•^ Natural History in Foreign Countries. 



freed from peculiar religious instruction.*, Experience shows that, where 

 mankind are allowed to think at all, they will never be brought to think 

 alike on so indefinite a subject as religion ; and, therefore, in a school to 

 which the children of persons of all religions are to be sent, instruction in 

 any one particular religion must necessarily be omitted. But morality, 

 which, in most countries, is more or less taught as dependent on religion 

 (most erroneously, in our opinion), must not be omitted ; and this is what 

 we would teach on what we call the Natural History principle ; i. e. simply 

 with reference to the good it produces to man in his worldly character. 

 There are a sufficiency of motives exclusively belonging to this life, to pro- 

 duce all the charitable, generous, honest, and honourable actions taught by 

 the laws of Christianity, or by any other laws. These motives are independ- 

 ent of abstract opinions, and refer simply to the rewards and punishments, 

 from the grosser to the most refined, of this life. Being, therefore, more 

 certain, they must be safer to build on than any system of promises and 

 threats, on the fulfilment of which the party, however firmly he may 

 believe and conscientiously he may act at one time, may at another have 

 doubts, and so far change his opinion as to be left without any other 

 guiding principles than those to which we allude. It were better, therefore, 

 Jto begin with these motives, because, being mattters of fact, they cannot 

 be denied or overturned; while religious principle can, in due time, be super- 

 added. We have entered into details on this subject in the pamphlet referred 

 to, and therefore shall not here repeat them ; but we cannot help adding, 

 that almost every execution that we read of in the newspapers confirms us 

 m our opinion. It is common among the Protestants to express horror at 

 the idea of absolution being given for moral offences by a Catholic priest ; 

 but is not the idea of absolution as certainly obtained by the Protestant 

 murderer, on the scaffold, by some other process ? It is ascertained that the 

 Catholic banditti of Italy trust for salvation entirely to this idea, and will it 

 be said that Protestant sinners are exempt from some corresponding influ- 

 .ence ? Might not a stranger to both systems of Christianity say, there must 

 be something radically wrong, either in the principles of your religion, or 

 in its administration, which, in its application, admits of the most horrid 

 murderers that ever existed, when brought to punishment, dying on the 

 scaflTold full of happiness]and joy, instead of being overwhelmed with a sense 

 of remorse, or a feeling of infamy ? 



The liberal and enlightened party in France are at present intensely 

 occupied with the subject of general education ; and we most sincerely hope 

 that they will not rest short of establishing it in as perfect a manner, and on 

 as firm a bas^s, as the present enlightened age and the existing state of poli- 

 tical harmony admit. They will, by this means, and by means of the rapid 

 improvements which they are making in agriculture and manufactures f , 



♦ Let no reader take alarm at this assertion, which has nothing to do 

 with religion, as such, but merely the introduction of one particular kind of 

 religion into a school composed of children whose parents are of various 

 sects. The principle contended for is already acted on by the School So- 

 ciety of Ireland. {Gard. Mag.^ vol. v. p. 84.) It was also set out with in the 

 London University; though we regret to see, in a letter signed by Dr. Lard- 

 ner and Mr. Dale, in this (Feb. 12.) day*s Times, that a sort of accommo- 

 dation to existing opinions has been made by these gentlemen, which we 

 cannot but consider as derogatory to the University, whose chair of moral 

 philosophy ought to have been sufficient for every purpose proposed to be 

 effected by the divinity lectures of Mr. Dale. 



f See two excellent articles in the Foreign Quarterly Revieiv (arts. i. and 

 xi.), attributed to Professor M'Culloch. These articles, written in the best 

 spirit, alike merit the perusal of thinking men in both nations. See also the 



