96 OBSERVATIONS ON THE DIFFUSION OF 



efforts of the legislature, those of individuals or public bodies will 

 not relax ; but that each man in his family, and each sect in their 

 congregation, will strain every nerve to raise the standard of religi- 

 ous affection and moral intelligence in the rising generation. 



The instruction of adults may be forwarded by cheap works, class 

 teaching, and public lectures. The publication of cheap works has 

 increased in this country, of late years, in an extraordinary manner; 

 and while the price has been reduced the quality of the matter they 

 contain has been much improved. The Saturday's and Penny Ma- 

 gazines, the Mechanic's Register, and the Numbers published by 

 the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, all contain much 

 information at a small price. At the same time, the works of Frank- 

 lin, and other instructive books of the same kind, have in a great 

 measure replaced penny romances and those low works of fiction 

 which are calculated only to vitiate the taste, and to interfere with 

 the proper culture of the mind. Above all, the pure Word of God, 

 while it has been translated into almost every known tongue, and 

 has been sent into every quarter of the globe, has been circulated to 

 an extent unknown before, among persons of every class in this 

 country. It may be hoped that each succeeding year and day will 

 witness the fruits of such extensively scattered seed. But what has 

 been accomplished in this manner bears yet a small proportion to 

 that which is required ; because this circulation of knowledge serves 

 not merely to supply the demand for it which already exists, but to 

 create others in an almost geometric ratio ; so that the more we do, 

 the greater is the necessity for fresh exertions. 



Class-teaching possesses one great advantage over reading — the 

 teacher is always at hand to explain difficulties which might other- 

 wise prove insurmountable. By this means the reading and study 

 of the members of the class are directed into a right channel, and 

 thus much economy of time and industry is effected. In this town, 

 a valuable society, formed among the mechanics themselves, has 

 existed almost ten years, under the name of the Mechanics' Institute, 

 and one of its leading features is the class-teaching which is attached 

 to it. Four nights in the week are their meetings held, and 

 instruction is given in mathematics and arithmetic, languages, draw- 

 ing, &c. Our curator, in his lecture on meteors, detailed to you the 

 result of the observations made by three young mechanics who 

 formed a part of the mathematical class. Their report was highly 

 creditable to themselves and to the Institution with which they are 

 connected. It looks well, indeed, when the working classes are 

 found associating themselves together for the purpose of mental 



