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every * fibre of their frames . Can any confidence be more grateful than that of resting assured no depraved principles will be instilled into their minds ; no deceit practised ; no violations of duty hinted at or encouraged ? How often do pecuniary trusts devolve to the care of those who are about our persons ! How often must the daily expenses of life be committed to the
discretion of domestics by those who cannot attend to the supply of the wants of the family in detail I In almost every agricultural or manufacturing undertaking , the character of the persons employed influences very considerably the prosperity of the employer . Scarcely any man who has
various or important interests in life but will tell you a great part of the welfare or misery of society depends on those who have no property of their own , but who live entirely on the labour held out to them by others . By erecting , then , these schools of religious and moral discipline , we increase the usefulness of the lower
orders of the community , by laying the foundation of that instruction necessary to enable them to provide for their wants with advantage to themselves and to the world , and initiate them into the duties and charities of life . O happy period , when the subordinate classes shall , from moral
instruction , be convinced of their duties , and perform them with a willing heart ! € t In casting my eyes around , I have h , ere the satisfaction of seeing a great concurrence in this moral effort :
trustees , subscribers , wardens , of our chapel , and ministers of religion , we all co-operate in so useful an undertaking , and thus knit more closely together the bands which should endear us to
each other . The fervour of divine charity suffers no selfish feelings to predominate , and unites the eager searchers after happiness at the foot of the throne of their Father and their God , where we offer on the * same altar a common sacrifice of mercy .
" And thou ! benevolent promoter of this Institution , and you young men knit together in brotherly society ^ with what pure satisfaction , with what sublime joy must your bosoms glow in contemplating this your own glorious work , a work the honour of the town and of your patriotism , a work con-
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nected with the Christian instructions of that temple erected to the majesty and supremacy of the one living and true God , and dedicated to his worship by the oldest Protestant ^ Dissenting-Society of Birmingham , and in view of which rqpose the ashes of your ancestors , and the ancestors of the fraternal society of the New-Meeting-House congregation ; a work of which the perfume rises to heaven , and re-descends
on your heads rich with the dews of the celestial benediction I " And let all of us be animated by this consideration , that when the various * interests which have engaged our affections and directed our efforts during this mortal state shall be losing their hold on us , of what avail will
have been all our agitation , if no traces of utility shall have marked our passage on earth ? If in our private life we have not attended to the happiness of those around us : if no hearts have
beat with transport at our view ; if in our public relation we have upheld no useful institutions , discharged no active duties ; if by no effort we have contributed to the improvement and civilization of mankind , we must descend
to the tomb without one applauding voice . Surely no human being , animated by human feelings , can contemplate such an end without shuddering : no gloom can equal that palsied life which knows not the god-like emotions of humanity . Better , far better , to be
driven on , even by the impetuous workings of the soul , than , thus benumbed , to anticipate the nullity of the grave . Let us , then , redeem the time while in our power ; let us , indeed , restrain the propensities of our nature ere they lead us into vices : but let the
great , the noble and the good signalize the days of our abode on earth , that our career , distinguished by the love and service of mankind , may , amid all our imperfections , be remembered with delight , and held forth in the circle in which we move as a blessing
to the world . " . . m The perspective view of the building accompanying $ us communication may render it somewhat iaaore acceptable to th ^ public * JAMES LUCKCOCK .
* . See the Frontispiece to the present Number ,-
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296 Birmingham Old-Meeting Sunday Schools * .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1820, page 296, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2488/page/40/
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