"preached to them."

The Bible is the

proper inheritance of the poor in this world.

The rich seldom read the Bible.

"The

rich," saith our Lord, "have received their "consolations." But the poor, having

little hope in this world, will more readily " embrace and ever hold fast the blessed "hope of everlasting life." Having no honour or glory here, they will the more earnestly look into that book which contains their charter for " glory, honour, and "immortality;" which our Saviour hath given them, saying; "Blessed are ye poor, "for your's is the kingdom of heaven.'

99

* It is well known by those who have had the means of forming a competent judgment on the subject, that there is in Scotland more religion, a higher tone of morals, more classical learning, and more general knowledge, in short, more absolute civilization, in proportion to the population, than there is in England. And this hath been produced in the course of time by the natural means, viz. the establishment of schools. The common servants in that country (I speak of the Lowlands chiefly) can both read and write; but they make better servants

There is another source of melioration of morals amongst the lower classes, which ought to be noticed on this day with the highest respect, namely, the BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS, which have been established during the present reign; I mean, particularly, those establishments whose object is to attend to the souls of men, as well as to their bodies, by instructing the reclaiming the vicious.

young, and

for that, not worse. It may be, that the child who conies to your door for alms, can both read and write. For "God hath made both rich and poor;" and, when the whole scale of civilization is raised, there must yet be some poor. But the fact is, that the poor in Scotland are fewer in number (perhaps by one half) in proportion to the country, than they are in England. To a stranger, indeed, they may appear in some numbers, because they generally beg for themselves, whereas, in England, there are houses built for them. If we would reduce the number of the poor in England, and the almost incredible expense of the poor rates, let us encourage schools, and teach 86 EVERY POOR CHILD IN THE NATION TO READ THE "BIBLE."

There are many persons who manifest much liberality and public spirit in support of those institutions which relate merely to the personal comfort of men, who are, at the same time, indifferent to their religious and moral improvement. It has been supposed, that this spirit is very general at this period, and that it is increasing. It shews itself chiefly in the following expression; "that very good institutions may grow out of humanity and philosophy "alone." If this be, in any degree, a just statement of the general sentiment, it will be found very much to diminish our character as a benevolent nation on Christian principles. Let us examine this

· matter.

The benevolent institutions of this country have attracted the attention of the world by their number and magnitude; and

they are a just theme of thanksgiving to the nation. But we are to remember, that the exercise of benevolence to the poor, in regard to their temporal estate, is not peculiar to our country, nor to the Christian religion. Almost all nations, according to their progress in civilization, attend to this public duty; because it is a matter of public interest. We can exemplify this even in the case of the Hindoo nation. We have seen, that the religion of Brahma careth not for the souls of men; but it is not destitute of attention to their bodies. The Hindoos possessed formerly, during the period of their political greatness, numerous public institutions, and public accommodations, for the benefit of the poor and the diseased, which were supported by the national revenue, and some of them with imperial munificence Of these there are relics at this day, such as Serais, or Caravanserahs,

free of expense, in the desert lands, for the wayfaring man; rows of trees, planted on each side of the road, to defend the head of the pilgrim from the hot rays of the sun; and, in particular, wells of water opened in the burning desert to refresh the thirsty traveller; wells of great extent, some of them covering acres of ground, built at an immense expense, and with incredible

labour, constructed of hewn stone, and enduring from age to age.

It is true, these works have not been continued by their European conquerors; for, benevolence even to the personal comfort of men requires something of local, or national, partiality to call it forth. And, if this be true, in regard to their bodies, how much more may it be expected, to be true in regard to their souls? You have heard, that endeavours are now making to restore learn