CHAP. II.

ON THE EDINBURGH PAROCHIAL SUNDAY SCHOOLS.

"The poor have the gospel preached to them."

In the preceding chapter we mentioned, that SUNDAY SCHOOLS were originally the principal, if not the exclusive, object of the Edinburgh Parochial Institutions. To this important branch of the establishment we shall therefore first call the attention of our readers. And here, in opening, it may be right to notice a general objection, which has been made to all schools of this description. It has been said, that it is an improper thing to take the religious education of the young out of the hands of their parents, and to devolve this important duty upon any stranger. And doubtless, whatever may be said of the application of this principle, the principle itself appears to be perfectly sound, and to be strongly founded on a right knowledge of human nature. It has with equal truth and elegance been observed,* that "it is not in the church,"

Alison's Sermons.

and the observation is alike applicable to the school, "that the great task of religious education can be "fully accomplished. It is under your own roofs, "under your own eyes, and in the sacred retirement "of your own homes. It is you alone, who can know "the various characters of your little children, and "follow the progressive opening of their minds, and "adapt all your instructions to their wants and their capacities. It is you alone, who are with them al

86

66

way, who can seize the happy moment, when in"struction will best be received, and avail yourselves "of all the little incidents of life, from which wisdom "may be gathered; and, above all, it is you alone, "who can convey to them instruction in that tone of

parental tenderness, which no other human voice "can imitate, and to which God hath opened every "fountain of the infant heart." Deeply, therefore, is it to be regretted, that any parents, whether in the lower or the higher walks of life, whom God hath blessed with the means of personally conveying religious instruction to their offspring, should from any cause whatever, whether from indolence, indifference, or mistaken diffidence, from a desire to spend their own Sunday evenings at sermons, or prayer-meetings, or Sabbath schools, or in idle gossip, or worldly cares, or dissipation, but ill suited to the sanctity of the day, entirely delegate to the Sabbath-teacher, the tutor, or the governess, that sacred trust, which God and nature have so obviously reposed in themselves. But, on the other hand, it ought never to be forgotten, how many hundreds of children there are in every large town, nay, how

many children in every parish, who have no parents that can or will take the trouble of instructing them: With regard to these, the question is not whether they shall be taught by their parents or by strangers; but whether they shall be sent to school or not be taught at all,-whether, in a Christian land, they shall be suffered to continue in a state of hopeless ignorance and depravity, curses to themselves, to their parents, and to the public; or, by means of a religious education, be rescued from this degrading and wretched condition, and have an opportunity at least offered them, of becoming useful members of society, and faithful servants of their God. Such being the real state of the alternative, there can surely be no room for hesitation; and as little ground does there seem to be for doubt, that on no quarter can the duty of supplying a remedy more appropriately devolve, than on the parish pastor and his session. Far be it from us to exclude others from this walk of benevolence. But we are at the same time humbly of opinion, that, in all large communities at least, it is the duty, no less than the wisdom, of the established clergy, to provide seminaries under their own immediate eye and superintendence, for the instruction of the young and the ignorant in the principles of divine truth.

In so far as the success of any institution can depend upon its system of superintendence and control, we know no arrangement better calculated to ensure it, than the one which was devised for the regulation of the schools now under consideration. Each of them is under the immediate management

of its own parish minister and his session, subject, however, to the control and regulation of the general Directors of the whole establishment, consisting, (as was explained in the preceding chapter) of a minister or elder sent as a delegate from each session. In the session is vested the nomination of the teacher, with full power of removal at pleasure. It is their duty to send to the Sabbath school all such children within their parish, as stand in need of this method of instruction. It is their duty also to give personal attendance at the school by rotation, a duty, which, on account of their number, can occasion no great hardship to any individual, and by which any negligence or deviation from established rules must almost necessarily be detected; besides being of infinite importance in animating the exertions, both of the teacher, and of the scholars. Here, however, the control does not stop. The general Directors also regularly nominate two of their own number, a clergyman and a layman, as visitors, whose duty is personally to inspect, from time to time, all the schools under their superintendence, to inquire into the state of attendance both of the elders and of the pupils, the qualifications of the master, and the proficiency of the children, and to report to their brethren the condition in every respect, of all and every part of their establishment. If their report of the state of any particular school be unfavourable, the Directors first remonstrate with the session on the subject; and if, notwithstanding such remonstrance, any glaring irregularity or defect be suffered to remain, the allow

ance made for the support of that school is then withdrawn. Nor is this power of withholding supplies a mere dead letter, but one, on the contrary, which we know to have been both exercised and recognised.

It has been mentioned, that, under this system, a Sabbath school was opened in every parish of the city. No child, accordingly, can have any great distance to go in quest of this mode of instruction; and the limits of the parish were thus obviously pointed out to each session and its teacher as the bounds, within which they ought to exercise their influence, in drawing children to their own parochial school. Thus far these schools were founded upon the principle of locality. That principle, however, seems never to have been carried, under these institųtions, to the extent of precluding any teacher, from receiving into his school the children of another parish, within the city or its neighbourhood, whose parents should give a preference to his seminary. And, though it certainly is preferable, that, where all other considerations are equal, a child should attend the school connected with his own parish, and under the immediate eye of his own parish pastor, still there are many reasons, which seem to render it unwise and improper, to restrict the admission of scholars exclusively to residenters within a limited district. Here, as every where, a free competition is not without those obvious benefits, which it is unnecessary now to describe. But, besides these, there are particular circumstances con