“1792. ‘on schoolmaster’s salaries. 257 
how much more desirable, in this’ view, would they be- 
come, were the salaries augmented! The evil, which is 
now only in part felt, would be then universally expericn- 
ced. Thus would the industrious part of the community 
be loaded with a heavy. burden, to support a set of lazy 
drones, who would prey upon the labour of others, with- 
@ut making any kind of useful returns. Idlenefs would 
thus be encouraged at the expence of industry, and to the 
prejudice of literature; as it might soon be discovered, 
that all the learning necefsary in the performance of this 
office, would, on many occasions, be an ‘ability to grant 
a discharge: for their salaries. 
“ Thus, likewise, would the rea/ teachers of youth be de- 
graded to a much lower rank in society than they hold at 
present, and involved in much greater abjectnefs and po- 
verty. -Like poor curates in England, who are able to 
draw but a scanty pittance from the rich incumbents, who 
live at their ease on their abundant salaries, our poorer 
deputy teachers would obtain a still more scanty pittance 
from the nominal schoolmasters ; so that in the one case, 
as well as the other, the impoxtant functions belonging to 
the office of each, would come to be discharged by a set 
of men, who would be involved in a state of abject pover- 
ty, very unbecoming the station they hold in life. And 
-as we know that the circumstance which tends somuch to 
degrade the officiating cletgy in England, is prevented 
from being experienced in Scotland, merely because the 
stipends of: our.parsons .are such as not to admit of their 
living at a distance from their cures; and, as we observe 
such a strong tendency already in our schoolmasters to 
“imitate the Englifh parsons in this respect, have we not 
the greatest reason .to suppose, that, were their salaries 
augmented, the evil would be proportionally extended, 
and similar unhappy effects be experienced from it ? 
VOL. 1x. - KK t 
