There may hereafter be new changes: the doctrine of works may again revive, to be again reconquered by the truth. But after these vicissitudes of truth and error, the last change shall come: truth shall, for the last time, be established, to abide without relapse, and to cover the whole earth-and then, as Jesus Christ himself has told us, then cometh the end.

ART. VIII. THE SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AMERICAN SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

MAY 24, 1831.

THIS Society continues, every year, to grow in importance and usefulness. Indeed, of all the voluntary associations in our country, the American Sunday School Union occupies, in our opinion, the most important place, and is most deserving of universal patronage. We say this, from no alienation, or diminished interest of feeling toward other societies, in the progress of which we have sincerely rejoiced, and to the success of which we have endeavoured to contribute in our humble measure. But when we contemplate the real and most pressing wants of this extensive country, where the great concerns of Religion and Education are placed in circumstances altogether without a parallel; where interests the most precious and vital to the well-being of society are left entirely to private enterprise and voluntary exertion; we cannot conceive of any system better adapted to the condition and wants of our country than Sunday-schools, wisely and efficiently conducted, with the cheap apparatus of a small library attached to each. How delightful the thought to every genuine patriot and philanthropist, as well as to every Christian, that, on every Sabbath day, sound religious and moral instruction is communicated to more than half a million of pupils, the greater part of whom are not in the way of receiving this important instruction from any other quarter. Who can calculate the enormous expense which it would cost the government to provide for only that portion of education which, by means of this institution, is given to the youth of the country? Indeed, if an attempt were made to communicate the instruction imparted by the Sunday School by means of teachers employed for hire, it could not be accomplished. The services of thousands of teachers, who now devote themselves to this work without the hope of an

earthly reward, could not be procured for any pecuniary price.

The value of this truly benevolent and patriotic institution cannot be fully appreciated, without taking into view some of the prominent defects of our common school system of education. In many places, indeed, there are no common schools, and in such neighbourhoods the Sunday School is peculiarly, nay, all-important. But where common schools exist in sufficient number, we maintain that their organization and instruction are, every where, as far as our acquaintance with them extends, so defective that the institution of Sunday Schools is demanded by considerations of the weightiest kind. In ninetenths of the common schools of this land, there is not even an effort made to train the children to any sound and correct moral discipline, much less to instruct them in the fundamental doctrines and duties of the Christian religion. In those in which the teachers are most diligent and successful, their labours are confined to teaching the pupils to read, write, and cypher, and where education is pursued somewhat further, to giving them the elements of geography, grammar, and geometry. During a succession of years spent in these schools, no lessons are given on morality and religion, unless the irreverent reading of a chapter in the Bible, once a week, or perhaps more frequently, should be considered as answering all the purposes of religious and moral training. It is not even a custom in those schools to impart to the children any knowledge whatever of the laws of the country, on obedience to which their lives, liberty, reputation, and worldly comfort depend. This knowledge they are left either altogether destitute of, or to pick up incidentally as they can, by reading, by conversation, or by that painful experience which is derived from ignorantly incurring the penalty of some violated statute. Whereas, no teacher of American youth ought to be considered as fulfilling his high and responsible trust, who does not faithfully make known to those who are committed to his care, not only the laws of morality and religion, but also the leading laws of the country, both of the general government and of the state to which the pupil belongs. There can be no reasonable doubt that many young persons have been involved in crimes of a serious character for want of this species of information.

But the truth is, the whole organization and management of common schools, in our country, are defective-deplorably defective. The children of a district are brought together to a VOL. III.-No. III.--3 E

school-house, where they often convene an hour, or half an hour before the teacher makes his appearance. We are ourselves witnesses, that, during this period, in which the children are under no control, scenes of a shameful nature may be, and often have been, transacted. The guileless and innocent are corrupted by the vicious, and the timid are tyrannised over by the bold and bullying. Here is a complete school of immorality; and here many a child suffers ill treatment which may have an influence on all his future life. But, even during the hours which are strictly called school-hours, what benefit is gained by those who are not actually reciting their lessons to the master? In some schools, the children are preposterously required to read aloud, that it may be known that they are looking on their books; a practice which can have no other effect, than to lead them, almost necessarily, to contract an incurable tone. What possible good can a child derive from loudly repeating his lesson, when no one is engaged in listening to his performance, for the purpose of correcting his mistakes? Perhaps this practice, which we know to have been common in country schools, in certain parts of the United States, in our youth, may have been generally laid aside. But what benefit, we ask, can be derived from forcing a child to look on his book for hours in the day, while he is receiving no instruction? Frequently the little urchin is severely punished, for indulging his eyes in looking on the objects with which he is surrounded; so that nothing is, perhaps, more common with him, than to pretend to be reading, by holding his book before his eyes, while he is, secretly, amusing himself with some plaything, or engaged in whispering to his neighbour. Six hours are usually spent in these schools; in some eight. Now, during this time, no one child is under the instruction of the master more than a single hour. All the rest of the time he is constrained to sit still and look upon his book, either with vacant and stupid indifference, or with irksome restraint. In either case, he will be likely to receive no profit. Indeed we are persuaded that it is not possible for a child to derive any manner of advantage from these hours of confinement, except from the one actually employed in recitation. Would it not be a far better plan to permit all who are not engaged in reciting to amuse themselves out of doors, until the time for their own recitation had arrived? For children, whom nature has taught and prompts to be in motion, and to be amused with surrounding objects-for them to be pinned

down to hard benches, and to be compelled to keep their eyes fixed on the pages of a spelling-book, when they have no task which can possibly interest them to perform, is greater misery than can easily be conceived.

Our conviction that the mode of constructing and governing common schools is radically defective, has suggested the idea that it would be a desirable improvement to have the Sunday School plan extended to the other days of the week, or, at least, to a part of them. The only weighty objection which we have ever heard made to Sunday Schools is, that the time usually spent in them is too short for any considerable improvement. Two hours in each week is too little to learn any thing effectually, and the interval between the lessons is so long that the full force of one impression must, in many cases, be in a great measure lost before the recurrence of another, especially when the children have not pious parents or guardians who will feel an interest, by efforts, in the course of the week, to maintain and deepen the impression; an advantage which, we all know, applies to a very small portion indeed of those who belong to our Sabbath Schools.

We would ask, then,-for, in regard to new methods of education, we are aware that much caution ought to be exercised, and faithful experiments made on a small scale, before their general adoption-might not the Sunday School system be extended to at least one other day in the week? Or, if this be impracticable, on account of the teachers being occupied with their secular business, and the children at their common schools-we would propose the trial of a SUBSTITUTE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS, on one or the other of the following plans. The first is this. Let a judicious and pious man be employed to teach forty children, in a city or large town: but, instead of having them all collected at once, let them attend upon him by classes, on an average consisting of ten scholars each; and let one hour be devoted to each class; or, at most, an hour and an half, which would make up the usual time. Let the class which first recited, immediately return home, and let the hour of their departure be the time for the attendance of the second; and so of the third and fourth, at such hours as may be found most convenient. And let a task be given to each class for the ensuing day. The suffering to their feelings, and, in some cases, the injury to their health, arising from the confinement of children for so many hours in the day, to the close, impure air of school-rooms, would thus be avoided; fully as

much knowledge would be acquired as on the common plan; and the patience of the teacher would not be so frequently put to a test which the patience of Job would scarcely be sufficient to bear.

A second plan is, that one teacher should instruct several small schools in the course of the same day. This plan is especially suited to a sparsely inhabited country, where there is not a population sufficient to support good schools upon the common plan. The children of half a dozen families who live contiguously, might be convened in one of their houses, or in a barn, or work-shop; or, in the summer, under the shade of a large trec. Here the teacher might instruct them for two hours-say, from 6 to 8 o'clock. Then, allowing him one hour for breakfast, and an hour to travel to the next school, at 10 o'clock he would begin to instruct this second school, and would remain with them two hours also. At 2 o'clock he might attend a third school, which, in common, would be enough for one man; but in peculiar circumstances, and in the most favourable seasons of the year, he might attend a fourth school in the evening. The advantage of this pian is, that, besides bringing instruction to those who are out of the reach of schools, conducted upon the common plan, it would interfere very little with the ordinary occupations of life. The children of the poor, who are large enough to assist their parents in any kind of labour, would be taken from their work only two hours in the day; and that with the prospect of gaining as much real benefit in this short time, as if they spent six, or even eight hours in school. We throw out these suggestions for the consideration of those who are directly engaged, or in any way concerned, in the important task of educating youth; and especially for the consideration of the Managers of the American Sunday School Union. For although their object is to promote instruction on the Lord's day; yet if they can extend the benefits of their system to the other days of the week, they need not be deterred from the enterprise by the name which they have assumed. We are so deeply impressed with the necessity of some radical improvement in the mode of conducting instruction in our common schools, that we greatly wish to see some experiments made, which could not possibly be attended with any danger to the pupils, and which would involve very small expenditure on the part of the public. And, we will add, we cannot conceive that any society would be more likely to succeed in such experiments; to ac