which it is placed under the authority of the most illustrious personages, and the highest powers in the kingdom.

In the civil department, as has been shewn, it enjoys the patronage and support of those who stand highest in rank and in character. But then it is only the patronage and support of individuals, of societies, or of bodies corporate; and the measures they have pursued, are, in some degree, limited by circumstances, by the powers which they possess, the means which they enjoy, or by the number of the objects within their reach, and are not always adequate to the end which they have in view: All that has been thus done-all which is not founded on legal authority, and secured by a permanent provision-all which does not embrace every child of the state-all which does not fulfil the good and gracious wish of the Father of his people, and enable every subject to read the Bible,-leaves my solicitude still alive for a legislative establishment, similar to that in Scotland, of which, the early and general effects, as related by Fletcher of Saltoun, are so remarkable. Such a Provision as (more than two centuries and a half ago) had been intended for securing a system of parochial education to the people of England, by King Edward 6th, the founder of Christ's, St. Thomas's, and Bridewell Hospitals, in London, and Christ's Hospital in Abingdon. He enumerated among the remedies for the sores of the commonwealth, good education, as the first in diguity and degree; and declared his purpose of "shewing his device therein." said, "this shall well ease and remedy the deceitful working of things, disobedience of the lower sort, casting of seditious bills; and will clearly take away the idleness of people."

He

In the military department, such a measure has been already taken. This is so important an event in the History of the Madras school, that it deserves to be traced to its origin.

Under the gracious patronage of his Majesty, and

the illustrious sanction of the president his R. H. the Duke of York, I had the honour to introduce, into the royal military asylum at Chelsea, the Madras system of education. Of its first fruits, and early promise, on the grandest scale on which it had ever been exhibited, a beautiful and happy indication is given in the following document, by a late commissioner of his majesty for the government of that institution, whose able, earnest, and zealous services are well known.

Copy.

Devonshire Place, Oct. 14th 1807. Dear Sir,-Permit me to offer you my cordial thanks for the information and pleasure which I have derived from the perusal of your analysis; and, for which I hope to have an early opportunity of repeating my acknowledgments to you in person.

The system of education, which you have invented, is at once so rational, so simple, and so practicable, that it cannot fail of making its way into general use; and I have infinite gratification in seeing the royal military asylum already profiting by your labours, and giving such certain promise of bearing public and powerful evidence of the truth and value of your sysI am with real esteem, dear sir, your faithful and humble servant. M. LEWIS.

tem.

The Rev. Dr. Bell. Never were words better chosen, or more prophetic of the issue, of which, it will appear, they have even fallen short. This school (now consisting of 1200 children) not only derived new life and energy from the Madras system of education; but also raised an early and lasting monument to its fame, and a grand theatre for its exhibition, and consequent diffusion. There it has ever since flourished in great beauty and vigour: It has trained up thousands of orphan and distressed children in succession to greater usefulness, and it hath sent forth youthful missionaries to every quarter of the kingdom, and to Africa, Portugal &c. who have given a wide spread to that system, to which it had attracted public notice, and for which it had obtained celebrity, distinction, and honours.

Not only has all this been done by the new system of education in the R. M. Asylum, but its most complete success on this magnificent theatre, has led to the most important, consequential, and proud event in the progress of the Madras discovery.

Hitherto this system had no legal establishment beyond the walls of the school, or the successive children of the army under its roof. But his R. H. the founder and president, having himself witnessed and testified to the author in 1807, when he had the honour of attending his R. H. at the inspection and examination of the school, the wonderful simplicity and beauty of the system; and having further personal experience and ocular demonstration, during a period of four more years, of its most complete success, (see general orders,) beneficial tendency, and happy effects, was pleased to extend this boon to its utmost length, in the military department, placing the new system of education on a firm and permanent basis, applying it to the very purpose for which it is adapted; and, by the establishment of regimental schools, making provision for securing the blessings of useful knowledge, and of moral and religious instruction, to all the children of the

army.

It is the end of all my labours, that the boon thus * granted by his R. H. the commander in chief to every child of the army, may be also granted by the legislature to every child of the state on the same permanent footing, and for reasons entirely consonant to those, which are so happily stated on the highest authority, as follow:

Extract from " Instructions for establishing and conducting regimental schools upon the Rev. Dr. Bell's system, as adopted at the royal military asylum Chelsea."

"GENERAL ORders.-Horse-GUARDS, 1st January, 1812. "With a most earnest desire to give the fullest effect to the benevolent intentions of government in favour of the soldiers' children, to which his Royal Highness the Prince Regent has, in the name and behalf of his Majesty, given the royal sanction, the commander in chief calls on all general officers, colonels of regi

ments, and commanding officers of corps, to take under their special superintendence the regimental schools belonging to their respective commands; and his royal highness is persuaded, that, bearing in mind the important benefits which these institutions, under proper guidance and management, are calculated to produce to the individuals themselves, to the army, and to the nation in general, they will consider them as deserving their constant personal care and attention.

It will rest with the children themselves, when arrived at a proper age, to adopt the line of life to which they give the preference; but it is extremely essential that their minds should be impressed with early habits of order, regularity, and discipline, derived from a well-grounded respect and veneration for the established religion of the country. With this view, the commander in chief directs, that the regimental schools shall be conducted on military principles; and that, as far as circumstances will permit, their establishment shall be assimilated to that of a regiment, and formed on a system invented by the Rev. Dr. Bell, which has been adopted with the most complete success at the royal military asylum.

His Royal Highness has directed, that extracts shall be made from Dr. Bell's "Instructions for conducting a school, through the agency of the scholars themselves," which, having received Dr. Bell's approbation, are subjoined, as the best directions his royal highness can give for the conduct of the regimental schools of the British army.

It is necessary to observe, that, although, in the instructions, boys only are mentioned, yet the female children of the soldiery are also intended to partake of the benefits of this system of education, wherever the accommodations, and other circumstances, will permit.

The commander in chief considers it peculiarly incumbent on the chaplains, and other clergymen engaged in the clerical duties of the army, to give their aid and assistance to the military officers in promoting the success of these institutions, by frequently visiting the regimental schools of their divisions and garrisons; by diligently scrutinizing the conduct of the serjeant schoolmasters; examining the progress and general behaviour of the children; and reporting the results of their observations to the commanding officer of the regiment.

It must ever be remembered, that the main purposes, for which the regimental schools are established, are, to give to the soldiers the comfort of being assured, that the education and welfare of their children are objects of their sovereign's paternal solicitude and attention; and to raise from their offspring a succession of loyal subjects, brave soldiers, and good christiaus. By order of his royal highness the commander in chief,

Harry Calvert, Adjutant-general."

When these orders were carried into effect, I was called upon to attend the training of the serjeant schoolmasters at the R. M. Asylum; and I have been highly gratified with the success of the measures then pursued, and with the progress and state of the regimental schools, which I visited, and with the great attention, which I observed was paid to them by the officers of the regiments.

VI. INDIAN DOCUMENTS SUBSEQUENT TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE AUTHOR FROM MADRAS.ADDRESSES OF THE PUPILS OF THE MADRAS ASYLUM, AND THEIR PRESENT OF SACRAMENTAL PLATE, &c.

To the facts recorded on the books of the Madras asylum, and transmitted to England by the president in council at Fort St. George, during my superintendence of that institution, are subjoined (in Elements of Tuition, part 1st. the Madras School, just reprinted, 1813) Indian documents of a later date, sent home by the pupils of that school. Having given a brief abstract of the former of these in the introduction, it will be deemed proper to annex a short notice of the latter in the appendix. It is no small recommendation of the new system of education, that the succeeding harvests, which it has continued to yield in the character, conduct, and fortunes of its original pupils, are as abundant and rich, as its first-fruits were luxuriant and promising

Eleven years after my departure from India, the pupils of the Madras school on their "coming to years of discretion,"† embodied, in an eloquent and feeling address, the warm effusions of their gratitude, for that " paternal care" which had been taken of their youth, and for "that wholesome system"§ of instruction by which they were made " good men, and true christians," contrasting the education "of the Egmore boys with that of those who were brought up in other schools about Madras," and giving a most gratifying list of their stations and employments, derived from that education.

These documents, having been communicated to the court of directors of the East India company at the request of one of their body, were by them noticed as follows:

"SIR,-I have received and laid before the court of directors of the East India Company, your letter to Mr. Ramsay of the 5th instant, with the documents from your India pupils, accompanying the same; and I am commanded to express to you the high satisfaction the perusal of those documents have afforded * March 5th 1807. Elts. p. 98-105. † Elts. p. 102. † Elts. p. 104. Elts. p. 101. || Elts p. 103. Elts. p. 99.