockets  of  the  spectators.  Indeed,  the  weep- 
g  and  laughing,  the  shouting  and  praying,  the  familiarity  with  the  remains 
the  dead,  and  the  general  confusion,  so   contrary  to  that  decorum  and 
;ietaess  which  we  are  accustomed  to  here  on  these  occasions,  were  such 
It  I  left  the  place  with  disgust.     I  dined  one  day  in  an  Irish  cabin,  near 
i  water- fells  in  the  count)'"  of  Wicklow,  and  visited  and  examined  several 
aers,  in  which  every  one  seemed  to  reflect  the  picture  of  misery.  I  observed 
•tatoes  boiled  ready,  and  the  children  when  hungry  went  and  took  one  as 
sy  needed.      I  assure  my  readers,  that  when  we  sent  for  some  bread  for 
iner,  it  seemed  to  be  considered  by  the  femily  where  we  stayed  as  a  very 
eat  luxury,  and  I  should  suppose  it  is  an  article  they  never  taste  for 
)nths  together.     In  this  excursion  we  passed  though  the  village  of  Bray, 
;i  also  the  noted  Donabrook,  where  a  tumultuous  fair  is  sometimes  held. 
.  verty  seemed  written  on  the  front  of  almost  every  cabin,  but  they  seem- 
•  good  humoured,  hearty,  and  cheerful ;  and  to  use  the  expression  of  a 
'  man  whose  mother  was  drunk  across  the  parapet,  "  void  of  all  care." 
]  s  true,  that  when  in  the  act  of  begging  (and  there  are  numbers  who  fol- 
1  rno  other  occupation,)  they  tell  sorry  tales,  but  a  small  donation, in- 
i  Qtly  removes  the  gloom,  and  procures  for  the  stranger  a  thousand  bles- 
'  gs.    "  I'll  give  you  my  blessing  when  I  meet  you  at  St.  John's  well," 
i  d  an  aged  dame  in  acknowledgment  for  a  halfpenny ;  while,  "  the  Lord 
I  )sper  you  across  the  sea,  bring  you  safe  to  your  family,  and  may  they 
n  er  wcmt,"  was  the  parting  benediction  of  one  of  the  mendicants  at 
I  gstownas  I  returned  home.  Their  volubility  and  facility  of  expression  is 


76 

remarkable,  and  this,  connected  with  their  importunity,  procures  them  mar 
favours  from  strangers.  Many  of  the  poor  never  trouble  themselves  abo 
what  is  to  come;  indeed  the  past  and  the  future  are  alike  matters 
indifference  to  them ;  they  literally  "  take  no  thought  for  the  morrow 
Hence  their  arrangements  are  grounded  upon  this  principle ;  if  an  IrishiXK 
want  his  coat  mending  he  can  have  it  begun  of  at  a  moment's  notice,  for  the 
are  lots  of  stalls  attended  by  women,  whose  trade  consists  in  buying  a 
selling  old  patches,  and  fixing  them  on  the  garments  of  their  customei 
If  his  shoe  want  stiching,  there  are  plenty  of  cobblers  seated  in  the  stre 
ready  for  any  job  that  may  come  to  hand.  Instead  of  a  week  or  a  fortnigh 
wash,  as  is  common  with  us,  the  Irish  wives  have  washing  mugs  alwa 
ready  ;  they  wash  their  clothes,  as  they  cook  their  meals,  that  is,  just  wh 
they  are  wanted.  It  is  this  disposition,  doubtless,  that  in  many  cases  mak 
them  happy  in  the  midst  of  their  poverty, 

W I  were  undertaking  to  disclose  their  moral  qualities,  1  should  pla 
^c«cro«7y  among  the  ^r*<  of  their  virtues,  and /ymjr  among  their  leadii 
vices.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  met  with  many,  who  told  me  lies  with 
much  confidence,  and  without  the  least  faltering  of  voice,  as  if  they  h 
been  telling  the  most  solemn  truths.  This  was  a  cause  of  much  regr 
not  only  because  of  the  sinfulness  of  the  habit,  but  because  we  wt 
afraid  of  relying  upon  the  statements  we  received,  perhaps  when  the  tru 
ivas  told.  But  some  might  consider  this,  at  least  in  some  instances,  mc 
as  an  inadvertency  than  a  design  to  deceive ;  and  where  a  person,  like  t 
Irish,  answers  in  a  moment,  every  question  that  is  put  to  him,  he  is  forf 
nate  indeed  if  be  always  bit  upon  the  truth.  The  vice  of  drunkenne 
ten  times  worse  in  its  effects  than  the  cholera  morbus,  prevails  extensivel 
The  rich,  by  which  may  be  understood,  not  merely  persons  of  great  pr 
perty,  but  also  the  tradesmen,  and  professional  gentlemen,  generally  di 
at  five  o'clock,  and  spend  the  evening  in  social  mirth  over  the  wine  a 
punch;  the  poor  delight  in  their  drams,  and  part  with  their  money  mc 
cheerfully  for  whiskey  than  for  any  other  article.  Whatever  engagemi 
you  make,  upon  closing  the  bargain,  a  claim  is  always  put  in  for  a  drop' 
the  "  dear  crater."  Animation  is  natural  to  this  people,  and  any  thi' 
that  affords  a  stimulus  is  eagerly  sought  after.  Mental  culture  bei; 
lieglected,  we  find  most  of  the  people,  just  as  they  are  in  Englar 
mere  anwidls  in  all  their  pursuits.  Complaining,  as  we  do,  justly,  against  1 
e;<travagances  of  government,  and  excessive  taxation,  I  assert,  that  all  j 
together  does  hot  drain  as  much  from  the  resources  of  the  country,  as  d( 
directly  and  indirectly,  the  unnecessary  comsuraption  of  ale,  wirte,  and  i 
dent  spirits  !  As  all  other  taxes  have  distinct  appellations,  by  way  of  pi 


J 


77 

?TBinence,  I  think  this  ought  to  be  called  "  the  DeviPs  tax  !  "  Fallow  is 
he  ground,  indeed,  in  Ireland,  which  the  temperance  principle  is  now  at- 
eropting  to  break  up  ;  may  its  redeeming  energy  soon  be  visible,  in  those 
itreets  and  lanes  and  corners  where  1  have  seen  numbers,  especially  wo- 
nen,  disgustingly  drunk  ! 

As  to  religious  attainments,  if  we  were  to  judge  from  the  number  and 
>ostlines3  of  the  places  of  worship,  we  should  conclude  that  these  people 
rere  all  saints;  but  the  reality  and  the  appearance,  as  is  the  case  in  most 
>ther  places,  are  much  at  variance.   In  the  country  I  saw  churches  in  every 
iirection,  and  what  I  particularly  noticed  was,  that  most  of  them  had  new 
pires  ;  Idid  not  enquire  the  reason,  but  my  conjecture  was,  that,  as  they  are 
o  little  visited  for  regular  purposes,  the  friends  of  the  Establishment  had 
•aosed  these  to  be  erected,  that  sense  might  be  an  assistant  to  faith,  and  that 
hese  holy  places  might  not  entirely  be  forgotten.  One  week-day  I  attended 
ine  service  at  the  Cathedral  Church  in  Dublin,  and  was  vain  enough, 
though  not  during  service)  to  seat  myself  on  the  Bishop's  throne.     Du- 
ing  service  I  found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  seat,  for  the   congregation 
oosisted  of  minister,  clerk,  four  boys  who  constituted  the  choir,  and  six 
earers,  making  altogether  twelve  souls  !     Here  they  were  in  the  midst  of 
city  consisting  of  176,000  souls,  and  surrounded  with  streets  in  every  one 
f  which  drunkenness  and   profanity  abound,  reading  over  the  million- 
imes-repeated  praters,  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  emoluments  connected 
ridi  the  service.     Is  this  the  way,  I  would  ask,  to  make  men  religious  ? 
i  this  the  way  to  check  vice,  to  conquer  sin,  and  to  lead  the  wandering 
inner  back  to  God  ?     Oh  !  stupid  nation  !  to  be  gulled  as  we  are  with  the 
badows   instead  of  the   substance,   to  cover  the  abominable  impositions 
hich  are  practised  upon  us  !      When  shall  we  begin  to  think  for  ourselves, 
id  instead  of  defering  to  antiquated  systems,  be  determined  no  longer  to 
jpport  that  which,  by  the  effects  it  has  produced,  evidently  belies  all  its 
retensions.     I  also  visited  several  Dissenting  places  of  worship ;    the  at- 
adance  was  rather  slender,  and  from  enquiries,  I  should  suppose,  these 
>cieties  were  not  making  much  progress.     I  observed  that  the  practice  in 
'ublin  is  to  collect  everj'  Sunday  for  sitting  money,  and  the  sum  .usually 
lid  appeared  to  be  a  halfpenny.  Amongst  the  various  religious  devices  for 
Jtting  money  I  noticed  on  a  bill,  "a  collection  by  the  ladies  ;  "  'and  really 
hen  "  the  beautiful  and  accomplished"  of  some  noble  stock  goes  round  with 
e  plate,  who  can  resist  ?    How  anxious  are  the  priests  in  these  days  of 
erility  and  bareness,  to  water  the  tree  of  life  with  the  silvery  streams  of 
ous  benevolence,  and  how  innocent  and  useful  it  must  be  to  allow  a  little 
pious  fraud/'  for  so  holy  a  purpose  !     On  Sunday  Morning  I  attended  a 
3L.  n.  L 


T5 

Catholic  Chapel,  which  was  so  crowded  that  some  were  kneeling  outsi 
the  door.  Their  usual  ceremonies  were  performed,  and  several 
monitions  deliveied  from  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son.  The  money  plati 
as  usual,  were  presented  at  the  door.  The  main  part  of  Ireland's  religion? 
like  that  in  our  country,  is  the  religion  of  creeds  and  ceremonies,  and  hence 
so  little  of  that  practical  goodness,  that  every-day  and  every-place  confor- 
mity to  the  precepts  of  the  gospel,  which  alone  is  worth  the  name  of  religion. 
Desirous  of  observiug  the  operations  of  some  of  those  Institutions, 
which  have  been  successively  established  to  remedy  the  evils  of  the  coun- 
try, I  attended  several  times  at  a  large  building  in  Upper  Sackville-street, 
where  most  of  the  offices  of  these  societies  are  kept.  The  places  are  ex- 
pensively fit  up,  and  are  managed  by  individuals  who  seem  to  make  a  good 
thing  of  it.  The  secretaries  come  in  a  forenoon  about  ten  o'clock,  and 
from  that  to  four  constitutes  their  day.  If  many  of  the  poor  contribu- 
tors were  to  go  over  and  see  those  places,  and  observe  the  manner  in  which 
their  money  is  expended,  they  w  ould  have  a  ready  answer  for  the  agents  who 
are  sent  up  and  down  the  country  begging,  and  lamenting  the  "want  of 
funds."  I  attended  one  day  at  the  anniversary  of  one  of  these  societies,  called 
the  "  Military  Bible  Society."  The  nun)ber  of  men  at  the  commencement, 
was  29,  and  at  one  time  amounted  to  40  ;  but  there  v  as  a  great  number 
t)f  well-dressed  females.  This  assembly  reminded  me  of  what  I  have  often 
remarked  to  myself  when  attending  "  anniversaries."  that  instead  of  at- 
tendtng  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  what  has  taken  place,  and  receiving 
additional  energy  for  future  action,  most  individuals  merely  attend  to  hear 
the  speeches  ;  and  they  view  the  occasion  for  the  most  part  as  a  public  ex- 
hibition of  talent.  The  report  which  was  read,  complained  of  the  want  of 
support,  and  all  the  speakers,  about  eight  in  number,  who  seemed  to  consider 
it  requisite  to  make  a  pretty  long  speech,  adopted  the  same  strain.  Most 
of  the  speakers,  as  if  they  had  been  hired  for  the  occasion,  left  the  place  as 
soon  as  they  had  finished  their  harangue ;  this,  for  aught  I  know,  may  be 
the  fashion  in  Ireland.  The  following  cash  account,  which  I  copied  from 
the  report  as  it  lay  on  the  table,  will  shew  with  what  consistency  the) 
could  urge  the  audience  to  increased  liberality  :  it  really  appeared  to  me  ft 
n\exejob. 


Total  Income  for  the  last  two  f    ^41   ig  n 


Dr.  £•     i-    d. 

ncome 
years 


^241   16  11 


I 


Cr.  £.  s. 

By  Stationary,  &;c 18     6, 

—  Rent  and  Incidentals ; .  49    0 

—  Package,  Carriage,  &c......  3     2 

—  Salaries 90     0 

—  Collectors,  per  centage 9  10 

—  Remitted  Parent  Society.  -  . .  50    0 

—  Balance  on  habd 21 

^241  l4 


I 


79 

The  total  number  of  copies  of  the  scriptures  distributed  was  289,  this  and 
th.e  management  of  £241  :  16  :  11,  cost  the  very  moderate  sum  of  £169  : 
19  1 6  V.l — But  keeping  out  of  view  so  gross  a  mismanagement  of  public 
money,  does  it  not  appear,  while  the  people  remain,  in  both  kingdoms,  after 
all  the  sums  which  have  been  expended,  in  a  state  of  ignorance,  poverty, 
and  crime,  that  the  course  adopted  has  been  a  mistaken  one  ?    It  is  not  the 
flaming  reports  of  societies,  it  is  not  the  imposing  grandeur  or  number  of 
temples  made  with  hands  j  it  is  not  even  the  attendance  upon  religious  ser- 
vices, which  form  a  true  criterion  of  character ;   and  those  who  look  beneath 
the  surface  of  things,  who  understand  the  essentials   of  human  improve- 
ment, can  never  feel  satisfied  with  the  appearance  instead  of  the  reality. 
li  iiB  personal  and  practical  religion  they  look  for ;  it  is  "  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faithfulness,  meekness,  temperance,  and  such  like  "  dispositions  and 
practices  that  are  wanted  to  make  the  people  really  happy.     Until  religion 
is  seen  at  home,  in  the  world,  in  business,  and  in  the  social  circle,  by  a  cor- 
rect deportment,  I  pass  over  the  substitute  of  formality  as  of  little  or  no 
value.     The  best  Institution,  in  my  opinion,  of  which  Dublin  could  boast, 
was  the  Mendicity  Institution.     Its  object  was  to  prevent  common  begging, 
to  teach  the  young  the  useful  arts  of  life :  to  relieve  the  able-bodied,  through 
the  medium  of  employment,  and  to  afford  seasonable  assistance  to  the  aged, 
infirm,  and  all  distressed  objects.    The  number  relieved  when  I  was  there, 
was  1800;  in  preparing  food  for  whom  four  tons  of  potatoes  were  used 
daily.  These  were  boiled  up  with  the  broken  meat  which  was  daily  collect- 
ed from  the  different  inns  and  other  houses  throughout  the  city,  and  with 
onions  and  seasoning  made  a  good  article  of  food.     The  poor  were  served 
at  nine  o'clock  and  at  two  every  day.     Employment  of  various  sorts  was 
provided  for  those  who  were  able  to  work.     But  this  Institution  also,  I  no- 
ticed in  the  papers  some  months  ago,  was  upon  the  point  of  closing  its  la- 
bours.    And  short  as  has  been  been  my  life,  I  could  cover  some  pages 
merely  with  the  names  of  societies,  and  Institutions,  local  and  general, 
'literary,  religious,  and  political,  all  professing  the.  advancement  of  society  as 
their  object,  which  have  been  begun  with  apparent  prosperity,  but  which 
have  either  become  defunct  or  are  now  reduced  to  a  mere  form.     For  my- 
self 1  begin  to  get  tired  of  them,  for  though  they  often  incorporate  men  of 
the  best  dispositions,  it  appears  to  me,  that  without  a  greater  number  of 
this  class,  tliey  cannot  continue  long  in  operation  ;  and  that  if  there  were  a 
greater  number,  a  more  eligible  mode  of  action  might  be  pointed  out. 

This  beuig  the  time  when  the  discussion  of  the  Catholic  Relief  Bill 
was  at  its  height,  I  attended  one  of  the  meetings  at  the  Exchange.  Lawless, 
Shield,  and  O'Connel  were  the  principle  speakers.  The  vivacity  pf  the 
Irish  Orators  bid  defiance  to  formal  rules,  and  with  a  laudable  object   in 


86 


1 


view,  they  are  seldom  pertinacious  of  little  matters  of  order, 
leaders  seemed  to  have  great  influence  over  their  auditory,  and  well  capa- 
ble of  arousing  their  passions.  The  rent  came  in  liberally,  and  the  meeting 
concluded  by  loud  huzzas  for  Old  Ireland.  But  though  this  associatioi 
made  a  great  noise  both  in  the  English  and  Irish  papers,  I  remarked  tha 
a  very  great  part  of  the  tradesmen  and  respectable  part  of  the  inhabitant: 
paid  little  or  no  attention  to  the  subject ;  and  these  meetings  in  the  Ex 
change  excited  far  more  attention  in  England  than  they  did  in  any  of  thi 
streets  immediately  adjoining.  Important  as  was  the  Catholic  question, ; 
far  more  important  one  in  a  practical  view  is  now  before  the  people  o 
Ireland.  The  abolition  of  tythes,  and  the  abandonment  of  a  long,  fruitless 
vexatious,  and  expensive  attempt  to  compel  the  people  to  become  ckurct 
folks,  are  measures,  if  successful,  which  will  surpass  ill  their  beneficial  ten 
dency,  any  measures  adopted  since  the  Union. 

While  a  stranger  cannot  but  notice  the  poverty  and  sloth  of  the  po« 
people,  yet  when  he  considers  the  extremes  to  which  the  classes  are  redu 
ced,  and  that  their  is  no  respectable  middle  class,  as  in  this  country,  hi 
surprise  will  not  be  great.  The  tendency  of  great  riches  and  great  poverty 
unless  counteracted  by  a  medium  influence,  is  to  produce  poverty  and  vas 
salage,  and  when  society  verges  to  this  state,  it  is  approaching  the  bane  oi 
social  happiness.  "  Neither  poverty  nor  riches,"  was  the  prayer  of  Agar 
and  experience  is  sufficient  to  prove  this  to  be  the  best  state.  Bad  laws  am 
a  bad  moral  feeling  are  the  causes  of  the  opposite,  and  it  ought  to  be  thi 
endeavour  of  every  legislature,  and  every  philanthropist,  to  prevent  thi 
state  as  much  as  possible.  The  Jews  had  a  law  by  which  every  familj 
came  to  the  possession  of  that  portion  of  land  originally  allotted  to  it  ever^ 
fiftieth  year ;  but  while  we  are  under  laws  of  a  contrary  tendency,  an< 
while  no  likely  means  are  adopted  to  bring  the  poor  and  the  rich  to  a  raid 
die  path,  aristocratic  wealth  and  mendicant  misery  will  still  continue  t 
spring  up  together.  Oh  !  that  the  land  owners  of  this  interesting  countrj 
would  but  consider  the  condition  of  the  thousands  of  miserable  beings,  whi 
are  made  by  the  same  hand,  children  of  the  same  soil,  passing  through  thi 
same  world,  and  destined  to  stand  before  the  same  Judge  !  Oh  !  proui 
mortal !  do  I  often  say  to  myself,  when  I  see  a  worm  spurning  a  fellw 
worm,  because  he  happens  to  have  a  worse  coat  and  empty  pockets,  whils 
in  mind,  the  seat  of  all  that  is  glorious  and  divine,  he  is  far  superior — thinl 
that  however  thou  mayest  deceive  thyself  here,  verily  there  is  a  God  wh 
will  judge  impartially,  and  render  to  thee  and  to  every  one  according! 
his  works.  ' 

I  have  said  so  much,  historically,  and  interspersed  it  with  so  many  re 
flections,  that  were  I  able,  I  have  no  opportunity  now  of  doing  more  thai 


I 


I 

Stntine 


81 


iSting  at  that  all-important  question  "  what  must  be  done  for  Ireland  ?" 
Its  real  liappiness  depends  upon  its  moral  advancement;    and  as  this  must 
>e  gradual,  we  ought  not  to  be  sanguine  as  to  any  immediate  change  In  the 
yeaeral  habits  of  the  people.      But  much  may  be  done  politically,  and  for 
:hanges  of  this  character,  they  are  well  prepared.     The  cry  for  poor  laws 
n  Ireland,  in  my  opinion  is  the  offspring  of  a  short-sighted,  temporising 
lolicy.     Instead  of  providing  for  poverty,  why  not  try  rather  to  prevent  it; 
nstead  of  providing  conveniences  for  this  demon  of  wretchedness,  let  us  do 
all  we  can  to  expel  him.     Remove  every  just  cause  of  discontent,  restore 
quietness  to  the  country,  and  make  it  a  safe  abode  for  capital;  this  con- 
lected  with  moral  culture,  will  do  much  towards  meliorating  the  condition 
af  the  people.    Let  government  grants,  and  the  proceeds  of  all  property 
under  its  eontroul,  be  spent  upon  inclosing  and  improving  the  land,  which 
will  not  only  find  employment  in  the  first  place,  but  continue  every  year  to 
!)e  a  constant  source  of  labour.     When  I  think  of  the  universal  cry  for  la- 
Jwrr  ;  of  the  millions  of  acres  which  might  be  cultivated  or  planted  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  of  the  millions  of  money  sunk  in  raising  massive  buildings  in 
every  part  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  stand  there  yielding  scarcely 
iwy  employment  to  the  labourers  of  the  country,  I  feel  indignant  at  the 
»ross  misapplication  of  the  nation's  weadth.     It  is  employment  that  is  want- 
ed; create  this  extensively,  and  pauperism  hides  its  face.    As  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  church  and  tythes,  a  wise,  honest,  and  strong  government  would 
jecide  the  matter  shortly.  "  Let  each  religious  party"  it  would  say  "  enjoy 
its  privileges  uninterupted,   let  all  be  equally  protected  and  eligible  to  the 
bonours  and  emoluments  of  the  state ;  but  as  to  the  property,  which  has 
been  so  long  a  source  of  contention,  animosity,  and  even  of  bloodshed,  and 
which  is  always  found  inimical  to  the  interests  of  true  religion,  we,  as  the 
rightful  trustees,  take  it  under  our  own  care,  and  will  apply  it  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor,  to  the  furnishing  of  employment  to  all  who  are  able  to 
work,  or  to  any  other  national  purpose  which  the  fairly  elected  representa- 
tives of  the  nation  may  appoint"     It  is   bread,  not  bishops  ;  employment, 
not  charity ;  kindness,  not  coercion,  that  Ireland  needs  ;  she  must  be  ruled, 
not  by  the  iron  hand  of  despotism,  but  by  the  gentle  laws  of  reason  and 
persuasion  ;  and  to  effect  her  real  advancement  party  spirit  must  subside, 
;aud  rational  and  moral  principles  be  more  widely  diffused  among  all  classes. 
In  conclusion  ;  I  respect  Ireland ;   I  admire  the  country;    and  the  ge- 
nius even  of  the  untaught  of  the  people  has  often  excited  my  surprise.     My 
journey  left  upon  my  memory  many  important  recollections  which  time 
win  never  erase.     They  are  an  interesting  people,  but  great  changes  must 
take  place  both  in  their  political  and  religious  connections,  before  they  at- 
tain that  eminence  for  which  nature  has  qualified  then;,  J.  L. 


82 


COURT   OF  COMMON   SENSE. 


This  court  continues  to  hold  its  sittings^  but  though  its  decisions  are 
important,  it  gains  little  ascendancy  over  the  inveterate  prejudices  of  man- 
kind. The  following  case  of  Church  against  Anti-Church,  deserves 
to  be  reported  : — The  plaintiffs,  who  are  all  of  the  real  Church  and  King 
party,  having  been  for  some  time  taunted  and  accused  by  a  host  of  adver- 
sariesi  for  abusing  their  power,  and  oppressing  the  nation  under  the  pre- 
text of  religion,  are  at  last  aroused,  and  are  determined  to  make  another 
eflbrt  to  put  down  the  liberal  spirit  of  the  age.  The  defendants,  designat- 
ed papists,  schismatics,  unitarians,  and  infidels,  actuated,  as  they  say,  by 
malignant  motives,  were  determined  to  stand  their  ground,  and  abide  the 
issue  of  a  fair  investigation.  This  action,  so  purely  religious  in  its  object, 
was  commenced  in  the  Spiritual  Court,  but  was  moved,  by  public  censure, 
to  the  Court  of  Common  Sense.  The  indictment  set  forth  that  the  above 
characters  had  "  conspired  together,  and  by  force  of  anns,  on  divers  occa- 
sions endeavoured  to  traduce  the  holy  establishment,  to  impugn  her  mod- 
est pretensions,  to  question  her.  utility,  and  to  dispute  her  right  of"  ascen- 
dancy." But  for  the  chairman,  who  is  a  man  of  great  leniency,  the  proceed- 
ings would  have  been  quashed  at  the  commencement,  for  the  jury  object- 
ed to  the  phraseology  of  the  indictment,  being  at  variance  with  the  princi- 
ples of  the  court ;  that  is,  with  common  sense.  However,  that  difficulty 
lieing  surmounted,  a  flaming  s|^ech  was  delivered  by  the  counsel  for  the 
complainants,  which  seemed  to  produce  a  strong  impression.  The  purity, 
utility,  antiquity,  incomparability,  the  nationality,  and  scripturality  of  the 
Church  were  insisted  upon,  with  all  the  oratory  the  speaker  could  com- 
mand ;  and  a  strong  panygeric  was  pronounced  upon  the  learning,  the 
purity,  the  industry,  and  the  disintcrestcdmss  of  the  clergy.  It  was  com- 
pared to  a  might)'  tree,  which  affords  shelter  and  protection  to  beasts  and 
birds  of  every  kind ;  and  it  was  admitted  that,  though  its  form  was  rather 
irregular,  owing  to  its  being  engrafted,  when  young,  upon  a  stock  which  was 
corrupt,  yet  it  was  argued,  that  to  begin  to  trim  its  branches,  or  to  eradicate 
its  roots,  which  are  so  extensively  ramified,  would  be  an  attempt  of  brutality 
equalled  only  by  the  ignorance  of  its  authors.  A  few  spots  (like  those  of 
the  sun,  which  are  always  concealed  by  its  essential  glory)  it  was  conced- 
ed might  exist,  but  what  system,  it  was  asked,  was  spotless,  and  altogether 
pure  ?  It  was  a  caveat  against  the  superstitions  of  Popery,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  a  firm  bulwark  against  the  infidelity  of  free-thinkers.  AltQ- 
gfther,  its  excellencies  were  so  overpowering,  that  nothing  but  an  extraordi- 


83 

ftary  effusion  of  the  Spirit  could  have  enabled  its  founders  to  organize  so 
perfect  a  system.  In  imitation  of  the  great  captain  of  the  age,  in  reference 
to  Reform,  he  should  say,  that  if  he  (the  Rev.  Moonshine,  for  this  was 
his  name)  had  a  system  of  Religion  to  devise,  he  knew  of  no  establishment 
which  he  should  regard  as  a  standard,  but  the  Church  of  England.  And  he 
deeply  regretted  to  see  the  restless  spirits  of  the  age,  incongruous  in  character, 
forming  themselves  into  a  hostil*  phalanx  to  strike  if  possible  a  mortal 
wound.  He  conjured  every  orthodox  Protestant  to  resist  the  attempt; 
and  he  was  highly  delighted  to  see  on  the  present  occasion,  by  the  pre- 
sence of  every  ecclesiastical  order,  from  the  mitred  head  to  the  humble 
sexton,  that  they  were  determined  to  come  to  "  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  There  was  a  time  when  the  process  for  putting 
down  sedition  and  heresy  was  much  shortef  ;  but  now  they  must  be  so 
demeaned  as  to  argue  all  these  matters  beneath  the  superintending  genius 
of  an  idol  (Called  Reason  or  Common  Sense.  He  felt  no  hostility  to  the  indi- 
viduals indicted,  but  jealous  of  the  interests   of  the  Church  whenever  she! 

was  attacked,  he  was  ready  to  defend  her  with  his  last .    The  deliverer 

of  this  sentence  produced  so  simultaneous  a  cheering,  that  the  last  part' 
of  it  was  drowned  amid  the  acclammaiions  of  the  party;  upon  whicli 
the  chairman  arose  and  said  "  that  such  conduct  could  not  be  tolerated^ 
and  as  it  was  likely,  and  perhaps  intended,  to  prejudice  the  result  of  the 
trial,  if  it  were  repeated  he  should  adjourn  the  court." 

The  examination  of  witnesses  then  commenced,  and  it  is  remarkable 
how  feelingly  they  all  gave  in  their  evidence. 

They  consisted  of  the  intelligent  sexton,  who  when  even  digging  the 
graves,  would  swear  like  a  trooper — -of  the  pluralist  David,  who  both 
sells  ale,  gets  drunk,  and  says  Amen — of  a  sober  organist,  whose  Sun- 
day services  have  been  so  ill  paid  at  £80  a  year,  attended  by  his  poor 
blower  who  works  for  6d.  a  Sunday. — The  Churchwardens,  the  masters  of 
the  feast,  were  numerous,  amongst  whom  a  few  were  singled  out  (surely 
f«>r  some  special  reasons)  by  the  appellation  of  bottle  cleaners. — The  min- 
isters in  holy  orders,  arrayed  in  their  cannonicals,  appeared  with  great 
gravity ;  but  there  were  persons  whispering  in  the  court,  "  that's  him  that 
his  father  could  make  nothing  of  till  he  got  him  to  be  a  parson" — yonder 
chap  was  drunk  t'other  Sunday,  and  they  have  written  to  the  Bishop  about 
him — this  is  the  best  preacher  you  ever  heard,  he  preaches  the  gospel,  but 
he  undoes  all  by  his  conduct;  he  is  so  greedy  of  money  that  nobody  can 
manage  him."  Nothing  particularly  Was  remarked  about  any  of  the  dignita* 
ries,  (for  the  people  only  know  by  report  that  there  are  such  men)  except- 
ing that  the  diploma  of  one  of  the   bishops  was  ornamented    by  the 


ft. 


84 

numerical  addition  of  thiiiy-two  W%.  Altogether  they  were  certainly  f 
goodly  company. 

The  evidence  of  all  the  parties  was  perfectly  harmonious;  and  thougli 
it  proceeded  from  persons  so  various  in  their  stations  and  occupations,  it 
every  essential  particular  it  was  the  same.  The  evidence  against  the  free- 
thinkers  and  infidels,  as  they  were  called,  assumed  that  they  wer« 
void  of  all  religion,  and  dangerous  members  of  society,  whilst  the  papists 
M  ere  repeatedly  charged  with  a  design  to  rob  the  church,  and  get  posses 
sioQ  of  all  her  temporalities. 

The  case  for  the  prosecution  closed,  and  the  defence  was  begun  ;  am 
certainly  when  the  appearance  of  the  defendants  was  contrasted  with  that  o 
their  antagonists,  the  odds  seemed  as  much  against  them  as  that  of  David' 
sling  against  Goliah's  sword.  "  The  learned  counsel,"  said  the  advocati 
of  the  defendants,  "  had  taken  immense  labour  to  praise  the  church,  and  t( 
persuade  the  jury  that  the  charges  were  such  as  to  call  for  conviction.  S( 
elevated  did  his  friend  appear  in  closing  his  "  case,"  and  so  triumphantly 
did  he  expect  to  quit  the  field ;  that  justice  to  his  clients,  and  the  import 
auce  of  his  cause,.obliged  him  thus  early  in  his  defence,  to  pronounce  his  as 
sumptions  a  delusion.  A  strong  wall  had  been  built,  but  it  wanted  thi 
cement  of  truth  ;  to  this  he  would  oppose  the  stubbornness  of  astoundini 
facts,  against  which  he  was  persuaded  no  empty  declamation  could  prevai 
He  did  not  deny  many  things  which  had  been  imputed  to  the  defendants 
and  be  was  proud  to  defend  men  who,  while  they  were  actuated  by  th 
purest  motives,  had  by  a  noble  stand  made  against  established  corruptions 
rendered  themselves  obnoxious  to  a  whole  host  of  greedy  cormorants 
For  \  conspiracy  and  force  of  arms,'  the  jury  must  understand  sincer 
conviction,  and  ihe  force  of  argument ;  and  whatever  concession  he  made  a 
to  the  truth  of  some  of  the  allegations,  he  claimed  for  his  clients  the  cre^*, 
of  being  actuated  by  pure  motives.  Instead  of  being  exposed  to  censurt 
he  was  persuaded  that  an  impartial  developement  of  their  principles  wouli 
cause  them  to  be  admired  as  the  first  patriots  of  the  land.  Like  some  hug 
hill  on  a  public  road,  the  church  may  have  become  venerable  in  proportio 
to  the  difficulties  it  has  imposed  ;  but  if  it  be  in  the  power  of  man  eithe 
to  level  it  with  the  surrounding  country,  or  to  lead  the  traveller  by  anothe 
route,  who  will  say  that  an  important  advantage  has  not  been  gained 
Those  doubtless  who  collected  the  toll,  will  be  loudest  in  their  complaints 
and  the  character  of  the  present  assembly  forcibly  reminded  him  of  a  sii»! 
lar  one  at  Ephesus,  whose  craft  was  in  danger,  and  who  for  the  space  c 
three  hours,  drowned  every  other  voice  in  the  orthodox  cry  "  Gj^ 
is  l)iaaa  of  the  Ephesians."  I 


P 


.   85 

The  defendants'  witnesses  were  then  brought  forward,  but  the  evidence 
was  so  diffuse,  that  all  that  I  can  do,  is  to  give  a  condensed  analysis  of  it. 
Thev  all  admitted  hostility  to  the  Church,  but  maintained  it  to  be  an  hos- 
tility of  principle,    and   asserted   that   so   long   as   they  were  loyal   and 
peaceable   subjects   no    one   had    a    right    to   interdict   the   free  expres- 
sion of  their  opinions,  as  to  the  merits  of  any  Church — that  as  mem- 
bers  of  the   state,    and  contributors   to   its   wealth,  they  considered  it  a 
doty  to  oppose  a  system  which,  while  it  was  at  variance  with  the  opinions 
of  the  nation,    was   principally    supported  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
erfioluments  to  a  numerous  dependancy,  who  were  sacrificing  the  resources 
of  the  country.     They  maintained,  moreover,  that  religion,  being  a  matter 
between  God  and  a  man's  own  conscience,  no  man  has  a  right  to  dictate,  no 
aiUhority  to  controul  his  faith  or  his  formulary.    Argument  and  persuasion 
were  the  only  legitimate  means  in  the  promulgation  of  religion,  and  therefore 
for  any  Government,  or  any  other  human  authority,  to  make  a  religion  for 
the  country,  to  saddle  it  with  the  expense,  and  to  persecute  those  who  refuse 
;o  accept  it,  is  not  only  intolerant,   but  approaching  to  impiety. — That  ru- 
leR  Are  chosen  for  the  Well-being  of  society,  and  that  their  offices  are  appoint- 
ed for  m77/j?/r/»05f,s,  to  defend  the  liberties,  rights,  and  property  of  the  sub- 
jects of  the  realm,  to  better  the  temporal  and  social  condition  of  society,  and 
to  punish  those  who  endanger  the  civil  compact  by  breaking  the  laws.    Be-' 
yond  this  the  government  cannot  go  consistently,  for  the  moment  it  steps 
beyond  its  proper  bounds,  by  making  religions  for  the  people,  it  gets  into  a 
labyrinth  of  difficulties,  and  evinces  its  own  incompetenc}-,  by  the  article  it 
produces,  and  especially  by  its  effects  inthecountry.—That  it  would  be  equalljr 
IS  proper  to  give  any  one  system  of  Astronomy,  Chemistry,  or  Physics,  the 
ligh  epithet   of   "  national,"  and  insist  upon   the  people's  believing  it, 
md  paying  an  enormous  price  for  its   promulgation. — ^That  were  it  possi- 
)le  for  any  order  of  men  to  make  an  infallible  selection,  (though  such  a 
)retension  can  never  be  entertained  but  in  connection  with  an  assumed  infalli- 
bility, whence  it  is  known  to  have  taken  its  rise,)  Statesmen,  of  all  others, 
re  the  most  unlikely.     Engaged  in  wars,  accustomed  to  worldly  policy, 
heir  time  and  attention  absorbed  in  temporal  affairs ;  men  of  high  birth, 
mbitious  feelings,  and  loose  morals, — are  these  the  persons  to  define  thear- 
icles  of  the  christian  faith,  and  to  assume  for  the  nation,  the  correct  inter- 
(retation  of  the  will  of  Christ  ?    So  far  from  this,  it  is  clear  that  political 
eeling  has  been  the  inspiration  of  new  religions,  and  that  the  same  motives 
vhich  led  Henry  to  proscribe  the  system  of  popery,  might  lead  William  to 
dopt  it.     To  talk  of  Kings  and  Courtiers  legislating  for  the  kingdom  of 
leaven,  is  truly  to  outrage  common  sense. — That  if  the  state  be  anxious 
i!<n«ii.  H 


86 

to  Improre  the  morals  of  the  people,  and  for  this  purpose  formed  a  partn  - 

ship  concern  with  the  Church,  why  do  they  not  exercise  their  lawful ;  - 

thority  for  that  purpose  ?    Why  do  they  not  remove  the  vices  and  abu  s 

which  abound  ?    Why  are  the  public   houses,  the  dram  shops,  and  r> 

houses  of  ill  fame  allowed  to  send   their  pestiferous  influence  over  all   , 

country  ?    If  they  are  so  anxious  for  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  people,  wy 

not   pay  more  attention  to   their  temporal  concerns  ?    Why  tantalize   c 

poor  man,  by  pretending  to  supply  him  with  the  bread  of  life,  and 

adopt  such  measures  as  are  requisite  to  secure  to  him  his  daily  hvti  ? 

Such  pretensions  for  diffusing  religion  are  sheer  hypocrisy. —  That,  appd- 

ing  to  every  man's  observation,  the  article  which  has  been  introduced,  ;d 

forced  upon  the  country  for  the  last  300  years,  and  for  opposing  which 

individuals  are  now  upon  their  trial  is   sufficient   of  itself  to  settle  11 

disputes.  ,    Is    there    a     dmntcresitd,  rcjlecting    man     of     sane     mi  I. 

who  sincerely  and  cordially  approves  of  it  ?     While  believing  its  creed  ; 

worshiping  with  its  forms  is  the  road  to  respectability  and  wealth,  we  c 

not  bring  the  subject  to  a  fair  test ;    but  we  believe  if  this  Daughter  of  ],- 

bylon  were  stripped  of  her  scarlet  robe,  and  her  golden  bowl  dashed  frl 

her  hand,  few  would  make  any  sacrifice  for  her  support  if  she  were  niolesd 

by  all  the  infidels  and  papists  of  the  land.   She  has  a  creed  which  is  so  \\\ 

expressed  as  to  be  made  to  mean  two  opposite  doctrines — she  has  a  formrf 

worship  the  most  incongruous  that  can  be  conceived,  producing  a  spiri'rf 

settled  formality — she  has  various  services  appointed  at  variance  both  wll 

the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  and  for  which  a  regular  pricis 

demanded — she   has  a  course  of  discipline,  belonging  to  her  courts,  jr 

fasts  and  her  feasts,  of  which  she   has  long  been  ashamed,   and  which  h'e 

no  existence  except  in  the  canons  and  the  prayer  book — she  has  appoind 

an  immense  number  of  offices,  to  which  are  appended  a  graduated  por 

of  the  good  things  of  life,  kept  open  to  satisfy  the  longings   of  those  mo 

are  too  good  to  be  turned  out  to  the  world,    and  who  in  return  for  such»r 

vours  are  ever  ready  to  link  themselves  to  the  yoke  of  the  oppressc— 

she  has  officers,  connected  with  services,  professedly  the  most  sacred,  o  in 

abandoned  character,  whose  example  is  abominable, — withallher  pretejss 

to  be  national  she  teaches  but  a  few  of  the  people,  and  seldom  with  efl't, 

and  leaves  the  great  bulk  either  destitute  of  instruction,  or  to  be  taught^ 

others. — And  that,  in  the  last  place,  providing  all  besides  were  correct,  t 

demands  of  the  church  and  the  mode  in  which  they  are  made,  are  such,  l«t 

with  a  Bible  in  the  English  language,  with  the  voice  of  reason  in  our  brea  h 

and  with  an  impoverished  people  before  our  eyes,  we  deem  it  a  libel  ujn 

human  nature  to  suppose  that  we  can  any  longer  remain  silent.      Is  ev  y 


87 

nan's  pig-sty,  shippon,  orchard,  garden,  granary,  and  corn  fields  to  be  ran- 
sacked to  pay  for  a  religion  which  he  contemns  ?  Is  an  indiscriminate  de- 
mand to  be  made  every  year  upon  every  individual  above  a  certain  age  for 
i  service  which  they  never  attend  ?  Is  it  not  enough  for  a  man  to  pay 
ivhile  he  is  iiving,  without  being  followed  by  posthumous  taxation  in  the 
shape  of  mortuary  after  death  ?  Must  w^e  be  charged  with  taxes  for 
churches  and  for  land  to  inter  the  dead,  and  yet  if  we  want  either  a  seat 
in  one,  or  a  grave  in  the  other,  we  must  be  taxed  again  ?  Is  our  hard  earn- 
ed money  to  be  squandered  by  Parliamentary  grants  upon  the  depen- 
dants of  the  aristocracy,  through  the  patronage  of  th^  church  ?  Are  we 
to  be  put  to  the  expence  of  supporting  the  poor  and  all  our  Institutions, 
while  the  church  seizes  upon  the  lands  and  estates  bequeathed  for  this  pur- 
pose <*  Is  it  to  be  any  longer  endured  that  nine  millions  a  year  should  be 
abstracted  from  the  produce  of  the  country  for  an  article  which  the  greater 
part  do  not  w^ant,  and  for  which  the  other  part  are  well  able  to  pay  ? 

This  may  be  considered  as  a  fair  summary  of  the  evidence  and  argu- 
mepts  produced  by  the  several  witnesses  for  the  defendants,  who  were  still 
proceeding  in  the  same  strain,  when  the  foreman  of  the  jury,  rising  from  his 
seat,  intimated  to  the  Chairman,  that  they  had  heard  quite  sufficient,  and 
vere  all  satisfied  that  the  defendants  were  entitled  to  an  acquittal.  The  Chair- 
nan  in  reply  said,  that  the  impression  of  his  own  mind  was  in  accordance 
rvith  their  decision,  and  that  he  felt  glad  they  had  saved  him  the  trouble 
i)f  detailing  to  them  the  evidence  of  the  parties,  and  proceeded  to  pro- 
[lounce  the  verdict  accordingly.  The  Church  party,  of  course  was  charged 
[vith  all  expences,  but  which  were  much  reduced  by  the  Atiti-Church  party 
refusing  any  recompence,  alleging  that  the  triumph  of  their  principles 
jvas  to  them  an  ample  reward.  But  the  expences  of  the  plaintiffs,  amount- 
jog  to  a  considerable  sum,  I  understand,  are  to  be  placed  among  the  et  cetereu 
|f  the  Churchwardens'  Accounts,  and  paid  for  "as  the  Act  directs.** 
Iidjoumed.  J.  L. 


NATIONAL  FAST. 


A  PROCLAMATION  has  been  issued,  appointing  the  2Ist  of  March  as  a 
'National  Fast ;  and  though  it  appears  to  be  very  little  noticed,  yet  it  may 
ffbrd  matter  for  some  useful  observations.  Though  I  prefer  that  sort  of 
eligion  which  consists  in  a.  pure  heart,  a  holi/  conversation,  and  a  good  life, 
5  the  observance  of  times  and  seasons ;  and  am  especially  jealous  of  all 
piritual  services  emanating  from  the  injunctions  of  regal  authority;  yet  if 
nation  is  so  far  convinced  of  its  wickedness  as  to  see  the  necessity  of  an 


universal  expression  of  humiliation  for  sin,  and  a  penitent  application  for  th< 
mercy  of  the  Most  High,  it  may  not  be  improper,  for  the  sake  of  order,  ir 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation  to  fix  the  time  ;  but  if  such  an  appoint 
ment  were  grounded  upon  the  feelings  and  desires  of  the  country,  it  i; 
hard  to  say  how  so  many  weeks  could  be  allowed  to  elapse  betwix 
the  notice  and  the  period  fixed.  I  say  if  a  nation  is  convinced,  this  maj 
be  done,  (and  this  is  a  point,  in  reference  to  which,  the  proofs  are  verj 
slender,)  if  not,  the  command  of  Kings  and  Princes  will  not  product 
these  dispositions  ;  and  hence  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  instead  of  a  dee[ 
conviction  of  sin,  arising  from  the  powerful  appeals  of  faithful  men  to  even 
individual  of  every  class  in  society,  and  followed  by  all  the  "fruits  of  re 
pentance"  we  shall  just  pass  over  the  21st  of  March,  by  closingour  shops 
reading  over  an  extra  prayer,  composed  for  the  occasion,  and  abstaining  for 
once  from  a  good  dinner.  If  more  than  this  follow,  I  will  confess  mysel! 
mistaken.  What  a  poor  idea  Kings  and  Bishops  have  of  real  godliness. 
they  seem  to  think,  that  if  the  handful  of  people  M'ho  go  to  Church,  only 
attend  an  extra  day  in  the  week,  or  read  over  an  extra  service,  it  is  s 
panacea  for  all  the  ills  of  society.  The  circular  of  the  bishop  of  this  dio- 
cese is  clearly  in  point,  and  the  consequence  of  it  in  this  parish  is,  that  in 
addition  to  the  former  services,  the  prayers  are  read  on  a  Fnofay,  but  bcyonc 
the  walls  of  the  Church,  nothing  extra  is  heard  of.  The  mass  of  the  Avork- 
ing  people,  who  "  live  without  God,  and  without  hope  in  the  world,"  still 
remain  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  The  fashionable  world  is  govern- 
ed hy  appearances ;  this  enters  into  religion  as  into  every  other  matter ; 
and  therefore,  not  to  appear  to  be  extraordinarily  affected,  M'hen  such  a 
scourge  as  the  Cholera  is  among  us,  would  convey  the  appearance  of  deep 
impiety.  But  it  is  neither  Jas ting,  confessing,  nov  praying,  (though  all  are 
important  duties,  if' perfoi*mfed  with  sincerity,)  yivM^s  accompanied  witli 
jfdr'SaJdng  otfr  sing,  that  has  the  promise  of  mercy.  And  if  is  to  this  point 
principally,  if  not  exclusively,  that  the  Proclamation  should  have  referred 
We  call  upon  God  with  our  lips,  but  onr  hearts  are  far  from  him  ;  we  call 
Jesus,  Lord,  Lord,  but  do  ?zoithe  things  which  he  commands.  It  is  righte- 
ousness not  formality,  that  exalteth  a  nation.— -I,  therefore,  respectfully 
suggest  that  the  following  should  either  be  substituted  for,  or  appended 
to,  the. Proclamation  already  in  print. 

"  We  exhort  all  our  loving  subjects,  that  from  this  time  forward  they 
will  every  one,  according  to  his  station,  well  and  truly  consider  the  tenor 
of  their  past  lives,  and  by  humility  and  prayer,  and  practical  obedience,  turn 
unto  the  Lord.     We  particularly  call  the  attention  of  all  corporations  to  the 


J 


89 

duties  of  sobriety  and  self-denial,  and  that  they  eat  no  man's  bread  but 
their  own.     We  appeal  to  the   gentry  ;     those  upon  whom  fortune  has 
smiled,  and  left  free  from  the  obligation  of  labour  and  toil ;   that  the)^  no 
longer  spend  their  time  and  money  in  gaming,  carousing,  and  idleness ; 
but  that  they  devote  their  time,  talents,  and  influence,  to  the  diffusion  of 
human  happiness. — We  call  upon  the  Magistrates  to  be  examples  of  purity, 
sobriety,  and  peaceful   conduct;  to  cease  from  pride  and  oppression ;  to 
mix  wiih  the  people,  and  to  do  all  they  can  to  better  their  condition. — The 
Ladies  we  admonish,  not  to  be  puffed  up  with  pride,  nor  to  squander  their 
tioie  in  adorning  the  body  ;    in  learning  exterior   accomplishments,     or 
pursuing  the  pleasures  of  midnight  "  parties."    You  are  well  gifted  for  re- 
storing to  a  proper  tone  the  social  cord;  and  we  beseech  you,  by  all  that 
is  sacred,  to  descend  from  a  "  fairy"  world,  and  to  bless  society  by  a  con- 
stant course  of  useful  labour. — To  the  proprietors  of  large  works,  we  say, 
consider  well  the  tendency  of  so  large  an  association  of  inexperienced,  un- 
taught youth,  within  your  walls.     You  have  added  much  to  the  wealth  of 
the  nation ;  but  have  you  duly  attended  to  the  physical  and  moral  effects 
produced  upon  society  ?     Next  to  your  own  happiness  and  improvement, 
alttend  to  that  of  j'our  work-people;  let  sobriety  be  added  to  industry;  hu- 
mility to  diligence;  and  an  anxiety  for  the  interests  of  your  servants,  in  addition 
to  your  own.     Let  it  be  your  pride  to  have  a  well-instructed,    sober,   and 
contented  people  about  you;  and  though  you  be  elevated  in  circumstan- 
ces, consider,  that  as  rational  and  accountable  beings,  they  are  still  your 
equals.     No  class  of  men,  in  a  civil  point  of  view,  has  the  power  of  dif- 
fusing so  much  good  or  evil. — The  Lawyers  we  intreat  to  become  "  peace- 
makers," and  to  have  mercy  upon  the  pockets  of  their  clients. — The  Over- 
seers should  enter  dispassionately  into  the  cases  of  the  poor,  and  adminis- 
ter the  law  in  the  spirit  of  christians. — Let  the  rich  Farmer  consider  his 
station  ;  and  instead  of  grasping  at  wealth  as  his  god,  and  spending  his  time 
in  grovelling  pursuits,  and  making  up   by  just  going  to  church  on  a  Sun- 
day ;   let  him  improve  his  mind,  gather  from  all  his  surrounding  scenes, 
the  proofs  of  a  Divine  Being,  and  learn  to  teach  his  children  and  his  domes- 
tics the  fear  of  God.— To  the  Spirit  jNIerchants,  Publicans,  and  Landlords, 
i  we  especially  address,  ourselves.     The  licences  granted  for  inns,  and  for 
>   the  manufacture  and  vending  of  ardent  spirits,  have  opened  the  way  for 
that  awfui  prevalency  of  intoxication,  -which  is  now,  justly,  a  subject  of 
g^reat  alarm.     You  are  the  agents  of  all  this  ;  vice  and  depravity  are  propa- 
gated by  the  agency  of  the  spirit  vender.     And  many  of  the  arrangements  of 
the  public  houses  are  positively  so  many  parts  of  an  apparatus  for  "  killing 
and  slaying"  the  people.    Spare  your  victims  we  entreat  you ;  cease  to  de- 


90 

strov  men's  reason,  to  ruin  their  health,  to  impoverish  their  condition,  t* 
distress  their  families,  and  to  consign  them  to  the  grave  amid  the  dreadfu 
forebodings  of  a  wicked  life.     Drunkenness  is  the  curse  of  the  land,  and  i 
we  cannot  effect  a  reform  by  persuasion,  rather  than  incur  the  displeasun 
ofthe  Almighty,  we  shall  use  the  powers  we  possess  for  suppressing  it  as  mucl 
as  possil)le. — To  all  others  in  inferior  situations  of  life,  we  would  address  : 
respectful  exhortation  ;  but  as  they  are  so  numerous,  and  perhaps  many  o 
them  unlikely  to  see  this  our  proclamation,   we    invite  the  clergy  to  con 
vey  to  them  our  best  wishes  and  benediction.    We  wish  every  means  to  bt 
adopted  that  are  calculated  to  make  them  wise,  prudent,  pious,  and  happy 
We  therefore,  peremptorily,  enjoin  upon  the  ministers  of  religion,  to  en 
deavour  to  lead  them,  both  by  teaching  and  example,  into  the  paths  of  re 
pentance  and  reformation.     If  we  have  incurred   the  displeasure  of  God 
who  should  stand  betwixt  us  but  the  ministers  of  his  word  ?     Visit,  \^t 
command  you,  every  poor  man's  abode  ;  teach  him  his  duties  to  himself 
his  family,  his  country,  and  his  God  ;  sympathise  with  him  in  his  distresses 
and  secure  for  him  the  supply  of  his  wantji.    Let  this  be  your  daily  calling 
3nd  now  that  the  seeds  of  virtue  appear  to  be  lost  among  them,  makt 
another  effort  to  plant  the  tree  of  life.     The  formal  duties  of  your  ministry 
you  perceive,  are  not  effectual,  and  therefore,  in  the  spirit  of  primitive 
timesj  deny  yourselves,  take  up   your  cross,  and   follow  him  who  wem 
about  doing  good ;  who  said,  "  My  meat  and  my  drink  is  to  do  the  will  o1 
him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  w^ork  ;"  and  of  whom  it  was  observed, 
on  account  of  his  labour,  "  that  he  had  not  time,  no  not  so  much  as  to  eal 
bread."   Their  souls  are  committed  into  your  hands,  and  woe  unto  you  if  j'^ou 
feed  yourselves  and  not  the  flock.  To  warn  men  of  their  danger,  and  to  snatch 
them  as  brands  from  the  burning  is  your  office,  but  how  can  you  do  this 
unless  you  come  in  contact  with  them  ?     Every  place  of  ill-fame,  every 
haunt  of  wickedness  and  vice,  therefore,  shoud  be  visited;  and  it  would  as 
ill  become  a  watchman  to  sit  down,  with  the  flames  before  his  eyes,  as  for 
yon  to  be  at  ease  while  "  the  world  lieth  in  wickedness."      Your  reward  W 
in  heaven ;  and  if  you  be  faithful,  the  chief  shepherd  will  place  on  your 
heads  a  crown  which  shall  never  fade. — And,  finally,  in  exhorting  all  classes 
of  our  loving  subjects  "  to  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance,"  as  ex- 
amples to  the  nation,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  consider  our  oum  ways.     "We 
have  truly  erred  and  strayed  like  lost  sheep,**  and  we  believe  it  is  now 
high  time  to  "  return  to  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls/*     We  in- 
tend to  investigate  every  department  of  the  state ;  and  to  abolish  every 
arrangement  that  leads  to  the  commission  of  vice ;  the  poor  shall  no  longer 
be  oppressed ;  and  the  land  shall  no  longer  mourn  because  of  swearing. 


i 

Weta 


91 


etave  been  personally  proud,  and  haughty ;  arid  sensual  and  fleshly  gra- 
tifications have  been  our  delight ;  our  secret  sins  have  been  many,  and  we 
have  openly  violated  the  law  of  our  God.  For  the  purpose  of  revelling  we 
have  turned  night  into  day,  and  day  into  night,  and  we  have  set  a  bad  ex- 
ample as  to  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath.  And  we  now  earnestly  call  upon 
the  people  of  these  realms  to  join  us  in  every  expression  of  repentance,  to 
fast  and  pray  that  the  Lord  Avould  be  merciful  to  us  ;  and  as  the  best  proof 
of  repentance  "  to  break  ofFour  sins  by  righteousness  and  our  iniquities  by 
showing  mercy  to  the  poor." 

Given  at  our  Court,  &c.  &c. 
God  save  the  King  and  the  Nation. 


Election  Oaths. — Those  who  have  been  present  at  the  false  swear- 
ing and  profanity  exhibited  at  the  Election  of  Members  for  Parliament,  will 
be  sorry  to  find  that  the  new  bill  contains  no  remedy  for  this  evil.  What 
have  people  to  do  with  swearing  to  the  succession  of  Kings  and  Queens 
which  they  do  not  understand,  and  which  if  they  did,  would  have  little 
weight  upon  their  consciences  at  a  time  of  so  much  excitement.  With  the  re- 
gister, proposed  in  the  new  reform  bill,  the  identity  of  the  individual  ap- 
plying to  give  his  vote,  appears  to  be  the  principle,  if  not  the  only  difficul- 
ty ;  but  instead  of  imposing  an  oath  for  this  purpose,  it  would  be  much 
better  in  my  opinion,  to  punish  every  individual  convicted  of  deception, 
with  the  loss  of  his  franchise.  We  should  do  all  w  e  can  to  preserve  the 
solemnity  of  an  oath. 

A  NINE  BOTTLE  MAN. — Among  the  worthy  corporation  of  Doncaster, 
there  was  one  individual  to  whom  this  title  was  given,  because  he  was  able 
to  manage  that  number  at  one  sitting.  The  gentleman  who  vouches  for 
the  fact,  states  that  ^ehas  been  present  when  he  has  emptied  *e«en.  So  cor- 
pulent were  all  the  thirteen,  consisting  of  Aldermen  and  Mayor,  that  a  wager 
was  made  that  they  averaged  20  stone  each,  which  was  lost  by  only  a 
very  few  pounds.  As  gluttony  and  drunkenness  are  popular  characteristics 
of  corporations,  and  as  their  lives  are  often  cut  short  by  their  exces- 
ses, through  which  their  valuable  services  are  lost  to  the  public,  it 
would  be  a  great  mercy  to  both  parties,  if  the  government  would  give 
thera  the  well-merited  honour  of  a  place  in  shedule  A.  Or  if  there  be  any 
"just  cause  or  impediment"  why  this  should  not  be  done,  let  the  right  of 
election  be  taken  from  thanselves  and  given  to  the  people,  whose  money 
they  expend,  and  for  whose  good  these  bodies  were  originally  constituted. 

Juvenile  vice. — If  we  may  judge  from  what  passes  daily  before  us, 
the  next  generation  promises  no  improvement  upon  the  present.  Juvenile 
delinquincy  every  where  prevails.  The  most  active  depredators  in  many 
jf  the  recent  riots  were  mere  boys  ;  and  every  person  knows  what  a  great 
proportion  of  criminals  are  of  the  ages  of  from  10  to  21. — Three  of  this 
lass,  charged  A\ith  manslaughter,  were  committed  to  Lancaster  the  week  be- 
orelast.  And  though  the  offence  was  such  as  is  revolting  to  every  humane 
nind,  having  kicked  a  man  till  he  died,  yet  when  seated  on  the  coach,  they  he- 
aved with  the  utnaost  levity,  and  when  the  coach  started  they  waved  their 
ands  to  the  surrounding  crowd. 


92 


-'      A  Plaoce. — What  is  it  that    disfigures   the    gentleman's  mansJi 
leads  hiin  to  brick   up  his  windows,  and  deprive  many  of  his  apartmei 
both  of  the  light  and  air   of  heaven  P      What   is   it   that   takes   off  i 
gi<^  wheels  of  many  a  poor  tradesman,  and  consigns  his  vehicle  to  the  lal 
ber  heap  in  the  coach-maker's  yard  ?     What  is  it  that  leads  men  of  moc 
rate  capital  to  contract  their  expenses,  to  sell   their  horses ;  to  keep  o 
horse   instead   of  two,  or  two  instead  of  four  ?     What  is  it  that  abrid* 
eniplotjmcnt  ;  that  says,  I  will  increase  your  tax  for  every  additional  wait 
groom,  or  shopman  you   keep?     What  is  it  that  says  to  the  industrici 
shopkeeper,  who  carries  on  his  business  in  a  front  situation,  I  will  comjl 
you  to  shut  up  every  lodging  room  in  your  house,  and  to  rent  a  sepai 
establishment   in  another  part  of  the  town  ?     What  is  that  monstrous 
truder  that  leads  to  evasions  and  equivocations  on  the  part  of  the  pay , 
and  severity,  and  vexatious  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the  receiver  ?  Wit 
is  it  that  taxes  a  person,   not  according  to  the  value  of  his  property,  or 
ability  to  pav,  but  according  to  the  shape  of  his  house,  the  quantity  of 
light,  and  the  extent  of  his  facilites  for  finding  employment  for  other' 
What  is  it  that  gives  the  man  of  a  little  brief  authority  the  power  of  chai- 
ing  \y\\?ii  he  pleases,  and  actually  oi  doubling  the  charge,  if  the  party  shoi 
neglect  to  attend  at  a  certain  time  and  place,   to  prove  the  charge  unju 
What  is  it,  in  a  word,  that  every  body  hates,  and  would  gladly  make  ;i 
exchange  to  get  rid  of?     What  but  that  anomalous  thing  called  AssEss 
Tax.     Mr.  Peppercorn  has  lately  given  us  such  a  icarmiiig  in  the  shapi: 
surcharges,  that  we  cannot  forget  it  all  at  once ;  but  like  every  other  sev 
and  impolitic  demand,  I  hope  it  will  work  its  own  death  ;  and  if  it  w 
interred  to-morrow,  I  will  answer  for  it,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  P.  hi 
«elf,  not  a  single  tear  would  be  shed.     The  sooner  the  better, 

.  Factoryhours. — In  both  Yorkshire  and  Lancashire  the  ten  hours' bil 
Mr.  Saddler  seems  to  be  exciting  considerable  opposition;  and  it  is  paiu 
to  see  such  papers  as  the  Leeds^Mercury  advocating  the  principle  of  del  , 
by  calling  for  a  committee  to  investigate  the  question.  The  humane  p  - 
posal  of  sparing  the  waste  of  vital  energy  in  childhood,  and  giving  the  cl  I 
the  opportunity  of  feeling  that  there  is  something  in  life  besides  incess  ; 
toil,  appears  to  have  created  uncommon  alarm.  No  profits,  and  f/;  t 
profits,  a  scarcity  and  an  over  production,  and  numerous  other  wild  fo- 
bodings  appear  to  agitate  the  friends  of  "  long  time."  This  question,  he  - 
■ever,  i^s  not  to  be  settled  upon  the  principles  o^ factory  economy ,  which,  le 
all  similar  matters,  is  now  reduced  to  a  science,  but  upon  the  principle^if 
propriety,  consistency,  and  humanity;  and  I  appeal  to  every  reflect? 
mind  whether  ten  hours'  labour,  exclusive  of  meal  times,  in  the  atmosph 
of  a  factory  is  not  sufficient,  and  more  than  ought  to  be  sufficient,  for  yo 
in  whom  the  love  of  liberty  and  voluntary  exercise  are  as  instinctive 
life?  I  am  glad  to  see  the  rising  spirit  of  humanity,  and  if  their  b  a 
conflict  betwixt  the  present  system  of  factories,  and  the  comforts  d 
morals  of  the  people,  I  would  say,  factories  were  made  for  the  people,  4 
the  people  for  the  factories.  To  "deter  the  poor  from  pressing  their  piit 
they  are  told  that  wages  will  fall,  but  has  long  hours,  I  would  ask,  keptp 
wages?  If  we  travel  through  all  the  professions  and  trades  among  u!  it 
it  will  appear  that  long  hours  and  shoi't  wages  generally  go  togetir, 
1  have  long  foreseen,  that  wages,  generally,  will  come  down,  and  b» 
■therpfore  constantly  advocated  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  to  meet  it;  :ci 
if  the  wages  of  the  children  be  too  littl^,  this,  I  should  think  is  a  better  ■- 
medy  than  depriving  early  life  of  all  its  epjoymeats,  engendering  preii- 

i 


^^Wf 


93 


fsease,  and  consigning  to  the  grave,  as  old  and  worn  out,  those  who 
;a%  should  be  but  in  the  prime  of  life.  I  wish  Mr.  Saddler's  bill  my 
,3arty  success. 

i      Smoking, — What  will  come  next  ?  Tobar:co  is  now  a  necessary  of  life ; 

id  with  many  lads  of  16  or  18  years  of  age,  a  short  pipe  is  an  indispensi- 

I  a  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  waistcoat  pocket.     Mere  lads,  almost  chil- 

•en,  are  seen  strutting  in  the  streets  with  a  pipe  in  their  mouths ;  while 

je  and  tobacco,  and  a  volley  of  oaths,  on  a  Saturday  evening,  just  make  the 

I  an.     The  exquisites,  of  course,  cannot  take  the  fume  through  a  vulgar 

I  be  ;  they  must  seize  the  bulk  ;  they  bite  at  the  lump  like  a  dog  at  a  bone, 

iid  like  that  sagacious  animal,  so  soon  as  they  have  finished  one,  are  ready 

|.  lick  their  lips  for  another.     What  a    noble  finish  does   the  protruding 

I  gar  give  to  the  animal,  man  !   How  excellent  the  smell,  how  delicious  the 

iste,   and  how  vivid  ihe  light  of  the  torch  he  carries  between  his  teeth! 

be  Insurance  offices  are  now  relieved  from  the  apprehensions  first  enter- 

(ined  ;  though  well  packed,  the  smokers  of  cigars  are  foimd  to  be  men  of 

,:al  solids  ;  mind,  a  light  and  inflammable  matter,  enters  little  into  the  com- 

osition,- and  therefore  accidents  seldom  occur.     A  gig,   acigar,  a  pair  of 

ins   and   a  whip    supporting  itself,   is  what  is  now  called  the  tip  top  of 

e.     By  the  bye,  that  numerous  race  of  beings  who  have  got  a  stomach  in 

\^e  head,  which  requires  incessant  attention,  ought  not  to  be  overlooked. 

:jow  beautifully  they  supply  the  wants  of  this  craving  appetite  ;  how  suit- 

|tle  the  food,  and  how  powerful  the  organs  of  digestion  !     The  box,  the 

nch,  and  the  receiver,  are  all  admirably  adapted  to  each  other;  the  rei- 

it,    doubtless,   of   deep   thinking,   of  accurate  comparisons,  and   of  an 

flexable  opposition  to  the  power  of  habit !      The  old  ladies  keep  to  their 

d  regimen,  but  so  prevalent  is  the  principle  of  dissent  in  these  days,  that 

ijndyfoot  and  other  superlative  preparations,  have  become  the  beverage 

I  the  young  oi  both  sexes. — There  is,   after  all  the  refined  modes  of  con- 

jining  this  immortal  plant,  a  much  more  straight -forward  way  of  effecting 

lis.     Those  who  seize  the  quid,  are  certainly  entitled  to  the  highest  honour, 

|.d  as  this  practice  is  so  congenial  to  the  delicate  and  fine  sensibilities  of 

ifir  nature,  I  only  refrain  from  a  lengthened  description,  lest  I  should  pro- 

'jjce  too  great  an  excitement  in  the  longings  of  my  readers  ! 

I     The  Cholera. — Alarming  as  the  spread  of  the  Cholera  appears    to 

ve  been  in  some  places,  it  is  more  on  account  of  the  novelty  of  the  disease 

in  of  any  extraordinary  ravages  that  it  has  yet  made.     It  is  the  formality 

the  announcement,  and  the  powers  of  the  "broad  sheet,"  which  have  given 

its  greatest  importance.     When  I  consider  the  precautions  which  have 

en  taken  throughout  all  the  country,  the  comforts  which  have  been  added 

the  poor,  in  the  distribution  of  clothing,  bedding,  and  food,  and  the  uni- 

rsal  inculcation  of  cleanliness,  I  am  quite  of  an  opinion  that  more  ^ooc? 

m  evil  will  be  the  result. 

The  Reform  Bill. — This  bill  still  progresses,  and  whatever  interup- 

•ns  it  may  encounter  among  the  wise  and  heriditary  portions  of  our  legis- 

are,  it  must  ultimately  pass.       The  nation  wills  it,   and  who  shall  re- 

^t?    Though  imperfect  in  theory,  it  will  be  found,  I  believe,  to  contain 

Inciples,  the  most  salutary  in  their  effects. 

^1  Preston  Temperance  Society. — A  provisional  committee  has  been 
^med,  and  the  following  is  the  Fundamental  Principle  upon  which  it  is 
Veed  to  base  the  society : — 

''  We  the  undersigned  believe  that  the  prevailing  practice  of  using  intoxicating  liquors  is 
%X  injurious  both  to  the  temporal Tmd  spiritual  interests  of  the  people,  by  producing  crime, 


94 


i 


porertv,  and  distress.  We  believe  also  that  decisive  means  of  reformation,  including  example  as 
well  as  precept,  are  loudly  and  imperatively  called  for.  We  do  therefore  voluntarily  agree, 
that  wo  will  totally  abstain  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  ourselves,  and  will  not  give  nor  offer 
them  to  others,  except  as  medicines.  And  if  we  use  other  liquors,  it  shall  be  at  all  times  in 
great  moderation;  and  we  will  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  discountenance  all  the  causes 
and  practices  of  Intemperance." 

A  public  meeting  will  shortly  be  called  to  organize  the  society, 
when,  I  have  reason  to  hope,  a  considerable  number  will  enrol  themselves 
as  members. 

Sparring. — What  will  the  world  think  of  us  as  to  morals  when  they 
read  the  foUowfng  copy  of  a  bill  which  has  been  posted  through  the  town? 
Talk  of  refinement,  when  abusing  and  defacing  the  brightest  piece  of 
Heaven's  Workmanship  is  reduced  to  a  science  !  Had  it  not  been  my  day 
at  Bolton,  I  would  have  attended  to  witness  this  "  treat."  The  great  evil 
is  that  those  who  are  sincerely  wishful  to  reform  the  people  have  so  little 
time,  and  as  for  the  present  ministers  of  religion,  from  whom  we  have  a 
right  to  expect  much,  they  seem  totally  indisposed  for  such  work. 

"A    TREAT    TO    THE     FANCY. 

Young  HAMPSON  most  respectfully  informs  the  Sporting  Gentry  of 
Preston  that  he  intends  taking  his  farewell  benefit,  on  Monday  Night 
next,  the  13th  of  February,  1832,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  T.  Shawe,  Royal 
Oak,  St.  John  St.  BILL  LOONEY,  (who  defeated  Jack  Manning,  who 
is  matched  to  fight  BILL  FISHER,  for  £25:  aside)  will  be  in  attendance, 
and  he  hopes  his  Preston  friends  will  support  him  on  this  occasison. 

JACK  HUGHES,  who  has  trained  all  the  fighting  men  in  Liverpool, 
will  make  his  appearance  in  a  set  too  with  JEM  DUCKWORTH,  for  a 
Eelly-full.  Nightingale  and  Middleton,  Jack  Ellis  and  Shaw,  and  all  the 
first  rate  men  have  promised  their  assistance  on  this  occasion. 

Looney  and  Hampson  will  wind  up  the  Sports  of  the  Evening  with  a 
slap-up  set  too. 

Sparring  to  commence  at  Eight  o'CIock  precisely. — Admission— One 
Shilling  each. — Tickets  to  be  had  at  all  the  Sporting  Houses  in  the  town." 

The  Magistracy.— From  the  late  Parliamentary  Returns  it  appears 
that  there  are  175  Magistrates  in  this  County,  151  of  whom  are  Laymen 
and  24  Clergymen.  The  population  of  the  County  by  the  last  census  is 
1,335,000,  so  that  there  is  on  an  average  only  one  Magistrate  to  7,633  in- 
habitants. Now  it  always  strikes  me  that  the  number  and  distribution  of 
Magistrates  should  not  be  a  mere  matter  of  caprice;  the  necessity  of  their 
appomtment,  and  the  object  to  be  answered  should  be  the  regulating  prin- 
ciples. As  matters  are  now,  the  possession  or  non-possession  of  Ma- 
gistrates, is  just  as  certain  as  clear  or  cloudy  weather.  If  a  man  happen  to 
be  an  Alderman  he  is  in  office,  or  if  another  happen  to  tliink  he  will  be  a 
Magistrate,  he  gets  made  one;  hence  while  extensive  towns  like  Blackburn 
have  not  had  a  single  Magistrate,  other  towns,  like  Preston,  can  boast  of 
a  dozen  or  more.  Instead  of  being  on  the  spot  where  the  peace  is  most 
likely  to  be  broken,  many  of  them  live  in  the  country  where  there  is  no 
peace  to  break.  The  office  of  Justice  like  that  of  clergyman  necessarily 
arises  trom  the  character  of  society,  and  should  be  so  filled  as  to  answeri 
the  proper  end  of  its  appointment.  Character,  talent,  residence,  and  propm-- 
twnate  numbers,  are  all  essential,  and  if  it  be  important  in  any  establish- 
ment, that  the  ivork  to  be  done  should  be  the  principle  of  fixing  the  number 
ot  servants,  defining  the  sphere  of  their  labour,  and  discriminating  their 
-S'  ^^  q"a''fications,  it  is  equally  so  here.  In  this  department  of  o 
■ocial  system  there  wants  a  radical  reform.  J  L 


i 


9o 
Communications  • 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 


PREViors  to  undertaking  the  very  limited  answer  to  your  first  query  I 
yas  fully  aware  of  the  extensive  field  into  which  you  had  invited  your  readers.  I  entered 
X  with  the  hope  that  some  one  more  qualified  as  a  disputant  than  myself,  would  follow, 
ind  afibrd  me  an  opportunity  of  withdrawing  after  having  hriefiy  given  utterance  to  my 
sentiments;  In  this,  however,  I  have  been  disappointed,  and  have  been  reluctantly  drawn 
within  the  circle  of  disputation. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  myself  as  explicitly  understood  as  possible,  I  will,  in  this 
letter,  endeavour  to  show  upon  what  groimds  I  advocate  submission  to  Government,  and 
point  out  the  circumstances  under  which  I  consider  the  subject  justified  in  his  resistance 
to  the  Government.  I  think  it  wiU  not  be  denied  that  civilized  society  is,  at  all  times 
preferable  to  barbarism — that  there  can  be  no  civiization  where  there  exists  no  Govern- 
ment— no  government  where  there  is  no  law — and  no  law  where  there  is  no  submissioa 
to  the  administers  of  that  law.  The  first  form  of  Government  of  which  we  have  any  men- 
tion in  history  was  that  of  the  Patriarch  over  his  o^-n  family.  This  period,  justly  desig- 
nated the  golden  age,  was  characteristic  of  innocence  and  simplicity ; — no  irregular  pas- 
sions engendered  corruption  of  manners,  and  no  arbitrary  laws  were  requisite  where  the 
natural  emotions  of  the  soul  were  sufficient  incitements  to  virtue.  But  when  dissatisfac- 
tion sprang  up  amongst  them,  equality  was  destroyed  ;  violence  trampled  on  the  rights  of 
man,  and  ambition,  unsheathing  the  sword  of  despotism,  established  monarchy,  supreme 
and  absolute,  and  after  monarchy,  government,  by  laws,  which,  at  first,  like  the  manners 
of  the  age,  were  plain  and  simple.  But  this  simplicity,  gradually  giving  way  to  complica- 
tion and  refinement,  it  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  found  requisite  to  oppose  that  tyranny 
which  they  were  so  well  calculated  to  harbour.  But  though  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  governors  and  laws  have  frequently  been  productive  of  the  greatest  calamities^ 
though  every  nation  that  ever  existed  has,  at  one  time  or  another,  had  to  bend  beneath  the 
power  of  tyranny — rust  upon  ruin  at  the  command  of  ambition— or  languish  in  indolence 
and  vice  for  the  gratification  of  efieminency — yet  it  must  also  be  acknowledged  that  the 
waters  which  flow  from  the  pure  fount  of  civil  government,  are  as  efficacious  in  the  pro- 
duction of  national  happiness,  as  that  of  the  Egjptian  stream  in  that  of  vegetation. 

It  being  the  will  of  God  that  man  should  be  happy,  and  civil  Government  being  con- 
ducive to  that  end,  by  establishing  order  and  regularity  in  society,  it  follows,  that  imne- 
cessarily  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  society  by  opposing  Government,  is  to  diminish  the 
designs  and  will  of  God.  It  is  not  every  infringement  of  the  subjects'  priviliges — it  i* 
not  every  derilection  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign — nor  is  it  every  neglect  of  duty 
on  the  part  of  the  whole  body  of  the  legislature,  that  can  justify  our  resistance  to  Govern- 
ment. It  is  not  sufficient  authority  to  know  that  such  and  such  laws  are  not  just — that 
they  are  not  founded  on  the  ground  of  equity — that  the  fulfilment  of  them  is  galling  to  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  community.      No,  before  we  presume  to  risk  the  happiness  of 


96 

the  nation  we  must  take  a  far  more  extensive  view  ;  we  must  attempt  to  penetrate  the  Ba.li 
ble  deptlis  of  futurity  :— iu  short,  we  must  look  upon  general  consequences,  and  cakulate, 
with  mathematical  nicety  the  admntages  or  dmdvantages  that  would  accrue  from  such  a  step. 
Noman,  or  any  set  of  men  can  be  justified  in  their  resistance  of  Government  and  their 
contemt  of  the  laws,  unless  a  quantity  of  happiness  accrues  from  such  resistance  which  is 
more  than  sufficient  to  repay  the  evils  resulting  from  civil  disturbance.  ■ 

Thus  submission  to  Government  may  truly  be  said  to  be  a  inoral  dnty.  Nevertheless" 
there  are  some  cases  when  resistance  is  necessary,  but  ought  never  to  be  employed  until 
every  other  means  has  failed.  If  it  is  the  duty  of  the  people  to  submit  to  government  and 
obey  the  laws,  it  is  no  less  the  duty  of  government  to  promote  the  happiness  of  those  they 
govern.  This  they  cannot  be  said  to  do  if  tliey  persevere  in  enforcing  laws  to  which  the 
people  are  decidedly  opposed.  No  law  is  so  binding  that  it  ought  not  to  be  abolished  if 
the  comfort  of  society  can  in  any  degree  be  promoted  by  such  a  step.  If  the  legislature 
refuse  to  comply  thus  far  with  the  wishes  of  those  over  whom  they  are  placed,  and  in  de- 
fiance of  all  remonstrance  persevere  in  tyranising  over  the  happiness  of  the  community, 
resistance  to  such  laws  is  justifiable  providing  the  expense  with  which  it  must  necessa- 
rily be  attended,  does  not  exceed  the  benejit  resulting  from  such  a  measure.  This  conclu- 
sion I  think  will  be  allowed,  and,  that  I  may  not  trespass  too  much  upon  your  patience, 
Cif  I  have  not  already  done  so)  I  will  hasten  to  bring  this  letter  to  a  conclusion,  by  no- 
ticing, as  briefly  as  possible,  your  remarks  upon  my  last. 

You  say  that    "  when  the  demands  of  the  law  are  founded  upon  justice,  utility,  and 
public  good,  there  cannot  be  two  opinions  of  the  obligation  to  submit ;  but  where  the  op- 
posite of  these  attach  to  any  enactments  there  seems  to  be  a  doubt."     I  wish  not  to  advo- 
cate injustice  nor  the  continutiy  of  laws  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  community,  but 
I  must  say  that  to  advocate  resistance  to  all  laws  which  are  considered  unjust,  &c.,  is  set- 
ting up  a  rule  as  dangerous  to  the  happiness  of  the  nation  as  tyranny  itself;    and  I  feel 
convinced  that  no  man  who  prefers  order  and  regularity  to  discord,   and  has  accustomed 
himself  to  look  forward  to  general  consequences,  previous  to  making  public  assertions, 
would  support  such  a  system  of  hostility  and  contention.     If  no  man   is  bound  to  obey 
those  laws  which  he  considers  as  unjust,  useless,  or  prejudicial  to  the  public  goo(^  every  man  , 
would  be  his  own  law  maker — disorder  would  reign  the  undisputed  monarch  of  the  coun-  j 
try — justice  would  be  supplanted  by  violence  —and  civil  liberty  become  a  name  without  j 
t!i<?  reality — I  cannot  suppose  that  you  would  support  such  a  system  as  this  ;    but  I  thin^  j 
you  will  not  deny  that  if  men  are  bound  to  obey  only  those  laws  which  meet  with  their  ap-.  j 
probation,  and  are  justiffed  in  setting  the  rest  at  defiance,  such  consequences  must  follow,  i 

AVith  respect  to  the  obsolete  enactment  remaining  on  the  statute  book,  if  the  people 
did  their  duty  to  themselves  they  would  demand  a  formal  repeal  of  the  whole,  and  it  is 
somewhat  surprising  that  a  people  so  jealous  of  their  civil  liberty  as  the  British  should  so 
long  have  overlooked  this  not  unimportant  point.  There  are  many,  the  existence  of  which 
tlie  country  is  almost  totally  ignorant  of,  yet,  if  putin  operation,  cannot  be  justly  resisted,  un- 
less, as  I  said  before,  the  benefit  gained  would  recompence  the  community  for  the  expenceg 
uttending  such  resistance.  The  laws  against  sending  letters  by  coachmen  and  giving  re- 
ceipts upon  unstamped  paper,  &c,,  though  not  strictly  enforced  are  yet  in  operation,  and 
though  perhaps  unjust,  though  they  may  not  be  founded  upon  the  ground  of  equity,  it  is, 
nevertheless,  the  duty  of  every  subject  to  submit  to  these  laws  until  he  has  satisfied  him- 
self that  they  are  not  attended  by  a  corresponding  public  advantage— that  they  are  ob- 
noxious to  the  community  at  large— that  resistance  is  the  only  and  best  mode  of  attempting 
their  removal— and  that  the  evU  is  actually  deserving  of  such  a  step. 


ft. 

■■Ub  for  the  argument  respecting  double  and  treble  letters  you  say  that  "  the  letter  con- 

■  lined  value,  and  the  post-office  was  to  be  held  answerable  for  bsses  then  the  full  postat'e 
lUght  to  be  paid,  though  less  was  demanded  (by  the  agent.)  All  this  I  will  grant :  but  you 
till  make  no  distinction  between  the  demands  of  the  law  and  the  demands  of  the  a<rent  of  the 
itu,  and  would  consider  yourself  justified  in  taking  advantage  of  the  carelessness  of  the 
errant  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding  the  employer,  because  you  say  "  no  principle  of 
guifV'W'hich  is  the  basis  of  morality  would  lead  a  person  to  oflFer  more."  But  I  consider 
his  a  question  of  political  philosophy,  and  that  philosophy  does  not  teach  us  to  refuse 
)bedience  to  a:ll  those  which  we  consider  not  quite  equitable,  for  there  are  many  enact- 
ments very  wide  of  being  so  perfect,  and  yet  are  attended  with  so  much  public  advantage 
that  it  would  be  as  impolitic  in  the  legislature  suddenly  to  remove  them  ag  the  resistance 
of  any  manor  body  of  men  would  be  absurd  and  criminal,  I  therefore  still  maintain  that 
so  long  as  the  lau-  demands  a  certain  sum  for  a  treble  letter,  though  the  agent  may  demand 
only  a  part  of  that  sum,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  subject  to  pay  the  full  postage.  For  if  one  man 
can  be  justified  in  taking  advantage  of  a  mistake  committed  by  the  post-mistress,  surely 
mother  ought  not  to  be  termed  dishonest,  if  on  receiving  an  account  and  finding,  that  he 
is  not  charged  with  the  whole  of  the  goods  received,  he  submits  his  conduct  to  the  deci- 
sion of  self-interest — lets  the  mistake  pass  off  unnoticed — and  endeavours  to  pacify  con- 
science by  saying  that  he  paid  all  that  was  demanded. 

I  think  you  will  perceive  that  I  do  not  advocate  the  equitability  of  the  post-oflSce 
laws.  I  only  ad^'oeate  that  it  is  a  moral  duty,  founded  upon  political  philosophy  to  sub- 
mit to  GoTtmment  and  obey  the  laws,  so  long  as  the  happiness  of  the  community  requires 
it  and  no  longer.  But  this  submission  does  not  debar  us  from  the  privilege  of  seeking  re- 
press for  public  grievances,  nor  would  I  wish  to  see  the  people  passive  spectators, 
when  their  civil  liberties  are  infringed  upon.      A  man  whose  actions  are  regulated  by  the 

'  impulses  of  the  moment — ^who  fancies  himself  a  patriot  because  he  cries  out  "  liberty  " — - 
«nd  who  denounces  the  government  as  worse  than  useless,  because  he  perceives  that  some 
laws  are  not  just — that  some  are  oppressive — and  that  few  are  founded  upon  the  ground 
■of  equity,  is  a  disturber  of  his  country's  peace — a  foe  to  civil  liberty — and  a  nuisance  to 

'  Society.  And  he  who  can  view  tyranny  and  injustice  preying  upon  the  vitals  of  his  coun- 
try— who  can  behold  the  wretchedness  and  misery  to  which  the  unwise  measures  of  go- 
Temment  have  reduced  those  around  him — and  seeing  this  sit  supinely  indolent,  deserves 
to  be  branded  with  infamy,  as  a  cowardly  supporter  of  those  measures  which  are  undermi- 
ning the  stability  and  happiness  of  his  country.  But  he  who  neither  suffers  himself  to  be 
caried  away  by  the  whirlwind  of  passion,  nor  languishes  in  the  lap  of  indolence  when  his 
country  requires  the  exercise  of  his  abilities,  but  takes  his  reason  for  the  discovery  of  re- 
medies, and  applies  them,  when  found,  with  steady  firmness — he  alone  will  be  found  ca- 
pable and  willicg  ti  heal  the  wounds  of  his  country. 

I  am  afraid  I  have  already  trespassed  too  much  upon  the  pages  of  your  useful 
periodical.    To  say  more  would  be  ungenerous — therefore,  wishing  you  every  success, 

I  remain,  Sir, 

Yours,  &c. 

CAIUS   TAURANIUS. 
January  11th,  1832. 

TTnwflilng  to  prolong  the  controversy,  though  in  this  communication  J  think  I  still  see  sqmt 
■^<ilnerable  points,  T  withhold  any  remarks.  The  letter  is  well  written,  and  I  hope  the  circumstance 
of  its  being  a  second  or  third  rejoinder  will  not  prevent  Its  being  attentively  perused.       Edit. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

SiK, 

Judging  from  your  zealous  efforts  to  promote  information  among  those  around 
yon,  that  a  short  account  of  the  plan  that  has  been  adopted  in  our  town  for  the  establishing  of 
news  room  for  the  industrions  classes,  may  be  acceptable  to  you,  I  am  induced  to  trouble  you 
on  this  occasion. 

Some  of  my  friends  and  myself  having  been  for  sometime  of  opinion  that  a  news  room 
for  the  industrious  classes,  foimded  upon  the  basis  of  liberal  views  and  economy,  was  higlily 
desirable,  where  political  information  is  much  sought  after ;  and  thinking  also  that  tlie  estab- 
lishing of  one  might  be  productive  of  good  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  determined  upon  trying 
the  experiment. 

Our  determination  was  made  known  to  the  public  by  placards,  which  stated  also  that  a 
meeting  would  be  held  at  a  place  mentioned ;  and  calling  upon  those  who  were  favourable  to 
our  plan  of  affording  information  to  the  industrious  classes  to  attend.  The  meeeting  was  held 
about  tlie  middle  of  December  last,  and  was  numerously  attended.  Several  persons  addressed 
the  meeting  in  support  of  our  plan,  and  I  should  not  forget  to  mention  that  a  mechanic  of  the 
name  of  James  Parke,  spoke  on  that  occasion,  and  took  a  very  clear  and  comprehensive  view 
of  the  graat  advantages  that  would  result ;  and  he  certainly  addressed  the  meeting  in  a  man- 
ner that  excited  the  liveliest  pleasure  in  those  who  heard  him.  He  was  in  himself  a  proof  of 
the  benefits  the  working  classes  may  acquire,  by  a  proper  and  diligent  attention  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  tlie  mind. 

It  was  agreed  at  the  meeting  that  the  members  of  the  news  room  should  pay  three- 
half-pence  a  week  ;  and  it  was  understood  by  those  present,  who  could  afford,  that  they  should 
subscribe  from  time  to  time,  accoiding  as  the  state  of  the  funds  might  require.  A  committee' 
was  chosen,  and  they  were  empowered  to  form  niles  for  the  future  guidance  of  the  members. 
A  suitable  room  was  taken  in  a  central  part  of  the  town ;  forms  were  purchased,  and  through 
the  kindness  of  som.e  friends,  a  table,  a  stove  and  a  clock  were  provided,  and  the  room  is  now 
Kghted  with  gas.  The  number  of  members  amounts  to  upwards  of  100,  and  the  following 
daily  and  weekly  newspapers  are  taken  in  : — The  Morning  Chronicle,  the  Sun,  the  Standard, 
the  Examiner,  the  Liverpool  Mercury,  the  Manchester  and  Salford  Advertiser,  the  Dublin: 
Comet,  and  Bell's  Life  in  London ;  and  the  Spectator,  Cobbett's  Register,  and  the  Literary 
Guardian,  are  lent  to  the  room.  Several  times,  when  I  have  had  a  few  minutes  of  spare  time, 
I  have  gone  to  the  room,  and  I  can  assure  you  I  have  been  much  gratified  to  see  men  atten- 
tively reading  the  papecs,  who,  if  there  had  not  been  a  news-room,  might  have  been  induced 
to  pass  their  time  at  a  public  house,for  the  purpose  of  reading  a  paper,  and  of  course  must  have 
spent  at  least  three-half-pence  for  beer,  and  perhaps  they  might  have  been  induced  to  spend 
more  money,  which,  in  times  like  the  present,  they  cannot  afford.  Now,  by  paying  three- 
half-pence  per  week,  the  members  of  this  news-room  have  the  opportunity  of  reading  three 
daily  and  eight  weekl)!-  papers  ;  therefore  in  point  of  economy  it  is  desirable  for  those  who 
are  wishful  to  learn  what  is  passing  in  the  political  world,  to  become  members.  A  member 
may  have  a  week's  reading  of  11  papers  for  the  same  money  that  a  glass  of  beer  would  cost  at 
one  sitting ;  and  most  likely  he  would  only  have  the  opportunity  of  reading  one  paper,  and 
that  a  weekly  one. — In  a  public-house  it  is  very  probable  that  he  might  have  his  attenti<a|,i 


J 


99 

taken  from  the  paper  he  is  reading  by  interruptions,  which  are  disagreeable  to  news  readers ; 
but  in  a  news-room,  conducted  in  an  orderly  manner,  there  is  nothing  to  annoy.  For  many 
reasons  which  I  could  mention,  I  strongly  recommend  the  establishing  of  news-rooms  for  the 
industrious  classes  in  every  town  and  village,  but  more  especially  because  I  feel  certain  that 
they  would  be  the  means  of  checking  in  some  degree  tlie  vice  which  is  so  alarmingly  preva- 
lent—a vice  which  deprives  many  a  good  wife  and  helpless  family  of  the  necessaries  and  com- 
forts of  life — which  renders  a  man  unfit  for  those  duties  which  he  owes  to  God  and  his  fel- 
Iflw  beings,  and  which  destroys  health  and  happiness. 

I  am,  yoiu-s  respectfully, 

THOMAS  GRUNDY. 

Redvales,  near  Bur)-,  14th  Feb.  1832. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer, 


SlH, 


In  almost  all  large  towns  there  are  certain  streets  which  are  significantl}-  called 
"  bad  streets."  In  these  live  numbers  of  females  who  have  departed  from  the  paths  of  virtue, 
and  brought  upon  themselves  all  the  miseiy  and  sharae  incident  to  a  life  of  prostitution- 
Here  may  be  seen  vice  its  most  revoltiug  forms : — woman,  the  crowning  gift  of  the  Creator's 
goodness,  intended  to  be  the  source  of  our  purest  happiness,  and  the  soother  of  our  cares, — 
sunk  in  the  lowest  depths  of  infamy,  at  oflce  a  curse  to  herself  and  others.  Oh,  it  is  lamenta- 
ble to  think  of  the  present  wretched  state  of  these  fallen  creatures,  and  to  contrast  what  they 
might  have  been !  Yes,  these  very  females — who  are  now  seen,  decked  in  their  gaudy  dresses, 
alluring  their  victims  to  "  the  depths  of  hell ;"  or  at  another  time  reeling  along  tlie  street 
under  the  influence  of  intoxication,  and  uttering  honid  and  blasphemous  oaths ! — ^might  have 
been  the  virtuous  wives  of  men  in  their  own  rank,  and  the  happy  mothers  of  humble  but  con- 
tented families.  And  who  are  the  authors  of  all  this  misery  ?  AVho  are  the  seducers  of  these 
females  l  Are  they  to  be  found  amongst  the  ranks  of  the  poor ;  and  does  such  villainy  lurk  amid 
the  lowest  diegs  of  society  \  No :  the  criminals  are  seldom  found  in  this  quarter,  as  the  law 
compels  the  poor  man  to  marry  the  woman  he  seduces ;  but  generally  the  prostitute  can  point 
to  a  "  gentleman"  who  destroj'ed  her  hopes  of  happiness,  and  who  so  far  from  evincing  any 
pity  for  his  victim,  or  compimction  for  his  crime,  boasts  of  the  numbers  he  has  ruined,  and  oa 
that  account  claims  and  receives  the  admiration  of  his  brother  rakes !  Well  may  it  be  said, 
"  God  is  long-suffering"  and  "  slow  to  anger ;"  otherwise  these  wretches  would  long  since 
have  been  swept  from  the  earth. 

The  miserable  state  of  the  females  referred  to,  has  not  escaped  the  attention  of  the 
benevolent,  and  penitentiaries  have  been  established.  But  it  would  be  still  better,  if  besides 
providing  a  refuge  for  the  victims  of  this  vice,  some  preventive  to  the  crime,  could  be  sug- 
gested. Of  course  the  only  eflfectual  bar  to  the  indulgence  of  criminal,  and  as  we  have  seen, 
destroying  passions,  is  moral  principle,  grounded  on  the  declarations  of  Christianity,  respect- 
ing rewards  and  punishments  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  several  precautions  might  be  adopted^ 


100 


i 


which  would  be  of  considerable  service,  and  which  are  within  the  reach  of  individual  exertion 
such  as  keeping  away  from  j-oimg  persons  the  contamination  of  evil  books  and  associates,  anc 
avoiding  the  fashionable,  but  certainly  most  corrupting  practice  of  speaking  on  indelicate  sub 
jects  by  inuendos  and  ambiguous  expressions.  And  those  who  are  in  any  manner  placed  a; 
superintendants  over  youth,  would  do  well  to  beware  of  this  conversation  in  tlieir  presence 
for  if  tlius  impure  words  and  wicked  jests  should  be  the  means  of  corrupting  a  j'outliful  mind 
they  will  not  only  be  responsible  for  tliis,  but  perhaps  an  accumulating  mass  of  crime  of  gene 
rations  yet  unborn. 

If,  Sir,  you  should  think  tliese  hasty  observations  worthy  a  place  in  the  Moral  Reformer 
or  if  you  would  notice  this  subject  in  any  other  way  calculated  to  do  good,  the  writer  will  bi 
gxatified. 

Liverpool,  Feb.  9,  1832.  X. 

The  subject  of  the  above  letter  is  very  important;  and  the  reflections  it  contains  '. 
often  impressed  my  mind,  when  observing  so  many  of  tliese  unfortunate  being's  seeking! 
catch  tlie  unwary  in  the  streets  of  that  fashionable  town,  whence  it  is  dated.  If  I  were  to  ' 
tlie  Clergy  where  they  are  deficient,  I  would  point  to  the  streets  referred  to  in  the  above,  i 
insist  upon  its  being  their  duty  to  visit  every  house  and  every  hovel  in  them.  What  was  iti 
gave  Jesus  an  opportimity  of  observing  on  one  occasion  that  "  the  publicans  and  harlots  ente 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  the  Pharisees,"  but  tlie  practise  of  visiting  all  sorts  of  pi 
where  wickedness  abounded  1      This  his  ministers  ought  implicitly  to  follow.     Edit. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sin, 

Can  you  inform  me  why  a  person  doing  business  for  public  or  benevolent  Ir 

tntions  should  always  be  expected  to  relinquish  his  profits'?    Are  bodies  of  men  less  abl«j 

pav  the  proper  prices  than  individuals  composed  of  the  very  same  persons  1    It  unfortuna 

Jiappens  that  the  most  part  of  my  business  is  done  with  institutions  or  societies  of  this 

Hence  I  am  placed  vmder  circumstances  of  extreme  difficulty.     My  present  engagement 

of  incalculable  importance  to  the  cause  of  education  and  religion ;  but  then  I  am  expected 

live  by  mere  acts  of  benevoleoce.     I  believe  I  am  in  this  way  one  of  the  greatest  bene 

tors  in  the   whole    district  in  which   I  reside  ;  but  nobody  thanks  me,  on  the  contr 

every    one   connected  with    institutions  of  this  kind,  would  resent  any    attempt  on 

part  to  obtain  a  reasonable  profit.     I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  excessive  keenness  of  pers 

buying  for  charitable  societies  or  institutions  has  a  strong  tendency  to  alienate  my  es 

from  establishments,  towards  which  my  judgment  would  dictate  a  very  different  kind  of! 

ing.     I  should  very  mnch  like  to  see  a  spirit  of  uniform  and  consistent  benevolence  dif 

among  those  persons  to  whom  is  confided  the  management  of  our  public  and  charitable  ii 

tutions.     It  would  be  easy  to  shew,  that  the  stinginess  of  which  I  complain,  and  of  which 

have  much  reason  to  complain,  is  calculated  in  tlie  end  to  defeat  the  very  purpose  which  i 

professes  to  have  in  view. 

NEMO. 

PRINTED   BY  J.    LIVESEY,   PKESTON. 


mi 


THE 

MORAL   REFORMER. 


No.  4.  APRIL  1,  1832.  Vol.  II. 


INTEMPERANCE. 


Amongst  all  the  vices  to  which  degenerate  man  is  addicted,  none  is  more 
disgusting,  irrational,   or  destructive  than  that  of  Drunkenness,  and  though 
recommended  by  none,  is  universally  prevalent.     We  assume  the  name  of 
Christians,  but  our  practice  is  so  decidedly  against  our  profession,  that  in 
this,  as  in  other  respects,  it  is  well  if  we  are  not  even  "worse  than  infidels." 
It  is  this  alone  which  must  be  my  apology  for  introducing  a  subject  so 
often  referred  to  in  this  work.      Until  we  have  a  sober  people  we  can  never 
be  happy;  and  so  convinced  am  I  that  unless  we  banish  gluttony  and 
drunkenness,  and  thus  gain  access  to  the  reflecting  powers  of  man,  that  all 
our  attempts  to  elevate  him  to  his  proper  place  in  creation  will  be  fruitless 
and  vain.     All  classes  in  society  are  addicted  to  habits  of  intemperance  ; 
the    gentleman,    the     tradesman,    the    mechanic,   old   and    young,    and 
leven   females,  forgetting    their    natural  modesty,  and  breaking  through 
every  restraint,  are  known  to  be  intemperate.       Where  shall  we  begin  the 
detail  of  the  exhibition  of  this  vice  ?     In  the  gentleman's  parlour,  the  draw- 
ing room  of  a  party,  the  tavern,   the  traveller's  room,   the  dram-shop,   the 
,  pot-house,  the  jerry-shop,  the  brothel,  or  the  public  street  ?     All  these  pla- 
,  ces  in  there  turns  are  the  scenes  of  dissipation  and  excess.     Many  of  the 
abandoned  poor,  regardless  of  their  reputation,  are  seen  prowling  through 
the  streets  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  whilst  others,  collecting  in  parties, 
seek  obscurity  to  avoid  detection.     The  pot-house,  of  all  others,  is  the 
place  most  conspicuous  for  disorder  and  drunkenness ;    these  houses  seem 
j  devoted  to  Bacchanalian  excesses,  and  are  the  rendezvous  of  all  habitual 
I  drunkards.     Visit  them  in  the  evenings,  especially  on  Saturday  evenings, 
and  you  see  genius,  merit,  health,  wealth,  character  and  happiness  all  sa- 
crificed to  this  insatiable  lust  of  company  and  drink.      You  see  them  stag- 
gering at  the  door  in  the  most  indecent  position,  and  frequently  insulting 
'every  person  they  meet;  in  the  house  you  hear  brawling,  cursing,  swear- 
I  ing,  and  the  most  abominable  language.      Men  and  women,  and  frequently 
prostitutes,  are  in  some  houses  seen  drinking  together,  and  exhibiting 
scenes  so  disgusting,  as  to  lead  one  to  weep  for  the  degradation  of  our  spe- 
cies, and  to  wonder  at  the  toleration  of  such  enormities  in  a  land  of  chris- 
VOL.  II.  ^J 


102  ' 

tians.  Dram-shops,  of  late,  have  been  fit  up  in  the  most  public  parts  o 
our  large  towns,  and  the  number  of  persons  who  slip  in  and  take  thei; 
glass,  is  almost  incredible.  Another  class  visit  the  taverns  and  room, 
appropriated  to  afternoon  and  evening  drinkers  ;  these,  with  the  advanta 
ges  of  education,  seldom  expose  themselves  to  public  odium,  but  they  ar< 
not  less  intemperate ;  fascinated  by  the  influence  of  company  and  by  thi 
excitement  of  liquor,  they  go  perhaps  every  night,  and  with  neglecte( 
wives  and  families  at  home,  they  protract  their  stay  till  midnight.  Man; 
of  these  genteel  drinkers  would  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  drunk  in  the  streets 
yet  they  regularly  take  their  so  many  glasses  a  day  ;  and  they  can  at  an; 
time  give  instant  information  as  to  where  there  is  "a  glass  of  good  ale.' 
These  have  their  regular  houses,  at  which  the  frivolities  of  the  age  and  th 
renowned  vices  of  the  day  are  the  topics  of  their  conversation,  and  thu 
they  spend  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time  and  means  in  a  manne 
which  militates  against  their  character  as  tradesmen,  and  is  highly  injuriou 
both  to  soul  and  body.  Travellers  are  also  noted  for  extravagance  an' 
excess ;  some  of  them  consider  it  a  sort  of  duty  to  make  away  with  a  cer 
tain  quantity  of  wine  or  other  liquor  every  day,  and  if  there  happen  to  b 
a  sober  man  among  them,  he  is  actually  obliged  to  force  his  appetite  oric 
cur  disgrace.  Like  true  Epicures,  they  must  have  every  dainty  of  the  se? 
son,  and  often  treat  with  ungrateful  contempt  that  for  which  any  reasonabl 
man  would  offer  his  fervant  thanks  to  the  Almighty.  The  great  evil  is 
that  accomodations  at  Inns  and  Public-houses,  are  always  to  be  paid  fc 
through  the  medium  of  eating  and  drinking,  and  especially  the  latter,  an 
hence  some  to  discharge  their  obligations  are  induced  to  take  what  the 
would  otherwise  refuse.  If  a  regular  charge  in  money  were  made  fo 
every  accommodation,  it  would  contribute  much  to  the  sobriety  of  the  agi 
Excess  in  liquor  is  not  unfrequently  found  in  the  parlours  of  private  gen 
tlemen,  and  it  is  remarkable  to  what  a  height  delusion  has  been  carried  a 
to  the  virtues  of  ''  spirit  and  water."  Drunkards  in  the  last  stage  of  thei 
delusion,  take  brandy  and  rum  in  a  raw  state,  but  others  with  a  little  mor 
sense  and  ingenuity  dilute  the  poison  with  water,  and  render  it  palatabl 
with  sugar ;  a  glass  of  "  gin  and  water,"  thus  manufactured,  taken  whei 
going  to  bed,  is  called  a  sleeping  cordial.  At  the  dinner  and  evening  par 
ties  of  the  higher  classes  the  most  shameful  extravagance  is  practised,  bui 
this  is  so  refined  as  not  to  admit  of  those  ostensible  excesses  which  ar 
seen  in  the  conduct  of  the  poor.  In  getting  up  these  feasts,  they  strivi 
which  can  excel  in  the  most  splendid   dinners  and   expensive  wines.  ^ 

*  I  have  now  before  me  the  catalogues  of  two  sales,  one  of  the  stock  of  a  latebankrup' 
p.iij  the  other  of  a  gentleman  who  left  the  country  in  disgrace  ;  from  which  we  may  leai 
something  of  the  extent  to  which  drinking  is  carried  on  among  gentlemen,  and  of  the  va£ 
sums  expended  in  wine.  In  the  cellars  belonging  to  the  first  there  were  54  Bins,  in  whic 
tJiere  were  various  and  expensive  sorts  of  wine  and  liquors  to  the  extent  of  3,223  botfles 
In  the  otlur  there  were68  Bins,  and  20  diiferent  sorts,  amounting  to  573^  dozens,  or  6,16 
'  'ttles,  some  of  which  was  said  to  be  70  years  old  ! 


1 


103 

Whilst  thousands  of  their  fellow-creatures  cannot  get  a  sufficiency  of  the 
coarsest  fair,  invention  is  put  to  the  rack,  no  expense  is  spared,  creation  it- 
self is  ransacked  to  give  splendour  and  sumptuousness  to  their  feasts.     In- 
stead of  christian  sobriety  "revelling  and  drunkenness,  chambering,  and 
wantonness"  characterize  most  of  their  meetings.     To  such  excesses  are 
some  addicted,  that  it  is  well  known  that  they  take  a  regular  dose  to  re- 
lieve themselves  of  the  consequence  which  over-charged  nature  would  pro- 
duce.    At  these  meetings  are  Justices  of  Peace,  the  guardians  of  our  bodies, 
and  Ministers  of  Religion,  the  watchmen  of  our  souls.    What  effect  can 
exhortations  to  sobriety  and  good  conduct  have,  either  from  the  pulpit  or 
the  bench,  when  connected  with  such  an  example  ?     How  can  they  warn 
the  poor  and  the  profligate  of  the  consequences  of  drinking,  while  they  are 
the  victims  of  intemperance  themselves  ?     It  is  most  remarkable  that,  on 
every  public  occasion,  almost  at  every  meeting,  if  a  person  move  out  of  bis 
accustomed  sphere,  he  seems  to  acquire  a  longing  for  drink.      If  a  few  fe- 
male neighbours  meet,  they  must  have  a  little  rum  in  their  tea,  and  a  glass 
at  parting  "  to  keep  the  cold  out."      In   travelling,  the  stoppage    of  the 
coach  at  a  public-house,  is  regarded  as  the  signal  for  another  glass  ;  whilst 
common  carters  are  notorious  for  stopping  their  horses  at  the  doors  of 
almost  every  public-house  on  the  road.     Persons  cannot  go  to  market 
ivithout  a  few  glasses,  and  not  to  treat  one's  customers  would  be  uncivil  in- 
deed.     If  a  carrier  deliver  a  parcel  he  wants  his  'lowance,  and  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  get  workmen  to  do  their  duty  unless  they  are  bribed  by  a 
'lass  "  forenoonand  afternoon."  Farmers  being  obliged  to  "  put  up  "  at  inas, 
are  acquiring  a  habit  of  liking  spirits,  and  now  instead  of  a  "  glass  of  ale," 
'a  squib  of  gin"  is  the  order  given.     The  transaction  of  business  beiong- 
ing  to  sick  clubs,  and  other  societies,  is  usually  attended  with  the  free  use 
of  spirituous  liquors,  and  it  is  a  question,  when  considering  the  consequen- 
,ces,  whether  many  have  not  suffered  materially  through  their  connection 
with  them,     John  Bull's  children  have  no  popular  mode  of  celebrating  the 
memorial  of  any  event  but  by  evening  dinners  and  dozens  of  port.     What 
|are  many  anniversaries  but  seasons  of  eating  and  drinking  concealed  under 
some  imposing  name ;  yea,  even  those  which  are  professedly  religious  are 
not  free  from  this.  *     What  is  an  agricultural  meeting  ?     Is  it  convened 
to  hear  lectures  on  the  scientific  principles  of  husbandry,  and  for  carrying 
on  an  effectual  system  of  imparting  instruction  to  farmers  ?     This  is  on  the 


•  I  recoDect  attending  an  ordination  service  at  Acerington,  where  the  Ministers  and  rich 
riends  were  invited  to  a  sumptuous  dinner,  after  which,  pipes,  tobacco,  and  spirits  werp 
ised  pretty  freely.  Though  I  and  a  few  other  poor  fellows  had  walked  14  miles  to  attend  the 
i«rvice,  there  was  no  dinner  for  us,  excepting  fheir  leavings  at  a  shilling  each  !  In  the  course 
if  a  discussion  which  was  carrying  on,  I  took  occasion  to  remind  the  Ministers  tliat  if  they 
*'ere  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Apostles  such  services  ought  to  he  connected  with  "  fastinj 
ad  prayer  !  "     Their  best  argument  in  reply  was  a  hearty  laugh. 


104 

front  of  it,  but  the  great  incentive  is  the  dinner  and  the  convivialty  of  the 
evening.  The  day  set  apart  for  the  holy  work  of  consecrating  churches, 
generally  closes  in  the  same  way  ;  whilst  the  beginning  and  the  ending  of 
the  office  of  mayor  and  bailiffs,  serve  to  swell  the  paragraphs  of  newspa- 
pers in  praise  of  the  dinncrand  thewities.  Solemn  as  is  the  object  of  holding 
courts  of  justice,  it  is  a  season  of  dissipation  and  unbounded  excess.  The 
conduct  of  jurors,  witnesses,  &c.  needs  no  comment ;  in  one  case,  whicl^ 
came  under  my  notice,  a  trial  for  forgery,  the  bill  of  the  witnesses  at  Lan- 
caster, for  liquor  alone,  amounted  to  £63. — The  dinners  and  feasting  of  the 
grand  jury  Ibelieve  are  upon  the  most  sumptuous  scale;  doomed  to  the  gloom 
and  turmoil  of  a  country  life,  they  are  glad  to  see  each  other's  faces  in  the 
flesh,  and  think  it  meet  and  proper  to  keep  up  "  the  feast  of  reason 
and  the  flow  of  soul."  Every  notable  is  cursed  by  the  demon  of  in- 
toxication; hence  christenings,  weddings,  funerals,  persons  coming  of 
age,  the  success  of  a  law  suit,  are  all  seasons  for  drinking.  Fairs, 
races,  pastimes,  and  elections,  are  set  times,  for  which  people  prepare, 
and  at  which  many  seem  to  glory  in  their  shame.  Indeed,  so  infatua- 
ted are  the  people,  that  they  appear  to  look  upon  the  human  frame  as  a 
machine  which  cannot  work  unless  constantly  oiled  with  alcohol;  am 
though  men  are  dying  daily  from  its  effects,  many  appear  to  think  tha 
they  cannot  live  without  it. 

If  we  proceed  to  judge  of  the  sin  of  drunkenness  by  its  effects,  we  can^ 
not  but  deplore  it  as  the  most  injurious,  the  most  debasing,  the  most  de 
structive  vice  that  ever  threw  its  enchanting  wand  over  rational  society.  I 
is  decidedly  injurious  both  to  body  and  soul.  Physicians  all  agree  that  in 
temperance  has  a  direct  tendency  to  destroy  health  and  shorten  life  ;  fevers 
dropsies,  consumptions,  gout,  palsy,  and  apoplexy,  are  generally  its  effects 
besides  numerous  misfortunes,  accidents,  and  sudden  deaths  which  happei 
to  persons  when  intoxicated  with  liquor.  The  long-lived  have  generall; 
been  noted  for  temperance  and  regular  habits  ;  and  if  the  tombstones  o 
untimely  deaths  could  tell  the  cause,  what  numbers  would  appear  to  hav 
been  self-murderers  by  the  intoxicating  draught.  The  constitutional  vigou 
of  many  is  destroyed,  so  that  they  always  feel  half  dead  till  they  get  th 
excitement  of  the  glass.  Were  it  not  for  the  wise  provision  of  the  Almight 
in  bestowing  upon  nature  a  repelling  power,  many  would  have  destroye 
themselves,  were  it  possible,  a  thousand  times.  Oh  !  the  wanton  attacks  o 
brutal  man  to  disorganize  and  destroy  that  harmonious  frame  which  is  s 
wonderfully  and  fearfully  made  !  Nature,  indeed,  more  sympathetic  in  he 
feelings,  struggles  for  resistance,  ejects  the  poison  and  saves  the  life.  Ho\ 
many  valuable  lives  have  been  sacrificed  to  liquor;  and  how  many  do 
see  pass  the  street,  whose  intemperate  habits  have  brought  them  to  th 
verge  of  the  grave:  how  many  publicans,  after  corrupting  others,  havi 
been  carried  away ;  and  how  easily  might  we  predict  the  fate  of  ml 


105 

who  are  now  living.  Excessive  drinking,  also.  Winds  the  intellect, 
destroys  the  memory,  stupifies  the  conscience,  corrupts  the  heart,  and  de- 
bases every  power  of  the  mind.  The  genius  of  youth  becomes  blasted,  the 
mental  vigour  of  manhood  enervated,  the  social  affections  of  the  heart  de- 
stroyed, and  brutish  ignorance,  stupidity,  and  sottish  vulgarity  characterize 
the  drunkard.  Behold  the  image  of  God  changed  into  an  idiot,  a  beast,  a 
fiend  !  From  such  depravity  of  mind,  may  be  expected  depravity  of  man- 
ners, and  hence,  swearing,  brawling,  fighting,  lewdness,  and  laciviousness 
mark  the  character.  Reason  destroyed,  the  man  becomes  a  prey  to  his 
sensual  appetites,  and  gratifies  them  to  his  own  ruin.  Lost  to  all  sense  of 
honour  or  honesty,  he  becomes  suspected  by  all  around  him,  and  no  sooner 
deserves,  than  he  obtains,  a  character  for  infamy.  Drunkenness,  as  we  have 
said,  is  the  prolific  source  of  crime,  and  I  have  seldom  known  a  man  noted 
for  his  crimes  who  was  not  notorious  for  drinking.  "  I  have  found."  says 
Judge  Hale,  "  that  if  the  murders  and  manslaughters,  the  burglaries  and 
robberies,  the  riots  and  tumults,  the  adulteries,  fornications,  rapes,  and 
other  great  enormities  that  have  happened,  were  divided  into  five  parts, 
four  of  them  are  the  issues  and  product  of  excessive  drinking,  and  tavern 
or  ale-house  meetings." 

Many  are  ruined  in  their  circumstances  by  their  excess.  Among  the 
wealthier  classes  it  leads  to  gaming  and  debauchery  ;  and  though  the  mas- 
sive fortunes  of  some  will  bear  it,  others  are  obliged  to  mortgage  their 
property,  some  are  made  bankrupt,  many  die  insolvent,  and  many  are 
forced  from  their  native  country,  as  a  chastisement  to  their  folly.  Amongst 
the  middling  class,  thousands  have  squandered  away  comfortable  incomes, 
and  by  neglect  of  business  have  been  brought  to  poverty  and  disgrace  :  a 
drunken  tradesman  or  shopkeeper  is  always  put  down  a  sure  insolvent. 
By  drunkenness,  time  is  lost,  sloth  engendered,  families  neglected,  bad 
bargains  made,  business  mismanaged,  and  money  spent ;  all  like  an  impe- 
tuous torrent  carrying  the  individual  to  ruin.  Of  all  taxes  this  is  the 
heaviest ;  and  the  accurate  calculations  which  have  been  made  of  the 
enormous  sums  spent  annually  in  Britain,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  de- 
stroy the  health,  the  life,  the  character,  and  the  happiness  of  man,  are  suf- 
;ficient  to  make  every  reasonable  man  stand  aghast  and  shudder  with  hor- 
Iror.  What  consumate  folly,  what  base  ingratitude,  what  an  abandonment 
of  principle,  what  a  prostitution  of  ample  means  does  the  conduct  of  the 
drunkard  present !  His  wealth,  instead  of  being  a  blessing  to  himself  and 
jothers,  proves  the  greatest  curse  !  It  is  here  that  the  sober  and  the  indus- 
trious have  all  the  advantage.  With  moderate  means,  and  in  the  face  of 
extraordinary  losses,  I  have  always  been  able  to  procure  every  enjoyment, 
and  a  little  to  spare  for  any  useful  purpose.  To  give  a  shilling  to  a  poor 
person,  is  considered  by  some  as  a  great  stretch  of  liberality,  who  would  in 
|an  instant  swallow  t^vo  glasses  of  brandy  and  water  without  a  single  re- 


flection.  A  pint  of  wine  after  dinner  is  considered  no  immoderate  allotv'' 
ance,  and  whilst  our  tradesmen  and  travellers  live  in  this  style  no  vvondi 
they  should  '/  fail  "  and  never  pay  their  debts.  Calling  one  day  at  an  In 
on  the  market  day,  at  dinner  time,  the  bill  brought  in  for  dinner  and  vviii 
was  4s.  lOd.  each  ;  ah  !  thought  I,  many  a  poor  weaver  must  toil  a  who 
week  early  and  late,  to  clear  the  amount  which  one  of  these  has  guzzled  i 
half  an  hour.  Whilst  men  thus  expose  themselves  to  disease  and  death  b 
taking  wine  and  strong  drink,  thousands  are  languishing  in  pain  for  want  i 
a  little  to  relieve  them.  How  lamentable  to  think  that  numbers  are  dyin 
every  day  for  want  of  that  which  proves  the  cause  of  death  to  others, 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  enormous  quantities  of  wine  and  spirits  stowe 
in  gentlemen's  cellars,  were  allotted  to  the  aged  and  the  sick,  what  gre; 
good  would  be  done  :  a  blessing  equally  bestowed  upon  the  giver  and  th 
receiver.  Oh  I  that  rich  men  would  consider  these  things,  and  instead  < 
gorging  themselves  with  sumptuous  living,  they  would  learn  the  lessons  < 
sobriety  and  moderation,  and  to  do  all  that  they  can  to  add  to  the  comfor; 
of  the  poor. 

It  is,  moreover,  a  sore  reflection  upon  our  national  character  ;  it  m 
only  affects  the  happiness  of  individuals,  but  has  much  impaired  the  healt 
of  the  social  body,  by  counteracting  those  best  of  principles  which  bind  s( 
oiety  together.  The  inmates  of  our  numerous  prisons,  if  examined,  wool 
attest  the  truth  of  this.  Asylums,  hospitals,  workhouses,  and  prisons,  ar 
more  indebted  to  this  vise,  directly  and  indirectly,  than  to  any  thing  elsi 
Riots,  incendiarism,  and  burking,  are  all  the  offspring  of  the  same  caust 
Poverty,  insolvency,  disease,  idocy,  as  well  as  crime,  are  the  fruits  of  ii 
temperance  among  all  classes.  The  cost  of  every  man's  excesses  is  oi 
of  the  common  stock;  and  society,  especially  the  humbler  members  ofi 
have  to  pay  in  their  labour,  for  the  banquetings,  revellings,  and  abomin: 
ble  extravagancies  of  those  whom  caprice  or  fortune  has  made  the  deposi 
taries  of  wealth.  Many  families  and  tradesmen  are  frequently  ruined,  i 
consequence  of  the  failure  of  individuals,  caused  entirely  by  the  effects  c 
their  sensuality  and  pride.  The  misery  entailed  upon  the  families  of  th 
working  poor,  by  the  conduct  of  drunken  husbands  and  wives,  no  tongu 
can  tell.  Houses  stripped  of  furniture,  bedding  pledged,  children  clothe 
in  rags,  home  a  scene  of  broils  and  strife;  and  indeed  so  infatuated  ar 
they  as  to  appear  to  be  determined  upon  being  their  own  tormentor 
Some  men  uniformly  begin  and  close  their  weeks  at  the  public-house,  an 
how  often  it  is  that  the  wife,  left  pennyless  at  home,  leaves  a  family  < 
children  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  to  seek  an  unworthy  husband  from  oi 
public-house  to  another,  and  often  meets  with  the  most  barbarous  trea 
ment.  Oh  !  the  wretchedness,  the  degradation,  the  immorality  and  cruelt 
of  this  our  national  sin  !  It  is  an  hereditary  curse ;  the  father  imparts 
to  his  offspring,  and  by  it  the  implements  of  social  destruction  are  prepaid! 
for  generations  yet  unborn.  1 


i 


'■^^t 


107 


hat  must  be  the  consequences  of  all  this  in  another  world  ?  "  The 
wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell.  "  Drunkards  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom 
Df  heavea."  Can  you,  oh!  infatuated  mortals,  expect  any  favor  from  that 
God  whose  workmanship  you  destroy,  whose  image  you  debase,  whose 
nercies  you  despise,  whose  laws  you  contemn,  and  whose  moral  govern- 
nent,  by  the  immoral  devastation  of  your  conduct,  you  aim  to  overthrow  ? 
Unless  you  repent  you  must  inevitably  perish.  If  God  judge  the  world  in 
ighteousness,  and  gives  to  every  man  according  to  his  works,  where  can 
yrou  expect  your  portion,  but  in  the  lake  of  fire  prepared  for  the  workers 
)f  iniquity.  Talk  of  heaven,  it  would  be  no  heaven  for  you.  You  are 
itrangers  to  holiness,  you  delight  in  wicked  company,  and  are  habitually 
ransgressing  Christ's  commands.  What  felicity  for  the  drunken  man  in 
be  mansions  of  the  blessed,  where  all  is  holiness,  purity  and  peace  ? 

The  causes  of  drunkenness  are  various,  arising  from  bad  habits,  bad 
association,  bad  arrangements,  bad  principles,  and  bad  connections.  Till 
the  mind  becomes  contaminated,  reason  impaired,  and  the  influence  of  as- 
50ciation  predominant,  there  is  not,  I  believe,  any  inherent  desire  for  strong 
drink.  There  is  no  vice  or  virtue  in  the  whole  round  of  man's  conduct,  so 
decidedly  produced,  matured,  and  established  by  the  power  of  example  and 
association,  as  the  habit  of  drinking.  Indeed,  the  glass  makes  a  part  of  the 
rivilities  of  society,  and  many  can  testify,  that  what  was  first  offered  through 
Mistaken  kindness,  has  proved  little  less  than  deadly  poison.  However  a 
oerson  may  be  determined  against  excesees,  if  he  choose  the  company  of 
hose  who  frequent  the  tavern  or  the  tap-room,  his  resolutions  will  fail  him, 
ind  he  will  soon  become  the  victim  of  bad  example.  A  glass  for  friend- 
ship, another  for  fear  of  being  singular,  a  third  by  the  importunities  of  his 
comrades,  aad  then  they  have  him  secure ;  reason,  his  only  guide,  looses 
ts  sway,  and  inflated  feelings  defy  every  restraint.  Every  successive  meet- 
ngthey  find  him  gentler  in  his  opposition,  till  like  themselves,  he  becomes 
jn  habitual  drunkard.  With  the  languor  of  the  past  night's  excesses,  he 
;oes  to  the  alehouse  in  the  morning  just  for  a  single  glass,  and  determined 
lOt  to  exceed  ;  he  meets  as  usual  with  company,  and  seldom  returns  till 
ompletely  inebriated.  In  genteel  parties  we  see  the  same  influence.  How- 
ver  sober  in  habits  and  determined  in  mind  some  individuals  may  be,  the 
purious  hospitalitj'  now  kept  up,  is  sure  to  overcome  them.  Instead  of 
ational  recreation,  select  reading,  profitable  conversation,  and  the  cherish- 
ig  of  virtuous  habits,  the  time  is  spent  in  eating  and  drinking,  luxury  and 
ishionable  parade.  Not  to  take  the  glass  would  be  considered  a  mark 
f  puerility  and  almost  as  an  insult  offered  to  the  company.  All  the  fasci- 
nations of  a  drawing-room,  and  the  impetuous  clamour  of  the  guests  are 
et  in  array  against  the  voice  of  reason,  till  the  most  determined  are  over- 
ame  by  their  persuasion,  and  before  the  evening  is  spent  are  heard  uniting 
i  the  mischievous  cry  of  "  one  glass  more."      Thus  "  evil  commuBica- 


I 


108  I' 

tions  corrupt  good  manners,"  and  a  misguided  friendship  perpetuates  thi 
principles  of  misery. 

God  has  given  to  man  reason  to  discern  good  from  evil,  to  judge  of  th< 
property  of  every  indulgence,  and  to  measure  and  limit  the  exercise  o 
our  appetites  by  those  rules  which  would  invariably  secure  our  own  good 
He  has  also  favoured  us  with  his  positive  testimony  against  drunkenness 
and  stated  that  "  drunkards  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven."    Mai 
has  also  within  him  a  natural  conscience,  which  thus  enlightened,  is  intend- 
ed to  guide  him  against  the. strong  impulse  of  animal  feeling;  to  tell  him 
what  is  right  and  to  reveal  the  dangers  of  disobedience.     Even  in  the  niidsi 
of  our  revels  it  continues  to  check  ;  it  struggles  for  controul  till  inflated  na- 
ture demands  its  silence.     All   men  profess   to  admire  its  council ;  yet 
where  in  the  whole  circle  of  hard  drinkers,  we  may  ask,  is  there  practica 
deference  paid  to  this  faithful  monitor,   or  gratitude  to  him  who  gave  it ' 
By  excessive  and  continued  indulgence,  the  animal  appetites  predominate; 
and  become  so  inveterate  as  soon  to  supplant  the  use  of  the  reasoning 
powers.    We  sometimes  talk*of  aberration  of  mind,  but  never  was  so  much 
of  it  seen,  as  we  are  compelled  to  witness  every  day  in  the  conduct  and  be- 
haviour of  drunken  men.     They  degrade  themselves  below  the  level  oi 
beasts  which  have  no  understanding,  and  as  to  that  moderation  which  na- 
ture requires/brutes  are  angels  compared  to  them.     What  reason  can  there 
be  in  the  wilful  waste  of  time  and  property,  the  loss  of  character  and  repu- 
tation, the  destruction  of  every  domestic  and  social  comfort,  the  wanton  sa- 
crifice of  health  and  life,  the  abandonment  of  every  moral  restraint,  and  the 
certain  ruin  of  both  body  and  soul  !       When   reason  and   conscience  are 
laid  prostrate  the  fool  may  dance  and  sing,  but  the  morning  of  repentance., 
will  come,  when,  alas  !  it  may  be  too  late. 

,  Drunkenness  seems  to  have  existed  in  all  ages ;  but  with  us  there  at 
undoubtedly  special  reasons  for  its  prevalency.  The  want  of  moral  and 
ligious  principle,  it  will  be  admitted,  is  the  great  cause  of  all  practical  evil|l 
but  there  are  also  many  other  circumstances,  operating  as  powerful  auxit 
aries.  The  great  facilities  for  obtaining  intoxicating  liquor,  in  the  establis 
ment  of  dram  shops,  jerry  shops,  and  additions  to  public  houses,* — the  rec 
ced  price  of  ale  and  ardent  spirits — the  ignorance  of  the  people  of  the  r* 
nature,  uses,  and  design  of  spirits  and  other  liquors — -the  peculiar  emplol 
ments  of  many  operatives — the  increased  number  of  associations  for  tSi' 
purposes  of  trade,  politics,  science,  &c. — the  prevailing  modes  of  conduct- 

*-  ■  ■  ....  .  .  .         • 

*  Few,  if  any,  seem  to  be  so  wise  in  their  generation  as  the  publicans  ;  they  di^side  theit 

business,  extend  their  premises,  and  increase  the  enterances  to  their  houses  amazingly.     I 

know  one  who  has  got  possession  of  an  adjoining  cottage,  wliich  is  made  to  be  considered 

part  of  the  licensed  premises.     This  he  lets  off,  and  supplies  the  keeper  with  his  spirits; 

the  underling  has  managed  so  well,  that  the  chief  is  now  intending  to  raise  the  rent  of  the 

house,  worth  about  ^^lO.  a  year  to  ^£30.     "  Back-way  "  roads,  there  is  no  doubt,  proje  ■ 

inviting  to  many,  and  profitable  to  the  keepers. 


A 


109 

iD'"^  business — the  great  want  of  accommodations  for  tradesmen  and  travel- 
lers where  drinking  is  not  allowed — the  want  of  domestic  comfort,  arising 
from  poverty  or  vice — have  all  been  large  contributors  to  the  increase  of 
intoxication. 

In  adverting  to  the  causes  of  intemperance,   it  may  also  be  observed, 
that  though  very  few  at  first  either  drink  at  home  or  frequent  the  public 
house  through  love  to  the  liquor  itself,  yet  with  some,  by  habitual  practice,  the 
r  appetite  gets  so  depraved,  the  energies  of  the  body  so  impaired,  and  so 
'  rmant  the  feelings  of  the  soul,  that  the  excitement  v/hich  liquor  produces 
nis  all   the  life  they   have.      A  debilitated   constitution  refuses   every 
remedy  but  that  which  proves  its  death.  Trembling  limbs,  loss  of  appetite, 
and  dejected  spirits,  call  for  the  delusive  glass;  and  they  flee  for  relief  to 
Itkat  which  brings  an  untimely  end.    By  many  it  is  resorted  to  as^  tempo- 
■  rarv  annihilation  ;  they  drink  to  forget  their  grief?,  to  drown  their  troubles, 
and  to  obtain  a  respite  from  distracting  cares.     Infuriated  by  passion,  how 
inanv  are  there,, who,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  be  reconciled  to  an  enemy, 
flee  to  the  public-house,  and  meditate  revenge.'   Many  a  poor  man,  unhap- 
pily giving  way  to  his  feelings,  through  a  domestic  broil  or  a  dispute  with 
his  wife,  goes  to  the  public-house  to  seek  enjoyment  in  the  company  of 
ikards.     Whatever  mitigation  the  sin  of  drunkenness  may  receive  from 
f  these  circumstances,  such  individuals  have  alwaj  s  had  cause  to  lament 
conduct,  and  have  found  it  only  an  aggravation  of  the  evil.     To  en- 
our  to  cure  the  discords  of  society  by  having  recourse  to  such  measures 
these,  is  the  very  extreme  of  madness. 
V     Idleness,  or  the  want  of  employment,  often  leads  to  excess.    The  dis- 
position  of  both  body  and  mind  is  for  action,  and  if  a  man  should  be  so 
unfortunate,  as  to  hav^,  no  employment,  he  endeavours  to  remove  the  tedi- 
-ness  of  his  hours  by  sotting  ovijr  his  glass.     Nay,  even  the  rest  ^^hich 
Liday  affords  to  those  who  labour  hard  through  the  week,  for  want  of  re- 
ligion and  a  taste  for  mental  improvement,  is  often  prostituted  to  vicious  in- 
dulgences, to  the  serious  injury  of  their  own  health  and  the  circumstances 
of  their  families.  Indeed,  so  debased  are  many  in  all  classes,  that,  with  con- 
tracted minds,  and  nlepraved  hearts,  indifferent  to  science  and  literature,  and 
strangers  to  the  multifarious  plans  of  doing  good  among  their  fellow  crea- 
tures, they  seek  the  elation  of  the  social  glass  as  the  best  means  of  passing 
away  their  time,  which  hangs  so  heavily  on  their  hands.     Ho\v  many  have 
been  marked  by  the  curse  of  an  independancy  !     Having  no  necessity  for 
labour,  no  impulse  for  exertion,  they  have  given  themselves  up  to  drink- 
ing, and  gaming,  and  sensual  excesses.    Like  the  infidel  Epicures  of  old,  in 
their  conduct,  they  say,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die." 

But  amongst  'the  causes  of  the   prevalency  of  drunkenness,  the  de- 
ficiency of  the  means  used   to  jirevcnt  if,   ought  constantly  to  be  insisted 
upon.'    Prevention  is  the  best  cure,  and  those  who  use  no  means  to  pre- 
voL.  n  p 


110 

rent  an  evil,  may  justly  be  considered  as  aiding  its  production.  It  is  true 
that  disorderly  drunkards,  and  publicans  keeping  disorderly  houses,  are 
sometimes  punished  with  a  fine;  but  this,  whilst  it  may  promote  outward 
decorum,  scarcely  ever  affects  the  principles  of  the  mind.  It  is  also  true, 
that  on  a  Sunday  persons  are  employed  to  clear  the  public  houses  during 
the  time  of  divine  service,  but  which,  in  the  evening,  exhibit  scenes  that  arfi 
a  disgrace  to  a  civilized  country  ;  and  there  is,  not  unfrequently,  the  mosj 
perfect  good  will  between  the  visitors  and  the  visited ;  in  them,  and  in  their 
looks,  they  recognize  their  friends.  This  also,  at  best,  is  but  coercion  ;  il; 
carries  no  conviction  to  the  conscience,  no  change  in  the  dispositions  and  afv 
fections  of  the  mind.  We  shall  be  told  that  Sermons  are  preached;  true,  bu^ 
instead  of  constantly  inveighing  against  this  and  every  other  prevailing  viccy 
which  are  making  the  most  desparate  inroads  upon  society,  and  threatening  thf| 
very  extinction  of  social  happiness  ;  instead  of  unveiling  the  depths  ofwiclju 
edness,  and  bringing  to  light  the  carousing  excesses  of  the  sensualist  witljfji. 
particularity  that  cannot  be  mistaken,  regardless  of  consequences  ;  instead 
of  this,  if  the  enormity  of  sin  be  mentioned,  it  is  in  that  general  way  that 
gives  but  little  uneasiness  ;  and  if  repentance  be  urged,  it  is  often  with  those 
cautions  which  render  such  exhortations  neutral.  It  is  really  strange  that 
so  little  is  known,  and  so  little  has  been  said  by  religious  teachers,  on  the  in- 
utility of  taking  spirits,  and  on  the  evils  and  remedies  of  drunkenness.  We 
have  recently  had  a  Lecture  upon  these  pomts,  by  a  Mr.  Jackson,  of  Hebden- 
bridge,  deputy  of  the  Bradford  Temperance  Society,  and  I  believe,  by  this 
one  Lecture,  more  knowledge  upon  this  subject  bas  been  diffused  in  Preston, 
than  by  all  the  previous  teaching  of  all  our  religious  instructors  put  together. 
The  fact  is  that  practical  religion  is^thrown  into  the  shade,  and  abstract  sen- 
timents and  doctrinal  discussions  are  made  the  constant  topics  of  declama- 
tion. Forgetting  the  overwhelming  increase  of  moral  heresy.  Divines  are 
for  ever  labouring  to  keep  the  people  safe  from  the  heresy  of  mere  opinion. 
Re^rdless  of  the  common  foe  of  man,  they  are  everlastingly  contending 
for  the  orthodoxy  of  their  opinions,  and  impuning  those  of  others.  Instead 
of  making  charity,  benevolence,  honesty,  sobriety,  and  every  persopal  and 
practical  virtue — instead  of  making  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  the  essen- 
tials of  religion,  it  is  mostly  made  to  consist  of  doctrinal  opinions  and  a 
regular  attendance  at  a  place  of  worship  ;  it  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that 
drunkenness  can  raise  its  daring  front,  and  defy  the  efforts  of  an  opposition 
so  feeble  as  this.  Sermons  are  preached,  but  independently  of  their  matter 
and  form,  experience  and  observation  tell  us  that  they  are  any  thing  but 
adapted  to  meet  the  evil.  Confined  to  certain  hours,  and  to  consecrated 
buildings,  how  can  they  pervade  the  mass  of  society  ?  If  the  remedies  of 
physicians  for  physical  evils  were  no  more  appropriate  than  that  of  clergy- 
men for  spiritual  delinquincy,  what  must  have  been  the  ravages  of  the  king 
of  terrors  ?    It  seems  from  facts  that  modern  religion  and  the  vice 


!^  III 

drunkenness-  can  dwell  together.     Whilst  millions  are  drawn  every  year 
from  the  resources  of  the  nation  for  the  prevention  of  crime,   those  who 
are  employed  as  ministers  of  religion,  never  fairly  come  in  contact  with  it ; 
they  miss  their  mark;  they  fight  at  a  distance.  Like  their  great  exemplar,  they 
should  mix  with  society ;  they  should  seek  out  the  haunts  of  wickedness  and 
vice — in  cellars,  in  houses,  in  prisons,  in  factories,  on  public  grounds;  they 
should  mark  ever}^  individual  notorious  for  drinking,  whether  rich  or  poor, 
and  seek  the  first  opportunity  of  reasoning  with  him  of  temperance,  righte- 
ousness, and-  judgement  to  come.     In  fact,  they  should  be  abroad  in  the 
world,  and  as  spiritual  watchmen,  should  be  teaching  and  warning  the  un- 
godly night  and  day.     By  a  judicious  management  of  his  time,  a  minister 
might  come  in  contact  with  hundreds  of  dissipated  characters  every  week, 
whom,  on  the  present  plan,  he  will  never  see  till  that  day  when  their  blood 
.  may  be  required  at  his  hands.   In  examining  the  causes  of  the  increase  of 
drunkenness,  I  am  confident  they  will  never  be  discovered,  without  taking 
into  account  the  character  of  the  clergy  and  their  present  system  ofinstruction. 
What,  then,  is  to  be  done  P    If  the  evil  be  so  tremendous,  are  there  no 
Suitable  remedies  to  be  found  ?     All  classes  seem  alive  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  evil ;  all  appear  sensible  that  drunkenness  is  the  chief  cause  of  the  mi- 
series which  at  present  afflict  society  ;  and  many  are  coming  forward  to  ar- 
rest its  progress.     The  sound  of  an  attack  has  already  been  made,  and  % 
trust  will  not  be  abandoned  till  this  cruel  monster  is  driven  from  among  men. 
It  is,  however,  a  mighty  undertaking,  and  like  the  diverting  of  the  river 
Euphrates  from  its  accustomed  channel,  appears  to  be  a  work  almost  super- 
human.    The  people  have,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  convinced  of  their  eri-ors. 
Under  an  impression  that  there  is  some  good,  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirits, 
they  are  given  to  children  so  soon  as  they  are  born,  and  continued  through 
>  every  period  of  life.     Now  if  persons  were  convinced  of  the  true  nature 
\>  of  alcohol    (or  spirit,)  that  it  imparts  no  nutriment  to  the  body ;  that  in  pro- 
portion as  it  stimulates  the  system,  it  wastes  the  vital  energy ;  that  its  true 
use  is  as  a  medicine,  and  its  proper  place,  the  apothecary's  shop ;  and  that 
he  opinion  of  its  doing  a  healthy  person  good,  is  a  monstrous  delusion  ;  one 
jreat  step,  at  least  with  the  reflecting  part  of  mankind,  would  be  gained, 
[n  the  second  place,  they  have  to  be  persuaded  to  break  off  an  inveterate 
habit.    This  is  a  hard  task.    There  are  many  who  are  convinced  of  the 
oily  and  sinfulness  of  hard  drinking,  but  they  appear  to  be  unable  to  resist. 
There  can  bene  cure  for  such  but  a  strong  resolution,  to  abstain  entirely ; 
or  to  expect  such  persons  to  descend  from  excess  step  by  step  to  the  mark 
>f  moderation,  is  to  expect  an  impossibility.  With  these  individuals  it  must 
>e  a  desperate  effort — all  or  nothing  are  the  terms.      But,  in  the  next  place, 
observe,  that  our  greatest  hope  ought  to  be,  to  prevent  these  habits  /rot* 
>eing  formed.     However  desirable  it  may  be  to  reclaim  drunkards,  it  is  far 
nore  practicable  to  prevent  the  sober  part  of  the  population  from  becoming 


112 

such.  If  there  were  none  to  fill  up  the  vacant  places  of  those  whomhai 
drinkuig  carries  away  daily,  the  vice  would  soon  disappear,  but  whilst  the 
ranks  are  readily  replenished  with  the  youth  of  both  sexes,  the  evil  willrj 
main.  With  the  same  anxiety  that  we  would  prevent  the  careless  and  tfc 
decrepit  iVom  falling  into  the  fire,  ought  we,  to  use  every  possible  means  ^ 
prevent  every  sober  person  from  becoming  intemperate. 

To  accomplish  these  three  points,  all  hands  must  bo  set  to    workl 
Like  as  in  the  case  of  an  invasion,  interests,  prejudices,  and  parties  must  b« 
forgotten,  and   every  hand  and  every  eye  directed  to  the  common  eneraj 
For  an  effectual  remedy,  we  look 

First,     To  the  government,     I  do  not  say  that  the  existence   or  noi 
existence  of  spirits  rests  with  them,  but  the  circulation  of  them   certainljj 
does.     Spirits  might  be  distilled,  unknown  to  government,  but  they  cannctj 
be  sold  openly  but  by  "  licence."      And  does  that  government  deserve  thJ 
name  of  a  father  to  the  people  which  suffers,   connives  at,   and  encourage! 
the  dispersion  of  the  essence  of  poison?     Can  the  Ministers  of  state  be  igJ 
norant  of  the  moral  conduct  of  the  people,  and  that  it  is  the  increased  conj 
sumption  of  intoxicating  liquors  which  is   the  chief  cause  of  all  that  crira 
insubordination,  and  misery,  with  the  reports  of  which  they  are  constantlj] 
assailed  ?     It  is  a  matter  which  they  ought  to  take  into   their  most  seriou 
consideration  ;  and  while  they  can  do  more  by  a  few  enactments,  in  the  wSi^j 
of  restraint,  than  all  the  efTorts  of  private  individuals,  I  have  long  been  suri 
prised  that  numerous  Petitions  have  not  long  since  been  sent  up  on  the  sulj 
ject.     Now  that  we  have  Temperance  Societies  organized  almost  in  eved 
town,  they  ought  to  make  a  simultaneous  movement,  and  lay  before  go 
vernment  a  faithful  statement  of  this  detestable  practice,  and  the  remedi»| 
which  they  conceive  it  is  in  the  power  of  government  to  apply.     We  s 
with  what  promptitude  and  decision  the  government  has  acted  in  refere: 
to  the  spread  of  the  cholera ;  and  if  in  compassion  to  the  country,  t 
would   take  raeasujes   equally   prudent  and  decisive,  no    doubt     m, 
good   might   be   done.       The  particular  measures — such    as   augmeni 
the  price  of  spirits, — increasing  the  price  of  licenses, — removing  the 
tation  of  dram-shops,   &c., — might  be  left  open  for  discussion,  i  Fine     au( 
penalties  for  drunkenness  and  disorder  may  be  inflicted,  but    uulc^     unn 
preventive  measures  be  adopted,  it  is  like  digging  a  pit  and  then  pr      !  ii 
the  first  that  falls  into  it. 

The  Magistrates,  as  the  conservators  of  the  peace,  ought  to  bi 
cially  active  ;  drunkenness  is  an  offence  against  the  decorum  of  socici. ,  <.iu 
a  positive  violation  of  the  duties  of  social  life,  and  as  such,  comes  fairlj 
within  the  cognizance  of  the  Magistrate.  Every  existing  law  ought  there- 
fore to  be  enforced,  and  every  arrangement  which  would  secure  obedience 
Without  any  additional  powers,  if  our  Magistrates  were  sincere  and  acti\ 
in  suppressing  vice,  and  preserving  order,  a  very  efficient  opposition  raighi 


4 


113 

be  raised  against  the  drunken  practices  of  the  age.  Magistrates  oil  the  bench, 
ind  Judges  on  their  circuits,  are  constantly  attributing  the  jjcrpetuation  of 
crime  to  the  free  use  of  intoxicating  liquor,  and  yet  they  seem  indisposed  to 
aviginate  any  fresh  means  to  prevent  it.  Let  them  communicate  to  govern- 
ment all  that  they  know  of  the  evil  and  what  they  conceive  should  be  done 
;o  apply  a  remed}-. 

Every  one  in  authority,  every  overseer,  every  master  who  has  men  em- 

oloyed  under  him,    and  every  philanthropist,    should  both  by  example  and 

Qterferance,  discourage  the  growth  of  intemperance.  The  cost  of  all  this  dis- 

jipation  and  excess  ultimately  fails  upon  the  sober  and  the  respectable  part 

iaf  societ}-,  and  therefore  as  a  matter  of  self-interest,  they  are  called  upon 

ko  exert  themselves.     Persons  bestowing  charity  should  always  discrimi- 

jiate  between  the  sober  and  the  drunken,  and   mark  in  every  possible  way 

heir  disapprobation  of  the  latter.     Vvhilst  Masters  are  constantly  complain- 

ng  of  their  difficulties  to  accomplish  any  undertaking,  through  the  idleness 

)f  their  workmen,  let  them  make  a  judicious   selection  j  and  especially  let 

hem  avoid  continuing   those  foolish  customs  that  perpetuate  the  evil.     In 

arge  works,  few  weeks  pass  over  without  what  is  called  a  "  footing"  either 

f  the  apprentices  or  journeymen.     By  these  they  are  allied  to  the  public- 

louse;  are  called  upon  to  subscribe  their  money  ;  and  consequently,  how- 

syer  sober,  become  so  familiarized  to  the  exhibitions  of  this  vice,  and  sode- 

ied  with  the  effect  of  the  liquor,  that  they  often  obtaitt  the  characteristic 
•ellation  of  a  "  drunken  set.  "      If  "  footings"  and  "  rearings  "  are  so 
laneful,  why  do  not  the  Masters  generally  set  theip  faces  against  them,  and 
te  determined  to  put  them  down  ^     At  the  same  time  that  I  recommend 
his  course,  I  would  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  opposed  to  the  real  en- 
oyments  of  workmen,  on  any  suitabis  occasion,  or  to  the  expressions   of 
"riendship  from  Masters  to  their  men  j  but  it  always  seems  strange  to  me 
Jiat  no  other  mode  of  attempting  to  promote   rational  conviviality  can  be 
idopted.     If  innocent  mirth,  and  friendly  relaxation  are  to  be  purchased  by 
he  sacrifice  of  health,  wealth,  morals,   family  enjoyments,  and  life  itself, 
et  them  be  abandoned  altogether.      But  a  reform  of  these  practices  is  per- 
ectly  practicable  ;  and  tliose  will  deserve  well  of  society,  who  are  first  to 
•egin.     To  steal  away  a  person's  senses,  to  assist  in  reducing  him  to  pover- 
V,  is  surely  a  strange  method  of  expressing  one's  friendship  !     The  same 
umarks  apply  to  sales,  letting  of  property,  elections,  Christmas  treats,  chris- 
3uings,  funerals,  &c.,  whether  at  public  or  private  houses. 

But  as  drunkenness  is  not  only  a  sin,  but  the  inlet  to  all  other  sins,  it 
:  to  the  Minuters  of  religion  and  to  their  labours  that  we  have  a  right  to 
:)ok,  as  afibrding  the  best  remedy.  As  matters  of  restraint  all  that  I  have 
lid  may  be  correct,  but  the  highest  and  most  effectual  motives  must  spring 
om  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God.  It  should  be  the,  object  of 
>ery  man  who  wishes  to  prove  himself  a  worthy  Miaiatec  of  Christ  tooall 


114 


1 


every  drunkard  to  repentance,  and  to  warn  every  sober  man  less  he  should 
become  a  drunkard.  If  ever  there  were  a  period  when  extra  exertion  was 
required  on  the  part  of  religious  teachers — both  for  the  reforming  of  the 
vicious  and  the  regaining  of  the  afTeclions  of  the  people — now  is  the  time. 
I  presume  not  to  dictate  as  to  the  particular  form  in  which  they  should  dif- 
fuse the  principles  of  temperance,  but  I  say,  fearlessly,  that  at  this  eventful 
crisis,  unless  they  come  forward  to  make  the  influence  of  religious  teaching 
to  bear  in  every  possible  way  upon  the  vice  of  intemperance,  they  are  not 
faithful  to  their  trust.  Oh!  ye  watchmen  of  Israel !  why  are  ye  so  tardy? 
or  why  should  you  need  to  be  reminded  of  caring  for  the  souls  of  your 
charge?  You  should  be  the  first  to  set  an  example  of  unremitting  zeal, 
,  and  to  make  every  sacrifice  to  save  the  people  from  "  the  wrath  to  come." 
Let  every  clergyman,  therefore,  and  every  laj^man,  join  heart  and  hand,  in 
attempting  to  banish  drunkenness  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Despairing  of  the  success  of  every  other  means,  the  friends  of  hu- 
manity and  religion,  have  lately  attacked  the  prevalency  of  intoxication, 
through  the  medium  of  "  Temperance  Societies."     Willing  to  encourage 
every  plan  calculated  to  arrest  the  progress  of  this  vice,  I  heartily  wist 
these  societies  every  success  j  though  I  affirm  again,  that  if  the  Ministers  oj 
Religion  had  done  their  duty,  we  should  not  now  have  been  in  a  conditior 
to  require  exertion  of  so  unusual  a  character.     These  societies  have  a  two- 
fold object— to  difFuse  information  as  to  the  nature  of  spirituous  liquors 
and  of  the  evils  of  asing  them  as  a  beverage — and  to  call  for  z  pledge  or 
the  part  of  the  members,  entirely  to  abstain   from  useing  them,   excep 
as  medicine.     Against  the  first  no  rational  being  can  make  an  objection 
against  the  second  the  objections  are  more  specious  than  weighty.     It  ough 
to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  these  societies  do  not  assume  a  religious  character 
they  are  more  like  police  regulations  ;  and  if  they  answer  the  end,  no  objee 
tion  can  be  made  to  the  means.     It  is  a  mere  agreement,  because  of  the  ad 
vantages  which  are  likely  to  accrue  to  society,  not  to  drink  ardent  spirits 
and  to  use  all  other  kinds  of  liquor  in  moderation  ;  and  the  man  who  can  ol 
jeet  to  this,  must  be  either  confused  in  his  intellect,  or  corrupt  in  his  habits 
Supposing  an  individual  resolves  in  his  own  mind  to  refrain  entirely  fron 
drinking  spirits  ;  suppose  all  the  men  at  any  one  workshop  were  to  agre 
to  the  same  resolution,  where  is  there  a  sensible  man  that  would  not  hai 
such  a  conclusion  with  delight  ?    and  if  the  principle  be  right,  it  cannot  b 
otherwise  by  the  resolution  being  adopted  by  hundreds  instead  of  tem 
Would  vvft  fiot  commend  a  family  of  children,  who,  referring  to  the  fruit  c 
a  certain  tree,  reason  thus—"  Brother  John  ate  some  of  that  fruit  yestei 
day ;  it  made  him  very  ill,  and  offended  his  father  ;  we  tcill  not  touch  it,  an 
thus  we  shall  avoid  the  consequence  ?"     But  it  has  often  been  objected,  c 
what  use  is  it  for  temperate  persons  to  "  sign  the  pledge  ?"    There  are  £ 
least  three  distinct  reasons  for  if.    First,  it  is  joining  in,  and  giving  encou 


I 


115 

ragement  to,  the  agitation  of  the  subject,  which  of  itself  ^s  now  doing,  incal- 
culable good.     Second,  it  operates  upon  many,  who,  having  no  highqr  motive 
to  guide  them,  make  the  example  of  others  the  principle  Kule  of  their  couduct. 
And  Thirdly,  it  is  the  only  security  that  an  individual  can  have  foi  his  own 
conduct.     We  may  talk  of  moderation,  but  where  is  the  individual  who. 
drinks  moderately  that  does  not  sometimes  get  over  the  line  ?     In  this  pledge 
|he  has  the  only  sure  defence  against  being  overcome.       The  strength  of  the 
liquor,  the  size  of  the  glasses,  the  state  of  the  body,  and  the  pressing  invita- 
tions of  friends,  are  circumstances  against  which  it  is  impossible  at  all  times 
to  be  sufficiently  guarded.     The  last  time  I  tasted  ardent  spirits,  was  a  sin- 
■jle  glass  of  whiskey  and  water,  and  if  ever  I  were  intoxicated  it  was  then  j, 
tvhatever  was  the  cause  I  cannot  tell,  but  the  ellect  was  such  as  to  lead  me- 
;o  resolve  never  to  taste  again.     Let  a  man  sign  the  pledge  sincerely,  and 
leis  out  ofthe  way  of  temptation;  for  thereis  yet  sufficient  honourremaining 
imong  men,  that  if  a  person  states  that  he  belongs  to  the  Temperance  So-  * 
;iety,  no  one  will  continue  to  importune  hiin.    No  man  surely  will  say  that  it 
s  his  duty  to  drink  rum  or  brandy,  and  therefore,  to  say  the  least,  he  is  not 
l|)ut  of  the  path  of  duty  in  refraining;   and  sometimes  in  imitation  ofthe 
[ipostle  Paul,  if  a  certain  good  is  to  be  accomplished,  he  may  resolve  "nei-t 
|»er  to  eat  flesh  nor  drink  wine  so  long  as  the  world  stands.'*     The  prac- 
l«je  is  not  new  ;  so  long  since  as  the  days  of  Jeremiah  there  w^as  a  people; 
ailed  Rechabites  who  never  even  tasted  icine.      Distilled  spirits  were  then, 
ipt  known,  and  wine,  made  into  strong  drink,  was  their  intoxicating  liquor., 
?heir  father  said  unto  them  "  ye  shall  drink  no  wine,  neither  ye,  nor  your 
Pfts,  for  ever."      (Jer.  xxxvi.)     Pots  and  cups  full  of  wine  were  ordered, 
||>^.  set  before;  them  as  a  temptation;  but  they  said  "  We  will  drk^K  NO; 
^%"  Thus  they  obeyed  their  father's  commandment,  and  drank  no  wine. 
llJlieir  days,  they,  their  wives,  their  sons,  nor  their  daughters.     And  so 
ifc^sing  was  the  consistency  of  their  conduct  that  it  is  said  "  Thus  saiththe. 
ijWd,  the  God  of  Israel,  Jonadab,  the  son  of  Rechab,  shall  not  want  a  man 
\  stand  before  me  for  ever."      Indeed,  on  this  subject,   all  the  argument, 
ppears  to  me  to  be  on  one  side ;  and  all  that  is  opposed  to  it,  are  either 
9,  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  these  societies,   or  an  hanking  inclination; 
r^ir  these  "  evil  spirits."     Temperance  Societies  have  already  done  a  great 
t)f  good ;  many  drunkards  have  been  reclaimed  ;  many  moderate  tip- 
l)ir«  have  been  preserved  from  becoming  drunkards  ;  and  even  where  there 
IS  been  no  acknowledged  connection  with  a  Society,  the  agitation  of  the 
d^pct,  has  had  a  decidedly  beneficial  influence.       What  appears  to  be- 
mti  wanting  to  perfect  the  character  of  a  Temperance  Society,  are  "  Tem- 
r4Dce  houses/'  or,  "  Gofiee  rooms  "  as  they  are  called  in  Scotland,  If  suit- 
>le  places  were  fit  up  where  persons  could  spend  a  social  hour  in  the 
:ening,   where  persons  could  transact  business,  where  travellers  could 
» accommodated,  without  being  under  any  inducement  to  take  intoxicating 


116 

liquor,  and  where  such  an  article  was  not  sold,  a  groat  advantage  would  1 
f^ained  to  the  cause  of  temperance.  Such  places,  including  a  reading-roor 
and  conveniences  for  eating,  I  have  no  doubt  would  answer  well,  and  wou! 
be  a  speculation  attended  with  profit.  No  Temperance  Society,  in  m 
opinion,  is  complete  without  them. 

Sure  I  am,  that,  had  as  is  the  state  of  Society,  even  yet  if  all  parti< 
would  come  forward  and  join  in  adopting  the  remedies  here  recommendci 
a  Reform  of  the  People  would  be  the  immediate  consequence;  and  f* 
which  the  philanthropic  christian  labours  and  prays  daily.  Hail  !  env 
able  period !  when  enlightened  reason  shall  guide  the  actions  of  mar 
when  demoralizing  example  shall  blush  to  shew  its  face;  when  corruptin 
and  debasing  mankind  shall  cease  to  be  a  profession ;  and  when  the  m 
and  women  of  every  rank,  in  the  hope  of  a  better  world,  shall  rally  aroun 
the  Standard  of  Temperance  and  of  Peace  ! 

J.  1 


Weaving.^ — It  may  not  be  known  to  manj^^,  that  a  species  of  loom  f< 
the  manufacture  of  coarse  cotton  goods,  called  the  "  Dandy  Loom,"  is  coi 
siderably  upon  the  increase,  and  seems  for  certain  sorts  to  out-rival  bol 
the  power  loom  and  the  old  hand  loom.  The  cost  of  manual  power,  af 
sleu7n  power,  in  weaving  cloth,  is  now  fo  near  upon  a  par,  that  after 
fair  trial  of  the  latter,  the  former  is  not  likely  to  lose  the  preference.  Tl 
only  thing  to  be  lamented  by  the  competiton  is,  that  the  exertions  of  hi 
man  beings,  thus  employed,  is  at  variance  with  the  feelings  of  humanit; 
While  steam  and  machinery  can  produce  goods  at  a  lower  price,  they  will  \ 
preferred  ;  if  men's  heads  and  hands  can  do  this,  the  preference  will 
given  to  them.  One  of  two  consequences  is  sure  to  follow  this  compel 
tion;  either  men  and  women,  to  maintain  the  advantage,  must  work  bey  on 
their  abilities,  as  is  the  case  at  present;  or,  which  ou(]ht  to  be  the  case,  th 
cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life  must  be  so  reduced,  that  manual  labou 
being  cheapened,  a  successful  competition  might  be  maintained 
moderate  exertion.  A  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laivs,  therefore,  is  what  al(S 
can  turn  the  scale  ;  and  besides  adding  unnumbered  comforts  to  the  p( 
it  would  put  work  into  the  hands  of  great  numbers  who  are  at  present] 
tally  unemployed.  In  illustration  of  what  I  have  hinted  at,  in  referenc^ 
Dandy  Weavers,  and  the  necessity,  in  order  to  compete  with  machinerj 
securing  the  utmost  efibrts  that  human  beings  can  make,  it  may  not  be 
proper  to  state  how  this  is  accomplished.  At  one  place,where  there  are  abottt 
160  weavers,  1*.  2rf.  per  piece  is  considered  the  regular  price  ;  but  it  is  va| 
as  follows  :  every  weaver  who  does  not  finish  eight  pieces  per  week, 
only  paid  1*.  Id. ;  an  extra  halfpenny  is  laid  upon  eight,  and  an  extx< 
penny  upon  those  who  work  ten  in  the  week.   At  another  place  30  piecf 


'^Jff'Tl 


117 


month  are  paid  Is.  Sd.  each — 28,  1^.  2d.  each — and  26,  1*.  each.   I  cast 

i  no  reflections  upon  the  owners  of  these  concerns,    on  account   of  their  ar- 

!   rangements  ;  my  object  simply  is  to  shew,  that  unless  living  can  be  cheaper, 

so  that  the  cost  of  moderate  manual  labour  may  be  less  than  the  expense 

of  steam   and    machines,  the  people  must  continue  to  be  worked  almost  to 

death.  And  it  is  clear  to  me,  that  unless  the  passing  of  Saddler's  bill  be  fol- 

■  lowed  up  by  cheap  bread,  milk,  butter,    and  beef,    (the  sure  result  of  a  re- 

,  peal  of  the  corn   laws)  many    families  will  feel  the  efiects,  if  as  is  expect- 

i  ed,  one-sixth  should  be  taken  from  their  wages. 

;  Registers. — Nothing  can  be  more  useful  in  a  civilized  country  than 

an  eflBcient,  authorized,  national  system  of  Registration  of  Births,  ]Marria- 
'  ges,  and   Deaths.      The   present   plan  is  very  objectionable    on    several 
2  grounds ;  and  though  many  unsuccessful  struggles  have  been  made  to  ob- 
i  tain  a  remedv,  I  am  glad  to  find,  the  subject  again  renewed      The  only  ob- 
1  jecting  party  will  be  the  clergy  and   their  friends,   who  unfortunately  by 
habit  or  connexion,  are  generally  found  opposing  their  own  interests  to  the 
public  good.     A  defender  of  this  order  affirms,  in  the  Times  newspaper  of 
March  13,  that  thev  do  all  this  for  nothing.     This  assertion,  I  confess,  start- 
led me ;   and  I  began  to  recollect,  how  often  I  had  heard  of  persons  paying 
for  copies  of  their  register,  and  of  the  trouble  they  have  had  of  procuring 
^  them  ;  and  I  also  recollect  distinctly  that  Jive  guineas  were  paid  to  the  Cu- 
.  rate  of  our  Parish  Chui'ch  a  few  months  ago,  for  extracting  copies  from  the 
Registers,  in  connection  with  the  taking  of  the  last  census.     Doing  things 
for  "  nothing"  was  quite  new  to  me,  when  referring  to  Clergymen  !  But  it 
i  is  not  the  charge  that  is  a  ground  of  objection,  so  much  as  the  imperfection 
of  a  church  register,  and  the  interference  with  conscience  which  is  involved. 
It  cannot  possibly  be  complete,  because  many  persons  belonging  to  other 
sects,  or   belonging  to  no  party,  never  register  either  the  births  or  the  deaths 
of  their    families.     And  as  to  scruples  of  conscience,  I  know  that  many  who 
either  object  to  infant  baptism  altogether,  or  to  the  Church  of  England  form 
of  it,  submit  against  their  convictions  to  have  their  children  "  christened" 
in  order  to  get  a  registracy  of  their  birth.     And  it  is  also  well  known,  that 
the  Unitarians,  whose  consciences  are   generally  inflexible,  are  obliged  to 
submit  to   a  Trinitarian   service,   as  the  only  passport  to  the  blessings   of 
matrimony.      The  births  of  three  or  four  of  my  elder  children  are  registered 
inDr.  Williams'  Library,  London;  but  since  the  demur  was  made  as  to  the 
!„  validit\-  of  this  register,  I  have  contented  myself  with  merely  entering  the 
It  names  of  the  others  in  our  family  bible.     This  aftair  should  be  viewed  al- 
r  together  as  a  civil  regulation,   and  ought  not  to  be  made  to  serve  the  pur- 
t  poses  of  any  party.    There  ought  to  be  an  office  in  every  district,  under  the 
direction  of  the  proper  cJwYauthorities,  in  which,  independently  of  any  form 
of  religious   service,   the  birth,  marriage,   and  death  of  every  individual 
should  be  entered ;  and  which,  for  a  moderate  charge,   should  at  all  times 
be  accessible  to  parties  concerned.    Poor  Church  !  will  you  never  cease  till 
you  have  taken  all  her  props  from  under  her  ! 

A  Hint.— Among  the  various  disgusting  practices  which  prevail,  is  that 
oi  men  standins:  in  the  gateways,  and  at  the  corners  of  the  streets  for  pur- 
poses  which  ought  to  lead  them  to  the  most  retired  situations.  Obscenity 
either  in  word  or  deed  ought  not  to  be  tolerated  ;  and  virtuous  females, 
whose  delicacy  prevents  their  complaining,  ought  not  to  have  their  sense 
of  propriety  continualls^  outraged.  If  by  noticing  this  in  the  newspapers 
and  other  publications,    which  reach  the  low  bred  and  the  vulgar,  the  evu 

VOL.    TI.  Q 


118 

raniiot  l)o  overcome,  there  is  a  law  which  I  think  inay  meet  the  case,  and 
^^hi^.•ll  oi)«];ht  to  be  enforced.  ' 

D(tGs. — I  shall  not  be  travelling  far  out  of  my  path,  if  I  notice  the 
practice  of  keeping  Dogs  in  some  parts  of  this  town,  and  suffering  them  to 
go  loose,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  thir  neighbours.  It  is  a  delicate  point 
for  one  neighbour  to  find  fault  with  another,  with  whom  he  wishes  to  live 
on  ttrms  of  amity.  Instances  however,  are  not  unconunon,  of  timid  females 
being  compelled  to  withhold  their  exchange  of  visits  ;  prevented  from  going 
on  their  proper  business  in  certain  streets  ;  or  if  ihey  have  ventured,  it  has 
been  with  great  feSr.  Every  person  who  keeps  a  dog  prowling  in  the 
streets,  especially  late  at  nights,  should  put  himself  in  the  situation  of  his 
neighbour.  I  once  got  a  good  lesson  upon  this  subject;  I  had  £9  to  pay 
for  the  injury  sustained  by  a  person  through  the  bite  of  our  dog. 

Soap  Duty. — Every  one  will  recollect  the  disappointment  experien- 
ced, when  at  the  last  remission  of  taxes,  the  duty  on  Soap  was  not  includ- 
ed. The  duty  is  3d.  per  lb,  or  £14  a  ton;  the  sum  collected,  in  1831 
amounted  to  £1,283,458.  Now  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  I  would 
ask,  ought  not  this  tax  upon  an  article  so  essential  to  the  health  and  com- 
fort of  the  poor,  to  be  totally  remitted,  and  laid  upon  the  luxuries  and 
fashions  of  the  wealthier  classes  ?  Instead  of  going  to  the  poor  woman's 
wash  tub,  and  cutting  the  pound  of  soap  into  two,  and  leaving  only  one 
half,  and  sending  the  other  to  the  treasury,  might  not  the  tax  gatherer  be 
better  employed  by  visiting  the  mansions,  the  parks,  the  pleasure  parties, 
the  hotels,  the  gaming  houses,  &c.  of  the  rich,  and  collecting  from  some  or 
all  of  these  places  the  value  of  the  poor  woman's  soap  ?  The  present  im- 
post gives,  also,  great  encouragement  to  smuggling;  a  drawback  is  allow- 
ed to  all  soap  imported  to  Ireland,  which  affords  an  opportunity  of  smug- 
gling it  back  into  this  country.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  71bs.  of  soap 
a-head  for  a  year,  is  the  average  weight  used  in  six  of  the  largest  Work- 
houses in  the  kingdom  ;  and  yet  taking  the  United  Kingdom  altogether, 
rich  and  poor,  the  quantity  for  which  duty  is  paid,  amounts  only  to  61bs*»| 
a-head.  I  am  sorry  to  notice,  that  a  recent  attemj^t  to  get  this  duty  repeal^ 
ed,  has  again  failed.  ;       ;         ,  ■  •.  . 

Insolvent  Debtors. — The  number  of  acts  of  Parliament  in  a  civilized 
country  like  England,  will  generally  be  in  proportiou  to  the  want  of  mor 
principle  ;  arid  in  a  mercantile  nation,  those  referring  to  debtor  and  credb 
tor,  must  needs  be  numerous.    Hitherto,  however,  they   have  been  any 
thing  but  satisfactory.     The  operation   of  the   Bankrupt  laws  have  just- 
served  to  prove  that  they  are  not  worth  keeping;  and  those  which  refer  ton 
Insolvent  Debtors,  are  both  a  laughing  stock  and  crying  stock  to  many.' 
The  two  objects  to  be  gained,  if  a  man  become  embarrassed  in  his  circura"?, 
stances,  are  the  preservation  of  the  man's  honest  disposition,  and  the  secure; 
ing  to  the  creditors  the  greatest  possible  amount  from  his  estate.  By  sender 
ing  a  person  to  prison,  to  prepare  a  schedule,  and  to  take  the  benefit  of  th* 
act,  both  these  objects  are  entirely  lost.     If  he  be  a  novice  in  villany  whei|<" 
he  goes,  he  is  a  bad  learner  if  he  do  not  return  perfectly  taught.     He  losea, 
his  time,  leaves  all  his  affairs  deranged,  lives  upon,  or  secures  to  himself 
the  property  he  has,  and  returns  perfectly  satisfied  to  pay  just  nothing  ill' 
the  pound.     It  is  the  height  of  folly  to  expect  either  to  teach  a  man  honest 
ty  or  to  come  at  his  property  by  placing  him  in  the  debtor's  jail :  any 
course,  excepting  for  the  purpose  of  revenge,  is  better  than  this.    To  shew 
the  efTects  of  a  difierent  mode  of  pioceeding,  I  may  mention  a  case — Two 


I 


119 

brothers,  equally  embarrassed  in  their  circumstances,  called  together  their 
creditors,  but  not  being  able  to  arrange  their  afl^irs  satisfactorily,  procured 
eath  a  friendly  arrest ;  one  went  to  Lancaster  ;  the  other  was  ready  at  the 
coach  office,  but  happening  to  hear  of  it,  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  desist. 
A  meeting  of  his  creditors  was  called;  matters  were  arranged;  his  busi- 
ness continued,  and  5s.  in  the  pound  was  paid  in  a  short  time.  He  who 
went  to  •*  schedule,"  after  a  loss  of  two  or  three  months,  came  out  and 
never  paid  a  farthing.  And  this  is  a  fair  specimen  of  what  is  taking  place 
every  week.  In  consequence  of  this,  and  the  bad  management,  delay,  and 
expense  under  a  commission  of  bankruptcy,  or  a  deed  of  assignment, 
"  Compositions"  are  now  the  prevailing  mode  of  settling  these  affairs ;  and 
unless  we  had  a  law  that  would  work  better  than  those  which  have  yet 
been  tried,  it  is  the  best  end  of  a  bad  concern.  Imprisonment  for  debts, 
except  as  a  penal  offence,  is  likely  to  be  abandoned,  and  ought  to  have  been 
.  Jong  since. 

Preston  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. — Pleased  as  I  am  with  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Bible,  the  gentle  hints  which  I  wish  to  throw  out  in  reference 
to  this  society,  must  be  taken  as  intended  to  promote  more  effectually  the 
object  which  it  has  in  view. — First.  If  attendance  at  the  annual  meetings, 
or  any  connection  with  the  operations  of  the  society,  be  requisite  to  entitle 
a  person  to  be  a  "  President,"  or  to  have  his  name  among  the  list  of  officers, 
it  is  full  time  that  some  inquiries  were  made  as  to  matters  of  fact. — -Second. 
In  looking  over  the  Reports  since  the  year  1823,  it  strikes  me  that  the  com- 
mittee might  be  a  little  modified  without  any  disadvantage.  An  infusion  of 
young,  active,  liberal-minded  men  might  remove  the  chill  which  at  present 
seems  to  be  felt,  and  ease  the  burdens  of  those  who  have  served  a  long  and 
laborious  apprenticeship.  I  felt  disposed  to  have  named  this  at  the  Shrove 
Tuesday  Anniversary,  but  perhaps  this  is  the  better  mode  of  doing  it.  It 
may  be  useful  to  remember  this  next  year.  While  I  was  much  pleased 
tvith  a  good  deal  that  was  said,  there  were  two  points  respecting  which  I 
felt  some  regret.  The  first  was,  that  while  the  speakers  expatiated  in  glow- 
ing terms  on  the  dissemination  of  the  Scriptures,  they  seemed  to  conceal  or 
hold  back  the  fact  of  the  present  immoral  ccmdition  of  the  people,  amidst 
the  immense  circulation  of  Bibles.  Mr.  Ely's  speech  afforded  the  only  ex- 
ception. This  would  have  been  coming  hmne  ;  it  would  have  been  a  con- 
firmation of  the  truth  of  what  I  have  continued  to  assert, — that  the  circula- 
tion of  tracts  and  books,  be  they  ever  so  excellent,  are  no  substitute  for  personal 
labour.  The  other  point,  is  the  comparative  dread  of  infidelity  which  seem- 
ed to  pervade  the  mind  of  almost  every  speaker.  While  they  see  infidel 
practices  every  where  prevailing,  and  while  they  do  not  so  much  as  allude 
to  them  in  a  meeting  like  this;  and  while,  moreover,  they  seem  unwilling 
to  make  any  extra  exertion,  or  sacrifices  to  remove  those  practices,  why  are 
they  so  alarmed  at  the  report  of  some  few  instances  of  unbelief  ?  The  nlan 
that  rejects  Christianity,  is  in  error  ;  but  the  man  who  professes  to  believe 
it,  and  acts  contrary  to  its  precepts,  is  in  a  greater  error ;  and  so  thought 
the  Apostle,  for  alluding  to  those  who  "  provided  not  for  their  own,"  he 
says,  "  He  has  denied  the  faith,  and  is  wo7-se  than  ivifideL"  We  have  no 
organized  avowed  infidelity  here  that  I  am  aware  of;  but  we  have  open 
hostility  to  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  in  every  class  of  society ;  we  see  it  in 
every  street  and  every  lane,  every  day  and  every  night ;  and  yet  this  was 
passed  over,  it  seems,  as  a  matter  of  minor  importance.  It  is  not  the  cirtu- 
lation  of  paper  and  leather,  and  letter-press,  that  we  ought  to  rejoice  in  so 


120 

muih  as  the  reception  of  the.  principles,  and  the  practice  of  the  precepts 
whiih  the  Bible  contains.  After  all  there  is  a  clerical  infidelity  against 
which  we  have  to  guard ;  for  a  man  that  can  violate  the  plainest  declara- 
tions of  the  New  Testament,  by  serving  a  process  of  law,  and  collecting 
tithes  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  who  can  thus  libel  Christianity,  by 
calling  into  her  service  the  coercive  powers  of  the  state,  is  not  only  infidel 
himself,  but  may  be  considered  a  chief  agent  in  diffiasing  these  principles 
abroad.  The  Koran  mav  sanction  such  conduct,  but  the  New  Testament 
never  can.  I  blush  for  the  Ministers  of  Religion  when  I  find  them  hud- 
dled together  crying  against  the  bite  of  a  flea,  while  a  lion  stands  gaping 
at  the  door. 

Judge  Alderson — "  Reading  and  Writing!  " — What  a  confusion 
of  ideas  must  have  occupied  the  mind  of  Judge  Alderson,  when  he  deliver- 
ed his  speech  to  the  grand  jury  at  the  late  assizes  at  Lancaster.  Hi- 
introduction  is  distinguished,  not  more  for  '\\.i  flattery  of  the  gentlemen  ot 
the  grand  jury,  than  lor  the  doubtful  statement  it  contains.  He  said,  "  It 
gives  me  great  pleasure  on  all  occasions  to  see  a  numerous  attendance  of 
gentlemen  of  rank,  station,  and  character,  to  fill  the  office  which  jou  now 
hold  ;  because  an  assurance  is  given  to  the  country  that  the  duties  of  that 
office  will  be  well  discharged."  Those  w ho  believe  the  premises  may  also 
give  credit  to  the  conclusion.  In  the  course  of  his  address  we  have  also  the 
following  passage  : — "What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  great  prevalency  of 
crime  it  is  difficult  to  conceive,  unless  it  be  that  imperfect  species  of  Edu- 
cation which  is  confined  to  reading  and  writing,  without  any  instruction  in 
those  duties,  the  performance  of  which  is  incumbent  on  men  and  christians. 
Nothins  can  be  more  fallacious  than  to  suppose  that  reading  and  writing 
constitute  Education — Education,  which  is  the  highest,  best, and  most  valuabli 
gift  that  one  man  can  bestow  upon  another.  In  training  up  men  to  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties  to  society  we  may  begin,  with  reading  and  writing, 
bjt  to  slop  here— without  teaching  them  their  duties  as  husband.s 
and  fathers,  as  men  and  christians,  is  to  leave  society  in  that  state  of  twi- 
light which  can  only  lead,  as  it  did  originally  lead,  to  the  introduction  ot 
sin  and  woe.  Now  the  judge  surelv  does  not  mean — though  his  words 
might  be  constructed  to  mean  this, — that  "  reading  and  icriting  "  are  the 
6'aM6C5  of  the  "  prevalency  of  crime,"  His  meaning  I  presume,  should  be, 
that  these  arts  are  but  an  imperfect  remedy  ;  and  who  disputes  this  ?  No 
man  who  has  thought  at  all  upon  the  subject.  And  hence  those  who  estab- 
lish schools  for  reading  and  writing,  without  jumbling  them  up  with  a  pro- 
fane use  of  sacred  things,  are  also  the  warmest  advocates  for  moral  and  reli- 
gious instruction,  in  their  proper  places.  But  the  Judge's  remarks  are 
evidently  a  side  tc/«c/ attack  upon  the  Lancasterian  Schools  and  Mechanics' 
Institutes  ;  and  probably  upon  the  Government  system  of  Education  in- 
teixled  for  Ireland.  But  w  hat,  I  ask,  has  the  assumed  religious  Education  ot 
t'le  National  Schools  effected  beyond  any  other  svetsm?  The  fact  is  that  School 
and  systems  of  Education  have  little  to  do  with  the  important  question 
raised  by  the  Judge.  Is  it  not  strange  that  his  Lordship  when  talkiii: 
about  "  teaching  the  duties  of  husbands  and  fathers,"  should  not  have  ri 
coUected  that  we  have  an  order  of  men  called  clergy  ;  and  that  they  ai 
surel}-  appointed  and  paid  to  do  something  P  "  The  prevalency  of  crime 
is  the  fault  of  the  clergy  ;  and  to  endeavour  to  account  for  the  fact  upon 
any  other  principle,  betrays  a  w  ant  either  of  intellect  or  honesty  ;  and  in 
the  face  of  the  failure  of  e\  ery  other  means,  it  is  only  their  labour,  by  tchom- 


121 

soever  performed,  that  can  apply  a  remedy.  We  may  fine,  imprison, 
transport,  and  h:ing,  as  fast  as  we  please,  but  unless  the  people  be 
taught ;  unless  the  whole  people  be  brought  beneath  the  influence  ot'  chris- 
tian instruction,  and  carried  on  by  the  zealous  and  disinterested  spirit  of  the 
primitive  teachers,  we  mav  continue  to  delude  ourselves  about  "  schools" 
and  "plans"  for  raising  the  character  of  the  people.  The  altered  arrange- 
ments of  the  country  afford  facilities  for  vice,  and  which  ought  to  have  been 
counteracted  by  the  seasonable,  appropriate,  and  zealous  labours  of  the 
clergy ;  but  what  can  we  expect  from  an  hireling  dergy  ?  If  Judge  Alder- 
son  upon  his  ariving  at  Lancaster  had  fourid  the  town  sorely  visited  with  an 
epidemic  disease,  which  had  prevailed  for  months;  that  though  its  in- 
fection was  spreading  far  and  wide,  a  great  majority  of  the  cases  had  never 
been  visited,  and  that  the  Pliysicians  had  just  followed  the  same  routine  of 
labour  as  when  the  town  was  in  perfect  health — upon  ivhom  would  he  have 
fixed  the  blame  ?  Upon  the  Doctors,  most  assuredly.  Let  the  Judge  ap- 
ply this,  and  remember  it  when  he  gives  his  next  charge. 

Halt  of  Intellect. — Collop  Monday,  as  it  is  called,  was  duly  ob- 
served here  by  the  Corporation  with  the  imposing,  impressive,  and  intel- 
lectual usuages,  so  long  practised  in  this  borough.  I  understand  the 
"  colts  "  were  unusuallyym/i-i/,  which  gave  considerable  eclat  to  the  fete  ; 
but  not  having  an  opportunitj'  of  being  present,  I  cannot  enter  into  the  de- 
tails. I  remember,  however,  being  a  witness  on  one  occasion  to  the  ba- 
byism of  these  old  children,  which  certainly  outdid  any  thing  I  ever  saw  or 
heard  of  before.  The  "  colt  hole  "  on  the  Marsh  was  leapt,  but  this  was 
done  by  proxy,  there  being  plenty  of  high  blood  present ;  adventurers  for 
Is.  each  leap  would  jump  belly  deep  in  water.  At  Water-lane-end,  all  the 
water,  filth,  and  dirt,  which  usually  flow  down  the  sloughs,  were  diverted 
from  their  course  and  made  to  form  a  standing  lake  across  the  road  ;  into 
this  mony  was  thrown,  and  the  scrambling  and  fighting  of  all  the  lads  and 
fools  present,  almost  buried  in  filth,  may  be  better  fancied  than  described. 
Quantities  of  burning  hot  copper  was  "  perried  "  in  the  Market-place,  the 
salutary  effects  of  which  do  not  need  to  be  mentioned  ;  but  to  persons  of 
enlarged  minds,  like  those  who  conduct  these  affairs,  the  result  must  have 
been  exquisitely  gratifying.  The  "  colts  "  were  required  to  "  show  off" 
round  the  pump  at  the  top  of  Lord-street;  and  being  rather  untractable  were 
"leathered  "  with  hats,  cabbage  stalks,  and  bludgeons  of  various  weights, 
till  they  became  fairly  "  broken  in."  The  fanaticism  of  the  day  closed,  as 
usual,  with  a  liberal  sacrifice  to  the  Bacchanalian  Deity.  How  long  must 
the  sun  of  intellectual  light  shine  upon  the  people  of  this  country  before  it 
penetrate  these  opaque  Corporation  bodies  ? 

Tithes  in  Ireland. — These,  it  appears,  can  no  longer  be  collected  ; 
the  parsons  have  worked  till  they  are  quite  fast  in  it;  and  though  Govern- 
ment has  its  hands  more  than  full,  so  pitiful  are  their  cries,  that  the  treasury 
bag  must  needs  be  opened  to  mantain  that  most  important  of  all  under- 
takings in  Ireland,  the  establishment  of  a  reformed  Church.  Money,  it  is 
said,  is  to  be  advanced  to  the  suflTering  clergy,  end  government  is  to  become 
tythe  collector  general ;  and  when  the  "  arrears  "  are  paid  up,  the  discon- 
tented people  of  Ireland  are  to  be  favoured  with  a  change  in  the  mode  of 
payment.  They  are  tired  with  seeing  the  footmarks  of  the  tythe  proctor 
in  every  field,  tearing  away  their  cattle  and  their  grain  to  serve  a  church 
which  they  abhor,  but  now,  poor  simpletons  I — they  are  to  be  relieved  and 
;nade  contented,  by  paying  the  same  amount  only  in  another  shape!    I  have 


122 

just  been  reading  over  the  article  in  the  Black  5ooA:  entitled  "  Church  i 
Ireland." — The  following  are  extracts  : — 

"  Revenues  of  the  Established  Church  of  /re/ai«/.— ^Archbishops  an 

bishops,  average  income  of  each  £10,000 £220,0C 

Estates  of  the  deans  and  chapters 250,0( 

Ecclesiastical  rectors,  vicars,  and  perpetual  curates  :— ^ 

Tithes £590,450 

Glebe  Lands 91,137 

Miaisters's  money .      * 25,000 

Church  Fees ;.    250,000 

956,66 

Total £1,426,5? 


Here  is  certainly,  a  noble  revenue,  for  the  maintenance  of  a  little  insignil 
cant  church,  with  barely  more  than  half  a  million  of  hearers.  The  establis: 
ed  church  of  Scotland,  with  a  million  and  a  AaZ/of  followers,  is  now  coi 
sidered  amply  endowed,  although  its  revenues  do  not  exceed  £234,900,  > 
one-sixth  of  those  of  Ireland.  The'  sums  expended  on  the  establishi 
priesthood  of  IrelantI,  are  nearly  equal  to  one-half  the  amount  of  the  reV' 
nue  paid  into  the  Exchequer,  on  account  of  public  taxes  for  the  maint 
nance  of  an  army  of  50,000  men,  for  defraying  the  expense  of  policcar 
justice,  for  the  support  of  the  local  administration,  for  defraying  the  int 
rest  of  the  public  debt  of  Ireland,  and  its  proportional  contribution  to  tl 
exigencies  of  the  general  government.  It  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  tli 
the  immense  income  lavished  on  a  luxurious  priesthood,  whose  dull 
prescribe  to  them  charity,  humility,  and  self-denial,  is  rung  from  a  po 
distressed  population,  of  whom  hundreds  perish  annually  from  sheer  wa 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  vast  majority  of  whom — so  little  ha' 
they  been  benefited  by  the  instructions  of  their  well-paid  spiritual  guides 
are  in  such  a  state  of  ignorance  and  destitution,  that  they  are  little  bett 
fed,  clothed,  and  lodged  than  the  beasts  of  the  field  !" 

And  I  really  feel  it  impossible  to  suppress  my  grief  at  seeing  t 
name  of  Christianity  coupled  with  so  much  corruption,  oppression,  a 
avarice — my  astonishment  that  government  should  persist  in  the  absurd  ; 
tempt  to  force  an  obnoxious  religion  upon  the  people — and  my  indigr 
tion  at  the  conduct  of  so  many  aristocrats  and  their  dependants,  who  am 
the  garb  of  piety,  while  the  people  are  starving  for  bread,  are  engrossi 
so  vast  a  portion  of  their  country's  wealth.  This  confounded  church  e\ 
more  stands  in  the  way  of  all  peaceful  legislation,  and  while  a  "  law  n 
gion"  exists  in  any  part  of  the  kingdom  the  hands  of  government  t 
always  be  fettered.  Rancour  and  malice,  oppression  and  cruelty,  spol 
tion  and  bloodshed,  have  constantly  attended  the  appointment  of  an  Imp 
rial  religion;  whilst  real  religion,  retiring  from  the  bustle  and  angry  scei 
of  life,  has  gradually  progressed,  unseen  and  untaught  by  the  great  men 
the  earth.  Mr.  Stanley's  policy  is  behind  its  day,  and  he  had  better  nei 
meddle,  than  institute  measures  which  cannot  he  carried  into  effect.  Wb 
either  confusion  or  dishonesty  seems  so  much  to  prevail  upon  this  pel 
the  next  "  Institute,"  I  hope,  w  ill  be  teach  to  kings  and  courtiers  tlreT 
value  of  church  establishments. 

'  The  General  Fast. — It  haa  been  remarked  by  many,  was  obsim 
■with  much  more  decorum  than  was  generally  expected.  Very  few  dranl 


r 


123 


en  were  seen  ia  the  streets,  and  the  business  at  the  Jerry  Shops  seemed 
be  slack.  Whether  k  was  owing  to  the  Tuesdaj»  not  being  a  "  pay  day," 
to  better  motives,  I  will  not  undertake  to  say. 

Preston  Temperance  Society.— A  pubfic  meeting  was  held  for  the 
rmation  of  this  Society  on  Thursday  the  22nd  of  March,  at  which  the 
eadful  evils  of  drunkenness  were  faithfully  depicted ;  the  motives  for 
fecting  a  reform  zealously  enforced;  and  the  peculiar  advantages  of  the 
an  distinctly  made  out.  Mr.  Pollard,  of  Manchester,  the  most  humourous 
vocate  of  Temperance,  I  ever  heard,  almost  electrified  the  audience  for 
considerable  time,  and  by  his  lacts,  and  reasoning,  and  anecdote 5,  I  have 
»  doubt,  sealed  the  conversion  of  many.  The  names  added  to  the  books 
at  evening,  augmented  the  previous  number  to  upwards  of  200.  The 
claiming  of  drunkards,  and  the  saving  of  "  the  little  drop  men  "  being 
jects  of  such  immense  importance,  that  I  hope  the  flame  now  kindled 
ill  not  be  suffered  to  wane  till  every  man,  woman,  and  child  is  led  to  de- 
it  ardent  spirits  as  their  greatest  enemy. 

Poor  Laws. — To  notice  this  subject  satisfactorily  would  require  a 

lole  number  rather  than  a  paragraph,  but  as  legislation  is  again  at  work 

on  this  complicated  subject,  I  would  beg  to  urge  a  "  previous  question/' 

d  that  is,  an  act,  or  a  series  of  acts  for  "preventing  people  becoming 

or."      If  the  errors  which  have  led  to  continued  increase  of  poverty,  be 

her  In  the  civil,  ecclsiastical,  or  political  department,  let  them,  first  of  all, 

clearly  discovered.     Let  the  reason  why,  in  the  midst  of  overflowing 

•alth,  a  great  part  of  the  people  are  paupers,  be  made  manifest ;  and  if  I 

ightgive  a  word  of  advice  to  the  House  of  Commons,  it  should  be  this, 

;■  to  move  a  single  step  till  this  is  dofie.     Adjust  this  point  and  all  the  rest 

•II  almost  adjust  themselves. 

Consumption  of  Opiom  in  China.— Every  country  seems  to  have 
i  fashions  in  perpetuating  intoxication  ;  and  so  unreflecting  are  mankind. 
It  present  enjoyment  is  c<mstantly  seized  upon,  though  it  be  at  the  expense 
(ten  times  the  amount  of /?//Mre"  evil.  The  consumption  of  Opium  in 
Una,  like  that  of  ardent  Spirits  in  England,  seems  to  have  arisen  to  an 
J  Tiling  height.  From  the  1st  of  April,  1830,  to  Jaauary,  1831,  15,145 
:st8oflndian  Opium  were  devoured,  which,  valued  at  10,083,302  dollars, 
Jounts,  at  4;$.  per  dollar,  to  £2,016,660. 

Lectures — On  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  commencing 
Iirch  7th,  I  delivered  three  Lectures  in  the  Cock-pit.  to  crowded  audiences, 
nhe  Moral  Condition  of  the  People  ;  on  the  Fast  Day  two  Discourses  on 
l.imperance  and  Covetousness ;  and  on  Sunday  Evening  last  I  commenced 
tiortcourse  on  Theological  Subjects,  which  will  be  continued  weekly. 
>  _great  object  in  doing  this  is  not  to  raise  a  controversj',  but  to  give  a 
^■M  statement  of  my  opinions,  to  soften  down  the  asperity  of  doctrinal 
•idiousness,  and  to  promote  above  every  other  object  the  religion  of  the 
i^-tand  life.  I  understand  it  has  frequently  been  objected  that  I  belong- 
f'^ party  ;  this  has  been  no  source  of  satisfaction  to  myself,  hirelingism, 
"ting  almost  in  every  party,  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  this,  and  any 
"ir  cause,  arising  from  peculiarity  of  sentiment,  I  shall  endeavour  to 
B:e  clear  in  the  course  of  these  Lectures.  Mv  rule  of  judging  of  charac- 
J«  the  one  laid  down  by  Christ  himself.  ""By  their  fruits"  (not  by 
flr" views,  their  professions,  or  their  feelings)  "ye  shall  know  them." 
^>rrupt  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit,  neither  can  a  good  tree  bring 
Da  evil  fruit.  Grasses  spring  not  from  thorns,  nor  figs  from  thistles; 
'^y  tree,  therefore,  is  known  by  its  fruits.   Thouah  I  join  not  in  the  forms 


124 

of  worship,  I  embrace  ir>  the  arms  of  charity,  all  who,  believing  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ,  endeavour,   so  far  as  they  know,   to  keep  his  commandments. 

Saddler's  Bill.— Considerable   opposition  is  raised  in  several  quar- 
ters against  both  the  principle  and  details  of  this  bill ;  and  unless  the  friends 
of  humanity  bestir  themselves,  the  present  opportunity — the  most  favour- 
able which  has   ever  before  occurred — of  securing  these  valuable  regula- 
tions, may  be  lost.     If  liy  a  general  distribution  of  wealth  the  parents  o! 
the  children  were  in  circumstances  to  treat  with  the  masters  on  equal  terms 
legislation,  I  think,  would  be  improper  ;  and  unless  the  opposing  members 
by  repealing  taxes,   abrogating  the  corn  laws,  and  applying  the  surplu? 
wealth  of  the  country  to  the  creation  of  profitable  employment,  are  pre- 
pared to  secure  this  dislrihulion,  they  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  their  opposi- 
tion to  a  measure  so  humane  as  that  before  the  house      Instead  of  render- 
ing the  business  profitless,  as  some  alarmists  maintain,  I  am  much  mistaken 
il,  so  soon  as  it  is  ascertained  that  one  sixth  less  of  yarn  will  be  sent  inti 
market,  prices  do  not  advance  in  proportion  ;  and  what  would  be  the  difler 
ence  to  the    consumer,    provided    a    small  fraction   of  a  penny  a  yarc 
should   be  added   to  the   price  of  cloth  ?     If  little   or  no  profit  remain 
no  more   mills  will    be  built;  if  otherwise,   additions  will  still  be  made 
and    as   all    spinners    will  be  under  the  same  regulations,  the  trade  ant 
the  profits    wilU   soon  adjust  themselves   to  each  other.      The  low  wa 
ges  of  children  is  the  eilect   of  a  superabundance   of  labour  ;  and  hence 
should  the  same  quantity  of  yarn  be  wanted  after  the  limitation  of  the  hours 
this  labour  will  be  more  in  request,  and  this  will  soon  counteract  the  sup- 
posed depreciadon  of  wages  arising  from  the  expected  abridgment  of  th( 
hours  of  labour;  a  sixth  part  more   hands  will  be  employed  than  before 
But  all  other  reasoning  apart,  should  there  be  difficulties  in  securing  a  pro- 
fitable return  to  the   capitalist,  are   there  no  expedients  to  be  tried  bu 
that  of  destroying  the  health,  enjoyment,  and  morals  of  those  whose  yean 
call  for  our  special  protection  ?     Will  the  God  of  the  Mammonites  be  sat 
isfied  with  no  sacrifice   but  the  immolation  of  defenceless  children.?     Le 
the  spinner  say,   I  will  neither  eat  nor  drink  at  such  a  cost ;  the  epitaph 
of  untimel}'  deaths  from  extreme  labour  in  childhood,  shall  never  be  writ 
ten  over  my  gate.     And  let  the  public   say,   cursed  be   the  yarn   and  th( 
cloth  which  are  produced  by  the  overworking,  sweat,  and  labour  of  the  in 
fant  slaves  of  England!    Prisoners  and  foreign  slaves  can  be  protected,  am 
why  not  these  ?     Tilie  following  extract  from  Saddler's  speech  will  speal 
this  point.  i'M' 

"  All  felons  sentenced  to  hard  labour,  are,  by  act  of  parliament,  ni 
allowed  to  be  employed  above  ten  hours  a  day.  In  the  "hulks  the  time  I 
9,^  hours  in  summer,  and  two  hours  less  in  winter.  By  an  order  in  coi^ 
cil  no  slave  in  the  Colonies  was  to  be  worked  at  night,  and  only  from  M 
in  the  morning  till  six  in  the  evening;  and  all  slaves  were  entitled  to'l 
intermission  of  labour  from  eight  till  nine  o'clock,  and  from  one  till  threHi 
so  that  nine  hours  was  the  limit  prescribed  for  the  adult  alone  ;  and  thost 
between  14  and  16  years  of  age  were  allowed  to  be  worked  only  six  hour 
in  the  day." 

All  depends  upon  the  expression  of  public  opinion  at  this  crisis ;  '■ 
number  of  favourable  circumstances  promise  success  to  this  measure;  bu 
as  ministers  are  faltering,  no  doubt  intimidated  by  the  frowns  of  the  weal 
thy  princes  of  the  north  ;  and  as  many,  even  liberal  members  of  parliament 
sing  very  small,  nothing  but  a  strong  expression  of  public  feeling  can  pre 
vent  the  bill  being  deprived  of  its  most  valuable  parts,  and  poor  childre 
being  left  without  protection. 


■ 


I 


125 

Reform  Bill. — After  a  long  and  tedious  delay,  the  Beform  Bill 
has  again  passed  the  House  of  Commons  \vith  a  majority  of  116,  and  from 
the  tone  of  the  Ministerial  speeches,  if  the  House  of  Lords  shew  a  dispo- 
sition to  treat  it  as  before,  proper  measures  will  be  taken  to  prevent  it. 
Surely  there  are  50  or  60  individuals  in  the  country  who  may  be  consi- 
dered as  worthy  of  sitting  in  the  upper  house  as  the  present  occupants  ;  and 
if  they  again  be  "  awkard,"  in  order  to  secure  the  passing  of  the  bill,  the 
King,  I  hope,  will  send  them  his  invitation. 

PagaKini  the  fiddler,  who  has  just  left  this  country,  is  said  to  have 
realized  in  about  three  months,  the  immense  sum  of  £20,000.  So  much 
for  the  way  in  which  the  people  of  this  country  spend  their  money.  While 
wretchedness,  poverty,  and  want  of  employment  are  seen  on  every  hand, 
what  a  pity  it  is,  that  the  wealth  of  this  country  should  be  thus  carried 
away  by  foreigners.  In  the  same  way  loans  of  milliions  upon  millions  are 
contracted  with  foreign  states,  which  never  return.  There  is  a  custom  in 
some  parts  of  the  Fylde  where  the  landlord  will  not  allow  either  hay-  or 
straw  to  be  sold,  but  compels  all  to  be  eaten  upon  the  estate  to  manure  the 
land  ;  and  if  the  produce  of  England  was  kept  for  England's  use,  the  peo- 
ple would  be  better  of  than  they  are.  The  laws  by  which  the  wealth  of  the 
country  is  distributed  call  loud  for  a  revision.  Paganini's  performance  at 
the  Whinchester  concert,  for  which  he  received  £200,  only  occupied  28 
minutes  ! 

Cemetries. — A  bill  I  perceive  is  brought  into  Parliament  to  establish 
an  extensive  Cemetry  in  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin,  This  reminds  us  of  the 
necessity  of  such  places  in  every  large  town.  If  it  be  but  on  a  small  scale 
I  hope  we  shall  soon  have  one  in  Preston. 


Commiinications  • 


NAVIGATORS. 


»       To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

There  is  one  class  of  people  wliich  appears  to  me  to  be  overlooked  1  . 
hose  who  feel  for  the  degraded  state  of  society  in  general,  I  mean  those  who  are  deuomi- 
ated  Navigators  in  their  associated  capacity.  No  man  who  either  venerates  the  Deity  or  re- 
ipects  the  social  order  of  society,  can  be  in  the  company  of  these  deeply  depraved  wretches, 
tithout  being  stung  every'moment  with  the  most  heart-pierciag  expressions  and  filthy  com- 
innications.  No  compunction  is  manifested  amongthem  for  the  most  atrocious  evils  commit* 
ed  ;  no  remorse  of  conscience  will  be  acknowledged  by  them  when  tliey  liave  outraged  all 
ecency  and  the  most  appalling  inconsistences  are  proved  against  them  ;— on  tlie  contra^^^ 
jey  will  exult  in  mischief,  and  their  only  delight'  appears  to  be  in  glorying  iu  their  owi» 

R 


126 

shame  ;  I  particularly  allude  to  thoee  men  who  are  employed  in  the  Liverpool  Docks.  I 
liave  had  daily  communications  with  them  for  about  four  months,  and  have  had  opportunitiea 
of  gaining  knowledge  of  the  general  character  of  those  who  have  the  superintendence 
and  directing  of  the  different  parties,  or  men  employed  in  different  departments ;  and  can 
say  that  I  only  found  two  men  whose  moral  deportment  was  any  way  respectable :  and  con- 
sidering that  there  are  between  two  and  three  thousand  men  daily  employed,  those  two 
could  but  have  comparatively  very  little  influence,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  their 
influence  is  confined  to  their  own  undertaking,  perhaps  to  twenty  or  thirty  men  each.  Eng- 
lish, Irish,  Welch  and  Scotch  are  amalgamated  together ;  mostly  atliletic,  stout  and  healthy 
men  in  the  prime  of  life ;  very  few  of  whom  have  any  settled  place  of  abode,  and  the  burden  of 
their  conversation  is,  when  at  w^ork,  to  turn  each  other  into  ridicule,  which  creates  broils,  and 
very  often  terminates  in  blows.  Such  is  the  grade  of  character  of  those  human  beings  who  are 
employed  in  so  noble  an  undertaking ;  in  all  probability  where  the  stretch  of  genius  was 
never  surpassed.  Can  it  easily  be  imagined  that  perhaps  the  first  Sea  Port,  in  the  first  Mer- 
cantile Kingdom  in  the  World,  so  much  famed  for  Benevolence  and  Philanthrophy,  should 
suffer  her  Works  of  Art  and  Usefulness  to  be  performed  by  such  a  company  of  Desperadoes, 
without  making  any  effort  to  reduce  them  to  civilization  and  agreeableness. 

Liverpool  abounds  in  charitable  Institutions,  and  her  Philanthrophic  sympathies  extend 
both  to  the  destitute  landman,  and  to  the  destitute  waterman,  without  any  direct  allusion  to 
the  Dock  Excavator  or  Stonemason.  She  has  her  Floating  Church  and  her  Floating  Chapel, 
where  Divine  Worship  is  regularly  performed  according  to  their  separate  rites;  and  some  la- 
bour has  been  taken,  and  expence  incurred,  to  induce  the  Seamen  to  attend  for  spiritual  in- 
struction with  a  degree  of  success. 

I  do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  the  Dock  Excavator  is  excluded  from  participating  in 
that  benevolent  Institution  or  spiritual  Instruction, — on  the  contrary,  I  know  individuaU 
who  have  been  received  into  her  Hospital,  and  had  every  attention  paid  to  them ;  but,  I  do 
mean  to  say  that  there  is  no  direct  medium  of  communication  to  them  as  a  body.  And  if  Li- 
verpool affords  a  fair  sample  of  those  men  who  are  employed  at  other  Sea  Ports  and  at  the 
different  public  Openings  of  Water  Courses  and  New  Roads,  Railways,  &c.  what  a  dread- 
ful specimen  of  English  degradation  will  be  exhibited,  when  a^solemn  and  serious  view  of 
the  whole  body  of  them  is  contemplated :  and  what  an  awful  responsibility  must  rest  some- 
where, when  it  is  considered  that  England  has  wound  a  wreath  of  her  own  praise  around  the 
globe  we  inhabit,  in  favour  of  the  civilized  and  polished  condition  of  her  own  inhabitants ; 
when  at  the  same  time  she  is  fostering  in  her  very  bosom  such  a  nest  of  desperadoes,  without 
notice  or  regard.  Is  not  this  one  of  the  yet  unnoticed  rancours  which  is  festering  to  the 
core  of  England's  elevation  1  But  I  must  break  off,  else,  my  subject  would  now  lead  me  in- 
to matter  too  lengthened  for  insertion  in  your  valuable  Reformer ;  and  if  those  hints  already 
given,  may  be  thought  worthy  of  a  place,  and  be  found  the  means  of  suggesting  any  good  tc 
wards  the  people  of  whom  they  are  the  subject,  it  will  be  a  source  of  rejoicing  to, 

Sir, 

Your  very  humble  Servant, 

JONATHAN  EDE1|| 
Chorley,  February  10th,  1832. 


127 

To  the  "Editor  of  the  Moral ^  Reformer. 


SlK, 


Having  been  for  years  a  mourner  over  the  follies  and  miseries  of  man- 
kind, you  will  conceive  the  pleasure  with  which  I  perused  the  pages  of  a  work  whose  ex- 
press purpose  is  to  propose  remedies  for  the  present  evils  of  society. 

It  is  a  difficult  thing  for  those  who  have  mused  upon  a  subject  of  deep  interest '  till  a 
fire  burned  within  them  j'  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  them,  to  refrain  from  expressing 
their  feelings,  when  the  way  seems  opened  to  do  it,  and  this  is  the  case  at  present  with 
me.  I  read  in  one  of  your  numbers  a  letter  on  self-education,  and  in  another  a  desire  to 
increase  the  number  of  your  contributors ;  this,  with  a  train  of  reflections  which  arose  in 
aay  mind  some  time  ago,  induced  me  to  try  if  I  could  furnish  any  thing  which  would  be  ac- 
ceptable. The  reflections  themselves  I  must  lay  before  you  as  the  foundation  of  my  pre- 
lent  communicatiou. 

'        I  was  enjoying  the  freshness  of  a  beautiful  autumnal  evening,  on  a  gentle  eminence 
>>Terlooking  a  fertile  country — ^there  was  an  indescribable  appearance  of  joy  and  serenity 
liffosed  over  the  scene — the  Ruler  of  the  seasons  had,  in  compassion  to  the  wants  of  mil- 
lions, borne  with  the  ingratitude  of  some  of  his  creatures,  who  had  daringly  destroyed  the 
ibrmer  gifts  of  his  bounty,  and  the  uncharitableness  of  others,  who  liad  been  deaf  to  the 
'mtreaties  of  their  suflering  bretliren — early  in  the  season  the  harvest  had  been  gathered 
n,  the  cattle  were  regaling  themselves  amidst  green  and  plentiful  herbage,  and  the  land 
eemed,  like  myself,  to  enjoy  its  sabbath  tranquillity.    Whilst  reflecting  on  the  advaata- 
;  es  of  my  own  lot,  which  had  permitted  me  for  so  long  a  period  to  be  an  admiring  specta- 
or  of  the  displays  of  Divine  wisdom  and  munificence  which  every  year  presents,  my 
Noughts  turned  -svith  feeUngs  of  sorrow  to  those,  who  had  grown  up  from  infancy  to  ma- 
arity  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  their  Creator  and  of  all  true  happiness.  A  brighter  pros- 
ect  presented  itself  before  me,  on  adverting  to  those  of  the  rising  generation  who  had 
'  ttended  Sunday  Schools,  and  to  the  advantages  which  Mechanics'  Institutes  afibrd  to 
outh.     Here  I  had  some  foundation  for  hope — but  what  a  world  of  temptations  is.  before 
lem !     Youth  seeks  for  enjoyment,  and,  alas  !  too  often  seeks  for  it  in  foolish  and  impro- 
er  pursuits.     I  feared  lest  in  the  heedlessness  of  early  years  some  might  give  way  to 
owerful  enticements,  and  earnestly  wished  that  whilst  they  were  yet  innocent  they  could 
y  any  means  be  assisted  to  gain  a  relish  for  higher  gratifications  and  cultivate  a  desire  to 
tudy  the  Book  of  Nature.      The  circumstance  of  meeting  with  your  work  has  renewed 
hat  wish.     It  is  in  connection  with  this  department  of  self-education  that  I  would  offer  a 
^w  humble  remarks  if  it  coincides  with  your  plan  to  admit  an  essay  or  two  on  that  subject. 
hey  will  be  neither  long,  nor  learned,  as  all  my  eloquence  is  that  of  the  heart. 

A  IRIEND  TO   YOl'TH  . 


128 


The  following  excellent  remarks  on  the  Religious  Education  of  Chii 
DREN,  are  extracts  from  a  manuscript  of  Mr.  Frazer's,  Baptig 
Minister,  of  Bolton.  He  intends,  I  understand,  on  some  future  occa 
sion,  to  publish  a  pamphlet  upon  the  subject. 


The  business  oflmman  education  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the  wisest  and  1 
jnen  in  all  ages.  Not  only  have  private  individuals  spent  long  lives  in  training  the  youti 
ful  mind,  but  nations,  far  remote  in  the  history  of  the  world,  have  made  the  instructiouij 
their  youth  a  matter  of  distinct  legislative  enactment,  and  whilst  their  councils  establisl 
the  wisest  of  their  senators  superintended  with  the  utmost  assiduity  and  care,  their  differeB?" 
seminaries.  For  such  conduct  there  was  the  best  possible  reason  ;  these  men  had  sufficient 
foresight  to  comprehend  tliat  the  intellectual  vigour,  the  healthy  condition  of  their  several 
republics,  and  even  their  warlike  powers  in  a  great  measure  depended  on  the  early  descip- 
line  and  mental  improvement  of  their  youth  ;  and  no  lover  of  the  rising  generation  can  lool 
back  on  the  blaze  of  knowledge,  and  general  intelligence  manifested  by  the  favoured  youth  o! 
Greece,  without  lamenting,  that  whilst  we  in  modern  times  have  cultivated,  like  tliose  fa- 
voured nations,  the  several  arts  and  sciences  to  an  extent  unparralleled,  the  moral  and  men 
tal  improvement  of  our  youth  has  been  a  subject  of  almost  total  neglect.  One  reason  maj 
be  given  perhaps,  whch  gives  us  the  secret  why,  the  Spartan  youth  of  all  others 
excelled  in  knowledge.  The  wise  Lycurgus  laid  it  down  as  a  law,  that  no  man  should  at 
tempt  the  instruction  of  youth,  unless  he  had,  by  his  ability  and  industry,  raised  himself  t( 
the  highest  office  in  the  state;  and  who,  as  a  man,  should  be  able  to  give  a  perfect  exempli- 
fication in  himself  of  those  virtues  he  inculcated  on  his  youthful  auditors.  We  say  hert 
wfis  the  secret,  men  of  tried  ability,  who  had  made  the  science  of  education  the  business  o 
their  lives  ;  these  were  the  men  into  whose  hands  were  committed  the  training  of  the  ri 
sing  population  ;  and  so,  whilst  the  venerable  sage  stood  surrounded  by  his  youthful  band 
and  poured  forth,  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  the  wisdom,  the  experience  and  the  knowledg 
ef  a  lengthened  life,  his  youthful  auditory  beheld  the  bright  shining  of  his  virtues ;  the 
adored  the  man  and  learned  his  way ;  they  contemplated  the  splendour  of  liis  abilities  anc 
envied  them  ;  they  loved  the  sage ;  they  esteemed  him  as  a  father ;  they  respected  him  as  a  friend 
wliilst  each  in  noble  emulation  sought  to  excel  his  fellow  in  all  that  was  good  and  grea 
and  generous.  We  by  no_means  assert  that  at  the  present  day  there  are  not  found  men  o 
genuine  ability  and  worth  engaged  in  this  work ;  no,  we  know  many  such ;  nevertlieless,  i 
cannot  be  denied  that  many  men  have  engaged  in  the  business  of  instruction,  not  from  anj 
delight  or  pai-tiality  they  have  for  the  science,  but  either  it  may  be  to  repair  a  fallen  for 
tune,  or  to  obtain  a  living  which  they  have  sought  in  another  calling,  without  success  ;  am 
thus,  in  place  of  this  high  and  sacred  subject  occupying  the  attention  of  the  most  profound 
intelligent,  and  intellectual  of  the  community,  it  has  too  often  fallen  into  the  hands  of  sv 
needy  adventurers,  who,  although  they  may  know  somewhat  of  the  languages,  are,  nev 
theless,  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  mental  developcment.  The  general  thirst, 
ever,  and  demand  for  sound  knowledge,  which  is  heard  from  every  quarter  of  the  con 
pity,  will  no  doubt  bring  into  the  field  a  race  of  able  and  intelligent  men,  who  shall  makil 
fit  once  their  study  and  delight  to  gi-atify  the  popular  feeling.  There  is  one  view  whic 
ft  Cltfistiaa  t^Ues  pf  tbis  subject  which  raises  in  his  wind  a  train  of  the  most  solemn  reflec 


129 

tions.  The  education  of  liumau  beings  for  the  most  part  has  had  reference  to  them  more  as 
mortal  than  immortal  beings  ;  it  has  had  a  bearino;  more  on  the  part  they  were  to  act  on  this 
Utile  stage  of  human,  rather  than  the  vast  sphere  of  their  spiritual  being,  that  man,  the 
creature  of  a  never-ending  existence,  has  been  acted  on,  and  treated  as  if  the  brief  span  of 
his  moital  being  constituted  the  sum  total  of  his  pilgrimage.  The  mechanic  has  learned 
his  tiade,  merely  to  accomodate  himself  to  the  demands  of  a  present  life  ;  ha  has  been  schooled 
into  his  letters  and  numbers,  merely  to  qualify  him  the  more  in  bettering  his  condition  in  the 
present  world ;  and  thus,  whilst  every  attention  has  been  paid  in  training  up  the  man  in  all  the 
accomplishments  necessary  to  act  well  his  part  in  the  life  that  now  is,  we  have  forgotten  that 
the  material  on  which  to  work  is  a  young  immortal,  a  traveller  to' eternity,  in  the  bud  of  its 
being,  who  Tvlien  it  has  concluded  the  last  dread  scene  in  the  drama  of  a  present  life,  shall  en- 
ter on  a  world  of  awful  interest  and  endless  duration.  To  train  up  the  rising  generation  for 
such  a  world  ought  to  be  the  great  business  of  our  Sabbath  Schools. 

In  regard  to  the  necessity  let  us  consider  the  universal  ignorance  and  vice  of  the  commu- 
nily,   especially  of  youth.     Mark  the  boy  of  fourteen,  how  awkardly  the  oath  drops  from 
his  lips  ;    at  seventeen  he  pronounces  it  with  greater  ease ;  it  may  be  at  twenty-two  he 
lias  grown  an  adept  in  his  study,  and  can  curse  with  ease  and  with  pleasure,  and  not  feel  one 
single  qualm  of  conscience .    Have  you  observed  the  process  1     That  which  first  he  perform- 
ed with  difficulty,  now  is  accomplished  with  ease  ;    that  which  formerly  gave  him  pain,  now 
affords  him  pleasure  ;  thus  plainly  proving  that  the  ignorant  and  infatuated  being  is  under- 
going a  rapid  course  of  training  ;  where  he  is  heaping  up  to  himself  "  wrath  against  the  day 
Df  wrath."      Now,  could  your  eye  for  one  single  hour  enjoy  the  attribute  of  omnipresence, 
■then  let  it  glance  across  and  survey  the  several  cities  and  towns  of  our  world,  then  let  it  rest 
ifor  a  time  on  the  mass  of  corrupt  and  immoral  principle  laid  before  it,  and  say,  from  such  a 
scene  would  not  the  christian  turn  with  disgust  and  horror  ;  and  yet  this,  and  more  than 
,'Uis,  is  the  daily  oblation  presented  by  the  hearts  of  millions  to  the  eye  of  infinite  purit)-. 
I  will  come  to  facts  and  revelations  made  in  our  own  land :  we  often  hear  of  the  general 
.Dtelligence,  tod  now  educated  state  of  our  countrj^ ;  now  let  the  following  facts  be  attended 
iX),  they  speak  for  themselves :  I  receive  the  body  of  my  information  from  a  public  paper,  pub- 
ished  on  the  9th  of  April,  during  the  trials  of  the  Incendiaries  by  the  special  commissions, 
[n  the  County  of  Berks,  of  138  prisoners  committed,  only  25  could  write,  37  only  could 
ead,  and  76  could  neither  read  nor  write, — Of  30  prisoners  tried  at  Abingdon,  6  only  could  read 
nd  write,  11  could  read  imperfectly,  the  remainder  were  xvholly  uneducated.-^In  Bucks,  of  79 
irisoners,  only  30  could  read  and  write.-^InHa.nts,  of  332  prisoners,  105  could  neitlier  read 
or  write. — Kent,  about  one  half  of  the  prisoners  committed  to  Maidstone  Jail  could  neither 
eadnov  write. — Sussex,   of  50  persons  tried  at  Lewes,  13  only  could  read  and  write ;  it  is 
idded,  nearly  the  whole  of  them  were  totally  ignorant  with  regard  to  the  nature  and  obli^a- 
ions  of  ti-ue  religion ;  from  the  whole  then  I  airive  at  the  following  statement : — Out  of 
committals,  (omitting  Kent)  only  118  could  write,  and  only  165  could  read,  so  that  we 
a^e  out  of  529  persons,  near  about  370  individuals  who  ai-e  totally  ignorant  of  even  the 
rst  rudiments  of  education  !      This  is  an  awful  picture  !      Let  no  one  say  this  ignorance  is 
onfined  to  the  South  of  England,  I  quote  you  a  short  paragraph  from  a  paper  published 
1  the  Month  of  February  last.     "  In  this  place,  at  Oldham,  last  week,  a  girl  lodged  an  in- 
jrmation  against  her  Master,  alledging  that  she  was  over  wrought  in  the  factory.     The  girl 
/aa -produced,  and  stated  that  she  was  in  her  thirteenth  year.    The  following  queetions  were 
uttober: — Do  you  know  your  prayers !— No.     Do  you  know  where  people  go  that  tell 


lonr 

i 


130 

lies  1 — No.    Have  you  never  heard  about  Hell  1 — Yes  I  have  henrd  folks  talk  about  it. 
you  know  what  sort  of  people  go  there? — No.     Do  you  know  you  will  go  there  if  youl 
lies  ? — No  I  do  not  know.     She  was  consequently  set  aside  as  unfit  to  be  sworn, 
are  facts,  my  hearers,  that  should  claim  and  ecxite  the  sympathy  of  any  man  of  right  fee 
and  to  a  demonstrative  proof  of  the  necessity  of  Sabbath  School  instruction. — If  the  1 
gives  us  any  idea  of  the  destitution  of  the  people  in  the  elements  of  mechanical  educat 
and  the  other  of  moral  information  and  principle,  what  must  be  the  state  of  a  great  majorif 
of  our  community,  but  that  awful  and  afifecting  ignorance,    which  naturally  leads  me  to  tl. 
method  of  communicating  religious  knowledge  to  children. 

In  all  the  sciences  and  even  in  the  arts  of  life,  you  are  aware  we  generally  adopt 
plan  which  is  the  least  difficult,  and  by  which  we  shall  the  sooner  and  more  certainly  al5 
our  object.  In  the  communication  of  religious  truth,  great  attention  is  requisite, 
trumpet  must  not  give  an  imcertain  sound."  The  nature  of  the  truths  themselves,  and! 
responsibility  of  the  parties  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  make  it  incumbent  on  us,  not  onl 
to  use  all  plainness  of  speech,  but  to  communicate  our  ideas  in  such  a  way  as  the  pari 
hearing  cannot  but  understand  us. 

After  maturely  studying  the  subject,  and  after  a  long  course  of  experience  in  it,  we  ai;» 
satisfied  that  the  Catechetical  Method  is  by  far  the  best.     Let-me  draw  you  a  picture  tit 
one  of  our  schools.    Suppose  you  see  our  Teacher  surrounded  by  80  or  100  interesting  SD^,i 
happy  countenances,  all  of  whom  have  learned  the  portion  of  scripture  given  out:  the  busi* 
ness  is  commenced  by  singing  and  prayer;  they  repeat  their  exercise;  the  teacher  tak<:r  J 
his  stand  at  the  desk ;  silence  is    requested ;    (as    every  thing  wearing  an  imperati^is 
character  should  be  done  away,)  the  teacher  opens  his  bible ;  every  child  opens  at  the  sam  ■ 
time,  and  puts  its  forefinger  on  the  passage ;  he  commences  by  putting  a  few  questioi 
which  tend  to  connect  the  passage  for  the  night,  with  the  foregoing  verses  ;  then  every  e) 
is  fixed  upon  him,  not  one  trifler;  this  done,  he  directs  them  to  the  passage,  and  to  the  fir 
sentence  on  which  the  forefinger  points  ;  now  every  eye  is  upon  the  passage  searching  fc 
tlie  answer  ;  upon  every  sentence  he  chatecliizes  them,  putting  on  every  verse,  it  may  b 
twenty  or  thirty  questions;  in  the  course  he  illustrates  the  narrative,  giving  a  geographic; 
description  of  the  places  mentioned,  or  perhaps  says  something  of  the  persons  noticed,  an 
then  again  illustrates  the  whole  by  some  striking  anecdote,  direct  to  the  point ;  after  he 
satisfied  the  children  understand  the  passage,  they  now  close  their  bibles,  when  he  proceed 
to  make  a  solemn  improvement  of  the  whole  in  a  short  address.     The  first  part  of  tlie  exe 
cise  was  directed  to  the  intellect  of  the  child,  the  last  part  to  the  aflFections  :  the  first  pai 
trains  him  up  in  the  understanding  of  the  truth,  the  last  brings  him  to  the  experience  of  it :  tl 
first  is  the  chastity  of  the  head,  and  has  for  its  object  its  improvement ;  the  last  is  an  appe 
to  the  heart,  and  has  for  its  object  its  regeneration.     Now  it  is  the  establishment  of  such  ii 
stitutions  as  this,  we  wish ;  and  it  is  the  formation  of  such  that  is  wanted  at  the  present  da; 
The  catechetical  method  is  one  of  tried  utility ;  it  can  boast  of  the  venerable  and  profour 
philosophic  minds  of  a  Socrates  and  a  Plato  in  ancient  times,   and  some  of  the  first  men  i 
the  anatomical  and  other  schools  of  science  in  our  own  day,   as  its  friends  and  warmest  su] 
porters.     I  readily  allow  it  requires  men  of  no  common  intellect  to  pursue  it  with  succes 
But  why  sliould  such  men  be  backward  to  engage  in  it  ?     An  object  which  employed  tl 
attention  of  a  Locke  and  a  Watts ;  an  object  for  which  the  King  of  Israel  involved  hinisel 
yea,  an  object  hallowed  and  endeared  to  us  by  the  honoured  example  of  our  adored  Loi; 
himself.  Such  an  object  can  well  employ,  in  its  vast  variety  of  necessities,  the  noblest  i 


131 

get  and  profoundest  judgement ;  and  where  is  the  man,  however  great,  if  good,  would  not 
hint-  himself  highly  honoured,  in  being  instrumental  in  training  up  a  young  immortal  to 
onour,  and  happiness,  and  eternal  life.  It  is  a  cause  which  seriously  demands  the  atten- 
on  of  every  JNIinister  of  Christ,  and  of  every  christian  church  ;  by  the  latter  it  is  too  much 
verlooked.  The  members  of  our  churches  are  too  tenacious  of  their  three  services ;  two  are 
uite  sufficient,  There  is  no  congregation  in  England  but  will  profit  as  much  by  twice  as 
f  three  times  preaching  on  the  Sabbath  ;  if  this  were  the  case,  then  our  JMinisters  could 
ctend  to  the  children  one  part  of  the  day  ;  for  if  the  cause  of  religious  education  ever  suc- 
ked, they  must  take  the  sul^cct  in  hand,  and  make  it  a  distinct  service ;  for  we  hold  that  re- 
gions instruction  can  never  be  pursued  with  success,  unless  separated  entirely  from  the 
echanical  part  of  education.  But  if  our  Ministers  have  not  the  time  nor  the  inclination, 
t  us  have  a  warm  hearted  man,  around  whom  our  children  will  naturally  flock  and  fawn, 
id  in  whose  eye  they  shall  see  the  expression  of  tenderness  ;  and  from  whose  Up  they  shall 
(  3ar,  in  strains  soft  and  sweet,  the  tale  of  a  Saviour's  love :  a  man  who  cannot  look  without 
smile  on  the  rosy  countenance  of  the  infant,  whose  very  head  and  limb,  in  every  action 
lall  wear  an  endearing  and  inviting  aspect ;  a  man  who  lives,  as  if  but  to  breathe,  aroimd 
m  the  element  of  love,  and  whose  warm  afl"ection3  long  to  embrace,  in  sacred  union,  a 
nsomed  world.  Give  us,  we  say,  such  a  man,  whose  intellectual  capacity  shall  not  rise 
ach  above  mediocrity,  let  him  embark,  heart  and  soul,  in  this  good  work,  and  he  shall  not 
boor  in  vain.    To  such  a  man  we  recommend 

The  careful  study  of  the  human  mind.  Let  him  not  say  he  has  no  books  upon  the 
bject,  God  has  placed  a  volume  upon  his  own  shoulders,  to  which  every  day  and  every 
ur  he  has  access  ;  let  him  lookback  on  his  ovm  history,  chronicled  up  on  the  tablets  of 
i  own  memory  ;  let  him  try  and  recollect  what  were  his  own  dispositions  and  feelings  in 
rlylife,  and  what  the  things  which  most  excited,  and  what  most  struck  his  attention  in 

2  early  experience  of  his  youth;  and  as  face  answers  to  face  in  a  glass,  so  will  these  to  the 
tie  auditors  that  now  surround  him.  Let  him  look  to  his  children,  every  one  of  them  ia 
)ook  of  nature's  own  production,  containing  stores  of  information,  upon  the  right  under- 
mdiug  and  treatment  of  which,  his  future  usefulness,  in  a  great  measure  is  foimded. 
istract  subjects  should  not  be  taught  until  the  children  have  for  two  or  three  years  been 
aning  into  the  simpler  elements.  Train  up  a  child, — observe  the  language, — I  engraft  upon  a 
!e— this  is  teaching  :  I  rear  up  its  own  branches — this  is  training.     Teaching  is  more 

3  business  of  the  head ;  training  applies  more  particularly  to  the  heart,  wherein  we 
;  ,i«e  upon  the  affections,  and  direct  them  the  way  they  should  go.    Having  embraced  the 

ections  of  the  child,  then  make  your  way  to  its  intellect,  and  here  you  will  find  the  first 

•ulty  that's  fit  for  exercise  is  the  imagination.     Stop  here,  arrest  this  power  by  the  pic- 

esque  and  narrative  parts  of  scripture,  illustrating  by  a  picture  the  subject,  or  any  picture 

iwn  by  yourself :  the  imagination  arrested,  make  your  way  now  to  the  imderstanding  of 

;! child,  to  which  every  question  is  an  appeal.     The  imagination  arrested,  the  understand- 

^utformed,  the  heart  warmed  powerfully,  or  next  to  an  immediate  subjection  to  the  Lord 

«JU8  Christ.     There  is  nothing  extraordinary  in  a  child  being  able  to  repeat  from  memory 

ing  string  of  chapters  and  verses':  we  were  tormented  in  our  school  with  one  boy  who 

uld  repeat  to  us  a  host  of  hymns  ;  we  at  last  gave  in  to  him,  when  he  ran  over  27  Psalms 

■  *•!  Hymns  without  a  stop — he  was  gravely  told  never  to  do  the  like  again,  as  we  had  no 

'  e  to  lose  by  a  thing  of  this  kind  ;  that  boys  properly  understanding  one  sentence  of  the 

1  le,  was  worth  all  his  repeating.  Never  let  the  child  be  burdened ;  it  must  delight  in  the 


132 

School  if  it  is  to  be  profited  by  it.   The  School  must  be  to  it  a  place  of  entertainment,  as  »1! 
ns  instruction  ;  a  place  for  which  itlongs  on  the  week-day,  and  to  which  with  plcasu 
goes  when  the  hour  returns  :  in  fact,  the  Teacher  mus  t  be  to  it  like  a  Father,  and  the  c  1 
must  hail  his  fellows  as  children  of  one  little  family ;  for  all  must  be  affection,  kindness,  i 
love.    For  this  purpose  let  the  Teacher  study 

All  simplicity.'  Let  him  deprecate  every  thing  that  appears  pedantic  and  conseqio 
tial,  let  him  banish  from  him  all  priestly  dignity,  let  his  gait  and  his  manner  be  simple,' otj 
wise  the  child  will  spurn  him  as  a  puppy,  and  all  he  says,  say  it  how:ever  well,  willl 
pointless  and  witliout  effect.  We  have  often  been  disgiisted  wtih  the  bustling  consequcj 
of  men  of  this  description,  who  all  the  while  forgot  that  they  they  could  take  no  better  l 
to  display  their  want  of  sense.  Let  him  not  only  be  simple  in  his  manner  among  the  ch.ikl  J 
but  let  simplicity  run  through  all  he  does ;  let  his  prayers  be  simple  and  always  short ; 
that  his  address  and  his  questions  may  be  simple,  let  him  always  take  care  that  he  thoron 
ly  understands  his  subject ;.  or,  unless  he  himself  sees  clearly  the  ideas  he  means  to  com  . 
nicate,  he  never  can  deliver  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  understood.  He  must  learn 
breith  (town  the  hnf;  to  break  open  the  nut ;  to  peel  the  orange.  "When  I  feed  a  Lior 
may  throw  his  food  in  the  lump,  not  so  if  I  want  to  train  a  lamb.  As  is  the  capacities  of« 
children,  so  should  be  the  simplicity  of  our  addresses  and  questions.  The  teachers  r 
easily  dstin-iiish  when  he  is  not  simple  enough,  if  not,  his  little  audience  will  go  to  sic 
So  soon  as  this  is  seen,  let  him  remember,  that  he  has  probably  more  need  to  awaken  / 
self  than  his  children. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

SIR, 

As  your  work  rrofesFCs  to  be  a  Protestor  against  Corruption  and  Al 
T  need  make  no  apology  for  requesting  you  to  insert  the  following  questions,  with  a  view  to  obtain  soin| 
formation  as  to  the  Origin  of  certain  practices,  and  the  uses  thereof  to  the  Community  at  large  : — first, 
is  the  reason  that  our  Law  Church  forbids  people  being  married  during  Lent,  unless  they  pay  Doll 
Hues  ? — second,  Hovv  is  it  that  persons  paying  a  sum  of  money  for  what  is  called  a  License,  can  be  El 
ried  at  any  place,  and  scarcely  without  any  notice  ;  whilst  others,  that  do  not  choose  to  pay  so  much,  t| 
consent  to  have  their  names  read  on  three  several  Sundays  in  one  of  the  Churches,  situated  in  the  Pa 
where  they  reside,  and,  if  required,  must  make  Oath  to  that  effect.     Trusting  you  will  insert  the 
in  your  April  Number,  with  a  view  to  call  forth  the  Opinions  of  some  of  your  intelligent  CorresponJ 

I  remain,  Yours,  &c. 
An  edified  Reader  op  the  Moral  Refoh«< 
Manchester,  \Qik  March,  1832. 


PRINTED   BY   J.    LIVESEY,    PRESTON. 


THE 

MORAL   REFORMER. 

No.  5.  MAY  1,  1832.  Vol.  II. 

THE   DIVORCE. 


It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  tell  my  readers  that  the  present  connec- 
tion betwixt  Church  and  State  is  an  adulterous  one ;  that  the  power  belong- 
ing to  Christ  as  the  Head  of  the  Church  is  assumed  by  the  Kings  of  the 
earth ;  and  that  human  laws  are  made  to  subvert  and  supplant  the  laws  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.    This  is  the  power,  under  whatever  shape,  which 
is  called  Antichrist ;  and  which  has  for  a  series  of  generations  been  syste- 
matically developed  in  the  union  of  "  Church  and  State."     The  pages  of 
^  history  groan  beneath  the  load  of  evils  entailed  upon  society  by  this  illicit 
I  connection ;  and  the  loud  cry  of  Christendom  now  is — let  them  be  divided. 
J  And  I  now  feel  most  happy  in  being  able  to  lay  before  the  public,  earlier 
■  than  was  expected,  an  outline  of  the  projected  Divorce.    The  preliminary 
dialogue,  as  well  as  the  conclusion,  no  doubt,  will  be  read  with  deep  interest. 

State — ^Well,  my  dear  spouse,  after  a  connection  of  so  many  years, 
mantained  for  mutual  interest,  if  not  for  general  good,  constantly  assailed 
by  envious  opposers,  it  becomes  at  last  my  painful  duty  to  state  that  in  re- 
ference to  the  permanency  of  our  union,  there  is  at  present  the  greatest  cause 

i  of  alarm 

I  Church — Alarm!  my  sweetparamour,youmustbemistaken.  Whatneed 
lofalarm  ?  From  poverty  we  have  grown  to  the  possession  of  immense  wealth  ; 
from  weakness  to  almost  universal  power ;  and  from  the  contempt  of  the 
world  to  the  admiration  of  kings  and  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Alarm  !  No  : 
the  foundations  are  too  deeply  laid ;  the  superstructure  too  firmly  built ;  whilst 
the  Swords  of  the  Potentates  of  Europe  are  pledged  to  defend  the  sacred 
fiibric;  as  well  might  the  solid  rocks  be  alarmed  at  the  droppings  of  the 
evening  dew  !  Many,  no  doubt,  envy  my  enjoyments ;  and  would  gladly 
reduce  me  to  the  poverty  and  reproach  of  my  primitive  state ;  but  I  am 
secure  from  their  wrath,  and  the  thousand  times  pledged  fidelity  of  your- 
self will  not  suffer  me  to  fear.  1  sit  a  Queen,  and  ever  since  my  name  was 
joined  to  yours,  the  greatest  men  of  the  earth  have  considered  it  an  honor 
to  be  permitted  to  sit  at  my  feet.  I  was  once  but  a  stranger  in  the  world  ; 
but  tired  with  the  strict  discipline  and  reproach  of  him  to  whom  I  was  first; 
VOL,   II.  s  ^ 


134 

betrothed,  and  allured  by  your  presents  and  flatteririg  entreaties,  I  placed 
myself  beneath  your  fostering  care  ;  and  so  prosperous  has  been  the  resul 
that  there  cannot,  I  am  sure,  be  any  cause  of  alarm.  Alarm  !  my  dear  head 
why  is  it  that  fears  so  ungrounded,  so  unusual,  so  foolish,  should  distui 
your  mind  ?  What  evil  spirit  have  you  permitted  to  intrude  upon  yot 
peace?  Cease  such  ridiculous  forebodings,  resume  your  wonted  compd 
sure ;  and  after  so  many  years  of  prosperous  enjoyment,  do  not  distu^ 
my  feelings  by  the  unwelcome  sound  of — alarm. 

S.  I  feel  the  force  of  your  remarks  ;  I  know  your  confidence,  an 
only  lament  that  it  mixes  with  it  so  little  modesty.  Grieved  to  hear  the 
deceptive  assurance  which  you  pronounce,  I  readily  confess,  that  the  cause 
of  much  of  the  blame  is  with  myself.  But  for  your  hasty  interruption  I 
would  have  anticipated  all  your  conjectures  as  to  the  existing  causes  of 
alarm.  No  angel  was  more  pure  than  you  in  your  youth,  and  your  first 
and  successive  departures  from  virtue  are  chargeable  upon  none  but  me; 
I  tempted  you  from  the  best  of  Lord's,  whose  pains  and  sufferings  on  your 
account  no  language  can  describe,  and  whose  fidelity  and  love  always  re- 
main the  same.  But  you  was  mean  in  your  circumstances,  and  despised 
by  the  world  ;  and  partly  for  my  own  sake  and  partly  for  yours,  I  laid  a 
successful  temptation — "  the  glory  of  the  world."  I  raised  you  to  rank 
and  dignity ;  honored  you  with  a  splendid  and  numerous  retinue  ;  and 
gave  you  a  name  at  which  the  world  has  been  made  to  tremble.  Kings 
have  been  proud  to  kneel  before  you,  and  princes  to  do  homage  in  your 
presence  ;  and  those  who  dared  to  despise  your  authority  I  visited  them 
with  condign  punishment.  Though  I  look  back  with  feelings  of  exhulta- 
tion  at  the  spread  of  our  conquests,  and  at  the  extent  of  our  authority,  yet 
of  late,  I  must  confess,  such  changes  have  arisen  as  almost  to  cause  me  to 
tremble.  My  soul  cleaves  to  you  with  pure  affection,  and  I  have  already 
made  great  sacrifices  for  your  safety  ;  still  the  restless  spirits  of  the  age, 
having  raised  a  clamour  against  us,  declare  openly  that  their  hostility 
shall  never  cease  till  a  separation  take  place  and  till  you  be  cleansed  of 
your  defilements.  I  tremble  at  the  storm  which  seems  to  be  ^gathering 
on  every  side,  and  to  speak  the  truth,  if  suitable  steps  are  not  taken,  bot 
you  and  I  will  have 

C.     Will  have — yes  :  I  see  how  it  is.      You  old ,  you  have  bed 

listening  to  some  dolt  of  liberalism  ;  that  spirit  that  seeks  my  ruin  and 
tirpation  wherever  it  is  found.     What !  is  it  come  to  this  that  you  who  ha| 
never  swerved  from  the  orthodox  faith  of   "  Church  and  King  "    shoul3 
now  become  the  very   preacher   of  the  "  damnable  doctrine  "   of  dividing 
Church  and  State  I    Much  as  you  profess  to  have  done  on  my  account,  yflll 
ought  to  know  that  you  have  received  more  in  return.     I  have  presideP" 
over   the  destinies  of  empires.     I  have  consolodated  your  power,  and  by 
my  agents  and  emissaries,  have  taught  the  world  to  believe  that  "  legi 


135 

macy  "  was  divine.  I  have  said  to  quarrelsome  princes  be  still,  and  though 
you  have  retained  the  name  of  governor,  it  was  my  influence  that  made 
the  people  to  obey.  And  as  to  wealth,  your  treasury  has  been  enriched 
at  my  bidding,  and  no  sacrifices  were  ever  too  great,  if  I  told  the  people  to 
make  them.  I  have  taken  care  to  reward  all  my  faithful  allies,  and  to  share 
amongst  the  clergy  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ;  to  them  therefore  I  look  for'de- 
fence;  and  despite  of  your  perfidy,  I  will  still  hold  at  your  defiance  all  the 
property  to  which  I  have  a  legal  claim.  Turn  me  out  if  you  please  ;  I 
shall  still  retain  the  alleigance  of  my  friends,  whilst  without  me  to  hide 
your  crimes,  and  to  assist  in  your  oppressions,  you  must  either  change  the 
genius  of  your  government  or  it  will  be  scattered  to  the  winds.  You  have 
led  a  long  course  of  profligacy  and  crime,  and  but  for  my  influence  ven- 
geance would  have  come  upon  you  long  since. 

S»    Most  sincerely  do  I  regret  thus  to  have  wounded  your  feelings, 
and  though  much  that  you  allege  is  certainly  true,  yet  after  receiving  so 
many  indulgences  I  think  the  coarseness  of  your  language  ill  becomes  the 
importance  of  the  subject.     I  cannot  controul  events ;  and  if  such  are  suc- 
cessively occurring  as  to  render  this  painful  step  unavoidable,  why  should 
I  be  calumniated  for  merely  mentioning  it— a  duty  which  I  was  compelled 
to  perform.     My  dear  old  dame,  just  consider  a  moment,  how  much  in 
point  of  appearance,  you  have  changed  of  late. — (C.  Ah !  its  always  the  case 
when  we  get  into  years.)     The  scarlet  fever,  under  the  bad  management  of 
Doctor  Henry  left  you  much  debilitated,  and  the  successive  paralytic  strokes 
in  America  and  France,  account  for  the  ill  health  and  deformed  appearance, 
which  you  now  exhibit;  and  it  is  not  improbable  (though  youar^  notlikely  to 
acknowledge  it)  that  your  consciousness  of  the  change  is  the  real  ground  of 
your  irritation.     Notwithstanding  I  still  think  it  my  duty  to  "  nourish  and 
cherish  you,"    and  shall  do  so  as  long  as  I  am  able ;    though  I  might  as 
well  be  candid,  and  tell  you  plainly  that  of  late  1  have  been  so  embarrassed 
on  your  account  that  if  the  connection  was  not  formed  it  never  should  be. 
You  may  pretend  to  brave  the  dangers  with  which  we  are  surrounded,  but 
j  U  is  nothing  less  than  the  hardihood  of  ignorance  and  folly.     What  do  you 
say  of  your  influence  in  Ireland  ?     Will  the  Sons  of  Erin  continue  to  sa- 
crifice at  your  shrine  ?     Instead  of  yielding  to  their  prejudices,  and  receiv- 
ing their  obedience  in  the  same  form  as  their  forefathers  gave  it,  we  have 
attempted  to  force  upon  them  a  system  which  they   abhor,  and  which  is 
likely  to  produce  a  revolt  against  both  regal  and  spiritual  authority.     Pain- 
;  'fi^l  as  is  the  alternative,  I  must  either  part  with  you,  or  loose  Ireland, 

C.     Oh  !  I  have  survived  all  your  "  strokes,  "  and  am  ready  to  meet 
as  many  more ;  if  you  would  do  your  duty  nothing  would  need  to  be  fear- 
ed;  it  is  yowr /)er/&/y  alone  that  can  prove  fatal.     Timorous  old  creature! 
I  you  have  not  nerve  for  the  times  ;  read  the  history  of  past  ages  and  you 
I  *viU  find  thait  concession  has  always  been  the  cause  of  clamour.     Let  the 


136 

disaffected  be  put  down,  and  give  me  leave  but  this  once,  and  I  will  bind 
the  rebels  to  the  stake  j  and  terminate  the  cause  of  all  your  fears.  It  is 
true  that  our  joint  authority  is  not  acknowledged  in  America  or  in  France, 
but  I  rejoice  to  say  that  the  laws  and  maxims  which  I  have  spread  over 
the  earth,  and  which  are  received  under  the  sanction  of  the  Name  of  my 
first  Husband,  are  adopted  and  acted  upon  even  where  my  "  ascendancy  " 
is  denied.  And  as  for  the  Irish,  their  objections  are  not  so  much  against 
our  constitution,  as  the  mode  in  which  we  have  demanded  their  obedience. 
But  though  I  believe  that  if  the  tythes  were  appropriated  as  of  old,  no  ob- 
jection would  be  raised  against  "  Church  and  State,"  yet  I  would  not  shew 
them  that  pleasure  :  I  would  put  them  down  with  the  sword.  You  have 
already  excited  their  lust  for  power  by  listening  to  the  agitation  of  lawyers 
and  demagogues.  Concession  must  follow  concession,  and  unless  you  strike 
soon  the  power  of  doing  so  will  be  taken  out  of  your  hands.  Do  you  mean 
to  abandon  "  the  church  "  to  please  a  band  of  disaffected  ruffians  ? 

S.  Stay,  stay — this  is  a  spirit  that  will  not  answer  for  the  present 
times.  There  was  a  time  when  we  could  have  cut  the  matter  short,  when 
the  martyr's  stake,  the  victim's  flame,  or  even  the  note  of  excommunica- 
tion would  have  brought  down  nations  at  our  feet,  but  it  is  now  gone  by ; 
and  though  we  flounder  and  menace  against  "  public  opinion,"  we  cannot 
controul  it :  it  has  a  thousand  ways  of  expressing  itself,  and  commanding 
attention,  and,  right  or  wrong,  we  have  now  no  chance  of  opposing  it  vdth 
success.  Our  course,  of  late,  has  been  through  troubled  waters,  and  sur- 
rounded with  the  infirmities  of  age,  and  annoyed  with  reiterated  attacks 
upon  you,  I  feel  exceedingly  anxious,  if  the  matter  can  be  acommodated, 
that  a  change  should  take  place.  And  to  be  plain — for  the  fierceness  of  your 
replies  compels  me  to  be  so — the  haughty  spirit  which  you  have  evinced 
at  this  interview  shews  a  great  want  of  that  reverence  and  respect  for  me 
which  I  had  a  right  to  expect;  it  also  awakens  my  suspicions  that  you  have 
held  out  the  "  golden  bowl  "  to  others.  You  boast  of  your  Jaws  and 
maxims  being  observed  in  kingdoms  where  I  have  no  power,  and  in  the 
event  of  a  separation  of  an  "  allegiance  "  still  to  be  maintained,  which  to 
me  are  plain  indications  of  a  disposition  to  go  astray  ;  and  the  lady  that  re- 
jected her  first,  and — I  am  ready  to  acknowledge — her  best  husband,  is  not 
beyond  the  reach  of  a  second  temptation.  She  may  riot  get  crowned  again 
with  an  Imperial  diadem,  but  she  may  become  the  prostitute  of  several 
petty  princes. 

C.    The  whole  matter  is  now  out High  in  the  estimation  of  all  who 

are  renowned,  I  can  no  longer  endure  the  insinuations  and  insults  of  so 
gross  a  Tyrant.  If  there  be  guilt  you  are  guilty  too :  I  care  not  for  the 
breach  :  I  swear  by  heaven,  be  it  for  better  or  worse,  this  day  we  part. 
Give  me  the  portion  which  belongs  to  me,  and  I  leave  you  for  ever. 

S.    Your  portion !     Let  it  not  be  named.     You  had  nothing  when  I 


137 

took  you ; — you  have  wallowed  in  wealth  and  luxury  ever  since,  and 
knowing  this  to  be  the  cause  of  your  sins,  why  raise  a  question  about  "  s^ 
portion."  You  was  fairest  when  poorest,  and  most  useful  when  uncorrupt- 
ed  with  wealth,  and  it  will  be  doing  you  a  kindness  in  this  respect  to  re- 
move you  from  all  dangers.  In  your  resolution  I  concur,  but  as  this  can- 
not legally  be  carried  into  effect  without  "  A  Divorce  "  by  the  legislature, 
I  will  immediately  apply  for  it,  and  the  question  of  property  shall  be  left 
in  their  hands.  I  hope  it  will  meet  with  the  approbation  of  **  My  Lords 
and  Gentlemen,  "  and  will  be  ready  as  soon  possible. 

C.  Get  it  forward ;  but  mind  one  thing,  after  serving  you  so  long, 
securing  the  stability  of  your  throne,  extending  your  dominions  and  en- 
riching your  treasury,  I  am  not  going  to  be  trodden  under  foot;  if  the 
terms  of  the  Divorce  are  not  liberal ;  if  my  dignity,  my  property,  and  the 
permanency  of  my  power,  are  not  secured,  after  all  I'll  spurn  your  Divorce ; 
and  satisfied  that  legions  only  wait  my  beck,  I  am  determined  to  defend  my 
own  cause.  The  insult  offered  to  me  is  but  a  shadow,  compared  to  the 
cruelty,  the  injustice,  and  bad  faith,  intended  to  my  numerous  offspring  the 
clergy.  By  my  separation,  you  disinherit  all  these,  whether  belonging  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  Rome,  or  to  Protestant  Kingdoms  ;  wherever  our  con- 
joint authority  has  been  acknowledged,  therewith  the  cruelty  of  a  monster, 
you  turn  your  bark  upon  those  you  have  sworn  to  protect ;  and  all  to 
please  a  few  fanatics,  who  will  never  be  satisfied  till  they  take  the  crown 
from  your  head,  and  with  republican  audacity,  assume  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment themselves.  You  have  raised  a  temple  to  the  honour  of  God,  in 
which  the  wise,  the  good,  and  the  contented  have  always  delighted  to  dwell, 
and  now  with  an  unaccountable  infatuation,  you  are  determined  to  pluck  it 
down  with  your  own  hands.  Verily,  if  it  be  not  in  my  own  power  to  get 
redress,  heaven's  vengeance  shall  not  cease  to  be  invoked  to  destroy  both 
you  and  your  advisers. 

S.  Enough,  my  dear  ;  spare  your  ire  till  a  more  fitting  occasion.  A 
draught  of  the  Divorce  is  in  preparation ;  it  shall  be  speedily  submitted  to 
the  deliberation  of  my  court;  and  the  result  shall  be  before  you  as  soon  as 
possible.     Excuse  me  at  present ;  I  cannot  posibly  say  more. 


SOCrETIES. 

The  character,  the  necessity,  and  the  object  of  so  many  new  "  So- 
cieties "  is  a  subject  well  worthy  of  attention.  Some  persons  may 
lot  be  aware  of  their  number,  and  casual  observers  may  be  inattentive  to 
;heir  operations,  yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the  rage  for  their  formation,  and  their  ac- 
tual increase  is  beyond  all  precedent.  The  professed  object  being  uniform- 
ly to  accomplish  some  good,  benevolent  persons  are  easily  persuaded   to 


138 

join  them,  and  thus  sanctioned  by  the  names  of  good  men,  every  feelings 
hostility  is  disarmed.  However,  to  a  reflecting  mind,  it  will  appear  an; 
thing  but  satisfactory,  that  the  advancement  of  poverty  and  vice  has  beei 
coeval  with  the  multiplication  of  societies  ;  and  that  if  no  part  can  be  trace) 
to  them  as  a  cause,  it  is  clear  that  they  have  not  operated  as  a  cure.  Ii 
some  instances  the  means  are  evidently  not  adapted  to  the  end ;  in  other 
the  attention  of  the  public  mind  has  been  constantly  diverted  from  the  pro 
per  course  by  the  constant  introduction  of  societies  as  a  panacea  for  all  ou 
ills.  Man  is  a  social  being,  and  his  readiness  to  join  to  further  associa 
tions,  having  for  their  object  the  general  good,  is  creditable  to  his  feelings 
but  he  is  not  always  equally  prudent  in  the  choice  of  his  means.  Th 
English  are  easily  beguiled ;  and  fond  of  splendid  achievements,  the 
easily  become  enamoured  of  projects  attempted  upon  a  magnificent  soak 
Allured  in  many  instances  by  the  representations  of  others,  confident  c 
success,  they  are  led  on  in  the  buoyancy  of  their  hopes  to  a  miserable  dis 
appointment. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  not  to  censure  societies  and  institutions  ge 
nerally  ;  but  rather  to  point  out  some  of  their  abuses,  and  to  develop  th 
principles  as  to  when  it  is,  and  when  it  is  not,  desirable  to  establish  societies 

Societies  are  of  various  casts  ;  charitable,  friendly,  sporting,  mercaii 
tile,  literary,  scientific,  political,  &c.  and  their  professed  object  is  to  accore 
plish  something  which  could  not  be  done  so  well  by  individual  effort.  Whe 
the  accomplishment  of  an  object  is  beyond  the  means  of  individuals,  tw 
or  more  unite  in  partnership  for  the  purpose,  and  where  this  is  suppose 
to  be  incompetent,  associations  of  greater  numbers  are  formed,  out  of  whic 
a  few  are  selected,  called  a  "  committee,"  into  whose  hands  are  placed  th 
executive  part  of  the  business.  Now  the  question  is,  on  what  occasion; 
and  for  what  purposes,  is  it  most  advisable  to  have  recourse  to  the  estal 
lishraent  of  societies  ;  and  where  it  does  appear  deairable,  what  principle 
and  arrangements  are  the  best  to  be  adopted. 

No  society  should  ever  be  attempted  wliere  the  work  can  be  accoir 
plisbed  by  simpler  means.  Like  miracles  they  ought  not  to  be  had  n 
course  to  except  where  ordinary  means  are  totally  incompetent.  The  m- 
chinery  of  many  societies  is  heavy  and  expensive,  they  are  formal  in  thei 
operations,  and  cramped  in  their  exertions  by  fixed  rules,  too  often,  aftc 
the  velocity  of  the  first  impulse,  depending  on  the  co-operation  of  number 
produce  no  permanent  effects  proportioned  to  the  vastness  of  the  mean 
engaged.  In  many  cases,  individual  or  partnership  labour,  though  les 
noisy  and  ostentatious,  would  be  more  efficient.  Mighty  undertakings  r^ 
quire  a  proportionate  agency,  and  many  of  these  would  be  impractic 
but  by  the  formation  of  "  companies."  To  establish  a  reservoir  and 
supply  the  whole  town  with  water  may  require  a  society,  but  dealin, 
out  the  smaller  quantities  afforded  from  the  neighbouring  wells. 


I 


.11 


139 

ged  much  better  by  individuals.     To  light  the  town  with  gas  requires 
a  company,  but  the  distribution  of  candle  light  can  be  effected  best  by  in- 
dividual tradesmen.      The  production  of  bibles  at  a  cheap  rate  and   to 
itt  immense  extent  requires  a  unity  of  skill  and  capital,  but  the  instructing 
af  the  ignorant  does  not  require  the  same  extent  of  machinery,  and  it  is 
auch  better  to  be  attempted  by  individual  and  personal  labour.     But  here, 
t  is  proper  to  observe,  we  come  again  to  the  great  and  general  absence  of 
mrsonal  and  moral  excellency.    Indeed  the  contemplation  of  all  our  splendid 
harities  and  benevolent  societies,  impress  upon  my  mind,  more  deeply  than 
jver,  the  low  tone  of  moral  feeling,  and  the  great  absence  of  eminently  chris- 
iian  virtues.     So  few  individuals  being  willing  to  give  their  attention,   their 
lime,  or  their  money,  an  association  is  suggested  ;  whilst  all  that  is  sought 
,0  be  accomplished  might  easily  be  effected  by  the  exertions  of  two  or  three 
ictive  individuals,  emulous  of  doing  their  Master's  will.  For  even  laudable 
)bjects  the  contemptible  guinea  is   subscribed  with  grumbling,  by  flaming 
jrofessors  of  religion,  who  with   "  plenty  laid  up  for  many  years  "  might 
)ear  the  whole  with  ease  themselves.     If  something  seems  desirable  to  be 
ilone  to  accomplish  any  object  "  we  have  no  time — we  have  no  time  "  is 
he  constant  reply  from  persons  who  ought  to  take  the  lead  in  every  good 
vork.     And  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  that  the  ministers  of  religion,  whose  la- 
)Ours,   had  they  been  properly  directed,  would  have  prevented  the  neces- 
ity  of  new  societies,   are  the  first  to  make  excuses.      Instead  o{  individual 
iberality  and  exertion,  proportioned  to  the  ability  which  God  has  bestowed, 
nd  to  the  urgency  of  the  cases  which  transpire;  all  is  now  done  through 
committees  "  and   "  subscriptions."     Most  of  our  charitable    societies 
(lay  be  regarded  as  the  strugglings  of  benevolence,  amid  the  wide  spreading 
lasts  of  avarice  and  selfishness.    It  were  easy  to  name  twenty  existing  so- 
ieties,  the  objects  of  which  might  be  much  better  accomplished  by  indivi- 
ual liberality  and  exertion.     In  London,  they  actually  swarm;  and  the 
tinners    (yes  the  dinners  !)    and  anniversaries  of  them  are  so  numerous 
lat  their  advertisements  are  almost  in  every  day's  paper,  and  sometimes 
)  the  number  of  ten  or  a  dozen  in  one  day.      If  sabbath  profanation  is  to 
e  put  down,  it  is  to  be  accomplished  by  a  society ;  if  vice  is  to   be  sup- 
ressed  it  is  by  the  same  ;  if  chimney  sweeps  are  to  be  protected — factory 
lildred  improved — prostitutes  reclaimed — orphans  provided  for — cruelty 
»  ;•  animals  prevented  —the  neglected  parts  of  great  towns  instructed — and  a 
mdred  other  such  objects,  (good  in  themselves)  all,  have  to  be  accom- 
ished  by  "a  society."     And  so  accustomed  are  we  to  this    mode  of 
roceeding,  that  if  we  can  succeed  in  securing  a  nice  arrangement  of  names 
)on  paper,  we  are  apt  to  admire  that,  more  than  the  real,  though  unosten- 
tious  accomplishment  of  much  good.     A  "  President  "  of  rank,  a  num- 
!r  of   "Vice's,"   "Treasurer,  Secretary,    and   Committee;"    followed 
r    resolution    upon  resolution,    all  minutely  recorded;    all  these  and 


140 


many   think  the  work    is  going  on  prosperously.    I  do  not  question  the 

motives  of  many  who  are  zealous  in  this  way,  but  I  do  think  on  many  oc- 

casions  they  do  not  adopt  the  best  line  of  proceeding  ;  and  I  believe,  ephe- 

meral  as  are  the  lives  of  many  of  these  societies,  in  such  places  as  Dublin 

and  London  few  would  ever  get  into  operation,  if  it  were  not  for  needy 

adventurers.     A  society,  an  office,  2.  paid  secretary,  and  many  other  paic 

things  go  together,  and  in  the  event  of  approaching  maturity,  every  practi 

cable  species  oi  jobbing  creeps  in ;    and  in   old  age   the   f\inds  becom. 

like  a  carcass  for  the  devouring  eagles.     Have  we  not  heard  of  the  abuse: 

in  «  the  society  for  promoting  the  gospel  in  foreign  parts  ?  »  And  is  then 

not  reason  to  believe  similar  ones  exist  under  many  other  names  ?     In  thii 

country  we  have  a  great  number  of  Missionary  Societies,  and  certainly  1 

the  conversion  of  souls  had  to  be  estimated  by  the  amount  of  money  col 

lected  reasonable  men  would  be  apt  to  think,  that  the  work  by  this  tun. 

ought' to  be  complete  ;  but  as  many  of  them  are  "  foreign."  in  the  absenc. 

of  better  evidence,  we  can  only  judge  of  their  success  by  comparison.  Th. 

"  reports  "  of  these  societies  are  uniformly  "  gratifying ;  "  and  it  isconstantlj 

affirmed  that "  the  Lord  is  with  them,  giving  success  to  their  labours."  Nowtb 

self  <^ame  things  are  said  in  reference  to  the  operations  and  success  of  01 

societies  at  "  home.  "     Attend  what  meeting  we  may,  Bible,  Missionar 

or  Tract,  read  all  their  "  Reports,  "  and  really  one  wonld  be  led  to  sui 

pose  that  we  were  almost  in  Paradise  again;  but  alas!  alas!  when  v 

turn  into  the  world  how  we  appear  to  have  been  deceived  ;    the  mxi 

which,  in  the  magnifying  eloquence  of  our  stage  divines,  appeared  like  i 

elephant,  is  but  a  mite  still.     Judging  from  facts  in  reference  to  the  stet 

ments  of  "home  "  proceedings,  it  is  not  unfair  to  make  the  same  deductio 

in  reference  to  the  statements  which  relate  to  "  foreign  "  operations. 

We  have  also  a   great  number  of  "  home   Missionaries, "    and 
other   people's  impressions    are  not  different  to  mine,  a  «  Missionary 
should  be  a  man  who  leaves  his  friends,  his  home,  his  prospects  in  the  worl 
makes  great  sacriBces,  goes  in  the  face  of  siiffering,  braves  all  dangers,  i  :- 
hours  and  toils  incessantly  ;  like  Paul,  is  engaged  "  night  and  day, "  ajV 
willing  to  "  spend  and  be  spent  "  in  the  service  of  Christ ;  and  it  is  do^>(> 
less  this  impression  that  induces  many  to  subscribe  their  money.     *  . 
have  had  many  of  this  class  in  Preston,  but  so  far  as  observers  are  able^ 
judge,  they  take  the  world  and  the  world  takes  them,  quite  easy.    B  j 
talks  of  "perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  of  his  own  countrymen,  in  perilsM 
the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  iain 
sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren  ;  of  weariness  and  painfnlness,  in  wab 
ings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness."—"  Of  the  Jews,  five  times,"  says 
"  I  received  forty  stripes  save  one  ;    thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods  ;  01 
was  I  stoned ;  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck ;  a  night  and  a  day  have  I  be^ 
the  deep. "     This  was  the  great  Gentile  Missionary,  who  received  his 


H 


141 

on,  not  from  man,  but  from  the  mouth  of  Christ  himself;  and  who  con- 
antly  sets  himself  as  an  example  to  others.  It  is  true  persecution  sleeps ; 
ut  let  our  "  home  Missionaries  "  leave  their  velvet  cushions,  lay  aside 
leir  sacredotal  robes,  adopt  the  same  course  as  Paul  and  his  companions, 
ad  begin  "  to  turn  the  world  upside  down,"  and  like  them,  they  will  be 
eated  by  many  as  "  the  filth  of  the  earth,  and  as  the  offscouring  of  all 
lings."  But  hirelings  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  societies  are  not  likely  thus 
>  expose  themselves. 

In  endeavouring  to  shew   the  inefficiency  of  many  societies,  I  ap- 

eal  to  the  recollection  of  my  readers,  as  to  the  grestt  number  of  political, 

iendly,  benevolent,  and  other  societies  which  have  become  extinct,  upon 

hich  immense  sums  have  been  expended,  which  have  resulted  in  disap- 

ointment,  and  too  often  in  malice  and  contention,  and  I  think  they  will  agree 

ith  me  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  sought  the  accomplishment  of 

e  objects  by  other  and  simpler  means.    Like  machinery  without  wind,  or 

'ater,  these  societies  frequently  stand  still  for  want  of  an  adaptation  of  suita- 

e  power,  or,  over  worked  at  the  commencement,  they  arrive  at  a  prema- 

ire  death.    Surely  if  the  people  would  think  of  the  "  pennies,"  the  shil- 

igs  and  the  pounds,  which  they  have  been  induced  to  subscribe,  and  of 

hich  there  is  not  a  vestage  remaining,  they  would  at  least  begin  to  doubt 

hether  they  have  not  been  incautiously  led  into  error. 

'     Excepting  where  interest  prompts,  what  a  lack  of  real  life  and  vigour 

'  the  pperations  of  many  societies  !     Many  praise  them,  but  few  set  their 

loulders  to  the  work.     The   anniversaries  are  crowded  by   thousands, 

pecially  by  well  dressed  ladies,  all  concurring  in  the  resolutions,  passing 

otions,  and  voting  away  "  thanks  "  by  a  simultaneous   show  of  hands, 

3m  which  unthinking  people  would  infer  that  a  proportionate  degree  of 

!al  and  exertion  is  carried  into  all  the  laborious  and  retreatful  operations. 

le  pomp  and  puffings  of  societies,  especially  at  their  anniversaries,  like 

le  list  of  "  Patrons,'*  give  them  an  imposing,  though  a  delusive,  charac- 

^T,  and  succeed  in  gaining  the  "  name  "  and  the  "money  "  from  many  who 

'ive  no  heart  in  the  work.     Whilst  all  our  popular  societies  swell  exceed- 

fgly'in  reports,  and  carry  with  them  a  fair  face  before  the  world,  a  know- 

'Jge  of  their  operations,  and  the  policy  they  adopt,  make  it  most  evident, 

iat  there  exists  generally  a  great  want  of  disinterested  labor  and  of  real 

\>€rality.      How  are  their  funds  replenished?   by  voluntary  gifts  ?     No  ! 

i'luntary,  they  may  be  called,  because  people  are  not  compelled,  as  in  the 

ijse  of  a  tcue  ;  but  if  not  compelled  they  are  first  induced  contrary  to  their 

\m  choice,  and  secondly,  allured  by  the  promise  or  prospect  of  something 

ir  themselves  2ti^  an  equivalent  for  their  money.    Who  has  not  had  to  en- 

!'Unter  the  importunity  of  religious  beggars  ?     Who  has  not  been  amused 

\  all  the  little  contrivances  which  are  invented  to  support  a  cause  ?     Who 

]is  not  been  ashamed  in  the  presence  of  the  men  of  the  world  to  think  how 

I  vol..   II.  T 


142 


UfM 

I 


contrary  to  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  first  christians,  matters  are  no 

conducted  ?     Not  being  able  to  depend  upon  private  and  individual  libc 

ality,  every  school  must  have  a  "  charity  sermon,"  and  instead  of  the  D 

nister  of  the  place  preaching  it,  who  must  know-best  the  merits  and  neec 

sities  of  the  institution,  and  the  people  coming  to  hear  and  give  fortl 

school's  sake,  a  "popular  preacher  "  is  usually  sent  for ;  and  however  ofie 

sive  the  term  may  be,  he  is,  and  can  only  be  regarded  in  the  character 

"  a  performer."     Unless  the  gratification  of  hearing  the  man  were  sufM 

added  to  the  claims  of  the  school,  the  collection  would  be  a  failure.      Nj 

so  far  is  the  idea  of  "  a  performance  "  carried  on,  that  in  some  insta 

there  is  not  only  a  c/iar^c  for  "  enterance,"  but  direct  notice  posted 

this  is  to  be  "  Silver. '»    To  those  who  pay  more  deference  to  systems  , 

the  Word  of  God  I  have  nothing  to  say,  but  to  others  I  appeal,  if  ever, 

the  whole  course  of  corrupt  Christianity,  they  heard  of  any  practice  mo 

deserving  to  be  ranked  with  the  doings  of  Antichrist  than  this  ?     I  am  to 

that  "  the  attraction  is  so  great  (and  this  in  favor  of  the   "silver "  is  tl 

only  remark  I  ever  heard  worth  calling  an  argument)  that  unless  silv 

was  required,  the  seats  would  be  filled  with  rabble,  and  that  those  wl 

came  to  give  could  not  be  accommodated."      Is  it  come  to  this,  then,  tb 

though  people  will  not  come  to  support  an  institution  upon  its  own  merit 

yet  it  is  right  for  this  purpose  to  offer  the  talents  of  the  messengers 

heaven  for  sale  ?     Because  some  men  appointed  to  teach  their  fellow  si 

ners  the  way  to  heaven,  are  possessed  of  shining  talents,  are  they  to  be  se 

upon  the  itinerancy  of  exhibiting  these  talents  to  swell  the  amount  of  tl 

collection  ?   If  it  be  right  to  support  our  charities  in  this  way  ;  if  it  he  rig, 

to  send  for  some  great  man  to  attract  to  the  chapel  for  the  purpose  of  gt 

ting  their  money,    persons  who  would  not  otherwise  come,  if  this  be  coi 

sistentvvith  the  spirit  of  Christianity,   then  I  submit,  that  the   demand  f. 

"  sUver  "  is  but  the  necessary  sequel  of  a  laudable  arrangement.     But  tl 

minister  has  not  the  exclusive  honor,  of  being  a   performer  on  these  oec 

sions;  smgers,  musicians,  and  choral  societies  lend  their  "assistance,"  whic 

gives  an  eclat  to  the  occasion ;  ^d  who  would  not  go  a  mile  or  two,  especiail 

on  asummer's  Sunday,and  give  a  shilling  to  hear  and  see  all  this  ?  To  music; 

performances,  and  to  the  exhibition  of  eloquence,  I  have  no  objection;  an 

would  never  grudge  to  pay  to  witness  either,   but  my  objection  is  to  the 

bemg  mixed  up  with  religion,  and  iniposed  upon  the  world  as  part  and  pai 

eel  of  It;  and  as  these  glaring  inconsistences  are  every  where  upon  the  ir 

crease,  and  as  the  season  for  bringing  these  forth  is  just  at  hand,  I  hav 

pursued  this  point  jnuch  beyond  what  I  first  intended,  and  thus  I  bav 

raised  my  humble  protest  against  this   most  glaring  perversion,  of  sacre> 

thmgs.     If  the  chapel  is  occasionally  to  be  a  theatre,  let  the  prayers  and  th^ 

praises,  and  the  Name  of  Jesus,  and  all  the  talk  about  heavenly  mindedness 

the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world,  the  spirituality  of  Christ's  kingdom 


143 

I  the  purity  of  the  worshipers,  and  especially  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath— be 
laid  aside  ;  let  it  be  called  by  its  own  name,  "  a  performance  for  the  Sunday 
School  ;  "  and  if  Paganini  or  any  other  exhibiter  be  at  hand,  let  him  be 
called  in,  and  then,  to  say  the  least,  the  whole  would  be  eonsiiUent !  In  all 
these  remarks,  however,  I  intend  not  indiscriminate  censure  ;  amongst  gross 
corruptions  much  good  remains,  and  I  am  hopeful  that  many  who  are  clad 
with  the  livery  of  Antichrist  are  still  in  heart  the"  servants  of  God.  It 
is  bad  systems  that  make  bad  ministers,  and  whilst  "  the  people  love  to 
have  it  so  "  we  cannot  expect  any  material  improvement. 

But  the  necessity  of  any  performances  for  the  support  of  a  laudable 
charit}^  is  a  reflection  either  upon  the  real  liberality  of  the  age,  or  upon  the 
merit  of  existing  societies.     Small  as  the  sum  usually  given  as  a  subscrip- 
tion is,  we  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  raise  the  requisite  anu)unt,and  hence 
Balls,  Assemblies,   Bazaars,  Grand  Festivals,  and  Dinners,  are  had  recourse 
,0,  to  replenish  the  funds.     Whilst  these  are  certainly  exempt  from  the 
objection  which  applies  to  the  "  grand  days  "  of  religious  parties,  they 
;till  tend  to  neutralize  a  really  liberal  disposition.     They  are  invented,  like 
he  supplementary  sheet  of  some  of  the  poorer  newspapers,  to  secure  pur- 
chasers, and  are  apt  to  lead  customers  to  think  that  they  should  continue 
;o  have  something   extra   for   their  money.     Thousands    who  have  no 
laste    for    doing    good,     will    contribute,     for   their    awn    gratification, 
md  by  this  plan,    added   to  the   patronage   of  long   and  noble  names, 
nany  an  institution,  in  the  true  spirit  of  pauperism,  is  just  able  to  drag  on. 
noticed  the  other  day  "  a  charity  ball  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  "  Liverpool 
3rphan  House,"  under  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  Duchess  of 
Cent,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  fifty-nine.  Noblemen,  M.  P.'s,  and  Gentlenjen 
I'fnote;  and  it  is  well  known  that  this  modern  mode  of  supporting  our 
I'  charities  "  is  becoming  exceedingly  common.     The  truth  is  that  in  this 
ountry,  instead  ofindividuals  coming  forward  voluntarily  to  assist  in  any  un- 
ertaking,  from  a  sense  of  its  necessity  and  utility,  and  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
chat  little    is    done,    is    generally    accomplished    by    policy ;     instead 
f  exercising  our  oyyn    judgements  we    have  so  long  depended  upon 
\&  patronage  office,  that  mental  and  moral  pauperism  is  spreading  in  every 
irection.      Nothing  will  take,    unless  sanctioned  by  great  names,  and 
othing  is  scarcely  too  absurd  not  to  succeed  if  it  get  this  sanction.     The 
obility  are  frequently  accused  of  being  idle  and  useless,  but  the   fact  is, 
we  look  at  the  immense  number  of  societies,  to  which  they  have  given 
irth,  and  which  live  and  move  and  have  their  being  in  them,  they  act  with 
n  effect  and  with  an  omnipresence  almost  incredible.     In  this  way  the 
ames  of  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  especially  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  do 
onders.      Surely,  if  these  high  personages  as  men  and  women,  were  but 
ccasionally  to  read  the  reports  and  announcements  of  societies,  and  te  no- 
ce  how  this  sociable  world  is  governed  by  the  vowels  and   consonants 


'1 


144 


composing  their  names,  they  would  be  no  little  amused.  Some  individi 
als,  however,  are  eccentric,  and  I  happen  to  be  one  of  those  who  alwaj 
like  to  judge  for  myself;  if  aprojectbegood,  though  introduced  by  Lazarus, 
would  support  it;  if  in  my  own  judgement  it  appeared  doubtful,  althouf 
like  "  Smith  and  Dolier's  Inventions  "  it  were  "  patronized  by  their  M 
jesties,  "  I  should  hesitate.  Still,  if  men  will  not  act  till  they  are  led  1 
the  example  and  bidding  of"  great  folks,"  it  is  perhaps  better  to  allow  the 
the  merit  of"  obedient  children  "  even  in  this  way,  than  to  loose  their  servi 
altogether.  Public  subscriptions  are  just  the  same  ;  get  a  few  great  adime 
and  decent  sums  attached  to  them,  and  you  are  sure  of  success;  beg 
without  these,  however  worthy  the  object,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  y( 
fail.  There  seems  so  little  public  mind,  so  little  independency  of  thougl 
and  above  all  so  little  public  intrepid  virtue,  that  men  in  general,  in  refe 
ence  to  the  exercises  of  charity,  have  consented  to  become  automatons.  Tl 
real  duty  of  a  christian  is  to  give  where  it  is  wanted,  and  to  give  accordl 
to  his  ability,  irrespective  either  of  the  example  or  persuasion  of  othei 
The  publications  of  names  and  amount  of  subscriptions,  while  it  may  fei 
the  vanity  of  some,  serves  as  a  spur  to  push  on  the  slow  and  penuriou 
it  operates  as  a  threat  to  publish  the  names  of  defaulters  ;  by  this  plan  tl 
object  is  gained,  but  by  means  that  are  very  questionable.  Oh  1  that  v 
had  but  a  reasoning  population  ;  a  people  given  to  reflection  ;  who  wou 
support  any  good  object  because  it  is  good,  and  who  when  duty  calls  wou 
come  forward  either  with,  or  without,  the  sanction  of  great  names.  It 
not  to  please  men  that  we  should  live,  but  to  please  God,  and  to  do  H 
will. 

The  causes  which  have  led  to  the  necessity  of  so  many  societies  ai 
public  institutions,  in  my  opinion  have  been  but  imperfectly  examined, 
this  point  had  been  duly  attended  to,  instead  of  seeking  a  mitigation, 
evils,  the  removal  of  the  cause  would  have  been  attempted.  If,  for  instanc 
I  happen  to  have  a  pond  in  my  garden,  from  which  there  is  danger  of  t 
children  being  drowned ;  instead  of  forming  a  "  society  for  the  recovery 
children  apparently  drowned  "  would  it  not  be  better  either  to  fill  it  up 
to  inclose  it  by  a  railing  ?      Most  of  our  charitable  institutions  have  aris 
from  the  existence  o^ poverty  and  vice ;  and  before  steps   had  been  tak 
merely  to  render  the  condition  of  the  people  tolerable,  would  it  not  ha 
been  better  to  have  gone  honestly  and  determinately  to  the  removal  of  t 
cause.     If  the  men  who  have  taken  the  lead  in  forwarding  many  of  our  c\ 
ritable  institutions,  instead  of  being  guided  by  the  fashion  of  the  day,  b; 
generally  done  this,  one  effort  might  have  removed  that,  which  years  of  1  i 
borious  operation  can  only  mitigate.     Instead  of  seeing  an  industrioi 
mily  depending  upon  alms,  the  husband  at  the  Overseer's  bench  cravi: 
half-a-crown  a  week,  the  wife  at  the  Dispensary  waiting  for  a  supply  of  su 
scription  medicine,  and  the  children  at  some  charity  school  institution, 


I 


II 


145  , 

case  so  common  as  now  to  cease  to  attract  attention,)  ought  not  every  phi- 
lanthropist to  set  about  enquiring  the  cause,  and  instead  of  spending  his 
money  upon  objects  which  recognize  the  con/inwa/ice  of  the  evil,  to  be  deter- 
mined to  probe  it  to  the  bottom  and  remove  it  if  possible.  Let  but  a  reflect- 
ing man  sit  at  the  board  of  the  Select  Vestry,  as  I  have  done  the  last  year, 
and  he  will  find  it  impossible  to  come  to  any  other  conclusion.  Again,  as  to 
vice  and  crime,  instead  of  merely  pairing  the  nails  of  the  monster,  why  not 
try  to  stab  him  to  the  heart  ?  Instead  of  the  religious  people  of  this  coun- 
try allowing  their  attention  to  be  absorbed  with  the  feeble  efforts  now 
making  in  shape  of  "  societies,"  let  them  stand  still,  and  ask  themselves, 
whence  this  overflowing  of  wickedness,  in  conjunction  with  the  unmeasur- 
ed expence,  and  everlasting  din  of  all  parties,  can  possibly  have  arisen  ? 
And  if  they  come  to  the  conclusion,  as  I  think  they  necessarily  must,  that  a 
ucrong  order  of  men  has  been  employed  ;  that  a  wrong  method  of  instruction 
has  been  pursued  ;  and  that  the  primitive  counteracting  power  has  been  over- 
:  looked ;  instead  of  countenancing  the  perpetuation  of  evils  by  new  socie- 
ties let  them  try  at  once  toefiect  the  removal  of  the  cause.  A  father  who 
neglects  his  children  ;  who  never  instructs  them  himself,  may  be  dependant 
upon  the  turnkey  and  the  jailor,  but  be  that  does  his  duty  can  dispense 
with  their  services  ;  and  anomalous  societies  may  be  thought  useful  for  a 
population,  the  greatest  part  of  whose  ears  never  hear  religious  instruction, 
(although  so  much  is  paid  for  it)  but  they  would  be  uncalled  for  if  our 
teachers  knew  their  duty  and  would  perform  it.  Many  of  our  efforts  are 
prospective,  nearly  all  our  labor  in  Sunday  and  other  Charity  Schools  is  of 
this  description ;  may  our  calculations  not  deceive  us  !  I  have  lived  to 
observe  the  conduct  of  many  after  leaving  school,  and  the  eflTect  has  often 
►•I  been  what  I  dreaded.  Indeed,  what  can  we  expect  from  the  few  hours  in- 
ui  struction  of  a  child,  who  all  the  week  is  not  only  positively  never  taught  by 
f  i  its  parents,  but  exposed  morning,  noon,  and  night  to  their  bad  example, 
^land  all  the  rest  of  the  day  to  the  contaminating  influence  of  the  work  room 
Uiand  the  street.  I  bear  the  greatest  good  will  to  the  promoters  of  these 
*|  schools,  and  the  teachers  of  them  I  regard  as  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  but 
faithfulness  compels  me  to  say,  that  unless  the /jarcwf*  themselves  be  taught, 
the  greatest  part  of  the  work  is  labor  lost.  "If  the  root  be  holy,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  so  will  the  branches  ;  "  and  until  our  ministers  engage  to  bring 
the  parents  under  a  system  of  instruction,  (whose  whole  time  is  allotted  for 
the  purpose)  it  is  most  unreasonable  to  expect  these  teachers  to  devote  their 
intervals  on  a  Sunday  to  an  unattainable  object.  Let  us  have  home  teaching, 
joined  to  school  teaching,  and  incalculable  good  may  be  expected.  Whilst 
some  from  fastidious  delicacy,  others  through  fear  of  man,  others  through 
i  fear  of  their  money,  and  others  from  various  causes,  seem  to  be  indifferent 
and  will  not  come  out  fairly  to  investigate  the  real  state  of  society  and  to 
lapply  a  remedy,  things  piay  remain  as  they  are,  and  the  only  remaining 


,  146 

means  to  prevent  bad  from  getting  worse  is  the  feeble   operations  of  our 
societies. 

Had  my  limits  permitted,  I  intended  to  say  something  in  reference  to 
trading,' friendly,  literary,  and  political  societies.  In  reference  to  societies 
for  the  protection  of  trade,  for  the  relief  of  the  sick,  and  the  interment  of 
the  dead,  I  scarcely  need  to  tell  my  readers,  (for  their  own  experience 
must  have  told  them  long  since)  when  after  mature  deliberation  it  ap- 
pears desirable  to  establish  such,  that  they  ought  to  be  exceedingly  cautious 
as  to  the  persons,  they  entrust  with  offices,  and  as  to  the  places  wherein 
they  meet.  The  greatest  villians  have  often  an  imposing,  address,  and 
Avhilst  they  flatter  the  people  with  assurances  of  success,  are  actually  pick- 
ing their  pockets.  Let  working  men  know  well  to  whom  they  entrust  their 
confidence  and  their  money.  Small  as  is  their  earnings,  scanty  as  is  their 
pittance,  why  should  they  suffer  themselves  to  be  gulled,  as  they  have  been 
scores  of  times,  out  of  their  hard  gotten  money  ?  I  have  frequently  tried 
to  trace  the  evils  connected  with  trading  and  friendly  societies,  which  has 
always  lead'  me  to  charge  many  of  them  to  the  practice  of  meeting  at  public- 
houses.  I  speak  not  of  "  smoking  clubs"  and  "beefstake  societies,"  forthese 
belong  to  Corporations,  to  Dandies,  and  such  like,  who  are  above  receiving  in- 
struction from  me,  but  of  those  societies  that  have  a^ooa' object,  the  members 
of  which  have  incautiously  been  led  to  hold  all  their  meetings  at  publi<fk 
houses.  Every  advantage  they  gain  is  purchased  at  a  dear  rate.  The  head  quar- 
ters being  fixed  at  a  certain  house,  it  becomes  in  a  great  measure,  not  only  a 
point  of  union,  but  a  place  of  frequent  attraction.  To  many  members  it  be- 
comes their  house,  and  there  they  pay  their  constant  visits,  independently  of 
the  club  business.  It  is  well  known  that  every  member,  whether  he  attend 
or  not,  is  obliged  to  pay  at  the  monthly  or  quarterly  meetings,  3d.  or  4d. 
for  liquor.  The  portion  paid  for  by  the  absent,  is  drunk  by  those  that  are 
present,  and  there  is  always  a  party  to  whom  such  a  service  is  very  ac- 
ceptable. To  many  individuals  it  is  not  unfrequently  the  beginning  of  a 
fuddle  ;  and  many  can  date  their  career  of  dissipation,  from  being  led  when 
young  to  the  public-house  on  the  club  night.  What  a  pity  that  those  who 
are  generally  industrious  and  careful,  amongst  the  most  respectable  of 
the  working  class,  should  thus  be  forced  into  temptation.  Are  there  not  a 
few  public  spirited  individuals  in  each  society,  who  would  come  forward  to 
wrest  their  societies  from  this  indelible  disgrace  ?  If  there  be  difficulties 
in  the  way,  let  them  be  discussed,  but  never  let  it  be  said  that  Burial 
and  Friendly  Societies  are  handmaids  to  drunkenness. 

Unions  for  protecting  trade, and  relievingthe  unemployed,  are  also  fixi 
at  the  same  places  ;  and  this  of  itself  is  a  sufficient  reason  why  so  many  c\& 
men,  so  many  shopmates,  and  classes  of  workpeople,  are  always  noted 
drinking.  And  I  here  beg  to  repeat,  that  it  is  most  important  ft 
Temperance    Societies    to    provide    suitable   accommodations    for   ih< 


I 


147 

various  societies,  independent  of  public-houses.  When  the  "  National 
Union  for  the  protection  of  labor  "  was  in  the  zenith  of  its  power,  I  was 
fearful  of  its  fall  for  no  other  reason,,  than  its  various  meetings  at  Man- 
chester, and  through  all  the  districts  being  advertised  to  be  held  at 
public-houses.  I  would  never  trust  any  man  with  any  office,  especially 
that  of  Collector  or  Treasurer,  who  is  determined  to  make  these  places 
the  head  quarters. 

Societies  placed  under  the  direction  of  a  number  of  individuals,  are  not 
easily  reformed ;  and  for  the  same  reason   plans   of  a  superior  character 

I  which  to  individuals  might  be  satisfactory  and  practicable,  will  not  often  be 
adopted  where  committees  and  a  number  of  subscribers  have  to  be  consult- 
ed.    We  have,  it  is  well  known,    a  popular   and   useful   "  society  for  the 

;!  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge,"  which  perhaps  ought  to  be  called  "A 
bookselling  society  for  the  circulation  of  choice  works.  "  By  the  patronage 
of  great  names,  by  immense  expense  and  labor  in  advertising,  and  I  ought 
to  add  by  a  choice  selection  of  excellent  publications,  they  are  doing  a  great 
extent  of  business.  And  notwithstanding  this  they  are  uttering  the  old 
complaint  of  "  want  of  funds."  I  am  assured  that  the  committee  give  their 
time,  and  I  believe  are  really  desirous  of  doing  much  good.     But  instead 

„  of  keeping  simply  one  object  in  view  ;  and  adopting  the  means  most  likely 

ft} to  accomplish  it  in  the  most  extensive  degree,'  the  publication  and   sale  of 
their  works  have  been  put  into  the  hands  of  the  booksellers  ;  the  conse- 
quence is  that  the  knowledge  diffused  has  been  at  so  high  a  price,  that  few  be- 
yond the  class  who  previously  were  purchasers  of  books,   have  been  indu- 
ced to  obtain  these  publications.     To  diff'use  knowledge  extensively   by 
books  requires  that  they  be  made  as  cheap  as  possible ;  but  this  is  impos- 
sible if  it  is  to  be  done  simply  by  the  trade.     Who  must  pay  for  the  adver- 
tisements which  are  constantly  appearing  both  in  the  London  and  Provin- 
cial Journals  ?     No  doubt  while  the  subscribers  give  their  money,  and  the 
public  pay  full  price  for  the  books,  the  publisher  is  quite  content*  He  charges 
10  less  a  sum  than  six  guineas  for  a  page  advertisement  on  the  cover.  It  is  the 
mrer  class  that  ought  to  have  been  benefited  by  this    "  diffusion  of  know- 
edge,  "    and  I  strongly  suspect  that  the  committee  now  begin  to  see  their 
rror.     They  now  send  out  a  "  Penny  Magazine,  "  a  "  cheap  publication," 
he  sale  of  which  I  have  no  doubt  will  soon  convince  them  of  their  previous 
ilstake.    If  every  number  of  "  The  Library  "  charged  sixpence,  had  been 
old  at  threepence,  and  circulated  through  a  proper  agency,  they  would  have 
old  ten  thousand  where  they  have  sold  ten  hundred;  and  I  should  never 
'ish  an  easier  task  than  that  of  demonstrating  that    this  might  have  been 
one  without  any  difficulty.     The  committee  may  have  no  ground  of  com- 
laintas  to  the  amount  of  circulation,  but  I  assure  them,  from  my  ownknow- 
dge  and  extensive  observation,  that  the  sale   is  very  limited  amono-  that 
ass  which  stands  the  most  in  need  of  such  works.     Ask  those  who  visit 


148 

the  fire  sides  of  the  poorer  classes  whether  they  ever  meet  with  these  pub* 
lications;  and  every  attempt  to  diffuse  knowledge  which  does  not  contaiaj 
in  its  arrangements  a  provision  for  these  is  imperfect. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  come  to  this  conclusion  that,  in  the  first  place,  where 
in  the  nature  of  things,  objects  can  be  accomplished  as  well  or  better  by  in- 
dividual effort,  or  by  the  joint  labor  of  two  or  three,  societies  should  never 
be  attempted  ;  and  secondly,  where  the  establishment  of  a  society  presup- 
poses the  continuance  of  an  evil  upon  which  itis  based,  and  which  ought  and 
can  be  removed,  such  an  attempt  ought  not  to  be  made;  and  thirdly,  where  so- 
cieties are  clearly  called  for,  where  their  utility  is  obvious,  let  men  of  cha- 
racter he  appo'mted  to  of^c'ial  situations ;  and  let  more  reliance  be  placed 
upon  the  active  machinery  than  on  the  emblazonment  of  great  names.  Let 
no  jobbing  be  suffered,  nor  sacrifice  the  object  to  be  attained  to  the  in- 
terest of  any  party  connected  with  it;  beware  both  of  men  and  places,  and 
never  let  the  fame  of  a  good  society  be  tarnished  with  the  horrid  sia  of 
drunkenness. 

I  cannot  finish  this  article  without  repeating  my  testimony,  that  if 
christian  individuals  excelled  in  liberality,  and  activity  as  they  did  once, 
many  societies  would  never  have  been  thought  of;  and  that  an  increase  of 
moral  excellence  would  be  their  extinction.  We  have  many  monuments  of 
schools,  hospitals,  and  charities,  in  this  country,  to  the  individual  liberality 
of  our  predecessors,  such  as  will  not  exist  the  next  generation  in  praise  of 
this.  We  should  do  all  the  good  we  can  while  we  live  ;  and  if  we  are  pos- 
sessed of  property,  instead  of  hoarding  it  up  all  our  days,  and  at  the  lasl 
moment  giving  orders  to  some  lawyer  to  divide  it  after  we  are  gone,  we 
should  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  dividing  it  ourselves,  and  seeing  that  it  is  dis- 
persed in  the  best  possible  way  for  benefiting  mankind.  Excellent  as  may 
be  many  of  our  arrangements,  it  is  an  increase  in  the  number  of  really  ac- 
tive, liberal,  self  denied,  disinterested  individuals  that  is  wanting,  and  to 
whom  we  must  still  look  as  the  means  for  regenerating  the -world. 

J.  L 


"  LOVE   YOUR   ENEMIES.  " 


Nothing  can  be  more  important  in  these  unsettled  times,  where  so- 
cial, religious,  and  political  conflicts  are  carried  on  with  so  much  persona 
animosity,  than  to  inculcate  the  christian  duties  of  loving  our  enemies  anc 
forgiving  those  who  offend  us.  Surveying  the  manifest  dispositions,  dis 
putes,  and  general  conduct  of  mankind,  and  contrasting  them  with  the  fre 
quent  injunction  of  the  Saviour  to  mutual  love  and  forgiveness,  which  w< 
acknowledge  to  be  of  supreme  authority,  we  are  apt  to  stagger  at  the  in 
consistency  of  man.  When  we  advert  attentively  to  the  teaching  and  th' 
conduct  of  Jesus,  the  contrast  betwixt  these  and  the  world  is  so  great,  iha 


ll 


I 


149 


e  are  ready  to  wonder  how  it  can  be  that  though  we  have  a  christian  soil, 
e  plants  of  the  most  congenial   nature  never  seem   to  flourish.     But  so 
rone  is  the  human  mind  to  wrath,  malice,  and  all  uncharitableness,  that  in 
iming  to  "  save  his  people  from  their  sins,  "  it  was  to  be  expected,  that 
e  duties  of  loving  our  enemies  and  forgiving  each  other  would  be  striking- 
:  enforced  ;  and  that  we  should,  as  dear  children,  be  constantly  command- 
l  to  be  "  followers  "  of  our  heavenly  Father,  who  is  kind  to  the  unthank- 
1  and  to  the  unholy,  and  whose  tender  mercies   are  over  all  his   works. 
Jesus  takes  an  early  occasion  (Matt,  v.)  to  caution  his  disciples  against 
,|e  Jewish  maxim,  "  to  love  their  neighbours  and  to  hate  their  enemies;" 
ijidsays  "  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
'lathate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefuUy  use  and  persecute  you, 
at  you  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  who  is  heaven."     In  deliver- 
g  the  prayer  (Matt,  vi.)  which  is  called  the  "  Lord's  prayer,  "  the  only 
jtition  upon  which  he  makes  a  comment  is  that  for  the  forgiveness  of  our 
espasses.    "If  ye,"  says  he,  "forgive  men  their  trespasses  your  heavenly 
ather  will  also  forgive  yours ;  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses 
either  will  your  heavenly  Father  forgive  yow."  In  answer  to  Peter's  inquiry 
Show  often  shall  my  brother  trespass  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him?  till 
;ven  times?"     Jesus,  to  shew  the  illimitable  extent  of  forgiveness  says 
Matt,  xviii.)  "  I  say,  not  until  seven  times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven  ; 
id  delivering  a  most  striking  parable  to  shew  that  we  "  should  have  compas- 
on"  one  of  another,  he  denounces  against  us  the  displeasure  of  God,  if  we 
•07n  our  hearts  do  not  forgive  every  one  his  brother  his  trespasses.     In  re- 
;rence  to  his  own  sufferings  it  is  said  that,  "like  as  a  lamb  before  her 
learers   is    dumb,   so   he   opened   not  his    mouth  ; "    that   "  when   he 
ras  reviled  he  reviled  not  again,  but  committed  his  cause  to   him  who 
idgeth  righteously;"  and  so  strong  was  his  love  even  in  death,  that  in 
iie   midst  of  Xhe   greatest   agony   he    interceded    for   his   murderers  : 
M Father  forgive  them  for  they  know  not  what   they   do!  "     Whether 
\i  reference   to   these,    or   to    sinners   of  every  class,  we  see  a  glorious 
isplay  of  that  "  love  which  passeth  knowledge."     Did  he  ever  even  coun- 
:nance  the  least  disposition  to  resentment  in  his  followers  ?     No.     To 
ames   and   John   who   would   have   called    fire    down   from    heaven    to 
'Dnsume  the  unbelievers,   he  says  "  ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit 
e  are  of — the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  destroy  men's  lives  but  to  save 
lem."     The  conduct   of  Peter  in  cutting  ofT the  ear  of  the  servant  he  re- 
;uked  by  "put' up  thy  sword  into  its  sheath,    for    all   that  take  the  sword 
liall    perish    with    the   sword, "  and  by   making  the  servant's    ear  whole 
5  the   other.      Did  he  after  his  resurrection  insinuate  that  his  sufferings 
nd  death  ought  to  be  revenged  ?   No.  The  very  place  and  people  whence 
jis  sufferings  had  proceeded  were  the  first  to  be  visited  by  the  message  of 
iiercy  :  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  were  to  be   preached  to  all  na- 

VOL.    II.  'V 


160 

tions,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  No  disposition  was  more  necessary  forth)  i 
Apostles  to  possess  than  that  of  patience  under  insults,  and  the  love  of  theij 
enemies  ;  for  if  this  heavenly  feeling  had  not  pervaded  their  breasts,  ho^l 
could  they  have  borne  up  under  all  the  persecution  which  they  had  to  en; 
dure  ?  They  imbibed  the  spirit  of  their  Master,  and  hence  in  the  firs!' 
martyr  we  have  a  striking  display  of  love  to  enemies.  Stephen's  last  words! 
upon  his  knees,  were,  "  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge  !  "  A  dutj 
requiring  so  much  self  denial,  and  being  so  decidedly  at  variance  withth 
maxims  of  the  world,  would  be  very  liable  to  be  forgotten  or  opposed,  am! 
hence  the  Apostles  repeatedly  press  it  upon  the  attention  of  the  believer 
"  Bless  them  which  persecute  you ;  bless  and  curse  not.  "  "  Recompenc 
to  no  man  evil  for  evil ;  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give  place  ur 
to  wrath,  for  it  is  written,  vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay  saith  the  Lore 
Therefore  if  thine  enemy  hunger  feed  him";  if  he  thirst  give  him  drink— b 
not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good."  (Rom.  xii.)  Her. 
then  are  principles  which  belong  to  no  kingdom,  but  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
here  are  rules  which  every  one  who  claims  the  name  of  a  christian  shoul 
uniformly  obey ;  and  here  is  a  test  by  which  we  know  whether  we  hav 
learned  of  him  who  was  "  ,meek  and  lowly  in  heart, "  or  whether  we  ar 
actuated  by  the  spirit  of  the  world. 

At  the  same  time,  while  we  are  bound  to  love  all  mankind,  even  ou 
enemies,  those  with  whom  we  have  walked  in  unity  and  christian  friend 
ship,  and  who  may  have  "  trespassed  against  us,  "  can  only  be  restore 
to  the  same  state,  by  repentance  and  confession.  Practical  forgiveness  ca 
only  be  enjoyed  by  those  who  seek  for  it,  and  can  never  be  appreciate 
but  upon  repentance.  "  If  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee,  rebuke  him 
and  if  he  repent  forgive  him.  And  if  he  trespass  against  thee  seven  time 
in  a  day,  and  seven  times  in  a  day  turn  again  to  thee  saying  1  repent,  thoi 
shalt  forgive  him.     (Luke  xvii.) 

How  important  constantly  to  remember  the  injunctions  of  Jesus  !  adi 
how  difficult  to  reconcile  them  with  the  practices  of  many  who  call  him  the 
Lord  !  Kindness  to  our  enemies  is  a  lesson  which  we  should  never  cea$ 
to  cultivate  ;  it  smooths  the  path  of  life ;  gives  peace  and  serenity  to  th< 
soul ;  and  assimilates  our  character  to  our  compassionate  Father. 

In  the  midst  of  my  opposition  to  the  vices  of  the  age,  connectedl 
they  are  with  the  agents  who  commit  them,  it  is  difficult  to  condemn  <n 
without  appearing  to  indulge  the  feeling  of  resentment  towards  the  other 
and  no  man  needs  to  be  more  watchful  respecting  this  evil  than  mys( 
lest  in  opposing  sin  I  should  seem  to  indulge  in  that  hostility  which  is  c 
ed  personal. 

Speaking  evil  of  others  ;  indulging  a  railing  disposition;  designei 
injuring  men  in  their  character  or  circumstances; ;  exaggerating  in  nee 
sary  statements  of  existing  evils  ;  or  withholding  from  individuals  any  ser^ 


i 


151 


viiich  duty  calls  us  to  perform,  all,  too  often  spring  from  an  unforgiving  heart, 
lad  may  exist  where  a  malignant  and  revengeful  disposition  is  not  os- 
ensibly  displayed. 

i  beg,  in  conclusion,  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  all,  masters,  ser- 
'dnts,  husbands,  wives,  governors  and  governed,  merchants,  manufactu- 
ers,  shopkeepers,  artizans,  rich,  poor,  clergy,  laity, — whatever  be  your 
(rofession  or  your  station — that  if  their  be  truth  in  the  Bible  it  is  this,  that 
tnkss  you  forgive  men  their  trespasses  neither  will  your  heavenly  Father 
wrgive  your  trespasses.  "  Let  all  bitterness, "  therefore,  "  and  anger,  and 
lamour,  and  evil  speaking  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice  ;  and  be 
6  kind  one  to  another,  tender  hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God 
or  Christ's  sake  has  forgiven  us." 

J.  L. 


'   AGRICULTURE.  , 

All  parties  seen!  to  agree  that  our  surplus  population  might  be  well 

nd  profitably  employed  upon  the  land.     But   the  unemployed  are  ge- 

erally    poor,    and  have  neither  implements    nor    capital.      A   society. 

Hotting  small  portions  of  land  has  been  formed  called    "  The  Laborer's 

'riend  Society,  "  with  the  "  King  and  Queen's  most  excellent  Majesty  " 

s  Patrons ;  13  Noblemen  and  Bishops  as  Vice-Presidents,  and  all  in  this 

3spect  as  usual.     A  bill  also  has  been  passed,  to  authorize  Overseers  to 

ent  large  plots  of  land,  to  let  off  to  the  poor;  another  "bill,  more  extensive 

1  its  operation,  for  providing  employment,  has  been  thrown  outj  and   I 

ave  seen  a  sketch  of  a  short  bill  which  has  just  been  brought  in,  the  object 

f  which  is  to  quarter,  in  agricultural  districts,  laborers  upon  every  indivi- 

ual  who  is  supposed  competent  to  find  them  employment.     All  these 

.leasures  shew  an  anxiety  upon  the  subject;  and  whilst  we  have  so  much 

ncultivated   land  in  many  instances  adjoining  large  towns,  as  is  the  case 

ith  Preston;  and  while  so  many  labouring  men  are  out  of  employ,  or 

orking  as  paupers  for  a  shilling  a  day,  how  exceedingly  desirable  it  is 

lat  this  land  should  be  made  to  yield  its  increase,  and  to  find  employ- 

lent  for  the  poor.     The  first  step  to  this  is  to  convince  capitalists,  both 

irge  and  small,  of  their  interest  and  duty  to  do  this.     Till  this  be  effected, 

either  acts  of  parliament  nor  societies  will  do  much  good.     But  here,  as 

1  many  other  useful  undertakings,  we  are  reduced  to  this  strait — where 

there  a  sufficient  number  of  well  qualified  persons  to  attemjot  this 

wnge  ?     Eating,  and  drinking,  and  pleasure-pursuing  country  gentlemen 

ever  think  of  condescending  to  a  course  of  humble  benevolence  like  this ; 

nd  most  of  the  clergy,  alas  !    except  in  their  clamour  for  tithes,  upon 

t'ery  scheme  of  rational  improvement,  are  dumb  as  dogs.    Whatever  view 

take  of  society,  I  always  arrive  at  this  melancholy  result,  that  fiearly  all 


162 

our  poverty,  misery,  and  crime  ;  that  all  our  jarrings  and  contentions, 
arise  from  the  want  of  the  diffusion  of  moral  principles — from  avarice  and 
sensuality.  Every  individual,  instead  of  living  for  himself,  should  employ 
his  gifts  for  the  good  of  others,  especially  for  the  good  of  thfe  poor ;  and 
all  whose  means  are  above  their  own  necessities,  should  be  devising  every 
improvement  to  add  to  the  comfort  of,  and  to  find  employment  for,  others. 
I  have  noticed  of  late,  in  some  districts,  exertions  for  the  improve- 
ment of  land  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  whenever  an  individual  has 
set  the  example  of  improving  his  estate,  his  neighbours  have  very  often 
followed  in  the  same  course  ;  and  if  either  pride,  profit,  or  public  spirit, 
would  lead  men  of  moderate  incomes  to  turn  their  attention  to  agricultural 
improvements,  the  efFects  would  soon  be  felt  in  society. 

But  I  know  the  objection  which  starts  itself  whenever  this  is  urged; 
and  I  wish  I  were  able  to  point  to  its  speedy  removal.  "  The  burdens — 
the  burdens,"  cry  the  agriculturist,  "  which  the  land  is  doomed  to  bear,  are 
so  intolerable,  that  until  they  are  removed  it  is  impossible  to  effect  any  ex- 
tensive improvement. "  And  who,  or  what,  has  imposed  these  burdens  ? 
That  something  called  "  the  church.  "  Here  is  the  pinching  point,  and 
while  with  every  attempt  to  improve  the  land  and  extend  cultivation,  one 
reverend  divine  comes  and  marks  the  corn  as  his  own,  without  ever  raising 
a  sod  or  sowing  a  seed, — and  another  claims  a  tithe  upon  "all  descriptions 
of  hay,  first  and  second  crops,  turnips,  potatoes,  peas,  beatis,  clover, 
cinquefoil,  vetches,  rapeseed,  fern,  heath,  furze,  broom,  wool,  underwood, 
branches  of  tiral)er  wood,  all  wood  cut  under  twenty  years  of  age,  hops, 
apples,  garden  plants,  and  herbs,  honey  and  wax;  milk  or  cheese,  lambs, 
calves,  kids,  colts,  pigs,  hens,  geese,  ducks,  swans,  turkeys,  profits  of  corn 
mills,  and  of  fish,  copper,  tin,  coal,  iron,  and  lead  mines," — who  can 
expect  agriculture  ever  to  raise  its  head,  or  the  people  to  benefit  by  its 
improvements  ?  And  the  following  extract  from  the  Agricultural  Maga- 
zine will  shew  how  unrelenting  these  spiritual  tax-gatherers  are,  and  how 
oppressive  and  vexatious  is  the  system  of  tithe.  "I  am,"  says  the  writer, 
"  in  possession  of  a  dairy  farm.  Four  months,  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
i.  e.  while  my  grass  is  growing,  my  cows  are  depastured  in  anott 
parish,  and  a  gistment  tithe  is  paid  for  them.  No  sooner  is  my  hay  Ik 
fit  state  to  be  put  into  the  rick,  than  my  vicar  lays  his  hund  upon  one-tei 
of  it.  My  cows  now  return  home;  but  instead  of  setting  the  after-gr^ 
against  the  spring  pasture,  which  I  am  obliged  to  purchase  elsewhe 
according  to  Mr.  Bearlock,  I  am  to  pay  my  vicar  yet  £  I.  10s.  9d.  per  1^ 
for  this  after-grass.  As  soon  as  the  winter  closes  in,  I  begin  to  pass 
nine-tenths  of  my  hay  which  remains,  through  the  stomachs  of  my  co* 
What  is  the  consequence  ?  Why  as  soon  as  I  have  converted  it  into  mi 
the  vicar  comes  forward  again,  and  takes  a  second  tenth  of  it  away, 
long  my  cows  calve,  and  forthwith  my  vicar  comes,  and  tears  away  a  tbij 


153 

enth  of  my  hay  and  grass,  under  the  modification  of  calves.  And,  to 
rown  the  whole^  when  my  sows  farrow,  after  having  been  fed  with  the 
:elf  same  hay,  under  the  form  of  skimmed  milk  and  whey,  he  conies  and 
ears  away  a  fourth  tenth  under  the  form  of  a  tithe  j)ig."  Then  follow 
hurch  rates,  oblations  and  offerings,  surplice  fees,  and  exactions  in  va- 
ious  shapes,  added  to  an  enormous  poors'  rate,  which  ought  to  be  paid 
)ut  of  the  estates  and  property  of  the  church,  all  crushing,  like  so  many 
nillstones,  the  energies  of  tlie  agriculturist.  These  imposts  are  an  intolera- 
)]e  burden  both  in  England  and  Ireland,  and  no  man  is  a  friend  to  his  country 
.vho  does  not  summon  all  his  strength  for  their  destruction.  I  am  decidedly 
D  favour  of  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws,  the  effect  of  which  ultimately,  I 
loubt  not,  would  be  to  the  advantage  both  of  farmers  and  labouring  men; 
jut  if  tithe,  and  "  compositions  for  tithe,"  are  demanded  ;  and  if  the  draw 
aet  of  these  spiritual  fishermen  is  constantly  to  be  dragged  over  every  field, 
ind  garden,  and  farm  yard ;  if  all  the  poor,  who  are  actually  robbed  of 
;heir  patrimony  by  an  insatiable  priesthood,  unnoticed  by  the  clergy, 
who  both  by  law  and  gospel  are  their  proper  guardians,  are  to  be 
quartered  upon  the  land, — every  change  that  brings  down  the  price  of 
produce  must  be  severely  felt  by  the  cultivators  of  the  soil.  And  as  par- 
sons and  landowners,  like  boroughmongers  and  bishops,  are  nearly  allied, 
ao  change,  unless  demanded  by  the  people,  is  likely  to  take  place.  Let 
England  attend  ;  if  ever  there  were  a  time  for  casting  off  the  yoke  of 
spiritual  thraldom,  it  isjwiv!  If  ever  there  were  a  time  when  farmers 
were  called  from  the  slumbers  of  their  fire  sides,  and  from  the  honourable 
land  retreatful  occupations  in  the  field,  to  the  discussion  of  their  grievances, 
it  is  now!  They  feel  severely,  and  in  every  company  we  find  the  parson, 
the  church,  and  the  tithes,  denounced  as  an  incubus  upon  the  land,  too 
intolerable  to  be  borne.  And  in  many  districts,  the  services  rendered,  at 
best,  are  merely  a  nominal  repetition  of  prayers  and  sermons  by  a  proxy  r 
the  man  that  fleeces  them  never  attends  but  at  the  season  of  shearing  ;  and 
m  fact,  instead  of  promoting  piety  to  God,  and  peace  and  good  will  among 
men,  this  "law  established"  church  is  the  very  spring  of  infidelity,  hypo- 
crisy, strife  and  contention.  In  Ireland  the  case  is  dreadful ;  and  the  per- 
tinacity of  the  present  government  to  defend  this  monstrous  establishment 
igainst  the  wishes  of  so  large  a  majority  of  the  people,  argues  not  Avell  for 
;he  removal  of  religious  burdens  generally.  The  following  is  a  short 
[specimen  of  the  Irish  church  fashions  : 

In  one  of  these  united  parishes  (Dromin)  there  is  neither  Protestant  church  nor  Pro- 
lestant  inhabitant !  In  the  latter  (Athlacca)  there  are  but  two  Protestant  families  (and  even 
ibe  females  of  one  of  these  are  Catholics.)  For  the  cure  of  souls  of  this  family  and  a  half, 
!lie  incumbent  holds,  in  Dromiu,  24  acres  of  glebe  land,  and  in  Athlacca  12.  The  tithes 
!  f  the  united  parishes,  which  he  has  been  enjoying  in  otium  cum  (f/gnifa(e,  amount  to  about 
'■00/.  sterling  per  annum  ! 


154 


Without  pursuing  the  subject  further, — however  I  may  disapprove  Oj 
the  means  the  Irish  have  recourse  to,  I  think  the  opposition  to  tithes,  and  t( 
the  injustice  and  oppression  of  being  compelled  to  support  the  friends  ani 
dependents  of  the  aristocracy  (for  the  name  "  church"  is  a  mere  covering 
is  a  laudable  opposition,  and  ought  to  be  adopted  by  every  man,  anc 
especially  every  agriculturist,  in  this  country. 

J.  L. 

Preston  Church  Tax. — So  partial  has  been  the  collection  of  thi; 
tax,  and  so  dissatisfactory  is  the  constitution  of  the  vestry  and  its  pro 
ceedings,  that  the  parishioners  have  at  length  conle  to  the  determinatioi 
to  have  the  matter  settled  by  a  legal  decision.  Though  judgment  was 
pronounced  by  the  borough  magistrates  against  a  number  of  persons  wh 
refused  to  pay,  by  an  appeal  to  the  quarter  sessions,  this  has  been  se 
aside.  The  question,  therefore,  novp  remains  to  be  tried  in  the  ecclesias 
tical  court,  whether,  I  understand,  the  parishioners  are  ready  to  make  theii 
appeal.  If,  contrary  to  what  is  probable,  from  the  circumstances  whici 
have  transpired,  the  decision  of  the  court  pronounce  the  demand  legal 
all  whose  objections  do  not,  like  the  Friends,  arise  from  conscience,  will 
then  submit  to  pay.  But  though  it  may  decide  this  question,  it  will 
stimulate  the  public  to  get  a  repeal  of  all  these  obnoxious*  laws.  I  often 
think,  what  a  pity  it  is  to  deprive  the  Church  folks  of  the  honour  and 
pleasure  of  supporting  their  own  religion ;  and  what  a  dreadful  clamour 
they  would  raise,  if  the  Methodists  for  the  "  love  feasts,"  or  the  Cathotics 
for  the  worship  of  the  virgin,  should  demand  a  share  of  the  exp€nces  frbni 
all  who  use  the  common  prayer  book.  As  to  that  part  of  the  tax  which  is 
demanded  for  the  "  burial  ground,"  I  fancy  no  objection  would  be  made 
to  it  if /owr  things  had  been  attended  to:— first,  if  the  parishioners  had 
been  consulted  as  to  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  purchasing  the  ground; 
secondly,  if  no  greater  sum  had  been  expended  than  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary; thirdly,  if  the  money  already  collected  for  the  payment  had  not 
been  applied  to  other  purposes;  and  fourthly,  if,  after  the  purchase  and 
payment  were  completed,  it  Would  have  been  considered  the  property  of 
the  parishioners,  and  that  any  benefit  arising  from  it  should  come  into  their 
funds.  These  are  all  reasonable  objections,  which  neither  sophistry  nor 
prescription  can  remove.-^As  the  church  rates  irf  xiiAny  plAces  are  iric 
porated  with  the  poors'  rates,  it  may  not  be  imbroper  to  mention  th^fl 
East  Bourne,  Hailsham,  it  was  decided  by  the  magistrates  "that  ovcrse 
are  not  authorised  to  collect  church  rates,  and  that  such  duty  should  | 
performed  by  the  churchwardens  personally,  they  not  having  power! 
vest  such  authority  in  any  other  person." 

The  Fourth  Estate. — So  has  the  press  of  this  country  been  desT^ 
nated.     This  of  course  means  as  to  order;  for  as  to  influence  and  poW«r.'i 


I 


155 

I  forming  and  leading  the  public  mind,  whjch  is  sure  to  rule,  it  would  be 
vidently  below  the  mark  to  place  it  in  the  rear.  Whether  has  the  press 
r  the  peers  of  England  at  this  moment  the  greatest  hold  of  the  judgment 
nd  affections  of  the  people  ?  It  is  amazing  what  paper  and  ink  can  effect, 
nder  the  direction  of  this  mighty  machine.  The  sale  of  one  daily  paper, 
16  Times,  in  six  days  less  than  a  year,  amounted  to  4,303,000  copies. 
7hat  then  must  be  the  circulation  of  all  the  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  and 
uarterly  newspapers,  periodicals,  and  publications,  which  issue  from  the 
iress  !  Every  man  is  now  either  a  reader,  or  a  hearer  of  something  read, 
ad  therefore  while  we  find  an  increasing  disposition  to  follow  the  press, 
ow  desirable  that  it  should  be  under  the  cojatrol  of  men  who  would  lead 
1  the  right  way.  Whilst  the  poor  cannot  purchase  weekly  beyond  the 
alue  of  "a  cheap  publication,"  how  fatal  must  be  the  tendency  of  the 
resent  law,  which,  by  taxing  every  sheet  which  is  published  weekly  con- 
lining  news,  leaves  the  poor  without  a  guide,  except  what  are  called 
incendiary  publications." 

Good  Friday,  like  most  other  holidays  in  this  country,  is  scarcely 

igarded.     The  factories  are  all  at  work,  and  business  is  going  on  much 

i  usual.     To  be  sure,  the  light  is  admitted  to  the  counters  by  displacing  a 

ingle  shutter,  but  the  keepers  of  the  shops  are  still  glad  to  see  their  cus- 

jmers,  and  to  receive  their  money.     The  object  for  which  Good  Friday 

as  set  apart,  like  Easter  Sunday  and  Christmas  Day,  has  long  since  been 

isregarded  ;    and  it  is  no  use  retaining  the  form  after  the  substance  is 

one.     Still,  I  like  the  people  to  have  a  few  holidays  :    I  often  observe 

ith  what, pleasure  my  boys  anticipate  a  holiday  at  school,  and  with  what 

ratification  they  enjoy  a  rural  excursion,  especially  if  1   go  with  them  ; 

nd  in  this  respect,  I  believe,  we  are  all  children.     The  great  evil  is,  that 

a  these  occasions,  like  Sundays,  too  many  who  are  even  closely  confined 

irough  the  week,  instead  of  seeking  rational  recreation,  go  and  sot  at  the 

ublic  house.     Every  holiday  ought  to  be  connected  with  events,  suffi- 

ently  defined,  recent,  interesting,  and  national,  so  as  to  connect,  by  the 

rinciple  of  association,  improvement  with  pleasure.     Easter  Sunday,  as 

sual,  was  distinguished  by  many  proofs  of  the  sad  dissipated  character  o£ 

Jr  population.     On  Monday  I  was  at  Bolton  and  witnessed  again   such 

enes  of  drunkenness   and  brutality,  particularly  in  the  country  people, 

.  I  believe  could  be  found  in  no  other  place.     The  public-houses  were  so 

ammed  that  in  many  places  it  were  useless  to  attempt  to  get  a  seat,  and 

the  open  streets  the  most  shameful  and  obscene  acts  were   committed. 

ut  when  left  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  no  wonder  they  should  "  err 

id  stray  from  the  right  way.  "     On  these  occasions  the  country  minis- 

rs  should  also  come,  to  witness  the  proceedings  of  those  whose  souls  are 

>mmitted  to  their  charsce. 


156 

Temperance  Cause. — It  appears  from  the  quarterly  returns  of 
revenue  published  last  month,  that  with  the  exception  of  the  duty 
spirits,  every  other  item  of  the  excise  duties  was  higher  than  those  of  i 
preceding  year.  The  duty  on  spirits  has  fallen  off  in  this  one  quat 
£255,000,  making  a  sum  equal  to  more  than  a  million  for  the  year. 
I  conceive  is  an  abundant  proof  of  the  effects  whichhave  resulted  from  Te 
perance  Societies.  I  hope  the  members  will  not  grow  weary  in 
doing,  but  persevere  in  rooting  out  and  opposing  drunkenness  in  eve 
shape.  There  are  some  good  men  who  approve  of  the  object,  but  dis 
prove  of  the  means :  with  such  I  would  not  quarrel :  if  they  will  zealouj 
promote  the  cause  of  temperance  in  their  own  way,  I  would  wish  tl 
God  speed.  But  if,  with  such  a  desirable  object  upon  their  lips,  they  take 
no  decided  step  to  accomplish  it,  I  should  consider  their  conduct  incon- 
sistent. I  am  glad  to  find  that  some  individuals  are  excited  to  useful 
ness,  who  hitherto  have  been  nothing  but  cumberers  of  the  ground  ;  and 
others  to  an  enlarged  measure  of  exertion,  beyond  what  their  religious 
sentiments  and  connections  lead  us  to  expect.  Ministers  of  the  Church  ol 
England,  for  instance,  who  would  not  be  allowed  to  hold  meetings,  and 
give  religious  instruction  in  a  canonical  from,  any  where  but  in  place- 
regularly  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  public  worship — who  would  bt 
visited  with  the  ecclesiastical  censure  due  to  religious  gossipers,  wen 
they  to  hold  meetings  on  a  "  mountain,"  on  "  the  way  side,"  or  in  the 
"  house  of  Simon" — are  now,  under  the  impulse  and  shelter  of  the  tem- 
perance cause,  holding  various  meetings  to  address  the  people,  and  visitinj: 
large  workshops  in  order  to  enlist  the  workmen  in  this  good  cause.  Ii 
Bolton,  where  the  society  counts  about  1500  members,  the  ministers  o 
the  Church  are  most  indefatigable;  and  at  Bury  great  exertions  are  mad( 
by  persons  of  the  same  order,  and  to  use  the  expressions  of  one  of  them 
selves,  "  by  these  exertions  the  cause  is  brought  to  every  poor  man' 
door."  This  is  precisely  what  I  have  been  constantly  advocating,  ii 
reference,  not  to  this  species  of  instruction  merely,  but  to  every  other 
Members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  also,  whose  peculiar  sentiments  anc 
retired  habits  seldom  lead  us  to  expect  them  to  take  the  lead  in  speak 
ing  at  meetings,  make  themselves  useful  in  the  temperance  cause,  and  a 
the  meetings,  read  extracts  and  deliver  admonitions,  which  have  an  excel 
lent  effect.  I  maintain  in  reference  to  this,  as  most  other  societies,  that  i 
is  not  the  patronage,  the  rules,  or  the  committee,  however  necessary  soj 
of  these  may  be,  but  the  meetings  and  the  discussions  which  are  the  mt 
to  be  depended  on  for  success.  The  Preston  Society,  though  not  nuJ 
rous,  is  gradually  making  progress.  The  first  district  meetjng  was 
on  Good  Friday,  in  a'  room  in  Lord-street ;  it  was  exceedingly  interest 
and  I  should  hope  would  lead  the  committee,  in  imitation  of  other  townd 
hold  these  meetings  weelily.      The  argument,  I  have  said,  is  all  on 


\w»i  J 


157 


fla^  and  the  constant  discussion  of  the  subject  is  sure  to  gain  converts, 
filter  all,  a  great  deal  remains  to  be  done.  From  the  returns  just  made,  it 
ppears  that  the  quantity  of  proof  spirit  consumed  from  January  5,  1831, 
)  January  5,  1832,  was  in  England,  12,131,929  imperial  gallons  j  in  Scot- 
md,  5,866,135;  in  Ireland,  8,746,138;  making  a  total  of  26,744,202 
allons. 

Migration  of  women. — It  will  be  recollected  that  the  result  of  the 

,st  census,  shews  that  we  have  in  this  country  a  majority  of  females  above 

lales,  and  as  they  are  much  wanted  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  it  quite 

Trees  with  my  principles  for  a  more  equal  distribution  of  every  article  that 

,  i   good,  to  learn  that  a  part  of  the  superfluous  number  are  bent  upon 

imigrating.     Two  hundred  and  ten  young  women  recently  set  sail  from 

ae  of  our  ports  to  Hobart  Town,  Van  Dieman's  Land;  and  no  doubt  ani- 

:  ated  with  the  laudable  wish  of  enjoying  the  happiness  of  matrimony,  it 

i  said,  they  appeared  in  high  spirits.     It  is  a  known  evil  for  man  to  be 

I !  alone  ;  "  and  these  young  females,  with  a  sympathy  for  which  their  sex 

distinguished,  are  leaving  father  and  mother,  and  going  to  a  distant  land, 

I  remove  it, 

London  in  1831. — The  management  of  crime  is  becoming  so  systema- 
},  and  the  returns  so  exact,  that,  bye  and  bye,  I  fear  it  will  claim  to  be 
Ideil  to  the  "  Arts  and  Sciences.  "  The  following  will  shew  its  pro- 
ession  in  our  Metropolis  : — 

By  an  official  return  it  appears,  that  from  the  1st  of  January,  1831,  to  the  1st  of 
,  luary,  1832,  the  new  police  force  has  apprehended  no  less  than  72,824  persons  on  dif- 
ent  charges, — tIz.  45,607  males,  and  26,917  females.  Out  of  this  number  2,955  were 
nmitted  for  trial ;  21,843  were  summarily  convicted  before  the  Magistrates  ;  24,239  were 
charged  by  the  Magistrates  ;and  23,787  drunken  characters  were  discharged  by  the  su- 
iufendants  of  police  at  the  .Station-House,  after  they  became  sober.  From  the  above 
urns  the  police  have  apprehended  on  an  average  about  199  per  day. 

Spring. — This  season  of  the  j^ear  brings  with  it  a  return  of  enjoy- 
ents,  recollections,  and  anticipations  which  are  pleasing  to  the  reflecting 
ind.     The  winter  is  past,  the  summer  approaches,  and  prolific  nature  be- 
ns to  invite  the  admiration  and  vi'onder  of  man.     The  weather,  this  year, 
iS  been  unusually  mild,  and  hence  many  articles  of  agricultural  produce 
ive  been  much  lower  in   price  than  was  expected.     The  prospects  of 
;other  harvest  are  flattering,  and  I  trust  the  supplies  of  a  kind  Providence 
ill  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants   of  man  and  beast.     How  pleasant  to 
si  the  warmth  of  the  genial  ray,  to  take  one's  walks  in  the  fields,  and  to 
hale  the  pure  and  fragrant  breeze  of  nature  !     When  we  survey  the 
I  itlds,  the  woods,  the  rivers,  and  every  living  thing,  ought  not  the  enquiry . 
every  mortal  to  be. — who  made  all  these  things  ?    and  to  whom  shall  we 
fer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  for  the  portion  allotted  us  ?    Alas  !  insane  mor- 
I !  who  art  thou  that  treadest  the  solid  earth  ;  that  enjoyest  the  air  and 
Vol.  II.  w 


1S8 

light  of  heaven ;  that  beholdest  thy  food  sprmgvng  before  thy  eyes,  anc 
with  the  power  of  vision  canst  view  at  thy  pleasure  the  surrounding  scenerj 
of  the  creation — who  art  thou,  after  all,  that  never  liftest  thy  eyes  or  Mfi 
to  heaven;  that  never  feelest  a  sacred  glow  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Creator 
aod  that  never  speakest  of  his  glory  to  others  ?  Infidel  niaa !  Thou  ad 
mirest  the  beasts  and  birds,  the  flowers,  and  plants  of  the  universe,  hm, 
never  adrairest  or  adorest  the  hand  that  made  them  ! — Oh  !  that  men  woul 
praise  the  Lord  for  bis  goodness  and  for  his  wonderful  warks  to  da 
children  of  men  I 

Man. — "The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  »Kan."^^Amongst  maij 
other  wonders  is  that  of  the  disposition  of  our  species  to  prefer  aloipt 
every  other  subject  of  study  to  themselves.  It  seems  as  though  we  in 
ready  to  soar  to  the  heavens,  descend  to  the  depths  of  the  ear^h,  trav«ii 
the  endless  track  of  the  ocean,  or  analyze  all  nature,  but  are  badi 
ward  in  the  simple  task  of  knowing  ourselves.  Man  is  fearfully  and 
derfully  made,  and  whether  in  reference  to  his  body  or  his  mind — to 
physical,  mental  and  moral  capabilities-^to  his  individual  or  social  bei 
to  his  passions,  prejudices,  and  pursuits — to  his  present  state  or  fu 
destiny,  I  conceive,  he  is  the  most  interesting  object  in  the  world, 
merely  mention  this  to  induce  parents  and  teachers,  in  assigning  the  stu 
of  youth,  not  to  overlook  the  noblest  of  the  works  of  God — man, 
after  his  own  image. 

Reform  Bill. — This  all  engrossing .  subject   now  draws  near 
close  ;  it  has  been  sanctioned  hyfive  decisions,  three  in  the  Commons 
two  in  the  Lords  ;  and  will  any  person  venture  to  fear  that  the  next 
sion  will  mutilate  or  destroy  it  ?     It  cannot  be.     No  one  can  believe  i 
rejection  of  the  bill ;  and  the  fear  of  mutilation  as  to  its  principles 
equally  as  groundless.    The  people  will  soon  have  a  voice  in  electin 
rnembers  of  their  own  house,    and  I  wish  they  may  proceed  to 
with  judgment   and  sobriety;   choose  men  of  patriotic  principles, 
unimpeachable  character ;  and  in  the  process  of  election,  e;??hibit  in  i, 
selves  an  example  of  those  virtu.es,  the  want  of  whi^sh  we  so  aftei)  lai 
ed  in  Members  of  Parliament. 

The  Easter  Due's  Bell. — In  courtesy,  I  cannot  dp  less  than  pay  n 
respects  to  this  holy,  hallowed,  heavenly,  aud  acceptable  invitation,  pr 
sented  by  our  kind  Vicar,  His  affection  for  the  Church  and  his  wji$hi 
promote  the  harmony,  peace,  and  good  will  of  his  parisihioners,  are  so 
spicuous  ;  and  the  demand  itself  accords  so  well  with  all  our  noti 
justice^  religion,  and  propriety,  that  to  refuse  to  pay  wquld  be  aim 
copajnit  the  gin  which  will  never  be  forgiven.  Ther,e  n,  njoreoviefj 
much  condescension  in  waiting  day  after  day  at  the  vestry  ;  in  going 
to  pieet  the  devout  offerer?  to  the  extremes  of  the  parish  ;  and  so 


159 

'  lildness  and  civility  in  the  gleaners,  that  all  hostility,  which  has  for  some 
me  been  gradually  subsiding,  is  now  likely  to  be  done  away  !  How 
leasing  it  must  be  to  the  pastor,  to  see  the  devout  and  free-will  offerings 
f  his  flock,  pour  in  such  abundance  !  So  accordant  is  it  with  my  views  of 
iristianity,  and  so  anxious  am  I  to  act  consistently,  as  an  example,  that 
expect,  instead  of  paying  my  dues  in  the  vestry,  I  shall  be  honored  with 
le  opportunity  of  making  a  public  offering!  Malignity,  however,  has  no 
ounds,  and  to  gain  their  point,  the  opposite  party  has  the  audacity  to  af- 
rmthat  out  of  a  population  of  forty  thousand,  not  more  than  ninety-nine 
an  be  found  who  give  "  cheerfully. "  Though  to  be  sure,  a  pint  of 
le,  given  as  a  receipt,  where  the  sum  scarcely  exceeds  the  value,  is  calcu- 
ited  to  mend  the  matter.  Large  profits,  of  course,  admit  of  large  dis- 
ounts.  J.  L, 


in  Address  to  the  Proprietors  of  Cotton  Mills,  on  the  Moral  and  Domestic 
Condition  of  the  Working  Classes.     Published  at  Bury. 

I  have  been  favoured  with  the  perusal  of  a  threepenny  pamphlet  from 
Jury,  with  the  above  title,  and  have  read  it  with  great  pleasure.  I  should 
rjsh  to  see  the  plans  of  the  author  in  full  operation,  and  hope  that  suitable 
leans  will  be  taken  to  put  the  pamphlet  into  the  hands  of  those  for 
'hom  it  was  written.  The  anonymous  writer  appears  to  be  a  man 
)r  the  times ;  and  it  is  only  by  such  coming  boldly  forward,  that  the 
eforms,  so  much  wanted,  will  have  any  chance  of  being  carried  into  effect, 
'he  following  extract  from  the  introductory  part  of  the  pamphlet  will  serve 
s  a  specimen,  and  for  a  clear  developement  of  the  plan  for  bettering  the 
ondition  of  the  working  class,  I  refer  my  readers  to  the  work  itself. 

"  The  condition,  particularly  the  moral  condition,  of  the  working  clas- 
3S  must,  to  the  thinking  mind,  be  at  all  times  an  object  of  deep  and  serious 
»oment ;  but  it  must  be  so  in  an  especially  high  degree  at  a  time  like  the 
[resent,  when  the  bands  of  society  seem  loosened,  and  the  social  compact 
Ippears  threatened  with  utter  dissolution. 

I  "  In  a  district  so  densely  populous  as  this  neighbourhood,  where  the 
bysical  strength  of  the  working  classes  is  incomparably  greater  than  that 
f  their  superiors  in  rank ;  and  where  property  is  collected  in  immense 
lasses,  and  capable  of  quick  and  easy  destruction,  it  cannot  be  trifling,  it 
innot  be  time  lost,  to  consider  upon,  and  suggest  means  which  would 
'.nd  much  to  improve  the  moral  and  domestic  condition  of  our  people,  to 
inamish  many  of  their  miseries,  to  add  to  their  comforts,  and  consequently 
>  make  them  better  men,  better  servants,  better  citizens." 


Communications* 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

Sir, 

The  evils  and  remedy  of  Intemperance  hare  already  been  discu; 
sed  in  the  pages  of  the  Moral  Reformer.  Its  immorality  and  vast  miseries  you  have  repea' 
edly  exposed.  Two  of  your  correspondents  have  defended  the  principles  and  machiner 
of  Temperance  Societies,  which  have  afforded  a  formidable  barrier  against  the  devastatii 
progress  of  this  "  demon  of  mischief. "  Though  they  have  done  much  good,  they  are  c 
pable  of  effecting  still  more.  To  promote  this  grand  design,  I  hope  you  will  continue 
advocate  their  cause  in  every  possible  way. 

One  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  Temperance  Societies  is  abstinence  from  disti 
led  spirits,  except  in  cases  of  medicine,  and  wherever  they  are  formed,  this  must  be  con? 
dered  the  only  sure  basis  on  which  their  stability  and  success  must  rest.  With  this  shou 
ever  be  connected  the  steadiness  and  consistency  of  its  members  in  the  use  of  all  other  1 
quors.  A  member  of  the  Temperance  Society  may  drink  wine  and  malt  liquor  moderatel 
But  let  not  any  person  suppose  because  the  interdict  is  only  laid  on  the  use  of  spirits,  th 
wine  and  beer,  though  intoxicating  liquors,  are  altogether  harmless. ,  Their  utility  as  cou 
mon  beverages  is,  I  am  aware,  scarcely  ever  questioned.  Many  of  the  friends  of  Tempe 
ance  Societies  are  afraid  of  touching  die  question  which  affects  the  moderate  use  of  wii 
and  beer.  Ardent  spirits  are  more  mischievous  in  their  tendency  than  either,  and  on  tL 
account  they  are  prohibited.  Yet  are  there  no  reasons  why  we  should  abstain  even  fro 
wine  1  Is  there  no  danger  even  in  the  moderate  use  of  beer  ?  These  arp  questions,  whic 
deserve  the  serious  attention  of  every  member  of  a  Temperance  Society.  There  may  1 
strenuous  advocates  for  abstinence  from  spirits  who  think  they  may  daily  drink  a  moderii 
quantity  of  wine  with  perfect  safety.  If  there  are  any  such,  I  ask  their  attentive  perus; 
of  the  following  facts.  Let  not  any  suppose  that  I  am  about  to  propose  that  Temperant 
Societies  should  make  abstinence  fiom  wine  a  condition  of  membership.  In  the  preaei 
state  of  things  it  would  not  be  advisable.  My  object  in  bringing  the  subject  forward,  is  t 
state  a  few  things  which  may  not  be  generally  known. 

"  Alcohol,"  says  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith,  "  obtained  in  its  most  concentrated  state  by  re 
peated  distillation,  if  swallowed,  would  be  rapidly  fatal.  But  in  brandy,  rum,  whiskey  an 
other  ardent  spirits,  in  wine  (especially  the  brandied  wines  sent  to  this  country  from  Porti 
gal  and  Spain,)  and  in  malt  liquor,  it  exists  in  intimate  combination,  or  in  looser  mixturi 
with  different  proportions  of  water  and  some  minute  vegetable  particles,  giving  variou 
odours  and  flavours.  All  these  liquids  are  injurious  to  health,  inteUeet,  and  happiness,  i 
proportion  to  the  quantity  of  alcohol  which  they  respectively  contain."  How  is  alcohol  form 
ed  ■?  To  this  question  the  following  extiact  from  an  excellent  Essay  on  the  Wince, 
strong  Drinks  of  the  ancient  Hebrews,  by  Professor  Stuart,  of  America,  will  be  a  sufSo 
answer,    "  Strictly  speaking,  alcohol  is  generated  by  fermentation,  from  almost  any  U<j 


i 

■Mtanc 


161 


itanoe  which  contains  saccharine  matter,   such  as  the  juices,   fruits,   sweet  vegetables, 

•ain,  &c.   It  exists  in  a  combined  or  compound  state,  in  liquors  obtained  from  these  ;  and 

may  be  separated  from  this  state,  by  distillation.     The  original  ingredients  from  which  it  is 

;rived,  exist  in  grain,  &c.,  in  a  condition  entirely  different  from  the  alcoholic  state.      For 

sample  ;  no  assignable  quantity  of  fruit  or  grain  will  produce  intoxication.     Nor  will  any 

uantity  of  liquor,  newly  pressed  from  grapes,  apples,  &c.  produce  intoxication.    The  rea- 

m  of  this  is,  that  alcohol,  as  a  separate  substance  of  an  intoxicating-  nature,  is  not  yet  form^ 

\i,  or  has  no  distinct^  existence.    But  ferment  the  liquors  derived  from  fruits  and  grains, 

iid  then  the  development  of  alcohol  is  distinct  and  perceptible."   At  page  13  of  ihe  Essay, 

1 1  comparing  the  wines  of  Palestine  and  those  of  his  owti  country,  he  observes,  "  What  the 

(imple  wine  of  Palestine  was,  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt.     It  was  the  mere  juice  of  the 

i  rape,  fermented  and  purified.    This  of  itself  could  never  have  been  a  very  strong  liquor ;  at 

'iist  scarcely  any  kind  of  grape  will  of  itself  make  a  strong  liquor.      In  its  highest  state  it 

omes  far  short  of  what  we  call  ardent  spirit.     Indeed  it  cannot  properly  be  ranked  un- 

pr  the  denomination  of  an  intoxicating  liquor,  in  the  usual  sense  of  this  appellation." 

,  Vere  our  wines  of  this  kind  there  would  be  very  little  objection  to  their  being  moderately 

jSed.     How  far  this  is  the  case,  the  "  analysis   of  spii-ituous  liqours  and  wines,  by  Mr, 

'.ruiide,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  practical  chemists  in  Europe,"  will  shew  :    "  It  created 

nat  surprise,    even  among  chemists,   to  learn  that   Madeira,   Port,  and  Currant    wines, 

ntUiin  nearly  one  quarter  part  ofaTudhol ;  i.  e.  that  they  are  nearly  one  half  as  strong  as  brandy 

ad  rum ;  and  that  Sherr}%  Lisbon,  and  Malaga  wines,  approach  very  near  to  the  same 

tandard.     Even  Claret  and  Champaigne  are  about  one  quarter  part  as  strong  as  brandy. 

'he  great  difference  then  between  the  wine  mentioned  in  Scripture  and  those   sold  in  our 

ountry,  is  one  reason  why  many  friends  and  supporters  of  Temperance  Societies  who  "in- 

ist  on  rigid  abstinence  from  distilled  spirits,  earnestly  desire  that  the  same  practice  should 

je  extended  to  the  stronger  class  of  wines."  For  an  amp'e  discussion  of  this  deeply  inter- 

1  sting  question,  I  would  refer  the  reader  to  the  Essay  itself,  which  has  been  re- published  in 

ais  country  with  a  Preface  by  Dr.  Smith. 

At  page  348,  vol.  1,  of  the  Moral  Reformer,  there  is  an  excellent  letter  on  the  design 
nd  utility  of  Temperance  Societies,  by  oiie  who  signs  himself ''  A  member  of  a  Temperance 
ociety."  The  writer  very  judiciously  thinks  that  "  amongst  the  labouring  classes  in  coun- 
ry  places,  the  prohibition  of  ardent  spirits  is  only  a  partial  remedy,  as  the  great  mass  of 
'runkards  are  produced  by  drinking  ale."  I  perfectly  agree  with  the  writer  of  the  letter, 
'nd  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  wherever  Temperance  Societies  are  formed,  in  such 
llaces,  the  fundamental  of  abstinence  from  spirits  should  be  connected  with  a  rigid  adhe- 
;ence  to  Temperance  in  the  use  of  other  liquors  by  its  members.  This  might  be  done  by 
11  the  members  agreeing  never  to  enter  a  public-house  or  beer-shop  except  on  business. 
;>ne  way  to  escape  temptation  is  to  avoid  the  public-house  and  public-house  companions 
jltogether.  I  know  that  malt  liquor  is,  by  far  tlie  greatest  part  of  the  community,  consider- 
■jd'as  useful,  and  even  indispensably  necessary  for  health  and  strength  when  a  person  has 
')laboxir.  If  you  call  in  question  the  correctness  of  this  opinion,  you  are  immediately  told, 
'  that  if  you  knew  what  hard  work  was,  you  would  know  that  a  working  man  could  not 
et  through  his  work  without  the  assistance  of  ale  or  spirits."  But  this  is  not  the  way  to 
ecide  the  question  ;  we  must  appeal  to  facts  and  to  the  opinions  of  menwho  have  studied  and 
Barched  the  subject. 


m  '  162 

I  have  known  labouring  men  who  have  daily  drunk  four  or  even  six  and  eight  pii 
ale  a  day,  under  the  deluded  notion  that  this  quantity  was  necessary  to  enable  them  to  ] 
form  their  labojir.  It  is  the  practice  of  moderate  drinking,  and  the  gensially  received 
nions  of  the  strengthening  qualities  of  beer,  which  have  led  many  thousands  into  the  i 
Intemperance.  The  latter  cause  may  only,  in  many  cases,  be  a  mere  pretext  for  the  i 
gencejof  a  beastly  appetite. 

I  am  aware  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  "  confine  mankind  to  one  simple  dish,  i 
their  drink  to  the  clear  water  of  the  brook. "  And  though  my  reasons  for  supposing 
"  cursed  beverage,  "  as  Franklin  terms  it,  almost  if  not  altogether  useless  as  a  daily  drM 
may  not  be  sufficient  to  convince  every  one,  they  may  be  the  means  of  inducing  some  i 
aside  its  too  frequent  use. 

In  your  address  to  the  working  classes  last  year,  yoa  made  what  was  to  my  mind  th 
following  pleasing  declaration  :  "  So  shocked  have  I  been  with  the  effects  of  imtempe 
ranee,  and  so  convinced  of  the  evil  tendency  of  moderate  drinking,  that  since  the  com 
mencemcnt  of  1831,  I  have  never  tasted  ale,  wine,  or  ardent  spirits.  I  know  others  wh 
are  pursuing  tlie  same  resolution,  and  whose  only  regret  is.  that  they  did  not  adopt  th: 
course  twenty  years  since."  Water  has  for  some  time  been  my  only  beverage.  For  pei 
sons  whose  occupations  are  sedentary,  I  am  fully  convinced  it  is  the  best.  The  onl 
question  then  is,  whether  beer  is  needful  for  the  working  man  or  not?  It  is  allowed  b 
Dr.  Fothergill,  "  that  nature  has  pointed  out  that  mild  and  insipid  fluid,  water,  as  tlieun: 
versal  diluent,  and  therefore  most  admirably  adapted  for  our  daily  beverage."  Again,  a 
all  malt  liquois  contain  alcohol,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  product  of  fermentation 
and  as  they  are  injurious,  "in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  alcohol  which  they  respective! 
contain,"  we  ought  not  hastily  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  more  wholesom 
than  water.  Indeed,  we  may  fairly  infer,  malt  liquor  is  unnecessary  for  a  person  in  healtl 
I  do  not  say,  they  afford  to  the  system  no  nutrition  ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  thi 
arises  from  other  ingredients,  and  not  from  the  alcohol  which  it  contains.  "  Sugar  is, 
says  Dr.  Drake,  "  the  indispensable  material  out  of  whicb  alcohol  is  formed;  and  it 
melancholy  to  reflect  on  the  misapplication  of  art  in  converting  one  of  the  most  pleasan 
harmless,  and  nourishing  substances  in  nature,  into  a  bewitching  poison." 

Dr.  Willich,  a  writer  on  diet  and  regimen,  says,  "There  is  no  instance  on  record  ( 
any  person  having  injured  his  health  or  endangered  his  life  by  drinldng  water  with  his  meal 
but  wine,  beer,  and  spirits  have  generated  a  much  greater  number  and  diversity  of  patien 
than  would  fill  all  the  hospitals  in  the  world."     Professor  Edgar  also  says,  "  It  is  now  W 
fore  the  world,  as  the  result  of  a  multitude  of  experiments,  that  the  human  constitution 'Ml 
bear  longer  and  more  easily  intense  heat  and  cold,  hard  labour,  and  severe  privation,  yfU 
water  as  the  only  drink ;  and  farmers,  mechanics,  and  shipowners  who  wholly  discoiii4|l 
nance  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  have  received  satisfactoiy  evidence  of  the  excellencesj 
their  plan."     In  support  of  this  assertion  he  adduces  the  following  fact :    "  An  enjii 
medical  practitioner  of  this  country  says,  '  Of  more  than  a  hundred  men  in  a  glass  manfl 
tory,  three  drank  nothing  but  water,  and  these  three  appeared  to  be  of  the  proper  i 
while  the  rest,  with  scarcely  one  exception,  seemed  ten  or  twelve  years  older  than 
proved  to  be."    The  following  interesting  statement,  made  by  Dr.  Franklin  in  the  acconi 
which  he  has  left  of  his  life,  is  exactly  to  the  point.     V/hilst  in  London  he  obtained  en 
ployment  in  the  large  printing  house  of  Watts,  near  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.     He  state; 
"  On  my  efttranee  I  worked  at  first  as  pressman,  conceiving  that  I  had  need  of  bodily  eje: 


■ 


■ 

(|PS  wUich  I  had  been  accustomed  in  Amexica,  where  the  printers  work  alternately  as 

lapositors  and  at  the  pcess.     I  drank  notliing  but  water.     The  other  workmen,  to  tlie 

mber  of  about  fifty,  were  great  drinkers  of  beer.     I  carried  occasionally  a  large  form  of 

:ter8  in  each  hand  up  and  down  stairs,  while  the  rest  employed  both  hands  to  carry  one. 

ley  were  surprised  to  see,  by  this  and  many  other  examples,  that  the  American  Aquatic, 

they  used  to  call  me,  was  stronger  than  those  who  drank  porter.     The  beer-boy  had 

Lfficient  employment  during  the  whole  day  in  serving  this  house  alone.      My  fellow- 

eesman  drank,  every  day,  a  pint  of  beer  before  breakfast,  one  between  breakfast  and 

nner,  one  at  dinner,  one  again  about  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  another  after  he  had 

)ish«d  his  day's  work.     I  endeavoured  to  convince  him  tiiat  the  bodily  strength  furnished 

)  the  beer  could  only  be  in  proportion  to  tJie  solid  part  of  the  barley  dissolved  in  the 

[af^  of  wbioh  the  beer  was  composed  ;  that  there  was  a  larger  portion  of  flour  in  a  penny' 

i^fi  and  that  consequently  if  he  eat  this  loaf,  and  diank  a  pint  of  water  with  it,  he  would 

laive  more  strength  from  it  than  from  a  pint  of  beer.     This  reasoning,  hjawever,  did  not 

event  him  from  drinking  his  accustomed  quantity  of  beer,  and  pa^dng  every  Saturday 

ght  a  score  of  four  or  five  shillings  a  week  for  this  cm-sed  beverage  ;  an  expence  from 

|hich  I  was  wholly  excanpt,"     His  exam^lie,  however,  prevaikd  "wjth  several  of  them  to 

'uouuce    their   practice  of  bread  and    cheese  with    beer.      After  a  i^ature   consider- 

ion    of  all  these   statements,    I  can  come  to  iio  other  conclusion  than  that  beer  is   a 

xury,  and  wholly  unnecessary  ^s  a  common  beverage.     Against  this  conclusion  it  is  pro- 

»We  some  naay  cite  a  passage  of  Scripture  to  sanction  the  moderate  use  of  strong  drink. 

I  Proy,  xxxi.  6,  after  t^  writer  had  said,  "  It  is  not  for  kings  to  drink  wine,  nor  for 

inces  strong  dri^ik,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  Give  strong  drink  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish, 

id  wine  to  those  that  be  of  a  heavy  heart."     In  other  words,  let  strong  diink  be  taken  as 

medicine,  not  as  a  matter  of  luxury  or  pleasure. 

I  have  already  extended  this  article  much  further  than  I  intended.  I  was  doubtfaj^ 
ihether  the  subject  would  suit  your  pages;  as  it  ig  however  deeply  connected  with  tlie 
leratiftn  of  Temperance  Societies,  I  thought  the  discussion  of  it  might  not  be  deemed' 
icompatible  with  the  character  of  the  work. 

Ywirs  jespectfuilily, 
March  2nh,  18?2.  -    .  JUVENIS. 


To  tlie  Editor  of  the  Moral  Reformer. 

I  HAVE  been  a  reader  of  your  magazine  from  the  commencement  of  the  w«rk,'- 
)^9CKi  assure  you,  that  ia  your  efforts  to  expose  and  correct  the  prevailing  vices  of  the 
resent  day,  you  have  my  most  hearty  concurrence^  And  were  you  to  point  out  the  im- 
roprieties  of  the  denomination  to  which  I  belong,  or  even  my  personal  faults,  so  far  from 
jing  ofiFended  at  your  boldness,  J  should  deem  it  my  duty  to  esteem  the  man  who  renders 
e  any  assistance  i^  becp;ming  more  conformed  to  the  true  Cbristiijn  character.  Do  n6t 
•erefore  suppose  that  any  irritatiop  of  feeling  induces  me  t,o  pptice  a  note  that  appears  in 
le  Moral  Reformer  for  April,  1832,  and  thus  to  request  that,  in  candour  and  justice,  you 
ill  admit  a  few  remarks  upon  it.  • 

The  note  to  which  I  refer  is  one  that  alludes  to  an  "  ordination  at  Accrington,"  and  I 
^ar,  irom  the  manner  in  whicli  it  is  e:]^Tes6ed,  that  the  impression  may  be  made  on  your 


164  'i 

readers,  that  the  parties  connected  with  the  Dissenting  Church  at  Accrington  areitill 
favourable  to  the  practice  which  that  note  so  justly  condemns.  Unless  that  ordination  wa^ 
about  twenty  years  ago,  it  must  have  been  that  of  my  predecessor  or  my  own.  .  The  lattei 
I  think  it  could  not  be,  for  I  have  no  recollection  of  your  being  present,  nor  did  any  stran 
ger  (to  my  knowledge)  pay  for  his  own  dinner.  If  it  was  the  ordination  of  my  predeces- 
sor, Mr.  Jackson,  you  will,  no  doubt,  rejoice  in  being  reminded  that  he  is  ntor  one  of  tbt 
most  active  agents  of  the  Temperance  Society.  .., 

The  practice,  now  become  common  among  Dissenters,  of  having  public  dinners  at  or 
dinations,  and  wines,  spirits,  &c.  brought  upon  the  table  afterwards,  and  in  some  case 
healths  or  toasts,  or  if  not  those,  yet  what  is  equally  objectionable,  trifling  conversatioi 
and  speeches,  is  a  practice  which  I  deeply  deplore.  And  generally,  on  such  occasions, 
have  run  the  hazard  of  being  censured  for  my  singularity  by  avoiding  the  public  dinner 
because  there  is,  at  least,  the  appearance  of  evil  about  it,  and  truly  I  fear  much  more  thar 
the  appearance.  Whether  the  religious  part  of  the  services  on  such  occasions  are  alway 
conducted  on  the  most  scriptural  principles,  I  will  not  now  discuss ;  but  certainly  it  i 
high  time  that  the  irreligious  part  should  be  laid  aside  by  those  who  avow  their  attachmeii 
to  primitive  Christianity.  One  can  scarcely  resist  the  idea,  that  ordination  days  are  di 
vided  between  two  Gods.  The  former  part  of  the  day,  prayers  and  other  services  ar 
offered  to  the  God  of  heaven  ;  but  perhaps  if  Paul  were  to  revisit  the  earth,  and  to  be  in 
vited  to  the  afternoon  services,  he  would  be  ready  to  conclude  that  these  are  the  service 
of  them  "  whose  god  is  their  belly."  Let  my  fathers  and  brethren  pardon  me,  if  I  recoir 
mend  that,  on  ordination  days,  the  ministers  present  abstain  from  all  regular  dinners,  muc 
more  from  all  sumptuous  ones.  Let  a  little  coffee  or  tea,  or  at  most  a  little  beer  with  brea 
and  butter,  or  cheese,  or  cold  meat,  suflBice  for  refreshment,  when  refreshment  is  needgc 
I  know  one  person  that,  during  the  interval  of  worship,  not  chposing  to  attend  the  publij 
dinner  on  a  similar  occasion,  nor  to  crowd  the  house  of  a  friend,  has  walked  half  a 
out  of  the  town,  got  a  bowl  of  boiled  milk,  paid  a  few  pence  more  than  was  demanded  1 
it,  left  the  good  woman  of  the  house  pleased  with  her  guest,  and  returned 
better  satisfied  than  if  he  had  dined  on  turkey  and  plum  pudding.  I  hope 
ministerial  readers  will  forgave  me  if  I  also  suggest  that  it  would  be  proper  on  all  occasid 
for  them,  and  especially  on  those  superlatively  solemn  days  on  which  persons  are  se^ap^i 
for  the  service  of  God,  to  carefully  abstain  from  levity  and  nonsense.  Your  reniiQi| 
strance  was  answered  by  "  a  hearty  laugh  ! !"  I  am  sorry  for  it  j  but  I  can  believe  it^  IM 
can  suppose  the  effect  of  sucjh  mistimed  laughter.  Ministers  are  often  complaining  of  tM 
little  effect  produced  by  their  labors,  and  the  prevalence  of  vice  in  spite  of  the  thouaAip| 
of  sermons. delivered;  but  the  truth  is  becoming  daily  more  obvious,  that  we  must  adajl 
the  apostle's  advice  if  we  wish  successfully  to  oppose  iniquity :  "  Be  thou  an  eaajn/jilifl 
take  heed  to  thyself."     "  The  sins  of  teachers  aee  the  teachers  of  sins." 

Yours  truly, 

J.  H. 

The  ordination  referred  to  was  "  about  twenty  years  since ;"  and  I  am  glad  from  ' 
communication  to  learn  that  better  practices  have  since  been  gaining  ground.x^EniT. 
t 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 


No.  6.  JUNE  1,  1832.  Vol.  II. 


THE   SUBSTITUTION  OF  KINDNESS  AND  REWARDS  FOR  SEVERITY 
AND  PUNISHMENTS. 


Though  in  many  instances  man  is  a  creature  of  habit,  yet  it  must  be 
allowed  that  he  frequently  acts  from  motives;  and  when  we  attempt  to 
supply  these,  how  desirable  it  is  that  they  be  of  the  right  kind.  With 
the  liberty  of  finding  fault  should  be  coupled  the  suggestions  of  a  honest 
mind,  and  the  actual  application  of  the  best  means  of  reformation.  Dis- 
carding those  severe  means  which  have  long  been  tried  in  vain — at  which 
the  human  mind  constantly  revolts  —  let  motives  of  a  new  character  be 
supplied,  in  order  to  gain  the  object.  Let  gentleness,  kindness,  and  re- 
wards be  substituted  for  passion,  severity,  and  punishments.  Let  the 
pleasures  of  hope  take  the  place  of  the  terror  of  sufiiering. 

I  am  not  intending,  in  this  paper,  to  advert  to  the  high  motives  sup- 
plied by  religion  to  influence  the  actions  of  men,  but  more  particularly  to 
naark  those  which  are  in  constant  operation  in  civil  society,  and  which,  so 
far  as  morality  is  concerned,  may  produce  important  results,  either  good  or 
i)ad. 

'However  diversified  the  motives  of  men  may  be,  those  upon  which 

we  work   may   clearly   be    ranged    under   two    heads  —  hope    and   fear. 

PfcAnises  and '  threatenings,   in  their  various   forms,    are  the  parents   of 

;hese ;  and  it  is  to  the  excessive  use  of  the  one,  and  the  comparative  neg- 

ectof  the  other,  that  I  wish  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  public.     It  is 

:rue,  there  is  a  class,  though  very  limited  in  number,  who,  independently 

>f  allurements  or  threats,  of  persuasion  or  dissuasion,  may  be  acted  upon 

)y  a  simple  statement  of  duty,  and  who  seem  to  take  a  pleasure  in  doing 

jj^oodfor  its  own  sake.     However,  taking  society  at  large,  hope  and  fear 

rjire  the  general  springs  of  action ;  and  even  where  reason  is  most  matvired, 

^  ibese  motives  are  not  entirely  unnecessary. 

I  have  carefully  watched  the  means  usually  adopted  to  induce  others 

■  0  do  their  duty,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  where  a  superiority  of  power 

'  exists,  that  of  menace  and  punishment  is   usually  adopted.      In  almost 

■very    department,    there   are   threats,    but   no   promises ;     punishments, 

lut  no  enjoyments ;    fines,   but   no   rewards.      The   voice   of  vengeance 

VOL.   II.  X 


\G6  ; 

sounds  in  every  circle,  and  is  the  prevailing  force  by  whicli  men  an 
impelled  to  do  their  duty.  Satisfied  that  a  bare  definition  of  duty  wil 
not  generally  secure  its  performance,  whether  is  it  better  to  leave  men  ti 
their  own  choice,  beset,  as  they  are,  with  enticements  to  evil,  and  then  t* 
punish  them  for  doing  wrong,  or  to  offer  such  attractive  rewards  as  wfl 
lead  to  duty,  emulation,  and  effort  ?  In  all  cases  where  an  object  is  to  fe 
gained,  we  should  use  the  likeliest  means ;  and  that  of  severity,  terror,  ajM 
coercion  having  obviously  proved  ineffectual,  I  think  we  shall  do  well  t« 
adopt  a  milder  course. 

Children,  of  all  others,  on  account  of  their  age,  have  to  be  stimulate! 
to  their  duty  :  but  what  are  the  means  usually  adopted  ?  From  the  momen 
the  child  is  capable  of  distinguishing  the  indication  of  gesture,  or  the  toai 
of  the  mother's  voice,  threats  and  furious  protestations  are  the  means  mad' 
use  of;  and  long  before  this,  if  the  poor  infant  be  restless  and  trouble 
some,  although  the  effect  of  sickness  or  pain,  how  often  are  these  monster 
like  mothers  seen  shaking  the  child,  throwing  it  down  on  the  bed,  axx 
beating  it  severely !  Towards  those  who  can  run  in  the  streets,  and  ap 
capable  of  mischief,  "Oh!  I'll  give  it  thee,  thou  bad  thing"  —  "If  tho' 
does  not  come  in,  I'll  w*arm  thee"  —  are  threats  which  constantly  meet  on 
ears ;  and  it  is  reaUy  distressing  to  know,  that  scarcely  anything  bu 
threats  and  punishment  are  adopted  to  induce  children  to  do  right.  Tk 
constancy  ofthese  threats,  their  being  uttered  in  a  passion,  and  on  ever 
occasion  of  irregularity,  and  frequently  not  put  into  execution,  tend  to  ne« 
tralize  their  effect.  Without  the  influence  of  either  persuasion  or  rewardi 
such  conduct  tends  to  beget  a  servile  or  dissembled  obedience,  and  a  secif 
hostility  to  parental  authority.  ' 

The  same  spirit  is  acted  upon,  generally,  by  masters  towards  their  ser 
vants ;  and  hence  the  want  of  cordiality,  the  selfishness,  and  oppositios 
which  so  generally  prevail.  A  kind  and  generous  master  is  sure  to  prodiie 
an  obedient  and  faithful  work  people ;  but  tjTanny  and  oppression  are  sujr 
to  lead  to  perfidy  and  resistance.  Whilst  servants  are  exhorted  "to  fc 
obedient  to  their  masters,"  and  to  serve  them  "not  with  eye  service,  a* 
men  pleasers,"  masters  are  also  commanded  "to  forbear  threatening,  knowin 
that  they  have  a  master  in  heaven,  and  that  there  is  no  respect  of  persoi. 
with  God."  In  most  of  the  mills  and  workshops,  a  system  of  "fines"  i 
adopted;  but  against  this  there  is  no  system  of  "rewards."  The  sam 
may  be  said  in  reference  to  weavers :  for  bad  work  they  are  "bated,"  an 
I  don't  say  improperly;  but  they  are  not  "  rewarded"  by  an  extra  pa^Tueii 
when  their  work  exceeds  the  standard. 

In  the  articles  of  all  our  clubs  and  societies  the  same  spirit  is  extensive! 
difiiised.     "  He  shall  be  fined" — "  he  shall  be  fined"  so  much — if  he  doc  , 
this,  or  does  not  do  that,  occurs  almost  in  every  page.     Now  though 
object  of  the  framers  of  these  rules  is  good, — to  secure  regularity  and 


I 


167 


lience, — ^yet  is  it  not  lamentable,  that  the  prevailing  character  of  men 
hould  be  such  as  to  render  them  unmanageable  but  by  the  fear  of  fines, 
,nd  that  no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  govern  a  society  by  the  nobler 
irinciples  of  a  consciousness  of  duty  or  the  hope  of  reward  ?  This  circum- 
tance  alone  stamps  our  characters  as  the  lovers  of  money  more  than  any 
liing  else ;  for  it  seems  nothing  can  stimulate  us  to  duty  but  depriving  us 
f  our  idol.  Instead  of  having  to  drive  men,  like  mere  animals,  to  their 
uty,  how  pleasing  it  would  be  to  see  them  rise  above  the  influence  of  fear. 
jid  though  selfishness  might  be  enlisted  by  the  offer  of  pecuniary  rewards, 
;  would  still  be  selfishness  in  a  more  pleasing  garb.  Though  the  expense 
i  the  same,  who  does  not  prefer  the  fire  that  bums  cheerfully  of  itself  to 
lat  which  requires  to  be  forced  by  the  constant  operation  of  the  bellows  ? 
Why  is  it  that  many  childi-en  dread  to  go  to  school,  and  view  the  ap- 
roach  of  a  holiday  like  a  deliverance  from  prison  ?  Because  severity  and 
anishments  are  the  ruling  principles  of  its  management.  Is  it  likely  the 
lildren  will  love  the  person  who  governs  them  by  stern  rebulces,  imperious 
rders,  and  repeated  stripes  ?  By  such  usage  their  minds  become  depressed 
id  contracted,  their  hearts  callous,  and  their  demeanour  that  of  fury  and 
olence.     With  a  tyrant  for  an  example,  the  children  also  become  tjTants 

their  turn,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the  master,  thrash  and  coerce  the 
)unger  scholars  who  offend  them.  "  If  you  don't  silence  I'll  rattle  your 
des,"  is  the  edict  of  the  country  schoolmaster,  and  after  brawling  out 
riously  with  a  mere  momentary  effect,  he  takes  the  cane  and  "  warms 
eir  jackets."  Even  amongst  the  refined  teachers  of  our  large  towns, 
ere  is  not  only  a  sullenness  of  manner,  which  is  discouraging  to  children, 
it  a  regular  system  of  punishments,  without  any  corresponding  invention 

rewards.     I  am  not  sure  whether  correction  could  on  all  occasions  be 

spensed  with,  for  on  this  point  all  depends  on  the  temper  and  qualifica- 

ms  of  the  teacher ;  but  I  do  happen  to  know  one  or  two  schools  where 

e  rod  is  never  seen,  and  where  the  threat  of  corporeal  punishment  is 

^ver  heard.     In  these  schools,  a  kind,  conciliating  disposition  is  evinced 

I  the  teachers,  and  the  happiness  of  the  children  is  evidently  the  happi- 

ss  of  themselves.      Every  improvement  is  promoted  by  means  whicli 

ord  the  greatest  pleasure  to  the  child,  and  every  instance  "of  merit  is  fol- 

)^ed  by  a  corresponding  reward.     The  family  hearth  and  the  school  are 

5  places  where  the  minds  of  the  children  are  first  fonned,  and  it  is  of  the 

jjt  importance  that  the  discipline  of  both  should  tend  to  the  development 

« every  kind,  and  generous,  and  amiable  disposition.     Let  parents  "  for- 

nr  threatening,"  and  let  teachers  allure  by  their  manner,  encourage  by 

J:ir  promises,  and  secure  the  affection  and  good  conduct  of  the  children 

suitable  rewards,  and  a  good  foundation  will  be  laid  for  a  better  race  of 
^ngs  than  that  which  is  now  governed  by  terror.  If  I  use  a  threat  to- 
Irds  any  of  my  children,  I  am  never  disregarded;  yet  the  memory,  I  can 


168 

perceive,  has  no  pleasure  in  retaining  it :  but  if  I  promise  one  of  my 
youngest  boys  an  apple,  if  he  be  good,  he  scarcely  ever  forgets  either  thft 
condition  or  the  reward. 

In  the  administration  of  the  poor  laws,  where  the  sons  and  daughtere 
of  adversity,  or  the  agents  and  victims  of  crime,  come  to  solicit  the  coai><' 
passion  and  relief  of  their  more  fortunate  fellow  beings,  it  is  most  revolting^ 
to  one's  feelings  to  notice  the  manner  in  which  they  are  treated.  The 
clergy  were  formerly  the  dispensers  of  the  public  charity  to  the  poor ;  and 
though  it  directly  comports  with  their  office  as  Christian  ministers,  and  k 
assumed  by  the  law  as  their  duty,  yet  they  have  relinquished  the  work  to 
other  hands.  So  unconcerned  are  they  about  the  relief  of  the  poor,  that  I' 
have  reason  to  believe  that  some  in  our  town  are  ignorant  of  the  plaob 
where  the  overseers'  office  is.  The  work,  therefore,  in  many  places,  is 
either  committed  to  paid  sen'ants,  or  to  persons  who  seldom  compassionate 
the  distresses  of  the  poor,  or  offer  to  them  a  word  of  consolation.  Tbi 
difficidties  created,  the  impediments  thrown  in  the  way,  and  the  abuse  aflft 
severity  used  in  connection  with  relieving  the  poor,  are  such  as  to  produce 
the  worst  effects.  In  some  country  places,  men  are  chosen  for  overseew 
who  have  no  more  feeling  than  a  stone,  and  whose  rudeness  and  vulgarity 
give  them  no  claim  to  any  class  above  the  brutes  of  the  field.  Hence  the 
seeds  of  terror  and  intolerance  are  liberally  sown,  and  no  wonder,  coni' 
sidering  the  numbers  of  the  poor,  that  a  spirit  of  envy  and  revenge 
towards  the  higher  classes  should  so  generally  prevail.  I  beg  to  say, 
distinctly,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  man,  who  pays  taxes  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  to  see  that  the  poor  are  relieved  without  being  a 
insulted.  i 

Tlie  country  has  long  been  governed  by  the  same  evil  spirit  of  oppres-l 
sion.    Instead  of  the  people  being  made  happy ;   instead  of  their  complaints'"! 
being  listened  to,  and  their  wrongs  redressed ;  instead  of  securing  their  at- 
tachment to  the  laws  by  furnishing  motives  for  obedience ;  instead  of  Uu 
government  securing  the  affections  of  the  people  by  distributing  its  favowj 
among  them, — the  people  have  been  goaded  on  to  desperation  by  sanguini 
laws,  impoverished  by  partial  enactments,  and  they  now  exhibit  in  i 
habits  and  deportment  the  dire  effects  of  a  coercive  despotism.    The  pe 
cannot  be  driven  to  obedience :  let  them  be  enticed  by  every  rational 
tive;  and  let  the  poor  man,  as  well  as  the  rich,  have  a  chance  of  distim 
in  his  country.    We  do  sometimes  hear  of  honours  being  bestowed,  of 
sons  being  knighted  or  created  earls;  but  all  these  fall  among  the  rich, 
are  seldom  connected  with  a  long  course  of  the  most  useful  service, 
law  to  punish  is  made  to  reach  eveiy  one ;  and  could  not  an  extensio: 
favours,   and  marks  of  distinction  of   one   sort  or  another,    be   broi 
within  the  reach  of  the  working  class  ?     The  government  should  ingral 
itself  with  all  classes,  and  dispense  its  blessings  among  the  great  boi 


169 

e  people.  If  a  peerage  is  considered  an  appropriate  mark  of  respect  for 
me  splendid  deed,  might  not  tlie  emulation  of  humble  individuals  be  ex- 
ted  by  the  contrivance  of  some  provincial  honour  ?  So  little  is  there  of 
is,  that  whether  we  turn  to  England  or  Ireland,  it  is  obvious  that  a  man's 
ipularity  is  usually  proportioned  to  the  strength  of  his  hostility  to  the 
easures  of  government. 

Numerous  as  are  the  new  acts  of  parliament  which  are  passed  every 
;sion,  they  are  all  evidently  the  emanations  of  the  same  compulsor\^  spirit. 
Penalties"  always  form  part  of  these  bills,  although  "  rewards"  are  never 
much  as  mentioned.  The  last  biU  which  I  had  sent  me  was  the  reform 
11,  where  I  find,  amongst  other  fines,  the  returning  officer,  wilfuUy  dis- 
eying  the  provisions  of  the  act,  may  be  sued  for  "  the  penal  sum  of  five 
jidred  pounds."  And  any  person  personating  another  at  an  election,  or 
■ting  t%vice,  is  liable  to  be  fined  "fifty  pounds."  I  have  just  received  a 
rm,  requiring  me  to  make  a  return  of  aU  the  articles  charged  to  the  as- 
fsed  tax,  and  I  am  threatened  to  this  under  no  less  a  penalty  than  fifty 
unds  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  amusing,  that  if  bachelors  who  send  in  their 
turns  shoiild  omit  to  place  the  letter  B  against  their  name,  they  are  also 
ble  for  this  ofi'ence  to  be  fined  fiftj^  pounds ! 

In  the  army  and  navy,  though  there  is  sometimes  an  advancement  ac- 
rding  to  merit,  the  system  adopted  is  that  of  punislunent  and  terror. 
)ei  it  not  give  an  appalling  view  of  the  discipline  of  \-iolence,  when  man 
comes  unmanageable  by  any  milder  means  than  the  whip  ?  Flogging, 
volting  as  it  is,  is  but  a  strong  exhibition  of  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

Man,  in  a  great  measure,  is  the  creatm*e  of  circumstances,  and  hence, 
lile  those  with  which  we  are  surrounded  are  stamped  with  cruelty  and 
ird  heartedness,  is  it  surprising  that  juvenile  delinquency  should  so 
ceedingly  prevail }  As  sure  as  the  boy  who  hears  English  will  speak 
iglish,  so  sure  will  youth,  unchecked  by  better  influence,  who  are 
rrounded  with  the  exhibitions  of  wrath,  malice,  and  revenge,  and  who 
tness  a  ferocity  of  temper,  and  a  recklessness  of  consequences,  be  led  to 
litate  them  all.  Does  it  not  occur  to  the  magistrates,  the  jury,  and  the 
ectators,  at  our  quarter  sessions,  that  if  the  youthful  delinquents,  who 
s  so  often  before  om*  courts  of  justice, — many  of  whom  are  sent  bevond 
e  seas  before  they  reach  the  age  of  manhood, — had  been  early  instructed, 
/cured  with  a  good  example,  and  placed  beneath  some  exciting  arrange- 
Jnt  of  rewards  for  good  conduct,  that  crime,  in  all  probabilitv,  would  not 
ve  become  their  prevailing  habit,  and  that  cruelty  and  terror  would  not  now 
ve  claimed  the  prerogative  of  governing  the  age  ?  Let  any  man  make 
3  observations  as  he  goes  along  the  street :  if  he  pass  a  group  of  yoimg 
2n,  their  language  is  coarse,  furious,  and  resentful:  if  they  be  bd^s 
Hying  at  marbles  or  boimce  ball,  he  will  learn  instantly  by  their 
iiguage    "what   spirit  they  are   of."      Tliere   is  a  bitterness  of  tone. 


170 

and  bluntness  of  accent,  a  ferocity  of  gesture,  as  well  as  a  depravity 
language,  by  which  a  great  part  of  our  working  population  are  dist 
guished.  And  the  women,  when  once  excited,  in  whose  bosoms  all  that  i 
tender  and  kind  ought  to  dwell,  whose  language  should  be  soft  and  gentle 
and  who  are  calculated  by  nature  to  heal  the  discords  of  society,  are  mon 
volatile  in  revenge,  more  copious  in  crimination,  and  more  impatient  o 
restraint,  than  our  own  sex.  To  be  present  at  "  a  falling  out"  of  two  o 
these  "  spit  fires"  is  to  get  a  convincing  specimen  of  the  efifects  which  th( 
discipline  of  teiTor  can  produce. 

Even  the  church  has  embraced  the  same  principle.  Instead  of  de 
pending  on  reason,  persuasion,  and  the  great  benefits  propounded  in  the 
gospel,  compulsion  has  been  the  course  pursued.  At  one  time,  the  eye? 
that  could  not  see  were  put  out,  and  the  tongue  that  could  not  speak  ortho 
doxy  was  condemned  to  silence.  Sincerity,  usefulness,  and  good  conduct 
were  no  security  to  any  one  against  the  fires  of  persecution,  if  he  could  nol 
swallow  the  faith  which  others  had  made  for  him.  The  same  spirit  yel 
reigns,  and  even  in  these  days  of  discernment,  more  value  is  given  to  thi 
shade  of  an  opinion,  received,  perhaps,  upon  the  authority  of  some  divine,  than 
to  a  whole  life  of  sincere  and  active  piety.  Every  heresy  (so  called)  is  de- 
nounced at  our  public  meetings  with  a  bitterness  that  ill  comports  with  the 
charity  of  a  Christian,  and  perdition  is  dealt  out  fluently  against  what  at 
worst  is  only  an  error  of  judgment.  "Let  him  be  accursed,"  was  the 
pious  sentence  of  the  church  in  olden  time,  which  has  been  somewhat 
softened  by  the  modem  phrase,  "  let  him  be  excommimicated,"  The  libe- 
ral use  of  this  threatening  language  is  remarkable  in  the  canons  of  the 
Church  of  England ;  and  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think  that  the  general 
want  of  a  spirit  of  love  and  amity,  and  the  prevalency  of  a  morose  temper, 
a  threatening  tone,  and  an  intolerant  demeanour,  have  sprung  from  the 
genius  of  religious  persecution,  which  has  so  long  prevailed  among  u.«. 
The  following  extracts  wiU  not  only  confirm  the  view  which  I  have  here 
given,  but  will  serve  to  show  by  what  sort  of  rules  the  Church  of  Engj 
is  governed. 

■\Vhosoever  shall  hereafter  affirm,  that  the  Church  of  England,  by  law  established 
the  king's  majesty,  is  not  a  true  and  apostolical  church,  teaching  and  maintaining  the  docia 
of  the  apostles;  let  him  he  excommunicated  ipso  facto,  and  not  restored,  but  only  by  the 
bishop,  after  his  repentance,  and  public  revocation  of  this  his  wicked  error. 

Whosoever  shall  hereafter  affirm,  that  the  form  of  God's  worship  in  the  Church  of  Et 
land,  established  by  law,  and  contained  in  the  book  of  common  prayer  and  administration  of 
sacraments,  is  a  corrupt,  superstitious,  or  unlawful  worship  of  God,  or  containeth  any  thing 
in  it  that  is  repugnant  to  the  Scriptures,  let  him  he  excommtmicated  ipso  facto,  and  not  restored,  j 
but  by  the  bishop  of  the  place,  or  archbishop,  after  his  repentance,  and  public  revocati<M|| 
such  his  wicked  errors.  ^Hl 

Whosoever  shall  hereafter  affirm,  that  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, by  law  established,  are  wicked,  antichristian,  or  superstitious,  or  such  as,  being  eg 


171 

jaadcd  by  lawful  authority,  men,  who  are  zealously  and  godly  affected,  may  not  with  any 
lod  conscience  approve  them,  use  them,  or,  as  occasion  requireth,  subscribe  unto  them,  lei 
m  be  excommunicated  ipso  facto,  and  not  restored  until  he  repent,  and  publicly  revoke  such 
s  wicked  errors. 

Whosoever  shall  hereafter  separate  themselves  from  the  communion  of  saints,  as  it  is  ap- 
oved  by  the  apostles'  rules,  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  combine  themselves  together  in 
new  brotherhood,  accounting  the  Christians  who  are  conformable  to  the  doctrine,  govern- 
ent,  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  be  profane,  and  unmeet  for  them  to 
'<n  with  in  Christian  profession,  let  them  be  excommunicated  ipso  facto,  and  not  restored  but 
the  archbishop,  after  their  repentance,  and  public  revocation  of  such  their  wicked  errors. 

From  the  view  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  of  the  character  and 
roceedings  of  society,  is  it  not  most  evident,  keeping  the  attractions  of 
iUgion  out  of  the  question,  that  nearly  all  our  social  arrangements  are 
jtilculated  to  excite  those  feelings  which  need  to  be  subdued,  and  to  leave 
'ormant  those  dispositions  which  tend  most  to  ennoble  hiiman  nature,  and 
)  spread  harmony  and  peace  in  the  world.  I  would  say,  then,  to  parents, 
)  teachers,  to  masters,  to  leaders  in  societies,  to  the  government,  to  all — 
ike  a  general,  an  impartial  view  of  the  character  and  proceedings  of 
jciety,  and  you  will  be  satisfied  that,  instead  of  working  upon  the  best 
idings  of  the  himaan  mind,  and  securing  a  free  and  cheerful  obedience, 
le  practice  in  this  country,  from  first  to  last,  "is,  to  command,  to  threaten, 
id  to  punish.  Let  every  one  in  his  respective  sphere,  and  especially  to- 
ards  those  beneath  him,  be  kind,  and  gentle,  and  forbearing;  and  in 
amulating  to  action,  try  to  enlist  all  the  better  feelings  of  human  nature. 
;  As  to  the  nature  of  the  rewards  which  ought  to  be  promised  as  stimu- 
ats  to  action,  no  difficulty  will  be  experienced  by  those  who  are  wishful 
I  act  upon  this  system.  They  must  be  suited  to  the  age,  circumstances, 
tuation,  and  I  may  add,  taste  and  temperament  of  the  parties.  If  one 
"esent  does  not  succeed,  let  another  be  tried ;   and  as  invention  has  been 

fall  exercise  to  devise  new  modes  of  punishment,  let  the  same  assiduity 
!  applied  to  the  discovery  of  new  and  successful  modes  of  rewarding  obe- 
ence.  In  all  cases,  the  bestowment  of  a  mark  of  respect  upon  one,  if  it 
i  possible,  should  not  carry  with  it  the  degradation  of  any  other.  Emula- 
3n  may  be  encouraged ;  but  when  it  is  likely  to  depress  the  aspiring  dis- 
)sition,  or  to  wound  the  feelings  of  others,  its  operations  are  injurious. 

is  much  better  to  induce  boys  to  strive  against  time  than  against  each 
her :  to  reward  one  for  rising  early  in  a  morning,  before  a  given  hour, 
ill  be  found  a  better  plan  than  to  reward  him  for  rising  before  his  bro- 
ers.  A  thoughtful  father  and  a  kind  mother  will  easily  find  out  rewards 
Iculated  to  influence  the  minds  of  their  children.  In  schools,  an  advance- 
ent  in  classes,  a  ticket  of  merit,  small  presents,  an  occasional  holiday,  or 
short  jaunt  of  pleasure  with  the  master, — any  thing  of  this  kind  will  do 
'finitely  better  than  the  use  of  the  cane  or  the  strap.  One  of  my  boys  at- 
nds  a  school  at  which,  as  I  hinted  before,  there  is  no  severity,  and  it  is 


172 

remarkable  how  happy  he  feels,  what  progress  he  makes,  and  how  please(| 
he  comes  home  when  he  has  got  a  "  ticket "  or  "  a  prime."      Eight  ticket 
make  a  prime,  and  a  number  of  primes  entitle  the  bearer  to  "  a  prize,"  all  o 
which  are  distributed  to  the  scholars  at  certain  periods.     Let  a  master  giy 
his  good  workmen,  occasionally,  a  little  over  their  wages,  in  consideratio! 
of  good  conduct,  or  show  some  decisive  mark  of  approbation,  and  he  mi 
soon  see  the  good  effects.    And,  it  has  long  been  impressed  tfjion  my  mind 
if  the  police,  instead  of  employing  men  merely  to  pounce  upon  the  lawles 
on  the  commission  of  crime,  would  act  more  upon  the  preventive  systeno  - 
and  devise  a  grade  of  honourable  distinctions,  founded  entirely  upon  goo 
conduct,  they  would  succeed  much  better,  and  at  a  less  expense,  in  securinj 
the  peace  and  good  order  of  society.    An  old  smoker,  the  other  day,  whoi 
neither  fine  nor  iniplagonment,  perhaps,  would  have  induced  to  abandon  hi 
pipe,  was  promised,  if  he  would  give  up  the  habit  for  a  month,  he  shoul 
receive  the  present  of  a  coat:  he  cheerfully  accepted  the  offer,  performe  i 
the  condition,  got  his  coat,  and  with  it  the  great  advantage  of  giving  u  ; 
the  habit  entirely.      If  every  man  who  has  either  authority  or  influenc  c 
would  begin  to  substitute  kindness  for  severity,  and  connect  rewards  wit 
punishments,  the  character  of  society,  at  least  for  sobriety,  civility, 
proper  decorum  would  soon  be  changed. 

Though  I  have  not  treated  this  subject  as  a  religious  question,  yl 
beg  to  say  that  the  principle  is  preeminently  conspicuous  in  every  palf 
the  Bible ;  and  no  one  can  read  that  book  without  perceiving,  that  the 
punishment  is  denounced  against  the  incorrigibly  impenitent,  it  is 
"  goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering  of  God  that  leadeth  to| 
pentance."  The  same  authority  which  says  to  Israel,  "  If  ye  refuse  an 
rebel,  ye  shall  be  devoured  with  the  sword,"  first  says,  "  If  ye  be  williii 
and  obedient,  ye  shall  eat  the  good  of  the  land."  "  Wliosoever  shall  coi 
fess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven 
takes  the  lead  of  "Whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  alt 
deny  before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  "  He  that  believeth  shall  1 
saved,"  is  the  promise;  "He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  is 
threatening ;  and  in  no  case  do  we  find  the  one  without  the  other  ei 
expressed  or  implied.  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  the  work 
labour  of  love  of  his  people,  and  hence  we  should  "  not  be  weary  in  "? 
doing,  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not."  These  rema 
intended  to  urge  the  adoption  of  a  principle  which  ought  to  enter  into 
arrangements  of  almost  every  individual,  I  sincerely  hope  will  be  a 
upon  by  every  reader  of  the  Reformer. 

Let  me  just  add,  that  after  the  example  of  our  heavenly  Father,  if 
wicked  turn  away  from  his  wickedness,  like  the  prodigal  in  the  parable 
ought  to  be  welcomely  received.  I  say  this  in  reference  to  the  condu< 
many  in  society,  because  I  have  often  been  led  to  notice,  that  if  pers 


J 


173 

men  or  women,  happen  to  have  lost  their  characters,  all  the  world — ^many  of 
whom  in  other  respects  no  better  than  themselves — are  ready  to  turn  their 
backs  upon  them ;  and  feeling  that  all  hope  of  regaining  the  esteem  of 
mankind  is  gone,  these  unfortunate  individuals  often  abandon  themselves 
to  the  unrestrained  commission  of  vice.  Let  the  pitiful  tale  of  the  juvenile 
delinquent,  the  emaciated  frame  and  heart  broken  sighs  of  the  habitual 
drunkard,  the  penitential  tears  of  the  victim  of  seduction,  not  only  excite 
in  our  breasts  a  feeling  of  compassion,  but  lead  us  not  to  be  ashamed  of 
their  company,  or  to  refrain  from  those  expressions  of  friendship  which 
may  be  the  means  of  securing  their  complete  reformation.  Never  should 
we  forget  the  tears  of  him  who,  remembering  its  wickedness,  wept  over 
Jerusalem,  and  who  came  "  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to 
repentance." 


CLERICAL    PRESENTS. 

My  opinions  as  to  the  public  conduct  of  many  persons  who  profess  to 
be  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  well  known ;  yet  I  cannot  resist  the  oppor- 
tunity which  the  recent  appearance  of  certain  paragraphs  in  the  papers 
affords,  of  drawing  particular  attention  to  a  practice  which  seems  to  be 
gaining  ground — that  of  making  splendid  and  public  presents  to  ministers 
of  "  purses  of  gold,"  "  silver  cups,"  "  massive  pieces  of  silver  plate,"  &c, 
upon  the  ground  of  "  respect  for  their  private  character,  and  the  satisfac- 
tory manner  in  which  they  have  performed  their  religious  duties."  I  think 
the  New  Testament  wiU  bear  me  out  in  asserting,  that  a  minister  of  Christ 
ought  neither  to  desire  nor  receive,  in  consideration  of  his  services,  either 
wealth  or  worldly  honours.  Christianity  is  the  most  extensive  system  of 
ibenevolence  that  ever  was  made  known,  and  every  agent  in  earning  forward 
its  objects  is  supposed  to  be  disinterested,  and  looking  only  for  that  reward 
which  is  promised  in  heaven.  Attend  to  the  example  of  Jesus  ;  look  at  his 
apostles,  and  notice  their  uniform  rejection  of  worldly  honours,  although 
itheir  cause  (could  it  have  admitted  such  auxiliaries)  would  have  been 
much  more  likely  to  prosper  by  the  admission.  Religion  (modified  to  suit 
the  purpose)  has  now  become  the  plaything  of  the  opulent  classes,  and 
what  can  they  do  less  than  reward,  in  a  suitable  manner,  those  who  please 
them  ?  If  teachers  laboured  like  the  apostles,  who  are  compared  to  plough- 
ers,  thrashers,  shepherds,  soldiers,  and  labouring  men,  as  a  matter  of 
necessity  they  must  be  maintained ;  but  there  is  a  vast  difference  betwixt 
this  and  making  their  office  a  pecuniary  speculation,  or  defacing  its  spiritual- 
jity  by  clothing  it  with  the  honours  of  the  world. 

Rehgious  teachers,  from  their  professed  connection  with  another 
world,  and  from  the  solemn  subjects  upon  which  they  are  forced  to  dwell, 
gain  an  ascendancy  over  men's  minds  which  no  other  class  of  persons  can 

VOL.  II.  y 


174 


I 


command.     Religious  inetruction,  given  by  an  active,  a  zealous,  a  consist 
ent  teacher,  seldom  fails  to  draw  forth  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the: 
hearers.     Reason  approves  of  this,  but  superstition  makes  a  bad  use  of  it. 
The  history  of  the  church  abundantly  displays  the  unlimited  confidence 
which  has  been  placed  in  the  clergy,  and  the  unbounded  liberality  exercised 
towards  them.     And  who  is  there,  judging  from  every  day  facts,  that  wjll 
not  say  that  this  confidence  has  not  been  misplaced,  and  this  liberality 
badly  applied ;  and  that,  in  general,  the  infusion  of  wealth  has  been  the 
means  of  retarding  and  corrupting  religion  ?     Money,  however,  is  yet  the 
everlasting  cry  of  ministers  and  their  friends,  though  it  is  obvious,  from 
Scripture  and  from  facts,  that  the  no  money  preachers  have  been  the  instru- 
ments of  doing  the  most  good.     If  religion  consisted  in  giving  to  young 
men  a  liberal  education  and  the  accomplishments  of  a  gentleman, — in 
building  splendid  places  of  worship,   and   ornamenting   them   after  the, 
fashion  of  the  world, — in  arranging,  numbering,  and  letting  off  the  pewsr 
like  cottage  houses, —  in  affording  a  good  seat  for  the  rich,  and  the  poor  a 
seat  behind  the  door, — in  providing  a  fine-toned  organ,  and  sweet  musica! 
instruments,  animate  and  inanimate,  —  a  dashing  preacher,  with  gown  am 
bands,  a  well  dressed  head,  and  the  display  of  a  gold  ring  upon  one  of  hi? 
fingers, — in  his  seclusion  from  the  bustling  and  busy  scenes  of  life,  and  th( 
mere  performance  of  his  Sunday  duties,  and  a  few  visits  through  the  weel 
to  his  friends, — in  draining  all  the  money  that  can  possibly  be  raised  foi 
the  chapel  and  the  minister,  to  the  neglect  of  the  poor — if  religion  consi? 
in  these  things,  then  what  we  see  passing  before  our  eyes  is  in  character 
and  those  who  are  most  zealous  in  supporting  them  —  those  who  want  ! 
ministiy  equally  as  respectable  as  any  of  their  rival  sects,  do  well  to  give  i 
good  finish  to  their  merits  by  presenting  the  man  of  their  choice  with  " ! 
purse  of  sovereigns."     For  many  years  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  read 
iug  the  Evangelical  Magazine  ;  and  if  all  the  letters,  essays,  and  paragi-aph; 
which  have  appeared  in  that  work,  intended  to  stimulate  the  people  to  bi 
more  liberal,  to  increase  their  giving  to  ministers,  were  collected,  I  wom 
how  many  volumes  they  would  make.      Like  "foreign  intelligence"  i: 
newspaper,  though  without  a  title,  it  seems  to  be  a  standing  article,  and 
which,  no  doubt,  the  publishers  receive  the  gi-atitude  and  best  wishe 
their  clerical  readers. 

The  following  are  a  selection  of  clerical  presents.  I  do  not  sup 
they  are  extraordinary  instances,  but  are  those  which  I  have  just  happ 
to  note  down,  three  of  them  within  a  week. 

The  parishioners  of  Aldingham,  near  Ulverston,  have  presented  a  splendid  silver  ( 
the  Rev.  J.  Sonard,  D.  D.,  rector,  as  a  token  of  respect  for  his  unwearied  exertions  iij 
religious  duties,  and  his  munificent  charity  to  the  poor  and  neady. 

A  purse,  containing  a  hundred  sovereigns,  was  presented  to  the  Rev.  Herbert  Alj 
one  of  the  curates  of  the  parish  church  of  Ashton-under-Lyne,  as  a  token  of  the  esteeri 


175 

•espect  for  his  private  character,  and  the  satisfactory  manner  iti  which  he  has  performed  his 

■eljgious  duties. 

We  have  been  much  gratified  by  Inspecting,  at  the  shop  of  Messrs.  OllivantSj  a  massy 

)lece  of  silver  plate,  which  has  been  prepared  for  presentation^  to  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Raws- 
;  home,  A.  M.,  Rector  of  Warrington,  as  a  token  of  the  respect  and  esteem  in  which  that  gen- 
I  ileman  is  held  by  his  parishioners.     It  consists  of  a  richly  chased  candelabria,  nearly  three 

eet  high,  which,  by  a  most  ingenious  contrivance,  may  be  converted  at  pleasure  into  an 

■pergne,  or  may  be  so  arranged  as  to  answer  the  double  purpose  of  epergne  and  candelabria 
r  A  the  same  time,  without  affecting  the  beauty  of  either.     The  base  of  this  splendid  piece  of 

ilate  is  triangular,  and  in  one  compartment  are  engraved  the  arms  of  the  reverend  gentleman, 

vith  the  motto,  "Fortiter  et  Fideciter"  while  the  other  two  bear  an  inscription,  of  which  the 

oUowing  is  a  copy : 

"  Presented  to  the  Rev.  Robert  Atherton  Rawsthorne,  A.  M.,  by  his  parishioners  and 
I  riends,  in  testimony  of  their  high  respect  and  esteem  for  his  public  character  and  conduct, 

3  well  as  his  private  worth,  evinced  in  a  benevolent  and  conscientious  discharge  of  his 

lerical  duties,  and  in  an  uniformly  Icind  and  conciliating  deportment  to  all  classes,  during  the 

Ijwenty-four  years  lie  has  filled  the  ofiice  of  Rector  of  Warrington. — January,  1832," 
I  Each  of  these  compartments  is  surmounted  by  a  female  figure,  of  classical  design  and 
jxquisite  finish,  bearing  a  wreath  whichr  surrounds  the  pedestal,  and  adds  to  the  beauty  of  the 
hole.  The  value  of  this  elegant  present  is  about  £l80.  We  understand  that  a  public  din- 
er will  be  held  on  the  day  of  the  presentation,  but  we  have  not  heard  where  the  ceremony 
,  ,i  to  take  place. — Manchester  Courier. 

The  Rev.  Robe/t  Jack,  D.  D.,  minister  of  the  chapel  in  Manchester  connected  with  the 
jecession  Church  of  Scotland,  has  been  presented  (October,  1825)  by  his  congregation  and 
ithers  with  the  sum  of  six  hundred  guineas,  as  a  testimony  of  their  respect  for  his  character, 
iind  of  their  gratitude  for  his  long  and  able  ministrations  among  them. 

!|  A  piece  of  plate,  fo?  which  £228  was  subscribed  by  the  church  of  the  Rev.  John  Clay- 
|)n,  was  presented  on  new  year's  day  (1827)  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
\  lescription  : — It  consists  of  a  vase,  and  two  waiters.  The  vase  is  of  silver,  richly  gilt  in  dead" 
\  }nd  burnished  gold,  21  inches  high,  and  weighs  223  ounces.     The  cover  is  surmounted  with 

ijie  Acanthus  leaf,  upon  which  stand  the  three  characteristic  virtues.  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity, 
[■eneath  is  a  wreath  of  palm  leaves,  and  at  the  edge  a  bold  border  of  flowers  and  scrolls.  The 
\  |ody  occupied  on  one  side  by  a  bas-relief  copy  from  Rapliael's  cartoon  of  Paul  preaching  at 
f  1  thens,  and  on  the  reverse  is  the  following  inscription,  in  various  styles  of  writing : 

"  To  the  Rev.  John  Clayton,  who  for  forty-eight  years  sustained,  with  distinguished  ac- 
•ptance,  fidelity,  and  usefulness,  the  interesting  and  responsible  oSice  of  pastor  of  the  church 
id  congregation  assembling  for  divine  worship  at  the  Weigh-house  meeting,  Little  Eastcheap, 
lis  tribute  of  affectionate  regard  was,  on  his  retirement,  presented  by  the  people  of  his  charge, 
I  testimony  of  their  love  for  his  person,  of  their  veneration  for  his  character,  and  of  their 
■fttitude  for  the  many  advantages,  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual,  which,  by  his  instru- 
'i^^iitality,  were  conferred  upon  them  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,     A.  D.  1826," 

The  reward  which  ministers  ought  to  look  for,  like  the  work  which  they 
lught  to  perform,  seems  to  be  grievously  mistaken.  In  the  infidelity  of  our 
learts,  we  are  apt  to  take  the  same  view  of  religious  teaching  as  we  do  of 
l>e  duties  of  aoy  other  profession,  and  that  it  is  to  be  rewarded  with  money. 


176 

This  notion  prevails  extensively,  and  is  one  amongst  many  other  infidel  no- 
tions acted  upon  by  religious  people.  If  there  be  a  heaven,  and  if  ministers 
are  to  be  rewarded  there,  why  should  it  be  anticipated  by  the  substitution 
of  the  very  thing  which,  more  that  any  other,  tends  to  lead  our  minds  from 
this  "  exceeding  great  reward  ?"  "  For  me,"  says  Paul,  "  there  is  laid  up 
a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give 
at  that  day ; "  and  Peter,  to  stimulate  the  pastors  of  the  flock,  tells  them 
that  "when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  they  should  receive  a  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away."  It  is  enjoined  that  those  who  are  appointed 
over  us  in  the  Lord  should  be  "  highly  esteemed  for  their  work's  sake ;"  but 
really  the  presentation  of  "purses  of  gold,"  and  massive  "pieces  of  plate,' 
as  well  as  the  attending  "ceremony,"  are  quite  out  of  character  with  thai ' 
kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world. 

Is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  pride,  ostentation,  and  worldly  honour  hav<  i| 
more  to  do  with  these  offerings  than  real  religion  ?    If  but  a  few  influentia 
men,  who  in  consequence  of  their  riches  are  generally  leaders  in  a  cause! 
begin  a  subscription  for  a  minister  whom  they  delight  to  honour,  others  ar( 
induced  to  join  them  for  decency's  sake ;   and  many  a  poor,  honest-hearteci 
Christian  sits  silently  by,  though  he  heartily  disapproves  of  the  practice;! 
Such  services  as  the  above  not  only  divert  the  attention  of  professors  froni 
the  interests  of  the  poor,  but  absorb  the  means  by  which  they  ought  to  biv 
relieved.      God  has  repeatedly  commanded  us  to  remember  the  poor — 1( 
visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  distresses,  but  never  to  spend  ou 
means  in  rewarding  that  which  he  himself  has  promised  to  reward  in  hea; 
ven.     It  is  not  only  a  wrong  application  of  our  money,  by  which  the  poo  T 
are  likely  to  be  neglected,  but  it  is  a  practice  which  is  likely  to  minister  ti 
the  pride  and  vanity  of  the  ministers  themselves.     But  the  fact  is  (and  thi 
I  mention  last  that  it  may  not  be  forgotten)  that  there  are  so  few  minister 
moving  in  a  high  sphere,  who  are  distinguished  for  their  merit  and  thei 
usefulness,  that  when  an  exception  is  met  with,  the  people  cannot  repres 
their  admiration  of  his  character  and  services :  such  men  are  so  rare,  tha  , 
a  person  of  comparative  merit  becomes  almost  adored.    As  to  the  poor 
chanic  parson,  who,  like  the  fishermen  apostles,  is  labouring  hard,  unnotil 
by  the  wealthy,  the  people  with  whom  he  associates  have  no  plate,  "  ric 
gilt  in  dead  and  burnished  gold,"  to  spare ;  nor  has  he  so  low  a  view  of] 
value  of  spiritual  blessings,  and  the  rewards  of  a  faithful  minister  of  CI 
as  to  acknowledge  any  connection  betwixt  his  labours  and  the  perisl 
honours  and  riches  of  the  world. 


SELLING   THE   CHURCH. 
It  is  astonishing  how  long  a  nation  may  have  made  up  its  mind 
certain  points  in  dispute  before  circumstances  aflibrd  a  favourable  oppol 


j  177 

I  lity  for  testing  its  decision,  so  as  to  give  general  satisfaction  that  it  ought 
:o  be  acted  upon.     Such  an  opportunity  has  recently  occurred  as  to  reform, 
md  could  the  question  as  to  the  "  separation  of  church  and  state"  be  as 
I  ,:airly  tried,  I  should  be  confident  of  the  same  result.    An  ascendant  church, 
Maintained  by  compulsory  demands  upon  those  who  hate  it,  is  an  outrage 
ipon  public  opinion,  and,  like  the  feudal  system,  was  sure  to  give  way  before 
,  :he  march  of  reason.    Indeed,  the  public  mind  is  so  made  up  on  this  subject, 
hat  one  feels  almost  ashamed  to  attempt  to  reason  upon  it :   the  force  of 
}  "acts  which  have  recently  occurred  has  completely  decided  the  dispute, 
rhe  following  anecdote  shows,  that  if  there  be  any  difierence  of  opinion,  it 
nust  be  among  the  immoveables — the  old  women  who  never  see  the  light. 
It  was  told  me  by  a  humoTirous  friend  of  mine  in  Manchester,  whose  word  is 
i  voucher  for  its  truth.    "  On  a  journey  some  time  ago,"  says  he,  "  I  had  oc- 
casion to  stay  at  an  inn  where  there  was  a  number  of  commercial  gentlemen. 
[  was  rather  late  for  tea,  and  entering  just  after  they  had  begun,  I  appeared  as 
f  I  were  in  a  bustle.  '  What  is  the  matter  ? '  cried  one  of  the  party.  '  I  have 
rome  very  important  business  in  hand,'  said  I,  '  and  which  I  am  obliged  to 
)ush  on  with  aU  possible  speed.*^     '  Pray  what  is  the  matter  ?*     '  Why,  Sir, 
[  am  going  to  sell  the  church.'     '  Sell  the  church ! '  replied  the  inquirer, 
fl-lien  a  profound  quiet  came  over  the  tea  table,  every  one  being  anxious  to 
lear  the  explanation.     '  Yes  :  I  will  give  you  the  plan.    I  am  not  instructed 
:o  interfere  with  the  faith,  formularies,  or  offices  of  the  establishment ;  but 
[  am  commissioned  to  dispose  of  every  thing  in  the  shape  of  church  property, 
ind  apply  the  proceeds  towards  the  liquidation  of  the  national  debt,  with 
Dnly  this  reserve,  that  I  am  to  secure  the  life  interest  of  every  man  now  in 
iffice.     In  the  first  place,  I  take  all  the  buildings,  and  dispose  of  them  to 
:he  highest  bidder.     The  tithes  are  next  to  be  ofifered  to  the  landowners 
it  a  reasonable  price,  and  where  an  agreement  cannot  be  come  to,   such 
Dther  arrangements  to  be  made  as  will  prevent  the  invasion  of  the  com 
fields  for  tithe,  and  secure  the  value  of  it  to  the  state.     Then  I  proceed  to 
ill  the  ECCLESIASTICAL  ESTATES  and  GLEBE  LANDS,  and  shall  sell  them  also, 
[and  apply  the  proceeds  to  the  same  purpose.     Whilst  I  shall  thus  be  able 
tto  relieve  the  burdens  of  the  country,  and  ease  it  of  a  considerable  amount 
bf  debt,  I  shall  also  be  doing  one  of  the  best  services  to  the  cause  of  pure 
religion.'     Profound  silence  was  kept  while  I  made  this  statement,  and  at 
the  close,  the  whole  company  agreed,  vdthout  a  single  dissentient,  that  the 
iplan  was  excellent.     Finding  my  notions  received  so  much  beyond  my  ex- 
pectations, I  thought  I  would  try  it  again.     On  the  railway,  I  gave  out  the 
same  statement,  when  I  met  with  the  same  unanimous  support.      Travel- 
ling with  the  coach  some  time  after,  I  made  the  same  experiment,  and 
with  the  exception  of  one  person,  who  after  some  little  debate  gave  in,  the 
passengers  all  concurred  in  my  proposition.    I  was  astonished  at  the  result, 
jfor  though  I  was  aware  that  great  dissatisfaction  existed  as  to  the  church. 


17$ 

I  did  not  calculate  that  so  bold  a  proposition  would  be  bo  generally  ap* 
proved  of." 

The  present  parliament  is  too  near  its  close,  and,  in  fact,  liberal  as  it 
is,  cannot  be  expected  to  do  justice  to  the  subject.  But  I  earnestly  entreat 
the  people  of  Preston,  Blackburn,  Rochdale,  Bolton,  Bury,  Wigan,  Ashton, 
Oldham,  Stockport,  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Lancaster,  Kendal,  Leeds,  and 
Birmingham  (in  all  of  which  places  the  Moral  Reformer  is  circulated)  to 
make  the  separation  of  church  and  state  a  distinct  condition  of  giving  their 
support  to  any  person  who  offers  himself  as  a  candidate  for  their  sufia-ages 
at  the  next  election,  and  also  to  publish  their  determination  to  do  so  to  the 
whole  kingdom.  I  am  actuated  by  no  feeling  of  hostility  to  the  church 
party,  but  simply  from  a  desire  to  remove  a  great  cause  of  oppresj* 
sion,  vice,  and  hypocrisy.  May  peace  and  prosperity  attend  the  devoul 
churchman,  but  may  he  never  be  a  party  to  deprive  his  neighbour  of  the 
same  blessings ! 


INCIDENTAL  TEACHING. 

No  method  of  teaching  children  is  so  pleasing  and  profitable  as  that '; 
which  is  connected  with  passing  events.     Abstract  reasoning  requires  too  J; 
great  a  stretch  of  the  mind  to  be  interesting  to  children :  they  delight  in  i 
facts  and  incidents,  and  upon  these,  as  they  occur,  much  usefvd  instruction  {\ 
may  be  conveyed.     The  following,  being  substantially  what  occurred  in  my  ^ 
own  hearing,  may  serve  as  an  illustration.     The  father  and  six  children  i 
were  seated  together  to  receive  the  morning  lesson.     On  these  occasions  5 
their  little  complaints  are  laid  before  him,  for  it  is  his  request,  if  they  can-;; 
not  adjust  their  differences  peaceably  among  themselves,  they  are  to  bring :' 
them  to  him.     "  Our  John,"  said  the  youngest  girl,  about  three  years  old, 
"stole  Peter's  whip."     "And  what  name  do  you  give  to  such  an  act?" 
inquired  the  father.     "Robbery,"  answered  an  elder  boy;    "but  I  don't 
think  he  meant  to  steal  it :    they  were   only  playing."    "  I   hope   not, " 
resumed  the  father,  "  but  you  ought  to  know  that  to  steal  a  whip  is  not  less 
robbery  than  to  steal  things  of  greater  value.     We  should  be  content  with 
our  own  things,  and  never  covet  nor  desire  what  belongs  to  any  other  person. 
God  has  said,  '  Thou  shalt  not  steal,'  and  we  must  always  mind  what  he 
commands.     But  are  there  no  other  things  that  we  may  be  said  to  stea 
"  Yes,  time,"  answered  one.     "  Very  true;  it  is  money,  or  something  c^ 
vertible  into  money,  for  which  thieves  generally  break  through  and  ste 
but  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  stealing  is  confined  to  property,] 
that  property  is  the  most  valuable  ai'ticle  which  can  be  stolen.     "When 
remain  at  your  play  half  an  hour  longer  at  dinner  time  than  what  you 
allowed,  you  are  certainly  taking  the  time  which  does  not  belong  to  yc 
and  you  ovght  to  appropriate  this  as  faithfully  as  any  other  tru^  placed] 


our  hands" "  They  put  a  thief  into  their  mouths,"  said  James,  rathei* 

abruptly.  "And  what  is  that  thief?"  He  answered  immediately^ 
'  Drink."  "  Yes,"  continued  the  father,  "  and  it  steals  away  their  brains, 
^'hls  is  the  greatest  robber  that  ever  infested  society ;  locks  and  bars  are 
10  defence  against  its  depredations ;  it  steals  from  the  poor  and  the  rich ; 
t  robs  mankind  of  health,  happiness,  and  every  blessing ;  and  I  hope  you 
i  vill  always  continue  to  watch  against  it,  and  never  let  it  rob  any  of  you. 
i  .tere  is  also-  another  sort  of  theft  which  I  am  anxious  to  caution  you 
ij  gainst :  it  is  stealing  or  taking  away  the  good  name  and  reputation  of 
ithers.  Now,  there  is  nothing  that  most  men  value  more  than  their  charac- 
^,  and  many  persons  would  think  less  at  losing  their  property  than  losing 
bdis.  You  know,  you  never  like  persons  to  speak  evil  of  you,  and  even 
rhen  you  have  done  something  wi'ong,  you  do  not  like  any  of  your  brothers 
6  make  a  talk  of  it.  Mind,  then,  never  to  defame  any  man's  character, 
lever  misrepresent  or  impeach  his  motives,  and  instead  of  revealing  his 
Milts,  try  to  cover  them.  In  this  respect,  do  as  you  would  be  done  by : 
alebearing  and  backbiting  are  too  common ;  and  if  children  are  not  can- 
toned, they  easily  fall  into  the  same  practice."  The  children  sat  stiU, 
istened  attentively,  and  evidently  understood  all  that  was  said  to  them. 

I  hold  it  to  be  the  indispensable  duty  of  every  father  to  instruct  his 
hildren,  and  I  know  no  method  so  interesting  and  so  well  adapted  to  their 
oung  minds  as  this  conversational  plan.  A  sermon,  or  systematic  instruc- 
iOD  generally,  is  not  adapted  to  profit  young  children,  and  even  reading  to 
hem,  unless  it  be  broken  up  into  mutual  conversation,  and  made  to  embody 
acts,  fails  to  secure  attention.  It  is  difficult  to  gain  the  ear  of  children 
or  any  length  of  time,  and  I  have  noticed  that  the  bare  reading  of  the 
Icriptures  in  families  does  by  no  means  secure  their  attention,  nor 
sad  to  that  improvement  which  is  desirable.  Let  me  exhort  parents  not 
0  depend  upon  what  childi-en  may  learn  at  the  Simday  school,  or  at  the 
hnrch  or  chapel,  but  to  make  their  own  fire  side  the  place  of  regular  and 
onstant  instruction.  This,  though  of  more  importance  to  the  happiness  of 
jamilies  and  to  society  than  almost  every  other  duty,  I  believe  is  generally 
eglected.  Well  may  fathers  and  mothers  have  to  weep  over  the  vices  of 
beir  children,  exposed  all  their  lives  to  the  corrupting  example  of  their 
ssociates,  when  they  never  so  much  as  try  to  implant  in  their  minds  the 
eeds  of  virtue. 


PETITIONS  TO  PARLIAMENT. 
The  present  mode  of  getting  up  petitions  to  parliament  is  not  only 
lague  and  irregular,  but  is  an  opportunity  of  practising  many  dishonourable 
lanceuvres,  which,  though  passed  over  imnoticed  by  excited  parties,  can 
ever  be  reconciled  to  the  strict  principles  of  morality.  The  opportunity 
if  sending  petitions  is  a  valuable  right,  the  importance  of  which  should 


180 

never  be  destroyed  by  the  growing  irregularities  attending  it.  As  it  is  tin 
only  channel  through  which  the  people  can,  on  an  emergency,  express  thei: 
sentiments  to  the  legislature,  how  desirable  it  is  that  all  impediment 
should  be  removed  that  tend  to  produce  a  false  impression.  Objections  an 
frequently  made  on  the  presentation  of  petitions,  and  that  upon  the  moa 
substantial  grounds,  but  which,  by  the  adoption  of  certain  rules,  migh 
easily  be  prevented.  To  name  some  of  the  irregularities — boys  and  ol« 
men,  as  well  as  many  others,  sign  petitions,  who  have  no  knowledge  of  thi 
purport  of  the  prayer  to  which  they  subscribe  their  names — the  same  per 
sons  sign  in  different  places,  and  upon  different  sheets — coimtry  people,  aiu 
persons  residing  at  a  distance,  sign  petitions  professing  to  be  from  thi 
towns,  with  which  they  have  no  connection — the  names  of  many  are  sign^ 
in  their  absence  —  sheets  full  of  names,  obtained  for  one  petition,  are  ap 
pended  to,  and  sent  off  with  another, — these  and  other  irregularities  ar- 
known  to  exist,  and  though  the  parties  concerned  may  see  no  breach  o 
moral  principle  in  these  acts,  it  is  clear  that  so  far  as  they  are  intended  t 
produce  a  false  impression,  they  must  be  wrong,  and  are  also  calculated  t 
familiarize  the  minds  of  those  concerned  to  dishonourable  manoeuvres  ani 
stratagems  to  gain  an  object. 

To  judge  impartially  of  the  merit  of  a  petition,  and  how  far  it  expres 
ses  the  sense  of  the  place  whence  it  professes  to  proceed,  two  things  ax 
necessary :  first,  to  know  the  bona  fide  number  and  character  of  the  peti 
tioners ;  and,  secondly,  the  exciting  cause  by  which  a  petition  has  been  go 
up.  Both  these  are  important.  It  is  well  known  that  any  individual  witi 
a  little  public  spirit  and  money  may  excite  a  whole  county,  and  be  th 
means  of  calling  into  existence  scores  of  petitions  upon  some  favouiit 
topic;  and  hence  districts,  quite  as  zealous  for  the  same  object,  withoB 
leaders,  may  send  no  petition,  and  perhaps  may  be  supposed  to  be  uncojqj 
cerned.  Blank  forms  for  petitions  are  frequently  circulated  through  ^ 
country  by  the  London  societies  foi  certain  objects,  and  it  is  often  by  tl)i 
influence  that  numerous  petitions  are  got  up. 

As  a  remedy,  I  would  suggest  that  no  person  below  a  certain  age,  sa' 
eighteen,  should  sign ;  that  every  person's  trade  and  residence  shovdd  ap 
pear  on  the  petition  ;  that  all  the  sheets,  when  complete,  should  lie  for  a  da 
previously  to  their  being  forwarded  at  some  public  place  for  inspection 
and  that  the  town  clerk,  or  some  competent  person,  should  always  repoi 
upon  the  same,  as  to  the  real  number  of  signatures,  and  as  to  its  being  a  1 
petition.  This  I  conceive  to  be  necessary,  not  less  for  the  prevention 
imposition,  than  to  meet  the  calumnies  groundlessly  raised  in  the  Hous^ 
Commons.  Like  the  elections  of  members  of  parliament,  petitioning 
been  left  to  itself,  and  has  become  subject  to  all  the  irregularities  of  d 
times ;  but  it  will  not  be  deemed,  I  hope,  a  subject  unworthy  the  notic 
a  reformed  parliament. 


381 

EMIGRATION. 
The  past  month  has  been  the  time  for  "  flittings,"  and  you  never  see  a 
surt  load  of  furniture,  with  the  family  following  after,  but  you  come  to  this 
xmclusion,  that  they  are  dissatisfied  with  the  house  which  they  are  leaving, 
ujd  that  some  other  has  gained  the  preference.  This  is  just  the  case  in 
eference  to  emigration :  dissatisfied,  and  unable  to  gain  a  livelihood  in 

t  England,  multitudes  are  bidding  a  final  farewell  to  the  land  of  their 
ers,  and  openly  proclaim  in  our  earfe,  "We  have  found  a  better  coun- 
ry."  In  spite  cf  nature  and  of  art,  through  sheer  mismanagement  of  our 
esources,  we  are  obliged  to  send  away  thousands  of  our  clever  countrymen 
IS  paupers  to  a  foreign  country.  There  are  n'me  several  burdens  pressing 
ipon  us,  which,  in  reference  to  emigrants,  may  fitly  be  termed  a  cat 
t\  nine  tails,  driving  them  away : — The  debt  tax ;  the  government  tax ; 
h.e  clerical  tax ;  the  aristocratical  tax ;  the  monopolist's  tax ;  the  poor's 
ax;  and  the  taxes  imposed  by  the  avarice,  pride,  and  sensuality  of  the 
)eople  themselves.  Let  but  five  and  twenty  per  cent,  be  taken  off  each  of 
hese,  and  the  flittings  to  America  and  Van  Dieman's  Land  would  soon 
sease  to  be  fashionable.  For  a  large  portion  of  our  neighbours  who  are 
iccustomed  to  nothing  but  the  cultivation  of  land,  why  rage  for  it  beyond 
he  seas  ?  We  have  plenty  uncultivated  at  home,  and  if  the  government  do 
lot  facilitate  its  inclosure  and  cultivation  for  the  purpose  of  finding  em- 
)Ioyment,  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  doing  its  duty  to  its  own  subjects.  What 
larent  is  there  that  can  endure  to  see  his  children  forced  from  home  through 
meat  ?  and  what  paternal  government  can  feel  satisfied  to  see  thousands  of 
.ts  own  people  preferring  other  shores  to  their  own  ?  This  subject  has 
lieen  well  handled  by  Mr.  Atkinson,  from  whose  lectures  on  home  coloniza- 
aon  I  extract  the  following : — "  One  nobleman,  who  has  no  need  of  it,  en- 
feiys  crown  land,  for  which  he  pays  £500  per  annum,  which  might  be  made 
to  pay  £30,000  per  ajinum,  and  give  comfort  to  20,000  persons  more  than 
it  now  does.  Sherwood  and  Windsor  Forests  each  contains  100,000  acres 
of  waste,  which,  in  a  few  years,  might  be  made  to  pay  £200,000  a  year 
rent,  and  difi^use  plenty  and  contentment  to  a  million  of  human  beings,  who 
now  cry  for  food.  The  Forest  of  Dean  comprises  300,000  acres,  which 
might  increase  the  revenue  by  as  many  pounds  annually,  and  feed  and 
clothe  150,000  of  our  fellow  creatures.  New  Forest,  in  Hampshire,  would 
in  like  manner  produce  £50,000  a  year  to  the  exigences  of  the  state,  and 
provide  in  comfort  for  from  40  to  50,000  persons.  Besides,  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  thousands,  perhaps  millions  of  acres  of  crown  land  capable  of  being 
used  in  that  manner ;  and  why  should  not  the  proprietors  of  those  w*astes  be 
compelled  either  to  sell  them  at  a  fair  value,  or  put  them  in  cultivation 
themselves  ?  Salisbury  Plain,  I  believe,  covers  350,000  acres,  which  would 
provide  for  a  million  and  a  half  oi  people  ;  yet  the  impious  ciy  of  '  redundant 
jpopulation'  sounds  through  the  land,  and  natives  of  our  country  have  been 

VOL.  II.  z 


182 

scA'cred  from  their  connections  and  expatriated  by  act  of  parliament 
Misery  and  crime  have  been  extended,  whilst,  if  the  means  were  made  use 
of,  plenty,  peace,  and  contentment  would  be  diffused  throughout  the  realm, 
— vice  and  immorality  would  be  supplanted  by  morality,  pastoral  simplicitv . 
and  good  will,  —  mendicity  and  pauperism  would  be  destroyed,  and  crimi. 
be  banished  from  the  kinsrdom." 


CHOLERA. 

However  sceptical  some  men  may  be  as  to  allowing  this  disease  to  be 
considered  a  divine  chastisement,  they  are  perhaps  not  so  unbelieving  as 
to  its  direfid  effects,  and  the  propriety  of  providing  against  it.  But  no  man 
who  takes  a  comprehensive  view  of  nature,  and  believes  in  nature's  God, 
can  deny  that  the  cholera,  and  indeed  every  other  disease,  are  appointed  of 
him.  He  made  our  frames  susceptible  of  sickness  and  disease,  and  eveiy 
malady  springing  from  the  composition  of  nature  must  have  been  foreseen 
and  fore-appointed.  And  the  salutary  benefits  resulting  to  mankind,  like 
the  effects  of  a  thunder-storm,  though  frightful  in  its  operation,  mark 
clearly  not  only  the  wisdom  but  the  goodness  of  God.  If  selfish  man  will 
not  watch  over  his  brother  who  is  suffering  from  poverty  or  crime,  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  he  must  be  compelled  to  do  it,  from  motives  of  self-interest. 

The  following  humourous  WARNING  upon  this  serious  subject  may, 
perhaps,  do  more  actual  good  than  advice  in  a  more  serious  garb  : — 

"  Sir — For  some  time  I  resided  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and  having 
paid  my  visits  respectively  to  the  metropolises  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
France,  I  have  received  a  commission  to  visit  some  of  the  provinces  of  this 
country,  and  especially,  if  not  internipted  in  my  course,  the  densely  popu- 
lated towns  of  Lancashire.  I  have  thought  it  best  to  send  beforehand  through 
your  columns  a  slight  sketch  of  my  history  and  proceedings.  I  was  born  and 
bred  in  India.  My  father,  who  is  a  well-known  old  serpent,  named  me 
cholera,  by  way  of  signifying  my  sympathy  and  regard  for  the  gross  and 
choleric  portion  of  mankind.  I  am  particulai'ly  attached  to  everj-thing  my 
parent  has  a  hand  in,  consorting  always,  whatever  country  I  inhabit,  witli 
the  promoters  of  any  kind  of  evil  and  iniquity.  The  profligate,  the  drunk- 
ards, the  gluttons,  the  lazy,  the  dirty,  the  quarrelsome,  may  be  sure  I  shall 
find  out  their  abode.  And  I  never  fail  to  fix  on  those  constitutions  that 
have  been  enfeebled  by  debauchery,  or  undermined  by  the  infallible  poisons 
under  the  name  of  quack  medicines.  I  prefer  lodging  always  in  narrow 
courts,  and  in  cellars  under  ground,  in  chambers  where  no  windows  wiU 
open,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  gasometers,  ponds,  or  the  purlieus  of  publiCj 
houses  redolent  of  bad  beer,  and  among  effluvia  of  punch,  whiskey,  and  M 
ruin.  But  this  I  must  observe,  that  if  a  man  be  industrious,  sober, 
temperate,  I  shall  have  nothing  to  say  to  him.     If  he  rise  early*,  open  yni 


TSW: 


183 


•windows,  wash  himself  from  head  to  foot,  whitewash  often  his  house, 
take  his  meals  with  his  family,  and  keep  himself  always  in  good  humour 
with  liis  neighbours — such  a  one  I  cannot  abide.  He  may  live  in  health, 
and  die  in  good  old  age,  for  all  I  can  do  to  the  contrary.  I  pass  by  his 
cheerful  hearth  and  heart,  to  revel  in  the  rotten  liver  of  the  drunkard,  and 
to  stir  about  the  boiling  bile  of  the  sulky,  the  discontented,  and  the  litigious. 
For  the  information  of  artificers  I  beg  to  add,  that  I  am  very  fond  of  kissing 
faces  well  grimed  with  soot  and  dirt,  and  that  I  revel  in  those  stomachs 
which  are  stuffed  one  half  of  the  week  and  stan^ed  the  other. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  yours  truly, 

"CHOLERA  MORBUS." 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE. 

I  now  see  clearly  that  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  friends  of  temperance 
to  put  down  the  excessive  use  of  ardent  spirits,  if  not  to  banish  them  alto- 
gether. Not  that  the  effects  are  so  visible  on  the  suiiace  of  society  as  they.. 
wiU  be  by  and  by ;  but  every  accurate  observer  knows  tlaat  among  the 
higher  and  middling  classes  in  societv  there  is  already  a  great  deal  less 
drinking.  The  Temperance  Societies  can  also  point  to  numerous  instances 
of  reformed  di'unkards  among  the  working  classes,  instances  which  more 
than  repay  all  the  labour  that  has  yet  been  taken.  Men  now  begin  to  see 
that  di-inking  intoxicating  liquor  has  resulted  from  the  influence  of  habit ; 
that  the  human  frame,  in  a  healthy  state,  does  not  require  it ;  and  it  is 
known  to  every  body,  that  it  has  been  the  cause  of  more  poverty,  crime, 
and  disease,  than  any  other  practice.  The  establishment  of  Temperance 
Societies  has  been  a  fortunate  event  for  England  :  sunk  almost  to  the  brink 
of  ruin  by  this  deadly  sin,  the  hope  of  deliverance  begins  to  beam  upon  us  ; 
and  amidst  the  scoffs  of  enemies,  and  the  doubtings  of  professed  friends, 
the  fi-iends  of  the  people,  by  expelling  the  demon  of  intoxication,  are  laying 
the  firmest  foundation  for  every  social  improvement. 

The  Preston  Temperance  Society  holds  its  meetings  even'  Tuesday 
night ;  the  attendance  continues  to  increase  ;  and  the  benefits  already  result- 
ing fi'om  several  instances  of  reformed  dnmkards,  as  stated  in  the  meetings, 
are  most  gratifjing;  and. I  have  no  doubt  that  great  numbers  of  "little 
drop  men" — of  moderate  drinkers — have  been  saved  when  just  upon  pas- 
sing the  line  of  what  is  called  moderation.  Indeed,  in  politics,  when  men 
talk  of  "moderate"  reform,  we  resent  the  misapplication  of  the  term,  and 
say  that  men  might  as  well  talk  of  moderate  chastity ;  and  is  it  not  equally 
ridiculous  for  men  to  advocate  the  regular  use  of  a  moderate  quimtity  of 
poison  ?  Pure  spirit  is,  bv  chemists,  ranked  with  poisons,  and  the  reason 
"why  so  many  survive  the  use  of  it  i?,  that  being  diluted  to  so  ^reat  an 


184 

extent  by  the  distiller,  the  merchant,  the  retailer,  and  the  consum^ 
its  effects  become  in  some  measure  neutralized ;  and  on  this  account  I 
ways  place  the  landladies  who  frequently  put  an  extra  can  full  of  water  into 
their  gin  cask,  as  among  the  benefactresses  of  mankind.  Our  cry  now  is, 
all  hands  to  work  ?  England's  greatest  enemy  is  discovered ;  war  is  pro- 
claimed ;  his  extirpation  is  determined  upon  ;  the  first  blow  has  been  struck 
with  splendid  results ;  and  the  true  friends  of  the  people  will  not  lay  down 
their  arms  till  they  see  the  vanquished  monster  prostrate  at  their  feet. 


PARLIAMENTARY  REFORM. 

Possessed  of  no  inclination,  and  claiming  no  qualifications  for  meddling 
with  politics,  I  certainly  have  not,  during  the  past  month — along  with  al- 
most every  reflecting  man  in  the  kingdom — ^been  able  to  repress  iny  feelings, 
or  to  deny  myself  the  opportunity  of  giving  vent  to  them,  in  reference  to  the 
all-absorbing  subject  of  reform,  in  such  a  way  as  was  most  likely  to  pro- 
mote the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  country.  Events  more  important  in  their 
results  never  occuiTed  in  my  time — marked  by  an  intensity  of  public  feeling 
scarcely  ever  before  knoY\Ti.  Two  parties  have  been  struggling  for  the  as- 
cendancy— the  country  and  its  oppressors :  the  success  of  the  former  is 
ti-anquillity  and  peace ;  the  success  of  the  latter,  in  all  probability,  would 
have  been  universal  confusion.  In  such  an  emergency,  it  becomes  every 
man  to  be  at  his  post,  and  to  identify  himself  with  the  progress  of  princi- 
ples whose  tendency  is,  the  greatest  happiness  to  the  greatest  number.  It 
is  not  the  working  people  only  of  this  county  that  have  been  degraded  as 
bondmen — though  they  have  felt  the  main  pressure  of  the  evil — but  the 
right  of  representation  has  been  withheld  from  most  of  the  populous  to'svns 
which  are  the  seats  of  manufacture,  by  whose  productive  skill  and  labour 
the  greater  part  of  the  burdens  of  taxation  has  been  borne.  The  Manches- 
ter and  Birmingham  people  have  always  been  told,  it  was  for  them  to  ob© 
the  laws,  not  to  assist  in  making  them.  But,  as  by  a  miracle,  the  people 
delivered  from  their  Egyptian  taxmasters,  and  though  still  in  the  wilderm 
they  have  before  them  the  land  of  promise — a  land  which  they  hope  will 
flow  with  milk  and  honey. 

Big  with  the  pride  of  having  governed — or  rather  mis-governed— 
country  so  long — in  which  I  believe  there  has  been  more  poverty  and 
fering,  considering  the  extent  of  industry,  than  in  any  other  civilized  ^ 
tion — the  tories  madly  determined  to  put  their  strength  to  the^test.     It  has 
ended  in  the  most  decisive  defeat — not  to  say  annihilation — of  this  p 
They  can  never  rally  again  ;  the  sun  of  toryism  is  set  for  ever.     And 
can  help  exulting  ?    This  system  has  been  the  father  and  mother  of  evi 
thing  that  was  wicked  and  oppressive ;  war  and  bloodshed,  slavery  and  pi 
perism,  debt  ajid  taxation,  misery  and  crime,  and  the  completest  prostrati 


wm.,. 

I 


185 

of  holy  things  to  unholy  purposes,  have  been  the  bitter  fruits  of  this  bound- 
less system  of  tyranny.  We  have  done  with  the  tories ;  and  if  there  be  any 
left  among'  us,  let  us  respect  them  as  citizens  and  for  their  private  worth, 
but  let  them  never  be  trusted  with  office. 

But  the  great  good  resTilting  from  this  fall,  does  not  consist  so  much 
in  the  restoration  of  the  whig  party  to  power,  as  in  the  consciousness  of 
their  own  strength  which  the  people  have  acquired ;  and  if  the  exercise  of  it 
has  been  kept  in  abeyance  by  the  direction  of  patriotic  leaders,  under  such 
an  unusual  excitement,  is  there  any  danger  that  the  people  wiU  direct  their 
moral  force  to  any  objects  but  those  which  are  good  ?  Slender  as  was  the 
thread  on  which  the  destinies  of  the  coimtry  hung  for  several  days,  thanks 
to  a  kind  Providence,  the  result  has  been  the  most  fortunate ;  and  I  sin- 
cerely trust  that  the  main  impediment  to  our  national  prosperity  is  now 
removed. 

The  co\mtry  is  more  radical  now  than  ever  it  was  in  the  memory  of  man, 
and  imless  the  inspiration  of  the  people  enter  into  the  present  government, 
it  will  not  retain  its  popularity  long.  With  the  doings  of  so  irrespon- 
sible a  body  as  the  House  of  Lords  before  his  eyes.  Earl  Grey,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  no  longer  talk  about  his  "  order,"  but  do  justice,  ample  jus- 
tice, to  those  who  have  been  ready  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  his  cause. 
We  must  have  reforms,  but  no  patchwork ;  and  though  our  confidence  will 
be  principally  in  a  newly  constituted  House  of  Commons,  yet  it  is  desirable 
that  it  should  be  led  on  by  ministers  who  ai-e  sincere  in  their  determinations 
to  reheve  the  country. 

it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  under  the  new  bill  the  people  cannot 
choose  whom  they  please ;  the  candidates  must  not  only  be  men  of  consi- 
derable property,  but  this  property  must  be  in  the  shape  of  land ;  and  hence 
irises  the  great  difficulty,  that  though  the  franchise  will  be  bestowed  upon 
towns,  in  most  instances  they  wiU  not  be  able  to  select  a  single  individual 
among  themselves  whom  they  might  wish  to  prefer  to  the  important  tnist 
jf  representing  them  in  parliament.  The  consequence  will  be,  in  many  pla- 
ices, that  either  a  man  of  no  qualifications  must  be  selected,  or  the  electors 
.vill  have  to  go  a  hunting  all  over  England  for  a  candidate  to  represent 
:hem.  To  mention  this  is  enough  to  expose  its  absurditv.  The  qualifica- 
:ion  is  higher  now  than  ever  it  was ;  it  remains  at  the  same  amount  as 
.vhen  land  was  high,  although  it  will  take  nearly  as  much  land  again  to 
"aise  a  three  hundred  a-year  qualification.  Tliis  regulation  operates  against 
;he  interests  of  trade ;  the  man  whose  property  is  in  land,  will  naturallv  in- 
-line to  protect  it,  and  to  favour  those  laws  which,  by  maintaining  its  price, 
ceep  up  the  price  of  bread.  Why  a  man  that  has  £300  a-year  in  factories 
•hould  not  be  qualified,  I  can't  tell ;  and  why  the  country  should  be  deprived 
)f  the  ser\'ices  of  men  possessing  the  superior  qualifications  of  intellect, 
I'haracter,  and  public  spirit,  is  a  question  which  is  worthy  of  discussion. 


186 

It  is  a  fact  that  most  of  the  towns  have  no  choice  but  either  second-rate 
men  or  strangers.  Here,  then,  the  power  first  given  to  the  people  is  eitlier 
neutralized  or  thrown  away ;  and  with  all  my  satisfaction  in  the  result  of  re- 
cent events,  I  am  afraid,  that  with  a  House  of  hereditary  Lords,  an  aristo- 
cratical  government,  and  a  landed  property  qualified  Commons,  the  people 
will  have  to  exercise,  in  the  hope  of  national  improvements,  more  patience 
than  they  are  aware  of.  I  would  support  the  whigs  against  the  tories,  but  1 
would  not  deceive  myself  by  expecting  too  much  at  their  hands.  The  poor 
houses  want  clearing,  and  the  badge  of  pauperism  removing  from  the  front 
of  our  labourers — the  jails  want  discharging — clerical  oppression  putting 
down — the  church  restored  to  its  proper  use — the  destruction  of  monopo- 
lies, and  especially  that  which  taxes  enormously  every  poor  man's  bread,-— 
all  this  and  more  wants  accomplishing  :  and  unless  there  be  an  infusion  of 
more  liberal  men  into  the  ministry — unless  the  unbounded  influence  of  such 
men  as  Hume  and  O'Connell  be  incorporated  with  the  government,  the 
popularity  of  the  whigs  may  be  as  transient  as  that  of  our  patriot  king. 

J.  L. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 
CHURCH  RATES. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — It  has  for  some  time  been  my  intention  to  address  you  on  the  subject  of  churdi 
rates,  and  I  hope  the  following  remarks  will  prove  acceptable,  being  satisfied  I  could  not  em 
brace  a  more  favourable  opportunity  than  the  present. 

I  have  long  been  convinced  of  the  dislike  the  great  body  of  dissenters  have  had  to  tin 
payment  of  church  rates,  not  only  on  account  of  the  amount  of,  money  which  they  have  bee; 
from  time  to  time  called  upon  to  pay — not  only  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  that  mo- 
ney has  been  expended — but  they  have  considered  it  improper  and  unjust  that  they  should 
have  been  obliged  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  an  establishment,  to  which  many  of  them,  a 
least,  were  decidedly  opposed  on  conscientioi.'s  grounds.  The  dissenters  have,  it  is  but  too 
true,  long  and  quietly  submitted  to  be  taxed  for  the  support  of  an  overgrown  establishment, 
and,  to  their  shame  be  it  said,  submitted,  when  they  ought  to  have  resisted  by  every  means  in 
their  power ;  and  I  am  perfectly  convinced,  if  they  had  been  governed  by  correct  and  religious  ^ 
principles,  and  guided  by  consistency,  we  should  have  had  numerous  instances  of  disseM 
having  acted  the  part  they  ought  to  have  done.'  In  my  judgment,  dissenters  are  not  only! 
consistent,  but  criminal,  who  pay  church  rates  without  opposing,  in  the  most  decided  man; 
such  an  unjust  and  unchristian  demand.  The  laws  now  in  force  may  compel,  in  some.] 
stances,  dissenters  to  pay  for  the  necessary  repairs  of  parish  churches,  but  those  laws  will  1 
compel  them  to  pay  for  the  eating  and  drinking  of  churchwardens,  and  for  many  other  hifi 
improper  and  illegal  purposes,  to  which  church  rates  are  applied,  but  to  enumerate  ' 
would  occupy  too  much  space.  I  feel  assured  that  if  the  matter  were  looked  into,  there 
few  church  rates  in  the  kingdom  but  what  are  applied  to  purposes  which  are  illegal,  and  w| 


187 

eann6t  be  too  severely  exposed  and  deprecated.  Reason,  religion,  and  justice  call  loudly  for 
1  repeal  of  those  laws  which  burden  dissenters  with  the  support  of  an  establishment  more  than 
rich  enough  in  itself,  if  the  funds  were  properly  applied. 

I  would  ask,  why  are  dissenters  not  allowed  the  same  privileges  as  churchmen  ?  Why 
are  they  called  upon  from  time  to  time  to  support  what  they  object  to  so  strongly,  and  from 
5uch  proper  motives  ?  Why  are  their  feelings  outraged  from  time  to  time,  by  their  being 
obliged  to  submit  to  what  is  so  diametrically  opposite  to  all  that  is  right  and  just  ?  Is  it  be- 
cause they  are  not  as  loyal  and  faithful  to  their  king  and  their  country  ?  Is  it  because  they 
ire  more  irreligious  Or  immoral  ?  Is  it  because  they  are  less  intellectual  ?  Is  it  because  they 
ire  not  as  virtuous  and  temperate  in  their  habits,  or  as  fit  to  discharge  the  many  duties  of  so- 
;ial  and  domestic  life  ?  Is  it  because  they  are  not  as  honest  and  exact  in  their  dealings  with 
the  world  ?  No :  I  will  venture  to  say,  and  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  as  to  loyalty, 
■eligion,  morality,  intellect,  virtue,  temperance,  honesty,  and  the  discharge  of  all  the  social 
ind  domestic  duties,  they  are  quite  on  an  equality  with  the  members  of  the  established 
church ;  and  being  equal  to  them  in  every  qualification  which  makes  a  good  man  and  a  good 
subject,  who  will  have  the  audacity  to  say  that  those  statutes  are  not  unjust  and  oppressive, 
jmd  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God  and  reason,  which  make  such  a  distinction  between  man  and 
I, lis  fellow  man  on  account  of  the  religious  opinions  he  may  hold?  Many  dissenters,  no  doubt, 
jaay  church  rates  for  the  sake  of  peace,  many  for  policy,  many  because  they  will  not  take  the 
rouble  to  inquire  into  the  justice  or  legality  of  the  demand ;  many  because  they  are  accus- 
{omed  to  pay  every  demand  presented  to  them  in  the  form  of  a  tax  or  a  rate,  as  a  matter  of 
ourse  ;  and  many  because  they  imagine  that  they  have  not  time  to  inquire  into  the  merits  of 
he  claim.  I  would  say  to  them,  Will  you,  as  dissenters,  for  the  consideration  of  worldly 
leace,  of  policy,  trouble,  inattention,  or  want  of  time,  sacrifice  principle,  be  inconsistent — nay, 
»e  criminal,  be  wanting  in  your  duty  to  society  ?  Reflect  on  the  conduct  you  have  hitherto 
)ursued,  and  do  your  duty  to  yourselves,  to  society,  to  the  sacred  cause  of  religion.  Unite, 
iud  resist,  by  all  legal  and  constitutional  means,  the  pajnuent  of  ecclesiastical  impositions. 
'ellow  dissenters,  make  a  simultaneous  effort  for  your  rights  and  privileges,  and  depend  upon 
t,  the  present  time  is  most  favourable,  if  you  have  the  inclination  and  the  courage  to  act  as 
aen,  and  men  of  principle.  I  am  yours  respectfully, 

Redvales,  near  Bury,  12th  May,  1832.  THOMAS  GRUNDY. 


MARRIAGE  FEES. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — As  no  one  has  come  forward  to  answer  the  queries  of  "  An  edified  reader  of  the 
loral  Reformer,"  I  submit  the  following.  First  question :  What  is  the  rejison  our  I*w  church 
irbids  people  to  be  married  during  Lent,  unless  they  pay  double  dues  ?  The  practice  owes 
s  birth  to  the  same  hands  which  invented  the  sale  of  indulgences,  of  which  this  is  a  branch ; 
lid  the  reason  why  this  is  retained  in  our  law  church  is  fully  answered  by  the  remark  of  a 
-lebrated  writer,  who  says  that  "  our  clergy  are  wonderfully  afraid  of  anything  that  savours 
f"  popish  superstitions,  unless  it  be  the  money  superstition,  and  then  they  stickle  with  a  per- 
nacity  almost  unexampled."  His  second  question  may  be  as  briefly  answered,  as  it  is  a  fur- 
ler  indulgence  for  such  as  can  afford  to  pay  for  licenses ;  and  while  there  are  persons  in  the 


1 


188 


world  vain  enough  to  give  the  clergy  such  sums  for  such  sham  honour  and  indulgences,  Jl 
doubt  there  will  be  parsons  honourable  enough  to  lighten  their  pockets  when  it  is  offered  tt 
them.  But  among  the  reforms  that  are  expected  to  take  place,  I  should  like  the  affaire  ol 
marriage  to  be  performed  by  the  cioil  authorities,  as  far  as  regards  making  it  a  legal  marriage 
and  putting  it  under  the  protection  of  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  then  those  who  consider  thai 
there  is  something  of  a  religious  nature  in  the  contract,  may  attend  at  their  respective  places 
of  worship,  and  perform  what  services  they  think  proper.  This  arrangement,  I  think,  woulc 
give  general  satisfaction,  except  to  that  portion  who  would  lose  something  by  it,  and  who 
when  that  is  the  case,  can  imitate  so  well  the  notes  of  the  screech  owl. — Yours, 

Blackburn,  8th  May,  1832.  A  Hater  of  Chukch  Abuses. 

MERCANTILE  SELFISHNESS. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — Permit  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  extreme  keenness  of  men  in  business,     h 
a  great  number  of  instances  this  evil  is,  no  doubt,  the  consequence  of  sheer  covetousness :  i 
others,  perhaps,  it  is,  in  a  great  measure,  produced  by  the  force  of  circumstances.     Compel 
tion  is  such  as  may  seem  to  render  it  necessary.     This  plea,  however,  should  be  admitt 
with  great  caution,  as  our  own  self  complacency  is,  at  all  times,  striving  to  deceive  us. 

It  would  be  rather  difficult  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  evils  of  extreme  keenness 
business.     They  are  numerous,  and  frequently  resulting  from  each  other,  and  so  united  tli 
it  would  require  no  ordinary  tact  to  bring  each  distinctly  and  separately  into  notice,  so  as  ; 
cause  the  deformity  to  be  sufficiently  apparent. 

It  is  a  fact,  painful  to  be  mentioned,  that  lying,  in  the  way  of  business  and  for  the  sak 
of  gain,  is  so  common,  and  deemed  so  necessary,  that  to  reprove  or  remonstrate  would, 
general,  produce  nothing  more  than  a  contemptuous  smile,  or  some  expression  of  pity  for  n 
sanctimonious  scrupulosity.  The  prevalence  of  this  vice,  when  practised  as  the  means 
effecting  a  good  bargain,  in  many  instances  corrects  itself.  The  manufacturer  and  the  m( 
chant  seldom  believe  each  other,  so  that,  after  all,  they  are  very  rarely  deceived  by  the 
efforts  to  deceive.  The  evils,  however,  resulting  from  this  abuse  of  speech  are  by  no  raea 
inconsiderable,  nor  is  the  guilt  of  it  in  any  measure  decreased  by  the  circumstances  thu 
alluded  to. 

Oppression  is  almost  a  necessary  consequence  of  extreme  keenness  in  business.  In  ord' 
to  bring  down  the  price  of  goods  to  the  desired  scale,  every  circumstance  of  embarrassment, 
want  of  information,  is  taken  advantage  of,  without,  apparently,  the  slightest  degree  of  coi 
punction,  or  sense  of  impropriety.  Hence  it  is  that  the  working  classes,  in  many  cases,  ;i 
reduced  almost  to  the  lowest  state  of  want  in  which  life  can  be  preserved;  and  the  honest  ai 
industrious  tradesman,  of  small  capital,  unless  some  favouring  circumstances  should  i 
his  history,  is  borne  downward  as  by  an  irresistible  torrent. 

Censures,  as  well  as  rules,  in  most  cases,  require  us  to  make  exceptions — sometimes] 
considerable  extent.  I  wish  to  be  regarded  as  doing  so  when  I  remark  that  professors  of  J 
gion  are  very  frequently  not  a  whit  behind  the  keenest  of  their  fello\?  tradesmen.  Of  r 
they  will  plead  the  necessity  of  impelling  circumstances ;  but  though  this  might  consi 
a  good  reason  for  receding  from  a  particular  line  of  business,  it  can  form  no  justificatia 
practices  which  are  clearly  at  variance  with  the  word  of  God.     Even  splendid  acts  of  : 


189 

%nce,  occasionally  performed,  though  they  may  benefit  the  cause  of  humanity  and  religion, 
ivill  seldom  screen,  under  these  circumstances,  from  the  scorn  of  the  more  thinking  part  of 
)ur  fellow  men ;  and  can  never  be  accepted,  even  in  union  with  a  correct  system  of  belief,  of 
hat  God  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  but  with  the  utmost  abhorrence. 

However  seldom  these  things  may  be  noticed  in  the  pulpit,  there  are  no  heavier  denounce- 
nents  recorded  in  the  sacred  writings  than  those  which  are  levelled  against  the  oppressor,  the 
!Ovetous,  and  "  whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie."  But  why.are  these  things  so  seldom  men- 
ioned,  and  solemnly  and  powerfully  denounced  from  the  pulpit?  Where  are  our  Latimers 
jf  the  present  age?  Are  there,  in  reality,  none  remaining?  Are  these  evils  so  widely 
jpread,  has  the  torrent  acquired  a  force  so  impetuous,  so  overwhelming,  that  all  effort  to  stop, 
)r  even  to  retard,  its  progress  must  be  utterly  hopeless  ?  Have  oppression,  and  exaction,  and 
overreaching  acquired  so  firm  a  footing,  even  amongst  our  church  members,  that  to  denounce 
them,  even  in  the  very  language  of  Scripture,  would  be  the  breaking  up  of  our  religious  asso- 
;iations,  or  at  least  the  ejection  of  tha^  portion  of  our  church  members  to  whom  we  mainly 
ook  for  pecuniary  support,  and  the  direction  of  our  benevolent  insitutions  ? 

The  baneful  effects  of  that  avaricious  mode  of  doing  business  which  prevails  to  a  very 
jreat  extent  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom,  not  merely  in  the  large  transactions,  but  even  with 
•egard  to  the  most  trifling  jobs,  are  observable  far  beyond  those  detestable  efforts  at  deception 
ilready  mentioned.  Why  is  there  such  a  distance  observed,  even  among  persons  connected 
n  the  same  religious  society  ?  Is  it  not  because  many  of  these  persons  who  are  thus  united 
ieem  to  be  actuated  by  a  spirit  just  the  reverse  of  the  kind,  liberal  spirit  of  the  gospel  ?  and 
:o  be  influenced  solely  by  feelings  of  sheer  selfishness,  even  where  benevolence  and  justice, 
morally  considered,  would  demand  a  very  different  mode  of  conduct  ?  How  is  it  possible, 
with  such  feelings,  that  brotherly  kindness,  and  amiable  dispositions,  and  exemplary  conduct 
owards  each  other,  which  so  much  distinguished  the  members  of  the  first  Christian  churches, 
should  be  maintained  and  cherished?  There  is  no  proposition  of  the  truth  of  which  the 
witer  of  this  paper  is  more  confident,  than  that  the  keen  commercial  spirit,  which  prevails 
rery  extensively,  even  among  professors  of  religion,  in  this  district,  is  calculated  to  destroy 
Jie  genuine  spirit  of  Christianity.  If  we  could  suppose  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  con- 
;>isted  of  a  correct  system  of  belief,  united  by  exemption  from  the  grosser  immoralities  of  the 
ijpenly  profane,  then  we  might  reconcile  ourselves  to  that  profession  which  is  made  to  consist 
ifvith  every  thing  that  is  cold,  and  keen,  and  selfish  in  attention  to  our  secular  concerns, — that 
religion  which  has  nothing  to  do  whatever  with  any  of  our  mercantile  transactions, — that  reli- 
gion which  we  assume  and  put  aside  with  our  prayer  books  and  our  hymn  books,  in  the  dif- 
ferent places  of  public  worship  in  which  we  usually  attend  on  one  day  in  the  week. 

ALIQUIS. 


SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 


►1R» — I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  practice  of  taking  very  young  children,  as  Sun- 
jholars,  to  our  places  of  public  worship.     It  appears  to  me  that  this  practice  is  carried 
Imuch  too  far.    I  cannot  see  the  advantage  of  taking  to  public  worship,  in  considerable  numbers, 
VOL.  n.  2  A 


190 

children  who  can  scarcely  understand  a  word  of  the  services :  and  that  a  great  majority  oft! 
younger  children  brought  by  Sunday  school  teachers  to  public  worship  derive  no  benefit  fird 
their  attendance,  is  evident  from  their  behaviour  whilst  there.  One  is  sleeping;  anoflh 
gazes  around  the  place  with  vacant  mind,  or  curious  eye ;  whilst  a  third  amuses  himself  1 
tickling  the  ear  of  the  slumberer,  polishing  between  his  finger  and  thumb  his  "  Sunday  ha 
penny,"  admiring  the  beauties  of  a  favourite  marble,  or  some  other  equally  profitless  occup 
tion.  They  are,  moreover,  often  sources  of  disturbance  and  annoyance  to  the  congregado 
by  making  noises  which  distract  their  attention.  In  small  places  of  worship,  where  it  is  n 
cessary  to  put  the  scholars  in  the  aisles  (as  in  the  chapel  which  I  attend),  this  is  more  pec 
liarly  the  case.  It  is  needless  to  say  much  on  this  subject,  as  the  evil  must  have  be 
frequently  experienced  by  most  of  your  readers. 

The  impropriety  of  the  practice  will  also  be  evident  from  the  consideration  that  the  titt 
so  far  as  the  children  are  concerned,  might  be  far  better  employed.  It  will  not  be  denied  tfc 
young  children  are  incapable  of  understanding,  and  »far  less  capable  of  deriving  profit  frw 
the  general  services  of  our  public  worship,  whether  conducted  "  as  by  law  established  "  in  o 
churches,  or  in  the  simpler  and  plainer  method  used  by  the  dissenters :  so  that  the  benef 
derived  to  the  children  are  simply  their  being  kept,  during  the  hours  of  worship,  from  m 
chief  and  evil  practices,  and  the  possibility  of  their  contracting  a  habit  of  attending  diw 
service. 

Now  it  appears  to  me  that  a  system  might  be  adopted,  and  easily  carried  on,  whi 
would  afford  with  these,  other  and  greater  advantages.  I  would  have  the  school  open  duri 
the  hours  of  worsliip,  and  such  of  the  children  as  were  too  young,  either  in  years  or  in  knff 
ledge,  to  derive  advantage  from  the  services  of  the  minister,  should  remain  in  the  scho 
where  moral  and  religious  exercises  should  be  carried  on,  and  addresses  delivered,  suitable 
the  understanding  of  every  scholar.  They  would  thus  reap  benefit  which  they  could  not  p( 
sibly  derive  from  hearing  services  they  could  not  understand,  and  worship  in  which  A 
could  not  join.  Attendance  on  public  worship  ought  not  to  be,  even  in  children,  compulsm 
Make  if  a  privilege,  to  be  obtained  only  by  diligence  and  attention  at  the  school,  and  by  go 
conduct  both  in  the  school  and  abroad.  By  thus  investing  it  with  the  favour  of  a  privilq 
(and  it  certainly  is  a  high  and  a  precious  privilege,)  you  will  enhance  its  value  in  their  t 
teem ;  they  will  begin  to  covet  it,  and  you  will  lay  the  foundation  of  a  deep  and  sincere  lo 
of  devotional  exercises,  a  thousand  times  more  influential  on  the  conduct,  and  therefore  pi 
portionately  m.ore  valuable,  than  mere  habit ; — you  will  employ  a  means  likely  to  create 
real  and  sincere  piety,  instead  of  a  mere  conformity  to  custom, — a  true  and  deep-rooted  re 
gion  of  the  soul,  instead  of  a  mere  observance  of  rites  and  ceremonies. 

I  have  hitherto  proceeded  on  the  assumption,  that  the  practice  I  condemn  ttnll  lead  to 
habit  of  attending  public  worship ;  I,  however,  very  much  doubt  that  it  will  do  so.  Whei 
child  is  taken  to  church  or  chapel,  and  kept  there  two  hours,  wholly  uninterested,  comp^ 
to  be  present  at  the  performance  of  services  entirely  beyond  his  comprehension,  and  which 
not  engage  his  attention,  excite  his  imagination,  or  in  any  way  exercise  or  keep  alive  I 
faculties,  he  becomes  listless,  and  wearied,  and  dissatisfied.  A  constant  and  compulsory  rep 
tition  tends  to  increase  his  dissatisfaction,  and  probably  ends  in  absolute  dislike  and  disgn 
not  merely  at  the  attendance  on  worship,  but  at  religion  itself,  of  which  he  is  taught  to  ll 
lieve  that  attendance  forms  an  important  and  essential  part.  Then,  so  soon  as  he  is  of  an  • 
to  throw  off  parental  control,  and  to  keep  away  from  the  Sunday  school,  he  does  so ;  ^ 
having  thus  freed  himself  from  the  authority  which  dictated  the  attendance,  he  also  casts  i 


191 

attendance  itself,  becomes  consequently  loose  and  disorderly  in  his  habits,  and  ultimately 
(wns  all  with  an  utter  neglect  of  every  moral  and  religious  obligation. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  undervalue  the  importance  of  creating  an  inclination  in  the  young 
attend  the  stated  public  services  of  religion.  I  would  have  the  inclination  created ;  but  it 
juld  rest  on  something  more  solid  and  pure  than  mere  habit :  yet  I  cannot  but  think  that 
y  benefits  which  are  derived  from  the  attendance  of  young  children  at  church  or  chapel  are 
ich  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  disturbance  and  annoyance  they  give  to  the  congre- 
don,  the  non-improvement  of  the  time  spent  in  it,  and  the  danger  of  creating  in  them  a 
like  to  public  worship,  and  consequently  to  religion  itself. 

I  am.  Sir,  yours  respectfully. 

Bury,  April  13th,  1832.  Z. 


SOCIETIES. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — I  think  that  the  work  you  are  so  zealously  editing  and  publishing  is,  and  will  be 
!  means  of  doing  much  good ;  and,  with  this  conviction,  I  beg  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to 
prove,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  the  moral  condition  of  the  class  to  which  I  belong, — I  mean  the 
rking  class.  Hitherto  the  sick  clubs,  which  are  generally  composed  of  labourers,  under  all 
'.  various  names  of  Masons,  Odd-fellows,  Orange-men,  Druids,  Foresters,  Philanthropists, 
hav&  invariably  held  their  meetings  at  public  houses,  perhaps  not  always  from  an  inclina- 
n,  but  in  general  from  necessity,  there  being  very  few  places  accessible  that  are  large 
)ugh,  particularly  in  small  towns  and  country  places ;  and  then,  again,  being  fashionable, 
!  good  and  the  sober  of  such  societies  never  once  thought  of  holding  their  meetings  any 
ere  else.  Where  no  better  accommodation  can  be  found,  I  would  suggest  that  these  socie- 
5,  formed  for  such  laudable  purposes,  should  consult  the  proprietors  or  trustees  of  Sunday 
lools,  to  know  if  for  a  reasonable  remuneration  the  school  rooms  could  not  be  had  for  this 
rpose.  Every  one,  upon  little  reflection,  must  see  that  the  money  expended  at  public 
uses,  directly  and  indirectly,  amounts  to  a  very  considerable  sum.  Every  new  society 
ding  its  meetings  at  public  houses,  although  the  sick  have  not  begun  to  be  relieved,  it  is 
ar,  from  calculation,  t^iat  by  the  time  the  funds  have  reached  one  hundred  pounds,  the 
lection  of  that  sum  has  cost  in  expences,  directly  and  indirectly,  not  less  than  another  fifty. 
d  the  money  expended  by  the  old  and  worn  out  societies,  which  have  existed  thirty  or  forty 
irs,  is  incalculable.  Many  young  men,  on  their  entrance  into  life,  have  no  business  what- 
!r  that  calls  them  to  an  alehouse  but  that  of  attending  their  clubs;  and  what  a  pity  that 
iir  first  business  in  society,  while  young  and  inexperienced,  should  call  them  for  such  a 
rthy  purpose  to  a  public  house.  But  if  a  number  of  these  societies  were  to  unite,  the 
nney  they  foolishly,  and  I  may  say,  wickedly  expend,  would  very  soon  build  a  Hall  or  a 
mple,  that  would  serve  for  every  convenient  purpose. — I  subscribe  myself 

Yours,  very  truly. 

Bury,  March  26th,  1832.  R.  G. 


19-2 
CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS, 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — It  Is  justly  observed  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  Man  is  the  direct  agent  of  a  wide  ai 
continual  distress  to  the  lower  animals."  Instead  of  exercising  a  benevolent  sway  over  tl 
inferior  world,  his  rule  has  too  often  been  that  of  a  cruel  and  remorseless  tyrant.  For  tb 
reason,  it  may  be  said,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  "  The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  tri 
vaileth  in  pain  together  until  now."  To  satisfy  the  cravings  of  his  luxurious  appetite,  or  Qi 
of  mere  curiosity  and  amusement,  man  has  never  ceased  to  inflict  torture  and  misery  upon  tl 
beasts  of  the  field.  It  has  been  remarked  by  several  writers,  that  though  the  existence  of  H 
inferior  animals  is  upon  the  whole  more  pleasurable  than  painful,  yet  that  the  sufferinj 
which  they  do  endure  are  chiefly  inflicted  by  man.  "  The  whole  creation  labours  and  is  i 
violence  because  of  his  cruelties ;  and  from  the  amphitheatre  of  sentient  nature  there  sound 
in  fancy's  ear,  the  bleat  of  one  wide  and  universal  suffering, — a  dreadful  homage  to  the  pow( 
of  nature's  constituted  lord." 

Many  of  the  amusements  of  civilized  society  are  characterized  by  a  brutality  and  mali{ 
ni^'  unsurpassed  by  the  most  savage  and  barbarous  nations.  What  are  our  bull  and  badge 
baitings,  our  dog  fights,  lion  fights,  and  cock  fights,  but  the  relics  of  a  barbarous  age,  utterl 
unworthy  of  being  permitted  by  a  people  calling  themselves  civilized.  They  ought  to  be  th 
subject  of  "  unmixed  reprobation."  A  Christian  and  humanized  society  should  lift  up  i 
voice  against  practices  so  barbarous  in  their  character  and  so  demoralizing  in  their  tendenq 

It  will  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  enter  into  any  particular  detail  on  the  irrationalit} 
wickedness,  and  cruelty  of  the  various  amusements  already  referred  to.     On  one  of  the  mo; 
common  of  them,  cock  fighting,  Dr.  Dick  says,  "  What  an  appropriate  exhibition  for  rations.: 
and  immortal  beings  do  the  scenes  of  a  cock-pit  display!  to  behold  a  motley  group  of  bipedi\ 
of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  from  the  peer  to  the  chimney  sweep,  and  from  the  man  of  hoary  hair ' 
to  the  lisping  infant,  betting,  blustering,  swearing,  and  feasting  their  eyes  with  savage  deligh  \ 
on  the  sufferings  of  their  fellow  bipeds,  whom  they  have  taught  to  wound,  to  torment,  and  ti 
destroy  each  other  I     There  is  scarcely  anything  appears  so  congenial  to  the  spirit  which  per 
vades  the  infernal  regions  as  the  attempt  to  inspire  the  lower  animals  with  the  same  malignan 
dispositions  which  characterize  the  most  degraded  of  the  human  species.     That  such  a  crue  ] 
and  disgusting  practice  still  prevails  in  England,  and  that  it  formed,  till  lately,  a  part  of  th<  ij 
amusements  of  almost  all  the  schools  in  Scotland,  is  a  reproacii  to  the  civilization,  the  hu-  - 
manity,  and  the  Christianity  of  our  own  country."     "  And  what  shall  we  think  of  the  amuse 
ments  of  one  half  of  our  gentry,  country  squires,  gentlemen  farmers,  and  the  whole  tribe  o 
the  sporting  community,  who  derive  more  exquisite  enjoyment  in  maiming  a  hare,  a  partridge   \ 
or  a  moor  fowl,  than  in  relieving  the  wants  of  the  friendless  poor,  in  meliorating  the  conditioi 
of  their  dependents,  or  in  patronising  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge." 

"  I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends 

(Though  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine  sense, 

Yet  wanting  sensibility)  the  man 

Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm. 

An  biadvertent  step  may  crush  the  snail 

That  crawls  at  evening  in  the  public  path ; 

But  he  that  has  humanity,  forewarned, 

Will  tread  aside,  and  let  the  reptile  live." 


193 

This  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  importance  to  every  parent  and  teacher  of  youtli.  If 
ese  flagrant  enormities  were  confined  to  the  mere  desperadoes  and  barbarians  of  our  land, 
ey  would  speedily  grow  into  disrepute,  until  they  fell  into  disuse.  But  so  long  as  these 
rational  and  cruel  exhibitions  of  animal  prowess  are  sanctioned  and  supported  by  the  no- 
!ity  and  gentry,  they  will  continue  in  some  measure  to  be  popular.  "  They  are  indications 
a  barbarian  spirit,  which  can  only  be  eradicated  by  knowledge  and  true  religion."  The 
•iect  of  every  teacher  of  youth  should  be  to  excite  an  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  every 
ing  like  cruelty  to  inferior  animals.  A  feeling  and  benevolent  regard  to  them  should  be 
rly  implanted  in  the  youthful  breast.  This  will  appear  very  necessary,  when  we  consider 
e  propensity  of  youth  to  torture  insects.  Whence  arises  this  disposition  ?  Not,  I  am  dis- 
sed  to  think,  from  a  hardness  of  heart,  but  from  a  thoughtless  indifference,  partly  arising 
im  an  ignorance  of  their  possession  of  the  same  feelings  and  of  the  same  instincts.  The 
eatest  assiduity  should  be  employed  to  prevent  the  development  of  a  feeling  distinguished 
such  a  heedlessness  of  pain.  If  not  timely  checked,  it  may  ripen  into  inhumanity  to  man- 
id  as  well  as  cruelty  to  animals.  Nero,  that  monster  in  human  shape,  is  said  to  have  taken 
light  in  torturing  insects  whilst  a  child.  Often  have  I  viewed,  with  indignation  and  pain, 
If  a  score  or  a  dozen  boys,  armed  with  goads,  and  sticks,  and  whips,  beating  and  lacerating 
unoffending  ass,  made  stupid  by  such  savage  and  brutal  treatment.  At  other  times,  these 
(Ughtless  youths  are  seen  wandering  in  the  fields  in  search  of  birds'  nests  which  they  may 
I.  By  many,  these  things  may  be  considered  trifling  and  unimportant.  Nothing,  how- 
;r,  affecting  the  morals  and  welfare  of  the  people  is  beneath  our  attention.  But  whilst  we 
tdemn  the  more  open  and  daring  exhibitions  of  cruelty  displayed  in  our  disgusting  amuse- 
nts,  and  by  the  vulgar  rabble  in  our  streets,  those  refinements  in  cruelty  practised  by  the 
erers  of  a  base  and  selfish  epicurism  should  also  be  the  subject  of  unqalified  censure  and 
•robation.  There  ought  to  be  the  least  possible  expense  of  suffering  to  the  victims  of  a 
■•essary  slaughter.  The  time,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  come  when  a  Christian  public  will  call 
)r  a  business  of  utmost  horror  being  also  a  business  of  utmost  despatch." 

On  this  subject  much  might  be  said  on  the  influence  of  a  tender  regard  to  the  brute  crea- 
1  in  producing  a  corresponding  feeling  towards  man.  They  mutually  act  upon  each  other. 
lere  there  exists  an  unfeeling  regard  to  the  sufferings  of  inferior  creatures,  there  will  be  a 
lentable  want  of  benevolence  to,  and  sympathy  in,  the  miseries  of  mankind. 

Yours  respectfully, 

March  27th,  1832.  JUVENIS. 


SHOEMAKERS'  MONDAYS. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir, — As  I  perceive  it  is  the  plan  of  your  well-conducted  work  to  point  out  vice 

t  exists  in  all  classes,  I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  a  practice  which  is  prevalent  amongst 

imerous  body  of  young  men  called  "journeymen  shoemakers."    What  I  allude  to  is,  their 

8  om,  if  ever,  commencing  their  week's  labour  till  Tuesday  or  Wednesday.     In  this  town, 

a    I  believe  most  others  in  the  country,  the  whole  of  Monday,  and  often  Tuesday,  are  de- 

^'  d  to  drinking  and  idling  by  this  class.     Indeed,  some  woidd  almost  think  it  a  sin  to 


194 

"buckle  to"  on  a  Monday.     Surely  much  does  not  require  to  be  said  here  on  the  impro 

deuce  of  this  custom,  and  its  consequent  evils ;  but  I  have  often  thought  that  if  the  ti 

which  is  wasted,  and  the  monei/  necessarily  spent  by  them  during  their  play  days,  were  tali 

to  account,  they  amomit  would  be  full  as  much  as  their  present  weekly  earnings.     Besid 

by  abandoning  this  practice,  their  moral  state  would  be  ameliorated,  they  would  become  m( 

respectable  members  of  society,  and  their  constitutions  would  not  be  liable  to  the  inroads 

tendant  upon  a  dissipated  course.     In  fine,  if  these  misguided  beings  would  adopt  the  ecu 

which  every  sensible  man  would  recommend,  I  am  confident  they  would  at  once  feel  the  ms 

benefits  resulting  from  it.     Should  this  paper  meet  the  eye  of  any  of  those  to  whom  it  is 

rected,  and  have  the  effect  of  turning  them  from  the  path  which  their  fellow  workmen 

daily  pursuing,  a  good  end  will  be  answered. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Chorley,  May  2,  1832.  SPECTATOR. 


GRATITUDE. 


"  How  lost  to  genuine  joy,  how  base  and  blind, 
Whose  hearts  the  ties  of  gratitude  disclaim!" 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — Since  human  laws  command  only  where  they  have  the  power  to  compel,  they  o 
seqiiently  omit  many  duties,  which,  though  lying  beyond  the  borders  of  their  operation  i 
authority,  are  indispensably  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  society.  Amongst  these  duties  i 
be  found  gratitude  to  benefactors. 

Ingratitude  affects  not  merely  individuals,  but  is  a  foe  to  the  welfare  of  the  communiti 
large.  When  it  presides  in  the  bosom  of  one  individual,  it  is  apt  to  check  voluntary  bene 
lence,  by  inspiring  the  minds  of  his  benefactors  with  distrust ;  but  when  it  infuses  its  poi 
into  the  entrails  of  a  great  people — when  they  erase  from  their  minds  the  remembrano 
blessings  conferred  upon  them  by  their  political  administrators — or  when  those  administral 
cease  to  remember  the  favours  received  from  the  people,  and  repay  them  only  with  insole 
and  oppression, — the  consequence  is  generally  a  diminution  of  power,  accompanied  with 
the  horrors  of  civil  dissension. 

Whilst  success  attended  the  arms  of  Hannibal,  whilst  he  added  power  to  the  flourish 
empire  of  the  Carthagenians,  and  embellished  their  city  with  the  spoils  of  his  enemies,  he ' 
the  favourite  of  his  country.  His  intrepidity  and  perseverance  surmounted  the  lofty  barr: 
of  Italy :  his  bravery  and  fertility  in  expedients  enabled  him,  for  seventeen  years,  to  cont 
for  the  palm  of  victory  with  the  bravest  troops  in  the  world.  When  deserted  by  his  couni 
whilst  in  the  very  centre  of  his  enemies,  his  determined  fortitude  never  for  a  moment  for» 
him;  and  when  recalled  by  his  superiors  in  office  from  the  sanguinary  conflict,  his  ard 
love  for  his  country  would  not  suffer  his  abilities  to  lie  dormant.  Instead  of  throwing  h 
self  into  the  lap  of  indolence,  satisfied  with  the  laurels  he  had  acquired,  he  endeavoured 
obtain  an  equal  distribution  of  justice  among  the  people,  and  created  himself  additional  e 
mies  by  undertaking  a  reformation  in  the  management  of  the  public  revenues.   Such  devot 


I 


195 


tly  entitled  this  great  man  to  the  eternal  gratitude  of  his  countrj-men.  But  how  did  they 
ay  him  ?  Jealous  of  his  abilities,  they  would  have  betrayed  him  into  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
[«,  and  sacrificed  the  greatest  ornament  of  their  country  upon  the  altars  of  perfidy  and 
[ratitude.  To  avoid  the  designs  of  his  enemies,  he  fled  from  the  country  to  which  he  was 
iched ;  the  legislature  of  Carthage  was  weakened  by  the  absence  of  his  virtues ;  and  when 
rs  again  sounded  the  trumpet  of  defiance  from  the  gates  of  Rome,  the  scourge  of  Italy  had 
)t  the  sleep  of  deatli,  and  no  man  was  fomid  to  supply  his  place.  The  rival  of  Rome, 
ich  had  stood  for  seven  hundred  years  one  of  the  most  powerfiil  empires  in  the  world,  at 
i^h  fell  by  thf  wisdom  of  Scipio,  and  amply  atoned  for  the  injuries  she  had  so  ungene- 
sly  heaped  upon  one  of  the  bravest  generals  time  ever  produced. 

The  mind  that  is  never  touched  by  the  kindness  of  a  benefactor  must  be  a  "  barren  waste 
which  no  salutary  plant  takes  root,  and  no  verdure  quickens"^ whose  unproductive  sands 
I  ak  up  the  springs  of  virtue,  and  bury  its  waters  in  oblivion.  But  the  mind  in  which  gra- 
de is  fostered  cannot  avoid  being  afltected  by  the  goodness  of  our  Divine  Benefactor ;  and 
i«  one  of  the  chief  causes  which  ought  to  induce  us  to  cultivate  a  disposition  which  con- 
irs  it  no  disparagement  freely  to  acknowledge  obligations,  and  as  liberally  to  remunerate 
>iirs. 

The  tender  thread  of  our  existence  is  in  the  hands  of  our  Creator :  he  might  snap  it  in 
instant,  and  sever  us  at  once  from  all  we  hold  dear  on  earth.  All  our  gratifications  and 
)yments  proceed  from  the  same  source ;  and  the  same  Being  has  the  power  to  withhold 
m,  and  launch  us  at  once  into  the  dark  abyss  of  deprivation  and  misery.  Still  we  exist ; 
unre  hovers  around  us ;  and  the  objects  of  gratification  are  unremoved.  But  our  gratitude 
emanded ;  and  how  can  we  refuse  it  ?  or  why  should  we  shrink  from  the  payment,  when, 
discharging  the  debt,  we  only  partake  of  additional  happiness  by  performing  an  act  of  the 
Bt  and  most  exalted  virtue  ? 

When  Panthea,  the  wife  of  Abradates,  king  of  Lusiana,  was  brought  a  prisoner  unto 
vs,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Babylonian  war,  the  generous  conqueror,  instead  of  treat- 
her  according  to  the  custom  of  the  age,  acted  towards  her  with  the  greatest  clemency  and 
passion ;  and  in  return,  she  persuaded  her  husband  to  enlist  under  his  standard.  AVhen 
ttrived  in  the  camp  of  Cyrus,  he  was  immeiiiately  conducted  to  the  tent  of  Panthea,  who, 
I  tears  of  gratitude,  informed  him  of  the  kind  treatment  she  had  experienced  from  the 
Bg  prince  of  Persia.  "  And  how,"  said  Abradates,  "  shall  I  be  able  to  acknowledge  so 
Oitant  a  service?"  '^ By  behaving  towards  him,"  replied  Panthea,  "as  he  has  towards 
Abradates  felt  the  justice  of  her  answer :  he  was  impatient  to  acknowledge  his  obliga- 
8  to  so  great  a  benefactor,  and  immediately  waited  upon  Cyrus.  "  You  see,"  said  he, 
e  tenderest  friend,  the  most  devoted  servant,  and  the  faithfullest  ally  you  ever  had ;  who 
being  able  otherwise  to  acknowledge  your  favoxu-s,  cames  and  devotes  himself  entirely  to 
r  service."  Such  devotion  to  a  benefactor  in  a  pagan  prince,  and  such  generosity  in  a 
esful  conqueror,  reflects  a  brilliancy  upon  their  characters  which  would  not  disgrace,  but 
additional  lustre  to,  some  of  the  most  elevated  teachers  of  Christianity,  who  (in  these  days) 
a  to  delight  more  in  polemic  discussions,  and  in  pursuing  the  empty  shadows  of  popularity, 
I  in  dififusing  around  them  examples  of  virtue,  and  delivering  to  their  several  attendants 
lessons  of  true  morality  and  religion. 

Gratitude  is  not  merely  a  necessary  duty  in  society,  but  a  conspicuous  ornament  to  every 
by  whom  it  is  cultivated.  If  our  hearts  are  elated  by  the  kindness  of  men,  they  must 
ate  at  the  recollection  of  the  many  favours  we  have  received  from  our  Creator. 


196 

But  however  great  may  be  the  claims  of  a  benefactor,  or  however  ardent  may  be  our  i 
sires  to  comply,  with  his  wishes,  the  beams  of  gratitude  can  never  dispel  the  infamy  attach 
to  guilty  actions  perpetrated  by  his  desire,  or  for  his  accommodation.     Thus,  had  Abrada 
unjustly  deprived  an  individual  of  life  at  the  instigation  of  Cyrus,  it  would  have  been  no  c 
cuse  for  him  to  allege  that  Cyrus  had  restored  Panthea  to  his  arms,  or.that  gratitude  compel 
him  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  his  benefactor.     Allowing  the  supposition  that  Cyrus  hi 
requested  Abradates  to  do  an  act  which  he  could  not  reconcile  to  any  apprehensions  of  '.•; 
duty,  it  would  have  been  no  ingratitude  to  refuse  complying  with  the  request;  but  when  ir  i; 
pretend  this  cause  merely  to  evade  complying  with  the  wishes  of  a  benefactor,  they  act  i  \ 
only  with  the  highest  ingratitude,  but  with  hypocrisy. — I  am.  Sir,  I 

Yours  sincerely, 

CAIUS  TORANIUS.    •! 


CONSISTENCY  AT  WATERING  PLACES. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — The  gloominess  of  winter  being  past,  and  enlivening  spring  having  come  "  to  i 
the  varied  year,"  creation,  moved  by  the  change,  begins  to  wear  a  new  aspect ;  flowcr> 
decorating  the  fields,  and  foliage  the  woods ;  whilst  the  melodious  warblings  of  the  featli 
tribe  impart  joy  and  gladness  around.     Numbers  of  individuals,  tired  with  the  same  ' 
round"  of  home,  or  enervated  by  affliction,  or  perplexed  with  the  cares  of  business, 
shortly  begin  to  repair  to  fashionable  watering  places,  to  seek  from  the  invigorating 
breezes  relief  for  the  body,  and  from  a  change  of  scenes  amusement  for  the  mind.     If  th 
were  the  only  reasons  for  so  doing,  no  one  would  be  disposed  to  condemn  the  practi 
But  I  think,  if  we  must  judge  from  appearances,  there  are  other  and  less  justifiable  moti\ 
from  the  influence  of  which  if  all  professors  of  religion  could  claim  exemption,  I  should  ii< 
have  taken  up  my  pen  to  write  the  present  communication.     It  has,  more  than  once,  con 
my  knowledge,  that  persons  who  have  been  seen  at  these  places  of  resort  have  not,  at 
sight,  been  known  by  their  neighbours.     And  why?     Because  they  who,  when  at  honu 
professors  of  "godliness,"  were  accustomed  to  adorn  themselves  as  "becometh  the  go^i 
■were  here  seen  attired  in  all  the  gaudiness  of  fashifen,  and  the  flippancy  of  vanity.     Nor 
this  been  all.     They  have  been  seen  to  indulge  in  amusements,  and  to  mix  with  compa 
of  which,  in  their  own  domestic  circle,  they  would  have  been  ashamed.    Such  conduct  neit 
does  credit  to  the  heart  nor  the  judgment  of  those  who  are  guilty  of  it ;  for  beside  bein: 
stumbling  block  to  others,  it  brings  their  own  principles  into  disrepute,  and  causes  their 
ceritif  to  be  questioned.     And  to  say  that  such  dissimulation  can  be  pleasing  to  Godg 
effect  to  say  that  hypocrites  shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Trusting  that  the  above  hint  will  not  be  without  its  good  effect,  I  subscribe  mysell 

Yours, 
Bolton,  April  IG,  1832.  JUVENIfl 


/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 


•.  7.  JULY  1,  1832.  Vol.  IT. 


CONFIRMATION. 

Within  a  few  days  the  Bishop  of  Chester  will  be  in  Preston  to  acl- 
liuister  the  rite  of  confirmation,  and  as  I  conceive  all  unscriptural  rites 
nd  ceremonies  like  this  tend  to  divert  the  attention,  both  of  parents  and 
hildren,  from  practical  religion,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  oppose  it.  I  know 
ell  that  most  people  submit  to  this  ceremony  from  custom  merely,  and 
!iat  few  regard  it  as  either  scriptural  or  useful.  Like  every  other  service, 
:  ought  to  be  open  for  discussion,  and  if,  after  the  publication  of  this  pa- 
er,  any  clergyman  should  conceive  the  arguments  vulnerable,  I  shall  be 
lad  to  admit  his  reply,  or  to  listen  to  his  objections  wherever  he  may 
})point. 

Ever  since  the  age  of  sixteen,  I  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
eriodical  ceremony  of  confirmation,  and  constantly  feel  a  strong  inclina- 
lon  to  raise  my  protest  against  it.  Along  with  a  number  of  others,  I  had 
■alilicly  answered  in  the  church  to  such  questions  in  the  catechism  as  the 
iii.^^ter  was  pleased  to  ask,  and,  being  considered  as  prepared  for  confirma- 
•on,  I  was  about  to  be  brought  before  the  bishop  for  that  purpose.  I  knew 
othing  of  its  meaning,  and  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  authority  by 
/hich  it  is  practised.  I  supposed  it  to  be  a  duty,  and  looked  to  the  day 
ather  as  a  pastime  than  any  thing  else.  Circumstances,  however,  arose 
/hich  led  me  to  examine  the  subject,  and,  though  pressed  by  friends,  I  re- 
osed  to  submit  to  a  ceremony  which  I  then  tliought,  and  do  still  think,  to 
e  unscriptural  and  dangerous. 

Children  easily  fall  in  with  the  prevailing  error  of  substituting  profes- 
ions  for  principles,  and  forms  of  worship  for  sincere  and  practical  piety. 
op  many  of  their  parents  are  examples  of  it  themselves,  and  pay  no  atten- 
ion.  to  their  religious  education,  except  that  of  obliging  them  to  attend  to 
lie  various  forms  of  the  church  to  wliich  tliey  belong.  Contented  with 
ntiquated  forms,  suited  only  to  the  age  in  which  they  were  devised,  and 
eterred  by  unlimited  submission  to  clerical  power,  many  persons,  distin- 
"uished  in  every  other  respect,  shut  their  eyes  to  an  incongruous,  and  absurd 

VOL.    11.  2   B 


198 

mass  of  worse  than  useless  ceremonies  in  religion,  "by  which  real,  spiritual, 
active  piety  has  long  been  borne  down ;  and  of  those  who  have  seen  the 
evil  in  all  its  enormity,  but  few  haA'e  had  the  courage  and  consistency  to 
raise  their  voice  against  it.  Ministers  of  religion,  in  general,  have  always 
been  friendly  to  the  continuation  of  a  splendid  ritual  service :  it  attracts 
the  attention  and  support  of  the  rich,  gives  a  plausibility  to  their  office, 
and,  in  the  absence  of  real  useful  labour,  affords  a  pretext  for  the  enormous 
sums  of  money  which  they  take  from  the  people. 

Confirmation  is  a  part  of  this  ceremonial  system,  and,  in  one  of  the 
canons  of  the  church,  is  described  as  "  a  solemn,  ancient,  and  laudable  cus- 
tom in  the  church  of  God,  continued  from  the  apostles'  times,"  in  which  it 
is  enjoined  "  that  all  bishops  should  lay  their  hands  upon  children  baptized 
and  instructed  in  the  catechism,  praying  over  them  and  blessing  them  ;  and 
that  this  holy  action  hath  been  accustomed  in  the  church  in  former  ages, 
to  be  performed  in  the  bishop's  visitation  every  third  year."  And  in  the 
prayer  book  it  is  noticed  as  follows :  "So  soon  as  children  are  come  to  a 
competent  age,  and  can  say,  in  their  mother  tongue,  the  creed,  the  Lord's 
prayer,  and  the  ten  commandments,  and  also  can  answer  to  other  questions 
of  this  short  catechism,  they  shall  be  brought  to  the  bishop;  and  every  one 
shall  have  a  godfather  or  a  godmother,  as  a  witness  of  their  confirmation." 

In  the  Church  of  Rome  there  are  seven  sacraments :  confirmation  is  one 
of  them,  and  belongs,  by  right,  to  no  other  system  but  that  of  the  Catho- 
lics. Connected  with  their  sentiments,  it  has  a  meaning,  and,  at  least,  a 
plausibility  in  the  importance  attached  to  it ;  but  in  a  Protestant  system  it 
is  an  obvious  inconsistency,  a  medley  of  contradiction,  and,  in  every  case, 
is  alike  unsupported  by  Scripture  or  common  sense.  If  the  reformers  had 
not  found  confirmation  as  one  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  church  to  which 
they  belonged,  it  is  impossible  that  either  the  Scriptures  or  reason  could 
ever  have  suggested  such  a  ceremony-  They  found  it  there,  as  the  growth 
of  ages,  and,  as  in  many  other  things,  instead  of  rejecting  it  altogether, 
they  deprived  it  of  what  they  considered  its  most  objectionable  features, ' 
and  gave  it  a  place  in  their  reformed  system.*  Such  it  remains ;  and  be- 
ing but  of  rare  occurrence,  and  involving  no  direct  oppression  upon  the 
people,  unlike  the  mis-application  of  church  property,  it  has  excited  but 
little  opposition.     In  my  opinion,  however,  it  is  not  only  anti-scriptural. 


II 


•  In  tbe  Church  of  England  this  ceremony  is  shorn  of  some  of  its  material  parts.  As 
the  case  of  jjaptifim,  among  the  Catholics  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  retained  with  several  other 
ceremonies.  After  praying  for  the  children,  the  Catholic  bishop,  we  are  told,  makes  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  with  holy  chrism,  upon  the  forehead  of  each  one  of  those  that  are  to  be  confirmed, 
saying,  "  I  sign  thee  with  the  sign  of  the  cross;  I  confirm  thee  with  the  chrism  of  salvation; 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  After  which  he  gives  the  person 
confirmed  a  little  blow  on  the  cheek,  saying,  "  Pax  tecum,"  that  is,  peace  be  with  thee, 


i 


199 

Tinreasonable,  and  inconsistent,  but  is  decidedly  dangerous.  And  if  I  suc- 
ceed in  making  this  clear,  it  will  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  what  some  will 
consider  an  attack  upon  "  our  venerable  church." 

Real  religion,  such  as  is  connected  with  "  regeneration,"  and  the  pos- 
session of  the  Holy  Ghost  (said  to  be  communicated  in  confirmation)  does 
not  consist  in  forms  and  ceremonies,  in  making  thoughtless  vows  which  we 
never  regard,  or  in  engagements  for  others  which  we  neither  intend  nor 
are  able  to  perform,  but  in  a  knowledge  of  God,  a  reverence  for  his  name, 
and  a  love  to  his  commands,  a  voluntary  serving  of  him  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  a  love  to  Christ,  and  a  zealous  regard  for  his  authority  in  all  that  we 
do,  in  spirituality  of  mind,  in  a  pure  and  sincere  heart,  in  a  consistency  of 
deportment,  and  in  a  universal  love  of  mankind.  a,' 

The  superstitious  are  always  fond  of  ceremonies,  and  worldly-minded 
professors  tnist  in  their  efficacy  for  salvation.  The  person  that  gets  "  re- 
i  generated,"  "  made  a  member  of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  aud  an  inheritor  of 
the  kingdom  of  heavon,"  at  his  baptism;  and,  at  his  confirmation,  is  "as- 
sured of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  the  "  forgiveness  of  his  sins,"  is  not  likely  to 
be  solicitous  about  greater  enjoyments,  or  any  progress  beyond  what  he  has 
.already  made.  And  though  many  regard  these  things  as  matters  of  course, 
numbers  are  lulled  asleep  in  their  impenitence,  and  sent  to  the  grave  with  a 
ilie  in  their  right  hand. 

j  Confirmation  is  the  result  of  baptism,  and  stands  intimately  connected 
jwith  it.  On  the  part  of  the  children  it  is  said  to  be  a  "  ratifying  and  con- 
firming the  promises  and  vows  made  by  their  godfathers  and  godmothers  in 
their  baptism."  With  the  dispute  about  infant  and  adult  baptism  I  mean 
[not  to  meddle,  but  supposing  infant  baptism  of  itself  to  be  either  scriptural 
or  advantageous,  it  is,  as  practised  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  as  acted 
upon  in  confirmation,  totally  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  If 
lany  persons  are  required  to  engage  for  the  Christian  education  of  children, 
who  are  the  most  likely  ?  The  parents  surely.  But,  according  to  the 
canon,  "no  parent  shall  be  urged  to  be  present,  nor  be  admitted  to  answer 
as  godfather  for  his  own  child."  Instruction  and  advice  to  the  parents  how 
to  bring  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of  God,  one  would  suppose,  would  be 
the  most  rational  mode  of  proceeding.  Instead  of  this,  vows  are  required, 
and  as  the  child  is  necessarily  unable  to  make  them  itself,  "  sponsors"  are 
appointed  to  make  them  on  its  account.  Compulsory  vows,  either  in  bap- 
tism or  confirmation,  I  regard  as  a  temptation  to  irreverence  and  hypocrisy. 
If  an  individual,  of  himself,  from  conviction  and  a  sense  of  duty,  make  a 
vow  to  God  to  serve  him,  it  is  well ;  but  the  vows  which  are  required  on 
these  occasions  are  often  made  as  matters  of  course,  without  premeditation, 
even  without  a  knowledge  of  their  meaning,  and  without  any  intention  of 
fulfilling  them. 


But  the  regenerated  infant  must  engage  for  its  faith,  self-denial,  and 
obedience ;  it  must  promise  and  vow  three  things.  And  here,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  persons  called  godfathers  and  godmothers  (strange  names) 
are  brought  forward  to  engage  on  the  part  of  the  child.  Tlie  whole  is 
really  so  strange,  that  no  wonder  that  infidels  should  laugh  and  blas- 
pheme. Thus  the  minister  says,  addressing  the  sponsors,  "  This  infant 
must  faithfully  for  his  part  promise  by  you  who  are  his  sureties  (until  he 
come  of  age  to  take  it  upon  himself)  that  he  will  renounce  the  devil  and  all 
his  works,  and  constantly  believe  God's  holy  word  and  obediently  keep  his 
commandments.  I  demand,  therefore,  dost  thov,  in  the  name  of  this  child, 
renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world, 
with  all  the  covetous  desires  of  the  same,  and  the  carnal  desires  of  the  flesh, 
so  that  thou  wilt  not  follow  nor  be  led  by  them  ? — Answer :  I  renounce 
them  all. 

"  Dost  thou  believe  in  God  the  Father,  &c.  &c.  ? — Answer  :  All  this  i  i 
steadfastly  believe.  >■ 

"  Wilt  thou  be  baptized  in  this  faith  ? — Answer  :  That  is  my  desire.   ^ 

"  Wilt  thou,  then,  obediently  keep  God's  will  and  commandments,  aiift  | 
walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ? — Answer  :  I  will." 

The  idea  of  godparents  vowing  in  reference  to  the  faith  and  obedience 
of  an  unconscious  infant,  and  becoming  sureties  in  reference  to  what  few 
either  understand  themselves  or  have  any  power  or  intention  of  performing, 
is  preposterous  beyond  all  analogy.  Indeed  many  of  the  sponsors  are  un- 
conscious of  what  they  are  doing ;  they  wish  to  perform  a  neighbourly  part ; 
their  answers  are  prepared,  and,  in  some  places,  printed  on  a  label  which 
they  hold  in  their  hands,  the  clerk  being  ready  to  tell  them  what  to  say,  so 
that  whilst  they  make  thoughtless  and  impracticable  vows,  many  of  them 
have  no  higher  view  of  the  affair  than  merely  as  a  season  for  eating  and 
drinking.  The  parties  go  from  church  to  the  public  house,  and  celebrate 
the  initiation  of  the  young  Christian  with  plentiful  libations  at  the  altar  of 
Bacchus. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  such  a  service  was  unknown  to  the  first 
churches  of  Christ.  In  vain  do  we  examine  the  New  Testament  for  any 
mention  of  persons  in  the  character  of  godfathers  and  godmothers.  Primi- 
tive Christianity  had  little  to  do  with  rites  and  ceremonies,  much  less  with 
those  that  are  calculated  to  foster  a  spirit  of  formality,  and  to  lessen  the 
obligations  of  personal  religion.  It  was  not  until  men  were  led  to  prtef 
external  pomp  and  pageantry  in  religion  to  the  simplicity  of  Christ,  schd 
lastic  disputes  to  rational  belief,  and  outward  forms  to  the  power  of  goc 
ness,  that  services  so  foreign  to  the  genius  of  Christ's  religion  could  obtisi 
any  footing  in  the  church.  And  now,  after  having  been  practised  for  a^ 
it  is  astonishing  what  notions  some  people  have  of  the  value  of  baptisl! 


^01 

Ley  think  little  at  getting  drunk  over  "  a  christening,"  but  they  would  be 
rrified  at  the  idea  of  a  child  dying  unbaptized ;  and  the  poor  simple  wo- 
jn  are  sometimes  riinning  at  midnight  for  the  parson  to  save  the  child. 

Though  the  sureties  engage  for  them  to  believe  all  the  articles  of  the 
u-istian  faith,  to  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  and  to  keep  God's 
ly  will  and  commandments,  generally  speaking,  it  is  all  a  matter  of  fonn. 
ith  the  exception  of  a  few  temporal  favours,  they  pay,  as  might  be  ex- 
cted  from  the  manner  and  circumstances  of  their  vows,  little  or  no  atten- 
.11  to  the  childi-en,  or  to  the  duties  which  a  real  concern  for  the  children 
)uld  impose. 

So  soon  as  the  children  can  say  the  creed,  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  the  - 

1  commandments,  and  are  instructed  in  the  church  catechism,  they  are  to 

brought  to  the  bishop  to  be  confirmed.     In  this  they  are  required  to  re- 

',v  the  promises  made  by  their  sponsors,  and  openly  to  vote  to  do  the  same 

:>  which  had  been  promised  on  their  account  in  their  baptism.     The 

p  herein  blesses  them,  and,  by  laying  on  of  hands,  "  certifies  them  of 

-  favour  and  gracious  goodness  towards  them."     And  in  one  of  the 

IS  connected  with  the  service  he  says,  "  Almighty  and  everlasting  God, 

ij  lias  vouchsafed  to  regenerate  these  thy  servants  by  water  and  the  Holy 

!0?t,  and  has  given  unto  them  forgiveness  of  all  their  sins,"  &c,  &c.    If  this 

true,  I  can  fullv  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  exclamation  made  by  a  cler- 

-man — "  What  a  solemn  period,  then,  is  this!     What  an  awful  work  in 

lich  you  are  engaged !     There  is  no  event  of  greater  moment  to  young 

J]  le  than  that  of  confirmation  ! "    Does  any  serious  churchman  believe  in 

?  truth  of  these  declarations,  that  the  youths  are  all  regenerated,  have 

ivi  sins  forgiven,  and  an  assurance  of  God's  favour  and  goodness  ?    Those 

,10  read  the  Scriptures  will  find  no  such  doctrine,  and  the  course  of  life 

•lich  many  who  are  brought  before  the  bishop  continue  to  lead  gives  a 

ect  denial  to  it.     Why,  then,  practise  forms  which  are  mixed  with  false- 

I  od,  and  which  are  likely  to  afford  a  false  security  to  immortal  souls  ? 

The  observations  I  made  on  the  vows  of  the  sponsors  are  equally  appli- 
ole  to  those  who  come  to  be  confimied.  I  have  never  yet  learned  that 
:v  particular  inquiry  is  made  as  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  can- 
Uates,  nor  any  refused  confirmation  although  ever  so  immoral.  The 
misters  prepare  them  to  come  before  the  bishop ;  but  instead  of  this  for- 

I I  service,  it  would  be  much  better  to  teach  them  constantly  their  Chris- 
1  n  duties,  and  as  constantly  enforce  the  same  upon  their  parents.  Like 
t;  "weekly  preparation"  for  the  Lord's  supper,  the  idea  oi  j,  '^paring  for 
'"ifirmation  shows  a  superstitious  belief  of  the  wonderful  influence  it  is 

:  •  >sed  to  possess ;  and  that  of  doing  it  by  saying  prayers,  creeds,  &c.  gives 

'  a  poor  example  of  Christian  attainment.     Being  little  more  than  an  ex- 

<  ;ise  of  memory,  it  is  such  a  preparation  as  any  thoughtless  boy  of  half  a 

zen  years  of  age  may  possess.     It  conveys  also  the  idea  that  raen  need 


202 


I 


only  be  serious  at  seasons.  Insteadof  enforcing  the  necessity  of  being  ahoa 
prepared,  by  personal  holiness,  for  any  part  of  the  service  of  Christ,  ar 
for  his  second  coming  to  judgment ! 

As  to  the  ceremony  of  confirmation  itself,  I  hesitate  not  to  say  th 
there  is  not  a  single  syllable  in  the  whole  of  the  Bible  that  has  any  reference 
such  a  service.  I  make  this  assertion,  and  am  ready  to  come  forward 
defend  it  whenever  and  wherever  I  may  be  required.  We  read  of  tl 
apostles  (Acts  xiv.  22.)  "confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples;"  but  th 
bears  no  similarity  excepting  in  name.  In  the  case  referred  to,  the  occ 
sion  of  it  was  the  persecutions  which  they  endured ;  and  the  apostles  exhort) 
them  to  stedfastness  in  the  faith,  assuring  them  that  it  was  "  throug 
much  tribulation  they  must  enter  the  kingdom."  The  individuals  were  ni 
children,  but  Christian  brethren  generally  of  all  ages,  who  were  joined  ti 
gether  in  love.  It  was  no  periodical  ceremony,  but  an  attempt  to  forti 
their  minds  against  the  fear  of  persecution.  It  was  confirming  their  sout 
or,  in  other  words,  increasing  their  faith,  exciting  their  hopes,  and  pe 
suading  them  to  patience.  The  apostles  preached  the  gospel,  and,  whe 
Bumbers  believed,  they  united  them  together :  persecution  was  raise 
against  them,  and,  in  the  absence  of  their  first  instructors,  they  were  oft< 
ready  to  go  back.  On  the  visits  of  the  apostles,  therefore,  or  any  of  the 
assistants,  strengthening  them  in  the  faith  would  be  considered  an  importai 
duty ;  and  this  they  did,  not  by  any  external  ceremony,  but  by  recalling  1 
their  minds  the  evidences  and  importance  of  the  gospel,  and  raising  the 
hopes  with  the  blessed  promises  it  contains. 

The  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  apostles  (Acts  viii.  17,  18,  xix.  6 
has  been  referred  to  for  the  purpose  of  defending  the  rite  of  confirmatioi 
On  this  I  would  only  remark,  no  two  cases  can  be  more  dissimilar.  ] 
the  apostles'  case,  it  was  connected  with  the  first  publication  of  the  gospe 
and  the  efiiect  which  followed  afforded  the  strongest  confirmation  of  i' 
truth.  It  was  no  ceremony.  It  actually  conferred  the  extraordinary  gif' 
of  the  Spirit,  was  not  a  common  privilege,  but  confined  to  a  few,  frequent! 
to  one  or  two.  The  effects  of  these  communications  could  be  seen  an 
heard;  the  persons  prophesied,  and  spoke  with  tongues,  or  diff^erent  lar 
guages  which  they  had  never  learned.  Are  any  effects  like  these  produce 
now  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  bishop  }  Such  signs  of  divir 
power  are  not  now  necessary.  Miraculous  powers  were  given  to  convinc 
the  world  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  but  to  look  for  them  now,  is  to  ro 
it  of  its  maturity,  and  to  bring  it  back  to  its  infant  state.  And  to  continu 
to  use  the  sign,  without  the  thing  signified,  and  in  connection  with  circuni 
stances  which  can  have  no  similarity,  like  many  other  inconsistencies,  is  onl 
calculated  to  harden  the  unbeliever,  and  bring  religion  into  contempt.  In 
deed  if  there  be  one  thing  more  than  another  which  has  promoted  the  caus; 
of  infidelity,  it  is  that  support  which  the  irrational  systems  of  Christianit 


Jk 


203 

ive  received  throughout  Europe,  coupled  with  the  ambition  and  avarice 
■priests. 

But  supposing  confirmation  was  useful,  vsrhy  should  not  the  ordinary 

inister  who  baptizes  be  qualified  to  confirm  ?     And  why  not  administer  it 

individuals  when  they  are  thought  to  be  fitting,  without  calling  for  a 

nultaneous  movement  throughout  a  whole  parish  ?     Unless  it  be  assumed 

at  the  bishop  can  convey  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  the  children  do  really 

ceive  this  influence  from  his  hands,  it  cannot  be  doubted  but  that  the 

me  minister  who  officiates  at  baptisms,  marriages,  funerals,  and  even  at 

e  Lord's  supper,  is  competent  to  administer  the  rite  of  confirmation.     It 

I,  indeed,  the  part  of  a  system  which  will  not  abide  investigation,  and  the 

;  iore  it  is  examined,  the  more  unscriptural  and  inconsistent  it  appears. 

'     Though  baptism  and  confirmation  are  linked  together,  in  one  respect 

!  lere  is  a  material  difi'erence.     To  die  without  baptism  would  be  viewed  as 

>f  (dreadful  calamity,  (and  hence  the  under  clergy  are  often  importuned  to 

He  even  at  midnight  to  baptize  children  who  are  in  a  dangerous  state)  but 

e  deferring  of  confirmation  for  a  twelvemonth  does  not  seem  to  create 

y  alarm.     If  the  bishop's  duties  should  be  interrupted  by  the  offer  of  a 

:her  see,  as  has  been  the  case  in  this  diocese,  the  blessings  of  confirma- 

)n  can  be  suspended,  and  we  hear  of  no  complaint.     To  the  children  it 

ikes  little  difference.     There  may  be  some  that  may  endeavour  to  culti- 

te  a  solemn  feeling  at  the  time,  but  many  regard  it  as  a  sort  of  pastime, 

d  sometimes  finish  the  day  with  riot  and  disorder.     I  fear,  also,  that 

ing  performed  without  much  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  children,  and 

•ntaining  in  itself  false  assurances,  it  is  likely  to  sear  the  conscience  and 

nd  the  understanding  as  to  the  necessity  of  personal  religion.     If  I 

:  ght  be  permitted  to  off"er  a  word  of  advice  to  his  lordship,  the  bishop, 

10  is  coming  to  confirm  iu  this  district,  it  would  be,   before  he  permits 

y  more  boys  and  girls  solemnly  to  promise  that  they  will  "  renounce  the 

'vil  and  all  his  works,  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  this  wicked  world,  &c.," 

1  make  diligent  enquiry  what  number  of  those  who  were  confirmed  last  time 

ive  done  this.     This  I  take  to  be  his  imperative  duty ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 

2  result  would  be,  if  he  would  be  faithful  to  his  conscience,  a  strong  con- 

;tion  of  the  impropriety  of  assembling  thousands  of  children  to  take  part 

i  the  solemn  farce  of  confirmation. 

I  I  have  just  seen  "  A  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  by  the  Rev, 
'.  Tlptaft,"  of  Sutton  Courtney  Vicarage,  yfho,  from  conscientious  motives, 
Jiigns  his  living,  and  gives  various  reasons,  amounting  to  fourteen  or 
>)re,  for  his  resignation.  Among  others  he  refers  to  baptism  and  con- 
Jaaation  in  the  following  terms : — "  I  object  to  the  baptism  of  infants, 
oecially  according  to  the  form  used  in  the  Church  of  England,  as  it  is 
<  itrary  to  the  word  of  God :  for  sponsors  are  required  to  promise  and' 


204 

vow  tliree  things  in  the  name  of  the  infant  brought  to  be  bap,tize  J  :   1 .  Tba 
it  shall  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  tlii 
wicked  world,  and  all  the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh. — 2.  That  it  si^all  helicM 
Q^ll  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith. — And,  3.  That  it  sh^U  keep  Go? 
holy  will  and  commandments,  and  walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  its  life. 
Now  there  is  no  authority  in  Scripture  for  persons  to  come  forward  to  rail' 
th?se  promises  and  vows  in  the  name  of  an  infant,  and  oi\r  own  expcrienc 
fuUv  proves  the  absurdity  of  them.     Moreover,  the  word  of  God  declai 
all  to  be  '  by  nature  the  cliildren  of  wrath,'  and  dead  '  in  trespasses  and  sin 
till  quickened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  serve  God  in  newness  of  life.     I  als' 
object  to  the  following  expressions  in  the  service  :  '  We  call  upon  thee  f 
this  infant,  that  he  coming  to  thy  holy  baptism  may  receive  remission  of  1 
sins  bv  spiritual  regeneration.'     Again,  '  Sanctify  this  water  to  the  mv-i 
cal  washing  away  of  sin.'     Again,  the  c^-oss  upon  the  child's  foreliea.; 
Again,  '  Seeing  now,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  this  child  is  regciLiati 
and  grafted  into  the   body  of  Christ's  church.'     Again,   '  We  yield  thd 
hearty  thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath  pleased  thep  to  regenerati 
this  infant  with  thy  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  him  for  thine  own  child  b^ 
adoption,  and  to  incorporate  him  into  thy  holy  Church.'     A.^dim,  in  the  pri 
vate  baptismal  service,   '  Seeing  now,   dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  tiii 
child  is  by  baptism  regenerate,   and  grafted    into   the  body  of  Christ 
Church.'     Now  there  is  no  authority  in  Scripture  to  return  thanks  to  Gl. 
for  such  benefits  as  the  baptism  of  an  infant,  as  God  has  never  prcnaiset 
them  during  such  a  service  any  more  than  at  any  other  time.     Suppose  :i 
uncommon  case,  that  the  minister  and  sponsors  be  all  spiritual  person- 
tiiey  are  not  warranted  to  ask  of  God  what  he  has  never  promised,  viz.  re 
generation  of  baptism.     And  I  can  assure  you,  that  I  scarcely  know  an\'  on 
enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dares  to  make  such  promises  and  vov. 
for  an  infant  as  are  required.     Wherefore  the  sponsors  are  generally  al 
carnal  persons,  and  the  service  being  unscriptural,  it  must  be  painful  for  : 
minister  of  Christ  to  take  part  in  such  a  ceremony ;  nor  do  I  knov.'  a  spi 
ritual  brother  in  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  does  not  d. 
sire  a  material  alteration  in  the  service. — I  object  to  the  catechism,  as  beiHc 
gprounded  upon  the  baptismal  service  ;  especially  to  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  answers ;   consequently,  I  cannot  teach  it,  nor  even  sanction  it,  ir 
the  Sunday  schools  in  my  parish. — I  object  to  the  order  of  confirmation,  a- 
a  person  cannot,  according  to  the  word  of  God,  renew  the  promises  ant 
vows  made  in  his  name  at  his  baptism ;  and,  moreover,  those  spirituall} 
taught  wiU  not  submit  to  the  order ;  and  the  unconverted  cannot,  by  an] 
authority  whatever,  be  addressed  by  the  bishop  in  the  following  words 
'  Almighty  and  ever -living  God,  who  has  vouchsafed  to  regenerate 
thy  servants  by  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  has  given  unto  them ; 


I 


205 


nveness  of  all  their  sins,  strengthen  them,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  with 
:he  Holy  Ghost  the  Comforter,  and  daily  increase  in  them  thy  manifold 
^ft  of  grace.' " 

There  are  many  who  see  the  subject  sufficiently  clear,  who  yet  counte- 
lance  the  continuance  of  this  ceremony  by  their  conduct.  The  chief 
•eason  of  my  hostility  is,  the  substitution  of  these  outward,  automaton  ob- 
iervences  in  the  place  of  experimental  and  practical  religion.  The  bishop's 
lands,  I  know,  are  harmless,  and  the  assembling  of  lads  and  lasses  in 
jrowds  from  the  country, — with  the  exception  of  the  miavoidable  con- 
t  sequences  of  youthful  pranks,  — may  be  harmless  too :  but  if  the  declara- 
ions  of  the  bishop  are  at  variance  with  truth,  if  impracticable  vows  are  forced 
ipon  the  lips  of  the  children,  and  if  they  foster  a  delusion  as  to  their  state 
n  the  sight  of  God, — all  which  I  maintain  to  be  the  case, — then,  I  declare, 
consider  it  my  duty  to  try  to  expose  the  evil  of  this  service,  and  to  persuade 
he  people  to  abandon  it.  If  it  be  either  Scriptural  or  of  a  good  tendency,  it 
mght  to  be  supported :  if  it  be  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  an  anti- 
quated custom,  generated  in  the  corruptest  ages  of  the  church,  it  is  high 
ime  for  us,  as  Protestants,  to  give  it  up.  Mere  forms  and  ceremonies 
night  suit  in  darker  ages,  but  the  people  are  beginning  to  think  for  them- 
elves ;  and  however  they  may  remain  formally  attached  to  a  church,  very 
ew  indeed  are  so  ignorant  as  not  to  see  the  comparative  unimportance  of 
•eremonies.  As  a  first  transition  from  Popery,  this  system  of  ceremonial 
ervice  might  be  acceptable  to  the  people,  but  it  by  no  means  comports 
vith  the  present  progress  of  society.  Instead  of  a  round  of  bodily  services, 
et  off  with  many  of  the  "  pomps  and  vanities"  of  the  world,  the  devotion  of 
he  heart,  expressed  in  a  simple  and  Scriptural  manner,  is  what  the  people 
vish.  A  change  is  wanted ;  the  people  are  prepared  for  it ;  but  the  clergy 
re  opposed  to  it.  By  the  influence  of  wealth,  fashion,  and  the  patronage 
)f  the  state,  the  church  continues  to  have  a  name,  but  it  has  CAddently 
ost  the  affections  of  the  people,  and  the  course  of  favourable  circmnstances 
vhich  have  recently  taken  place  are  likely,  ere  long,  to  lead  to  important 
hans:es.  J.  L. 


JERRY  SHOPS. 

So  much  close  and  cogent  reasoning,  under  other  articles  in  the  pre- 
ent  number,  will  be  found  against  drunkenness  in  general,  that  it  is  unne- 
essary  for  me  to  make  any  additional  obsei-v^ations.  But  the  necessity  of 
pplying  to  parliament  to  put  down  or  to  regulate  the  jerry  shops  being 
requently  urged,  I  wish  just  to  state  that  the  law  as  it  stands  at  present  is 
s  expressive  against  the  excesses  of  these  places  as  any  person  could  wish ; 

VOL.    II.  2  c 


9m 

and  if  the  proper  authorities  will  not  enforce  it,  what  is  the  use  of  applying 
for  other  enactments  ?  Hitherto  the  convictions  and  fines  have  been  for 
selling  at  the  hours  prohibited  in  the  act,  but  I  consider  this  quite  venal 
compared  with  the  evil  of  drunkenness  and  disorder  constantly  carried  on  in 
many  of  these  places  without  restraint.  The  "  Act  to  permit  the  general 
sale  of  beer  and  cider  by  retail  in  England,"  passed  23d  July,  1830,  is  most 
express.  In  the  licence  it  is  said  they  are  to  maintain  "  good  order  and 
rule"  —  they  are  not  "  wilfully  or  knowingly  to  permit  any  drunkenness 
or  any  violent,  quarrelsome,  or  disorderly  conduct,  nor  permit  nor 
sufier  PERSONS  op  notoriously  bad  character  to  meet  or  assemble  ia 
their  houses."  In  cap.  13,  it  is  enacted  "  That  every  seller  of  beer,  ale,  and 
porter  by  retail,  having  a  licence  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  who  shall 
permit  any  person  or  persons  to  be  guilty  of  drunkenness  or  disorderly 
CONDUCT  in  the  house  or  premises  mentioned  in  such  licence,  shall  for  every 
such  offence  forfeit  the  respective  sums  following :  and  every  person  who 
shall  in  any  way  transgress  or  neglect,  or  shall  be  a  party  in  transgressing 
or  neglecting,  the  conditions  and  provisions  specified  in  such  licence,  or 
shall  allow  such  conditions  or  provisions  to  be  in  any  way  transgressed  or 
neglected,  in  the  house  or  premises  so  licenced,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
disorderly  conduct ;  and  every  person  so  licenced  who  shall  permit  any 
such  disorderly  conduct,  shall  for  the  first  offence  forfeit  any  such  sum, 
not  less  than  forty  shillings  nor  more  than  fve  pounds,  as  the  justices  be- 
fore whom  such  retailer  shall  be  convicted  of  such  offence  shall  adjudge  ;  and 
for  the  second  such  offence,  any  sum  not  less  than  Jive  pounds  nor  more 
than  ten  pounds ;  and  for  the  third  such  offence,  any  sum  not  less  than 
twenty  pounds  nor  more  than  fifty  pounds."  And  in  cap.  15,  it  is  enacted 
"  That  all  penalties  may  be  recovered  upon  the  information  of  any  person 
whomsoever  before  two  justices  acting  in  petty  sessions ;  and  that  every 
such  penalty  shall  be  prosecuted  and  proceeded  for  within  three  calendar 
months  next  after  the  commission  of  the  offence  in  respect  of  which  such 
penalty  shall  be  incurred."  It  is  afterwards  stated  that  the  magistrates,  if 
they  think  fit,  may  award  one  half  of  the  penalty  to  the  informer.  No  act 
of  parliament  can  be  more  express  against  drunkenness  and  disorder  tha»r 
this ;  and,  therefore,  an  additional  appeal  to  the  legislature  is  quite  supeij 
fluous :  the  appeal  should  be  to  the  magistrates,  the  constables,  or  to 
public,  to  ascertain  why  provisions  so  salutary  should  remain  a  dead  lette 
However,  the  most  merciful  and  yet  the  most  effectual  punishment  hot 
to  jerry  shops  and  public  houses,  is,  to  induce  them  to  change  their  bus 
ness  by  persuading  their  deluded  victims  to  abandon  the  disgraceful,  til 
ruinous  practice  of  social  drinking. 


207 

PAY  TABLE. 

Tliis  is  one  among  the  liundred  schemes  of  publicans  to  secure  the  mo- 
ney of  working  men.  Chorley,  I  understand,  is  notorious  for  its  systematic 
adherence  to  this  baneful  custom.  At  printing  shops,  and  other  places,  the 
men  are  paid  in  parties  in  one  sum,  and  one  of  the  men  is  chosen,  called  the 
"constable,"  to  divide  it.  .Each  party  has  its  "house,"  where  the  "pay 
table  "  is  kept.  All  the  men  resort  to  this  place,  for  the  use  of  which,  and 
the  favour  of  a  fortnight's  credit,  each  man  pays  eightpence  in  liquor.  Change 
is  provided  ready,  and  the  pa}Tnent  proceeds.  The  "  pays  "  are  fortnightly, 
and  the  first  operation  upon  the  division  of  the  money  is,  that  the  landlady 
brings  in  her  bill  for  the  drink  which  each  has  had  during  the  fortnight; 
this,  of  course,  includes  all  the  little  drops  that  their  wives  have  had  during 
the  same  period.  This  is  deducted  by  the  constable  from  the  men's  wages, 
and  paid  over,  as  in  duty  bound,  to  the  mistress  of  the  house.  After  this 
adjustment,  I  need  not  say,  that  frequently  "they  start  afresh"  and  make 
what,  in  the  misuse  of  language,  is  called  "  a  good  beginning  for  another 
"ortnight."  This  statement,  I  believe,  is  substantially  correct.  And  here 
laaany  of  these  poor  creatures  who  have  laboured  hard  all  their  lives — earned 
»ood  wages — with  wretched  homes,  and  children  in  rags — are  still  de- 
;ermined,  even  in  opposition  to  the  persuasions  of  their  employers,  to  cling 
l;o  a  system  of  poverty  and  degradation.  I  have  been  told,  in  reference  to 
)ne  shop  in  particular,  that  the  manager  has  oiFered  to  provide  change  for 
hem,  if  they  would  divide  the  money  without  going  to  the  public  house. 
3h!  ye  working  men — slaves  to  this  detestable  drinking — when  will  ye 
^row  wise,  and  enjoy  with  voiir  families  the  fruits  of  vour  honest  industrv  ? 


PRISON  DISCIPLINE. 

I  met  this  week  a  female  in  the  street  in  the  care  of  two  constables, 
•eehng  drunk,  using  the  most  profane  and  abusive  language.  Inquiring 
|ii8  cause  of  a  respectable  shopkeeper  in  the  neighbourhood,  he  stated  that 
;he  had  come  out  of  prison  only  that  morning,  and  that  she  had  been  con- 
lucting  herself  in  the  most  shameful  manner.  This  is  a  common  place 
iccurrence ;  ever}-  person  knows,  from  the  magistrate  upon  the  bench  t6 
he  boy  in  the  street,  that  the  effect  of  the  prison,  so  far  from  correetinrt?  or 
eforming  a  culprit,  is  to  harden  him  in  his  wickedness,  and  to  prepare  him^ 
|br  more  valorous  attempts  at  infamy.  If  a  spark  of  honestv  or  good  feel-* 
Qg  remain,  send  a  man  to  prison,  either  as  a  criminal  or  as  a  debtor,  and 
hat  becomes  extinct.  The  debtors'  court,  as  well  as  the  criminals'  ward, 
5  the  school  of  depravity  and  villany.  Whence  is  it .''  Is  there  a  conta- 
lonin  the  atmosphere  of  a  prison?  No.  Are  the  jailors  defective  either 
1  duty  or  character  ?     I  believe  not.     Are  these  places  destitute  of  moral 


308 

and  religious  instructors  ?  Each  is  provided  with  the  services  of  a  clergy|pl 
man,  at  £200  or  £300  a  year,  whose  sole  charge  is  to  teach  and  admonish  ' 
the  prisoners.  In  our  prison  prayers  are  read  every  morning,  and  divine 
service  performed  twice  on  a  Sunday.  What,  then,  is  the  cause  ?  and  why, 
I  may  ask,  do  not  the  magistrates  and  clergymen,  to  whom  the  public  peace 
and  the  spread  of  good  morals  are  officially  committed,  enter  earnestly  upon 
the  investigation,  be  determined  to  ascertain  the  cause  why  a  prison  should 
discharge  its  inmates  corrupted  instead  of  reformed,  and  to  apply  an  effectual 
remedy  ?  The  public  would  appreciate  their  efforts,  support  their  decisions, 
and  sanction  any  moderate  increase  of  expense  that  might  be  incurred.  I 
have  just  been  glancing  over  a  voluminous  report  by  the  "  Society  for  the 
Improvement  of  Prison  Discipline,"  from  which  it  appears  that  many  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  improve  the  prisons  and  reform  the  offenders, 
but  nothing,  in  my  opinion,  will  equal,  so  far  as  rescuing  culprits  from 
their  evil  ways,  the  following  three  things  : — First,  a  system  of  rfts-associa- 
tion.  It  is  from  the  depraving  influence  of  bad  associates  with  whom  they 
work  and  eat,  that  so  many  come  out  worse  than  they  enter.  Passing  the 
tread  mill,  one  day  when  I  had  occasion  to  visit  the  prison,  where  a  num- 
ber were  employed,  I  was  distressed  to  hear  the  filthy  and  obscene  language 
which  they  were  using  to  each  other.  In  most  prisons  each  prisoner  has 
a  single  sleeping  cell ;  but  he  has  to  work  with  individuals  who  delight  in 
corrupting  others.  Now,  though  it  might  be  attended  with  a  Httle  addi- 
tional cost,  I  am  quite  sure,  if  every  prisoner  could  be  kept  alone,  and,  in 
aggravated  cases,  if  solitary  confinement  were  adopted,  it  would  be  better 
than  public  whipping,  and  tend,  more  than  any  other  mode  of  punishment, 
to  lead  a  prisoner  to  serious  reflection.  Even  in  correcting  incorrigible 
boys,  I  always  prefer  solitary  confinement  to  stripes.  Secondly,  instead  of 
depending  upon  the  performance  of  divine  service,  at  stated  periods,  for 
the  instruction  and  reformation  of  individuals — about  which  the  prisoners 
generally  care  as  much  as  the  young  collegian  does  for  the  reading  of  the 
prayers — let  the  minister  pay  his  visits  to  them  individualli/  and  without 
remission,  let  him  instruct  them  conversationally ,  and  endeavour  to  impress 
their  minds,  not  only  with  the  sanctions  of  religion,  but  with  the  laws  of 
morality  and  honour,  as  they  are  approved  of  in  society.  In  a  word,  let 
him  become  their  friend,  and  never  forsake  them  while  they  are  under  his 
care.  Is  this  too  much  to  expect  for  £300  a  year  ?  Thirdly,  when  prij^ 
soners  are  discharged,  instead  of  being  sent  into  the  world  without 
character,  perhaps  without  a  home,  under  the  influence  of  previous  co 
tamination,  and  almost  sure  to  be  entrapped  by  former  bad  companions,^ 
some  means  should  be  adopted  to  rescue  such  from  repeated  ruin.  The 
great  en*or  upon  which  we  haA'e  acted  so  long  is,  if  a  man  or  a  boy  be  a 
"bad  character,"  to  shun  him;  whereas,  such  are  the  very  persons,  of  all 
others,  with  whom  we  should  seek  acquaintance,  and  for  whose  good  we 


I 


^1 


I 


209 


should  exercise  all  our  energies.  This  is  the  real  spirit  of  Christianity — 
to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  The  minister,  then,  in  the  first  place,  should 
interest  himself  in  hehalf  of  every  one  of  whom  there  is  danger  of  his  re- 
iximing  to  his  former  habits ;  and  philanthropic  individuals  would  do  well 
;o  direct  their  watchful  care  towards  these  unfortunate  persons.  How 
;!hrist-like  to  take  the  malefactor  by  the  hand  as  he  leaves  the  prison  gates, 
,0  give  him  good  counsel  and  advice,  and  to  succour  and  protect  him  from 
emptation,  till  he  get  settled  in  some  honourable  mode  of  earning  his 
)read !  The  morals  of  prisoners,  I  am  quite  confident,  are  capable  of  be- 
ng  greatly  improved,  but,  like  every  good  work,  it  requires  active  agents ; 
;hese  are  rare  to  be  found,  and  rarest  among  those  who  are  best  paid  for  it. 
hitherto,  we  have  looked  to  those  connected  with  wealth  and  great  names, 
lis  the  proper  agents  for  giving  efifect  to  philanthropic  efibrts  :  this  has  been 
;t,  fatal  error :  it  was  the  fishermen  of  Galilee  that  first  reformed  the  world, 
.nd  I  see  clearly  that  no  good  work  goes  on  with  energy  except  the  agency 
Itf  the  "common  people"  be  secured. 


THE  TEMPERANCE  CAUSE  IN  PRESTON. 

No  institution  in  this  town  ever  progressed  with  the  same  rapidity,  or 
arried  along  with  it  the  same  decisive  marks  of  real  improvement  as  the 
'reston  Temperance  Society.  Its  influence  and  operations  excite  uncom- 
lon  attention,  and  various  circles  feel  its  good  efiects.  Truth  is  written 
pen  its  forehead,  its  bosom  glows  with  charity,  and  its  feet  are  swift  to 
earch  out  and  save  from  ruin  the  miserable  and  the  vile.  Unaffected 
lither  by  politics  or  party  notions  in  religion,  the  members  unite  cordially 
Dgether  to  promote  sobriety  and  temperance.  Great  names  were  sought 
fter  to  sanction  it,  and  influential  men,  as  they  are  called,  to  fonn  the 
lommittee ;  but,  under  such  auspices,  ere  now  it  would  have  been  extinct : 
I  considerable  number  of  respectable  working  men,  including  several  re- 
prmed  drunkards,  were  added  to  the  committee,  and  by  their  zealous, 
lidefatigable  efforts,  few,  if  any,  of  the  societies  in  Lancashire,  I  believe, 
re  going  on  with  the  same  prosperity.  The  weekly  meetings  are  crowded 
)  excess ;  the  speeches,  mostly  from  the  operatives  themselves,  are  afl'ect- 
jig  and  powerful ;  and,  as  a  proof,  I  may  mention  that,  at  the  last  week's 
leeting,  no  fewer  than  seventy-three  subscribed  the  pledge.  Several  thou- 
mds  of  tracts  have  been  ordered ;  the  town  is  divided  into  twenty-eight 
|istricts,  and  a  captain  is  appointed  to  circulate  tracts  and  to  superintend 
jich  district.  I  could  fill  the  whole  of  this  number  with  detailing  the 
latements  and  confessions  of  reformed  drunkards,  which  have  been  deli- 
'ired  in  a  manner  calculated  to  delight  every  man  who  feels  for  the  good 
■  his  species.     In  this  respect,  I  believe,  we  go  beyond  what  most  other 


210 

societies  have  marked  out  as  the  course  of  operation :  they  seem  to  thinli  U 
that  the  conversion  of  old  and  hardened  drinkers  is  hopeless,  and,  therefore 
trust  more  in  the  efficacy  of  preserving  the  temperate,  in  order  to  secure  : 
better  race  of  men  for  the  next  generation.  We  are  not  so  passive,  nor  si 
distant  in  our  prospects  ;  the  number  of  reformed  drunkards,  the  most  no- 
torious in  the  town,  who  now  do  honour  by  their  consistent  conduct  to  oui 
society,  are  a  sufficient  assurance  that,  with  appropriate  eiforts,  and  witl 
the  blessing  of  God,  the  chief  of  drunkards  may  be  reclaimed.  It  is  true, 
we  have  had  some  that  have  relapsed ;  and  it  would  be  strange,  out  of  sc 
many,  if  this  were  not  the  case ;  but  they  are  not  abandoned,  they  an 
visited  by  those  who  speak  to  them  with  charity  and  kindness,  and  who« 
efforts,  I  believe,  in  no  instance  have  yet  been  known  to  fail  in  restoring 
them.  They  are  not  upbraided,  but  counselled  to  steadfastness,  and 
warned  to  keep  from  temptation.  In  every  case,  it  has  been  the  "&st 
glass"  to  which  they  could  trace  their  fall,  and  often  to  the  misguided  en- 
treaties of  a  friend ;  but  the  result  has  generally  been,  that,  seeing  tlit 
danger,  they  have  now  resolved  riever  to  taste  either  ale  or  spirits. 

We  still  lack  one  thing,  the  necessity  of  which  we  feel  more  and  more 
every  day,  and  that  is  "  A  Temperance  House."  If  we  withdraw  men  from 
their  intemperate  enjoyments,  we  ought  to  furnish  them  with  a  place  where 
they  could  spend  an  hour  in  innocent  conviviality.  There  are  many  who 
have  neither  business  nor  families,  and  who  get  into  temptation  entirely  by 
going  to  a  public  house  for  the  sake  of  company,  or  to  read  a  newspaper ; 
others,  in  travelling  and  transacting  business,  are  also  obliged  to  stay  at  the 
inns ;  carriers  and  market  people,  and  such,  drink  as  a  sort  of  recompense 
for  the  trouble  they  give.  Good  Temperance  Houses,  well  fitted  up,  would 
remove  all  these  temptations :  here  persons  might  be  supplied  with  good' 
water,  milk,  tea,  coffee,  or  any  sort  of  harmless  beverage ;  and  meet  with; 
all  the  accommodations  of  a  respectable  eating-house.  A  small  reading: 
room  might  also  be  fitted  up  in  one  of  the  apartments  ;  and  if  beds  and  sta- 
bles were  kept  for  travellers,  these  houses  would  be  complete  establishments 
for  temperate  persons.  Here  a  party,  or  a  society,  could  at  any  time  have  a 
room  to  themselves,  and  commercial  gentlemen,  and  all  classes,  in  fact, 
might  be  able  to  sit  without  being  compelled  to  drink  that  which  they  know 
will  do  them  harm.  The  publicans,  I  understand,  are  already  making  sore 
complaints  of  Temperance  Societies,  and  as  I  believe  there  are  many  in  Pres- 
ton to  whom  a  change  of  business  would  be  acceptable,  I  would  suggest  to 
some  of  them  to  join  the  Temperance  Society ;  to  give  up  the  licenced  busi-; 
ness,  and  open  Temperance  Houses.  Well  managed,  and  in  suitable  parts  of 
the  town,  if  they  do  not  answer,  I  durst  forfeit  all  claim  to  the  judgment  of, 
a  man.  If  I  were  disengaged,  and  wanted  a  business  which  promised  to  be 
lucrative,  a  Temperance  House  is  the  first  thing  I  would  undertake.  Can 
Preston  support  88  public  houses,  and  1 69  jerry  shops,  and  not  support  a 


il 


211 

gmperance  House  ?  But  it  is  a  new  business,  and  people  are  reluctant  to 
nbark  in  it  till  they  feel  assured  of  their  safety  by  the  success  of  others, 
onvinced  of  the  necessity  of  the  establishment,  and  also  of  the  certainty 
:  its  success,  I  press  the  consideration  of  this  subject  upon  the  attention  of 
ich  friends  of  temperance  as  may  be  furnished  with  the  means. 


EASTER  DUES. 

Pray,  Mr.  Wilson,  do  let  us  be  quiet :  during  the  last  five  or  six  weeks, 
iiilst  you  have  been  fi'om  home,  you  cannot  believe  how  comfortable  we 
,ve  been.  Every  man  has  worshijjped  in  his  own  way  ;  the  services  have  all 
;en  regularly  performed;  we  have  had  no  clerical  annoyance  for  "  dues  ;" 
id  the  people  were  beginning  to  hope  that  gospel  taxation  was  going  to  sub- 
le.  I  was  aware  you  were  expected  home  shortly,  and  the  other  day  I  was 
■prised  of  your  return  by  the  statement  of  your  agent,  that  we  were  all 
ing  to  be  summoned  for  our  Easter  dues.  Gracious  heaven !  said  I, 
w  quiet  we  have  been  in  his  absence ;  and  now  that  he  has  returned, 
e  first  step  of  him  who  ought  to  have  come  in  the  fulness  of  the  blessing 
i'  peace,  is  to  employ  the  magistrates  to  harrass  his  flock !  Let  those 
'oSer"  at  Easter  who  admire  your  administrations  (and  if  you  were  a  pro- 
))ter  of  peace  and  good  will,  and  needed  assistance,  I  would  be  the  last  to 
thhold  my  "  ofifering;")  but  never  let  it  be  said,  that  upon  any  principle 
( consistency,  propriety,  or  religion,  you  demand  from  each  of  us  a  paltry 
cpence  halfpenny  as  your  "  due."  It  may  have  been  practised  for  centu- 
j  s ;  but  custom  can  never  make  wrong  right.  There  were  many  really 
{'od  customs  which  were  cotemporary  with  this,  and  because  they  operated 
tainst  the  clergyman's  pocket  they  are  abandoned.  Are  these  not,  then, 
1  be  revived  ?  Is  no  custom  to  be  respected  but  that  which  benefits  ybur 
cler?  When  Easter  ofiferings  and  tithes  were  granted  by  the  people,  the 
crgy  took  care  of  the  poor,  they  personally  attended  to  their  relief,  and 
ci;  of  the  revenues  of  the  church  their  wants  were  supplied.  When  you 
Tpect  and  revive  this  custom,  I  promise  you  I  will  not  oppose  the  other, 
lery  man's  good  sense  revolts  at  your  attempts  to  enforce  this  demand, 
ai  those  of  your  own  church  among  the  rest.  Let  me  beseech  you  to  give 
J  irself  to  the  important  duties  of  your  charge,  and  never  distress  yourself, 
n-  set  all  your  parishioners  against  you,  for  this  "  filthy  lucre."  Your  op- 
ptunities  for  usefulness  are  unbounded,  and  I  know  that  it  is  a  source  of 
g  at  grief  to  numbers  that  you  should  be  so  unpopular,  arising  entirely 
tough  your  anxiety  for  these  paltry  dues.  You  are  anxious,  some  say,  to 
c  end  the  rights  of  the  church.  What  are  those  rights  ?  Just  what  the 
P)lic  voice,  through  its  representative  organs,  are  pleased  to  gi-ant  it ;  and 


212 


1 


that  man  must  be  blind  indeed  to  the  progress  of  knowledge,  and  to  the  in- 
fluence of  events,  that  cannot  see  that  the  fate  of  impositions  like  this  is 
already  sealed.  And  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  characterize  that  zeal  for  the 
rights  of  the  church,  which  brings  it  into  contempt,  and  hastens  its  down- 
fal.  How  uncertain  is  our  pilgrimage  here  !  A  few  days,  or  a  few  years 
at  most,  and  both  you  and  I  must  close  our  eyes  upon  all  sublunary-  good ! 
How  unsatisfactory  must  it  be  for  you  to  look  back  upon  so  many  years  oi 
wrangling  and  strife  with  those  whose  temporal  and  eternal  interests  you 
ought  to  have  made  every  sacrifice  to  promote  !  We  brought  nothing  into 
the  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out ;  having  food  and  rai- 
ment, instead  of  oppressing  the  poor,  or  provoking  the  resentment  of  any, 
let  us  learn  to  be  content.  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  advert  to  thesf 
Subjects,  and  to  abuses  which  have  given  rise  to  the  mention  of  your  namC: 
and  perhaps  I  have  done  this  sometimes  with  an  unjustifiable  severity ;  bul 
I  feel  keenly  upon  every  point  where  I  see  the  glorious  simplicity  and  purit} 
of  that  religion  which  was  sealed  by  a  Redeemer's  blood,  buried  beneath  th( 
corruptions  of  a  national  church,  and  the  worldly  mindedness  of  a  hireling 
priesthood ;  and  I  deem  it  my  duty,  at  whatever  risk,  to  do  all  that  I  can  t( 
obstruct  the  progress  of  so  great  an  evil.  After  all,  I  wish  you  everj 
blessing ;  and  though  I  shortly  expect  to  see  your  agents  seizing  some  par 
of  my  goods  to  satisfy  your  demands,  I  wiU  endeavour  to  cultivate  tli 
charity  of  a  Christian,  and  say  "  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  his  charge !" 


"A  NEW   RULE." 

The  revival  of  old  demands,  and  the  invention  of  new  ones,  in  thes 
days  of  clerical  avarice,  are  such  as  to  sicken  my  very  soul  at  the  mentioi 
of  them.  They  pour  upon  me  from  every  quarter,  and,  when  viewed  in  th 
light  of  Scripture  or  reason,  are  so  glaringly  inconsistent,  that  I  have  lonj 
ceased  to  wonder  at  the  general  contempt  poured  upon  the  clergy.  It  i 
often  said,  that  such  remarks  apply  only  to  a  part  of  this  body,  and  that  ther 
are  many  worthy  men  whose  liberality  and  exemplary  virtues  would  d 
honour  to  any  profession.  I  admit  the  truth  of  the  remark ;  but  they  a 
appear  to  be  lacking  in  one  qualification  essential  to  the  present  times — 
determined  hostility  to  corruption.  Why  don't  these  worthy  ministers  ste 
forward,  and,  like  Paul  towards  Peter,  withstand  to  the  face  all  th 
wolves  and  sycophants  which  infest  the  church  ?  Why  don't  they  call  fc 
a  reform  of  all  its  abuses  ?  Why  don't  they  join  the  people,  and  aver  thei 
determination  to  oppose  clerical  oppression,  to  protect  the  poor,  and  to  pre 
mote  the  growth  of  spiritual,  and  the  destruction  of  secular,  religion  ?  Tl 
poor  clergy,  the  working  clergy,  as  they  are  called,  grumble  a  little;  tv 


213 

they  ai^e  so  far  enchained  by  the  system  and  their  dependance  on  it  for  bread, 
that  they  never  venture  to  raise  the  standard  of  opposition.  Superstition 
begets  servility  of  mind,  and  national  religions  are  the  very  hot  beds  of 
iiypocrisy.  So  that,  with  all  that  we  may  hear  in  favour  of  the  non-suc- 
cessful in  preferments,  we  have  no  very  strong-  assurance  that  the  difference 
is  attributable  to  any  thing  better  than  bad  fortune.  The  loaves  and  fishes 
aave  stiU  a  good  scent,  and  when  men  have  been  trained  to  look  to  them  as 
the  great  object  of  their  profession,  can  we  wonder  that  they  are  willing  to 
;ast  the  net  either  to  the  right  or  the  left  side  of  the  ship,  in  shallow  water 
ir  deep,  provided  there  be  any  chance  of  success.  The  fault,  in  fact,  is  in  the 
;system ;  and  while  men  are  trained  at  school  to  think  that  "  curing  souls" 
iS  hke  catching  fish,  that  he  is  the  best  hand  who  fills  the  biggest  pannier, 
they  are  sure  to  shape  their  nets  and  their  tackle  that  nothing  may  miss 
;heir  grasp.  I  have  been  led  to  these  reflections  by  the  application  of  a 
ipoor  woman  in  behalf  of  her  deceased  mother.  She  died  a  pauper,  and 
•received  ten  shillings  from  her  parish  for  the  cofiin  and  dues.  All  the 
woman's  and  her  late  husband's  relations  are  interred  at  Leyland  :  the  poor 
iwoman,  before  she  died,  requested  to  be  interred  in  the  same  grave.  They 
once  saw  better  days,  and  purchased  a  grave  in  Leyland  church  yard,  which 
is  covered  with  a  stone.     "Well,"  said  I,   "what  is  it  you  want ;   where 

,will  you  get  the  coffin  ?" — "  W ,"  she  replied,  "  will  make  a  good  one 

at  the  parish  price." — "As  for  drink,  I  would  advise  you  not  to  buy  a 
drop  :  however  many  funerals  I  may  have,  I'll  take  care  that  there  is  nei- 
ther rum  nor  ale,  nor  any  such  thing.  If  you  invite  a  few  females,  and  it 
should  seem  necessary,  make  them  a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee,  but  don't  buy  any 
drink." — "  But  it  wiU  cost  us  near  thirty  shillings  dues  and  parson's  charge." 
■'  Why,  how  is  that  V — "  They  have  lately  made  a  new  rule,  and  the  parson 
charges  a  guinea  before  the  stone  can  be  moved." — A  new  rule  !  yes,  a  rule 
ito  get  hold  of  every  thing  they  can  :  this  is  the  rule  of  modern  divines  ;  a 
rule  to  deprive  the  poor  widow  of  interment,  or  to  send  her  friends  a  beg- 
ging through  the  streets,  to  put  it  into  the  pockets  of  the  parson.  It  is  by 
jthis  "new  rule"  that  potatoes,  and  milk,  and  fish,  and  I  don't  know  what, 
have  been  tithed  in  places  where  such  things  had  grown  entirely  into  disuse. 
If  any  change  take  place  in  the  countrv,  by  which  their  incomes  are  im- 
paired, they  are  ready  to  cry  out  with  all  their  might ;  but  if  those  changes 
tend  to  increase  their  incomes,  they  stick  pertinaciously  to  the  formal  de- 
mand, although  it  operate  with  great  severity  against  the  farmer.  The 
V^icar  of  Leyland,  w^ho  is  also  a  magistrate,  has  distinguished  himself  by 
;(iew  rules,  and  so  galling  are  the  demands  which  he  is  now  making  upon 
ithe  parish,  that,  it  is  said,  the  parishioners  are  contemplating  a  contest 
with  him  in  a  legal  court.  This  is  the  man  who  should  preach  "  peace  and 
i^ood  will,"  and,  instead  of  contending  about  hay  grass  and  potatoe  ground, 
iihould  be  carrying,  in  the  arms  of  charity,  his  people  to\yards  a  better  world. 
VOL,  n.  2  D 


214 

However,  as  the  saying  is,  the  faster  it  rains,  the  sooner  it  is  done :  these 
vexatious  demands  will  only  hasten  the  total  downfal  of  the  system,  which 
now  totters  to  its  base ;  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  we  shall  shortly  have 
another  "  new  rule,"  and  that  will  be  to  turn  every  parson  upon  his  own 
merits  and  his  own  means.  This  trifling  acknowledgment  of  "  a  guinea," 
I  believe,  is  pretty  common  :  I  recollect  something  of  it,  when  I  was  a  boy, 
at  Walton-le-dale ;  and,  in  the  parish  church  yard  here,  though  it  was  long 
since  considered  crowded  for  the  poor,  for  the  "  guinea"  subjects  there  is 
room  enough  yet.  New  cemeteries  are  the  best  cure  for  this  evil :  if  the 
parsons  will  not  deal  on  fair  terms,  the  best  way  is  to  leave  them  and  go 
elsewhere.  There  is  no  speculation  that  I  know  of  more  likely  to  answer 
than  that  of  cemeteries  in  every  populous  district.  Nothing  but  the  want 
of  time  has  prevented  me,  hitherto,  from  attempting  to  get  one  established 
in  Preston. 


THE  APPROACHING  ELECTIONS. 
So  imbued  are  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  this  country  with  the 
spirit  of  immorality,  that  a  season  of  excitation  like  that  of  an  election  calls 
it  forth  in  all  its  enormity.  Little  or  no  disguise  is  used,  and  the  artificial 
restraints,  to  which  some  respect  is  usually  paid,  are  now  thrown  away. 
As  to  the  merit  of  foreign  missions  in  the  abstract,  I  have  nothing  to  say ; 
but  with  such  scenes  of  drunkenness  before  me  as  were  exhibited  in  Preston 
on  Wliit-Monday  and  Whit-Tuesday,  and  with  the  revolting  exhibitions  of 
vice  which  are  now  witnessed  in  many  of  the  late  enfranchised  towns,  I  say 
to  their  promoters  and  supporters.  Begin  at  home  !  Till  England  is  re- 
formed, is  it  consistent  to  scrape  up  all  the  money  that  can  be  collected  for 
the  purpose  of  reforming  the  heathen  ?  Let  any  man  mix  with  the  people 
of  Blackburn,  Bury,  Bolton,  &c.  where  the  elections  are  likely  to  be  con- 
tested, and  he  will  see  such  a  spirit — (though  this  is  only  the  beginning)— 
as  to  lead  him  to  conclude,  with  the  exception  of  the  name,  that  he  is  still 
on  heathen  ground.  The  poor  and  the  rich  completely  divided  —  co 
science  and  sense  of  duty  abandoned — patriotism  sacrificed  to  selfishness 
bribery  and  intimidation  substituted  for  argument  and  reason — vengeance 
and  violence  for  liberty  and  freedom.  One  party,  by  oppression  and  hypo^ 
crisy,  is  seeking  to  carry  its  point ;  the  other,  by  intimidation  and  viole 
Cursing  and  swearing,  and  all  kinds  of  vicious  language,  grace  the  ass 
blies  in  the  streets ;  and,  in  fact,  every  consideration,  every  interest,  ev 
duty,  with  many,  is  sacrificed  to  the  evil  spirit  of  electioneering.  I  feel  ^0 
sensibly  upon  this  subject,  that  I  hope  I  shall  be  excused  if  I  give  a  single 

specimen.      The  friends  of called  upon  a  butcher,  and  asked  if  he 

would  vote  for  him.     "  Yes,"  replied  he,  *'  I'll  vote  that  he  go  to  h 


II 

ice  ; 
ypo- 

I 


1 


I 


215 

I  can  find  another  that  will  vote  that  he  stay  there ! " — We  have  a  "  na- 
tional" church,  aided  by  "national"  schools,  and  here  is  the  sort  of 
nation  which  this  system  has  produced ;  and  yet  I  find  that  the  desire  to 
perpetuate  this  system  is  the  principal  bone  of  contention  among  the 
electors.  The  clergy,  their  relations,  and  rich  friends,  are  for  the  church ; 
the  great  bulk  of  the  people,  and  nearly  all  the  middle  class  of  voters,  are 
against  it,  that  is,  against  its  abuses  and  corruptions.  They  think  that 
every  religion  should  maintain  itself,  and  the  church  be  placed  upon  the 
same  footing  as  every  other  religious  system.  Hence  I  find  that,  in  various 
places,  what  is  called  "the  church  candidate"  is  oj)posed  by  the  bulk  of 
the  people.  But  whatever  may  be  the  difference  of  opinion,  my  advice  is 
that  of  Paul's,  "  Let  all  your  things  be  done  with  charity."  Act  sincerely,, 
conscientiously,  and  peaceably.  Overcome  your  opponents,  not  by  violence, 
but  by  reason  and  firmness,  and  let  your  party  be  neither  whig,  nor  tory, 
nor  radical,  but — national !  J.  L. 


I    •  ALE  AND  OTHER  FERMENTED  LIQUORS.* 

n   ' 

"  How  sad  his  fate,  insatiate  who  desires 

Deeper  to  drink  than  nature's  thirst  requires  ! 
n  ,  The  mad'ning  draught  insidious  steals  away 

fi  The  intemperate  wretch :  while  he  who  would  allay 

With  healthy  draughts  his  thirst,  shall  drink  secure. 

Fearless  of  death,  and  quaff  his  water  pure." 

,  The  friends  of  Temperance  Societies  have  chiefly  directed  their  atten- 
tion to  spirit  drinking,  and  such  is  the  fearful  mass  of  evidence  that  they 
have  accumulated  upon  the  injurious  efiects  of  ardent  spirits  on  society, 
that  they  have  agreed  to  relinquish  the  use  of  them  entirely,  except  (as 
other  poisons  of  a  similar  kind  are  employed)  as  medicines.  And  few  men 
iwho  will  calmly,  and  without  prejudice,  examine  the  facts  they  have 
ibrought  to  light,  will,  it  is  presumed,  be  disposed  to  question  the  wisdom 
'of  such  a  resolution.  The  members  of  Temperance  Societies  regard  as  an 
incontrovertible  fact,  that  spirits  are  never  of  service  to  a  person  in  health, 
[while  they  are  among  the  chief  promoters  of  crime,  misery,  and  disease.  Act- 
ling  upon  this  fact,  they  have  therefore  justly  resolved,  so  far  as  they  are 
concerned,  never  to  taste  them,  except  disease  may  render  it  expedient,  and 
then  not  without  as  m\xch  caution  as  they  would  any  other  medicine.  The 
Ifundamental  principle  of  the  Temperance  Societies  does  not  prohibit  the 
members  of  such  societies  from  taking  other  kinds  of  liquors,  such  as  ale, 
porter,  wine  cider,  perry,  and  other  fermented  liquors,  provided  they  are 

*  This  and  the  three  following  articles  are  written  by  the  friends  of  the  Preston  Temperance 
jSowety.     They  will  afterwarda  be  put  into  th«  form  of  Tracts,  and  published  for  distribution. 


216 

careful  to  observe  great  moderation  in  the  use  of  them.     This  has  led  many  :> 
people  to  suppose,  that  those  who  have  devoted  the  most  attention  to  the  ) 
quality  and  effects  of  intoxicating  fluids,  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  n 
that  fer7nented  liquors  are  necessary  for  persons  in  health,  and  may  be  taken  J 
with  impunity ;  and  even,  it  is  to  be  feared,  many  of  the  members  of  Tem-  li 
perance  Societies  have  imbibed  this  opinion,  and  are  induced  by  it  to  use  ' 
•fermented  liquors,  not  only  as  an  article  of  diet,  but  as  a  common  drink  to 
quench  their  thirst.      So  far  as  we  are  aware,  the  investigation  of  the 
friends  of  temperance  have  led  to  no  such  conclusion,  nor  could  they  have 
done  so. — The  chief  fermented  liquors  used  in  this  country  are  ale  and  por- 
ter.    The  principal  ingredients  from  which  they  are  made  are,  as  all  know, 
malt  and  hops.     Malt  is  made  from  barley.     Barley  is  a  nutritious  grain, 
and  is  much  used  in  the  North  of  England,  and  in  Scotland,  for  making   . 
brown  bread,  and  in  all  parts  of  this  country  it  is  employed  as  an  article  of 
food,  in  broths,  gruel,  &c.,  and  very  valuable  food  it  is,  especially  for  per- 
sons who  are  sick,  as  it  contains  a  great  deal  of  mucilage  or  starch,  which 
is  light  and  nourishing.     To  give  some  notion  of  the  value  of  barley  as 
food,  we  may  just  mention  that  922  parts  out  of  every  thousand  are  said  to 
be  nutriment,  while  only  743  parts  out  of  the  thousand  of  oats  are  nutritive, 
and  250  of  potatoes,  so  that  barley  is  more  valuable  than  oats  as  food,  and 
nearly  3|-  times  as  valuable  as  potatoes  for  the  same  purpose.    The  elemen- 
tary substances  of  which  barley  is  composed  are  gum,  sugar,  gluten,  and 
starch  :  of  these  every  hundred  parts  of  the  grain  contains  five  of  gum,  four 
of  sugar,  three  of  gluten,  and  eighty- eight  of  starch.     Now  these  four  ele- 
mentary substances  are  all  very  nutritious,  and  any  of  them  singly  would 
support  life.      The  reason  why  we  mention  this  you  will  presently  see. 
Before  the  barley  can  be  made  into  beer  or  porter,  you  know,  it  must  be 
converted  into  malt.     The  way  in  which  this  is  done  is  to  steep  the  barley 
in  water,  and  then  put  it  into  a  kiln,  where  it  is  allowed  to  remain  until  its 
elementary  parts  have  been  somewhat  changed  by  a  process  of  germination, 
as  it  is  called,  that  is,  preparing  to  sprout.     We  have  now,  instead  of  bar- 
ley, malt,  which  is  composed  of  fourteen  parts  of  gum,  sixteen  parts  of 
sugar,  one  of  gluten,  and  sixty-nine  parts  of  starch  in  every  hundred :  so 
you  see,  by  the  process  of  malting,  two  parts  of  gluten  and  nineteen  parts 
of  starch  are  changed  into  nine  parts  of  gum  and  twelve  of  sugar.     Now 
gum  and  sugar  are  not  so  nutritious  as  gluten  and  starch,  so  that  alrea^ 
has  the  substance  sustained  much  injury  as  an  article  of  food.     Still,  hoi 
ever,  malt  is  capable  of  sustaining  life,  and  might  be  used  without  injury. 
Not  content  with  this  deterioration  of  a  valuable  vegetable  production,  tl^- 
evil  ingenuity  of  man  has  subjected  it  to  another  change,  by  a  proceMl 
which  is  called  brewing  and  working,  or  fermentation.     By  this  process  the 
sugar,  and,  perhaps,  much  of  the  gum  and  starch,  are  converted  into  spirit. 
That  the  sugar  is  lost,  any  one  may  know  by  tasting  the  difference  bet 


:|| 


etwfl^J 

i 


217- 

ort  and  ale.  Still,  however,  a  little  gum  and  starch  remain,  but  they  are 
)W  mixed  with  a  poisonous  substance,  spirit,  and  cannot  sustain  life  for 
^en  a  few  weeks,  without  producing  the  most  deplorable  effects  on  the 
ind  and  body  of  the  person  who  tries  the  experiment.  Still,  not  content 
ith  this  very  great  deterioration  of  food,  men  have  resolved,  in  manv  in- 
ances,  to  complete  the  destruction  by  separating  the  poison  from  the 
itriment ;  and  this  poison  men  have  agreed  to  call  spirit,  a  title  which 
ould  have  been  most  appropriate  had  they  but  affixed  the  merited  epithet 
tV,  for  how  like  is  it,  in  many  respects,  to  the  great  spirit  who  is  the  fa- 
er  of  sin  and  misery !     The   process   by  which  the   fermented   liquor 

thus  formed  into  spirit  is  by  distillation,  that  is,  by  applving  heat  to 
.  and  driving  off  the  lighter  part  in  the  form  of  steam,  which  is  cooled 
•  passing  through  long  pipes  covered  with  cold  water ;  and  so  anxious 
e  the  distillers  that  no  nutriment  should  remain,   that  they  subject  it 

this  process  twice,  and  sometimes  three  times,  and  everv  time  thev  throw 
vay  all  that  remains  in  the  still  that  is  the  nourishing  part,  and  keep  no- 
ing  but  the  poison ;  and  this  poison,  by  some  strange  perversion  of  reason, 
id  some  unaccountable  infatuation,  manv  people  have  agreed  to  swallow 
i^e  water,  even  though  they  see  their  companions  brought  to  po\ertv, 
ime,  sickness,  and  death,  by  it  almost  daily.  All  intoxicating  liquors, 
)u  perceive,  then,  are  fermented;  and  distilled  liquors  only  differ  from  the 
st  in  containing  no  nutriment  at  all,  and  in  being  a  simple  poison,  mixed 
ith  water.  The  distilled  liquors  in  general  use,  you  know,  are  brandv, 
.m,  and  gin,  and  these,  when  they  are  called  good,  will  contain,  the 
andy  and  rum  about  fifty-three  parts  out  of  the  hundred  of  pure  spirit,  and 
little  burnt  sugar  to  colour  them,  and  gin  about  fift}--one  parts  out  of  the 
mdred.  Of  the  fermented  liquors,  ale,  when  strong,  only  contains  about 
ne  parts  of  pure  spirit  to  the  hundred,  porter  about  seven  in  the  hundred, 
id  port  wine  nearly  twenty-six.  Now,  it  may  be  said,  "  Surely,  so  small 
proportion  of  spirit  as  nine  in  ever\-  hundred  cannot  occasion  anv  well- 
unded  objection  against  the  free  use  of  ale."  And  such  we  have  frequently 
jard  urged  by  persons  for  whose  judgment  in  other  matters  we  have  had  a 
gh  esteem.  And  we  should  perhaps  concede  the  point,  as  not  ver}-  ma- 
rial,  if  the  quantity  of  ale  consumed  was  not  more  than  that  of  spirits  ;  but 
hen  we  happen  to  know  that  about  eight  times  as  much  ale  and  porter  are 
•nsumed  as  ardent  spirits,  we  are  constrained  to  make  a  stand  against 
iCm.  Spirits,  as  they  are  sold  by  the  publicans  or  at  the  dram-shops,  will 
)t  generally  contain  more  than  about  fort}'  parts  of  pure  spirit  in  the  hun- 
ted, while  the  average  per  centage  of  ale  may  be  five  parts  of  pure  spirit, 
ow  if  there  is  eight  times  more  ale  and  porter  consumed  than  distilled 
juors,  it  wm  follow  that  in  the  former  supposed  innocent  beverages,  there 

considerably  more  pure  spirit  drank  than  in  the  latter.  A  man  who 
inks  a  quart  of  ale  will  take  nearly  two  ounces  of  pure  spirit,  four  ounces 


218 

of  spirit  at  proof,  or  nearly  equal  to  half  a  gill  of  brandy.  But  this  is  not  all 
we  have  hitherto  only  considered  one  of  the  two  chief  ingredients  in  ale  am 
porter,  malt,  and  have  said  nothing  about  the  hop.  Hop  is  called  a  narcoti 
by  persons  who  have  studied  its  effects  upon  the  body,  and  therefore  belong 
to  the  same  class  of  medicines  as  spirits.  By  narcotic  the  doctors  mean 
substance  which  produces  a  depression  upon  the  brain,  and  occasions  stvpe 
faction  and  sleep,  as  opium  does.  Now  hop  is  so  strong  a  narcotic  that  th 
doctors  never  think  of  giving  more  than  four  or  five  grains  of  the  powderei 
hop  for  a  dose,  and  this  quantity  they  would  consider  nearly  equal  in  it 
effects  to  half  a  grain  of  opium,  and  half  a  grain  of  opium,  any  persoj 
knows  who  has  taken  it,  will  soon  produce  deep  sleep,  and  leave  very  ofte; 
an  unpleasant  head  ache  in  the  morning.  Hops,  then,  very  materially  in 
crease  the  intoxicating  and  stupefying  effects  of  ale,  so  that,  in  addition  t 
the  half  a  gill  of  proof  spirit,  he  who  drinks  a  quart  of  ale  would  have  th 
narcotic  or  stupefying  effect  of  the  hops  to  endure,  which  would  be  equal  t 
that  produced  by  two  grains  of  opium.  Can  any  one,  after  considering  thes 
facts,  arrive  at  a  conclusion  that  ale  can  be  drunk  as  a  common  beverag 
with  propriety,  or  even  safety  ?  Can  any  one  deem  it  reasonable  to  destro 
so  large  a  quantity  of  nutriment  to  produce  so  stupefying  a  liquor  ?  Al 
unquestionably  is  nutritious,  but  it  is  not  indebted  to  fermentation  for  thi 
property,  but  to  the  vagetable  matter  that  remains  unchanged  by  fermenta 
tion ;  so  that  if  any  person  should  deem  it  proper  to  take  ale  because  it  i 
nourishing,  the  same  kind  of  reasoning  should  lead  him  to  prefer  the  liquc 
before  it  has  been  fermented,  as  it  is  then  much  more  nourishing  ;  and, 
he  would  pursue  the  same  train  of  reflection,  he  would  be  led  inevitably  t 
the  conclusion,  that  it  is  much  more  reasonable  to  use  the  substance  in  th 
form  of  barley,  as  Providence  has  given  it  to  him,  for  in  that  state  it  i 
only  inferior  to  wheat  in  nutriment.  Let  these  facts,  then,  be  engraven  o 
the  recollection  of  every  thinking  person — when  barley  is  converted  int 
malt,  it  becomes  much  deteriorated  as  an  article  of  food ;  when  malt  : 
changed  by  fermentation  into  ale  or  porter,  a  great  and  valuable  part  of  i( 
nutriment  is  converted  into  a  deleterious  poison,  so  that  it  becomes  unfit  f( 
common  use,  except  in  very  small  quantities ;  and  when  it  has  undergon 
a  further  change  by  distillation,  nothing  but  an  innutritions  poison  remain.' 
and,  as  such,  it  ought  to  be  wholly  banished  to  the  shop  of  the  apothecar 
and  chemist,  and  should  never  be  sold  except  as  other  substances  of  a  simi 
lar  nature  with  a  large  label,  poison,  so  that  no  one  might  hereafter  mi> 
•take  it  for  a  harmless  beverage. — It  may  be  asked.  If  you  deprive  people  ( 
spirits,  wine,  ale,  porter,  cider,  perry,  &c.,  what  must  they  drink  ?  ^ 
me  ask,  in  return.  For  what  purpose  do  people  drink  ?  Is  it  not  to  q 
their  thirst?  And  if  so,  will  any  man  coolly  say  that  he  ever  found 
thirst  diminished  by  either  distilled  or  fermented  liquors  ?  Drink,  thei 
we  would  say,  water  if  you^would  be  wise,  virtuous,  happy,  and  h^l 


II 


219 

r,  if  you  will  gratify  your  palate  a  little,  tea,  coffee,  lemonade,  or  any 
ther  undistilled  and  unfermented  liquid.  Some  persons  "will  tell  us  that 
ley  take  spirits,  ale,  &c.  to  strengthen  them  for  their  labour.  This  is  ab- 
jrd :  such  fluids  excite  a  temporar}""  fever,  and  while  the  fever  continues 
18  person  may  he  capable  of  great  exertion,  but  when  it  subsides  a  more 
lan  corresponding  exhaustion  and  depression  succeeds.  It  is  an  unques- 
enable  fact,  that  the  man  who  confines  his  beverage  to  liquids  neither 
istilled  nor  fermented  will  perform  more  labour  in  a  week  than  he  who 
idulges  in  distilled  and  fermented  liquors.  Think  on  these  things,  and 
:t  as  reason  directs. 


THE  COST  OF  INTEMPERANCE. 

From  the  best  data  it  was  lately  calculated  that  the  annual  consumption  of  malt  liquor 

the  British  empire  was  about  450  millions  of  gallons,  which,  at  Is.  a  gallon,  would  amount 

TWENTY-TWO  MILLIONS  OF  POUNDS  Sterling,  —  that  the  quantity  of  wine  imported  and 

'  inufactured,  and  sold  for  foreign,  amounts  to  about  ten  millions  of  gallons,  upon  which 

!   out  EIGHT  MILLIONS  is  expended  annually.     The  quantity  of  full  proof  spirit  upon  which 

ty  was  paid  in  the  year  ending  January,  1S30,  was  27,513,260  gallons.     If  to  this  be  added 

;  quantity  produced  by  adulteration,  reduction  in  strength,  illicit  distillation,  and  smuggling, 

is  supposed  that  the  annual  consumption  has  been  about  forty  millions  of  gallons,  which,  at 

i  average  of  10s.  per  gallon,  would  produce  a  sum  of  twenty  millions  a  year.     It  ap- 

ars,  then,  that  we  pay  fifty  millions  a  year  for  malt  liquor,  wine,  and  spirits  ! !  and  consume 

quantity  which  would  make  a  sea,  three  feet  deep,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  eighty-four  and 

HALF  MILES  long ! !     And  all  this,  besides  the  expense  attendant  upon  the  losses  of  time 

d  character,  the  occurrence  of  accidents,  sickness,  and  deaths,  resulting  from  hard  drinking. 

ith  the  exception  of  a  very  small  quantity  recommended  as  medicine,  all  this  vast  expendi- 

■e  has  done  no  good,  but  an  immensity  of  harm.     Poverty,  misery,  crime,  disease,  and 

EMATURE  DEATH  are  the  standing,  the  universal,  the  deplorable  e.fects  of  this  consump- 

■|nof  intoxicating  liquor,  besides  the  awful  consequences  in  another  world.     If  there  be 

iything  resembling  in  its  effects  the  "  lake  of  fire,"  it  is  this  lake  of  poisonous  spirits.     A 

5  of  ale,  wine,  and  spirits,  eighty-four  miles  long ! ! !     When,  and  where,  and  by  whom  can 

:  this  be  swallowed  in  one  year  ?     Is  it  possible  that  the  human  gullet  of  this  country  can 

imel  into  it  so  much  pernicious  stuff?     From  this  vast  reservoir  are  supplied  all  the  spirit 

Vrchants,  and  through  them  and  the  publicans  almost  every  family  gets  "  a  little  drop."     If 

;i  want  to  know  how  this  river  gets  dried  up  by  the  Gth  of  January  every  year,  visit  every 

]()lic  house,  dwelling,  and  jeny  shop,  where  man  is  found ;  make  your  observations,  and  you 

'  *1  be  at  no  loss  to  discover  both  the  fact,  and  also  whence  arises  so  much  human  misery  and 

tne.     When  we  reflect  upon  the  universal  habit  of  taking  liquor  in  this  country,  there  is  no 

<icuhy  in  accounting  for  the  consumption  of  the  500  millions  of  gallons.    And  if  we  add  to 

1  fifty  millions,  the  assumed  cost  of  this  pernicious  stuff,  all  the  expenses  of  time  and  labour 

»,:,  accidents,  shipwrecks,  and  all  sorts  of  damages,  lawyers'  bills,  doctors'  bills,  &c.  consequent 

"HI  drunkenness,  we  believe  we  are  below  the  truth  in  doubling  the  amount,  and  putting 

•,vn,  as  a  moderate  calculation  for  the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquors,  the  sum  of  a 

^NDRED  millions  A  YEAR  ! ! ! 


220  || 

Who  can  reflect  upon  the  expenditure  of  this  immense  sum,  the  tendency  of  which  is 
propagate  misery,  crime,  disease,  and  death,  without  weeping  at  the  folly  of  our  countryme 
and,  at  the  same  time,  feeling  determined  to  use  every  possible  means  of  leading  them  to 
reformation  ?  Let  us,  however,  make  a  calculation  what  the  neat  annual  expenditure  of  fif, 
MILLIONS  would  purchase. 


5  millions     loads  of  potatoes,  at  5s. 
.3  millions     loads  flour,  at  35s. 

1  million  loads  oatmeal,  at  28s. 
400  millions  quarts  of  milk,  at  2d. 
100  millions     pounds  of  butter,  at  Is. 

50  millions     pounds  of  cheese,  at  6d. 
200  millions     pounds  of  flesh  meat,  at  6d. 
104  millions     ounces  of  tea,  at  4d. 

20  millions     pounds  of  coffee,  at  Is.  lOd. 
104  millions     pounds  of  sugar,  at  fid. 

52  millions     pounds  of  soap,  at  6d. 

52  millions     pounds  of  candles,  at  fid. 

78  millions     cwts.  of  coals,  at  7d. 

2  millions     of  new  coats,  small  and  large,  18s. 
2  millions     of  waistcoats,  ditto,  4s. 

2  millions     of  trowsers,  ditto  at  6s. 
9  millions    pairs  of  shoes,  ditto,  at  5s. 
9  millions     pairs  stockings,  at  Is. 
4  millions     cotton  shirts,  at  Is.  4d. 
4  millions     handkerchiefs,  at  8d. 
4  millions    hats,  at  5s.  . 
4  millions     gowns,  at  4s.  fid. 
4  millions     shifts,  at  Is.  4d. 
4  millions     petticoats,  at  2s.  fid. 
4  millions     aprons,  at  8d. 
4  millions     bonnets,  at  4s. 

3  millions     caps,  at  fid. 
i  million      bed  ticks,  at  5s. 
§  million      pairs  blankets,  at  12s. 
1  million      pairs  sheets,  at  4s.      .  . 
1  million      coverlets,  at  2s.  fid. 

Medical  assistance 

Schoolmasters  ,  .  . 

Religious  teachers  .  .  , 

Lecturers  on  useful  knowledge 

Periodicals,  newspapers,  and  books  . 

Country  excursions  to  watering  places,  &c. 

Contributions  to  societies,  charities,  &c. 

Balance  for  the  necessary  use  of  ale,  wine,  spiritit  and  cordials 


£2,000,000 

5,000,000 

1,400,000 

3,000,000 

5,000,000 

1,250,000 

5,000,000 

1,733,333 

1,833,333 

2,600,000 

1,300,000 

1,300,000 

2,275,000 

1,900,000 

400,000 

600,000 

2,250,000 

450,000 

266,666 

133,333 

1,000,000 

900,000 

266,666 

500,000 

333,333 

600,000 

75,000 

125,000 

300,000 

200,000 

150,000 

400,000 

400,000 

500,000, 

50,000j 

400,000 

1,000,000 

400,000 

2,108,336 


£50,000,000 


These  articles  would  be  sufficient  to  support  a  million  of  families,  consisting  of  five 
sons  each,  or  five  millions  of  individuals,  that  is,  about  one-fifth  of  the  inhabitants  of  C 
Britain  and  Ireland ! !  Besides,  if  this  sum  were  expended  in  purchasing  articles  whicl 
really  conducive  to  happiness,  we  shall  not  be  outstripping  the  truth  if  we  assert  dn 
those  persons  who  are  now  suffering  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  from  lack  ol 
ployment,  might  be  usefully  and  profitably  occupied.  And  we  ought  to  add  to  thif 
very  great  annual  sum  which  is  lost  in  consequence  of  the  present  consumption  of  intoxicatii 
liquids,  by  idleness.  Many  persons  forget  that  to  the  operative  especially  time  is  wealt 
and  he  cannot  spend  a  day  in  the  week  in  drinking  but  he  sacrifices  one-sixth  of  his  wagj 


J 


I 


^21 

S*ow  supposing  the  man  is  a  mechanic,  and  can  earn  thirty  shillings  a  week,  or  £78  a  year*, 
if  he  drink  a  single  day  every  week,  in  Time  alone  he  spends  five  shillings  a  week,  or  £l3  a 
year :  and  how  many  are  there  who  lose  two  days  in  the  week  in  this  evil  indulgence,  or  ten 
shillings  per  week,  or  £26  per  annum  1      Even  the  poor  weaver,  in  too  many  instances, 
sacrifices  the  whole  of  Monday  and  one-half  of  Saturday  in  drinking,  and,  on  an  avarage,  an 
hour  each  day  more  in  the  ridiculous  practice  of  smoking,  so  that  frequently  he  is  not  actually 
engaged  at  his  employment  more  than  four  days  in  the  week.     Now,  supposing  the  weaver 
can  earn  eighteen  pence  a  day  when  he  is  diligently  engaged,  in  Time  he  sacrifices  to  drinking, 
smoking,  and  indolence,  three  shillings  a  week,  or  one  third  of  his  wages,  which,  in  the  year, 
is  a  loss  of  about  £S.     Some  of  our  operatives,  we  know,  are  diligently  employed  during  the 
stated  hours  of  labour,  and  only  frequent  the  public  house  at  night,  and  these  statements,  it 
will  be  said,  can  have  no  reference  to  them.    True,  they  cannot ;  but  still  the  same  truth  may 
be  applied,  for  here  also  Time  is  wealth.     It  is  difBcult  to  say  how  much  the  head  of  a  family 
might  save  of  his  wages  by  a  little  time  and  attention  devoted,  at  what  he  calls  his  leisure  hours, 
to  domestic  concerns.     Many  little  articles  of  furniture  may  want  repairing,  for  the  repair  of 
which  he  will  have  to  pay,  if  he  do  not  perform  the  labour  himself:  his  wife  may  require  his 
assistance  in  selecting  such  things  as  are  needful  for  the  family :  his  children  may  need  instruc- 
tion, and  if  he  do  not  teach  them,  they  must  be  sent  to  a  night  school,  and  they  cannot  be  sent 
thither  without  incurring  some  expense.     Besides,  who  so  likely  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the 
progress  of  his  children  as  himself,  and  what  teacher  could  gain  the  affection  and  strict  attention 
of  a  child  so  well  as  a  kind  and  attentive  parent  ?    Moreover,  the  child  would  have  continually 
before  his  eyes  an  example  that  would  make  a  deeper  impression  than  all  the  precepts  that  wis- 
dom ever  taught.    He  might  thus,  also,  train  his  children  up  to  be  ornaments  to  society,  qualify 
them  for  entering  upon  the  business  of  life  with  many  advantages  that  would  soon  gain  them 
superior  situations,  of  which  the  parent  would,  at  least  for  a  while,  reap  the  benefit;  and  when 
age  should  have  unfitted  him  for  the  active  duties  of  life,  he  would  have  provided  for  himself  a 
peaceful  asylum  in  the  bosom  of  his  son's  family,  a  watchful  and  affectionately  solicitous  nurse 
in  the  love  of  his  daughter ;  and  might  thus  end  his  days  in  peace,  beloved  and  revered ;  and 
when  death  should  remove  him  from  this  world,  he  would  leave  behind  a  monument  more 
lonourable  than  that  which  commemorates  the  greatest  conquest,  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  can 
ippreciate  and  love  domestic  virtue.      It  will  be  seen  from  this  statement,  that  when  a  man 
nispends  his  leisure  hours  even,  he  is  mispending  his  money,  for  what  a  man  does  not  save 
vhen  he  can  conveniently  do  so,  he  undoubtedly  squanders  away.     But  perhaps  the  individual 
leither  drinks  during  his  regular  working  hours,  nor  has  he  a  family  that  demands  his  leisure 
ime;  and  it  may  be  said,  "  Surely,  such  an  one  is  not  mispending  his  money,  except  what  he 
)ays  for  his  drink."     This  also  is  a  mistake,  for  to  such  an  one  the  same  truth  is  applicable. 
*Ve  say  nothing  at  present  of  the  danger  to  which  he  exposes  himself  by  going  to  the  tavern — • 
0  the  loss  of  character,  health,  and  his  resolution  to  restrict  his  indulgence  to  th3  evening. 
This  scarce  needs  to  be  insisted  upon,  as  all  must  admit  it  to  be  true  :  what  is  chiefly  our  wish 
s,  to  convince  such  that,  by  thus  losing  their  Time,  they  are  losing  their  money.     It  is  now 
;dmitted  by  every  one  who  gives  himself  the  trouble  of  thinking,  that  "  knowledge  is  power," 
nd  he  who  posseses  the  greatest  knowledge  possesses  the  most  ample  means  of  gaining  wealth, 
t  was  Icnowledge  that  first  taught  man  to  manufacture  tools  to  aid  him  in  the  performance  of 
lis  labour ;  and  the  man  who  first  employed  a  spade  would  perform  as  much  labour  as  twenty 
.nen  who  used  nothing  but  their  hands.     The  steam  engine  is  the  fruit  of  Icnowledge ;  and  the 
knowledge  that  enabled  man  to  invent  the  first  steam  engine  gave  him  a  power  greater  than 
VOL.    II.  2  K 


222 

that  of  a  hundred  men,  and  enabled  him  to  perform  a  hundred  times  more  labour,  and  of  cours' 
enabled  him  to  earn  a  hundred  times  more  money :  and  most  of  the  wealth  which  has  beer 
accumulated  by  trade  has  been  made  by  hiotvledge ;  and,  generally,  the  reason  why  mer 
with  equal  capital  do  not  realize  the  same  income  is,  that  some  are  possessed  of  more  diligenc* 
and  more  knowledge  than  others.  So  it  is  with  the  workman  :  he  who  understands  the  prin- 
ciple, as  well  as  the  mechanism  and  operation  of  the  machine  with  which  he  works,  is  sure  tc 
attain  to  greater  expertness  in  the  use  of  that  machine  than  others,  and  may  occasionally  de- 
vise improvements  that  would  never  have  presented  themselves  to  an  ignorant  person.  Well 
then,  knowledge  may  be  said  to  be  wealth,  as  well  as  time,  and  that  operative  who  employ 
his  leisure  in  attaining  a  knowledge  of  the  science  of  his  employment,  who  learns  the  princi 
pies  of  his  machine,  and  reads  about  all  the  new  improvements  that  are  almost  daily  made  ii 
every  species  of  trade,  is  almost  sure,  with  diligence  and  sobriety,  to  improve  his  condition  ii 
life.  Let  every  man,  then,  remember  that  while  he  is  drinking  he  is  losing  a  sum  double  the 
amount,  or  nearly  so,  of  what  he  pays  for  his  liquor,  as  most  men  might  earn  Igd.  while  the) 
are  drinking  a  glass  of  ale  in  a  public  house,  and  3d.  while  they  are  prevented  from  followiii; 
their  employment  by  drinking  a  glass  of  gin.  What  weaver  would  drink  a  gallon  of  ale  in  thi 
day,  or  what  mechanic  five  shillings'  worth  of  spirit  ? — From  what  has  been  said,  you  see  thai 
when  men  frequent  taverns,  they  spend  very  large  sums  in  liquors  that  ruin  their  bodies  am 
souls,  and  they  sacrifice  time  that  ought  to  have  been  usefully  and  profitably  employed.  Si 
that  by  the  evil  of  drinking  alone  it  would  not,  we  think,  be  an  exaggeration  to  state  tha 
£100,000,000  are  spent  or  lost,  yearly,  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  This  sum  would  paj 
off  the  national  debt,  and  interest  beside,  in  dh  years,  .and  leave  us  a  surplus  of  abou 
lC6,000,000  sterling.  By  this  small  sacrifice  all  our  just  complaints  about  the  burden  of  go 
vernment  would  be  removed,  and  England  be  raised  to  a  height  of  glory  and  prosperity  t( 
which  conquest  could  never  elevate  her.  English  industry,  when  connected  with  strict  mo 
rality,  steady  sobriety,  and  universal  intelligence,  would  stand  forth  as  the  admiration  of  th( 
present  age,  and  the  star  to  future  times.  Can  an  Englishman  think  of  this  consummation 
and  not  wish  to  seek,  by  his  individual  prosperity,  to  render  his  country  thus  glorious?— 
Think  —  Will  you  have  drink  and  poverty,  crime  and  disease,  or  sobriety  and  abundance 
morality  and  health  ? 


TEMPERANCE    SOCIETIES. 


'  On  high  authority  it  is  asserted,  that  four-fifths  of  the  crimes,  three-fourths  of  the  beggary,  and 
one-half  of  all  the  madness  of  our  countrymen  arise  from  moderate  drinking." 


AN  ADDRESS. 

My  Friends, — You  have  most  likely  heard  that  a  new  association  has  been  formed, if 
this  town  under  the  title  of  a  Temperance  Society.  Perhaps  you  have  not  hitherto  mm 
yourselves  acquainted  with  the  objects  of  such  societies.  If  so,  lend  me  your  serious  attenuffl 
for  a  little,  and  I  will  endeavour  to  give  you  some  information  respecting  them,  and  to 
to  you  a  few  of  the  reasons  which  ought  to  induce  yon  to  encourage  such  societies.  | 

Temperance  Societies  have  no  connection  with  politics ;  they  don't  interfere  with  sec^ 


■idaii 


223 

or  parties ;  but  they  are  recommended  to  all  sects  and  all  parties,  and  to  persons  who  are  of 
no  party  whatever.  They  admit  persons  of  all  opinions,  and  of  every  profession,  in  all  ranks 
and  all  conditions  in  life.  The  chief  design  of  Temperance  Societies  is  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits,  as  a  common  beverage  or  matter  of  hospitality ;  indeed,  to  set  them 
aside  altogether,  except  as  medicines.  They  are  also  intended  to  prevent  excess  in  the  use 
of  all  other  intoxicating  liquors,  such  as  ale,  porter,  wine,  cider,  and  perry.  In  short,  to  do 
away  with  drunkenness  or  intemperance  in  drinking,  in  every  shape.  But  how  do  they 
accomplish  this  object?  The  members  pledge  themselves,  first,  not  to  use  spirits  at  all,  ex- 
cept for  medicine ;  secondly,  to  be  moderate  in  the  use  of  other  liquors ;  and,  thirdly,  to  en- 
deavour to  discountenance  the  causes  and  practices  of  intemperance.  They  agree  to  these 
three  particulars,  believing  that  drunkenness  is  a  very  prevalent  and  highly  injurious  crime ; 
that  the  habitual  use  of  e\-en  a  small  quantity  of  spirits  is  intemperance ;  that  intemperance 
produces  a  plentiful  crop  of  poverty,  disease,  and  crime ;  and  that  it  is  their  duty  to  try  to 
remedy  these  evils.  Temperance  Societies  also  print  and  circulate  tracts,  and  hold  meetings, 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the  attention  of  persons  to  the  evil  effects  of  intemperance,  and  to 
induce  them  to  become  members. 

Now,  my  friends,  let  me  ask  you  a  few  important  questions.  Is  not  intemperance 
'aTdiilly  prevalent  ?  Have  we  not  been  generally  deluded  with  prevailing  opinions  and 
customs  respecting  the  necessity  and  usefulness  of  ardent  spirits  ?  Have  they  not  done  ten 
thousand  times  more  evil  than  ever  they  can  do  good  ?  If  we  ourselves  have  not  become  di- 
rectly enslaved  to  them,  have  we  no  relatives,  no  friends,  over  whom  we  have  to  lament  on 
this  account  ?  Have  we  not  husbands  or  wives,  children  or  parents,  who  are  spending  their 
time  and  money  in  the  alehouse  or  dram-shop  ?  Is  not  intemperance  rapidly  on  the  advance  ? 
Are  not  masters  and  servants,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old,  subject  to  its  influence  ?  Are 
not  the  ranks  of  drunkards  continually  filled  up  out  of  the  number  of  those  who,  a  short  time 
ago,  were  regarded  as  sober  characters  ?  Is  not  intemperance  one  of  the  greatest  of  enemies, 
domestic  and  national,  with  which  we  have  to  contend,  occasioning  many  evils,  such  as  bank- 
ruptcies, assignments,  loss  of  employment,  reduction  of  wages,  povertj',  crime,  madness,  &c.  ? 
Is  it  not  very  desirable  that  something  should  be  done  to  stop  the  progress  of  a  vice  which  is 
the  cause  of  so  much  suffering?  Temperance  Societies  are  the  very  means  calculated  to 
accomplish  so  desirable  an  object.  And  they  have  already  done  much  good,  not  only  in 
America,  but  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  several  parts  of  this  kingdom.  Let  husbands  and 
wives,  parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants,  ministers  and  people,  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants,—  let  every  Christian,  every  philanthropist,  yea,  let  every  rational  being,  whether 
man  or  woman,  calmly  consider  these  and  similar  questions,  and  then  decide  whether  Tem- 
perance Societies  ought  to  be  opposed,  or  they  ought  to  be  supported,  with  hand,  heart,  and 
influence,  as  having  a  most  benevolent  tendency,  and  as  being  truly  important  to  mankind. 

"What  are  spirits?  They  are  a  mixture  of  water  and  alcohol:  at  proof  strength,  they 
all  contain  nearly  equal  proportions  of  each.  WTiat  is  alcohol  ?  A  vegetable  poison.  A 
glass  or  two  of  pure  spirit  would,  in  most  cases,  cause  instant  death.  It  affords  no  nourish- 
ment; it  can  give  none.  It  is  a  poison,  and  a  poison  only,  and  he  that  persists  in  the  use  of 
it,  as  a  common  beverage,  injures  himself,  and  is  guilty  of  an  act  of  rebellion  against  the  great 
Author  of  his  being." 

Some  interested  persons  will  tell  you  that  if  the  spirits  are  pure  they  will  do  you  no 
harm,  and  when  any  of  their  companions  are  brought  to  a  premature  grave  by  drinking 


P4 

spirituous  liquors,  they  will  generally  attribute  the  event  to  any  thing  but  their  intempe- 
rance ;  and  when  the  case  is  too  flagrant  to  be  thus  smoothed  over,  they  usually  ascribe  the 
circumstance  to  something  peculiar  about  the  manner  of  drinking,  or  the  kind  of  liquoi 
taken.     They  will  perhaps  inform  you  that  their  friend  was  a  "  running  drinker ;"  that  "  he^ 
never  sat  to  his  glasses,  but  swallowed  it  all  off  at  once ;"  or,  "he  drank  it  raw;"  or,  "he 
drank  gin  ;"  or,  "  he  neglected  to  take  his  breakfast  before  he  got  his  dram ;"  or,  "  he  drank 
early  in  the  day ;"  or,  "  he  chiefly  drank  of  ale  which  was  drugged."     Again,  you  will  heai 
that  the  greatest  harm  arises  from  the  reprehensible  cupidity  of  the  distiller  of  spirits,  who  i- 
guilty  of  mixing  his  spirits  with  juniper,  oil  of  vitriol,  and  a  variety  of  other  ingredients  sup- 
posed to  be  noxious.     Now  this  is  all  gross  deception :  it  matters  little  whether  a  man  be  a 
running  drinker  or  a  sitting  drinker,  whether  he  drink  spirit  raw  or  diluted,  whether  he 
drink  gin,  or  rum,  or  brandy,  whether  he  drink  it  early  or  latej  if  he  drink  spirit  at  all,  even 
in  moderate  quantities,  he  is  sure  to  injure  his  health,  and,  if  he  drink  to  excess,  he  will 
speedily  sacrifice  his  moral  rectitude,  his  domestic  comfort,  his  health,  and  his  hope  of  eternal 
happiness.     Think  you  that  a  man  could  take  an  ounce  of  laudanum  or  of  arsenic  with  im- 
punity, if  he  took  it  sitting  instead  of  standing,  if  he  took  it  diluted  instead  of  concentrated 
if  he  took  it  pure  instead  of  mixed  ?     By  no  means :  in  the  one  case,  certainly,  his  suffering- 
in  this  life  would  be  sooner  ended,  but  in  the  other  his  destruction,  though  slow,  would  noi 
be  less  sure.     Let  no  one,  then,  deceive  himself  or  his  friends  by  this  miserable  delusion 
Poison  cannot  be  altered  in  its  nature  by  dilution,  nor  its  effects  be  prevented  by  sophism.     I 
is  the  spirit  which  intoxicating  fluids  contain  that  is  injurious;  and  just  in  proportion  to  th( 
quantity  of  the  spirit  taken  is  the  danger.     Juniper,  oil  of  vitriol,  and  most  of  the  other  drug; 
which  are  mixed  with  spirits  are  rather  an  advantage  than  otherwise :  they  are,  at  all  events 
innoxious.      Let  the  liquor  be  brandy,  rum,  gin,  whiskey,  wine,  ale,  or  porter,  the  chie 
danger  arises  from  the  spirit  they  contain,  and  nothing  else.     Let  this  truth  be  engraven  oi 
the  memory  of  every  sensualist,  and  let  him  tremble  when  he  again  returns  to  his  potations. 

You  will  probably  ask,  "  What  were  spirits  made  for,  if  they  are  not  to  be  used?"  Anc 
I  might  inquire  in  return,  What  was  opium  made  for  ?  What  was  arsenic  made  for  ?  TIk 
legitimate  use  of  spirits  is  in  chemical  operations,  and  occasionally  for  medicine,  certainly  no 
to  be  employed  as  articles  of  diet,  or  to  be  used  as  indulgences.  They  were  created,  hki 
every  thing  else,  for  a  wise  purpose,  and,  when  legitimately  used,  they  are  of  great  service 
and  it  is  only  by  the  evil  dispositions  of  man  that  they  are  rendered  injurious.  When  the; 
are  confided  to  the  care  of  the  apothecary,  and  cautiously  administered  by  him  as  medicines 
they  are  found  to  tend  greatly  to  alleviate  human  suffering.  But  when  they  are  taken  ti 
gratify  evil  passions,  their  effects  are  most  deadly.  Opium  is  taken  in  Turkey,  and  somi 
other  parts  of  the  East,  for  nearly  a  similar  purpose  to  that  for  which  spirits  are  taken  in  thi' 
country ;  but  though  they  are  both  nearly  equally  destructive,  yet,  of  the  two,  the  former  i 
much  less  reprehensible,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not  render  persons  so  disgustingly  brutish,  anc 
urge  them  to  such  base  crimes  as  the  latter.  Arsenic  also  is  occasionally  taken  in  a  crimina 
manner,  and  in  pity  we  generally  conclude  those  who  have  recourse  to  it,  as  an  antidote  t( 
misery,  as  bereft  of  reason.  Now  the  person  who  takes  spirituous  liquors,  except  as  medicine 
is  equally  deluded  with  the  opium-eating  Turk,  and  equally  irrational  with  the  person  whi 
takes  arsenic  for  a  criminal  purpose.  They  were  all  designed  for  an  useful  object,  and  ar( 
only  detrimental  when  abused.  Let  them  all  three,  then,  be  labelled  poison  in  large  charac- 
ters when  sold,  and  never  administered  except  medicinally,  and  then  shall  we  be  acting  a 


I 


225 

oecomes  reasonable  men  and  Christians. — But  you  may  say  there  is  no  danger  in  taking 
,pirits  in  small  quantities,  as  "  a  drop  of  nourishment."  "  A  drop  is  very  useful,  and  even 
necessary,  in  order  to  keep  cold  out,  and  cure  it  when  it  gets  in.  It  is  necessary  for  travel- 
lers, for  labourers,  and  for  studious  persons ;  for  tradesmen,  for  mechanics,  and  for  sick 
persons.  It  is  necessary  to  give  you  an  appetite,  to  promote  digestion,  and  to  procure  a 
jound  sleep.  It  is  necessary  in  working,  in  walking,  in  eating.  It  is  necessary  for  health, 
for  strength,  for  comfort.  It  is  necessary  as  food,  as  drink,  as  physic,  and  for  hospitality. 
It  is  necessary  in  making  bargains,  and  in  receiving  payments.  It  is  necessary  at  laying 
foundations,  and  in  rearing  buildings.  It  is  necessary  in  warming  a  new  house,  and  in 
leaving  an  old  habitation.  It  is  necessary  at  births,  at  marriages,  and  at  funerals."  These 
are  prevailing  opinions,  and  whilst  maintained,  they  cannot  fail  to  produce  the  most  baneful 
effects.  Spirits  are  found  in  almost  every  house  where  they  can  be  at  all  afforded.  Dram- 
shops and  alehouses  are  resorted  to,  under  the  infatuating  idea  that  in  these  places  people  can 
obtain  happiness.  Vast  numbers  of  individuals  are  habitual  and  confirmed  drunkards,  and 
lumbers  more  are  taking  rapid  strides  in  the  same  course,  nearly  without  restraint,  for  who  can 
;ensure  others  who  is  self  condemned  ?  The  truth  is,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old,  professor 
md  profane,  swallow  less  or  more  of  the  deadly  poison,  as  inclination  leads  them,  or  as  oppor- 
:unity  serves.  Numbers  drink  occasionally,  or  perhaps  frequently,  but  very  "  moderately," 
ind  never  dream  of  becoming  drunkards,  until  they  have  contracted  a  habit.  They  like  a 
;lass:  by  and  by,  they  are  "over  seen,"  "get  rather  too  much;"  though  generally  "a  little 
■natter  does  it:"  health  declines,  business  is  neglected,  property  wasted,  families  are  ruined, 
•elatives  heart  broken,  children  corrupted, — nay,  language  fails  in  the  attempt  to  set  forth  the 
jriefs,  losses,  and  distresses  which  are  fairly  attributable  to  drunkenness,  in  its  various  forms, 
ind  which  costs  millions  and  tens  of  millions  annually  to  those  who  are  its  votaries.  No  man 
.•an  be  sure  that,  when  he  has  taken  a  little,  he  can  avoid  taking  more.  Can  he  be  sure, 
.vhen  he  goes  to  the  tavern,  that  he  will  not  meet  some  friend,  who,  in  the  excess  of  his  kind- 
less,  will  oblige  him  to  take  a  glass  more  than  he  intended  ?  And  then  he  will  not  think  of 
eaving  him  before  he  has  returned  the  kindness;  and  this  interchange  of  supposed  good  oflS- 
-•es  may  be  repeated  by  the  arrival  of  another  acquaintance ;  and  thus  may  all  his  previous 
leterminations  about  observing  moderation  be  overturned,  until  he  is  obliged,  at  a  late  hour 
0  reel  home,,  or  to  be  carried  to  bed,  as  a  person  incapable  of  attending  to  his  own  wants,  and 
lave  the  mortification  of  finding,  in  the  morning,  how  vain  were  all  his  resolves  to  preserve 
us  temperance  in  the  midst  of  temptation.  Depend  upon  it,  you  are  always  in  danger  of  be- 
coming a  drunkard,  if  you  frequent  a  tavern  or  jerry  shop.  You  may  endeavour  to  persuade 
."Ourself  that  you  go  thither  for  a  legitimate  object — to  "hear  the  neivs,"  to  "enjoy  a  little 
:heerful  company,"  or  "  to  engage  in  rational  conversation ;"  and  you  may  tell  your  friends 
0.  By  such  false  statements  you  may  undoubtedly  deceive  yourselves,  but  you  never  can 
leceive  others.  So  sure  as  you  go  unnecessarily  to  a  public  house,  so  sure  are  you  ultimately 
0  become  a  drunkard — so  sure  are  you  to  reduce  your  family  to  poverty — so  siu-e  are  you  to 
■ring  upon  yourself  premature  old  age  and  death.  If,  then,  you  would  avoid  these  fearful 
vils  (and  what  reasonable  man  would  not  shudder  at  the  thought  of  them)  make  a  resolutioo 
lever  to  become  a  moderate  drinker,  never  to  visit  a  public  house  except  necessity  obliges  you 
0  to  do,  and  then  always  remember  that  you  are  in  the  midst  of  danger,  and  be  watchfully  on 
our  guard.  Join  the  Temperance  Society,  where  you  will  learn  the  danger  of  intoxication : 
void,  in  short,  the  first  glass,  and  then  may  you  indeed  think  yourselves  safe.     There  never 


226 

was  a  greater  delusion  than  to  dream  of  moderation  in  drinking  intoxicating  liquors.  Just  a: 
well  might  you  expect  to  come  within  a  moderate  distance  of  the  devil,  and  deem  yourselvei 
free  from  danger.  You  must  keep  as  far  aloof  from  both  as  you  can,  if  you  would  be  virtuou; 
and  happy :  and  wise  indeed  will  you  be,  if  you  make  this  the  rule  of  your  practice. 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS  ON  THE  BODY  AND  MIND. 


'The  more  simply  life  is  supported,  and  the  less  stimulus  we  use,  the  better;  and  he  is  happy  who 
considers  water  the  beit  drink,  and  salt  the  best  sauce." — Db.  Pakis. 


Spirits  are  said  to  have  been  first  discovered  by  a  Mahommedan  alchemist,  when  he  was 
engaged  in  conducting  some  experiments  in  the  hope  of  finding  out  the  fancied  secret  of  ex- 
tracting gold  from  baser  substances,  or  of  discovering  an  elixir  which  would  perpetuate  hi^ 
existence,  and  free  him  from  the  power  of  death.  For  five  centuries  the  discovery  of  spi- 
rituous liquor  was  preserved  as  a  mystery  by  the  alchemists,  and  was  merely  distilled  foi 
chemical  purposes.  Some  time  afterwards,  a  Spanish  physician  recommended  it  as  a  new 
and  valuable  medicine  ;  but  it  was  long  before  men  conceived  the  insane  idea  of  using  it  as  a 
common  beverage.  To  the  alchemist  who  discovered  it,  and  the  physician  who  used  it  as  a 
remedy  for  disease,  for  people  to  sit  down  and  drink  glass  after  glass  of  it,  would  have  ap- 
peared as  absurd  and  as  dangerous  as  if  men  were  to  drink  a  cup  of  hemlock  tea  or  a  draught 
of  laudanum.  But  thus  it  is  that  custom  obscures  our  perception,  and  reconciles  us  to  what  is 
really  exceedingly  foolish  and  sinful.  But  let  every  one  remember,  that  custom  cannot  render 
spirits  less  deadly,  nor  can  it  inure  the  constitution  to  withstand  their  effects.  Some  persons, 
no  doubt,  think  otherwise  ;  for  we  very  often  hear  it  said  of  a  man  who  has  long  indulged  in 
spirit  drinking,  "  He  can  stand  a  great  deal — He's  well  seasoned — Drink  has  lost  its  effect 
upon  him."  This  is  an  entire  mistake  :  the  truth  is,  the  man's  constitution  is  already  sapped, 
His  stomach  has  lost  its  tone,  his  brain  and  nervous  system  generally  have  become  torpid,  and 
his  liver  has  ceased  to  perform  its  functions  with  regularity.  The  fire  which  is  kindled  in  the 
body  by  a  single  excess  is,  no  doubt,  more  furious,  and  produces  much  sickness,  fever,  and 
delirium,  but  then  it  may  soon  subside,  and  leave  perhaps  no  other  evil  behind  but  the  pang 
which  every  person  feels  when  he  becomes  a  novice  in  sin;  but  the  flame  which  is  lighted  in' 
the  most  vital  parts  of  the  body  of  the  confirmed  drunkard  is  of  a  low,  smothering  kind, 
which  does  not  blaze  out,  but  burns  within,  and  speedily  hastens  the  suicidal  victim  to  his 
long  account;  and  the  spirit  he  daily  swallows  keeps  up  this  hidden  fire,  and  only  ceases  tc 
emit  a  blaze  when  the  vitals  are  partially  destroyed,  and  when  a  very  large  quantity  of  spirit 
is  not  taken  to  fan  the  dying  embers.  But  let  us  inquire  what  is  the  opinion  of  medical  men 
upon  ardent  spirits,  for  they  are,  perhaps,  best  qualified  to  judge  of  their  effects  on  the  body 
and  mind.  Dr.  Aitkin,  a  justly  celebrated  physician  of  Manchester,  several  years  ago  stated 
that  "  art  never  made  so  fatal  a  present  to  mankind  as  the  invention  of  distilling  spirituous 
liquors,  and  that  spirits  are  seldom  or  never  necessary,  but  almost  always  a  pernicious  article  in 
the  diet  of  men  in  health."  Dr.  Beddoes  remarks,  with  respect  to  wine  (which  depends  upon 
the  spirit  it  contains  for  its  dekterious  effects)  "  that  every  man  will  become  a  valetudinarian, 


1 


I 


227 


aore  or  less  miserable,  if  he  drink  daily  a  quarter  of  a  pint  or  half  a  pint  of  port  wine  (equiva- 

ent  to  an  ounce  or  two  ounces  of  pure  spirit)  from  his  sixteenth  year,  is  to  the  full  as  probable 

s  that  he  shall  have  a  dangerous  disease  if  he  come  within  the  reach  of  the  effluvia."     Dr. 

Jheyne,  who  occupies  a  high  official  station  in  Dublin,  states  that  the  observation  of  twenty 

ears  has  convinced  him  that  were  ten  young  men,  on  their  twenty-first  birth  day,  to  begin  to 

rink  one  glass  of  ardent  spirits  daily,  the  lives  of  eight  out  of  the  ten  would  be  abridged  by 

waive  or  fifteen  years."      Dr.  Willan,  one  of  our  best  medical  writers,  says,  "  the  use  of 

pirituous  liquors,  in  large  cities,  produces  more  disease  than  confined  air,  or  putrid  vapours, 

r  all  the  evils  of  a  confined  situation  put  together."     Dr.  Foster,  late  physician  to  the  British 

eet,  has  delivered  it  as  his  deliberate  conviction,  "  that  these  liquors,  in  all  their  forms,  and 

[owever  used,  are  the  most  productive  of  the  causes  of  disease  with  which  we  are  acquainted." 

)r.  Paris  says,  he  considers  the  art  of  preparing  spirituous  liquors  as  the  greatest  curse  ever 

iflicted  upon  humanity.     Dr.  Cheyne,  of  London,  who  wrote  on  "  health  and  long  life,"  stig- 

jiatizes  drams  as  being  most  like  opium  in  their  operation,  and  arsenic  in  their  deleterious 

ad  poisonous  qualities.     Dr.  J.  Johnston,  in  a  work  on  the  influence  of  civic  life,  &c.  on  the 

uman  constitution,  after  enumerating  water,  toast  and  water,  soda  water,  wine  and  water, 

ible  beer,  brandy  and  water,  &c.,  as  varieties  of  drinks,  observes,  "  that  in  proportion  as  we 

,ihere  to  the  upper  links  of  this  chain,  so  have  we  a  chance  of  continued  health :  as  we  de- 

!:end  in  the  series,  so  do  we  lay  down  a  substratum  for  disease."     Dr.  Harris,  in  an  official 

I 

';port  to  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Navy,  says  that  "  the  moderate  use  of  spirituous  li- 

uors  has  destroyed  many  who  were  never  drunk,  and  that  no  fact  is  more  satisfactorily  esta- 
Jshed  than  that  those  who  use  them  freely  are  the  most  exposed  to  epidemic  diseases."  Dr. 
ush,  professor  of  medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  states  that  "  the  following 
diseases  are  the  usual  consequences  of  the  habitual  use  of  ardent  spirits:  —  A  decay  of 
'ipetite,  sickness  at  stomach,  and  a  vomiting  of  bile,  or  of  frothy  viscid  phlegm,  in  a  morn- 
g.  Obstructions  of  the  liver.  The  fable  of  Prometheus,  on  whose  liver  a  vulture  was 
.id  to  prey  constantly,  as  a  punishment  for  his  stealing  fire  from  heaven,  might  be  intended 
■  illustrate  the  painful  effects  of  ardent  spirits  upon  that  organ  of  the  body.  Jaundice  and 
i'Dpsy.  .  Hoarseness  and  a  husky  cough,  which  often  terminate  in  consumption.  Diabetes, 
edness  and  eruptions  on  different  parts  of  the  body.  These  generally  begin  on  the  nose, 
id,  after  gradually  extending  all  over  the  face,  they  sometimes  descend  to  the  limbs  in  the 
rm  of  leprosy.  They  are  called  '  rum  or  brandy  blossoms,'  when  they  appear  on  the 
ce.  A  fetid  breath,  composed  of  every  thing  that  is  offensive  in  putrid  animal  matter, 
iid  is  often  like  the  smell  of  rotten  apples.  Frequent  and  disgusting  belchings.  Dr. 
aller  (a  most  learned  German  physician  of  the  last  century)  relates  the  case  of  a  notorious 
unkard  who  was  suddenly  destroyed  in  consequence  of  the  vapour  discharged  from  the 
,)mach  by  belching  accidentally  taking  fire  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  flame  of  a  candle, 
ts.  Gout.  Madness  and  delirium." — There  are  now  many  well  authenticated  cases  of 
i'Ontaneous  burning  of  those  who  have  been  long  addicted  to  drinking,  especially  among  the 
imale  drunkards,  whose  bodies  have  been  consumed  by  a  blue  flame  that  would  not  be 
Itinguished.  Dr.  Willan,  writing  on  the  diseases  of  London  in  1800,  says,  "On  com- 
jring  my  own  observations  with  the  bills  of  mortality,  I  am  convinced,  that  considerably 
3re  than  one-eighth  of  all  the  deaths  which  take  place  in  persons  above  twenty  years  old  hap- 
in  prematurely,  through  excess  in  drinking  spirits."  The  stomach  and  bowels  suffer  first  from 
le  use  of  spirits,  and  their  baneful  influence  is  afterwards  extended  to  every  part  of  the  body. 
or  is  it  necessary  that  a  man  should  drink  of  spirituous  liquors  to  great  excess  in  order  to 


228 

hasten  his  dissolution.  Dr.  Rush  saj's,  "  I  have  known  many  persons  destroyed  by  them  whc 
were  never  completely  intoxicated  during  the  whole  course  of  their  lives."  He  adds,  "  the 
solitary  instances  of  longevity  which  are  now  and  then  met  with  in  hard  drinkers,  no  mort 
disprove  the  deadly  effects  of  ardent  spirits,  than  the  solitary  instances  of  recoveries  from  ap- 
parent death  by  drowning  prove  that  there  is  no  danger  to  life  from  a  human  body  lying  ar 
hour  or  two  under  water."  The  instances  of  insanity  or  madness  which  have  been  occasiotit 
by  spirits  are  numerous.  In  France,  where  the  people  are  generally  very  temperate  in  thti 
beverage,  according  to  a  very  celebrated  French  physician,  Dr.  Esquirol,  the  proportion  i 
insane  from  drunkenness  in  one  of  the  lunatic  asylums  at  Paris  is  only  one-thirteenth ;  while 
in  the  Richmond  Asylum  at  Dublin,  according  to  Dr.  Crawford,  the  proportion  of  the  insain 
from  this  cause  is  estimated  at  one-half  the  whole  number.  This  great  difference  between  th 
Paris  and  the  Ireland  estimate  is  attributed  justly  to  the  quantity  of  spirits  drunk  in  the  lattei 
country  being  proportionally  greater. 

Besides  being  an  exciting  cause  of  disease,  spirits  greatly  predispose  the  body  to  injuries 
from  other  sources  of  human  maladies.  A  person  who  has  been  addicted  to  drinking  for  anj 
length  of  time,  we  know,  is  incapable  of  resisting  contagious  diseases  very  generally,  and  whei 
he  is  attacked,  cart  seldom  be  cured.  Dr.  Walker,  in  a  letter  published  lately  in  the  Ay: 
Advertiser,  states,  "  I  know  it  is  a  fact,  that  it  has  happened  in  a  town  much  afflicted  wit! 
cholera,  that  an  individual  going  along  the  streets  has  pointed  out  to  a  friend  who  accom 
panied  him  persons  whom  he  know  to  be  habitually  intemperate,  as  being  soon  to  fall  victim 
to  cholera,  and  very  rarely  has  his  predictions  failed."  Medical  remedies  can  seldom  bi 
applied  with  any  degree  of  certainty  in  ordinary  diseases  when  they  attack  an  intemperati 
jerson,  and  hence  our  best  medical  authorities  are  always  obliged  to  make  exceptions  to  theii 
plans  of  treatment  for  the  management  of  drunkards,  lest  the  very  means  which  ensure  a  re- 
covery to  a  sober  person  should  be  the  cause  of  destruction  to  an  intemperate  one.  It  nia\ 
be  proper  to  add,  that  the  Physician  and  Surgeon  General  of  Ireland,  and  about  fifty  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  in  Dublin,  have  certified,  "  We,  the  undersigned,  hereby  declare  that,  ii 
our  opinion,  nothing  would  tend  so  much  to  the  improvement  of  the  health  of  the  communitj 
as  an  entire  disuse  of  ardent  spirits,  which  we  consider  as  the  most  productive  cause  of  the  dis- 
eases and  consequent  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  the  working  classes  of  Dublin."  And  tlu 
following  statement  was  signed  by  four  of  the  Professors  of  the  Medical  Faculty  in  the  Uni- 
'  versity  of  Edinburgh,  by  eleven  Members  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  by  the  Presiden 
and  twenty-seven  Fellows  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  and  by  twenty-four  other  medica 
practitioners,  seventy-seven  in  all :  "  We,  the  undersigned,  do  hereby  declare  our  convictioi 
that  ardent  spirits  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  nourishing  article  of  diet,  that  the  habitual  us< 
of  them  is  a  principal  cause  of  disease,  poverty,  and  misery  in  this  place,  and  that  the 
disuse  of  them  would  powerfully  contribute  to  improve  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  coiriilin 
nity."  Can  any  one  read  these  statements  and  withhold  his  assent  to  such  a  mass  of  evidence 
Can  any  one  seriously  reflect  upon  them,  and  yet  hesitate  to  relinquish  the  use  of  such  deletfc 
rious  fluids  ?  Can  any  philanthropist  know  them,  and  not  exert  himself  to  suppress  the  pw! 
Tailing  practice  of  such  a  destructive  indulgence  ?  Those  who  read  them,  and  continue 
partake  of  spirituous  liquors  to  excess,  will  at  least  know  that  they  are  bringing  upon  tfi 
selves  swift  destruction. 


■4\ 


Jt  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


I 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  8.  AUGUST  1,  1832.  Vol.  IT. 

THE  REAL  CAUSE  OF  THE  PREVALENCY  OF  VICE. 

Nothing  distresses  my  mind  so  much  as  tlie  prevalency  of  vice.     The 
frequent  occurrences  which  bring  it  before  me  are  such  as  to  make  the  im- 
[  pression  indelible.    I  could  weep  over  the  deformity  of  my  species,  and  the 
j  miseries  which  prevail,  even  amid  so  many  attempts  of  effecting  a  reforma- 
i  tion.     It  is  a  subject  which  I  can  never  abandon  while  I  have  a  tongue  to 
speak  or  a  hand  to  write.     There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  fact : 
all  agree  that  the  people  are  vicious  and  immoral,  but  few  appear  to  un- 
:  derstand  the  real  cause.       Some  charge  it  upon  the  want  of  education, 
\  some  upon  poverty,  some  upon  the  factory  system,  some  on  the  competition 
principle,  and  others  upon  the  public  houses ;  some  upon  the  higher  clas- 
ses, and  others  upon  the  lower  classes ;    some  upon  the  laws,  and  some 
upon  the  government.     That  vice'can  be  traced  in  connection  with  all 
these,  and  that  they  are  ^contributing  circumstances  to  its  prevalency,  I 
'  readily  admit ;  but  to  stop  with  this  admission  is  to  leave  the  evil  not  only 
confused,  but  without  a  remedy.       In  man  there  is  a  disposition  to  go 
astray,  and  the  circumstances  with  which  he  is  surrounded  tend  materially 
to  form  his  character :  but  there  is  no  evil  in  the  world  for  which  God 
has  not  provided  either  a  remedy  or  some  means  of  alleviation ;  and  it  is 
only  by  bearing  this  in  mind  that  we  can  fix  the  blame  where  it  ought  to  be. 
It  is  not  for  us  merely  to  trace  a  cause,  but  to  inquire,  if  there  be  a  remedy, 
I  why  it  is  not  applied.    The  corporeal  frame  of  man  is  subject  to  various 
;  diseases;    but  theie  are  suitable  remedies;   and  if  these  were  not  applied 
1  till  almost   every  individual   became   a  victim,   who   would  be   blamed  ? 
I  Would  it  not  fall  upon  the  conservators  of  the  public  health — the  doctors  ? 
If  the  streets  remain  covered  with  filth  and  refuse,   are  Ave  to  prefer  a 
charge  against  the  fishmongers,  gardeners,  and  carriers,  from  whose  ope- 
rations the  materials  might  have  fallen  ?     No  :  the  police,  or  the  servants 
i  of  the  police,  are  the  persons  upon  whom  the  blame  should  fall.     If  dark- 
ness should  pervade  our  streets  successively  in  the  evenings,  whilst  we  were 
paying  for  light,  who  would  think  of  preferring  a  single  accusation  against 

VOL.   II.  2  F 


230 

the  weather  or  the  season  ?  The  gas  company  would  be  charged  with  all 
the  blame.  If  murder,  and  theft,  and  lawless  violence  were  constantly 
practised  in  open  day,  though  we  might  blame  the  depredators,  it  would 
be  the  civil  authorities  that  would  have  to  answer  to  the  public  for 
permitting,  with  the  law  in  their  hands,  such  proceedings.  If  chil- 
dren go  astray,  is  it  consistent  to  exculpate  the  parents,  who  never 
train  them  to  virtue,  and  to  fix  all  the  blame  upon  the  dispositions  of 
the  children,  and  the  temptations  with  which  they  are  surrounded? 
The  man  that  can  answer  these  questions  honestly  will  be  prepared  to 
show  upon  whom  we  are  to  cast  the  blame  for  the  prevalency  of  vice.  I 
am  astonished  every  day  to  hear  well  meaning  persons  complaining  of  the 
prevalency  of  vice,  and  to  read  the  declarations  of  the  judges  and  juries  as 
to  the  increase  of  crime,  all  seeming  to  dwell  upon  the  immediate  causes, 
which  they  are  not  able  to  remove,  without  hazarding  a  single  complaint 
as  to  the  inefficiency  of  that  which  professes  to  be  a  corrective  agency,  the 
church  and  the  clergy,  maintained  by  the  nation  at  so  vast  an  expense.  I 
know  well  that  the  factories,  the  public  houses,  the  depression  of  trade,  the 
accumulation  of  wealth,  and  the  increase  of  poverty,  all  contribute  to  the 
production  of  vice,  as  certain  as  the  ignition  of  the  electric  fluid  does  to  the 
conflagration  of  a  building ;  but  what  should  we  say,  in  this  case,  if  the  fire 
men,  who,  knowing  the  certainty  of  damage,  shoidd  slumber  in  their  beds, 
and  permit  the  destructive  element  to  rage  unchecked,  till  it  had  destroyed 
every  thing  vdthin  its  reach  ?  The  clergy  have  done  this.  To  the  pride, 
indolence,  and  avarice  of  some,  and  the  simple  ignorance,  indifierence,  and 
inefficiencv  of  others,  we  owe,  in  the  midst  of  flaming  pretensions  to  reli- 
gion, the  present  degraded,  demoralized,  wretched,  unhappy  population. 
With  watchmen  in  every  town,  and  in  every  part  of  the  country,  the  enemy 
has  invaded  all  ranks,  and  has  satiated  himself,  unmolested,  with  the  life 
blood  of  the  nation.  Unhappily  the  priesthood,  whether  Jewish  or  heathen, 
or  professed  Christian,  has  never  answered  the  end  of  promoting  the  geni 
ral  good  of  mankind ;  and  ages  of  misery  have  rolled  on  in  infatuate 
dependance  upon  those  who  have  been  either  too  ignorant  or  too  faithlea 
for  their  trust. 

I  have  been  a  close  observer  of  the  conduct  of  the  people,  and  to 
it  is  quite  evident,  however  individuals  may  have  attended  upon  the  for 
and  services  of  the  church  to  which  they  belong,  that  the  operation  of  rea 
good  principles — that  a  sense  of  duty  to  God,  to  our  neighbours,  and  ou 
selves — that  a  concern  for  the  account  we  shall  have  to  give  of  all  ot 
actions  to  the  great  Judge  of  all,  are  seldom  to  be  traced  in  the  general  de- 
portment of  the  people.     WTiere  is  the  operation  of  principle  in  men  of 
business  ?     And  the  working  classes  generally  are  evidently  under  the  4|l 
fluence  of  an  untutored  heart.     If  possible,  populous  country  places  artr 
worse  than  towns.    I  have  travelled  to  Bolton,  with  few  exceptions,  every 


Jl 


231 

week  for  about  fourteen  years,  and  frequently  to  Manchester,  and  the  scenes 
of  vulgarity  and  vice,  in  every  disgusting  form,  which  I  have  taken  occa- 
sion to  remark  on  the  road,  are  such  as  to  distress  every  men  whose  moral 
sense  is  not  totally  extinct.  Whilst  all  the  engines  of  immorality  have 
been  constantly  at  work,  I  have  never  seen,  in  the  course  of  all  that  time, 
one  single  effort  of  any  clergyman  or  minister  to  counteract  it.  I  pass  through 
parish  after  parish,  where  I  notice  churches,  and  chapels,  and  fine  parsonage 
houses,  where  public  houses  are  crammed,  and  the  public  road  the  scene 
of  vice  and  disorder.  Scarcely  a  week,  but  we  observe  in  some  part 
or  other,  what  the  people  call  a  row.  Every  gentlemen  who  travels  to 
Manchester  can  speak  to  the  behaviour  of  the  people  on  the  road  from 
Bolton  to  Manchester,  and  yet  there  are  churches  and  chapels  in  every 
direction.  But  why  need  I  particularize  roads?  Town  and  country  are 
I  the  same ;  and  the  clergy,  unpopular  in  character,  wedded  to  the  forms  of 
antiquity,  and  generally  actuated  by  a  love  of  lucre,  stand  chargeable  with 
that  corruption  of  morals  which  every  where  prevails. 

Painful  as  it  is  to  be  obliged  to  write  in  this  style,  I  am  as  satisfied  as 
I  am  of  my  own  existence  that  the  real  cause  of  immorality  is  where  I  have 
fixed  it.  While  well  meaning  people  of  various  orders  are  lamenting  the 
■  sins  of  the  nation,  and  many  of  them  attempting,  at  a  great  sacrifice  of 
1  time  and  money,  to  efiect  a  partial  remedy,  is  it  not  proper  that  they 
i  should  be  told  why  it  is,  that  while  they  are  paying  largely  for  a  correct- 
I  ing  influence,  it  is  found  comparatively  useless  ? 

j  I  include,  with  a  few  exceptions,  all  teachers,  under  every  name,  who 
!  are  merely  hirelings — all  who  view  their  office  as  a  profession,  and  as  a  fair 
opening  for  competition  and  advantage,  who  are  regularly  educated  for  the 
ministry  at  the  college  and  the  academies,  who  make  salary  the  prime  ob- 
ject of  their  pursuit,  and  whose  time,  instead  of  being  spent  in  going  about 
doing  good,  is  merely  devoted  to  the  easy  and  respectable  routine  of  ritual 
observances  approved  of  by  their  respective  sects.  Let  me  not  be  told  that 
jmost  of  these  men  are  learned,  are  respectable,  are  assiduous  in  their  stu- 
dies, and  constantly  perform  the  duties  of  their  appointment.  I  know  it; 
but  with  all  this,  what  is  the  state  of  society  ?  These  are  the  duties  of  a 
[Secular  ministry,  without  which  neither  the  respectability  of  sects  nor  minis- 
jters  could  be  maintained ;  but  while  all  this  has  been  going  on  for  ages,  the 
I  WORLD  is  still  lying  in  wickedness.  The  great  object  of  every  labourer  in 
Christ's  vineyard  should  be,  practically  to  save  the  people  from  their  sins, 
and  no  church  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  any  ministry  that  does  not  effect 
jthis  important  object.  It  is  true,  we  have  those  who  profess  to  be  sent  to 
'Save  souls ;  but  really,  whether  in  town  or  country,  if  we  look  at  society, 
|We  cannot  help  coming  to  this  conclusion,  that  the  people  are  left  like  sheep 
[without  a  shepherd.  During  their  minority,  their  time  is  spent  in  learning 
Latin,  Greek,  mathematics,  history,  philosophy,  and  theology :  when  they 


232 

are  loose  of  their  apprenticeship,  they  engage  with  a  certain  sect,  for  so 
much  a  year,  to  perform  a  certain  routine  of  religious  service,  to  deliver  I 
sermons  in  accordance  "with  the  sentiments  of  the  party ;  but  they  seem 
have  the  least  knowledge  of  the  world  or  concern  for  its  reformation 
any  men,  and  totally  indisposed  to  launch  out  in  zealous,  active,  deter4|:] 
mined  operations  for  the  general  benefit  of  mankind.  Their  academical 
education  is  their  ruin ;  their  servility  to  the  dicta  of  a  sect  is  their  hon-i 
dage ;  whilst  many  of  them,  I  doubt  not,  had  they  been  under  a  bettei- 
training,  would  have  been  useful  reformers  of  society.  Some  care  only  fo 
the  tithes  and  the  dues ;  some  for  the  due  performance  of  divine  service 
the  chapel ;  some  for  the  securing  of  a  respectable  congregation,  who  af 
likely  to  rent  the  pews  ;  and  some,  I  admit,  for  the  spiritual  good  of  thoa 
who  attend  the  place  of  worship  ;  but  what,  I  ask  again,  do  they  do  for  the 
WORLD  ?  Where  are  they  from  Monday  morning  to  Saturday  night  ? 
How  often  arc  they  seen  in  those  demoralized  places  where  their  correcting 
influence  and  instruction  are  so  much  wanted .''  Wliere  is  their  intelligence, 
their  zeal  and  activity,  in  connection  with  our  various  efforts  to  raise  the 
character  of  the  people,  and  to  make  them  happy  ?  In  town  or  in  countrj', 
I  constantly  meet  with  a  wild,  vicious,  miserable  population ;  I  see  them 
surrounded  with  a  contaminating  influence,  with  temptations  the  most  dan- 
gerous, and  yet  those  who  should  care  for  their  souls  are  scarcely  ever  to 
be  seen.  To  relieve  poverty,  to  console  the  distressed,  to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  to  warn  the  impenitent,  to  difi*use  happiness  and  good  will  abroad, 
should  be  their  constant  labour ;  but — I  say  it  with  grief — I  know  no  men 
under  heaven  that  answer  the  real  end  of  their  office  so  ill  as  religious 
teachers.  Trace  the  footsteps  of  the  Saviour ;  see  his  indefatigable  zeal, 
his  toil,  his  agonizing  sufferings ;  his  whole  time  engaged  in  teaching  the 
people  and  going  about  doing  good,  so  much  so,  on  some  occasions,  as  not 
to  have  time  to  eat  bread ;  his  preferring  the  duty  of  teaching  to  all  the 
claims  of  nature.  "  Wist  ye  not  that  I  should  be  about  my  Father's  busi- 
ness ?"  said  he  to  his  mother  at  twelve  years  of  age.  When  his  mother  an4  ■ 
his  brother  were  wishful  to  speak  to  him,  he  preferred  to  continue  to  teaoJU 
the  people.  To  one  who  wanted  to  g-o  and  bury  his  father  he  said,  "Let 
the  dead  bury  their  dead,  but  follow  thou  me."  He  made  no  sermons ;  he 
established  no  ritual  service ;  he  went  every  where,  especially  to  places 
frequented  by  publicans  and  sinners  ;  wherever  he  met  with  them, 
at  the  table,  on  the  way  side,  at  the  sea  side,  in  the  fields,  his  work; 
was  to  call  them  to  repentance  Indeed,  the  example  of  Jesus  and 
apostles  are  so  strikingly  at  variance  with  the  proceedings  of  our  gent 
men  preachers,  that  I  am  astonished  the  people  who  support  them  do  i 
perceive  it,  and  either  dictate  to  them  a  more  consistent  course,  or  else  get 
"  a  new  set."  And  I  am  also  astonished  that  they  should  suffer  these  paid 
preachers  thus  to  sit  at  their  ease,  and  by  Sunday  Schools,  Tract  Societies, 


233 

Temperance  Societies,  &c.  actually  to  do  the  work  themselves.  But  a  most 
fatal  mistake  prevails  as  to  the  work  of  a  minister :  even  now — although  if 
I  were  to  traverse  the  poor  streets  of  Preston  for  a  week,  it  is  doubtful  if 
ever  I  should  see  a  clergyman,  or  for  a  year,  that  I  should  see  him  engaged 
in  reproving  vice — I  am  told,  when  I  am  making  complaints,  that  "they 
say  they  have  as  much  as  they  can  do."  Instead  of  aggravating  by  any 
further  assertions  of  my  own,  under  this  head  I  prefer  illustrating  a  minis- 
ter's work  in  the  way  of  narrative  ;  and  I  will  add,  that,  in  my  opinion, 
one  such  agent  as  the  following  is  calculated  to  do  as  much  good  as  twenty 
academicians. 

The  following  sketch,  though  purely  imiginary  as  it  respects  any  indi- 
vidual, is  deserving  the  serious  attention  of  ever}-  sincere  Christian.  It  is 
time  to  look  for  religion  somewhere  else  besides  the  chapel,  and  for  minis- 
terial eifort  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  pulpit.  It  is  abominable  that  about 
twenty  religious  teachers  should  be  regularly  maintained  in  Preston,  and 
yet,  judging  from  the  state  of  society,  such  persons  might  scarcely  ever 
have  been  heard  of.  It  is  a  most  melancholv  circumstance,  that,  through 
the  ascendancy  of  priestcraft,  the  people  should  have  been  induced  to  sanc- 
tion and  support  a  class  of  men  as  teachers  who  will  not,  and,  in  fact, 
owing  to  incapacity,  wrong  motives,  education,  connections.  &c.  who  cannot 
do  the  duties  of  their  office. 

A  WEEK'S  LABOUR  OF  JOIIX   FEARLESS,  A  FAITHFUL  TEACHER. 

In  order  to  check  sin  by  his  example,  and  to  be  as  easy  of  access  as 
•possible,  this  good  man  fixed  his  residence  in  Bridge-street,  the  centre  of  a 
large  population,  and  a  place  noted  for  vice.  His  time  was  occupied  as 
follows  :  On  Sunday  morning  he  rose  at  six,  which  was  his  regular  hcur. 
Till  eight  he  spent  in  reading,  meditation,  and  devotion,  and  in  arranging 
for  the  active  labours  of  the  dav.  His  tracts,  of  which  he  kept  a  good  se- 
lection, were  sorted  ready  for  use  during  his  intended  perambulations 
through  the  to^-n.  At  eight  he  was  called  to  breakfast,  after  which  about 
tvN'enty  minutes  were  employed  in  instructing  and  catechising  his  children, 
and  in  appointing  them  to  different  useful  engagements.  From  half-past 
eight  to  half-past  ten  was  occupied  in  visiting  different  families  and  indivi- 
duals who  were  notorious  sinners,  especially  di'unkards.  He,  and  a  friend 
|who  accompanied  him,  went  to  no  fewer  than  twelve  of  the  most  wretched 
houses  or  cellars  in  the  town,  besides  admonishing  and  delivering  tracts  to 
several  gi-oups  of  persons  whom  they  met  in  different  streets.  At  half-past 
iten  he  attended  a  meeting  of  Christian  fi-iends,  convened  in  a  large  room 
Iter  religious  worship  and  instniction.  A  person  of  an  advanced  age,  and 
lif  apparent  gravity,  presided.  Several  persons  prayed,  and  a  few  were 
'Engaged  in  singing  h^Trms.  Useful  admonitions,  important  exhortations, 
md  Christian  instruction,  in  a  plain  but  forcible  style,  were  delivered  by 


234 

three  or  four  different  persons  in  the  congregation  :  among  the  rest,  John 
spoke  with  good  effect,  and  stated  the  success  he  had  met  with  during  the 
morning,  and  also  during  the  past  week. 

A  day  or  two  previous  he  had  made  arrangements  and  given  notice  for 
delivering  a  discourse  on  the  sin  of  intemperance,  at  a  piece  of  vacant 
ground  adjoining  Queen-street.  After  dinner,  about  half-past  one,  he  went 
to  the  place,  and  not  only  invited  the  people  whom  he  happened  to  meet 
on  the  road,  but  sent  two  of  his  own  boys,  and  a  few  others,  into  all  the 
adjoining  streets  to  invite  them  to  the  meeting.  About  five  himdred  were 
assembled,  who  heard  him  attentively  for  half  an  hour  preaching  "re- 
pentance towards  God,  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  After 
which  he  remained  conversing  for  some  time  with  many  who  seemed  wish- 
ful to  speak  to  him.  One  of  the  neighbours  invited  him  to  her  house, 
where,  till  four  o'clock,  he  was  engaged  conversing,  and  sometimes  dis- 
puting, with  those  who  attended.  Good  impressions  were  evidently  made  ; 
and  the  changed  characters  of  several  in  the  neighbourhood  afterwards 
proved  that  he  had  not  laboured  in  vain.  At  tea  he  was  asked,  "  Where 
are  you  engaged  this  evening  ?  WiU  you  go  to  the  meeting  ?"  "  I  should 
be  glad  to  go,"  he  replied,  "but  my  work  is  to  'go  about,'  and  I  know  my 
brethren  are  well  able  to  edify  themselves :  I  must,  therefore,  go  into  the 
*  highways  and  hedges,'  and  do  what  I  can  to  stem  the  torrent  of  iniquity 
which  threatens  to  inundate  the  land."  Starting  from  home  about  six 
o'clock,  he  spent  about  three  hours  in  promiscuous  visitations,  and  giving 
short  useful  admonitions  to  parties  that  gathered  around  him.  He  weflt 
round  by  New  Preston,  Fishwick,  and  along  the  water  side,  and  returned 
by  Avenham,  during  which  time  he  spoke  to  perhaps  not  fewer  than  a 
thousand  persons,  by  most,  if  not  all  of  whom  he  was  received  with  res- 
pect and  attention.  Several  young  people  occasionally  raised  a  laugh,  bt 
no  insult  was  offered.     This  finished  the  labours  of  the  first  day. 

His  usual  plan  is  to  spend  the  mornings,  till  breakfast,  in  retiremei 
reading  or  writing,  for  besides  his  labours  as  a  teacher,  he  frequently  writ 
articles  either  for  insertion  in  the  periodicals  or  for  tracts ;  but  Monda| 
this  week,  was  an  exception.  Being  to  many  an  idle  day,  and  manyi 
the  artizans  not  going  to  work  so  early  as  on  other  days,  he  spent  the 
morning  in  observing  the  operation  of  the  public  houses,  and  particularly 
the  dram  shops,  in  noticing  the  numerous  visitors  to  the  pawnbrokers  with 
bundles  of  clothing,  and  in  falling  into  conversation  with  workmen  as  they 
stood  at  the  corners  of  the  streets.  After  allowing  himself  two  hours  from 
breakfast  time  in  lieu  of  that  which  he  had  spent,  from  about  half-past  ten 
to  noon  he  spent  at  an  Infant  School,  which  he  had  been  the  means  of  es- 
tablishing. To  this  school  he  paid  a  weekly  visit,  on  which  occasions  he 
took  part  in  the  amusements  of  the  children,  and  taught  them  with  all  the 
simplicity  and  affection  of  a  parent.      The  afternoon  was  wholly  spent  in 


235 

visiting  private  individuals,  tlie  sick  and  the  poor,  a  list  of  whom  he  alw^ays 
carried  with  him.    Living  in  the  midst  of  the  poor,  many  of  whom  had  not 
been  to  any  place  of  instruction  the  preceding  day,  on  Monday  evening  he 
always  holds  a  meeting  in  his  own  house  :  about  thirty  of  his  neighbours  at- 
tended, to  whom  he  gave  the  most  solemn  advice.     Tuesday  forenoon  was 
spent  in  visiting  the  prisoners  in  the  House  of  Correction,  remonstrating 
with  them  as  to  their  conduct,  and  persuading  them  to  lead  a  new  life ; 
and  for  several  who  appeared  to  be  penitent  he  promised  to  endeavour  to 
get  situations  against  the  time  of  their  discharge.    The  whole  of  the  after- 
noon was  employed  in  calling  upon  notorious  drunkards  in  the  higher  classes. 
The  weekly  meeting  of  the  Temperance  Society  was  held  in  the  evening, 
which,  as  usual,  he  attended,  and,  as  the  result  of  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  habits  of  the  people,  he  addressed  the  audience  with  great  interest. 
On  Wednesday  morning  he  was  waited  upon  by  two  gentlemen  to  request 
bis  support  of  a  "  popular  candidate  for  the  representation  of  the  borough." 
His  answer  was,  "  All  my  time  is  otherwise  engaged ;  and  it  has  long  been 
my  opinion,  that  until  we  have  better  people ,  better  kings,  better  rulers,  bet- 
ter subjects,  this  countiy  will  never  be  prosperous  or  happy,  however  many 
reforms  you  effect  in  the  laws  or  constitution :   I  am  trying,  with  God's 
olessing,  to  effect  some  little  towards  this  change,  and  to  this  I  must  de- 
vote all  my  energies."     The  forenoon  was  spent  at  the  overseers'  office, 
oeing  the  day  on  which  all  the  poor  apply  for  relief :  he  not  only  took  part 
:n  the  business  of  hearing  the  cases,  and  granting  such  relief  as  appeared 
i)roper,  but  often  threw  in  a  few  words  of  wholesome  advice.     Any  case 
!)f  extreme  poverty  or  wretchedness,  or  attended  with  peculiar  indications 
(if  a  vicious  character,  he  noted  down  to  visit  at  a  convenient  time  ;  and 
lie  has    often   been   heard  to  say,  that  one  half  of  the  poverty  of   the 
eople  arises,   directly  or   indirectly,   from  intoxication.       He  often   re- 
uests  the  overseers  to  use  gentleness,  kindness,  and  Christian  sympathy 
jowards  the  poor,  in  place  of  tyranny  and  insult ;  and  is  constantly  plan- 
'ing  to  save  the  time  of  the  applicants  by  better  arrangements ;  and,  in 
lany  instances,  by  his  aid  and  influence,  persons  have  been  raised  above  a 
itate  of  dependancy  upon  the  parish.     Wednesday  afternoon  and  evening 
('■ere  regularly  employed  in  calling  to  see  those  who  were  joined  with  him 
|i  religious  society,  to  whom  his  visits  are   always  welcome,    and  who, 
aving  engaged  him  thus  to  devote  all  his  time  to  the  service  of  others, 
ire  ever  ready  to  minister  to  his  support.     He  will  allow  of  no  collections 
ir  seat  rents  for  his  support :  the  voluntary  gifts  of  his  friends  are  always 
efficient,    and,   frequently,   more   than  he   feels   himself  justified  iu  re- 
viving.    They  also  furnish  him  with  a  constant  supply  of  tracts.      On 
Ihursday  forenoon  he  visited  several  brick  crofts,  and  conversed  with  the 
rorkmen ;  thence  to  the  Dispensary  yard,  where  he  spent  the  remaining 
art  of  the  forenoon  talking  to  the  poor  who  applied  for  medicine  and  ad- 


236 

vice.  In  the  western  part  of  the  town,  called  "  New  England,"  are  several 
large  factories  contiguous  to  each  other.  The  day  before  he  had  circulated 
a  notice  among  the  workpeople,  that  he  would  address  them,  and  particu- 
larly the  young  people,  at  the  dinner  hour,  for  about  twenty  minutes,  in 
one  of  the  factory  yards.  About  four  hundred  attended,  who  seemed  well 
pleased  with  his  anxiety  for  their  welfare.  The  afternoon  he  claimed  to 
himself  for  a  little  relaxation,  and  took  a  walk,  with  his  wife  and  two  of 
his  children,  to  the  moor  ;  and,  as  they  returned,  he  spent  about  an  hour 
in  visiting  the  workhouse,  and  conversing  with  the  old  people.  He  re- 
mained at  home  till  eight  o'clock,  when  he  attended  a  prayer  meeting  at  a 
neighbour's  house.  Early  on  Friday  morning,  in  place  of  his  usual  exer- 
cise of  reading  and  writing,  he  was  employed  in  taking  a  walk  towards  the 
"  large  factory,"  where  about  a  thousand  persons,  principally  youth,  are  em- 
ployed. He  sauntered  in  the  road  as  they  went  to  work,  and  by  listening  to 
their  discourse,  and  observing  their  behaviour,  he  acquired  the  best  infor- 
mation as  to  their  real  condition.  So  soon  as  he  was  perceived  and  recog- 
nized by  the  multitude,  as  they  flocked  to  the  gate,  he  distributed  a  number 
of  hand  bills  among  them.  His  address  is  so  easy  and  plain,  and  his 
clothing  and  manners  so  homely,  that  the  poorest  feel  at  ease  in  his  com- 
pany. After  breakfast,  he  spoke  afi'ectingly  to  his  own  family,  as  to  the 
wretched  condition  of  many  of  these  poor  children  who  are  obliged  to  work 
at  the  factory,  and  was  unusually  fervent  in  prayer  for  the  melioration  of 
their  condition.  It  may  be  proper  to  say,  that  neither  on  Friday  nor  any 
other  day  does  he  take  any  time  in  composing  his  sermon,  for  though  he  is 
almost  always  teaching,  yet,  in  imitation  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  he 
never  sermonizes,  and  has  a  decided  objection  to  it.  Instead  of  taking  up 
his  time  in  explaining  the  component  parts  of  a  scriptural  sentence,  or  ex- 
patiating altogether  upon  theories,  he  immediately  speaks  to  the  jn-esent 
condition  of  the  people,  and  suggests  those  remedies  which  the  Scriptures 
supply.  He  is  no  advocate  for  Sunday  Schools,  but  always  maintains  that 
every  house  should  be  a  Sunday  School,  and  every  father  and  mother  the 
teachers ;  and,  therefore,  all  his  endeavours  are  not  to  try  to  make  the 
branches  good,  and  leave  the  tree  corrupt,  but  to  make  the  tree  good 
the  branches  may  be  good  also.  It  is  part  of  his  plan,  besides  teaching 
rious  parties  and  congregations,  to  visit  and  instruct,  in  a  course  of  til 
every  family  in  the  town.  He  is,  however,  a  warm  friend  to  education, 
has  succeeded  in  establishing  two  schools  upon  the  Sessional  plan.  Th^ 
he  regularly  visits  every  Friday  forenoon,  and  takes  part  in  the  various 
ercises.  Having  been  informed  of  several  notorious  prostitutes,  whom-: 
was  requested  to  visit,  and  whose  cases  were  affecting,  accompanied 
Mrs.  Fearless,  he  went  in  the  afternoon  to  converse  with  them :  he 
called  upon  several  wealthy  individuals,  to  whom  he  took  an  opportuni^ 
of  speaking  respecting  their  best  interests.     On  their  return  home, 


1 


237 

called  at  "  Tlie  Institution  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,"  in  the 
welfare  of  which  he  had  taken  considerable  interest,  and  made  several  in- 
quiries as  to  its  prosperity.  On  every  Friday  evening  he  gives  a  lecture 
to  the  members  of  his  society,  and  to  others  who  attended  at  the  room 
where  they  meet,  and  which  on  this  occasion  was  pretty  well  attended. 

Though  devoted  to  the  moral  and  religious  advancement  of  the  people^ 
he  is  occasionally  desirous  of  seeing  the  news,  and,  for  this  purpose, 
he  allowed  himself  about  two  hours  on  the  Saturday  forenoon  to  attend  the 
Reading  Room,  being  a  time  when  he  was  least  likely  to  be  useful  abroad. 
The  remaining  part  was  spent  in  mixing  with  the  market  people,  and  ob- 
serving their  conduct.  Being  engaged  almost  every  morning  in  writing, 
either  for  the  press  or  in  correspondence  with  distant  friends,  he  allowed 
himself  Saturday  afternoon,  to  wind  up,  to  examine  his  papers,  and  put  all 
in  order  for  another  week.  He  would  also  lend  a  hand  if  any  thing  wanted 
repairing  or  regulating  in  the  house,  and  sometimes  take  about  an  hour 
in  going  with  Mrs.  F.  to  the  market.  Saturday  evening  he  considered 
an  important  season  ;  and  while  the  doors  of  88  public-houses  and  1 69  jerry- 
i  shops  are  standing  open  to  tempt  people  to  vice,  and  while  the  excitement 
of  the  market  and  the  crowded  state  of  the  streets  are  all  conducing  to 
the  commission  of  wickedness,  he  had  long  lamented  that  there  was  not, 
j on  this  evening,  a  single  counteracting  effort.  He  was  therefore  determined 
to  try  what  he  could  do.  He  succeeded  in  getting  the  use  of  a  front  shop 
which  had  been  shut  up,  where,  for  three  hours,  he  taught  and  distributed 
tracts.  The  place  was  constantly  crowded,  and  though  it  only  held  about 
thirty,  from  the  constant  changing  of  the  individuals,  many  hundreds  heard 
,the  word  who  probably  never  attend  elsewhere.  I  ought  to  have  named, 
that  during  many  of  his  labours,  especially  in  the  evenings,  he  was  accom- 
panied by  others  who  assisted  him  in  his  work.  On  the  Saturday  night, 
several  of  them  were  perambulating  the  town,  and  attending  to  all  that 
passed,  especially  at  the  public  houses,  in  order  to  furnish  him  with  correct 
information  as  to  the  condition  of  the  people. 

Such  is  the  sketch  of  a  week's  labour  of  John  Fearless  ;  and  something 
like  this  ought  to  be  the  labour  of  every  one  who  desires  to  be  called 
a  minister  of  Christ.  It  is  as  truly  in  the  spirit  of  the  primitive  ministers, 
las  it  is  condemnatory  of  the  conduct  of  our  modem  teachers.  Convinced 
of  the  invaluable  treasure  of  the  gospel,  impressed  deeply  with  the  import- 
ance of  saving  souls,  what  an  exalted  pleasure  it  must  be  to  devote  the 
whole  of  one's  time  to  doing  good !  This  is  the  only  envied  pleasure  which 
I  have  not  yet  lived  to  enjoy. 

J.  L. 

VOL.    II.  2  o 


238 

BEWARE  OF  CONSEQUENCES. 

"  Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  I  " 

Did  men  on  all  occasions  but  exercise  their  reason,  and  weigh  well 
the  tendency  of  all  their  actions,  what  evils  would  be  avoided,  and  what 
beneficial  results  woiQd  follow !  Did  they  but  think  that  the  mightiest 
consequences  spring  from  the  smallest  causes,  and  that  ages  of  happiness 
or  misery  depend  upon  the  turn  of  a  thought,  they  would  be  induced  to 
bring  their  powers  of  reflection  into  exercise,  and  subject  their  appetites 
and  passions  to  the  control  of  reason.  Present  enjoyment,  the  characte- 
ristic of  the  brute,  is  the  popular  idol ;  and,  in  defiance  of  the  warnings  of 
truth,  men  stifle  their  convictions,  and  rush  on  headlong  in  vice,  determined 
to  brave  the  consequences.  Low  breeding  and  vulgar  habits  contract  the 
intellectual  powers  of  many,  while  the  dissipation  of  others  render  them 
too  proud  and  too  giddy  to  measure  the  tendency  of  their  steps,  or  to  profit 
by  the  advice  and  experience  of  their  best  friends.  Every  action  should  be 
tested,  not  by  what  it  is  in  itself,  but  by  what  it  leads  to.  It  is  the  vtility 
of  articles,  more  than  their  appearance,  that  gives  them  value  :  the  pocket 
piece  and  the  golden  sovereign  are  equally  pleasing  to  a  child  as  playthings ; 
but  it  is  the  use  which  can  be  made  of  the  one  above  the  other  that  gives 
it  the  preference  with  persons  capable  of  reflection.  Inconsiderate  persons 
are  ready  to  view  some  crimes  as  venial,  which,  when  traced  in  their  efi"ects 
upon  the  moral  sense  of  those  who  commit  them,  upon  their  families  and 
connections,  and  upon  society  at  large,  appear  of  the  greatest  atrocity. 
Some  men  literally  care  nothing  for  the  morrow :  they  eat  and  drink,  and 
admit  of  no  restraint  but  that  which  the  law  enforces  :  "a  short  life  and  a 
merry  one,"  is  their  motto  ;  and  though  they  never  did  a  good  action,  nor 
made  a  single  efi^ort  for  the  happiness  of  man,  they  are  not  unfrequently 
applauded  as  "good-hearted  fellows."  In  reference  to  "consequences," 
I  beg  leave  to  oflfer  to  my  readers  a  few  words  of  advice  on  the  following 
points. 

Drinking.  Do  you  know  what  it  is  that  you  thus  place  to  your  li 
It  is  charged  with  contents  more  dreadful  in  their  ej^ects  than  sword 
cannon ;  it  foams  with  delusion  ;  and  the  hand  that  supports  it  had  betfr 
far  better,  withered  in  its  youth.  You  are  your  own  enemies ;  the  first 
glass  is  a  check  to  the  calm  exercise  of  your  reasoning  powers ;  the  second 
is  an  attack  upon  its  prerogative ;  the  third  is  a  violent  dethronement  of  its 
power ;  and,  shortly,  like  a  ship  without  a  helm,  or  rather  a  mad  bull 
without  a  curb,  you  are  impelled  by  the  inflation  of  your  feelings  to  every 
thing  that  is  wicked,  without  the  least  regard  to  consequences.  Beware  of 
the  sparkling  poison  ;  it  stings  like  a  serpent,  and  bites  like  an  adder. 


I 


I 


239 

WTioT^dom.  I  am  sorry  to  know,  both  from  what  passes  at  the  town 
liall  before  the  magistrates,  and  at  the  overseers'  office,  that  the  cases  of 
bastardy  are  so  numerous.  Have  our  young  men  never  been  taught  the 
duty  of  chastity?  Have  they  never  read  that  "  fornicators  and  aduUerers 
God  will  judge  ?"  Is  it  not  too  true  that  some  of  our  "  bucks"  delight  in 
seducing  the  virtuous,  and  glorv  in  the  diabolical  crime  of  destroying  the 
prospects  and  fair  character  of  innocence  ?  There  are  some  who  refrain 
from  marrying,  as  if  it  were  to  render  themselves  infamous  in  crime. 
Dreadful  are  the  consequences  :  a  single  unguarded  step,  though  not  coupled 
with  any  premeditated  design,  is  pregnant  with  incalculable  evil :  to  the 
woman  a  ruined  character,  the  desertion  of  friends,  an  agonizing  heart, 
and  the  loss,  for  life,  of  all  hope  of  connubial  bliss  ;  a  bastardized  race  of 
children,  aliens  as  to  property,  and  a  sure  burden  to  the  public.  Young 
men  !  keep  yourselves  pure.  "  Marriage  is  honourable  in  all,  and  the  bed 
undefiled  ;  but  whoremongers  and  adulterers  God  will  judge." 

Covetousness.  Don't  be  over  anxious  about  getting  money ;  try  to 
learn  its  real  use,  and  never  put  it  into  the  place  of  more  valuable  objects. 
Some  men  are  always  acquiring,  but  never  enjoying,  and,  foolishly  mad 
upon  the  increase  of  riches,  labour,  and  scrape,  and  render  themselves 
miserable  all  the  days  of  their  lives.  When  the  apostle  said,  "  The  love  of 
money  is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  he  spoke  what  we  all  know  by  experience 
to  be  true :  anxiety  and  care,  oppression,  injustice,  and  impiety,  and  the 
neglect  of  social  duties,  are  the  branches  from  this  unhallowed  root.  A 
covetous  man  has  no  time  for  any  thing  but  acquiring  wealth ;  he  is  im- 
mersed in  business  ;  and  "  the  cares  of  the  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,"  choke  every  other  influence.  Every  transaction  is  tainted  with  the 
unsociableness  of  avarice,  and  the  consequences  of  one  man's  greediness  of 
lucre  is  the  sorrow  and  suffering  of  great  numbers.  Indeed,  the  swelling 
of  the  flood  is  not  less  sure  to  mark  the  progress  of  its  inundation  by  the 
iwreck  which  it  spreads,  than  the  operation  of  both  sensuality  and  covetous- 
ness is  upon  the  general  happiness  and  well  being  of  mankind.  Beware  of 
the  love  of  money  ! 

Good  temper.  Temper  is  said  to  be  every  thing :  without  it  nothing 
,3an  be  enjoyed.  Whether  you  have  riches,  or  health,  or  friends,  without 
ja  serene  temper,  a  calm  state  of  mind,  your  possessions  will  even  become 
sources  of  vexation.  The  tendency  and  workings  of  a  bad  temper,  of  a 
morose,  sour  disposition,  either  in  families  or  associations,  must  be  obvious 
to  all.  How  often  do  persons,  otherwise  better  disposed,  allow  their  pas- 
sions to  get  the  ascendancy  of  their  judgments,  and  rashly  take  steps, 
:he  consequences  of  which  they  afterwards  have  deeply  to  regret.  Irrita- 
tion, like  a  spark  to  a  train  of  gunpowder,  produces  efiects  which  none  can 
prevent ;  and  it  has  with  truth  been  observed,  that  the  man  who  can  go- 
'  'em  his  temper  is  stronger  than  he  who  taketh  a  city.     Consequences  will 


always  tell  the  value  of  a  good  temper,  whilst  peevishness,  envy,  malice, 
family  broils,  separation  of  wives  from  husbands,  banishment  of  children, 
squabbles  and  law  suits  attend  in  the  train  of  evils  consequent  upon  a  bad 
one.  Let  us  all,  therefore,  try  to  be  kind,  contented,  calm  and  cheerful, 
and  to  make  it  our  constant  studv  to  diffuse  happiness  around  us. 

Companions.     A  man's  disposition  and  conduct  are  more  influenced  by 
the  company  he  keeps  than  almost  by  any  other  circumstance.     The  happi- 
ness or  misery,  the  respectability  or  degradation,  the  wealth  or  poverty, 
of  many  through  their  whole  lives  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  single 
individual  whom  they  make  their  associate.     Young  men  I  would  solemnly 
advise  —  spend  your  time  alone,  rather  than  yoke  yourselves  with  persons 
whose  course  of  life  is  loose  and  vicious.     To  tradesmen,  who  love  their 
pot  companions,  I  woidd  say,  read  the  Gazette,  notice  the  assignments,  re- 
member the  premature  deaths  of  many  of  your  former  companions,  and 
take  advice,  and  break  ofi^  your  asso.iations,  ere  your  own  case  be  as  bad 
as  theirs.     Let  our  wives  be  "  keepers  at  home ;"  let  them  not  form  part 
of  any  association  whose  object  is  to  tattle,  and  to  busy  themselves  with 
the  affairs  of  their  neighbours ;  let  their  visits  be  few  and  seasonable,  and 
their  companions  such  as  will  not  corrupt  but  benefit  by  their  example. 
In  reference  to  partnerships  in  trade  great  delusion  prevails.      Prospects 
are  always  represented  as  flattering  at  the  commencement,  but  from  the 
short  connection  and  dissolution  of  so  many,  as  well  as  from  facts,  in  too 
many  instances,  it  is  evident  that  the  consequences  are  not  satisfactory. 
Painfid  sacrifices  are  often  required,  and  the  concealed  embers  of  contention 
anon  break  out  in  open  explosion.     Perhaps  of  all  connections,  marriage  is 
the  most  important.     Thoughtless  and  giddy  as   too  many  young  people 
are,  they  enter  the  marriage  state  dreaming  of  perpetual  bliss,  forgetting 
that  it  is  on  the  character  and  virtues  of  their  companions  that  all  depends. 
How  painful  it  is  to  reflect  upon  the  number  of  unhappy  couples  who  are 
bound  for  life,  and  whose  lot,  in  consequence  of  want  of  character,  or  be- 
ing "  unequally  yoked,"  seems  to  be  perpetual  misery!     A  good  wife  is  a^i 
invaluable  treasure,  and  if  a  man  wish  to  be  comfortable  in  the  wedd«! 
state,  he  must  be  careful  in  the  selection  of  a  companion.     A  woman  ha 
better  go  into  exile  at  once,  than  tie  herself  to  a  drunken,  idle  fellow  :  whe 
ever  there  is  a  want  of  character,  though  they  may  dance  and  sing  on 
wedding  day,  it  is  only  the  prelude  to  months  and  years  of  misery.     For  mol  ^ 
it  is  a  step  for  life ;  for  all,  it  involves  consequences  the  most  importanlir| 
Beware,  young  people,  of  being  deluded  at  this  momentous  period ;  look 
well  before  you,  and  never  step  till  you  are  sure  you  are  in  the  way  to  se- 
cure your  own  peace  and  the  prosperity  of  your  ofi^spring. 

Parental  duties.  I  cannot  conclude  without  reminding  parents  of  the 
consequences  resulting  from  the  observance  or  neglect  of  those  duties  which 
they  owe  to  their  children.     They  are  your  own  ;  they  fruit  of  your  own 


241 

ibody.    It  is  your  duty  not  merely  to  provide  for  their  necessities  till  they  are 
of  age  to  support  themselves,  but  to  train  the  young  and  tender  mind  to 
yirtue,  to  implant  in  the  understanding  the  fear  of  God,  the  love  of  good- 
ness, and  to  cherish  habits  of  piety,  religion,  and  usefulness  :  and  thus,  by 
a  mental  and  moral  culture,  to  fortify  them  against  the  temptations  of  sen- 
suality and  vice,  and  to  lead  them  to  do  honour  to  their  parents  and  family 
to   which  they  belong.     This  is  a  duty  which  you  can  never  delegate  to 
another,  and  for  the  performance  of  which  there  is  an  awful  responsibility. 
Look  at  the  juvenile  world  at  this  moment,  and,  amongst  other  causes,  you 
may  perceive  the  fruit  of  parental  neglect ;  and  the  vice  and  misery  which 
prevails  as  the  consequence  is  likely  to  be  transmitted  to  generations  yet 
anborn.      Why  should  you  neglect  so  interesting  a  duty?     If  your  own 
example  be  right,  the  pleasure  you  will  experience  yourselves  in  teaching  and 
iidmonishing  your  children  will  not  be  less  than  the  beneficial  effects  produced 
upon  them.     Sorry  I  am,  that  too  many  parents  in  affluent  circumstances 
tare  more  anxious  for  polite  and  literary  accomplishments  than  for  moral 
excellence,  and  this,  which  leads  them  to  send  their  children  from  home, 
jdeprived   of  the  watchful  guardianship  of  their   best   tutors,   has   often 
created  a  taste  for  sinful  pleasures,  and  a  longing  for  dissipated  company, 
the  effects  of  which  have  remained  through  life.     The  benefits  of  boarding 
ischools,  in  my  opinion,  are  overrated ;  they  have  generally  the  best  cha- 
racter at  a  distance,  and,  with  the  influence  of  strong  prepossession,  after 
liavirg  paid  well,  for  a  boy's  education  from  home,  it  would  be  strange  if 
the  parents'  ideas  of  its  superiority  were  not  often  flattered.    At  all  events, 
take  care  that  your  children  are  well  taught ;  and,  as  it  respects  their  so- 
icial,  moral,  and  religious  duties,  neither  schoolmaster,  nor  desks,  nor  slates 
lare  requisite  :  the  poor  man,  in  this  respect,  is  equal  to  the  rich.     Bend 
your  mind  to  the  subject :  to  take  care  of  the  young  is  the  first  duty  which 
mature  dictates ;    embrace  every  leisure  moment,  improve  every  incident 
that   occurs,   and  watch  carefully  against  the  influence  of  counteracting 
causes.     The  happiness,  and  honour,  and  respectability  of  your  children,  if 
[thus  well  taught,  will  ten  thousand  times  repay  you  for  all  your  labour. 
I         Consequences,  then,  are  the  standard  by  which  the  merit  and  value  of 
[every  undertaking  ought  to  be  tried.     In  this  world  of  associations,  it  is  not 
ithat  which  appears  to  be  greatest  that  is  so  indeed,  but  that,  however  dimi- 
nutive or  contemptible  in  itself,  which  is  greatest  in  its  results.     Like  the 
mustard  seed,  alluded  to  by  Christ,  which  he  calls  the  smallest  of  all  seeds, 
but  becomes  the  greatest  of  trees,  the  feeble  eflbrts,  or  a  single  action  of 
an  obscure  individual  may  revolutionize  the  world!       Consequences  are 
highly  important  as  it  respects  ourselves  and  others  in  reference  to  time ; 
but  viewing  the  present  life  as  a  state  of  probation,  as  the  germ  of  immor-_^ 
jtality,  we  ought  especially  to  calculate  what  will  be  the  consequences  of 
bur  conduct  in  the  eternal  world !  -* 


242 

THE  PROPRIETY  OF  IMPROVING   THE   PRESENT  VERSION   OP 
THE    SCRIPTURES. 

As  the  writings  of  the  inspired  servants  of  God  confessedly  constitute 
the  best  book  in  the  world,  it  appears  to  me  that  we  ought  to  have  it  with 
all  the  advantages  that  literature,  criticism,  and  typography  can  confer. 
Admitting  with  all  the  care  that  has  been  exercised,  that  unimportant  ver- 
bal inaccuracies  have  crept  in,  it  is  still  important  to  present  the  whole  as 
a  volume  of  truth,  in  a  lucid,  faithful,  inviting  character.  It  is  not  simply 
in  the  circulation  of  a  great  number  of  copies  that  we  should  rejoice,  but 
in  the  increase  of  knowledge  produced,  or  at  least  in  the  consciousness  that 
these  copies  are  circulated  in  the  form  best  adapted  to  produce  this  effect. 
I  think  it  may  be  asserted  with  safety,  that  the  increase  of  scriptural  know- 
ledge and  practical  religion  bears  no  proportion  to  the  increase  in  the  cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures.  And  I  am  much  mistaken  if  the  crude  notions 
and  general  ignorance  of  the  plain  and  obvious  meaning  of  many  parts  of 
Scripture,  among  religious  people  themselves,  do  not  arise  from  the  form 
in  which  these  writings  are  published.  Every  thing  that  tends  to  obscurity ;  • 
ought  to  be  removed,  and  every  thing  that  can  render  the  meaning  and 
design  of  the  writers  clearer  ought  to  be  adopted.  The  "  authorized  ver- 
sion," like  the  common  prayer  book,  would  be  considered  excellent  at  the 
time  it  was  made,  but  the  lapse  of  200  years  makes  great  changes  ;  and  is 
there  any  reason  why  we  should  not  in  this  affair,  as  in  every  other,  avail, 
ourselves  of  the  improvements  and  discoveries  of  the  last  centuries  ?  After  ;1 
the  various  proofs  which  are  given  us,  in  the  shape  of  new  translations  and 
critical  remarks,  of  the  light  which  can  be  thrown  upon  obscure  passages, 
and  of  the  adaptation  of  the  text  to  modern  taste,  is  it  reasonable  that  we 
should  be  satisfied  with  the  attainments  of  our  forefathers,  merely  because 
the  king  and  the  bishops  appoint  it  to  be  so  ?  We  have  just  as  much  rea- 
son to  be  satisfied  with  the  Church  of  England,  in  this  respect,  for  both 
the  one  and  the  other  rest  upon  the  same  authority.  If  every  man  should 
have  a  Bible,  he  ought  to  have  it  as  free  from  mistakes,  and  as  plain  and 
easy  to  be  understood  as  possible.  Who  that  reads  the  criticisms  of  various 
modern  writers,  and  the  translations  of  such  men  as  Lowth  and  Campbell, 
cannot  but  wish  that  every  plain  man  might  enjoy  the  same  advantage 
every  time  he  reads  his  Bible  ?  But  we  are  always  told  that  it  is  impracti- 
cable, owing  to  the  conflicting  opinions  of  various  sects.  But  why  ?  If  by 
"  His  Majesty's  special  command"  a  new  translation  was  printed,  and  "  or- 
dered to  be  read  in  churches,"  would  our  various  sects  continue  to  use  the 
present  one  ?  If  not,  they  recognise  the  principle  that  the  king  and  the 
bishops  are  the  most  competent  judges,  and  the  proper  authorities  to  decide 
in  this  matter,  a  decision  to  which  Dissenters  have  always  objected  in  all 
ecclesiastical  matters.  If  they  woiild  not  be  bound  by  a  new  translation  on 
state  authority,  why  should  they  be  bound  by  the  old  one  ?     The  numerous 


Jl 


243 

imendments  whicli  have  been  made,  the  crowded  criticisms  accompanying 
j:he  commentaries,  the  constant  remarks  made  by  our  preachers  in  their 
sermons  as  to  inaccuracies,  as  well  as  the  obsolete  character  of  many  of  the 
vords  and  phrases,  show  that  a  version  embodying  as  many  improvements 
IS  possible  is  at  least  a  desideratum.  It  often  occurs  to  me,  that  some 
hing  in  the  character  of  a  pious  fraud  is  practised  upon  this  subject. 
tVhen  the  Bible  is  spoken  of  in  general,  our  divines  represent  the  whole  as 
'  truth  without  any  mixture  of  error,"  and  speak  as  if  even  verbal  infalli- 
lility  belonged  to  it ;  but  at  other  times  we  find  them  taking  the  greatest 
iberties,  and  not  only  changing  words,  but  altering  the  construction  of  sen- 
ences.  If  the  Scriptures  be  our  best  guide,  I  conceive  it  to  be  the  duty  of 
he  clergy  to  present  them  in  the  plainest  and  most  correct  form  that  can 
lossibly  be  adopted.  And  v>fhile  improvements  are  constantly  encouraged 
ti  the  language  and  form  of  all  other  works,  why  not  give  the  Scriptures 
'a  the  very  best  form  of  which  the  English  language  is  capable  ? 

But  if  an  entire  new  translation,  in  the  present  state  of  religious  feei- 
ng be  an  attempt  too  great  to  succeed,  might  not  a  version  be  published, 
mbodying  several  material  improvements,  yet  retaining  as  the  basis  the 
uthorized  version  ?  Considerable  alterations  might  be  made  to  which  no 
arty  could  reasonably  object,  and  as  no  hope  can  be  entertained  of  any 
hange  from  the  authorized  church,  in  reference  to  an  authorized  version, 
')issenters  ought  to  undertake  the  work  themselves.  These  changes  might 
onsisc  in — 

'  1.  Rendering  the  language  grammatical,  according  to  the  standard 
'hich  the  public  have  agreed  to  adopt.  Besides  the  use  of  the  relative 
which,"  in  place  of  "  who,"  when  applied  to  persons,  occurring  in  nu- 
lerous  instances,  it  is  well  known  that  many  sentences  are  not  correct. 
Let  each  esteem  others  better  than  themselves" — "The  most  straitest 
;3ct  " — "  Though  he  were  a  son  yet  he  learned  obedience  by  the  things 
i^hich  he  suffered,"  are  specimens  of  what  I  allude  to.  And  yet  Lindley 
Hurray,  like  our  divines,  after  exhibiting  "examples  of  erroneous  transla- 
ions  with  respect  to  grammatical  construction,"  attempts  to  impose  upon 
ur  credulity  by  stating  that  "the  present  translation  of  the  Bible  is  the 
est  standard  of  the  English  language." 

2.  In  adopting  the  usual  n\arks  and  points,  and  applying  them  to  the 
ime  purpose  as  they  are  in  other  books.  Common  readers  have  no  rea- 
Dn  to  suppose  but  a  mark  of  any  description  signifies  the  same  in  the  Bible 
3  it  does  elsewhere.  The  quotational  marks  are  entirely  omitted,  for  want 
f  which  the  reader  is  sometimes  led  to  suppose  that  he  is  reading  the 
Titer's  own  remarks,  when  he  is,  in  fact,  reading  a  quotation.  The  apos- 
i'ophe,  denoting  the  possessive  case,  is  also  uniformly  omitted.  Tlie  points 
I'e  injudiciously  placed,  and  vary  in  different  editions.  Let  any  person 
xamine  the  Psalms,  and  he  will  see  at  once  that  the  application  of  the  co- 


U 


244 

Ion  is  iipon  a  principle  peculiar  to  the  Bible.  The  pointing  is  indeed  very 
irregular.  Not  only  do  the  editions  differ  from  each  other  when  printed  at 
different  presses,  but  those  printed  at  the  same  press  with  different  dates. 
A  London  edition  of  1819  has  seven  periods  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  whilst 
that  of  1822  has  only  two ;  and  to  show  that  this  is  not  the  result  of  any 
designed  change,  the  Oxford  of  the  later  date  of  1 824  has  adopted  the  for- 
mer. In  a  school  which  I  superintended,  where  the  boys  read  in  classes,  not  by 
verses  but  sentences,  we  found  much  difficulty,  owing  to  this  irregularity. 
Unless  we  could  succeed  in  getting  a  sufficient  number  of  copies  of  the 
same  edition,  the  boys  could  not  read  together.  The  Oxford,  Cambridge, 
and  London  editions  differ  so  much  in  this  respect,  as  to  lead  one  to  sup- 
pose that  the  committee  of  the  Bible  Society  have  paid  no  attention  to  the 
subject.  Words  printed  in  Italics  in  all  other  books  are  always  considered 
emphatic,  but  here  the  very  contrary  is  generally  the  case.  They  aie  the 
most  inconsiderable  words  in  the  sentence,  and  are  such  as  the  translators 
ventured  to  supply  to  make  the  sense  complete. 

3.  In  the  abandonment  of  the  form  of  the  present  divisions.    The  divi- 
sions of  chapters  and  verses  have  no  connection  with  the  original  form  oi 
these  books,  and  yet,  absurd  as  they  are,  they  are  retained  because  the  whirr 
of  a  certain  individual  happened  to  place  them  there.     For  purposes  of  refer- 
ence, divisions  like  these  might  be  useful,  but  instead  of  being  forced  intc 
the  subject  and  the  sentences,  it  was  quite  sufficient  to  have  printed  then 
in  the  margin.     We  have  no  book  mangled  like  the  Bible,  for  even  the  his- 
torical and  the  epistolary  parts  are  cut  into  small  portions,  and  printed  a: 
if  they  were  distinct  aphorisms.     How  absurd  to  dostroy  the  arguments  .p:!] 
an  apostle,  the  force  of  which  is  often  intended  to  appear  at  a  distant  pft^j 
of  his  letter,  by  reducing  them  into  shreds  of  three  or  four  lines  ea(% 
Prejudice  is  powerful,  or  else  I  would  ask,  did  ever  any  person  see  the  sen 
tences  of  a  book  printed  in  the  same  detached  form  as  those  oi  the  Bible 
At  every  verse  there  is  a  break,  as  if  the  sense  was  totally  unconnected  will 
what  precedes  it  and  what  follows,  and  the  reader  is  apt  to  imagine  a  coflfi 
plete  sense  in  every  verse,  and  the  conclusion  of  a  subject  in  each  chap 
If  we  were  desirous  of  preventing  a  correct  understanding  of  the  word,j, 
divide  historical  and  argumentative  writings,  like  those  which  principi 
compose  the  Bible,  would  be  the  likeliest  course  we  could  take.    This 
viding  into  verses  is  even  made  in  the  middle  of  sentences,  or  within  a 
words  from  the  conclusion  of  a  sentence,  and,  in  one  instance,  even  t|| 
chapter  closes  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  (Acts  xxi.)     Campbell  justly  ojfe 
serves,  "  that  the  manner  of  mincing  a  connected  work  into  short  sentencfig 
detached  from  each  other,  by  being  ranked  imder  separate  numbers,  and  ]^ 
breaks  in  the  lines,  has  had  an  influence  upon  copiers  and  translators,  h^ 
in  pointing  and  translating,  not  suited  to  the  species  of  composition  whj^ 


m 


\ 


245 

3l)tains  in  the  sacred  books."  If  the  Bible  were  properly  printed  in  con- 
tinuous sentences,  it  would  reduce  the  size  of  the  book,  and  effect  a  conside- 
rable saving  in  paper.  The  edition  I  usually  make  use  of  contains  1271 
sages,  and  I  have  made  a  calculation,  that  by  removing  the  marks  of  the 
ihapters  and  verses  to  the  margin,  and  saving  all  the  breaks,  317  pages 
vvould  be  gained. 

4.  There  are  several  accompaniments  printed  with  the  Bible,  that  are 
scarcely  in  keeping  with  the  great  principle  of  the  Bible  Society — "  without 
lote  or  comment."  It  may  be  useful  to  admit  of  references  where  another 
i)assage  is  plainly  alluded  to ;  but  where  this  is  not  the  case,  and  where 
3ther  passages  are  marked  merely  for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  it  is  quite 
evident  that  they  will  be  selected  according  to  the  creed  of  the  person  who 
performs  it.  References,  except  to  passages  directly  alluded  to  by  the 
ATiter,  are,  in  fact,  a  commentary,  and  being  a  medium  through  which  cer- 
';ain  views  may  be  infused,  are  at  variance  with  the  catholic  principle  of 
he  society.  This  may  not  be  sufficiently  clear  to  those  who  have  not 
examined  these  references  ;  but  let  such  examine  them,  and  also  the  lists  of 
contents  and  the  runiiing  titles  which  appear  on  every  page,  and  they  will 
)erceive,  especially  in  the  New  Testament,  that  descriptions  are  given  in 
rvhich  all  parties  do  not  agree.     These  parts  are  at  least  "apocryphal." 

5.  While  retaining  the  old  version  in  substance,  many  words  and 
ihrases  might  be  altered  for  the  better.  "Wot,"  "albeit,"  "leasing," 
'wjLxing,"  "we  do  you  to  wit,"  and  many  similar  expressions  should  be 
earned  into  more  modem  language.  The  terms  "  easter,"  and  "  robbers  of 
''htrches,"  (Acts  xii.  4.  xix.  37.)  are  evidently  calculated  to  mislead.  If  the 
Dlain  meanings,  set  forth  by  Campbell  and  others,  of  such  words  as  presby- 
ery,  bishop,  deacon,  church,  schism,  heresy,  blasphemy,  devil,  kingdom, 
)reach,  covenant,  hell,  &c.,  were  rendered  by  terms  easier  to  be  undei'stood, 
)lain  persons  would  assuredly  derive  both  more  instruction  and  pleasure 
Tom  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  than  they  do  at  present.  It  seems  as  if 
he  Scriptures  were  kept  obscure,  that  there  might  be  a  necessity  for  a  stand- 
ng  order  of  men  to  explain  them  and  make  them  understood.  Let  the 
scriptures  themselves  be  made  as  plain  as  possible,  by  every  laudable  means, 
md  though  explanations  might  still  be  necessary,  the  people  would  be  able 
o  acquire  much  more  knowledge  without  the  aid  of  teachers. 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE  IN  PRESTON. 

The  Society  established  here  for  the  promotion  of  temperance  still  goes 
'n  prosperously.  The  nimiber  of  members  is  now  about  1 100,  though  this 
s  no  decisive  criterion  of  the  good  which  is  accomplished.  The  weekly 
neetings  continue  to  be  crowded  to  excess  ;  every  seat  and  every  comer  of 

VOL.    II,  2  H 


346- 

the  Lyceum,  which  holds  about  700  hundred  persons,  is  regularly  occupied: 
and  great  nxunbers  are  obliged  to  go  back,  not  being  able  to  get  admission. 
The  captains,  twenty- eight  in  number,  are  zealously  employed  in  their  dis- 
tricts, circulating  tracts  and  admonishing  the  people.  The  visitors  go 
round,  especially  on  a  Sunday  morning,  visiting  delinquents  and  others  who 
are  reported  to  them  as  addicted  to  drinking.  This  labour  has  been  highly 
productive  to  the  Society,  and  the  committee  have  the  pleasure  of  pointing 
to  many  who  are  now  living  "soberly,"  if  not  "righteously  and  godly," 
whose  notoriety  for  excessive  drinking  was  well  known.  Many  moderate 
drinkers  have  also  abandoned  the  practice  of  taking  their  glasses ;  and  we 
are  told  that  numbers  in  the  higher  ranks  are  acting  upon  the  principle, 
who  do  not  join  the  Society.  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  at  a  late 
civic  feast  given  by  the  mayor  of  this  borough,  three  gentlemen  present 
drank  water,  and  were  honoured,  as  water  drinkers,  with  having  their 
healths  drunk  by  the  company.  Six  thousand  tracts  have  been  circulated, 
and  ten  thousand  more  are  in  the  course  of  being  printed  for  this  purpose : 
these  have  diffused  more  light  upon  the  nature,  uses,  and  abuses  of  fer- 
mented and  distilled  liquors,  and  upon  the  dreadful  evils  of  drunkenness, 
than  all  the  preaching  and  all  the  teaching  of  the  last  century.  A  tea 
party  was  held  on  Wednesday,  July  11th,  in  the  Cloth  Hall,  being  the 
middle  race  day,  with  which  every  guest  and  every  visitor  was  highly  de- 
lighted. The  walls  of  the  Hall  were  entirely  covered  with  bleached  calico, 
tastefully  arrayed,  and  decorated  with  various  emblems.  At  the  head  of 
the  table  the  imposing  word,  temperance,  appeared  in  conspicuous  charac- 
ters. About  540  persons,  male  and  female,  sat  down  to  tea,  which  was 
served  up  with  so  much  order  and  regularity  as  to  astonish  the  visitors. 
Every  article  was  good,  and  being  accompanied  with  so  much  good  hu- 
mour and  so  many  cheerful  countenances,  if  ever  there  was  a  "  feast  of 
reason,"  it  was  at  the  temperance  tea  party.  Never,  I  am  sure,  did  600 
persons  congregate  in  Preston  for  any  convivial  purpose  with  more  inno- 
cence and  rational  pleasure.  How  gratifying  to  see  those,  who,  for  years, 
had  never  been  absent  from  the  races,  usually  intoxicated,  now  seated  at 
the  table  with  their  wives  and  friends !  After  tea,  the  company  was  ad- 
dressed by  Mr.  Pollard,  of  Manchester,  and  several  others,  and  the  meeting 
was  kept  up  in  the  most  lively  manner  till  about  ten  o'clock.  A  field 
meeting  was  also  held  the  following  afternoon  on  Preston  Moor,  which 
was  well  attended,  and  most  interesting  speeches  delivered  to  the  specta- 
tors, many  of  whom  had  probably  never  heard  the  subject  of  temperanfi 
discussed  before.  These  movements  have  given  great  publicity  to  the  tem- 
perance cause  here,  and,  in  fact,  the  operations  and  success  of  the  Society 
are  now  discussed  throughout  the  whole  town.  Indeed,  the  good  that  h^ 
already  been  accomplished  is  most  gratifying,  and  the  cry  of  all  the  lead 
is,  "  Onward !  onward !"     Mr.  Pollard  himself  declared  (and  he  is  a  coi 


247 

petent  judge)  that  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  at  Preston  convinced  him 
that  no  Society  in  the  kingdom  had  made  the  same  progress  as  this. 
Writing,  as  I  do  now,  upon  my  own  responsibility,  I  will  take  the  Hberty 
of  observing,  for  the  guidance  of  others,  that  this  success  has  been  princi- 
pally owing  to  the  committeeship  and  management  being  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  good-hearted,  plain,  working  men,  whose  efforts  have  not  been 
cramped  and  paralyzed  by  a  splendid  patronage,  or  by  the  intersention  of 
a  certain  order  of  men  in  whose  hands  every  thing  withers.  May  the  God 
of  heaven  bless  the  efforts  of  this  Society,  and  may  it  prepare  the  way  for 
the  enjoyment  of  every  domestic,  civil,  and  religious  blessing ! 

J.  L. 


THE  CHOLERA! 

Great  alarm  is  now  excited,  owing  to  the  rapid  spread  of  this  aw^ul 
maladv.  It  is  manifesting  its  virulence  in  various  directions,  and  seems  as 
if  destined  to  scourge  the  whole  earth.  It  is  lamentable  to  notice  the  spirit 
3f  infidelity  which  is  exhibited  at  any  attempt  to  treat  it  as  a  judgment  of 
he  Lord.  Do  affictions  spring  out  of  the  dust  ?  or  is  death  a  mere  mat- 
;er  of  accident  ?  Who  gives  us  rain  and  fruitful  showers,  and  fills  om- 
learts  with  food  and  gladness  .''  and  in  whom  do  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
)ur  being  ?  All  nature  is  under  His  control,  and  a  sparrow  cannot  fall  to 
he  ground  without  His  notice.  I  take  this  visitation  to  be  an  awful  wani- 
ng from  heaven  ;  the  earth  groans  beneath  the  transgressions  of  its  inhabi- 
ants ;  and  even  where  light  and  liberty  are  enjoyed,  sin  abounds.  Taking 
m  impartal  view  of  the  moral  state  of  society,  the  scourge  with  which  we 
ire  now  afflicted  is  what  we  might  rationally  expect  from  the  hand  of  "  Our 
.""ather  who  is  in  heaven."  And  yet,  except  on  the  very  spot  where  the  cholera 
las  broken  out,  it  is  astonishing  the  apathy  which  prevails  as  to  cleansing 
uid  purif)'ing  the  towns.  The  lower  classes  are  so  accustomed  to  po- 
/erty  and  filth,  and  the  higher  classes  have  seperated  themselves  so  long 
rom  the  working  people,  and  are  so  intent  upon  their  own  indulgences, 
hat  it  seems  a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficult}'  to  eflect  those  changes 
irhich  have  been  recommended  as  preventives.  No  matter  whether  rever- 
nd  or  not,  the  language  of  the  conduct  of  most  of  those  who  wear  good 
oats  is  that  of  Cain,  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  Last  week  I  was 
Qaking  some  inquiries  with  a  friend,  and  we  were  astonished  at  the  accu- 
aulations  of  filth  and  dirt  which  are  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
own,  even  after  so  much  has  been  said  of  the  importance  of  cleanliness, 
n  Holding's  Square,  containing  22  houses,  there  are  but  two  necessaries, 
}a  a  disgusting,  delapidated  state;  for  17  houses  in  Dale  Street  there  is  but 
ne  necessary,  and  that  at  a  distance ;  and  in  Bengal  Square,  containing  1 1 


048 

houses,  not  a  single  place  of  this  description !  Cragg's  Square,  and  other 
places  in  the  town,  are  in  a  similar  condition.  If  the  gentlemen  compos- 
ing the  Board  of  Health,  with  the  powers  which  they  now  possess,  would 
exert  themselves,  every  nuisance  in  the  town  might  be  removed,  and  many 
comforts  annexed  to  the  dwellings  of  the  poor.  If  God  has  borne  so  long 
with  us  in  vain  while  despising  his  mercies,  need  we  wonder  if  he  visit  us 
with  the  rod  of  his  displeasure  by  sending  his  judgments  abroad  in  the 
earth  ?  The  dissolute  and  the  intemperate  often  fall  victims  to  this  plague ; 
and  it  will  be  a  mercy  to  those  who  escape,  who  are  led  by  the  alarm  to  re- 
pent and  turn  from  their  evil  ways. 

WARNING  TO  THE  INTEMPERATE. 

As  this  awful  disease,  the  cholera  morbus,  is  now  coming  nearer  and 
nearer,  let  every  drunkard  and  intemperate  man  seriously  consider  the  fol- 
lowing extracts : 

At  Calcutta,  three  soldiers  were  seen  by  their  medical  officers  drinking 
spirits,  as  they  said,  to  prevent  cholera  :  next  morning  they  were  all  dead ! 
At  Warsaw,  only  one  of  the  medical  attendants  in  the  cholera  hospital  was 
affected,  and  he  was  a  drunkard.  Drs.  Russel  and  Barry  report,  that,  at 
St.  Petersburgh,  those  who  lived  temperately  were  exempted  from  the  dis- 
ease. At  Berlin,  it  was  stated  to  be  produced  only  when  a  constitution  was 
found  predisposed  by  intemperance ;  and  at  Hamburgh,  it  was  remarked  that 
the  cholera  affected  those  who  were  rendered  susceptible  by  dissolute  living. 

A  letter  from  Sunderland,  in  the  Morning  Herald  of  the  29th  Novem- 
ber, says  that  a  Mr.  B.  a  draper,  was  taken  ill  while  drinking  in  a  public 
house  in  the  evening,  and  died  next  morning,  at  nine  o'clock.  Another 
letter  says,  three  individuals  who  had  been  drunk  the  previous  evening,  were 
attacked  during  the  night,  one  of  whom  died  next  morning ;  and  the  Sun- 
derland Herald  of  the  26th  November,  states  "that  the  victims  of  the  cho- 
lera hitherto,  have  generally  been  persons  of  irregular  and  dissipated  habits." 

At  Gateshead,  Christmas-day  (which  was  also  the  Sabbath)  was  spent 
in  drinking  and  rioting,  and  that  night  and  the  two  following  days,  96 
persons  were  smitten  by  the  pestilence,  of  whom  44  died  in  24  hours  ;  and 
in  the  ten  daj^s  following,  325  cases  and  102  deaths  were  reported  in  Gate^ 
head  alone,  and  one  street  was  said  to  be  swept  of  confirmed  drunka; 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  with  a  very  small  exception. 

The  Tyne  Mercury  of  January  18th,  says  that  "  The  Sunday  and  M( 
day  deaths  have  been  generally  more  numerous  than  the  rest  of  the  wi 
owing  to  the  working  classes  getting  their  wages  on  the  Fridays  and 
turdays,  and  spending  more  in  drink  than  they  ought  to  do." 

Ramohum  Finjee,  the  famous  native  Indian  doctor,  says,  that  peopl 
who  do  not  take  spirits  or  opium,  do  not  catch  the  disorder,  even  w. 
they  are  with  those  who  have  it. 


I 


249 

Dr.  Von  Reider,  principal  physician  to  the  cholera  hospitals  at  Vienna, 
says,  "  the  worst  and  most  obstinate  cases  were  those  brought  on  bv  ex- 
citement from  spirituous  liquors." 

Monsieur  Huber,  who  saw  2,160  persons  perish  in  25  davs,  in  one 
town  in  Russia,  says,  "  It  is  a  most  remarkable  circumstance,  that  persons 
given  to  drinking  have  been  swept  away  like  flies."  "In  Tifles,"  con- 
taining 20,000  inhabitants,  "  Every  drunkard  has  fallen  !  All  are 
DEAD  !  Not  one  remains  !" 

Drunkards  and  tipplers  !  be  assured  that  the  habit  you  have  contract- 
ed is  one  which  predisposes  your  bodies  to  disease,  and  which,  if  not  aban- 
doned, is  likely  to  ruin  both  body  and  soul  in  hell.  How  awful  to  be  snatch- 
ed away  in  a  few  hours,  as  many  like  you  have  been ;  but  if  you  shoiild  even 
escape  the  impending  malady,  how  awful  to  spread  poverty-,  wretchedness, 
disease,  and  death  abroad  by  your  conduct  and  bad  example  !  Do  leave  off 
this  abominable  practice ;  be  resolved  to  abstain  from  hquor,  which  does 
you  no  good,  and  which  has  been  the  greatest  curse  that  ever  came  to  this 
coimtn,-.  Live  like  rational  beings,  perform  all  the  duties  of  vour  station  in 
this  life,  and  be  anxious  to  prepare  for  a  better  world.  ]\Iav  the  Lord  bless 
you,  and  give  you  strength  to  make  a  determined  resolution,  and  for  ever 
to  keep  it.  J.  L. 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  FEMALES, 

BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 

My  fair  Friexds, — You  may  think  it  somewhat  strange  to  have  a  tract  especially  ad* 
dressed  to  you  by  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society,  and  may  start  at  the  bare  thought'  o*f 

'  the  necessity  of  such  an  address.     If  such  should  be  the  feeling  with  which  you  may  peruser 

1  the  title  of  this  tract,  I  do  assure  you  I  shall  rejoice,  for  such  a  feeling  will  evince  a  high 
tone  of  moral  sentiment,  and  an  honourable  jealousy  for  the  character  of  your  sex,  and  will 
induce  you  to  scrutinize  your  own  conduct,  and  endeavour  to  rescue  yourselves  from  the  gene- 
ral disgrace  which  several,  at  least,  of  our  females  are  entailing  upon  you.    Be  not,  therefore, 

,  angry  if  I  attempt  to  expose  the  evils  to  which  you  are  more  or  less  exposed,  and  the  vices 
which  exist,  by  the  prevailing  opinions  on  the  use  of  intoxicating  fluids :  rather  let  your  dis- 
pleasure fall  upon  the  vices  which  are  brought  to  light,  and  your  aversion  rest  upon  the  caiue 
of  these  vices,  while  gentle  pity  pleads  for  your  exertions  in  behalf  of  your  erring  sisters. 

The  first  subject  I  will  bring  before  you  is  the  evil  effects  resulting  from  the  erroneous 
opinions  which  prevail  on  the  value  of  malt  liquors  and  wine.  These  are  generally  recom- 
mended to  you,  by  your  mothers  and  nurses,  as  the  most  strengthening  diet  you  can  take. 
When  you  are  suffering  from  confinement,  you  are  directed  to  take  ale,  porter,  or  wine,  three 
or  four  times  in  the  day ;  you  must  take  them  in  your  gruel,  and  with  every  article  of  food 

I  that  is  presented  to  you,  and  are  pressed  to  do  so  by  the  assurances  of  your  friends  that  your  . 

'  restoration  to  your  wonted  strength  will  be  much  promoted  by  these  liquids,  and  the  more 
you  drink  and  the  stronger  will  you  become.     Whilst  you  are  performing  the  important  and 


250 

interesting  duty  of  sucltling  your  infants,  again,  you  are  enjoined  to  take  largely  and  fre- 
quently of  malt  liquors,  in  order  to  promote  the  secretion  of  milk;  and  when  the  child  i« 
weaned,  many  are  unable  to  discontinue  their  stimulants,  and  thus  have  contracted  a  relish 
for  intoxicating  fluids  that  ultimately  leads  to  excess.    The  eflfect  of  these  liquors  is  to  increase 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  to  excite  thirst,  to  promote  perspiration,  to  create  some  con- 
fusion in  the  head  and  a  temporary  activity  of  the  stomach.     Now,  when  you  are  confined, 
you  are  suffering  from  exhaustion,  and  require  rest  and  tranquillity  of  mind  and  body  to  re- 
store you  to  your  wonted  energy,  and  every  thing  that  tends  to  promote  this  rest  and  tran- 
quillity is  beneficial,  and  every  thing  that  has  a  contrary  tendency  is  prejudicial.    Repose  and 
a  mild  nutritive  diet  will  most  generally  accomplish  the  former,  and  preserve  the  sufferer  from 
most  of  the  dangers  arising  from  this  state  of  confinement;  whereas,  the  chief  effects  to  be 
apprehended  in  such  a  state  arise  from  stimulating,  heating  liquors,  and  an  excess  in  food, 
occasioned  by  the  unnatiu-al  action  which  has  been  excited  in  the  stomach  by  the  malt  liquor 
or  wines  that  have  been  given.    There  are  many  medical  men  who  lament  the  evil  effects  that 
arise  from  this  practice,  and  would  willingly  discountenance  it  were  they  not  a&aid  of  the 
consequences  which  often  result  from  attacking  old  and  deeply  rooted  prejudices.     I  do  not 
mean  to  deny  that  malt  liquors  and  wines  contain  much  nutriment,  but  I  contend  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  more  nutritious  matter  in  an  equal  quantity  of  barley  water,  and  barley  water 
cannot,  by  any  reasonable  person,  be  despised  because  it  does  not  contain  such  poisons  as 
spirits  and  hops.     Besides,  malt  liquors  produce  an  excitement  in  the  body  that  the  constitu- 
tion is  sometimes  unable  to  sustain,  and  always  a  feverishness  which  terminates  in  depression 
both  of  the  spirits  and  vital  powers  of  the  system.    It  is  a  notorious  fact,  that  the  females  who 
inhabit  countries  where  malt  liquors  and  wines  are  unknown  take  nothing  but  the  mildest 
food  on  such  occasions,  and  their  recovery  is  almost  uniformly  rapid  and  uninterrupted.     I 
know  it  is  said  that  the  constitutions  of  persons  in  civilized  society  are  much  feebler  than  those 
of  females  brought  up  to  labour  and  privation,  and  I  am  willing  to  admit  it;  but  have  little 
hesitation  in  saying  that  the  difference  is  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  enervating  habits 
of  the  former,  especially  that  of  taking  unnatural  diet.     Were  civilized  people  content  with 
the  same  simple  fare,  we  should  go  far  to  enjoy  the  robust  health  of  the  savage  along  with  the 
blessings  of  cultivated  society.     To  show  you  that  I  am  not  singular  in  my  opinions  on  tbe 
danger  arising  from  the  custom  of  taking  stimulating  liquors  after  confinement,  I  may  quo 
the  words  of  Dr.  Hamilton  and  Dr.  Burns,  who  had  great  experience  on  this  subject.      D 
H.  says  "  When  the  great  sensibility  of  the  stomach,  and  the  extensive  influence  which  it  hi 
over  the  whole  body,  are  attentively  considered,  the  impropriety  of  exhibiting  stimulatin 
substances,  in  the  irritable  state  of  a  female  after  confinement,  will  be  very  striking.     If  it  t^ 
evident,  by  the  flashing  of  the  face,  &c.  that  a  glass  of  spirits,  even  in  women  in  health,  ij 
creases  the  velocity  of  the  blood,  it  must  be  obvious  that  more  violent  effects  will  be  produc< 
by  the  same  cause  when  the  body  is  weakened  and  irritable."     As  thirst  often  exists,  it  hi 
comes  a  question  what  kind  of  fluids  can  be  substituted,  and  I  am  happy  to  give  you  a  fe' 
of  those  recommended  by  the  above-mentioned  experienced  doctor:    these  are  "gruel,  toai 
and  water,  cow  milk,  whey,  lemonade,  tamarind  and  apple  tea,  barley  water,  &c."      In  sum 
mer  these  may  be  drank  cold,  but  in  winter  they  should  be  slightly  warmed.     Dr.   Burn) 
perhaps  the  best  writer  on  such  subjects  in  the  world,  observes,  "Another  bad  practice  is  tl| 
administration  of  stimulants,  such  as  brandy,  wine,  or  cordial  waters.     I  do  not  deny,  thi 
these,  in  certain  cases  of  exhaustion,  are  salutary ;  but  I  certainly  maintain,  that,  generall]J| 
thej  are  both  unnecessary  and  hurtful,  tending  to  prevent  sleep,  and  excite  fever  and  infian^ 


251 

mation."  Again,  he  observes,  "  Barley  water  may  be  given  for  drink,  but  malt  liquor  should 
be  aToided."  After  such  testimonies  let  no  one  presume  to  say  that  intoxicating  liquors  are 
useful,  necessary,  and  nutritious  on  such  occasions  ;  and  I  can  assure  you  that  those  who  have 
made  a  trial  of  the  plain  and  the  stimulating  diet,  would,  in  almost  every  instance  be  con- 
vinced of  the  superiority  of  the  former  on  such  occasions. 

Well,  but,  you  may  say,  if  we  allow  that  fermented  liquors  are  injurious  when  we  are 
labouring  under  exhaustion,  surely  no  one  will  deny  that  they  are  beneficial,  nay,  necessary, 
while  we  are  suckling.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  custom  has  rooted  this  opinion  so  deeply,  and 
the  declarations  of  many  excellent  and  learned  physicians  have  given  so  much  countenance  to 
it,  that  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  convince  you  of  the  truth.  Both  physician  and  patient  act 
upon  the  supposition  that  fermented  liquors  are  highly  nutritive,  and  take  but  too  little  thought 
as  to  the  physical  and  moral  injury  they  may  occasion  by  long  usage.  That  ale  and  porter 
ire  nutritious,  I  have  before  admitted ;  but  how  much  less  nutritious  they  are  than  the  malt 
from  which  they  are  chiefly  made,  and  how  much  less  nutritive  again  the  malt  is  than  barley, 
■nay  be  seen  by  reference  to  a  tract  published  by  the  Committee  of  the  Preston  Temperance 
Society,  on  "  Fermented  Liquors ;"  and  if  the  barley  lose  much  of  its  nutriment  in  being 
ihanged  into  malt,  and  malt  much  of  its  nutriment  in  being  changed  into  ale  or  porter,  both 
ihysician  and  patient  would  be  acting  more  rationally  to  use  the  barley  instead  of  malt,  and 
nalt  instead  of  ale.  You  will  perhaps  excuse  me  for  bringing  forward  an  analogous  case  from 
he  inferior  animals  to  illustrate  this  important  subject.  Cows,  sheep,  goats,  horses,  &c.,  you 
ujow,  suckle  their  young  naturally,  and  we  find  that  they  are  furnished  with  milk  without 
he  aid  of  any  unnatural  stimulus,  and  no  man  has  yet  been  so  absurd  as  to  substitute  ale  for 
)arley  in  order  to  enable  them  to  support  their  young.  Nay,  cows,  whose  milk  is  so  exten- 
ively  iised  by  man,  and  to  the  secretion  of  whose  milk  so  much  attention  has  been  paid,  have 
lever  been  conceived  capable  of  yielding  a  larger  quantity  of  their  valuable  fluid  by  being  fed 
>Q  fermented  liquors,  than  by  being  sufficiently  supplied  with  natural  food :  indeed,  were  any 
■ne  to  dream  of  such  a  project,  we  should  at  once  regard  him  as  insane.  Yet  not  more  un- 
^asonable  would  such  a  notion  be  than  that  which  is  now  so  generally  recognized  and  so 
lenerally  practised,  of  regarding  fermented  liquors  as  the  most  nutritious  substance  a  female 
an  take,  and  as  promoting  the  secretion  of  milk.  But  fermented  liquors  are  not  only  not  so 
utritive  as  barley,  but  they  are  decidedly  injurious,  in  many  instances,  to  both  mother  and 
hild.  In  every  instance  such  would  be  the  case,  but  their  effect  is  counteracted  in  most  fe- 
nales  by  a  strong  constitution,  or  the  body  becomes  insensible  to  the  excitement.  The  only 
fay  to  prove  the  particular  effects  of  poisons  on  the  human  body  is  to  exhibit  them  to  persons 
■ho  have  seldom  or  never  taken  them  before,  for  I  know  of  no  poison,  however  virulent  in  its 
ature,  but  what  may  have  its  effects  modified  by  frequent  exhibition.  Give,  then,  a  glass  of 
trong  ale  or  porter  to  a  delicate  female  who  has  never  tasted  the  liquor  before,  and  then  you 
'ill  see  their  real  and  genuine  operation,  and  you  will  at  once  admit  that  it  is  such  as  all  rea- 
dable beings  should  carefully  avoid.  If  a  person  accustomed  to  their  influence  can  take 
lem  without  producing  the  same  unpleasant  effects,  it  is  only  because  the  fine  tone  of  the 
ervous  system  has  been  destroyed,  and  the  delicate  sensibility  of  the  stomach  impaired  j  and, 
urely,  no  wise  person  would  wish  wilfully  to  inflict  upon  herself  so  material  an  injury.  Be- 
ides,  do  not  mothers  know,  that  when  they  are  feverish  the  milk  is  secreted  in  less  abundance, 
nd  much  deteriorated  in  quality  ?  and  the  effect  of  fermented  liquors  is  to  produce  a  tempo- 
iry  fever,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  to  occasion  a  diminution,  if  not  an  impoverished 
tate  of  the  maternal  fluid.     This  statement  you  will  perhaps  doubt,  and  some  medical  men 


Sg3 

may  perhaps  confirm  your  scepticism.  Both  they  and  you  may  say,  We  have  proof  that  mall 
liquors  increase  both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk  in  the  human  female.  This  objec- 
tion, I  am  inclined  to  think,  arises  from  the  circumstance,  that  mothers,  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  drinking  malt  liquors,  have  observed  a  manifest  diminution  of  their  milk  on  relin- 
quishing their  accustomed  stimulants.  But  this  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons  why  they 
should  be  discontinued,  inasmuch  as  it  is  an  evidence  that  the  system  has  lost  its  natura. 
powers,  and  can  only  be  made  to  act  by  artificial  means ;  and  such  a  state  cannot  long  be  en- 
dured without  endangering  the  constitution  and  moral  restraint,  and  loudly  calls  for  absti- 
nence, that  the  body  may  be  restored  to  a  natural  condition.  The  mother  is  not  the  only 
sufferer,  for  the  milk,  being  injured  in  its  character  by  the  febrile  state  induced,  is  less  capable 
of  satisfying  the  infant's  wants,  and  not  unfrequently  it  is  obliged  to  be  fed  by  the  spoon,  tc 
make  up  for  the  deficiency  of  its  maternal  si'pport.  This,  of  itself,  is  a  great  injury  when  th< 
child  is  young,  but  it  is  by  no  means  the  worst  the  infant  is  doomed  to  suffer  from  the  evi 
habits  of  its  nurse,  for  every  one  knows  that  no  intoxicating  liquor  can  be  taken,  but  it  is  ver) 
speedily  carried  to  every  part  of  the  body,  impregnates  the  breath,  and  mingles  with  every 
secretion,  and  not  a  little  of  it  is  contained  in  the  fluid  the  infant  sucks.  Many  a  mother,  whc 
would  be  shocked  if  we  were  to  propose  to  her  to  give  her  healthy  child  ale,  porter,  or  wine 
unthinkingly  presents  these  intoxicating  liquors  to  her  nursling  through  the  medium  of  he 
own  milk.  That  many  children  present  a  robust  and  healthy  appearance,  while  the  mothe 
takes  two  or  three  gills  of  fermented  liquors  in  the  day,  observation  forbids  us  to  deny ;  bu 
we  little  reflect  upon  the  number  of  infants  whose  health  suffers  from  this  cause,  and  the  num 
ber  of  deaths,  and  even  what  is  worse  than  corporeal  death,  moral  degradation,  which  owi 
their  origin  to  maternal  imprudence.  Extreme  cases  are  the  most  obvious,  and  from  them  w 
may  form  some  conception  of  modified  evils  resulting  from  more  limited  potations.  A  female  wh' 
drinks  to  excess  may  acquire  an  unnatural  corpulency,  but  the  infant  she  suckles  is,  in  a  grea 
majority  of  instances,  puny  and  sickly,  and  but  seldom  outlives  the  period  of  suckling  ;  and  i 
it  do,  we  often  find,  in  after  life,  the  man  or  the  woman  yielding  to  the  predisposition  engen 
dered  in  infancy,  and  walking  in  the  steps  of  his  or  her  parent.  Much,  no  doubt,  is  owing  t 
the  influence  of  evil  example,  but  all  that  is  attributed  to  hereditary  propensity  may  be  plausi 
bly  assigned  to  a  habit  of  body  contracted  at  the  breast.  "  Inebriety,"  says  a  writer  on  th 
mortality  of  children,  "  which  so  powerfully  deranges  all  the  secretions,  is  most  pernicious  ii 
a  wet  nurse.  An  excellent  writer  on  the  convulsions  of  children  assures  us,  that  he  ha 
known  convulsive  attacks,  in  infants,  to  originate  solely  from  this  habit  in  their  nurses,  an 
to  subside  as  soon  as  the  infants  were  provided  with  fresh  breasts.  Indeed,  I  am  inclined  t^ 
believe,  from  what  I  have  observed  in  my  intercourse  with  the  poorer  classes,  that  one  con 
siderable  cause  of  the  mortality  of  infants,  within  their  first  year,  in  large  towns,  is  the  P'^^ 
rice  of  drinking  ardent  spirits,  so  common  among  females."  If  you  will  take  the  troi) 
examining  the  infants  of  drunken  mothers,  you  will  generally  perceive  that  the  skin  is  1^ 
and  of  a  dirty  hue,  the  face  is  small,  the  arms  and  legs  slender,  the  bowels  large,  the  coulj 
nance  dispirited,  and  the  child  fretful  and  feeble ;  and  if  your  own  children  exhibit  th 
marks  in  a  slighter  degree,  yon  will  seldom  be  wrong  in  assigning  the  symptoms  of  disea 
the  same  cause.  Be  assured,  then,  that  intoxicating  liquors  of  any  kind  can  seldom,  if  e* 
be  taken  with  benefit  to  the  mother  and  safety  to  her  charge ;  and  as  you  value  the  pread 
health  and  future  welfare  of  your  offspring,  religiously  avoid  giving  them  such  deleterll 
substances  as  distilled  and  fermented  liquors,  through  the  medium  designed  by  Provid*^ 
for  their  infantile  support.  ^ 


253 

While  I  am  wishful  to  withdraw  from  you  fluids  which  I  think  every  considerate  person 
ought  to  deprecate,  I  would  substitute  others  far  more  pleasant,  and  far  better  calculated  to 
allay  thirst  and  promote  the  maternal  secretion.  You  never  can  want  a  natural  beverage 
while  you  have  barley  water,  tea,  coflFee,  tamarind  or  apple  tea,  raspberry  vinegar  and  water, 
lemonade,  whey,  milk,  chocolate,  toast  and  water,  &c. ;  at  least,  I  think,  no  reasojiahle  person 
will  complain  that  she  has  no  pleasant  beverage  while  she  has  such  a  variety  of  liquids  within 
her  reach,  and  we  shall  hardly  be  uncharitable  in  concluding,  that  she  who  prefers  distilled  or 
fermented  liquors  to  these  evinces  a  depraved  taste  and  a  dangerous  desire. 

The  quantity  of  intOTcicating  liquors  drank  by  females,  especially  in  the  higher  circles, 
while  they  are  acting  as  nurses,  is  astonishing  and  alarming,  and  were  I  capable  of  stating  the 
gallons  which  are  consumed  in  rearing  a  single  child,  in  some  instances  which  have  fallen 
under  my  own  observation,  many  would  be  inclined  to  discredit  my  relation ;  and  could  I,  at 
the  same  time,  compute  the  number  of  females  who  have  contracted  habits  of  intemperance 
from  this  supposed  innocent  and  necessary  practice,  I  should  be  equally  disbelieved. 

Another  great  evil  I  would  briefly  mention  arises  from  taking  ardent  spirits  as  medicine. 
These  are  either  prescribed  in  the  form  of  bitter  tincture,  or  as  a  stimulating  beverage  to  aid 
digestion  at  dinner.  Females  are  more  subject  than  men  to  despondency  of  mind,  arising  from 
a  deficiency  of  bodily  or  mental  occupations,  or  from  indigestion  induced  by  sedentary  habits, 
and  are  very  apt  to  have  recourse  to  stimulating  liquors  to  relieve  them  from  tliis  state  of  de- 
pression ;  and  as  they  find  their  spirits  elevated  and  their  appetite  increased  for  the  time,  they 
fancy  that  they  have  foimd  an  antidote  to  their  real  and  imaginary  complaints,  and  many, 
very  many  are  beguiled  to  their  destruction  by  this  deceptive  and  dangerous  expedient  Be 
very  careful,  then,  how  you  take  liquors,  especially  ardent  spirits,  whether  simple  or  mixed 
with  bitters,  under  such  circumstances.  Many  a  medical  man  has  cause  to  regret  the  number 
)f  drunkards  he  has  himself  made  by  recommending  ardent  spirits  to  females  when  labouring 
inder  impaired  digestion  and  despondency ;  and  if  the  physician  is  often  deceived  by  the  na- 
ure  of  ardent  spirits,  be  always  on  your  guard  against  temptation,  for,  in  such  circumstances, 
'ou  are  in  great  danger  of  falling  into  a  very  pernicious  and  disgusting  vice.  Avoid  those 
'auses  which  have  brought  on  your  dejection,  seek  mental  occupation  and  bodily  exercise, 
nd  endeavour  to  be  usefully  and  profitably  employed,  and,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  you  will 
ind  all  your  complaints  vanish,  and  your  appetites  will  become  satisfied  with  plain  and  nutri- 
ive  food. 

Another  point  I  would  impress  upon  you  is  the  danger  arising  from  the  practice  of  giving 
in  to  your  children  to  relieve  pain  in  the  bowels,  destroy  worms,  &c.  The  mind  is  very 
lastic  in  early  life,  and  a  habit  soon  contracted ;  and  we  little  know,  frequently,  how  appa- 
Jntly  trivial  causes  have  produced  lasting  and  demoralizing  effects.  Beware,  therefore,  of 
living  so  dangerous  and  deleterious  a  liquor  to  children  ;  and,  if  you  will  be  your  own  phj'si- 
ans,  substitute  a  little  aniseed  tea  or  mint  water,  and  a  little  rhubarb  or  magnesia,  which 
ill  effect  your  object  much  more  effectually  than  the  remedy  you  at  present  employ.  Be 
tfeful,  also,  how  you  give  spirits  or  even  ale  to  your  domestics.  Those  who  have  servants 
lould  know  that  spirits  do  not  contribute  to  health  and  strength,  but  produce  the  worst  effects 
)th  moral  and  physical.  When  a  servant  is  fatigued,  let  her  have  a  little  tea  and  recruit  her 
rength  by  rest,  and  do  not  spur  her  on  beyond  her  natural  powers  by  unnatural  means,  at 
e  same  time  that  you  create  a  dangerous  habit  The  number  of  servants  who  owe  their  ruin 
the  mistaken  kindness  of  mistresses,  we  little  dream  of. 

VOL.    II.  2  I 


II 


254 

These  are  but  hints ;  but  as  they  are  presented  with  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  your  rJ 
welfare,  you  will,  I  trust,  give  them  a  candid  consideration.  I  address  you  by  all  those  tend 
ties  that  bind  and  endear  you  to  society,  by  the  names  and  feelings  of  mothers,  sisters,  childr^ 
friends :  and  if  my  appeal  find  a  single  response  in  a  single  breast,  I  shall  be  amply  repaid 

A  LOVER  OF  TEMPERANCE. 


INTERESTING  LETTER  FROM  DR.  DOYLE,  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  BISHOP  OF 

KILDARE    AND    LEIGHLIN,     TO    THE    SECRETARY    OF    THE    DUBLIN 

TEMPERANCE    SOCIETY,    ON    THE    EVILS     OF    INTEMPERANCE,    AND 

THE    MEANS   OF    ITS  SUPPRESSION. 

Carlow,  March  8th,  1830. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  am  ^eatly  indebted  to  the  committee  of  the  Dublin 
Temperance  Society,  for  the  very  beautiful  copy  of  pamphlets  published  for 
them,  which  you  have  h\d  the  goodness,  in  the  most  obliging  manner,  to 
convey  to  me.  Will  you  be  pleased  to  offer  for  me  to  the  respected  gen- 
tlemen forming  the  committee,  my  best  thanks ;  and  to  accept  for  yourself 
not  my  acknowledgements  only  of  the  many  marks  of  your  attention  whicl 
I  have  received,  but  what  you  seem  to  set  some  value  upon — the  expressioi 
of  my  full  and  entire  approval  of  the  good  work  you  are  promoting,  and  o: 
my  earnest  hope  that  it  may  proceed  and  prosper  to  the  utmost  extent  o 
your  desires. 

The  Society  may  calculate  on  my  zealous  co-operation  with  them,  ii 
seeking  to  check,  if  not  to  put  an  end  to  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spi 
rits ;  for  how  could  I,  or  any  clergyman  employed  in  sowing  the  gospe 
seed,  be  truly  solicitous  for  its  growth  and  increase,  unless  we  be  anxiou 
also  to  prepare  the  ground  wherein  it  is  sown  ?  To  us,  above  all  others,  i 
should  be  a  subject  of  gratulation  and  thanksgiving  to  find  numerous  bodie 
of  intelligent,  virtuous,  and  influential  men,  united  as  the  Temperance  So 
cieties  are,  in  a  league  of  brotherly  love  against  a  vice,  which  at  this  di 
is  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  propogation,  in  Ireland,  of  gospel  truth  a 
of  pure  and  undefiled  religion. 

Clergymen,  of  whatsoever  creed,  labour  to  enforce  the  divine  moral 
of  the  gospel  :  they  often  complain,  and  justly,  that  their  labours  in 
pulpit  are  not  seconded  abroad  by  heads  of  families — even  by  those  wh< 
own  lives  are  blameless — but  here  are  Societies,  whose  active  members  I 
cordially  united,  without  danger  of  jealousy  or  division,  in  seeking  to  st 
a  torrent  of  iniquity,  which,  like  the  mountain  flood,  is  gradually  coveri 
this  portion  of  the  Lord's  vineyard.  No  person  whose  attention  is  diredS 
to  public  morals  can  fail  to  see,  and  almost  touch,  the  evils  of  drunkenntS| 
Disease,  poverty,  crime,  and  even  death  in  its  most  ignominious  si 
grow  naturally  and  quickly  out  of  drunkenness  :  this  vice  enters  like 


e  oil  11 

1 


255 

to  the  bones  of  a  man,  and  is  transmitted  with  his  blood  as  an  inheritance 
of  woe  to  his  children ;  it  wastes  his  property,  enfeebles  his  mind,  breaks 
down  his  frame,  exposes  his  soul  to  almost  certain  perdition,  and  ruins  his 
posterity ; — how,  therefore,  can  any  clergyman,  who  labours  to  establish 
the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  fail  to  rejoice  when  he  sees 
good  men  of  all  classes  come  forward,  zealously  and  disinterestedly  to  assist 
him  in  turning  away  their  less  fortunate  brethren  from  the  most  absorbing 
vice — that  root  of  evil  in  Ireland — excessive  drinking  ?  I  call  it  the  root 
of  all  evil,  for  verily  I  don't  know  any  vice  that  has  not  its  origin  in  dmnk- 
enness,  or  does  not  receive  increase  from  it, 

I  am  not  competent  to  judge — I  do  not  stop  to  inquire — ^whether  the 
means  employed  by  the  Temperance  Societies  are  those  of  all  others  best 
calculated  to  promote  the  end  in  view  :  most  probably  they  are  the  very 
best  of  all  the  means  which  are  at  present  practicable ;  but  even  if  they 
were  not,  and  if  these  Societies  did  not  present  to  us,  as  a  proof  of  their 
efficacy,  a  great  portion  of  the  American  people,  and  not  a  few  of  our  own, 
reclaimed  from  drunkenness,  yet,  in  my  opinion,  they  deserve  on  their  own 
merits,  our  best  support,  for  your  rules  are  good ;  they  are  unmixed  with 
any  evil;  their  excellence  and  perfection  are  their  only  reputed  faults; 
, but  certainly,  we  who  beheve  that  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  taken  by 
•violence,  and  that  the  violent  bear  it  away,"  should  not  lightly  reject  a 
I  mode  of  reforming  public  morals,  whose  (mly  imputed  fault  is,  that  it  offers 
violence  to  passion  or  guilt,  or  propose  to  men  the  perfection  of  living  so- 
berly and  justly  in  this  world. 

But  even  if  your  rules  be  too  perfect  for  the  generality  of  men — of 
men  v?ho  are  not  conscious  of  any  fault  in  using  spirits  moderately  after 
I  meals  in  their  own  houses,  and  who  are  not  generous  enough  to  make  sa- 
crifices for  the  edification  or  reformation  of  their  weaker  brethren — yet  it  is 
good  to  present  to  those  men  also  examples  of  social  perfection — of  great 
self-denial — and  of  privations  freely  borne  for  the  good  of  others. 

Men  often  times  approve  of  what  they  have  not  courage  to  practise, 
and  applaud,  or  even  imitate  at  an  humble  distance,  that  excellence  to 
which  they  themselves  do  not  hope  to  arrive  ;  so,  many  persons  who  may 
not  become  members  of  your  Society  will  approve  and  applaud  your  rules — 
:will  even  observe  them  in  spirit,  and  promote  a  feeling  in  favour  of  them 
which  will  operate  slowly,  perhaps,  but  steadily,  in  support  of  the  good 
pause  of  temperance  and  sobriety.  Such  men  will  not  give  the  name  of 
enthusiasm  to  the  perfection  itself  of  virtue.  Indeed  the  Divine  Economy, 
imongst  the  means  of  reforming  men,  has  been  careful  always  to  set  before 
hem,  like  shining  lights,  individuals  of  the  most  heroic  virtue  ;  and  the  con- 
eraplation  of  the  sxrperior  excellence  of  such  highly  gifted  persons,  has  ever 
i)een  to  others  a  warning  against  evil,  and  an  incitement  to  good.  This 
consideration  tends  to  confirm  me  in  the  opinion  that  your  Society  has 


256 

acted  wisely  in  the  framing  and  adoption  of  its  rules,  and  that  Ae  imput- 
ed fault  of  their  too  great  rigour  or  perfection  is  a  mark  of  their  wisdom, 
and  a  presage  of  their  future  efficacy. 

What  you  want  is  publicity.  Few  persons  could  read  your  admirahle 
little  tracts  and  not  be  more  or  less  reformed ;  they  have  increased  and 
sharpened  even  my  habitual  horror  of  drunkenness.  Would  to  God,  that 
the  Press,  with  its  mighty  power,  could  be  engaged  to  give  to  your  publi- 
cations the  place  which  is  sometimes  allotted  in  its  pages  to  extracts  of  those 
light  and  frivolous  works,  which  are  impairing  the  character  and  vitiating 
the  literature  of  our  age.  The  introduction  of  many  of  your  pamphlets  in- 
to those  establishments  which  supply  books  to  country  schools  would  be 
another  easy  mode  of  propagating  widely  much  useful  knowledge,  free  from 
every  taint.  But  I  have  trespassed  exceedingly  upon  your  time,  and,  with 
great  respect,  have  the  honour  to  be. 

My  dear  Sir, 
Your  faithful  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

t  J.  DOYLE. 
To  Dr,  Harvey,  Secretary  to  the  Dublin  Temperance  Society. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM. 


II 


Of  all  the  phenomena  of  nature,  those  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  are  the  most  delightfu 
and  the  fullest  of  interest.  Without  productions  of  this  kind,  where  would  have  been  th 
beauty  or  the  usefulness  of  the  earth  ?  Its  rocks  might  have  sparkled  with  gems,  its  worn 
have  been  filled  with  silver  and  gold,  but  they  would  have  presented  only  unprofitable  splen 
dours,  and  this  globe  must  have  remained  for  ever  an  uninhabitable  desert:  but  that  gloriou 
exercise  of  creative  power  which  called  into  existence  all  trees  and  herbs  bearing  seed,  wher 
as  yet  there  were  neither  animals  nor  men,  thus  provided  for  the  wants  and  conveniences  ( 
both  through  a  long  succession  of  ages. 

This  ever  active  principle  of  vegetation  gives  the  short-lived  plant  and  the  fading  herb 
age  of  the  field  a  perpetuity  of  being,  and  endows  them  with  an  imperishable  existenc 
In  appearance  what  a  fragile  and  unprotected  object  is  a  blade  of  grass,  and  yet  to  the  kindre 
families  of  this  tribe,  diffused  over  the  greater  part  of  the  earth,  men  and  animals  are  indebi 
ed  for  an  important  part  of  their  sustenance.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  utmost  consequence  th: 
there  should  be  a  never-failing  supply  ;  and  although  we  see  vegetation  in  these  species  e> 
posed  to  a  multitude  of  assailants,  against  which  it  has  no  power  of  resistance,  it  has  not  tl 
strength  and  solidity  of  the  trees  of  the  forest,  nor  the  defe  -.sive  armour  which  protects  sc" 
of  the  smaller  shrubs,  it  is  trampled  upon  by  every  moving  creature  upon  the  face  Q^ 
earth,  it  is  scorched  by  the  sun,  it  is  shrivelled  and  withered  by  the  frost,  the  blade  dies 
nually,  and  the  roots  are  subject  to  decay,  yet  the  species  is  indistructible. 

In  the  regions  of  the  torrid  zone,  during  the  dry  season,  every  particle  of  grass  is  bn 
up,  and  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  broken  by  innumerable  cracks,  presenting  a  scene  of  < 


257 

solation ;  but  no  sooner  do  the  rains  begin  to  fall,  than  a  rapid  change  is  effected ;  vegetation, 
which  had  been  so  long  suspended  in  this  instance  for  a  want  of  moisture,  begins  to  act  again 
with  astonishing  force,  and  the  plains  are  almost  instantaneously  covered  with  fresh  and 
luxuriant  herbage. 

In  those  climates  approaching  to  the  pole,  during  a  great  part  of  the  year  there  is  no 
vestige  of  its  existence,  it  is  apparently  destroyed  and  covered  beneath  snow  and  ice,  while 
the  earth  is  shrouded  for  a  part  of  that  time  by  the  darkness  of  constant  night ;  but  as  soon 
as  the  returning  sun  has  dissolved  the  snows,  the  dormant  principle  of  vegetation  resumes  its 
vigour,  and  in  a  few  days  the  dreary  wilderness  becomes  a  green  and  flowery  land,  presenting 
to  the  mind  a  more  forcible  idea  of  a  new  and  instantaneous  creation  than  that  gradual 
change  which  takes  place  in  temperate  regions.  Travellers  have  remarked  that  it  is  impos- 
sible even  for  those  who  have  looked  with  indifference  on  the  most  beautiful  spots  of  their 
own  favoured  clime,  to  regard  with  insensibility  this  sudden  reanimation  of  the  vegetable 
:  world,  this  vigorous  and  simultaneous  revival  of  all  the  powers  of  natural  life,  beauty,  and 
fertility,  rising  up  rejoicing  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  which  had  so  long  been  a  sepulchre. 

In  those  regions  it  must  be  interesting  to  the  contemplative  mind  to  watch  the  progress 
of  vegetable  life  advancing  with  a  speed  proportioned  to  its  long  inactivity,  impelled  by  an 
unseen  power  to  accomplish  the  ends  for  which  it  was  called  into  action,  to  promote  the  well 
being  of  innumerable  animated  creatures  depending  upon  its  prosperity,  and  to  attain  matu- 
rity necessary  for  tbe  formation  and  ripening  of  the  seeds,  those  invaluable  deposits,  the  wealth 
of  every  succeeding  year. 

Let  any  one  count  the  number  of  grains  produced  by  one  stalk  of  corn,  or  the  seeds 

which  crown  one  slender  pile  of  grass,  and  calculate  how  many  of  those  are  contained  in  one 

square  yard  of  ground,  and  consider  them,   as  what  in  reality  they  are,  the  greatest  treasures 

of  the  earth,  and  he  can  scarcely  avoid  feeling  what  a  benefit  has  been  conferred  upon  man 

by  this  single  production,  which  is  only  one  amongst  a  thousand  instances  of  creative  wisdom 

manifested  in  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

A  FRIEND  OF  YOUTH. 


INFANT  SLAVERY  IN  ENGLAND. 


TO     THE     EDITOR     OF     THE     MORAL     REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir, — Whilst  upon  a  journey  some  time  ago  I  requested  a  friend  of  mine  to  ac- 
company me  to  one  of  the  silk  manufactories  in  Macclesfield,  to  purchase  a  few  articles  in 
that  line  for  my  own  family  use.  We  ascended  the  stairs  to  speak  to  the  manager;  the  door 
was  locked ;  we  knocked ;  it  was  not  opened,  but  a  sliding  board,  that  covered  a  hole  in  the 
door  about  one  foot  square,  was  removed,  and  whilst  my  friend  was  conversing  with  him,  I  ob- 
served what  was  going  on  in  the  factory.  There  appeared  to  be  from  30  to  40  children,  from 
8  to  14  years  of  age,  employed  in  attending  to  the  silk  spinning  machinery :  two  women  were 
in  attendance,  who  went  from  one  child  to  another ;  and  a  man  was  pacing  up  and  down  the 
room,  with  a  stick  in  his  hand  from  8  to  9  feet  long.  On  coming  away  I  observed  to  my 
companion,  this  looks  very  like  the  description  we  have  of  negro  slavery;  surely  this  is  only 
a  solitary  instance  of  such  treatment  of  children.     By  no  means,  was  his  reply ;  this  is  the 


358 

general  system  in  the  manufactories'  in  Macclesfield.  The  man  you  saw  with  the  long  stick 
is  the  negro  driver ;  his  office  is  the  same  as  in  the  West  Indies ;  the  two  women  are  appoint- 
ed to  superintend  the  children,  to  instruct  them  in  tying  threads,  and  to  keep  them  to  their 
work :  there  are  places  within  the  building  for  them  to  do  all  that  is  necessary,  and  they  are 
not  permitted  to  leave  it  from  one  meal  till  the  next.  The  thought  struck  me  forcibly  at  the 
time,  and  is  always  recurring,  why  are  we  so  anxious  about  the  extinction  of  slavery  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  whilst  in  many  respects  a  more  horrible  slavery,  and  to  a  great  extent, 
exists  at  our  own  doors  ?  Whilst  we  are  blaming  the  West  India  planters,  let  us  not  forget  who 
said,  "  Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see 
clearly  to  pull  out  the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye."  The  number  of  little  children 
imprisoned  in  our  manufactories  is  probably  nearly  as  great  as  the  number  of  our  colonial 
slaves,  and  they  are  confined  more  hours,  and  in  much  more  unhealthy  situations.  They  are 
worse  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged,  and  less  care  taken  of  them  in  sickness.  Employed  in  a  most 
unedifying  manner,  tying  threads  12,  14,  or  16  hours  per  day,  in  a  hot,  pestiferous,  enervating 
atmosphere,  without  instruction,  and  associated  with  none  but  those  who  are  as  ignorant  and 
vicious  as  themselves ;  they  have  no  better  opportunities,  generally  speaking,  six  days  in 
the  week,  for  intellectual  and  moral  improvement  than  the  African,  and  what  humane  person 
could  wish  to  curtail  their  liberty  on  a  Sunday  by  compelling  them  both  to  go  to  school  to  learn  a 
mere  smattering  of  reading,  and  go  to  church  to  listen  to  services  they  cannot  understand? 
They  have  less  personal  liberty,  and  male  and  female  are  equally  exposed  to  the  displeasure  of 
the  slave  driver.  The  low  wages  and  consequent  poverty  of  their  parents,  rendering  it  neces- 
sary these  children  should  thus  labour,  deprives  them  of  the  means  as  effectually  as  it  does  the 
slaves  in  the  West  of  affording  their  offspring  protection  from  this  petty  tyranny.  The  pre- 
sent slaves  or  their  ancestors,  perchance,  may  have  been  engaged  in  war  with  other  tribes  of 
their  countrymen,  for  the  purpose  of  selling  their  captives  to  the  slave  merhant,  till  at  length 
they  shared  the  same  fate  themselves ;  but  these  little  innocents  have  done  nothing  amiss. 
The  West  Indian  slaves,  if  united,  have  it  in  their  power  at  any  time  to  rise  and  overwhelm 
their  opressors  by  physical  force ;  but  these,  like  lambs  before  their  shearers,  are  dumb,  cannot, 
dare  not,  open  their  mouths.  Slavery  in  the  West  Indies,  it  is  said,  goes  on  from  generation  to 
generation  without  hope  ;  and  the  slavery  of  these  children  is  equally  hopeless ;  parents, 
children,  and  children's  children  have  nothing  to  expect  but  perpetual  imprisonment  in  these 
dens  of  disease,  till  premature  death  puts  an  end  at  once  to  their  wants  and  sufferings. 

I  have  simply  stated  facts,  and  I  leave  your  readers  to  judge  whether  the  comparisons  be 
just,  and  will  conclude  this  part  of  my  subject  with  observing,  that  whilst  we  use  every  exej 
tion  for  the  annihilation  of  slavery  abroad,  every  principle  of  justice,  every  feeling  of  human 
ty,  compassion,  and  patriotism,  and  above  all  every  law  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  calls  uponj 
imperatively  to  demand  the  utter  extinction  of  this  worse  than  Egyptian  or  even  West  Indij 
bondage  at  home.  The  denunciation  is  now  sounding  in  our  ears,  "  Depart  ye  cursed,  for  i 
asmuch  as  ye  have  not  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  not  done  it  unto  me.'J 

Methinks  I  hear  you  say,  it  is  right  that  this  cruel  system  should  have  an  end ;  but  w^ 
would  you  do  with  these  children  ?  Would  you  turn  them  into  the  streets,  and  train  them  upi 
idleness  and  crime  till  they  come  to  the  gallows,  whilst  in  the  mean  time  their  parents  an3 
themselves,  for  want  of  their  wages  either  burthen  the  parish  or  starve  ?  I  answer,  by  no 
means.  Let  a  national  system  of  education  be  adopted,  based  upon  the  most  enlightened  andl 
beral  principles,  free  from  sectarianism  and  party  spirit:  in  the  national  schools  let  every  powfl 
of  the  body,  and  every  faculty  of  the  mind,  of  every  individual  of  the  rising  generation,  be  culU 


259 

rated  and  improved  to  the  highest  degree  of  which  it  is  capable ;  let  every  kind  of  useful 
snowledge  be  freely  imparted,  and  every  useful  art  taught.  As  soon  as  this  truly  national 
ystem  of  education  is  established,  let  a  law  be  passed,  piohibiting,  with  severe  penalties,  the 
■emoval  of  one  of  these  children  from  the  schools,  to  work  in  any  manufactory  or  workshop 
ill  its  education  be  completed,  say  the  age  of  16  years.  In  the  first  place,  let  there  be  infant 
xhools  for  the  children  of  the  whole  population ;  at  eight  or  nine  years  of  age  let  them  be 
Irafted  into  schools  for  the  instruction  of  youth  ;  to  this  second  class  of  schools  let  suflScient 
ilots  of  land  belong,  to  grow  food  by  spade  cultivation,  for  the  support  of  all  the  children; 
et  the  youths  be  taught  to  cultivate  this  land,  and  instructed  to  make  their  own  garments 
ind  build  their  own  dwellings,  whilst  at  the  same  time  their  mental  improvement  is  still  car- 
•ied  on  ;  these  children  in  a  few  years  would  support  themselves  without  being  any  burthen 
ipon  society,  whilst  if  all  the  children  were  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged  at  these  institutions,  the 
iurthen  of  their  support  would  be  removed  from  their  parents,  and  the  children  being  taken 
rom  the  factories,  would  cause  abundant  employment  and  proper  wages  for  all  the  adult  popu- 
lation of  the  empire  ;  pauperism,  poverty,  and  crime  would  vanish,  hospitals,  penetentiaries, 
workhouses,  charity  schools,  and  a  thousand  other  inefficient,  however  well  meant  monuments 
Df  our  ignorance,  would  become  useless ;  and  knowledge  and  liberty,  peace  and  plenty,  would 
make  Great  Britain  in  reality  the  envy  of  surrounding  nations  and  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

I  am.  Sir, 

Your  obliged  and  humble  Servant. 

Liverpool,  June  11th,  1832.  A  LOVER  OF  LIBERTY. 


THE  BAD  EFFECTS  OF  SPIRITS  AND  MALT  LIQUOR. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF    THE    MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — Temperance  in  all  things  connected  with  the  transitory  life  of  man  is  essential  to 
'his  well  being;  in  his  eating  and  drinking,  and  his  various  pursuits.  And  if  your  Moral  Re- 
former, aided  by  your  personal  example,  would  induce  every  one  to  take  up  the  same  resolu- 
tion as  yourself,  and  abstain  altogether  from  ardent  spirits  and  malt  liquor,  the  use  of  Tem- 
■perance  Societies  would  be  superseded,  and  a  general  and  beneficial  reformation  established 
at  once,  diflfusing  tranquillity,  vigour,  health,  and  domestic  happiness.  I  am  convinced,  from 
experience,  that  ardent  spirits  and  malt  liquor  are  both  of  them  injurious  to  the  health  of 
man,  and  quite  unnecessary  to  enable  a  working  man  to  perform  his  daily  labour.  Brought 
up  in  the  heart  of  Yorkshire,  to  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  where  the  three  Ridings  cen- 
tre, and  being  accustomed  to  farmers'  labour  from  infancy,  when  approaching  manhood  I 
began  to  take  a  full  share  in  the  toils  of  the  hay  and  corn  harvest,  and  was  then  permitted 
to  take  a  man's  allowance  of  ale  each  day,  which  was  merely  one  pint  in  the  afternoon.  I 
have  frequently  exchanged  my  pint  for  a  basin  of  milk,  and  always  found  myself  better  with- 
out ale,  for,  after  the  labour  of  the  day  was  over,  I  felt  myself  heavy,  dull,  and  lifeless,  when 
il  had  taken  ale,  and  when  without,  however  fatigued  in  body,  my  faculties  always  maintained 
their  natural  clearness  and  usual  composure.  Ale  over  labour  creates  an  unnatural  stimulus 
during  its  operative  power,  and  when  that  power  is  exhausted,  the  organs  operated  upon  be- 


^60 


I 


come  depressed  and  disordered,  in  proportion  to  the  previous  stimulation.     When  the  or| 
of  the  body  are  so  unnaturally  wrought  upon,  the  effect  must  be  injurious,  whatever  may  l 
the  cause.     Malt  liquor  will  not  allay  thirst,  it  will  rather  create  it,  for  the  more  a  perso 
receives  the  more  his  thirst  is  excited,  until  nature  is  exhausted,  and  he  becomes  stupid  an 
powerless.     During  the  period  of  my  laborious  life  in  the  field,  I  always  found  a  crust  ( 
brown  bread  the  easiest  and  surest  means  both  of  preventing  and  allaying  thirst,  for  by  mas 
ticating  the  bread  the  mouth  was  kept  moist  and  the  system  received  nourishment  in  a  natu 
ral  and  easy  way.     At  the  age  of  twenty-three  I  left  my  native  neighbourhood  and  cam 
to  Horwich,  in  this  county,  which  place  became  my  residence  for  some  time.     The  hali  s  c 
the  people  were  new  and  strange  to  me ;  from  a  people  habituated  to  a  regular  routine  of  dai 
ly  labour  during  the  day,  and  quiet  rest  at  night,  to  a  people  whose  prevailing  dispositio 
was  to  riot  in  the  day  and  revel  in  the  night.     I  had  then  never  seen  or  tasted  British  spirits 
and  when  offered  to  me,  I  condemned  it  as  the  most  offensive  liquor  ever  presented  to  humai 
taste,  and  yet  I  had  specimens  of  its  maddening  effects  exhibited  hourly  before  me.    During  -.' 
summer's  residence  at  this  place,  in  hay-time,  I  have  known  men  take  eight  or  ten  pints  of  al!  1 
a  day,  which  they  considered  altogether  necessary,  conceiving  that  they  could  not  possibly  gii  I 
through  their  work  without  it,  when  at  the  same  time  their  brains  were  excited  to  phrensy' 
and  their  whole  frame  to  a  high  state  of  fever.     All  that  I  could  say  to  them  was  unavailing 
they  considered  me  as  an  enemy  to  their  allowance,  and  treated  me  with  distant  disdain. 

And  now,  Sir,  having  been  what  I  call  from  home  more  than  thirty  years,  and  during 
that  period  having  experienced  twelve  transitions  from  and  to  sedentary  and  active  situation 
in  life,  in  various  counties,  my  frame  has  felt  the  effects  of  such  various  transpositions.     Th( 
use  of  ardent  spirits  and  malt  liquor  to  which  I  in  a  measure  became  addicted,  brought  or! 
surfeit  and  scurvy,  which  finally  settled  in  my  legs  withinflammation,  a  cure  for  which  became^i 
a  matter  of  serious  consideration,  and  I  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  abstain  from  all  kindiM 
of  spirits  and  malt  liquor,  because  after  having  taken  a  small  quantity  of  either  I  always  foundi  • 
the  inflammation  increased  and  a  cure  retarded ;  but  by  a  cessation  from  them  I  found  conge- 
nial applications  effectual,  and  by  refraining  from  them  altogether  I   am  restored  to  cleai, 
soundness,  and  therefore  I  am  convinced  from  personal  experience  that  ardent  spirits  and  mall 
liquor,  both  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  life,  are  very  sensibly  injurious  both  to  the  health  and  com- 
fort of  man  ;  that  they  are  not  necessary  to  enable  a  man  to  perform  labour;  that  substantial 
food,  with  pure  water,  is  the  best  calculated  to  invigorate  the  natural  frame  and  preserve  tran- 
quillity of  mind,  and  soundness  of  intellect  and  body. 

I  have  been  led  to  make  these  remarks  from  the  ;  erusal  of  a  well-written  communication 

inserted  in  your  last  month's  Reformer,  page  160,  signed  "  Juvenis."  If  this  piece  of  Juvenis' 

was  seriously  perused  and  well  digested  by  drunkards,  I  am  sure  they  could  not  help  being 

convinced  of  the  folly  and  madness  of  their  conduct ;  and  if  Temperance  Societies  are  of  any 

utility,  I  think  the  said  piece  well  calculated,  if  pathetically  inculcated  by  their  members,  to 

impress  the  mind  with  reflection  and  consideration ;  and  when  attention  is  excited  it  begets 

intention,  and  good  intentions  beget  good  resolutions,  and  good  resolutions  overcome  impi 

ing  difficulties. 

I  am,  yours  respectfully, 

Chorley,  June,  20th,  1832.  J    EDEN. 


/  Livesey,  Printer ,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  9.  SEPTEMBER  1,  1832.  Vol.  IT. 

THE  MORALITY  OF  ELECTIONS. 

Wishful  for  the  progress  and  perfection  of  the  best  principles  of  mo- 
rality, I  cannot  but  regret  the  deteriorating  influence  of  general  elections. 
Like  a  mirror,   they  reflect  to  every  observer  the  true  character  of  our 
countrymen,  and  give  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the  inefficiency  and  in- 
adaptation  of  the  means  usually  employed  to  instruct  and  correct  the  people. 
What  scenes  have  I  witnessed  on  these  occasions  !  exhibited  in  a  Christian 
country,  and  before  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  called  Christian  teachers  !  yea, 
and  even  sanctioned  and  encouraged  by  the  wealthy  and  educated  parts  of 
the  community !      Bitterness  and  malice  mark  the  conversation  of  the  op- 
posing parties,  with  a  disposition  to  coerce  each  other,  and  to  practice  every 
■species  of  revenge.     Brawling,  and  swearing,  and  revelling,  and  rioting 
ire  the  life  of  elections,  and,  indeed,  so  infatuated  are  some  persons,  as 
almost  to  imagine  that  moral  and  religious  obligations  are  suspended,  and 
:hat  the  law  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  dead  letter.     Tlie  worst  passions  of  the 
auman  mind  are  aroused  to  accomplish  an  object,  and  men  descend  to 
ieeds  which  disgrace  the  name  of  any  honest  man.     Gluttony  and  drunk- 
mness  are  the  usual  auxiliaries  ;  by  these,  the  little  reason  that  may  remain 
s  dethroned,  in  order  to  make  men  capable  of  deeds  of  infamy.      Drink- 
ng,  revelling,  and  carousing  are  carried  on  to  a  dreadful  extent,   and  no 
nan  who  recollects  the  system  of  "  open  houses,"   can  reflect  upon  it  but 
i^th  horror.     Oh  !  what  will  those  candidates  and  their  committees  have 
;o  answer  for,  who  succeeded  in  their  election  by  deluging  the  people  with 
Irink  !     Are  such  ever  likelv  to  benefit  their  country  ?      In  the  midst   of 
>rofuse  waste,  these  occasions  are  the  most  impoverishing  to  the  working 
;lass.      Tempted  by  the  general  excitement,  the  poor  leave  their  emi;loy- 
neivt,  and  sacrifice  their  time,  while  the  tradespeople,  in  many  instances, 
leglecting  their  domestic  and  commercial  engagements,  spend  their  time  in 
electioneering,  whatever  be  the  consequence.   Convinced,  as  I  am,  that  there 

VOL.  II.  2  K 


262 


4 


never  can  be  a  real  national  reform,  without  a  j^ersowa/ reform,  I  am  distressed 
to  perceive  that  the  first  alleged  important  step  to  the  former  (the  election 
of  representatives)  is  actually  made  the  means  of  preventing  the  latter. 

The  free  and  frequent  choice  of  our  representatives  accords  with  the 
constitution,  and  with  right ;  and  in  these  days  of  general  corruption,  were 
this  right  well  used,  and  not  abused,  the  good  effects  would  soon  be  felt  by 
society  at  large.  No  reasoning,  however,  is  necessary  to  prove,  that,  in-  . 
stead  of  viewing  the  occasion  as  a  season  for  exercising  our  calm,  unbiai^  m 
adjudgments,  and  giving  our  suffrages  simply  for  the  ulterior  object  of 
our  country's  good,  men  are  actuated  by  the  basest  motives,  practise  op- 
pression in  open  day,  and  are  ready  to  sacrifice  honour,  consistency,  con- 
science, and  patriotism  at  the  shrine  of  selfishness.  In  disposition,  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  there  is  no  difference  betwixt  the  rich  and 
poor ;  loyalty,  good  government,  reform  and  retrenchment,  and  national 
happiness,  are  words  easily  pronounced  ;  but  present  a  bribe,  in  the  shape 
of  custom,  orders,  prospects  of  orders,  or  plenty  of  meat  and  drink,  and  how 
few  there  are  who  are  not  eager  to  swallow  it  I*  Many  working  men,  fear- 
ing the  loss  of  their  employment,  vote  as  their  masters  direct,  whilst  shop- 
keepers and  tradesmen,  with  a  sycophancy  of  manner,  of  which  the  work- 
ing people  are  incapable,  are  eager  to  shew  their  partizanship  towards  the 
man  who  has  favours  to  confer.  With  many  it  is  purely  an  arithmetical 
decision  ;  the  probable  amount  of  custom  decides  the  choice.       "  Why, 

your  friend  has  promised  Mr.  his  vote "  said  I,  to  a  neighbour, 

"  although  his  best  wishes  are  for  his  opponent."  "Yes,"  he  replied, 
"for  the  best  of  all  reasons."  "  What  reason  is  that  ?"  "  His  own 
terest,  to  be  sure  !"  Can  we  wonder  at  corruption  among  the  elected,  wl 
the  electors  are  base  enough  to  barter  their  right  for  a  mess  of  pottag 
While  the  market  is  furnished  with  wares  of  this  description,  purchasers 
with  the  material  are  sure  to  appear.  And  the  man  who  sells  his  own  right 
for  interest,  ought  not  to  complain  if  his  representative,  in  return,  make 
self  interest  the  measurement  of  every  vote  that  he  gives.  Depend  upon 
it,  this  is  often  determined  beforehand.  What  could  induce  a  gentleman 
of  rank,  whose  habits  are  so  far  removed  from  intercommunity  with  the 
working  classes,  to  visit  every  hovel,  every  cellar,  every  workshop,  and  to 
beg  for  their  support,  if  we  quit  him  of  this  motive  ?      Do  we  find  gentl 

*  On  a  canvass  at  a  certain  workshop  in  this  town,  one  of  the  workmen,  being  as! 
several  times  by  the  candidate  for  the  promise  of  his  vote,  after  a  significant  silence, 
"  I  am  so  dry,  I  cannot  speak! " 


lied, 

:| 


263 

men,  generally,  ready  to  come  forward  to  labour  arduously,  night  after 
night,  for  the  good  of  others  ?  and  can  we  suppose  that  disinterestedness 
begins  when  a  man  becomes  a  candidate  for  parliament  ?  Even  in  con- 
tested elections,  sincerity  will  often  be  respected,  but  individuals  who  are  on 
one  side,  at  another  side,  and  at  any  side  where  interest  prompts,  deserve 
to  be  detested  by  all. 

Poverty,  sheer  poverty,  induces  some  men  to  submit  to  the  dictation 
of  others,  and  for  them  some  little  excuse  may  be  made;  but  none  for  those 
who  wantonly  invade  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  compel  others  to  sur- 
render their  judgments  at  their  feet.  I  equally  disapprove  of  the  intimi- 
dations expressed,  and  too  often  practised,  by  the  working  men  towards 
shopkeepers  and  others,  and  of  the  spinning  master,  the  manufacturer, 
:or  the  builder,  yoking  his  men  to  his  opinion  as  to  the  fitness  of  a  candi- 
;date.  A  master  has  no  more  right  to  demand  the  votes  of  his  workmen, 
•or  to  tamper  with  them,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  violate  their  feelings, 
than  he  has  to  insist  upon  them  believing  his  creed,  or  attending  his 
place  of  worship.  A  mutual  agreement  to  do  certain  work  for  certain 
(Wages,  can  give  no  master  even  a  pretext  for  claiming  the  votes  of  his 
men.  None  but  little  tyrants  or  despots  v/ould  dare  to  attempt  it.  As  soon 
almost  should  I  forgive  the  violation  of  my  bed,  as  the  violation  of  my  con- 
science in  reference  to  the  liberty  of  voting  as  I  please.  And  that  I  may 
;not  be  misunderstood,  I  beg  to  repeat  it,  that  the  men  that  would  intimi- 
idate  their  masters,  their  workfellows,  the  shopkeepers,  or  others,  are  just 
las  guiltv  of  encroaching  upon  common  rights,  as  the  masters  to  whom  I 
have  referred.  Let  every  man  be  free  to  choose,  and  free  to  act,  and  let 
no  man,  in  any  form,  influence  another,  no,  not  his  nearest  relative,  to 
vote  contrary  to  his  own  conviction. 

Tyranny  and  bribery  are  twins.  Though  many  assume  a  right 
;to  claim  the  votes  of  others,  yet  they  blindly  offer  what  they  consi- 
ider  an  equivalent.  "If  you  vote  for  us,  we  wiU  continue  your  em- 
jployment ;  if  not,  we  shall  despense  with  your  services,"  is  their  under- 
istood  language  ;  whilst  various  means  are  used  by  candidates  and  their 
friends  to  bring  over  butchers,  bakers,  drapers,  and  various  craftsmen  by 
jintimations  of  "  custom."  In  some  of  the  new  boroughs,  briber}'-  and  cor- 
jruption  are  already  hard  at  work ;  at  Blackburn,  barrels  of  ale  aid  dozens 
;of  wine  have  been  freely  dispensed  to  clear  the  road  of  new  candidates. 
The  party  which  has  so  long  profited  by  the  abuses  of  elections,  and  which 
[was  so  determinately  opposed  to  reform,  seems  anxious,  at  any  expense, 
{and  by  any  means,  to  retain  a  little  of  its  lost  power.    It  is  next  to  useless 


264 

to  make  laws  against  bribery  and  corruption  at  elections  ;  and  to  enforce 
the  bribery  oath  upon  the  voters  is  only  to  increase  the  profanity  of  the 
time,  for  in  the  midst  of  excitement  and  opposition  persons  are  almost 
ready  to  swear  any  thing.  Unless  men  can  be  tied  by  principle  and  con- 
science, and  taught  to  perform  so  important  a  duty  as  electing  their  legis- 
lators with  honesty  and  sobriety,  all  restrictive  laws  are  comparatively 
useless.  I  regret  to  say  that  many  professors  of  religion  seem  totally  to 
disregard  the  rights  of  man  on  these  occasions,  and  not  only  are  bribed 
themselves  through  prospects  of  profit,  but  take  the  most  unjustifiable 
freedom  in  controling  their  men. 

There  is  something,  in  my  opinion,  very  inconsistent  in  the  practice 
of  canvassing.  The  very  presence  of  individuals  is  calculated,  and,  no 
doubt,  intended,  to  intimidate,  or  to  bribe  the  voters.  And  really  for  a 
person  who  professes  to  be  the  servant  of  the  people,  and  to  give  up  his 
time  entirely  to  their  interest,  to  go  round  from  door  to  door  to  heg  for 
promises  of  votes,  and  in  addition  even  to  this,  to  spend  thousands  of 
pounds  in  treating  the  electors,  are  circumstances  so  contrary  to  the  na- 
ture of  things,  as  to  call  forth  every  man's  suspicion  and  disgust.  It  is 
the  electors  that  should  seek  the  candidates,  and  not  the  candidates  the 
electors.  A  lawyer  or  a  doctor,  even  in  the  way  of  trade,  dare  not  so 
much  as  print  an  advertisement,  to  invite  support,  but  an  M.  P.  has  the  au- 
dacity to  proclaim  himself  at  every  man's  door. 

Party  spirit,  at  elections,  generally  takes  the  place  of  the  spirit  of 
peace  and  patriotism ;  and  it  frequently  happens  that  individuals,  in  the 
spirit  of  party,  join  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  the  least  likely  to  advocate, 
and  act  upon,  the  principles  which  they  themselves  profess.  By  some  fa- 
tuity or  other,  the  electors  allow  personal  attachments  to  destroy  their 
previous  decisions  as  to  the  importance  of  principles  ;  and  in  their  scram- 
bles for  one  man  against  another  man,  a  great  number  never  think  of  ti 
interests  of  the  nation. 

Electors   of  my  country  !     Let  me  give  you   one  word  of  advic 
Useless  is  all  your  clamour  for  reform,  unless  you  reform  yourselves.     Ma 
of  those  who  are  getting  the  best  wages  are  in  the  worst  circumstanc 
and,  for  want   of  conduct,  are  the  most  wretched ;  so  that  if  by  polj 
tical  changes  trade  could  be  so  revived  that  every  weaver  would  earn 
pound  a  week,  unless  men  could  be  taught  to  be  sober,  and  to  live  like  '. 
tional  beings,  the  increase  to  many  would  be  an  increase  of  evil.      Lea 
then,  this  important  lesson,  to  cultivate  in  your  own  private  character, 
same  excellencies  and  virtues  which  you  look  for  in  the  house  of  your  represe 


J 


265 

tatives.  And  in  connection  with  this,  I  would  advise  that  you  apply  the 
same  scrutiny  to  eveiy  one  who  applies  for  your  suffrages.  Instead  of 
being  led  by  the  empty  professions  of  any  man,  insist  upon  the  connection 
of  truly  reforming  principles  and  excellency  of  private  character,  and  then 
you  have  the  best  assurances  which  human  confidence  can  require,  that 
you  will  not  be  betraved. 

J.  L. 


POLITICAL   NOTIONS. 

I  believe  that  there  is  in  every  civilized  countrv  a  disposition  to  sub- 
rait  to  all  just  and  reasonable  laws,  which  are  calculated  to  sweeten  social 
intercourse,  and  to  promote  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  the  subject. 
That  all  power,  by  right,  emanates  from  the  people,  and  that  the  exercise 
of  it  ought  not  to  depend  upon  their  poverty  or  their  wealth,  but  upon 
their  intelligence  and  virtue.  That  existing  forms  of  government  ought 
to  be  respected,  not  for  their  antiquity,  but  in  proportion  as  they  promote 
the  safety  of  the  nation,  and  diffuse  and  distribute  happiness  among  all 
classes.  That  changes  effected  by  physical  force  seldom  accomplish  any- 
permanent  good ;  but  if  they  are  the  result  of  the  inteUectuul  force  of  a 
great  majority,  they  are  sure  to  do  good,  with  little  danger  of  reaction. 
That  it  is  better  to  bear  with  partial  evils  than  to  create  greater  ones  ;  and 
to  move  with  the  events  of  time,  than  to  miscarry  through  precipitancy. 
I  believe  that  a  reforming  operation  is  equally  wanted  in  each  "estate"  of 
this  realm  ;  and  not  the  least  among  the  people  from  whom  their  power  is 
derived.  That  every  man  who  complains  of  corruptions  in  government, 
iind  seeks  to  remove  them,  to  be  consistent,  ought  first  to  reform  himself, 
•ind  govern,  in  all  his  concerns,  by  the  same  principles  which  he  is  anxious 
o  enforce  upon  others.  I  believe  that  those  who  have  for  a  long  time 
•uled  this  country  have  not  been  fairly  chosen  by  the  people,  and  that  the 
nterests  of  the  many  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  advantage  of  a  few.  That 
.  fhere  is  a  great  lack  of  public  spirit,  real  liberality,  and  genuine  patriotism, 
md  that  selfishness  and  avarice  have  been  the  accompaniments  of  power. 
That  the  exclusive  sanction  and  support,  by  the  state,  of  one  form  of  reli- 
gion, has  been  the  source  of  oppression,  profligacy,  hypocrisy,  and  irreli- 
ifion.  That  statesmen  are  not  fit  for  religion  makers,  but  ought  to  c«n- 
me  their  attention  to  civil  afftirs,  and  to  take  care  that  all  parties  are 
•^nlly  protected.  That  all  tithes  and  religious  imposts  ought  to  be  abolish- 
:   and  that  church  property,  by  the  direction  of  government,  ought  to  be 


I 


266 

applied  to  national  purposes.  That  the  magistracy  is  an  order  of  great 
importance,  but  at  present  most  inefficiently  supplied.  That  their  num- 
bers and  jurisdiction. should  be  adapted  to  the  state  of  the  population; 
that  age,  intelligence,  character,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  laws,  are  indis- 
pensable qualifications ;  and  that  the  public  should  have  a  control  over 
their  appointment.  That  the  administration  of  justice  should  be  cheap 
and  unfettered  ;  and  that  the  infliction  of  punishment  should  be  in  a  man- 
ner calculated  to  reform  the  delinquent,  and  to  create  a  detestation  of 
crime.  That  the  system  of  pauperism,  becoming  so  general,  both  in  refer- 
ence to  the  means  of  subsistence,  the  education  of  children,  and  the  pro- 
curing of  medical  assistance,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  country',  whose  resources 
are  amply  sufficient  to  maintain  the  independency  of  every  sober,  indus- 
trious, able-bodied  man.  That  the  first  duty  of  the  king  and  the  govern- 
ment is,  to  protect  and  to  provide  for  the  people,  and  to  see  that  they  are 
comfortable  and  happy.  That  the  morals,  not  less  than  the  health  and 
competency  of  the  people,  ought  to  be  provided  for ;  that  every  law  which 
continues  and  encourages  vice  ought  to  be  repealed ;  and  that  the  legisla- 
tors themselves  ought  to  be  examples  of  every  virtue. 


ORDER. 


n 


Order  is  that  great  principle  which  claims  an  authority  to  arrange 
in  its  proper  place  whatever  is  in  existence.  It  superintends  and  fixe^ 
itself  to  all  the  works  of  God.  It  is  heaven's  first  law,  and  equally  ope- 
rative in  every  part  of  the  earth, — in  the  sea  and  the  dry  land.  Day  anc 
night,  summer  and  winter,  seed  time  and  harvest,  owe  their  existence^ 
Divine  order.  Without  it,  intelligence  and  design  would  be  useless 
riety,  the  charm  of  nature,  claims  it  as  its  especial  guardian.  It  is 
that  secures  our  enjoj-ments,  for  whatever  the  world  may  supply^ 
not  served  up  by  this  agent,  the  best  gifts  would  be  useless.  It  is  in 
the  law  of  perpetuation,  for  without  it,  existence  and  extinction  would?] 
coeval.  If,  indeed,  we  can  conceive  of  existence  withoiit  ordei%  it 
be  chaotic  confusion.  Happiness,  in  social  life,  is  essentially  connec 
with  order,  and  let  this  be  but  partially  suspended,  and  we  shall  find 
beet  enjoyments  abridged. 

In  all  our  afiikirs  we  should  cultivate  order;  thinking,  speak<|H|| 
writing,  all  require  order,  without  which  any  of  these  exercises  wilwpl 
feeble  and  inefficient.      How  incoherent  are  some  men's  ideas,  how  coo] 


267 

fused  their  language,  and  how  feeble  their  productions,  for  want  of  a  mind 
well  accustomed  to  regularity  and  reflection  !  This  may  arise  from  con- 
stitutional defect ;  but  this  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not,  and  why  we 
cannot,  make  some  improvement  even  where  there  is  no  development  of 
this  important  organ. 

The  lowest  labourer  will  find  the  benefit  of  proceeding  in  his  work  by 
Ithe  best  system  of  order,  and  the  experience  of  our  artisans  will  tell 
Jthem  of  its  great  utility.  If  the  tradesman  and  merchant  were  not  to  act 
by  the  strictest  principles  of  arrangement,  it  would  be  impossible  to  get 
on ;  and  when  we  compare  the  best  system  of  keeping  accounts,  with 
.jhalking  on  the  cupboard  door,  we  see  at  once  the  benefit  of  order. 
See  what  immense  transactions,  and  the  operations  of  a  trade  spread- 
ing itself  over  nations  and  continents,  are  brought  within  the  com- 
pass of  a  few  books,  from  which,  by  systematic  entries,  every  fact  can 
136  ascertained.  How  interesting  it  is  to  visit  a  school  where  every  article 
s  in  its  place,  and  every  exercise  suited  to  its  time,  compared  to  that 
Ijvhich  presents  general  confusion, — where  the  dirt  is  swept  to  the  corner 
pf  the  room ;  hats,  caps,  and  bags  thrown  promiscuously  about ;  where 
oroken  slates  and  tattered  books  grace  the  desks,  and  where  caprice  or 
:hance  dictates  the  exercises  of  the  children  !  No  matter  how  much  time 
TC  have ;  no  matter  however  well  supplied  with  suitable  materials ;  with- 
mt  order,  we  are  destitute  of  a  principle  which  alone  can  disclose  their 
eal  value. 

But  it  is  domestic  order  to  which  I  desire  more  particularly  to  draw  the 
attention  of  my  readers.  Whatever  place  we  visit,  though  the  people  be 
j!ver  so  poor,  we  are  always  pleased  to  see  the  house  tidy  and  in  good  or- 
jler.  It  is  true,  that  where  we  find  poverty  and  large  families,  it  is  diffi- 
ult  to  attend  to  arrangement ;  the  minds  of  the  parents  become  depres- 
ed  with  their  burden,  and  instead  of  being  able  to  arrange  and  superin- 
tend with  an  active  spirit,  they  seem  borne  down  by  their  circumstances. 
|lie  houses,  too,  of  some  poor  people  are  so  small  and  inconvenient  that 
hey  have  little  chance  of  carrying  their  designs  of  order  into  efifect. 
,Vhen,  for  instance,  there  are  ten  persons,  eight  children  and  the  parents, 
living  in  a  small  house  measuring  about  three  and  a  half  yards  each  way, 
yith  a  single  sleeping  room  for  all  the  family,  we  cannot  expect  many  in- 
ications  of  order.  Even  these  I  would  not  be  understood  entirely  to  ex- 
lude  in  my  remarks  ;  but  it  is  to  others,  more  comfortably  circumstanced, 
jhat  I  more  particularly  ofier  my  advice. 

To  render  practicable  the  liints  I  here  purpose  to  give,  allow  me  to 


268 

say  to  the  heads  of  families,  that  unless  they  be  agreed  both  in  their  plans 
and  in  their  importance,  the  work  will  be  difficult  to  accomplish.  Every  mar- 
ried couple  should  consult  each  other's  views,  and  begin  to  act  by  rule; 
they  should  mutually  agree  upon  the  plan  best  suited  to  their  circum- 
stances, and  pledge  themselves  to  support  each  other  in  carrying  it  into 
effect.  If  there  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  let  each  concede  a  little,  until 
they  agree  upon  a  uniformity  of  system.  I  mention  this  particularly,  be- 
cause I  have  known  instances  where  domestic  order  has  been  the  constant 
study  of  one  party,  but  either  through  the  ignorance,  indifference,  or  op- 
position of  the  other,  all  attempts  to  accomplish  it  have  been  fruitless.  I 
scarcely  need  to  say,  that  industry,  cleanliness,  sobriety,  and  economy,  as 
well  as  unity,  are  indispensable  to  the  establishment  of  an  orderly  house. 
You  have,  no  doubt,  heard  of  the  two  great  maxims — "A  place  for 
every  thing,  and  every  thing  in  its  place" — "  A  time  for  every  thing,  and 
every  thing  in  its  time  :"  and  if  you  will  but  consider  these  as  the  two 
great  domestic  commandments,  on  which  must  hang  everv'  minor  arrange- 
ment, little  would  need  to  be  said  by  way  of  detail.  Every  thing  in  its 
place :  this  you  cannot  misunderstand.  But  you  must  first  Jix  the  place. 
Chance  or  accident  will  not  throw  every  requisite  into  the  best  situation, 
nor  will  you  be  able  to  do  so  yourselves  at  first ;  this  requires  not  only 
contrivance,  but  decision  and  perseverance.  Consider  the  design  and  use 
of  every  article  within  your  doors,  and  then  fix  its  place  where  it  is  most 
likely  to  contribute  to  that  use,  and  where,  in  addition,  it  is  likely  to  be 
ornamental,  or,  at  least,  not  offensive  to  any  beholder.  Persons  of  taste 
will  not  only  study  utility  but  decency  in  appearance,  and,  if  their  circum- 
stances will  admit  of  it,  even  beauty  in  their  arrangements.  It  is  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  suitability  of  places  to  things,  that  you  meet  with  the 
foot  scraper  at  the  step,  the  fender  on  the  hearth,  and  the  father's  chair 
'  at  the  fire  side.  But  places  are  not  always  so  well  adapted  to  thingi 
and  for  want  of  a  little  thought  and  a  regular  appointment,  some  artid 
get  fixed  in  the  most  inconvenient  spot,  and  others,  having  no  locali' 
are  "  here,  and  there,  and  every  where,"  while  those  which  are  seld^ 
used  are  found  under  the  drawers,  upon  the  shelf,  or  at  the  bottom  of 
cradle,  thrown  up  like  wreck  at  the  river's  bank.  The  chimney  pieces 
walls  are  often  set  out  in  the  worst  taste,  and  articles  the  most  incon 
ous  in  character  are  by  accident  paired  together.  Country  houses 
most  remarkable  for  this  :  here,  amongst  many  other  objects  which  exi 
attention,  you  generally  find  the  most  prominent  object  on  the  stairs  to 
the  chamber  convenience !     Nothing,  I  conceive,  is  more  annoying  than 


II 


269 

the  occupation  of  our  fire  side  cupboards  with  articles  which  are  wanted 
at  every  meal :  so  soon  as  the  man  is  comfortably  seated  from  his  work, 
he  is  sure  to  be  disturbed  with — "  I  want  so  and  so  out  of  the  cupboard." 
I  advise  you,  then,  to  make  at  least  an  imaginary  classification  of  all  the 
articles  you  possess,  and  tracing  their  design  and  the  time  they  are  likely 
to  be  used,  fix  their  places  accordingly ;  and  let  there  be  no  article,  no, 
not  even  pins,  without  an  assigned  place.  To  some  it  may  seem  trifling ; 
by  the  careless  and  dissipated  it  will  be  contemned ;  but  the  economist 
and  the  domestic  man  will  be  amply  repaid  by  a  minute  attention  to  or- 
der. Fix  a  suitable  place  for  your  provisions,  clothing,  shoes,  hats, 
medicines,  books,  play  things,  and  every  other  article  :  even  your  lumber, 
out  of  use,  ought  to  have  an  appointed  place. 

Having  succeeded  in  fixing  a  place  for  every  thing,  let  it  be  regu- 
larly enjoined  on  the  family  that  every  article  be  always  put  in  its  proper 
place.  In  this  respect,  it  is  quite  as  easy  to  do  right  as  wrong ;  and  con- 
sidering the  importance  of  it,  the  great  saving  of  time,  and  the  prevention 
of  disputes,  it  is  wonderful  that  this  part  of  domestic  economy  has  not 
been  oftener  enforced.  At  present  it  is  only  necessary  to  glance  into 
tnany  houses  to  leara  how  unconscious  both  parents  and  children  are  of 
the  utility  of  fixing  every  thing  in  its  place.  You  will  see  pots,  pans, 
ijonnets,  clogs,  rags,  bread,  &c.  thrown  promiscuously  together ;  and,  in 
?ome  cases,  where  gossipping  prevails,  the  utensils  and  fragments  of  the 
linner  table  undisposed  of  at  tea  time.  The  children,  unrestrained  by 
example,  throw  their  clothes  or  play  things  just  where  it  may  happen, 
tmd  when  they  are  wanted  again  disputes  and  brawling  go  through  the 
louse.  In  a  morning,  you  will  hear  one  cry,  "  Jem,  where's  my  clogs  ?" 
mother,  "  Dost '  know  ought  of  my  gallows  ?  I  can't  find  'em  any  where  " 
mother,  "  Somebody's  taken  my  whip :  I  left  it  i'  th'  kitchen."  If  the 
plothes  brush  or  shoe  horn  are  wanted,  perhaps  several  drawers  have  to 
)e  ransacked,  and  five  minutes  lost,  at  least,  besides  a  good  deal  of  angry 
;;rimination.  Some  of  the  boys'  books  or  slates  are  mislaid,  and  they  are 
knt  crying  to  school  without  them.  If  even  a  button  want  stitching  to  a 
')oy's  jacket,  several  minutes  are  lost  before  a  suitable  needle  and  thread 
•an  be  found.  Heavy  articles,  scarcely  ever  in  request,  are  placed  in 
llrawers  the  easiest  of  access,  while  others,  which  are  wanted  every  day, 
|ire  thrown  into  places  the  most  difficult  to  come  at.  Every  body  must 
ee  the  disadvantage  of  so  much  disorder.  If  you  go  to  a  grocer's  shop, 
whatever  article  you  want,  instead  of  inquiring  where  it  is,  they  can  go 

VOL.    II.  2  L 


270 

immediately  to  the  spot,  and  give  it  you :  the  same  arrangement,  the 
same  punctuality,  should  be  adopted  in  every  family. 

"There  is,"  also,  as  the  wise  man  says,  "a  time  for  every  thing;" 
and  it  is  proper  that  this  should  be  fixed  with  judgment,  and  adhered  to 
with  pertinacity.     In  many  respects  the  working  man  has  the  advantage, 
in  this  particular,  over  the  tradesman ;  the  hours  of  labour  of  the  one  are 
stated  and  fixed ;  the  engagements  of  the  other  are  irregular  and  unset- 
tled.    A  fixed  time  (giving  way,  of  course,  to  unavoidable  circvunstances) 
for  each  meal,  for  going  to  rest,  for  rising  in  the  morning,  for  sending 
the  children  to  school,  &c.  will  be  found  advantageous.     Instead  of  send- 
ing every  day,  and  at  various  hours  of  the  day,  to  the  shop,  and  frequently 
when  the  article  is  wanted,  how  much  better,  when  persons  have  the 
means,  to  fetch,  at  a  certain  time,  what  at  least  will  serve  for  a  week. 
Every  good  housewife  ought  to  enter  in  a  book  each  article,  and  the  cost, 
which  she  buys,  by  which  she  can  know,  at  any  time,  not  only  the  total 
expense  of  keeping  house,  but  the  difierent  items  of  expenditure ;  and  if,  at 
the  month  or  quarter  end,  the  article  of  "  meat,"  or  "  ale,"  or  any  other,. t 
seems  to  be  too  heavy,  she  can  begin  to  retrench.    Books,  with  the  names  n 
of  every  article  generelly  used  in  a  family,  with  columns  for  every  day  in  \ 
the' year,  may  be  had,  ready  printed,  of  any  of  the  booksellers,  for  about  j 
2s.  each.     Though  exceedingly  pinched  for  time  are  those  especially  whc  ? 
work  by  the  bell,  I  desire  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  every  father  and  ^ 
mother  the  great  importance  of  securing  a  little  time,  once  a  day  at  leastj  I 
for  family  instruction.     Surrounded  as  the  children  are  with  temptationsoj 
to  vice  and  examples  of  depravity,  there  are  no  means  in  existence  sc 
suitable  for  counteracting  them  as  the  standing  admonition  and  advice  ol 
generous  hearted  parents.    With  little  room  in  your  cottages,  and  perhaps 
less  time  on  your  hands,  I  know  the  difficulties  you  feel,  yet  I  think  the)  a 
are  surmountable  ;  and  as  it  is  sowing  the  seeds  both  of  your  own  happi'  < 
ness  and  theirs,  this  exercise  ranks  among  the  most  interesting  and  im- 1; 
portant  duties  of  your  life.     If  you  can  but  disengage  the  whole  of  yomi 
family  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  daily,  whether  it  be  in  the  morning,  a1  j 
noon,  or  night,  for  solid,  useful,  and  pious  instruction,  you  will  be  ben^ 
fited  yourselves,  and  be  the  means  of  leading  your  offspring  in  the  w^ 
of  virtue  and  peace.* 


*  In  the  teaching  of  children  in  families,  the  mode  of  instruction  which  I  would  ree^ 
mend  differs  from  that  usually  practised  under  the  name  of  "  fiimily  worship."     Instea 


271 

Order  in  a  gjeat  measure  depends  upon  the  appointment  of  suitable 
persons  for  every  piece  of  work.  To  prevent  disputes  and  disappointment, 
therefore,  let  every  person  in  the  family  know  his  place ;  and  if  you  have 
children  not  engaged  in  any  regular  employment,  by  all  means  set  them 
:o  do  jobs  in  the  house.  When  they  are  young,  they  are  fond  of  doing 
jomething,  and  if  this  disposition  be  suitably  encouraged,  it  may  soon  be 
brmed  into  a  habit  of  industry.  If  every  individual  has  a  particular  ap- 
jointment,  there  wiU  be  more  order  and  fewer  disputes. 

Relying  upon  your  good  sense,  nothing  more  need  to  be  added.     In 

hese  observations  there  may  be  nothing  advanced  but  what  you  knew  be- 

bre;  but  the  repetition  of  a  subject  sometimes  gives  it  importance,  and 

rttracts  the  attention  of  the  careless.     Order,  you  must  be  convinced,  is 

essential  to  happiness  and  every  real  enjoyment :   let  its  full  meaning, 

hen,  be  written,  not  upon  a  tablet  of  stone,  but  upon  eveiy  arrangement 

In  your  house,  your  shop,  or  your  business,  and  let  every  individual  of  the 

amily  record  it  in  his  conduct. 

J.  L. 


EASTER  DUES ! 
We  are  frequently  treated  in  the  newspapers  with  extracts  upon  the 
)ractices  of  witchcraft,  to  show  the  folly  and  superstition  of  our  forefa- 
hers ;  and,  as  a  treat  to  those  who  may  come  after  us,  I  will  record  the 
oU owing  most  astounding  instances  of  clerical  exactions.  The  shameful 
)arts  of  the  church  are  now  pretty  well  laid  open  to  public  view  ;  and  if 
he  clergy  will  but  continue,  like  our  worthy  Vicar,  to  act  in  character  a 
ittle  longer,  a  few  years  wiU  finish  up  the  concern.  His  tenacity  for 
'his  rights,"  whether  in  the  shape  of  rents,   Easter  offerings,  potatoe 

eading,  which,  I  fear,  seldom  engages  or  arrests  the  attention  of  children,  especially  when 
oung,  I  recommend  conversational  instruction.  Let  the  head  of  a  family  fix  upon  a  sub- 
3Ct  in  his  own  mind,  and  bring  it  on,  in  the  easiest  and  most  engaging  manner,  before  the 
ihildren.  And  if  I  may  be  allowed,  I  will  mention  the  following  subjects,  merely  as  speci- 
mens. Speaking  the  truth ;  danger  of  bad  example  ;  love  to  brothers  and  sisters ;  the 
jflodness  of  God ;  the  life  of  Christ ;  the  blessing  of  rain  ;  the  utility  of  thunder  storms ; 
t  lubordination  in  families ;  the  utility  of  play ;  the  execution  of  a  murderer ;  the  duty  of 
spentance  and  prayer ;  and,  particularly,  any  affecting  occurrences  which  afford  matter 
)r  illustrating  moral  and  religious  duties.  These  should  be  talked  about  in  a  manner 
I'aited  to  the  capacities  of  children,  and  mixed  with  every  indication  of  parental  kindness, 
{'his  should  be  connected  with  plain,  affecting,  but  short,  prayers  to  the  Almighty  for  his 
ilessing.     The  man  of  reflection  will  seldom  be  at  a  loss  for  a  subject. 


272 

tithe,  mortuary  dues,  surplice  fees,  church  yard  and  church  grass  per- 
quisites, &c.,  is  so  well  known,  that  few  who  know  him  will  he  surprised 
at  the  following  statement  of  "  extraordinary  exactions," 

Twenty  persons  were  summoned  sometime  ago  before  the  borough 
justices,  to  show  cause  of  non-payment  of  Laster  dues,  amounting  in  most 
cases  to  sixpence-halfpenny  each.  I  attended  to  my  summons,  and  stated 
my  objections  before  the  magistrates ;  they  confirmed  the  demand,  and  a 
notice  was  sent  by  order  of  two  magistrates,  for  the  amount,  and  10*. 
costs.  Some  time  after,  under  their  warrant,  the  constables  were  en- 
gaged to  levy  upon  the  efi^ects  of  the  parties  who  had  stiU  neglected  or 
refused  to  pay.  The  following  biU,  which  immediately  appeared,  will  ex- 
plain the  transaction,  and  show  the  spirit  of  opposition  which  was  raised : 

SILENT  AGITATION ! 

Inhabitants  of  Preston  ! — The  goods  and  chattels  of  your  townsmen  have  been 
seized  at  the  instigation  of  the  Vicar  for  Easter  dues  !  The  constables  have  been  employ- 
ed to  enter  the  peaceful  dwellings,  and  to  carry  away  the  furniture  and  property  of  your 
neighbours,  under  the  mask  of  religion  I  The  demand  for  Easter  dues  is  a  paltry,  con- 
temptible, unequal,  oppressive,  abominable  tax,  for  which  no  services  are  rendered,  and 
which  ought  never  to  have  been  paid.  This  is  the  expiring  grasp  of  the  wolves  in  the 
church !  From  the  following  persons,  who  never  trouble  the  Vicar,  nor  receive  any  ser- 
vices at  his  hands,  the  following  articles  have  been  taken: 

John  Fitchie,  Park-lane — Six  chairs,  one  round  table,  and  one  set  of  brass  fire  iron--  ■ 
for  a  demand  of  Gld.  by  the  worthy  Vicar. 

James  Walton,  Park-lane  Mill — One  mahogany  arm  chair,  hair  seating,  one  pembroke 
table,  one  mahogany  stand  table,  and  two  brass  candlesticks,  for  a  demand  of  6Sd.  by  the 
worthy  Vicar. 

Joseph  Pomfret,  Market-place — Fifty  yards  of  check,  which  cost  him  6Jd.  per  yard, 
for  a  demand  of  C^d.  by  the  worthy  Vicar. 

E.  Seddon,  Avenham-road — Two  fine  white  counterpanes,  one  fast  coloured,  and  two 
pairs  of  sheets,  for  a  demand  of  C^d.  by  the  worthy  Vicar. 

John  Pomfret,  King-street — Four  cheese,  weighing  501bs.  for  a  demand  of  6^d.  by 
the  worthy  Vicar. 

Joseph  Livesey,  Church-street — Two  cheese,  weighing  511b.  for  a  demand  of  G^d.  Ijj 
the  worthy  Vicar. 

Ralph  Dawson,  Friday-street — One  feather  bed,  one  linen  sheet,  and  two  chairs,  ft 
demand  of  G^d.  by  the  worthy  Vicar. 

These  will  be  sold  by  public  auction  in  a  few  days.     You  will  be  specially  informed 
of  the  time  and  place  of  sale.     All  who  are  friendly  to  religious  taxation  ;  all  who  wish 
Vicar  to  succeed  in  stripping  the  houses  of  the  poor ;  all  who  wish  one  sect  to  trample  U] 
every  other;   all  who  are  enemies  to  peace  and  pure  religion,  will  attend,  and  assisi 
keeping  silence  while  the  articles  are  offered  for  sale. 

The  best  way  to  defeat  ecclesiastical  tyranny  is,  not  to  bid  at  any  of  the  goods  se: 
for  sale. 


I 


273 

A  numerous  meeting  was  also  held  immediately,  in  wliicli  the  most 
letermined  spirit  of  opposition  was  manifested,  and  the  greatest  excite- 
nent  prevails  both  in  town  and  country,  in  expectation  of  the  sale.  Three 
veeks  have  now  elapsed,  without  any  notice  of  sale,  and  what  course  will 
)e  taken  to  dispose  of  the  goods  is  at  present  unknown. 

The  Vicar  gave  an  appropriate  designation  when  he  called  this  demand 
'  paltry  and  contemptible  ; "  but  paltry  though  it  be,  it  amounts,  if  collect- 
d,  to  no  small  sum.  The  items  in  the  two  charges,  "  A  man  and  his  wife 
f^d.,"  and  "  A  single  housekeeper  5d.,"  would  amount,  in  Preston  only,  to 
i.bout  £150;  and  then  there  are  "Boarders,  communicants,  widows,  widow- 
rs,  cow,  calf,  white,  plough,  half  plough,  bees,  foal,  wool,  lambs,  goose, 
aills,"  and  potatoes,  all  rated  at  different  small  sums.  And  it  must  also 
■e  remembered  that  there  are  eleven  other  townships  from  which  he  de- 
mands these  said  "paltry"  dues;  and  all  this  without  any  equivalent !  The 
xpences,  however,  are  not  so  "paltry,-"  we  have  often  heard  of  usurers, 
nd  "costs"  complained  of,  but  costs  at  the  rate  of  4,500  per  cent,  is 
eecing  the  sheep  with  a  witness  I 

As  to  the  justice,  consistency,  humanity,  or  policy  of  this  exaction 
ipou  which  I  expressed  my  opinion  at  some  length  both  at  the  meeting 
iferred  to,  and  before  the  magistrates)  there  can  but  be  one  opinion. 
kit  I  am  told  it  is  legal.  I  doubt  it :  and  indeed  I  should  be  ashamed  so 
)  libel  the  law  of  this  country  as  to  suppose  it  capable  of  supporting  so  ab- 
ird  a  demand  as  that  of  Easter  dues.  There  is  no  act  of  parliament  for 
lis  demand,  and  if  there  be  an  act  that  legalizes  a  demand  so  oppressive 
id  unjust,  merely  because  it  has  been  a  custom,  I  am  quite  sure,  that 
lose  who  are  the  best  friends  of  society,  until  such  acts  be  repealed, 
ould  advise,  that  customs  like  this,  inimical  to  the  peace  and  good  fel- 
wship  of  the  community,  should  stand  in  abeyance.  If  the  custom  re- 
rred  to  the  performance  of  any  other  duty  but  that  of  receiving  money, 
le  clergy  would  give  it  up.  If  the  Vicar  stickles  for  legal  formalities, 
hat  has  he  to  say  about  his  management  of  the  blue  school  ?  What  does 
s  £ay  to  the  59th  canon  of  the  Church  of  England,*  and  to  many  others  ? 

*  "  Every  parson,  vicar,  or  curate,  upon  every  Sunday  and  holy-day,  before  evening 
flyer,  shall,  for  half  an  hour  or  more,  examine  and  instruct  the  youth  and  ignorant  per- 
as  of  his  parish,  in  the  ten  commandments,  the  articles  of  the  belief,  and  in  the  Lord's 
ayer ;  and  shall  diligently  hear,  instruct,  and  teach  them  the  catechisms  set  forth  in  the 
ok  of  common  prayer.  And  all  fathers,  mothers,  masters,  and  mistresses,  shall  cause 
?ir  children,  servants,  and  apprentices,  which  have  not  learned  the  catechism,  to  come  to 
;  church  at  the  time  appointed,  obediently  to  hear,  and  to  be  ordered  by  the  minister. 


274 

Any  thing  not  supported  by  the  present  intelligence  of  society  may  be 
given  up,  but  this  money.  If  the  changes  in  the  agriculture  of  the 
country  had  been  such  as  greatly  to  diminish  the  tithes,  would  the  clergy 
have  been  content  ?  would  they  not  have  said  that  custom  was  capricious, 
and  ought  not  to  be  followed  at  the  expence  of  reason  and  justice  ?  We 
are  told  to  petition ;  but  really  to  petition  the  legislature  to  abrogate  the 
demand  of  6^d.  for  doing  nothing,  would,  in  fact,  be  like  petitioning  that 
lads  should  not  ask  for  pace  eggs  in  Easter  week,  or  pancakes  on  Shrove 
Tuesday !  One  is  as  absurd  as  the  other  ;  both  may  be  tolerated  as  "free 
will  offerings;"  and  I  maintain  that  old  "tospot's"  demand  is  not  less  re- 
spectable than  the  Vicar's.  However,  the  matter,  I  imderstand,  will 
shortly  be  submitted  to  a  jury  of  our  county.  One  or  more  actions 
are  commenced  against  the  constables  for  trespass,  which  will  be  likely 
to  bring  the  question  to  an  issue. 

Upon  what  are  all  these  demands  defended  ?  The  precepts  of  reli- 
gion? the  labourer's  being  worthy  of  his  hire  ?  No.  But  upon  this  prin- 
ciple,— if  a  man  has  bought*  a  living  he  may  make  the  best  of  his  bargain. 
I  do  detest  any  thing  like  traffic  in  spiritual  things ;  the  church,  if  it  be 
good  for  any  thing,  should  be  an  institution  for  diffusing  religion  and 
goodness  abroad,  and  not  a  'Change  for  spiritual  brokers.  No  wonder 
if  the  jobbers  sometimes  get  bitten,  and  no  wonder  if  they  try  to  bite 
the  public,  to  make  good  their  bad  bargains. 

But  some  men  are  troubled  with  tender  consciences ;  and  we  are  told 
that  our  Vicar  is  regardless  of  the  dues  for  himself,  but  is  bound  to  secure 


until  they  have  learned  the  same.  And  if  any  minister  neglect  his  duty  herein,  let  him  be 
sharply  reproved  upon  the  first  complaint,  and  true  notice  thereof  given  to  the  bishop  or 
ordinary  of  the  place.  If,  after  submitting  himself,  he  shall  willingly  oflfend  therein  again, 
let  him  be  suspended  ;  if  so  the  third  time,  there  being  little  hope  that  he  will  be  therein 
reformed,  then  excommunicated,  and  so  remain  until  he  will  be  reformed."  See  also 
Canons  15,  64,  65,  66,  74.  And  when  Mr.  Wilson  has  kept  all  these  laws,  he  may  call 
again  for  Easter  dues. 

*  The  Vicar  himself  disclaims  this  principle;  but  those  who  argue  in  his  favour  const 
ly  refertoit.  The  following  oath  is  required  to  be  taken  by  every  clergymen :  "Idoswear,t 
I  have  made  no  simoniacal  payment,  contract,  or  promise,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  mysd 
or  by  any  other  to  my  knowledge,  or  with  my  consent,  to  any  person  or  persons  what 
ever,  for  or  concerning  the  procuring  and  obtaining  of  this  ecclesiastical  place,  &c. ; 
will,  at  any  time  hereafter,  perform,  or  satisfy,  any  such  kind  of  payment,  contract,' il 
promise,  made  by  any  other  without  my  knowledge  or  consent :  So  help  me  God,  throiM 
Jesus  Christ!" 


275 

them  for  his  successor !  Were  this  true,  he  has  taken  the  most  fatal  step  to 
defeat  his  object ;  but  I  regard  this  as  all  pretence,  and  dragged  in  to  sup- 
ply the  absence  of  better  argument.  There  are  old  persons  here  vfho  never 
paid  Easter  dues;  it  has  never  been  but  partially  paid;  the  collectors 
are  never  nice  in  their  discounts  ;  and  yet,  while  he  actually  claims 
credit  to  himself  for  his  leniency  in  these  particulars,  he  asserts  at 
the  same  time  his  obligation  to  distress  the  people  for  his  successor  !  Re- 
membering, no  doubt,  Ms  predecesor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pennv,  who  advanced 
the  potatoe  tithe  from  4s.  and  Ss.  to  1  Qs.  per  acre,  (which  sum,  notwith- 
standing all  pretensions  to  custom,  i\Ir.  Wilson  at  present  collects)  he  is 
wishful  to  emulate  so  much  goodness  and  to  prove  himself  a  true  friend 
to  church  oppression. 

Some  reproach  us  with  factious  proceedings,  and  blame  us,  who,  for 
the  public  good,  submit  to  make  so  many  sacrifices.  These  are  time- 
serving patriots  ;  they  do  not  defend  the  conduct  of  the  Vicar,  and  yet, 
instead  of  blaming  him,  and  tracing  the  tendency  of  his  proceedings,  they 
affect  to  scorn  our  opposition.  By  and  by,  when  success  has  crowned 
our  efforts,  they  will  come  round  and  praise  our  magnanimity,  and 
rail  at  our  opponents.  The  man,  the  smell  of  whose  garment  is  now 
tieresy,  will,  in  the  event  of  success,  be  praised  as  a  brave  patriot.  But 
50  true  it  is,  that  standing  enormities  are  slow  to  excite  abhorrence  ;  but 
the  least  deviation  from  the  consecrated  road  of  flattery  and  profit,  in  re- 
i'erence  to  our  treatment  of  clergymen,  is  sure  to  incur  censure.  Conscious 
)f  the  sincerity  of  my  own  motives,  I  fear  no  man ;  uninfluenced  either  by 
he  praise  of  friends,  or  the  frowns  of  enemies,  my  course  is  marked,  and 
hat  is,  an  unremitting  hostility  to  every  ecclesiastical  corruption. 

J.  L. 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE  IN  PRESTON. 
Nothing  particularly  new  or  interesting  has  occurred  in  the  opera- 
ions  of  the  Temperance  Society  since  my  last.  The  meetings  continue 
0  overflow  :  about  a  fortnight  since,  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  Metho- 
ist  chapel,  and  it  was  computed  that  about  fifteen  hundred  persons  were 
resent.  Tracts  continue  to  be  distributed,  and  the  principles  of  the  so- 
iety  are  evidently  gaining  ground  in  the  public  mind.  Some  of  the  mem- 
ers  have  become  itinerants,  and  bv  their  exertions  societies  have  been 
jrmed,  or  are  forming,  at  Walton,  Moon's  Mill,  and  Bamber  Bridge. 
he  subject  has  also  excited  attention  at  Lon^ridge,  Penwortham,  Ly- 
iam,  and  Blackpool.     From  the  practice  of  frequently  visiting  the  mem- 


276 

bers,  we  learn  with  regret,  that  many  of  the  members,  who,  faithful  tc 
one  part  of  the  pledge,  abstain  from  spirits,  do  not  know  the  bounds  oi 
"moderation"  in  reference  to  ale.  The  love  of  malt  liquor  is  the  beset- 
ting sin  of  most  of  our  craftsmen,  and  in  taking  "  a  little,"  as  they  erro- 
neously think,  "  to  do  them  good,"  many  have  been  "  overcome."  But  I 
am  confident  that  perseverance  in  diffusing  correct  information,  diligence 
and  affection  in  visiting  the  delinquents,  and,  especially,  the  establishment 
of  Temperance  Houses,  by  which  many  social  temptations  would  be  re- 
moved, will  bring  back  the  wavering,  and  establish  the  members  generally 
in  their  faithfulness  to  their  pledge.  Taking  the  gloomiest  view,  I  can 
say  with  confidence,  that  good  beyond  the  expectation  of  any  of  our 
friends  has  been  accomplished  in  Preston.  I  would  make  one  remark, 
principally  for  the  guidance  of  new  societies,  in  reference  to  the  plan  of 
admitting  members.  The  plan  we  have  gone  upon,  in  imitation  of  other 
societies,  is,  in  my  opinion,  decidedly  bad.  Nothing  has  ever  been  re- 
quired but  for  a  man  either  to  write  his  name,  or  to  say,  "  Set  my  name 
down;"  and  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  persons'  names  have  been  taken  on  one 
night,  of  whom  nothing  was  known,  and  with  whom  there  seemed  to  be 
no  connecting  bond;  and  so  open  is  the  plan  of  admission,  that  persons 
might  come  and  sign  the  pledge  in  a  frolic,  and  afterwards  laugh  at  it. 
The  object  of  most  societies  has  been  the  mischievous  one  of  swelling 
their  numbers,  instead  of  securing  character ;  by  which  they  have  thus, 
been  led  astray.  I  think  it  is  much  better  to  have  six  hundred  consistent, 
sincere,  active  members,  than  twelve  hundred  loose,  undetermined,  formal 
characters.  If  the  pledges  remain  as  they  are  at  present,  I  would  recom- 
mend, as  an  improvement,  that  no  person  be  admitted  as  a  member  unless 
recommended  by  another  in  the  society,  that  a  suitable  admonition  be  given 
them  when  they  join,  and  that,  besides  entering  their  names  in  a  book, 
they  receive  a  card,  containing  their  name,  number,  and  any  other  matter, 
which  might  seem  to  connect  them  with  the  society.  This,  followed 
either  by  class  meetings  or  regular  district  visitations,  would  produce 
class  of  members  which  would  do  credit  to  the  name  of  temperance. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  TEMPERANCE. 
"  Come,  take  a  little  refreshment,"  is  the  common  invitation : 
how  words  are  perverted !    diluted  poison  called  refreshment !- — Cam 
our  kind  mothers  reform  their  "merry  meals,"   and  give  the  guests 
cup  of  good  tea,  without  mixing  it  with  that  pernicious  stuff  called  rm 


277 

The  most  appropriate  motto  for  a  public  house  is,  "  Beggars  made  here." 
If  a  young  woman  want  to  wed  herself  to  misery  and  disgrace,  let  her 
give  her  hand  to  the  man  who  frequents  the  tavern.  Why  complain  of 
the  great  number  of  dram  shops  and  public  houses  ?  it  is  the  demand  that 
creates  the  supply ;  if  there  were  no  buyers  there  would  soon  be  no  sellers. 
Oh !  how  simple  the  poor  farmers  look  at  their  bargains  in  the  morning, 
after  being  at  a  wet  sale  the  night  before  !  The  public  house  is  the  place 
which  has  blacked  the  books,  emptied  the  drawers,  and  disgraced  the 
shelves  of  many  a  tradesman.  Strange !  that  every  bargain  and  every 
pa\Tnent  must  be  sealed  with  the  Devil's  signet !  At  an  election  in  a 
small  village  in  England,  there  were  consumed  7,200  gallons  of  ale  and 
porter,  740  gallons  of  spirits,  and  1,470  bottles  of  wine!  This  is 
"  purity  of  election  !"  "  I  like  a  good  glass,"  is  a  common  remark ;  by 
which  is  meant  a  glass  which  will  do  speedy  execution  in  taking  away  the 
senses  and  destroying  the  constitution.  None  but  the  most  ignorant 
of  mankind  will  attempt  to  cure  a  cold  by  taking  spirits.  The  work  of 
doctors  and  lawyers  wiU  certainly  be  reduced  when  men  become  temperate, 
'  but  they  will  make  fewer  bad  debts.  What  an  immense  increase  in  the 
home  trade  we  should  have,  if  the  money  now  spent  in  ale,  wine,  and 
spirits,  were  spent  in  the  different  articles  of  clothing  and  furniture,  pro- 
duced by  our  own  labourers,  and  in  rational  enjo\Tnents.  Drinking  con- 
stitutes the  principal  expence  and  disgrace  at  funerals ;  how  much  better 
to  consider  so  solemn  an  occasion  as  a  season  for  fasting  and  humiliation. 
Providing  plenty  and  making  the  visitors /resA  is  termed  burying  the  dead 
"decently:"  if  any  refreshment  be  necessary,  why  not  substitute  tea  and 
coffee  for  ale  and  rum  ?  The  present  Lord  Chancellor,  in  the  debate  upon 
the  beer  biU,  said,  "  if  he  had  the  power,  as  strongly  as  he  had  the  dispo- 
sition, he  would  decidedly  put  down  the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits." 
Robert  Hall  once  said,  when  speaking  of  stimulants,  "a  dram  is  distilled 
death  and  liquid  damnation."  What  a  mortality  there  must  have  been 
among  newly  bom  children,  in  consequence  of  bad  bowels,  before  the  dis- 
covery of  gin,  and  before  the  nurses  learned  the  art  of  smelling  at  the  bot- 
tle !  Let  some  preachers  try  if  they  cannot  do  without  a  glass  of  wine  after 
the  sermon,  and  never  let  the  table  of  private  admonition  be  degraded 
with  jugs  and  decanters.  Those  who  flavour  their  tea  with  rum  and 
brandy  are  taking  a  private  road  to  destruction.  If  it  be  desirable  to  give 
presents  at  Christmas,  let  them  be  such  as  may  be  remembered  the  Christ- 
mas after  with  satisfaction,  and  not  those,  which,  by  inflaming  the  feel- 
ings, lead  to  vice  and  disorder.       The  best  way  for  masters  to  encourage 

VOL.    II.  2  M 


278 

their  workmen  to  be  sober  is  to  set  a  good  example.  They  are  not  the 
hardest  workmen  who  clamour  for  'lowance,  and  it  is  doing  a  real  harm 
to  accustom  them  to  expect  drink.  "  If  weeks  were  as  long  as  quarters  of 
a  year,"  said  a  drunkard,  "I  could  manage;  it  is  the  week's  end  that 
ruins  me."  Your  bill  for  spirits  is  large  this  year ;  but  add  to  it  a  hun- 
dred per  cent,  for  loss  of  time,  bad  bargains,  accidents,  and  the  conduct  of 
your  children  occasioned  by  your  example,  and  then  calculate  the  amount. 
Spirits  were  formerly  confined  to  the  apothecaries'  shelves,  and  sold  by 
weight:  a  "dram"  was  considered  a  dose:  were  our  forefathers  alive, 
and  viewing  our  "  dram  shops  "  as  dispensaries,  what  a  strange  idea  they 
would  have  of  the  health  of  the  people  of  this  generation!  Masters  and 
agents !  can  you  clear  yourselves  of  the  charge  of  promoting  the  po- 
verty of  your  workpeople,  while,  instead  of  paying  their  wages  at  your 
own  counting  house,  you  pay  them  by  appointment  at  the  ale  house,  by 
which  you  know  they  are  often  tempted  to  spend  a  great  part  of  their 
earnings  ?  Wliat  a  mockery,  to  drink  to  the  health  of  a  person,  in  the 
very  act  of  destroying  it ;  as  well  might  every  stroke  of  the  butcher  cry — 
life !  It  is  a  poor  argument  in  favour  of  that  which  destroys  health, 
time,  money,  and  domestic  happiness,  to  say  "  It  will  do  you  no  harm!" 
The  most  brutal  display  of  cruelty  to  animals  is  the  efi*ect  of  inebriating 
liquor.  Burking  and  murder  can  generally  be  traced  to  intoxication; 
and  nothing  but  this  "liquid  fire"  could  produce  the  enormities  which  are 
constantly  occurring.  "Gather  up  the  fragments  that  nothing  be  lost,^ 
said  the  Saviour  of  mankind;  but  "destroy  every  thing,  and  squanda 
away  every  blessing  of  Providence,"  is  the  language  of  the  drunkar 
What !  cannot  friends  meet  without  throwing  fire  down  each  other 
throats  ?  is  it  friendship  to  assist  in  killing  each  other  ?  Let  no  ma 
attempt  to  argue  against  entire  abstinence  from  spirits ;  let  even  the  moc 
rate  drinker  try  the  experiment  for  a  month,  and  he  will  have  the  best 
argument  in  his  own  experience.  Drunkards,  like  others,  have  to  finis 
their  education :  prepared  for  every  thing  debasing  to  human  nature,  tl 
brothel  is  the  place  where  they  are  finished  !  What  a  history  of  miser 
wretchedness,  and  crime,  might  be  traced  in  a  brewing  of  ale  or  a  singi 
puncheon  of  rum  !  A  gentleman  who  had  not  a  shilling  to  spare  whe 
called  upon  for  a  charity,  was  afterwards  visited  by  two  or  three  of 
companions,  who,  with  himself,  drank  nine  bottles  in  a  couple  of  hour 
How  inconsistent  that  days  of  public  rejoicing  should  be  made  the  mea 
of  opening  the  floodgates  of  intemperance !  is  it  not  worse  than  heathe 
ish  to  roU  barrels  of  ale  into  the  streets,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  ri^ 


279 

and  intoxication  ?  After  a  carouse  comes  the  "  shot,"  and  truly  it  is  a 
deadly  reckoning.  So  unsteady  are  the  people  generally  become,  that  in 
almost  every  advertisement  of  persons  wanted  for  situations,  that  of  being 
"steady"  is  mentioned  as  a  principal  qualification.  Rum  and  gin,  like 
the  needle  to  the  north,  always  point  to  the  prison,  the  asylum,  the 
workhouse,  and  the  church  yard.  Every  visitor  of  her  "  who  has  got  it 
well  over,"  must  have  a  glass  ;  and  "  another  before  she  goes."  The  day 
of  "thanksgiving  for  a  safe  delivery,"  and  the  "christening"  of  the  child 
must  needs  be  important :  the  friends  of  the  rich  are  made  merry  with 
brandy  and  wine ;  those  of  the  poor  with  sweetened  ale  and  "  something 
in  it."  Weddings,  and  persons  coming  of  age,  especially  among  the  rich, 
are  seasons  for  getting  "  gloriously  drunk."  How  wise  it  is  to  keep  it  a 
secret  from  the  jooor,  that  a  glass  of  brandy  after  a  sumptuous  dinner  is  es- 
sential to  digestion  !  How  rational,  how  intellectual,  to  see  half  a  dozen 
1  gentlemen  of  the  professions  sitting  round  a  table,  obliterating  whole  af- 
ternoons from  the  calendar  of  time,  by  emptying  decanters  of  wine  !  But 
the  most  exalted  exhibition  is,  when  grave  divines,  profound  philosophers, 
and  all  the  enlightened  orders  of  society,  rise  simultaneously  from  the  ta- 
!  ble  to  cheer  at  the  sound  of  ' '  hip,  hip,  hip ! "  Our  good  wives,  from  their 
.  accustomed  notions  of  hospitality,  are  often  teasing  us  with  "  we  cannot  do 
without  something  in  the  house;"  as  if  the  best  fare  was  nothing  without 
intoxicating  liquor :  "  it  is  always  ready  if  any  body  calls,"  is  their  usual  plea. 
"A  glass  or  two  will  do  no  body  harm;"  nor  will  the  buzzing  of  a  fly 
.  round  the  flame  of  a  candle ;  but,  alas  !  how  seldom  do  either  escape  un- 
burnt !  If  working  men  knew  that  the  free  use  of  ale  is  drawing  upon 
the  resources  of  their  constitutions,  and  stimulating  them  to  unnatural 
.exertion,  they  would  give  up  the  notion  that  "  a  working  man  cannot  do 
; without  a  little  to  help  him  with  his  work."  Step  into  a  jeriy  shop, 
.where  there  are  half  a  dozen  drunken  sots,  who  have  been  there  all  night, 
I  with  all  their  filth,  and  all  the  dregs  of  nature's  release,  and  even  a  pig 
isty  would  sufi'er  by  the  comparison.  As  aZ/ drunkards  were  »iO(fera/;e 
!  drinkers  once,  what  security  has  any  moderate  drinker  that  he  will  not 
become  the  same  ?  Spirits  are  intended  for  medicine,  and  there  is  as 
much  reason  why  a  man  should  habitually  take  them  because  they  may 
have  been  useful  once,  as  there  is  that  a  man  should  constantly  repeat  his 
;  dose  of  salts  because  it  was  the  means  of  giving  relief.  Those  gentle- 
^men  who  are  fond  of  "  a  spree"  are  soon  like  a  ship  without  a  helm  in  the 
I  midst  of  a  tempestuous  sea,  obliged  to  hang  out  the  signal  of  distress. 
I  The  intellectual  resources  of  the  country  are  not  less  perverted  than  the 


280 

pecuniary  ones,  by  the'  demon  of  intoxication :  while  appetite  predomi- 
nates, intellect  must  wane.  The  rural  enjoyments  of  our  forefathers 
have  been  exchanged  for  club  socialitij,  which,  nurtured  under  the 
auspices  of  the  landladies,  has  produced  a  harvest  of  dissipation.  What  a 
state  of  society,  that  there  should  be  A  Misery  Institution  for  every  twenty 
houses !  If  a  man  do  not  actually  lay  an  embargo  upon  his  senses  he  is  sure  to 
be  taken  :  the  sight  and  smell  of  intoxicating  liquor  meet  him  at  every  turn. 
What  a  shame  that  every  expression  of  sociality  should  be  prefaced  with 
"Come,  what  will  you  have  to  drink?"  In  travelling  you  meet  with 
no  beverage  ready  prepared  but  that  which  tends  to  make  you  more  thirsty, 
and  to  destroy  the  serenity  and  equilibrium  of  your  faculties.  How  angeh- 
cally  pure  must  those  religionists  be,  who  treat  the  promotion  of  tempe- 
rance in  the  abstract  as  below  their  notions  of  Christian  exertion  !  The 
exertions  connected  with  Temperance  Societies  is  the  best  hope  we  have, 
at  present,  of  reforming  our  drunken  nation  :  let  every  philanthropist  join 
them.  In  the  arrangements  of  social  society  nothing  is  more  wanted 
than  Public  Temperance  Houses ;  these  will  act  more  powerfully  for  the 
cause  of  sobriety  than  Acts  of  Parliament,  and  are  likely  to  lead  to  mate- 
rial changes  in  the  habits  of  the  people. 


VARIETIES. 

The  Bishop  of  Chester,  in  his  late  charge  at  Preston,  gave  a  vivid  representation 
the  state  of  public  morals,  blamed  the  clergy  for  remissness  in  duty,  and  exhorted  them 
adopt  the  plan  oi going  to  the  people,  and  of  visiting  and  teaching  like  the  primitive  teachers 

The  Roman  soldiers,  who  used  to  march  with  a  great  weight  of  armour  about  thei 
(601bs.  as  it  is  said)  and  who  underwent  immense  hardships,  and  accomplished  as  much 
any  troops  of  modern  times,  drank  only  vinegar  and  water.  Upon  this  simple  bever 
they  conquered  the  world. 

What  volumes  in  the  mere  fact,  that,  in  Manchester,  there  are  a  thousand  gin  shi 
and  (owing  to  the  stamp  duty)  not  a  single  daily  paper.  It  was  too  bad  that  we  shoi 
make  knowledge  as  dear  as  possible,  and  gin  as  cheap ;  that  we  should  choke  the  sour 
of  intelligence,  and  throw  open  the  means  of  intoxication  ! — Bulwer  on  the  Repeal  of  St 
Duties. 

In  America,  a  newspaper  sells  on  the  average  for  \\A.  What  is  the  result?  Wh 
that  there  is  not  a  town  in  America,  with  10,000  inhabitants,  that  has  not  its  daily  papi 
Compare  Boston  with  Liverpool:  Liverpool  has  165,175  inhabitants;  Boston  had,  in  18 
70,000.  Liverpool  puts  forth  eight  weekly  publications  ;  and  Boston,  with  less  than  hi 
the  population,  and  with  the  fourth  part  of  the  trade  of  Liverpool,  puts  forth  eighty  vreekl 
publications. — Ibid. 


I 


281 

"  Will  the  Eeform  Bill  do  any  good  for  farmers  ? "  said  one  of  this  class  to  a  friend. 
I  can't  say,"  was  the  reply ;  "  those  that  have  leases  are  likely  to  suffer  by  it ;  if  the 
orn  laws  be  revised,  and  provisions  come  down,  such  must  feel  it ;  but  land  ought  to  come 
own  J  at  any  rate,  if  this  should  be  the  case,  it  is  to  be  hoped  you  will  have  less  poor  tax 
3  pay."  "  Taxes !  why,  there  is  no  end  of  them :  they  play  the  deuce  with  us :  yon 
lace  of  mine  costs  me  £30  a  year  to  clear  it,  and  the  rent  is  only  about  £80 :  but  tithes 
re  to  be  done  away,  I  suppose."     "  No  doubt,  all  these  things  will  be  looked  into." 

"  A  person  inquired  of  me,"  said  President  Jefferson,  "  if  he  might  consider  as  authen- 
c  the  change  in  my  religion  so  much  spoken  of  in  some  circles.  Now,  this  supposes  that 
ley  knew  what  had  been  my  religion  before,  taking  for  it  the  word  of  their  priests,  whom 
certainly  never  made  the  confidants  of  my  creed.  My  answer  was,  say  nothing  of  my 
jligion ;  it  is  known  to  my  God  and  to  myself  alone.  Its  evidence  is  before  the  world, 
nd  is  to  be  sought  for  in  my  life  ;  if  that  has  been  honest  and  dutiful  to  society,  the  reli- 
ion  that  regulated  it  cannot  be  a  bad  one." 

The  following  is  the  strange  reasoning  of  Lord  Plunkett  in  favour  of  a  church  esta- 
[lishment : — "I  think  a  religious  establishment  essential  to  our  well-being,  and  without  a 
(IGNIFED  establishment  in  times  like  these,  religion  itself  would  be  degraded.  I  am, 
lerefore,  persuaded,  not  only  that  the  establishment  is  necessary,  but  the  rank,  afflu- 
NCE,  and  DIGNITY  of  the  hierarchy  are  important  to  our  best  interests.  I  think,  further, 
lat  its  power  and  influence  are  and  ought  to  be  so  great,  that  unless  the  hierarchy  be  con- 
icted  with  the  state,  it  may  be  too  powerful  for  the  state  ;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  main- 
ining  that  connection  for  the  benefit  of  the  state." 

The  following  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  original  character  of  tithes  :  — "  Because, 
irough  the  providence  of  Divine  mercy,  we  know  it  to  be  so  ordered,  and  by  the 
lurch's  publishing  it  far  and  near  every  body  hath  heard,  that  by  the  distribution  of 
■ms  persons  may  be  absolved  from  the  bonds  of  sin,  and  acquire  the  rewards  of  heavenly 
ys,  I,  Stephen,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  being  willing  to  have  part  with 
lem,  who  by  an  happy  kind  of  trading,  exchange  heavenly  things  for  earthly ;  and  smitten 
ith  the  love  of  God,  and  for  the  salvation  of  my  own  soul,  and  the  souls  of  my  father  and 
(Other,  and  of  all  my  forefathers  and  ancestors,  do  give  unto  God,  and  to  the  Church  of 
I:.  Peter,  tithes  and  other  donations" — Selden,  cli.  11,  s,  1. 

I  The  Reverend  H.  Price's  Opinion  of  the  Operative  Classes.  —  "Some 
iansgress  the  laws  with  a  mad  sort  of  desperation,  urged  on  by  their  wants  and  fears. 
thers,  like  myself,  transgress  the  laws  without  knowing  it,  and  must  submit  patiently, 
.eered  and  supported  by  the  conviction  that  our  sufferings  shall  not  be  in  vain.  You, 
ntlemen,  sent  me  to  prison,  and  improved  me  wonderfully.  Before,  I  thought  very 
jtle  about  the  state  of  the  operative  ;  but  since,  I  have  scarcely  ceased  to  think  about  it 
|iy  and  night.  Before,  I  thought  chiefly  of  his  soul  with  all  its  dangers  and  necessities  ; 
It  since,  with  equal  concern  for  his  soul,  I  have  thought  far  more  than  usual  of  his  body, 
ith  all  its  dangers  and  necessities.  Before,  I  denied  myself  in  what  way  I  could  to  relieve 
,s  wants  ;  but  since,  I  have  equally  denied  myself  to  put  him  (which  he  likes  far  better) 
to  an  honourable  way  of  relieving  his  w^ants  himself.  Before,  I  thought  he  coveted  alma 
id  was  never  satisfied ;  but  since,  I  have  discovered  that  he  secretly  despised  though  he 
leded  alms,  and  was  dissatisfied  with  them  justly.    Before,  I  thought  him  ungrateful ;  but 


282 

«i»c«,  I  have  found  that  he  only  loathed  a  forced  burden  of  gratitude ;  (the  necessity, 
instance,  of  going  to  a  workhouse  for  a  quart  of  soup,  which  he  ought  to  have  had  the  powj 
of  preparing  still  better  at  home  without  the  aid  of  charity.)  Before,  I  considered  him  a  ne- 
cessarily dependant  being  ;  but  since,  I  have  discovered  him  of  all  other  beings  essential); 
the  least  dependant.  He  could  do  without  asking  ;  but  a  king  could  not  do  without  him 
He  could  do  without  lords ;  but  lords  could  not  do  without  him.  He  could  do  without  th< 
rich  and  the  great;  but  the  rich  and  the  great  were  made  what  they  are  by  him,  and  coul< 
no  more  do  without  him,  than  they  could  live  without  air  and  food.  Before,  I  deemed  hin 
as  composing  a  very  subordinate  part  of  society  ;  but  since,  I  have  discovered  to  my  aston 
ishment,  that  he  is  the  grand  foundation,  and  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  social  edifici 
besides  ! — that  your  masters,  and  your  gentry,  and  your  lords,  and  your  dukes,  ar« 
little  more  than  the  paring  of  his  nails,  though  you  cut  those  nails  so  dreadfully  to  th' 
quick.  Before,  I  pitied  the  operative  ;  but  since,  I  have  regarded  him  with  deep  concern 
unfeigned  respect,  and  grateful  love.  He  feeds  and  clothes  me.  In  the  house,  in  the  gar 
den,  and  in  the  field,  he  is  my  prime  support.  He  makes  my  bed,  sweeps  my  apartment 
weaves  and  lays  down  my  carpet,  procures  and  cooks  my  food,  waits  on  me  when  sick,  i 
the  joy  of  my  health,  sows  my  seed,  reaps  my  field,  and  gathers  in  my  harvest,  enables  m 
under  God  to  live  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  is  amongst  the  first  of  my  fellow  creatures  t< 
hear  and  receive  that  gospel  in  sincerity  and  truth.  All  this  and  still  more  he  does,  and  afte 
all  would  retire  contented  upon  a  modicum,  which  one  who  receives  so  much  from  him  migh 
well  be  ashamed  in  return  to  offer  him." — From  his  Letter  to  the  Kidderminster  Carpt 
Manufacturers. 


DOCTRINE. 

The  distinction  which  is  now  so  tenaciously  kept  up  called  "  doctrinal  and  practi 
is  unfounded  in  Scripture,  being  evidently  not  supported  by  the  original.     Doctrine  va 
teaching,  and,  from  a  reference  to  the  passages  in  which  it  occurs,  I  believe  it  will  ap] 
that  it  never  applies  to  articles  of  belief,  in  contradistinction  from  practice.    The  sound 
trine  of  the  apostles  had  reference  to  the  duties  of  life,  as  well  as  those  objects  which 
purely  matters  of  belief.     The  doctrine  of  Christ,  at  which  the  people  were  astonished, 
ferred  to  his  practical  discourse  on  the  mount.     The  following  criticism  is  from  the  pe: 
a  judicious  friend. — Edit. 

*'  The  term  doctrine  is  nothing  more  than  the  Latin  noun  doctrina  with  an  English 
mination,  Doctrina  is  formed  from  the  Latin  verb  doceo,  which  means  /  teach. 
word,  again,  is  derivable  from  the  Gieek  verb  dao,  I  know  or  teach;  and  dao  from  th 
Hebrew  do  or  ydo,  to  know.  In  the  Old  Testament,  the  term  doctrine  is  employed  ai 
equivalent  to  three  different  Hebrew  words.  Thus,  1st.  Deut.  xxxii.  2.  "  My  doctrine  s] 
drop  as  rain."  The  word  here  rendered  "  my  doctrine  "  is  liquhhi,  a  substantive,  forme 
from  the  verb  laqahh,  to  take  or  receive,  and  perhaps  may  strictly  import  what  is  received' i 
taken  for  the  truth ;  or  here,  more  properly,  persuasion,  because  by  persuasion  the  mind 
of  men  are  taken  captive.  In  Proverbs,  i.  5,  xvi.  21,  23.  the  word  liqahh  is  rendi 
learning,  because  learning  is  knowledge  which  is  received.  2nd.  Isaiah,  xxxiii.  9 
shall  he  make  to  understand  doctrine?"  The  word  is  shemuah,  a  substantive,  from 
▼erb  shamang,  to  hear,  and  signifies  any  thing  heard,  particularly  a  message  or  ru. 


1 


283 

.iterally  this  sentence  is,  "  And  he  shall  distinguish  between  a  report,"  that  is,  discriminate 
etween  a  false  and  a  true  message.  3rd.  Jer.  x.  8.  "  The  stock  is  a  doctrine  of  vanities." 
"he  noun  musar  is  derived  from  the  verb  yasar,  to  instruct,  admonish,  or  correct,  and  lite- 
illy  means  an  admonition  or  correction.  The  word  rendered  stock  means  tree :  the  whole 
ught  to  be,  "  The  tree  is  a  correction  of  vanities."  The  tree  was  employed  for  a  gibbet, 
ee  Deut.  xxi.  22.  Josh.  x.  26.  Spiritually  it  may  have  a  reference  to  the  cross  of  Christ, 
5  we  can  no  where  else  be  so  forcibly  impressed  with  the  heinousness  of  sin,  and  receive 
)  powerful  a  correction.  In  the  New  Testament  the  Greek. word  signifying  to  know  is 
idachee  fi-om  didasko,  to  teach.  Such  is  the  derivation  of  the  word  doctrine,  and  such  the 
ords  in  the  original  for  which  it  is  regarded  as  an  equivalent.  The  leading  idea  is,  to 
'och  by  persuasion,  by  message,  by  admonition  or  correction.  It  is  now  understood  to  mean 
le  principles  of  faith  in  reference  to  religion,  and,  in  other  matters,  truths  which  are  taught, 
r  principles  which  are  recognised  as  first  causes." 


CHARITABLE  LOAN  FUNDS. 

The  following  article  refers  to  a  subject,  which,  I  think,  is  well  worthy  the  attention 
'  those  who  are  wishful  to  ameliorate  the  present  condition  of  the  people ;  and  as  its  in- 
Wtion  is  specially  requested  by  Lady  Noel  BjTon,  who,  I  am  told,  is  highly  distinguished 
r  her  benevolence  and  philanthropj',  I  gladly  give  it  a  place  in  the  Reformer.  The  arti- 
e  has  not  appeared  before  excepting  in  the  Brighton  Gazette. — Edit. 

j  It  is  singular  that  the  mode  of  aiding  the  poor  and  industrious  by  means  of  Charitable 
loan  Funds  has  not  been  more  generally  adopted,  considering  the  facility  with  which  they 

|e  carried  on,  both  as  to  the  expenditure  of  time  and  money,  and  their  wide-spreading 
fluence  both  in  the  promotion  of  physical  comfort  and  moral  improvement  among  that 
imerous  class  for  whose  benefit  they  are  intended. 

'  t     The  cases  in  which  the  advance  of  a  small  sum  of  money  will  often  confer  an  extreme 

'Inefit,  may  be  classed  under  two  general  heads. 

i  I  Firstly,  those  cases  where  a  small  sum,  by  way  of  capital,  will  enable  an  indigent, 
ough  industrious  man  to  gain  a  livelihood  for  himself,  with  advantages  of  which  he  was 
it  possessed  before. 

Secondly,  those  cases  where  the  want  of  a  small  sum  at  the  present  moment  to  pro- 
;le  for  some  sudden  and  unforeseen  demand  or  emergency,  produces  much  subsequent 
isery,  and  plunges  individuals — nay,  even  whole  families — into  a  state  of  distress  from 
lich  they  can  never  again  extricate  themselves. 

Those  who  are  at  all  conversant  with  the  wants  and  condition  of  the  poor  will  imme- 
itely  acknowledge  that  the  accumulation  of  a  sum,  very  trifling  in  the  eye  of  the  rich,  is 
the  labouring  classes  a  most  diflScuIt  task.  Numerous  instances  occur  where  the  artisan 
disabled  from  pursuing  some  profitable  branch  of  trade  from  the  want  of  money  to  buy 
tsls  and  the  raw  materials  of  work.  A  parent  is  often  prevented  from  apprenticing  a 
'lid  to  an  advantageous  trade,  from  the  want  of  assistance  towards  the  requisite  premium 
d  outfit.     In  the  repairs  of  their  dwelling  houses,  and  similar  instances,  the  poor  often 


884 


require  to  hire  the  labour  of  others  at  a  time  when  a  small  portion  of  such  labour  wi 
save  much  ultimate  expence,  if  they  had  but  the  means  of  commanding  it.  In  vain  the 
hear  the  proverb  of  "  a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine,"  if  they  have  not  the  means  of  its  practi 
cal  application.  Where  any  portion  of  land  is  held,  the  labourer  frequently  experienc( 
much  difficulty  in  obtaining  seed  for  his  ground,  in  purchasing  a  cow,  pigs,  or  other  pn 
fitable  stock,  and  in  effecting  any  improvement,  or  commencing  operations  on  his  smc 
allotment.  It  will  be  quite  superfluous  to  enumerate  additional  instances  where  the'  a( 
vance  by  means  of  a  small  loan  would  prove  highly  beneficial,  as  they  may  be  supplied  b 
the  experience  of  every  individual  who  has  taken  any  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  pooi 
Those  cases,  however,  only  must  be  taken  in  review,  where  there  is  a  tolerable  certaint 
that  the  means  of  weekly  repayment  by  instalments  exist,  since  it  is  the  object  of  the  chs 
rity  here  recommended  to  prevent  distress  and  raise  the  depressed ;  nor  must  it  ever  b 
considered  as  a  resort  in  the  last  extremity  of  want. 

Under  the  second  head  of  cases,  where  a  Loan  Fund  would  be  desirable,  may  be 
ranged  those  of  individuals  suffering  under  temporary  misfortunes,  or  subject  to  sui 
pecuniary  demands,  to  a  larger  amount  than  they  can  immediately  obtain.  For  instai 
one  member  of  a  labouring  family  becomes  incapacitated  from  work  by  sickness  or 
dent.  To  supply  comforts  and  necessary  relief  much  immediate  expenditure  is  requii 
the  funds  for  which  cannot  be  obtained,  though  comparative  certainty  exists  that  if  a  si 
sum  could  be  borrowed  for  proper  purposes,  the  other  members  of  the  family  and  the 
man  on  his  recovery  would  repay  such  sum  by  weekly  instalments.  Such  instances 
daily  occur  among  those  who  have  not  the  good  fortune  to  be  members  of  Benefit  Socie 
The  same  observations  will  apply  to  cases  where  death  occurs,  and  there  is  a  necessit 
an  immediate  sum  of  money,  which  would  be  gratefully  repaid  by  the  surviving  meml 
of  an  industrious  family.  The  Loan  Fund  might  also  be  advantageously  brought  to  b( 
in  behalf  of  fishermen  and  boatmen  of  good  character,  who  have  suffered  from  sudden 
ses  and  various  accidents  which  accompany  their  imcertain  profession.  Artisans  also 
small  tradesmen  might  be  assisted  under  any  sudden  visitations  of  Providence,  from 
roguery  of  men,  or  from  the  failure  of  such  a  demand  for  labour,  or  such  a  market  jj 
provisions,  as  might  reasonably  have  been  expected.  The  peasant  and  occupant  of  si 
portions  of  land  is  often  compelled,  through  the  death  of  cattle,  to  go  round  with  a  begi 
petition,  or  is  completely  ruined  if  he  will  not  stoop  to  the  former  resource,  as  freque 
'occurs.  Through  the  means  of  a  loan,  judiciously  applied,  he  might  with  ease  be  resci 
from  the  effect  of  such  misfortunes.  ^ 

Having  alluded  to  a  few  examples  where  it  appears  that  benefit  would  be  derive 
from  the  proposed  system,  it  may  be  well  to  mention  that  some  of  the  most  judicious  an 
practically  benevolent  men  have  advocated  its  adoption.     Among  these  were  Franklin 
Dean  Swift,  both  of  whom  bequeathed  funds  and  arranged  measures  for  the  mainteni 
of  Charitable  Loan  Funds.     Adam  Smith  has  the  following  remark :  "  Money,  says 
proverb,  makes  money.     When  you  have  got  a  little  it  is  often  easy  to  get  more, 
great  difficulty  is  to  get  that  little."    Colquhoun,  in  his  work  on  the  Police,  has  the  foil 
ing  passage  applicable  to  the  point  in  question :  "  In  considering  the  innocent  causei 
indigence,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  irremediable  cases  requiring  constant  and  permam 
support  are  few  in  number  compared  with  those  oi  useful  labourers  broken  down  for  the 
ment,  but  who,  by  the  judicioua  application  of  well-timed  props,  might  be  reitored  i» 


otdH 


285 

;i€ty,  and  their  industry  rendered  again  productive."  Bacon  wisely  said,  "capital,  like 
iaanure,  does  no  good  till  it  be  spread ;"  and  the  Edinburgh  Review,  in  speaking  of  capital 
|,nd  industry,  well  observes  that  "  wherever  these  two  elements  of  production  are  brought 
in  contact,  the  result  must  be  a  vast  increase  of  private  comfort,  as  well  as  rapid  accession 
If  public  wealth."  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  are  the  following  words :  "From  him 
uiat  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  thou  not  away;"  and  surely  an  attempt  at  the  judicious 
ilfihnent  of  the  precept  should  not  be  disregarded,  notwithstanding  the  confessed  difSculty 
f  lending  to  the  poor,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  with  prudence  and  utility. 

Loan  Funds  of  the  kind  recommended  are  as  yet  rare  in  England,  but  much  good  has 
jesulted  from  any  institutions  of  the  kind  which  exist.  Interesting  reports  and  papers 
ave  been  issued  relative  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Sloane-street  Benevolent  Loan  Society, 
\  London ;  but  loans  are  there  made  of  a  larger  amount  in  single  cases  than  would  per- 
aps  suit  any  other  place  but  the  metropolis.  In  Ireland,  the  system  has  been  more  pre- 
ialent  from  the  exigences  of  the  country,  and  the  necessity  of  making  the  most  of  any 
inds  disposable  for  charitable  purposes.  The  Parliamentary  Committee  appointed  to  in- 
uire  into  the  distress  of  Ireland,  in  1830,  strongly  recommended  the  adoption  of  these  in- 
itiuions  for  making  small  advances  to  necessitous  but  trustworthy  persons;  and  I  have  a 
cculiar  satisfaction  in  referring  to  that  country,  not  because  the  system  is  less  applicable 
)  England,  but  because  if  punctual  repayment  is  made  and  much  advantage  derived  in  a 
3uiitry  but  too  celebrated  for  the  improvidence  and  destitution  of  its  inhabitants,  a  fortiori 
cneficial  result  may  justly  be  expected  among  people  less  improvident  and  less  destitute. 

In  Derry,  a  fund  was  established  by  the  proceeds  of  (hree  charity  sermons  preached 
y  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry,  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  a  Roman  Catholic  clergy- 
lan.     A  principal  sum  of  500/.  has,  in  twei)ty-one  years,  been  lent  out  in  12, COO  small 

!|ians,  giving  relief  to  families  containing  63,000  persons,  and  affording  pecuniary  assistance 
bual  to  27,300/.  On  this  sum  the  loss  hy  default  of  payment  has  not  exceeded  11.  Is.  6d. 
j.  he  Meath  Loan  Fund  is  the  largest  in  Dublin  ;  only  8/.  has  been  lost  by  bad  debts,  in  ten 
jars:  its  beneficial  effects  are  felt  in  every  part  of  Dublin.  At  Castle-Townshend,  in  the 
mnty  of  Cork,  a  fund  was  carried  on  for  two  years  by  a  friend  of  the  writer,  during  which 
me  the  utmost  assistance  was  rendered  to  all  descriptions  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  at  the 
ose  of  the  period  mentioned,  when  the  fund  was  called  in,  to  be  handed  over  to  a  new  se- 
ctary, not  one  shilling  was  lost.  On  this  occasion  its  utility  and  complete  success  were 
'  striking,  that  its  means  were  increased  by  subscriptions  to  more  than  treble  their  origi- 
il  amount. 

One  instance  more.  The  writer  was  himself  engaged  in  the  management  of  a  chari- 
ble  loan  fund  during  a  considerable  period  of  last  year,  at  the  commencement  of  which  it 
as  set  up.  The  result  of  the  year's  experiment  was  as  follows : — The  original  sum  sub- 
libed  amoutited  to  100/.;  695/.  was  circulated  during  the  year;  425  persons  obtained 
ans ;  240  persons  became  securities:  1/.  5.s.  v/as  lost,  tliough  made  up  within  a  few  shil- 
igs  by  fines  of  6d.,  considered  necessary  according  to  one  of  the  rules.  Thejie  facts  are 
orthy  of  consideration. 

In  Scotland,  a  vast  degree  of  benefit  has  resulted  from  banks  and  cash  credits  nearly 

II  the  system  here  recommended  ;  but  they  are  chiefly  for  the  middle  class,  as  one  of  the 

jirliamentary  witnesses  observes  that  a  sum  less  than  50/.  is  seldom  lent.     The  present 

)ject  is  to  apply  similar  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  poorest  and  most  numerous  class 

society.     They  may  thus  be  saved,  in  numerous  instances,  from  fallinj  into  destitution, 

VOL.    II.  2  N 


286 

and  the  industrious  may  derive  various  means  of  advancing  their  condition.  A  most  de- 
sirable link  or  bond  may  thus  be  formed  between  all  classes,  from  the  wealthier  subscribers 
to  the  fund,  and  perhaps  the  managers  of  the  charity  (who  prove  an  anxiety  for  the  general 
welfare  of  their  neighbourhood)  to  the  middle  classes,  who  generally  give  security,  and  thm 
shew  their  good  opinion  of  those  whom  they  serve;  and  from  them  again  to  the  poorer 
objects  of  pecuniary  assistance,  who  are  most  grateful  for  a  benefit  conferred  on  number, 
by  a  very  small  expenditure  of  time  and  money.  Above  all,  it  is  the  invariable  and  imme- 
diate tendency  of  such  an  institution  to  produce  industry,  sobriety,  and  other  moral  virtues 
amonc.  those  who  are  within  the  sphere  of  its  influence,  and  who  look  forward  to  any  fu- 
ture p^eriod-to  obtain  assistance,  as  it  is  very  evident  that  one  addicted  to  drunkenness,  idle- 
ness, or  dishonestv,  would  find  it  impossible  to  obtain  a  person  willing  to  act  as  his  security, 

It  may  be  well  to  mention  a  few  peculiar  facilities  which  attend  this  mode  of  ameliorat- 
ing  the  condition  of  the  poor. 

Pecuniary  contributions  are  required  but  once,  as  after  the  first  establishment  the  cha- 
rity requires  no  additional  funds  for  its  maintenance. 

There  is  very  trifling  cost  in  setting  up,-perhaps  an  expenditure  of  thirty  shillings  oi 
two  pounds  in  printing  books  of  accounts,  and  loan  or  recommendation  tickets. 

The  money  remains  unconsumed,  should  it  please  the  subscribers  to  apply  U  at  any  fu- 
ture time  to  another  purpose. 

Extensive  assistance  and  co-operation,  however  desirable,  is  not  absolutely  requisite 
either  in  reference  to  money  or  time ;  as  though  there  would  be  in  all  probability  an  ampl 
and  useful  demand  for  a  fund,  however  large,  yet  a  fund,  however  small,  will  be  of  proper 
tionate  utility ;  and  the  time  requisite  for  managing  the  business  will  perhaps  be  that  of  t«- 
or  three  persons  for  two  or  three  hours  one  day  in  the  week. 

Lastly,  a  sum  of  money,  comparatively  small,  will  thus  confer  wide-spreading  and  per 
manent  advantages.  Supposing  the  loans  to  be  repaid  by  instalments  of  one  shilling  in  th 
pound,  (perhaps  the  most  desirable  rate)  about  five  times  the  original  subscription  can  b 
annually  circulated,  and  thus  in  twenty  years  an  original  fund  of  lOOZ.  would  supply  cap. 
tal  to  the  amount  of  10,000?.,  or  a  fund  of  lOOOZ.  would  supply  capital  to  the  amount  c 
100,000?.  among  a  multitude  of  persons,  who  would  derive  benefit  and  happiness  from  tli: 
easy  and  judicious  mode  of  assistance. 

Should  the  proposed  measure  meet  with  energetic  and  practical  advocates,  perhaps  th 
following  details  of  management  might  facihtate  its  execution,  though  various  adaptation 
according  to  circumstances,  will  naturally  occur  to  the  mind  of  those  acquainted  with  pa. 
ticular  localities. 

A  short  prospectus  on  the  formation  of  a  Charitable  Loan  Fund  might  be  drawn  upb 
some  residents  acquainted  with  the  condition  of  the  poor,  and  sent  round  to  those  wl 
would  be  likely  to  aid  in  iU  establishment.  It  might  contain  the  outlines  of  the  plan,  ste 
ing,  perhaps,  that  it  was  desirable  to  aid  the  poor  and  industrious,  by  a  judicious  and  orgi 
nized  system  of  loans,  to  be  made  to  those  who  could  obtain  proper  rocommendations  ar 
securities  for  the  repayment  of  sums  lent,  in  case  the  borrowers  should  become  defaulter 
It  might  also  refer  to  the  sum  to  be  granted  to  any  one  individual,  (perhaps  from  ten  sh. 
lings  to  five  pounds)  to  the  amount  of  weekly  repayment  (perhaps  one  shilling  in  tl 
pound)— to  the  class  of  persons  who  would  be  the  proper  objects  of  relief,  and  to  the  cla 
of  persons  who  might  be  accepted  as  proper  securities— and  a  time  and  place  might  br  •' 
pointed  for  a  meeting  of  those  who  might  be  interested  in  promoting  the  plan. 


1 


287 

Should  the  requisite  funds  be  obtained,  a  ff  w  individuals  might  be  appointed  to  con- 
iuct  the  charity.  It  should  hardly  be  commenced  unless  three  such  could  be  obtained  at 
•,he  very  least.  It  would  be  their  business  to  meet  once  every  weeic  te  hear  applications, 
to  give  out  money,  and  to  receive  the  instalments  repaid. 

I  The  applicant  for  a  loan  should  bring  with  him  a  respectable  and  solvent  person  who 
I  [jvould  recommend  him  as  a  proper  object,  and  would  be  willing  to  act  as  his  security.  A 
oook  should  be  kept,  in  which  the  name,  residence,  and  occupation,  both  of  the  borrower 
'»nd  his  security,  might  be  entered,  as  also  the  sum  demanded,  and  the  object  of  its  expen- 
diture. The  rules  of  the  fund  should  be  carefully  explained,  if  not  previously  understood 
fjy  the  borrower;  enquiries  should  be  made  as  to  the  means  of  weekly  repayment,  and  the 
jibsolute  necessity  of  strict  punctuality  should  be  represented  in  the  strongest  terms.  Those 
who  offer  themselves  as  a  security  should  also  be  questioned  as  to  their  condition  in  life, 
i;autioned  against  hastiness  or  over-confidenc«  in  the  borrower,  and  impressed  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  being  called  upon  for  repayment  in  case  of  his  omission. 

Such  applicants  might  be  desired  to  call  the  next  week,  and  the  money  would  then  be 
reiven  to  them,  if  found  to  be  persons  in  fit  circumstances  for  the  assistance  of  the  charity, 
if  the  object  of  expenditure  should  be  considered  of  a  proper  nature,  and  if  the  securities 
lihould  appear  solvent  and  trustworthy. 

I  The  delivery  of  money,  and  the  receipt  of  instalments,  is  perfectly  simple,  and  re- 
quires no  comment. " 

A  mode  of  keeping  the  accounts,  which  has  been  found  very  easy  and  satisfactory, 
(nay  be  seen  at  the  oflfice  of  the  Provident  and  District  Society,  in  High-street,  Brighton, 
is  also  the  printed  forms  of  tickets  necessary  in  conducting  the  fun^l — e.  g.  borrower's  ticket, 
lecurity  ticket,  recommendation  ticket,  notice  ticket,  &c.,  with  other  papers  and  documents 
•elative  to  the  subject. 

Some  difiiculties  and  objections  will  naturally  occur,  and  though  there  is  little  space 
lere  for  their  consideration,  yet  a  few  words  may  not  be  misapplied  on  this  point. 

Some  will  say  that  repayment  will  not  be  made,  judging,  perhaps,  in  a  great  measure, 
rom  having  made  loans  in  their  private  capacity  without  being  repaid.  Experience,  how- 
3ver,  proves  that  the  case  is  quite  altered  in  a  fund  attended  by  publicity,  strict  rules,  and 
ill  necessary  precautions.  Notwithstanding  their  frequent  losses,  many  benevolent  persons 
continue  to  lend,  from  seeing  the  necessity  of  so  doing.     System  is  wanted.     Then  losses 

t^ould  not  occur,  or  be  exceedingly  rare. 
Some  will  say  that  a  fund  of  this  kind  will  encourage  improvidence  and  a  habit  of 
orrowing.  Various  testimonies  on  the  subject  will  prove  that  its  effect  has  been  to  en- 
tourage industry  in  the  way  heretofore  alluded  to;  and  as  to  the  habit  of  borrowing, 
hough  bad,  speaking  in  a  general  way  and  without  qualification,  yet,  in  specific  cases,  it 
s  as  beneficial  as  necessary.  All  depends  on  the  mode  in  which  the  money  is  to  be  ap- 
plied ;  and  this  point  must  be  diligently  ascertained. 

I  Those  who  are  influenced  by  the  wire-drawn  speculations  of  the  illustrious  school, 
llenominated  that  of  the  Political  Economists,  would  probably  indulge  in  many  theoretical 
Objections,  to  which  the  best  answer  would  be  a  reference  to  experience  and  practice. 

I  shall  conclude  with  one  observation,  which  may  as  well  be  plainly  made, — that  such 
in  institution  must  undoubtedly  fail,  if  conducted  without  the  utmost  regularity  and  strict- 
ness.    The  cost,  such  as  it  is,  must  be  counted  beforehand. 

P. 


iS8 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  SCHOOLS. 

[The  former  part  of  this  paper  I  have  omitted,  because  the  irregularities  complained 
of  are  of  every  day  notoriety,  and  because  several  of  the  suggestions  want  clearness  and 
importance  to  be  viewed  by  others  as  improvements. — Edit.] 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF   THE    MORAL   REFORMER. 

Sir, — I  am  aware  that  a  great  number  will  be  found  that  are  opposed  to  teaching  to 
write  in  a  Sabbath  school,  on  account  of  its  secular  nature.  It  is  of  a  secular  nature,  I  al- 
low; but  is  it  not  of  a  religious  nature  also?  By  it,  ideas,  impressions,  and  reformation  in 
the  character  and  minds  of  men,  have  been,  are,  and  will  be  made  for  generations  to  come. 
Writing  is  only  secular  when  used  for  secular  avocations  ;  reli  ;i'>rs,  when  in  operation  for 
religious  pursuits ;  and  diabolical,  when  made  the  instrument  of  corrupting  the  morals  of 
the  people,  or  disseminating  atheistical  opinions.  Would  not  teaching  to  write  prevent 
many  scholars  from  leaving  school  so  early  as  they  generally  do  ?  Can  it  not  be  made  the 
means  of  conveying  moral  and  religious  instruction,  as  well  as  reading?  Where  is  the  man 
that  condemns  writing  in  Sunday  schools,  that  does  not,  for  some  purpose,  either  secular  or 
religious,  take  up  his  pen  and  make  use  of  it  on  the  Sabbath  day  ?  Surely,  if  it  be  a  ■  'n  to 
teach  youth  the  art  of  communicating  their  ideas  by  writing,  it  must  be  a  sin  lor  the 
superintendents,  committees,  visitors,  and  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools  to  call  over  the  names, 
mark  a  single  dot  for  present,  or  an  "a"  for  abient,  receive  the  subscriptions  of  the  scholan 
for  books,  or  for  a  superintendent  to  write  down  (with  either  black  lead  or  ink)  the  names 
of  the  absent  scholars,  to  give  to  their  teachers  for  visitation,  or  make  reports  of  the  pro- 
perity  of  the  school :  yet  these  things  are  regularly  done,  and,  according  to  their  idea 
without  sin. 

That  education  which  ameliorates,  or  is  expected  to  ameliorate,  the  condition  of  man, 
by  removing  the  present  arbitrary  distinctions,  and  placing  him  where  he  was  originally 
placed  by  his  Maker,  on  the  broad  platform  of  freedom  and  equality,  must  be  an  education 
which  will  store  the  mind  with  useful  knowledge,  which  will  make  the  scholar  acquainted 
with  all  those  parts  of  the  field  of  science  and  literature  which  will  be  useful  to  him  in  the 
character  in  which  he  may  be  called  to  act  in  the  great  drama  of  life, — which  will  unfold  to 
him  the  book  of  nature,  and  lead  him  on  to  nature's  God, — which  will  instruct  him  in  tlie 
history  of  by-gone  times,  that  will  teach  him  to  weigh  in  the  scale  of  reason  the  causes 
which  may  appear  to  have  led  to  the  downfal  of  the  once  mighty  and  flourishing  empires, 
whose  monarchs  swayed  the  sceptre  over  the  human  race,  and  derive  therefrom  lessons 
of  wisdom  to  warn  his  countrymen,  and  save  them,  perhaps,  from  a  similar  fate, — that 
will  enable  him  to  study,  and  maturely  weigh,  the  characters  of  those  great  men  of  anti' 
qu"ty,  whose  virtues  or  vices  have  caused  them  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity  as  t'.  ?  bei 
factors  or  oppressors  of  the  human  race,  which  shall  impart  to  him  lessons  of  virtue  andpii 
and  which  shall  strengthen  him  in  the  resolution  to  follow  the  bright  examples  of  the 
and  shun  the  fate  of  the  other 

Such  is  a  faint  idea  of  the  education  necessary  for  the  youth  of  England,  who  hold' 
their  hands,  or  vfill  hold,  not  only  their  own  destinies,  but  perhaps  those  of  half  the  human 
family.  And  I  feel  confident  that  children  reared  under  such  instruction  would  become 
useful  members  of  society,  diffusing  the  benefits  they  had  received  in  their  youth  to  suc- 


inti- 

1 

idV 


289 

ceeding  generations,  until  he  that  "  crieth  that  time  shall  be  no  more,  standeth  upon  the 
sea  and  the  land,  —  when  the  righteous  shall  receive  their  everlasting  reward." 

Yours,  respectfully, 
June  22,  1832.  R. 


INTEMPERANCE    AT    CHRISTENINGS,    &c. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — I  would  beg,  with  every  motive  of  sincerity  and  honesty,  through  the  medium 
i  of  your  intelligent  and  extensively  read  periodical,  to  make  a  few  observations  on  this  now 
i  interesting  and  all  absorbing  subject,  viz.  "intemperance;"  and  I  feel  it  necessary  to  do  so 
I  for  obvious  reasons.     For  my  own  ;  art,  I  view  the  topic  to  be  one  of  paramount  and  vital 
[importance  to  all  ranks  of  the  community;  it  presses  itself  upon  tlie  calm  and  serious  con- 
sideration of  the  wealthy  lordling,  as  well  as  the  poor  and  humble  peasant;  and  the  noble 
an  1  praiseworthy  example  being  set  by  the  former,  would,   I   feel  persuaded,  be  approved 
a  id  followed  by  the  latter.     It  is  not  my  intention  at  present,  however,  to  digress,  but 
in  iefly  to  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  practice  or  custom  now  unfortunately  becoming 
too  prevalent  amongst  a  certain  class — a  class  a  grade  above  the  lower  order  of  society, 
and  which  I  shall  here,  in  lieu  of  a  fitter  designation,  term  the  wtemperate  gossippers. 
The    custom   to  which    I    allude  is   the    predominating  vice   of  intemperance,    indulged 
in   upon    serious  and   solemn  occasions — at  the  awful,   and  should   be   repentant   time 
■of  death.     Witness  the  drunkard,  reeling  through  the  streets,  accompanying  the  remains 
of  a  departed  father  or  mother  1  and  also  upon  other  equally  important  occasions,  which 
oi\ght,  amongst  all  rational  and  professing  Christians,  necessarily  to  rail  for  a  due  and  res- 
pectful observance.      Much,  indeed,  has  been  written  and  said  (and  still  more  is  requisite) 
respecting  a  proper  observance  of  the  various  duties  which  occasionally  devolve  upon  us;  and 
■may  we  hope,  that  it  has  not  all  been  entirely  without  its  good  effects  ? 

Permit  me  to  draw  the  reader's  attention  to  an  example  of  folly  and  depravity  which 
took  place  some  time  ago  in  this  town,  at  the  christening  of  two  children  (not  twins)  belong- 
ing to  the  same  parents,  which  ceremony  was  performed  on  the  Sunday,  at  the  usual  time  and 
place.  The  writer  of  this  epistle  was  visited  by  one  of  the  party  early  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  intended  day,  who  desired  that  he  might  be  accompanied  to  the  residence  of  his  friends, 
^vliich  was  accordingly  complied  with.  On  our  arrival  we  were  ushered  into  that  part  of 
'le  house  designed  for  the  reception  of  visitors,  where  we  remained  for  a  short  time,  till 
iiir  attention  was  arrested  by  a  genteel  rap  outside  the  door,  and  which  being  attended  to 
ly  the  master  of  the  house,  immediately  two  females  presented  themselves,  who,  at  the 
list  glance,  appeared  to  be  ladies  of  some  distinction,  being  attired  in  silk  cloaks,  with  lute- 
i'tring  gowns,  veils,  muffs,  L?ghorn,  &c.  One  of  these  female  announced  to  the  expectant 
)arents  the  mournful  tidings  that  an  intended  godmother  could  not  attend,  as  her  mistress 
^iiuul  not  allow  her  permission  to  be  absent  the  whole  of  the  afternoon,  and  this,  she  said, 
'  been  such  a  cltop-faller  to  her  hopes  that  she  had  retired  to  bed,  where,  the  messenger 
cved,  she  had  cried  up  both  her  eyes!  Alas!  poor  child  of  thirty-five,  where  is  the 
iieart  that  will  not  be  touched  with  sympathy  at  hearing  of  such  harsh  treatment !  This 
Intelligence  threw  a  momentary  gloom  upon  every  countenance,  but  which  was  quickly 


290 

removed  by  the  messenger  (a  church-goer,  by  the  way)  voluntarily  offering  her  own  serrioa 
The  question  was  now  asked  by  one  of  the  individuals,  if  it  were  not  necessary  that  some  of 
them  should  attend  church  preparatory  to  the  christening,  the  bell  having  ceased  to  toll  nearly 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  ?  The  interrogation  was  quickly  replied  to,  by  the  mistress  of  the  house 
saying  that  such  a  step  was  quite  unnecessary ;  it  would  be  quite  sufficient  if  the  parties 
were  in  readiness  at  the  conclusion  of  the  service.  Thus,  the  going  to  church  for  any  other 
purpose  than  the  one  in  contemplation,  being  waved,  the  good  dame  of  the  house  next  an- 
nounced, that  the  group  (which  had  now  increased)  should  be  provided  with  something  to 
drink,  and  therevjith  make  themselves  comfortable,  which  expression  of  kindness  was  ac- 
knowledged with  thanks  ;  but  a  short  walk  was  proposed  first,  in  order  that  the  bottle 
might  be  in  gi eater  readiness  on  the  company's  return.  At  this  stage  of  my  narrative  I 
must  crave  the  indulgence  of  the  candid  reader,  (should  he  deem  me  abrupt,)  being  unable 
to  state  correctly,  from  personal  observation,  whether  the  bottle  was  called  into  requisitiml 
before  or  after  the  walk,  or  whether  the  latter  was  not  dispensed  with  altogether.  Being 
myself  a  temperate  and  consistent  person,  and  feeling  dissatisfied  with  the  society  in  whid^ 
I  then  unfortunately  found  myself  placed,  I  took  the  earliest  opportunity  to  decamp,  ib 
order  to  make  room  for  dispositions  and  appetites  more  congenial  to  the  approaching  farce, 
and  its  accompaniments.  Notwithstanding  my  absence,  I  may  just  remark,  that  the 
mockery  of  christening  was  got  through,  and  that  a  feast,  suited  to  the  occasion  and 
custom,  and  likewise  to  the  respectability  of  the  guests,  was  provided,  in  order  that 
they  might  spend  the  evening  in  the  greatest  harmony.  By  an  eye-witness,  who  inad-  •«' 
vertently  stepped  into  the  house  for  a  few  moments,  I  am  told  that  such  a  picture  of  dissipa- 
tion never  before  met  his  view  :  the  liquor  was  handed  round  with  alacrity  ;  the  male  por- 
tion were  handing  out  their  money,  while  the  females  (shame  to  tell)  subscribed  sixpence 
each,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  more  liquor  to  fill  up  their  skins  ;  and,  what  with  the 
clatter  and  jargon  of  tongues,  the  exulting  laughter,  the  volumes  of  smoke  arising  from 
cigars  and  tobacco  pipes,  and  stench  from  liquor,  together  with  a  confined  apartment,  the 
spectacle  was  truly  disgusting :  yet  all  appeared  in  their  happy  element.  The  fair  ones  (no 
doubt  through  inebriation)  seemed  to  have  become  bereft  of  all  regard  for  common  decency  ; 
some  appearing  seated  without  either  their  caps  or  bonnets,  whilst  others,  with  rubicund 
noses  and  wild  visages,  presented  their  naked  bosoms  to  open  view  !*  When  an  adjourn- 
ment took  place,  which  was  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  a  portion  of  these  respectables 
accompanied  each  other  to  their  several  homes,  as  well  as  circumstances  would  allow, 
and  when  arrived  at  the  residence  of  one  of  the  ladies,  a  kind  of  quarrel  arose,  wliere 
chairs  and  tables  were  tossed  about,  and  the  sober  disposed  and  peaceable  neighbours 
were  roused  from  their  slumbers  by  these  midnight  revellers ;  and  it  was  indeed  long  before 
harmony  was  restored.  But  I  must  now  conclude  ;  and,  candid  and  modest  reader,  be 
astonished  whilst  I  unfold  to  you  the  disgusting  idea,  and  tell  you  that  many  of  the  ab 
characters  attend  upon  our  Sunday  schools,  for  the  professed  purpose  of  instructing 
"teaching  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot!"  Oh!  for  language  calculated  to  strike  convi 
tion  to  the  hearts  of  such  mock  teachers  of  morality  and  virtuous  habits  I 

I  have  here  given  a  correct  detail  of  the  demoralizing  proceedings,  which,  not  unusi 


•  When  my  friend  related  these  facts,  he  added,  that  there  was  one  thing  he  much  lamenttfl 
which  was  that  our  humourous  flriend,  Cruickshanks,  was  not  permittfed  to  behold  sucH  an  origiilat*" 


real  Bacchanalian  group. 


291 

|al^>  take  place  at  the  above  ceremonies.  It  would,  indeed,  be  a  blessing  to  the  community, 
members  of  families  in  particular,  could  our  Temperance  Societies  effect  a  reformation  of 
such  practices.  The  parents,  in  this  case,  after  the  return  from  the  fulfilment  of  those  du- 
ties which  devolve  upon  them,  and  which  of  themselves  are  necessary  and  wholesome,  sit 
lown  with  their  friends,  Sunday  school  teachers  and  others,  and  render  the  event  sickening 
jy  the  manner  in  which  it  is  conducted.  But  the  excesses  committed  on  such  occasions  are  not 
til  that  is  reprehensible  ;  it  is  the  misery  and  deprivation  to  which  the  parents  and  children 
hemselves  afterwards  become  exposed  :  indeed,  it  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  the  mother  of 
;he  children,  in  this  instance,  told  her  neighbours  they  had  been  at  so  great  an  expense  at 
,he  time  of  the  christening,  that  she  knew  not  how  to  procure  sufficient  food  for  many  weeks 
ifterivards. 

Your  insertion  of  the  above  relation,  will,  I  trust,  serve  as  a  lesson  or  check  to  many 
)thers  leading  so  blind  a  course ;  and  I  beg  to  remain, 

Sir, 

Yours,  &c. 

Preston,  July  24th,  1832,  X. 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  INFANTS. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir, — In  the  last  number  of  your  much  esteemed  publication  you  were  pleased 
0  insert  my  letter  on  infant  slavery  in  England.  I  purpose  to  continue  the  subject  by  a 
hoit  dissertation  on  the  rights  of  infants.  We  have  heard  much  of  the  rights  of  iudus- 
ly,  the  rights  of  the  poor,  of  the  people,  of  men,  and  of  women,  and  it  is  proper  that  we 
hould  also  consider  the  rights  of  children. 

Whether  vice,  folly,  imprudence,  or  lawful  and  honourable  matrimony  give  it  being, 
10  child  can  choose  whether  it  shall  or  shall  not  come  into  the  world,  nor  can  it  choose 
vhether  it  shall  be  born  in  a  dark  or  in  an  enlightened  age,  in  a  civilized  or  in  an  ignorant 
nd  barbarous  country ;  whether  its  parents  shall  be  rich  or  poor,  pining  for  want  or  pam- 
ered  with  luxuries ;  whether  they  shall  be  learned  or  unlearned,  sensible  or  foolish,  virtu- 
us  or  vicious,  sober  or  drunken  ;  whether  they  shall  faithfully  perform  their  duty  towards 
t,  or  entirely  neglect  it ;  whether  the  means  of  its  instruction  shall  be  wise  and  prudent,  or 
illy  and  inefficient;  or  whether  the  scenes  through  which  it  must  pass,  and  the  companions 
.ith  whom  it  must  associate,  shall  be  such  as  are  favourable  to  mental  and  moral  cultiva- 
'on  and  improvement,  or  the  very  reverse :  though  these  circumstances  form  the  character 
f  every  human  being  throughout  life.  And  since  the  character  of  every  child  is  altogether 
Has  formed  for,  and  not  by,  itself,  it  can  be  neitha-  responsible  nor  blameable  for  that 
haracter,  whatever  it  may  be  :  it  presents  itself  before  us  lovely,  innocent,  and  helpless, 
raving,  nay,  demanding,  as  its  birthright,  protection,  support,  and  instruction ;  and  it  is 
le  duty  of  its  parents  to  afford  them ;  and  if  they  should  be  unable,  this  duty  devolves  upon 
ociety,  and  every  individual  member  of  it ;  and  if  it  be  neglected,  the  blame  and  responsi- 
ility  rests  upon  those  who  have  not  made  use  of  the  means  thus  put  into  their  hands  by  a 
eneficent  Creator  for  the  education  and  reform  of  the  Whole  human  race. 


292 

In  bodily,  mental,  and  moral  capabilities,  when  they  first  come  into  the  world,  the  chil- 
dren of  the  prince  and  the  peasant,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  are  the  same:  place  them  all  in 
equally  favourable  circumstances,  and  train  them  all  with  equal  care,  they  will  remain  80> 
throughout  life.  In  boundless  love  the  Great  Supreme  has  given  (with  few  exceptions)  t0 
every  child  of  man,  hands  of  curious  workmanship,  senses  of  seeing,  hearing,  feeling,  smel- 
ling, and  tasting,  a  mind  capable  of  perception,  memory,  imagination,  reason,  sympathy, 
affection,  and  of  receiving  the  most  exalted  pleasures  from  their  proper  cultivation  and  ex- 
ercise. It  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  an  infinitely  wise  and  good  Being  would  havfl 
bestowed  these  gifts  equally  upon  ALL,  unless  he  had  intended  that  all  should  exercise  an4 
enjoy  them;  therefore,  society  in  general,  and  every  individual  member  of  society,  and  more; 
particularly  those  possessed  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  most  of  all  the  governments  of  this  anjlf, 
every  other  country,  and  each  individual  composing  those  governments,  are  unquestionably 
acting  in  direct  opposition  to  the  manifest  will  of  their  Creator,  so  long  as  they  neglect  tf^ 
use  every  means  in  their  power  to  obtain  the  best  possible  education  for  the  children  of  the 
whole  population.  If,  then,  we  make  any  pretensions  to  reason  or  humanity,  profess  to 
be  philanthropists  or  patriots,  or  if  we  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  God,  surely  the  rising 
generation  has  a  right  to  claim  from  us  support,  protection,  and  mental  and  moral  cuUita- 
tion.  But,  further  —  the  great  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  are,  "  Thou  shah  love 
the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength,  and  thou  sludt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself;  there  are  none  other  commandments  greater  than  the>c  ; " 
says  the  Saviour  of  men.  The  man  who  seeks  every  means  of  improving  his  own  mind, 
and  gives  to  his  children  the  best  education,  whilst  he  neglects  to  use  every  means  in  his 
power  of  imparting  these  blessings  in  an  equal  degree  to  all  the  children  of  the  poor  around 
him,  shows  no  proof  of  his  love  to  God  :  he  does  not  obey  his  Saviour's  command,  "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  nor  has  he  any  right  to  the  name  of  Christian. — 
"  Suffer,  then,  all  the  little  children  to  come  unto  Christ,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  God."  Whoever  he  may  be,  and  whatever  government,  or  individuals 
belonging  to  and  composing  it,  there  may  be,  that  throw  any  obstructions  in  the  way  of  this 
general  instruction  of  the  people,  "  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged 
about  his  neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea."  "  Feed  my  lambs," 
was  the  Saviour's  last  command;  and  his  last  sentence  to  the  unfeeling  will  be,  "I  was 
hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat;  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink;  a  stranger,  and  ye 
took  me  not  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not;  sick  and  in  prison  (the  factory)  and  ye 
visited  me  not:  for  inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren, 
ye  have  not  done  it  unto  me:  and  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment."  Afi 
you  a  Christian?  Then  children  have  an  indisputable  raciiT  to  claim  from  yoa  food 
clotJiing,  and  nourishment  fur  the  mind ;  and  woe  unto  you  if  these  be  denied  ! 

"  Suppose  we  grant  you  all  this,"  you  will  perhaps  say,  "  where  are  means  to  be  foun 
for  bringing  about  so  extensive  a  scheme  ?"  The  reply  to  this  question  will  be  the  subje 
of  a  future  letter.  I  afti,  very  respectfully. 

Dear  Sir, 

Liverpool,  10th  August,  1832.  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

A  LOVER  OF  LIBERTI 


J  Liv$tey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  id!  OCTOBER  1,   1832.  Vol.  II. 

THE  DISUNION  OF  SOCIETY,  AND  THE  MEANS  OF  REMOVING  IT. 

i 

TO    THOSE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AND    HIGHER    RANKS    OF    LIFE. 

t 

Friends ! 
i       The  present  peculiar  condition  of  society  calls  aloud  for  your  serious 
deliberation,  and  for  the  exercise  of  your  best  efforts  to  preserve  the 
ieace,  the  harmony,  and  well  being  of  yoiu-  country.       Do  I  need  to 
ttempt  a  description  of  the  disunion  and  agitation  which  prevails,  or  of 
ite  vices  of  all  classes  to  which  they  give  birth  ?     They  are  before  you ; 
be  alarm  is  in  your  ears,  and  you  cannot  but  fear  for  yourselves  as  to 
ie  results.     The  contentment,  and  harmony,  and  rural  happiness  which 
"nee  blessed  this  part  of  the  country  are  no  more;  mutual  intercourse 
tid  good  fellowship  between  the  higher  and  lower  classes  are  ahnost  un- 
nown,  and  very  few  kind  offices  performed,  except  compelled  by  interest 
r  the  law.     Even  the  sacred  ties  of  religion,  which  ought  to  be  the  bul- 
ark  of  the  nation,  are  scarcely  regarded,  and  the  ministers,  whose  influ- 
nce  and  example  ought  to  have  amalgamated  men  into  one  common 
rotherhood,  have  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people.     When  you  thus  see 
jciety  let  loose,  often  regardless  of  the  law,  and  generally  of  the  obliga- 
ons  of  gratitude,  humanity,  or  honour ;  when  you  see  man  opposed  to 
lan,  and  invariably  the  poor  set  against  the  rich,  it  certainly  behoves  you 
)  begin  seriously,  for  your  own  sakes,  if  you  have  no  higher  motive,  to 
;ek  a  remedy.    Ignorance,  poverty,  and  misery,  on  the  part  of  the  poor, 
ride  and  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  rich,  have  served  to  produce  a 
ate  of  conflicting  interests  among  us ;  and  the  increase  of  wealth,  with- 
it  a  proportionate  degree  of  moral  culture,  has  also  given  the  shadow 
greatness  to  our  nation,  while  destitute  of  that  social  symmetry  in 
hich  national  strength  consists.     The  poor  will  not  now  be  content  in 

VOL.    II.  2  o 


294 

their  privations,  and  a  spirit  of  revenge  is  clearly  gaining  ground.  Many 
of  you  may  be  too  much  absorbed  in  business  to  pay  attention  to  the 
wants  or  the  discontents  of  the  poor,  and  others  may  view  the  matter  as 
only  to  be  met  by  additional  severity ;  but  if  you  had  the  opportunities 
which  I  possess  of  hearing  them  speak  of  the  xich,  and  of  those  in  better 
circumstances  generally,  you  would  view  the  subject  as  demanding  imme- 
diate attention.  He  is  the  wisest  man  who  sees  a  coming  evil  and  pre- 
vents it.  Eveiy  year,  I  can  perceive,  the  breach  gets  wider  and  wider ; 
and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  political  power,  giving  due  importance 
to  talent  without  wealth,  and  to  simple  citizenship  without  rank,  unless 
accompanied  by  moral  improvement,  will  increase  the  schism.  Men  have 
ceased  to  worship  names,  or  to  bow  down  before  "a  golden  calf:"  a 
libertv  of  judging  and  of  speaking  is  now  claimed,  and  nothing  but  rew. 
merit  in  any  who  move  in  your  sphere  of  life  will  now  be  respected  by  the 
lower  classes.  I  am  apprehensive,  that,  though  we  are  peaceable  at  pre- 
sent, such  a  spirit  at  present  exists  as,  by  the  occurrence  of  a  single 
"  untoward"  event,  everv  man  would  have  to  dread  the  consequence 
The  agitation  in  nearly  all  the  boroughs  intended  to  send  members  tc 
parliament ;  the  rancorous,  malevolent  feelings  displayed ;  and  the  despe- 
rate spirit  of  revenge  which  is  abroad,  especially  towards  the  wealthie 
individuals  of  the  community,  cannot  be  mistaken :  they  indicate  the  ex 
istence  of  a  sore,  which,  unless  attended  to  and  healed  by  judicious  treat 
ment,  is  likely  to  prove  fatal.  Let  me  tell  you,  then,  gentlemen,  that  i 
is  high  time  for  you  to  try  to  set  yourselves  right  with  the  people.  Le 
me  tell  you,  that  however  much  you  may  despise  these  symptoms, 
however  much  vou  may  exculpate  yourselves  as  not  having  been  accessi 
to  them,  thev  do  exist,  and  must  be  either  removed  or  worse  will  foil 

In  meditating  upon  a  remedy,  never  entertain  the  idea  of  coerci 
measures  :  they  have  been  long  tried  in  vain,  for  though  they  may  hai 
answered  in  times  of  great  servility,  the  rising  spirit  of  the  British  people 
not  now  yield  to  so  debasing  a  control.  Sanguinary  laws  were  enact( 
and  have  been  the  means  of  suppressing  some  evil ;  but  have  they  not  d 
ciplined  a  race  of  men  more  revengeful  of  their  wrongs  and  more  impatii 
of  restraint  ?  I  like  not  the  policy  of  depending  up  n  physical  strengi 
of  garrisoning  prisons  and  building  barracks :  I  like  a  system  of 
ciliation,  of  kindness  and  good  will,  connected  with  the  means  of  educati 
and  improvement,  and  so  extended  as  to  lead  the  people  to  appreciate 
worth.  Human  beings  whom  the  sword  and  the  bayonet  cai.not  gov 
may  be  led  like  lambs  with  gentle,  sincere,  and  affectionate  treatmeiB 


i 


295 

and,  thank  Providence,  whether  we  are  willing  to  use  it  or  not,  this 
remedy  is  still  in  our  hands.  To  reclaim  the  working  class  from  their 
enmity  to  their  superiors,  by  severity,  is  impossible ;  but  a  conciliatory 
spirit,  a  spirit  of  equity,  and  of  sincere,  manifest  attachment  to  their 
interest,  if  gone  about  judiciously,  is  sure  to  succeed.  The  fact  is, 
till  the  people  are  better,  till  more  "  unitv,  peace,  and  concord"  prevail, 
it  is  almost  in  vain  to  legislate  :  even  good  laws  are  difficult  to  carry  into 
execution,  and  are  often  frustrated  by  interest  or  faction.  When,  there- 
fore, you  see  or  read  of  tumultuous  movements ;  when  you  witness  t. 
spirit  of  insubordination ;  when  you  hear  the  working  men  calling  their 
superiors  rogues  and  tyrants,  instead  of  evincing  the  same  spirit  of  terror, 
reflect  seriously  how  it  has  come  to  pass  that  these  men,  who  are  your 
neighbours,  perhaps  your  servants,  should  thus  stand  in  open  collision 
with  yourselves.  And  though  I  dare  say  many  of  you  will  turn  away 
from  the  assertion  with  affected  disgust,  be  assured  that,  either  by 
oinission  or  commission,  you  yourselves  are  implicated  in  the  cause,  and  you 
ought  to  be  the  first  to  hold  out  the  olive  branch  of  peace. 

My  recommendation,  I  know,  will  be  met  by  a  series  of  criminating 
charges.  "  They  are  a  dissatisfied,  envious,  ungrateful  set  of  people,"  it 
will  be  said.  Some  may  be  so,  in  the  most  extensive  sense  of  the  words  ; 
but  you  must  not  condemn  all,  especially  without  going  more  among  them 
tc  see  how  far  they  deserve  this  character.  But,  in  reference  to  the 
worst,  you  must  consider  their  circumstances,  how  they  have  been  edu- 
cated, the  privations  they  have  endured,  the  few  opportunities  they  have 
of  improving  their  minds,  added  to  the  want  of  good  example  and  good 
heatment  from  yourselves  :  all  these  will  plead,  I  think,  for  great  mitiga- 
tion in  your  censures.  If  we  had  been  placed  in  their  situation,  should 
we  have  exhibited  fewer  symptoms  of  imperfection  ?  Fix  the  blame, 
(lowever,  where  we  may,  the  facts  of  the  case  are  before  you,  and  they 
ire  such  as  you  cannot  but  feel.  Let  us,  then,  begin  afresh.  Taking 
society  as  we  now  have  it,  let  every  man  in  the  middling  and  upper  circles 
3f  life  START  in  the  work  of  social  improvement,  and,  no  doubt,  when 
heir  sincerity  is  manifest,  they  will  be  joined  by  the  poor,  and  will  be 
ible  to  effect  changes  such  as  will  be  gratifying  to  both.  To  this  end  I 
•ubmit  the  following  advice. 

Let  your  assistance  be  personal.  There  are  many  among  the  rich 
■vho  are  well  disposed  towards  the  poor,  but  are  very  backward  to  render 
yersonal  service.  They  will  subscribe  to  every  charity,  and  wish  well  and 
ippla«d  every  philanthropic  institution,  and,  perhaps,  move  or  second  i. 


396 

resolution  at  a  public  meeting ;  but  they  will  not  visit  the  miserable 
abodes  of  the  poor,  mix  with  their  company,  or  invite  them  to  their 
homes.  The  working  man  likes  to  see  you  beneath  his  roof,  to  hear 
your  own  words,  and  to  receive  any  bounty  you  have  to  confer  with  your 
own  smile.  There  is  something  so  engaging  in  personal  communications, 
where  there  is  real  friendship,  that  no  proxy  can  supply.  Your  presence 
in  their  streets,  and  your  advice  and  encouragement,  will  be  well  received, 
and  you  will  not  be  less  welcome  at  the  fire  sides  of  the  poor,  though 
there  be  less  ceremony,  than  you  are  among  your  rich  friends.  As  chil- 
dren of  the  same  family,  try  to  establish  a  constant  intercourse  with  them, 
and  make  them  welcome  to  your  board  at  every  convenient  opportxmity. 
Unfortunately,  the  houses  of  the  rich  are  all  built  together,  and  in  a 
locality  sufficiently  separate  from  the  dwellings  of  the  poor,  and  we  really 
have,  for  a  long  time,  cultivated  so  marked  a  separation,  that  no  wonder 
we  begin  to  see  its  pernicious  effects.  Turn  the  attention  of  your  chil- 
dren, also,  to  the  same  thing  :  instead  of  allowing  your  sons  and  daughters 
to  spend  all  their  time  in  vain  pursuits  and  fashionable  company,  train 
them  to  the  pleasure  and  the  duty  of  mixing  with  the  working  class  and 
trying  to  better  their  condition. 

Try,  in  the  next  place,  to  effect  all  those  changes  in  their  social  habits 
which  you  well  know  would  contribute  to  the  good  of  all.  But  before  I 
press  this,  allow  me  to  remind  you,  that  your  own  example  must  lead  all 
your  efibrts.  See  that  your  oivn  conduct  is  irreproachable,  and  that  your 
own  motives  are  above  suspicion.  Thus  fortified,  you  may  begin  with  con- 
fidence ;  and  it  is  only  with  such  consistent  persons,  however  general  my 
exhortation,  that  I  can  have  any  hopes  of  success.  If  you  ask,  what  is  it 
that  we  are  to  do  ?  I  answer,  you  must  use  all  your  efforts  to  raise  indus- 
trious, sober  men  above  a  state  of  poverty  and  dependancy — to  bring 
within  their  reach  and  the  reach  of  their  offspring,  the  blessings  of  gene; 
education — to  give  them  the  same  chance  of  acquiring  correct  informati 
as  to  all  matters  of  interest,  with  the  higher  orders  in  society — to  aid 
aspiring  and  the  meritorious  workman  in  accomplishing  what  his  own  b: 
means  will  not  afford — to  try  to  rescue  the  working  class  from  that  grei 
est  of  all  curses,  intemperance — to  supply  them  gratuitously  with  mo: 
and  religious  instruction — and  to  raise  them  to  comfort  in  the  world, 
give  them  their  due  importance  in  the  social  compact.  Propose  to  yo 
selves  nothing  less  than  these  objects ;  and  although  the  task  may  seeai 
weighty,  and  the  chance  of  success  small,  if  a  number  will  unite,  and  p 
ceed  with  the  likeliest  means,  and  with  a  determined  spirit  of  perseveraa 


297 

they  will  not  labour  in  vain.  After  becoming  acquainted  with  their  con- 
dition and  their  prejudices,  you  will  perceive  the  best  course  to  take,  and 
that  will  vary  according  to  the  object  to  be  attained.  I  hold  it  to  be  im- 
possible that  some  of  the  changes  can  be  effected,  essential  to  the  interests 
of  the  working  man,  without  legislative  enactments.  In  obtaining  this,  at 
a  seasonable  opportunity,  you  ought  to  take  the  lead,  and,  as  individuals, 
you  ought  to  become  open  advocates  for  the  poor,  and  defenders  of  the  rights 
of  the  industidous.  You  must  endeavour  to  impress  upon  magistrates,  and 
iothers  in  authority,  the  best  plans  of  ameliorating  their  condition  ;  and,  in- 
deed, you  must  press  upon  the  attention  of  all  the  propriety  of  rendering  you 
assistance.  How  can  any  man  of  good  feeling  reconcile  himself  to  be 
neutral,  while  hundreds  and  thousands  of  his  fellows,  surrounded  with  nu- 
merous families,  and  immured  in  miserable  cellars,  are  labouring  for  six 
or  seven  shillings  a  week  ?  How  can  we  endure  to  see  the  great  mass  of 
the  poor,  and  among  them  many  of  superior  parts,  either  through  poverty 
or  vice,  denied  all  the  gratification  of  mental  pursuits,  of  attaining  inter- 
esting knowledge,  and,  frequently,  even  of  the  lowest  attainments  of 
common  education  ?  Or  how  can  we  shew  anv  love  to  our  neighbour, 
svhile  we  view,  with  the  gaze  of  indifference,  the  spread  of  misery  and 
:rime,  consequent  upon  drunkenness,  among  so  manv  of  our  clever  work- 
nen,  whose  earnings  are  sufficient  to  make  them  comfortable  ?  No  !  we 
mist  begin  to  work.  And  the  first  thing  is,  to  get  them  all  to  their  sober 
senses  ;  to  rescue  them  from  the  thraldom  of  intoxication  ;  to  deliver  them 
"rem  the  devouring  jaws  of  that  monster  intemperance  ;  for  until  this  be 
iccomplished,  it  is  impossible  to  raise  them  in  the  scale  of  social  being. 
\dvice,  friendship,  charity",  emplo^Tiient,  instruction,  all  amount  to  nothing 
f  we  cannot  save  them  from  this  source  of  evils.  And,  anxious  as  I  am 
or  the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  ready  as  I  am  to  join  others  in  making 
my  sacrifice  for  this  purpose,  and  apprehensive  as  I  also  am  of  the  ten- 
iency  of  the  present  feelings  betwixt  the  rich  and  the  poor,  unless  we  can 
irst  persuade  the  majority  to  abandt)n  the  debasing  sin  of  drinking,  we 
nay  dispair  of  success.  But,  I  hope,  this  will  be  accomplished  ;  and,  then, 
)y  friendly  intercourse,  and  by  supplving  them  with  the  best  means  of  in- 
ormation,  and  endeavouring  to  ease  their  burdens,  they  will  be  disposed 
0  support  and  defend  the  rich,  as  their  friends,  rather  than  malign  them 
15  their  enemies.  At  all  events,  let  us  try  what  we  can  do ;  an  aristo- 
ratic  seclusion  has  evidently  done  a  great  deal  of  harm,  and  the  common, 
nterest  of  our  country  has  been  sacrificed  to  that  of  caste.  Let  the  contrary 
ystem  be  pursued ;  let  virtue  and  talent  be  respected,  though  they  bloom 


298 

in  the  shade,  and  every  sufferer  share  our  sympathy,  though  the  poorest  iti 
the  land. 

A  host  of  motives  arise  in  my  mind  to  induce  us  to  go  on,  but  I  Tvill 
not  undertake  the  repetition.  I  will  only  observe,  as  a  hint  to  some  who 
are  professors  of  religion,  that  thus  to  "do  good"  to  our  fellow  creature* 
is  the  best  mark  of  "pure  and  un defiled  religion."  It  is  so,  evea 
as  promoting  the  well  being  cf  man  for  tinie,  and,  also,  as  likely  tQ , 
connect  with  his  best  interests  for  ever.  True  religion,  as  exemplifiidA 
in  Jesus  and  his  disciples,  is  an  active,  social  principle,  and  consists,  per- 
haps, less  in  making  long  prayers  and  observing  rites  and  ceremonies, 
than  going  about  doing  good. 

I  leave  these  remarks  for  your  perusal,  but  not  without  my  fears.  I 
know  the  objections  winch  will  arise  in  your  minds.  Some  will  have  no 
time,  many  a  disinclination,  and  most  will  think  the  attempt  hopeless. 
You  would  rather  visit  a  rich  friend,  and  enjoy  your  evening  glass,  or 
pursue  some  personal  gi-atification.  Of  the  necessity  of  something  being 
done  to  alter  the  condition  and  character  of  the  labouring  class,  and  of, 
bringing  them  to  a  state  of  amity  witli  the  rich,  you  cannot  dispute  ;  of  ti 
consequences  of  neglecting  it,  I  am  seriously  apprehensive  ;  and  after  being 
faithfully  warned,  upon  you  be  the  blame.  If  left  alone,  like  the  woman 
in  the  gospel,  I  will  do  what  I  can.  What  a  pleasure  there  is  in  being  the 
means  of  rescuing  our  fellow  creatures  from  a  state  of  poverty  and  vice, 
directing  their  feet  in  the  paths  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  diffusing  gladn 
and  peace  among  the  miserable  of  the  land,  and  uniting  society  in 
bonds  of  permanent  peace  ! 

J.  L. 


INTIMIDATION  AT  ELECTIONS,  WITH  THE  EDITOR'S  REMARKS. 


TO    THE    EDITOR    OF    THE    MORAL    REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir, — In  your  last,  under  the  head  of  "  The  Morality  of  Elections,"  you  state,7 
the  third  paragraph,  that  your  disapproval  of  the  intimidations  expressed,  and  toooH 
practised,  by  the  working  men  towards  shopkeepers,  &c.,  is  equal,  to  what  it  is,  towa 
that  degrading,  demoralizing,  and  detestable  traflSc,  which  is  generally  practised  bety 
the  electors  and  candidates,  or  their  friends,  at  elections.      As  I  may  not  understand  I 
aright,  I  will,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  draw  an  illustration  of  my  view  of  the  subject.  Fil 
allow  me  to  remind  you  of  the  virtual  representation,  of  which  it  is  always  said 
-working  classes  are  possessed;  and  again,  of  the  millions,  who,  by  the  imperfection  of* 


299 

:enstitution,  have  to  abide  by  the  manner  in  which  that  virtual  representation  is  used. 
Juppose  that  I  dealt  with  a  grocer,  who  is  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  election  of  represen- 
atives,  and  he  was  inclined,  nay  determined  to  support  that  candidate  of  whom  I  disap- 
)rove.  For  reason,  I  will  say,  of  his  not  being  willing  to  extend  the  suffrage  to  that  class 
if  society  to  which  I  have  the  misfortune  to  belong,  I  reason  with  him  upon  this  point, 
nd  threaten  to  withdraw  my  custom,  and  by  his  obduracy,  I  put  my  threat  into  execution. 
;hall  I  merit  the  disapproval  of  my  friends  for  so  doing  ?  Have  not  I  as  great  a  right  to 
leal  with  whom  I  please,  as  he  has  to  vote  for  whom  he  pleases  ?  And  how  long  may  we 
xpect  the  present  system  of  things  to  continue,  if  the  virtually  represented  are  not  upon 
he  alert,  and  secure  the  election  of  as  many  honest  members,  in  the  ensuing  parliaments, 
.5  they  can !  But,  further,  how  could  I  know  his  reason  for  being  so  obdurate,  since  we 
re  aware,  that  as  soon  as  men  declare  their  intention  of  becoming  candidates — like  wolves 
fter  prey — they  visit  every  voter  in  the  town,  soliciting  support,  and  there,  with  the  courtesy 
I  i'f  gentlemen,  and  the  fine  promises  of  hypocrites,  it  is  seldom  that  they  leave  the  apart- 
tljpents  but  they  are  smiling  at  the  promises  of  support  which  they  obtain  ?  Yes,  I  say,  how 
ould  I  know  but  it  is — like  your  neighbour— that  detestable  principle  of  taking  care  of 
lumber  one — that  has  taken  possession  of  his  heart,  instead  of  the  welfare  of  the  community 
,iit  large.  But  the  working  man's  right  to  demand  the  support  of  the  shopkeeper,  &c.,youpro- 
[ably  will  consider  to  be  answered  in  the  manner  in  which  you  cut  off  the  right  of  the  master 
lo  demand  the  votes  of  his  workmen.  But  between  these  two,  I  consider,  there  is  a  material 
jifference.  There  is,  on  the  one  hand,  the  master  manufacturer,  who,  rolling  in  luxury 
Ind  splendour,  with  a  magnificent  dwelling,  a  spacious  park,  a  large  retinue  of  servants,  and 
n  actual  voice  withal,  comes  forward  to  demand  the  votes  of  his  workmen.  'Whilst  on  the 
ther  hand,  there  is  the  poor,  the  neglected,  the  degraded  artisan,  whose  emaciated  frame 
)  o'erhung  with  the  tattered  remnants  of  better  times,  whose  wretched  hovel  bespeaks  the 
ivilization  and  moral  attainments  of  the  country  in  which  he  lives ;  yes,  I  say,  the  artisan, 
■hose  condition  the  pea  can  never  describe,  nor  the  pencil  delineate;  who  is  the  only  per- 
wi  that  stands  in  need  of  political  protection  ;  who  is  left  alone  with  virtual  representation. 
iQd  how  must  they  use  this  virtual  voice?  is  a  question  which  I  ask,  and  to  which  I  crave 
n  answer.     With  all  due  respect  to  your  good  motives  and  patriotism, 

1  remain,  yours  truly, 

August  10th,  1832.  A  YOUTH. 


ANSWER. 

I  insert  the  above  letter  because  it  contains  perhaps  the  best  argii- 
~lients  for  the  practice  defended  that  can  be  adduced,  and  because  it  s.  ives 
le  an  opportunity  of  making  a  few  additional  observations,  and,  more 
specially,  as  I  happen  to  have  seen  a  resolution  passed  by  the  unrepre- 
ented  at  Macclesfield,  whence  the  letter  proceeds,  to  the  following  effect : 
''  That  we,  the  unrepresented,  have  agreed,  individually  and  collectively, 
athout  any  evasion  or  mental  reservation,  that  we  will  not  expend  one 
alfpenny  with  any  medical  man,  grocer,  publican,  butcher,  baker,  flour 


300 

dealer,  innkeeper,  draper,  barber,  nor  any  other  person  or  persons  wha' 
soever ;  and  we  further  promise  that  we  will  use  all  our  endeavours  an^ 
influence  with  our  friends  and  acquaintances  to  follow  our  example,  in  not 
trading,  directly  or  indirectly,  with  any  elector,  or  other  person  or  per- 
sons  whatsoever,  whether  male  or  female,  who  is  known  to  aid  or  assist 
any  candidate  who  will  not  give  the  above  pledges  ! "  v 

I  approach  this  question,  I  hope,  with  perfect  impartiality  ;  having  no 
prejudice  or  interest  but  what  would  lead  me  to  favour  the  poor,  I  may 
be  quit  of  all  charge  of  hostility  to  their  interest;  and  having  resided 
about  twenty  years  in  a  borough  where  universal  suflfrage  is  possessed,  I 
may  be  able  to  confirm  my  positions  by  something  more  than  theory. 

I  observe,  first,  that  this  notion  of  "virtual  representation,"  so  ofte»: 
repeated,  is  founded  in  mistake.     I  believe  no  such  thing  is  mentioned^ 
either  in  the  reform  bill,  or  by  any  authority  upon  the  subject ;  and  th# 
phrase  was  invented,  as  a  deception,  by  those  who  have  always  been  o 
posed  to  parliamentary  reform,  and  as  an  answer  to  the  arguments 
favour  of  an  extended  franchise.     And  for  the  working  classes  of  Ma 
clesfield,  or  any  other  place,  to  assume  that  they  possess  such  a  thing,  ai 
to  ground  upon  it  the  doctrine  of  dictation,  is  the  worst  policy  they  ci 
adopt.     It  would  be  much  better  to  say,  what  indeed  is  the  fact,  that  th 
have  no  franchise  at  all,  and  to  seek  to  obtain,  by  every  laudable  me 
this  constitutional  right.     If  they  possess  a  "virtual  voice,"  and  this 
to  CONTROL  the   "  actual  voice."  it  is  not  they,  surely,  but  the  othe: 
that  have  to  complain.     There  is  no  more  a  "  virtual  representation"  than 
there  is  a  virtual  service  on  juries,  or  a  virtual  service  in  the  militia. 
The  elective  franchise  is  an  important  trust,  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  part 
of  the  people  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  which  ought  to  be  exercised 
conscientiously,  and  without  any  undue  influence.    A  difierence  of  opi 
has  always  existed,   and  will  exist,  as  to  the  class  of  persons  in  whoi 
hands  this  trust  should  be  placed ;  and  though  I  consider  the  new  cons' 
tuency  infinitely  superior  to  the  old  one,  yet  the  bill  does  not  confer  that 
EQUAL  representation,    which,    without    naming  its   extent,   is   essential 
for  promoting  the  interests  of  all  classes.     The  exclusion  of  most  of  the 
working  people,  therefore,  is  not  the  fault  of  the  present  electors,  but  of 
the  law ;  and  having  this  trust  placed  in  their  hands,  they  ought  not  to 
influenced  by  others  in  the  exercise  of  it  except  by  argument  and  p' 
suasion.     And,  in  wishing  to  be  brought  within  the  pale  of  the  electii 
privilege,  I  put  it  to  every  sensible  man,  whether  the  working  classes 
not  more  likely  to  succeed  by  declaring  that  they  are  entirely  exclui 


)iseQ 


301 

and  grounding  upon  it  proceedings  for  redress,  than  by  assuming  a  right 
which,  as  the  law  is,  they  cannot  claim,  and  in  the  pretended  exercise  of 
which  they  violate  the  first  principles  of  morality. 

The  middle  class,  it  is  said,  are  fixed  upon  as  the  safest  depositaries 
oi  the  elective  power ;  and,  certainly,  if  thetj  were. honest,  they  have,  gene- 
rally, the  benefit  of  education,  and  the  best  means  of  acquiring  correct  in- 
formation ;  yet,  if  the  extremely  poor  are  to  be  excluded,  the  excessively 
rich  ought  to  have  been  excluded  also  ;  and  then,  perhaps,  the  balance 
ivould  have  appeared  more  equal.  But,  I  confess,  however  I  may  disap- 
prove of  so  limited  a  sufirage,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  the  interests 
)f  the  "ten-pounder,"  of  the  grocer,  publican,  butcher,  baker,  barber, 
md  draper,  can  be  at  variance  with  that  of  the  working  class.  Both  are 
nterested  alike  in  cheap  bread,  cheap  religion,  the  destruction  of  mono- 
)olies,  and  the  remission  of  taxes ;  and  we  know  well,  that  the  gains  and 
esses  of  these  classes,  generally,  are  regulated  by  the  condition  of  those 
vho  are  the  great  consumers  of  the  articles  they  sell.  But,  if  there  be  a 
'  virtual  franchise,"  to  be  used  as  my  correspondent  suggests,  the  indi- 
iduals  now  enfranchised  by  the  bill,  are  in  a  much  worse  condition  than 
vhen  they  had  no  vote  ;  and  if  one  party  is  to  prey  vjjon  and  dictate  to  the 
)ther,  pray  let  the  poor,  for  their  own  sakes,  be  content  as  they  are,  lest  it 
)e  worse  for  them.  If  the  present  electors  are  to  be  thus  treated  as  slaves, 
ve  see  at  once  the  reason  why  so  many  have  refused  to  qualify.  Upon  this 
•rinciple  the  unrepresented  are  the  electors  in  fact,  and  the  "ten  pounder" 
he  mere  echo  of  what  the  others  say.  This  "  virtual  representation," 
raced  in  its  consequences,  implies,  that  the  electors  are  not  to  judge  and 
ecide  for  themselves,  nor  to  vote  according  to  their  own  consciences,  but 
ccording  to  the  dictation  of  their  customers ;  and  the  same  principle, 
eing  as  applicable  to  places  as  persons,  would  lead  unrepresented  Chorley 
0  say  to  Preston,  "  We  claim  the  right  of  saying  whom  you  shall  elect ; 
ote  as  we  dictate,  or  we  will  cut  off  all  connection  with  you."  Indeed, 
'very  minor  might  thus  control  and  dictate  to  those  of  fidl  age,  and  the 
omen  might  hereby  gain  imperial  power !  I  am  sorry  that  the  working 
len  don't  see  that  such  a  project  is  as  inconsistent  as  it  is  impracticable. 
V^ill  the  shopkeepers  be  goaded  by  these  unconstitutional  threats  ?  Not 
ley ;  and  it  is  a  query,  in  many  cases,  whether  the  obligation  is  not  on  the 
ther  side.  Were  any  of  the  threatening  party  to  become  possessed  of 
lie  privilege  of  giving  a  vote,  would  they  like  to  be  controled  ?  would 
!iey  like  their  firmness  and  consistency  to  be  termed  "  obduracy  ?"  But, 
ypothesis  out  of  the  question,  have  not  the  electors  of  Preston,  the  great 

VOL.    II.  2  P 


3oa 

body  of  whom  are  working'  men,  always  condemned,  in  the  strongest 
terms,  this  compulsory  interference  ?  Does  not  this  constitute  the  galling 
yoke  which  they  have  been  striving  so  many  years  to  remove  ?  and  it  will 
be  to  their  open  disgrace  if  they  now  begin  to  practise  that  which  they 
have  always  condemned.  Is  it  so,  that  the  cry  of  liberty  is  the  mere 
password  to  oppression  ? 

But  what  does  all  this  declamation  about  purchasing  provisions,  &c. 
amount  to,  but  that  the  exercise  of  the  elective  right  may  be  bought  and 
sold?  Does  my  correspondent  approve  of  this  ?  He  speaks  of  "  that  de- 
testable practice  of  taking  care  of  number  one,"  yet  he  recommends  to 
influence  the  shopkeepers  by  the  same  principle.  "  If  you  will  vote  for  us, 
we  will  trade  with  you ;  if  not,  we  will  withdraw  our  custom ! "  Was 
bribery  ever  better  defined  than  in  this  position  ?  The  franchise,  for  a 
long  time,  in  many  boroughs,  such  as  Liverpool  for  instance,  was  almost 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  poor :  the  rich,  of  course,  were  the  "  vir- 
tually" represented,  and  the  plan  which  they  adopted  was  exactly  the  one 
here  recommended:  "Vote  for  our  candidate,  and  you  shall  have  all  our 
custom ;  but  if  not,  we  will  withdraw  every  favour."  And  yet  we  ha' 
hitherto  been  so  blind  as  to  reprobate  these  proceedings  with  the  har 
est  names  which  the  language  can  supply. 

The  masters,  I  know,  have  often,  to  their  shame,  used  undue  influ- 
ence over  their  men,  but  never  did  I  hear  the  doctrine  of  dictation  ope; 
justified  and  enjoined,  as  in  the  resolution  before  me.     What  should 
think,  if,  in  the  next  Saturday's  paper,  we  were  to  meet  with  a  resoluti 
to  this  effect :   "  We,  the  master  spinners,  manufacturers,  and  tradesm* 
are  determined  not  to  employ  any  spinner,  rover,  mechanic,  warper, 
weaver,  who  refuses  to  vote  for  the  man  we  recommend  ? "     The  parties 
would  be  justly  branded  as  tyrants,  and  their  resolution  treated  with  o 
tempt  by  all  sensible  people ;  and  yet  this  is  nothing  more  than  what  " 
Youth"  and  many  others  are  attempting  to  defend.     It  is  truly  afflicti: 
to  hear  men  cry  liberty,   and  advocate  tyranny  with  the  same  breat] 
Neither  the  workman  nor  the  gentleman  has  a  "  right  to  demand  the  sup 
port"  of  others.     Few  of  the  shopkeepers  will  regard  these  intimidationSj 
and  the  man  who  would  change  his  voting  to  seU  an  additional  pound 
sugar  is  as  contemptible  as  the  person  who  would  ask  it. 

My  correspondent  admits  the  justice  of  my  remarks  upon  mastei 
demanding  the  votes  of  their  workmen,  but  tries  to  escape  their  for 
as    applying  to  the  men,   by  making   a  long  flourish  as  to  the  di 
ence  in  their  circumstances.      I  beg  leave  to  say,  in  answer  to  this, 


ur 

i 


303 

his  can  make  no  difference,  that  political  liberty  is  not  to  bend  to  the 
lictation  of  either  poverty  or  property,  that  neither  party  has  a  right  to 
•ontrol  the  freedom  of  election.  The  assertion  that  the  poor  man  "  is 
he  only  person  who  stands  in  need  of  political  protection,"  must  certainly 
kave  been  made  at  random.  The  rich  man's  person  demands  political 
)rotection  as  well  as  the  poor  man's ;  and  if  my  correspondent  can  com- 
)rehend  the  utility  of  propertj'  (otherwise  capital)  to  the  community,  he 
vill  surely  allow  that  the  protection  of  the  law  is  as  necessary  and  proper 
or  this  as  it  is  for  the  little  which  the  poor  man  possesses.  If  protection 
5  denied  to  property,  we  shall  all  soon  feel,  to  our  sorrow,  the  effects ;  for 
owever  some  may  despise  those  who  possess  it,  and  however  we  may 
lagTiify  the  value  of  labour,  capital  is  stUl  the  main  source  of  employ- 
lent,  and,  if  left  without  the  protection  of  the  law,  will  seek  a  safe  re- 
peat in  other  countries.  Let  us,  then,  always  defend  equal  laws  and 
qual  rights,  and  never  magnifv'  one  interest  at  the  expense  of  another. 

Hitherto  I  have  referred  to  the  rights  of  those  who  wish  to  give  a 
onscientious  vote,  and  defended  the  liberty  which  every  man  ought  to 
ossess  in  giving  his  suffrage  according  to  his  own  wish.  I  have  spoken 
f  shopkeepers  who  act  consistently,  although  others  may  think  them 
listaken  or  stupid  in  their  choice.  But  as  the  elective  right  is  held  for 
\e  good  of  others,  I  admit  that  the  case  is  somewhat  different  with  indi- 
iduals  who  openly  violate  their  own  convictions,  and  betray  their  trust  for 
ersonal  interest.  Such  men  are  certainly  answerable  to  the  public,  and 
0  lover  of  his  country  can  withhold  his  disapprobation  of  conduct  like 
lis.  This  applies  to  every  case  where  men,  evidently  against  their  own 
onvictions,  vote  for  interest,  but  to  none  else;  and  had  "A  Youth"  de- 
cided the  withdrawing  of  custom,  as  a  mai'k  of  disapprobation,  in  refer- 
\ce  to  these  characters  only,  I  should  not  have  ventured  on  this  reply. 
lut  he  makes  no  distinction;  in  the  resolution  it  is  general,  against  all 
ho  will  not  support  candidates  giving  certain  pledges  ;  and  in  this  letter, 
16  threat  is  applied  to  all  who  may  be  "  determined  to  support  that  can- 
idate  of  whom  /  disapprove." 

What,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  are  the  unfranchised  to  do  ?  In  the 
rst  place,  let  them  not  provoke,  by  their  unseemly  opposition,  the  re- 
mtment  of  the  real  voters ;  let  them  be  convinced  of  that  which  I  am 
ire  is  a  fact,  that  the  interest  of  both  parties  is  the  same ;  and  if  they 
ave  a  favourite  candidate,  let  them,  by  persuasion  and  argimient  only,  try 
)  secm-e  the  votes  of  the  electors.  In  the  second  place,  let  them  give  the 
liurliament  elected  by  tie  new  constituency  a  fair  trial,  and  if  it  do  not 


work  well  for  their  interest,  let  them  continue  to  agitate  the  question' 
an  extended  suffrage  and  of  an  equal  representation,  and  to  press  into' 
field  the  same  moral  force  which  carried  the  reform  bill.     And,  last 
while  they  justly  claim  a  participation  in  the  elective  franchise,  let  the| 
by  their  intelligent,  consistent,  and  peaceful  demeanour,  remove  the  siritl 
picions  of  many  thinking  men  that  such  a  power  would  not  be  s£Cfe 
their  hands.  J.  L. 


.    TEMPERANCE  CAUSE.  », 

There  are  three  periodicals  published  monthly,  containing  statement! 
of  the  progress  of  temperance,  the  numbers  of  societies,  and  their  meni'- 
hers:  "The  Temperance  Record,"  price  4d.,  published  in  Glasgow; 
"The  Temperance  Magazine,"  price  4d. ;  and  "The  Temperance  He' 
raid,"  price  Id.  These  are  all  sold  in  London,  and  may  be  had  througl 
any  bookseller.  The  last,  which  is  the  least  interesting  both  as  to  si2t* 
and  matter,  is  the  exclusive  organ  of  "The  British  and  Foreign  Temper 
ranee  Society."  These  all  report  the  amazing  spread  of  societies  through 
America,  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland.  The  societies  reported  ioi 
England  amount  to  190,  containing  31,609  members.  But  as  this  merely 
includes  those  which  have  been  reported  to,  or  have  corresponded  with,  the 
parent  society,  no  correct  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  real  number  or  progress 
of  the  English  societies.  The  reported  number  of  members  of  some  ol 
them,  owing  to  no  corrected  statement  being  sent,  I  know  to  be  mudi 
below  the  truth.  The  societies  in  Tiancashire  may  be  said  to  be  makin| 
progress,  and  their  numbers  are  certainly  increasing,  but  not  with  ihoilli 
decided  advantages  over  the  enemy  which  one  could  wish.  Prestdii 
stands  about  the  same  as  it  did  last  month,  except  that,  through  the  1* 
hours  of  some  of  its  members,  associations  are  being  established  in  six  <J(| 
the  neighbouring  villages.  The  great  current  against  which  we  have 
contend  here  is,  the  extensive  and  mischievous  practice  of  aie  drinking 
public  houses  and  jerry  shops,  especially  on  Saturday  nights  and  Sunday^i 
If  the  magistrates  and  the  legislature  would  exercise  their  power  in  pufei 
ting  down  such  practices  (as  it  is  clearly  within  their  province)  and 
ing  their  sanction  to  the  efforts  of  Temperance  Societies,  a  decided  vicfr 
would  soon  be  gained.  Bnt  so  long  as  encouragement  is  gi^en  to  dri: 
ihg  by  reducing  duties,  increasing  licenses,  and  granting  liberties  w 
no  other  tradespeople  are  allowed,  we  work,  as  it  were,  against  both 


305 

and  tide.  Every  butcher,  baker,  grocer,  and  draper  must  have  his  doors 
and  windows  closed  on  Sundays ;  but  the  public  houses  are  allowed,  with 
the  exception  of  service  time,  to  be  in  full  operation.  On  a  Sunday  even- 
ing, the  doors  and  windows  are  all  open,  and  the  parlours  often  filled 
with  company.  In  fact,  excepting  Saturday,  it  is  their  best  day,  and  thus 
encouragement  is  given  by  authority  to  sell  the  article  which  of  all  others 
is  calculated  to  do  the  most  harm.  The  magistrates  of  Liverpool,  however, 
are  enforcing  stricter  rules  :  they  have  issued  orders  that  no  licensed 
retailer  is  to  open  till  the  close  of  the  afternoon's  service  on  Sundays,  and  to 
shut  up  at  eight  o'clock  on  that  evening,  and  at  ten  every  other  evening. 
While  so  many  connected  with  the  aristocracy  and  the  magistracy  are  in- 
terested in  the  sale  of  West  India  rum,  in  the  high  rents  of  public  houses, 
&c.  we  have  great  difficulties  to  contend  with ;  but  I  do  hope  that  the 
voice  of  the  country  will  soon  be  heard,  and  that  a  single  session  of  the 
new  parliament  will  not  pass  without  a  revision  of  the  laws  which  refer  to 
both  jerry  shops  and  public  houses.  I  may  be  sorry  thus  to  provoke  the 
displeasure  of  men,  who,  unfortunately,  have  connected  themselves  with 
tliis  business  for  a  livelihood ;  but  I  appeal  to  them,  as  men  of  candour, 
as  fathers  of  families,  whether  they  are  not  convinced  that  mischief  and 
misery,  poverty  and  ci'ime,  are  spread  throughout  the  country  by  the 
trade  which  they  have  chosen  to  adopt. 

I  would  here  drop  a  few  hints  as  to  the  improvement  of  Temperance 
societies.  I  would  recommend,  1.  That  the  pledges  be  framed  in  strict 
iccordance  to  the  habits  of  the  people  in  the  places  where  they  are  adopted. 
in  this  respect  we  have  not,  in  Preston,  perhaps,  made  the  best  choice. 
2.  That  greater  caution  should  be  used  in  admitting  members.  Numbers, 
instead  of  character,  have  been  too  much  sought  after.  Applicants  should 
be  either  admitted  first  upon  trial,  or,  which  I  think  is  preferable,  admit- 
ted only  upon  the  recommendation  of  another  member.  3.  That  eveiy 
person  should  have  a  card  as  a  token  of  membership,  on  which  should  be 
irinted,  from  an  engraving,  some  suitable  device,  and  which  should  con- 
.uin  the  name  of  the  individual,  his  number  in  the  register,  &c.  4.  That 
here  should  be  captains  over  the  districts,  who  should  not  only  deliver 
Tacts  and  get  members,  but,  particularly,  report  to  the  committee  every 
nstance  of  delinquencv.  5.  That  several  of  the  most  influential  and  con- 
-istent  members  should  be  appointed  visitors,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
-isit  weekly  all  the  delinquents,  and  either  to  report  that  they  are  restored 
)r  recommend  them  to  be  disowned.  6.  That,  when  the  cases  are  hope- 
ess,  after  the  committee  have  determined  upon  exclusion,  the  names  of- 


306 

the  disowned  be  read  up  at  the  next  public  meeting.  7.  That  on  all  sea-: 
sons  aud  occasions  of  festivity  public  tea  parties  be  adopted.  These  havfij 
an  influence  in  strengthening  the  weak  and  binding  the  members  togetherj 
which  few  can  believe.  8.  That  in  order  to  supplant  the  evils  attendant 
upon  the  frequenting  of  pubUc  houses,  temperance  houses  be  established^ 
upon  a  small  as  well  as  a  large  scale.  So  important  is  the  cause  of  ten* 
perance,  that  nothing  should  be  left  untried  which  is  Hkely  in  the  least  te 
promote  its  advancement.  ti 

Viewing  the  mass  of  misery  which  rests  upon  society  in  consequenoil 
of  drinking,  one  would  suppose  that  ministers  of  religion  would  bH 
amongst  the  first  and  the  most  ardent  supporters  of  the  cause  of  temp0^ 
ranee.  The  reverse,  however,  is  generally  the  fact;  and  it  is  a  subjeol 
of  loud  and  constant  complaint  with  those  who  have  embarked  warmly  ill 
the  cause.  The  Temperance  Magazine  adverts  to  this  in  the  following 
strain  :  "  Why  is  it  that  the  professed  ministers  of  religion  are  so  unwil- 
ling to  lend  their  aid,  or  to  identify  themselves  with  this  great  and  im- 
portant cause  }  Is  it  because  they  will  get  nothing  by  it  ?  Is  it  becauat 
they  think  it  has  hitherto  been  carried  forward  by  men  of  no  note  in  thfi 
world,  and  that  they  have  been  slighted?  Is  it  because  the  'vulgar'  are 
carrying  forward  the  work  themselves  throughout  the  land,  independeilt 
of  that  aid  which  they  would  gladly  receive,  if  it  were  not  so  generally 
withheld  ?  or  is  it  because  they  like  strong  drink,  and  continue  to  persuade 
themselves  that  a  little  is  good  '  after  pulpit  exhaustion  ?'  Let  thert 
answer  these  questions  themselves ;  but  we  say,  shame  upon  them  fot 
their  supineness !  and  we  tell  them  that  a  little  time  will  prove  that  thfl 
work  can  go  on  without  them.  It  is  a  work  not  in  opposition  to  thf 
gospel,  but  in  strict  accordance  with  its  glorious  principle  of  good  will  tH 
man.  And  that  minister  who  cannot  give  up  a  pernicious  gratificatioill 
which  habit  has  rendered  familiar  to  him  gives  but  a  poor  example  of  that 
self  denial  which  it  is  the  professed  business  of  his  life  to  teach.  We 
shall  not  be  squeamish  as  to  the  language  we  use  on  a  point  like  this ; 
and,  while  we  freely  admit  that  many  ministers  have  manfully  and  con- 
siderately come  forward  to  give  the  benefit  of  their  coxmsel  and  the  influ- 
ence of  their  example  to  the  temperance  cause  (especially  of  the  Esta- 
blished Church  of  England),  we  shall  not  conceal  the  fact,  that  the  great 
majority  still  hold  back,  and  not  a  few  are  engaged  in  turning  the  matt 
into  ridicule.  We  do  not  say  that  they  like  the  cheerful  glass  at  the 
social  parties ;  we  do  not  say  that  they  are  wedded  to  their  solitary  ti3 
bier  at  home ;  we  do  iu)t  say  that  they  are  fearful  of  offending  tl 


307 

wealthier  hearers,  at  whose  well-replenished  tables  people  say  they  are 
ilways  welcome  ;  we  do  not  say  that  the  dread  of  sometimes  being  placed 
n  awkward  circumstances  fills  their  minds  with  doubts  of  the  propriety  of 
dgning  the  declaration  of  abstinence ;  we  do  not  say  that  appetite  is 
tronger  than  reason  with  them  ;  we  do  not  say  that  they  are  angry  with 
he  thing  altogether,  and  keep  a  veil  over  their  eyes  lest  the  light  should 
)rove  too  strong  for  them ;  we  do  not  say  that  the  peaceful  precept  fre- 
[uently  so  unhappily  applied,  that  '  Christians  should  not  judge  their 
irethren  in  this  matter,'  has  proved  a  salvo  to  their  consciences ;  we  do 
lot  say  that  they  have  not  examined  the  matter,  and  are  therefore  going 
in  in  ignorance  on  a  subject  which  is  entitled  to  their  best  consideration  ; 
lut  we  do  say  that  there  are  people  honest  enough  or  ill-natured  enough 
0  fancy  that  one,  or  other,  or  all  of  these  considerations  have  some 
.eight  with  many  ministers." 


THE  MORALIST. 

Whatever,  below  God,  is  the  object  of  our  love,  will,  at  some  time  or 
ther,  be  the  matter  of  our  sorrow. — If  there  be  any  person  to  whom  you 
;el  a  dislike,  that  is  the  person  of  whom  you  ought  never  to  speak, — It 
;  no  uncommon  thing  for  men  to  be  good  without  virtue,  to  give  without 
iiarity,  and  to  pray  without  religion. — Whenever  I  spy  one  fault  in  an- 
ther, I  am  determined  to  look  for  two  in  myself. — It  is  much  easier  to 
lin  one's  self  to  a  sect  than  to  God. — Nothing  in  nature  is  more  unknown 
)  man  than  himself. — We  can  take  reproof  patiently  from  a  book,  but 
ot  from  a  tongue.  The  book  hurts  not  our  pride,  the  living  reprover 
DCS ;  and  we  cannot  bear  to  have  our  faults  seen  by  others. — If  we 
)ught  after  truth  out  of  pure  love  to  it,  and  for  the  pleasure  of  it,  as  is 
"etended,  we  should  not  fear  the  great  teacher,  death,  as  we  do. — An 
apatient  desire  to  know  and  to  have  more  than  is  proper  for  us  in  our 
"esent  state,  often  hinders  us  from  using  what  we  have  and  knotting  what 
e  might,  and  is  to  many  a  source  of  great  delusion. — Some  will  mortify 
'.emselves  in  many  things,  and  do  almost  every  thing  in  religion  but  one : 
ifortunately,  that  one  is  the  test  of  their  obedience,  and  the  very  thing 
quired  of  them. — One  great  mistake  of  the  world,  and  the  greatest  bar 
the  happiness  and  well-being  of  mankind,  rich  and  poor,  is,  thinking 
at  all  the  money  we  are  possessed  of  is  our  own.-'— He  who  sends  the 
orm  steers  the  vessel. — Certainly  the  Almighty  had  some  further  design 


308 

in  giving  me  life,  and  preserving  it  by  continual  miracles,  within  ani 
without,  than  that  I  should  eat,  drink,  and  die ! — We  may  know,  by  oUi 
affection  to  the  sabbath,  whether  an  eternity  in  heaven  could  be  pleasing 
to  us. — Thank  God  for  laying  his  command  on  my  heart,  and  for  disposing 
my  heart  to  delight  in  it. — Search  others  for  their  virtues,  thyself  for  thjj 
vices. — Read  not  books  only,  but  men,  and,  among  them,  chiefly  thyself  i 
if  thou  find  any  thing  questionable  there,  use  the  commentary  of  a  severe 
friend,  rather  than  the  gloss  of  a  sweet-lipped  flatterer. — ^We  cannot  bf 
saved  by  our  good  works,  but  we  cannot  be  saved  without  them.-^ 
More  than  half  our  good  intentions  come  to  nothing  through  delays. — ^ 
rogue  makes  hay  while  the  sun  shines,  but  it  does  not  shine  long  upon 
him. — One  vice  eats  more  than  a  whole /«mj7y. — Liquor  kills  more  than  th* 
sword. — Sloth  makes  all  things  difficult;  industry  makes  all  things  easy. 
Though  charity  begins  at  home,  it  should  not  end  there. — Drunkenness  k 
an  e.^^,  from  which  all  vices  may  be  hatched. — Govern  your  passions,  oi 
they  will  govern  you. — Knowledge  is  a  treasure,  but  of  no  use  when  judg- 
ment is  not  treasurer. — Few  turn  evil  into  good,  but  many  good  into 
evil. — It  is  very  difficult  to  be  idle  and  innocent. — He  that  marries  for  mo- 
ney sells  himself. — Don't  put  your  own  faults  upon  the  times. — By  /rH' 
gality  we  keep  what  by  industry  we  have  got. — When,  in  a  dispute,  both  p; 
ties  grows  warm,  he  is  the  wisest  man  who  gives  over  first. — If  you  kn^ 
not  the  worth  of  money,  you  will  when  you  borrow  it. — If  you  see  any  one 
in  distress,  wait  not  to  be  asked  to  assist  him. — Let  children  be  brought 
up  in  industry,  and  when  they  are  men  they  will  never  know  poverty. — • 
Liquor  is  a  turn-coat ;  first  a  friend,  then  an  eneiny. — What  goes  to  main- 
tain one  vice,  would  bring  up  two  children. — At  a  great  pennyworth  pause 
a  while. — ^The  eye  of  a  master  will  do  more  good  than  both  his  hands. — 
Pride  is  as  loud  a  beggar  as  want,  and  a  great  deal  more  saucy.— iVeycr 
hoast  of  your  prosperity  ;  and,  before  the  unfortunate,  never  speak  of  it. — 
We  must  all  be  j  ust,  even  the  poorest ;  but  the  rich  should  be  both  just 
and  generous. — Listen  to  the  softest  whisperings  of  conscience. — A  warm 
heart  requires  a  cool  head,  and  a  cool  head  a  warm  heart. — Unreasonable 
expectations  are  the  cause  of  most  disappointments. — Gaming,  like 
quicksand,  often  swallows  up  a  man  in  a  moment. — He  that  finds  a  thi 
steals  it,  if  he  endeavours  not  to  restore  it. — Those  who  borrow  to  b 
build  to  sell. — Those  who  resent  little  afironts  will  soon  have  great  o: 
to  resent.— He  is  a  bad  boy  that,  like  a  top,  goes  no  longer  than  h> 
whipt. — Choose  your  .wife  by  youi'  ears,  not  your  eyes,  that  is,  mind  h^i 
reputation  more  than  her  beauty.— The  first  step  toward^  virtue  is  the 


:] 


309 

'jtalning  from  vice.— They  who  will  not  repair  must  soon  rebuild. — Slan- 
lerers,  like  flies,  are  fond  of  buzzing  about  a  sore  place. — Choose  what 
:ourse  of  life  is  best,  and  custom  will  soon  render  it  agreeable. — In  the 
aorning  think  what  you  have  to  do,  and  at  night  on  what  you  have  done, 
jessening  our  wants  is  often  an  easier  way  to  competency  than  increasing 
iir  wealth. — Feather  by  feather  the  goose  is  plucked,  and  penny  by  penny 
he  pocket  is  emptied. — Children  should  be  kept  in  order  rather  by  the  fear 
f  offending  than  by  the  fear  of  punishment. — ^Avoid  the  first  appearance 
■f  evil. — The  itch  of  knowing  secrets  is  naturally  accompanied  by  the  itch 
f  telling  them. — Let  no  success  in  the  world  make  yon  forget  your  friends, 
r  be  ashamed  of  your  relations. — Though  ill  words  break  no  bones,  they 
aise  the  cudgel. — When  your  friend  is  in  the  greatest  distress,  then  shew 
im  your  greatest  friendship. — Some  men  are  good  company  for  half  an 
our,  others  for  half  a  day,  others  for  life ;  choose  you  the  latter. — Spirit 

ithout  judgment  is  like  mettle  in  a  blind  horse,  which  only  serves  to 
irow  him  down. — A  woman  and  a  cherry  are  painted  for  their  ruin  :  take 
ire,  then,  pretty  girl. — He  who  would  not  take  a  blind  man  for  his 
uide,  should  not  take  a  fool  for  his  counsellor. — To  render  good  for  evil 

charity ;  good  for  good,  justice ;  evil  without  cause,  cruelty;  evil  for  evil, 
;venge  ;  evil  for  good,  diabolical  malice. — Mischief  plotted  against  others, 
ke  stones  hurled  at  Heaven,  generally  falls  upon  the  contrivers. — A 
ush  in  the  face  is  better  than  a  blot  in  the  heart. — Much  of  what 
\sses  in  the  world  for  happiness,  is  often  nothing  more  than  splendid 
isery. — As  pictures  of  bread  will  not  satisfy  hunger,  so  fine  words  will 
)t  supply  the  place  of  kind  actions. — He  gets  rid  of  something  worse  than 

e  itch,  who  gets  rid  of  bad  company. — One  mild  answer  often  quenches 

ore  fire  than  two  buckets  of  water. — Fx'iendship  and  domestic  peace  can- 
)t  long  subsist  without  mutually  overlooking  trivial  failings. 


^.^       AN  HOUR  AND  A  HALF'S  VISIT  ON  A  SUNDAY  MORNING. 

Employed  by  the  committee  of  the  Temperance  Society,  and  wishful 
I  our  own  account  also,  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  real  state  of  the 
H^le,  and  to  do  some  little  towards  improving  their  condition,  on  Sun- 
i^  morning  I  and  a  friend  of  mine  started,  in  our  usual  way,  to  call  at 
V^ral  houses  which  we  had  previously  selected.     The  first  we  called  at 

B'^ound  clean  and  tidy,  but  we  were  told  that ,  whom  we  inquired 

tV'was  off  drinking.     The  wife  evidently  wished  to  conceal  as  much  as 

VOL.  II.  2  Q  • 


i 


310 

she  could,  though  it  was  evident  she  suffered  much  through  his  conduct 
We  had  not  gone  many  yards  before  we  saw  him ;  he  was  what  is  callw 
fresh,  and  was  teasing  a  comrade  of  his  to  go  and  drink  with  him.  W< 
remonstrated  with  him  on  the  folly  of  his  conduct.  He  was  disposed  t< 
be  talkative,  but  we  could  make  little  sense  of  anything  he  said.  He  said 
as  we  parted,  "  I'll  give  it  up ;  but  I  must  just  have  another  glass,  am 
that  shall  be  the  last." 

The  next  place  we  called  at,  we  also  found  the  apartment  very  clean 
and  the  woman  very  tidy  and  very  civil  (indeed,  my  friend  often  remarks 
"  These  drunkards  have  the  best  of  wives")  apparently  just  returned  fron 
some  religious  meeting.  The  husband,  whom  we  wished  to  see,  was  goni 
out  with  some  of  his  pot  companions.  She  was  much  concerned  for  hin» 
and  spoke  most  feelingly  of  her  anxiety  to  see  him  steady.  She  said,  for- 
merly she  used  harsh  treatment,  but  found  it  unavailing ;  but  now  slu 
never  afironted  him,  but  prayed  constantly  to  the  Lord  to  save  him  fron 
his  evil  ways.  She  also  said,  what  we  have  often  heard  repeated,  "  If  b( 
had  but  a  companion,  who  would  call  upon  him,  and  take  him  to  somi 
place  of  worship,  I  think  he  would  be  better." 

"  Well,  how  are  you  going  on  ?"  was  my  inquiry  as  we  entered  tb 
door  of  the  next  place.  "  I  think  we  are  at  the  far  end,"  was  the  reply  o 
the  master  of  the  house ;  and,  really,  the  man  and  the  children,  and  thi 
house,  presented  such  a  picture  of  human  misery  as  would  defy  all  de 
scription.  "  What,  does  she  still  go  on  in  this  cursed  practice  ?"  inquire! 
I  again.  "Worse  than  ever,"  he  replied;  "but  I  don't  know  where 
is  ;  she  run  away  on  Monday  night ;  she  stripped  the  beds,  and  left  us  Tk 
the  state  you  see."  The  children  were  all  but  naked,  the  house  in  a  wretdi 
ed  condition,  and  the  man  almost  a  skeleton  in  person,  and  melancholy  a 
mind.  We  inquired  how  it  was  that  she  had  acquired  this  habit.  Hs 
answered,  "  He  scarcely  knew,  and  she  had  carried  it  on  for  some  time  bf 
fore  he  was  aware.  She  had  regularly  pawned  their  Sunday  clothes,  a^l 
had  loosed  them  on  a  Saturday  night,  till  she  was  fast,  and  then  it  came  Of 
that  the  money  was  spent  in  drink ;  the  habit  had  so  continued  to 
upon  her  till  this  was  the  result.  That  child,"  added  he,  pointing  to 
poor  little  infant,  "  she  frequently  threatened  to  beat  for  losing  its  shocajl 

while  at  the  same  time  they  were  pawned  for  a  shilling.     Mrs. looi 

them  and  gave  them  to  the  child,  but  they  were  taken  again.  I  sent  t 
certain  place  to  see  if  the  frocks  were  made  of  some  stuff  which  I  1 
bought,  but  the  woman  had  never  received  it ;  like  every  thing  else,  it  l 
pawned.     We  are  here  left  without  bedding,  and  almost  without  clfltl 


311 

3ut,  still,  if  she  will  only  keep  away,  we  will  try  to  manage."  A  fortnight 
)efore  we  had  visited  this  case  :  and,  although  the  woman  is  in  the  prime 
)f  life,  she  told  us  that  she  could  never  mend :  she  viewed  her  own  case  as 
itterly  hopeless.  We  left  the  house  with  a  deep  sigh  for  the  cause  of  hu- 
aanity.  As  we  were  passing  through  this  and  the  adjoining  streets, 
/here  the  people  all  seemed  poor,  ragged,  and  dirty ;  where  the  streets 
?ere  crowded  with  idlers ;  and  where  the  restraint,  either  of  religion  or 
ivilization,  seemed  never  to  have  heen  felt,  my  friend  said  to  me,  "  I  wish 
re  had  some  of  the  ministers  here  ;  if  they  were  to  see  what  we  see,  they 
•ould  not  need  to  study  much ;  they  would  here  find  matter  enough  for 
leir  sermons."  "  Yes,"  said  I,  "  I  wish  we  could  see  them  ;  visiting  in 
lese  streets  is  not  like  walking  from  Ribblesdale-place  or  Fishergate  to 
le  church  or  chapel." 

Proceeding  to  the  lodgings  of  a  young  man,  who,  in  consequence  of 
issipation,  had  become  insolvent,  and  who  had  been  reported  to  us  as 
:ting  inconsistently  with  his  pledge,  we  knocked  at  the  door,  and  the 
nswer  was,  "  He  is  in  bed ;  I  don't  know  when  you  can  meet  with  him ; 
id  if  you  should  get  an  interview,  he  is  so  incapable  of  being  reasoned 
ith,  that  I  fear  you  will  do  no  good ;  but,  still,  I  should  like  you  to  talk 
ith  him."  The  young  man  I  have  known  from  a  boy ;  he  belonged  to  a 
spectable  family  in  the  country,  was  sent  here,  when  young,  to  com- 
ence  business,  and  the  company  he  was  led  to  keep  soon  became  his  ruin. 
father's  care,  a  mother's  watchfulness,  and  the  domestic  hearth,  are  the 
;st  shield  for  youth  ;  deprived  of  these,  and  exposed  to  the  temptations 
'  company,  with  means  to  gratify  the  depraved  passions  of  youth,  de-' 
ruction  of  character  is  almost  inevitable.  Let  parents  act  with  great 
ution  :  their  own  happiness  is  bound  up  with  that  of  their  children. 

From  thence  we  proceeded  to  a  poor  dwelling,  where  the  wife,  and,  I 
ink,  five  children,  were  all  round  the  fire,  exhibiting  all  the  usual  symp- 
ms  of  a  drunkard's  family.  "  What,  is  he  no  better  yet  ?"  "  No,  nor 
ver  wiU  be,"  replied  the  disconsolate  wife ;  "  he  was  drinking  most  oi" 
5t  week,  and  spent  about  four  and  twenty  shillings.  He  is  as  good  a 
Drkman  as  need  to  be ;  and  if  he  would  take  care  of  his  money,  he  might 
ake  his  family  comfortable  ;  but  we  are  miserable  and  very  near  lost. 
3  did  keep  sober  once  for  three  weeks,  and  really,  it  was  like  three  seven 
ars,  I  felt  so  happy.  Oh !  I  wish  you  could  persuade  him  to  be  sober ; 
t  I  fear  he  never  will.  He  has  been  in  the  House  of  Correction  twice 
':  neglect  of  family;  and,  if  he  don't  mend,  I  wish  he  would  leave  us 
<  ogether."     My  heart  bled  for  the  woman,  whilst  I  beheld,  with  indig- 


312 

nation,  some  of  the  places  before  me,  which,  established  under  the  sanctioj 
of  the  worst  of  laws,  are  the  very  pits  of  destruction. 

We  just  stepped  in  at  another  place,  where  our  feelings  were  som$ 

what  relieved.    "  Well,  Mr. ,  how  do  you  like  temper^ince  ?"    "  Vepi 

well,"  replied  he.  "  I  hope  you  have  not  had  a  shp  ?"  "  Not  quite,  bf| 
I  was  very  near  it ;  I  got  into  company  and  was  nearly  overcome  ;  I  jup 
bethought  me  in  time,  and  came  away ;  and  I  have  now  resolved  never  U 
go  into  a  public  house  on  any  account."  This  gave  us  much  satisfactioa 
and  this  finished  our  hour  and  a  half's  visit. 

To  detail  what  we  see  in  our  visits  would  astound  many  ordinarj 
minds ;  but  if  a  remedy  is  ever  to  be  attempted  to  be  applied,  the  evi} 
must  first  be  known.  When,  on  our  visits,  as  we  pass  crowds  of  well-dressed 
respectable  persons  (so  far  as  money  can  make  them)  going  to  their  re 
spective  places  of  worship,  (and  few  of  the  other  class  do  go)  I  often  sa; 
to  myself,  "What  a  pity  that  all  these  should  feel  so  indifferent  to  the  staft 
of  their  fellow  creatures  around  them ;  that  they  should  seem  utterly  un 
concerned  about  the  destitution  and  vice  which  abounds  ;  and  that  the 
should  content  themselves  merely  with  attending  divine  service,  whils 
thousands  of  their  poor  brethren  never  enter  a  place  of  worship,  or  com* 
within  the  influence  of  moral  or  religious  teaching  ! "  Let  ever}'  Christian 
while  he  claims  for  his  own  edification  and  comfort  one  part  of  the  Sab 
bath,  devote  another  part  to  the  welfare  of  those  who  are  perishing  for  lacl 
of  knowledge. 


VARIETIES. 

A  correspondent,  belonging  to  the  Friends,  observes,  "  That  all  religious  societies  ^ 
bury  their  dead,  and  ours  among  the  rest,  invariably  place  the  feet  of  the  corpse  towards  A 
east,"  and  asks  for  a  reason  of  this  superstition.  A  veneration  for  the  east  is  well  know 
to  be  heathenish,  and  this  practice,  I  presume,  like  that  of  worshipping  in  all  our  churcb( 
with  the  face  eastward,  is  a  relic  of  the  admixture  of  Christianity  and  heathenism,  wHit 
took  place  when  the  national  church  of  Constantine  supplanted  the  simple  and  rati^' 
usages  of  the  Apostles.     The  heathens  worshipped  the  rising  sun.  %' 

kV' 

Good  Female  Servants. — The  operations  of  society,  if  left  for  any  length  of  „ 
unchecked  by  suitable  alterations,  like  the  shoe  upon  the  same  foot,  are  likely  to  get  cro 
A  most  obvious  proof  of  this  is  found  in  the  number  of  males  who  are  unemployed,  and! 
great  scarcity  of  females  for  respectalle  situations.     There  is  one  universal  cry  of  the 
of  good  female  servants,  both  for  domestic  and  farming  purposes.    The  acknowledged  rea 
of  this  is,  the  labour  of  young  girls  being  so  much  in  request  at  the  factories;  the  w^ 
being  so  ample ;  and  the  liberty,  not  to  say  licentiousness,  connected  with  this  work,  soB 


313 

exceeding  that  of  domestic  servitude ;  so  tliat  the  girls,  both  of  town  and  country,  are 
tempted  to  seek  tliis  sort  of  employment,  to  the  loss  of  every  domestic  acquirement. 
Through  necessity  they  are  generally  sent  at  nine  years  of  age,  and  few  ever  attain  so  much 
domestic  experience  as  is  necessary  to  manage  the  affairs  of  a  family,  upon  the  most  limited 
scale.  While  many  a  man  of  forty  years  of  age,  with  a  family  around  him,  cannot  clear 
at  his  loom  more  than  5s.  or  6s.  per  week,  these  lasses  of  seventeen  can  earn  7s.  or  8s. 
And  it  is  not  uncommon  for  married  women  to  go  to  the  winding  frames,  while  the  hus- 
band remains  at  home,  out  of  employment,  peeling  potatoes,  and  nursing  the  children.  In 
this  respect,  society  is  evidently  in  a  disordered  state,  and  the  employment  of  the  country 
iaking  a  perverted  direction.  Many  respectable  families  are  not  keeping  more  than  half 
the  number  of  servants  they  would  if  they  could  get  good  ones,  whilst  others,  after  being 
;ong  tormented  by  incessant  changes,  are  actually  doing  the  work  themselves.  Some  alte- 
•atioii  ought  to  be  attempted  ;  society,  like  a  river,  unless  it  be  properly  inclosed  by  banks, 
s  sure  to  take  a  mischievous  course.  Legislators,  magistrates,  and  philanthropists,  ought 
0  notice  this,  and  always  apply  a  suitable  and  timely  remedy.  The  disorders  of  society 
ue  so  apparent,  that,  I  am  convinced,  unless  the  rich  look  about  them,  leave  their  licen- 
;ious  indulgences,  identify  themselves  with  the  people,  try,  sincerely,  to  remedy  the  evils 
vhich  abound,  and  to  make  real  sacrifices  for  the  public  good,  they  will  see  their  errors 
vhen  it  is  too  late,  and  find  themselves  involved  in  the  awful  consequences  of  their  pride 
uid  selfishness,  which  might  have  been  prevented  at  a  small  cost.  Instead  of  eating  and 
hinking,  let  every  one  of  us,  parson  and  peasant,  priest  and  people,  titled  and  untitled,  men 
ind  women,  old  and  young,  cultivate  a  spirit  of  repentance,  confess  our  errors  and  hard 
leartedness,  and  enter  into  a  holy  confederacy  to  serve  each  other,  and  to  promote  the 
velfare  of  our  kind.  What  a  mass  of  misery  wants  removing  ;  what  a  spirit  of  disaffection 
vants  allaying ;  what  prejudices  and  errors  interrupt  our  peace  !  Oh  !  let  every  man,  then, 
ry  to  do  something  towards  effecting  a  remedy.  The  individual  who  enjoys  the  world  and 
he  benefit  of  social  society,  and  yet  never  spends  a  thought  for  bettering  the  condition  of 
he  people,  is  an  ungrateful  man,  at  best  a  blank,  and  may  be  well  spared  from  the  num- 
ler  of  social  beings. 

Prosecution  of  the  Church  Examiner. — Among  the  number  of  cheap  publica- 
ions  which  now  teem  from  the  press,  is  one  with  the  above  title.  It  takes  the  highest 
;round,  and  appears  to  be  conducted  with  spirit  and  ability.  It  has,  however,  hern  deal- 
ng  too  much  in  unwelcome  truths  to  escape  the  fangs  of  the  absurdest  of  laws,  that  which 
cquires  a  4d.  stamp  from  every  weekly  publication  of  news,  or  paper  containing  "  observa- 
ions  on  church  or  state."  Numbers  of  other  cheap  publications,  which  say  nothing  of  the 
ins  of  the  clergy,  are  breaking  the  same  law,  and  yet  they  are  permitted  to  go  on  with  im- 
unity.  The  trial  excited  considerable  interest,  and  George  Cowie,  the  vender  of  the  pub- 
cation,  was  convicted  in  the  penalty  of  £20.  This  persecution  will  serve  as  an  adver- 
isement  to  the  work,  and  as  it  will  in  future  be  published  on  the  first  of  every  month 
price  2d.)  I  hope  the  increased  demand  will  prove  that  a  bad  law  can  never  destroy  a  good 
ause.     The  forthcoming  work  shall  have  all  the  publicity  I  can  give  it. 

Preston  Institution  for  the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge. — The  annual  meet- 
ig  of  this  valuable   institution    will   take   place  in   the   Theatre,  to-morrow  evening, 


314 

October  2nd.  It  has  been  of  great  advantage  to  the  town  of  Preston,  and  only  needs  to  b 
more  extensively  known  to  be  still  more  useful.  The  small  subscription  of  6s.  6d.  a  yea 
is  well  laid  out,  and  I  sincerely  hope  the  number  will  continue  to  increase.  The  committe 
would  do  well  to  invite,  if  possible,  by  personal  visit,  all  the  operatives  of  the  town  to  com 
and  see  the  room  and  the  arrangements ;  and  I  doubt  not,  if  they  can  succeed  in  this,  the 
might  double  their  numbers.  This  institution  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  powerful  ally  t 
the  Temperance  Society,  and  I  should  like  to  hear  of  all  classes  substttnfing  reading  fo 
ale,  and  the  pleasures  of  science  for  the  delirium  of  strong  drink.  This  week's  temperant 
meeting  gives  way  to  the  above. 

Political  Consistency. — What  a  pity  that  many  of  those  who  stand  forward  as  re 
formers  of  the  state,  want  so  much  reforming  themselves !  They  can  impugn  the  motive- 
condemn  the  actions,  and  expose  the  corruptions  of  our  oppressors  ;  but,  alas  !  every  accu 
sation  applies  with  equal  force  to  themselves.  The  only  difference  is,  the  situation  in  life 
the  man  who  condemns  aristocratical  tyranny  is  a  tyrant  at  home ;  the  man  who  condemn 
corruption  is  corrupt  in  his  language  and  the  whole  of  his  actions  ;  the  man  who  passt 
sentence  upon  the  misapplication  of  public  money  has  a' score  of  indictments  hanging  ovc 
his  head.  The  mind  that  calls  in  question  the  wisdom  of  national  measures  can  scarce! 
read  his  political  A,  b,  c ;  and  the  severest  charges  of  misrule  proceed  from  the  mouth  C 
the  being  who  cannot  rule  himself — the  man  who,  instead  of  trying  to  support  the  eqnijfi 
brium  of  his  own  person,  is  professing  to  adjust  all  the  incongruities  of  state  affairs — th 
man,  who,  with  prosperity  and  happiness  as  his  theme,  is  the  demon  of  mischief,  the  soufi 
of  domestic  confusion,  the  mistrust  of  his  friends,  and  the  scorn  of  his  confidants!  Th6' 
who  preach  disinterestedness,  as  a  doctrine  for  government,  are  often  the  first  to  pronounC 
their  own  destitution  of  the  quality.     It  is  a  good  proverb,  Physician  heal  thyself. 

A  Word  to  Sir  Robert  Peel. — In  one  of  the  debates  on  granting  the  supplte 
you  are  reported  to  have  said,  "  The  comforts  of  the  labouring  class  were  proved  to  ha* 
increased  by  the  increased  consumption  of  malt."  Having  a  general  knowledge  of  th 
condition  of  the  labouring  class  in.  Lancashire,  and  a  particular  acquaintance  with  then 
in  the  town  and  neighbourhood  where  I  reside,  I  beg  leave  to  say,  Sir,  that  you  are  mu 
taken,  first,  as  to  the  fact,  and,  more  particularly,  as  to  the  reason  you  assign.  A  mdJ 
mischievous  error  seems  to  prevail  among  persons  in  your  rank  of  life,  as  to  what  consii 
iutes  the  comforts  of  the  poor.  In  this  spirit,  I  recollect  that  the  bill  which  was  passed  14; 
you  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  for  removing  the  duty  on  beer  and  allowing  licenses  i 
be  granted  almost  indiscriminately,  was  applauded  as  a  most  magnificent  measure  in  favijfa 
of  the  poor.  Let  me  tell  yx)u,  that  the  supposed  benefit  conferred  was  a  most  pernicii 
delusion,  and  that  the  consequence  has  been  an  increase  of  misery,  crime,  and  insuborffi 
nation.  If  you  saw  what  I  see  every  week  in  visiting  the  people,  your  first  motion  nftX 
session  would  be,  to  close  the  door  of  every  jerry  shop.  It  is  not  cheap  ale  the  people 
want ;  when  they  get  it,  it  usually  does  more  harm  than  good ;  it  is  employment  at  com- 
petent wages;  it  is  plenty  of  wholesome  food ;  decent  clothing  for  their  families  ;  and  furni 
ture  in  their  houses.  It  grieves  me  to  think,  that  a  man  in  your  station  should  be  able  t( 
refer  to  nothing  as  a  proof  of  the  comforts  of  the  poor  but  the  increase  of  malt.  I  will  taki 
the  liberty  to  say  more  at  some  future  time. 


315 

Runaway  Husbands. — When  povertj-  comes  in  at  the  door,  it  is  said,  love  flies  out 
;t  the  window ;  and  this  is  certainly  verified,  not  only  by  the  contentions  and  broils  which 
,  .ften  occur,  but  especially  by  the  now  too  common  practice,  of  husbands  running  away  from 
,  heir  families.  Idleness  and  the  want  of  fidelity  frequently  lead  to  this,  but  real  poverty, 
i  n  a  majority  of  instances,  is  the  cause.  When  a  man  must  work  hard  for  about  7s.  a  week, 
iyith  a  wife  and  three  children  to  maintain,  he  can  scarcely  preserve  life,  and  the  comforts 

If  it  are  altogether  beyond  his  reach.  He  forms  the  desperate  resolution  to  leave  his 
jnmily,  which  are  thrown  immediately  upon  the  parish.  Sometimes  it  is  even  concerted 
:(etwixt  the  hasband  and  the  wife,  and  he  sends  her,  clandestinely,  a  part  of  his  earnings,  in 
ddition  to  the  parish  allowance.  But  who  can  depict  the  mental  agony  of  the  deserted 
,  rife,  on  the  banishment  of  him  on  whom  her  hopes  of  bliss  for  life  were  founded!  I  wish 
.c  had  a  remedy. 

■  TRAirps,  Hawkers,  &:c. — Few  persons  are  aware  of  the  number  of  persons  of  this 
escription  who  pass  through  this  town.  As  a  preventive  to  the  spread  of  the  cholera,  the 
idging  houses  have  been  visited  every  night  for  some  time,  and  the  number  of  lodgers  from 
lUgust  15th  to  September  loth,  is  about  2,010.  In  going  round  with  the  visitors,  I 
sarned  one  lesson  satisfactorily,  and  that  is  this,  that  weaUh  and  happiness  arc  not  intended 
>)he  partners.  W*  have  heard  of  jolly  beggars,  and  it  is  remarkable,  and  in  some  respects 
leasing,  to  see  so  many,  without  friends  or  homes,  or  scarcely  any  thing  for  the  morrow, 
ggarently  content  and  happy.  There  is  many  a  merchant  in  Liverpool,  with  twenty 
UHisand  in  the  bank,  and  his  vessels  on  the  sea,  that,  for  peace  of  mind,  might  well  envy 
ag  of  these  manufacturers  of  matches ! 

Beer  Shops. — So  far  as  I  can  recollect,  the  retail  brewers  here  have  merely  been 
mvicted  and  fined  for  selling  out  of  the  hours  specified  in  the  act,  while  the  ofience  of 
permitting  any  drunkenness,  or  violent,  or  quarrelsome,  or  disorderly  conduct,  suSkrlng 
nibiwful  ganies  or  any  gaming  whatsoever,  or  permitting  persons  of  notoriously  bad  charac- 
r  to  assemble  together,"  seems  scarcely  to  have  been  noticed  in  Preston.  This  part  of 
le  act,  I  will  venture  to  assert,  is  broken  scores  of  times  every  week ;  and  yet,  tliough 
ifilety  groans  beneath  the  effects  of  these  houses,  they  are  suffered  to  go  on  with  impunity-, 
^  Bolton,  however,  I  perceive  that  this  part  of  the  bill  is  acted  upon  with  decision.  One 
eeper  was  convicted  on  the  charge  of  "  permitting  loose  and  disorderly  company  to  asso- 
ate  in  his  house,  and  allowing  fighting  and  other  disorderly  conduct,"  and  was  fined  £3 
id  costs.  Another  was  convicted  of  "a  similar  offence,"  and  Mr.  Barrett,  in  the  evidence, 
ated,  that  "  they  discovered  in  the  first  room  two  common  prostitutes  and  seven  men, 
nongst  whom,  were  two  who  had  been  convicted  at  the  sessions  ;  in  the  next  room,  four 
immon  prostitutes  and  six  men  ;  and,  in  the  kitchen,  three  prostitutes  and  two  men.  They 
ere  all  drinking  and  smoking,  and  the  men  were  principally  of  that  7wu!  numerous  frater- 
ty,  bullies  to  houses  of  ill  fame.  Fined  £lO  and  costs.  The  10th  of  October  (1S30,)  now 
!ar  at  hand  again,  was  a  fatal  day  for  the  working  people  of  this  part  of  the  countrj-.  I 
iccrely  hope  that  a  parliamentary  investigation  will  take  place,  and  such  a  demoralizing 
stem  be  completely  destroyed.  It  is  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance  that  many  respect- 
ile  persons  should  have  been  tempted  to  commence  this  trade,  for,  when  once  .found  profit- 
'le,  how  difficult  it  is  to  sacrifice  interest  to  duty  I 


316 

EASTER  DUES. 

The  goods  seized  for  these  pretended  "  dues  "  still  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  con- 
stables, with  the  addition  of  five  chairs,  one  armed  chair,  one  form,  and  one  fender,  taker 
from  Mr.  Robert  Ascroft,  for  Id.  Dissatisfied  with  this  unreasonable  detention  of  th( 
goods,  on  the  15th  of  the  last  month,  the  parties  put  out  the  following  bill : 

"  OPPRESSION  ! 

"To  the  Public — About  six  weeks  ago,  the  constables  seized  certain  articles  of  oil 
property  for  a  demand  called  Easter  dues.    Though  we  viewed  the  proceedings  of  carryii 
away  so  many  valuable  articles  for  a  pretended  due  of  Ggd.  as  little  less  than  robbery,  y| 
we  hoped,  at  least,  that  we  should  have  the  benefit  of  an  open  sale.     But  the  goods 
still  defaiiied,  and  7to  account  is  given  of  them.     This  is  oppression  in  its  worst  shapl 
and  if  it  be  tolerated,  will  leave  every  poor  man's  chair  and  bed  at  the  option  of  the  Vicar.  I 
We  protest  against  the  injustice  of  these  proceedings  altogether;  and,  in  the  name  of  the! 
constitution,  ask  either  for  an  open  sale  or  for  the  return  of  our  property.     If  this  be  rei  I 
fused,  we  appeal  to  our  countrymen  to  assist  us  in  obtaining  legal  redress. 

"  John  Fitchie,        Joseph  Pomfret,       John  Pomfret,        Ralph  Dawson, 
"  James  Walton,     Edmund  Seddon,     Joseph  Livesey,     James  Lawson." 

This  seems  to  have  stirred  up  Mr.  Wilson,  who  applied  to  the  magistrates  to  know 
why  Mr.  Walton,  the  constable,  had  not  proceeded  with  the  sale.     His  answer  was,  that  he 
had  found  it  impossible  to  procure  an  auctioneer  in  the  whole  town  who  would  undertake  the' 
job.     The  Bishop  of  Chester  has  been  apprised  of  the  whole  proceedings,  but  with  what' 
effect  I  cannot  say.    Mr.  Wilson  does  really  deserve  the  thanks  of  all  church  reformers,  for,' 
I  believe,  no  occurrence  within  the  last  seven  years  has  done  so  much  towards  exposing  the 
evils  of  a  falsely  called  national  church,  and  of  exciting  the  abhorrence  of  the  Lancashire 
people  to  church  oppression,  as  this  distraining  for  Easter  dues.     At  the  beginning  of  last' 
week,  it  was  announced  that  the  sale  would  take  place  on  the  Thursday.     A  good  deal  of 
agitation  prevailed  in  consequence,  and  a  meeting  was  held  on  the  preceding  night,  prin- 
cipally, I  presume,  to  prevent  the  feelings  of  the  people  from  carrying  them  into  acts  of 
disorder.      On  Thursday  noon,  the  bellman  announced  the   sale,  to  commence   at  two 
o'clock.     It  is  supposed  about  six  thousand  persons  were  spectators ;  but  when  the  time 
arrived,  no  auctioneer  was  forthcoming.     If  he  really  did  engage  to  act  at  the  sale,  it  apJ 
pears  that  he  had  changed  his  purpose.     The  immense  crowd  waited  patiently,  when,  at. 
about  half-past  two,  the  constable  announced  that  there  would  be  no  sale,  as  the  auctioned 
could  not  be  found.     With  the  exception  of  a  scuffle  which  took  place  with  a  gentlema 
whom  they  fancied  was  opposing  them,  the  people  were  very  quiet.     I  addresse^l  them  hi 
fore  they  dispersed,  as  to  the  importance  of  pacific  agitation  ;  and  that  the  success  of  an 
application  to  parliament  depended  principally  upon  first  convincing  the  country  of  til 
importance  and  necessity  of  what  they  prayed  for ;  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  vi<l 
lence  or  intimidation;  and  that  our  cause  would  progress  in  proportion  as  we  diffused  iii 
formation  upon  the  subject,  and  expressed,  in  a  legal  way,  our  determined  disapprobation 
of  religious  oppression.     What  steps  will  next  be  taken  remains  to  be  seen.     With  the  ej 
ception  of  a  very  few,  here  is  a  whole  parish  in  angry  collision  with  the  man  whom  the 
ought  to  have  had  cause  to  love  and  esteem  as  their  best  friend,  and  all  through  a  mammon 
itish  establishment,  the  impositions  of  which  he  has  chosen  to  enforce. 


317 

I  have  for  some  time  intended  to  write  an  article  on  the  improvement  of  the  poor  laws ; 
and  had  collected  some  materials  for  the  purpose.  But,  upon  mature  reflection,  I  am  con- 
firmed in  the  opinion  to  which  I  have  long  been  inclined,  that  laws  to  compel  a  relief  of  the 
poor  presuppose  two  things  which  ought  immediately  to  be  removed  :  first,  the  existence  of 
poverty  to  any  extent  like  that  which  we  see  at  present,  in  a  country  with  ample  resources 
like  those  of  England  ;  and  secondly,  the  want  of  voluntary  charity  on  the  part  of  the  peo- 
ple towards  those  who  are  in  want.  If  these  were  remedied,  we  should  have  hut  few  poor, 
and  those  few  would  be  liberally  and  cheerfully  relieved  without  poor  laws.  The  present 
poor  laws  are  a  misnomer ;  they  are  laws  for  paying  the  debts  of  illegitimacy — for  preparing 
jin-y  lists — for  enrolling  the  names  of  the  electors — for  taking  the  census — for  subscribing 
to  lunatic  hospitals,  building  bridges,  prosecuting  felons,  conducting  inquests — for  en- 
couraging law  suits— for  supporting  profligates — for  harassing  the  really  poor— and,  in 
fact,  for  obtaining  money  under  fal^e  pretences.  We  should  have  laws  to  prevent  poverty, 
instead  of  providing  for  it ;  and  morality  enough  voluntarilij  to  relieve  what  cannot  be  pre- 
vented, and  then  every  vestige  of  the  poor  laws  might  be  erased  from  the  statute  book. 

The  practice  of  exposing  jury  lists,  and  lists  of  the  electors,  at  the  doors  of  churches  and 
chapels,  I  think,  is  very  exceptionable.  If  publicity  be  the  object,  it  is  not  obtained  ;  these 
places  are  by  no  means  the  most  public ;  and  what  is  still  more  unfavourable,  the  gates  of 
many  of  them  are  closed  and  locked  every  day  excepting  Sunday.  The  assembling  of  great 
numbers  of  persons  at  the  church  and  chapel  doors,  before  or  during  service  time,  is  by  no 
means  agreeable  to  the  congregations.  Though  the  same  in  spirit,  it  is  certainly  a  refine- 
jjrient  upon  the  country  practice  of  announcing  sales  by  the  clerk,  after  service,  in  the  church 
yard.  The  fact  is,  that  so  many  things  are  now  announced  by  bills,  that  we  vmnt  posts,  or 
regularly  appointed  places,  by  authority,  where  such  could  be  regularly  affixed. 

A  meeting  of  the  parishioners  of  Vt'est  Derby  was  lately  held  to  lay  a  rate  for  the 
expenses  of  the  church.  An  uncertainty  seems  for  some  time  to  have  existed  as  tj  which 
places  are  extra  parochia'.  Two  bishops  had  been  applied  to  in  vain  to  determine  this 
point,  and  the  overseer  stated  that  the  answer  of  Mr.  Ward,  the  proctor  for  the  Bishop  of 
Chester,  was,  that  they  had  better  apply  to  his  holiness  the  Pope  for  information  !  This 
was  an  ingenuous  answer  ;  and  as  all  the  mysterious  questions  which  now  arise  can  only  be 
solved  by  reference  to  Catholic  documents,  I  think  the  easiest  way  of  settling  these  church 
(alias  moneij)  disputes,  would  be  to  establish  an  ecclesiastical  court  of  equity,  and  invite  his 
holiness  to  preside  !  A  "no  rate"  motion  was  carried  at  this  meeting;  and,  indeed,  if  the 
»  ispirit  manifested  at  Birmingham,  Huddersfield,  Bolton,  Blackburn,  Chorley,  &c.,  go  on, 
they  will  actually  starve  the  old  lady  to  death  1 


I  The  question  of  colonial  slavery  has  been  vrarmly  disputed  at  Liverpool  between  two 
gentlemen.  I  attended  one  evening,  and  was  highly  gratified  with  the  statements  and  ar- 
guments of  Mr.  Thomson,  the  friend  of  abolition.  I  hope  this  question  will  shortly  be  i^t 
at  rest,  and  the  poor  African,  educated  for  civil  li.e,  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  unalienable 
right  of  owning  himself.  At  the  same  time,  I  would  that  we  were  all  equally  anxious  for 
home  emancipation.  There  is  the  slavery  of  poverty  and  the  slavery  of  vice  staring  us  in 
the  face,  and,  yet,  how  few  are  disposed  to  assist  in  breaking  the  chain.  Liverpool  itself  is 
[enslaved  to  sin  ;  pride  and  sensuality  every  where  abound.  Coming  from  the  Amphitheatre, 
VOL.    II.  2  R 


di8 


use] 


where  the  discussion  was  held,  at  the  corner  of  a  certain  square  we  passed  a  public  house 
which  appeared  to  be  filled  with  prostitutes  and  men  of  bad  character,  whilst  great  numbers 
of  the  same  debased  and  wretched  beings  almost  filled  the  street,  to  annoy  the  passengers. 
Ah !  thought  I,  can  three  thousand  persons  be  collected  on  a  single  occasion  to  deprecate 
slavery,  and  is  there  not  a  single  soul,  in  authority  or  otherwise,  disposed  to  look  after  these 
wretched  beings,  and  to  rid  the  young  and  the  unwary  of  their  pestiferous  influence? 
Ministers  of  the  gospel!  where  are  ye,  while  all  this  vice  abounds?  Instead  of  enjoying 
the  carpeted  parlour,  or  the  table  of  a  rich  friend,  turn  out,  by  night  and  by  day,  and  wit- 
ness the  aboundings  of  iniquity.  Arise  from  your  lethargy,  and  let  your  light  shine  upon 
the  world,  and  where  sin  abounds  be  on  the  spot  to  counteract  it. 

I  have  received  several  complaints  from  persons  on  whose  testimony  I  can  rely,  of  the 
impositions  which  are  practised  upon  the  poor,  in  the  article  of  meat.  Diseased  beasts  arc 
brought  into  the  town  on  Thursday  and  Friday  evenings  about  twilight ;  are  slaughtered  in 
obscure  places,  and  the  flesh  hawked  among  the  poor  and  sold  at  a  low  price.  On  markei 
day  evenings,  it  is  said,  that  pieces  are  often  exposed  for  sale  by  butchers  of  disveputal)li 
character,  mixed  with  meat  of  a  better  quality,  and  the  poor,  whose  scanty  earniiii: 
lead  them  to  seek  for  a  cheap  bargain,  are  often  deceived  with  it.  Ought  not  the  constable 
and  the  authorities  to  be  more  vigilant?  and  might  not  some  public  notice  be  issued  upoi 
the  subject  with  a  good  effect  ?  No  wonder  that  diseases  and  sometimes  sudden  deaths 
cannot  be  accounted  for,  if  the  people  be  fed  with  carrion. 

The  following  is  from  the  last  Yearly  Epistle  of  the  Friends: — "  Our  views  of  th( 
simple  and  spiritual  character  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  of  his  immediate  government  o 
his  church,  have  led  our  religious  society  conscientiously  to  refuse  the  payment  of  all  eccle- 
siastical demands.  We  consider  them  as  having  their  origin  in  the  usurpation  and  exercise 
of  a  power  which  Jesus  Christ  never  conferred ;  and,  as  it  is  a  testimony  to  the  suprem* 
authority  of  our  blessed  Lord  which  we  think  it  our  duty  to  uphold,  we  earnestly  exhor 
all  our  members  to  act  in  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  and  to  maintain  this  testimony  with  con 
sistency,  as  unto  God  and  not  unto  men.  The  amount  of  distraints  under  this  head,  a 
now  reported  (for  the  past  year)  is  upwards  of  twelve  thousand  six  hundred  pounds,  ej 
elusive  of  a  small  sum  for  purposes  of  a  military  nature." 

It  has  been  estimated,  that  in  Europe  and  America  there  is  not  more  than  one  pe; 
to  every  213  acres.     Now,  every  acre,  by  spade  cultivation,  will  support  two  persons 
fortahhj ;  213  acres  would,  therefore,  amply  support  416  persons  instead  of  one,  so 
Europe  and  America  must  have  its  population  multiplied  416  times  before  there  coul 
the  least  deficiency  o(  comfortable  subsistence  ;  and  if  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  and  Amei 
were  like  the  Irish,  their  numbers  might  be  increased  no  less  than  2556.     The  latter,  0 
course,  is  an  extreme  case,  but  the  former  may  very  fairly  be  considered  a  proof  that  we^ 
not  yet  arrived  at  that  period  when  "  population  presses  upon  subsistence."  J| 

Masters  to  their  Workpeople. — If  you  begin  to  shew,  as  it  is  your  duty  to  do 
that  the  moral  conduct  of  your  servants  is  an  object  of  regard  with  you — to  make  it  eviden 
that  you  hold  them  of  more  importance  than  as  the  mere  instruments  of  your  pleasure; 
the  mere  contributors  to  your  wealth  and  aggrandizement — to  prove  that  you  take  anJs 
terest  in  their  welfare  and  comfort — that  you  view  them  as  fellow  creatures,  as  childrei 


319 

the  same  Parent,  as  fellow  pilgrims  through  this  to  another  and  a  higher  sphere they  will 

soon  evince  an  affection  for  you,  and  a  regard  for  your  interests ;  they  will  soon  divest  them- 
selves of  the  notion,  now  every  where  prevalent,  that  you  care  nothing  for  them  or  their 
comforts;  they  will  soon  become  emulous  of  each  other  in  striving  to  gain  and  deserve 
your  good  will,  approbation,  and  esteem.  And  at  how  little  a  cost,  with  what  a  small  ex- 
pense of  time  and  trouble  might  all  this  be  done!  How  easily  would  you  be  able  to  en- 
shrine yourselves  in  their  hearts,  to  make  in  them  a  sure  resting  place,  a  certain  safeguard 
n  unforeseen  misfortune,  in  civil  commotion,  or  in  local  agitation ! — An  Address  to  the  Pro- 
prietors of  Mills  in  Bury,  SfC. 

Church  Reform. — But  while  we  are  for  removing  the  tithe  system,  and  the  forcible 
lupport  of  the  clergy,  while  we  would  sell  all  the  lands,  and  divert  to  other  channels  the 
)resent  revenues  of  the  establishment,  we  are  far  from  designing  the  destruction  of  what 
s  properly  called  the  church :  we  would  have  every  place  of  worship,  with  its  pastor,  and 
very  pastor  comfortably  paid.  If  bishops  are  thought  requisite,  we  would  have  bishops, 
ind  if  there  must  be  rectors,  deans,  prebendaries,  &c.  as  at  present,  we  know  too  well  the 
Ights  of  conscience  to  put  in  our  negative  against  them.  All  we  say  is,  let  them  be  paid 
ty  the  people  who  approve  and  select  them.  If  church  people  admire  forms  of  prayer, 
hey  should  have  them ;  if  the  present  system  of  worship  be  to  their  mind,  let  it  be  con- 
inued ;  these  are  all  matters  for  each  person's  consideration,  and  about  which  we  are  not 
ebating.  Our  plan  is,  that  the  people,  in  every  parish  or  district,  should  choose  their  own 
sinister,  and  worship  God  in  their  own  way,  bearing  themselves  the  expense  of  the  whole, 
r  obtaining  such  voluntary  aid  from  other  places  as  would  enable  them  to  maintain  the 
rorship  of  God.  But,  however  desirable  the  attainment  of  these  ends  may  be,  we  should 
e  exceedingly  sorry  to  have  them  effected  by  the  hands  of  the  rabble,  or  by  any  other 
leans  than  that  which  is  constitutional  and  equitable.  The  legislature  alone  has  autho- 
ity  in  this  matter,  and  to  it,  in  a  proper  and  peaceable  manner,  let  the  public  appeal,  and 
heir  voice  will  not  be  disregarded.  We  remark,  further,  that  the  time  appears  to  have 
rrived,  when  the  renovation  we  contend  for  should  be  actually  made.  Mr.  Acaster,  in  a 
assage  previously  cited,  tells  us,  that  "  full  half  the  population  of  the  country,  it  is  calcu- 
ited,  have  already  left  the  church,  and  joined  the  ranks  of  dissent."  This,  however,  is 
n  under  statement.  For  if  those  who  actually  attend  nonconforming  ministers  of  all  de- 
ominations,  in  England,  Wales,  and  Ireland  (and  no  others  should  be  put  into  the  scale 
f  our  calculations)  be  compared  with  those  who  actually  attend  the  church,  the  numbers, 
ccording  to  a  recent  author,  would  stand  as  follows : 

Dissenters 10,912,000 

Episcopalians 6,858,000 

';aving  the  establishment  in  a  considerable  minority.  Here  let  us  cite  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
'aley,  and  it  will  establish  our  position.  "  If  the  dissenters  from  the  establishment  be- 
ome  a  majority  of  the  people,  the  establishment  itself  ought  to  be  altered  and  qualified, 
f  there  exist  among  the  different  sects  such  a  parity  of  numbers,  interest,  and  power,  as 
\)  render  the  preference  of  one  sect  to  the  rest  a  matter  of  hazardous  success,  and  of  doubt- 
hl  election,  some  plan  similar  to  that  of  North  America  may  perhaps  suit  better  with  this 
ivided  state  of  public  opinion,  than  any  constitution  of  a  national  church  whatever." — 
{istory  of  Tithes. 


320 

Dues. — While  on  this  topic,  we  must  not  fail  to  inform  the  public,  that  clergymen  are 
in  the  perpetual  receipt  of  money  as  their  supposed  legal  right,  but  for  the  enforcement  vi 
which  sums  they  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  law.  In  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  The  exactions, 
impositions,  and  extortions  of  the  clergy,  churchwardens,  and  parish  clerks,  detected  and 
exposed,"  by  a  gentleman  of  the  Inner  Temple,  it  is  proved,  from  the  best  legal  and  eccle- 
siastical authorities,  that  the  clergy  should  not,  in  person  or  by  proxy,  demand  any  fees  for 
churching  women,  christening  children,  weddings,  tolling  the  bell  at  the  death  of  a  pa- 
rishioner, breaking  the  ground  in  the  church  or  grave  yard,  or  performing  the  burial  ser- 
vice ;  and  that  to  do  so  is  simony,  and  subjects  the  offender  to  deprivation,  and  forfeiture  of 
goods  and  chattels;  and  that  any  offering  presented  at  the  font,  altar,  or  grave,  even  of  a 
single  penny,  is  a  full  discharge  from  all  the  claims  of  the  parson.  It  is  also  unlawful  to 
sell  or  let  pews  in  a  parish  church,  the  people  having  a  right  to  demand  free  accommodation 
for  the  rates  they  pay  towards  its  support.  Nor  have  the  clergy  any  just  claims  on 
the  tithes  of  small  kitchen  gardens,  the  produce  of  which  is  consumed  by  the  family,  and 
not  sold  to  others.  Parish  vestries  have  no  legal  power  to  make  tables  of  fees,  dues,  oi 
charges,  and,  consequently,  no  person  can  be  bound  to  pay  them.  This  statement  is  cal- 
culated to  meet  an  assertion  frequently  made,  both  by  dissenters  and  churchmen,  viz.  thai 
few  of  the  clergy  get  above  two-thirds  of  what  is  their  legal  right.  We  would  not,  for  a 
moment,  question  the  moderation  of  many  rectors,  vicars,  and  curates,  but  we  have  seer 
before,  that  they  have  lived,  and  appropriated  three  times  as  much  from  the  tithe  system  a! 
was  originally  designed  for  them.  Whether  they  can  plead  statute  and  canon  law  for  al 
this,  is  another  question  ;  at  all  events,  our  foregoing  remarks  clearly  prove  that  they  exac 
many  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year  more  than  they  have  any  legal  claim  to  ;  so  tha 
there  is  not  quite  so  much  moderation  as  some  are  disposed  to  imagine.  To  follow  custon 
where  it  adds  to  our  revenues,  and  to  reject  it  when  an  increase  is  made  to  our  duties,  or  8 
deduction  from  our  incomes,  is  not  very  disinterested  or  ingenuous  :  and  that  such  is  tht 
case,  among  the  mass  of  the  clergy,  few  persons  acquainted  with  the  canons  of  the  church 
and  the  operations  of  the  priesthood,  can  deny. — History  of  Tithes. 

Domestic  Misery  in  Ireland.— There  is  such  a  thing  among  the  poor  as  affectior 
between  the  sexes,  not  accompanied  certainly  with  all  the  refinements  which  wealth  along 
with  moral  and  intellectual  culture  may  bestow,  but  enough  to  gild  the  path  of  life,  an< 
lighten  the  burthen  of  toil  and  sorrow.     Disease  and  physical  privation  however,  too  oftei 
come  between,  to  permit  even  this  happiness  to  be  enjoyed.'     In  many  cases  the  pressure  o 
want  leaves  little  room  for  domestic  enjoyment.     When  work  is  obtained,  no  remission  cai 
be  permitted,  and  the  toil-worn  man  when  he  returns  to  his  home,  cares  for  little  save  thi 
rudest  and  most  transient  gratifications  :  he  wishes  for  food  and  rest,  and  if  possible, 
luxury  of  a  little  tobacco  and  strong  drink.     In  his  home  he  commonly  finds  every  tl 
squalid,  and  dirty,  and  cheerless.     His  partner  can  do  little  more,  even  with  all  her  effc 
and  the  occupation  of  all  her  time,  than  prepare  food  and  tend  her  children,  some  of  wk 
are  frequently  labouring  under  sickness.     Incessantly  irritated  and  perpetually  occupiei 
mind  and  body,  she  becomes,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  a  repulsive  and  miserable  dru^ 
Whatever  good  looks  she  may  have  had  in  her  youth,  vanish  ;  her  temper  becomes  soul 
and  her  person  neglected.     Miserably  poor,  how  can  she  adorn  her  children  or  decol 
her  dwelling  ?    All  the  lower  animals  tend  their  offspring,  and  keep  their  abiding  pla 
clean,  but  the  poor  of  the  human  species  do  neither.     In  this  state  it  may  well  be  suppo 


S2I 

that  they  have  no  knowledge.  How  could  they  have  it  ?  Brutes  have  their  instincts  and 
some  experience ;  but  man  who  has  not  these  instincts,  if  lie  be  uninstructed,  must  fall  be- 
low the  brutes  themselves  ;  and  as  with  the  brutes  his  experience  in  such  cases  is  all  per- 
sonal, so  the  knowledge-stores  of  other  men  and  other  times  are  sealed  to  him.  Pestiferous 
and  sickening  emanations  are  constantly  generating  in  the  dwellings  of  the  poor,  which 
render  it  noisome  to  enter  them  or  have  intercourse  with  their  inhabitants.  The  unthink- 
ing and  the  unfeeling  cannot  bear  their  presence;  and  with  so  many  sources  of  mental  and 
bodily  degradation,  it  is  only  surprising  that  they  continue  to  retain  any  semblance  of  hu- 
iimanity.  The  decencies  and  charities  of  life  are  continually  violated.  How  can  they,  indeed, 
|ibe  observed  in  situations  where  human  beings  of  so  lojv  a  standard  of  mental,  moral,  and 
.jphysical  condition,  are  heaped  together  like  cattle  in  a  stall  ?  In  one  narrow  and  ill  venti- 
lated room,  there  will  frequently  be  seen  a  whole  family,  consisting  of  the  parents  and 
their  numerous  offspring  of  different  ages.  The  dwelling  is  probably  in  some  wretched 
Murt  or  lane,  and  the  apartment  may  either  be  on  the  damp  ground  floor  or  in  the  stifling 
recesses  above.  The  pure  air  is  seldom  admitted  within  ;  heat  is  procured  at  too  costly  a  rate 
to  be  exchanged  for  it ;  and,  when  disease  breaks  out  in  rooms  where  the  windows  are  never 
)pen,  the  ordinary  impurity  of  the  atmosphere  is  dreadfully  aggravated.  There  can  be  no 
privacy  in  such  apartments;  inmates  are  to  be  found  in  them  day  and  night.  Let  us  enumerate 
:he  conveniences  with  which  they  abound.  When  there  is  a  bed,  it  is  one  of  straw  or  chaff ; 
ind  when  there  are  bed-clothes,  they  consist  of  a  woollen  rug,  without  linen  or  coverlets. 
Upon  this  couch  repose  the  parents  and  some  of  the  children ;  the  remainder  sleep  on  worn 
md  dirty  heaps  of  straw,  with  whatever  they  can  get  to  lay  over  them.  In  such  places 
here  are  frequently  no  chairs  or  tables ;  a  stool  or  two,  with  a  cooking- vessel,  and  some 
iroken  delf,  compose  the  remainder  of  the  furniture.  The  floor  is  seldom  washed,  and  the 
rails  and  windows  are  cobwsbbed  and  dirty.  I  have  more  than  once  been  in  dwellings, 
loth  with  boarded  and  earthen  floors,  where  one,  and  two,  and  sometimes  a  family  of 
luman  b.-ings  have  been  living,  and  where  there  was  nothing  in  the  form  of  utensils  or  fur- 
liture,  save  a  little  straw. — H.  M'Cormack,  M.  D. 

The  following  account  will  serve  to  show  with  what  a  gentle  and  paternal  feeling  the 
locks  of  the  clergy  are  regarded  :— On  the  21st  day  of  August,  George  Clewes,  of  Bulking- 
on,  m  the  county  of  Warwick,  was  summoned  before  the  following  magistrates :  the  Rev. 
I.  Bellairs,  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Adams,  H.  C.  Adams,  Esq.,  and  Colonel  Newdigate,  to  answer  to 
he  charge  of  having  refused  payment  of  FOURPENCE,  claimed  of  him  for  Easter  dues; 
nd,  notwithstanding  t\\efair  and  impartial  view  of  the  case  which  these  parson  magistrates 
ook,  still  this  poor  man  was  convicted  by  them,  and  had  to  pay  the  enormous  sum  of  ONE 
'GUND  TWO  SHILLINGS — and  the  following  goods  were  forthwith  sWseif,  anrf  <a/.en 
ul  of  his  house  to  be  sold:  one  oak  snap-table,  two  elbow-chairs,  steel-grate  and  fender, 
tiree  barrels,  two  sets  of  fire-irons,  tea-tray,  tin  cover,  bread-tray,  black  fender,  one  round 
|able,  and  some  iron  rods. — Church  Examiner. 

Temperance  Taverns. — At  Utica,  we  found  ourselves  comfortable  lodged  in  a  new 
nd  one  of  the  most  elegant  establishments  that  we  have  ever  seen,  either  in  the  country  or 
ity.  The  house  is  called  the  "  Oneida  Temperance  House,"  and  is  kept  by  W.  Stafford, 
rom  whom  we  received  every  necessary  attention,  and  from  the  hands  of  whose  good  wife 
^e  had  the  pleasure  ef  receiving  one  of  the  best  cups  of  coffee  that  a  public-house  can 
'afford.     It  appearing  somewhat  strange  to  find  a  public-house  without  ardent  spirits,  we 


822 


I 


were  rather  curious  to  examine  the  prospects  of  success.  These  we  found  to  consist  in  ab 
spacious  establishment,  entered  by  one  public  and  two  private  doors,  furnished  in  a  neat 
style,  with  new  and  elegant  furniture.  At  dinner,  though  we  had  no  brandy,  we  had  a 
table  spread  in  the  neatest  manner,  and  with  the  best  table  furniture  w^e  ever  met  with  at 
any  public-house  whatever,  and  with  as  great  a  variety  of  eatables  as  the  season  would  al- 
low, well  prepared.  We  found  all  quiet — no  tavern-loungers,  or  brandy-drinkers,  to  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  travellers.  We  left  with  a  desire  soon  to  visit  this  establishment  again, 
and  would  most  cheerfully  recommend  it  to  those  who  are  travelling  for  health  or  pleasure. 
If  ardent  spirit,  when  banishe^  from  public-houses,  will  leave  them  so  neat  and  quiet,  we 
would  recommend  all  hotel-keepers  to  dispense  with  it  immediately. — Rochester  Observer, 

Ravages  of  the  Cholera. — No  where  was  the  Cholera  treated  with  profaner  levity, 
or  defied  with  more  presumptuous  security,  than  in  the  vain-glorious  metropolis  of  France, 
She  openly  scoffed  at  the  fanaticism  of  England,  in  acknowledging  the  Divine  hand  to  have 
any  concern  with  the  malady,  and  in  appointing  a  day  for  public  humiliation.  She  attri- 
buted the  disease  exclusively  to  secondary  causes,  and  some  of  her  most  distinguished  men 
boasted  that  it  would  be  stripped  of  its  strength  before  it  reached  Paris,  or  would  at  all 
events,  be  utterly  powerless  against  the  science,  the  civilization,  and  the  courage  which 
would  be  there  brought  to  bear  against  it ;  they  went  so  far  as  to  congratulate  their  fellow  citi- 
zens on  the  the  probable,  nay  almost  certain,  immunity  they  w«re  to  enjoy  from  the  impotent 
visitation.  "  Paris,"  said  M.  Villerme,  "  exceeds  all  other  cities  in  the  extent  of  civilization! 
the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  are  the  strongest  in  moral  courage  of  any  nation  in  the  world, 
and  unrivalled  in  physical  energy.  It  is  superintended  and  controlled  by  an  excellent  me- 
dical police  ;  no  nuisances  exist."  "  Such,"  to  borrow  the  powerful  description  of  the  Re- 
cord newspaper,  "  such  was  the  proud  boast  frequently  made  during  the  advance  of  the 
pestilence,  and  publicly  repeated  by  M.  Villerme,  only  five  days  before  its  arrival  in  Paris. 
And  what  was  the  result  ?  What  became  of  the  physicians  who,  in  the  pride  and  madness 
of  self-confidence,  sent  a  deputation  to  the  English  Ambassador,  offering  to  go  to  England, 
for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the  disease  by  instructing  the  ignorance  of  British  practitioner 
What  becanje  of  all  their  'great  swelling  words  of  vanity'  about  the  science,  the  civiliz 
tion  and  courage  of  the  Parisians?  What,  in  a  word,  was  the  issue  of  their  atheistical  n 
fusal  to  imitate  the  other  nations  of  Europe  (Belgium  only  excepted)  in  humbling  the: 
selves  before  God?  Let  the  courage  with  which  they  braved  the  pestilence  be  told  in  the 
flight  of  250,000  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  precipitate  prorogation  of  the  chambers  ;  and 
let  the  fruits  of  their  science  and  civilization  and  physical  energy,  as  brought  to  bear  against 
the  Cholera,  be  read  in  the  death  of  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  thousands — 
nay,  the  myriads — whose  bodies  filled  the  cemeteries,  and,  finally,  the  trenches  dug  for  the 
purpose  in  the  vicinity  of  Paris.  The  Cholera  seized  upon  that  devoted  city  as  if  it  ha|(' 
been  its  especial  and  destined  prey ;  as  if  the  object  of  its  long  dark  march  from  Jassoi 
across  the  desert,  and  in  the  teeth  of  opposing  hurricanes,  had  been  no  other  than  this  proi 
citadel  of  science  and  infidelity.  In  one  single  day  all  the  empty  boasts  of  the  French  pi 
losophers  vanished,  like  the  dream  from  which  the  sleeper  is  aroused  by  bursting  flames 
crackling  rafters.  It  was  at  length  discovered  that  there  was  no  enchantment  which  co 
prevail  against  the  heaven  commissioned  angel  of  death.  All  classes  of  the  inhabitant 
were  indiscriminately  smitten :  the  statesman  and  the  mechanic,  the  peer  and  the  paup 
the  robust  and  the  sickly,  the  stern  soldier  who  had  led  on  columns  and  stormed  batteriei^ 


323 

the  timid  beauty  who  had  but  a  few  days  before  glittered  in  the  drawing-room  of  fashion, 
multitudes  of  every  rank,  age,  and  sex,  fell  beneath  the  stroke,  and  the  saying  of  Scripture, 
concerning  Egypt  of  old,  might  have  been  almost  literally  repeated  of  Paris,  '  There  was 
a  great  cry  in  Egypt,  for  there  was  not  an  house  in  Egypt  where  there  was  not  one  dead.' 
We  have  heard  it  from  good  authority  and  from  different  quarters,  that  the  official  re- 
turns presented  50,000  deaths  within  the  walls  of  Paris,  exclusive  of  the  populous  suburbs, 
where  the  deaths  were  estimated  at  20,000  more  !  If,  then,  these  accounts  are  to  be  relied 
upon — and  we  believe  they  are  accurate — vain-glorious  Paris  has  lost  upwards  of  70,000 
of  its  inhabitants,  or,  in  other  words,  about  one-tenth  of  its  whole  population.  The  morta- 
lity became  so  great,  that  the  utmost  pains  were  taken  to  conceal  it;  the  nights  were  spent 
in  burying  the  victims  of  the  plague,  and  such  was  their  number  that  even  the  artillery 
horses  were  employed  in  filling  the  trenches  with  their  uncoffined  remains." — Remarks 
on  the  Cholera,  by  the  Rev.  H.  Stowell,  M.  A. 


STANZES, 

FOR    THE    MORAL    REFORMER, 

In  the  hope  that  the  same  experience  will  lead  to  the  Same  results 
in  others. 

In  childhood  my  bosom  was  happy  and  free  ; 

I  believed  not  that  life  was  a  passage  of  pain; 
Hope  buoyed  up  my  heart,  as  the  foam  of  the  sea 

When  it  bounds  on  its  light  heaving  breast  o'er  the  main. 

Yet  oft,  as  a  check  to  my  infantile  joys, 

Came  the  gentle  restraints  that  my  parents  imposed; 

I  loved  not  at  night  to  be  called  from  my  toys, 

Nor  to  learn  that  at  length  my  day's  frolick  had  closed. 

In  youth,  though  long  watched  with  assiduous  care, 

Yet  folly  soon  found  me,  and  made  me  its  slave; 
I  learned  by  experience  that  life  is  a  snare. 

And  that  peace  is  uncertain  on  this  side  the  grave. 

In  manhood,  I  marked  that  the  wicked  grew  strong, 

I  saw  that  the  good  were  exposed  to  much  woe  ; 
I  marvelled  that  God  should  thus  suffer  so  long, 

And  withhold  to  appear  for  his  children  below. 

But  reflection  soon  showed  me  that  God  had  designed 
To  strengthen  their  faith — that  his  sons  should  be  tried; 

And  I  read  with  delight,  in  the  book  of  mankind, 
That  the  good  have  their  joys  by  religion  supplied. 

Though  the  pleasures  of  sense  I  before  had  desired. 

Yet  a  beam  from  above  the  illusion  dispelled ; 
The  TRUTH  all  my  soul  with  its  loveliness  fired. 

And  implanted  regret  that  I  'd  ever  rebelled. 

Henceforth  in  my  heart  shall  a  feeling  of  love 

For  mankind,  whilst  I  breathe,  ever  livingly  glow ; 
I  will  walk  in  the  light  of  THAT  beam  from  above, 
Devoted  to  him  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 
Preston.  T.  C. 


324 
THE  BANNER  OF  TEMPERANCE, 


The  Banner  of  Temperance  now  is  displayed, 
And  thousands  around  it  with  zeal  are  arrayed, 

Determined  the  monster  to  slay — 
The  monster,  who  long  hath  spread  ruin  and  death, 
Polluted  the  air,  with  its  pesti'ent  breath. 

Of  Britain,  once  temp'rate  and  gay. 

This  monster  is  Drunkenness,  stalking  abroad, 
A  foe  to  the  precepts  of  man  and  of  God, 

Who  blasts  the  fair  rose  of  our  isle. 
Kis  diirk  fendish  doings,  who  doth  not  deplore, 
And  seek  his  expulsion  from  Albion's  famed  shore. 

That  peace  may  our  sorrows  beguile  ? 

Ye  Briton's,  who  glory  in  freedom's  great  cause  ! 

Ye  Christians,  who  rev'rence  your  Maker's  high  laws  ;  ^ 

Whate'er  be  your  rank  or  your  creed  : 
Ye  pastors  and  people, — come  join  in  this  war. 
And  widows  and  orphans  now  sunk  in  despair. 

No  longer  with  anguish  shall  bleed ! 

Religion,  humanity,  virtue  invite 

To  join  in  this  struggle,  this  glorious  fight. 

Which  Heaven  beholds  with  its  smile  : 
Its  banners  are  bloodless,  it  causeth  no  ill, 
But  seeketh  the  dark  raging  passions  to  still, 

And  root  out  the  hateful,  and  vile ! 

Ye  friends  of  fair  Temp'rance,  O  be  not  dismayed! 
The  wicked  and  vicious,  these  will  be  arrayed 

Against  you,  with  hatred  and  scorn; 
And  others,  whose  names  are  with  justice  revered, 
E'en  these,  have  amongst  your  opponents  appeared, 

But  in  this  do  they  virtue  adorn  ? 

The  deep-rolling  waves  of  the  nations  afar. 
The  mustering  of  squadrons  for  havoc  and  war, 

Foretel  of  a  hurricane  wild! 
O  Britain,  my  country!  repent  of  thy  crime  ; 
Intemp'rance  hath  stain' d  i/iee,  to  earth's  farthest  clime ; 

For  this  Ihou  art  justly  reviled. 

Great  God !  in  thy  mercy  still  smile  on  our  land  ; 
Avert  the  dark  cloud ;  may  thy  all-gracious  hand 

Be  stretch'd  out,  our  country  to  save! 
O!  listen  to  those  who  devoutly  to  Thee, 
Both  morning  and  evening  bend  humbly  the  knee, 

In  prayer,  for  the  Isle  of  the  Brave ! 

Then,  then  shall  the  Star  of  our  Island  be  seen" 
In  glory  and  beauty;  then,  comfort  serene 

Shall  gladden  the  palace  and  cot; 
Then,  wide  shall  the  voice  of  rejoicing  be  heard, 
And  Britain  shall  bow  to  the  "life-giving"  Word, 

Whilst  angels  exult  o'er  our  lot ! 

Temperance  Record. 
J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston, 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  11.  NOVEMBER  1,   1832.  Vol.  IT. 

So  general  has  become  the  feeling  against  aU  men  in  power,  that  to 
iswne  of  my  readers  it  may  be  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  as  an  intro- 
Iduction  to  the  address  to  Lord  Brougham,  which  forms  the  first  part  of 
ithis  number.    Without  any  judicious  discrimination  betwixt  the  icorthy  and 
\\h.t  umcorthy ;  without  considering  the  difference  betwixt  a  man's  doing  his 
pest  in  the  condition  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  what  he  wuld  do  if  he  were 
More  favovirably  circumstanced  ;  without  supplying  us  with  other  names, 
ivhose  superior  ability,  honesty,  and  disinterestedness  are  unquestionable, — I 
Isay,  without  any  of  these,  it  has,  unfortunately,  become  the  fashion  of  many 
';o  rail  against  every  man  in  power.    Tliere  are  two  classes  of  persons  who 
io  this :  the  first,  those  who  have  a  settled  dislike  to  all  government,  a 
ove  of  anarchy,  and  a  desire  to  hasten  the  downfaJ  of  the  social  fabric. 
Poo  many  are  actuated  bv  these  views  ;  they  are  generally  men  of  the 
owest  grade  of  moral  excellence,   and  carry  in  their  own   conduct   a 
lear  illustration  of  the  value  of  their  principles.     The  second  class  con- 
ists  of  sincere  reformers,  who  are  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  their  country, 
)ut  who,  either  for  want  of  reading  and  impartial  reflection,  or  through  the 
nfluence  of  the  clamoui-s  of  others,  or  their  own  impatience  to  see  their 
audable  wishes  realized,  are  apt  to  cast  their  unmeasured  censures  upon 
hose  whose   sincerity  and  honesty  they   ought  to   admire.       Real  pa- 
riots  are  apt  to  be  precijntate,  and  without  allowing  for  the  innumerable 
difficulties  which  occur,  are  often  disposed  to  vend  their  disappointment 
•pen  the  heads  of  the  innocent.     The  time  requisite  thoroughly  to  reform 
te  constitution  and  laws  of  a  nation  is  not  to  be  measured  by  weeks  and 
ays ;  and  to  be  accomplished  peaceably,  and  fixed  upon  a  sure  basis,  we 
lust  be  prepared  for  many  delays.     Our  impetuosity  deceives  us  in  our 
stimation  of  men  in  power.     Wlien  Lord  Brougham  and  his  colleagues 

VOL,  II.  2  s 


326 

announced  the  outline  of  the  Reform  Bill,  the  country  was  struck  with  it: 
liberality,  and  the  most  ultra  reformers  pronounced  it  a  sweeping  measure 
but  now,  before  the  bill  is  even  tried,  a  clamour  is  raised  against  it,  anc . 
also  against  the  men  who  have  so  far  brought  it  to  a  successful  issue ' 
These  sincere,  but  short  sighted  politicians,  join  the  abettors  of  revolu-; 
tion,  and  by  trying  to  sink  the  present  reforming  ministers  in  the  estima-i 
tion  of  the  country,  are  (perhaps  undesignedly)  raising  their  worsi 
enemies  to  place  and  power.  If  Lord  Brougham  is  not  to  be  trusted  witl 
a  share  in  the  government  of  the  country ;  if  he  is  not  the  friend  of  th< 
moral,  intellectual,  and  political  improvement  of  the  people,  I  confidentlj 
ask,  who  is  ?  It  is  much  easier  to  deal  in  empty  declamation  than  to  provt 
that  he  has  ever  neglected  his  duty.  I  believe  he  has  done  all  he  could  do, 
though  not  so  much  as  he  would  if  his  own  will  might  have  been  his  guide ; 
and,  indeed,  if  he  had  not  been  supported  by  an  unequivocal  expression 
of  popular  approbation,  the  enemies  of  our  country  would  have  preventec 
him  doing  what  he  has.  Why  is  he  hated  and  maligned  by  the  conserva- 
tives, but  because  his  measures  are  favourable  to  the  people  ?  and,  there- 
fore, instead  of  adopting  the  blind  policy  of  some  reformers,  by  opposing 
him  and  his  colleagues,  it  being  evident  that  in  the  present  situation  ol 
parties  a  more  liberal  ministry  cannot  be  formed  at  present,  we  shouK 
support  them  to  prevent  the  others  from  regaining  their  power.  To  preveni 
the  comitry  from  again  becoming  the  prey  of  the  conservatives,  or  exposed 
to  the  horrors  of  the  system  which  seeks  the  subversion  of  all  law,  thi 
friends  of  peaceable  reform  ought  to  rally  around  the  present  government ; 
and  when  they  find  that  the  ascendancy  of  liberal  principles  is  put  beyom 
danger,  then  they  may  safely  press  their  objections  to  some  part  of  the  cabinet. 
If  confidence  has  any  resting  place,  the  genius,  the  mind,  the  honesty  ol 
Brougham,  I  conceive,  afford  the  greatest  assurances  of  a  progressive  i»t 
formation.  Let  but  the  people,  in  the  exercise  of  their  confidence,  instead 
of  placing  impediments  in  the  way,  strive  to  remove  the  obstruction! 
which  ages  of  corruption  have  imposed,  and  Brougham  will  yet  surpriw 
them  by  his  efforts.  Anxious  that  reform  may  be  effectual,  I  have,  in  the 
following  address  to  his  Lordship,  endeavoured  to  point  out  the  great  de^ 
sideratum  in  this  important  work,  namely,  moral  reform,  and  to  enlist 
services  in  that  great  cause.  And  if  both  rulers  and  ruled  will  endeavc 
to  reform  themselves,  and  adopt  the  principles  of  moral  rectitude,  as  th^ 
best  guide  in  politics,  the  reformation  of  our  laws  will  be  comparative 
an  easy  work. 


d27 

TO  LORD  BROUGHAM  AND  VAUX. 
My  Lord, 

Nothing'  but  a  deep  concern  for  the  permanent  welfare  of 
ny  country,  and  an  anxiety  to  promote  it  by  means  which  will  not  prove 
ielusive,  could  have  induced  me  so  far  to  deviate  from  the  humble  course 
[  usually  pursue  as  to  address  myself  to  your  Lordship.  Elevated  to  a 
ligh  situation  in  his  Majesty's  government,  the  long  and  tried  friend  of 
ational  education,  to  your  Lordship's  mind  the  present  and  the  pro- 
ipective  state  of  England  must  be  a  subject  of  deep  concern.  On  every 
Iklechanics'  Institute  is  written  your  love  for  the  improvement  of  mankind ; 
'our  efforts  for  a  universal  education,  your  exposures  of  the  misapplication 
>f  the  immense  funds  left  for  charitable  purposes,  and  your  mighty  efforts 
o  effect  legal  reforms,  shew  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  nation, 
^nd  though  you  are  now  promoted  to  the  honours  of  an  "order,"  which, 
infortunately,  has  not  always  identified  itself  with  the  interests  of  the 
'many,"  and  though  you  have  been  maligned  by  the  envious,  and  your 
aotives  impugned  by  the  rancour  of  prejudice,  I  still  believe  you  are  the 
eal  friend  of  the  people,  and  the  advocate  of  every  rational  and  practicable 
aeasure  for  making  them  happy.  The  time,  I  trust,  is  near  at  hand 
fhen — hinderances  removed — you  will  prove  by  your  measures,  that  a 
hange  of  title  has  made  no  change  of  sentiment,  and  that  the  flattery  of 
,  court  has  not  rendered  you  less  anxious  for  ameliorating  the  condition 
►f  your  country.  ^ 

Expectation  never  ran  higher  than  at  the  present  moment.  A  long 
nd  arduous  struggle  for  liberty  kept  down  the  buoyancy  of  hope,  but  the 
ite  sudden  advancement  of  popular  rights  has  given  rise  to  extravagant 
xpectations,  and  I  fear,  increased  the  delusion  as  to  the  only  means  by 
rhich  these  can  ever  be  realized.  As  to  the  necessity  of  great  changes 
here  can  scarcely  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  but  it  is  possible  that  these, 
istead  of  removing  evils,  and  creating  greater  enjoyments,  may  perpetuate, 
nd  even  increase  the  present  ills  in  another  shape.  Discontent,  disunion, 
rime,  and  poverty  abound,  even  in  company  with  the  increase  of  know- 
2dge,  the  increase  of  wealth,  and  the  increase  of  a  liberal  national  policy  ; 
nd,  unless  the  expectation  of  men  be  seriously  turned  from  external  arrange- 
lents  to  the  importance  of  good  character — from  the  shadow  to  the  sub- 
tance — disappointment  is  inevitable.  The  anxiously  looked  for  effects  of 
lie  Reform  Bill,  like  those  of  many  other  great  measures,  will  shew,  that 
national  panacea  is  not  to  be  had  merely  in  a  change  of  statute  law. 


,328 

Before  I  proceed  further,  I  beg,  my  Lord,  to  state  my  firmest  convic' 
tion,  that  a  reform  of  morals,  that  an  advancement  of  virtue  and  piety,  arc 
the  only  means  by  which  our  country  can  be  benefited,  and  by  which  an} 
real  good  law  can  be  rendered  practicable  and  efficient.  Daily  observation 
both  as  to  present  and  past  affairs,  convinces  me,  that  whatever  change* 
are  efi*ected  in  constitutions,  whatever  improvement  in  the  laws,  unless  the 
law  of  men's  minds  be  corrected — ^unless  that  which  forms  every  design 
impels  every  action,  be  right — our  progress  towards  happiness  will  be  vj.' 
sionary.  The  law  is  not  the  power  of  acting  so  much  as  it  is  the  index  oi 
men's  actions,  and  though  by  its  sanctions  it  may,  in  some  instances,  se- 
cure obedience,  it  is  a  high  moral  tone  of  feeling  that  can  only  produce  uni" 
form  obedience  to  the  laws,  or  spread  the  influence  of  individual  ao^ 
national  happiness.  Let  the  current  be  free,  and  wide,  and  deep,  and  vecj 
few  auxilaries  will  be  needed  either  to  impede  or  impel  its  progress.  I) 
the  people  be  good,  bad  laws  will  be  neutralized ;  if  otherwise,  the  begl 
laws  will  be  useless.  Is  it  for  want  of  rules  that  so  many  individuals  art 
dissipated  and  miserable  ?  Is  it  for  want  of  eaternal  arrangements  that  st 
many  families  suffer  ?  Are  the  disappointments  and  breaking  up  of  hum- 
dreds  of  societies,  one  after  another,  owing  to  the  defection  of  their  writt&k 
regulations  ?  No,  no !  The  want  of  moral  principle,  the  want  of  charajc- 
ter,  some  where  or  other,  is  universally  the  cause.  What  law,  or  even 
what  generosity,  can  supply  the  happiness  of  which  a  family  is  robbed  bj 
an  idle,  a  dissipated  father  ?  What  national  measure  can  meet  the  cons©!- 
quences  of  the  perficky  and  dishonesty  of  tradesmen  ?  What  statute  can 
supply  the  absence  of  real  patriotism  and  pure  philanthropy  ?  Supposing 
even  the  most  Utopian  expectations  of  the  Reform  Bill  were  realized,  and 
that  wealth  was  made  to  flow  into,  and  fill  the  recesses  of  present  poverty, 
without  better  habits,  and  better  moral  feelings,  our  experience  is  sufficient 
to  tell  us,  that,  in  most  cases,  it  would  be  a  curse  and  not  a  blessing.  A 
higher  agency  than  that  which  the  law  of  man  can  produce  is  necessary  to  , 
assail  the  corrupt  principles  and  vicious  habits  which  now  prevail.  If  there  i 
be  one  truth  more  incontrovertible  than  another,  in  reference  either  to  in- 
dividuals or  communities,  it  is  this,  "  that  virtue  alone  is  happiness  below." 

It  is  most  important,  I  submit,  that  this  truth  should  be  widely  dif- 
fused, and  its  importance  enforced.  For  want  of  it  each  man  is  charging 
existing  evils  upon  his  neighbour,  and  almost  all  upon  the  government 
and  the  laws.  ' '  The  evil  is  at  London,"  we  are  always  told,  and  thence  it  is 
that  a  remedy  for  all  our  woe  is  to  proceed ;  and,  acting  upon  this  noti 
instead  of  beginning  to  reform  ourselves,  we  are  all  aspiring  to  reform 


329 

state.  The  man  that  has  not  a  particle  of  self  respect,  that  abandons  his 
family  to  the  mercies  of  the  world,  is  yet  boisterous  for  reforming'  the  do- 
ings of  the  higher  powers.  He  that  spends  his  time  and  his  money  at  the 
pot  house,  that  presumes  to  legislate  for  nations  over  his  cups,  who  profes- 
ses to  adjust  with  confidence  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  British  empire, 
is  not  even  able  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  of  his  own  little  carcase ! 
We  might  as  well  expect  luxuriant  crops  without  either  sun  or  rain  as 
expect  national  prosperity  without  national  character.  Let  the  morals  of 
jthe  working  class,  the  shopkeepers,  the  tradesmen,  the  clergy,  and  the 
nobility  be  reformed,  and  with  improved  laws,  and  even,  in  many  in- 
stances, with  bad  laws,  all  would  soon  be  well.  If  men  but  really  feared 
God,  held  themselves  accountable  for  their  actions,  were  convinced  of  a 
future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  and  were  living  under  the  regu- 
lar inculcation  of  these  principles,  what  a  changed  world  we  should  have ! 
In  a  word,  my  Ijord,  without  excluding  any  class  in  society,  I  have  long 
been  convinced — and  that  not  without  the  best  opportunities  of  judging — 
that  the  principal  cause  of  the  misery,  excitement,  and  disunion  of  the 
country  is  bad  morals.  For  if  we  have  even  bad  laws — and  this  none 
will  deny — it  is  from  hence  they  have  sprung,  for  whilst  men  are  corrupt 
themselves,  every  emanation  is  sure  to  be  the  same. 

But  we  are  represented  by  some  as  a  virtuous  people,  and  it  is  barely 
possible  that  you  may  incline  to  this  view.  Those  who  maintain  this,  I 
fear,  have  either  fixed  a  very  low  standard  or  they  have  had  few  opportu- 
aities  of  judging.  If  the  state  of  the  workhouses,  prisons,  asylums,  and 
jriminal  courts  may  be  regarded  as  symptoms,  you  have  had  opportunities 
)f  judging  of  these.  If  the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquor,  if  the 
jtate  of  the  public  houses,  the  dram  shops  and  beer  shops,  be  any  crite- 
ion,  I  presume  you  are  not  entirely  ignorant  of  it.  If  we  consider  the 
ituorals  of  our  youth,  and  especially  those  employed  in  factories  ;  if  we 
race  the  great  want  of  principle  in  connection  with  our  trade ;  if 
ve  notice  the  want  of  domestic  felicity,  the  general  contempt  of  religion, 
md  the  total  disunion  of  the  rich  and  poor,  the  workman  and  his  em- 
iloyer ;  if  we  look  at  the  present  proceedings  in  the  new  boroughs ;  if,  in 
act,  we  consult  the  opinions  of  the  best  judges,  we  cannot  but  agree  as  to  the 
acrease  and  prevalency  of  bad  morals.  Civilization  may  appear  to  pro- 
i;ress,  education  may  maintain  its  ground,  and  the  forms  of  religion  may 
■ontinue  to  be  respected  by  the  wealthier  classes,  but  all  these  tell  nothing 
)r  the  character  and  deportment  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  The 
ich  are  sensual,  haughty,  proud,  and  covetous  ;  the  poor  uninstru,cted,  en- 


vious,  and  revengeful.  Considering  the  fine  country  we  inhabit,  the 
wealth  we  possess,  the  advancement  we  have  made  in  useful  knowledge, 
our  internal  peace,  and  the  security  we  enjoy  from  foreign  foes — all, 
which  ought  to  have  led  to  "  unity,  peace,  and  concord" — it  is  a  source; 
of  deep  regret  to  find  the  country  torn  in  parties,  and  every  virtue  and^ 
excellence  sacrificed  to  moral  corruption. 

There  is  nothing  without  a  cause ;  and  it  is  by  pointing  out  the  chief 
causes  of  this  state  of  society  that  I  wish  to  fix  your  Lordship's  attention 
upon  certain  measures,  which,  in  order  to  secure  a  reform  of  morals, 
ought  to  be  adopted.  The  prevalency  of  vice  I  attribute  to  two  causes ; 
first,  the  changed  condition  of  the  country,  as  to  numbers,  wealth,  employ* 
ment,  trade,  manner  of  living,  and  residence  ;  and,  secondly,  the  inefficiency 
of  the  means  employed  (at  a  vast  expence)  to  counteract  the  vices  of  the 
age. 

The  first  of  these  is  seen  in  an  increase  of  numbers,  an  increase  of 
wealth,  an  increase  of  poverty,  and  a  change  in  the  habits,  employ* 
ment,  and  local  situation  of  the  people.  All  theSe  have  had  a  powerful 
effect  upon  morals.  Where  there  is  not  a  counteracting  influence,  the  in* 
crease  of  numbers  is  not  only  a  numerical  increase  of  agents  for  doing 
evil,  but,  reaching  the  point  of  ascendancy,  is  capable  of  destroying 
altogether  those  restraints  which  would  have  kept  in  subjection  a  smaller  I 
number,  and,  like  a  torrent  let  loose,  of  spreading  destruction  and  deso- 
lation around.  The  means  of  correction,  which  were  once  amply  sufficient 
for  the  country,  are  not  so  now.  When  to  the  increase  of  numbers  wi 
add  the  altered  state  of  the  people,  as  to  residence,  employment,  and  cir- 
cumstances, and  trace  attentively  the  workings  of  these  changes,  we  shaU 
discover  a  cause,  sufficient  to  acccount  for  all  the  evils  which  we  so  mu(^! 
lament.  When  the  people  were  distributed  into  families  and  hamlets,  ail 
over  the  country,  employed  in  rural  exercises,  enjoying  wholesome  aii^ 
and  a  remuneration  which,  with  frugality,  was  adequate  to  their  wantSj 
how  vastly  different,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  were  their  circumstanodS 
from  what  they  are  now !  when  the  rising  youth  were  not  exposed  ffi 
the  contamination  of  vicious  associates,  when  every  child  was  under  itt 
parent's  care,  and  when  the  ties  of  nature  were  the  safe-guards  of  virtual 
I  read,  with  no  ordinary  pleasure,  of  the  times  when  our  worthy  matroat!; 
and  their  daughters — on  whose  cheeks  the  beams  of  innocency  and  health 
did  smile — spun  their  yarn,  and  wove  their  cloth,  without  coming  in  coli- 
tact  with  a  train  of  temptations  scarcely  to  be  resisted.  Contentmeii*J 
harmony,  and  peace  prevailed,  and  the  poor  man's  cot  was  a  place  of  cdfii'^i 


331 

parative  happiness.  Real  sympathy,  true  hospitality,  and  genuine  friend- 
ship were  flourishing  virtues  ;  and  the  rich  and  the  poor  discovered  a 
mutual  kindness  and  attachment  which  have  no  existence  in  the  present 
iay.  The  influence  of  trade  and  commerce  has  so  changed  the  face  of 
;hings  in  this  country,  that  hamlets  have  become  villages,  and  villages 
arge  towns,  and  so  dense  is  the  population,  and  so  changed  are  the  modes 
jf  living,  and  the  kind  of  employment,  that  to  these,  as  a  first  cause,  may 
je  traced  the  loss  of  moral  character.  Besides,  the  extremes  to  which 
hese  changes  have  led  contribute  much  to  the  same  end.  Instead  of  a 
lappy  medium,  as  the  general  lot,  we  have  constantly  before  our  eyes 
iver grown  riches  and  extreme  poverty.  This- state,  and  the  steps  which  have 
ed  to  it,  throw  ofl^  an  effluvia,  which  is  destructive  to  the  moral  health 
md  ^^gou^  of  the  great  mass  of  our  manufacturing  population.  Some  of 
he  rich,  voluptuous,  oppressive,  austere,  pride  themselves  upon  their 
vealth  and  honours,  despise  the  poor,  and  treat  them  with  contempt.  The 
)Oor  envy  the  rich,  revenge  their  injuries,  and  rejoice  at  the  do\^^lfal  of 
heir  oppressors.  Borne  down  by  labour,  destitute  of  every  comfort,  they 
Irag  out  a  life  of  misery,  such  as  few  would  believe,  imless  they  were  to 
isit  their  dwellings.  Wealthy  as  a  nation,  and  yet  a  great  part  of  the 
leople  paupers !  Can  virtue  grow  in  such  a  soil .''  can  religion  thrive 
midst  the  choking  cares  of  destitution  and  want  ?  The  changed  circum- 
tances  of  the  country,  then,  I  maintain  to  be  the  primary  cause  of  the 
resent  immorality.  But  this  might  and  ought  to  have  been  accompanied 
n\\\  a  counteracting  influence ;  and  the  want  of  this  is  the  second  cause,  to 
.'hich  I  have  already  alluded. 

The  operation  of  these  causes  in  changing  the  habits  and  character 
f  the  people  has  gone  on  uncontroled,  though  the  evils  resulting  might  and 
ught  to  have  been  counteracted,  and  it  is  to  this  second  particular  that  I 
eg  your  patient  attention.  I  speak  not  now  of  restraints  and  checks  em- 
loyed  voluntarily  by  one  part  of  the  commimity  for  the  good  of  others, 
r  of  all  that  zeal  and  labour  which  persons  disapproving  of  a  national 
hurch  have  manifested  in  propagating  religion,  by  which  so  much  good 
as  been  done ;  but,  as  a  member  of  his  Majestv^'s  government,  I  draw 
our  attention  to  those  restraints,  civil  and  religious,  which  the  law  has 
rovided. 

The  enactments  intended  as  civil  restraints,  too  various  to  enumerate, 
ave  mostly  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  magistrates ;  but  your  know- 
'idge  of  their  qualifications,  appointment,  chM^cter,  and  total  inadaptation 
s  to  numbers,  residence,  &c.  for  so  important  a  trust,  will  prepare  you  to 


^  332 

judge  how  far  the  law  has  been  efficient  in  their  hands  for  the  suppression 
of  vice,  -'it  is  beyond  their  province  to  supply  motives,  but  it  is  their  duty 
to  enfoiije'  every  legal  enactment  for  the  good  of  the  communit}-.     How 
far  this  has  been  done  effectually  and  impartially,  and  how  far  this  duty 
has  been  voluntarily  and  vigorously  pursued,  I  need  not  say.      A  good 
magistracy  ought  to  consist  of  persons  possessing  suitable  qualifications, 
and  of  none  other,  and  chosen  by  those  who  are  competent  to  judge ;  their 
number  and  their  residence  in    some  measure  suited  to  the  sphere   in 
which  they  are  called  to  act.     The  contrary  of  these,  it  is  weU  known, 
exists  all  over  the  countr}'.     The  magistrates,  generally,  are  ill  quahfied 
for  their  office,  the  unworthiest  motives  lead  them  into  the  commission,  aai 
their  appointment  is  altogether  beyond  the  control  of  those  who  are 
best  judges  of  their  fitness.     Honour,  not  to  say  advantage,  more  t 
usefulness,  seems  to  lead  men  to  be  magistrates.     We  are  well  supplie 
with  them  here,  lay  and  clerical :  if  a  case  be  brought  before  them  the 
attend  to  it,  but  where  is  there  one  who  seems  to  take  so  much  iu' 
terest  in  obedience  to  the  laws,  and  for  the  promotion  of  good  morals,  as 
make  a  single  voluntary  effort,  attended  with  labour,  for  these  ends  ?     Thi 
aldermen  of  the  borough  are  ex-officia  magistrates,  but  without  any  inv 
dious  reflections,  is  it  likely  that  these   should  be  the  best  qualified  f( 
administering  the  law  and  keeping  the  peace  ?      The  consequence  is,  thi 
good   laws  remain  dormant,  bad  practices  prevail,  and,  owing  to  the 
apathy,  if  not  to  their  vices,  the  symptoms  of  moral  depravity,  instead, 
being  checked,  are  suffered  to  grow  into  confinned  habits.    ^Vho  can  co: 
template  the  scenes  of  disorder  and  dissipation  exhibited  in  the  publi 
houses,  and  the  destruction  of  every  domestic  and  social  comfort  by  !&■ 
toxication,  without  blaming  the  magistrates   who   have  the   power   t 
suppress  them  ?     As  guardians  of  the  peace,  they  ought  to  be  like  fathers 
the  people;  mix  with  all  ranks  of  society,  encourage  \-irtue,  notice  eve 
symptom  of  vice,  and  so  far  as  the  law  can  take  cognizance,  see  that 
community  is  benefited  by  its  provisions.      If  they  were  anxious  to  be 
blessing  to  the  community,  they  might  suggest  many  changes  in  the  lawi 
of  the  operation  of  which  they  would  have  the  best  opportunities  of  judgin. 
The  fact  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  different  sessions,  we  never  see  oi 
hear  of  the  magistrates  meddling  with  the  concerns  of  society.      In  caset. 
of  a  riot  they  may  be  seen  at  the  head  of  the  constabulary  force,  but  at  other 
times  they  seldom  if  ever  appear  among  the  people  in  their  official  charac-^ 
ter.     With  all  deference  to  their  office,  I  beg  to  repeat  to  yoiir  Lordship^ 
that  in  order  to  give  the  country-  the  moral  benefit  arising  from  the  cWt\^ 


f 


333  7^- 

restraints  of  our  laws,  some  material  change  ought  to  be  made  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  magistrates.  The  fact  is,  at  present,  the  laws  are  openly 
violated ;  the  most  false  and  dangerous  sentiments  as  to  property,  labour, 
and  the  rights  of  society,  are  regularly  published  without  contradiction ;  in- 
subordination is  proclaimed  upon  the  house  tops  ;  and  a  moral  deteriora- 
tion is  most  manifest  in  the  general  habits  of  the  people  ;  and  yet  all  this 
appears  to  be  unnoticed  and  disregarded  by  the  present  race  of  magistrates. 
The  laws,  indeed,  in  some  cases  have  been  bad,  but  independently  of  this, 
it  must  be  obvious  to  every  observer,  that  whilst  the  changed  circumstances 
of  our  country  have  been  producing  an  increase  of  vice,  the  counteracting 
influence  of  our  civU  arrangements  have  not  been  calculated  to  meet  the 
evil.  But  even  this  is  traceable  to  the  want  of  a  high  tone  of  moral  cha- 
racter. If  the  love  of  mankind,  if  the  desire  of  doing  good,  if  the  plea- 
sures of  virtue  and  religion,  were  but  more  prevalent ;  if  the  merchant, 
the  tradesman,  and  the  middle  classes  felt  an  ardent  love  to  their  country, 
were  willing  to  make  reasonable  sacrifices  for  the  good  of  others ;  and  if 
those  in  authority  were  disposed  to  set  a  good  example,  then  the  impor- 
tance of  all  good  laws  would  be  recognized,  and  all  parties  willing  to  carry 
them  into  effect.  Voluntary  efforts  would  also  be  made  upon  the  most 
practicable  scale,  which  would  not  fail  in  their  object,  as  they  gene- 
rally are  doing,  for  want  of  men  of  energy  and  character  to  support  them. 
A  grovelling,  sensual,  avaricious  spirit  reigns  in  the  country ;  and  whilst 
every  man  is  caring  for  himself,  but  very  few  seem  disinterestedly  to 
care  for  others.  Civil  restraints,  then,  so  far  as  they  connect  with  the 
laws,  it  is  obvious,  are  not  efficient,  and  that  principally  from  the  want  of 
moral  excellence  in  the  executive,  and  in  the  people  at  large. 

I  come,  now,  to  point  out  to  your  Lordship  the  defects  in  the  reli- 
gious and  moral  influence  which  ought  to  have  counteracted  the  vices  of 
the  age,  and  to  which  I  beg  your  especial  attention.  "Whatever  good  in-- 
fluence  may  incidentally  arise  from  the  laws  of  the  realm,  higher  motives 
must  be  put  in  operation  in  order  effectually  to  counteract  vice.  This  has 
long  been  considered  the  office  of  the  church,  and  the  effects  of  its  minis- 
trations and  influence  are  now  fairly  before  the  public.  WTiatever  may 
have  been  the  corrupt  motives  of  many  in  furthering  and  supporting  a 
lational  religious  establishment,  the  ostensible  one  at  least  is,  to  spread  re- 
ligious principles  and  to  counteract  the  vices  of  the  age.  Never  a  system 
m  the  world  was  less  adapted,  in  the  present  state  of  opinion,  for  this  than 
the  Church  of  England.  The  promotion  of  religion  has  been  committed 
to  the  clergy  ;  the  state  recognizes  them  as  the  only  national  instructors ; 

VOL.  II.  2  T 


334 

and  by  paying  them  upon  so  liberal  a  scale,  evidently  supposes  that 
they  are  not  only  adapted  for  the  work,  but  that  they  perform  it 
efficiently.  How  long  has  the  country  been  blindfolded  by  the  assump- 
tions of  a  race  of  men,  who,  while  they  never  cease  to  defend  the  sanctity 
of  their  order,  and  grasp  at  all  the  emoluments  of  office,  have  proved 
themselves  utterly  incapable  of  teaching  and  guiding  the  people  in  religion 
and  morals !  Whether  we  examine  the  system  or  the  men  employed  by  it, 
we  shall  see  that  it  does  not,  and  cannot,  counteract  the  increase  of  im- 
morality arising  from  the  causes  already  named.  Let  us  look  at  what  the. 
Church  of  England  does,  and  what  it  does  not.  It  provides,  out  of  the 
labotir  of  the  country,  princely  incomes  for  the  sons  and  dependants  of  thef 
nobility,  who  are  the  last  men  in  the  world  to  teach  us  the  religion  of  tho 
meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  It  gives  vigour  to  their  ambition  and  avarice,  and^ 
under  the  cloak  of  religion,  becomes  a  regular  support  of  hypocrisy  andi 
oppression.  How  it  operates  among  the  expectant  clergy  you  haver 
good  opportunities  of  judging,  whilst  we  in  humble  life  know  well,  fronr 
daily  observation,  that  instead  of  being  an  institution  for  diffusing  puref 
religion,  it  is  in  a  thousand  ways  producing  infidelity  and  disaffection; 
Its  temporal  concerns  are  a  cause  of  constant  rancour  and  contention, 
and  it  is  regarded,  generally,  not  as  the  friend,  but  as  the  enemy 
of  the  country.  Its  evident  inefficiency  has  led  the  most  honest  and 
active  part  of  the  country  to  leave  it,  who  being  pressed  with  incessant 
demands  for  what  they  conscientiously  disapprove,  are  led  to  expose  its  de- 
filements to  the  people.  The  country  people,  not  long  since,  were  bigoted; 
churchmen,  but  now  they  are  amongst  the  warmest  of  its  accusers,  and, 
owing  to  the  tithes  and  exactions  of  the  clergy,  are  all  ready  to  hasten  its: 
downfal.  And  they,  like  the  towns,  in  a  great  measure,  are  left  to  the 
influence  and  teaching  of  Catholics  and  Dissenters.  If  we  look  to  its  in- 
fluence over  those  who  are  engaged  in  its  services,  we  find  it  no  better^ 
Church  work  seems  to  be  like  all  other  work,  calculated  by  profit  and  loss ;: 
and  the  performance  of  wliich,  it  is  evident,  has  no  influence  over  the 
character.  Let  any  man  begin  at  the  lowest  office,  and  ascend  through 
eveiy  grade,  aud  try  if  he  can  discover  the  influence  of  disinterested 
motives,  an  ardent  desire  for  national  good,  or  any  rational  effort  for  rcr. 
gaining  the  lost  influence  of  religion.  Wlaile  superstition  enslaved  tha 
minds  of  they  people,  they  bowed  to  the  church,  but  since  the  have  begun! 
to  think  for  themselves,  too  many  not  only  evince  an  hostility,  but  en- 
courage themselves  in  vice  by  its  corruptions.  The  services,  it  is  true,  are 
read  over  to  those  who  attend,  but  is  the  repetition  of  the  same  thing  a 


335 

thousand  times  likely  to  supply  that  guidance  which  is  necessary,  or  to 
meet  the  ever  varying  necessities  of  the  worshippers  ?  Without  adhering 
to  antiquated  forms,  either  in  religion  or  any  other  affair,  we  should  always 
adopt  the  means  best  adapted  to  answer  the  end  in  view ;  and  as  this 
system  is  not  calculated  to  lead  the  nation  to  piety  and  goodness,  and  to 
■<;heck  the  sources  of  vice,  it  ought  to  be  abandoned.  Its  forms  are  un- 
suitable for  the  purpose  ;  it  confines  it  operations  to  very  narrow  limits, 
-to  the  places  consecrated  for  worship ;  and  few,  officially  engaged,  feel 
:desirous  of  changing  or  extending  their  operations.  All  reasoning  apart, 
your  Lordship  knows  well  the  vast  expence  attending  the  support  of  this 
church,  the  disunion  of  the  nation  which  it  creates,  and  the  universal  pre- 
valency  of  vice,  even  in  the  midst  of  all  this  apparent  religion.  Efforts 
-have  been  made  to  increase  the  number  of  churches,  but  if  they  were  se- 
riously intended  to  promote  the  religion  of  the  covmtry,  it  was  a  great 
-mistake.  When  we  think  of  the  additional  burdens  imposed,  of  the  ex- 
asperated feelings  of  the  rate  payers,  of  the  conflicts  which  are  now  going 
on  respecting  the  rates  to  maintain  them,  it  is  obvious  they  are  doing 
much  harm.  To  speak  plainly,  the  enormities  of  the  church  have  been 
such  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  now  hate  it. 

Thus  it  is,  my  Lord,  that  while  the  internal  changes  of  the  country 
have  been  contributing  to  the  increase  of  vice,  the  church,  the  national 
instructor  of  the  people,  instead  of  acting  as  a  universal  corrector,  instead 
of  meeting  vice  in  its  various  forms  and  places,  has  remained  a  bloated, 
pompous  establishment  for  the  secular  benefit  of  the  clergy.  I  have 
watched  its  progress  from  a  boy,  I  have  marked  the  tendency  and  influ- 
•ence  of  the  system,  and  I  know  well  that  it  is  not  only  uncongenial  to  the 
present  unfettered  intellect  of  the  country,  but  absolutely  productive  of 
-those  evils  which  ought  to  be  its  object  to  destroy.  It  has  long  stood  in 
the  way  of  a  better  agency:  being  the  darling  of  the  state,  and  being  con  - 
stantly  cried  up  as  "excellent,"  "apostolical,"  and  "venerable,"  many 
■have  not  had  courage  to  attempt,  by  other  means,  what  at  the  same  time 
•they  knew  the  church  could  never  accomplish.  It  has  both  neglected  to 
^ide  the  people,  and  been  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  others  who  would 
have  attempted  the  work.  What  real  improvement  has  not  the  church 
opposed  ?  and  it  has  not  given  in  its  adhesion  to  any  plan  for  the  good  of 
ihe  mass  of  the  people,  till  forced  by  the  influence  and  menaces  of  the 
|»eople.  Thank  heaven !  a  better  seed  has  been  scattered  through  the 
land;  numerous  parties  have  split  from  the  church,  and  these,  unfet- 
tered, have  been  incessantly  labouring  to  stem  the  torrent  of  iniquity,  and 


336 

to  administer  to  the  religious  improvement  of  the  people.  And  if  there 
be  any  rational  restraints,  if  vice  has  been  checked  by  education,  or  by 
other  means,  the  dissenters  from  the  church  have  ever  taken  the  lead. 
Weighing  the  matter  candidly,  my  Lord,  I  give  it  as  my  decided  opinion, 
that  the  church  has  never  answered  the  end  of  its  appointment,  and  that,  of 
late,  instead  of  correcting  the  evils  which  abound,  its  influence  altogether 
has  been  the  means  of  increasing  them. 

A  great  extent  of  church  patronage  is  in  your  hands ;  but,  notwith- 
standing this,  I  doubt  not  your  unbiased  wish  is  to  serve  your  country ; 
and  I  beg  most  respectfully  to  state,  that  while  the  church  and  state  are 
connected,  we  shall  never  have  the  former  sufficiently  pure  to  operate  as  a 
corrective  to  the  pre  valency  of  vice.  And  if  we  are  to  depend  upon 
other  parties  for  the  labour  and  success  of  this  work,  I  submit,  that  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly oppressive  for  them  to  be  compelled  to  support  this  obnoxious 
church  also.  My  earnest  wish,  therefore,  would  be,  not  for  the  parlia- 
ment to  reform  the  church,  but  for  the  state  to  give  up  the  connection ; 
and  let  the  church  folks  and  the  bishops,  who  admire  the  system,  take  it 
into  their  own  hands,  and  make  such  reforms  as  they  think  proper.  The 
tithes  and  the  other  property,  which  hitherto  have  been  lavished  upon 
worthless  hirelings,  may  be  profitably  applied  to  the  liquidation  of  our 
debt.  I  am  not  aware  that  statesmen  can  do  much,  in  a  direct  manner, 
towards  promoting  the  cause  of  good  morals ;  their  province  is  rather  to 
remove  every  obstacle ;  but  I  believe  you  could  not  do  a  greater  service 
than  to  place  every  religion  upon  a  level,  and  to  declare  your  approbation  of 
the  efforts  of  all,  so  long  as  they  are  good  citizens,  and  live  peaceably  to- 
gether. I  have  dwelt  longer  than  I  intended  upon  this  subject ;  but  be- 
lieving that  good  morals  are  the  only  foundation  of  national  happiness,  and 
that  the  church  appointed,  and  supported  at  a  vast  expence,  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  secure  these,  I  felt  wishful  to  speak  to  your  Lordship  in  a  manner 
not  to  be  mistaken.  The  removal  of  the  nationality  of  the  church,  a  reform 
of  the  magistracy,  and  a  change  in  some  of  the  laws,  combined  with  the 
sincere  efforts  of  virtuous  men,  and  the  labours  of  good  Christians,  through- 
out the  country,  would  be  the  likeliest  means,  vmder  the  blessing  of  God, 
to  restore  the  lost  character  of  our  country. 

Permit  me  just  to  say  that  the  poor  laws,  the  insolvent  debtors'  act,  the 
laws  respecting  public  houses  and  beer  shops,  the  stamp  duties,  appropri-l 
ately  denominated  taxes  upon  knowledge,  the  corporation  charters,  and  the 
criminal  law,  as  collateral  subjects,  have  all  some  connection  with  the  ob-j 
ject  I  have  in  view ;  and  I  trust,  when  you  have  the  honour  of  presiding 
in  the  new  parliament,  their  importance  will  not  be  overlooked. 


337 

I  am  most  anxious  to  see  my  comitry  prosperous  and  happy ;  and  be- 
ing equally  certain,  that  whatever  political  changes  are  effected,  until  we 
have  a  more  virtuous  population,  this  will  not  be  the  case,  I  have  ven- 
tured to  lay  these  sentiments  before  you.  Rash  and  precipitate  men  are 
accusing  you  of  inconsistency,  and  of  deserting  the  people ;  but  I  confi- 
dently hope,  by  appearing  as  the  consistent  and  fearless  advocate  of  poli- 
tical, religious,  and  moral  reform,  you  wiU  endear  yourself  to  the  country, 
and  obtain  as  your  reward  the  affectionate  esteem  of  aU  classes. 

I  am. 
Your  Lordship's  obedient  servant, 

J.  LIVESEY. 


EXCLUSIVE  DEALING. 
The  real  friends  of  the  country,  already  too  much  divided,  are  still 
likely  to  be  more  so  by  the  adoption  of  the  foolish,  oppressive,  and  im- 
practicable doctrine  called  "  exclusive  dealing."  What  consistent  reformer, 
who  has  all  along  been  advocating  liberty,  and  denouncing  an  interference 
■  with  the  exercise  of  the  elective  right  as  tyranny,  can  stand  up,  and  say  to 
his  neighbour,  "  If  you  don't  see  with  my  eyes,  and  surrender  your  con- 
science to  my  keeping; — if  you  hesitate  to  vote  for  the  man  whom  I 
approve; — if  you  don't  say  "aye"  and  "no"  at  my  bidding; — if  you 
don't  make  me  your  lord,  and  consider  yourself  the  slave ; — if  you  don't 
make  profit  and  loss  the  rule  of  your  voting ; — I  shall  treat  you  as  an 
enemy,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  I  will  deprive  yon  of  your  last  morsel  ?  " 
Is  this  liberty  ?  is  this  equal  rights  ?  is  this  toleration  ?  is  this  freedom  of 
election?  is  this  the  "consummation"  so  devoutly  and  anxiously  wished 
for  ?  Here,  then,  we  have  the  revival  of  the  "  Inquisition ; "  nay,  what  is 
worse,  for  under  this  edict,  any  body,  and  every  body,  may  judge,  convict, 
and  condemn  !  Intelligent  reformers,  who  value  consistency,  must  disclaim 
such  a  doctrine,  and  I  am  glad  to  notice  that  it  has  already  been  disowned 
ay  the  radicals  of  Bolton  in  one  of  their  addresses.  But  I  find  "The 
Poor  Man's  Guardian  "  labouring  hard  to  defend  this  practice.  "  The  to- 
"ies  have  set  the  example,"  he  says.  More  shame,  then,  to  follow  it.  Have 
■eformers  no  higher  principles,  no  better  conduct  than  what  they  can 
earn  from  the  tories  ?  "  It  is  not  the  act  but  the  intention"  that  we  are 
0  look  at ;  "  exclusive  dealing  is  a  criine  in  them  and  a  virtue  in  you." 
ntentions,  certainly,  in  the  sight  of  God  make  a  great  difference,  but  bad 


sss 

■acts  are  not  less  defensible  when  they  are  injurious  to  others,  because  w 
plead  our  good  intentions.  The  sacrificing  of  heretics  was  always  done.  It 
was  said,  with  the  good  intention  of  serving  the  church,  but  that  gave  nb 
ease  to  the  martyr's  pains.  Again,  the  persons  marked  out  as  victinis 
are  represented  as  having  "robbed"  the  others  of  their  rights,  though  to 
talk  of  robbery,  when  the  practice  of  robbing  the  shopkeepers  is  inculcatedj 
is  barefaced  enough.  But  the  allegation  is  untrue.  If  by  the  decision  of 
parliament  (and  that  generally  at  the  request  of  the  nation)  the  electi've 
franchise  is  conferred  upon  a  certain  class,  are  these  individuals  to  be 
charged  with  having  robbed  the  others  ?  Was  the  franchise  taken  from 
one  party  and  given  to  the  other  ?  or  did  those  who  now  possess  the  pri- 
vilege of  voting  ever  manifest  any  anxiety  for  an  exclusive  right  }  Suclj 
statements  are  merely  put  forth  to  inflame  the  unwary,  and  to  sow  th< 
seeds  of  disunion  wider  and  wider.  The  fact  is,  in  Preston  the  two  poundei 
has  the  same  right  as  the  ten  pounder,  and  yet  even  here,  a  party  is  noi 
content  to  exercise  their  own  sufirages,  but  insolently  ubmand  the  votei 
of  others,  and  threaten  something  as  bad  as  the  screw  and  the  rack  % 
every  one  who  objects.  Though  all  this  is  done  with  the  solemnity  of  " 
order  in  council,"  I  will  not  implicate  the  working  classes  of  my  townsma 
generally  with  any  participation  in  such  a  course  of  monstrous  oppression 
They  know  better ;  they  have  felt  the  galling  yoke  of  bondage ;  the  despa^ 
tism  of  their  employers  is  not  yet  forgotten;  and  every  thinking  mta 
would  revolt  at  being  a  partizan  to  iiphold  a  system  which  he  had  be« 
fighting  against  all  his  life.  It  requires  but  a  single  pen  to  put  all  the| 
"  lists"  and  threats  upon  paper,  and  though  I  am  sure  every  sensible  ig 
'former  in  Preston  will  abandon  so  tyrannical  a  project,  yet  there  are  somi 
no  doubt,  whose  bad  principles  will  approve  of  it,  and  who,  mistaking  i^ 
venge  for  patriotism,  wiU  go  to  the  full  length  of  the  injunction.  Bad  aJl 
visers  have  been  the  ruin  of  every  efibrt  made  by  the  working  class,  awMj 
they  look  back,  they  wUl  remember  how  often  they  have  been  misled,  r( 
bed  of  their  pennies,  and  chagrined  with  disappointed  hope.  The  " 
elusive"  doctrine  is  as  impolitic  as  it  is  impracticable.  They  may 
their  agents,  as  at  Manchester,  at  the  doors  of  those  who  refuse  to 
slaves,  and  warn  the  passing  customers  not  to  buy,  but  will  it  advance  thi 
cause  ?  No  :  it  stamps  infamy  upon  it;  and  infamous  must  be  the  Mi^J 
whoever  he  be,  that  suffers  his  election  to  be  be  promoted  by  such  scana 
lous  means.  Pity  the  country  that  has  to  be  ruled  by  men  of  this  stanap 
The  attempt,  however,  will  fail,  and  the  result  of  the  ensuing  election  wi 
shew  that  the  radical  reformers  have  been  most  successful  where  they  havl 


339 

ad  the  least  recourse  to  dishonourable  means.  For  my  own  part,  I 
onld  sooner  be]  sent  an  exile  to  a  foreign  shore  than  be  a  slave  in  my 
wn  land. 

Let  me  not  be  mistaken ;  while  I  vn-ite  thus  against  the  demon  of 
lavery,  shrouding  itself  in  the  garb  of  "  exclusive  dealing,"  I  equally  abhor 
le  oppression  of  aristocrats,  whether  proprietors  of  the  land,  the  spinning 
nny,  or  the  loom,  and  as  they  are  not  unlikely  to  faU  into  their  old 
eeds,  I  beg  to  ofFer  the  following  extracts  from  "  An  Address  to  the 
reston  Tyrants,"  which  I  pubhshed  in  1826,  as  an  admonition  to  this 
ass  also.  To  deprive  a  poor  man  of  his  employment  for  giving  a  conaci- 
itious  vote,  is  just  as  wicked  as  to  deprive  the  shopkeepers  of  their  cus- 
jmers. 

"And  now,  when  his  Majesty  places  the  power  in  their  hands,  to 
loose  men,  who,  they  have  reason  to  hope,  will  endeavour  to  lighten 
leir  burdens,  you  take  advantage  of  their  misfortune,  and  wantonly  wrest 
lat  power  from  their  hands.  Detestable  conduct !  Let  the  memory  of 
ich  execrable  deeds  be  loaded  with  infamy ! !  Petition  against  Negro 
lavery  !  the  slavery  of  the  mind  is  the  worst  of  slavery.  A  man's  mind 
i  his  own,  he  can  make  no  engagements  for  its  exercise,  and  so  long  as 
2  is  a  good  subject,  he  is  amenable  to  no  tribunal,  but  that  of  heaven, 
)r  his  conclusions ;  his  sentiments  on  politics  or  religion,  therefore, 
ught  to  be  beyond  your  control,  and  in  inflicting  the  punishment  which 
3U  are  now  doing,  (for  punishment  it  certainly  is,  to  compel  a  man  to 
3te  both  against  his  mind  and  his  promise,)  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  that 
3u  are  arrogating  to  yourselves  the  prerogative  of  God.  If  the  man  per- 
irm  his  labour  to  yoxir  satisfaction,  this  is  aU  you  have  a  right  to  expect — 

is  aU  you  asked — it  is  all  he  agreed  to  give.  They  pay  their  own  taxes, 
id  you  demand  their  vote  !  Their  vote  is  their  own,  and  the  man  is 
iiilty  of  a  foul  deed  that  endeavours  to  rob  them  of  it.  You  make  them 
to  mere  tools — machines — through  whose  articulate  organs  (with  heavy 
;arts  !)  your  voice  of  conniption  sounds.  You  disfranchise  eveiy  man 
ion  whom  compulsion  is  used.     Talk  of  representatives  !  of  whom  ?  not 

the  people,  but  of  yourselves :  they  have,  on  former  occasions  been  re- 
.med  by  you,  and  if  justice  might  rule,  the  consequences  of  all  their  mis- 
;eds  ought  to  fall  upon  your  heads. 

"  Is  there  no  bribery — is  there  no  perjury  in  all  this  ?  Do  the  men  not 
rear  that  'they  have  had  no  promise  of  money,  of^cQ,  place,  employment, 
I"  reward,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  order  to  give  their  vote  at  this  elec- 
lon  ?*      Is  there  any  difference  betwixt  xoithholding  employment  for  refus- 


340 

ing  a  vote,  and  giving  employment  upon  tlie  offer  of  one  ?  Not  a  shai 
It  is  the  consideration  of  the  employment  in  both  cases  that  influences  tli 
vote.  Though  habitual  corruption  may  blind  the  judgment  and  sear  tl 
conscience,  so  as  to  lead  you  to  justify  yourselves,  the  unprejudiced  an 
impartial  consider  your  conduct  as  bribery,  and  your  men  perjured  by  you 
instructions.  What  can  you  expect  of  men,  familiarized  to  bribery,  an 
taught  to  trifle  with  their  oath,  but  imbecility  of  principle,  and  perfidy  ( 
conduct  ? 

"  You  have  also  votes  to  give.  If  some  merchant  should  have  the  auds 
city  and  insolence  to  say,  '  Surrender  your  understanding  to  me  ;  give  u 
the  invaluable  right  of  choosing  your  ow^n  law  makers,  on  whose  decisio 
the  destinies  of  your  own  family  and  the  nation  depend,  or  I  will  visit  1^ 
refusal  by  a  final  close  of  business,'  you  would  treat  the  demand  with  tli 
contempt  and  indignity  which  it  deserved,  and  the  individual  as  a  bigote 
tyrant.  *  Do  to  others  as  you  wish  others  to  do  to  you.'  This  is  tl 
T  best  of  laws  :  but  your  conduct,  in  the  fairest  view,  is  utterly  incapable  ( 
standing  before  so  equitable  an  injunction.  The  men  are  made  of  tl 
same  blood  as  yourselves ;  the  same  hand  made  you  both :  and  thoug 
you  may  tyrannize  over  them  here,  a  time  fast  approaches  when  the  O] 
pressor  and  the  slave  shall  meet  together,  and  when  the  hand  of  Justice  sha 
avenge  the  wrongs  of  every  sufferer  !" 


EASTER  DUES. 

It  is  due  to  the  numerous  individuals  who  are  constantly  enquiri 
what  have  become  of  the  goods  seized  for  Easter  dues,  to  say,  that 
have  been  taken  clandestinely  to  some  other  town  (to  Liverpool,  it  is  sij^ 
posed)    and,  for  any  thing  we  know,  sold;    but  as  we  have  not  yet  n 
ceived  any  return  of  sales,  I  am  unable  to  give  any  precise  informatioi 
The    demonstration  of  feeling  in  opposition  to  all  unjust  demands,  i 
this  parish,  is  but  a  symptom  of  what  is  spreading  on  the  right  hand  ag 
on  the  left.     Churchmen  may  well  cry  out  for  a  commutation  of  tithes, 
it  will  be  found  much  easier  to  collect  defined  sums  in  pounds,  shillin 
and  pence,  than  to  depend  upon  the  market  for  titheable  produce. 


THE  MORALIST. 

Whenever  you  buy  or  sell,  let  or  hire,  make  a  clear  bargain,  ai 
never  trust  to — "We  sha'nt  disagiee  about  trifles." — Many  friends  arelfll 
by  ill  timed  jests :   rather  lose  your  best  jest  than  your  worst  friend.- 


341 

Sir  John  Barleycorn  is  a  stout  knight,  but  a  wicked  and  cunning  knave, 
and  does  much  mischief  before  men  are  aware  of  him. — Nothing  is  more 
odious  than  the  face  that  smiles  abroad,  but  flashes  fury  amidst  the  cares- 
ses of  a  tender  wife  and  children. — Never  defer  that  till  to-morrow  which 
you  can  do  to  day,  nor  do  that  by  proxy  which  you  can  do  vourself. — Po- 
verty wants  some  things,  luxury  many  things,  but  avarice  all  things. — Few 
die  of  hunger,  fewer  of  thirst ;  but  thousands  by  excess  in  eating,  and  tens 
of  thousands  by  excess  in  drinking. — If  custom  is  a  second  nature,  how 
cautious  ought  we  to  be  to  avoid  adopting  bad  ones ! — Exercise  authority 
with  moderation,  administer  reproof  with  tenderness,  confer  favours  with 
cheerfulness. — He  who  defers  the  amendment  of  his  life  tiU  a  convenient 
opportunity,  is  no  wiser  than  he  who  deferred  crossing  the  river  till  the 
water  had  passed  by. — When  scandal  is  busy  destro^dng  your  neighbour's 
character,  if  charity  and  good  nature  open  not  your  mouth  in  their  defence, 
let  silence  close  your  lips. — Never  let  prosperity  cut  out  the  eyes  of  cir- 
.cumspection,  nor  abundance  put  off  the  hands  of  frugality. — Rather  choose 
to  punish  your  appetites,  than  be  punished  by  them. — A  good  layer  up 
makes  a  good  layer  out ;  and  a  good  sparer  a  good  spender. 


THE  INTERESTS  OF  SOCIETY. 


"  In  faith  and  hope  the  world  ^vill  disagree, 
But  all  manldnd's  concern  is  charity : 
All  must  be  false  that  thwart  this  one  great  end, 
And  all  of  God  that  bless  mankind,  or  mend," 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — Man  is  strictly  a  social  being ;  not  an  insulated  individual,  but  a  member  of  a 

I  ,:reat  family.    He  has  many  wants  to  supply,  and  many  evils  to  endure.    He  cannot  suffer, 

''Ut  the  great  family  of  which  he  forms  a  part  must  suffer  likewise,  nor  can  any  calamity 

efal  the  family  at  large  but  he  must  sustain  a  part  of  the  affliction.    No  less  true  is  it,  that 

he  public  welfare  is  made  up  of  individual  prosperity,  than  that  individual  prosperity  is  de- 

'Cndant  upon  the  public  welfare.     A  nation,  society,  or  family  may  prosper,  though  some 

I  adividuals  which  belong  to  them  are  unhappy ;  and  some  individuals  may  prosper,  though 

he  community  of  which  they  form  a  part  be  unfortunate ;  but  that  community,  however 

rosperous  it  may  be,  can  never  be  estimable  which  docs  not  sympathise  with  the  misery 

f  individuals,  and,  so  far  as  the  public  welfare  will  permit,  endeavour  to  relieve  the  dis- 

ressed,  nor  can  any  individual,  however  successful  he  may  be  in  his  private  affairs,  be 

voithy  of  commendation  who  does  not  seek  also  the  general  interests  of  society. 

VOL.    II.  2  V 


342 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  duty  of  the  public  first  to  consult  for  the  general  welfare,  and 
then  to  attend  to  individual  necessities ;  and  it  is  also  the  paramount  duty  of  individuals 
to  provide  for  their  own  prosperity  before  they  give  their  attention  to  the  public  good,  but 
having  supplied  their  owrn  necessities,  they  are  bound,  by  the  social  compact,  to  regard  the 
ge  leral  weal. 

There  have  been  many  communities,  and  even  still  there  are  several,  which  seem  to 
reverse  this  great  principle,  and  to  provide  for  individual  advantage  to  the  detriment  of  the 
public,  who  heap  their  honours  and  their  wealth  upon  a  few,  while  they  suffer  the  nation, 
society,  or  family  to  languish  in  poverty  or  misrule.  There  must  of  necessity  be  a  grada- 
tion of  rank  in  every  society.  Not  more  natural  is  it  that  there  should  be  the  feeble  and 
the  strong,  the  wise  and  the  simple,  the  righteous  and  the  unjust,  the  prudent  and  the 
profligate,  the  industrious  and  the  idle,  than  that  there  should  be  the  governor  and  the  go- 
verned, the  poor  and  rich,  the  unhappy  and  the  happy.  The  virtuous  and  wise  ought  to 
be  appointed  to  legislate,  and  the  just  and  impartial  ought  to  be  chosen  to  put  the  laws  in 
force ;  and  when  such  is  the  case,  the  general  welfare  is  consulted,  and  it  becomes  not  only 
the  duty,  but  the  interest,  of  the  community  to  acquiesce  in  the  laws  which  are  instituted 
for  the  commonwealth,  and  to  support  the  magistrates  in  the  execution  of  those  laws  against 
all  who  may  ofiFend,  and  to  reward  them  according  to  the  importance  of  the  office  they  are 
called  upon  to  fill,  and  to  the  responsibility  and  labour  that  are  imposed  upon  them ;  but  no 
community  ought  to  submit  to  laws  that  are  opposed  to  the  natural  rights  of  man,  nor 
should  ever  permit  the  chief  magistrates  to  pervert  the  laws,  or  the  power  committed  to 
them,  to  their  own  aggrandizement  or  the  furtherance  of  private  and  personal  ambition, 
much  less  should  they  ever  suffer  the  subtle  and  designing  to  gain  the  ascendancy,  or  heap 
their  favours  upon  the  ambitious  and  audacious. 

There  are  but  few  who  can  rule  in  any  community,  and,  what  is  more,  there  are  but 
few  who  possess  the  rare  qualifications  of  a  good  ruler,  and  hence  comes  the  necessity  of 
purchasing  the  services  of  competent  persons  at  a  considerable  price.  A  man  of  superior 
menial  attainment,  of  strict  integrity,  and  of  great  activity  is  sure  to  secure  a  high  station 
in  society  by  his  inherent  virtues,  and  must  almost  necessarily  obtain  a  large  income,  if  he 
devoe  his  powers  to  his  private  interest;  and  if  he  is  called  upon  to  employ  his  energies 
for  the  public  governance,  it  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  unjust  to  expect  his  services  for 
the  same  sum  as  would  be  paid  for  the  labour  of  an  ordinary  man.  Moreover,  the  value  of 
his  talents  must  be  rated  by  the  general  condition  of  the  society  in  which  he  lives.  In  a 
country  in  which  the  highest  rate  of  intellect  could  not  produce  £1000  a  year,  it  would! 
contrary  to  every  standard  of  value  to  give  a  public  servant  as  much  as  in  a  country  wl 
the  same  talents  would  yield  £5000  a  year:  and  the  converse  of  this  is  equally  true, 
any  eminent  lawyer  could,  by  his  forensic  practice,  acquire  £5000  a  year,  the  public  ha 
no  right  to  demand  his  services  for  a  less  sum  ;  or  if  a  skilful  financier  could  have  ga 
£2000  a  year  by  his  talents,  surely  no  just  person  would  raise  an  outcry  against  allov 
the  same  sum  for  public  services.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  responsibility  of  the  ser 
is  considered,  the  opposition  to  be  encountered,  the  anxiety  to  be  endured,  the  mental  i 
ertiou  required,  and  the  danger  of  losing  his  employment,  no  reasonable  man  would  obja 
to  the  salary  being  increased  above  the  ordinary  standard  of  value. 

But  though  in  remunerating  adequately  the  services  of  public  servants  a  communis 


m 


343 

be  consulting  the  public  welfare,  yet  the  same  statement  will  not  hold  true  with  respect  to 
the  elevation  of  the  worthless  and  ambitious  to  public  stations,  and  rewarding  them  for 
talents  they  do  not  possess,  and  for  services  they  do  not  perform.    The  public  good  is  then 
made  to  give  way  to  private  interest,  and  while  such  is  the  case  the  community  must  suffer. 
But  it  would  be  taking  a  very  limited  view  of  society  indeed,  if  we  were  to  confine 
our  attention  to  the  remuneration  of  public  officers.     Unfortunately,  in  almost  every  com- 
munity there  is  an  attempt  to  provide  for  individual  interest  to  the  injury  of  the  public,  by 
partial  legislation.     Such  are  monopolies  of  all  kinds,  when  they  are  granted  through  per- 
sonal influence  or  obtained  by  treachery.     Much  might  have  been  said  for  many  of  the 
monopolies  which  exist  in  this  country,  as  peculiar  or  even  exclusive  privileges  might  at 
their  institution  be  dictated  by  the  soundest  policy  or  urgent  necessity;  but  when  these 
monopolies  become  a  public  evil,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  partial  and  injurious  to  continue 
them,  and  is  a  decided  breach  of  the  great  principle  which  I  have  laid  down,  that  a  com- 
munity must  always  consult  for  the  public  welfare  before  they  consider  private  interest. 
Again,  all  laws  that  have  a  tendency  to  promote  the  success  of  any  particular  branch  of  in- 
dustry at  the  expence  of  anotlier  is  a  breach  of  the  same  great  principle,  such  as  restrictions 
upon  trade,  all  political  taxation,  and  bounties  upon  certain  kinds  of  labour.     Commerce 
never  prospers  so  much  as  when  it  is  entirely  unshackled,  and  left  at  liberty  to  adjust  itself 
by  its  own  natural  laws.     Taxation  must  be  equally  and  proportionately  distributed,  or 
some  part  of  the  community  will  have  to  sustain  an  unjust  burden;  or,  if  any  exception  be 
made,  it  should  be  in  favour  of  the  instruments  employed  in  the  increase  of  capital,  and  of 
the  indigent,  who  are  rather  objects  of  bounty  than  exaction.     If  any  part  of  the  body  be 
left  free,  it  should  be  the  sinews,  the  motive  powers  of  the  constitution,  and  the  disabled 
members  which  can  scarcely  sustain  their  own  weight.     And  every  man  should  be  bur- 
dened according  to  his  sustaining  power,  and  according  to  the  benefit  he  receives  from  the 
iocial  union.    The  expence  incurred  by  a  community  is  less,  I  conceive,  needed  to  preserve 
isonal  liberty  than  to  protect  property  and  a  fearless  investment  of  capital ;  and  if  so,  it 
only  consonant  with  right  reason  and  common  justice  that  the  produce  of  property  and 
jf  monied  capital  should  bear  its  legitimate  proportion  of  taxation.    This  rule  would  apply 
with  considerable  force  to  funded  property,  which  is  peculiarly  interested  in  the  sustenance 
3f  order  and  good  government,  and  which  ought  to  pay  for  its  protection  a  proportion  equal 
:o  its  risk  from  any  breach  of  the  social  compact.     I  hasten  to  make  a  few  observations 
ipon  the  necessity  of  a  community,  after  having  provided  for  the  general  weal,  having  re- 
ject to  individual  interest.     Such  is  the  constitution  of  all  human  affiiirs,  that  no  general 
)iinciples  can  be  devised,  that,  while  they  respect  the  general  good,  will  not  be  oppressive 
0  individuals ;  and  what  is  politic  and  humane  as  it  respects  the  public  may  become  im- 
politic and  cruel  in  its  operation  upon  individuals;  and  hence  it  becomes  necessary  to 
Jxercise  a  discretion  in   exacting  the  penalties  of  disobediance,  lest  the   unintentional 
)ffender  suffer  with  the  designing  culprit.     Besides,  in  every  community  there  are  indivi- 
Uials  who  have  a  natural  claim  upon  the  public  bounty:  such  are  all  who  are  incapacitated 
n-  age,  or  mental  or  bodily  infirmities,  from  subsisting  by  their  own  exertions,  and  who 
:annot  be  supported  by  their  immediate  connections.     With  these  exceptions,  I  conceive, 
10  subject  of  individual  interest  ought  to  claim  the  interference  of  legislation,  and  even  the 
irst  of  these  may  generally  be  trusted  to  the  executive  power  to  point  out  the  exceptions 
iO  the  general  principle,  and  to  protect  him  from  any  unjust  infliction. 


3¥ 


Having  already  extended  my  observations  beyond  the  usual  limits  of  a  letter,  I  must 
defer  my  consideration  of  the  second  light  in  which  we  ought  to  view  the  duty  of  man  as  a 
social  being,  until  a  future  occasion. 

PHILANTHROPOS. 


PREACHING  REFORM. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 


Dear  Sir — I  am  so  delighted  with  your  essay  upon  the  prevalency  of  vice,  and  its  rJ 
cause,  that  I  hardly  know  how  to  express  myself  aright  in  its  praise.  I  have  been  awa 
for  a  many  yeafs  that  something  was  radically  wrong,  that  the  ministerial  office  was 
fully  maintained  by  just  preaching  two  or  three  sermons  on  a  Sabbath  day,  taking  dinii 
Or  tea  with  some  of  the  wealthiest  of  their  hearers,  and  visiting  the  sick  and  dying  wh| 
Called  for ;  and  yet  I  hardly  knew  what  it  was,  and  how  it  could  be  mended,  till  I  rea 
your  number  fot  August. 

About  twelve  years  since,  I  left  the  Dissenters,  because  the  minister  would  raise  thel 
pew  rents,  at  a  time  when  they  made  him  about  £150  a  year  (and  he  had  just  marr 

a  wife  with  £500  a  year)  and  I  went  to  the  church,  Mr. being,  as  I  thought,  the  b| 

preacher  in  the  town  :  and  though,  with  the  exception  of  sickness,  six  of  us  have  attende 

twice  every  Sabbath,  without  fail,  Mr. has  never  entered  our  door  in  all  that  time  but 

once,  and  that  once  was  to  beg.  These  statements  cannot  concern  you,  but  they  are  two 
instances  of  the  wrong  feeling  and  conduct  which  seems  to  pervade  the  whole. 

I  feel  confident,  from  Mr. abilities,  he  can  put  together  and  digest  two  such  ser- 
mons as  he  preaches  in  one  day,  if  not  in  half  a  day :  then  the  question  is,  what  does  be 
do  with  himself  the  other  five  days  ?  And  most,  if  not  all  in  our  town,  are  in  the  same  way. 
They  are  not  in  the  highways  and  hedges  persuading  or  compelling  (as  the  case  may  be] 
poor  wandering  sinners  to  come  and  fill  God's  house ;  nay,  in  general,  they  act  as  if  ii 
were  a  matter  of  no  moment  whether  those  who  are  in  stay  or  not,  if  there  be  nothing  ti 
fear  in  money  matters :  I  believe,  with  a  many  of  the  Dissenters  there  is  a  foolish,  false  deli 
cacy,  as  if  because  they  invite  people  to  the  gospel  feast,  it  should  seem  like  fishing  foi 
customers  to  their  chapel. 

But  to  come  to  the  real  intent  of  this  letter,  I  ask  you,  what  can  be  done  to  reme 
this  great  evil  ?     Is  there  not  a  man  to  be  found  who  would  undertake  to  be  a  real  labou 
in  Christ's  vineyard,  turning  out  daily,  or  twice  a  day,  to  his  work,  amongst  the  poor 
needy,  (the  same  as  a  labourer  would  and  must  turn  out  to  his  work,)  attended,  as  the  d 
might  be,  by  one  or  two  of  his  hearers,  to  help  him  to  stem  the  torrent  of  iniquity? 
out  arrogating  to  myself  anything  more  than  proper  Christian  feelings,  I  will  say  with  tn( 
prophet,  "Oh!  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  migh 

weep  day  and  night  for  the  sins  of  my  townsmen !"  for  living  near  the  top  of ,  and  neai 

the  end  of  three  or  four  streets,  we  are  surrounded  with  drunkenness  and  blasphemy,  so  mucl 
so,  that  if  I  happen  to  awake  in  the  night,  nineteen  times  out  of  twenty,  I  shall  hear  on< 
or  the  other  before  I  can  sleep  again.     With  your  apt  comparisons  before  my  eyes,  abou 


345 

"  tlie  doctors,"  "  the  lights,"  &c.  I  must  say,  that  tlic  clergy  have  done  this.  Somebody 
must  begin  to  support  and  sanction  the  right  mode  of  ministration,  and  I  have  no  objection 
to  be  first  and  foremost,  especially  so,  as  I  feel  so  impressed  with  its  present  wrong  adap- 
tation to  obtain  the  end  for  which  it  was  originally  intended.  I  know  scores  of  poor  people 
who  never  go  to  any  place  of  worship,  and  who  never  were  asked  to  go,  and  who  never  will  go, 
but  who  I  believe  would  if  called  upon  in  a  proper  manner.  If  we  solicit  orders  for  goods 
with  earnestness,  and  repeatedly,  why  not  solicit  and  intreat  poor  wandering  people  to 
that  which  would  be  for  their  good  here,  and  eternal  good  hereafter?  Tell  them  that  god- 
liness hath  the  promise  of  this  life,  and  will  tend  to  make  them  comfortable  now,  more  re- 
spectable in  future,  and  give  a  blessed  certainty  of  being  happy  in  the  world  to  come. 

These  things  I  could  not  do  of  myself  however  zealously  inclined,  but  I  could  go  with 
a  person  deputed  and  paid  for  such  an  apostolic  employment.  I  have  no  doubt  of  being 
able  to  fill  a  room,  and  very  soon  a  chapel,  by  such  exertions  as  described  in  your  "  John 
Fearless."  If  the  occurrences  of  a  week's  labour,  however  void  of  incident,  were  narrated 
and  interspersed  with  pious  remarks,  on  a  Sabbath  forenoon,  instead  of  so  much  ser- 
monizing, I  think  it  would  tend  to  do  more  good  than  we  generally  now  experience ;  and 
if  in  the  evening  we  had  a  lecture  or  sermon,  and  in  the  afternoon  both  minister  and  people 
stay  at  home,  not  to  digest  a  good  dinner  exactly,  but  to  rest  their  weary  limbs  after  a  week's 
toil,  to  teach  their  children,  to  read,  write,  and  think  on  the  morning's  statements,  and  a 
many  otlier  things  which  I  have  not  talents  to  state,  as  they  might  occur. 

I  am  yours,  respectfully, 

Bolton.  J.  R. 


I  have  seldom  read  a  letter  with  more  pleasure  than  I  have  the  above.  It  develops, 
by  reference  to  facts,  the  importance  of  those  principles  which  I  have  been  constantly  en- 
deavonring  to  diffuse.  And  it  exhibits  the  influence  of  those  principles  in  the  determina- 
tion of  the  writer  to  do  all  that  he  can  to  carry  them  into  effect.  In  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, "  What  can  be  done  to  remedy  this  great  evil  ?"  I  feel  some  difBculty;  for  an  efficient, 
'and,  I  may  add,  a  Scriptural  plan  would  involve  in  it  the  abandonment  of  so  much  of  the 
present  systems,  that  few,  I  fear,  are  prepared  for  the  change.  Religion  must  be  severed 
from  the  love  of  money  and  worldly  honours,  and  be  made  incapable  of  ministering  to  either. 
It  must  be  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  rich  and  the  powerful,  and  placed  in  the  keeping 
and  under  the  direction  of  the  plain,  sincere,  disinterested  followers  of  Christ:  instead  of 
exhibiting  itself  so  much  and  so  ostentatiously  in  mere  forms  of  worship  and  placards  on 
the  wall,  it  must  be  diffused  into  the  bosoms  of  families,  be  made  to  pervade  tlie  life  and 
conversation  of  its  friends,  and  to  carry  its  consolations  and  its  blessings  into  every  poor 
man's  cottage.  Instead  of  exhausting  the  liberality  of  its  adherents  by  fine  chapels,  splen- 
did rituals,  and  large  salaries,  it  should  seek  out  and  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  poor  and 
the  needy,  for  "  with  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased."  When  we  consider  the  im- 
mense sums  expended  on  religion,  when  we  view  the  number  of  churches  and  chapels  on 
.every  hand,  when  we  hear  so  much  said  of  its  operations,  and  see  so  many  large  flaming 
bills  announcing  "sermons"  and  meetings  every  week;  and  yet,  when,  in  the  face  of  all 
thb,  we  find  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  neither  religious  nor  moral,  that  vice 
and  crime  stalk  through  every  street  with  a  daring  front,  and  that  open  infidelity  is  every 


346 

where  on  the  increase,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  something  is  radically  wrong.  A  cur 
sory  glance  over  the  New  Testament  will  discover  the  error,  and  point  out  in  the  example 
of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  the  only  rational  mode  of  instructitig  the  people.  Academician^ 
may  be  useful  in  some  departments,  but  they  will  never  do  the  work  here  required.  Their 
education,  habits,  address,  and,  above  all,  their  ideas  of  salaries,  render  them  unfit  for  a 
work  so  unpopular  and  self-denying;  and,  indeed,  if  they  were  to  attempt  it,  they  wouli 
displease  many  of  their  rich  supporters.  Modern  ideas  of  the  respectability  of  the  Christiat) 
ministry  are  incompatible  with  primitive  labour.  How  absurd  to  think  that  a  man,  edu- 
cated at  college,  sequestered  from  every  scene  of  wretchedness,  dazzled  with  the  honours 
of  an  ecclesiastical  order,  flattered  with  the  caresses  and  adulation  of  the  rich ;  taught  t^ 
view  the  ministry  as  an  avenue  of  wealth,  to  make  the  display  of  learning  and  oratory  on* 
of  its  principal  duties,  and  to  regard  a  personal  exhibition,  sacerdotal  garments,  perhaps 
a  gold  ring,  and  heaps  of  superstitious  finery,  as  the  proper  appendages  of  office — how  absurd 
to  think  of  such  a  man  visiting  the  alleys  and  lanes  of  the  poor,  descending  the  cellars  and 
ascending  the  garrets  of  our  miserable  inhabitants,  and  bringing  himself  into  contact 
daily  with  every  species  of  vice  and  iniquity.  But  I  don't  blame  the  men  so  much  as  the 
systems  to  which  unfortunately  they  happen  to  be  tied.  Many  of  them  are  worthy  men, 
but  they  are  tied  down,  and  from  them  we  cannot  expect  that  change  which  my  corres- 
pondent is  so  wishful  to  see  adopted.  To  carry  his  wishes  into  effect,  plain,  hearty,  self- 
denying  Christians  must  come  forward,  and,  abandoning  every  other  view  of  religious 
prosperity  but  that  of  doing  good  in  the  world,  must  devote  their  time  and  means  to  this 
important  work.  A  number  joined  together,  with  such  a  determination,  would  do  incalcu- 
lable good.  However  painful  the  step  of  separation,  I  fear  many  will  not  find  it  practicable, 
or  at  least  comfortable,  to  do  this  and  remain  in  their  present  connections.  But  nothing 
should  deter  them ;  and  my  advice  to  my  correspondent  is,  to  associate  himself  with  as  many 
others  in  his  own  town  as  he  can  meet  with  of  the  same  disposition  and  of  similar  religiouj 
views,  and  to  commence  the  important  (and  to  me  pleasing)  work  of  going  about  teaching 
and  admonisliing  the  multitudes  who  are  erring  and  straying  from  the  ways  of  God.  And 
besides  their  evening  and  casual  labours,  if  there  be  one  or  two  who  can,  like  "John  Fear- 
less,"  devote  seven  days  in  the  week  to  this  labour  of  love,  the  money  they  have  been  aC' 
customed  to  give  to  the  never-ceasing  collections  and  begging  cases  will  provide  any  neceS' 
sary  support,  though  in  my  opinion,  if  the  men  do  their  duty,  the  receivers  of  spiritual  thing! 
will  be  ready  to  minister  to  them  sufficiently  of  their  carnal  things  ;  and,  perhaps,  the  onlj 
danger  is  of  these  labourers  getting  too  much.  Would  to  God  every  sect  in  every  town  it 
England  would  send  out  a  band  like  this !     Let  "J.  R."  go  on,  and  God  speed  his  labours 


AN   ADDRESS   TO   THE    LABOURING    CLASSES    OF    GREAT    BRITAIN,   01 
THEIR  MORAL,  DOMESTIC,  AND  POLITICAL  IMPORTANCE. 

My  Friends  and  Brethren  I 

Amidst  all  the  complaints  which  the  friends  of  their  kin« 
have  to  make  of  the  present  age,  they  must  admit,  and  they  ought  to  make  the  adraissioa 
not  grudgingly,  but  liberally,  that  it  is  preeminently  distinguished  for  the  virtue  of  benefi- 


347 

cence.  Many,  during  the  last  fifty  years,  have  been  the  improvements  in  the  arts  and 
sciences ;  but  a  feirer  and  a  nobler  sight  is  presented  in  the  merciful  attention  to  the  wants 
of  the  bulk  of  the  people,  which,  during  that  period,  individuals  and  societies  have  emu- 
lously  manifested.  What  an  array  of  beneficent  agents  might  one  easily  enumerate !  So 
much,  indeed,  has  been  done  for  the  people,  that  the  people  have,  in  some  instances,  I  fear, 
unlearned  the  way  to  aid  themselves,  and  been  led  to  rely  on  the  charity  of  others,  rather 
than  their  own  resources.  If,  however,  this  influence  has  injured  some,  evils  of  a  worse 
kind,  and  with  a  wider  difl^ision,  have  injured  others — injured,  I  fear,  and  that  materially, 
the  bulk  of  the  labouring  classes.  Excessive  taxation  has  abridged  j'our  comforts,  in  some 
cases,  your  means  of  subsistence — has  too  often  driven  those  who  were  poor  to  beggary, 
and  those  who  had  a  sufficiency  to  poverty — lengthened  unreasonably  the  time  of  your 
toil,  and  thereby  shortened  the  time  for  the  improvement  of  your  minds.  Nor  can  I  but 
deeply  regret  the  many  hard  and  opprobrious  names  thai:  have  been  cast  upon  you,  and  the 
ankind  and  unchristian  manner  in  which,  in  many  instances,  you  have  been  cut  off  from  ' 
the  sympathies  of  the  richer  and  more  educated  of  your  fellow  citizens.  But  while  I  blame 
others,  I  cannot  acquit  you  yourselves.  Many  of  you  have  done  much  to  realize  the 
accusations  of  your  worst  enemies,  and  to  make  your  friends  fear  that  efforts  for  your 
regeneration  are  hopeless.  The  bulk  of  the  people  never  could  have  been  in  the  painful 
;;  state  they  are  but  by  their  own  act.  The  influence  of  others  would  have  been  nugatory, 
had  not  its  invitation  been  welcomed  when  it  should  have  been  withstood.  Many  of  them 
are  in  want,  because  they  have  been  shiftless  and  without  forethought ;  and  many  vicious 
and  wretched,  because  too  idle  to  labour,  and  too  thoughtless  to  seek  knowledge.  Yet,  happy 
am  I  to  know,  and  gladly  do  I  bear  the  testimony,  that  there  is  a  large,  I  hope  increasing, 
portion  of  the  labouring  classes  who  are  an  honour  at  once  to  themselves,  their  country 
and  their  kind — who  are  among  the  best  and  most  useful  members  of  the  Christian  com- 
i  munity,  and  of  the  social  commonwealth — and  who  afford  in  themselves  ample  illustrations 
i  of  the  blessedness  of  a  virtuous  and  holy  life.  Such  persons  are  the  salt  of  the  land,  and 
i  they  serve  to  point  out  to  all  how  much  goodness  may  exist  in  the  labourer's  bosom,  how 
j  much  happiness  in  his  home,  how  useful  he  may  be  in  this  world,  and  how  steadfast  and 
'  bright  his  hope  of  a  blissful  eternity !  In  these  excellent  people  I  see  the  surest  indications 
'  of  your  ability.  What  they  are,  all  of  you  may  become.  Their  conduct  and  their  homes 
M    are  specimens  of  what  yours  may  be.     Why  not?     Have  you  not  the  same  organs,  the 

I  j  same  faculties,  the  same  aids  as  they  ?  My  friends,  one  and  a  great  cause  of  the  corruption 
[  I    of  the  many  is  the  low  opinion  that  has  been  given  out  of  their  character.     Unfortunately 

I I  they  have,  in  too  many  cases,  taken  up  that  false  estimate,  and  having  so  done,  proceeded 
j  by  a  natural  consequence  to  act  up  to  its  representations.  Men  have  been  low  because  they 
;    were  thought,  and  because  they  thought  themselves  low.     Now,  what  I  mainly  wish  is  to 

free  you  from  this  pestilent  error.  Renounce  it  as  your  worst  foe.  Can  you  expect  to 
rise  above  your  own  estimate  of  your  own  ability?  A  mean  opinion  of  one's  self  will,  of 
necessity,  form  a  mean  character.  It  is  an  effectual  bar  to  the  first  steps  towards  mental  or 
;  moral  excellence.  The  consciousness  of  power  it  is  that  gives  strength.  The  courageous 
conquer  because  they  feel  their  spirit  swelling  in  their  breast,  while  the  cowardly  perish 
in  their  sense  of  littleness.  Many  become  good,  who  feel  they  have  the  ability  to  be  so. 
Drive   from  you,  then,  the  baneful  falsehood,  whether  it  come  to  you  from  the  pul- 


348 

pit,  the  press,  or  your  own  minds,  that  you  must  be  low,  that  your  nature  is  sucli  that 
you  are  fittest  to  lead  a  life  of  degradation.  On  the  contrary,  whatever  your  character  may 
actually  be,  feel  assured  that  God  has  given  you  the  power  to  improve  it — greatly — almost 
without  limits.  In  order  to  acquire  this  assurance  of  your  own  dignity,  follow  me  in  some 
considerations  which  are  fitted  to  encourage  it. 

In  lineage  you  are  a  man — one  of  that  privileged  race  of  beings  whom  God  has  per- 
mitted to  bear  his  own  image — to  whom  he  gives  a  portion  of  his  own  understanding,  and 
invites  to  share  in  his  own  immortality, — one  of  that  race  who  alone,  of  all  earthly  crea- 
tures, have  by  searching  found  out  God,  seen  the  Creator  through  his  works,  discovered 
his  attributes  and  his  intentions  from  his  acts  and  dealings,  learnt  in  part  their  duty  and 
their  destiny  from  the  silent  page  of  nature,  and  been  thought  by  the  great  Spirit  of  the 
universe  worthy  of  his  special  and  ceaseless  care,  and  of  supernatural  disclosures  of  his 
will — worthy,  that  is,  of  the  blessedness  of  immortality.  You  are  one  of  that  noble  race  of 
beings  who  have  disclosed  the  courses  of  the  stars,  subdued  the  elements  into  their  service, 
triumphed  over  the  perils  of  the  ocean,  united  the  most  distant  parts  of  a  disjointed  world 
by  an  interchange  of  visits,  thoughts,  and  advantages — wrought  out  from  a  state  of  barlia- 
rism,  when  no  safety  was  found  on  earth,  and  no  city  rose  proudly  on  its  bosom — when 
individuals  had  to  dispute  with  the  beasts  of  the  forest  the  plot  of  ground  on  which  they 
passed  the  night,  and  the  scanty  food  with  which  they  hoped  to  appease  their  hunger — 
wrought  out  their  own  greatness  in  the  improvement  of  their  minds — in  the  discovery 
of  the  arts,  comforts,  and  ornaments  of  life — in  the  acquirement  of  all  the  splendid 
trophies  to  their  skill,  their  forethought,  their  industry,  which  may  be  seen  profusely 
scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth — and  in  the  formation  of  that  busy  and  full  world 
of  thought  and  feeling  which  presides  over,  impregnates,  and  adorns  the  intercourses 
of  civilized  life.  You  are  of  that  noble  race  of  beings  who  have  furnished  instances 
of  every  virtue — the  patriot,  prodigal  of  his  noble  blood  for  his  country's  good — the  lover„ 
of  his  kind,  travelling  up  and  down  the  world  to  search  out  and  put  an  end  to  wretchedi 
ness,  and  stopping  only  when  the  springs  of  life,  destroyed  and  worn  out  in  the  labour  ol 
love,  could  play  no  longer— the  good  wife,  abridging  her  own  comforts  to  increase  her  hus-j 
band's,  and  saving  his  life  at  the  peril,  perhaps  with  the  loss,  of  her  own — the  good  mo-, 
ther,  whose  first,  chief,  and  last  care  was  the  welfare  of  her  children,  in  seeking  which  she 
shortened  her  days,  and,  gaining  the  reward,  was  happy  in  the  sacrifice.  These  worthies^ 
are  your  kindred,  What  they  have  been  you  may  be.  At  least,  a  portion  of  their  excelT 
lence  is  within  your  reach.  They  exhibit  virtues  which  depend  not  on  rank,  but  on  hu,^ 
manity — not  on  the  distinctions  of  society,  but  on  the  essential  features  of  your  kind:  thej 
are  the  virtues  of  men,  not  nobles — of  mothers,  and  fathers,  and  citizens.  Yes,  it  is  a 
higher  honour  to  have  the  hjlood  of  a  man  than  of  a  king  in  your  veins.  Be  proud  that  you 
are  of  the  race  of  man :  your  rank  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  your  race.  Does  the 
thought  cross  your  mind,  that,  being  in  humble  life,  you  have  not  the  power  to  be  greatlj 
good  ?  You  err.  Goodness  is  peculiar  to  no  class  of  society.  A  common  and  an  equaj 
Father  has  distributed  with  an  equal  hand  the  seeds  of  goodness,  and  therein  of  happinesSj 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  habitable  globe.  Which  of  the  more  important  virtues  !$ 
there  you  have  not  the  means  of  cultivating  ?  Justice,  sobriety,  truth,  kindness,  the  lov« 
o(  God  and  man,  the  improvement  of  time,  and  the  preparation  for  eternity :  tell  me  whj 


349 

you  hare  not  an  interest  in  these  virtues — wliat  bar  there  is  in  the  way  of  your  acquiring 
them.  To  none  are  they  more  needful  than  to  the  labourer.  And  tliough  the  effort  may 
be  great  to  make  t)iem  your  own,  grcn.t  will  be  tlie  reward.  No  outlay  repays  so  well, 
and  with  so  much  certainty,  as  the  outlay  of  effort  for  the  acquirement  of  virtue.  It  never 
returns  void,  but  always  with  an  increase  proportionate  to  the  labour  bestowed.  Nov?, 
these  virtues  contain  in  them  the  elements  cf  true  greatness.  To  be  good  is  to  be  great. 
Whatever  the  fashion  of  the  world  may  say,  true  greatness  depends  not  on  rank  Imt  charac- 
ter. And  so  it  often  happens  that  in  the  humblest  walks  of  life  the  truest  greatness  is  to 
lie  found.  No ;  j-ou  arc  under  no  disqualification  for  moral  excellence.  Cannot  the  la- 
bourer gain  the  mastery  of  his  passions,  of  his  temper  ? — cannot  he  refine  his  affections  ? — 
cannot  he  be  diligent  and  scrupulous  in  tlie  discharge  of  his  duties — maintain  an  elevated 
tone  and  delicate  sensibility  of  moral  feeling  ?  O  yes ;  these  rare  virtues  are  limited  to  no 
rank.  They  are  offered  as  the  common  heritage  and  the  common  Messing  of  humanity. 
Yes,  I  repeat,  true  greatness  is  within  the  reach  of  the  labourer  as  mucli  as  that  of  the  prince. 
Cannot  tiic  labourer  maintain  a  mind  as  free  from  prejudice,  cultivate  a  breast  as  rich  in 
benevolence,  love  his  God  with  a  spirit  as  grateful  and  devout,  embrace  his  child  with  a 
Ll'rill  as  exquisite,  order  his  house  in  obedience  and  affection  as  entire  and  deep,  as 
I-.  tb.o  proudest  noMe  of  the  land?  To  whom  arc  we  to  ascribe  the  wonderful 
tions  of  modern  science,  the  adaptation  of  the  discoveries  in  science  to  the  arts  of 
.  ihe  multiplication  of  the  productive  power  of  tliesc  kingdoms  ?  To  whom  arc  we  to 
15C1  i  je  the  education  of  the  youthful  poor — the  benign  machinery  of  the  Sunday  school — 
he  powerful  check  that  vice  has,  in  consequence,  received — the  increase  of  goodness  which 
lai  ensued — the  increase  in  order,  cleanliness,  sobriety,  of  domestic  peace  and  comfort,  of 
ntional  prosperity,  cf  tliose  holy  and  sublime  affections  tiiat  ally  the  creature  witli  the 
Creator, — to  whom,  but  mainly  to  the  peo'^de  ? — to  tliose,  at  whose  liirth  no  fortune  but 
vliat  seemed  adverse  assisted,  whose  career  no  applause  encouraged,  whose  reward  was  not 
he  smile  of  kings,  not  patents  of  nobility,  but  only  the  silent  approliation  of  their  own 
I  ninds,  an»l  the  consciousness  of  growing  excellence  and  increasing  ]iappiness!    From  your 

•  )wn  ranks  those  I'ave  sprung  who  have  most  effectually  use  1  the  power  of  tlic  press,  most 
t  irgently  pleaded  tlie  cause  of  the  outcast  and  the  destitute,  an\  asserted  the  claims  of  suf- 

erers  u'idcr  the  diminution  or  the  loss  of  their  civil  rights.     In  a  word,  tliere  is  no  walk 

•  a  life  in  which  those  are  not  found  who,  but  half  a  century  since,  were  in  and  of  the  mass. 
'  Che  people  have  adorned  the  pulpit,  the  Itar,  the  senate,  and,  by  the  native  form  of  their 

haractcr,  made  for  themselves  or  their  immediate  descendants  a  way  into  tlie  rank  and 
lolb  of  peers.  Working  men  have  raiseil  tliemsclves  and  their  families  not  only  ample 
'  ut  princely  fortunes,  and,  what  is  more,  have  earned  a  name  which  the  legislature  has 
een  proud  to  horiour — which  distant  nations  have  united  to  extol,  and  which  a  late  pos- 
arity  will  celebrate  v.ith  constantly  increasing  praise.  Working  men,  by  their  skill,  their 
idustry  and  enterprise,  have  contrived  lal)0ur,  and  by  labour  food,  education,  comforts  for 
nto'.d  thousands  (>f  their  own  class,  and  given  a  new  vigour  to  the  political  constitution  of 
hich  tliey  formed  a  part,  augmenting  the  happiness  and  the  strength  of  all  the  portions 
nd  the  whole  of  the  social  frame.  But  how?  How  have  these  wonders  of  modern  times 
een  wrought  ?  liow  have  t'le  people  indicated  to  themselves,  by  some  rare  but  noble 
lustrations  of  what  tliey  are  capable,  t!ic  rank  and  the  importance  which  they  ought  to 
lossess  ?  Not  by  low  ideas  of  tlieir  capabilities ;  not  by  indulging  in  sloth  and  intempe- 
VOL.    II.  2  W 


350 

lance ;  not  by  reliance  on  the  charity  of  otliers :  but  by  their  own  act,  by  a  consciousness 
of  ability,  by  the  employment  of  their  own  resources.  They  gained  their  power  and 
worked  their  miracles,  not  in  the  tavern,  but  in  the  retirement  of  their  own  minds,  and  the 
pursuit  of  ceaseless  industry.  They  felt  their  ability  in  their  bosoms,  and  they  gave  their 
ability  eflfect  by  frugality,  sobriety,  forethought,  and  labour. 

To  contemplate  your  character  in  another  point  of  view — You  are  a  father,  the  master 
of  a  family,  who  are  dependent  on  you,  and  without  you  perhaps"  utterly  destitute.     A  fei 
male,  in  those  days  when  hope  and  imagination  drew  out  a  prospect  in  bright  and  enchant^ 
ing  colours,  intrusted  her  happiness  in  your  hands,  relying  on  your  assurances  and  fidelity! 
Her  little  ones  and  yours  are  around  her,  and  from  her  and  you  are  to  receive  every  influ- 
ence that  will  affect  their  character  and  their  happiness.     Their  young  hearts  are  yet 
unsullied  by  vice,  and  the  tear  that  has  dimmed  their  eye  a  quick  coming  smile  has  drives 
away.     How  happy  and  joyful  do  they  live,  how  fondly  do  they  crowd  around  you  when 
you  return  from  your  labour,  and  with  what  gay  and  innocent  prattle  do  they  tell  you  aH 
their  little  news !     Whether  or  not  their  bright  morning  shall   be  followed  by  a  day  of 
darkness,  who  but  you  will  determine  ?      Oh !  can  you  think  without  pain  of  their  becom- 
ing  wretched  in  becoming  vicious  ?     How  much  more  acceptable  the  thought,  that  they 
will  grow  up  to  be  a  comfort  to  yourself  and  her  that  fed  them  at  her  breast,  and  when 
your  day  of  labour  is  past,  and  the  darkness  of  age  comes  upon  you,  to  pay  the  debt  they 
owe  you  in  aiding  you  to  procure  a  subsistence,  and  smoothing,  by  kind  attentions,  the 
rough  road  you  will  have  to  tread.     Look  at  your  family,  and  learn  the  importance  of   the 
station  you  hold.      Their  happiness  —  your  own  happiness — both  depend  on  yourselfi  » 
And  of  what  consists  the  bulk  of  society  but  of  families  like  yours?    On  parents,  therefore, 
depends  the  happiness  of  the  community.     You  have  to  answer  the  question — Shall  this 
land  be  a  land  of  peace  or  wretchedness  ?     Shall  its  people  have  or  not  bread  to  eat,  and 
comfortable  abodes  and  clothing  ?    Shall  they  be  instructed  or  ignorant,  virtuous  or  vicious, 
an  honour  or  a  disgrace  to  themselves  and  their  country?    And  that  not  in  one,  but  through 
many  generations.     Vice  and  virtue  pass  alike  from  age  to  age  as  from  man  to  man.     The 
father  beqeaths — if  he  leaves  nothing  else — his  character  to  his  offspring :  he  bequeaths 
them  more — the  consequences  of  his  own  evil  courses,  in  weak  and  puny  frames,  disordered 
and  depraved  minds,  in  the  wretchedness  of  poverty,  perhaps  of  crime.     And  so  from  fa- 
ther to  son  does  the  poisoned  current  flow  through  many  generations,  bearing  in  its  ever 
swelling  and  widening  waters  moral  ruin  through  many  a  breast  and  many  a  home.     It  is 
in  the  power  of  no  mortal  to  tell  the  amount  of  misery  thus  occasioned.     What  strife  and 
broils,  what  want  and  dispair  in  the  family,  and  in  each  individual  what  trouble,  sorrow, 
fear,  grief,  rage!     And  then  in  eternity — But  the  scene  is  too  horrible  to  contemplate:  I 
pass  it  by  in  awe.     But  what  an  amount  of  happiness  is  thus  thrown  away,  as  well  as 
misery  created !    The  natural  workings  of  the  human  frame  the  Deity  has  filled  with  gra- 
tification.    Not  a  motive,  not  a  feeling  but  gives  pleasure.     Happiness  is  wrought  into  the 
very  texture  of  our  bodies ;  and  to  be,  to  live,  to  see,  to  hear,  to  feel  is  to  be  happy.    There 
is  a  happiness  pervading  all  the  frame  in  the  mere  feeling  of  existence,  in  the  generous  and 
full  flow  of  life  which  health  and  exercise  produce ;  there  is  a  happiness  in  looking  on  tM 
earth,  and  traversing  its  surface,  and  watching  the  play  of  its  peaceful  though  irratioiM 
inhabitants ;  there  is  a  happiness  that  cometh  down  from  heaven  to  the  mind  that  dweul 
on  its  gorgeous  pageantry ;  there  is  a  happiness,  a  full,  rich,  ceaseless  happiness,  in  the  in-' 


!  351 

tercourses  of  a  virtuous  home,  in  the  comfort  of  one's  partner,  and  the  joy  of  one's  children, 
,  and  the  prospects  and  hopes  they  afford :  and  all  this  is  thrown  away  by  the  vicious. 
Look,  then,  my  friends  and  brethren,  look  on  this  picture  and  on  that — on  one  side  is  bles- 
sing, on  the  other  cursing — in  your  own  bosoms,  your  own  homes,  the  homes  of  your  chil- 
I  dren  and  their  children,  in  your  neighbourhood  and  your  country.     They  both — blessing 
[  and  cursing — ^with  all  their  endless  and  mighty  consequences,  depend,  parents,  on  you. 
j  This  is  a  measure — this  blessing  or  cursing — of  the  importance  of  your  character,  your 
I  station,  your  conduct.    Oh !  rise  to  a  proper  conception  of  the  consequences  of  your  actions, 
of  your  dignity  if  virtuous,  of  your  degradation  if  vicious. 

Finally.     You  are  a  citizen,  and  you  claim  to  exercise  all  the  rights  of  a  citizen.     Let 

li  your  claim  be  granted,  and  let  vice  degrade  your  character,  and  you  will  be  a  curse  to  your 

ij  country.    Important  as  are  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  your  own  character,  in  a  national  point 

\\  of  view,  is  more  important  still.    A  virtuous  people  will  not  long  have  a  vicious  government, 

and  a  vicious  people  will  speedily  vitiate  the  best  government,  and  render  the  best  laws  and 

I  institutions  not  only  useless  but  baneful.     You  are,  I  fear,  too  much  given  to  look  to  your 

II  governors — not  to  yourselves — for  political  reforms.  I  do  not  deny  that  the  government 
may  and  ought  to  do  much ;  but  I  assert,  that  if  they  are  to  do  good  permanently,  the  bulk 
of  the  people  must  be  good.  Reform  yourselves,  and  eventually  you  will  reform  the  body 
politic.  A  corrupt  government  could  not  subsist  among  a  virtuous  people.  A  regeneration 
would  be  forced  on  them  by  the  swelling  and  ascending  waves  of  popular  virtue. 

The  vicious  citizen  is,  by  his  immorality,  prepared  to  be  the  tool  of  the  demagogue  or 
the  tyrant.     He  is  ready  to  serve  the  master  that  will  pay  his  services  best,  and,  provided 
his  selfish  and  foul  passions  can  be  gratified,  he  cares  not  whether  he  is  made  to  contribute 
(to  the  injury  or  the  improvement  of  his  country.     Nay,  as  there  is  in  men  a  love  to  sin,  if 
it  secure  popular  applause,  he  would  rather,  perhaps,  be  an  instrument  of  evil  than  of  good. 
i|  Virtue  is  the  only  sure  guarantee  for  the  beneficial  exercise  of  any  political  right.     Rank, 
li  riches,  and  education,  have  each  been  deemed  (and  especially  the  first  two)  qualifications 
jlifor  the  possession  of  power  in  the  commonwealth,  but,  in  reality,  they  are  good,  mainly, 
S|  not  to  say  exclusively,  so  far  as  they  are  tokens  and  pledges  of  a  virtuous  character.    Be  vir- 
ijtuous,  and  you  are  fit,  however  poor  and  humble,  for  the  exercise  of  political  power.     This 
1)  virtue  will  give  you  an  interest  in  what  is  good — good  government — good  laws — good  go- 
ilvernors.     You  will  have  a  sympathy  with,  and  an  attachment  to  what  is  good;  and  from 
ijwhat  is  bad,  that  is,  from  what  is  corrupt,  injurious  to  your  fellow  men,  you  will  turn 
ijaway  in  the  alienation  of  your  heart,  or  oppose,  with  the  energy  and  indignation  which  vir- 
i  tue  inspires,  and  can  so  well  support.     I  do  not  deny  that  knowledge  and  mental  cultivation 
j  are  valuable  aids ;  but  I  know  that  they  have  been  made  the  instruments  of  the  design- 
I  ing — the  levers  by  which  political  adventurers  have  raised  themselves  to  eminence,  by  de- 
1  luding  the  many,  and  pandering  to  the  few.     But  virtue  can,  designedly,  do  no  act  inju- 
rious to  the  state,  and  will  spurn  no  efforts  to  learn,  as  well  as  to  do,  what  is  right.    Virtue 
guarantees  industry  to  acquire,  as  well  as  integrity  to  use  knowledge,  and,  in  respect  to  the 
I  great  interests  of  society,  will  not  fail  to  acquire  information  sufficient  to  come  to  a  conclu- 
Ision  not  essentially  wrong.     No,  my  friends,  those  who  have  presided  over  the  destinies  of 
these  kingdoms  did  not  want  knowledge  and  mental  cultivation :  they  wanted  political 
honesty.     Their  power  of  mind  made  their  dishonesty  our  bane — without  it,  they  might 
have  desired,  but  could  not,  to  any  thing  like  the  extent  they  did,  have  spread  and  battened 


352 

in  corruption.  And,  now,  what  can  restore  the  strength  and  soundness  of  the  frame  of  so- 
ciety ?  I  answer,  a  moral  regeneration.  Honesty — virtue — must  begin,  and  liold  its  way 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  froin  the  lowest  to  the  liigliest.  t,et  tlie  character  of 
the  nation  be  reformed,  and  its  institutions  will  not  be  long  corrupt.  Happy  the  class  \7ho 
begin  this  desirable  change,  who  carry  it  forward  to  completion,  A  high  reward  awaits 
them  ill  tlie  increase  of  their  own  happiness — in  t)\e  multiplied  comforts  of  a  nation — in  the 
salvation  of  a  i:cople  from  moral  degradation  and  pc/liiical  misrule.  Let  tlie  people  be  tha 
first  to  move.  Tlic  wliole  mass  of  society,  forced  up  by  the  elevation  of  its  base,  will  soon 
sliare  in  tlie  moral  elevation,  and  you,  my  friends,  liumblc  as  you  may  be  thought,  will  bo, 
the  saviours  of  the  nation. 

The  time  has  come  when  you  begin  to  have  some  notion  of  your  weight  in  the  social 
scale.  The  events  of  the  last  fifty  years  have  taught  you,  that  power  resides  mainly  v.itli 
the  people.  You  have  seen  them  become  th.e  arbiters  of  the  destinies  of  nations — cast  down 
thrones  v.liich  ages  had  settled  and  consecrated — change  tlie  whole  surface  and  substance, 
of  societies — create  new  forms  of  government  and  modes  of  life  aj  quickly  as  the  passage 
of  successive  years.  In  your  own  land  your  voice  has  made  itself  to  be  heard  in  hallsf 
which  a  century  since  were  closed  and  scaled  against  tlie  popular  will — has  stayed  the  ban.  J 
of  tj'raiiny  and  the  torrent  of  corruption — has  made  the  hearts  of  the  great  misgive  them, 
and  given  to  the  political  machine  a  bias,  by  which  it  is  beginning  to  favour  the  intciest, 
not  as  heretofore,  of  the  privileged  few,  but  of  the  despised  many.  You  have  made  your 
claims  known,  and  rights  are  granted  which  will  double  your  power.  The  position  of  the 
people,  at  the  present  moment,  is  in  itself,  and  in  the  prospects  it  holds  out,  full  of  interest 
and  hope.  It  promises,  not  merely  a  political  regeneration,  but,  in  the  gain  and  the  exer- 
cise of  long  withheld  rights,  a  moral  regeneration  also.  Jlen  will  learn  to  feel  their  dignity 
in  feeling  their  power,  and,  conscious  of  their  social  importance,  v.ill  be  careful  of  theiiJ 
characters.  The  possession  of  unrestrained  power  is  a  curse  :  equally  so  the  lois  of  all  so- 
cial consequence.  The  one  makes  a  tyrant,  the  other  a  slave.  But  the  exercise  of  povvor, 
in  whicli  many  concur,  in  which  excess  is  prevented  by  competition,  and  ambition  fostered 
by  the  hope  and  the  aMlity  of  rising  in  tlie  social  scale,  encourages  the  action  of  the  mind, 
and  brings  forth  the  Cruits  of  moral  excellence.  But  this  is  true  only  where  there  is  a  basis  of 
virtue  iii  the  character,  on  whicli  to  erect  the  edifice  of  political  c.nd  moral  worth.  The  soil 
must  be  good,  or  the  best  seed  will  perish.  livery  thing  depends  on  the  state  of  his  mind  and 
heart,  to  wliom  power  is  entrusted.  Is  it  good — it  will  speedily  become  better  by  the  very 
trust  committed  to  him.  Is  it  bad — what  might  have  been  a  blessing  to  the  individual  and 
many  of  his  fellow  citizens,  will  be  converted  into  an  instrument  of  evil  to  himself  and  all 
over  whom  he  has  an  influence.  The  possession  of  political  influence,  then.  Is  really  desir- 
able, only  to  those  v.hc  are  of  good  cliaractcr.  To  none  but  these  can  it  prove  beneficial, 
and  none  but  these  can  use  it  to  a  beneficial  end.  But,  with  the  influence  which  Ihc^j 
now  have,  and  which  tliey  are  daily  augmenting,  the  peopb  of  this  land  may,  provide 
they  love  and  pursue  virtue,  work  out  n  good,  to  be  measured  only  by  the  happiness  ( 
myriads  in  the  present  and  successive  generations.  Wiiat  a  weight  of  importance  depend 
in  the  use  you  make  of  your  power.  You  have  in  your  hands  the  destiny  cf  million| 
Your  conduct  will  determine  the  question — Shall  the  hopes  v/hich  tlie  benevolent  and  1)3 
triotic  are  now  forming  perish,  or  be  realized? — shall  the  bright  prospects  that  appear  i 


353 

the  distance  before  us,  vanish  as  an  unsubstantial  vision? — shall  misery,  perhaps  anarchy 
and  slaughter,  stalk  through  the  land,  or  righteousness  and  peace  run  dowT.  in  streams?  — 
shall  every  succeeding  generation,  the  child  antl  the  sire  unborn,  rise  up  and  call  you — my 
friends  and  brethren  of  the  people — call  you  blessed?  Never,  perhaps,  was  a  more  awfully 
important  question  propirsed  to  an  artizan  to  answer — never  interests  of  greater  conse- 
quence at  issue — never  a  crisis  involving  more  calamity  or  Idcssedness  than  the  present. 
In  the  fate  of  the  present  extension  of  civil  power,  and  the  conduct  of  the  people  of  this 
kingdom,  is  bound  up  the  fate  of  liberty  and  good  government  all  over  the  world,  and  pre- 
eminently througliout  Europe.  Use  your  influence  for  good,  and  the  cause  of  liberty  will 
be  as  triumpb.ant  as  it  it  is  righteous — for  evil,  and  you  will  bring  plagues  worse  than  those 
of  Egyi)t  on  yourselves,  your  children,  your  posterity,  and  blight  tlie  prospects,  and  pa- 
ralyze tb.o  arm  of  man)  a  patriot  in  foreign  lands. 

Well,  then,  may  you  feel  the  dignity  of  the  mission  you  have  to  fulfd.  As  men,  as 
parents,  as  citizens,  you  have  in  your  hands  more  influence  than  would  p/ossess  th?  kings 
of  tl'.c  earth  banded  togetlier  in  holiest  alliance.  For  them,  they  could  do  little  more  than 
register  the  will  and  follow  the  leading  of  virtuous  myriads ;  whereas,  be  what  your  weight 
in  the  social  scale  requires,  be  diligent  to  do  your  duty  as  men,  as  parents,  as  citizens, 
and,  instead  of  becoming,  as  must  the  vicious,  the  slaves  and  tools  of  the  few,  you  wiU 
shape  their  course,  impel  them  to  good  though  they  mean  evil,  give  effect  to  the  good 
fliey  intend,  and  work  out  a  good  of  your  own,  of  more  worth  because  your  ov>u  act,  and 
more  extensive,  because,  with  yourselves,  pervadinj  the  mass  of  society,  and  going  into 
the  majority  of  families  through.out  the  land. 

J.  R.  B. 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  THE  DEITY. 

Oh!  thou  invisible,  omnicient  One, 

Whose  habitation  is  eternity, 
Incline  thine  ear,  Jehovah,  from  thy  throne, 

Aid  my  adoring  soul  to  sing  of  Thee ; 

And  let  my  orison  accepted  be, 
An  offering  worthy  of  thy  holy  shrine ; 

Impart  thy  dove-like  Spirit  pure  and  free : 
The  grateful  joy  of  worsl lipping  be  mine, 
The  glory  and  the  praise — the  triluitc  due — ^be  thine ! 

Thou !  who  dost  make  the  heart  thy  temple.  Thou 
Who  dwell'st  between  the  cherubim  in  heaven. 

Before  whose  face  the  veiled  archangels  bow, 

At  whose  dread  voice  th'  eternal  rocks  are  riven, 
Whose  name  is  Holy — to  the  nations  given. 

Since  first  thou  fraraed'st  foundations  for  the  earth, — 
Thou  I  at  whose  wrath  the  thunderbolts  are  driven, 

To  whom  the  morning  stars  sang  in  tlieir  mirth, 

When  God's  angelic  sons  hailed  the  creation's  birth ; — 


354 

Thou !  whose  chief  altar  is  a  contrite  heart, 

Whose  incense,  tears  that  most  in  secret  flow. 
Whose  sweetest  sacrifice  is  to  depart 

From  sin,  that  leads  to  death  and  lasting  woe! 

Thou !  who  didst  purchase  for  frail  man  below  • 
A  life  of  endless  bliss  beyond  the  tomb, 

Breathe  on  my  heart  an  animating  glow. 
The  darkness  of  my  clouded  mind  illume. 
And  give  with  brighter  hue  my  spirit's  flower  to  bloom  ! 

Thou  hast  been  with  me  in  unchanging  truth, 

From  childhood's  dawn  to  manhood's  perfect  day ; 
Thy  brooding  Spirit  hovered  o'er  my  youth. 

Ah !  happy  had  I  never  gone  astray ! — 

Now,  looking  back,  I  find  me  far  away, 
A  devious  wanderer  from  the  path  of  bliss,  ; 

And  sigh,  when  none  is  near,  for  virtue's  ray,  \ 

Again  to  lead  my  willing  steps  to  peace,  V 

And  give  to  my  tired  heart  the  rest  where  sorrows  cease. 

i 

Thou  still  shalt  be,  as  Thou  before  hast  been,  } 

A  present  help  in  deep  affliction's  hour;  j 

Thine  arm  shall  still  support  me,  though  unseen,  } 

And  crush  the  bruiser  in  his  pride  of  power : 

Thy  fostering  dews  th'  amaranthine  flower 
Of  virtue  cherish,  to  unfold  again  ; 

And  though  awhile  the  storms  of  vice  may  lower, 
And  threat  to  blight  the  bud  of  life  within. 
Yet  Thou  at  length  shalt  rise  and  all  triumphant  reign. 

My  mind  can  trace  Thee  in  its  daily  walk, 

Guiding  with  powerful  sway  my  secret  soul ; 
And,  as  the  sap  recruits  the  thirsty  stalk. 

So  thy  sweet  streams  of  consolation  roll : 

As  turns  the  needle  to  its  native  pole. 
So  turns  my  heart,  too  long  estranged,  to  Thee ; 

And  as  the  wave  obeys  the  wind's  control, 
Unquestioned  be  thy  sacred  law  by  me, 
Where  love  can  feel  no  fear — obedience  make  me  free. 

God  of  my  sire !  around  my  vocal  shell 

Let  the  sweet  breath  of  grateful  incense  creep. 
As  o'er  my  soul  the  recollections  swell 

Of  him  long  buried  in  eternal  sleep  ! 

As  now  the  dews  of  pious  sorrow  steep 
My  lonely  breast,  and  prompt  the  pensive  sigh. 

My  tears  are  not  unwelcome — though  I  weep — 
Virtue  permits  to  mourn  o'er  those  who  die, 
Who,  righteous  while  on  earth,  have  gained  their  native  sky. 


355 

I  would,  too,  thank  Thee  for  that  gentler  form, 

Now  sweetly  slumbering  in  her  place  of  rest, 
Whose  love,  through  life,  as  seraph's  pure  and  warm. 

Glowed,  without  change,  in  her  maternal  breast. 

Ah !  she  is  happy,  mingling  with  the  blest, 
Escaped  through  many  sorrows  to  that  shore 

Where  Wisdom's  children,  now  no  more  distressed, 
Rejoice  to  find  their  keen  assailments  o'er, 
And  join  the  angelic  throng  to  suffer  pain  no  more. 

Oh !  for  the  blessed  hope  of  Israel's  seer, 

Who,  when  Elijah  pierced  the  ethereal  blue. 
Stood  with  expectant  fervour  gazing  near. 

And  caught  the  prophet's  mantle  as  he  flew  ! 

So  give  their  bloom  of  beauty  to  imbue 
My  spirit's  depth,  and  sanctify  the  shrine 

Round  which,  in  years  of  youth,  they  fondly  drew 
The  sheltering  wing  of  guardianship  divine. 
And  hoped  in  time  to  come  to  see  me  only  Thine. 

And  as  in  pensive  mood  I  view  the  grave. 

Which  holds  a  once  loved  infant's  mouldering  clay, 

My  heart  is  turned  to  God  who  kindly  gave. 
And  who,  in  equal  kindness,  took  away ; — 
Bright  are  the  beams  of  hope  that  round  me  play  : — 

"  I  go  to  him,  he  cannot  come  to  me  ; " — 
I  trust  to  meet,  in  realms  of  purer  day. 

This  flower  which  now  expands  in  bliss  with  thee, 

A  beacon  to  my  soul,  through  varying  time  to  be. 

And  shall  I  thank  thee  less  for  those  that  now 

Remain  as  islets  'midst  the  sea  of  life  ? 
For  her  whose  placid  beauty  soothes  my  brow, 

My  sweet  companion,  and  endearing  wife  ? 

For  each  fair  prattling  pledge,  with  promise  rife 
Of  future  plenty  and  enduring  fruit? 

Oh!  that  thine  outstretched  arm  may  shield  from  strife 
These  guileless  babes,  whose  gaieties  recruit 
My  spirits'  wearied  flow,  and  fill  with  rapture  mute! 

Oh  Thou !  adored  and  adorable. 

Eternal  God !  man's  life— thy  gift— is  thine  ;— 

Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  as  my  feelings  swell. 

And  breathe  their  vocal  utt'rance  at  thy  shrine  ! — 
Oh  !  grant  that  preservation  may  be  mine. 

And  theirs  whom  thou  hast  given  me  ; — from  thy  throne. 
Vouchsafe,  I  pray  thee,  thy  regard  benign, 

And  keep  us  or  united  or  alone. 

Till  thou  Shalt  call  us  hence  and  make  thy  Heav'n  our  own ! 

Preston,  10th  Month,  rth,  1832. 


356 
LINES, 

ADDKESSSD  TO  THE  MEMBERS  OV  THE  PRESTON  TEMPBSANCE  BOCIBTT, 

Btf  E.  Morris,  of  Glasgow. 


Wliat  evils,  Intemp'rance !  with  thine  can  compare ! 
What  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  wide-spread  despair 
Is  heard  in  thy  dwelling!  thy  region  is  death. 
And  poison  comes  forth  from  thy  terrible  breath. 

Ah !  cruel  deceiver !  thou'st  smitten  our  isle ! 
The  red  rose  of  England  refuses  to  smile. 
And  Scotia's  proud  thistle  hows  low  in  the  gale. 
And  Erin's  loved  shamrock  droops  sad  in  the  vale. 

But  see !  a  new  banner  is  lifted  on  high. 
Whose  beauty  and  glory  gild  Britain's  fair  sky : 
And,  Preston !  this  banner  is  precious  to  thee  ; 
Thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  around  it  I  see. 

Thy  zeal  I  admire — Oh ! — on  in  the  fight ! 
Strike  home  at  the  foe — put  his  legions  to  flight — 
The  inonst'jr,  far  chase  from  the  land  that  we  love : 
Strike  deep  at  his  roots — quick  ! — compel  him  to  move ! 

Ye  young  men  and  maidens,  come,  join  in  this  war; 
Ye  men  of  all  creeds,  to  this  ])anner  repair ; 
The  prince  and  the  peasant,  the  son  and  the  sire, 
Wc  need  in  this  battle : — may  all  catch  the  fire ! 

No  garments  are  stained  in  this  war  that  we  wage. 
No  fields  dyed  with  lilood,  whilst  the  contest  doth  rage ; 
'Tis  vice,  and  vice  only,  we  seek  to  destroy. 
And  truth  is  the  weapon  wc  always  employ. 

Oh  listen !  the  nevrs  from  Columbia's  shore 
Is  glorious  ;  the  reign  of  the  monster  is  o'er : 
Learn,  England !  thy  daughter  doth  call  on  thee  now 
Her  footsteps  to  follow — this  cause  to  avow ! 

That  Being  who  sits  on  the  throne  of  the  sky. 
And  bends  o'er  all  creatures  a  pitiful  eye, 
Beholds  with  approval — His  Idessings  we  own — • 
And  He,  more  abundant,  our  eflforts  vyill  crown. 

Preston,  18th  October,  1832. 


I 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


1 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  12.  DECEMBER  1,  1832.  Vol.  II. 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  THE  NATION  ON  REAL  CHURCH  REFORM. 

"  Let  every  man  maintain  his  own." 

Friends  and  Fellow  Countrymen  ! 

It  is  far  from  being  my  wish  to  tempt  you  from  your  attachment  to 
the  services  and  forms  of  the  Established  Church,  but  so  long  as  there 
are  connected  with  this  establishment  certaiu  things  which  are  now  de- 
monstrated to  be  a  source  of  oppression  and  inhumanity" — a  great  cause 
of  hypocrisy,  vice,  and  infidelit^^ — the  chief  promoters  of  disunion  and  bad 
fellowship  betwixt  the  clergy  and  the  laity — it  becomes  every  friend  of  his 
kind  and  his  country  to  lay  bare  these  enormities,  and  call  ever}^  good  in- 
fluence into  operation  to  remove  them.  The  church  is  yours ;  it  is  called 
national ;  its  immense  revenues  are  the  produce  of  your  industry,  and 
the  apphcation  of  its  wealth  is  directed  by  those  who  are  said  to  be 
your  representatives.  You  gave  it  birth ;  you  swaddled  it  in  its  infancy ; 
in  its  youth  it  was  lovely  in  your  eyes ;  and,  like  aU  other  favourites,  you 
spoiled  it  with  the  abundance  of  good  things  which  it  was  then  in  your 
power  to  confer.  But  instead  of  remaining  the  people's  church,  in  which 
case,  at  least  the  pious  part  of  them  would  have  seen  to  its  character,  the 
charms  of  its  glebes,  its  tithes,  and  its  dues  became  so  captivating,  and 
especially  by  the  cloak  which  its  professions  afforded,  that  a  host  of  noble 
admirers,  with  others  of  Uke  mind,  for  a  long  time  have  kindly  taken  this 
sweet  damsel  into  their  own  keeping.  And  now  that  her  deformity  is  de- 
tected, and  the  mal-appropriation  of  her  immense  wealth  is  complained  of, 
her  paramours  are  forced  to  admit,  though  imwiUingly,  the  necessity  of  re- 
form.    But  what  is  the  reform  intended  ?  what  is  Lord  Henley's  measure 

VOL.   II.  2  X 


358 

of  reform  ?  A  reform  which  will  oblige  every  farmer,  instead  of  paying  so 
many  sheaves  of  oats  and  wheat,  to  pay  so  many  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence ;  instead  of  paying  the  present  variable  sums  for  hay  grass,  for  pota- 
toe  tithe, /or  cows,  pigs,  ducks,  geese,  bees,  8(C.,  to  pay  &  fixed  tax  every  year; 
that  says,  the  parishioners,  instead  of  the  privilege  of  meeting  in  vestry 
and  laying  a  "penny  rate"  or  "  no  rate,"  shall  be  saddled  with  a  regular 
charge  which  they  cannot  refuse ;  that  orders  the  paltry  exaction  of  a  six- 
pence halfpenny  from  every  inhabitant  to  be  exchanged  for  a  competent  sum: 
a  reform,  which  professes  to  nip  a  little  from  the  thousands  and  place  it 
to  the  hundreds,  but  still  empowering  the  church  brokers  to  saddle  the  na- 
tion with  the  same  intolerable  burden : — a  reform  that  would  hide  a  few 
uncomely  specks,  but  still  retain  to  the  consumptive  lady  the  title  of  "  im- 
perial mistress,"  making  her  authority  "ascendant,"  and  requiring  all 
other  parties  to  bow  at  her  feet : — a  reform  that  would  secure  to  a  race  of 
parasites  every  situation  which  irreligious  influence  can  secure ;  a  race 
whose  consciences  can  swallow  any  creed  and  who  will  bend  to  any  forms, 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  however  worthy : — a  reform,  in  fact,  which 
insists  on  the  misnomer  of  national  for  the  church,  and,  in  the  face  of  an 
unusual  cry  for  equal  privileges  and  equal  rights  to  all  denominations — of 
"let  every  man  support  his  own" — proposes  to  ratify  and  perpetuate  the 
unnatural,  the  unscriptural,  the  very  wicked  connection  of  church  and 
state.  And  by  whom  is  this  proposed  ?  by  you  who  have  so  long  borne 
the  wrongs  of  this  heavenly  hierarchy,  and  whose  shoulders  are  already 
measured  afresh  to  meet  the  intended  burden  in  a  new  shape  ?  No  !  In 
the  event  of  a  repeal  of  the  law  which  supports  this  church  mo- 
nopoly, where  are  the  people  who  seek  for  its  renewal  ?  Is  there  a 
county  that  calls  for  it  ?  Is  there  a  city  or  a  town  that  calls  for  it  ? 
May  I  not  almost  add,  leaving  out  the  interested,  is  there  an  indi- 
vidual that  calls  for  it  ?  Why  then  are  we  told  that  a  draught  of 
a  church  reform  bill,  possessing  the  characters  already  hinted  at,  is 
already  prepared  ?  Let  the  nation  speak  upon  the  subject;  let  the  intel- 
ligence, the  independence,  the  industry,  the  piety  of  the  country  make 
known  their  manifold  wishes.  Remember  that  the  church,  like  the  poa 
office,  was  intended  for  a  useful  purpose  ;  and  if  the  people  are  now  sensJ 
ble  that  it  does  not  answer  the  designed  end  as  an  institution  for  the  reli 
gious  and  moral  improvement  of  the  nation,  but  is  made  the  covert  of  th^ 
worst  of  evils,  let  their  impression  be  heard,  and  let  no  authority  attemj 
to  keep  that  together  which  the  nation  has  willed  should  be  put  asunderl 
However  you  may  respect  the  services  of  the  prayer  book ;  however  willing 


359 

you  may  be  to  aid  in  supporting  a  minister  of  your  own,  from  whose  faith- 
ful labours  you  receive  religious  consolation,  you  object,  and  you  object 
rightly,  to  be  compelled  to  do  this ;  and  you  have  still  stronger  objections 
to  compel  those,  who,  conscientiously  dissenting  from  the  church,  have 
their  own  ministers  to  support;  but  the  strongest  objection  of  all  is,  to 
^ive  your  labour,  your  money,  and  your  com,  under  the  monstrous  pre- 
tence of  supporting  religion,  to  the  man  whom  you  never  see,  whose  feel- 
ings are  those  of  an  alien,  and  whose  lips  never  uttered  on  your  behalf  a 
single  admonition. 

Are  these  things  to  continue  ?  They  are,  unless  you  arouse.  I  say 
again,  the  church  is  yours ;  it  bears  your  name ;  it  is  called  national.  You 
can  therefore  change  it,  or  disown  it,  as  you  please,  and  apply,  as  may  be 
proper,  all  the  immense  funds,  which,  in  King  Henry's  days,  you  took  from 
another  church,  to  such  other  purposes  as  the  national  honour  and  the 
exigences  of  the  times  seem  to  require.  A  man  just  entering  into  life  may 
start  an  establishment,  useful  at  the  commencement,  but  as  his  family  and 
connections  increase,  and  by  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  it  may  become  an  evil. 
Would  not  such  a  man,  if  he  were  wise,  remove  the  nuisance?  and  if  its 
maintenance  were  sinking  him  to  the  ground,  he  would  especially  do  this, 
whilst  some  who  were  prejudiced  in  its  favour  might  take  it  into  their  own 
hands,  improve  it,  and  render  it  again  useful.  Let  the  nation  do  this  in 
reference  to  the  church  ;  let  the  possession  of  civil  rights  and  equal  privi- 
leges no  longer  be  measured  by  the  rule  of  conformity  ;  let  the  march  of 
improvement  no  longer  be  impeded  by  the  enemies  of  our  own  creating  ; 
let  the  honesty  of  government  be  above  depending  upon  the  wicked  sub- 
terfuges of  clerical  debasement ;  let  religion  and  Christianity  regain  the 
merit  of  meaning  what  they  should  mean,  and  what  they  once  meant ;  let  all 
sincere  churchmen  have  their  religion,  their  ministers,  tlieir  bishops,  just  as 
they  please  ;  let  them  make  their  own  alterations  in  their  liturgy,  and  fix 
the  salaries  of  their  ministers,  but  let  not  the  expence  of  this  be  foisted  upon 
the  nation.  The  nation  is  sick  of  it,  and  the  very  attempt  is  preposterous. 
The  country  wishes  to  be  at  peace  ;  the  justice  of  every  man  supporting  his 
own  is  admitted  on  all  hands ;  and  yet  we  are  told  that  in  the  ensuing  par- 
liament a  bill  will  be  attempted  to  be  passed  to  perpetuate  this  iniquitous 
system  ;  that  the  numerous  Catholics  and  Dissenters,  likely  to  be  returned 
as  members  of  parliament,  will  be  requested  to  forget  the  thraldom  of 
their  own  parties,  and  to  assist  in  proclaiming  the  church  ascendant,  the 
state  its  protector,  and  the  labour  of  an  impoverished  people  its  supplies  ! 
Yes !  if  Ireland  is  to  be  dragooned  to  preserve  the  shadow  of  a  church,  in 


360 

opposition  to  the  declared  sense  of  the  nation,  for  the  sake  of  the  selfish-  ii 
ness  and  avarice  of  those  who  traffic  in  souls,  is  it  not  to  be  expected, 
that  without  a  most  vigorous,  a  most  extraordinary  efibrt,  we  shall  be  li 
perpetually  enslaved  by  this  power  ? 

What  then  must  be  done  ?      Must  we  rise  up  and  strangle  this  adul" 
terous  daughter  of  the  mother  of  harlots  ?     Must  we  fight  sword  in  hand, 
and  give  her  the  honour  of  staining  her  chariot  wheels  with  the  blood  of  the  j 
slain  ?     No  !      A  constitutional  method  is  to  be  pursued ;  and,  if  you  are  | 
true  to  yourselves,  a  "  divorce  "  must  and  will  he  efiected.      Your  deputies  i 
are  to  make  the  laws,  which  laws  are  to  say  whether  this  particular  system  \ 
shall  henceforth  be  called  The  Church  of  England,  or  whether  the  unmean-  j 
ing,  false  designation  shall  be  dropped  altogether ;  and,  adhering  to  truth 
and  propriety,  whether  this,  the  Catholics,  and  the  other  dissenting  churches 
shall  be  called  The  Churches  of  England — whether  eight  or  nine  millions  a 
year  shall  be  abstracted  from  the  country  to  answer  a  purpose,  which,  from 
a  candid  estimation  of  the  present  moral  character  of  the  peopled,  it  is 
evidently  incapable  of  accomplishing — ^whether  men  shall  impiously  attempt 
to  remodel  that  which  the  Saviour  has  left  perfect,  and  legislate  upon  a 
subject  which  is  as  much  above  their  attainments  to  comprehend  as  it  is 
their  privilege  to  meddle  with — whether  a  religion  of  heavenly  principles 
and  good  practices,  of  the  essence  of  charity  and  benevolence,  propagated 
by  afifectionate  appeals  to  the  conscience,  and  by  the   sanction  of  the 
hopes  and  fears  of   another  world,  is  to  be  made  an  engine  of  state,  a 
source  of  oppression,  the  lever  of  selfishness,  the  covert  of  hypocrisy, 
and  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  purity  and  godliness.     Your 
deputies  are  to  make  the  laws  on  which  these  results  depend.    Your  firsi 
and  IMMEDIATE  step,  then,  is  to  demand  a  pledge  from  every  parliamentar 
candidate  to  the  simple  proposition,  "Every  man  shall  maintain 
OWN."     On  this  the  whole  depends.    Never  mind  the  terms,  "  the  separatic 
of  church  and  state ; "  never  stickle  for  words ;  get  but  a  pledge  to  thi| 
simple  proposition,  and  you  have  so  far  done  your  duty.     If  nothing  is 
be  taken  out  of  the  national  treasury ;  and  nothing  compulsory  out  of  yor 
fields  or  your  pockets,  for  the  support  of  any  religious  sect,  but  all  left 
the  free,  spontaneous  efforts  of  the  parties  themselves,  nothing  need  to 
feared.     The  exclusive  privileges  claimed  by  the  clergy  in  various  depar 
ments  will  soon  fall  off :  they  will  no  longer  pertinaciously  cleave  to  the 
exclusive  services,  if  the  gain  be  taken  away.    For  instance,  take  away  i 
£200  and  £300  a  year  allowed  out  of  the  county  rate  to  the  chaplains  of  our 
prisons,  and  Catholics,  and  Methodists,  and  all  others  would  soon  find  their 


361 

■way.  Lucre  is  the  soul  of  monopoly.  Electors  of  England !  reject  the 
claims  of  ever)'  man  that  refuses  to  subscribe  this  just,  this  equitable, 
this  peace  producing  position.  In  a  few  days  your  Sovereign  will  call  you 
to  elect  deputies  to  represent  you  in  the  legislation  of  the  country. 
In  the  name  of  bleeding  Ireland — in  the  name  of  distracted  England — in 
the  name  of  that  religion  which  never  ceases  to  proclaim  peace  on  earth 
and  good  wiU  to  men,  I  beseech  you,  act  honestly,  firmlv,  and  fearlessly ; 
and  as  I  know  an  overwhehnning  majority  of  you  are  for  religious  equity 
and  freedom,  and  for  every  party  supporting  its  own,  by  your  decided 
choice,  on  this  occasion,  convince  both  the  king  and  the  nobilitv  that  this 
claim  must  now  be  conceded.  Elect  men  of  your  own  minds  on  this  sub- 
ject, charge  them  to  fight  your  battle  manfidly,  and  never  to  rest  till 
your  cause  is  as  victorious  as  it  is  just.  In  a  word,  you  must  send  en- 
lightened, patriotic,  consistent  men,  who  are  pledged,  not  vaguely  to 
church  reform,  but  to  this  point :  tell  them  to  act  with  sincerity  and  disin- 
terestedness, and  the  victory  will  soon  be  won,  A  thousand  blessings 
will  deserve  to  rest  upon  the  heads  of  the  present  electors,  if,  on  this  oc- 
casion, they  do  their  duty. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  you  must  accompany  your  deputies,  not 
upon  a  blanketeering  expedition,  but  in  a  position  at  once  powerful  and  con- 
stitutional. The  whole  country  must  petition  parliament,  and  concentrate  all 
their  requests  in  this  one  point,  that  every  religion  maintain  its  own.  And 
in  order  to  stop  the  mouth  of  slander,  and  to  defy  the  attempts  of  false- 
hood, I  would  advise  that  the  whole  country  petition  in  parishes.  Being 
an  ecclesiastical  question,  this  method  seems  most  proper.  First,  let  a 
meeting  of  the  parishioners  be  held,  the  subject  be  fairly  discussed,  and 
if  the  object  be  approved,  a  petition  agreed  to.  Then  let  every  man 
above  eighteen  years  of  age,  approving  of  the  object,  sign  the  petition, 
and  affix  his  trade  and  residence,  so  that  no  imposition  may  be  practised ; 
and  let  the  sheets,  before  they  are  sent  off,  lie  at  some  public  place  for  in- 
spection, to  detect  anv  errors.  From  the  late  census  the  number  of  males 
above  this  age,  in  any  parish,  may  easily  be  ascertained,  and  this  method 
of  petitioning  wiU  clearly  shew  what  proportion  is  for,  and  what  against, 
a  state  religion.  This  plan  is  simple  and  practicable,  and  I  call  upon  all 
who  are  anxious  for  a  real  church  reform,  to  assist,  in  their  own  locality,  to 
bring  it  immediately  into  operation.  No  time  should  be  lost ;  petitions 
got  up  at  the  moment  neither  admit  of  fair  discussion,  nor  of  that  regula- 
rity in  obtaining  signatures  which  ought  to  give  them  weight.  By  this 
plan  the  government  will  see  the  true  state  of  public  opinion  ,  whilst,  for 


S62  ' 

I 

want  of  such  petitions,  they  may  legislate  without  sufficient  information,  i 
and  being  supported  by  the  aristocracy  and  the  leading  journals  of  the  ^ 
day,  may  erroneously  imagine,  from  the  inactivity  of  the  country,  the  paucity  i 
and  irregularity  of  the  petitions,  that  a  state  religion  and  ecclesiastical  J 
taxation  are  not  so  abhorrent  to  Englishmen  as  some  would  represent.  Let 
the  wish  and  will  of  the  country  be  known,  and  however  repugnant  to  their 
own  interests,  the  legislature  cannot  long  oppose  public  opinion,  especially 
when  raised  for  the  extinction  of  a  system  at  the  horrible  effects  of  which 
recollection  revolts.  May  every  parish  in  England  distinctly  and  seve- 
rally begin  immediately  to  prepare  petitions  for  the  new  parliament !  But 
as  the  contents  of  the  Moral  Reformer  are  necessarily  unknown  in  many 
parts  of  England,  I  hope  that  every  real  church  reformer  will  diffuse  the 
idea,  through  the  newspapers  and  other  vehicles  of  information,  as  widely 
as  possible.  Never  since  the  days  of  Augustin  was  there  the  same  chance 
of  freeing  the  church  from  the  contamination  of  the  state,  and  the  state 
from  the  insolence  and  extortions  of  the  church,  as  at  present ;  and  if  we 
suffer  ourselves  to  be  deluded  by  a  patch- work  reformation,  by  a  re-shape- 
ment  of  the  same  corrupt  mass,  we  may  look  in  vain  for  another  opportu- 
nity ;  and  posterity,  wearing  the  galling  fetters  which  we  passively  per- 
mitted to  be  forged,  will  curse  the  perfidy  of  our  indifference.  Let  every 
friend  to  justice,  good  government,  internal  peace  and  prosperity,  come 
forward  and  stand  by  the  principle  that  "  every  man  shall  support  his 
own  !"  I  hope  I  shall  hear  an  echo  at  least  from  every  parish  in  Lancasliire  ; 
and  that  Preston,  Leyland,  Kirkham,  St.  Michaels,  and  Blackburn  will 
take  the  lead. 

This,  my  friends,  is  no  attack  upon  the  real  utility  of  the  church ;  it 
is  an  attempt  to  strip  it  of  all  that  deformity  which  wealth,  patronage,  and 
power  have  produced.  It  is  making  it  a  spiritual  institution,  to  be  sup- 
ported, not  for  the  advantage  of  a  mercenary  few,  but  for  the  instruction 
and  well-being  of  the  whole.  Whatever  application  of  the  tithes  am 
other  endowments  may  be  thought  necessary  in  settling  this  question, 
would  allow  the  church  people  all  the  churches  as  a  sort  of  peace  offerin 
and  as  a  courteous  compliment  to  the  attachments  of  that  party.  Now,  I  as] 
every  sincere  churchman,  with  these  in  your  keeping,  free  of  debt,  with  the 
berty  of  using  your  own  forms  of  religious  service,  and  worshipping  just 
you  do  now,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  more  just,  more  honourable,  morj 
conciliating,  more  scriptural,  and  better  in  every  respect,  to  defray  the  e, 
pences  of  your  own  worship  ?  You  are  well  able  to  do  this  ;  and  no  oth^ 
course  can  convince  us  that  vou  bear  that  attachment  to  the  church  which  yoi 


363 

ave  so  long  professed.  If  you  have  not  a  majority  of  number?,  I  know 
you  have  a  preponderance  of  wealth,  and  it  is  really  very  hard  that  you  should, 
notwithstanding,  fly  upon  the  poor  Dissenters  and  Catholics  to  bear  your 
burdens,  who  at  the  same  time  have  to  support  their  own.  In  this  respect, 
you  ought  to  be  ashamed,  for  though  the  law  may  have  allowed  you  to 
collect  rates  and  dues,  how  Christian-like  it  would  have  seemed  to  hear  you 
say,  "  No,  we  will  not  allow  so  unreasonable  an  exaction  upon  our  weaker 
brethren  ;  the  necessary  expences  need  not  be  considerable  ;  we  are  well 
able,  and  we  will  pay  the  whole  ourselves."  You  may  still  style  your 
party  the  national  church,  if  you  please  ;  we  will  not  dispute  about  names  ; 
only  let  it  be  national  in  the  same  sense  that  yonr^  schools  are  national,  and 
we  are  satisfied.  Have  as  many  churches  as  you  please ;  make  all  the 
people  church-goers  if  you  can ;  we  have  no  objection  ;  only,  in  trying  to 
do  so,  claim  no  privilege  which  you  would  not  allow  to  every  other  deno- 
mination. This  change  would  make  your  establishment  respectable, 
would  bring  back  many  Dissenters,  and  would  clear  the  church  from  being 
the  constant  butt  of  infidels.  The  spiritual  interests  of  the  church  would 
then  be  promoted,  and  the  only  interests  that  would  suffer  are  those  of 
money-hunting  parsons,  bishops,  and  the  church  jobbers.  How  futile 
the  hypocritical  cry  of  "the  church  is  in  danger,"  when  all  that  is 
really  valuable  is  sought,  by  its  opponents,  to  be  defended  and  secured 
against  the  real  dangers  which  its  false  friends  have  created !  If  the 
church  have  no  better  support  than  arbitrary  acts  of  parliament,  tithes, 
and  church  rates,  it  will  fall,  and  that  speedily :  but  if  it  have  the  affec- 
Hons  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  people,  although  it  must  not  domineer 
Dver  the  rest,  it  will  still  stand  fii-m,  and  rise  higher  and  higher  in  pro- 
portion to  its  purity. 

It  maybe  objected,  "  It  is  the  duty  of  a  good  government  to  secure 
'eligious  instruction  for  the  nation :"  granted ;  and  so  it  is  to  provide 
iVery  good  thing ;  but  is  the  establishment  of  a  hierarchy  like  the  present 
ms,  supported  at  so  vast  an  expence,  the  proper  mode  of  securing  to  the 
ilBttion  religious  instruction  ?  Look  at  the  present  state  of  society,  and 
hen  say  whether  it  has  answered  this  end.  Are  the  gentlemen  of  the 
louse  of  Commons  and  the  peers  of  the  realm  competent  to  manufacture 

religion  that  will  suit  the  bulk  of  the  people  of  this  country  ?  Is  it  by 
xalting  one  sect  and  debasing  others  that  the  people  are  to  be  instructed  ? 
a  it  by  creating  a  phantom  religion,  drawing  its  picture  upon  parliamen- 
'ary  pai'chment,  and  forcing  the  people,  by  penalties  and  blood,  as  in 
reland,  to  bow  down  and  worship  it,  that  "  peace  and  good  will,"  (the 


364 

genius  of  religion)  are  to  be  diflFused  ?  Whatever  might  have  been  their 
motives  at  one  time,  for  making  a  state  religion,  of  late  it  is  most  evident 
its  maintenance  has  not  been  for  the  instruction  of  the  people,  but  for  the 
benefit  of  hirelings.  But  facts  speak  volumes  as  to  state  religious 
instruction ;  passing  over  the  pompous  displays  of  externals,  I  ask,  with 
confidence,  whether  has  the  government  instruction,  or  the  no-govern- 
ment instruction  done  more  good  ?  Who  are  they  that  have  broken  up 
the  fallow  ground  ?  who  are  they  that  have  taken  the  lead  in  preventing 
vice,  carrying  forth  religious  instruction,  and  spreading  benevolent  institu- 
tions into  every  village  and  every  obscure  corner  of  the  country  ?  who  are 
they  that  can  produce  the  greatest  number  of  pious,  consistent,  active 
Christians  within  their  pale  ?  Many  churchmen  are  becoming  more  zea- 
lous for  schools  and  useful  institutions  than  formerly,  but  whose  efforts 
provoked  them  to  it  ?  and  I  beg  to  say  that  even  they  are  not  acting  in 
the  old  spirit  of  the  state  church,  but  from  principles  which  other  parties 
have  difiused.  It  is  most  evident,  that  in  proportion  as  state  influence  has 
had  the  management  of  religion,  coldness,  formality,  ignorance,  and 
church  avarice  have  prevailed,  and  that  the  great  bulk  of  good  that 
has  been  accomplished  in  society,  has  been  by  persons  actuated  by 
feelings  to  which  hirelings  are  strangers,  and  by  an  authority  which 
no  human  power  can  hold.  Christianity,  the  best  source  of  religious  in- 
struction, is  a  system  of  pure  benevolence;  it  enlists  not  into  its  pure  ser- 
vice the  power  of  kings  and  governments  ;  it  engages  not  for  its  effectual 
agents  those,  who,  either  through  fears  of  loss  or  hopes  of  gain,  call  them- 
selves its  friends  ;  but  those,  who,  from  love  of  its  principles  and  a  sincere 
desire  to  benefit  mankind,  without  the  shackles  of  interest,  voluntarily  go 
forth,  under  the  sanction  of  heaven,  to  diffuse  its  blessings.  Yes;  I  ad- 
mit it  is  the  duty  of  government  to  secure  religious  instruction  to  the  peo- 
ple ;  so  it  is  to  secure  bread,  clothes,  and  physic ;  but  would  this  be  best 
accomplished  by  bake  houses,  tailors'  shops,  and  surgeries,  of  a  national 
character  ?  by  bakers,  tailors,  and  surgeons,  appointed  and  paid  by  the  go- 
vernment? No.  The  duty  of  government  is  to  protect  all  these  in  their 
several  professions  ;  to  place  all  upon  a  level ;  and  to  make  such  genera 
laws  as  will  redound  to  their  common  interest.  If  it  be  impossible,  even  ] 
these  matters,  to  supply  the  national  necessities  by  state  establishments,  he 
much  more  difficult  must  it  be  to  supply  the  people  with  the  article  of  r€ 
ligion  !  The  government  should  give  facilities  to  all,  protect  all  from  perse 
cution,  place  all  parties  in  the  equal  enjoyment  of  civil  rights,  and  instea 
of  making  a  religion  for  the  nation,  and  appropriating  the  country's  wealt 


365 

for  its  support,  leave  every  man,  and  every  association  of  men  to  choose 
their  own.  Let  the  church  take  its  rank  with  other  sects,  cease  its  reign  of 
iomination,  support  itself,  and,  instead  of  the  government  being  chargeable, 
jy  the  change,  of  not  providing  religious  instruction,  it  will  deserve  the 
;hanks  of  the  nation  for  having  taken  the  likeliest  of  all  steps  for  the  pro- 
notion  of  religion  and  universal  improvement.  If  there  be  any  whose 
ninds  are  so  obtuse  as  not  to  perceive  the  force  of  this  reasoning,  let 
hem  look  at  America,  and  there  they  will  learn  that  a  national  church 
s  not  the  cause  of  national  instruction. 

In  thus  addressing  you,  allow  me  to  say,  I  am  actuated  by  no  motive 
)ut  the  real  good  of  my  country.  I  have  no  personal  interest  in  the 
ihange,  nor  do  I  seek  any  gain  in  the  demolition  of  the  rotten  parts  of 
he  church.  What  little  I  have  ever  attempted  in  instructing  the  people 
las  been  always  at  my  own  expence,  and  I  trust  the  same  spirit  will  guide 
ny  efforts  through  life.  I  subjoin  the  following  petition  as  a  specimen  of 
vhat  may  be  proper  for  the  parishes  to  present  to  the  new  parliament. 

PETITION  FOR  CHURCH  REFORM. 

To  the  Honourable  the  Commons  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  Parliament 
B-,  assembled. 

liS^L.  The  humble  petition  of  the  undersigned  inhabitants  of  the  parish 
)f     sheweth. 

That  from  an  impartial  view  which  your  petitioners  have  taken  of  the 
tate  of  the  country,  in  reference  to  religious  opinions  and  parties,  whatever 
nay  have  been  the  case  at  former  periods,  they  submit,  that  to  continue 
;o  establish  by  law  an  exclusive  system  of  religion,  to  confer  upon  it  ex- 
•lusive  honours,  and  to  support  it  from  the  treasury,  and  to  allow  it  to 
ake  the  produce  of  the  country  in  the  shape  of  tithes,  church  rates  and 
lues,  is  impolitic  and  unjust.  To  protect  and  defend  all  religious  parties 
hey  hold  to  be  the  duty  of  government,  but  to  set  up  an  exclusive  form 
if  faith  and  worship,  to  appropriate  to  it  the  national  wealth,  to  compel 
onscientious  seceders  to  support  it,  to  mix  it  up  with  the  policy  of  state 
nd  the  influence  of  civil  power,  are  at  variance  with  the  right  of  private 
adgment,  exceedingly  oppressive  upon  the  majority  of  the  people,  and 
alculated  to  perpetuate  jealousy  and  disunion,  distructive  to  the  con- 
istent  and  scriptural  character  of  Christianity,  and  derogatory  to  the 
lonour  of  its  glorious  founder. 

Your  petitioners,  therefore,  humbly  pray,  that  in  future  there  may  be 
0  ascendancy  among  religious  parties  in  this  country,  and  that  no   one 

VOL.   ji.  2  Y 


3$0 

shall  have  any  power  to  compel  support  from  the  rest.    "  Let  every  ask 
maintain  his  own,"  is  a  universally  received  proposition,  and  your  peti**; 
tioners  earnestly  implore  your  honourable  house  shortly  to  make  this  thib' 
law  of  the  land.      Any  church  reform  that  does  not  recognise  this  prin* 
ciple,  they  believe,   will  disappoint  the  nation,  and  will  most  assuredly' 
perpetuate  agitation  and  discontent. 

The  tithes  and  the  great  extent  of  property  which  are  at  present  ats 
tached  to  the  established  church,  your  petitioners  hope  may  be  disposed  dl 
as  the  justice  of  the  case  and  the  necessities  and  present  welfare  of  the  na^ 
tion  may  require. 

Whilst  every  facility  is  given  to  religious  instruction,  the  surest  basirf 
of  national  prosperity,  your  petitioners  beg  your  honourable  house  to  dijiu 
continue  all  coercive  measures,  and  to  adopt  such  a  course  of  policy 
is  most  likely  to  secure  peace  and  tranquillity  to  England,  Ireland,  a; 
Scotland ;  and  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray. 


iitifl 

I 


FEMALE  DEPRAVITY. 

Nothing  can  be  more  deplorable  than  the  present  degraded  condition 
of  many  of  our  young  females  among  the  working  classes.     The  mother 
smiles  at  the  infant  on  her  knee,  prides  herself  upon  its  promising  parts, 
as  it  prattles  and  runs  along  the  floor,  but  little  thinks,  how  much  misery 
awaits  both  it  and  her,  so  soon  as  it  is  by  necessity  forced  into  corrupt  aB- 
sociations  to  earn  its  bread.      Oh  !  cruel  world !  which  blasts  the  fairest 
blossoms,  and  spoils,  with  ruthless  hands,  the  sweetest  flowers  of  the  land ! 
Insensible  must  be  the  heart  that  cannot  feel  the  enchantment  of  a  female 
smile ;  but  dead  to  virtue  and  true  gallantry  must  be  the  wretch  who  lays 
snares  for  his  defenceless  victim,  and  by  his  brutal  conduct  draws  down 
upon  the  prospects  of  innocence  the  clouds  of  blackness  and  despair.     In 
the  poor  office,  there  is  a  regular  department  called  the  "  Bastardy,"  and 
never,  till  I  went  thither,  could  I  have  had  any  idea  of  the  extent  of  this 
business.     The  overseers  are  obliged  to  take  cognizance  of  these  cases^ 
and  it  is  truly  distressing  to  see  the  number  of  applications  for  relief  upoi 
this  ground  alone,  and  not  the  less  so  to  learn,  that  by  far  the  greater  numbi 
of  men,  instead  of  marrying  those  they  have  debased,  abscond,  and  neither 
do  this  nor  even  contribute  to  the  children  whom  they  have  been  the  means  f 
of  bringing  into  the  world.      Oh  !  how  base,  how  vile,  how  hard  hearted 
are  these  wretches !  and  yet,  while  the  female  is  doomed  to  disgrace  for 


367 

Kfe,  the  man,  often  the  vilest  of  the  two,  though  he  repeats  his  infamous 
deeds,  preserves  his  honour  and  his  standing  in  society !  How  is  it  that 
betrayed  innocence  should  suffer,  whilst  the  wily  villain  can  repeat  his 
crimes  with  impunity  ? 

Another  revolting  \4ew  of  the  degradation  of  the  female  charac- 
ter is  seen  in  the  vast  increase  of  the  houses  of  ill  fame.  Compared 
to  the  metropolis,  to  Liverpool,  and  such  large  towns,  Preston  at  one 
time  might  have  been  said  to  be  clear  of  these  pests ;  but  now  every 
decent  person  is  complaining  of  their  vast  increase.  It  is  impossible  to  go 
through  the  town  in  an  evening  without  being  attacked  by  some  of  those 
unfortunate  beings  who,  depraved  themselves  and  lost  to  aU  sense  of  shame, 
are  seeking  the  ruin  of  the  thoughtless  and  unwary.  What  must  be  the 
anxiety  of  a  good  father,  who,  having  watched  over  his  children  and 
brought  them  up  in  virtuous  paths,  knows,  that  allowing  his  sons  to  be 
out  of  doors  in  an  evening,  they  are  exposed  to  snares  and  temptations 
which  may  ruin  them  for  life!  The  case  is  dreadful,  and  I  am  told  that 
every  stratagem  is  used  to  inveigle  yoimg  girls  to  these  hatmts  of  wicked- 
ness by  those  who  have  become  old  and  hardened  in  this  crime.  Mothers 
and  female  guardians  !  take  great  care  of  the  charge  placed  in  your  hands  ; 
watch  the  inclination  for  company,  and  use  every  exertion  to  impress  upon 
their  minds  the  importance  of  a  modest  demeanour,  chaste  conversation, 
and  a  pure  life. 

Various  causes  contribute  to  female  demoralization,  though  its  begin- 
nings may  generally  be  traced  to  corrupt  associations.  Listen  to  the  lan- 
guage and  observe  the  behaviour  of  the  young  people  as  they  leave  the 
factory,  and  you  will  cease  to  wonder  at  the  immodest  stare,  the  wanton 
looks  of  many  of  the  young  females.  Both  sexes  mix  together,  and,  unre- 
strained by  any  good  influence,  indulge  in  obscene  language  and  filthy  re- 
marks, and  here  it  is  that  the  contamination  begins  ;  here  \irtue's  fortitude 
is  lost,  so  as  to  render  them  imable  to  withstand  the  temptations  to 
which  they  are  afterwards  exposed. 

The  case  is  little  better  at  home  ;  parents,  too  often  examples  them- 
selves of  irregular  conduct,  indulge  freely  in  conversation  in  the  hearing  of 
youth,  upon  subjects  which  fasten  upon  their  minds  ;  and  instead  of  coun- 
teracting the  evil  of  the  factory,  often  confirm  it.  The  inconveniences  of 
the  houses  of  the  poor  are  also  an  additional  cause  of  temptation  ;  young 
men  and  women,  fathers,  mothers,  and  children,  and  frequently  mixed  fa- 
mihes,  live  together,  and  not  only  eat  but  wash  and  do  many  of  their  con- 
veniences in  the  same  place.     In  my  visitations  I  frequently  blush  at  the 


368 

immodesty  of  females,  while  washing  in  the  same  place  where  young  meii  ■ 
are  sitting.  What  is  even  worse,  whole  families,  consisting  of  both  sexes, 
and  sometimes  young  grand  children,  sleep  in  the  same  room.  What  a 
scene !  a  man,  his  wife,  and  eight  children,  lads  and  lasses,  the  wife 
lying-in,  and  one  of  the  daughters  pregnant,  all  to  lodge  in  the  same 
room ! 

In  addition  to  the  houses  of  ill  fame,  already  referred  to,  some  of  the 
jerry  shops  are  regular  seminaries  of  the  vice  which  I  wish  to  condemnl 
They  have  been  so  from  the  commencement ;  but  latterly,  in  this  townj 
women  have  begun  to  take  out  licenses,  and,  in  some  cases,  it  is  knowa 
that  these  keep  houses  of  the  most  detestable  character.  Here  females  a]i# 
tempted  to  come  and  sell  themselves  to  infamy,  and  such  scenes  take  place  ' 
as  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe.  In  the  face  of  the  law  and  con|non 
decency,  the  morals  of  the  public,  the  character  of  our  young  females,  and 
the  happiness  of  families,  are  to  be  outraged  by  establishments  like 
these.  Some  of  the  regularly  licensed  houses  are  no  better.  I  knew 
one  which,  for  a  long  time,  harboured  numbers  of  prostitutes,  and  was  the 
rendezvous  of  bad  characters  ;  no  man  could  pass  the  door  on  a  Saturday 
night  with  safety ;  it  was  known  to  the  authorities,  but  because  none  of 
the  neighbours  complained,  this  great  nuisance  remained  unchecked  in  its 
operations,  and  I  doubt  not  many,  both  male  and  female,  have  had  cause 
to  curse  the  day  they  visited  this  abominable  place.  Sickened  to  the  very 
soul  with  the  reports  of  the  practices  of  this  place,  I  determined  to  do  what 
I  could  to  put  it  down  ;  I  complained  to  the  magistrates,  who,  unless  thl^l 
neighbours  complained,  seemed  to  say  they  had  no  authority  to  inflict  cor- 
rection. The  landlord  and  landlady,  however,  were  sent  for ;  and  in  con- 
sequence of  my  taking  the  matter  up,  and  a  reprimand  which  the  justic 
gave  them,  the  nuisance  became  abated,  and,  in  a  short  time,  was  entire! 
broken  up.  I  mention  this  to  induce  individuals  who  live  in  the  vicinit 
of  these  filthy  places  to  complain  to  the  magistrates.  Several  of  yoi| 
agree  together  and  make  your  complaints,  and  you  will  soon  put  thei 
down.  If  you  have  any  love  for  your  country,  your  town,  your  specieajj 
and  the  invaluable  blessing  of  female  virtue,  you  will  do  this,  and  do  \\ 
speedily. 

In  tracing  the  causes  of  female  depravity,  too  much  cannot  be  said  ii 
condemnation  of  the  men  who  lead  them  to  it.     Beastly  wretches  !  thej 
never  calculate  the  horrid  effects  of  their  crimes  upon  society :  destitute  of 
that  magnanimous  feeling  of  esteem  for  the  fair  sex,  which  would  lead  a»|| 
man  to  die  rather  than  taint  the  character  of  a  female,  on  which  depends"! 

- 


369 

her  happiness  for  life ;  seeking  the  momentar\'  pleasures  of  sensuality, 
they  scatter  misery  and  desolation  around,  and,  with  an  unparalleled  vil- 
lanv,  rob  the  enjoyments  and  murder  the  happiness  of  those  whose  unsus- 
pecting goodness  sought  shelter  in  their  pledges  of  faithful  love.  To 
whom  belongs  the  infamy  of  seducing  those  called  "kept  mistresses?" 
To  the  young  nobleman ;  to  the  'squire,  who  even  presumes  to  sit 
on  the  bench  of  justice ;  and  to  (respectable !)  tradesmen.  Shame ! 
shame !  Can  you  thus  set  at  defiance  the  law  of  God  and  of  com- 
mon decency  ?  You  are  known  thi-ough  the  town,  vou  are  watched  to 
the  place  of  your  crimes,  and  though  you  may  still  secure  the  arm  and  the 
company  of  your  order,  every  good  man  abhors  and  detests  your  conduct. 
Your  foul  deeds  will  find  you  out :  if  you  are  not  an  untimely  victim  of 
your  own  debauchery,  your  reckoning  is  dreadful  in  another  world,  for 
"whoremongers  and  adulterers  God  will  judge." 

The  conduct  of  some  bachelors  I  have  always  considered  as  having 
an  influence  upon  the  evil  of  which  I  here  complain.  We  are  become 
so  dissipated  a  people,  that  many  men  dread  the  labour  and  anxietv"  of 
bringing  up  a  family,  because  of  its  being  likely  to  interfere  with  their 
pleasures.  I  shotdd  be  sorry  to  prefer  an  accusation  generally  against 
this  (I  will  call  unfortunate)  class  of  our  kind,  but  I  know  that  too  many, 
instead  of  taking  a  wife,  and  rejoicing  in  the  discharge  of  the  honourable 
duties  connected  with  marriage,  have,  calculatingly,  determined  never 
to  marry,  and,  as  a  likely  consequence,  are  proceeding  in  a  course 
which  not  only  connects  with  female  seduction  and  disgrace,  but  often 
with  disease  and  ruin  to  themselves.  The  difficulties  of  supporting 
a  wife  and  maintaining  a  family  in  that  style  which  is  desired,  is  often 
assigned  as  a  reason  for  preferring  a  single  state ;  but  these  are  more 
imaginary  than  real,  and  very  few,  where  economy  and  sobriety  are  prac- 
tised, except  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  are  ever  involved  in  difficulties  in 
consequence  of  manying.  While  isolated  exertion  is  often  unavailing, 
mountains  of  difficulties  fall  before  the  vigorous  eftbrts  of  a  united  and 
an  affectionate  pair. 

One  word  to  everv  virtuous  female,  and  especially  those  in  the  upper 
ranks  of  life,  before  I  conclude.  You  have  read  this  description  of  female 
depravit}'-,  and  vou  know  it  to  be  correct.  These  are  your  sisters,  your 
daughters,  if  not  bv  the  immediate  ties  of  kindred,  they  are  by  the  claims 
of  nature.  Can  vou  be  satisfied  to  see  them  in  this  state  of  debasement  ? 
can  you  behold  the  innocent  girl  of  sixteen  just  stepping  upon  the  brink  of 
ruin,    without   making  an  effort  to  prevent  it  ?      In  this  department  of 


870 

reform  you  are  the  fittest  agents,  and  I  beseech  you,  by  the  honour  of  your 
sex,  as  well  as  by  the  ties  of  humanity,  to  try  what  you  can  do.     Let  a 
number  of  you  combine  your  exertions ;  visit  the  homes  and  the  haunts 
of  the  girls  who  work  in  factories ;  speak  to  them  as  their  friends,  and  di- 
rect the  attention  of  their  mothers  to  the  duty  of  inculcating  modesty  and 
good  behaviour.       But  don't  stop  here;    go  to   the  very  hot-beds  of 
iniquity ;  let  the  philanthropic  visits  of  our  virtuous  females  strike  ter- 
ror to  the  brothel.      Rescue  the  thoughtless  victims,  whose  youth,  ra- 
ther than  vice,  has  led  them  an  easy  prey  to  the  stratagems  of  the  guilty. 
Go  in  numbers,  seek  out  every  ill-famed  house  in  the  town,  go  as  friends, 
give  the  wretched  inmates  your  sober  warning,  and  though  the  cases  of 
many  are  hopeless,  you  may  probably  be  the  means  of  reclaiming  many, 
who,  from  sheer  necessity,  or  from  misfortune,  and  not  through  choice, 
have  been  led  into  these  dangerous  paths.    The  work  is  not  pleasant ;  but 
if  you  can  do  good,  never  mind  that.     These  places  exist ;  they  are  the 
harbingers  of  hell;  and  from  what  I  see,  if  you  don't  come  forward,  there 
is  no  remedy  to  be  found.     Quit  your  sofas  and  your  sitting-rooms  for 
once  ;  change  scenes  ;  arrange  yourselves  into  a  godly  phalanx  ;  make  an 
attack  upon  these  establishments  of  vice ;  and  if  you  but  partially  succeed, 
if  you  rescue  but  one  degraded  sister,  you  will  enjoy  a  pleasure  in  your 
bosoms  which  all  the  insipidities  of  fashion  can  never  equal. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  PU3LIC  OFFICERS. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  character  is  not  insisted  on  as  an  in- 
dispensable qualification  for  every  public  officer,  and  that  the  total  loss  c£ 
this  should  not  be  the  forfeiture  of  their  appointment.  Favour,  indepen^ 
dent  of  merit,  or  party  feeling,  regardless  of  public  good,  often  elects  men 
to  office  ;  and  after  a  person  has  filled  a  situation  for  a  length  of  time,  he 
is  seldom  discharged,  although  his  conduct  be  decidedly  inconsistent  with 
any  public  situation.  The  man  who  is  employed  to  give  public  notice  in 
the  streets  of  passing  occurrences,  one  would  expect  would  be  a  man  ci 
intellectual  character  and  respectability ;  the  contrary  is  generally  the 
case  ;  their  manners,  their  language  and  their  looks,  and  their  emaciated 
appearance,  tell  plainly  that  their  habits  are  intemperate.  Those  who  are 
charged  with  the  maintenance  of  the  peace,  are  ordered  to  put  down  ths 
excesses  of  pubUc  houses,  and  to  insist  upon  obedience  to  the  laws,  flhouMi 


371 

n  every  instance,  be  examples  ;  but  some  of  this  class  are  in  the  habit  of 
requenting  the  public  houses  almost  nightly,  and  are  known  to  practise 
hose  games  which  they  are  ordered  to  correct  in  others.  Who  has  not 
)ften  lamented  over  the  base  conduct  of  the  common  bailiffs,  who,  in  despite 
)f  humanity  and  the  law,  execute  their  warrants  with  severity,  and,  by  a 
nock  procedure,  ruin  many  families  of  the  poor  ?  The  overseers  are  a  sort 
)f  eccleciastical  order  ;  they  emanate  from  the  regulation  of  the  church,  and 
ire  intended  to  perform  the  work  of  charity,  which,  in  fact,  belongs  to  the 
ninisters  of  religion.  These,  then,  of  all  others,  should  be  good  and  hu- 
nane  characters ;  but  it  is  well  known  that  such  are  chosen  who  are  not 
ikely  to  take  care  of  the  poor,  but  those  who  have  tact  and  effrontery  suf- 
icient  to  put  them  off  with  as  little  as  possible,  who  are  clever  in  the  art 
3f  abuse,  and  who  are  the  best  hands  at  saving  the  parish  funds.  Even 
:he  man  whose  province  it  is  to  work  among  the  dead,  and  to  have  con- 
stantly before  him  the  lessons  of  mortality ;  and  the  man  who  presents 
the  solemn  responses  of  a  worshipping  assembly  to  the  Almighty,  seem  to 
forget  their  office,  and  in  many  instances  are  so  corrupt  in  their  morals  as 
to  be  the  painful  objects  of  common  remark.  The  ringers  are  employed 
to  invite  people  to  the  house  of  God,  and  the  sphere  of  their  duties  is 
within  the  consecrated  walls  of  the  church ;  the  singers  utter  forth  with 
loud  voice  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  and  take  a  prominent  part  in  the  services 
of  the  church ;  and  as  a  matter  of  decency  at  least,  it  might  be  expected 
that  they  would  be  men  of  the  most  sober  and  exemplary  character  ;  but 
alas !  my  recollection  is  crowded  with  instances  to  the  contrary.  An  im- 
provement I  believe  is  taking  place,  though  even  now.  I  know  that  the 
public  house  is  sometimes  the  sequel  to  their  attendance  upon  the  church 
service.  How  many  individuals  have  been  retained  in  the  service  of  cor- 
porations, whose  low,  dissipated  lives  are  a  disgrace  to  the  body  to  which 
they  are  attached  ! 

I  wish,  therefore,  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  individuals,  or  com- 
panies, with  whom  the  right  of  appointment  may  rest,  the  desirableness 
of  making  character  tlie  first  qualification.  The  influence  of  bad  example 
is  pernicious  in  all  cases,  but  much  more  so  in  persons  who  fill  public 
stations  in  life.  These  remarks,  I  know,  I  might  have  carried  much 
higher ;  I  might  have  included  official  men  of  a  higher  order,  both  in 
church  and  state ;  but  these  I  have  adverted  to  before.  Every  public 
concern  should  wipe  away  the  reproach  of  engaging  inconsistent  charac- 
ters ;  and  when  no  higher  motive  existed,  the  disgrace  of  exclusion  from 
every  public  situation  might  influence  many. 


m 


SALE  OF  EASTER  DUES',  GOODS. 

As  I  have  furnished  my  readers  from  month  to  month  with  the  pro-' 
ceedings  for  Easter  Dues,   it  is  proper  I  should  favour  them  with  the' 
winding  up  of  the  affair.     The  goods,  after  heing  unsold  about  two  months/ 
were  taken  away,  clandestinely,  to  Liverpool,  as  is  generally  understood, 
and  there  sold.     I  applied  for  a  return  of  the  sale  of  my  two  cheese, 
which  is  as  below.     It  is  in  the  nature  of  ecclesiastical  prosecutions  to  ba-'^ 
nish  mildness,  moderation,  and  equity,  and  to  stick  to  its  victim  while  \ii^ 
or  limb  remains.     Instead  of  6|d.,  after  taking  two  cheese  511bs.,  (reduced 
to  48|:lbs.  by  being  kept  so  long)  I  am  now  put  down  debtor  4s,  9^6. !  !    A^ 
great  deal  has  been  said  by  the  church  folks  about  petitioning  for  to  change 
this  objectionable  mode  of  clerical  remuneration,  and  we  shall  soon  have  an 
opportunity  of  observing,  how  many  of  them  are  honest  and  sympathetic 
enough,   to  take  the  lead  in  this  work.     The  following  is  the  return,^ 
which,  after  I  am  gone,  may  serve  as  evidence  of  the  character  of  th 
church  before  its  separation  from  the  state,  and  what  it  was  that  hastened 
that  event.     I  beg  to  say,  that  upon  every  principle  of  justice,  equity,  6\ 
religion,  I  do  not,  nor  ever  did  owe  the  Vicar  a  farthing,  and  though  thesl 
precious  ecclesiastical   proceedings  require  one  pound  four  shillings  ani 
sixpence  to* secure  6|d.,  this  process  may  be  repeated  as  often  as  the  par 
ties  think  proper,  for  I  will  never  voluntarily  support  a  system  which  is 
inimical  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  to  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  the  kingdom  of  Chi-ist. 

On  Distress  against  Joseph  Livesey  for  Easter  Dues. 


£.  s.  d. 

Amount  of  Easter  dues 0  0  63 

Amount  of  costs  adjudged ^0  10  0 

Levying  distress 0  3  0 

Man  in  possession'four  days 0  10  0 

Appraisement ,....., 0  0  6 

Commission 0  1  0 


£l     5     01 


GOODS  DISTRAINED  AND  SOLD. 

Produce  of  Goods. 

£.  s:  d. 

One  cheese,  241b.,  at  5d 0  10  0 

One     do.      2421b.,  at  5d 0  10  3 

Balance  due  from  Mr.  Livesey. . .     0     4  9J 


£l     5     OJ 


GREAT  NATIONAL  EVILS. 
During  the  past  month,  we  have  had  two  courses  of  lectures  of  the 
very  first  class  ;  one  by  Mr.  Thomson,  on  Colonial  Slavery,  the  other  by 
Mr.  Buckingham,  on  the  Opening  of  the  Trade  to  India.     Two  cleverel* 


! 


S73 

lecturers  than  these  two  gentlemen  can  scarcely  be  found.  Clear  in 
arrangement,  powerfully  argumentative,  felicitous  in  expression,  and  re- 
ferring to  subjects  in  which  commerce,  civilization,  humanity  and  religion 
are  deeply  concerned,  it  was  impossible  these  lectures  should  be  otherwise 
than  highly  interesting.  To  these  two  gentlemen  the  country  is  under  in- 
finite obligations.  We  complain  of  corruption,  we  are  constantly  bewailing 
the  depressions  of  trade,  and  suffering  ourselves  to  labour ^under  delusions 
as  to  the  cause.  Instead  of  biting  and  devouring  one  another,  it  is  most 
evident  that  monopolies  should  be  the  object  of  our  attack,  and  particularly 
the  East  India  monopoly.  The  energies  of  this  country  will  be  wasted  in 
vain,  our  resources  extracted,  if  we  continue  to  suffer  the  monopolists  to 
reap  all  the  advantage.  The  East  India  question  is  one  with  which  every 
capitalist,  tradesman,  and  philanthropist  ought  to  be  acquainted,  and  I 
doubt  not  Mr.  Buckingham's  labours  wiU  induce  many  both  to  think  and  act 
who  have  hitherto  felt  quite  indifferent.  The  West  India  question,  involving 
the  interests  of  800,000  of  our  fellows,  and  the  principle,  whether  it  be 
right  for  one  man  to  hold  another  who  has  done  no  wrong  in  personal 
bondage,  are  by  Mr.  Thomson's  lectures  placed  in  a  very  convincing 
light.  What  a  world  in  which  we  live !  How  inexhaustible  are  the  supplies  of 
nature  ;  how  contributory  to  the  happiness  of  the  inhabitants  is  the  earth  on 
which  we  live  !  and  yet,  in  the  east,  in  the  west,  near  home,  and  far  from 
home,  and  even  in  the  very  land  in  which  we  live,  we  find  a  harvest  of 
misery  and  discontent.  Whence  is  it  ?  It  all  originates  in  the  wickedness 
of  man.  The  bad  conduct  of  private  individuals  is  not  felt  so  extensive!}-, 
but  public  companies  erect  systems  of  iniquity :  by  these  systems  the  na- 
tions are  enslaved,  human  rights  invaded,  and  for  the  gratification  of  a 
small  part  of  mankind,  the  world  is  kept  in  terror.  Bad  as  is  colonial  and 
East  Indian  bondage,  it  can  only  be  continued  by  our  own  permission. 
The  charter  of  liberty,  for  these  countries,  is  the  decree  of  a  British  parlia- 
ment, but  which  never  can  be  secured  imless  the  country  will  it.  The 
friends  of  abuse  are  strong,  they  are  vigorous  and  wealthy,  they  take  a 
defensive  position,  and  imless  the  government  attack  them,  and  be  sup- 
ported by  the  people,  we  shall  never  make  head  against  so  many  powerful 
monopolists.  Tlie  present  ministers  are  often  blamed  for  having  done  so 
little ;  but  we  little  think  of  the  position  they  stand  in :  preceded  by  a 
corrupt  government,  which  opposed  itself  to  all  the  just  claims  of  the  peo- 
ple; every  power  and  arrangement  being  impregnated  with  these  corrup- 
tions ;  beset,  after  coming  into  office,  with  powerful  enemies,  open  and 
concealed ;  and  opposed  by  a  powerful  aristocracy  in  both  houses,  every 

VOL.  II.  2  z 


874 

appearance  of  tardiness  in  carrying  forward  their  measures  may  easily  be 
accounted  for.  Arrayed  against  these  salutary  reforms,  which  every  dis- 
interested man  knows  to  be  important,  are  enemies  and  monopolists  of 
every  hue — borough-mongers,  bank-mongers,  church-mongers.  East  India 
and  West  India  mongers.  All  these  are  powerful ;  and  though  some  of 
them  are  opposed  to  each  other,  in  the  event  of  a  probable  defeat  they  will 
combine  their  power  against  both  ministry  and  people.  If  the  present 
ministers  manifest  virtue  and  courage  sufficient  to  attempt  in  earnest  to 
break  up  these  monopolies  and  to  extinguish  slavery,  they  will  acquire  im- 
mortal fame ;  and  to  encourage  them  in  this,  the  whole  country  ought  to 
offer  them  their  support ;  for  until  they  are  sure  they  have  this,  any  at- 
tempt to  grapple  with  their  giant-like  foes  would  be  futile  and  vain.  I 
urge  this  particularly,  because  a  certain  class  of  reformers,  instead  of  per- 
ceiving the  policy  of  supporting  a  reforaiing  ministry,  and  keeping 
the  country  united,  till  its  enemies  are  destroyed,  are  evermore,  either 
through  weakness  or  wickedness,  preaching  dissension  and  opposition ; 
the  effect  of  which  at  present  is  to  strengthen  the  hopes  of  the  mono- 
polists, and,  if  carried  on  successfully,  in  all  probability  to  bring  back  to 
power  those  who  created  them.  Granting  that  there  are  great  imperfec- 
tions in  the  present  ministry,  the  question  has  been  betwixt  these  and 
those  a  great  deal  worse ;  and  with  so  many  great  national  questions  just 
before  us,  let  us  try  the  men  who  have  at  least  made  one  successful  struggle 
for  liberty  ;  if  they  betray  our  confidence,  then  we  withdraw  our  support. 
I  speak  to  thinking,  peaceable  reformers ;  but  to  those  who  wish  to  sink 
the  mountains  in  the  sea,  and  to  revolutionize  the  earth  into  a  level,  my 
observations  will  not  apply.  I  wish  every  evil  in  church  and  state  to  be 
removed ;  but  sound  policy,  and  rational  and  practicable  means,  are  wha 
we  ought  to  seek  after  to  effect  this. 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE  IN  PRESTON. 
The  society  established  in  this  town  continues  to  prosper,  Th 
weekly  meetings  are  crowded  to  excess,  and  the  interest  excited  by  tW 
different  speakers  seems  to  exceed  any  thing  ever  attempted  in  Preston  be 
fore.  The  addition  to  the  number  of  members  has  averaged  of  late  abouJ 
20  a  week,  and  the  tt)tal  number  is  about  1500.  Many  drunkards  have  beeil 
refonned,  and  are  steadfast  and  exemplary  characters ;  and  still  greatel 
numbers  of  moderate  drinkers,  both  members  and  others,  have  becomi 
more  moderate.  Indeed  the  public  mind  is  getting  informed,  and  we  ha' 
reason  to  hope  that  by  perseverance  and  the  zealous  co-operation  of  re*" 
ligious  influence,  we  shall  yet  see  a  state  of  society,  sober,  virtuous  and 


875 

happy.  Another  public  tea  party,  similar  to  our  last,  will  be  held  at 
Christmas,  when  it  is  expected  that  1000  persons  will  sit  down  together 
to  enjoy  that  innocent  cheerfulness  and  rational  conviviality  which  tem- 
perance principles  alone  can  secure.  New  societies  continue  to  spring  up 
ki  the  country  places,  in  consequence  of  the  labours  and  exertions  of  our 
membei's,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  every  town  the  important  tidings  of 
this  cause  will  meet  with  a  gracious  welcome.  A  Temperance  House,  I 
understand,  will  be  shortly  opened  in  one  of  our  principal  streets,  and,  I 
hope,  many  others  in  every  part  of  the  town.  Oh  !  if  we  could  substitute 
coffee  ioY  jerry,  soup  for  gin,  reading  for  cards,  and  rational  conversation 
for  brawling  and  balderdash,  the  intervals  of  leisure  would  cease  to  be,  as 
they  are  at  present,  a  great  curse  to  our  working  men.  I  am  just  upon 
the  point  of  starting  a  "  Working  Man's  Reading  Room,"  which  will  be 
furnished  with  forty  fresh  newspapers  and  other  periodicals  weekly,  at 
Is.  7|d.  per  quarter,  equal  to  l^d.  per  week.  With  this,  the  Temperance 
Houses,  and  the  Institution  for  the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge,  there  can  be  no 
excuse  for  any  one  going  to  spend  his  time  in  a  public  house,  where,  being 
almost  compelled  to  drink  intoxicating  liquors,  so  many  have  been  ruined. 


TO  THE  PROPRIETORS  OF  A  PRESTON  PAPER  USUALLY  STYLED 
"THE  3730." 
Gentlemen, 

Since  you  have  done  me  the  honour  to  notice  me  in  your 
publication,  for  several  weeks  together,  it  would  perhaps  be  unpolite  not 
to  return  the  compliment.     In  doing  this,  I  beg  sincerely  to  say,  that  I 
have  not  the  least  feeling  of  hostility  in  my  breast ;  and  in  my  reply  I 
hope  you  will  perceive  no  attempt  at  rivalship  in  the  art  of  calling  foul 
names,  so  admirably  possessed  by  some  of  your  writers.     The  welfai'e  of 
the  working  class  has  always  been  my  object,  in  my  various  undertakings, 
and  though  I  have  not  joined  your  ranks,  it  has  been  because  you  have 
pursued  a  course  which  I  could  not  conscientiously  approve.     I  know  the 
toil  of  the  poor  man;  I  sympathize  with  him  in  his  sufferings;  for  ten 
I  years  I  have  worked  at  the  loom  myself ;  and  I  hope  I  shall  never  be  so 
I  ungrateful  to  a  kind  Providence,  who  has  in  some  measure  raised  me 
from  this  condition,  as  to  make  the  interests  of  the  poor  second  to  any  of 
my  engagements.     Am  /  the  enemy  of  the  working  man  ?     Let  my  life 
i   give  the  answer.     I  make  these  remarks  in  my  own  defence,  because  it 
I  would  seem  as  if  you  were  disposed  to  set  your  readers  against  every  man 
•   who  happens  to  be  in  easier  circumstances  than  others,  if  he  do  not  ap- 
plaud the  system  which  you  pursue. 


375 

As  to  "  exclusive  dealing,"  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  waste  another 
remark.  It  is  tacitly  acknowledged  in  every  reply  to  be  in  itself  unjust 
and  oppressive,  and  contrary  to  the  purity  and  freedom  of  election ;  but 
is  justified  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  the  precedents  of  others.  Bui} 
I  am  satisfied,  that  it  is  not  only  wrong  in  principle  but  impolitic  in  prac«i 
tice,  and  will  fail  of  accomplishing  its  object  in  every  instance  where  it  iar 
tried.  I  am,  however,  glad  to  find,  after  a  great  deal  of  passion  and  bad 
temper,  that  its  advocates  are  softening  it  down  to  "  friendly  dealing.^i- 
Against  this  I  have  no  objection.  My  objection  has  always  been  againafi 
connecting  interest  with  voting ;  influencing  a  man  against  his  own  convic-- 
tions  by  promises  of  custom,  or  threats  to  withhold  it ;  and  the  assumption 
of  a  power  of  punishing  men  for  conscientious  opinions.  The  merits  of 
"exclusive  dealing"  I  take  now  to  be  set  at  rest;  and  I  hope  that  the 
tyranny  of  "  exclusive  employment,"  which  is  the  same  demon  in  another 
shape,  will  never  again  be  practised  in  Preston.  When  a  man  performs 
his  labour  according  to  his  agreement,  his  master  might  as  well  go  and  vio- 
late his  bed  as  interfere  with  the  sacred  rights  of  his  conscience.  How  can 
we  complain  of  the  tyranny  of  government,  if  we  seek  every  opportunity 
to  practise  it  among  ourselves  ? 

You  have  undertaken  the  responsible  oflSce  of  managing  a  weekly 
periodical,  and  I  need  not  say,  that  if  you  be  men  distinguished  either  for 
philanthropy  or  patriotism,  you  ought  to  lament  any  evil  effects  which 
your  writings  may  produce.  As  the  merit  of  a  cause  is  generally  esti- 
mated, in  the  public  mind,  by  the  way  in  which  it  is  advocated,  how  care; 
we  should  be,  lest  by  either  ignorance,  passion,  or  revenge,  we  shoi 
strangle  the  cause  it  is  our  object  to  uphold !  The  language  of  your  p 
per,  as  to  the  middling  and  the  upper  classes  in  society,  is  generally  of  thel 
most  criminatory,  provoking,  and  revengeful  cast.  It  is  easy  to  writ* 
thus  under  excited  feelings,  and  to  embody  in  declamation  charges  the 
most  unfounded ;  and,  unfortunately,  with  some,  language  like  that  of  fe** 
male  belligerents,  when  put  upon  paper,  is  received  as  sacred  truth.  Let 
charges  be  fixed  where  they  are  merited,  but  let  not  your  exasperated 
feelings  lead  you  to  condemn  the  guiltless,  because  they  happen  to  be 
grade  above  the  working  man.  Give  every  man  the  same  right  of  enjo; 
ing  political  opinion  as  yourselves ;  and  if  many  of  the  class  referred 
have  not  joined  you,  as  a  jiarty,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  excessive  abui 
you  pour  upon  them  is  the  principal  cause  ?  In  describing  the  pursuit! 
the  enjoyments,  and  the  character  of  the  middling  classes,  I  believe  you 
as  much  mistaken  as  you  are  in  reference  to  the  importance  of  capital, 
property,  uniting  with  labour  in  order  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  all.     Rail 


sti-; 


377 

as  you  may  against  capitalists,  and  magnify,  as  you  ought  to  do,  the  im- 
portancs  of  labour,  every  man  who  will  sit  down  coolly  to  examine  the 
subject,  will  perceive  the  indissoluble  connection  (especially  in  a  mercantile 
country)  betwixt  labour,  capital,  and  skill.     Thousands  are  misled  upon  this 
■  subject,  and,  because  by  bad  government,  by  monopolies,  and  by  the  ge- 
neral influence  of  bad  principles,  they  do  not  get  their  fair  portion  of  the 
national  produce,  their  hostility  is  indiscriminately  directed  against  those 
above  them.     If  you  wish  to  uncivilize  society,  and  to  let  every  man  live  by 
the  prey  he  may  catch,  you  have  a  strong  argument  for  a  leveling  system ; 
but  if  you  wish  to  secure  the  happiest  frame  work  of  society,  to  treat  the  de- 
lapidations  of  ages  with  the  hand  of  a  skilful  architect,  you  should  try  to 
!  teach  all  classes  to  respect  each  other,  and  to  make  common  cause  against 
the  known  enemies  of  the  national  weal.    Would  any  man,  in  order  to  open 
the  channels  of  prosperity  to  the  poor,  advise  the  breaking  up  of  every  foim- 
i  tain  of  capital  in  the  land  ?     No ;  one  class  cannot  do  without  the  other, 
any  more  than  the  hands  without  the  head,  the  arms  without  the  feet. 
,  We  are  all  boimd  together  in  a  manner  which  clearly  shows  it  is  our  duty 
i  and  interest  to  remain  so  ;  and  it  is  contrary  to  reason,  and  to  fact,  to  ex- 
pect any  success  in  reforming  our  institutions  while  one  class  is  taught  to 
bite  and  devour  another.     That  there  are  aristocrats  among  the  middling 
classes,  I  readily  admit ;  but  that  they  are  generally  opposed  to  the  poor,  or 
i  that  they  have  sought  any  exclusive  privilege  to  the  prejudice  of  others,  I 
venture  to  deny.     And  I  do  lament  most  deeply  the  vinceasing  attempts 
that  are  made  to  produce  this  false  impression.     What  is  it  that  carried 
I  the  Catholic  question,  that  repealed  the  Tests,  and  passed  the  Reform  Bill, 
but  the  united  voice  of  all  classes  I    What  was  the  phalanx  at  Birmingham, 
that  said,  at  the  critical  moment,  "  Let  Wellington  give  up,"  and  he  gave 
I  up,  but  an  union  of  all  grades,  from  the  rich  banker  to  the  humblest  arti- 
•'  san  ?     And  now  that  the  bill  is  passed,  which,  though  it  does  not  confer 
j  the  right  of  equal  representation,  adds  considerably  to  the  popular  consti- 
I  tuency,  and  destroys  a  great  number  of  the  forts  of  corruption,  let  us  ra- 
ther conciliate  than  provoke  the  upper  classes,  to  induce  them  to  join  us  in 
'  the  main  struggle  which  is  yet  to  take  place  in  the  new  parliament ;  and 
if  we  cannot  secure,  let  us  at  least  prove  by  our  conduct  that  we  deserve, 
the  sanction  and  support  of  every  order  in  society. 

But  you  ui-ge  your  readers  to  physical  resistance,  to  the  stcord,  and  to 
the  shedding  of  blood !  and  this  not  merely  against  some  foreign  or  domes- 
tic foe  of  our  country,  but  against  your  neighbours  who  happeu  to  be  more 
affluent  than  yourselves !  In  an  article  headed  "  Cotton  Lords,"  the  first 
sentence  is — "  And  the  di-v  sabre  longs  to  pay  in  BLOOD  our  uuimagin- 


978 


1 


able  wrongs ! ! ! "  and  the  whole  article  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  he- 
ginning.  Now,  I  ask  you  seriously,  do  you  mean  what  you  eay  ?  for  this 
is  no  subject  for  trifling.  To  raze  the  foundations  of  society,  to  trample 
upon  the  law,  to  level  all  distinctions,  to  whet  the  sword,  and  to  sabre 
your  fellows,  is  too  much  for  language  to  sport  with,  and  cannot  proceed 
from  a  sober  mind,  wishful  for  immediate,  peaceable,  and  rational  im- 
provements. How  many  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  have  been  incarcerated,  transported,  or  finished  their  career 
on  the  gallows,  through  advice  like  this !  Let  the  working  men  of  Pres- 
ton beware  of  such  counsel :  if  you  choose  to  write  and  publish  treason, 
Gk)d  grant  that  the  innocent  may  not  suffer  through  your  rash  advice !  t 
can  make  every  allowance  for  the  flights  of  enthusiasm,  and  for  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  poet ;  but  I  do  say,  that,  in  reference  to  this  most  serioua 
subject,  you  are  daring  the  severity  of  the  law,  and  engendering  design* 
which  you  may  one  day  have  reason  to  repent. 

I  presume  not  to  judge  of  your  moral  or  religious  views,  but  allow  me 
to  express  my  deep  regret  that  papers  are  admitted  which  are  neither 
friendlv  to  the  one  nor  the  other  ;  and  while  scripture  phraseology  is  used 
to  excess,  a  defiance  of  its  principles  is  maintained  without  disguise.  Be-^ 
ware  how  you  sow  the  poisonous  seeds  of  infidelity,  and  thus  (whether  de- 
signedly or  not,  I  will  not  say)  rob  your  readers  of  the  strongest  incen- 
tives to  virtue,  and  the  only  cheering  stimulant  of  hope. 

If,  before  I  conclude,  I  am  asked  what  I  want  to  be  done,  I  answer 
in  the  first  place,  let  every  man  before  he  attempts  to  reform  the  govemi 
ment  or  the  nation,  reform  himself.  This  done,  let  all  classes  unite  to  ob' 
tain  a  constitutional  redress  for  all  our  grievances.  Let  all  our  applica 
tions  carry  with  them  the  weight  of  intelligence  and  character ;  and  thei 
we  may  proceed,  as  in  the  bond  of  brotherhood,  to  petition  and  to  remon< 
strate  for  the  extension  of  the  franchise — the  removal  of  the  taxes  oi 
knowledge — the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws — the  abolition  of  slavery — tlu 
opening  of  the  trade  to  India  and  China — the  separation  of  church  an< 
state — and  every  other  salutary  revision  of  our  laws.  You  may  advise  i 
much  shorter,  a  head-long  course,  but  the  event  will  prove — as  it  ha« 
often  proved  during  the  last  twenty  years — that  the  failure  of  your  objed 
will  be  in  proportion  to  the  rashness  of  your  means. 

One  other  request,  and  I  have  done.  When  any  of  your  writers  thini 
proper  to  honour  my  name  with  so  many  virtues,  in  order  that  I  may  she\ 
my  gratitude,  you  will  be  pleased  to  order  them  to  give  their  names. 
am  sure  your  manly  spirit  must  detest  the  ambush  assassin,  and  equally  9< 
ought  you  to  disown  every  anonymous  accuser.      This  reasonable  request 


379 

will  have  the  effect  of  bringing  the  parties  face  to  face,  and  of  clear- 
ing others  that  may  be  suspected.  I  lay  down  my  pen  in  perfect  good  hu- 
mour, and  with  my  best  wishes  for  your  real  prosperity ;  and  if  this  paper 
should  be  noticed,  in  reply,  I  demand,  as  an  honourable  condition,  that 
my  antagonist  give  his  real  name.  J.  LIVESEY. 


THE  INTERESTS  OF  SOCIETY. 

"  In  faith  and  hope  the  world  will  disagree, 
But  all  mankind's  concern  is  charity : 
All  must  be  false  that  thwart  this  one  great  end, 
And  all  of  God  that  bless  mankind,  or  mend." 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — In  my  last  communication  I  briefly  considered  the  moral  duties  of  societies,  first 
to  consult  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  then  to  regard  the  interest  of  individuals;  and 
according  to  my  promise,  I  now  proceed  to  offer  a  few  observations  upon  the  duty  of  indi- 
viduals, considered  as  members  of  society. 

The  duty  of  man  as  a  social  being  is,  first,  to  consult  for  his  own  welfare  and  that  of 
his  immediate  dependants,  and  then  to  regard  the  interests  of  the  community  to  which  he 
belongs.  On  the  first  of  these  duties  mankind  is  universally  agreed,  both  in  theory  and 
practice,  and  to  the  all  prevalent  principle  of  self  love  it  may  be  safely  committed,  which 
influences  our  actions  with  the  certainty  and  almost  the  regularity  of  instinct.  But  with 
respect  to  the  second  it  is  very  different,  for  there  are  very  many  who  are  so  engrossed  with 
the  first  of  these  social  duties,  that  they  never  step  over  the  domestic  threshold  to  engage  in 
the  promotion  of  the  common  weal.  We  see  men  toiling  with  incessant  care  and  specu- 
lating anxiously  for  personal  and  relative  aggrandizement,  who  heap  up  treasures  and  ex- 
tend their  possessions  beyond  what  their  own  wants  or  those  of  their  immediate  dependants 
can  possibly  require ;  and  all  this  is  accomplished  with  a  view  to  so  perform  the  first  social 
duty  as  to  put  it  out  of  the  reach  of  Providence  to  thwart  their  one  great  aim.  This 
impious  practice  is  nicely  veiled  under  the  specious  pretence  of  "  pro%-iding  against  future 
contingencies,"  but  is,  in  fact,  an  unacknowledged  desire  of  gratifying  self  love  by  rendering 
ns  independent  of  God,  and  dispensing  with  the  necessity  of  supplicating,  "  Give  us  bread 
sufficient  for  to-day."  I  would  by  no  means  advocate  a  disregard  for  the  future,  for  I  con- 
ceive it  is  our  duty  to  make  provision  for  the  morrow,  and  he  who  inconsiderately  or  wan- 
tonly squanders  his  provisions,  with  a  hope  that  to-morrow  will  provide  for  its  own 
necessities,  is  only  less  guilty,  in  his  presumptuous  confidence,  than  he  who  clings  to  his 
wealth  in  injurious  distrust  or  impious  independence.  What  I  would  inculcate  is  a  full  use 
of  the  means  which  are  at  our  disposal  for  the  general  good  of  society  ;  that  no  one  should 
allow  interest  to  accumulate  upon  an  overgrown  capital,  or  should  be  restrained  from  acts 
of  benificence  from  a  fear  of  future  and  undefined  necessities  ;  that  man,  having  compe- 
tently provided  for  his  own  or  his  dependants*  wants,  is  bound,  by  the  social  compact,  to  ex- 
pend his  surplus  in  relief  of  the  necessities  of  his  fellows.  The  experience  of  all  ages  con- 
firms the  truth  of  divine  declaration,  that  riches  are  the  gifts  of  God.  The  agency  of 
man  is  required  to  obtain  them,  and,  generally,  in  proportion  as  he  exerts  his  agency,  will 


sao 

he  his  success ;  yet  as  Nature  was  created  and  is  subjected  to  his  control  by  God,  as  p 
thousand  little  circumstances  over  which  the  agent  has  no  power  may  either  advance  or 
thwart  his  endeavours,  and  as  his  very  capability  of  action  is  entirely  the  bestowment  and 
under  the  will  of  the  Supreme,  man  has  no  right  to  presume  that  his  wealth  is  his  own,  bi^ 
ought  ever  to  consider  that  he  is  but  entrusted  with  it  by  the  real  owner  for  specific  pur- 
poses, and  to  that  owner  he  must  consequently  be  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  he  dia'' 
charges  his  trust.  It  has  often  struck  me  with  surprise  that  mankind  should  so  generally 
form  their  estimate  of  a  man's  claim  to  honour  and  respect  from  his  capabilily  of  conferring 
happiness,  rather  than  the  blessings  he  actually  dispenses.  We  are  all  anxious  to  claim 
kindred  or  acquaintanceship  with  the  rich  and  great,  but  how  very  indifferent  we  usually  are 
to  establish  an  alliance  with  him  whose  benevolence  is  greater  than  his  wealth,  and  whose 
beneficence  is  manifested  at  the  expence  of  his  personal  gratifications,  aud  often  of  his  com^ 
forts !  The  world,  I  believe,  generally  j?tdges  rightly  of  a  man's  character,  but  seldom  acts 
upon  that  judgment.  Even  the  wisest  of  men  have  stooped  to  the  practices  of  society  at 
large,  and  while  they  have  presented  to  our  admiration  charity  decked  in  all  her  heavenly 
beauty,  extolled  the  patriot  who  has  sacrificed  all  to  his  country's  welfare,  lauded  the  vir- 
tue in  rags  and  benevolence  in  the  midst  of  privation,  they  have  bent  the  knee  to  mammon, 
and  basked  in  the  smile  of  opulence  and  luxury.  While  such  is  the  case,  can  we  wondw 
that  men  should  generally  entertain  such  mistaken  conceptions  of  the  value  of  wealth,  an4 
should  hesitate  to  diminish  what  tends  so  materially  to  procure  them  respect  and  esteem  f 
It  is  only  when  we  raise  the  standard  of  morals  from  the  practices  of  the  world  to  the 
maxims  of  the  wise  and  good,  that  we  shall  be  led  to  a  right  view  of  this  important  question, 
or  when  we  turn  to  the  fountain  of  all  genuine  morality,  the  declared  will  of  God,  concern- 
ing the  duty  of  man  to  man,  which  will  generally,  I  believe,  be  found  to  be  but  a  clearer 
exposition  of  the  great  principles  of  human  philosophy,  stamped  with  the  seal  of  unerring 
truth.  From  these  sources  happiness  is  ever  declared  to  flow — from  dispensing  enjoyment, 
rather  than  from  a  selfish  restriction  of  the  means  of  happiness  to  our  individual  gratifica- 
tion ; — that  he  who  imparts  is  twice  blessed,  for  he  confers  a  blessing  on  himself  and  upon 
another ; — that  charity  (the  manifestation  at  least  of  which  is  beneficence)  is  the  most  e3t< 
cellent  of  all  Christian  virtues :  and  yet,  Sir,  one  would  think,  from  the  general  practices 
of  mankind,  that  these  were  only  old  wives'  fables,  or,  at  best,  the  improved  speculations 
of  theorists,  and  that  in  reality  happiness  consisted  in  accumulation,  or  flowed  from  sensual 
gratification.  If,  however,  it  be  true  that  all  things  were  created  by  God  for  the  good  «f 
mankind,  if  it  be  true  that  man  is  but  the  steward  of  what  he  possesses,  and  that  he  will  be 
required  hereafter  to  render  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  his  trust, 
a  fearful  reckoning  awaits  the  possessors  of  wealth  of  the  present  day,  who  lay  house  to 
house  and  barn  to  barn,  and  lay  up  stores  for  futurity,  and  say  to  their  souls,  "  Eat,  dri; 
and  be  merry,  for  thou  hast  much  store  laid  up  for  many  days,  and  hast  now  finished 
business  of  life,  so  that  nothing  remains  for  thee  during  the  remainder  of  thy  days  bul 
take  thy  ease  and  enjoy  thy  pleasures."  Is  not  this  the  practical  language  of  the  man 
Some  of  these  persons  will  indeed  pay  their  two  or  three  guineas  a  year  to  the  collectors  of 
as  many  benevolent  institutions,  and  think  they  have  thus  done  enough  to  satisfy  the  claiiu 
of  social  obligations ;  or,  content  with  the  provision  of  the  poor's  laws,  conceive  tliat  the 
legislature  have  made  a  compromise  with  God,  and  have  taken  the  duty  of  charity  off  their 
hands — an  enactment  for  which  they  feel  heartily  thankful,  as  it  relieves  them  from  a  task 
that  they  would  have  found  very  irksome,  and  very  detrimental  to  that  repose  which  they 


e  to 

] 


381 

imagine  both  mind  and  body  must  need  after  such  unremittuig  toil  for  wealth  and  such 
anxious  thought  for  future  abundance,  and  any  interference  with  which  they  imagine  would 
detract  from  their  dignity  and  diminish  their  enjoyment.  Having  accumulated  an  ample 
provision  for  their  own  wants  and  those  of  their  dependants,  they  conceive  they  are  not 
called  upon  to  concern  themselves  any  longer  with  public  affairs,  but  may  wholly  retire  to 
eke  out  the  remainder  of  life  in  self  indulgence  and  slothful  inactivity.  Nothing  can  be 
more  pernicious,  both  to  the  individuals  themselves  and  to  society  at  large,  than  such  prac- 
tices. Idleness  is  the  great  bane  of  life,  and,  so  far  from  ensuring  happiness,  is  a  certain 
passport  to  misery,  for,  as  a  great  moralist  observed,  "  Idleness  never  can  secure  tranquil- 
lity :  the  call  of  reason  and  of  conscience  will  pierce  the  closest  pavilion  of  the  sluggard, 
and  though  it  may  not  have  force  to  drive  him  from  his  down,  will  be  loud  enough  to  hinder 
him  from  sleep.  Those  moments  which  he  cannot  resolve  to  make  useful  by  devoting 
them  to  the  great  business  of  his  being,  will  still  be  usurped  by  powers  that  will  not  leave 
them  thus  disposed:  remorse  and  vexation  will  seize  upon  them,  and  forbid  him  to  enjoy 
what  he  is  so  desirous  to  appropriate." 

The  man  who  is  freed  from  the  necessity  of  toiling  for  his  daily  bread  seems  to  me  to 
be  set  apart  by  Providence  for  the  service  of  the  country,  and  if  he  spend  his  time  in  selfish 
inactivity,  he  perverts  the  object  of  his  being,  and  is  unworthy  of  sharing  in  the  blessings 
of  society.  The  miseries  that  afflict  our  race  are  so  numerous  that  no  one  need  to  complain 
of  want  of  occupation,  and  yet  how  very  common  is  it  to  hear  of  persons  of  fortune  engag- 
ing in  trade,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  employment!  and  how  many  are  the  less 
innocent  schemes  which  fashion  invents  to  beguile  away  time,  and  to  find  channels  for  the 
circulation  of  superfluous  income !  These  individuals  little  know  the  luxury  of  beneficence, 
and  how  much  more  solid  and  durable  are  the  pleasures  which  spring  from  an  active  occu- 
pation in  the  cause  of  humanity,  than  the  unnecessary  employment  of  time  in  trade,  or  the 
criminal  loss  of  existence  in  the  engagements  of  dissipation  and  folly.  One  would  really 
suppose,  from  the  practice  of  the  wealthy,  that  it  is  below  the  dignity  of  man  to  relieve  the 
distressed,  to  comfort  those  who  mourn,  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  and  to  reclaim  the  dissi- 

■  pated ;  or  that  there  is  no  distressed  to  relieve,  no  mourner  to  comfort,  no  ignorant  to  in- 
struct, and  no  dissipated  to  reclaim:  and  yet  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  beneficence,  which 
ennobles  Deity  and  adorns  the  angels  of  heaven,  could  be  thought  to  degrade  man,  and  to 
be  unworthy  of  his  serious  attention  and  unremitting  labour;  and  not  less  strange  would  it 
be  if  any  man  could  shut  his  eyes  to  the  misery  that  so  extensively  prevails  on  every  side. 
"  True,"  many  will  say,  "  we  know  that  misery  is  extensively  prevalent,  but  then  we  be- 
lieve it  to  be  in  many  instances  self  induced  and  merited,  and  consequently  it  does  not  call 
for  our  particular  interference.  If  men  will  be  indolent,  improvident,  or  dissolute,  we  cannot 
prevent  them  from  suffering  the  natural  consequences  of  their  folly  or  guilt ;  and  were  we  to 
attempt  it,  we  should  be  interfering  with  the  natural  operations  of  Providence."     I  am  well 

,  aware  that,  were  it  possible,  it  would  be  highly  impolitic,  to  separate  misery  from  folly  and 

!  crime.  God  has  joined  them  in  wisdom,  and  man  ought  not  to  endeavour  to  separate  them  : 
but  if  such  be  the  case,  it  is  so  far  from  being  an  excuse  for  non-interference,  that  it  only 
calls  the  louder  for  exertion.  If  misery  be  inseparable  from  ignorance,  idleness,  and  dissi- 
pation, must  it  not  excite  a  wish  in  every  benevolent  heart  to  remove  that  ignorance,  to 

'  stimulate  to  industry,  and  to  reclaim  the  dissipated  ?     What  object  could  I*  more  com- 
mendable, what  exertions  could  be  more  noble  ? 
VOL.  II.  3  A 


I 


983 

I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  labours  even  of  benevolent  men  have  been  hitherto 
in  inost  instances  mis-directed :  they  have  been  endeavouring  to  stem  the  river  of  iniquity, 
while  they  have  neglected  the  sources  (except,  indeed,  the  Great  Master  and  genuine  disci*  . : 
pies  of  Christian  philosophy:)  they  have  left  untrained  the  moral  faculties  of  the  mind,  .■  i 
and  have  not  sufficiently  endeavoured  to  engraft  on  the  wild  tree  the  fruitful  stock  of  ' 
genuine  Christianity,  but  have  wasted  their  efforts  in  lopping  off  the  luxuriant  shoots  of  ; 
sin,  and  restricting  the  poisonous  branches  of  immorality  and  impiety. 

This  subject  brings  to  mind  a  beautiful  ethical  sentiment  uttered  by  the  Bishop  of  thli 
diocese,  in  his  late  charge  to  his  clergy:  "  No  law,"  observed  the  eminent  divine,  "  can  re- 
strain a  bad  heart,  and  a  good  heart  needs  none."    This  should  be  the  principle  upon  which  • 
every  philanthropic  endeavour  should  be  based.     Society  will  never  be  regenerated  tiU  , 
men  begin  more  generally  to  labour  at  the  heart.     The  legislature  may  enact  laws  for  the  i 
punishment  of  crime,  they  may  open  the  flood-gates  of  commerce,  they  may  lighten  our  na-  ;] 
tional  burdens  and  increase  our  wealth;  and  all  this  is  very  desirable;  but  on  individual  !■ 
labour  will  still  depend  the  permanent  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  people.     Legislative  i! 
enactments  can  only  clear  the  way  for  individual  exertion ;  they  never  can  supersede  its  j 
necessity.     Wealth  can  only  supply  us  with  leisure  for  personal  attention  to  the  conditio^ 
of  the  poor;  it  never  can  supersede  the  necessity  of  that  attention.     It  may  enable  us  til 
institute  a  more  extended  and  improved  system  of  religious  and  moral  instruction,  but  wk: 
must  not  leave  the  work  wholly  in  the  hands  of  hirelings,  or  it  will  either  be  neglected  or 
inefficiently  performed. 

To  the  rich  I  appeal  by  all  the  ties  that  bind  them  to  society,  by  their  responsibiliW 
to  God,  by  their  love  to  man,  and  by  their  love  of  virtue,  to  put  their  hand  to  the  motA 
plough,  and  cultivate  the  rich  but  too  much  neglected  soil  of  human  society.  Here  they 
will  find  an  ample  field  for  employment,  a  rich  return  for  the  investment  of  their  surploi 
capital,  and  the  most  delightful  of  all  pleasures,  that  of  doing  good.  Permit  me,  by  way  itf 
example,  to  draw  two  pictures,  the  former  of  which  is  rarely  met  with,  but  the  latter  % 
familiar  to  every  one.  For  the  first  portrait  I  may  take  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Frienib 
who  lately  paid  a  visit  to  this  town,  I  mean  Joseph  John  Guerney.  This  gentleman  is  pofr 
sessed,  I  understand,  of  very  considerable  property,  and  is  wholly  fi-eed  from  the  necessity 
of  providing  for  his  own  wants  or  comforts ;  and  yet  he  does  not  complain  of  want  of  occi 
pation,  or  unnecessarily  augment  his  capital  by  trade,  but  goes  about  proclaiming  the  trul 
of  divine  revelation  to  his  fellow  men  in  the  most  kind  and  affecting  manner,  both  by  p: 
cept  and  example,  exhibiting  the  loveliness  of  practical  religion,  and  persuading  men 
repentance ;  his  field  of  labour,  like  that  of  his  Great  Master,  is  in  the  haunts  of  vii 
poverty,  and  disease ;  he  proclaims  liberty  to  the  captive,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  the  mi 
desirable  of  all  liberty,  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  Satan,  the  liberty  whi 
with  Christ  makes  his  people  free;"  he  opens  up  stores  of  wealth  for  the  poor,  and  po' 
into  the  wounded  conscience  the  balm  of  spiritual  consolation.  His  heart  is  ever  ready 
sympathize  with  distress,  his  hand  is  ever  open  to  relieve  the  necessitous,  and  the  rich  trefr 
sury  of  his  mind  is  ever  pouring  forth  gems  of  religious  and  moral  beauty.  Crime  bows  f^, 
head  and  weeps  at  his  gentle  reproof,  and  hope  smiles  through  despair  at  his  affection! 
encouragement.  Want  flies  at  his  approach,  and  disease  forgets  its  pain.  A  moral  atmi 
phere  seemS  to  surround  such  a  man,  into  the  sphere  of  which  no  one  can  enter  but  he  fei 


I 


383 


iU  induenoe. — From  this  picture  let  us  turn  to  another  of  a  different  description.  Lord 
is  possessed  of  ample  domains,  he  lives  in  a  stately  mansion,  is  surrounded  with  trem- 
bling menials,  who  anticipate  his  wishes  ;  his  equipage  is  splendid ;  his  horses  are  entered 
in  every  race  list ;  the  newspapers  announce  his  arrival  wherever  he  appears  ;  he  feeds  on 
the  most  costly  and  various  viands,  and  drinks  the  richest  wines  ;  he  never  thinks  seriously 
of  religion ;  his  conversation  is  frivolous,  and  blackened  with  numerous  oaths ;  morality  he 
holds  in  open  defiance ;  his  boast  is  of  ruined  farmers  and  insolvent  creditors ;  the  poor  he 
shuns,  and  disease  he  loathes ;  he  is  often  seen  at  the  gaming  table,  and  is  familiar  at  the 
five's  court;  he  is  dreaded  at  home,  and  feared  abroad.  In  the  estimation  of  himself  and 
of  the  world,  this  man  supports  his  dignity  in  a  becoming  manner,  while  the  other  degrades 
himself  by  his  virtues.  Wherever  the  one  goes,  society  is  contaminated :  wherever  the 
lOther  goes,  society  is  improved.  My  Lord  is  followed  with  the  smothered  execrations  of 
the  poor,  Mr.  Guerney  with  their  blessing.  My  Lord  is  engrossed  with  his  own  pleasures, 
•  Mr.  Guerney  with  the  interests  of  mankind.  My  Lord  is  beset  with  clamorous  creditors 
on  every  hand,  Mr.  Guerney  is  punctual  and  just.  My  Lord  is  a  prey  in  secret  to  an  ac- 
icusing  conscience ;  Mr.  Guerney's  mind  is  peaceful  and  content.  My  Lord  is  a  prey  to 
(disease ;  Mr.  Guerney  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  robust  health.  Which  is  the  most  enviable 
[condition,  whose  conduct  is  the  most  worthy  of  imitation,  and  whose  character  is  the  most 
dignified  and  estimable  ? 

With  your  permission,  I  will  pursue  this  subject  in  a  future  number. 

PHILANTHROPOS. 


MR.  P.  B.  TBMPLETON'S  SYSTEM  OF  ARITHMETIC. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — Knowing  that  you  are  a  friend  to  whatever  tends  to  intellectual  culture  and  mo- 
al  improvement,  I  doubt  not  you  will  favour  me  by  the  insertion  of  the  following  article 
-•onnected  with  these  objects.  It  was  but  lately  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  becoming  ac- 
}uainted  with  Mr.  P.  B.  Templeton  of  your  town,  the  author  of  a  very  ingenious,  and,  I 
;hink,  most  practicable  system  of  arithmetic,  which  is  now  adopted  in  many  of  the  first 
;eminaries  of  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Paisley  (his  native  town,)  Greenock,  Kilmarnock,  and 
)ther  influential  places  in  Scotland ;  and  amongst  a  number  of  the  teachers  whohave  adopted 
Mr.  Templeton's  plan,  are  many  who  are  themselves  authors  of  books  on  arithmetic  and 
nathematics,  of  much  merit.  Mr.  Templeton's  system  embraces,  in  a  high  degree,  the  cha- 
lacteristics  o{ simplicity,  economy,  and  efficacy,  qualities  at  all  times  %-alual)le,  but  now  more 
han  ewer  adapted  to  the  state  of  society  and  the  altered  condition  of  our  country. 

Many  of  the  first  scholars  of  the  nation  have  expressed  their  strongest  approbation  of 
ikir.  Templeton's  Arithmetical  Rods  and  Key,  and  I  have  seen  a  great  number  of  letters  from 
ihe  most  distinguished  men,  addressed  to  the  author,  conveying  their  unqualified  approval  of 
iiis  plan,  amongst  whom  are  the  Very  Rev.  Principal  Baird,  of  Edinburgh,  Professors  Wil- 
onand  PiUans,  Edinburgh;  Sir  D.  R.  Sandford,  Glasgow  College;  Dr.  Birkbeck,  of  Lon- 
lon,  &c.  &c. :  and  I  have  one  name  yet  to  mention,  whose  opinion  stamps  a  ivtisht  and 


imparts  an  authority  which  none  will  dispute.  The  Lord  Chancellor  Brougham  thus  speaks 
of  Mr.  Templeton's  system :  "  This  ia  the  plan  I  have  been  looking  for  all  my  life.  It  must 
be  published." 

Mr.  Templeton,  by  means  of  rods,  which  are  four-sided,  on  three  sides  of  which  he 
has  stamped  figures,  has  so  simplified  all  the  rules  in  arithmetic,  from  the  most  simple  to 
the  most  compound,  that  the  pupil  has  only  to  place  under  each  other  any  number  of  rods 
necessary,  and  then  the  figures  are  summed  up  by  the  learner;  and  the  immense  practice 
which  this  new  system  affords  to  youth  tends  to  the  greatest  perfection  in  this  useful  branch 
of  education. 

There  is  a  key  to  the  rods  which  shows  the  answers,  so  that  the  teacher  can  examine 
jifty  pupils,  or  twice  that  number,  at  a  time,  and  in  a  moment  detect  the  least  error  in  the 
solution.  This  is  not  a  mere  mechanical  process,  depending  solely  on  the  memory,  but  in 
the  highest  degree  it  informs  the  judgment,  and  admirably  prepares  the  learner  for  active, 
practical  life.  By  the  old  plans  of  arithmetic  only  one  question  can  be  presented  at  once  to 
a  class,  so  that  an  active  pupil  can  do  no  more  than  a  dull  one :  by  means  of  Mr.  Templeton's 
large  figures  for  classes  a  great  number  of  questions  are  presented  at  once,  and  these  also  in 
a  great  variety  of  rules — in  fact,  in  any  rule,  from  simple  addition  upwards  through  reduc- 
tion, proportion,  practice,  and  interest ;  so  that  a  school,  however  numerous,  may  thus  be 
constantly  and  profitably  employed.  All  that  the  tutor  has  to  do  is  to  explain  and  demon- 
strate to  the  pupil  at  his  commencement.  The  rods  or  figures  present  the  question  to  be 
worked  (above  7,000  in  number)  and  the  process  is  so  natural,  and  the  learner's  mind  is 
so  agreeably  engaged,  as  to  render  this  branch  of  tuition  both  pleasing  and  instructive. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  truly, 

Glasgow,  10th  October,  1832.  E.  M. 


PRESTON  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 


TO    THE   YOUNG   MEN    AND   WOMEN    OF   PRESTON. 


I 


My  Friends! 

Will  you  lend  me  your  attention  for  a  few  minutes,  in  the  perusal  of  this  address 
a  subject  of  vital  interest  to  you  and  the  British  nation  generally  ?  You  have  often  hea 
of  Temperance  Societies:  it  is  likely  that  many  of  you  have  attended  at  some  of  th< 
meetings.  Since  my  arrival,  on  business,  in  this  town,  I  have  spent  several  delightful  eve 
ing  hours  at  the  weekly  meetings,  at  the  "  Temperance  Hall,"  Stonygate,  and  other  plact 
in  which  the  members  of  the  Society  meet  to  promote  the  cause,  and  which  are  general! 
crowded  with  very  attentive  persons. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  town  in  the  empire  (not  even  excepting  Glasgow  and  Manchei 
ter)  which  shows  more  zeal  in  the  temperance  cause  than  Preston ;  and  I  am  glad  to  si 
so  many  young  people  of  both  sexes  attend.  It  is  of  great  moment  that  youth  should  hav 
correct  ideas  of  the  dreadful  iiature  and  sinful  character  of  intemperance,  that  they  shouli 
guard  themselves,  in  the  morning  of  life,  against  those  fatal  snares,  which,  on  the  rigl 
hand  and  on  the  left,  are  laid  against  their  sobriety  and  virtue. 


385 

My  young  friends,  let  me  induce  you  to  enlist  under  the  banner  of  temperance.  If 
you  wish  to  have  a  sound  constitution,  seek  it  by  temperance.  If  you  wish  to  have  a 
cultivated  mind,  seek  it  by  temperance.  If  you  wish  to  have  the  esteem  of  wise  men, 
the  favour  of  heaven,  and  to  have  peace  in  your  own  breast,  seek  it  by  temperance. 
"  Be  temperate  in  all  things."  This  is  the  command  of  God ;  and  the  example  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world  recommends  this  virtue  to  you,  in  all  its  attractive  charms,  in  all 
its  everlasting  worth.  Look  around  you.  See  the  grey-headed  drunkards !  Listen  to 
their  loud  blasphemy,  and  take  warning,  by  their  wretched  lives  and  horrible  deaths, 
to  flee  from  those  awfully  destructive  paths  of  intemperance  in  which  they  were  ruined. 
Begin  right,  continue  right,  and  your  sun  shall  be  bright,  even  in  the  dark  wintry  day. 

The  temptations:  with  which  you  are  surrounded  are  great  and  manifold.  Study  how 
you  may  escape  these.  Keep  from  the  appearance  of  evil.  Now  is  the  seed-time  for  you : 
!  your  character,  for  time  and  eternity,  is  taking  its  hue.  You  wish  to  be  happy.  Remem- 
I  ber  that  true  piety  is  the  only  path-way  to  it.  The  all-prevailing  vice  of  our  country  is 
I  intemperance,  and  in  large  manufacturing  towns  this  vice  shows  most  its  impudent  front ; 
and  youth  should  ever  be  alive  to  the  voice  of  friendship,  and  the  lessons  of  instruction, 
•pointing  out  to  them  the  road  to  virtue  in  this  world,  and  glory  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
;f  May  you  make  a  wrise  choice ! 

That  you  may  have  some  idea  of  the  great  extent  of  dissipation  in  our  country,  I  will 
inform  you  of  the  enormous  quantity  of  spirits,  wine,  ale,  porter,  &c.  which  are  annually 
consumed,  namely,  fifty  millions  of  pounds'  worth.  It  has  been  calculated  that  this  sum 
would  purchase  a  quantity  which  would  make  a  river  of  three  feet  deep,  sixty  yards  wide, 
and  eighty-four  and  a  half  miles  long!  Think,  my  young  friends,  of  the  dreadful  wrecks 
that  are  daily  seen  on  this  river  of  liquid  fire !  It  poisons  all  the  vallies  through  which  it 
runs.  To  venture  near  its  pestilential  banks  is  the  road  to  ruin.  "  Touch  not,  taste  not, 
handle  not"  of  this  horrid  river.  It  is  more  poisonous  than  all  the  rank  weeds  of  the  world. 
Young  men,  you  little  think,  when  you  commence  with  what  you  call  the  "  moderate 
glass,"  how  near  you  are  to  the  fatal  brink  of  this  destructive  river!  Will  you  not,  hence- 
forth, unite  with  those  zealous  and  virtuous  persons,  in  Preston,  who  are  now  "  fighting  a 
good  fight"  against  the  monster-foe  of  our  land?  Here  is  a  field  of  usefulness  for  you. 
Here  you  may  spend  a  few  delightful  evening  hours,  in  doing  good  and  receiving  good,  in 
cultivating  your  minds  and  expanding  every  moral  and  pious  affection,  till  you  know  the 
fulness  of  Christianity.  Is  not  this  your  duty  and  your  interest  ?  How  much  better  to 
be  thus  employed  than  to  be  throwing  away  your  precious  hours,  destroying  your  health, 
wasting  your  property,  ruining  your  minds,  and  sinning  against  God,  by  sitting  in  the 
•'chair  of  the  scorner,"  in  public  houses  and  dram  shops  ?  Can  you  for  one  moment  hesi- 
ate  which  is  the  best  way  ?  You  cannot.  Then  you  are  self-condemned,  if  you  do  not 
-niter  heartily  and  perseveringly  into  that  course  of  life  which  is  now  set  before  you. 
Soever  be  turned  aside  by  the  laughter  of  fools  or  the  taunts  of  the  wicked ;  but  knowing 
he  right  way,  and  seeing  the  good,  seek  strength  from  God  to  walk  in  it,  and  you  will 
ind  a  peace  and  pleasure  which  the  dissipated  and  the  vicious  sons  and  daughters  of  folly 

never  can  know. 

I  am  your  sincere  friend, 

EDWARD  MORRIS, 
Preston,  29th  October,  1832.  .  Ot  Glasgow. 


386 

MORE  EXACTIONS. 

(from  the  DURHAM  CHRONICLE.) 


Sir, — The  following  specimen  of  the  rapacity  of  the  English  Church  having  come  to 
my  knowledge,  I  beg  the  insertion  of  it  in  your  valuable  and  extensively  circulated  journal, 
from  which,  I  perceive,  you  are  a  fearless  opponent  and  exposer  of  corruption  and  oppres- 
sion, whatever  name  or  form  these  may  assume. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Stratten,  Independent  minister  of  this  town,  and  author  of  the 
well-known  works  on  the  Priesthood  and  Tithes  (published  in  1830)  having  objected  to   j 
pay  church  rates  in  the  parish  of  Bishopwearmouth,  in  which  he  resides,  not  only  on  the   j 
ground  of  their  being  repugnant  to  all  sense  of  justice,  but  also  that,  by  paying  them,  he   j 
would  be  contributing  to  the  support  of  a  state  religion,  which  he  conceives  to  be  directly 
opposed  to  the  precepts  and  example  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  he  was  summoned  before 
the  magistrates,  to  show  cause  why  he  refused  payment.     He  appeared  before  them,  and 
was  asked  if  he  had  any  legal  ground  for  resisting  the  demand.     He  replied  that  he  had 
not,  and  handed  to  the  magistrates  a  written  document,  in  which  his  reasons  for  refusing 
to  pay  were  set  forth,  and  then  left  the  bench.     A  warrant  was  next  granted,  on  the  ap- 
plication of  Mr.  William  Hill,  the  churchwarden,  who  has  held  that  office,  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Rector,  for  eight  or  ten  years ;  and  a  constable,  named  Smith,  was  employed 
to  distrain  for  the  amount  of  the  claim,  10s.  lOd.,  two  years'  rate  being  then  due,  with  the 
costs  of  the  warrant,  &c.     Smith,  and  another  constable  of  the  name  of  Atkinson,  entered 
the  house  of  Mr.  Stratten,  and  took  from  thence  a  bronzed  tea  urn,  presented  by  a  relative 
to  Mrs.  Stratten,  value  60s.,  seven  chairs,  value  28s.,  and  a  copper  pan,  value  7s.  6d.,  in 
all  about  95s.  6d.     Next  followed  the  disposal  of  the  booty.      It  will  scarcely  be  believed, 
but  I  am  informed,  on  good  authority,  that  the  chairs  were  sold,  by  private  contract,  to  th 
constable,  Atkinson,  for  the  paltry  sum  of  5s.     The  other  goods  were  taken  to  a  sal« 
about  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  there  put  up  by  auction.    The  tea  urn  was  knocked  dowi 
to  Smith,  the  constable,  for  Hill,  the  churchwarden,  there  being  no  other  bidders,  for  22i 
The  copper  pan  went  to  the  auctioneer,  for  3s.  6d.     In  all,  the  sum  of  30s.  6d.  was  raised 
showing  a  loss  of  above  £Z  in  the  sale  of  these  few  articles. 


s.  d. 

The  charge  for  distraining  was  5  6 

Auctioneer's  charge 2  0 

Duty     1  1 

Demand   10  10 

Law  chlarges     9  0 

Balance    2  1 


l\   10     6 


£. 

The  urn  sold  for 1 

The  copper  pan 0 

The  chairs 0 


s. 

d. 

2 

0 

3 

6 

5 

0 

£,1  10     6 


The  balance  was  handed  to  Mr.  Stratten,  by  the  ministers  of  the  law,  with  this  vail 
able  information,  that  they  could  have  charged  more  than  they  had  done,  but  had  forhom 
to  exercise  their  full  authority.     Thus  we  see  nearly  nine  times  the  amount  of  the  origin; 
demand  pilfered  to  satisfy  these  satellites  of  clerical  rapacity,  and  sold  for  a  mere  trifle  t« 
those  very  individuals.    Further  comment  is  unnecessary,  for  every  one  must  be  convincei 


387 

'that  this  blot  on  our  statute  book  cannot  much  longer  be  tolerated.  I  hope  every  Dissenter 
will  follow  the  example  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  of  this  truly  pious  and  exemplary 
minister,  in  refusing  to  pay  for  that  which  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  principles  they 
profess.  I  am,  Sir, 

Sunderland,  Oct.  24th,  1832.  A  Church  Reformer. 


DISSENTERS  AND  THE  TITHES. 

The  Dissenters  are  at  length  bestirring  themselves  in  amanner  worthy  the  important  station 
they  hold  in  English  society.  They  have  long  felt  the  burthen  of  supporting  an  establish- 
ment, the  benefits  of  which  they  do  not  partake,  and  now  appear  determined  to  cast  off  the 
incubus.  The  following  address  to  the  Dissentersof  Great  Britain  was  originally  published  in 
Buckinghamshire,  and  is  now  going  the  round  of  all  the  newspapers  in  the  country.  The 
feeling  it  displays  is  common  to  the  entire  body,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  it  will  shortly 
be  acted  upon  ;— 
U  _  To  the  Dissenters  of  Great  Britain. 

Fellow-countrymen,  and  Dissenters  from  the  Established  Church, — Let  us  awake  to  a 
sense  of  the  duty  which  devolves  upon  us  as  men  and  Christians  ;  let  us  wipe  away  that  re- 
proach which  rests  upon  us  in  a  compromising  support  of  the  established  hierarchy ;  let  us 
vindicate  the  cause  of  true  religion  and  justice  which  are  injured  and  violated  by  its  existence. 

We  believe  the  church  establishment  to  be  founded  in  error,  to  be  unjustly  supported, 
and  inefficient  for  the  great  purpose  for  which  it  exists.  Let  us  act  as  men  labouring  under 
such  impressions.  Let  us  conduct  ourselves  as  the  correctors  of  error,  as  the  opposers  of  in- 
justice and  the  determined  foes  of  every  inefficientmonopoly,  whether  temporal  or  spiritual. 

Our  separation  from  the  Established  Church  is  a  standing  memorial  of  our  dissent,  an 
ever-abiding  witness  of  our  oppression :  but  we  neutralize  our  dissent  by  a  quiet  and 
compromising  payment  of  all  ecclesiastical  demands.  We  cast  an  imputation  upon  our  sin- 
cerity by  continuing  to  support  that  practically  which  we  are  ever  theoretically  condemning. 

If  we  have  a  creed  different  to  the  shibboleth  of  a  party,  let  us  show  that  we  believe  it 
If  we  have  principles  based  upon  truth,  justice,  and  reason,  let  us  act  upon  them. 
Truth  will  prevail !     Justice  will  be  heard  !  !     Reason  will  conquer  !  !  ! 

We  call  you,  not  to  violate  any  law,  not  to  embarrass  the  operations  of  our  ministry 
(otir  strength  is  in  the  prompt  obeyance  of  the  law),  but  we  do  call  upon  you  to  obey  it  in 
such  a  manner  as  shall  show  your  sense  of  its  injustice,  and  your  determination  to  expose 
its  oppression,  while,  so  long  as  it  continues,  you  are  willing,  in  one  sense,  to  comply  with 
its  demand. 

The  example  of  the  Quakers  is  that  which  we  call  upon  you  to  imitate.  They  have 
been  for  the  last  fifty  years,  at  least,  bearing  a  silent  but  increasing  testimony  to  the  in- 
justice and  claims  of  the  clergj'.  If  the  whole  body  of  Dissenters  had  imitated  their  exam- 
ple from  the  first,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  long  ere  this  the  question  would  have  been 
settled  for  ever. 

It  is  not  too  late  !  Our  numbers  are  great,  our  influence,  from  the  senate  to  the  mean- 
est hovel  in  the  land,  vast  and  increasing ;  we  have  only  to  be  united  and  firm  to  be  happy 


and  free.  If  the  priests  will  have  our  money,  let  them  have  it  as  our  blood.  If  they  will  i 
have  our  support,  let  them  have  it  at  the  expence  of  every  law  of  hospitality  and  good  i 
citizenship,  by  the  seizure  of  our  property,  and  its  public  sale :  let  them  seize,  but  who  will  |i 
buy?  i 

Let  one  day  throughout  the  land  bear  testimony  to  our  decision, — a  day  in  which  his-  :| 
tory  shall  record  that  an  oppressed  majority  of  the  nation  opened  their  doors  to  spiritual  i 
tyrants,  and  permitted  (with  a  quiet,  sullen  submission)  their  property  to  be  seized,  their  -i 
rights  of  freemen  to  be  trampled  upon,  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  the  cause  of  religion,  ji 
obtaining  liberty  of  conscience,  and  ascertaining  their  strength,  previous  to  a  conflict  I 
which  should  end  in  a  complete  and  splendid  victory  of  truth  over  error,  of  freedom  over 
despotism,  of  religion  over  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

Some  of  you  hesitate  at  such  a  proposal.  Peace,  peace,  is  your  cry.  Peace,  too,  is 
our  motto ;  but  not  the  peace  of  vassalage,  but  of  remonstrance.  We  have  too  long  sub- 
mitted to  such  a  peace  as  the  former ;  our  submission  has  been  construed  into  cowardice,  ■ 
the  truth  of  our  principles  doubted,  and  our  sincerity  impeached  ;  so  that  if  we  have  asked 
for  freedom,  these  charges  have  been  tauntingly  made  by  the  very  men  we  support ;  and  1 
now  that  we  have  obtained  that  freedom,  because  they  neither  could  nor  durst  withhold  it, 
in  the  bitterness  of  their  dying  agonies  they  charge  us  with  ingratitude.  Do  not  hesitate, 
brethren :  it  must  be  attempted, — it  must  be  done  !  Do  not  shrink,  we  only  ask  you  to  carry 
out  our  principles.  Do  not  be  ashamed ;  we  only  ask  you  for  consistency.  The  first  step 
is  the  difficulty;  that  once  taken,  our  work  is  done,  our  liberty  eifected,  and  one  of  the 
foulest  blots  wiped  from  the  character  of  our  country.  Let  this  fact  cheer  you  on  to  the 
work.  Remember  that  while  there  was  a  day  in  which  it  required  the  blood  of  a  Hamp- 
den to  be  shed  as  the  price  of  civil  liberty,  and  the  lives  of  holy  men  to  be  sacrificed  as  the 
redemption  price  of  religious  freedom,  that  we  live  in  a  day  when  reason,  not  arms,  are  ap- 
pealed to — when  truth,  not  brute  force,  is  the  weapon  of  conquest.  Remember,  while  the 
green  and  luxuriant  shores  of  Erin  are  deluged  with  the  blood  of  some  of  her  best  sons,  we 
may,  if  we  are  circumspect  and  firm,  throw  off  the  despotism  of  the  church — without  the  shed 
ding  of  one  drop  of  blood,  the  sacrifice  of  one  life,  or  even  the  remotest  approach  to  a  mur- 
mur, except  from  the  disappointed  eagles  of  the  church. 

The  day  of  freedom  has  dawned  upon  us.  We  see  that  day  for  which  our  fathc 
longed.  They  contended  against  hope.  We  struggle  with  bright  anticipations,  with  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  success.  They  commenced  the  struggle :  we  are  called  upon  to  finish  it. 
We  call  upon  you,  by  the  blood  of  those  holy  men  which  yet  cries  from  the  ground  for  retri- 
bution, by  the  honour  of  blighted  religion,  by  the  insults  to  which  you  are  subject  by  a 
bloated  and  dispotic  priesthood,  and  the  love  you  be^  to  your  country,  be  consistent  as  Dis- 
senters ;  be  firm  in  your  remonstrance  ;  be  united,  be  determined,  and  British  in  your  op 
rations,  and  once  more  the  favour  of  the  Most  High  shall  rest  upon  us,  and  prosperity 
happiness  smile  upon  eijery  part  of  the  once  happy,  but  now  distressed  and  burden 
England! 

FIDES. 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


JI 


INDEX. 


Admonition,  a  new  year's 5 

adoption    24 

Advertisements,  expence  of 21 

Agriculture,  the  burdens  of 151 

\le,  the  evils  of  drinking 160,  259 

Ale  and  other  fermented  liquors,  the 

properties  of 215 

.\rithmf  tic,  Mr.  Terapleton's  system  of  383 

\ssessed  taxes,  the  evils  of 92 

B. 

Bible  Society,  Preston  Auxiliary  ....  119 
Board  of  Health,  Preston,  reports  of  32,  61 

Bribing  servants     54 

Brougham  and  Vaux,  Lord,  an  ad- 
dress to 327 

Burking,  reflections  on 10 


3ase  of  conscience,  with  the  Editor's 

remarks 29,  30 

Charitable  Loan  Funds 283 

Christenings  and  buryings,  intempe- 
rance at 23,  289 

Christmas  day    25 

Cholera 20,  93,  182,  247,  322 

Church,  selling  the    176 

rates 154,186,320 

■  reform 319,  357 

—  reform,  petition  for 365 

—  and  state,  a  divorce 133 

Clerical  presents   1 '^ 

rapacity — "  A  new  rule" 


212 


Clothing  Charity,  Preston 21 

Consolations  of  religion  (poetry) 323 

I  Consequences,  beware  of 238 

Consistency  at  watering  places . .  . 
i in  politicians 


196 
314 


Court  of  Common  Sense 15,  82 

Coach  accident  24 

Confirmation 198 

Cotton  mills,  an  address  to  the  pro- 
prietors of 159 

Crime  in  London •  •     157 

Cruelty  to  animals 19>  1^2 

D. 

Debts,  genteel    56 

Debtors,  insolvent H^ 

Deity,  an  address  to  (poetry)   353 

Doctrine,  the  import  of  the  term  ....  282 

Dogs,  against  keeping US 

Dissenters  and  the  tithes   387 

Disunion  of  society,  means  of  remov- 

ingit 293 

Divorce  of  church  and  state 133 

Drinking  at  sales   31 

qi 
. corporate    "* 

Drunken  wife,  cure  for 55 

E. 
Easter  dues  ..  158,  211,  271,  316,  360,  372 

Ecclesiastical  exactions 386 

Education,  religious 128 

Emigration     '°* 

Elections,  the  immorality  of 214,  261 

Election  oaths    

Exclusive  dealing 298,  337 

F. 

Factory  hours,  shortening  ....   20,  92,  124 

Fast,  national     

Fearless  John,   a  faithful  teacher,  a 

I*  oil 

week's  labour  of    -^"* 

Female  servants,  good  ones  scarce   . .      312 
.  depravity 366 


390 


Females,  an  address  to,  on  temperance  249 

■ seduced 99 

employed  in  factories,  an  ad- 
dress to 37 

Funeral  overcharges 53,  61 

G. 

Gilbertson,  Mr.  John,  notice  of    ....  59 

Government,  submission  to 95 

Gratitude    194 

H. 

Holydays — Good  Friday 155 

Husbands,  runaway 315 

1.     . 

Infants,  the  rights  of. ". ',  r.".".".",".  "1 . .  292 

Intellect,  halt  of 121 

Intemperance,  the  cost  of 219 

in  various  societies ....  191 

■  an  essay  upon    103 

• — medical  testimonies  as 

to  the  evils  of 226 

Ireland,  a  visit  to,  with  a  gerieral  de- 
scription.. .'.".'.  ." 70 

Ireland,  domestic  misery  in 320 

J. 

Jerry  shops,  the  law  respecting  . .    205,  315 

Just  weights 53 


Kindness  and  rewards  the  strongest 
stimulants  to  duty 165 


Law  dispensary 22 

Lectures,  notice  of,  by  J.  L 123 

"  Love  your  enemies  "    148 

M. 
Mechanics'    Institutes  versus  Church 

Establishments 21 

Man  tlie  proper  object  of  study 158 

Magistracy 9i 

Marriage  fees 187 

Mercantile  selfishness    188 

Moralist,  The 307,  340 


N. 

Nature,  reflections  on    127 ' 

National  evils,  great 372 

Navigators 126 

0. 

Officers,  public,  character  of 370 

Opium,  consumption  of  in  China 123 

Operative  classes,  the  value  of 281 

.  an   address    to,    on 

their  importance     346 

Order  ................. 266 

Ordination  at  Accrington 163 

P. 

Paganini 125 

Parsimony  in  religious  societies 100 

Pay  table,  a  source  of  drunkenness  . .  207 

Paying  wages  on  the  premises 55 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  a  word  to 314 

Petitions  to  parliament 179 

Pluralist,  the  greatest 22 

Political  notions 265 

Poor  curates 55 

Poor  laws 123,  317 

Primitive  Christianity,  remarks  upon  47 

Prison  discipline 207 

Prompt  payment    24 

Property  qualification  for  members  of 

parliament  .  c 185 

Proprietors   of  "The   3730,"  an  ad- 
dress to   3/5 


R. 
Reading  room,  working  classes     .... 
Reading  and  writing.  Judge  Alderson's 

opposition  to 

Reform  bill,  parliamentary  24,  93, 125, 

184 

Reform,  house  of 

Registers  for  births,  marriages,  &c.. . . 
Religion  in  Ireland    


S. 


School  holydays 

Schools,  improvements  in 

Scriptures,  improving  the  present  ver- 
sion of 


98 

120 
158, 

54 
117 

i 

58 

1 

243 


391 


aakers' Mondays 193 

lay  schools 189 

ry,  infant,  in  England 257 

dng 93 

duty 118 

Bty,  the  interests  of 341,  379 

Bties,  remarks  upon  the  evils  of  137, 191 

ring  94 

ig 157 


bars,  educated,  with  the  Editor's 

marks 26,  28 

bhers,  religious,  "  Let   every  man 

Eiintain  his  own" 367 

ching,  incidental,  the  best  method     178 
ching,  religious,  improperly   con- 

iicted 344 

aperance 160,  276 

Society,  Preston,     Lines 

idressed  to  (poetry) 356 


Temperance  Society,  Preston,  93,  123,  209, 
245,275,  374,384 

Temperance  Banner  (poetry)    324 

Taverns 321 

Societies  25,  156,  183,  222,  304 

Societies,  Dr.  Doyle's  let- 
ter in  favour  of 254 

Tithes 31 

in  Ireland ,      121 

Tract  Society's  operations 60 

Tramps,  hawkers,  &c 315 

Truck  bill   54 


Vegetable  kingdom,  reflections  on  the  256 

Vice,  the  real  causes  ofthe  prevalence  of  229 

juvenile 91 

at  Liverpool    317 

Visiting  the  poor    309 

W. 

Weaving 116 


THE  END. 


/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


s* 


"w? 


^  0 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER, 


AND 


AGAINST    THE 

VICES,    ABUSES,   AND    CORRUPTIONS    OF 
THE    AGE. 


BY    J.    LIVESEY. 


VOL.  III. 

1833. 


LONDON  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  SHERWOOD  AND  CO.,  PATERNOSTER  ROW; 
AND  BY  J.  WALKER,  BOOKSELLER,  PRESTON. 


PREFACE. 


The  reader  is  now  in  possession  of  the  third  and  concluding  volume 

■  The  Moral  Reformer.  Convinced  that  this  work,  by  taking  original 
round,  being  under  the  influence  of  no  party,  and  directing  its  efforts  to 
le  exposure  of  the  vices  and  corruptions  of  the  age,  has  been  of  conside- 
ible  utility,  it  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  now  announce  my  intention  of 
scontinuing  it  for  the  present.  My  only  reason  is,  my  inabihty,  with 
le  vast  number  of  engagements  which  I  have  on  my  hands,  to  do  justice 
1  so  important  a  cause,  and  to  support  the  character  of  the  publication. 

is  by  no  ordinary  effort,  that,  along  with  my  other  labours,  I  have 
irried  it  on  three  years,  and  established  its  circulation  beyond  a  doubt, 
^e  have  printed,  each  month,  during  this  year,  2000  copies,  about  1900 

■  which  have  been  sold;  and  I  doubt  not,  that,  by  a  vigorous  canvass, 
lis  number  might  have  been  nearly  doubled.  Few  periodicals  contain 
ore  original  editorial  articles  than  The  Moral  Reformer,  and  every  per- 
n  must  be  aware  that  now  and  then  a  stolen  hour  is  not  sufficient  for 
is.  I  am  anxious  to  devote  more  of  my  personal  sers'ices  to  the  Tern- 
ranee  Causey  a  family  of  eight  chUdren  also  requires  my  constant 
tention ;  these,  with  my  business,  and  connection  with  various  other 
■ncerns,  oblige  me,  though  reluctantly,  to  come  to  the  conclusion  of 
ving  up  this  work. 

Possibly,  at  some  future  period,  I  may  be  able  to  resume  my  labour 
'  a  new  series;  but  if  not,  I  hope  occasionally  to  pubhsh  a  pam- 
Jet  on  such  subjects  as  are  likely  to  serve  the  cause  of  practical 


religion.       As   a  vehicle   for   conveying   information  on  the  subject  ci 
Temperance,  and  as  an  organ  of  intelligence  for  the  nomerous  Societiej 
especially  in  Lancashire,  I  intend,  monthly,  to  print  a  penny  publicatioi 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Temperance  Advocate."     This,  I  hope,  -will  b 
serviceable  to  the  cause  which  is  now  doing  so  much  good,  and  will  requir  | 
comparatively  little  of  my  time  to  superintend.  \ 

Of  the  merits  of  the  present  volume  I  say  nothing:  the  public  ynli 
form  their  own  opinion.  Whatever  ability,  or  want  of  it,  may  be  mani-il 
fested,  the  subjects  discussed  are  unquestionably  of  great  importance.       \ 

To  all  my  correspondents  and  friends  I  return  my  thanks,  and  espe- 
cially to  those  who  have  exerted  themselves  to  promote  the  circulation  d 
my  numbers.  Although  the  first  year  I  sustained  a  considerable  loss,  yd 
if  the  outstanding  accounts  can  be  got  in  as  they  ought,  in  winding  up,  I 
shall  have  no  occasion  to  complain. 

J.  LIVESEY. 

Preston,  December  1st,  1833. 


THE 

MokAL    REFORMER 


No.  1. 

JANUARY  1.  1S33. 

Vol.  III. 

T 

xjj?     TMDD  r^AT-xriTX-np     r\T>     rny 

f  T? 

iDAYS  and  years  are  the  only  natural  divisions  of  time,  and  while  the 
loming  admonishes  us  of  the  mercies  of  the  night,  and  crowds  our  minds 
fith  purposes  and  plans  for  the  ensuing  dav,  the  commencement  of  a  new 
ear  ought  not  to  be  less  a  season  of  retrospective  reflection,  and  of  hum- 
le  and  sincere  determination  to  spend  the  future  better  than  the  past, 
klow  swiftly  run  the  wheels  of  time !  how  soon  the  twelve  short  months 
jiy  round!  how  much  of  our  time  has  rim.  to  waste,  and  how  uncertain  our 

ipportunities  for  redeeming  that  which  we  have  lost !     Man  walketh  in 
vain  shadow,  he  boasteth  in  his  goods  laid  up  for  "  many  years,"  yet 
Qoweth  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth. 

Manv,  in  fact,  cannot  be  said  yet  to  live,  although  every  mark  of  age 
upon  them ;  all  their  good  is  yet  matter  of  hope;  "  by  and  bye,  and  I 
lall  be  at  it — next  vear  and  all  will  be  straight,"  are  the  dreams  and 
iin  purposes  of  many.  Trifling  and  dissipation  on  the  one  hand,  anxiety 
id  avarice  on  the  other,  eat  away  every  essential  enjoyment,  and  flatter 
eluded  mortals  with  a  periodical  hope  that  the  time  of  their  happiness  is 
tst  at  hand. 

,  ,  "  Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blest." 

a  Tlie  same  remark  applies  to  our  purposes  of  amendment.  The  drunk- 
'•ct  says,  "  Fillet  the  election  get  over." — "  Christmas  shall  be  past  and 
ten  I  will  begin  to  mend,"  sajs  another  ;  and  there  is  scarcely  a  charac- 
r,  however  abandoned,  but  what  cherishes  an  intention  of  being  better 
v'  and  bve.  Meanwhile,  time  flies  on  ;  resolutions  are  made  and  as  often 
•oken,  and  many  a  poor  soul  is  called  away  from  the  stage  of  existence, 
1  which  he  never  took  a  rational  step  beyond  thinking  of  domg  his  duty, 
h  that  the  purposes  of  my  readers,  this  morning,  may  be  accompanied 
ith  deep  conductions  of  the  sinfulness  of  their  mispent  time,  of  the  un- 

VOL.     III.  B 


certainty  of  life,  of  the  importance  of  religion,  so  that  they  may  begin  th 
new  year  with  repentance  and  prayer,  and  instead  of  thinking  and  intends 
ing,  they  may  this  day  practically  begin  to  lead  a  new  life. 

What  false  estimates  are  made  as  to  the  value  of  time,  and  as  to  thi;^ 
proper  mode  in  which  it  should  be  employed!  "The  lust  of  the  eye,  t\u, 
lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of  life ;"  or  covetousness,  sensuality,  ami 
pride,  are  our  imperial  deities.  Thousands  crowd  their  shrines,  and  teni;, 
of  thousands  devote  all  their  leisure,  by  night  and  by  day,  to  the  sei*vic«i 
of  these  idols.  The  state  of  society  manifests  an  immense  arrear  o: 
philanthropy  and  Christian  exertion,  yet  scarcely  any  are  to  be  founds 
and  especially  among  those  who  have  the  most  time,  who  are  willing 
to  submit  to  the  least  self  denial  to  fetch  it  up.  The  old  excuses  still 
remain;  "  I  have  this  engagement  and  the  other,  and  I  cannot  come;  1 
pray  thee  have  me  excused."  Shame  on  many  who  call  themselves  the 
ministers  of  Christ;  they  are  pertinacious  in  doctrine;  precise  and  exact 
in  ceremony ;  preach  up  the  glories  of  Christ;  but  when  you  point  to  the 
path  that  He  trod,  when  you  refer  to  his  labours  and  sufferings  in  going 
about  doing  good,  when  you  insist  that  he  was  intensely  employed  among  the 
people,  in  every  kind  of  company,  that  sometimes  he  had  not  so  much  as 
time  even  to  eat  bread,  alas !  alas !  you  pass  upon  them  a  sentence  of 
criminality,  which  every  observing  man  knows  to  be  just. 

If,  in  commencing  a  new  year,  I  had  access  to  the  various  classes  com- 
posing society,  I  would  give  the  following  hints  : 

To  the  gentleman.  Remember  you  are  highly  favoured  as  it  respects 
wealth,  influence,  and  time.  These  are  a  boon,  which,  if  properly  used, 
might  be  made  a  great  blessing  to  yourselves  and  all  around  you.  You 
are  but  mortal ;  the  days  of  your  life  are  numbered  ;  the  place  that  now 
knows  you  will  shortly  know  yon  no  more  for  ever,  and  for  every  gift 
will  be  answerable  to  the  Judge  of  all.  Let  this  be  a  morning,  then, 
serious  reflection,  and  think  how  many  evenings,  and  days,  and  years  y 
have  spent  in  the  paths  of  vice  and  foUy.  Your  wealth  and  rank  are 
indemnity  for  idleness  and  sin ;  instead  of  relaxing  your  duties,  they 
you  under  greater  obligations.  Think  how  much  good  it  is  in  your  po 
to  accomplish,  and  be  determined  to  act  the  part  of  wise  men  during 
present  year.  Rid  yourselves  of  all  the  temptations  which  exalted  r 
impose  for  the  killing  of  time,  and  begin  to  lay  your  plans  for  a  course 
extensive  usefulness.  A  good  feeling  between  the  rich  and  the  poor 
what  is  wanted  in  England ;  our  resources  are  abundant ;  our  prosp© 
are  brightening ;    but  if  the  nobility  and  gentry  still  go  on  in  their 


now 


ifravagance,  and  despise  the  people,  oppression  and  disunion  will  still  be 
lerpetuated,  and  rank  and  wealth,  instead  of  commanding  respect,  will  be 
reated  as  a  curse  to  the  country.  Come  out,  then,  I  entreat  you;  descend 
'rom  the  false  pinnacle  of  distinction  which  you  so  vainly  admire ;  seek 
be  company  and  friendship  of  all  of  the  same  blood,  although  distinguish- 
'd  by  privation  and  poverty.  It  behoves  you  to  ponder  well  your  ways; 
nd  never,  never,  to  forget  the  exclamation  of  the  Saviour,  "  How  hardly 
hall  a  rich  man  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  !  " 

To  the  merchant  and  tradesman.  Your  business,  perhaps,  is  just  sus- 
ended ;  you  are  taking  stock  to  ascertain  the  gains  or  losses  of  the  last 
ear.  Remember  there  is  another  stock  taking,  which  you  ought  to  re- 
ard  as  of  even  superior  importance  to  this.  Time,  and  talents,  and  wealth 
ave  been  committed  to  you,  and  as  a  steward  of  God  it  is  not  unreasonable 
lat  you  should  calculate  how  you  stand.  You  have  followed  your  busi- 
ess  through  the  year  with  intense  anxiety.  How  often  have  your  wak- 
ig  hours  been  beguiled  with  illusive  dreams  of  profit !  how  fixed  have 
!een  your  affections,  even  when  at  home  or  elsewhere,  upon  the  mill  and 
le  counting  house !  and  yet  how  deaf  to  the  innumerable  calls  of  duty 
ifnong  your  fellow  men  !  The  evening  party,  it  is  true,  frequently  pro- 
iices  relaxation,  but  you  should  remember  that  there  are  other  spheres, 
3sides  this  and  the  warehouse,  in  which  duty  calls  you  to  move.  Your 
leasures  and  profits  are  perhaps  derived  from  the  labour  and  toil  of 
lousands  below  you  ;  how  reasonable,  then,  that  you  should  spare  a  part 
'your  time  towards  ameliorating  their  condition,  and  towards  making  the 
orld  happier.  Sink  not  your  importance  in  the  recluse  of  your  study,  por- 
g  over  the  everlasting  lesson  of  profit  and  loss,  but  rise  with  an  immor- 
,1  ambition  to  higher  pursuits,  and  possessing  a  competency,  check  the 
ordinate  desire  for  wealth,  and  gladly  devote  your  time  and  lend  your 
d  to  every  cause  calculated  to  make  man  wiser,  more  virtuous,  and  more 
ippy. 

To  the  shopkeeper  and  middle  class.  Your  leisure  is  but  little,  and 
)ur  opportunities  of  active  usefulness  fewer  than  those  above  you,  but  it 
not  less  your  duty  to  let  your  hght  shine  before  men  and  to  be  diligent 
every  good  work.  You  have  just  closed  another  year  of  care  and  anx- 
ty,  and  though  you  earn  your  bread  not  altogether  by  the  sweat  of  your 
•ow,  yet  to  live  "  honestly  in  the  sight  of  all  men  "  often  requires  the 
.plication  of  all  your  powers.  See,  however,  that  in  the  midst  of  this, 
)u  forget  not  the  duties  you  owe  to  God,  to  your  neighbour,  to  your 
mily,  and  to  yourself.     Diligence  in  business  is  not  incompatible  with 


8 

godliness ;  and  I  exhort  you  this  morning  to  think  seriously  how  yo 
ought  to  spend  your  time,  if  spared,  during  the  whole  year.  Begi 
with  your  own  family ;  teach,  instruct  and  guide  them,  and  whatever  lei 
sure  time  you  can  spare  besides,  assist  in  sowing  the  seeds  of  goodnes 
as  extensively  as  possible. 

To  the  artisan  and  labourer.  The  activity  and  disinterestedness  o 
many  of  you  are  very  commendable,  yet  I  deeply  regret  to  state,  that  th' 
leisure  which  Saturday  nights  and  Sundays  afford,  is,  in  many  instances 
spent  in  a  manner  the  most  degrading  to  man.  Labouring  every  day,  yoi 
best  know  the  value  of  rest  and  relaxation,  and  should  be  the  most  care 
ful  not  foolishly  to  throw  your  opportunities  away.  You  have  mind: 
naturally  as  capacious  as  those  .  above  you,  and  it  is  by  improving  these 
intellectually  and  morally,  that  your  value  in  society  becomes  more  anc 
more  manifest.  While  you  grovel  like  the  brutes,  and  seek  no  highei 
pleasures  than  the  inebriating  draught,  your  degradation  is  sure,  and  i : 
state  of  vassalage  is  the  most  appropriate  to  your  habits  of  debauch.  Il 
you  class  with  those  who  have  no  talent  or  time  to  give  instruction  in  anj 
limited  sphere,  by  aU  means  employ  your  opportunities  in  acquiring  know- 
ledge. Get  useful  books  or  periodicals ;  embrace  every  opportunity  oi 
receiving  oral  instruction,  and  do  not  let  these  winter  nights  pass  ov€i 
without  some  solid  improvement.  Attend  regularly  to  the  duties  of  your 
families,  and  instead  of  loitering  a  great  part  of  your  Sabbaths  in  idleness 
and  sloth,  make  it  your  pleasure  to  have  your  children  around  you ;  let 
them  go  with  you  to  church  or  chapel,  and  be  your  companions.  You  may 
think  it  requires  a  deal  of  time  to  instruct  your  children  well,  but  rest  as- 
sured that  no  proxy,  either  Sunday  school  teacher  or  other  person,  can  do 
for  them  what  an  affectionate  father  can.  With  aU  your  scanty  means, 
and  limited  opportunities,  if  you  begin  in  earnest  to-day,  and  persevere, 
your  improvement  this  day  twelvemonth,  should  you  be  spared,  will  be  to 
yourself  an  ample  reward.  In  artificial  acquirements  you  are  at  a  great 
distance  behind  the  rich,  but,  in  natural  endowments,  you  are  equal  to 
any  :  let  this  consideration,  also,  stimulate  you  to  exertion.  ^\ 

To  religious  professors.     My  principal  design  in  addressing  you,  i?W' 
suggest,  whether  more  of  your  time  might  not  be  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  poor.     Those  who  are  noted  for  being  religious  characters,  ^BJ 
unfrequently  attend  three  or  four  meetings  every  Sabbath.     Now,  c(^ . 
sidering  the  demoralized  condition  of  society,  might  not  half  of  this  time 
be  devoted  to  active  exertions  among  the  people,  visiting  the  poor,  and 
teaching  and  admonishing  the  careless  ?     Religion,  I  am  quite  sure,  is 


9 

confined  too  much  within  the  walls  of  certain  buildings ;  would  that  it 
were  seen  more  at  home,  and  that  our  streets  and  our  lanes  bore  tes- 
timony to  its  influence.  While  teaching  is  principally  confined  to  the 
"pulpit,"  fixed  for  the  "usual  hours,"  approaching  so  near  a  market- 
able article,  and  stifly  moulded  into  the  fashion  of  "  a  sermon,"  I  never 
expect  that  diffusion  of  Christian  truth  which  alone  can  purify  the  world : 
IS  soon  might  we  look  for  the  flowing  of  the  river  to  water  our  meadows 
md  gardens,  without  the  agency  of  the  clouds  to  pour  it  upon  the  earth. 
[  could  wish  to  induce  all  who  love  their  fellow-creatures,  not  to  be  con- 
;ent  with  going  to  hear  and  get  good  themselves,  but  rather  to  make  a 
merifice,  and  employ  a  portion  of  their  time  in  going  about  doing  good  to 
)thers.  I  beseech  you,  my  Christian  brethren,  ask  yourselves — how 
inany  cellars  and  miserable  dwellings  have  1  visited  during  the  last  year  ? 
Iiow  many  widows  and  fatherless  children  have  I  succoured  ?  to  what 
ixtent  have  I  supported  plans  designed  to  efifect  the  general  amelioration 
)f  mankind  ?  how  often  have  I  left  the  easy  seat  in  the  chapel  to  seek  out 
he  wretched  and  the  vicious,  in  order  to  do  them  good  ?  Let  this  morn- 
ing be  a  new  era  in  our  Christian  exertions,  and  sensible  that  all  our  ac- 
tions and  all  our  motives  are  recorded  in  heaven,  let  it  be  your  deter- 
mination and  mine,  in  the  strength  of  God,  to  spend  this  year  better 
jhan  we  spent  the  last.  We  shall  have  a  reward  in  our  own  bosoms  ;  this 
ivill  cheer  the  recollections  of  a  dying  pillow ;  a  faithful  God  will  ap- 
fTove  our  services,  for  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  shall  shine 
lis  the  sun  in  the  firmament  for  ever  and  ever. 


THE  LATE  ELECTIONS. 
A  thousand  reflections  crowd  upon  the  mind  of  an  impartial  spectator  of 
ae  proceedings  at  an  election,  and  yet  there  is  scarcely  a  single  incident  that 
an  afford  gratification  to  the  man  who  views  the  intellectual,  rational,  and 
loral  advancement  of  the  people  as  the  best  sign  of  national  greatness.  An 
lection  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  sacred  opportunity  afforded  to  the  people 
c  England  to  elect  their  representatives,  by  whose  acts  and  deeds  every 
iterest  in  the  kingdom  will  be  materially  aflfected.  On  such  an  occasion 
ihat  would  be  the  conduct  of  an  intelligent,  moral,  patriotic  people  }  To 
insider  well  the  momentous  charge  committed  to  their  hands  ;  to  proceed 
.  the  execution  of  it  with  sobriety,  discrimination,  and  honesty;  and 
inking  every  selfish  motive,  to  engage  in  the  election  with  a  sincere  desire 
'  advance,  not  their  own  interest,  but  the  interest  of  the  nation.     And,* 


10 


I 


duly  estimating  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  the  unalienable  privilege^^ 
every  enfranchised  Englishman  to  think  and  act  for  himself,  they  wc 
abhor  the  practise  of  bribery,  whether  by  money,  meat,  drink,  or  empKJ 
ment,  and  also  that  of  intolerance  in  intimidating  those  who  might  ma 
nifest  a  difference  of  opinion.  When  the  law  confers  a  right,  no  mai 
should  interfere  with  it,  and  the  privilege  should  be  as  sacred  and  as  saft 
in  the  hands  of  the  servant  as  the  master. 

But  what  have  we  beheld  during  the  election  just  over  ?  I  fix  not  upoi 
one  borough ;  for  bribery  and  corruption  have  been  general.  The  exten 
of  the  practice  of  compulsion,  intimidation,  and  bribery  has  mostly  beei 
proportioned  to  the  unworthiness  of  the  individual  whose  interest  the}'" 
have  been  intended  to  serve.  Men  have  been  brought  forward  as  candi 
dates  who  are  destitute  of  every  essential  qualification  of  a  representativt 
of  the  people,  whose  wealth  or  connections  have  been  substituted  foi 
intellect,  and  presumption  for  principle  and  good  conduct.  Insteac 
of  appealing  to  the  sober  judgments  and  impartial  reflections  of  the  elec 
tors  upon  the  merits  of  the  candidates,  their  friends  have  sought  out  ever 
secret  spring  of  selfishness ;  those  whose  grovelling  souls  could  be  woi 
with  interest,  the  tempting  bait  has  been  aptly  moulded  to  suit ;  other! 
more  lax  in  their  habits,  and  with  less  hypocrisy  and  guile,  have  beei 
taken  captive  by  the  bottle,  in  the  .love  of  which  concentrated  all  thei 
patriotism.  Why  inundate  a  borough  with  ale,  and  rum,  and  brandy  ?  L 
this  the  enlightenment  which  is  to  follow  the  extension  of  the  franchise . 
Is  this  the  argument  by  which  the  unpurchasable  voters  are  to  come  to  s  ' 
conclusion  as  to  the  fitness  of  a  candidate  ?  Oh  !  England,  where  is  th} 
boasted  virtue?  thy  liberty  ?  thy  vaunted  progress  in  knowledge  .''  When 
is  your  love  of  country,  ye  boasting  free  men  ?  Now  when  the  destinies  o: 
the  empire  are  momentarily  placed  in  your  hands,  you  treacherously  betra)'! 
them  for  lucre,  and  sell  them  for  a  pot  of  beer.  Slaves  of  interest !  yoDJ; 
mouths  are  closed ;  you  are  generally  the  first  to  condemn  every  man  ii 
power  ;  to  impeach  the  honesty  of  ministers ;  to  condemn  them  for  theii 
servility,  and  to  accuse  them  as  place  hunters,  but  now  you  have  sanctionec 
in  your  own  conduct  the  worst  corruption  of  the  worst  of  men.  Let  eter 
nal  silence  seal  the  accusing  lips  of  every  man  who  has  voted  against  hi; 
conscience  to  screen  his  interest.     What  can  we  think  of  the  man  wb< 

says,  "  I  would  as  soon  vote  for  the  devil  as  for ,"  and  yet  votes  foi 

him,  lest  he  should  loose  his  custom  !  For  the  poor  electors,  who,  lik< 
cattle  at  the  market,  are  driven  to  the  poll,  against  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, the  free  exercise  of  which  is  the  dearest  gem  of  liberty,  T  coulc 


11 

reely  weep.  Rather  than  see  his  children  without  bread,  the  poor  man 
^ives  his  mind  to  another,  and  barters  his  freedom  for  a  little  employment. 
Nhen  will  this  tyranny  cease  ?  how  long  shall  the  poverty  of  the  man  be 
ieemed  a  sufficient  reason  for  invading  his  rights  ?  When  will  our  rich 
len  learn  the  plainest  lesson  of  our  religion,  "  Do  to  others  as  you  would 
thers  shoidd  do  unto  you?" 

As  to  the  scenes  of  vice  exhibited  at  the  election,  I  really  feel  dis- 
iisted.  We  have  long  been  talking  about  the  march  of  mind,  and  the 
rogress  of  civilization,  but  really  with  these  specimens  before  us  what 
m  we  say?  It  seems  as  if  some  demon  had  possessed  the  people,  and  that 
lie  obligation  of  all  laws,  human  and  divine,  was  suspended.  To  see  the 
iry  of  the  multitude,  to  read  the  revenge  depicted  in  their  countenances, 
I  hear  their  malicious  and  murderous  language,  the  imprecations  and  oaths 
I"  one  party  against  another,  to  see  fellow-townsmen  and  neighbours 
•tching  themselves  against  each  other  for  battle,  fighting  in  the  streets, 
mtonly  destroying  property,  and  spreading  confusion  and  disasters 
iiroad ;  to  see  men  reeling  drunk  in  the  street,  and  others  striving  to  mad- 
;:n  party  contest  by  an  almost  unlimited  diffusion  of  intoxicating  liquor ; 
id  at  a  time  when  all  should  be  peaceable  and  orderly,  gives  us  such 
Jdew  of  a  Christian  people  (a  Christian  people  !)  as  must  throw  dis- 
tedit  upon  the  very  name  wherever  it  is  known.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  con- 
titrated  developement  of  real  character ;  and  proves  beyond  dispute  that 
'th  all  our  noise  about  religion,  and  all  the  vast  sums  spent  for  its  sup- 
]rt,  the  best,  the  practical  part  the  people  have  yet  to  learn.  Do  we 
13d  to  go  across  the  seas  to  seek  for  barbarism  and  for  opportunities  of 
liching  the  ignorant  and  correcting  the  vicious  ?  Oh !  let  us  look  at 
Ime.  Let  the  scenes  of  Preston,  Blackburn,  Bolton,  Liverpool,  and 
^effield,  be  deeply  engraven  upon  the  recollection  of  all  who  are  truly 
■Vihful  to  reform  the  people.  To  make  the  matter  worse,  in  this  town 
dry  elector  was  required  to  take  the  oaths,  still  left  binding  by  the  reform 
b ,  and  here  about  6000  persons,  each  professedly  appealing  three  or 
f<r  times  to  God  for  the  truth  of  what,  in  general,  he  neither  understood 
n-  regarded,  exhibited  a  scene  of  prof  anity  without  a  parallel.  Amongst 
tl  present  bad  effects  of  elections,  are  the  various  breaches  of  friendship 
^  ch  follow;  unwilling  to  give  each  other  credit  for  their  motives,  and 
")  think  and  let  think,"  friends  become  enemies,  and  cherish  the  un- 
distian  feeling  of  resentment  for  a  long  time.  What  a  misfortune,  for 
ffli  to  possess  so  little  acquaintance  with  human  nature  as  to  think  all 
Olds  should  see  an  object  in  the  same  light;  physical  organization,  educa- 


12 

tion,  rank,  association,  not  to  say  interest,  aU  tend  to  produce  a  difference 
of  opinion;  and  to  attempt  to  control  opinion,   or  to  coerce  its  exercise  at 
an  election,  is  assuming  an  authority  which  belongs  to  no  human  being. 
Women,  in  this  respect,  I  think,  are  worse  than  men  ;  influenced  by  party  . 
spirit,  we  hear  them  uttering  the  most  embittered  revenge  even  towards 
those  whom  they  had  previously  regarded  as  friends,  and  actually  with- 
drawing  their  custom  from  shops  where  they  had  traded  for  years,  merely  ; 
because  the  vote  was  given  to  an  adverse  interest.    Many  instances  of  gen-  ) 
tlemen  having  sent  to  their  shoemakers,  &c.  to  bring  in  their  bills— of  mas-  \ 
ters  either  turning  their  men  out  of  their  employ,  or  shewing  every  symptom  ' 
of  displeasure,  have  occurred ;  and  while  men  in  this  rank  of  life  manifest 
so  much  littleness  of  mind,  so  much  tyranny,  no  wonder  that  we  find  the- 
same  among  the  more  uneducated  classes.     Until  we  have  more  moral  prin- 
ciple  in  the  nation,  and  consequently  among  the  electors,  it  wiUbe  neces^ 
sary  to  make  several  changes  in  the  law  of  elections.     The  reform  bill, 
by  reducing  the  time  from  fifteen  days  to  two,  has  certainly  mitigated  the 
evil.     The  ballot  is  a  proposed  remedy,  which,  though  untried  here,  would 
doubtless  be  an  improvement;  though,  perhaps,  not  to  the  extent  that 
some  may  imagine.     The  oaths,  at  any  rate,  ought  all  to  be  abandon- 
ed :  at  a  season  like  this,   when  there  is  so  much  excitement,  men  can- 
not be  bound  down  by  oaths.     I  am  sorry  to  find  that  for  the  evils  with 
which  we  are  constantly  beset,  instead  of  tracing  the  real  cause,  the  want 
of  religious  principle  and  moral  character,  and  seeking  a  sure  and  an  ap- 
propriate remedy,  men  generally  rest  their  hopes  of  improvement  upon  « 
change  in  the  law,  written  upon  parchment,  and  a  revision  of  the  extem«3 
arrangements  of  our  policy.     Laws,  like  the  rails  on  the  railway,  mall 
out  the  tract  which  we  are  to  proceed  in,  but  moral  principle,  like  th« 
power  of  steam,    can   alone  ensure   a  steady,  sincere,    and  perseveril^' 
obedience.     When  we  have  virtuous  people,  we  shaU  have  pure  electioia 
and  good  representatives. 

PLAN  OF  A  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 

At  the  repeated  requests  of  my  friends,  I  have  drawn  up  the  foUow 
ing  Plan  of  a  Temperance  Society ;  and  though  it  is  principally  taken  froD 
the  operations  of  the  Society  at  Preston,  yet  it  embodies  several  partibd 
lars  which  we  have  not  yet  put  in  practice.  Though  but  a  sketch,  I  pUB 
sume  it  will  be  found  pretty  comprehensive,  and  to  include  nothing  ba 
Tvhat  is  perfectly  practicable. 

A  Temperance  Society  is  an  association  of  sober  persons,  to  arrest  th 


13 

progress  of  intemperance,  and  to  remove  its  causes.  Its  members  consist 
of  all  parties,  political  and  religious,  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  grades  in 
society.  It  is  not  deemed  prudent  to  admit  anv  younger  than  fourteen 
or  sixteen  years  of  age,  unless  specially  requested  by  some  acquaintance. 
The  laudable  object  which  these  Societies  have  in  view  is  accomplished  by 
various  means,  which  this  paper  wUl  explain. 

Organization.  In  the  first  instance,  a  few  individuals  meet  together 
and  form  themselves  into  a  provisional  committee.  They  purchase  a 
quantity  of  tracts,  and  circulate  them,  especially  among  those  who  are 
likely  to  render  assistance  in  the  undertaking.  And  to  secure  a  good  be- 
ginning, nothing  is  more  important  than  to  get  a  lecture  or  two  delivered 
either  by  some  of  those  talented  advocates  who  are  sent  out  from  the  British 
and  Foreign  Society,  or  by  any  friend  to  Temperance  Societies,  A  good  im- 
pression  being  thus  produced,  a  public  meeting  may  afterwards  be  called, 
at  which  it  must  alwavs  be  an  object  to  secure  the  assistance  and  co-opera- 
tion of  all  parties.  At  this  meeting  the  whole  subject  is  explained,  rules 
adopted,  and  a  committee  formed.  The  "fundamental  principle"  or 
"pledge"  having  been  pre\Tiously  drawn  up,  is  read,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting  every  person  who  wishes  to  join  the  Society  is  requested  to 
sign  it. 

The  pledge.  The  members  consist  of  all  who  sign  a  pledge  of 
abstinence  from  ardent  spirits,  and  ef  moderation  in  all  other  liquors. 
These  pledges  vary  in  expression,  though  much  the  same  in  import. 
Some  of  them  point  directly  against  ale  drinking,  and  tie  the  members 
not  to  take  it  in  a  public  house.  Whether  it  would  be  practicable  to  unite 
1  sufficient  number  upon  a  pledge  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating 
iquors,  in  my  opinion  the  most  consistent  pledge,  I  am  not  prepared 
:o  say ;  but  this  I  do  know,  that  the  moderate  clause  is  verj'  much  abused 
)y  many  members.  The  following  is  the  essence  of  the  Preston  pledge  : 
'  We  do  voluntarily  agree  that  we  will  totally  abstain  from  ardent  spirits 
ourselves,  and  will  not  give  nor  offer  them  to  others,  except  as  medicines. 
^nd  if  we  use  other  liquors,  it  shall  be  in  great  moderation ;  and  we  will 
endeavour  to  discountenance  the  causes  and  practices  of  intemperance." 
V  number  of  copies  of  this  are  printed  at  the  head  of  sheets  of  paper 
uled  with  faint  lines  and  columns,  corresponding  with  the  register.  I 
nay  here  obser\'e,  I  have  long  been  of  opinion  that  by  membership 
)eing  made  to  commence  simply  upon  a  person's  signing,  or  getting 
mother  person  to  sign,  his  name  to  the  pledge,  many  improper  charac- 
ers  are  introduced,  and  the  condition  of  membership  being  left  in  so  loose 

VOL.   III.  <^ 


14 

a  state,  numbers  are  walking  inconsistently,  and  in  some  instances  little  or 
no  organization  remains.  Instead  of  begging  from  door  to  door  for  names, 
or  taking  those  of  persons  who  may  happen  to  be  under  excitement  at  a  j 
meeting,  it  would  be  better  either  to  have  a  time  and  place  fixed  for  re- ! 
ceiving  members,  which  might  be  done  with  care  and  discrimination,  or; 
to  receive  none  but  those  recommended  by  some  other  steady  member. i 
It  is  better  to  have  o,  few  consistent  members  than  multitudes  of  mere 
names. 

Rules.     I  have  not  yet  seen  any  perfect  code  of  laws  for  these  So-': 
cieties ;  and,  indeed,  their  operations  are  so  simple  and  open  as  to  need 
very  few  rules.     The  following  may  be  regarded  as  among  the  most  im- 
portant regulations : 

That  this  Society  shall  consist  of  all  who  may  affix  their  signatures  to  the  fundamental 
principle. — That  a  committee  of  management  shall  be  formed,  consisting  of  a  treasurer, 
secretary,  and  at  least  twelve  other  members,  who  shall  meet  as  often  as  may  be  found  ne- 
cessary for  the  dispatch  of  business. — That  any  member  who  may  wish  to  withdraw  his  or 
her  name,  shall  be  at  liberty  so  to  do  on  intimating  such  desire  to  the  secretary.  In  case  ol 
delinquency,  the  individual  shall  be  visited  by  one  or  more  of  the  committee,  and  after  re- 
peated admonition,  if  deemed  irreclaimable,  expelled.  If  the  committee  think  proper,  they 
shall  be  read  out  at  a  public  meeting. — No  contribution  is  to  be  levied  as  a  condition  ol 
membership,  but  the  expences  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  work  shall  be  raised  by  sub- 
scriptions and  donations. — No  party  politics,  nor  any  sectarian  peculiarities  in  religion, 
shall  be  introduced  either  into  the  tracts  or  the  speeches  at  the  meetings. — The  treasurer  •• 
and  secretary  may  at  any  time  call  a  committee  meeting,  either  of  their  own  accord  or  at  i 
tfecfj&guest  of  a  majority  of  committee  men.  Besides  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society, 
the  secre'taTj«>i.s^obliged  to  call  a  public  meeting  of  the  members,  if  requested  either  by  a 
majority  of  the  committee  or  a  majority  of  those  who  are  bone  fida  members. — No  alter- 
ation can  take  place  in  the  rules  but  by  the  sanction  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  pre- 
sent at  a  public  meeting. 

Excepting  fundamental  rules,  it  is  much  better  to  leave  the  regula- 
tions to  be  made  by  the  committee  as  occasion  serves,  according  to  the 
purport  of  the  following  rule  :  SI 

That  the  committee  shall  be  authorised  to  make  such  temporary  rules  as  may  Del 
deemed  expedient,  which  rules  shall  be  considered  permanent  when  they  have  received  the  , 
sanction  of  a  public  meeting. 

Officers.  These  may  be  divided  into  the  indispensable  and  the  hoi 
rary.  The  latter  consists  of  "patrons,"  "presidents,"  and  "vice  pre* 
dents."  However  some  may  be  enamoured  with  long  lists  of  honourable 
names,  it  is  enough  to  say,  that  Societies  may  be  formed  and  become 
equally  efficient  without  them.  While  I  find  one  Society  with  twenty- 
nine  "vice  presidents"  and  a  "patron,"  most  of  whom  with  high  titles, 


I 


15 

complaining  that  for  want  of  means  they  are  "  compelled  constantly  to 
iismiss  without  a  single  tract  the  numerous  poor,"  I  know  others,  which, 
,vith  simply  a  committee,  consisting  mostly  of  working  men,  can  distribute 
plenty  of  tracts,  and  carry  on  the  temperance  cause  effectively.  The  offi- 
■lers  I  would  recommend  are  as  follows,  all  of  whom,  with  the  resident 
ninisters  and  other  active  individuals,  should  form  the  committee. 

A  treasurer,  into  whose  hands  aU  donations  and  subscriptions  should 
)e  paid,  and  who  should  discharge  aU.  bills,  after  being  examined  and 
mssed  by  the  committee,  and  preserve  vouchers  for  the  same. 
■  A  secretary,  who  shall  summon  the  attendance  of  the  committee ; 
Fittend  at  the  meetings,  and  enter  aU  the  minutes  regularly  in  a  book ; 
end  copies  of  resolutions  to  such  individuals  as  may  have  work  appointed 
or  them  to  do;  to  preser^'e  all  papers  and  letters  belonging  to  the  So- 
;iet\-,  aad  conduct  aU  correspondence  under  the  direction  of  the  commit- 
ee.  This  is  an  important  ofl&ce,  and  should  be  sustained  by  an  active, 
udicious  person ;  and  I  should  always  prefer  one  person  to  two  or  three 
or  this  office. 

Depository,  to  whose  care  all  the  tracts  and  pubhcations  are  en- 
rusted.  By  order  of  the  committee  he  purchases  or  gets  printed  such  as 
lie  approved,  gives  them  out  to  the  distributors,  or  sells  them,  as  the 
irrangements  may  be.  He  should  keep  a  regular  debtor  and  creditor 
ract  account. 

The  registrar  attends  all  public  meetings,  to  receive  the  names  of 
hose  who  enter  the  Society,  on  ruled  and  printed  papers,  called  "pledges," 
or  that  pm-pose.  He  also  receives  into  his  keeping  the  names  to  the 
)ledffes  which  have  been  got  elsewhere.  He  enters  these  alphabetically 
n  a  large  register  made  for  the  purpose.  Any  remarks,  withdrawals,  or 
■xclusions  are  noted  down  by  him  opposite  the  names  in  this  book. 

Visitors.  To  these  complaints  against  delinquents  are  given  at  the 
ommittee  meeting,  which  they  enter  in  a  book.  They  visit  and  ad- 
Qonish  them,  and  report  to  the  committee  at  the  next  meeting,  and  any 
ases  that  are  utterly  hopeless  they  recommend  for  exclusion.  When 
hey  cannot  meet  with  an  individual  at  home,  so  as  to  admonish  him  per- 
onallv,  it  is  very  useful  to  have  a  tract  or  a  hand  bill,  drawn  up  expressly 
or  the  purpose,  and  to  leave  it  at  the  house,  in  order  to  remind  the  delm- 
uent  of  his  conduct,  and  of  their  anxiety  for  his  reform.  No  officers  are 
aore  important  than  these.  There  ought  to  be  at  least  about  four  for  a 
;ociety  of  a  thousand  members.  Besides  these  there  is  another  class  of 
isitors,  whose  object  it  is  to  seek  out  the  greatest  drunkards,  and  to  dis- 


16 

cover  the  causes  and  operations  of  diunkenness.  By  taking  the  oath  of  a 
special  constable,  they  get  free  access  to  every  licensed  house  and  jerry 
shop.  These  they  visit,  especiaUy  on  a  Saturday  night  and  Sunday,  and 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Temperance  Society,  whenever  they  find  occa- 
sion, remonstrate  with  the  keepers  and  with  those  who  frequent  them. 
In  case  of  excess  and  disorder  which  will  not  yield  to  friendly  means,  they 
give  information  to  the  proper  authorities  for  their  interference. 

Captains.  Large  towns  like  Manchester  divide  their  operations  into 
"  Associations,"  for  different  parts,  each  of  which  has  its  own  committee, 
but  in  smaller  to^NOis  the  work  may  be  managed  by  one  committee.  In 
that  case,  a  town  may  be  divided  into  districts,  and  a  captain  annexed  to 
each.  Preston  is  divided  into  twenty-eight  districts,  and  to  each  is  ap- 
pointed a  person  in  this  character.  We  call  them  captains,  but  some  other 
designation  might  be  quite  as  appropriate,  and  perhaps  as  well  received. 
Their  work  consists  in  distributing  tracts,  watching  the  conduct  of  the 
members  in  their  districts,  and  taking  every  opportunity  of  inducing  others 
to  enter  the  Society.    These  generally  bring  the  reports  of  the  delinquents 

Superintendants.  We  have  two  persons  to  whom  we  give  this  title 
their  work  consists  in  arranging  for  the  meetings,  fixing  the  places, 
getting  out  the  advertisements,  appointing  door-keepers,  and  securing  a 
supply  of  speakers.  One  is  for  the  town,  and  the  other  for  the  country 
villages.  All  these  officers,  with  a  few  others  who  have  no  special  ap 
pointment,  constitute  the  committee. 

In  small  Societies  the  same  person  may  sustain  two  or  more  oi 
these  appointments;  for  instance,  the  registrar  might  be  also  deposi^ 
tory,  the  treasurer  a  visitor,  &c.  For  some  time  it  will  be  essential  foi 
the  committee  to  meet  weekly,  as  weU  as  on  special  occasions ;  after- 
wards,  meetings  less  freequent  may  suffice.  They  choose  their  own 
chairi^an,  and  in  case  of  his  absence  any  other  is  chosen  for  the  occasion. 
All  the  resolutions  are  regularly  entered  in  a  book.  The  whole  manage- 
ment of  the  Society  rests  with  the  committee,  and  they  have  power  to  make 
any  regulations  which  are  compatible  with  the  adopted  rules.  The  most 
efficient  committee,  and  the  most  regular  in  their  attendance,  are  thos< 
which  are  principally  composed  of  operatives.  So  soon  as  any  reformec 
drunkards  appear  to  be  steadfast,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  add  them  to  th« 
committee;  the  appointment,  and  the  engagements  connected  with  it,  arj 
additional  means  of  preventing  their  fall. 

Card.     As  a  token  of  membership,  and  as  a  medium  of  admission 
any  select  meetings,  every  member  should  be  furnished  with  a  card, 


ar< 

I 


17 

vhich  he  may  be  charged  a  halfpenny  or  a  penny,  according  to  its  cost, 
rhe  following  is  one  in  miniature  : 


i  No.  948. 


Thomas  Swmdlehun 


Established  March  22nd,  1832. 


I  love  the  Temperance  Cause ; 
I  join  to  spread  its  fame ; 
The  source  of  liealth,  and  wealth,  and  peace; 
Its  victories  I'll  proclaim ! 

Dis.  27. 


It  is  in  contemplation  to  get  a  first-rate  engraving,  from  a  rich  de- 
ign, exhibiting  the  happiness  of  a  family  as  the  result  of  temperance,  from 
vhich  members*  tickets  will  be  printed.  It  will  be  both  ornamental  and 
)leasing. 

Books.  These  consist  of  a  minute  book  for  the  committee ;  a  memo- 
undum  book  for  the  visitors,  and  one  for  each  of  the  captains ;  and  an 
ilphabetical  register,  ruled  as  below,  with  a  proportionate  number  of 
lages  to  each  letter. 


Pro. 

No. 


Dis. 

No. 

Name. 

Trade. 

Residence. 


Age. 


Date  of 

entering  the 

Society. 


Date  of 

relapse  or 

leaving. 


Cause. 


Tracts.  Nothing  is  more  important  than  the  distribution  of  tracts. 
Jesides  the  tract  depository  at  London  and  Glasgow,  for  the  convenience 
f  those  who  reside  in  Lancashire  I  may  mention,  that  a  great  variety  may 
e  had  from  Mr.  W.  Ellerby,  Temperance  Tract  Depository,  Piccadilly, 
ilanchester.  We  first  purchased  a  quantity  here,  but  afterwards  printed 
bout  thirty  thousand,  for  our  own  use  and  for  sale.  Our  usual  method  of 
istributing  these  is,  to  put  them  into  the  hands  of  the  captains  of  districts 
nd  the  visitors.  The  captains  leave  them  from  door  to  door,  and  change 
hem  every  week,  or  as  often  as  convenient.  This  is  an  excellent  plan 
3r  diffusing  information,  though,  owing  to  the  number  which  are  lost,  it 
squires  considerable  means  to  carry  it  on.  The  method  adopted  by  some 
iocieties  is  to  stitch  several  of  the  small  tracts  together,  and  sell  them  for 
halfpenny.  We  have  also  printed  several  bills,  calculated  to  promote  the 
Bmperance  cause,  and  suited  to  various  occasions,  and  posted  them  through 
tie  town.     Tlie  following  was  not  only  posted  almost  in  every  street,  but 


18 

also  in  the  rooms,  by  the  consent  of  the  masters,  of  nearly  all  the  factorie; 
in  the  town  : 

ENGLAND'S  GREATEST  CURSE  is  the  | 
FREE  USE  of  ALE  and  ARDENT  SPIRITS:  if  a  man  > 
wish  well  to  himself,  to  his  family,  or  his  country,  | 
let  him  shun  them  as  he  would  A  plague. 

Sobriety  is  the  road  to  health,  wealth,  and 

HAPPINESS. 

The  Temperance  Society  is  a  city  of  re- 
fuge :  let  every  man  and  woman  flee  to  it. 


The  meetings,  for  the  diffusion  of  temperance  principles,  and  for  in 
ducing-  persons  to  join  the  Society,  must,  as  to  time,  in  some  measure  bi 
regulated  by  circumstances,  but  from  extensive  observation,  it  is  my  opin 
ion,  they  will  never  answer  the  designed  end,  unless  they  be  weekly.  Om 
night  each  week,  if  it  be  possible,  should  be  fixed  upon,  and  let  tlia 
be  known  by  the  appellation  of  "  The  Temperance  Night."  Tf  only  a  dozei 
meet  together,  and  that  in  one  another's  houses,  the  meeting  should  h 
at  least  once  a  week.  Instead  of  depending  on  set  speakers,  the  mem 
bers  generally,  and  especially  those  who  have  received  benefit  from  tin 
Society,  should  be  encouraged  to  address  the  meeting.  Instead  of  tin 
speakers  being  divided  from  the  rest,  the  members  should  seat  themselve; 
promiscuously,  and  all  should  be  encouraged  to  come  forward  and  speak  ; 
word  for  temperance.  The  best  speaking  consists,  not  in  flights  of  elo 
quence,  nor  in  logical  disquisitions,  but  in  plain  statements  of  facts  as  ti 
the  evils  of  drunkenness,  in  the  relation  of  anecdotes,  the  confessions  o 
reformed  drunkards,  and  in  affectionate  exhortations  to  sobriety.  Om 
person  may  occupy,  in  these  exercises,  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes.  I  havi 
heard  clever  speakers,  from  various  places,  but  nothing  interests  our  meet 
ing  so  much  as  the  plain,  simple  tales  of  the  working  men.  It  is  possible 
with  this  latitude  in  speaking,  that  some  persons  will  ramble  beyond  prope 
bounds,  but  this  is  always  corrected  by  the  chairman.  If  any  member; 
have  been  expelled  by  the  committee,  their  names  are  publicly  read  over  a 
the  conclusion  of  the  meeting.  An  hour  and  a  half  is  about  the  propei 
length  of  time  for  one  meeting.  It  is  desirable  that  these  meetings  shoulc 
always  be  made  as  interesting  as  possible  :  they  are  the  best  means  of  pm 
moting  the  prosperity  of  the  Society,  and  a  far  surer  criterion  of  its  jfl 
gress  than  the  mere  circumstance  of  a  great  number  of  names  in  the  regist# 

Class  meetings.  It  is  well  known,  that  reformed  drunkards  are  few 
apt,  through  temptation,  to  relapse.     For  the  benefit  oi  such,  till  the  ha^ 


I 


19 

)f  sobriety  get  establislied,  a.  class  meeting  is  useful.  So  soon  as  a  few 
Irunkards  are  known  to  be  reformed,  let  some  person  whom  they  respect, 
,nd  who  is  able  to  give  them  wholesome  advice,  meet  with  them  once  a 
h  ireek,  read  to  them,  converse  with  them,  and  encourage  them  to  stead- 
istness.  Let  every  additional  reformed  drunkard,  who  signs  the  pledge, 
e  added  to  this  class. 

As  auxiliaries  in  accomplishing  the  object  in  view,  the  following  ar- 
riangements  ought  not  to  be  overlooked. 

f'  Tea  party.  For  the  purpose  of  supplanting  the  festive  meetings  of  in- 
i3mperance,  and  cementing  the  union  of  the  members  of  the  Society,  pub- 
c  tea  parties  are  recommended.  A  most  interesting  one  was  held  last 
ammer,  at  Manchester,  in  the  Exchange  Rooms  ;  and  we  have  also  had 
s^o  at  Preston,  one  on  the  middle  day  of  our  last  races,  and  the  other  last 
eek,  on  Christmas  day,  which  to  me  were  more  gratifymg  than  anv  so- 
ial  feast  I  ever  witnessed.  More  happiness  and  rational  conviviality  I  am 
ire,  was  never  seen,  in  a  party  consisting  of  950  persons,  male  and  female. 
Temperance  houses.  The  necessity  of  these  establishments  must  be 
pparent  to  every  one  connected  with  the  temperance  cause,  and  eveiy  So- 
iety  must  feel  the  deficiency  of  its  means,  without  an  asylum  of  this  sort 
»r  its  members.  Though  not  under  the  direction  of  the  committee,  but 
adertaken  by  individual  members,  yet  while  all  intoxicating  liquor  is 
scluded,  the  committee,  as  well  as  the  members,  do  their  utmost  to  en- 
)iirage  them.  The  following  extract  from  the  advertisement  of  the  one 
at  started  here,  will  fully  shew  their  design. 

As  this  is  the  first  establishment  of  the  kind  in  Preston,  it  may  be  necsssary  to  state, 
.tit  is  the  object  of  the  proprietor  to  supply  COFFEE,  soup,  dinners,  and  all  kinds  of 
freshment,  to  individuals  or  parties,  in  the  best  possible  style,  and  at  a  low  charge — to 
commodate  travellers  with  every  requisite  of  bed,  board,  and  stabling — to  afford  facilities 
commercial  gentlemen  for  the  transaction  of  business,  without  temptation  or  obligation 
drink — to  furnish  parties,  committees,  or  societies,  with  convenient  apartments,  on  easy 
B^ns — to  provide  a  cheap  and  convenient  supply  of  newspapers  and  other  sources  of  infor- 
tion— and  to  offer  to  the  industrious  operatives  an  opportunity  of  innocently  enjoying 
I  company  of  their  friends,*in  a  way  at  once  economical,  rational,  and  pleasing. 

Petitioning.  Drinking,  in  some  measure,  is  attributable  to  the  existing 
mptations  w-hich  lead  to  it ;  and  to  reduce  these,  it  will  be  within  the 
les  of  the  Society,  and  quite  consonant  with  its  object,  to  petition  par- 
tment  to  effect  every  possible  change,  in  the  facilities  of  manufacture  and 
iport  of  intoxicating  liquors,  in  the  scale  of  duties  affecting  them,  or  in 
e  licences  for  vending  these  articles  so  dreadfully  pernicious.  It  is  hoped 
at  these  objects  will  be  duly  considered,  the  whole  weight  of  facts  care- 
lly  collected,  and  that  every  Temperance  Society  in  the  three  kingdoms 
ill  present  its  petitions  to  the  ensuing  parliament.  J.  L. 


20 

PROMPT    PAYMENT. 
I  beg  to  remind  my  readers  of  the  importance  of  being  prompt  in  th;i 
payment  ot  their  new  year's  bills.     A  system  of  credit  is  undoubtedly  (» 
advantage  to  a  community,  inasmuch  as,  while  individuals  are  the  legij 
owners  of  alarge  amount  of  capital,  numbers  of  persons,  who  have  little  or  ni 
capital  of  their  own,  derive,  notwithstanding,  the  benefits  of  its  circulatioDi 
and,  with  their  skiD,  added  to  the  labour  of  the  operative,  are  the  meaDJ 
of  maintaining  the  commercial  importance  of  this  country.     We  are  apt  tj 
mistake  upon  this  subject.     Many  men  are  "  worth,"  perhaps,  £100,00(! 
who  have  not  £10,000  in  actual  possession,  but  whose  capital  is  in  inni' 
merable  hands,  and  over  the  whole  country.     So  that,  though  "  the  UD'i 
equal  distribution  of  wealth  "  is  most  manifest,  the  natural  course  of  thing 
in  some  measure  neutralizes  the  effects  of  the  partial  laws  which  ha^ 
produced  it.     It  is   from  hence,  that  about  "  the  rent   days"  we  find  8 
great  a  scarcity  of  money.     Before  the  rents  are  paid,  this  money  is  cirofl 
lating  from  hand  to  hand ;  and  when  we  consider  the  amount  which  faijBl 
ers  pay  in  rent,  and  the  amount  of  rent  paid  by  towns-people,  to  fb 
"landed  gentlemen,"  we  may  easily  account  for  the  efl^ects  produced  b 
such  a  contraction.     Much  of  this  is  paid  by  these  persons  to  the  bani 
ers,  for  advances,  and  remitted  to  distant  places,  and  hence,  till  it  re 
turns  and  begins  again  to  be  diffused,  there  is  evidently  a  scarcity  of  mo 
ney.     I  make  these  remarks  to  enforce  the  importance  of  keeping  all  th 
money  in  circulation  that  we  can,  and  hence  to  induce  every  one  to  be  a 
prompt  as  possible  in  paying  his  bills.     By  disappointing  one  person,  i 
this  respect,  we  disappoint  perhaps  hundreds  who  depend  upon  him,  an 
whose  claims  he  cannot  meet  on  this  account.     We  live  one  by  anothei 
and  the  effects  of  every  act  of  injustice,  like  that  of  not  paying  our  jus 
debts,  has,  in  a  great  measure,  to  be  borne  by  innocent  individuals.     Th 
practice  of  deferring  our  payments,  is  not  only  a  cause  of  commercial  incon 
venience,  but  is  a  direct  breach   of  moral  principle.     Cases  will  occur  i 
which  circumstances  may  justify  a  man's  not  being  able  to  pay  at  th 
time  which  he  has  fixed,  but  no  excuse  can  be  allowed  for  those  who  con 
tract  debts  with  no  fair  prospect  of  paying,  who  never  exert  themselve 
to  be  punctual  in  their  payments,  or  who,  with  means  within  their  reJ 
constantly  try  to  evade  the   applications  of  their  creditors,  and  in  eiHi 
are  always  saying  "  call  again  to-morrow."     To  hold  money  after  iM 
due,  is,  in  point  of  morality,  the  same  as  taking  it  by  force,  and  partaB 
of  the  nature  of  robbery.     It  is  not  ours,  and  we  ought  not  to  retain « 
The  indifference  with  which,  I  am  soriy  to  say,  so  many  put  off  their  pay 
ments  with  impunity,  is  a  strong  proof  that  the  minds  of  many  are  bu 


21 

,ery  little  under  the  influence  of  moral  principle.  Whether,  therefore, 
're  wish  to  discharge  a  conscientious  duty,  to  assist  in  the  rapid  circula- 
on  of  wealth,  or  to  cultivate  a  humane  disposition  towards  those  who 
iiiay  be  embarrased  through  our  delay,  let  us,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power, 
itseharge  with  promptitude  every  demand.  Let  us  also  do  it  with  pleasure, 
>nd  not  grudgingly,  aiid  never  harass  poor  men  by  petty  excuses,  and  by 
Jiving  them  occasion  to  call,  perhaps,  half  a  dozen  times  for  a  small 
.mount. 


TAXES  ON  KNOWLEDGE. 

In  struggling  to  allay  the  discordant  feelings  of  society,  in  removing 
lie  barriers  which  monopoly  and  self  interest  have  placed  in  the  way  of 
ur  national  amelioration,  and  in  laying  a  good  foundation  for  peaceable 
eform,  the  safety  of  which  can  only  be  based  upon  the  approbation  of  the 
eople,  I  know  of  no  measure  that  we  ought  to  be  more  anxious  to  obtain 
ban  A  REPEAL  or  the  taxes  on  knowledge.  While  publications  on  arts, 
cience,  and  literature  are  under  no  restraint,  correct  poUticaliniormation, 
V  the  operation  of  the  stamp  duties  and  other  restrictions,  is  almost  with- 
eld  from  the  people ;  and  to  this,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  is  to  be 
ttributed  the  general  ignorance  among  many  who  are  otherwise  well  dis- 
osed.  The  poison  which  has  been  insinuated  through  some  of  the  cheap 
ublications,  sent  out  in  defiance  of  the  law,  has  had  no  antidote,  and  the 
linds  of  many  have  yielded  to  the  impression  which  has  been  produced  by 
iolent  penny  papers — the  only  class  they  could  afford  to  purchase.  Let  the 
less  be  free  as  the  light  of  heaven,  and  let  the  poorest  man  have  an  op- 
ortunity  of  reading  both  sides  of  every  question.  So  far  from  the  go- 
ernment  suffering  from  the  consequences,  if  it  be  disposed  to  benefit  the 
eople,  its  only  safety  is  in  removing  every  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  know- 
;dge.  I  never  apprehend  any  damage  but  from  the  ignorant  and  de- 
raved.  A  unity  of  purpose  can  never  be  expected  to  effect  the  carr)'ing 
f  the  various  questions  which  will  be  shortly  before  the  country,  until,  by 
le  diffusion  of  knowledge,  all  disinterested  men  see  clearly  the  real  causes 
f  our  sufferings,  and  the  only  practicable  means  by  which  they  are  to  be 
-moved;  and  this  can  only  be  effected  by  a  free  and  honest  press.  Be- 
ides,  every  opportunity  should  be  embraced  for  diffusing  information  up- 
n  evert/  subject,  among  our  labourers,  upon  terms  suited  to  their  humble 
'ircumstances.  How  long  have  the  rich  had  the  monopoly  of  all  valuable 
'ctures !     I  would  give  every  pobr  man  in  the  kingdom  the  opportunity 


32 

of  hearing  these  for  nothing.  And  if,  in  some  places,  they  showed  even 
apathy  to  learn  on  these  terms — to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities 
gratuitously  aflForded  them,  I  would  adopt  every  likely  means  to  bring  the 
matter  near  to  them,  and  to  make  it  interesting ;  and  succeeding  in  in- 
ducing them  once  to  taste  the  sweets  of  knowledge,  I  doubt  not  many 
■would  become  enamoured  with  what  they  had  before  despised.  Ignorance 
and  prejudice  have  sunk  some  so  low,  that  nothing  but  extraordinary 
means  can  effect  their  improvement.  How  many  valuable  lectures  on  natu- 
ral history,  geology,  geography,  astronomy,  &c.  &c.  are  delivered  to  select 
audiences  who  are  able  to  pay  two  or  three  shillings  each  night,  to  the 
entire  exclusion  of  the  poor  labouring  man.  With  a  little  contrivance, 
and  at  a  small  expence,  by  those  in  the  higher  ranks  of  life,  how  easily 
a  thousand  persons,  or  more,  of  the  class  I  have  alluded  to  might  have  en- 
joyed the  pleasure  and  derived  the  benefit  of  these  lectures!  When  Mr. 
Buckingham  was  here,  lecturing  in  the  theatre,  finding  that  the  gallery 
was  almost  empty,  I  suggested  to  some  friends  the  propriety  of  offering 
him  a  sum  for  the  exclusive  use  of  it,  which  he  readily  accepted ;  and 
with  this  arrangement  we  admitted  five  hundred  persons  gratuitously, 
many  of  whom  have  since  declared,  that  it  was  such  a  treat  as  they  never 
before  enjoyed.  This  is  the  way,  not  only  to  enlighten  the  people,  but 
to  bring  the  rich  and  the  poor  together,  to  teach  them  that  they  are  all  of 
the  same  family,  and  ought  to  love  one  another  as  brethren. 

Owing  to  the  mercenary  character  of  the  age,  there  seems  to  be  an 
exclusiveness  in  dispensing  all  kinds  of  knowledge.    In  religion,  it  is  given 
to  the  rich  and  the  respectable,  because  the  poor  cannot  pay  for  their  sit- 
tings and  support  the  collections,  because  they  have  not  clothes  to  attend 
in,  because  the  places  are  fit  up  in  a  style  forbidding  to  their  habits,  be- 
cause the  connections  and  habits  of  the  teachers  are  not  such  as  lead 
them  to  be  familiar  with  the  poor,  and  because  the  method  of  teaching  it- 
self is  not  suited  to  the  untutored  minds  of  common  men.     In  circulating 
"  public  news,  intelligence,  or  occurrences,"  fourpence  duty  is  laid  upon 
every  newspaper,  by  means  of  which  few  of  the  poor  can  afford  to  purchase  , 
one.     In  science  and  general  knowledge,  as  I  have  said,  the  best  lectufll 
are  confined  to  those  who  can  afford  to  pay  a  high  price  ;  and,  I  may  adoT^ 
that  the  instruments  connected  with  scientific  pursuits,  instead  of  being  as  ^ 
cheap  as  possible,  that  their  use  and  benefits  might  become  common,  m|I 
usually  got  up  in  a  style  that  causes  them  to  be  sold  at  a  very  high  price. 

I  say,  then,  there  is  an  exclusiveness  in  the  means  of  diffusing  knoW; 
ledge  which  perpetuates  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  the  multitude,  i 


1 


23 

serves  to  promote  that  disunion  and  those  jealousies  which  have  long  ex- 
isted between  the  rich  and  the  poor.  I  am  aware  that  "  Mechanics'  Insti- 
mtes,"  in  some  small  degree,  tend  to  mitigate  the  evil ;  but  their  opefa- 
;ions  apply  neither  to  religious  nor  political  information ;  and  even  as  to 
jther  branches  of  knowledge,  their  influence  is  very  circumscribed.  Take 
he  duty  oflf  newspapers,  and  the  same,  in  another  shape,  off  sermons  and  lec- 
ures,  and  let  knowledge  run  to  and  fro,  and  brace  the  intellect  of  every  man, 
IS  freely  as  the  air  he  breathes.  Let  such  changes  be  made,  that  the  words  of 
jolomon  may  be  verified  :  "  Wisdom  standeth  in  the  top  of  high  places,  by 
he  way,  in  the  places  of  the  paths.  She  crieth  at  the  gates,  at  the  entering 
)f  the  city,  at  the  coming  in  of  the  doors:  Unto  you,  0  men,  I  call,  and  my 
wice  is  unto  the  sons  of  men. — Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom,  and 
he  man  that  getteth  imderstanding ;  for  the  merchandise  of  it  is  better 
han  the  merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than  fine  gold.  She 
3  more  precious  than  rubies  ;  and  all  the  things  thou  canst  desire  are  not 
,  10  be  compared  unto  her.  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand,  and  in 
ler  left  hand  riches  and  honour.  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and 
11  her  paths  are  peace.  She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon 
.er,  and  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her." 


PREVALENCY  OF  VICE— INEFFICENCY  IN  TEACHING. 

"  See,"  said  a  man,  pointing  me  to  a  set  of  lads  on  the  moor,  just  un- 

Iflr  the  hedge,  as  I  was  walking  that  road  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  :   "  what 

t  you  think  they  are  doing  ? — they  are  playiny  at  cards : — what  a  shame 

is !"     Upon  this,  I  made  towards  them,  but  before  I  got  at  the  place 

hey  broke  up  and  regained  their  feet.     It  is  not  uncommon  for  such  to 

ee  when  they  see  a  person  approachmg  them,  but  these  stood  their  ground. 

told  them  my  object  was  not  coercion  in  any  shape,  and  that  I  merely. 

ame  to  give  them  a  word  of  good  advice.      They  were  eight  in  number, 

enerally  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  poorly  clothed,  and  very  rude  in 

•  leir  behaviour.     They  denied  being  playing  at  cards,  though  I  had  rea- 

3n  to  believe  it  was  a  fact.     Two  of  them  were  smoking,  and  all  gene- 

illy  seemed  to  approve  of  the  practice.     I  asked  them  a  number  of  ques- 

ons,  to  which  they  gave  shrewd  replies.    They  all  worked  in  the  factory, 

ad  advocated  smoking  as  necessary  to  clear  their  insides  from  the  fluke. 

>ne  said  he  had  smoked  five  years,  and  generaUy  about  five  pipes  a  day. 

even  of  them  were  either  without  father  or  mother,  they  being  dead,  or 

ad  left  them :  the  residence  of  a  few  was  New  Preston,  th«  other*  D»l» 


24 

Street.     Church,  chapel,  school,  or  any  thing  connected  with  either  intfii 

lectual  culture  or  moral  improvement,  seemed  to  have  no  place  in  th(i 

thoughts.     Without  natural  guardians,  or  living  with  such  as  are  like 

to  do  them  more  injury  by  bad  example,  here  are  eight  probationers  f 

eternity,  made  in  the  image  of  God,  residing  within  the  sight  and  hearh 

of  a  great  deal  which  is  called  religion,  yet  living  like  brutes,  adepts 

vice,  and  training  each  other  in  the  road  to  infamy  and  ruin.    Oh!  thoug 

I  (recollecting  the  dismission  of  a  small  congregation  that  same  mornin 

of  perhaps  about  fifty  persons,  nearly  all  of  the  wealthier  classes,  for  preae! 

ing  to  whom  twice  on  a  Sunday,  the  minister  gets  a  handsome  salary,  h\ 

who  is  never  heard  of  in  that  Christ-like  service  of  going  about  doing  go\ 

to  such  characters  as  these)  did  religious  teachers  know  the  real  state 

society,  were  they  capable  of  appreciating  and  following  the  example' 

the  Saviour,  and  were  money  and  the  ministry  as  much  disjoined  as  tbi 

are  now  united,  such  lost  sheep  as  these  would  be  sought  out  and  cai-eful 

instructed.     If  this  were  a  solitary  instance,  these  remarks  would  be  ill 

beral ;  but  I  have  a  dozen  places  in  my  mind  just  now,  where  either  fop 

noon  or  afternoon  on  a  Sunday,  companies  of  this  character  may  be  fouili 

Why  is  it,  that  all  these — I  had  almost  said,  all  the  population,  for  tl 

poor  generally  seem  to  be  left  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd — are  le 

to  live  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world  ?    Why  !     The  histoi 

of  hirelingism  will  best  answer  the  question.     Pray  let  us  look  at  hom< 

before  we  expend  so  much  upon  foreign  missions.     If  we  are  so  anxious  1 

purify  the  defilements  of  heathen  temples,  for  heaven's  sake  let  us  at  leai 

wash  the  steps  of  our  own  doors.     I  do  say — and  I  will  continue  to  sajf* 

that  until  an  adequate  effort  is  made  to  instruct  every  class  and  every  famih 

the  object  of  a  Christian  ministry  has  not  been  obtained.     And  if  the  jttH 

sent  systems  be  incompatible  with  this,  the  sooner  they  are  broken  up  til 

better.     The  minister  who  preaches  for  money  is  not  likely  to  atteflii 

this ;  those  of  the  Church  of  England,  being  presented  by  the  patrons  wft 

livings,  are  not  dependant  upon  any  class  of  people,  and  can  either  atteU 

to  the  duty  of  performing  the  usual  services  at  the  churches,  or  get  a  sub 

stitute.    And  if  they  be  of  the  unevangelical  class,  like  the  gentleman  lat 

week  in  a  black  coat,  with  his  brother  sportsman  in  a  red  one,  in  the  neigli 

bourhood  of  Leyland,  they  can  mount  their  horses,  leap  the  gates,  and,, 

the  tail  of  a  pack  of  dogs,  can  drive  from  its  seat,  and  mercilessly  pi 

to  death,  the  poor   inoflfensive  hare !       Is  this   the  clergyman's  wc 

Is  hunting,  and  shooting,  and  racing  the  way  to  save  souls  ?     Oh  !  sha 

on  flie  men  that  can  do  it,  and  vet  bear  the  sacred  title  of  the  messenger 


25 

[  Christ !  sliame  on  the  couutiy  tnat  wiaks  at  such  enormities,  and  while 

ipporting  them  at  an  immense  expence,  sufrers  the  people  to  sink  in  i<Tio- 

mce  and  vice  !     The  dissenting  ministers,  I  also  lament  to  say,  are  gene- 

,  dly  a  tame,  inactive  class  of  men.     Tutored  at  college  for  the  office,  they 

i  |€W  it  as  affording  a  fair  medium  of  temporal  support,  and  trained  to  the 

\  rt  ofpidpit  preaching,  they  never  seem  to  be  in  their  element  when  working 

[ !.  any  other  way.     And  hence  it  is  most  obvious,  that  whatever  other 

|,ans  are  adopted  for  bettering  the  condition  of  the  people,  their  zealous 

Mid  active  co-operation  cannot  be  depended  upon.     If  their  names  be  got 

I  ii  a  committee,  they  may  occasionally  attend,  but  they  are  not  to  be 

(jund  entering  into  the  work  with  that  zeal,  willingness,  and  laborious 

:j;rseverance,  which  we  meet  with  in  those  who  are  not  paid.     By  their 

|fice  and  education  they  generedly  get  connected  with  the  richer  part  of 

l.eir  congregations,  and  having  to  depend  upon  them  principally  for  sala- 

,;■,  to  spend  their  time  upon  the  poor  and  the  profligate  seems  out  of 

tieir  way.    I  do  not  like  to  find  fault  so  frequently  with  this  class,  because 

[(know  that  he  systems  with  which  thev  are  connected  are  the  cause 

[j  the  evil ;  but  while  I  behold  on  every  hand,  and  in  every  part  of  Eng- 

flad,  a  dreadfully  depraved  population ;  while  I  can  prove  it  to  be  the  ne- 

msary  consequence  of  these  systems,  I  cannot  hold  my  peace.     If  we  look 

i4ound,  where  the  work  of  reformation  has  appeared,  in  most  instances  it 

Hthe  effect  of  the  exertions  of  men,  who,  in  a  humble,  plain  way,  labour 

timthout  money  and  without  price."     But  by  whomsoever  the  work  is 

"rformed,  it  is  bv  going  about,  like  the  first  teachers,  that  any  extensive 

lod  is  ever  likelv  to  be  accomplished.     The  civil  authorities  act  upon 

is  principle ;  and  while  you  find  two  and  two  of  their  agents  parading 

ery  back  street,  and  lane,  and  alley,  as  the  messengers  of  terror,  why  is 

I  would  ask,  that  the  people  are  not  welcomed  with  the  visits  of  those 

10  are  the  messengers  of  peace?    Is  it  not  better  to  prevent  vice  than  to 

,'ush  it?     Is  it  not  better  to  trj'  to  eradicate  the  cause,  than,  by  enlarg- 

,^  workhouses  and  prisons,  to  prepare  for  and  tolerate  the  effects.     Does 

not  occur  to  the  magistrates  who  sit  at  our  petty  and  quarter  sessions, 

id  to  the  judges  who  visit  the  circuits,  when  so  many  ignorant,  rude, 

f>age-like  beings  appear  before  them,  charged  or  charging  others  with 

'rious  crimes,   that  there  is  in  this   country    a   class  of  men  whose 

Ijty  it   is   so   extensively   to   sow   the   seeds  of  virtue,    and   so   assidu- 

^sly  to  watch  their  growth,  as  to  prevent,  in  a  very  great  measure,  this 

iaunding  of  crime  ?     Yes  ;  it  must  occur  to  them  ;  and,  as  honest  men, 

^iy  ought  to  point  out  the  dereliction  of  duty  with  which  this  class  is 


26 

justly  chargeable.  Is  there  a  servant  in  any  capacity  whatever,  is  th<U 
any  class  of  men  among  us,  whose  neglect  of  duty,  like  that  of  the  clerjlji 
could  be  tolerated  for  a  single  day  ?  I  may  be  told  of  their  regular  att< 
tion  to  duty,  that  is,  of  their  "  reading  prayers"  and  preaching  in  i 
church ;  but  this  neither  constitutes  the  Scriptural  work  of  the  ministji 
nor,  it  is  evident  from  facts,  is  it  adapted  to  correct  prevailing  vice  a 
diffuse  religion  and  happiness  among  the  people.  "  Go,"  was  ,t 
command;  and  "preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  was  the  wor 
and  I  leave  it  to  every  man  professing  to  be  a  devoted  servant 
Christ,  after  taking  an  impartial  view  of  the  state  of  society  around  hii 
to  say  whether  he  has  not  greatly  neglected  the  best  means  put  in  1 
hands  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  While  I,  in  strenuously  urgi 
the  means,  desire  never  to  forget  our  dependance  upon  God,  at  the  aai 
time  I  would  remind  others,  that  a  professed  dependance  upon  him  € 
never  excuse  so  great  a  neglect  of  the  means  which  the  Scriptures,  o 
own  experience,  and  the  example  of  Christ,  prove  to  be  of  God's  appok 
ment  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 


REMEMBERING  THE  POOR. 
Christmas  is  usually  a  time  of  social  festivity,  and  I  would  beg  lea 
to  remind  those  in  the  higher  circles,  at  this  interesting  period  of  the  yes 
not  to  forget  the  poor.  At  the  risk  of  being  accused  of  impertinence, 
cannot  lose  any  opportunity  of  endeavouring  to  bring  the  higher  and  \^ 
er  classes  closer  together.  I  should  like  the  return  of  the  good  old 
of  English  hospitality,  when  the  office  of  overseer  would  be  almost  a 
cure,  and  when,  instead  of  men  being  driven  for  social  enjoyment  to  |j 
pot-house,  the  doors  of  every  rich  man's  hospitality  would  be  thrown  oj^ 
Oh !  let  us  remember  the  poor ;  think  of  their  miserable  hovels ;  Ijiif 
wretched  beds ;  their  ragged  clothes ;  their  scanty  meal ;  their  hard  labon 
their  great  confinement ;  their  frequent  sickness ;  and  their  almost  taf 
desertion  by  the  wealthy  and  the  great.  They  are  our  brothers  and  BJ 
ters,  flesh  of  our  flesh  and  bone  of  our  bone  ;  and  though  depressed  wi 
poverty,  have  hands  as  clean  and  hearts  as  warm  as  ourselves.  Oh !,  1 
us  pity  their  condition,  and  while  we  give  alms  liberally  and  cheerfully- 
the  widow,  the  fatherless,  the  aged,  and  the  infirm,  let  us  also  try  to  fom^ 
every  measure  calculated  to  better  the  condition  of  every  sober,  able  bqfl 
working  man.  And  until  those  national  changes  can  be  effected  whicha 
likely  to  do  this,  let  us  never  forget  to  feed  the  hungry,  clothe  the  nakei 
visit  the  sick  and  the  distressed,  and  bring  the  outcast  to  our  home*. 


27 

iristians  we  should  bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  thus  fulfil  the  law 
Christ.  Let  not  the  plea  of  inability  be  put  forward  :  we  can  entertain 
rties  at  a  vast  expence  ;  we  can  exchange  expensive  visits  with  the  rich  ; 
;  can  subscribe  large  sums  to  electioneering  funds  ;  and  cannot  we  spare 
"ew  pounds  for  that  which  constitutes  the  essence  of  practical  religion, 
d  which  is  calculated  to  unite  all  parties  in  the  bond  of  friendship !  "To 
good  and  to  communicate  forget  not,  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is 
U  pleased." 


THE  DISUNION  OF  SOCIETY. 
The  disunion  existing  between  the  various  orders  is  too  evident  to  be  denied,  and 
1  dangerous  to  be  overlooked.  The  exclusive  feelings  in  which  all  classes  are  bred  up, 
;l  their  complete  separation  in  social  life,  are  most  fertile  causes  of  animosity,  jealousy, 
organization,  and  danger.  From  earliest  youth  an  opinion  is  studiously  fostered, — 
cntimes  by  precept,  and,  I  may  venture  to  say,  always  by  practice, — that  the  possession 
oroperty  is  the  real  test  of  importance  or  insignificance  in  society.  A  child,  clad  in 
f  apparel,  learns  to  avoid  intercourse  with  one  of  meaner  appearance;  and  the  exclu- 
?■  principle,  in  a  certain  degree,  pervades  every  rank,  from  the  prince  to  the  scavenger. 
.  ^  wealthier  classes  grow  up,  without  comprehending,  as  they  ought,  the  thoughts,  the 
fings,  and  the  real  necessities  of  the  remainder  of  their  countrymen.  The  story  of 
t  princess,  who  expressed  wonder  at  the  possibility  of  starvation,  and  said,  that  "  in 
■pterence  to  starvation,  she  would  eat  bread  and  cheese,"  meets  every  day  with  coun- 
tiarts  of  nearly  similar  extravagance.  Some  are  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  exclu- 
s  spirit,  as  evidently  to  look  on  those  as  a  different  class  of  beings,  whom  they  stigma- 
ti  with  some  term  of  reproach  or  contumely,  whether  it  be  that  of  the  "unwashed  artifi- 
e,"  or  the  "mob,"  or  the  "rabble."  Some  few,  by  a  sense  of  justice  and  religion,  have 
bi  brought  to  a  vivid  preception  of  that  truth, — preached  by  word  of  mouth,  by  nature, 
»  by  reason,  but  contradicted  by  society  at  every  moment  of  our  existence,  from  the 
c)  1*  to  the  grave, — "  that  all  human  beings  are,  in  reality,  of  equal  value."  But 
thgh  isolated  individuals  may  not  only  form  a  right  estimate  on  this  question,  but  act 
urdingly,  indifferent  to  the  ridicule,  and  misrepresentation  of  their  own  order;  yet 
■»«  instances  are  exceedingly  rare ;  and  how  much  more  rare,  or  rather  how  utterly 
f  ing,  is  the  knowledge  and  experience  requisite  for  the  realization  of  any  good  results 
uch  convictions  !  Whatever  designs  such  persons  may  frame  for  the  elevation  and 
in  ovement  of  the  poor  and  industrious,  to  that  class  they  can  scarcely  explain  them- 
•f'-s  in  familiar  and  intelligible  terms.  They  have  been  estranged  by  long  separation. 
T  cause  of  their  exertions  is  suspected  and  misunderstood.  When  occasions  arise  in 
w*h  they  might  exercise  a  watchful  guardianship  over  their  fellow-creatures,  the  at- 
te'ted  warning  sounds  like  a  strange  language,  and  the  advice  is  misconstrued  or  un- 
seed. But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  wealthiest  alone  are  ignorant  of  the  state 
af  5  poorest.  Far  otherwise.  Each  gradation  endeavours  to  emancipate  itself  from  in- 
«i  urse  with  that  below,  particularly  with  that  next  below,  from  fear  of  derogation  in 
*-ye  of  the  world.     Interests  appear  at  variance,   which,  in  truth,  essentially  agree; 

ia  certain  distrust  and  mystery  is  sustained,  which  precludes  all  chance  of  that  inter- 


^28  i 

change  of  thought  and  feeling,  which  might  ultimately  lead  to  a  state  of  concord  ant  * 
union.  Pride,  and  ignorance  of  our  own  real  good,  continually  induce  us  to  separate  an 
exalt  ourselves  at  the  expence  of  our  neighbours,  and  the  depression  of  others  has  bci 
absolutely  systematized.  Let  us  regard  our  present  condition,  aud  then  count  ourgair. 
The  feeling  prevalent  in  high  places  lias  been  too  long  favourable  to  advancement  witho' 
real  merit,  to  the  maintenance  of  needless  or  prejudicial  privileges,  to  national  and  ind' 
vidual  ostentation,  to  the  blind  obedience  of  the  people,  and  various  other  evils,  of  a  ki: 
dred  nature,  extending  in  endless  ramifications,  which  it  would  be  a  long  and  a  weary  ta- 
to  enumerate.  The  fact  of  their  existence  demonstrates  that  they  have  been  favour^ 
by  those,  who,  with  the  power,  have  not  had  the  will  to  lessen  or  remove  them.  But  tin 
scene  of  exaltation  and  depression,  both  equally  undeserved,  could  not  always  continue 
and  if  correctives  were  now  the  only  objects  sought  for,  we  might  enjoy  heartfelt  satisfac 
tion.  Unfortunately,  the  principle  of  reaction  is  of  universal  operation.  The  rich,  and 
indeed,  those  who  were  not  absolutely  poor,  have,  in  many  instances,  endeavoured  to  kce] 
themselves  uncontaminated  by  the  approach  of  those  below  them  :  there  is  reason  to  fear  \v 
the  poor  should,  ere  long,  endeavour  to  keep  themselves  uncontaminated  by  the  approach  i 
the  rich.  Perhaps  this  latter  attempt  is  more  desirable  than  the  former ;  but  either  one  oi 
the  other  is  sufficiently  injurious  to  the  general  happiness.  The  events  around  us  will  ampl\ 
prove,  to  a  careful  observer,  that  the  endeavour  to  fuse  and  mingle  the  various  classes  cvci 
for  the  best  political  object,  is  one  attended  by  disappointment  and  defeat.  It  may  1 
sufficiently  easy  for  individuals,  brought  up  in  the  same  rank  of  life,  to  transact  businc 
for  the  common  welfare  with  all  harmony,  confidence,  and  success  ;  but  as  certainly  i 
it  impossible  for  those  whose  sphere  of  life,  of  thought,  and  action,  have  been  at  variant 
from  their  birth,  to  form  a  sudden  union,  for  political  purposes,  with  cordial  confident 
and  practical  efficacy.  And  yet  disunion  is  full  of  pressing  and  immediate  peril.  When 
shall  we  search  for  a  remedy  ?  In  the  immediate  association  of  all  classes,  carried  to  the 
utmost  extent,  by  kindly  aud  familiar  intercourse,  and  communion  of  interests ;  by  tin 
abandonment  of  pride  and  distance  on  the  part  of  the  rich,  of  suspicion  and  jealousy  on  tlii 
part  of  the  poor  ;  by  the  mutual  oflfer  and  participation  of  all  those  advantages,  which,  bein 
shared,  enrich  the  receiver,  and  impoverish  not  the  donor.  This  is  not  a  visionary  or  Uti. 
plan  proposition,  but  one  partially  realized  by  every  upright  man,  and  only  requiring  ad- 
ditional extension  to  effect  inestimable  good.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  be  a  reai 
imion  in  its  true  perfection  of  vitality  and  strength.  Then  we  shall  see  confidence  and 
security  restored,  aud  the  possibility  of  disorder  and  devastation  utterly  removed  from 
land. 


THE  DEMORALIZING  EFFECTS  OF  TRADE. 
When  you  consider  the  artificial  character  of  commerce,  and  that  it  collects  togeth 
number  of  persons  in  circumstances  of  strong  temptation,  and  with  diversified  mei 
vicious  gratification,  a  bad  influence  will  appear  very  probable.  Trade,  arts,  and  mi 
factures  seem  in  themselves  to  lead  us  farther  from  God  than  the  labours  of  agricul 
they  carry  with  them  so  much  that  is  human,  while  rural  scenes  and  work  are  of  mon 
Divine  character.  What  wonder,  that  a  system  which  so  directly  owes  its  being  to  the  de 
vice  and  toil  of  man,  should,  in  some  respects,  be  defective,  and  in  others  corrupt  1  The 
moral  evils,  indeed,  of  trade  are  so  numerous,  that  we  can  only  mention  a  few  of  them 
under  the  class  of  such  as  affect  the  merchant  and  the  master^ 


29 

Some  solicitude,  indeed,  must  cleave  to  tlie  husbandman  aljout  the  produce  of  his 
oil;  .yet,  having  performed  his  limited  duties,  nothing  more  remains  for  him  to  do  than 
a  trust  in  Divine  Providence  for  a  fruitful  harvest.  No  more  depends  on  his  efforts  ;  and 
11  the  fretfulness  of  anxiety  with  vyhich  he  may  afflict  himself  will  fail  to  add  one  sheaf  to 
is  garner.  But  the  merchant  feels,  throughout  the  whole  process,  that,  under  God,  much 
f  success  is  committed  to  himself.  His  anxieties,  therefore,  very  naturally  remain  heavily 
ressing  upon  him.  His  invention  in  manufacturing,  in  introducing  into  the  market,  and 
I  vending  to  the  best  advantage,  is  ever  at  work.  His  cares  in  the  purchase,  and  in  the ' 
lie,  accumulate.  The  exchange  is  ever  fluctuating;  the  debtor  is  uncertain;  and  in  some 
iigagements,  and  at  particular  seasons,  there  is  a  degree  of  speculation,  which,  rendering 
jmmerce  almost  a  game  of  hazard,  greatly  increases  anxiety.  And  we  may  here  remark, 
jiat  persons  should  endeavour,  though  at  the  expence  of  some  sacrifices,  to  conduct  busi- 
!ss  in  the  manner  best  calculated  to  preserve  their  minds  in  a  state  of  tranquillity;  for 
;  ough  the  Christian  may,  indeed,  by  faith,  cast  all  his  worldly  cares  upon  the  Lord,  yet 
is  his  duty  to  avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  temptation  arising  out  of  his  secular  affairs. 
Iiat  position  of  trade  is  most  enviable  which  is  least  associated  with  anxieties. 

Our  circumstances  often  assimilate  our  dispositions  to  themselves ;  we  take  the  form 
the  mould  in  which  we  are  cast;  we  imbibe  the  spirit  of  our  employment.  Thus  in  the 
■  of  court  there  is  a  ruling  passion  for  heraldry,  for  family  and  blood  ;  they  who  inhale 
^  spirit  of  "  academic  shades  and  learned  halls,"  will  be  inclined  to  pay  idolatrous  homage 
mind ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  reside  much  in  shops,  and  markets,  and  exchanges,  without 
ming  a  covetous  disposition.  When  a  man's  cash  book  becomes  his  daily  manual ; 
len  his  head  is  for  ever  filled  with  profit  and  loss ;  when  much  of  his  conversation  turns 
the  gains  of  trafiic,  and  his  chief  attention  is  directed  to  their  increase;  when,  in  short, 
seems  to  live  and  move  and  have  his  being  in  money,  he  is  in  imminent  danger  of  be- 
ning  worldly,  predominantly  worldly,  in  the  element  of  his  character.  The  great  suc- 
s  of  some  commercial  individuals  shows  the  young  tradesman  that  high  rewards  are 
'11  to  every  candidate :  the  afiluence,  the  equipage,  the  power  to  which  some,  once  poor 
:  liimself,  have  risen,  make  him  think  it  more  than  possible  he  may  reach  as  elevated  a 
:tion  as  theirs ;  and  when  once  the  idea  of  becoming  rich  seizes  on  the  affections,  we  are 
1  fectly  unable  to  calculate  on  the  extent  to  which  it  may  carry  its  domination.  With 
;  ;er,  it  may  be  compared  to  the  breaking  out  of  water.  Hence  the  mind  is  so  often  filled 
1  h  golden  dreams,  and  you  see  the  man,  already  possessed  of  wealth,  tenfold  more  than 
(  e  he  either  expected  or  desired,  tempted  to  hazard  another  speculation,  or  to  embark  in 
:  ther  scheme  of  pecuniary  advantage.  Hence,  it  so  often  occurs,  that  the  most  success- 
I  are  the  most  illiberal ;  fortune  has  bestowed  upon  them  her  ample  treasures,  but  she 
1  not  vouchsafed  them  a  heart  to  give  as  freely  as  they  have  received,  or  even  to  find 
t  lyment  in  a  rational  expenditure.  These  are  tlie  men  learned  in  the  arithmetic  of 
I  tousness,  who,  when  solicited  for  charitable  contributions,  tell  you  they  knew  the  ac- 
'  iiig  of  their  property,  and  will  not  improvidently  throw  it  away:  and  certainly  they 
xercise  the  most  tenacious  carefulness,  pleased  that  their  grasp  improves  in  firmness, 
a  ge  lessens  the  muscular  pliability ;  and  so  they  continue  to  act,  till  death  wrests  the  pre- 
c  s  store  out  of  their  hands,  to  place  it,  perhaps,  under  the  controul  of  such  as  will  give 
il  le  most  prodigal  circulation.  Such  is  the  man  whose  disposition  is  supremely  worldly, 
*<  loves  the  world  and  the  things  which  are  in  the  world.     The  annals  of  charity,  how- 

VOL.    III.  K 


30 

ever,  happily  furnish  numerous  exceptions  from  this  churlishness,  in  persons  who  are  > 
posed  to  negotiate  for  another  world ;  who  so  far  understand  the  text  as  to  estimate  sou' 
higher  value  than  gold;  who  enhance  the  worth  of  their  liberal  bounties  by  accompany 
them  with  personal  service,  founded  on  those  habits  of  economy  and  energetic  activity, 
quired  in  the  school  of  business. 

In  the  world  of  commerce  there  are  many  false  and  injurious  principles  to  which 
tradesman  is  exposed.  Many  of  the  maxims  which  too  widely  obtain  are  not  derived  fi 
the  Scriptures,  and  would  almost  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that  some  in  this  class,  imajj 
themselves  a  community,  chartered  with  a  right  of  legislating  for  themselves  a  whole  c 
of  morals.  But  apart  from  sentiment :  when  the  art  has  risen  to  high  perfection,  and  w' 
many  competitors  are  in  the  market,  there  are  strong  temptations  to  act  unjustly  tow; 
the  laborious  classes,  by  an  oppressive  reduction  of  their  reward ;  and  to  depreciate 
goods  and  the  character  of  a  rival,  and,  in  a  thousand  indirect  and  dishonourable  ways 
circumvent  him. 

There  is  reason,  however,  notwithstanding  these  temptations,  to  believe  the  num 
of  commercial  men  who  are  strictly  honourable  is  by  no  means  small :   yet  even  here  tli 
is  danger.     The  maintenance  of  a  fair  and  upright  character  is  of  the  last  importa 
to  the  credit  of  business,  and  this  is  so  well  known  and  felt,  that  many  a  house  would  c 
sider  it  an  omen  of  ruin  to  betray  confidence,  or  in  any  way  to  commit  a  dishonour; 
action.     This  feeling,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  of  incalculable  benefit  to  society:  yet  wil 
easily  be  seen,  that  the  basis  of  this  honesty  is  not  the  fear  of  God,  but  the  fear  of  man- 
not  a  regard  for  their  species  cherished  by  Christian  benevolence,  but  the  result  of  calculal 
self-interest — is  founded  on  an  extensive  knowledge  of  worldly  advantage,  and  not  on 
enlightened  and  tender  conscience.     A  man  should  be  honest  in  a  desert.     The  sentini( 
"  thou  God  seest  me,"  should  be  a  more  powerful  safeguard  from  baseness  than  a  clfl 
mortal  witnesses ;  and  in  proportion  to  the  influence  of  Christian  principles,  as  we 
newed  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds,  this  conscientious  integrity  will  govern  our  transacl 
The  honest  conduct  which  spreads  such  a  glory  over  our  marts  of  commerce,  is  to 
spected,  let  it  originate  in  what  motives  soever  it  may ;  but  we  must  be  careful  that  1 
principles  actuate  us,  and  not  hastily  conclude  we  yield  Christian  obedience  to  tbe^ 
mands  of  God,  when  we  only  respect  the  rule  of  secular  profit. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  HEALTH  AND  MORALS  OF  THE  MANUFACTU| 

DISTRICTS. 
The  number  of  patients  entered  in  the  dispensary  registers  of  Manchester  demoq 
that  a  very  high  proportion  of  our  operative  population  is  annually  on  the  sick  list^ 
number  of  inhabitants  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand ;  and  during  the  year  I 
which  was  by  no  means  sickly,  the  home  and  out  patients  admitted  at  the  four  great | 
ral  dispensaries  amounted  to  twenty-two  thousand  six-  hundred  and  twenty-six.  Ti 
independent  of  patients  admitted  at  the  Eye  Institution,  the  Children's  Dispensa 
the  Lock  Hospital;  of  the  in-patients  of  the  Infirmary  and  Fever- wards;  of  thegrea 
titude  of  sick  connected  with  the  Lying-in  Charity ;  and  the  numerous  poor  attend 
out-patients  by  the  medical  officers  of  the  ]\Ianchester  and  Salford  Workhouses ;  am«^ 
ing  in  all  at  least  to  ten  thousand  more.     If  to  this  sum  we  were  further  to  add  the  in 


31 


I  barably  greater  amount,  of  all  ranks,  visited  or  advised  as  private  patients,  by  the  whole 
,ody  (not  a  small  one)  of  professional  men  ;  those  prescribed  for  by  the  chemists  and  drug- 
,sts,  scarcely  of  inferior  pretension ;  and  by  herb  doctors  and  quacks  ;  those  who  habitu- 
ally swallow  patent  medicines;  and,  lastly,  the  subjects  of  that  ever  flourishing  branch 
!.omest.c  medicine  ;  we  should  be  compelled  to  admit,  that  not  fewer  perhaps  than  three- 
ourths  of  the  inhabitants  of  Manchester  are,  or  fancy  that  they  are,  under  the  necessity  of 
[ubmitting  to  medical  treatment. 

i       There  are  a  few  incontrovertible  facts,  not  adverted  to  perhaps  by  the  secluded  politi- 

lal  wnter,  but  which  those  who  mingle  in  the  busy  world  of  a  vast  manufacturing  commu- 

,  ..ty  will  scarcely  refuse  to  admit.     One  of  these  is,  that  sedentary  and  other  occupations 

.  Ihich  wholly  seclude  the  artisan,  at  all  seasons,  and  from  a  very  early  age,  from  the  pure 

I  ir  and  the  green  face  of  nature,  generally  give  rise  to  some  degree  of  derangement  of  the 

^  j^alth,  manifested  primarily  in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and  also  render  the  mind  torpid 

I  jid  irritable :  further,  that  this  uncomfortable  condition  of  body  and  mind,  existing  in  al- 

|ost  every  individual  of  great  masses  of  people  crowded  together  in  factories,  and  in  the 

qurrow  streets  and  yards  where  they  have  their  habitations,  is  apt  gradually  to  increase, 

;  i.d  to  be  aggravated  by  the  very  means  but  too  commonly  adopted  to  obtain  relief,  which 

je  habitual  or  frequent  drunkenness,  the  stimulus  of  crude  and  fantastical  politics,  the 

11  stronger  stimulus  of  riot  and  uproar,  and  not  unfrequently,  as  the  recent  annals  of  our 

unty  unhappily  attest,  of  savage  or  malignant  crime. 


(j|^  There  are  a  multitude  of  other  evils  resulting  from  the  mal-arrangement  of  our  popu- 
-  (ion.  It  is  owing  to  this  that  almost  every  variety  of  vice  multiplies  itself  with  such 
^  onishing  rapidity.  When,  in  every  second  or  third  dwelling,  we  may  find  a  drunkard, 
It  Drofane  or  an  obscene  person  (and  in  many  districts  such  characters  are  even  more  plen- 
i.  i\  than  this)  who  can  escape  the  influence  of  evil  example  ?  When  vice  is  daily  (and 
,  rhtly  too)  familiar  to  every  eye  and  ear,  what  but  a  miracle  can  prevent  general  corrup- 
^1  n?  Here  are  to  be  seen  early  profligacy,  contempt  of  parents,  improvident  marriages, 
^jlect  of  religion — even  to  utter  heathenism,  insubordination  to  superiors,  the  most  slut- 
f;h  waste,  dishonesty,  general  tippling  in  both  sexes,  pauperism,  gloomy  discontent,  and 
fj"!  frequent  occurrence  of  disease.  These  are  the  circumstances,  surrounded  by  which  a 
i  Ill-disposed  operative  has  to  encounter  the  ordinary  difliculties  of  his  lot. 
;  j  Again :  I  hold  it  to  be  a  misfortune  for  a  family  to  form  part  of  a  congregation  of 
iratives,  amounting  perhaps  to  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand,  all  employed  in  the  same 

itory,  and  by  a  single  employer.  A  certain  regular  gradation  of  rank  in  society  is  un- 
stionably  natural.  If  the  master  acknowledges  no  common  bond  as  existing  between 
I  and  his  labourers ;  if  he  does  not  even  know  their  names  and  faces ;  if  he  avowedly  or 
(fctically  (which  is  the  same  thing)  disclaims  all  regard  to  their  conduct,  except  as  manu- 
9\urers;  if,  in  fine,  he  keeps  wholly  aloof  from  them  (and,  under  present  circumstances, 
'|i  not  easy  to  conceive  how  he  can  act  otherwise)  then  it  is  clear  that  some  of  the  best 
''jings  of  our  nature — I  mean  a  sense  of  dcpendance  and  gratitude — can  never  be  called 
'•!'  exercise  in  the  breasts  of  the  operatives  :  hence  must  originate  a  condition  of  mind  at 
O'J  low,  conceited,  and  insolently  disposed — a  very  hot-bed  for  turbulence  and  crime. 

Further:  I  regard  it  as  a  misfortune  for  an  operative  to  be  obliged  to  labour  for  so 
*  hours  as  is  common  in  this  quarter,  at  an  exhausting  occupation,  and  in  a  confined. 


3-2 

and  often  in  an  impure,  atmosphere ;  a  misfortune  vrhich  is  greatly  heightened  if  this  is  4 
case  with  both  the  parents  and  several  of  the  children  of  the  same  family.  I  consider  tt 
circumstance  as  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  astounding  inebriety  of  our  populatkl 
After  the  toils  of  such  a  day  are  over,  how  is  the  torpid  and,  generally,  uneducated  mini  I 
obtain  a  comfortable  sense  of  existence?  Most  readily,  doubtless,  by  means  of  stimuladi 
potations.  These  kindle  a  temporary  vigour,  and  dissipate  the  dulness  which  overponiii 
the  faculties.  In  such  a  family,  the  instruction  of  children  and  all  the  necessary  detaOl 
domestic  management — most  necessary  indeed  if  the  poor  are  to  derive  any  comfort  I 
their  earnings — are  but  too  commonly  neglected.  What  are  Sunday  schools  (numeroaiV 
they  are)  likely  to  eflFect  for  the  education  of  so  vast  a  population,  where  there  is  gene 
no  co-operating  domestic  or  other  instruction  during  die  week  ?  It  is  mere  delusion-l 
think  that  Sunday  schools,  however  well  organized,  together  with  the  small  existing  in 
ber  of  charity  schools,  are  adequate  to  the  diffusion  of  education  in  our  manufacturing  i 
tricts:  and  not  less  defecdre  or  inefficient  are  the  means  of  religions  oversight.  B 

To  conclude :  I  cannot  help  regarding  the  great  manufacturing  system  of  this  count 
grouped  and  arranged  as  it  now  is,  as  being  an  experiment,  the  residts  of  which  are  r 
yet  determined.  The  system  has  only  existed  about  forty  years.  It  has  grown  to  its  pr 
sent  magnitude,  and  assumed  its  present  integral  condition,  by  the  influence  of  circumstanc 
which  the  master  manufacturers  individually  have  had  little  ability  to  control.  It  has  c 
produced  a  healthy  population,  since,  notwithstanding  all  our  array  of  gratuitous  medii 
aid,  the  annual  mortality  of  Manchester  is  one  in  forty-five,  and  that  of  Glasgow  is  s; 
greater,  while  that  of  England  as  a  whole  is  only  one  in  fifty-eight.  Neither  has  it  pr 
duced  a  population  that  is  contented,  well-instructed,  and  provident,  but  one  in  whi^ 
there  exists  always  considerable,  and  sometimes  general  poverty,  an  anomalous  temp- 
and  an  extraordinary  amount  of  petty  crime. — /.  Robertan. 


THE  CHURCH. 
If  we  may  venture  to  predict  any  thing  with  certainty,  it  is  the  downial  of  the 
established  by  Acts  of  Parliament  and  British  bayonets.     We  live  in  a  land  prover 
Christian,  but  presenting,  in  fact,  to  the  eye  of  a  philosophical  observer  the  most ; 
example  of  unqualified  impiety  to  be  witnessed  on  the  face  of  the  globe.     When  we  i 
the  Book  of  God,  and  see,  in  almost  every  line,  the  doctrines  of  poverty,  humility  and( 
denial,  love  of  our  fellow  creature,  meekness  and  patient  suffering  under  injury, 
cated  by  the  Redeemer,  who  exhibited  in  his  own  conduct  the  sublime  lessons  ' 
pressed  on   others;  when   we  read   these  things,   and  look   at  the  men  who  pr 
themselves  to  be  his  ministers — who  declare  themselves  specially  sent  to  be  the 
to  heaven  of  their  fellow-men — we  are  certainly  tempted  to  look  on  them  as  thor 
going  impostors,  or  to  doubt  the  soundness  of  our  reason  and  judgment.     A  cler 
in  the  olden  days  of  Christianity  was  as  different  from  your  parsons  of  the   presen 
as  Joseph's  coat  was  from  the  coronation  robe  of  William  the    Fourth.     A  pa 
depended  on  the   flock  for   subsistence — prayed,   and  preached,   and  taught  amo 
parishioners,  with  zealous  devotion  and  untiring  perseverance, — he  was  a  husband  ( 
widow,  a  father  to  the   orphan,  feet  to  the  blind,  and  a  shining  light  to  turn  the  ^Bl 
from  the  error  of  his  way.     A  parson,  now,  does  not  depend  on  any  one  for  his  livinj^ 


33 

[as  from  the  one- tenth   to  the  one-seventh  of  a  whole  tract  of  country  given  up  to  him 

'id  his  family,  bylaw — in  Ireland,  he  neither  prays  for,  nor  teaches  his  parishioners  j 

j.r  the  best  of  reasons,  he  has  commonly  none;   indeed,  the  reverse  is  not  true  of  the  peo- 

He  who  support  him — they  generally  pray   for  him,  and  very  heartily  too.     Instead  of 

jing  a  guide  to  salvation,  he  is  sometimes  a  leader  of  a  squadron  or  two  of  horse,  a 

'giment  or  two  of  infantry,  with  some  three  or  four  companies  of  police,  all  armed  with 

le  weapons  of  destruction,  and  ready,  at  his  bidding,  to  bathe  his  tithes  in  the  heart's 

lood  of  those  who  refuse  to  give  them  to  him.     Augustine  appeared  before  Ethelbert, 

I rmed  only  with  the  cross  and  his  breviary — a  modern  Irish  parson  may  be  seen,  on  the 

■ow  of  a  hill,  in  a  commanding  position,  with  a  case  of  pistols  at  half  cock,  swearing  that 

!;  will  keep  open  an  independent  fire  on  a  dozen  of  little  urchins  who  stand  gaping  at  his 

cverence  while  he  is  seizing   on  the  only  cow  of  a  side  widow  and  three  orphans.     The 

usiness  of  a  Tparson,  formerly,  was  to  ask  nothing  for  himself,  and  get  all  he  could  for 

e  poor — the  business  of  a  parson  7ww  is  to  ask  nothing  for  himself,  nothing  for  the  j  oor, 

It  to  taJce  by  force,  from  the  poor,  not  only  every  thing  he  wants,  but  much  that  he  does 

(t  want.     Christ  said,  his  kingdom  was  7wt  of  this  world ;    the  modern  parson  repudiates 

is,  and  says,  "  my  kingdom  is  of  this  world,  and  if  you  have  any  doubt  of  the  matter, 

1  but  look  into  the  papers  and  read  an  account  of  the  many  fine  livings  to  be  sold  by 

iblic  auction  to  the  highest  and  best  bidder,   and  your   incredulity  on   the  subject  will 

iiish."  And  the  parson  is  right.     In  our  16th  number  we  inserted  a  copy  of  an  adver- 

ement  of  this   description.      It  described  the    living  as  "  a  perpetual  curacy,  having 

eat  and  small  tithes — having  a  fine  preserve  of  game  attached  to  it — only  three  miles 

im  Hythe,   and  two  from  a  pack  of  caintalfox  hounds,  together  with  other  advantages, 

It  could  not  be  explained  except  in  private  conversation."     On  reading  the  advertise- 

:nt  referred  to  above,  one  is  apt  to  feel,   that  a  part  of  the  advantages  which  are  put 

ward  as  an  inducement   to  the  purchaser,  namely,  "  a  fine  preserve   of  game,"  and 

lich  seems  to  be  considered  as  enhancing  the  value  in  England,  can  be  had  as  a  matter 

course  with   almost  every  living  in  Ireland,  with  this  difference,  that  in   England  the 

me  is  tame,  and  consists  of  woodcocks,  pheasants,   &c.,  while  in    Ireland  the  game  is 

Id  and  consists  of  men,  women,  and  children.     The  Irish  parsons  have  begun,  latterly, 

heal  up   the  different  preserves  attached  to  their  livings,  and  have  had  capital   sport ; 

;re  has  been  splendid  shooting  within  the  last   few  months,  and  if  preserves  of  this  kind 

haiice  the  value  of  livings,  Newtownbarry,  Wallstown,  and  Carrigeen,  will  fetch  an 

)imous  price  at  "  Simony  Hall." — Church  Examiner. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  DISSENTERS. 
With  regard  to  the  present  state  of  the  Dissenting  interest  in  this  country,  it  is  well 
)wa  to  be  exceedingly  strong,  especially  as  to  the  numerical  number  of  its  members. 
elusive  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  their  congregations  are,  I  conceive,  about  10,000,  and 
ly  as  many  Sunday  schools.  They  build  their  own  places  of  worship  and  school-rooms : 
I  y  maintain  their  own  ministers ;  and  expend  annually,  in  the  support  of  foreign  missions, 
in  150,000;.  to  200,000/.;  besides,  they  have  upwards  of  20  seminaries  of  learning,  where 
'  ii-  young  men  are  educated  for  the  ministry ;  these  also  are  entirely  supported  by  them- 
■  es.     We  shall  now  take  a  view  of  the  state  of  our  Established  Religion :— The  number 


i;r 


34 

of  her  churches  and  chapels  is  computed  at  from  eleven  to  twelve  thousand ;  and,  I  d; 
say,  not  less  than  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  ministers,  of  all  grades,  belonging  to  h 
The  total  value  of  the  property  of  this  national  church  is  estimated  at  nearly  200,000,00( 
to  this  sum  are  to  be  added  the  tens  of  thousands  voted  annually  by  Parliament 
professors  of  colleges,  &c.,  to  support  national  schools,  to  build  superb  and  often  unnec 
sary  national  churches,  and  to  plant  and  maintain  state  religion  in  our  British  colon! 
Out  of  the  8,000,000;.  of  the  Austrian  Loan,  2,000,000/.  only  were  retnrned,  which  v 
instantly  applied  to  erect  new  churches.  We  have  not  yet  noticed  the  whole ;  there 
a  church  rate  annually  imposed,  which  is  oftentimes  exceedingly  heavy,  besides  a  mu 
tude  of  divers  fees  and  payments,  charged  as  circumstances  may  occur.  Behold  t 
revenue  of  the  religion  of  about  7,000,000  of  people,  very  considerably  greater  than  t 
revenue  of  all  other  religions  in  Christendom  put  together ;  with  all  this  before  me. 
cannot  be  astonished  at  what  a  Reverend  Dean  said  a  few  weeks  ago,  "  We  roll  in  weal 
that  we  know  not  what  to  do  with  it."  Of  this  sum,  Dissenters  are  compelled  to  p 
equal  proportions  with  her  own  members.  It  is  of  this  we  complain;  and  from  t 
we  would  be  free.  Involuntary  exactions,  or  payment  of  any  kind  wrhatever,  towai 
the  support  of  religion,  let  that  religion  be  ever  so  pure  and  undefiled,  is  in  itself  unscr 
tural.  Compulsory  measures  are  inconsistent  with  the  very  genius  of  Christianity." 
Mr.  Morgan. 


A  PRACTICAL  COMMENTARY  ON  LUKE,  Chap.  xiv.  Verse  13. 
One  of  the  deacons  of  the  Independent  Chapel  in  Ponders  End,  in  accordance  wi 
the  direction  in  this  text,  made  a  feast  of  the  good  old  English  fare,  roast  beef  and  plui 
pudding,  to  characters  precisely  of  the  description  given.  The  guests  where  in  numl 
upwards  of  seventy,  and  the  only  qualifications  required  in  each  were  poverty,  and 
residence  in  the  village.  The  entertainment  was  given  in  the  large  room  belonging 
the  Infant  School  lately  founded  in  that  place.  The  host  and  his  family  were  the  carvi 
and  waiters  on  the  occasion.  During  the  repast  the  minister  of  the  place  and  a  p» 
of  friends  were  admitted  to  witness  the  mutual  gratification  of  the  host  and  his 
unable  to  form  an  accurate  judgement  as  to  which  evinced  the  greater  pleasure,  but  fi: 
convinced  it  was  an  example  worthy  of  imitation  by  themselves  and  others.     Is  it  noti 


I 


THE  MARKET. 

TO  BE  SOLD,  the  ADVOWSON  and  NEXT  PRESENTATION  to  a  RECTQII 
in  Norfolk. — The  curacy,  with  a  superior  house,  &c.,  may  be  had,  and  the  lease  of  I 
tithes.  Incumbent  about  79.  The  tithes  and  glebe  land  produce  about  £1,100  p 
annum.  The  situation  is  beautiful  and  healthy.  To  be  SOLD,  or  EXCHANGED  1 
a  living  within  60  miles  of  London.  A  small  living  would  suit  with  other  valuable  cai 
sideration.  Any  gentleman  having  an  advowson  or  next  presentation,  within  60  iihJ< 
of  London, -would  meet  with  a  ready  purchaser.  Apply  to  Mr.  H.  Brookman,  10,  Ber^ 
street,  London.     Letters  to  be  post  paid.  >»i 

ADVOWSON.— WANTED,  to  PURCHASE,  within  100  miles  of  London,  4 
ADVOWSON  to  a  RECTORY,  from  £300  to  £600  per  year,  with  prospect  of  W 
early  possession.     A  large  market  town,  city,  or  borough,  will  be  preferred,  and  her 


35 

duty  not  objected  to.     Particulars  (free  of  postage)  to  J.   W.  M.,  at  Messrs.  Green,  Pem- 
berton,  Crawley,  and  Gardiner's.  Salisbury-square,  Fleet-street. 

CLERICAL. — £50  to  £100  will  be  given  to  any  person  procurijig  for  a  married 
clergyman,  of  high  character  and  university  distinction,  an  eligible  CURACY,  with  com- 
fortable residence,  in  any  healthy  part  of  England.  Also  wanted,  to  purchase,  with  very 
learly  possession,  a  Presentation  or  Advowson  of  about  £300  per  annum.  Letters  only, 
postpaid,  toX.  T.,  at  Mr.  Miller's  stationer,  13,  Henrietta  street,  Covent-garden,  will 
meet  with  the  strictest  confidence. 


MINISTERIAL  LABOUR. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir,' — When  I  wrote  the  letter  which  you  thought  proper  to  publish  in  your  num- 
er  for  November,  I  did    not  suppose  you  would  have  thought  it  at  all  worth  printing, 
xcept,  as  you  say,  for  the  facts  it  contains.     I  am  glad,  however,  that  you  have  done  so,  if 
t  were  only  for  the  remarks  accompanying  it.     I  am  fearful  that  your  remarks  respect- 
fig  the  clergy,  the  academicians,  and  the  backwardness  of  the  people,  generally,   to  a 
sform,  are  but  to  true.     Connections  must  be  broken,  and  new  ones  formed,  perhaps  of  a 
iss  respectable  appearance  than  those  to  which  we  have  been  accustomed,  and  no  little 
bloquy  endured,  even  from  the  very  persons  who  have  said  much  as  to  present  abuses, 
hey  are  ready  to  remark,  "  I  would  not  have  said  or  written  so  or  so ;"  or,  "  You  will  only 
2  called  a  discontented  wavering  man :"  just  as  if  we  must  be  for  ever  tied  down  to  a  cer- 
in  system,  however  bad  it  taay  have  become.     The  work  of  reform  is  not  the  less  needful 
r  all  this,  and  I  am  still  confident  that  were  a  society  formed  with  the  real  design  of 
aintaining  a  man  for  the  sole  or  main  purpose  of  going  about  to  do  good,  to  persuade 
:.'ople  "  for  Christ's  sake  to  be  reconciled  to  God,"  that  no  society  in  the  world  would 
'   complish  as  much  good  to  mankind,  either  in  a  moral  or  religious  point  of  view,  in  the 
me  given  space  of  ground  and  time.     To  the  suppoi;t  of  this  opinion,  allow  me  to  add 
e  Scripture  defination  of  the  persons  so  employed.     He  must  be  as  a  fisher  to  catch 
en ;  as  a  man  snatching  brands  from  the  fire ;  as  a  labourer  in  a  vineyard  ;  as  a  shepherd 
.  Ding  after  strayed  sheep;  as  a  light  set  on  a  hill,  which  must  equally  illumine  the  cellar 
1 1  the  mountain,  the  garret  as  the  more  respectable  dwellings  of  the  rich :  in  a  word,  he 
t  iust  be  what  or  very  nearly  what  you  have  so  ably  described  in  a  previous  number,  in 
t  V  sketch  of  "  John  Fearless."     If  I  had  the  means,  independent  of  bread,  such  a  man 
Would  endeavour  to  find,  and  engage  in  the  great  and  good  work  of  going  about  amongst 
^  poor  and  needy,  the  dissolute  and  abandoned  part  of  the  community.     I  have  been 
I  to  these  reflections,  and  would  gladly  adopt  this  determination,  from  the  fact,  that  after 
census  taken  of  a  certain  neighbourhood,  it  was  found,  that  within  100  yards  all  round 
riven  point,  there  were  730  individuals;  that  not  more  than  130  made  any  public  pre- 
isions  to  religion;  that  not  more  than  about  fifty  sanctified  the  Sabbath,  in  its  fullest 
•;ent,  by  attending  some  place  of  worship,  and  by  strictly  adhering  to  the  scriptural  rule, 
thou  shalt  do  no  manner  of  work."     Then,  of  course,  550  in  that  small  compass  are,  so 
at  least  as  outward  appearances  go,  as  the  poet  says,  going  the  "  downward  road  to 
1-"     Then  how  appalling  is  the  thought  when  extended  to  the  whole  town  !     This  fact, 


36 


i 


if  there  was  no  other,  will  prove  bej'ond  a  doubt  that  a  preached  gospel  in  churches  i 
chapels  is  not  an  adequate  means  to  reform  and  convert  the  great  mass  of  the  p 
Human  nature  of  itself  is  no  worse  than  it  was  when  in  Scotland  almost  every  one 
man,  loved  and  revered  his  minister,  and  for  this  reason  only — he  identified  himself  i 
his  people,  wept  with  those  that  wept,  and  rejoiced  with  those  that  rejoiced,  and  was 
husband  to  the  widow,  as  a  father  to  the  children,  and  as  a  brother  to  all.  These  t 
I  have  not  seen,  and  am  afraid  they  are  now  upon  the  wane,  as  in  other  places ;  but  I 
heard  old  men  talk  about  the  pastoral  visits,  the  holy  deportment  of  the  minister 
edifying  conversation,  the  questions  put  to  the  younger  branches  of  the  family,  th 
couraging  pat  on  the  cheek  to  the  little  man  just  breeched,  and,  finally,  the  chapter 
and  the  pious  aspirations  offered  up,  carrying  as  it  were  the  whole  family  to  happines 
to  heaven.  These,  Sir,  were  times  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
as  I  ardently  long  to  see.  Now  a  days,  the  distance  is  so  immense  between  the  mi 
and  his  people  (and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  this  distance  is  increased  by  an  undue  defe 
which  is  paid  to  them  generally)  that  to  receive  common  courtesy  in  return  quite  ele 
the  poor,  humble  Christian ;  and  with  the  unthankful  and  wicked  it  has  a  contrary 
causing  them  to  disregard  their  advice,  and  despise  both  them  and  their  distinctio; 
know  they  are  to  be  respected  and  esteemed  highly,  but  for  what?  Not  because  they 
been  better  brought  up,  not  because  they  have  a  better  address  or  have  more  respe 
connections,  not  because  they  know  more  or  are  higher  learned.  No ;  but  they  are 
esteemed  highly  for  their  works'  sake.  If  the  text  had  but  said  for  their  sermons' 
then  indeed  we  could  have  found  no  fault;  but  unfortunately  for  them  it  says  " for 
works'  sake."  To  make  and  preach  a  sermon  for  the  purpose  of  calling  sinners  to  re] 
ance  is  certainly  a  good  work,  but  it  is  not  the  plural  works.  But,  say  they,  we  have 
and  very  important  works  to  do,  such  as  baptizing,  burying,  attending  the  sick,  &c. 
we  know,  and  these  sorts  of  works,  which  must  be  done,  we  are  not  contending  aboui 
about  that  great  and  all  important  work  of  going  from  "  house  to  house,"  to  confi 
weak,  and  to  persuade  the  dissolute  to  put  themselves  in  the  way  of  God's  mercy. 

As  it  regards  the  church  folks,  I  can  say  little,  as  they  are  in  most  cases  bound  to 
whom  my  lord  the  bishop  or  my  lord  the  patron  shall  please  to  send ;  but  amongst  th( 
senters  there  may  be  one  extenuation  in  the  minister's  favour:  on  the  part  of  the  cq 
gation,  the  bargain  is— when  put  in  so  many  plain,  simple  words— If  you  will  prea< 
two  or  three  such  sermons  as  you  have  given  us  as  a  sample,  we  will  give  you  one,  t  ' 
three  hundred  per  year,  and  if  the  minister  is  satisfied  with  his  place  and  salary,  ha 
to  fulfil  his  part  of  the  contract,  holding  every  other  work  as  secondary.  The  efffed 
been,  we  are  full  and  over  full  of  parsons  and  sermons,  but  alas!  alas!  where  are  the: 
tors  ?  is  the  cry  of  all  who  have  real  godliness  at  heart. 

Now,  while  it  is  called  to  day,  let  us  not  harden  our  hearts,  by  a  mere  clock-1 
attendance  upon  a  formal  round  of  duties,  lest  God  swear  in  his  wrath  we  shall  never  8 
into  his  rest,  prepared  for  those  who  care  not  merely  for  their  own  things,  but  for  the  t" 
-of  others.  I  am,  Sir, 

Yours  respectfully, 

JOHN  ROTHWEL 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  2.  FEBRUARY  1,   1833.  Vol.  III. 

DECEPTION. 


TO  THE  EDITOR. 

After  a  prosperous  reign  of  many  thousand  years,  finding  my  autho- 
ity  too  secure  to  be  assailed,  I  purpose  occasionally  indulging  myself, 
uring  the  winter  evenings,  in  gi'V'ing  you  a  sketch  of  my  intercourse  with 
he  world.  To  write  my  history  would  require  an  amanuensis  of  Mil- 
anian  birth,  but  I  wiU  try,  without  pretension  to  talent  or  principle,  to 
reat  you  with  a  few  plain  hints,  particularly  in  reference  to  my  present 
areer.  The  precise  moment  of  my  birth  I  cannot  state,  but  I  can  just  re- 
lember  the  first  brave  act  I  performed.  I  saw  a  happy  couple,  pure  from 
te  hands  of  their  Maker,  the  parents  of  a  numerous  progeny,  the  residents 
f  a  Paradise :  to  them  I  proposed  the  delusive  hope  of  God-like  know- 
lidge,  of  increased  happiness,  and  of  sovereign  power ;  and  here  I  suc- 
eeded,  and  brought 

"  Death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe." 
lere  commenced  my  reign,  and  ever  since,  through  all  ages,  and  in  every 
lace,  I  have  been  general  counseUer.  Kings,  courtiers,  and  priests  make 
16  their  confident,  and  amid  ten  thousand  changes  of  custom  and  fashion, 
;  have  still  maintained  my  repute.  Though  invisible  in  person,  I  am  al- 
xost  omnipotent  in  power ;  and  though  I  have  been  the  means  of  doing 
ijury  to  most,  yet  aU  seek  my  company,  and  caress  me  as  a  friend.  I  at- 
;nd  all  ranks,  and  pay  my  visits  to  the  cottage  and  the  palace.  At  every 
lart  of  commerce,  and  at  every  manufactory,  I  reside,  and  without  me 
le  proprietors  could  do  nothing.  The  ladies  consider  me  their  dearest 
iend,  and  the  gentlemen  acknowledge  my  services  as  invaluable.  WTiere 
lan  is  I  am,  and,  in  the  absence  of  real  merit,  I  am  especially  employed, 
ly  object  is  always  to  present  a  fair  outside,  to  speak  to  the  eyes  and  ears, 

VOL.  III.  r 


38 

and  to  prevent  suspicion  and  inquiry.  Appearances  are  the  points  to  whic' 
my  skill  is  constantly  directed,  whilst,  by  flattery  and  false  hopes,  I  per 
suade  mankind  to  shut  their  eyes  upon  facts. 

To  you,  Mr.  Moral  Reformer,  I  intend  to  be  frank,  for  even  if  yo' 
should  betray  my  confidence  by  divulging  my  secrets,  I  have  so  long  de 
luded  the  world  by  calling  good  evil,  and  evil  good,  that  many  of  you 
readers,  for  want  of  confidence,  will  consider  this  act  as  one  in  perfec 
keeping  with  the  rest.  Deception  is  my  name,  and,  like  all  liars,  I  ar 
seldom  believed  when  I  tell  the  truth.  I  candidly  acknowledge  that  I  an 
an  old  sinner,  and  as  a  confession  of  evil  deeds  is  said  to  be  a  sign  of  re 
pentance,  so  far  as  you  can  rely  upon  my  sincerity,  I  now  present  that  be 
fore  you. 

I  attend  all  the  markets,  and  assist  in  preparing  the  various  article: 
for  sale.       The  short- weighted  butter  I  make  to  appear  larger  in  size 
by  hollowing  the  under  side,   and  the  newest  churning  I  place   at  thi 
top  of  the  basket.     The  eggs  imported  from  Ireland,  or  collected  in  tin 
North,  I  order  to  be  cleaned,  and  placed,  a  few  at  a  time,  in  a  farmer' 
basket,  with  a  little  hay,  and  sold  as  farmers'  eggs.     The  sale  of  cheese  i 
promoted  by  polishing  and  greasing  the  outsides,  by  piling  them  up  so  a 
to  hide  the  blemishes,  and  by  mixing  the  best  and  worst  together.     Whei 
a  buyer  comes  in,  I  say,  "Now,  mind  which  cheese  you  try,  so  as  to  givi 
him  an  over  favourable  impression  of  the  quality."    Though  there  are  onl; 
about  two  daries  of  Leigh  cheese,  made  in  that  parish,  yet  you  cannot  cal 
at  a  wrong  place  for  this  article  ;  even  those  whose  supplies  are  exclusivel; 
from  the  Fylde,  have  good  "  Leigh  cheese"  on  sale.    It  is  one  of  my  stand 
ing  orders  to  farmers  and  others,  to  mind  the  tops  of  the  sacks  :  if  the  po 
tatoes  do  not  show  well  there,  the  price  will  be  less.     And  in  wheat,  oats 
&c.  the  sample  must  do  honour  to  the  bulk.     By  the  sample  trade  I  ha 
often  set  men  at  variance.     So  bent  are  the  people  upon  making  every  aj 
cle  look  to  the  best,  that  it  is  without  difficulty  they  are  persuaded  to  pi 
off  a  middling  article  by  a  prime  sample.     In  times  of  scarcity  and  hi 
price  of  grain,  I  suggest  the  use  of  substitutes ;  and  I  remember,  on  seve 
occasions,  producing  a  real  scarcity  of  "  thirds  flour,"  by  causing  it  to 
metamorphosed  and  mixed  with  meal.     Like  all  great  minds,  I  pay  atte 
tion  to  the  most  minute  affairs.    To  my  cockle  subjects  I  have  said,  "  Wl 
is  left  must  not  be  lost ;  mix  the  old  with  the  new,  and  pronounce  them 
'  fresh  :' "  and  in  an  evening,  as  I  have  passed  the  fish- stones,  I  have  bi 
no  little  amused  to  hear  them  cry,  "  Fresh  cockles,  a  halfpenny  a  qui 
Remorse,  it  is  well  known,  seldom  troubles  my  breast ;  but  in  the  warn 

1 


39 

lent  of  a  beast,  which  died  in  the  country  of  disease,  I  certainly  felt  some 
ualms  of  conscience.  The  animal  was  brought  into  the  town  ou  Thurs- 
ay  evening  at  twihght ;  it  was  slaughtered  in  a  retired  place,  and  carefully 
oncealed  till  Saturday  night.  The  carcase,  divided  into  several  hands, 
V  my  direction,  was  cut  up  into  small  pieces,  and  mixed  at  the  stalls 
ith  joints  of  good  meat  to  avoid  detection.  "  Yom-  own  price,  your  own 
rice,"  cried  the  seller ;  and  I  obser^^ed  many  poor  people,  tempted  by  a 
cheap  bit,"  carrying  away  for  their  best  fare  that  which  contained  the 
!eds  of  sickness,  if  not  mortal  disease.  "  Cheap,"  like  the  term  "  good," 
?  long  usage,  has,  in  a  measure,  ceased  to  strike  with  effect,  and  therefore 
Deception"  now  adopts  astounding  statements,  even  though  these,  like 
iftain  arguments,  should  sometimes  ' '  prove  too  much,  and  therefore  nothing 
;  all."  However,  the  plan  has  been  tried,  and  with  effect.  "  Great  bar 
uns,"  I  saw  displayed  at  the  front  of  one  shop,  while  "  considerably  un- 
iT  prime  cost,"  and  "  a  reduction  of  fifty  per  cent."  were  puffed  through 
le  town,  as  the  tenns  of  sale  for  a  "  bankrupt's  stock."  Some  of  my 
iends  content  themselves  with  the  flat  and  long  since  exploded  Hes  of — 
the  last  week,"  "the  last  day,"  and  "positively  the  last  night;"  but 
ese  are  become  obsolete ;  they  don't  take ;  the  present  generation  is  so 
r  on  in  the  "  march,"  that  something  later  than  the  "last"  is  now  looked 
r.  In  drawing  up  an  advertisement  of  hats,  to  be  handed  up  and  down 
e  town,  my  agent  had  put  down  the  round  number  of  2000,  but  at  my 
ggestion  the  first  figure  was  altered  for  a  3  :  it's  onlj'  the  change  of  a 
"ure,  and  it  can  do  no  harm  :  and  this  statement,  like  the  Irishman's  tale 
lich  was  the  same  for  every  horse,  old  and  young,  ser\'ed  as  well  for  Bol- 
n,  as  Preston  and  elsewhere ;  for  matters  were  so  arranged,  that  the  supply 
d  the  demand  kept  pace  with  each  other,  so  that  the  stock  was  always 
•00.  Passing  the  nut  market,  when  the  over  supply  seemed  rather  to 
:ike  the  chance  of  profit  uncertain,  a  novice  in  the  trade  espied  me,  and 
:ked  very  obsequiouslv  how  it  was  to  be  done.  "  O,"  said  I,  "  mind  the 
".les  of  the  trade  :  in  the  first  place,  take  care  that  all  the  husks  of  your 
'  11  cracking  are  carefully  retained,  and  sold  with  the  rest ;  next,  shake 
2  nuts  well  up,  so  that  all  the  ripe  ones,  by  leaving  the  husks,  will  mea- 
!re  as  two  for  one;  then  'flower'  the  top  of  your  sack  well  with  those 
lit  are  shelled ;  but,  above  all,  when  you  measure  them  to  your  custo- 
'?rs,  take  care  to  let  as  many  of  the  nuts  as  possible  drop  between  jour 
Igers."  A  man  weU  trained  was  fixed  upon  his  cart,  calhng  out,  "  Cheap 
«lin,  just  arrived  from  Sheffield."  Steel  knives,  made  of  cast  iron,  and 
f7er  spoons,  with  copper  bodies,  were  knocked  dov,Ti  at  amazingly  low 


40 

prices  ;  and  after  confounding  the  people  with  doses  of  palaver,  shilling- 
worths  were  handed  over  "tiiicker  and  faster,"  from  "the  man  that  wou 
ask  no  more  and  take  no  less,"  all  seeming  satisfied  with  this  "fair  ai 
open  sale,"  and  with  the  lumping  bargains  they  had  made.     Of  the  pt 
manent  utility  of  the  articles  I  say  nothing ;  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  th 
both  buyer  and  seller  seemed  satisfied.     Several  of  the  fraternity  we 
busily  employed  in  the  streets,  ofiiering  waistcoat  pieces  at  Yorkshire  price 
and  others  silk  handkerchiefs  of  India  manufacture.     These  were  careful 
concealed  under  the  breast  of  the  coat,  as  an  indication  of  their  being  smu, 
gled,  to  induce  the  imwary  purchaser  to  think  that  he  was  getting,  in  tl 
lowness  of  the  price,  the  portion  that  should  have  gone  to  the  excheijut 
Brass  candlesticks,  horse  combs,  &c.  were  carried  about  for  sale,  "  chea 
and  the  last  pair  I  have  left."    But  the  Irish  pig  men  outdo  all  beside,  thouf 
they  are  the  most  indiscreet  agents  I  employ.     The  cautious  old  fanne 
upon  whose  simplicity  Patrick  calculates  an  exorbitant  profit,  gives  crec 
to  nothing  that  he  says ;  in  homely  phrase,   "  it  comes  in  at  one  ear,  ai 
goes  out  at  the  other."     And,  therefore,  with  all  their  intentions  to  d' 
ceive,  if  they  at  all  succeed,  the  merit  is  not  attributable  to  the  duplici 
of  the  swine  merchants,  but  to  the  want  of  judgment  in  the  purchase 
A  celebrated  book  man  graced  the  market  with  a  stock  adapted  to  tl 
times.      I  assisted  him  the  night  before  in  making  ready.      We  assorts 
cut,  covered,  painted,  labelled  and  finished  them  ofi"  in  style.     The  6. 
fashioned  plan  of  stitching,  as  essential  to  firmness,  we  abandoned  for  ^ 
ready  and  fashionable  mode  of  glueing  the  sheets  together.     As  for  % 
difficulties  arising  from  various  sorts,  and  subjects,  and  pages,  we  easi 
settled  that :  the  only  insurmountable  difficulty  was,  that  royals,  demie 
and  foolscaps  would  not  bind  together.     Aristotle   I  saw  him  sell  ill 
drunken  company  for  a  New  Testament ;  and  for  a  perfect  volume  of 
Methodist  Magazine,  twelve  odd  numbers,  several  of  which  were  du 
Gates !     This  was  done  with  the  assistance  of  that  never-faihng  "  sootlj 
syrup,"  a  pot  of  beer.     He  had  on  his  stall  several  odd  volumes,  ■vd 
were  prepared  for  sale,  as  "  perfect  works,"  by  the  erasure  of  the  nuD^ 
of  the  volume  on  the  title  page.     "  There  is  roguery  in  all  trades  but  ot( 
say  the  booksellers ;  but,  I  promise  you,  I  am  as  active  here  as  in  any  ol 
craft.     Standing  in  a  shop  in  the  Market-place,  towards  evening,  a  pf 
lame,  decrepit  beggar  with  difficulty  mounted  the  three  steps  at  the 
and  asked  for  something  to  pay  his  lodging.     His  tale  was  as  lamental 
as  I  knew  it  was  false ;  but,  by  his  contortions  of  body  and  pitiful  acce^ 
he  secured  a  penny.      Curious  to  see  the  cleverness  of  an  old  discipl 


I 


■ 


41 

[  watched  at  the  steps,  which  he  descended  with  all  the  ease  and  facility 
rf  a  sound  man.  The  penny  had  cured  his  lameness,  and  his  eyes  were 
iow  directed  upwards  'to  the  various  signs  which  appear  on  the  walls,  till 
ixing  upon  "  The  Shakspeare,"  he  bolted  up  the  yard  with  all  the  alacrity 
)f  a  youth.  I  always  take  care  to  cover  my  impositions  with  strong 
iirofessions  of  humanity,  hence,  on  market  days,  my  beloved  friends.  Dr. 

,  and  Dr. ,  in  this  respect,  have  made  full  proof  of  their  ministry. 

Inowing  that  the  gullibility  of  many  people  is  equal  to  their  sufferings, 
•cm  "  a  certain  disease,"  I  have  taught  them  to  spread  as  widely  as  pos- 
ible  their  professions  of  disinterestedness  and  sympathy.  I  offer  the 
)llowing  as  a  specimen  of  ray  ability  in  training  these  men  to  guU  the 

tabUc : 

Dr. ,  from  London, 

Seeing  so  many  of  his  fellow-creatures  suffering  from  the  ravages  of  that  distressing 
sease,  and  knowing  that  many  valuable  members  of  society  are  falling  a  sacrifice  to  the 
its  held  out  by  ignorant  pretenders  to  the  medical  art;  feels  himself  imperatively  called 
|)on  to  warn  the  public  against  trusting  themselves  in  the  hands  of  boasting  imposters, 
bile,  alas,  how  many  melancholy  instances  have  we  before  our  eyes  of  those  unfortunate 
btims,  who  have  fallen  into  this  snare — many  a  man,  upon  whose  life  hung  all  the  hopes 
I  a  tender  wife  and  darling  offspring,  and  all  this  might  have  been  prevented  had  he 

;  ['ened  his  situation  to  Dr. ,  who  is  a7ixious  to  soothe  the  ills  of  human  misery,  is  con- 

i  I  ted  daily  by  either  sex,  with  every  reliance,  and  pledges  himself  he  will  neither  impose 
r  DECEIVE  any  who  apply  to  him,  by  holding  out  promises  he  is  unable  to  realize.    Thou- 

^Jids,  after  having  been  deceived  by  ignorant  boasters  or  designing  impostors,  can 

t.Hify  of  their  being  cured  by  him. 

So  lucrative  is  this  branch  of  the  medical  profession,  that  one  of  these 

jcijctors  regularly  employs  three  men  in  preparing  and    distributing   his 

He  keeps  a  printing  press  on  purpose,  and  so  large  is  his  circula- 

n,  that  in  printing,  posting,  and  distributing,  these  three  are  kept  in 

1  employment.     There  is  nothing  I  love  so  much  as  quackery ;  but  as 

subject  is  so  copious,  I  will  reserve  the  history  of  my  exploits  in  this 

ijartment  to  a  future  opportunity. 

.?]    The  extent  of  my  influence,  and  the  number  of  my  emissaries,  are  but 

dUle  known;  and  could  1,  by  some  magical  effort,  unveil  for  a  moment 

t'the  simple  and  the  unsuspecting  the  real  sentiments,  feelings,  and  ope- 

P  ons  of  this  nether  world,  what  an  impression  it  would  produce  !     I  at- 

ttded  the  late  horse  fair  at  Preston,  and  I  assure  you  I  never  had  a  harder 

^^;k  in  my  life.     For  a  long  time  previously  I  was  busy  "making  up," 

a   it  is  no  httle  addition  to  my  fame  to  know  that  many  unsound  horses 

v^e  passed  off,   through  the   arts  and  mysteries  of  the  profession,  as 

"  )und  of  limb,  wind,  and  eye  sight."     I  always  work  according  to  my 


43 

material.  The  jockey  and  the  Irishman  I  instruct  to  dress  trim,  and 
warm  up,  and  in  selling  to  swear  and  lie  in  perfect  character ;  while  the 
old  fai'mers'  tricks  are  more  of  a  negative  quality.  Having  little  to  say 
they  seldom  involve  themselves  in  self  contradiction:  the  simplicity  o) 
their  manners,  and  their  apparent  ignorance  of  the  world,  lead  many  tc 
think  that  "  they  have  no  ill  in  them;"  and  hence  those  who  have  "  plent) 
of  money  and  little  judgment"  get  nicely  bitten.  They  are  considered /a/ 
but  they  are  sometimes  .\s  sharp  as  the  "  sharpers"  themselves.  It  is  wel 
known  to  my  fi-iends  that  I  have  a  specific  for  "  broken- winded  horses,' 
but  it  is  only  temporary,  and  hence  we  sometimes  fail  of  success.  One  o; 
my  fellows,  at  the  Preston  fair,  sold  a  "tit"  worth  £5  for  £16,  by  thi; 
expedient,  and  of  course  gave  "  a  warrant."  He  gave  a  false  name  o; 
himself ;  but  the  deception  was  discovered  before  he  got  away  ;  and  thougl 
he  had  the  pleasure  of  a  lodging  in  the  lock-up,  he  got  clear  by  returning 
the  money.  To  induce  sales  it  is  not  uncommon  for  partners  to  divide 
one  to  be  the  seller  and  the  other  the  buyer  of  their  own  horse :  they  bar 
gain,  and  haggle,  and  dispute,  till  they  come  near  a  bargain,  and  having  a: 
they  suppose  excited  the  attention  of  some  other  persons  likely  to  be  pur 
chasers,  they  break  off  at  a  trifle,  expecting,  and  sometimes  succeeding  b} 
this  trick,  to  induce  others  to  fall  in  for  the  bargain.  Time  would  fail  tc 
teU  of  the  tricks  of  horse  dealers,  and  there  is  no  season  in  the  year  a 
Preston  during  which  more  honour  is  done  to  myself  than  at  "  the  grea' 
Saturday  week." 

Swindling  is  a  game  which  I  have  always  delighted  to  honour.  Thi 
idle  and  the  dissipated  are  generally  led  to  this  as  their  last  resource.  Tli' 
newspapers  teem  with  accounts  of  my  audacity  in  this  line  of  business, 
had  lately  an  ephemeral  establishment  in  M  inchester  that  acted  adrairabl; 
well.  My  agent  and  company  gave  out  that  they  were  some  great  ones 
and  established  a  register  and  agency  office.  The  applicants  for  situation 
were  numerous,  who,  being  flattered  with  the  highest  prospects  of  success 
were  induced  to  part  with  liberal  fees  ;  and  so  unrelenting  am  I  in  all 
institutions,  that  plans  were  adopted  to  manoeuvre  from  some  deluded 
pectants  the  last  penny  they  had  in  the  world.  One  morning  before  di 
light  the  whole  establishment  disappeared,  and  hundreds  who  had  been 
the  tip-toe  of  expectation  were  seen  surrounding  the  door,  bewailing  thei 
disappointment  and  the  loss  of  their  cash,  and  cursing  all  the  world  fo 
villains. 

The  following  paper  will  disclose  the  design  of  another  of  this  frater 
nitv.     It  was  carried  about  in  Preston,  along  with  a  book  of  subscriptions 


es8 

I 


01 


to 

i 


i 


43 

-urporting  to  have  been  coUected  in  the  neighbourhood,  with  a  statement 
t  the  head  that  £22  had  been  subscribed  in  Liverpool.  Suspicion  being- 
aised  at  a  certain  place  where  he  called,  the  bearer  was  asked  several 
uestions,  who,  in  return,  stated,  that  if  the  gentleman  had  any  doubt  he 
'ould  fetch  a  certificate  of  the  truth  of  his  statement  from  a  respectable 
eighbour.  He  went,  but  never  returned,  and  was  seen  about  the  same 
me  by  another  person  decamping  with  all  speed.  The  document  is  a  for- 
5ry,  and  was  drawn  up  in  a  certain  public  house  the  night  before,  by  a 
aebrated  artist  in  these  articles,  and  cost  the  moderate  sum  of  four  pence. 
is  as  follows : 

Borough  of  Liverpool  in  the  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster. 

To  WIT— We,  the  undersigned  magistrates,  minister,  and  churchwardens  of  tlie  bo- 
igh  of  Liverpool,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  beaver  hereof,  William  Johnson,  a  carrier 
.3  met  with  a  most  grievous  loss,  by  the  death  of  six  horses  and  three  cows,  within  the 
t  two  years.     One  of  his  horses  died  last  Monday. 

The  said  William  Johnson  having  a  wife  and  four  small  children  to  support,  and  no 
;ans  whatever  left  to  replace  the  loss  but  by  making  application  to  the  charitable  and 
Imane;  therefore,  in  consideration  of  his  great  loss,  we  strongly  recommend  him  as  one 
>:thy  of  humane  consideration. 

Given  under  our  hands  and  seals,  at  Liverpool,  this  twelfth  day  of  November,  1832. 

Charles  Horsfall,  Mayor   • 
Thomas  Brancker  • 

I  give  you  the  above  sketch,  Mr.  Moral  Reformer,  as  a  foretaste  of 
Vat  T  have  in  reserve.  Little  do  many  know  of  my  depth,  subtlety,  and 
eensive  influence  in  the  world.  I  am  the  unseen  presider  at  all  public 
pties;  no  one  attends  public  worship  with  a  better  grace  than  myself; 
*.  I  support  many  a  reverend  gentleman  in  liis  exhortations  to  "resist 
tl  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil."     The  lawyers,  auctioneers,  and  mock 

Pi'iots  are  fond  of  my  company,  and  the but  I  am  anticipating  my  next 

rcith's  task,  and  must  forbear.  Of  Jesuitical  extraction,  my  constant 
M  IS  to  make  black  white,  and  white  black.  I  glory  in  deluding  your 
W;;  and  though  you  may  attempt  to  oppose  me,  my  authority  is  so  en- 
tr  ched  in  the  feelings  and  habits  of  all  classes,  that  I  hold  you  all  at  de- 
fii^e. 


I  have  the  honour  to  subscribe  myself, 

Yours,  whenever  I  may  be  wanted. 


DECEPTION'." 


44 
VISITING  AND  RELIEVING  THE  POOR. 

"Pure  and  undefiled  relighn  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  wido^ 
their  distress,  and  to  keep  ourselves  unspotted  from  the  world." 

There  is  no  duty  which  comports  more  with  the  genuine  sympal 
of  nature,  with  the  dictates  of  enhghtened  reason,  or  the  genius  and 
cepts  of  Christianity,  than  that  of  visiting  and  relieving  the  poor  ; 
I  may  safely  add,  that  there  is  no  duty  so  generally  neglected  or  so  " 
performed.     If  I  am  met  with  the  argument,  that  we  have  benevole; 
stitutions  in  abundance,  I  answer,  this  does  not  invalidate  my  asse 
but,  however  strange  it  may  appear  to  some,  rather  confirms  it.     I 
offer  irrefragable  evidence  of  the  misery,  distress,  and  sufferings 
poor,  and  that  they  are  awfully  neglected.     The  estabhshment  of  di 
saries,  lying-in  charities,  and  eleemosynary  institutions  prove,  in  refe 
to  the  poor,  what  the  enlargement  of  prisons  does  in  reference  to  c 
that  they  have  been  really  neglected,  and  that  instead  oi  preventing,  we 
constantly  preparing  for  an  augmented  quantity  of  poverty  and  cri 
Have  poverty  and  misery  receded  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  bene  ■ 
lent  societies  ?     No.     In  the  first  place,  the  formation  of  these  socie  3 
clearly  supposes  a  great  want  of  that  diffusive,  personal  benevolence,  wl  i 
would  certainly  prevent  the  increase  of  poverty ;  and,  in  the  next  ph  , 
they  double  its  extent,  by  calling  every  feeling  into  exercise,  in  the  bre;  ^ 
of  the  poor,  with  which  poverty  is  allied.     To  come  to  the  point,  rea  i 
and  revelation  teach  us,  that  though  there  will  always  be  rich  and  pi . 
they  should  not  be  divided  as  if  they  were  different  orders  in  cresj 
They  should  amalgamate  together,  court  each  other's  company,  hold"! | 
stant  intercourse,  and  share  each  other's  joys  and  sorrows.     Instei 
this,  every  mark  of  distinction  is  raised ;  residence,  titles,  associatio: 
bits ;  every  thing,  whether  in  civil  or  religious  society,  is  marked  wi 
exclusiveness  of  a  caste ;  and  an  honorary,  bastard  charity  is  introi 
by  subscribing  to  societies,  to  meet  its  unsocial  effects,  and  to  pe 
this  ungenerous  distance.     "Oh,"  says  the  gentleman,  "don't  exp 
to  descend  the  cellars  of  the  poor  ;  don't  impose  upon  me  the  un^ 
task  of  inhaling  the  pestiferous  effluvia  of  the  sick  man's  room  ;  hwi^ 
spare  time  from  the  counting  house,  or  disappoint  the  party  I  have  engi 
to  meet,  to  attend  to  the  inferior  matter  of  inquiring  after  the  well  b  g 
of  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  the  back  streets.     Besides,  how  degrag 
to  a  man  of  my  standing  in  society !    I  should  be  marked,  and  te ' 


45 

ibout  in  my  circle,  and  slighted  b}'  all  my  'respectable'  companions.     It  is 

lot  agreeable  to  my  habits,  nor  do  you  see  men  of  rank  spending  their  time 

n  this  way.     And  if  it  were  known  that  I  was  given  to  administering  re- 

ief  personally,  my  gates  would  never  be  shut,  for  so  expecting  and  impu- 

lent  are  the  poor,  that  I  should  be  teased  every  day  of  my  life.     There 

ire  the  poor  laws  and  societies  for  all  these  purposes,  and  if  not,  let 

)thers  be  formed  :  here  is  two  guineas  to  this,  and  one  guinea  to  that ;  but 

must  be  excused  any  personal  service."     Hence  it  is  that  instead  of  per- 

ONAL  LABOUR,  which  is  every  where  wanted,  men  get  oflF  with  a  paltry 

ubscription,  make  proxies  of  committees,  abandon  the  poor  to  the  merci- 

3SS  agency  of  hirelings,  and  actually  at  the  same  time  get  "honour  from 

len,"  as  liberal  supporters  of  benevolent  institutions.     Personal  labour, 

tough  in  some  cases  less  ostentatious,  is  quite  opposite  to  this,  and  is  the 

nly  duty  that  can  ever  raise  the  poor  in  the  scale  of  society :  it  not  only 

revents  much  poverty  and  suffering,  but  ascertains  its  causes,  extent,  and 

^gravation.     It  has  at  least  the  following  good  effects.     It  excites  the 

Dcial  sympathies,  strengthens  the  bonds  of  friendship,  and  prevents  most 

f  those  groundless  accusations  which  the  rich  are  constantly  preferring 

gainst  the  poor,  and  the  poor  against  the  rich.     How  different  is  the 

.;eling  of  generosity,  when  putting  half  a  crown  into  the  hand  of  a  poor 

idow,  acknowledged  by  the  gratefid  smiles  of  her  hungered  childien,  by 

hom  she  is  surrounded,  to  that  which  accompanies  the  accosting  collector, 

I  have  called  for  your  subscription,  Sir!"     Ah  !  the  pleasm-es  of  a  gene- 

)us  heart  have  no  room  for  expansion  within  the  frigid  atmosphere  of 

icieties  composed  of  patrons,   committees,   collectors,   and  distributors. 

I  the  Sheffield  Iris,  I  notice  an  affecting  appeal  to  the  benevolent,  by  a 

,»ciety,  for  funds  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  the  poor;   and  these  are 

nmmon  in  every  large  town  ;  but  how  seldom  are  they  responded  to  in  a 

anner  to  meet  the  exigency  of  the  case !     My  appeal  to  every  wealthy 

an  would  be,  to  go  and  visit  the  poor,  and  that  would  be  superior  to 

I  beside  to   induce  his  liberality.      Tliis  practice  also  affords  propor- 

ONATE  rehef.      Is  this  done  by  subscriptions  ?      Are  the  necessities  of 

e  people   the  measure  of  the  subscription  ?      No.      The  amount  given 

my  friend,  Mr. ,  and  Dr. ,  is  the  guide.     Let  a  man  person- 

'y  visit  the  poor,  and  he  will  have  a  much  better  rule— the  wants  of  the 
fferers.  Sometimes  the  subscriptions  of  gentlemen  are  echoed  as  mag- 
ficent ;  but  for  my  part,  comparing  them  to  the  necessities  of  the  people, 
the  benevolence  of  our  forefathers,  to  the  means  of  the  givers,  and,  espe- 
■lUy,  to  the  sums  expended  on  other  inferior  objects.  I  have  generally 

VOL.  III.  G 


considered  them  as  paltiy  and  contemptible.  Nothing  but  personal  visita- 
tion can  produce  a  liberal  giver,  and  hence  I  am  not  surprised  when  I  hea) 
of  a  man  "R-ho  would  halve  a  sovereign  to  a  charity,  and  yet  give  £50  tc 
an  election  fund.  But,  what  is  of  still  greater  importance,  if  persona 
visitation  were  adopted,  and  if  kind  and  brotherly  feelings  were  cultivated 
a  great  mass  of  poverty  would  he  prevented.  No  small  share  of  the  warn 
which  appears  at  the  boards  of  our  charities  arises  from  ignorance  anc 
vice,  suffered  to  accumulate,  for  want  of  a  generous  friend  to  advise  anc 
correct.  Let  the  intelligent  and  the  virtuous,  who  are  in  affluent  circum 
stances,  "  condescend  to  men  of  low  estate,"  visit  their  habitations,  make 
them  their  companions,  give  them  wholesome  advice,  show  a  generous  dis 
position  and  a  good  example,  and  let  this  be  general  and  regularly  pursued 
and  the  good  effects  upon  the  morals  of  the  poor  would  immediately  b( 
seen.  Intoxicated  with  the  pride,  and  pomp,  and  vanities  of  the  world 
we  have  neglected  the  poor,  till,  by  the  wide-spreading  influence  of  vicioui 
habits,  their  numbers  and  their  poverty  continue  to  multiply ;  and  insteac 
of  retracing  our  steps,  and  breaking  down  every  barrier  of  social  inter 
course,  we  still  by  our  conduct  say,  "Keep  them  at  a  distance :  the  over 
seers'  office,  the  workhouse,  the  dispensary,  the  soup  house  is  the  prope: 
place  for  their  relief."  Besides,  by  visiting  the  poor,  while  from  a  reU 
gious  feehng  we  should  be  led  to  reHeve  actual  distress,  as  Englishmei 
and  as  fellow  citizens,  whenever  the  poverty  of  the  people  was  not  con 
nected  with  age,  infirmity,  or  bereavements,  but  evidently  resulting  fron 
national  causes,  we  should  be  led  to  seek  after  relief  more  permanent  anc 
honourable  than  charity.  For  I  am  quite  sure  that  no  man  with  the  le<||| 
feeling  of  patriotism  in  his  breast,  could  long  endure  to  see  suffering 
that  of  our  hand  loom  weavers,  without  seeking  a  general  remedy, 
a  revision  of  our  national  policy.  If,  by  personal  visitation,  tempe 
industrv,  and  economy  could  be  introduced  among  all  the  labouring  clas 
ses  ;  if  relief  could  be  obtained  for  the  able  bodied  by  raising  the  value  fl 
their  own  industry,  the  relieving  of  the  necessitous  poor  would  be  an  'em 
burden,  and  one  which  we  should  all  bear  with  pleasure.  And  bad,  I  nj 
sav,  is  that  system  which,  either  by  poor  laws  or  societies,  induces  m^ 
and  women  to  neglect  the  duty,  the  pleasure,  and  the  manifold  advant 
of  personally  visiting  and  relieving  these.  I  don't  deny  that  good; 
the  abstract,  has  been  done  by  honorary  charity ;  but  I  wish  to  maint 
that  by  substituting  this  for  personal  attention  to  the  poor,  a  greater  gM 
has  been  neglected ;  and  that  this  plan  has  this  pecvdiarly  bad  effect,  thatp( 
constantly  increases  the  evil  which  it  is  intended  to  remove.     I  have  m 

V 


li 


47 

rued  thus  upon  principle,  upon  what  is  the  duty  of  us  all,  not  what 
:he  majority  of  men  are  williug  to  perform.  And,  therefore,  on  the  ground 
)f  expediency,  if  it  were  asked — as  I  know  it  will  hy  many  who  read  these 
•cmarks — "  So  long  as  men  will  not  do  their  duty  hy  personally  visiting  and 
•elieving  the  poor,  had  we  not  better  continue  to  do  some  good,  through 
he  medium  of  societies,  than  suffer  the  poor  to  be  totally  neglected  ?"  I 
an  disposed  to  answer,  Yes ;  but  in  connection  with  this,  let  the  other 
iuty  be  incessantly  cultivated,  lest  the  form  and  fashion  of  the  one  destroy 
he  obligation  and  utility  of  the  other.  The  adoption  of  every  new  society 
3  a  fresh  expedient,  arising  out  of  the  unwillingness  of  Christians  generally 
!o  do  their  duty.  The  number  who  feel  for  the  poor,  and  are  really  wish- 
;ul  to  better  their  condition,  is  very  few ;  and,  therefore,  to  accomplish  the 
bject  in  a  limited  degree,  they  have  recourse  to  various  contrivances. 
Jails  and  bazaars,  to  replenish  the  funds  of  charity  societies,  are  now  be- 
oming  common,  and  the  man  that  would  not  give  a  shilling  personally  to 
he  poor,  for  the  gratification  of  dancing  with  the  ladies  is  cajoled  out  of 
alf  a  sovereign.  This  may  answer  as  a  temporary  relief  for  a  few  extreme 
ases,  but  it  is  perpetuating  the  distance  and  disunion  existing  betwixt  the 
ich  and  the  poor,  and  blinking  their  neglect  of  duty.  The  rich  and  the 
liddle  ranks  of  society  should  be  impressed  with  the  duty  of  caring  for  the 
|oor,  from  principle,  and  not  as  a  payment  for  personal  gratification.  I  re- 
ret  most  sincerely  that  our  working  population  should  need  the  aid  of 
harity  at  all ;  and  I  regret  equally  that  we  seem  to  have  so  little  love  for 
ur  neighbours  as  to  refer  their  cases  to  societies,  and  that  even  the  funds 
f  these  societies  have  to  be  replenished  continually  by  the  proceeds  of  mu- 
cal  festivals,  balls,  bazaars,  theatrical  performances,  &c.  A  real,  liberal, 
oluntary,  cheerful,  self-denying  attention  to  the  poor  is  the  rarest  thing 
'e  meet  with.  Alas  !  on  this  point,  as  on  most  other  practical  subjects, 
i-hatever  precepts  may  have  sounded  from  the  pulpit,  the  fact  is,  as  the 
jquel  will  show,  that  the  example  of  those  who  ought  to  lead  in  every 
iood  thing  has  been  wanting.  I  beg  here,  as  somewhat  connected  with 
le  above,  to  subjoin  the  following  sketch  of 

VISITS  TO  THE  POOR  IN  LIVERPOOL  AND  PRESTON. 
This  statement  refers  to  the  visits  of  myself  and  Mr.  Finch,  of  Liver- 
3ol,  an  individual  who  has  long  laboured  in  various  ways  to  better  the 
mdition  of  the  people.  The 'first  was  in  Liverpool,  on  Sunday,  Decern- 
i^r  30;  the  next  in  Preston,  on  Sunday.  January  7.  Of  our  visit  in  Liver- 
)ol.  I  give  the  foUowing  abridged  statement  which  Mr.  F.  published  in 
le  Liverpool  Mercruy. 

il 


48 


i 


Our  labours  were  confined  to  visiting  from  forty  to  fifty  families 
siding  on  the  left  hand  side  of  Preston-street,  beginning  at  Wliitechaj 
perhaps  we  visited  about  one-fourth  part  of  the  street,  or  rather  less, 
so  appalling  were  the  scenes  of  wretchedness  we  witnessed,  that  Mr.j 
who  has  visited  the  dwellings  of  the  poor  weavers  in  different  parts  of ; 
county,  who  can  earn  only  from  about  four  to  eight  shillings  per  week, 
clares  he  never  saw  any  among  them  half  so  miserable  as  those  we 
this  day  seen  in  a  small  portion  of  one  street  in  the  very  centre  of  the^ 
cond  commercial  town  of  the  most  rich  and  powerful  empire  in  the  woij 
I  think  it  due  to  suffering  humanity  to  relate  exactly  what  we  saw,  wit! 
any  concealment  or  exaggeration ;  those  who  doubt  may  easily  satisfy  th^ 
selves  by  personal  inquiries  on  the  spot.     My  remarks  wiU  be  upon 
houses,  rent,  furniture,  bedding,  food,  clothing,  and  employment  of  the| 
habitants  of  Preston-street.     In  all  the  houses  we  visited,  with  few  ex(\ 
tions,  each  single  room,  from  eight  to  eleven  feet  square,  is  inhabited  by  < 
sometimes  two  families,  in  which  they  both  eat,  drink,  cook,  wash, 
sleep.     These  houses  are  in  general  in  a  dilapidated  state,  with  brc 
doors,  mouldering  walls  tumbling  to  ruin,  broken  windows,  in  some  c^ 
no  windows  at  all,  and  some  without  fireplaces ;    some  inhabit  the  dai> 
damp  cellars,  so  low  that  you  cannot  stand  upright  in  them,  and  not  unfr( 
quently  subject  to  floods  of  water ;    in  general  these  places  are  filthy  i 
the  extreme.      The  rent  paid  for  these  wretched  hovels,   scarcely  fit  f( 
pigs  to  live  in,  is  from  Is.  6d.  to  3s.  per  week.     The  landlord,  not  wilUn 
to  be  troubled  with  collecting  the  rents,  lets  the  house  to  one  person,  wl 
collects  from  the  rest ;    thus  for  a  house  worth  not  more  than  £12  per: 
num,  between  £40  and  £50  is  paid  to  the  middleman  by  the  subtena 
and  thus,  after  the  labouring  classes  have  supported  every  other  in  soci 
one   out  of  every  six  or   seven  families  has  to  give  one -fourth  at  leas 
what  is  left  to  support  another  idler  from  among  themselves.     The 
ture,  &c.  generally  consists  of  two  or  three  old  broken  chairs  or  stool 
common  deal  table,  a  few  earthenware  crocks,  half  of  them  broker 
pair  of  old  bedsteads,    (we  scarcely  saw  one  pair  worth  five  shillii 
and  a  bed  and  bolster  made  of  wrapping  and  stuffed  with  straw,  no  sh^ 
or  blankets,  a  dirty  ragged  coverlet  was,  in  general,  aU  the  bed-clothes  1 
had,  in  many  cases  there  were  neither  bedsteads  nor  beds  of  any  kind,  [ 
women  and  children  compelled  to  wrap  themselves  up  in  a  few  rags, 
lie  upon  the  bare  boards.     The  food  of  these  people  is  as  coarse  as 
ftirniture  and  lodging  :  we  found  them  dining  as  they  do  in  Ireland,  u| 
potatoes  with  their  jackets  on ;  very  few  appeared  to  have  a  taste  of  mfi 


49 

nd  but  very  little  bread.  In  one  small  room  we  found  two  widows  with 
our  children,  without  bed  or  furniture,  who  sleep  upon  a  few  shaving's 
iid  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  with  very  few  rags  or  bed-clothes  to  cover 
hem ;  there  was  no  bread,  no  potatoes,  no  food  of  any  kind  in  the  place, 
xeept  a  few  fish  gills  thi-own  away  in  the  market,  which  they  intended  to 
oil  for  their  dinner.  The  clothing  corresponded;  it  was  all  dirt,  or  rags,  or 
oth.  Six  persons  in  the  forty  famUies,  we  beheve,  could  not  clothe  them- 
elves  fit  to  appear  in  a  place  of  worship ;  not  one  individual  among  them 
Q  had  been  at  a  place  of  worship ;  very  few  ever  attended ;  and  why 
hovld  they  attend  ?  no  minister  of  religion  visits  any  of  them  form  one 
ear's  end  to  another,  except  in  a  few  cases,  when  a  Cathohc  priest  is  sent 
W  to  see  one  of  them  at  the  point  of  death ;  and  one  instance  we  met 
itii  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  visiting  in  similar  circumstances. ^The 
luses  of  all  these  evils  we  found  to  be  ignorance,  want  of  employment, 
)w  wages,  and  habits  of  intemperance. — This  visit  has  determined  me  to 
2vote  every  Sunday  morning  in  this  acceptable  service  to  our  great  Crea- 
ir,  and  to  endeavour  to  prevail  upon  my  brother  members  to  form  a  com- 
ittee  sufficiently  large  to  visit  the  whole  town  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
it  all  the  drunkards,  and  inviting  them  to  enter  our  society  and  to  engage 
this  god-like  cause.  With  this  one  reflection  I  will  close  for  the  present, 
so  much  vice  and  misery  is  to  be  found  in  one-fourth  part  only  of  one 
laall  street,  what  must  be  the  aggregate  amount  in  the  thousand  streets 
turts,  and  alleys  of  the  great  town  of  Liverpool !  Shame  on  the  town  and 
I  its  inhabitants  if  this  state  of  things  be  sufiered  to  remam  any  longer. 
I  Iriends,  let  us  up  and  be  doing. 

In  our  visitation  of  the  poor  of  Preston,  we  chese  the  upper  end  of 
ueen-street,  and  the  cellars  in  Leeming-street,  as  affording  a  fair  specimen 
the  poorest  parts  of  the  town.  With  few  exceptions,  these  houses  are 
cupied  by  weavers  :  they  generally  consist  of  a  small  house  part,  one  bed 
cm,  and  a  work  cellar :  and  for  a  house  of  this  description  the  average 
at  is  Is.  lOd.  per  week,  and  about  2d.  for  taxes,  for  all,  however  poor, 
y  taxes  in  Preston.  The  fire  costs  them  about  Is.  per  week.  When 
ese  deductions  are  made  from  their  earnings,  it  is  astonishing  how  they 
•ntinue  to  hve  upon  what  remains.  The  net  income  of  the  calico  and 
'tnbric  weavers,  taking  an  average  of  three  months,  and  an  average  of 
)rkmen,  is  about  os.  a  week.  A  single  man  is  scarcely  able  to  live  out 
<  weaving ;  but  with  this  income,  which,  after  deductuig  rent,  taxes,  and 
le,  leaves  only  2s.,  how  is  a  man  able  to  maintain  a  wife  and  three  or  four 
•iidren?     This  difficulty  is  relieved,  first,  by  a  httle  parochial  assistance : 


50 

these  families  generally  receive  from  Is.  to  3s.  a  week  relief,  according'  '■ 
the  extent  of  the  family ;  but  many,  who  belong  to  out  townships,  are  i 
the  extreme  of  wretchedness,  for  if  they  apply  for  relief,  the  workhouse  on 
is  offered,  to  terrify  them  away.  In  the  next  place,  if  the  family  be  sma 
or  if  the  children  can  take  care  of  each  other,  the  wife  either  weaves 
home  or  goes  to  the  winding  frame  or  dandy  looms,  and  thus  the  po 
creature,  who  should  be  supported  out  of  her  husband's  earnings,  stay 
home  to  take  care  of  her  family,  and  enjoy  the  comforts  of  domestic  life, 
worked  like  a  horse  all  week,  has  to  wash  her  few  clothes  on  a  Saturd; 
night,  and  clean  up  on  the  Sunday.  So  soon  as  the  children  can  be  admi 
ted  into  the  factories,  they  are  sent,  to  make  up  the  deficiency  of  the  father 
earnings ;  and  thus  commences  the  pitiful  career  of  slave-like  labour, 
emaciation,  and  of  moral  depravity.  By  these  means  the  scanty  subsis 
ence  of  these  families  is  made  up.  Very  much  to  the  credit  of  this  cla? 
though  they  are  bare  of  clothing  and  bedding,  and  have  scarcely  any  fun 
ture,  they  all  seemed  clean  and  tidy:  their  floors  were  washed  and  sande 
and  form  a  great  contrast  to  the  wretched  hovels  we  visited  in  Liverpo( 
Indeed,  both  as  to  circumstances  and  character,  I  consider  those  we  visiti 
in  Liverpool  much  beneath  those  we  visited  in  Preston.  From  inqui 
in  both  places  we  ascertained  this  lamentable  fact,  that  no  religious  teach 
ever  comes  to  visit  them,  or  inquire  after  their  condition,  unless,  as  in  cm 
of  sickness,  he  happens  to  be  sent  for.  V|l 

"With  this  picture  before  us,  what  can  we  think  of  ourselves  }  Wh 
claim  have  we  to  the  character  of  humane,  or  to  the  more  honourable  a 
pellation  of  Christian,  while  we  suffer  these  wretched  families  to  rema 
in  this  destitute  condition  ?  By  never  going  among  them,  we  become  a 
lous  to  their  complaints,  and  are  ready  to  believe  all  the  wicked  and  fa! 
reports  which  are  circulated  respecting  them.  Let  a  man  visit  the  huml 
dwellings  of  the  poor,  and  see  their  incessant  struggles  for  a  bare  existd 
and  even  yet  their  manly  pride  of  independency,  and  he  cannot  witl 
the  tear  of  sympathy,  the  practical  exercise  of  benevolence,  and  an  ar^ 
wish  to  join  every  philanthropist  in  seeking  some  general  rembdtJ 
bettering  their  condition.  While  enjoyment  and  pleasure  gladden 
region  in  creation ;  while  the  delight  of  life  beams  upon  every  ordi 
existences ;  and  while  one  part  of  the  family  of  man  is  superabundti 
furnished  with  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life,  can  we  patiently  endu* 
see  the  most  labourious  of  our  kind,  but  half  fed,  half  clothed,  in 
midst  of  poverty  and  wretchedness,  and  that  in  a  land  of  plenty  .-'  I  re|i 
what  I  have  said  before,  that  the  misguided  public  charities,  operating 41 


51 

he  Stoical  indifference  of  the  wealthy,  and  the  total  neglect  of  the  clergy, 
ave  served  to  perpetuate  this  condition  of  the  people.  When  we  learn  to 
we  our  neighbours  as  ourselves,  this  state  of  things  will  cease.  Amidst 
le  blaze  of  religious  profession,  we  should  remember  the  admonition  of 
le  apostle:  "  If  we  love  not  our  brother  whom  we  have  seen,  how  can  we 
ve  God  whom  we  have  not  seen  ?" 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE. 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  have  to  record,  from  month  to  month, 

e  growing  prosperity  of  the  temperance  cause.     So  hrational  is  the  prac- 

:e,  so  diabolical  the  symptoms,  and  so  appalling  the  effects  of  drunken- 

;ss,  that  to  talk  of  the  march  of  mind,  or  the  schoolmaster  being  abroad — 

an  attack  upon  this  monster  had  not  made  its  appearance — would  have 

sen  truly  regarded  as  among  those  pompous,  vain,  and  empty  professions 

common  in  our  day,  and  by  which  the  world  is  so  much  deluded.     But 

am  glad  to  say,  we  ha.\e  facts  before  us  which  speak  for  themselves.    In 

nerica,  the  cause  is  taken  up  by  the  government;  a  great  change  has 

ken  place  in  the  public  mind;  and  the  effects  of  the  operation  of  Tempe- 

nce  Societies  are  seen  and  felt  among  all  classes.     The  following  intelli- 

:nce  is  most  interesting  : 

Circular. 
a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Temperance  Society,  holden 
in  Boston,  Sept.  21,  1832,  it  was  unanimously  resolved: 

1.  That  it  is  highly  desirable  that  meetings  of  Temperance  Societies,  and  friends  of 
liperance,  be  holden  simultaneously  on  some  day  that  may  be  designated,  in  all  the 
<  es,  towns,  and  villages  throughout  the  United  Stales. 

2.  That  Tuesday,  the  26th  day  of  February,  1833,  be  designated  for  that  purpose. 

3.  That  measures  be  immediately  taken    to  accomplish  the  above-mentioned  object. 
The  reasons  which  lead  the  Committee  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  all  their  fellow 

i/^ens  in  carrying  the  above  mentioned  plan  into  effect  are  the  following,  viz. — 

1.  It  is  strictly  a  national  object,  and  one   in  which  persons  of  all  denominations, 
.  and  parties,  can  cordially  unite,  viz.  the  removal  of  intemperance  from  our  country. 

2.  The  means  to  be  employed  are  in  all  respects  unexceptionable,  and  adapted  to  meet 
t  cordial  approbation  of  all  friends  of  humanity,  viz.  "  Light  and  love,"  manifested  in 
snd  argument  and  kind  persuasion,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  all  voluntarily  to  abstain 
fii  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  as  a  drink,  and  from  furnishing  it  for  the  use  of  others. 

3.  The  success  which  has  attended  past  efforts  has  already  been  the  means  of  rich 
1  >ings  to  all  parts  of  our  country,  and  is  spoken  of  with  admiration  throughout  the 

V  Id. 

4.  Philanthropists  of  the  old  world  are  now,  on  this  subject,  treading  in  our  footsteps  ; 
a,  while  they  acknowledge  their  obligations  for  the  benefits,  are  extensively  copying  our 
timple. 


fi 


52 

5.  Whenever  the  plan  recommended  by  the  American  Temperance  Society  (vi; 
entire  abstinence  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirit  as  a  drink,  and  voluntary  associations  fc 
the  purpose  of  showing,  by  united  example,  its  benefits)  has  been  adopted  in  Europe,  Asi; 
Africa,  as  Well  has  in  America,  it  has  been  highly  efficacious,  and  has  been  followed  wit 
most  benefical  results,  to  the  social,  civil,  and  religious  interests  of  man. 

Tuesday,  the  26tli  February,  it  will  be  observed,  is  recommended  b 
the  Executive  American  Committee,  on  which  to  hold  simultaneous  meet 
ings  of  the  Temperance  Societies,  throughout  the  Union  and  the  worlc 
In  deference  to  our  warm  friends  across  the  Atlantic,  as  well  as  for  th 
great  good  likely  to  be  accomplished,  I  hope  that  every  Society  in  Lancti 
shire  and  in  England  will  obey  the  call,  and  rally  their  strength  on  thi 
occasion.  And  as  our  government  has,  as  yet,  manifested  no  sympath 
with  the  temperance  cause,  I  beg  to  offer  another  suggestion,  and  I  deer 
it  of  the  highest  importance,  that  on  this  occasion,  the  26th  day  of  Fel) 
ruary,  every  Society  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  agree  upon  a  peti 
TioN  TO  THE  NEW  PARLIAMENT,  "  to  discountenancc  all  the  causes  and  prac 
tices  of  intemperance."  HH 

Since  writing  the  above,  the  following,  relating  to  this  subject.  Fa 
been  issued  by  the  Committee  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Society : 

Circular. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Society,  held  on  Wednesda; 

January  23,  the  following  minute  was  adopted: 

Highly  approving  of  the  determination  of  the  American  Temperance  Societies,  to  hoi 
meetings  throughout  the  Union,  on  Tuesday,  the  26th  February,  Resolved,  That  we  folio 
their  laudable  example,  by  holding  a  meeting  on  the  same  day.  And  we  earnestly  hof 
that  all  the  Societies  in  this  country  will  see  the  importance  and  utility  of  adopting  a  simil; 
course.  Among  other  laudable  objects  to  be  pursued  at  this  meeting,  we  beg  respectfull 
to  recommend  the  getting  up  of  petitions  to  the  new  parliament,  to  request  them  to  revise  th 
beer  bill,  and  to  adopt  such  other  measures  as  are  most  likely  to  discountenance  all  the  catilfk 
and  practices  of  intemperance. 

In  petitioning  parliament,  there  is  one  point  which  cannot  be  o^ 
looked,  that  is,  the  evil  effects  of  the  late  "  beer  bill."  From  the  judge  0* 
the  bench  to  the  wife  of  the  humblest  weaver,  all  are  convinced  of  th 
great  curse  inflicted  upon  the  country  by  the  passing  of  this  bill, 
yet,  forsooth,  this  was  trumpeted  through  the  country  as  a  magnific 
measure  for  the  relief  of  the  poor !  The  writers  in  such  papers  as 
Times,  who  diffuse  these  notions,  ought  to  have  better  opportunitie 
judging  personally  upon  this  subject.  The  "jerry  shops"  are  the  great 
nuisances  in  the  country ;  for  though  they  are  ordered  to  be  closed  at  t| 
o'clock,  they  are  frequently  in  operation  aU  night ;  and  the  constal 
having  no  authority  to  demand  an  entrance,  are  left  without  facilities  ^ 


4 


canity 

4 


53 

letecting  the  disorders  which  are  constantly  practised.  I  am  sure  the 
ountrywill  petition,  en  masse,  against  this  common  destroyer  of  the  health, 
appiness,  and  good  morals  of  the  people. 

In  Scotland,  the  Societies  are  numerous,  and  though  complaints  are 
lade  of  their  not  being  carried  on  with  energy,  I  doubt  not  the  principles 
re  making  sure  progress.  The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  which  I 
ave  just  received  from  our  wann  friend,  Mr.  Morris,  of  Glasgow;  will  be 
ead  with  pleasure. 

"  The  temperance  cause  in  Glasgow  and  vicinity  is  deepening  in  the  minds  of  candid 
ad  thinking  persons,  though  not  rapidly  progressing.  The  Society  here  has  printed  the 
eneral  '  Circular  of  the  American  Temperance  Society,'  and  recommended  a  simultaneous 
iieeting  throughout  Scotland,  on  the  26th  of  next  month,  to  consult  the  best  plan  to  give  a 
ew  and  a  vigorous  impulse  to  this  righteous  cause.  I  hope  and  trust  great  good  will  result 
'om  this  movement.  America  is  still  gloriously  triumphing.  Two  hundred  thousand  new 
lembers  have  been  added  there  last  year  to  the  Societies.  Oratory,  poetry,  philosophy, 
wrality,  religion — men  of  all  ranks  and  all  parties  in  that  vast  republic,  who  love  truth,  and 
l«l  for  the  honour  of  humanity  and  the  glory  of  their  country,  are  still  fighting,  and  suc- 
jssfuUy  fighting,  the  glorious  temperance  battle  there.  May  these  examples  vielt  the 
■ozen  breasts  of  many  in  our  lands,  who  hitherto  have  looked  coldly  on,  whilst  a  gallant 
'w  have  battled  well!  When  will  our  parliament  house  be  offered  for  the  annual  temperance 
leeting,  and  when  will  our  leading  M.  P.  s  put  forth  all  their  powers  in  tliis  moral  reforma- 
on  cause,  as  much  needed  as  the  reformation  of  the  Saruni  and  Gatton  system  ?  Let  us 
et  hope  :  truth  is  mighty,  and  shall  triumph  in  all  lands. — I  understand  you  had  a  grand 
imperance  soiree  in  Preston,  which  went  off  in  high  style.  I  wish  I  had  been  with  you. 
OK  would  be  at  home ;  and  many,  I  doubt  not,  would  feel  that  men  and  women  can  be 
)cial,  lively,  and  happy,  with  the  utter  exclusion  of  those  ivily  drugs  which  have  spread 
amentation  and  mourning'  through  a  'thousand  thousand  families  of  our  land?'" 

The  Temperance  Herald,  in  reporting  the  diilerent  Societies  in  Eng- 
ind,  gives  the  total  number  of  members  at  40,973;  but  the  returns  pub- 
shed  are  necessarily  very  incorrect.    I  should  judge,  from  the  inaccuracies 

Inch  I  happen  to  be  acquainted  with  myself,  and  including  the  Societies 
ot  reported,  that  the  number  will  not  be  over  stated  at  70,000.  It  is 
iorthy  of  remark,  and  ought  to  stimulate  oiu-  distant  friends  to  additional 
exertion,  that  the  Societies  in  Lancashire  contain  more  than  one-ihird  of  the 
umber  for  all  England. 

These  Societies,  generally  speaking,  are  making  progress.  Besides 
le  increase  of  numbers,  which  I  never  consider  as  a  certain  criterion 
f  prosperity,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  temperance  principles 
re  being  diffused,  and  their  correctness  generally  acknowledged.     I  made 

tour  to  Liveri50ol,  Bolton,  Bury,  and  Manchester,  at  the  commencement 
f  the  new  year ;  and  though  I  met  with  a  few  hearty  friends  at  most  of 

■  J  VOL.  III.  H 


54 

the  places,  there  is  not,  I  must  say,  that  zeal  which  the  importance  of 
work  deserves,  though  with  several  individuals,  who  are  real  friends,  ther 
is  a  strong  feeling  for  increased  exertion.  At  the  commencement  of  ne> 
month,  I  am  intending  to  visit  Stockport,  Oldham,  and  Rochdale.  A  Sc 
ciety  has  been  established  rt  Lancaster,  which  is  getting  on  weU,  and  an 
other,  I  am  happy  to  say,  at  Walton,  my  native  place,  with  flattering  pros 
pects  of  success.  I  resided  in  the  village  twenty-one  years  :  during  ths 
time,  I  believe,  I  never  but  once  was  in  a  state  of  inebriation,  and  that  wa 
one  Christmas,  when,  being  a  ringer  at  the  church,  we  divided  and  speii 
our  "fines."  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say,  that  the  popular  minister  c 
this  same  church  is  now  taking  the  lead  in  the  temperance  cause. 

I  am  happy  to  say,  that,  at  Preston,  a  marked  prosperity  at 
tends  our  cause.  We  keep  adding  to  our  numbers,  but,  what  is  mor 
gratifying,  we  have  constantly  an  addition  to  our  reformed  drunkards 
many  have  become  moderate,  and  many  who  were  formerly  moderat 
quite  abstemious.  Indeed,  the  effect  of  our  exertions  is  perceptible  mucl 
beyond  the  pale  of  our  Society,  and  T  can  speak  from  weekly  observation 
that  a  visible  change  for  the  better  is  most  apparent  throughout  the  town 
If  Providence  spare  our  lives,  we  are  promising  ourselves,  during  the  en 
suing  summer,  a  large  portion  of  that  pleasure  which  consists  in  doinj 
good.  Several  of  us  intend  to  visit  most  of  the  towns  in  Lancashire,  oi 
the  temperance  mission. — I  beg  to  recommend  the  Societies,  everywhere 
not  to  depend  upon  set  speakers  and  gentlemen  committee  men,  but  se 
those  to  work  who  can  relate  facts  and  appeal  to  experience,  and  who,  re 
gardless  of  etiquette,  have  souls  filled  with  enthusiasm  in  this  god-lik' 
work. 


11 


1 


THE  ENSUING  PARLIAMENT. 
What  should  the  people  do  during  the  ensuing  session  of  parliament 
is  a  question  of  importance.  In  the  first  place,  let  them  unite  their  energiei 
and  combine  their  efforts,  once  again,  for  obtaining,  in  a  constitutional  wi 
the  completion  of  those  measures,  which,  by  long  perseverance,  are 
forced  upon  the  consideration  of  the  legislature.  We  owe  it  to  the  agita 
tion  of  those  whom  we  have  perhaps  despised,  that  we  are  not  now  th? 
slaves  of  nomination  despots,  but  are  regaining  the  attitude  of  free 
who  know  and  will  maintain  their  rights.  This  is  not  the  time  to  slacl 
We  have,  in  some  measure,  gained  possession  of  the  citadel — the  c 
mons'  house — and  let  us  not  relinquish  the  warfare  till  the  forts  of  corrup- 
tion are  all  destroyed. 


Government  is  no  doubt  ready  with  many  changes  and  modifications, 
»ut  it  is  to  be  feared,  at  the  best  they  will  be  but  half-way  measures.  If 
•orrect  principles  are  not  to  be  the  basis  of  legislation,  but  h\-pocritically 
acrificed  at  the  shrine  of  aristocratical  selfishness,  "  moderate,"  not  real 
.nd  radical  reforms  may  be  expected. 

Ministerial  papers  make  a  great  noise  about  the  intended  "church 
eform,"  which,  from  the  statements  given,  is  any  thing  but  what  it  ought 
0  be.     The  families  of  poor  curates  may  certainly  be  anxious  about  the 
eduction  of  large  livings,  but  what  does  the  nation  care  about  it?     Will 
qualizing  the  livings,    compelling  an  absent  parson  to  attend  and  read 
rayers,  or  charging  the  farmers  so  many  sovereigns  instead  of  so  many 
heaves  of  corn,  to  maintain  these  parsons,  satisfy  the  nation  ?     If  the  no- 
ility  and  the  gentry  are   too    poor,   or  the  law  of  primogeniture  too 
ruel,  to  provide  for  the  younger  branches  of  families,  in  the  name  of  all 
lat  is  sacred,  don't  perpetuate  the  existence  of  a  church,  either  in  Eng- 
ind  or  Ireland,  against  the  will  of  the  people,  merely  that  these  idlers  may 
et  the  gain  ;  for  I  avow,  that,  with  the  present  exhibitions  of  its  progress, 
?ligion  is  entirely  out  of  the  question.     We  loant  no  national  church ;  and 
e  can  refer  to  facts  to  prove,  that  where  the  genius  of  this  church  has 
sen  most  prevalent,  religion  has  flourished  the  least.     The  most  good 
as  been  done  where  religious  establishments,  national  or  otherwise,  have 
jen  the  least  known,  and  where  men,  in  the  spirit  of  real  religion,  have 
jne  forth  actuated  onlv  by  love  to  God  aud  love  to  man.     But  it  so  hap- 
as,  owing  to  the  benevolence  or  superstition  of  our  ancestors,  that  there 
mains,  i  n  the  shape  of  tithes  and  church  lands,  great  masses  of  property, 
id  the  party  that  has,  by  the  permission  of  the  legislature,  long  enjoyed 
s  proceeds,    is    not  willing  to    relinquish    so   much    earthly  treasure ! 
ow,  I  would  simply  ask.  What  church  has  the  most  right  to  this  property  } 
it  be  answered.  The  Church    of  England,  I  ask.  Upon  what  ground  ? 
'as  it  originally  left  to  this  church?     Is  it  meeting  the  wishes  of  the  do- 
)rs  to  apply  it  exclusively  in  this  way?    Does  the  majority  of  the  country 
cline  for  an  "ascendant"  establishment,  with  a  monopoly  of  power  and 
operty  ?     No,  no  !     The  only  reason  why  this  church  has  any  privilege  to 
lim  this  property  is,  because  the  legislature  conferred  it ;    and  the  same 
thority  that  took  it  from  the  CathoUc  church,  and  entrusted  it  with  the 
;0testant,  can  make  any  other  transfer  that  circumstances  may  require, 
id  however  the  government  may  think  of  throwing  dust  in  the  people's 
es,  by  a  few  modifications  of  little  moment,  while  embracing  the  church 
i  fondly  as  ever,  the  country  will  not  be  satisfied  till  the  unholy  con- 


56 

nection  is  destroyed,  and  every  party  left  to  pay  for  its  own  religion 
The  country  wants  not  to  be  a  party  to  allay  the  jealousies,  and  abate  the 
rancour  of  the  ravens  which  are  disputing  about  the  carcase :  the  countr- 
wants  the  carcase  for  itself,  and  is  anxious  to  get  rid  altogether  of  thesi. 
birds  of  prey. 

All  the  other  important  public  questions,  which  are  discussed  ever\ 
day  in  the  papers,  will,  I  doubt  not,  be  taken  up  heartily  by  the  people 
Of  these,  the  repeal  of  the  taxes  on  knoivlcdge  ought  to  take  the  lead 
In  fighting  for  the  welfare  of  our  country,  nothing  is  so  important  as  fa- 
cility of  communication.  A  removal  of  all  taxes  pressing  vpon  the  labouring 
class  and  vpon  trade,  and  the  substitution  of  a  property  tax — the  repeal  oj 
the  corn  laws,  coupled  with  the  removal  of  many  of  the  burdens  unne- 
cessarily laid  upon  agriculture — the  election  of  magistrates  by  the  people— 
the  revision  of  the  criminal  law,  and  the  cheapening  of  all  legal  proceedings— 
the  abolition  of  the  Bank  and  East  India  monopolies — the  extinction  of  Colo- 
nial Slavery — and  a  great  reduction  in  the  national  expenditure — are  all 
questions  of  importance.  Delay,  delay,  will  doubtless  be  the  cry  of  the 
ministers,  as  it  always  has  been ;  and  unless  the  country  push  hard,  aU 
the  session  will  be  spent  upon  two  or  three  of  these  subjects,  and  perhaps 
end  with  some  half  measures.  Immense  difficulties  stand  in  the  way, 
,  owing  to  the  interest  which  many  have  in  existing  abuses,  and  therefore 
the  most  determined  efforts  will  be  requisite.  Let  the  people,  to  a  man, 
bestir  themselves,  and  petition,  and  petition  again,  till  the  echo  of  their 
voice  reverberate  in  a  code  of  just  and  salutary  laws.  The  success  of  na- 
tional reform  is  slow,  but  it  is  sure ;  and  though  we  may  have  to  experi- 
ence the  chagrin  of  frequent  disappointments,  we  must  not  give  up  a  good 
cause.  Let  us  respect  the  laws,  proceed  in  a  peaceable  and  constitutionaJ' 
way,  and  our  success  is  sure  to  progress  in  proportion  as  our  efforts 
supported  by  intelligence  and  good  conduct.  I  have  no  feeling  of  des- 
pondency, for  I  conceive  that  our  position  now  for  a  national  regeneratiqi 
is  better  than  it  has  been  for  many  years. 


^1 


VARIETIES. 

Patronage. — To  show  the  deception  of  mere  navies,  and  that  the  world  is  ruled 
sounds,  I  may  mention,  that  though  the  prosperity  of  several  Temperance  Societies  hasbi 
puffed  abroad,  from  the  circumstance  of  the  Bishop  of  Chester  becoming  "patron,"  there 
not  in  Chester,  where  his  Lordship  resides,  till  Thursday  last,  any  Temperance  Society}  ^ 


i 


o7 

hat,  to  impartial  judges,  it  appears  one  of  the  most  dissipated  places  in  the  kingdom.  Would 
lOt  the  patronage  of  real  effort  at  home  be  much  more  valuable  than  the  sound  of  his  name  in 
distant  places?  Instead  of  a  page  or  two  filled  with  honourable  names,  as  presidents  and 
;ice  presidents,  patrons,  and  honorary  members,  belonging  to  a  society,  I  would  rather  see 
ts  renovating  effects  in  the  ditterent  departments  of  society,  even  though  the  highest  official 
ndividual  was  a  fisherman. 

Duty  on  Soap — Whatever  duty  is  repealed,  or  whatever  duty  is  retained,  I  hope  the 
jgislature  will  see  the  importance  of  repealing  the  whole  of  the  duty  on  soap.  It  is  agriev- 
us  impost  upon  every  poor  family,  and  operates  as  a  bonus  for  filth  and  disease.  I  can 
leak  from  personal  observation,  that  no  repeal  of  taxes  aflfecting  the  working  class,  so  far 
s  the  amount  goes,  would  be  as  acceptable  as  that  of  the  duty  on  soap.  Fortunately  we 
ave  now  a  great  number  of  members  returned  by  the  "  commons  "  instead  of  by  nomination, 
id  these,  generally,  have  noc  only  had  an  opportunity  of  actually  seeing  the  condition  of  the 
3or,  but  have  promised  to  try  to  remove  the  burdens  of  the  working  classes.  Ministers,  by 
;ie  passing  of  the  "beer  bill"  and  other  measures  purporting  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  poor, 
ive  proved  either  their  ignorance  or  insincerity ;  but  I  hope  we  have  now  established  a 
;.'etty  good  medium  through  which  to  correct  their  errors.  How  hard  it  is,  that  when  a  poor 
oman  has  bought  a  pound  of  soap  to  wash  the  poor  clothing  of  her  children,  the  exciseman 
lould  come  and  take  half  of  it,  and  distribute  it  to  those  who  are  wallowing  in  wealth  and 
xury ! 

COCKINGS. — I  copy  the  following,  which  relates  to  a  practice  that  has  long  been  a 
-grace  to  Cockerham.  Are  there  no  civilized  men  in  that  neighbourhood  to  speak  to 
e  inhabitants  to  induce  them  to  abandon  so  cruel  and  barbarous  a  practice?  Where  is 
f  minister  of  the  parish  ?  Could  not  he  preach  against  this  practice  the  day  before,  and 
e  a.l  his  influence  to  put  a  stop  to  it  ? 

"A  long  main  of  cocks  will  be  fought  at  Cockerham,  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  the  4th 
d  5th  days  of  February  next.  The  stake  is  half  a  guinea  for  each  cock,  and  every 
lining  cock  will  receive  one  guinea.  Stags  and  blinkers  allowed  two  ounces.  The 
.ks  are  to  fight  in  round  steel  spurs;  and  if  any  dispute  arise  to  be  determined  by  cock 
V. — Parkinson  and  Hodgson,  feeders. — The  cocks  are  to  be  taken  up  on  or  before  the 
til  or  25th  of  January." 

Comicalities — A  second  issue  of  the  "Comicalities"  from  "  Bell's  life  in  London," 
■erceive  is  beginning  to  grace,  or  rather  disgrnce  the  windows  of  some  of  the  booksellers, 
ey  are  also  puffed  in  almost  all  the  papers.  They  constitute  the  very  mirror  of  licen- 
asness,  and  by  the  facetious  dress  they  assume,  arc  dangerous  in  the  extreme  to  our 
uth.  I  am  sorry  to  find  it  stated,  that  128,000  copies  have  been  sold  of  part  the  first 
uit  a  pity  that  any  man  should  find  his  interest  in  a  course  calculated  to  corrupt  the 
jple. 

A  Fine  Reply.— A  gentleman  visiting  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution  at  Paris,  asked 
'  of  the  pupils  the  following  question :  "  What  is  eternity  ?"  and  received  for  answer,  "  It 
i  lie  life-time  of  tlie  Almighty." 

Duelling.— By  the  Mexican  laws,  if  a  man  kills  another  in  a  duel  he  becomes  answcr- 
:  for  all  his  debts.     If  we  had  a  similar  law  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  "affairs  of  ho- 
'  ;r"  would  be  of  rare  occurrence. 

Honesty.— When  Major   Cartwright  was  solicited  for  his  vote  by  a  personal  friend, 


58 

who  was  a  candidate  for  an  English  county,  he  replied,  "  No.  Ask  me  for  my  personal  ser 
vice,  ask  me  for  my  purse,  ask  me  for  anything  that  is  my  private  property,  and  you  shal 
have  it ;  but,  considering  the  principles  which  you  entertain,  I  cannot  give  you  my  vote,  fo 
that  belongs  to  my  country." 

Probable. — A  story  is  current  in  this  city  (Chichester)  of  a  dignitary  of  the  churcl 
complaining  to  his  bishop  that  he  could  not  live  upon  his  income  (nearly  £1000  a  year. 
His  lordship  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  You  had  better  be  quiet :  it  is  possible  you  will  h< 
compelled  ere  long  to  live  upon  a  much  smaller  sum." — Brighton  Guardian. 

Good. — The  following  instance  of  honesty,  and  in  a  pauper,  has  been  handed  to  us 
the  orthography  is  preserved : — "  To  Mister  Wheeler,  Overseere. — Sir,  when  I  came  t 
reckon  my  money,  I  found  I  had  received  one  sixpence  to  much,  which  I  have  returned  b 
the  bearer.  Your  humble  servant,  Cathrine  Ward. — Allms-houses,  Thames  Ditton,  Dc 
1832. — Liverpool  Mercury. 

A  Negro's  Answer. — A  planter  in  St.  Domingo  was  one  day  disposing  of  a  horse  t 
a  neighbour,  and  being  questioned  by  the  purchaser  regarding  its  qualities,  among  the  re; 
whether  it  kicked,  the  disposer  replied  it  was  the  quietest  beast  imaginable.  He  had,  how 
ever,  hardly  used  the  expression  when  it  flung  up  its  heels  to  the  danger  of  the  bystander 
The  purchaser  being  irritated  at  the  duplicity  of  the  other,  reproached  him  with  his  intende 
deception,  when,  to  substantiate  the  peaceful  character  of  the  animal,  he  called  one  of  !■ 
slaves,  and  demanded  of  him  if  he  ever  saw  this  fine  animal  kick  before.  "  O,  no,  mass; 
smartly  answered  the  Negro,  "  me  never  saw  him  kick  before — always  saw  him  kick  behind. 
— Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal. 

We  have  heard  of  a  much  better  answer  of  a  Negro  than  the  above.  H's  master,  wIk 
when  in  his  cups,  used  to  amuse  himself  with  asking  Mungo  questions,  one  day  said  to  hin 
"  Now,  Mungo,  if  the  Devil  should  come  into  the  room,  would  he  take  you  or  me  ?" — " 
massa,  Mungo  first,  cause  he  sure  of  you  any  time." — Liverpool  Mercury. 

Spurzheim  is  dead  ;  his  own  skull  will  now  stand  on  his  own  table.  He  will  lectui 
no  longer,  but  be  lectured  over ;  and  his  successor  will  be  able  to  point  out  the  bump  ■ 
phrenology  at  any  rate,  if  there  is  one.  To  this  complexion  we  must  all  come  at  last.  / 
we  have  seen  Spurzheim  turn  round  the  polished  ivory  of  some  illustrious  unknown,  tl 
reverend  idea  has  often  occurred  to  us  that  his  turn  would  come  at  length.  Of  course,.J| 
has  bequeathed  his  head  to  his  own  collection,  and  his  successor,  next  year,  at  the  Cr^ 
and  Anchor  rooms,  will  garnish  his  address  with  an  apostrophe  to  the  mortal  remains  of 
great  master's  cranium. — London  paper. 

The  Young  Reformer. — Judge  Burnet,  son  of  the  famous  Bishop  of  Salisbl 
when  young,  is  said  to  have  been  of  a  wild  and  dissipated  turn.  Being  one  day  foui 
his  father,  in  a  very  serious  humour,  "  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ?"  said  the  bisi 
"what  are  you  thinking  and  reflecting  about?"  "A  greater  work  then  the  book 
have  written — the  History  of  the  Reformation," — answered  the  son.  "  Ay,  what  is  th| 
asked  the  father.  "  The  reformation  of  myself,  my  lord,"  replied  the  son — "that  is  I 
versally  allowed  to  be  the  best  reformation  which  begins  at  home." 

Every  Thing  in  a  Hurry. — In  England,  time  is  a  revenue,  a  treasure,  an  esti 
commodity.    The  Englishman  may  not  be  covetous  of  money,  but  he  is  supremely  cove 
time.     It  is  wonderful  how  the  English  keep  to  their  appointments.      They  take  out  0$ 
watch,  regulate  it  by  that  of  their  friend,  and  are  punctual  at  the  place  and  hour.     Englll 


59 

renunciation  itself  seems  invented  to  save  time:  they  eat  the  letters,  and  whistle  the  words, 
•bus  Voltaire  had  some  reason  to  say,  "  The  English  gain  two  hours  a  day  more  than  we 
0,  by  eating  their  syllables."     The  English  use  few  compliments,  because  they  are  a  loss 
'time  i  their  salute  is  a  nod,  or  at  the  utmost  a  corrosion  of  the  four  monosyllables,  "  How 
ye  do?"     The  ends  of  their  letters  always  show  more  simplicity  than  ceremony:  they 
ive  not  "the  honour  to  repeat  the  protestations  of  their  distinguished  regard  and  profound 
msideration"  to  his  "most  illustviou?  lordship,"  whose  "  most  humble,  most  devoted,  and 
est  obsequious  servants"  they  "  have  the  honour  to  be."      Their  very  language  seems  to 
:  in  a  hurry  ;  since  it  is  in  a  great  part  composed  of  monosyllables,  and  two  of  them,  again, 
e  often  run  into  one :  the  great  quantity  of  monosyllables  look  like  an  abridged  way  of 
•iting,  a  kind  of  short-hand.      The  English  talk  little,  I  suppose,  that  they  may  not  lose 
ne  :  it  is  natural,  therefore,  that  a  nation  which  sets  the  highest  value  upon  time  should 
ike  the  best  chronometers  ;  and  that  all,  even  among  the  poorer  classes,  should  be  pro- 
led   with  watches.      The  mail-coach    guards  have    chronometers  worth  eighty  pounds 
rling,  because  they  must  take  care  never  to  arrive  five  minutes  past  the  hour  appointed, 
the  place  of  their  destination,  relations,  friends,  and  servants,  are  already  collected  to 
•  leive  passengers  and  parcels.     When  a  machine  is  so  complicated  as  England  is,  it  is 
ential  for  every  thing  to  be  exact,  or  the  confusion  would  be  ruinous. — Count  Pecchio's 
servations  on  England. 

Great  Men  in  England. — There  is  no  tomb  so  vast  as  London,  which  swallows  up 
most  illustrious  names  for  ever:  it  has  an  omniverous  maw.  The  celebrity  of  a  man  in 
ndon  blazes  and  vanishes  away  like  a  firework  :  there  is  a  great  noise,  numberless  invi- 
lons,  endless  flattery  and  exaggeration,  for  a  few  days,  and  then  an  eternal  silence. 
])li  and  Dumourier,  after  having  at  their  first  appearence  made  a  crash  like  thunder, 
^^n  they  died  excited  no  more  attention  than  a  falling  leaf.  General  Mina,  when  he 
lied  at  Portsmouth,  was  carried  to  his  hotel  in  triumph,  and  deafened  with  applause, 
fa  month  together,  at  the  theatre  in  London.  He  was  more  famous  than  the  Nemean 
1  .  What  then  ?  He  fell  very  soon  into  oblivion,  and  the  grave  closed  over  his  name. 
'Ji  English  people  are  greedy  of  novelty;  childish  in  this  alone,  they  make  no  great  dis- 
itition  between  good  and  bad — they  want  only  what  is  new.  They  pay  for  the  magic 
If  em,  and  pay  well,  but  they  always  want  new  figures.  To  feed  this  insatiable  whale, 
tl  always  pants  with  open  jaws, 

"  And  after  meals  is  hungrier  than  before," 
tt  incessantly   journalists,  engravers,  historians,    travellers,  philosophers,   lawyers,  men 
•litters,  poets— ministers  with  schemes  for  new  enactment— the  king  with  schemes  for 
B<  palaces  and  buildings,  and  the  liberals  with  schemes  for  parliamentary  reform.— /6irf. 

Temperance  in  the  American  Army.— The  following  order  from  the  SecreUry 
»t'ar  will  serve  to  show  the  influence  of  Temperance  Societies  on  the  measures  of  the 
A'rican  government. 

"  The  Secretary  of  the  War  Department  has  issued  the  following  order,  dated  Nov.  2  : 

"  1.  Hereafter  no  ardent  spirits  will  be  issued  to  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  as  a 
<:oionent  part  of  ration. 

"No  ardent  spirits  will  be  introduced  into  any  camp,  fort,  or  garrison  of  the  United 
^'  s,  nor  sold  by  any  sutler  to  the  troops.     Nor  will  any  permit  be  granted  for  the  pur- 
of  ardent  spirits." — Journal  of  Humanity. 


60 

Most  Important  Prohibition. — "  The  Board  of  Health  of  the  city  of  Washington, 
at  a  meeting  on  the  14th  ult.,  passed  a  resolution  declaring  the  vending  of  ardent  spirits,  in 
whatever  quantity,  to  be  a  nuisance,  and  directed  the  sale  of  it  to  be  discontinued  for  ninety 
days." — Temperance  Recorder. 

Patriotism. — An  old  man  of  more  than  fourscore  years,  afflicted  with  a  bodily  infir- 
mity for  which  he  had  been  advised  by  a  physician  to  use  ardent  spirit  as  a  medicine,  was 
presented  with  a  constitution  of  a  Temperance  Society,  on  the  plan  of  abstinence.  He  read 
it,  and  said,  "  That  is  the  thing  to  save  our  country  ;  I  will  join  it."  "  No,"  said  one,  "you 
must  not  join  it,  because  ardent  spirit  is  necessary  for  you  as  a  medicine."  "I  know," 
said  he,  "  that  I  have  used  it,  but  if  something  is  not  done,  our  country  will  be  ruined  ;  and 
I  will  not  be  accessory  to  the  ruin  of  my  country.  I  will  join  the  society."  "  Then,"  said 
another,  "you  will  die."  "Well,"  said  the  old  man,  in  the  true  spirit  of  1776,  "for  my 
country  I  can  die  ;"  and  signed  the  constitution,  gave  up  his  inedicine,  and  his  disease  fled 
away. — Americaii  Report. 

Novelties. — No  nation,  I  think,  can  be  more  fond  of  new  things  than  the  English  are ; 
they  will  gaze  and  look  upon  a  foreigner  as  if  he  had  dropped  down  from  the  moon  ;  and 
I  have  often  been  amused  at  seeing  what  a  number  of  people  a  monkey,  riding  upon  a 
dog,  will  collect  in  the  streets  of  London,  although  such  a  thing  may  be  seen  almost  daily. 
Rahlcewaquonaby,  an  Indian  Chief's  opinion  of  the  English. 

Avarice. — Their  close  attention  to  business,  I  think,  carries  them  too  much  to  a 
worldly  mindedness,  and  hence  many  forget  to  think  about  their  souls  and  their  God, 
and  are  entirly  swallowed  up  in  the  cares  of  the  world.  Their  motto  seems  to  be,  "  Money, 
money  ;  get  rich  and  be  a  gentleman."  With  this  sentiment,  they  all  fly  about  in  every 
direction,  like  a  swarm  of  bees,  in  search  of  that  treasure  which  lies  so  near  their  hearts. — 
Ibid. 

Receipe  for  Twenty-five  Gallons  of  Gin. — H  ounces  of  salts  tarter,  I5  ounces 
roach  allum,  20  ounces  English  juniper ;  then  boil  one  ounce  best  white  pepper  for  half  - 
an  hour  in  a  pint  of  water,  and  mix  them  together.  3\Ir.  B.  Allingham,  a  proprietor  of 
patent  medicines,  states  that  the  mixture  in  the  recipe  is  not  at  all  injurious.  It  was 
common  enough  for  publicans  to  "  make  up"  their  gin,  or  else  they  could  not  sell  it  so  low 
as  they  did:  for  they  bought  at  8s.  6d.  per  gallon,  and  sold  it  at  6s.  Sd. 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  JESUS. 

Perhaps  you  have  been  wronged,  or  disgraced,  or  persecuted ;  and  how  shall  you 
conduct  yourself  under  these  aggravated  evils  ?  "  Look  unto  Jesus,"  and  take  instruction 
fi'om  his  example.  You  see  in  him  no  boiling  indignation,  no  impatience  of  revenge,  no 
returning  of  malice  for  malice.  But  his  spirit,  though  oppressed,  still  retains  its  serenij; 
and  turning  from  the  injustice  of  man,  finds  repose  on  the  justice  of  God.  Be  not  you  tl 
impatient.  Be  not  you  overwhelmed  by  passion  or  dispair.  Your  sufferings  cannot  com 
pare  with  his  ;  and  shall  you  not  at  least  strive  to  bear  them  like  him  ?  You  cannot  meet 
equal  injustice  ;  and  will  you  not  seek  at  least  for  equal  composure  ?  Behold  him,  who 
had  spent  the  faithful  days  of  a  laborious  life  in  doing  good  ;  whose  only  care  was  to  benefit 
mankind ;  and  who  displayed  an  extent  of  active  benevolence  never  before  even  imagim 
yet  assailed  by  those  verj'  persons  for  whom  he  had  been  labouring,  cruelly  arraigned  Ueft 


61 

an  unfeeling  tribunal  on  a  false  pretence,  and  subjected  to  all  the  ignominy  and  torture  of 
a  mock  trial — smitten — buffetted — scourged — derided — insulted — dragged  away  to  a  lin- 
gering and  disgraceful  death.  Have  you  endured  hjirdship  and  injustice  to  be  named  with 
this?  Yet  no  muimur  escapes  him — no  passion  ruffles  his  composure — no  resentment 
flashes  from  his  meek  and  supplicating  eye — no  accent  of  wrath  or  threatening  comes  from 
his  oppressed  and  dying  bosom ;  but  even  in  the  last  moment  of  mortal  agony,  he  lifts  his 
compassionate  voice  in  a  prayer  of  mercy — "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do!"  In  the  hour  of  suffering  and  dispair,  reflect  upon  this  scene ;  try  if  you  cannot 
catch  something  of  the  spirit  of  your  master,  and  bear  your  trial  like  him. 

Perhaps  you  have  afflictions  of  another  kind.  Calamity  and  death  visit  your  dwelling, 
and  the  lights  in  which  you  rejoice  are  quenched  by  your  side.  Your  friends  are  removed, 
your  hopes  are  destroyed,  and  you  sit  in  thick  darkness,  desponding  and  alone.  Here, 
too,  the  example  of  Jesus  may  cheer  and  sustain  you.  Look  therefore  to  him.  Call  to 
mind  the  instructions  which  he,  the  author  and  finisher  of  your  faith,  has  given  concerning 
the  goverment  of  your  Father,  and  the  purposes  of  his  providence.  Call  to  mind,  also,  the 
day  when  he  bore  the  calamities  which  God  had  appointed  him ;  when  he  was  emphatically 
"a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief;"  when  he  might  have  cried  to  you,  and  said, 
"  Come  and  see,  all  ye  that  pass  by,  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow."  Yet 
you  see  him,  not  giving  away  to  the  grief,  not  overcome  by  the  sorrow ;  but  struggling 
against  it ;  looking  up  to  God  with  serene  and  holy  trust;  casting  his  spirit  on  his  Father 
with  unrepining  and  tranquil  submission : — "  The  cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me, 
shall  I  not  drink  it?"  This  is  no  example  of  unfeeling  composure,  of  Stoical  insensibility, 
of  unnatural  fortitude.  Jesus  struggled — even  to  an  agony — that  he  might  attain  it.  Go, 
heart-broken  mourner,  and  do  likewise.  Go  as  he  did,  and  pray — not  once,  but  twice 
and  thrice  ;  and  God  will  answer  you  too,  by  "  an  angel  from  heaven  to  strengthen  you" — 
not  indeed  in  a  visible  form,  but  in  an  inward  peace.  It  is  no  sin  to  mourn  and  weep. 
Jesus  wept.  The  sin  lies  in  refusing  to  look  for  comfort,  in  obstinately  murmuring  against 
the  hand  of  God,  in  complaining  of  his  severity.  Jesus  even  prayed  that  "  the  cup  might 
pass  from  him."  But  not  repiningly,  not  rebelliously.  He  added,  with  filial  submission, 
"  Nevertheless,  not  my  will  but  thine  be  done."  Brethren,  this  example  is  of  infinite 
worth  to  us.  Dwell  upon  it  in  the  day  of  your  sorrow.  Imitate  it  in  the  hour  of  your 
trouble.  You  will  not  fail  to  attain  something  of  the  peace  which  the  Saviour  promised  to 
his  followers,  and  which  God  gives  to  all  those,  "  whose  hearts  are  stayed  on  him,  and  who 
trust  in  him." — Ware. 


ROBBERIES  AND  OTHER  DEPREDATIONS. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  "robberies  and  depredations,"  taken  from  the  Morning 
Chronicle  of  January  4.  If  in  a  single  paper  we  find  so  long  and  dreadful  a  catalogue  of 
crime,  what  must  be  the  weekly  amount,  if  collected  from  all  the  papers  in  the  kingdom, 
added  to  that  which  is  not  permitted  to  meet  the  public  eye !  Is  this  Christian  England  ? 
Is  this  the  land  of  bibles  ?  Is  this  the  country  described  as  "  the  envy  and  admiration  of 
the  world?"     Let  the  following  specimen  answer. 

Stolen,  on  Tuesday  morning,  between  eight  and  eleven,  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Grosvenor-square,  between  70/.  and  80/.  in  notes  and  cash,  and  jewellery,  consisting  of  almost 
every  description  of  ornaments  in  brilliants,  emeralds,  sapphires,  &c.  &c.  amounting  in  value 
VOL.  III.  1 


to  several  hundred  pounds.     One  of  the  rings  had  inscribed  on  it,  "  Lady  Ann  Finch,  obl( 
93."     One  hundred  pounds  reward  has  been  offered. 

Stolen  from  the  dwelling  house  of  John  Mitchell,  Esq.  19,  Circus,  Bath,  a  large  diamom 
cross,  various  pearl  necklaces  with  diamond  clasps,  and  an  immense  variety  of  all  descrip 
tions  of  rich  and  valuable  jewellery.  The  property  is  valued  at  nearly  2000/.  A  reward  c 
100/.  has  been  offered  for  the  apprehension  of  the  thieves,  and  a  further  reward  of  500/.  o 
recovery  of  the  property. 

An  Irishwoman,  named  Hannah  Atkinson,  servant  to  Mrs.  Haydon,  of  the  Flying  Horse 
in  Oxford-street,  absconded  on  Sunday,  and  took  with  her  three  notes  for  100/.  each,  tw. 
watches,  two  silver  snuff'-boxes,  with  the  words,  "  Though  fate  may  bind  you  to  another 
yet  still  remember  me,  "  in  the  inside  of  one  of  them  ;  seven  or  eight  rings  and  brooches, ; 
bag  containing  about  35/.  in  gold  and  silver ;  the  probate  of  Mr.  Haydon's  will,  and  the  li 
cense  of  the  Flying  Horse  ;  together  with  other  property.  The  husband  of  Atkinson  de 
serted  from  his  regiment  ou  the  day  previous  to  the  robbery  ;  and  it  is  supposed  they  havi, 
gone  off  together  to  Bristol. 

Stolen,  from  the  premises  of  Mr.  Gates,  6,  Little  St.  James's-street,  seven  sovereign 
and  some  silver,  some  plate,  wearing  apparel,  and  other  property. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  house  of  Mrs.  Footman,  at  Stratford,  Essex,  was  entered  b; 
means  of  skeleton  keys,  about  £8  in  money,  various  articles  of  plate  and  apparel  carried  of! 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  house  of  Mr.  Drabble,  Alfred-place,  Old  Kent-road,  was  en 
tered  by  false  keys,  and  various  rings,  a  watch,  and  a  number  of  articles  of  jewellery  stolen 

On  Tuesday  evening,  the  apartment  of  Mr.  Barroll,  16,  Carey-street,  Lincoln's-inn 
fields,  was  entered  by  means  of  skeleton  keys,  and  a  quantity  of  plate,  a  watch,  jewellery 
and  other  property,  to  a  large  amount  in  value,  carried  off. 

Stolen,  on  Sunday,  from  the  house  of  Mr.  Wade,  Tollington-park,  Islington,  four  o 
five  dozen  knives  and  forks,  some  plate,  twelve  pairs  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  other  property 

The  house  of  Mr.  Hoare,  baker,  139,  Brick-lane,  Bethnal-green,  was  entered  by  mean; 
of  pick-lock  keys,  and  about  five  pounds  in  cash,  some  jewellery,  &c.  stolen. 

The  house  of  Mrs.  Smith,  Surrey-square,  Old  Kent-road,  was  entered  at  the  attic  win- 
dow, from  an  empty  house  adjoining,  and  a  lady's  gold  watch,  set  round  with  pearls,  tw( 
gold  seals,  and  some  jewellery  carried  off. 

An  entrance  was  effected,  by  means  of  skeleton  keys,  to  the  house  of  No.  36.  Guildford 
street,  Russell-square,  and  five  pounds  in  cash,  a  silver  watch,  a  quantity  of  linen  and  weg 
ing  apparel,  and  many  articles  of  jewellery  stolen. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  an  entrance  was  effected  to  i 
house  of  Mrs.  Hughs,  Old  King-street,  Deptford,  from  an  empty  house  adjoining,  during  iJW 
absence  of  the  family  at  chapel,  and  forty  sovereigns  aud  a  silver  spoon  stolen. 

A  trunk,  containing  two  gold  watches,  a  gold  chain  and  locket,  and  a  variety  of  otilH 
property,  was  entrusted  with  the  driver  of  the  cabriolet  112,  to  convey  from  Muswell  Hillfl( 
Chatham-place,  Blackfriars,  with  which  he  absconded,  sending  home  the  cabriolet. 

A  reward  of  100  guineas  has  been  offered  by  government  for  the  apprehension  of  I 
parties  who  assaulted  Mr.  James  Spink,  of  the  Abey-house,  near  Leeds,  York,  and  robli 
him  of  two  5/.  notes,  some  silver,  and  his  watch. 

The  counting-house  of  Messrs.  Cooper  and  Moreland,  49  Old-street,  St.  Luke's, ' 
entered,  and  35/.  in  copper  stolen. 


63 

Stolen  from  the  shop  of  Mr.  Spooner,  a  linen  draper,  in  Chiswell-street,  a  piece  of  Gros 
de  Naples  silk,  about  62  yards.  A  tall  woman,  of  dark  complexion,  is  supposed  to  be  the 
thief. 

Stolen,  near  the  Elephant  and  Castle,  a  portmanteau  box,  containing  two  5/.  bank- 
notes, and  other  property,  belonging  to  Mr.  Payne,  of  Sydenham. 

James  Masters,  late  of  19,  Peter's-lane,  Cow-cross,  has  absconded  with  linen,  sheet- 
ing, and  other  property,  with  which  he  was  intrusted  by  Mr.  Owen,  to  take  to  Liquorpond- 
street. 

Stolen  Horses. — The  following  horses  have  been  stolen  since  our  last  account; — 
From  the  Lordship  of  Whissendine,  near  Melton,  in  the  occupation  of  Mr.  Floar,  a  bay 
nag  horse,  rising  3  years  old,  with  a  white  star  in  the  ferehead. — From  a  stable  in  Chain-lane, 
near  Knaresborough,  a  brown  mare,  with  four  white  fetlocks,  the  property  of  Mr.  Simpson. 
—From  the  premises  of  Mr.  Brooks,  at  Gowdall  Broach,  near  Snaith,  York,  a  dark  bay 
horse,  7  years  old,  with  a  little  white  round  his  eye. — From  Acre-lane,  Clapham,  Surrey, 
1  brown  mare  pony ;  she  has  got  a  splint  from  a  kick,  on  the  outside  leg ;  the  property 
)f  Mr.  Taylor. — From  a  stable  at  Burghelere,  Hants,  near  Newbury,  an  aged  bright  bay 
jelding,  the  property  of  Mr.  F.  Hearne. — From  a  stable  belonging  to  Mr.  R.  Bradfield, 
)f  Shenton,  Leicester,  a  black  cart  mare,  with  a  blaze  in  the  face. — From  a  field  at  Scul- 
■oates,  near  Wakefield,  York,  a  bright  bay  colt,  rising  4  years. 


/ 
LICENTIOUSNESS    OF    THE    PRESS. 

The  extensive  circulation  of  newspapers  is  a  sure  criterion  of  the  mental  activity  of  the 

leople  of  this  country,  but  by  no  means  of  the  advancement  of  moral  principles  and  virtuous 

labits.     This  is  certain  from  the  circumstance,  that  the  most  licentious  papers  usually  com- 

,  aand  the  largest  sale.    The  "Life  in  London,"  an  abominable  print,  has  an  amazing  circula- 

'  jon,  whilst  others  of  a  similar  character  are  sought  after  in  proportion  as  they  publish  any- 

:   hing  that  is  vile  and  destructive  to  virtue  and  religion.     The  press  is  degraded  by  adven- 

ijjers,  who  constantly  prostitute  their  talents  for  gain.     Knowing  the  depraved  taste  of  our 

oofporal  population,  they  suit  their  article  to  their  readers,  and  are  thus  openly,  and  with 

n  jinsparing  hand,  sowing  and  watering  the  seeds  of  moral  deformity.     Rapes  and  every 

bscenity  are  published  to  pander  to  the  corrupt  tastes  of  their  readers.     A  bit  of  a  paper  in 

iljUljchester,  called  "  The  Squib,"  not  worth  a  farthing,  I  was  told,  circulated  2,000  copies  at 

he  charge  of  2d.     The  slang  style  and  the  vitiated  taste  exhibited  in  the  following  extract 

■cap  the  Morning  Chronicle,  which  happens  to  be  before  me,  is  a  specimen  of  what  we  con- 

iantly  meet  with,  and  which  cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned. 

Thames  Police.— Innocent  Amusement.— Yesterday,  Maria  Anderson,  a  little 
ite»it  built  female,  was  charged  with  biting  off  part  of  the  right  ear  of  Sarah  Creed.  Botli 
arties  are  yoked  to  dustmen,  and  a  grudge  has  long  subsisted  between  them,  in  conse- 
iience  of  ]\Irs.  Creed  entertaining  "  a  mutual  jealousy  of  Mrs.  Anderson."  They  quar- 
^lled  at  a  public-house  at  Shadwell,  when  they  "  agreed  to  have  a  turn  up."  Mrs.  .\nder- 
ai  being  a  "dab  at  miUing,"  pounced  on  her  rival,  and  having  "floored"  her,  she  stepped 
pon  her  stomach,  and  "danced  a  hornpipe  in  good  earnest,"  so  as  not  "  to  leave  a  breadth 
\nare  in  her."-Mrs.  Creed  at  length  got  up,  and  she  seized  hold  of  her  antagonist's 
harm"  vyitli  hev  teeth,  so  as  to  make  her  "  beUer  ;"  but  Missus  Anderson  recovered  h«r 


I 


64 

"pleasure  of  mind,"  and  she  speedily  inserted  her  teeth  in  Mrs.  Creed's  ear,  and  sho 
it  like  a  terrier.  One  of  the  witnesses  said  poor  Mrs.  Creed  was  "terribly  slaughtered,"' 
and  they  thought  Mrs.  Anderson  "had bolted  part  of  her  right  here." — Mr.  Broderip 
fined  the  defendant  five  shillings,  but  not  being  able  to  pay  it,  she  was  committed  to: 
prison.  She  was  taken  out  of  the  oflSce  exclaiming,  "I'll  serve  her  out  when  I  catch  her; 
I'll  bite  t'other  ear  off,  she  may  take  her  davy." 


THE  CLAIMS  OF  DISSENTERS  ON  A  REFORMED  PARLIAMENT. 

The  happy  extension  of  the  elective  franchise,  effected  by  the  reform  bill,  has  at  length 
convinced  the  nation  of  the  numerical  strength  and  moral  influence  of  the  Protestant  Dis- 
senters of  England  and  Wales.  Having  inherited  the  principles  of  their  persecuted  and 
illustrious  forefathers,  the  truest  patriots  and  the  holiest  men  of  their  times,  modern  Dis- 
senters have  pursued,  amidst  many  diflBcuIties  and  reproaches,  the  great  objects  they  have 
in  view,  perfect  freedom  of  religious  opinion,  the  scriptural  education  of  the  poor,  and  the 
diffusion  of  the  gospel  throughout  the  empire.  The  time  has  now  come  when  they  may 
hope  to  commence  the  harvest  for  which  they  have  so  long  laboured,  and  it  seems  to  be  both 
a  point  of  honour  and  a  matter  of  conscience,  that  they  should  claim  the  following  measures: 

1.  The  entire  repeal  of  all  the  obsolete  penal  laws  affecting  religious  liberty.  The  va- 
rious intolerant  laws  which  still  disgrace  the  statute-book  should  be  obliterated  by  a  single 
vote. 

2.  A  national  system  for  the  rigistration  of  births.  Although  the  present  system  ol 
registering  baptisms  at  the  parish  churches  is  notoriously  defective,  yet,  as  it  has  pleaseil 
some  of  the  judges  to  give  very  questionable  preference  to  those  registers,  many  Dissentt 
are  left  in  a  state  of  anxiety  concerning  the  property  of  their  children.  This  should  be  ob- 
viated by  a  general  system  of  registering  births.  For  what  have  courts  of  law  or  parliaments 
to  do  with  the  baptisms  of  infants  or  adults  ? 

3.  Jn  alteration  in  the  laws  relating  to  marriage,  by  which  Dissenters  may  be  deli- 
vered from  a  constrained  service,  that  most  of  them  regard  as  absurd,  if  not  profane.  Th( 
purely  civil  nature  of  the  marriage  contract,  as  far  as  the  state  is  concerned,  should  be  dis 
tinctly  avowed,  and  each  party  be  left  to  celebrate  that  contract  in  the  way  most  congenia 
with  their  religious  convictions. 

4.  The  right  of  interment  in  the  parish  church  yards  with  their  own  forms  of  funera 
service.  Multitudes  of  the  Dissenters  have  family  vaults  and  graves  in  the  parochial  grounds 
and  they  must  either  separate  their  kindred  in  death,  or  submit  to  hear  the  service  of  a  churd: 
to  which  they  do  not  belong,  and  which,  it  may  be,  is  doubly  offensive,  by  declaring,  con- 
cerning the  departed,  what  the  mourning  friends  cannot  believe  to  be  true.  The  right  o  jj 
burying  their  own  flock  in  the  parish  church  yards  has  been  conceded  in  Ireland  to , 
Romish  priests,  and  surely  the  Dissenting  ministers  of  England  have  at  least  equal  cl| 
to  the  same  privilege. 

5.  Relief  from  the  church  rates  of  their  respective  parishes.    Whatever  may  be  thoi^ 
of  the  question  of  tithes,  it  is  obviously  unjust  to  burden  Dissenters  with  the  expences  o^ 
public  worship  of  another  community,  when  they  have  to  support  their  own.     Surelj 
charge  of  washing  surplices,  with  all  the  other  items  of  a  churchwarden's  account,  may  b< 
fairly  paid  by  those  who  are  benefitted  by  the  services  to  which  they  belong.     The  Dissi 


1 


66- 

rs  build  tlieir  own  chapels,  pay  their  own  ministers,  support  their  own  charities,  and  may 
tfell  be  excused  that  burden  also. 

6.  The  right  of  competing  for  literary  honours  at  the  Universities  without  conformity. 
U  the  present  time,  subscriptions,  &c.  meet  the  young  collegian  at  every  step,  and  he  must 
ither  forego  those  honours  to  which  every  Englishman  may  lawfully  aspire,  or  sacrifice  his 
pnscience,  should  he  doubt.  Surely  it  is  too  much,  now-a-day,  to  urge  that  no  man  shall 
e  acknowledged  as  possessing  an  honourable  degree  of  learning,  who  vrill  not  bow  before 
de  church  as  by  law  established. 

Let  not  the  Dissenters  be  diverted  from  the  steady  pursuit  of  all  the  rights  and  privi- 
iges  which  belong  to  them  as  Englishmen,  until  they  are  fully  restored,  and  the  last  rem- 
ant  of  ecclesiastical  domination  is  swept  away.  They  now  possess  the  constitutional  power 
>  secure  these  blessings  for  themselves  and  their  children :  let  them  firmly  use  it,  remem- 
ering  that  to  enjoy  these  privileges  they  have  only  to  will  them ! — Congregational  Magazine. 


,  TO  THE  RICH. 

''      In  the  arrangements  of  Providence  why  are  some  permitted  to  be  rich  and  others 
loor?     Abundance  of  wealth,  influence,  and  leisure  time  are  given  to  some,  of  which  the 
[•eater  part  of  mankind  are  destitute — a  distinction  which,  if  properly  improved,  would 
•educe  the  best  results.     But  is  this  the  case  ?     Certainly  not.     The  rich  too  often  live 
themselves,  and  make  their  own  gratification  and  sensual  enjoyments  their  main  pursuit. 
iistead  of  employing  your  ti7ne  in  lounging,  eating,  drinking,  gaming,  revelling,  hunting, 
icing,  and  all  kinds  of  sensuality — instead  of  killing  time  by  amusements,  party  visits, 
id  the  pursuits  of  fashion — consider  what  an  invaluable  blessing  it  is  which  is  wasting 
ery  moment  and  carrying  you  on  rapidly  to  the  closing  scene  of  your  lives.     Much  of 
has  run  to  waste  ;  redeem  therefore,  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  the  little  that  remains, 
ize  every  opportunity  of  promoting  the  education  of  the  young,  of  assisting  the  opera- 
ins  of  every  useful  institution,  and  of  furthering  the  welfare  of  society  at  large.     Let 
iding,  meditation,  devotion,  and  the  instruction  of  your  domestics  be  unremittingly  attend- 
to,  and  see  that  the  close  of  every  day  carries  a  good  report  to  heaven.     Spend  much  of 
or  time  in  visiting  the  poor,  defending  the  oppressed,  and  in  relieving  their  distresses. 
God  has  given  you  wealth,  use  it  as  He  directs.     Heap  not  riches  together,  neither  spend 
;m  upon  your  lusts.     Lay  not  up  treasures  for  yourselves  in  this  uncertain  state,  but  as 
od  stewards   "be  ready  to  distribute,  and  willing  to  communicate  to  all  who  need." 
)w  God-like  a  work !     He  gives  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy,  and  can  we  be  indifferent 
the  wants  of  others  ?     If  the  sums  spent  by  the  rich  in  superfluities,  in  eating  and  drink- 
c,  wliich  often  produce  pain,  disease,  and  death,  were  spent  in  employing  the  poor,  in 
dins  the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  and  instructing  and  reforming  the  vicious,  what 
111  cut  results  would  be  produced !     If  the  ricli  would  but  allow  themselves  time  for  re- 
tiou,  they  would  see  that  duty,  interest,  present  peace,  and  future  prospects,  all  say, 
'ccl  for  the  poor ;  visit  their  habitations ;  afford  all  the  assistance  you  can  towards  making 
iety  virtuous  and  happy."     The  rich  have  great  influence  also.     Unlike  the  poor,  who 
2  in  obscurity,  their  example  is  extensively  felt.     They  have  extensive  connexions,  and 
•  often  made,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  medium  of  extending  religious  establishments, 
1  pensing  justice,  and  of  regulating  the  principles  of  the  social  compact.     How  important. 


66 

then,  that  this  influence  should  be  well  directed !  The  happiness  of  millions  depends  upoi 
it.  To  the  poor,  according  to  their  station,  they  should  be  examples  of  sobriety,  humilitj 
and  condescension ;  with  their  equals  in  rank,  they  should  use  all  their  influence  in  leadin; 
them  from  the  love  of  ease,  pleasure,  and  sensual  indulgences,  to  the  love  of  virtue  an 
goodness,  and  to  consider  themselves  as  the  guardians  of  the  poor,  without  whose  toil  an 
labour  they  can  enjoy  nothing.  Let  the  barbarous  pleasures  of  the  race-course  be  exchaiii 
for  the  pleasures  of  religion ;  the  tavern  and  the  drawing-room,  for  the  education  of  ti 
people ;  and  the  pride  of  equipage,  and  the  vanity  of  fashion,  for  the  humble  and  usefi 
labour  of  bettering  the  condition  of  the  people.  Who  are  the  rich?  Short-lived,  dyin 
men !  Thousands  of  them  have  lived  and  are  forgotten  :  it  is  only  the  virtuous  that  deser\ 
to  be  remembered.  Though  sheathed  in  gold  and  honoured  with  funeral  pomp,  the  ric! 
in  the  grave,  are  levelled  with  the  poor ;  they  are  but  dust  and  food  for  worms.  Hei 
distinctions  cease,  and  at  the  great  day  of  accounts,  it  will  not  be  according  to  our  wealt. 
but  according  to  our  ivorks,  that  we  shall  be  judged.  Glory  not,  then,  in  your  riches,  bi 
use  them  with  Christian  liberality.  Let  your  ii\fluence  and  leisure  time  also  be  devoted  to  tl 
welfare  of  society,  and  to  the  glory  of  God. 


FRESH  CRUELTIES  IN  JAMAICA, 

Communicated  to  a  Minister  in  Manchester,  in  a  Letter  dated  Jamaica,  Sept.  I8th,  1832. 

On  one  estate,  where  we  have  members,  the  Negros  since  the  rebellion  have  been  con 
pelled  to  work  in  the  field  from  dawn  to  sunset,  without  intermission,  not  a  minute  beii 
allowed  them  to  eat  or  rest. — On  an  adjoining  property,  one  of  our  members  reproved  t! 
driver  for  profane  language  ;  this  was  reported  to  the  overseer,  and  for  this  ofience  she  w 
tied  up  to  a  cocoa  nut  tree,  with  her  feet  suspended  above  the  ground,  and  kept  in  this  paii 
ful  situation  from  seven  in  the  evening  till  eleven  the  next  day,  when  she  was  taken  dcv 
and  after  receiving  a  severe  flagellation  with  the  dreadful  cart  whip,  was  sent 
work  in  the  field. — About  a  month  ago,  while  I  was  residing  at  Montego  Bay,  a  gan: 
workhouse  Negros  were  repairing  the  road  opposite  the  house  in  which  I  lived.    One  mo 
ing  I  observed  a  decent  looking  man,  with  an  iron  collar  and  chain  fastened  to  his  nc; 
fainting,  by  the  side  of  the  road,  apparently  from  exhaustion  and  want  of  blood,  from  a  ^ 
vere  flogging  he  had  just  received.     I  called  the  driver,  and  offered  to  reward  him,  if 
would  allow  the  sufferer  to  be  brought  over,  and  take  something  to  revive  him.     When 
was  brought  over,  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  one  of  our  members,  who  had  dibi 
guished  himself  by  his  faithfulness  and  courage,  in  the  defence  of  his  master's  prop-, 
during  the  insurrection.     On  inquiring  what  had  brought  him  into  the  circumstances 
which  I  saw  him,  he  told  me  (and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  his  statement)  that  on  accou 
of  the  cruelties  of  the  overseer,  a  number  of  Negros  had  fled  into  the  woods:  to  reveii  j 
this,  the  overseer  had  taken  away  and  spoiled  the  goods  of  the  fugitives,  and  withou 
provocation  had  entered  the  house  of  this  man,  and  deprived  him  of  his  little  property 
spoiled  his  furniture,  whilst  he  was  at  work  on  the  estate.     On  hearing  this,  he  went  I 
overseer  to  inquire  the  reason  of  it;  but  the  overseer  answered  him  by  calling  him  a^ 
and  a  sectarian,  and  beating  him  severely  on  the  face  with  his  fists,  to  which  the  poor  i 
bruised  and  swelled  face  bore  ample  testimony.     Not  satisfied  with  this,  the  overseer  6i 
him  to  the  cage,  and  lodged  a  complaint  against  him,  before  a  magistrate,  by  whom  h^ 


67 

sntenced  to  receive  three  hundred  lashes.  This  sentence  had  just  been  carried  into  execu- 
on  when  I  saw  the  poor  man  fainting  by  the  road  side,  after  which  a  collar  and  chain  were 
istened  to  his  neck,  and  he  was  sent,  with  his  flayed  back  and  clothes  soaked  in  blood,  to 
ibour  in  the  streets ! 


PENAL  LAWS. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  MORAL  REFORMER. 

Sir, — A  reform  of  the  criminal  laws  of  England  is  loudly  called  for.  Like  the  laws  of 
raco,  they  have  been  justly  said  to  be  written  in  blood.  To  the  humane  and  reflecting  it 
IS  long  been  matter  of  astonishment,  that  they  should  have  remained  in  a  great  measure 
laltered  until  now.  Is  it  not  surprising,  that  England,  distinguished  as  she  is  among  the 
..tions  of  the  earth,  should  have  a  severer  criminal  code  than  any  other  nation  in  Europe? 
am  aware  that  few  of  those  capitally  convicted  undergo  the  sentence  of  death.  Of  what 
le,  then,  is  it  to  retain  laws  which  are  seldom  or  never  enforced  ?  This  feature  in  our 
minal  laws  has  been  defended  by  Dr.  Paley  with  his  usual  ability.  His  chief  argument  is 
mded  on  the  necessity  of  such  severity  for  the  security  of  property.  I  doubt,  however, 
lether  this  end  of  legislation  is  answered  by  the  mere  existence  of  many,  and  occasional 
jBcution  of  some,  of  these  laws.  For  Paley  has  justly  remarked,  that  "the  certainty  of 
nishment  is  of  more  consequence  than  the  severity." 

The  grand  object  of  legislators  should  be,  the  prevention  of  crime.  How  far,  then,  is 
end  promoted  by  the  existing  criminal  laws  ?  Do  not  public  executions,  by  their  fre- 
ncy,  lose  their  effect  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact,  that  many  go  from  these  awful  scenes  to  the  com- 
jsion  of  fresh  crimes  ?  Thus,  they  are  not  merely  viewed  with  indifference,  but  with 
olute  recklessness.  As  the  uselessness  and  impolicy  of  these  laws  are  becoming  more 
lent,  I  will  not  say  any  thing  more  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  but  make  a  few  observa- 
on  their  injustice. 

In  the  Temperance  Magazine  for  October  there  is  a  well-written  article  on  "  Intempe- 
:e  as  it  affects  legislation,"  in  which  the  writer  argues  from  the  sixth  commandment  that 
unlawful  to  take  human  life,  even  for  murder.  On  this  subject  I  know  there  will  be 
fference  of  opinion.  His  arguments  are  deserving  of  serious  consideration.  If,  how- 
,  the  unlawfulness  of  taking  human  life  for  murder  can  be  shown  from  Scripture,  its  in- 
ce  for  any  other  offence  is  clearly  established.  I  am  glad  that  some  improvement  has 
ybeen  made  in  the  laws  respecting  forgery.  Much  remains  however  to  be  done. 
One  objection  against  the  abolition  of  the  punishment  of  death  for  heinous  crimes  may 
lade  from  the  want  of  a  punishment  between  transportation  and  death.  This  objection, 
ver,  loses  its  weight  when  we  consider  that  "the  proper  end  of  human  punishment  is 
he,  satisfaction  of  justice,  but  the  prevention  of  crime."  I  should  rejoice  to  see  the  plan 
ilitary  imprisonment,  which  has  been  tried  with  success  in  some  paats  of  America, 
ted  in  this  country.  There  is  no  plan  yet  adopted  for  the  reformation  of  criminals 
h  is  so  likely  to  succeed  as  their  confinement  in  separate  apartments. 
it  is  hoped  that  a  reformed  parliament  will  direct  their  attention  to  the  amelioration  of 
•llienal  code.— Should  these  remarks  be  considered  worthy  a  place  in  your  useful  perio- 
<li',  their  insertion  will  oblige  Yours,  respectfully, 

JUVENIS. 


68 


J 


THE  BRITISH  RIVER  OF  DEATH, 

'  Three  feet  deep,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  eighty-four  miles  long,"  constituting  the  estimated 
quantity  of  intoxicating  liquors  annually  consumed  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Dread  River !  on  thy  burning  shore, 

What  flowers  can  blow,  or  songsters  warble  ? 

The  voice  of  virtue  is  no  more, 

And  "hearts  of  flesh"  are  turn'd  to  marble  ! 

Dread  River !  who  can  think  of  thee, 

And  that/a/r  land  which  thou  art  blighting, 

Nor  wish  the  people,  rich  and  free. 

No  more  in  thy  foul  stream  delighting  ? 

Dread  River !  on  thy  fatal  banks 

What  thousands  roam  to  sip  thy  waters! 
All  sexes,  ages,  parties,  ranks. 

Of  sad  Britannia's  sons  and  daughters  ! 

England  !  what  though  renown'd  in  arms, 

And  Mistress  of  the  roaring  billow, 
Intemp'rance  fills  thee  with  alarms. 

And  makes  thee  tremble  on  thy  pillow  ! 

E.  MORRIS. 


VERSES, 

Composed  by  a  Member  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Society,  and  sung  at  the 
Tea  Party,  on  Christmas  Day. 

REVISED. 


Friends  of  sweet  and  social  glee. 
Friends  of  true  hilarity, 
Friends  of  peace  and  harmony, 

Join  our  festive  band. 

Rude  uproarious  revelry, 
Dire  and  drunken  devilry, 
Hence  for  ever  banish'd  be 

From  our  native  land. 

Sire  and  son  together  join. 
Peer  and  peasant  intertwine, 
Prince  and  people  now  combine, 
A  patriotic  throng. 

Feast  of  reason,  flow  of  soul. 
Supersede  the  madd'ning  bowl, 
While  instructive  precepts  roll 

From  each  gladden'd  tongue. 


Brandish'd  arm  and  phrenzied  eye,  • 

Loud  and  reckless  blasphemy. 

Force  no  more  the  deep-fetch'd  sighj 

From  our  faithful  wive 

Pure,  refin'd  domestic  bliss. 
Social  meetings,  such  as  this. 
Banish  sorrow,  cares  dismiss, 

And  cheer  all  our  lire 

Temperance  flag  is  now  unfurl'd, 
May  it  float  around  the  world. 
Till  the  foe  is  headlong  hurl'd 

From  all  mortal  sight! 

Drive  the  demon  from  his  stand, 
Spurn  the  foe  from  every  land. 
Sink  him — crush  him — heart  and  1 
Down  to  endless  nigh 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  3.  MARCH  1,  1833.  Vol.  III. 


DECEPTION. 
Mr.  Editor, 

SiNCB  writing  my  last,  I  have  been  repeatedly  impor- 

ined  not  to  proceed  in  a  course  so  dangerous  to  existing  interests.     I 

acified  these  alarmists  by  assuring  them  I  would  desist ;  but  now,  agree- 

bly  to  my  well-known  character,  I  proceed  with  my  adventures,  and  thus 

I'ill  they  learn  how  worthy  to  be  trusted  is  he  whose  name  is  Degbption. 

j      You  must  excuse  me  from  being  lengthy  this  month  :    I  am  engaged 

11  training  the  new  "  House  of  Commons,"  and  no  other  engagement  at 

jresent  can  be  allowed  to  interfere.    Though  but  little  known  to  some,  yet 

find  in  this  parliament  many  old  friends,  for  indeed  this  place  has  long 

Jen  considered  the  seat  of  my  government.     The  very  name  on  its  front 

'as  written  by  my  amanuensis,  and  every  syllable  carries  with  it  the  lie 

rect.     It  is  not  the  commons'  house ;  the  claim  is  a  dishonest  one ;  it 

longs   to   me,    and   though    I    have   worked   by   a   number  of    willing 

{ents  in  this  house,  to  whom  I  always  gave  a  share  of  the  profits, 

t   it  is   evident   to    sagacious   minds,   that   the   great   design   of  our 

easures   has   been   to   deceive   the    country,    and   to    enrich   ourselves. 

ow  many  thousand    speeches  have  I  made  in  that  house!    and   how 

ten  have  I  declared,  that  I  believed  in  my  conscience  that  "  the  worse 

IS  the  better  side!"      I  taught  the  members  to  assume  the  title  of 

wesentatives  of  the  people,  although,  in  point  of  fact,  they  were  inde- 

judent  of  the  people,  and  all  their  measures  concerted  to  benefit  their  own 

'der.     If  a  heart  so  hai-d  as  mine  were  capable  of  contrition,  it  would  be 

'  think  how  I  have  aided  and  assisted  both  houses  of  parliament  to  cheat 

15  nation  out  of  the  proceeds  of  its  industry.    My  assistance  is  still  called 

1- ;  honesty  and  patriotism  are  rare  quahties  in  legislators,  and  as  these 

list  be  professed,  at  least,  I  am  called  in  to  shape  the  disguise.     I  have 

It  many  of  my  old  friends,  with  whom  I  took  sweet  connsel ;  but  now. 


70 

when  I  find  a  number  advocating  religion  for  the  nation  who  have  noi 

themselves,  and  others  clamouring  for  the  relief  of  the  working  classes  wl 
never  in  their  hves  were  known  to  contribute  th:  least  to  alleviate  tL. 
suflferings,  I  shall  have  to  supply  them  with  the  "heads"  of  all  the 
speeches.  You  will  excuse  me,  therefore,  if,  in  this  address,  I  mere 
throw  together,  without  regard  to  order,  a  few  incidents  connected  wii 
my  government  of  the  world. 

Entering  a  bookseller's  shop  one  day,  where  an  author  was  lamentir 
the  want  of  sale  for  a  book  he  had  published.  Oh,  said  I, 'rather  dictatoril 
why  don't  you  "puff?"  no  author  can  now  stand  upon  merit;  you  mu 
•ail  with  the  wind  or  sink :  in  the  first  place,  you  must  advertise  it  in  tl 
papers,  and  unite  with  it  a  paragraph  commencing,  "It  is  with  great  plei 
sure  we  direct  our  readers  to  the  valuable  work  advertised  in  our  columns 
The  editors,  who  so  often  "feel  sorry"  to  refer  to  calamitous  events,  ar 
notice  the  preaching  of  "  excellent  and  impressive"  sermons,  are  sure, 
you  pay  them,  to  praise  your  book.  In  the  next  place,  get  the  interest  ( 
the  "reviewers,"  those  who  presume  to  direct  the  judgments  of  the  lite 
rati  of  the  country,  and  for  a  guinea  you  will  get  your  work  praisf. 
by  these  men,  even  though  they  have  never  taken  time  to  read  it.  Yc 
must  also  tear  out  the  title  page,  and  stitch  in  another,  with  the  announw!  • 
ment  of  a  "  second  edition!" — Great  advantages  are  often  held  out  to  ir 
duce  persons  to  subscribe  for  a  forthcoming  work ;  "  the  price  to  subscril 
ers  10s.,  to  wow-subscribers  12s.  6d. ;  whilst  the  same  work  may,  in  a  fe 
months,  be  met  with  at  a  book  sale  for  half  a  crown.  "  No  more  copit 
will  be  printed  than  what  are  subscribed  for,"  sometimes  appears  on  tl 
prospectus  of  a  new  pubhcation,  so  that  you  must  mind  or  you  will  be  di^ 
appointed  of  obtaining  a  co^  y ;  yet,  when  the  work  comes  out,  thereal 
copies  enough  begging  for  purchasers,  both  in  London  and  the  countr 
Societies,  in  many  respects,  are  like  books,  they  need  puffing,  and  my^_ 
vice  always  is.  If  you  want  to  draw  the  pubUc  into  a  belief  that  youifll 
ciety  is  popular,  and  its  object  is  of  great  importance,  take  carethat  you  fi 
an  octavo  page  with  a  regular  classification  of  the  names  and  titles  of  i' 
officers.  Patron,  president,  vice  president,  treasurer,  honorab 
SBCRETART,  &c.  &c.  Only  get  it  a  name,  and  then  the  great  object,  sig 
nified  b  '  "  the  want  of  funds,"  which  are  sure  to  occur  in  the  report,  ma 
possibly  be  attained.  It  wont  do,  depend  upon  it,  to  give  people  th 
trouble  of  thinking  for  themselves ;  you  must  either  have  "  the  patronag 
of  their  Majesties,"  or  a  long  list  of  patrons,  if  you  mean  to  give  your  J 
eiety  a  standing  among  our  "  useful  institutions." 


A  faithful  subject  of  mine  "bolted"  the  other  day:  he  was  a  deep 
illow,  a  shopkeeper,  and  well  trained  in  the  arts  of  deception.  Un- 
le  some  simpletons,  who,  if  they  don't  intend  to  pay,  care  little  about 
e  price  or  quality  of  the  articles  they  purchase,  he  would  haggle  for  the 
■it  penny,  which  he  was  sagacious  enough  to  know  would  give  the  sellers 
aaore  favourable  opinion  of  his  intentions  to  pay.  He  bought  his  flour 
•d  other  provisions  from  sevei-al  houses,  and  when  behind  in  his  pay- 
mts,  I  told  him  always  to  lay  the  fault  upon  the  houses,  which,  he  must 
lite,  he  had  been  luilding,  and  which  had  taken  so  much  more  money 
Ijn  he  expected.  Although  he  kept  selling  off  his  stock,  and  making  it 
i:o  money,  his  shop  appeared  to  be  literally  crammed  with  sacks  of  flour, 
sending  upon  each  other.  This  apparent  stock  reconciled  the  wholesale 
im  to  look  off  their  accounts,  when,  one  morning,  to  their  infinite  morti- 
iition,  he  had  flown,  and  the  sacks  which  had  maintained  his  credit,  on 
eimination,  were  found  filled  with  saw  dust !  Thus,  said  I,  we  have 
inaged  this  point  well;  it  does  credit  to  our  talents. 

I  admonish  my  pupils,  if  they  have  relations  worth  money,  always  to 
l?p  on  good  terms  with  them,  to  show  the  deepest  sympathy  in  their 
sFerings,  and,  in  the  probable  event  of  death,  to  affect  excessive  sorrow, 
lillow  the  corpse  with  a  faltering  step,  and  saturate  your  handkerchief 
v;h  tears  ;  and  see  that  the  deceased  is  safely  laid  in  the  grave,  before 
yi  inquire  about  the  property.  I  need  not  say,  that  you  must  then  de- 
nnd  the  "  will,"  and,  in  self  gratulation,  try  to  assuage  your  grief  by 
ting  an  inventory  of  the  goods  and  chatties  of  your  departed  friend. 

No  persons  are  so  badly  left  as  widows,  and  none  to  whom  I  more 
rdily  give  my  assistance.  In  order  to  show  their  sincerity,  and  to  for- 
b  any  overture  that  might  disturb  the  remembrance  of  the  virtues  of 
tlir  first  husbands,  a  veil  and  other  emblems  are  worn,  the  interpretation 
ojyhich  is,  "the  days  of  my  mourning  are  not  ended."  Exceptions  to 
tlse  cases,  however,  sometimes  occur,  when  the  strongest  bursts  of  grief 
a  followed  by  a  sweet  deliverance  from  all  trouble.  A  young  widow 
ftowed  the  corpse  of  her  husband,  whose  grief  was  so  intense  that  her 
finds  had  to  support  her  ;  at  the  grave  side  she  was  frantic,  and  nothing 
8(iied  capable  of  relieving  her  but  being  buried  with  her  husband.  Re- 
ti^g  with  the  company,  on  their  way  home,  a  kind  neighbour  undertook 
tlofiice  of  comforter,  and  after  much  discourse  about  the  uncertainty  of 
U,  the  duty  of  resignation,  and  getting  through  the  world  as  well  as  we 
CI.  being  a  bachelor  himself,  he.  in  a  half  broken  articulation,  said. 
••  a-ha  mud  we  do  together,  thinks  ta  f"     "  I  am  obUged  to  you  for 


72 

your  offer,  and  for  your  concern  for  my  happiness,"  she  replied,  ''but— 
but — you  are  too  late  !" 

So  kind  is  nature  in  rendering  me  assistance,  that  I  find  no  conditio' 
in  life  a  barrier  to  my  success.  T  am  frequently  closeted  with  hi 
Majesty  ;  and  as  readily  do  I  take  my  seat  in  the  weaver's  cellar.  I  was 
the  other  day,  no  little  gratified  with  a  visit  to  one  of  this  class 
I  assisted  him  to  take  off  his  piece,  to  brush  up,  and  to  clean  the  selvage 
but,  on  examining  the  work,  a  large  gauze  appeared.  "  Depend  upoi 
it,  if  the  taker-in  see  this,  he  will  bate  me  a  shilling,"  said  the  poor  fel 
low.  "  Oh,  we  will  manage  it,  you  will  see,"  replied  Is  "  mind  and  la] 
up  in  such  a  manner  that  this  will  just  come  into  one  of  the  foldings,''an( 
he  will  be  sure  to  overlook  it.  It  will  thus  be  like  those  lines  in  a  news 
paper,  which,  happening  about  the  middle  of  the  page,  can  scarcely  b 
read,  owing  to  the  folding."  Another  "  bad  place"  turned  up  in  a  pieci 
woven  by  one  of  his  children  :  "  This  is  too  large  to  be  covered  in  a  fold 
ing,"  said  he  ;  "  what  must  I  do  ?"  "  Prevent,  if  it  be  possible,  the  keei 
eye  of  the  taker-in  from  fixing  upon  it ;  make  the  cloth  as  dirty  as  yoi 
can,  with  candle  snuff  or  any  thing  else,  at  a  distance  from  the  place,  t( 
divert  his  eye  from  the  blemish  ;  and  in  drawing  over  the  cloth  in  a  hum 
on  Saturday  afternoon,  just  before  dark,  when  they  are  throng  (for  this  ii 
the  time  you  must  select  as  most  favourable  for  your  object)  it  is  possible 
he  wiU  never  see  it."  Both  these  stratagems  succeeded,  and  the  pooi 
man  was  ever  after  grateful  to  me  as  his  friend.  As  to  conscience,  mj 
doctrine  is,  follow  example,  whenever  it  will  serve  your  pur])ose ;  and  th( 
man  told  me,  that,  on  this  ground,  he  should  be  perfectly  justified,  fori' 
was  a  standing  order  of  his  employers,  that  in  the  last  yard  of  each  demy 
which  was  intended  to  appear  on  the  outside  when  they  were  finished  fo! 
sale,  he  was  to  put  five  picks  in  the  quarter  of  an  inch  more  than  in  othe; 
parts  of  the  piece.  "  Deception,"  said  the  poor  weaver,  "  is  incorporatec 
with  our  manufacturing  system,  and,  surely,  upon  the  ground  of  necessity: 
none  need  its  assistance  more  than  the  weavers."  At  some  future  period, 
I  will  give  you  more  particulars. 

English  folks  have  long  been  gulled  by  specious  representations  oi 
the  chance  of  becoming  suddenly  rich.  The  joint  stock  company  bubble* 
were  what  I  delighted  in.  The  attorneys  and  I  had  many  a  secret  con- 
sultation; and  having  persuaded  the  "asses"  that  the  moneymaker's 
millenium  was  at  hand,  just  like  the  issue  of  "  penny  papers"  at  presi 
every  week  organized  a  new  company,  and  many  a  speculator,  upon 
point  of  ordering  a  new  carriage  and  livery,  was  reduced  in  a  day  to  ftb 


the 


jefct  poverty.  For  many  years,  my  friend  "Bish,"  the  stock  broker, 
printed  both  a  "first"  and  a  last  book  for  his  numerous  pupils:  the 
revision  of  the  copies  was  always  left  with  me,  and  I  gave  them  a  finishing 
touch  which  always  told  well  for  his  pocket.  The  che^ness  of  the  work, 
with  prizes  of  ten  thousand,  as  announced  on  the  walls,  led  many  fools 
to  try  their  luck,  and  to  place  the  money  in  our  hands.  After  a  long 
pause  in  the  way  of  business,  I  recommended  him,  as  an  old  friend,  to  the 
;"  Glasgow  Improvement  Company,"  and,  by  special  act  of  parliament,  he 
now  appears  with  a  grand  "  scheme."  Every  man's  teeth  must  water,  I 
am  sure,  when  he  reads  over  the  lists  of  prizes :  all  the  puffiing  in  the 
laewspapers,  and  the  distributing  of  bills  by  thousands  in  the  streets,  are  of 
course  a  mere  flourish  of  the  resuscitated  "  broker :"  the  shares  will  be 
bought  up  immediately,  and  as  for  the  necessity  of  any  thing  to  induce  the 
public  to  become  purchasers,  "  Bish's  success  in  selling  capitals,  in  all 
public  and  private  lotteries,  for  the  last  half  century,  is  so  well  known, 
that  it  is  useless  stating  any  particulars." 

Being  a  very  consistent  character  myself,  you  are  sure  I  am  fond  of 
seeing  it  in  all  my  friends,  and  especially  in  my  religious  brethren.  But 
there  are  some  who  are  very  refractory,  and  whom  I  cannot  induce  to  put 
)n  the  least  disguise.  The  sexton  who  swears  that  he  has  not  had  a  bury- 
ng  this  fortnight,  and  cannot  aiFord  a  single  glass ;  the  clerk,  who, 
letwixt  pra^^ers  and  the  finishing  of  the  sermon,  comes  ont  of  church  for 
H  squib,  himself  a  landlord,  and  serving  daily  at  the  shrine  of  Bacchus ; 
the  ringers,  who,  though  they  invite  the  whole  district  to  prayers,  mani- 
fest a  great  deal  more  pleasure  over  a  couple  of  gallons  given  at  a  wed- 
iing ;  the  singers,  who  no  sooner  get  well  clear  of  the  church  gates  than 
;hey  make  it  up  to  go  for  a  few  glasses  to  clear  their  voices ;  the  minister 
A?ho  preaches  his  fifty-two  set  sermons  in  the  year,  and  attends  the  ta- 
/ern,  the  theatre,  and  the  race  course :  I  say,  as  it  respects  all  these, 
here  is  no  disguise.  I  regard  those  most  as  my  dearest  supporters  who 
i'  disfigure  their  faces,  are  outwardly  righteous,  for  a  pretence  make  long 
)rayers,  and  do  all  their  works  to  be  seen  of  men  •"  those  who  declaim 
ibout  the  value  of  a  soul  being  more  than  a  world,  and  yet  are  scarcely 
!ver  found  where  thousands  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge ;  those  who, 
vith  uplifted  eyes  and  pathetic  accent,  make  the  most  fervent  appeals  to 
iod,  yet  tell  deliberate  falsehoods  ;  those  who  sing  as  if  their  souls  were 
eady  to  join  the  angelic  choir,  yet  are  the  very  last  to  pay  their  just 
lebts;  tose  whose  religion  is  "in  word  and  in  tongue,"  instead  of  "in 
i^eed  and  of  a  truth :"  these  are  the  persons  whom  I  delight  to  honour. 


74' 

I  often  go  among"  them,  and  the  mysteries  and  obscurities  of  the  accounts 

belonging  to  churchwardens,  chapels,  and  Sunday  schools,  are  sometimes 
owing  to  my  interference.  I  am  the  father  of  hypociisy,  and  I  assure 
you,  I  have  not  been  less  active  in  spreading  it  in  modern  times  than  I 
was  in  diffusing  it  among  the  Pharisees  of  old.  I  have  drawn  a  form  of 
religion  over  this  country,  wi  th  but  little  of  its  power,  and  have  so  mo- 
dified the  article,  and  conected  it  with  respectability  and  wealth,  that 
those  whose  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  once  declared  as 
difficult  as  that  of  a  camel  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  now  appear  as  the 
most  ostentatious  aspirants  for  heavenly  things.  Don't  you  see  how  the 
walls  are  covered  with  religious  advertisements ;  that  numerous  as 
"  assignments"  and  "  sales"  are,  these  are  more  numerous;  that  its  sanc- 
tuaries and  outward  services  are  multiplying  daily ;  and  that  taxes,  direct 
and  indirect,  in  the  shape  of  tickets,  sittings,  collections,  dues,  tithes,  &c., 
are  levied  almost  upon  every  individual.  Now,  if  it  be  true,  as  you 
assert,  that  crime,  immorality,  and  irreligion  continue  to  abound,  how  is 
the  paradox  explained,  but  by  admitting  that  your  worthy  correspondent 
has  a  considerable  influence  in  these  affairs.  Could  I  for  a  moment  re- 
move the  veil  of  delusion,  and  exhibit  society  as  it  is,  what  an  astonishing 
effect  would  be  produced !  but  this  is  not  permitted,  and  therefore,  with 
your  wonted  indulgence,  I  will  occasionaUy  allow  your  readers  a  peep  at 
those  passing  events  in  which  I  have  a  share.  I  have  more  than  exhausted 
my  time.     Good  bye  for  the  present. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be. 

Yours  sincerely  (?) 

"  Deception." 


AN  ADDRESS  ON  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETIES. 
Dear  Friends, 

You  have  heard  of  the  establishment  of  Temperance 
cieties,  and  in  inviting  your  co-operation  in  so  laudable  a  cause,  I  beg 
lay  before  you  an  explanation  of  their  principles,  and  to  call  your  attenti 
to  the  importance  of  their  establishment  in  this  and  every  other  distri 

The  prevalency  of  drunkenness  is  so  appalling,  that  upon  this  subject,' 
from  the  humblest  mechanic  to  the  judge  on  the  bench,we  find  but  one  opin- 
ion.      It  stares  us  in  the  face  both  in  town  and  country,  whilst  its  debasefll 
impoverished,  demoralized  victims  abound  in  every  street.     How  many  or 
both  sexes,  young  and  old,  and  of  every  rank,  who  are  either  actually. 

11 


75 

addicted  to  drunkenness,  or  in  some  way  suffering  from  this  vice !  If  yott 
enter  the  dram  shops,  beer  shops,  and  licensed  houses  which  now  abound  in 
everv'  town,  every  road,  and  every  street,  you  witness  scenes  which  are  dis- 
gusting to  humanity.  The  resources  of  the  countn*  are  spent  u  on  trong 
drink :  and  whilst  50  millions  a  year  is  swallowed  in  intoxicating  liquor, 
and  as  much  more  in  addition  lost  by  its  influence  in  s  ociety,  is  it  surprising 
that  poverty,  wretchedness,  and  crime  should  eAcn,'  where  abound  ? 

The  effects  upon  individuals,  families,  and  the  community  at  large  are 
every  where  N'isible  No  scourge,  including  war,  famine,  or  pestilence,  was 
ever  so  severe  as  this.  Its  evils  have  been  transmitted  from  father  to  son, 
and  from  one  age  to  another;  sickness  and  disea  e  prevail,  and  premature 
death  is  of  constant  occurrence,  in  consequence  of  excessive  drinking. 
Thousands  have  fallen  from  elevated  situations  in  socie.y  ;  and  thousands  are 
kept  in  the  deepest  degradation  of  poverty  through  this  vice  ;  and  it  is  the 
opinion  of  many,  that  with  the  exception  of  the  aged  and  the  infirm,  if  it 
Were  abandoned  by  every  class,  scarcely  a  poor  man  would  remain.  If  the 
ligher  classes  would  give  up  their  brandy  and  their  wine,  the  lower  classes 
;heir  drams  and  their  ale,  and  all  spend  their  money  on  useful  articles,  an  ex- 
:raordinary  stimulas  would  be  given  to  our  home  trade,  such  as  we  have  sel- 
lom  known.  The  effect  of  hard  drinking  is  also  most  apparent  upon  the  in- 
ellect  of  the  country.  Sobriety  is  the  best  preparation  for  learning  ;  let 
his  be  generallv  cultivated,  and  brutality  and  ignorance  would  soon  be  sup- 
)lanted  by  intelligence  and  vu-tue.  Crime,  immorality,  and  impiety  are  the 
effects  of  intemperance,  and  the  present  awful  violation  of  the  laws  of  pro- 
)erty,  the  demoralization  of  the  people,  and  the  low  state  of  religion 
ire  clearly  connected  with  the  reign  of  drunkenness.  Such  being  the 
iffects,  is  it  possible  that  the  people  can  be  happy  ?  Oppression,  disunion, 
liscord,  and  a  total  want  of  domestic  felicity,  follow  in  the  long  train  of 
luman  ills,  inflicted  upon  us  by  this  our  national,  besetting  sin. 

The  causes  are  various  and  complicated.  This  evil  has  gro^iTi  up 
mong  us  principally  by  an  insidious  influence.  False  opinions  as  to  the 
irtues  and  utility  of  ardent  spirits,  ale,  and  wine  have  been  received  and 
irculated  universally,  to  the  great  injury  of  many  who  are  othenv'ise  better 
isposed.  We  have  been  deluded  by  the  praises  of  our  "  national  beverage," 
nd  instead  of  regarding  spirits  only  as  medicines,  we  have  adopted  them 
s  an  ingredient  in  our  common  drink.  Men  swallow  quantities  of  alec 
ol,  the  intoxicating  portion  of  all  these  liquors,  without  ever  consider- 
igthe  baneful  effects  which  it  has  upon  their  constitutions.  They  have 
dopted  the  delusive  position,  that  "  it  does  them  good,"  and  therefore  at 


7^ 

the  expence  of  reason  and  experience,  they  continue  to  swallow  this  dilut 
ed  poison.  Moderate  drinking,  the  corrective  generally  recommended,  i: 
the  actual  promoter  of  the  greatest  portion  of  the  evil  of  which  we  now 
complain.  Few  can  maintain  their  standing  as  moderate  drinkers,  anc 
from  their  lists,  as  if  they  were  in  strife  with  death,  the  ranks  of  dying 
drunkards  are  always  supplied.  Men  are  not  born  drunkards,  nor  become 
so  all  at  once ;  it  is  from  moderate  drinking  that  all  excesses  proceed. 
Many  of  the  useful  and  innocent  customs  in  society  are  now  pervertec 
into  occasions  of  intemperance.  The  bottle,  the  jug,  and  the  glass  seen 
destined  to  preside  over  every  act  of  sociality.  Transactions  in  business 
bargains  and  payments,  the  meeting  and  parting  of  friends,  the  celebiatioi 
of  every  festival  and  public  event,  the  meetings  of  committees  and  socie 
ties,  footings  and  apprenticeships,  christenings,  chxu-chings,  weddings,  an( 
funerals,  all  are  cursed  by  the  use  of  that  liquor  which  spreads  ruin  am 
devastation  around.  The  misguided  friendship  of  thousands  has  sown  th( 
seeds  of  misery  and  destruction,  by  a  slavish  conformity  to  the  habits  o. 
the  age ;  whilst  the  unguarded  examples  of  fathers,  and  mothers,  anc 
teachers  have  assisted  to  spread  the  contagion  to  an  unlimited  extent 
From  these  causes,  intoxication  has  not  only  become  a  habit,  but  (strange 
as  it  may  seem)  the  result  of  the  civilities  of  life.  As  in  every  other  vice,  th( 
interested  are  also  its  advocates,  and  by  authority,  influence,  and  stratagem, 
they  have  facilitated  the  progress  of  drunkenness.  The  distillers,  raer 
chants,  and  dealers ;  the  landlords,  the  brewers,  and  the  owners  of  licensee 
houses — not  to  say  the  government  itself — actuated  by  interested  motives 
have  all  done  honour  at  the  shrine  of  Bacchus ;  and  when  it  is  understooc 
that  about  a  million  of  persons  are  enriched  or  supported  by  this  nefariovts 
traffic,  no  wonder  that  the  happy  soil  of  England  should  be  deluged  witl: 
this  liquid  fire. 

Remedies  have  often  been  sought,  but  effectual  ones  have  never 
been  found.     All  legislative  measures  have  proved  abortive ;  an  extendec 
education  has  not,  as  yet,  operated  as  a  cure ;  and  the  preaching  of  th« 
gospel,  always  efficacious  where  it  is  received,  has  not  sufficiently  penetral 
the  mass  of  society,  so  as  to  have  removed  the  sin  of  drunkenness 
fact  is,  that  the  peculiar  character  of  this  practical  evil,  its  long  growtitlj 
and  ramified  facilities  and  securities  in  the  usages  of  our  country,  are  stuiM 
as  requires,  in  making  an  attack  with  any  probability  af  success,  an  ed*!^! 
give  COMBINATION.     A  Temperance  Society  is  that  combination  ;  and  as 
it  is  conceived  that  both  the  object  to  be  attained,  and  the  means  made  us£ 
of,   are  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  Christianity,  we  lodfn 


II 


a|||. 


I 


I 


77 


humble  confidence  for  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  upon  our  efforts 
Sinkmg-  ail    differences    upon  pohtics  or  religion,   and    disowning  every 
mercenary  influence,  the  friends  of  temperance  combine  their  efforts  in  or- 
der  to  promote  a  moral  reformation. 

The  means  usually  adopted  may  be  placed  under  three  heads  •  the 
affusion  of  information,  the  influence  of  association,  and  the  signing  of  a 
Mge.  Temperance  members  are  not  regulated,  in  their  own  abstinence 
nerely  by  the  abstract  principles  of  right  and  wrong;  thev  don't  say  that 
t  IS  a  sm  to  take  a  glass,  or  a  virtue  to  abstain ;  but  viewing  the  present 
\:wful  condition  of  society,  they  consider  it  their  duty  to  combine  together 
0  promote  a  general  good,  even  though  it  should  require  a  course  of  self- 
denial.  In  the  spirit  of  Paul,  they  say,  "If,  by  our  example  and  our 
ifforts,  we  can  save  our  country  from  impending  ruin,  we  will  drink  no 
itoxicating  liquor  so  long  as  the  world  stands."  Benevolence,  patriotism, 
nd  religion,  they  conceive,  call  upon  every  inan  and  woman,  every  ma- 
jistrate,  master,  and  workman,  to  join  in  suppressing  the  vice  of  intern- 
'erance — the  enemy  of  God  and  man. 

■  I      By  diffusing  information,  through  the  medium  of  tracts,  lectures,  and 
ketings,  they  attempt  to  correct  popular  errors  upon  the  subject.     They 
ly  to  disabuse  the  public  mind  of  the  strange  delusion  that  these  liquors 
■•e  serviceable  to  man  in  a  healthy  state  ;  to  exhibit  the  injurious  effects 
•oduced  by  the  present  habits  of  society  ;  and  to  oppose  to  these  the  light 
iiich  philosophy,  reason,  and  revelation  afford.     They  seek  investigation, 
rsuaded  as  they  are  that  in  proportion  as  men  think  soberly,  they  will, 
j;nerally  speaking,  be  found  to  act  correctly, 
i     The  strength  of  union  is  also  called  into  exercise   in  these  societies, 
hat  as  yet  remains  unaccomplished  by  insulated  effort,  they  hope  in 
■ine  measure  to  accomplish  by  combined  exertion.     These  societies   are 
•'aposed  of  those  who  profess  to  be  temperate  persons,  and  being  of  one 
iQd  upon  this  subject,  they  associate  together  to  strengthen  each  other's 
mds,  and  to  induce  their  members  to  make  every  possible  effort  to  try  to 
ibrm  their  fellow  creatures.     It  is  with  pleasure  they  devote  their  time 
«i  money  to  agitate  the  subject,  and  hold  meetings  in  order  to  diffuse 
tir  principles  abroad.     Animated  with  love  for  the  cause,  and  love  to 
«  h  other,  they  labour  incessantly  to  induce  others  to  join  their  ranks. 

A  pledge  is  required  to  be  signed  by  all  who  enter  the  Temperance 
^•-leties.  This  is  either  of  abstinence  from  ardent  spirits,  from  all  intoxi- 
Cing  liquors,  from  entering  public  houses,  or  for  discountenancing  all  the 
C;ses  and  practices  of  intemperance,  just  as  the  members  at  the  com- 

VOL.  in.  t 


78 

mencement  agree  among  themselves.     This  pledge  is  voluntary,  and  b« 
the  result  of  conviction,   serves  either  as  a  tie  upon  the  individual 
makes  it,  or  as  an  example  to  others,  and  in  all  cases  is  considered  a  sat 
factory  concUtion  of  membership.     To  resist  any  evil  requires  a  purpj 
of  mind;  but  to  resist  the  temptations  to  take  strong  drink  requires  a  *" 
liberate,  determinate  resolution;  and  when  this  is  once  made,  to  recoi 
upon  paper,  may  not  only  be  of  service  to  the  individual,  but  is  mostj 
suredly  serviceable  as  an  example  to  others.     We  give  open  pledge^^ 
payment  to  our  creditors,  pledges  of  faithfulness  to  our  wives,  and  in  ionT 
ing  a  strong  combination  against  drunkenness,  a  mutual  pledge  among  tl 
members,  as  to  the  consistency  of  their  own  conduct,  is  highly  satisfactor 
Persons  thus  giving  a  pledge,  or  making  a  vow,  from  a  true  conviction 
its  importance,  may  expect  the  blessing  of  God  to  assist  them  to  perform 
The  success  of  the  temperance  cause  in  America,  and  in  various  pai 
of  this  country,  recommends  it  to  your  attention.     The  value  of  its  ohjt 
you  cannot  doubt ;  and  if  you  consider  impartially  the  present  state  of  i 
ciety,  I  believe  you  will  be  led  to  conclude,  that  the  machinery  of  Temp- 
ranee  Societies  constitute  the  best  expedient  that  has  yet  been  discover 
for  removing  or  mitigating  the  odious  vice  of  drunkenness.     Come  ai: 
help  us ;  confer  not  with  flesh  and  blood ;  let  the  love  of  your  kind  ri 
superior  to  every  selfish  feeling ;  join  the  temperance  army  ;  and  with  t 
ennobling  spirit  of  a  Christian,  enter  the  field  against  the  monster  Intei 
perance,  and  never  flinch  till  you  crush  him  beneath  your  feet. 

A  Friend. 


CHURCH  REFORM. 

Most  of  my  readers,  before  this  time,  will  be  acquainted  wit 
proposed  government  reform  of  the  Church  in  Ireland ;  and  thought 
the  prodigal,  who,  in  the  extreme  of  depriv  tion,  thought  well  of  the  hus 
which  the  swine  did  eat— we  may  think  it  a  great  measure  of  refor 
it  is  certainly  not  what  either  Ireland  or  England  ought  to  be  satisfi 
with.  Our  law  makers  still  presume  to  be  judges  of  what  is  fitting  a 
necessary  for  the  people  as  an  article  of  religion ;  and  our  lords  spirit: 
and  commons  spiritual  are  still  under  this  peculiar  illumination,  that 
"  ascendency"  religion  is  essential  for  Ireland,  that  the  Protestant  pra; 
book  and  the  Protestant  clergy  are  the  best  guides  in  the  way  to  hea\ 
although  the  people  for  themselves  have  determined  to  the  contra 
it  religion  they  have  so  long  been  endeavouring  to  force  upon  the  coi 


otm 


79 

and  for  the  maintenance  of  which  so  much  sweat  and  blood  have  been 

drawn  from  the  Irish  ?     No,  no  !     If  there  had  been  no  tithes,  no  church 

lands,  no  estates  to  contend  for,  Ireland,  like  Scotland,  would  have  been 

permitted  to  choose  its  own  religion,  and  would  long  since   have  been 

it  peace.      Let  this  point    never  be  forgotten,  for  the  conflict  betwixt 

;he   nation    and  the  aristocracy,   who  are  in   possession  of  the  tempo- 

•alities  is  likely  soon  to  assume  a  very  important  character.     Does  the 

lation  want  an  established  church  ?  are  petitions  sent  up  by  the  church- 

foing  people   for  exclusive  privileges  ?     No.     It  is  the  clergy   and  the 

irandees  that   are  fighting   against  the  people.     The  pious  members  of 

he  establisment,  providing  they  have  their  church,  their  prayers,  and 

godly  minister,  are  content;  they  never  want  to  oppress  either  Catholics 

r  Dissenters,  and  were  it  not  for  the  interference  of  an  unjust  law  would 

•ladly  pay  the  expences  of  their  own  worship.     Our  infallible  convocation, 

owever,  after  fighting  so  many  years  with  the  Irish,  to  convince  them 

liat  their  system  was  pure  and  apostolic,  have  at  last  acknowledged  their 

'wn  error,  and  have  published  to  the  world  that  the  work  of  four  arch- 

fishops  can  be  done  by  two,  that  of  eighteen  bishops  by  ten,  that  vestry 

|5ss  is  bad,  and  that  the  church  has  had  millions  which  they  can  now 

irn  to  better  use.     Taking  religion  to  mean  love  to  God  and  love  to  one 

\iother,  I  would   simply   ask  every  sensible  man  in  England,   whether 

•ore  religion  or  irreligion  has  been  promoted  in  Ireland  by  the  interfer- 

ice  of  goverment  with  forms  of   religion  ?     On  this  answer   I  would 

illiugly  rest  the  merit  of  established  religions.     Let  an  act,  then,  be 

issed  declaring   the  equality  of  all  religious  sects;  for,  until  this  is 

«ne,  the  subject  will  never  cease  to  be  agitated.     What  family  consist- 

5  of  seven  children  could  be  happy,  if  the  parents  fixed  upon  one,  and 

at  one  the  youngest,  declaring  that  he  alone  should  be  considered  as 

•3  first  born,  should  enjoy  every  mark  of  exclusive  favour,  and  all  his 

others  should  bow  down  and  serve  him  ?     Government  may  induce  all 

10  enter  the  ministry  for  a  piece  of  bread,  to  subscribe  the  thirty-nme 

i;icles,  the  production  of  times  no  way  related  to  the  present  circum- 

snces  of  society;    and  they   may  secure  the  attendance  of   those  who 

;;   content  to    go   to   church  because  it  is    "respectable;"  but  either 

1  supply    a  scriptural  religion,    or    to    induce    the    people   to   receive 

i  is  beyond  their  power.     I  repeat  it,  the   church  people   themselves 

t  not  want  an  "ascendency"  religion;  I  have  never  met  with  any  that 

^  aid  undertake  to  defend  a  principle  so  obviously  unjust.     Even  those 

vo  at  all  cling  to  the  present  regulations,  having  no  distinct  ideas  of 


60 

religious  freedom,  do  so  principally  from  a  fear  that  tlie  Catholii 
would  take  their  place,  and  murder  \is  as  heretics !  Perhaps  there  a 
persons  ignorant  enough  in  that  community  to  desire  such  power,  hi 
I  am  certain  that  the  respectable,  thinking  Catholics  have  no  such  wis] 
and  if  they  had — were  we  rid  of  the  present  scourge — the  experienf 
of  the  people  of  this  country  is  sufficient  to  prevent  any  other  hierarchic 
domination.  Get  rid  of  the  property ;  let  the  nation  pay  its  debts  ; 
speedily  as  possible  :  there  will  then  be  no  contention,  if  there  be  no  boyie- 
no  eagles  gathered  together,  if  there  be  no  carcase.  It  is  lucre  that  h; 
been  a  curse  to  religion  in  all  ages ;  and  while  the  state  holds  in  its  hai 
the  golden  bag  to  promote,  as  it  is  said,  the  religion  of  the  people,  is  it  m 
likely  that  first  one  sect  and  then  another  will  put  in  its  plea  for  preem 
nence  ?  And  as  the  persons  composing  the  government,  which  holds  tli 
state  provision,  have  always  a  large  circle  of  dependents  and  favourites, 
is  easy  to  perceive,  how — while  diffusing  religion  is  the  pretext — the: 
will  support  the  system  which  is  likeliest  to  circulate  the  wealth  amoii 
their  own  friends.  There  is  no  cure  but  for  the  state  to  relinquish  ; 
possessions  held  in  trust  for  religion.  Where  the  wish  of  the  origin 
donor  can  be  ascertained,  I  maintain  that  the  property  ought  to  be  applie 
to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  bequeathed,  provided  these  are  not  inim 
cal  to  the  public  weal ;  and  where  that  cannot  be  ascertained,  li 
it  be  disposed  of,  and  applied  immediately  to  the  exigences  of  the  state 
and  then  the  motive  for  contention  among  conflicting  sectaries  is  at  a 
end.  To  this  we  must  come  at  last ;  and  though  it  will  not  be  done  1 
the  present  parliament,  it  is  evident  that  the  changes  which  have  take 
place  in  the  public  mind,  and  which  are  now  producing  "a  measure  i 
church  reform"  from  the  government  itself,  must  ultimately  secure  to  ti 
country  nothing  less.  The  universal  diffusion  of  just  sentiments  will  delm 
this  is  a  peaceable,  consistent,  and  an  effectual  attack  upon  the  citadflU 
church  corruption,  and  in  which  every  patriot  and  philanthropist  onghti 
join.  We  are  not  fighting  against  our  brethren  who  belong  to  the  call 
munion  of  the  church ;  we  are  not  fighting  against  the  form  of  woraS^ 
which  they  prefer ;  we  are  not  seeking  the  power  to  oppress  or  to  Al 
them  ;  but  we  are  contending  against  the  cormorants  and  the  wolves,  w] 
under  the  pretext  of  religion,  have  been  robbing  and  deceiving  the  o 
try,  and  saddling  their  sins  upon  the  church,  and  thus  bringing  it  into 
grace.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  decidedly  with  Beverley  in  opinion 
nothing  will  ever  buy  religious  tranquillity — and  that  therefore  a 
ought  to  satisfy  the  country — but  a  perfect  EciuALiTy  of  all  nELieioi 


8r 


■ARTIES.  Public  opinion  must  always  lead ;  the  legislature  will  follow ; 
tnd  therefore  be  it  our  Jut)-,  while  we  have  so  just  a  cause,  to  pursue  it 
hrough  evil  and  through  good  report. 


TEN  HOURS'  BILL. 
The  effeet  of  factory  labour  upon  the  bodies,  minds,  and  character  of 
hose  employed  is  now  sufficiently  developed ;  and  I  am  glad  to  find  that 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  abridging  the  hours  is  fast  gaining  upon 
le  public  mind.  The  exertions  of  Mr.  Saddler,  upon  this  question,  can 
ever  he  sufficiently  praised ;  and  although  he  is  not  in  the  present  House 
f  Commons  to  advocate  the  measure,  I  hope  his  mantle  has  descended 
pon  others  not  less  anxious  for  its  success.  Here  we  are  legislating  for 
le  defenceless,  who  are  almost  as  unable  to  defend  their  o\sai  cause  as  the 
2gro  of  Jamaica,  or  as  the  beast  of  burden.  And  when  we  seriously 
msider  the  labour  and  privations  of  our  youth — running  in  the  pitiless 
orm  of  a  winter's  morning,  when  ive  are  enjoving  our  beds — confined  in 
1  atmosphere  loaded  with  impurity,  and  heated  to  an  unnatural  degree — 
)hged  for  want  of  covering  to  meet  the  danger  of  leaving  a  hot  factory 
r  a  cold  street — confined  for  a  number  of  hours,  even  too  long  for  the 
nstitution  of  men, — everv  feeling  of  commiseration  and  humanity  must 
id  us  to  exert  ourselves,  at  this  favourable  juncture,  to  secure  the  pas- 
ig  of  the  bill,  Who  are  they  that  object  to  this  measure  ?  The  mas- 
"s,  it  is  said.  But  I  loiow  some  masters  who  are  decidedly  favourable 
I  the  bill;  others  have  objections,  and,  no  doubt,  in  their  minds  well 
:mded;  though,  upon  examination,  they  will  be  found  more  specious 
\in  real.  This  is  not  a  partial  bill,  but  is  intended  to  apply  to  all,  so 
*it,  like  the  shops  shutting  up  at  seven  instead  of  eight,  it  leaves  one 

I  ster  spinner,  so  far  as  home  competition  is  concerned,  just  upon  a  level 
^  h  another.  Is  it  foreign  competition  which  is  dreaded  ?  I  believe  there 
i  lO  danger ;  but  if  the  cost  of  production  be  so  near  upon  a  par  with  that 
t  foreign  mills  as  to  apprehend  danger,  rather  than  have  our  children, 
t,  stamina  of  the  country,  destroyed,  let  the  tax  be  taken  of  the  raw  mate- 
W;  yea,  let  eveiy  tax  be  taken  off  glass,  bricks,  and  every  article 
onected  with  a  facton,%  rather  than  perpetuate,  at  our  own  doors,  a  sys- 
t'l  of  slavery.      This  anticipates  the  worst,  though  I  have  no  idea  that 

'■  an  alternative  is  hkely  to  take  place.     Successive  restrictions  have 
^  a  placed  upon  the  hours  of  working,  and  yet  we  find  the  spinning  trade 

II  onlv   survives,   but,    so   far  as  appearances  go,   as  lively  as  ever. 


82 

"  Wages  will  fall,  if  the  time  is  shortened,"  it  is  asserted ;  hut  upon  wha 
principle  is  this  assertion  hazarded  ?  that  short  time  and  short  wages,  anc 
long  time  and  long  wages,  go  together  ?  The  contrary  is  universally  tht 
case ;  and  it  is  evident,  for  example,  that  if  the  weavers,  who  now  worl 
the  longest  time  for  the  shortest  wages,  could,  by  any  restrictive  measure 
reduce  their  labour  one-sixth  (the  same  demand  continuing)  the  effec 
would  be  an  advance  of  wages.  Supposing  the  demand  is  a  million  o 
pounds  of  yam  weekly,  and  this  requires'  50,000  hands,  at  tAvelve  hour: 
each  day ;  at  ten  hours  a  day,  8,000  more  hands  would  be  requisite  t( 
produce  the  same  quantity ;  and  upon  the  principle  that  the  price  is  alway 
regulated,  in  a  free  market,  by  the  supply  and  demand,  there  would  be  ai 
increasing  demand  for  children,  and,  in  my  opinion,  such  an  advance  ii 
the  value  of  children's  labour  as  to  make  the  wages  of  ten  hours  equal  t( 
what  they  receive  at  present  for  twelve.  If  the  very  trifling  advance  whicl 
might  take  place  upon  yarns  should,  to  any  extent,  abate  the  demand,  thu 
result  Avould  not  follow;  and  in  the  event  of  that  being  tlie  case  (which  . 
do  not  expect)  I  would  say  at  once,  make  up  the  diflfereuce  by  taking  th( 
duty  off  cotton.  But  all  apprehensions  arising  from  any  trifling  additior 
in  the  price  of  yarn,  which  would  never  be  perceived  by  the  consumer  ol 
any  article  of  apparel,  I  think,  will  be  like  many  others  that  have  beer 
entertained,  as  baseless  as  a  vision. 

Bad  as  is  the  condition  of  the  children  in  our  mills,  it  appears  it  if 
worse  in  Yorkshire ;  and  for  that  part  of  the  country  this  restrictive  mea- 
sure is  especially  called  for.  Petitions  are  being  forwarded  from  various 
places ;  and  I  would  entreat  those  who  have  not  hitherto  moved  in  th( 
affair,  to  come  forward,  and  lend  a  helping  hand  in  this  work  of  humanity 
Ye  ministers  of  the  gospel !  ye  teachers  of  Simday  schools  !  this  is  a  spe- 
cial call  upon  you.  See  the  child,  as  it  sits  in  the  class,  haggard,  pensive 
sleepy,  no  disposition  to  learn. 


Now,  what  impression  can  instruction  make  ? 
Worn  out  by  toil,  they  cannot  keep  awake. 


\ 


Instead  of  scolding,  or  chastising,  and  thus  rendering  the  school  a  burdl 
come  forward  and  assist  in  getting  the  ten  hours'  bill,  and  then  they  vl 
have  time,  in  the  week  day  evenings,  to  learn  that  which  you  now  in  v« 
attempt  to  teach  them  on  Sundays. 

The  following,  from  a  poem  called  the  "  Factory  Child,"  by  an  Of 
rative,  published  by  Croft,  Chancery-lane,  is  truly  descriptive  of  the  h^ 
ships  which  factory  children  endure. 


m 


83 

The  gipsy's  child  can  breathe  the  purest  air — 

The  wand'ring  beggars  feel  but  little  care — 

The  miner,  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 

Works  his  eight  hours,  tln;n  sallies  forth  in  mirth — 

E'en  chimney-sweeps,  with  -oy,  behold  the  sun, 

When  they  their  dark  laboriv,,.     ,o;k  have  done. 

Look  at  the  agriculturist :  how  true 

To  six  at  morn  he  brushes  off  the  dew; 

At  eight,  he  claims  for  breakfast  half  an  hour ; 

At  noon,  twice  that  for  vest,  to  give  him  power 

To  work  on  still ;  at  six,  his  labour  ends — 

Thus  cheerfully  his  day  the  labourer  spends. 

The  Factory  Child  sees  this,  but  knows  'tis  vain 

To  look  dissatisfied,  or  to  complain ; 

Curs'd  like  a  slave,  her  feeble,  helpless  powers 

Are  dooni'd  to  work  these  horrid  factory  hours. 

See  her  weak  limbs  amid  the  wintry  storm  ! 

Her  face,  how  pale !   her  clothes,  how  ragg'd  and  woi-n! 

Poor  gentle  child  !  she  goes,  with  heart  oppress'd, 

Hungry  and  tir'd ;  high  heaves  her  pensive  breast ; 

Her  little  hands,  besmear'd  with  dye  and  oil, 

Depict  the  drudg'ry  of  her  infant  toil! 

Her  youthful  face,  how  ting'd  with  anxious  care ! 

Her  strength,  how  weaken'd  by  the  tainted  air ! 

No  language  can  her  secret  griefs  reveal ; 

Yet  hearts  there  are  that  do  not — will  not — feel. 

Poor  helpless  child  !  can  she  be  fit  for  life  ? 

Fit  for  a  servant,  motlier,  or  a  wife  ? 

Domestic  knowledge  how  can  she  obtain  ? 

How  cleanly  habits,  or  acquirements  gain  ? 

Slavery's  worst  slave,  she  nothing  can  be  taught : 

No  time's  allow'd  "  to  rear  the  tender  thought." 

The  effects  of  this  system  on  the  married  state  are  thus  well  described; 

The  marriage  state  brings  hopes  of  great  release  j 
She  thinks  a  life  of  slavery  chang'd  for  peace: 
But  ah  !  mistaken !     Reader,  look  around : 
Few  happy  matches  in  such  states  are  found. 
Her  husband,  inexperienc'd,  proud,  and  young, 
Resents  the  expressions  of  her  angry  tongue. 
Then  discords  rise,  and  love  is  chang'd  to  hate : 
Both  rue — but  sad  repentance  comes  too  late. 
Instead  of  peace,  now  sorrow  fills  her  breast ; 
Her  husband  blames,  although  she  does  her  best. 
■  Her  constitution  ruined  when  a  child. 


,     84 

On  her  the  rays  of  comfort  never  smil'd  ; 
The  wholesome  air  has  scarcely  on  her  blown  ; 
And  she  has  little  else  but  anguish  known. 
Under  such  sad  discouragements  as  these, 
She  tries  in  vain  her  better  half  to  please. 
Their  youthful  days  in  quarrels  pass  away; 
They  further  in  the  paths  of  ruin  stray. 
Her  husband  from  his  toil  returns  at  night, 
Beholds  his  home,  and  sickens  at  the  sight. 
No  cheerful  fire,  with  bright  ascending  blaze, 
His  eyes  to  welcome,  or  his  heart  to  raise ; 
No  frugal  supper  is  for  him  prepar'd  ; 
She  "  had  no  time,"    or  "  nothing  could  be  spar'd." 
He  sees  his  children  with  their  stockings  worn, 
Their  clothes  half-washed,  unmended,  and  forlorn. 
He  looks  and  sighs — vexation  fills  his  breast — 
Forbears  awhile — but  feels  he  cannot  rest. 
Against  his  wife  his  kindling  passions  burn ; 
Rejects  excuse,  and  treats  her  tears  with  scorn. 
The  children  cry — again  his  hat  he  takes — 
'Tis  then  the  thunder  of  her  tongue  awakes  : 
A  curse  from  him  responds ;  when  off  he  goes : 
And  thus  they  consummate  each  other's  woes. 

The  author,  advertmg  to  the  popular  cry  for  "  reform,"  justly 
mands,  in  the  first  place,  the  removal  of  home  slavery. 

Talk  of  reform  1  then  with  the  young  begin. 
Since  Negro  Slavery  is  proclaim'd  a  sin 
By  England's  voice,  pray  let  us  look  at  home. 
Nor  send  our  youth  by  thousands  to  the  tomb ! 
Worn  out  with  cruel  hardships,  fierce  disease 
Feeds  on  their  vitals — death  is  a  release. 
The  graves  close  on  them — not  a  tear  is  shed. 
And  thousands  thus  are  number'd  with  tire  dead. 
Oh,  England,  let  this  awful  truth  strike  home, 
Thy  pride  hath  sent  its  millions  to  the  tomb! 
Send,  if  thou  wilt,  thy  gifts  beyond  the  sea, 
But  first  resolve  that  Britons  shall  be  free  ! ! ! 


A   WEDDING! 

The  Friends  have  the  liberty  of  marrying  according  to  their  own  fcj 
a  privilege,  or  rather  a  right,  which  no  other  class  of  Dissenters  posses 
As  I  am  no  Malthusiast,  I  always  take  an  interest  in  seeing  young  cou| 
"  made  happy."     Being  at  Oldham  on  the  6th   of  February,  I  was 


85 

armed  there  was  going  to  be  "  a  Quaker's  wedding."  Having  ascertained 
tie  place  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be  perforaied,  in  companv  with  a 
•iend,  [  went.  It  was  a  small  chapel  in  the  district  of  Marsden,  about  two 
liles  from  Oldham.  About  five  minutes  after  our  arrivaj  came  up  three 
Daches,  containing  the  bride,  the  bridegroom,  and  their  friends.  We  all, 
bout  forty  in  number,  took  our  seats  in  the  chapel,  those  more  immedi- 
tely  connected  with  the  wedding  occupying  the  elevated  sittings  at  tfie 
pper  end  of  the  house,  in  the  centre  of  whom  sat  the  voung  couple.  Af- 
;r  a  solemn  silence  of  about  half  an  hour,  the  yoimg  man  arose,  and  takin'^ 
le  lady  by  the  right  hand,  looking  at  the  congregation,  in  a  plain,  distinct 
)ne,  said,  "  Friends  !  I  take  this,  my  friend,  Maria  Earnshaw,  to  be  my 
ife,  promising,  through  divine  asisstance,  to  be  unto  her  a  faithful  and 
ving  husband,  until  it  shall  please  the  Lord  by  death  to  separate  us." 
he  young  lady,  in  like  manner,  but  with  a  faltering  voice,  scarcely  suffi- 
ently  audible  to  be  understood,  said,  "Friends  !  I  take  this,  ray  friend, 
imuel  Wall,  to  be  my  husband,  promising,  through  divine  assistance,  to 
;  unto  him  a  faithful  and  loving  wife,  until  it  shall  please  the  Lord  by 
;ath  to  separate  us."  They  then  both  sat  down.  There  was  no  ring 
;ed,  no  person  spoke,  and  this  constituted  the  whole  ceremony.  After 
lother  pause  of  some  length,  an  aged  Friend  produced  a  parchment,  upon 
hich  the  mutual  promises  of  the  parties  had  been  previously  engrossed, 
id  which,  after  being  read,  was  signed,  first  by  the  happy  couple  them- 
Ives,  next  by  the  relatives,  and  then  by  nearly  every  person  in  the  chapel, 
yself  and  my  friend  amongst  the  number.  As  a  proof  of  the  superior 
terest  which  the  females  take  in  these  matters,  as  near  as  I  could  calcu- 
te,  the  number  was  as  three  to  one.  Tliough,  according  to  my  taste, 
ere  appeared  too  much  reservedness,  yet,  upon  the  whole,  I  was  much 
eased.  The  superior  neatness  and  modesty  of  their  attire,  which  ap- 
;ared  all  new  for  the  occasion,  was  very  pleasing.  I  hope  this  day  was 
e  beginning  of  manv  years  of  connubial  bliss  ! 


NATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION. 
Of  the  prevalency  of  vice  and  immorality,  there  exists  but  one 
inion ;  but  as  to  the  remedy,  men  are  not  so  well  agreed.  And  I  am 
ways  sorry  to  find  that  persons  are  most  ready  to  recommend  those 
sasures  which  impose  upon  themselves  little  or  no  labour.  There  is 
'w  a  very  extensive  cry,  especially  from  the  liberal  party,  for  "  a  system 
■  national  education."     The  most  extraordinary  efi'ects  are  expected  to 

VOL.  III.  M 


86 


I 


result  from  tlie  adoption  of  this  system ;  indeed  we  are  called  upon 
view  it  as    the  panacea  for   the  moral    evils  of   the  country.     Being 
measure  of  considerable  magnitude,  in  which  we  are  all  interested,  a 
having  heard  much  said  in  its  favour,  it  may  be  proper,  I  presume,  to  h^ 
the  arguements  on  the  opposite  side. 

Before  we  can  presume  to  offer  any  fair  evidence  in  favour  of  j 
national  system,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  prove  at  least  one  of  the  follow! 
three  propositions :  first,  that  we  have  had  no  increase  in  the  means 
education,  say  for  the  last  twenty  years ;  or  if  we  have,  that  moi 
character  has  been  advanced  in  proportion  to,  or  at  least  in  soi 
measure  commensurate  with  this  advancement  of  education ;  or,  if  tl 
cannot  be  maintained,  that  goverraent  can  devise  a  better  system,  o 
more  adapted  in  its  character  (for  extent  of  operation  is  not  the  questi' 
here)  to  moralize  the  people.  The  fact  is,  that  we  have  had  school 
that  we  have  had  an  amazing  increase  of  them ;  and  that  they  have  « 
been  the  means  of  correcting  the  morals  of  the  people  ;  and  therefo 
unless  a  better  system — not  a  more  extensive  one — but  a  system  bett 
in  its  working  upon  the  conduct  of  the  people,  can  be  produced  by  gover 
ment,  it  is  evident  that  all  the  boasted  excellences  of  a  national  educati( 
falls  to  nothing.  Let  no  person  be  blinded  by  the  extensiveness  of  t; 
project ;  it  is  more  in  word  than  reality.  Before  you  attempt  the  expensi 
speculation  of  covering  a  thousand  acres  with  a  certain  sort  of  manui 
try  how  it  will  answer  upon  twenty  acres  of  average  land :  if  it  dor 
answer  in  the  limited,  it  will  not  upon  the  larger  scale.  Unless  we  a 
therefore  provided  with  a  better  sort  of  education,  is  it  not  enough 
know  that  our  already  extended  systems  of  education,  in  the  shape 
Lancasterian,  national,  and  other  schools,  useful  as  they  have  been 
other  respects,  have  not  produced  a  corresponding  advancement  in  mor 
character. 

Will  government  give  us  a  better  system  than  private  individuals,  * 
societies  have  done  ?     Where  is  it  ?  where  are  its  excellences  ?  Only  1 
them  be  known,  and  private  persons  can  adopt  them  with  greater  facilitit 
than   government.     Is  it  likely  that,  in  these  days  of  free  thinking, 
majority  of  both   houses   of    parliament  will  agree  to  adopt  a   systei 
superior  to    those    which  are  now    before  the  world  ?     Supposing  tb . 
possible,  it  would  have  to  be  conducted,  not  under  their  own  inspeotfijy 
but  by  agency,    by  trustees,     superintendents,   teachers,   &c.,    mosWil 
whom  would  be  merely  hirelings,  compelled,  like  the  clergy,  to  do  the 
dutv  by  a  list  of  fines  and  punishments — a  race  of  men  whose  utmo 


mm 


83! 

Forts  would  be  barely  to  fulfil  the  letter  of  the  law.  The  appoint, 
ent  of  these  persons,  whether  by  the  magistrates  or  the  people,  would 
;  considered  as  a  fine  opportunity  for  placing  some  needy  friend  in  a 
tuation.  Government  would  have  here  an  umvieldy  concern,  which, 
ce  many  other  cumbrous  establishments,  would  appear  wonderful  upon 
per,  but  would,  in  fact,  in  a  short  time  become  as  formal  as  the  church, 
id  open  to  every  species  of  jobbing  and  corruption.  The  degeneracy 
endowed  schools  may  give  us  some  idea  what  to  expect  from  a  national 
dowment.  It  is  the  duty  of  government  to  make  laws  for  the  civil 
^Illation  of  society,  and  for  protecting  every  man  in  the  enjoyment 
•  his  rights ;  but  to  assume  the  character  of  natiraial  dispensers  of 
:.igion,  education,  &c.  is  entirely  out  of  place,  and  will  always  be  attended 
%th  mischievous  results.  Instead  of  providing  for'  ourselves,  we  become 
]upers  to  the  government,  and  nothing  is  more  calculated  to  sink  the 
faracter  of  the  people,  and  produce  a  slavish,  dependent  habit,  than  for 
Ij  government  to  attempt  to  supply  that  which  the  people,  as  a  whole, 
(1  provide  better  for  themselves.  Education  of  the  right  kind  has 
iiUy  a  moral  influence,  but  that  which  the  state  would  provide  for  the 
pple  in  those  districts  which  are  either  so  poor  or  so  ignorant  as  to  need 
lis  not  likely  to  be  of  this  character. 

Some  men  seem  to  be  enchanted  with  the  term  "national,"  and,  in 
t:  capaciousness  of  their  designs,  instead  of  benefitting  by  experience, 
al  working  upon  practical  principles,  instead  of  making  local  efforts,  they 
vdd  preach  up  government  education,  and  make  it  a  "  grand  national 
aiir."  Should  it  ever  be  attempted,  it  will  either  miscarry  entirely  or 
V  shall  be  deluded  with  a  shadow  instead  of  the  substance.  To  persona 
o:his  temperament  I  would  strongly  recommend  the  penisal  of  "  Chahuer's 
C  ic  Economy."  We  want  practical  not  visionary  schemes  ;  and  it  would 
b.vell  if  some  of  our  hberal  members  in  the  House  of  Commons  would  bear 
tl.  in  mind.  What  have  they,  possessing  the  character  of  "national,"  to 
big  before  us  so  excellent  that  this  new  national  system  might  be 
h  cured  by  the  association?  Among  other  things,  we  have  a  "debt" 
Cied  "national,"  which  I  fancy  very  few  will  be  disposed  to  praise;  we 
be  also  a  "  church"  possessing  the  same  title,  and  which  is  nearer  allied 
icts  design  to  education  than  any  thing  we  can  name;  and  doubtless 
tlse  who  are  satisfied  with  its  excellences  may  fairly  come  forward  and 
Wocate  a  "  national  education." 

We  have  often  been  referred  to  Scotland,  as  a  proof  of  the  exceUency 


88 

of  national  schools  :  but  has  the  argument  been  fairly  stated  ?  I  think  nc 
I  would  be  sorry  to  undervalue  the  advantages  of  education  in  any  cou 
try,  but  if  by  this  is  meant  school  education,  such  as  is  given  in  our  La 
casterian  schools,  for  instance,  and  such  only  as  persons  in  every  tov 
would  be  found  suitable  to  conduct  (and,  I  presume,  this  is  the  utmc 
which  a  national  system  would  contemplate)  I  give  it  as  my  opinion,  tl; 
it  has  not  counteracted  the  moral  evils  of  the  country,  that  it  never  will,  ai 
that  it  never  did  in  Scotland.  It  was  the  pastoral  labours  of  the  Scot( 
ministers  that  raised  the  character  of  the  people,  and  the  schools  served 
diffuse  that  character,  being  conducted  by  persons  who  had  profited  1 
their  labours,  and  who  were,  in  some  measure,  pastors  themselves.  Ai 
I  cannot  help  suspecting,  that  in  awarding  so  much  praise  to  schools,  the 
is  a  design  to  keep  back  from  view  the  only  real  renovating  moral  power- 
the  principles  of  religion.  Let  these  be  diffused  by  good  men,  let  the: 
penetrate  the  mass  of  society,  let  the  principles  of  Christianity  be  brongi 
to  bear  upon  all  our  transactions  in  life ;  let  ministers,  and  parents,  ar 
schoolmasters  implant  these  in  the  youthful  mind,  following  them  up 
manhood  and  through  every  period  of  life,  and  give  sanction  to  them  1 
a  good  example, — and  then  we  have  at  once  a  cause  adequate  to  the  e£feci 
we  have  that  which  is  emphatically  called  "  the  power  of  God  to  salvation 
It  is  to  this  that  Scotland  owes  her  distinction  for  moral  character.  Wlie 
there  are  schools  in  every  parish,  whose  teachers  are  constantly  derivii 
the  benefit  of  this  Christian,  pastoral  teaching,  from  a  faithful  ministe 
who  spends  all  his  time  in  visiting  and  teaching  the  people,  they  certain 
afford  favourable  opportunities  for  inculcating  pious  and  moral  sentiment 
But  in  "  a  grand  national  system"  this  could  scarcely  be  expected,  orev( 
allowed.  All  parties  would  have  to  be  pleased,  and  the  wrangling.^, 
disputes  about  even  the  books  adopted  under  the  Irish  system  of  educqpl 
is  a  proof  of  this.  The  schools,  at  least,  would  be  merely  institutions  f 
mechanical  learning,  such  as  cannot  by  possibility  be  expected  to  opesj, 
as  an  antidote  for  our  moral  evils. 

The  real  usefulness  of  schools  will  be  best  promoted  by  confiding  1 
as  they  are  at  present,  to  individuals  and  to  parties.      They  are  per 
independent,  and  in  proportion  as  that  is  removed,  their  usefidness  yv'i 
abridged,  and  the  salutary  controul  of  public  feeling  rendered  nugai 
Stationary  and  fixed  in  their  formularies,  the  age  moves,  but  such  scl 
stand   still.       The   perfect   independence    of   schools  is  just  as  nece 
as  that  of  families,  societies,  and  religious  congregations,  and  a 


89 

more  ridiculous  notion,  I  think,  was  never  broached  than  that  of  placing 
le  education  of  the  countr}-  in  the  hands  of  government. 

When  the  education  of  the  people  is  referred  to  by  our  politicians  as  the 
itidote  of  crime  (to  which  every  idle  clerg\-man  is  sure  to  assent)  I  am 
ways  astonished  that  they  forget  that  we  have  what  is  called  "the 
lurch."  This  is  for  some  purpose;  its  cost  is  severely  felt  by  the  country ; 
id,  I  presume,  is  intended  as  the  antidote  to  vice  and  irreligion.  Why, 
en,  instead  of  flying  to  new  schools,  is  the  appeal  not  made  to  the  proper 
larter  ?  and  if  it  is  now  ascertained  that  the  church  cannot  meet  the 
oral  necessities  of  the  country,  let  this  be  frankly  declared,  that  other  suit- 
)le  means  may  be  adopted.  However,  the  cure  is  not  in  teaching  reading, 
riting,  and  accounts ;  a  brief  inspection  of  society  will  convince  any 
an  of  this.  If  we  confine  our  views  to  legal  crime,  undoubtedly,  to  a 
•rtain  extent,  its  connection  with  the  want  of  these  may  be  traced ;  but 
we  include  vice  of  every  sort,  as  it  pervades  all  classes,  and  especially 
e  wealthy  (who  generally  take  care  not  to  be  disgraced  with  any  legal 
•mmitments)  we  shall  find  little  connection  betwixt  the  lesson  of  the 
hool  and  a  subsequent  Christian  character ;  and  that  to  rest  the  moral 
formation  of  our  countiy  upon  school  tuition,  is  to  rest  it  upon  a  broken 
ed. 

I  have  no  hope  from  this  source :  I  have  no  hope  from  the  church,  as  a 
•tional  establishment ;  nor  have  I  any  hope  from  either  Catholic  or  Dissent- 
g  establishments,  where  wealth,  and  pomp,  and  power  are  at  the  base, 
look  to  the  exertions  of  individuals  (some  of  them  perhaps  belonging  to  all 
ese  bodies)  who,  bewaihng  the  wretched  and  wicked  condition  of  society, 
id  convinced  that  the  principles  of  religion  contain  a  certain  remedy. 
vote  themselves,  with  an  apostolic  spirit,  to  the  diffusion  of  these  prin- 
ples  to  the  utmost  possible  extent.  Let  schools  go  on  as  they  are  at 
esent,  some  managed  by  individuals,  and  some  by  parties ;  and  let  them 

as  free  as  possible  from  ever/  thing  that  tends  to  immoralit>',  while  they 
nfer  those  acquirements  which  are  so  useful  in  ever>-  situation  of  life, 
at  the  universal  diffusion  of  those  principles,  which,  leading  man  to  his 
aker,  and  influencing  him  by  the  hopes  and  fears  of  another  world, 
recting  motive  as  well  as  conduct,  are  what  we  must  look  to  for  a  real 
oral  reformation.  Tbis,  accompanied  with  a  good  example,  and  with  the 
•sence  of  every  suspicious  motive,  has  always  succeeded;  it  is  the  ordained 
strument  of  God;  it  is  the  only  certain  means  of  regenerating  the 
Drld. 


90 

VARIETIES. 

Temperance  Petition  from  the  Females  of  Preston. — To  the  Commons^ 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  Parliament  assemhled. — Unusual  as  it  may  be  for  your  ho 
nourable  house  to  receive  a  petition  from  the  female  part  of  the  community,  your  petitioner,- 
females  of  Preston,  humbly  trust  that  they  may  be  permitted  to  approach  your  honourabl 
house  with  a  prayer,  upon  a  subject  which  nearly  concerns  their  domestic  happines- 
Your  petitioners  presume  to  call  the  attention  of  your  honourable  house  to  the  great  mora 
and  domestic  evils  which  this  country  experiences  from  the  consumption  of  intoxicatlnj 
liquors,  and  to  pray  your  honourable  house  to  enact  such  laws  as  may  conduce  to  the  sup 
pression  of  this  distructive  and  prevalent  vice.  When  your  honourable  house  consider 
the  brutality,  profanity,  and  misery  witnessed  in  the  privacy  of  families  through  intempe- 
rance ;  when  you  consider  the  crime,  poverty,  and  disease  thereby  occasioned ;  youi 
petitioners  trust  that  their  prayer  will  awaken  the  greatest  sympathy  in  the  minds  of  tlu 
legislators,  and  call  forth  an  earnest  desire  to  remove  the  evils  under  which  the  country  si 
grievously  suffers  :  and  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  that  your  efforts  may  be  blessed  h 
the  promotion,  especially,  of  the  domestic  comforts  of  all  classes. 

The  number  of  commitments  in  England  and  Wales  for  three  equal  periods  o 
seven  years,  ending  December,  1817,   1824,   1831 : 

Committed,  1817,    56,308     Convicted  35,259     Sentenced  to  death  4,952     Executed  58| 
1824,    92,848  62,412        '  7,988  626. 

1831,  121,518  85,257  9,316  410, 

Though  we  lament  the  great  increase  of  commitments  as  exhibited  in  the  above  statement, 
yet  it  is  perhaps  not  to  be  regarded  so  much  as  a  true  criterion  of  crime,  as  the  netice 
which  is  taken  of  it  by  the  civil  authorities.  Crime,  like  the  offences  of  children  in  a  fa- 
mily, may  abound  and  be  uncorrected;  again,  it  may,  in  point  of  aggravation,  be  diminished, 
and  yet  more  frequently  detected,  which  without  any  other  cause,  will  present  a  numerical 
increase. 

Exclusive  dealing. — "  I  used  to  buy  cheese  of  you,  and  no  body  served  me  better," 
said  a  plain  spoken  dame,  the  other  day,  as  I  met  her  in  the  street ;  "  but  you  are  opposed 
to  the  church ;  you  refuse  to  pay  all  its  demands ;  and  so  I  have  given  over  trading  with 
you." — "  Do  you  think  these  demands  are  just?"  replied  I.     "  Yes;  they  were  paid  before^ 
you  were  born ;  and  I  don't  know  why  you  should  bother  yourself  so  much  about  It: : 
you  are  doing  youself  no  good,  I  assure  you." — "It  may  be  so,  Betty;  but  I'll  tell  you . 
one  thing ;  thousands  are  as  much  opposed  to  the  church  as  I  am,  but  they  have  not  the 
honesty  to  declare  it."    She  readily  assented  to  the  truth  of  this,  but  her  notions  of  "exclusive 
dealing"  could  not  brook  the  heresy  of  "refusing  the  supplies"  to  mother  church!        ■*  1 

Cheap  publications. — So  many  of  these  now  issue  from  the  press,  that  it  n^l 
be  a  matter  of  doubt  with  some  persons  whose  means  are  limited  which  to  take.  Many 
of  them  may  be  considered  useful  publications :  for  the  public  it  would  have  been  better 
if  others  had  never  been  seen.  I  beg,  however,  to  say,  that  after  a  fair  comparison,  I  con- 
sider "Chamber's  Journal"  the  best  and  cheapest  of  them  all.  Of  course,  I  have  no  interest 
in  the  sale  of  any  of  them;  and  I  make  this  declaration  merely  as  a  hint  to  those  who  i 
may  be  undecided  in  their  choice.     There  is  nothing  in  this  Journal  but  what  is 


connedfl 

J 


91 

ith  the  promotion  of  good  morals.  The  "  Penny  Magazine,"  as  to  circulation,  takes  the 
ad  at  present,  but  unless  it  improve,  I  am  much  mistaken,  if  "  Chamber's  "  don't  pass  it 
e  long. 

Beer  shops.— Travelling  from  Manchester  to  Oldham,  I  counted  the  number  of 
ensed  houses  and  beer  shops  in  two  miles  of  the  road,  which  just  amounted  to  24.  I 
IS  told  that  this  part  of  the  road  was  below  an  average,  and  that  the  total  number  in  the 
:  miles  was  upwards  of  90.  Is  this  not  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  cause  of  the  pre- 
lency  of  crime  and  immorality  ? 

The  day  of  sale. — At  the  late  Liverpool  election,  nearly  all  the  newly  enfranchised 
•ctors  voted  the  first  day,  but  the  old  freemen  "  lay  back  for  bets."  On  the  morning  of 
?  second  day  they  were  ready  for  the  market.  In  reference  to  this,  a  shrewd  gentleman 
served  to  his  friends,    "  The  election  concluded  yesterday ;  the  «a/e  begins  to-day." 

A  SUITABLE  REPLy. — A  knight  of  the  thimble,  who,  by  industry  and  perseverence, 

d  raised  himself  to  eminence    in  society,   was    taunted  by  a  person   of  assumed  con- 

juence  with  having  been  "nothing  but  a    tailor."     His  reply  to  the  individual,  who, 

a  dissipated  life,  was  rather  sinking  in  the  world,  was  :   "  If  you  had  ever  had  the  honour 

ibe  a  tailor,  you  would  have  been  one  yet." 

A  DOUBTFUL  CASE. — One  great  advantage  in  the  business  of  a  clergyman  is  that  no 
iiital  is  required,  and  another  that  they  seldom  make  bad  debts.  The  following  possibly 
ly  prove  an  exception.  A  poor  woman,  who,  after  attending  the  funeral  of  her  husband 
rDean  church,  near  Bolton,  went  into  the  vestry  to  pay  the  dues,  which  were  something 
( siderable.  She  put  down  about  one  half,  and  said  it  was  all  she  could  possible  spare. 
It  her  family  was  very  poor,  and  that  if  she  gave  any  more,  the  children  would 
I'e  to  be  without  food.  Excuses  were  unavailing;  nothing  but  thewhole  amount  would 
c  "This  is  not  a  place  for  trust,"  she  was  told.  "Well,"  said  she,  "1  shall  not  starve 
1  children  to  ■pay  you ;  I'll  pay  you  half  now,  and  the  other  as  soon  as  I  posssibly  can, 
».  if  you  are  not  satisfied  with  that,  you  can  take  him  up  again."  This,  like  returned 
tlicine,  was  good  for  nothing,  and  therefore  the  woman's  offer  was  obliged  to  be  accepted. 

Lent — Double  dues. — How  can  men  be  so  wicked  as  to  crave  after  the  indulgence 
o:arnal  pleasures  during  so  solemn  a  season  as  that  of  ''  lent !"  It  is  a  time  for  fasting 
a  self-denial.  We  have,  therefore,  as  the  pa.stors  of  Christ's  flock,  taken  this  subject  into 
0  godly  consideration,  and,  by  God's  grace,  have  concluded  that  the  likeliest  means  of 
pventing  marriages  in  lent,  and  as  a  sure  mode  of  convincing  the  minds  of  men  ofourdis- 
ii restedness,  will  be  to  charge  "double  dues"  for  every  wedding  we  are  called  upon  to 
S'mnize.  Having  so  long  enjoyed  the  public  approbation,  as  despisers  oicarthly  treasure, 
»nope,  in  this  regulation,  to  be  acquitted  of  every  sinister  motive! 

Magnanimity. — Magnanimity  is  literally  greatness  of  soul,  and  in  general  implies 
•  elevation  of  mind  which  places  us  above  all  unworthy  or  degrading  feelings.  It  should 
bhe  object  of  every  one  to  cultivate  this  condition  of  mind  as  much  as  possible,  or,  if 
whave  it  not  well  developed  within  ourselves,  we  ought  to  place  models  of  it  before  us, 
ai  only  act  and  feel  as  we  may  suppose  such  persons  would  act  and  feel  under  similar 
ciimstances.  It  is  only  in  the  magnanimous  in  any  rank  of  life  that  there  is  real  good- 
n  ;  for  unless  the  lower  passions  have  been  trampled  down  by  this  grand  controller  of 
tlsoul,  there  can  be  no  clear  stage  for  the  better  feelings  to  act  upon.  Above  all  things, 
Unanimity  will  place  us  above  the  aptitude  to  sneer  at  every  Uiing  that  we  think  a  little 


1 


92 

less  informed,  less  fortunate,  or  less  gifted  with  the  world's  honour,  than  what  belg 
us — and  also,  and  to  the  same  degree,  above  all  liability  to  this  constant  inward  as 
tion  of  all  whom  we  think  somewhat  better  of  than  ourselves.     The  magnanimous  piF 
will  not  take  a  paltry  revenge,  either  in  speech  or  deed,  for  a  trivial  invasion  of  his  r  ts 
of  any  kind :  he  has  too  much  respect  for  himself  to  do  so.     He  will  speak  no  evi 
neighbour — ^not  that  he  perhaps  thinks  it  undeserved,  but  that  he  thinks  it  mean 
that,  in  the  security  of  his  neighbour's  absence,  which  he  could  not  do  to  his  face, 
elevation  above   low  feelings  enables  him  to  take  a  benevolent  and  philanthropic    w 
of  human  nature,  to  make  kind  allowances  for  what  is  deficient  in  the  conduct  of  !  e. 
and  to  award  due  praise  for  what  is  meritorious  in  others,  and  nowhere  to  permit  a  t  al 
personal  interest,  or  a  jot  of  his  own  self-love,  to  colour  his  estimate  of  a  fellow  cres  -e 
whether  placed  above  or  beneath  him.     By  this  means  he  preserves  his  own  puri  ol 
character,  and  ensures  a  far  more  certain  return  of  honour  and  respect  in  the  long  .n, 
than  he  could  obtain  by  the  most  constant  and  successful  habit  of  detracting  from  the  ril 
of  others. — Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal, 

Prejudice. — To  correct  public  opinion  and  bring  the  world  to  the  standard  of  li 
either  on  the  subject  of  philosophy,  politics,  or  religion,  is  one  of  the  most  difficul  ad 
laborious  tasks  ever  undertaken.  The  truth  of  this  remark  is  demonstrated  by  the  h  irj 
of  all  ages,  and  the  experience  of  all  reformers.  The  names  of  a  Columbus  and-a  Ne  m. 
which  are  now  embalmed  in  glory,  were  once  associated  with  the  dreams  of  fana  ann 
and  the  delusions  of  folly.  Their  systems,  when  first  published  to  the  world,  met  ith 
a  cold  and  discouraging  reception.  The  Newtonian  system,  with  all  the  deraonst  on 
with  which  it  was  accompanied,  found  but  few  adherents  during  the  lifetime  of  its  ai  ' 
And  the  fame  and  glory  of  Columbus  was  at  one  time  suspended  on  the  event  of  v 
lingering  moments  ;  but  at  length  the  land  appeared,  and  an  unbelieving  world  coi  W 
longer  doubt.  But  the  work  of  religious  reformation,  is  still  more  arduous  and  dii  lit 
Doctrines,  however  false  or  absurd,  which  have  gathered  strength  from  age,  popu  ly, 
and  the  number  and  respectability  of  adherents,  at  length  become  sacred  in  the  estir  w 
of  their  supporters,  and  they  regard  all  as  infidels  who  call  them  in  question,  t.  ng 
been  long  accustomed  to  attach  a  superstitious  reverence  to  the  peculiarities  of  thei  A. 
they  look  with  abhorrence  upon  the  man  who  would  overturn  their  altars,  and  chan  ,ltt 
laws  and  customs  of  their  body.  In  what  estimation  did  the  church  of  Rome  hold  I  a« 
and  the  other  eminent  reformers,  by  whose  zeal  and  perserving  energy  the  gi  '' 
reformation  was  effected?  They  were  regarded  as  the  vilest  of  men  and  the  w 
heretics.  It  would  have  been  a  proud  day  to  the  church  of  Rome,  could  she  havi  ien 
them  writhing  in  the  destroying  flames  !  but  happy  for  the  world,  they  were  prot^jg  j 
the  overruling  hand  of  Divine  Providence.  Whoever  reads  the  history  of  thosej 
peril  and  bloodshed,  must  be  convinced  of  the  immense  power  of  superstition,  ai  ■ 
strength  of  attachment  to  long  received  doctrines  and  established  ceremonies.  Ij 
nature  remains  the  same,  and  the  strength  of  religious  attachment  has  not  abatec| 
lapse  of  time,  or  a  change  of  masters. 

Borrowed  Fa  ethers. — A  popular  preacher,  who  did  not  scruple  to  adopt  at| 
passage  from  the  divines  of  the  last  age,  was  one  day  addressing  a  large  cong 
when  a  gentleman,  who  was  placed  near  the  pulpit,  after  listening,  with  great  a.H 


11 

31  IK 


08 

0  an  eloquent  apostrophe,  observed,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  those  around  him, 
'That's  South's."  The  minister  paused ;  but  soon  proceeded.  No  sooner  had  he  con- 
:luded  some  well  turned  periods  than  the  same  voice  rejoined,  "  That's  Blair's."  A  longer 
muse  ensued,  and  looks  of  displeasure  were  cast  on  the  speaker.  At  length  the  discourse 
vas  resumed,  in  a  masterly  train  of  argumentation,  which  was  a  third  time  interrupted 
riththe  assertion,  "That's  Tillotston's."  Preachers  are  but  men.  The  minister's  coun- 
enance  was  covered  with  frowns,  and,  in  an  angry  tone,  he  exclaimed,  "  What  does  the 
ellow  mean?  Turn  him  out."  The  hearer,  with  perfect  composure,  said,  "That's  his 
wn,"  took  his  hat,  and  calmly  walked  off. 

Generous  Creditor. — One  Reuben  Rouzy,  of  Virginia,  owed  General  Washington 
bout  one  thousand  pounds.  While  this  great  man  was  president  of  the  United  States, 
ne  of  his  agents  brought  an  action  for  the  money,  and  the  debtor  was  committed  to  jail, 
le  had  a  large  family ;  and,  for  their  sake,  preferred  continuing  in  prison  to  selling  an 
state  which  he  possessed.  A  friend  suggested  that  probably  the  general  knew  nothing 
fthe  proceedings,  and  it  might  be  proper  to  send  a  statement  of  the  whole  affair  to  him. 
'he  debtor  took  the  hint;  and  the  very  next  post  from  Philadelphia  brought  him  an 
rder  for  his  immediate  release,  with  a  full  discharge  of  his  debt ;  and  a  reprimand  to  the 
jent  for  having  acted  so  harshly.  Rouzy  was  restored  to  his  family  ;  who  never  laid 
awn  their  heads  at  night,  without  presenting  prayers  to  heaven  for  their  "beloved 
/ashington."  Providence  smiled  upon  their  subsequent  labours ;  and,  in  a  few  years, 
ouzy  enjoyed  the  exquisite  pleasure  of  being  able  to  lay  the  thousand  pounds,  with  the 
dl  interest,  at  the  feet  of  his  patron.  Washington  reminded  him  that  the  debt  had  been 
feeharged.  Rouzy  replied  that  the  debt  of  his  family  to  the  father  of  his  country  could 
';ver  be  discharged  :  and  the  General,  to  avoid  the  pressing  importunity  of  the  grateful 
irginian,  who  would  not  be  denied,  accepted  the  money,  and  immediately  divided  it 
nohgst  Rouzy's  children, 

'  Advice  to  DEBTORS.^-Make  a  full  estimate  of  all  you  owe,  and  all  that  is  owing  to 
')n.  Reduce  the  same  to  notes.  As  fast  as  you  collect,  pay  over  to  those  you  owe ; 
yeu  cannot  collect,  renew  your  note  every  year;  and  get  the  best  security  you  can. 
0  to  business  diligently,  and  be  industrious — lose  no  time — waste  no  idle  moments — be 
^ry  prudent  and  economical  in  all  things — discard  all  pride,  but  that  of  acting  honestly 
'-be  faithful  in  your  duty  to  God,  by  regular  and  hearty  prayer,  morning  and  night — 
'tiending  church  or  meeting  regularly  every  Sunday,  and  "  do  unto  all  men  as  you  would 
'ey  should  do  unto  you."  If  you  are  too  needy  in  your  own  circumstances  to  give  to  the 
•lOr,  do  whatever  else  you  have  in  your  power  to  do  for  them  cheerfully — but,  if  you  can, 
ways  help  the  worthy  poor  and  unfortunate. — Pursue  this  course  diligently  and  sincerely 
r  seven  years ;  and  if  you  are  not  happy,  comfortable,  and  independent  in  your  circum- 
'ihcfts,  come  to  me,  and  I  will  pay  all  your  debts. — Dr.   Franklin. 

Well-timed  Reproof. — The  learned  and  pious  Mr.  Howe,  being  at  dinner  with 
me  persons  of  fashion,  a  gentleman  expatiated  largely  in  praise  of  Charles  I.  and  cast  some 
sageeable  reflections  upon  others.  Mr.  Howe,  observing  that  he  mixed  many  horrid  oaths 
th  his  discourse,  told  him,  that  in  his  opinion,  he  had  omitted  one  great  excellence  in  the 
iaracter  of  that  prince.  Upon  which  the  gentleman  pressed  him  to  mention  it,  and  seemed 
ipatient  to  know  what  it  was.  Mr.  Howe  told  him  it  was  this :  "  That  he  was  never 
■^ard  to  swear  an  oath  in  his  commoti  conversation."  The  gentleman  took  the  hint,  and 
VOL.   III.  N 


94 


I 


promised  to  break  off  the  practice.  Another  time,  as  he  passed  two  persons  of  quality,  who 
were  talking  with  great  vehemence,  and  damned  each  other  repeatedly,  Mr.  Howe,  taking  off 
his  hat,  said  to  them,  "I  pray  God  save  you  both,  gentlemen ;"  for  which  they  returned 
him  their  thanks.  At  the  time  when  the  occasional  conformity  bill  was  debated  in  parlia- 
ment, he  passed  a  noble  lord  in  a  chair,  in  St.  James's  Park,  who  sent  his  footman  to  call 
him,  desiring  to  speak  with  him  on  this  subject.  In  the  conversation,  speaking  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  dissenters,  the  noble  lord  said,  "  Damn  those  wretches,  for  they  are  mad,"  &c. 
Mr.  Howe,  who  was  no  stranger  to  the  nobleman,  expressed  great  satisfaction  in  the  thought 
that  there  is  a  God,  who  governs  the  world,  who  will  finally  make  retribution  to  all  according 
to  their  present  character,  "  and  he,  my  lord,  has  declared,  that  he  makes  a  difference  be- 
tween him  that  sweareth,  and  him  that  feareth  an  oath."  The  nobleman  was  struck,  and 
said,  "  I  thank  you,  sir,  for  your  freedom ;  I  take  your  meaning,  and  shall  endeavour 
to  make  a  good  use  of  it."  Mr.  Howe  replied,  "  I  have  more  reason  to  thank  your  lordship 
for  saving  me  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  discourse,  which  is  the  application."  A  certain 
nobleman,  with  whom  he  was  at  dinner,  treated  Mr.  Howe  with  great  respect,  and  requested 
him  tosay,  in  what  manner  he  could  effectually  serve  him:  strengthening  his  protestations 
of  zeal  with  profane  oaths.  Mr.  Howe  replied,  "  There  is  one  favour  which  I  should  be 
happy  if  your  lordship  would  grant."  "  My  good  Mr.  Howe,"  answered  the  nobleman, 
impatiently,  with  another  oath,  "  there  is  nothing  which  Mr.  Howe  can  ask,  but  it  will  make 
me  happy  to  grant:"  on  which  Mr.  Howe  calmly  said,  "  The  only  favour,  my  lord,  which  I 
have  to  ask  is,  that  your  lordship  vrill  give  me  leave  to  swear  the  next  oath." 

Contented  Bishop. — Dr.  Wilson,  the  bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man,  a  very  poor  diocese, 
was  affectionately  attached  to  his  flock ;  and  though  he  was  offered  a  far  richer  bishopric,  he 
refused  to  leave  a  situation  in  which  he  thought  he  could  do  most  good.  Going  one  day  to 
pay  his  duty  to  Queen  Caroline,  at  a  time  when  several  other  prelates  were  at  her  levee,  she 
no  sooner  caught  a  glimpse  of  him,  than  she  turned  to  them  and  said,  "  Here,  my  lords, 
comes  a  bishop,  whose  errand  is  not  to  apply  for  a  translation  ;  nor  would  he  part  with  his 
old  spouse  because  she  is  poor." 

Bold  Reproof. — The  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  senior,  while  residing  in  London,  went 
one  day  into  a  coffee-house  to  obtain  some  refreshment.  There  were  some  gentlemen  in  a 
box  at  the  other  end  of  the  room  where  he  was,  one  of  whom,  an  officer  of  the  guards, 
swore  dreadfully.  Mr.  Wesley  saw  that  he  could  not  speak  to  him  without  much  diffic 
ty;  he  therefore  desired  the  waiter  to  bring  him  a  glass  of  water.  When  it  was  brougH 
he  said  aloud,  "Carry  it  to  that  gentleman  in  the  red  coat,  and  desire  him  to  wash 
mouth  after  his  oaths."  The  officer  rose  up  in  a  fury;  but  the  gentlemen  in  the  box 
hold  of  him,  one  of  them  crying  out,  "  Nay,  colonel,  you  gave  the  first  offence.  You  i 
the  gentleman  is  a  clergyman ;  and  you  know  that  it  is  an  affront  to  swear  in  his  presenc 
The  officer  was  thus  restrained,  and  Mr.  Wesley  departed.  Some  years  afterwards,  be 
again  in  London,  and  walking  in  St.  James's  Park,  a  gentleman  joined  him;  who, 
some  conversation,  inquired,  "Do  you  not  recollect  having  seen  me  before?"  Mr.  We 
replied  in  the  negative.  The  gentleman  then  recalled  to  his  remembrance  the  scene  atl 
coffee-house :  and  added,  "  Since  that  time,  sir,  I  thank  God,  I  have  feared  an  oath,  i 
every  thing  that  is  offensive  to  the  Divine  Majesty ;  and,  as  I  have  a  perfect  recollection 
you,  I  rejoiced  at  seeing  you,  aud  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  my  gratitude  to ' 
and  you."     A  word  spoken  in  season  how  good  it  is ! 


95 

SOCIETY:  ITS  EVILS,  AND  PROPOSED  REMEDIES. 

The  present  state  of  society  peculiarly  calls  for  moral  culture  and  moral  renovation, 
wish  to  look  upon  society,  and  I  wish  you,  my  readers,  to  look  upon  it  with  the  eye 
nd  with  the  feelings  of  the  Christian,  accompained  by  a  sacred  desire  to  know  the  truth, 
deep  conviction  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  an  ardent  desire  to  devote  every  energy  in 
ssisting  to  raise  the  character  of  society,  and  preparing  the  people  for  judgment  and 
ternity. 

And  what  does  society  present  ?  All  virtue,  or  all  vice  ?  Neither.  I  am  happy 
1  the  assurance  that  thousands  of  our  fellow  Christians  live  worthily  of  the  sacred  name 
ley  bear — in  deep  and  constant  piety  to  their  Creator,  in  unfeigned  love  to  the  creatures 
e  has  formed — in  purity,  meekness,  integrity,  and  every  grace  that  can  adorn  humanity. 
iut,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  fearful  mass  of  evil  spreading  around  us.  Amongst 
lany  of  the  great  and  titled  in  our  land,  religion  is  but  a  scoff,  or  at  best  but  a  decent 
orm ;  its  laws  are  unheeded,  its  sanctions  set  at  nought ;  integrity  is  sacrificed  to  pro- 
igacy ;  debts  of  justice  give  place  to  debts  of  honour ;  in  other  words,  the  honest  and 
idustrious  are  robbed  in  order  to  pay  the  idle  and  the  dishonest ;  and  this  is  that  sacred 
rineiple  yclepped  "  the  honour  of  a  gentleman."  The  endearments  of  social  love  and 
■onfidence,  and  the  sacred  law  of  God,  which  enjoins,  "  Thou  shall  not  commit  adultery," 
re  violated  by  a  loose  and  disgusting  morality,  pretty  generally  understood  and  connived 
t.  Many  of  the  clergy  (and  particularly  in  Ireland)  even  those  who  ought  more  especially 
)  be  mindful  of  their  high  and  holy  responsibilities,  as  followers  of  the  humble,  meek, 
lisinterested,  and  devout  Saviour  of  man,  are  addicted  to  the  fashionable  crimes  of  the 
ay,  engaged  in  a  course  of  profligacy  and  vice,  evincing,  by  their  rapacity  after  tithes 
id  pluralities,  and  their  unblushing  exhibitions  of  worldly  mindedness  and  iniquity, 
lat  their  end  in  godliness  is  gain,  and  the  object  of  their  idolatrous  worship  is  mammon. 
1  the  legal  profession,  too,  how  little  are  the  great  principles  of  truth  and  justice  regarded  ! 
[ow  often  are  the  claims  of  equity  overruled  by  the  arts  of  sophistry,  or  the  bribes  of 
ealth !  And  shall  I  not  be  borne  out  by  fact  when  I  state,  that  in  the  transactions  of 
ade  there  is  that  overreaching  eagerness  of  competition  and  gain  that  often  opposes 
pright  principle,  and  will  obtain  its  ends  at  the  expence  of  truth  and  an  honourable 
itegrity,  to  say  nothing  of  open  treachery  and  fraud,  and  of  bankruptcies  of  convenience? 
',ven  among  the  middle  classes  in  society,  is  there  not  a  foolish  and  extravagant  ambition 
)  be  and  to  appear  better  than  their  means  will  sanction,  an  aping  of  the  great  which 
:ads  them  into  debt,  embarrassment,  and  poverty?  An  eager  desire  to  become  speedily 
ul  immensely  rich  is  the  rock  on  which  thousands  make  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good 
)nscience.  It  induces  a  selfishness  and  hardness  of  heart  truly  pitiable;  causes  men  to 
rind  the  poor,  and  deprive  them  of  the  fruit  of  their  labour,  by  withholding  the  wages 
ue  to  their  honest  industry,  and  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  aggrandize  them- 
;lves  whatever  may  become  of  the  comforts  of  others.  Then,  among  the  poor  themselves 
/hat  do  we  behold?  Are  not  the  factories  in  which  they  daily  and  nightly  assemble 
otbeds  of  vice  ?  With  what  unblushing  effrontery  do  individuals  of  that  sex  which  was 
■out  to  be  justly  admired  for  its  modesty  and  delicacy,  come  forward  to  prove  cases  of 
ffiliation  before  the  magistrates !  And  is  there  not  a  mournful  prevalence  of  intoxication, 
Bnsuality,  theft,  gaming,  and  depravity  in  every  form?  Are  not  our  jails  becoming  too 
nail  for  the  numbers  that  are  constantly  seat  from  every  town,  village,  and  hamlet  ?     Go 


9t 

to  the  back  streets  of  our  towns,  and  to  our  smaller  villages,  and  to  straggling  clusters 
houses  in  by-lanes,  and  observe  how  the  Lord's  day  is  spent;  and  the  scenes  of 
indolence,  sensuality,  and  drunkenness,  which  will  meet  you  on  every  hand,  wll  t 
mournful  tale  of  the  morals  of  the  poor. 

Thus,  then,  it  appears,  that  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  grades  of  society,  in  ever^ 
trade  and  every  profession,  there  are  the  loudest  calls  on  the  Christian  for  the  exertion  of 
all  his  moral  energies,  in  order  that  truth  and  righteousness,  virtue,  piety  and  peace  may 
flourish  among  us.  And  in  what  direction  should  these  exertions  be  made?  I  reply, 
in  inculcating  the  great  truths  and  principles  of  religion  and  morality  on  the  minds  of 
old  and  young.  But  knowledge  and  religion,  some  one  will  perhaps  object,  have  been 
tried,  and  are  found  inadequate :  have  we  not  had  Sunday  schools,  and  pulpit  services, 
and  Mechanics'  Institutes,  and  cheap  publications,  and  yet  vice  seems  to  be  vastly  on  the 
increase  ?  To  this  we  reply  by  a  question.  There  is  much  vice  at  present,  but  were  it 
not  for  the  influence  of  knowledge  and  religion,  should  we  not  have  vastly  more  ?  Or 
will  you  seriously  maintain,  that  knowledge  is  the  friend  of  crime,  and  religion  the  source 
of  wickedness  ?  Observe,  we  connect  religion  with  knowledge;  for  without  her  directing 
and  purifying  influence,  we  grant  that  additional  knowledge  may  serve  only  to  extend 
the  influence  of  a  wicked  mind.  It  is  religious  principle  alone  that  can  renovate  the 
social  system.  Knowledge  may  tend  to  civilize,  but  it  is  true  religion  which  must  moralize 
the  community.  As  yet,  the  influence  of  religious  principle,  on  a  scale  commensurate 
with  the  demands  of  society,  has  never  been  tried.  And  therefore  to  allege  that  religion 
has  been  brought  to  the  test  and  found  wanting  is,  to  say  the  least,  premature.  True,  we 
have  had  Sunday  schools,  and  churches,  and  chapels,  and  religious  meeting  rooms ;  and  in 
these  different  places  religious  instructions  have  been  delivered,  and  they  have  doubtless 
been  beneficial ;  but  we  want  something  more ;  we  want  a  mission  that  shall  carry  the 
great  truths  of  religion  to  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  into  the  very  heart  of  the  evil,  to 
those  abodes  of  vice  and  wretchedness,  where  parents  corrupt  their  children  by  their  daily 
example.  It  is  for  want  of  spreading  religion  and  knowledge  here,  not  in  consequence  of 
their  promulgation  elsewhere,  that  sin  and  its  attendant  misery  desolate  the  moral  beauty 
of  the  land.  There  must  be  an  awakening  of  Christian  benevolence  in  the  hearts  of  all  the 
well  wishers  of  man,  a  compassionate  and  heart-stirring  conviction  that  all  these  workers  of 
iniquity  are  yet  our  brethren,  that  they  possess,  like  ourselves,  the  elements  and  capacil 
of  exalted  virtue,  and,  like  ourselves,  have  immortal  souls  to  save.  When  religion  is  ] 
sented  before  their  minds  with  earnestness  and  aflfection,  and  unfolds  its  solemn  and  awa 
ing  truths,  accompanied  with  its  awful  sanctions  of  rewards  and  punishment,  at  once  arousiiii 
the  fears,  elevating  the  hopes,  and  drawing  forth  the  holy  affections  of  the  heart,  then,  and 
not  till  then,  shall  we  have  a  virtuous  and  happy  community.  You  cannot,  by  any  huD 
laws,  however  rigorous  or  however  strictly  enforced,  compel  men  to  be  virtuous.  You  i 
in  some  cases,  regulate  the  outward  conduct;  you  may  make  individuals  cunning  in' 
secrecy  of  their  evil  practices:  but  as  long  as  the  principle  of  wickedness  exists,  it  willjl 
in  some  way  or  other,  in  spite  of  all  human  vigilance  and  human  punishment,  be  in  actiJ 
Besides,  it  is  impossible  to  legislate  for  all  the  wickedness  of  society.  To  effect  a  radii 
cure,  you  must  root  out  the  principle  within  ;  and  this,  I  maintain,  can  only  be  done,  una 
the  blessing  of  God,  by  the  power  of  moral  and  religious  suasion.  The  delusive  expec 
tion,  that  the  ministers  of  religion  or  the  teachers  of  Sunday  schools  can,  of  themselv 


97 

feet  a  moral  change  in  society,  must  give  way  to  a  deep,  heart- felt  conviction  that  every 
,an,  whatever  Kis  profession  or  calling,  is  to  a  certain  degree  responsible  for  the  conduct  of 
lose  with  whom  he  is  more  immediately  connected.  We  all  are,  or  ought  to  be,  ministers 
■  Christ,  ministers  of  truth,  of  virtue,  and  of  happiness.  We  all  are,  or  ought  to  be,  sowers 
■peace  and  righteousness.  The  world  is  our  field.  Are  we  at  the  head  of  large  companies 
'men,  who  depend  upon  us  for  employment?  it  is  our  duty,  by  the  influence  of  our  exam- 
e,  by  an  affectionate  interest  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  well  being  of  those  we  employ,  to 
leck  and  discountenance  vice,  to  promote  and  reward  virtue.  Are  any  of  your  dependants 
ck,  or  infirm,  or  widowed,  or  fatherless  ?  let  your  Christian  charity  lead  you  to  their 
)odes  as  the  ministers  of  necessary  aid  and  spiritual  comfort.  Your  moral  power  over  all 
)ur  men  would  thus  be  rendered  mighty;  and  the  disorderly  and  profane  would  not  un- 
equently  yield  to  its  purifying  influence,  and  the  blessings  of  many  reformed,  of  many 
rtuous  and  happy  families  would  ever  attend  you.  How  pure  the  pleasure  you  would  en- 
y  in  the  consciousness  that  you  had,  in  this  and  in  that  instance,  been  instrumental,  by 
3ur  kind  and  persevering  exhortation,  in  turning  the  idle,  the  intemperate,  or  the  dishonest 
ito  the  path  of  industry,  sobriety,  and  religion  ;  and  that  thus  you  had  rendered  to  your 
How  creatures  a  greater  and  more  enduring  benefit  than  when  your  charity  administered 
lief  to  bodily  sickness  and  want. 

Let  ministers,  Sunday  school  teachers,  and  other  benevolent  Christians  visil  the  parents 
the  young,  and,  by  assiduous  instruction,  accompanied  with  fervent  prayers,  strive  to 
iduce  parents  to  set  an  example  worthy  of  imitation,  and  thus  become  co-operators  with 
lem  in  the  important  work  of  moralizing  the  rising  race.  We  must  not  expect  fruit  to  be 
■aped  where  no  seed  has  been  sown  ;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  the  Christian  going  to  the 
ene  of  action  itself,  and  unfolding  the  great  objects  of  his  mission,  instead  of  calling  indi- 
duals  to  come  unto  him,  when  they  are  either  ignorant  of  his  invitations  or  too  much 
islaved  by  indolent  and  vicious  habits  to  pay  them  any  regard. 

The  great  work  of  moralizing  tlie  poor  should  not  be  undeitaken  on  any  narrow,  sec- 
rian  principle :  its  claims  are  of  far  too  extensive  and  important  a  character.  The  division 
'  towns  or  villages  into  districts,  and  the  appointment  of  benevolent,  upright  men  to  visit 
'stematically  the  poor  and  vicious  of  their  respective  districts,  with  a  view  to  the  anielio- 
tion  of  the  condition  and  morals  of  the  poor,  would  be  a  plan  of  action  worthy  of  the  en- 
jhtenment^^and  generosity  of  our  age.  Or,  where  a  suflicient  number  of  individuals  can- 
it  be  found  to  unite  in  such  an  effort  of  truly  Christian  benevolence,  masters,  as  I  have 
■fore  observed,  might  exert  an  enlightening,  a  purifying,  and,  in  every  sense,  a  highly 
■neficial  influence  over  the  minds,  hearts,  and  conduct  of  those  they  employ.  In  some 
istances,  doubtless,  the  benevolent  labour  might  seem  to  be  lost ;  but  it  could  not  be  wholly 
'.  Men  are  the  creatures  of  circumstances,  and  may  be  worked  upon  by  motives :  an 
fectionate  interest  in  their  welfare,  temporal  and  spiritual,  manifested  towards  them  by 
leir  wealthier  neighbours,  would  generally  be  attended  with  the  happiest  efTects  on  both 
uties,  with  the  fruits  of  Christian  love  and  kindness  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  warm  grati- 
ule  and  sincere  respect  on  the  other.  And,  surely,  it  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  choice 
ith  those  who  have  it  in  their  power,  as  a  most  sacred  duty,  that  they  do  thus  exert  them- 
■\ves  in^ehalfof  the  poor,— a  duty  they  owe  to  our  common  Father,  God,  who  hath  given 
lem  their  wealth  and  influence  as  a  talent  to  be  improved  to  the  general  good,— a  duty 
icy  owe  to  the  poor,  brethren  with  them  of  one  common  family,  and  by  whose  honest  in- 


98 

dustry  they  have,  in  part  at  least,  been  enriched, — a  duty  they  owe  to  society,  by  who 
laws  they  are  protected, — a  duty  they  owe  to  themselves,  as  capable  of  the  sympathies  ar 
pleasures  of  benevolence,  and  as  moral  and  accountable  beings.  And  not  only  should  the 
but  every  member  of  society  should  look  upon  the  moralizing  of  the  community  as  a  du 
incumbent  on  himself.  This  great  work  can  never  be  accomplished  by  exertions  on  tl 
present  limited  scale  :  the  preacher  and  the  schoolmaster  need  the  co-operation  of  the  ma 
ter  manufacturer,  of  the  shopkeeper,  of  the  artisan,  of  every  honest,  benevolent  man.  'J 
all,  in  every  occupation,  I  would  say,  "  Awake,  arouse !  we  are  sleeping  on  a  volcano :  v 
must  be  up  and  active.  Religion  must  no  longer  be  a  work  of  set  days  and  places,  but  tl 
business  of  hourly  life,  introduced  into  our  homes  and  our  secular  employments ;  she  mu 
no  longer  be  confined  to  churches  and  chapels ;  we  must  introduce  her,  in  power  and  lov( 
liness,  into  every  abode  of  wickedness  and  woe ;  her  agents  must  be  increased  ten  fol 
and  their  zeal  must  be  redoubled,  or,  from  the  existing  tendencies  of  society,  we  shall  I 
speedily  rivalling  the  wickedness,  and  bringing  upon  our  land  the  fate  of  Sodom  and  G 
morrah."  O  England!  O  my  country!  may  thy  virtuous  sons  and  daughters,  by  time 
zeal,  avert  from  thee  so  sad  a  preeminence  in  guilt  and  misery ! 

Unless  the  moral  evils  of  the  present  factory  system  are  met  in  some  other  way,  as  I 
a  plan  of  religious  and  domestic  instruction  in  each  manufactory,  we  would  suggest,  as  oi 
practical  means  of  moralizing  society,  the  prohibition  of  females  working  in  factorie 
where,  at  present,  with  some  exceptions  indeed,  they  unlearn  every  thing  modest  or  civ 
lized,  and  learn  every  thing  demoralizing  and  shameless.  They  have  no  opportunities 
making  themselves  acquainted  with  household  economy,  and,  consequently,  when  they  ei 
ter  the  married  state,  are  every  way  most  unfit  for  the  important,  the  sacred  office  of  a  wi 
and  a  mother.  By  their  ignorance  of  economy  in  their  expenditure  and  cooking,  the 
waste  their  little  income ;  by  their  want  of  cleanliness  in  their  homes,  they  disgust  the 
husbands  and  older  children,  and  drive  them  to  the  cheerful  fire  side  of  the  public  hous 
Whereas,  could  a  regulation  be  made  to  prevent  their  working,  as  at  present,  in  the  raid 
of  vice,  time  would  be  allowed  them  for  learning  the  duties  of  a  house,  modesty  and  virti 
might  be  kept  sacred,  and  they  might  become  the  centres  and  sources  of  virtue  and  liapp 
ness  in  maturer  years.  As  there  might  be  great  practical  difficulties  in  the  application 
this  remedy,  it  is  only  recommended  as  a  last  resource.  It  is  gratifying  to  us  to  be  able 
state,  that  in  some  cotton  and  woollen  manufactories  other  more  feasible  plans  arc  act 
upon,  and  provision  is  made  for  instruction  in  reading,  writing,  accounts,  knitting,  sewiii 
and  in  the  higher  duties  of  morality  and  religion.  The  school  room  is  on  the  premiss 
the  works,  and  the  instruction  is  given  after  the  close  of  the  usual  duties  of  the  day,  oq 
the  principals  of  the  establishment  being  present,  and  taking  an  active  interest  in 
provement  of  the  pupils.  In  another  case,  a  schoolmaster  takes  the  children  in  rot 
and  instructs  them,  each  twice  in  the  course  of  the  day,  he  having  a  room  for  the  pui] 
near  the  rooms  where  the  children  are  engaged  in  work.  Two  or  three  additional 
will  be  as  many  as  are  necessary  to  set  all,  in  rotation,  at  liberty  to  receive  instruction  j 
the  appointed  master.  The  manufacturers  who  thus  interest  themselves  in  the  intelle 
and  moral  improvement  of  their  workmen  are  real  benefactors  to  their  race ;  they  f^ 
higher  pleasure  than  mere  wealth  can  purchase  ;  they  taste  the  luxury  of  doing  good ; 
are  beloved  by  their  dependents  ;  their  characters  are  respected  and  esteemed  by  al 
well  wishers  of  man.    Oh !  that  their  example  might  be  universally  followed ! 


99 

Let  there  be  amongst  all  classes  of  men  a  vigorous  moral  co-operation,  that  we  may 
It  be  overwhelmed  with  crime,  poverty,  and  misery.  Let  the  working  classes  not  be  un- 
indful  of  what  has  been  already  done  on  their  behalf,  nor  of  the  responsibilities  that  de- 
lve upon  them  in  what  remains  to  be  done.  Many  are  looking  with  fond  expectations  of 
3  amelioration  of  their  condition,  to  the  measures  of  the  legislature ;  and  we  trust  that 
-litical  improvements  will  do  something  for  us  ;  but,  let  it  be  strongly  impressed  on  every 
ind,  it  is  only  a  moral  change  that  can  effectually  benefit  or  save  us.  What  political  mea- 
res  of  the  wisest  government  on  earth  could  make  the  drunkard,  the  idle,  and  the  spend- 
rift  happy  in  their  homes,  or  blessings  to  their  families  ?  These  characters  may  do  more 
•  themselves  than  others  can  do  for  them.  Correct  feelings,  kind  dispositions,  prudent 
nduct,  in  other  words,  good  morals  and  a  true  sense  of  religion  in  the  heart  are  the  great 
;ans  of  solid  comfort  and  abiding  peace.  Would  to  God  that  we  could  all  see  where  our 
il  interest  lies,  that  the  employer  and  the  employed  would  each  discharge  the  duties  of 
i  station  !  Piety  and  virtue  would  yet  rise  up  and  bless  our  land  ;  masters  and  operatives 
luld  live  together  in  mutual  confidence  and  peace.  Drunkenness  and  every  other  species 
immorality  would  be  deemed  too  degrading  to  receive  popular  sanction.  Our  Sabbaths 
luld  be  devoted  in  holiness  to  God,  and  in  benevolence  to  man.  Parents  would  dwell 
longst  happy  families,  not  as  the  corrupters,  but  as  the  guardians  of  their  children's  vir- 
e.  Let  every  man,  in  his  respective  sphere,  do  his  duty,  and  he  will  thereby  hasten  the 
ilizing  of  this  reign  of  virtue,  peace,  prosperity,  and  happiness. 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  MINISTERIAL  ACTIVITY. 

TO  THE  EDITOR. 

Dear  Sir, — As  you  love  facts — for  facts  are  stubborn  things — I  here  state  a  few, 
bing  they  may  be  of  some  use  in  elucidating  the  subject  you  so  often,  and  so  justly 
lell  upon;  and  that  those  of  your  readers  who  may  be  a  little  sceptical  as  to  the  practi- 
•aUty  and  utility  of  your  plans  of  reform,  amongst  the  clergy  in  particular,  and  the  peo- 
}  in  general,  may  be  convinced.  It  has  been  said  that  factories  are  hot-beds  of  vice ; 
I  this  arises  principally  from  the  want  of  discipline  and  suitable  religious  teaching ;  for  I 
^  convinced,  and  have  facts  to  prove,  that  if  strictness  of  discipline  was  enforced  as  to 
sriety,  propriety  of  language,  and  modest  behaviour,  we  should  see  a  very  different  turn 
c  at  dinner  hour  and  in  the  evening  from  what  we  do  at  present.  Being  on  a  visit,  a  few 
inths  back,  at  a  relation's  about  six  miles  wide  of  Stockport,  who  is  part  proprietor  of  a 
1  je  cotton  mill,  I  was  pleased  beyond  what  I  can  express  at  what  I  saw  and  heard.  I 
^i  there  several  days,  but  I  neither  saw  an  immoral  act  nor  heard  an  improper  expres- 
si,  neither  from  man,  woman,  nor— what  I  took  most  notice  of— from  the  children.  The 
I  pie  are  not  better  here  than  in  other  places ;  but  the  whole  of  the  difference  I  attribute 
the  master's  decided  character  for  piety,  and  a  resolute  but  mild  enforcement  of  those 
r;s  which  will  produce  the  performance  of  moral  andrelaUve  duties,  without  whicli  they 
l)w  they  cannot  please  him,  and  to  please  whom  they  soon  find  out  to  be  their  best  in- 
t-st.  But,  say  some  of  your  readers,  we  suppose  this  to  be  some  snug,  retired  place, 
^ere  people  have  little  or  no  opportunity  to  be  bad,  if  they  would.     Not  so,  friend;  for, 


100 

in  the  very  same  valley,  and  not  more  than  a  mile  from  this  place,  tlicre  are  v.orks  w 
you  may  hear  all  kinds  of  wicked  and  unseemly  conversation  throughout  the  week, 
see  riot  and  drunkenness  the  whole  of  the  Sabbath  morning.     In  the  works  first  nai 
the  people  are  paid  on  the  Friday  evening,  thus  allowing  the  whole  of  Saturday  to  lay 
their  earnings.     In  the  other,  the  people  are  paid  late  on  the  Saturday  evening,  maki: 
next  to  impossible,  in  a  country  place,  for  the  people  to  provide  their  necessaries  wit' 
encroaching  on  the  Sabbath  morning.     In  the  one  instance,  nothing  is  allowed  of  on 
Sabbath,  about  the  factory,  or  ground  which  belongs  to  it,  but  what  comports  with  th( 
credness  of  that  day.     In  the  other,  like  men  like  masters,  no  regard  to  the  Sabbai 
anything  of  a  religious  nature.     The  difference  between  the  two  works  is  very  great;   u 
such  is  the  influence  of  management,  that  I  have  no  doubt  the  scene  might  be  reverse  n 
six  months.     The  one  which  is  now  all  peace  and  tranquillity  might  be  reduced  to  a  s- 
of  riot  and  drunkenness  ;  and  vice  versa.     If  this  can  be  "  done  in  the  green  tree,"  by 
man,  viz.  where  there  is  no  resident  minister,  what  can  or  ought  to  be  "  done  in  the  i! 
viz.  where  there  are  ministers,  and  churches,  and  chapels  every  three  or  four  hundred  y;i 

The  other  circumstance  I  would  mention  is  what  took  place  last  summer  but  or. 
these  very  works.     The  master,  being  of  the  Wesleyan  Society,  engages  and  provide 
a  minister  to  preach  to  them  every  other  Sabbath.     About  the  time  above  stated,  the 
who  came  on  that  errand  was  a  pastor  indeed,  caring  for  the  souls  and  bodies  of  all  alit 
him,  visiting  every  one  at  the  works,  whether  they  came  to  his  preaching  or  not,  and  v-^ 
talk  to  them  about  their  souls,  religion,  and  the  world  to  come.     When  he  found  any  > 
he  gave  them  advice,  and  sometimes  medicine  ;  and  to  prove  he  did  not  merely  say,  b{,2 
fed,  or  be  ye  clothed,  he  would  often  take  refreshments  with  him,  and  administer  themM 
all  the  affection  of  a  parent  or  a  brother ;  and  this  not  to  actual  members  of  their  soci  , 
but  rather  to  those  who  were  not  well  disposed  towards  religion.     I  need  not  ask  you — t 
those  of  your  readers  who  may  have  some  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  ministers  going  frt 
house  to  house — what  was  the  result?     The  room  provided  to  preach  in  was  soon  too  si  1 
to  hold  the  numbers  that  were  thus  prevailed  upon  to  hear  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gos  . 
And  this  said  pastor,  as  I  would  call  him  by  way  of  distinction,  Was  but  a  very  indiffl 
preacher.     Now,  see  the  reverse.     The  person  who  succeeded  him  preached  his  seru 
all  very  well  and  good,  but  took  no  further  notice  of  the  people  or  of  the  effects  of  his 
mons:  the  consequence  was,  there  was  soon  room  enough  and  to  spare  :  and  thus  it  is,  c 
will  be,  and  indeed  ought  to  be,  with  those  who  do  their  work  in  this  way. 

At  the  place  of  worship  I  attend  we  have  decidedly  the  largest  congregation  in 
town,  and  (as  I  think)  the  best  preacher,  and,  perhaps,  one  of  the  best  livers,  so  far  a- 
gards  himself;  but  if  he  were  to  add  to  these  abilities  and  virtues  the  glorious  wor 
GOING  ABOUT  TO  PROFESSOR  AND  PROFANE,  as  in  the  above  instance,  I  know  that  score; 
p'eople  could  not  get  in  at  the  church  doors.  People  in  active  life,  and  necessarily  immer 
in  the  affairs  of  this  world,  yet  wishful  to  do  good — and  the  very  poor,  great  numbers 
whom  have  given  up  in  despair  all  ideas  of  religion  and  any  decent  appearance  in  this  wpi 
want,  very  much  want  a  sort  of  ministers  who  don't  content  themselves  with  the  churd 
chapel  duties  merely,  but  who,  in  a  familiar,  plain,  disinterested  manner,  spend  eve 
in  going  about  doing  good.  J. 

./.  Liveseij,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

^0.4.  APRIL  1,  1833.  Vol.  III. 

ADVICE  TO  THE  POORER  CLASSES.* 

My  poorer  brethren, 

As  one  who  feels  anxious  to  promote  your  welfare, 
rmit  me  to  offer  to  you  a  little  friendly  advice,  especially  connected  with 
ur  domestic  management.     No  one  can  traverse  the  streets  of  the  poor, 

•  I  do,  without  being  convinced,  that,  in  order  to  ensure  even  compara- 
•'6  happiness,  important  changes  must  take  place.     And  though  I  hold  it 

be  the  duty  of  every  one,  whose  circumstances  are  better  than  your 
11,  to  lend  all  the  assistance  in  his  power  to  better  your  condition,  yet, 
accompanied  by  your  own  efforts,  they  will  never  be  able  to  effect  any 
leficial  change.  Though  low  wages  and  small  earnings  are  inimical  to 
ppiness,  yet  it  is  painful  to  find,  that,  in  a  great  number  of  instances, 

•  ing  to  mismanagement ,  those  even  who  get  good  wages  are  equally  poor 
■  1  miserable.     I  am  aware,  however,  that  there  are  many  who  are  in 

eep  poverty."  The  circumstances  of  such  are  truly  appalling :  clothed  in 
)  ;s ;  immured  in  damp  and  dirty  cellars ;  your  bed,  board,  and  fire  all  in 
t  itact  with  each  other ;  in  many  instances,  five  or  six  stowed  together  in 
I  ingle  bed — a  bed  of  straw  or  nauseous  chaff,  and  frequently  laid  on  the 
Id  boards,  or  a  cellar  floor,  with  but  little  covering,  except  a  few  old 
Uppers  and  your  working  clothes.  Miserable  as  these  things  are,  you 
^old  support  them  more  cheerfully,  if  you  could  always  obtain  for  your- 
s/es  and  your  children  a  suflaciency  of  bread.  But  you  cannot :  and  oh  ! 
l?  keen  must  be  your  feelings  of  distress,  to  be  unable  to  satisfy  the 
c  ving  appetites  of  your  offspring  I  From  these  causes,  sickness  is  sel- 
f  1  absent,  lingering  diseases  are  often  brought  on,  and  many  belonging 


*  I  beg  to  request  that  this  number  may  be  lent  abroad  as  much  as  possible,  to  those 
ft  vhom  this  article  is  especially  intended. 
VOL.  III.  O 


102 

to  these  unhappy  families  are  brought  to  an  untimely  grave.    In  this  c- 
dition  we  find  the  worthy,  industrious,  honest  poor ;    and  whilst  they  e 
too  often  overlooked,  the  charity  for  which  our  age  is  distinguisheii 
often  wasted  on  the  idle  and  the  vagrant,  who  are  always  pushing  tht  - 
selves  into  notice,  and  practising  the  most  notorious  deceptions  upon  e 
public,  to  feed  on  their  beneficence.     But  besides  this  class  of  poor,  wh  i 
we  regard  as  worthy,  though  unfortunate  characters,  many  of  those  whi3 
situation  seems  to  be  the  most  wretched  are  of  an  opposite  descriptii . 
Poverty  is  necessarily  to  be  expected  in  families  of  four  or  five  young  cl  - 
dren,  where  their  support  is  to  come  from  the  shuttle,  or  any  other  specs 
of  labour  equally  unproductive ;  but,  in  ordinary  cases,  where  the  fair ' 
is  moderate  and  the  earnings  liberal,  it  is  evident  that  their  difficulties 
of  their  own  creating,  and  that  their  poverty  and  distress  are  entir 
owing  to  themselves,  their  excesses,  and  bad  management.     It  is  rea 
painful  to  see  many  of  these  families  even  in  a  worse  condition  th 
others  whose   incomes   are  not  half  the   amount.       Instead  of  a  co 
fortable  house,  a  sufficiency  of  furniture,  and  a  creditable  character,    ; 
find  poverty,   discontent,    domestic  strife,    and  litigation.       Enter  th  • 
houses,  and  you  observe  the  utmost  degree  of  wretchedness ;  the  hoi 
scarcely  furnished  with  any  thing  useful ;     all  their  bedding  worn  on 
their  clothing  so  scanty,  and  in  such  bad  repair,  as  to  afford  no  protectit 
from  the  weather  ;  the  father,  emaciated  by  labour  or  excess ;  the  moth* 
depressed  by  anxious  care,  bowed  down  under  her  repeated  sufiering 
and   chained   to   her    destiny   by    debt,    poverty,    and   want;     and    t 
children,  ragged,  pinched  for  food,  and  almost  lost  for  want  of  pareni 
care.    The  publicans,  for  drunken  shots,  or  the  shopkeepers,  for  their  shct 
debts,  keep  them  in  continual  awe.     Such  is  the  face  of  things  present' 
to  a  person's  view  when  he  is  considering  the  condition  of  this  portion 
the  labouring  class.     In  endeavouring  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  so  mu' 
misery  among  the  poor,  and  in  giving  you  my  advice,  I  shall  keep  bo 
characters  in  view — those  who  are  necessarily  poor,  and  those  who  ma 
themselves  so ;  and  I  hope  that  the  hints  I  shall  throw  out  will  be  equal 
acceptable  to  each. 

Do  not  consider,  my  friends,  that,  because  in  this  address  I  use  i 
faithfulness  in  speaking  plainly  of  your  faults,  and  endeavouring  to 
out  to  you  the  remedies,   I  um  actuated  by  any  improper  feelings 
object  is,  whilst  I  commiserate  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  poor 
lead  you,  who  have  had  better  means,  to  trace  your  misery  to  its  prop' 
causes,  and  to  apply  the  most  suitable  remedies  for  your  own  relief.    I  e 


1 

)r.  ^* 


103 

;em  you  as  the  very  bones  and  sinews  of  society,  and  as  the  persons  whose 
ink  in  life,  to  me,  is  far  more  enviable  than  that  of  nobles ;  and  though, 
irough  sincere  esteem,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  point  out  several  de- 
cts,  yet,  when  I  consider  your  labour,  your  sufferings,  your  disadvantages, 
id  your  comparative  contentment,  I  cheerfully  admit  that  you  are  deserv- 
g  of  more  praise  than  you  often  receive.  My  object  is  to  bring  you  to 
■e  your  errors,  and  to  effect  this  I  use  no  reserve  :  if  I  should  go  to  an 
:treme,  the  purity  of  my  intentions,  I  know,  wiU  be  received  by  you  as 
sufficient  apolog}-. 

In  the  first  place,  I  think  it  essential  to  state,  that  unless  there  be  con- 
gal  affection,  that  is,  unless,  as  man  and  wife,  you  agree  together  and  take 
ch  other's  part,  you  must  never  expect  happiness  or  prosperity.  If  hus- 
ad  and  wife,  instead  of  being  helps  to  each  other,  uniting  their  judgments, 
spositions,  and  efforts,  strengthening  each  other's  hands  to  grapple  with 
rrounding  evils,  and  sympathizing  with  each  other  in  the  troubles 
ey  cannot  avoid;  if,  instead  of  this,  they  are  opposed  to  each  other 
almost  every  thing  which  is  to  be  done ;  continually  caviUing  and 
ding  at  each  other;  and  whilst  one  party  is  labouring  to  support  the 
nily,  the  other  is  counteracting  the  efforts  by  concealed  extravagance; 
1  we  be  suprised  that  misery  should  be  the  result  ?  No  wonder, 
lilst  the  parents  are  divided,  the  whole  family  and  all  its  concerns 
Duld  be  in  an  unprosperous  state.  Unity  and  love  are  essential  to 
mestic  comfort  and  prosperity ;  by  cultivating  these,  many  evils  would 
avoided,  or  easily  overcome,  and  the  rugged  path  of  life  rendered 
nparatively  smooth.  We  are  not  to  burden,  but  to  assist  each  other, 
bear  with  cheerfulness  and  constancy  those  evils  which  Providence 
;  inits.  How  distressing  to  see  the  union,  formed  by  the  wise  Creator 
'  perfect  the  happiness  of  man,  become  the  source  of  misery  to  many 
i  unhappy  pair  !  The  cause,  however,  is  in  ourselves,  and  serves  to  show 
)  V  the  greatest  blessings  may  be  perverted.  Let  me  beseech  those  who 
I  just  entering  the  marriage  state  to  profit  by  the  misery  of  others. 
'  ur  poverty,  if  properly  considered,  instead  of  estranging  your  affections, 
1  sening  the  bond  of  confidence,  or  begetting  contentions,  ought  to  unite 
)  IT  hearts,  and  strengthen  your  mutual  efforts  against  its  power.  Poverty 
''I  seldom  produce  dissension  where  affection  reigns,  where  patience 
c  ;cts  the  heart,  and  industry  the  hands  of  both  parties.  Beware  of  con- 
s;ring  marriage  merely  as  the  field  of  passionate  indulgence :  it  is  in- 
t  led  for  higher  purposes.  Man  is  a  domesticated  creature,  and  in  this 
s  e  he  is  led  to  look  for  of  rest  in  the  world  which  he  could  find  in  no 


104 

other  state — a  rest  because  God  intended  it  to  be  such.  Unless  you  t  ^ 
this  view  of  the  married  state,  your  attachments  will  not  be  abiding  :o 
soon  as  the  novelty  of  the  attraction  subsides,  the  attachment  will  he  gos, 
and  in  place  of  constancy  and  love  there  will  be  wrangling,  strife,  and  c  - 
tention ;  every  infirmity  will  be  considered  a  crime,  and  the  most  triflg 
provocation  will  excite  a  vindictive  spirit.  But  though  in  youth  you  ny 
have  been  hasty  and  inconsiderate,  yet  permanent  happiness  is  not  beycd 
your  reach.  Make  a  wife  of  her  whose  heart  you  have  caught;  be  fai- 
ful  to  your  engagements  ;  consider,  your  lot  is  for  life  ;  endeavour,  the  - 
fore,  to  make  it  a  happy  lot,  and  to  enjoy  it  uninterrupted  till  death  sU 
part  you.  Resist  every  thought  that  would  alienate  your  affections,  mie 
you  indifferent  to  your  domestic  peace,  or  regardless  of  the  happinesssf 
your  offspring.  Let  each  party  cultivate  a  virtuous  character,  a  sweetns 
of  disposition,  a  meek  and  quiet  temper,  and  a  kind,  obliging  deportni't 
towards  the  other  :  these  cannot  fail  to  win  the  heart.  Who  can  help  lii* 
ing  a  virtuous  woman  ?  Beauty  may  captivate  for  a  season,  but  it  is  virt 
which  will  create  and  mature  that  love  which  is  a  perfect  bond.  It  is  p> 
per  that  both  parties  should  remember  their  proper  station,  and  the  re- 
tive  duties  which  are  enjoined  upon  them.  The  husband  is  declared  tos 
the  "head  of  the  wife,"  yet  he  is  commanded  to  love  her,  to  cherish  Ir 
as  his  own  flesh,  and  not  to  be  bitter  against  her.  The  wife,  on  the  oth 
hand,  is  to  be  in  subjection  to  her  own  husband.  If  we  judge  from  i 
pearances,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  authority  and  subjection  enjoined  in  t: 
Scriptures  were  never  regarded  as  divine  appointments,  and  that  custo, 
caprice,  or  physical  strength  were  the  sole  arbitrators  in  this  matt 
God's  appointment  in  this,  as  in  every  other,  is  an  appointment  of  mere, 
and  in  order  to  impress  these  duties  upon  the  mind,  I  beg  attention  to  t; 
following  scriptural  passages.  "The  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wi 
even  as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church.  Husbands  love  your  wives,  a 
be  not  bitter  against  them.  Men  ought  to  love  their  wives  as  their  oi 
bodies,  for  no  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  chd 
isheth  it.  Wives  submit  yourselves  to  your  own  husbands,  as  it  is  fit . 
the  Lord.  Ye  wives  be  in  subjection  to  your  own  husbands,  even  as  6 
rah  obeyed  Abraham,  calling  him  Lord,  whose  daughters  ye  are  as  loi; 
as  ye  do  well."  The  woman  should  never  conceive  that  subjection  in  o 
present  state  is  any  thing  less  than  the  appointment  of  unerring  wisdor 
she  should  obey  with  pleasure,  and  rest  satisfied  that  unreserved  obedienci 
so  far  from  increasing  the  tyranny  of  her  husband,  should  he  be  so  dii 
posed,  will  sooner  or  later  prove  the  most  efficient  means  of  securing  li 


ffections  and  humbling  liis  mind.  Strive  togetlier ;  be  of  one  mind  j 
void  giving  or  taking  offence,  and  always  beware  of  suspecting  each  other's 
lotives.  Though  a  little  pleasantry  may  be  allowed,  be  cautious  how  you 
at  your  jokes  upon  each  other,  as  these  too  often  end  in  serious  quarrels* 
[ever  speak  disrespectfully  of  each  other  in  the  company  of  others;  wounds 
:e  inflicted  by  this  which  are  difficult  to  heal.  If  you  have  any  reason 
>  reprove,  always  do  it  privately  betwixt  yourselves,  and  if  coupled  with 
le  spirit  of  meekness,  it  will  seldom  fail  to  produce  its  designed  effect, 
ow  will  the  most  obdurate  heart  often  melt  before  the  kind  entreaties 
id  soft  persuasions  of  a  faithful  wife  !  Never  be  fretful  or  peevish  with 
loh  other,  on  any  unpleasant  occurrence,  over  which  neither  of  you  had 
ly  control,  and  for  which  neither  of  you  can  be  blamed.  Cultivate  a 
utual  contentment  in  your  present  lot,  instead  of  thinking  that  if  you  had 
ade  a  different  choice  you  would  have  done  better :  possibly  you  had 
me  worse.  Though  you  be  ever  so  poor,  let  not  this  on  any  account 
ake  you  disagree ;  do  hot  delude  yourselves  with  the  opinion  that  riches 
d  happiness  associate  together.  Though,  in  the  midst  of  their  revels, 
e  wealthy  may  seem  to  have  enjoyments  which  the  poor  have  not,  yet  as 
ley  are  generally  the  pleasures  of  sin,  the  poor  man,  with  an  industrious, 
•tuous  wife,  has  happiness  more  real,  more  constant,  more  rational,  and, 
lat  is  best  of  all,  oftener  connected  with  real  piety  and  the  hope  of  a 
tter  world. 

Supposing  you  to  be  willing  thus  to  cleave  to  each  other,  you  are  in 

fair  condition  for  prospering  in  the  world.     Whether  you  are  newly 

lirried,  or  have  been  in  that  state  for  some  time,  let  me  advise  you  to  be 

reful  about  the  choice  of  your  house.     First,  consider  the  healthiness  of 

li  neighbourhood;    and  next,  the  character  of  the  people  who  reside 

sre.      Confined  and  dirty  streets,  courts,   &c.,  and  stagnant  pools  of 

i.tfer,  render  the  air  impure,  and  are  the  cause  of  disease.     Avoid  situa- 

ns  liable  to  such  contagion.     Poor  people  are  often  tempted,  by  a  tri- 

ig  difference  in  the  rent,  to  occupy  cellars ;   but  the  injury  which  they 

en  sustain  in  their  health,  and  the  time  they  lose  by  being  obliged  to 

iinquish  their  work,  make  these  the  dearest  dwellings.     I  wish  every 

'  lar  was  finally  closed  as  an  habitation  for  human  beings.     Houses,  back 

'i;i  front,  in  the  same  building,  are  both  inconvenient  and  unhealthy.     If 

;  I  can  possibly  afford,  get  a  house  with  doors  both  back  and  front,  two 

i;irtments  below,  and  two  sleejjing  rooms.     The  smallest  family  ought  to 

1/^e  these ;  and  in  Preston,  I  am  happy  to  say,  houses  of  this  description 

<'  becoming  plentiful.    Whatever  you  may  be  obliged  to  do  under  circum- 


106 

stances  of  great  difficulty,  never  feel  contented  in  "lodgings,"  whet  r 
"furnished"  or  otherwise.  I  am  sorry  to  know  of  young  persons,  ^ 
have  been  married  three  or  four  years,  and  who  are  yet  living  in  lodgii 
the  result  entirely  of  mismanagement.  Seek,  also,  a  quiet,  orderly  nei 
bourhood,  where  your  children  will  be  the  least  exposed  to  bad  examj 
and  where  persons  generally  of  good  character  reside. 

Thus  fixed,  let  me  urge  upon  you  the  duty  of  industry,  and  e 
cultivation  of  a  spirit  of  independency.  Labour  is  appointed  for  m , 
it  is  conductive  to  health  and  good  morals,  and  though  it  does  not  alw's 
meet  with  a  fair  reward,  yet  it  is  the  only  honourable  support  the  pr 
man  has.  Never  lose  your  time,  nor  impair  your  means  by  foUow.e; 
visionary  projects  which  you  may  think  will  place  you  beyond  the  nee  - 
sity  of  labour ;  at  the  same  time,  embrace  any  offer  which  affords  a  ir 
prospect  of  an  advantageous  change.  But  whatever  sort  of  work  you  3 
engaged  in,  set  to  it  early  in  the  morning,  follow  it  through  tbe  day  w  i 
diligence,  and  see  that  all  the  family  do  the  same.  For  relaxation,  miS 
a  prudent  choice  of  both  time  and  place ;  but  never  spend  the  beginni^ 
of  the  week  in  idleness,  to  be  obliged  to  make  it  up  towards  the  lat 
end  by  double  exertion.  Diligence  in  business,  whilst  it  yields  its  Oji 
reward,  is  one  of  the  best  recommendations  of  the  poor  to  the  kind  att<- 
tion  of  others. 

Though,  in  time  of  real  need,  you  should  never  deny  the  i 
sistance  of  a  friend,  yet  beware  of  such  assistance  engendering 
dependant  disposition.  Never  covet  another  man's  goods,  but  rece 
with  thankfulness  any  assistance  which  his  liberality  may  bestow, 
mention  this  because  I  have  known  some  poor  people,  who,  by  being  fi 
quently  assisted,  become  more  concerned  about  obtaining  this  than  abc 
supporting  themselves  by  their  own  industry.  They  beg  from  some,  a 
borrow  from  others,  till  all  their  benefactors  get  tired  of  them.  Su 
a  spirit  is  mean,  slavish,  not  to  say  unjust.  Such  person  are  genera 
indolent,  prevaricating,  and  the  last  to  pay  their  just  debts.  Let  i 
beseech  you  to  raise  yourselves  above  such  a  spirit,  and  to  look  rather 
your  own  resources,  and  to  your  own  efforts,  for  the  supply  of  your  wani 
than  to  the  property  and  good  dispositions  of  others ;  and  then  if  yi 
should  need  charity,  it  will  be  felt  as  such. 

If  this  spirit  were  cultivated,  we  should  have  fewer  paupers :  tl 
parish  would  be  the  very  last  resource.  Instead  of  which,  some  perso 
seem  to  think,  that  unless  they  are  on  the  parish  book,  they  are  losii 
something  that  belongs  to   them ;    a  shilling  got  this  way,    though 


I 


1^7 

)st  its  value  in  time  to  obtain  it,  seems  to  give  more  satisfaction  than 
gotten  by  industry.  And  it  is  notorious,  that  many  have  obtained 
jochial  rehef  who  might  by  their  own  means  have  supported  them- 
Ives  comfortably.  Some  of  these  are  the  worst  of  managers  in  their 
m  families  ;  hence,  not  satisfied  with  pledging  their  clothing,  and  filling 
1  the  shop-book,  they  are  actually  known  to  sell  the  ticket  which  consti- 
tes  their  claim  at  the  poor  office.  If  persons  once  become  paupers, 
easily  does  this  spirit  become  engendered,  that  it  is  seldom  they  rise 
ove  it ;  and  hence,  I  have  generally  noticed,  that  families,  after  leaving 
)rk-houses,  seldom  make  the  same  exertions,  or  rise  with  their  means, 
families  that  always  supported  themselves  by  industry,  and  cherished 
independent  spirit. 

Borrowing  money  without  any  prospect  of  being  able  to  repay  it  is 

connected  with  the  want  of  industry,  that  I  cannot  omit  to  mention 

in  this  place.     Some  persons  are  much  addicted  to  this  practice.     If 

!y  be  in  straits,  instead  of  pushing  their  own  work,  and  bearing  their 

n  burdens,  the  first  thing  they  think  of  is  to  run  to  some  friend,  to 

;  person  they  shop  with,  or,  as  is  often  the  case,  to   their  employers, 

borrow  money :  the  manufacturers  have  sore  complaints  to  make  on 

s  ground.     In  a  great  majority  of  instances,  these  debts  are  never  paid, 

i  I  the  reason  is  obvious  ;    for  if  poor  persons  cannot  meet  their  regular 

( nands,  how  is  it  possible  they  can  pay  ofi"  old  arrears  }     In  extreme 

( es,  it  might  be  proper  for  a  poor  man  to  bon-ow  from  his  friend,  if 

1  had  a  fair  prospect  of  repaying  him ;  but  if  this  become  a  habit,  he 

U  soon  neither  be  able  nor  concerned  about  it.     It  is  really  disti-essing 

tiee  the  indifiference  with  which  persons  of  all  grades  contract  debts, 

a   involve   themselves   with   obligations  which  they   are    neither   able 

B    disposed  to    discharge.     Under   the  persuasion    that  their    poverty 

ii   sufficient  excuse,  some  never  think  even  of  mentioning  their  obliga- 

t  IS,  and  will  sometimes  treat  in  abusive   terms  anv  of  their  creditors 

')  ask  for  their  own.     In  general,  it  will  be  found,  that  the  benevolent 

c  racter  will  often  do  the  poor  more  real  good,  and  better  satisfy  himself, 

^living  something,  than  by  lending  double  the  amount. 

Though  I  don't  wish  to  show  any  opposition  to  well  constituted  and 
^  regulated  societies  for  the  relief  of  the  sick,  yet  I  fear  that  the  practice 
o:  (roviding  for  every  emergency  by  clubs  seems  likely  to  eradicate  that 
P-  id  feeling  of  independency,  which  I  should  like  every  individual  and 
C'  y  family  to  cultivate.  Every  family,  for  instance,  except  the  very 
P'  "est,  ought  to  be  in  a  condition  any  time  to  btiry  a  child  (especiallv  if 


108 

the  fiineral  be  conducted  on  temperance  principles ;)   and  instead  of  si. 
scribing  their  pennies  a  week,  it  would  be  better  to  become  their  own  tii- 
surers,  and  not  be  depending  upon  relief  in  this  or  in  any  other  sh<;. 
There  are  also  "  money  clubs"  of  various  sorts,  generally  tending  to  Id 
working  men  to  the  public  house.     Women,  also,  make  these  an  occa 
of  gossiping,  and  often  have  an  interest  of  which  the  husband  is  ignor; 
These  clubs  may  appear  sometimes  to  answer,  but,  generally  speaki 
they  engender  improvident  dispositions,  lead  to  idleness  and  bad  assoi  - 
tions,  and  end  in  loss  and  litigation.     Home  clubs  are  what  I  would  - 
commend :    let  the  man  be  secretary,  the  wife  treasurer,  and  all  the  c  - 
dren  of  mature  age  be  on  the  committee  ! 

Whatever  be  your  income,  large  or  small,  it  is  of  the  first  importa  e 
that  you  lay  it  out  judiciously.  The  poor  weaver,  in  most  instances,  s 
learned  by  experience  how  to  lay  out  to  the  best  advantage  his  miserae 
pittance  ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  many  others.  And  hence,  broh 
windows,  dirty  floors,  ragged  clothes,  and  bare  shelves  are  often  foil 
where  there  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  shillings  a  week  coming  in. 

Before  adverting  to  other  matters,  I  beg  to  urge  upon  you,  to  spei 
no  part  of  your  earnings  at  the  public  house,  or  upon  intoxicating  liqu . 
No  matter  what  be  your  income,  if  this  irrational,  this  wicked  practices 
followed,  you  are  sure  to  sink.  No  sin  is  so  prevalent  among  worki* 
men,  and  none  that  leaves  behind  it  so  many  decisive  proofs  of  domes; 
misery.  But  as  this  is  a  point  to  which  I  advert  almost  every  month,'t 
is  here  unnecessary  to  enlarge.  By  this  time,  I  hope  many  of  you  are  1 
ginning  to  see  the  folly  of  spending  your  money  at  public  houses,  andf 
enjo\H[ng  vour  maddening  sprees,  at  the  expence  of  every  comfort  at  hon. 
Unless  you  be  temperate,  any  advice  tliat  I  can  give  upon  economy  k 
general  I  know  wiU  be  useless.  But  I  would  write  as  to  sober  men : 
such  I  make  my  appeal. 

Mind  you  go  to  the  best  market  for  the  articles  you  need ;  cai 
ready  money  in  your  hand,  and  I  assure  you,  you  will  find  a  consideral 
difference  at  the  year's  end.  So  injurious  and  so  common  has  the  practi 
of  shopping  become,  that  it  deserves  particular  notice.  It  has  spread  its* 
over  all  the  land,  and  every  manufacturing  district  has  fallen  a  prey  toi 
aud  though  it  does  not  possess  a  single  advantage,  but  is  the  cause  of  e 
travagance,  sloth,  vexation,  disputes,  and  poverty,  in  many  streets  scarce 
a  family  can  be  found  that  is  not  addicted  to  the  practice.  It  consists  in 
family's  tying  themselves  to  a  certain  shop,  for  provisions,  &c.  and,  inste; 
of  paying  when  the  articles  are  taken  away,  to  pay  for  the  whole  at 


1 


I 


109 


»nd  of  the  week,  and  take  more ;  or,  as  the  common  phrase  is,  "to  pay  for 
)ld  and  take  new."       But  this  plan  is  so  liable  to  abuse,  that  no  person, 
ixcept  those  who  have  had  proper  opportunities,  can  form  any  conception 
)f  the  evils  which  result  from  it.     It  is  ruinous  both  to  buyers  and  sellers. 
There  are  indeed  a  few  whom  the  shops  call  "  good  weekly  customers ;" 
lut  these  industrious  families  have  surely  never  considered  their  own  in- 
erests,  or  they  would  not  have  tied  themselves  to  any  shop,  to  be  working 
Iways  a  week  behind.     They  have  the  same  sum  to  pay,  if  not  more,  and 
et  they  prefer  the  degradation  of  being,  year  after  year,  seven  days  behind 
,'ith  their  earnings,  and  of  having  every  pennyworth  of  their  necessaries 
QroUed  in  the  shop  book.     One  effort  would  secure  their  independency, 
ad  perhaps  lead  to  respectability,  if  not  to  wealth,  and  yet  they  have 
ot  courage  to  attempt  it.     There  are  indeed  afflicting  emergencies  which 
my  oblige  a  poor  family  to  get  something  on  credit,  but  instead  of  ac- 
Qowledging  the  favour  of  the  shopkeeper  by  trading  with  him  for  ready 
loney,  and  reducing  the  debt  a  little  every  week  a?  they  are  able — instead 
'  this,  they  commence  being  weekly  customers,  and  make  the  first  trans- 
ition the  commencement  of  a  permanent  tie.     In  fact,  poor  families,  in 
aneral,  never  seem  satisfied  if  they  are  not  on  some  person's  list  of  weekly 
istomers ;  and  hence,  every  new  shop  that  commences  is  favoured  with 
unerous  applications  to  this  purpose. 

Are  you  not  aware,  my  friends,  of  the  time  which  is  lost,  the  disputes 
eated,  the  excesses  committed,  and  the  losses  you  sustain  in  the  price 
d  quality  of  different  articles,  by  this  system  ?  Let  me  direct  your 
tention  briefly  to  some  of  these  particulars.  Every  article  that  is 
;ched  is  to  be  entered  in  two  different  books,  one  kept  by  the  shop- 
eper  and  one  kept  by  yourselves,  (and  I  do  pity  the  poor  children  when 
iee  them  trotting  with  these  books  in  their  hands,)  and  you  have  often 
wait  a  considerable  time  on  this  account,  beyond  what  would  be  needed 
the  money  were  paid  down.  On  Saturday  night  the  books  are  to  be 
ide  up — some  mistake  has  been  made — a  part  of  the  family  is  to  be 
ut  for  to  assist  in  the  adjustment — arrears  are  to  be  brought  up,  and 
["haps  a  dispute  follows  how  much  is  to  be  stopped — one  is  five  shillings 
•')rt — another  cannot  pay  tiU  Tuesday,  which  will  be  taking-in  day, 
' ;  wants  more  stuff — a  third,  with  an  old  score  or  two,  waits  her  turn 
^  h  dejected  look,  but  no  money,  purposes  to  begin  afresh,  and  to  pay 
<  the  old  by  a  shilling  a  week — whilst  the  next,  with  about  half  the 
s  a  the  shopkeeper  expected,  endeavours  to  reconcile  his  mind  by  stating,^ 
1 1  the  meat  they  got  on  Thursday  night  was  intended  to  be  the  com- 

VOL.      III.  p 


110 

mencement  of  a  fresh  week.  This  system  occasions  a  serions  loss  f 
time ;  whilst  your  wives  are  detained  with  your  shop  accounts,  1; 
family  is  neglected  at  home. 

You  have  need  also  to  be  reminded  of  the  pecuniary  losses  you  si 
tain  from  the  same  cause.  This  system,  while  it  obliges  the  seller  eitl 
to  keep  an  inferior  article  or  to  sell  it  at  an  advanced  price,  encouras 
the  buyer  to  take  articles  which  he  cannot  afford,  or  greater  quantit 
than  his  circumstances  would  justif\'.  And  here  I  would  just  obser\-e,  tl 
though  the  best  payers  may  think  themselves  injured  by  high  prices  bei 
charged,  yet  I  have  no  doubt,  from  my  own  knowledge,  that,  taking  ii 
the  account  all  the  bad  debts,  the  shopkeepers'  prices  are  as  moderate 
they  could  fairly  be  expected  :  there  are  few  persons  in  trade,  with  t 
same  anxiety,  whose  clear  profits  at  the  year's  end  are  as  small  as  thei 
If,  therefore,  you  are  overcharged,  you  have  only  yourselves  to  blame : 
is  the  system  which  you  support  that  calls  for  it.  If  you  are  good  paye 
you  only  make  up  for  the  bad  ones  ;  and  as  this  must  be  the  case,  if  you  woi 
avoid  the  consequence,  you  must  avoid  the  cause.  Besides,  with  what  lit 
calculation  is  every  thing  fetched  in,  when  money  is  not  tendered  for  i 
On  Saturday  nights,  what  loads  of  provisions  are  carried  out  of  the  shoj 
without  any  of  that  squaring  and  contriving  seen  among  real  economis' 
who  mean  to  live  with  credit,  and  pay  for  every  thing  they  get.  Ai 
such  is  the  boldness  of  many  in  sending  for  articles,  which  the  shopkeepc 
know  can  never  be  paid  for,  that  they  actually,  on  many  occasions,  da 
not  keep  them  for  sale.  If  you  have  any  regard  for  honestv,  you  ought 
know  that  your  obligation  to  pay  is  not  less  because  the  article  is  consumi 
before  it  is  worked  for  ;  and  yet  vou  know  that  this  system  has  laid  you  u: 
der  obligations  which  you  can  never  meet.  Your  labour,  and  the  labour 
your  children,  stand  pledged  every  week  for  more  than  their  worth ;  an' 
instead  of  carrying  your  earnings  to  the  best  market,  and  measuring  yo; 
expenditure  by  your  income,  you  carry  on  at  random,  and  probably  are  ei 
tailing  the  effects  of  your  improvidence  upon  generations  yet  unborn, 
is  one  of  the  most  injuiious  practices  that  ever  prevailed  among  workir 
people.  Its  effects  are  manifest  in  the  poverty  and  wretchedness  •■ 
those  improvident  families  who  are  addicted  to  it.  It  not  only  a; 
sociates  with,  but  generally  produces  an  indifference  about  paying  jo; 
debts.  If  you  have  any  love  for  yourselves,  avoid  the  practice  of  shoppin 
as  you  would  do  the  plague.  Set  a  proper  value  upon  your  own  laboui 
do  not  endeavour  merely  to  drag  out  an  existence,  but  strive  to  overcoa 
every  embarrassment,  and  to  rise  to  ease  and  comfort  in  your  circumstance 


Ill 

ry  to  owe  no  man  any  thing.  Provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all 
en.  Seek  the  best  markets,  and  buy  every  thing  in  with  ready  money ; 
id  to  enable  you  to  do  this,  it  would  be  an  excellent  rule  for  masters 
ways  to  pay  their  workmen  on  a  Friday  night  or  Saturday  morning, 
ever  let  your  wages   be  condemned  before  they  are  due,  but  have  them 

your  own  disposal.  Your  means  are  sufficiently  scanty;  why  then 
ould  you  make  them  less,  by  paying  premiums  for  credit  ? 

Beware  of  hawkers,  who  offer  you  goods,  and  press  you  to  take  them  at 
shilling  or  so  a  week.  They  come  and  force  upon  you  their  teas 
d  their  clothing,  for  which  they  charge  an  enormous  price ;  and  indeed 
eir  losses  are  so  heavy  that  they  are  obliged  to  do  it ;  but  that  is  no 
ison  why  you  should  pledge  your  industry  to  make  up  for  the  roguery 
d  extravagance  of  others.  The  article  is  offered  without  present  money; 
d  that  is  the  temptation ;  and  it  is  astonishing  with  what  little  concern 
iQy  poor  families  contract  debts  to  an  incredible  amount,  upon  the  condi- 
n  of  paying  a  few  shillings  a  week  ;  for  if  the  woman  wants  a  shawl  or 
:own,  or  the  man  a  suit  of  clothes  against  a  pastime,  they  are  supplied, 

i  a  surrender  is  made  of  a  portion  of  their  labour  for  months  and  years 
J  come.  If  you  are  not  poor  already,  there  is  no  surer  plan  than  this  for 
■)  king  you  so.  So  void  of  aU  moral  feeling,  of  all  regard  for  any  thing 
1 }  honesty  are  some  persons,  that  if  they  want  a  little  money,  they  get 
p  ious  articles  in  this  way,  and  convert  them  into  money  by  taking  them 
it  the  pawn  shop.  Why  should  you  debase  your  character,  barter  your 
i  ependence,  degrade  your  families,  and  involve  yourselves  in  debt  ?  Let 
i  beseech  you  to  study  your  own  interest,  to  avoid  such  shameful  practices, 
♦  to  endeavour  to  secure  a  more  respectable  character  in  the  world. 

The  ruinous  practice  of  pledging  your  goods  and  clothing  is  the  next 
tig  to  which  I  would  call  your  attention.  Ruinous  it  is,  as  many  fami- 
IJ  have  found  to  their  cost.  In  the  case  of  shopping  the  man  pledges 
h  labour,  in  this  case  his  clothes:  both  are  connected  with  sloth  and 
n  management.  I  could  pity  those,  who,  driven  to  the  last  extremity, 
K  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  this  expedient  to  satisfy  the  cries  of 
Hi  ire,  which  neither  foresight  nor  industry  could  prevent ;  but  for  those 
w  are  seen  running  to  the  "pop  shop"  every  Monday  morning,  to 
11  e  up  for  their  idleness  and  sloth,  or  to  furnish  themselves  with  the 
ffl  ns  of  going  to  the  public  house,  there  is  no  excuse.  These  characters 
w  bundle  up  every  rag  that  is  loose ;  and  even  the  blankets  and  clothes 
w  :h  the  benevolent  had  provided  for  their  comfort,  are  safely  lodged 
W  ve  pawnbroker's  shop.     The  poor  children,  who  might  have  been  made 


112 

comfortable,  are,  by  their  iron-hearted  mothers,  through  this  detestsle 
practice,  exposed  half-naked  to  all  the  inclemencies  of  the  season.  It 
is  a  snare,  from  which,  if  you  once  get  entangled,  you  seldom   esc; 
Many  a  man,  by  a  single  act  of  imprudence  in  this  way,  is  deprived  of  la 
Sunday  clothes,  month  after  month ;  and  the  things  which  are  pledged  v  h 
the  intention  of  redeeming  them  the  following  week,  frequently  are  lot 
in  pawn  for  twelve  months.     There  are  numbers  of  persons  whose  ciy 
reason  for  not  being  at  a  place  of  worship  on  a  Sunday  is,  their  hav^ 
fastened  their  clothes.     How  often  do  we  hear  of  men  pawning  the  clot 
off  their  backs,  and  fetching  articles  out  of  the  house,  to  get  drunk  wi  , 
and,  in  the  last  extremity,  even  selling  the  tickets  for  an  additional  quf  ! 
Oh!   the  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  those  families  that  are  addicd 
to  this  practice  !     Families  addicted  to  drinking,  to  shopping,  to  pledgi 
and  to  dealing  with  hawkers,  however  large  their  income,  are  sure  tc 
poor.     These  four  evils  are  exceedingly  prevalent,  and  to  them  maje 
traced  the  greatest  part  of  the  misery  of  the  lower  classes. 

Let  me  here  remind  the  women  of  what  appears  to  be  growing  io 
disuse — personal  and  domestic  order  and   cleanliness.      It  can  never  e 
sufficiently   impressed    upon    your   minds    that    personal    cleanliness 
essential  both  to  health  and  decency;  and  every  person  must  know, 
his  own  sensations,  that  it  is  a  service  most  agreeable  to  our  natui 
Provide  conveniences  for  washing,   and  let  this  be  constantly  practii 
and  enjoined  upon  all,  both  old  and  young,  till  it  become  a  habit.     Ko 
your  beds,  bedrooms,  clothes,  houses,  and  especially  your  fireside  elf  i 
and  tidy.      If  you  wish  to  retain  your  husband  beside  you,  always  make  \  i 
as  comfortable  as  you  can.     He  will  love  to  come  home  and  see  the  fl' 
swept  and  clean,  every  thing  in  its  place,  a  smiling  fire,  and  his  wife  ne;i 
attired,    No  scene  ever  presented  to  my  mind  so  exalted  a  view  of  dome' 
happiness  in  humble  life,  as  a  father  seated  beside  his  industrious,  lov:j 
wife,  with  a  comfortable,  clean  fireside,  his  children  all  in  order  bes; 
him,   clean  and  neat,  with  the  smile  of  contentment  beaming  on  ev 
cheek:  this  is  what  I  call  the  summit  of  domestic  happiness,     A  great  dl 
depends  upon  you ;  and  as  you  will  be  the  principal  sufferer,  if  your  ■  • 
mestic  concerns  do  not  prosper,  I  beseech  you  to  make  the  proper  p  • 
formance  of  all  your  domestic  duties  a  matter  of  constant  study.    Learn  > 
be  "keepers  at  home"  not  to  wander  up  and  down  to  your  neighboi 
houses,  revealing  the  faults  of  others.     Let  economy  in  cooking  and  sh  • 
ing  out  your  supplies  for  the  week  be  attended  to ;   take  care  of  the  ltt> 
as  well  as  the  deals,  the  pence  as  well  as  the  pounds.     Let  every  thing 


113 

ended  in  good  time,  for  nothing  reflects  more  credit  upon  a  woman  as  a 
3od  housewife  than  the  children's  clothes  being  kept  in  good  repair, 
ever  let  the  breakfast  or  dinner  utensils  be  found  standing  on  the  table 
1  hour  or  two  after  the  meals  are  over;  it  is  indicative  of  sloth  and  disor- 
;r.  As  the  surest  means  of  giving  satisfaction  to  your  husband,  and  as 
!  certain  guide  for  yourselves,  I  would  advise  you  to  keep  "A  housekeeper's 
count."  Books  for  this  purpose,  containing  columns  for  every  day  in 
e  year,  and  for  every  article  usually  required  in  a  family,  may  be  had  for 
small  sum.  By  entering  all  the  articles  you  purchase,  you  not  only 
irn  what  is  your  total  expenditure,  but  you  will  detect  any  extravagance 
'0  which  you  may  have  fallen. 

I  would  also  beseech  the  mdn  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  make  their 
ves  and  families  comfortable,  to  bring  home  all  their  wages  on  a  Satur- 
T  night,  and  to  assist  the  wife  in  contriving  and  providing  for  the  house. 

an  inducement  both  to  yourselves  and  children  to  employ  a  leisure  hour 

home  in  the  evenings,  always  secure  a  supply  of  some  interesting  works 

read.     You  may  join  at  a  newspaper  or  two,  take  in  some  of  the  cheap 

blications,  such  as  "  Chambers'  Journal,"  and  become  subscribers  to 

me  "Mechanics'  Institute."     In  Preston,  for  l|d.  a  week,  you  can  con- 

intly  select  books  of  the  first  character,  out  of  a  library  consisting  of  two 

I'Usand  volumes,  and  take  them  home  to  read.     All  these  advantages 

1 7  be  had  for  a  small  expence,  and  will  be  found,  in  a  poor  man's  house, 

'ere  there  is  no  library,  of  great  service.     It  is  desirable  that  some  good 

\  k  or  paper  should  always  lie  at  hand,  to  fill  up  the  intervals  of  leisure 

t  e.     The  abandonment  of  the  tobacco  pipe  alone,  in  many  instances, 

^  lid  do  much  more  than  cover  the  expence. 

Having  at  the  commencement  endeavoured  to  enforce  the  performance 
cj'our  duties  to  each  other  as  husband  and  wife,  I  beg  here,  as  a  very 
ii  ortant  matter,  to  remind  you  of  your  parental  duties.  It  is  your  duty 
t  tudy  the  welfare  of  your  ofi"spring ;  not  only  to  provide  for  the  suste- 
n  ce  of  their  bodies,  but  for  their  education,  the  formation  of  their  char- 
*i!r8,  and  their  moral  behaviour.  No  duty  is  more  important,  and  per- 
*3  none  more  neglected,  or  performed  in  so  improper  a  manner ;  and 
tl  igh,  with  so  many  difficulties  to  grapple  with,  it  may  seem  an  arduous 

.  yet  the  happy  results  are  a  sufficient  encouragement.  How  often 
*»■  i  parents  been  doomed  to  suffer,  in  the  misconduct  of  their  children, 
wiruits  of  their  own  neglect !  Watch  the  dawning  of  reason,  lead  the 
>!'  Jrstanding,  and  bend  the  mind  while  young.     Though  you  must  avoid 


114 


1 


arbitrary  power,  vet  you  must  "rule  your  own  house  and  have  your  children 
in  subjection."  Whatever  their  age,  never  dispense  with  unreserved  sub- 
mission to  every  reasonable  requirement.  Rule  not,  however,  as  cajjrice 
or  passion  would  direct,  but  let  judgment,  affection,  and  patience,  as  well 
as  firmness,  direct  your  steps.  Your  success,  however,  in  bringing  up  your 
children  depends  considerably  upon  your  mutual  agreement  and  combined 
efforts  for  this  purpose;  without  this,  little  can  be  done.  Every  mother,  in 
particular,  should  consider  that  the  future  interests  of  the  family,  as  well 
as  the  character  of  the  children  in  riper  years,  in  a  great  measure  depends 
upon  her  attention  now,  and  her  cordial  agreement  with  her  husband  in 
all  his  plans  for  governing  his  house.  Endeavour  to  promote  unity  and 
sympathy  through  the  whole  family ;  te^-jh  them  to  regard  their  brothers 
and  sisters  with  a  peculiar  affection,  and  to  make  any  necessary  sacrifice 
for  the  peace  and  quietness  of  the  family.  Suppress  every  turbulent  dis- 
position. Peevishness  and  petulancy  should  never  be  suffered.  Nothing 
is  worse  for  children  than  injudicious  indulgence.  In  governing  a  family, 
correction  should  be  so  regulated  by  prudence,  as  not  to  frustrate  the 
end  designed.  Brawling  language,  boisterous  threatenings,  and  passionate 
blows  are  most  unnatural  means  for  governing  children :  temperate  instruc- 
tion, afiectionate  reproof,  and  well-timed  chastisement  should  always  be 
substituted.  Never  intimidate  by  threatenings  which  you  never  intend  to 
fulfil ;  the  bad  effects  of  this  will  soon  be  seen.  Rule  more  by  reason 
than  by  a  display  of  authority;  but  if  you  are  obliged  to  use  the  rod,  let 
your  determination  stand  over  for  a  few  hours,  but  fix  the  time,  and  you 
will  perceive  the  happiest  effects,  both  on  your  own  mind  and  on  the  con- 
duct of  the  child.  You  must  also  provide  for  their  education ;  by  all  means 
do  not  neglect  this.  If  you  cannot  pay  for  it,  avail  yourselves  of  some  chari- 
table insitution  for  this  purpose.  Give  your  attention  to  this  as  far  as 
you  are  able.  And  though  scholastic  rules  may  be  beyond  your  reach, 
whenever  you  are  seated  with  your  children  by  the  fireside,  try  to  interest 
their  little  minds  in  any  subject  which  may  be  useful.  If  you  are  obliged 
to  send  any  of  them  to  the  factory,  you  cannot  have  too  much  anxiety 
about  their  morals :  it  is  a  soil  most  congenial  to  the  growth  of  juvenile 
depravity.  Taken  from  under  the  eye  of  their  parents,  having  no  matured 
principles  to  guide  them,  they  are  brought  into  contact  with  all  sorts  of 
company,  profane  and  obscene  language,  and  every  species  of  immoral 
practice.  Oh!  how  painful,  that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  should i 
purchased  at  the  expence  of  the  character  of  the  rising  generation  ! 


115 

must  guard  them  with  a  watcliful  eye.     Send  them,  if  possible,  to  the 
best  regulated  mills,  for  certainly/  there  is  a  difference  ;  and  if  the  proprie- 
tors viewed  the  subject  as  they  ought,  in  till  its  important  consequences, 
a  great  improvement  might  easily  be  effected.     Lead  them  to  the  choice 
af  the  best  companions — keep  them  as  much  at  home  as  possible — correct 
;he  vulgar  and  immoral  language  which  they  often  learn — warn  them  of 
±e  vices  which  they  see  in  others — and  endeavour  to  give  a  sanction 
.0  all  your  directions,  by  imbuing  their  minds  with  religious  principles, 
md  by  your  o-rni  example.     Oh!  how  hardened  must  we  be,  if  we  can 
view  the  fruit  of  our  own  body  growing  up  beside  us,  adding  to  our  plea- 
sures by  every  juvenile  endearment,  without  feeling  a  deep  concern,  not 
)nly  for  their  credit  and  happiness  here,  but  also  for  their  eternal  comfort 
lereafter  !    How  precious  are  these  little  ones  to  us  !    How  anxious  should 
re  be  for  them  to  be  followers  of  God  now,  and  to  be  found  accepted 
•f  Jesus  when  he  comes  again  !       But  unless  you  be  religious    your- 
elves,  it  will  be  vain  to  urge  upon  }"ou  the  religious  instruction  of  vour 
hildren.     It  is  from  you  the  savour  is  to  spread.     Can  vou  expect  pious 
hildren  whilst  your  examples  are  directly  the  opposite  ?     Can  you  hope 
tiat  they  will  be  benefitted  by  your  instruction  or  correction,  unless  you 
onvince  them  of  your  sincerity  by  yom*  own  practice  ?     Nor  can  their 
;achers  ever  expect  to  make  any  lasting  impressions,  while  everv  thing  they 
;e  and  hear  at  home  is  calculated  to  erase  them.      Religion,  then,  must 
egin  with  you.     To  provide  for  our  comfort  here,   and  to  arrange  our 
Sairs  so  as  to  secure  it,  is  commendable ;  but  to  do  this  to  the  neglect  of 
lat  "better  part  which  shall  never  be  taken  away,"  is  highly  criminal. 
Je,  shoidd  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God ;  for  if  we  neglect  this,  we  shall 
3  losers,  if  we  gain  all  besides.     Let  both  husband  and  wife,  therefore, 
ake  religion  a" personal  concern.     And  though  I  make  no  call  upon  you 
!  to  the  form  of  your  worship,  or  the  peculiarities  of  your  faith,  I  would 
jvertheiess  urge  its  practical  effects.     Has  your  religion  purified  your 
mpers — is  your  conversation  as  becomes  the  gospel — and  are  you,  in  the 
hole   deportment  of  vour  lives,  bringing  forth  fruits  worthv  of  repent- 
ice  ?     Do  honesty,  uprightness,   charity,  and  kindness  mark  your  char- 
;ter  ?    If  you  can  answer  these  in  the  affirmative,  you  have  the  best  fruits 
religion,*  and  happy  is  the  family  placed  under  your  care.     You  have  no 
•ed  to  envy  the  wealthy  sinner  :  you  are  rich  in  faith  and  joA-ful  in  hope  : 
id  when  a  few  short  years  shall  have  terminated  all  his  greatness,  you 
.11  be  taking  possession  of  your  eternal  crown  ! 


116 

I  beg,  in  conclusion,  my  dear  friends,  that  you  will  give  these  sut 
jects  your  serious  attention :  let  your  past  experience  admonish  you,  an 
let  the  uncertain  tenure  of  your  lives  lead  you  immediately  to  adopt  ths 
rational  and  religious  course  of  Ufa  which  alone  can  make  you  happy. 

I  am  your  sincere  friend, 

J.  LiVESBY. 


3rS 


P.  S.    Since  writing  the  above,  a  Provident  Society  has  been  for 
in  Preston,  the  object  of  which  is,  I  believe,  very  much  similar  to  that  i 
this  address. 


FASTING. 
As    fasting  appears  to  be   growing  into  disuse    among  all  parti' 
except  the  Catholics,  a  few  remarks  upon  this  subject  may  not  be  ui 
seasonable.     If  it  had  not  been  referred  to  by  Christ  in  terms  of  decisi 
approbation,  and  practised  and  approved  of  by  the  apostles,  I  should  n 
have  been  anxious  to  bring  it  before  the  Christian  world.     It  is  the  abu 
of  fasting,  like  the  abuse  of  many  other  good  things,  which  has  broug 
it  into  contempt.     When  a  man  fasts  from  one  sort  of  food  and  liv 
freely  upon  others,  or  when  he  fasts  merely  through  restraint  laid  up( 
him  by  his  church,   he  burlesques  the  thing,   and  had  better  give  i 
all  pretensions  to  such  a  service.     Man  is  composed  of  body  and  min 
and  if  it  be  frequently  necessary  that  he  keep  the  latter  under  restrair 
it  is  not  less  so  in  reference  to  the  former.     Inordinate  animal  gratificatio 
tend   directly  to  counteract  mental  and  moral  attainments ;    and  if  t 
flesh  should  have  been  (as  it  often  is)  the  instrument  of  sin,  it  is  reaso 
able  that  it  should  be  called  to  endure  chastisement.     Fasting  is  a  toi 
abstinence   from  food,   for  such  a  length  of  time  as  an   individual  m 
enjoin  upon  himself.     In  itself  it  has  no  merit,  but  is  valuable  accordii 
to  the  good  with  which  it  is  connected,  and  to  which  it  in  some  measu 
contributes.     Feasting  is  an  appendage  to  joy  and  mirth,  and  fasting 
mourning  and  sorrow ;    and  they  are  respectively  not  oidy  evidences 
these  different  states  of  feeling,  but  means  of  promoting  them.     Seasc 
of  sorrow  and  trouble  are  properly  improved  by  this  exercise,  and  wh 
we   "  consider  our  ways"  as  we  ought  to  do,  who  is  there  to  whom  su 
a  season  ought  not  to  be  acceptable?     Fasting  is  also  a  preparation j 
prayer,  and  in  the  Scripture  stands  frequently  connected  with  that  it 
tant  exercise,  especially  on  extraordinary  occasions.     In  illustratioi 


117 

confirmation  of  this  view,  I  refer  to  the  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament.  I  do  not  insist  upon  the  fasting  of  Moses,  Elijah,  and 
Jesus,  each  forty  days,  because  these  were  miraculous.  But  the  follow- 
ing will  illustrate  the  principle  I  have  here  laid  down.  Joshua  and  the 
glders  of  Israel  remained  prostrate  before  the  ark  from  morning  until 
3vening,  without  eating",  after  the  Israelites  were  defeated  by  the  men  of 
Ai,  Joshua,  vii.  6.  The  eleven  tribes  which  had  taken  arms  against  that 
laf  Benjamin,  seeing  they  could  not  hold  out  against  the  inhabitants  of 
Gribeah,  fell  down  before  the  ark  upon  their  faces,  and  so  continued  till 
ihe  evening  without  eating,  Judges,  xx.  26.  The  Israelites  preceiving 
;hemselves  to  be  pressed  by  the  Philistines,  assembled  before  the  Lord 
it  Mizpeh,  and  fasted  in  his  presence  till  the  evening,  1  Samuel,  vii.  6. 
And  David  fasted  while  the  first  child  he  had  by  Bathsheba,  the  wife  of 
Uriah,  was  sick,  2  Samuel,  xii.  16.  The  very  heathens  themselves  some- 
iimes  fasted ;  and  the  king  of  Nineveh,  terrified  by  Jonah's  preaching, 
nade  an  order,  that  not  only  men,  but  beasts  also,  should  continue  without 
mating  or  drinking ;  that  both  men  and  beasts  should  be  covered  with 
[iackcloth,  and  each  after  their  manner,  should  cry  unto  the  Lord, 
lonah,  iii.  6,  7,  8.  The  Jews,  in  times  of  public  calamity,  made  even  the 
iihildren  at  the  breast  fast,  Joel  ii.  16.  To  these  instances  may  be  added 
i;he  following  examples,  which  refer  more  particularly  to  the  voluntary 
l;onduct  of  individuals :  that  of  Esther,  iv.  3,  1 6 — of  Nehemiah,  i.  4. 
X.  1 — of  David,  Psalms  xxxv.  13,  lix.  10.  cix.  24 — Darius,  Daniel  vi. 
18 — Anna,  Luke  ii.  27.  If  the  reader  will  refer  to  these  passages,  he 
«rill  find  that  fasting  was  considered  a  seasonable  service  on  any  calamitous 
md  mournful  event,  and  a  necessary  adjunct  to  fervent  prayer.  But 
est  it  should  be  fancied  that  it  is  not  recognized  by  the  Christian  system, 
:  beg  to  offer  such  evidence  as,  I  think,  none  will  be  disposed  to  dispute. 
Phrist,  in  his  discourse  on  the  mount,  so  far  from  entertaining  any  doubt 
l)f  its  utility  and  permanent  obligation,  adverts  to  the  practice,  and  gives 
regulations  respecting  its  acceptable  performance,  just  in  the  same  way 
lis  he  does  of  prayer.  Almsgiving,  fasting,  and  prayer  are  here  asso- 
siated  together ;  and  while  guarding  his  disciples  against  the  hypocrisy  of 
he  Pharisees,  he  gives  the  following  injunction  :  "  Moreover,  when  ye  fast, 
|)e  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a  sad  countenance ;  for  they  disfigure  their 
laces,  that  they  may  appear  unto  men  to  fast.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  they 
lave  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine  head,  and 
vash  thy  face  ;  tl;at  thou  appear  not  unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto  thy  Father 
vho  is  in  secret ;    and  thy  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret,  shall  reward  thee 

VOL.  III.  Q. 


118 

openly."  Mat.  vi.  IG.  John  the  Baptist's  disciples  "fasted  often,"  andwhf 
this  was  made  a  ground  of  complaint  against  the  disciples  of  Christ, 
said,  "  the  day  would  come,  when  he  should  be  taken  away  from  the 
and  then  they  should  fast,"  Luke  v.  33.  34.  "  Self  denial"  and 
crucifixion  of  the  flesh,  are  frequently  enjoined  by  the  apostle^ 
and  Paul  himself  says,  "  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into 
jection,  lest  by  any  means,  after  preaching  to  others,  1  myself  mj| 
become  a  cast-away,"  1  Corinthians  ix.  27.  Giving  advice  to  husbani 
and  wives  to  live  together,  he  makes  an  exception  in  favour  of  devotioi 
seasons.  By  mutual  consent  they  might  deny  themselves  of  the 
joyments  of  marriage,  that  "  they  might  give  themselves  to  fasting 
,  prayer,"  1  Corinthians  vii.  5.  Coraelius,  who  was  a  devout  man, 
that  feared  God  with  all  his  house,  gave  much  alms  to  the  people, 
prayed  to  God  always,  referring  to  a  vision  which  he  saw,  says,  "  Fo 
days  ago  /  was  fasting  until  this  hour"  (the  ninth  hour,  or  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon)  which  shews  that  good  men  in  those  days  fasted,  and  that 
a  considerable  part  of  the  day.  Referring  to  the  appointment  of  missiona- 
ries and  elders  of  churches,  it  is  said,  "  As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord  and 
fasted" — "And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands 
on  them,  they  sent  them  away" — "And  when  they  had  ordained  them 
elders  in  every  church,  and  had  prayed,  with  fasting,  they  commended 
them  to  the  Lord,"  Acts,  xiii.  2.  3.  xiv.  23.  It  is  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages that  fasting  was  considered  as  suitably  connected  with  fervent  prayer, 
and  as  well  befitting  any  solemn  occasion  like  those  referred  to.  It  is  not 
advocated  that  men  should  "  fast  twice  in  the  week,"  or  that  they  should 
do  it  as  a  formal  duty,  but  as  a  restraint  upon  the  body,  to  assist  in 
humbling  ourselves  for  our  transgressions,  and  raising  our  minds  in 
fei-vent  prayer  to  God.  The  soul  will  never  prosper  in  faith,  hope,  and 
charity,  unless  the  body  is  kept  under.  lioweA-er  animal  discipline  may 
have  grown  out  of  repute,  reason,  Scripture,  and,  I  may  add,  experience  . 
will  convince  the  unprejudiced  of  its  importance.  ''^Bl 

There  will  be  two  classes  of  objectors  to  the  doctrine  of  fasting.  The 
first  is  those,  who,  with  a  form,  without  the  power  of  godliness,  will 
say,  "  We  will  live  well  while  we  can  get  it :  it  is  not  that  which  goes  into 
a  man  that  defiles  him."  This  is  no  other  than  the  old  infidel  remark, 
"  We  wiU  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  And  I  wish  that 
may  not  in  reality,  in  many  instances,  spring  from  the  same  motii 
We  have  too  many  "  whose  God  is  their  belly,  who  glory  in  their  sha 
and  who  mind  earthly  things." 


119 

The  second  class  of  objectors  is,  "  We  fast  often  enough,  because 
we  cannot  get  it."  Now,  if  this  be  made  by  a  sober,  hard  working  man, 
I  admit  its  force ;  and  when  the  object  of  fasting  is  remembered,  that  it 
is  to  keep  the  body  under,  and  to  give  to  the  mind  a  tone  of  humility 
and  devotion,  it  cannot  so  much  apply  to  the  poor,  as  to  those  who 
"fare  sumptuously"  and  who  are  in  the  greatest  danger  of  becoming 
proud  and  sensual.  Although  some  may  be  slow  to  perceive  the  necessity 
of  the  practice  here  defended,  let  me  remind  those  who  wovdd  answer 
every  argument  which  imposes  a  restraint  upon  our  animal  appetites, 
by  a  laugh,  that  seeing  that  it  was  practised  by  the  servants  of  God  in 
all  ages — that  as  Christ  gave  special  instructions  respecting  how  it  should 
be  done,  and  promises  that  God  shall  "reward  it  openly" — that  having 
been  both  practised  and  enjoined  by  the  apostles,  it  ill  becomes  poor  erring 
mortals  like  ourselves  to  throw  the  shafts  of  ridicule  against  that  which 
Giod  himself  has  so  abundantly  confirmed. 


THE  ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  LABOUR. 
To  relieve  the  able-bodied  through  the  medium  of  labour  alone  is 
confessedly  the  best  mode ;  and  in  the  absence  of  a  demand  for  manual 
labour  equal  to  the  supply,  I  think  a  compulsory  measure  for  this  purpose  is 
;he  most  unexceptionable  of  any  thing  in  the  shape  of  poor  laws.  It  would 
>rovide  employment  for  our  labourers,  and  with  a  little  co-operation  on  the 
mrt  of  the  employer  might  open  resources  for  fresh  labour.  It  is  not  asking 
:he  wealthy  so  much  for  their  money  as  their  attention  to  the  sources  of  wealth 
ind  enjoyment.  The  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the  land  would  em- 
)loy  all  our  superfluous  labourers ;  and  if  the  thousands  and  millions  which 
lave  been  sunk  in  magnificent  buildings,  some  of  which  scarcely  produce 
he  value  of  a  single  grain  of  corn,  had  been  spent  upon  the  land,  England 
ust  now  might  have  had  all  her  wastes  planted  or  cultivated,  and  the  re« 
urns  would  have  been  immense.  The  resources  of  this  country  are  sadly 
nisapplied.  Look  at  the  massive  buildings  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
tspecially  in  Liverpool,  all  reared  out  of  that  which  ought  to  have  been 
pplied  in  securing  a  regular  support  for  our  labourers.  There,  the  cor- 
loration  have  lately  erected  a  church  at  the  expence  of  £60,000,  in  which 
n  untalented  relation  of  one  of  them  officiates.  This  produces  a  due  share 
»f  pride  and  hypocrisy,  but  nothing  in  the  judgment  of  any  rational  being 
0  justify  this  expenditure.  This  is  but  a  sample  ;  the  same  evil  abounds 
vherever  we  go.  If  the  church-building  commissioners  could  be  converted 
I  ato  land-cultivating  commissioners,  there  would  not  only  be  labour  in 


120 

demand  at  the  commencement,  but  an  annual  call  for  the  same  to 
pare  the  ground  and  reap  the  crops.     The  following'  may  be  regardedi 
small  beginning  upon  this  principle :  < 

In  tho  palish  of  Ardleigh,  Essex,  a  labour  rate  has  been  agreed  upon  by  the  inhabi{ 
as  a  means  of  promoting  employment  and  diminishing  the  poor  rate.     Every  occupii 
land  assessed  above  the  value  of  jCa  is  assessed  at  the  rate  of  four  shillings  in  the  poun 
six  weeks.     lie  is  to  keep  an  account  of  the  labourers  he  employs  for  that  time,  and 
wages  he  pays,  which  must  not  exceed  ten  shillings  a  week.     If  the  wages  paid  amoun 
his  assessment,  he  is  not  called  on  to  pay,  but  if  not,  he  is  to  pay  the  ditterence  as  his  amo 
of  poor  rate.    The  rate,  at  four  shillings  in  the  pound,  for  six  weeks,  is  calculated  to  be 
to  the  payment  of  all  the  able-bodied  labourers  in  the  parish  for  that  period.     The  resolut 
to  continue  in  force  for  six  months,  and  it  is  expected  it  may  produce  beneficial  results 
Essex  Herald. 


REFORM. 

Watching  the  progress  of  events,  I  am  more  convinced  than  ei 
that  the  only  chance  of  securing  the  various  reforms  so  much  needed  e 
talked  about,  is  to  secure  the  moral  reformation  of  the  people.  It  is  i 
want  of  this  that  corruption  seems  to  have  affected  every  part  of  the  bo 
politic.  If  good  principles  and  Christian  practices  had  been  cherisl 
among  the  higher  orders,  should  we  this  day  have  had  to  lament  the  ea 
ence  of  unequal  and  oppressive  laws,  of  an  overwhelming  debt,  and  of 
extravagant  national  expenditure  ?  What  but  the  pride,  sensuality,  a 
avarice  of  royalty,  nobility,  and  gentility  could  have  led  to  this  ?  a 
what  but  similar  characteristic  vices  among  the  bulk  of  the  people  coi 
have  permitted  it  ?  It  is  strange,  in  tracing  the  evils  of  the  country,  tj 
we  scarcely  ever  get  beyond  the  laws :  on  these  we  lay  the  blame, 
stead  of  remembering  that  if  we  had  had  good  people,  even  with  very  i 
perfect  laws,  many  of  these  evils  would  never  have  had  an  existence 
attempt  national  reforms,  without  reforming  the  people,  is  a  task  utte 
hopeless.  How  many  struggles  have  been  made  ;  how  many  unions  ha 
been  formed ;  how  much  time,  and  labour,  and  money  have  been  spe: 
fruitlessly,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  to  effect  reform  !  And  whence  is  t 
failure  ?  The  lack  of  moral  reform,  as  the  basis  upon  v\'hich  to  proce< 
How  manv  projects  have  been  entirely  abandoned,  through  the  dishones; 
perfidy,  and  dissipation  of  the  leaders  !  There  can  be  no  real  union 
out  virtue,  and  men  who  want  reforming  themselves  can  never  com 
confidence  as  the  reformers  of  the  country.  In  personal  reformatio; 
experience  an  immediate  advantage ;  and  as  true  patriots,  if  we  make 
the  ground  of  our  hope  as  to  national  reform,  we  shall  not  be  deceivedl 


121 

larticularly  beg  of  all  working  men,  who  sometimes  appear  as  political 
haracters,  to  consider  this ;  and  I  am  much  mistaken,  after  perusing  the 
lolitical  history  of  even  their  own  times,  if  they  do  not  arrive  at  this  con- 
lusion,  that  the  foundation  of  all  hope  for  England  is  moral  reform. 


INFIDELITY. 
Some  ministers,  I  am  told,  have  charged  the  Moral  Reformer  with 
eing  the  vehicle  of  infidehty.  But  as  I  have  not  learned  that  they  either 
splained  their  meaning,  or  referred  to  any  particular  parts  as  affording 
roofs  of  their  allegation,  of  course,  in  offering  a  reply  I  am  left  entirely  to 
jnjecture.  If  by  this  charge  they  mean  a  want  of  faith  in  the  efficacy  of 
16  popular  religious  systems  to  reform  the  people — an  unbelief  in  the  pre- 
msions  of  men  who  make  their  ministerial  office  the  avenue  of  wealth 
id  power — or  a  settled  conviction  that  the  present  irreligious,  immoral 

I  Dndition  of  the  people  arises  from  a  long  course  of  idleness  and  apathy 
1  the  part  of  those  who  profess  to  be  Christian  ministers — I  say,  if  the 
large  involve  in  it  these  propositions,  I  confess  I  am  guilty.  But  if  it  be 
leant  that  I  have  at  any  time,  either  directly  or  by  implication,  circulated 
doubt  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  of  its  divine  character  and  powerful 
liergy,  I  repel  the  charge  as  utterly  false.  Would  to  God  that  others  had 
llvocated  the  only  effectual  mode  of  stopping  the  mouths  of  infidels,  as  I 

,-  live  done,  by  insisting  invariably  upon  its  practical  character,  and  by  trying 

;  I  remove  those  shamefvd  parts  which  have  been  added  by  its  faithless  friends. 

-  lit  the  word  "  infidelity"  is  a  frightful  term,  and  serves  to  conjure  up  hor- 
r  at  the  idea  of  coming  in  contact  with  a  person  suspected  of  it ;  and,  which 
very  convenient,  it  changes  its  application  with  the  change  of  creeds  and 
rties.  Protestantism,  to  the  Catholics  of  old,  was  infidelity:  the  present 
owing  disaffection  to  the  Church  is  now  constantly  characterised  as  iufi- 

■  ;lity.     And  those  who  take  to  themselves  the  claim  of  "orthodoxy," 
j  i;at  others — however  sincere  in  their  belief  and  exemplary  in  their  lives, 

they  do  not  receive  their  favourite   "points"  of  doctrine — as  infidels. 

lieving  "all  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith,"  as  set  forth  in  the  Prayer 

•ok,   "The  Assembly's  Catechism,"  or  some  other  5/anrfrtrc?  formulary, 

,'  '2y  proceed  to  anathematize  others  as  heretical,  who  cannot,  without  satis- 

l^itory  evidence,  receive  a  body  of  divinity  composed  merely  by  the  autho- 

■  5y  of  man.  To  this  class  is  even  denied  the  hope  of  salvation,  although 
*ey  are  deeply  convinced  of,  and  cordially  attached  to,  the  truth  of  Chris- 

'  inity  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  are  actuated  by  the  principles  which 
A'y  believe  it  reveals,  and  are  endeavouring  to  adorn  its  doctrines  by 


122 


1 


a  good  life.  If  I  know  any  thing  of  my  own  heart,  there  is  no  one  who 
has  a  firmer  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  or  is  more  anxious 
to  see  its  principles  and  practices  universally  prevail.  My  peculiar  views, 
it  is  pretty  well  known,  are  not  of  the  orthodox  school ;  but,  from  the 
beginning,  this  work  has  not  been  a  vehicle  for  diffusing  party  views,  much 
less  that  of  infidelity.  And  actuated  by  a  sincere  desire  to  see  the  religion 
of  Christ  stripped  of  all  its  corruptions,  which  pride  and  avarice  have 
created,  and  especially  of  a  hireling  ministry,  the  greatest  source  of  infi- 
delity, I  shall  go  on  in  that  course  which  hitherto  has  been  approved  of 
by  good  men  of  all  parties. 

While  I  am  on  this  subject,  I  beg  to  say  a  few  words  on  professed 
infidels,  and  on  practical  infidels.  The  latter  greatly  exceed  the  number 
of  the  former,  and  while  they  shelter  themselve  from  reproach  by  professing 
that  which  they  neither  understand  nor  care  about,  the  lives  of  many  are 
a  reproach  to  the  very  name  of  religion.  How  many  are  there  who  goto 
ehurch  and  chapel,  whose  daily  habits  prove  that  they  are  living  "without 
Gorfand  without  hope  in  the  world!"  By  their  fruits  we  are  to  know  men, 
and  while  I  deeply  lament  the  case  of  any  individual  who  may  be  so  misled 
as  to  reject  Christ,  who  is  the  only  "True  Light,"  yet  I  cannot  forget  what 
is  implied  in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  If  any  provide  not  for  his  own,  and 
especially  those  of  his  own  house,  he  has  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse 
THAN  AN  INFIDEL."  "  It  is  not,"  says  Jesus,  "  those  who  cry,  '  Lord, 
Lord,'  that  shall  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  those  that  do  the  will 
of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

Openly  professing  infidels  are  not  so  numerous  as  thev  are  reported  * 
to  be;  nor  do  I  see  any  need  of  that  alarm  which  the  bishops,  the  clergy,  ■ 
and  all  the  ministers  of  religion  seem  to  have  taken  upon  this  subject.    Is 
Christianity  less  inviting,  in  its  true  character,  than  it  ever  was  ?   are  the 
evidences  of  its  truth  less   convincing   and  conclusive  tiian   in    former 
ages  ?     No  !  but  the  people  are  less  disposed  to  receive  it  upon  the  infJal- 
libility  of  the  priesthood,  or  to  profess  it  merely  upon  the  dictates  of 
civil  authority  ;  and  this  is  evidently  the  source  of  so  much  clerical  chagrin. 
It  is  remarkable  how  bitterly  we  speak  of  infidels,  instead  of  imit^m 
ing  him  who  v^ept  over  Jerusalem,  and  who,   on  the  cross,  exclaiin^H 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do  !"     How  much  of 
the  old  spirit  is  manifested  towards  these,  "Away  with  him,  away  wi^| 
him !"     If  reason  and  affection  will  not  lead  to  the  conviction  of  an  unlfm 
liever,  uncharitableness  and  sevirity  never  will.     Benevolence  is  the  soul 
of  Christianity,  and  he  who  denies  this  in  his  practice  is  as  much  an  in| 
as  be  who  rejects  its  written  testimony. 


123 

MAK-PIGHT. 
In  Tuesday,  the  12th  March,  scenes  so  monstrously  disgusting  took 
in  Hoole,  as  to  call  for  the  reprobation  of  every  man  who  lays  the  least 
lim  to  civilization.  By  appointment,  two  men  from  Liverpool  engaged 
a  prize  fight.  Thousands  of  people,  of  all  grades  and  of  both  sexes, 
aludmg  many  from  Preston  and  from  Liverpool,  in  vehicles  of  various 
scnptions,  were  in  attendance.  Scarcely  a  man  v^^as  seen  at  any  sort  of 
^iployment  in  the  country  round  about !  In  fact,  all  labour  was  suspended, 
'lese  poor,  miserable  barbarians  fought,  amid  the  plaudits  of  this  "rabble," 
1-  above  an  hour,  till  they  were  severely  bruised !  the  eyes  of  one  were 
littered  up,  and  he  was  so  dreadfully  mangled  that  his  life  was  despaired 
11:  What  a  dreadful  state  of  degradation  are  the  people  of  this  country 
lluced  to,  when  man-murder  like  this  can  be  practised  in  an  open  field, 
I'ore  thousands  of  approving  spectators,  without  the  least  check  from  either 
c  il  or  clerical  influence !  All  this  happened  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
circh,  and  yet  where  was  he  who  professes  to  have  the  care  of  their 
sils.?  Alas!  I  repeat  the  solemn  truth,  "The  people  are  left  as  sheep 
^:hout  a  shepherd." 

This  brutal  practice  of  man -fighting  ought  to  be  suppressed  by  every 
pson  who  thinks  himself  fit  for  civil  society;  and  yet  there  are  men  (if 
tly  deserve  that  appellation)  that  make  this,  and  cock-fighting,  and  bear- 
bting  their  chief  pleasures.  Let  every  friend  to  morality  and  good  order 
rie  his  voice  against  these  practices.  If  it  be  again  attempted  to  intro- 
d  e  cock-fighting  into  Preston,  next  races  (of  which  I  have  heard  an  inti- 
II  ion)  I  do  hope  that  the  town  will  demonstrate  its  disapprobation  in 
nil  a  way  as  at  once  to  suppi-ess  it. 


TEMPERANCE  CAUSE. 
From  various  sources  of  information,  we  learn  that  the  temperance 
3t5e  is  making  progress  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  not  only 
trmphing  in  America,  advancing  in  Britain,  but  is  also  exciting  attention 
I  tlie  Continant  of  Europe.  But  as  I  wish  the  societies  to  be  more 
it  lent,  I  beg  at  the  onset  to  state  several  defects  in  our  arrangements, 
-vch  ought  to  be  remedied  immediately.  In  the  first  place,  we  want  a 
(■  jctable  periodical,  to  give  correct,  extensive,  and  impartial  information 
ao  the  societies,  and  to  afi'ord  facilties  for  well-written  articles  of 
nrest  upon  temperance  generally.  The  penny  "Herald"  is  a  meager 
nication,  upon  which  httle  labour  is  made,  and  which  from  its  limits 
oiot  do  justice  to  the  growing  cause  of  temperance  in  this  countrv. 


1-24 

The  "Magazine,"  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  collect  intelligence,  ai  .t 
though  respectable  in  size  and  appearence,  is  not  sufficiently  identifiu  r 
with   the    societies,  and   is  disowned   by  the   London  committee.     T!;  { 
other  defects    are — relying   on  j)atronage   instead  of  labour — looking   li 
numbers   instead   of  consistent   conduct — holding  monthly  or  fortnightji 
meetings  instead  of  weekly — depending  on  set  chairmen,  and  set  s])eakn\i 
instead  of  inviting  and  encouraging  the  people  generally,  and  especially  t\\ 
formed  drunkards  to  speak — the  neglecting  oi personal  visitation  to  the  diii 
linquents  and  to  all  that  are  known  to  be  addicted  to  excess — the  waf 
of  more  appropriate  pledges  and  efforts  to  suppress  wine,  and,  especiallp 
ale  drinking — and  the  none  establishment  of  coffee  houses.     In  all  thej! 
respects,  improvements  ought  to  be  made ;  and  though  some  might  add-! 
the  want  of  the  co-operation  of  the  clergy — I  am  convinced,  from  facts,  thj; 
though  their  countenance  is  not  to  be  dispised,  it  is  not  so  essential 
some  persons  may  imagine.     It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  these  societif 
could  sustain  a  perfect  character  all  at  once ;  they  must  keep  improving 
and  instead  of  adopting  implicitly  any  prepared  system,  they  must  alwaj 
suit  their  operations  to  the  evil,  as  it  exists  in  their  own  neighbourhoo 
The  meetings  held  on  the  26th  February  were  generally,  in  La 
cashire,    of  the    most   interesting  character ;     and  I  believe   an  impet 
has  been  given  which  will  be  productive  of  the  best  results.     At  Pk 
ton,  meetings  were  held  every  succeeding  night  during  the  week,  (e 
though  the  admittance  was  restrained  by  tickets,  the  place  every  nig 
was  full  to  overflowing,   and  hundreds   could  not  gain   admission.    '( 
Tuesday  and  Wednsday  nights,    twelve   reformed  drunkards   addresi* 
the  audience,  on  their  previous  courses  of  intemperance,  and  stated  the  gH 
comfort  and  happiness  which  they  and  their  families  now  enjoy  throt^ 
joining  the  Temperance  Society.     These  speeches,  of  themselves,  wo* 
make  a  volume,  and  one,  I  am  sure,  of  tlie  most  interesting  that  di 
was  published.     On  the  Thursday  night,  I  delivered  a  lecture  on  the 
valancy  of  intemperance,  its  effects,  causes,  and  remedies.     A  chemic 
lecture,  accompanied  with  experiments,  was  delivered  on  the  Friday  evenip 
by  Mr.  B.  Barton,  of  Blackburn.     The  whole  process  of  malting,  brewi 
and  distillation  was  exhibited,  and  the  nature  and  effects  of  alcohol  VM 
fully  explained.      Saturday  night    was    occupied  by  the  singing  of-'t' 
temperance  song,  printed  at  the  end  of  this  number,  along  with  tHr 
other  original  compositions,   and  the  national  anthem;    and  by  se^ 
intieresting  addresses  delivered  by  the  members.     About  260  mei 
entered    during  this  week,  many  of  whom  were  persons  who  had 


125 

notorious  for  intemperance.     This  week  occasioned  such  a  revival  in  the 

Society,  that  ever  since  temperance  seems  to  be  the  leading  topic  in  the 

town.     Burglaries  and  robberies,  during  the  past  winters,  have  been  as 

aumerous  here  as  in  other  large  towns,  but  it  is  remarkable  that   during 

the  present  winter,  such  crimes  have  scarcely  been  heard  of ;  there  was 

not  in  the  calendar  of  prisoners,  just  tried  at  Lancaster,  a  single   case 

From  Preston.     The  annual  meeting  took  place  in  the  Theatre,  on  Tuesday 

evening  last,  but  owing  to  its  being  so  near  the  end  of  the  month,  I  can- 

aot  make  room  for  any  particulars.     C.   Swainson,  Esq.  took  the  chair : 

■he  house  was  crowded  in  every  corner  to  excess,  and  the  greatest  interest 

was  evinced  by  the  company,  especially  in  hearing  the  affecting  addresses 

\  of  our  reformed  drunkards.     The  following  report,  which  was  read,  will 

k  ijive  to  the  stranger  some  idea  of  the  Society's  progress  : 

i  REPORT. 

I  In  presenting  the  first  Report  of  tlie  Preston  Temperance  Society,  the  Committee  can- 

lot  withhold  an  acknowledgement  of  their  great  obligations  to  the  great  God  and  Father  of 
IS  all,  for  the  signal  results  with  which  he  has  crowned  their  labours.  Small  in  its  origin 
>jind  unpatronized,  the  Society  has  swelled  to  its  present  magnitude  ;  has  excited  an  interest 
in  this  town  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  any  other  society,  except  in  that  of  the  Christian 
eligion ;  has  kindled  a  zeal  in  the  cause  of  sobriety  that  has  burnt  with  increasing  intensity ; 
md  has  shone,  like  a  beacon,  far  and  wide,  till  all  the  villages  around  almost  have  lit  up 
:|heir  small  fires,  and  the  whole  country  seems  alert  against  the  great  foe  that  has  so  long 
leld  us  under  his  fearful  sway. 

In  March  of  last  year,  a  few  persons  met  to  consider  the  propriety  of  establishing  a 
Temperance  Society  in  Preston,  and  on  the  22nd  of  that  month  a  public  meeting  was  con- 
•ened,  to  organize  the  Society.  After  its  organization,  the  Committee  resolved  to  bring 
iihe  subject  more  fully  before  the  public,  by  means  of  monthly  meetings  held  in  different 
Iparts  of  the  town,  and  by  the  circulation  of  tracts.  A  great  interest  was  soon  excited,  and 
)  t  was  found  necessary  to  hold  the  meetings  once  a  week ;  and  as  it  was  frequently  difficult 
'0  procure  suitable  places  for  assembling,  and  as  much  confusion  arose  from  the  frequent 
^hange  of  place,  it  was  at  length  resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  generous  offer  of  Mr. 
iLivesey  of  the  use  of  the  Cockpit,  where  weekly  meetings  have  since  been  held. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  convey,  by  description,  an  adequate  idea  of  the  animated  scene 
iVhich  these  meetings  present.     The  Cockpit  will  contain  from  seven  to  eight  hundred  in- 
?|.ividuals,  yet  it  is  weekly  crowded  to  excess  by  persons  interested  in  the  promotion  of  so- 
briety.    On  these  occasions,  any  one  is  allowed  to  address  the  assembly.     \Vith  very  few 
»|xceptions,  the  speakers  are  persons  who  have  been  reclaimed  from  drunkenness  by  the 
t,|fforts  of  this  Society,  and  their  advocacy  is  found  to  produce  the  most  powerful  impressions, 
1  j)r  they  speak  with  the  eloquence  of  facts,  and  the  genuine  pathos  of  truth.     At  the  con- 
i.ilusion  of  these  meetings,  signatures  to  the  pledge  are  received ;  and  it  would  perhaps  be 
ifficult  to  convey  a  stronger  idea  of  the  impression  produced  on  the  audience  by  the  sim- 
le  relations  and  pathetic  appeals  of  those  reclaimed  from  intemperance,  than  by  a  state- 
lent  of  the  fact,  that  frequently  from  thirty  to  forty  persons  have  affixed  their  signatures  to 
VOL.      III.  R 


126 

the  pledge  after  the  meeting  had  concluded,  several  of  which  persons  were  notorious 
drunkards. 

Fifteen  thousand  six  hundred  tracts  have  been  circulated  in  the  town,  at  the  expence 
of  the  Society,  besides  a  great  number  which  have  been  distributed  by  members,  at  their 
own  cost.  These  tracts  treat  of  the  evil  effects  of  distilled  and  fermented  liquors,  and  it 
is  believed  they  have  had  a  beneficial  effect  over  the  opinions  of  all  classes  of  persons. 

The  town  is  divided  into  twenty-eight  districts.  To  each  division  a  captain  is  ap- 
pointed, who  acts  as  an  overseer  over  the  members  residing  in  his  district,  taking  frequent 
opportunities  of  visiting  such  as  have  been  notorious  for  intemperance,  to  encourage  them 
in  their  efforts  to  overcome  their  evil  habit.  He  is  also  required  to  endeavour  to  enlist 
those  who  still  indulge  in  intoxicating  fluids  in  the  ranks  of  temperance,  and  to  report  to 
the  Committee  every  instance  of  violation  of  the  pledge  which  may  come  under  his  notice. 
Besides  these  officers,  the  Committee  have  found  it  expedient  to  appoint  persons  as  visitors, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  call  weekly  upon  all  who  have  been  recently  reclaimed,  to  visit  delin- 
quents and  such  as  are  still  indulging  in  habits  of  intemperance.  These  persons  co-operate 
with  the  captains,  and  their  labours  are  found  to  be  attended  with  the  most  beneficial  results. 

During  the  year,  we  have  had  two  tea  parties,  one  at  the  races  and  another  at  Christ- 
mas. At  the  first  550  persons  sat  down  to  tea,  and  at  the  second  950.  No  one  who  at- 
tended those  parties,  the  Committee  are  convinced,  would  be  disposed  to  say  that  they  ever 
witnessed  better  feeling,  higher  gratification,  and  more  generous  emulation  than  pervaded 
those  large  assemblies.  And  the  most  convincing  proof  was  given  that  the  use  of  intoxicat- 
ing liquors  is  not  necessary  to  social  enjoyment.  If  these  parties  were  contrasted  with  fes- 
tivals on  other  occasions,  every  thinking  person  must  give  the  palm  to  the  former.  And  it 
is  hoped,  that  when  men  begin  to  be  guided  more  closely  by  the  dictates  of  religion,  mo- 
rality, and  reason,  the  "  uninebriating  cup"  will  supersede  the  "maddening  bowl." 

In  answer  to  the  call  of  our  American  friends,  a  special  meeting  was  held  on  Tuesday, 
the  26th  February,  and  on  every  succeeding  evening  during  the  week.  The  meetings 
were  overflowing,  and  the  effects  produced  by  the  speeches,  especially  of  reformed  persons, 
were  most  gratifying.  And  the  Committee  cannot  omit  this  opportunity  of  acknowledging 
their  obligations  to  Mr.  Barton,  of  Blackburn,  for  his  services  on  this  occasion,  in  delivering 
his  chemical  lecture,  so  well  calculated  to  demonstrate  the  deleterious  eflfects  of  ardent  spi- 
rits upon  the  human  frame. 

So  many  zealous  and  active  friends  have  come  forward  in  the  support  of  this  great  cause 
in  Preston,  that  the  Committee  have  ventured  to  extend  their  efforts  to  surrounding  vil- 
lages; and  societies  are  now  formed  in  the  villages  of  Walton,  Penwortham,  Leyland,  Ly- 
tham,  Longridge,  Garstang,  and  Ribchester,  some  of  which  are  making  rapid  progress 
And  such  is  the  great  strength  of  the  Society,  that  as  its  labours  have  been  extended  abroad 
its  vigour  has  increased  at  home. 

The  result  of  these  operations  is  2060  persons,  in  Preston  alone,  are  enlisted  under  thi 
triumphant  banner  of  temperance,  who  have  signified  their  determination  "to  suppress  the^ 
causes  and  practices  of  intemperance"  by  every  effort  in  their  power,  who  are  going  forth 
through  every  rank  of  society,  pleading  for  sobriety,  and  denouncing  intemperance  as  the 
great  bane  of  human  happiness.  What  is  still  more  happy,  is,  that  a  very  large  number 
of  their  warmest  advocates  have  been  themselves,  under  God,  reclaimed  by  means  of 
this  Society.  It  would  not  be  exaggeration  to  say,  that  hundreds  of  persons  have  become 
ornaments  to  society,  who  were  formerly  the  greatest  disgrace  to  humanity ;  hundreds  have, 


I 


127 

■ithin  one  year,  become  the  pride  and  delight  of  the  family  circle,  who  were  before  its 
lame  and  terror;  hundreds  are  hailed  by  relations  and  friends,  who  were  before  shunned 
lid  despised  ;  hundreds  have  been  rescued  from  poverty  and  misery,  and  are  now  enjoying 
competence  and  happiness  that  seem  almost  to  transport  them  beyond  the  bounds  of 
jality.  But  these  are  no  splendid  visions  of  an  untempered  enthusiasm  :  they  are  demon- 
rable  truths,  and  such  as  must  almost  necessarily  excite  the  most  stoical  mind. 

Such  being  the  case,  the  Committee  cannot  but  look  back  with  pleasure  to  their  past 
■hours,  and  forward  with  the  brightest  anticipations  of  the  success  of  continued  exertion, 
he  only  subject  on  which  they  feel  called  upon  to  express  regret,  is,  that  none  of  the  cler- 
vrnen,  and  but  few  ministers  of  religion  and  the  higher  ranks  of  society  have  come  forward 
1  aid  in  so  good  a  work.  They  hope,  however,  that  the  prejudices  which  prevail  among 
ie=e  classes  may  ultimately  be  overcome,  and  they  will  be  found  assuming  the  station  which 
ley  ought  to  occupy  in  proAioting  the  welfare  of  their  fellow  men. 
|»-  THE  TREASURER  IN  ACCOUNT  WITH  THE  PRESTON  SOCIETY. 

Expences  of  Lectures £i     4   10| 

Pledges,     Rules,     Advertising, 

Printing,  aud  Stationary. .. .      7     3     1 

Expences  of  Meetings 2      1      8^ 

Books  and  Tickets    4   17     0 

Tracts 7     8     8 

Lighting 3  13     6 

Revising  Register    0   16     6 

Box,  Staves,  and  Joiners'  Work     2      110 

Posting  and  Postages 1     7     0 

Design  for  Engraving 0   10     6 


fnbscriptions   received   £25     0     0 

ickets  sold 0     4     0 

Do.     do 2     4     0 


Balance    6   16     8 


£34     4     8 


£34     4     8 


REVISED  RULES  OF  THE  PRESTON  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY, 
As  agreed  upon  at  the  Annual  Meeting,  held  26th  March,  1833. 

1.  This  Society  shall  consist  of  all,  of  both  sexes,  who  sign  either  of  the  following 
edges. 

First  Pledge.— WE  DO  VOLUNTARILY  AGREE  THAT  WE  WILL  TOTALLY 
BSTAIN  FROM  THE  USE  OF  ARDENT  SPIRITS  OURSELVES,  AND  WILL 
OT  GIVE  NOR  OFFER  THEM  TO  OTHERS,  EXCEPT  AS  MEDICINES.  And 
we  use  other  liquors,  it  shall  be  in  GREAT  MODERATION;  and  we  will  endeavour 
DISCOUNTENANCE  THE  CAUSES  AND  PRACTICES  OF  INTEMPERANCE. 
Second  Pledge.— WE  DO  FURTHER  VOLUNTARILY  AGREE  TO  ABSTAIN, 
OR  ONE  YEAR,  FROM  ALE,  PORTER,  WINE,  ARDENT  SPIRITS,  AND  ALL 
vTOXICATING  LIQUORS,  EXCEPT  USED  AS  MEDICINES,  OR  IN  A  RELI- 
lOUS  ORDINANCE. 

2.  The  affairs  of  the  Society  shall  be  managed  by  a  Committee,  consisting  of  Treasurer, 
■cretaries,  Visitors,  Captains,  and  others,  who  shall  meet  as  often  as  it  may  be  deemed  ne- 
s<ary  for  the  transaction  of  business,  nine  of  whom  shall  form  a  quorum. 

3.  In  cases  of  delinquency,  the  members  shall  be  visited  by  one  or  more  of  the  Com- 
ittee,  and  if  deemed  irreclaimable,  expelled  by  them.  The  expulsion  may  be  read  up  at 
e  next  public  meeting. 

4.  Any  member  wishing  to  leave  the  Society,  may  do  so  on  sending  his  or  her  request 
writing  to  one  of  the  Secretaries  ;  in  such  case  the  Committee  may  order  the  withdrawal 
be  read  at  the  next  public  meeeting. 


m 

5.  No  contribution  to  be  required  or  taken  as  a  condition  of  membership,  but  the 
cessary  expenses  to  be  raised  by  collections,  subscriptions,  or  donations. 

6.  No  party  politics,  nor  any  sectarian  peculiarities  in  religion  shall  be  introdue 
either  into  the  tracts,  or  into  any  of  the  speeches  at  the  meetings. 

7.  Committee  meetings  may  be  called  either  by  the  Secretaries  of  tlieir  own  accot; 
or  at  the  request  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Committee. 

8.  A  public  meeting  of  the  members  shall  be  held  every  year  in  the  month  of  Maroj 
to  receive  a  report  of  the  progress  of  the  Society,  and  to  transact  any  other  necessa 
business. 

9.  The  Committee  shall  be  authorized  to  make  such  temporary  rules,  not  inconsistent"!" 
with  the  above,  as  may  be  deemed  expedient,  which  rules  shall  be  considered  permanent 
only  when  they  have  received  the  sanction  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  at  a  public  meeting. 

10.  While  the  members  of  the  Society  neglect  no  legitimate  means  which  they  can 
devise  to  counteract  and  diminish  the  vice  of  Intemperance,  they  would  desire  to  rest  their 
hopes  of  success,  not  on  human  agency  alone,  but  on  the  blessing  of  God,  who  can  alone  crown 
their  efforts  with  the  desired  result. 


CUSTOMS  AND  PRACTICES  LEADING  TO  INTEMPERANCE. 

A  principal  cause  of  that  general  use  of  ai  dent  spirits,  which  in  its  turn  is  the  cause 
of  their  excessive  use,  is  their  instituted  connexion,  in  the  minds  and  habits  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  people,  with  the  intercourses  of  friendship,  and  the  duties  of  hospitality. 
It  is  hard  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  different  habits  of  different  nations.  This  hap- 
pens to  be  ours.  The  Asiatic  gives  his  guests  and  his  friends  presents  to  carry  away. 
The  Frenchman  entertains  with  his  ices  and  his  coffee;  the  Indian  with  his  pipe;  the 
Italian  with  his  gardens,  his  pictures  and  his  music,  without  any  thing  to  satisfy  hunger 
or  thirst,  taking  it  for  granted  that,  as  to  these  wants,  his  guests  have  provided  for  them- 
selves at  home.  We  of  the  English  race  shew  our  good  will  with  what  we  call  good  cheer; 
another  phrase  which  speaks  our  sense  of  a  connexion  before  referred  to  ;  for  cheer  in  its 
original  signifiication  means  gaiety  and  spirit ;  in  that  which  it  has  acquired  through  our 
habits,  it  means  meat  and  drink.  The  connexion  is  by  no  means  altogether  arbitrary. 
Eating  and  drinking  together  is  a  natural  and  proper  sign  enough  of  concord,  and  under 
different  modifications  has  perhaps  been  so  considered  at  all  times.  The  temperate  par- 
ticipation of  them  itself  elevates  the  spirits,  and  the  seasons  for  them  are  naturally  there- 
fore chosen  as  the  seasons  for  social  interviews.  Besides  which,  they  give  opportunity 
to  the  offerer  to  shew  his  friendship  by  a  trifling  act  of  generosity,  which  is  likely  to  be 
kindly  taken.  Why,  in  this  character  of  a  courteous  and  hospitable  offering,  provision 
for  tJdrst  has  so  taken  precedence  of  provision  for  hunger,  is  not  so  clear.  Perhaps  it  is 
because  the  former  is  more  readily  at  hand,  and  soonest  prepared  and  disposed  o£ 
Perhaps,  because  the  excitement  of  animal  spirits  produced  by  it  is  more  quickly  obtained 
and  in  a  higher  degree.  But  however  this  may  be,  the  fact  is  that  the  offer  of  stimulating 
liquid  of  some  form  is  in  this  and  the  parent  country  the  customary  offer  of  courtesy,  it 
most  classes  of  society. 

Why  did  the  boon  companion  make  merry  with  his  friends  with  liquor ;  why  n^ 
with  exhilarating  gas,  which  would  have  made  them  happier  while  under  its  effects,  aS 
left  them  happier  when  its  effects  subsided?  Why  did  he  who  felt  the  smart  of  a  wounda 
spirit,  and  he  who  was  harassed  by  vacuity  of  mind,  not  have   recourse  to  the  poppj 


129 

juices  .'  They  are  a  better  sedative,  are  more  conveniently  administered,  and  lap  the  sick 
soul  in  a  more  glorious  elysiura  of  the  fancy.  This  is  a  Turk's  medicine  for  "  a  mind 
diseased."  Why  is  it  not  a  Christian's  ?  There  is  but  one  answer.  It  is  because  the  gas 
was  out  of  the  way,  a  thing  almost  unknown  ;  and  the  opium  was  out  of  the  way,  among 
the  apothecary's  secret  stores  ;  neither  of  them  substances  familiar  to  the  habits  of  society, 
or  included  in  the  economy  of  daily  life.  The  ardent  spirit  was  in  the  way,  and  not  to 
be  sought  beyond  were  friends  meet,  and  fanalies  dwell,  and  individuals  for  their  various 
purposes  resort,  and  the  crowds  of  business  and  pleasure  "  most  do  congregate."  All 
comes  to  the  same  point ;  it  is  that  ardent  spirits  are  so  often  used  to  excess,  because  they 
are  in  general  use  among  us,  meeting  us  at  every  turn.  Every  where  men  meet  with  them, 
and,  meeting  with  them,  men  are  constitutionally  liable  to  become  their  prey.  This  is 
not  necessary,  and  many  in  fact  escape.  Numbers  who  use  them,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
are  men  without  a  blot  But  what  do  we  thence  infer  ?  We  might  master  a  lion  who 
should  waylay  us;  but  a  country  infested  with  lions  would  not  therefore  cease  to  be 
dangerous  to  live  in. 

In  Venice,  there  is  a  coffee-house  which  is  said  not  to  have  been  closed,  day  nor 
night,  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  This  gives  an  idea  of  the  demand  there  is  for 
that  refreshment.  Establishments  of  the  kind— at  many  of  which  no  liquor  except 
coffee  is  furnished — are  found  exceedingly  profitable  in  Italy  and  France,  being  frequented 
for  purposes  of  refreshment  and  sociability,  in  the  same  manner  as  our  bar-rooms ;  every 
Dne  may  judge  how  much  less  injuriously.  I  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  succeed 
unong  us.  Drams  are  often  resorted  to  for  want  of  something  better,  by  travellers,  for 
nstance,  in  cold  weather,  or  by  night,  and  since  there  would  be  found  every  thing  to 
recommend  the  substitute,  the  fashion  would  be  likely  to  spread.  The  light  wines  of 
;hose  countries  seem  to  have  little  power,  if  any,  to  disease  the  appetite.  They  are  drunk 
0  quench  thirst  for  the  most  part,  as  milk  would  be.  Nothing  is  more  common  than,  at 
;he  little  inns  were  one  stops  between  one  city  and  another,  to  see  people  of  the  labouriug 
;lass  drink  part  of  a  bottle  of  wine,  largely  diluted  with  water,  and  leave  the  rest,  which 
:hey  have  paid  for.  I  have  heard  said,  that  when  the  French  armies  returned  from  the 
wars  in  Holland,  they  brought  back  a  tasie  for  distilled  liquor,  as  the  English  are  reputed 
0  have  done  before,  from  the  campaigns  of  the  duke  of  JIarlborough.  But  if  this  were 
he  case,  it  seems  that  the  imported  vice  could  not  make  a  stand  against  the  fixed  habits  of 
he  nation.  Certain  it  is,  that  one  must  have  more  than  a  visitor's  opportunities  of  being 
icquainted  with  Paris,  before  one  will  see  exhibitions  of  intemperance  which  are  scarcely 
0  be  avoided  in  any  English  or  American  market  town.  Some  successful  specimens  of 
ight  wine  have  been  produced  in  this  country,  particularly  at  Vevay,  in  Indiana,  by  the 
.  i:olony  of  Swiss,  and  at  Scuppernong,  in  North  Carolina.  These  are  experiments  which 
leserve  attention. 

Again  ;  there  is  a  great  want  of  innocent  public  amusement  among  us.  We  are  told 
>  >f  a  certain  king,  that  he  offered  a  prize  for  a  new  diversion.  We  should  do  well  to  follow 
lis  example,  stipulating  for  one  which  should  be  harmless,  and  accessible  to  the  whole 
jeople.  In  other  countries  museums  of  antiquities  and  other  curiosities,  collections  of 
latural  history,  galleries  of  statuary  and  pictures,  and  extensive  and  magnificent  public 
gardens,  are  places  of  universal  holiday  resort  to  a  crowded,  but  perfectly  orderly,  because 
emperate  population.  Some  governments,  from  motives  of  policy,  are  at  much  pains  to 
ecommend  these  recreations,  and  make  their  subjects  happy  by  them ;  and  the  consequence 


130 


is  that  though  greatly  behind  our  population  in  almost  all  respects,  they  greatly  excel  it 
in  some  natural,  gentle,  and  refining  tastes.  They  think  not  of  the  appetite  of  thirst  in 
connexion  with  their  holiday  pleasures.  They  love  no  riot.  They  will  tolerate  none. — Ii 
is  hard  to  imagine  any  w^ay  in  which  such  provision  is  ever  to  be  made  among  us,  but 
certain  it  is,  that  we  are  suffering  for  the  want  of  it. — An  American  work. 

THE  MOST  CRIMINAL  PERIOD  OF   LIFE. 

The  following  is  a  statement,  taken  from  the  Manchester  Guardian,  of  the  numher  ol 
prisoners  that  were  tried  for  fi'lony  at  the  Salford  sessions  during  the  years  1831  and  1832, 
stating  their  respective  ages  from  ten  to  sixty.  As  it  is  calculated  to  shew  clearly  tlu 
period  of  life  with  which  crime  is  mostly  connected,  it  may  excite  those  who  are  wishfu' 
to  reclaim  our  youth  to  seek  out  the  most  suitable  means  for  this  purpose. 


No.  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

General 

Age. 

felonies. 

Age. 

felonies. 

Age. 

felonies. 

Age. 

felonies. 

\ge. 

felonies. 

Summary. 

10. 

...      6 

21. 

...    78 

31. 

...34 

41. 

...      8 

51. 

...     7 

10to20..702 

11. 

.  ..    14 

22. 

.  ..100 

32. 

.  . .    23 

42. 

...     9 

52. 

...      4 

20  to  30..  010 

12. 

...19 

23. 

.  ..    8v^ 

33. 

...20 

43. 

...      6 

53. 

...      6 

30  to  40..  214 

13. 

...26 

24. 

. ..   G6 

34. 

...26 

44. 

...      6 

54. 

...     2 

40to50..   73 

14. 

...40 

25. 

...57 

35. 

.  ..    24 

45. 

...      8 

55. 

...      7 

50  to  60..  44 

15. 

...35 

26. 

.  ..    52 

36. 

...20 

46. 

...     4 

56. 

...     4 

60  to  70..    19 

16. 

...63 

27. 

...57 

37. 

...14 

47. 

...      3 

57. 

.  ..     2 

70  to  80..     6 

17. 

...127 

28. 

.  ..    38 

38. 

...27 

48. 

...10 

58. 

...     4 



IS. 

...131 

29. 

...   34 

39. 

.  ..      8 

49. 

...     7 

59. 

...      3 

Total..  1  CCS 

19. 

...132 

30. 

...39 

40. 

...    18 

50. 

.  ..    12 

60. 

...      5 

20. 

...109 

.■^ 

PRESTON  TEMPERANCE  PETITION. 

To  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  Parliament  assembled. 
Your  petitioners,  the  undersigned  inhabitants  of  Preston,  having  witnessed  the  evil 
effects  resulting  from  the  great  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquors,  beg  most  ear- 
nestly to  call  the  attention  of  your  Honourable  House  to  this  subject,  with  a  hope, 
that  some  legislative  measures  may  be  adopted  to  restrain  this  great  national  sin  ol 
Intemperance.  When  your  Honourable  House  considers  that  this  object  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  economic  welfare  of  this  great  nation  ;  when  you  call 
to  mind  that  by  much  the  larger  portion  of  crime  and  pauperism,  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  disease  existing  in  this  country,  are  occasioned  by  the  abuse  of  intoxicating  liquors ; 
your  petitioners  humbly  hope  the  limitation,  if  not  the  suppression,  of  this  prevalent  evil, 
will  be  regarded  as  entitled  to  the  careful  consideration  of  your  legislative  wisdom.  Your 
petitioners  would,  in  an  especial  manner,  call  the  attention  of  your  Honourable  House  to. 
the  great  injury  sustained  by  the  manufacturing  population,  by  the  Beer  Bill,  which  \ 
brought  the  means  of  intoxication  to  almost  every  poor  man's  door,  which  has  occasion^ 
multiplication  of  the  haunts  of  vice,  so  great  as  to  bid  defiance  to  the  police  regulatitj 
and  which,  under  the  delusive  pretext  of  furnishing  the  poor  man  with  a  cheap  and  wh<i 
some  beverage,  has  greatly  increased  domestic  misery,  and  impaired  the  physical  strength 
and  moral  integrity  of  the  labouring  part  of  the  community.  Your  petitioners  would  like- 
wise call  the  attention  of  your  Honourable  House  to  the  evils  resulting  from  retail  sp 
shops,  and  the  unnecessary  number  of  public  houses ;  and  would  entreat  your  Honours 
House  to  take  into  consideration  the  means  most  likely  to  remove  these  great  national  ev^ 
And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray  that  the  deliberations  of  your  Honourable  House  for^ 
prosperity  of  the  country  may  be  crowned  with  success. 


131 

PREVAILING  INDIFFERENCE  AND  IMPIETY. 
What  a  pleasure  man  seems  to  takes  in  beholding  scenes  to  which  he  is  not  daily  ac- 
astomed!     If  the  townsman  take  a  walk  into  the  country,  how  deeply  with  admiration  is 
e  struck  on  beholding  the  varying  scenes,  which, 

Rich  In  nature's  garb, 
In  turn  attract  liis  eye ! 
liilst  if  he  would  turn  his  attention  to  his  home,  there  he  would  find  he  daily  partook,  in 
loughtless  mood,  of  the  effects  of  this  richness  of  nature,  aided  and  protected  by  the  hus- 
mdman,  little  thinking  of  the  toil  and  anxiety  the  very  particles  of  the  wheaten  loaf  he 
its  have  caused  to  some  of  his  fellow  men,  from  the  time  the  plough  was  sped,  to  conveying 
to  the  market  in  the  dusty  form.  No ;  here  is  nothing  strange ;  and  in  the  breasts  of 
lany  reflection  and  admiration  seem  to  have  no  place. 

In  turn,  the  countryman,  in  wondering  gaze,  beholds  what  at  a  distance  he  took  to  be 
ne  solid  mass,  divided  with  those  little  openings,  streets,  each  side  lined  with  massy  build- 
ig^,  whose  windows  are  adorned  with  requisites  and  superfluities.  But  what  are  these  to 
le  intricate  process  of  manufacture,  in  which  the  bantling,  scarcely  leaped  from  the  mo- 
jer's  lap,  and  he,  whose  years  bespeak  a  retiring  to  the  grave,  are  employed  1 

But  still  beyond  this  my  reflections  rose,  as  I  paced  the  lonely  lane,  as  I  drew  from 

irrounding  objects  the  means  of  contemplation,  and  admired  the  First  Cause,  the  source 

■'existence  in  the  whole  of  the  animated  kingdoms.      The  air,  the  earth,  and  the  bosom  of 

le  deep  are  all  well  stored  with  objects  for  this  purpose.     For  what  is  too  mean  for  man 

I  contemplate  as  indicating  the  omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  his  Maker  ?     Is  man  the 

ily  worthy  object  ?  or  the  tree  whose  head  bears  high  towards  heaven  !    Nay,  the  meanest 

3wer — if  meanness  there  be  any — that  decks  the  lawn,  the  very  blade  of  grass  that  is  so 

ten  trodden  beneath  the  foot  of  man  and  brute,  is  enough.     Here  is  a  whole  and  perfect 

rocess,  as  in  the  animal  system,  continually  conveying  nourishment  to  the  minutest  point, 

•  it  would  wither  and  die.     That  it  could  not  supply  itself  is  irrefragable.     To  what,  then, 

m  it  be  ascribed  but  to  that  Infinite  Power  who  alone  can  explore  the  mysteries  of  that 

-  Dundless  space  in  which  even  the  prince  of  astronomers  was  lost?     Thus  I  mused,  as  I  en- 

:  'red,  for  refreshment,  a  public  house  in  an  adjacent  village,  in  which  a  numerous  company 

''ere  seated.     Before  where  I  sat  the  village  church,  with  all  its  stateliness,  stood.     It  is 

•i'l  ancient  fabric,  and  doubtless  the  hands  that  reared  it  have  long  since  mouldered  in  the 

i  ust,  and  their  spirits  been  wafted  to  the  presence  of  their  Maker,  the  denial  of  whose  ex- 

'.  tence  led  me  to  these  remarks.     A  short  distance  from  the  house  where  we  were  stood 

>  :.\XT  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was  the  village  curate.     A  country  swain,  in  passing  them, 

i  ith  the  true  spirit  of  by-gone  years,  touched  his  hat      On  seeing  this,  one  of  the  com- 

'  any,  a  villager,  with  the  ferocity  of  a  maniac,  with  eyes  glaring  in  their  sockets  like  those 

'  '  a  brute  when  about  to  spring  upon  its  prey,  exclaimed,  "  I  would  not  bow  to  God  him- 

7lf !     If  I  have  a  Maker,  I  am  equal  to  him  !"     With  what  horror,  mingled  with  pity,  did 

:  hear  these  awful  blasphemies!     Still,  from  the  perfect  indifference  with  which  a  part  of 

18  company  heard  the  dogma,  and  the  warmth  with  which  they  espoused  it,  it  see^ned  to 

;  their  common  public  house  discourse.     Such  is  the  demoralized  state  of  a  portion — an 

xtremely  limited  one,  I  hope — of  the  inhabitants  of  a  village,  where  the  should-be  pastor, 

ho,  forsooth,  is  a  vicar,  a  few  months  ago,  had  his  household  furniture  sold  by  public 

letion,  and  he  became — what  he  still  remains — an  inmate  of  the  King's  Bench  Prison. 

Macclesfield.  A  Youth. 


132 

TEMPERANCE  SONG. 

Composed  for  the  Temperance  Festival,  held  February  26th,  ISS.!. 

By  a  Member  of  the  Preston  Societij4 

Rejoice,  Britannia!  Scotia,  raise  thy  song! 
Hibernia,  shout!  and  Cambria,  tune  thy  lay! 
Europa  join  Columbia's  ardent  throng: 
All  hail  the  dawn  of  this  auspicious  day ! 

Hail,  peaceful  Temp'rance,  source  of  pure  delight, 
Come,  cheer  our  homes  with  all  thy  happy  train  ; 
Chaie  from  our  country  all  the  foes  that  blight 
Our  joys,  with  crime,  with  poverty,  and  pain. 

Hoist  high  the  banner, — sound  the  trump  of  fame, 
Unloose  the  shackles, — nerve  the  trembling  knee, 
F.mancipation  through  the  world  proclaim  ; 
From  mental  slav'ry  set  the  pris'ner  free ! 

Soon  may  the  light  of  sober  truth  disperse 
Mists  of  delusion  from  the  clouded  mind! 
Soon  may  we  hear  th'  awaken'd  world  rehearse 
"  The  conquest's  gain'd,  our  sorrows  left  behind!" 

Fathers  in  Britain  !  pillars  of  the  state. 
Guides  of  our  youth,  with  rapture  greet  the  plan 
Destin'd  to  cheer  the  good,  to  aid  the  great, 
Adorn  the  Christian,  and  exalt  the  man. 

Matrons  of  England  !  swell  the  notes  of  joy, 
First  by  your  Transatlantic  daughters  sung  j 
Let  the  glad  theme  your  brighten'd  hours  employ; 
Let  Temp'rance  dwell  on  each  maternal  tongue. 

Albion's  free  Sons !  whose  op'ning  minds  display 
Germs  that  may  blossom  when  your  fathers  fall, 
And  spread  a  lustre  o'er  a  brighter  day — • 
Come,  join  our  cause  at  Virtue's  sacred  call. 

And  you,  ye  Fair !  to  man  in  kindness  giv'n, 
This  triumph  grace  by  your  soul  cheering  smile  : 
Thus,  then,  approv'd,  the  God  of  earth  and  heav'n 
Will  pour  his  blessings  on  our  favour'd  isle. 

J.  L'lvesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  5.  MAY  1,   1833.  Vol.  III. 

THE  SABBATH. 

The  extent  of  the  obligation  for  keeping  a  Sabbath,  and  the  autho- 
rity upon  which  it  is  founded,  are  now  points  of  general  discussion.  The 
presentation  of  so  many  petitions,  and  the  introduction  of  a  bill  into  the 
House  of  Commons,  have  brought  the  subject  more  prominently  before  the 
public  than  it  has  been  for  many  years.  The  whole  seems  to  resolve  itself 
into  these  two  questions — What  are  our  obligations  in  reference  to  a  pecu- 
liar observance  of  Sunday?  and.  How  far  has  the  government  a  right  to 
interfere  ?  Very  few,  I  fear,  have  clearly  defined  views  as  to  these  ques- 
tions ;  standards,  as  various  as  the  persons  who  propose  them,  are  set  up, 
and  nothing  is  more  common  than  for  one  man  to  condemn  another  as  a 
Sabbath  breaker  for  the  commission  of  practices  similar  to  which  he  allows 
in  himself.  Though  I  have  no  expectation  of  bringing  over  to  my  opin- 
ion many  of  those  who  take  an  opposite  view,  yet  by  giving  a  cleai*  ex- 
planation of  my  own  sentiments,  those  who  hold  the  same  opinion  may 
have  an  opportunity  of  referring  to  a  defined  view  of  the  question,  and 
to  an  investigation  of  the  arguments  on  the  other  side.  I  do  not  say  that 
I  have  approached  this  examination  without  prepossession,  but  I  think  I 
can  say,  that  whatever  result  the  evidence  might  have  led  me  to,  I  should 
have  been  equally  satisfied ;  and  especially  to  that  mode  of  keeping  the 
Sabbath  which  is  likely  to  contribute  the  most  to  the  spread  of  religion. 

I  believe  we  have  no  advocates  for  a  full  seven  days  labour  in  the 
week  ;  all  are  willing  to  concede,  either  from  revelation  or  the  principle 
of  utility,  that  six  days  are  sufficient  for  labour ;  and  therefore  the  ques- 
tion is,  hotv  the  other  day  should  be  spent. 

From  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament  we  learn  that  the  Jews  ob- 
ser\'ed  the  seventh  day  as  a  Sabbath.  This  they  did  upon  the  authority 
of  God,  and  by  the  orders  of  their  great  law  giver,  jNloses ;  and  the  fol* 
lowing  passages  will  shew  the  strictness  of  their  observance.     "  Remem- 

VOL.     III.  •  s 


134 


^  ajI 


ber  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy ;  six  days  shalt  thou  labour  and  do  ^ 
thv  work,  but  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God;  in  it  thoi 
shalt  not  do  any  ivork,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man  servant 
nor  thy  maid  servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within  th 
gates."     "Bake  that  which  ye  will  bake  to-day,  and  seethe  that  which  y 
will  seethe  to-day  ;  to-morrow  is  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord."     ' 
shall  keep  the  Sabbatb  therefore,  for  it  is  holy  unto  you  :  every  one  that 
fileth  it  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  :  for  whosoever  doeth  any  work  ther 
that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people."     "  Ye  shall  kindle  no 
throughout  your  habitations  on  the  Sabbath  day."      A  man  was  detec 
gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  upon  this  case  "the  Lord  si 
unto  Moses,  the  man  shall  surely  be  put  to  death ;  all  the  congregat 
shall  stone  him  with  stones  without  the  camp.     And  all  the  congregat 
brought  him  without  the  camp,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  and  he  di 
as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses."  Exodus  xvi.  23.  xx.  8.  xxxi.  15.  xxxv 
Numbers  xv.  32.     The  extent  to  which  they  were  allowed  to  travel  wa 
but  about  a  mile,  called  "a  Sabbath  day's  journey."      Any  operations 
however,  connected  \^ith  the  ceremonial  service,  were  allowed.      The; 
circumcised  the  children,  offered  sacrifices,  and  attended  to  all  the  bodil; 
services  of  the  temple  on  this  day. 

So  far  as  it  regards  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  the  matter  is  quite  plain 
How  does  it  stand  as  it  respects  the  Gentiles,  who  have  received  the  gos 
pel,  and  are  wishful  to  do  the  will  of  Christ .''  -x 

It  is  assumed  by  great  numbers,  and  taught  with  confidence,  as  if 
were  incontrovertible,  that  the  day  is  changed,  that  the  first  day,  inst 
of  the  seventh,  is  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  that  the  regulations  found 
the  Jewish  law  are  adopted,  and  rendered  binding  upon  Christians.     I 
fer  from  this  opinion,  and  the  following  are  my  reasons. 

1 .  No  Sabbath  is  ever  enjoined  upon  Christians,  either  by  Christ  or 
apostles.     There  is  not  a  word  upon  the  subject  in  all  the  New  Testame 
either  as  a  precept  or  an  admonition.     Is  it  possible  that  so  great  a  cha: 
could  be  effected,  a  change  likely  to  give  so  much  oflence  to  the  Jews,  witk 
out  being  even  named  in  any  of  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  ?     Si 
bath  breaking  is  never  reproved  in  any  part  of  the  Christian  revelation,  and 
fair  presumption  is,  that  the  ideas  of  the  apostles  upon  Sabbath  obligati 
were  different  from  those  which  some  would  endeavour  to  cultivate  at 
day.     If  either  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  adopted,  with  a  charge  of  the  day 
or  a  new  Sabbath  ordained,  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  absence  of 
single  precept  upon  the  subject  } 


135 

2.  The  Jews  continued,  while  they  remained  a  nation,  to  observe  their 
own  Sabbath.  Christ  never  insinuated  any  thin^  derogatory  to  their  Sab- 
bath obligations,  although  he  exposed  some  of  their  inconsistences ;  he 
never  relieved  his  own  Jewish  disciples  from  their  duty  in  this  respect ; 
and  after  they  became  Christians,  they  continued  to  observe  this  as  well 
as  the  other  parts  of  the  law  of  Moses.  Various  passages  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  shew,  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  was  observed,  that  it  ■was  not 
changed  to  any  other  day,  and  it  is  evident,  from  Mat.xxiv.  20.  that  such. 
an  observance  would  continue  till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  So  strict 
were  the  Jews,  that  they  would  not  do  any  kind  of  work  to  defend  them- 
selves in  case  of  a  siege,  on  the  Sabbath  day  ;  to  flee  also  on  that  day  was 
considered  wrong  ;  and  hence  Jesus  says,  alluding  to  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
"  Pray  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  nor  on  the  Sabbath  day."  Is 
it  likely,  then,  that  the  Jewish  Christians  would  observe  two  Sabbaths  } 

3.  The  genius  of  the  Christian  religion  accounts  for  this  total  silence  in 
reference  to  the  subject  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  not  a  I'eligion  merely  of  times 
ind  places.  It  has  its  seat  in  the  understanding,  is  cherished  by  the  afiec- 
tions,  and  is  known  to  others,  not  by  attending  to  times  and  seasons,  to 
autward  forms  and  ceremonies,  but  by  the  uniforgn  fruits  of  good  living. 
Here  is  the  grand  superiority  of  Christianity  over  Judaism  :  the  piety  of  tbe 
sue  is  to  be  excited  bv  imposing  ceremonies  and  a  splendid  priesthood,  and 
ts  worship  secured  by  external  restraints,  both  as  to  the  day  and  every  other 
nrcumstance.  The  Jews  were  like  children,  and  the  law  was  their  "  scliool- 
naster"  until  Christ  came.  "  Meat  and  drink,  holy  days,  new  moons  and 
Sabbath  days,"  very  appropriately  belonged  to  a  dispensation  like  the 
Jews.  We  are  now  instructed  to  worship  God  "in  spirit  and  in  truth," 
to  pray  always,  and  in  every  thing  to  give  thanks.  In  a  word,  the 
'eligion  of  Christ  is  a  spiritual  religion  ;  has  no  special  connection  with 
jither  days  or  places ;  it  is  an  every-day  and  an  every-place  religion,  and  is 
ntended  not  for  Judea,  but  for  the  whole  world.  It  is  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ect,  especially,  that  emboldens  me  to  oppose  the  popular  opinion  respecting 
:he  Sabbath.  Excessive  strictness  on  one  day,  generally  leads  to  greater 
axity  on  others ;  and  though  I  know  rehgious  people  do  not  design  this, 
^et  the  termination  of  the  Sabbath,  like  Lent,  and  the  sacrament  week,  of- 
en  leave  the  mind  with  an  impression  that  something  has  been  done  which 
ihould  serve  for  more  than  the  day.  It  is  in  the  heart,  and  not  in  the 
)rayer  book ;  in  our  private  duties,  our  pubUc  usefulness,  and  our  practical 
conformity  to  the  precepts  of  Christianity,  and  not  in  a  mere  conformity  to 
jutward  observance  of  days,  that  real  religion  consists. 

4.  If  the  Jewish  Sabbath  had  been  intended  to  be  oi perpetual  obliga- 


136 

tion  upon  the  Gentiles,  it  must  be  so  (except  otherwise  ordered  by  divii 
authority)  not  only  as  to  the  day,  but  as  to  the  duties  and  the  penalties. 
brings  the  Sabbath  advocates  into  a  strange  dilemma.  They  must  have 
holy  convocation,  and  offer  up  sacrifices.  They  must  not  kindle  a  fire,  vd 
cook  any  food.  No  servants,  nor  horse,  nor  any  thing  within  their  gat 
must  work.  And  in  cases  of  Sabbath  breaking,  the  oflTender  must 
stoned  with  stones  till  he  die.  Is  this  what  is  meant  when  we  have  reite' 
rated  in  our  ears,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  ?"  Jew 
ish  precepts  have  been  borrowed,  but  somebody  greater  than  Moses  hai 
taken  the  libety  to  alter  their  meaning.  The  injunction,  in  general  terras 
is  quoted  as  it  stands  in  the  law ;  the  explanations  offered  moderate  its  se 
verity  a  little ;  and  the  practical  commentary  a  little  more.  The  fact  is,  w* 
have  had  a  floating  standard  as  to  keeping  the  Sabbath ;  a  standard  that  has 
scarcely  ever  been  recognized,  beyond  mere  profession.  I  could  enumerate 
a  vast  number  of  practices,  evidently  inconsistent  with  the  law  of  Moses 
which  would  have  been  deemed  by  him  Sabbath  breaking,  but  are  noM 
ranked  very  conveniently  among  the  works  of  necessity  :  but  I  must  no 
enlarge.  But  when  we  see  a  smoking  hot  dinner  upon  a  minister's  table 
all  the  servants  busily  employed  in  waiting  ;  a  coach,  pair  of  horses,  and  f 
coachman  taking  him  to  the  chapel ;  when  we  hear  at  one  place  announced 
that  at  the  close  of  the  service  the  pews  will  be  let ;  at  another,  it  is  quar 
ter  day ;  when  six  or  eight  men  are  employed,  in  their  shirt  sleeves,  dis 
turbing  the  quiet  of  a  whole  town  by  ringing  the  bells  ;  we  are  apt  to  ask 
If  Sabbath  breakers  are  to  be  stoned  to  death,  who  is  sufficiently  innocen 
to  throw,  the  first  stone  ?  But  this  is  merely  working:  when  we  proceed  t( 
trading,  and  find  one  man  getting  1  Ss.  a  Sunday  for  playing  the  organ  ;  an( 
the  old  man  behind  the  scenes  Qd.  for  blowing  the  bellows ;  the  singw 
turned  out  for  wages  ;  the  clerk  £10  a  year  for  responding  to  the  prayers 
a  young  dissenting  student  receiving  a  guinea  for  his  Sunday's  work  ;  am 
ministers  salaries  from  £100  to  £500  a  year  for  work,  the  principal  part  o 
which  is  done  on  Sundays, — when  we  go  into  the  vestry  of  a  parish  churcl 
on  a  Sunday,  and  hear  the  money  jingle  on  the  table — \Qd.  for  churching 
13i.  for  funeral  dues,  ^d.  for  tolling,  Zs.  6d.  for  publishing  marriage  band* 
2s.  lOd.  for  wedding  a  couple,  and  a  guinea  for  moving  the  grave  stone ;  aljy 
see  the  parson,  the  clerk,  and  the  poor  sexton  each  take  his  quota, — wi<|| 
we  know  hundreds  who  (including  a  little  time  that  the  sermons  may  se 
time  have  cost)  get  from  £2  to  £20  a  Sunday  for  about  four  hours'  service,^ 
when  I  consider  these /«c^5,  my  soul  recoils  at  the  sound  of  Sabbath  breadlj 
ing;  they  give  an  emphasis  wnich  I  never  felt  before  to  the  words,  "  Bewjii 
of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  htpocrisy."     Never  let  minist€ 


137 

md  clergj'men  again  approach  the  legislature  with  petitions  against  the 
iesecration  of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  never  let  them  promulgate  a  law  of  which 
heir  own  practices  afford  the  w^orst  exposition.  It  is  obvious,  tbat,  bv  re- 
erring  to  the  Jewish  law,  our  teachers  bring  the  matter  into  confusion,  and 
;et  up  a  standard  to  which  neither  they  nnr  their  fathers  have  adhered, 
rhe  seventh  day  Sabbath  was  suited  to  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  under  an 
;xternal  dispensation,  and  was  of  Jehovah's  own  appointment ;  but  to  me 
t  is  evident,  both  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  Christ's  ovv^n  silence 
ipon  the  subject,  that  it  w'as  not  suited  nor  intended  for  "  all  nations," 
)ut  of  which  Christ's  kingdom  was  to  be  formed. 

Nothing,  however,  was  more  likelv  than  that  the  Christians,  whether 
ews  or  Gentiles,  would  fix  upon  some  convenient  time  at  w^hich  to  meet 
ogether.  When  we  read  that  "  they  continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles' 
loctrine,  in  fellowship,  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers,"  although  the 
eaders  were  "  daily"  engaged,  the  great  body  of  disciples,  it  is  probable, 
?ould  fix  upon  some  day  on  which  they  all  might  meet  together.  And 
whether  it  had  its  commencement  from  the  circumstance  df  Christ's  rising  on 

the  first  day  of  the  week,"  or  whether  it  was  purely  of  apostolic  injunction, 
ye  cannot  tell ;  but  the  fact  is  indisputable,  that  this  was  the  day  on  which  the 
Christians  met  together.  We  have  intimations  of  this  in  John  xx.  19,  26  ; 
ut  this  does  not  mark  the  practice  of  the  churches  so  decidedly  as  the  fol- 
)wing:  "  And  vipon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  disciples  cam^  to- 
ether  to  break  bread,  Paul  preached  unto  them,"  &c.  "  Now,  concerning 
le  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  have  given  orders  to  the  churches  of  Gala- 
a,  even  so  do  ye,  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week."  Acts  xx.  7.  1st  Cor. 
vi.  1,  2.  Tliere  are  several  circumstances,  also,  in  the  connection  of  these 
assages,  which  make  it  evident,  that  it  was  the  general  practice  of  the  pri- 
litive  Christians  to  hold  their  meetings  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.     But 

is  not  intimated  how  often  they  met,  whether  more  than  once,  or  how 
ley  employed  the  day  in  any  other  respect.  It  has  been  surmised,  that  a 
umber  of  those  alluded  to  in  Acts  xx.  7.  were  slaves,  and  that  this  was 
le  reason  of   their  not  meeting  till  evening.      My  opinion  upon  the 

hole,  is,  that  the  Christian  Jews  observed  the  seventh  day  Sabbath, 
le  same  as  the  rest  of  their  nation,  and  that  aU  the  Christians,  whether 
■2WS  or  Gentiles,  met  on  the  first  day,  for  the  social  services  of  Chris- 
anity ;  and  that  this  practice  continued,  and  the  day  became  more  and 
iOre  distinctly  marked,  as  Christians  became  more  numerous,  till  about 
fty  or  sixty  years  after,  when  John  was  writing  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos, 

le  day  had  obtained  the  appellation  of  "  the  Lord's  Day,"  Rev.  i.  10,  that 

,  a  day  observed  in  remembrance  of  the  Lord — the  Lord  Jesus, 


138 

God  has  spoken  to  us  in  these  latter  days  by  his  Son  ,  to  his  teachiq 
miracles,  death,  resurrection,  and  universal  dominion,  we  owe  all  our  hoj 
of  immortality;   and  nothing  can  be  more  important,  even  independent^ 
any  appointment,  than  that  Christians  should  meet  together  to  strength 
each  other's  faith,  record  their  gratitude  to  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  andij 
diffuse  the  joys  and  blessings  of  the  gospel.     And  when  they  find  thatth 
first  day  of  the  week  is  the  season  especially  fixed  upon  by  their  primitiv 
brethren,  their  course  of  duty,  so  far,  seems  clearly  marked  out.     As  t^ 
the  observance  of  the  day  in  other  respects,  as  we  have  no  direct  la\ 
upon  the  subject,  we  must  be  guided  by  circumstances.     Persons  may  b 
So  situated  as  to  be  obliged  to  work  on  a  Sunday;  but  I  think  it  may  b 
fairly  remarked,  that  where  persons  have  any  choice,  and  prefer  either  lahou 
or  worldly  pleasures  to  pursuits  tending  to  the  religious  improvement  of  them 
selves  and  others,  and  to  the  honour  of  Christ,  they  are  not  acting  in  the  cha 
racter  of  a  Christian. 

Though  I  dispute  the  right  of  the  civil  authorities  to  order  any  thin 
connected  with  the  religion  of  Jesus,  yet  it  is  quite  within  their  provinc 
to  make  such  regulations,  as  to  the  conducting  of  business,  and  the  ar 
rangements  of  time,  throughout  the  country,  as  will  clearly  tend  to  th 
public  good.  And  in  a  country  like  this,  which  happens  to  be  Christia 
in  profession,  a  government  is  acting  in  its  true  character  to  secure  1 
the  people  that  day  wliich  their  religion  leads  them  to  respect.  It  woijj 
be  equally  consistent,  if  the  nation  were  Jews,  to  encourage  the  cessal 
from  labour  on  a  Saturday.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  government  to  secure  tdi 
religionists  every  civil  enjoyment,  and  never  to  interfere  with  consciei 
And,  therefore,  as  to  the  present  question  before  the  House  of  Commoui 
is  right  for  the  government  to  suppress  Sunday  trading,  in  order  to  se< 
to  every  family  the  privileges  of  the  day,  and  also  to  put  down  all  practi^^ 
offensive  to  civil  society,  such,  for  instance,  as  often  connect  with 
houses.  But  to  compel  people  to  go  to  a  place  of  worship,  or  otherwise.!^ 
interfere  with  the  liberty  of  the  people,  as  to  their  pursuits  and  the 
they  employ  their  time,  w^ould  be  improper,  and  productive  of  hypoi 

To  the  views  developed  in  this  paper,  as  to  the  exclusiveness  of 
Jewish  Sabbath,  three  objections  may  be  raised.     To  these  I  shall  ofll 
such  answers  as  satisfy  my  own  mind.  : 

Objection  1.  If  God  sanctified,  or  set  apart  the  Sabbath  at  the  era 
tion,  as  it  appears  from  Gen.  ii.  3,  it  can  have  no  peculiar  reference  to  tl 
Jews. — Answer.  Because  the  mention  of  the  Sabbath  occurs  here,  it  do( 
not  follow  that  God  instituted  it  immediately  after  the  creation.  This  hi) 
tory,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  written  by  Moses,  and  probably  abo] 


% 


^ 


139 

the  time  that  the  Sabbath  was  instituted  among  the  children  of  Israel ; 
ind  in  giving  the  history  of  the  creation,  nothing  was  more  likely  than 
:hat  he  should  mention  here,  for  the  advantage  of  the  Israelites,  the  reason 
^hy  God  had  sanctified  the  seventh  day.  namelv,  because  he  rested  from 
the  works  of  creation.  What  gives  greater  probability  to  this  view  is, 
,hat  from  the  creation  to  the  marching  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  the 
'.vilderness,  a  period  of  about  2,500  years,  there  is  no  mention  of  the 
.bservance  of  a  Sabbath.  I  fully  admit,  that  if  it  could  be  proved  that 
he  Sabbath  was  instituted  in  Adam's  time,  as  some  would  suppose  from 
his  passage,  this  would  be  stronger  evidence  of  the  universal  obligation 
or  keeping  the  seventh  day,  than  all  the  other  reasons  usually  assigned 
lut  together. 

Objection  2.  But  is  not  the  reason  assigned  for  the  Sabbath,  namely, 
'because  God  rested"on  the  seventh  day,  from  the  works  of  the  creation."' 
ne  which  ought  to  influence  all  mankind  ?— Answer.  If  there  be  any  re- 
igious  reason  for  Christians  observing  a  day,  besides  those  referred  to 
1  the  practices  of  the  first  churches,  I  certainly  know  of  none  more  im- 
■ortant  than  the  one  here  assigned.  But  though  we  admit  of  this,  like  many 
ther  general  motives  for  piety,  we  must  not  enforce  that  as  a  law  upon 
thers  which  cannot  be  clearly  proved  to  be  of  divine  authority.  These 
junctions  are  given  directly  to  the  Jews,  are  mixed  up  with  their  pecu- 
ar  observances  :  they  had  Sabbaths  of  weeks  and  Sabbaths  of  years, 
ut,  what  is  more  conclusive  always  in  my  mind,  we  never  find  either  Je- 
IS  or  his  apostles  enjoining  any  sabbatical  observance,  or  referrnig  to  the 
latter  in  any  way  from  which  it  can  be  gathered  that  the  Gentiles  were 
f)  come  under  this  law. 

t  Objection  3.  "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy;  six  days 
'lalt  thou  labour,  but  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath."  is  one  of  the  ten  com- 
landments.  and  is  of  universal  obligation.— Answer.  The  latter  part  of 
lis  objection  assumes  what  ought  to  be  proved.  Nothing  is  said  in  the 
ew  Testament  of  the  "ten  commandments,"  and  we  never  find  them 
llopted  by  the  apostles  as  a  standing  summary  of  duty  for  the  Christian 
lurches.  Every  moral  duty  enjoined  under  any  dispensation  must  remain 
;nduig  under  any  other  dispensation,  and  as  such  the  prohibition  of  mur- 
jir,  theft,  uncleanness.  and  the  duties  to  parents.  &c.  are  frequently  refer- 
i'd  to  and  enjoined  by  the  apostles,  but  never  as  forming  a  part  of  a  deca- 
gue  which  was  universally  binding.  The  moral,  ceremonial,  and  politi- 
1  mjunctions  constituted  altogether  "the  law  of  Moses;"  and  if  there 
one  thing  clearer  than  another  it  is  this,  that  the  Gentile  converts  were 
Either  required  to  be  circumcised  nor  to  keep  the  law.     Though  we  have 


140 


1 


two  tables  of  commandments  hanging  in  every  church,  including  the  inj 
tion  respecting  the  Sabbath  (a  standing  condemnation  of  the  secular  tr; 
carried  on  in  the  place)  we  never  find  them  adopted  by  the  apostles  in 
Mosaic  character.  And  when  we  find  the  decalogue  prefaced  with  "I 
the  Lord  thy  God  which  brought  thee  ozit  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of 
house  of  bondage" — speaking  of  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  Wj 
the  children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation — living  long  in  the  land  o 
Canaan,  as  a  motive  of  obedience  to  parents, — it  will  be  seen,  whatever  us^ 
it  might  be  made  of  after,  the  decalogue  was  intended  for  the  children  o 
Israel.  Besides,  it  is  the  seventh  day  which  the  commandment  enjoins 
and  not  the  Jirst,  which  is  now  affected  to  be  kept. 

My  conclusion  from  the  whole  is,  that,  as  Gentile  Christians,  wi 
are  not  under  the  Jewish  law,  and  consequently  not  obliged  to  keep  th 
Jewish  Sabbath.  But  situated  as  we  are  in  this  country,  it  is  a  great  pri 
vilege,  in  the  first  place,  to  have  an  ordinance  of  the  state  which  secure 
to  us  the  first  day  of  the  week  from  the  toils  of  labour  and  business,  an 
we  ought  scrupulously  to  respect  this  law.  In  the  second  place,  w 
should  regard  this  as  "  the  Lord's  day,"  and  employ  it  in  a  way  cal 
culated  to  do  honour  to  his  name,  and  spread  the  blessings  of  his  gosp( 
around  us.  Beyond  the  fact  of  the  first  Christians  meeting  together,  w 
have  nothing  but  general  principles,  and  when  the  heart  is  right,  thes 
will  be  sufficient ;  when  it  is  not,  the  most  minute  details  will  produc 
little  but  hypocrisy. 


I 


CORPORATIONS. 
A  commission  being  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  coni 
rations,  it  becomes  those,  especially  in  our  old  boroughs,  who  are  degraM 
as  bondmen,  to  be  alive  to  the  subject,  and  to  lay  before  the  commissM 
the  various  hardships  of  which  they  have  to  complain.  Why  should  t 
arbitrary  distinction  be  kept  up  in  society  of  free-men  and  bond-men  }  All 
why  should  one  party  be  allowed  to  impose  taxes  upon  the  other,  withoi 
either  oflfering  an  equivalent,  or  rendering  any  account  of  the  expendituii 
Wliy  should  we  be  so  unmerciful  as  to  render  many  of  our  neighbours  u» 
less,  and  frequently  to  destroy  their  lives,  by  supplying  the  means  of  90 
feiting  and  excess  ?  The  borough  corporations,  like  the  church,  are  eve 
more  at  variance  with  the  people,  and  instead  of  estimating  themselv 
by  their  usefulness,  and  collecting  money  by  the  same  rule,  they  stand  t^ 
prescriptive  privileges,  and  have  collected  immense  sums  to  which  in  jasC 
they  have  had  no  claim.  I  am  glad  an  investigation  is  taking  place.  I  ho 
a  petition  wiU  be  sent  from  Preston,  and  from  every  other  corrupt  boroug 

A 


141 


HUNTING. 
How  grovelling  are  some  men's  i^ursuits!  how  strange  are  they  to  a 
•curse  of  philanthropic  labour  !  Sensual  enjoyments  and  brutahzing  plea- 
ures  are  all  they  live  for,  and  to  these  they  devote  their  time  and  their 
ortunes.  Hunting  is  really  a  most  uncivilized  employment ;  it  is  barha- 
ous  and  cruel ;  and  yet  we  find  even  the  black  coats  as  well  as  the  red 
nes  joining  in  the  chase,  One  morning,  I  met  a  number  of  grey-hounds 
elonging  to  a  magistrate  near  Bolton,  well  covered  with  good  clothing, 
1  the  care  of  the  keeper.  Ah  !  thought  I,  would  that  the  owners  of  these 
■ere  as  anxious  to  clothe  the  poor,  and  to  maintain  a  person  to  watch 
v&r  them  !  The  following  will  shew  the  extent  to  which  this  practice  is 
irried,  and  the  expence  attending  it,  in  some  parts  of  Leicestershire. 

Melton  IMowbray,  a  small  town  in  Leicestershire,  generally  contains  from  two  to  three 
mdred  hunters,  in  the  hands  of  the  most  experienced  grooms  England  can  produce,  the 
erage  number  being  ten  to  each  sportsman  residing  there,  although  some  of  those  who 
M  heavy,  and  rejoice  in  long  purses,  have  from  fourteen  to  twenty  for  their  own  use. 
|*ie  stud  of  the  Earl  of  Plymouth  has,  for  many  years,  exceeded  the  last  mentioned  num- 
jr.  It  may  seem  strange  that  one  man  should,  under  any  circumstances,  need  so  large  a 
(iaaber  of  horses  solely  for  his  own  personal  use  in  the  field ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
iiff  countries  do  require  it.  In  Leicestershire,  however,  the  universal  practice  is,  for  each 
i|3rtsman  to  have  at  least  two  hunters  in  the  field  on  the  same  day— a  practice  proved  to 
if  economical,  as  it  is  from  exhaustion,  the  eft-ect  of  long  continued  severe  work,  that  the 
alth  of  horses  is  most  injured.  And  when  it  is  considered  that  a  horse  should  always  have 
,e  days'  rest  after  a  moderate,  and  at  least  seven  or  eight  after  a  severe  run  with  hounds,  it 
ill  not  seem  surprising  that  ten  or  twelve  liunters  should  be  deemed  an  indispensable  stud 
I  a  regular  Leicestershire  sportsman.  The  sum  total  of  expenses  attending  a  stud  of 
elve  hunters  at  Melton,  including  every  outgoing,  is,  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  1000/. 


1 
annum 


BEAUTIES  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  following  I  have  received  from  a  friend  at  Reading,  taken  from 
Uarlisle  paper. 

A  proceeding  at  Cockermouth  marks  strongly  the  present  state  of  the  church  in  what  we 
y  call  that  region.  The  chaplain  to  the  gaol  at  Carlisle  has  a  salary  of  125/.  per  annum, 
is  no  one  can  think  too  much,  if  the  duties  be  properly  performed  by  the  rev.  gentleman,  a 
.  Wilkinson;  but  Sir  W.  Lawson  drew  the  attention  of  the  magistrates  to  the  fact,  that 
.  Wilkinson  was  not  only  chaplain  to  the  gaol,  but  lecturer  at  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Cuth- 
t's,  chaplain  to  the  forces  at  Carlisle,  and  also  kept  a  school.  He  had,  and  still  has,  in 
h,  has  many  occupations  as  the  servant  of  Ehves,  the  miser,  who,  besides  being  hunts- 

ii  and  whipper-in,  milked  the  cows,  cleaned  his  own  and  his  master's  shoes,  and  waited 
We  may  say,  this  is  no  disparagement  of  Mr.  Wilkinson:  hxi  accumulated  toil 

i!  be  necessary,  for  anything  we  know,  for  the  support  of  a  large  family.     But  in  the 

'      VOL.   III.  T 


142 


I 


same  city  of  Carlisle  there  is  a  Dean,  whose  name,  we  see,  occurs  in  the  proceedings — ^ 
Hodgson — who,  besides  being  Dean  of  Carlisle,  has  also  a  good  living  somewhere  in 
north  of  England;  and,  besides  that  living  and  that  deanery  in  the  north  of  England,  k 
also  in  London  the  valuable  rectory  of  St.  George's,  Hanover-square ;  and,  besides  ^ 
valuable  rectory,  has  also  another  living  in  the  south,  on  the  southernmost  verge  of  \ 
county  of  Middlesex,  with  a  chapelry  or  something  else  annexed  in  the  town  of  Uxbrid 
Now,  Mr.  Wilkinson's  education  has  probably  been  the  same  as  Mr.  Hodgson's;  his  cnei 
and  talent  obviously  greater.  Is  such  a  distribution  of  church  property,  we  ask,  tolerabl 
We  put  the  question  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  fi 
whom  his  country  expects  so  much,  to  the  warmest  friends  of  the  church.  Is  such  an 
mulation  of  preferment  upon  one  man  tolerable,  whilst  others  are  starving?  On  the 
however,  of  the  most  singular  man.  Dr.  Hodgson,  with  four  valuable  pieces  of  preferment 
four  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  we  ask,  Where  is  he  now  ?  We  advertise  him. 
is  not  at  St.  George's,  Hanover-square ;  he  is  not  at  Hillington,  on  the  remotest  horde: 
Middlesex,  towards  Buckinghamshire.  Is  he  in  Cumberland,  at  the  place  upon  the  sai 
Would  he  were  stranded  there  !  It  is  such  men  as  he  that  have  nearly  stranded  the  Ch 
of  England.  Or  is  he  at  the  Deanery  of  Carlisle?  How  many  licences  for  non-residen 
has  he  ?  Who  has  signed  them  ?  and  on  what  pretext  ?  Small  as  is  the  see  of  Carlisle,  ;| 
aflfords  some  admirable  specimens  of  the  working  of  the  church  system,  and  of  these  we  wi 
now  give  a  sample.     And  first  of  the  pluralists  we  have 

Hugh  Percy,  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  a  Prebend  of  St.  Paul's,  and  a  Chancellor  of  Sarum. 

R.   Hodgson,  Dean  of  Carlisle,  Vicar  of  Burgh-on-Sands,  Rector  of  St.  George' 
Hanover  square,  and  Vicar  of  Hillington. 

E.  Goodenongh,  Prebend  oi"  Carlisle,  W'estminster,  and  York,  Vicar  of  Wath  All  Sain 
on  Dearn,  Chaplain  of  Adwick,  and  Chaplain  of  Brampton  Bierlow. 

S.  J.  Goodenough,  Prebend  of  Carlisle,  Rector  of  Broughton  Poges,  Vicar  of  Hamptoj 
and  deputy  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Cumberland. 

Wm.  Goodenough,  Archdeacon  of  Carlisle,  Rector  of  Marcham-le-Fen,  and  Rectorl 
Great  Salkeld.  ' 

W.  Vansittart,  D.  D.,   Prebend  of  Carlisle,  Master  of  Wigston's  Hospital,  LeicefW 
Vicar  of  Waltham  Abbas,  and  Vicar  of  Shottesbrooke.  * 

W.  Fletcher,  Chancellor  of  the  Diocess  of  Carlisle,  Prebend  of  York,  Vicar  of  Bromfidi 
Vicar  of  Dalston,  and  Vicar  of  Lazenby. 

There  are  other  pluralists  connected  with  us,  but  these  are  the  principal  "  birds  of  pi 
who  at  this  moment  present  themselves  to  our  remembrance.     They  are  a  goodly  com] 
and  if  riches  be  truly  the  bar  to  heaven,  their  chance  of  passing  the  needle's  eye  is  cerl 
as  small  as  that  of  the  camel,  spoken  of  in  a  certain  book  they  profess  to  teach,  but  the'; 
cepts  of  which,  on  the  score  of  money,  they  appear  not  over  ambitious  of  following. 

It  is  not  our  intention,  at  present,  to  inquire  into  the  incomes  of  these  dignitaries  ; 
as  they  are  pretty  considerable,  it  may  be  worth  while  just  to  contrast  the  salaries  they  * 
to  those  who  really  work  with  the  monies  they  receive  from  the  livings:  The  tithes  reci 
by  the  Dean  and  Chapter  for  Hesket  amount  to  1,000/.  or  1,500/.  a-year;  they  pa; 
curate  who  does  the  duty  18/.  5s.  a-year  ! — that  is  to  say,  is.  a-day — being  after  the  ral 
a  bricklayer's  labourer's  wages !  In  Wetheral,  and  Warwick,  the  Dean  and  Chapter  dirt 
about  1000/.  a-year  from  tithes,  and    1,000/.  a-year  from  the  church  lands;  and  they^ 


I 


143 

the  working  minister  (probably  one  of  the  most  exemplary  and  beloved  men  in  England  in 
his  station)  the  sum  of  50/.  a-year— the  wages  of  a  journeyman  cabinet  maker  !  The  tithes 
of  the  parishes  of  St.  Cuthbert  and  St.  Mary  amount,  at  the  least,  to  1,500/.  a-year.  The 
two  curates  (who  do  the  duty)  receive  each  the  sum  of  21.  13s.  4d.  a-year !  !  !  And  then, 
to  the  minor  canons,  who  do  the  cathedral  duty  (such  as  it  is)  they  pay  the  sum  of  6s.  8d. 
1-year  each  !  The  Dean  and  Chapter  hold  several  other  iinpropriate  rectories,  pay  the 
curates  a  mere  nominal  sum  for  performing  the  duties,  and  pocket  the  tithes  themselves, 
for  doing  nothing ! 

The  Dean  and  Chapter,  in  making  these  payments  to  the  working  clergy,  are  doubtless 
ictuated  by  the  very  best  of  motives.  They  do  not  care  to  swell  their  own  persons  out 
vith  riches  beyond  the  required  bulk  for  the  needle's  eye,  but  they  show  a  strong  determi- 
lation  not  to  allow  their  servants  to  run  equal  risks  by  over-feeding.  This  is  all  very  pro- 
W,  were  the  public  not  called  upon  to  make  up  for  the  scanty  allowance  by  contributions 
Irom  the  taxes  ;  but  the  under-paid  apply  for  remuneration  to  a  fund  called  Queen  Anne's 
bounty,  which,  like  all  other  monarchical  bounties,  is  a  fund  taken  partly  out  of  taxes  raised 
rom  the  people,  and  partly  from  the  first-fruits,  which  used  to  go  in  diminution  of  the  civil 
ist. 

What  a  horrid  picture  does  the  national  church  present !  Professing 
tself  to  be  established  to  promote  religion  and  virtue,  it  is  now  wallowing 
a  the  spoils  of  ages  of  avarice  and  oppression,  and  is  sowing  extensively 
he  seeds  of  infidelity  and  disgust.  Need  we  wonder  that  crime  should 
ncrease,  while  the  object  of  those  who  should  spread  virtue  among  the 
)eople,  both  by  precept  and  example,  is  not  to  feed,  but  to  devour  the 
lock?  Tliere  is  no  business  or  profession  among  us,  religion  out  of  the 
[uestion,  that  exhibits  any  thing  equal  to  the  avarice  and  audacity  of  some 
^)f  the  clergy.  Depending  for  their  appointments  upon  friends  and  rela- 
jives,  they  are  not  amenable — (I  had  nearly  said,  to  those  they  serve,  but 
lome  of  them  do  no  service) — to  any  body  ;  and  as  for  any  sense  of  shame, 
heir  natures  seem  incapable  of  feeling  it.  Contrary  to  all  justice,  and  des- 
ructive  of  ancient  charity,  they  have  secured  to  themselves  a  law  of  pre- 
criptive  right,  that  where  a  tithe,  for  instance,  has  been  paid,  it  shall 
ontinue  to  be  paid,  although  the  amount  is  ten  times  what  it  was  at  first ; 
-Ithough  many  articles  are  made  titheable  which  never  paid  before ;  al- 
hough  the  services  originally  intended  to  be  performed  are  discontinued ; 
.nd  although  the  appropriation,  being  now  to  the  parson  exclusively,  ia 
entirely  at  variance  with  the  original  bequests.  Tyranny,  oppression,  in- 
ustice,  and  inhumanity  are  written  upon  the  front  of  the  temporal  part  of 
he  Church  of  England.  And  I  cannot  conceive  any  thing  more  desirable 
0  a  minister  of  the  church,  who  really  wishes  to  be  useful  as  a  Christian 
ainister,  or  to  the  members  themselves,  who  are  anxious  for  the  spread  of 
>ure  and  undefiled  religion,  than  that  the  church  should  be  unfettered  from 


144 

the  state — that  every  congregation  should  be  allowed  to  choose  its  o' 
minister,  and  to  give  him  such  a  remuneration  as  is  satisfactory  to  b 
parties.     Was  ever  any  thing  more  monstrous  than  this,  that  the  far 
is  not  allowed  a  single  voice  in  the  choice  of  the  minister,  whom  he  si 
ports  by  his  labour  and  toil  ?     A  man  comes  into  the  parish  as  the  ministet^' 
not  because  the  parties  choose  him,  nor  because  he  is  anxious  to  make  him- 
self useful  as  a  pastor,  but  because  he  has  got  the  living,  perhaps  pur 
chased  by  a  friend  to  avoid  the  charge  of  simony,  and  however  unfit  fo^ 
the  duties  of  a  clergyman,  and  however  disliked  by  the  parishioners,  then 
he  remains  in  spite  of  them.     Though  he  be  at  war  with  his  parishioners 
and  though  his  conduct  is  any  thing  but  calculated  to  promote  religion  anc 
unity,  or  even  though  they  should  not  see  him  twice  a  year,  yet  they  havi 
no  power  of  redress,  and  must  still  contribute  every  year  for  his  support 
a  tenth  part  of  their  industry  !      If  the  parishioners  of  St.  Michaels  oi 
Kirkham  were  asked.   Are  you  satisfied  with  your  spiritual  pastor,  o 
should  you  like  a  change  in  the  system  ?  we  need  not  wait  for  an  answe 
— that  has  been  given  a  thousand  times  in  the  murmurs  of  many,  in  thi 
curses  of  otheis,  against  those  whom,  if  real  religion  had  any  connectioi 
with  the  affair,  they  would  esteem  and  respect.     In  our  parish,  I  conside 
that  the  Vicar  forces  himself  upon  the  people ;    they  never  chose  him 
they  never  requested  him  to  come  among  them  ;  and  it  is  well  known  tha 
very  few,  even  of  those  who  are  church  people,  are  upon  friendly  ttr^ 
with  him.     If  the  question  was  put  to  the  vote,  and  every  one  was  TiM 
enough  to  speak  according  to  his  feelings,  whether  we  should  have  1 
present  Vicar,  or  another  really  useful  man  of  our  own  choosing,  I  do 
lieve,  out  of  nearly  forty  thousand  parishioners,  we  should  not  have 
Tiundred,  including  all  the  interested  ones,  that  would  not  decidedly  call 
a  change.     If  it  be  a  hardship  to  have  no  voice  in  electing  our  represenfll 
fives,  is  it  less  so  to  have  no  voice  in  choosing  our  religious  teachers,  wh( 
we  are  compelled  to  pay  ?     We  are  not  more  dissatisfied  in  Preston  \i^ 
many  other  places,  and  I  merely  place  the  subject  in  this  light  to  sheil 
that,  in  the  present  state  of  public  opinion,   the  system  cannot  be  tolfe 
rated  much  longer.     Instead  of  advocating  an  entire  separation  of  chuH 
and  state,  uniting  ministers  and  people  by  the  ties  of  religion  only, 
making  a  man's  hire  dependant  vpon  his  labour,  many  church  reform^ 
are  attempting  to  perpetuate  the  present  system  by  taking  away  a  few*! 
its  more  shameful  parts.       This  is   a  delusion,  and  the  country  shoq^ 
beware   of  being   taken   by   it.      Let    all    the   people    adopt   their  vw 
creeds,  pay  their  own  teachers,  and  support  the  expences  of  their  ov 


I 


145 

worship,  and  let  all  tlie  tithes  and  church  property  be  appropriated  to  na- 
tional purposes,  and  then  on  this  subject  we  shall  be  at  peace.  Ministers 
and  people  would  live  on  amicable  terms,  the  jarrings  of  sects  would  cease, 
and  the  untaught  part  of  the  population  would  be  much  better  instructed 
than  they  ever  will  be  under  the  present  system. 


A  FUNERAL  ADMONITION.* 
My  dear  friends , 

You  are  collected  here  to  perform  the  last  earthly  service 
to  one  of  your  fellow  creatures.  Perhaps  you  have  frequently  attended  on 
such  occasions,  and  the  time  may  not  be  far  distant  when  your  friends 
shall  have  to  render  the  same  service  to  you.  It  is  appointed  for  all  men 
once  to  die ;  and  no  other  occasion  is  so  much  calculated  to  impress  upon 
our  minds  man's  frailty,  mortality,  and  unworthiness,  as  that  of  a  funeral. 
But  it  is  lamentable  to  think  that  such  an  impression  is  seldom  produced, 
and  that  your  discourse,  instead  of  being  serious  and  edifving,  is  trifling, 
unprofitable,  and  pernicious.  The  principal  cause  of  this  is  the  me  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors.  Why  is  it,  that,  at  a  funeral,  you  cannot  even  enter  the 
door  without  being  met  with  a  tankard  of  inebriating  Hquor  ?  When  vou 
^t  seated,  the  table  is  filled  with  glasses ;  and  ale,  hot  and  cold,  is  being 
handed  round  during  the  whole  time  you  remain  in  the  house.  It  is  really 
istonishing  that,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  you  should  encourage,  or  even 
oermit,  a  course  of  drinking  exceeding  that  of  any  other  occasion.  Some 
^et  intoxicated  before  they  leave  the  house,  and  are  not  able  to  walk 
steadily  as  they  follow  the  corpse.  And  after  committing  the  departed  to 
die  silent  tomb,  and  listening  to  the  affecting  lessons  pronounced  at  the 
jrave,  how  often  are  the  attendants  requested  to  return,  and  tempted  to 
fpend  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  excess  !  Oh !  my  friends  !  is  this  the 
*vay  you  choose  to  improve  the  solemn  season  of  death .''  God  here  warns 
>"ou  to  repent ;  but  by  conforming  to  the  diabolical  fashion  of  drinking  at 
uiierals,  you  scoff  at  the  warning,  and  set  the  seal  of  disgrace  and  impeni- 
ence  upon  yourselves.  To  the  friends  of  the  deceased  I  would  sav — If  a 
ittle  refreshment  be  thought  necessary  for  your  guests,  let  it  be  such  as 
lannot  possibly  do  any  harm ;  but  never  disgrace  vour  house,  nor  the 
iiemory  of  your  departed  friend,  by  giving  a  drop  of  intoxicating  liquor. 
To  those  who  are  invited  to  the  funeral  I  also  say — If  the  contents  of  the 
lelusive  glass  or  the  maddening  bowl  be  presented  to  you,  never  taste; 

*  This  and  the  following  are  intended  to  be  printed  in  hand  bills  for  distribution. 


146  ' 

bear  your  testimony  against  funeral  drinking,  and  try  to  rescue  yourselv( 
and  your  acquaintance  froin  this  awful  practice  of  intemperance. 

A  Friend. 


YOU  HAVE  BEEN  IN  THE   DRAM  SHOP. 
My  dear  friend, 

I  take  tiiis  opportunity  of  giving  you  an  admonition 
pecting  your  habit  of  calling  at  the  dram  shop.  There  was  a  time  whe 
you  could  pass  every  public  house  and  every  dram  shop  w'ithout  an 
desire  of  stepping  in ;  you  had  then  no  desire  for  rum  or  gin ;  at  th; 
time  your  liealth  was  better  and  your  mind  happier  than  ever  the 
have  been  since ;  and  you  had  your  money  in  your  pocket,  to  apply  t 
useful  purposes.  What  made  you  commence  the  practice  of  dram  driul 
ing  ?  Why  is  it  that  you  cannot  pass  the  door  without  a  squib  ?  Wh 
should  you  give  way  to  a  habit  that  you  know  has  led,  in  hundreds  of  ir 
stances,  to  poverty,  disgrace,  and  ruin  ?  Because  the  liquor  fires  yoi 
mouth,  and  stimulates  your  feelings,  are  you  so  deluded  as  to  thin 
it  does  you  good  ?  It  may  warm  you  at  the  moment,  by  stimi 
lating  your  blood,  but  afterwards  you  are  much  colder  than  you  w^ 
before.  We  are  assured,  upon  the  highest  medical  authority,  that 
the  spirit  in  the  world  does  not  contain  one  particle  of  nourishment ; 
not  until  lately  have  our  females  appeared  so  deluded  as  to  drink  t' 
"  fire  waters"  as  nourishm.ent.  Just  compare  those  who  are  dram  drin 
with  others,  and  you  will  find  how  much  healthier  and  happier  they  dj 
who  never  go  near  these  places  of  destruction.  I  see  that  the  practii 
gaining  upon  you,  and  by-and-by  you  will  be  so  under  its  influence  as 
to  be  able  to  do  without  it.  Consider  the  amount  of  money  you  spen 
this  way,  how  disgraceful  it  is  for  a  female  thus  to  debase  her  charai 
and  also  the  injury  you  are  doing  to  others  by  your  bad  example 
woman  indulge  in  drinking,  every  thing  will  be  going  wrong  at  home, 
instead  of  making  the  most  of  your  earnings,  it  is  likely  you  are  in 
on  every  hand.  And  if  you  are  young,  and  no  housekeeper,  depend 
it,  you  are  cultivating  a  practice  which  will  unfit  you  for  being  eithi 
good  wife  or  a  good  mother.  Do  take  the  advice  of  a  friend,  and  ai 
again  call  at  a  dram  shop.  If  you  are  not  ruined  already,  you  are  in 
way  for  it,  and  nothing  can  prevent  it  but  abstaining  entirely  from 
health,  life,  and  soul- destroying  liquor.  May  God  bless  you,  and 
vou  to  flee  from  gin  and  rum  as  your  greatest  enemies ! 

A  Friend. 


147 

JUVENILE  OFFENDERS. 

The  offenders  of  the  above  class  have  become  so  numerous,  that  one 

lalf,   at  least,   are   under  twenty-one   years  of   age.      To  mitigate  the 

;vil  of  so  many  young   persons  committed  for  trial  lying  in  prison,  by 

,vhich  their  morals  become  more  corrupted,  a  bill  is  before  the  House  of 

:  Commons  to  give  the  magistrates  the  power  of  dealing  with  them  in 
I  summary  way.  Of  the  bill  itself  I  say  nothing;  but  the  discussion 
yhich  it  produced  calls  for  remark.  The  members  all  declared  the 
subject  was  beset  with  difficulties,  and  while  they  all  seemed  full  of 
nvention  how  to  punish,  it  seemed  never  no  occur  to  a  single  individual, 
hat  the  only  rational,  the  only  humane  proposition  would  have  been  one  to 
)revent  these  youths  from  becoming  criminals,  and  thus  rendering  punish- 
nent  unnecessary.  Boys  are  not  thieves  from  any  fatuity,  but  from  the 
acious  examples  and  circumstances  with  which  they  are  surrounded,  and 
'rom  the  absence  of  a  suitable  correcting  influence.  Instead  of  inventing 
lew  and  more  lenient  methods  of  punishments,  why  not  appoint  a  com- 
nission  to  examine  the  various  causes,  direct  and  indirect,  which  lead  to 
uvenile  delinquency,  and  then  try  to  remove  those  causes.  Generally 
speaking,  the  vices  of  youth,  will  be  traceable  to  the  character  and  neg- 
ect  of  the  parents — these  to  the  want  of  suitable  and  seasonable  religious 
ind  moral  instruction — and  this  want  to  the  inefficiency  and  inattention  of 

i  ^'eligious  teachers.  I  will  undertake  to  affirm,  that  where  the  people  are 
•yell  taught,  where  the  religious  teachers  spend  their  time  in  going  among 
:he  people,  and  diffusing,  every  day  and  in  eveiy  place,  the  principles  and 
)recepts  of  Christianity,  youthful  delinquency,  like  that  referred  to  in  the 
)ill,  will  scarcely  be  known.  And  I  am  astonished  that  members  of  parlia- 
nent  should  never  think  of  recommending  a  moral  influence  in  preference 

!  ':o  legal  coercion,  and  that  they  should  seem  to  forget — however  ill  it  may 
lave  answered  its  proper  end — that  we  have  a  national  establishment  in- 
:ended  and  supported  for  this  purpose.  Not  one  member  of  parliament, 
luring  this  discussion  ever  raised  the  question.  Why  is  it  that  we  have  so 

;  iraany  juvenile  offenders  whilst  the  nation  is  studded  with  churches  and 
chapels,  and  whilst  so  much  is  said,  and  so  much  pretended  to  be  done  in 
the  way  of  providing  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people .-'  The  fact  is, 
our  religious  systems  are  antiquated  and  unsuited  to  the  state  of  our  present 

'  mpulution.  Let  these  gentlemen  go  with  me  on  a  Sunday  forenoon  into 
the  working  streets  of  Preston,  and  they  will  soon  learn,  that  instead  of 
keeping  a  clergy  to  teach  the  i^eople,  the  people  are  untaught,  and  left  and 
lost  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  We  may  change  the  mode  of  punish- 
ment as  oft  as  we  please,  but  among  so  immense  a  number  of  untaught 


148 


heathens  (for  in  many  of  our  towns  they  are  little  better)  there  will  coi 
tinue  to  be  an  ample  supply  of  juvenile  offenders. 


STATE  OF  BOLTON. 

TO    THE    EDITOR    OF    THE    MORAL    REFORMER. 

Dear  Sir, — In  looking  over  some  of  your  former  numbers,  and  especially  the  one  cor 
taining  your  essay  on  tlie  "  Prevalency  of  vice,  and  its  real  cause,"  I  have  been  induced  i 
make  calculations,  and  compare  your  statements  with  things  as  they  really  are.  Society 
more  degraded,  as  to  God,  their  o^vn  souls,  and  a  future  state,  than  any  one  can  bcliev 
unless  he  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  for  himself. 

In  the  parish  of  Bolton  alone,  there  are  seventy-five  thousand  souls,  and  yet  there  ai 
not  seats,  in  all  the  places  of  worship  put  together,  for  more  thah  seven  thousand  ;  and  froi 
these  we  may  fairly  deduct  one-third  as  unoccupied;  so  that  seventy  thousand  souls  in  o>. 
parish  alone  do  not  attend  the  means  of  grace.  And  such  are  the  systems  of  the  present  da; 
that  this  great  number  of  wandering  sheep  are  suffered  to  stray  without  an  effort  to  see 
them  out  by  the  ministers  of  Christ.  We  also  know,  that  all  these  who  are  come  to  years  ■ 
maturity  can  as  mechanically  go  to  places  of  worship  on  d  Sabbath  morning  as  they  can  g 
to  the  factories  on  Monday  morning,  and  herein  some  people,  who  hold  strenuously  some  pc 
culiar  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  rest  satisfied  that  it  is  the  will  or  permission  of  God  that 
should  be  so.  Those  who  absent  themselves  are  certainly  guilty,  but  the  ministers  of  reli 
gion  are  not  the  less  guilty  on  this  account,  as  saith  the  Scriptures,  "  Go  into  the  highwa} 
and  hedges,  and  compel  them  to  come  in,  that  my  house  may  be  filled." 

After  having  signed  a  petition  a  few  Sundays  ago  for  the  better  observance  of  the  Sal 
bath,  I  ascertained  that  people  were  working  at  the  very  time  in  the  same  person's  factory  wh 
was  to  present  it  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  that  most  of  our  founderies,  factories  and  crofi 
allow  of  work  being  done  on  the  Sabbath  day.  Hei-e,  again,  have  we  not  a  claim  upon  oi 
vicars,  curates,  and  all  other  ministers  of  the  gospel,  as  accredited  persons,  as  persons  wli 
liave  professed  to  be  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  all  holy  conduct  in  putting  down  vice,  an 
to  the  "  maintenance  of  true  religion  and  virtue  ?"  In  reverting  to  the  vast  numbers  wh 
neglect  public  worship,  viz.  seventy  thousand  in  one  parish,  allow  me  to  ask  a  question,  whic 
may  startle  some  of  your  readers,  but  it  is  one  upon  a  subject  which  my  father  thougl 
questionable  when  I  was  a  boy — What  good  (at  all  adequate  to  the  money  spent  and  tli 
time  employed)  have  Sunday  schools  done  ?  Some  good  must  be  allowed ;  but  in  proportio 
to  the  means  made  use  of,  no  more  than  that  of  a  mite  to  a  mountain.  Six  days  spent  in  th 
midst  of  a  population  of  seventy  thousand,  who  go  no  where,  undoes  nearly  all  that  can  I 
done  by  teachers  in  one  day.  Some  churches  and  chapels  can  count  a  part  of  their  congre 
gation  as  having  been  Sunday  school  scholars,  but  the  proof  is  to  compare  them  with  til 
population.  The  more  we  think  upon  the  subject,  the  more  we  must  be  convinced  thatfl 
are  at  the  wrong  end  of  the  business  of  reforming  and  Christianizing  the  great  mass  offfl 
people.  If  ministers,  aided  by  the  money  and  influence  of  their  friends,  would  but  go  aboil 
endeavouring  to  make  the  parents  good,  then  we  might  hope,  with  as  much  reason  as  we  Ifl 
for  good  fruit  from  a  good  tree,  that  the  children  would  he  good  also ;  and  until  they  will 
something  like  what  is  described  in  your  sketch  of  John  Fearless,  I  consider  the  cj 
hopeless.  J.  R 


149 

MECHANICS'    INSTITUTIONS. 

Although  the  utility  of  these  Institutions  is  so  obvious  and  so  generally  acknowledged, 
[  am  sorry  to  find  that  in  many  places  they  are  but  badly  supported.  Intemperance  with 
nany,  indifference  with  others,  and  prejudice  with  not  a  few,  lead  persons  either  to  neglect 
)r  to  oppose  them.  The  following  extracts  from  a  pamphlet  just  published  entitled,  "  A  Lec- 
ure,  delivered  on  the  14th  and  22nd  of  January,  1833,  on  the  opening  of  the  Sheffield  Me- 
ihanics'  Institution,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Allin,"  will  be  found  seasonable  and  worthy  of  a 
>erusal.  He  justly  observes  in  the  preface,  "  Notonly  are  some  of  the  grossest  mistakes  enter- 
ained  on  this  subject,  in  some  quarters,  and  a  dishonourable  indifference  manifested  towards 
tin  others  ;  but,  as  a  principal  cause  of  all  this,  seldom  do  Christian  ministers  attempt  to 
ilace  in  a  sufficiently  prominent  and  impressive  light,  the  ample  support  furnished  by  Divine 
levelation  to  the  great  cause  of  knowledge  and  mental  culture." 

I  select  the  principal  part  of  Mr.  Allin's  argument  in  favour  of  the  proposition,  that 
■Christianity  not  only  allows  but  requires  the  acquisition  of  general 
;sowLEDGE.  In  order  to  a  due  appreciation  of  some  of  the  proofs  of  this  proposition,  it 
aust  be  observed,  that  Christianity  distinctly  recognizes  the  divine  and  permanent  autho- 
ity  of  those  doctrines  and  laws  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  have  reference  to  the 
ommon  nature  and  state  of  man,  as  distinguished  from  things  arising  out  of  local  circum- 
tances,  or  things  typical  and  ceremonial,  and  therefore  temporary ;  as  well  as  those  addi- 
ional  doctrines  and  laws  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  Now,  wuth  this  fact  in  mind,  let 
:  be  observed,  that,  according  to  this  record  of  our  faith,  when  the  first  human  pair  came 
)rth  from  their  Creator's  hand  innocent  and  happy,  the  following  announcement  conveyed  to 
hem  the  charter  of  their  privileges,  and  the  rule  of  their  conduct,  respecting  the  world  in 
fhich  they  were  placed,  and  the  various  orders  of  beings  by  which  they  were  surrounded: 
Be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it :  and  have  donkinion  over 
he  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle  and  the  wild  beasts, 
nd  over  every  reptile  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth.'*  According  to  this  divine  annuncia- 
on,  the  earth  was  made  and  peopled,  not  that  it  might  be  shared  by  man  in  common  with 
:s  other  inhabitants,  but  that  he  might  replenish,  or  fill  it,  and  subdue,  or  bring  it  under  his 
ominion.  He  is  here  placed  on  the  same  pre-eminence  in  authority  as  in  capabilities; 
nd  the  universal  sway,  for  which  his  superior  powers  of  reason  are  fitted,  he  is  commanded 
J  acquire:  that  is  to  say,  as  his  well-being  is  the  immediate  end  of  this  part  of  the  creation, 
9  to  render  it  subservient  to  this  end,  is  at  once  his  duty  and  his  privilege.  But  in  order 
)  do  this,  he  must  acquaint  himself  with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  nature — its  adapta- 
ons  and  capabilities.  He  must  understand  the  qualities  of  things,  and  the  several  purposes 
3  which  they  are  applicable :  he  must,  in  fact,  explore  the  immense  regions,  which,  in  earth, 
nd  air,  and  sea,  are  placed  before  him,  in  order  that  all  their  contents,  with  all  their  capa- 
ilities,  may  be  rendered  subservient  to  his  will,  and  promotive  of  his  happiness.  Such  is 
he  knowledge  obviously  necessary  to  universal  appropriation  and  government.  The  same 
iw,  therefore,  that  directs  to  the  end,  authorizes  the  means  ;  and  by  rendering  such  know- 
?dge  necessary  to  the  attainment  of  that  end,  it  not  only  allows,  but  requires  the  human 
ace  to  secure  it. 

'  •  Boothroyd's  Translation. 

VOL.     III.  V 


150 


"  For  the  sake  of  some,  it  may  be  expedient  to  remark,  that  whatever  change  may 
taken  place  in  the  situation  or  capabilities  of  man,  since  the  first  issuing  forth  of  the  di 
decree,  yet  so  far  from  this  charter  of  human  privileges  having  been  repealed,  it  was 
pressly  renewed  to  Noah  and  his  sons,  immediately  after  the  flood.       It  therefore  stands4j 
charter  of  our  privileges,  and  the  law  of  our  common  nature.     Capabilities  may  havel^ 
sened,  or  difficulties  may  have  multiplied ;  but  whatever  capabilities  remain,  are  to  be  exei 
ed ;  and  whatever  difficulties  are  surmountable,  are  to  be  encountered.     The  way  may  h^ 
become  more  thorny,  but  it  is  to  be  trod ;  and  the  hill  of  knowledge  may  present  a  nuil 
steep  and  rugged  ascent,  but  still  the  highest  elevation  possible  is  to  be  gained.     This  is|| 
proudpre-eminence  to  which  the  God  of  Revelation  points,  and  which,  in  language  reo(j 
nized  by  Christianity  as  obligatory  and  divine,  he  requires  us  to  labour  to  attain." 

After  a  reference  to  various  passages  in  the  Proverbs,  and  other  parts  of  the  Old 
tament,  he  reasons  as  follows.  "  Now,  as  it  surely  will  not  be  contended  that  it  was  by 
knowledge  of  theology  or  morals  exclusively  that  the  heavens  were  first  stretched  out 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  laid,  or  by  which  the  deeps  are  now  regulated,  and  the  cloi 
caused  to  shed  down  their  refreshing  contents  upon  the  earth,  so  neither  is  it  to  this  km 
ledge  exclusively  that  the  preceding  eulogistic  representation  refers,  but  rather  to  that  g< 
ral  knowledge  of  nature  in  its  constitution,  as  well  as  in  its  physical  and  moral  relatii 
which  results  from  extensive  research  and  high  intellectual  culture.  This  allowed,  I 
be  particularly  remarked,  that  such  culture  and  research,  and  the  knowledge  resulting  fi 
them,  are  thus  recommended,  not  to  some  peculiarly  favoured  classes  of  the  commui 
alone,  the  noble  or  the  rich — nor  to  some  particular  country  or  age — but  to  man,  as  mi 
a  being  possessing  powers  suited  to  such  exercises  and  acquirements,  and  capable  of  di 
ing  from  them  temporal  advantages  and  intellectual  pleasures.  These  passages,  then, 
body  those  universal  principles  and  rules  of  action  which  Christianity  recognizes,  and 
truth  and  obligation  of  which  it  supposes  and  confirms.  By  what  unheard-of  principle! 
interpretation,  or  by  what  strange  process  of  reasoning,  passages  like  these  are  to  be  tri 
formed  into  prohibitions  of  general  knowledge,  except  to  a  highly  favoured  few,  who 
thereby  acquire  additional  dignity  to  their  rank,  additional  power  over  their  fellows,  oi 
augmentation  of  their  riches,  is  not  easy  to  conceive.  Nor  is  it  much  more  easy  to  un 
stand  how  they  are  to  be  wrested  into  an  approval  of  general  ignorance.  What 
Christianity  intend  to  teach  the  mechanics'  of  Sheffield,  and  the  labouring  classes  ofi 
community  at  large,  that  they  are  not  to  aspire  after  the  acquirejnent  of  any  other  knowli 
except  religion  and  their  particular  occupation,  by  eulogizing  the  wisdom  that  dwells 
prudence,  and  finds  out  the  knowledge  of  every  invention  ;  by  which,  too,  a  house  is  buil 
and  the  chambers  filled  with  riches  ;  by  which  successful  war  is  made,  and  order  restori 
the  body  politic  after  rebellion  had  involved  it  in  confusion  ?  Does  Christianity  coi 
ignorance  of  nature  and  her  laws,  by  pronounciug  the  man  happy  who  finds  that  wii 
by  which  Jehovah  founded  the  earth  and  established  the  heavens,  and  that  knowledge 
which  he  regulates  the  deep,  and  causes  the  clouds  to  drop  down  the  dew?  If  this  be 
divine  appointment  of  ignorance,  how  may  we  expect  the  attainment  of  knowledge  to 
commanded  ?  Or,  if  this  be  an  approval  of  ignorance,  in  what  terms  may  we  expeclii 
sentence  of  condemnation  to  be  pronounced  ? 

"  Let  the  mechanics  of  Sheffield,  then,  know — let  the  inhabitants  of  Christendom 

V 


151 

the  world  know — that  Christianity,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  Bible,  takes  not  from  man  the 
key  of  knowledge.  It  lays  him  wider  no  other  interdict  than  this — that  the  greater  be  not 
sacrificed  to  the  less.  It  does  not,  demon-like,  present  the  material  and  moral  world  as  a 
temple  into  which  mortals  are  not  permitted  to  look;  through  the  doors  of  which  it  would 
be  profanity  to  enter,  and  the  treasures  of  which  it  would  be  sacrilege  to  appropriate  j  but, 
as  the  messenger  of  light  and  peace,  Christianity  throws  open  wide  the  doors  of  the  wondrous 
structure  which  is  raised  for  the  glory  of  its  Maker  and  the  benefit  of  man,  and  authorizes 
and  invites  him  to  acquaint  himself  as  fully  as  possible,  both  with  every  part  of  the  edifice 
itself,  and  the  inexhaustible  treasures  it  contains  ;  that,  by  understanding  the  structure  and 
uses  of  the  whole,  he  may  admire  and  share  the  wisdom  that  formed  it,  and  by  the  proper 
appropriation  of  the  means  of  happiness  thus  supplied,  he  may  the  more  fully  enjoy,  and  the 
more  widely  dispense,  the  inexhaustible  bounty  of  nature's  God.  Christianity,  instead  of 
forging  chains  for  man,  riveting  them  on  his  neck,  and  confining  him  to  an  aperture  through 
which  he  may  see  only  a  few  objects,  say  they  are  of  the  most  splendid  character,  as  the  sun 
wilding  the  horizon  with  his  morning  beams,  or  emblazoning  the  firmament  with  his  mid- 
day splendour,  or  the  moon  and  stars  shedding  their  mildest  radiance  by  night — breaks 
off  the  fetters  with  which  ignorance,  and  superstition,  and  the  folly  of  legislation,  have 
shackled  him;  throws  open  the  doors  of  his  prison-house,  proclaims  him  to  be  a  free-born 
ion  of  God,  and  a  subject  of  his  universal  government  ;  brings  him  out  into  the  broad  light 
jf  day  ;  presents  before  him  not  only  a  transporting  heaven,  but  a  wondrous  earth  ;  and 
:ommands  him,  by  the  most  vigorous  exercise  of  his  intellectual  powers,  to  traverse  the  vast 
lomain  which  his  heavenly  Father  has  thus  placed  under  his  eye — to  render  it  subservient 
10  his  interests,  and  promotive  of  the  happiness  of  himself  and  his  fellows — and  thus  to  rise 
0  the  pre-eminence  for  which,  even  in  the  present  world,  the  God  of  nature  has  designed 
!iim. 

"  Christianity  thus  presents  before  us  the  plainest,  as  well  as  the  most  extensive,  charter 
)f  intellectual  and  moral  immunities.  It  commands  us  to  free  the  mind  from  ignorance,  as 
irell  as  to  purge  the  heart  from  sin.  So  far  from  encouraging  barrenness  of  mind  and  bru- 
ality  of  manners — frowning  on  the  refinements  of  civilized  life — and  stinting  both  body 
ind  spirit  to  the  scantiest  measure  of  present  enjoyment,  it  stands  forward  as  the  guardian 
mgel  of  knowledge  and  happiness.  And  instead  of  condemning  the  wisdom  by  which  the 
power  of  man  is  increased,  and  his  empire  enlarged ;  his  manners  refined,  and  his  condition 
imeliorated ;  and  to  which  are  owing  useful  contrivances,  good  government,  and  salutary 
aws — it  directs  him  at  once  to  the  immense  treasures  of  nature  and  grace  ;  and  offers  to 
nis  acceptance  every  thing  that  can  give  activity  to  the  mind,  or  dignity  to  the  character  ; 
peace  to  the  conscience,  or  virtuous  joy  to  the  heart.  This  being  the  case,  a  Christian  ought 
0  be  the  most  enlightened  individual,  in  proportion  to  his  circumstances  and  opportunities ; 
ind  the  readiest  supporter  of  every  institution,  calculated  either  to  enlarge  the  views  of  his 
ellow  men,  or  to  increase  their  means  of  usefulness,  or  of  innocent  enjoyment.  The  Chris- 
ian,  therefore,  however  sincere,  who  stands  forward  as  the  foe  of  knowledge,  or  the  advocate 
jf  ignorance,  widely  mistakes  the  character  of  his  religion,  the  nature  of  his  own  duties,  and 
ilhe  ultimate  effect  of  the  work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  And  though  he  is  not,  as  his  ene- 
mies and  the  enemies  of  his  faith  would  represent,  a  demon  of  darkness,  clothed  as  an  angel 
3f  light,  yet  he  unquestionably  dishonours  the  religion  he  professes,  by  throwing  over  its 
lovely  and  attracting  form  the  disfiguring  and  repelling  mantle  of  the  father  of  lies. 


152 

"  Hitherto,  however,  we  have  confined  ourselves  to  principles  drawn  from  that  econona] 
by  which  Christianity,  strictly  so  called,  was  preceded  and  introduced.  Though,  therefor( 
the  conclusions  at  which  we  liave  ah-ead^  arrived  might  be  deemed  satisfactory,  yet, 
reasons  previously  stated,  it  is  expedient  that  we  proceed  farther  than  this.  Let  it,  thi 
be  observed,  that  the  New  Testament  itself,  notwithstanding  its  pre-eminently  spirit 
character,  and  its  almost  exclusive  attention  to  the  realities  of  eternity,  and  to  the  moi 
state  of  man  as  connected  with  those  realities,  yet  lays  down  principles  on  which  alone 
might  safely  rest  our  defence  of  Mechanics'  Institutes,  and  from  which  might  be  easily 
duced  the  obligation  of  Christians  to  support  them.  For  example — it  places  before  its  vol 
ries  a  Being  as  the  object  of  their  love  and  imitation,  one  of  whose  moral  glories  is  a  wisdom 
that  brought  into  existence  nature's  wondrous  frame,  and  gave  those  laws  on  which  that 
frame  depends — adapted  the  immensely  diversified  parts  of  the  vast  machine,  and  so  com- 
bined them  as  to  constitute  a  magnificent  whole,  exciting  the  wonder  and  admiration  even 
of  atheism  itself — formed  the  various  orders  of  organized  beings,  vegetable  and  animal — esta- 
blished their  various  physical  and  moral  relations — and  said  to  each,  '  Thus  far  shalt  thou 
go,  but  no  farther.'  A  Being,  to  whose  praise  it  is  said,  '  He  doetli  great  things,  past  find- 
ing out,  and  wonders  without  number — He  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  daikness  at  all' — and 
in  reference  to  whom  it  is  commanded,  '  Be  perfect  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is 
perfect.'  Now,  if  admiration  have  any  other  object  than  the  excitement  of  those  pleasura- 
ble feelings  connected  with  it,  it  must  be,  as  it  doubtless  is,  to  rouse  us  to  transcribe  tb||| 
which  is  seen  to  be  so  admirable,  so  far  as  our  powers  and  opportunities  extend:  and  then 
the  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  beneficence  of  God,  is  a  legitimate  object  of  human  imitation. 
But  in  addition  to  this,  the  command  to  imitate  an  absolutely  perfect  Being  must  refer,  not 
to  one  only,  but  to  all  his  perfections,  so  far  as  they  are  imitable  by  dependent  creatures ; 
and  then  the  field  of  universal  knowledge  is  placed  by  Christianity  before  the  mind  of  man, 
and  he  is  required,  so  far  as  practicable,  to  traverse  the  whole. 

"  This  is  equally  true  respecting  the  commands,  'Add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and  to  vir- 
tue knowledge. — Whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoeyor 
things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  thingl 
are  of  good  report ;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things.' 
But  I  hasten  to  remark,  that  the  passages,  '  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,'  and 
*  As  ye  have  opportunity  do  good  to  all  men,'  embody  Christian  precepts,  the  more  valuable, 
because  they  are  general.  They  are  easily  remembered,  and  without  difficulty  applied  j 
they  stand  in  the  place  of  volumes  of  particular  directions,  embracing  all  that  the  most  en- 
larged benevolence,  under  the  direction  of  the  most  perfect  wisdom,  can  devise ;  investing 
the  whole  with  the  authority  of  that  Being  who  searches  the  hearts  and  tries  the  reins,  and 
who  will  render  to  every  man  according  as  his  works  have  been ;  and  enforcing  it  by  the 
glorious  and  awful  realities  of  future  retribution.  That  Mechanics'  Institutes  come  within 
the  sphere  of  these  precepts,  is  easily  seen.  Their  objects  are  thus  well  expressed  in  the 
two  first  resolutions  of  your  late  public  meeting.  ,^i 

"  '  That  this  meeting  is  deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  providing  the  mechanig|||{ 

and  others  in  this  borough  and  neighbourhood  with  the  means  of  acquiring  solid  and  usdEw 

instruction  in  the  various  branches  of  art,  science,  and  literature,  more  particularly  such4|l| 

are  connected  with  the  staple  manufactures  of  the  town.  ;']»! 

"  '  That  an  Institute  be  now  formed,  consisting  of  honorary  members,  subscribers,  «■■ 


i 


I 


153 

ipprentices,  in  which,  by  systematic  courses  of  lectures,  by  a  collection  of  philosophical  ap- 
laratus,  and  by  the  formation  of  classes,  rational  occupation  and  amusement  will  be  pro- 
'idcd  for  the  members  during  their  leisure  hours,  their  advancement  in  scientific  knowledge 
md  skill  greatly  facilitated,  and  the  happiest  infiuence  be  exerted  on  their  moral  and  intel- 
lectual habits.' 

"  The  objects  of  this  Institute,  therefore,  are  in  reality  these.  First,  to  qualify  for  in- 
;reased  usefulness  in  society,  by  increasing  the  stores  of  practical  knowledge.  Secondly,  to 
umish  additional  sources  of  pleasure  to  the  mind,  by  new  and  enlarged  views  of  truth. 
Thirdly,  to  abstract  from  sensual  and  vicious  pursuits,  by  intellectual  exercises  and  plea- 
iures. — Now,  can  any  one,  after  deliberate  and  dispassionate  consideration,  really  doubt 
^rhether  the  objects  thus  proposed  are  gdod  ?  Or  whether  the  prescribed  means  are  adapted 
'0  the  attainment  of  them?  We  ask,  in  the  first  place.  Is  it  not  good  to  communicate  hap- 
)iness  ?  Is  it  not  true,  that  the  desire  of  happiness  is  the  universal  law  of  conscious  beings, 
vhether  rational  or  irrational,  young  or  old,  rich  or  poor;  and  that,  towards  the  object  in 
he  attainment  of  which  they  believe  happiness  to  consist,  they  as  naturally,  if  not  as  neces- 
arily,  press,  as  matter  towards  its  centre  of  gravity  ?  And  is  it  not  true,  that  the  human 
nind  is  so  constituted  as  to  derive  pleasure  from  the  perception  of  truth,  just  as  the  bodily 
lenses  derive  pleasure  from  correspondent  objects — as  the  eye  from  beauty,  the  ear  from 
nelody,  the  touch  from  softness,  the  taste  from  sweetness,  and  the  smell  from  fragrance  ? 
Must  it  not,  therefore,  follow,  that  in  proportion  as  the  pleasures  of  the  mind  are  either 
:oncealed,  or  removed,  or  rendered  difficult  of  attainment,  men  will  be  impelled  by  a  univer- 
■al  law  of  their  nature  to  those  gratifications  which  they  can  share  only  in  common  with  the 
irutes  ?  Is  it  not,  therefore,  good  to  place  before  them  the  ample  stores  which  knowledge 
jrnishes,  to  remove  every  difficulty,  and  to  form  them  to  conrect  habits  of  thought  and  re- 
lection,  in  order  that  they  may  learn  to  value  their  dignity  as  rational  creatures,  and  to 
elish  the  additional  pleasures  adapted  by  an  infinitely  wise  aud  beneficent  Being  to  their 
ntellectual  nature  ?  We  ask,  in  the  second  place,  Is  it  good,  or  is  it  not,  to  detach  our 
'outhful,  or,  if  we  can,  our  adult  population,  from  inordinate  sensual  gratifications,  and 
rom  brutal  and  brutalizing  pleasures,  by  directing  them  to  higher  and  purer  sources  of  en- 
oyment?  And  is  not  this  a  likely,  and  will  it  not,  in  many  instances,  by  elevating  their 
haracter  and  views,  prove  an  efficient,  means  of  lessening  their  relish  for  the  grovelling 
ileasures  of  sense,  or  even  of  fitting  them  for  the  still  higher  pleasures  of  religicm  ?  Is  this, 
hen,  a  good,  or  is  it  not?  We  ask,  thirdly.  Is  it  not  good  to  qualify  men  for  increased  use- 
ulness  in  society  ?  And  will  not  this  end  be  attained  by  acquainting  them  with  the  princi- 
iles  of  the  art  in  which  they  either  are,  or  are  to  be  employed — and  with  the  constitution 
'f  the  material  on  which  they  operate — or  of  the  society  of  which  they  form  a  part — or  of 
heir  own  bodies  and  minds — or  of  the  physical  and  moral  relations  which  the  God  of  na- 
ure  and  providence  has  established  ?  Will  they  not  thus  become  better  acquainted  tvith  the 
ature  and  reasons  of  their  duties  ?  Will  they  not  learn  more  beneficially  to  exert  their  own 
nergies,  as  well  as  more  wisely  to  direct,  and  more  effectually  to  aid,  their  fellows?  If  this 
e  not  good,  by  what  criterion  is  good  to  be  distinguished  ?  And  if  it  be  not  an  important 
;ood,  by  what  rule  is  the  value  of  a  benefit  to  be  estimated  ?  Where  is  the  virtuous  man  who 
fould  not  wish  to  secure  all  this  for  himself,  did  he  find  it  easy  to  do  so?  Or  where  is  the 
Christian  parent  who  would  not  wish  to  secure  all  this  for  his  children  ?  Indolence  may 
ppose  difficulties  to  this  wish,  but  cannot  extinguish  it;  impossibilities,  real  or  imaginary, 


!1 


154 

may  present  themselves,  but  by  every  enlightened  and  benevolent  parent  it  will  be  fonj 
cherished.     An  institution,  then,  directed  to  such  objects,  and  calculated  to  secure  the 
comes  fairly  under  the  great  Christian  law  of  universal  kindness ;  and  is  entitled  to  raj 
among  those  benevolent  institutions  of  our  country  which  Christianity  sanctions  by 
authority,  sustains  by  its  influence,  and  irradiates  with  the  smile  of  its  approblatlon."       * 

"  The  benefits  we  propose  to  confer,  will,  we  are  told,  in  some  instances,  be  misapplll 
And  so  has  every  kind  of  knowledge,  in  every  age  of  the  world.  The  knowledge  of  theoli 
has  often  been  conjoined  with  the  basest  hypocrisy — the  knowledge  of  the  law  with  the  low 
est  chicanery — and  of  anatomy  and  medccine  with  the  most  atrocious  criminalities.  Ever; 
institution  intended  to  benefit  either  the  bodies  or  minds  of  men,  is  sure,  in  the  present  stat 
of  morals,  to  be  partially  abused  ; — and  the  man  who  resolved  not  to  benefit  his  fellows,  unti 
he  is  certain  that  what  he  bestows  will  be  properly  appropriated,  will  live  and  die  useless  an( 
despised.  The  God  of  nature  and  providence  communicates  blessings,  though  frequenti; 
abused — is  kind  to  the  vicious  and  ungrateful — and  were  he  to  shroud  the  heavens  in  dark 
ness,  and  to  curse  the  earth  with  barrenness,  till  every  partaker  of  his  bounty  properl; 
applied  them,  eternal  night  and  universal  sterility  would  be  the  characteristics  of  our  world 

"  But  be  it  so,  that  intellectual  acquirements  will,  in  some  instance,  be  abused ;  ye 
these  instances  will  be  comparatively  few;  and,  considered  in  contrast  with  counterbalanc 
ing  advantages,  scarcely  do  they  deserve  a  moment's  thought.  To  some  of  these  advantage 
we  have  already  incidentally  adverted.  I  must,  however,  take  the  liberty  of  laying  befori 
you  the  following  statements,  made  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Deptford  Mechanic's  Institu- 
tion, by  Dr.  Olinthus  Gregory  ;  a  man  whose  veracity  will  not  be  doubted,  nor  his  zea 
for  the  order  and  welfare  of  his  country  questioned,  by  any  who  understand  his  principle 
and  character.  In  the  lecture,  Dr.  Gregory  adduced  various  instances  as  having  occurre( 
within  his  own  knowledge,  in  which  extensive  usefulness  nad  been  the  result  of  mental  im 
provement.  ,  *  He  described  the  case  of  a  labourer  on  the  turnpike  road,  who  had  become  ai 
able  Greek  scholar ; — oi  a.  fij^er  ?mA  3^  private  soldier  in  a  regiment  of  militia,  both  self-taugh 
mathematicians,  one  of  whom  became  a  successful  schoolmaster,  the  other  a  lecturer  on  na 
tural  philosophy,- — of  a  journeyman  tin-plate  ioorker,v/\\o  invented  rules  for  the  solution  o 
cubic  equations ; — of  a  country  sexton,  who  became  a  teacher  of  music,  and  who,  from  hi 
love  of  the  study  of  music,  was  transformed  from  a  drunken  sot  to  an  exemplary  husbani 
and  father; — of  a  labourer  in  a  coal  mine,  a  correspondent  of  the  Doctor's,  who  writes  abl; 
on  topics  of  the  higher  mathematics ; — of  another  correspondent,  a  labouring  white-smith 
who  is  also  well  acquainted  with  the  course  of  pure  mathematics,  as  taught  at  Cambridge 
Dublin,  and  the  Military  Colleges ; — of  a  tailor,  who  was  an  exquisite  geometrician,  and  dis 
covered  curves  which  had  escaped  the  sagacity  of  Newton;  with  whom  Hutton,  Horslej) 
Maskerlyne,  and  Maseres  delighted  to  converse  on  mathematical  subjects,  and  who  laboiuSi 
industriously  and  contentedly  at  his  trade  till  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  when,  at  the  reciM 
mendation  of  his  scientific  friends,  he  was  first  appointed  Master  of  Neal's  Navigation  SchdM 
and  afterwards  Nautical  Examiner  at  the  Trinity  House; — oi di ploughman,  in  Lincoli 
who,  without  aid  of  men  or  books,  discovered  the  rotation  of  the  earth,  the  principiei 
spherical  astronomy,  and  invented  a  planetary  system  akin  to  the  Tychonic ; — and  0^1 
country  shoemaker,  who  has  become  distinguished  as  one  of  the  ablest  metaphysical  wri 
in  Britain ;  who  has  uniformly  conducted  himself  so  as  to  secure  the  esteem  of  all  who  k 
him ;  and  who,  at  more  than  fifty  years  of  age,  has  been  removed,  by  the  influence  of 


15S 

alents  and  his  worth,  from  his  native  county  to  London,  where  he  now  edits  some  useful 
lublications  devoted  to  the  diflPusion  of  knowledge,  and  the  best  interests  of  mankind.'  On 
hese  facts.  Dr.  Gregory  made  the  following  observations: — '  All  these  individuals  were  of 
xemplary  conduct ;  and  none  of  them  evidenced  discontent,  or  were  unduly  anxious  to 
hnist  themselves  out  of  the  situation  in  which  they  moved,  until  the  way  was  opened  for 
hem  by  their  own  celebrity.  What  advantages  might  not  these  individuals  have  derived, 
ad  such  societies  as  Mechanics'  Institutes  existed  in  their  respective  districts?  Aud  how 
luch  depression,  doubt,  difficulty,  and  loss  of  time  might  they  not  have  saved  V  " 


RIGHTS  OF  DISSENTERS. 

I.  The  Dissenters  claim  the  right  of  celebrating  marriages  by  their  own  regular 
linisters. 

II.  They  claim  the  right  to  have  the  registration  of  the  births  and  marriages  kept  by 
lose  ministers  made  legal  evidence. 

III.  They  claim  the  right  to  have  their  places  of  worship  exempt  from  the  liability  to 
)or  rates,  not  as  a  matter  of  favour,  but  as  a  matter  of  law. 

IV.  They  claim  to  be  relieved  from  all  rates  whatever  levied  by  parochial  assessment, 
r  the  maintenance  of  parish  and  other  churches,  or  the  support  of  the  worship  and  ser- 
ce  carried  on  within  their  walls  :  and 

'  V.  The  Dissenters  claim  the  right  to  have  their  dead  decently  interred  in  an  open  and 
mourable  manner  in  the  church-yard,  without  having  the  attendance  of  parish  ministers 
reed  upon  them. 

CORRECT  LEGISLATION. 

At  a  late  Temperance  meeting  in  Boston,  Dr.  Edwards  related  the  story  of  a  chief  of 
distant  nation,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe  (the  Sandwich  Islands.)  Foreigners, 
uropeans  and  Americans,  came  to  him,  as  usual,  for  licenses  to  sell  rum,  not  to  the  na- 
/es,  for  that  was  prohibited,  but  to  their  own  countrymen.  He  answered,  "  No !  To 
irses,  cattle,  and  hogs,  you  may  sell  rum:  but  to  real  men  you  shall  not,  on  these  shores  !" 

HOW  TO  BE  SAFE. 

"  Doctor,"  said  Esq. ,  about  five  years  ago,  after  reading  over  the  prescription  of 

■distinguished  friend  of  temperance,  whom  ill  health  had  obliged  to  consult — "  Doctor,  do 
'lu  think  that  a  little  spirits,  now  and  then,  will  hurt  me  very  much  ?" — "  V/hy,  no  Sir," 
swered  the  Doctor,  very  deliberately;  "  I  do  not  know  that  a  little — now  ami  then — would 
irt  you  very  much ;  but.  Sir,  if  you  don't  take  atnj,  it  won't  hurt  you  at  all." 

"WE  DO  NOT  SELL  TO  DRUNKARDS." 
What  an  excuse  for  selling  the  drunkard's  drink !  Why,  it  is  selling  to  temperate  men 
It  does  all  the  mischief.  If  you  would  sell  none  but  to  drunkards  only,  the  evil  would  be 
Tiparatively  nothing.  No  more  drunkards  would  be  made ;  your  present  customers  would 
>n  be  stripped  of  their  property  and  laid  in  the  grave,  and  there  would  be  no  more  drunk- 
ness  in  the  land.  Yes  ;  in  ten  years,  the  greater  part  of  them  would  be  dead.  In  twenty 
irs,  but  a  very  few  would  be  left ;  and  in  thirty,  a  drunkard  could  scarcely  be  found  by 
igent  search  !  But  this  selling  to  tomperate  men,  continued,  will  certainly  lead  many  of 
em  to  become  drunkards,  and  thus  perpetuate  the  evil  to  all  generations.  We  know  that, 
you  sell  to  drunkards,  they  will  go  home  and  abuse  their  families,  and  perhaps  kill  some 


156 


i 


of  their  members  j  but  it  is  better,  far  better,  tliat  300,000  families  shall  be  neglected,  abdi 
and  murdered,  and  to  have  the  evil  stop  there,  than  that  millions,  to  the  end  of  the  woi|j 
should  be  made  negligsnt,  abusive,  and  murderous.    We  say,  therefore,  with  the  greatest  ad 
riousness,  and  full  conviction  of  its  truth,  should  you  change  your  sale,  and  sell  to  none  i 
drunkards,  the  evil  would  be  less. 

EARLY  RISING  AND  MORNING  AIR. 

There  is  something  in  the  morning  air  that,  while  it  defies  the  penetration  of  our  pri 
and  shallow  philosophy,  adds  brightness  to  the  blood,  freshness  to  life,  and  vigour  to 
whole  frame.     The  freshness  of  the  lip,  by  the  way,  is,  according  to  Dr.  Marshall  Hall, 
of  the  surest  marks  of  health.     If  you  would  be  well,  therefore,  if  you  would  have 
heart  dancing  gladly  like  the  April  breeze,  and   your  blood  flowing  like  an   April  br 
up  with  the  merry  lark,  as  Shakspear  calls  it,  which  is  the  ploughman's  clock,  to  warn 
of  the  dawn ;  up  and  breakfast  on  the  morning  air,  fresh  with  the  odour  of  budding  flo' 
and  all  the  fragrance  of  the  maiden  spring ;  up  from  your  nerve-destroying  down  beds, 
from  the  foul  air  pent  within  your  close-drawn  curtains,  and  with  the  sun,  "  walk  o'er 
dew  of  the  far  eastern  hills."     Whoever  is  found  in  bed  after  six  o'clock  from  May  day. 
Michaelmas,  cannot,  in  any  conscience,  expect  to  be  free  from  some  ailment  or  other, 
pendant  upon  relaxed  nerves,  stuifed  lungs,  disordered  bile,  or  impaired  digestion. 

Indispensably  necessary  to  a  sound  head  and  a  settled  stomach,  a  clear  conscience 
a  good  appetite,  is  early  rising  at  the  approaching  season  of  the  year.     Reanimated  nai 
is  divesting  herself  of  her  winter  attire,  her  hoar  and  frosty  mantle,  and  springing  for' 
glistening  in  her  new  and  beauteous  robes.     Her  opening  graces,  smiles,  and  blandishmi 
are  desplayed  expressly  to  win  the  admiration  of  those  for  whose  pleasure  and  happi 
health  and  prosperity  she  was  created.     Is  it  not  matter  for  reproachful  expostulation 
found  rolled  up,  sweating  and  steaming,  between  hot  blankets,  after  six  o'clock  on  a  fine  spi 
morning;,  with  the  bright  sun  laughing  in  our  faces  at  our  folly  ?     Even  should  we  be  re^ 
ciled  to  the  irreparable  waste  of  time  consequent  upon  such  self-indulgence,  to  the  h 
whiqh  are  thus  thrown  away,  amounting  to  months  and  years,  to  the  many  advantagi 
business,  trade,  and  study  which  are  thus  sacrificed,  all  of  which  is  incompatible  with  a 
conscia  recti ;  yet  are  we  incited  by  every  motive  of  pleasure  influencing  sensual  existenb 
to  bestir  ourselves  with  the  lark,  and  taste  the  fresh  air  of  the  morning. 

SELFISHNESS  AND  WANT  OF  CHARITY.  '' 

Were  I  to  name  the  principal  cause  of  the  bad  feeling,  evil  speaking,  and  all  uncharil 
tableness,  which  we  show  towards  other  persons,  I  should  say,  it  was  the  not  placing  oatl 
selves  in  their  situation,  and  thus  allowing  for  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed! 
We  must  learn  to  exchange,  in  imagination  at  least,  our  situations  with  them,  in  order  t| 
judge  of  the  motives  by  which  they  are  operated,  the  reasons  by  which  they  are  guided,  i 
the  temptations  by  which  they  are  beset.  Where  our  own  interests  conflict  with  theirs,ii| 
think  too  much  of  ourselves,  too  little  of  them.  We  look  to  our  own  wants,  and  if  til 
neighbours  do  not  sufficiently  comply  with  our  inclinations,  we  wonder  at  their  inattentilil 
We  are  indignant  at  the  selfishness  which  they  seem  to  display — while  all  the  time,  perhajl 
we  are  the  more  selfish  of  the  two — we  are  thinking  almost  altogether  of  ourselves,  i 
very  little  of  them.  ;|| 

The  old  are  surprised  by  the  frivolity  of  the  young.     The  young  are  disgusted  wit)|j|i| 
prudence  of  the  old. 


157 

The  rich  man  wonders  at  the  coarseness  of  the  poor.  The  poor  are  hidignant  at  the 
excessive  refinement  and  voluptuous  habits  of  the  rich. 

The  countryman  laughs  at  the  fasliions,  the  visiting  cards,  the  particular  hours  set 
ipart  for  pleasure  in  the  towns.  The  townsman  laughs  at  the  manners  and  regularity  of  a 
xmntry  life. 

A  man  who  is  not  in  business  in  town  bores  without  mercy  the  man  who  is  engaged  in 
ictive  business  :  while  the  latter  is  enraged  by  the  tedious  visits  of  his  more  idle  neighbour. 

What  is  remarkable,  is,  that  the  same  person  sometimes  exchanges  situations  in  life, 
nd  yet  forgetting  the  circumstances  by  which  he  was  formerly  surrounded,  takes  an  entirely 
lifferent  view  of  the  interests  and  duties  of  his  former  situation.  Thus,  while  he  lives  a 
enant,  he  thinks  it  very  hard  that  his  landlord  does  not  make  all  the  repairs  which  his  ca- 
)rice  suETgests.  But  as  soon  as  he  becomes  a  landlord,  he  forgets  the  interest  of  the  tenant, 
.nd  thinks  it  hard  that  the  tenant  asks  for  any  repairs  at  all.  A  labourer  expects  a  thou- 
and  sacrifices  on  the  part  of  his  employer,  and  when  he  becoms  an  employer,  he  expects 
very  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  labourer. 

It  is  too  much  the  case  with  every  vocation  in  life,  with  every  exchange  of  situation, 
rith  every  other  variety  of  interest  and  duty  which  the  many-coloured  drama  of  life  pre- 
ents  to  us.  We  know  very  well  our  own  situation.  We  know  the  remedies  which  would 
elieve  us.  But  we  know  not  sufficiently  the  situation  of  others.  Or,  at  least,  we  do  not 
■ive  ourselves  time  to  enter  into  their  situation,  to  adopt  their  feelings,  and  to  understand 
he  reasons  by  which  they  are  actuated. 

The  fact  is,  that  this  thing  lies  much  nearer  the  foundation  of  morality  itself  than  we 
rould  at  first  imagine.  We  must  put  ourselves  into  our  neighbour's  situation  before  we  can 
iee  perfectly  what  are  our  relative  duties,  what  he  ought  to  do  for  us,  and  what  we  for  him, 
low  we  ought  to  feel  for  him,  and  he  for  us.  "  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  they  should 
0  unto  you,"  is  almost  the  same  maxim,  expressed  in  another  form,  as  the  impartial 
pectator  of  Adam  Smith,  in  his  beautiful  theory  of  the  Moral  Sense.  We  must  learn  to 
'nter  our  neighbour's  feelings  before  we  can  do  justice  to  him.  I  recommend  it  to  all  who 
rish  to  be  good  men  or  good  Christians. — Richmond  Compiler. 


HINTS  TO  FEMALES, 

ON    THE    INJURIOUS    EFFECTS    OF    INTOXICATING    LIQUORS. 

Mv  FAIR  Friends, 

Permit  me  to  draw  your  attention  to  many  of  the  practices  of  intempe- 
ance  with  which  the  habits  and  influence  of  the  female  sex  are  intimately  connected. 

From  our  earliest  infancy,  through  the  prevalence  of  false  opinions,  we  are  subjected 
3  the  influence  of  ardent  spirits.  Nurses  and  mothers  usually  have  recourse  to  them  to 
lemove  flatulence  and  indigestion,  which  are  occasioned  in  infancy  by  the  exhibition  of  im- 
roper  food  or  neglect  of  cleanliness.  This  is  a  most  injurious  practice,  that  no  sensible 
.'Oman  will  be  guilty  of.  Give  the  infant  the  food  which  nature  so  liberally  prepares,  and 
idigestion  will  seldom  occur.  When  the  child  is  cross  from  wind  in  the  bowels,  give  a 
ttle  magnesia  and  aniseed  tea,  or  send  for  a  doctor,  and  do  not  poison  it  with  gin.  Infants 
nat  are  drugged  with  gin  are  always  puny,  and  ten  times  more  cros*than  those  which  are 
reated  in  a  more  prudent  manner. 

{./  .  Never  give  gin  to  destroy  worms.     The  symptoms  which  are  thought  to  indicate  the 
VOL.  III.  W 


158 


m 


4 


presence  of  worms  are  often  but  the  marks  of  the  mother's  indulgence.     Avoid  giving  y( 
children  indigestible  food  and  sweetmeats,  and  you  will  seldom  see  them  troubled  wti 
worms,  or  the  symptoms  which  you  think  arise  from  worms.     And  be  sure  you  alwi 
keep  the  skin  clean,  for  no  child  can  be  healthy  while  the  pores  of  the  skin  are  closed  with 

Never,  by  any  means,  give  spirits  to  bring  out  the  measles  or  small  pox.     In  attempti 
to  strike  these  out,  the  children  are  generally  struck  with  death. 

Never  take  spirits  to  remove  depression  of  mind.     They  will  only  aggravate  the 

Never  drink  brandy  and  water  to  help  digestion,  unless  the  doctor  order  you  to  do 
Beware  of  this  practice :  it  often  leads  to  drunkenness. 

Never  attempt  to  cure  a  cold  by  giving  rum  or  warm  ale.  By  this  means  many  valua 
ble  lives  are  yearly  sacrificed.  Colds  often  occasion  inflammations,  and  then  spirits  add  fut 
to  the  fire,  and  the  unfortunate  person  is  sacrificed. 

Never  take  intoxicating  fluids  to  keep  out  the  cold:  you  will  be  much  colder  when  thi 
effect  of  them  ceases. 

Never  take  gin  or  brandy  for  a  pain  in  the  bowels.  This  pain  is  frequently  produce( 
by  inflammation,  and  then  your  remedy  will  occasion  death.  For  the  cure  of  colic,  a  glas 
of  strong  peppermint  water  and  a  dose  of  castor  oil  are  worth  all  the  brandy  in  the  world 
and,  besides,  they  never  can  do  harm. 

Never  take  yourselves,  nor  give  your  husbands  and  friends,  spirits  or  ale  to  make  then 
sleep  soundly.  The  habit  is  soon  established;  and,  besides,  are  you  wiser  than  the  God  o 
nature,  who  designed  sleep  as  a  natural  repose,  and  not  an  artificial  stupor  ?  Think  you 
that  any  one  can  sleep  comfortably  in  a  fever  ?  Yet  you  produce  a  fever  by  taking  or  giv 
ing  spirits  or  ale. 

Never  take  spirits  to  help  you  in  your  confinement.  The  inhabitants  of  uncivilizei 
countries  never  take  spirits  on  such  occasions,  and  they  suffer  much  less  than  English  wo 
men  ;  besides,  it  is  a  most  dangerous  practice.  Never  take  spirits  or  ale  after  your  confine 
ment,  without  medical  advice.  They  will  generally  retard  your  recovery,  perhaps  send  yoi 
to  the  grave.     Shun  them,  therefore,  and  resist  the  evil  advice  of  mistaken  friends 

Never  take  intoxicating  liquors  to  help  you  to  suckle  your  children.  They  do  not 
sist  in  forming  suck,  but  injure  the  quality  of  the  milk.  If  at  any  time  it  behoves  you  I 
use  good,  nutritious  food,  it  is  while  you  are  nursing.  Many  a  child  is  poisoned  by  its  mo 
ther's  milk  being  impregnated  with  spirits  or  hops.  On  such  occasions,  milk  is  your  be^ 
beverage. 

If  you  are  wise,  you  will  never  tak^  either  ardent  spirits  or  ale  without  the  advici 
medical  man.  You  would  not  like  to  take  opium  without  his  advice,  and  yet  opium  is 
dangerous  to  your  bodily  health,  moral  integrity,  and  domestic  happiness.  They  are  'm 
useful  as  medicines,  but  very  improper  for  persons  in  healtli.  Even  ale  and  porter  conMfe 
little  nourishment.     There  is  more  food  in  a  pound  of  barley  than  in  a  gallon  of  ale.       '■** 

But,  besides  taking  intoxicating  fluids  for  promoting  health,  females  frequently  gW' 
and  take  them  for  other  purposes.  When  the  infant  is  born,  the  doctor  and  neighb(rt(l 
must  have  some  rum,  either  in  their  tea  or  raw,  to  drink  to  the  happy  recovery  of  the 
and  welcome  to  the  child.  This  evil  custom  is  not  observed  among  the  rich,  and  it 
be  well  if  it  were  banished  from  the  houses  of  the  farmer  and  of  the  poor.  Much  noi 
generally  occasioned  in  the  house  by  this  practice,  which  distresses  the  patient,  and  expi 
her  to  much  neglect. 


4 


159 

At  cliiiste?iiiigs  and  cJiurchi/igs  mucli  intemperance  is  often  witnessed,  and  females  de- 
grade themselves  by  encouraging  this  practice.  If  mothers  really  believe  that  in  baptism 
they  dedicate  their  children  to  God,  why  should  they  deem  it  necessary  at  the  same  time 
to  make  an  offering  to  the  devil  ? 

Marriage  is  a  solemn  institution,  at  which  females  engage  in  new  and  important  rela- 
tionships with  society  ;  and  yet  it  is  often  desecrated  with  irrational  revelry.  Cheerful 
enjoyment  is  at  all  times  allowable,  and  particularly  on  such  an  occasion ;  but  surely  drunk- 
enness can  never  be  considered  by  reasonable  beings  as  requisite  to  happiness. 

Many  females  are  induced  to  go  to  public  houses  by  young  men.  This  is  highly  detri- 
mental to  their  true  interests.  If  the  men  who  take  them  there  are  sincere  in  their  addres- 
ses, females,  by  going  into  such  houses,  give  a  sanction  to  them,  which  may  afford  their 
husbands  an  excuse  for  visiting  them  afterwards  alone.  Intemperance  is  the  greatest  bane 
of  domestic  happiness,  and  women  should  therefore  avoid  giving  the  slightest  countenance 
to  it.  If  the  men  who  take  them  there  are  not  sincere  in  their  attentions,  women  who  go 
to  taverns  expose  themselves  to  almost  certain  ruin.  Let  every  woman,  then,  tell  the  man 
who  would  lead  her  to  a  public  house,  that  she  will  avoid  such  places  as  she  would  the  house 
(of  destruction. 

Funerals,  which  ought  to  beget  solemnity  of  mind,  are  often  seasons  of  excess.  And 
iwomen  are  often  the  principal  actors  on  these  occasions.  You  meet  the  attendants  at  the 
idoor  with  hot  ale,  and  during  their  stay  you  are  incessently  serving  it  round.  Many,  by 
.your  services  in  this  way,  are  seen  drunk  as  they  follow  the  corpse  to  the  grave,  and  finish 
the  day,  on  so  solemn  an  occasion,  with  riot  and  disorder.  Never  again  lend  your  assist- 
lance  as  auxiliaries  of  drunkenness,  but  discountenance  funeral  drinking  to  the  utmost  of 
1 1  your  power. 

Many  a  female  has  had  to  lament  that  ever  she  went  into  a  jerry  shop.  They  are  dens 
of  vice  and  sinks  of  pollution. 

How  many  young  females  (especially  those  connected  with  factories)  do  we  see  go 
into  the  dram  shops !  On  a  Saturday  night,  hundreds,  it  is  believed,  in  this  town,  call, 
after  they  have  received  their  wagas,  to  get  a  dram.  At  the  first  commencement  of 
their  career,  they  will  often  prevail  upon  some  older  drunkard  to  fetch  the  spirit  for 
them  to  the  door,  at  night;  but  they  soon  become  hardened,  and  fearlessly  and  openly 
;buy  their  fearful  draughts.  Let  such  remember,  that  they  are  making  a  dreadful  com- 
pact with  the  devil,  and  are  hastening  on  to  death  and  hell.  Besides,  all  have  children, 
parents,  friends,  or  neighbours,  who  might  be  made  happy  with  the  money  that  is  thus 
sinfully  spent ;  and  if  not,  ought  young  females  not  to  provide  for  the  expences  of  their  after 
life,  when  circumstances  will  occur  in  which  the  money  thus  squandered  would  spare  them 
many  an  hour  of  poverty  and  misery  ?  Can  a  youth  of  sin  be  succeeded  by  a  maturity  of 
comfort,  or  an  old  age  of  serenity  ?  As  well  might  we  expect  a  blasted  tree  to  flourish. 
Early  dissipation  will  entail  a  life  of  misery. 

How  often  do  married  women,  instead  of  keeping  their  houses  clean  and  tidy,  repairing 
the  clothes  of  the  family,  and  promoting  the  domestic  comforts  of  their  husbands  and  chil- 
dren, get  together  in  an  afternoon,  and  spend  their  money  in  social  drinking.  On  these 
occasions,  the  tea  is  sometimes  mixed  with  rum.  This  debasing  practice,  generally  termi- 
nating in  misery  and  ruin,  you  must  always  avoid. 

Mistresses  frequently  give  spirits  and  ale  to  their  servants  on  washing  days,  or  at  other 


times  when  they  have  to  perform  extraordinary  work.      This  is  an  unreasonable  and  inji 
rious  practice.     A  servant  should  never  be  worked  beyond  her  natural  powers,  and  whf 
fatigued,  she  ought  not  to  be  thrown  into  a  fever  with  intoxicating  fluids,  but  be  allowed ^ 
recruit  her  strength  with  rest.     Many  a  young  female  has  been  taught  to  relish  liquors 
the  mistaken  kindness  of  her  mistress.     The  Temperance  Societies  have  brought  seveii 
distressing  cases  of  this  kind  to  light,  that  would  otherwise  probably  have  been  buried 
disregard.     The  Manchester  Temperance  Society  has  particularized  two.     One  was  o^ 
washerwoman,  who  was  taught  to  drink  by  a  kind  but  inconsiderate  lady.     This  lady  hi 
the  painful  lot  to  visit  the  victim  when  brought  prematurely  to  the  last  stage  of  existence  1 
the  fatal  indulgence  she  had  taught  her.     The  other  was  of  a  young  woman,  modest  i 
amiable,  who  had  a  natural  dislike  to  liquors,  but  being  a  great  favourite  with  an  indulged 
mistress,  she  was  forced,  against  her  will,  to  take  spirits  on  washing  days,  her  mistress 
suring  her  they  would  "  do  her  good."     She  contrived  to  throw  the  spirits  in  the  ashes,  i 
give  them  to  some  other  person,  till  her  mistress  found  her  out,  and  insisted  upon  her  drini 
ing  them  herself,  even  teaching  her  how  to  make  them  palatable.     What  occasioned  disgu.-t 
at  first  afterwards  became  relished,  till  the  girl  became  a  drunkard  and  a  thief,  was  dis- 
charged from  her  place,  and  afterwards  was  confined  to  jail  for  being  a  disorderly  person. 
Let  mistresses  think  of  these  awful  facts,  and  take  heed  that  they  do  not  inconsiderately 
lead  their  unsuspecting  dependants  into  this  cruel  vice. 

Drunkenness  is  the  besetting  sin  of  England  ;  it  is  the  curse  of  every  family  where  it 
prevails ;  and  females  are  especially  interested  in  suppressing  it.  Let  them  be'.vare,  there- 
fore, how  they  give  countenance  to  so  prevalent  a  vice,  and  unite,  one  and  all,  to  discounte- 
nance the  improper  use  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

Temperence  Societies  have  been  formed,  the  design  of  which  is  to  render  persons  better 
members  of  society ;  and  who  so  deeply  interested  in  their  success  as  females  ?    If  domestic 
misery  is  occasioned  by  intemperance,  the  female  must  endure  a  large  portion  of  it.     If  so- 
cial happiness  is  fostered,  who  will  reap  so  rich  a  harvest  as  the  female?     Are  you  not, 
then,  called  upon,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  unite  yourselves  with  the  friends  of  sobriety,  to 
endeavour  to  check  the  vice  of  drunkenness?     Many  schemes  have  been  devised  to  sup- 
press intemperance  ;  but  so  long  as  the  orderly  members  of  society  gave  a  sanction  to  drunk 
enness  by  the  use  of  intoxicating  fluids,  every  plan  proved  of  little  avail.     Temperance  Si 
cieties  design  not  only  to  withdraw  this  sanction,  but  to  discountenance  every  practice 
necessarily  leads  to  intemperance.     And  whenever  the  most  determined  stand  has  be 
made  against  this  fearful  vice,  the  most  happy  results  have  followed.    Practice  ever  is  rao 
operative  than  precept;  but  when  both  are  combined,  they  generally  prevail.     Females  ( 
especially  called  upon  to  preserve  this  union  on  so  important  a  subject,  and  the  complairtj 
of  those  who  suffer  from  intemperance  will  be  entitled  to  little  regard  if  they  encourage 
practice  by  the  improper  use  of  intoxicating  fluids.     We  call  upon  wives  and  daughters  J 
the  poor  to  join  us,  by  the  sufferings  they  endure,  and  the  misery  they  witness.     We  i 
upon  females  in  the  middle  rank  of  life,  by  their  lonely  evenings  or  widowed  beds, 
call  upon  those  in  the  upper  rank,  by  their  wish  to  enjoy  the  rational  and  intellectual  coi 
versation  of  sober  and  cultivated  men.     We  call  upon  every  female,  as  she  hates  crime,  i 
she  dreads  misery,  as  she  would  diminish  disease,  and  as  she  would  ensure  a  peaceful,  hap 
home,  to  give  up  every  unnecessary  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.     And  we  trust  there  are  ffl 
hearts  that  will  not  respond  to  our  call.  A  Friend. 


161 
rHE  FATE  OF  EDGAR;  OR.  THE  CURSE  OF  DRUMKENNESS. 

A    TALE. 
By  James  Wood,  N.  G.  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  Lodge,  Disley. 
(From  the  Oddfellow' s  Magazine.) 
Young  Edgar  was  a  father's  only  child, 
But  dissipated,  thoughtless,  loose,  aud  wild ; 
His  tender  years  betray'd  a  will  inclin'd 
To  vitiate  rather  than  improve  the  mind; 
His  father  dying,  left  him  an  estate, 
Enough  to  make  him  happy,  rich  and  great, 
Had  he  sought  virtue  ;  but  to  other  ends. 
His  time,  his  talents,  and  his  purse  he  lends : 
From  earliest  youth  he  styl'd  the  flowing  bowl, 
The  first  enjoyment  of  th'  immortal  soul ! 
His  views  thus  wretched,  grovelling,  low,  and  mean, 
Could  look  no  higher  than  this  earthly  scene  : 
But  such  his  thoughts,  and  such  his  actions  were, 
With  wine  he  strove  to  banish  every  care  ; 
The  pert,  the  vain,  the  giddy,  and  the  gay, 
'         Were  his  continual  guests  from  day  to  day  ; 
His  house  was  ever  open  to  their  call, 
They  flatter'd,  and  he  entertain'd  them  all ; 
Nought  dragg'd  old  time  so  jocundly  along, 
As  midnight  revelling,  the  drunkard's  song. 
The  glee,  the  dance,  the  Bacchanalian  roar, 
With  all  the  sweets  of  fancy'd  pleasure's  store: 
But  still  the  chief  enjoyment  of  his  soul, 
Lay  in  the  goblet  or  the  sparkling  bowl ; 
From  this  curs'd  vice  he  never  would  refrain, 
Though  every  other  follow'd  in  its  train ; 
Bedeck'd  with  every  ornament  of  taste. 
His  table  groan'd  beneath  a  wanton  waste. 
When  years  had  thus  unheeded  pass'd  away, 
His  houses,  tenantless,  fell  to  decay, 
His  lands  all  mortgag'd,  all  his  wealth  run  through. 
Debt,  upon  debt  unpaid, — a  steward  who 
To  fill  his  master's  purse  no  wish  had  shown  ; 
His  only  care  was  how  to  fill  his  own : 
There  lawyers,  doctors,  servant  men  and  maids, 
With  all  the  craft  of  fancy's  various  trades, 
Some  pillaging  by  law,  and  some  by  stealth, 
A  host  of  leeches  feeding  on  his  wealth  ; 
How  chang'd  the  scene  from  what  it  was  before, 
A  horde  of  duns  by  turns  assail  his  door  ; 
Worn  out  by  disappointments,  now  grown  bold. 
His  house,  his  lands,  his  all,  they  seii'd  and  sold ; 


162 

Compell'd  by  force  to  leave  his  once  gay  liome, 
A  hapless  wanderer  o'er  the  world  to  roam; 
Ah !  where  are  now  the  pleasure-seeking  throng, 
Who  vow'd  eternal  friendship  all  along, 
AVho  while  they  drain'd  his  purse,  admir'd  his  lot? 
They  stand  aloof,  for  now  they  know  him  not: 
Such,  and  so  fleeting,  are  the  friendships  found 
In  drunkards'  cups,  when  wit  and  mirth  go  round; 
Of  all  his  boasted  friends  not  one  is  left ; 
Of  every  earthly  hope  at  once  bereft, 
He  with  keen  anguish  mourn'd  his  hopeless  fate, 
And  tears  of  sorrow  shed,  but  now  too  late. 
To  heaven's  high  King  he  supplication  made. 
To  ask  forgivenness  and  to  ask  for  aid ; 
He  heaven's  direction  sought,  nor  sought  in  vain, 
His  talents  soon  an  ample  living  gain  ; 
He  banker's  clerk  commenc'd,  his  income  great, 
Though  far  below  his  former  pompous  state. 
It  made  the  sweets  of  life  by  no  means  scant. 
And  plac'd  him  much  above  the  reach  of  want. 
He  now  resolv'd  to  change  his  mode  of  life. 
And  took  with  prudent  choice  a  lovely  wife, 
Both  fair  and  frugal,  virtuous  and  kind. 
And  nought  surpass'd  the  beauties  of  her  mind ; 
His  joys  or  sorrows  gladly  she  would  share. 
She  eas'd  his  heart  of  more  than  half  its  care ; 
While  thus  he  liv'd  he  peace  of  mind  possess'd, 
The  bliss  of  blessing,  and  of  being  blest; 
A  few  fast  fleeting  months  had  thus  roU'd  on, 
By  far  the  happiest  he  had  ever  known : 
But  soon,  too  soon,  these  days  of  bliss  were  o'er, 
He  fell,  alas !  where  once  he  fell  before. 
When  smiling  fortune  blest  him  with  the  means, 
He  long'd  to  revel  in  his  former  scenes; 
His  uncheck'd  inclinations  took  the  sway 
He  fell  again  to  drunkenness  a  prey  ; 
The  tavern  now  he  frequently  attends, 
And  what  should  make  him  happy  madly  spends : 
The  more  he  drinks,  the  more  he  wants,  and  now 
'Twas  all  he  did,  and  all  he  wish'd  to  do. 
Thus  day  to  day,  and  night  to  night  succeeds; 
In  vain  his  horror-stricken  conscience  pleads  ; 
With  awful  haste  he  runs  his  sinful  race. 
Till  want  and  ruin  stare  him  In  the  face. 
His  wife,  poor  woman  !    Oh  !  how  hard  her  lot ! 
Neglected,  injur'd,  wretched,  and  forgot ; 


163 

Such  complicated  iils  who  coukl  endure  ? 

Her  prospects  blasted,  and  her  ruin  sure, 

To  life-consuming  care  a  constant  prey, 

A  victim  to  unkindness,  day  by  day, 

Forc'd  from  the  sweets  of  life  at  once  to  part, 

A  deadly  sorrow  rankling  in  her  heart, 

Despair  was  now  her  constant  bosom  guest. 

And  grief,  and  anguish,  settled  in  her  breast. 

Yet  still  she  loves  her  Edgar,  still  she  tries 

To  wean  him  from  the  bane  of  all  his  joys, 

With  all  the  soft  persuasion  of  her  tongue, 

On  which  he  had  oftimes  enraptur'd  hung, 

With  all  love  could  suggest,  or  art  devise. 

She  strove  to  make  him  happy,  good,  and  wise, 

To  win  his  heart,  his  lost  love  to  regain, 

All,  all  was  urg'd,  but  all  was  urg'd  in  vain  ! 

She  begg'd,  entreated,  knelt  and  pray'd,  and  cried, 

She  gave  her  life,  and,  broken-hearted,  died  ! 

He,  poor,  unhappy  wretch,  discharg'd,  disgrac'd, 

Again  abandon'd  to  the  world's  wide  waste. 

No  house,  no  home,  no  place  to  rest  his  head, 

Oblig'd  to  labour  for  his  daily  bread. 

The  lowest  drudgery  of  life  to  do. 

And  earn  his  victuals  by  a  sweating  brow. 

Though  thus  reduc'd,  he  still  had  happy  been, 

Had  not  the  vice  of  drinking  chang'd  the  scene ; 

He  still  indulg'd  the  health-destroying  cup, 

Till  he  nor  could,  nor  wish'd,  to  give  it  up ; 

'Tishard  a  habit  thus  confirm'd  to  mend, 

Though  certain  ruin  is  its  certain  end. 

The  sober  and  industrious  he  shuns. 

To  waste  his  heard-earn'd  pittance  nighily  runs  ; 

The  common  brothel  now  his  chief  delight, 

The  produce  of  each  day  he  spends  at  night; 

Thus  eagerly  he  press'd  the  downward  road, 

Till  worn-out  nature  sunk  beneath  her  load : 

Diseas'd,  emaciated,  pale,  and  wan. 

Though  scarce  attain'd  the  middle  age  of  man; 

His  constitution  broke,  his  vigour  dead. 

His  brain  bewilder'd,  and  his  reason  fled  ; 

Too  weak  to  work ;  no  home,  no  hope,  no  friend  ; 

His  mis-spent  life  fast  drawing  to  an  end ; 

How  vast  the  change  !  his  golden  dreams  are  o'er; 

Oh !  how  unlike  the  Edgar  known  before  ! 

One  night  (it  was  the  last  he  liv'd  on  earth) 


164 

He  curs'cl  the  dny  and  hour  that  gave  him  birth : 

From  mingling  with  the  drunken  midnight  rout, 

Arm'd  with  a  murderous  blade,  he  sallied  out, 

On  self-destruction  fully,  firmly  bent ; 

He  knew  not,  nor  he  car'd  not,  where  he  went ; 

At  length  he  reach'd  a  valley,  deep  and  long, 

Atid  craggy  mountains  either  side  o'erhung, 

Here  dreary  night  for  ever  seem'd  to  sit, 

A  place  for  deeds  of  death  and  darkness  fit ; 

'Tvvas  here  he  paus'd — his  useless  life  retrac'd — 

A  barren,  wild,  uncultivated  waste — 

Great  God  !  he  cried,  let  my  example  be 

A  warning  unto  all  that  follow  me : 

My  God,  my  heaven,  my  all !  too  long  forgot ; 

I  ask  not  mercy — I  deserve  it  not! 

Let  fiends  and  furies  my  companions  be, 

Yea,  fix  with  these  my  endless  destiny; 

If  there's  a  pang  I  never  yet  have  known. 

On  my  devoted  head  now  send  it  down ! 

Oh  !  Heaven!  avenge  her  death — my  wife,  my  wife  ! 

'Twas  my  unkindness  robb'd  her  of  her  life. 

What  ghastly  shades  now  swim  before  my  sight! 

The  scenes  of  horror  and  of  endless  night ; 

Assist,  ye  fiends,  and  bid  my  arm  succeed, 

Nor  heaven,  nor  earth,  nor  hell,  shall  stay  the  deed  ! 

I  send  my  wasted  body  to  the  tomb. 

And  seal,  my  soul,  thy  everlasting  doom! 

Then,  with  an  idiot's  wild  and  fren'zied  start, 

He  plung'd  the  fatal  dagger  in  his  heart! 

Thus  Edgar  liv'd,  thus  died  by  his  own  hand, 

The  victim  of  a  vice  that  shames  our  land. 

Ye  youths  of  Britain,  shun  this  hell-born  curse; 

It  leads  from  good  to  bad,  from  bad  to  worse ; 

'Tis  the  most  powerful  weapon  Satan  tries, 

And  all  that's  great  and  good  before  it  flies : 

If  life  you  value,  shun,  for  ever  shun. 

This  sin  by  which  such  numbers  are  undone. 

Nought  tends  so  much  th'  infernal  host  to  swell; 

It  slays  its  thousands,  and  half  peoples  hell ! 

Fly  this  detested  vice,  if  you  would  save 

Your  soul  from  death,  youf  body  from  the  grave: 

Oft  as  this  dread  temptation  is  applied. 

Oh  !  think  how  Edgar  liv'd — how  Edgar  died  ! 

/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  6.  JUNE  1,  1833.  Vol.  III. 

A  GLANCE  AT  CHRIST'S  INSTRUCTIONS  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

In  defending  the  truth  of  Christianity,  we  are  presented  with  the  ex- 
ternal evidence  of  testimony,  miracles,  and  prophecy,  but  nothing,  in  my 
opinion,  carries  with  it  so  much  weight  to  the  minds  of  reflecting  persons 
as  its  own  character,  included  in  what  is  usually  called  internal  evidence. 
In  reading  over  the  records  of  our  religion ,  however  some  may  stumble  for 
a  moment  at  meeting  with  matters  too  sublime  for  their  comprehension,  or 
apparently  too  much  apart  from  the  experience  of  the  present  age,  they  will 
be  relieved  from  their  difficulties,  and  confirmed  in  their  belief,  when  they 
read  its  real  character,  consider  the  example  of  the  first  advocates,  and  the 
motives  by  which  they  were  actuated.  The  precepts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  so  heavenly  in  themselves,  and  enforced  by  considerations  so 
clearly  emanating  from  a  divine  religion,  that  every  candid  reader  must  ad- 
mit, that  the  system  with  which  they  are  connected  is  of  God  and  not  of  man. 

Whether  we  consider  the  principles  upon  which  the  bulk  of  men  act, 
or  trace  their  conduct  in  detail,  and  compare  it  with  the  sayings  of  Christ, 
we  cannot  but  lament  the  striking  contrast.  And  it  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  in  attempting  to  correct  any  vicious  habits,  we  every  where  perceive 
a  shyness  to  practical  subjects,  an  indifference  to  the  constantly  repeated 
injunctions  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  a  strong  partiality  to  general  holiness 
only,  and  a  confidence  in  peculiar  doctrinal  views  to  produce  this  effect. 

"  Jesus  taught  as  one  having  authority  and  not  as  the  scribes ;"  and 
however  the  narratives  of  his  teaching  by  the  evangelists  may  be  compara- 
:ively  neglected,  as  I  know  they  are,  if  a  Christian  wish  to  learn  the  will 
:)f  his  Master,  or  to  imbibe  the  happy  feelings  and  dispositions  which  it  is 
calculated  to  produce,  let  him  constantly  peruse  the  words  of  him  "who 
>pake  as  never  man  spake." 

Let  us  glance  at  the  exalted  precepts  and  heavenly  princi])les  incul- 

VOL.      III.  X 


166 

cated  in  his  instructions  on  the  mount.  It  is  remarkable,  and  is  a  proof 
of  the  intended  universality  of  his  rehgion,  that  though  these  instructioMi 
were  delivered  to  the  Jews  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  they  are  still  suited 
to  our  present  circumstances. 

Bodily  service,  or  conformity  to  religious  duties  outwardly,  was  what 
prevailed  among  the  Jews  ;  and  it  would  be  no  hard  task  to  prove  the  sarnie 
prevails  extensively  among  ourselves.  But  Christ  here  says,  "Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  for  thei/  shall  see  God." 

"To  be  seen  of  men,"  is  a  motive  by  which  we  are  too  often  actuated 
in  our  services,  and  to  be  heard  of  them,  in  our  discussions ;  although 
we  profess  to  be  guided  by  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
of  men.  How  admirably  does  Jesus  expose  this  hypocrisy,  and  condemn  a 
spirit  of  religious  ostentation  !  "  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before 
men,  to  be  seen  of  them" — "When  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  thfe 
hypocrites ;  for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  synagogues,  and  in  tlie 
comers  of  the  streets,  that  thei/  may  be  seen  of  men" — ""WTien  ye  fast,  be 
not  as  the  h\-pocrites  are,  of  a  sad  countenance,  for  they  disfigure  their  faces' 
that  they  may  appear  unto  men  to  fast."  He  teaches  them  to  remember 
that  they  are  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  whatever  service  was  rendered 
to  him  who  seeth  in  secret  should  be  rewarded  openly. 

However  unwilling  men  are  generally  to  submit  to  a  consistent  course 
of  sincere  obedience,  we  find  great  numbers  who  are  ready  enough  to  make 
a  profession.  "Word  and  tongue  "  religion  is  so  easy  compared  to  that  of 
"  deed  and  truth,"  that  we  need  not  wonder  that  so  many  adopt  the  one 
and  neglect  the  other.  The  present  is  a  day  of  great  profession,  but  per- 
haps not  more  so  then  at  the  time  when  our  Lord  delivered  the  following 
admonition :  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  And  referring  to  false  teachers,  whom  he  calls  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing,  he  says,  "  Wlierefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  How 
important,  then,  is  it  to  remember  that  it  is  not  the  complexion  of  oui' 
creed,  nor  the  number  or  the  noise  of  our  prayers,  but  hearing  Chr 
sayings  and  doinff  them,  that  gives  us  a  title  to  be  called  his  disciples. 

The  following  injunction  is  so  truly  exalted,  and  so  peculiarly  conne 
ed  v/ith  a  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world,  that  I  cannot  forbear 
verting  to  it :   "  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  and  pi 
for  them  which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you."     However  hui 
nature  may  be  disposed  to  say.  This  is  a  hard  saying ;  who  can  bear 
it  recommends  itself  to  every  enlightened  mind.     It  embodies  in  it 


167 

Igenius  of  Christianity,  and  without  these  dispositions  it  never  could  have 
been  diffused  abroad  in  its  purity.     The  lawgiver  himself  exemplified  it  in 
his  own  behaviour ;  "  when  he  was  reviled  he  reviled  not  again,  but  com- 
mitted his  cause  to  him  who  judgeth  righteously."     He  came  not  to  con- 
demn, or  to  destroy,  but  to  save ;  and  in  the  midst  of  his  tortures,  instead 
of  imprecating  vengeance,  he  prayed  for  his  enemies,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do !"     The  apostles,  guided  by  the 
same  spirit,  exhorted  the  Christians  not  to  avenge  themselves,  for  this  im- 
portant reason,  that  "vengeance  helonyeth  to  the  Lord."    God  only  knows 
the  degree  of  punishment  which  is  due  to  offending  man,  and  therefore  for 
!ja  fellow  worm  to  "  resist  evil,"  is  to  take  that  into  his  hands  which  be- 
longeth  exclusively  to  God.     Moreover,  in  cultivating  this  spirit  of  forbear- 
ance and  kindness,  we  are  imitating  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  for  "he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on 
the  just  and  on  the  unjust."     How  pacific  is  such  a  disposition,  and  how 
well  calculated  to  bring  our  enemies  to  repentance !     Christ  tells  his  dis- 
ciples, "  Ye  are  not  of  the  world,  as  I  am  not  of  the  world,"  and  therefore 
ijupon  this  exalted  view  of  their  characters,  he  asks,  "If  ye  (only)  love 
them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye  ?   do  not  even  the  publicans 
the  same  ?"     It  would  be  well  if  we  would  review  our  past  lives,  and  in 
[Ireference  to  those  who  have  insulted  and  injured  us,  ask  ourselves  whether 
we  have  acted  the  part  of  the  world,  or  as  we  are  recommended  in  this 
passage.     If  we  render  evil  for  evil,  it  may  well  be  asked,  "  What  do  ye 
more  than  others  ?"     I  fear  that  though  this  passage  stands  conspicuous 
at  the  commencement  of  the  New  Testament,  it  has  found  its  way  to  the 
hearts  of  very  few.     Every  day  affords  abundant  proof  of  the  lust  of  re- 
venge ;  but  the  instances  of  doing  good  to  them  that  hate  us  are  rare  in- 
deed.    How  little  of  genuine  charity  is  to  be  found  even  among  professors 
of  religion  !    What  evil  speaking,  tale  bearing,  railing,  contention,  and  strife 
are  often  occurring  among  those  of  the  same  society !     May  we  be  more 
anxious  to  learn  of  him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  that  we  may 
find  rest  to  our  souls  !     Our  daily  prayer  to  God,  to  "  forgive  us  our  tres- 
passes," involves  in  it  an  obligation  to  forgive  others ;    and  Jesus  says, 
"  If  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  wiU  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses."     And  the  practical  expression  of  forgiveness  is  to  do  as 
the  apostle  directs:   "  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst,  give 
him  drink :  be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good." 
j:     The  love  of  money,  the  root  of  all  evil,  has  been  so  prevalent  in  all 
iges,  that  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  Jesus,  in  these  histructions,  speak- 


168 

ing  against  it  at  considerable  length.  "  Take  heed,"  says  he,  on  another 
occasion,  "  and  beware  of  covetousness,"  "for  a  man's  life" — that  is,  tbi 
safety  or  pleasure  of  a  man's  life — "  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of 
things  which  he  possesseth."  Christ's  sayings  bear  hard  against  the  rii 
except  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  comm 
cate.  "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom 
God!"  Those  who  lay  up  for  themselves  on  earth  treasures,  instead 
making  themselves  rich  towards  God  by  distributing  to  the  poor,  in  Sc 
ture  language,  are  said  to  "  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  instead  of  the  living 
God,  who  giveth  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy  ;"  and  Christ  distinctly  refers 
to  these,  and  says,  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  nee- 
dle than  for  such  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  I"  If  our  grounds 
bring  forth  plentifully,  or  our  business  is  productive  of  profit,  he  does  not 
say  that  we  are  not  to  claim  our  right  to  these  proceeds,  or  that  we  are  not 
to  be  the  possessers  of  a  treasure  ;  but  his  instructions  are  specific  as  to  the 
use  we  are  to  make  of  them.  We  are  not  to  lay  up  for  ourselves  treasures 
upon  earth,  like  the  man  who,  after  enlarging  his  barns,  and  stowing  all  his 
fruits  and  his  goods,  said  to  his  soul,  "  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid 
up  for  many  years  ;  take  thine  ease  ;  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry ;"  but  to 
lay  up  treasures  in  heaven,  by  distributing  to  the  poor.  This  is  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  will  of  Christ,  and  requires  the  serious  consideration  ol 
every  Christian,  but  especially  those  who  are  rich,  or  becoming  so.  Here 
we  suppose  there  is  a  man  who  is  fast  acquiring  wealth,  but  who  professes 
to  be  "a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  in  the  world,"  who  is  said  to  be  "begotten 
to  a  lively  hope  of  an  inheritance,  incorruptible,  undefiled,  reserved  in  hea- 
ven, and  which  fadeth  not  away."  With  the  poor  and  wretched  around 
him,  and  with  the  example  of  Christ  before  his  eyes,  what  course  will  such 
a  man  take  ?  Will  he  scrape  together,  with  an  anxious  solicitude,  all  he 
can  ;  avoid  as  much  as  possible  the  calls  of  charity,  or,  when  he  does  givC; 
give  sparingly  and  grudgingly  ?  or  will  he  view  himself  as  the  steward  ol 
God,  accountable  for  the  disposal  of  his  wealth,  and  always  willing  tc 
communicate,  and  ready  to  give  liberally  and  cheerfully  ?  The  lattei 
the  only  consistent  course.  The  tendency  of  our  Saviour's  instructions' 
always  to  lead  the  mind  to  God  and  heaven,  to  exercise  our  faith,  and. 
make  us  to  feel  that  "  God  careth  for  us."  What  a  number  of  reaso: 
and  how  cogent,  to  induce  us  not  to  be  anxious  about  the  morrow,  and 
lay  up  treasures  in  heaven,  and  not  upon  the  earth !  The  uncertaintyj 
riches  is  the  first.  The  psalmist  says,  they  take  to  themselves  wings 
fly  away.     A  prudent  man  will  always  select  for  his  property  a  place  of 


4 


169 

greatest  security.  On  eai'th,  moth  and  rust  corrupt  our  treasures,  and 
thieves  break  through  and  steal ;  in  heaven,  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth 
corrupt,  and  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal.  Secondly,  we  are 
commanded  to  set  our  affections  on  things  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at 
the  right  hand  of  God ;  but  this  cannot  be  if  our  treasure  be  on  the  earth, 
"for  where  your  treasure  is,  thei-e  will  your  heart  be  also."  Thirdly. 
Covetousness  is  called  idolatry  :  if  we  love  our  money  so  as  not  to  part 
with  it  when  our  brother  stands  in  need,  the  love  of  God  is  not  in  us.  If 
we  are  bent  upon  accumulating  riches,  we  shall  trust  in  them  instead  of 
the  living  God.  God  requires  the  supreme  affections  of  our  hearts ;  but 
f  we  pay  our  offerings  to  mammon,  we  are  serving  another  God ;  and  no 
nan  can  serve  two  masters;  "ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon." 
Fourthly.  As  to  the  fear  of  want,  our  Lord  reminds  his  disciples  that  all 
creation  is  under  the  care  of  Providence.  God  clothes  the  grass  of  the 
ield ;  he  makes  the  lilies  to  grow,  exceeding  in  beauty  even  the  glory  of 
3olomon.  He  feeds  the  fowls,  which  neither  sow,  nor  reap,  nor  gather 
nto  bams,  and  "  shall  he  not,"  says  Jesus,  "  much  more  feed  and  clothe 
,ou?"  "Well  may  he  say,  "Behold!"  and  "  Consider  !"  for  though  we 
lave  ten  thousand  proofs  of  God's  superintending  care  before  our  eves,  we 
;eera  as  if  our  only  safety  consisted  in  being  able  to  accumulate  a  larger 
;tock  every  year.  He  has  given  us  a  body,  and  endowed  us  with  life,  and 
•an  he  not  also  give  us  food  and  clothing  to  cover  and  maintain  the  same  ? 
'  Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  you  have  need  of  these  things  \" 
fifthly.  Upon  this  subject,  we  are  reminded  in  what  we  ought  to  excel 
ithers.  "  What  shall  we  eat,  what  shall  we  drink,  and  wherewithall  shall 
ve  be  clothed  ?"  are  questions  which  imply  anxiety :  "  after  all  these 
Kings  do  the  nations  of  the  world  seek;"  "  but  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
if  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

Like  a  divine  teacher  promulgating  laws,  for  obedience  or  disobedi- 
nee  to  which  men  are  held  answerable  to  him  who  searches  the  heart  and 
rieth  the  reins,  he  uniformly  insists  on  the  service  of  the  heart.  What- 
ver  is  in  man,  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  is  considered  as  the  spring 
f  action,  and  he  is  judged  accordingly ;  hence  anger  is  connected  with 
lurder,  and  lust  with  adultery.  The  spirituality  required  by  the  gospel  is 
uch,  that  to  render  our  services  acceptable  our  "hearts  must  be  right  in 
iie  sight  of  God." 

Unlike  the  statutes  and  ordinances  of  Moses,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
iws  of  Christ  that  cannot  be  obeyed  in  any  country  and  in  any  clime, 
lis  commission  to  his  apostles  was,  "  Go  into  all  nations,  and  preach  the 


170 

gospel  to  every  creature,"  corresponding  to  the  prophecy,  "  In  him 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed :"  so  that  we  find  that  bond  and 
male  and  female,  Jew  and  Greek  are  all  the  same  in  Christ  Jesus.     Ti 
is  nothing,  therefore,  in  any  of  his  commands  but  what  is  suited  to  this.| 
the  observance  of  times  and  seasons,  if  any  ceremonies  depending  upoi 
cal  accommodation,  if  any  certain  forms  or  fashions  of  buildings,  had 
imposed,  in  all  probability,  in  many  parts  of  the  world  they  could  not  ha_ 
been  observed;  and  hence  Christ's  religion  could  not  have  been  universal f! 
But  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  being  the  principle,  and  every  persono 
expression  of  it  being  the  detail,  there  cannot  be  a  place  in  the  world  wher 
any  thing  he  has  commanded  will  be  redundant. 

Let  it  be  the  writer  and  the  reader's  anxious  study,  then,  to  under 
stand  the  will  of  their  Master,  to  keep  it  always  in  remembrance,  an^ 
never  fail  to  reduce  it  to  practice.  The  way  is  narrow ;  a  cross  will  fre 
quently  have  to  be  borne ;  and  it  is  only  by  taking  it  up  faithfully,  an 
confessing  him  before  men,  that  we  can  expect  to  be  confessed  before  hi 
Father  and  all  his  holy  angels.  "  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  command 
ments,  that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  i 
through  the  gates  into  the  city." 


SLAVE  EMANCIPATION. 

The  plan  intended  for  the  removal  of  colonial  slavery  is  now  befoi 
us.  It  is  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  the  country,  and  I  hope  wi 
meet  with  a  determined  opposition.  A  wicked  system  is  not  less  so  b( 
cause  of  its  antiquity,  and  it  ought  not  to  be  perpetuated  to  please  tho; 
who  are  living  out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  others.  The  interest  of  tb 
planters,  it  seems,  must  be  consulted,  while  the  sufferings  and  wrongs ' 
the  Negroes  must  remain  unredressed.  Verily,  there  is  a  God  who  judj 
eth  righteously  !  The  lacerated  Negro  may  yet  be  exalted  to  "  glory, 
nour,  and  immortality,"  and  enjoy  a  kingdom  where  all  tears  shall 
wiped  away  from  his  eyes ;  whilst  many  of  his  task-masters  may  be  lieai 
petitioning  in  hell  for  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  their  tongues  ! 

The  resolutions  offered  to  the  House  of  Commons  I  will  lay  befo 
readers,  with  some  appropriate  remarks  upon  them  from  Mr.  Bucl 
ham's  Review. 

RESOLUTIONS, 
CONTAINING  HEADS  OF   THE    GOVERNMENT  PLAN    FOR   EMANCIPATING    THE    SLA' 

1st.  That  every  slave,  upon  the  passing  of  the  intended  act,  shall  be  at  liberty  to 
before  the  protector  of  slaves,  custos  of  the  parish,  or  such  other  officer  as  shall  be 
by  his  Majesty  for  that  purpose,  to  be  registered  as  an  apprenticed  labourer,  and 


171 

r  lenceforth  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  freeman,  shall  be  capable  of  giving  evi- 

ence  in  all  courts,  criminal  as  well  as  civil,  and  as  well  against  their  employers  as  against 

,  ly  other  persons,  of  serving  upon  juries,  and  in  the  militia,  of  attending  whatever  place  of 

orship  or  teacher  of  religion  he  pleases,  and  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  other  rights  and  pri- 

leges  whatsoever  of  a  British  subject. 

2d.  That  the  terms  of  such  apprenticeship  should  be —  • 

3d.  That  the  power  of  corporal  punishment  should  be  altogether  taken  from  the  master, 
id  transferred  to  the  magistrate. 

4th.  That  in  consideration  of  food  and  clothing,  and  such  allowances  as  are  now  made 
,'  law  to  the  slave,  the  labourer  should  work  for  his  master  three-fourths  of  his  time, 
aviiig  it  to  be  settled  by  contract  whether  for  three-forths  of  the  week  or  of  each  day. 
hat  by  a  day  is  here  understood  only  ten  hours,  seven  and  a  half  of  which  are  to  be  for 
le  master  as  above,  in  consideration  of  food,  and  clothing,  and  lodging,  and  that  all  the 
ne  above  such  ten  hours  is  not  to  be  affected  by  these  regulations. 

5th.  That  the  labourer  should  have  a  right  to  claim  employment  of  his  master  for  the 
I,  niaining  one-fourth  of  his  time,  according  to  a  fixed  scale  of  wages. 

6th.  That  during  such  one-fourth  of  his  time  the  labourer  should  be  at  liberty  to  eni- 
oy  himself  elsewhere. 

7th.  That  the  master  should  fix  a  price  upoa  the  labourer  at  the  time  of  his  appren- 
ceship. 

8th.  That  the  wages  to  be  paid  by  the  master  should  bear  such  a  proportion  to  the 
ice  fixed  by  him,  that  for  the  whole  of  his  spare  time,  if  given  to  the  master,  the  Negro 
ould  recieve  one-twelfth  of  his  price  annually ;  and  in  proportion  for  each  lesser  term. 

9th.  That  every  Negro,  on  becoming  an  apprentice,  shall  be  intitled  to  a  money  pay- 
ent  weekly,  in  lieu  of  food  and  clothing,  should  he  prefer  it,  the  amount  to  be  fixed  by  a 
agistrate  with  reference  to  the  actual  cost  of  the  legal  provision. 

10th.  That  every  apprenticed  labourer  be  bound  to  pay  a  portion,  to  be  fixed,  of  his 
iges,  half-yearly,  to  an  officer  to  be  appointed  by  his  Majesty. 

1 1th.  That  in  default  of  such  payment,  the  master  be  liable,  and,  in  return,  may  exact 
1  equivalent  amount  of  labour  without  payment  in  the  succeeding  half. 

12th.  That  every  apprenticed  Negro,  on  payment  of  the  price  fixed  by  his  master,  or 
ch  portion  of  it  as  may  from  time  to  time  remain  due,  be  absolutely  free. 

13th.  That  every  such  apprentice  may  borrow  the  sum  so  required,  and  bind  him- 
If,  by  contract  before  a  magistrate,  for  a  limited  period,  as  an  apprenticed  labourer  to  the 
!ider. 

14th.  That  a  loan  to  the  amount  of  £15,000,000  sterling  be  granted  to  the  proprietors 
West  Indian  estates  and  slaves,  on  such  colonial  security  as  may  be  approved  by  connnis- 
mers  appointed  by  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  his  Majesty's  Treasury. 

15th.  That  such  loan  be  distributed  among  the  different  colonies,  in  a  ratio  compounded 
tlie  number  of  slaves  and  the  amount  of  exports. 

16th.  That  the  half-yearly  payments  herein  before  authorised  to  be  made  by  the  ap- 
.  lenticed  Negroes  be  taken  in  liquidation  of  so  much  of  the  debt  contracted  by  the  planter 
the  public. 

17th.  That  all  children  born  after  the  passing  of  the  intended  act,  or  who  at  the  time 
its  passing  shall  be  under  the  age  of  six  years,  be  free,  and  be  maintained  by  their  re- 
lective  parents. 


172 

18th.  That  in  failure  of  such  maintenance  they  be  deemed  apprentices  to  the  mastet^ii 
the  parents  (without  receiving  wages)  the  males  till  the  age  of  twenty-four,  the  femaleS;! 
the  age  of  twenty,  at  which  periods  respectively  they  and  their  children,  if  any,  shall  be  Si 
solutely  free. 

19th.   That  this  act  shall  not  prevent  his  Majesty  from  assenting  to  such  acts  as  maj 
passed  by  the  Colonial  Legislature  for  the  promotion  of  industry  or  the  prevention  of' 
grancy,  applicable  to  all  classes  of  the  community.     And  that  respectable  persons,  wl 
unconnected  with  the  colonies,  shall  be  sent  out  to  act  as  district  magistrates  and  other  ( 
cers,  for  the  protection  of  the  Negroes,  and  the  preservation  of  the  peace. 

20th.  That  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  local  Legislature,  his  Majesty  will  be; 
pared  to  recommend  to  Parliament,  out  of  the  revenues  of  this  country,  to  grant  such  ai^ 
may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  due  support  of  the  administration  of  justice,  of  an  efficien 
police  establishment,  and  of  a  general  system  of  religious  and  moral  education. 

21st.  And  that  with  this  view  effectual  protection  shall  be  given  to  all  teachers  of  reli 
gion,  of  whatever  persuasion. 

On  these  heads  we  submit  the  following  brief  observations,  numbe 
to  correspond  with  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

1 .  The  slave,  by  a  mere  change  of  name  and  registry,  as  an  apprd 
ticed  labourer,  is  thenceforth  to  "  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  cf'e" 
freeman."  This  is  a  direct  falsehood  in  the  very  front  of  the  matter.  He 
has  no  choice  left  him,  but  slavery  under  a  new  name ;  he  must  work, 
without  a  choice  of  masters,  without  stipulation  of  conditions,  for  ten 
hours  a  day,  as  before  ;  and  so  far  as  the  deprivation  of  the  exercise  of  his 
free  will  to  change  his  master,  or  to  demand  more  wages,  more  food,  or 
more  clothing,  he  will  be  as  much  a  slave  as  ever. 

3.  The  transfer  of  the  power  of  inflicting  corporal  punishment  from 
the  master  to  the  magistrates  is  still  a  badge  of  slavery.  If  he  is  "to 
enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  free  man,"  why  should  he  be  sub- 
jected to  corporal  punishment,  that  is,  flogging  by  the  whip  or  lash,  at  all  ? 

4,  5,  6.  The  Negro  is  called  upon  to  exercise  a  degree  of  forethought, 
prudence,  and  self-denial,  of  which  none  but  the  best  educated  and  the 
most  discreet  of  our  artisans  in  England  are  capable,  when  he  is  expected 
to  work  hard  during  the  fourth  of  the  day  placed  at  his  disposal,  and  pay 
his  weekly  earnings  over  to  a  magistrate,  for  the  very  remote  and  un- 
certain prospect  of  freedom,  in  twelve  years  time.  It  is  difficult  to  pre- : 
vail  on  English  labourers  to  lay  by  the  earnings  of  the  summer,  for  the  \ 
wants  of  the  winter,  or  to  cast  their  thoughts  forward  to  one  year,  and  the 
Negro  is  called  upon  to  labour  hard,  and  lay  by  his  earnings,  not  for 
purpose  of  any  tangible  enjoyment  within  his  grasp,  but  for  a  benefitj 
remote  that  he  may  never  live  to  enjoy  it. 

7.  The  master  being  allowed  to  put  a  price  upon  his  slave,  whetl 


173 

of  £10  or  £100,  is  a  direct  recognition  of  the  unhallowed  and  unchristian 
principle  that  man  may  justly  steal,  entrap,  and  enslave  his  fellow-man, 
by  force  or  fraud,  or  both ;  and  then  compel  him  to  pay  the  price  of  his 
redemption.  The  principle  is  detestable  :  it  will  be  registered  with  indig- 
nation by  every  true  lover  of  freedom  ;  and,  if  there  were  no  other  blot  in 
the  plan  than  this,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  ensure  its  utter  condemnation. 

8.  Supposing  all  the  most  favourable  circumstances  of  good  health, 
unwearied  industry,  punctual  payments,  and  every  other  advantage,  twelve 
years  is  the  shortest  possible  time  in  which  a  slave  can  hope  to  be  free : 
and  this  is  a  plan  which  is  characterised  as  "safe  and  satisfactory"  to 
those  who  have  sent  thousands  upon  thousands  of  petitions  to  both  houses 
praying  for  the  immediate  abolition  of  slavery !  If  this  be  not  mocking 
the  hopes  of  the  people,  we  know  not  what  could  thus  be  termed. 

9.  The  offer  of  money  payment  instead  of  provisions  and  clothing  is 
a  mockery.  No  planter  will  provide  both  :  and  if  the  money  be  asked  for, 
the  magistrate  will  have  proof  given  him  that  the  legal  provision  costs 
the  planter,  from  the  wholesale  importations,  so  small  a  sum,  that  the  Ne- 
gro could  not  obtain,  by  its  actual  inoney  cost,  in  the  West  India  market, 
more  than  half  of  his  already  miserably  stinted  allowance. 

12.  In  paragraph  1  of  these  proposed  resolutions,  it  is  said  that  from 
the  moment  of  the  slave  being  registered  as  an  apprenticed  labourer,  he  shall 
'  thenceforth  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  freeman ;"  but  in  para- 
graph 10th  the  dream  has  vanished,  and  it  is  not  until  after  he  has  fully 
jaid  the  uttermost  farthing  of  the  price  fixed  on  him  by  his  master,  by 
■,welve  years  of  unceasing  labour,  that  he  can  become  "  absolutely  free." 
Was  ever  contradiction  more  palpable  than  this  ? 

14.  A  loan  of  fifteen  millions  is  to  be  advanced  on  the  security  of  colo- 
lial  property ;  when  it  is  known  that  there  is  scarcely  any  property  in  the 
olonies  that  is  not  already  mortgaged  up  to  its  full  value,  and  in  most  cases 
leyond  it,  for  advances  already  obtained  from  merchants,  consignees,  and 
)thers.  But  the  government  propose  making  their  own  security  good,  by 
nacting  that  the  government  claim  on  such  property,  should  take  prece- 
ence  of  all  others ;  which  would  be  flagrant  robbery  of  the  existing  and 
.revious  claimants,  and  a  more  arbitrary  violation  of  the  rights  of  property 
ban  any  ever  proposed  by  any  government  having  any  pretensions  to  the 
liaracter  of  being  a  just  one. 

16.  Though  the  planters  are  to  have  the  enjoyment  of  the  fifteen  mil- 
ons,  it  is,  after  all,  the  blood,  and  sweat,  and  tears  of  the  oppressed  Ne- 

VOL.   III.  T 


174 


i 


listK 

1 


gro,  that  is  to  be  exhausted  for  twelve  long  years,  to  repay  both  principi 
and  interest !     The  concoction  of  such  a  scheme  is  perfectly  diabolical. 

17,  18.  What,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  namely,  the  freedom  ( 
the  children,  would  be  a  blessing,  is  by  their  plan  turned  into  a  curse:  f< 
the  slave,  in  addition  to  the  charge  of  paying  for  his  own  redemption,  i 
called  upon  to  maintain  his  helpless  and  unproductive  children,  or  see  thej 
also  pass  into  slavery,  giving  all  their  labour  without  wages  for  twenty  otf 
twenty-four  years ! — after  which,  say  these  immediate  emancipationisi 
they  shall  be  absolutely  free ! ! — Oh  shame  !  where  is  thy  blush  ? — H 
crisy,  where  is  thy  dissimulation  ? 

19,  20,  21.  The  protection  of  the  peace  in  every  colony  is  an  exS 
pence  which  should  be  borne  by  the  colony  itself.  All  our  troops  should 
be  withdrawn,  good  government  established,  and  every  colony  made  en- 
tirely to  maintain  itself.  The  possessions  that  drain  the  mother  country  of 
her  wealth  are  not  worth  the  having ;  and  the  sooner  all  our  colonies  are 
made  to  support  themselves  the  better.  As  to  religious  teachers,  our  won- 
der is  that  any  man  propounding  so  iniquitous  and  irreligious  a  plan  as  this 
for  rivetting  the  chains  of  the  Negroes  for  twelve  years  longer,  and  mak- 
ing them  pay  the  price  of  their  own  redemption  after  all — could  ever  mi 
tion  the  word  "religious,"  or  think  of  it  without  shuddering.  Bi 
a  form  of  government,  where  it  is  ordered  by  law,  that  whoever  may 
the  ruling  monarch,  from  Charles  the  Second  to  George  the  Fourth, 
whatever  his  character  or  his  habits,  he  is  to  be  called,  in  the  solemn  fo: 
of  prayer,  "  our  most  religious  and  gracious  king" — which  has  been  the 
changed  form  of  expression  through  every  succeeding  reign,  for  years  past- 
may  deem  slavery  both  "  moral  and  religious."  If  the  teachers  do  tb 
duty,  however,  as  servants  of  Christ  and  true  preachers  of  his  gospel,  tb 
will  denounce  slavery  in  every  form,  and  hasten,  as  far  as  they  can, 
triumph  of  Civil,  Political,  and  Religious  Freedom — for  they  are  all 
offspring  of  one  great  Parent — Truth  and  Justice — over  all  the  world. 


FALSE  REPORTS. 
Among  all  the  evils  with  which  we  are  afflicted,  none  seems  more 
luxuriant  than  the  disposition  to  invent  and  propagate  slander.     Unfortu=^_ 
nately,  so  little  do  men  seem  to  be  taken  up  with  moral  or  intellectual  p^fll 
suits ;  so  little  do  they  study  to  bridle  that  unruly  member,  the  tongue ; 
that  when  two  or  three  are  gathered  together,  the  faults,  real  or  reputed, 
of  others,  are  the  common  topic  of  conversation.     No  man  seems  disposed 


i 


175 

to  question  the  truth  of  any  evil  report,  and  is  ready  to  retail  it  out  to  the 
next  person  he  meets.  There  seems  to  be  a  voracious  appetite  for  slander  ; 
and  hence,  the  wildest  and  falsest  reports  that  can  possibly  be  invented  ob- 
tain a  regular  currency.  Let  any  man  be  at  the  trouble  of  ascertaining 
the  truth  of  the  reports  which  fly  abroad,  and  he  will  find  so  many  utterly 
false,  and  so  many  mixed  up  with  falsehood,  that  if  he  be  a  cautious  man, 
he  wiU  hesitate  at  believing  every  thing  he  hears,  till  he  know  it  to  be  well 
confirmed.  The  general  disregard  to  truth,  and  the  love  of  exaggeration, 
and  the  want  of  that  charity  which  instead  of  revealing,  covers  the  faults 
of  others,  will  easily  account  for  the  birth  and  rapid  growth  of  slanderous 
reports.  Every  good  man  should  set  his  face  against  them  ;  every  father 
should  caution  his  children  not  to  speak  evil  of  others,  nor  to  report  their 
faults,  even  if  they  were  true.  In  stating  what  we  have  heard,  we  should 
be  very  cautious  not  to  colour  or  change  the  most  trifling  circumstances; 
nor  by  half  expressions,  or  insinuations,  to  lead  others  to  make  inaccurate 
statements.  Once  in  fifty  cases,  perhaps,  it  may  be  necessary  to  turn  over 
to  another  person  the  bad  conduct  of  an  individual,  to  prevent  some  evil 
which  could  not  otherwise  be  prevented ;  and  this  would  justify  the  prac- 
tice, so  far  as  truth  is  respected :  but  for  persons  wantonly  to  take  up  their 
;ime  in  speaking  evil  of  others,  is  contrary  to  all  the  moral  precepts  of  the 
Bible,  and  destructive  of  the  peace  and  harmony  of  society.  Let  every 
man,  therefore,  hesitate  at  believing  half  of  what  he  hears,  and  take  care 
limself  never  to  allow  his  tongue  to  slander  his  neighbour. 


THE  MORALIST. 
It  is  as  disagreeable  to  the  prodigal  to  attend  to  his  expences  as  for 
L  sinner  to  examine  his  conscience. — Whoever  waits  till  he  have  enough 
)efore  he  wiU  give  to  the  poor,  will  never  give. — If  you  would  be  happy, 
)ring  your  mind  to  your  condition,  for  it  may  be  impossible  for  even  a 
:ing  to  raise  his  condition  up  to  his  wishes. — None  enjoy  drinking  so  lit- 
le  as  drunkards,  none  eating  so  little  as  gluttons,  none  pleasure  so  little 
IS  men  of  pleasure.  It  is  sobriety,  temperance,  and  an  industrious  life, 
vhich  fit  us  to  enjoy  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  life. — Virtue  is  social, 
;ind,  and  cheerful,  and  breathes  nothing  but  gentleness,  and  should  never 
leject  the  spirits,  or  produce  a  morose  and  sour  disposition. — The  grand 
rt  of  life  is  to  be  cheerful  without  levity,  generous  without  extravagance, 
tumble  without  meanness,  brave  without  insolence,  cautious  without  sus- 
picion, prudent  without  anxiety,  regular  without  formality,  mild  without 


I 


176 

timidity,  and  firm  without  obstinacy. — How  many  quarrels  might  be  avo| 
ed,  would  we  but  think  as  uncle  Toby  did,  when  he  was  plagued  at  dini 
time  by  a  great  buzzing  fly.     Go,  said  he,  get  thee  gone :  why  should 
hurt  thee  ?  the  world  is  surely  wide  enough  to  hold  both  thee  and  mej 
We  are  sent  into  this  world  as  soldiers  to  battle,  and  he  who  goes 
after  having  combated  with  but  few  misfortunes,  should  think  himi 
happy;    misfortunes  and  vexations  being  the  lot  of  humanity. — Whwel 
interest  alone  joins  the  hands  in  marriage,  mutual  neglects  and  disgusts 
will  soon  make  the  parties  think,  that  a  heart  full  of  love  is  better  than 
a  pocket  fuU  of  money. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF   TEMPERANCE.  :^| 

The  Fifth  Report  of  the  American  Societies  brings  with  it  good  tidings'' 
of  their  success.  In  information  and  zeal,  they  appear  very  much  to  excel 
their  brethren  in  this  country.  In  another  part  of  this  number  wiU  be 
found  copious  extracts  from  this  report.  In  the  returns  made  from  the 
Societies  in  Scotland,  and  published  in  the  Temperance  Record,  which  is 
decidedly  the  best  periodical  devoted  to  the  subject  in  this  country,  the 
number  of  members  is  stated  to  be  53,878.  Many  favourable  accounts 
are  contained  in  this  report,  and  although  in  some  instances  there  is  a 
want  of  their  first  zeal,  I  hope,  upon  the  whole,  the  work  is  making  progress. 
The  British  and  Foreign  Temperance  Society,  from  its  high  and  com- 
prehensive title,  one  would  expect,  would  furnish  ample  information  as  to 
the  progress  of  temperance.  But  instead  of  this,  it  sends  out,  monthly, 
a  meager  publication,  called  "  The  Herald,"  got  up  with  very  little  labour, 
containing  little  information,  and  just  covering  half  a  sheet  of  paper. 
And  a  considerable  space  even  of  this  is  occupied  by  the  unnecessary  publi- 
cation, every  month,  of  the  names  of  the  Societies,  and  the  reputed  number 
of  their  members.  The  total  number  in  England  is  stated  at  53,433 ; 
as  this  is  from  returns,  many  of  which  have  been  standing  for  some  ti: 
it  is  obviously  much  below  the  truth.  For  instance.  Bury  is  reported 
the  real  number  is  570.  Bolton,  1035  :  the  real  number  is  2073. 
caster,  774  :  the  real  number,  1042.  Returns  are  made  from  a  few  S^ 
ties,  which  speak  of  the  success  of  the  cause.  I  am  sorry  to  be  ob, 
to  report,  however,  from  personal  inquiry,  that  the  Societies  in  Lant 
shire  (and  they  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  of  any  other  county)  wil 
a  few  exceptions,  are  making  little  progress.  The  one  at  Westhoughto: 
quite  extinct.  Even  the  once  reputed  flourishing  Society  at  Bolton  » 
to  have  lost  all  its  vigour.     It  exists  in  name  ;    the  member's  names 


177 

on  the  books ;  but  they  are  not  visited  ;  and  the  meetings  are  very  badly 
attended.  I  fear  this  is  the  case  with  some  others.  Of  many  places  it 
may  truly  be  said,  "  they  are  neither  hot  nor  cold;"  though  I  believe  there 
is  scarcely  a  single  place,  favoured  with  a  Temperance  Society,  in  which 
real  good  has  not  been  done. 

In  reporting  the  progress  of  the  Preston  Society,  I  have  again  to  state, 

vhat  I  have  often  repeated,  that  it  is  making  rapid  progress,  and  evidently 

:aking  the  lead  of  all  the  rest.      The  weekly  meetings   are  constantly 

I  Towded ;  and  additions  are  regularly  made  to  the  number,  which  now 

amounts  to  2235.      The  number  of  reformed  drunkards  also  continues 

0  increase.      About  twenty  advocates  belonging  to  the  Society  go  out 

0  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages ;    in  consequence  of  which,  many 

ew  Societies  have  been  established.      Garstang,  Longton,  and  Chorley 

,  ave  been  especially  visited  during  the  last  month,  in  all  which  places  the 

i  jmperance  cause  is  likely  to  succeed.      Besides  the  above  places,  about 

iree  weeks  ago,  I  visited  Haslingden,  and  two  other  villages  in  the  neigh- 

iurhood,  where  very  encouraging  meetings  were  held,  and  I  have  reason 

t  hope  that  the  friends  in  that  district  will  pursue  the  object  with  addi- 

onal  zeal.     A  Sick  and  Benefit  Society  has  been  formed  at  Preston,  upon 

e  strictest  principles  of  temperance.     Two  new  Temperance  Houses  are 

)out  to  be  opened ;  one  at  Garstang,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Robinson,  the  other 

Chorley,  by  T.  Barton  Smith.     Every  town  ought  to  possess  these  use- 

1  establishments.     I  hope  we  shall  hear  of  fresh  ones  starting  up  at  Lan- 

ster,  Blackburn,  and  Bolton. 

There  are  Jive  particulars  with  which  the  success  of  the  temperance 
vase  here  stands  connected,  and  for  the  guidance  of  others  ought  to  be 
ijntioned.  1  Suitable  leaders.  2.  Giving  to  temperance  its  proper  im- 
jrtance.  3.  Weekly  meetings.  4.  A  regular  system  of  personal  visita- 
1n.  5.  The  practice  of  abstinence  among  the  promoters  of  the  cause. 
1  suitable  leaders,  I  mean  plain,  zealous  men,  against  whom  the  bulk  of 
t;  people  can  bring  no  objections.  By  the  proper  importance  of  tem- 
fance,  I  mean  relatively.  Although  carrying  a  can  of  water  is  an  unim- 
p-tant  service,  abstractedly,  if  a  building  be  on  fire,  it  may  be  superior  to 
a/  other  service  that  could  be  rendered.  So  unnecessary  and  so  pernicious 
a  intoxicating  liquors  of  all  sorts  to  a  healthy  person,  that  any  one  who 
l»es  the  cause,  and  wishes  it  to  prevail,  had  better  abstain  altogether;  it 
iehe  easiest,  the  most  consistent  course ;  and  I  query  whether  most  So- 
cdes  will  not  see  the  necessity  of  either  coming  to  this,  or  witnessing 
tl  entire  failure  of  their  efforts. 


178 

THE  GREAT  DELUSION. 
"  All  great  things  subsist  more  by  fame  than  real  strength." 
To  Ale  drinkers, 

Great  as  are  the  evils  of  spirit  drinking,  it  is  well  known  tha 
drinking  is  a  source  of  more  intoxication,  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
the  use  of  any  other  liquor.  The  great  delusion  under  which  men  ha"" 
laboured,  as  to  the  properties  of  this  liquor,  I  believe,  is  the  principal  re 
son  of  this  excess.  Ale  has  been  celebrated  as  our  "national  beverage 
and  our  senators  even  praise  it  as  a  "  highly  nutritive  beverage,"  and 
especially  requisite  for  the  support  of  working  men.  They  advocate  an  i 
creased  consumption,  as  likely  to  advance  the  morals  of  the  people,  and  ev( 
talk  of  relieving  the  distresses  of  the  nation  by  making  ale  cheap !  Whi 
statements  so  utterly  destitute  of  truth  are  repeatedly  put  forth  by  men 
influence,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  bulk  of  the  people  should  be  carri' 
away  with  their  falsehood,  and  that  thousands  should  be  ruined  by  tl  '■ 
great  delusion  ? 

What  do  men  drink  ale  for  ?     Is  it  to  quench  their  thirst  ?  to  stim 
late  their  bodies  ?  or  to  add  to  their  physical  strength  ?     Many  drink  frc 
a  confirmed  appetite  for  ale ;    but  one  of  these  three  reasons  will  be  i 
signed  by  most  who  attempt  to  justify  the  practice.     First,  then.  Does  { 
quench  your  thirst  ?     No.     Its  properties  have  a  directly  contrary  te 
dency,  and  every  man  knows  that  the  more  ale  he  drinks  the  more  thin  t  < 
he  is.     Secondly,  if  your  bodies  be  in  a  healthy  state,  you  should  take  n 
tritious  food  for  their  support,  and  that  which  nature  provides  for  yc 
drink,  but  never  disorder  yourselves  by  stimulating  your  bodies  with  a 
kind  of  intoxicating  liquor.     In  a  glass  of  strong  ale,  there  is  aboii|l 
much  alcohol — that  is,  the  intoxicating  property — as  in  half  a  noggin    - 
rum.     By  taking  this  when  you  are  employed  in  labour,  you  fancy,  fr( 
the  first  sensations  it  produces,  that  it  does  you  good.     It  works  up 
your  nerves,  causes    your  blood  to  run  faster  through   your  veins,  aii 
produces  a  temporary  fever ;   but  when  the  effect  subsides,  a  corresj 
ing   exhaustion   and   depression   follow.       The   excitement  produce 
taking  ale  is  that  which  deceives  you :   because  you  are  more  recS 
you   think  you   are  stronger.      No  man   ought  to  do  more  worl 
what  his  body  is  capable  of  performing  without  this  stimulant ;  and 
who  drink  hard  and  work  hard,  are  drawing  upon  the  resources  of'l 
constitutions,  soon  become  debilitated,  and  seldom  live  to  see  an  old 
But,  in  many  cases,  the  ale  has  a  stupifying  effect,  and  in  this  resj 
is  worse  than  ardent  spirits.     Persons  who  take  ale  freely  at  dinnti 


I 


179 


generally  heavy  and  dull  after;    and  working  men  who  drink  ale,  unless 
they  work  off  the  effects  by  hard  labour,  soon  feel  a  melancholy  depres- 
sion.    To  stimulate  your  animal  systems  by  intoxicating  liquor  is  against 
nature,  is  injurious  to  your  health  and  peace,  and  almost  amounts  to  a  re- 
flection upon  your  Maker,  that  he  has  not  made  you  sufficiently  perfect  to 
bve  and  be  happy  without  the  use  of  this  chemical  mixture.     But  thirdh 
suppose  you  take  it  to  strengthen  your  bodies,  as  I  believe  most  do  who 
ire  not  drunkards,  you  are  certainly,  in  this  respect,  labouring  under  a 
jreat  delusion.     It  is  allowed  by  all  that  the  nutrition  in  ale  is  onlv  in 
,roportion  to  the  parts  of  barley  which  remain  in  it  when  it  is  drunk 
Mow,  suppose  you  were  to  buy  fifteen  pennyworth  of  barley,  and  make  it 
ato  bread,  or  soup,  or  gruel,  you  get  all  the  good  it  contains,  without  any 
pi  the  evil  or  intoxicating  principle.     On  the  other  hand,  I  assert    that 
lior  fifteen  pence,  laid  out  in  ale,  you  don't  get  above  a  pennyworth  of  real 
utriment:  nearly  all  the  rest  is  hop-water  and  spirit.     In  proof  of  this 
offer  the  following  statement,  the  particulars  of  which  were  furnished  by 
practical  brewer.     I  have  said  nothing  about  "  adulterations."  but  have 
ipposed  that  the  ale  is  made  from  "  malt  and  hops."     In  this  calculation, 
bushel  of  barley  is  supposed  to  make  a  bushel  of  malt,  and  the  prices  of 
16  ale  are  the  medium  betwixt  in-door  and  out-door  prices.     Good  barley 
ay  be  bought  for  3s.  6d.  per  bushel.     One  bushel,  when  malted  and 
ewed, 

gal.  to  the  load,  or    8J  gal.  to  the  bushel,  and  sold  at  7d.  per  quart,  will  make   IS.    8d 

::::::::::::::  ? y i8'4- 

,:  4i 18  6 

^^    4     17     4 

m  will  perceive  from  this  that  the  cost  of  the  ale  is  about  five  times  the 

St  of  the  barley  from  which  it  is  made.     The  other  four  parts  are  con- 

med  in  expences  and  profits,   and  are  principally  divided,  though  not 

mally,  among  the  maltster,  the  government,  the  brewer,  and  the  retailer. 

i  then,  the  barley  were  really  in  the  ale,  you  would  get  three  penn>-worth 

i  fifteen  pence;   but  I  doubt  not  I  can  convince  you  that  you  have  not 

■l^re  than  even  a  third  of  this.     In  order  to  produce  more  spirit,  the  grain 

.^subjected  to  three  operations,  in  which  it  either  loses  a  great  part  of 

il  nutritive  qualities  or  they  are  changed  into  others  which  are  innu- 

fcious.     In  the  process  of  malting,  the  grain,  by  being  steeped  in  water 

«li  spread  in  quantities  upon  a  suitable  floor,  germinates  or  sprouts ;  it  is 

tin  dried  upon  the  kiln,  and  the  sprouts  are  broken  off.     Like  an  onion  or 

fcotatoe,  or  like  unsound  wheat  in  a  bad  harvest,  which  is  sprouted,  it 

c  s  its  solidity,  and  is  almost  unfit  for  domestic  purposes.     According  to 


180 


eminent  chemists,  a  deterioration,  equal  to  the  loss  of  one-third  of  the  nute, 

tious  properties  of  the  grain,  takes  place  in  malting.     Again,  the  brewk 

and  fermentation  are  so  conducted  as  not  to  secure  the  nutritious  propel 

ties  of  the  grain,  but  to  obtain  as  much  spirit  as  possible.     The  malt  is  nti 

boiled  in  order  to  get  all  the  soluble  matter  out  of  it,  for  that  would  spoili^ 

ale,  but  is  infused  in  water  of  the  temperature  of  170  ;  consequently  a  cons' 

derable  part  of  that  which  is  nutritious  remains  in  the  grains,  which 

sold  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  pigs  and  cows.     The  fermentation,  and  stft 

sequent  management  of  the  liquor,  all  tend  to  reject  the  nutriment  of  tl 

malt,  or  to  convert  it  into  spirit.     Upon  a  reasonable  calculation,  then,  it 

asserted,  that  in  the  brewing  and  fermentation,  at  least  another  third  of  tl 

nutriment  is  lost.     So  that  it  plainly  appears  that  the  three  pennyworth  • 

barley,  supposed  to  be  found  in  fifteen  pennyworth  of  ale,  is  actually  r^ 

duced  to  a  single  penny !     If  you  got  your  ale  for  nothing  it  would  be  dea 

on  account  of  the  intoxicating  property  which  it  contains,  and  which  is  co: 

stantly  fining  our  country  with  poverty,  misery,  crime,  and  death;  but  wh. 

you  actually  pay  fifteen  pence  for  as  much  food  as  you  could  procure  f 

a  penny,  I  know  of  no  language  strong  enough  in  which  to  portray  ^^ 

folly  and  madness.  VI 

Supposing  you  buy  a  quantity  of  ale  to  the  amount  of  on-b  shillii 
AND  THREEPENCE,  the  division  of  the  money  in  some  places  is  as  folli^^ 
in  others  it  will  vary  a  little. 

Price  of  ale   

In  this  you  pay,  for  .  ^  . 

Expences  and  profit  of  retailing  the  article Vil  "  '  V  n     ai 

For  the  labour,  expences,  and  profit  of  brewing,  including  the  cost  of  hops,  &c.  0     4J 

Expences  and  profit  of  malting  this  quantity .' "  '  V  ■, n     oj 

Governmentduty  chargeable  upon  the  malt  used  in  this  quantity  of  ale   0    ^! 

Barley,  three  pennyworth,  deteriorated  by  malting,  one-third 0     1 

The  same  deteriorated  by  brewing  and  fermentation,  one-third 0 

1 


I 


Leaving  only  one  pennyworth  of  food,  or  nutritious  matte 
fifteen  pence  !  ! 

From  this  it  is  clear,  that  if  you  drink  ale  to  add  to  your  streng 
you  are  deceived.  When  you  drink  it,  you  get  a  quantity  of  spii 
which  is  stimulating,  but  is  incapable  of  being  digested,  and  cow 
quently,  as  all  medical  men  state,  cannot  add  to  the  strength  of  the ' 
frame.'  The  spirit,  the  hop,  and  the  colour,  all  serve  to  delude  U8 
in  point  of  fact,  ale  is  "  spirit  and  water"  flavoured  and  diluted. 

Let  this  subject  but  be  better  understood,  and  the  clamour 
"home  brewing"  will  soon  subside.     If  men  want  to  strength 


181 


nourish  their  bodies,  let  them  take  plenty  of  wholesome  food  ;  if  they 
want  to  quench  their  thirst,  they  have  a  suitable  drink  always  at  hand. 
To  seek  after  ale,  or  other  liquors,  as  stimulants,  when  in  a  state  of  health, 
is  very  improper;  and  to  take  it  as  an  article  of  food,  is  a  sheer  delusion! 
Supposing  this  admired  practice  of  home  brewing  were  to  return,  how 
,  would  the  matter  stand?  Whether  would  it  be  wiser  to  use  the  barley 
(as  grain  for  domestic  purposes,  or  to  spoil  it  by  malting,  to  reject  its 
nutritious  properties  by  brewing,  and  to  procure  an  intoxicating  liquor 
by  fermentation  ?     The  following  is  a  calculation  in  reference  to  this. 


^: 


Suppose  a  quantity  of  ale  cost   j'  „* 

In  this  you  pay,  for  the  cost  of  hops,  about ~q  ^ 

The  cost  of  malting    „  . 

The  barm  and  grains  to  pay  for  trouble  and  expence  of  brewing. 

The  loss  of  nutrition  in  malting,  one-third   q  ^  i 

Ditto               in  brewing  and  fermentation,  one-third ,  0  4 ' 


0   10^ 
,EVEN    WITH    THESE    ADVANTAGES,    IN    THIS    VIEW,    FOUR  PENCE   HALFPENNY 
ONLY    WOULD    REMAIN    OUT    OP    THE    FIFTEEN    PENCE  ! 

But  we  must  never  forget,  that  with  this  we  have  the  intoxicating 
ngredients,  the  occasion  of  much  more  harm  than  any  good  which  the  li- 
luor  contains.  Nothing  but  inveterate  custom  and  delusive  opinions  could 
lave  led  the  people  of  this  country  to  advocate  the  drinking  of  ale, 
vhether  brewed  at  home  or  by  the  public  brewer. 

To  this  it  may  be  objected,  that  some  men  get  fat  with  drinking  ale. 
The  cases  are  very  few,  and  seldom  among  men  who  labour  hard.  But 
vhere  it  does  occur,  it  is  seldom  a  healthy  fat,  and  it  is  easily  accounted  for, 
vithout  attributing  it  to  the  nutritive  properties  of  the  ale.  The  hop,  being 
.  narcotic,  tends  to  stupify,  and  very  often  makes  men  so  dull  and  lazy  as 
0  prevent  either  labour  or  exercise,  and  indolence  has  a  tendency  to  produce 
i:orpulency.  It  also  contains  a  bitter  principle,  and  acts  as  a  tonic  to  the 
tomach,  excites  the  appetite  to  take  more  food,  and  thus  also  the  effect  may 
)e  produced.  The  hop  acts  as  a  medicine,  and  may  be  taken  in  a  pow- 
lered  state,  or  some  other  bitter  may  be  substituted,  with  the  same  effect. 
3eyond  this,  and  the  very  small  portion  of  nutriment  which  it  is  admitted 
0  possess,  ale  has  no  peculiar  property  in  producing  fatness. 

It  is  constantly  maintained  that  a  pint  of  ale  is  of  great  service  to  a 
vorking  man  :  but  how  is  it  of  service  .-'  It  excites  the  animal  system  for 
he  moment,  but  leaves  it  afterwards  more  depressed ;  and  if  it  be  used 
nstead  of  substantial  food  and  cooling  drink,  it  is  sure  to  lead  to  weakness 

VOL.  III.  z 


182 

and  exhaustion.  With  stimulating  liquor  men  will  work  harder  than  otl 
for  a  few  hours,  but  those  who  live  well  will  work  much  more  regularly,  y 
greater  ease  to  themselves,  and  at  the  week's  end,  or  the  month's  end, 
have  done  more  work,  will  be  stronger,  and  much  happier  than  those 
had  been  goaded  on  by  stimulating  liquor.  Tlie  miller's  horse  works 
fattens  upon  the  grain,  in  the  state  in  which  God  sends  it,  and  why 
man  ?  Dr.  Franklin,  when  a  pressman  in  "London,  drank  water,  while 
the  other  men  drank  several  pints  of  porter  a  day,  and,  with  good  fi 
was  much  better  and  did  his  work  with  more  ease  than  they.  The 
man  soldiers,  who  conquered  the  world,  drank  only  vinegar  and  water, 
was  observed  in  a  glass  manufactory,  that  the  men  who  drank  w 
appeared  ten  years  younger  than  those  who  frequently  took  intoxical 
liquors.  And  we  have  a  number  of  living  witnesses,  now  in  Presi 
who  are  ready  to  attest,  that  cheerfulness  of  spirits,  health  of  bo^ 
and  muscular  strength  are  best  promoted  by  plenty  of  good  wholesqjs 
food,  and  the  beverage  of  nature. 

If  we  were  not  aware  of  the  force  of  habit,  we  should  be  surprisi 
that  the  working  men  of  this  country  should  have  made  a  liquor,  so  un] 
latable,  so  productive  of  thirst,  and  so  mixed  with  alcohol  as  to  derange  b(^ 
body  and  mind,  their  common  drink.  But  so  many  are  now  interested 
the  sale  of  it,  that  it  is  always  at  hand;  even  in  the  poorest  streets  there  ^, 
places  established  for  its  sale;  and  hence  many  take  it  because  it  is  hanA 
without  considering,  that,  in  drinking  it,  they  are  loading  their  stomal^ 
with  diluted ^re  water  !  Ale.  is  a  deceiver;  it  is  your  greatest  enemy; 
how  often  have  you  gone  just  to  get  a  pint,  and  have  not  returned  till  yp 
were  dead  drunk  ?  If  any  friend  had  deceived  you  as  often  as  ale 
done,  you  would  consider  him  the  vilest  wretch  upon  earth,  and  would  al 
don  his  company  for  ever.  This  liquor  is  not  suited  to  the  human  franw 
and  you  are  doing  violence  to  your  own  enjoyments  if  you  take  it.  Yp 
are  never  safe  while  you  allow  yourselves  a  little ;  it  is  a  sin  to  disi 
the  animal  frame  even  by  small  quantities ;  and  this  moderate  drinkioj 
sure  to  produce  excessive  drinking  either  in  yourselves  or  others 
drinking  the  least  quantity  of  intoxicating  liquor  there  is  danger;  in  e\ 
abstinence  all  is  safe — all  is  well.  A  Friend 


^ 


CONSISTENCY. 

So  little  has  uncontroled  reason  to  do  with  forming  a  judgment  uj 
passing  events,  that  we  constantly  find  men  condemning  one  practice,i 
tolerating  others  as  bad  or  worse,  and  generally  for  this  simple  reason, 


183 

one  is  neiv,  and  strikes  the  attention,  the  other  is  old,  and  has  become  fa- 
miliar  by  constant  repetition.    I  recollect  a  gentleman  making  strong  objec- 
tions against  the  children,  who  walk  in  a  procession  at  the  races,  carrying 
a  few  small  flags ;  he  was  not  fond  of  such  a  display  and  parade  ;   and  yet 
he  has  before  him,  in  his  own  church,  a  display  much  more  gaudy.     The 
flags,  containing  the  arms  of  rich  families,  can  wave  in  the  church ;  and  the 
whole  person  of  the  minister  who  officiates  is  decorated  with  two  differ- 
ent  coverings  during  a  single  service.     We  are  accustomed  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  bells,  but  if  such  a  practice,  in  connection  with  the  worship  of 
God,  were  now  for  the  first  time  introduced,  every  man  would  proclaim  it 
shocking.     If  a  man  were  to  set  out  a  stall  and  sell  religious  tracts  on 
Sunday,  it  would  be  very  objectionable,  I  own  ;  but  is  not  the  same  article 
actually  sold  in  a  thousand  places  every  Sunday  }    If  I  were  to  kneel  down 
it  the  bed  side  of  a  fellow  creature,  who  was  recovering  from  his  sickness, 
;o  give  thanks  on  his  behalf,   and  was  afterwards  to  demand  ten  pence  for 
he  service,  I  should  be  the  object  of  the  scorn  of  the  whole  town.     But 
he  same  is  done  at  the  church  almost  every  Sunday.    The  minister,  in  the 
course  of  thanksgiving,  includes  her  who  is  just  delivered  from  child  bed,  and 
or  this  he  and  the  clerk  charge  ten  pence.     If  such  instances  of  Sunday 
rading  were  now  to  appear  before  us  for  the  first  time,  we  should  consider 
he  man  who  could  attempt  it  a  disgrace  to  his  office.     The  same  remark 
pplies  forcibly  to  Sunday  meetings  to  diffuse  the  principles  of  temperance. 
Uthough  the  public  houses  in  town  and  country  are  in  full  operation  ;   al- 
hough  thousands  are  dying  yearly  through  intemperance,  unnoticed ;  al- 
hough  meetings  at  the  bathing  places  and  at  the  race  moor  are  permitted 
n  Sundays,  yet  the  laudable  efforts  of  those  who  wish  to  redeem  their 
ountry  from  the  worst  of  slavery,  and  to  promote  morality,  peace,  and 
ood  will  among  men,  are  attempted  to  be  put  down !     Consistency  will 
ever  flourish  where  prejudice  and  superstition  have  taken  the  place  of 
:ason  and  common  sense.     He  that  would  secure  the  truth  and  free  him- 
-If  from  inconsistency,  must  revere  nothing  because  it  is  old,  object  to 
othing  because  it  is  new,  nor  believe  nor  disbelieve  because  others  have 
3ne  so  before  him.     Every  practice  should  stand  upon  its  own  merits, 
^d  he  received  or  rejected  just  as  it  is  good  or  evil  in  itself. 


PLACES  OF  PUBLIC  .\MUSEMENT. 
This  subject,  frequently  referred  to  in  Parliament  and  recommended 
»■  the  public  papers,  is  now  undergoing  an  investigation  by  a  committee 
■  the  House  of  Commons.     Nothing  can  be  more  desirable  than  that  out 


184 

door  recreations  should  be  encouraged ;  but  like  many  other  acts  of  leg 
lation,  it  is  a  matter  which  would  be  better  left  to  the  spontaneous  feel 
of  the  various  districts  in  which  accommodations  for  this  purpose  are 
posed  to  be  wanted.     The  inquiry  should  be  upon  this  subject,  as  u] 
many  others,  why  is  it,  that  in  those  places  where  there  is  wealth,  po 
lation,  and  an  intercommunity  of  interests,  we  find  so  little  unani: 
of  disposition,  and  so  few  disposed  to  take  the  lead,  or  to  make  a  s: 
fice  in  any  undertaking  to  raise  the  character  and  promote  the  comfort 
the  people  ?    Legislation  can  never  be  a  substitute  for  moral  attainm^ 
without  this,  human  laws  can  do  but  little  ;  with  it,  legislation  upon  moi 
domestic  matters  will  be  unnecessary.     The  great  error  is,  that  that  whicl 
requires  heads,  and  hearts,  and  hands  at  home,  is  attempted  to  be  accom 
plished  at  London,  by  covering  over  half  a  quire  of  paper,  every  paragra|i 
commencing,  "Be  it  therefore  enacted,"  or,  "Provided  always."    One  hai 
of  the  business  of  the  House  of  Commons  is  what  must  be  done  at  honw 
in  the  country,  if  ever  it  be  done  aright. 

There  is,  however,  one  point  connected  with  the  amusements  of  thi 
people  with  which  the  Parliament  has  to  do  ;  and  that  is  so  to  alter  thi 
system  of  taxation,  to  break  down  every  oppressive  monopoly,  and  to  re 
trench  rigidly  in  the  national  expenditure,  so  that  the  humblest  classes  od 
working  men  might  be  able  to  get  for  themselves,  their  wives,  and  thei 
children,  shoes  and  decent  clothing,  in  order  that  they  may  appear  decentl) 
and  take  their  own  recreation.  Indeed,  the  first  question  appears  to  be 
are  the  working  people  and  their  children  sufficiently  provided  for  at  home'i 
Have  they  good  substantial  food  ?  have  they  decent  furniture  ?  have  thej 
convenient  apartments  to  live  and  to  sleep  in  ?  is  their  bedding  and  theii 
clothing  adapted  to  keep  them  warm,  and  to  answer  the  purposes  of  decenc\ 
and  comfort  ?  These  are  questions  which  should  take  priority  to  thai 
of,  are  the  people  accommodated  with  "  public,  handsome,  and  commodious 
walks  ? "  Though  I  admire  public  walks,  and  places  of  recreation,  yet  ] 
think  they  are  of  inferior  moment  compared  to  the  above ;  and  I  also 
know  that  many  prefer  the  ramble  amidst  romantic  nature,  which  is 
and  boimdless,  to  the  restraints  imposed  in  a  fashionable  walk.  At 
rate,  an  intrusive  legislation  is  unnecessary,  and  is  almost  sure  to  p 
abortive.  After  the  people  are  sup)plied  with  household  comforts,  let 
necessity  of  pleasure  grounds  be  made  apparent  to  the  inhabitants  of 
particular  district,  and  surely  if  there  be  any  public  spirit  (a  rare  artic 
confess)  an  object  like  this  might  easily  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  if 
be  wanting,  an  act  of  Parliament  can  never  supply  the  defect. 


185 

THE  STATE  OF  THE  WORKING  CLASSES. 

Several  statements  of  the  condition  of  the  working  classes  in  the  manufacturing  dis- 
xicts  have  been  published,  principally  emanating  from  persons  connected  with  the  boards 
)f  health  appointed  during  the  rage  of  the  cholera.  That  recently  published  by  James 
Phillips  Kay,  M.D.,  is  one  of  the  most  important.  It  not  only  lays  open,  in  the  most  strik- 
ng  manner,  the  wretched  and  miserable  condition  of  the  people,  but  traces  the  causes  and 
onsequences  in  a  masterly  manner.  No  extracts  could  do  justice  to  the  general  subject 
iipon  which  he  writes,  and  therefore  I  forbear  to  make  any,  excepting  one  which  relates  es- 
ecially  to  the  moral  state  of  the  people. 

"With  unfeigned  regret,  we  are  therefore  constrained  to  add,  that  the  standard  of  mo- 
ality  is  exceedingly  debased,  and  that  religious  observances  are  neglected  amongst  the 
perative  population  of  Manchester.  The  bonds  of  domestic  sympathy  are  too  generally  re- 
used ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  filial  and  paternal  duties  are  uncultivated.  The  artisan 
as  not  time  to  cherish  these  feelings,  by  the  familiar  and  grateful  arts  which  are  their  con- 
tant  food,  and  without  which  nourishment  they  perish.  An  apathy  benumbs  his  spirit. 
'ao  frequently  the  father,  enjoying  perfect  health  and  with  ample  opportunities  of  employ- 
lent,  is  supported  in  idleness  on  the  earnings  of  his  oppressed  children ;  and,  on  the  other 
and,  when  age  and  decrepitude  cripple  the  energies  of  the  parents,  their  adult  children 
bandon  them  to  the  scanty  maintenance  derived  from  parochial  relief. 

"  That  religious  observances  are  exceedingly  neglected,  we  have  had  constant  opportu- 
ifies  of  ascertaining,  in  the  performance  of  our  duty  as  Pliysician  tO' the  Ardwick  and  An- 
ats  Dispensary,  which  frequently  conducted  us  to  the  houses  of  the  poor  on  a  Sunday, 
^ith  rare  exceptions,  the  adults  of  the  vast  population  of  84,147  contained  in  Districts  Nos, 
2,  3,  4,  spend  Sunday  either  in  supine  sloth,  in  sensuality,  or  in  listless  inactivity.  A 
Ttain  portion  only  of  the  labouring  classes  enjoys  even  healthful  recreation  on  that  day, 
id  a  very  small  number  frequent  the  places  of  worship. 

"  The  fruits  of  external  prosperity  may  speedily  be  blighted  by  the  absence  of  internal 
rtue.  With  pure  religion  and  undefiled  flourish  frugality,  forethought,  and  industry — the 
dal  charities  which  are  the  links  of  kindred,  neighbours,  and  societies — and  the  amenities^ 
life,  which  banish  the  jealous  suspicion  with  which  one  order  regards  another.  In  vain 
ay  the  intellect  of  man  be  tortured  to  devise  expedients  by  which  the  supply  of  the  neces- 
ries  of  life  may  undergo  an  increase  equivalent  to  that  of  population,  if  the  moral  check  be- 
erthrown.  Crime,  diseases,  pestilence,  intestine  discord,  famine,  or  foreign  war — those 
encies  which  repress  the  rank  overgrowth  of  a  meagre  and  reckless  race — will,  by  a  natu- 
l  law,  desolate  a  people  devoid  of  prudence  and  principle,  whose  numbers  constantly  press 
the  limits  of  the  means  of  subsistence.  We  therefore  regard  with  alarm  the  state  of  those 
St  masses  of  our  operative  population  which  are  acted  upon  by  all  other  incentives  rather 
Ml  those  of  virtue  ;  and  are  visited  by  the  emissaries  of  every  faction,  rather  than  by  the 
inisters  of  an  ennobling  faith. 

'  The  present  means  or  methods  of  religious  instruction  are,  in  the  circumstances  in 
lich  our  large  towns  are  placed,  most  evidently  inadequate  to  their  end.  The  labours  of 
ne  few  devoted  men — of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy — in  the  houses  of  the  poor,  are 
:eirly  insufficient  to  produce  a  deep  and  permanent  moral  impression  on  the  people. 
one  of  our  laws,  as  now  administered,  encourage  indigence  and  vice,  and  hence  arises  an 
Teased  necessity  for  the  daily  exertions  of  the  teachers  of  religion  to  stem  that  flood  of 


186 


^ 


prevailing  immorality  which  threatens  to  overthrow  the  best  means  that  political  sagad 
can  devise  for  the  elevation  of  the  people. 

"  The  exertions  of  Dr.  Tuckerman,  of  Boston,  in  establishing  "  a  ministry  for  the  pa 
had  been,  until  very  recently,  rather  the  theme  of  general  and  deserved  praise,  than  pro 
live  of  laudable  imitation.  This  ministration  is  to  be  effected,  chiefly  by  a  visitation  i 
houses  of  the  poor,  and  he  proposes  as  its  objects,  religious  instruction,  uninfluenced  by^ 
tarian  spirit  or  opinions, — the  relief  of  the  most  pressing  necessities  of  the  po^r — first^'^ 
a  well  regulated  charity,  and  secondarily  by  instruction  in  domestic  economy — exhortatifl 
to  industry — admonition  concerning  the  consequences  of  vice,  and  by  obtaining  work  i 
the  deserving  and  unemployed.  The  minister  should  also  encourage  the  education  of  tl 
children,  should  prove  the  friend  of  the  poor  in  periods  of  perplexity,  and,  when  the  1- 
bourer  is  subdued  by  sickness,  should  breathe  into  his  the  ear  maxims  of  virtue,  and  tl 
truths  of  religion.  He  might  also  act  as  a  medium  of  communication  and  a  link  of  symps 
thy  between  the  higher  and  lower  classes  of  society.  He  might  become  the  almoner  of  tl 
rich,  and  thus  daily  sow  the  seeds  of  a  kindlier  relationship  than  that  which  now  subds 
between  the  wealthy  and  the  destitute.  He  might  also  serve  as  a  faithful  reporter  of  tl 
secret  miseries  which  are  suffered  in  the  abodes  of  poverty,  unobserved  by  those  to  who: 
he  may  come  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  abandoned.  The  prevalence  of  the  principles  ar 
the  energetic  practice  of  the  precepts  of  Christisnity,  we  may  hope,  will  thus  ultimately  I 
made  to  bind  together  the  now  hostile  elements  of  society." 

"  The  daily  exertions  of  the  teachers  of  religion  to  stem  the^/lood  of  immorality  J^ — This 
what  I  have  evermore  ])een  advocating.  But  the  ministers,  to  stem  the  flood,  must  go  dai. 
where  it  is.  Ah !  here  is  the  fatal  error.  In  perambulating  the  wretched  streets  of  oi 
towns,  we  meet  with  the  constables,  two  and  two,  the  ministers  of  coercion,  but  when  do  w 
meet  with  the  ministers  of  peace  ?  If  the  Four  Evangelists  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ha 
been  locked  up  for  the  three  last  centuries  in  the  inquisition,  we  could  not  be  moreignorai 
of  the  duties  of  a  religious  teacher  than  we  appear  to  be  at  this  day.  Let  the  simple  Chri; 
tian  trace  the  footsteps  of  Christ  and  his  apostles ;  let  him  merely  read  the  narrative ;  an 
he  must  see  that  the  qualifications,  appointment,  the  sphere  of  labour,  the  nature  of  the  war, 
and  the  remuneration  of  our  present  ministers  are  utterly  at  variance  with  primitive  exampl  ■ 
We  cannot  get  our  present  ministers  among  the  people :  they  seem  to  have  no  relish  for  th  ■ 
work.  Every  approaching  season  of  vice  they  ought  to  anticipate;  every  place  where  vii 
most  abounds  they  ought  to  frequent :  but  they  seem  to  have  no  soul  to  stir  in  any  such  worl 

Dr.  Tuckerman  recommends  "a  ministry  for  the ^oor.''     This  is  an  unvarnished  int  ■ 
raation  that  the  present  ministry  is  for  the  rich.     And  this  is  so  obviously  the  fact,   that 
would  be  a  waste  of  words  to  attempt  to  prove  it.     It  implies,  however,  one  solemn  trut ' 
which  all  ought  duly  to  consider — that  in  this  respect  it  is  in  open  opposition  to  the  minislt  '\ 
of  Christ;  and  so  true  is  it,  that  we  may  retain  the  name  of  anything  after  its  appropriai 
character  is  gone.     I  approve  of  "a  ministry  for  the  poor,"  for  this  is  the  ministry  wlv 
agrees  best  with  the  genius,  precepts,  and  examples  of  primitive  Christianity.     The  otlu 
mmistry — admitting  that  considerable  good  may  incidentally  be  connected  with  it — I  wi 
call  by  no  harder  name  than  to  say,  it  is  not  apostolic. 

There  is,  however,  an  objectionable  feature  in  this  "  ministry  for  the  poor,"  so  fai 
have  read  of  its  operations.  The  men  are  called  out  too  nmch  upon  the  principle  i 
hireling,  and  are  too  select.     The  object  being  principally  to  visit  the  poor,  the  rich,( 


187 

lave  time,  and  all  classes  of  Christians,  according  to  their  opportunities,  should  be  employed 

In  it,  not  by  special  appointment,  but  as  one  of  the  common  duties  of  their  religion.     But  in- 
tead  of  doing  this,  the  rich  ease  themselves  of  the  burden — and  I  may  say,  deprive  them- 
lelves  oi  the  pleasure — of  visiting  the  "widow  and  the  fatherless,"  and  a  number  of  them 
lelect  an  individual,  and  join  in  paying  him  perhaps  twenty  shillings  a  week  for  doing  their 
JFOrk.     They  remain  at  a  distance,  and  know  little  of  the  miseries  of  the  people  but  by 
eport.     Thus,  Dr.  Tuckerman  speaks  of  a  minister  of  this  description  being  "a  mediuvi  of 
i  inpathy,  a  link  of  connection  between  the  poor  and  the  rich — that  he  might  become  the 
(  \hnoner  of  the  rich — serve  as  a  reporter  of  the  miseries  of  poverty,"  &c. 
j         Though  the  author  has  recommended  a  neiv  ministry,  like  all  similar  writers,  he  has 
)  ot  dared  to  charge  the  old  one  with  dereliction  of  duty,  nor  to  assign  a  reason  why  a  vast 
\  im  of  money  should  be  paid  to  an  order  of  men  whose  work  remains  undone.     No  man  can 
»  i;ad  the  heart-rending  descriptions  which  are  here  given  of  the  people  of  Manchester,  with- 
{  it  reflecting  upon  those  who  ought  to  be  leaders  in  promoting  morality,  religion,  and  hap- 
iiness.     It  is  merely  a  compliment — the  usual  accompaniment  of  hypocrisy — to  call  this 
i  luntry  Christian.    The  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  people  is  a  libel  upon  the  name.    When 
I  ill  "  the  days  of  reformation  "  come  ? 


'.EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  FIFTH  ANNUAL  REPORT  OE  THE   AMERICAN 
TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY. 

The  pledge  of  the  Society. — "I  pledge  myself  to  an  entire  abstinence  from  the  use  of 
dent  spirits,  except  when  prescribed  by  a  temperate  physician  incase  of  sickness." 

From  the  best  information  vrhich  the  Committee  have  been  able  to  obtain,  they  are  led 
conclude  that  more  than  1,500,000  people  in  the  United  States  now  abstain  from  the  use 
ardent  spirit,  and  from  the  furnishing  of  it  for  the  use  of  others ;  that  there  are  inore 
an  4000  Temperance  Societies,  embracing  more  than  500,000  members;  that  more  than 
00  distilleries  have  been  stopped,  more  than  4000  merchants  ceased  to  traffic  in  the  poison, 
dmore  than  4500  drunkards  ceased  to  use  intoxicating  drinks.  There  is  also  reason  to 
lieve,  that  more  than  20,000  persons  are  now  sober,  who,  had  it  not  been  for  the  tempe- 
reformation,  would  have  been  sots ;  and  that  20,000  families  are  now  in  ease  and 
ifort,  with  not  a  drunkard  in  them,  or  one  who  is  becoming  a  drunkard,  who  would 
jerwise  have  been  in  poverty,  or  cursed  with  a  drunken  inmate  ;  that  50,000  children  are 
■ed  from  the  blasting  influence  of  drunken  parents,  and  200,000  from  that  parental  influ- 
»  which  tended  to  make  them  drunkards.  There  is  also  reason  to  believe  that  thou- 
ids  and  tens  of  thousands  are  members  of  Christian  churches,  and  rejoicing  in  the  hope  of 
'%\oTy  of  God,  who,  had  they  continued  to  drink,  had  now  been  without  hope  and  with- 
t  God  in  the  world.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  also,  that  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
ids  are  now  impenitent,  unbelieving,  and  on  their  way  to  the  second  death,  who,  had  it 
:  been  for  the  sale  and  use  of  ardent  spirit,  had  been  ripening  for  glory  and  honour,  and 
mortality,  and  eternal  life  ;  and  that  tens  of  thousands  more  have  passed  the  boundaries 
hope,  and  are  weeping  and  wailing,  who,  had  it  not  been  for  this,  might  have  been  in 
wen.  And  in  view  of  such  things,  shall  we  be  told  that  temperance  is  only  a  secular 
leern  ?   that  it  aflfects  only  the  bodies  of  men,  not  their  souls,  and  is  a  concern  which  re- 


I 


188 


lates  to  time  only,  not  to  eternity  ?  that  it  ought  not  to  be  discussed  from  the  pulpit,  on| 
Sabbath !  Should  Satan  cause  this  to  be  believed,  he  would  perpetuate  intemperanfl 
the  end  of  the  world.  Shall  the  fires  which  make  this  poison  burn  on  the  Sabbath,  and! 
use  of  it  tend  to  counteract  all  the  merciful  designs  of  Jehovah,  in  establishing  that 
day?  Shall  Jehovah  be  insulted  by  the  appearance  in  the  sanctuary  of  men  who  use  i 
the  Sabbath,  and  yet  the  Sabbath  not  be  occupied,  by  light  and  love,  to  abolish  the  use  i 
Shall  it  cause  the  word  of  the  Lord,  even  from  the  pulpit,  to  fall  as  upon  a  rock,  inst 
being  as  the  rain  and  the  snow,  that  come  down  from  heaven  and  water  the  earth,  and  ' 
sands,  who  might  be  trees  of  righteousness  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  to  stand  like  theh(l 
in  the  desert,  not  seeing  good  when  good  comes,  and  yet  the  pulpit  be  dumb,  or  speak  i 
on  weekdays,  when  those  wl-o  traffic  in  it  have  so  much  to  do  in  furnishing  the  poison ttai 
they  have  no  time,  and  less  inclination,  to  hear?  If  Satan  can  cause  this  to  be  belief 
and  those  who  manufacture,  sell,  and  use  the  weapons  of  his  warfare,  and  multiply  the  trophie  » 
of  his  victory,  not  hear  of  their  sin  on  the  Sabbath,  when  God  speaks  to  the  conscience,  or  bi 
entreated  from  the  pulpit,  his  mercy  seat,  by  the  tears  and  blood  of  a  Saviour,  to  flee  fron 
coming  damnation,  the  adversary  will  keep  possession  of  his  strong  hold.  Church  mem 
bers  will  garrison  it,  and  provision  it,  and  fight  for  him,  Froin  the  communion  table  ht 
will  muster  recruits,  and  find  officers  in  those  who  distribute  the  elements,  to  fight  his  battles 
perpetuate  his  warfare,  and  people  with  increasing  numbers  his  dark  domain  to  the  end  o 
time.  If  we  may  not,  in  this  warfare,  fight  on  the  Lord's  day,  when  he  himself  goes  forth  U 
the  battle  and  commands  on  the  field;  if  we  may  not  use  his  weapons,  forged  in  heaven ;  anc 
from  the  high  place  of  his  erection,  pour  them  down  thick,  heavy,  and  hot  upon  the  enemy, 
we  may  fight  till  we  die,  and  he  will  esteem  our  iron  as  straw,  and  our  brass  as  rotten  wood; 
our  darts  he  will  count  as  stubble,  and  laugh  at  the  glittering  of  our  spear.  Leviathan  is 
not  so  tamed.  There  is  no  coping  with  him  but  with  weapons  of  heavenly  temper  from  the 
armoury  of  Jehovah,  on  the  day  when  he  goes  forth,  and  creation,  at  his  command,  stands 
still  to  witness  the  conflict.  Then  it  is,  as  conscience,  kindled  from  above,  blazes  and  I' 
thunders  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy,  that  he  is  consumed  by  the  breath  of  the  Almighty, 
and  destroyed  by  the  brightness  of  his  coming. 

A  person  who  has  visited  three  hundred  towns  in  which  efforts  had  been  made  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  temperance,  says,  he  has  seen  but  few  professors  of  religion  who  opposed  . 
Temperance  Societies,  but  who  either  made,  sold,  or  drank  ardent  spirit ;  and  that  he  has 
never  known  an  intemperate  man  who  gave  up  the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  but  who  continued 
to  drink  wine,  beer,  or  cider,  who  did  not  perpetuate  his  intemperance,  and  ultimately  turn 
back  to  his  former  habits  of  using  ardent  spirit.     These  facts  deserve  to  be  remembered,  and 
especially  the  last    The  disease  of  drunkenness,  if  not  fed  with  intoxicating  drink,  will  sleep, 
and  not  afflict  him  who  has  contracted  it ;  but  if  fed,  even  with  fermented  drinks,  it  will  cOte  | 
tinue  to  rage,  will  ordinarily  increase,  and  its  deluded  victim  may  expect  to  die  a  drunklHI 
And  this  will  be  the  case  if  he  begins,  though  it  may  have  been  years  since  he  ceased  to  UM  . 
it.     There  is  no  safety  but  in  entire  and  perpetual  abstinence  from  the  use  of  every  thing  ( 
which  intoxicates.     Those  friends,  therefore,  and  all  who  urge  such  persons  to  use  in 
degree  either  fermented  liquor  or  distilled,  take  the  course  to  destroy  them.     And  numeil 
are  the  cases  where  the  result  has  been  speedy  death.     A  drunkard  ceased  to  use  intox 
ing  drink,  and  was,  as  every  drunkard,  should  he  take  a  similar  course,  will  be,  a  sober  i 


189 

3e  co«tiaued  so  for  years,  til!  urged  by  a  pretended  friend  to  take  a  tea-spoDn  full  a  day  in 
4^  restorative  bitters.  He  did.  and  was  soon  again  a  drunkard,  raging  in  all  the  madness 
,f  the  delirium  tremens.  Another,  by  abstaining  in  a  similar  manner,  was  a  sober  man 
::  h;s  mother  urged  him  to  take  a  little  porter,  and  to!d  him  when  he  refused  that  it  would 
hurt  him,  and  pressed  him  till  he  complied ;  and  from  that  day  she  was  doomed,  as  if  in 

ijighteous  judgment,  to  see  her  son  a  confirmed  sot.  Can  a  man  take  coals  into  his  bosom 
jui  his  clothes  not  be  burnt  ?  As  well  might  a  man  put  a  match  to  gunpowder,  and  not 
|3(pect  an  explosion,  as  to  thro.v  alcohol  into  the  stomach  of  a  drunkard,  or  one  that  has 
■'.  such,  and  not  expect  that  it  will  take  fire.  Water,  pure,  cool  water,  and  unstimulat- 
:  od  and  drinks,  are  the  only  safeguard  against  his  being  consumed. 

Instances  are  known  where  the  first  children  of  a  family,  who  were  born  when  their 

:ts  were  temperate,  have  been  healthy,  intelligent,  and  active;  while  the  last  children, 

were  bora  after  the  parents  had  become  intemperate,  were  dwarfish  and  idiotic.     A 

-il  gentleman  writes,  "  I  have  no  doubt  that  a  disposition  to  nervous  diseases  of  a  pe- 

character  is  transmitted  by  drunken  parents."     Another  gentleman  states  that,  in  tivo 

:£S  within  his  knowledge,  the  different  stages  of  intemperance  in  the  parents  seemed 

be  marked  by  a  corresponding  deterioration  in  the  bodies  and  minds  of  the  children.     In 

:  :ase,  the  eldest  of  the  family  is  respectable,  industrious,  and  accumulates  property  ;  the 

is  inferior,  disposed  to  be  industrious,  but  spends  all  he  can  earn  in  strong  drink. 

liird  is  dwarfish  in  body  and  mind,  and,  to  use  his  own  language,  "  a  poor  miserable 

nt  of  a  man."    In  another  family  of  daughters,  the  first  is  a  smart  active  girl,  with  an 

ieent  well-balanced  mind;  the  others  are  afflicted  with  different  degrees  of  mental 

raKness  and  imbecUity,  and  the  youngest  is  an  idiot.     Anoilier  medical  gentleman  states. 

It  the  first  child  of  a  family,  who  was  born  when  the  habits  of  the  mother  were  good,  wa.s 

;  althy  and  promising :  while  the  four  last  children,  who  were  born  after  the  mother  had 

come  addicted  to  the  habit  of  using  opium,  appeared  to  be  stupid ;  and  all,  at  about  the 

ne  age,  sickened  and  died  of  a  disease  apparently  occasioned  by  the  habits  of  the  mother. 

Another  gentleman  mentions  a  case  more  common,  and  more  appalling  still.     A  re- 

-ble  and  influential  man  early  in  life  adopted  the  habit  of  using  a  little  ardent  spirit 

because,  as  he  thought,  it  did  him  good.     He  and  his  six  children,  three  sons  and 

daughters,  are  now  in  the  drunkard's  grave,  and  the  only  surviving  child  is  rapidly 

:ng  after,  in  the  same  way,  to  the  same  dismal  end. 

And  say  the  New  York  State  Society,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Chancellor  of  the 

'■  Disguise  the  spirit  business  as  they  will,  it  is  still,  in  its  true  character,  the  busine^s 

troying  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men.     The  vender  and  the  maker  of  spirits,  in  the 

range  of  them,  from  the  pettiest  grocer  to  the  most  extensive  distiller,  are  fairly 

-  ?able,  not  only  with  supplying  the  appetite  for  spirits,  but  with  creating  that  unnatu- 

.'petite ;  not  only  with  suppljring  the  drunkard  with  the  fuel  of  his  vices,  but  with 

-  the  drunkard.      In  reference  to  the  taxes  with  which  the  making  and  vending  of 

>  load  the  community,  how  unfair  towards  others  is  the  occupation  of  the  maker  and 

»  der  of  them!     A  town,  for  instance,  contains  one  hundred  drunkards:    the  profit  of 

[sing  these  drunkards  is  enjoyed  by  some  half-dozen  persons  ;  but  the  burden  of  these 

■Aards  rests  upon  the  whole  town.    The  Executive  Committee  do  not  suggest  that  there 

VOL.      III.  2   A 


190 

should  be  such  a  law  ;  but  they  ask  whether  there  would  be  one  law  in  the  whole  stati 
book,  raore  righteous  than  that  which  should  require  those  who  have  the  profit  of  makjj 
our  drunkards  to  be  burdened  with  the  support  of  them  ?" 

Suppose  a  man,  when  about  to  commence  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirit,  should  writei 
great  capitals  on  his  sign-board,  to  be  seen  and  read  of  all  men,  what  he  will  do,  viz. 
so  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  or  city  he  will,  for  the  sake  of  getting  their  mon< 
make  paupers,  and  send  them  to  the  alms-house,  and  thus  oblige  the  whole  community  ro 
support  them  and  their  families;  that  so  many  others  he  will  excite  to  the  commission  of 
crimes,  and  thus  increase  the  expences  and  endanger  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity ;  that  so  many  he  will  send  to  the  jail,  and  so  many  more  to  the  state  prison,  and  so 
many  to  the  gallows ;  that  so  many  he  will  visit  with  sore  and  distressing  diseases,  and,  in 
so  many  cases,  diseases  which  would  have  been  comparatively  harmless  he  will  by  his  poi- 
son render  fatal;  that  in  so  many  cases  he  will  deprive  persons  of  reason,  and  in  so  many 
cases  will  cause  sudden  death  ;  that  so  many  wives  he  will  make  widows,  and  so  many  chil- 
dren he  will  make  orphans,  and  that  in  so  many  cases  he  will  cause  the  children  to  grow 
up  in  ignorance,  vice,  and  crime,  and,  after  being  nuisances  on  earth,  will  bring  them  to  a 
premature  grave ;  that  in  so  many  cases  he  will  prevent  the  efficacy  of  the  gospel,  grieve 
away  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ruin  for  eternity  the  souls  of  men  ; — and  suppose  he  could  and 
should  give  some  faint  conception  of  what  it  is  to  lose  the  soul,  and  of  the  overwhelming 
guilt  and  coming  wretchedness  of  him  who  is  knowingly  instrumental  in  producing  this 
ruin; — and  suppose  he  should  put  at  the  bottom  of  the  sign  this  question,  viz.  "What," 
you  may  ask,  "can  be  my  object  in  acting  so  much  like  a  devil  incarnate,  and  bringing 
such  accumulated  wretchedness  upon  a  comparatively  happy  people  ?" — and  under  it  should 
be  put  the  true  answer,  "  Money  !"  ^|| 

Says  an  eminent  physician,  Reuben  D.  Mussey,  President  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Medical  Society,  and  professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery  in  Dartmouth  College,  "  What  is 
the  secret  of  this  witchery,  which  strong  drink  exerts  over  the  whole  man  ?     I  will  try  to 
tell  you.     After  being  received  into  the  stomach,  it  is  sucked  up  by  absorbent  vessels,  is 
carried  into  the  blood,  and  circulates  through  the  alimentary  organs,  through  the  lungs, 
muscles,  and  brain  ;  and,  doubtless,  through  every  organ  of  the  body.     Not  a  blood-vesi 
however  minute,  not  a  thread  of  nerve  in  the  whole  animal  machine,  escapes  its  influeni 
And  what  is  the  nature  of  that  influence  ?     It  disturbs  the  functions  of  life."     "  On  e' 
organ  they  touch,"  says  another  eminent  physician,  Ebenezer  Allien,  M.D.,  of  Massach 
setts,  "  ardent  spirits  operate  as  a  poison.     No  where  in  the  human  body  are  they  allow 
even  a  lodgment,  until  the  vital  powers  are  so  far  prostrated  that  they  cannot  be  remoM 
They  are  hurried  on  from  one  organ  to  another,  marking  their  course  with  irregularity* 
action  and  disturbance  of  fimction  ;  until  at  last,  as  a  common  enemy,  they  are  taken  up 
the  emunctories,  the  scavengers  of  the  system,  and  unceremoniously  excluded.      Whi 
through  decay  of  organic  vigour,  this  process  ceases,  the  work  of  destruction  is  drawing 
a  close  ;  and  the  last  glimmerings  of  life  are  soon  extinguished.     To  a  man  in  health  thd 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  temperate  use  of  spirits.     In  any  quantity,  they  are  an  enemy  to 
human  constitution.     Their  influence  upon  the  physical  organs  is  unfavourable  to  heal 
and  life.    They  produce  weakness,  not  strength ;  sickness,  not  health  ;  death,  and  not  lift 


191 

A  correspondent  in  a  Western  State  has  sent  us  the  following  statement.  Its  truth 
may  be  relied  on.  An  owner  of  one  of  the  principal  taverns  in has  been  heard  to  de- 
clare, that,  since  his  knowledge,  there  had  been  between  three  hundred  and  five  hundred 
bar-keepers  in  that  tavern,  and  out  of  the  whole  of  them  he  knew  but  eight  or  ten  who  have 

.|n6t  ultimately  become  intemperate,  two  of  whom  are  yet  in  that  tavern.  What  an  awful 
warning  this  ought  to  be  to  those  parents  who  put  their  sons  to  tavern  keeping !     What  an 

((enormous  manufactory  of  drunkards  this  tavern  has  been  !     And  yet  one  of  the  owners  of 

;|it,  who  has  kept  it  for  the  last  ten  or  twenty  years,  and  who  knows  this  appalling  fact,  still 

{keeps  it,  and  makes  profession  of  religion  ! 


Temperance  Reformation  in  China. — The  Chinese  authorities  at  Canton  have  caused  pro- 
clamations to  be  pasted  on  the  walls,  forbidding  the  sale  of  wine  or  spirits  to  foreign  seamen. 
This  measure  was  much  needed,  as  European  and  American  seamen,  in  their  fits  of  intoxi- 
cation, have  often  disturbed  the  public  peace,  and  sometimes  so  seriously  as  to  cause  the 
suspension  of  commercial  intercourse  between  China  and  the  European  nations.  In  the 
present  act  we  see  the  legislation  of  an  Asiatic  despot  directed  to  the  promotion  of  the  public 
good;  we  see  a  heathen  government  defending  its  subjects  from  the  immoralities  of  those 
who  claim  to  be  Christians ;  we  see  a  salutary  guardianship  of  the  morals  of  professed 
Christians  and  republicans  by  a  heathen  monarch  ;  and  we  see  all  this  on  the  very  site  of  a 
Christian  missionary  station,  designed  to  instruct  these  same  heathen  in  the  pure  precepts 
of  our  religion.  Such  a  sight  should  make  Americans  blush,  and  send  Christians  to  their 
closets  weeping. 

The  Board  of  Health  of  the  city  of  Washington  have  declared  the  traffic  in  ardent 
spirit  to  be  a  nuisance,  and  passed  the  following  order  with  regard  to  it: — 

The  Board  being  fully  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  is  highly 
prejudicial  to  health,  and  the  corporate  authorities  having  decided  that  this  body  possess  full 
power  to  prohibit  and  remove  all  nuisances,  and  the  late  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Wirt,  having 
officially  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  Board  of  Health  have,  under  the  charter  and  the 
acts  of  the  city  councils,  sufficient  authority  to  do  any  and  every  thing  which  the  health  of 
the  city  may  require. 

Therefore  Resolved,  That  the  vending  of  ardent  spirit,  in  whatever  quantity,  is  consi- 
dered a  NUISANCE ;  and  as  such  is  hereby  directed  to  be  discontinued  for  the  space  of  ninety 
days  from  this  date.     By  order  of  the  Board  of  Health. 


USEFUL  QUESTIONS. 

Questions. 

Sir, — I  beg  leave,  through  the  medium  of  your  paper,  to  offer  a  few  questions  to  the 
temperate  public. 

1st.  Alcohol  is  said  to  be  produced  by  vinous  fermentation.  Is  not  that  part  of  bread 
making,  called  raising,  a  vinous  fermentation?  and  if  it  is,  is  there  not  alcohol  in  bread? 

2nd.  Are  fermented  liquors  in  any  degree  nutritious  ?  and  if  they  are,  arc  not  the  nu- 
tritive particles  rendered  more  digestible  by  being  reduced  to  a  fluid  I 


192 

3d.  Does  a  quantity  of  alcohol,  combined  in  a  quantity  of  fermented  liquor,  have  a  id 
injurious  effect  on  the  consumer,  than  the  same  quantity  of  alcohol,  diluted  with  the  sfl 
quantity  of  water?  Philo  Temperance. 

We  have  submitted  the  enquiries  of  our  correspondent  to  Mr.  Graham,  who  retu 
the  following 

Answers, 

Answer  1.  Alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas  are  both  produced  by  saccharine  or  vino 
fermentation.  This  is  the  fermentation  which  takes  place  in  the  proper  rising  of  bread,  afli 
therefore  there  is  aUvays  a  quantity  of  alcohol  in  the  unbaked  dough,  in  which  vinous  or  sae 
charine  fermentation  has  taken  place.  But  this  alcohol  is  wholly  expelled  or  distilled  off  b; 
the  process  of  baking ;  therefore,  there  is  not  the  least  quantity  of  alcohol  in  well  baked  bread 

Answer  2.   There  may  be  some  sugar  and  mucilage  in  fermented  liquors,  which  maj 
render  such  liquors,  in  some  degree,  nutritious;  but  the  alcoholic  principle  in  fermente( 
liquors  is  not  nutritious,  and  its  effect  is  to  render  the  sugar  and  mucilage  of  such  liquor    f 
less  nutritious  than  they  otherwise  would  be.     The  nutritive  particles  are  not  rendered  men    > 
digestible  by  being  reduced  to  a  fluid;  but,  on  the  contrary,  such  preparations  of  food  an   4 
calculated  to  impair,  and  tend  to  destroy  the  digestive  powers  of  the  stomach. 

Answer  3.  So  far  as  the  exclusive  effect  of  the  alcohol  itself  is  considered,  it  is  equall; .  i 
injurious,  whether  in  fermented  liquors,  or  distilled  liquors  diluted  with  water  to  the  sami,,i 
quantity  and  strength.    But  as  there  are  also  present,  in  wine,  beer,  cider,  and  all  other  fer-    • 
mented  liquors,  other  pernicious  properties  besides  the  alcohol,  a  tea  spoonful  of  pure  recti-   i 
fied  alcohol,  diluted  in  a  tumbler  full  of  pure  water,  would  be  less  pernicious  to  the  humat   i 
system,  if  habitually  used,  than  a  tumbler  full  of  wine,  beer,  cider,  or  any  other  kind  offer 
mented  liquor,  containing  an  equal  quantity  of  alcohol ;  and  this  is  true  simply  on  th( 
ground  that  one  poison  is  less  pernicious  than  two  or  three,  unless  they  counteract  eacl 
other — which,  in   this  case,  they  do  not.      Albeit,  it  is  neverless  true,  that  when  not  use< 
habitually,  as  an  article  of  diet,  but  occasionally,  and  specifically,  as  a  medicine,  the  ferment- 
ed liquor  may  be  preferable,  in  some  cases,  to  the  diluted  alcohol ;   not  because  the  alcoho 
itself  is  less  pernicious  in  either  form,  but  that  the  acid,  or  mucilage  of  the  fermented  liquor 
may  do  more  good  than  hurt,  in  spite  of  the  alcohol.     Yet  these  very  properties  which,  ii 
some  cases,  when  occasionally  used,  may  be  medicinally  good,  if  habitually  used  in  an  articL 
of  diet  or  of  medicine,  become  pernicious  to  the  human  system,  and  very  often  exceedingly  so 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  good  of  man,  individually  and  collectively,  requires  tb 
abandonment  of  the  use  of  alcohol,  in  every  form,  whether  combined  or  uncombined,  in  fer 
mented  as  well  as  distilled  liquor  ;  and  both  as  an  article  of  diet  and  of  medicine.  If  a  me- 
dical stimulent  be  wanted,  there  are  others  better  and  far  safer  than  alcohol.  If  an  acid  o; 
a  mucilage,  or  the  bitter  principle  be  required,  each  and  all  of  them  can  be  obtained  withou 
being  associated  with  so  deleterious  a  principle  as  alcohol. — From  an  American  work. 


THE  POOR  WIDOW  AND  THE  TWO  PARSONS. 

Within  a  few  roods  of  my  house,  there  lives  a  poor  widow,  who  has  of  late  taa 
deeply  of  the  bitterness,  the  wormwood  and  the  gall  of  this  uncertain  life.     Some  years  i 
she  suffered  the  loss  of  several  of  her  children  ;  then  she  was  bereaved  of  her  husband : 
was  a  severe  stroke,  which  she  felt  keenly,  and  still  feels  to  this  day.     She  became  reduced 


193 

ler  circumstances,  was  obliged  to  remove  to  Preston,  and  send  the  three  children  she  had  left 
0  the  factory.  But  the  sickly,  over-heated  atmosphere  soon  threw  her  eldest  daughter  into 
,  consumption,  which  terminated  in  death.  During  this  affliction,  the  family  was  visited  by 
,  young  clergyman  and  some  pious  neighbours,  who  did  all  they  could  to  soothe  and  comfort 
he  afflicted,  and,  through  divine  grace,  were  made  a  blessing  to  the  whole  family,  and  espe- 
ially  so  to  the  dying  daughter,  whose  long  and  tedious  illness  had  tended  much  to  fatigue 
jid  impoverish  her  widowed  mother.  The  daughter,  previous  to  her  death,  had  requested 
0  be  interred  with  her  father  and  the  other  part  of  the  family,  in  their  own  grave,  in  the 
ountry,  about  two  miles  fiom  Preston.  But  imagine  the  surprise  and  distress  of  her  mo- 
her,  after  the  interment,  when  she  was  told  that  she  had  incurred  the  charge  of  a  guinea, 
ly  bringing  her  daughter  from  another  parish,  and  likewise  that  double  burial  dues  were  re- 
[uired.  It  was  in  vain  she  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  remission  of  the  demand  by  stating 
hat,  in  her  husband's  time,  they  had  lived  sixteen  years  under  the  same  clergyman's  bro- 
,her,  for  whom  this  demand  was  made.  It  was  in  vain  she  pleaded  her  poverty,  affliction, 
ind  widowhood.  She  was  answered,  that  the  clergyman  had  nothing  to  do  with  these 
hings ;  the  money  was  demanded,  and  it  must  be  paid.  The  young  clergyman  who  had 
isited  the  widow,  being  told  of  this  affair,  was  so  grieved  at  the  hardness  of  his  senior  bro- 
her's  heart,  that  he  determined  to  take  up  the  cause  himself,  and  try  to  prevail  in  favour  of 
!he  poor  widow.  He  went  over  into  the  country,  and  had  a  personal  interview  with  the 
leverend  gentleman.  He  intreated,  for  Christ's  sake,  for  the  poor  widow's  sake,  and  for  the 
hurch's  sake,  he  would  return  the  guinea ;  but  without  success.  He  told  the  poor  woman 
le  had  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  befriend  her,  but  he  could  not  prevail. — We  have 
lere  a  striking  instance  of  the  force  of  habit :  the  young  man's  heart  was  tender,  and  his 
onscience  clear,  while  the  old  man,  having  been  long  accustomed  to  take  all  that  the  church 
illows  him,  had  rendered  himself  past  feeling.  No  wonder  the  church  should  be  unpopu- 
lar, and  the  clergymen  despised,  while  practices  are  permitted  so  much  at  variance  with  the 
ipright  and  benevolent  principles  of  Christianity.  Veritas. 


OATHS  AND  CURSING. 
Sir, — I  know  of  no  branch  of  morals  that  calls  more  loudly  for  reform  than  the  fearful 
|ise  of  oaths  and  cursing,  and,  with  your  permission,  I  would  call  the  notice  of  your  readers 

0  the  subject,  hoping  they  will  give  me  that  attention  which  its  importance  demands. 

I  would  arrange  oaths  into  two  classes  :  first,  oaths  used  in  common  conversation  ;  and, 
econd,  oaths  employed  on  important  occasions.  Those  which  are  used  in  common  conver- 
sation might  be  subdivided  into  such  as  are  considered  as  innocent,  and  such  as  are  gene- 
rally acknowledged  to  be  criminal. 

tj  To  the  first  subdivision  would  belong  the  following:  "Upon  my  word,"  "  Upon  my 
''ronscience,"  "  By  my  faith,"  "  Upon  my  honour,"  "  Ods'ounds,"  "  By  gad,"  "  By  all  that 
s  merciful."  "  By  all  that  is  pitiful,"  "As  I  hope  for  mercy,"  "As  I  live,"  "  By  all  that  I 
lold  dear,"  &c.  &c.  S:c.  Now,  these  are  all  inconsistent  with  the  precept  of  Christ,  "  Let 
ifour  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay,  nay,"  and  certainly  "come  of  evil,"  for  they  are  more  than 

1  simple  declaration  of  facts.  These  oaths  are  generally  used  by  educated  persons,  and 
liuch  as  cannot  plead  as  an  excuse  a  deficiency  of  language  fully  to  impress  a  relation  upon 
the  notice  of  those  whom  they  address ;  and  they  never  can  be  regarded  as  a  confirmation 
if  what  is  asserted.    A  man  or  woman  who  will  tell  a  falsehood,  will  not  hesitate  to  attempt 


194 

to  confirm  it  by  one  of  these  oaths  ;  and  we  shall  not  often  be  wrong,  if  we  conclude,  el 
one  who  swears  by  his  or  her  honour,  word,  conscience,  faith,  &c.  is  unworthy  of  credit,  ftl 
it  displays  a  conviction  that  they  are  in  the  habit  of  uttering  lies,  and  of  being  disbeliever^ 
A  man  of  strict  integrity  never  finds  any  necessity  to  employ  these  oaths,  and  would  con 
sider  himself  grossly  insulted  if  called  upon  to  do  so. — Some  of  the  oaths  I  have  mentione 
under  this  head,  though  lightly  esteemed,  are  very  solemn  expressions,  and  others  invoh 
awful  consequences.      "Ods'ounds"  means  God's  wounds,  and  is  an  oath  generally  ver 
lightly  uttered,  and  of  most  solemn  import.     "  By  all  that  is  merciful,"  and  "  By  gad," 
swearing  by  God,  as  is  also  "  By  all  that  is  pitiful."     "  As  I  hope  for  mercy,"  "As  I  live, 
and  "By  all  I  hold  dear,"  involve  most  awful  consequences,  such  as  every  rightly  con 
tuted  mind  would  shudder  to  stake.     I  would  call  upon  all  who  use  these  expressions  i 
remember  the  injunction,  "Swear  not  at  all ;  hut  let  your  yea  he  yea,  and  your  nay,  nay 
for  tchdtsoever  is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil ;"  and  to  habituate  themselves  always  to  ac 
here  closely  to  the  truth  in  all  their  statements.    They  will  thus  escape  much  guilt,  and  ei 
sure  credit  to  their  testimony,  far  better  than  by  the  strongest  asservation  they  can  emplc 
Religion,  reason,  and  expediency  call  upon  them  to  relinquish  so  foolish  and  so  criminal 
practice;  and  every  lover  of  piety  and  of  truth  ought  to  labour,  in  their  respective  sphere 
to  suppress  the  practice  in  others. 

Those  which  are  acknowledged  to  be  criminal  are  little  used  by  educated  persons,  bi 
are  chiefly  confined  to  the  haunts  of  vice  or  the  society  of  the  illiterate.     They  are  a  fearfi 
class,  such  as  "  By  Jesus,"  "  By  heaven,"  "  By  God,"  "  By  the  Lord,"  &c.     These  oati 
are  usually  uttered  in  passion,  and  often  accompanied  with  the  most  demonaical  expressiu 
of  countenance.     Independent  of  this,  however,  they  clearly  are  breaches  of  the  third  con 
mandment:  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  thy  God  in  vain,  for  the  Lord  will  not  hul 
him  guiltless  that  taketh  His  name  in  vain."     Besides,  how  can  such  ever  pray,  " halloui 
be  thy  name,"  while  they  are  making  such  a  profane  use  of  it  ?     This  is  an  awful  crini 
and  little  do  they  know  of  God,  who  think  He  will  suffer  His  holy  name  to  be  used  thi 
irreverently  with  impunity.       To  such  as  use  these  expressions  I  would  earnestly  recoir  , 
mend  to  ponder  well  upon  the  meaning  of  the  Saviour's  command,  "  Swear  not  at  all  j  bi 
let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay,  nay ;  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil. ; 
If  oaths  are  ever  justifiable,  it  is  on  important  occasions,  when  the  consequences  (  ■ 
false  statements  or  of  deception  would  be  of  much  moment.     Every  sober-minded  perso  J 
regrets  that  so  many  official  and  judicial  oaths  are  administered;  an  evil  which,  it  is  to  I 
hoped,  will  speedily  be  rectified.      Till  then,  it  behoves  all  who  may  be  called  upon  t 
take  them,  to  do  so  with  great  solemnity  of  mind,  and  to  be  particularly  guarded  in  the 
expressions,  lest  they  should  unintentionally  even  make  a  false  statement,  and  so  1 
upon  themselves  great  and  fearful  criminality. 

But  what  shall  be  said  to  the  imprecators?  Wherever  we  go,  in  town  or  countryj  li 
hear  the  voice  of  cursing  from  young  and  old.  In  some  places,  I  have  been  informed,  a 
most  the  first  words  that  children  are  taught  to  speak  are  curses ;  and  I  myself  have  bee 
cursed,  with  great  bitterness,  by  a  child  three  or  four  years  old,  in  the  agonies  of  da 
Truly  may  it  be  said,  "  Because  of  cursing  the  land  mourneth."  No  wonder  we  shoul 
so  often  assailed  with  imprecations,  when  parents  teach  them  their  children,  and  when  1 
are  thought  to  be  a  manifestation  of  a  manly  spirit.  If  God  were  to  fulfil  the  praye 
swearers,  what  awful  consequences  would  follow !    for  how  often  do  we  hear  persons  ' 


1 


195 

iodto  "damn  their  eyes!"  to  "blast  their  souls!"    to  "sink  their  comrades  into  hell 

ames!"    that   "God's  arm  may  light  on  them!"    that   "they  may  go  to  hell,  and  be 

amned!"  &c.  &c.     Let  those  who  use  these  imprecations  remember  that  God  hears  their 

tlrayers,  though  He  mercifully  refuse  to  comply  with  them,  and  that  unless  they  repent,  He 

\\n\l  bring  them  forward  at  the  great  day  of  account,  when  thay  will  be  as  swift  witnesses 

>igainst  them.     But  even  in  this  life  the  curser  seldom  escapes,  for  God  has  declared,  "  So 

hall  it  happen  to  him;  as  he  loved  cursing,  so  let  it  come  to  him  ;  as  he  delighted  not  in 

lessing,  so  let  it  be  far  from  him;  as  he  clothed  himself  with  cursing  like  as  with  a  gar- 

lent,  so  let  it  come  into  his  bowels  like  water,  and  like  oil  into  his  bones.     Let  it  be  unto 

;  im  as  the  garment  which  covereth  him,  and  for  a  girdle  wherewith  he  is  girded  continually." 

lilow  fearful  are  these  words,  and  yet  how  nmch  more  fearful  will  be  their  fulfilment  upon 

iiose  who  practice  the  awful  vice  of  cursing!     Cursing  is  thought  to  be  an  indication  of 

pirit,  and  it  certainly  is  ;  but  then  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  devil,  and  not  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

'errible  presumption,  that  would  set  God  at  defiance,  who  can  crush  them  like  a  moth ! 

ind  a  fearful  barrier  betwixt  the  swearer  and  the  society  of  just  and  holy  men.     Intoxi- 

ation  is  one  great  exciting  cause  of  cursing,  and  Temperance  Societies  will  do  much,  I  trust, 

i  diminish  its  prevalency  ;  but  if  every  sober-minded  person  would  unite  his  endeavours 

ith  others  to  check  the  evil  by  friendly  admonition  and  temperate  appeals  to  the  conscience, 

am  decidedly  of  opinion,  very  much  might  be  done  to  suppress  it  altogether.     Religion 

as  been  too  long  confined  to  chapels,  and  been  reserved  for  Sundays,  and  has  entered  too 

ttle  into  our  every  day  walk  and  conversation.     The  religion  of  the  present  day  is  an  idle 

ne,  for  it  pays  a  set  of  persons  for  performing  the  labour  that  devolves  upon  every  pro- 

Msor,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  genuine  practical  Christianity  is  scarcely  to  be  found. 

like  the  members  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Society,  the  people  must  work  in  the  sup- 

ression  of  vice  and  the  promotion  of  religion,  or  little  will  be  effected.     And  what  duty 

an  be  more  imperative  upon  them  who  so  continually  pray,  "  hallowed  be  thy  name,"  than 

9  endeavour  to  teach  men  to  reverence  and  fear  the  name  of  their  God  ? 

Yours,  &c.  H. 


MINISTERIAL  DILIGENCE. 
Dear  Sir, — Ever  since  I  read  your  number  so  often  referred  to,  I  can  truly  say,  the 
ondition  of  the  people,  and  the  inefficiency  of  our  present  ministerial  labour,  have  never  been 
utofmy  thoughts;  not  that  I,  as  an  individual,  can  remedy  the  evil,  but  by  the  aid  of  your 
ages,  perhaps  I  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  say  something  to  your  readers  which  may  sti- 
lUlate  them  to  try  to  instifute  a  new  set  of  pastors,  seeing  there  is  so  little  hope  of  the  old 
nes.  It  is  a  fact,  that,  for  the  size  of  the  place,  the  Roman  Catholic  chapel  is  the  best  at- 
inded  chapel  in  this  town,  owing  entirely  to  the  zeal  of  the  minister  in  going  about  amongst 
Is  people,  stimulating  them  to  attend  on  their  means  of  grace,  going  to  their  houses,  how- 
ver  poor,  telling  them  of  the  necessity  of  moral  duties,  economy,  sobriety,  and  such  as 
Iways  attend  on  a  life  of  godliness.  Thus  they  are  gaining  ground,  whilst  most  others  are 
ither  losing  or  at  a  stand.  This  statement  will  hold  good  in  more  places  than  Bolton,  to 
ay  knowledge.  If  it  were  matter  of  speculation  whether  the  apostolic  made  of  ministration, 
.-hich  you  advocate,  would  succeed  or  not,  ministers  might  then  hesitate  and  object ;  but 
tie  immediate  good  it  would  produce  is  beyond  all  manner  of  doubt.     The  most  striking  in- 


196 

stance  I  have  met  with,  and  one  which  comes  tlie  nearest  the  standard,  is  in  the  life  of 
AUiene,  author  of  "  An  Alarm  to  Unconverted  Sinners,"  some  extracts  from  which  yoi 
greatly  oblige  by  inserting  in  your  Moral  Reformer. 

"  Mr.  A.  was  not  satisfied  merely  with  preaching  on  the  Lord's  day;  but  after  thi 
ample  of  St.  Paul,  went  deligently  from  house  to  house,  that  he  might  speak  to  his  pa 
ioners  individually  respecting  their  eternal  interests.  When  he  first  went  to  Tam 
and  began  this  course  of  going  from  house  to  house,  he  met  with  considerable  diffic 
this  was  a  mode  of  instruction  to  which  the  people  had  never  been  accustomed ;  he  wai 
a  young  man ;  it  looked  like  an  affectation  of  singularity ;  and  many  of  the  people 
much  opposed  to  it.  These  were  difficulties  which  he  saw  and  felt:  but  such  wen 
views  of  the  worth  of  souls,  and  such  the  ardency  of  his  desire  to  pluck  them  as  brands 
the  burning,  that  he  took  up  his  cross,  regardless  of  the  sneers  of  the  wicked. 

"As  he  lived  by  rule,  so  it  was  his  regular  practice  to  devote  ^ye  afternoons  every  week 
this  e'xercise.  He  used  to  keep  a  catalogue  of  the  families  in  each  street,  and  send  tht 
information,  a  day  or  two  beforehand,  of  the  time  when  he  intended  to  visit  them.  In  th 
pastoral  visits,  he  used  to  speak  particularly  to  every  person  present,  both  young  and  o 
He  explained  to  them  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel;  he  reproved  the  negligent,  encourag 
tlie  doubtful,  and  endeavoured  to  lead  all  to  the  enjoyment  and  practice  of  universal  ho 
ness.  He  reminded  all  parents  and  masters  of  the  woes  denounced,  in  the  holy  Scriptur 
against  the  families  which  call  not  upon  God's  name,  and  exhorted  them  without  delay 
make  their  families  little  churches,  by  constantly  reading  the  Scriptures,  by  diligently  i 
structing  their  children  and  servants,  and,  above  all,  by  a  strict  attention  to  family  pra^ 
every  day.  On  these  occasions,  he  manifested  such  humility  and  tender  affection  for  the 
that  however  they  were  opposed  to  him  at  first,  it  was  not  long  before  their  prejudices  w« 
subdued,  their  affections  gained,  and  they  rejoiced  when  the  time  of  his  visiting  them  i 
turned.  In  some  cases,  where  the  people  were  very  wicked,  they  shut  the  door,  and  j 
fused  him  admission  into  their  houses :  on  such  occasions,  he  would  speak  to  them  thrak 
the  window,  and  if  they  still  persisted,  he  would  write  letters  to  them,  in  which  he  so  co 
vinced  them  of  his  earnest  desire  to  promote  the  good  of  their  souls,  that  many  of  them, 
these  gentle  and  persevering  methods,  were  brought  to  acknowledge  the  truth.  In  visitf 
the  people  from  house  to  house,  he  used  to  say,  that  he  was  equally  as  successful  in  bringi 
souls  to  God  as  he  was  in  his  public  ministry." 

In  another  part  of  his  life,  his  biographer  says,  "  He  was  much  troubled  if  he  hea 
mechanics  at  their  labour  before  he  was  engaged  in  his  duties  with  God,  and  would  fi 
quently  say,  'O  how  this  noise  shames  me!'"  Further  on,  he  says,  "  There  were  few, 
any,  poor  families  in  Taunton,  but  he  knew  their  necessities,  and  took  care  to  see  tht 
"wants  relieved."  And  again,  when  he  was  silenced  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  and  took  1 
farewell  leave  of  his  people,  "  he  preached  to  hundreds  of  young  and  old  at  one  o'cl 
the  morning  of  his  departure."  J.  R. 

P.  S.  On  a  more  accurate  survey,  I  find  that  the  number  of  sittings  in  the  parisl 
amount  to  ten  thousand  six  or  seven  hundred,  instead  of  seven  hundred,  as  stated  ii 
last.  If"  A  Friend"  will  take  the  trouble,  he  will  find  that  places  of  worship  will  nol 
rage  above  half  full,  making  the  number  of  regular  attenders  correct  as  stated  in  yo 

J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  7.  JULY  1,  1833.  Vol.  III. 


.^„  TO  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS. 

Dfear  Friends, 

I  KNOW  of  no  domestic  duty  of  more  importance  than 
hat  of  training  up  your  children  aright,  and  of  none  which  at  the  present 
ime  is  more  neglected.  Though  a  portion  of  trouble  be  inseparable 
rem  the  married  state,  it  often  happens  that  the  untowardness  of  children 
onstitutes  the  bitterest  ingredient  in  the  cup  of  their  parents'  misery, 
low  often  is  the  meridian  and  decline  of  life  harassed  with  sorrow  and 
Sistress,  at  seeing  their  fondest  hopes  of  felicity  and  peace  changed  into 
adness  and  melancholy  despair!  The  pangs  which  a  prodigal  son  creates 
1  the  breast  of  a  father  and  a  mother,  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  their  off- 
j  ipring,  must  be  felt  to  be  understood ;  but  how  much  more  severe  must 
IJhese  be,  when  they  know  that  their  own  neglect  has  been  the  cause  ! 
*  Let  any  impartial  person  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  attain- 
leixts,  the  character,  and  conduct  of  our  youth;  nay,  let  him  only  observe 
rhat  passes  ostensively  before  his  eyes,  and  he  will  be  convinced  that  they 
ave  been  awfully  neglected.  Whether  we  refer  to  intellect,  manners,  or 
Mrals,  we  find  a  vast  number  almost  destitute  of  that  which  should 
iorn  a  civilized  being.  And  like  plants  neglected  when  young,  these 
■oduce  a  succession  of  men  and  women  of  the  same  character.  Anxious 
3  contribute  something  that  may  at  least  tend  to  mitigate  the  evil,  I  make 
yb  appeal  to  parents.  While  they  themselves  are  uncultivated,  im- 
loral,  and  profane,  I  am  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  succeeding ;  but  still  I 
mke  my  appeal  to  them.  They  are  the  proper  guardians  of  their  children, 
gfointed  by  the  wise  Creator ;  the  ties  of  nature  are  implanted  in  their 
Blasts  ;  and  residing  under  the  same  roof,  and  eating  at  the  same  table, 
0  other  person  can  ever  be  expected  to  act  as  a  substitute.  I  am  ex- 
eedingly  sorry  that  this  view  has  not  been  generally  difiiised:  by  leaving 

VOL.  III.  2  B 


198 

parents  to  their  own  apathy,  and  by  taking  the  children  from  their 
and  substituting  the  duty  of  the  Sunday  school  teacher,  many  are  leJ 
take  no  pains  whatever  to  instruct  their  offspring,  or  having  neverj 
tempted,  conceive  it  a  task  above  their  ability.     It  shall  be  my  end 
vour,  however,  not  to  take  the  children  from  the  parents,  but  to  trj 
convince  the  parents  of  the  great  responsibility  of  their  charge,  to  indu 
them  to  train  up  their  children  in  the  way  they  should  go,  and  if  the  p 
rents  be  deficient,  to  teach  them  first,  that  they  may  be  able  to  teach  th« 
children  in  their  turn.    Sunday  schools  and  tract  destributions  are  the  resi 
of  ministerial  idleness,  and  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  would  have  be< 
necesary  if  they  had  done  their  duty.     And  thus,  instead  of  going  fro 
house  to  house,  and  teaching  the  parents  to  instruct  their  childi-en,  ai 
when  finding  them  deficient,  teaching  them  the  best  plans,  ministers  find'- 
much  easier  to  patronise  a  Sunday  school,  and  occasionally  give  an  exhort 
tion  to  the  scholars. 

Fathers  and  Mothers  !  As  many  of  you  have  not  considered  the  va 
importance  of  attending  yourselves  to  the  instruction  of  your  childre 
and  as  many  of  you  have  neglected  it,  I  beg  your  candid  attention  to  tl 
following  observations. 

Make  the  tutoring  and  training  of  your  children  an  indispensab 
duty.  Begin  with  your  first  child.  Know  this,  that  the  quiet,  the  ha] 
pinessj  and  the  prosperity  of  the  family,  and  your  own  comfort  throug 
life,  depend  almost  more  upon  this  than  any  other  duty.  Children  yr. 
not  grow  up  in  virtue  without  the  constant  attention  of  their  parents, 
is  not  enough  to  put  a  young  plant  in  the  ground ;  you  must  watch  it  coi 
stantly,  and  train  it  seasonably,  if  you  expect  it  to  come  to  perfectia 
The  brute  creation  educate  their  young,  and  take  a  pleasure  in  teachii 
them.  If  so  much  time,  and  money,  and  intelligence  be  spent  in  trainir 
the  animal  creation,  some  for  useful  and  others  for  pernicious  purpose 
how  much  more  necessary  is  it,  then,  to  instruct  the  youth  of  our  ow 
kind,  and  to  prepare  them  for  the  important  part  which  they  have  to^ 
in  the  great  drama  of  life. 

Let  me  impress  upon  you,  that  it  is  not  what  is  usually  called  "  i 
cation "  that  I  am  now  enforcing.     Your  ideas  of  this  are  generally 
fined  to  "reading,  writing,  and  accounts,"  and  you  are  apt  to  think 
these  are  all  you  have  to  provide  for  your  offspring.     This  is  a  ser 
mistake.     All  these  may  be,  and  usually  are,  learned  without  any 
principle,  and  almost  without  any  effort  of  intellect.     The  understand 
the  affections,  and  the  conduct  are  to  be  regulated,  for  these  constitute^ 


199 

inrincipal  worth  of  man.  The  facihties  for  acquiring  the  elementary  parts 
iif  education  already  named,  are  so  numerous,  and  the  dispositions  of 
lareats,  upon  the  whole,  so  uniformly  in  favour  of  this  sort  of  learning 
or  their  children,  that  I  think  it  unnecessary  for  me  to  dwell  upon  it. 

The  whole  of  what  I  wish  to  enforce  may  be  summed  up  in  teaching 
hem  their  duty  to  God,  to  their  parents,  to  their  family,  and  to  every  other 
lass  of  persons.  The  principles  oi  sincerity,  justice,  benevolence,  and  piety 
ught  to  be  early  and  constantly  inculcated :  these  are  the  basis  of  all 
bat  is  good,  and  the  opposites  of  what  they  will  generally  learn  in  the 
rorld.  Every  child,  as  an  accountable  being,  is  susceptible  of  receiving 
oth  good  and  evil ;  and  his  choice  and  habit  will,  in  a  great  measure,  be 
ependant  upon  the  instructions  he  receives,  the  example  which  is  before 
im,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed.  It  is  very  common  to 
ilk  about  children  "  turning  out"  ill  or  well,  as  if  the  result  of  parental 
ibour  was  like  a  lottery.  Generally  speaking,  the  good  or  bad  character  of 
oung  persons  can  be  easily  traced  to  obvious  causes,  over  which  the  parents, 
1  many  instances,  might  have  had  a  control.  You  ought,  therefore,  to  pro- 
ved in  the  duty  of  training  up  your  children,  in  the  conviction,  that  if  pro- 
srly  attempted,  the  result  will  be  satisfactory.  If  you  doubt  this,  if  you 
link  teaching  your  children  is  like  shooting  into  the  air,  I  shall  cease  to 
onder  at  your  indifference.  Mind,  while  they  are  infants,  to  endear  your 
lildren  to  you  ;  treat  them  with  kindness  ;  provide  for  them  in  every  re- 
ject as  well  as  you  are  able ;  and  thus,  so  soon  as  the  first  germ  of  intel- 
ct  shoots  forth,  the  heart  will  be  open  to  attend  to  your  parental  lessons. 
^0  teaching  can  be  very  successful,  if  there  be  not  a  reciprocal  affection 
3tween  the  teacher  and  the  taught.  Continue  this  kindness  ;  add  to  the 
inderness  of  nature  a  studied  attention  to  the  wants  of  your  children,  and 
I  evident  interest  in  every  thing  calculated  to  make  them  happy.  Get  the 
iarts  of  your  little  ones,  and  they  will  attend  to  your  instructions  ;  if  not, 
)ur  words  will  fall  like  the  seed  upon  the  rock.  You  shoiild  feel  happy 
having  your  children  around  you,  and  they  should  feel  a  pride  and  a 
easure  in  sitting  by  your  side.  If  parents  dislike  the  company  of  their 
lildren,  and  if  children  shun  the  company  of  their  parents,  there  is  a  want 
■  that  sympathy  which  is  essential  to  the  success  of  parental  admonition. 
Fathers  and  mothers  should  mutually  engage  in  this  work.  Their 
2arts  and  hands  should  be  united  for  this  purpose.  Disunion  on  their 
irt  may  frustrate  the  best  purposes  of  either  of  them.  This  should  form 
part  of  your  domestic  arrangements,  and  should  be  entered  into  cordially 
>'  both,  for,  viewed  in  its  results,  arrangements  for  domestic  tuition  are  not 


200 

less  important  than  those  for  eating  and  sleeping,     The  kindness,  patieni 
and  prudence  of  the  mother  will  be  necessary  in  the  management  of  el 
dren  from  the  earliest  age ;    and  happy  is  it  for  a  family  with  a  mot 
possessing  these  valuable  qualities.     The  father's  incessant  attention 
superintending  mind  are  essential,  and  the  qualities  of  both  combined, 
not  otherwise,  are  sufficient  to  ensure  the  good  hope  of  well  instructed 
children. 

Before  children  are  capable  of  either  understanding  your  commaadc 
or  the  reasons  upon  which  they  are  gi-ounded,  they  are  led  principally  by 
imitation.  In  every  case,  therefore,  see  that  the  example  of  yourselves  and 
the  elder  children  be  such  as  you  would  wish  the  younger  to  imitate. 
There  are  many  practices  encouraged  thoughtlessly  in  little  children,  per- 
haps because  they  please  at  the  moment,  the  tendency  of  which  is  not  suffi- 
ciently considered.  For  instance,  if  a  child  hurt  itself  against  a  stool  or 
a  chair,  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  say,  "  O  pa,  pa,  give  me  a 
go,  and  I  will  beat  it."  A  pretence  is  consequently  made  of  beating  the 
chair ;  and  the  tendency  of  this  and  similar  practices,  incautiously  adopted, 
is,  to  beget  a  disposition  for  revenge,  which  may  never  be  eradicated. 

It  is  a  most  lamentable  fact,  that  many  parents  seem  insensible  of  any 
duty  to  their  children  but  that  of  coercion ;  and  this  they  perform  fre- 
quently more  like  brutes  than  Christian  parents.  Instead  of  alluring  them 
by  kindness,  and  leading  them  by  reason,  they  too  often  govern  by  brute 
force.  Although  no  pains  be  taken  to  lead  them  aright,  yet,  on  every  oc- 
casion when  they  do  wrong,  they  are  assailed  by  violent  threatenings,  and 
often  by  severe  correction.  Alas  !  the  law  of  kindness  seems  to  have  been 
forgotten  in  the  government  of  families,  and  threats  and  blows  substituted 
in  its  place.  You  may  read  the  effects  of  this  sort  of  discipline  in  the 
furious,  vengeful  character  of  most  of  our  youth.  Adopt,  I  beseech  you, 
a  different  course,  and  though  your  parents  may  have  acted  on  the  coercive 
principle,  and  though  it  is  current  in  your  neighbourhood,  the  effects  before 
you  are  alone  sufficient  to  convince  you  how  pernicious  it  is.  Instead  of 
the  smile  of  good  temper  and  chearfulness  beaming  from  the  countenances 
of  at  least  those  who  are  in  pretty  comfortable  circumstances,  how  often  do 
we  see  a  gloom  and  an  indignity,  the  result  of  a  bad  education,  hanging 
upon  their  countenances,  which  are  truly  forbidding !  Gentle  correction 
may  be  necessary  towards  children,  who,  from  their  age,  can  only  be  go- 
verned by  authority ;  but  it  will  seldom  be  necessary  for  those  of  riper 
years,  who  have  been  governed  by  kind  restraint,  and  blessed  with  a  gppd 
example.     Whenever  it  should  be  necessary  to  punish,  let  not  a  partic 


lartidfll 


201 

revenge  appear  in  yourselves.  Convince  your  children  that  you  have  no 
object  but  their  own  good,  and  the  good  of  others  of  the  family.  Never 
strike  a  blow  in  a  passion,  and  never  inflict  punishment  till  all  other  means 
are  unavailing.  It  may  be  necessary,  in  extreme  cases,  to  use  stripes ; 
but  other  modes  of  punishment  may  be  used,  more  congenial  to  your  own 
feelings,  and  perhaps  more  proportioned  to  the  offences  committed.  For 
instance,  if  a  boy  frequently  interefere  with  the  order  of  the  house,  by  being 
too  late  at  the  table,  or  by  being  absent,  the  most  appropriate  punishment  is 
to  let  him  forfeit  his  meal  by  the  neglect.  If  he  repeatedly  misbehave  at 
table,  let  him  not  eat  with  the  family,  but  in  another  part  of  the  room,  as  a 
mark  of  disgrace.  If  he  make  a  practice  of  lying  too  long  in  bed,  for 
every  hour  that  he  lies  too  long  in  a  morning  let  him  go  two  hours  sooner 
to  bed  at  night.  For  neglect  of  work,  or  being  beyond  the  hours,  let  the 
same  principle  be  followed.  Children  are  of  a  volatile  disposition,  often 
ithoughtless  and  giddy,  and  led  undesignedly  to  a  repetition  of  offences. 
Instead  of  flogging  in  such  cases,  solitary  confinement  has  often  a  beneficial 
effect ;  and  if  any  person  have  been  insulted,  or  received  an  injury  from  the 
culprit,  after  a  reasonable  confinement,  let  his  deliverance  depend  upon 
his  going  and  acknowledging  his  sorrow  for  his  fault,  and  his  request  to  be 
forgiven.  The  mode  of  punishment  should  always  be  calculated  to  lead  to 
reflection  and  reformation,  and  not  to  resentment:  without  this,  all  correc- 
tion will  ultimately  be  in  vain.  As  children  get  older,  they  will  become 
OQore  daring  in  the  face  of  merely  coercive  discipline ;  and  if  there  be  no 
attachment  to  home  and  the  parents  promoted,  so  soon  as  they  can  in  any 
degree  depend  upon  their  own  means,  they  will  leave  home,  and  give  an 
anrestrained  licence  to  their  youthful  follies.  The  love  of  home  and  the 
love  of  parents  should  always  be  secured :  they  are  strong  assurances  of 
virtuous  conduct.  Punishments,  however,  will  seldom  be  necessary,  if 
3ther  rational  means  are  timely  adopted.  If  children  are  not  constantly 
taught ;  if  they  are  not  guarded  from  bad  companions ;  if  they  have  not 
the  benefit  of  good  parental  examples,  ten  to  one  they  go  astray ;  and 
punishment,  of  itself,  will  be  found  the  most  unsuccessful  means  of  effect- 
ing a  cure. 

While  I  would  recommend  parents  not  to  encourage  indulgences 
which  lead  to  petulency,  I  would  advise  them  always  to  let  their  children 
bave  plenty  of  exercise  and  a  good  stock  of  play  things.  Youth  is  the 
play  day  of  nature  ;  health  of  body  as  well  as  vigour  of  mind  depends  upon 
it.  Parents  should  not  be  opposed  to,  nor  indifferent  about  even  their  chil- 
iren's  play  things,  but  prove  to  the  children  that  they  delight  in  promoting 


202 

their  enjoyments,  by  assisting  them  to  invent  and  procm-e  these  importa 
trifles.  Parents,  by  interfering  in  these  matters,  will  be  able  to  shew  th^ 
children  the  proper  length  to  which  recreation  may  be  carried,  and  also 
guard  their  wishes  from  any  amusement  which  would  have  a  pernicious  te 
dency.  Excepting  to  a  well  regulated  Infant  School,  where  playful  exer* 
cise  constitutes  the  employment  of  the  children,  never  send  to  school  chil- 
dren of  a  year  and  a  half  or  two  years  old.  Their  health  sufifers  from  con^ 
finement,  and  from  the  association  of  a  number  of  chUdren  in  one  apartment; 
They  are  troublesome  at  home,  perhaps ;  but  if  you  will  get  them  a  number 
of  play  things,  and  change  them  frequently,  if  in  health,  you  will  gene* 
rally  find  them  easily  diverted;  and  if  not  in  health,  a  confined  school  is.« 
place  very  injurious.  Play  for  children  is  almost  as  necessary  as  food  c»t 
clothes,  and  therefore  is  a  matter  in  which  fathers  and  mothers  ought  ta 
feel  much  more  interested  than  they  usually  appear  to  be.  Convenient  play 
grounds,  superintended  by  the  parents,  would  be  of  great  worth.  A  few 
small  stones,  toys,  twigs,  or  wood  bricks,  will  please  the  younger  children, 
whilst  others  should  be  provided  with  articles  better  suited  to  boys  and  girls 
of  an  advanced  age.  Parents,  I  think,  have  too  long  neglected  this  part  of 
their  duty :  children  will  play,  and  ought  to  play,  and  why  should  not  pa- 
rents secure  the  esteem  of  their  children,  and  become  their  correctors,  by 
countenancing  any  healthy  and  innocent  exercise  }  Let  but  half  of  the 
time  of  parents,  usually  devoted  to  dissipation,  be  employed  in  assisting 
and  joining  in  the  innocent  sports  of  children,  and  the  result  would  be 
most  beneficial.  For  parents  to  delight  to  get  rid  of  the  company  of  their 
children  is  a  common  feeling,  but  sadly  perverted  from  real  nature.  In- 
stead of  meeting,  as  we  constantly  do  when  we  walk  abroad,  groups  of  men 
and  groups  of  boys,  if  society  were  in  a  proper  state,  we  should  usually  mee 
the  father,  the  mother,  and  the  children  together,  aU  like  a  happy  band.^ 

In  fixing  employments  for  your  children,  you  are  in  the  midst  of 
culties.  If  you  be  in  poor  circumstances,  in  towns,  the  principal  work ; 
children  is  in  factories  or  large  work  shops.  If  in  better  circumstances, 
you  send  them,  perhaps,  first,  to  a  distant  school;  next,  you  apprentice  th€ 
out ;  and,  if  you  can  afford,  they  go  to  London  to  finish  off.  In  aU  thea 
cases,  the  ruin  of  your  children  is  almost  certain.  Let  ine  impress  one  so- 
lemn truth  upon  your  mind,  "  that  the  happiness  of  a  man's  life  does  ^Hl 
consist  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesses,"  and  let  this  guide 
you  in  the  choice  of  businesses  for  your  children.  How  few  parents  have 
realized,  in  a  son's  success,  a  fair  return  for  the  immense  outlay  on  his  edu- 
cation ;    or,  in  his  morals,  any  proportioned  satisfaction  for  the 


anxiejflj 


203 

and  care  with  wliich  they  had  provided  him  the  means  of  entering  upon 

the  world !     Let  not,  then,  a  lucrative  business  be  anxiously  sought  aft^r. 

In  itself  it  is  dangerous ;  and  the  road  leading  to  it  is  usually  not  less  so. 

Choose  such  businesses  as  are  the  most  free  from  temptations  to  evil.     It 

ought,  however,  to  be  remarked,  that  these  temptations  don't  consist  in 

the  business  itself,  so  much  as  in  the  number  and  character  of  those  em- 

iloyed.     If  the  father's  own  business,  or  any  other  he  can  adopt,  be  likely 

|to  yield  a  livelihood,  it  is  much  better  to  keep  his  son  at  home,  and  learn 

lira  there,  than  run  the  risk  of  an  unknown  business,  accompanied  almost 

jvith  the  certainty  of  endangering  that  character  which  he  had  carefully 

lurtured  for  a  dozen  years.     Home  employments,  or  those  as  nearly  re- 

sembUng  as  possible,  are  the  least  dangerous  ;  and  as  respectability  of  cha- 

•acter,  to  every  wise  man,  is  more  valuable  than  riches,  he  will  always 

;hoose  that  which  has  the  fewest  temptations.    If  the  weaver,  for  instance, 

;ould  see  the  least  prospect  of  his  lad  getting  a  Uving  at  the  loom,  he  had 

)etter  keep  him  there,  than  send  him  to  the  factory.     The  danger  of  bad 

issociates  in  one  place  is  very  great ;  in  the  other,  the  parent  will  have  his 

Ijhild  under  his  own  eye.     And  it  is  a  fact,  even  in  reference  to  circum- 

■tances,  that  many  spinners  are  as  poor  as  weavers,  owing  to  their  intem- 

)erance  and  bad  conduct.     These  remarks  may  also  be  applied  to  school^ 

,ng.     There  might  be  something  enchanting  in  the  name  of  a  "  boarding- 

.chool."     Unless  Miss  and  Master  have  been  "sent  off;"  their  educa- 

ion  is  considered  but  of  a  homespun  character ;  they  must  needs  go  from 

lome  to  finish  !     Yes  !  and  a  mournful  finish  it  has  been,  in  too  many 

ases.     Dehvered  from  the  restraints  of  parental  care,  at  the  most  critical 

leriod  of  life,  and  exposed  to  the  fascinating,  and  in  some  measure,  dis- 

:uised  pleasures  of  vice,  here  they  have  commenced  their  practices  of  dis- 

ipation,  which,  in  after  life,  have  brought  them  to  disgrace  and  ruin.     The 

•robability  of  a  superior  education  can  seldom  be  the  motive  for  sending 

hildren  to  boarding  schools,  for  there  are,  in  every  town,  the  same  schools 

or  those  who  are  boarders  and  those  who  are  not.     But  it  is  sometimes 

ibserved,  that  it  is  useful  to  send  children  from  home;    it  gives  them 

n  acquaintance  with  the  world,  and  helps  them  to  acquit  themselves  in 

ompany.    If  these  reasons  were  founded  in  fact,  they  are  but  a  poor  set  off 

gainst  the  probable  evils  of  sending  children  from  home.     But  the  neg- 

2Ct  of  fathers  and  mothers  themselves,  appears,  from  the  reason  assigned, 

0  be  the  principal  cause  of  the  necessity  of  sending  them  off:  and  hence 

lie  boarding  school  is  to  make  up  for  your  neglect  of  duty.     Never  be  led 

way  with  the  unsubstantial  reveries  of  fashionable  society ;  value  a  plain. 


204 

substantial  education  more  than  accomplishments,  and  sterling  char 
more  than  facilities  for  acquiring  wealth. 

I  have  said  that  you  should  teach  your  children  their  duty  to 
to  yourselves,  and  to  all  mankind.  This  is  so  comprehensive,  as  to  be 
yond  my  present  limits  to  advert  to  in  detail.  Indeed,  the  difficulty  doe 
not  consist  so  much  in  what  children  ought  to  be  taught,  as  how  this  teacl: 
ing  is  to  be  accomplished.  When  persons  have  not  had  the  benefit  of  do 
mestic  teaching  themselves,  and  when  this  duty  has  not  been  impresse 
upon  them,  and  the  best  manner  of  doing  it  explained,  no  wonder  the 
should  find  a  difficulty  in  making  the  attempt.  Nothing,  however,  i 
more  easy ;  and,  I  may  add,  nothing  yields  greater  pleasure  to  a  parer 
anxious  for  the  welfare  of  his  family.  Children  expect  and  look  for  pa 
rental  teaching  ;  how  communicative  they  are ;  how  inquisitive  aboi 
every  thing  which  occurs  ;  and  how  pleased  to  be  noticed  and  converse 
with  by  their  parents  !  In  the  first  place,  then,  be  always  familiar  wit 
your  children ;  be  often  in  their  company ;  and  secure  as  much  of  your  lei  \ 
sure  time  for  this  pm-pose  as  you  can.  Take  the  little  ones  on  your  knees 
talk  to  them  in  a  familiar  way,  and  ask  them  all  kinds  of  interesting  ques 
tions.  You  will  soon  get  at  the  extent  of  their  knowledge,  and  ascertai 
upon  what  points  they  need  the  most  instruction.  You  will  also,  if  thi 
be  done  with  kindness,  excite  in  their  minds  a  great  desire  for  informa 
tion,  so  that,  when  you  are  seated  at  the  fire  side,  they  will  smiling! 
flock  around  you  with  hundreds  of  little  questions.  The  elder  childrei 
must  also  be  attended  to ;  and  for  this  purpose,  I  would  recommend  t 
parents  to  secure,  at  least,  about  twenty  minutes  every  day,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  conversation  and  instruction.  The  time  must  vary,  according  t 
people's  employment  and  opportunities ;  but  when  it  is  convenient, 
should  recommend  it  to  precede  the  breakfast,  and  always  to  conclud 
with  thanksgiving  and  prayer.  I  avoid  the  terms,  "  family  worship,"  be 
cause  that  is  usually  confined  to  reading  a  chapter  and  offering  up  i 
prayer :  although  both  may  be  included  in  the  service  I  recommend,  ye 
this  instruction  should  be  conveyed  principally  by  conversation.  Seat  al 
your  children  in  order,  and  place  yourself  before  them ;  be  prepared,  by  i 
careful  attention  to  their  general  conduct,  and  to  their  behaviour  the  daj 
preceding,  to  introduce  such  topics  as  are  most  Hkely  to  be  useful.  An] 
occurrences  of  an  impressive  character  should  often  be  commented  upon 
inasmuch  as  children  are  always  interested  in  passing  events.  None  bu' 
those  who  have  adopted  the  practice  can  have  any  idea  of  the  pleasure  <M, 
profit  attending  this  rational  method  of  instructing  children, 


J 


205 

iffords  plenty  of  time  for  parental  instruction,  and  the  father  that  does  not 
•mbrace  an  hour  in  calling  his  children  together  at  home  on  this  day,  is 
leglecting  the  finest  opportunity  of  improving  both  them  and  himself. 
l,et  him  make  his  own  house  (his  parlour,  if  he  have  one)  into  his  Sunday 
;chool,  and  agreeably  to  the  best  dictates  of  nature,  let  him  spend  his  time 
imong  them.  Under  the  care  of  a  good  father,  the  children  will  receive 
.  benefit,  and  enjoy  a  pleasure,  to  which  nothing  connected  with  our  pre- 
ent  Sunday  schools  is  fit  to  be  compared.  How  inconsistent,  that  hun- 
ilreds  of  little  children  should  be  collected,  and  placed  under  the  care  of 
nexperienced  persons,  while  their  own  parents  are  either  idle  at  home,  or 
nerely  engaged  in  some  service  for  themselves.  Let  the  universal  obli- 
ijation  of  the  duty  of  parents  to  teach  and  instruct  their  own  children  be 
oudly  proclaimed,  and  let  every  minister,  instead  of  fostering  his  Sunday 
chool  as  a  prop  to  "  the  cause"  with  which  he  is  connected,  go  from  house 
iO  house,  teaching  the  parents,  that  they,  in  their  turn,  may  teach  their  own 
'hildren  themselves. 

Besides  the  above,  we  should  never  forget  the  usefulness  of  incidental 
caching.  This  consists  in  useful  and  pertinent  remarks,  on  every  suitable 
.tccasion,  calculated  to  make  a  good  impression  upon  the  minds  of  youth, 
^his  should  be  attended  to  in  connection  with  business,  at  the  table,  and 
specially  when  taking  your  walks  abroad.  A  thousand  objects  present 
(hemselves  as  you  walk  in  the  fields,  from  which  useful  remarks  may  be 
aade ;  and  they  who  have  the  prosperity  of  their  children  at  heart  will 
lot  be  inattentive  to  these.  To  some  it  may  appear  an  arduous  task  thus 
0  take  care  of  their  offspring ;  and  to  those  who  have  long  thrown  their 
fork  upon  others,  it  will  really  be  so ;  but  to  the  Christian  parent,  whose 
aind  is  capable  of  perceiving  his  duty,  and  appreciating  its  pleasures,  it 
ields  a  present  satisfaction,  it  aff^ords  a  presumptive  hope,  that  having 
(rained  up  his  children  in  the  way  they  should  go,  when  they  are  old  they 
all  not  depart  from  it.  Nothing  can  scarcely  add  so  much  to  the  peace 
nd  happiness  of  old  age  as  the  knowledge  that  one's  children  are  virtuous 
nd  good,  respectable  in  life,  and  living  for  another  world.  What  are  all 
Ihe  honours  and  riches  in  the  world  compared  to  this  ? 


THE  SPORTING  WORLD. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  the  brutal  practices  of  cock-fighting,  racing, 
cc,  are  much  in  vogue.  Although  a  great  number  are  opposed  to  these 
iruel  sports,  yet  retained  and  practised  in  this  country,  they  are  blameable 
3r  not  using  more  decided  efforts  to  suppress  them,  and  not  trying  to  con- 

VOL.  III.  2  c 


•20G 

vince  the  people  of  their  degrading  and  wicked  tendency.  Within  ai 
miles  of  Preston,  we  have  recently  had  several  pitched  battles,  but  yd 
magistrate  interfered.  At  Goosnargh,  among  other  barbarous  practici 
a  man  was  engaged  to  worry  a  hedgehog  with  his  hands  tied  on  his  bat 
which  he  accomplished  in  four  minutes.  ,  This  was  countenanced  by  sor 
who  would  be  called  respectable ;  but  although  they  may  be  above  thi 
neighbours  in  wealth,  they  are  certainly  the  lowest  in  the  grade  of  ci^ 
lized  society,  inasmuch  as  they  countenance  practices  so  demoralizing  ai 
base. 

Mr.  Pease  has  succeeded  in  introducing  a  clause  into  the  metropolit 
police  bill  against  dog-fighting  and  cock-fighting.  I  hope  the  same  ge 
tleman  will  attempt  an  equally  salutary  regulation  for  the  whole  count! 
But  it  signifies  little  how  good  soever  the  laws  be,  unless  we  have  a  bett 
order  of  magistrates  to  enforce  them.  Whilst  four  in  the  commission  cj 
enter  the  field  at  once,  to  kill  or  to  aid  in  killing  each  other,  is  it  to  be  e 
pected,  that  they  can,  with  any  consistency,  suppress  fighting  of  any  soi 
Several  newspapers  are  devoted  to  the  recital  of  all  the  brutal  deeds  tli 
can  be  raked  up  in  the  country,  and  their  extensive  sale  is  a  melancho 
proof  of  the  depravity  of  the  people.  Drinking,  gaming,  and  fighting  gen 
rally  go  together,  and  hence,  "  The  Despatch"  and  "  Life  in  London"  a 
papers  generally  taken  in  by  the  publicans.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  tl 
working  people  should  be  so  destitute  of  either  religion  or  good  sense : 
to  give  their  time  and  attention  to  cruel  sports ;  and  it  is  not  less  to  be  r 
gretted,  that  the  aristocracy  and  gentry  of  the  country  should  know  of  i 
better  means  of  disposing  of  their  time  and  influence,  and  of  that  mon< 
which  is  collected  from  the  labour  and  the  sweat  of  thousands  under  thet 
I  admit  that  we  have  made  some  little  advance  in  the  march  of  improvemen 
but  I  am  anxious  that  every  man,  influenced  by  real  love  to  his  neighboi 
and  his  country,  should  opetily  wage  war  with  these  practices,  and  be  d 
terrained  to  do  his  utmost  to  accomplish  their  entire  discontinuance 


POSTHUMOUS  LIBERALITY. 
"We  brought  nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can 
nothing  out ;"  so  that  however  we  tug  our  idol  wealth,  however  regular! 
devotions  at  this  altar,  we  are  doomed  to  leave  it  at  last.  What  the 
ings  of  the  miser  are,  when  assured  that  he  cannot  live,  and  that  he 
leave  his  all,  is  not  easily  described.  He  makes  his  will,  and  the 
who  was  always  too  poor  to  give  when  asked,  and  too  selfish  to  seel 
cases  of  distress  when  he  might,  is  now  dictating  to  his  attorney  tc 


207 

:own  the  several  sums  composing  his  property  to  some  individuals  who 
leed  it  not,  and  to  others  who  are  likely  to  spend  it  in  profiigacv  and  ex- 
ess.  He  leaves, the  world,  after  toiling  and  scraping  for  threescore  vears, 
nd  never  tastes  that  greatest  of  all  pleasures,  the  pleasure  of  doing  good : 
le  parts  with  his  money  at  last,  because  he  is  forced  to  do  so.  That, 
^hich,  if  it  had  been  distributed  by  the  owner  with  discretion,  would  liave 
one  immense  good,  either  passes  into  other  hands  like  his  own,  or  proba- 
ly  to  those,  who,  having  never  laboured  for  it,  will  squander  it  away  upon 
leir  lusts.  A  great  deal  is  said  about  "faith;"  but  while  man  are  intent 
aly  upon  laying  up  treasures  upon  earth,  do  they  seem  to  have  any  faith 
I  the  promises  of  Him  who  said,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
lee.^"  That  God  who  feeds  the  fowls,  and  clothes  the  fields  with  grass, 
is  said,  "will  much  more  clothe  you,  oh  ye  of  little  faith."  If  my  ob- 
i!rvations  be  correct,  religious  people  generally  are  the  most  covetous, 
hey  are  delivered  from  the  sensual  and  expensive  vices  which  others  in- 
ilge  in,  and  being  often  favoured  with  advantageous  opportunities  in  bu- 
ness,  they  begin  to  save  money,  and  are  consequently  overcome  by  the 
ve  of  it.  It  grows  upon  them ;  others  imitate  their  habit,  so  much  so, 
at  I  have  known  parts  of  the  country,  occupied  by  strict  professors  of  re- 
gion, particularly  marked  out  for  parsimonious  habits  and  a  want  of  social 
ndness.  It  does  certainly  sometimes  happen  that  a  goodly  subscription 
given  towards  a  chapel,  but  when  the  claims  of  the  widow  and  the  fa- 
erless  are  presented,  the  case  meets  with  a  different  reception.  Content 
ith  "  food  and  raiment,"  as  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to  be,  we  shall  never 
led  to  fear  want,  and,  therefore,  those  who  have  property,  as  stewards  of 
ad,  act  wisely  in  disposing  of  it  with  their  own  hands.  Life  and  an  ac- 
aintance  with  the  world  give  a  man  an  opportunity  of  seeking  out  pro- 
r  objects  of  charity,  and  bestowing  his  wealth  where  it  will  do  real 
od :  the  approach  of  death  affords  no  such  advantages ;  the  money  has 
be  bequeathed  suddenly,  and  often  falls  upon  objects  which  are  unde- 
rving.  If  the  promises  of  Scripture  be  true,  those  who  sow  plentifully 
all  reap  plentifully — those  who  give  to  the  poor,  ahall  have  treasure  in 
aven ;  but  what  shall  we  say  of  those  whose  language  to  the  poor  is, 
36  ye  warmed,  and  be  ye  clothed,"  but  who  give  them  nothing  ?  I  pity 
8  sordid  wretch  whose  world  is  himself,  and  whose  generosity  consists 
lleavinp-  his  riches  because  he  cannot  take  them  with  him.    The  apostle's 

O 

imonition  was  tneant  for  the  living,  not  for  the  dying:  "  Charge  them 
tat  are  rich  in  this  world  that  they  be  not  high  minded,  nor  trust  in  un- 
(rtain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to 
Moy ;  that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distri- 


208 

bute,  willing  to  communicate,  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  fo 
dation  against  the  time  to  come."  Regulations  abound  for  distribut 
our  riches  while  living,  but  upon  the  subject  of  death-bed  charity 
Scriptures  are  profoundly  silent.  Posthumous  liberality,  I  fear,  will  find 
place  in  that  record  which  God  keeps  of  the  good  works  of  all  his  sail 


SILVER  AGAIN  I 

"  Sixpence  will  be  demanded  from  those  who  enter  the  gallery  or  the  body  of  the  chaj 

This  Catholic  charge,  which  now  appears  on  the  walls,  is  an  imprc| 
ment  upon  the  Methodists'  terms,  inasmuch  as  six  penny  pieces  will 
be  admitted  as  full  pay,  while  in  the  other  case  any  applicant  could  not]B 
admitted  without  "  silver."  And  inasmuch  as  it  defines  the  sum,  to  1^ 
rich  it  must  be  an  advantage.  When  it  is  said,  "  silver"  must  be  gr 
without  naming  the  sum,  of  course  those  who  are  very  rich,  obse 
a  mechanic  give  a  silver  sixpence,  will  think  that  half  a  crown,  at  lei 
will  be  expected  from  such  as  they.  It  ought,  however,  to  be  mentionec 
in  mitigation,  that  these  charges  are  for  what  the  apostle  James  calls  " 
good  place,"  and  that  those  who  will  be  content  to  be  told  to  "  stan 
there,"  will  be  admitted  free.  (James  ii.  3.)  The  "entrance  money"  i 
not  all;  it  gives  them  the  privilege  of  joining  in  "the  collection"  whic 
is  afterwards  to  be  made  ! 

Upon  the  face  of  the  matter  what  do  all  reflecting  people  say  ?  Re 
ligion  has  nothing  to  do  with  all  this :  it  is  a  piece  of  worldly  policy,  alto 
gether,  to  get  money. 

But  we  are  met  with  this  answer:  "If  we  were  not  to  adopt  thi 
regulation,  the  seats  would  all  be  occupied  by  poor  persons,  who  are  nc 
likely  to  give,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  who  are."  This  is  correct;  bi 
instead  of  justifying  a  partiality  against  the  poor,  and  bringing  disgrac 
upon  religion  as  a  mercenary  concern,  it  condemns  at  once  the  means  mad 
use  of  to  bring  so  many  people  together.  I  wish  this  point  particularl 
to  be  understood,  for  I  have  met  with  many  who  don't  like  this  "  silv 
the  door,"  and  yet  they  cannot  see  how  it  can  be  avoided.  The  fault 
providing  an  attraction  to  the  place,  calculated  to  work  upon  those 
whom  the  claims  of  the  school  itself  would  have  no  control.  "  We  h 
Sunday  school,"  say  the  committee,  "  whose  necessary  expences  amo' 
so  much  a  year.  We  have  many  rich  people  among  us,  it  is  true,  a  fe' 
whom  might  give  us  the  amount,  without  ever  feeling  it ;  but  they 
not  do  this.     And  if  we  were  to  announce,  that,  on  a  certain  Sunday,  a] 


209 

ectioa  would  be  made  to  defray  these  expences  after  the  sermon  of  our  usual 
Teachers,  so  little  do  professors  appear  to  give  from  principle,  that  the 
.ttendance  would  be  slender  and  the  collection  insufficient.  What  are  we 
hen  to  do  ?  Our  school  must  not  sink  for  want  of  funds.  We  know  the, 
pirit  of  the  world  ;  get  an  attractive  popular  preacher  ;  let  there  be  a  reli- 
■ious  performance;  something  to  please  the  eye  and  gratifv'  the  ear;  and 
'e  shall  get  a  numerous  attendance,  and  a  good  collection.  And  the  only 
ray  to  counteract  these  attractions  upon  the  poor,  who  have  nothing 
3  spare,  and  who  cannot  help  us  on  this  occasion,  is,  to  demand  '  silver  at 
le  door.'"  In  most  cases,  the  attraction  is  a  very  popular  minister,  whose 
ime  is  so  great,  that  many  grudge  not  to  pay  to  hear  him  ;  in  Bolton  and 
le  neighbourhood,  the  usual  accompaniment,  is  "  sacred  music,"  per- 
)rmed  by  persons  from  different  chapels  in  the  neighbourhood.  Our 
•lends,  the  Protestant  Methodists,  have  been  wiser  in  their  generation 
lan  their  Wesleyan  brethren  this  year.  They  secured  the  services  of 
liss  Brady,  a  lady  of  acknowledged  talent.  In  Dublin,  I  recollect,  in  a 
lacard  on  the  wall,  it  was  announced,  that  "  the  collection  would  be  con- 
facted  by  the  ladies."  This  would  certainly  have  its  weight,  and  would 
Dubtless  make  many  a  gentleman  who  intended  to  give  but  half  a  crown, 
ive  half  a  sovereign.  In  like  manner,  many  w^ere  drawn  to  hear  the  lady 
ist  mentioned,  and  give  their  money,  who  cared  nothing  for  the  school, 
I 'id  would  never  have  gone,  under  other  circumstances.  On  the  present 
;casion,  high  mass,  sermons  from  a  distant  preacher,  and  the  perform- 
ices  of  the  Choral  Society,  are  the  attractions;  and  I  do  not  doubt  of 
leir  success.  I  believe  the  collections  are  always  good  where  the 
horal  Society  lends  its  services. 

The  truth  of  my  assertion,  "  that  it  is  the  performance,  and  not  the 
•frits  of  the  school,  that  constitutes  the  general  attraction,"  I  think  few 
ill  deny;  and  hence,  the  simple  question  is,  will  the  end  justify  the  means  ? 
think  not.  If  all  this  were  not  mixed  up  with  the  solemnities  of  religion,  and 
^  were  told  that  it  was  simply  an  expedient  for  getting  money,  I  don't  know 

at  I  should  make  any  objection.  If,  for  instance,  the  Choral  Society  would 
ivertise  a  performance,  or  any  preacher  the  delivery  of  an  oration,  either 

fixed  or  unfixed  prices,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  given  to  a  cer- 
in  school,  there  would  be  no  mystery  about  it,  and  no  profanation  of  sa- 
ed  things  to  the  object  of  money  getting.  This  is  frequently  done  at 
Qcy  balls  and  musical  festivals,  and  the  proceeds  handed  over  to  certain 
'stitutions.  But  when  I  consider  the  day  on  which  the  meetings  under 
•nsideration  are  held,  and  the  place  in  which  they  are  held;  that  they  as- 

me  the  character  of  meetings  for  religious  worship;  that  the  hearing  of 


210 

the  sermons  appears  to  be  the  principal  object  of  calling  the  people . 
gether;  and  that  the  collection  is  merely  noticed  in  small  type  at  the  b 
torn  of  the  bill,  as  if  it  was  a  matter  of  the  least  importance  ;  I  cannot  h| 
thinking  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  worldly  policy  and  deception  c< 
nected  with  these  occasions ;  and  the  circumstance  of  keeping  out  p< 
people,  who  cannot  pay  sixpence,  is  a  decided  proof  of  the  bad  working 
such  a  system.  .  j 

If  improper  charges  were  not  included  in  the  accounts,  the  expei 
of  a  Sunday  school  are  not  considerable.  Only  let  persons  of  property  ac 
as  our  pious  ancestors,  who  built  chapels  or  schools,  and  endowed  then 
themselves,  and  charity  sermons  might  be  given  up  altogether.  Moder 
liberality  is  of  too  equalizing  a  character  :  instead  of  a  person  coming  few 
ward  to  support  the  school  he  may  think  useful,  he  is  very  anxious  thii 
every  other  individual  should  bear  his  share,  and  descends  to  the  use-i 
means  which  are  dishonourable  to  religion  in  order  to  get  the  money  frgi 
those  who  care  nothing  for  the  object.  I  like  fair,  open,  honest  dealing 
and  religion  is  often  disgraced  for  want  of  it. 


REMARKS  ON  ARCHDEACON  HEADLAM'S  CHARGE. 

On  Tuesday,  June  4th,  Archdeacon  Headlam  held  his  visitation  in  tW 
town.  The  attendance  of  the  clergy,  it  is  said,  was  very  numerous.  A 
the  conclusion  of  the  church  service,  he  proceeded  to  the  chancel,  and  dc 
livered  his  charge.  Upon  that  charge,  as  reported  in  the  Preston  Pilot, 
beg  leave  to  make  a  few  remarks.  It  speaks  in  plain  terms  to  the  presoi 
state  of  church  affairs;  and  as  the  Archdeacon  has  not  disguised  his  seuli 
ments,  but  delivered  them  openly  and  candidly,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  ai 
riving  at  his  meaning.  The  character  and  utility  of  the  national  establish 
ment,  he  frequently  refers  to,  always  taking  care  to  place  it  on  the  high 
pinnacle  of  excellency. 

So  spiritual  was  the  religion  taught  by  Christ  himself,  unsanctionec 
kings  or  priests,  and  so  contrary  to  all  the  ostentation  of  worldly  syste 
that  for  precedents  in  favour  of  building  gaudy  and  expensive  churcl 
this  gentleman  is  obliged,  first  to  go  to  Solomon's  temple,  and  the 
those  erected  by  the  emperors,  after  Christianity  was  incorporated 
the  state.  Not  a  word  upon  this  subject,  is  to  be  found  in  the  New 
tament,  and  not  a  murmur  in  all  the  Epistles  that  the  want  of  buildii| 
was  any  part  of  their  manifold  sufferings.  "  Solomon  built  the  first  ten 
pie,  and  the  people  rejoiced  and  gave  willingly" — "  When  it  pleased  G€ 
to  raise  up  kings  and  emperors  to  support  the  faith,  the  church  was  abled 
do  more.     Temples  were  erected  on  the  most  magnificent  scale,  voluntffl 


211 

)flPerings  aided  to  enrich  and  endow  them,  and  the  whole  worhl  seemed 
rlad  to  have  an  opportunity  of  pouring  out  their  gifts  in  this  wav."  He 
ays,  "  it  pleased  God  to  raise  up  kings  and  emperors  to  support  the  faith." 
'ray  how  have  they  supported  it  ?  By  propagating  its  external  forms  and 
■lutward  belief  with  human  authority,  and  punishing  those  who  refused  to 
ubmit.  The  priests  they  flattered  and  supported,  who,  in  return,  bv  their 
afluence  with  the  people,  enslaved  them  to  authority.  The  natural  ten- 
dency of  religion,  being  committed  into  the  hands  of  kings  and  emperors, 
5  just  the  opposite  of  that,  which,  in  the  primitive  days,  had  the  manifest 
.anctioa  of  the  pleasure  of  heaven. 

I  '  "The  efficiency  of  the  church,"  he  observes,  "could  not  be  upheld 
I'ithout  a  clergy,  and  that  the  clergy  could  not  be  maintained  but  by  a 
reference  in  the  state  towards  one  particular  sect."  This  mav  be  true,  but 
hy  should  this  preference  be  given  to  this  or  any  other  sect  ?  Though 
I  the  present  church  was  established  by  a  majority  of  the  people,  at  the 
me  of  the  reformation,"  it  has  no  claim  to  preference  now.  The  majority 
now  against  it,  and  nearly  the  whole  nation  is  in  favour  of  the  equitable 
-inciple  of  every  religion  supporting  its  own.  If  avarice  and  oppression, 
jposition  to  the  people,  and  to  the  peace  of  the  country,  afford  a  claim 
■r  a  preference  in  the  state,  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
nd  (that  is,  "  the  church")  have,  I  confess,  the  highest  claim  of  any 
her  order  of  men. 

The  Archdeacon,  however,  I  can  perceive,  is  not  without  his  doubts, 
id  like  manv  other  of  late,  who,  rather  than  defend  the  constitution  of 
e  establishment,  plead  that  as  the  church  is  at  present  established  by 
w,  we  ought  not  to  oppose  it.  "  So  long  as  we  have  a  national  establish' 
nt,  places  must  be  set  apart  as  are  beseeming." 

"  Several  objections  were  made  to  the  improvement  of  church  build- 

^ — from  the  temper  of  the  times,  this  feeling  had  much  spread  of  late." 

atd  does  the  Archdeacon  wonder  at  this  ?     If  he  had  to  support  his  own 

mister,  to  contribute  to  the  building  of  his  own  place  of  worship,  and 

eexpences  of  its  services,  and  was,  in  addition  to  this,  taxed  for  another 

astern  of  religion,  which  he  disliked,  in  so  many  ways  as  Dissenters  and 

'itholics  are  at  present,  would  he  not  complain  ?    He  seems  to  forget  that 

-ides  the  tithes,  we  have  church  rates,  easier  dues,  surplice  fees,  &c.  to 

ly ;  or  else,  what  is  his  meaning  when  he  says,  "  the  liability  to  pay  iissess- 

■nts  was  not  personal,  but  arose  from  the  tenure  oi  property :  from  time 

emorial  the  occupiers  of  land  had  been  held  liable  to  assessment.?" 
lien  the  poor  widow  in  the  cellar  is  charged  5d.  at  easter,  and  the  lady 


212 

occupying  her  mansion  no  more,  is  not  this  a  personal  assessment  ? 
are  not  all  the  others  the  same  ?  As  to  this  liability  of  the  land  to 
tithes,  this  was  always  coupled  with  a  condition  of  certain  duties  to  be  pe 
formed  ;  and  if  the  appropriation  was  changed  at  the  reformation,  becmt 
the  condition  was  not  satisfactorily  performed,  1  am  sure  there  is  tl 
strongest  reason  in  the  world  why  it  should  be  changed  again. 

In  opposition  to  the  statement  that  church  property  belongs  to  t] 
nation,  "  he  begged  to  say,  that  the  property  of  the  church  never  did  b 
long  to  the  nation.  It  was  granted  by  the  piety  of  individuals  at  a  rerm 
period,  for  the  use  of  the  clergy  and  other  purposes.  They  did  not  dei 
the  right  of  parliament  to  regulate  that  property  with  a  view  to  the  interi 
of  the  estahlishment."  This  is  clever  indeed.  He  admits,  throughot 
although  he  does  not  use  the  plainest  terms,  that  the  property  was  left ' 
Papists  to  the  clergy,  and  for  other  purposes ;  and  although  it  was  violenl 
wrested  from  them  by  parliament,  yet  if  any  regulations  be  made  by  pc 
liament  now,  it  must  be  "  with  a  view  to  the  interest  of  the  establishment 
It  seems  he  would  not  give  back  a  single  sheaf  to  old  mother  church. 

Anticipating  a  meditated  change  in  the  application  of  church  proper! 
he  says,  "  the  payments  would  then  proceed  from  the  people ;  it  woi 
become  a  direct  tax  ,•  it  would  grow  burthensome  ;  salaries  would  be  ( 
minished,  perhaps  withdrawn  ;  and  the  church  would  cease  to  be."  Here» 
the  first  place,  we  have  a  clear  intimation  how  the  church  and  clergy  sta 
in  the  affections  of  the  people ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  notwithstandi 
the  freqaent  declaration  that  God  will  support  his  church,  and  that  \ 
gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail  against  it,  we  are  plainly  told  (and  nothing 
the  world  is  more  true)  that  if  the  salaries  be  withdrawn,  the  church  uw 
cease  to  be  ! 

This  gentleman  praises  the  cathedral  services ;  and  being  so  cL 
connected  with  one  at  Chester,  very  naturally  hopes  that  the  church  ■» 
not  lose  that  "  honourable  part  of  its  services."  He  assumes,  what  moal 
the  advocates  of  the  church  have  done,  that  opposition  to  the  churchj 
infidelity,"  and  that  to  "  support  the  church"  was  to  maintain  the  C^ 
tian  religion.  He  believes  that  no  human  institution  is  better  calculated 
promote  the  worship  of  God  than  the  established  church,  and  prays 
nothing  may  arise  to  weaken  the  attachments  of  the  people  to  a  ch 
which  had  so  long  received  and  deserved  their  respect.  All  this  is 
we  might  expect  from  a  paid  advocate ;  but  the  concluding  sentend 
strongly  at  variance  with  the  whole  tenor  of  his  charge,  with  the  M 
tenor  of  the  system,  and  contains  an  exhortation,  which,  I  fear, 


J 


213 

le  coldly  received  by  many  of  his  clerical  auditory.     "  The  church  never 

ITOOD    IN    so    FINE     A    POSITION    AS    IN    THE    DAYS    OF     HER    ADVERSITY,    and 

phether  the  clergy  are  destined  still  to  enjoy  the  remuneration  at  present  set 
'part  for  their  use,  or  be  reduced  to  poverty  s  hard  fare,  let  them  show  that 

HEIR  ATTACHMENT  TO  THE   ESTABLISHMENT    DOES    NOT   DEPEND  UPON  OUT- 

iiTARD  AID."  This  is  a  fine  passage  ;  it  contains  so  important  a  truth,  and 
a  consistent  an  exhortation,  that  if  it  had  stood  alone,  as  the  whole  of  the 
harge,  it  would  deserve  to  be  printed  in  letters  of  gold.  But  standing  as 
ie  sequel  of  a  charge  with  which  it  is  utterly  at  variance,  it  can  only  be 
jccounted  for  upon  the  principle  that  truth  is  so  powerful,  that,  consistent 
:r  inconsistent,  it  will  sometimes  come  out.  Archdeacon  Headlam  may 
icture  while  he  is  hoarse  in  favour  of  the  present  church  establishment 
ad  the  claims  of  the  clergy :  the  tide  of  public  opinion  is  set  in  against 
lem,  and  the  sooner  they  recede  from  the  contest  the  better.  Let  the 
lurch  folks  maintain  their  religion  and  their  clergy  (and  they  are  well 
ble  to  do  this)  and  let  all  parties  do  the  same,  and  then  there  will  be  a 
obability  of  peace,  both  in  England  and  Ireland — but  not  till  then. 


POPULAR  MORALS.* 

Every  thoughtful  person  finds  that  inquiries  arise  in  his  mind  of  this  nature,  What  am  I? 
'hence  am  I?  For  what  purpose  do  I  exist?  What  is  this  which  is  called  life?  What 
the  power  of  thinking  ?  Will  the  consciousness  of  being  cease  when  this  life  ends  ?  If  not, 
ill  that  consciousness  relate  to  the  acts  done  in  this  life?  If  so,  in  what  manner,  and  with 
hat  consequences  ?  If  I  doubt  what  answers  must  I  give  to  these  questions,  why  do  I 
,tubt?  Is  it  beyond  my  power  to  remove  my  doubts  ?  If  I  believe  nothing  of  a  future 
ite  of  being  as  a  consequence  of  the  present  being,  have  I  done  what  I  ought  to  do  to 
form  myself  whether  this  be  so  or  not?  If  I  have  a  sentiment  of  being  liable  to  account 
a  future  life  for  my  conduct  in  this,  is  it  a  mere  sentiment,  or  is  it  founded  in  reason, 
id  binding  on  me  as  a  conviction,  which  I  cannot  free  myself  from  ? 

Inquiries  also  arise  in  many  minds  of  this  nature  :  If  there  be  a  Supreme  Being,  who 
i  sated  and  who  governs  the  universe,  and  who  is  supremely  good  and  wise,  why  are  the 
od  and  wise  on  earth  sometimes  subjected  to  suffering  and  to  sonow  ?  Why  is  there, 
such  persons,  so  much  of  pain  in  body  and  in  mind?  Why  do  disappointments  and 
lictions  fall  on  those  who  strive  to  perform  their  duty  in  all  things  ?  Wliy  do  not  the 
nishnients  of  divine  justice  fall  on  those  who  violate  the  laws  of  the  Supreme  Being? 
hy  is  it,  that  worldly  prosperity,  respect,  and  honour,  are  often  bestowed  on  those  who 
;»late  all  the  laws  which  the  righteous  judge  of  all  the  earth  must  have  prescribed? 

Why  is  it  that  man  is  so  commonly  the  bitter  and  relentless  enemy  of  man  ?  Why  is 
that  he  hazards  the  destruction  of  his  own  property,  his  own  liberty,  and  even  his  own 
?,  to  destroy  property,  liberty,  and  life  in  others  ?     Why  is  it  that  we  take  pleasure  in  de- 


•  From  an  American  work  inserted  in  Chambers'  Journal. 
VOL.     III.  2  D 


214 

preciadng  the  good  qualities  of  others,  and  in  presenting  their  faults,  follies,  and  errors  t 
the  notice  of  those  who  where  before  ignorant  of  them  ?  Why  do  we  feel  emotions  of  dh 
satisfaction  when  others  prosper,  and  regard  the  welfare  of  others  as  though  it  were 
wrong  done  to  ourselves?  Why  do  we  mourn  over  that  which  is  past  and  which  cannot  b 
recalled,  and  tremble  at  that  which  has  not  come,  and  which  may  never  come  ?  Why  is  it  tha 
kind  acts  done  to  others  are  frequently  forgotton  by  them,  and  sometimes  regarded  by  thet 
as  a  grievous  burthen,  and  sometimes  repaid  by  acts  of  unkindness,  and  reproach,  and  eve 
of  injury?  Why  is  it  that  so  much  of  human  life  is  spent  in  vain  and  profitless  pursuits 
Why  is  it,  that,  when  disabled  and  suffering,  in  body  or  mind,  we  can  so  rarely  con 
sole  ourselves  with  the  fact,  that  we  did  not  cause  our  own  distress  ?  Why  is  it  that  faroil 
connection  (seemingly  ordained  as  a  necessary  condition  of  human  life)  is  so  often  a  cause  < 
irritation  and  vexation  ?  Why  are  children  sometimes  inclined  to  regard  parents  rather  a 
tyrannical  and  heartless  rulers,  than  has  affectionate  and  worthy  governors  ;  and  why  ai 
parents  sometimes  led  to  regret  that  they  have  given  birth  to  offspring,  who  are  fastene 
on  them  by  ties  which  cannot  be  broken  ?  Why  is  it  that  unceasing  parental  cave,  and  th 
wisest  precaution  in  rearing  children,  are  repaid  by  that  bitter  disappointment  which  mui 
be  hidden  within  the  heart,  and  wept  over  unseen  by  any  human  eye  ?  Why  is  it,  tha 
when  parental  care  has  been  successfully  applied,  and  when  we  see  the  coming  forth  < 
fruits,  intellectual  and  moral,  in  one  little  moment  the  blast  of  destruction  passes  over,  an 
the  remaining  act  is,  to  close  the  sepulchre  on  the  remnant  of  lost  hopes  and  joys  i 

What  is  that  principle  of  our  nature  that  compels  us  to  some  sort  of  action ;  and  whic 
will  drive  us  into  such  as  is  hurtful  to  ourselves  and  to  others,  if  we  are  not  directed  to  thoi 
of  an  opposite  character?  Whence  comes  that  sense  of  disappointment  when  success  hi 
crowned  our  pursuits  ?  Why  is  it  that  one,  in  the  enjoyment  of  bodily  ease  and  of  world! 
wealth,  and  apparently  in  command  of  abundance  of  those  things  which  the  world  calls  goo< 
and  for  which  mortals  submit  to  unceasing  toil,  is,  sometimes,  the  most  disgusted  of  all  me 
with  life,  finding  no  pleasure  in  the  smiling  earth,  in  the  busy  haunts,  nor  any  good  und« 
the  sun  ?  Why  is  it  that  men  need  forcible  and  irresistible  powers  of  government  amoo 
themselves?  Why  do  those  who  know  that  power  is  difficult  to  hold,  and  more  difficult t 
use  aright,  earnestly  desire  it?  Why  is  it  that  those  who  have  power,  either  do  not,  ( 
cannot,  use  it  honourably  to  themselves  and  beneficially  for  others?  Why  are  so  many* 
the  human  race  subjected  to  the  most  miserable  poverty ;  so  many  wretched  from  the  misui 
and  abuse  of  bodily  and  mental  power;  so  many  deprived  of  personal  liberty;  and  so  man 
hungup  between  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  by  order  of  their  fellow  men,  in  the  presenc 
of  curious  thousands,  who  laugh  at  the  exhibition  of  death,  admire  the  firmness  or 
the  weakness  of  one  who,  in  full  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  knows,  that  within  a  fewBW 
ments  he  will  be  dead  by  violence  ?  How  does  it  happen  that  good  and  virtuous 
in  reflecting  on  the  change  which  is  soon  to  come,  and  when  the  places  that  have  kn 
them  will  know  them  no  more  for  ever,  do  feel  a  sense  of  doubt,  and  even  of  despondencj 
as  to  their  future  destiny,  and  would  gladly  be  assured  that  all  they  have  habitually  thougl  ^ 
to  be  true  is  unquestionably  so  ? 

Inquiries  of  this  nature  may  be  indefinitely  multiplied.     It  is  of  little  use  to 
them,  if  there  be  no  answers  to  them.     They  have  been  answered,  in  general,  amon| 
learned,  and  in  a  learned  manner.    Can  they  be  answered  to  the  comprehension  of  the  i 
and  especially  of  the  young  ?     Let  us  suppose  that  no  small  part  of  all  that  we  see  otl 


'I 


215 

ror,  and  crime,  and  consequent  suffering  and  misery,  arises,  not  from  the  laws  of  tlie  Creator, 
.It  from  ignorance  of  these  lav.s,  or  wilful  disobedience  of  them ;  then  it  would  follow  that 
le  remedy  lies  in  making  these  laws  known.  AVhea  and  how  is  this  to  be  done?  Not  by 
aving  to  each  individual  to  find  out  the  meaning  and  force  of  these  laws,  through  painful 
:perience,  and  when  the  consequences  of  ignorance  and  disobedience  are  already  fastened 
\  him ;  but  to  make  them  known  before  the  responsible  action  of  adult  life  begins.  If 
ere  be  rules  for  human  life,  which  come  from  a  Lawgiver  who  cannot  err ;  if  these  rules 
e  laid  down  for  subjects  who  are  entrusted  with  the  liberty  of  obeying  or  disobeying,  it  is 
admissible  to  suppose  that  these  rules  cannot  be  found  out,  and  made. known  to  all  who 
e  to  be  affected  by  them. 

To  disclose  these  rules  and  make  them  operative  is  a  duty  to  ourselves  and  to  each 
her.  The  mode  of  doing  it  may  be  differently  thought  of  by  different  persons.  That 
lich  seems  most  likely  to  be  effective  is  to  address  human  reason,  in  a  simple  and  intelligible 
aniier,  and  in  such  manner  that  the  opening  mind  may  comprehend  the  truths  which  are 
ught.  Such  is  our  present  purpose.  Ko  mysteries  will  be  resorted  to ;  no  display  of 
irning  attempted.  As  these  pages  are  intended  for  the  use  of  young  people,  we  shall 
dress  only  their  good  sense.  They  will  be  called  on  to  judge  by  the  light  of  reason 
lerewith  their  Creator  has  blessed  them.  If  the  intention  with  which  this  work  is  un- 
itaken  be  proper  and  practicable,  those  who  will  bestow  the  time  and  attention  necessary 
that  end,  may,  it  is  humbly  hoped,  be  enabled  to  answer  many  of  the  inquiries  before 
ggested,  so  far  as  the  enlightened  minds  which  have  left  a  record  of  their  thoughts  can 
sist  and  guide  us  in  the  search  after  truth. 

The  design  of  these  papers  is  to  prove  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being ;  that  he  is  the 
eator  and  Governor  of  the  universe ;  that  he  created  man  as  we  see  him  to  exist,  in  his 
rthly  frame,  in  his  intellectual  powers,  and  with  an  immortal  spirit;  that  there  is  placed 
thin  his  reach  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  intended  for  government  here;  and  that  life 
re  is  connected  with  an  existence,  which  is  to  be  attained  through  the  house  appointed  for 
that  have  lived,  that  do  live,  and  that  are  to  live. 

The  propositions  which  must  be  established  as  the  foundations  of  religious  duty  and 
moral  conduct  in  this  life,  and  of  hope  in  another  and  better  life,  are  in  substance  these  : 

Sect.  1.  There  is  a  Supreme  Being  who  is  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Governor  of  all 

nci  and  of  all  beings  ;  he  intended  human  life  to  be  a  benefit  to  those  to  whom  it  is 

:   and  it  may  be  a  benefit,  or  not,  according  to  the  use  which  is  made  of  it ;  the 

.  of  making  it  a  benefit  are  placed  within  the  comprehension  of  all  to  whom  life  and 

1  are  given.  Mankind  are  permitted  to  choose  whether  they  will  obey  or  disobey, 
ibjected  in  this  life,  and  in  a  future  one,  to  the  consequences  of  their  acts  and  omis- 

2.  In  the  first  proposition,  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  we  place  revelation  at  pre- 
8 1  out  of  the  inquiry,  and  ask  how  can  it  be  known  that  there  is  such  a  Being  ?  and  that  he 

I  prescribed  rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  human  race  ?  How  can  we  certainly  know  that 
m  does  not  perish,  and  return  to  the  earth,  as  we  believe  that  the  vegetable  kingdom 

II  the  whole  race  of  animals  inferior  to  man  certainly  do  ? 

3.  We  propose  to  address  the  proofs  which  we  have  to  offer  to  those  minds  which  admit 
tt  man,  whencesoever  he  came,  and  whithersoever  he  is  to  go,  and  whether  he  returns  to 
t   earth,  or  ascends  to  heaven,  is  capable  in  his  own  nature  of  comprehending  facts  and 


216 

truths,  and  that  he  may,  and  commonly  does,  govern  himself  in  his  most  serious  and  ia 
esting  acts  of  life,  by  ascertaining  what  is  true  when  he  can,  and  by  inferences  from  ki 
or  supposed  truths,  when  he  can  approach  no  nearer  to  certainty.  It  is  believed  that  in 
common  exercise  of  the  human  faculties,  there  can  be  no  other  rule  of  government.  If  I 
be  any  persons  wlio  claim  to  be  governed  or  guided  by  any  other  rules,  we  do  not  attfl 
to  deal  with  them.  It  may  be  said  that  all  knowledge  is  founded  on  experience,  andth 
nothing  is  to  be  admitted  to  be  true  of  which  we  have  no  experience.  This  saying  is  tq 
as  to  the  common  operation  of  the  laws  of  nature  in  the  material  world.  It  cannot  betB 
in  relation  to  those  things  of  which  we  have  not  had  any  experience.  Thus  knowledge' 
founded  in  experience  as  to  the  properties  and  action  of  the  elements.  We  know  some 
the  properties  and  action  of  the  elements.  We  know  some  of  the  properties  of  these  fro 
repeated  experiments,  which  give  always  the  same  results.  We  do  not  know,  in  like  ma 
ner,  that  there  is  a  future  state  of  being  ;  but  we  know  certain  truths,  from  which  the  inft 
ence  that  there  is  such  state  is  to  be  drawn. 

4.  We  do  not  know,  as  we  do  know  experimentally  certain  truths  concerning  the  9 
terial  world,  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  since  he  is  not  known  to  us  by  the  means  wWi 
we  have  of  knowing  sucli  truths.  No  one  has  seen  the  Deity  ;  nor  is  his  personal  existen 
known  to  us  through  the  senses  as  we  know  of  other  existence;  but  his  existence,  powj 
and  government,  may  be  known  to  us,  by  necessary  and  certain  inference,  from  fact  ai 
truths,  wliich  are  as  undeniable  as  our  own  existence. 

5.  Does  any  one  doubt  that  there  is  an  existing  material  universe  ?  Does  any  one  doo 
that  he  is  a  part  of  that  universe?  Did  any  human  being  form  himself?  Could  any  a 
of  those  from  whom  he  sprung,  form  himself?  If  intellectual,  spiritual  man  could  not 
originally  the  creator  of  himself,  could  the  material  world,  which  is  without  intellect 
spirit,  create  itself,  and  subject  itself  to  the  laws  which  we  know,  from  experience, 
govern  it?  Certainly,  all  things  and  all  beings  were  created.  To  this  assertion  it  IB 
possibly  be  replied,  No.     The  supposition  of  creation  is  not  proved. 

6.  It  maybe  asserted  tlaat  all  things  may  have  existed  from  eternity,  just  as  we  see  the 
What  intelligible  thought  does  this  assertion  communicate  to  a  reasonable  mind  ?     What 
eternity?    Can  the  human  mind  form  any  conception  of  eternity  ?     Add  thousands  to  tho 
sands,  and  millions  to  millions,  till  the  power  of  computation  is  exhausted,  and  it  comes  to 
more  than  a  succession  of  years.    We  are  incapable  of  judging  of  duration  but  by  a  success! 
ef  some  measure  of  time.     Let  us  ascend  to  the  highest  possible  duration  of  which  we  c 
conceive,  we  shall  find  a  material  universe  existing  there :  the  question  would  be  the  sai 
then  as  it  is  now.     How  came  it  into  being  ?     Did  it  create  itself  ?     The  answer  to  8|( 
inquiries  has  always  been,  in  every  age  of  the  world,  by  the  most  exalted  minds,  tha 
universe  could  not  be  its  own  author;  it  must  have  had  some  author  ;  when,  and  in 
manner  it  was   created,  may  not  be  intended  for  us.  to  know.     It  is  enough  for  us  to 
that  it  had  a  Creator.     What,  then,  can  we  learn  of  Him,  of  his  majesty  and  powerj 
beneficence  and  laws,  from  the  contemplation  of  his  works  ?  Every  step  which  we  tak 
exploring  the  works  of  the  Most  High  forces  upon  us,  mote  and  more  strongly,  the 
viction  that  all  which  we  are  made  capable  of  understanding  proceeds  from  infinite  wis( 
and  from  awful  authority.     We  have  only  to  trust  in  this  examination  to  our  own  se 
and  to  the  inferences  which  we  draw  from  what  they  disclose  to  us,  to  be  assured  oi 
existence,  of  the  presence,  and  of  the  government  of  such  a  Being. 


•217 

7.  There  are  few  who  have  had  the  benefit  of  instruction,  probably  few  who  are  sensible 
f  existence,  who  have  not  raised  their  eyes,  in  a  cloudless  light,  to  the  starry  firmament, 
ndwho  have  not  felt  some  emotion,  however  undefined,  that  all  which  they  see  there  was 
lie  work  of  some  incomprehensible  Being,  and  that  it  continues  to  exist  in  pursuance  of  his 
iWs.  Familiar  as  this  continually  recurring  spectacle  may  be,  it  is  very  magnificent,  and 
ver  new,  and  ever  fills  the  mind  with  astonishment  and  awe.  Examined  by  the  light  of 
.ience,  and  contemplated  in  its  systematic  regularity,  the  feeling  of  reverence  and  awe 
inks  deeper  and  deeper ; — and  well  has  it  been  said, 

"  An  undevout  astronomer  is  mad !" 

8.  How  wonderful  is  it  that  such  a  comparitively  insignificant  being  as  he  who  moves 
nthe  surface  of  this  little  globe,  and  whose  mortal  frame  is  tied  down  to  it  by  the  irresisti- 
le  power  of  attraction,  should  be  able  to  foretel,  with  unerring  certainty,  the  very  moment 
rhen  the  light  of  the  sun  will  be  shut  out  from  the  earth  by  the  intervening  of  its  satellite ! 
fay,  the  precise  moment  when  a  comet  was  visible  from  our  little  globe  at  a  time  long  past, 
'hen  he  was  not  in  being  himself;  and  when  it  will  be  again  visible,  when  he  mnst  be  gone, 
nd  perhaps  unremembered  on  the  earth. 

9.  Omitting  always  the  light  derived  from  revelation,  in  the  present  view  of  the  subject, 
'e  khow  in  these  days  the  Author  of  the  universe  only  by  approaching  towards  him  in  the 

templation  of  his  works.     In  doing  this,  it  will  be  demonstrated  to  all  rational  minds, 
lat  every  where  the  proofs  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  powerful  Deity  are  clearly  disclosed. 

10.  The  usual  course  of  instruction  in  our  schools  makes  known  only  that  part  of  the 
rmament  which  is  called  the  solar  system,  and  of  which  our  own  planet  is  a  part.  This 
ystem,  it  will  be  remembered,  comprises  the  sun,  the  eleven  planets,  the  two  rings  and  seven 
joons  of  one  of  them  (Saturn)  ;  the  four  moons  of  another  (Jupiter) ;  and  the  moon  of  our 
wn  planet.  All  these  planets  have  the  sun  for  the  centre  of  their  system,  and  seem  to  us 
)be  dependent  on  him  for  light  and  heat,  and  are  well  knovvn  to  move  around  him  with 
le  most  exact  regularity,  while  the  moons  of  such  of  these  planets  as  have  them  move 
ith  the  like  regularity  around  them.  Each  of  these  planets,  and  each  of  their  satellites, 
jvolve  in  measured  time  as  they  move.  What  must  that  power  be,  which  appointed  to 
le  unconsumed  and  undiminished  sun  his  place,  and  to  the  planets  which  move  round  him 
leir  unchangeable  orbits?  The  sun  is  520  times  larger  than  all  the  planetary  globes 
■hich  revolve  around  him,  and  1,300,000  times  larger  than  our  globe.  Such  is  the  power 
f  this  luminary,  that  the  planet  Herschel  is  held  in  his  orbit,  lighted,  and  warmed  by  his 
rilliancy  at  the  distance  of  1,800  millions  of  miles  from  his  surface.  Who  upholds  these 
rbs  in  their  paths,  and  prevents  them  from  rushing  into  one  common  ruin?  If  it  be  an- 
irered,  it  is  the  law  of  their  being  ;  who,  then,  ordained  that  law  ? 

11.  Besides  the  sun  and  the  planets  which  revolve  around  him,  there  belong  to  the 
line  system  comets,  the  design  and  purpose  of  which  is,  to  us,  utterly  inconceivable, 
heir  magnitude  and  rapidity  of  motion  are  equally  so.  They,  too,  are  nevertheless 
flown  to  insignificant  mortals  to  move  with  the  same  exact  precision  which  is  every  where 
f  divine  authority.  One  of  them  is,  by  such  agency,  known  to  be  11,200  millions  of  miles 
■oih  the  sun  at  its  greatest  distance,  and  to  move  at  the  rate  of  880,000  miles  in  one  hour, 
■hen  nearest  to  him.  The  tail  of  the  comet  which  appeared  in  16S0  was  computed  by 
ir  Isaac  Newton,  to  be  80  millions  of  miles  in  length  ! 

12.  Magnificent  and  glorious  as  the  solar  system  may  be,  what  is  it  in  magnitude  and 


218 

distance  when  compared  with  all  the  numberless  worlds  and  systems  beyond  it  ?  In 
clear  night,  the  naked  eye  may  discover  nearly  a  thousand  fixed  stars,  which  are  suppos 
be  such  luminaries  as  the  sun.  If  all  these  luminaries  are  suns,  and  have  their  atteii 
planets,  as  we  know  our  sun  to  have,  it  would  comprise  a  mass  of  matter  equal  to  1320 
lions  of  globes  of  the  size  of  our  earth.  The  assistance  which  the  human  eye  has  obta 
in  extending  its  view  into  the  works  of  the  Almighty  by  artificial  means,  discloses  to  u 
certainty  that  orbs  exist  at  such  a  distance  from  us,  that  a  cannon  ball  moving  at  the  r; 
480  miles  an  hour  would  require  nine  millions  of  years  to  pass  from  some  of  them  to 
earth.  The  sun  is  computed  to  be  95  millions  of  miles  from  the  earth  ;  yet  in  ( 
minutes  and  a  quarter,  the  light  reaches  the  earth  from  that  luminary.  What  must  bi 
magnitude  of  luminous  bodies,  which  are  seen  with  the  help  of  glassess  at  such  a  distam 
that  it  would  require  some  years  for  light  to  come  from  them  to  the  earth  ? 

13.  It  is  said  by  some  modern  astronomers,  that  stars  are  seen  at  such  a  distance,  th 
light  must  have  left  them  four  hundred  years  before  it  strikes  on  our  earth.  Beyond) 
that  is  now  known  to  us  to  exist,  there  may  be  still  other  systems,  and  all  of  them  in  m 
tion,  according  to  the  laws  assigned  to  them ;  all  of  them  preserved  and  governed  by  oi 
awful  incomprehensible  Power.  All  of  them  may  be,  and  probably  are,  the  abodes  of  ii 
telligent  beings,  capable  of  comprehending  and  adoring  the  Universal  God.  Where  sht 
the  imagination  fix  the  boundaries  of  creation?  From  whatever  point  on  the  surface  of  O' 
sphere  the  eye  is  directed  towards  the  firmament,  worlds  on  worlds,  systems  on  systems  a 
disclosed.  Are  we  in  the  centre  of  the  universe  ?  Are  we  in  some  remote  extremity  of  tl 
jiniverse  ?  What  is  the  centre,  what  is  an  extremity  of  the  universe  ?  If  there  be  a  cei 
tre,  if  there  be  limits  to  the  works  of  the  Almighty,  what  is  there  beyond  them  ;  and  wl 
and  what  exists  where  the  Almighty  Creator  does  not  exist  and  reign  ? 

14.  If  we  are  astonished  at  the  magnitude  and  distance  of  these  luminaries,  how  mm 
more  so  must  we  be,  when  we  try  to  think  of  them  collectively  and  in  motion  ?  We  kno 
that  like  the  substances  on  the  earth  they  are  held  by  the  law  of  gravitation  ;  and  we  kno 
what  strength  it  requires  to  move  a  weight  of  a  few  hundred  pounds.  If  we  could  suppoi 
our  comparatively  small  earth  to  be  a  perfectly  smooth  ball  on  a  plain,  it  is  believed  that 
would  require  a  mechanical  force  which  no  human  mind  can  compute  to  give  it  any  motio: 
Yet  we  know  that  it  moves  at  the  rate  of  6S,000  miles  in  every  hour,  revolving  as  it  flic 
yet  so  easily  and  surely,  that  we  have  no  perception  of  its  motion.  The  planet  Mercui 
moves  at  the  rate  of  1,750  miles  in  a  single  minute;  a  motion  which  may  be  measured! 
supposing  a  ball  to  pass  from  America  to  Europe  in  one  minute  and  three  quarters,  or  roun 
our  earth  in  seventeen  minutes.  If  the  magnitude,  the  distance,  the  brightness,  the  n« 
tion,  and  all  of  these  together,  speak  not  a  language  to  the  reason  of  man,  in  the  name  of  tl 
Almighty,  then  may  he  number  himself  with  the  reptiles  of  the  earth,  and  lie  down 
them  in  the  dust  of  their  common  mother. 

15.  Who  that  claims  to  have  the  use  of  his  senses  and  the  exercise  of  his  reason; 
presume  to  say  that  these  things  are  not  so  ?  Will  he  be  hardy  enough  to  say  that 
are  the  works  of  chance  and  of  accident  ?  If  so,  how  came  they  to  be  subjects  of  accl 
and  chance  ?  What  are  accident  and  chance,  when  spoken  of  in  relation  to  organized 
tems,  which  move  by  unerring  laws,  through  endless  ages  ? 

16.  If  we  limit  our  attention  to  the  globe  on  which  we  live,  and  consider  its  conni 
with,  and  dependence  on  the  sun,  its  own  atmosphere,  its  waters  ;  and  consider  its  obj 


219 

id  animals,  whether  beneath  or  on  its  surface  ;  wherever  and  however  minutely  we  push 
a  inquiries,  we  shall  find,  and  no  less  in  the  least  of  the  animal  or  vegetable  kingdoms 
lan  in  the  glorious  orbs  above  us,  irresistible  proofs  of  the  existence  and  government  of 
le  Deity. 

17.  On  the  nature  and  properties  of  the  common  air  which  surrounds  this  globe 
)lumes  might  be  written,  and  every  truth  contained  in  them  would  serve  to  prove  the 
jwer  and  wisdom  of  its  Creator.  The  progress  of  science,  by  actual  experiment,  in  modern 
mes,  has  enlarged  surprisingly  our  knowledge  of  the  agency  of  this  subtle  fluid  on  animal 
id  vegetable  existence.  We  can  touch  but  sparingly  on  this  abundant  topic,  and  can  only 
lect  some  of  the  more  prominent  truths  in  proof  of  our  proposition. 

18.  From  the  earth's  surface,  the  atmosphere  (which  is  from  two  Greek  words,  mean- 
g  "vapour"  and  "sphere")  is  supposed  to  extend  upwards,  about  45  miles.  It  comprises 
le  common  air,  the  electric  fluid,  fluids  that  ascend  by  evaporation,  and  all  substances  less 

avy  than  itself.  This  whole  mass  is  subject  to  the  power  of  attraction.  It  goes  with  the 
irth  in  its  annual  flight  and  daily  revolution.  It  is  sometimes  so  still  that  the  lightest  sub- 
mce  is  unmoved  by  it ;  sometimes  chilling,  and  binding  in  fetters  all  that  it  can  act  upon  ; 
metimes  suffocating  with  its  heat ;  sometimes  fanning  with  its  healthy  breeze  ;  sometimes 
attering  pestilence  in  its  transit ;  sometimes  prostrating  human  abodes,  and  uprooting 
e  fast  holding  of  the  "  gnarled  oak."     Subtle  and  active  as  it  is,  its  pressure  is  15  pounds 

every  square  inch,  so  that  a  common  sized  man  sustains  a  pressure  of  32,000  pounds, 
hich  would  instantly  crush  him  if  it  were  not  for  the  counter  pressure  from  the  air  with- 

him.  The  pressure  of  the  whole  atmosphere  on  the  earth  is  computed  at  five  thousand 
illion  of  millions  of  tons;  a  number  of  which  we  have  no  power  to  conceive.  The  con- 
ituents  of  the  common  air  are  ascertained,  by  very  modern  experiments,  to  be  two  gases 
he  word  gas  cannot  be  otherwise  defined,  for  common  use,  than  by  the  words  elastic  airy 
lid)  of  which  21  parts  in  an  100  are  oxygen,  79  are  nitrogen.     Oxygen  is  composed  of 

o  Greek  words  signifying  "acid,"  and  "  to  generate,"  so  named  from  its  power  of  generat- 
g  acids,  and  is  supposed  to  constitute  the  principle  of  vital  air.  Nitrogen  is  composed  of 
ro  words  from  the  same  language,  signifying  "nitre,"  and  "to  produce,"  or  that  principle  of 
e  air  which  produces  nitre,  which  is  a  salt  commonly  called  saltpetre.  Science  has  been 
lie  to  do  no  more,  in  this  instance,  than  in  many  others  ;  that  is,  to  arrive  at  some  know- 
dge  of  properties  or  qualities,  without  approaching  to  any  knowledge  of  essence.  That 
nstituent  of  the  air  called  oxygen  is  known  to  be  the  principle  of  combustion,  the  con- 
dor of  heat,  the  support  of  animal  life,  and  to  be  indispensable  to  vegetable  life.  Nitro- 
n  has  none  of  these  properties,  and  seems  to  be  mingled  with  the  former  to  lessen  its  ac- 
m.  Oxygen  seems  to  be  to  nitrogen  as  21  drops  of  one  kind  of  liquid  mingled  with  79 
•ops  of  one  of  an  opposite  character.  If  there  were  only  oxygen  in  the  air,  it  is  said  it 
juld  inflame  and  consume  every  thing,  even  metallic  substances  ;  if  only  nitrogen,  there 
juld  be  no  flame,  nor  animal  nor  vegetable  life.  Here,  then,  the  doubting  are  met  by  a 
(w  and  embarrassing  enquiry  :  by  whom  was  the  air  prepared  and  tempered  to  its  uses, 
id  by  what  power  is  it  kept  in  its  dutiful  action  ?  By  what  power  was  (he  air  made  fit  for 
an,  for  animals,  however  comparatively  large  or  small,  and  for  every  member  of  the  thou- 
nd  varieties  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  for  the  action  of  fire,  without  which  man  would 
ive  no  use  of  the  minerals  of  the  earth? — The  remaining  part  of  this  article  next  month. 


220 

SCHOOL  HOLIDAYS. 
No  custom  connected  with  education  gives  more  dissatisfaction  than  that  of  long 
days  at  Christmas  and  Midsummer.     At  the  bottom  of  a  bill  which  one  of  my  boys  bro 
from  school,  which  closed  on  the  20th  of  June,  it  is  stated  that  the  school  will  re-ope 
Monday,  August  4th,  being  a  recess  of  six  weeks  and  three  days!    The  suspension  of  s 
for  so  long  a  period  must  be  greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  pupils,  who  will  have  to  i 
hard  for  some  time  to  regain  what  they  have  forgotten.     Although  by  this  practice  nea 
whole  quarter  is  lost  in  the  year,  no  reduction  is  made  in  the  charge.     A  fortnight  at 
of  the  above  periods,  and  perhaps  a  week  at  the  end  of  each  quarter,  would  be  much 
than  the  present  custom ;  but  unless  the  parents  press  for  such  a  change,  we  may  res 
sured  the  teachers  will  not  propose  it. 


WILFUL   MURDER. 

If  the  following  facts  are  worthy  of  a  page  in  the  Moral  Reformer,  they  are  at 
Editor's  service. 

Some  six  or  seven  years  ago,  a  friend  and  I  were  kindly  invited  by  a  noted  "dabi 
to  enjoy  with  him  what  he  called  a  piece  of  prime  innocent  sport,  in  fishing  for  pike, 
evening  was  very  fine,  and  away  we  went  to  a  celebrated  water  in  Cheshire,  situate  in 
midst  of  charming  scenery.  As  the  amusement  was  new  to  me,  and  I  always  loved  tl 
country,  of  course  I  expected  nothing  short  of  real  enjoyment  of  the  first  order.  How  £ 
I  was  gratified,  may  be  gathered  from  what  follows.  Our  never-water-bitten  sure-one  hi 
carefully  provided  himself  with  worms  of  a  proper  polish,  that  is,  they  had  lived  a  consid 
rable  time  upon  nothing,  and  rubbed  themselves  well  in  moss.  In  the  first  place,  by  thrus 
ing  a  piece  of  crooked  steel,  barbed  at  the  end,  through  the  whole  length  of  the  body,  1 
dexterously  empales  alive  one  of  these  defenceless  works  of  God's  creation,  and  in  a  writ 
ing,  agonized  state,  plunges  it  into  an  element  contrary  to  its  own  nature.  This  he  cai 
"  baiting  the  small  hook."  Shortly,  it  may  be,  there  comes  a  gudgeon,  or  some  other  litl 
guileless  fish  to  end  the  misery  of  the  worm,  but,  alas!  to  begin  his  own!  Well,  he  h 
swallowed  the  bait,  and  the  concealed  instrument  is  rankling  and  tearing  his  little  mouth, 
throat,  or  stomach,  by  which  he  is  suspended  and  drawn  out  of  the  water — springing  to  ai 
fro,  in  all  the  delightful  contortions  of  excruciating  pain  !  The  hook  is  quickly  to. 
through  the  bleeding  mouth  of  this  beautiful  inoffensive  little  creature,  by  the  ruthle 
hand  of  thoughtless  cruelty:  and  what  then  ?  Why,  then  a  knife  is  hastily  used  to  mal 
an  incision  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  back,  close  under  the  skin,  for  the  purpose  of  mo 
easily  inserting  a  large  pike  hook,  which  must  be  performed  quickly,  lest  the  fish  should  d 
too  soon  I  This  done,  the  helpless  animal  is  again  committed  to  his  own  natural  eleme 
(fastened  by  a  string)  there  to  struggle  and  live  till  the  pike  unsuspectingly  swallow  hii 
hook,  and  all !  and  if  JacJ:  do  not  suffer  dreadfully  till  the  following  morning,  most  likej 
poor  gudgeon  will.     In  this  way  several  "lines"  were  laid  that  evening. 

Now,  without  much  comment,  I  make  no  manner  of  doubt  that  fisli  and  other  an: 
are  intended  for  man's  food ;  but  I  cannot  believe  that  an  all-wise  and  merciful  Creator 
hold  him  guiltless  who  wantonly  tortures  away  their  lives,  especially  for  mere  diversioi 

Manchester,  6  mo.  13,  1833.  H. 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 
Nothing  has  occurred  during  the  past  month  connected  with  the  Temperance  Cause, 

the  North,  which  requires  a  special  record.  Most  of  the  Societies  continue  in  constant 
)eration,  and  though  many  of  them  are  not  malcing  any  ostensible  advance,  it  is  believed 
e  principles  are  becoming  more  and  more  generally  acted  upon.  Different  agencies 
cceed  in  different  places.  In  small  villages,  such  as  Walton,  and  especially  in  the  north 
irt  of  this  county,  in  Westmorland  and  Cumberland,  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England, 
ho  come  out  consistently  to  advocate  Temperance,  have  a  commanding  influenc^with 
e  people.  In  the  large  manufacturing  towns,  such  as  Bolton,  Blackburn,  and  Preston, 
here  Methodists  and  Dissenters  take  the  lead,  the  Societies  seem  to  prosper  the  most.     But 

all  cases,  agitation  by  persons  of  honourable  and  consistent  character  affords  the  greatest 
>pe  of  success.  The  principles  of  Temperance  are  so  obviously  based  upon  truth,  are  so 
;e  from  any  fair  objection,  and  are  so  strikingly  beneficial  in  their  operation,  that  they^  have 
ly  to  be  extensively  diffused,  to  be  understood  and  adopted.  And  unless  the  Societies  act 
Qn  this,  and  make  combined  and  powerful  efforts,  they  will  never  make  head  against  the 
Ong  current  of  intemperance  which  runs  through  the  land.  Every  temperance  advocate 
raid  not  reason  as  to  what  is  permissible,  and  what  is  not,  in  the  abstract,  but  what  is  ad- 
able  to  be  done  in  the  present  circumstances  of  society :  this  is  the  rule  by  which  every 
ilanthropist  is  guided  in  his  exertions.  I  am  astonished,  that  while  all  the  machinery  of 
oxication  is  in  full  operation  seven  days  in  a  week,  and  almost  night  and  day,  that  it 
mid  be  thought  sufficient  to  rally  the  forces  of  the  opposition  once  a  fortnight,  or  once  a 
nth !  Every  Society  should  have  a  meeting  at  least  07ice  a  week,  should  distribute  tracts 
every  direction,  and  (which  is  of  vast  importance)  should  not  only  visit  the  delinquents, 
:  every  drunken  person  in  the  neighbourhood.  Temperance  work  is  no  parlour  work  ; 
I  those  who  think  of  accomplishing  this  reformatiom  by  merely  passing  resolutions  at  a 
amittee  meeting,  and  delivering  a  speech  once  a  month,  have  but  low  ideas  of  the  mag- 
ude  of  the  undertaking. 
The  Preston  Society  goes  on  in  its  usual  course.     The  meetings  are  kept  up,  drunkards 

converted,  and  the  principles  are  being  diffused  in  all  the  surrounding  villages.     Among 

villages  which  are  now  distinguished  for  their  zeal,  Longton  seems  to  take  the  lead. 
;  young  men  there  seem  all  to  be  combined  together  to  promote  and  extend  this  glorious 
88.  The  temperance  missionaries  are  engaged  in  one  place  or  another  every  week, 
ring  the  race  week,  commencing  July  Sth,  about  a  dozen  of  them  purpose  to  visit  about 
Ive  towns,  including  Blackburn,  Burnley,  Haslingden,  Bury,  Rochdale,  Oldham,  Ashton- 
!er-Lyne,  Stockport,  Manchester,  Bolton,  and  Wigan,  with  the  intervening  villages. 
;y  will  hold  meetings  in  all  the  places  as  they  pass  along.  If  I  am  spared,  and  am  in 
ith,  I  purpose  to  go  with  them.  But  a  programme  of  the  route  will  be  printed,  and  sent  to 
Societies  previously,  in  order  that  timely  arrangements  may  be  made.  Without  a  struggle, 
lout  much  labour,  we  can  never  expect  to  get  the  ascendancy  over  this  monster,  intem- 
inee — the  enemy  of  God  and  man.     May  all  the  Societies  cordially  co-operate  to  secure 

desirable  result! 
VOL.     III.  2  B 


I 


222 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  TRADESMEN. 
Among  the  many  and  excellent  publications  which  have  lately  issued  from  the  pres 
having  for  their  object  the  suppression  of  the  vice  of  intemperance,  few  seem  to  have  be« 
directed  to  any  but  the  labouring  classes.  This  certainly  cannot  have  arisen  from  the  a1 
sence  of  that  degrading  vice  in  the  middle  and  higher  ranks,  but  from  a  paucity  of  exan 
pie  where  absolute  ruin  has  been  the  result  of  a  course  of  intemperance,  and  from  tl 
greater  circumspection  observed  by  persons  in  elevated  situations,  whose  conduct  is  in  son 
degree  kept  in  check  by  the  restraints  imposed  upon  them  by  polite  society.  It  is  not  m 
intention  in  the  present  address  to  notice  the  practices  of  the  wealthy  and  great,  but  to  poii 
out  some  of  the  errors  and  delusions  to  which  many  of  those  moving  in  the  same  sphere  t 
life  as  myself  are  exposed,  and  by  which,  in  numerous  instances,  they  become  enslave' 
degraded,  and  ruined.  Tradesmen  pretty  generally  frequent  the  taverns  in  the  evenin 
to  discuss  the  business  of  the  day,  and  to  unfit  themselves  for  the  business  of  the  morrov 
to  inquire  into  the  the  credit  of  their  neighbours,  and  to  ruin  their  own  ;  and  to  enjoy  a  It 
tie  relaxation  from  the  cares  of  their  avocations  by  clouding  their  reason.  At  first,  a  your 
tradesman  goes  in  an  evening  to  take  a  single  glass,  which  he  is  quite  certain  will  not  ii 
jure  him :  he  is  soon  persuaded  to  take  a  second,  in  order  that  his  society  may  be  longi 
enjoyed  by  the  company :  he  then  begins  to  smoke,  that  he  may  not  be  choked  by  the  fumi 
of  others:  and  he  requires  a  third  glass  to  prevent  nausea,  and  to  remove  the  increase 
thirst  occasioned  by  the  tobacco.  A  dispute  arises,  and  some  one  is  fined  glasses  round,  an 
he,  of  course,  cannot  refuse  a  free  glass,  even  though  it  should  oblige  him  to  exceed  his  fizE 
number.  He  perhaps  becomes  contentious,  and  is  himself  fined  ;  and  drinks  a  fifth  to  cor 
ceal  his  vexation :  boisterous  appeals  are  now  made  to  the  chairman  or  to  the  compan; 
whose  decisions  not  unfrequently  are  opposed  by  blasphemous  appeals  to  the  Deity.  Tl 
morning  finds  him  distracted  in  body  and  mind  :  at  a  loss  to  recollect  how  he  has  conductc 
himself  the  previous  night,  he  hastens  to  the  scene  of  his  carousal,  to  inquire  of  the  landlor 
or  the  waiter  how  he  got  home  ;  with  whom  he  had  quarrelled ;  how  much  he  had  left  UI 
paid,  having  previously  emptied  his  pockets;  whose  hat  he  had  taken  instead  of  his  owri 
and  who  had  put  a  lighted  pipe  into  his  pocket,  by  which  a  tolerably  good  coat  had  bee 
spoiled.  During  his  inquiry,  'tis  probable,  that  some  other  individual,  under  similar  cii 
cumstances,  comes  in  for  similar  information.  A  glass  must  be  had  to  renew  the  old  lee 
and  another  whilst  the  lark  of  the  previous  evening  is  recounted,  and  the  differences,  asfi 
as  those  present  are  concerned,  are  made  up ;  too  frequently,  the  parties  meet  again  ont 
or  twice  during  the  day,  just  for  a  glass  to  keep  life  up,  when  the  approach  of  evening 
again  hailed,  and  a  repetition  of  the  same  scene  takes  place.  Thus  matters  go  on,  till  h 
affairs  begin  to  go  wrong,  and  he  becomes  harrassed  with  care  and  with  unpleasant  tren 
bling  of  the  hands  in  the  morning.  Brandy  he  finds  a  cure  for  both,  aud  to  this  he  fli« 
till  the  poor  deluded  victim,  having  run  through  both  health  and  fortune,  if  he  have  n( 
the  good  luck  to  be  put  into  jail,  is  put  into  his  coffin.  His  companions  lament  over  hin 
saying,  "he  was  a  good  natured  fellow,  but  we  always  thought'his  morning  drams  woul  a 
fetch  him."  Alas !  they  go  on  in  the  same  course,  attain  the  same  unhappy  goal,  and  rf 
ceive  the  same  lamentation.  This  the  experience  of  almost  every  one  of  us  must  admit  t 
be  a  picture  not  too  highly  coloured.  If  we  take  a  retrospective  glance  at  the  condition  ' 
many  of  our  acquaintance — at  the  station  which  they  formerly  occupied  in  life — at  thei 
present  position  in  society  (if  alive) — and  at  the  state  of  their  families  and  connections- 
the  first  glass  that  is  fatal;  and  no  tradesman  is  secure  who  does  not  know  this. 


I 


at  tnei 'J 

I 


223 

The  snug  back  parlour  of  the  unmarried  tradesman  is  frequently  more  expensive  than 
iie  nursery  of  the  married  one.     How  often,  after  the  second  cork  has  heen  drawn,  has  he 
ufifered  a  customer  to  depart  unattended  to,  without  even  making  his  appearance  to  him, 
shamed  to  show  his  flushed  face  behind  his  counter !  how  often  has  he,  in  spite  of  this  re- 
,>urce,  appeared  in  his  shop,  when  he  clipped  the  king's  English !  and  how  often  have  his 
ustomers  remarked,  on  leaving  his  shop,  "  he  smells  like  a  spirit  cask!"    How  many  times 
as  he  invited  friends  to  take  a  glass  as  an  excuse  for  his  own  indulgence,  and  having  taken 
ae,  insisted  upon  another  being  swallowed,  that  both  eyes  might  be  wet!     How  many 
Iters  has  he  omitted  writing,  and  how  many  has  he  neglected  to  reply  to  !    How  many  ad- 
intageous  offers  have  escaped  him,  and  how  many  bad  bargains  has  he  made  whilst  taking 
is  social  glass!     The  laws  of  hospitality  may  be  observed,  without  presenting  to  your 
uests  a  substance  which  is  capable  of  injuring  their  health  and  depriving  them  of  reason; 
3d  without  entering  into  minute  detail,  other  methods  than  indulgence  in  sensual  gratifica- 
on,  and  the  use  of  intoxicating  fluids,  might  be  devised  to  commemorate  the  events  of  fes- 
vity  or  of  sorrow,  of  which  every  family  in  its  turn  participates.    Much,  very  much,  depends 
pen  association.     The  married  tradesman  ought  never  to  be  seen  in  the  tavern,  except  on 
■gent  business,  and  his  evenings  ought  to  be  more  profitably  and  pleasantly  employed  in  his 
vn  house,  in  the  company  of  his  wife,  and  surrounded  by  his  family.     Nothing  on  earth, 
ould  be  capable  of  affbrding  him  half  the  pleasure,  after  the  bustle  and  the  toils  of  the  day, 
the  interesting  conversation  of  his  help-mate,  the  prattling  of  his  infants,  or  the  rehearsal 
the  scholastic,  literary,  and  religious  attainments  of  his  children  more  advanced  in  years, 
le  bachelor  tradesman  Qught  never  to  court  the  society  of  individuals  whose  pursuits  are 
imetrically  opposed  to  his  own:  many  have  I  known,  whose  fall  might  be  attributed  to 
iociation  with  oflScers  in  the  army  and  navy,  who,  without  casting  the  slightest  reflec- 
n  upon  the  profession,  are  but  ill  suited  to  form  the  manners  and  character  of  a  trades- 
in.     Retired  officers  of  excise,  and  garrulous  old  sea  captains,  are  frequently  decoy  ducks ; 
t  these  remarks  apply  more  particularly  to  small  communities,  than  to  the  tradesmen  in 
r  larger  towns.     From  being  only  partially  employed,  except  on  market  days  and  sca- 
ns of  general  assembly,  they  have  necessarily  much  spare  time,  which  oft  hangs  heavily 
:  their  hands;  and  from  the  circumstances  of  easy  rentals,  and  cheap  living,  active  exer- 
m  being  less  called  for,  the  misapplication  of  this  spare  time  tends  to  their  ensnarement, 
eir  delusion,  and  their  destruction.     Gymnastic  exercises,  rural  walks  with  suitable  com- 
mons, the  cultivation  of  a  garden,  Mechanics'  Institutes,  the  library  or  the  news  room, 
brd  ample  sources  of  rational  amusement.      It  is  a  complete  delusion  to  suppose  that  bu- 
less  cannot  be  conducted  without  pouring  down  the  throat  glass  after  glass  of  intoxicating 
uors.     I  have  given  it  a  fair  trial,  and  pronounce  it  to  be  perfectly  useless,  even  in  the 
nsaction  of  a  most  diversified  business  at  home  and  abroad.     The  custom  of  treating  pur- 
asers  at  your  shop  with  a  dram  cannot  be  too  much  deprecated  :  and  it  were  devoutly  to  be 
Jhed,   that  those  individuals  whose  transactions  lie  principally  with  friends  from  the 
mtry,  would  adopt  some  other  medium  of  evincing  their  hospitality,  than  by  placing  be- 
e  them  any  exciting  or  stimulating  drink.     Do  you  wish  to  have  honest  and  faithful  ser- 
nts  ?     Engage  none  but  the  temperate.     Do  you  wish  them  to  remain  so  ?     Show  them 
example  in  your  own  person.     Do  you  wish  for  the  respect  of  your  domestics?     De- 
rve  it  by  the  regularity  of  your  conduct.     Do  you  wish  for  the  esteem  of  your  friends  and 
iuaintance  ?     Earn  it  by  the  propriety  and  integrity  of  your  character.     Do  you  wish  to 


224 

possess  the  love  of  your  family,  and  of  all  good  men  ?     Claim  it  by  the  uniform  puril 

your  life  and  conversation.     The  habitual  use  of  a  single  glass  of  spirit  daily  has  prodi 

effects  which  were  never  anticipated.     I  have  heard  of  both  wives  and  children  being  ( 

a  fondness  for  liquor,  by  simply  being  accustomed  to  taste,  with  the  head  of  the  hou« 

his  nightly  glass  of  warm  gin  and  water. 

I  can  confidently  assert,  from  personal  experience,  that  health,  temper,  peace  of  mil 

success  in  business,  and  domestic  comfort  are  all  improved  by  a  course  of  temperane 

while,  on  the  other  hand,  disease,  misery,  poverty,  and  crime,  loss  of  friends,  distraction 

mind,  and  everlasting  ruin  are  the  fruits  of  drunkenness.     Beware,  then,  of  the  first  glu 

beware  of  moderate  drinking ;  beware  of  the  single  bottle,  in  the  snug  back  parlour.     I 

nish  from  beneath  your  roof  the  decanters,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  drinking  ;  allow  f 

a  single  drop  of  ardent  spirits   to  remain  in  your  house,  except  labelled  as  a  medicin 

touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not  the  accursed  thing.     The  serpent  that  will  sting  to  t 

quick  basks  on  a  bank  of  flowers.     The  influence  of  a  tradesman  is  perhaps  greater  than 

may  himself  imagine  :  his  conduct  will  be  imitated  and  quoted  as  an  authority  by  many 

his  own  rank,  and  by  nearly  all  those  who  are  at  all  dependant  upon  him  in  the  way  oft 

siness.     Country  dealers,  carriers,  and  those  from  whom  he  makes  his  purchases,  would  i 

cessarily  be  influenced  by  his  example.     Of  what  importance  is  it,  then,  individually  a 

collectively,  that  tradesmen  should  lead  the  van  in  the  army  of  the  champions  of  Teni] 

ranee !      Upon   them,   as   upon   the    beam   on   which   hang    the   scales,    embracing  i 

highest  and  the  lowest  in  society,  much,  very  much  depends.     Increased  home  trade,  di£ 

sion  of  useful  knowledge,  elevation  of  the  human  understanding,  an  incalculable  devel< 

ment  of  the  mental  and  physical  powers  of  man,  and  a  universal  spread  of  real  philanthro 

and  true  religion  would  be  the  result.     Let  me,  then,  entreat  my  fellow  tradesmen  at  O] 

to  abjure  the  use  of  all  intoxicating  fluids,  as  they  value  their  own  health  and  credit,  as  tl 

value  the  welfare  of  the  present  and  the  rising  generation,  and  as  they  value  the  happin 

of  their  immortal  souls.     Let  me  entreat  them  to  come  boldly  forward,  and  enrol  themsel 

under  the  banner  of  Temperance,  that  by  one  combined  effort  of  tlie  temperate  and  the 

formed,  a  decisive  blow  may  be  given  to  the  deadliest  foe  to  England's  greatness.     Desp 

the  taunts  of  the  interested,  and  heed  not  the  remarks  of  the  wicked  and  the  vvaveri: 

Join  the  ranks  of  the  advocates  of  Temperance,  and  with  an  eye  fixed  on  heaven,  in  i 

discharge  of  every  duty,  religious,  social,  civil,  and  domestic,  endeavour  to  obtain 

maintain  the  character  of  a  good  citizen  and  a  good  Christian,  remembering  that  no  life  i 

be  .pleasing  to  God  that  is  not  useful  to  man. 

A  TradesmanJ 


TRUTH  WILL  PREVAIL. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  Third  Ward  Temperance  Society  was  held  on  Wedr 
evening.  This  Society  has  become  a  little  famous  for  the  wholesome  rigidity  of  its  ( 
tution,  which  enjoins  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  liquors.  We  like  rigidity  when  ] 
Satan  under  the  ban  of  excommunication.  When  this  Society  was  started,  some  of  the 
temperance  folks  thought  the  %vorld  was  running  mad.  Many  believed  it  would  do  in 
hurt  than  good,  and  it  was  gravely  predicted  that  it  would  never  number  fifty  memb( 
But  its  members  pleaded  for  consistency,  adopted  the  constitution,  and  started  their  enter 
with  only  seventeen  names.     This  was  one  year  since.     In  less  than  two  weeks  the  Ri 


terai 

I 


225 

i-as  passed :  more  than  fifty  signatures  were  obtained.  And  at  the  annual  meeting,  last 
feek,  two  hundred  and  thirty  names  were  reported.  Fifty  of  these  were  obtained  upon  the 
ccasion  of  Mr.  Turner's  address,  a  few  weeks  since.  There  was  one  thought  and  argument 
n  that  address  which  was  of  itself  a  host.  AVe  will  attempt  to  describe  it,  though  at  the  risk 
f  injuring  it.  "  There  stands,"  said  Mr.  Turner,  "in  a  bar  room,  a  poor  ragged  tippler, 
■  ith  three  cents  in  his  hand,  for  which  he  wants  to  purchase  a  dram  of  whiskey,  but  he  is  a 
ttle  ashamed  to  ask  for  it.  By  and  by,  in  comes  a  gentleman,  and  calls  for  that  very  harm- 
?ss  drinkj  a  glass  of  wine :  he  drinks  it  off,  throws  down  his  shilling,  and  retires.     The  poor 

ippler's  eyes  begin  to  sparkle :  '  Who  is  that  ?'  says  he.     '  That  is  Mr. ,  a  member 

f  the  Temperance  Society,'  is  the  answer.  '  Oh,  oh !'  he  replies  :  'well,  if  I  was  able  to  buy 
hie,  I  would  join  the  Temperance  Society,  too  ;  but  I  have  but  three  cents,  and  I  must 
rink  as  well  as  he:  it  seems  that  he  cannot  do  without  it.  So  here,  landlord,  take  my 
iree  cents  and  give  me  such  as  I  can  afford.'     Of  course,  he  obtains  the  whiskey,  gets 

lunk,  and,  by  the  example  of  the  temperate  Mr.  ,  is  confirmed  in  intemperance, 

erhaps  for  ever." — Utica  Elucidator. 


COMMERCIAL  TRAVELLERS. 

Montrose,  January  13,  1833. 
Sir, — The  following  facts,  as  to  the  practice  of  treating  customers,  and  recompensing 
onkeepers  by  drinking,  are  very  important  to  a  numerous  and  influential  class  of  persons. 
!hey  are  communicated  to  me  by  a  mercantile  traveller,  who,  being  a  partner  in  the  busi- 
S8,  and  a  religious  man  besides,  is  under  the  strongest  inducements  to  be  as  moderate  as 
consistent  with  a  handsome  manner  of  acting  agreeably  to  the  present  system.  "  My 
jipenditure,"  says  he,  "in  travelling  from  the  North,  during  the  first  ten  days  of  this  year, 
onsisted  of  the  following  items,  which  I  have  separated,  to  show  the  proportion  which  in- 
idental  expences,  and  especially  drinking,  bears  to  the  staple  sum : — Coach  fares,  378. 
teds,  10s.  Eating,  55s.  Servants'  wages,  in  the  shape  of  guards,  coachmen,  chamber- 
aids,  waiters,  and  boots,  26s.  3d.     Drinking,  43s." 

The  evils  of  drinking  have  often  forced  themselves  upon  his  mind ;  and  had  he  in- 
lOlged  the  wishes  of  customers,  and  conformed  to  the  full  extent  with  the  majority  of  his 
rethren,  he  is  convinced  that  he  could  not  have  made  many  journeys  in  business  health. 
low,  then,  are  innkeepers  to  be  recompensed,  customers  pleased,  the  traveller  rescued  from 
isease  and  intemperance,  and  the  house  saved  this  unnecessary  expence?  If  any  member 
f  the  Temperance  Society,  placed  in  similar  circumstances,  could  state  the  manner  in 
hich  he  contrives  to  avoid  the  expensive,  unwholesome,  time-destroying,  and  immoral 
tactices  of  the  road,  it  may  be  the  means  of  adding  others,  as  well  as  my  friend,  to  the  list 
f  temperance  travellers.  James  Jarvie. 


AN  IMPORTANT  QUESTION. 
What  is  Temperance  ?  Upon  the  decision  of  this  question  is  suspended  one  of  the 
latters  at  issue  between  the  advocates  and  the  opponents  of  the  Temperance  reform.  Let 
his  be  decided,  and  one  difficulty,  at  least,  will  be  removed.  But  in  order  to  decide  it  to 
nutual  satisfaction,  it  is  necessary  to  fix  upon  some  rule,  admitted  by  both  parties  to  be 
;ood  and  undeniable.     That  rule  has  been  long  furnished  by  moral  philosophy,  and  has 


226 

received  the  sanction  of  the  whole  race  of  intelligent  beings  from  the  creation  to  the  presi 
time.  All  men,  whether  in  a  savage  or  a  civilized  state,  admit  it ;  and  indeed  it  is  a  diet 
of  common  sense,  and  the  principle  upon  which  every  prudent  man  acts  in  all  the  affairsj 
life.  The  rule  is  this :  In  all  cases  where  one  course  of  conduct  is  doubtful,  and  another  sq 
we  are  to  prefer  the  latter,  if  equally  in  our  power  with  the  former. 

Now,  one  course  is  to  drink  ardent  spirits;  the  other  is  not  to  drink  it;  and  the  qu 
tion  to  be  decided  is  in  regard  to  the  probable  results  of  the  two  courses.  To  drink, 
will  suppose  one  chance  out  of  fifty  of  becoming  a  drunkard,  or  we  will  say  one  chance  0" 
of  a  hundred:  that  is,  out  of  one  hundred  moderate  drinkers  one  will  become  a  drunkard, 
while  ninety  and  nine  will  die  sober  men.  Not  to  drink,  to  abstain  entirely,  leaves  no 
chance  for  being  a  drunkard  ;  the  whole  hundred  would  escape  :  to  drink,  then,  is  doubtful, 
not  to  drink  is  safe.  How  many  have  chosen  the  doubtful  course,  and  been  ruined? 
Three  hundred  thousand,  in  this  land  of  freedom,  of  intelligence,  where  the  boast  of  men  is, 
that  they  are  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  please.  Reader,  which  course  will  you  take,  the 
doubtful  or  the  safe?  Make  your  decision.  It  is  time.  Vacillate  no  longer. — Temperance 
Recorder. 


THE  SPIDER  AND  THE  FLY. 

A  spider  had  prepared  his  web  in  one  corner  of  my  room  with  great  care  and  skill, 
and  having  completed  it  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  he  retired  into  its  darkest  recesses 
to  wait  for  his  prey.  Soon  a  little  thoughtless  fly  became  entangled  in  the  net,  and  the 
spider,  warned  by  the  struggles  of  the  victim  to  obtain  his  freedom,  leaving  his  hiding  place, 
turned  one  web  upon  him,  and  retired  upon  some  slight  cause  of  alarm.  By  and  by  he 
again  approached  the  fly,  turned  another  web  around  him,  and  retired.  This  was  repeated 
several  times,  till  the  fly  was  fast  bound,  and  incapable  of  resistance,  when  the  spider  fell 
upon  him,  and  deprived  him  of  life  by  sucking  his  life's  blood. 

The  thought  occured  to  me,  while  I  was  watching  this  process,  that  there  was  a  strik- 
ing analogy  between  this  spider,  his  web,  and  fly,  and  the  vender  of  ardent  spirit,  his  shop, 
and  his  customers.  The  spirit-vender  builds  or  hires  his  shop,  fills  it  with  barrels,  decanters, 
and  glasses,  all  arranged  in  the  order  best  calculated  to  allure  attention  and  inflame  the  ap- 
petite, and  then  a  sign,  varnished,  and  gilded,  waves  in  the  wind,  or  glitters  on  the  front. 
He  then  takes  his  stand,  and  waits  for  the  receipt  of  custom.  Soon  some  unsuspicious  one 
approaches  and  enters  :  a  gill  of"  cordial"  is  poured  out,  drank,  and  payment  is  made  :  thus 
the  web  is  turned  once  round.  By  and  by  he  comes  again,  and  another  web  is  turned,  and 
then  another,  and  still  another.  Now  the  victim  may  make  an  effort  to  escape,  but  in  vain- 
the  web  is  fixed — the  fetters  are  strong — the  appetite  is  confirmed.  There  is  no  hope, 
life  is  given  for  a  prey,  and  a  great  ransom  cannot  deliver  him. 

But  to  return  to  the  spider.  All  his  designs  and  plans,  from  the  first  moment  that  1 
spins  his  thread,  and  attaches  it  securly,  regard  only  his  own  personal  benefit.  Solitary  and 
alone,  he  lives  and  spends  his  life  in  depriving  others  of  what  he  cannot  restore.  No  matter 
what  others  may  suffer,  he  is  the  gainer.  The  struggles,  and  the  pains,  and  the  tortures  they 
undergo  are  of  no  concern  to  him.  His  object  is  gained.  And  is  there  no  resemblan 
here  ?  Do  not  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  cry,  and  the  land  mourn,  because  of  the  tra^ 
in  ardent  spirit  ?  and  do  not  the  venders  shut  their  ears  ?     But  once  more  ;  the  spider  pr« 


227 


ot  upon  his  owa  species  ;  he  suclis  the  blood  of  a  different  race.  But  to  whom  does  the 
jirit-dealer  sell  his  baneful  draught  ?  To  men,  to  husbands,  to  parents.  The  consequence 
fa  spider's  daily  depredations  upon  the  insect  tribe  affect  only  tlie  individual  victim.  The 
Ofects  of  the  spirit-dealer  extend  to  a  whole  circle  of  relatives,  affect  a  whole  neighbour- 
ood,  a  town,  a  nation,  the  world,  time,  eternity  ! — Glasgow  Record. 


TABULAR  VIEW, 

Exhibiting  the  Per  Ceniage  of  Alcohol*  contained  in  various  kinds  of  Wines  and  other 
fermented  Liquors.^ 


Proportion  of  Spirit  per 
cent,  by  measure,  with 
the  fractional  parts. 
.issa 26.47 

)itto 24.35 

Average 25.41 

laisin  Wine 26.40 

)itto 25.77 

)itto 23.30 

Average 25.12 

ilarcella 26.0.3 

Mtto 25.05 


Proportion  of  Spirit  per 

cent,  by  measure,  "with 

the  fractional  parts. 

Claret     17.11 

Ditto 16.32 

Ditto 14.08 

Ditto 12.91 

Average 15.10 

Malmsey  Madeira 16.40 

Lunel " 15.52 

Sheraaz 15.52 

Syracuse     15.28 

Average 25.09     Sauterne     14.22 

Madeira 24.42     Burgundy 16.60 

)itto 23.93     Ditto 15.22 

)itto  (Sercial)    21.40     Ditto 14.53 

iitto 19-24     Ditto 11-95 

Average 22.27  Average 14-57 

>ort    25.83     Hock '. 14.37 

Ditto 24.29     Ditto 13.00 

Oitto 23.71     Ditto  (old  in  cask)     8.68 

Ditto 23.39  Average 12.08 

Ditto 22.30     Nice    14-62 

Ditto. 21.40     Barsac    13.86 

Ditto 19-96     Tent 13.30 

Average 22.96     Champagne  (Still) 13.80 

Sherry   19-81     Di«o  (Sparkling) 12.80 

Ditto 19-83     Ditto  (Red)    


Ditto 

Ditto 


18.79 
18.25 


12.56 

Ditto  (ditto) 11-30 

Average 12.61 


Average 19.17     Red  Hermitage. 

Teneriffe    19-79 

Colares 19-75 

Lachryma  Christi ■• 19.70 


12.32 

Vin  de  Grave 13.94 

Ditto 12-80 

Average 13.37 


•  Of  a  Specific  Gravity,  825. 
t  PhUosophical  Trans.  1811,  p.  345;  1813,  p.  87;  Journal  of  Science  and  the  Arts,  No.  viij.  p.  290. 


228 


Consbfntia  (White)   19.75 

Ditto  (Red)    18.92 

Lisbon    18.94 

Malaga  (166C) 18.94 

Bucellas 18.49 

Red  Madeira 22.30 

Ditto 18.40 

Average 20.35 

Cape  Muschat    18.25 

Cape  Madeira    22.94 

Ditto 20.50 

Ditto 18.11 

Average 20.51 

Grape  Wine 18.11 

Calcavella 19.20 

Ditto IS. 10 

Average 18.65 

Vidonia 19.25 

Alba  Flora 17.26 

Malaga 17.26 

Hermitage  (White)   17.43 

Roussillon 19.00 

Ditto 17.20 

Average 18.13 


Frontignac IJ 

Cote  Rotie IJ 

Gooseberry  Wine 1] 

Currant  Wine    2C 

Orange  Wine,  average 1  ] 

Tokay    93 

Elder  Wine   9.8' 

Cider,  highest  average 9.1 

Ditto,  lowest  ditto 5.21 

Perry,  average 7.2( 

Mead ' 7.39 

Ale  (Burton) 

Ditto  (Edinburgh)    6.20 

Ditto  (Dorchester)     5.50 

Average 6.87 

Brown  Stout 6.80 

London  Porter,  average    4.20 

Ditto  Small  Beer,  ditto 1.28 

Brandy 53.31 

Rum 53.68  1 

Gin 51.60 

Scotch  Whiskey 54.32 

Irish  ditto .'J3.90 


TEMPERANCE  JUBILEE  AT  ALBANY. 
The  New  York  State  Society  held  its  anniversary  on  the  celebrated  26th  of  February; 
Chancellor  Walworth  in  the  chair.  During  the  meeting,  the  following  Ode,  prepared  for 
the  occasion,  was  sung  in  admirable  style  by  a  choir  of  young  ladies  of  the  Albany  Female 
Academy.  The  introduction  of  this  Ode  being  concluded  on  only  during  the  afternoon, 
and  consequently  not  inserted  in  the  printed  order,  the  audience  were  most  agreeably  sur- 
prised. And  ranged,  as  the  young  ladies  were,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  gallery,  the  most 
happy  effect  was  produced. 


1st  voice    Temperance !  tell  the  listemng  world 

What  thine  advocates  have  done ; 
2d  voice    Hearken !  now  the  tjTant's  hurl'd 

From  his  high  despotic  throne. 
1st  voice    Temperance !  shall  it  hear  the  sway, 

Shine  o'er  earth  in  splendour  hright  ? 
2d  voice    Listen  !  for  a  brilliant  day 

Brives  away  the  gloomy  night. 
lat  voice    Temperance  !  will  tliy  beams  alone 

Gild  the  spot  that  gave  thee  birth  ? 
2d  voice    Other  climes  its  sway  shall  o\vn  ; 

See !  it  bursts  all  o'er  the  earth. 


1st  voice    Temperance  !  are  thy  sons  to  fight, 

Like  hosts  of  earth,  to  fix  thy  laws? 
2d  voice    Oh  no !  thy  truth  and  love  unite 

To  achieve  our  holy  cause. 
1st  voice    Temperance  !  then  I'll  be  thy  child, 

For  I  love  thy  sacred  name  ; 
2d  voice    Yes  !  thy  voice  and  influence  mild. 

Can  the  wildest  passion  tame. 
Together   Temperance  !  we  shall  shout  thy  praise  i 

We  no  more  will  leave  thy  hand ; 
Joyful  now  our  anthems  raise 

In  every  clime  in  every  land. 


/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  8.  AUGUST  1,  1833.  Vol.  III. 


ENERAL   OBSERVATIONS   AS  TO  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  IN  THE  MANUFACTURING  DISTRICTS. 


During  the  last  month,  I  took,  along  with  my  temperance  friends,  a 
ur  through  most  of  the  towns  of  Lancashire.  The  particulars  of  our  la- 
jmrs  in  connection  with  temperance  appear  in  the  proper  department, 
id  I  purpose  occupying  this  article  with  observations  and  reflections  more 
irticularly  in  reference  to  the  general  condition  of  the  people. 

Blackburn,  Haslingden,  Bury,  Heywood,  Rochdale,  Oldham,  Ashton, 
;ockport,  Manchester,  and  Bolton,  with  the  intervening  villages,  were  in- 
uded  in  the  route.  These  are  all  important  manufacturing  stations,  and 
they  progress  during  the  next  half  century  as  they  have  done  the 
3t,  they  are  likely  so  to  ai)proximate  to  each  other  as  to  form  one 
anufacturing  mass  over  the  whole  face  of  this  part  of  the  country. 

The  difference  betwixt  a  rural  life  and  a  factory  life  has  often  been 
scanted  upon;  but  as  there  appears  to  be  no  hope  of  the  bulk  of  the 
;ople  returning  to  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  I  conceive,  instead  of 
veiling  upon  the  comparative  merits  of  the  two  modes  of  life,  it  is 
uch  better  to  try  so  to  modify  the  arrangements  of  the  factory,  and  to 
ply  the  meliorating  influences  of  humanity  and  religion,  as,  if  possible, 
raise  the  moral  character  of  the  people.  The  flexibility  of  the  character 
d  constitution  of  man  is  such,  that  he  is  capable  of  filling  a  variety  of 
nations,  even  with  comfort  to  himself  and  benefit  to  society.  And 
ough  I  deeply  lament  the  removal  of  so  many  families  from  the  country 
•  the  thickly  populated  manufacturing  districts,  and  especially  the  seclu- 
!)n  of  the  children  in  the  factory,  without  the  guardianship  of  their  pa- 
ints, yet  if  these  cannot  be  avoided,  it  were  cruel  and  unchristian  not  to 
\.',  even  under  these  circumstances,  to  better  their  condition.  Happily 
ir  man,  the  comforts  of  religion  and  the  blessings  of  Christianity  can  be 
'joyed,  if  the  heart  be  right,  either  in  town  or  country,  in  the  workshop 

VOL.      III.  2   F 


230 

or  in  tlie  field.  Instead,  then,  of  relaxing  our  efforts,  because  we  belii 
the  people  are  not  in  the  best  position  for  learning,  while  any  mate! 
change  in  reference  to  the  nature  of  their  employments  appears  to 
hopeless,  let  these  efforts  rather  be  increased :  in  proportion  to  the  di 
culties,  should  be  our  increased  zeal  to  m-ercome  them.  If  my  reading  h 
correct,  Jesus  Christ  took  society  as  he  found  it,  and  in  the  confidenc 
that  the  principles  of  his  gospel  were  able  to  benefit  men  in  every  situatim 
he  and  his  apostles  laboured  incessantly  to  diffuse  those  principles  amon^ 
men  in  every  condition  of  life.  If  by  possibility  there  be  any  chance  < 
bringing  the  children  from  the  contaminating  company  and  debilitating  at 
mosphere  of  the  factory,  to  the  healthy  breeze  and  safe  retreat  of  the  coail 
try  cottage,  let  us  do  so  ;  if  not,  let  us  remove  as  many  evils  associatin 
with  their  present  employment  as  we  can,  and  above  all  let  us  surroun 
and  penetrate  every  factory  neighbourhood  with  the  heart-cheering  aiii 
the  soul- satisfying  lessons  of  the  religion  of  Jesus. 

Although  we  complain,  and  that  justly,  of  the  condition  of  the  factof 
inmates,  it  is  but  fair  to  admit,  that,  owing  partly  to  restrictive  laws  ani 
partly  to  the  influence  of  public  opinion,  in  many  respects  the  people  at 
in  a  better  condition  than  they  were  some  vears  ago.  I  recollect  noticiii^ 
the  condition  of  "Watson's  apprentices,  as  they  used  to  proceed  to  Waltdl 
Church  on  a  Sunday,  about  thirty  years  ago;  a  number  of  poor,  squalid 
deformed  beings,  the  most  pitiful  objects,  I  think,  I  ever  beheld.  The 
were  brought  down  from  the  hospitals  in  London,  at  a  very  early  age,  aft 
apprenticed  to  a  system  to  which  nothing  but  West  India  Slavery  could  bea 
any  analogy.  I  went  through,  during  my  stay  at  Ashton,  one  of  the  largeei 
mills  in  tlie  neighbourhood ;  I  also  visited  Edgely,  near  Stockport,  whOT 
I  particularly  noticed  the  appearance  of  the  work  people,  and  though  I  cai 
never  think  well  of  a  factory  life,  I  must  admit,  that  there  does  appear  ti' 
have  been  a  gradual  improvement  in  this  system  of  employment.  Tfc  '■ 
girls  appear  to  sustain  the  heat  and  employment  of  the  factory  much  bett6 
than  the  boys.  They  are  well  clothed,  and  indeed  whilst  the  wagesO 
most  of  them,  especially  power  loom  weavers  are  equal  to  those  of  mail; 
labouring  men,  we  might  naturally  expect  that  this  would  be  the  case 
For  some  time  I  have  noticed  in  my  own  town  that  the  "  bed  gown' 
superseded  by  a  full  dress ;  and  amongst  300  females  employed  on 
floor,  in  a  certain  factory,  as  weavers,  I  did  not  observe  a  single  bed  go^ 
"  Why  is  it,"  said  I  to  a  manager,  "  that  the  girls  look  so  much  better  tfli 
the  boys?"  "Because  they  take  more  care  of  themselves,"  he  repli«l 
"they  also  keep  themselves  clean;  wash  once  or  more  every  day;  wi 


231 

iM^lads  will  scarcely  wash  themselves  once  a  week."  Indeed,  I  am  now 
pcidedly  of  an  opinion,  that  if  the  hours  of  labour  were  limited  to  ten  each 
ay;  if  the  friends  of  humanity  would  enter  sincerely  and  energetically  upon 
^  task  of  teaching  them  temperance,  economy,  and  domestic  management ; 
i^d  if  suitable  religious  teachers  would  go  among  them,  constantly  to 
iffuse  instruction  and  comfort,  although  some  of  the  evils  of  a  factory 
fe  would  remain  irremediable,  a  great  change  might  be  effected,  a  mass 
^  ignorance  and  vice  removed,  and  comparative  happiness  and  content- 
lent  restored  to  this  portion  of  the  working  class.  Perhaps  I  should  be 
vking  too  great  a  liberty  to  publish  a  statement  of  the  wages  paid,  but  in 
je  places  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  where  I  had  access  to  the  books 
lyself,  I  must  say,  that,  generally,  with  sobriety  and  good  management, 
ley  are  sufficient  to  procure  a  fair  portion  of  both  the  necessaries  and 
omforts  of  life. 

In  reference  to  the  "  ten  hours'  bill,"  or  to  any  bill  for  short  time,  I 
)und  it  to  be  the  opinion  of  one  and  all,  that  unless  the  restriction  be  laid 
{jon  the  moving  power,  any  enactment  will  be  futile  and  of  no  effect.  In 
^  face  of  the  present  law,  which  restricts  the  time  of  labour  to  twelve 
^urs,  in  answer  to  my  inquiries,  I  was  openly  told  by  one  of  the  partners 
f  a  mill,  that  they  were  working  thirteen  hours  per  day,  although  the  same 
^ntleman  is  a  decided  advocate  of  "  short  time."  "  And  why  do  you  do 
3  ?"  said  I  to  this  person.  "  Because  we  are  compelled  by  the  example 
f  our  neighbours  :  some  of  the  mills  are  working  fourteen,  if  not  fifteen 
ours  per  day."  "  On  the  very  day  that  the  last  act  came  into  operation," 
,e  added,  "we,  with  several  others,  reduced  our  time  to  twelve  hours,  and 
jrmed  an  association  to  protect  any  who  might  give  information  of  those 
ho  would  not  conform  to  the  law.  But  the  difficulty  in  procuring  evi- 
ence,  of  inducing  persons  to  come  forward  to  lay  informations,  and  of 
meeting  the  base  practices  of  bribing  individuals  not  to  declare  the  truth, 
ere  such,  that  the  object  was  abandoned  as  hopeless;  and  no  law  will 
ver  do  any  good  unless  it  be  laid  on  the  moving  power,  which  will  place  it  in 
Imost  any  man's  reach  to  lay  an  information." 

Decidedly  as  I  am  an  advocate  for  a  ten  hours'  bill,  I  am  quite  sure 
bat  unless  there  be  a  change  in  the  general  character  of  society,  the  edu- 
ation  and  morality  of  the  children  will  not  be  so  much  premoted  by  it  as 
pme  persons  are  apt  to  imagine.  Look  at  those  trades  in  which  the  per- 
Qns  may  be  said  to  have  their  own  time,  such  as  curriers,  shoemakers, 
ailors,  &c.,  and  ask  if  more  leisure  has  promoted  more  education  and  more 
ifXue,     We  have  machine  shops,  and  others,  where  the  men  and  the  ap- 


t 


232 

prentices  usually  close  their  work  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  I  app 
to  the  character  and  deportment  of  these  as  a  proof  of  the  necessity  of  *'  shi 
time"  being  accompanied  with  innocent  and  useful  attractions,  and  wit) 
system  of  instruction  such  as  does  not  exist  among  us  at  the  present  till 
Without  something  like  these,  the  Saturday  night  and  Sunday  practices 
many  will  be  adopted  every  evening ;  and  the  tedium  of  the  factory  chanj 
for  the  corrupting  excitement  of  the  jerry  shop. 

What,  then,  must  be  done  ?  Those  in  the  middle  and  upper  circles 
life,  those  of  every  class  who  have  ability  and  leisure,  must  remember 
the  factory  people  are  part  of  the  British  nation,  and  part  of  the  famil 
man;  that  their  numbers  are  increasing  every  day;  that  the  system,  in  its 
is  of  a  demoralizing  tendency ;  that  our  own  comfort,  and  happiness, 
safety,  especially  in  times  of  commotion,  depend  upon  the  principles  aiit 
character  of  this  immense  host  of  people  ;  and  if  no  other  motive  will  incitt 
us,  that  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to  "  love  them  as  ourselves,"  and  conse- 
quently to  adopt  every  practicable  measure  of  raising  them  in  the  scale  6! 
human  beings,  and  diffusing  among  them  all  the  blessings  of  civil,  socid, 
and  religious  life.  What  labour  so  useful  as  this,  and  what  satisfaction  in 
a  reflecting  man  equal  to  that  of  a  consciousness  of  having  done  othei^ 
good !  While  I  blame  the  workpeople  for  the  envy  with  which  they  lool 
at  the  prosperity  of  their  employers,  and  while  I  pity  their  mistakes  as  t( 
the  happiness  of  the  rich,  I  still  think  men  of  property  are  doubly  blameabU 
for  not  mixing  more  with  their  poorer  brethren,  and  evincing  a  since« 
and  an  earnest  disposition  to  correct  their  errors  and  to  assist  them  in  everj 
possible  way  to  promote  their  happiness.  Whence  is  it  that  men,  withoal 
any  merit  or  character,  gain  so  much  influence  over  the  people  of  certain 
districts  ?  Because  they  pretend  to  be  their  friends,  and  to  be  possessed 
of  plans  which  will  remove  all  their  grievances.  Let  others  come  out  wbc 
are  real  friends,  and  give  substantial  proofs  that  they  are  so ;  let  there 
come  out  in  numbers,  and  learn  to  persevere  in  "well  doing"  towards  thf 
people,  and  they  will  soon  deprive  the  wily  demagogues  of  their  influence, 
secure  the  affections  of  the  people,  and  be  the  means  of  diffusing  and  prd* 
moting  such  principles  and  habits,  as  will  be  calculated  to  guide  then! 
steadily  and  virtuously  through  life. 

Most  of  our  rich  men  are  almost  as  far  removed  from  the  poor 
they  lived  on  separate  sides  of  the  Atlantic.     Their  houses  are  built  at 
opposite  side  of  the  town ;  they  carefully  avoid  the  contact  of  a  rag 
coat ;  they  visit  where  the  poor  are  never  seen ;  and  in  all  their  exerc 
of  charity,  they  adopt  such  mediums  as  will  preserve  them  from  pern 


233 

rtercommunication  with  the  poor.  How  often  are  we  hearing  and  reading 
f  dinners,  and  suppers,  and  balls,  given  by  our  mayors,  aldermen,  gentry, 
nd  tradesmen !  but  they  are  all  calculated  to  keep  the  rich  and  the  poor 
part,  and  to  perpetuate  the  jealousy  that  has  so  long  existed.  Oh !  the 
ride,  the  vanity  of  the  man,  who  can  append  a  few  additional  letters 
j)  his  name ;  whose  coat  is  made  of  Saxony,  instead  of  British  wool ; 
id  who,  at  this  moment  (uncertain  of  the  morrow)  can  clasp  a  bun- 
ie  of  parchments,  and  say,  these  give  me  claim  to  that  clod  of  land,  and 
lable  me  to  call  that  immense  pile  of  building  mine ;  although  in  intel- 
ct,  in  moral  character,  in  piety,  in  every  thing  estimable  in  the  sight  of 
od,  the  man  with  a  ragged  coat,  doomed  to  sleep  in  a  cellar  and  to  work 
a  factory,  is  his  superior !  Would  that  the  rich  saw  the  tendency  of 
eir  conduct,  and  that  the  present  divided  state  of  society  is  principally 
be  remedied  by  an  abandonment  of  their  proud  and  exclusive  proceed- 
trs. 

I  call,  however,  upon  all  who  have  any  time  or  influence,  whatever  be 
eir  station,  to  try  to  lead  the  working  classes  into  the  way  of  improve- 
ent.  They  are  the  sinews  of  the  nation,  and  whilst,  by  their  productive 
brts,  the  country  is  able  to  rear  its  proud  head  in  the  face  of  nations, 
ly  should  they  be  a  degraded,  a  miserable  people  ? 

The  Jirst  lesson  we  should  teach  them  is  that  of  temperance.  Unless 
•;  can  persuade  them  to  avoid  the  public  house,  the  dram  shop,  and  the 
TV  shop,  they  will  never  be  capable  of  being  taught  to  improve  them- 
!  ves  in  any  other  respect.  The  second  lesson  is  domestic  economy.  At 
]3sent,  many  of  them  know  not  the  value  of  money,  and,  with  good  earn- 
i^-s,  are  in  the  midst  of  difficulties.  Unfortunately,  the  girls  are  igno- 
)^t  of  almost  everything  belonging  to  the  domestic  duties  of  life,  and 
itil  they  are  better  taught,  it  is  not  possible  that  the  poor  man's  house 
nuld  be  a  place  of  peace  and  comfort.  Education,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
t;  term,  is  what  should  be  extended  as  much  as  possible,  and  if,  through 
?;hange  in  the  law,  more  time  should  be  allowed  in  the  evenings,  local 
fiools  should  be  provided  to  meet  this  necessity.  There  are  some  now 
Airking  in  the  factories  who  cannot  read,  and  many  that  can  neither  write 
ir  count.  Besides  these,  and  other  subjects  which  might  be  named,  there 
c^ht  to  be  in  every  hamlet  a  supply  of  moral  and  religious  instruction; 
ad  thus  principles  would  be  diffused  to  counteract  the  swearing,  lewd  dis- 
€irse,  dishonesty,  contempt  of  parents,  and  the  conjugal  infelicity  which 
s  extensively  abound.  The  factory  people  are  flesh  and  spirit  like  our- 
sves,  and  however  demeaned  they  may  appear  to  some  by  their  employ- 


234 

Hient,  I  doubt  not  they  are  capable,  by  the  adoption  of  suitable  means,- 
being  raised  in  the  scale  of  domestic,  moral,  and  intellectual  excellency 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  other  body  of  people.  I  call  upon  every  0|Bi 
who  is  at  all  qualified,  and  who  can  find  time,  to  come  forward,  and  to  ae 
sist  in  this  work;  and  if  not  commenced  before,  let  the  passing  of  a  shflr 
time  bill  be  the  signal  for  a  beginning.  For  myself,  as  connected  with  thji 
object,  I  purpose,  in  addition  to  our  temperance  meetings,  which  are  heh 
every  Tuesday  evening,  to  establish  the  delivery  of  short  gratuitous  lecturu 
every  Thursday  evening,  upon  subjects  generally  interesting  to  the  workiuj 
classes,  by  persons  qualified  for  the  task. 

It  is  difficult  even  to  get  persons  to  go  among  the  people,  that  the 
may  see  their  true  condition,  and  be  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  sonw 
thing  being  done.     One  Sunday  forenoon,  I  got  a  person  to  go  round  wiit 
me,  to  visit  our  delinquents  in  the  Temperance  Society,  and  other  note 
rious  drunkards,  who,  although  I  dare  say  he  never  missed  his  place  i 
worship  twice  on  a  Sunday,  seemed  quite  a  stranger  to  this  work.    The  scene 
which  he  witnessed  in  the  cellars,  and  in  the  destitute  abodes  of  drunkaui) 
quite  astounded  him :  they  were  such,  he  declared,  that  he  could  not  ha| 
believed,  had  he  not  seen  them  with  his  own  eyes.     As  I  returned  on.; 
route,  already  referred  to,  I  halted  at  Bolton:   during  the  Sunday,  in  o 
pany  with  a  friend,  I  visited  one  or  two  of  the  supposed  worst  streetl 
that  town.    The  pleasure  which  the  gentleman  who  accompanied  me  see? 
to  take  in  this  work,  I  hope,  will  lead  him  to  make  it  his  constant  pi 
tice.     We  inquired  if  the  clergy  or  any  religious  teachers  came  to  see  th< 
We  were  invariably  answered,  that  they  never  came  near  them.    It  ma^ 
worth  while  to  mention,  that  in  one  cellar,  to  which  we  were  attract© 
an  unusual  noise,  we  found  a  corpse  laid  out,  belonging  to  an  Irish  far 
Upon  inquiry,  we  learned  that  it  was  the  fashion  of  their  country  to  ) 
with  their  dead,  and  never  to  leave  them  by  night  or  day  ;  that  many,  vr^ 
out  any  invitation,  came  to  assist  in  this  service  ;  and  that  consequei 
if  means  would  afford,  a  supply  of  ale  or  whiskey,  was  provided  foi; 
purpose  of  refreshment ! 

The  establishment  of  heer  shops  was  a  subject  of  unceasing  cop 
plaint  in  every  town  we  visited.  Much  has  been  said  by  some  of  ^| 
legislators  of  the  benefits  of  cheap  ale — persons  who  know  nothing  of] 
habits  of  the  people  for  whom  they  presume  to  make  laws.  If  they 
take  the  trouble,  next  time  they  are  passing  tlirough  Manchester,  tpi 
at  a  beer  shop,  in  a  short  street  adjoining  Oldham  Street,  they  will 
a  choice  specimen  of  the  effects  of  selling  ale  cheap.     It  would  be 


235 

s  wise  to  give  our  children  knives  and  forks  for  play  things,  as  to  take 

ttie  duty  off  malt  and  make  ale  cheap,  unless  the  people  were  better  in- 

jrmed,  and  under  the  influence  of  moral  principles.     This  beer  shop  has 

iree  entrances,  almost  like  a  theatre :  it  is  divided  by  a  counter,  which  runs 

iie  whole  length  of  the  place.     The  customers  are  not  allowed  seats,  and 

16  ale  being  sold  at  threepence  per  quart,  being  one  pennv  cheaper  than 

le  price  at  other  houses,  this  place  is  crowded  with  customers,  whose  ap- 

earance  is  miserable  and  wretched  in  the  extreme.     So  great  an  influx 

f  customers,  we  were  told,  attend  this  place,  that  unless  the  police  remove 

lem,  the  parapet,  and  even  the  street  for  many  vards,  will  be  covered 

ith  these  deluded  victims  of  cheap  ale,   seated  on  the  ground  drinking. 

uch   a  collection   of   dirty,  ragged,  wretched-looking  beings   could  be 

)llected  by  no  means  excepting  cheap  ale.      The  dram  shops  still  re- 

ain  great  nuisances  in  Manchester,  as  well  as  other  large  towns,  and 

e  much  frequented,  especially  by  females.     Referring  to  these  places, 

observed  to  some  young  ladies,  one  day  at  dinner,  "  these  are  the  places 

m  ought  to  visit  ^  think  of  the  degradation  of  so  many  of  your  own  sex, 

ime  of  whom,  no  doubt,  would  be  glad  to  be  saved  by  the  kind  inter- 

rance  of  a  friend,"     "  Oh  dear,"  was  the  reply,  "  so  far  from  going  into 

ich  places,  if  it  be  possible,  I   always  avoid  the  very  street  in  which 

ey  are  to  be  found."     "  This  is  not  the  way,"  I  answered;   "  if  we  were 

I  to  do  so,  what  would  become  of  these   miserable  beings,  who  are 

)w  led  captive  by  their  sins  ?     Jesus  visited  such,  and  so  accustomed 

IS  he  to  associate  with  the  vicious,  that  he  was  taunted  with  being  '  a 

icnd  of  publicans  and  harlots.'     Professors  are  ready  enough  to  go  to 

urch  and  chapel,  but  how  few  are  disposed  to  engage  in  the  self-denying 

bour  of  visiting  the  receptacles  of  iniquity,  and  trying  to  seek  out  and 

ve  those  who  are  lost !" 

Political  agitation,  although  not  extinct,  seems  to  have  subsided  con- 
lerably  in  the  various  towns  through  which  we  passed.  The  confidence 
lich  is  apt  to  be  placed  in  persons  whose  greatest  recommendations  are 
eir  pompous  professions  is  considerably  abated,  and  the  people  are  be- 
^nning  to  see  more  clearly  that  real  reform  must  begin  with  themselves, 
id  that  so  soon  as  the  nation  is  virtuous,  it  will  not  be  content  with  repre- 
iatatives  or  a  government  of  a  contrary  character.  How  absurd  for  men 
1  talk  about  governing  a  country,  who  are  not  able  to  govern  even  their 
'  n  appetite! 

Much,  very  much  remains  to  be  done.  We  are  a  great  nation, 
■"althy,  populous,  generally  intelligent,  and  possessing  many  national  ad- 


236 

vantages ;  but  we  want  sobriety  and  moral  character,  which  constitute 
strongest  bond  of  national  union.  Without  this,  we  are  a  rope  of  si 
with  it,  we  stand  a  phalanx  as  impenetrable  as  the  eternal  hills. — Ij 
much  gratified  with  my  visit,  and  my  greatest  source  of  regret  is,  thj 
have  not  more  time  to  devote  to  this  useful,  this  pleasing  work. 


■     -i. 

NEWSPAPER    VERACITY.  j 

So  anxious  are  some  editors  of  newspapers  to  deal  in  the  marvel 
so  ready  are  others  to  catch  at  reports  unfavourable  to  an  adverse  jy 
and,  I  may  add,  so  careless  are  many  about  ascertaining  the  truth  of  wi 
they  hear,  that  exaggerated  statements  and  false  paragraphs  are  constafll 
going  the  round  of  the  papers.  The  reports  of  the  market  prices  of  tt| 
cles  are  scarcely  ever  to  be  relied  upon.  Nothing  ia  more  common  th 
to  find  3s.  or  4s.  per  cwt.  difference  in  the  price  of  cheese  betwixt  the  stftj 
ments  of  the  two  papers  published  in  this  town.  I  recollect  for  a  nun^ 
of  weeks,  at  Bolton,  being  much  astonished  at  the  application  for  cheese, 
40s.  per  cwt.,  but  upon  ascertaining  the  cause,  although  this  was  10s.  h^ 
the  market,  they  were  reported  in  the  ]6olton  paper  at  this  price  for  a  of 
siderable  time.  A  paragraph  has  appeared  in  several  papers,  stating  tl 
"a  person  was  excluded  a  temperance  society  for  eating  pudding  whj 
contained  rum."  This  notice  was  manufactured  by  the  Preston  Pilot,  % 
is  as  true  as  many  other  of  his  articles :  but  by  the  dexterity  of  some  otl 
reviser  of  false  paragraphs,  Garstang,  the  place  where  this  was  said 
have  happened,  was  changed  to  Preston,  and  in  this  shape  it  appew 
in  the  True  Sun,  and  perhaps  in  other  papers.  The  whole  is  a  fabricate 
originating,  no  doubt,  in  sheer  enmity  to  Temperance  Societies,  and  i^j 
worth  noticing,  excepting  as  a  caution,  as  to  what  we  believe  merely  i^ 
newspaper  authority.  If  an  article  appear  in  print,  it  is  sure  to  gain  cr§( 
however  absurd;  and  if  the  matter  be  disputed,  as  a  decision  it  will  be  sa 
"  I  saw  it  in  the  paper."  Various  new  publications  are  constantly  starjj^ 
into  existence,  and  if  society  were  prepared  for  it,  I  know  of  none  TSk 
needed  at  the  present  day  than  one  whose  characteristic  title  shouU 
*•  The  corrector  of  the  press." 


THE  LOVE  OF  MONEY. 

Some  minds  are  so  constituted,  and  some  men's  habits  so  iori 

that  no  enjoyment  in  the  world  is  equal  to  that  of  getting  money. 

comparatively  valueless  in  their  estimation  is  every  other  article, 

they  will  not  part  with  any  money  although  they  were  sure  to  receij 


237 

eturn  things  wliich  would  yield  them  much  comfort.  Even  if  it  were  to 
'  luy  a  bed  or  a  sofa,  if  five  sovereigns  be  taken  from  the  heap,  the  miser 
eally  thinks  he  is  so  much  poorer.  Men  of  this  character  have  minds  so 
oAtracted,  that  they  have  no  estimate  of  the  value  of  any  kind  of  property 
ut  that  which  can  be  put  into  the  desk,  or  that  which  will  yield  an  annual 
eturn  of  interest.  Hence  charges  for  clothing,  furniture,  medical  advice, 
ihool  bills,  &c.,  they  cannot  endure.  It  is  true  that  money  spent  in  ex- 
essive  eating  and  drinking,  or  in  feasting  the  eye  at  a  theatre,  is  lost  and 
one  for  ever,  but  that  which  is  laid  out,  for  instance,  in  good  furniture,  is 
verely  changing  the  sovereigns  into  another  shape :  they  still  belong  to 
ie  same  individual,  and  afi:'ord  an  enjoyment  which  was  impossible  while 
ept  laid  up  in  a  napkin. 

Some  persons  need  often  to  be  informed  of  what  one  would  suppose 
^'cry  body  knew,  that  money  is  but  a  means  to  an  end.     We  cannot  eat  it ; 
will  not  keep  us  warm  ;  it  will  remove  no  sickness ;  it  will  neither  answer 
)r  seats  or  beds  to  rest  on ;  but  it  will  procure  all  these;   and  hence,  it  is 
ot  until  it  is  laid  out  that  it  is  at  all  useful,  either  to  the  owner  or  to  so- 
le ty  at  large. 
I       In  families  possessing  sufficient  means,  I  have  known  children  brought 
■Jp  with  scarcely  a  charity  education — scarcely  any  furniture  in  the  house 
eserving  the  name — no  candle  to  go  to  bed  with — persons  being  sick  or 
isabled  for  months  without  any  medical  aid,  and  even  to  die  without  a  sin- 
le  visit  from  a  doctor  !     What  a  mistaken  estimate  must  persons  belonging 
)  such  families  have  taken  of  the  real  design  of  money  !     It  is  well  ordered 
lat  though  such  may  stick  to  their  gold  for  a  short  time,  they  can  take 
othing  away. 

There  is  a  class  of  tradesman,  too,  though  they  supply  themselves  and 
imilies  with  every  thing  that  is  necessary  and  respectable,  whose  whole 
)uls  seemed  absorbed  in  getting  money.  Early  and  late,  and  every  day 
1  the  week,  they  are  planning  or  intensely  pursuing  their  plans  to  increase 
leir  wealth.  No  class  with  which  I  am  acquainted  is  more  distinguished 
ir  this  than  that  connected  with  the  cotton  business.  How  few  of  those 
ho  are  possessed  of  a  competency,  and  therefore  on  that  score  without  ex- 
ise,  will  come  out  and  start  any  plans  or  make  any  sacrifice  for  melioratmg 
le  condition  of  the  people !  And  if  they  are  waited  upon  by  others,  and 
elicited  for  support,  how  seldom  will  they  spare  either  time  or  money ! 
nd  yet  we  all  pass  for  good  Christians,  while  morning,  evening,  and  at 
oon  day,  we  pay  our  sincere  devotions  before  the  altar  of  mammon. 

VOL.     III.  2  G 


238 

THE  TRUCK  SYSTEM. 

Although  we  have  in  this  town,  as  in  other  places,  naany  vicious  ct 
toms,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  upon  one  point,  the  payment  of  wages  in 
proper  manner  and  at  a  proper  time,  we  stand  acquitted.  Every  man  a 
child  connected  with  the  mills  in  Preston  is  paid  at  the  end  of  every  wee 
paid,  not  in  beef  and  bread,  but  in  the  currency  of  the  realm  ;  and  usua 
without  the  temptation  of  having  to  go  to  a  public  house  to  divide  t 
money.  In  most  other  towns,  this  is  not  the  case.  The  arrangements 
society  require  that  every  man  should  at  least  have  his  wages  once  a  wee 
but  in  many  places  the  payments  are  monthly,  and  on  some  occasions  1 
"paydavs"  are  at  even  more  distant  periods  than  this.  A  man  is  tl 
kept  out  of  his  earnings,  and  deprived  of  the  honourable  feeling  of  taki 
his  money  to  his  own  market.  He  is  tied  to  a  shop ;  the  shopkeeper 
probably  in  the  same  predicament  to  the  provision  factor ;  and  while 
master  thus  carries  on  his  business  by  the  capital  of  others,  the  workni 
are  made  to  pay  the  interest.  Weekly  payments,  by  all  means,  ought  to 
restored,  and  that,  if  possible,  on  a  Friday  night  or  Saturday  mornh 
To  tie  a  number  together  by  a  large  gross  payment,  and  thus  in  effect 
send  the  workpeople,  in  some  cases  young  women,  to  the  public  house 
a  practice  highly  culpable.  By  a  little  additional  exertion,  change  mij 
be  obtained,  and  the  clerks  could  divide  the  money  with  much  grea 
facility  than  the  workmen. 

But  the  greatest  evil  is  the  truck  system :  and  it  is  much  to  be  regr 
ted,  that  after  securing  an  act  for  its  suppression,  the  practice  should  s 
be  carried  on  with  impunity.  But  this  is  one  instance  out  of  h'undre 
which  shows  that  unless  you  can  control  men  by  moral  principles,  acts 
parliament  and  penal  proceedings  seldom  effect  much  good.  How  mi 
apparently  valuable  bills,  passed  within  these  few  sessions,  are  never  he 
of  in  practice,  but  stand  as  a  dead  letter !  The  truck  system  is  generj 
injurious  to  all  classes  except  the  master,  who  receives  all  the  profit,  s 
as  a  common  evil,  ought  to  be  opposed  by  all.  It  is  evidently  illegal,  i 
has  a  decidedly  bad  effect  upon  the  harmony  and  peace  of  society, 
trace  its  evils,  I  shall  here  adopt  the  remarks  sent  me  by  a  friend  at  B 
ton,  whose  attention  and  efforts  have  long  been  directed  to  this  subject 

"  Taking  a  view  of  the  present  state  of  the  commercial  part  of  the  cc 
munity,  it  would  appear,  from  the  conduct  of  the  majority  of  them, 
the  only  way  to  advance  themselves  in  society,  is  by  a  subversion  d 
moral  principle,  and  in  nothing  is  it  more  apparent  than  in  the  pra 
of  TRUCKING  the  labourer. 


239 

"In  the  first  place,  they  wantonly  trample  upon  the  laws  of  their  coun- 
ry,  when  they  stand  in  the  way  of  their  ambitious  projects,  however  bene- 
licial  those  laws  may  be  for  the  community  at  large.  Avarice,  and  not  the 
'oice  of  the  law,  is  the  authority  they  respect. 

"  Secondly.  They  first  agree  to  pay  the  labourer  a  certain  sum  of 
noney  for  his  work,  but  their  next  step  is  to  break  that  agreement,  by 
laying  him  in  goods,  generally  of  an  inferior  quality,  and  at  an  exorbi- 
ant  price. 

"Thirdly.  As  a  thief  transfers  the  property  he  has  stolen,  and  then 
fill  swear  he  has  not  got  it,  to  screen  himself  in  his  nefarious  practices,  so 
hey  nominally  transfer  their  shops  into  other  hands,  and  yet  would  appear 
mongst  society  as  respectable  as  other  men,  and  thereby  attempt  to  evade 
be  laws,  and  add  deception  to  disloyalty. 

"  Fourthly.     If  a  jjoor  labourer  should  shew  one  spark  of  independent 

deling,  and  with  the  spirit  of  a  freeman,  after  finishing  his  work,  should 

ipply  to  be  paid  according  to  agreement,  the  master  compels  him,  by  one 

:iieans  or  another,  to  receive  what  is  strictly  forbidden  by  law,  and  con- 

:  irary  to  contract,  and  thus  establishes  oppression  as  a  system. 

"Fifthly.     The  poor  man,  for  his  temerity  in  requesting  his  own  rights, 
,[.  callid  an  insolent  and  disaffected  person.     He  is  considered  not  worthy 
i  if  further  employment,  is  discharged,  and,  by  some  under-working  means, 
ecomes  proscribed,  and  known  at  every  shop  in  the  country,  where  he 
-lappens  to  seek  employment :    he  wanders,  in  hopeless  disappointment, 
■  ill  he  and  his  family  are  brought  to  apply  to  the  parish  for  relief.     Tliere, 
)o,  he  fs  often  met  by — 'We  cannot  relieve  such  persons  as  you;  if  you  had 
yiihaved  yourself,  you  might  have  kept  your  shop.'    But  if  he  should  be  re- 
lieved, it  is  at  the  expence  of  those,  who  have  not  been  benefited  by  his 
ia(irnings,  while  his  late  employers  are  exulting  in  his  ruin.     '  He  that  robs 
i|te  of  my  good  name,  robs  me  of  that  which  enriches  him  not,  but  makes 
.e  poor  indeed.'    Was  ever  any  species  of  villany  so  consummate  as  this  ? 
"  And  what  is  gained  by  all  this  breach  of  moral  principle  ?     Is  it  to 
Ulster  ambition  and  pride^  to  make  your  dependents  more  dependent,  or  is 
l\  an  attempt  to  satisfy  the  insatiable  cravings  of  an  avaricious  appetite, 
•  hich,  in  the  course  of  events,  is  doomed  to  meet  with  disappointment? 
y  fostering  a  system  fraught  with  ruin  to  all  classes,  you  are  bringing  the 
iM3pendent  portion  of  the  community  into  a  state  of  abject  slavery,  apparently 
,j  i'om  a  principle  of  reckless  ambition.     The  hardhearted  an(f  unprincipled 
,[5|iU  grind  and  fleece  the  labourer  without  mercy  to  enable  him  to  under- 
iiill  the  fair  trader,  whose  honourable  feeling  will  not  permit  him  to  stoop 


240 

to  such  unmanly  and  unchristian  conduct.    To  compete  with  such  is  impj 
sible.  I  have  known  it  unblushingly  asserted  by  some,  that  they  got  nothi 
by  their  business :   it  was  the  profit  of  the  truck  shop  which  support 
them,  and  realized  their  property,  thereby  tearing  society  to  pieces,  in  b<! 
directions,  undermining  the  upright  and  honourable  tradesman  in  his 
siness,  luxuriating  upon  the    gains  of  unrighteousness,  by  robbing 
hireling  of  his  wages,  which  he  had  faithfully  earned.    Is  this  loving  yc 
neighbour  ? — as  no  doubt  you  will  call  yourself  a  Christian  :   but  blusl 
shew  your  countenance  amongst  God's  people,  or  to  worship  in  his  temj 
It  is  downright  hypocrisy,  and  mocking  God  in  his  presence,  while 
continue  such  practices  as  these." 


COERCION. 

The  erection  of  the  new  lock-up  ;  the  present  and  the  numerous  latt 
additions  to  the  prison  ;  the  increase  of  the  number  of  constables  ;  the  latt 
visit  of  a  detachment  of  the  Bolton  Cavalry — all  ostensibly  for  one  purpose., 
the  apprehension  and  punishment  of  the  disorderly  and  unruly — serve  U 
revive  in  my  mind  a  review  of  the  sad  mistake  that  we  labour  under  as  tt 
the  best  mode  of  governing  man.  Let  him  be  dealt  with  as  a  rational  being 
let  the  new  commandment  of  brotherly  love  be  put  into  practice ;  let  IJm 
kindness,  the  gentleness,  and  the  benevolence  of  Jesus  be  exercised  towardj 
him;  and  let  all  who  profess  to  be  teachers  follow  his  example  of  dailj 
going  about  doing  good ;  and  the  necessity  for  constanly  enlarging  th« 
instruments  of  coercion  would  necessarily  cease.  Instead  of  abandoning 
our  fellow  beings,  suffering  them  to  grow  up  a  prey  to  every  bad  passion^ 
and  to  live  without  any  moral  or  religious  restraint,  a  depraved  ex- 
ample to  others,  till  from  profligacy  or  necessity,  they  violate  th< 
laws,  and  become  the  victims  of  vice,  and  the  subjects  of  legal  punish- 
ment ;  instead  of  thus  permitting  society  to  get  worse  and  worse, 
to  be  corrected  by  an  armed  police,  larger  prisons,  higher  walls,  and 
stronger  bars,  it  would  be  infinitely  better  to  try  to  govern  them  bj 
moral  means.  How  much  better  to  lead  a  man  by  persuasion  and  good 
counsel,  than  leave  him  alone  to  fall  into  evil,  and  then  pounce  upon 
him  with  a  vindictive  spirit,  and  punish  him  for  his  offence  !  Oh  !  that 
we  were  half  as  anxious  to  save  as  we  are  to  punish  and  to  destroy  ! — th« 
one  sows  the  seeds  of  present  peace  and  good  will  among  men ;  the  otl 
produces  discord  and  discontent,  which  only  wait  an  opportunity  of  infli^ 
iug  a  fuU  measure  of  retaliation.  What  a  vast  number  of  men  are 
ployed,  military  and  police,  to  keep  the  others  in  order;  and  what  a  vlj 


241 

am  is  spent  annually  in  inflicting  punishment  for  that  which  ought  to 
ave  been  prevented !  And  although  military  men,  deputy  constables, 
iilors,  and  all  others  who  profit  by  vice,  are  not  likely  to  change  their  plan, 
.;t  every  Christian  man  begin  to  feel  for  his  fellows,  and  instead  of  suffering 
laem  to  be  a  prey  to  sanguinary  laws,  come  forward,  and  by  every  avail- 
ble  means  adopt  the  plan  of  moral  prevention.  Let  us  thus  teach  the  pre- 
mded  teachers  of  the  people,  that  although  they  have  abandoned  them  to 
le  correction  of  the  prison  house,  we  are  determined  to  endeavour  to  con- 
ince  thp  world,  that  by  the  heaven-born  principle  of  Christian  love,  society 
lay  be  governed  and  kept  in  order,  without  either  cavalry  or  prisons. 


CHURCH   REFORM. 
So  numerous  are  the  interests  in  favour  of  the  present  established  re- 
gion, that  every  step  taken  in  church  reform  meets  with  strong  opposi- 
on.     The  House  of  Lords  submits  to  the  Irish  church  temporalities  bill, 
scause  it  cannot  help  itself.     The  law,  however,  on  this  subject  is  much 

arrear  with  the  spirit  of  the  country ;  and  upon  this  subject  we  shall  be 
gislating  every  session.  Never,  till  all  religions  are  put  upon  an  equal 
loting,  and  every  party  obliged  to  support  itself,  shall  we  be  at  peace 
JOn  this  subject.    It  is  money,  money,  filthy  lucre,  that  stands  in  the  way. 

the  promotion  of  religion  simply  was  the  question,  the  whole  dispute 
ould  soon  be  set  at  rest. 

The  Dissenters  are  unquestionably  the  leaders  in  almost  every  mea- 
ire  which  aims  at  the  real  improvement  of  the  people ;  and  now,  that 
est  of  the  legal  disqualifications  for  office  are  taken  away,  their  impor- 
nce  will  begin  to  be  admitted  in  every  department  of  the  state.  Their 
inisters  are  beginning  to  show  themselves  more  fearlessly  the  opponents 

a  corrupt  national  ecclesiastical  establishment.  While  exposures  are 
lily  making  of  the  evils  of  its  temporal  character,  a  pamphlet  has  just  ap- 
iared,  which  is  not  less  demonstrative  of  its  anti-scriptural  character  as  it 
spects  its  religious  rites  and  ceremonies.  It  is  entitled  "The  Clerical  Du- 
;s  of  the  Church  of  England  opposed  to  Allegiance  to  Christ,  in  Letters 

an  Evangelical  Clergyman."  The  liturgical  services  are  an  exceedingly 
ilnerable  point,  and  it  is  rather  surprising  that  so  little  has  been  written 
)on  services,  the  very  words  of  which  carry  with  them  a  glaring  incon- 
stency  with  the  acknowledged  importance  of  personal  and  inward  religion, 
T.  Giles,  the  Baptist  minister,  of  Preston,  is  the  author ;  the  pamphlet  is 
ritten  in  a  right  spirit,  and  with  a  clearness  of  argument  and  language, 
hich  are  likely  to  render  it  acceptable  to  all  who  feel  interested  in  the 
>ntroversy.    The  prayers  and  services  connected  with  baptism,  confirina- 


242 

tion,  visitation  of  the  sick,  burial  of  the  dead,  &c.,  are  examined,  and 
inconsistency  with  Scriptural  piety  clearly  pointed  out.     If  the  sale  of 
pamphlet  should  meet  the  expectation  of  the  author,  I  hope  he  will  giv4 
next  edition  in  a  cheap  form,  in  order  that  its  usefulness  may  be  exten 


POPULAR  MORALS. 
(Continued  from  page  219.) 
Sect.  19.  In  further  support  of  the  proposition,  that  the  material  world  must  hi 
been  the  work,  of  design,  and  that  all  its  parts  are  necessarily  connected,  and  fitted  to  ei 
other,  we  have  briefly  to  notice  the  element  of  water.  We  have  seen  that  the  air  is  c« 
nected  with  animal  and  vegetable  life ;  so  also  is  water,  and  both  are  indispensable. 
one  is  ignorant  that  if  no  rain  should  fall  on  the  earth  in  our  climate,  from  the  commem 
ment  of  spring  to  the  end  of  autumn,  all  vegetable  being  would  perish,  and  probably  m 
of  animated  beings. 

20.  By  whose  order  and  will  is  it  that  the  clouds  are  filled  with  water,  and  poured  ( 
upon  the  earth  ?  By  whose  designing  is  it  that  the  ocean,  to  which  all  rivers  flow,  is  e' 
of  the  same  fulness ;  and  that  the  rivers  flow  on  from  year  to  year  from  unexhausted  foii 
tains?  Who  has  ordained  the  ocean  to  be  the  fountain  of  the  rains  that  descend  upon 
and  of  the  rivers  that  render  their  unceasing  tribute  to  it?  What  power  was  that  wh; 
planned,  and  for  ever  keeps  iu  action,  the  silent,  unseen  process  of  evaporation,  throu 
which  the  waters  are  gathered  in  the  clouds,  borne  by  the  winds,  and  commanded  to  fall 
the  refreshed  and  fertilized  ground,  and  to  replenish  the  streams  intended  to  adorn  a: 
beautify  the  earth,  and  to  minister  to  the  comfort  of  man,  and  give  scope  to  his  enterpri 
and  his  inventive  genius?  What  intelligence  was  that  which  so  apportioned  the  water 
the  earth,  and  the  earth  to  the  water,  that  by  the  action  of  natural  laws,  the  earth  is  neith 
too  wet  nor  too  dry  to  permit  vegetation,  or  to  furnish  the  medium  essential  to  animal  a 
vegetable  being .'  This  circulation  of  the  waters,  from  the  ocean  to  the  atmosphere,  fr( 
the  atmosphere  to  the  mountains,  from  the  mountains  to  the  ocean,  is  like  the  beams  oft 
sun,  and  the  common  air,  too  familiar  to  excite  one  thought  of  Him  who  ordained  it,  or  i 
spire  one  emotion  of  gratitude  and  praise. 

21.  It  is  not,  it  is  believed,  by  evaporation  only  that  these  fountains  are  supplie 
When  we  consider  the  analogies  of  the  natural  world,  it  is  probable  that  the  water  retur 
to  the  fountains,  not  only  through  the  air,  but  through  the  earth.  If  the  depths  of  the  s 
bear  a  proportionable  relation  to  the  elevation  of  mountains,  it  may  not  be  deeper  any  whe 
than  5-9000lhs  of  the  earth's  diameter.  It  may  be  that  the  waters  find  their  way  throng 
the  earth  by  attraction,  and  become  purified  from  their  salt  in  the  transit.  It  may  be  tb 
they  are  sent  on  their  way,  to  bring  from  deep  buried  mines  solutions  necessary  or  convenie 
for  human  use,  or  to  come  forth  again  to  the  light  of  the  sun,  pure,  limpid,  and  heal 
for  vegetable  and  animal  existence. 

22.  The  saltness  of  the  ocean  is  another  theme  on  which  much  may  be  said  on  the 
sign  of  Providence.  It  is  sufiicient  to  refer  to  it,  and  to  awaken  reflection  on  this  qualit 
not  only  as  to  the  universal  diffusion  of  it  throughout  the  immeasurable  expanse  of  watoi 
but  in  its  uses. 

2.5.  The  tides  and  currents  of  the  ocean  ought  not  to  be  passed  by  unnoticed, 
contrary,  they  are  among  the  most  striking  proofs  of  that  order  which  can  have  no  ori] 


e" 


i 


243 

rough  intelligence.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  all  the  natural  causes  of  the  flowing  of 
lean  waters  are  yet  understood.  There  may  be,  however  fanciful  it  may  seem,  some 
lalogy  between  these  and  the  pulses  and  the  currents  of  the  human  system. 

24.  In  connection  with  this  subject,  we  can  only  suggest  for  reflection,  that  world  that 
■s  below  the  now  smooth  and  glassy  face  of  the  deep,  and  the  now  wild  and  tremendous 
tion  of  its  waters  ;  the  varied  forms,  qualities,  and  habits  of  its  animated  tenants ;  their 
bjection  to  man,  and  their  subserviency  to  his  use.  No  thoughtful  mind  can  behold  the 
ean  without  feeling  that  it  has  come  into  the  very  presence  of  its  Creator.     It  seems  to 

like  the  ever-enduring  forest,  such  as  it  was  when  it  first  began  to  be.  The  art  and  sci- 
ce  of  man  can  make  no  change  in  this  monument  of  eternal  power.  Yet  the  ocean, 
emingly  the  same  from  age  to  age,  is  ever  submitting  to  the  law  of  revolution  and  change. 
!ie  same  law  re'gns  among  all  that  its  sublime  expanse  conceals  from  all  human  power  but 
at  of  imagination.  It  presents  to  us  a  new  relation  connected  with  human  art,  ingenuity, 
d  science,  by  which  its  pathless  surface  is  made  to  be  the  means  through  which  nations 
lOW  each  other  in  opposite  hemispheres,  and  through  which  knowledge,  refinement,  and 
s  light  of  eternal  truth  are  conveyed  from  those  who  can  read  and  understand,  to  those 
vho  sit  in  darkness,  and  who  see  no  light." 

25.  The  presence  and  the  agency  of  the  same  infinite  mind  is  disclosed  to  us  on  and 
neath  the  surface  of  the  globe.  The  interior  of  the  globe  is  known  but  imperfectly,  even 
thin  the  comparatively  small  extent  to  which  it  has  been  penetrated,  The  utmost  extent 
Ind  this  in  some  very  few  places)  in  which  the  earth  has  been  penetrated,  is  less  than  one 
16  thousandth  part  of  its  diameter.  The  knowledge  which  we  have  has  been  obtained  by 
!  excavation  of  mines,  from  natural  caverns,  in  searching  for  water,  or  from  examination, 
juiring  a  research  less  deep  than  is  required  for  those  purposes.  Some  very  learned  dis- 
isions  of  facts  have  been  presented  to  the  world  of  late  years,  and  different  theories  have 

n  founded  on  these,  as  to  the  changes  to  which  our  planet  has  been  subjected. 

26.  These  learned  writers  agr«e  that  at  some  time,  and  while  the  earth  was  the  abode 
many  animals  in  different  orders  of  being,  it  must  have  undergone  some  general  convul- 
n,  the  proof  of  which  is  clear,  from  the  examination  of  its  exterior,  and  of  its  interior  so 

as  it  is  known  to  us.  One  of  these  writers  says,  "the  structure  of  the  globe,  in  all  its 
ts,  presents  the  appearance  of  a  vast  ruin.  The  confusion  and  overthrow  of  most  of  its 
Ua,  the  irregular  succession  of  those  which  remain  in  their  original  situations;  the  won- 
ful  variety  which  the  direction  of  the  veins  and  the  forms  of  the  caverns  display  ;  the  im- 
nse  heaps  of  confused  and  broken  substances,  the  transposition  of  enormous  blocks  to  a 
at  distance  from  the  mountains  of  which  they  appear  to  have  formed  a  part,  make  us  feel 
tthe  history  of  our  globe  reaches  hack  to  periods  far  anterior  to  the  existence  of  the  bu- 
tt race." 

27.  These  expressions,  undoubtedly  founded  in  fact,  are  not  (as  will  be  elsewhere 
wn)  inconsistent  with  the  Scriptural  account  of  the  beginning  of  things.  There  are  not 
erials  from  the  researches  hitherto  made  which  are  sufficient  to  form  any  satisfactcry 
lion  of  what  the  earth  was  before  this  universal  convulsion  occurred.* 


*  The  proofs  that  it  did  occur  are  seen  in  many  forms,  some  of  which  are  the  following.     In  land 
Ustant  from  the  sea,  in  every  quarter  of  the  earth,  sheUs  of  animals,  whose  proper  element  is  the  sea. 


244 


1 


28.  It  is  well  ascertained,  that  among  all  the  researches  made,  no  bones  of  the  human 
frame  have  been  discovered.     The  suggestion  that  human  bones  might  be  more  easily  de- 
composed than  those  of  other  animals,  has  been  considered;  and  it  is  denied  that  there  if! 
any  such  difference,  in  this  respect,  as  will  account  for  their  absence.     It  is  hence  inferred,  I 
that  man  was  created  since  that  convulsion  to  which  these  fossil  remains  are  to  be  referred.  ( 
In  whatever  mode  the  absence  of  all  fossil  remains  of  man  may  be  accounted  for,  this  fact  is 
not  inconsistent  with  the  Mosaic  account.     Moses  is  supposed  to  have  written  2500  years 
after  the  time  at  which  he  fixes  the  creation  of  the  world.     His  work  may  have  been  com- 
posed in  part  from  other  works  then  existing ;  and  it  is  remarkable,  that  the  geological  com- 
putations refer  the  appearances  on  which  they  rest,  to  a  date  which  is  consistent  with  that 
which  Moses  assigns  to  the  creation.     It  is  not  improbable  that  the  globe  had  then  under- 
gone some  tremendous  convulsion,  and  that  a  new  creation  had  then  been  made,  and  that  iu 
some  prior  state  of  the  globe  animals  had  existed  on  it,  though  man  did  not;  and  that  man 
was  then  created  ;  and  that  a  new  order  of  animals  was  created. 

29.  It  is  also  probable  that  the  deluge  was  not  that  convulsion  from  which  these  re- 
mains are  to  be  dated ;  nor  is  it  by  any  means  proved  that  the  deluge  would  have  occasioned 
such  convulsion.  The  objection  to  this  may  be,  that  Moses  speaks  of  six  days  as  the  time 
within  which  the  creation  was  made.  But  it  is  far  from  being  certain  that  Moses  intended 
six  diurnal  revolutions  of  the  earth,  as  we  now  measure  days.  This  expression  may  have 
been  used  by  him  figuratively;  and  it  is  said  that  the  Hebrew  prophets  are  often  to  be  so 
understood ;  and  the  prophet  Daniel  is  referred  to  in  proof,  that  the  word  day  must  mean 
some  other  lapse  of  time  than  the  natural  day.  Geological  theories  rather  confirm  the  Mo-  ' 
saic  account  in  assigning  to  man  his  origin,  at  the  same  period  which  that  account  assigns 
to  him. 

30.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  there  are  two  classes  of  philosophers  who  entertain  op- 
posite opinions  as  to  the  changes  which  have  occurred  in  the  earth.  The  one  is  called  Nep- 
tunists  (from  Neptune,  the  god  of  the  sea),  who  refer  these  changes  to  the  action  of  water; 
the  other  is  called  Vulcanists  (from  Vulcan,  one  of  the  fabled  gods,  as  well  of  the  Greeks  ,:v 
Romans,  who  is  supposed  to  have  taught  the  use  of  fire  as  applied  to  metals)  who  refer  these 


are  found  in  immense  quantities;  and  also  at  elevations  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  varying  from  6,000 1 
13,000  feet.  \Vhat  is  surprising  is,  that  many  of  them  are  of  an  order  that  no  longer  exists.  The  mosi 
common  proofs,  next  after  that  of  shells,  are  remains  of  fishes,  and  some  of  these  of  descriptions  now  un- 
known. These  remains  are  found  in  similar  elevations,  embedded  in  clay,  in  slate,  and  even  in  soli' 
rock.  Specimens  of  this  sort  have  been  noticed  in  many  places,  and  among  others  in  the  pro\-ince 
Burgundy,  in  France,  in  grey  calcareous  hard  stone ;  and  at  Narterre,  near  Paris,  the  remains  of  a  fi»i 
exceeding  ten  inches  in  length  have  been  found  in  a  solid  bed  of  stone,  at  the  depth  of  seventeen  feet 
These,  and  a  multitude  of  other  marine  substances  and  fossil  remains  (fossil  is  from  a  Latin  word  whif' 
signifies  to  dig,  and  is  applied,  in  science,  to  substances  found  in  a  state  of  preservation)  seem  to  pro- 
the  action  of  overwhelming  waters,  or  that  the  ocean  has  retired  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  actir 
of  tumultuous  waters  conforms  to  the  received  opinion  as  to  the  deluge.  There  are  fossil  remains  of  ^^ 
rious  land  animals.  They  are  found  in  all  elevations  and  in  different  sorts  of  earth,  and  in  stone  ai; 
marble.  Remains  of  animals  are  found  which  show  that  there  were  animals  unlike  any  which  nowex! 
on  the  earth;  and  remains  are  found  in  one  quarter  ef  the  earth  where  no  such  living  animal  is  I 
found.  This  is  said  to  be  the  case  as  to  a  species  of  opossum,  found  near  Paris,  which  is  known  I 
only  in  South  America. 


245 

langes  to  the  action  of  fire.  The  latter  suppose  that  the  earth  was  in  a  state  of  igneous 
tsiou  ;  or  a  liquid  mass  intensely  heated;  that  it  gradually  cooled,  and  was  covered  with 
ater  at  a  subsequent  period. 

31.  The  Neptunists  hold  that  the  earth  was  first  in  a  state  of  watery  solution,  and  that 
le  present  formation  arose  from  the  drying,  and  from  the  gravitation  of  floating  parts,  and 
om  crystallization,  &c.,  in  which  form  so  many  substances  are  known  to  us.  Snow,  sugar, 
lilt,  frost  on  the  windows  in  winter,  are  crystallizations.  Both  theories  may  be  in  some 
»y  true,  since  there  are  so  many  proofs  of  the  action  of  both  these  elements  in  geological 
jifince. 

32.  Geology  is  understood  to  be  that  science  which  treats  of  the  origin  of  non-organic 
tbstances,  that  form  the  solid  crust  of  the  globe.  It  includes  the  structure  of  the  earth, 
id  the  nature,  qualities,  and  changes  through  which  the  materials  of  which  this  crust  is 
imposed,  may  have  passed.  Mineralogy  is  the  science  of  defining  and  classing  these  sub- 
mces ;  mineral,  therefore,  is  a  very  comprehensive  term.  The  substances  which  it  includes 
ay  be  properly  considered  in  reference  to  the  power  and  design  of  the  Creator,  in  adapting 
Memto  the  use  of  man,  and  man  to  use  them.  Perhaps  it  is  not  an  unreasonable  supposi- 
an,  that  the  convulsions  which  interest  the  curiosity  of  geologists  were  intended  to  make 
e  earth  a  convenient  and  proper  place  for  human  abode.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
lis,  it  is  certain  that  the  inexhaustible  treasury  which  is  beneath  the  surface,  but  within 
[iman  reach,  can  be  and  is  used  by  man.  None  of  it  was  placed  there  in  vain,  though  all 
le  benefit  hitherto  derived  from  it  may  be  far  short  of  that  which  further  experiments  may 
isclose. 

33.  It  is  foreign  to  the  present  object  to  enumerate  the  parts  of  the  mineral  kingdom, 
his  has  been  done  by  different  authors,  as  is  well  known,  and  especially  by  those  who 
ive  favoured  the  reading  world  with  chemical  discussions,  as  well  as  by  geologists.  The 
ftitsof  the  present  object  will  only  permit  a  brief  allusion,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the 
insistency  of  these  provisions  of  the  Creator,  with  the  condition  which  he  has  assigned  to 
an,  and  with  the  faculties  which  have  been  given  to  him.  And  for  these  purposes,  we 
ay  refer  to  the  quantity,  variety,  and  position  of  coal,  which  is  so  indispensable  to  daily 
imfort,  and  to  the  generation  and  application  of  heat,  seen  in  so  many  and  so  important 
;e$.  The  quality  imparted  to  this  mineral  constitutes  it  an  agent,  by  which  all  other  mine- 
Is  are  wholly  or  in  part  disengaged  from  the  substances  with  which  they  are  connected, 
id  then  fitted  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  appear  to  have  been  intended.  The  well- 
lown  qualities  of  iron,  silver,  gold,  copper,  tin,  zinc,  lead,  platina,  and  the  compounds 
ade  of  them,  are,  in  some  way,  brought  into  a  state  for  use  by  heat.     Heat,  also,  is  applied 

great  variety  of  substances,  of  which  lime  is  a  constitutent  part,  and  which  are  called 
kareous.*  Chalk  is  said  to  be  "  a  very  ancient  chemical  decomposition  of  the  altered  and 
literated  remains  of  shell-fish."  Every  description  of  marble  may  be  reduced  to  lime  by 
e  action  of  heat. 

We  are  next  to  notice  the  works  of  the  Creator  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  We  include 
this  all  that  vegetates,  that  is,  all  that  grows  on,  and  has  a  connection  with  the  earth,  by 
ots. 


'  From  being  combined  with  lime,  from  the  Latin  word  calx  which  signifies  lime,  and  also  chalk. 
VOL.  III.  2  H 


246 

\  It  is  within  the  notice  of  most  persons,  that  the  variation  of  the  seasons  is  occasifl 
by  the  earth's  motion  round  the  sun,  and  the  gradual  elevation  of  one  pole,  and  the  co 
quent  depression  of  the  other.  As  there  is  one  region  around  the  centre  in  which  the 
perpetual  summer,  so  there  is  at  the  poles,  alternately,  endless  winter ;  and  the  yea 
divided  into  one  long  day  in  which  the  sun  never  sets,  and  one  long  night  in  which  he  1 
never  seen.  Between  this  unchanging  summer  and  endless  winter,  every  variety  of  cllmati 
and  of  heat,  and  of  cold,  and  of  vegetable  productions,  is  to  be  found.  We  must  leave  t 
the  researches  of  young  aspiring  minds,  to  trace  out  the  connection  which  necessarily  exirt 
between  this  variety,  and  the  enterprise,  employment,  comfort,  Improvement,  and  happinei 
of  the  human  race.  It  would  be  an  easy  and  a  pleasing  labour  to  show,  that  from  thes 
.sources  may  be  drawn  innumerable  proofs  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Creator,  ii 
adapting  man  to  use  the  products  of  his  bounty,  and  in  adapting  these  products  to  his  uae 
Still  more  pleasing  would  it  be  to  demonstrate,  that,  principally  from  this  variety  of  vegeta 
ble  product,  the  intercourse  and  consequent  refinement  of  mankind  is  directly  or  remotel; 
derived.  In  short,  that  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  more  than  from  any  other,  and  al 
other  sources  together,  in  some  form,  varied  as  it  may  be  by  art  and  science,  come  all  th 
commercial  dealings  of  nations.  But  this  is  only  incidental  to  the  illustration  intendet 
to  be  made. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  intrude  into  the  department  of  natural  history.  This  isi 
source,  no  doubt,  of  pure  religious  emotion,  and  of  pious  reverence,  in  all  its  varieties  am 
divisions.  We  only  allude  to  illustrate  the  object  in  view ;  we  do  not  treat  of  it,  though  w 
know  not  of  any  study  which  is  better  adapted  to  enlarge  and  elevate  the  mind,  and  impron 
the  heart  of  man,  than  that  of  the  natural  world,  when  engaged  in,  and  pursued  with  tb 
conviction,  that  we  are  perusing  the  volume  which  God  has  opened  for  our  instruction,  in 
tending  thereby  to  disclose  himself  through  means  adapted  to  our  earthly  condition. 

The  vegetable  world  has  this  In  a  manner  so  peculiar  to  itself,  that  it  is  every  where,  li 
every  grade,  from  first  formation  to  decay,  pleasing  and  beautiful  to  the  human  mind.     Evei  \ 
those  vegetable  substances  which  contain,  by  some  unknown  law,  qualities  which  are  poison 
ous,  pain-imparting,  or  life-destroying  to  man,  are  nevertheless  beautful  in  their  growth  ani 
development.     There  are  general  laws  prescribed  to  the  vegetable  as  there  are  to  the  anima  ■ 
kingdom.     To  these  laws  all  that  is  nourished  by  the  earth,  refreshed  and  fed  by  moistur 
from  the  clouds,  or  warmed  and  expanded  by  the  beams  of  the  sun,  must  submit  and  conform  • 
Yet  so  varied  is  vegetable  being,  that  if  its  varieties  were  not  organized  and  fitted  to  rende 
submission  and  obedience,  they  could  have  no  place  in  the  scale  of  creation. 

The  most  Imposing  object  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  the  solemn  forest-     Single  tree 
on  a  plain,  or  a  sufficient  number  to  form  a  grove,  are  objects  of  beauty,  and  consequently  o 
pleasure.     The  dark  close  forest  carries  the  mind  back  through  an  indefinite  lapse  of  time  i 
and  conveys  to  it  a  sentiment  of  the  actual  presence  of  the  work  of  the  Creator,  as  it  cam' 
from  his  hand,  unchanged  by  any  act  of  man.     With  this  seeming  of  originality  on  it,  yet  thi  • 
long-enduring  forest,  which  appears  ever  the  same,  is  silently  and  hourly  submitting  to  tin 
laws  of  nature,  ever  varying  and  changing;    and  though  life,  among  its  members,  likej 
among  the  members  of  the  human  family,  has  its  limits ;  and  within  some  definite  term|| 
one  of  all  that  are  seen  will  remain  ;  yet  it  is  still  the  forest,  to  the  human  eye.     Fromi 
most  deep-rooted  and  long-enduring  of  this  vast  assembly,  down  to  the  many  perfect  vege 


:eJifij 

I 

nrali 

vege 

I 


247 

ibles  which  are  invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  there  are  general  laws  of  beginning,  continuing, 
Lid  ending  the  term  of  life.  Yet  between  these  extremes,  there  are  many  genera  or  kinds, 
ipable  of  definite  and  well-understood  classification.  Among  these  classes,  each  has  its 
fin  order  of  being;  and  these  are  again  subdivided,  and  known  by  distinctions  of  form,  in- 
rnal  structure,  and  in  foliage,  in  flowers,  in  fruits,  in  juices,  and  fragrance.  Each  of  them 
jems  to  have  been  given  for  some  purpose,  pleasing,  convenient,  or  necessary  to  the  animal 
jngdom.  This  is  the  inexhaustible  treasury  for  the  supply  of  life,  for  the  restoration  of 
balth,  for  the  rejoicing  of  the  senses,  for  daily  necessities,  and  luxurious  gratification. 
j  The  continuance  of  vegetable  life,  unaided  by  human  ingenuity,  is  provided  for  by  na- 
!ral  causes.  They  bear  about  the  germinating  influence  ;  yet,  however  close  the  neigh- 
lurhood  of  various  orders  may  be,  there  is  no  confusion  from  age  to  age,  nor  is  the  order  of 
iiture  ever  deranged  or  impaired.  It  is  this  regularity  of  the  laws  of  the  Creator  that  we 
e  called  on  to  reverence.  It  is  the  adaptation  of  vegetable  to  animal  life  that  commands 
•ir  gratitude,  while  it  adds  another,  to  the  many  proofs  of  One  infinite  and  adorable  Mind. 
On  a  sphere  so  variegated  as  we  know  our  own  to  be,  and  forming  as  we  see  it  does 
jm  its  amosphere,  its  waters,  its  minerals,  its  vegetables,  a  place  fitted  for  use,  and  intended 
be  used,  the  purpose  of  Creation  would  seem  to  have  failed,  if  it  were  not  inhabited. 
II  those  animals  which  are  inferior  to  man  have  been  most  diligently  examined,  and  di- 
ded  into  classes  by  learned  naturlists.  The  several  genera  and  the  species  belonging  to 
ch  have  been  accurately  defined.  It  is  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  go  into  detail  in  this  de- 
jrtment  of  natural  history.  The  present  purpose  will  be  accomplished  if  attention  can 
awakened  to  some  general  truths,  which  prove  in  this,  and  in  all  other  parts  of  created 
ing,  the  original  and  continuing  presence  of  the  Author  of  the  Universe. 

The  first  fact  that  strikes  us  is  the  exact  order  which  prevails  throughout  animated  being. 
ich  family  of  the  animal  kingdom  has  its  peculiar  place  assigned  to  it ;  to  that  place  it  is 
rfectly  adapted,  and  to  none  other.  In  that  appropriate  sphere  it  comes  into  being,  finds 
own  share  in  the  created  world  ;  in  that  it  continues,  and  in  that  it  expires.  All  its  in- 
ncts,  propensities,  faculties,  pleasures,  aversions,  enmities,  and  wars,  have  their  own  pe- 
liar  objects.  For  each  of  these  innumerable  classes,  from  the  elephant  to  the  smallest 
ite  that  the  microscope  discloses  to  us  on  the  dried  fruit,  or  the  purest  lily's  leaf,  and  in 
transparent  drop  of  spring  water,  there  are  laws  of  being,  far  more  definite  and  far 
we  faithfully  obeyed,  than  any  which  proud  intellectual  man  can  make  and  enforce. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  it  is  inconsistent  with  divine  benevolence,  that  some  animated 
ings  are  necessary  to  others  as  food.  A  moment's  reflections  will  show  that  this  objection 
anot  be  maintained  consistently  with  obvious  laws.  If  some  sorts  of  animals  did  not  prey 
others,  the  common  food  must  be  vegetable.  Suppose  all  animals  and  insects  were  left  to 
Jrease  in  numbers,  as  we  know  they  would  do,  and  all  were  to  find  food  from  vegetable 
uducts,  how  long  would  it  probably  be  before  all  of  them  would  perish  for  want  of  food  ? 
pposlng  existence  a  benefit,  and  considering  the  numbers  that  escape  destruction,  it  will 
found  that  this  provision,  so  complained  of,  is  consistent  with  general  laws,  and,  conse- 
ently,  with  the  benevolence  of  the  Deity.  In  the  ocean,  if  the  same  law  as  to  food  did 
t  prevail,  its  inhabitants  would  soon  come  to  an  end.  It  is  known  that  one  fish  may  pro- 
ce  millions  offish.  If  the  increase  were  permitted  according  to  this  scale,  and  some  fish 
TO  not  consumed  by  others,  it  seems  that  the  whole  would  perish  for  want  of  food. 


248 

Let  us  examine  two  or  three  instances  of  the  organization  of  animals.     Seeing  i 
cessary  to  all  animals,  because  all  of  them  are,  in  some  way,  connected  with  objects  whifl 
external  to  them.     The  law  of  vision  depends  on  general  laws,  connected  with  light,  ai 
the  action  to  which  rays  of  light  are  subjected,  in  passing  through  substances  which  p 
this  passage.     It  might,  therefore,  seem  to  us  that  there  must  be  one  sort  of  constructs 
the  eye  adapted  to  act  with  reference  to  one  uniform  and  invariable  law  of  nature. 
principle  on  which  vision  depends  mast  be  the  same  in  all  eyes,  that  is,  on  having 
image  of  the  object  seen  transferred  through  some  medium  to  the  sensitive  nerve  adaptec 
receive  it.     The  general  law,  therefore,  is  this  :  the  existence  of  the  object  seen  must  be 
such  a  relation  to  the  animal  seeing  it,  that  its  image  can  be  impressed,  by  the  help  of  lig 
on  the  proper  space  in  the  interior  of  the  eye.     But  that  which  excites  our  wonder  is,  i 
endless  variety,  among  the  diflferent  orders  of  beings,  by  which  the  eye  is  adapted  to  its  du 
and  the  means  given  to  preserve  it  in  a  fit  state  for  use.     The  exceeding  senativeness  oft 
eye  would  expose  it  to  irreparable  injury,  and  it  might  soon  be  destroyed,  if  such  me) 
were  not  given.     In  the  human  form,  in  which  the  hand  appears,  the  injuries  to  the  e; 
may  be  remedied  by  the  use  of  that  member. 

Among  animals  which  have  not  that  member,  nature  has  provided  other  means  to  t 
end.  Birds,  generally,  and  many  animals,  and  the  horse  among  others,  have  a  third  ej 
lid,  the  constant  action  of  which  may  be  easily  observed,  and  so  curiously  adapted  to  u 
that  it  can  be  passed  over  the  outer  surface  of  the  eye  in  almost  every  instant,  and  by 
action,  all  oflfending  substances  are  wiped  away.  On  examination,  it  is  found  that  t 
eyelid  moves  on  mechanical  principles  well  understood,  but  in  this  instance  marvellou: 
applied. 

The  keenness  of  visioi>  in  birds  of  prey,  which  see  at  very  great  distances,  and  a 
at  very  short  ones,  requires  another  conformity  to  the  general  law.  The  eye  of  these  ai 
mals  is,  therefore,  so  constructed,  that  it  can,  by  means  of  pliable  scales  on  the  outside  of  I 
the  ball  of  the  eye,  and  by  muscles  drawn  over  them,  so  diminish  or  enlarge  the  size  of  1 
eye,  that  it  will  perform  its  duty  as  to  an  object,  however  near  or  distant  it  may  be.  T! 
power  of  vision  enables  birds  to  see  from  their  airy  elevation,  far  beyond  the  reach  oft 
human  eye,  over  a  wide  extent,  and  to  discern  their  food,  and  with  surprising  sagacity  th 
submit  themselves  to  the  gravitating  power,  and  arrive  at  the  earth's  surface  with  a  rapidi 
which  would  seem  to  be  necessarily  followed  by  destruction  from  the  contact.  This  ke« 
ness  of  vision  seems  to  enable  then  to  know  whether  the  object  seen  is  living  or  dead,  thou 
the  position  of  the  body  may  be  the  same  in  either  case. 

Another  variation  is  seen  in  the  fixed  eye  of  the  insect  race,  and  in  the  position  of  ' 
One  or  two  instances  will  sufficiently  illustrate  this.  In  the  common  fly  are  seen  two  sm  I 
round  projections  at  the  side  of  the  head.  These  projections  contain  many  thousands  1 
lenses  disposed  in  rows,  each  one  of  which  is  capable  of  transmitting  an  impression  of  w 
ward  objects.  A  German  naturalist  counted  6236  in  the  two  eyes  of  a  silk  worm.  Anotb  ■ 
naturalist  counted  14,000  in  the  eyes  of  a  drone  fly,  27,000  in  the  eyes  of  a  dragon  fly. 
has  been  proved  by  actual  experiment,  with  the  help  of  glasses,  that  each  one  of  these  \fM\ 
was  capable  of  receiving  an  independent  and  distinct  impression.  The  inference  seen^fl 
cessarily  to  be,  that  the  retina  of  these  insects  may  receive,  at  the  same  time,  some  thousfl  > 
of  impressions  without  any  confusion,  which  is  far  more  >\onderful  than  the  single  im.pressi  , 


I 


249 

adeon  the  retina  of  our  own  species,  and  on  these  of  other  animals,  who  have  two  eyes, 
ith  a  retina  for  each. 

As  we  have  no  other  purpose  than  to  awaken  curiosity  and  thought  in  relation  to  the 
itural  world,  we  must  leave  this  inexhaustible  subject  to  the  inquiring  and  well  disposed, 
hfey  may  feel  assured,  that  the  thoughtless  hours  which  they  pass  in  early  life  may  be  made 
structive  and  happy,  if  they  will  examine  the  natural  world,  not  as  a  mere  show,  but  as 
•oofs  of  that  Power  and  Benevolence  by  which  themselves  and  the  minutest  insect  were 
ike  gifted  with  existence. 


SANDY  WOOD'S  PLAN  OF  SUPPORTING  A  WIFE. 
The  eccentric  and  well-remembered  Sandrj  Wood,  an  eminent  surgeon  in  Edinburgh,  at 
e  out-set  of  his  professional  career  married  Miss  Veronica  Chalmers,  second  daughter  of 
eorge  Chalmers,  W.  S.,  a  highly  respectable  man,  and  to  whose  honesty  and  integrity  his 
llow-citizens.  bore  the  most  ample  testimony,  by  giving  hin)  the  popular  title  of  "  Honest 
eorge  Chalmers."  This  marriage  turned  out  very  fortunate  for  both  parties,  though  before 
took  place,  there  was  a  danger  of  it  being  impeded  by  the  poverty  of  the  intended  hus- 
md.  It  is  related  that  Mr.  Wood,  on  obtaining  consent  of  the  lady,  proposed  himself  to 
T.  Chalmers  as  his  son-in  law,  when  that  gentleman  addressed  him  thus: — "Sandy,  1 
ive  not  the  smallest  objection  to  you  :  but  I  myself  am  not  rich,  and  should  therefore  like 
know  how  you  are  to  support  a  wife  and  family."  Mr.  Wood,  putting  his  hand  in  his 
3cket,  and  taking  out  his  lancet-case,  with  a  scarlet  garter  rolled  round  it,  presenting  it  to 
im,  said,  "  I  have  nothing  but  this.  Sir,  and  a  determination  to  use  my  best  endeavours  to 
icceed  in  my  profession."  Mr.  Chalmers  was  so  struck  with  this  straight  forward  and 
onest  reply,  that  he  honestly  e.xclaimed,  "  Veronica  is  yours." — Chambers'  Journal. 

LORD  STANHOPE'S  CALCULATION  ABOUT  SNUFF-TAKING. 

Every  professed,  inveterate,  and  incurable  snufF-taker,  at  a  moderate  computation, 
ikes  one  pinch  in  ten  minutes.  Every  pinch,  with  the  agreeable  ceremony  of  blowing 
ad  wiping  the  nose,  and  other  incidental  circumstances,  consumes  a  minute  and  a  half. 
Ine  minute  and  a  half  out  of  every  ten,  allowing  sixteen  hours  to  a  snuff- taking  day, 
mounts  to  two  hours  and  twenty-four  minutes  out  of  every  natural  day,  or  one  day  out  of 
;n.  One  day  out  of  every  ten  amounts  to  thirty-six  days  and  a  half  in  the  ycai'.  Hence, 
we  suppose  the  practice  to  be  persisted  in  for  forty  years,  two  entire  years  of  the  snuflF- 
iker's  life  will  be  dedicated  to  tickling  his  nose,  and  two  more  to  blowing  it.  The  expence 
f  snuff-boxes  and  handkerchiefs  will  be  the  subject  of  a  second  essay,  in  which  it  will  ap- 
ear  that  this  luxury  encroaches  as  much  on  the  income  of  the  snufF-taker  as  it  does  on  his 
me,  and  that  by  proper  application  of  the  time  and  money  thus  lost  to  the  public,  a  fund 
light  be  constituted  for  the  discharge  of  the  national  debt. — Ibid. 
ICELANDIC  ADMONITIONS. 

A  venerable  Icelandic  writer,  who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  gives  the 
jllowing  excellent  advices  for  self-government,  which,  it  may  surprise  many  a  one,  should 
lome  from  such  a  country,  and  from  so  remote  a  period.  "  Accustom  thyself  to  a  busy  and 
l^akeful  life,  but  not  so  as  to  injure  health  by  over  exertion.  Keep  aloof  from  sadness,  for 
adness  is  sickness  of  soul.  Be  kind  and  gay,  equable  and  changeable  [that  is,  of  easy  man- 
ers,  and  not  stiff.]     Avoid  evil  speaking,  and  give  your  counsel  to  him  who  will  accept  it. 


250 

Seek  the  company  of  the  best  men.  Keep  thy  tongue  carefully :  it  may  honour — it 
also  condemn  thee.  If  thou  wax  angry,  speak  little,  and  that  little  not  vehemently,  , 
would  give  gold  sometimes  to  buy  back  a  passionate  word,  and  I  know  of  nothing  th 
destroys  unity  as  the  exchange  of  evil  language,  especially  in  the  moment  of  strife  j  and 
is  no  nobler,  no  higher  power  than  that  by  which  a  man  can  keep  his  own  tongue  from 
ing,  slandering,  and  other  foolish  prate.  There  are  other  things  to  be  avoided  like  the 
himself, — as  sensual  excesses,  gaming,  wagers,  and  other  improprieties  and  vices.  1 
are  the  roots  of  many  worse  evils,  and  unless  great  care  be  taken,  will  hand  thee  over  to 
shame  and  sin." — Chambers'  Journal. 

DE.\FNESS  OF  THE  AGED. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  hear  old  people  utter  querulous  complaints  with 
gard  to  their  increasing  deafness ;  but  those  who  do  so  are  not  perhaps  aware  that  this  in 
mity  is  the  result  of  an  express  and  wise  arrangement  of  Providence  in  constructing 
human  body.  The  gradual  loss  of  hearing  is  effected  for  the  best  of  purposes ;  it  beinj 
give  ease  and  quietude  to  the  decline  of  life,  when  any  noises  or  sounds  from  without  wo 
but  discompose  the  enfeebled  mind,  and  prevent  peaceful  meditation.  Indeed,  the  grad 
■withdrawal  of  all  the  senses,  and  the  perceptible  decay  of  the  frame,  in  old  age,  have  bi 
wisely  ordained  in  order  to  wean  the  human  mind  from  the  concerns  and  pleasures  of 
world,  and  to  induce,  a  longing  for  a  more  perfect  state  of  existence. — Ibid. 

GAMBLING. 

The  gambler  is  a  person  given  up  to  delusive  hopes  of  acquiring  wealth  without  wm 
ing  for  it.  In  general,  we  find  moral  writers  and  dramatisU,  in  their  endeavours  to  ch( 
this  vice,  go  no  farther  than  to  show  the  horrible  results  which  are  apt  to  spring  from 
indulgence.  It  might  be  advantageous,  also,  to  explain  the  rational  principles  upon  wh: 
gambling  is  a  worse  means  of  endeavouring  to  obtain  money  than  an  industrious  course 
life.  To  assume  a  language  which  will  be  intelligible  to  those  who  are  addicted  to  it,  it 
attended  with  a  worse  chance  of  ending  in  the  desired  result.  If  twenty  persons  are  f 
gaged  in  one  street,  each  in  his  own  honest  business,  it  is  certain  that  some  profit  will 
made  amongst  them,  so  that  most  of  them,  at  least,  will  be  able  to  exist  without  comi 
upon  their  capital.  But  if  twenty  persons  be  engaged  as  industriously  in  gambling,  i( 
certain  that  no  profit  will  be  made  amongst  them :  on  the  contrary,  money  will  be  lost 
paying  for  the  rooms,  and  for  the  materials  of  the  sport.  Supposing  the  twenty  perso 
were  kept  by  themselves,  and  that  they  began  with  a  considerable  stock  of  money  amoD| 
them  they  would  by  and  by  find  themselves  reduced  to  pennilessness,  by  reason  of  tl 
constant  drain  upon  their  resources.  Now,  if  money  cannot  be  made  by  any  commuDl 
of  gamblers  among  themselves,  whathope  is  there,  except  in  that  vanity  and  self-love  wW 
speaks  delusively  to  every  bosom,  that  an  individual  will  enrich  himself?  Evidently  n« 
whatever.  Thus  gambling,  in  every  case  where  it  does  not  suppose  a  simpleton  to  be  p: 
laged,  is  proved  a  mere  fallacy ;  while  in  cases  where  that  is  supposed,  it  is  the  meanest,  b 
cause  the  safest  of  robberies.  In  no  point  of  view  can  there  be  any  advantage  in  this  coik 
of  life;  for  if  wealth  be  lost,  it  produces  all  the  usual  evils  of  that  contingency;  if  it  be  gai] 
it  never  thrives,  and  is  apt  to  be  again  quickly  lost,  either  by  play,  or  by  irregular  and 
pensive  living.  Upon  the  whole,  while  some  must  be  greater  losers  than  others,  there  ; 
general  chance  in  favour  of  the  gambler,  as  there  is  in  favour  of  the  honest  and  industt 


251 

an:  he  is  almost  certain  of  being,  in  the  long-run,  worse  than  when  he  began.  He  may 
I  compared,  indeed,  to  a  merchant  who  exposes  his  capital  to  an  almost  absolute  certainty 
.  being  impaired  by  assuming  a  line  of  speculations  in  which  the  chance  of  loss  is  invariably 
IJidipalpably  greater  than  the  chance  of  gain.  The  only  individual  vrho  can  thrive  by  this 
iihappy  vice  is  the  person  who  keeps  the  gaming-house  :  the  players,  as  a  whole,  must  be 
Isers. — Chambers'  Journal. 


SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

Dear  Sir, — In  connection  with  ministerial  labour,  or  rather  the  want  of  it,  if  we  notice 
;!iat  it  is  that  enables  ministers  to  secure  congregations  capable  of  giving  them  their  salaries, 
Ijtwithstanding  their  daily,  nay,  we  may  say,  avowed  neglect,  we  shall  find  Sunday  schools 
Ij  be  their  grand  resource,  out  of  which  they  hope  to  draft  congregations,  without  having 
e  trouble  of  going  from  house  to  house ;  thus  evading  the  Scriptural  example  of  a  gospel 
inistry.  That  Sunday  schools  are  unnatural,  and  subversive  of  a  Scriptural  ministry,  I 
ink  it  will  be  no  difficult  matter  to  prove. 

In  partitioning  out  the  land  of  Canaan,  we  find  the  Levites  stationed  in  different  places, 
*  the  express  purpose  of  instructing  the  people,  and,  by  a  natural  inference,  this  must  be 
going  about  amongst  them,  as  they  had  at  that  time  no  place  of  worship  but  one.  And 
shua,  in  his  Instructions  to  them,  does  not  say,  let  us  build  schools,  and  take  the  children 
im  the  parents  on  the  Sabbath  to  instruct  them,  but,  "as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will 
rve  the  Lord."  When  Moses  commanded  the  people  about  the  rising  generation,  he  gives 
'directions  about  Sunday  schools,  but  to  the  parent  he  says,  "  and  thou  shalt  talk,  or  in- 
'uct  thy  children  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  or  as  thou  walkest  by  the  way ;"  con- 
iering,  no  doubt,  that  he  had  amply  provided  for  the  general  instruction  of  the  people  by 
tting  apart  one  tribe  for  that  purpose,  if  they  did  their  duty. 

In  all  our  Saviour's  ministry  we  find  no  intimation  about  taking  the  children  from  the 
rents,  for  religious  instruction,  either  on  one  day  or  another.  In  the  apostles'  writings 
sfind  no  instructions  respecting  children,  but  for  parents  "to  bring  them  up  in  the  nur- 
re'and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 

Sunday  schools  are  thus  not  only  without  any  warrant  in  Scripture,  but  are  directly 
Iculated,  in  their  operation,  to  free  parents  from  the  important  duty  of  training  their  off- 
ring  themselves,  and  are  made  use  of  as  a  substitute  for  that  incessant  labour  which  Christ's 
inisters  ought  to  adopt,  to  induce  all  the  families  of  the  earth  to  fear  the  Lord.  If  the 
*80n  of  the  parish,  or  the  minister  of  the  district,  had  done  his  duty,  and  there  had  been 
Sunday  schools,  in  all  probability  parents  would  have  been  attenders  at  some  place  of 
ffship,  and  leading  their  own  children  by  the  hand,  instead  of  committing  them  to  inex- 
rienced  hands,  as  the  imperative  duty  of  the  minister,  in  that  case,  would  be  to  show  the 
.rent  the  sin  and  cruelty  of  neglecting  the  fruit  of  his  own  body. 

In  proving  that  Sunday  schools  are  contrary  to  nature,  I  would  just  state,  that  on  a 
te  occasion  of  a  general  holiday,  one  thousand  children  paraded  the  streets;  and  however 
me  might  call  it  a  fine  sight,  I  could  not  help  contemplating  it  with  anguish  of  mind,  and 
flections  like  these:  What  a  sight!  here  are  a  thousand  children,  with  not  one  mother, 
id',  most  likely,  not  one  father  amongst  them !  surely,  the  state  of  society  is  not  right. 
oes  not  all  nature  and  every  precept  and  example  in  the  Bible  teach  that  these  children 
ight  to  be  along  side  of  their  parents  ?     Can  all  the  care  of  young,  inexperienced  men  and 


252 

women,  and  all  the  coffee  and  buns  given  on  such  occasions,  compensate  the  want  of  pai 
care  ?  Is  it  possible  that  parents  can  think,  if  they  think  at  all  (I  mean  those  parents  w 
do  go  to  some  place  of  worship,  and  yet  never  take  their  children)  that  God  will 
as  a  sufficient  excuse,  at  the  last  day,  for  their  neglect,  their  having  sent  them 
Sunday  school  ?  The  very  brutes  that  perish  will  not  entrust  the  care  of  their  offs; 
to  another.  It  is  ever  to  be  regretted,  that  so  many  parents  spend  the  whole  of  the  Sabbi 
in  the  school,  to  the  entire  neglect  of  their  own,  as  to  any  personal  care  of  them.  The  ho: 
and  ass,  the  man  servant  and  maid  servant  rest  from  their  labours,  but  the  little  Sund 
school  scholar  must  be  up  and  away,  or  the  gate  will  be  shut,  or  she  must  sit  at  the  botU 
of  her  class  all  day,  which  produces  angry  feelings  and  unholy  thoughts  on  that  day  whi 
should  be  spent  in  cultivating  love  to  God  and  peace  with  all  mankind. 

How  few  children  love  and  reverence  their  parents !  and  the  principal  cause  is  tfr 
constant  separation,  especially  in  man\ifacturing  districts,  Sunday  and  work  day  the  sam 
all  bustle,  bustle,  in  a  morning,  to  "  get  clear  of  them  to  school :"  thus  taking  away  the  Qt 
time  that  a  labouring  man  has  to  cultivate  even  a  common  intimacy  with  his  own  childo 

If  the  reader  of  this  article  will  inquire  amongst  the  serious  part  of  the  communii 
he  will  find  that  these  are  not  mere  theories  written  for  the  sake  of  finding  fault,  but  ri 
facts  known  and  lamented  by  many.  And  however  harsh  these  observations  may  soun4 
the  ears  of  the  zealous  Sunday  school  teacher,  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  ultimate  utility  of  si] 
schools  in  forming  a  steady  religious  community  has  been  a  problem  with  many  we 
informed  Christians  these  thirty  years;  that  though  tens  of  thousands  of  children  go 
school  while  young,  the  number  that  are  at  all  established  in  a  Christian  life  are  very  fi 
indeed;  that  they  have  now  been  in  full  operation  twenty  years,  and  yet  the  state  of  socle 
i«  not  a  bit  better.  Their  inefficiency  is  therefore  most  apparent,  and  it  is  evident  they  c 
never  make  up  for  the  idleness  of  ministers,  and  the  immense  distance  there  is  betwe 
them  and  the  people. 

All  the  world,  at  least  all  the  religious  world,  is  gone  out  after  Sunday  schools,  a| 
well  they  may,  while  they  pin  their  faith  on  the  sleeve  of  the  clergy,  who  find  it  to  tlu 
interest  and  ease  to  cry  them  up,  notwithstanding  their  inadaptation  to  obtain  the  end  i 
which  a  Scriptural  ministry  was  established.  If  an  annual  sermon  and  about  two  houi 
attendance  on  a  Sabbath  are  to  stand  in  place  of  "five  or  six  afternoons"  of  hard  labo 
amongst  the  people,  at  their  own  houses,  they  may  well  worship  this  great  Diana  of  ti 
parsons. 

It  is  a  bold  assertion  to  make,  in  the  face  of  all  the  popularity  of  this  Sunday  systfi 
of  education,  that  I  hope  to  see  the  day  when  there  will  be  no  Sunday  schools,  as  religip 
seminaries,  and  that  the  ministers  of  religion  will  see  the  necessity  of  beginning  at  the  rig 
end  of  their  work,  by  endeavouring  with  all  their  might  to  make  the  tree  good,  that  the 
may  be  good  also.     We  should  certainly  think  that  gardener  insane  who  should  wasti 
time  and  money  in  stuffing  his  plums  with  sugar,  because  his  trees  were  so  old  and 
lected  that  they  would  bear  nothing  but  sour  fruit,  instead  of  pruning  them  and  digj 
about  them  to  mend  their  flavour.     So,  if  godly  ministers  will  dig  about,  dress,  and  pi 
the  poor  ignorant  people  in  their  own  neighbourhoods,  we  shall  soon  see  a  plentiful  har: 
and  no  use  whatever  for  Sunday  schools,  as  every  parent  so  taught  will  see  the  responsilJ! 
he  is  under  to  God  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  his  children.     That  this  m, 
the  state  of  things,  and  soon,  is  the  constant  prayer  of,  Sir,  yours  respectfully,      J.  Ri 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

It  would  be  gratifying  to  most  of  us,  to  receive,  monthly,  correct  intelligence  as  to  the 
FOgress  and  success  of  the  temperance  cause  throughout  the  world.  But  as  nobody  is  un- 
er  an  obligation,  few  will  give  themselves  the  trouble  to  draw  up  the  necessary  statements 
■om  time  to  time.  And  unless  correct  accounts  could  be  given  of  the  societies,  of  their 
umbers,  and  steadfastness,  I  think  it  is  much  better  not  to  run  the  risk  of  misleading  the 
ublic  by  unauthenticated  statements.  The  principles  of  temperance  are  undoubtedly  ex- 
mding  themselves ;  and  many  are  beginning  to  question  the  virtues  of  those  liquors  which, 
t  one  time,  were  drunk  amidst  the  praises  of  all.  The  lectures  and  speeches  which  are 
elivered,  the  tracts  which  are  circulated,  and  the  personal  visitation  to  the  houses  of  intem- 
erate  persons,  are  calculated,  of  themselves,  to  effect  much  good.  But  by  the  organization 
f  societies,  this  work  is  likely  to  be  still  more  effectually  carried  on.  Many  have  been 
)rmed,  some  of  which  worked  well  for  a  time,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  I  know  not  a  few, 
lat,  if  they  are  not  extinct,  are  almost  inoperative.  Considering  the  importance  of  the  ob- 
;ct  to  be  accomplished,  it  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  every  engine  for  the  suppression  of 
itemperance  should  not  be  in  full  operation.  To  what,  then,  is  the  decline  of  Temperance 
ocieties  attributable  ? 

First,  to  an  inconsistency  in  the  principles,  which  is  productive  of  numbers  of  inconsist- 
nt  members.  Instead  of  opposing  the  use  of  all  intoxicating  liquors,  and  insisting  upon 
lie  evils  of  each  being  in  proportion  to  the  intoxicating  principle  contained,  ardent  spirits 
lone  are  attacked,  and  wine  and  malt  liquor  ave  not  at  all  interdicted,  but  even  in  some 
ases  recommended.  Why  call  upon  the  people  of  many  districts  to  deny  themselves  of 
hat  which  they  never  take,  and  for  which  their  habits  lead  them  to  have  no  inclination  ? 
t  is  ale  and  wine  which  ruins,  at  least,  this  part  of  the  country  ;  and  while  the  labouring 
lass  are  encouraged  to  drink  ale,  tmd  remain  deceived  as  to  its  properties,  and  while  the 
entleman  and  tradesman  can  take  their  wine  after  dinner,  no  wonder,  with  such  inconsist- 
■ncies,  that  we  should  have  to  complain  of  the  want  of  success. 

Secondly,  the  patronage  of  great  names,  and  the  appointment  of  the  rich  as  leaders, 
nay  appear  to  give  a  society  importance,  but  they  often  retard  its  operations.  To  work 
gaiust  all  the  causes  and  practices  of  intemperance,  is  not  congenial  to  the  habits  of  the  rich ; 
hey  will  not  engage  in  it  themselves  in  a  manner  likely  to  produce  effect,  and  their  appear- 
ng  in  the  character  of  leaders  tends  to  prevent  plain  working  men  from  coming  out  to 
■ender  assistance.  If  they  would  work,  there  is  no  objection  to  men  of  rank  or  wealth,  but 
\hey  will  not,  and  hence,  such  should  never  be  placed  as  leaders  in  a  society.  All  our  expe- 
(ience  comes  to  this,  that  where  the  meetings  are  free  from  the  overawing  control  of  the 
'ich,  and  are  perfectly  open  to  the  working  people,  and  where  they  occupy  most  of  the  time 
l.t  the  meetings  by  their  simple,  but  heart-reaching  statements,  the  societies  get  on  and 
)rosper. 

■•    A  third  evil  is  the  want  of  agitation.     The  engines  of  intemperance  are  at  work  seven 
lays  in  the  week,  and  almost  night  and  day,  and  yet  in  some  places  it  is  thought  sufficient 
VOL.  III.  2  I 


254 


to  have  a  single  meeting  in  favour  of  temperance,  once  a  month.     Surely,  an  hour  ad 
half  once  a  week,  cannot  be  too  often  ;  and  if  the  friends  will  only  meet  to  talk  to  one  anothei 
instead  of  trying  to  make  speeches,  they  will  find  plenty  of  matter  for  edification.     Besy 
meetings,  tracts  should  be  freely  circulated ;  and  above  all,  the  houses  of  delinquentsfl 
drunkards  should  be  regularly  visited.     This  may  be  done  any  time,  but  Sunday  mornii 
are  generally  found  the  best.     It  is  a  good  plan  to  visit  the  jerry  shops,  and  to  stand  at  th 
fronts  of  the  dram  shops,  and  deliver  to  the  deluded  victims  who  frequent  these  places  shoi 
admonitory  tracts  or  hand  bills.     In  fact,  if  a  man  wish  to  promote  the  cause  of  temperanc« 
he  must  notice  the  strong  holds  of  the  enemy ;    and  if  a  society  wish  to  prosper,  it  mus 
never  cease  to  agitate. 

Fourthly,  societies  have  suffered  much  through  the  inconsistencies  of  the  members 
their  numbers  having  become  so  large  as  to  be  unmanageable.  This  is  owing  partly  to  th 
want  of  a  system  of  oversight  in  the  societies,  but  principally  to  the  loose  method  of  admit 
ting  members.  In  no  other  societies  are  persons  admitted  as  they  are  in  Temperance  Socie 
ties.  I  have  often  said,  give  me  200  known  consistent  members,  rather  than  2000  upoi 
the  present  loose  method  of  admitting  them.  Many  societies,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  fall  be 
neath  the  weight  of  their  own  heterogeneous  materials.  Many  societies  will  have  to  begii 
again,  and  having  had  the  benefit  of  experience,  no  doubt  will  be  able  to  shape  their  cour* 
more  free  from  the  diflaculties  with  which  they  find  themselves  beset  at  present. 

It  would  be  well,  too,  for  every  society  to  get  established  in  the  neighbourhood,  "I 
Temperance  Coffee  House."  According  to  the  present  customs  of  society,  these  establish' 
ments  are  a  necessary  adjunct,  and  will  be  found  well  calculated  to  serve  this  worthy  cause 

I  am  sorry  to  learn,  that  during  the  race  week,  the  treat  of  the  children  of  some  of  th( 
Sunday  schools,  in  this  town,  consisted,  among  other  things,  of  a  beverage  mixed  with  wine 
What  is  this  but  a  link  in  the  chain  of  intemperance,  and  when  forged  by  the  teachers  ani 
superintendents  of  Sunday  schools,  calculated  to  do  much  harm.  I  remember  one  of  ou 
reformed  drunkards  referring  the  commencement  of  his  career  to  the  influence  oftheliquo 
he  was  induced  to  take  at  a  banquet  belonging  to  the  school  he  attended.  Wine,  howevei 
weak,  sweetened  and  made  palatable,  is  likely  to  lead  the  children  to  think  well  of  it  and  fc 
like  it ;  and  it  will  be  well  if  neither  children  nor  teachers  experience  so  much  of  the  del* 
sive  excitement  as  to  lead  them  to  take  it  more  freely  on  future  occasions. 

The  Preston  Society  proceeds  with  a  steady  pace.  Several  new  societies  within  thi 
last  month  have  also  been  formed,  or  are  about  to  be  formed,  in  the  neighbouring  villages 
particularly  Hoghton,  Mellor,  and  Kirkham.  The  effects  of  the  country  societies  is  already 
visible  in  the  diminished  number  of  drunkards  in  our  town  on  a  market  day.  We  hav< 
lately  had  two  temperance  funerals,  at  which  not  a  drop  of  any  kind  of  intoxicating  liquoi 
was  used.  The  attendants  '.vere  supplied  with  good  coflfee  and  buns.  I  hope  this  ratioua 
change  will  be  universally  adopted.  We  have  also  started  a  Sick  and  Benefit  Society  on  teni' 
perance  principles,  the  most  important  rules  of  which  will  be  found  in  this  number.  And  ii 
any  wish  a  specimen  of  the  zeal  of  some  of  our  members,  I  beg  their  attention  to  thf 
following  "  Missionary  Tour,"  which,  with  great  pleasure,  I  lay  before  the  public. 

TEMPERANCE  MISSIONARY  TOUR. 

Anxious  to  spread  the  principles  of  temperance,  and  if  possible  to  stimulate  some  of  | 
societies  in  this  county  to  increased  exertion,  seven  of  the  members  of  the  Preston  Socie! 


255 

rJncipally  reformed  drunkards,  undertook  a  missionary  tour  during  the  race  week.  Thev 
tarted  on  Monday,  July  8th,  and  visited  Blackburn,  Haslingdcii,  Bury,  Heywood,  Rochdale, 
)ldham,  Ashton,  Stockport,  Manchester,  Bolton,  at  one  or  other  of  which  places  they  held 
tieetings every  day  in  the  week.  They  were  conveyed  by  a  car,  though,  owing  to  their  divid- 
jg  themselves  in  the  evenings,  some  of  them  had  occasionally  to  walk.  They  took  with  them 
,500  tracts,  a  part  of  which  they  sold,  but  about  6,000  of  which  they  distributed  gratui- 
jusly.  Several  societies  which  they  visited  contributed  to  their  expences,  and  what  was  de- 
cient,  besides  their  labour  and  loss  of  time,  they  made  up  themselves.  By  this  mission  the 
pirit  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Society  has  been  pretty  well  diffused. 

Blackburn.  The  party,  after  drawing  up  at  Walton,  and  halting  and  distributing  tracts 
t  some  other  places,  arrived  here.  It  was  the  regular  meeting  night ;  being  the  second  Mon- 
ay  evening  in  the  month.  The  meeting  was  convened  in  the  Music  Hall,  which  was 
uite  filled  with  attentive  hearers.  It  was  addressed  by  three  of  the  Preston  friends,  besides 
iree  others  belonging  to  their  own  Society.  It  was  a  good  meeting,  and  it  is  hoped  will  be 
le  means  of  stimulating  the  Blackburn  friends  to  additional  exertion.  The  party  was  well 
atertained  at  Mr.  Hallam's  Coffee  House,  of  which  they  speak  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise. 

At  Haslingden,  also,  two  meetings  were  held  on  the  Monday  evening,  thefirstin  the  open 
r,  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  at  seven  o'clock,  the  other  in  the  Primitive  Methodist  Chapel, 
1 8  o'clock,  at  which  Mr.  Ramsay,  the  Independent  minister,  presided.  The  chapel  was  fil- 
d  with  an  attentive,  and  apparently  a  deeply  affected  audience  :  a  considerable  number 
lined  the  Society  at  the  close  of  the  meeting.  Before  leaving  Haslingden,  on  the  Tuesday 
renoon,  they  held  another  short  meeting  in  the  street,  which  was  addressed  by  three  or 
lur  of  the  speakers,  to  a  smallish  congregation  consisting  chiefly  of  women. 

Buri/.  Four  of  the  speakers  halted  here  to  hold  a  meeting  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday, 
hich  was  advertised  for  the  school  room,  in  Cierke-street.  Fearing  that  the  attention  of 
le  people  of  Bury  was  not  sufficiently  alive  to  temperance  meetings,  a  cart  was  procured 
nd  sent  through  the  town,  in  which  were  seated  the  bell-man,  who  announced  the  meeting, 
person  carrying  a  large  placard  describing  the  time  and  place,  and  other  persons  distribu- 
ng  tracts.  An  overflowing  meeting  was  the  consequence,  at  which  Mr.  Howarth,  the  Uni- 
irian  minister,  presided.  A  most  excellent  feeling  prevailed,  and  at  the  end  of  the  meeting 
bout  thirty-seven  joined  the  Society,  a  considerable  number  of  whom  were  mechanics,  who 
ad  been  visited  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  especially  invited  by  Mr.  Swindleluirst,one 
f  the  party,  with  whose  previous  life  they  were  well  acquainted. 

Heyivood.  Four  of  the  party  arrived  in  Heywood  on  the  same  evening,  about  the 
jmmencement  of  their  usual  meeting,  upon  which  the  bell  was  sent  round,  which  secured 
pretty  full  attendance.  Another  meeting  was  collected  by  the  same  means,  the  following 
iorning,  adjoining  the  main  street,  at  which  perhaps  about  200  persons  attended.  One  of 
le  mills  was  stopped  to  allow  the  workpeople  an  opportunity  of  hearing. 

Rochdale.  At  Rochdale,  the  friends  had  not  been  able  to  procure  a  suitable  place,  and 
eing  indisposed  to  encourage  out-door  meetings,  no  arrangements  had  been  made.  The 
arty  which  arrived  there  on  the  Tuesday  evening  was  therefore  disappointed,  and  no  mect- 
sg  was  held.  But  not  being  satisfied  to  pass  Rochdale  without  a  meeting,  the  whole  of  the 
)eakersunited  together  on  Wednesday  morning,  and  determined  to  try  what  could  be  done, 
hey  entered  the  town  about  eleven  o'clock,  fixed  upon  a  convenient  out-door  situation 
lUed  "  The  Butts,"  and  proceeded  to  engage  the  services  of  the  bell-man.     As  he  was  not 


:tl 


256 

to  be  found,  they  left  his  usual  fee,  and  took  the  bell  themselves.  The  meeting  was 
for  twelve  o'clock,  so  that  an  hour  was  the  extent  of  time  remaining  in  which  to  give  not 
One  person  drove  the  car,  one  gave  out  tracts,  another  exhibited  a  small  flag,  on  which  1 
gilt  "  Temperance  Meeting,"  and  another  announced,  at  every  halting  place,  all  the  pai 
culars.  By  thus  parading  every  public  street,  a  congregation  was  collected  at  the  ti 
and  place  appointed.  Several  powerful  addresses  were  delivered,  and  although  snearej 
by  a  lawyer,  and  openly  opposed  by  a  liquor  merchant,  it  was  evident  that  many  of 
people  were  deeply  affected. 

Oldham.  Though  the  Society  here  has  been  inoperative  for  some  time,  the  repoi 
the  Preston  advocates  seems  to  have  aroused  the  people.  A  very  large  school  room  bel 
ing  to  the  Methodists  was  provided,  and  the  meeting  was  advertised  by  placards  on 
walls  for  Wednesday  night.  That  frightful  thing,  called  "a  collection  at  the  close  of 
meeting,"  unluckily  was  named  in  the  bill.  To  counteract  the  probable  influence  of 
notice,  and  to  make  the  meeting  better  known,  the  bellman  was  sent  round,  and  announce 
distinctly  that  there  would  be  no  collection.  The  meeting,  though  slender  at  the  commena 
ment,  kept  increasing  till  the  place  was  filled,  and  it  was  carried  on  with  a  spirit  and  a 
energy  which  many  both  felt  and  expressed.  Mr.  Walker,  minister,  presided.  Such  a 
impulse  has  been  given,  it  is  believed,  to  the  temperance  cause  in  that  place,  as  will  lea 
the  friends  to  take  active  measures  to  ensure  its  extension  and  success.  The  speakers  wei 
very  kindly  entertained,  especially  by  some  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Ashton.     In  this  place,  also,  every  arrangement  was  made,   bills  had  been  circulated 
and  the  bellman  was  sent  through  the  town.     A  most  excellent  meeting  was  held  at  whic 

Mr. ,  the  superintendent  Methodist  minister,  presided.    At  the  conclusion,  33  persoi 

signed  the  pledge  of  the  Society,  which  now  consists  of  about  1500  members.  On  no  pre 
vious  occasion,  for  the  same  object,  it  was  said,  had  this  large  school  room  been  so  well  fiUec 
In  Ashton  there  appears  to  be  several  clever,  active  men  as  the  leaders  of  the  Society,  whos 
efforts,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  be  blessed  to  the  good  of  this  town.     Early  on  Thursda 

morning,  a  message  came  from Hindle,  Esq.,  the  unsuccessful  candidate  for  Ashtor 

at  the  last  election,  requesting  the  deputation  from  Preston  to  come  and  breakfast  with  him 
with  which  they  complied.  They  were  much  pleased  with  the  homeliness  both  of  himse 
and  Mrs.  H.,  and  at  the  interest  which  they  evinced  in  the  important  object  of  their  missior 
In  Delamere-street  there  is  a  Temperance  Coffee  House  and  Reading  Room,  which  appear  t 
be  exceedingly  well  managed :  it  is  very  desirable  that  all  friends  to  temperance  should  c 
courage  such  places  as  much  as  possible. 

Stockport  was  like  Rochdale.  The  deputation  entered  the  town  about  three  o'cU 
on  Thursday.  By  some  misunderstanding,  no  place  was  properly  fixed  upon,  and  therefi 
no  notice  was  given ;  about  half-past  six  the  Primitive  Methodist  Chapel  was  obtain 
and  as  the  meeting  was  to  commence  at  eight,  but  an  hour  and  a  half  remained  in  whicl] 
give  the  notice.  The  car,  the  flag,  the  distribution  of  tracts,  and  the  bellman  were  engag 
as  at  Rochdale,  with  this  difference,  that  a  drum,  instead  of  the  bell,  was  made  use  of.  1 
chapel  was  about  two-thirds  full,  and  a  good  meeting  was  held,  at  which  Mr.  Harrison,  sch 
master,  was  chairman.  Some  of  the  leading  friends  of  the  temperance  cause  here,  wh 
first  received  the  visitors  very  coolly,  were  so  satisfied  with  the  meeting,  that  they  u; 
for  one  or  two  to  stay,  if  it  were  possible,  another  night. 

Manchester  is  a  vast  field  for  exertion,  in  which,  whatever  may  have  been  dons 


257 

eat  deal  remains  to  be  accomplished.  The  theatre  of  the  Mechanics'  Institution  was  en- 
.ged  as  the  place  for  meeting.  About  half-past  seven,  I.  Marsden,  Esq.  was  called  to  the 
lair.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  six  of  the  Preston  advocates,  besides  a  short  open- 
g  and  closing  speech  from  the  chairman,  and  was  kept  up  with  spirit  and  interest  till 
out  half-past  ten.  The  theatre  was  filled,  and  the  attendance  consisted  apparently  of  a 
ir  proportion  of  the  upper  and  the  working  classes.  The  speakers  were  constantly  in- 
rrupted  by  the  plaudits  of  the  assembly.  The  scenes  which  are  witnessed  daily  in  Man- 
ester,  at  the  dram  shops,  the  jerry  shops,  in  the  public  houses,  and  in  the  streets,  are  truly 
ipalling.  Public  meetings  may  do  much  towards  exciting  the  energies  of  the  advocates  of 
mperance,  and  for  diffusing  correct  information  among  the  reflecting  part  of  the  people ; 
It  personal  visitation  to  the  houses  and  neighbourhoods  of  drunkards,  and  affectionate 
id  frequent  conversation  with  them,  will  be  found  most  effectual  for  rescuing  them  from 
is  most  disgusting  and  ruinous  vice. — In  Bolton-street,  Salford,  a  Temperance  Coffee 
ouse  and  Reading  Room  have  been  established  for  some  time,  and,  it  is  said,  are  well  ma- 
iged.  Another,  also,  is  starting  in  Oldham-street,  by  Mrs.  Brown,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will 
ceive  the  support  of  all  friends  to  the  temperance  cause. 

At  Bolton,t}n.e  Temperance  Society  has  never  recovered  from  the  shock  occasioned  by  the 
action.  It  has  almost  been  inoperative  for  some  time.  Except  among  the  members  of 
eir  own  congregations,  in  large  towns  like  Bolton,  clergymen,  especially  the  richer  sort, 
ive  but  little  influence  with  the  people.  There  is  a  gulf  over  which  the  parties  cannot 
.ss.  The  Vicar  of  Bolton  has  been  the  leading  character  in  this  Society,  but  there  are 
imbers  of  friends  to  temperance  who  have  not  not  felt  themselves  comfortable  to  act  with 
ni.  By  these,  arrangements  were  made  for  a  meeting  in  the  Independent  Methodists* 
lapel,  on  the  Saturday  evening.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  five  reformed  drunkards, 
id  briefly  by  myself  and  another  friend ;  and  the  tears  which  were  shed,  and  the  other  de- 
oiistrations  of  approbation  which  were  shown,  proved  the  truth  of  their  remark,  "  that  it 
lis  such  a  meeting  as  there  never  was  in  Bolton  before."  Though  my  name  appeared 
eminent  in  the  bill,  as  one  who  would  address  the  meeting,  it  was  considered  advisable  for 
e  to  give  way  to  the  others,  and  to  deliver  a  regular  lecture  upon  the  subject  the  following 
ly.  The  chapel  was  granted,  and  the  lecture  was  announced  for  the  Sunday  afternoon, 
a  quarter  before  five.  On  this  occasion  the  chapel  was  filled  ;  the  lecture  occupied  about 
1  hour  and  a  quarter,  and  was  listened  to  with  great  attention.  It  comprised  a  pretty  ex- 
nsive  view  of  the  prevalency,  causes,  and  effects  of  intemperance,  and  of  the  appropriate 
laracter  of  Temperance  Societies  to  remedy  the  evil. 

In  consequence  of  the  inactivity  and  inefliciency  of  the  Bolton  Society,  many  persons, 
pecially  those  attached  to  the  working  classes,  have  for  some  time'  been  anxious  to  start 
lother  society.  A  number  of  them  met,  on  the  Wednesday  evening  following,  to  make  a 
immencement.  Another  public  meeting  was  accordingly  called  by  adjournment,  in  the 
own  Hall,  for  Monday  evening,  July  22.  I  and  two  others  from  Preston  attended,  and  a 
Jciety  was  formed,  called  "  The  Bolton  New  Temperance  Society,"  The  hall  was  filled, 
1(1  it  was  one  of  the  most  lively  and  spirited  meetings  I  ever  attended.  Although  the 
eeting  was  concluded  late,  fifty-five  names  were  received,  and  most  of  them  to  an  abstinence 
edge.  They  have  engaged  a  place  for  their  meetings,  which  they  intend  to  hold  weekly, 
he  temperance  reformation,  I  do  hope,  has  now  commenced  in  a  way  which  will  be  long 
membered  for  the  benefits  it  will  confer.     The  old  Society  held  its  second  anniversary  on 


258 

the  previous  Friday  evening.     The  school  room  was  crammed,  and  the  meeting  wen 
with  general  satisfaction.  In  Bolton  there  is  an  abundance  of  work  for  both  Societies,  andit'i 
hoped  the  only  rivalship  which  will  be  felt,  is  as  to  which  can  accomplish  the  most  good. 
Our  Missionaries  were  highly  gratified  with  their  visits  to  the  various  towns  alread 
named  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  the  seed  which  has  been  so  abundantly  sown  will  yield  i 
plentiful  increase. 


I 

cie^ 


PRESTON  TEMPERANCE  SICK  SOCIETY. 

The  following  are  a  selection  from  the  Rules  of  the  Preston  Temperance  Sick  Sociel 
They  refer  to  those  points  which  are  peculiar  to  this  Society :  the  remainder  of  the  rule 
are  much  the  same  as  others. 

Rule  1. — Members. 

This  Society  shall  consist  of  male  persons,  of  good  moral  character,  free  from  lamenet 
or  disorder,  (except  such  as  persons  voluntarily  discover  when  they  enter,)  of  any  religiooi 
persuasion,  who  are  not  members  of  any  other  sick  club,  and  who  shall  have  previouslj 
signed  one  of  the  temperance  pledges,  but  no  person  is  considered  a  free  member  or  eligibli 
to  vote  at  any  meetings,  or  to  fill  any  office,  who  has  not  made  good  every  payment  wh 
is  due,  1 

Rule  2. — Admission. 

Any  person  applying  for  admission,  must  be  recommended  by  another  member, 
»ionth  previous  to  the  admission.     He  must  reside  in  Preston,  or  Fishwick ;  and  musi 
betwixt  17  and  35  years  of  age.     Any  member  changing  his  residence  must  give  notice 
it  at  the  next  quarterly  meeting.     All  members  to  be  elected  by  ballot. 

Rule  3. — Payments. 

The  subscription  for  each  member  to  be  three  shillings  per  quarter,  and  an  equal  p 
portion  of  £5.  for  each  funeral.  Also  one  penny  per  quarter  for  the  use  of  the  room, 
entrance  money  to  be  paid.  Any  member  not  paying  up  his  subscriptions  and  fines  at 
end  of  a  quarter,  shall  be  charged  an  extra  threepence  for  each  month  ;  and  if  not  paid  u] 
the  end  of  the  next  quarter,  he  shall  receive  a  notice  of  his  arrears;  andif  they  are  not  paic 
a  month  from  the  date  of  the  notice,  he  shall  be  excluded.  Every  member,  onhisentran 
to  pay  his  first  quarter  in  advance. 

Rule  4. — Allowance. 

Every  sick  member,  whose  sickness  has  not  been  brought  on  by  drinking,  fightii 
wrestling,  or  any  other  immoral  or  illegal  conduct,  and  who  is  not  able  to  follow  his  usi 
employment,  shall  receive  9s.  per  week.  This  allowance  to  be  reduced  two  shillings  at( 
end  of  six  months'  sickness,  and  two  shillings  more  at  the  end  of  twelve  months'  sicknf 
A  member  must  have  declared  ofi"  six  months  before  he  become  liable  to  full  pay  ags 
If  the  fund  should  get  below  £100,  every  sick  member's  allowance  to  be  reduced  Is.  j 
week  for  every  j6l0.  below  that  sum.  £5.  to  be  allowed  for  the  funeral  of  a  member  or 
wife,  to  be  paid  at  twice,  on  the  following  conditions :  £'2.  10s.  first,  for  the  funeral « 
pences  ;  but  if  any  intoxicating  liquor  is  used  at  the  funeral,  in  any  place  to  which  the 
tendants  are  invited,  the  other  half  is  to  be  forfeited.  If  the  widow  of  any  member  conthi 
to  .subscribe  her  equal  share  to  the  funerals,  the  same  sum  will  be  allowed  at  her  funei 
subject  to  the  above  conditions,  whether  she  get  married  again  or  not.      Members  arriv: 


259 

75  years  of  age,  will  be  allowed  2s.  per  week,  and  at  80,  3s.  per  week,  for  life.  No  sick 
oney  to  be  allowed  to  any  member  after  he  is  75  years  of  age. 
Rule  14. — Meetings, 
The  president,  clerk,  and  stewards  shall  meet  the  first  Monday  night  in  each  month, 
om  8  to  10  o'clock,  to  receive  subscriptions.  The  months  of  May,  August,  November,  and 
ebruary,  shall  be  considered  quarterly  meetings.  The  committee  must  meet  at  the  same 
ours,  every  quarterly  night.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  members,  to  be  held  on  Whit- 
londay,  to  receive  a  report  of  the  society,  to  elect  officers,  and  to  transact  other  useful  bu- 
ness.     An  extrordinary  meeting  of  the  members  may  be  called  by  the  clerk,  at  the  request 

the  committee,  or  at  the  request  of  a  majority  of  the  members  in  writing.     No  meeting  of 
e  society  to  be  held  at  any  place  where  intoxicating  liquor  is  sold. 

Any  member  proved  by  satisfactory  evidence  to  the  committee  to  have  been  drunk, 
rst  time,  2s.  6d. ;  second,  and  every  subsequent  offence,  5s. 

Any  person  preferring  a  false  charge,  intentionally,  against  any  member  for  drunken- 
!SS,  5s. 

Any  member  having  been  proved  to  be  drunk  three  times,  within  the  space  of  one 
ar,  shall  be  expelled. 


ALE  DRINKING. 
So  important  do  I  consider  the  subject  discussed  in  the  tract  entitled  "  The  Great  De- 
sion,"  addressed  to  ale  drinkers,  that  I  intend  forwarding  a  copy,  printed  on  purpose,  to 
ery  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  House  of  Lords.  The  agricultural  in- 
rest  keep  employing  the  press  to  sing  the  praises  of  ale  drinking,  as  the  source  of  health, 
itional  prosperity,  and  good  morals.  All  those  who  are  interested  in  the  temperance  cause 
lould  expose  the  delusion. 

LONGEVITY. 

eaths  in  the  Rhode  Island  Monthly  Meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  QuaJcers,  residing 
at  Newport,  and  consisting  of  more  than  four  hundred  persons. 

In  the  year  1812,  8  deaths.     Eldest,  84  years.     Youngest,  60  years. 

1813,8 85 ^49 

, 1814,1 87 

1815,5 90 48 

1816,9 94 58 

►tal  amount  of  the  ages  of  the  above  31  persons  being  2,298  years,  giving  an  average  of 
wards  of  74  years  to  each.  During  the  above  five  years,  not  a  single  child  died,  nor  any 
ler  person  under  the  age  of  48  years.  The  above  statement  is  perhaps  without  a  paral- 
,  and  argues  like  an  angel,  "trumpet  tongued,"  in  favour  of  temperance  and  regularity  of 


Extract  from  an  American  Tract,  on  the  Use  of  Ardent  Spirits,  Tobacco,  Sfc,  from  a 
clergyman  in  Massachusets. 
"About  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  I  procured,  for  distribution  among  my  people,  a  hun- 
ed  of  Rush's  Treatise  upon  the  Effects  of  Ardent  Spirits.'     Among  those  to  whom  they 


260 

were  distributed  was  a  female  of  colour,  who  was  often  observed  to  be  under  the  influ 
of  intoxicating  liquors.     She  was  a  person  of  uncommon  shrewdness,  and  had  a  gre« 
clination  for  reading.    Some  time  after  she  received  this  tract,  she  came  to  my  house  i; 
absence,  and  left  with  my  wife  a  tract,  which  she  requested  I  would  read,  and  give  hei 
opinion  as  to  its  correctness.     It  was  '  Adam  Clark's  Address  to  Christians  on  the 
Tobacco.'      She  stated  that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  using  tobacco,  and  if  she  could  be 
to  believe  it  was  sinful,  as  Mr.  Clark  represented  it  to  be,  she  would  certainly  lay  it 
To  satisfy  her  mind,  she  wished  for  the  opinion  of  her  minister,  on  which  she  pretendi 
repose  her  entire  confidence.     When  the  tract,  with  the  message,  was  delivered  to  me, 
was  not  difficult  to  understand  the  meaning.     I  myself  had  been  in  the  habit  of  using 
bacco  for  many  years,  both  by  chewing  and  smoking.     I  had  already  experienced  ma 
struggles  in  my  own  mind  in  relation  to  the  practice,  as  productive  of  evils  and  not  v< 
becoming  for  a  Christian  minister,  but,  like  most  others  indulging  in  similar  habits,  had  i 
been  able  to  come  to  an  effectual  resolution  to  desist.     I  read  Dr.  Clark's  Address  w 
great  attention  and  pleasure,  and  in  full  view  of  the  manner  in  which  it  came  into  i 
hands." — I  should  say  that  the  result  was,  the  minister's  total  abstinence  ever  after, 


AWFUL  EFFECTS  OF  INTEMPERANCE! 

Sir, — There  lived  a  family  in  this  town,  consisting  of  a  man,  his  wife,  and  eight  ch 
dren :  the  woman  was  so  much  addicted  to  drunkenness,  that  she  would  pawn  or  sell  a 
thing  out  of  the  house,  in  order  to  procure  drink,  and  the  family  was  reduced  to  povei 
and  rags.  They  had  little  or  no  linen  but  that  which  was  upon  their  bodies,  and  which  v 
washed  on  the  Saturday  night  or  Sunday  morning,  and  put  on  again  before  it  was  d; 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  death  of  several  of  their  children.  One 
boy,  was  interred  on  Sunday  last ;  on  Monday  she  pawned  his  clothes,  and  got  drunk  w: 
the  money  at  night,  and  in  an  affray  which  took  place  between  her  and  her  husband,  n 
killed  herself  the  same  evening,  for  which  he  is  now  committed  to  Lancaster,  to  take  1 
trial  at  the  ensuing  assizes.  Seven  children  (two  of  them  cannot  walk)  have,  in  consequeiii 
been  thrown  upon  the  parish  for  protection  and  support. 

Another  awful  circumstance  took  place  in  this  town  last  week :  a  man,  with  when 
am  acquainted,  while  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  abused  his  poor  wife  so  much,  that  she  ni 
lies  in  a  dangerous  state,  and  her  life  is  despaired  of. 

One  would  imagine,  that  such  awful  occurrences  as  these,  which  are  daily  taking  pla 
around  us,  would  induce  thousands  more  to  come  forward,  and  assist  the  friends  of  tei 
perance,  in  their  laudable  efforts  to  stop  the  progress  of  a  monster  which  threatens  the  d< 
truction  of  every  thing  that  is  sacred,  valuable,  and  good.  An  evil  which  creates  so  mu 
national,  family,  and  individual  misery,  and  stands  in  the  way  of  moral,  religious,  politic 
and  all  other  improvement.  Never  shall  we  see  better  days  until  intemperance  is  banishi 
out  of  society. 

Ashton-under-Lyne,  July  11,  1833.  Edward  Winstanley^ 


J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston, 


T' 

MORAL 

THE 

REFORMER. 

• 

No.  9. 

SEPTEMBER  1,  1833. 

Vol. 

III. 

RELIGION  ANDr  MONEY.— PAUL'S  DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

Nothing  are  more  irreconcilable  than  religion  and  the  love  of  money; 
nd  yet,  if  we  were  to  judge  from  appearances,  nothing  seems  so  bad  to  se- 
larate.  Although  the  incongruity  of  the  connection  has  always  been  ad- 
oitted,  yet  from  some  cause  or  other  it  has  never  been  dissolved.  It  is  a 
ubject  of  constant  remark  and  of  incessant  complaint,  even  by  many  who 
leither  seek  out  the  cause,  nor  try  to  apply  a  remedy.  Every  body  seems 
issatisfied,  and  yet  no  body  has  dared  sufficiently  to  investigate  the  matter 
0  as  to  lead  to  a  removal  of  the  evil.  It  is  obvious  that  fashionable  reli- 
ion  depends  as  much  upon  the  "  supplies"  as  the  carrying  on  of  govern- 
ment, and  is  governed  by  "  estimates"  as  much  as  a  water-works  or  a 
ail-road.  Flourishing  funds  will  procure  fine  temples  and  popular  preach- 
rs ;  and  these  are  things  in  which  many  place  the  essence  of  religion, 
.loney  !  Religion — modern  religion — lives,  and  moves,  and  has  its  bemg 
n  money.  Christianity  !  if  thou  hadst  not  honour  and  wealth  to  bestow, 
nstead  of  being  caressed  by  kings  and  courtiers,  and  followed  by  a  nume- 
ous  retinue  in  the  land,  thou  wouldst  be  cast  out,  and  none  but  the  poor. 
he  obscure,  and  the  despised  would  take  thee  in.  Assume  thy  native 
haracter,  and  the  question  would  again  recur,  "  Have  any  of  the  rulers 
lelieved  on  him  ?" 

The  cause  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  cupidity  and  avarice  of  the 
aterested,  and  in  the  mistaken  opinions  of  others  less  guilty.  While 
eligion  is  made  to  consist  of  a  priestly  order,  with  costly  robes,  a  pompous 
itual  service,  performed  in  splendid  temples  made  with  hands,  money  may 
/ell  be  regarded  as  the  one  thing  needful,  and  we  need  not  wonder  at  the 
iventions  set  on  foot  to  obtain  it.  If  Protestants  were  but  faithful  to 
tieir  principles,  would  stick  by  the  New  Testament,  and  adopt  its  pnnci- 
les  upon  this  subject,  they  would  soon  discover  their  errors.    They  would 


VOL.  III. 


2  K 


262 

see  that  wealth  corrupts  religion,  invites  into  its  service  only  preteni 
friends,  and  seeks  a  compliance  with  the  maxims  and  policy  of  the  woi 
and  that  the  prosperity  of  religion  is  not  to  be  measured  by  modern  st 
dards,  but  by  the  personal  and  practical  good  produced  in  the  hearts 
lives  of  its  professors. 

"  I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Yea,  ye  yourseli 
Jcnow,  that  these  hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them 
were  with  me.  I  have  shewed  you  all  things,  how  that  so  labouring,  ye  o» 
to  support  the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how* 
said,  'It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.'  "     Acts.  xx.  33 — 35. 

In  these  words  of  Paul  are  found  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity,  ani 
they  give  a  literal  statement  of  the  apostolic  conduct.  It  is  not  unim 
portant  to  know  to  whom  this  address  was  made.  It  was  delivered 
not  to  private  members  of  the  church,  but  to  the  bishops,  to  those  ap 
pointed  to  watch  over  the  flock,  and  to  feed  the  church  of  God.  And 
may  remark,  in  passing,  that  primitive  customs  are  so  changed,  that  while 
in  these  days,  we  have  one  bishop  to  a  number  of  churches,  there  were  thei 
a  number  of  bishops  to  one  church.  These  consisted  of  those  Christians 
who,  by  their  excellency  of  character,  were  considered  fit  to  take  the  "  ovei 
sight"  of  their  brethren,  and  to  teach  and  admonish  them,  and  who  war 
chosen  accordingly.  They  were  not  called  to  travel  like  missionaries,  bu 
being  stationed  at  one  place,  were  able,  like  Paul  when  at  Corinth,  to  wor 
with  their  own  hands.  And  being  a  number  of  them  in  one  society,  the 
were  able  to  join  at  the  work,  and  thus  the  labour  was  rendered  less  one 
rous.  "  Bishops  and  deacons"  are  what,  according  to  the  order  of  the  Ne^ 
Testament,  belong  to  every  church,  and  so  soon  as  there  was  an  opportoj 
nity  of  deciding  who  were  fit,  these  were  appointed.  The  qualifications  t 
these  are  so  utterly  at  variance  with  what  is  now  expected,  both  in  tb 
church  and  among  dissenters,  that  I  beg  my  readers  to  turn  over  to  th 
passages  in  which  these  are  described.  1  Timothy  iii.  1 — 7.  Titus  i.  5— ri 
And  those  who  wish  to  obtain  a  Scriptural  view  of  the  duties  c 
Christian  bishops,  I  refer  to  the  following  passages:  1  Peter  •^.  I — 4 
1  Thessalonians  v.  12  13;  Hebrews  xiii.  17;  and  Acts  xx.  28 — 3i 
These  passages  will  shew,  that  the  primitive  bishops  were  altogether  us 
like  either  our  diocesan  lords  or  our  youthful  academicians.  And  as  itJ 
this  change  in  the  character  of  the  oflacers  of  the  church,  which  has  bg 
the  greatest  cause  of  its  corruptions,  the  love  of  filthy  lucre  always  pre 
minating,  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  every  Christian  reformer  she 
look  to  it.     It  is  true,  we  retain  the  name  "  bishop,"  but  there  is  sea 


263 

.ny  other  correspondent  feature  between  those  of  primitive  and  modem 
imes.  The  former  were  plain  men,  taken  from  among  their  brethren,  and 
uahfied  by  their  personal  excellences  and  their  disinterested  zeal  to  serve 
he  cause  of  the  church. 

"  I  have  coveted  (desired)  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Yea, 
e  yourselves  know  that  these  hands  have  ministered  to  my  necessities,  and 
D  those  that  are  with  me."  Where  are  the  bishops  that  can  adopt  this 
|mguage  }  And  if  this  could  be  done  by  an  apostle,  in  the  infancy  of  Chris- 
i'anity,  when  the  importance  of  the  object  seemed  to  forbid  the  possibility 
f  secular  labour,  now  that  it  has  been  so  long  established,  and  with  cir- 
iimstances  so  much  in  its  favour,  those  who  sustain  inferior  offices,  may 
e  expected  to  labour  too.  The  disinterestedness  of  the  first  preachers  is 
ften  referred  to  as  a  proof  of  the  genuineness  of  our  religion :  what  a 
ity  that  we  have  not  the  same  living  evidence  to  refer  to,  in  order  to  con- 
ince  the  unbelievers  in  our  day!  We  pretend  to  reverence  the  memory 
•  the  apostles,  and  even  to  dedicate  churches  to  their  names ;  but  if  these 
;nt-making,  fish-catching  preachers  were  to  appear  among  us  now,  in 
leir  primitive  character,  they  would  be  generally  disowned  by  those  who 
•e  lavish  in  their  praises  of  religion. 

Many  pastors,  perhaps,  might  say,  "  We  do  not  covet  either  silver  or 
Did;  and  though  we  cannot  hold  out  our  hands  as  having  been  the  instru- 
ents  of  our  own  and  others'  support,  yet  we  seek  nothing  beyond  a  bare 
ibsistence."  I  believe  there  are  many  worthy  men  who  are  entitled  to  this 
ea,  whose  motives  are  as  pure  as  the  apostles,  but  whose  connections,  at 
le  same  time,  prevent  their  sincerity  from  becoming  manifest.  But  will 
lis  apply  to  those  who  choose  the  ministry  as  they  would  choose  any  other 
ade,  whose  education  is  conducted  with  the  design  of  profit,  and  whose 
instant  changes  evidently  bespeak  a  predominant  love  of  money } 

But  while  missionaries,  that  is,  persons  who  are  constantly  travelling 
nm  place  to  place,  need  to  be  supported,  bishops,  whose  official  duties  con- 
?t  in  watching  over  the  flock  in  one  place,  need  not  to  be  supported,  and 
e  here  commanded  to  imitate  Paul,  in  not  only  supporting  themselves,  but 
listing  to  support  others  also.  This  is  a  distinction  in  offices  which  should 
ways  be  attended  to,  and  which  Paul  illustrated  in  his  own  example.  When 
avelling,  or  going  about  labouring  in  word  or  doctrine,  he  disdained  not 
take  casual  assistance  from  his  friends,  but  when  settled  at  certain  places, 
at  Ephesus  and  Corinth,  he  wrought  with  his  own  hands.  If  we  had 
shops  of  the  primitive  stamp,  plain,  sincere,  exemplary  Christians,  who 
id  not  been  educated  at  the  college  to  live  by  preaching ;  if  their  work 


264 

was  understood  to  consist,  not  in  making'  and  delivering  sermons,  as 
exclusive  teacher  of  a  congregation,  but  in  a  constant  oversight  of  the  c^ 
duct  and  behaviour  of  their  brethren,  and  giving  useful  advice  and  admc 
tion,  both  private  and  public ;  if  a  number  in  each  society  was  appoinf 
to  this  good  work  from  among  themselves,  instead  of  a  single  individ^ 
from  a  distance,  who  is  perhaps  a  mere  hireling, — we  should  soon  feel  ouf. 
selves  in  a  situation  for  appreciating  and  adopting  the  apostle's  advice  i 
and  until  a  considerable  change  takes  place  in  conducting  the  meetings  oj 
Christians,  this  advice  can  never  be  made  to  apply. 

Paul  not  only  ministered  to  his  own  necessities,  but  to  those  who  wew 
with  him.  Upon  which  he  exhorts  the  bishops  to  labour  to  support  th 
weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  Jesus,  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  gin 
than  to  receive.  I  particularly  wish  to  remark  the  misapplication  of  thil 
passage  :  it  is  constantly  quoted  as  if  it  were  a  general  exhortation,  whereM 
it  was  given  to  bishops  only ;  and  although  it  is  useful  to  all,  it  was  at  th< 
time  when  delivered  intended  exclusively  for  bishops.  What  a  changt 
would  take  place,  if  these  men  became  givers  instead  of  receivers !  Am 
why  should  not  they  be  "  more  blessed,"  as  well  as  others  ?  The  apo* 
tie  insists  upon  it,  as  the  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  but  this  can  nevfi 
take  place  till  the  Scriptural  office  of  bishop  is  better  understood,  and  til 
we  have  a  different  order  of  men  appointed. 

When  the  church  was  poor,  it  was  most  pure,  and  the  members  sill' 
cere  and  active.  So  soon  as  it  became  possessed  of  wealth,  wicked  raei 
became  tempted  to  put  oa  a  profession  of  religion  and  to  creep  into  office 
for  the  sake  of  gain.  Religion,  as  a  consequence,  degenerated  into  fornMi 
services,  which  depended  upon  wealth  for  their  support,  and  upon  priestli 
for  their  performance.  It  ceased  to  bear  a  direct  connection  with  heaves 
and  to  maintain  its  progress  by  a  spiritual  influence  only.  It  became  10 
engine  of  state,  and  accordingly  was  so  modefied  as  to  serve  the  politicHi 
purposes  of  its  patrons.  For  fifteen  centuries  it  has  been  in  trammels,  am 
has  been  the  greatest  source  of  revenue  to  idle  and  undeserving  men 
To  endeavour  to  depict  the  wars  and  cruelties  which  popular  religiw 
has  been  the  occasion  of,  would  be  to  narrate  the  blackest  events  in  th) 
history  of  the  world.  And  although  we  are  often  most  violent  in  our( 
nunciations  of  a  law  established  religion,  yet  it  is  evident  that  many  ofW 
same  features  may  be  retained  where  the  law  of  establishment  is  not  thatw 
the  statute  book  but  that  of  a.  party.  And  hence  the  incessant  complailij 
which  we  now  hear  among  dissenters,  of  the  oppressive  religious  impi 
to  which  they  are  obliged  to  submit.     When  we  read  the  newspapers. 


265 

'  Record"  particularly,  the  magazines,  reports  of  societies,  &c.,  there  seems 
0  be  nothing  so  much  pressed  upon  our  attention  as  the  want  of  money. 
Jut  when  we  come  to  read  the  New  Testament,  how  great  the  reverse ! 
tloney  matters  are  rarely  even  hinted  at;  and  "collections,"  when 
hey  are  mentioned,  are  always  for  the  poor. 

Many  are  the  direful  effects  produced  by  a  mercenary  Christianity. 

!Tiose  who   can  give  liberally  are    exalted   above    others   in    a   society, 

ilthough   comparatively   destitute   of   the   virtues    of   a   true    Christian. 

'he  poor  are  also  despised  and  neglected.     Strife  and  divisions  in  societies 

re  never  wanting,  and  I  have  often  remarked  that  they  generally  arise 

ut  of  money  matters,  and  have  a  connection  either  with  the  chapel  or  the 

reacher.    Ritual  services  are  greatly  multiplied,  which  suit  themselves  to 

priestly  order,  and  which  have  an  evident  tendency  to  lead  to  the  neglect 

f  personal  and  practical  religion.     If  religious  meetings  were  conducted 

ith  the  same  simplicity  as  they  were  in  apostolic  times,  the  talents,  and 

,3al,  and  love  of  many  Christians  would  be  brought  into  exercise,  who  are 

ow  doomed  to  comparative  inactivity.     Instead  of  being  obliged  to  listen 

)  the  tedious  discourses  of  a  hired  preacher,  we  should  have  our  meetings 

iified  by  the  plain  and  sincere  exhortations  of  those  who  are  denominated 

laymen."     We  should  then  appreciate  the  apostle's  words  :  "  Ye  may  all 

ophecy  one  by  one  ;  that  all  may  hear  and  all  may  be  edified."    Sectarian 

ide,  which  is  so  prevalent,  is  fed  by  this  money;  and  hence,  each  party, 

stead  of  aiming  at  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  the  bringing  in  of  the 

)andoned  characters,  is  more  anxious  to  maintain  its  popularity  by  get- 

ng  rich  and  respectable  members.     Too  often  do  they  bite  and  devour 

Lch  other,  instead  of  joining  together  to  reclaim  the  world.     What  is  that 

hich  perpetually  sounds  in  our  ears  from  these  parties  but  the  want  of  mo- 

;y !     Fashion  is  followed  in  religion  as  in  every  other  worldly  affair,  and 

rough  following  this,  it  is  lamentable  to  observe  how  embarrassed  many 

)or  sects  are  in  their  financial  affairs.      But  I  maintain  that  the  sys- 

m  of  religion,  as  promulgated  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  ought  to  be 

aintained  in  its  purity,  that  it  ought  not  to  be  made  the  stalking-horse 

mercenary  men,  and  that  it  is  the  only  system  which  is  calculated  to 

ve  the  world.     The  avarice  of  men  and  sectarian  pride  are  the  occa- 

m  of  the  change  which  has  taken  place,  and  which  must  be  seriously 

mented  by  every  good  man. 

What  then  would  you  advise  to  be  done  ?  some  may  be  ready  to  ask. 
would  advise,  that,  instead  of  giving  so  much  importance  to  "  a  cause," 
'  making  XhQ  prosperity  of  a  chapel  an  object  of  the  first  importance,  the 


266 

people  be  every  where  taught,  in  every  part  of  the  country ;  that  the  imj 
tance  of  personal,  practical,  and  every-day  piety  be  enforced,  and  that 
tending  any  meetings  should  not  be  regarded  as  religion,  but  merelj 
means  of  acquiring  it.  Every  Christian  should  teach  his  neighbour, 
endeavour  to  spread  abroad,  in  every  possible  way,  the  principles  o 
religion.  We  should  not  depend  upon  official  characters  so  much,  but  ai 
begin  to  labour  according  to  our  means.  Christianity  is  a  system  of  be 
nevolence ;  teaching  it  is  the  exercise  of  this  virtue ;  and  I  conceive  it  t( 
be  as  much  our  duty  to  do  this,  without  any  pecuniary  reivard,  as  to  fee( 
the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked.  The  man  who  acts,  for  instance,  as  th« 
agent  of  the  Samaritan  Society,  might  as  well  expect  his  pay  after  visiting 
several  sick  families,  as  the  teacher  of  religion,  after  delivering  his  dis 
course,  or  performing  a  service.  What  any  of  the  first  preachers  of  th< 
gospel  received,  was  not  remuneratoi-y  for  teaching,  but  support  for  labour 
The  labour  mentioned,  and  which  is  said  to  be  worthy  of  its  hire,  is  com' 
pared  to  the  labour  of  soldiers,  shepherds,  ploughmen,  thrashers,  and  hus 
bandmen.  It  was  not  the  labour  of  the  study  or  the  pulpit.  It  was  tra 
veiling  about  from  place  to  place  ;  and  in  this  sense,  well  might  an  aposdi 
ask,  who  goeth  a  warfare  at  his  own  charges  ?  It  comes  to  this :  Al 
teaching,  in  itself,  is  a  work  of  benevolence ;  and  in  places  where  there  sn 
congregations  of  Christians  established,  it  can  generally  be  done,  aiu 
ought  to  be  done,  by  the  members,  without  any  pecuniary  consideration 
(and,  if  existing  talent  were  encouraged,  would  be  done,  with  much  greate 
advantage  than  at  present,  though  not  so  satisfactorily  to  fashionable  peo 
pie ;)  but  if  there  were  occasion  for  other  places  to  be  visited,  whid 
require  men  to  travel  from  home,  and  lose  their  time,  they  must — an( 
will  without  difficulty,  if  they  be  worthy  men — ^be  supported.  Whei 
Christ  sent  his  apostles,  two  and  two,  through  all  the  cities  of  Israel 
which  was  a  real  missionary  tour,  he  said,  "  the  workman  is  worthy  of  hi 
meat :"  though  he  said  nothing  of  "  livings"  or  "salaries,"  nor  of  "bonds' 
to  secure  them,  nor  of  compulsory  measures  for  raising  the  means.  Thii 
difference  accounts  for  Paul  sometimes  taking  assistance,  and  at  othe. 
times  labouring  for  himself,  and  for  those  who  were  with  him.  The 
interested  Christian  will  seldom  make  a  mistake  here,  whether  he 
giver  or  receiver. 

If  we  were  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  hirelings,  who  learn 
trade  at  the  academy,  who  from  plain  John  become  Reverend,  whose 
fulness  moves  with  the  prospects  of  increased  salary,  who  are  spoiled  j 
the  exclusive  view  they  take  of  their  office,  from  either  returning  to 


I  267 

wn  trade  or  even  occasionally  working  at  it,— we  should  need  no  fine 

Ihapels;  the  expence  of  meeting  houses  would,  at  least,  be  reduced  from 

lliousands  to  hundreds;  there  would  be  fewer  rich  attending;  less  chapel 

(jstentation ;  but  religion  would  be  where  it  was  in  Christ's  day,  among 

►fie  poor,   and  that  at  their  homes,  and   in  their  general   deportment. 

Iain,  sincere  Christians  would  then  meet  together  in  upper  rooms,  in  any 

mvenient  place,  to  teach  and  exhort  one  another  in  love,  and  would 

j-jandon  all  that  chapel  and  pulpit  finery,  all  that  mockery  of  true  edifica. 

I  on  produced  by  learned  sermons,  after  which  the  world  seems  mad  at 

■esent,  and  which  passes  for  religion.     Disputes  about  money  would  be 

len  unknown  ;  no  distinction  of  poor  and  rich  by  pew  rents ;  no  teasing 

illections ;    and  that  which  is  now  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon  the  trap- 

ngs  of  Christianity  would  then  be  spared,  as  it  was  in  Paul's  day,  for 

>e  relief  of  "  the  poor  saints." 

T  doubt  not  by  these  remarks  I  shall  provoke  the  ire  of  many,  who 
.11  still  stick  to  their  "  order,"  who,  instead  of  ingenuous  argument,  will 
vive  the  cry  and  charge  of  infidelity.  Others,  who  cannot  see  the  com- 
ehensive  and  systematic  workings  of  this  principle  of  mammon,  and  who 
e  yet  well  disposed  for  Christian  reform,  I  may  not  suit.  But  let  me  say 
both  parties,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  my  only  motive  in  the  course  I 
ke,  is,  if  possible,  to  assist  in  bringing  back  Christianity  to  its  original 
rity  and  primitive  loveliness,  to  make  it  the  occassion  of  producing  the 
wer  instead  of  \heform  of  godliness,  and  to  assist  in  breaking  the  golden 
ain  of  Anti-Christ,  by  which  the  Church  of  God  has  been  bound  for  fif- 
ih  centuries.  Those  who  connect  religion  with  the  "  loaves  and  fishes," 
d  those  who,  anxious  for  the  manna  from  heaven,  will  even  go  out  on 
Sabbath  to  seek  it,  I  leave  to  answer  for  themselves.  This  is  my  im- 
Jssion — and  I  wish,  as  much  as  possible,  to  produce  the  same  upon  all 
\chers — that  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

CLERICAL  AUDACITY. 

Of  all  the  specimens  of  cant  and  impudence  which  I  have  met  with, 

following,  from  the  "  Record"  of  August  5th,  stands  preeminent.     I 

ire  marked  some  parts  in  italics,  to  ensure  attention,  but  I  am  sure  com- 

nt  is  quite  unnecessary.     Notwithstanding  the  quackery  of  the  case,  it 

astonishing  to  find,  at  the  foot  of  the  advertisement,  a  sum  subscribed 

n;  less  than  £244. 

Hebrews,  Chap.  vi.  Ver.  10. 

A  Clergyman,  the  Rector  of  a  Village  in  Buckinghamshire,  who  has  served  his  Master 

n   for  some  years,  and  whose  labours  and  ministry  God  has  been  pleased  to  own  and  make 


268 

very  useful,  is  constrained  to  cast  himself  upon  the  Church  for  help,  under  the  following 
cumstanccs : — 

In  the  days  of  his  ignorance  and  unbelief  his  affairs  became  involved,  partly  by  aJ 
rary  and  political  speculation,  and  partly  by  a  very  large  outlay  of  money  in  erecting  a  i 
house  and  farm-buildings  for  the  occupation  of  his  glebe,  preparatory  to  his  building  a] 
sonage  for  himself.  His  living  consequently  became  deeply  encumbered,  and  has  ever  i 
remained-so.  Three  years  ago,  he  saw  it  right  to  give  up,  by  a  deed  of  trusteeship,  the  ii 
sidue  of  the  living,  to  the  gradual  discharge  of  his  other  claims;  contenting  himself  wl 
maintaining  his  family  (a  wife  and  five  children,  who  shared  in  his  feelings  and  conten 
ment)  upon  a  small  Curacy  which  he  held,  and  still  holds,  in  the  hope  that  time  won 
gradually,  however  slowly,  liquidate  these  claims,  and  set  him  free.  This  expectation  h 
now  totally  failed,  through  the  great  fall  of  his  rents  within  that  period,  and  extrication 
now  utterly  hopeless.  The  whole  proceeds  of  the  living,  when  the  duty  is  provided  for,  z 
now  very  nearly  absorbed  by  the  encumbrances.  In  this  extremity,  having  no  other  hop 
all  his  plans  of  extrication  having  failed,  he  is  cast  upon  the  love  of  the  Church  for  th 
which  of  all  earthly  things  is  nearest  his  heart — the  redemption  of  his  liviiig,  that  he  may  I 
enabled  to  live  and  labour  among  an  attached  and  beloved  people.  He  visits  them,  ai 
ministers  among  them,  from  time  to  time,  and  has  done  so  for  the  last  seven  years.  A: 
the  blessing  that  rests  on  his  ministry,  the  great  love  shown  to  him  by  his  parishioners,  ( 
pecially  the  poor  among  them,  and  the  strong  desire  they  have  for  him  to  come  and  live  amo, 
them, —  while  it  is  in  one  point  of  view  comforting  to  him,  in  another,  is  an  aggravation 
his  distress. 

Completely  to  effect  this  redemption,  the  trust-deed  claimants  have  most  kindly  ai 
liberally  offered  to  forego  two-thirds,  or,  if  necessary,  three-fourths  of  their  claims,  provi4 
the  remainder  can  be  raised.  The  sum  of  from  £2,000  to  £2,600  would  be  necessary,! 
eluding  the  expense  of  building  a  parsonage  house,  without  which  residence  is  impossible.  T 
plan  for  raising  this,  or  part  of  this  sum  (there  being  three  distinct  purposes,  to  either 
which  a  part  of  the  sum  may  be  applied,  if  only  part  be  raised)  which  is  earnestly  subs 
ted  to  the  Christian  public,  is,  for  each  person  before  whom  this  statement  comes,  kin^l 
and  in  love,  to  make  it  known  among  the  circle  of  his  Christian  friends  and  connectioi 
and  collect  offerings  from  them,  in  addition  to  what  he  himself  may  be  led  to  contribute, 
being  obvious  that  the  efforts  must  be  vigorous,  and  the  offerings  in  accordance  ;  such  off 
ings  to  be  transmitted  to  the  Rev.  &c.  &c. — "  For  the  Use  of  the  Rector  of  a  Villa 
Buckinghamshire." 


CRUELTY.— A  DUCK  HUNT. 
How  many  are  the  inventions  of  tiie  votaries  of  cruelty !  W 
bull-baiting,  bear-baiting,  cock-fighting,  dog-fighting,  man-fighti 
racing,  and  hunting,  all  of  which  bespeak  either  a  cruelty  of  i 
position  or  a  criminal  conformity  to  barbarous  and  wicked  custoi 
The  other  day,  I  went  to  witness  what  I  have  frequently  heard  of — a 
hunt.  About  twenty  men,  with  seven  dogs  in  their  keeping,  who  had; 
tained  a  poor  duck,  were  assembled  at  a  pit  on  Preston  Moor.     The  f 


i 


'f.' 


269 


bird  was  turned  into  the  water,  and  the  dogs  set  upon  it  with  all  their  fe- 

ijrocity.     I  watched  the  scene  about  half  an  hour,  till  my  feelings  would 

.act  permit  me  to  stay  longer.     The  men  surrounded  the  pit  to  prevent  its 

escape,  and  the  dogs  continued  to  pursue  it  till  they  were  almost  fainting 

"or  breath.     I  presume  this  was  continued  till  the  poor  animal  was  seized 

jy  the  fangs  of  its  pursuers.     I  scarcely  know  any  sport  more  cruel.     In 

;i;ocks  and  dogs  there  is  frequently  a  natural  antipathy,  which,  when  encou- 

sfaged  b}  brutal  men,  excites  to  attacks  upon  each  other ;  and  the  race  horse 

nay  be  said  to  be  actuated  by  an  ambition  in  the  contest ;  but  nothing  in 

uiture  but  wanton  cruelty,  or  sheer  idleness,  could  lead  a  set  of  men  to 

Hint  down  a  poor,  harmless,  unresisting  duck  by  savage  dogs.     The  man 

hat  can  take  pleasure  in  this  must  be  a  stranger  to  the  feelings  which 

lumanity  alone  would  teach.     The  most  awful  oaths  were  uttered  by  some 

if  the  party;    and  I  very  much  fear  that  the  sport  terminated  in  such 

xcesses  as  all  such  pursuits  do.     I  remonstrated  with  the  most  respectable 

f  them,  and  though  I  was  answered  by  an  attempted  defence  of  the  prac- 

ice,  it  was  evident  that  the  admonition  was  felt,  and  that  the  presence  of 

nyself  and  friend  was  a  drawback  upon  Iheir  pleasure.     I  think  it  is  the 

Lity  of  every  Christian,  who  wishes  to  see  his  country  reformed,  to  visit 

»,11  such  scenes  as  this. 


MALT  LIQUOR. 
Sir, — Having  observed  an  extract  from  "  Martin's  Taxation  of  the  British  Empire,"  on 
le  "good  effects  of  malt  liquor,"  full  of  groundless  assertion,  false  reasoning,  and  moral 
oigon,  going  the  round  of  the  public  press,  may  I  be  permitted,  through  your  Reformer, 
>  offer  a  few  remarks  by  way  of  antidote  ? 

.  The  extract  commences  with  an  assertion,  that  ''  good  malt  liquor,  taken  in  moderation, 
the  most  wholesome  beverage  that  a  nation  can  consume ;"  and  this  position  the  author 
tempts  to  prove  by  another  assertion,  that  "the  saccharine  principle  of  barley,  combined 
ith  the  bitter  quality  of  the  hop,  renders  it  nutritious  and  tonic  in  the  highest  degree." 
is  obvious,  Sir,  that  Mr.  Martin  has  not  investigated  the  subject  on  which  he  so  confi- 
5ntly  speaks,  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  politician  could  be  put  to  the  blush  by  some 
'our  humblest  artisans.  But  this  is  the  "great  delusion"  by  which  the  people  of 
ttgland,  and  especially  our  statesmen,  seem  to  be  deceived;  and  what  is  still  more  to  be 
mented,  even  most  of  the  advocates  of  Temperance  Societies,  in  this  country,  with  the  ex- 
:ption  of  Preston,  have  ai  quiesced  in  the  prevalent  opinions.  But  let  us  see  on  what 
undation  Mr.  Martin,  the  great  admirer  of  malt  liquor,  stands.  1  could  have  wished  he  had 
ndtescended  to  have  been  more  explicit  on  this  head ;  but  he  seems  to  have  thought  that 
oof  was  not  needful  where  none  is  ever  sought.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  learned, 
i  some  means  or  other,  that  harlei/  contains  a  saccharine  principle,  which  is  most  true  ; 
i4  then  he  fancies  that  this  saccharine  principle  is  contained  in  "  good  malt  liquor,"  which 
VOL.  III.  2  L 


270 

is  for  the  most  part  false.     I  presume,  as  Mr.  Martin  is  so  strong  an  advocate  for  h 
brewing,  he  must  have  o.len  witnessed  the  process.    Perhaps  he  may  have  occasionally  e 
a  grain  of  barley,  and  found  that  it  possessed  little  sweetness;  perhaps  he  has  eaten  a  g 
of  malt,  and  found  it  very  sweet ;  perhaps  he  has  tasted  a  little  wort,  and  found  it  still  swei 
and  I  cannot  doubt  that  he  has  drunk  of  "good  malt  liquor,"  and  found  that  the  sweet 
had  disappeared:  if  it  had  not,  he  would  have  withheld  the   epithet  "good,"  and  h 
pronounced  it  new,  and  unfit  for  the  beverage  of  a  "sturdy"  Englishman.     Although; 
this  Mr.  Martin  has  most  probably  done,  there  is  one  thing  which  he  appears  to  have 
lected :  he  has  never  inquired  into  the  reason  of  the  changes  he  may  have  witnessed.     Tl 
fact  is,  that  barley  contains  less  saccharine  matter  than  malt,  the  saccharine  matter  of  nu 
is  dissolved  in  wort,  and   "good  malt  liquor"  contains  much  less  than  any  of  the  thre 
The  reason  is,  the  barley  contains  a  large  proportion  of  starch,  which  is  much  more  nutr 
tious  than  sugar.     The  relative  nutriment  of  the  two  any  one  may  prove  by  taking  a  tab 
spoonful  of  each,  and  dissolving  them  in  water,  and  then  drinking  the  solutions  at  diSb 
ent  times.     He  will  find  that  the  starch  will  furnish  him  with  a  good  supper,  while  tf 
sugar  will  afford  him  a  imeager  meal.     When  barley  is  subjected  to  the  process  of  maltini 
much  of  the  starch  disappears,  and  an  equal  increase  of  sugar  is  discovered,  so  that  we  mn 
conclude  that  starch  is  converted  into  sugar  by  the  partial  germination  the  grain  is  made  ■ 
undergo.     If  starch  is  converted  into  sugar,  and  sugar  is  less  nutritious  than  starch,  a  poi 
tion  of  nutriment  is  destroyed,  unless  the  quantity  of  sugar  gained  be  much  greater  thi 
the  quantity  of  starch  lost,  which  is  not  the  case.     If  Mr.  Martin,  and  those  who  enterOli 
the  same  opinion,  are  not  satisfied  with  this  reasoning,  let  him  and  them  procure  eq'u 
weights  of  good  barley  and  malt,  and  try  which  will  make  the  most  nutritious  gruel.     P* 
haps  Mr.  Martin  may  have  had  the  misfortune  to  eat  bread  made  from  grain  that  had  begi 
to  germinate,  and  if  he  have,  he  would  doubtless  think  it  less  nutritious  than  bread  mu 
from  grain  which  had  not  begun  to  germinate.     This  change  is  owing  to  the  same  cause 
that  in  germinated  barley,  the  conversion  of  starch  into  saccharine  matter,  and  if  in  theoi 
case  the  change  be  injurious  to  the  grain,  it  is  in  the  other.      Unsoundness  of  the  wheat 
a  great  loss  to  the  country,  by  occasioning  a  deficiency  of  food,  but  not  more  .so  than  the  00: 
version  of  barley  into  malt,  and  precisely  for  the  same  reason.     In  the  first  case,  howev* 
man  is  not  his  own  tormentor ;    in  the  other  he  is.     Germinated  wheat  occasions  mui 
sickness,  but  infinitely  less  than  germinated  barley. 

The  next  process  in  forming  "good  malt  liquor"  is  to  dissolve  the  saccharine  matt 
of  the  malt  in  water,  to  form  wort,  and  the  brewer  is  always  careful  to  reject  as  much 
the  starch,  which  the  malt  contains,  as  he  can.  That  is,  he  is  so  desirous  of  making 
"  wholesome  beverage,  nutritive  in  the  highest  degree,"  that  he  rejects  the  most  valuaii 
part  of  the  nutriment  in  the  very  first  process,  and  retains  only  the  inferior  portion  of  t 
nutriment.  Wort,  however,  does  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  nutriment,  and 
it  drunk,  would  not  be  an  unwholesome  beverage.  But  it  has  to  undergo  another  pr 
which  is  caWed  fermentation. 

During  fermentation,  the  wort  loses  its  sweetness;  the  saccharine  matter  disappi 
and  a  new  compound  is  formed,  which  has  received  the  strange  appellation  of  spin 
alcohol.     The  latter  of  these  terms  is  of  Arabian  extraction,  and  was  given  by  the 
mists  to  denote  the  perfection  to  which  art  could  bring  the  saccharine  principle  of  vege 
The  term  is  well  applied,  if  we  consider  it  as  indicating  a  substance  perfectly  useless 


271 

ijeverage,  and  that  the  destruction  of  valuable  food  can  be  carried  no  further.  Alcohol  is 
lowed  by  all  to  be  scarcely,  if  at  all,  nutritious,  so  that  the  saccharine  principle,  which  Mr. 
tartin  esteems  as  highly  nutritious,  disappears  during  the  fermentation,  and  an  innutritious 
sw  compound  is  formed  when  the  wort  is  changed  into  "good  malt  liquor."  Ale  does 
idoubtedly  contain  some  nutriment,  as  may  be  ascertained  by  driving  off  the  water  and 
tirit  by  heat.  The  extractive  matter,  however,  is  small,  and  consists  chiefly  of  gum  and 
luten,  which  are  greatly  inferior  in  nutritious  properties  to  starch  and  sugar.  And  if  Mr. 
'artin  would  take  a  bushel  of  barley,  and  cenvert  it  into  malt,  and  then  into  "  good  malt 
luor,"  and  ascertain  the  quantity  of  extractive  matter  the  "  good  malt  liquor"  contains,  he 
ouid  find  at  least  two-thirds  less  than  the  barley  contained,  without  making  any  allowance 
r  the  difference  of  quality  of  the  ingredients. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  the  bitter  quality  of  the  hop  is  highly  tonic,  and  in 
me  cases  of  disease,  no  doubt,  malt  liquor  may  be  of  the  greatest  service,  from  its  combin- 
g  the  narcotic  and  bitter  principles,  and  from  its  being  grateful  to  the  palate. 

After  making  these  groundless  assertions,  Mr.  Martin  goes  on  to  state,  that  "  the  hale 
nstitutions,  sturdy  dispositions,  and  phlegmatic  temperament,  which,  in  a  preeminent  man- 
•r,  distinguished  the  old  English  yeomen,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  prevailing  beverage  of  the 
ople."  I  have  always  understood  that  a  hale  constitution  was  connected  with  a  sanguine 
mperament;  but  Mr.  Martin  has  adopted  a  different  standard  of  health,  and  were  he  dis- 
ised  to  impersonify  Hygeia,  I  suppose  we  should  have  a  delineation  of  a  flabby,  pale-faced 
iquimaux,  or  an  unimpassioned  Dutch  dame  :  a  ruddy,  sanguine  Saxon,  on  the  contrary,  he 
)uld  probably  consider  as  the  image  of  disease.  As  for  the  '^sturdy  dispositions"  which 
r.  Martin  so  much  admires,  I  am  free  to  admit  that  tiiey  may,  in  part,  owe  their  origin  to  the 
ipifying  and  stultifying  effects  of  "  good  malt  liquor ;"  but  whether  such  dispositions  are 
illy  desirable  I  have  great  doubts,  and  I  am  sure  he  will  not  get  many  to  admire  his  taste 
■phlegm.  But  leaving  this  confusion  of  terms,  I  would  call  upon  Mr.  Martin  to  give  us  the 
oof  of  his  a  isertions,  "  that  the  hale  constitutions,  which,  in  a  preeminent  manner,  distin- 
ished  the  old  English  yeomen,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  prevailing  beverage  of  the  people." 
ould  it  not  have  been  more  reasonable  to  ascribe  the  hale  constitutions  of  old  English 
omen  to  their  living  upon  roast  beef  and  plum  pudding,  and  to  their  being  engaged  in 
vigorating  occupations,  or  what  is,  1  believe,  the  true  cause,  an  hereditary  robustness  ? 
nong  inferior  animals,  we  almost  uniformly  find  the  offspring  partaking  of  the  frame  and 
istitution  of  the  parent,  and  this,  when  uncounteracted  by  art  or  accidental  disease,  I  am 
lined  to  think,  would  as  uniformly  be  found  to  be  the  case  also  in  the  human  class  of  ani- 
ds.  Nothing,  at  all  events,  could  be  more  unphilosophical  than  to  ascribe  the  haleness 
constitution,  so  much  admired  in  our  English  yeoman,  to  an  article  of  diet,  slightly  nutri- 
us,  while  he  partook  plentifully  of  the  most  nutritious  solid  food,  that  uniformly  conduces, 
a  healthy  body,  to  a  "  hale  constitution."  Not  satisfied  with  the  great  discovery,  that  the 
le  constitution  of  the  old  English  yeoman  is  owing  to  "good  malt  liquor,"  this  wise  poli- 
ian  has  discovered  that  it  dves  a  character  to  nations.  "  Contrast,"  says  he,  "  the  jolly, 
od  natured  British  farmer,  with  a  hard  hand,  a  red  face,  and  a  soft  heart,  his  flagon  of 
)rkshire  stingo  before  him,  and  a  dozen  of  chubby-cheeked  urchins  at  his  feet,  contrast 
;  character,  physically  and  mentally,  with  the  thin,  sallow,  sharp-faced,  and  irritable  far- 
1-  of  France  and  Italy,  whose  principal  beverage  is  an  acid,  meager,  weak-bodied  wine," 
J  then  smile  at  the  doctrine  that  "hale  constitutions,  sturdy  dispositions,  and  phleg- 


272 

made  temperament  are  owing  to  good  malt  liquor."  Passing  over  the  elegant  tern 
"stingo,"  as  applied  to  his  beverage,  and  "urchins,"  as  the  offspring  of  Yorkshir« 
drinkers,  let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  author's  happy  hit,  over'which  he  seen 
chuckle,  rejoicing  in  the  assurance  that  he  has  entirely  silenced  all  lovers  of  strict  tei 
ranee.  No  one  will  doubt  that  "good  malt  liquor"  is  the  cause  of  "  a  red  face,"  but  th 
ever  gave  rise  to  "a  hard  hand  and  a  soft  heart"  will  admit  of  as  much  question  as  tha 
"flagon  of  Yorkshire  stingo"  produced  "the  dozen  chubby-cheeked  urchins  at  his  ft 
and  equally  doubtful  is  it  that  the  "  farmers  of  France  and  Italy  are  made  thin,  sa' 
sharp-faced,  and  irritable,  by  drinking  an  acid,  meager,  weak-bodied  wine."  But  M 
Martin  has  discovered  the  cause  of  the  difference  among  nations  to  be  the  different  kind 
beverage  they  use.  Thus,  h,  classes  the  English,  Dutch,  and  German  together,  not  becaas 
as  has  been  generally  supposed,  they  have  the  same  origin,  but  because  they  are  all  extei 
sive  consumers  of  malt  liquor.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  "  they  are  proverbial  for  pi 
tience  in  labour,  perseverance  in  purpose,  and  unwearied  generosity  of  character."  TI 
French  and  Italians  take  their  character,  as  I  have  already  observed,  from  their  acid,  meag 
wines ;  and  the  Irish  and  Highland  Scotch  owe  their  character  to  their  fiery  ardent  spirit 
so  that  for  the  future,  when  we  want  to  know  the  character  of  a  people,  it  will  only  be  n 
cessary  for  us  to  ascertain  the  kind  of  beverage  they  use,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  determi! 
with  the  utmost  precision !  "  What  has  raised  England,  a  small  island  in  the  Atlantic 
asks  Martin,  "to  the  lofty  station  she  now  liolds?  Has  it  not  been  the-industry,  skill,  ai 
moral  integrity  of  her  sons — of  her  people  at  large — people  which  it  grieves  me  to  avo 
are  now  sinking  into  an  abyss  of  misery  and  vice,  which  hopeless,  abject  poverty  inevitali 
engenders."  We  have  befora  seen  that  this  politician  attributes  the  virtues  of  Englishmc 
in  former  ages,  to  their  "good  malt  1  quor,"  so  that  in  fact,  the  ultimate  cause  of  Englam 
lofty  station  is  the  consumption  of  ale  by  her  sons,  and  if  such  be  true,  we  have  alwa 
the  means  in  our  power,  of  raising  a  nation  in  power  and  wealth.  It  would  be  in  vain 
prove  that  the  Egyptians,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Persians,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  C« 
thagenians  of  old,  all  attained  a  lofty  station  without  "  good  malt  liquor."  It  would  be  fol 
to  point  to  the  Tartars  and  Mahommedans,  and  the  French  in  more  recent  times,  as  havi 
gained  a  lofty  station,  the  two  former  people,  without  the  use  of  any  stimulating  beveraj 
and  the  latter  certainly  without  the  aid  of  "  good  malt  liquor."  All  this  would  weigh  lit 
against  the  fact  that  England  has  attained  a  lofty  station,  and  England  is  a  lover  of  "go 
malt  liquor,"  although  it  is  not  every  mind  that  is  possessed  of  sufficient  acumen  to  diso 
any  connection  between  her  prosperity  and  her  favourite  beverage. 

But  England,  in  Mr.  Martin's  eyes,  has  lost  her  ancient  character  and  her  social 
piness,  and  all  this  he  attributes  to  the  high  price  of  malt,  and  fancies  that  happinea 
only  be  restored  "  by  repealing  entirely  the  taxes  on  malt  and  hops."  By  this  means  h 
pects  something  like  the  feudal  system  to  be  restored,  and  to  counteract  all  the  deniorali; 
and  physical  injuries  which  are  usually  ascribed  to  the  working  of  large  masses  of  h' 
beings  in  confined  manufactories.  Vice,  I  suppose,  would  cease  to  be  contagioHb,  and 
impure  atmospheres  would  no  longer  impair  the  bodily  vigour,  provided  only  the  mal 
hop  taxes  were  removed,  for  that  is  the  means,  and  the  only  means,  by  which  "rural  h 
ness  can  be  restored."  "  This  is  not  a  mere  agricultural  question,"  continues  the  poli< 
"  it  is  one  which  affects  the  vital  condition  of  the  whole  of  the  labouring  poor  in  the  li 
kingdom.     The  taxation  on  malt,  beer,  and  hops  has  contributed  more  than  any  other 


f< 


273 


ure  to  demoralize,  and  to  beget  a  desire  for  gin  and  other  ardent  spirits."     If  the  latter  as- 

■  ertion  be  true,  the  former  will  be  admitted.     But  it  it  true  that  the  diflSculties  of  obtaining 

le  has  occasioned  the  practice  of  spirit  drinking  ?    Most  of  our  labouring  population  who  have 

ecourse  to  spirits  as  a  beverage,  I  believe,  first  contract  a  love  for  ardent  spirits  by  taking  it 

isguised  in  "  good  inalt  liquor."    In  Lancashire,  with  the  exception  of  Manchester  and  Li  ver- 

Dol  perhaps,  intemperance  owes  a  great  deal  more  to  ale  drinking  than  to  spirit  drinking; 

iid  of  the  numerous  drunkards  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  I  do  not 

emember  a  single  instance  in  which  the  practice   of  intoxication  did   not  originate  in 

artaking  of    '•  good    malt    liquor."        Do   the   bser   shops,    I    would    ask    Mr.    Martin, 

I  end  ardent  spirits  or   "good  malt  liquor?"       I  presume  he  will  admit  that  the  eviis 

l.'hich    they   have   brought   upon   our   labouring   population  are   not   occasioned   by  the 

ifficulties  of  procuring  malt  liquor,  although  he  may  not  be  disposed  to  go  the  length  of 

m\e,  and  say,  that  they  are  manifestly  owing  to  the  facility  of  obtaining  the  means  of 

itemperance.    This  would  be  too  common  place  a  deduction  from  the  clearest  premises  for 

.deeming  a  logician  as  Mr.  Martin  to  draw.    I  do  not  know  if  Mr.  Martin,  and  those  who 

.       with  him  on  the  subject,  believe  that  the  human  mind  is  naturally  depraved,  and  that 

le  greater  the  facilities  there  are  to  the  practice  of  vice  and  the  more  vicious  will  men 

most  invariably  become;  but  whetlier  they  believe  it  or  not,  it  is  a  generally  received 

laxim,  and  one  which  admits  of  the  clearest  demonstration.     We  cannot  have  a  better  ex- 

iiple  than  the  recent  alteration  in  the  laws  relating  to  beer.     The  beer  bill  was  broached 

,  a  panacea  for  all  our  national  evils.     "  Give  the  poor  man  cheap  ale,  and  he  will  be  con- 

Mt.  and  relinquish  his  love  of  ardent  spirits."     Cheap  ale  was  given,  and  what  has  been  the 

■suit  ?     Increased  demoralization,  poverty,  and  discontent.     To  prove  this,   Mr.  Martin 

cust  not  speculate  in  his  closet,  but  must  go  amongst  the  labouring  population  of  our  towns, 

id  ask  the  wives  and  children  of  our  artisans,  nay,  even  the  artisans  themselves,  if  they 

lid  an  increase  of  morality  and  comfort  since  they  can  purchase  ale  for  a  penny  a  gill :  and 

will,  with  one  voice,  thunder  in  his  ear  a  terrific  NO.     Our  legislatures  even,  who  are 

rally  the  last  to   discern  a  national  evil,  are  at  this  very  time  inquiring  how  they  may 

ueily  the  evil  of  the  late  "  beer  bill."     But  then  Mr.  Martin  says,  "  it  is  idle  to  talk  of 

.  iiig  the  duty  from  20s.  Sd.  to  10s.  4d.     Nothing  short  of  a  complete  abolition  ought  to 

•y  the  country."     Mr.  Martin  is  one  of  those  who  do  not  like  to  do  things  by  halves,  but 

ho  like  sweeping  political  experiments  ;  and  the  fact  that  doubling  the  consumption  of  beer 

I.  increased  intemperance  two-fold,  is  but  an  evidence  to  him,  that  doubling  it  again 

I  prevent  intemperance  !     That  is,  take  away  every  barrier  to  indulgence,  and  every 

uicction  to  virtue,  and  vice  will  cease  to  be  pursued,  and  virtue  will  flourish !     The  beer  bill 

ought  revelling  and  beastly  intoxication  into  almost  every  street,  but  Mr.  Martin,  and  those 

ho  agree  with  him,  will  never  be  satisfied  till  they  witness  them  invading  the  sanctuary 

home,  till  every  poor  man's  cottage  becomes  polluted  with  intemperance,  and  his  chil- 

learn  to  sip  of  good  home  brewed  vice,  instead  of  purchasing  it,  as  1  have  often  witnes- 

i  'hem,  at  a  beer  shop  for  a  penny.—"  Some  taxes,"  observes  Mr.  Martin,  "  press  on  the 

a  ustry,  others  on  the  comforts,  and  others  on  the  luxuries  of  the  bulk  or  mass  of  the  people; 

u  the  malt,  beer,  and  hop  taxes  have  struck  a  deadly  blow  at  temperance  and  social  order, 

hich  are  the  main  springs  of  society,  and  the  only  strength  (under  the  guidance  of  Divine 

idence)  of  a  nation."     It  is  only  necessary  to  state  this  assertion  to  shew  its  absur- 

tv.     The  difficulties  thrown  in  the  way  of  intemperance  have  increased  intoxication. 


274 

and  a  check  upon  what  increases  the  disorder  of  society  has  sapped  social  order !     This 
paradox  which  I  leave  to  Mr.  Martin  to  explain. 

Now  for  the  climax ;  and  I  must  quote  it  in  full :  to  omit  a  single  word  would  mai 
effect.  "  England  maj'  go  on  extending  her  cotton  and  woollen  manufactures  over  the  fao| 
the  habitable  globe,  but  her  crawling  infants  may  be  doomed  to  an  infernal  slavery,  which 
civilized  or  uncivilized  country  ever  before  witnessed  ;  her  lands  may  be  covered  with 
roads  and  machinery,  and  her  warehouses  overflowing  with  merchandize;  towns,  and  1 
pies,  and  palaces  may  adorn  our  cities,  and  a  glittering  splendour  surround  the  throne  ; 
if,  in  the  midst  of  all  these  indications  of  national  wealth,  her  people  are  becoming  ever 
day  more  and  more  unsettled,  more  dissolute,  more  impoverished  (and  the  spirit  rises  whil 
the  bodily  frame  sinks  from  inanition)  then  indeed  the  very  symbols  of  prosperity  are  bu 
the  gildings  which  adorn  the  sepulchre,  and  conceal  the  rottenness  which  is  within." — Th 
mountains  are  in  labour,  and  a  little  mouse  is  brought  forth ;  for  if  the  malt  and  ho 
taxes  are  not  entirely  abolished,  every  hope  is  cut  oflf;  our  yeoman  will  become  like  those  « 
France  and  Italy,  "  thin,  sallow,  sharp-faced  and  irritable,"  for  want  of  "  good  malt  liquor 
to  drink !  Nay,  the  whole  mass  of  the  population  will  pine  away  under  the  dreadful,  aa 
awful  alternative  of  being  compelled  to  drink  a  destructive  and  demoralizing  beverage  calle 
water,  or  an  innutritious  and  poisonous  one  called  milk !  No  industry,  skill,  commercie 
enterprise,  and  facilities  of  internal  conveyance  can  bear  up  against  such  fearful  beverages 
All  our  civilization,  freedom,  and  wealth  are  but  empty  visions,  that  will  soon  fade  awaj 
and  "leave  not  a  wreck  behind  !" 

Mr.  Martin,  unfortunately,  is  not  the  only  person  who  has  made  the  splendid  discoverj 
that  the  malt  and  hop  duties  are  the  causes  of  all  our  national  grievances,  and  so  soon  a 
the  legislature  can  be  induced  to  abolish  them,  our  burdens  will  fall  from  the  nation's  baci 
like  "  snow  from  a  dyke's  side."  So  convinced  are  the  members  of  the  reformed  House  C 
Commons  of  this,  that  they  actually  suffered  a  motion  for  the  abolition  of  the  malt  tax  to  b 
carried,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  interference  of  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  this  measur 
would  have  been  successfully  accomplished  ;  and  the  government  only  interfered  from  an  ap 
prehension  of  an  income  tax  becoming  absolutely  necessary,  for  they  also  appear  to  be  believer 
in  this  wonderful  panacea  for  the  nation's  diseases.  But  laying  aside  my  admiration  of  th 
delusion  that  seems  to  envelop  all  classes  in  the  grossest  misconception  on  this  subject,  U 
«s  examine  the  matter  with  the  coolness  its  great  importance  merits.  This  I  purpose  briefl 
to  do  under  three  heads :  first,  as  connected  with  the  revenue ;  secondly,  as  it  affects  I 
means  of  subsistence ;  and,  thirdly,  as  it  affects  the  happiness  of  the  nation. 

First,  as  connected  with  the  revenue.  The  revenue  for  1830  was  j654,840,190j 
which  sum  £16,213,383  was  raised  from  the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquids.  The 
and  hop  duty  produced,  in  1832,  more  than  5  millions.  Now,  no  one  can  for  a  moment 
pose,  that  under  the  present  debt  and  necessities  of  the  government,  so  large  a  sum  as  this  cq 
be  spared  from  the  revenue ;  so  that  if  this  duty  were  taken  off  malt,  some  other  means 
be  adopted  to  raise  an  equal  sum.  So  convinced  were  the  House  of  Commons  of  this, 
they  reversed  the  decision  which,  on  the  motion  of  Sir  W.  Ingilby,  they  had  too  hastily  for( 
on  the  subject.  It  certainly  appears  to  me  by  far  the  least  oppressive  kind  of  taxation  to  lay 
duties  upon  such  articles  as  are  notessential  to  human  existence ;  and  if  there  be  any  subs 
which  are  of  extensive  consumption,  and  which  rather  tend  to  promote  crime,  immori 
and  poverty,  a  heavy  tax  upon  such  substances  I  should  consider  of  the  greatest  benei 


275 

)ciety  at  large,  by  furnishing  a  check  upon  the  abuse  of  them.     Now,  it  can  be  proved  be- 
ond  all  disputation,  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  crime,  poverty,  and  disease  of  this 
rantry  owe  their  origin  to  the  free  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.     It  is  equally  demonstrable, 
Uit  these  liquors  are  not  necessary  to  human  existence,  or  even  comfort ;  and  no  one  will 
gputc,  that  abstinence  from  such  liquors,  as  beverages,  can  be  attended  with  any  evil  re- 
ult     These  assertions  being  granted  (and  who  will  question  their  truth?)  it  follows,  as  a 
atter  of  course,  that  a  tax  upon  intoxicating  liquors  is  not  merely  a  tax  upon  luxuries, 
It  a  check  to  crime,  poverty,  and  disease ;  and  as  such,  it  must  be  beneficial  to  a  country, 
irely,  it  must  contribute  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  a  nation,  to  prevent  intemperance 
id  all  its  numerous  and  fearful  evils ;  and  what  can  be  a  stronger  prevention  than  raising 
e  cost  of  the  means  of  indulgence  beyond  the  reach  of  the  vicious  ?     Besides  being  a  check 
evil,  I  consider  the  taxes  upon  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  bonus  for  sobriety.     This  may 
pear  to  be  paradoxical,  but  I  will  explain  the  seeming  contradiction.     A  man  may  be  re- 
irded  as  well  by  refraining  from  making  demands  upon  the  product  of  his  labour  as  by  a 
rect  gift.     And  this  is  precisely  the  case  with  the  malt  tax.    A  certain  amount  of  revenue 
necessary  for  the  exigencies  of  the  state,  and  this  amount  must  be  exacted  from  the  coim- 
in  one  form  or  another.     If  it  be  demanded  in  a  direct  tax  from  every  individual, 
lether  as  an  income  tax,  a  property  tax,  or  an  assessed  tax,  the  bnrden  falls  upon  every 
rson  possessed  of  a  certain  amount  of  income,  of  property,  or  of  a  house,  irrespective  of 
character ;  but  when  the  tax  is  laid  upon  articles  of  consumption  that  are  not  essential  to 
istence,  every  man  may,  by  abstinence,  avoid  sustaining  any  part  of  the  public  burden  ; 
that  the  revenue  may  be  regarded  as  a  voluntary  contribution  :  and  when  the  tax  is  laid 
ion  what  is  injurious  to  the  moral,  physical,  and  economic  interests  of  the  people,  it  is 
itamount  to  a  declaration,  that  all  who  will  live  temperately  and  rationally  shall  have  the 
vilege  of  living  in  the  country,  and  enjoying  the  benefits  of  its  government,  free  from 
ute,  while  those  who  are  resolved  to  indulge  in  vice  shall  pay  a  fine  for  every  indulgence. 
now  it  is  said  by  some,  that  "  they  are  the  best  patriots  who  contribute  the  most  largely  to 
revenue  of  a  state,  while  they  who  contribute  little  have  small  share  to  any  privileges 
claims  on  the  constitution."     This,  however,  appears  to  me  to  be  a  great  error,  for  it  pro- 
ds on  the  principle  that  a  nation's  power  and  prosperity  depend  on  the  amount  of  funds 
las  at  its  disposal,  while  public  and  private  virtue  are  the  only  stable  foundations  of  a 
ion's  greatness  and  a  nation's  strength.     Wealth  always  excites  envy  and  creates  many 
nnies,  while  virtue  commands  the  esteem  of  even  the  vicious.     Besides,  in  strict  justice 
wicked  should  pay  the  greatest  part  of  the  expence  of  government.     A  good  man  needs 
government  but  that  of  heaven  ;  and  could  we  find  a  nation  of  good  men,  laws  would  be 
lerfluous,  magistrates  unnecessary,  aud  wars  would  be  unknown.     Now,  remove  from 
•  nation  the  expence  of  legislation,  the  cost  of  executing  the  laws,  and  the  support  of 
8,  and  the  burdens  consequent  upon  them,  and  the  remainder  would  be  trifling  indeed. 
me  it  appears  that  the  virtuous  should  only  pay  a  share  of  what  remains  after  these 
ttcdons  are  made,  while  the  vicious,  for  whose  restraint,  punishment,  or  gratification,  all 
rest  is  incurred,  should  sustain  nearly  the  whole  of  our  present  revenue.     T  think  there 
few  considerate  persons  who  will  dissent  from  the  proposition,  that  a  direct  tax  is  always 
BUS,  that  an  indirect  tax  is  always  the  least  burdensome,  and  just  in  proportion  to  the 
ecessary  nature  of  the  articles  upon  which  it  is  laid.     If  this  be  admitted,  surely  no  one 
ever  dream  of  substituting  an  income  or  property  tax  for  those  on  malt  and  hops.    At  all 


276 

events,  before  such  a  proposition  is  again  thought  of,  it  cannot  certainly  be  thought  t( 
unreasonable  to  request  those  who  bring  it  forward,  to  be  first  fully  convinced,  from  c 
premises,  that  "good  malt  liquor"  is  nutritious  in  the  highest  degree,  and  contribute; 
terially  to  public  and  private  virtue.  It  would  be  but  a  poor  proof  of  legislative  wisdoi 
sacrifice  =€.),000,000  of  revenue  a  year,  to  an  unfounded  assumption.  In  1830,  £27,507i| 
14s.  Id.  of  revenue  was  raised  from  the  consumption  of  spirits,  wines,  malt,  beer, 
sugar  and  molasses,  tea,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  snufif,  while  the  whole  revenue  of  the  ye; 
£54,840,190  Os.  45d.,  so  that  more  than  one  half  of  the  taxes  that  year  was  paid  i 
shape  of  a  gratuity  for  indulgence. 

Secondly.    The  malt  tax.  as  it  affects  the  means  of  subsistence.    For  the  sake  of 
ment  I  will  suppose  t;iat  it  requires  a  bushel  of  barley  to  make  a  bushel  of  malt, 
contains  fifly  per  cent,  of  nutriment,  and  perhaps,  on  an  average,  two  quarters  of  bi 
wouW  support  one  individual  for  a  whole  year.     By  the  process  of  germination,  whi 
barley  is  made  to  undergo  in  malting,  at  least  one-third  of  the  nutriment  is  lost,  si 
instead  of  fifty  per  cent.,  we  have  now  only  37.34  per  cent,  of  nutriment  left:  and 
six  quarters  of  barley  would  support  three  individuals  for  one  year,  six  quarters  of  malt 
only  support  two  individuals  for  the  same  period.     The  quantity  of  malt  which  paid  di 
18.'i2  was  40,334,987  bushels.     If  it  take  a  bushel  of  barley  to  form  a  bushel  of  malt, 
rate  of  two  quarters  for  an  individual,  the  above  mentioned  quantity  of  grain  would 
supported  2,520,936  individuals;  but  if  used  in  the  form  of  malt,  it  would  only  have 
ported  1,680,624  individuals;  so  that  by  the  process  of  malting  alone,  that  year,  fooi 
840,312  persons  was  destroyed.    But  the  mischief  does  not  stop  here.    Malt  is  not  used 
article  of  diet,  but  is  converted  into  a  beverage  by  fermentation.     By  this  process  we.' 
reasonably  conclude  that  another  third  of  the  nutriment  is  lost,  after  making  allowan 
that  which  is  returned  to  us  by  the  increase  of  the  animals  fed  upon  the  refuse  of  the  br^ 
ery.    If  this  be  true,  in  order  to  form  a  "  beverage  nutritious  in  the  highest  degree,"  we  d( 
troy  food  that  would  subsist  1,680,624  individuals.     But  even  this  is  not  the  only  inju 
the  country  sustains  in  provisions  by  the  use  of  ale.     In  1830,  according  to  parliamenti 
documents,  46,726  acres  of  ground  were  occupied  by  the  growth  of  hops.    Now,  hops  arei 
food,  so  that,  as  it  regards  sustenance,  this  land  must  be  regarded  as  waste.     On  a  low  avi 
age,  each  of  these  acres  will  produce  three  quarters  of  barley,  so  that,  for  the  production 
an  innutritions  plant  land  is  cultivated  that  might  be  made  to  yield  140,178  quartert 
barley,  or  food  for  70,089  individuals.     Thus,  "good  malt  liquor,"  which  is  lauded 
wise  and  simple,  as  the  greatest  boon  that  nature  and  art  have  combined  to  furnish  for  t ' 
nourishment  and  happiness  of  Englishmen,  actually  deprives  this  nation  of  nutrimc 
sufficient  for  the  support  of  1,750,713  persons. 

When  a  few  stacks  of  grain  were  destroyed  by  malignant  wretches,  the  country* 
shocked  at  the  desperate  deed ;  but  when  more  than  one-twelfth  of  the  grain  grown  ini 
country  is  destroyed  in  the  production  of  intoxicating  liquors,  it  is  esteemed  a  blessing 
the  nation ;  and  could  a  double  quantity  be  destroyed,  legislators  and  politicians  tell 
should  be  on  the  high  road  to  happiness,  morality,  and  plenty.  If  we  suppose,  with 
loch  that  one-seventh  of  the  grain  consumed  in  this  country  is  imported,  the  effect 
a  project  would  be  tantamount  to  closing  our  ports  in  a  year  of  scarcity,  unless  our  i 
were  more  than  doubled. 


277 

Thirdly.     That  ale  is  not  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the  people,  can  be  proved  by 

rery  many  instances  of  persons,  in  every  station  in  life,  possessing  the  most  robust  health, 

ind  enjoying  every  rational  gratification,  without  tasting  of  it.     We  have  even  "  yeomen," 

vho  would  not  have  blushed  to  have  stood  by  those  of  yore,  who  drink  no  malt  liquor,  and 

vho  will  yet  perform  as  much  agricultural  labour  as  any  ale  drinker  of  the  same  bodily  power 

n  England.     That  ale  stimulates  the  physical  powers,  and  produces  a  temporary,  violent 

xertion  of  strength,  I  willingly  admit;  but  that  it  contributes  to  the  permanent  strength 

f  our  labourers,  will  admit  of  the  greatest  doubt.     When  our  coachmen  find  a  horse  flag- 

ing,  they  will  administer  a  quart  of  ale  to  help  him  to  the  end  of  his  journey,  but  I  never 

card  of  any  one  attempting  permanently  to  increase  the  strength  of  a  horse  by  habitually 

iviiig  him  malt  liquor.     Our  bodies  are  subjected  to  the  same  laws  that  govern  the  econo- 

ly  of  the  horse,  and  what  would  be  considered  preposterous  in  the  one  case  would  be  re- 

.irded  as  absurd  in  the  other,  did  not  custom  hoodwink  our  reason,  and  prejudice  blind  our 

erception.     Besides,  intoxication  from  malt  liquor  initiates  into  a  love  of  stronger  stimu- 

•nts,  and  begets  a  desire  for  ardent  spirits,  which  even  Mr.  Martin  deplores ;  and  it  would 

ot  be  difficult  to  demonstrate,  that  much  of  the  crime,  poverty,  and  disease  of  the  country 

we  their  origin  to  the  same  source.     If  such  be  the  case,  "  good  malt  liquor  "  is  the  cause 

f  a  large  proportion  of  the  misery  in  this  country,  and  it  will  require  a  very  acute  logician 

)  prove  that  what  is  the  cause  of  misery  is  also  the  cause  of  happiness.     This  problem  I 

'a\  e  to  Mr.  Martin  and  our  legislators  to  solve. 

A  Lover  of  Temperance. 


SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

Mr.  Editor, — With  your  permission,  I  would  lay  before  your  readers  some  observa- 
3ns  respecting  J.  R.'s  letter  on  Sunday  schools,  inserted  in  your  last  number. 

Your  correspondent  observes,  that  neither  Moses  nor  Joshua,  nor  yet  Jesus  nor  his 
)ostles,  gave  any  directions  about  Sunday  schools,  and  therefore  concludes  that  these  insti- 
tiuns  are  without  any  warrant  in  Scripture.  Notwithstanding  this,  however,  I  humbly 
line,  that  Sunday  schools,  Bible,  Tract,  and  Missionary  Societies,  and  other  similar  insti- 
duns,  though  never  mentioned,  in  so  many  words,  in  the  Scriptures,  are  perfectly  in 
cordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  inasmuch  as  the  object  of  all  of  them  is  to 
read  abroad  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  to  convert  sinners  from  the 
ror  of  their  ways,  and  to  build  them  up  in  the  faith  of  Christ. 

We  all  agree  that  there  is  much  evil  in  society  as  it  exists  at  present.  But  are  Sun- 
y  schools  to  blame  for  this  ?  Yes,  says  J.  R.  and  others,  they  are  subversive  of  a  Christian 
iiistry,  by  which  the  evils  of  society  should,  and  would  have  been  prevented  or  remedied, 
d  not  these  institutions  interfered.  It  is  argued,  that  the  immoral  sta(e  of  society  clearly 
nvs,  that  our  religious  teachers  have  neglected  their  duty.  But  this  is  going  rather  too 
:  for  if  the  prevalence  of  vice  be  a  sufficient  proof  of  what  J.  R.  affirms,  then  may  he 
■same  to  charge  the  Saviour  himself  and  his  apostles  with  dereliction  of  duty;  for  after 
tlicir  exertions,  and  though  we  read  of  thousands  being  converted,  and  of  vast  numbers 
ing  added  to  the  Lord,  still  the  great  mass  of  the  people  amongst  whom  they  laboured 
nained  slaves  to  sin,  steeped  in  a  state  of  spiritual  darkness,  and  without  hope  and  with- 
t  God  in  the  world. 

vr>T.      Ill  2  M 


278 

J.  R.  says,  "  If  we  notice  what  it  is  that  enables  ministers  to  secure  congi*egati 
capable  of  giving  them  their  salaries,  notwithstanding  their  daily,  nay,  we  may  say,  tl 
avowed  neglect,  we  shall  find  Sunday  schools  to  be  their  grand  resource,  out  of  which  tl 
hope  to  draft  congregations,  without  having  the  trouble  of  going  from  house  to  house  ;  t 
evading  the  Scriptural  example  of  a  gospel  ministry."  Now,  before  we  can  judge  of 
justness  or  unjustness  of  this  harsh  and  sweeping  condemnation  of  our  religious  teachersi 
is  necessary  to  ascertain  what  is  the  duty  of  a  gospel  minister.  And  to  resolve  this  prob 
lem  we  must  go  to  the  Scriptures  of  truth. 

After  the  ascension  of  their  Lord,  and  whilst  the  disciples  were  yet  waiting  for  th' 
Cnmforter,  by  whom  they  were  to  be  enlightened  in  all  spiritual  things,  and  fully  prepare( 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  we  find  them  repeatedly  assembling  themselves  together  ii 
one  place,  for  the  purpose  of  divine  worship.  And  the  first  great  accession  to  the  church 
recorded  Acts  ii.,  was  accomplished  through  the  instrumentality  of  Peter,  not  by  goin| 
from  house  to  house,  but  by  preaching  Christ,  and  him  crucified,  to  the  multitudes  wh 
flocked  to  the  meeting  place  of  the  disciples.  Immediately  afterwards,  we  read  of  aboo 
five  thousand  being  converted  by  another  sermon  of  Peter's,  when  the  people  ran  togethe 
to  the  porch  of  the  temple,  on  hearing  of  the  miracle  of  healing  performed  on  the  man  wh 
had  been  lame  from  his  mother's  womb.  In  Acts  v.  it  is  repeatedly  mentioned,  that  th 
apostles  taught  the  people  in  the  temple,  and  in  the  last  verse  of  the  chapter  we  are  tol 
that  "  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every  house,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jen 
Christ."  Here  the  words,  "  in  every  house,"  may  seem  to  support  the  plans  of  teachin 
advocated  by  J.  R. ;  but  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this,  and  a  similar  expres 
sion.  Acts  XX.  20,  refer  to  meetings  in  the  houses  of  the  converts,  similar  to  the  prival 
meetings  for  prayer  and  mutual  edification  amongst  different  religious  parties  at  the  preset 
day.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  chapter,  there  is  an  incident  recorded,  which  is  quit 
decisive  as  to  what  is  the  proper  employment  of  a  gospel  ministry.  At  this  time,  the  dli 
ciples  had  multiplied  greatly,  and  their  zeal  had  induced  those  amongst  them  who  had  th 
means  to  contribute  liberally  of  their  substance  to  supply  the  wants  of  their  necessitoi 
brethren.  Some  irregularity  appears  to  have  arisen  in  the  distribution  of  these  funds,  i 
consequence  of  which  murmurings  were  excited  amongst  the  disciples.  To  allay  these  dii 
agreeable  feelings,  the  apostles  called  the  multitude  together,  and  recommended  them  1 
elect  a  number  of  suitable  persons  to  superintend  the  business,  giving  as  their  reason  f< 
this  advice,  "  It  is  not  reasonable  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God,  and  serve  tables. 
"  We  will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word."  Froi 
this  it  appears  evident,  that  the  proper  employment  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  is  not  to  a 
tend  to  the  wants  of  men's  bodies,  or  the  mere  secular  concerns  of  Christian  life,  so  muc 
as  to  supply  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  flock,  to  study  the  word  of  God  with  great  diligem 
and  attention,  and  to  bring  therefrom  those  spiritual  treasures  which  are  intended  for 
verting  sinners  and  edifying  saints. 

Not  to  extend  this  letter  to  an  unreasonable  length,  I  will  briefly  call  the  attenti 
J.  R.  and  the  readers  of  the  Moral  Reformer,  to  the  ministerial  labours  of  the  apostle 
and  then  leave  the  subject  to  their  meditations. 

Acts  xi.  26,  we  are  told  that  Paul  and  Barnabas,  "  a  whole  year,  assembled  thems 
with  the  church  (at  Antioch),  and  taught  much  people."  And  when  travelling  as  missi 
aries  among  the  heathen  nations,  it  was  the  practice  of  Paul  and  his  companions  in  lal 


279 

0  enter  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews,  which  were  generally  to  be  found  in  the  various  cities 
hey  visited,  and  address  the  congregations  there  assembled.  At  Philippi,  where  probably 
here  was  no  synagogue,  they  went  out  of  the  city  by  a  river  side,  where  prayer  was  wont 
i  be  made  (on  the  Sabbath)."  And  at  Athens,  we  read  that  Paul  "  disputed  in  the  syna- 
ogue  with  the  Jews,  and  with  the  devout  persons,  and  in  the  market  daily  with  them  that 
let  with  him."  At  Corinth,  Paul  preached  in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath,  as  was  his 
lUtom;  but  when  violently  opposed  by  the  Jews,  he  entered  into  the  house  of  a  convert 
amed  Justus,  and  being  encouraged  by  the  Lord,  who  said  to  him  in  a  vision,  "  I  have 
uich  people  in  this  city,"  he  continued  there  teaching  the  word  of  God  a  year  and  six 
tenths.  A  similar  scene  occurred  at  Ephesus.  For  three  months  Paul  taught  in  the 
/nagogue,  "  but  when  divers  were  hardened,  and  believed  not,  but  spake  evil  of  that  way 
ifore  the  multitude,  he  departed  from  them,  and  separated  the  disciples,  disputing  daily  in 
le  school  of  one  Tyrannus.  And  this  continued  by  the  space  of  two  years ;  so  that  all  they 
lat  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  both  Jews  and  Greeks."  Acts  xix.  8,  10. 
^hen  the  apostle  visited  Troas,  where  he  had  formerly  laboured  and  gathered  a  church,  we 
« told,  that  the  evening  previous  to  his  departure,  the  disciples  came  together  in  an  upper 
lamber  to  break  bread,  and  Paul  preached  unto  them,  and  continued  his  speech  until  mid- 
ght.  And  I  cannot  help  observing  here,  how  disagreeable,  had  they  been  there,  would 
lis  have  been  to  certain  modern  professing  Christians,  who  are  apt  to  complain  loudly  of 
le  great  length  of  time  spent,  in  our  religious  assemblies,  in  praying,  singing,  and  ser- 
lOnizing ! 

From  all  this  we  may  leain,  that  the  apostle  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  with  those  who 
It,  or  at  least  expressed,  some  anxiety  to  learn  the  way  of  salvation,  and  of  disputing  with 
«in,  and  reasoning  concerning  the  great  truths  he  was  commissioned  to  promulgate  ;  and 
hen  his  labours  were  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  souls,  he  was  accustomed  to  form  his  con- 
rts  into  churches,  meet  with  them  in  some  fixed  place,  and  preach  to  them  and  all  who 
lose  to  attend  the  meetings.  But  it  appears  that  he  did  not  consider  it  obligatory  to  seek 
ter  those  who  would  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  his  instructions,  and  who  were  blinded  by  the  god 
■  this  world,  perhaps  remembering  the  Saviour's  injunction,  "  Cast  not  your  pearls  before 
rine." 

Now,  the  passages  cited  above  directly  militate  against  J.  R.'s  notion  of  the  duty  of 
iligious  teachers ;  and  I  would  earnestly  entreat  him,  and  others  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
iing  the  same  line  of  argument,  to  consider  the  pernicious  influence  ihey  are  exerting  on 
le  minds  of  irreligious  people,  confirming  tliem  in  their  habitual  neglect  of  God's  worship, 
id  affording  them  an  excuse  for  their  profane  lives:  they  are  led,  by  such  groundless 
larges  against  the  ministers  of  Christ,  to  lay  their  sin  at  the  door  of  the  preacher,  when, 
truth,  it  is  they  who  will  not  come  to  the  feast  which  is  prepared  for  them,  and  where 
ley  would  be  joyfully  received. 

But  perhaps  I  may  be  here  asked,  if  I  thus  maintain  that  ministers  of  the  gospel  are 
■operly  employed  in  attending  to  the  congregations  they  have  collected  around  them,  and 
those  who  will  come  to  their  meetings,  what  must  be  done  for  the  multitudes  who  never 
)proach  a  place  of  worship  ?  Do  I  not  feel  one  emotion  of  compassion  for  the  crowds  who 
«  heedlessly  pursuing  the  downward  paths  which  terminate  in  hopeless  misery  I  Yes,  I, 
ndmy  fellow  labourers  in  Sunday  schools,  have,  I  trust,  often  thought  of,  and  mourned 
ver,  the  depraved  state  of  our  population,  and  we  have  been  led  to  do  something  (little 


280 

we  must  own)  towards  rescuing  these  victims  suffering  under  the  thraldom  of  sin  and  a 
We  have  taken  many  of  the  stray  "  lambs"  from  the  streets  and  the  lanes,  and  are  fee 
them  with  the  milk  of  the  word.     (And  we  shall  continue  our  labours,  notwithstanding 
discouragements  thrown  in  our  way  by  J.  R.  and  others.)     Oh !  yes,  I  feel  so  much  foi 
sad  state  of  these  wandering  sheep,  that  I  implore  J.  R.  and  others,  who  seem  to  be  if 
way  actively  employed  in  Christian  exertion,  not  to  be  content  merely  to  write  about 
irreligious  state  of  society,  but  to  begin  to  act.     If  they  choose  not  to  engage  with  us  id 
religious  instruction  of  the  children  of  the  poor,  and  if  they  like  not  any  other  of  the  vat 
plans  of  doing  good  pursued  by  their  Christian  brethren,  let  them  adopt  their  own  sc 
and  begin  to  go  about  from  house  to  house,  warning  sinners  of  their  danger,  exhorting 
to  repent  and  believe,  and  urging  them  to  attend  the  means  of  grace.     And  I   am  si 
speak  with  the  concurrence  of  my  fellow  labourers  in  Sunday  schools,  when  I  say,  that 
shall  not  complain,  nay,  that  we  shall  rejoice,  when  we  behold  J.  R.  and  other  Christ 
endeavouring  to  convert  sinners  in  their  own  way.     And  when  J.  R.  has  thus  laboured  fi 
years,  when  he  has  long  striven  with  the  heedlessness  and  obstinacy  of  sinners,  and  fii 
quently  seen  them  disappoint  all  his  prayerful  expectations,  and  when  he  has  often  expt 
rienced  the  struggles  of  his  own  heart,  under  the  chilling  impression,  that,  with  all  b 
exertions,  he  is  doing  little  or  no  good,  then  I  am  persuaded  lie  will  feel  little  inclination 
repeat  his  observation  respecting  the  inefficiency  of  Sunday  school  instruction. 

In  reference  to  the  lamentation  of  J.  R.  over  the  separation  of  the  parents  from  the 
children,  this  objection,  if  it  have  any  weight,  is  equally  applicable  to  schools  of  every  de 
cription,  which,  on  other  days,  are  filled  with  children,  who  are  necessarily  absent  from  the 
parents ;  but  let  J.  R.  consider  what  sort  of  an  example  those  parents,  for  the  benefit  i 
whose  children  Sunday  schools  are  designed,  set  before  their  offspring,  and  then  let  hi 
say  whether  occasional  separation,  for  the  purpose  of  religious  instruction,  be  an  evil  or  n« 
And  in  reference,  also,  to  the  effects  of  punishment  inflicted  in  Sunday  schools,  I  would  as 
is  it  in  such  places  only  that  "  angry  feelings  and  unholy  thoughts"  are  excited  by  necessa 
correction?  This  last  noticed  objection  of  J.  R.'s,that  of  Sunday  school  teachers  beii 
"  young,  inexperienced  men  and  women,"  and  then  again,  the  expression  of  his  regi 
"  that  so  many  parents  spend  the  whole  of  their  Sabbath  in  the  school,"  seem  very  li 
"  mere  theories  written  for  the  sake  of  finding  fault."     But  I  must  forbear. 

J.  R.  also  says,  Sunday  schools  "  have  now  been  in  full  operation  twenty  years,  ai 
yet  tiie  state  of  society  is  not  a  bit  better."  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  j)rove  either  the  truth 
falsehood  of  this  assertion.  It  is  like  the  lament  we  so  often  hear  for  the  "good  old  timet 
which  were  so  much  belter  than  our  own  times:  but  perhaps  if  we  were  as  intimately  « 
quainted  with  former  times  as  we  are  with  our  own,  we  should  not  have  so  much  reason 
we  imagine  for  dissatisfaction  :  and  if,  instead  of  scanning  one  little  portion  of  what  he  ca 
"society,"  J.  R.  were  permitted  to  look  into  all  the  million  haunts  of  life  throughout o 
land,  and  behold  the  doings  of  men  in  all  their  various  pursuits ;  and  supposing  he  w« 
made  as  well  acquainted  with  society  as  it  existed  twenty  years  ago ;  then,  perhaps,  wh 
he  would  be  fully  competent  to  give  an  opinion,  he  might  more  justly  appreciate  the  benel 
derived  from  Sunday  schools  ;  then,  if  he  could  not  pronounce  the  state  of  society  to  be  a  1 
better,  he  might  perhaps  tell  us  how  much  worse  it  would  have  been  if  these  institutw 
had  never  been  established.  But  all  such  comparison  of  present  with  former  times  is 
trifling.     It  is  a  matter  beyond  our  cognizance.     We  feel  present  evils :  past  things  an 


281 

limly  seen  through  the  lapse  of  time,  or  spoken  of  to  us  by  the  aged,  who  look  back  to  their 
'OUth,  when  health  and  enjoyment  led  them  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  tilings. 

'And  now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  ought  to  apologize  to  you  for  the  great  length  of  this  commu- 
lication ;  but  I  hope  that  you  will  not,  on  that  account,  refuse  its  insertion,  considering  the 
nputations  that  have  been  charged  upon  the  institutions  1  have  attempted  to  defend,  and 
ow  much  has  appeared  in  the  pages  of  your  work  on  the  other  side  of  the  question,  but 
lat  you  will  permit  your  readers  to  consider  the  arguments  on  both  sides,  and  judge  for 
lemselves.  A  Sunday  School  Teacher. 

August  7th,  iS33. 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  I  give  insertion  to  the  above  letter,  because  it  is  calculated  to 
lad  to  the  discussion  of  subjects  of  vast  importance — the  utility  of  Sunday  schools,  and  the 
tjture  of  the  Christian  ministry.  However  I  may  differ  with  the  writer  on  some  points,  or 
ith  "J.  R.,"  one  thing  I  will  say,  and  I  have  often  repeated  the  same,  that  Sunday  school 
sadiers  and  superintendents  constitute  the  most  laborious  and  disinterested  class  of  Chris- 
aas  with  which  I  am  acquainted. — Ed. 


THE  PRESS. 
It  is  manifest  that  if  the  obligations  which  are  urged  apply  to  those  who  speak,  they 
jply  with  tenfold  responsibility  to  those  who  write.  The  man,  who,  in  talking  to  half  a 
>zen  of  his  acquaintance,  contributes  to  confuse  or  pervert  their  moral  notions,  is  account- 
)le  for  the  mischief  which  he  may  do  to  six  persons.  He  who  writes  a  book  containing 
aailar  language  is  answerable  for  a  so  much  greater  amount  of  mischief  as  the  number  of 
s  readers  may  exceed  six,  and  as  the  influence  of  books  exceeds  that  of  conversation  by 
£  evidence  of  greater  deliberation  in  their  contents  and  by  the  greater  attention  which  is 
ud  by  the  reader.  It  is  not  a  light  matter,  even  in  this  view,  to  write  a  book  for  the  pub- 
\  We  very  insufficiently  consider  the  amount  of  the  obligations  and  the  extent  of  the  re- 
onsibility  which  we  entail  upon  ourselves.  Every  one  knows  the  power  of  the  press  in 
fluencing  the  public  mind.  He  that  publishes  five  hundred  copies  of  a  book,  of  which  any 
irtis  likely  to  derange  the  moral  judgment  of  a  reader,  contributes  materially  to  the  pro- 
igation  of  evil.  If  each  of  his  books  is  read  by  four  persons,  he  endangers  the  infliction 
'this  evil,  whatever  be  its  amount,  upon  two  thousand  minds.  Who  shall  tell  the  sum  of 
e  mischief?  In  this  country  the  periodical  press  is  a  powerful  engine  for  evil  or  for  good, 
ba  influence  of  the  contents  of  one  number  of  a  newspaper  maybe  small,  but  it  is  perpetu- 
ly  recurring.  The  editor  of  a  journal,  of  which  no  more  than  a  thousand  copies  are  circu- 
ted  in  a  week,  and  each  of  which  is  read  by  half  a  dozen  persons,  undertakes  in  a  year  a 
irt  of  the  moral  guidance  of  three  hundred  thousand  individuals.  Of  some  daily  papers  the 
imber  of  readers  is  so  great,  that  in  the  course  of  twelve  months  they  may  influence  the 
liaions  and  the  conduct  of  six  or  eight  millions  of  men.  To  say  nothing,  therefore,  of  edi- 
nswho  intentionally  mislead  and  vitiate  the  public,  and  remembering  with  what  carelessness 
specting  the  moral  tendency  of  articles  a  newspaper  is  filled,  it  may  safely  be  concluded, 
at  some  creditable  editors  do  harm  in  the  world  to  an  extent,  in  comparison  with  which 
bberjes  and  treasons  are  as  nothing. 

It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  the  sum  of  advantages  which  would  result,  if  the  periodical 
not  only  excluded  that  which  does  harm,  but  preferred  that  which  does  good.    Not  that 


282 

grave  moralties,  not,  especially,  that  religious  disquisitions,  are  to  be  desired;  but  thate^ 
reader  should  see  and  feel  that  the  editor  maintained  an  allegiance  to  virtue  and  to  tr 
There  is  hardly  any  class  of  topics  in  which  this  allegiance  may  not  be  manifested,  and  ma 
fested  without  any  incongruous  associations.     You  may  relate  the  common  occurrenc 
the  day  in  such  a  manner  as  to  do  either  good  or  evil.     The  trial  of  a  thief,  the  partic 
of  a  conflagration,  the  death  of  a  statesman,  the  criticism  of  a  debate,  and  a  hundred  o| 
matters,  may  be  recorded  so  as  to  exercise  a  moral  influence  over  the  reader  for  the  be 
or  the  worse.     That  the  influence  is  frequentlj^  for  the  worse  needs  no  proof;  and  it 
much  the  less  defensible,  because  it  may  be  changed  to  the  contrary  without  a  word,  directl] 
respecting  morals  or  religion. 

However,  newspapers  do  much  more  good  than  harm,  especially  in  politics.  They  ai 
in  this  country  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  beneficial  instruments  of  political  advantagt 
They  eifect  incalculable  benefit,  both  in  checking  the  statesman  who  would  abuse  powa 
and  in  so  influencing  the  public  opinion  as  to  prepare  it  for,  and  therefore  to  render  neces 
sary,  an  amelioration  of  political  and  civil  institutions.  The  great  desideratum  is  enlarge 
ment  of  views  and  purity  of  principle.  We  want  in  editorial  labours  less  of  partizanshq 
less  of  petty  squabbles  about  the  worthless  discussions  of  the  day  :  we  want  more  of  the  j 
losophij  of  politics,  more  of  that  grasping  intelligence  which  can  send  a  reader's  reflection 
from  facts  to  principles.  Our  journals  are,  to  what  they  ought  to  be,  what  a  chronicle  c 
the  middle  ages  is  to  a  philosophical  history.  The  disjointed  fragments  of  political  intelU 
gence  ought  to  be  connected  by  a  sort  of  enlightened  running  commentary.  There  i 
talent  enough  embarked  in  some  of  these;  but  the  talent  too  commonly  expends  itself  upo: 
subjects  and  in  speculations  which  are  of  little  interest  beyond  the  present  week. 

And  here  we  are  reminded  of  that  miserable  direction  to  public  opinion  which  is  give 
in  Historical  Works.*  I  do  not  speak  of  party  bias,  though  that  is  sufficiently  mischievous 
but  of  the  irrational  selection  by  historians  of  comparatively  unimportant  things  to  fill  tk 
greater  portion  of  their  pages.  People  exclaim  that  the  history  of  Europe  is  little  raor 
than  a  history  of  human  voilence  and  wickedness.  But  they  confound  History  with  tba 
portion  of  history  which  historians  record.  That  portion  is  doubtless  written  almost  in  blooi 
but  it  is  a  very  small,  and  in  truth  a  very  subordinate  portion.  The  intrigues  of  cabinets 
the  rise  and  fall  of  ministers ;  wars,  and  battles,  and  victories,  and  defeats ;  the  plunder  c ; 
provinces ;  the  dismemberment  of  empires  ; — -these  are  the  things  which  fill  the  pages  of  th 
historian,  but  these  are  not  the  things  which  compose  the  history  of  man.  He  that  woul'i 
acquaint  himself  with  the  history  of  his  species,  must  apply  to  other  and  to  calmer  scenei 
"  It  is  a  cruel  mortification,  in  searching  for  what  is  instructive  in  the  history  of  past  tiaWJ 
to  find  that  the  exploits  of  conquerors  who  have  desolated  the  earth  and  the  freaks  of  tyrapt 
who  have  rendered  nations  unhappy,  are  recorded  with  minute  and  often  disgusting  accu 
racy,  while  the  discovery  of  useful  arts,  and  the  progress  of  the  most  beneficial  branches  o 
commerce,  are  passed  over  in  silence  and  sufiPered  to  sink  in  oblivion. "f  Even  a  more  crue 
mortification  than  this  is  to  find  recorded  almost  nothing  respecting  the  intellectual  and  mow 
history  of  man.  You  are  presented  with  five  or  six  weighty  volumes  which  profess  to  bi 
a  History  of  Eugland;  and  after  reading  them  to  the  end,  you  have  hardly  found  any  thiD| 


*  "  Next  to  the  guilt  of  those  who  commit  wicked  actions  is  that  of  the  historian  who  glosses  ( 
over  and  excuses  them."    Southey :  Book  of  the  Church,  e.  8. 

t  Rotiertson  :  Disq.  on  Anct.  Comm.  of  India. 


283 

satisfy  that  interesting  question, — How  has  my  conntry  been  enabled  to  advance  from 
rbarism  to  civilization  ;  to  come  forth  from  darkness  into  light  ?  Yes,  by  applying  philo- 
phy  to  facts  yourself,  you  may  attain  some,  though  it  be  but  an  imperfect,  reply.  But  the 
storian  himself  should  have  done  this.  The  facts  of  history,  simply  as  such,  are  of  com- 
batively little  concern.  He  is  the  true  historian  of  man  who  regards  mere  facts  rather  as 
e  illustrations  of  history  than  as  its  subject  matter.  As  to  the  history  of  cabinets  and  courts , 
intrigue  and  oppression,  of  campaigns  and  generals,  we  can  almost  spare  it  all.  It  is  of 
inderfully  little  consequence  whether  they  are  remembered  or  not,  except  as  lessons  of  in- 
action,— except  as  proofs  of  the  evils  of  bad  principles  and  bad  institutions.  For  any 
lier  purpose,  Blenheim !  we  can  spare  thee.  And  Louis,  even  Louis  "le grand!"  we 
ii  spare  thee.     And  thy  successor  and  his  Pampadour  !   we  can  spare  ye  all. 

Much  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  historian,  if  he  will  exert  it,  if  he  will  make  the  oc- 
rrences  of  the  past  subservient  to  the  elucidations  of  the  principles  of  human  nature, — of 
e  principles  of  political  truth, — of  the  rules  of  political  rectitude  ; — if  he  will  refuse  to 
ike  men  ambitious  of  power  by  filling  his  pages  with  the  feats  and  freaks  of  men  in  power ; 
'tf  he  will  give  no  currency  to  the  vulgar  delusions  about  glory  : — if  he  will  do  these  things, 
d  such  as  these,  he  will  deserve  well  of  his  country  and  of  man  ;  for  he  will  contribute  to 
at  rectification  of  Public  Opinion  which,  when  it  is  complete  and  determinate,  will  be  the 
DSt  powerful  of  all  earthly  agents  in  ameliorating  the  social  condition  of  the  world. — 
fmmid's  Essmjs  on  the  Principles  of  Morality. 


PETITION  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS  FOR  THE  ABOLITION  OF 

TITHES,    &.C. 

the  Commons  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  Parliament  assembled. 

We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  religious  Society  of  Friends,  called  Quakers,  as- 

nbled  at  our  Yearly  Meeting  in  London,  respectfully  represent  to  parliament,  that  our 

ciety  has  always  objected,  on  principle,  to  Tithes,  and  other  compulsory  ecclesiastical 

urns. 

We  consider  it  to  be  our  bounden  duty  to  conform  ourselves  to  the  laws,  and  to  obey 
e  government  of  our  country,  in  all  things  which  do  not  interfere  with  the  higher  claims 
conscience  towards  God  ;  but,  whenever  there  is  such  an  interference,  it  is  our  established 
ictice  to  refuse  an  active  compliance  with  the  law,  and  patiently  to  suffer  the  conse- 
ences. 

On  this  principle,  we  have  always  refused  the  payment  of  Tithes,  and  other  ecclesias- 
sl  demands ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  have  offered  no  opposition  to  the  distraint  of  our  goods 
these  purposes.  In  the  earlier  periods  of  the  Society,  its  members  were  exposed  to 
iCTous  sufferings  and  persecutions  on  this  account.  Not  only  were  they  despoiled  of  their 
)perty,  in  a  vexatious  and  ruinous  manner,  but  their  persons  were  seized,  and  they  were 
mured  in  dungeons,  to  the  injury  of  their  health,  and,  in  many  instances,  even  to  the 
s  of  their  lives  :  and  although  the  laws  which  render  us  liable  to  suits  in  the  ecclesiasti- 
courts  are  now  but  seldom  enforced,  we  still  suffer  considerable  injury  from  the  levying 
distraints,  and  from  the  exactions  with  which  they  are  often  accompanied. 

Our  reasons  for  refusing  these  payments  are  purely  of  a  religious  nature  ;  and  they  are 
follows : 


284 

First.  That  we  regard  the  interference  of  the  civil  government,  in  matters  of  re! 
and  private  conscience,  to  be  the  usurpation  of  a  prerogative  which  belongs  only  to  G 

Secondhj.  That  we  consider  the  setting  apart  of  Tithes  for  the  maintenance  a 
ministers  of  religion,  to  have  been  an  unwarrantable  return  to  the  provisions  of  the  L 
cal  law,  and  at  variance  with  the  nature  and  character  of  the  Gospel. 

Thirdly.     That  we  believe  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  to  be  free  in  its  nature,  accoi 
to  the  command  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  to  his  disciples:  "  Freely  ye  have  received, 
give;"  and  that  the  contravention  of  this  principle  has  an  unfailing  tendency  to  o 
religion  into  a  trade,  and  grievously  to  impede  the  diffusion  of  vital  Christianity.  'i; 

We  also  deem  the  compulsory  support  of  the  ministers  of  any  church,  and  of  an  eet 
siastical  system  connected  therewith,  to  be  opposed  to  that  liberty  which  the  Gospel  confe 
and,  when  claimed  from  those  who  conscientiously  dissent  from  that  church,  to  be  a  violat 
of  the  common  principles  of  justice. 

Observing  with  satisfaction  that  the  subject  of  Tithes  and  other  ecclesiastical  demai 
is  likely  to  come  under  the  deliberate  review  of  the  Legislature,  we  consider  this  to  be 
proper  time  for  representing  to  Parliament  these  our  Christian  principles  :  and  we  respc 
fully  beseech  the  House  of  Commons  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  any  modification  of  the  p 
sent  system,  but  to  take  effectual  measures  for  the  entire  removal  of  all  such  imposts. 

In  conclusion,  we  feel  bound  to  express  to  Parliament  our  heartfelt  prayer,  that, 
mighty  God  may  bless  and  preserve  the  Government  and  Legislature  of  our  country, « 
may  direct  all  their  counsels  for  the  happiness  of  the  nation,  for  the  welfare  of  mankind 
general,  and  for  his  own  glory. 

Signed  by  six  hundred  and  seventy-nine  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  from  van 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom. 


OBSOLETE  ACTS  OF  PARLIAMENT. 

When  acts  of  parliament  become  at  variance  with  the  common  sense  of  a  nation,  ( 
opposed  to  the  high  principle  of  equity,  they  should  either  be  repealed  or  be  sufferi 
slumber  in  inactivity.  Most  of  our  statutes  respecting  easter  dues,  oblations,  obventioni 
are  of  this  character ;  and  yet,  so  eager  for  filthy  lucre  are  the  clergy,  that  they  arei 
stantly  resisting  all  remonstrances  urged  from  the  principles  of  propriety  and  equity^ 
are  resting  their  claims  upon  some  antiquated  law.  The  following  are  quite  as 
statutes  as  theirs,  and  the  man  who  at  this  day  would  dare  to  enforce  them  would  deser 
stand  as  high  in  public  estimation  as  they  do. 

"  No  person  shall  make,  sell,  or  set  upon  any  clothes,  or  wearing  garments  whatso 
any  buttons  made  of  cloth,  serge,  drugget,  frieze,  camblet,  or  any  other  stuff  of  which  clod 
or  wearing  garments  are  made,  or  any  buttons  made  of  wood  only,  and  turned  in  imii 
of  other  buttons,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  40s.  per  dozen,  for  all  such  buttons."    (7  Geo.  1, 

"  No  tailor  shall  set  on  any  buttons,  or  button-holes,  of  serge,  drugget,  &c 
penalty  of  40s.  for  every  dozen  of  buttons  or  button-holes  so  made  or  set  on. 

"  No  person  shall  use  or  wear,  on  any  clothes,  garments,  or  apparel  whatsoever,  e: 
velvet,  any  buttons  or  button-holes  made  of  or  bound  with  cloth,  serge,  drugget,  ft 
camblet,  or  other  stufifs,  whereof  clothes  or  other  garments  are  usually  made,  on  peni 
forfeiting  40s.  per  dozen,  under  a  similar  penalty."     (7  Geo.  1,  c.  22.) 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 

I  am  not  aware  of  any  thing  novel  that  can  be  reported  this  month  of  the  Temperance 
ocieties.  It  does  not  appear,  from  the  sources  of  information  to  which  I  have  access,  that 
le  work  is  carried  on  in  most  parts  of  the  kingdom  with  that  zeal  which  its  importance 
emands,  particularly  as  it  respects  suitable  efforts  for  the  reformation  of  drunkards,  although 
mong  the  reflecting  part  of  the  people  the  principles  of  temperance  are  evidently  making 
rogress.  New  Temperance  Coffee  Houses  are  being  opened  at  Chorley  and  Lancaster. 
Ir.  James,  from  Chorley,  has  entered  upon  the  Preston  Temperance  Hotel,  and  I  doubt 
ot  will  conduct  it  in  a  superior  manner,  and  give  satisfaction  to  those  who  may  favour  him 
ith  their  support.  The  temperance  cause  is  extending  itself  to  every  village  withm  nine 
liles  of  Preston,  and  in  some  of  which — Kirkham,  Longton,  Garstang,  and  Hoghton,  in 
articular — it  is  making  rapid  progress. 

As  the  statements  made  by  the  Preston  Temperance  Society,  of  the  number  of  drunk- 
rds  who  have  been  reclaimed  through  its  exertions,  have  been  doubted  by  many  persons 
ho  reside  at  a  distance,  it  has  been  thought  desirable  to  give  a  brief  account  of  some  of 
lose  persons  who  are  now  reaping  the  benefit  of  sobriety,  through  the  efforts  and  exam- 
le  of  sober  men  in  this  town.  Merely  the  initial  letters  of  the  name  of  each  individual  will 
e  given,  to  avoid  unnecessary  exposure ;  but  as  the  cases  are  notorious,  it  is  hoped  no  one 
.ill  dispute  the  veracity  of  the  relations,  which  will  frequently  be  given  in  the  language  of 
lie  reclaimed.  Should,  however,  any  one  question  their  authenticity,  I  will  hand  over 
lie  names  of  the  individuals,  and  will  afford  an  opportunity  of  verifying  the  statementi 
y  an  interview  with  the  persons  whose  cases  are  here  detailed. 

CASES  OF  REFORMED  DRUNKARDS. 
■  1.— R.  J.,  aged  twenty-six  years,  a  sawyer,  the  son  of  an  intemperate  parent,  states,  that 
Then  he  was  eleven  years  old,  he  was  employed  as  an  errand  boy,  by  a  hop  and  porter 
tealer  in  a  neighbouring  village.  He  frequently  assisted  in  bottling  porter.  On  such 
ceasions  he  was  always  made  to  drink  some  of  the  liquor,  and  he  remembers  being  once 
■ery  much  intoxicated  with  porter  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twelve  years.  In  this 
•mployment  he  was  engaged  at  intervals  till  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  He  was  often 
ent  on  errands  to  public  houses,  where  he  not  unusually  got  drunk.  After  he  left  this 
ituaUon,  he  engaged  in  his  present  employment.  At  a  footing  he  had  to  pay  five  shillings, 
©which  was  added  sixpence  a- piece  by  the  other  sawyers,  and  the  whole  expended  in 
Wnk.  When  he  became  a  sawyer,  he  began  to  drink  freely  of  ale,  under  an  impression 
hat  it  was  necessary  to  enable  him  to  perform  his  labour.  He  was  soon  induced  to  drink 
^intoxication.  He  became  a  periodical  and  ultimately  a  confirmed  and  habitual  drunk- 
rd.  Before  the  habit  became  confirmed,  he  suffered  much  from  a  conviction  of  the  crimi- 
:ility  of  intemperance :  to  stifle  this  conviction,  he  drank  more  copiously,  and  quieted 
.is  apprehensions  by  overpowering  his  reason.  He  has  been  drunk  for  five  successive  days, 
md  remembers  on  one  occasion  expending  £2  18s.  in  criminal  indulgence,  from  a  Satur- 
lay  night,  when  he  received  his  wages,  to  the  succeeding  Sunday  night. 
VOL.    III.  2  N 


286 

Another  circumstance  that  contributed  much  to  form  his  habits  of  intemperance  ' 
that  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he  became  a  ringer  at  the  parish  church  in  his  natj 
village.  He  paid  a  footing  of  half-a-crown,  which  was  expended  in  intoxicating  liqn 
Fines  were  exacted  for  non-attendance  at  tlie  periods  appointed  for  ringing  the  bells,  an 
these  fines  also  were  spent  at  the  adjoining  public  house.  He  became  a  singer  at  the  san 
church  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  and  then  also  paid  a  fine,  and  got  drunk.  To  the  gn 
honour  of  the  clergyman  who  now  has  the  cure  of  the  parish,  and  is  one  of  the  warn 
promoters  of  Temperance  Societies,  the  ringers  and  singers  of  that  church  have  relinquishe 
the  inconsistency  of  making  their  connection  with  the  public  worship  of  God  the  meansf 
leading  them  to  houses  of  disorder  and  revelry.  On  one  occasion,  he  united  himself  t«i 
body  of  Dissenters,  in  Kendal,  and  was  not  intoxicated  for  half  a  year,  though  he  did  nq 
wholly  give  up  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.  At  the  expiration  of  the  half  year,  his  con 
duct  became  as  notorious  as  before,  and  he  was  separated  from  his  religious  connection.  Qi 
another  occasion,  he  contrived  to  keep  sober  for  six  months.  He  was  married  three  yeai) 
ago,  and  this  circumstance,  instead  of  inducing  him  to  live  soberly,  as  his  wife  worked  in  thi 
factory,  gave  him  more  ample  means  of  indulgence,  which  he  abused  exceedingly.  Aftei 
his  marriage,  he  brought  upon  himself  and  wife  the  greatest  misery.  It  was  long  befon 
he  could  furnish  a  house,  and  he  often  beat  his  wife  severely,  when  deprived  of  self- 
possession  by  intoxication.  After  a  fit  of  intemperance,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  starvin| 
himself,  to  pay  off  his  drunken  shots,  so  that  he  always  contrived  to  be  in  good  credit  wift 
the  landlords.     More  than  once  he  has  been  on  the  point  of  self-destruction. 

This  is  a  case  where  there  was  unusual  temptation  to  intemperance.    At  a  very  early  ag( 
R.  J.  was  initiated  into  habits  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquids,  and  since  having  engaged  in 
a  very  laborious  employment,  to  perform  which  all  men  seemed  to  agree  that  a  free  use  ol  . 
stimulating  liquors  was  necessary,  he  has  been  obliged  to  mingle  with  persons  of  the  same 
trade  who  are  notoriously  addicted  to  drunkenness. 

Rejoined  the  Preston  Temperance  Society  in  June,  1832,  after  having  subjected  him- 
self to  a  trial  for  a  month,  since  when  he  has  always  lived  consistently.  He  finds  that  since 
he  took  more  food  instead  of  intoxicating  beverage,  he  can  perform  more  labour,  and  enjoys 
a  peace  of  mind  and  happiness  to  which  he  was  before  a  stranger.  In  short,  he  says,  "I 
cannot  sufficiently  express  my  gratitude  for  the  benefit  I  have  received  from  the  change." 

2. — E.  D.  aged  thirty-two  years,  sawyer,  began  to  follow  his  present  employment  in  1822. 
Till  then  he  lived  soberly.  He  was  first  induced  to  take  ale  freely,  by  being  persuaded  that 
he  could  not  pursue  his  work  without  it.  He  soon  became  a  convert  to  this  injurious  sup- 
position, and  after  a  time  he  began  to  indulge  to  great  excess,  till  he  was  even  notorious 
among  the  intemperate.  He  usually  set  apart  Saturdays  and  Mondays  for  drinking  ;  always 
having  a  strong  impression  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  he  abstained  on  that  day.  On 
one  occasion  he  drank  six  days  together.  He  has  frequently  drunk  eight  and  ten  pints  of 
ale  in  a  day  ;  and  before  he  became  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society,  he  usually  drank 
seven  or  eight  glasses  of  black  beer  and  rum  on  a  Saturday  night.  He  has  been  strongly 
tempted  to  destroy  himself,  when  suffering  from  remorse  of  conscience.  Though  he  has  no 
child,  and  was  able  to  earn  considerable  wages,  he  became  involved  in  his  circumstances, 
through  his  criminal  indulgence.  When  intoxicated,  his  wife  (who  he  declares,  with 
simple  and  genuine  pathos,  "  is  the  most  deserving  and  industrious  wif^  in  Preston")  fled 
from  him  in  terror,  and  his  little  dog  shrunk  from  him  in  dismay.     He  attended  in  the 


J 


287 

lieatre  at  the  formation  of  the  Pi-eston  Temperance  Society,  in  March,  1832,  since  when  he 
as  faithfully  and  scrupulously  kept  the  pledge.  There  is  a  circumstance  or  two  con- 
ected  with  his  conviction  that  I  cannot  omit.  While  at  the  tlieatre,  a  speaker  remarked 
lat  "  the  advocates  of  Temperance  Societies  had  little  hope  of  reclaiming  those  who  had 
jntracted  a  habit  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquors  to  excess,  but  they  would  accomplish 
mch  if  they  «ould  induce  those  who  were  sober  persons  to  continue  sober."  "  What," 
lys  E.  D.,  "  is  my  case,  then,  considered  nearly  hopeless  by  those  who  are  conversant  with 
le  operations  of  these  societies  ?  desperate  indeed  is  my  condition  !"  So  strongly  did  this 
lought  seize  upon  his  imagination,  that  in  a  fit  of  desperation  he  signed  the  pledge,  and 
ent  home  in  a  state  of  mind  he  never  speaks  of  without  tears.  He  rushed  past  his  wife, 
id  into  his  bed  room,  "  where,"  says  he,  "  I  prayed  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  that  He 
ould  aid  me  to  keep  my  hasty  resolution."  Shortly  after  he  came  forward  publicly,  as  an 
Ivocate  of  the  cause  he  had  espoused,  and  thougli  his  relation  was  simple  and  broken,  I 
ever  witnessed  an  equal  impression  produced  by  the  most  eloquent  men  of  the  present  age. 
rom  his  humble,  religious,  and  firm  deportment,  E.  D.  is  a  general  and  deserved  favou- 
te  with  all  who  know  him.  He  says,  "  My  wife  now,  instead  of  being  afraid  of  me, 
."ceives  me  with  a  smile  of  welcome,  and  even  my  little  dog  runs  to  meet  me  with  delight, 
ir  he  knows  that  his  master  has  now  become  a  sober  man."  He  declares  that  experience 
as  convinced  him  that  no  intoxicating  liquor  is  necessary  to  enable  a  healthy  man  to  per- 
irm  his  labour,  and  he  finds  that  he  can  perform  more  work  with  less  fatigue  now  than 
e  could  while  he  drank  intoxicating  liquors. 

This  is  another  striking  instance  of  a  person  engaged  in  a  most  laborious  employment 
isti Tying  that  natural  food  and  natural  beverage  alone  are  necessary  to  fit  a  man  for  work, 
;id  tliat  the  commonly  received  opinion,  that  ale  contributes  to  regular  muscular  exertion, 
founded  in  error  or  vice.  I  would  also  observe  that  this  case  (as  well  as  every  other  case 
lat  has  come  under  my  notice)  should  convince  religious  men  that  there  is  no  ground  for 
■aring  that  Temperance  Societies  will  injuriously  interfere  with  religion.  E.  D.  is  most 
unctual  in  his  religious  duties,  and  I  believe  as  sincere  in  his  professions  as  any  man  that 
ver  bowed  before  a  Christian  altar.  Strange  indeed  would  it  be,  if  a  Society,  whose  pro- 
•ssed  object  is  to  diminish  immorality,  should  be  detrimental  to  that  religion  whose  essence 
■  morality. 

3. — R.  c.,  aged  forty-five  years,  cotton  spinner,  states  that  his  father  was  a  blacksmith, 
man  of  very  intemperate  habits.  He  frequently  came  h«me  in  a  state  of  beastly  intoxi- 
ition,  abused  his  wife  and  children,  and  often  turned  them  out  of  doors.  He  died  when 
Robert  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  At  that  age  Robert  began  to  take  beer  to  excess,  and  at 
18  age  of  seventeen  he  became  a  confirmed  drunkard.  At  that  age  he  attended  double 
heels  in  a  cotton  factory,  and  could  earn  upwards  of  thirty  shillings  a  week.  Of  this  sum 
e  usually  gave  fifteen  shillings  to  his  mother,  and  the  rest  he  spent  at  the  taverns.  At  the 
nd  of  the  week  he  always  got  drunk,  and  on  Sunday  he  often  turned  his  mother  out  of 
oors,  because  she  would  not  give  him  her  money,  after  he  had  spent  his  own.  At  about 
ighteen  years  of  age  he  married  a  woman  by  whom  he  had  afterwards  five  children.  After 
larriage  he  indulged  more  than  before,  and  for  seven  years  he  was  scarcely  ever  in 
ed  on  a  Saturday  night,  or  sober  on  a  Sunday.  Eleven  years  after  his  marriage,  his 
.ife  died,  "heart  broken."  From  the  night  on  which  she  died  till  the  day  her  body  was 
uried  he  was  never  a  moment  sober.     He  chiefly  drank  ale,  till  ten  years  ago,  when  he  be- 


288 


I 


gan  to  take  ardent  spirits,  which  he  says  "  made  him  mad."  He  often  broke  all  the  furn 
ture  in  his  reach  when  he  went  home,  has  repeatedly  seized  an  axe  to  murder  his  wife,  as 
when  he  has  awoke  from  a  fit  of  intoxication  he  has  frequently  found  himself  stretch* 
upon  his  house  floor  with  a  carving  knife  in  his  hand,  and  the  wreck  of  his  furniture  strews 
about  him.  He  had  been  a  drunkard  twenty-nine  years  before  he  become  a  member 
the  Preston  Temperance  Society.  He  has  been  connected  with  the  Society  ten  month; 
Since  he  signed  the  pledge  he  has  never  violated  it,  and  for  twenty-four  weeks  has  totall 
refrained  from  all  kinds  of  intoxicating  liquors.  He  is  now  a  member  of  a  society  of  Chrii 
tians,  is  a  warm  and  public  advocate  of  Temperance  Societies,  his  family  are  much  improvci 
in  their  circumstances,  and  Robert  is  a  respectable  and  useful  member  of  society. 

Many  of  the  most  deplorable  parts  of  Robert's  dark  history  have  been  purposely  with 
held.  What  has  been  related  is  sufficient  to  strike  any  one  with  horror  at  the  fearful  re 
suits  of  parental  turpitude,  early  indulgence,  and  the  enfuriated  passion  it  exhibits  :  at  th 
same  time,  it  may  serve  to  encourage  us  "  to  hope  against  hope ;"  for  here  we  have  a  humaj 
being  sunk  into  the  lowest  depths  of  depravity,  rescued  by  the  force  of  persuasion,  and  th 
influence  of  example. 

4. — G.  G.,  aged  forty,  plasterer,  is  the  son  of  an  intemperate  father.    He  began  to  drinl 
to  excess  when  fifteen  years  old,  and  continued  his  evil  practices  till  he  was  twenty-one 
He  then  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society,   and  remained  a  sober  man  fo' 
three  years.     At  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  he  fell  away  to  his  "  old  practices,"  ant 
continued  them  till  he  joined  the  Temperance  Society  eighteen  weeks  ago.     Since  ther 
he  has  totally  abstained  from  all  intoxicating  liquors.     He  has  a  wife  and  four  childreni 
whom  he  used  to  turn  out  of  doors  every  week,  and  he  frequently  destroyed  his  furniture 
when  drunk.     He  was  so  exceedingly  disorderly,  that  the  neighbours,  wherever  he  wenti 
considered  him  a  public  nuisance,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  often  obliged  to  change 
the  place  of  his  residence.     His  poverty  through  intemperance  was  frequently  extrendci 
and  his  wife  and  children  were  often  nearly  famished  for  want  of  food.     He  states  that  he 
is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health,  his  wife  and  he  have  not  had  a  wrong  word  since  J 
he  joined  the  Temperance  Society,  and  he  can  perform  more  labour  than  ever  he  could  be-  ] 
forcj  in  fact,  he  is  never  tired  with  working  now ;  and,  he  adds,  there  is  no  one  in  Preston  I 
more  happy  than  he  and  his  family.     He  signed  the  moderation  pledge  last  November,  but 
as  he  was  not  restricted  from  taking  ale,  he  found  himself  still  unable  to  resist  temptation  : 
and  the  force  of  habit.     He  wa>  expelled  from  the  Society  for  being  drunk,  but  joined  it 
again,  and  signed  the  abstinence  pledge,  since  when  he  has  never  tasted  of  any  kind  of  in- 
toxicating liquors. 

George's  father  had  five  sons,  all  of  whom  became  drunkards,  an  almost  sure  result  of 
evil  example  and  defective  restraint  in  early  life.  Of  this  case  some  may  say,  they  doubt 
of  his  permanent  security,  as  he  fell  after  three  years  sobriety.  They  should  remember, 
however,  that  he  has  this  sure  protection,  that  he  will  not  now  on  any  account  taste  of  any 
kind  of  intoxicating  liquor,  whereas  before  he  did  not  know  the  necessity  of  totally 
"fleeing  from  temptation,"  in  order  to  ensure  a  complete  deliverance  from  the  power  of  his 
enemy.  This  is  but  part  of  the  Christian  creed,  but  it  is  not  sufficiently  enforced.  There 
are  indulgences  which  some  men  may  partake  of  in  moderation,  but  which  others  cannitt 
touch  with  safety.  A  man  should  always  particularly  avoid  his  besetting  sins :  if  he  I 
proach  but  within  sight  of  them  he  is  lost. 


289 

5.  J.  G.,  aged  forty-three  years,  mechanic,  went  to  sea  when  he  was  sixteen  years  old, 
here  he  remained  nine  years,  eight  and  a  half  years  of  which  he  was  in  the  British  navy, 
(e  dates  his  habits  of  intemperance  from  his  gomg  to  sea.  When  he  left  sea,  he  had  £69 
receive,  all  of  which,  sailor  like,  he  spent  in  six  weeks.  He  continued  a  drunkard 
11  the  ICth  of  February  last,  when  he  signed  the  abstinence  pledge.  Since  then,  he 
as  not  tasted  of  any  kind  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Eleven  months  before,  he  signed  the 
HBmon  temperance  pledge,  but  this  did  not  prevent  him  from  drinking  fifteen  or  sixteen 
ints  of  ale  in  a  day.  He  has  a  wife  and  five  children,  was  in  constant  work,  and  three  of  his 
lildren,  and  yet  was  always  in  straits  before  he  became  a  consistent  member  of  the  Tem- 
irance  Society.  His  wife  says,  "  she  never  knew  what  happiness  was  before  then."  He 
very  robust  in  person,  constant  at  his  work,  regular  in  his  attendance  at  church,  happy  in 
mind,  and  his  wife  and  children  exult  in  the  change  of  their  circumstances.  His  wife 
iftpbatically  declares,  "  that  though  they  have  been  married  seven  years,  their  happiness 
Uy  began  six  months  ago  !"  No  person  but  those  who  visit  the  houses  of  these  reformed 
ninkards  can  form  an  idea  of  the  increase  of  comfort  which  these  men  now  enjoy  at 
)me;  and  to  describe  the  thankfulness  and  satisfaction  of  their  wives  would  be  impossible. 
he  introduction  of  the  Temperance  Society  has  been  a  happy  day  for  Preston. 


THE  DELUSION. 

No  wonder  that  drunkenness,  from  ale  drinking,  should  disgrace  this  country,  when  it 
constantly  recommended  by  persons  of  influence,  praised  for  its  nutritive  properties,  and 
tually  propounded  as  the  reformer  of  morals  1 

Sir  W.  Ingleby  stated  that  "  barley,  in  Norfolk,  cost  about  20s.  per  quarter,  but  before 
at  could  be  made  into  ale,  it  would  cost  above  £3.  In  a  moral  point  of  view,  the  malt  tax 
.s  calculated  to  brutalize  the  people." 

Mr.  Joseph  Hume  "thought  that  the  malt  tax  might  be  reduced,  with  an  advantage  to 
!  morals  of  the  people,  who,  if  they  could  get  good  beer,  would  not  resort  so  much  to 
dent  spirits." 

Sir  Robert  Peel  observed,  "  that  the  comforts  of  the  labouring  classes  were  proved  to 
tve  increased  by  the  increased  consumption  of  malt." 

Mr.  Buckingham  writes  thus:  "We  should  rejoice  to  see  the  duties  on  malt  and  hops 
tirely  removed,  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  beverage,  without  tax  or  restraint,  in  the 
wer  of  every  man  to  brew  for  his  own  use." 

These  authorities  just  repeat  the  opinions  of  their  fathers,  without  ever  subjecting 
em  to  the  test  of  experience  or  chemical  scrutiny.  Unfortunately,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
mbers  of  the  House  of  Commons  are  landed  proprietors,  and,  as  such,  are  anxious  to 
omote  the  increased  consumption  of  ale,  that  they  may  realize  the  benefit  in  the  increased 
mand  for  barley.  In  contradistinction  to  the  testimonies  above  adduced,  I  take  upon  me 
assert,  that  ale  would  not,  with  the  duty  on  malt  remitted,  be  ^'z.  cheap,  wholesome,  and 
tritious  beverage;"  that  its  increased  consumption  is  any  thing  but  an  indication  of  in- 
iased  comforts  among  the  working  people  ;  and  that  it  is  a  powerful  promoter  of  immo^ 
Uty,  and  that  the  cheaper  it  is  and  the  more  immorality  will  prevail.  So  far  as  Lanca- 
ire  is  concerned,  I  believe  I  may  presume  to  have  had  greater  opportunities  of  ascertain- 
g  the  influence  of  ale  drinking  than  any  of  these  gentlemen,  and  I  know  that  my  opinion 
conermed  by  all  the  disinterested  in  this  district  who  have  paid  attention  to  the  subject. 


290 


The  nutrition  of  ale,  compared  with  the  barley,  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  an 
headed  "The  Great  Delusion,"  in  my  June  number.     Let  this  matter  be  frequently  di 
cussed,  and  the  public  will  have  a  chance  of  being  delivered  from  the  erroneous  opini 
which  many  are  labouring  to  diffuse. 


THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  DRUNKENNESS. 

The  following  extract  from  M'CuUoch's  Dictionary  of  Commerce  shows  the  inefficie 
of  legal  enactments  for  the  suppression  of  drunkenness,  and  the  importance  of  tryind 
effect  the  temperance  reformation  by  moral  means. 

"  During  tlie  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  George  I.,  and  the  earlier  part  of  tha^ 
George  II.,  gin  drinking  was  exceedingly  prevalent;  and  the  cheapness  of  ardent  spirit 
and  the  multiplication  of  public  houses,  were  denounced  from  the  pulpit,  and  in  the  p» 
sentments  of  grand  juries,  as  pregnant  with  the  most  destructive  consequences  to  the  heali 
and  morals  of  the  community.     At  length,  ministers  determined  to  make  a  vigorous  < 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  further  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  except  as  a  cordial  or  medicine.      F( 
this  purpose,  an  act  was  passed  in   173C,  the  history  and  effects  of  which  deserve  to  1 
studied  by  all  who  are  clamorous  for  an  increase  of  the  duties  on  spirits.     Its  preamble 
to  this  effect:  '  Whereas  the  drinking  of  spirituous  liquors,  or  strong  water,  is  become  vei 
common,  especially  among  people  of  lower  and  inferior  rank,  the  constant  and  excessive  ui 
of  which  tends  greatly  to  the  destruction  of  their  health,  rendering  them  unfit  for  usef 
labour  and  business,  debauching  their  morals,  and  inciting  them  to  perpetrate  all  vices ;  an 
the  ill  consequences  of  the  excessive  use  of  such  liquors  are  not  confined  to  the  presei 
generation,  but  extend  to  future  ages,  and  tend  to  the  destruction  and  ruin  of  this  kingdom 
The  enactments  were  such  as  might  be  expected  to  follow  a  preamble  of  this  sort.     The 
were  not  intended  to  repress  the  vice  of  gin  drinking,  but  to  root  it  out  altogether, 
accomplish  this,  a  duty  of  twenty  shillings  a  gallon  was  laid  on  spirits,  exclusive  of  a  hem 
licence  duty  on  retailers.     Extraordinary  encouragements  were  at  the  same  time  held  0\ 
to  informers,  and  a  fine  of  36IOO  was  ordered  to  be  rigorously  exacted  from  those  who,  wei 
it  even  through  inadvertency,  should  vend  the  smallest  quantity  of  spirits  which  had  nt ' 
paid  the  full  duty.     Here  was  an  act  which  might,  one  should  think,  have  satisfied  the  bil ' 
terest  enemy  of  gin.     But  instead  of  the  anticipated  effects,  it  produced  those  directly  oj' 
posite.     The  respectable  dealers  withdrew  from  a  trade  proscribed  by  the  legislature;  1 
that  the  spirit  business  fell  almost  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  lowest  and  most  proflig 
characters,  who,  as  they  had  nothing  to  lose,  were  not  deterred  by  penalties  from  breaU 
through  all  its  provisions.     The  populace  having  in  this,  as  in  all  similar  cases,  espou 
the  cause  of  the  smugglers  and  unlicensed  dealers,  the  officers  of  the  revenue  were  ope 
assaulted  in  the  streets  of  London  and  other  great  towns  ;  informers  were  hunted  down  1 
wild  beasts  ;  and  drunkenness,  disorders,  and  crimes  increased  with  a  frightful  rapid 
*  Within  two  years  of  the  passing  of  the  act,'  says  Tindal,  '  it  had  become  odious  and 
temptible,  and  policy  as  well  as  humanity  forced  the  commissioners  of  excise  to  mitigab 
penalties.' — (Continuation  of  Rapin,  vol.  viii.  p.  358.  ed.  1759.)     The  same  historian 
tions  (vol.  viii.  p.  390.)  that  during  the  two  years  in  question,  no  fewer  than  12,000  pers 
were  convicted  of  offences  connected  with  the  sale  of  spirits.     But  no  exertion  on  the  j 
of  the  revenue  officers  and  magistrates  could  stem  the  torrent  of  smuggling.     Accori 
to  a  statement  made  by  the  Earl  of  Cholmondely  in  the  House  of  Lords — (Timber land' s\ 


291 

ates  in  the  House  of  Lords,  vol.  viii.  p.  338.)— it  appears,  that  at  the  very  moment  when 
16  sale  of  spirits  was  declared  to  be  illegal,  and  every  possible  exertion  made  to  suppress  it, 
pwards  of  seven  millions  of  gallons  were  annually  consumed  in  London,  and  other  parts 
nmediately  adjacent!  Under  such  circumstances,  government  had  but  one  course  to  fol- 
,w— to  give  up  the  unequal  struggle.  In  1742,  the  high  prohibitory  duties  were  accordingly 
;pea!ed,  and  such  moderate  duties  imposed,  as  were  calculated  to  increase  the  revenue,  by 
icreasing  the  consumption  of  legally  distilled  spirits.  The  bill  for  this  purpose  was  vehe- 
lently  opposed  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  most  of  the  bishops,  and  many  other  peers,  who 
ihausted  all  their  rhetoric  in  depicting  the  mischievous  consequences  that  would  result 
cm  a  toleration  of  the  practice  of  gin-drinking.  To  these  declamations  it  was  unanswer- 
)ly  replied,  that  whatever  the  evils  of  the  practice  might  be,  it  was  impossible  to  repress 
lem  by  prohibitory  enactments  ;  and  that  the  attempts  to  do  so  had  been  productive  of  far 
ore  mischief  than  had  ever  resulted,  or  could  be  expected  to  result,  from  the  greatest  abuse 
'  spirits.  The  consequences  of  the  change  were  highly  beneficial.  An  instant  stop  was 
It  to  smuggling  ;  and  if  the  vice  of  drunkenness  was  not  materially  diminished,  it  has 
.'ver  been  stated  that  it  was  increased." 

BEER  AND  SPIRITS. 
I  would  further  notice  the  striking  difference  between  spirits  and  beer,  in  the  mode  of 
eir  operation :  beer  makes  persons  first  heavy,  then  stupid,  and  then  senseless  ;  the  beer- 
inker  becomes  more  drunken  than  the  drinker  of  spirits,  and  shows  his  condition  more, 
it  he  is,  in  that  very  proportion,  more  harmless  to  society;  his  very  helplessness  and  in- 
tivity  give  a  sort  of  pledge  for  the  security  of  others.  In  the  case  of  dram-drinking, 
iwever,  the  effects  are  not  besotting  or  stupifying;  spirits  are  less  narcotic,  but  more  ex- 
ing,  than  beer;  so  far  from  incapacitating  for  action,  they  stimulate  to  it;  they  increase 
d  irritate  the  passions ;  they  heat  the  brain,  by  inflaming  the  quality  and  quickening  the 
vulation  of  the  blood;  but  they  are  so  far  from  disqualifying  the  man  from  executing  the 
signs  which  he  may  meditate  under  such  a  morbid  excitement,  that  they  quicken  him  to 
ery  kind  of  exertion  which  is  necessary  to  his  purpose ;  a  man  can,  in  the  course  of  the 
y,  drink,  and  multitudes  do  drink,  twenty  or  more  glasses  of  spirits,  without  being  visibly 
beted  by  them,  while  the  drinker  of  porter  or  ale  would  be  seen  reeling  about  tlie  street : 
effects  produced  in  these  cases  being  so  different,  there  is  less  disgust  excited  in  specta- 
'S  for  the  drinker  of  spirits,  and  consequently  he  is  less  likely  to  be  shamed  out  of  the 
bit;  the  very  little  time,  too,  which  is  requisite  for  drinking  drams,  and  the  facilities  for 
:^ining  them  which  everywhere  abound,  are  still  further  favourable  to  that  system:  I 
prehend,  therefore,  that  a  broad  distinction  is  to  be  taken  between  drinking  and  drunk- 
aess,  or  between  the  use  of  spirits  and  of  beer.  Beer,  in  order  to  produce  palpable 
oxication,  must  be  drunk  in  large  quantities,  while  enough  of  spirits  can  be  obtained  for 
)ducing  the  greatest  moral  mischief,  without  the  effects  upon  the  drinker  being  so  appa- 
»t  I  am  the  more  desirous  of  adverting  to  this  distinction,  because  it  has  been  said  there 
less  drunkenness  than  there  was.  This  may  be  readily  admitted;  but  the  concession 
BS  not  prove  that  there  is  less  drinking  or  less  crime.     There  is  perhaps  less  of  gross 

Iinkenness  brought  before  the  public  eye  than  when  beer  was  the  national  liquor ;  but 
re  is  probably,  on  that  account,  so  much  more  drinking  and  so  much  more  crime.- 
.  J.  Poynder,  late  Under  Sheriff  for  London  and  Middlesex. 


292 

VARIETIES. 

The  expense  incurred  in  the  fitting  up  of  public  house  bars  in  London  is  almosi 
credible,  every  one  vying  with  his  neighbour  in  convenient  arrangements,  general  dis| 
rich  carving,  brass-work,  finely  veined  mahogany,  and  ornamental  painting.  The  car 
of  the  ornament  alone,  in  that  of  "  The  Grapes"  public  house,  in  Old  Street  Road, 
£100  ;  the  workmanship  was  by  one  of  the  first  carvers  in  wood  in  London.  Three  pt 
houses,  or  rather  gin-shops,  have  been  lately  fitted  up  in  Lamb's  Conduit-street,  at  thd 
pense  for  the  bar  alone  of  upwards  of  ^2000  each. — London  Encyclnpadia  of  Cottage 
and  Villa  Architecture.  ' 

The  "  Town  of  Ross"  tetnperance  ship  is  now  insured  at  one  per  cent.  less  prera 
■on  account  of  being  manned  by  temperance  members.  The  following  is  the  declarj 
signed  by  the  crew  : 

"  We  agree  during  this  voyage  to  abstain  from  the  use  oi  distilled  spirits,  mixed  or 
mixed,  both  by  sea  and  land,  except  as  a  medicine  ;  and  we  also  agree,  while  membe 
this  Society,  to  discountenance  the  causes  and  practice  of  intemperance,  in  all  suitable  W8 

In  Southampton,  a  "  store,"  to  borrow  an  American  phrase,  has  been  opened  foi 
purpose  of  selling  to  children  a  small  glass  of  gin  at  the  price  of  a  halfpenny,  the  glass  i 
being  formed  of  a  sweatmeat,  which  they  take  away  with  them. 

Mr.  Thomas  Shillitoe,  of  Tottenham,  observed,  at  the  London  anniversary  meetii 
in  his  early  days  he  had  received  a  fright,  the  influence  of  which  he  had  always  experienc 
on  his  nervous  system.  When  a  young  man,  he  was  advised  to  adopt  a  generous  diet,  whi 
he  did  for  years,  but  not  Improving,  he  was  ordered  to  take  a  bottle  per  day.  The  disea 
still  continued  to  increase,  and  he  was  ultimately  recommended  to  try  a  different  reginw 
He  omitted  the  wine,  and  confined  himself  almost  exclusively  to  vegetable  food ;  and- 
■was  now  thankful  to  state,  that  though  he  was  eighty  years  of  age,  he  was  stronger  th 
when  he  was  thirty.  He  considered  his  own  case  a  decided  proof  that  stimulating  food  W 
unnecessary,  and  often  injurious  ;  and  that  even  where  the  practice  had  been  had  recoui 
to,  no  harm  would  result  from  its  abandonment. 

At  a  temperance  meeting  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a  young  lady  was  asked  if  »!  1 
would  give  her  name  to  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence  ?  She  refused ;  adding,  that  she  W 
in  no  danger  of  being  a  drunkard,  and  there  was  therefore  no  necessity.  When  told  that 
not  necessary  for  herself,  it  might  do  good  to  others,  the  answer  was,  "  I  have  no  influence 
Her  friend  left  her,  and  passing  round  the  assembly,  put  the  same  question  to  every  perso 
*' Will  you  sign  the  agreement?"  Very  many  did  sign,  and  among  others,  some  teii' 
twelve  of  the  children  of  the  school  occupying  the  house  where  we  were  assembled,  an* 
which  the  young  lady  referred  to  was  the  preceptress.  She  saw  her  pupils,  one  after  iU 
other,  advance  and  request  their  names  to  be  enrolled  amongst  those  who  covenanted  th 
day,  to  dissolve  all  connection,  and  to  renounce  all  fellowship,  with  ardent  spirit;  andsl 
saw  that  they  had  influence  over  one  another,  and  even  over  the  future  destinies  of  the 
country  and  of  the  world.  Then,  with  tears,  she  came  to  the  writer  of  this,  and  request!  'i 
her  name  to  be  put  down  on  the  list ;  "  for,"  said  she,  "  if  I  have  no  influence  over  mj 
pils,  they  have  influence  over  me." 

J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  10.  OCTOBER  1,   1833.  Vol.  III. 


CHRISTIAN  LOVE. 

i  If  there  be  one  duty  enforced  more  than  another  by  Christ  and 
lis  apostles,  it  is  that  of  love.  If  there  be  one  disposition  more  manifest 
ban  another  at  present  in  societ}',  it  is  that  of  hatred.  So  striking  is 
he  contrast  betwixt  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  the  general  behaviour  of 
hose  called  Christians,  it  is  evident,  that  however  ready  we  may  be  to  call 
lim  "  Lord  Lord,"  we  are  vastly  indisposed  to  do  the  things  which  he 
ommands. 

It  is  important  to  understand  the  nature  of  Christian  love.  It  does 
ot  consist  merelv  in  that  feeling  of  complacency  and  attachment  which  is 
reduced  by  an  amiable  object.  It  is  not  simply  that  glow  of  affection  that 
n  object  essentially  lovely  in  itself  is  sure  to  produce.  Although  it  does 
ot  exclude  this,  it  far  surpasses  it.  Nor  does  it  consist  in  lively  devotion, 
aptures,  or  extacies,  natural  or  supernatural,  which  by  many  is  called  "  the 
ne  of  God  shed  abroad  in  the  heart."  It  consists  not  in  conforming  to 
istituted  usages  of  charity,  and  joining  in  fashionable  or  popular  subscrip- 
ons,  nor  in  contributing  liberally  to  the  expences  of  a  party  religious 
stablishment,  to  which  we  may  be  attached.  No  etymological  definition 
•ill  serve  for  Christian  love.  Its  essence  is  kindness,  pity,  and  practical 
enevolence.  It  is  not  a  transient  impulse,  but  a  settled  principle  of  affec- 
.on.  It  is  not  influenced  by  earthly  considerations,  or  the  wish  to  please 
lan,  but  by  a  consciousness  of  its  importance  as  a  duty,  and  a  sincere  de- 
ire  to  do  the  will  of  God  and  enjoy  his  favour.  Its  nature  and  associa- 
ons  are  forcibly  described  in  the  following  passages.  "  Love  your  ene- 
lies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray 


)r 


them  which  "despitefuUy  use  you,  and  persecute  you ;  that  ye  may  be 
le  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  :  for  he  maketh  his  sun  to 
ise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  his  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
ae  unjust."   Mat.  v.  44,  45.     "  Put  on  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God.  holy 

VOL.    III.  2  o 


I 


294 

and  beloved,  bowels  of  mercies,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekn« 
long  suffering ;  forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,  if  i 
man  have  a  quarrel  against  any,  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do 
And  above  all  these  things,  put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectnes 
Col.  iii.  12 — 14.     "Whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brot] 
have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  d 
leth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?     My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  wi 
neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth."  1  John,  iii.  17,  18.     "  Chai 
suffereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  charity  envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth  not  9 
self,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  owi 
is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil ;  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  r€ 
joiceth  in  the  truth;  beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  a 
things,  endureth  all  things."     1  Cor.  xiii.  4 — 7. 

Here  are  duties,  motives,  and  objects,  such  as  were  never  set  forth  \f 
any  system  of  religion  but  the  Christian — convincing  proofs  of  the  divink; 
of  its  origin,  and  the  purity  of  its  intentions.  Let  but  these  take  posseis 
sion  of  the  heart,  and  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  "  brother  going  to  la^ 
with  brother  ;"  of  "  evil  speaking  and  uncharitableness  ;"  of  "  biting  an> 
devouring  one  another,"  both  by  words  and  deeds ;  of  the  poor,  and  th' 
widow,  and  the  aged  being  neglected;  of  "Ephraim  envying  Judah,"  or  see 
opposing  sect;  of  minister  and  people  being  opposed  to  each  other;  of  "tithi 
suits,"  and  clerical  exactions  ;  of  the  unbelievers  and  enemies  of  our  faitl 
being  punished  by  fine  and  imprisonment.  No  ;  these  exhibitions  belonj 
to  the  kingdom  of  darkness.  But  though  we  are  doomed  to  witness  tb 
disfigurement  of  Christianity  by  the  admixture  of  Judaism  and  HeathenisBJ 
in  her  solemnities,  and  the  loss  of  her  efficacy  in  the  substitution  of  worldl] 
principles,  it  is  consolatory  to  know,  that  in  the  Scriptures  we  still  havei 
system  lovely,  peaceable,  heavenly,  and  efl[icacious,  wherever  it  is  adopted 

What  a  system  of  universal  kindness  and  philanthropy !  We  are  t< 
love  flZZ.-  parents  their  children,  children  their  parents;  husbands  their  wives 
and  wives  their  husbands  ;  masters  their  servants,  and  servants  their  maS' 
ters  ;  teachers  the  people,  and  the  people  the  teachers.  We  are  to  love  th< 
weak  as  well  as  the  strong,  the  poor  as  the  rich.  We  are  to  "  love  the* 
who  love  us,"  to  love  our  "brethren,"  our  "neighbours,"  and  even  otfl 
greatest  enemies.  Yes,  this  religion  is  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  Am 
mankind. 

This  Christian  charity  is  not  a  cool,  formal  feeling,  for  we  are  to  "  l 
one  another  with  "pure  hearts  fervently :"  not  transient;  we  must 
brotherly  love  core^mwe."  not  disguised ;  it  is  to  be  "unfeigned,"  "with 


295 

dissimulation,"  "  not  in  word  and  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  truth."  It  is  a 
I'  love  that  worketh  no  ill  to  our  neighbours ;"  and  is  therefore  inconsistent 
vith  the  practices  of  "  speaking  evil  one  of  another  ;"  injuring  one  another 
a  reputation  or  circumstances;  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  rail- 
ng ;  or  evading  the  vsrants  and  necessities  of  others  Avhen  we  have  it  in 
lur  power  to  relieve  them.  I  mention  these  evils  in  particular,  because 
Ithough  the  form  and  faith  of  religion  are  brought  to  great  perfection, 
ts  unobtrusive,  unfashionable,  self-denying,  charitable  properties  are  too 
;ittle  regarded.  How  endearing  the  exhortations  :  "  Little  children,  love 
ine  another."  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
nother :  by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have 
Dve  one  for  another." 

Do  we  want  motives  for  this  universal  charity  ?  We  have  not  only  the 
ommand,  but  the  example  of  our  heavenly  Father.  He  is  kind  to  the  evil 
nd  the  good,  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  allhis  works.  "  In  this  was 
.lanifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us,  by  sending  his  only  begotten  Son  into 
le  world,  that  we  might  live  through  him."  "  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we 
)ved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation 
)r  our  sins."  "  If  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  to  love  one  another." 
he  love  of  Christ,  "  which  passeth  knowledge,"  is  a  motive  constantly 
3t  before  us  to  induce  us  to  love  one  another.  He  lived  and  died  to 
romote  the  happiness  of  others.  Every  act  of  his  life  displays  his  kind- 
ess,  and  "  those  that  he  loved  he  loved  to  the  end."     "  Greater  love  hath 

0  man  than  this,  that  he  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  Paul,  upon 
lis  subject,  exhorts  us  "to  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  loved  us,  and  gave  him- 
;lf  for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet-smeUing  savour." 
nd  in  another  place  we  are  called  upon,  after  his  example,  even  "  to  lay 
jwn  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  If  a  love  of  union  would  stimulate  us, 
e  are  told  that  charity  is  a  " perfect  hond  ;"  and  although  interest,  kin- 
red,  and  the  profession  of  the  lip  may  sometimes  keep  persons  together, 
lere  is  no  "perfect  bond"  but  this.  None  but  those  who  have  fervent 
larity  among  themselves,  can  be  said  to  be  "  knit  together  in  love."  The 
:rtainty  of  an  unfailing  union  is  of  itself  a  motive  sufficient  to  lead  us  to 
ve  as  brethren.  "  God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwellcth  in 
od,  and  God  in  him."  The  love  of  our  brethren  is  the  best  proof  of  our 
ve  to  God,  for  "  if  a  man  say  he  loves  God,  and  hate  his  brother,  he  is  a 
ir,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him  ;  for  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom 
:  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?"     To  recount 

1  the  inducements  to  heavenly  charity  would  be  to  transcribe  most  of  the 


296 

promises  of  the  Scriptures.  The  possession  of  it  will  fully  convince  ui 
its  value.  It  not  only  banishes  "  fear,"  and  "  torment,"  but  will  g 
"  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment." 

What  a  happy  world  we  should  have,  if  men's  minds  were  all  uni 
the  influence  of  this  love  !  how  calm  and  content  we  should  feel,  how  reci 
ciled  to  the  ills  of  this  life,  how  peacefully  and  harmoniously  we  should ; 
on,  and  how  active  to  diffuse  happiness  and  pure  religion  abroad !  Wh 
ever  name  or  party  we  sustain,  let  us  pray  for  an  increase  of  charity ;  let 
try,  both  by  teaching  and  practice,  to  convince  the  Christian  world  of 
superlative  worth.  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  but  the  gn 
est  of  these  is  charity." 


PRESTON  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  DIFFUSION  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 

The  day  on  which  this  number  is  published  is  the  anniversary  of  "  Th 
Preston  Institution  for  the  Difiusion  of  Knowledge."  Having  share 
considerably  in  the  labour  as  well  as  the  pleasure  of  bringing  this  Institu 
tion  into  operation,  I  feel  very  anxious  that  its  merits  should  be  more  g« 
nerally  known,  and  its  benefits  more  extensively  enjoyed.  What  can  ten 
more  to  improve  the  mind  and  to  form  the  character  than  the  acquisition  c 
useful  knowledge  ?  and  while  on  the  one  hand  it  increases  our  mental  storei 
and  gives  us  a  relish  for  rational  persuits,  it  operates  forcibly  in  leading  t 
a  right  appropriation  of  time,  and  in  breaking  off  associations  of  a  bad  ten 
dency.  Notwithstanding  the  vast  number  of  children  instructed  in  the  da 
and  Sunday  schools  of  this  town,  it  is  evident  that  the  desire  for  literatun 
as  for  religion,  is  at  a  low  ebb.  The  indulgence  of  the  animal  appetil 
seems  to  be  the  sole  gratification  of  most  of  our  artisans,  and  with  the  es 
ception  of  "  destructive"  politics,  they  seem  indisposed  for,  or  incapaW 
of  mental  exertion.  The  failure  of  the  "Mechanics'  Institutes,"  an 
others  of  a  similar  character,  proves  that  in  this  matter,  as  in  religioi 
something  more  must  be  done,  debased  as  society  is  at  present,  thi 
merely  erecting  a  building,  and  furnishing  it  with  the  means  of  inforuB 
tion  for  those  who  please  to  attend.  To  know  the  irreligious  state  of 
mass  of  the  population,  while  churches,  with  all  the  appendages  of  woi 
ship,  command  an  imposing  view  in  every  part  of  the  town,  a  person  nee 
but  once  to  spend  an  hour  or  two  in  traversing  the  streets  on  a  Sundfl 
forenoon  during  service  time.  There  is  mo  rfesere  for  learning ;  the  groH 
is  in  a  fallow  state ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  enough  to  purchase  mantfl 
and  secure  the  implements  of  cultivation ;  they  must  be  applied, 
ground  must  be  broken  up,  the  manure  must  be  spread,  and  then  we 


sd,  ^ 

J 


297 

hope  that  the  results  will  be  good.  The  committee,  therefore,  like  that 
bf  the  Temperance  Society,  must  intrude,  in  every  possible  wav,  the 
merits  of  this  society  upon  the  attention  of  the  public.  Every  reformed 
drunkard  and  every  friend  to  temperance  ought  to  be  a  member ;  and  as 
the  most  favourable  season  of  the  year  is  approaching,  I  do  most  earnestly 
press  this  valuable  institution  upon  the  attention  of  all  classes.  The  ex- 
pence  is  only  Is.  7|d.  per  quarter.  For  this  small  sum  the  subscriber  may 
oe  furnished  with  books  of  the  greatest  value,  and  treating  on  every  branch 

p{  useful  knowledge  ;  will  be  allowed  to  attend  all  the  lectures  ;  may  unite 

■ 
with  any  of  the  classes  that  may  be  formed  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  in- 
struction ;  and  may  attend  in  the  room  at  his  leisure  hours,  and  read  the 
/arious  periodicals  which  are  constantly  laid  upon  the  tables.  No  insti- 
;ution  in  this  kingdom  can  offer  greater  advantages  for  so  trifling  a  sub- 
scription. These  considerations,  it  is  hoped,  will  induce  many  to  embrace 
he  advantages  the  institution  offers. 


MR.  OWEN'S  LECTURES. 
This  gentleman  has  recently  been  delivering  three  lectures  at  Pres- 
i;on,  on  what  is  called  "  the  science  of  society."  If  I  may  judge  of  the 
•esult  of  these  lectures  from  the  opinions  expressed  since,  by  those  whose 
;ompany  I  have  happened  to  be  cast  into,  it  is  a  general  conviction  that  it 
s  a  scheme  wholly  Utopian ;  that  however  flattering  to  talk  about,  it  wants 
his  very  important  feature,  practicability. 

He  tells  us  that  in  the  regenerated  state  which  is  about  to  commence, 
nisery  is  to  be  banished  from  the  earth ;  poverty  unknown  ;  no  discord, 
10  irritable  feelings,  no  injustice;  the  poorest  are  to  be  in  better  cir- 
;umstances  than  the  richest  are  now;  all  are  to  be  raised,  but  none 
i»ulled  down ;  we  are  to  live  in  better  houses  than  that  of  Mr.  Horrocks ; 
nd  ultimately  not  to  work  more  than  three  hours  a  day!  All  this  is  very 
line,  but  the  how  it  is  to  be  accomplished  seemed  to  puzzle  Mr.  Owen's  audi- 
ince.  I  observed  to  him  in  conversation,  "  you  have  not  the  materials  by 
vhich  this  can  be  effected  :  where  will  you  find  honesty,  disinterestedness, 
nd  unity,  in  a  word,  character,  to  afford  the  least  hope  of  such  a  result  ? 
Tou  see  that  scarcely  any  two  can  co-operate  through  life,  although  con- 

ected  by  the  ties  of  interest :  how  then  is  it  likely  that  the  nation  or  the 
/orld  will  be  of  one  mind,  so  as  to  act  in  community  ?"  "  O,  we  can  manu- 
icture  character  as  easily  as  we  can  calico  peices,"  was  Mr.  Owen's  reply. 
liis  is  all  that  is  wanting.     Give  me  a  specimen  of  this,  and  I  am  convmced. 

can  easily  understand  how  an  intelligent  artisan  can  make  a  machine  out 
f  a  piece  of  iron,  or  yarn  from  the  fibres  of  cotton,  but  how  character  is 


•298 

to  be  manufactured  by  "  mechanical  process,"  so  as  to  induce  man  to  m© 
his  individuality  of  interest  into  that  of  others,  is,  I  confess,  beyond  i 
power  to  conceive.  If  "  man's  character  is  formed  for  him,"  and  not 
himself,  and  as  this  has  alioays  been  the  case,  whence  has  spnmg  the  prj 
ciple  which  suggests  and  promises  to  secure  a  universal  change  ?  If  ma 
is  as  passive  as  the  clay  which  receives  any  impression  put  upon  it,  how  is  j 
that  Mr.  Owen,  surrounded  with  the  same  circumstances  as  we  are,  shoul 
have  views  totally  dissimilar  ?  If  bad  circumstances  have  always  existec 
producing  bad  characters,  on  whom  are  we  to  cast  the  blame  for  all  th 
sorrow,  misery,  poverty,  and  -wretchedness,  which  have  been  endured  i: 
the  world  ?  On  man  ?  we  are  told  he  is  not  accountable ;  he  acts  by  nece9 
sity ;  he  neither  believes,  nor  loves,  nor  has  any  choice ;  and  therefore  w 
arrive  at  this  conclusion,  that  as  no  man  is  to  blame  for  the  most  atro 
cious  and  wicked  deeds  that  ever  were  committed,  the  blame  falls  upgr. 
God.  As  man  has  no  power  to  choose  or  refuse,  and  as  organization  am 
circumstances,  according  to  Mr.  Owen,  form  his  character,  if  there  be  i 
God,  who  created  these,  or  the  elements  out  of  which  they  sprang,  he  alon 
can  be  answerable  for  them,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad.  In  fact 
every  one  with  whom  I  have  conversed  seems  to  feel  that  mystery,  incou 
sistency,  and  impiety  are  constituent  principles  of  this  system.  If  Go« 
should  please  to  re-create  man,  and  give  him  a  new  nature,  suited  to  thi 
*'  new  state  of  society,"  it  would  soon  take  place ;  but  human  nature,  un 
der  the  best  circumstances,  is  not  now  fitted  for  any  thing  so  sublime  ai 
that  which  is  here  described. 

But  as  Mr.  Owen  has  assumed  the  character  of  prophet,  the  truth  o 
his  assertions  will  soon  be  put  to  the  test.  "  A  few  months  will  make  diS' 
coveries  which  wiU  astonish  the  world."  "The  time  is  at  hand,  and  thi 
year  or  next  wiU  bring  about  this  great  change."  More  illusory  notioni 
were  never  conceived  by  any  man  than  those  which  were  advanced  on  tliii 
occasion ;  and  if  Mr.  Owen  should  live  to  labour  another  forty  years  ir 
this  cause,  he  will  be  as  far  from  realizing  his  views  as  he  is  at  present 
Although  there  are  these  redeeming  features  in  this  gentleman,  that  hit 
intentions  are  good,  and  the  spirit  he  uniformly  exemplifies  and  inculcate* 
is  that  of  kiudness  aud  good  will,  yet  there  are  two  ways  in  which  his  leC' 
tures  are  calculated  to  do  harm.  First,  by  raising  expectations  that  can 
never  be  realized  in  this  world,  and  consequently  adding  to  the  embitterr 
ments  of  life  by  successive  disappointments.  Secondly,  by  diverting  g 
men's  minds  from  that  remedy  which  God  has  ordained,  and  which 
been  proved  to  be  practical  and  efficacious  in  thousands  of  instances, 
were  it  not  for  these,  I  certainly  should  not  have  taken  this  freedom  in 


299 

'pressing  so  decided  a  disapproval  of  the  system.  Tlie  way  to  get  popular 
with  the  bulk  of  the  working  class  is,  to  promise  to  deliver  them  from  all  the 
ills  they  endure,  to  raise  them  in  circumstances,  and  to  free  them  from 
oppression  ;  and  as  long  as  I  can  recollect,  they  have  had  their  minds  per- 
petually unsettled,  their  expectations  raised  and  disappointed,  and  by 
liverlooking  the  great  source  of  consolation,  have  been  baffled  out  of  every 
enjoyment  first  by  one  chimera  and  then  another. 

How  different  is  the  teaching  of  Jesus  !  and  how  practical  are  all  the 
!!)lans  of  doing  good  which  are  based  upon  a  recognition  of  his  authority  ! 
le  promises  no  paradise  on  earth,  but  raises  our  hopes  to  a  "  better  kin"-- 
lom,"  a  "  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness." 
le  does  not  mock  us  by  promising  enchanting  pleasures  and  perfect  bliss, 
a  a  state  where  man  cannot  boast  of  to-morrow ;  where  man's  certain  and 
aily-expected  mortality  would  create  an  agony  of  itself,  amidst  so  much 
leasure.  No  ;  he  teaches  us  to  exercise  patience  and  hope,  and  gives  us  the 
remise  of  heaven,  with  such  a  change  in  our  nature  as  is  adapted  to  enjoy  it. 
le  taught  every  where  the  free  agency  of  man,  and  his  consequent  ac- 
ountability  for  his  actions.  He  pronounced  all  to  be  sinners,  and  called 
pen  them  to  repent.  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  is  the  prayer 
'hich  he  approves.  Christ  dealt  in  no  subtleties  about  "  circumstances," 
ut  pronounced  the  displeasure  of  God  against  "  every  man  that  doeth 
^'il."  He  understood  human  nature  ;  and  hence  the  fear  of  punishment 
id  the  hope  of  reward — ^principles  which  all  experience  proves  to  be 
lited  to  our  nature,  and  which  are  only  applicable  to  creatures  that  have 
power  to  choose  or  refuse — were  constantly  enforced  to  produce  a  moral 
lange  among  the  people.  The  system  of  Christianity  comports  with  all 
le  experience  of  man,  and  it  is,  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  moral  revolu- 
onizing  machine  to  which  God  has  given  the  sanction  of  his  approbation. 
nd  if  this  system  had  been  continued,  not  in  name,  but  in  its  true  charac- 
r,  men  like  Mr.  Owen  would  not  have  been  supplied  with  a  motive,  from 
e  bad  state  of  society,  to  lead  the  minds  of  men  after  any  other  system. 
he  only  remedy  is  to  adopt  the  system  of  pure  and  primitive  Christianity, 
id,  in  its  promulgation,  to  imitate  Jesus,  both  in  his  motives  and  his  la- 
)ur.  This  system  was  proved,  in  the  primitive  ages,  to  be  mighty  through 
od  to  the  effecting  of  a  change  so  great  as  to  be  compared  to  a  "  new 
eation."  And  the  present  restless  state  of  the  pubhc  mind,  and  the 
meral  dissatisfaction  with  the  mercenary  religions  of  the  day,  afford  a 
)pe  in  my  mind  that  extraordinary  efforts  will  yet  be  made  to  present 
liristianity  to  the  world  in  the  simplicity  and  efficiency  of  her  primitive 
araeter.     It  is  the  neglect  of  the  clergy,  the  influence  of  a  corrupt 


300 

church  establishmeDt,  and  the  total  insufficiency  of  modem  systems 
reform  the  people,  that  has  called  Mr.  Owen  and  others  into  the  fit 
and  whatever  mischief  he  may  produce,  in  retarding  the  religion  of  Jei 
upon  these,  in  a  great  measure,  must  rest  the  blame. 

To  meet  the  charge  that  the  system  is  impracticable,  and  cont 
to  experience,  we  have  been  referred  to  New  Lanark,  and  to  a  set 
ment  in  Ireland.  But  these  establishments  have  exhibited  neither 
principles  nor  the  results.  The  people  have  had  their  condition  bettel 
but  not  in  the  way  in  which  Mr.  Owen  endeavoured  to  amuse  his  heare 
in  these  lectures.  The  men  collected  upon  these  settlements  were  tk 
poorest  and  the  most  wretched;  and  who  does  not  see,  that  persoi 
■will  submit  to  any  change  that  raises  them  from  abject  poverty,  an 
places  them  in  a  state  of  superior  comfort.  Necessity  reconciles  hui 
dreds  to  live  together  in  a  workhouse:  and  it  is  quite  evident  that 
would  be  perfectly  practicable  for  any  philanthropic  individual  to  colle< 
a  thousand  labourers  or  weavers,  almost  out  of  any  town  in  Lancashin 
who  would  be  willing  to  be  located  afresh,  and  to  submit  to  any  reasonab] 
rules  which  gave  them  better  food,  better  clothing,  and  better  homes 
change  like  this  is  perfectly  compatible  with  nature,  and  is  of  the  essenc 
of  Christianity,  and  so  far,  it  would  be  much  to  the  credit  of  Christians, ; 
they  would  do  what  Mr.  Owen  has  done  and  encouraged  others  to  d( 
Something  like  this  has  often  been  recommended  under  the  name  of  "  hoBO 
colonization ;"  and  if  half  the  money  which  has  been  spent  upon  the  sv 
perstitious  mummeries  of  new  churches  and  public  buildings — which  can 
not  in  return  produce  a  single  blade  of  corn,  but  merely  stand  to  be  gaze 
at — had  been  spent  in  inclosing  and  improving  waste  lands,  and  locatin 
the  poor  upon  them,  and  the  people  themselves  actuated  by  temperanc 
and  economy,  poor's  rates  w^ould  now  have  been  unknown,  and  povert 
almost  a  stranger  among  us.  Mr.  Owen  says  that  the  failure  of  his  sjrt 
tem  at  New  Harmony  was  owing  to  the  "  public  mind  not  being  prepai 
ed,"  but  now  seems  convinced  that  "  the  time  is  come."  He  may  amis 
himself  with  his  ideas  of  "  grand  national  companies,"  but  they  will  all  en 
in  a  rope  of  sand.  By  combinations  I  am  aware  that  trade  may  be  & 
verted  from  its  present  channels  ;  that  those  who  are  servants  may  becoiB 
masters  ;  but  a  system  that  proposes  for  "  the  whole  mass  of  society  goi^ 
into  communities,  on  the  principles  of  mutual  co-operation,  united possesi 
and  equality  of  exertions  and  means  of  enjoyment,"  is  without  foundati 
analogy,  experience,  justice,  or  Christianity. 

Much  is  said  about  labour,  machinery,  the  production  and  distribui 
of  wealth,  &c.     Next  month  1  shall  probably  advert  to  these  points 


301 

RECREATIONS.— THE  REGATTA, 
Man,  like  every  other  creature,  seeks  for  relaxation,  and  delights  in 
mbending  his  mind  or  body  from  that  labour  or  study  which  constitutes 
lis  every-day  employment.  Bat  it  is  important  that  his  choice,  in  this 
natter,  should  be  regulated,  not  by  custom  or  vicious  inclination,  but  by 
reason  and  the  interests  of  virtue.  If  the  recreations  of  the  people  do  not 
.ontain  directly  the  lessons  of  good  order  and  morality,  they  ought  at  least 

0  be  free  from  every  incitement  to  vice.  The  reverse,  however,  is  the 
is^ct.  What  are  Saturday  nights  and  Sundays?  What  are  most  of  the 
llays  appointed  as  holidays  by  the  Catholic  Church  ?  What  are  Christmas, 
jaster,  and  Wnitsuntide  ?  What  are  our  fairs,  wakes,  and  races  ?  Scenes 
f  cruelty,  revelling,  and  beastly  intoxication.  Something  should  be  esta- 
lished  to  draw  the  people  from  the  public  house*,  to  give  them  a  taste 
or  more  refined  pleasures,  and  to  make  all  our  recreations  subservient  to 

!l.e?ilth,  science,  and  devotion.  The  storehouse  of  nature  should  be  un- 
;jcked;    her  exhaustless   and   ever  changing  productions  and  treasures 

ijhould  be  displayed;  and  man  induced  to  delight  himself  in  that  which 
i.  truly  elevating — the  handy  work  of  the  Great  God.  Nothing  is  more 
langenial  to  an  intellectual  mind,  to  a  taste  unperverted  by  bad  customs, 
|tian  to  feast  upon  nature's  grandeur;  and  any  chang-  which  keeps  this 

1  view,  although  not  admired  by  the  bulk,  will  meet  with  a  share  of 
lyUport. 

The  Preston  Regatta,  which  for  the  first  time  was  conducted  on  the 
.ver  Ribble,  although  not  amounting  to  what  I  allu'.le  to  above,  will  serve 
3  draw  the  attention  from  more  vulgar  sports,  and  may  well  serve  the 
urposes  of  harmless  relaxation.  The  sailing  of  a  bark  reminds  one  forci- 
Uy  of  what  Paley  calls  the  compensating  provision.  The  apparent  im- 
ossibility  of  travelling  upon  water  is  by  this  contrivance  overcome.  And 
lose  who  have  naturally  gloried  in  the  wooden  walls  of  Old  England, 
ould  not  but  be  gratified  in  these  representatives,  although  of  diminutive 
!ze,  which  were  seen  ^flitting  upon  our  river  on  this  occasion.  Although 
le  competitive  principle,  as  Owen  calls  it.  was  here  called  into  operation, 
lere  was  no  cruelty  as  at  the  races  :  still,  I  think  it  would  be  an  improve- 
lent,  if  the  boats  were  to  sail  against  time  instead  of  against  each  other. 
5  many  angry  and  malicious  feelings  would  thereby  be  prevented.  Re- 
,Tring  to  the  cruelty  of  the  races,  I  observed  to  a  friend,  "  If  you  would 
lake  the  two  cases  parallel,  you  should  have  placed  a  '  rider'  in  each  of 
\e  rowing  boats,  equipped  with  whip  and  spurs,  with  orders  to  use  the 
.en  at  the  oars  as  the  horses  are  used,  especially  towards  the  end  of  the 

VOL.    III.  2  P 


302 

race ;  and  you  might  then  have  learned  how  to  estimate  the  feelings 
animals  from  one  that  could  speak  in  your  own  tongue."  As  the  rj 
week  is  always  considered  a  week  of  relaxation  from  labour,  it  would 
well  if  our  young  men  would  invent  a  sufficient  number  of  harmless  a 
interesting  recreations  against  next  summer,  by  which,  no  doubt,  the  atte 
tion  of  most  of  the  people  might  be  diverted  from  this  old  and  cruel  spa 


BRIBERY. 
There  is  a  species  of  bribery  existing  at  the  present  day,  whii 
although  it  may  be  generally  concealed,  is  not  less  to  be  reprobated  th 
that  which  has  so  often  been  the  subject  of  legislation.  It  consists 
treating,  making  presents,  and  giving  money  to  the  travellers,  servan 
and  underlings  of  our  different  establishments.  A  man  goes  time  aft^i 
time  to  a  large  concern,  to  obtain  an  order  for  clogs :  he  cannot  succeed, 
although  his  article  and  price  are  equally  tempting  with  any  in  the  trade 
The  reason  is,  another  man  is  in  favour  with  the  buyer-in,  because  of  th( 
presents  he  receives,  or  the  handsome  gift  of  several  shillings  to  himselj 
when  the  account  is  settled,  A  sizer  who  will  not  bribe  the  warehouse 
men  with  a  few  good  glasses,  has  frequently  the  last  and  worst  chance  6) 
work.  A  tailor  recommends  his  inquiring  customer  for  cloth  to  a  certaii 
shop,  because  he  afterwards  receives  a  shilling  in  the  pound  to  himself 
Thus,  instead  of  being  faithful  to  the  interest  of  their  employers,  there  an 
servants  whose  favour  is  purchased  with  money,  and  whose  masters  pa} 
the  amount  themselves,  out  of  the  advanced  price  of  the  articles  which  art 
purchased.  How  valuable  is  a  faithful  servant !  and  how  cautious  shouli 
every  man  be  of  not  tempting  servants  from  their  duty  by  the  oflTer  a 
bribe  in  any  shape  ! 

CEMETERY. 
The  New  Preston  Water  Works,  which  are  in  a  state  of  forwardn 
and  the  projected  Rail-way  to  Wigan,  and  hence  to  Birmingham  and  Li 
don,  will  be  found,  I  doubt  not,  both  useful  and  profitable  improvem^ 
to  the  town.  What  we  now  want,  is  a  Cemetery  ;  and  as  the  enclosure 
the  moor  adjoining  the  town  is  expected  speedily  to  be  determined  up 
an  opportunity  may  probably  occur  of  procuring  a  suitable  piece  of  land, 
reasonable  terms.  There  is  no  public  undertaking  which  contains  a  grea 
certainty  of  profit,  and  so  little  risk ;  the  enclosure  is  the  principal , 
pense,  and  the  land  remains  worth  its  value,  whether  used  for  this  or  i 
other  purpose.     Those  parts  unoccupied  might  be  cultivated  as  gard^ 


J 


,  303 

'in  they  were  needed  for  the  interment  of  the  dead ;  and  nothing-  could  af - 
'ord  a  more  agreeahle  recreation  to  those  who  have  forsaken  the  ale-house 
;han  the  cultivation  of  a  plot  of  ground.  A  friend  informs  me,  that  a 
neeting  has  been  held  at  Ashton-under-Lyne,  to  establish  a  cemetery  there, 
md  a  committee  appointed  to  carry  the  same  into  effect.  Nothing  is 
liranting  here  but  a  beginning,  and  I  feel  confident  that  this  will  not  be 
,ivanting  long. 

SIGNS  OF  PROSPERITY. 

(From  the  Chinese.) 

Where  spades  grow  bright,  and  idle  swords  grow  dull ; 

Where  jails  are  empty,  and  where  barns  are  full ; 

Where  church  paths  are  with  frequent  feet  outworn  ; 

Law  court  yards  weedy,  silent,  and  forlorn ; 

Where  doctors  foot  it,  and  where  farmers  ride ; 

Where  age  abounds,  and  youth  is  multiplied ; 

Where  these  signs  are,  they  clearly  indicate 

A  happy  people,  and  well-govern'd  state. 

J.  B. 


SUNDAY  SCHOOLS.— A  REPLY. 

Dear  Sir, — In  answering  your  correspondent,  "  A  Sunday  School  Teacher,"  whose 
iter  I  have  read  over  very  carefully,  and  also  the  letter  to  which  he  refers,  I  cannot 
nd  one  statement  which  I  could  wish  to  unsay.  It  may  be  proper,  however,  to  offer 
ame  explanation.  It  is  evident  he  has  not  either  taken  or  treated  the  subject  of  Sunday 
chools  in  connection  with  the  want,  not  of  sermons,  but  of  ministerial  labour.  I  have  no 
rhere  said,  or  wished  to  insinuate,  that  Sunday  Schools  have  done  no  good,  which  is  the 
dtSon  evidently  combated  by  my  opponent.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe,  but  for  them, 
jciety  would  have  been  in  a  much  more  degraded  state  than  it  now  is.  But  I  am  still  un- 
snvinced  that  they  are,  with  all  their  business-like  preparation  and  routine  of  employment, 
1  accordance  with  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath,  or  at  all  defensible,  except  as  a  necessary 
vil,  brought  on  by  the  want  of  that  better  instruction  tvhich  might  and  ought  to  be  communi- 
Hed  to  the  parents  by  the  ministers.  I  say  that  the  Christian  ministry,  in  its  primitive  and 
ffective  character,  is  subverted,  and  Sunday  Schools  and  other  inventions  have  been  intro- 
lit'ed  to  make  up  for  the  loss;  and  yet  the  professed  object  is  not  attained,  though  they 
are  been  in  operation  twenty  years. 

J.  R.  does  not  think  he  goes  too  far  when  he  says,  that  the  immoral  state  of  society 
lainly  shows  that  our  religious  teachers  have  not  done  their  duty,  and  that  judging  from 
circumstances  of  the  two  cases,  the  same  will  not  apply  to  our  Saviour  and  h.s  aposUes. 

In  answering  the  two  long  paragraphs  describing  what  my  opponent  supposes  to  be  the 
Uty  of  a  gospel  minister,  I  must  beg  leave  to  ask.  What  are  we  to  do  with  all  those  nume- 
JUS  passages  descriptive  of  the  promiscuous  labours  of  Christ  and  h.s  apostles.  There 
ught  to  be  no  fixed  line  of  conduct  or  magisterial  etiquette  adopted  by  a  Scriptural,  Chr.s- 
an  minister,  professing  to  be  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  he  should  be  frequently  seen 


304 

in  the  streets,  lanes,  garrets,  cellars,  and  cottages  of  the  poor;  and  go  boldly  into  the  hou 
of  the  rich,  not  to  talk  over  the  occurrences  of  the  day,  but  to  see  after  their  souls'  hea 
We  find  Christ  on  the  mountain — by  the  sea  side — in  a  ship — dining  with  publicans  i 
sinners — conversing  with  the  common  people,  more  so  than  with  the  scribes  and  docti 
We  find  Peter  preaching  in  the  gate  way  of  a  temple,  Paul  in  the  market  place,  and  Ph 
opening  the  Scriptures  to  a  man  he  overtook  riding  in  a  coach.  In  this  instance  of  mi 
terial  diligence,  it  may  be  said,  this  was  more  immediately  the  work  of  the  Spirit :  tl 
we  reply,  the  Spirit  itself  shows  us  that  no  opportunity  should  pass  unim|)roved. 

I  would  ask  your  correspondent.  What  is  meant  by  going  into  the  highways  ant 
hedges,  and  compelling  people  to  come  in,  that  God's  bouse  may  be  filled?  Certainly  na 
to  coerce  them,  but  to  entreat  the  people,  in  Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  Wha 
can  St.  Paul  mean  when  he  says  he  is  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  salvation  of  th' 
heathen — when  he  says  he  is  willing  to  become  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  gait 
some?  Nay,  so  zealous  is  he,  and  so  impressed  with  the  great  worth  of  the  soul,  that  hi 
could  almost  wish  himself  accursed  from  Christ,  for  his  brethren's  sake  after  the  flesh. 
am  sure,  if  he  could  do  this,  he  both  could  and  did  go  from  house  to  house,*  if  by  an' 
means  he  might  save  some. 

Can  there  be  such  a  thing  in  a  Protestant  church  as  works  of  supererogation  ?  If  so 
Whitfield  and  Wesley — Mr.  Alleine,  mentioned  in  a  former  number — Rowland  Hill 
who,  I  am  told,  has  left  ten  thousand  pounds  for  home  missions  (seeing  the  dreadfii 
state  of  our  population) — the  clergy  and  ministers  of  Sheffield,  who  have  very  recenti; 
divided  the  town  into  districts  for  the  purpose  of  visiting — I  say,  these  persons  must  hav 
a  goodly  number  of  such  works,  which  they  may  turn  over  to  those  who  are  likely  to  com 
short.  But  if  there  are  none  such  admitted  in  our  creed  as  Protestants,  and  if  it  canno 
be  said  that  a  man,  especially  a  minister,  may  do  too  much  for  the  welfare  and  salvation  C 
the  thousands  around  us,  then  we  must  of  necessity  infer,  that  those  who  do  none  of  the» 
things,  and  those  who  endeavour  to  prove  that  these  works  are  neither  needful  nor  requiiw 
of  them,  must  be  lamentably  deficient. 

My  opponent  makes  a  very  serious  charge  against  me  and  others :  that  "  we  are  exert 
ing  a  pernicious  influence,"  &c.  The  different  ideas  I  have  formed  on  this  subject  are 
striking  proof  in  what  various  lights  some  men  see  the  same  objects.  If  I  could  concelv 
that  what  I  have  said  would  eventually  have  the  evil  tendency  he  apprehends,  I  would  rathe 
my  tongue  should  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  than  utter  another  word,  but  I  sincerel; 
believe  it  will  have  a  contrary  effect,  viz.  that  of  shewing,  to  some,  at  least,  that  the  fault  i 
not  in  the  religion  we  profess  but  in  its  ministers. 

I  and  others  are  desired  by  your  correspondent  to  "  begin  to  act."  This  advice  coi 
too  late,  as  we  have  begun  some  time  ago;  and  as  your  correspondent  has  probably  beei 
a  reader  of  your  numbers,  if  he  will  refer  to  that  containing  your  "  Essay  on  the  Preva 
lency  of  Vice,"  &c.,  he  will  there  see  the  time  when,  and  the  reason  why  I  began  to  BC( 
Twenty  years  since,  I  was  as  well  aware  as  I  am  now  that  the  things  I  am  now  writitt| 
about  were  wrong ;  but  I  confess  I  despaired  of  seeing  any  change  for  the  better  until  rei 


•  If  my  opponent  be  correct  as  to  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  says  from  house  to  house,^ 
translators  should  have  said  from  church  to  church,  as  the  churches  were  formed  in  houses,  a  numli 
professing  Christians  constituting  a  church  in  those  days. 


I 


305 

!|ing  the  number  above  alluded  to.     The  chilling  impressions  mentioned  in  the  same  para- 
graph do  not  agree  with  the  reception  I  have  met  witii,  nor  the  impressions  received  since  I 
began  to  visit.     But,  not  to  be  too  lengthy,  I  do  not  think  it  quite  right  that  we  should  be 
told  to  begin  to  do  that  work  for  which  others  are  paid. 
11        J.  R.  cannot  see  that  the  cause  of  his  lamentations  is  at  all  weakened  by  the  argument 
IJliere  made  use  of  in  reference  to  week-day  schools.      On  the  other  hand,  he  is  confident, 
::hat  of  all  the  various  schools  in  our  land,  none  are  so  calculated  to  meet  the  wants  of  a 
,  jommercial  country  as  those  appropriated  for  infants,  especially  if  the  time  was  extended  to 
[ieven  years.    If  we  notice  how  very  early  infants  begin  to  receive  impressions,  and  the  great 
oil  a  mother  has,  in  a  dense  population,  to  keep  the  children  together  and  at  all  decent,  while 
he  has  to  cook,  wash,  and  clean  the  house,  and,  in  a  many  cases,  work  for  their  small  pit- 
aiice,  we  must  compassionate  a  mother  of  three  or  four  children  under  such  circumstances 
.nd  wish,  of  all  things,  that  her  children  could  be  provided  for  while  she  has  to  labour,  and 
let  the  Sabbath  be  for  rest,  endearments,  and  the  indulgence  of  natural  affection. 

In  answer  to  the  observations  about  "good  old  times,"  I  will  just  remark,  that  if  the 
opulation  be  taken  as  it  stood  thirty  years  since,  with  the  numbers  who  then  went  to 
hurch  or  chapel,  and  the  population  now,  with  the  numbers  who  frequent  such  places,  it 
.ill  be  found  that  we  are  not  improved,  notwithstanding  all  our  Sunday  Schools;  nor  do  I 
xpect  that  this  can  be  the  case  till  a  great  change  takes  place,  both  in  the  Church  and 
mong  Dissenters,  as  to  the  mode  of  instructing  the  people. 

I  know  some  of  your  readers  ask  the  question,  If  the  present  ministry  do  not  meet  the 
xigencies  of  the  times,  and  Sunday  Schools  are  not  Scriptural,  why  support  the  one  or  the 
ther  ?  I  answer,  no  man  in  his  senses  will  throw  away  an  old  coat  until  he  has  got  an- 
tlier  in  its  place.  And  I  hope,  by  importunity  and  continually  agitating  the  subject,  we 
liail  (like  the  widow  in  the  Gospels)  weary  the  present  ministers  into  a  compliance  with 
le  wants  and  necessities  of  the'  people,  or  that  the  people  will  come  forward  and  either 
btain  or  institute  a  new  set.  J.  R. 


SPORTS, 
If  we  proceed  with  the  calculation  of  the  benefits  and  mischiefs  of  Field  Sports,  hi  the 
lerchant-like  manner  of  debtor  and  creditor,  the  balance  is  presently  found  to  be  greatly 
jainst  them.  The  advantages  to  him  who  rides  after  hounds  and  shoots  pheasants,  are — 
lathe  is  amused,  and  possibly  that  his  health  is  improved ;  some  of  the  disadvantages  are — 
i&t  it  is  unpropitious  to  the  influence  of  religion  and  the  dispositions  which  religion  induces; 
lit  it  expends  money  and  time,  which  a  man  ought  to  be  able  to  employ  better;  and  that 

inflicts  gratuitious  misery  upon  the  inl'erior  animals.  The  value  of  the  pleasure  cannot 
Uiily  be  computed  ;  and  as  to  health  it  may  pass  for  nothing,  for  if  a  man  is  so  little  con- 
fttied  for  his  health  that  he  will  not  take  exercise  without  dogs  and  guns,  he  has  no  reason 

expect  other  men  to  concern  themselves  for  it  in  remarking  upon  his  actions.  And  then 
r  tlie  other  side  of  the  calculation.     That  field  sports  have  any  tendency  to  make  a  man 

tier,  no  one  will  pretend ;  and  no  one  who  looks  around  him  will  doubt  that  their  tendency 

in  the  opposite  direction.  It  is  not  necessary  to  show  that  every  one  who  rides  after  the 
>g8  is  a  worse  man  in  the  evening  than  he  was  in  the  morning :  the  influence  of  such  things 

ttt  be  sought  in  those  with  whom  they  are  habitual.  Is  the  character  of  the  sportsman, 
[en,  distinguished  by  religious  sensibility  ?     No.     By  activity  of  benevolence  ?    No.     By 


306 

intellectual  exertion  ?  No.  By  purity  of  manners  ?  No.  Sportsmen  are  not  the  perso, 
who  diffuse  the  light  of  Christianity,  or  endeavour  to  rectify  the  public  morals,  or  to  exte 
the  empire  of  knowledge.  Look  again  at  the  clerical  sportsman.  Is  he  usually  as  exempla 
in  the  discharge  of  his  functions  as  those  who  decline  such  diversions  ?  His  parishion< 
know  that  he  is  not.  So,  then,  the  religious  and  moral  tendency  of  Field  Sports  is  bad. 
is  not  necessary  to  show  how  the  ill  effect  is  produced.  It  is  sufficient  that  it  actually 
produced. 

As  to  the  expenditure  of  time  and  money,  I  dare  say  we  shall  be  told  that  a  man  \ 
a  right  to  employ  both  as  he  chooses.  We  have  heretofore  seen  that  he  has  no  such  rig] 
Obligations  apply  just  as  truly  to  the  mode  of  employing  leisure  and  property,  as  to  the 
which  a  inan  may  make  of  a  pound  of  arsenic.  The  obligations  are  not  indeed  alike  enforc 
in  a  court  of  justice :  the  misuser  of  arsenic  is  carried  to  prison  ;  the  misuser  of  time  and  no 
ney  awaits  as  sure  an  inquiry  at  another  tribunal.  But  no  folly  is  more  absurd  than  that 
supposing  we  have  a  right  to  do  whatever  the  law  does  not  punish.  Such  is  the  state  of  ma 
kind,  so  great  is  the  amount  of  misery  and  degradation,  and  so  great  are  the  effects  of  mon 
and  active  philanthropy  in  meliorating  this  condition  of  our  species,  that  it  is  no  light  thij 
for  a  man  to  employ  his  time  and  property  upon  vain  and  needless  gratifications.  It  is 
light  thing  to  keep  a  pack  of  hounds,  and  to  spend  days  and  weeks  in  riding  after  them,  i 
to  the  torture  which  field  sports  inflict  upon  animals,  it  is  wonderful  to  observe  our  inc(| 
sistencies.  He  who  has,  in  the  day,  inflicted  upon  half  a  dozen  animals  almost  as  much  tor 
ture  as  they  are  capable  of  sustaining,  and  who  has  wounded  perhaps  half  a  dozen  more, 
and  left  them  to  die  of  pain  or  starvation,  gives,  in  the  evening,  a  grave  reproof  to  his  child, 
whom  he  sees  amusing  himself  with  picking  off  the  wings  of  flies  ! — The  infliction  of  pain  is 
not  that  which  gives  pleasure  to  the  sportsman  (this  were  ferocious  depravity)  but  he  volun- 
tarily inflicts  the  pain  in  order  to  please  himself.  Yet  this  man  sighs  and  moralizes  over 
the  cruelty  of  children !  An  appropriate  device  for  a  sportsman's  dress  would  be  a  pair  ot 
balances,  of  which  one  scale  was  laden  with  "  Virtue  and  Humanity,"  and  the  other  with 
"  Sport:"  the  latter  should  be  preponderating  and  lifting  the  other  into  the  air. 

The  Turf  is  still  worse,  partly  because  it  is  a  strong  hold  of  ganjbling,  and  therefore 
an  efficient  cause  of  misery  and  wickedness.  It  is  an  amusement  of  almost  unmingled  evil. 
But  upon  whom  is  the  evil  chargeable  ?  Upon  the  fifty  or  one  hundred  persons  only,  who 
bring  horses  and  make  bets  ?  No.  Every  man  participates  who  attends  the  course.  The 
great  attraction  of  many  public  spectacles,  and  of  this  amongst  others,  consists  more  in  the 
company  than  in  the  ostensible  object  of  amusement.  Many  go  to  a  race  ground  who  can- 
not tell  when  they  return  what  horse  has  been  the  victor.  Every  one,  therefore,  whi 
present  must  take  his  share  of  the  mischief  and  the  responsibility. 

It  is  the  same  with  respect  to  the  gross  and  vulgar  diversions  of  boxing,  wrestling, 
feats  of  running  and  riding.  There  is  the  same  almost  pure  and  unmingled  evil,  the  ^i 
popularity  resulting  from  the  concourses  who  attend,  and,  by  consequence,  the  participi 
and  responsibility  in  those  who  do  attend.  The  drunkenness,  and  the  profaneness, 
the  debauchery  lie  in  part  at  the  doors  of  those  who  are  merely  lookers  on  ;  and  if  tl 
lookers  on  make  pretensions  to  purity  of  character,  their  example  is  so  much  the  mor| 
fluential  and  their  responsibility  ten-fold  increased.  Defences  of  these  gross  amusemi 
are  ridiculous.  One  tells  us  of  keeping  up  the  national  spirit,  which  is  the  same  thing  a^ 
to  say  that  a  human  community  is  benefitted  by  inducing  into  it  the  qualities  of  the 


I 


307 

log.  Another  expatiates  upon  invigorating  the  muscular  strength  of  the  poor,  as  if  the 
English  poor  were  under  so  little  necessity  to  labour  and  to  strengthen  themselves  by  labour, 
;hat  artificial  means  must  be  devised  to  increase  their  toil. 

The  vicissitudes  of  folly  are  endless :  the  vulgar  games  of  the  present  day  may  soon 

)e  displaced  by  others,  the  same  in  genus  but  differing  in  species.     At  the  present  moment, 

Wrestling  has  become  the  point  of  interest.     A  man  is  conveyed  across  the  kingdom  to  try 

Ivhether  he  can  throw  down  another,  and  when  he  has  done  it,  grave  narratives  of  the  feat 

:re  detailed  in  half  the  newspapers  of  the  country !     There  is  a  grossness,  a  vulgarity,  a 

vant  of  mental  elevation  in  these  things,  which  might  induce  the  man  of  intelligence  to 

eprobate  them,  even  if  the  voice  of  morality  were  silent.    They  are  remains  of  barbarism, — 

I  ividences  that  barbarism  still  maintains  itself  amongst  us, — proofs  that  the  higher  qualities 

f  |if  our  nature  are  not  sufficiently  dominant  over  the  lower. 

r         These  grossnesses  will  pass  avi-ay,  as  the  deadly  conflicts  of  men  with  beasts  are  passed 

[iilready.     Our  posterity  will  wonder  at  the  barbarism  of  us  their  fathers,  as  we  wonder  at 

(;lhe  barbarism  of  Rome.     Let  him,  then,  who  loves  intellectual  elevation  advance  beyond 

V'lhe  present  times,  and  anticipate,  in  the  recreations  which  he  encourages,  that  period  when 

lese  diversions  shall  be  regarded  as  indicating  one  of  the  intermediate  stages  between  the 

jrociousness  of  mental  darkness  and  the  purity  of  mental  light. — Dymond's  Essays  on  the 

'rinciples  of  Morality. 

UNCHASTITY. 

The  want  of  chastity  in  a  woman  is  visited  by  public  opinion  with  the  severest  reproba- 
on, — in  men,  with  very  little  or  with  none.  Now  morality  makes  no  such  distinction. 
he  offence  is  frequently  adverted  to  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  but  I  believe  there  is  no 
36  precept  which  intimates  that  in  the  estimation  of  its  writer  there  was  any  difference  in 
le  turpitude  of  the  offence  respectively  in  men  and  women.  If  it  be  in  this  volume  that 
e  are  to  seek  for  the  principles  of  the  moral  law,  how  shall  we  defend  the  state  of  popular 
jinion  ?  "  If  uuchastity  in  a  woman,  whom  St.  Paul  terms  the  glory  of  man,  be  such  a 
andal  and  dishonour,  then  certainly  in  a  man,  who  is  both  the  image  and  glory  of  God,  it 
ust,  though  commonly  not  so  thought,  be  much  more  deflowering  and  dishonourable."* 
ut  this  departure  from  the  moral  law,  like  all  other  departures,  produces  its  legitimate, 
at  is,  pernicious  effects.  The  sex  in  whom  popular  opinion  reprobates  the  offences  com- 
iratively  seldom  commits  them;  the  sex  in  whom  it  tolerates  the  offences  commits  them  to 
I  enormous  extent.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  to  promote  the  present  state  of  popular 
linion  is  to  promote  and  to  encourage  the  want  of  chastity  in  men. 

That  some  very  beneficial  consequences  result  from  the  strong  direction  of  its  current 
ainst  the  offence  in  a  woman,  is  certain.  The  consciousness  that  upon  the  retention  of 
r  reputation  depends  so  tremendous  a  stake,  is  probably  a  more  efficacious  motive  to  its 
eservation  than  any  other.  The  abandonment  to  which  the  loss  of  personal  integrity 
nerally  consigns  a  woman,  is  a  perpetual  and  fearful  warning  to  the  sex.  Almost  every 
iman  being  deprecates  and  dreads  the  general  disfavour  of  mankind  ;  and  thus,  notwith- 
inding  temptations  of  all  kinds,  the  number  of  women  who  do  incur  it  is  comparatively 
lall. 


•  Milton :  Christian  Doctrine,  p.  024. 


308 

But  the  fact  that  public  opinion  is  thus  powerful  in  restraining  one  sex,  is  a  sufficient 
evidence  that  it  would  also  be  powerful  in  restraining  the  other.  Waving  for  the  present  the 
question,  whether  tlie  popular  disapprobation  of  the  crime  in  a  woman  is  not  too  severe, — 
if  the  man  who  was  guilty  was  forthwith  and  immediately  consigned  to  infamy  ;  if  he  was 
expelled  from  virtuous  society,  and  condemned,  for  the  remainder  of  life,  to  the  lowest  de- 
gradation, how  quickly  would  the  frequency  of  the  crime  be  deminished!  The  reforma- 
tion amongst  men  would  effect  a  reformation  amongst  women  too;  and  the  reciprocal 
temptations  which  each  addresses  to  the  other  would  in  a  great  degree  be  withdrawn.  If 
there  were  few  seducers  few  would  be  seduced ;  and  few  therefore  would  in  turn  become 
the  seducers  of  men. 

But  instead  of  this  direction  of  public  opinion,  what  is  the  ordinary  language  respect- 
ing the  man  who  thus  violates  the  moral  law  ?  We  are  told  that  "  he  is  rather  unsteady;" 
that  "  there  is  a  little  of  the  yoiinar  man  about  him  ;"  that  "  he  is  not  free  from  indiscre- 
tions." And  what  is  he  likely  to  think  of  all  this?  Why,  that  for  a  young  man  to  have  a 
little  of  the  young  man  about  him  is  perfectly  natural;  that  to  be  rather  unsteady  and  a 
little  indiscreet  is  not,  to  be  sure,  what  one  would  wish,  but  that  it  is  no  great  harm  and 
will  soon  wear  off.  To  employ  such  lansjuage,  is,  we  say,  to  encourage  and  promote  the 
crime,  a  crime  which  brings  more  wretchedness  and  vice  into  the  world  than  almost  any 
other,  and  for  which,  if  Christianity  is  to  be  believed,  the' Universal  Judge  will  call  to  a  se- 
vere account.  If  the  immediate  agent  be  obnoxious  to  punishment,  can  he  who  encouraged 
him  expect  to  escape  ?  I  am  persuaded  that  the  frequency  of  this  gross  offence  is  attributa- 
ble much  more  to  the  levity  of  public  notions,  as  founded  upon  levity  of  language,  than  to 
passion ;  and  perhaps,  therefore,  some  of  those  who  promote  this  levity  may  be  in  every 
respect  as  criminal  as  if  they  committed  the  crime  itself. 

The  common  style  of  narrating  occurrences  and  trials  of  seduction,  &c.  in  the  public 
prints  is  very  mischievous.  These  flagitious  actions  are,  it  seems,  a  legitimate  subject  of 
merriment — one  of  the  many  droll  things  which  a  newspaper  contains.  It  is  humiliating  to 
see  respectable  men  sacrifice  the  interests  of  society  to  such  small  temptation.  They  pander 
to  the  appetite  of  the  gross  and  idle  of  the  public : — they  want  to  sell  their  newspapers. — 
Much  of  this  ill-timed  merriment  is  found  in  the  addresses  of  counsel,  and  this  is  one  mode 
amongst  the  many  in  which  the  legal  profession  appears  to  think  itself  licensed  to  sacrifice 
virtue  to  the  usages  which  it  has,  for  its  own  advantage,  adopted.  There  is  cruelty  as  well 
as  other  vices  in  these  things.  When  we  take  into  account  the  intense  suffering  which 
prostitution  produces  upon  its  victims  and  upon  their  friends,  he  who  contributes,  even  thus 
indirectly,  to  its  extension  does  not  exhibit  even  a  tolerable  sensibility  to  human  misery. 
Even  infidelity  acknowledges  the  claims  of  humanity  ;  and  therefore  if  religion  and  religious 
morals  were  rejected,  this  heartless  levity  of  language  would  still  be  indefensible.  We  call 
the  man  hpnevolevt  who  relieves  or  diminishes  wretchedness :  what  should  we  call  him  who 
extends  and  increases  it? 

In  connection  with  this  subject  an  observation  suggests  itself  respecting  the  power  of 
chnrncter  in  affecting  the  whole  moial  principles  of  the  mind.  If  loss  of  character  does 
not  follow  a  breach  o*"  morality,  that  breach  may  be  single  and  alone.  The  agent's  virtue 
i<i  so  fiir  deteriorated,  but  the  breach  does  not  open  wide  the  door  to  other  modes  of  crime. 
If  loss  of  character  does  fol'ow  one  offence,  one  of  the  great  barriers  which  exclude  the  flood 


309 

•of  evil  is  thrown  down  ;  and  though  the  offence  which  produced  loss  of  character  be  really 
no  greater  than  the  offence  with  which  it  is  retained,  yet  its  consequences  upon  the  moral 
condition  are  incomparably  greater.  The  reason  is,  that  if  you  take  away  a  person's  repu- 
tation you  take  away  one  of  the  principal  motives  to  propriety  of  conduct.  The  labourer 
who  being  tempted  to  steal  a  piece  of  bacon  from  the  farmer,  finds  that  no  one  will  take 
him  into  his  house  orgive  him  employment,  and  that  wherever  he  goes  he  is  pointedat  as  a 
thief,  is  almost  as  much  driven  as  tempted  to  repeat  the  crime.  His  fellow  labourer  who 
has  much  more  heinously  violated  the  moral  law  by  a  flagitious  intrigue  with  a  servant  girl, 
receives  from  the  farmer  a  few  reproaches  and  a  few  jests,  retains  his  place,  never  perhaps 
repeats  the  offence,  and  subsequently  maintains  a  decent  morality. 

It  has  been  said,  "  As  a  woman  collects  all  her  virtue  into  this  point,  the  loss  of  her 
chastity  is  generally  the  destruction  of  her  moral  principle."  What  is  to  be  understood  by 
collecting  virtue  into  one  point,  it  is  not  easy  to  discover.  The  truth  is,  that  as  popular 
notions  have  agreed  that  she  who  loses  her  chastity  shall  retain  no  reputation,  a  principal 
motive  to  the  practice  of  other  virtues  is  taken  away: — she  therefore  disregards  them;  and 
thus  by  degrees  her  moral  principle  is  utterly  depraved.  If  public  opinion  was  so  modified 
that  the  world  did  not  abandon  a  woman  who  has  been  robbed  of  chastity,  it  is  probable  that 
a  much  larger  number  of  these  unhappy  persons  would  return  to  virtue.  The  case  of  men 
offers  iUustration  and  proof.  The  unchaste  man  retains  his  character,  or,  at  any  rate,  he  re- 
tains so  much  that  it  is  of  great  importance  to  him  to  preserve  the  remainder.  Public  opinion 
accordingly  holds  its  strong  rein  upon  other  parts  of  his  conduct,  and  by  this  rein  he  is  re- 
strained from  deviating  into  other  walks  of  vice.  If  the  direction  of  public  opinion  were 
exchanged,  if  the  woman's  offence  were  held  venial  and  the  man's  infamous,  the  world 
might  stand  in  wonder  at  the  altered  scene.  We  should  have  worthy  and  respectable  pros- 
titutes, while  the  men  whom  we  now  invite  to  our  tables  and  marry  to  our  daughters,  would 
be  repulsed  as  the  most  abandoned  of  mankind.  Of  this  I  have  met  with  a  curious  illustra- 
tion.— Amongst  the  North  American  Indians  "seduction  is  regarded  as  a  despicable  crime, 
and  more  blame  is  attached  to  the  man  than  to  the  woman  :  hence  the  offence  on  the  part 
of  the  female  is  more  readily  forgotten  and  forgiven,  and  she  finds  little  or  no  diflSculty  in 
forming  a  subsequent  matrimonial  alliance  when  deserted  by  her  betrayer,  who  is  generally 
regarded  tvith  distrust  and  avoided  in  social  intercourse."* — Di/motid's  Essai/s  on  the  Princi- 
ples af  Morality. 


MEDICAL  FACTS  AND  OBSERVATIONS.f 
You  will  readily  agree  with  me,  that  ignorance  is  the  parent  of  great  misery ;  and 
perhaps  there  is  no  instance  in  which  this  observation  is  more  amply  verified  than  in  the 
great  delusion  mankind  in  general  labour  under  respecting  the  pernicious  consequences  of 
intemperate  modes  of  living.  There  is  too  much  reason  to  apprehend  that  they  are  not 
deeply  convinced  of  this  fact,  otherwise  we  should  not  daily  witness  so  many  instances  of 
persons  falling  victims  to  protracted,  painful,  incurable  disease,  and  even  to  sudden  death. 

*  Hunter's  Memoirs, 
t  I  have  been  favoured  with  a  collection  of  papers  ^vritten  by  the  late  Dr.  Cassels,  containing  a  valu- 
able statement  of  facts,  and  observations  upon  them.    They  appeared  ori^nally  in  the  Lancaster  or 
Kendal  papers.     This  is  the  first  of  the  series. 

VOL.  III.  2  Q 


310 

I  am  fully  aware,  that  incurable  disease  and  sudden  death  will  oflen  happen  to  the  ma 
temperate  persons,  and  arise  from  causes  that  "  walk  in  darkness,"  which  no  pruder 
could  obviate,  nor  prescience  guard  against,  and  which  can  neither  be  removed  by  the  prd 
sent  improved  state  of  the  art  of  healing  nor  by  diet.  It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  thj 
these  causes  are  greatly  augmented  by  the  luxuries  of  the  table.  Thus,  we  often  find  upa 
dissection,  the  brain  deluged  with  blood ;  at  other  times,  a  repture  has  taken  place  in  og 
of  the  large  blood-vessels  (or  tubes  issuing  from  the  heart)  overwhelming  the  functions  i 
that  vital  organ;  sometimes  we  find  the  stomach  exhibiting  various  diseased  appearances; 
and  again,  the  liver  and  other  glands  are  not  only  greatly  enlarged,  but  are  become  so  un- 
duly hard  in  texture  and  consistence,  that  the  blood  cannot  be  transmitted  through  their 
substance  with  its  accustomed  velocity.  Hence  dropsy  and  other  diseases  (frequently  in- 
curable) necessarily  happen  from  such  extensive  derangement  in  organs,  without  the  regular 
action  of  which  it  is  as  vain  to  expect  good  health  as  it  would  be  to  look  for  ripe  summer- 
fruit  in  the  depth  of  winter.  To  enumerate  all  the  miseries  that  "flesh  is  heir  to,"  from 
unreasonable  indulgence  of  the  appetite,  would  indeed  provide  materials  for  volumes,  as 
well  as  furnish  numerous  important  reflections  both  to  the  natural  philosopher  and  the 
moralist. 

As  I  firmly  believe  that  many  persons  err  from  lack  of  knowledge,  I  shall  attempt  to 
lay  before  you,  I  trust  from  sources  of  unquestionable  authority,  a  few  of  the  most  conspi- 
cuous articles  that  would  be  found  in  such  a  catalogue,  a  due  consideration  of  which  may 
contribute  to  lessen  the  prevalence  of  habits  which  have  a  tendency  to  render  life  miserable 
to  ourselves,  and  burthensome  to  our  acquaintance. 

Dr.  Willis  mentions  the  case  of  a  gentleman  who  had  contracted  habits  of  indolence 
and  intemperance  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  became  torpid  and  dropsical  as  he  advanced  in 
life,  and  at  lengh  he  was  so  much  affected  with  somnolency  that  he  would  fall  asleep  wherCf 
ever  he  was,  or  however  employed. 

Dr.  Darwen  gives  an  account  of  Mr.  C.  and  Mr.  B.  two  very  strong  men,  who  had 
drank  ale  at  their  meals  instead  of  small  beer,  who  suddenly  became  weak,  lost  their  appe- 
tite, flesh,  and  strength,  their  skin  becoming  of  a  yellow  tint,  like  that  of  silk-worms,  and 
who  died  in  about  two  months  illness,  A  few  days  before  their  death,  Mr.  C.  became  drop- 
sical, and  Mr.  B.  had  frequent  and  great  discharges  of  blood  from  an  issue,  and  some  parte 
of  his  mouth.  He  also  relates  an  instance  of  two  men,  who  set  out  on  foot  to  travel  in  the 
snow,  one  of  whom  drank  two  or  three  glasses  of  brandy  before  they  began  their  journey, 
the  other  contenting  himself  with  his  usual  diet.  The  former  perished  in  spite  of  the  assist- 
ance of  his  companion,  whilst  the  latter  performed  his  journey  with  safety.  In  this  case, 
the  stimulus  of  the  brandy  and  exercise  so  weakened  him,  that  he  was  soon  destroyed  by 
the  cold ;  that  is,  he  was  not  able  to  produce  suflRcient  heat  to  supply  its  waste. 

Dr.  Parry  informs  us  of  two  gentlemen,  each  of  whom  drank  in  a  day,  a  bottle  of  rum, 
as  much  gin,  and  two  bottles  of  Madeira.  One  had  for  many  weeks,  repeated  attacks  of 
epilepsy,  followed  by  occasional  wanderings  of  perception,  and  the  other  was  seized  wit; 
alienation  of  mind,  and  obliged  to  sufifer  long  restraint. 

When  Mr.  Cheselden  opened  the  body  of  a  person  who  died  with  excessive  palpitati^ 
of  the  heart,  which  began  after  several  years  of  very  hard  drinking,  he  found  about  i 
inches  of  the  largest  vessel  that  issues  from  that  organ,  distended  with  blood  three  times  { 
natural  diameter. 


311 

The  late  Mr.  Hunter  found  the  stomach  of  dram-drinkers  in  a  flabby  and  inelastic  state. 
This  loss  of  tone  is  followed  by  frequent  vomiting,  tremulous  motion  of  the  limbs,  pro- 
pensity to  palsy,  and  loss  of  memory.  In  similar  cases.  Dr.  Saunders  has  frequently  seen 
tttegall  ducts  so  contracted  and  thickened,  that  they  could  not  transmit  bile. 

Dr.  Cheyne  records  the  case  of  a  naval  officer,  who  took  two  or  three  tumblers  of  grog 
daily.  In  two  days  after  feasting  with  some  officers,  and  "  tarrying  long  at  wine,"  he  be- 
came sick,  and  complained  of  intense  head-ache,  saying,  "  He  believed  one  half  of  his  head 
was  separating  from  the  other,  and  he  felt  a  conviction  that  he  would  not  long  survive  such 
sensations."  He  died  at  midnight.  There  was  found  a  great  quantity  of  coagulated  blood 
in  the  brain.  His  liver  was  marbled  with  spots  of  a  yellow  colour,  and  the  structure  so  altered 
that  it  broke  short  in  handling  it  when  little  force  was  used.  The  biliary  vessels  were  full 
of  a  dark  ropy  bile;  the  stomach  appeared  to  be  thick  and  fleshy  in  its  inner  surface,  re- 
markably inflamed,  whilst  externally  it  was  studded  with  innumerable  little  stars  of  a  rich 
lake  colour. 

The  same  gentleman  gives  a  curious  history  of  a  man  of  65  years  of  age,  who  had  lived 
so  indolently  and  luxuriously,  that  while  dressing,  sitting  at  breakfast,  or  arranging  his 
affairs,  he  fell  asleep  occasionally,  so  often  as  ten  times  in  an  hour,  and  even  nodded  while 
'conversing  with  a  friend.  He  had  ascertained  that  eight  hours  were  daily  wasted  in  dres- 
Ising  before  breakfast.     With  great  difficulty  he  obtained  half  an  hour  for  walking  abroad, 

(and  he  was  much  troubled  with  tremors,  particularly  of  his  hands. 
Mr.  Chevalier  narrates  the  case  of Froome,  a  boy  aged  14,  who  went  to  a  Christ- 
mas feast,  ate  heartily,  and  drank  rather  freely  of  gin  and  water;  next  evening,  he  became 
(sick  and  vomited  violently,  which  continued  at  intervals  during  the  night  and  the  following 
i morning.  He  went  out  for  a  short  time,  but  felt  very  ill,  and  said  that  his  blood  was  boil- 
ing at  his  heart.  Two  days  after,  he  became  short-breathed,  unable  to  swallow,  and  felt 
great  anxiety,  with  frequent  efforts  to  vomit.  After  a  scene  of  much  suffering,  he  vomited 
near  two  pints  of  blood,  aed  soon  after  expired.  Upon  opening  the  body,  the  internal  coat 
i  of  the  stomach,  and  the  bowel  next  to  it,  appeared  to  be  torn  in  various  places. 

Sir  Everard  Home  has  communicated  an  instance  of  a  child  three  years  old,  who  being 
left  alone  at  dinner,  ate  so  large  a  quantity  of  apple  pudding  that  it  died,  which  raised  a 
;  suspicion  of  its  being  poisoned.  On  examination  after  death,  the  whole  stomach  was  dis- 
[  tended  to  its  utmost  extent,  and  rendered  quite  tense,  which  was  the  only  apparent  cause 
i  of  the  child's  death. 

A  fishmonger,  of  a  middle  age,  and  good  habit  of  body,  but  who  had  been  very  irregu- 
lar as  to  his  food,  having  dressed  himself  after  a  good  night's  sleep,  walked  two  or  three 
times  across  his  chamber  with  amazing  haste,  then  immediately  sat  down  and  expired.  A 
portion  of  his  stomach  was  found  livid  and  variegated,  the  spleen  was  softer  and  larger 
(than  usual,  the  edge  of  the  liver  livid,  and  a  large  quantity  of  water  was  found  in  the  cavi- 
ties of  the  brain. 

A  man  of  33  years  of  age,  habituated  to  the  free  use  of  wine  and  tobacco,  complained 
of  pain  in  the  left  side  of  his  head,  with  pain  and  weakness  of  the  neck.  After  a  violent 
fever,  he  expired  on  the  eleventh  day  of  his  illness.  There  were  discovered  an  ulcer  and 
purulent  matter  on  the  basis  of  his  brain. 

Upon  inspecting  the  body  of  an  old  man  of  70,  who  had  a  voracious  appetite,  his 
stomach  was  found  much  larger  than  usual,  and  the  spleen  was  double  its  natural  size. 


312 

A  Venetian  tailor,  who  was  addicted  to  hard  drinking,  having  eaten  two  gurnets,  an 
drank  some  new  wine,  suddenly  expired.  In  the  large  blood-vessels  issuing  from  the  heat| 
were  found  bony  scales,  and  the  stomach  unusually  large. 

A  woman,  40  years  of  age,  much  accustomed  to  eat  salt  victuals,  and  drink  genero^ 
wine,  had  been  for  many  years  subject  to  pains  of  the  stomach,  a  loss  of  appetite,  and  othd 
bad  symptoms,  which  continued  till  she  died.  Part  of  the  internal  surface  of  her  stomao 
was  found  of  a  livid  colour,  its  coats  very  much  thickened,  and  an  abscess  had  been  diq 
charged. 

A  man  about  28  years  of  age,  who  ate  and  drank  to  excess,  fell  into  an  universal  drops]j 
and  about  seven  days  before  his  death  laborious  breathing,  with  a  cough  and  pain  in  th^ 
chest,  took  place.     The  stomach  vastly  exceeded  its  natural  dimensions,  the  spleen  was 
three  times  larger  than  it  ought  to  be,  and  the  left  lobe  of  the  lungs  was  much  inflamed. 

The  following  case,  though  differing  from  the  rest,  may,  with  propriety,  be  inserted 
here.  A  man  of  58  years  of  age,  accustomed  to  the  excessive  use  of  tobacco,  fell  down  as 
he  buckled  his  shoes,  and  died  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  There  was  found  a  quantity  of 
coagulated  blood  in  his  brain,  and  one  portion  of  it  appeared  to  have  been  inflamed. 

Such  are,  and  ever  will  be,  the  much-to-be-regretted,  but  justly-earned  fruits  of  luxu- 
rious, or,  as  it  has  been  emphatically  called,  "fast  living."  Let  us  compute  at  what  a  vast 
expence  we  bring  so  much  unnecessary  suffering  upon  ourselves,  and  indirectly  upon  our 
friends,  who  are  interested  in  our  welfare.  By  persisting  in  such  a  course,  it  will  be  found 
that  instead  of  the  blood  flowing  pleasantly  through  our  veins,  and  fully  enjoying  the  facul- 
ties of  our  minds,  bountifully  bestowed  by  the  beneficent  Parent  of  mankind  ;  instead  oi 
appetites,  easily  satisfied  with  plain,  wholesome  food  ;  instead  of  the  free  use  of  our  limbs, 
inducing  salutary  fatigue,  and  exciting  sweet,  refreshing  sleep;  we  must  fully  expect  to  fall 
a  prey  to  most  uncomfortable  feverish  heat  and  flushing,  a  variety  of  inflammatory  diseases, 
a  clouded  intellect,  defective  memory,  ungovernable  passions,  a  want  of  appetite  for  simple, 
nutritious  food,  inability  to  use  exercise,  passing  our  lives  in  drowsy  indolence,  liability  to 
lowness  of  spirits,  and  an  innumerable  train  of  unpleasant  sensations,  both  in  body  and  mind. 
When  we  reflect  on  the  waste  of  animal  life,  the  unnecessary  consumption  of  the  fruits  of 
the  earth,  the  expensive  improvements  in  what  is  called  the  culinary  art,  the  immense 
quantity  of  fermented  liquor  and  distilled  spirit  lavished  upon  our  appetites,  we  must  be 
convinced  that  the  meanest  creatures  we  have  consumed  have  answered  the  ends  of  their 
creation  better  than  we  have  done.  If  we  think  aright,  we  cannot  but  indulge  the  most 
poignant  feelings  of  regret,  that  we  have  lost  so  many  opportunities  of  doing  good  with  the 
bountiful  provision  bestowed  upon  us,  and  that  we  have  not  been  as  careful  to  make  a  chari- 
table use  of  our  riches,  as  we  have  been  industrious  in  acquiring  them.  We  must  regret 
that  we  have  not,  with  the  abundance  of  our  store,  soothed  the  heart  of  the  aged  ;  that  we 
have  not  bestowed  that  support  on  the  sick  which  poverty  cannot  procure  ;  and  have  for- 
gotten that  a  few  bottles  of  wine  are  better  bestowed  as  a  cordial,  than  as  a  mark  of  a  costly 
entertainment.  We  must  regret,  that  while  we  have  been  faring  sumptuously  every  day, 
we  have  not  imitated  the  benevolent  custom  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  Dr.  Johnson,  Dr.  Watts, 
Dr.  Price,  and  other  illustrious  characters,  who  devoted  a  third,  a  fifth,  a  tenth,  or  twelfth 
of  their  income  to  alms-giving  ;  that  we  have  not  followed  the  example  of  Lord  Bute,  who 
assisted  industrious  artists  by  a  little  money  given  in  the  moment  of  want,  and  who  de- 
lighted to  release  the  insolvent  debtor;  er  James  Gruter,  who  lent  money,  without  intereq 


313 

to  poor  tradesmen ;  that  we  have  not,  like  Jonas  Hanway,  sought  out  the  meritorious 
in  their  solitary  habitations,  studied  their  wants,  and  devised  the  means  of  relief;  or  like 
Thomas  Day,  spent  much  less  upon  ourselves,  that  we  might  administer  more  to  the  neces- 
sities of  others. 

We  must  regret  that  we  have  been  too  solicitous  to  please  our  palates,  whilst  we  have 
neglected  to  cultivate  those  moral  dispositions  which  graiify  the  heart,  and  have  passed  by 
on  the  other  side  to  avoid  "  the  helpless,  the  friendless,  the  dejected,"  and  "  those  who  can 
make  no  return." 

If  the  above  facts  and  reflections  should  have  any  tendency  to  lay  a  foundation  for 
more  salutary  habits,  and  impress  upon  the  minds  of  your  readers  the  peculiar  responsi- 
bility attached  to  the  distribution  of  the  gifts  of  Providence,  I  shall  think  my  labour  not 
altogether  in  vain.  I  have  long  been  convinced  that  in  promoting  the  knowledge  and  hap- 
piness of  our  fellow-creatures,  we  are  cherishing  feelings  which  constitute  the  ornaments  of 
the  man  and  of  the  Christian. 

Since,  therefore,  every  act  of  benevolence,  properly  applied,  really  diminishes  the  evils 
of  life,  we  ought  to  reckon  no  effort,  in  the  cause  of  virtue,  ultimately  lost. 


"THE  VISITOR  OF  THE  POOR, 
"Designed  to  aid  in  the  Formation  and  Working  of  Provident  and  other  kindred  Societies. 

Translated  from  the  French  of  the  Baron  de  Grando.      With  an  Introduction  by  the 

Rev.  J.  Tuckerman,  D.D.,  of  Boston,  U.  S."     London:  Simpkin  and  Marshall. 

A  work  of  great  value,  and  well  calculated  to  awaken  what,  in  the  present  state  of 
society,  is  much  wanted,  kindly  and  Christian  views  and  feelings  between  the  rich  and 
the  poor.  The  work  opens  with  a  preface  from  the  pen  of  the  Editor,*  breathing  with  en- 
lightened and  ardent  philanthropy.  Next,  is  an  Introduction,  written  in  Dr.  Tuckerman'* 
usual  style  of  benevolent  fervour.     He  thus  unfolds  the  object  of  the  work. 

"Its  design  is  to  awaken  and  give  excitement  to  a  sense  of  human  relations,  wherc- 
ever  sensibility  on  this  great  subject  is  sluggish  and  inactive  ;  and  wisely  direct  it,  where  it 
is  either  wasting  its  power  in  comparatively  useless  efforts,  or  is  perhaps  occasioning  evil 
by  the  very  means  by  which  it  intends  and  hopes  for  good.  For  this  end,  it  proposes  to- 
make  the  great  classes  of  the  rich  and  the  poor,  of  the  strong  and  the  feeble,  of  the  wise  and 
the  unwise,  and  of  the  virtuous  and  the  vicious,  known  to  each  other.  It  proposes  to  bring 
these  classes  together,  not  by  confounding  the  distinctions  between  them,  but  by  making 
the  virtuous,  and  wise,  and  strong,  and  prospered,  feel,  that  by  communicating  of  what  they 
have  received,  and  by  acting  as  the  instruments  of  God's  goodness  towards  those  from  whom 
he  has  made  them  to  differ,  they  are  at  once  accomplishing  the  purposes  for  which  he  insti- 
tuted the  diversities  which  we  see  of  human  condition,  and  are  most  effectually  promoting 
their  own,  by  advancing  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  others.  Its  aim  is  to  extend  virtue, 
and  through  virtue  to  extend  happiness,  by  the  most  simple  and  legitimate  of  all  means — 
the  exercise  of  virtue." 

The  following  extract  contains  the  autlwr's  views  of  true  charity. 

"Charity,  then,  and  not  alms-giving,  is  the  aim  of  the  designs  of  Providence,  the  voca- 
tion of  the  rich  man,  and  the  great  element  necessary  to  the  harmony  of  the  moral  world. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Beard. 


314 

Alms-giving  is  only  one  of  the  instruments  of  charity  ;  it  is  not  the  only  one,  or  the  mo 
important ;  it  even  contradicts,  and  sometimes  destroys,  the  effects  of  charity  itself. 

"  But  charity  is  entirely  an  individual  thing.    A  largess  given  in  a  general  way,  thro* 
out  to  escape  importunity,  subscribed  and  published  to  nourish  pride  by  the  ostentation  i 
false   virtue,  has  nothing  to  do  with  charity,  with  the  tie  that  unites  brother  to  brothe 
When  alms-giving  is  but  a  shield  from  personal  pain,  and  selfish  terror,  at  the  sight  of  mil 
fortune,  I  had  almost  said  it  is  an  insult  to  the  miserable.     Charity  alone  does  good.     Hi 
solicitude  is  enlightened  and  prospective,  as  well  as  tender  and  affectionate.     She  examine 
before  she  acts ;  she  takes  a  wide  survey,  and  extends  her  regards  over  the  future.     St 
goes  back  to  causes  ;  she  embraces  all  circumstances ;  she  adds  to  her  gifts  care,  consolatio 
counsel,  and  even  parental  reprimand.     This  is  the  wonderful  inspiration,  which  reveals  an 
furnishes  to  men,  who  are  not  in  the  most  prosperous  conditions,  the  means  of  associating 
themselves  in  works  of  benevolence,  of  accepting  the  noblest,  the  most  difficult,  the  most 
useful  offices  towards  their  unfortunate  fellow-men  ;  for  it  teaches  not  only  to  do  good,  but 
also,  what  is  not  less  important,  the  manner  of  doing  good." 

The  following,  out  of  many  others  that  may  be  adduced  from  the  author's  personal  ob- 
servation, are  pleasing  testimonies  of  what  we  are  too  apt  to  overlook — the  virtues  of  the 
poor. 

"  I  have  seen  also  a  mother  of  six  children  extended  night  and. day  upon  a  little  straw 
in  a  garret,  with  a  fatal  ulcer,  which  was  destroying  her,  and  not  able  to  give  bread  to  those 
poor  little  beings,  who  were  weeping  around  her.  In  her  own  husband,  too,  who  ought  to 
have  been  her  consolation  and  support,  she  had  an  additional  subject  of  cutting  sorrow :  and 
she  was  thus  supporting,  at  the  same  time,  the  sufferings  of  body  and  soul.  But  she 
supported  them  with  an  unalterable  sweetness,  pardoning  even  the  unworthy  husband  who 
aggravated  her  woes  instead  of  relieving  them,  and  who  abused  the  succours  destined  for  her, 
and  consumed  them  himself  in  drunkenness.  I  have  seen  aged,  infirm,  and  forsaken 
widows,  occupying  a  nook  so  low  and  narrow  that  one  could  scarce  enter  it,  and  having  no 
other  light  than  what  came  from  the  stair-case,  and  there  waiting  the  immense  favour  of 
entering  into  a  poorhouse ;  (for  such  is  the  great  and  supreme  ambition,  such  the  object 
and  wishes  of  a  great  number.)  And,  alas  !  how  many  desire  it  in  vain,  and  cannot  obtain  it ! 
I  have  seen  miseries  which  pass  all  belief,  and  physical  tortures  united  with  the  most  pressing 
wants  and  the  most  painful  privations;  and  all  these  endured  by  martyrs  of  patience,  with- 
out aid,  hope,  or  witness,  submitting  to  the  Divine  will.  Where  are  crowns  worthy  of  such 
triumphs?  What  tenderness  mingles  with  our  respect,  when  we  think,  that  the  beings 
called  to  display  such  courage  are  feeble  women,  and  old  men  already  exhausted  by  long 
trials  !" 

The  work  is  divided  into  twelve  chapters,  and  the  subjects  are — ).  Aim  and  Character 
of  Charity.  2.  Characteristicsof  Real  Indigence.  3.  Classification  of  the  Poor.  4  Virtues 
of  the  Poor.  5.  Vices  and  Moral  Amelioration  of  the  Poor.  6.  Means  of  obtaining  the 
Confidence  of  the  Poor.  7.  Education  of  the  Children  of  the  Poor.  8.  Begging.  9.  Wis*^ 
Distribution  of  Charity.  10.  Who  should  be  called  to  the  office  of  Visitor  of  the  PoO 
11.  Spirit  of  Association.  12.  Of  the  Co-operation  of  Young  People  in  the  Establishment 
of  Humanity. 

If  works  like  this  were  extensively  read  and  acted  upon,  we  should  soon  perceive 
revival  in  practical  Christianity. 


315 

SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 
Dear  Sir, — In  the  last  number  of  the  Moral  Reformer,  a  correspondent,  who  signs 
imself  J.  R.,  makes  some  severe  animadversions  on  Sabbath  Schools.  Their  utility  he 
uestions,  and  their  tendency  he  pronounces  d-ecidedly  injurious.  These  remarks,  I  pre- 
ume,  will  have  sounded  harsh  in  the  ears  of  many  a  zealous  Sunday  School  teacher  who 
as  perused  them,  as  they  have  done  in  mine.  For  though  I  cannot  look  upon  Sabbath 
.chools,  as  at  present  constituted,  with  unmingled  satisfaction  and  delight,  yet,  to  adopt  the 
I  uiguage  you  used  in  one  of  the  early  numbers  of  the  Reformer  respecting  them,  "  modified 
1  s  to  time,  design,  and  influence  upon  parents,  Ihey  would  have  my  unqualified  support."  I 
■drnit  that  they  have  not  done  all  the  good  some  of  their  warmest  admirers  suppose.  From 
ome  acquaintance  with  them,  I  know,  too,  they  have  not  done  all  the  good  they  might  have 
one  and  are  calculated  to  do.  And  where,  I  would  ask,  is  the  benevolent  institution  that 
as  ?  Their  character  and  efficiency  has,  however,  much  improved  within  the  last  ten  years. 
Your  correspondent  indiscriminately  charges  ministers  with  resorting  to  Sabbath 
chools  as  an  expedient  for  replenishing  their  congregations,  and  as  an  excuse  for  their  neg- 
ict  of  the  duty  of  visiting  from  house  to  house.  I  do  not  think,  however,  that  ministers 
enerally  are  influenced  by  the  last  consideration,  in  recommending  the  establishment  and 
leading  for  the  support  of  these  institutions.  They  do  expect  that  after  the  children  leave 
he  school,  they  will  continue  to  attend  the  place  of  worship  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
ttend  when  at  school.  It  is  proper,  too,  that  as  far  as  possible  Sabbath  Schools  should  be 
lurseries  for  the  church.  For  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  where  good  habits  have 
leen  formed  they  should  be  confirmed.  In  order  to  this,  attention  should  be  paid  to  those 
vho  leave  the  school,  in  bringing  them  under  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

I  wish  not  to  exculpate  ministers,  who  too  generally  neglect  the  instruction  of  the  people, 
fhey  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  incalculable  good  by  the  use  of  means  which  they  too 
generally  overlook.  Their  exertions  should  not  be  altogether  confined  to  their  church  and 
jiongregation.  To  rouse  their  apathy  and  excite  their  zeal,  let  benevolent  individuals,  in 
iheir  private  capacity,  as  they  have  time  and  ability,  begin  the  work,  and  show  them  what 
nay  be  done.  Were  all  done,  however,  that  might  be,  I  question  whether  the  necessity 
"or  the  labours  of  the  Sabbath  School  teacher  would  altogether  cease.  It  is  possible  to  over- 
rate the  benefits  that  would  result  from  the  increased  activity  and  diligence  of  the  teachers 
!)f  religion.  Dr.  Chalmers  observes,  "  Were  it  as  easy  a  task  to  prevail  on  an  irreligious 
iparent  to  set  up  the  worship  and  the  instruction  of  religion  in  his  family,  as  to  get  his  con- 
;>ent  and  prevail  upon  his  children  to  attend  the  ministrations  of  a  Sabbath  School,  there 
night  then  be  some  appearance  of  room  for  all  the  obloquy  that  has  been  cast  upon  these 
institutions.  But  as  the  matter  stands,  in  many  a  city  and  many  a  parish,  the  Christian 
.ahilanthropist  is  shut  up  to  an  effort  upon  the  young,  as  his  last  chance  for  the  moral  re- 
[jeneration  of  our  country."  The  above  extract  is  taken  from  Dr.  C.'s  observations  on  Local 
Sunday  Schools,  in  his  "  Christian  and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns."  To  this  article  I 
would  refer  J.  R.  for  an  exposition  of  the  plan,  and  the  beneficial  effects  it  has  had  upon 
both  parents  and  children,  in  some  of  the  worst  parts  of  the  city  of  Glasgow,  where  it  has 
;been  tried.  By  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  the  Dr.  has  shown  that  a  powerful  aggression 
imay  be  made  on  the  strongholds  of  ignorance  and  vice.  I  am  aware  the  plan  has  been  said 
by  some  to  be  less  adapted  to  the  state  of  society  in  England  than  in  Scotland.  In  some  of 
iour  great  towns,  where  the  population,  as  the  Dr.  observes,  has  "accumulated  into  so 
jmany  masses  of  practical  heathenism,"  it  might,  I  think,  be  successfully  tried. 


316 

I  acknowledge  that  there  is  no  positive  injunction  or  warrant  for  Sunday  School  effoB 
in  the  Scriptures.  Yet  there  is  nothing,  that  I  can  recollect,  which  forbids  the  instructiq 
of  the  children  of  those  parents  who  are  utterly  unable  to  give  them  either  elementary  | 
religious  instruction.  The  separation  for  a  short  time  on  the  Sabbath,  necessarily  foUowiJ 
an  attendance  at  the  school,  J.  R.  terms  unnatural.  The  very  same  objection  has  been" 
repeatedly  urged  against  Infant  Schools.  Does  not  the  recital  of  instructions  received  in 
the  Sabbath  School  tend  not  only  powerfully  to  excite  the  interest,  but  to  increase  the  at- 
tachment betwixt  parent  and  child  ?  The  late  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  contended  for  their 
utility,  even  on  the  supposition  that  every  parent  instructed  his  own  children.  "  He 
grounded  this  persuasion  on  two  reasons.  First,  that  a  spirit  of  greater  emulation  was  ex- 
cited in  the  minds  of  children  at  school  than  was  likely  to  take  place  in  the  family  circle. 
Secondly,  that  the  instructions  being  accommodated  to  the  capacities  of  children,  they 
thereby  acquire  the  habit  of  listening  to  and  reflecting  on  the  truths  stated  to  them,  which 
they  could  not  so  easily  do  by  listening  to  pulpit  ministrations,  these  being  more  above  their 
comprehension;  and  therefore  no  small  object  was  gained,  if  children  were  thus  in  early 
life  trained  to  the  habit  of  attending  to  instructions  delivered  in  a  Sunday  School,  being  an 
excellent  preparative  for  their  attending  and  profiting  by  the  public  services  of  the  sanctuai^ 
in  after  life." 

It  should  also  be  considered,  that  the  object  of  Sabbath  Schools  is  two-fold:  to  give 
instruction  in  either  reading  or  writing,  or  in  both,  as  well  as  in  religion.  The  majority 
exclude  the  teaching  of  writing  on  the  Sabbath,  and  are  confined  to  reading  and  instruction 
in  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Bible.  This  is  a  desirable  alteration,  where  circum- 
stances will  allow  of  writing  being  taught  on  a  week-day  evening.  For  though  I  never 
would  join  in  the  cry  of  those  who  denounced  the  teaching  of  this  art  as  a  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath,  1  have  ever  been  anxious  that  as  much  of  the  time  as  possible  should  be  devoted 
to  religious  tuition. — In  the  elementary  instruction  which  they  have  afforded  to  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  and  ignorant,  they  have  conferred  an  absolute  benefit.  This  is  evident 
from  the  fact,  that  there  is  an  intimate  connection  between  ignorance  even  of  reading  and 
writing  and  crime.  Statements  furnished  respecting  the  criminals  engaged  in  the  burnings  . 
in  the  southern  counties,  a  year  or  two  since,  abundantly  prove  this.  Where  positive  good 
has  not  been  effected,  much  evil  has  been  prevented  by  them.  They  have,  in  some  mea- 
sure, tended  to  prevent  a  further  deterioration  of  the  state  of  society,  in  counteracting  the 
demoralizing  influence  of  factories  and  large  towns.  As  J.  R.  seems  somewhat  to  under- 
rate the  advantages  of  Sabbath  Schools,  I  offer  the  following  statements  for  his  considera- 
tion, from  Wilderspin's  "  Early  Discipline  Illustrated."  "  It  was  reported  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Board  of  Education  appointed  by  Parliament,  that  of  three  thousand  boys 
who  were  educated  at  the  Sunday  Schools  at  Gloucester,  but  one  has  been  convicted  of  a 
public  crime — by  Mr.  Lloyd  to  the  same  Committee,  that  owing  to  the  general  establishment 
of  Sunday  Schools  in  Wales,  in  one  or  two  of  the  counties  the  prison  doors  had  been  thrown 
open ;  and  he  attributed  it  to  education,  because  nearly  every  individual  throughout  these 
counties  attended  the  schools."  For  further  statements  I  refer  to  the  work;  and  conclude 
these  desultory  observations,  at  present,  by  expressing  a  desire  for  their  insertion  in  tht 
next  number  of  the  Moral  Reformer.  Possibly  I  may  resume  the  subject  at  a  futjj 
opportunity.  JUVENIS. 

Leeds,  August  16th,  1833. 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 

The  accounts  from  America  continue  to  give  favourable  reports  of  the  progress  of  tem- 
perance. The  following  is  the  latest  account  I  have  met  with.  "  From  a  Narrative  of  the 
state  of  religion  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States,  published  by  order  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  !^Iay  last,  we  extract  the  following  interesting  particulars: — 'That 
from  the  Report  of  the  American  Temperance  Society,  and  other  publications,  it  appears, 
that  in  this  and  other  countries,  there  are  6000  Temperance  Societies,  embracing  a  million 
of  members;  2000  have  ceased  to  make  ardent  spirits;  more  than  6000  have  ceased  to  sell 
it;  more  than  700  vessels  have  ceased  to  carry  it;  and  more  than  5000  drunkards  have 
ceased  to  use  intoxicating  drink.  Ten  churches  in  Boston  and  twenty  in  New  York  have 
in  them  no  members  connected  with  the  traflBc  in  ardent  spirits,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
in  otlier  parts  of  the  country  are  entirely  free  from  the  venders  of  this  poison.  In  the  county 
of  Plymouth,  not  a  single  license  has  been  granted  for  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits.'  "  It  is  also 
finding  its  way  to  some  parts  of  the  Continent.  In  Scotland,  the  diminished  consumption 
of  spirits  is  a  proof  that  good  has  been  done.  In  England  much  useful  information  has 
been  diffused,  and  although  many  of  the  Societies  are  "  neither  cold  nor  hot,"  and  some 
have  become  totally  extinct,  yet  I  believe  the  cause  is  generally  making  a  silent,  though  not 
a  rapid  progress.  The  success  of  temperance,  and  the  success  of  a  Temperance  Society,  it 
must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  are  two  things :  the  latter  is  only  the  means  to  the  former. 
If  the  object  be  attained,  we  shall  be  satisfied.  I  have  received  favourable  reports,  this 
month,  from  the  Societies  at  Blackburn,  Bolton,  Haslingden,  Bury,  and  Ashton,  most  of 
which  state,  the  late  visit  of  the  Preston  advocates  has  been  the  means  of  increasing  the 
Xeal  and  exertions  of  their  members.  The  weekly  meetings  of  the  Bolton  New  Society 
are  full  to  overflowing,  and  many  are  turned  back  for  want  of  room.  They  have  also  adopted 
the  useful  plan  of  visiting  every  Sunday  forenoon. 

The  Preston  Society  pursues  its  course  with  a  steady  pace.  No  great  advance,  I  think, 
can  be  said  to  have  been  made  for  the  last  month.  It  has  been  remarked  by  some,  that 
there  appears  to  be  more  intemperance.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  supposed  to  be  principally 
•wing  to  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  trades.  Their  frequent  meetings,  held  at  public 
houses,  lead  to  intemperance,  besides  the  arrival  of  strangers,  few  of  whom  are  prepared  to 
relish  the  doctrines  of  temperance.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  a  number  of  tradespeople, 
who  do  not  join  the  Society,  have  almost  totally  abandoned  the  habit  of  glassing.  The  ho- 
tel has  undergone  many  alterations,  has  been  fitted  up  in  a  good  style,  is  well  managed,  and 
promises  to  be  extensively  supported.  Most  of  the  villages  surrounding  Preston  continue 
warm  in  the  temperance  cause.  The  effect  at  Kirkham  is  so  striking  as  to  be  a  subject  of 
constant  remark  in  the  surrounding  country. 

The  following  cases  are  a  continuaiion  of  the  statements  given  last  month,  of  persons 
who  have  been  reformed  by  the  influence  of  the  Preston  Society.  The  reader  of  the  follow- 
ing cases  cannot  avoid  perceiving  that  the  only  remedy  for  old  drunkards  is  entire  absti- 
nence. And  although  others  may  have  firmness  enough  to  avoid  frequent  excesses  (for  1 
much  doubt  if  any  moderate  drinker  always  avoids  them)  they  are  doing  more  harm  by  a 
taspicious  example  than  all  the  good  they  can  do  by  their  teaching. 
VOL.  III.  2  R 


318 

CASES  OF  REFORMED  DRUNKARDS. 

6.  H.  N.,  aged  forty-eight,  a  mole-catclier,  began  to  drink  to  excess  when  he 
eighteen  years  old,  became  a  confirmed  drunkard  at  twenty,  and  continued  so  till  la 
March  (1833)  when  he  joined  the  Preston  Temperance  Society.  For  ten  years  he  speij 
in  liquor  more  than  £20  per  annum.  On  one  occasion,  he  spent  j610  "at  a  spell,"  i^ 
drink,  "and  chalked  up  thirty  shillings  besides."  He  has  had  to  pay  a  shot  of  £12 
once  to  a  publican.  Some  years  ago,  he  partially  relinquished  the  use  of  intoxicatin 
liquids,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Wesleyan  Society ;  but  as  he  did  not  wholly  abstain, '. 
soon  fell  away,  and  became  as  intemperate  as  before.  He  has  now  signed  the  abstinent! 
pledge,  and  as  he  has  learned  the  necessity  of  wholly  ^fleeing  from  temptation,  he  trusts  hi 
will  be  preserved  from  relapsing  into  his  former  habits.  His  employment  obliges  him  fre 
quently  to  go  into  public  houses,  but  as  he  never  on  any  occasion  tastes  any  kind  of  intoxil 
eating  fluids,  he  hopes  to  escape  from  contamination.  He  has  again  become  a  member  ( 
the  Wesleyan  Society,  and  appears  to  be  imbued  with  the  importance  of  religion  and 
value  of  morality ;  and  his  wife  and  family  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  comparative  comfo! 
and  happiness.  The  Temperance  Society  arrogates  no  superiority  to  religion,  but  mereW 
claims  the  merit  of  enforcing  one  of  the  greatest  ornaments  of  Christianity,  "  sobriety,"  an 
that  not  by  motives  in  opposition  to  religion,  but  in  the  most  strict  accordance  with  il 
"  Godliness  has  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come,"  an 
no  other  promises  can  the  friends  of  Temperance  Societies  possibly  exhibit  than  are  emboi 
died  in  these  words.  Without  the  most  distant  design  of  reproaching  the  ministers  of  relil 
gion,  it  may  be  observed,  that  generally  they  have  not  seen  the  great  importance  of  attackini 
sin  in  detail,  nor  of  warning  men  to  avoid  the  most  distant  approach  to  their  besetting  vice^ 
The  friends  of  Temperance  Societies  conceive  that  intemperance  is  the  great  national  crii 
of  Englishmen,  and  on  that  account  it  is  that  they  have  singled  it  out  as  a  specific  evil 
attack  ;  and  by  insisting  upon  the  necessity  of  men  ceasing  to  tamper  with  the  evils  to  whic 
they  are  naturally  or  from  habit  strongly  disposed,  they  accomplish  more  than  those  wl 
attack  sin  in  the  abstract,  or  who  suffer  a  little  indulgence  while  they  censure  excess.  We* 
ministers  of  religion  to  inquire  into  the  particular  histories  of  those  among  whom  they  la 
bour,  and  direct  their  attention  in  private  to  each  individual  case,  while  they  denounced  par-^ 
ticular  sins  in  public,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  would  be  more  successful  in  promoting 
and  establishing  virtue.  Had  such  care  and  attention  been  bestowed  upon  H,  N.  several 
years  ago,  probably  he  would  not  again  have  fallen  under  the  dominion  of  sin. 

7.  S.  S.,  spinner,  aged  fifty-three  years,  commenced  drinking  when  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age,  and  became  a  confirmed  drunkard  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  nearly  always 
got  drunk  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays.  He  regularly  attended  a  dance  at  a  public  house 
every  Monday  night  for  two  or  three  years,  which  always  led  him  to  drink  to  excess. 
When  about  twenty  years  old,  he  earned  £2  a  week,  of  which  sum  he  paid  10s.  6d.  for  his 
board  and  lodging,  and  the  remainder  he  expended  in  intoxicating  liquor.  When  he  mar- 
ried, he  was  so  poor,  that  he  was  obliged  to  borrow  a  pair  of  shoes  for  his  wedding  day. 
He  was  frequently  unshopped  in  consequence  of  drinking.  His  first  wife  lived  with  himn 
about  fifteen  years,  during  the  whole  of  which  they  were  as  poor  as  possible,  and  "  as  ra 
ged  as  sheep."  When  his  wife  and  he  earned  £2  10s.  a  week,  they  had  not  a  chair  to 
upon,  but  took  bricks  out  of  the  chimney  for  seats.  On  one  occasion,  his  life  was  nearH 
sacrificed  to  his  evil  habit.     He  went  with  some  drunken  companions  to  bathe  while '. 


319 

was  intoxicated.  After  addressing  an  absurd  apostrophe  to  the  waves,  he  plunged  into  the 
Me;  and  being  drunk,  and  the  current  rapid,  he  could  not  support  himself  above  the 
water.  He  sank,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he  was  relieved  by  the  efforts  of  a  friend, 
tnd  then  he  was  so  much  exhausted,  that  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  he  could  be  re- 
itored  to  consciousness.  He  continued  to  indulge  in  this  evil  habit  till  June,  1832,  when 
le  became  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society.  He  had  drunk  eight  days  in  succession 
fflfore  he  joined  the  Society,  and  had  ten  pawn  tickets  in  his  pocket  when  he  signed  the 
jkdge.  Since  then  he  has  not  even  taken  a  glass  of  ale  or  small  beer.  He  is  now  well 
rlad,  attends  regularly  a  place  of  worship,  and  his  conduct  in  every  respect  has  undergone 
I  happy  change.  He  lives  comfortably  with  his  family,  "  pays  his  way,"  and  his  neigh- 
jours  often  express  their  surprise  at  his  reformation.  This  case  must  afford  matter  for  se- 
ious  reflection  to  all  who  peruse  it.  At  an  early  age  be  was  initiated  into  the  vice  of  intem- 
perance by  indulging  in  what  many  might  regard  as  innocent  recreation,  and  which  might 
Slave  been  unattended  with  evil  if  enjoyed  at  home.  It  is  greatly  to  he  lamented  that  a 
lealthy  exercise  should  be  made  the  introduction  to  vice ;  but  such  dancing  at  public  houses 
ertairily  is.  Few  leave  the  dancing  room  sober  and  virtuous,  however  they  may  have  en- 
ured it. — Drunkenness  and  family  discomfort  are  ever  associated.  The  labouring  man  who 
frequents  the  tavern  loses  both  his  money  and  his  time,  and  however  competent  his  earnings 
might  be  to  ensure  the  necessaries  of  life  to  his  family  and  education  to  his  children,  we 
find  his  home  destitute  of  furniture,  and  his  wife  and  children  squalid  and  miserable.  When 
S.  S.  had  an  income  of  £2  10s.  a  week,  he  had  not  a  chair  to  sit  upon.  But  this  misery  is 
not  confined  to  the  home  of  the  labouring  man.  Many  a  broken  heart  is  pining  in  the  midst 
of  abundance.  Many  an  amiable  wife  bedews  her  lonely  pillow  with  tears,  at  the  thought 
>f  him  who  can  prefer  the  society  of  the  most  degraded  wretches  to  her  endearments.     No 

is  so  truly  pitiable  as  hers.  Surrounded  with  every  blessing  that  wealth  or  competence 
Sttn  bestow,  she  is  yet  cut  off  from  all  enjoyment.  Poverty  teaches  no  useful  lesson  here : 
liere  the  voice  of  warning  dares  not  come,  and  friendship  only  ventures  to  whisper  her  fears. 
But  we  must  hasten  to  observe  another  fearful  feature  in  the  history  we  have  before  us. 
S.  S.  was  nearly  carried  into  eternity  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  How  many  have  died  thus 
tke  judgment  day  will  reveal!  An  awful  certainty  awaits  them,  and  not  a  ray  of  hope  can 
ever  break  through  the  gloom  that  seals  their  fate  to  the  survivors.  And  yet  how  few  take 
warning !  At  the  moment,  their  companions  may  feel  some  anxiety  for  themselves ;  but 
perhaps  in  the  solemn  act  of  committing  the  body  of  their  acquaintance  to  the  earth,  they 
indulge  in  the  same  vice  that  led  to  the  awful  event  they  witness. 

8.  J.  R.,  aged  twenty-eight  years,  spinner,  began  to  drink  when  he  was  sixteen  years 
<M,  became  a  confirmed  drunkard  when  he  was  eighteen,  and  continued  intemperate  till 
July,  1832,  when  he  joined  the  Preston  Temperance  Society,  From  this  period  till 
March,  1833,  he  took  ale  regularly,  and  occasionally  even  to  excess.  He  gave  much  trou- 
ble to  the  visitors  of  the  Temperance  Society,  who,  entertaining  hopes  of  his  ultimate  refor- 
mation, forbore  to  exclude  him  from  the  Society.  The  visitors  frequently  called  upon  him, 
and  though  he  at  first  avoided  them,  yet  by  persuasion  they  at  length  prevailed  upon  him 
totally  to  abstain  from  all  kinds  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  to  sign  the  abstinence  pledge. 
Since  then  he  has  not  tasted  liquors  of  any  kind,  and  "  hopes  by  the  blessing  of  God  never 
to  do  so  again."  He  was  for  many  years  in  the  habit  of  frequenting  public  houses  on 
Saturday  nights,  and  at  festivals,  to  fiddle  for  the  company.    When  engaged  at  such  revels, 


320 

he  uniformly  got  drunk,  and  now  considers  his  fiddle  led  him  into  much  temptation, 
states  that  dancing  rooms  are  great  incitements  to  vice.  He  has  known  many  you 
females  debauched  by  attending  dances,  and  conceives  that  no  young  woman  can  long  ! 
quent  tliem  and  continue  virtuous.  He  distinctly  mentions  by  name  ten  young  men, 
companions  at  the  dancing  rooms,  who  have  been  transported  within  the  last  ten  year*, 
and  one  young  woman,  a  regular  attender,  who  has  been  hung  for  poisoning  both 
parents  and  her  own  and  sister's  child.  He  believes  the  dancing  at  public  houses  coni 
buted  much  to  bring  about  these  unhappy  events.  He  attributes  his  early  habit  of  drinki| 
to  the  "  footings"  and  "  roomings"  so  frequently  exacted  and  paid  in  factories  a  few  ye 
ago.  This  practice  is  now  happily  discouraged  by  the  owners  and  managers  of  mills, 
is  at  present  "  happy  at  home,  better  in  health,  attends  his  place  of  worship,  visits  the  i 
temperate,  and  publicly  advocates  the  cause  of  Temperance  Societies."  Like  dancing,  mu- 
sic often  leads  its  votaries  to  the  public  house,  especially  those  who  play  the  fiddle  and  those 
who  sing.  Strange  it  is,  that  harmony  should  be  the  companion  of  discord!  The  union  is 
a  most  unnatural  one,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  divorce  will  speedily  take  place,  and  mu- 
sic will  be  made  to  cheer  our  homes  and  elevate  our  sober  affections,  rather  than  be  made  a 
lure  to  vice  and  an  incitement  to  an  indulgence  of  our  evil  passions. 

9.  T.  O.,  aged  thirty,  the  descendant  of  intemperate  ancestors,  began  to  drink  to  exceas 
wrhen  he  was  twenty  years  old,  and  continued  a  drunkard  till  last  February.  For  the  two 
years  previous  to  that  time,  he  usually  lost  two  or  three  days  a  week  at  public  houses,  and 
although  his  earnings  were  considerable,  his  family  (a  wife  and  four  children)  was  reduced 
to  the  greatest  poverty,  his  bouse  was  ill  furnished,  his  v/ife  and  children  ill  clad,  and  be 
himself  had  not  a  pair  of  stockings  for  two  years.  "  I  was  a  regular  sot,"  he  states,  "  foe 
when  I  got  to  a  public  house,  I  never  left  it  except  when  my  money  and  credit  were  done, 
or  the  house  was  closed  at  night.  When  I  got  home,  nothing  was  right ;  I  took  no  pleasuK 
in  my  family ;  and  such  was  my  perversity,  that  I  have  gone  and  laid  at  the  door  of  my 
house  till  my  wife  came  and  cried  over  me  till  I  consented  to  go  in."  He  first  signed  thf 
temperance  pledge  last  June  but  one,  but  he  still  frequently  got  drunk  till  the  28th  91 
February,  when  he  renewed  his  pledge,  and  has  not  since  tasted  intoxicating  liquors  of  auj 
kind.  His  house  is  now  better  furnished,  his  wife  and  children  and  himself  better  clothed, 
and  he  says  no  company  gives  him  such  satisfaction  as  his  own  family.  "  1  am  like,"  Im 
adds,  "  a  man  who  has  leapt  out  of  hell  into  heaven."  His  leisure  hours  that  he  formerly 
spent  at  the  public  house  he  passes  in  improving  his  mind  by  reading  useful  books,  or  ii 
instructing  his  children. 

10.  J.  R.,  aged  thirty-eight,  shoemaker,  was  a  drunkard  for  fourteen  years  till  h« 
signed  the  temperance  pledge.  He  had  been  in  the  habit  of  indulging  to  excess  occasion 
ally  before,  but  he  did  not  become  a  confirmed  drunkard  till  he  married  his  first  wife  fifteet 
or  sixteen  years  since.  He  got  drunk  as  often  as  he  could,  and  frequently  spent  day* 
and  occasionally  a  whole  week,  at  the  public^houses ;  and  when  he  went  home  to  his  family 
he  had  neither  bread  nor  fire.  Such  was  the  extreme  distress  of  his  family,  that  his  seconi 
wife  and  eight  children  died  of  want.  Since  the  death  of  his  second  wife,  he  and  two  p& 
maining  children  have  been  twice  in  the  workhouse,  and  he  was  once  put  in  prison  for  neg- 
lect of  family.  His  children  have  been  turned  out  of  his  lodgings  while  he  was  drinking 
and  have  sat  upon  the  steps  of  the  house  till  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  but  for  the  coBJ; 
passion  of  a  neighbour,  would  have  remained  there  all  night.      He  joined  the  Preslj 


321 

r«*nperauce  Society  near  its  formation  ;  but  on  last  Whit-Monday  but  one,  he  got  drunk. 
When  he  went  to  the  tavern,  he  had  twenty-nine  shillings  in  his  pocket,  and  when  he 
i^oke  from  his  drunken  fit  the  next  day,  he  found  that  he  had  only  five  shillings  left; 
mt  notwithstanding  the  low  state  of  his  finances,  he  went  to  the  church  to  be  married 
yitU  a  female  who  had  been  drinking  with  him  the  previous  day.  lie  paid  2s.  lOd.  for 
Starriage  dues,  and  the  rest  he  spent  in  liquor.  He  remained  two  days  at  a  jerry  shop,  and 
i^alked  up  7s.  Cd.  He  then  borrowed  two  shillings,  with  which  he  treated  some  friends; 
pjuwned  a  waistcoat  for  two  shillings  to  purchase  food :  and  on  the  third  day,  he  went  to 
^  poor's  oflBce,  where  he  obtained  five  shillings,  a  bed  tick,  some  chaff,  and  two  pairs  of 
^^ets.     He  then  went  and  took  a  house,  which  he  furnished  with  the  following  articles : 

LIST  OF  FURNITURE. 

s.     d.  s.    d. 

0     3      Two  old  sheets 2     6 


One  do 1     0      Bedstocks 3     6 

tea  kettle  and  a  table 4     OA  clothes  maiden     "     •5 


19     3 


Qne  chair 
One  do. 
I'ea  kettle 

A  bed  tick    2     9      Four  children. 

One  old  blanket 1     3 

One  old  quilt    1      9  From  Overseers. 

Yqis 1     0      One  bed  tick ;  two  pairs  of  sheets ;  cash,  5s. 

Fender 1     ^ 

Pans,  brushes,  &c.  they  borrowed  of  their  neighbours.  He  had  a  little  leather,  with  which 
be  made  two  or  three  pairs  of  shoes,  and  sold  them  to  a  shopkeeper.  He  has  never  got 
drunk  since,  has  not  tasted  liquor  for  fifteen  months,  and  has  signed  the  abstinence  pledge. 
His  wife  has  2s.  6d.  from  the  parish  with  three  children  by  a  former  husband.  His  house 
is  much  better  furnished,  he  has  plenty  of  good  clothes,  and  has  contracted  no  debts  since 
he  totally  abstained.  He  never  lived  more  comfortably  in  his  life,  and  enjoys  the  fruits  of 
his  labour,  "  for  none  of  it  goes  to  the  jerry  shop."  He  and  his  wife  have  become  members 
of  a  religious  society,  and  he  says  he  is  now  perfectly  happy,  compared  with  his  former  state. 
In  this  case  and  the  former,  great  poverty  was  the  result  of  drunkenness.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  conceive  a  more  miserable  picture  than  the  case  of  J.  R.  presented.  A  wife  and 
eight  children  dead  through  starvation,  and  himself  first  brought  to  the  workhouse,  and  then 
to  a  gaol !  The  contrast  which  his  present  state  exhibits  is  not  less  striking.  His  house  is 
now  comparatively  comfortable  and  his  family  happy. 


ANSWER  TO  THE  ADDRESS  ON   ALE  DRINKING. 

'  As  I  intimated  in  a  former  number,  I  printed  1000  copies  of  "  The  Great  Delusion" 
for  distribution  among  the  members  of  Parliament.  A  part  have  been  forwarded,  and 
a  part  yet  remain  on  hand.  The  following  interesting  reply  was  received  from  the  worthy 
member  for  Ashton-under-Lyne. 

"  Sir  -Your  printed  letter  on  the  subject  of  ale  drinking  corresponds  exactly  with  the 
Uuguage  I  myself  hold  with  the  victims  of  this  indulgence.  1  have  been  a  water  drinker 
(pnly)  for  twenty  three  years,  and  am  as  able  as  any  man  to  illustrate  its  advantages. 

,  "  This  subject  is  fresh  on  my  mind,  for  last  night  we  had  a  long  debate  on  it,  on  the 
ition  of  Lord  Althorp  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  correct  the  evils  of  the  last  act,  au.horizmg  and 
Sviting  all  manner  of  excess  on  this  point,  by  allowing  tippling  houses  to  be  established  to 
Opuble  and  treble  the  amount  of  the  licensed  victuallers,  and  without  that  wholesome  re- 


822 

striction  by  which  the  old  houses  were  recognized  Quly  as  houses  of  resort  and  entertai 
ment  for  travellers.     Lord  Althorp  was  persuaded  to  put  off  his  bill  for  the  present,  that 
to  allow  another  year  of  devastation  on  the  morals  and  the  means  of  all  the  labouring  fana 
lies  in  the  country.     I  gave  notice  of  a  clause  to  prohibit  drinking  on  the  premises,  therel 
recurring  to  the  first  intention  of  making  these  houses  places  for  the  sale  of  beer  only, 
combated  the  prevailing  fallacy,  that  men  ought  to  be  provided  with  drink  before  they  aa 
their  families  were  provided  with  food.     The  fallacy  is,  that  drink  is  the  most  importan 
and  this  fallacy  is  much  supported  by  Chancellors  of  Exchequer,  landowners,  growers  of  bai 
ley,  maltsters,  brewers,  and  beer  shop  keepers.    One  landlord  avowed  that  the  price  of  bark 
had  been  raised  by  it,  and  that  consequently  the  consumption  of  beer  was  a  great  national  gooi 
that  if  this  bill  passed,  nine  in  every  ten  of  the  beer  shops  would  be  put  down. — Good,  I  r( 
plied,  that's  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished.    If,  as  the  honourable  member  for  — 
says,  many  classes  of  persons  will  be  injured  by  the  restricted  sale,  many  more,  namely, 
the  labourers,  with  their  wives  and  families,  will  be  gainers.    And  this  is  the^  class  that 
more  immediately  sympathise  with. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  have  a  press  so  well  employed,  as  to  awaken  the  ale  drinke 
to  a  sense  of  their  folly,  and  I  trust  you  will  persevere. 

"  I  am.  Sir,  your  much  obliged  servant, 

"  21st  August."  "  Geo.  Williams,' 


THE  BEST  BEVERAGES. 
Sir, — As  you  advocate  entire  abstinence  from  malt  liquors  as  well  as  ardent  spirits, 
please  to  inform  me,  through  the  medium  of  your  excellent  Reformer,  what  is  your  opinion 
respecting  Tea  and  Coffee.  The  former,  it  is  generally  allowed,  contains  very  little  nourish- 
ment; the  latter,  1  am  inclined  to  think,  is  a  wholesome  beverage.  I  have  for  some  time 
been  accustomed  to  drink  beer  tcT  my  meals,  but  having  read  demonstrative  proofs  of  its 
pernicious  effects,  I  have  resolved  to  abstain  entirely  from  the  use  of  it.  All  that  I  now 
want,  is  to  be  informed  of  the  most  wholesome  beverage  I  can  use.  Before  I  close,  I  may 
just  be  allowed  to  add,  that  Temperance  Societies  have  done  me  much  good.  I  was  just  on 
the  verge  of  tippling,  when  I  fled  to  the  city  of  temperance  for  refuge ;  and  thank  God,  I 
have  found  it.  I  remain,  yours,  &c., 

A  Member  of  the  Temperance  Society. 

I  have  procured  the  following  answer  from  a  medical  friend,  on  whose  judgment  I 
can  rely. 

Answer. 

Tea  affords  no  nutriment  whatever,  but  is  nevertheless  a  pleasant  and  salubrious  beve- 
rage. Taken  about  four  hours  after  our  principal  meal,  it  proves  a  grateful  stimulus,  and- 
may  be  considered  conducive  to  health.  Coffee,  when  taken  after  dinner,  appears  to  pro- 
mote digestion,  especially  when  oily  substances  have  been  eaten.  The  French  are  in  the 
habit  of  drinking  large  quantities  of  it  instead  of  wine,  and  I  am  inclined  to  thiiik  that  it 
will  accelerate  the  operations  of  the  stomach  much  better  than  wine  or  malt  liquor  ;  and  it 
possesses  this  further  advantage,  that  it  will  seldom  be  drunk  immoderately.  It  contains 
little,  if  any  nutriment. 

Chocolate,  which  is  made  by  reducing  cocoa  to  paste,  with  sugar  and  milk,  eggs, 


323 

irrow  root,  is  perhaps  the  most  nutritious  beverage,  except  milk,  that  we  can  take.  It  does 
lOt,  however,  agree  with  all  stomachs,  but  where  it  does,  it  forms  an  excellent  beverage  for 
jreakfast.  Cocoa  is  also  nutritious,  though  much  less  so  than  chocolate.  To  dinner,  very 
ittle  fluid  is  requisite.  If  too  much  be  drun^k,  digestion  is  impeded,  and  cannot  be  carried 
m  till  a  great  portion  of  it  is  removed  from  the  stomach.  For  a  healthy  person,  a  little 
miter  is  both  the  most  grateful  and  natural  diluant.  It  may  be  well  to  observe,  that  it  is 
nuch  to  be  lamented  that  so  many  of  our  operatives'  wives,  especially  the  wives  of  spinners, 
odulge  so  freely  in  tea  and  other  innutritious  beverages.  No  one  can  have  much  frequented 
:be  houses  of  the  operatives,  but  he  must  often  have  seen  their  wives  taking  tea  at  mid-day, 
nstead  of  solid  food.  It  is  perhaps  not  known  that  this  practice  tends  greatly  to  impair  the 
itiBinach  and  nervous  system,  and  not  unfrequently  originates  disorders  that  embitter  life. 


HUMBUG, 
A  distinguished  friend  of  a  neighbouring  Temperance  Society  attended  a  christening 
in  high  life.  The  wine  went  round  very  freely,  but  "  he  begged  to  tell  the  company,  that 
IS  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society,  he  must  be  excused,"  and  drank  only  a  single 
riass.  He  overheard  some  young  bticks  in  the  room  remarking  upon  his  conduct,  and  won- 
Aering  that  a  gentleman  like  he  should  so  demean  himself,  and  pronouncing  the  whole  a 
piece  of  humbug.  They  drank  freely,  till  one  of  them  had  to  be  carried  out  of  the  room,  in 
state  of  intoxication.  The  gentleman  made  no  remark  at  the  time,  but  meeting  the  same 
^dividual  the  following  day,  accosted  him  thus  :  "  Well,  sir,  how  did  you  like  your  humbug 
Mt  night?"  The  man,  ashamed  of  himself,  made  a  very  timid  reply:  "  Oh  !  I  feel  very  ill 
to-day !"  The  day  after,  most  assuredly,  is  the  best  time  for  reckoning  the  value  of  tempe- 
tince  and  intemperance. 

PROPOSED  REMEDIES  FOR  INTEMPERANCE. 
"  A  member  of  the  Oldham  Temperance  Society,"  in  an  address  which  I  have  received, 
si^gests  the  following  remedies  for  the  sin  of  intemperance. 

1.  An  increase  of  Temperance  Societies  ;  literary,  mechanical  and  philosophic  insti- 
tntions;  and  a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  on  all  these  subjects. 

2.  A  repeal  of  all  taxes  on  knowledge,  direct  and  indirect. 

3.  Extraordinary  exertions  of  the  clergy  and  the  dissenting  ministers  to  explain  the 
ewls  and  enforce  the  remedies  of  intemperance. 

4.  The  removal  of  all  societies,  sick  lists,  money  clubs,  house  clubs,  societies  of  odd 
Mows,  druids,  foresters,  masons,  gardeners,  &c.  from  public  houses. 

5.  The  introduction  of  Temperance  Societies  and  libraries  into  the  army,  and  the  dis- 
countenance of  the  practice  of  quartering  soldiers  at  inns  and  public  houses. 

6.  A  reduction  in  the  number  of  all  sorts  of  places  where  intoxicating  liquors  are 

sold. 

7.  Restrictions  on  distillation  and  on  the  importation  of  foreign  spirits. 

8.  To  restrict  the  keeping  of  public  houses  to  persons  of  upright  and  respectable  cha- 

,,,  racter. 

9.  To  allow  no  public  houses  or  spirit  vaults  to  be  open  on  the  Sabbath  day,  except  to 

travellers. 


324 

INTOXICATION. 

It  may  l)e,  perhaps,  instructive  to  our  readers  to  learn,  that  the  above  word  is  deriv^ 
from  the  Greek  toxicov,  which  signifies  poison.  That  is  taken  from  toxon,  a  bow;  whence 
we  have  toxeiima,  an  arrow  ;  toxeuo,  I  shoot  with  bow  and  arrows ;  and  toxicos,  one  who  13 
skilful  in  archery,  or  the  art  of  shooting  with  bows  and  arrows.  The  connection  of  poison 
with  bows  and  arrows  probably  originated  in  the  practice  of  dipping  the  arrows  in  poison 
that  were  used  in  war;  a  practice  very  early  and  frequently  adopted  vvhere  bows  and  arrows 
have  been  in  general  use,  to  make  those  weapons  more  fatal  to  enemies.  It  may  be  still 
difficult,  especially  with  drunkards,  to  see  the  connection  of  poison  and  bows  and  arrows 
with  intoxication.  We  have  shown  them  the  connection  of  the  words ;  that  they  are  all 
derived  from  one  root.  It  may  not  be  a  much  harder  task  to  show  the  connection  of  the 
things;  that  is,  poison,  shooting,  and  intoxication.  The  connection  of  foison  with  intoxi- 
cation is  direct.  Persons  intoxicated  present  that  appearance ;  and  any  person  who  had 
never  seen  a  man  intoxicated,  previously,  viewing  the  effects  of  liquor  upon  the  mental  and 
physical  powers  of  a  drunkard,  would  naturally  suppose  that  he  had  been  drinking  poison. 
A  striking  case  in  point  is  given  in  young  Cyrus,  at  the  court  of  his  grandfather,  Astyages. 
Not  having,  according  to  custom,  tasted  the  liquor  which  he  had  handed  to  the  guests,  he 
was  reminded  of  the  apparent  neglect.  "  No,"  replied  Cyrus,  "  it  is  not  through  forget- 
fulness  that  I  omitted  that  ceremony."  "  Why,  then,"  said  Astyages,  "  for  what  reason  did 
you  do  it?"  "  Because  I  apprehended  there  was  pmson  in  the  liquor."  "Poison,  child! 
how  could  you  think  so  ?"  "  Yes,  poison,  papa ;  for  not  long  ago,  at  an  entertainment  you 
gave  to  the  lords  of  your  court,  after  the  guests  had  drunk  a  liitle  of  that  liquor,  I  perceived 
that  all  their  heads  were  turned  ;  they  sung,  made  a  noise,  and  talked  they  knew  not  what. 
You  yourself  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  you  were  a  king,  and  they,  that  they  were  sub- 
jects; and  when  you  would  have  danced,  you  could  not  stand  upon  your  legs."  "Why," 
says  Astyages,  "  have  you  never  seen  the  same  thing  happen  to  your  father  1"  "  No, 
never,"  says  Cyrus.  "  How  is  it  with  him  when  he  drinks  ?"  "  Why,  when  he  has  drunk, 
his  thirst  is  quenched,  and  that's  all."  Nor  is  it  apparent  only ;  persons  intoxicated  are 
really  poisoned ;  and  the  effects  are  felt  within  when  the  appearance  has,  in  a  measure, 
subsided.  There  is  a  difference  in  poisons,  as  to  the  effects  they  produce  upon  the  system. 
Some  produce  a  lingering,  others  sudden  death.  Yet  one  may  be  just  as  fatal  as  the  other. 
Intoxication  operates  as  cerfainli/,  though  more  slowly,  as  the  most  deadly  poison  in  the 
world.  The  vitals  are  wasting,  gradually  it  may  be,  but  surely:  the  health,  spirits,  pro- 
perty, happiness,  all  that  is  valuable  of  the  wretched  man,  rapidly  decline ;  and  not  unfre- 
qnently  a  more  speedy  poison  is  resorted  to,  as  health  and  happiness,  property  and  friends 
depart,  and  life  becomes  a  burden :  and  opium,  or  arsenic,  or  some  other,  completes  what ' 
intoxication  had  long  been  successfully  carrying  on.  To  begin  with  the  deadly  poisons  first, : 
would,  in  most  cases  of  drunkards,  be  the  more  merciful  plan.  It  would  be  so  to  them'< 
selves;  as  there  is  little  hope  of  reclaiming  confirmed  drunkards,  and  there  is  less  of  their 
salvation  ;  as  the  Word  of  God  declares,  that  they  have  no  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  ;  and  it  would  save  them  from  a  world  of  suffering,  from  horrid  qualms,  as  the  strength 
of  the  liquor  is  departing,  and  the  pockets  of  the  drunkard  refuse  to  furnish  the  means  oi 
raising  his  spirits  by  another  draught. — Monthly  Teacher. 

J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 


MORAL    REFORMER. 


No.  11.  NOVEMBER  1.  1833.  Vol.  III. 


MASTERS  AND  WORKINIEN.— LABOUR,  CAPITAL, 
WEALTH.  &c. 
I   NOW  fulfil    my   promise  of  making  some  remarks  upon   labour, 

ealth,  machinery,  &c.  The  perpetual  struggles  which  are  constantly 
•ccurring  between  the  employers  and  the  employed,  and  the  want  of 
inanimity  and  cordiality  between  the  two  parties,  and  the  consequent 
^neraUy  unsettled  state  of  society,  prove  that  the  subject  is  of  great  im- 
lortance.  This  state  of  things  arises,  in  my  opinion,  from  the  faults  or 
srrors  of  both  parties.     Wealth  has  a  tendency  to  make  men  highminded, 

;d  hence  many  masters,  forgetting  that  their  workpeople  are  of  the  same 
dood  with  themselves,  and  regardless  of  those  rights,  liberties,  and  enjoy- 
aents  which  ought  to  be  common  to  man  in  every  station,  treat  their  work- 
)eople  as  so  many  machines,  or  as  merely  beasts  of  bm-den.  And  hence 
ny  popular  movement  against  the  master's  interest,  instead  of  being 
Qet  with  a  concihatory  spirit,  an  attention  to  the  inadequate  infonnation 
)f  the  people,  or  by  reasonable  concession,  is  put  down  by  terror  and  by 
orce.  Hence  the  people,  instead  of  being  contented,  smart  under  the 
vrongs  to  which  they  have  been  forced  to  submit,  and  are  always  ready,  if 
nvited,  to  array  themselves  afresh  against  their  masters  There  are,  I  ad- 
nit,  splendid  exceptions  among  the  masters,  and  I  trust  they  are  upon  the 
ncrease.  Poverty,  on  the  other  hand,  produces  discontent,  and  unfits  the 
uind  for  forming  an  impartial  judgment ;  and  whatever  may  have  been 
he  cause  of  this  poverty,  even  though  it  be  a  person's  own  intemperance, 
he  blame  is  usuaUy  thrown  upon  the  epaployer,  or  upon  those  in  superior 
;ircumstances.  Error  as  to  the  true  causes  of  wealth  and  the  arrange- 
uents  of  society,  and  revenge  towards  all  who  are  in  the  higher  cir- 
:les  of  life,  are  at  the  bottom  of  most  of  the  hostile  movements  which 
we  are  frequently  called  to  witness.     Of  course  this  does  not  apply  to  a 

VOL.    Ill,  2  s 


326 

vast  number  (I  hope  a  majority)  of  the  working  people,  who,  guided  by  re 
son,  and  benefitting  by  experience,  have  learned  to  see  that  commotion  and 
warfare  are  as  injurious  to  themselves  as  they  are  to  their  employers.  But 
there  are  some  restless  spirits,  who,  with  a  long  list  of  failures  before  them, 
in  the  unequal  task  of  contending  against  property,  which  is  power,  are 
always  stirring  up  the  people  to  disputes,  the  tendency  of  which  is  to 
endanger  the  investment  of  capital,  and  consequently  ruin  trade.  A 
monopoly,  not  subject  to  the  influences  of  a  free  trade,  will  often 
assume  a  character  which  deserves  to  be  assailed ;  but  the  masters  of  a 
trade  which  is  exposed  to  open  competition  stand  towards  their  ser- 
vants in  a  much  more  favourable  position,  and  are  deserving  of  different 
treatment.  And  it  would  be  well,  if,  instead  of  contending  with  each  other, 
both  masters  and  men  would  unite  in  ascertaining  the  great  personal  or 
national  causes  of  their  discontents,  and  try  to  remove  them.  How  com- 
mon it  is  to  hear  husband  and  wife,  when  brought  into  diflSculties,  crimi- 
nate each  other,  and  to  lay  the  blame  of  their  poverty  and  sufferings  upon 
any  cause  but  the  real  one — their  own  intemperance  or  bad  conduct ;  and 
the  same  applies  to  workmen  and  their  employers. 

In  making  the  above  observations,  and  in  the  remarks  which  may  fol- 
low, it  may  be  alleged  that  I  am  opposing  the  interest  of  the  working  man, 
I  can  have  no  motive  for  such  a  course.  My  intercourse  has  always  been, 
and  I  believe  will  continue  to  be,  with  the  working  class.  My  feeble  efforts 
have  always  been  directed  to  the  amelioration  of  their  condition,  and  in  thij 
course  my  labours  shall  be  continued  so  long  as  I  have  the  means.  But  ] 
have  never  joined  in  those  delusive  projects,  which,  based  upon  revenge 
and  contemplating  little  less  than  civil  discord,  have  all  proved  abortive 
I  have  watched  their  operation,  and  in  the  elements  employed  I  have  alway 
foreseen  the  certainty  of  defeat.  If,  instead  of  meeting  at  the  public  house 
and  inspiring  one  another  with  the  spirit  of  revenge,  men  would  exerci& 
a  cool  and  deliberate  judgment  upon  matters  connected  with  their  interest 
they  would  be  likely  to  adopt  rational  and  peaceable  plans  for  their  pro 

tection,  and  would  secure — what  alone  can  ensure  success — the  sympath; 

jj 
of  the  public.  i 

In  the  first  place,  an  egregious  mistake  is  made  respecting  the  ti 

and  design  of  property :  for  although  the  accumulation  of  capital,  in 

der  to  find  employment  for  the  people,  is  as  necessary  as  that  there  sho' 

be  hills  and  dales  in  the  material  world,  yet  a  mischievous  war  is  at  pi 

sent  waging  against  property,  the  undisguised  object  of  which  is  to  /^ 

all  alike.     The  spirit  of  it  is  infidelity.     High  notions  are  conceived  as 


i 


327 

die  enjoyments  of  wealth ;    and  as  there  is  no  future  state  to  look  tu,  no- 
tihing  short  of  an  equalization  of  property  will  satisfy  in  this. 

We  mistake  when  we  connect  wealth  and  enjoyment,  and  conceive 
Ih&t  happiness  advances  with  every  increase  of  fortune.     A  working  man, 
for  instance,  residing  in  a  humble  cottage,  would  suppose  that  Mr.  Hor- 
rocks,  with  factories  in  every  part  of  the  town,  is  vastly  his  superior  in 
point  of  enjoyment ;  and  setting  his  thousands  against  his  own  units,  might 
conclude  that  happiness  existed  in  the  same  ratio.     This  is  a  great  mis- 
take.    To  be  wealthy  is  to  possess  a  legal  claim  to  money,  houses,  land, 
&c. ;  but  it  does  not  imply  the  personal  enjoyment  of  these  articles.    A  man 
may  be  the  richest  in  a  country  legally,  and  in  point  of  enjoyment  be  the 
poorest  of  all.     Enjoyment  is  either  mental  or  physical,  either  present  or 
prospective.     As  to  that  which  relates  to  the  body,  a  rich  man  has  some 
advantage,  but  not  so  much  as  we  imagine,  above  those  whose  earnings 
will  yield  a  competency,  and  who  know  hew  to  use  and  not  abuse  them. 
Let  us  take,  for  instance,  a  cotton  lord :  beyond  the  empty  honour  of  being 
eonsidei-ed  rich,  and  the  vanity  of  a  fine  house  and  a  splendid  equipage, 
what  peculiar  enjoyment  has  he  ?       He  can  eat  no  more  than  others, 
and  though  his  food  may  be  more  costly,  it  yields  no  higher  gratifi- 
cation than  the  substantial  meal  does  to  the  working  man.     His  clothing, 
though  made  by  a  better  tailor,  cut  from  a  finer  piece,  and  shaped  in  the 
fashion,  has  no  peculiar  efficacy  in  keeping  out  the  cold.     His  rest  at  night 
is  scarcely  so  sweet  as  that  of  the  labouring  man.     He  can  seldom  boast 
<rf  superior  health,  and  he  is  equally  subject  to  all  the  infirmities  of  hu- 
manity.    If  he  marry,  so  may  his  servant,  and  the  pleasures  of  matrimony 
are  the  same  to  both.     And  if  there  be  some  advantage  in  being  able  to 
meet  the  wants  of  his  family  with  a  liberal  supply,  there  is  also  an  additional 
anxiety  attending  every  step  he  takes  in  life.     On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  no  comparison  between  the  anxiety  of  a  man  in  business  and  the  man 
employed  as  a  serv-ant.     He  is  placed  on  an  eminence,  and  dreads  the  dis- 
grace of  a  fall ;  his  business  is  comphcated,  and  often  begets  a  distraction 
of  mind  of  which  others  are  little  aware.     His  connections  in  business  are 
numerous,  so  as  often  to  distm'b  his  peace ;  and  the  claims  of  a  numerous 
family  circle  sometimes  require  efi'orts  beyond  his  power.      Altogether,  if 
we  except  the  finery  of  his  house  and  the  titles  appended  to  his  name 
(things  of  little  moment)  there  are  few  particulars  respecting  which  the 
working  man  has  any  reason  to  envy  those  above  him. 

But  what  is  meant  when  it  is  said,  "  a  man  is  worth  twenty  thousand 
pounds  ?"     Does  he  enjoy,  or  has  he  reaUy  in  possession,  twenty  thousand 


328 

times  as  much  as  the  man  whose  all  may  be  summed  up  in  twenty  shi 
lings  ?  No  such  thing.  Being  worth  a  certain  sum,  is  merely  having 
legal  title  to  it.  The  property  itself  is  either  in  other  persons'  hands,  or 
sunk  in  trade :  in  either  case  it  is  yielding  subsistance  and  enjoymeai 
to  thousands  of  others.  Suppose  a  gentleman  worth  the  above  su 
he  neither  eats  nor  drinks  it,  but  perhaps  places  it  in  the  bank ;  by  tl 
bankers  it  is  lent  or  hired  to  spinners,  manufacturers,  builders,  drape 
farmers,  shopkeepers,  and  is  employed  in  purchasing  all  the  articles  pri 
duced  by  labour,  is  changing  hands  every  day,  and  in  fact  either  provid 
or  adds  to  the  enjo}Tnent  of  hundreds  and  thousands  of  people.  It  hi 
the  same  effect  when  laid  out  in  building  factories  or  engaging  in  a; 
kind  of  commercial  or  agricultural  persuits.  If  such  do  not  eat,  or  drini 
or  destroy  their  fortunes,  but  preserve  them  in  the  country,  and  afford  add| 
tional  sources  of  employment,  they  ought  not  to  be  the  object  of  popu 
clamour,  because  they  happen  to  be  worth  more  than  their  neighouri 
What  difference  does  it  make,  if  we  have  the  use  of  a  man's  property, 
though  he  has  the  title  ?  Those  who  lay  up  their  treasure  in  a  napki; 
and  those  who  spend  their  fortunes  abroad,  are  both  against  their  count 
but  they  who  remain  among  us,  employ  their  capital  in  creating  emplo; 
ment,  and  especially  when  they  add  to  it  their  personal  exertions,  are 
titled  to  our  respect;  and  in  defending  their  property  we  are  defending  oi 
own  interest. 

We  may  amuse  ourselves  about  going  into  communities,  and  enjoyi; 
equal  possessions,  but  it  is  contrary  to  nature,  and  every  attempt  has  prov 
its  utter  impracticability.    If  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  trade  of  this  co 
try,  whether  by  sea  or  land,  we  shall  be  convinced  that  most  of  it  can 
carried  on  only  by  a  large  capital.     Place  this  under  the  direction  of  a  st 
perior  mind,  with  an  independent  power  of  control,  and  there  is  a  chance 
success.     But  granting  that  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  could  be  indues 
to  throw  their  property  together,  is  it  to  be  expected  that  they  would 
sufficiently  unanimous  in  their  decisions  to  act  together,  or  sufficiently  dis 
interested  to  bear  with  satisfaction  the  losses  which  might  be  sustained 
and  for  which  they  would  be  sure  to  criminate  each  other  }     Having  bee 
concerned  with  several  new  institutions,  and  placed  upon  the  committees, 
I  have  had  frequent  opportunities  of  observing  that  persons  with  the  best 
designs  have  manifested  a  great  lack  of  discernment  and  unanimity  of 
opinion ;  and  I  have  often,  in  my  own  mind,  reflected  how  these  would 
work  in  connection  with  cooperative  communities.     With  very  few  excep 
tions,  if  two  persons  are  engaged  in  a  partnership  trade,  you  hear  of  the! 


329 

dissolution.  How,  then,  is  the  world  to  go  into  communities,  as  Mr. 
Owen  sets  forth  ?  to  give  up  individuality  of  interest,  merge  all  their  pro- 
perty into  a  common  stock,  and  act  in  peace  and  harmony  ? 

I  come  now  to  make  some  remarks  upon  labour  and  its  effects.  It  is 
often  asserted,  that  labour  is  the  only  source  of  wealth,  and  hence  inferred, 
that  those  called  labourers,  or  operatives,  are  the  only  persons  who  enrich 
a  country.  As  this  sentiment,  now  bandied  about  at  every  turn,  involves 
a  serious  error,  leading  to  wrong  conclusions,  and  consequently  to  bad 
feelings  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  masters  and  their  workpeople. 
it  may  be  useful  to  make  a  few  remarks  upon  it.  Wealth  consists  of  every 
thing  that  contributes  to  the  necessities,  comfort,  and  luxuries  of  man,  or 
in  that  which  will  procure  them.  The  sources  of  this  wealth  consist  of  na- 
ture, ingenuity,  labour,  and  capital.  Nature  yields  its  supplies  to  man,  as  it 
does  also  to  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  might  of  itself  yield  subsistence  to 
a  few  in  a  savage  state.  But  to  supply  the  wants  of  civilized  society  her 
capabilities  require  the  cooperation  of  intelligence,  labour,  and  capital ;  and 
by  the  addition  of  these  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  can  be  supplied 
in  abundance,  a  portion  of  the  same  exported  to  distant  parts  of  the 
world,  and  capital  accumulated  for  ages  to  come.  Nature  supplies  all  the 
materials ;  intelligence  ascertains  their  properties,  and  adjusts  them  to 
their  place ;  capital  sustains  the  expence ;  and  labour  carries  on  the  ope- 
rations. Labour  without  ingenuity  is  like  hands  without  a  head ;  and 
capital  is  like  the  feet,  which  are  intended  to  support  both.  The  wealth 
of  a  country  depends  upon  the  union  of  the  three.  Intellect  and  labour 
can  of  themselves  do  little :  without  capital,  the  materials  cannot  be 
procured,  the  instruments,  tools,  or  machines  cannot  be  had,  and  the 
labourers  cannot  be  supplied  with  necessaries  until  any  piece  of  work  is 
completed  and  fit  for  the  market.  And  the  same  inconvenience  would 
attend  the  want  of  either  of  the  other  agencies.  Hence  the  capitalist,  the 
inventor,  and  the  workman  are  all  serving  society.  Coi-n,  for  instance, 
in  a  rude  state  of  society,  was  ground  by  beating  two  stones  together,  and 
then  the  fourth  part  of  a  man's  time  was  lost  in  bniising  corn  for  himself. 
But  by  the  invention  of  machinery,  and  the  application  of  capital,  wind 
and  water  are  made  to  do  the  work,  and  consequently  a  more  abundant 
quantity  is  supplied.  A  man  that  saves  labour  by  invention  is  in  effect 
equivalent  to  a  labourer  himself.  A  man  that  carries  sacks  of  com  on  his 
back  to  an  upper  story  in  a  warehouse,  is  a  labourer ;  another  that  invents 
a  machine  by  which  the  same  work  can  be  done,  is  also  in  effect  a  labourer ; 
and  the  man  that  employs  the  one,  and  furnishes  money  for  the  other,  who 
is  a  capitalist,  is  as  necessary  as  either. 


330 

The  capabilities  and  talents  of  men  are  almost  as  various  as  their  faces 
and  if  we  had  more  virtue  in  society,  if  sobriety,  humility,  and  charit 
were  generally  cultivated,  I  see  no  necessity  for  a  reconstruction  of  sojl 
ciety ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  it  is  impracticable.     We  might  pull  down,  bul 
we  should  be  unable  to  build  up.     It  is  the  lack  of  moral  excellency, 
all  classes,  and  not  a  misconstruction  of  society,  which  is  the  source 
our  country's  sufferings ;  and  without  a  change  in  this  respect  all  other 
will  be  useless.     Even  if  the  single  virtue  of  temperance  prevailed  univei 
sally,  with  the  exception  of  the  aged  and  the  infirm,  I  believe  pover 
would  almost  be  unknown. 

Let  us  briefly  attend  to  the  different  professions  and  pursuits  of  met 
and  notice  how  they  connect  with  the  object  of  well  regulated  society — tl 
plentiful  supply  of  the  requisites  of  life.  There  are  some  persons  who  seet 
incapable  of  doing  any  thing  but  what  they  are  told ;  there  are  large  be 
dies  of  people  who  give  themselves  up  to  a  single  superintending  mind ; 
there  are  some  who  can  both  labour  and  invent ;  and  there  are  others  who 
contrive  exclusively,  or  who  secure  to  all  classes  the  opportunities  of  car- 
rying on  their  work.  Among  the  last  class  may  be  ranked  engineers,  mer- 
chants, tradesmen,  physicians,  teachers,  legislators,  &c.  These  are  all 
necessary,  and  it  might  be  easily  shown  how  they  give  effect  to  labour. 
The  great  object  is  to  make  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  plentiful, 
to  secure  their  distribution  to  every  part  of  a  country,  and  to  ensure  to 
eveiy  man  protection  for  himself  and  property,  and  that  liberty  which  the 
social  compact  allows.  In  defiance  of  either  philosophy  or  expeiience,  there 
is  at  present  a  race  of  writers  who  delight  in  unsetthng  society  by  magnify- 
ing labour  exclusively,  and  depreciating  every  other  profession.  Such  a 
course  betrays  much  ignorance,  to  say  nothing  worse.  But  it  is  difficult  to 
define  what  is  meant  by  labour :  if  it  be  intended  to  mean  merely  muscular 
exertion,  there  are  many  called  labourers  who  exert  themselves  very  little 
in  this  way.  And  when  we  hear  of  the  useless  drones,  it  is  as  difficult  to 
draw  a  correct  hue  of  demarkation  between  these  and  others.  That  there 
are  drones,  I  admit,  whose  removal  would  be  a  benefit,  such  as  live  upon 
society,  and  contribute  nothing  towards  the  stock.  But  they  are  perhaps 
fewer  than  we  imagine.  Capitalists,  although  they  do  not  labour,  supply 
the  materials  by  which  any  extent  of  work  can  be  carried  on.  Capital  is 
the  surplus  of  wealth,  and  the  man  who  collects  this,  which  few  labourers 
do,  may  be  compared  to  Joseph,  who  saved  corn  in  Egypt  during  the  seven 
plentiful  years  for  the  seven  years  of  famine.  To  show  the  utility  of  various 
employments  and  professions,  and  to  prove  that  labourers  are  not  confined 


I 


331 

to  those  who  use  a  great  deal  of  muscular  exertion,  I  remark  upon  the  fol- 
lowing different  characters  who  are  just  passing  my  window. 

First,  z.  porter,  driving  a  carrier's  cart.  He  delivers  parcels,  receives 
goods,  and  helps  to  unload  them  at  the  warehouse.  Sometimes  lie  has  to 
lift  heavy  weights,  but  his  labour  is  not  so  hard  as  that  of  many  others. 
He  is  a  useful  man,  for  although  he  is  perhaps  not  what  Owen  calls  "  a 
producer"  fa  term  the  meaning  of  which  nobody  can  fix)  he  assists  in  re- 
moving goods  from  the  places  where  they  can  be  spared  to  places  where 
they  are  needed. — ^Next,  a  plasterer :  he  grows  no  corn,  nor  spins,  nor 
weaves  cloth  for  coverings,  but  he  lines  our  walls,  and  makes  our  houses 
more  comfortable,  and  is  a  useful  member  of  society.  His  labour  is  quite 
as  hard  as  the  other  man's. — Three  children :  with  the  exception  of  many 
little  errands,  these  would  seem  to  render  no  service  to  society.  But  when 
we  consider  that  they  add  to  the  pleasures  of  wedded  life,  and  by  the  at- 
tachments of  nature  stimulate  both  father  and  mother  to  extra  exertion, 
we  see  that  in  this  sense  they  are  even  useful.  To  prove  this,  we  have 
only  to  remember  the  common  remark,  that  few  persons  without  children 
seem  to  make  any  greater  progress  than  those  who  are  blessed  with  them. — 
A  sheep  dealer :  he  brings  sheep  from  Scotland,  and  takes  them  to  the  Man- 
chester mai'ket.  In  the  former  place,  they  have  too  many  sheep ;  in  the 
latter,  too  many  manufactured  goods  ;  and  he  is  one  person  who  assists  in 
making  the  exchange.  He  does  not  labour  in  a  factory,  or  at  a  bench,  but 
still  his  job  is  not  easy.  Probably  he  has  an  employer,  who  has  superior 
knowledge  as  to  the  kind  of  sheep  wanted,  the  proper  method  of  driving 
them,  the  stations  to  call  at,  the  persons  who  are  sellers  at  one  end  and  buy- 
ers at  the  other,  and  capital  to  purchase  them  and  sustain  all  the  expences 
of  their  transit.  The  one  man  is  as  necessary  as  the  other,  although  there 
will  be  a  difference  in  labour,  as  to  bone  and  sinew. — A  brick  setter :  in 
a  rude  state  of  society,  without  capital,  he  would  be  dispensed  with,  and 
the  earth  and  branches  of  trees  would  he  employed  for  houses.  But  civi- 
lization and  capital  place  him  among  the  most  useful  of  labourers.  But 
the  difference  between  ingenuity/  and  mere  muscular  exertion  is  evinced  even 
in  his  profession.  The  labourer  under  him,  who  bears  the  heaviest  burdens, 
gets  only  2s.  6d.  a  day,  while  the  brick  setter  gets  4s. — A  shop  porter  j 
an  old  man,  with  the  lowest  grade  of  intellect,  and  unfit  for  any  service 
but  to  job  and  do  just  what  he  is  told.  One  part  of  man's  labour  consists 
in  working  upon  objects  to  produce  some  change,  such  as  beating  a  piece 
of  iron,  planeing  or  cutting  a  piece  of  wood,  or  weaving  threads  of  cotton 
into  cloth ;  but  a  material  part  consists  in  moving  articles  from  one  place 


332 

to  another,  either  in  the  progress  of  their  manufacture  or  after  they 
complete.  A  farmer  has  a  surplus  stock  of  cheese  and  hams  :  he  moves  the: 
to  the  market  or  fair  nearest  home ;  they  are  wanted  at  a  distant  town 
a  dealer  buys  them,  and  moves  them  forward  thirty  miles  to  another  mar 
ket ;  the  shopkeeper  also  purchases  them,  and  moves  them  to  his  shop 
and  after  cutting  them  into  such  pieces  as  a  customer  wants,  this  old  m: 
moves  them  to  the  place  where  they  are  eaten.  Although  a  deal  has  bee; 
said  about  "  saving"  in  the  distribution  of  these  articles,  it  were  easy 
show,  by  experience,  which  is  above  theory,  that  this  is  the  best  modej 
and  that  the  individuals  engaged  are  all  more  or  less  useful. — A  surgeon 
if  it  be  necessary  for  a  workman  to  keep  his  tools  in  good  order,  it  is  n 
cessary  for  society  to  preserve  the  health  and  lives  of  all  its  members, 
by  his  skill  this  man  preserve  ten  useful  lives,  which  would  otherwis^ 
have  been  lost,  does  he  not,  in  effect,  secure  to  society  the  labour  of  te: 
persons  ?  Medical  men,  honest  and  skilful,  rank  among  the  most  usefui 
in  society. — Ostler :  inasmuch  as  horses  are  made  the  instruments  of  la 
hour,  or  useful  recreation,  the  cleaning  and  feeding  of  these  animals  ii 
indirectly  serving  the  interests  of  society ;  though  it  would  be  difficult  t 
shew,  as  it  respects  hunting  and  racing,  how  the  ostler  is  beneficially  em 
ployed  in  connection  with  these  sports,  so  far  as  the  interests  of  society  an 
concerned. — An  attorney :  some  of  these,  I  allow,  are  not  worthy  of  be 
ing  classed  even  with  the  drones :  they  are  verily  beasts  of  prey.  Insteac 
of  serving  society  either  by  labour,  capital,  or  skill,  they  are  too  often 
promoters  of  discord,  and  by  their  operations  impoverish  instead  of  en- 
riching society.  The  profession  is  notwithstanding  useful,  and  honourec 
by  many  respectable  names.  To  be  governed  by  law,  instead  of  force,  by 
which  liberty,  character,  and  property  are  protected,  is  an  invaluable 
blessing ;  and  protecting  both  labour  and  capital,  it  tends  to  aid  in  th( 
production  of  wealth,  and  to  defend  it.  A  good  fence  is  not  less  usefu 
than  the  field  itself,  which  would  be  useless  without  it.  Good  lawyers  (i 
I  may  be  allowed  the  terms)  if  they  produce  little,  may  be  considered 
the  fences  to  that  property  which  others  possess. — A  bookkeeper:  a  man  ae 
necessary  in  a  commercial  establishment  as  the  pendulum  to  a  clock  :  his 
entries  have  a  direct  bearing  on  every  part  of  the  work  performed.  Ii^ 
manufacturing  goods,  we  might  dispense  with  a  few  labourers,  and  aU  thi 
difference  would  be,  that  we  should  have  a  smaUer  quantity ;  but  to  disi 
pense  with  the  bookkeeper  would  be  to  stop  the  whole  concern.  Few  wil 
call  him  a  labourer  :  yet  those  who  know  the  fatigue  of  close  and  constani 
calculation  will  not  much  envy  his  employment.     At  all  events,  he  musi 


333 

te  put  down  as  a  very  useful  person.— A  beggar;  whether  deserving  or 
mdeserving,  I  know  not :  he  produces  nothing,  and  consumes  only  what 
people  please  to  give.  He  may  be  considered  useful  in  keeping  alive  the 
ixercise  of  tenderness  and  sympathy,  dispositions  which  always  operate 
jvourably  upon  society.— A  landlord:  if  he  had  been  an  innkeeper,  I 
ould  at  once  have  perceived  the  utility  of  his  calling ;  but  as  he  is  the 
.eeper  of  a  tippling  house,  though  I  can  see  distinctly  enough  how  he 
ajures  society,  I  cannot  perceive  how,  in  any  case,  he  can  render  it  any 
seful  service.  The  article  he  sells,  called  spirit  or  alcohol,  belongs  pro- 
jerly  to  the  druggists'  shelves :  it  is  coloured  and  flavoured  with  different 
ngredients:  and  the  unwary  and  the  vicious  are  tempted  to  go,  and  lose 
heir  money,  time,  health,  and  every  comfort.  The  other  morning  I  saw 
cow  in  a  potatoe  field,  crushing  the  potatoes  with  its  feet,  and  tearing  up 
ithers  by  the  roots  with  its  mouth ;  and  I  really  think  it  is  an  apt  repre- 
entation  of  the  business  of  a  public  house.  There  is  no  planting  :  it  is  all 
ilucking  up  and  destroying. 

From  the  above,  I  think  it  will  appear,  that  when  we  hear  it  said  that 
abour  is  the  only  source  of  wealth,  a  great  deal  of  explanation  is  neces- 
ary ;  and  that  many  men  have  taken  up  thoughtlessly  with  erroneous  views 
ipon  this  subject.  The  man  who  takes  care  of  a  toll-bar,  and  who  never 
xerts  more  muscular  power  than  is  requisite  to  shut  the  gate,  is  as  neces- 
ary  a  person  as  the  smith  or  the  coach-maker  who  make  the  vehicles  that 
•ass  through.  Without  money  there  could  be  no  roads,  and  without  roads 
larriages  would  be  useless;  and  there  must  be  a  person  to  collect  the 
noney.  To  form  a  calculation  of  the  labour  performed,  and  its  profitable 
;ffect  upon  society,  by  each  different  trade  and  profession,  would  be  an 
nteresting  inquiry.  Nothing,  however,  is  clearer  than  this,  that  the  most 
kilful  and  ingenious  usually  get  the  best  wages,  and  that  the  endowments 
)f  the  mind  are  always  considered  more  valuable  than  mere  physical  power. 

I  intended  to  enter  into  the  question  of  machinery  supplanting  manual 
abour,  but  I  can  only  spare  room  for  a  very  few  observations  on  this  sub- 
ect.  Every  new  machine  meets  with  popular  opposition  ;  and  in  times  of 
lepression,  working  men  are  apt  to  wreak  their  vengeance  against  machines 
IS  the  cause  of  their  distress.  This  arises  from  the  want  of  correct  infor- 
nation.  What  is  a  machine  ?  Every  thing,  it  is  answered,  beyond  the 
'eeth  and  nails  of  men.  Hence  machines  abound,  and  there  is  scarcely  any 
dnd  of  labour  performed  without  them.  The  man  who  objects  to  machi- 
aery  in  effect  says,  destroy  the  workman's  tools,  and  let  his  hands  perform 
all  his  work;  take  off  the  cart  wheels,  and  let  man  carry  the  whole  of  the 

VOL.   III.  2  T 


334 

goods  transmitted  on  his  back.     The  effect  of  all  machinery  is  to  chea^ 
production,  and  consequently  to  increase  the  consumption :  and  from  a  stri 
observance  of  the  effect  of  all  machinery  which  cheapens  production,  instea 
of  diminishing  employment,  it  has  increased  it.      It  is  true  that  at  first 
certain  class  wiU  be  put  to  inconvenience,  whose  particular  work  is  su] 
planted,  but  fresh  sources  of  employment  are  created  either  for  them  oi 
others.     This  is  so  clearly  demonstrated  hy  facts  in  the  little  volume  eati^] 
tied  "  The  Results  of  Machinery,"  published  by  "  The  Society  for  Promi 
ing  Useful  Knowledge,"  that  I  beg  to  request  every  working  man  to  read 
it.     I  give  the  following  extracts,  as  developing  part  of  the  argument 


"  It  is  about  350  years  since  the  art  of  printing  books  was  invented.  Before  that  time 
all  books  were  Written  by  the  hand.  There  were  many  persons  employed  to  copy  out  books, 
but  they  were  very  dear,  although  the  copiers  had  small  wages.  A  Bible  was  sold  for  30 
pounds  in  the  money  of  that  day,  which  was  equal  to  a  great  deal  more  of  our  money.  Of 
course,  very  few  people  had  Bibles  or  any  other  books.  An  ingenious  man  invented  a  mode 
of  imitating  the  written  books  by  cutting  the  letters  on  wood,  and  taking  off  copies  from  the 
wooden  blocks  by  rubbing  the  sheet  on  the  back  ;  and  soon  after  other  clever  men  thought 
of  casting  metal  types  or  letters  which  could  be  arranged  in  words,  and  sentences,  and 
pages,  and  volumes ;  and  then  a  machine  called  a  printing-press,  upon  the  principle  of  a  screw, 
was  made  to  stamp  impressions  of  these  types  so  arranged.  There  was  an  end,  then,  at  once, 
to  the  trade  of  the  pen-and-ink  copiers ;  because  the  copiers  in  types,  who  could  press  off 
several  hundred  books  while  the  writers  were  producing  one,  drove  them  out  of  the  market. 
A  single  printer  could  do  the  work  of  at  least  two  hundred  v^riters.  At  first  sight  this  seems 
a  hardship,  for  a  hundred  and  ninety-nine  people  might  have  been,  and  probably  were, 
thrown  out  of  their  accustomed  employment.  But  what  was  the  consequence  in  a  year  or 
two  ?  Where  one  written  book  was  sold  a  thousand  printed  books  were  required.  The  old 
books  were  multiplied  in  all  countries,  and  new  books  were  composed  by  men  of  tsdent  and 
learning,  because  they  could  then  find  numerous  readers.  The  printing-press  did  the  work 
more  neatly  and  more  correctly  than  the  writer,  and  it  did  it  infinitely  cheaper.  What  then? 
The  writers  of  books  had  to  turn  their  hands  to  some  other  trade,  it  is  true;  but  type-found- 
ers, paper-makers,  printers,  and  book-binders,  were  set  to  work,  by  the  new  art  or  machine, 
to  at  least  a  hundred  times  greater  number  of  persons  than  the  old  way  of  making  books 
employed.  If  the  pen-and-ink  copiers  could  break  the  printing-presses  and  melt  down  the 
types  that  are  used  in  London  alone  at  the  present  day,  twenty  thousand  people  would  at 
least  be  thrown  out  of  employment  to  make  room  for  two  hundred  at  the  utmost ;  and  what 
would  be  even  worse  than  all  this  misery,  books  could  only  be  purchased,  as  before  the  ior 
vention  of  printing,  by  a  few  rich,  instead  of  being  the  guides,  and  comforters,  and  bi 
friends  of  the  millions  who  are  now  within  reach  of  the  benefits  and  enjoyments  which  th( 
bestow." 

"  To  return  to  the  hand-mill  and  the  water-mill.  An  ordinary  water-mill  for  grindi 
corn  will  grind  about  thirty-six  sacks  a  day.  To  do  the  same  work  with  a  hand-mill  woi 
require  150  men.  At  two  shillings  a  day,  the  wages  of  these  men  would  amount  to  1 
which,  reckoning  six  working  days,  is  50/.  a  week,  or  4680/.  a  year.     The  rent  and  tax( 


II 


335 


[Of  a  mill  would  be  about  150?.  a  year,  or  ten  shillings  a  working  day.  The  cost  of  machi- 
nery would  be  certainly  more  for  the  hand-mills  than  the  water-mill,  therefore  we  will  not 
take  the  cost  of  machinery  into  the  calculation.  To  produce,  therefore,  thirty-six  sacks 
of  flour  by  hand,  we  should  pay  151. ;  by  the  water-mill,  we  should  pay  ten  shillings:  that 
is,  we  should  pay  thirty  times  as  much  by  the  one  process  as  by  the  other.  The  actual 
saving  is  something  about  one  half  of  the  price  of  the  flour  in  the  market :  that  is,  the 
consumer,  if  the  corn  were  ground  by  hand,  would  pay  double  what  he  pays  now  that 
it  is  ground  at  a  mill.  He  pays  lOd.  for  his  quartern  loaf  now  ;  he  would  pay  20d.  then. 
But  if  the  system  of  grinding  corn  by  hand  were  a  very  recent  system  of  society,  and  the  in- 
troduction of  so  great  a  benefit  as  the  water-mill  had  all  at  once  displaced  the  hand-grinders 
as  the  spinning  of  machinery  displaced  the  spinning-wheel,  what  must  become,  you  say, 
of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  who  earned  the  I5t.  a-day,  of  which  sum  the  consumer  has 
now  got  14^.  10s.  in  his  pocket?  They  must  go  to  other  work.  And  what  is  to  set  them 
to  that  work  ?  The  same  14Z.  10s.,  which,  being  saved  in  the  price  of  flour,  gives  the  poor 
man,  as  well  as  the  rich  man,  more  animal  food  and  fuel ;  a  greater  quantity  of  clothes,  and 
of  a  better  quality;  better  furniture,  and  more  of  it ;  and  above  all,  more  books.  To  pro- 
duce these  things  there  must  be  more  labourers  employed  than  before.  The  quantity  of 
labour  is,  therefore,  not  diminished,  while  its  productiveness  is  much  increased.  It  is  as  if 
every  man  among  us  had  become  suddenly  much  stronger  and  more  industrious.  The  ma- 
chines labour  for  us,  and  are  yet  satisfied  without  either  food  or  clothing.  They  increase 
ill  our  comforts,  and  they  consume  none  themselves.  The  hand-mills  are  not  grinding,  it 
is  true;  but  the  ships  are  sailing  that  bring  us  foreign  produce  ;  the  looms  are  moving  that 
^ive  us  more  clothes ;  the  potter,  and  glass  maker,  and  joiner  are  each  employed  to  add  to 
jur  household  goods ;  we  are  each  of  us  elevated  in  the  scale  of  society  ;  and  all  these  things 
happen  because  machinery  has  diminished  the  cost  of  production." 

"  One  or  two  facts  will  shew  still  more  forcibly  the  value  of  machinery  in  the  iron 
works.  In  1788,  the  whole  iron  made  in  the  year  did  not  amount  to  seventy  thousand 
tons ;  and  seventy  thousand  tons  more  were  imported  in  bars  from  Sweden  and  Russia, 
which  must  have  been  paid  for  out  of  the  labour  of  the  people  in  England.  At  present  the 
quantity  annually  made  in  Britain  is  not  less  than  six  hundred  thousand  tons.  The  quan- 
tity made  yearly  has  increased  nearly  nine-fold  in  the  space  of  less  than  half  a  century. 

.  Nearly  all  the  people  now  engaged  in  iron-works  are  supported  by  the  improvements 
that  have  been  made  in  it  by  machinery  since  1788.  Yes,  wholly  by  machinery;  for  before 
then  the  quantity  made  by  the  charcoal  of  wood  had  fallen  off  one-fourth  in  forty-five  years. 
The  wood  for  charcoal  was  becoming  exhausted,  and  nothing  but  the  powerful  blast  of  a 
machine  will  make  iron  with  coke.      Without  the  aid  of  machinery  the  trade  would  have 

:>  Ibecome  extinct.  The  iron  and  the  coal  employed  in  making  it  would  have  remained  use- 
less in  the  mines." 

"  In  ten  years  after  the  introduction  of  the  machines,  the  people  employed  in  the  trade 
of  spinners  and  weavers  were  more  than  forty  times  as  many  as  when  the  spinning  was  done 
by  hand.  It  was  calculated,  in  1825,  that  the  power  of  twenty  thousand  horses  was  em- 
iployed  in  the  spinning  of  cotton;  and  that  the  power  of  each  horse  yielded,  with  the  aid 
of  machinery,  as  much  yarn  as  one  thousand  and  sixty-six  persons  could  produce  by  hand. 
If  this  calculation  be  correct,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  the  spinning  machinery  of 
Lancashire  alone  produced,  in  1825,  as  much  yarn  as  would  have  required  twenty-one 


I 


336 

million  ihtee  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  persons  to  produce  with  the  distaff  and  spindle. 
This  iuiroense  power,  which  is  nearly  equal  to  the  population  of  the  United  Kingdom,  might 
be  supposed  to  have  superseded  human  labour  altogether  in  the  production  of  cotton  yarn. 
It  did  no  such  thing.  It  gave  a  new  direction  to  the  labour  that  was  formerly  employed 
at  the  distaff  and  spindle ;  but  it  increased  the  quantity  of  labour  altogether  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton,  at  least  a  hundred  fold. 

If  the  little  volume  from  which  these  extracts  are  taken  be  perused 
attentively,  it  will  appear  obvious  to  every  impartial  person  that  machinery^ 
instead  of  being  a  curse  to  a  country,  is  one  great  means  of  enriching  it ; 
and  instead  of  diminishing  employment,  tends  upon  the  whole  to  increase 
it.  If  labour  be  a  source  of  wealth,  surely  that  which  facilitates  labour  so 
much  as  machinery  does,  must  be  an  additional  source. 

The  country  is  rich ;  the  invention  and  labour  of  the  people  have  pro- 
duced these  riches  ;  but  the  distribution  of  this  wealth  is  not  upon  an  equi- 
table principle.  It  is  true,  we  shall  always  have  the  poor  among  us,  but  if 
the  laws  had  as  favourable  an  aspect  to  the  poor  as  to  the  rich,  and  if  the 
people  had  been  sober  and  economical,  we  should  not  have  had  so  much 
misery  among  us  as  is  now  to  be  found.  Let  but  the  laws  be  repealed 
which  keep  up  the  price  of  corn  and  the  necessaries  of  life — which  burden 
labour  instead  of  property — which  take  from  the  country  the  produce  of 
industry  and  give  it  to  idlers  ; — let  these  changes  take  place,  and  let  the 
people  be  sober  and  spend  their  money  upon  clothing,  furniture,  and  useful 
articles,  instead  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  we  shall  soon  give  over  biting 
and  devouring  one  another.  To  seek  these  changes  is  important ;  but  for 
masters  and  men  to  be  quarrelling,  and  combining  together  to  ruin  each 
other's  interest,  is  not  less  injurious  to  the  country  at  large  than  it  is  to 
themselves.  It  is  said  of  some  kinds  of  fish,  that  they  leave  the  place  if 
the  fishermen  begin  to  disagree  :  however  this  may  be,  capital  always  flees 
the  country  where  reckless  spirits  and  lawless  deeds  abound,  and  seeks 
the  borders  of  peace  and  security.  Let  workmen  stand  up  for  their  rights, 
and  strive  to  keep  up  their  wages  in  every  possible  way  not  inimical  to 
their  own  interest  and  the  peace  of  society ;  but  never  let  them  endanger 
the  safe  investment  of  capital.  With  this  we  may  look  for  employment  and 
adequate  wages ;  without  it,  desolation  and  ruin. 

"  Our  capital,  our  machines,  and  our  best  mechanics  would  go  to  France  and  America. 
The  tyranny  of  a  mob  would  drive  away  the  wealth  and  industry  of  the  nation  to  places 
where  they  could  be  employed  in  security,  just  in  the  same  way  as  the  tyranny  of  a  king 
drove  the  French  silk  and  cotton  weavers  to  this  country  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  The 
effects  of  all  tyranny  are  the  same,  whether  it  be  that  of  one  despot  or  of  many  despots. 
Tyranny  of  any  kind  destroys  our  peace  and  our  security.     When  men  are  in  teri'or  they 


337 

ry  to  save  what  they  have  got,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  get  more.  Capital  no  longer 
ioes  its  work ;  labour  is  at  an  end.  Let  a  nation  of  twenty  millions  of  people,  by  any  act  of 
oily,  drive  capital  away  from  them,  and  famine,  pestilence,  civil  war,  midnight  murder, 
apine,  and  every  other  dreadful  calamity  would  follow  this  unatural  violation  of  the  laws  of 
jod  and  man.  We  should  all  be  idle,  but  our  idleness  would  not  feed  or  clothe  us  ;  we 
night  all  desire  to  labour,  but  there  would  be  no  accumulation  to  give  us  profitable  labour. 
We  should  all  be  prodigals  who  had  spent  our  substance,  and  there  would  be  no  forgiving 
jarent's  home  where  our  misery  might  be  pitied  and  relieved  when  it  was  past  endurance. 
The  friend  whom  we  had  driven  from  us  would  never  return.  We  could  not  go  to  the 
;apital ;  the  capital  would  not  come  back  to  us.  The  land  would  be  depopulated  and  ren- 
lered  barren ;  and  then  the  few  that  remained  would  have  slowly  to  emerge  from  poverty 
ind  barbarism,  by  going  back  to  the  aits  which  the  world  has  been  laboriously  acquiring 
for  hundreds  of  years." 


RUSH-BEARING. 

Sir — I  beg  leave,  through  the  medium  of  your  publication,  to  lay  before  your  nume- 
rous readers  the  impropriety  of  Sabbath  rush-bearing.  These  sort  of  diversions,  I  am  of 
opinion,  ill  suit  the  day  we  now  live  in,  whatever  they  may  have  been  thought  of  in  a  feudal 
age ;  for  when  the  Sabbath  is  appropriated  to  sinful,  disgraceful  sceues,  I  feel  sure  it  is  high 
time  for  some  one  to  endeavour  to  hold  up  to  public  notice  the  baneful  effects. 

Having  occasion  to  pass  through  the  little  villjige  of  Holcome,  in  Tottington,  about  the 
beginning  of  September,  on  the  Sabbath,  I  was  very  much  pleased  with  its  picturesqe  nioun- 
tain  scenery,  little  thinking  how  soon  those  pleasant  feelings  were  to  be  overpowered  by  the 
uproar  of  a  Sabbath  rush-bearing.  What  should  meet  my  eyes  on  a  sudden,  but  ginger- 
bread, fruit,  and  other  stalls ;  sundry  squabbles  and  battles ;  together  with  numerous  drunken 
men,  and  some  few  drunken  women  also:  in  fact,  the  scene  had  every  appearance  of  an  or- 
dinary wakes.  However,  with  some  jostling  I  got  through ;  and  falling  in  w-ith  a  person  on 
my  way  who  was  acquainted  with  the  country,  I  inquired  if  these  scenes  were  usual  there. 
In  reply,  I  was  informed  that  they  were  upheld  and  patronized  by  many  respectable  pei-sons 
of  the  country,  and  that  they  commenced  on  the  Saturday,  and  would  continue  until  the 
Wednesday  following.  In  fact,  we  had  not  gone  far  before  I  saw  a  bill  posted  up,  stating 
the  particular  amusements  of  Holcome  wakes,  viz.,  sundry  horse  and  foot  races,  cock  bat- 
tles, hunting,  shooting,  and  the  highly  gratifying  sight  of  a  donkey  race,  and  a  grinning 
match  through  horse  collars.  Indeed,  I  could  not  refrain  from  observing  that  some  of  the 
respectable  patrons  of  Holcome  wakes  had  a  strange  taste.  Observer. 

The  above,  like  many  other  foolish  and  wicked  customs,  claims  a  relation  to  the  ser- 
vices of  religion  in  by-gone  days.  The  "fasts  and  feasts"  of  the  church  have  been  a  cer- 
tain source  of  profligacy  of  manners.  Praying  in  a  morning  and  drinking  in  the  afternobn 
has  been  a  common  practice.  The  floors  of  many  old  churches  used  to  be  covered  with 
rushes,  and  the  removing  of  the  old  rushes,  and  replacing  them  with  new,  was  turned  into 
a  season  of  festivity :  and  such  has  been  the  moral  guardianship  of  those  who  ministered  in 
the  churches,  as  to  give  rise  to  the  strange  practices  here  alluded  to. 

Whilst  our  walls  are  covered  with  religious  advertisments,  newspaper  columns  filled 
with  paragraphs  of  sermons,  meetings,  &c.  &c.,  whilst  religion  ranks  among  the  most  os- 
tentatious affairs  of  the  country,  and  whilst  we  are  exporting  it  to  all  the  world  at  a  va.-lcx- 


338 

pence,  when  shall  we  stoop  to  examine  the  real  character  and  pursuits  of  the  people  at  home  ? 
As  very  few  of  our  ministers  are  seen  prowling  in  the  streets  on  Saturday  nights,  visiting 
the  market  place,  fish  stones,  or  gin  shops,  frequenting  the  St.  Gileses  of  our  manufacturing 
towns,  or  inspecting  the  progress  of  morals  in  the  recluses  of  the  country,  the  following 
advertisement  may  serve  as  an  index  to  the  character  of  the  people  who  inhabit  these  climes, 
and  is  quite  in  character  with  the  practice  of  rush-bearing. 

"country    amusements. FELTON    FEAST. 

"  The  following  amusements  will  take  place  on  Monday,  the  30th  instant.  Ducking  for 
shillings  in  a  water  tub — ferreting  for  half-crowns  in  a  meal  tub — a  grand  cock  hunt  by  boys. 
Also  donkey  races — foot  races — race  in  sacks — leaping — grinning  for  tobacco — supping 
boiling-hot  porridge  and  treacle,  &c.  To  conclude  with  a  race  by  boys  on  their  knees  for 
200  yards  and  back — hands  tied.     Several  prizes  will  be  given  to  each  winner!" 

This  would  have  been  excellent  for  CoUop  Monday,  in  Preston,  sometime  ago. 


REVOLUTION. 

Some  men,  unable  to  reason  upon  cause  and  effect,  and  indisposed  to  take  lessons  from 
the  history  of  nations,  never  attempt  to  seek  any  remedy  for  our  national  grievances  but  in 
a  revolution.  Let  them  compare,  at  home,  or  any  where  in  social  intercourse,  the  superior 
influence  of  diffusing  information,  and  exemplifying  the  moral  and  peaceable  spirit  of 
Christianity,  and  they  will  easily  perceive  its  superiority  over  terror  and  brute  force.  The 
poor,  taking  altogether,  whose  peculiar  circumstances  are  referred  to  in  this  question,  instead 
of  being  bettered,  would  be  rendered  more  miserable.  The  principal  mischief  of  these  senti- 
ments is,  that  their  adoption  leads  many  talented  operatives  and  others  to  forego  every  other 
laudable  means  of  doing  good  to  their  country.  The  effects  of  a  revolution  in  England  are 
well  described  in  the  following  words.  "  England,  be  it  remembered,  has  nothing  to  gain 
and  every  thing  to  lose  by  a  revolution,  in  which  physical  force  would  prostrate  the  empire 
of  reason ; — her  lands  would  be  untilled — her  workshops  silent — her  manufacturers  beg- 
gared— her  peasants  starved ; — fire  and  famine  would  desolate  the  country — anarchy  usurp 
the  place  of  order — revenge  of  justice — dispotism  of  liberty; — her  green  fields  would  be 
crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  the  innocent — her  lovely  rivers  empurpled  with  the  gory  vic- 
tims of  popular  fury,  and  a  brief  and  sanguinary  period  would  be  succeeded  by  an  age  of 
mental  slavery!" 


MORTALITY. 
At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Academie  des  Sciences  in  Paris,  M.  Moreau  de  Jonnes  read 
an  interesting  paper,  the  object  of  which  was  to  show  the  relative  number  of  deaths  in  the 
different  parts  of  Europe, — one  of  the  many  instances  of  the  nice  statistical  calculations 
which  our  neighbours  are  in  the  habit  of  making.  From  this  it  appears,  that  in  the  Roman 
States  and  ancient  Venetian  Provinces,  1  in  27  dies  annually  ;  in  all  Italy,  Greece,  and  Tur- 
key, 1  in  30 ;  in  the  Netherlands,  France,  and  Prussia,  1  in  39 ;  in  Switzerland,  Austria, 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  1  in  40 ;  in  Russia  (in  Europe)  and  Poland,  1  in  44 ;  in  Germany, 
Denmark,  and  Sweden,  1  in  45;  in  Norway,  1  in  48 ;  in  Ireland,  1  in  53 ;  in  England,  1 
in  58 ;  and  in  Scotland,  and  Iceland,  1  in  59.  Thus,  it  appears,  that  of  the  whole  of 
Europe,  in  Italy  there  is  the  least  chance  of  life  or  of  its  long  duration.  The  average  of 
deaths  yearly  in  Europe,  out  of  a  population  of  210,000,000,  is  5,256,000,  which  is  equal 


339 

to  one-fortieth  of  the  whole :  this,  however,  varies  unequally  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  The  former  have  but  1  death  in  44,  while  the  latter  have  1  in  36.  Out  of  1,000,000 
of  inhabitants  the  deaths  amount  to  22,701  in  the  countries  situate  North  of  France,  and 
27,800  South  of  France, — or  a  difference  of  5,000,  equal  to  l-200th  of  the  population. 
M.  Moreau  de  Jonnes  had  also  made  calculations  tending  to  prove  that  the  proportion  of 
mortality  is  diminishing ;  which  fact  is  confirmed  by  the  returns  in  several  great  cities, 
proving  incontestably  the  material  ameliorations  which  have  taken  place  in  the  great  cities. 


CHANGE  IN  CHURCH  RATES. 
Almost  every  week  brings  with  it  reports  of  parish  meetings,  at  which  applications  for 
church  rates  are  rejected.  As  the  churchwardens  have  no  object  in  soliciting  for  money 
but  the  promotion  of  real  religion,  it  occurs  to  me,  if  they  were  to  alter  the  proposed  appli- 
cation of  the  money,  and  put  the  items  into  a  different  shape,  they  might  succeed  better. 
Instead,  for  instance,  of  such  charges  as  the  following,  if  they  were  to  adopt  those  subjoined, 
how  much  more  willing  the  parishioners  would  be  to  allow  a  rate. 

£.  s.    d. 

Fees  at  visitation     0  15     0 

Allowance  for  winding  up  the  clock 1  10     0 

The  organist's  salary 21     0     0 

Ringers'  salaries 12     0     0 

Ringing  at  Otiey  feast    1     1     0 

Ringers'  supper  at  visitation 1     0     0 

Organ-blower's  salary    1   10     0 

Visitation  dinner,  7s.  per  man 15     0     0 

Two  surplices,  finding  and  making 2     2     0 

Suppose  the  following  were  proposed  in  their  stead : 

For  the  relief  of  20  aged  widows  (see  Acts  vi.  1,  1  Tim.  v.  9)  40     0     0 

For  the  clothing  of  30  orphans 20     0     0 

For  payment  of  funeral  dues  for  a  number  of  poor  persons  ..500 

For  blankets  to  7  deserving  weavers'  families   •• 4     0     0 

For  chaff  to  fill  200  poor  people's  beds 7     0     0 

For  nourishment  for  several  sick  persons 2     0     0 

These  and  such  like  items  would  have  a  Christian  sound  when  read  over  by  the 
churchwardens,  and  would  be  such  a  change  as  might  remove  all  our  squabbles. 


EXCELLENT  HINT  TO  THE  CLERGY. 

According  to  his  usual  custom,  a  minister  of  the  established  church,  not  long  ago,  in- 
troduced himself  to  a  gentleman  who  had  lately  come  to  reside  in  his  parish,  by  saying  that 
he  came  as  his  spiritual  overseer,  to  pay  him  a  ministeriEd  visit.  The  gentleman  replied, 
that,  as  he  had  already  committed  himself  to  the  spiritual  superintendence  of  a  neighbour- 
ing dissenting  clergyman,  he  had  no  need  of  his  services,  but  that,  as  the  hour  of  dinner 
was  at  hand,  he  should  be  happy  if  he  would  stay  and  dine  with  him.  The  minister  re- 
plied, "  If  you  will  not  partake  of  my  spiritual  things,  I  shall  not  partake  of  your  carnal 
things :"  to  which  the  gentleman  calmly  rejoined — "  You  ought  to  hold  that  opinion  when 
the  time  for  paying  tithe  comes." 


340 

SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

Dear  Sir, — I  am  quite  willing  to  allow  of  Sunday  Schools  having  done  all  the  good 
which  "  Juvenus"  can  prove  or  refer  to  in  the  authors  he  quotes  ;  but  none  but  those  who 
have  actually  gone  amongst  the  lower  classes  are  prepared  to  shew  what  good  they  have 
left  undone.  Admitting  the  partial  good  effected,  it  is  a  system  which  does  not,  cannot 
reach  the  exigences  of  the  case,  as  any  thing  like  a  substitute  for  ministerial  diligence. 

As  it  respects  parental  authority  and  example,  I  believe  that  as  the  "  twig  is  bent  the 
tree's  inclined:"  but  actual  facts  prove  that  this  is  but  the  case  in  a  very  partial  degree  in 
respect  to  Sunday  school  tuition.  To  prove  this,  I  need  only  state,  that  out  of  two  hundred 
families  visited  within  these  few  weeks,  during  service  time  on  a  Sunday  morning,  we  found 
only  three  doors  locked  where  the  whole  of  the  family  were  gone  to  some  place  of  worship  ; 
only  two  old  folks  reading  their  Bibles ;  and  from  being  well  acquainted  with  the  neigh- 
bourhood, at  the  most  correct  calculation,  not  more  than  thirty  gone  to  places  of  worship 
out  of  a  population  of  twelve  Imndred.  All  the  rest  were,  somfe  cooking,  some  cleaning, 
some  reading  the  news,  some  lounging,  some  drinking,  and  not  a  few  drimk.  I  cannot  be- 
lieve, against  the  evidence  of  my  senses,  that  Sunday  Schools  door  can  form  a  "  steady  reli- 
gious community ;"  for  all  these,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  old  people  and  Irish,  have 
been  or  might  have  been  Sunday  School  scholars.  I  am  aware,  that  to  deal  thus  plainly  and 
faithfully  against  popular  opinion,  is  to  incur  a  degree  .of  odium ,'  and  yet  there  are  great 
numbers  of  the  most  pious  who  are  aware  that  there  are  evils  attending  the  system,  which 
they  perhaps  cannot  define.  Let  ministers,  assisted  by  the  money  and  influence  of  their 
respective  congregations,  spend  five  or  six  afternoons  and  evenings  amongst  the  poor,  in  en- 
deavouring to  ameliorate  their  condition,  both  as  to  temporal  and  spiritual  things,  and  in 
cultivating  love  and  good-will  toward  those  who  are  dreadfully  estranged  from  every  thing 
of  a  religious  nature,  and  we  shall  soon  see  the  churches  and  chapels  filled.  And  I  cannot 
conclude  these  remarks  without  informing  you  and  your  readers,  that  the  visiting  plan  has 
been  tried  by  a  few  friends  belonging  to  a  chapel  in  this  town  ;  and  though  but  in  a  very 
ineflicient  manner,  the  place  as  been  repeatedly  filled  by  it.  Instead  of  leaning  to  Sunday 
Schools,  if  this  plan  was  adopted,  all  my  objections  would  vanish.  J.  R. 


USEFUL  CAUTION  TO   EMIGRANTS. 

Persons  desirous  of  emigrating  cannot  be  too  careful  in  their  inquiries  concerning  the 
colonies  or  countries  to  which  they  may  think  of  going.  There  are  parties,  both  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  the  colonies,  interested  in  taking  over  the  greatest  possible  number  of  emigrants, 
but  perfectly  indifferent  as  to  their  success  when  they  arrive  at  their  destinations.  These 
parties  often  exaggerate  the  advantages  and  conceal  the  diflSculties  aud  disadvantages  attend- 
ing emigration.  We  are  of  opinion  that  the  condition  of  many  of  the  agricultural  labour- 
ers of  England  and  Ireland  would  be  incalculably  improved,  if  they  were  to  leave  this  coun- 
try, where  the  market  is  overstocked  with  that  kind  of  labour,  and  where  they  are  burden- 
ing the  poor-rates  or  the  mendicity  societies,  and  to  go  to  New  South  Wales,  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  or  Canada,  in  which  countries  there  is  a  field  for  labour  that  will  not  be  fully  occupied 
for  ages  to  come.  There  is  also  a  great  demand  in  those  colonies  for  artisans  whose  em- 
ployments are  of  a  nature  to  supply  the  wants  of  new  communities,  such  as  smiths,  carpen- 
ters, joiners,  builders,  shoemakers,  &c.  These  classes  of  workmen  would  obtain  high 
wages  and  plenty  of  work,  and  they  would  do  well  to  emigrate,  if  they  cannot  obtain  a  living 


341 

in  the  mother  country ;  for  we  recommend  no  man  to  go  to  the  antipodes,  who  can  win  his 
bread  in  Old  England.  But  the  parties  to  whom  we  have  before  alluded — persons  who  have 
ships  sailing  to  the  colonies,  and  the  agents  whom  they  employ  on  commission  to  bring  pas- 
sengers, as  well  as  those  who  derive  profit  from  the  rigging  out  and  providing  of  emigrants 
— often  hold  out  alluring  inducements  to  all  classes  of  tradesmen  and  workmen  indiscrimi- 
nately to  emigrate.  We  notice  an  impudent  attempt  of  this  kind  originally  made  in  the 
Sydney  Gazette,  to  induce  persons  of  every  occupation  to  go  to  New  South  Wales.  It  ap- 
peared in  that  papei*  in  the  shape  of  an  advertisement  so  long  ago  as  the  month  of  July  or 
August,  1830  ;  but  within  these  few  days  we  have  seen  a  copy  of  it  reprinted  in  the  North 
of  England,  with  other  statements,  calculated  to  induce  persons  to  emigrate  ;  and  we  there- 
fore think  it  our  duty  to  expose  the  delusion  contained  in  that  advertisement,  and  to  inform 
the  public  how  much  of  truth  there  is  in  it,  and  how  much  of  falsehood.  The  advertise- 
ment is  as  follows. : — 

"  Wanted,  in  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  the  following  tradesmen  and  mechanics;" — 
[Then  follovcs  a  list  of  no  less  than  a  hundred  a7)d  fourteen  different  trades!] 
"  Those  marked  thus  (*)  are  particularly  wanted,  and  earn  10s.  a  day  and  upwards, 
all  the  year  round.     And  engineers  and  millwrights  earn  20s.  a  day. 

"  All  articles  of  provision  are  very  cheap  ;  beef  and  mutton  2d.  per  lb.  by  the  joint,  and 
Id.  per  lb.  by  the  quarter  or  caixass.  Tea  (green)  Is.  Cd.,  sugar  3d.,  Indian  corn.  Is.  6d. 
per  bushel,  &c." 

■  A  correspondent  at  Hobart  Town  has  sent  us  this  advertisement,  together  with  the  fol- 
low^ing  note  : — 

"  This  is  the  advertisement  that  the  government  at  home  have  been  deceived  by,  and 
thousands  of  emigrants." 

He  also  forwards  us  a  reply  to  the  delusive  invitation  published  at  the  time  by  the  Syd- 
ney Monitor,  and  which,  as  the  old  fraudulent  lure  is  still  held  out  in  England,  we  think  it 
right  to  republish,  in  order  to  put  our  countrymen  on  their  guard : — 

"  Caution  to  Mechanics  and  Tradesmen  in  England. 

"  The  following  advertisement  has  lately  made  its  appearance  in  the  Sydney  Gazette. 
It  is  inserted  by  our  jobbers  in  land  and  speculators  in  building  ;  and  we  hereby  caution  in- 
nocent persons  in  England  from  being  decoyed  to  this  country  by  so  gross  a  misrepresenta- 
tion. Mechanics  out  of  work  cannot  afford  to  pay  their  passage  to  this  colony :  and  those 
who  have  work  at  home,  and  are  in  comfort,  will  find  that  a  very  few  persons  coming  out 
here  in  the  said  trades  will  entirely  overdo  them.  The  wages  are  put  down  at  10s.  and  20s. 
a-day.  Wages  generally  in  New  South  Wales  are  not  more,  even  nominally,  than  from  7s. 
6d.  currency  (about  6s.  5d.  in  British  coin)  to  15s.  sterling;  and  these  wages  are  paid  half 
in  money  and  half  in  property ;  and  in  two  cases  out  of  three,  the  mechanic  has  to  wait 
weeks,  and  even  months,  before  he  can  get  his  wages. 

"  Carpenters,  boat-builders,  mill-wrigbts,  plough-wrights,  and  blanket-weavers,  who 
are  doing  badly  at  home,  would  do  pretty  well  here  ;  as  meat  is  only  three  halfpence  a  lb., 
and  bread  will,  the  next  seven  years,  be  about  the  same  price.  Tea  is  only  Is.  9d.  a  pound, 
and  sugar,  by  the  cwt.,  only  4d.  Clothes  are  also  not  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  on  the 
English  prices.  Engineers  are  described  as  much  wanted.  They  would  starve  here.  Two 
or  three  builders  might  do,  who  can  work  themselves.  Half  the  other  trades  would  starve. 
VOL.  III.  2   V 


342 

For  instance,  bell-hangers,  confectioners,  candle  makers,  cutlers,  dyers,  farriers,  flax  dres- 
sers, glass  blowers,  gilders,  japanners,  milkmen,  potters,  quill  preparers,  sign-painters,  sail 
cloth  makers,  sieve-makers,  starch-makers,  tin-plate  workers,  tobacco-pipe  makers,  tallow 
melters,  upholsterers,  and  wire-drawers." 

The  conduct  of  these  harpies,  who  seek  to  lure  emigrants  for  the  mere  sake  of  strip- 
ping them  of  all  they  possess,  or  of  those  in  the  colonies,  who,  having  land  to  sell,  are 
desirous  to  have  the  greatest  possible  competition  for  it,  and  therefore  put  forth  enticing 
and  delusive  invitations,  is  cruel  and  detestable.  We  wish  to  put  our  countrymen  on  their 
guard  against  the  seduction  of  such  parties :  but  we  repeat,  that  the  emigration  of  those 
classes  whose  labour  is  redundant  in  this  country,  and  is  wanted  in  the  colonies,  would  tend 
to  relieve  the  individuals,  and  to  benefit  at  once  the  land  they  quit  and  the  land  they  adopt. 

Leeds  Mercury. 

*  1 

CIVILIZATION.— A  STATE  OF  NATURE, 
While  labouring  under  the  restraints  that  a  state  of  civilization  imposes,  we  are  but  too 
apt  to  find  fault  with  our  condition,  and,  if  wrought  to  a  pitch  of  excitement,  perhaps  wish 
that  we  were  well  out  of  the  trammels  of  society,  and  dwelling  in  peace  in  some  remote  cor- 
ner of  the  v/orld,  where  law  and  government  were  alike  unknown.  Feelings  of  this  descrip- 
tion are  very  chimerical,  and,  while  indulging  in  them,  we  forget  that  the  slight  troubles 
that  affect  us  are  the  penalties  paid  for  a  state  of  social  freedom  more  happy  than  is  enjoyed 
by  almost  any  people.  There  are  few  countries  in  the  world,  besides  Great  Britain,  in 
which  a  virtuous  family  can  sit  down  securely  at  their  own  cheerful  fireside,  with  their  door 
shut  and  bolted,  and  no  dread  upon  their  minds  of  disturbance  or  personal  molestation. 
And  who  would  not,  to  enjoy  this  great  boon,  give  up  a  little  of  his  individual  pretensions 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  1  Man  is  a  gregarious  animal ;  he  necessarily  prefers  society, 
with  all  its  trammelling  conditions,  to  a  life  of  solitude.  The  natural  independence  enjoyed 
by  Alexander  Selkirk  has  its  charms,  and  captivates  many  a  young  and  ardent  mind  ;  but 
if  put  to  trial,  it  would  soon  lose  all  its  zest.  The  dismal  quietness  that  would  prevail,  the 
difficulties  of  gaining  a  rude  subsistence,  the  fear  of  wild  beasts  or  venomous  reptiles,  the 
frightful  idea  of  lying  in  a  helpless  state  of  disease,  if  not  dying  unheeded  and  uncared  for, 
form  no  species  of  allurements,  and  would  make  us  exclaim,  in  the  words  of  Cowper, 

"  Better  dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms, 
Than  reign  in  this  horrible  place." 

A  state  of  natural  independence  among  fellow-men  would  be  much  more  irksome  and  fatal, 
for  the  strong  would  overpower  the  weak,  and  the  artful,  with  impunity,  would  circumvent 
the  unsuspecting.  There  must  be  order — there  must  be  law.  "  A  state  of  nature  (says 
Doctor  Wade,  in  his  excellent  History  of  the  Middle  and  Working  Classes)  is  a  state  of 
great  inequality  ;  as  much  so  as  men's  abilities  and  physical  power.  It  follows,  that  it  is 
civil,  not  natural  liberty,  which  introduces  equity  among  mankind,  by  making  the  law,  not 
force,  the  shield  and  arbiter  of  right. 

The  natural  right  of  a  man  to  do  as  he  desires  and  can,  supposes  the  same  right  iii.j 
every  other  person:  but  the  exertion  of  so  many  independent  rights  would  often  cause' 
them  to  clash  and  destroy  each  other.  A  law  that  would  restrain  all  might  be  beneficial  ] 
to  all ;  because  each  might  gain  more  by  the  limitation  of  the  freedom  of  others  than  he, 
lost  by  the  curtailment  of  his  own.     Natural  liberty  is  the  right  of  every  one  to  go  where! 


343 

he  lists,  without  regard  to  his  neighbour ;  civil  liberty  compels  him  to  go  on  the  public  road, 
which  is  most  convenient  to  himself,  consistently  with  the  enjoyment  of  the  same  conveni- 
ence by  other  persons.  The  establishment  of  civil  liberty  is  the  enclosure  of  the  waste,  by 
which  each  surrenders  his  right  of  common,  for  the  quiet  possession  and  culture  of  a  sepa- 
rate allotment. 

The  transition  from  the  natural  to  the  civil  state  subjects  man  to  responsibilities  to 
which  he  was  not  before  liable.  In  the  former,  be  indulges  his  appetites,  solely  with  refer- 
ence to  himself;  in  the  latter,  he  can  only  indulge  them  with  reference  to  the  society  of  which 
lie  is  a  member :  and  this  he  is  bound  to  do,  first,  by  the  criminal  restraint  which  the  law 
imposes  on  actions  of  importance  ;  and,  secondly,  by  the  moral  restraint  which  public 
opinion  imposes  on  those  of  lesser  degree. 

As  the  natural  was  the  first  state  of  man,  it  may  be  inferred  that  this  state  would  have 
continued,  had  not  a  persuasion  arisen  that  social  order  would  be  more  conducive  to  happi- 
ness. As  the  public  good  was  the  motive,  so  it  must  continue  the  end  of  civil  society ;  and 
for  this  reason,  that  there  is  no  obligation  imposed  on  mankind,  save  their  advantage,  to 
maintain  the  social  in  preference  to  the  individual  state  of  existence.  And  upon  this  prin- 
ciple the  laws  of  a  free  people  are  founded,  namely,  that  they  shall  impose  no  restraints  on 
the  acts  of  individuals,  which  do  not  conduce  in  a  greater  degree  to  the  general  good. 

Whether  man  has  benefited  by  the  introduction  of  civil  society  is  a  moral  problem, 
which,  like  other  problems  not  mathematical,  can  only  be  solved  by  inferential  testimony. 
Two  reasons  make  strongly,  and,  I  think,  decisively  in  favour  of  the  affirmative  conclusion. 
First,  mankind  had  their  choice,  and  it  is  contrary  to  human  nature  to  suppose  that  they 
would  voluntarily  have  left  the  natural  state,  had  not  experience  shown  them  that  the  so- 
cial was  better.  Secondly,  by  the  surrender  of  a  portion  of  his  natural  freedom,  man  ap- 
pears to  have  been  well  compensated  by  civil  enjoyment.  Civilization  only  divests  man  of 
a  fraction,  not  the  whole  of  his  primitive  liberty :  all  those  acts  that  are  personal  to  himself 
he  may  continue  to  indulge  in  as  freely  as  the  savage,  subject  to  no  other  control  than  pub- 
lic opinion,  which  he  may  defy  if  he  pleases.  The  law  restrains  public  deeds,  aud  this  it 
does  because  they  are  hurtful  to  others,  not  to  the  perpetrator  only.  Such  restraint  is  civil 
liberty,  and  he  who  seeks  greater  licence  can  neither  be  just  nor  rational ;  he  can  scarcely 
be  a  man,  but  something  worse. 

The  establishment  of  civil  rights  entirely  supersedes  the  operation  of  the  natural  rights 
which  previously  governed  the  relation  of  individuals.  The  right  of  revenge,  of  the  strong 
to  oppress  the  weak,  and  of  all  those  powers  which  are  supposed  to  appertain  to  the  wild 
justice  of  nature,  are  abrogated  by  the  institution  of  society.  The  law  is  then  supreme  ar- 
biter :  it  may  be  a  bad  law,  but  while  it  continues  unrepealed,  it  is  the  sole  rule,  the  only 
tribunal  of  resort  to  establish  a  claim  or  redress  an  injury. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  illustrate  further  the  distinction  between  natural  and  civil  liberty. 
The  first  is  a  chimera,  like  the  points  and  lines  of  mathematicians;  but,  like  them,  it  serves 
as  a  basis  for  reasoning,  and  enables  us  to  deduce  the  real  from  the  abstract.  Alexander 
Selkirk  might  possess  his  natural  rights  in  Juan  Fernaudez,  but  nobody  else.  Two  men 
could  not  live  a  day  on  a  desolate  island ;  they  could  not  meet  at  the  fountain  for  a  pitcher 
of  water,  without  settling  the  question  whether  age,  strength,  or  first  comer,  should  have 
precedency;  and  the  termination  of  the  dispute  would  be  the  establishment  of  civil  order 
between  them. — Chambers'  Journal. 


344 

DISGUSTING  ADVERTISEMENTS. 

Nothing  is  more  disgusting  than  the  advertisements  which  the  medical  quacks  are  con- 
stantly pouring  into  circulation.  In  the  absence  of  respectable  practice,  they  are  seeking 
every  opportunity  of  tainting  the  minds  of  our  youth,  and  corrupting  their  principles,  by  se- 
ductive bills.  By  offering  an  easy  mode  of  cure  for  diseases  which  God  has  connected  with 
vice,  there  is  evidently  an  insidious  persuasive  to  commit  this  vice.  At  one  time,  the  walls 
of  Manchester,  Liverpool,  and  other  towns  were  covered  with  these  filthy  bills  ;  but  of  late, 
they  have  been  suppressed.  Still  the  newspapers  admit  them;  and  although  the  proprie- 
tors, in  many  instances,  know  them  to  be  puffs  and  lies,  yet  for  a  few  shillings  they  will 
defile  their  columns,  and  outrage  the  modest  feelings  of  their  virtuous  readers.  Of  late  I 
have  noticed  advertisements  of  this  character  in  papers  of  which  I  hoped  better  things.  It 
is  as  unnecessary  as  is  would  be  imprudent  to  repeat  the  contents  of  these  impudent  and 
immoral  pieces  of  quackery.  I  have  one  now  lying  before  me,  exposed  to  every  part  of  my 
family,  male  and  female,  in  the  Preston  Chronicle  (Oct.  12)  which  is  a  fair  sample.  The 
press  is  a  powerful  engine  for  good  or  for  evil :  and  how  desirable  it  is  that  all  connected 
with  it  should  evince  a  respect  for  good  morals. 


I 


NUMERICAL  EQUALITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  SEXES. 
All  the  researches  formerly  made  on  this  subject  have  tended  to  show  the  constant  uni- 
formity in  the  proportion  of  births,  namely,  twenty-one  males  to  twenty  females.  This 
theory  is  corroborated  by  the  return  of  baptisms  in  England  for  the  years  ending  1830: — 
Males,  1,832,721 ;  females,  1,758,663.  The  proportion  will  be  found  to  be  21  males  to  20 
and  l-7th  females.  In  connection  with  this  statement  it  may  be  remarked,  that  the  result 
of  the  late  census  shows,  that  though  the  number  of  males  born  is  greater  than  that  of  fe- 
males, the  number  of  females  liv'mg  in  almost  every  locality  is  greater  than  that  of  males. 
There  may  be  other  causes  for  this  inequality,  but  intemperance,  I  presume,  is  the  principal. 


SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  CULTURE  OF  THE  HEART.* 

"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." — Prov.  xxii.  6. 

Sir, — Schools  for  the  Culture  of  the  Heart  should  be  established  in  every  town.  I  shall 
attempt  to  delineate  the  outline  of  a  plan  for  such  an  establishment. 

Many  books  have  been  written  for  the  culture  of  the  understanding ;  few,  in  proportion, 
for  the  culture  of  the  heart  and  affections  ;  yet,  as  man  is  intended  more  for  an  active  than 
a  contemplative  life,  the  education  of  young  persons  to  behave  properly  in  society  is  of  still 
greater  importance  than  a  proficiency  in  classical  learning,  or  a  capacity  of  embracing  the 
whole  circle  of  science. 

The  reason  why  this  art  has  been  so  much  neglected  is,  that  there  is  no  school,  public 
or  private,  for  teaching  it ;  and,  although  it  may  be  attended  with  some  diflSculty,  I  am 
convinced  it  is  practicable,  and  that  society  would  experience  the  most  happy  effects  from 
an  institution  of  this  nature.     To  illustrate  what  I  have  in  view,  let  us  suppose  a  well  edu- 

»  By  the  late  Dr.  Cassels. 


345 

cated  female  determines  to  keep  a  scliool  solely  for  the  culture  of  the  heart,  or,  in  other 
words,  for  all  those  virtues  which  shed  a  lustre  on  human  nature,  and  are  productive  of  the 
most  permanent  benefit  to  ourselves  and  the  community  at  large. 

Fully  impressed  with  the  dignity  and  importance  of  her  undertaking,  she  is  resolved  to 
establish  it  upon  the  most  solid  foundation.  With  this  intent,  she  looks  around  her  for  a 
pattern  of  moral  excellence  which  she  is  determined  to  follow  ;  and  after  surveying  the  cha- 
racters of  the  illustrious  dead,  although  she  finds  much  to  admire,  yet,  as  all  are  more  or 
less  defective,  it  is  her  fixed  decision  to  model  the  minds  of  her  pupils  upon  the  moral  cha- 
racter of  the  meek  and  lowly  founder  of  the  Christian  religion.  Here  she  finds  herself 
quite  at  rest,  for  in  all  his  actions  there  is  the  highest  degree  of  moral  grandeur,  beauty,  and 
perfection. 

As  she  gives  the  preference  to  that  mode  of  instruction  by  means  of  questions  and  an- 
swers, she  composes  a  catechism  on  the  moral  character  of  Christ,  which  includes  the  fol- 
lowing sections : — 

On  dutiful  behaviour  to  parents  ; — thirst  for  knowledge  and  industry ; 

On  the  practice  of  justice,  mercy,  and  truth; 

On  humility,  self-denial,  and  meekness  ; 

On  patience  and  resignation  ; 

On  peaceableness  and  candour ; 

On  gratitude,  contentment,  and  prudence; 

On  charity  and  benevolence  ; 

On  piety  towards  God. 

Agreeably  to  the  respective  dispositions  of  her  pupils,  they  are  taught  to  commit  to 
memory  different  portions  of  it,  and,  as  their  understandings  unfold,  to  comprehend  the 
meaning  of  the  whole. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  the  doctrines  recommended,  she  instructs  her  pupils  in 
the  polished  civilities  of  life,  for  she  looks  on  civility,  not  only  as  a  duty  of  humanity, 
but  of  Christianity.  And  as  there  is  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  humility  contributes 
more  to  our  happiness  than  any  other  virtue,  she  dwells  much  upon  the  necessity  of  culti- 
vating it.  She  requests  them  to  condescend  to  all  the  weaknesses  and  infirmities  of  their 
fellow-creatures,  to  cover  their  frailties,  love  their  excellence,  encourage  their  virtue,  rejoice 
in  their  prosperity,  receive  their  friendship,  overlook  their  unkindness,  and  to  forgive  their 
malice.  Such  lessons  will  lead  them  to  excuse  the  faults  of  a  friend,  and  respect  virtue  in  an 
enemy ;  the  latter  will  soften  enmity,  and  the  former  will  cement  friendship. 

As  an  efifectual  method  of  curbing  ostentation  and  self-conceit,  she  directs  them  occa- 
sionally to  impose  upon  themselves  silence :  to  be  accustomed  thus  to  quietness  is  no  small 
point  gained  towards  fixing  a  habit  of  patience  which  seldom  forsakes  those  who  have 
formed  it. 

Voluntary  silence,  she  informs  them,  covers  folly,  keeps  secrets,  and  avoids  disputes. 
To  passion,  prejudice,  and  mockery,  it  is  the  best  answer,  and  often  conquers  what  resist- 
ance inflames. 

She  takes  great  care  that  they  do  not  transgress  the  rules  of  justice,  and  notices  the 
least  omission  of  this  social  virtue,  to  enforce  reparation  and  restitution,  both  to  instruct  their 
ignorance  and  prevent  ill  habits,  which,  from  small  beginnings,  will,  if  let  alone,  grow  up 
to  higher  frauds.     But  because  children  cannot  well  comprehend  what  ii\justice  is  without 


346 

a  sense  of  property,  she  explains  to  them  its  nature,  and  encourages  a  liberal  disposition 
by  inducing  them  to  part  with  those  things  which  they  most  value. 

To  impart  an  ardent  love  of  truth,  she  not  only  enforces  by  promises  and  threatenings 
in  Scripture,  relating  to  truth  and  falsehood,  but  adds  her  example.  She  acquaints  them 
with  their  duty  without  disguise,  and  endeavours  to  win  them  to  it  by  soft  and  gentle  means, 
carefully  avoiding  all  obscure  or  ambiguous  language  in  their  hearing.  Sincerity,  she  says, 
may  put  them  to  some  temporary  inconveniences  ;  a  strict  adherence  to  truth  may  expose 
them  to  the  sneers  of  the  unthinking;  but  the  consciousness  of  uprightness  and  integrity 
will  be  an  abundant  recompense. 

At  stated  times  she  accompanies  her  pupils  to  visit  the  abodes  of  the  poor,  and  convinces 
them  that  they  cannot  be  more  usefully  employed  than  in  administering  to  their  wants. 
The  children  are  directed  to  set  apart  a  portion  of  their  weekly  allowance  of  pocket-money, 
when  pecuniary  assistance  is  necessary  ;  and  the  females  are  frequently  engaged  in  making 
garments  for  the  poor.     Thus  a  habit  of  benevolence  is  gradually  formed. 

Another  description  of  the  poor  that  they  visit  are,  "  the  helpless;  the  friendless  ;  the 
dejected  ;  those  who  can  make  no  return."  To  one  she  renders  as  much  personal  assistance 
as  her  time  will  permit,  to  another  she  gives  friendly  advice,  to  the  dejected  she  not  only 
converses  in  the  most  soothing  manner,  but  imparts  comfort  in  every  possible  method ; — to 
all,  her  behaviour  is  that  of  a  friend,  anxious  for  their  welfare  in  "  mind,  body,  and  estate." 

Besides  cherishing  a  compassionate  temper  to  the  poor,  she  endeavours  to  awaken  in 
them  humane  dispositions  towards  the  animal  creation.  Insects  and  little  animals,  she  tells 
them,  were  designed  by  Providence  for  their  several  uses,  and  ought  neither  to  be  injured 
nor  destroyed,  unless  they  prove  hurtful,  and  can  in  no  other  way  be  prevented  from  doing 
mischief.  To  impress  these  important  truths  upon  their  minds,  she  gives  them  a  view  of 
several  sorts  of  insects  through  magnifying  glasses,  and  demonstrates  that  the  same  marks 
of  wisdom  and  goodness  are  there  observable  as  in  the  largest  animals ;  that  they  are  equally 
furnished  with  what  is  necessary  for  their  preservation  and  happiness  in  that  class  of  exist- 
ence which  Providence  has  assigned  them ;  in  short,  that  the  construction  of  their  organs 
proclaims  them  the  objects  of  the  Divine  benevolence,  and  that,  therefore,  they  ought  to  be 
so  of  ours. 

As  there  is  no  incitement  to  good  behaviour  of  greater  efficacy  than  to  inform  children 
that  they  are  worthy  of  employment  and  trust,  she  gives  to  the  elder  girls  the  care  of  the 
younger,  and  entrusts  all  the  children  with  various  articles  suitable  to  their  respective  ages. 

The  next  article  that  occupies  her  attention  is,  to  accustom  the  children  to  an  ingenuous 
confession  of  their  faults,  a  practice  which,  when  early  commenced,  will  soon  become  habi- 
tual. A  candid  acknowledgment  secures  pardon.  By  kind  treatment  the  heart  is  laid  open 
and  every  wrong  bias  discovered,  which  affords  a  fair  opportunity  for  moral  culture. 

In  training  children  to  confess  their  faults,  the  following  plan  is  adopted  : — At  the  close 
of  every  week,  she  desires  each  of  them  to  inform  her  what  good  has  been  done  by  the  rest, 
and  at  the  same  time,  to  notice  their  own  defects.  The  former  endears  them  to  one  another ; 
the  latter  promotes  humility,  and  restrains  them  from  the  commission  of  faults. 

Another  expedient  to  promote  the  moral  improvement  of  her  pupils  merits  attention. 
She  keeps  a  diary  of  all  those  little  transactions  which  more  particularly  deserve  praise  or 
blame.  In  this  book,  entries  are  made  in  the  most  simple  language,  of  particular  acts  of  af- 
fection and  generosity  to  one  another  ;  of  compassion  to  the  poor  5  of  particular  attention  to 


347 

injunctions  ;  of  a  scrupulous  regard  to  veracity,  honesty,  &c.  Every  morning  she  reads  over 
the  occurrences  of  the  former  day,  and  rewards  them  accordingly.  The  anxiety  which  the 
youthful  mind  discovers  respecting  the  nature  of  the  entries  to  be  made  each  day,  affords  a 
gratification  which  amply  recompences  her  for  all  her  toil. 

In  a  few  words,  the  conduct  of  this  lady  to  her  pupils  is  agreeable  to  what  she  holds  as 
a  maxim,  that  wherever  the  interests  of  this  world  and  the  next  interfere,  the  former  ought 
to  give  way  to  the  latter. 

Such  are  the  imperfect  hints  I  have  to  offer  on  the  above  interesting  subject,  which  can 
only  be  contemplated  as  an  unfinished  outline.  Many  of  your  intelligent  readers  may 
readily  suggest  improvements,  and  render  them  more  worthy  of  notice.  Even  in  this  im- 
perfect state,  I  hope  they  may  not  be  altogether  unacceptable.  If  the  culture  of  the  heart 
was  to  constitute  one  branch  of  the  education  of  youth,  I  flatter  myself  that  there  would  be  a 
gradual,  but  permanent  melioration  of  manners  in  all  ranks  of  society.  In  the  middling  and 
higer  classes,  there  would  be  an  end  of  duelling  and  gaming,  and  no  sanction  would  be  given 
to  cruel  diversions,  as  cock-fighting,  &c. ;  for  wherever  the  passive  virtues  are  faithfully 
practised,  there  can  be  no  association  with  turbulent,  vindictive,  and  malignant  dispositions. 
And  if  similar  plans  were  introduced  into  our  Sunday  Schools,  Schools  of  Industry,  &c.,  we 
might  with  confidence  anticipate  greater  sobriety  of  behaviour,  more  integrity,  and-  much 
more  domestic  comfort  among  the  lower  orders  of  society. 

And  as  we  arrive  at  greater  degrees  of  perfection  in  cultivating  the  heart  and  affections, 
the  moral  powers  and  dispositions  would  become  more  improved,  and  virtue  and  happiness 
would  ultimately  triumph  over  vice  and  misery. 


MINISTERIAL  LABOUR. 

Mr.  Editor, — I  must  again  claim  your  indulgence  whilst  I  briefly  advert  to  the  most 
important  parts  of  "J.  R.'s"  last  letter. 

He  does  not  attempt  any  explanation  of  the  passages  which  I  quoted,  and  which  are 
opposed  to  his  statements  respecting  the  work  of  a  gospel  minister,  but  refers  me  to  the 
"  promiscuous  labours  of  Christ  and  his  apostles."  These,  however,  could  not  be  intended 
as  a  model  for  the  labours  of  a  Christian  pastor.  Christ,  and  his  apostles  (during  the  per- 
sonal ministry  of  Christ)  were  Jews,  that  is,  they  conformed  to  the  usages  and  ritual  of  that 
dispensation,  and  never  attempted  to  set  up  another  religion  distinct  from  and  opposed  to 
that  which  God  had  given  by  Moses.  The  followers  of  the  Saviour  were  never  separated 
from  the  other  Jews,  or  collected  into  churches  or  congregations,  till  after  the  crucifixion  of 
their  Lord.  It  therefore  seems  a  somewhat  strange  method  of  ascertaining  the  nature  of  a 
Christian  minister's  work  to  appeal  to  the  conduct  of  certain  persons  at  a  time  when  no 
Christian  church  had  yet  been  formed. — With  respect  to  what  is  mentioned  concerning 
Peter,  Paul,  and  Philip — at  the  period  referred  to  they  had  not  been  appointed  to  the  charge 
of  a  flock,  or  they  would  not  have  been  in  the  places  mentioned ;  for  afterwards,  at  the  time 
when  they  had  the  oversight  of  a  Christian  church,  they  remained  labouring  in  one  place. — 
In  the  parable  of  the  marriage  supper,  by  those  brought  from  the  highways  and  hedges  is 
meant  the  Gentiles,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Jews,  who  had  the  first  offer  of  the  gospel, 
but  who,  as  a  nation,  rejected  it.  This  passage,  though  frequently  quoted  as  "  J.  R."  has 
quoted  it,  has  not  the  most  distant  allusion  to  the  nature  of  a  minister's  labour.  This  comes 
of  taking  figurative  language  as  our  guide  in  matters  of  plain  practical  duty. — And  now  that 


348 

I  have  answered  the  queries  of  "  J.  R."  respecting  these  passages,  I  may,  in  return,  be  al- 
l«wed  to  ask  him  to  explain  the  numerous  passages  referred  to  in  my  former  letter,  particu- 
larly Acts  vi.  2—4.  xi.  26.  xviii.  7 — 11.  xix.  9,  10. 

The  notion  of  "  J.  R."  and  others  which  I  have  ventured  to  oppose  is  this :  that  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel,  instead  of  constantly  labouring  amongst  the  flocks  over  which  they  have 
been  placed,  should  go  up  and  down  in  society,  to  reclaim  those  who  are  wandering  like 
sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Now,  I  have  no  objection  to  persons  being  thus  employed  :  on 
the  contrary,  I  think  such  a  course  of  labour  very  necessary,  and  likely  to  be  productive  of 
great  good  :  but  I  do  most  decidedly  object  to  the  proposal,  that  our  present  religious  teach- 
ers should  neglect  their  own  peculiar  sphere  of  labour,  to  engage  in  the  work  of  going  from 
house  to  house  and  from  street  to  street.  In  fact,  one  immediate  consequence  would  be, 
that  a  part,  at  least,  of  those  who  now  compose  our  congregations  would  be  thrown  back  on 
the  world,  to  swell  the  crowds  who  are  travelling  the  broad  way  to  desti-uction.  No,  let 
ministers  of  the  gospel  attend  to  their  own  flocks,  and  let  them  not  suflFer  the  conscience  of 
any  private  Christian  to  be  at  peace  till  he  is  engaged  in  some  way  or  other  in  bringing  back 
to  the  fold  of  the  good  Shepherd  those  who  are  wandering. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  works  of  supererogation:  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  dif- 
ference in  the  zeal,  labours,  and  devotion  of  the  servants  of  Christ,  which  will  lead  to  a  cor- 
responding distinction  in  the  world  of  glory.  Some  will  appear  as  shining  stars,  conspicuous 
amidst  multitudes  :  others  will  be  lost  amidst  the  countless  hosts  of  heaven.  Certainly,  no 
minister  of  the  gospel  should  be  anxious  to  do  as  little  as  he  safely  can ;  but  ought,  when 
he  has  attended  to  the  wants  of  his  own  people,  to  strive  to  turn  sinners  from  their  evil 
ways,  wherever  he  may  meet  with  them.  Whether  our  present  religious  teachers,  gene- 
rally, might  do  more  for  the  cause  of  their  Master  than  is  done  by  them,  is  a  matter  which 
I  shall  not  give  a  judgment  upon,  but  leave  it  to  be  decided  between  their  consciences  and 
their  God.  Multitudes  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge  in  our  towns  and  villages  ;  and 
if  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  so  fully  employed  amongst  their  own  flocks  as  to  be  unable  to 
visit  these  personally,  they  ought,  as  I  have  before  said,  to  lose  no  opportunity  of  urging 
every  serious  Christian  to  do  something  towards  reclaiming  sinners. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  "  J.  R."  is  engaged  in  this  labour  of  love ;  and  I  take  the  earliest 
opportunity  to  apologize  for  having  classed  him  with  a  set  of  men  of  this  generation  who 
write  but  will  not  work,  who  "  say  and  do  not."  I  also  rejoice  to  hear  that  his  labours  are 
so  abundantly  successful.  He  is  doubtless  thankful  to  Him,  who,  though  a  Paul  may  plant 
and  an  ApoUus  water,  alone  giveth  the  increase.  If"  J.  R."  will  publish  a  detailed  account 
of  his  proceedings,  and  I  should  see  a  probability  of  being  made  more  useful  in  following 
his  example  than  in  pursuing  my  present  engagements  in  the  Sunday  School,  I  hereby  pro- 
mise him  to  relinquish  the  latter  and  engage  in  the  former  work,  or,  at  any  rate,  to  do  some- 
thing in  both  ways. 

In  allusion  to  the  hint  about  "  doing  work  for  which  others  are  paid,"  I  may  be  allowed 
to  say,  that  the  religious  teacher  towards  whose  support  I  contribute,  and,  I  believe  I  may 
add,  all  religious  teachers  who  are  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  their  hearers, 
are  not  paid  to  go  about  from  house  to  house,  but  a  maintenance  is  provided  for  them,  that, 
being  free  from  all  worldly  engagements,  they  may  study  the  Scriptures,  and  feed  the  church 
of  God  over  which  they  are  placed. 

Preston,  Oct.  8th,  1833.  A  Sunday  School  Teacher. 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 
From  the  accounts  which  I  have  received  this  month  from  Blackburn,  Haslingden, 
Oldham,  Bury,  Bolton,  &c.,  it  appears  that  the  Societies  are  increasing  in  zeal,  and  are  be- 
ginning to  see  with  satisfaction  the  beneficial  effects  of  their  labours.  It  will  be  perceived, 
from  another  article,  that  the  Society  at  Bolton  has  had  a  tea  party,  and  intend,  I  am  told, 
to  have  another  at  Christmas  on  a  larger  scale.  I  would  reeommend  all  the  Societies  to  do 
the  same.  A  temperance  supper  has  been  got  up  by  our  friends  at  Kirkham,  at  which 
about  230  sat  down,  aud  at  which  great  hilarity  and  good  order  prevailed.  I  am  afraid  but 
little  is  doing  in  the  large  towns  of  Manchester  and  Liverpool.  It  is  deeply  to  be  lamented, 
that  though  there  are  so  many  who  are  convinced  of  the  evils  of  drinking,  and  who  in  con- 
versation affect  to  bewail  them,  so  few  are  willing  even  to  move  a  single  finger  towards  their 
removal.  What  sort  of  a  religion  is  that  which  diffuses  apathy  towards  the  greatest  source 
of  sin  and  misery  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  world  ?  Every  custom  now  existing  which 
draws  men  to  drinking  houses  ought  to  be  changed,  and  every  sort  of  sociabiHty  which  has 
hitherto  been  accompanied  with  the  glass  ought  to  be  remodeled.  The  magistrates  lament  the 
vice  of  drunkenness,  and  yet  in  several  places  they  hold  their  sessions  at  the  public  houses, 
and  thus  promote  it.  Our  Vicar,  of  course,  disapproves  of  tippling,  and  yet  he  collects  his 
dues  at  public  houses,  and  actually  treats  every  man  who  pays  his  potatoe  tithe  with  a  pint 
of  ale  !  The  following  is  a  continuation  of  the  "  Cases  of  Reformed  Drunkards;"  and  as 
some  persons  have  supposed  that  the  statements  were  exaggerated,  it  may  be  proper  to  state, 
that  they  have  generally  fallen  much  below  the  truth.  My  limits  only  admit  of  the  briefest 
sketch. 


CASES  OF  REFORMED  DRUNKARDS. 

11.  W.  G.,  aged  thirty-five,  tailor,  commenced  a  course  of  intemperance  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  of  age,  while  an  apprentice  with  his  father.  He  attributes  his  evil  habit  to 
frequenting  prize-shooting  and  other  amusements  which  lead  to  taverns.  He  continued  to 
drink  one  or  two  days  a  week  from  the  period  named  above  till  March,  1832,  when  he 
signed  the  Temperance  Pledge.  He  frequently  lost  his  vi'ork  through  intemperance.  He 
kept  his  pledge  for  two  months,  after  which  he  was  induced  to  go  into  a  public  house,  and 
got  drunk.  He  continued  to  drink  again  to  excess  till  July,  1832,  when  he  made  a  resolution 
never  to  drink  intoxicating  liquors  again.  Since  then  he  has  never  tasted  them.  He  states 
that  he  enjoys  better  health,  his  mind  is  much  more  at  eas6,  he  is  better  clad,  and  has  learned 
to  keep  the  money  in  his  pocket  which  he  formerly  gave  to  landlords. 

12.  R.  S.,  aged  twenty-four,  mechanic,  became  a  drunkard  when  he  was  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  of  age.  "  He  then  got  drunk  nearly  every  night  in  the  company  of  young 
lads  like  himself.  He  was  induced  to  go  to.  the  public  house  to  get  bits  of  suppers,  beef 
steaks,  &c.,  and  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  nights  they  usually  purchased  a  duck,  and  got  it 
roasted  by  the  landlady,  paying  for  her  trouble  by  drinking  her  liquors."  One  Sunday 
afternoon,  he  went  to  the  New  Cock  public  house,  and  remained  secreted  with  his  com- 
panions in  a  back  room,  drinking  hot  ale  and  rum.  He  afterwards  got  to  losing  his  time, 
abused  his  father,  and  once  broke  the  house  windows.     He  married  when  he  was  twenty 

VOL.    III.  2  w 


350 

years  of  age,  and  "  was  rather  steadier  for  awhile,  till  he  got  agate  of  going  to  a  particular 
public  house  to  card,  where  he  remained  till  late  at  night.  He  always  carded  for 
drink."  When  he  went  home,  he  used  rough  language  to  his  wife,  and  if  she  had  gone 
to  bed,  he  punched  the  pannel  out  of  the  door  to  get  into  the  house.  When  he  got  in  he 
would  kick  the  furniture  about  and  break  the  pots.  "  In  the  morning  he  often  went  to  get 
a  gill  to  quench  his  thirst,  and  remained  all  day  with  it."  He  was  never  bound  an  appren- 
tice, but  worked  with  his  father.  At  first  his  father  only  allowed  him  a  shilling  a  week, 
and  he  used  to  frighten  his  mother  out  of  more  by  cursing  and  abusive  language.  His 
companions  had  more  money  than  he,  as  they  got  it  by  pawning  things  dishonestly.  When 
he  first  married  he  had  eighteen  shillings  a  week,  but  in  a  few  months  he  had  piece 
work,  and  could  earn  more  than  thirty  shillings  a  week.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  joined 
the  Wesleyan  Society,  and  remained  a  consistent  member  for  a  few  months,  when  he  again 
began  to  visit  the  public  houses,  and  "  fell  off  altogether,  and  became  worse  than  before." 
He  first  signed  the  Temperance  Pledge  in  the  summer  of  1832.  "  Last  July  but  one  he  went 
to  Manchester  with  his  brother,  where  he  got  agate  of  taking  a  glass  or  two,  and  a  week  or 
two  after  his  return  he  began  to  go  to  bathe  on  a  Sunday  on  the  Preston  Marsh,  and  to  call 
at  the  tavern,  where  he  got  drunk."  For  two  or  three  months  he  continued  again  to  indulge 
to  excess.  Shortly  before  he  signed  the  pledge  the  last  time,  he  went  to  a  public  house  on 
Saturday  night,  and  got  drunk.  The  next  morning  (Sunday)  he  went  with  a  companion 
into  a  jerry  shop  in  Back  Lane,  where  he  remained  all  day.  At  night  he  went  home, 
but  returned  next  morning,  and  remained  again  all  day.  He  drank  there  every  day  for 
eight  days  in  succession,  and  slept  there  five  nights.  He  sold  a  chair  and  tea-tray,  and 
pawned  his  neckerchief,  and  another  man's  hat,  to  pay  for  his  drink ;  and  his  companion 
pawned  his  tools  for  the  same  purpose.  On  the  ninth  day,  he  drank  a  pint  of  ale  for  the 
last  time.  He  repeated  his  signature  of  the  Temperance  Pledge  last  February,  since  when 
he  has  never  tasted  any  kind  of  intoxicating  liquor,  and  has  only  twice  been  in  a  public 
house,  and  then  he  only  drank  lemonade.  He  has  again  become  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Society,  attends  to  his  religious  duties  with  pleasure,  discharges  his  social  obligations 
with  kindness,  is  much  better  able  to  follow  his  employment  than  formerly,  he  "  can  pay 
his  road  now,  and  never  could  before,"  and  is  respected  by  all  who  observe  his  altered 
conduct. 

13.  W.  M.,  aged  thirty-two,  mechanic,  began  to  drink  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  drank 
to  excess  when  he  was  nineteen.  He  continued  to  drink  regularly  till  about  two  years  since. 
He  was  a  notorious  drinker,  and  reduced  both  himself  and  family  to  great  distress,  though 
he  was  in  the  receipt  of  good  wages.  He  worked  three  years  at  one  shop,  an"d  during  those 
three  years  he  seventeen  or  eighteen  times  spent  all  his  wages  at  a  public  house  after  receiv- 
ing them,  before  he  got  home,  which  he  did  not  then  do  till  Sunday  forenoon.  If  his  wife 
began  to  reason  writh  him,  he  generally  replied  by  breaking  every  thing  that  stood  in  his 
way.  On  one  occasion,  particularly,  after  his  Saturday  night's  fuddle,  he  went  home  on 
Sunday  morning,  turned  his  wife,  who  was  pregnant,  out  of  the  house,  ransacked  her  box 
in  search  of  money,  and  found  3s.  6d.  This  he  took  and  spent  in  liquor.  He  was  placed 
in  the  lock-up  for  being  found  drunk,  made  to  pay  a  fine  of  six  shillings,  and  lost  the  re- 
mainder of  the  week  in  drinking.  He  was  once  "  almost  suffocated  with  drinking  whisky." 
"  He  tumbled  one  glass  of  it  after  another  down  his  throat,  during  a  whole  Sunday  after- 
noon." He  and  two  companions  then  took  a  gallon  of  ale  to  his  house :  as  soon  as  he  got 
home  he  went  into  the  back  yard,  when  he  became  insensible,  and  alarmed  his  companions 


351 

"  with  the  noise  lie  made  in  his  tliroat ;"  and  he  thiults  he  would  have  been  suffocated  if 
one  of  his  companions  had  not  cut  his  neckerchief  with  a  penknife.  On  another  occa- 
sion, he  fell  into  a  hole  full  of  water,  out  of  which  he  could  not  get ;  and  after  trying  for 
some  time,  he  laid  himself  down  in  it.  In  this  place  some  men  found  him  and  dragged 
him  out.  He  made  many  a  resolution  to  give  up  drinking  before  he  succeeded.  At  length 
"  he  got  his  wife  to  draw  his  wages,  and  only  took  a  shilling  for  his  own  use."  This  she 
continued  to  do  till  his  habit  was  entirely  broken.  He  contrived  by  this  means  to  keep  sober 
for  sixteen  months.  He  relapsed,  however,  at  the  end  of  that  period  into  his  former  habits. 
He  signed  the  Temperance  Pledge  last  April,  but  only  kept  it  a  few  weeks.  He  found, 
then,  that  the  "moderate  pledge  would  not  do,"  and  signed  the  Abstinence  Pledge  twenty- 
three  weeks  since.  Since  then  he  has  never  tasted  any  kind  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and 
has  only  been  once  in  a  public  house,  and  then  he  drank  a  bottle  of  ginger  beer.  His 
feimily  now  have  plenty  of  meat,  and  are  well  clothed:  he  enjoys  better  health,  more  peace 
of  mind,  and  can  perform  more  work  and  get  more  wages  than  he  could  before.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Wesleyan  Society. 

14.  W.  Y.,  aged  twenty-seven,  weaver,  began  to  drink  immoderately  at  dances,  &c.,  at 
eighteen  years  of  age,  and  when  he  was  nineteen  he  went  to  a  public  house  to  court  a  ser- 
vant girl  who  gave  him  liquor.  He  then  frequently  got  drunk.  Soon  after,  he  was  turned 
out  of  his  home  by  his  father  in  consequence  of  getting  drunk  and  being  out  late  at  nights. 
He  obtained  a  suit  of  clothes  on  credit,  which  he  popped  for  fifteen  shillings,  and  drank  the 
whole  sum  in  one  day.  When  he  was  twenty  years  old  he  married,  and  kept  steady  for  two 
and  a  half  years.  After  that  period  "  he  started  a  drinking  again."  He  then  got  another 
suit  of  clothes  on  credit,  which  he  disposed  of  as  on  a  former  occasion,  for  eighteen  shillings. 
He  obtained  a  third  suit  in  the  same  way,  for  the  same  purpose.  In  consequence  of  his 
idle  and  intemperate  habits,  he  was  at  one  time  £40  in  debt.  For  two  years  he  was  never 
sober  on  a  Sunday.  On  one  occasion  he  had  three  executions  out  against  him,  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  town,  and  he  did  not  return  for  four  months.  He  had  only  one  child,  which  his 
wife  supported.  He  carried  on  drinking  after  he  came  back  till  last  May.  Then  he  signed 
the  Temperance  Pledge,  and  has  not  since  tasted  any  kind  of  intoxicating  liquors.  He 
says,  "he  will  never  have  any  more ;  he  feels  much  better  since  he  joined  the  Temperance 
Society,  has  more  peace  of  mind,  can  work  a  great  deal  better  than  before,  his  wife  is 
much  more  happy,  for  she  gets  all  the  money,  and  he  is  now  paying  his  way  and  discharg- 
ing his  old  debts." 

15.  J.  B.,  aged  twenty-five  years,  weaver,  was  without  home  when  he  was  fifteen  years 
old,  and  lived  in  lodgings,  depending  upon  his  own  labour  for  support.  He  drank  all  above 
what  paid  for  his  board  out  of  his  earnings,  but  as  that  was  not  much,  he  only  occasionally 
got  intoxicated.  No  person  checked  him,  for  no  one  cared  for  his  welfare.  He  carried  on 
thus  for  several  years,  spending  all  he  could  get,  and  was  only  restrained  by  the  smallness 
of  his  means.  On  one  occasion  he  spent  eight  shillings  at  Garstang,  in  hot  ale  and  rum,  and 
on  returning  towards  Preston,  he  fell  into  a  ditch,  and  would  have  been  suffocated  if  two  gen- 
tlemen had  not  found  him.  On  another  occasion  he  was  found  buried  in  snow,  dead  drunk. 
He  continued  drinking  and  repenting  till  last  May.  He  signed  the  Temperance  Pledge  in 
June,  has  not  tasted  since,  and  hopes  by  the  blessing  of  God  to  take  no  more.  He  feels 
himself  better  in  his  body,  his  circumstances  have  improved,  and  he  has  paid  off  almost  all 
the  debts  he  had  contracted. 


352 

LITIGATION  AND  DRUNKENNESS. 

Dear  Sir, — Although  I  am  not  a  member  of  the  Temperance  Society  established  in 
this  town,  I  am  far  from  joining  in  the  senseless  ridicule  which  is  cast  upon  such  societies 
by  too  many  of  those  who  condemn  them  without  mature  reflection  or  fitting  examination. 
I  have  read,  and  been  deeply  struck  with,  many  of  the  tracts  issued  by,  and  in  defence  of, 
the  various  Temperance  Societies  ;  and  sure  I  am,  that  many  who  now  deride  the  idea  of 
entirely  giving  up  the  habit  of  taking  spirits  in  moderation,  would,  if  they  were  to  read  such 
tracts,  be  firmly  convinced  of  the  absurdity,  nay  danger,  of  their  moderate  indulgence.  I 
have  for  some  time  acted  upon  the  principle  of  total  abstinence,  (though  not,  as  I  have  be- 
fore stated,  a  member  of  any  society)  and  I  can  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  same  course 
to  all  who  value  sound  health,  good  spirits,  and  unalloyed  comfort.  Having  experienced  the 
benefit  to  be  derived  from  abstaining  from  "  wine  and  wassail"  in  my  own  person,  I  feel 
very  anxious  that  others  should  also  flee  from  the  maddening  draught,  the  death-dealing 
cup.  I  have  neither  the  talent  nor  the  influence  to  do  much  in  the  good  work,  but  I  think 
it  cannot  be  amiss  to  show  to  the  working  classes,  as  far  as  my  own  actual  observation  goes, 
to  how  far  greater  an  extent  they  may  attribute  their  penury  and  misery  to  habits  of  intem- 
perance than  to  any  other  cause,  whether  political  or  private. 

I  am,  as  you  are  aware,  an  attorney,  and  have,  of  course,  much  intercourse  with  the  la- 
bouring classes  of  my  neighbourhood.  I  have  taken,  indiscriminately,  100  names  of  persons 
to  whom  I  have  had  to  apply  professionally  for  payment  of  debts  owing  by  them.  In  order 
that  there  could  be  no  possible  leaning  on  my  side  for  the  purpose  of  "making  out  a  case," 
I  have  taken  the  last  hundred  in  my  books,  in  succession,  as  they  were  given  to  me,  and  I 
find  the  result  of  an  examination  into  the  causes  which  led  to  their  being  "  put  to  the  at- 
torney "  to  be  as  follows : — 6  only  because  they  luould  not  pay  (of  whom  3  are  drunkards) 
22  reduced  by  sickness  or  want  of  employment,  or  who  disputed  the  accounts  rendered — 
31  with  whom  1  am  not  sufficently  acquainted  to  know  the  cause — and  the  remaining  41 
who  to  sheer  drunkenness  alone  owe  their  poverty,  and  the  disgrace  of  being  in  an  attor- 
ney's hands  whilst  receiving  wages  amply  suflScient  to  keep  them  in  a  decent  and  respecta- 
ble manner,  and  "owing  no  man  any  thing."  Out  of  the  41,  too,  20  of  the  accounts  are 
actually  ior  ale  sliots  !  Now,  Sir,  I  know  the  wives  of  several  of  these  41  individuals,  and, 
with  two  exceptions,  they  are  careful,  managing,  good  wives,  and  if  the  husbands  did  their 
duty,  would  soon  have  comfortable  homes,  tidy  families,  and  a  store  in  hand. 

Thus,  Sir,  4 1  parts  out  of  1 00,  at  least,  of  the  poverty  of  the  individuals  who  have  come 
under  my  observation,  are  entirely  caused  by  these  individuals  themselves,  and  therefore 
might  easily  be  removed  by  them.  It  is  clear,  that  the  removal  of  every  tax,  and  rate,  and 
assessment,  and  impost,  of  every  description,  would  not  benefit  these  men  one  farthing,  and 
that  the  high  wages  which  many  of  them  receive  are  but  made  the  means  of  gratifying  a  de- 
basing and  degrading  appetite.  If  from  the  31  cases  with  which  I  am  not  fully  acquainted 
were  culled  the  number  whose  distresses  are  to  be  attributed  to  intemperance,  no  doubt  the 
41  would  be  considerably  increased.  1  think  it  will  not  be  unfair  to  proportion  them  as  the 
other  69  proportion  themselves.  Thus,  we  shall  add  18  to  the  41,  making  a  total  of  59, 
considerably  more  than  one  half;  59  out  of  100,  whose  distress,  with  that  of  their  wives  and 
families,  is  entirely  to  be  attributed  to  their  intemperance. 

This  statement  needs  no  comment :  it  speaks  for  itself.  And  I  would  ask,  what  can 
legislation  do,  what  can  charitable  institutions  do,  what  can  private  benevolence  do  towards 


353 

reducing  the  quantum  of  human  misery  which  exists  amongst  us,  whilst  that  misery  is  con- 
tinujilly  in  the  process  of  reproduction  and  increase,  tlirough  the — (I  had  almost  said  beastly, 
but  that  were  a  libel  on  the  brute  creation,  which,  in  this  respect  at  least,  is  superior  to  us : 
I  will  therefore  say,  the  loathsome  and  disgusting) — habit  of  intemperance  ?  Is  it  not  ap- 
palling to  consider,  that  59  of  the  100  individuals  of  whom  I  speak  are  rendered  actually 
dishonest,  actually  deprived  of  the  ability  to  pay  their  just  debts  by  drinking?  And  when 
we  consider,  that  in  addition  to  their  own  dishonesty,  their  intemperance  brings  upon  their 
wives  and  families  present  hunger,  and  nakedness,  and  misery,  and  will  probably  entail  on 
the  latter  future  vice,  and  crime,  and  disgrace,  the  thought  is  enough  to  make  one's  blood 
run  cold  at  the  dreadful  infatuation  under  which  these  people  labour.  Oh  !  that  they  would, 
for  one  moment,  picture  to  themselves  the  prospect  of  their  children's  future  lot !  Brought 
up  with  a  parent's  evil  example  before  their  eyes ;  untaught  in  tlie  simple  yet  sublime  truths 
of  religion;  strangers  to  moral  cultivation;  unrestrained  by,  and  consequently  utterly  des- 
pising that  paternal  authority  which  should  curb  the  too  buoyant  and  reckless  feelings,  and 
rein  in  and  ultimately  destroy  the  licentiousness  of  youth, — they  will  be  thrown  on  the 
tempestuous  ocean  of  the  world  as  a  ship  without  rudder  and  without  anchor : — and  what 
but  ruin  and  destruction  can  ensue  ?  And  all  this  for  the  momentary  gratification  of  a 
base  and  unnatural  appetite  ! 

It  was  my  intention  to  give  you  an  account  of  some  conversations  I  have  had  with  one 
or  two  of  the  children  of  some  of  the  forty-one,  but  I  find  that  I  have  already  "  spun  out  my 
yarn"  too  long,  and  will  not  therefore  trespass  further  than  to  wish  that  your  efforts  for  the 
destruction  of  the  many-throated  monster  may  be  crowned  with  unlimited  success. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  truly, 

Oct.  14th,  1S33.  Y. 


BOLTON  TEA  PARTY. 

On  Monday  evening,  October  14th,  a  temperance  tea  party  was  held  at  Mr.  Sowden's 
Temperance  House,  Bolton,  at  which  near  one  hundred  friends  sat  down  to  tea.  The 
evening  was  spent  pleasantly,  and  has  afforded  much  satisfaction  to  those  who  took  the  lead 
in  promoting  the  feast.  After  tea,  among  others,  a  person  rose  up,  a  pensioner,  and  one  who 
had  professed  religion,  oflf  and  on,  for  twenty  years,  and  stated,  that  in  consequence  of  the 
pension  day  and  the  love  of  a  glass,  he  had  repeatedly  been  drunk :  his  pot  companion  hung 
himself  some  time  since,  and  he  had  often  been  tempted  to  do  the  same.  The  last  fuddle 
he  had  was  about  four  months  since,  at  Manchester,  upon  receiving  his  pension.  On 
going  to  get  change  for  a  sovereign,  the  landlady  brought  out  some  cold  punch,  said  to 
have  been  left  over-night — (poor  deluded  creature  did  not  know  it  was  a  bait) — afler  drink- 
ing it  and  some  ale,  he  had  no  remembrance  of  anything  till  finding  himself,  or  rather  being 
found  by  the  watchman,  in  the  street  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  without  neckerchief,  or  one 
farthing  in  his  pockets, — told  a  lie  to  induce  the  watchman  to  let  him  stay  all  night  in  his 
box,  and  got  home  in  the  course  of  the  day  in  a  most  miserable  condition,  overwhelmed  with 
shame  at  his  conduct.  About  this  time  the  New  Temperance  Society  was  established ;  he 
went  to  a  meeting,  and  on  hearing  the  abstinence  pledge  read,  and  seeing  men  before  him 
who  had  not  tasted  intoxicating  liquors  for  years,  he  said  to  himself,  "  This  is  the  thing  for 
me:"  yet  he  hesitated,  and  went  half  way  home  through  a  fear  of  not  being  able  to  keep  the 
pledge;  but  turned  back,  and  signed.     It  is  now  fourteen  weeks  since,  and  he  has  not  tasted 


354 

any  thing  stronger  than  tea  or  cofFee.  He  now  hopes  he  shall  be  able  to  live  more  consist- 
ently as  a  professor  of  our  holy  religion,  and  blesses  God  for  the  New  Temperance  Society. 
After  this  person  concluded,  a  friend  got  up  and  stated  that  a  shopmate  of  his,  who  kept 
a  beer  shop,  had  pulled  down  his  sign,  and  eight  of  them  were  reading  and  learning  to  read 
the  New  Testament  round  the  very  same  table  which  used  to  be  covered  with  glasses  of  ale 
and  cards ! 


CRIME    AND    DRUNKENNESS. 

The  following  extract  from  the  charge  of  T.  B.  Addison,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Preston 
Quarter  Sessions  for  October,  is  well  worthy  of  attention.  After  congratulating  the  grand 
jury  upon  the  diminution  of  crime  which  the  chaplain's  report  exhibited,  he  observed,  "He 
considered  that  crime  was  produced  by  the  passion  for  drinking ;  and  that,  more  than  all  other 
causes  put  together,  this  vice  conduced  to  bring  criminals  to  the  bar  of  justice.  Drunken- 
ness had,  it  was  to  be  regretted,  long  been,  till  recently,  a  prevailing  vice,  not  only  amongst 
persons  in  humble  life,  but  amongst  those  whose  station  in  society  and  education  ought  to 
have  led  them  to  furnish  a  better  example  :  but  he  was  glad  to  observe,  that,  amongst  the 
latter  class,  this  vice  was  happily  not  so  frequent,  and  he  trusted  the  beneficial  effects  of  the 
change  would  not  be  lost  on  others.  The  vice  of  drunkenness  had  always  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  legislature,  and  various  enactments  had  been  made  to  reduce  it.  But  all  that 
could  be  effected  by  the  legislature  would  be  in  vain,  if  the  people  did  not  second  their  efforts. 
It  was  found,  indeed — so  much  did  this  depend  upon  the  people — that  in  proportion  as  re- 
straints were  laid  on  by  law,  the  vice  complained  of  was  not  diminished :  and  since  the  re- 
moval of  some  of  these  restraints  there  had  been  a  diminution." 

The  following  extract  from  the  Chaplain's  report  exhibits  the  fact,  that  a  great  propor- 
of  crime  is  caused  by  drinking. 

"With  regard  to  the  ever-important  question,  as  to  the  origin  of  crime,  the  Chaplain 
begs  to  state,  that  about  the  end  of  September,  he  held  a  particular  conversation  with  every 
individual  in  the  jail,  as  to  the  circumstances  which,  in  their  own  opinions,  had  brought  them 
into  their  melancholy  condition  ;  and,  taking  their  voluntary  communications,  as  a  general 
criterion,  he  learned,  that,  of  48  persons,  of  various  ages  and  both  sexes,  committed  on 
charges  of  felony,  for  trial  at  the  present  sessions,  the  alleged  offences  of  24  are  directly 
attributed  to  the  ale-house  or  beer-shop ;  13  prisoners  deny  their  guilt,  and  decline  making 
any  communication  ;  7  offences  seem  to  have  been  committed  under  circumstances  of  temp- 
tation ;  4  prisoners  plead  want  as  an  excuse  of  their  offences.  Among  27  convicted  male 
felons, — 2  attribute  their  offences  to  want,  3  to  temptation,  22  to  drinking.  Of  36  cases  of 
assault, — 3  are  attributable  to  idleness  and  bad  company,  5  to  combination  among  spinners, 
7  to  combination  and  drinking,  21  to  drinking  only.  In  14  cases  of  vagrancy, — 6  are  refer- 
rable  to  idleness  and  depravity,  6  to  the  plea  of  distress,  2  to  drunkenness.  In  21  bastardy 
cases, — 15  men  attribute  their  condition  to  idleness  and  ignorance,  6  to  drinking.  3  utter- 
ersof  base  coin  attribute  their  fate  to  drinking.  2  men  confined  for  neglect  of  work  assign 
drinking  as  the  cause.  Of  8  men  confined  for  neglecting  their  families, — 2  plead  innocent 
of  the  charge,  4  plead  distress,  2  admit  their  drunkenness.  Of  7  poachers, — 2  refer  their 
practices  to  bad  company,  5  to  drinking.  Of  6  men  imprisoned  for  obtaining  money  under 
false  pretences, — 2  plead  want,  4  impute  their  offences  to  a  passion  for  drinking.  6  sol- 
diers are  imprisoned  for  military  offences,  arising  from  drinking.     Of  10  men  confined  for 


355 

various  misdemeanors, — 1  attributes  his  offence  to  temptation,  4  assert  their  innocence,  5 
impute  their  situatian  to  drinking.  There  are  14  females  convicted  of  felony,  of  whom  1 
asserts  her  innocence,  1  (girl)  pleads  neglect  of  her  parents,  1  pleads  exposure  to  great  temp- 
tation, 1  is  of  weak  intellects,  3  appear  very  ignorant  and  depraved,  7  attribute  their  situation 
to  drinking.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  passion  for  liquor  is  a  source  of  ruin  and  disgrace 
more  fruitful  than  every  other  cause  combined:  and  that  of  1S9  offenders,  of  all  descriptions, 
there  were  116  who  imputed  their  misfortunes  or  their  crimes  to  the  temptations  held  out 
to  them  by  the  ale-houses  and  beer-shops.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  recent  legis- 
lative enactments  for  the  regulation  of  the  latter,  will,  in  any  degree,  check  the  mischiefs 
which  they  have  occasioned  or  increased.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Chaplain  cannot  refrain 
from  echoing  the  opinion  which,  over  and  over  again,  has  been,  in  substance,  avowed  to  him 
by  the  ruined  victims  of  intoxication,  tliat,  but  for  this  desolating  passion,  which  finds  the 
unchecked  means  of  indulgence,  at  any  moment,  and  in  every  place,  our  numerous  prisons 
would  be  almost  untenanted.  JOHN  CLAY,  Chaplain." 

"  Preston  Quarter  Sessions,  14th  Oct  1833." 

Although  we  have  yet  much  to  lament  as  to  the  practices  of  drinking  in  Preston,  it  is 
gratifying  to  state,  what  is  well  known  to  every  observer,  that  Preston  is  scarcely  like  the 
same  place  that  it  was  two  years  ago !  While  soldiers  are  quartered  at  other  large  towns  in 
this  county,  we  have  none  here.  In  the  calendar  of  the  assfzes  both  for  October  and  March 
last,  there  was  not  a  single  case  from  Preston.  And  in  looking  over  the  list  of  prisoners 
chained  with  various  offences  at  the. Quarter  Sessions  just  closed,  this  statement  is  confirmed. 
The  cases  from  BlacJ;hurn  were  14,  being  double  the  number  from  any  other  town.  I  like 
the  word  "  untenanted"  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Chaplain's  report,  as  it  refers  to  our  prisons, 
and  if  a  system  of  prevention  were  acted  upon,  I  doubt  not  but  this  would  literally  come  to 
pass.  What  must  these  Christians  and  Christian  ministers  think,  who  never  go  to  the  abodes 
of  crime,  when  they  see  arraigned  before  the  bar  so  many  depraved  youths,  among  whom 
even  a  boy  of  fourteen  so  abandoned  as  to  call  for  a  sentence  of  seven  years'  transportation  J 


VARIETIES. 

William  Hutton,  of  Birmingham,  says  in  one  of  his  works,  "  The  reader  will  he  sur- 
prised when  I  tell  him,  that  during  my  stay  at  Scarborough,  I  never  tasted  porter,  ale,  tea, 
coffee,  wine,  or  any  kind  of  liquors,  and  yet,  at  fourscore,  I  can  with  ease  walk  thirty  miles 
a  day." 

Colonel  Hodges,  in  his  "  Expedition  to  Portugal,"  in  describing  the  character  of  Don 
Pedro,  remarks,  "  I  must  also  notice  his  extreme  temperance.  He  never  takes  wine  :  water 
is  his  usual  beverage  :  even  coffee  he  abstains  from.  Health,  the  most  vigorous  and  unin- 
terrupted, is  the  almost  necessary  consequence  of  his  made  of  living.  His  strength  of 
muscle  is  very  considerable,  and  he  takes  no  small  delight  in  lifting  and  carrying  heavy 
weights,  and  performing  other  similar  feats,  to  prove  his  bodily  powers." 

Yesterday,  the  wife  of  a  tradesman,  residing  at  the  foot  of  the  Canongate,  who  has 
long  been  notorious  in  her  neighbourhood  for  excessive  drinking,  was  found  dead  in  her 
bed,  with  a  choppin  bottle,  containing  a  small  quantity  of  whisky,  firmly  grasped  in  one  of 
her  hands.  Her  husband  had  left  her  for  some  time  past,  in  consequence  of  her  intempe- 
rate habits.  The  medical  report  was — "  Died  from  excessive  drinking." — Record, 
i 


356 

Having  recently  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing  the  rules  belonging  to  different  sick 
societies,  I  have  been  confirmed  in  my  opinion,  by  the  character  of  the  fines  which  are  im- 
posed, that  the  meetings  of  these  societies  are  among  the  greatest  sources  of  intemperance. 
The  landlords  know  this,  and  hence  their  anxiety  to  establish  fresh  clubs.  The  following 
are  some  of  the  fines : — "  Sitting  in  any  officer's  chair,  unless  requested,  3d. ;  calling  for 
liquor  (besides  paying  for  it)  3d.;  fighting  or  gaming  at  the  meeting,  /is.;  promoting  ditto 
at  ditto,  2s.  6d. ;  being  intoxicated  at  ditto,  Cd. ;  cursing  or  swearing  at  ditto,  3d. ;  not 
keeping  silence  at  ditto,  when  ordered  three  times,  or  refusing  to  conduct  himself  properly, 
as  commanded  by  the  president,  6d." — Could  such  fines  ever  have  been  thought  of  among 
temperance  people  ? 

On  Sunday  se'nnight  (on  Sunday  too!)  at  Oldham,  Manchester,  a  man  named 
Bulloughs,  who  had  been  drinking  hard  previously,  attempted  in  bravado  to  drink  two 
shillings'  worth  of  gin,  but  before  he  could  accomplish  his  beastly  feat  he  fell  down  and  ex- 
pired; leaving  a  wife  and  large  family  to  implore  the  inconsiderate  conduct  of  their  natural 
protector. — Manchester  paper. 

At  the  late  Warnborough  revel,  a  party  of  men,  who  had  been  drinking  rather  freely, 
induced  one  of  the  company  to  submit  to  be  suspended  by  the  heels  in  a  stable.  After  hang- 
ing him  up,  to  increase  the  joke,  his  companions  left  him  a  few  minutes  :  on  their  return, 
however,  they  found  the  man  had  broken  a  blood  vessel,  and  was  quite  dead ! — Salisbury 
Guardian. 


ADIEU  TO  DISSIPATION. 


Oh  !  thou  source  of  ills  unnumber'd, 
Long  by  thee  I've  been  enslav'd: 

Much  too  long  has  reason  slumber'd, — 
But  adieu ! — at  last  I'm  sav'd. 

Oh !  farewell !  my  duty  calls  me 
T-o  a  scene  of  joy  and  peace ; 

Now  no  more  thy  bond  enthralls  me ; 
Now  my  days  of  anguish  cease. 

Long  bereft  of  every  blessing, 
I  have  sought  for  rest  in  vain ; 

Misery's  iron  hand  oppressing. 
Held  its  unrelenting  reign. 

Free  from  all  such  care  and  sorrow, 
Now  I  hail  the  peaceful  night; 

Brightly  dawns  the  coming  morrow 
To  my  renovated  sight. 

Preston,  Oct.  2nd,  1833. 


Once  my  injur'd  wife  beset  me, 
By  unmeasur'd  woe  unblest; 

Ragged  children  ever  met  me ; 
Dreams  of  horror  broke  my  rest. 

Now  my  wife  is  ever  smiling, 

Ever  welcome  to  my  sight ; 
Prattling  babes  the  time  beguiling, 

Swiftly  flies  the  passing  night. 

I  was  sick,  but  now  I'am  healthy ; 

I  have  just  escap'd  the  tomb  ; 
I  was  poor,  but  now  I'm  wealthy  ; 

Plenty  smiles  upon  my  home. 

Star  of  Temperance  !  brightly  shining. 
Shed  thy  radiant  beams  around ; 

Every  joyous  heart  combining, 
Loudly  let  its  praise  resound ! 

M.  B.  N. 


/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


THE 

MORAL    REFORMER. 

No.  12.  DECEMBER  1,   1833.  Vol.  III. 

CARING  FOR  THE  POOR. 

No  subject  seems  more  appropriate  for  the  month  of  December  than 
the  consideration  of  our  duty  to  the  poor.  By  suitable  political  changes, 
and  by  the  general  practice  of  temperance,  the  number  of  dependent  be- 
ings would  doubtless  be  reduced ;  but  still  we  shall  always  have  the  poor 
with  us.  The  widow,  the  fatherless,  the  infirm,  and  the  unfortunate  will 
still  remain,  whose  cases  will  act  as  stimulants  to  that  beneficence  and 
kindness,  in  the  exercise  of  which  we  imitate  our  Heavenly  Father.  The 
Christian,  while  he  cheerfully  yields  his  assistance  in  every  national  plan 
for  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  people,  considers  it  his  duty,  accord- 
ing to  his  means,  to  give  present  relief  to  every  one  in  distress.  We  will 
therefore  inquire  what  we  ought  to  do  now,  in  reference  to  the  poor  with 
whom  we  are  surrounded. 

The  first  part  of  our  duty  is  to  know  their  real  condition.  We  are  cu- 
rious in  our  various  researches  into  the  principles  and  operations  of  nature ; 
history  is  ransacked  to  learn  what  has  happened  in  former  times  ;  and  the 
deepest  inquiries  are  instituted  to  gain  advantages  in  commercial  enter- 
prise :  but  where  are  the  individuals  who  busy  themselves  to  ascertain  the 
real  condition  of  the  thousands  upon  thousands  who  occupy  the  poorest 
parts  of  our  large  manufacturing  towns.  We  are  of  the  same  blood, 
breathe  the  same  air,  and  are  all  destined  to  the  same  grave ;  and  yet, 
because  we  can  cover  ourselves  with  better  clothing,  and  live  in  finer 
houses,  we  conduct  ourselves  towards  the  poor  as  if  they  were  of  another 
species.  How  can  a  Christian  comply  with  the  duties  enjoined  unless  he 
make  himself  acquainted  with  the  character  and  condition  of  the  people? 
It  is  this  mutual  ignorance  of  each  other  which  is  the  principal  cause  of 
the  animosity  existing  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  of  the  slander 
which  each  party  is  ready  to  cast  upon  the  other.  It  is  through  this  igno- 
rance that  so  many  weU  disposed  persons  are  embarrassed  in  attempting 

VOL.  III.  2  X 


368 

to  decide  upon  the  various  applications  which  are  made  to  them  for  relief. 
Next  to  knowledge  of  ourselves,  a  knowledge  of  the  society  in  which  we 
live  is  of  great  importance ;  and  to  the  man  who  wishes  to  do  his  duty  as 
a  Christian,  it  is  indispensable.  How  is  this  to  be  accomplished  ?  We 
must  go  to  them,  and  invite  them  to  come  to  vs.  There  ought  to  be  no  gulf, 
as  at  present,  betwixt  the  two,  either  of  residence  or  fashion.  By  mutual 
intercourse  we  shall  find  out  the  deserving  poor,  and  be  able  to  detect  pre- 
tenders. We  shall  acquire  more  valuable  knowledge  here,  and  receive 
better  impressions  than  in  any  other  school. 

Becoming  conversant  with  the  poor,  we  shall  discover  various  ways 
in  which  we  can  render  them  service.  They  are  deficient  almost  in  every 
necessary  of  life ;  and  it  should  be  our  object,  not  merely  to  give  them 
something,  but  of  such  a  kind  and  in  such  a  way  as  that  the  benefit  may 
be  felt ;  and  this,  too,  with  as  little  danger  to  their  independency  as  pos- 
sible. We  should  not  give  by  constraint,  or  importunity,  or  for  fashion's 
sake,  nor  by  proxy,  for  in  all  these  cases  the  poor  will  not  be  so  much 
benefitted  as  they  would  if  we  gave  from  principle,  and  gave  our  personal 
attention  to  the  best  mode  of  afibrding  relief.  Affording  employment  is  the 
most  unexceptionable  mode  of  relieving  the  able-bodied  poor.  By  a  little 
trouble,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  individuals  out  of  employment,  we 
might  often  introduce  working  men  to  situations  where  they  are  wanted. 
Men  of  capital,  instead  of  eating  and  drinking  their  fortunes,  ought  to 
difiuse  them  abroad  by  employing  as  many  hands  as  possible.  It  is  a 
commendable  feature  in  the  British  character,  that  the  people  will  work, 
and  in  this  they  ought  to  be  assisted  as  much  as  possible.  Affording  as- 
sistance in  cases  of  diffcultj/  is  a  commendable  way  of  relieving  the  poor. 
I  have  known  many  poor  sorely  oppressed,  without  a  friend  to  defend 
them.  Payments  have  been  unjustly  exacted  from  the  poor  because  they 
have  not  had  the  means  of  self  defence.  In  their  applications  for  parochial 
relief,  I  have  seen  them  driven  from  place  to  place,  and  almost  ready  to 
perish  for  want  of  a  friend.  On  such  occasions,  what  could  be  more  phi- 
lanthropic than  to  defend  the  poor,  and  to  rid  them  of  their  oppressors  ? 

The  above  remarks,  of  course,  can  only  apply  to  able-bodied  persons. 
The  aged,  the  infirm,  and  the  poor  generally,  whose  cases  require  instant 
attention,  must  be  relieved  by  favours  suitable  to  their  individual  cases ; 
and  when  there  is  a  disposition,  no  great  diflficulty  can  occur  as  to  the 
shape  in  which  relief  is  to  be  given.  Money  may  occasionally  be  given; 
but  if  we  can  lay  it  out  to  advantage,  provisions  of  the  most  useful  and 
substantial  kind ;  clothing  also,  either  new  or  old,  as  most  convenient,  not 


359 

forgetting  clogs  for  children,  which  are  very  acceptable.  The  bedding  of 
the  poor,  being  generally  concealed  from  the  view  of  others,  is  often  in 
the  most  wretched  condition :  this  is  a  fact,  whether  we  speak  of  bed- 
ticking,  chaff,  sheets,  or  blankets ;  and  as  to  bedsteads,  many  of  them  lie 
on  the  floor.  No  money  could  be  better  laid  out  than  by  renewing  poor 
people's  bedding,  especially  at  this  season  of  the  year ;  and  lest,  at  the 
return  of  warm  weather,  the  things  should  be  improperly  disposed  of,  as 
has  often  been  the  case,  more  good,  perhaps,  would  be  done  by  lending 
than  giving  them ;  to  be  returned  at  the  beginning  of  summer.  Fuel,  in 
winter^  may  be  considered  as  next  to  food,  and  to  the  aged  and  veiy  poor, 
a  little  given  in  this  way  is  found  a  most  seasonable  relief.  When  per- 
sons, by  misfortune,  have  got  into  arrears  with  their  rent,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, are  obliged  to  inhabit  damp  and  unwholesome  cellars,  the  loan 
or  present  of  a  moderate  sum  will  effect  their  release,  and  be  attended 
with  incalculable  advantages.  In  cases  of  sickness,  united  with  poverty, 
we  may  give  assistance  by  getting  medical  advice,  change  of  linen,  cor- 
dials, &c. ;  and  in  extreme  cases,  a  nurse,  a  washerwoman,  or  even  the 
loan  of  such  things  as  night-chairs,  bed-pans,  bed-chairs,  &c.  are  of  great 
service.  The  philanthropic  mind  will  invent  many  things  to  serve  the 
poor,  and  stands  not  in  need  of  details ;  but  there  are  many  who  will  not 
act  unless  impelled  by  persuasion  and  guided  by  special  rules. 

Eveiy  favour  should  be  conferred  with  cheerfulness.  Let  a  man  be 
satisfied  with  the  merits  of  the  case  he  is  relieving,  and  feel  a  deep  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  duty,  and  he  will  relieve  by  his  manner  as  well  as  by 
his  gifts.     "  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver." 

It  were  needless  to  attempt  to  enforce  the  duty  of  almsgiving  by  a 
reference  to  the  numerous  commands  and  exhortations  contained  in  the 
Scriptures.  This  duty  stands  at  the  very  front  of  all  practical  religion, 
and  is  associated  with  the  most  decisive  evidences  of  true  piety.  It  com- 
ports with  every  man's  sense  of  duty,  although  from  avarice,  association, 
or  habit,  he  may  have  constantly  neglected  it.  It  is  much  to  be  lamented 
that  the  tendency  of  any  creed  should  be  to  lead  to  indifference  in  visiting 
the  widow  and  fatherless  in  their  afflictions — so  important  a  part  of  the 
pure  and  undefiled  religion  of  the  gospel.  Without  caution  and  self  ex- 
amination, an  excessive  devotion  to  one  part  of  duty  leads  to  the  neglect 
of  another.  I  know  that  many  persons  would  feel  a  qualm  of  conscience 
if  they  should  miss  one  service  out  of  three  on  a  Sunday,  who  still  feel  no 
uneasiness  although  they  should  never  darken  the  doors  of  a  poor  man 
from  one  month  to  another. 


360 

Let  us,  then,  try  to  interest  ourselves  in  favour  of  the  poor.  When 
we  sit  down  to  a  full  meal,  let  us  think  how  many  there  are  who  cannot 
get  a  sufficiency  of  bread.  When  we  clothe  ourselves  with  costly  array, 
and  have  wardrobes  filled  with  changes  of  raiment,  may  we  remember  how 
many  naked  brethren  we  have,  and  how  many  old  persons  and  children, 
for  M'ant  of  covering,  are  exposed  to  the  inclemencies  of  the  season. 
When  we  lie  down  on  our  feather  beds,  hung  round  with  expensive  tapes- 
try, may  we  remember  the  thousands  of  cottages  and  cellars,  where  five  or 
six  persons  are  huddled  together  upon  an  old  bed  of  straw  or  dirty  chaff, 
in  many  instances  without  bedsteads,  and  with  little  to  cover  them  except 
old  wrappers  and  their  day  clothes.  While  we  are  enjoying  all  the  com- 
forts and  elegancies  of  a  mansion,  let  us  never  forget  the  situation  of  many 
families,  whose  breakfast,  dining,  and  drawing  rooms  consist  of  a  single 
cold  and  cheerless  cellar.  Yes  ;  "  remember  the  poor,"  is  the  exhorta- 
tion; and  unless  we  do  remember  their  wretched  condition,  it  is  not  likely 
that  we  shall  ever  seek  them  out,  or  make  any  effort  for  their  rehef. 

What  a  strange  infatuation  we  labour  under  as  to  the  expence  of  doing 
a  little  good  among  our  suffering  fellow  creatures  !  If  we  frequently  give 
a  few  pence,  or  a  few  shillings,  we  begin  to  hold  back,  and  to  consider 
whether  we  are  not  exceeding  our  means ;  and  our  first  retrenchment  is 
with  our  charities.  Whilst  we  are  thus  careful  and  calculating  about  a 
little  given  to  the  poor,  we  are  perhaps  spending  several  pounds  upon  a 
supper  party;  £10  for  a  set  of  dining  tables;  £20  for  a  best  bed;  £40 
for  a  piana-forte ;  and  a  vast  amount  upon  a  variety  of  articles  of  th^ 
same  character.  Go  to  many  persons  who  have  laid  out  a  thousand  pounds 
for  a  house  to  live  in,  and  nearly  as  much  to  furnish  it,  and  press  the 
case  of  the  poor,  and  you  will  meet  with  a  number  of  excuses  and  per- 
haps a  denial.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  ?  Avarice,  pride,  and  infi- 
delity. If  we  really  beheved  in  the  promises  of  God,  that  he  will  multiply 
the  seed  which  we  sow  in  ministering  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor ;  that 
what  is  given  to  them  is  lent  to  the  Lord,  and  that  he  will  repay  it; 
would  it  be  possible  for  us  to  withhold  our  help  ?  We  can  part  with  ten 
thousand  pounds'  worth  of  goods  upon  the  credit  of  a  mortal  like  ourselves, 
and  yet  we  have  no  faith  in  the  word  of  the  living  God !  Has  he  not 
said  to  the  faithful  Christian,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee?" 
With  such  protection,  why  should  we  hesitate  and  refuse  doing  our  duty 
to  the  poor  ?  We  are  not  proprietors,  we  are  only  stewards  of  what  is  in 
our  hands ;  and  there  is  a  day  when  we  shall  have  to  give  an  account  of 
our  stewardship.     Is  it  not  better,  then,  to  reckon  with  ourselves  before 


\ 


361 

it  be  too  late  ?  How  will  many  tremble,  at  the  bar  of  God,  when  they 
hear  the  Great  Judge  declare,  "/  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  be  no  food;  I 
was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink ;  a  stranger,  and  ye  visited  me  not : 
depart  from  me  into  everlasting  fire."  All  things  are  in  the  hands  of  God  ; 
our  very  hairs  are  all  numbered ;  why,  then,  should  we  fear  ?  Does  he 
not  clothe  the  fields  with  herbage  ?  does  he  not  feed  the  fowls,  which 
neither  sow  nor  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns  ?  and  how  much  more  will  he 
feed  and  clothe  us,  if  we  trust  in  him  ?  When  we  read  what  is  said  of 
Cornelius,  "  thy  prayers  and  alms  are  come  up  for  a  memorial  before  God," 
we  are  sure  that  to  do  good  and  to  communicate  to  the  poor  is  a  sacrifice 
well  pleasing  to  the  Lord.  Oh !  how  can  we  talk  about  the  labours  and 
sufiferings  of  Christ  for  a  guilty  world,  how  can  we  read  of  his  sympathies 
for  the  poor,  and  his  unceasing  anxiety  to  bless  them,  and  yet  be  unmoved 
by  surrounding  misery  to  imitate  so  glorious  an  example  ? 


PROMPT  PAYMENT. 
"  Owe  no  man  any  thing,"  is  a  divine  command,  and  the  violation  of 
which  is  now  so  common  as  to  be  a  subject  of  general  lamentation.  In  a 
commercial  country  like  this,  business  will  generally  be  done  on  credit ; 
but  when  that  is  an  object  of  mutual  agreement,  there  is  no  violation  of  this 
precept,  till  the  time  fixed  for  payment  is  exceeded.  Beyond  that  time, 
except  by  the  consent  of  the  creditor,  it  is  unjust  to  retain  that  which  is  due. 
Whether  by  habit,  or  the  commonness  of  the  practice,  I  cannot  tell,  but  it 
is  clear  that  the  moral  sense  of  too  many  tradesmen  is  measured  by  their 
own  convenience.  How  painful  to  see  men  deliberately  add  falsehood  to 
fraud_';  to  hear  them  promise  with  fluency  what  perhaps  they  cannot,  and 
what  they  are  not  even  disposed  to  perform.  Some  men  get  goods  with 
no  intention  of  paying  for  them ;  some  intend,  but  never  make  a  con- 
science of  being  punctual ;  and  others,  with  the  best  intentions,  meet  with 
untoward  circumstances  which  prevent  them.  The  first  two  are  criminal ; 
the  last  perhaps  not  so,  though  often  chargeable  with  imprudence.  In  this 
money-getting-mania  age,  it  seems  to  be  a  common  fault  for  persons  in 
business  to  go  beyond  their  means.  This  brings  them  into  difficulties,  and 
sometimes  to  disgrace ;  and,  what  is  worse,  the  effects  of  their  non-payment 
in  proper  time  is  felt  by  a  long  train  of  other  persons  who,  one  way  or 
other,  depend  upon  them.  To  keep  up  appearances  there  seems  to  be  a 
constant  struggle,  and  that  at  the  expence  of  honesty.  How  many  young 
men  get  fine  clothes,  which  they  are  scarcely  able  to  pay  for :  how  many 


362 

females  run  after  the  ever  varying  fashion  of  the  day,  although  it  is  more 
than  the  hushand's  income  will  afford  to  pay  for  them. 

So  faint  are  the  impressions  of  justice  upon  this  subject,  that  it  is  a 
constant  remark,  that  the  older  the  debt  the  worse  it  is  to  get  paid.  Few 
care  about  paying  for  an  article  which  is  consumed  and  gone,  though,  in 
point  of  equity,  the  older  the  debt  the  greater  the  obligation,  the  creditor 
having  laid  out  of  both  stock  and  interest.  Others  confide  in  the  acquit- 
tal which  the  law,  or  a  bad  administration  of  it,  bestows  upon  them. 
They  not  only  take  the  "benefit"  of  the  insolvent  act,  to  the  serious 
loss  of  the  creditors  (which  in  some  cases  may  be  a  matter  of  necessity) 
but  lose  all  sense  of  obhgation,  if  they  should  be  fortunate  afterwards.  I 
have  been  told  of  persons,  who  at  one  time  compounded  with  their  credi- 
tors, and  who  afterwards  inherited  property,  but  retired  from  business  to 
enjoy  it,  without  a  single  effort  to  pay  either  the  whole  or  a  part  of  what 
their  creditors  had  lost  by  them.  And,  indeed,  so  rare  are  the  cases  of 
persons  coming  forward  in  this  way  to  pay  either  principal  or  interest, 
that  when  a  case  does  occur,  it  is  classed  among  the  newspaper  wonders. 
If  the  unfulfilled  engagements  to  be  found  in  the  books,  and  chalked  on 
the  cupboard  doors,  of  all  the  people  in  a  town  like  Preston,  could  be 
collected  together,  what  an  immense  sum  they  would  amount  to  !  and  if  all 
the  treachery,  vacillation,  and  falsehood  connected  with  these,  were  col- 
lected, what  a  specimen  we  should  have  ! — This,  then,  is  my  conclusion  : 
let  every  man  be  cautious  about  contracting  debts,  and  doubly  so  about 
paying  at  the  time  agreed  upon.  It  is  now  just  good  time  to  be  preparing 
to  meet  our  new  year's  bills  with  promptitude. 


MISAPPLIED  LABOUR. 
About  three  weeks  ago,  the  "  Penny  Magazine"  contained  an  article 
with  the  above  title,  stating  many  instances  where  labour  and  skill  had 
been  spent  in  producing  nothing  really  useful  to  man ;  among  others,  one 
where  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  heads  were  carved  on  a  cherry  stone, 
including  those  of  popes,  emperors,  and  kings.  If  there  be  room  for  re- 
mark upon  cases  of  this  kind,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  splendid  cathedrals, 
churches,  &c.  which  ornament  this  very  publication  almost  every  week  ? 
The  very  same  number  contains  a  view  of  the  Cathedral  of  Welk,  which 
must  have  been  erected  at  an  immense  expence.  Here  is  misapplied  labour, 
and  capital  too,  with  a  witness ;  for  let  any  man  survey  these  buildings, 
either  in  fact  or  as  they  are  displayed  upon  paper,  and  he  must  be  con- 
vinced that  they  are  out  of  character,  and  can  have  no  connection  with 


a63 

the  religion  of  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Liverpool  corporation  inquiry 
it  is  stated,  that  the  new  church  of  St.  Luke's  (top  of  Bold-street)  cost 
£53,418,  and  that  the  talcing  down  and  rebuilding  the  wall  cost  £14,000. 
Many  a  million  of  money  has  been  spent  to  support  priestcraft,  to  supplant 
reason,  to  enchain  the  human  mind,  and  by  substituting  pomp  and  cere- 
mony for  godly  simplicity  and  true  piety,  to  assimilate  the  Christian  system 
to  those  of  the  Jews  and  the  heathens.  If  the  labour  and  wealth  of  this 
country  are  to  be  consigned  to  unproductiveness,  surely  the  vortex  should 
not  be  prepared  in  the  shape  of  consecrated  buildings.  I  hope  the  time 
is  near,  when  economy  and  good  policy  will  direct  the  expenditure  of  this 
country  in  every  department,  both  civil  and  religious. 


THE  LOCK-UP. 
The  other  Sunday,  I  visited  the  lock-up,  which  was  tenanted  by  about 
a  dozen  persons  who  had  been  apprehended  the  previous  night.  As  this 
is  a  new  building,  containing  extensive  arrangements,  I  was  surprised  and 
grieved  to  find  all  the  delinquents  in  one  small  apartment.  As  the  correction 
of  the  offender  should  be  a  principal  object  in  inflicting  punishment,  every 
thing  connected  with  it  should  contribute  to  this  object.  Solitary  confine- 
ment has  been  strongly  recommended  by  those  interested  in  the  improve- 
ment of  our  jails,  and  nothing  but  the  difficulty  of  adopting  it,  I  presume, 
is  the  reason  why  it  has  not  been  generally  tried.  No  such  difficulty 
could  exist  here :  persons  placed  in  the  lock-up  have  no  work  to  perform, 
and  are  merely  in  confinement  till  they  can  be  heard  by  the  magistrates ; 
and  if  the  lock-up  does  not  contain  a  dozen  separate  cells,  I  can  only  say, 
that  it  ought  to  have  done.  The  dimensions  of  the  building  are  large 
enough  for  every  purpose  of  the  kind.  I  scarcely  need  to  say,  that  the 
efifect  of  placing  so  many  depraved  characters  together  is  to  weaken  the 
force  of  reflection,  and  so  to  amalgamate  vicious  properties  as  to  give  a 
zest  to  vice  and  crime.  If  the  plan  of  solitary  confinement  were  once 
adopted,  its  beneficial  effects  would  be  easily  perceived. 


PASSING  BELL. 
One,  two,  three,  chimes  the  bells  at  the  old  church,  to  denote  the 
death  of  some  person  in  the  parish ;  and  then  for  half  an  hour  a  single 
beat  about  every  minute.  This  is  called  the  passing  hell.  Of  what  use  is 
it  ?  What  end  is  it  designed  to  answer  ?  I  know  of  none  except  as  a 
source  of  emolument.  In  Catholic  times,  as  in  other  cases,  the  bell  was 
rung  to  give  notice  to  the  parishioners  that  they  were  to  pray  for  the  soul 


364 

of  the  faithful  departed.  But  it  can  now  have  no  such  use,  and  the  peo- 
ple are  foolish  either  to  bespeak  it  or  pay  for  it.  The  same  remark  as  to 
inutility  applies  to  the  funeral  bell,  and  indeed  still  more  forcibly  to  the 
ringing  of  six  or  eight  bells  to  invite  people  to  church.  If  I  were  to  send 
the  bellman  through  the  streets  on  a  Sunday,  announcing  that  there  would 
be  a  meeting  in  the  Cockpit,  how  many  would  cry  out,  "  A  desecration  of 
the  Sabbath !"  But  there  are  eight  bellmen  employed  in  the  church  stee- 
ple every  Sunday  for  no  better  a  purpose.  The  time  for  service  being 
fixed,  this  ringing  is  altogether  unnecessary,  and  is  proved  so  by  other 
congregations  assembling  freely  without  it.  No  matter  how  absurd,  or 
how  incongruous  a  custom  may  be,  if  it  but  yield  profit,  the  church  will 
stick  to  it. 


RELIGION  AND  MONEY. 
I  am  so  deeply  convinced  of  the  evils  of  giving  to  religion  a  mercenary 
character,  and  of  the  necessity  of  recurring  to  primitive  example,  both  as 
to  meeting  houses  and  teachers,  that  I  am  induced  this  month  to  copy  the 
following  advertisements,  which  have  appeared  at  different  times,  princi- 
pally for  the  purpose  of  exposing  the  iniquitous  system  to  which  they  refer. 
Whilst  it  is  considered  necessary  that  a  man,  in  order  to  teach  his  fellow 
creatures,  should  leave  his  employment,  and  prepare  himself  by  a  four 
years'  college  education,  we  are  sure  to  have  a  host  of  dependant  ministers, 
who,  with  talents  of  an  inferior  order,  or  worn  out  by  age,  have  to  seek  a 
bit  of  bread  in  the  best  way  they  can.  The  system  is  not  less  cruel  to 
many  "  devoted  to  the  ministry"  than  it  is  to  the  purity  of  Christianity 
itself.     The  following  advertisements  speak  a  pretty  plain  language. 

"  Wanted,  by  a  married  clergyman,  in  full  orders,  a  curacy,  with  a  good  house  attach- 
ed."— Christian  Guardian,  July,  1828. 

"  An  increasing,  but  poor  and  destitute  church,  solicits  the  aid  of  some  kind  friend  of 
the  good  cause,  to  take  the  charge  over  them  in  the  Lord.  A  comfortable  small  house  and 
garden,  and  a  neat  chapel,  are  edl  which  can  be  assured." 

"A  minister  of  an  Independent  congregation,  a  considerable  distance  from  the  town, 
wishes  to  remove  to  one  in  or  near  London.  He  has  occupied  his  present  situation  for 
Bome  years,  but  is  obliged  to  remove,  his  income  being  too  small  for  his  support. — Evangeli- 
cal Magazine,  July,  1828. 

"  A  small  chapel  to  sell  or  let,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  London,  surrounded  by  several 
populous  villages.  It  will  only  suit  a  minister  who  has  the  means  of  support,  and  who  wishes 
to  do  good  to  the  neighbouring  poor." — [What  a  pity  ministers  were  not  all  of  this  class !] 

"  A  person  of  evangelical  principles  is  desirous  of  obtaining  a  readership  in  or  near 
London.  Emolument  not  being  so  much  an  object  as  such  a  situation,  the  most  moderate 
remuneration  will  be  accepted." — Evangelical  Magazine,  May,  1826. 


365 

In  advertising  the  sale  of  a  chapel  in  Reading,  Berks,  it  was  observed,  "  There  is  a 
small  congregation,  much  attached  to  the  place,  who  raised,  last  year,  upwards  of  j660,  and 
were  a  lively,  zealous,  regular  minister  to  purchase  it,  he  would  soon  double  that  sum,  as  the 
town  is  populous  and  fast  increasing." — Evangelical  Magazine,  /Ipril,  1823. 

"  A  clergyman  of  evangelical  principles  wishes  to  meet  with  a  curacy  in  the  early  part 
of  next  year.  As  he  is  a  married  man  (but  without  family)  he  would  wish  for  a  comforta- 
ble house  attached  to  the  curacy,  and  would  be  willing  to  engage  in  active  and  useful 
labours  connected  with  the  ministry.     Salary  not  less  than  j6100  per  annum." 

I  don't  doubt  but  I  could  fill  the  whole  of  the  present  number  with 
advertisements  similar  to  the  above;  but  these  are  a  few  which  I  had  pre- 
served some  years  ago.  They  are  easy  to  be  understood.  The  following 
is  a  suitable  contrast,  though  it  never  appeared  before  in  print. 

"Wanted,  in  every  town  in  England,  a  number  of  plain,  zealous,  disinterested  Chris- 
tians, who,  having  learned  the  will  of  Christ,  are  disposed  to  embrace  every  opportunity, 
from  pure  benevolence,  to  make  the  same  known  to  their  fellow  creatures,  especially  to  the 
poor  and  the  outcast,  without  money 'and  without  price.  Reward,  not  a  good  house,  nor 
£\QQ  nor  £1000  a-year,  but  a  crown  and  a  throne  in  the  kingdom  of  glory ! " 


LABOUR,  WAGES,  &c. 

I  assure  "J.  M.,"  whose  letter  is  before  me,  that  my  remarks  upon 
labour,  unions,  &c.,  sprang  from  the  same  motive  which  no  doubt  induced 
him  to  write — a  desire  to  see  the  working  people  moral,  happy,  and  content. 
And  had  I  not  been  convinced  that  the  erroneous  sentiments  now  industri- 
ously circulated,  and  the  fruitless  combinations  into  which  the  men  have 
been  inveigled,  have  a  contrary  tendency,  I  allow  that  my  remarks  would 
have  been  out  of  character  with  my  pubhcation. 

As  to  one  point  referred  to,  I  hope  my  correspondent  will  give  me 
credit  when  I  say,  that  the  "circulation"  of  my  numbers  is  quite  a  secondary 
consideration ;  otherwise,  I  have  long  seen  a  course  in  which  I  could  have 
increased  my  sale  at  least  double. 

It  is  difficult  to  reason  with  an  interested  party  upon  any  question ; 
or  I  might  ask,  what  has  been  the  tendency  of  all  national  combinations  or 
unions  ?  The  experience  of  the  last  thirty  years  will  prove  that  the  object 
sought  is  utterly  unattainable,  and  that  the  reaction  against  the  men's  inter- 
ests (to  say  nothing  of  the  immense  sums  contributed)  has  been  forcibly 
felt  by  them ;  and  that  if  machinery  be  an  evil,  as  is  insinuated,  much  of  it 
has  been  brought  into  play  by  the  combinations  and  restlessness  of  various 
trades.  And  I  beg  to  state  distinctly,  that  the  tendency  of  these  periodi- 
cal commotions  is  to  drive  capital  from  the  country,  which  in  the  end, 
whatever  value  we  give  to  labour,  would  leave  us  in  the  most  wretched 

veil.    HI.  2  Y 


366 

condition.  Labour,  I  maintain,  is  a  source  of  wealth ;  but  my  correspondent 
has  suflfered  his  mind  to  be  so  far  warped  in  favour  of  a  system  as  to  make 
the  unqualified  assertion,  in  the  face  of  all  that  has  been  already  advanced, 
"  that  labour  is  the  only  source  of  wealth."  "  Who  is  it,"  he  asks,  "  that 
builds  the  palaces  of  kings  ?"  The  architect /orms  the  design,  and  superin.' 
tends  the  work ;  the  hands  and  muscular  eflPorts  of  the  labourers  perform  a 
part  of  the  labour ;  and  the  other  part,  under  the  direction  of  scientific 
men,  is  done  by  machinery.  The  capitalist  supplies  all  the  materials,  and 
finds  wages  till  the  work  is  complete.  The  same  answer  will  meet  all  his 
queries;  and  I  am  quite  sure,  if  "J.  M."  will  only  reason  coolly  upon 
the  subject,  he  will  see  that  his  assertion — ^repeated  a  hundred  times  be- 
fore he  made  it — ^is  not  correct. 

The  tendency  of  the  opinion  here  controverted  is  to  set  the  poor  against 
the  rich,  and  the  rich  against  the  poor ;  and  particularly  to  teach  the  men  to 
regard  their  masters  as  the  authors  of  all  the  miseries  which  they  endiire  ; 
and  consequently,  instead  of  uniting  to  ^Q^ practicable  remedies,  we  are  in- 
duced by  these  notions  to  fall  out  one  with  another. 

Where  there  is  intemperance,  poverty  is  inevitable;  and  while  this  pre- 
vails, no  measures  of  either  masters  or  government  can  benefit  the  people. 
Were  the  fifty  millions  now  spent  in  intoxicating  liquors,  in  addition  to 
the  sacrifice  of  a  very  large  sum  by  the  loss  of  time,  health,  life,  and  pro- 
perty, through  intemperance,  employed  in  purchasing  the  necessaries  and 
conveniences  of  life,  the  revival  of  trade  would  be  such  as  soon  to  settle  the 
disputes  between  masters  and  men.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  the  corporation, 
church,  corn,  and  other  monopolies,  and  expensive  national  imposts  upon 
labour,  were  removed,  the  increase  of  labour,  and  consequently  of  wages, 
to  British  artisans,  would  soon  convince  them  that  the  cause  of  our  difiicul- 
ties  is  quite  apart  from  that  which  national  associations  for  the  protection  I 
of  labour  have  been  trying  to  remove.  But  for  the  odious  com  monopoly, 
"  the  results  of  machinery"  would  be  to  place  bread,  and  beef,  and  butter 
nearly  as  cheap  upon  the  Englisman's  table  as  they  are  upon  those  of  Holland 
and  America.  Dear  food  produces  long  hours  of  labour,  and  an  over  supply 
of  goods  in  the  market,  and  these,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  a  reduction  of 
wages :  cheap  food  will  have  the  contrary  effect,  and  is  what  we  should 
all  seek  to  obtain.  Personal  reform,  and  the  repeal  of  suck  laws  as 
support  monopolies  and  corruption,  will  accomplish  what  I  am  confident 
is  unattainable  by  the  warfare  which  has  for  some  time  been  carrying  on 
between  men  and  their  employers. 


367 

THE  MORALIST. 
Times  of  general  calamity  and  confusion  have  ever  been  productive 
of  the  greatest  minds.  The  purest  ore  is  produced  from  the  hottest  fur- 
nace, and  the  brightest  thunderbolt  is  elicited  from  the  darkest  storm. — 
The  sun  should  not  set  upon  our  anger,  neither  should  he  rise  upon  our 
confidence.  We  should  forgive  freely,  but  forget  rarely.  I  will  not  be 
revenged,  and  this  I  owe  to  my  enemy ;  but  I  will  remember,  and  this  I 
owe  to  myself. — We  follow  the  world  in  approving  others,  but  we  go  be- 
fore it  in  approving  ourselves. — None  are  so  fond  of  secrets  as  those  who 
do  not  mean  to  keep  them :  such  persons  covet  secrets,  as  a  spendthrift 
covets  money,  for  the  purpose  of  circulation. — ^The  true  motives  of  our 
actions,  like  the  real  pipes  of  an  organ,  are  usually  concealed.  But  the 
gilded  and  the  hollow  pretext  is  pompously  placed  in  the  front  for  show. — 
Of  the  professions  it  may  be  said,  that  soldiers  are  becoming  too  popular, 
parsons  too  lazy,  physicians  too  mercenary,  and  lawyers  too  powerful. — ■ 
Most  men  abuse  courtiers,  and  affect  to  despise  courts ;  yet  most  men  are 
proud  of  the  acquaintance  of  the  one,  and  would  be  glad  to  live  in  the 
other. — All  who  have  been  great  and  good  without  Christianity,  would 
have  been  much  greater  and  better  with  it.  If  there  be,  amongst  the 
sons  of  men,  a  single  exception  to  this  maxim,  the  divine  Socrates 
may  be  allowed  to  put  in  the  strongest  claim. — When  the  million 
applaud  you,  seriously  ask  yourself  what  harm  you  have  done ;  when 
they  censure  you,  what  good! — Some  have  wondered  that  disputes 
about  opinions  sho\dd  so  often  end  in  personalities ;  but  the  fact  is,  that 
such  disputes  begin  with  personalities,  for  our  opinions  are  a  part  of  our- 
selves.— ^We  should  not  be  too  niggardly  in  our  praise,  for  men  will  do 
more  to  support  a  character  than  to  raise  one. — It  was  observed  of  the 
Jesuits,  that  they  constantly  inculcated  a  thorough  contempt  of  worldly 
things  in  their  doctrines,  but  eagerly  grasped  at  them  in  their  lives.  They 
were  "  wise  in  their  generation"  for  they  cried  down  worldly  things,  be- 
cause they  wanted  to  obtain  them,  and  cried  up  spiritual  things,  because 
they  wanted  to  dispose  of  them. — In  cases  of  doubtful  morality,  it  is  usual 
to  say,  is  there  any  harm  in  doing  this  ?  This  question  may  sometimes  be 
best  answered  by  asking  ourselves  another :  is  there  any  harm  in  letting 
it  alone  ? — He  that  has  never  known  adversity,  is  but  half  acquainted  with 
others,  or  with  himself.  Constant  success  shows  us  but  one  side  of  the 
world.  For,  as  it  surrounds  us  with  friends,  who  will  tell  us  only  our 
merits,  so  it  silences  those  enemies  from  whom  alone  we  can  learn  our 


368 

defects. — ^There  are  many  who  say  more  than  the  truth  on  some  occasions, 

and  balance  the  account  with  their  consciences  by  saying  less  than  the 
truth  on  others.  But  the  fact  is,  that  they  are,  in  both  instances,  as  frau- 
dulent as  he  would  be,  that  exacted  more  than  his  due  from  his  debtors, 
and  paid  less  than  their  due  to  his  creditors. — It  is  curious  that  some 
learned  dunces,  because  they  can  write  nonsense  in  languages  that  are 
dead,  should  despise  those  that  can  talk  sense  in  languages  that  are  living: 
to  acquire  a  few  tongues,  says  a  French  writer,  is  the  task  of  a  few  years, 
but  to  be  eloquent  in  one,  is  the  labour  of  a  life. — Great  wits,  who  pervert 
their  talents  to  sap  the  foundation  of  morality,  have  to  answer  for  all  the 
evil  that  lesser  wits  may  accomplish  through  their  means,  even  to  the  end 
of  time.  A  heavy  load  of  responsibility,  where  the  mind  is  still  alive  to  do 
mischief,  when  the  hand  it  animated  is  dust.  Men  of  talent  may  make  a 
breach  in  morality,  at  which  men  of  none  may  enter,  as  a  citadel  may  be 
carried  by  musquets,  after  a  road  has  been  battered  out  for  them  by  can- 
non.— There  can  be  no  Christianity  where  there  is  no  charity ;  but  the  cen- 
sorious cultivate  the  forms  of  religion,  that  they  may  more  freely  indulge 
in  the  only  pleasure  of  their  lives,  that  of  calumniating  those  who  to  their 
other  failings  add  not  the  sin  of  hypocrisy.  But  hypocrisy  can  beat 
calumny  even  at  her  own  weapons,  and  can  feign  forgiveness  while  she 
feels  resentment  and  meditates  revenge. — Evils  in  the  journey  of  life  are 
like  the  hills  which  alarm  travellers  upon  their  road;  they  both  appear 
great  at  a  distance,  but  when  we  approach  them  we  find  that  they  are  far 
less  insurmountable  than  we  had  conceived. — Lacon. 


EDUCATION. 

I  maintain  that  under  a  truly  national  system  of  education  the  children  of  all  classes 
ought  to  be  educated  alike,  and  that  every  individual  should  receive  the  best  education  that 
the  united  wisdom  of  society  can  bestow.  The  following,  among  many  others,  are  my  rea- 
sons. 

1.  Education,  in  its  proper  signification,  means  a  training ;  it  means  the  full  develop- 
ment and  proper  direction  of  all  the  physical  and  bodily  powers,  of  all  the  mental  faculties, 
and  of  all  the  moral  feelings  of  man.  Whenever  and  wherever  any  one  of  these  is  neglected 
or  improperly  cultivated,  the  individual  is  in  the  same  proportion  an  imperfect  human  be- 
ing. If  it  be  desirable,  therefore,  that  the  whole  population  of  this  country  should  enjoy 
a  sound  mind  in  a  healthy  body ;  in  other  words,  should  possess  health,  strength,  agility, 
intelligence,  charity,  virtue,  piety;  train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  (train  up  every 
child  in  the  way  he  should  go)  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.  Ancient 
wisdom  calls  upon  us  to  adopt  this  practice. 


369 

2.  All  classes  need  food,  clothing,  and  habitation ;  every  cliild,  therefore,  ought  to 
receive  instruction  as  to  the  best  modes  of  procuring,  preparing,  and  making  them.  The 
sciences  are  useful  to  every  person  in  every  situation,  and  they  are  more  particularly  Useful 
to  the  working  classes.  As  the  rich  to-day  are  not  sure  that  their  children  will  not  be  poor" 
to-morrow,  they  ought  therefore  to  learn  useful  arts  and  manufactures.  And  as  no  one  cart 
tell  what  situation  the  child  of  the  humblest  peasant  may  hereafter  be  called  to  fill,  all  the 
children  of  the  poor,  as  well  as  the  children  of  the  rich,  ought  to  receive  the  best  scientific 
as  well  as  manual  education. 

3.  The  King  is  said  to  be  the  father  of  his  people,  but  he  is  altogether  unworthy  of  this 
title,  unless  he  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  to  give  the  best  education  to  all  his  children. 

4.  The  members  of  a  community  are  said  to  be  children  of  one  family,  and  if  each 
child  has  not  a  right  to  an  equal  share  of  the  family  property,  each  child  may  justly  claim 
equal  care  in  its  education, 

5.  The  working  classes  create  all  the  articles  of  wealth  upon  which  their  own  and  every 
other  class  in  society  subsists,  and  every  new  discovery  in  science  and  improvement  in  ma- 
chinery tends  to  increase  the  supply  and  cheapen  the  price  to  all  classes.  Most  of  the  im- 
provements and  discoveries  that  have  hitherto  been  made  have  originated  with  the  working 
men,  and  in  proportion  as  education  of  the  best  description  becomes  more  general  among 
them,  these  inventions  will  be  more  frequent :  self-interest,  therefore,  ought  to  prompt  the 
wealthy  to  give  the  very  best  education  to  all  the  children  of  the  poor. 

6.  Though  the  working  classes  laboured  and  suffered  in  the  cause  orf  parliamentary 
reform  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  middle  and  higher  classes,  generally 
speaking,  stirred  one  step  in  it;  and  though  for  the  carrying  of  the  bill  at  last  we  are 
mainly  indebted  to  the  working  men  of  Birmingham,  that  class  have  at  present  reaped 
little  or  no  extension  of  their  rights,  having  most  unjustly  been  denied  a  voice  in 
choosing  those  who  direct  their  labour,  apportion  its  reward,  and  burthen  them  with 
heavy  taxes  on  every  article  they  consume.  Ko  good  reason  has  ever  yet  been  given 
for  this  exclusion.  One  says  the  working  classes  ought  not  to  have  votes  because  they 
are  poor ;  another,  because  they  are  vicious  and  drunken ;  and  a  third,  because  they  are 
ignorant.  A  good  education  will  remove  all  these :  therefore,  let  not  the  representatives 
of  the  middle  and  higher  classes  add  tyranny,  oppression,  and  cruelty  to  injustice,  by  any 
longer  denying  to  the  great  body  of  the  people  education  and  employment,  the  only  eflB- 
cient  means  of  raising  them  to  the  enjoyment  of  this  dearest  right  of  freemen. 

7.  But  we  must  take  still  higher  ground.  Christianity  teaches  us  to  consider  the  souls 
of  the  poor  as  equally  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  as  the  souls  of  the  rich ;  nay,  as  being 
more  especially  his  care :  all,  therefore,  ought,  by  a  Christian  nation,  to  be  trained  with 
equal  care.  It  teaches  every  Christian  to  love  his  neighbour  as  himself,  and  to  consider 
every  child  of  man  as  his  neighbour.  This  command  can  never  be  said  to  be  obeyed  so  long 
as  a  single  child  of  man  is  suffered  by  rich  men,  calling  themselves  Christians,  to  remain  in 
a  state  of  ignorance ;  for  the  command  to  the  rich  man  is  still,  "  Sell  all  that  thou  hast,  and 
give  to  poor."  This  command  was  understood  literally,  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  was  rightly 
understood  by  the  first  Christians.  But  this  sacrifice  is  not  now  necessary,  because  by 
adopting  the  plan  that  has  been  tried  in  Switzerland,  the  children  of  the  poor  might  be 
Uught,  whilst  receiving  their  education,  to  support  themselves:  the  aid  of  the  rich  is  only 
wanted  to  make  the  arrangements. 


370 

8.  The  children  of  all  classes  come  Into  the  world  exactly  alike  as  to  senses,  faculties,  and 
bodily  powers,  and  all  equally  capable  of  receiving  physical,  mental,  and  moral  cultivation, 
proving  to  a  demonstration  that  the  great  and  benevolent  Creator  intends  that  these  faculties 
and  powers  should  be  cultivated  with  equal  care  in  all  his  rational  offspring;  and,  therefore, 
whether  we  consider  ourselves  as  men,  as  Britons,  or  as  Christians,  if  we  value  the  favour 
and  approbation  of  the  God  and  Father  of  all,  and  hope  for  His  future  rewards,  we  are  im- 
periously called  upon,  by  giving  the  best  possible  education  to  every  child  in  Great  Britain, 
to  take  the  most  effectual  means  in  our  power  of  banishing  ignorance,  poverty,  and  crime 
from  the  world- 

But  you  will  ask,  how  is  this  Herculean  task  to  be  accomplished  ?  I  reply,  man's. cha- 
racter is  formed  by  his  original  organization,  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  afterwards 
placed  from  birth  to  death,  and  by  the  action  and  reaction  of  each  upon  the  other. 

Christ  teaches  us  how  to  act  when  we  pray — "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation," 

We  must  remove  all  children  at  an  early  age  from  all  scenes  and  circumstances  of  filth, 
disorder,  ignorance,  and  vice ;  put  them  under  the  care  of  wise  instructors,  and  surround 
them  with  circumstances  tending  to  create  good  feelings,  kindness,  charity,  a  love  of  clean- 
liness, order,  diligence,  knowledge,  virtue.  Education  must  go  hand  in  hand  with  useful 
employment;  the  children  in  each  town  must  be  located  upon  land  in  the  immediate 
vicinity,  and  taught,  not  merely  science,  but  how  to  provide  themselves  in  abundance 
with  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life.  By  adopting  these  arrangements,  if  you 
take  children  at  five  years  of  age  and  keep  them  till  they  are  sixteen,  they  will  have  paid 
all  the  expences  of  board,  lodging,  clothing,  and  instruction,  without  working  more  than 
four  hours  per  day.  JOHN  FINCH. 

Liverpool,  Oct.  29,  1833. 


MORAL    LEGISLATION. 

If  a  person  who  considered  the  general  objects  of  the  institution  of  civil  governmieDt, 
were  to  look  over  the  titles  of  the  acts  of  a  legislature  during  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  he 
would  probably  be  surprised  to  find  the  proportion  so  small  of  those  of  which  it  was  the  ex- 
press object  to  benefit  the  moral  character  of  the  people.  He  would  find  many  laws  that 
respected  foreign  policy,  many  perhaps  that  referred  to  internal  political  economy,  many 
for  the  punishment  of  crime, — but  few  that  tended  positively  to  promote  the  general  happi- 
ness by  increasing  the  general  virtue.  This,  I  say,  may  be  a  reasonable  subject  of  surprise, 
when  it  is  considered,  that  the  attainment  of  this  happiness  is  the  original  and  proper  object 
of  all  government.  There  is  a  general  want  of  advertence  to  this  object,  arising,  in  part, 
perhaps,  from  the  insufficient  degree  of  conviction,  that  virtue  is  the  best  promoter  of  the 
general  weal. 

To  prevent  an  evil  is  always  better  than  to  repair  it :  for  which  reason,  if  it  be  in  the 
power  of  the  legislator  to  diminish  temptation  or  its  influence,  he  will  find  that  this  is  the 
most  efllcacious  means  of  diminishing  the  offences  and  of  increasing  the  happiness  of  the 
people.  He  who  vigilantly  detects  and  punishes  vicious  men,  does  well ;  but  he  who  pre- 
vents them  from  becoming  vicious,  does  better.  It  is  better  both  for  a  sufferer,  for  a  cul- 
prit, and  for  the  community,  that  a  man's  purse  should  remain  in  his  pocket,  than  that 
when  it  is  taken  away,  the  thief  should  be  sure  of  a  prison. 


371 

So  far  as  It  is  practicable,  a  government  ought  to  be  to  a  people  what  a  judicious  parent 
is  to  a  family, — not  merely  the  ruler,  but  the  instructor  and  the  guide.  Now,  a  judicious 
father  adopts  a  system  of  moral  culture  as  well  as  of  restraint :  he  does  not  merely  lop  the 
vagrant  branches  of  his  intellectual  plant,  but  he  trains  and  directs  them  in  their  proper 
course.  The  second  object  is  to  punish  vice, — the  first  to  promote  virtue.  You  may 
punish  vice  without  securing  virtue;  but  if  you  secure  virtue,  the  whole  work  is  done. 

Yet  this  primary  object  of  moral  legislation  is  that  to  which,  comparatively,  little  atten- 
tion is  paid.  Penaltias  are  multiplied  upon  the  doers  of  evil,  but  little  endeavour  is  used  to 
prevent  the  commission  of  evil  by  inducing  principles  and  habits  which  overpower  the  ten- 
dency to  the  commission.  In  this  respect,  we  begin  to  legislate  at  the  secondary  part  of  our 
ofl&ce  rather  than  at  the  first.  We  are  political  surgeons  who  cut  out  the  tumours  in  the 
state,  rather  than  the  prescribers  of  that  wholesome  regimen  by  which  the  diseases  in  the 
political  body  are  prevented. 

But  here  arises  a  diflSculty, — How  shall  that  political  parent  teach  virtue  which  is  not 
virtuous  itself?  The  governments  of  most  nations,  however  they  may  inculcate  virtue  in 
their  enactments,  preach  it  very  imperfectly  by  their  example.  What  then  is  to  be  done  ? 
"  Make  the  tree  good."  The  first  step  in  moral  legislation  is  to  rectify  the  legislator.  It 
holds  of  nations  as  of  men,  that  the  beam  should  be  first  removed  out  of  our  own  eye.  Laws, 
in  their  insulated  character,  will  be  but  partially  efiectual,  whilst  the  practical  example  of  a 
government  is  bad.  To  this  consideration  suflScient  attention  is  not  ordinarily  paid.  We 
do  not  adequately  estimate  the  influence  of  a  government's  example  upon  the  public  charac- 
ter. Government  is  an  object  to  which  we  look  up  as  to  our  superior  ;  and  the  many  inter- 
ests which  prompt  men  to  assimilate  themselves  to  the  character  of  the  government,  added 
to  the  natural  tendency  of  subordinate  parts  to  copy  the  example  of  the  superior,  occasions 
the  character  of  a  government,  iudependently  of  its  particular  measures,  to  be  of  immense 
influence  upon  the  general  virtue. — Dymond's  Essays  on  the  Principles  of  Morality. 


EXCESS  OF  APPAREL. 
Alas,  now-a-days,  how  many  may  we  behold  occupied  wholly  in  pampering  the  flesh, 
taking  no  care  at  all,  but  only  how  to  deck  themselves,  setting  their  affection  altogether  on 
worldly  bravery,  abusing  God's  goodness  when  he  sendeth  plenty,  to  satisfy  their  wanton 
lusts,  having  no  regard  to  the  degree  wherein  God  hath  placed  them.  The  Israelites  were 
contented  with  such  apparel  as  God  gave  them,  although  it  were  base  and  simple.  Deut. 
xxix.  And  God  so  blessed  them,  that  their  shoes  and  clothes  lasted  them  forty  years  ;  yea, 
and  those  clothes,  which  their  fathers  had  worn,  their  children  were  contented  to  use  after- 
wards. But  we  are  never  contented,  and  therefore  we  prosper  not ;  so  that  most  commonly 
he  that  ruffleth  in  his  sables,  in  his  fine  furred  gown,  corked  slippers,  trim  buskins,  and 
warm  mittens,  is  more  ready  to  chill  for  cold  than  the  poor  labouring  man,  which  can  abide 
in  the  field  all  the  day  long,  when  the  north  wind  blows,  with  a  few  beggarly  clouts  about 
him.  We  are  loth  to  wear  such  as  our  fathers  have  left  us ;  we  think  not  that  suflScient  or 
good  enough  for  us.  We  must  have  one  gown  for  the  day,  another  for  the  night;  one 
long,  another  short ;  one  for  winter,  another  for  summer ;  one  through  furred,  another  but 
faced ;  one  for  the  working-day,  another  for  the  holy-day ;  one  of  this  colour,  another  of 
that  colour ;  one  of  cloth,  another  of  silk  or  damask.     We  must  have  change  of  apparel, 


372 

one  afore  dinner,  and  another  after ;  one  of  the  Spanish  fashion,  another  Turkey ;  and  to 
be  brief,  never  content  with  sufficient.  Our  Saviour  Christ  bade  his  disciples,  they  should 
not  have  two  coats :  Matt.  x.  but  the  most  men,  far  unlike  to  his  scholars,  have  their  pres- 
ses so  full  of  apparel,  that  many  know  not  how  many  sorts  they  have.  Which  thing  caused 
St.  James  to  pronounce  this  terrible  curse  against  such  wealthy  worldlings :  "  Go  to,  ye 
rich  men ;  weep  and  howl  on  your  wretchedness  that  shall  come  upon  you :  your  riclies  are 
corrupt,  and  your  garments  are  moth-eaten ;  ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth,  and 
in  wantonness ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts,  as  in  the  day  of  slaughter."  James  v. 
Mark,  I  beseech  you,  St.  James  calleth  them  miserable,  notwithstanding  their  riches  and 
plenty  of  apparel,  forasmuch  as  they  pamper  their  bodies  to  their  own  destruction.  What 
was  the  rich  glutton  the  better  for  his  fine  fare  and  costly  apparel  ?  Luke  xvi.  Did  not  he 
nourish  himself  to  be  tormented  in  hell  fire  ?  Let  us  learn  therefore  to  content  ourselves, 
having  food  and  raiment,  as  St.  Paul  teacheth,  lest,  desiring  to  be  enriched  with  abundance, 
we  fall  into  temptations,  snares,  and  many  noisome  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  perdition 
and  destruction.  1  Tim.  vi.  Certainly,  such  as  delight  in  gorgeous  apparel  are  commonly 
puffed  up  with  pride,  and  filled  with  divers  vanities.  So  were  the  daughters  of  Sion  and 
people  of  Jerusalem,  whom  Isaiah  the  Prophet  threateneth,  because  they  walked  with 
stretched-out  necks  and  wandering  eyes,  mincing  as  they  went,  and  nicely  treading  with 
their  feet,  that  Almighty  God  would  make  their  heads  bald,  and  discover  their  secret  shame. 
Isa.  iii.  "  In  that  day,"  saith  he,  "  shall  the  Lord  take  away  the  ornament  of  the  slippers, 
and  the  cauls,  and  the  round  attires,  and  the  sweet  balls,  and  the  bracelets,  and  the  attires 
of  the  head,  and  the  slops,  and  the  head-bands,  and  the  tablets,  and  the  ear-rings,  the  rings, 
and  the  mufflers,  the  costly  apparel,  and  the  veils,  and  wimples,  and  the  crisping  pins,  and 
the  glasses,  and  the  fine  linen,  and  the  hoods,  and  the  lawns."  So  that  Almighty  God 
would  not  suffer  his  benefits  to  be  vainly  and  wantonly  abused,  no,  not  of  that  people  whom 
he  most  tenderly  loved,  and  had  chosen  to  himself  before  all.  No  less  truly  is  the  vanity 
that  is  used  among  us  in  these  days.  For  the  proud  and  haughty  stomachs  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  England  are  so  maintained  with  divers  disguised  sorts  of  costly  apparel,  that,  as  Ter- 
tullian,  an  ancient  father,  saith,  there  is  left  no  difference  in  apparel  between  an  honest 
matron  and  a  common  strumpet.  Yea,  many  men  are  become  so  effeminate,  that  they  care 
not  what  they  spend  in  disguising  themselves,  ever  desiring  new  toys,  and  inventing  new 
fashions.  Therefore  a  certain  man,  that  would  picture  every  countryman  in  his  accus- 
tomed apparel,  when  he  had  painted  other  nations,  he  pictured  the  Englishman  all  naked, 
and  gave  him  cloth  under  his  arm,  and  bade  him  make  it  himself  as  he  thought  best,  for  he 
changed  his  fashion  so  often,  that  he  knew  not  how  to  make  it.  Thus  with  our  fantastical 
devices  we  make  ourselves  laughing-stocks  to  other  nations  ;  while  one  spendeth  his  patri- 
mony upon  pounces  and  cuts,  another  bestoweth  more  on  a  dancing  shirt  than  might  suf- 
fice to  buy  him  honest  and  comely  apparel  for  his  whole  body.  Some  hang  their  revenues 
about  their  necks,  ruffling  in  their  ruffs,  and  many  a  one  jeopardeth  his  best  joint  to  main-^ 
tain  himself  in  sumptuous  raiment.  And  every  man,  nothing  considering  his  estate  and 
condition,  seeketh  to  excel  others  in  costly  attire.  Whereby  it  cometh  to  pass,  that,  in 
abundance  and  plenty  of  all  things,  we  yet  complain  of  want  and  penury,  while  one  spend- 
eth that  which  might  serve  a  multitude,  and  no  man  distributeth  of  the  abundance  which 
he  hath  received,  and  all  men  excessively  waste  that  which  should  serve  to  supply  the  ne- 
cessities of  others. — Homily  against  Excess  of  Apparel,  published  1652, 


373 

AN  ESSAY  ON  CLOTHING. 

By  the  late  Dr.  Cassels. 

*'  Eadem  ratio  esthabenda  vestitus;  in  quo,  sicut  in  plerisque  rebus,  mediocritas  optima  est." — Cicero, 
"  Varum  in  veste  tria  spectanda  sunt,  necessitas,  usus  et  decorum." — Erasmus. 
"  Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me." — 3fa(t.  xxv.  36. 

There  are  so  many  ways  of  being  useful  to  mankind,  that  I  am  convinced,  if  we  were 
to  give  the  subject  a  due  consideration,  we  should  not  want  an  object  of  laudable  pursuit, 
both  as  it  respects  the  happiest  exertion  of  the  faculties  of  our  minds,  and  the  most  perma- 
nent benefit  to  society.  Or  should  no  new  idea  be  elicited  from  this  source,  our  benevolent 
habits  would  be  strengtliened  and  gradually  confirmed.  I  shall  therefore  make  no  apology 
for  communicating  a  few  observations  on  the  article  of  clothing,  which  being  a  subject  of 
frequent  conversation,  is  a  satisfactory  proof  of  its  great  importance  and  utility,  and  which 
may  interest  the  valetudinarian. 

In  northern  climates  clothing  is  of  primary  consequence,  for  a  man  may  live  some  days 
without  food,  but  if  he  be  exposed  a  few  hours  to  intense  cold  without  clothes,  the  vital 
principle  will  be  extinguished.  Nature  provides  all  animals  with  clothing  suitable  to  their 
circumstances ;  but  man,  who  is  endued  with  the  noble  faculty  of  reason,  is  left  to  accom- 
modate himself  with  the  plumes,  the  fleeces,  the  skins  of  animals,  and  various  products  of 
the  vegetable  creation.  Clothing  should  be  always  thick  enough  to  prevent  the  sensation 
of  cold,  and  at  the  same  time  not  so  warm  as  to  occasion  the  sensation  of  heat ;  but  as  the 
former  is  much  more  unpleasant  than  the  latter,  extreme  cold  is  much  more  dangerous  than 
extreme  heat.  Great  attention  to  cltthing  is  necessary  in  going  from  the  open  air  into  the 
house,  or  from  exercise  to  rest,  and  vice  versa.  When  the  difference  of  temperature  with- 
out and  within  doors  is  inconsiderable,  it  may  be  useful  to  put  on  a  great  coat  when  we 
return  home,  instead  of  doing  it  vifhen  going  out ;  as  exercise  produces  the  necessary  de- 
gree of  warmth,  which,  in  the  parlour,  and  in  a  sedentary  state,  can  only  be  supplied  by 
additional  clothing.  In  many  cases,  exercise  and  clothing  assist  and  supply  each  other's 
defects.  Thus,  as  clothing  cannot  always  be  exactly  proportioned  to  the  temperature,  a 
slight  degree  of  exercise  supplies  the  deficient  warmth,  and  the  equilibrium  is  restored. 
When  the  requisite  exercise  cannot  be  taken,  the  additional  warmth  may  be  obtained  by 
increased  clothing.  In  general  we  err  by  clothing  ourselves  too  thin,  and  changing  our 
dress  too  early  in  the  summer.  It  was  formerly  a  rule,  to  wear  the  winter  dress  till  the 
beginning  of  June.  A  considerable  number  of  complaints  arise  from  frequent  change  of 
dress,  and  alternate  vicissitude  from  heat  to  cold,  to  which  fashion  and  the  love  of  pleasure 
contribute.  The  drawing  room  may  indeed  be  warm,  but  the  passages  leading  to  the  door 
are  cold,  and  the  modern  fine  lady,  either  from  dress  or  habit,  is  ill  adapted  for  so  sudden  a 
change.  In  Great  Britain,  the  annual  victims  to  consumption  are  not  less  than  fifty-five 
thousand  persons.  In  Scotland  it  is  much  more  frequent  since  the  plaid  has  been  disused : 
and  in  England  its  increase  may  be  anticipated  from  the  fashionable  nudity  of  dress.  To 
change  our  linen  morning  and  evening  secures  cleanliness,  and,  by  removing  the  air  between 
the  linen  and  the  body,  becomes  an  air  bath,  which  greatly  assists  insensible  perspiration. 
The  advantage  of  this  renewal  is  sensibly  felt  by  nurses,  and  those  obliged  to  sit  up  all  night, 
who  find  relief  from  relaxing  the  ligatures,  and  shaking  their  linen  when  they  do  not  change 
it.  Warm  clothing,  more  especially  warm  bed  clothes,  are  proper  to  preserve  the  heat  of 
old  people.  By  neglecting  the  latter,  they  are  often  found  dead  in  bed,  after  a  severe  nighty 
VOL.   III.  2  z 


374 

in  cold  countries.  Old  people  ought  rather  to  exceed  than  be  deficient  in  their  clothing. 
An  old  man,  suflSciently  clothed  with  flannel  next  to  his  skin,  will  feel  very  comfortable 
even  at  a  distance  from  the  fire.  To  counteract  the  discomfitm-e  and  chill  from  cold  and 
damp  houses,  the  Dutch  envelope  themselves  in  clothing,  of  which  a  stranger  can  form  no 
idea.  Most  of  them  wear  two  shirts,  and  a  flannel  waistcoat  with  sleeves  :  woollen  stock- 
ings are  the  constant  companions  of  both  sexes  day  and  night.  To  these  is  superadded  a 
small  waistcoat  without  sleeves.  Some  surround  their  bodies  with  several  yards  of  thin 
woollen ;  then  succeed  the  coat  and  waistcoat,  the  latter  always  with  sleeves ;  and  when 
they  go  abroad,  a  pelisse  of  thick  cloth,  lined  with  woollen,  is  added.  Their  females  are  in 
proportion  warmly  clad,  and  their  infants  are  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  moderate  bolster 
when  they  are  dressed.  This  mode  of  dressing  is  unfavourable  to  cleanliness,  and  the  in- 
vigorating stimulus  of  atmospheric  air,  but  they  are  secured  from  disorders  proceeding  from 
damp  houses,  and  those  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  to  which  they  are  exposed  during  the 
winter. 

Corpulent  people  require  a  cooler  raiment  than  those  that  are  thin  ;  for  oil,  being  a  bad 
conductor  of  heat,  acts  as  a  fleecy  hosiery  waistcoat,  reflecting  the  vital  warmth.  Here  we 
cannot  but  admire  the  benevolent  economy  of  nature  to  the  lower  orders  of  animals,  by 
giving  the  whale,  the  bear,  and  those  which  inhabit  the  colder  climates,  a  deep  covering  of 
fat.  Even  the  trees  are  full  of  resin ;  and  Mr.  Douglas  has  observed  in  Upper  Canada,  that 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  are  covered  with  a  stronger  coating  of  bark  on  their  northern  than 
on  their  southern  aspect.  Woollen  is  undoubtedly  most  proper  for  sailors,  soldiers,  and 
peasants,  and  contributes  to  the  health  of  many  persons  exposed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
weather,  who  would  be  otherwise  sick :  but  there  does  not  seem  the  same  reason  why  any 
one  who  has  a  comfortable  bed  should  wear  flannel  next  to  his  skin  in  the  night ;  for  it  is 
an  easy  matter  to  keep  up  his  warmth  by  a  sufiiciency  of  bed  clothes.  Calico  next  to  the 
skin,  with  one  or  two  folds  of  flannel  over  it,  seems  to  be  most  admirable  for  the  delicate 
and  sedentary.  Fleecy  hosiery  sleeves  to  a  flannel  waistcoat  over  the  calico  shiit,  and 
fleecy  hosiery  over  the  lower  limbs,  is  the  greatest  warmth  of  clothing  which  has  been 
found  serviceable  to  those  who  spend  most  of  their  time  within  doors.  If  the  pit  of  the 
stomach  be  often  cold  to  the  touch,  it  may  be  covered  with  an  additional  fold  of  flannel. 
Some  persons  approve  of  a  waistcoat  of  shamois  leather  next  to  the  skin:  there  is  only  this 
objection,  if  the  wearer  get  wet  through,  or  perspire  copiously,  he  will  be  chilled. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  observe  how  some  distinguished  characters  have  attended  to 
clothing. — That  great  philosopher,  and  good  man,  the  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  was  of  so  deli' 
cate  a  constitution  that  he  had  divers  sorts  of  cloaks,  accommodated  to  different  seasons 
and  changes  of  weather ;  and  in  this  he  governed  himself  by  the  thermometer ;  and  although 
a  valetudinarian,  he  lived  sixty-four  years.  It  must  also  be  added,  that  the  simplicity  of  his 
diet  most  probably  contributed  to  prolong  his  life  beyond  expectation.  This  he  practised 
so  strictly,  that  in  a  course  of  thirty  years,  he  ate  and  drank  merely  to  support  nature,  and 
never  transgressed  the  rule,  measure,  and  kind  which  were  prescribed  to  him. 

Dr.  Chovet,  of  Philadelphia,  who  lived  to  be  eighty-five,  slept  in  a  large  baize  night 
gown  under  eight  blankets  and  a  coverlit,  in  a  stove  room,  many  years  before  he  died. 

Dr.  Rush  takes  notice  of  an  old  woman  of  eighty-four,  who  slept  constantly  under  three 
blankets  and  a  cover-lit  during  summer. 

A  lady,  whose  daughters  were  deformed,  consulted  Mr.  Cline  on  the  means  of  preven- 


375 

tion.  To  have  no  stays,  and  to  let  the  next  girl  play  like  the  boys,  was  his  advice,  which 
being  complied  with,  none  of  the  future  children  were  injured  by  the  ill-placed  attention  of 
the  mother. 

Whilst  the  weather  affected  the  senses  with  a  feeling  of  cold  much  greater  than  indi- 
cated by  the  thermometer  (then  from  the  thirtieth  to  the  fortieth  degree)  the  whole  of  Capt. 
Cook's  crew  complained.  To  enable  them  to  sustain  the  severity  of  the  cold,  he  directed 
the  sleeves  of  their  jackets  to  be  lengthened  with  baize,  and  had  a  cap  made  for  each  man, 
of  the  same  stuff,  strengthened  with  canvass,  which  greatly  contributed  to  their  comfort. 

Dr.  Thornton,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Biddoes,  says,  "  I  was  enabled  to  support  the  remarka- 
ble heat  of  last  summer  (1793)  in  a  surprising  manner,  by  wearing  a.  Jleecy  hosiery  waist- 
coat;  and  I  am  not  subject  to  catch  colds  as  formerly,  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the  weather." 

Dr.  Biddoes,  after  riding  in  the  rain  till  he  was  thoroughly  soaked,  felt  a  glow  as  if  his 
skin  had  been  on  fire,  merely  from  putting  on  dry  clothes,  and  the  exercise  attending  a 
change  of  dress.  At  the  same  time  he  felt  within  his  nostrils  the  dryness  and  heat  per- 
ceived at  the  beginning  of  a  cold,  which  he  always  escaped  by  keeping  cool  and  quiet  for  a 
time. 

Sir  Thomas  Brown  (author  of  the  Religio  Medici)  in  his  habit  of  clothing,  kept  himself 
always  very  warm,  and  wore  a  cloak  and  boots  when  few  others  did. 

The  late  Lord  Mulgrave,  in  his  voyage  to  the  north  pole,  on  his  men  getting  wet,  used 
to  give  each  a  pint  of  porter,  but  they  first  passed  before  him  in  dry  clothes. 

Sir  Benjamin  Thompson,  afterwards  Count  Rumford,  wore  flannel  next  to  tbe  skin  in 
the  hottest  climates  and  in  all  seasons,  and  never  found  any  inconvenience  from  it.  It  is 
the  warm  bath  of  perspiration,  confined  by  a  linen  shirt,  wet  with  sweat,  which  renders  the 
summer  heats  of  hot  climates  so  insupportable ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  evaporation  pro- 
duces cold.  This  gentleman's  winter  dress  was  white,  even  to  his  hat ;  following  in  this 
point  a  theory  deduced  from  experimental  proof,  that  more  heated  rays  are  thrown  out  from 
a  dark  than  a  light  body ;  hence  the  animal  heat  will  escape  faster  in  cold  air  through  black 
than  white  clothing. 

Jonas  Hanway  being  extremely  susceptible  of  cold,  wore  flannel  under  the  linings  of 
his  clothes,  and  usually  three  pairs  of  stockings. 

There  are  instances  of  young  ladies  in  Philadelphia,  who,  for  the  sake  of  an  elegant 
shape,  apply  a  leather  bandage  dipt  in  cold  water,  round  their  waists,  every  night  at  bed 
time,  which  contracts  as  it  dries.  The  pernicious  consequences  of  this  experiment,  Dr. 
Currie  observes,  must  be  obvious  to  every  one  of  common  sense. 

A  remarkable  circumstance  happened  to  the  family  of  Mrs.  Cogan,  in  Holland.  One 
of  two  brothers  was  so  partial  to  the  English  mode  of  dressing,  that  he  disdained  to  wear 
an  under  waistcoat,  and  braved  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  with  an  open  breast,  &c. 
The  other  adhered  to  the  customs  of  his  country.  The  former  died  of  consumption  when 
he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  while  the  latter,  who  delighted  in  fishing  and  hunting  in  the 
most  inclemant  seasons,  was  a  stranger  to  coughs  and  colds,  and  enjoyed  uninterrupted 
health  till  he  passed  his  fifty-seventh  year,  when  he  was  killed  by  accident. 

Dr.  Irving,  with  a  small  party  of  men,  lay  in  the  woods  on  the  Mosquitto  shore,  four- 
teen days  and  nights,  during  the  rainy  season  of  17S0,  without  taking  oflfhis  clothes,  while 
he  was  exploring  a  passage  to  the  Spanish  settlements  up  Blue  Fields  river.  He  escaped 
without  injury  to  his  health,  having  blankets,  and  being  clothed  in  a  shirt,  short  jacket. 


376 

breeches,  and  stockings,  allfmade  of  flannel.     The  others,  not  using  the  same  clothing,  suf- 
fered severely,  without  exposure  to  the  same  fatigue  and  danger. 

When  Capt.  Bligh  and  his  unfortunate  companions  got  frequently  wet  with  rain,  they 
dipt  their  clothes  in  salt  water,  and  wrung  them  out,  which  felt  more  like  a  change  of  dry 
raiment  than  can  well  be  imagined. 

It  will  be  useful  to  mention  the  diseases  where  attention  to  clothing  is  necessary. — A 
flannel  waistcoat  next  to  the  skin,  or  a  large  piece  of  flannel  applied  to  the  breast,  has  con- 
tributed to  prevent  the  frequent  return  of  a  thmatic  fits. 

Flax  dressers,  flax  spinners,  and  millers,  who  are  liable  to  difficulty  in  breathing,  would 
find  great  advantage  from  wearing  over  their  faces  a  piece  of  crape  or  gauze;  and  manu- 
facturers of  needles,  who  seldom  attain  the  age  of  forty  years,  from  being  soon  aflfected  with 
pulmonary  complaints,  namely,  cough,  purulent  or  bloody  expectoration,  should  put  on  a 
crape  hood,  or  gauze  helmet,  to  receive  the  head  and  rest  upon  the  shoulders,  which  would 
prevent  a  great  deal  of  metalline  and  stony  particles  of  dust  from  entering  the  branches  of 
the  wind  pipe,  and  cells  of  the  lungs,  with  the  air  in  inspiration. 

In  carbuncle  the  part  affected  should  be  constantly  covered  with  linen  cloth,  previously 
wet  with  tepid  water,  which  not  only  mitigates  the  pain,  but  lessens  the  danger  of  the  case. 
The  consumptive  should  retire  early  to  rest,  and  lie  upon  a  mattress  with  a  slight  cover- 
ing. On  going  to  bed  their  clothes  ought  not  to  be  taken  off"  quickly ;  for  the  cough  seems 
to  be  excited  by  the  access  of  cold  air  ;  therefore  patients  should  lie  down  after  laying  aside 
their  upper  garments,  and  when  they  are  comfortably  warm  the  rest  may  be  taken  off".  The 
clothing  of  the  consumptive  ought  to  be  regulated  so  as  to  guard  against  cold  rather  than  to 
increase  the  heat.  As  hectic  patients,  from  the  morning  perspirations,  are  usually  sensible 
to  cold,  they  should  be  more  carefully  guarded  when  they  go  into  the  open  air.  In  winter, 
flannel  under  their  linen  is  highly  necessary  ;  but  in  summer  it  excites  too  great  perspira- 
tion ;  calico,  therefore,  is  preferable.  The  flannel  and  calico  should  be  changed  every  other 
day;  and  the  feet  should  be  guarded  with  uncommon  care.  Very  frequent  ablution  of  the 
whole  surface  of  the  body  with  tepid  water  should  be  regularly  attended  to  during  the  use 
of  flannel. 

Persons  subject  to  coughs,  with  or  without  pain  of  the  breast,  cannot  be  sufficiently  se- 
cured against  the  effects  of  cold,  without  the  free  use  of  flannel. 

In  corpulency,  the  patient  should  wear  an  under  waistcoat  with  a  double  row  of  buttons, 
so  that  it  can  be  tightened  or  relaxed  at  pleasure ;  this  removes  the  looseness  of  the  skin, 
which  is  the  principal  cause  of  obesity. 

Cramps  of  the  legs  are  often  prevented  or  cured  by  compression  with  tight  bandages, 
which  braces  or  renders  firm  the  muscles  most  subject  to  this  painful  disorder. 

In  diarrhoea  and  dysentery,  four  or  five  folds  of  fine  flannel,  or  a  large  piece  of  thick 
fleecy  hosiery,  ought  to  be  laid  over  the  abdomen  ;  and  above  tliis  a  flannel  bandage  should 
be  bound,  rather  tight,  and  in  a  uniform  manner  from  the  lower  part  of  the  waist  to  the  arm 
pits  and  back  again. 

A  flannel  shirt  is  particularly  efficacious  in  some  chronical  diarrhoeas,  which  are  not 
attended  with  fever,  and  in  some  cases  it  checks  vomiting. 

Epileptic  fits,  originating  from  a  peculiar  sensation  in  some  parts  of  the  legs  and  arms, 
may  be  prevented  by  a  tight  flannel  roller  upon  these  members  as  soon  as  it  begins,  or  before 
it  has  reached  the  superior  parts  of  the  body. 


377 

In  the  erysipelas,  febrile  rashes,  and  measles,  it  will  be  particularly  requisite  to  guard 
against  the  patient  living  in  too  warm  an  atmosphere,  or  too  much  covered  with  bed  clothes 
or  thick  apparel. 

In  fevers,  one  blanket,  with  an  additional  covering  to  the  feet,  will  be  sufficient  bed 
clothing  in  the  most  severe  season  of  the  year. 

Every  gouty  patient  ought  to  remember  the  importance  of  keeping  the  feet  always  dry 
and  comfortably  warm ;  but  while  this  caution  is  observed,  the  debilitating  influence  of  hot 
covering  should  be  studiously  avoided. 

Indigestion,  and  many  complaints  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  will  be  more  effectually 
removed  by  flannel  worn  next  to  the  skin,  in  cold  weather,  than  by  any  other  means. 

Dr.  Beddoes  knew  a  gentleman  violently  attacked  with  influenza,  who  tried  whether 
heat  or  cold  best  agreed  with  his  complaint.  After  going  to  bed  he  kept  the  bed  clothes  on 
him  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  threw  off  all  but  the  sheet  the  next  half  hour.  When  the 
bed  clothes  were  upon  him,  he  was  feverish ;  when  they  were  off,  he  became  cool,  comfort- 
able, and  sleepy.  He  tried  the  effect  of  heat  and  cold  repeatedly,  but  while  he  was  covered 
only  with  a  sheet,  he  fell  asleep,  and  in  the  morning  awakened  well,  a  little  weakness  ex- 
cepted, and  had  neither  fever,  nor  unpleasant  feelings. 

As  the  miliary  eruption  arises  from  great  heat  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  occasional 
exposure  to  cool  air  and  thin  clothing  may  not  only  be  safely  adopted,  but  is  the  most  likely 
method  of  obviating  its  effects  and  preventing  its  appearance. 

In  mortification  of  the  extremities,  the  parts  affected  ought  to  be  covered  with  fine 
wool,  and  wrapped  up  in  several  folds  of  flannel,  which  prevents  the  escape  of  heat  from 
the  limb. 

In  chronic  inflammation  of  the  kidneys,  and  in  weakness  of  the  back,  great  benefit  may 
be  derived  from  wrapping  a  towel,  wet  with  cold  water,  round  the  loins,  soon  after  rising 
from  bed.     This  application  should  be  repeated  several  times. 

Fleecy  hosiery,  or  folds  of  flannel,  are  highly  necessary  in  local  numbnesses,  or  incom- 
plete palsy,  as  there  can  be  no  danger  in  keeping  up  a  free  flow  of  fhe  perspiration. 

In  rheumatism,  the  patient  should  he  kept  in  the  blankets.  Flannel  rollers  afford 
support,  take  off"  tension,  facilitate  motion,  which  in  its  turn  promotes  circulation,  and  when 
applied  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  the  parts  affected  recover  their  tone,  and  are  a  great 
auxiliary  in  promoting  the  cure  of  rheumatic  limbs.  Parts  that  have  for  a  long  time  been 
treated  with  bandages,  come  at  last  to  be  covered,  when  they  are  removed,  with  a  copious, 
warm,  and  fluid  sweat,  which  gives  a  pliancy  to  the  skin  which  it  did  not  previously  pos- 
sess. The  limb  also  acquires  plumpness  and  strength,  while  other  parts  that  do  not  admit 
of  being  bandaged,  remain  emaciated  and  tremulous. 

In  scarlet  fever,  the  hottest  of  all  diseases,  excellent  effects  will  result  from  a  free  ex- 
posure of  the  body  to  the  air;  therefore  very  light  clothing  is  only  necessary. 

To  prove  the  advantage  of  very  thin  clothing  in  small  pox,  I  shall  mention  this  fact. — 
When  the  fire  at  Blandford  happened  on  the  4th  June,  1731,  upwards  of  150  persons  were 
ill  of  the  natural  small  pox.  All  these  were  carried  into  the  fields,  where  many  of  them  re- 
mained several  days  and  nights.  Beds  were  laid  under  the  hedges,  and  arches  of  bridges 
where  the  the  ground  was  dry,  and  yet,  notwithstanding  this  exposure  to  the  air,  one  person 
only  died,  viz,  a  young  man  who  was  almost  expiring  when  he  was  removed. 


k 


378 

The  Chevalier  Edelcrantz  being  liable  to  sore  throats,  endeavoured  to  discover  the 
Cause,  when  it  occurred  to  him  that  there  was  no  reason  why  that  delicate  part  of  the  body 
which  is  well  covered  in  the  day  time  should  remain  uncovered  in  the  night,  or  much  more 
so  than  the  other  parts  which  are  well  preserved  in  a  warm  bed.  From  that  time,  he  used 
a  thin  collar  of  fleecy  hosiery  in  the  night,  and  somewhat  thicker  when  the  complaint  reap- 
peared, which  was  seldom  the  case. 

It  may  be  gratifying  to  charitable  persons  to  mention  various  schemes  of  benevolence 
connected  with  clothing,  for  although  splendid  dresses  and  costly  ornaments,  will  always  ar- 
rest the  attention  of  the  multitude,  and  often  command  external  marks  of  respect,  yet  pro- 
viding the  helpless,  the  friendless,  tlie  aged,  and  the  naked,  with  warm  and  comfortable 
clothing,  is  a  peaceful  and  pleasant  duty,  and  a  moral  ornament  that  will  always  delight 
the  heart,  and  afford  one  of  the  sweetest  pleasures  of  reflection. 

Bishop  Wilson  supplied  the  poor  of  the  Isle  of  Man  with  corn  for  tlie  produce  of  their 
labour.  Tailors  and  shoemakers  were  constantly  employed  in  their  house,  to  make  into 
garments  and  shoes  the  cloth  and  leather  which  his  corn  had  purchased,  and  the  aged  and 
infirm  were  supplied  according  to  their  necessities. 

Four  girls  of  Lyons,  twelve  years  old,  formed  a  plan  of  bestowing  the  presents  they  re- 
ceived from  friends  in  clothing  poor  girls  of  their  own  age.  This  early  communication  of 
beneficence,  which  they  enjoyed  in  secret,  was  discovered  by  the  gratitude  of  those  who 
were  objects  of  it,  their  society  increased,  and  good  works  were  multiplied. 

Cloyne  being  no  better  than  a  village,  yet  whatever  clothing  the  inhabitants  could 
manufacture,  Bishop  Berkeley  would  have  from  no  other  place,  and  he  chose  to  wear  ill 
clothes,  and  worse  wigs,  rather  than  suffer  the  poor  to  remain  unemployed. 

Mr.  Day  sent  to  most  of  his  labourers  blankets  ;  and  Mrs.  Day  aided  the  benevolent  ex- 
ertions of  her  husband,  by  employing  the  poor  in  knitting  stockings,  which  were  distributed 
among  the  workmen. 

One  of  Anthony  Benezet's  friends  related  having  seen  him  take  off  his  coat  in  the  street 
and  give  it  to  an  almost  naked  mendicant,  and  go  home  in  his  shirt  sleeves  for  another  gar- 
ment. 

Mr.  Hervey  preferred  clothing  the  poor,  and  supplying  them  with  necessary  articles,  on 
the  best  terms,  to  giving  them  money. 

Mr.  Fermin  remitted  to  the  widow  of  a  clergyman  the  whole  of  his  debt,  and  endea- 
voured to  procure  something  from  others,  in  which  he  did  not  succeed  according  to  his  wish; 
but  he  himself  made  her  a  present  of  a  good  Norwich  stuff,  that  clothed  her  and  four  chil- 
dren. 

Mr.  Gauge  set  the  poor  of  St.  Sepulchre's  parish  (of  which  he  was  the  minister)  to 
work  at  his  own  charge.  He  bought  hemp  and  flax  for  them  to  spin  ;  and  paid  them  for 
their  work,  which  when  manufactured  into  cloth,  he  sold  as  he  could  among  his  friends, 
himself  bearing  the  whole  loss. 

Should  the  perusal  of  the  above  essay  suggest  any  useful  hint  to  the  valetudinarian — 
should  the  latent  spark  of  benevolence  be  roused  into  action,  and  prompted  to  listen  to  the 
tale  of  distress — or  should  pleasing  and  innocent  associations  be  excited  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  read  it — I  shall  receive  a  noble  recompense,  in  addition  to  the  amusement  I  have 
had  in  the  composition. 


379 

BEGGING. 

When  I  see  a  beggar,  a  sentiment  of  compassion  seizes  me.  But  a  painful  doubt 
arises  in  my  heart.  Is  the  image  that  meets  my  sight  a  reality,  or  an  artifice  ?  The 
question  is  a  serious  one. 

There  is  not  a  moral  contrast  in  the  world  more  marked  than  that  which  exists 
between  the  pretended  poor,  who  beg  from  calculation,  and  the  truly  indigent,  who  are 
reduced  to  begging.  The  first  class  deserves  our  indignation :  the  second  has  a  right  to 
our  benevolence  and  even  to  our  respect. 

One  class  is  the  refuse  of  society.  Idleness,  debauchery,  falsehood,  cunning,  eflfron- 
tery,  and  all  the  vices  are  personified  in  it.  Nothing  but  courage  is  wanting,  perhaps,  to 
make  those  who  compose  it  become  great  criminals.  Human  nature  suffers  in  them  the 
deepest  degradation.  Perhaps  the  children  you  see  with  the  beggar  are  not  his  own !  Per- 
haps he  has  stolen  them,  and  lets  them  languish  in  hunger,  that  the  sight  of  them  may  melt 
your  heart !  The  malady  of  beggary  is  almost  incurable ;  for  when  debasement  has  be- 
come a  habit,  and  even  a  pleasure,  it  is  diflScult  to  rise  from  it.  But  there  are  real  sufferers 
sinking  under  the  weight  of  misfortune,  who,  having  exhausted  all  resources,  are  aban- 
doned, without  relations,  friends,  or  protectors,  and  have  been  constrained,  by  despair,  to 
have  recourse  to  public  pity.  Judicious  aid  may  save  these.  If  they  contract  the  habit  of 
begging,  they  will  fall  into  vices  and  disorders  to  which  they  have  hitherto  not  yielded. 
What  is  to  be  done  in  this  uncertainty  ?  The  beggar  is  absolutely  unknown  to  me.  In 
giving  him  any  thing,  I  run  the  risk  of  rewarding  and  encouraging  turpitude.  In  refusing 
him,  I  run  the  risk  of  being  barbarous  towards  one  of  my  brethren,  who  has  every  title  to 
my  affection.  This  is  what  each  one  of  us  feels  and  says  to  himself,  every  time  he  meets  a 
beggar,  without  being  able  to  find  a  solution  of  the  diflSculty.  It  is  one  of  the  serious  evils 
of  beggary,  that  it  causes  such  cruel  embarrassment  to  honest  people  ;  for  whatever  they 
may  do,  they  are,  in  spite  of  themselves,  exposed  to  do  harm,  and  to  go  directly  against 
their  own  intentions.  Taking  advantage  of  this  uncertainty,  those  who  are  out  of  work, 
those  who  lead  a  bad  life,  and  the  entirely  idle,  come  and  deceive  the  benevolence  of  the 
generous.  By  this  uncertainty,  those  who  are  worthy  of  moving  our  compassion,  are 
threatened  with  our  disdain  and  our  most  unjust  prejudices.  Public  pity  is  also  led  astray, 
or  becomes  cooled.  And  the  selfish  find  a  specious  pretext  for  justifying  their  refusal. 
Industry  loses  its  arms,  misfortune  its  resources.     The  crafty  alone  profit  by  it. 

Yet  shall  we  hazard  nothing  to  relieve  ourselves  from  this  perplexity  ?  Instead  of 
giving  alms  to  this  beggar,  instead  of  refusing  him,  let  us  ask  his  name  and  address. 
"  What,  shall  I  put  this  question  to  all  the  beggars  I  meet  in  my  way  ?  Am  I  going  to 
draw  up  their  statistics  ?  For  the  employment  of  a  penny,  which  is  the  object  of  my  hesi- 
tation, shall  I  lose  hours  in  researches  for  information  ?"  Perhaps  you  will  not  lose  them  ; 
try  it  once ;  perhaps  you  will  obtain  precious  light ;  perhaps  you  will  be  called  upon  to 
render  a  great  service.  But  I  agree  that  my  advice  is  difficult  to  act  upon  habitually;  I 
only  wish  to  show  the  fundamental  truth  which  is  to  preside  over  this  difficult  matter;  it  is 
this,  that  a  good  sijstem  for  visiting  the  poor  at  home  is  the  sure  means,  and  the  only  sure 
means,  of  preventing  the  uncertainty  which  we  have  just  expressed,  and  all  the  evil  conse- 
quences it  brings. 

Suppose,  then,  that  I  have  taken  the  name  and  address  of  the  beggar.  If  he  has  given 
me  a  faithful  direction,  I  shall  soon  be  enlightened.  If  he  has  directed  me  wrong,  it  is  an 
almost  certain  proof  that  he  is  unworthy.     If  the  police  should  point  out  to  me  any  of  the 


380 

taverns  where  this  sort  of  people  meet,  perhaps  I  shouhl  find  there  the  pretended  sick  man 
(who  had  appeared  to  me  emaciated  with  suffering)  in  very  good  health,  participating  in 
some  carousal  with  his  fellows.  TViis,  indeed,  is  what  happens  every  day.  The  trade  of 
begging  is  often  very  lucrative  in  Paris,  as  1  am  assured  by  persons  who  are  well  informed. 
It  is  worth  from  nine  to  ten  francs  per  day. 

Some  magistrates,  in  order  to  deliver  the  public  from  uncertainty,  have  thought  of  re- 
serving the  permission  to  beg  to  certain  poor  people,  well  known  by  them  as  such,  and  bear- 
ing a  distinctive  sign.  But  this  measure,  while  preventing  one  evil,  would  preserve  many 
others;  it  also  would  leave  room  for  injustice;  for  alms,  blindly  distributed,  cannot  be  in 
proportion  to  the  real  wants. 

There  are  sometimes  beggars  of  high  pretensions,  beggars  who  might  be  called  good 
company ;  who  present  themselves  in  houses  with  a  decent  appearance,  with  the  air  and 
manner  of  respectable  condition.  These  have'  experienced  great  disasters ;  they  need  pro- 
portionate assistance;  they  know  you,  but  you  do  not  know  them.  During  the  few  last 
years,  these  greatly  multiplied  in  Paris,  taking  advantage  of  circumstances.  Some  were 
emigrants,  who  returned  in  the  train  of  our  princes,  and  had  sacrificed  every  thing  for  the 
good  cause.  Others  had  been  in  office  under  the  former  government,  and  had  lost  their 
places.  They  were  furnished  with  a  multitude  of  papers ;  there  was  no  end  to  their  history. 
In  reality,  they  were  most  frequently  sharpers.  How  could  one  politely  get  rid  of  a  person 
who  introduced  himself  thus  into  one's  closet  ?  How  express  to  him  injurious  doubts  ?  Yet 
you  cannot  refuse  him  a  donation  without  accusing  him  of  lying  to  you.  Take  his  address, 
then.  It  will  be  refused,  perhaps,  under  various  pretexts.  Then  be  sure  that  he  is  de- 
ceiving you,  and  become  severe.  Perhaps  in  giving  you  his  address,  he  will  represent  to 
you  that  he  cannot  wait  for  your  assistance  an  hour,  an  instant;  that  he  is  fasting;  that  the 
thing  is  urgent.  Then  be  so  much  the  more  upon  your  guard.  Hasten,  if  necessary,  an 
hour  afterwards,  to  the  place  assigned ;  it  is  a  hundred  to  one  that  the  person  is  unknowti 
there.  It  may  be  otherwise ;  but  we  often  see  that  your  question  alone  has  disconcerted 
the  suppliant,  and  made  him  take  flight. 

The  most  deplorable  effects  of  beggary  would  disappear  if  we  could  succeed  in  making, 
with  certainty,  among  those  who  ask,  the  distinction  and  separation  between  those  who  tell 
the  truth  and  those  who  deceive.  But  visiting  the  poor  at  their  houses  is  the  essential 
means  of  the  only  practicable  system  for  the  repression  of  beggary. 

There  is  perhaps  no  subject  relative  to  public  administration  which  has  given  birth  to 
so  many  writings  and  projects  as  the  extinction  and  repression  of  beggary.  Men  of  supe- 
rior merit  have  treated  this  question  thoroughly,  and  yet,  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe, 
this  branch  of  administration  is  still  very  defective.  Far  from  us  be  the  wish  to  reproduce 
here,  and  to  discuss  what  has  been  said  on  the  subject!  I  shall  confine  myself  to  two 
reflections,  which  are  closely  allied  to  the  considerations  contained  in  this  work.  The  first 
is,  that  in  vain  shall  we  attempt  to  repress  beggary,  if  we  do  not,  first  of  all,  provide 
suitable  institutions  where  the  poor  may  find  worlc,  if  they  are  yet  able  to  work,  or  aid,  if 
unable ;  and  secondly,  that  the  repression  of  beggary  will  become  very  easy,  if  this  double 
object  can  be  successfully  provided  for.  In  short,  we  can  neither  prevent  nor  extinguish 
)eggary,  unless,  by  the  active  and  regular  investigation  of  the  situation  of  the  poor,  we  go 
)ack  to  the  causes  of  beggary,  and  determine  exactly,  by  these  means,  the  real  wants  which 
it  is  the  object  to  satisfy. —  Visitor  of  the  Poor. 


THE    TEMPERANCE   ADVOCATE. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 

The  sanguine  mind  in  favour  of  the  temperance  reformation  must  never  forget  the  utility 
o( patience.  Amid  cheering  instances  of  great  good  effected,  we  meet  with  much  that  is  dis- 
couraging. Intemperance  still  abounds.  The  public  houses  are  filled  with  customers,  and 
most  of  the  social  customs  in  which  drinking  is  encouraged  are  kept  up.  The  weakness 
and  inconsistency  of  our  friends  injure  the  cause,  whilst  nearly  all  in  the  upper  ranks  seem 
ashamed  to  come  out  and  manfully  to  defend  it.  This,  though  indisputably  true,  is  certainly 
the  darkest  side.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  much  to  be  grateful  for,  and  very  much  to 
encourage  us  to  proceed ;  and  though  our  expectations  may  not  have  been  realized,  yet, 
taking  every  thing  into  the  account,  we  ought  not  to  repine  at  the  result  of  the  last  year's 
labour.  Besides  the  peculiar  character  of  the  sin  against  which  we  are  contending,  the 
general  indisposition  to  forsake  old  and  venerable  customs,  and  the  immense  power  of 
interest  arrayed  against  us,  it  ought  to  be  remembered  that  the  power  of  our  reforming 
machinery  consists  almost  exclusively  in  disinterested  benevolence  and  philanthropy.  When 
the  few  advocates  for  temperance,  actuated  by  these  principles,  are  set  against  the  opposite 
army,  the  conflict  must  be  allowed  to  be  very  unequal.  But  we  have  truth  on  our  side,  and 
with  this  weapon,  we  hope,  sooner  or  later,  God  will  give  us  the  victory. 

Agitation  is  the  soul  of  temperance  prosperity.  The  truth  should  be  carried  to  every 
man,  to  every  house,  and  to  every  work-shop.  It  is  not  enough  tamely  to  leave  a  tract,  and 
call  again  for  it.  Meetings  should  be  held  in  every  building  that  can  be  procured,  in  the 
different  parts  of  our  large  towns,  besides  a  regular  weekly  meeting  in  a  central  place,  to 
which  all  may  come  without  special  notice.  Discussion  should  be  encouraged ;  the  opponents 
should  be  invited,  and  as  much  excitement  created  as  possible.  Publicity,  as  Dr.  Doyle  says, 
is  what  is  wanting.  How  many  who  are  opposed  to  Temperance  Societies  get  convinced  of 
their  mistake  the  first  meeting  they  attend  !  Personal  visitation,  accompanied  with  the  dis- 
tribution of  tracts,  has  been  found  of  great  importance.  Every  Society  should  keep  a  black 
book,  containing  the  names  of  the  delinquents,  of  the  drunkards  generally,  and  of  their 
new  members ;  and  these  should  be  respectively  called  upon,  admonished,  reproved, 
strengthened,  and  consoled,  according  to  their  several  cases.  To  a  mind  intent  upon  doing 
good  this  is  a  most  pleasing  engagement,  and  in  many  instances  has  proved  a  great  benefit. 

All  agree  in  the  importance  of  the  object  which  Temperance  Societies  have  in  view ; 
but  in  seeking  its  attainment,  as  might  have  been  expected,  much  confusion  and  some  incon- 
sistency have  arisen  in  the  rules  and  arrangements  of  some  of  them  :  and  instead  of  suiting 
the  pledges  and  operations  to  the  peculiar  state  of  their  respective  localities,  too  much  uni- 
formity has  been  observed.  Understanding  that  certain  pledges  and  rules  have  worked  well 
in  America  or  Scotland,  they  have  been  adopted  in  places  where  other  regulations  would 
have  been  much  more  efifective.  And  I  beg  to  hint  to  Societies  generally,  as  their  anniver- 
saries come  round,  the  propriety  of  revising  their  systems,  and  adopting  any  change,  which, 
from  trial  and  experience,  has  been  proved  to  be  obviously  for  the  better. 

A  "Convention"  of  temperance  friends  has  been  held  in  London,  and  it  occurs  t» 
me,  as  Lancashire  contains  about  a  third  of  the  number  of  all  the  members  in  the  Ijing- 
VOL.     III.  3  A 


382 

dom,  and  as  there  are  men  in  every  town  anxious  to  carry  on  the  work  with  spirit,  that  a 
similar  meeting  of  temperance  friends  from  different  towns,  convened  in  some  central  town 
in  this  county,  would  be  likely  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  cause.  I  merely  throw 
out  the  suggestion.  Bolton,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  fully  as  central  as  any  other  place, 
and  could  be  visited  by  delegates  from  the  various  Societies  at  the  least  expence ;  and  per- 
haps new  year's  day  would  be  a  time  as  appropriate  as  any  other.  No  period  can  be 
more  suitable  to  digest  new  plans,  to  concentrate  our  energies,  and  to  inflame  our  zeal  than 
the  commencement  of  a  new  year.  If  the  suggestion  should  be  approved  of,  perhaps  the 
secretaries  of  the  different  Societies  would  drop  a  line  to  that  effect  to  the  committee  of  the 
Bolton  Society;  or  if  any  other  time  and  place  can  be  pointed  out,  perhaps  they  will  be 
kind  enough  to  make  it  known  the  best  way  they  can. 

The  Societies  in  Lancashire  are  proceeding  much  in  the  same  way  as  they  have  done 
for  several  months.  In  some  places  where  they  have  been  retrograding,  we  hear  of  a  fresh 
determination  to  proceed  onward.  I  have  lately  visited  Liverpool  and  Chester,  but  am 
sorry  to  find  a  great  want  of  zeal  and  activity.  The  Bolton  New  Society  holds  its  meetings 
weekly,  and  every  week  brings  reports  of  good  done.  The  friends  have  also  a  meeting  at 
Middle  Hulton,  The  Old  Society  has  also  had  a  meeting,  which  was  numerously  attended, 
and  it  is  stated  that  they  are  going  to  revive  this  cause,  and  adopt  the  plan  of  visiting.  At 
Preston,  there  have  been  more  striking  instances  of  reform  among  old  drunkards,  during 
the  last  month,  than  for  several  months  before.  We  hold  two  meetings  every  week,  and 
some  of  our  advocates  are  engaged  nearly  every  night  at  the  neighbouring  villages  or  dis- 
tant towns,  to  which  they  are  invited. 


THE    GREAT  PRINCIPLE  OF  TEMPERANCE    SOCIETIES. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  "  The  British  and  Foreign  Temperance  Society"  should 
appear  to  be  so  pertinacious  about  what  the  committee  calls  "  the  great  principle  of  Tempe- 
rance Societies,  namely,  total  abstinence  from  distilled  spirits."  For  a  Society  with  the 
above  designation  to  put  forth  this  as  its  grea<  principle,  and  shape  all  its  tracts  and  proceed- 
ings by  it,  is  just  as  proper  as  the  adoption  of  the  Latin  language  for  all  the  religious  services 
of  the  world.  The  only  consistent  pledge  is  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  liquors;  but 
if  all  cannot  adopt  this,  at  any  rate  the  pledge  in  every  place  should  refer  to  that  kind  of  in- 
toxicating liquor  which  does  the  most  mischief.  Instead  of  copying  literally  the  American 
pledges,  we  should  adopt  the  spirit  of  them,  which  is  to  abstain  from  that  sort  of  liquor 
which  custom  has  rendered  most  fashionable.  In  many  of  the  towns  in  Lancashire,  Cum- 
berland, and  Westmoreland,  where  there  is  one  working  man  gets  drunk  with  ardent 
spirits,  there  are  fifty  with  ale.  Of  what  use,  then,  is  it  to  call  upon  men  to  abstain  from 
that  which  they  never  take,  and  allow  them  that  which  is  their  besetting  sin  ? 

Besides,  where  is  the  difference  of  the  liquor  ?  The  little  nutriment  to  be  found  in 
any  of  these  liquors  is  not  worth  naming,  and  they  all  equally  intoxicate,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  spirit  contained.  What  difference  betwixt  a  glass  of  rum,  filled  up  to  a  gill  with 
water,  and  a  gill  of  hop  and  malt  water,  containing  the  same  quantity  of  spirit  ? 

This  principle  will  very  much  neutralize  the  usefulness  of  Temperance  Societies.  In 
defending  it,  we  are  always  met  with  the  reply,  "  Yes,  but  if  you  don't  drink  rum,  you  drink 
plenty  of  wine,  or  ale;  and  where  is  the  difference  1"     Let  a  man  be  seen,  either  at  home  or 


388 

at  a  public-house,  drinking  either  uk  or  ivine  (no  matter  what  is  the  fact  as  to  liis  modera- 
tion) and  the  enemy  has  an  argument  wliich  we  cannot  rebut,  and  in  which  he  is  sure  to 
triumph. 

If  our  object  be  to  destroy  intemperance,  why  temporize  to  gain  over  a  few  half-hearted 
friends  to  the  cause?  They  will  do  more  harm  than  good  by  their  equivocal  example,  and 
they  never  can  stanti  up  and  advocate  the  cause  with  either  energy  or  consistency.  After 
labouring  to  establish  "great  moderation,"  among  temperance  members,  in  that  sort  of  liquor 
which  is  their  favourite  beverage,  with  very  little  satisfaction,  many  of  the  Societies  in  Lanca- 
shire are  beginning  to  see  that  abstinence /row  all  intoxicating  liqiwrs  is  the  only  principle 
that  deserves  to  be  called  great.''  The  two  pledges  which  we  at  Preston  have  adopted,  are 
respectively  called  the  te7nptation  pledge,  and  the  safety  pledge. 


CHRISTMAS    TREATING. 

As  we  are  approaching  the  eve  of  Christmas,  it  is  time  for  the  friends  of  temperance  to 
consider  whether  any  steps  can  be  taken  towards  counteracting  the  excesses  which  usually 
prevail  at  this  season.  Instead  of  being  distinguished  by  a  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the 
God  and  Father  of  us  all,  for  his  mercy  evinced  in  the  birth  of  a  Saviour,  and  by  imitating 
his  beneficence  to  the  poor  and  needy,  Christmas  is  a  season  of  eating,  and  drinking,  and 
revelling  among  all  classes.  The  ringers  and  singers,  by  whom  the  eventful  morn  is  first  an- 
nounced, are  usually  in  the  habit  of  getting  drunk  early!  How  shameful,  that  the  response 
to  nearly  every  hymn  on  the  birth  of  Jesus  should  be  a  glass  of  intoxicating  liquor !  In  some 
parts,  nearly  all  the  people  brew  against  Christmas:  and  in  an  advertisement  of  a  large  stock 
of  wine  at  Liverpool,  I  see  a  particular  invitation  to  purchasers  to  secure  a  quantity  for  the 
festivities  of  Christmas.  These  indicate  the  state  of  society.  People  in  some  parts  run  early 
in  the  morning  to  the  houses  of  their  acquaintances,  where  they  are  sure  to  get  treated  ; 
while  the  landlords  prepare  plenty  of  stew  as  an  acknowledgment  for  the  favours  of  their 
customers,  and  as  an  inducement  for  them  to  continue.  Every  class  of  workmen  expects  a 
treat,  and  hence  they  are  all  making  their  calls  where  they  have  been  accustomed  to  do  any 
service  ;  they  collect  the  money,  and  spend  it  in  drink.  Every  grocer  and  provision  dealer 
has  also  to  prepare  for  this  occasion.  Many  honourable  exceptions  there  are,  yet  it  is  still 
too  common  to  keep  the  bottle  on  the  counter,  or  to  have  hot  ale  seasoned  in  a  back  apart- 
ment. I  scarcely  need  to  add,  that  for  full  two  months  Christmas  visits  are  kept  up  by  the 
respectables,  at  which  we  know  the  contents  of  the  bottles  and  decanters  are  made  to  tell 
pretty  well  upon  the  feelings  and  behaviour  of  the  guests. 

This  month,  I  conceive,  ought  therefore  to  be  a  period  of  extra  exertion  on  the  part  of 
Temperance  Societies.  Meetings  should  be  held  as  frequently  and  as  extensively  as  possi- 
ble, to  warn  the  people  against  Christmas  drinking.  But  what  is  still  more  important,  every 
member  of  a  Temperance  Society  ought  to  be  most  exemplary  in  his  own  conduct.  We  all 
ought  to  discountenance  every  custom  connected  with  drinking.  Intoxicating  liquor  should 
not  be  seen  in  our  houses,  nor  should  we  be  seen  either  drinking  ourselves  or  giving  or 
offering  it  to  others.  Surely,  religious  people  will  not  countenance  the  singing  of  hymns  and 
carols  for  meat  and  drink !  Let  the  money  usually  spent  in  treating  our  customers  be 
spent  in  relieving  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  who  cannot  repay  us.  Tea  parties  are  al- 
ready determined  on  in  some  places,  and  I  hope  every  Society  will  either  adopt  this  or  some 
other  substitute,  to  counteract  the  debasing  customs  which  have  so  long  prevailed. 


384 

THE  REFORMATION  OF  DRUNKARDS. 
In  a  speech  delivered  by  Dr.  Bennett  to  Sunday  School  teachers,  I  find  the  horrid  senti- 
ment, that  the  old  driinlcards  must  die  off,  repeated  as  an  established  truth.  "  If  you  can 
spread  among  children  of  the  lower  classes  a  zeal  for  Temperance  Societies,  you  take  out  of 
the  market  the  raw  material  out  of  which  drunkards  are  made.  Of  the  old  sinners  in  this 
line  it  has  been  said,  with  tremendous  truth,  they  must  die  off;  nothing  can  save  them.  It 
is  yours  to  see  that  there  shall  be  no  young  ones  to  supply  their  places."  In  ray  opinion, 
this  language  is  at  variance  with  the  whole  tenor  of  the  gospel ;  and,  what  is  decisive,  it  is 
utterly  at  variance  with  facts.  If  the  testimony  respecting  the  reformed  drunkards  in 
America  be  not  suflBcient,  let  any  man  come  to  Preston,  an^  we  will  show  him  the  oldest  and 
the  greatest  sinners  in  this  line  now  living  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world,  men  of  entire  abstinence,  and  an  ornament  to  society.  Before  meeting  with  this, 
I  had  hoped  never  again  to  see  this  horrid  sentiment  in  print ;  and  I  must  attribute  it  to 
the  Doctor's  imperfect  information  as  to  the  result  of  the  labours  of  Temperance  Societies. 


PAYING  WAGES  AT  PUBLIC  HOUSES. 
It  is  with  difficulty  that  some  men  can  be  induced  to  make  the  best  use  of  their  money 
when  exposed  to  no  peculiar  temptation;  what,  then,  will  be  the  case  when  persons  are  forced 
by  their  employers  to  sit  for  whole  evenings  in  public  houses,  waiting  for  their  wages? 
It  is  the  practice  of  some  masters  to  pay  their  workpeople  every  Saturday  night  at  these 
places,  and  as  there  is  an  understanding  between  the  parties,  the  men  are  often  kept  waiting 
as  long  as  possible,  "for  the  good  of  the  house."  Instead  of  receiving  their  wages  in  good 
time,  and  providing  for  their  families,  they  get  so  fresh  while  waiting,  that  they  frequently 
remain  drinking  all  the  evening,  while  their  families  are  totally  neglected  at  home.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  traps  which  the  landlords  set,  in  which  to  catch  their  prey. 


OFFICIAL  JERRY  SHOPS. 
It  would  be  a  useful  regulation  if  masters  would  prevent  any  of  their  workpeople, 
especially  overlookers,  from  keeping  jerry  shops.  If  a  person  have  any  authority  in  a  mill 
over  the  workpeople,  and  is  the  keeper  of  one  of  these  houses,  it  is  doubtful  but  he  will 
exert  his  influence  to  induce  them  to  become  customers ;  and  I  have  heard  of  instances  where 
much  intemperance  has  been  the  consequence.  Two  of  the  leading  firms  in  Preston  have 
interdicted  the  practice,  and  I  hope  this  will  soon  become  general. 


THE  KIT! 

In  Haslingden,  on  the  fifth  of  November,  the  ringers  of  the  church  go  round  to  collect 
the  gifts  of  the  parishoners ;  and  as  either  stuff  or  money  will  do,  they  take  a  kit,  which 
they  borrow  at  the  workhouse,  being  the  largest  to  be  met  with.  From  some  they  get 
money,  from  others  they  get  ale,  and  in  the  evening,  the  money  and  the  kit  are  both  car- 
ried to  a  public  house ;  the  former  the  landlord  exchanges  for  drink.  I  don't  need  to 
describe  the  effects  produced  in  the  evening,  as  well  as  the  morning  following.  If  they  do 
not  kindle  a  bone  fire,  they  generally  light  up  one  of  another  sort,  enough  to  destroy 
pockets,  skin,  bone,  body,  soul,  and  every  thing ! 


385 

THE  EFFECTS  OF  SPIRITS  IN  THE  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS. 

The  pestilent  habit  that  committed  such  dreadful  ravages,  both  morally  and  physically^ 
among  the  tribes  of  North  American  Indians,  is  now  working  its  baneful  effects  among  the 
dwellers  of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  The  cup  of  intemperance  is  circling  through  the  popu- 
lation, doing  the  bidding  of  the  great  enemy  of  mankind;  the  health,  the  social  happiness, 
the  immortal  interests  of  those  poor  people  are  sacrificed  at  the  altar  of  Mammon,  for  it  is 
on  account  of  sordid  lucre  that  the  European  traders  have  "  commended  the  poisoned  chalice 
to  their  lips." 

We  take  the  following  description  of  the  deplorable  state  of  things  which  now  prevails 
in  the  South  Sea  Islands  from  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for  the  present  month.  "  The  tid- 
ings which  have  been  received  by  late  arrivals  have  been  more  unfavourable  than  any  that 
have  come  to  hand  since  that  which  referred  to  the  state  of  the  islands  immediately  preced- 
ing the  national  renunciation  of  idolatry  in  1815,  but  they  exhibit,  with  unequivocal  distinct- 
ness, indications  of  the  same  watchful  care  of  a  gracious  Providence  which  was  so  repeatedly 
and  signally  manifested  towards  the  mission  during  the  season  of  its  greatest  peril.  The 
difirculties  attending  the  progress  of  the  work  in  which  our  brethren  are  engaged  have  been 
frequently  stated  to  the  friends  of  the  Society.  These  have  arisen  from  the  natural  indo- 
lence and  fickleness  of  the  natives,  the  effects  of  their  former  notorious  licentiousness,  which 
so  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  revive,  and  the  appearance  of  gross  and  visionary  here- 
sies, wrhereby  a  number  of  individuals,  disaflTected  towards  the  requirements  of  the  gospel, 
have  sought,  by  pretended  supernatural  revelations,  to  counteract  or  destroy  the  effects 
which  the  word  of  God  was  producing  among  the  people,  in  elevating  the  tone  of  moral  feel- 
ing and  improving  their  social  character  and  habits.  In  recent  years,  difficulties  more  for- 
midable than  any  produced  by  these  causes,  have  arisen  from  other  quarters.  The  increas- 
ing number  of  ships  resorting  to  the  islands  for  refreshment  and  trafiic,  and  with  the  in- 
crease of  commerce,  the  consequent  profligacy,  from  the  increased  intercourse  of  seamen 
with  the  most  depraved  portion  of  native  society,  and  the  large  importations  oi  ardent  spi- 
rits in  English  and  America  vessels — chiefly  the  latter,  consisting  of  what  is  called  New 
England  rum — many  vessels  conveying  this,  and,  with  the  exception  of  fire-arms  and  am- 
munition, no  other  articles  of  barter  with  which  to  traflSc  among  the  natives — the  activity 
and  perseverance  manifested  in  promoting  the  sale  and  use  of  these  pernicious  drugs,  by 
hawking  them  about  the  islands — inducing  the  chiefs  to  engage  in  the  trade — and  the 
establishment  by  foreigners  who  have  left  ships  touching  at  the  islands,  of  a  number  of  grog- 
shops on  the  shore,  has  occasioned  the  missionaries  much  perplexity  and  distress.  By  the 
retail  of  ardent  spirits,  these  houses  become  the  greatest  pests  in  the  country — the  resort  of 
the  most  abandoned  in  the  islands — and  the  most  indolent  and  depraved  among  the  crews 
of  the  shipping,  proving  alike  seductive  and  injurious  to  all  within  their  influence,  and  ex- 
hibiting, in  the  conduct  of  foreigners,  scenes  of  outrage  and  bloodshed  unknown  among  the 
natives  since  their  renunciation  of  paganism."  This  is  a  melancholy  picture  of  the  moral 
and  social  consequences  of  the  intercourse  of  the  natives  of  the  interesting  and  lovely  islands 
of  the  South  Sea  with  the  trading  portion  of  European  and  American  communities.  But 
we  trust  such  a  state  of  things  will  only  stimulate  the  missionaries  to  greater  exertions  tO' 
rescue  the  victims  of  commercial  depravity  from  the  moral  perdition  into  which  it  is  attempted 
to  plunge  them,  and  that  they  will  succeed  in  exorcising  the  foul  damon  that  tramples  in  that 
beautiful  creation  on  the  bloom  of  nature  and  of  man. — Morning  Herald. 


386 

VARIETIES. 

Last  night,  about  1 1  o'clock,  the  wife  of  my  next  door  neighbour  knocked  at  the  door 
of  my  house,  and  begged  I  would  allow  her  to  leave  her  children  under  my  charge,  while 
she  went  to  look  after  her  husband,  who  she  had  just  heard  was  very  ill.  Away  she  went, 
but  was  not  long  away  ere  she  returned,  poor  body,  the  very  picture  of  dispair,  having  lost, 
as  she  thought,  her  poor  debauched  husband.  Sometime  after  this  he  was  brought  home, 
to  all  appearance  a  lifeless  corpse ;  he  was  laid  in  bed,  unable  to  move  hands  or  feet ;  his 
eyes  were  glazed  and  fixed  in  their  sockets;  the  pulse  was  not  felt;  and  the  only  sign  of  life 
that  could  be  traced  was  a  weak  beating  at  the  heart.  On  making  inquiry  of  the  men  who 
had  carried  him  home,  how  it  was  that  he  had  brought  himself  so  low,  1  learned,  that  some 
of  his  fellow-workmen  had  laid  a  wager  with  him  that  he  could  not  drink  a  certain  quantity 
of  spirits  in  a  given  time.  The  quantity  was  nine  gills,  and  the  time  specified  was  one  hour : 
the  wager  was  ten  shillings.  At  the  hour  appointed,  they  met  at  one  of  those  "  styes  that 
law  has  licensed,"  where,  being  served  with  the  abominable  draught,  he  actually  swallowed 
the  whole,  along  with /owr  bottles  of  small  beer,  within  the  hour.  The  consequence  was,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  dreadful  intoxication:  his  companions  in  guilt,  becoming  alarmed 
for  the  victim  of  their  folly,  hastened  away  for  a  surgeon,  who  had  to  apply  the  stomach-pump 
three  successive  times,  and  with  very  little  hope  of  success.  (It  had  just  been  applied  the 
last  time  when  his  wife  found  him  at  the  late  hour  above  mentioned.)  By  a  great  mercy 
he  recovered,  and  on  the  third  day  after  was  able  to  crawl  about :  he  has  since  resumed  his 
employment,  but  not  with  a  resolution  to  abstain  from  the  ensnaring  influence  of  drink. 
Record. 

Wine  Trade. — We  have  received  a  London  circular,  of  date  6th  July,  from  which 
we  gather  some  important  facts  regarding  the  wine  trade.  It  appears,  from  reference  to  the 
Wine  Deliveries  Table  of  all  sorts  for  home  consumption  in  1832,  amounting  to  5,965,542 
gallons,  there  is  a  decrease,  as  compared  with  1831,  of  246,722  gallons  ;  and  upon  compari- 
son of  1831  with  1830,  there  is  a  decrease  of  222,181  gallons ; — thus,  in  the  last  two  years, 
there  has  been  a  decrease,  in  the  home  consumption,  of  every  description,  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  of  468,903  gallons." — Scotsman. 

The  preachers  belonging  to  the  Methodist  New  England  Conference  have  associated 
for  the  promotion  of  temperance,  under  the  name  of  the  New  England  Conference  Tempe- 
rance Society.  The  constitution  was  drawn  up  by  a  committee,  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs. 
S.  W.  Wilson,  Jonathan  Horton,  Joel  Steele,  and  P.  Crandall. 

The  pledge  deserves  particular  attention.     It  is  as  follows : — 

"  We,  the  members  of  this  Society,  subscribe  and  adhere  to  the  following  pledge : — 
We  will  not  use  distilled  liquors,  wine,  or  strong  beer,  as  a  drink,  nor  provide  them,  as 
such,  for  our  friends,  or  for  persons  in  our  employment.  We  will  not  engeige  in  the  trafiSc 
of  them,  and  in  all  suitable  ways  will  discountenance  their  use,  manufacture,  and  sale,  in 
the  community.  And  since  it  is  now  an  acknowledged  fact,  attested  by  the  most  respectable 
and  intelligent  medical  authorities  of  our  own  as  well  as  European  nations,  that  for  all  medi- 
cal purposes  substitutes  equal  if  not  superior  to  alcohol  can  be  provided,  we  further  pledge 
ourselves  that  we  will  not  use  them  as  a  medicine,  except  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity,  and 
when  substitutes  cannot  readily  be  obtained." 


387 

Moralists  and  religious  teachers  have  laboured  for  ages  to  dissuade  men  from  the  de- 
basing sin  of  intoxication.  But  it  is  painful  to  reflect,  how  little  has  been  their  success. 
The  most  enlightened  and  Christian  nations  upon  earth  are  those  in  which  this  wickedness 
MOST  reigns !  This  may  well  be  deemed  an  appalling  fact.  Yet  it  may  be  accounted  for. 
The  resistance  to  the  sin  of  intoxication  has  been  attempted  by  methods  which  have  con- 
tained in  themselves  the  seeds  of  their  own  frustration.  We  have  been  driving  out  the  full- 
grown  snakes,  while  we  have  allowed  the  young  viper-brood  to  exercise  all  their  vivacity, 
and  to  grow  up,  not  only  undisturbed,  but  nourished  and  encouraged.  The  ideas  of  sin  and 
shame  have  been  generally  confined  to  the  grosser  and  more  exposed  effects  of  the  practice, 
rather  than  to  the  radical  evil  itself.  The  public  drunkard  we  behold  with  horror,  and  shun 
him  as  a  monster;  but  we  have,  with  strange  supineness,  overlooked  the  deep-seated  cause, 
of  which  his  degradation  and  wretchedness  are  but  the  consequence.  Comparatively  little 
censure  has  heen  applied  to  the  men  whose  stronger  nervous  system,  or  carefully  formed 
habit,  enables  them  to  drink  immoderately  of  intoxicating  beverages,  without  betraying  the 
vulgar  symptoms  of  inebriety.  Virtuous  and  religious  men  have  thought  it  not  wrong  to  sit 
long  at  wine,  to  walk  to  the  verge  of  the  precipice,  and  coolly  see  others  fall  over  it;  satis- 
fied with  their  own  imagined  security.  Yea,  the  moderate  drinking  (and  who  can  define 
this  moderation  ?)  has  been  regarded  as  a  laudable  mode  of  celebrating  great  events,  of 
acknowledging  signal  mercies,  or  of  expressing  benevolent  desires.  Could  it  have  been 
previously  thought  possible,  that  the  father  of  delusions  should  succeed  in  persuading  the 
followers  of  Christ  to  adopt  such  a  stibstitute  for  praise  and  prayer? 

In  a  still  less  suspected  way,  the  powers  of  this  evil  are  aided  and  extended.  The 
claims  even  of  moral  obligation,  in  the  regard  due  to  the  preservation  of  health,  and  the  re- 
cruiting of  strength  after  fatigue,  have  been  made  its  instruments.  Spirits  diluted  more  or 
less  with  water,  liqueurs,  cordials,  stomachics,  and  nervous  mixtures  in  their  endless  varieties, 
have  been  masked  batteries,  to  help  forwards  the  work  of  death.  Individual  fancy,  ill-un- 
derstood experience,  family  tradition,  popular  opinions,  the  recommendation  of  friends,  the 
caudles  and  other  nostrums  of  ignorant  nurses,  especially  during  the  convalescence  of  females 
after  parturiency,  and  even  the  permissions  of  some  medical  men,  too  careless  of  physical 
and  moral  results, — have  produced  an  underground  stream  of  destruction  to  health  and  life, 
to  piety  and  happiness,  more  terribly  effectual  than  words  can  describe. — Dr.  J.  P.  Smith. 

Caution  to  Drunkards. — On  Saturday  night,  George  Holmes,  a  man  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  imdertook  for  half  a  crown,  at  the  Traveller's  Rest,  a  retail  beer 
house,  in  Court-street,  in' this  town,  to  drink  nine  half  pints  of  ale  in  fifteen  minutes. 
He  performed  the  task  in  about  seven  minutes  and  a  half.  He  immediately  went  out  of 
the  house,  fell  down,  and  became  insensible.    He  died  in  three  hours. — Nottingham  Journal. 

The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Baptist  ministers, 
at  a  meeting  especially  convened  at  Fen  Court,  Sept.  24,  1833,  the  Rev.  W.  Newman,  D,  D., 
in  the  chair : — 

"That  this  Board  cordially  approves  of  the  principles  and  object  of  the  Temperance 
Society,  and  will  rejoice  to  learn  that  the  ministers,  members,  and  Sabbath  School  teachers 
connected  with  our  churches,  in  town  and  country,  lend  their  influence  to  that  valuable  in- 
stitution." 


368 

It  is  no  unfrequent  thing  that  young  ministers,  between  the  two  or  three  services  of  the 
Lord's  day,  drink  wine  or  spirits  and  water,  as  means  oi  comforting  and  supporting  the  ani- 
mal system  under  its  exertions;  having  been  originally  urged  to  this  practice  by  mistaken 
advice  or  by  ill-judged  hospitality.  The  least  of  the  evils  to  be  apprehended  from  this  habit 
is  an  introduction  to  the  daily  distress  of  indispositions  in  the  stomach,  the  head,  and  the 
nerves ;  and  the  consequent  interruptions  and  diminutions  of  usefulness.  If  I  might  venture 
to  give  advice  in  this  case,  the  result  of  theory,  and  experience  and  observation,  it  would  be 
this:  on  the  Lord's  day  to  take  a  sufficiency  of  the  most  nutritious  and  simple  food,  and,  so 
far  as  is  practicable  during  the  intervals  of  public  service,  to  sit  with  the  legs  laid  horizon--' 
tally  on  a  cushioned  chair.  Many  an  excellent  man  has  groaned  under  innumerable  ail- 
ments, and  has  cut  off  twenty  years  of  the  rational  expection  of  life,  by  being  set  wrong 
in  tliis  respect  at  the  beginning  of  his  way. — J.  P.  Smith,  D.D. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  extent  and  inveteracy  of  drinking  in  Ulster,  from 
facts  like  the  following.  An  elder  told  me,  that  in  every  one  of  the  thirteen  houses  in 
his  district,  visited  in  his  day  by  him  and  his  minister,  two  full  glasses  of  spirituous  liquor 
were  pressed  upon  them  with  such  earnestness,  that,  without  having  been  considered  guilty 
of  a  wide  breach  of  hospitality,  they  could  not  refuse,  at  least,  to  taste. 

Some  time  since,  a  minister,  lately  ordained,  called  on  an  elder.  The  old  patriarch 
expressed  extreme  regret  that  he  had  unfortunately  no  whiskey  in  the  house ;  again  and 
again,  during  the  minister's  visit,  he  returned  to  the  subject,  and  at  parting  he  said,  with 
much  sincere  feeling — "  Well,  well ;  I  am  now  above  seventy  years  of  age,  and  the  like  of 
this  never  happened  to  me  before, — that  a  gospel  minister  should  leave  my  house  without 
having  tasted  a  single  drop  of  whiskey!" — Dr.  Beecher's  Address. 

I  knew,  at  college,  three  young  men,  two,  if  not  all  of  whom  occupied  the  same  lodg- 
ing. They  were  talented,  well  educated,  of  most  engaging  manners,  of  the  most  interest- 
ing, gentlemanlike  appearance ;  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  them.  They  entered  the 
sacred  ministry,  were  very  popular,  and  obtained  large  congregations.  One  of  them,  after 
having  become  a  bloated  drunkard,  was  drowned  before  his  own  door  ;  another,  after  having 
been  degraded  for  drunkenness,  was  drowned  in  a  well  in  his  own  garden ;  the  third,  after 
having  been  confined  in  a  mad-house,  died  in  early  life,  a  wretched  victim  of  drunkenness. 
Not  one  of  them,  I  believe,  reached  his  thirty-fifth  year.  I  farther  state,  that  I  could  name 
fifteen  contiguous  congregations,  in  one  of  the  most  moral  districts  of  Ulster,  all  of  whose 
late  ministers  lost  their  situations,  and  some  of  them  their  lives,  by  drunkenness. — Ibid. 

Twenty-two  medical  gentlemen  in  Lincoln,  nineteen  in  Derby,  and  thirty-two  in 
Worchester  have  signed  the  following  testimony:  "We,  the  undersigned,  do  hereby  declare, 
that  in  our  opinion  ardent  spirits  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  necessary  or  nourishing  article 
of  diet,  that  the  habitual  use  lays  the  foundation  of  many  dangerous  and  afflictive  maladies, 
tending  at  the  same  time  to  frustrate  the  means  of  recovery,  and  that  the  entire  disuse  of 
them,  except  under  medical  direction,  would  materially  improve  the  health  and  augment 
the  comfort  of  the  community," 

J.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


INDEX. 


Advertisements,  disgusting 344 

Ale  drinking,  against 178,  269,  321 

drinkers,  an  address  to    178 

Alcohol,  its  nature  and  properties   ..  191 

a  table  to  shew  the  quantity  in 

different  sorts  of  liquor 227 

Amusement,  places  of  public 183 

Apparel,  excess  of 371 

B. 

Beer  and  spirits,  the  difference  betwixt  291 

Begging,  the  evils  of 379 

Beverages,  the  best 322 

Bribery    302 

C. 

Cemetery    .' 802 

Charge  to  the  clergy,  remarks  upon. .  210 

Christ's  instructions  on  the  mount. ...  165 

Christian  love 293 

Christmas  treating 283 

Church,  the  corruptions  of. 32 

beauties  of  the 141 

taxes,  change  in 339 

reform 78,241 

Civilization <>  342 

Clerical  audacity 267 

market 34 

Clothing,  an  essay  upon 373 

Coercion o  240 

Consistency 128 


Crime,  at  different  periods  of  life  ....  130 

and  drunkenness 354 

juvenile  offenders  .., 147 

Cruelty — a  duck  hunt 268 

to  fish 220 

Cruelties  in  Jamaica 66 

D. 

Deception,  history  of 37,  69 

Delusion,  the  great 178,  289 

Dissenters,  the  claims  of 83,  64,  155 

Disunion  of  society 27 

Dram  shop,  you  have  been  in  the. . . .  146 

Drunkenness,  the  suppression  of  ... .  290 

and  litigation    352 

— and  crime    354 

E. 

Early  rising  and  morning  air    156 

Education,  against  the  national  sys- 
tem of 85 

in  favour  of  a  national  sys- 
tem of 368 

Elections,  reflections  upon 9 

Emigrants,  useful  caution  to  ....... .  340 

F. 

False  reports 174 

Fasting,  the  duty  and  advantages  of  116 

Females,  hints  to  on  temperance.. ..  157 

Funeral  admonition  145 


390 


G.  N. 

Gambling    250     Newspaper  veracity    . . . 


236 


H. 
Health  and  morals  of  the    manufac- 
turing districts     30 

Hunting 141 

I. 

Infidelity    121,  131 

Intemperance,    customs  and  practices 

leading  to 128 

awful  effects  of 260 

Intoxication    324 


Jesus,  the  example  of 60 

Juvenile  offenders <> 147 

K. 

Knowledge,  taxes  upon 21 


L. 

Labour,  capital,  wealth,  &c 325,  365 

misapplied 362 

the  encouragement  of 119 

Laws,  penal     67 

Liberality,  posthumous 206 

Lock-up 363 

Longevity    259 

M. 

Malt  liquor 269 

Man-fight    123 

Martin's  Taxation  of  the  British  Em- 
pire, remarks  upon 269 

Masters  and  workmen    325 

Mechanics'  Institution 149,  296 

Medical  facts  and  observations 309 

Ministerial  labour 35,  347 

activity,  the  importance  of  90, 195 

Money,  the  love  of 236 

Morals,  popular 213,  242 

Moralist,  the 175,  367 

Moral  legislation 370 

Mortality     338 


Oaths  and  cursing 193 

Owen's  Lectures,  remarks  upon    ....  297 

P. 

Parental  duties   197 

Parliament,  remarks  upon 54 

obsolete  acts  of. •  •  284 

Passing  bell     363 

Paul's  disinterestedness 261 

Penal  laws,  the  ineflSciency  of    67 

Poetry — 

Adieu  to  dissipation 356 

Signs  of  prosperity 303 

The  British  river  of  death 68* 

The  fate  of  Edgar    161 

The  factory  child    83 

The  tea  party  song 68 

The  Temperance  song  sung  at  the 

Festival   132 

The  Temperance  jubilee    228 

Poor,  caring  for  the     358 

remembering  the    26 

visits  to  the  in  Liverpool  and  Pres- 
ton   47 

visiting  and  relieving  the   44 

the  visitation  of    313 

Poorer  classes,  advice  to 101 

Press,  licentiousness  of. 63,  281 

Prompt  payment 20,361 

R, 

Recreations — the  regatta  ......     183,  301 

Reform,  personal    120 

Reformed  drunkards,  cases  of   285,  318,  349 

Reformation  of  drunkards 384 

Religion  and  money 261,364 

Rich,  advice  to    65 

Robberies  and  depredations 61 

Rush-bearing 337 


Sabbath,  the,  a  dissertation  upon 


m 


391 


School  holidays  too  long 220 

Schools  for  the  culture  of  the  heart    . .  344 
Sunday,  on  their  merits  and  de- 
merits      251,277,303,  315,  340,  347 

Short  time  at  factories    81 

Silver  again     208 

Slave  emancipation     170 

Snuff  taking    249 

Soap  duty,  the  repeal  of 57 

Society,  its  evils  and  proposed  remedies  95 
South  Sea  Islands,  the  effects  of  ardent 

spirits  in  the    385 

Sports 305 

Sporting  world    205 


Teaching,  inefficiency  in    23 

Temperance  Advo.  221,253, 285, 317,349,381 
cause,  progress  of.  .51,  123,  176 


missionary  tour 254 

plan  of  a  society 12 

Preston  sick  society's  rules  258 

simultaneous  meetings  . .  51 

societies,  an  address  upon  74 

American  report,  extracts 

from , 187 


Temperance    society,  Preston,    report 

and  rules 125 

Time,  the  improvement  of 5 

Tithes,  petition  for  the  abolition  of   . .  283 
Trade,  the  demoralizing  effects  of. . . .  28 
Tradesmen,  an  address  to  on  Tempe- 
rance      222 

Travellers,  commercial 225 

Truck  system 238 

U. 

Unchastity r ......  307 


Varieties    56,90,292,355,386 

Vice,  prevalency  of 23 

Visitation  address 210 

W. 

Wedding,  a  Friend's 88 

Widow,  poor,  and  the  two  parsons   ..      192 

Working  classes,  the  state  of 185 

observations  on  the 

condition  of,  in  the  manufacturing 
districu  30,229 


THE   END. 


/.  Livesey,  Printer,  Preston. 


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