PREFACE

To" AN ESSAY TOWARDS THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF CHARITY SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY AMONG PROTESTANT DISSENTERS."

To the generous Supporters of the Schools of Charity among the Protestant Dissenters, and particularly to the Managers of those Schools.

GENTLEMEN,

My heart is with you in your pious and compassionate designs : Go on and

prosper in your charitable cares and labours for the education of poorfand unhappy children: Poor and unhappy children indeed, who have either lost their parents by death, or whose parents are not able to give them, or provide for them any tolerable instruction in the things of God or man. It is from occa❤ sional converse with some of you, that I have been better enabled to compose several parts of this defence of the schools of charity. It is also by some of your number that I have been informed what mistakes may be committed in the conduct of these affairs, and what methods may be most successful to attain your most desirable ends, that is, to keep the poor from being a nuisance, to render them some way useful to the world, and to put their feet into the paths that lead to their own happiness here and hereafter. Give me leave therefore to set before you in one view, several of those things which seem necessary to support this cause of liberality, and which I have learned in some measure from yourselves.

I. Let your great aims and designs in all your zeal and diligence in this matter, be very sincere for the public good. Set your intentions right for the glory of God, for the increase of true religion in the world, for the benefit of poor destitute children in soul and body, for the training them up to become blessings to the nation, for the support and honour of the present government, and for the security and defence of the protestant succession.

II. See to it that in every step you take, you keep as many of these things as possible constantly in your eye, whether you seek masters or mistresses for the instruction of children, whether you prescribe orders and rules for their behaviour, whether you appoint seasons for their examination, or whether you enquire after families in which they may be placed, when they go out of your schools; and let no private ends or designs bias your thoughts and conduct in any of these affairs: Let it appear with bright evidence to the world, that the honour of God, and the good of the public, are your only motives in this work.

III. Take good care of the character of the masters and mistresses, whom you chuse for the instruction of the children. See that they be suffi ciently skilled in the things which they pretend to teach: Admit none but those who are sober and religious in their personal behaviour, diligent and careful in all the parts of their proper duty, tender and compassionate to the children of the poor, prudent to deal with them according to their temper,

age and capacity, solicitous for the welfare and improvement of their scholars, and faithful to the trust which you repose in them. Let them not be persons of a hasty spirit, nor of an angry and rash temper: There have been some masters, I will not say in your schools, so brutal and uncompassionate, that because the children are poor, they are used with excess of rigour and severity in the treatment of them: Nor should the teachers be so familiar and easy, as to let their scholars trifle with them, or neglect their duty, or be guilty of criminal practices without due reproof or correction. They should not be persons of sloth or indolence, that have no concern whether the children improve or no, so they do but receive their salary. Nor should they be persons that are guilty of any degrees of intemperance, or violence, nor ill language, nor unbecoming speech or carriage, but such as may give an example of piety and virtue, charity and goodness, at the same time as they teach the rules of it

As I would presume that no persons of any of these culpable characters, are entrusted with the education of children among you, so I am persuaded I need give no caution against the admission of persons into this trust, who are disaffected to the present government: For the very name and profession of a protestant dissenter, is utterly inconsistent with all the principles of those who have their eye to a popish pretender. These things are not only to be considered at first, when you admit masters or mistresses into your schools, but you must carefully enquire whether they continue this prudent and pious behaviour, and act agreeably to their station and business, and are conformable to your appointment and direction. Remember that if teachers and governors behave ill, there is huge injury done to children thereby. It is a waste of their time of life which is proper for learning, it is a deceiving of their parents, and a great disappointment to them, it is a cheat upon yourselves, and a loss both of your money and your care.

IV. Be not contented merely to have them read the bible, and be taught the catechism at proper seasons, but let the truths and duties of it be explained to them in a familiar and easy way, by taking the answers to pieces, and instructing the children till they understand the sense of them. It would also be a very useful thing for the children to have a particular collection of scriptures which might impress upon their tender minds, not only the duties of piety towards God, but also the duties of sobriety and temperance, of justice and truth, of humility and submission to superiors, of diligence and industry in their business, of kindness and love to all men, and especially to persons of piety and virtue, whatsoever sects or parties of christians they belong to. I am informed such a manual is partly composed, and will be published in a little time.

They should be put in mind frequently, of the excellency of the christian religion in distinction from that of Turks and Jews, and heathens: and of the excellency of the protestant religion, in opposition to the papists, with all their idolatry and superstition, their cruel and wicked principles, their mischievous and bloody practices. They should be informed also, on every occasion, of the great and invaluable privileges of being born in Great-Britain, and of living under so excellent a government as ours is, wherein there is liberty of conscience to serve God according to our own understandings, and wherein people are not punished and persecuted merely for their principles of religion. And on this account they should be taught to honour our most excellent King George, our most gracious Queen Caroline, and all the royal family, and be