sioners for Inquiry into the Administration of the Poor Laws," as quoted by Dr. Vaughan in his "Age of Great Cities," pp. 165, 166, we have the following statements. Mr. Moylor, a revising barrister, says—“ The general ignorance and stupidity of the overseers in country parishes, with whom I became acquainted in Cheshire and Nottinghamshire, surpassed everything which I could have previously conceived. In some of the parishes we found a substituted for the overseer's signature to the list of voters. In some cases the blunders were ridiculous." Mr. Maclean tells us "I revised the list of voters for the Western Division of the county of Sussex, in 1832; in the present year I have revised the list for the Northern Division of the county of Essex. In both counties I found overseers apparently perfectly unable to comprehend from reading the Reform Act, what they were required to do. Many were unable to write at all, and others could with difficulty affix their names to the list. Few were capable of furnishing any information, or understanding that any distinction existed between a freehold and a leasehold qualification. Those lists which had any pretensions to correctness had been invariably written by the parish schoolmaster, or under the advice or direction of some neighbouring gentleman." they ever knew of reading and writing, but also much of whatever of Scriptural or catechetical instruction they had once acquired. The results of my own personal inquiries correspond to a great extent with this information. Some appeared never to have learnt anything, and were in a state of ignorance, the extent of which it was painful to lay bare. That very few of the adults of either sex, from twenty to fifty, could read or write, seemed to be generally acknowledged. Where the contrary is found in any parish, it results from fortunate circumstances, and may be considered exceptional. An opinion prevailed that those who remained of the preceding generation, more commonly possessed those acquirements. A female has officiated as clerk in one parish for the last two years, none of the adult males being able to read. In another parish, consisting of four hundred persons, the clergyman stated his belief, that until two years ago, when his school was established, not an individual of the labouring class could read or write. An intelligent occupier of a large farm gave it as his opinion, that in a population of two hundred, the present clerk of the parish is the only man in his sphere who could take the office. His labourers in general are very ignorant, some so much so that they cannot understand anything that is said to them, except what belongs to their labour, and is expressed in their own way." "Juvenile depravity of all kinds had, according to universal testimony, greatly increased. Å rudeness and discourtesy of manners, a want of respect towards superiors, and a spirit of disobedience, were said to have increased in a marked manner. That there should exist a due quantity of superstition and gross credulity, might naturally be expected. Here a wizard terrifying his neighbours by the power of inflicting injuries by his charms; there supernatural appearances; in another neigh-perform. In Loughborough, Melton Mowbourhood, a quack curing all diseases by his knowledge of the stars. In a considerable town on the coast crowds very recently flocked to see, and paid for seeing, a "monster," composed of a large fish's tail, and a parchment body very obviously and very clumsily sewn together and stuffed; an exhibition still apparently as acceptable as it was to the easy belief of earlier times." This gentleman in the following sentence gives a quotation from the "Tempest," to show that these rural inhabitants are now as ignorant as their forefathers were in the days of Shakespear. "What have we here? A strange fish? Were I in England now (as once I was), and had but this fish painted, not a holiday-fool there but would give a piece of silver; there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man. (Act II., Scene 2.) In the "Report of Her Majesty's Commis Mr. Flood states, concerning the Northern Division of the county of Leicester-" I found great difficulty in revising the list of voters, owing to the illiterate character of the overseers in many of the parishes. There were, I think, three or four lists unsigned, none of the overseers being able to write, and about the same number signed by only one overseer. In not more than ten parishes did the overseers appear in the least to understand the duties they were required to bray, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the overseers were exceedingly intelligent men, while in the eastern side of the county, which is exclusively agricultural, I met with a degree of ignorance I was utterly unprepared to find in a civilized country.' Mr. Villiers, revising barrister for the Northern Division of the county of Devon, mentions, "That he found one-fourth of the overseers unable to read. One overseer in that state had the distribution of rates to the amount of 70001. per annum." These facts prove, that in agricultural districts ignorance is not confined to the peasantry only, but exists to an alarming degree among the middle classes, and demonstrate that the day-schools have hitherto done little in the rural districts. The writer is well acquainted with various agricultural localities, and feels persuaded that if a commission had been appointed to question the farmers, the farmers' sons and daughters, In the same calculation we find 2680 given as the number of those who attend Sunday-schools, only; if we add these to the 9830 in day-schools, we shall have 12,510 under week-day or Sabbath-school tuition. "Thus it appears that only one in fifteen of the population is under any kind of day-school instruction, and even including those who attend Sunday-schools, the proportion under education is only one in twelve and a half. It will be generally allowed, that the persons employed in constructing railways have been chiefly drawn from the agricultural districts; and yet who has not been shocked to witness the ignorance and immorality of the majority of these persons? Their language and manners are frequently too polluted to be written or described; drunkenness, blasphemy, obscenity, and Sabbathbreaking, are far from being uncommon. I have heard, on the best authority, that the factory children in some districts have been greatly corrupted by the presence and habits of these individuals. It is very lamentable also to observe that some of the most abandoned and profane are the boys who are employed on the lines; indeed I have often heard it remarked, "the boys are worse than the men." I have known both the contractors and the more steady labourers lament the ignorance and depravity in which these lads were brought up. It was necessary to give these statements, because Messrs. Tooke, Smith, Horner, and Saunders, the four Commissioners who have drawn up the "Report of the Physical and Moral Condition of Children and Young Persons employed in Mines and Manufactures," seem to have taken it for granted that in the agricultural parishes the people are almost in a state of paradisaical innocence. In their 29th conclusion, page 265, they speak of the "devoted care of the Wesleyans and 60 900 2,520 2,880 other ministers" having so far reformed the people in the West of England and North Wales, "that there is" now "as much decorum in their manner as is witnessed in the generality of the rural districts.” Perhaps this imagined perfection of the peasantry was one reason why their mental and moral condition was not inquired into, and why they were not comprehended in Sir James Graham's Bill. "O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, Who would think that these fortunate people were doomed to live on the coarsest food, to dwell in the most miserable hovels, to labour at the hardest toil, and to be remunerated with wages that are a mockery of all justice and humanity? Mothers and wives condemned to abandon their offspring and wear themselves out in field employments of various kinds; children sent to work so early as to have either no education or forget the pittance of knowledge which has been eked out to them at a dame-school and these occupations pursued during the blessed hours of the Sabbath, so that they are shut out from Sunday-school and the pleasures of the sanctuary, and robbed of all knowledge of that happy state where "the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest!" These "decorous people" are mostly ungratefully deprived of happiness here, and happiness hereafter. What a libel upon the Wesleyans in Cornwall and the Welch Methodists in North Wales, for Messrs. Saunders and Co. to compare the religious miners of Cornwall and the pious inhabitants of the principality, with those poor ignorant creatures who repeat as their evening prayers 66 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John," &c. It is not merely a libel on Wesley, but a violation of truth to talk of the "decorum of a manners witnessed in the generality of the Ripley, five years; only reads a, b, ab; rural districts." One clergyman tells us of cannot spell in the least; cannot tell what the "most barefaced infidelity of his parish-d, o, g, spells;-he says gun." "A girl ioners." Others, that only "one person could be found for a clerk," and in one parish that individual was "a woman”. that "drunkenness and debauchery" bound-that no parishes in "this uneducated country" can be in a worse condition-that the people are 66 'very ignorant and demoralized "-that from their Sunday occupations there is "no prospect of improving their education"-that they know neither "how to better nor to bear their condition "that their "little stock of learning is quickly and irrecoverably gone "—that "the materials for an explosion are among them," and "wait only for the match of artful and designing men to spread waste and terror through the land," &c. &c. Quotations and facts illustrative of the present degraded condition of the peasantry of our country might be accumulated until we had filled a volume, and then the half would not be told. But these are enough to show that Mr. Saunders and his coadjutors have no right to exalt districts in which the mad Tom of Canterbury found such zealous devotees, and in which ignorance, irreligion, and disaffection abound, as the patterns" of decorum" to the rest of the country. It may be suggested, that as we have quoted these facts concerning the agricultural districts, we ought also to state what these Commissioners have said respecting the manufacturers. We have no objection to do this, only we must premise that the work is scarcely needed, seeing Lord Ashley has laboured so zealously in this cause. Almost every child has read of these "untutored savages." Of their ignorance, their profanity, their Sabbath-breaking, and irreÎigion, the country has heard so much that it is hardly necessary to say another word on the subject. The following may be taken as specimens of what has been published by the Commissioners who inquired into the "Moral Condition of the Children and Young Persons employed in Mines and Manufactures." "One boy, asked the meaning of the word 'weary,' could not tell"the whole class could not tell; at last a boy said he knew," it was a lad who wore his clothes out." "Of eighty-two boys, less than half could read, upon the most qualified use of the term which it is possible to admit. Of the rest many knew their letters; five only of eighty-two could write their names." "Has been three years at Brinsley Church Sunday-school; cannot say his A. B. C." "Has been four or five years to Baptist Sunday-school; cannot spell horse or cow, and is otherwise very ignorant." "Has been to Calvinistic Sunday-school four years; can spell neither church nor house." "Has been at the Methodist Sunday-school, at eighteen years old said, I never learnt nought. I never go to church or chapel. I never heard that a good man came into the world, who was God's Son, to save sinners. I never heard of Christ at all. No body has ever told me about him, nor have my father and mother ever taught me to pray. I know no prayer; I never pray. I have been taught nothing about such things." "The Lord sent Adam and Eve upon earth to save sinners." "Jesus Christ was a shepherd; he came a hundred years ago to receive sin." "Jesus Christ was born in heaven, but I don't know what happened to him: he came on earth to commit sin; yes, to commit sin." "I don't know who Jesus Christ was; I never saw him, but I have seen Foster who prays about him." "I have been three years at a Sunday-school; I don't know who the Apostles were. Jesus Christ died for his Son to be saved." These are some of the answers returned to the Commissioners by children and young persons employed in the coal and iron mines. They had been sent to work so early that they received little or no day-school instruction, and they had worked so hard through the week that they were too tired to go to a Sunday-school, or if they went they learnt little. They were much in the same condition as the boys and girls employed in agriculture. In Birmingham the Commissioners inform us that many under eighteen years of age cannot read or write. Some of the youths employed in the manufactures in Wolverhampton gave the following answers: -"Has attended a Sunday-school regularly for five years; does not know who Jesus Christ was, but has heard the name of it; never heard of the twelve Apostles; never heard of Samson, nor of Jonah, nor of Moses, nor Aaron." "Has attended Sunday-school regularly nearly six years; knows who Jesus Christ was; he died on the cross to shed his blood to save our Saviour." "Has attended the Sunday-schools of different kinds about seven years; can read only in thin books, easy words of one syllable; has heard of the Apostles; does not know if St. Peter was one, nor if St. John was one, unless it was St. John Wesley." "One boy, on being asked if he knew who Jesus Christ was, replied, 'Yes, Adam;' another boy replied, He was an Apostle;' another, that 'He was the Saviour's Lord's Son;' and another, a young person of sixteen years of age, thought that Jesus Christ was a king of London a long time ago." " These quotations are all given from the Report of the Factory Commissioners. They refer to persons occupied in Mines, or in the metal ware manufactures. I find no answers from persons employed in the Cotton or Woollen Factories; and therefore on this point quote from the "Report of the Rev. Baptist Noel," given in the "Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education for 1840-41." The schools he examined were in " Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Salford, and Bury." In one of those places the following conversation took place in examining some of the monitors who had just read the parable of the sower.Matthew xiii. 1-9. "Verse 1. By what sea did Jesus sit? The Red Sea. Verse 2. What do you understand by a shore?-The whole sea. How could the multitude stand on the whole sea?-The ground. May the ground on which we are standing be a shore?-A side. May this side of the room be called a shore? (General silence.) What does a parable mean?-A history. Is the history of David, for instance, a parable? (General silence.) How many kinds of ground did the seed fall on ?-2, 3, 5.-(Silence.) Why did not the birds eat the seed on the stony places as well as that on the wayside? (Silence.) What happened to the seed in the stony places?-It withered. Did the seed itself wither?—No fruit. Then it brought no fruit, but what withered?(Silence.) What is meant by the seed?-People. What do you understand then by the seed being taken away by the birds?-The Devil takes away wicked people. What is meant then by the four kinds of ground? (Silence.) What did our Lord mean to teach by this parable?-Them as is good goes to heaven." Mr. Noel has given other examples of the ignorance which existed in the several schools he visited, but it is not necessary to quote them all. He does not name, probably from not wishing to wound the feelings of any one, the particular schools in which these examinations took place, and, therefore all we know of them is, that they were situated in one of the five towns mentioned above. It seems, however, that the school in which this examination took place was a National, or some other school connected with the Church, as we learn from the following remarks, that the children often repeated the Church Catechism. Mr. Noel adds, "On the occasion of a second visit, the following questions and answers occurred when the first class and the monitors were examined in the class-room, in their Catechism, which is frequently repeated by them. "Who gave you the name which you received in baptism ?-God. What did your godfathers and godmothers promise and vow for you respecting the pomps and vanities of the world?-All the sinful lusts of the flesh. I asked what they promised and vowed respecting the pomps and vanities?—That I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith. What do you mean by these Articles?— (Silence.) The Articles of the Faith mean all the truths of the Gospel. Will you tell me any of the truths of the Gospel which your godfathers vowed you should believe?-Five were silent; the sixth answered, the Commandments.) I then asked them some questions on the leading facts in the narratives of the Bible, when they answered as follows: Who was the eldest son of Adam?— Four silent; fifth answered, Abraham. When the earth became corrupt, what did God do to it?-Drownded it. What was the ark like in which Noah was saved?-A temple. Who led Israel into Canaan ?-Moses. How far did Moses lead them ?-Into Galilee."―pp. 182, 183. We have other statements respecting the factory districts given in the Reports of the National Society, which intimate that the condition of the people is very depraved; but when I read such words as the following, it seems to me that the testimonies of the writers must be received with some caution. A clergyman says, "May I be again allowed to plead with the National Society for all the aid they can possibly render, placed as I am here amidst a population of twelve thousand, where Dissent and insubordination abound on every side in their most ignorant and superstitious forms for want of better education on right principles?" Now no friend of truth can read such paragraphs as these without disgust, and without feeling that the author's testimony respecting the state of the people is altogether unworthy of credit. Every one knows that it is both unjust and untrue to assert that "Dissent" is in the least degree allied to "insubordination." History proves that Dissenters have been as loyal, and as observant of the laws of the realm, as their fellowcitizens. Every examination of the religion of criminals has hitherto shown that very, very few are Dissenters, and that by far the majority are Episcopalians. It would therefore be much more equitable for any Dissenter to couple "insubordination " and Episcopacy together, than for a clergyman to bring forward such a charge as that contained in the inuendo above. And as for "ignorance and superstition" being at all characteristic of Dissent, the most abundant evidence is everywhere before the nation, that no persons have been so active as Noncon formists in their efforts to banish these giant | mental and moral improvement which they evils from the land. enjoy. Indeed the Commissioners have been compelled, by the force of truth, to unfold a few facts, which speak volumes for the good that has already been effected in manufacturing localties. It is admitted, that in the Midland Districts and elsewhere, many of the operatives are well educated, and that the most beneficial results are the consequence. Their statements are-" As regards the domestic habits of the educated class (of operatives), they are more attentive to the well-being of their families; they invariably educate their children; and they never swear or use bad language, comparatively speaking; their houses are more cleanly; there is better economy; everything, in short, is made the best. Men who are educated, and earn as much as 18s. or 17. a-week, rarely allow their wives to be employed in manufactories; they stay at home to superintend their do Of abstain from intemperate habits; and they Gentlemen who write in this manner can lay no claim to be admitted as witnesses. I have known localities from which the clergy would write in these very terms, and yet in those very districts there were Sundayschools and day-schools conducted by able teachers, and on the most Scriptural principles; but being unconnected with the Establishment, they were branded as infidel, seditious, or popish institutions; and the people, because they were sufficiently enlightened to think for themselves, were said to be in a worse condition than the most ignorant peasantry. Indeed one clergyman whom I knew within the last five years, and who asserted that "it was a bad thing for poor people to read and write," actually exchanged an enlightened and highly moral manufacturing district for a benighted agricultural parish, because of the supposed "decorum" of the ignorant peasantry of the latter lo-mestic affairs. As a general rule, they cality. It must be seen that where prejudices like these exist, the witnesses cannot lay claim to the title of impartialmen. And the Reports which I have just quoted from the Factory Commissioners must also be received with a good deal of limitation. Mr. Inspector Saunders and some of his coadjutors are not free from a jaundiced eye. They have not told the whole truth respecting the manufacturing districts. In this respect all the statements are imperfect; the Agricultural Reports leave a great deal of the ignorance and immorality unveiled; and those from the manufacturing districts neglect to reveal a large portion of the intelligence and virtue which was under the eyes of the Commissioners. In Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, and elsewhere, efforts are making by the Church and Dissenters, which in a few years, without any aid from Government, or any Parliamentary interference, will entirely regenerate those localities. Yet you would suppose from reading the Reports of the Commissioners, that, in some districts, where these agencies are at work, hardly a school or a teacher existed. We grant that things are still in a bad state. To have but one-tenth in dayschools, when there ought to be at least onefourth, is a disgrace to any country, and of course must leave a large mass of the young to wallow in ignorance and depravity. But this is not exactly the question. Our inquiry now is, Are things better in the agri cultural districts ? The Commissioners might have answered this question either in the affirmative or the negative, as the real case may be, but they have refused to do so. And as they have shrunk from the investigation, we have had recourse to such facts as have offered themselves, and from these we have seen that the factory districts are far a-head of the agricultural in the means of It is allowed also, that great efforts to improve their work-people are made by various employers in Shropshire, Yorkshire, South Durham, North Durham, Northumberland, East of Scotland, West of Scotland, North Wales, South Wales, Wolverhampton, Warrington, Blackburn, West of England, Cornwall, Staffordshire, Edinburgh, and London"-pp. 241— 251. It is also granted, that in several places, parents are anxious to educate their children, and willing to pay for it. "The pitmen at Killingworth, or Westmoor Colliery, having had their attention directed to an arrangement for education, four hundred and six of their number immediately became subscribers of 3d. a-week to the schools, and the number of scholars increased from 90 to 528." It is added, that in this locality, there is no need of "the aid of a soldier or constable." These are cheering facts; and what, if the Commissioners had told all that the Church and Dissenters are doing, why the nation would have seen at once that there was no need of Sir James Graham's Bill. With respect to the latter body, you cannot |