church fellowship and teaching the young. Surely this is enough to dishearten devoted teachers.

4. The small and late Morning Attendance is an unfavourable sign. Not only is the morning school a great benefit to those who are present and punctual, as well as to the parents, but it may generally be taken as a fair test and pulse of the health of its piety and zeal; yet in some cases morning schools are given up altogether, and in others, notwithstanding their not opening (instead of at nine o'clock as formerly) until a quarter-past, half-past, three-quarters past, and even ten o'clock, the numbers early are miserably few-one-third present at all is the general average, and scarcely a third of these are early.

Suppose two homes-the one where children are always present, and early, the other where they never attend morning school: these will show a contrast as widely differing as Christian and heathen. In the former-cleanliness, quiet, and comfort; in the latter-dirt, quarrelling, and distraction, causing late breakfast, late dinner, children often late, even at afternoon school, and parents without public worship all day; the homes of a large number of our scholars being thus made less happy on the Sabbath than they might be.

I am aware that some schools are frequently kept waiting for the Superintendent, which is wrong, as the Secretary or any teacher ought to commence by the clock, and neither waste precious school-time nor teach unpunctuality. Effort and sacrifice may be necessary in order to early morning attendance; but all need it, the Saviour is worthy of it, and both schools and homes would be benefited by it.

5. The fact that so many of our scholars grow up, and even leave the School, without any desire to teach, is a certain sign of wrong somewhere. What is more delightful than to

tell to others that which we know; and do we not all like to be first in our communications? Why, then, have not our scholars a more general desire to tell to others the dangers they are in through sin and transgression, and the way of salvation as revealed in the Scriptures? Is there not reason to fear that they do not know this themselves, for they certainly do not sufficiently show their sense of obligation to the Saviour, especially as the one desire of many of them appears to be freedom from godly restraints altogether? Surely in their case, for some reason or other, the Sunday School seems to have failed of its end through inefficiency; and may it not be through their early loss of Catechisms? (See Appendix No. III.)

6. The extreme youthfulness and insufficient supply of the Teachers are both a sign of inefficiency and a reflection on our Sunday School work. In many schools, with but few exceptions, the ages of the teachers will average little over twenty years—children, from necessity, endeavouring to teach religion to children. All honour to dear young people who cheerfully do what they can to "supply the lack of service" of former scholars, who are doing nothing either for Christ or souls! But why is their service needed? Our Sunday Schools are not of yesterday's date, but are growing on towards a century. Where, then, are those who were scholars fifteen or twenty years ago? A sprinkle only are found steadfast, compared with the numbers that have been scholars since that time. Whither are we drifting? The work seems wearing itself out; for, notwithstanding the hosts that have passed through our schools, there is a constant want of more teachers, clearly proclaiming Sunday School inefficiency. Boasting of 3,000,000 scholars connected with Sunday Schools, under 300,000 teachers, the

natural result, if teaching were effectual, would be an overproduction of agency, not only efficiently to carry on existing schools, but also to extend the work-an excess of hearts desirous to teach, seeking out necessitous localities, and opening branch schools, till every untaught child should be brought in. When the bee-hive becomes too full to contain the numbers, the bees swarm off, not to scatter to the winds, but to begin a new stock: so ought schools, as well as churches. The fact of any school of years' standing, in a populous locality, opening no branch, but, on the contrary, avowing its want of teachers, is a certain sign of inefficiency.

Probably many of our scholars, in after life, devote themselves to Christian work of other kinds; but that does not invalidate the general assertions already made.

7. The fact of there being so few anxious inquirers in the classes is another sign, and a solemn one. Surely both teachers and pastors need anxiously to inquire, Is the Lord among us or not? Where are the signs of His working? In our day, instead of the scholar being led to feel, to fear, and with real soul-anxiety to cry, "What must I do to be saved ?" anxious inquiry is too often by the teacher only, forgetting that conversion is the alone work of the Holy Spirit, by the truth of God in the memory, mind, and heart of the scholar. Teachers, therefore, need to inquire more whether their work of ploughing and tilling the soil, and sowing and burying the seed, has been properly done—which essential work many neither do nor seem to comprehend. Hence the few inquirers, and genuine conversions and consecrations of heart and life to the Saviour-accounting for the great difficulty, now, of finding men to do God's work. While our talk frequently has neither life nor root, and therefore cannot grow, God's truth is incorruptible seed,

having divine vitality and power; but even that must fail of the great result unless safely deposited in the human mind. Defects here are fatal.

8. The last sign I shall mention is the growing alienation of many Sunday Schools from the Pastor and the Church. This sometimes arises, doubtless, from the mistaken views of one or two individuals, but generally through want of a proper school system. Ministers grieve over this state of things, but cannot help themselves; while schools are no less unhappy and inefficient as a consequence. Most of the Teachers would gladly get right, but do not know how to set about it. Evils of the most serious kind result from this practical slight of the minister, especially in its influence on the minds of scholars, not only at the time but also in after years; while benefits to the young, almost certain to follow from a close pastoral help and oversight, are lost. Ministers are frequently blamed for taking no interest in the schools; and why is it? The pastor is neither welcomed nor wanted in some. Something, therefore, must be wrong; for if he have not the confidence and co-operation of teachers and the love of the scholars, his ministry is shorn of half its power among the young; and where else is he to look for a church in after years?

I am aware that no system adequate to Sunday School wants, and calculated happily to connect the minister and the school, has been in operation since Catechisms have been abandoned; and being thus isolated from God's great instrument of salvation-pastoral care and oversight-while the minister has been wronged, Sunday School inefficiency is the result.

These sad Signs call for immediate and radical inquiry; and I shall attempt, in the next Chapter, to define some of the Causes which probably have led to it.

CHAPTER III.

PROBABLE CAUSES OF SUNDAY SCHOOL INEFFICIENCY.

BELIEVING that the Sunday School is a Divine provision

and deal with a human and parental delin

quency, and having noticed some of the signs, let us come a little closer, and, in the next place, examine more particularly into some of the probable causes that have led to this inefficiency; and we ask,

1. Has the DIVINE WILL been fully understood and recognised by, and in relation to, the PARENTS of our Scholars? "To the law and to the testimony." "What saith the Scriptures?" We find (Deut. vi. 6, 7), " And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children" (not thy scholars); (Prov. xxii. 6), "Train up a child" (not a scholar) "in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it;" (Eph. vi. 4), "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath," (not scholars,) "but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Are not all these Divine commands special to parents? Has sufficient attention been paid to this? Has God anywhere in the Scripture released parents from this obligation? Is not, then, the work which teachers are attempting in the schools plainly parents' work? I fear many schools have seriously overlooked this, and neglected to make plain to parents their