companion of his days,-lies undisturbed in some corner of his poudok, though honoured by many a wistful glance. At length the hour of six approaches; the dozer rubs his eyes, and starts up from his mat of straw, listening impatiently for the shrill clarion of the priest, who proclaims the fast at an end, from some neighbouring minaret. An enormous drum, pommelled with might and main, noises the glad tidings throughout the adjacent district. The poor devotee, after so painful a compliance with the law, feels called upon to make himself amends for the lost day, and fills up his time until six the next morning, with boiling, roasting, eating, and drinking. The Javanese is an adept at the enjoyment of forbidden food. Mahomet has prohibited him from touching pork; but he is an ardent devourer of ham, by the eating of which, he alleges that he commits no sin. When he drinks sweet wine, it glides down his throat by the style of "sugared water;" red wine is swallowed under the denomination of a medicine (or obat); and brandy is resorted to as a sovereign cure for fevers and stomach aches. There are many, even of the priesthood, who cannot resist the temptation, and make copious inroads on these "interdicted dainties." But when they have enjoyed their fill, I have seen them shudder at their transgression, and turn away with loathing from the scene, though excusing themselves under the pretext, that "it is not in man to walk always upright." THE ARCHDEACON OF CANTERBURY'S LETTER ON THE EDUCATION OF THE POOR. WE request the attention of our readers to the following statement of the Archdeacon of Canterbury, which we consider to be highly important, as evincing the beneficial results of religious instruction to the poor, in the way in which it is imparted in our National Schools. We think it the more valuable, because in these times of riot and destruction, enemies and lukewarm friends are too ready to attribute to the general education of the poor, without any precise data upon which to found their opinion, the evils under which we have been, and still are suffering; and merely, as it appears to us, because it happens to present the first and easiest solution to a difficulty which they are either too indolent to trace up to its proper cause, or, if that be pointed out to them, too prejudiced to admit it. Our opinion is, that if we had had less of political economy, and more of sound Christian principle, we should have escaped the horrors of the last six months. Be that as it may, we trust the Clergy, and other managers of National Schools, will answer to this call of the Archdeacon of Canterbury; and we doubt not it will be triumphantly shewn that, so far from having been the occasion of mischief, the National Schools have materially improved the moral and religious character of the lower orders. GENERAL EDUCATION. To the Editor of the Kentish Gazette. Saltwood, January, 1831. SIR,-The melancholy increase of crime, and the more frequent disturbances in the country, of late years, having been attributed by many to the general system of education, I conceive it to be the duty of those under whom our several schools are managed, for the satisfaction of the public, to ascertain, as correctly as we may be able, the future conduct of those individuals who have derived the advantage of this National System. I beg leave, therefore, to send you a statement of those boys who have been educated at my school at Hythe, since the year 1819, and I shall be obliged to you to give publicity to that statement. I remain your obedient servant, Boys who have been admitted, and left the Hythe National School, since Midsummer, 1819, to Christmas, 1830, a period of eleven and a half years : Very good character Good character Indifferent Criminally convicted Dead... Unknown At present in the School 98 94 29 3 11 88 323 154 A RESPECTFUL SUGGESTION TO LORD KING. MR. EDITOR,-If the papers state correctly, a most wise and truly liberal and conciliatory proposal has been made to Parliament by Lord King. According to this account, his Lordship proposes that Government should seize the clerical tithes, make out of them a liberal allowance for every incumbent, and apply the remainder to the uses of the State. Even in these days of improvement, this project startles us with its beauty and novelty. I am, however, about humbly to suggest to the noble Lord what I consider a still further improvement. The clerical tithes are not one-tenth of the property of the kingdom, even at the utmost; for the lay tithes (which are very considerable) must be added to make them so. If half measures are self-evidently condemned by the advancing intellect of this generation, what must tenth measures be? Let the noble Lord, then, take an ampler range, -a more liberal extent of reform. My suggestion, therefore, is this; let Government seize the WHOLE landed property of the country (the funded by and by),-let a liberal provision be paid out of this to the landlords, and let the remainder be confiscated to State uses. If it be asked, "What provision should be made for the land proprietors?" the wisdom of Lord King will guide us to an answer. By the noble projector's scheme, the liberal allowance made to the clergy would amount to an average of 100l. a-year each, (for it is known that the clerical tithes would not average 2001.) Now as the clerical tithes are much less than one-tenth of the landed property of the kingdom, it will follow that the rest is more than nine-tenths; hence we must give to the laity something more than nine times what the clergy receive, and if we give them ten times, the allowance would be most liberal. Let, then, the landed proprietors have 1000l. a-year each, and give the rest to the nation! It is true, this would reduce Lord King's rental; but the noble Lord is too liberal and consistent to make frivolous objections. Knowing the bigotry of your opposition to the march of intelligence, I fear you will not disclose this liberal scheme; but as I have hopes from your influence in illiberal quarters, I trust you will for once be conciliatory enough to give publication to the wishes of A REFORMER. COLLECTANEA. INDIAN RELIGIOUS CREED.-They believe in one Great Spirit, the Creator and Governor of the world, on whom they continually depend, and from whom all their enjoyments flow. Although they have no public or social worship, yet they are grateful to the Great Spirit for past favours, thank him for present enjoyments, and implore from him future blessings: this they sometimes do with an audible voice, but more frequently in the silent aspirations of the heart. They believe in the doctrine of immortality and future retribution; but their conceptions on the subject are vague, and modified by their peculiar manners and habits.-Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia, Vol. XIII.; being Vol. I. of the History of the Western World-United States of America. UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW.-The late government had effected much towards extending the usefulness of several institutions established for the benefit of this University; the valuable additions made to the library, the observatory, and the several scientific cabinets, deserve particular mention and eulogy. A preparatory polytechnic school has been opened, and normal schools for the rearing of teachers, for the elementary schools, had been set on foot in Lowiez and Pultawa. The annual sum assigned for the department of public instruction was 160,000l. (two millions of guilders); a satisfactory evidence that the late ministry were not among the advocates of intellectual darkness. The actual number of students at the University is 590, and the higher grammar schools are frequented by 8,682 pupils. The elementary schools amount to 28,400. The Rabbinical school established in the year 1826 has 72 scholars, and the four elementary schools have admitted 289 Israelitish pupils. THE JESUITS.-We understand that there are at least 20,000 disciples of Loyola in Ireland; and that in one parish near Cork there are above 100, not one of whom is registered as required by the late law! MONTHLY REGISTER. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING Report of the Liverpool District Committee. In the statement of the proceedings, it may be premised, that the District Committee of this town and neigh CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. bourhood, first established in the year 1816, has been favoured in its progress with all the opportunities of doing good which its friends anticipated. The scholars, who are at present The following grants have been made during the past year, in aid of objects for which this Committee was formed. First, they have had the satisfaction of transmitting to the Parent Society a sum of one hundred pounds, in consideration of the loss sustained from the reduced prices at which their books are sold. A Parochial Library has been furnished, at the request of the Ministers, for the use of the Congregation at St. Martin's Church, placed in a district where many poor are found, to whom such a gift is likely to prove useful and acceptable. And a grant of a Bible and Prayer Book for the Chapel in the Infirmary, has been gratefully accepted and acknowledged by the Trustees of that Institution. The Lunatic Asylum has also been provided with a further supply of Bibles and Prayer Books; and, by the direction of the Annual Meeting, it is intended to select such a library as may be thought likely to administer to the patients' consolation and improve To the Report is prefixed an able digest of that of the Parent Society; and the Committee deserve well of the town and environs of Liverpool for their active exertions in the good cause. Brentford &c. District Committee. By referring to the Treasurer's Account for 1829, it will be seen that 251. was last year transmitted to the Parent Society, and that the number of books and tracts distributed since the establishment of the Brentford Committee in 1822, amounts to 18,573, of which 2,864 have been issued during the last year; viz. 68 Bibles, 190 Prayer Books, 109 Testaments, 24 Psalters, and 2,473 bound and unbound Tracts; making an increase of 275 upon the issues of the preceding year. The number of children within the district, receiving education gratuitously according to the principles of the established Church, and using the Society's books: The Boys of Old Brentford are included in the returns from New Brentford and Ealing. The Bury District Committee HAVE pleasure in announcing to their friends the success which has attended their exertions during the last year. Subscriptions and donations amounted to 1127. The issue of Books was 7,872; viz. Bibles, 309; Testaments, 376; Psalms, 881; other Books and Tracts, 6,306. THE Anniversary Dinner of the Society for Promoting Christian KnowRipon, Masham, and Aldbro' District ledge, on Tuesday, May 17, at the Society. AT the Second General Meeting of this District Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, held in the Chapter-House, Ripon Minster, on Tuesday, the 25th of Jan. 1831, a most luminous Report was read by one of the active Secretaries of that district, the Rev. James Charnock; and much do we regret that our confined limits should prevent us from giving this, as it so often does from publishing the many excellent Reports which come before us. NATIONAL SOCIETY.-Grants of the General Committee of the National Society, voted on the 2d of March, 1831: Free-Masons' Tavern. The Public Annual Examination of the Children in the Central School, before the President and Committee of the National Society, will take place on Wednesday, May 18, at twelve o'clock precisely, in the Central Schoolroom; and immediately after the examination, The General Meeting of the National Society, will be held in the same place, at two o'clock. The Annual Meeting of the Society of Secretaries, will take place at the Central School, on Tuesday, May 17, at two o'clock; and the private *The Secretary has been enabled to establish this Library within the last year, by voluntary contributions in his parish. |