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REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

A Sermon, preached for the Benefit of the Society for promoting the education of the Poor within the government of Bombay, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 1816, being the day previous to their first Annual Meeting. By George Barnes, B. D. Archdeacon of Bombay. 8vo. pp. 30. 1816. A Sermon, preached in St. Thomas's Church, Bombay, before the Society for the Education of the Poor, on March 18, 1821; being the second Sunday in Lent. By the Right Reverend Thomas Fanshawe, Lord Bishop of Calcutta. 8vo. pp. 20.

1821.

OUR Communications from the East become daily more and more interesting. The establishment of a regular ecclesiastical government in that distant quarter of the world under a Bishop of such acknowledged piety, ability, and zeal, has given a degree of solidity and assurance to our hopes which they never had before; and we cannot but anticipate, under the divine blessing, the most happy results from its steady and judicious operation.

The two sermons which we have the pleasure of introducing to the notice of our readers, present an interesting picture of the spiritual necessities of India, and the manner in which they have been met, as far as the instruction of the European and native children is concerned, in the Settlement of Bombay, by a Society established there for the education of the poor. Of the progress of this society from its commencement to its present state some short account may not be unacceptable. It would appear from the reports of the Society, which we have before us, that so far back as 1718, a school had been formed through the exertions of the Chaplain, the Rev. Richard Cobbe, "for the teaching poor children, and instructing them in the principles of the Christian

Religion." Its funds were lodged in the hands of the Governor, and twelve boys were regularly taught in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and entirely maintained and clothed by the Charity. In 1789 however, from the reduced state of these funds, it was found necessary to unite to them another charitable fund, which stood on the company's books under the name of the Church Fund;" and an order to that effect was obtained from the Government Yet with this accession of means no increase took place in the number of children under education.

In

1796 an official letter was received from the Government of Bombay, recommending to the Managers of the school the introduction of the Madras system of education, as it had been successfully practised by Dr. Bell; but without effect; so much so, that in December 1797, at a meeting of the Managers, a resolution was passed, "that as the funds of the charity school are yearly decreasing, the number of boys be limited to ten*." thus matters stood till the esta

And

blishment of the present Society for the education of the poor, when the two charities were united together at first provisionally, till the plea

sure of the Government could be

known, and afterwards definitively. The first act of this new Society at their first meeting, dated Jan. 29, 1815, was to record their conviction, that "the early education of chil dren is of primary importance in the civilization and moral improvement of nations; and that it is the dictate of duty, as well as sound policy on the part of the European society of the Place to contribute its aid towards the benevolent ob

* These ten boys were latterly, and continued for some time after the union of the two charities to be maintained and

educated by the Government,

ject of training up the children of their countrymen in pious attachment to the principles of Christianity, and implanting in their minds such other knowledge and habits of industry, as might render them useful members of the community." Their next step was to form their Committee, and open a Subscription Book, when a sum exceeding 6,000 rupees was immediately entered, and subsequently increased in benefactions and annual subscriptions to R.28,520. A list of deserving objects was procured to the number of one hundred and sixty eight, of whom eighteen were found to be entire orphans, sixty seven had lost their fathers, nineteen their mothers, and sixty four were of indigent parents. Of these, the orphans were immediately received, clothed, and boarded; and of the others as many were admitted for daily instruction as a prudent husbanding of their funds at the first commencement of the institution, and the necessity of providing one meal a day for the day-scholars, and a suit of cloaths for their decent appearance at Church on Sundays would allow.

The attention of the Committee was next directed with success to the situation of the children of English parents by native women, which pears to have been peculiarly dis

tressing.

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parate school had been opened, and recommended to the charitable superintendance of the Ladies of the Settlement,) a total of fifty five children. Out of these, eleven, though the immediate children of Europeans had never been baptized; several were found wandering through the streets as beggars, and one actually supported by the charity of a Mussulman.

In 1816, the second year of their institution, the Society were encouraged to persevere in their laudable undertaking by the kind and substantial manner in which the National Society for the Education of the Poor in this country were pleased to notice their benevolent and useful exertions. Their funds were increased by the addition in benefac tions, and annual subscriptions of 9,659 rupees.

In the Boys' School the numbers were, Admitted 58. Discharged 21. Remaining 73.

In the Girls' School, Admitted 52. Discharged 17. Remaining 35. several children of Natives, Hindoos, MusAmong the boys were sulmans, and Parsees, sent at the expence of their parents, to be instructed in reading, ciphering, and writing; " for in the ordinary native schools they have little means of learning the English language,

which is in a great measure necessary at Bombay to qualify them for many situations." The Committee were justly led to anticipate from this a farther and more important benefit to the children.

In 1817, two schools were opened; one at Surat, and the other at Tannah, where the Honourable Company have garrisons, and sixtysix children admitted, composed of Europeans and Natives.

The general funds of the Society continued to increase: a new and separate fund was established through the benevolent exertions of lady Nightingall, called the "Girls Clothing Fund," and more than 6000 rupees subscribed towards it, with E 2

a Resolution that all monies arising from the needle-work done in the school should be paid into this fund.

In the Boys' School,

Admitted 114. Dicharged 31. Remaining83, In the Girls' School, Admitted $5. Discharged 17. Remaining 53. Of the boys, sixty-one were the offspring of Europeans, nine native Christians, seven Parsees, one Mahommedan, and five Hindoos.

In 1818, an approbation of the proceedings of the Society, together with a pecuniary grant towards its support, was received from the Honourable Court of Directors; and the Managing Committee proceeded immediately to provide what had been so long a desideratum, a suitable boarding house for the boys. In the autumn of this year, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, the master and matron recommended by the National Society, landed in Bombay: the Boys' Central School was soon after given in charge to the former, and the duties of Matron in the boy's board ing house entrusted to the latter. A proposal was judiciously and successfully made by the Society to afford their assistance to the native schools, not gratuitously, but at a much less expence than even an infe rior education could be obtained for, through any other means. The general design was to teach the English and native languages; and a school for this purpose was opened, with about forty boys; rapidly increased to between eighty and ninety, and was followed by the establishment of two other schools at Girgong and Mazagon, both on the Island.

The "Ladies' Fund" for clothing the girls was increased to nearly 10,000 rupees.

In the Boys' Central School,-Total 124. In the Girls', Do. Do. 60.

At Tannah,-30 Boys. At Surat, Admitted 66. Discharged 39. Remaining 27. The children of the Central schools were publicly examined and the result was highly satisfactory to the

Subscribers, and creditable to the exertions of Mr. Cooper.

In 1819, another examination took place equally satisfactory with the former: the call on the benevolence of the Public was largely and liberally answered by an increase of benefactions and subscriptions; another native school was added to the three former: the regimental schools, belonging to His Majesty's 65th and 47th regiment, and Honourable Company's European Regiment, which had been placed by their respective commanding Offcers, under the protection of the society, were well attended, and evinced great order and regularity. Number of Boys and Girls in the Ceutral Schools, 172.

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Of the Boys of the Central schools thirty nine left during the year, and were taken into Public Offices, or admitted into the service of individuals, or apprenticed to Captains of merchant vessels, or taken out by their friends. Three were expelled for misbehaviour. Of the girls, fourteen left, and of these eight were taken into private families as servants.

In 1820, the Society were doomed to suffer a severe loss in the deaths both of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, within twelve days of each other; martyrs in all probability to that unremitting attention which they had paid to their respective duties under no ordinary difficulties. As a mark of the Society's esteem for their characters and services, a small sepulchral monument was ordered to be erected over their common grave. A new master was appointed with strict injunctions to regard all the rules of Mr. Cooper, and the total number of children stated to be maintained and educated by the So. ciety in the Central school was two hundred and sixteen.

A library for the general amusement and instruction of the boys was resolved on, and a subscription

was entered into for this purpose, and a complete set of the society's books and tracts presented by the District Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The District Schools at Tannah, and Surat, were in a satisfactory and improving state, though the attendance of the children was very irregular.

Another

school

was

opened at Broach, and placed under the superintendance of the chaplain of Surat.

The report of the different regimental schools was highly favourable.

The public were still continuing to give as in former years their liberal and powerful aid in support of the benevolent and truly valuable designs of the society. And the only difficulty that the Committee appeared to have to encounter was the advancement of the education of the natives. The judicious steps, however, which they were taking, lead us to augur the most favourable communications in their next report, to which we look forward with very great interest.

We trust that we have not wearied our readers with the detail of a charity so valuable and operative in itself, and possessing the peculiar merit of having taken the lead of every other Institution of a similar kind in the East; and we gladly return to a consideration of the two Sermons, which were preached for its benefit. The Archdeacon's discourse on Prov. xxii. 6. is plain, sensible, and impressive, and was followed by a collection at the church-doors of more than 1801. It enters very fully into the great question of the duty and necessity of the religious education of the Poor, points out the advantages of the Madras System, and describes in a very affecting and animated manner the situation of the orphans, half-casts, and females who are the objects of the charity.

The following passages will convey a favourable idea of the Arch

deacon's style, and may be interesting to our readers from their locality.

"It is well known, that the objects of our attention and regard are some of the most destitute and forlorn of the human race. The first, whom your regulations have pointed out as the most deserving of your charity, are the children of those Europeans, who have been killed, or have died, in the service of their country.--Aud can there be a greater claim on the compassion of the public, than the orphan family of those, who exposing themselves to the arrow that flieth by night, and to the pestilence that walketh at noon-day, have fallen in its service in a foreign land? or can there be a greater encouragement to the virtue of the soldier in the toil and

danger of his warfare, than the assurance that his helpless family will be protected and supported by a grateful country ? —

If there is a case under Heaven which calls aloud for the more immediate exercise of compassion, and which may be looked upon as embracing every object of charity, surely it is this-it is the case of the

virtuous widow of a fallen soldier left with a numerous offspring in this foreign land; she sees herself far from her connections, without fortune, without protection; she beholds her children, the pledges of her late husband's love, helpless, fatherless, exposed not only to want and misery, and the snares of a vicious world, but still more vating climate; virtuous she would make to the insinuating temptations of an enerthem, but their father, her husband, who was a good man and feared the Lord, and would have placed them safely in the way of knowledge and instruction, is gone never to return, and with him are fled the means of doing it.'

"You are no strangers to distress, but the nature of our undertaking, has made us acquainted with such scenes of wretchedness, as are utterly incomprehensible by persons who live in ease and affluence.

"In our own happy country, where the light of the Gospel is displayed with purity and brightness, and the civil laws have

provided for the wants and even the comforts of the poor, the meanest among them

can never be destitute of the necessaries of life, and may always be instructed in the first principles of christianity;-but here we have seen these children strolling up and down through the streets, conliving in filth and nakedness; and if their strained to support themselves by beggary,

outward necessities demand our pity, how much more reasonable is the ground of our concern, when we behold them wan

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