522 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. slumber and not spare till the spirit of religious liberty which beats so soundly and vigorously at the heart, may be extended to the most distant parts of the empire, and be felt in all its power, not only in granting toleration to our religion, but in maintaining its supremacy, and shedding the blessings of peace and order amid the expiring throes of paganism. INSTRUCTION-TES MISES OF THE CHARTER-MONOPOLY OF IGNORANCE, there can be no question, is a curse to any people. Where the multitudes are illiterate, they are exposed to the wiles of the crafty, to the superstitious fears which their own fancies originate, to all the lies which their priests may propagate, and to all the alarms which the selfish agitator may excite. But when education becomes general, information spreads, and an acquaintance with men and things gains the ascendant; the people judge for themselves; ancient prejudices are removed; society is emancipated from the despotism of priestcraft; facts, truth and evidence gain dominion over the mind; and rational freedom is rendered secure. If the past history of the world has failed fully to substantiate these facts; the history of India will, I hope, very soon render them unquestionable. As it is at present conducted, no plan of education could be so worthless as that which obtains among the natives. To teach the children to read upon olas,* to write, and to cipher; to load their memories with lessons which they cannot understand; to initiate them into their absurd system of idolatry; to instruct them in the history of their gods, and in the licentious nature of their worship, may be the best method for keeping them in error, but it can never produce those effects which the wise and the good wish to contemplate. The missionaries saw this from the beginning. Convinced that education must become an important instrument in the furtherance of the gospel, and especially in preparing the people for the reception of the truth, they established schools on a better plan. So far as the native system was good, they adopted it. Sets of school-books, containing the elements of history, geography, astronomy, &c., were prepared in the vernacular languages. In the use of catechisms, religious books, and especially the divine oracles, treasures of divine knowledge were enriching the minds of the rising generation, and were preparing them for the abandonment of idolatry, and for the examination of the Bible. Thousands of children were educated in the Serampore mission schools; thousands in the CalCajan leaves. VERNACULAR TONGUES. 525 cutta Baptist, and London Mission schools, and thousands more throughout the other presidences; and the brethren affirmed that, if they had funds, schools might be established to any extent. The children were not converted, but their prejudices were shaken; their parents appeared proud of the attainments of their sons; and many were overheard ridiculing the gods of their country. The reports of the School-Book Society can bear testimony to the popularity, and to the extent of education in former days: and had the same system been pursued, we might have had greater victories to record. In the other parts of the country, and especially in the Madras and Bombay presidencies, the improved system in the native languages, has been carried on, and as far as individual exertions might be expected to avail, the effects have been cheering; prejudice has given way both on the part of the parents and of the children; many have learned to value education as they never did before; a race are springing up to read our scriptures and tracts and books with facility; and a people are prepared to welcome the declaration of the truth. I am not ignorant of the vast work which remains to be accomplished, and of the want of suitable teachers, agents and means to carry it on. No. No. When I think of the population of Hindosthan, and remember the efforts which voluntary association can make to bring the field into a state of culture; I am ready to sit down in despair, since it must be 526 PROMISE OF THE CHARTER. evident to all that, at the present ratio, we should never be able to perform the task. But when I contemplate the resources and the promises of the government, and think, that, in order to reform its subjects, to fit them for the duties of their stations, to prevent the accumulation of crime, to render prisons and banishment, and gibbets and similar penalties unnecessary, and to advance the moral and intellectual happiness of all, it is one essential principle of political economy to diffuse knowledge and education over the face of society, I am ready to hope for better enactments than have yet appeared. At the passing of the last charter, the following were the sentiments expressed by Lord Glenelg then at the head of the Board of Control -in reference to that clause which promised that greater things should be done for education. "The great object that we all have in view is the conversion of India to Christ. Some think that this may be better accomplished in one way, and some in another. My own opinion is that it will best be done by the establishment of schools in which the children may be taught the principles of our holy religion, and thus comparing its worth and excellence with their own absurd and monstrous system, they may be led to renounce the one, and embrace the other." In the name of honour and consistency, how, I ask, has this promise been fulfilled? An act of the supreme council has declared "that all the funds appropriated for the purposes |