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Some very curious things come out in the course of this investigation as to pauperism, morals, education, and various other particulars which we earnestly recommend to public attention. There is a comparative view given of the attainments of the children at New Lanark, and those of the children in a school in Edinburgh, which we cannot withhold from our readers. The quotation is rather long; but it is so interesting and instructive that we 'must present it for their perusal.

"When at New Lanark, it was the anxious desire of the author to ascertain whether such magnificent conclusions could possibly result from means apparently so inadequate; and, as he has hitherto done, he shall state the facts as he found them, leaving it to his readers to judge for themselves. In the day school he was led to a class, consisting of fourteen girls, whose acquirements were really wonderful.* After sifting them with every fair question he could think of, he was convinced that they had not a mere smattering, but an extensive minute information (considering their age,) of his tory, geography, and natural history. Nor were they unacquainted with arithmetic, reading, spelling, or even the doctrines of Christianity. He was led to another class of half a dozen girls; who, although not so extensively acquainted with history, geography, and natural history, read with an ease, accuracy, and properly-placed emphasis seldom met with in Scottish schools. He was led to a class of about eighty boys and girls, who, with astonishing accuracy, pointed out any country, on the map, of any of the four quarters of the world. He was told that sixty out of the eighty could do so; and, upon an examination of one in every ten, and the substitution of one quarter of the world for another, he was quite satisfied of the correctness of the statement.

"Thus far every thing was extremely gratifying; and, had not the result of a minuter investigation put the author right, Mr. Owen's system of education would have met with his unqualified approbation. From other examinations which he made, he was convinced, that, when the children are taken from school, and when their attention is directed to other mat

ters, their information soon becomes in. distinct, and their ideas on the subjects Accordingly, those who are working in they were taught, misty and confused. the mills, and who may be said to have finished their education, so far from confounding the wisdom of the wise by their talents and acquirements,' excite feelings of regret and sorrow for their ignorance. dom, as he met them in the mills, in the He examined 40 or 50 of them at ranstreet, and in their own houses, and he found them, without any material exception, to be miserably deficient. So much was he astonished at the exhibition made

by the two or three first whom he exami

ned, that he felt anxious to have the assistance of a friend or two, in order that he might convince his readers of the fairness of the examination, and the accuracy of his statement of the result. The following

extract from the notes of one of these gentlemen, written by him at the time, in reference to a boy, examined in presence of both, he considers to be a fair enough specimen :

666

aged sixteen years— has been for years at the day-school, and six years at the night-school. On Monday and Thursday at the night-school, they are taught arithmetic-on Tuesday, dancing, and reading Scott's Collection Wednesday, geography-Friday, writing.

Desired to subtract 7435 from 9653, gave us the product 2227-was desired to subtract 2685 from 3579, gave us the answer 1874-required to subtract L.9: 17: 9d. from L.17: 9: 1d.-said he had never been taught pounds, shillings, and pence was required to multiply 94631 by 7-gave -9-87, and declared he could not make out the other figures. The following are specimens

OF ADDITION AND REDUCTION. Reduce 384 guineas to farthings. 7687

384

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Thanks to Miss Howell's skill and diligence, for which Mr. Owen, it will be recollected, treated that lady with ridicule and abuse.-Editor.

+ It may be noticed, that, in reducing the guineas to farthings, there is an error

Edinburgh? he wrote, I DOUNT RECOLLECK.' When desired to spell ́ ́therefore,' answered-' never gets any spelling.' He read the ten first yerses of St. John, chap. xiv. tolerably well; but was puzzled with five words. Does not know in what country the lion is found, or the elephant-said that the tiger was found in Africa; and that Africa is a town. Asked into how many quarters the globe is divided ?-answered into four, naming them correctly-thinks France is in Europe. Is not sure whether France is an island. Asked the capital of Britain, answered Edinburghdid not know of how many kingdoms Britain consisted. Having been asked if a lion had horns? answered-' does not know, as he never saw one.' The utmost pains was taken to make him understand the questions, and sufficient time was allowed for the answer: on answering wrong, he was desired again and again to reconsider himself. He was also frequently desired to repeat, with deliberation, his arithmetical exercises."

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"Notes of many more examinations were carefully taken; but as they are similar to the above, it has not been deemed necessary to print them. It may be proper to mention, that these facts, and the impressions made by them on the mind of the author, were candidly stated by him, first to Mr. Alexander, the managing master; then to Robert Owen, jun.; and laterly to Mr. Owen himself. Mr. Owen will bear the writer out in his assertion, that the day-scholars examined by Mr. Owen in the street did not exhibit the same talent and acquirement which might have been expected of them, from the time that they had attended school, and from their appearance in the classes. Their answers in the street to Mr Owen's questions in geography and natural history, were frequently inaccurate, and sometimes ridiculous. For example, we were told that the colour of the negroes was blue; and that sugar came from the

store.

"The author has also examined the school in Leith Wynd, originally established by the several Kirk Sessions of Edinburgh, for the education of poor children. Here he found 270 scholars, many of them taken from the lowest ho

vels, and educated gratis, who had aequired, or were in the progress of acquiring, a degree of proficiency in the branches which they are taught, perhaps unequalled in any establishment of the kind in Europe. To talk of comparing them with the children at New Lanark, were to give the world a very inadequate conception of their attainments. In fact, their progress is such, that the author almost hesitates to state what actually came under his own observation. He tried them in reading, spelling, and penmanship, and was well pleased. He tried them in geography, and on general topics, and was delighted. He tried them in arithmetic, and was truly astonishied. Their reading was distinct and unaffected-their spelling was not confined to that of long and difficult words, which seldom occur; while their handwriting was easy, distinct, and bold. In geography their knowledge of remote countries was general, yet accurate; while, of the civilized world, and especially of Great Britain, their knowledge was most minute and circumstantial, even to the boundaries of counties, popu lation of towns, and courses of the smallest rivers. As to their arithmetic, the writer shall only mention, that a class, consisting of thirty boys, aged from seven to fourteen years, added up the following sums, on a slate, correctly in ten seconds, by a stop-watch :

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of 95,320 farthings of deficiency; although, in reducing them to shillings, there is a surplus of 100 shillings, or of 4800 farthings.

How different is this from the state of the children at Hofwyl, where many of them learn Greek and Latin, and some of the modern languages. At Hofwyl it is no unusual thing to hear children of from eight to ten years of age sing, in their sports, the hymns of the Odyssey; or to see them represent, in their games, the fables of Homer. Vide Pictet's Report, p. 18.

lowed by him at New Lanark and Catrine. The arithmetical, and other exercises, were put at random exactly as they occurred to him; and the answers of the boys were taken down as they gave them, and afterwards found to be correct.

"To this establishment there are attached nine Sabbath evening schools, at which about a thousand children have attended.

"Upon the whole, judging from the principles of the system of education at New Lanark, and from the progress of the scholars, it may be safely affirmed, that the mode of education does not seem to be suited to the circumstances of the scholars, uniform in its operation, or lasting in its effect. Their time seems to be mainly occupied by secondary objects; and to be too much parcelled by a great variety of pursuits. Their attention seems to be so much engaged with the more fascinating modes of receiving instruction by pictures and other ocular amusements, that they have little inclination to acquire the more useful departments of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are taught many things far beyond their capacity, which of necessity they must acquire by rote, and repeat like parrots. Hence the memory is exercised at the expense of the

judgment. When a question is put by the master to the whole class, a momentary silence ensues, until one of them recollects the answer, and gives tongue, when the whole cry out the same thing, without seeming to attach any meaning to the words. Different boys sometimes give different answers to the same question; in which case, one portion of the class catch the one sound, and another portion the other sound; and the noise and confusion of Babel instantly follow. The author heard one half of the class of eighty call out that a man had two legs, while the other half insisted that he had four, merely because one of the boys had called out so.

Mr. Aiton has employed his second chapter in refuting Mr. Owen's objections to Christianity, on the ground of its mysteries, and its spirit and effects.

But we can afford

no more extracts; and must conclude with repeating our cordial recommendation of the work itself as well calculated to serve the cause of truth.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

IRISH SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Second Anniversary.

The Morning Anniversary Sermon having been preached by the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, at Percy Chapel, on Tuesday the 6th of April, the Annual Meeting was held on the 7th, at the Argyle Rooms, Regent Street; the President of the Society, the Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, in the Chair.

Movers and Seconders.

Earl of Gosford, and Rev. Dr. Hamilton-Lord Calthorpe, and the Earl of Rocksavage-Right Hon. Sir G.H. Rose, M.P, and Rev. Hugh M'Neile-Hon. James Hewitt, and Hon. Baptist Noel and Lord Lilford, and J. Browne, Esq.

The Evening Anniversary Sermon was preached by the Secretary, the Rev. G. Mutter, on Tuesday, the 4th of May, at St. Paul's, Covent Garden.

The total receipts of the year were £300, 9s. 5d. The Collections at the Anniversary amounted to £168.

WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

Anniversary.

The London District Auxiliary held its Annual Meeting at Great Queen Street Chapel, on Wednesday the 28th of April; Lancelot Haslope, Esq. in the Chair. The sum raised during the year had been L.5719, 17s. 4d., being an increase on the preceding year of L.605, Os. 3d.

At Hofwyl the question is addressed to one pupil in particular." The Commissioners appointed for the inspection of the establishment advised that the method of questioning the whole class should be given up; because the answer required from a whole class easily degenerates into words repeated without attention, and at random."-Rengger's Report, p. 38.

Sermons were preached before the Society-by the Rev. Richard Watson, one of the Secretaries, from 1 Pet. ii. 13, Honour all men, at the City-Road Chapel, on Thursday evening, April the 29thby the Rev. Robert Newton of Manchester, from 2 Thess. iii. 1, in Great Queen Street Chapel, on Friday morning, the 30th-and by the Rev. John Anderson of Manchester, from John i. 29, in China-Terrace Chapel, Lambeth, in the evening of the same day. Mr. Watson's Sermon was, at the request of the Committee, particularly directed to enforce the obligation under which this country lies, of bestowing every practicable benefit on the West India Slaves.

On Sunday the 2d of May, sermons were preached for the Society in all the Wesleyan Chapels in London and its immediate vicinity.

At eleven o'clock on Monday the 3d, the Annual Meeting of the Society was held at the City-Road Chapel. Joseph Butterworth, Esq. M. P. was called to the chair; the Rev. Henry Moore, president of the last Wesleyan Conference, having opened the meeting with prayer. The Report was read by the Rev. Richard Watson.

Movers and Seconders.

John Key, Esq. Alderman of London; and Rev. Robert Newton of Manchester -Rev. H. Townley, one of the London Society's Missionaries; and Rev. Edward Irving, minister of the Caledonian Church, Hatton Garden-Right Hon. Sir G. H. Rose, M. P.; and G. Sandford, Esq.-W. Williams, Esq. M. P.;

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Movers and Seconders.

Lord Barham, and Right Hon. C. Grant, M. P.-Lord Calthorpe, and T. F. Buxton, Esq. M. P.-Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Major Phipps (from Calcutta)-Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bart. M. P., and Rev. Richard Waldo Sibthorp - Rev. Joseph Parson (from Calcutta), and Rev. Frederic Spring (from Tellicherry)-and Rev. C. James Hoare, and Rev. J. W. Cunningham. State of the Funds. Receipts of the Year. Paid direct to the Society :Congregational Collections... 738 10 6 Benefactions.... 756 3 7 Annual Subscriptions....... 1322 13 6 School Fund..... 62 8 0 Legacies......... 475 O TO Contributions through me

F -:

8. d.

dium of Associations.... 32,571 12 7 Int. on Government Securities.......

and Joseph Carne, Esq. of Penzance- Sale of Publications.........
Rev. John Anderson of Manchester;
and Edward Phillips, Esq. of Melksham
-and Rev. H. Moore; and James
Wood, Esq. of Manchester.

The collections at the various services and meetings connected with these anniversaries, together with donations made on the occasion, amounted to £1370, being an increase of £150 on the contributions at the anniversaries of the preceding year.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

Twenty-fourth Anniversary.

The Annual Sermon was preached at St. Bride's Church, on Monday evening, May the 3d, by the Rev. Fountain Elwin, M. A. minister of Temple Church, Bristol, and Secretary of the Bristol Church Missionary Association. From Acts ii. 17. And it shall come to pass in

807 18 3

36,734 7 3 316 15 11

37,031 3 2

On account of Seminary... 2,221 4 1

Total.......... 39,272 7 3

Payments of the Year.
Missions:-

£ s. d.
West Africa
4660 18 3
Mediterranean................ 1284 13 8
North India .................................................. 8511 11 0
South India .................................................... 3184 29
West India
Ceylon.......

Australasia.......
West Indies......

326 13 3

4675 7 2

3036 13 0

1050 11 9

676 13 3

1000 0 0

North-West America.......
Investment to meet a grant
to the Bishop's College
for 1823.......................................
Missionaries and Students:-
Maintenance, education, &c. 1677 4 2
Bâsle Institution............. 300 0 0

Disabled Missionaries, &c. £195 6 6 Books.......... 320 11 0

Publications:-
:-

Translating and printing the

Scriptures and Tracts.... 400 0 0

Printing 9500 copies of the

Twenty-third Annual Publication................ 1111 17 Miscellaneous printing...... 250 8 11 Sundries:

Expenses on account of As

sociations, including the cost of the publications supplied to the collectors, and to weekly and monthly contributors, with car. riage of parcels, travelling charges, &c............. Advertisements, postage,

rent, taxes, salaries, poundage, and inciden tals......

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Legacies

2229 18 9

4150 3 0

606 5 5

2860 12 8

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Dividends on Stock.......... 1212

Interest on Exchequer Bills 1263 5 0 Auxiliary Societies...... .42,007 6 6 Drawbacks on paper.........

Russian Bible Society, on

697 10 6

account of insurance...... 144 7 6

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2195 9 0

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Twentieth Anniversary. At eleven o'clock on Wednesday, May the 5th, the President, Lord Teignmouth, took the Chair at the Annual Meeting in Freemasons Hall. The Report was read by the Rev. Andrew Brandram, one of the Secretaries.

Movers and Seconders. Earl of Harrowby, and Earl of Roden -Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and Lord Barham-Lord Bexley, and Rev. Joseph Parson-Right Hon. C. Grant, M. P., and Rev. Dr. Morrison (from China)-Joseph John Gurney, Esq. and Rev. Dr. Wardlaw-Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bart. M. P., and Rev. Richard Watson-Right Hon. Sir G. H. Rose, M. P., and Rev. John Townsend-Lord Gambier, and Rev. J. W. Cunningham. The meeting was addressed also by the Noble President, the Treasurer, and the VOL. XXIII. NO. VI.

...11,589 18 11

Printing the Scriptures... 68,622 16 2
Printing paper.........................
Agents in foreign parts, sti-

pends and expenses....... 1534 12 7 Travelling expenses......... 1477 2 0 Sundries — including sala

ries, ground rent, insurance, shipping charges, Depository, and incidentals.......

6269 8 0

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the amount of £43,098, 1s. 2ḍ. The Society is under engagements to

PRAYER-BOOK AND HOMILY SOCIETY.

Twelfth Anniversary.

The Annual Sermon was preached at nesday evening, May the 5th, by the Christ Church, Newgate Street, on WedRev. Basil Woodd, from Eph. ii. 20. Built upon the foundation of the Apostles the chief corner-stone. and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being

6th, at Stationers' Hall, the Right HoAt the Annual Meeting held on the nourable Lord Bexley took the Chair at twelve o'clock.

Movers and Seconders.
Lord Gambier, and Z. Macaulay, Esq.

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