discharge of its duty, forms the keystone which binds together the whole edifice. Upon this system, Lancaster superintended in person a School of one thousand scholars at an annual expense of three hundred pounds sterling. In 1806, he proposed, by establishing twenty or thirty Schools in different parts of the Kingdom, to educate ten thousand poor children, at four shillings per annum each. This proposition has been carried into effect, and he has succeeded in establishing twenty Schools in different parts of the kingdom, all of which are under the care of Teachers, educated by him, few of whom are more than 18 years old. Several of the Schools have about 300 scholars-That at Manchester has 400-his great school in the Borough Road, London, flourishes very much— it has sometimes 1100 Children-seldom less than 1000. When I perceive that many boys in our school have been taught to read and write in two months, who did not before know the Alphabet; and that even one has accomplished it in three weeks-when I view all the bearings and tendencies of this system-when I contemplate the habits of order which it forms, the spirit of emulation which it excites-the rapid improvement which it produces the purity of morals which it inculcates-When I behold the extraordinary union of celerity in instruction and economy of expense-and when I perceive one great assembly of a thousand children, under the eye of a single Teacher, marching with unexampled rapidity, and with perfect discipline, to the goal of knowledge, I confess that I recognise in Lancaster, the benefactor of the human race-I consider his system as creating a new era in education, as a blessing sent down from Heaven to redeem the poor and distressed of this world from the power and dominion of ignorance. Although the merits of this apostle of benevolence have been generally acknowledged in his own country, and he has received the countenance and protection of the best men in Great Britain, yet calumny has lifted up her voice against him, and attempts have been made to rob him of his laurels. He has been accused of infidelity; and danger to the Established Church and to Government, has been apprehended from his endeavours to pour light upon mankind. These insinuations have been abundantly repelled by the tenor of his life-his carefully steering clear in his instructions of any peculiar creed, and his confining himself to the general truths of Christianity." I have, says Lancaster, been eight years engaged in the benevolent work of superintending the education of the poor-I have had three thousand children, who owe their education to me, some of whom have left school, are apprenticed or in place, and are going on well. I have had great influence with both parents and children, among whom there is, nevertheless, no one instance of a convert to my religious profession." That knowledge is the parent of sedition and insurrection, and that in proportion as the public mind is illuminated, the principles of anarchy are disseminated, is a proposition that can never admit of debate, at least in this country. But Lancaster has also been accused of arrogating to himself surreptitious honours, and attempts have been made to transfer the entire merit of his great discovery to Dr. Bell.-Whatever he borrowed from that gentleman, he has candidly acknowledged. The use of sand, in teaching, undoubtedly came to him through that channel, but it has been practised for ages by the Brahmins. The Trustees of this institution, after due deliberation, did not hesitate to adopt the system of Lancaster, and in carrying it into effect, they derived essential aid from one of their body, who had seen it practised in England, and who had personal communication with its author. A teacher was also selected who has fully answered every reasonable expectation.-He has generally followed the prescribed plan. Wherever he has deviated, he has improved.-A more numerous, a better governed school, affording equal facilities to improvement, is not to be found in the United States. Provided thus with an excellent system, and an able teacher, the school was opened on the sixth of May, 1806, in a small apartment in Bancker Street. This was the first scion of the Lancaster stock engrafted in the United States; and from this humble beginning, in the course of little more than three years, you all observe the rapidity with which we have ascended. One great desideratum still remained to be supplied. Without sufficient funds, nothing could be efficiently done. Animated appeals were made to the bounty of our citizens, and 5648 dollars were collected by subscription.-Application was also made to the Legislature of this State for assistance, and on the 27th of February, 1807, a law was passed, appropriating 4000 dollars, for the "purpose of erecting a suitable building, or buildings, for the instruction of poor children, and every year thereafter, the sum of 1000 dollars, for the purpose of promoting the benevolent objects of the society." The preamble of this liberal act contains a legislative declaration of the excellence of the Lan. caster system, in the following words;-"Whereas the Trustees of the Society for establishing a Free-School in the city of New-York, for the education of such poor children as do not belong to, or are not provided for, by any religious society, have by their memorial solicited the aid of the legislature; and whereas their plan of extending the benefits of education to poor children, and the excellent mode of instruction adopted by them, are highly deserving of the encouragement of Government.” Application was also made to the corporation of the city for assistance, and the tenement in Bancker-Street being in all respects inadequate to the accommodation of the increasing establishment, that body appropriated a building adjacent to the Alms-House, for the temporary accommodation of the school, and the sum of 500 dollars towards putting it in repair; the society agreeing to receive and educate fifty children from the Alms-House. To this place the school was removed on the first of May, 1807, where it has continued until today. The Corporation also presented the ground of this edifice, on which was an arsenal, to the Society, on condition of their educating the children of the Alms-House gratuitously; and also the sum of fifteen hundred dollars to aid in the completion of this building. The value of this lot, and the old building, may be fairly estimated at ten thousand dollars; and the society have expended above thirteen thousand dollars in the erection and completion of this edifice and the adjacent buildings. The income of the school, during the last year, has been about sixteen hundred dollars, and its expense did not much differ from that sum-This room will contain near six hundred scholars, and below there are apartments for the family of the teacher, for the meeting of the trustees, and for a female school, which may contain one hundred scholars, and may be considered as an useful adjunct to this institution. This seminary was established about twelve years ago by a number of young women belonging to, or professing with, the society of Friends, who have, with meritorious zeal and exemplary industry, devoted much of their personal attention, and all their influence, to the education of poor girls in the elementary parts of education and needle work. The signal success which attended this free school animated the trustees with a desire to extend its usefulness, and to render it co-extensive with the wants of the community, and commensurate with the objects of public bounty. A statute was accordingly passed, on their application, on the 1st of April, 1808, altering the style of this corporation, de. nominating it "The Free-School Society of New-York," and extending its powers to all children who are the proper objects of a gratuitous education. From this elevation of prosperity, and this fruition of philanthropy, the society had the satisfaction of seeing that the wise and the good of this and the neighbouring states had turned their attention to their establishment. A number of ladies of this city, distinguished for their consideration in society, and honoured and respected for their undeviating cultivation of the charities of life, established a society for the very humane, charitable and laudable purposes of protecting, relieving and instructing, orphan children. This institution was incorporated on the 7th April, 1807, under the style of “The Orphan Assylum Society in the city of New-York," and at a subsequent period, the legislature, under a full conviction of its great merits and claims to public patronage, made a disposition in its favour, which will, in process of time, produce 500 dollars. A large building, 50 feet square and three stories high, has been erected, for its accommodation, in the suburbs of the city-and it now contains seventy children, who are supported by the zeal and benevolence of its worthy members, and educated on the plan of this institution, at an annual expense of 2000 dollars. An economical school, whose principal object is the instruction of the children of the Refugees from the West-Indies, was opened some time since in this city, where, in addition to the elementary parts of education, grammar, history, geography and the French language, are taught. It is conducted on the plan of Lancaster, with modifications and extensions, and is patronized and cherished by French and American gentlemen, of great worth and respectability, who are entitled to every praise for their benevolence. Children of either sex are admitted without distinction of nation, religion or fortune. This seminary is in a flourishing condition, and coutains 200 scholars. There are two masters in the seminary, and two women, who teach needle-work, and there is a printing-press, where such as have any talents in that way are taught that important art. We have also the satisfaction of seeing the benefits of this system extended, either in whole or in part, to the Charity Schools of the Dutch, Episcopal and Methodist Churches, and of the Fresbyterian Church in Rutgers street-and also to the school founded by the Manumission Society, for the education of children of colour, which has, in consequence of this melioration, been augmented from seventy to one hundred and thirty children. In Philadelphia, the same laudable spirit has been manifested. Two deputations from that city have visited us for the express purpose of examining our school. One of these made so favourable a report on their return, that a number of the more enterprising and benevolent citizens, composed of members belonging to the Society of Friends, immediately associated under the name of "the Adelphi Society," and raised, by private subscription, a sum sufficient to purchase a suitable lot of ground to erect a handsome two story brick building 75 feet in length, and 35 in breadth, in which they formed two spacious rooms. -The Adelphi School now contains two hundred children, under the care of one teacher, and is eminently prosperous. The other deputation made also a favourable report, and “the Philadelphia Free-school Society," an old and respectable institution, adopted in consequence our system, where it flourishes beyond expectation. Two female schools, one called the " Aimwell School,” in Philadelphia, and another in Burlington, New Jersey, have also embraced our plan with equal success. I trust that I shall be pardoned for this detail-The origin and progress of beneficial discoveries cannot be too minutely specified; and when their diffusion can only be exceeded by their excellence, we have peculiar reason to congratulate the friends of humanity. This prompt and general encouragement is honourable to our national character, and shows conclusively, that the habits, manners, and opinions of the American people are favourable to the reception of truth and the propagation of knowledge. The West Indies: a Poem: in four Parts. By JAMES MONTGOMERY. THIS Poem, as appears by an address to the public, dated December, 1, 1808, "was undertaken at the request of Mr. Bowyer, in May, 1807." It was published in 1809, with other poems by James Grahame, and E. Benger, in a splendid volume, entitled "Poems on the Abolition of the Slave Trade," and intended, in the words of the proprietor, as "an honourable commemoration of that great legislative event, which exalts the character of this age and country.' The expense of this work, in consequence of the superior stile in which the engravings and letter press are executed, will probably render its circulation less general than could be wished; and as many of our readers will doubtless be much interested in the subject, we shall give an analysis (enriched with copious extracts) of the beautiful Poem whose title stands at the head of this article. After the following animated introduction, "Thy chains are broken, Africa, be free!' Through radiant realms beneath the burning zone, Thy chains are broken, Africa, be free!'" The Poet proceeds to notice the invention of the compass; and the consequent extension of navigation. He sets before us Columbus on the shore of the Atlantic; enquiring, of the setting sun aud planets, to what unknown worlds they are hastening "Now earth and ocean vanish'd, all serene The starry firmament alone was seen; Through the slow, silent hours, he watch'd the host Till night himself, on shadowy pinions borne, Danc'd on the mountains:-lights of heaven!' he cry'd, His voyage, the ravages of the Spaniards in the newly discovered continent, and consequent reflections are contained in these very beautiful lines : "The winds were prosperous, and the billows bore He seem'd to live and breathe throughout the whole. At the last look of resolute despair, The Hesperian isles, from distance dimly blue, "Vain, visionary hope! rapacious Spain And steel'd to cruelty by lust of gold, Travers'd the waves, the unknown world explor'd, The cross their standard, but their faith the sword; Their steps were graves; death track'd where'er they trod; They worshipp'd Mammon, while they vow'd to God. "Let nobler bards in loftier numbers tell How Cortez conquer'd, Montezuma fell; |