THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS OF THE S U N D A Y S C H O O L . W . H . W A TSO N , One of t be Secret a rzes of fl u Sun day Scfiool CA VEN U B R A R! ! NO X CO LLEGE TO R O N TO LON DON SU N D A Y SC H L N I N 6 O L D B A I L E Y O O U O , 5 , . P R EF A C E. UPON occasion Sunda Sch o ol Union in the of the y , the 1 853 n n n year , celebrati g the Jubilee of that I stitutio , its history to that period was recorded in a volume prepared one and by of the Secretaries published by the Committee, ” THE F THE H L entitled HISTORY O SUNDAY SC OO UNION . A desire had been expressed for a Second Edition of and in n for n that Work , prepari g a complia ce with that request the Author discovered that the papers read at the Sunday School Convention of 1 862 contained a large amount of information relative t o the progress of the Sunday- school system which had not any conn ection o n with the hist ry of the Sunday School Unio . He was therefo re led t o consider whether a volume devoted t o the narrative of the o rigin and progress of the Sunday- school system during the first fifty years o f its in w n o f n history, hich the proceedi gs the Su day School Union should be recorded only so far as they materi ally n o i fluenced that pr gress , might not be the most convenient P i REFACE. v. o n m de of preservi g the memory of the facts which, under n v n n the guida ce of Di i e Provide ce, have resulted in the s so - e tablishment of wide spread and beneficial agency . n o n The prese t v lume is the result of that co sideration , and is n ow submitted to the perusal especially of the i n i n n friends of the religious tra g of the you g, with the hope that it will excite gratitude to the Author of all u Good, who has so wonderf lly guided and blessed the thoughts and actions of His servants, and made them so extensively useful . Should thiscontribution to the history of Christian efforts since Robert Raikes commenced the present - Sunday school system meet with acceptance, it will probably be followed by another volume, devoted more especially to a fuller detail of the manner in which the Sunday School Union has sought to extend and improve that system . T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S . H TER C A P I . Early e ffort s fo r t h e mo ral and re li gi o us training o f t h e yo un g HA T C P ER II . Th e n e e c ua mo a and e ous co nd on o f En and s o i t ll t l , r l, r ligi iti gl h rtly pre vious t o t h e e stabli shme n t of Sunday schoo ls H T C A P ER III . h i s me n o f un da sc o s b M r R o e r R a k s T e e stabl h t S y ho l y . b t i e HA T C P ER IV . Th e fo rmatio n o f t h e Sun day Scho o l So ci e ty and e stablishme nt o f t h e Sto ckpo rt Sch oo l HA TE C P R V . — J o se ph Lancaste r Th e B ritish and F o re i gn Scho o l So cie ty D r B e —Th e N a ona So c e fo r omo n t h e Educa on . ll ti l i ty Pr ti g ti o f t h e Po o r in t h e Prin cipl e s Of t h e Establishe d Church Th e R e ligio us Tract So cie ty A R C H PTE VI . R v R o w and Hi ll—O e n n o f t h e fi s Sunda sc o o in London e . l p i g r t y h l M r T o mas Cran fie ld . h I TABLE OF CONTEN TS . V . C HA PTER V' H . PA GE — I n tro ductio n o f t h e Sunday scho o l in to Sco tland Oppo si ti on o f t he civi l and e ccle siasti cal autho ri tie s C HA TER P VIII . — I n tro ducti o n o f t h e Sun day scho o l i n to Wale s C o nse q ue n t de man d fo r co i e s o f t h e Sc u e R e v T o s C a e s—F ma o n p ript r . h . h rl or ti o f t h e B riti sh and F o re i gn B i bl e So cie ty C HA TER P IX . M r W B Gu n e —F m a n f t h unda n . o o o e S Sc o n . r y r ti y hoo l U i Mr am N i b —M r T o mas T om s n e s s e t . o . J h h p . C HA TER P X . Th e e xte nsio n o f t h e Sunday scho o l t o A me ri ca C HA TER P XI . In tro ductio n o f t h e Sunday scho o l into Ire land T C HA P ER XII . First publi c me e ting o f t h e Sunday Scho o l Uni on H C A P TER XIII . Effo rts fo r t h e pro mo tio n o f ge n e ral e ducati o n C HA TER P XIV . ’ M r B ou am s an fo r t h e omo o n o f e ne a e duca o n . r gh pl pr ti g r l ti C HA TER P XV . F o rmati o n o f t h e A me ri can Sunday Scho o l Unio n or N T T TABLE CO EN S. ii v . C HA TER P XVI . Th e e stablishme n t o f I n fan t scho ol s HA PT R C E XVII . Se nio r cl asse s in Sunday scho o ls HA TER C P XVIII . Th e J ubile e o f Sunday scho ols- Con clusion THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS OF THE SUNDAY S H L C OO . CHAPTER I . Ear/y cf orls f or t he moral and re ligious t raining 1 1 6 of { young. AMONG the various subjects which occupy the at tention o f n one the reflecti g mind , there is, perhaps, no more in teresting than that which refers to the origi n and in n gradual progress of events the atural , the political , IVe and the moral world . behold the mighty river n : rolli g its ample flood towards the ocean in its course , it be aut ifie s and fertilizes the lan d through which it : n passes by its age cy, that which would otherwise be a barren desert is c o nverted into a fruitful field and n o furnishes food for millio s b th of man and beast . n n The traveller, anxious to exami e the spri g whence this n t o blessi g proceeds , traces the stream upwards its n n his source ; and, after a lo g and pai ful journey, h n curiosity is gratified . He t e perceives how apparently n n in i sig ificant its early course is the stream , which , n as n n wideni g it proceeds , at le gth confers blessi gs so varied and extensive . Such al so is the feeling with which we examine the progress of a mighty empire, that overruns the whole n a n civilized world, and bri gs lmost every known ation t 4 3 B 2 THE FI RST FIFTY YEARS i o s nt ubjection to its authority . The historian traces back the steps by which it advanced to its power he finds the limits within which that power Operates, t h e gradually contracted , and authority, much more ] mildly exercised ; til , at length , he reaches the time when a few hardy men , perhaps of doubtful character, u n nder an able chief, fou d themselves a home in a fe w temporary dwellings, erected by them on that spot which after a fe w centuries became the metropolis of the world . A curiosity of a similar kind is awakened with respect to the master minds to whom we are indebted for so much of our knowledge .