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Untitled Article
time if , convinced from experience off the utility of these institutions , I endeavour to rouse my Uhitarian brethren to a sense of the
duty imposed upon them , by the power they possess of fulfilling it , to establish these schools where tftey are hgt yet formed ; and wtierfc they are , to investigate thoroughly whether they aTe rendtered as useful as possible *
I imagine it can scarcely now be Considered ats a question of expediency , whether it is better © fe not for the children of the poor to * be mitirocted in reading and writing * : thte increasing requisition for this knowledge , which
« ntr present social and comroercial habits ar * produci ng ^ has so comritTced the poor of it * neoessWy , that I have no doubt the
period is fast approaching , when tltese acquirements will be universal and that any attempt to prevent if , by withholding our a&aisttece , would be vain .
The question now to be resolved is ^ iii what manner can we beat assist the labouring part of the community , in procuring in * strucrion for their children ? And I confidently appeal to the experience of those who live in towns
where Sunday schools have heen long established , whether any other plan has yet been proposed equally cheap , efficacious , and friendly to the moral and religious character , not only of those who
are directly benefited by it , but also of those who support it . In such places it is a well known * & ct , that the religious head of a f&tdri y is , in a considerable degree . ftwd hoiii the fear of profane and
imngober language meeting the eaivibr * is faffily , on the fcord's day l and that many whose piety
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and virtue , reader them objects of respect , though in the hurrvblest walks of * life , have gain , e < i their first principles of both at the Sunday school . And if
thisas I apprehend , is indisputabl y the case , there cannot be a mo * ment s hesitation in deciding , that it is the bounden duty of every religious society to sanction the plan , by adopting it .
Let me not , however ., be mistaken , or encourage the expectation of effects , to which tfye cause is inadequate . This I am fearful has been a common error > Per .
sons of warm and sanguine dispo . sitions , have ^ too fondly hoped , that the instructions of a few hours , on the Lord ' s day , would gene * rally counteract the influence of bad habits , company and exam *
ple ^ through the week ; and 1 have been frequently grieved to hear this delusion of the youthful mind in particular , strengthened ev ^ n from the pulpit * It is not to be wondered at ^ if those who engage in the task of instruction with
such views , should grow weary of it when they find themselves disappointed . But let us reduce our expectations to a reasonable standard , and we shall find them realized ^ if we are not wanting in the discharge of our own duty , personal attention to the welfare of the
schools . And in order that the nature of this duty may be well understood , and our efforts in the cause well directed , I wish to invite my Unitarian brethren , by means of your valuable Miscellany , to assbt
each other , by communicating their plans , stating their difficulties , pointing out ttoe instance » an £ tU * degree in which their pl * n ^ have been successful T ox i n ^ iek th&f haive failed . By thua umtingi ^ r
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3 TO Oft Sunday Schotris amongst Unitmrianr .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1810, page 588, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2411/page/16/
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