第15章

Amongtheseaconsiderablenumberwereintendedtopromoteeducation。Here，asinsomeothercases，itseemsthatpeopleattheendofthecenturywereoftentakingupanimpulsegivenacenturybefore。SotheSocietyforpromotingChristianKnowledge，foundedin1699，andtheSocietyforthePropagationoftheGospel，foundedin1701，weresupplementedbytheChurchMissionarySocietyandtheReligiousTractSociety，bothfoundedin1799。Thesocietiesforthereformationofmanners，prevalentattheendoftheseventeenthcentury，weretakenasamodelbyWilberforceandhisfriendsattheendoftheeighteenth。(45*)

Inthesameway，thefirstattemptsatprovidingageneraleducationforthepoorhadbeenmadebyArchbishopTenison，whofoundedaparochialschoolabout1680inorder’tocheckthegrowthofpopery。’Charityschoolsbecamecommonduringtheearlypartoftheeighteenthcenturyandreceivedvariousendowments。Theywereattackedastendingtoteachthepoortoomuch——averyneedlessalarm——andalsobyfreethinkers，suchasMandeville，asintendedoutworksoftheestablishedchurch。Thislastobjectionwasaforetasteofthebitterreligiouscontroversieswhichweretoaccompanythegrowthofaneducationalsystem。Colquhounsaysthattherewere62endowedschoolsinLondon，fromChrist’sHospitaldownwards，educatingabout5000children；

237parishschoolswithabout9000children，and3730’privateschools。’

Theteachingwas，ofcourse，veryimperfect，andinareportofacommitteeoftheHouseofCommonsin1818，itiscalculatedthatabouthalfthechildreninalargedistrictwereentirelyuneducated。Therewas，ofcourse，nothinginEnglanddeservingthenameofasystemineducationalmorethaninanyothermatters。Thegrammarschoolsthroughoutthecountryprovidedmoreorlessfortheclasseswhichcouldnotaspiretothepublicschoolsanduniversities。

AboutathirdoftheboysatChrist’sHospitalwere，asColeridgetellsus，sonsofclergymen。(46*)Thechildrenofthepoorwereeithernoteducated，orpickeduptheirlettersatsomecharityschoolorsuchacountrydame’sschoolasisdescribedbyShenstone。Acuriousproof，however，ofrisinginterestinthequestionisgivenbytheSundaySchoolsmovementattheendofthecentury。RobertRaikes(1735-1811)，aprinterinGloucesterandproprietorofanewspaper，joinedwithaclergymantosetupaschoolin1780atatotalcostof1s。6d。aweek。Withinthreeorfouryearstheplanwastakenupeverywhere，andtheworthyRaikes，whosenewspaperhadspreadthenews，foundhimselfreveredasagreatpioneerofphilanthropy。Wesleytookuptheschemewarmly；bishopscondescendedtoapprove；thekingandqueenwereinterested，andwithinthreeorfouryearsthenumberoflearnerswasreckonedattwoorthreehundredthousand。ASundaySchoolAssociationwasformedin1785

withwellknownmenofbusinessatitshead。QueenCharlotte’sfriend，MrsTrimmer(1741-1810)，tookuptheworknearLondon，andHannahMore(1745-1833)

inSomersetshire。HannahMoregivesastrangeaccountoftheutterabsenceofanycivilisingagenciesinthedistrictaroundCheddarwheresheandhersisterslaboured。Shewasaccusedof’methodism’andaleaningtoJacobinism，althoughherviewswereofthemostmoderatekind。ShewishedthepoortobeabletoreadtheirBiblesandtobequalifiedfordomesticduties，butnottowriteortobeenabledtoreadTomPaineorbeencouragedtoriseabovetheirposition。TheliterarylightoftheWhigs，DrParr(1747-1825)，showedhisliberalitybyarguingthatthepooroughttobetaught，butadmittedthattheenterprisehaditslimits。The’DeityHimselfhadfixedagreatgulphbetweenthemandthepoor。’AscantyinstructiongivenonSundaysalonewasnotcalculatedtofacilitatethepassageofthatgulf。Bytheendofthecentury，however，signsofamoresystematicmovementwereshowingthemselves。

BellandLancaster，ofwhomIshallhavetospeak，wererivalclaimantsforthehonourofinitiatinganewdepartureineducation。Thecontroversywhichafterwardsragedbetweenthesupportersofthetwosystemsmarkedacompleterevolutionofopinion。Meanwhile，althoughtheneedofschoolswasbeginningtobefelt，theappliancesforeducationinEnglandwereastrikinginstanceofthegeneralinefficiencyineverydepartmentwhichneededcombinedaction。

InScotlandthesystemofparishschoolswasoneobviouscauseofthesuccessofsomanyoftheScotsmenwhichexcitedthejealousyofsoutherncompetitors。

EveninIrelandthereappearstohavebeenamoreefficientsetofschools。

Andyet，oneremarkmustbesuggested。ThereisprobablynoperiodinEnglishhistoryatwhichagreaternumberofpoormenhaverisentodistinction。

Thegreatestbeyondcomparisonofself-taughtpoetswasBurns(1759-1796)。

ThepoliticalwriterwhowasatthetimeproducingthemostmarkedeffectwasThomasPaine(1737-1809)，sonofasmalltradesman。HissuccessorininfluencewasWilliamCobbett(1762-1835)，sonofanagriculturallabourer，andoneofthepithiestofallEnglishwriters。WilliamGifford(1756-1826)，sonofasmalltradesmaninDevonshire，wasalreadyknownasasatiristandwastoleadConservativesaseditoroftheTheQuarterlyReview。JohnDalton(1766-1842)，sonofapoorweaver，wasoneofthemostdistinguishedmenofscience。Porson(1759-1808)，thegreatestGreekscholarofhistime，wassonofaNorfolkparishclerk，thoughsagaciouspatronshadsenthimtoEtoninhisfifteenthyear。TheOxfordprofessorofArabic，JosephWhite(1746-1814)，wasSonofapoorweaverinthecountryandamanofreputationforlearning，althoughnowrememberedonlyforaratherdisreputableliterarysquabble。

RobertowenandJosephLancaster，bothsprungfromtheranks，wereleadersinsocialmovements。IhavealreadyspokenofsuchmenasWatt，Telford，andRennie；andsmallernamesmightbeaddedinliterature，science，andart。Theindividualistvirtueof’self-help’wasnotconfinedtosuccessfulmoneymakingortothewealthierclasses。OnecauseoftheliteraryexcellenceofBurns，Paine，andCobbettmaybethat，whenliteraturewaslesscentralised，awriterwaslesstemptedtodeserthisnaturaldialect。Imentionthefact，however，merelytosuggestthat，whateverwerethenthedifficultiesofgettingsuchschoolingasisnowcommon，anenergeticladeveninthemostneglectedregionsmightforcehiswaytothefront。

IV。THESLAVE-TRADE

Ihavethusnoticedthemostconspicuousofthecontemporaryproblemswhich，asweshallsee，providedthemaintasksofBenthamandhisfollowers。

Oneothertopicmustbementionedasinmorewaysthanonecharacteristicofthespiritofthetime。Theparliamentaryattackupontheslave-tradebeganjustbeforetheoutbreakoftherevolution。Itisgenerallydescribedasanalmostsuddenawakeningofthenationalconscience。Thatitappealedtothatfacultyisundeniable，and，moreover，itisatleastaremarkableinstanceoflegislativeactionuponpurelymoralgrounds。Itistruethatinthiscasetheconsciencewasthelessimpededbecauseitwasrousedchieflybythesinsofmen’sneighbours。Theslave-tradingclasswasacomparativeexcrescence。Theirtradecouldbeattackedwithoutsuchwidespreadinterferencewiththesocialorderaswasimplied，forexample，inremedyingthegrievancesofpaupersorofchildreninfactories。Theconflictwithmorality，again，wassoplainastoneednodemonstration。Itseemstobeaquestionablelogicwhichassumesthemeritofareformertobeinproportiontotheflagrancyoftheevilassailed。Themoreobviousthecase，surelythelessthevirtueneededintheassailant。Howeverthismaybe，noonecandenythemoralexcellenceofsuchmenasWilberforceandClarkson，northerealchangeinthemoralstandardimpliedbythesuccessoftheiragitation。Butanotherquestionremains，whichisindicatedbyalatercontroversy。ThefollowersofWilberforceandofClarksonwerejealousofeachother。Eachpartytriedtoclaimthechiefmeritforitshero。Eachwas，Ithink，unjusttotheother。Theunderlyingmotivewasthedesiretoobtaincreditforthe’Evangelicals’ortheirrivalsastheoriginatorsofagreatmovement。Withouttouchingthepersonaldetailsitisnecessarytosaysomethingofthegeneralsentimentsimplied。Inhishistoryoftheagitation，(47*)Clarksongivesaquaintchart，showinghowtheimpulsespreadfromvariouscentrestillitconvergeduponasinglearea，andhisfactsaresignificant。

Thatagreatchangehadtakenplaceisundeniable。ProtestantEnglandhadbargainedwithCatholicSpaininthemiddleofthecenturyfortherightofsupplyingslavestoAmerica，whileatthepeaceof1814Englishstatesmenwereendeavouringtosecureacombinationofallcivilisedpowersagainstthetrade。Smollett，in1748，makesthefortuneofhishero，RoderickRandom，byplacinghimasmateofaslave-shipundertheidealsailor，Bowling。AboutthesametimeJohnNewton(1725-1807)，afterwardstheveneratedteacherofCowperandtheEvangelicals，wasincommandofaslaver，andenjoying’sweeterandmorefrequenthoursofdivinecommunion’thanhehadelsewhereknown。

Hehadnoscruples，thoughhehadthegracetopray’tobefixedinamorehumanecalling。’Inlateryearshegavethebenefitofhisexperiencetotheabolitionists。(48*)Anewsentiment，however，wasalreadyshowingitself。

Clarksoncollectsvariousinstances。Southern’sOroonoco，foundedonastorybyMrsBehn，andSteele’sstoryofInkleandYaricoinanearlySpectator，Pope’spoorIndianintheEssayonMan，andallusionsbyThomson，Shenstone，andSavage，showthatpoetsandnovelistscouldoccasionallyturnthethemetoaccount。Hutcheson，themoralist，incidentallycondemnsslavery；anddivinessuchasbishopsHayterandWarburtontookthesameviewinsermonsbeforetheSocietyforthePropagationofChristianKnowledge。Johnson，’lastoftheTories’thoughhewas，hadarighteoushatredforthesystem。(49*)HetoastedthenextinsurrectionofnegroesintheWestIndies，andaskedwhywealwaysheardthe’loudestyelpsforlibertyamongthedriversofnegroes’?

ThomasDay(1748-1789)，asanardentfollowerofRousseau，wrotetheDyingNegroin1773，and，inthesamespirit，denouncedtheinconsistenciesofslave-holdingchampionsofAmericanliberty。

Suchisolatedutterancesshowedaspreadingsentiment。ThehonourofthefirstvictoryinthepracticalapplicationmustbegiventoGranvilleSharp(50*)

(1735-1813)，oneofthemostcharmingand，inthebestsense，’Quixotic’

ofmen。In1772hisexertionshadledtothefamousdecisionbyLordMansfieldinthecaseofthenegroSomerset。(51*)Sharpin1787becamechairmanofthecommitteeformedtoattacktheslave-tradebycollectingtheevidenceofwhichWilberforcemadeuseinparliament。ThecommitteewaschieflycomposedofQuakers；asindeed，Quakersareprettysuretobefoundineveryphilanthropicmovementoftheperiod。Imustleavetheexplanationtothehistorianofreligiousmovements；butthefactischaracteristic。TheQuakershadtakentheleadinAmerica。TheQuakerwasbothpracticalandamystic。Hisprinciplesputhimoutsideoftheordinarypoliticalinterests，andofthemilitaryworld。Hedirectedhisactivitiestohelpingthepoor，theprisoner，andtheoppressed。AmongtheQuakersoftheeighteenthcenturywereJohnWoolman(1720-1772)，awriterbelovedbythecongenialCharlesLambandAntoineBenezet(1713-1784)，borninFrance，andsonofaFrenchrefugeewhosettledinPhiladelphia。

WhenClarksonwrotetheprizeessayupontheslave-trade(1785)，whichstartedhiscareer，itwasfromBenezet’swritingsthatheobtainedhisinformation。

BytheirinfluencethePennsylvanianQuakersweregraduallyledtopronounceagainstslavery；(52*)andthefirstanti-slaverysocietywasfoundedinPhiladelphiain1775，theyearinwhichtheskirmishatLexingtonbeganthewarofindependence。