44

THE CAUSE OF EDUCATION HOPELESS.

direct his voice, when pleading the cause of the infant forlorn and forgotten, in the midst of a community in which the boast of improvement, of charity, of Christian exertion, re-echoes from meeting to meeting, and from streetcorner to street-corner, suffocating, in the clamour of selfapprobation, the feeble cries of the helpless, whose very condition is a witness against the Pharisaical hypocrisy of this generation?

And yet, hopeless as the cause appears to be, it must not be given up. Neither must we allow our hands to sink down in idleness, nor must we lean upon the broken reeds of half-way improvements. A remedy is required,I care not how limited the extent of its application, provided it go to the whole root of the evil, and provided it be founded upon the root and source of all good. The introduction of such a remedy lies with those individuals, who have arrived at a better conviction on the subject; for as long as society is constituted upon principles, as uncongenial with Christianity, as those which are the groundwork of most of the existing institutions, no reform can be anticipated to originate with society as a body, however ample the outward means may be, which it has at command. For I do think it an inadmissible plea, that there are not funds sufficient to provide for the education of every child born in the land. Not to mention the numerous charitable foundations, the notorious misapplication of many of which, has become the subject of parliamentary inquiry; there is the enormous sum of seven millions and a half levied each year, in England alone, under the head of poor rates, of which by far the greater proportion goes towards the support of such paupers, as are encumbered with children. But the question is, whether or not, the present mode of distributing parish relief be calculated to ensure to the children those temporal and moral advantages, which might be provided for them, at such an expense? That this question is unfortunately to be answered in the negative, must be agreed upon by all that are in the

PECUNIARY MEANS.-PAUPERISM.

45

least conversant with the present state of parochial administration, and with its demoralizing influence upon the poor. There is no reason, however, why the same expenditure should not be applied in such a manner, as to make provision for the proper education of pauper children, and, at the same time, to attempt the improvement of the parents themselves, partly by interesting them in the arrangements made for their children, and partly by encouraging them in industrious pursuits. But to produce this effect, parish relief ought to be proffered as a gift of Christian charity, with a careful attention and regard to the peculiar situation, and the consequent wants, of every individual that receives it,-instead of being, as it now is, tendered in a spirit of contempt, as a boon extorted from an unwilling hand, by the extreme of necessity; in other words, the parish ought to go in search of their poor, rather than paupers in quest of the parish. I am perfectly aware of the ridicule, to which this view of the subject lies open, on account of the singular contrast which it forms with the present state and tone of society. But I can easily bear the scornful sneer of the indifferent, as well as the complacent smile of over-prudent benevolence,-being well conscious, that the ridicule arises from the circumstance, that the mode proposed is founded upon a truly Christian principle: whereas the present practice, with many more of a similar description, has for its basis a system of society essentially anti-christian. All I desire, is, that the subject may not be passed over with a smile; but that, before dismissing it from your minds, you may give to yourselves a satisfactory answer to the question: which is more conformable to the Christian character, that spontaneous charity which seeks the distressed in their own abode, and gives to every one accordingly as he wants, without asking, or that unwilling assistance, which is given, because extorted, in self-defence against the annoying intrusion of pauperism? And if that question be settled, as it easily may be, then I would farther ask: whether the

46

POLICE. PRISONS.

circumstance of a number of Christians being united together in a body, can at all diminish the duties, which individually devolve upon them, or whether, on the contrary, those duties are not more binding, in proportion as their strength is increased by their union ?

But to return to our subject. The poor-rates are not the only head of public expenditure, which, if applied in a more judicious manner, might answer the purposes which it now does, and at the same time be made available for the discharge of that important duty, the neglect of which is rendering the state of society every day more embarrassing. What sums are not expended every year for police establishments, criminal prosecutions, prisons, houses of correction, and many more of those admirable institutions, of which we are so proud on the score of public justice, and of which, on the score of Christian love, we ought to be so deeply ashamed? It is true, I grant, that we cannot dispense with them all at once,-that they are necessary evils. They are, however, evils, not only of urgent necessity, but also of increasing magnitude. We are approaching, with rapid strides, to a state of things, in which the maintenance of what is called public security, will almost amount to an impossibility, whilst the resources of society will be inadequate to the supply of the means, which this useless effort will absorb. Some efficient measures must therefore be adopted for the prevention of those crimes and vices, which we now vainly endeavour to suppress, by retaliating evil upon them. Instead of institutions for the apprehending, sentencing, and executing those criminals, who are, after all, but the victims of the present system, we must form establishments, in which the children of the destitute, of the vicious, and of the criminal, may be educated to a contrary course of life, and to different circumstances. The means at present expended upon measures of public vengeance, by which the evil is only increased and multiplied, must, by degrees, be appropriated to measures of public charity, by which

EVERY MAN MUST SUBSIST..

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the rising generation will be preserved from growing up in such deep misery, ignorance, and corruption, as the present is involved in. And although this may require, in the first instance, perhaps a greater outlay, it will so amply repay itself in the end, that even on the mere ground of economy, such a course would recommend itself. For it is a great delusion to think, that society has the choice, whether or not, it will provide for all its members; each individual that grows up in it, must find a livelihood somehow or other; if he be not put in the way to earn it in a lawful manner, he will seek it by unlawful means; if he be not taught to lead a sober life, he will lead a life of dissipation, but still he will live; if society refuse to take notice of him, as an object of its care and protection, he will force it to notice him, as an object of its self-defence and its vengeance. Thus then it is clear, that society can neither avoid giving a livelihood, to whomsoever Providence has chosen to place in its bosom; nor can it help devoting some attention, and incurring some expense, for those whom the circumstances, in which they are placed by birth, render dependant on public assistance. Would it not, then, be infinitely wiser that society should give that attention, and incur that expense willingly, at a time when it has it in its power, to make them available for the proper education of the individual to an honest and sober life, and to a useful participation in the labours, which the maintenance of society requires, than, in the vain hope of evading that sacrifice, to leave the individual in a condition, in which he will infallibly become an enemy? Would it not be wiser, at an early period, to attach him to society by the ties of gratitude, than to punish him, when it is too late, for an alienation, which was but the natural consequence of his destitution?

But if, as a mere question of policy, it cannot be denied that the present system is unwise in the extreme, what aspect will this subject assume, when we bring it to the test of Christian principles ? Christian, did I say?

48

OUR LAWS ANTI-CHRISTIAN.

Truly, I should feel satisfied, if, as a first step towards improvement, we could mould our criminal laws upon the much calumniated principles of the Jewish legislation. Short as they fall of that moral sublimity, which characterizes the Christian dispensation, they are infinitely superior to those inhuman and irreligious, those perfectly Pagan principles, upon which our present laws are founded, however much we may boast of our Christian state, and its Christian institutions. We use, or rather abuse, Christ's gospel, it is true, in a manner which savours more of superstition than of religion, more of blasphemy than of reverence, as a check upon smugglers, as a guarantee for the correctness of custom-house transactions. As far as we can make the name of Christ a tool, for the better administration of Mammon, so far, it is true, we are Christians, but no farther! Open that book, the leather cover of which is, by force of the law, kissed millions of times for pecuniary and other temporal purposes, and read one of its chief commands,—that which was declared by our Saviour to be the second, and like unto the first: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;"-read its practical explanation: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them;"-and, taking the condition of a child, which is born in one of the haunts of vice and misery, in which every town in this kingdom abounds, ask yourselves:-Where is the man in this Christian state, from the highest that sitteth upon the throne, down to the lowest that beareth the staff of his powerfrom the primate that weareth the mitre, and proclaimeth the law to the congregation, down to the meanest parish clerk, who thoughtlessly echoes, "Lord, incline our hearts to keep this law !"-where, I ask, is the man among them all, who, if he were, as by God's providence he might be, in the place of that child, would wish to be done unto, as that child is done unto, by virtue of our laws and institutions; who would not wish to be rescued from his dan gerous situation, and brought under the care of Christian