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her of attendants , that when I wish to ascertain the condition of a congregation , one of my first questions always is , " What is the state of your schools ?" Nor let the minister imagine that , in order to be useful in this way , any great sacrifice of time wrll be requisite . If he will only shew himself in the schoolroom from time to time , and have an eye to the general routine which is there
pursued , —if he will take the trouble either regularly , or but occasionally , to hear a class himself , or to address the children , and strive , both in public and in private , to excite the interest and call forth the exertions of the congregation in behalf of the institution , he will be doing an amount of good both to others and to himself , to which the labour incurred will bear no proportion deserving of being mentioned .
By way of supplement to the hints appended to my " Prayers for Sundayschools , " I may observe , that it is of great importance to the prosperity of a . Sunday-school that the committee of management should consist of the teachers themselves , and of them only . Where it cousists of those who take no part in the detail of teaching , there is nothing
but delay , difficulty , and embarrassment . These persons do not themselves know what the real wants of thre school are ; they will not take the pains to acquaint themselves with those wants by actual attendance ; and they too frequently oppose the most salutary reforms , and the most necessary outlay . The proper
per-Hons to form the committee are unquestionably the teachers themselves ; and it it be feared to intrust the entire management to them , the keeping of the funds , and a veto on their disbursement , may be placed in the hands of the treasurer of the chapel . Allow me also to recommend that the teachers should drink tea
together in the school-room , as soon as the afternoon attendance is over , at least once or twice a month , if not every Sunday . This will fee a bond of Christian union and fellowship , and will give them the opportunity of transacting the business and discussing the interests of the institution . It is to be hoped that in every congregation a sufficient number of
young persons will be found who will be both able and willing to undertake the office of teachers , without any view to pecuniary compensation ; but if any difficulty be experienced , it will be well to have at least one paid teacher in each school , so that ttiere may be some one who is strictly responsible for his attendance at the hour appointed , and the
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children may never be left without an instructor . In addition to the books named in my printed list for prizes , I may mention ** First Going to Service , " by the author of " The Emigrants , " price Sd . ( Houlstons . ) There is k also the •* Well-spent Hour , " •* Ab Abridgment of Anna Ross , "
and several others , published at Boston in America , and which are well worth reprinting * It were much to be wished that we had in England , in oiir own connexion , a really efficient society for publishing books for Sunday-schools ; and t venture to suggest , for the consideration
of the committee of the Unitarian Association , whether it would not be worth while to devote a small portion of their funds to the accomplishment of so desirable an object . A committee of three or four persons would be competent to conduct the business of such a society ; and if it were in connexion with the
Association , it would both possess facilities , and insure to itself a degree of confidence , which it might not otherwise enjoy . Till something of this kind be done , we must be content to pay for our Sunday-school books a higher trice than
what is paid by other sects . " Compare , " it is said , " our lists with those published by Houlstons , or by Westley and Davis , and mark the difference . " True ; but these booksellers are associated with two of the most numerous
religious bodies in the kingdom -. their immense s&les allow theta to reduce their prices ; and , as things are at present , we must either take their books , which are seldom such as we can altogether approve , or be content to pay more for those which are perfectly unobjectionable on the score of doctriue . If , however , the subject of Sunday-schools were as
much attended to among us as it ought to be , and if we had in London a society for publishing works suitable to this purpose , the price might be made extremely reasonable , and the quality of the article would be improved also . I may add , that some plan of this kind is rendered the more necessary by the bigotry towards us displayed by other sects , who seem to be determined to shut us out as
much as possible from the pale of Christian fellowship , as is eviuced in the proceedings at Kendal , recorded in your last number , p . 345 . While on this subject , allow me to observe further on the importance of having a week-day school connected with each of oar Unitarian chapels , since this will be an additional bood of attachment to the place , and less difficulty will be
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Mhcetttme tfus Correspondence . 411
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1830, page 411, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2585/page/51/
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