B L I 



521 



B L I 



months to netting, &c. ; so that in learning one art, the 

 boy forgets the one which had preceded it, and while a su- 

 perficial knowledge is acquired of several trades, excellence 

 is not attained in any one. How much better than this 

 would it be to allow those who have a talent for the higher 

 intellectual studies to pursue them, and to become teachers 

 of those branches of learning in which they excel ; to direct 

 the mechanical tact and inclination of others, so as to make 

 it an available means of subsistence, by educating it to 

 perfection ; and in all cases to regard the dispositions, the 

 capabilities, and the genius of a pupil, before deciding 

 whether he shall be a weaver or a mathematician, a musi- 

 cian or a maker of baskets ; and such decision being formed, 

 to let the education of the pupil be pursued with a direct 

 tendency to gratify his wishes, and thus to enable him to 

 earn his future support in a manner pleasing to himself. 

 The manual labours which arc taught in the Parisian insti- 

 tution (see Dr. Guillie's Essay) are knitting, spinning, net- 

 ting, making purses, list shoes, list carpets, woollen-plush 

 shoes, whips, bottoming chairs, rope-making, basket-making, 

 and straw, rush, and plush mat-making. These are the 

 inferior kinds of labour, and consequently the worst paid ; 

 there is therefore the greater necessity that the blind work- 

 man be skilful in his art, that he may the better enter into 

 competition with those who see, in obtaining a livelihood. 

 ~\\e have already expressed an opinion that the blind who 

 have good talents should be educated to become teachers, 

 and we believe they would succeed in the office, and thus 

 become valuable members of society. 



The first British Asylum for the Blind was established at 

 Liverpool in the year 1701. This institution has hitherto 

 been liberally supported by annual subscriptions, by legacies, 

 and by donations. It derives an income of 3001. per year 

 from the chapel which is attached to it, and a still larger 

 sum from the payments made by the friends of the pupils, 

 or by the parishes to which they belong ; during the year 

 ] 834 it received for articles manufactured by the inmates 

 of the asylum nearly 1 GOO/., but the produce of these labours 

 does not assist the funds of the establishment. The instruc- 

 tion of th a blind in manual labour seems to be the primary 

 oliject with the directors of the institution. The trades 

 which are taught are those of basket-making, rope-making, 

 weaving, shoemaking, sewing, knitting and platting sash- 

 line. The most profitable of these arts is the rope-mak- 

 ing ; the locality of the institution contributes to the ad- 

 vantages derived from this trade. The sugar-houses re- 

 quire so vast a supply of cordage, that it can scarcely be 

 furnished in a sufficient quantity. The next most profitable 

 labour is the weaving of carpets, lobby-cloths, and bear- 

 rugs. Masters possessing sight are regularly employed in 

 teaching the various trades; the reasons why the institu- 

 tion derives no pecuniary advantage from the extensive 

 labours carried on are sufficiently obvious when the ex- 

 pense of experienced masters is considered, the waste of 

 materials by the labourers who are chielly learners, and 

 their quitting the asylum when they can earn enough to 

 maintain themselves. 



The total number of persons who have been received into 

 this asylum from its commencement to the publication of 

 the report (December, 1834) from which this portion of our 

 article is derived, was 929. Some very interesting details 

 are given in the same document on the causes of the cala- 

 mity under which the pupils labour, so far as could be 

 ascertained by the officers of the institution. 



Liverpool Institution, total number received 929. 



Totally. Partially. Total. 



Blind from their birth 49 28 77 



smallpox . .165 42 207 



inflammation . .174 108 282 



cataract . .34 78 112 



external injury . 47 27 74 



defect in the optic nerve 60 43 105 



imperfect organization 2 8 10 



Lost their sight at sea . . 8 1 

 by gradual decay . 4 



after fever . 7 2 

 after measles . 5 

 after hooping cough 



after convulsions .2 3 5 

 from causes not men- 

 tioned or imperfectly described 14 12 20 



572 



357 929 



From the reports of the Liverpool Asylum, as well as 

 from others which \ve have seen, the blind seem to be 

 pretty equally scattered in all parts of the kingdom. Of 

 the 929 persons who have been inmates of the Liverpool 

 Asylum, 1G2 have belonged to Liverpool, 218 to other 

 parishes in Lancashire, and 549 to distant parts of tlio 

 kingdom. A large proportion of the income of the institu- 

 tion is derived from Liverpool and its vicinity. The blind 

 of that district have therefore a just priority of admission. 

 There are 10G pupils in the Liverpool Asylum; 23 were 

 admitted in 1834, and 28 left. Among those thus admitted 

 the youngest is twelve years old, 1 8 are between twelve and 

 twenty, and 5 are between twenty and thirty years old. 

 The ages of the 28 who left are not given in the report. 

 Most of those who have completed their education receive 

 a gratuity of from two to five guineas when they quit the 

 asylum, which sum is intended to assist them in procuring 

 a few tools and materials for commencing the trades they 

 may have been taught. This provision is both benevolent 

 and wise ; for there are numerous cases which come under 

 the notice of the directors where poverty accompanies the 

 deprivation of sight, and where, consequently, the instruc- 

 tion imparted would be of no practical benefit were not 

 some means afforded of making it available to provide for 

 their common necessities. 



The intellectual cultivation of the blind is not made an 

 object of any great importance at the Liverpool Asylum. 

 The observances of religion appear to be regularly regarded ; 

 prayers are read in the cbapel morning and evening, and 

 the chaplain attends twice in each week to teach the cate- 

 chism. The inventions used for the instruction in reading 

 and writing appear to be known to some of the officers con- 

 nected with the establishment, but no arrangements for 

 their introduction seem to be contemplated. The penal 

 discipline by which the good order of the institution is 

 maintained consists chiefly of privations from music and 

 holidays, and occasionally, in the case of junior male pupils, 

 of corporal punishment, which is always inflicted in the 

 presence of the other male pupils : in such cases the birch 

 rod is used. The masters with sight are for basket, rope, 

 and shoe making, and weaving ; and those without sight, lor 

 music. The work-mistresses are for basket-making, platting 

 sash-ropes, knitting, and sewing. The salaries and gra- 

 tuities for the year 1834 were as follow : to the superinten- 

 dent and his wife, 283/. 10*. ; to the wardrobe keeper, 1\l. 

 to the master weaver, 701. 5s. ; to the master roper, 7(ll. &s. ; 

 to the master basket-maker, 70/. 5*. ; to the master shoe- 

 maker, 70/. 5*. ; to the singing master, 7Ul. ; and to the 

 music master, 90/. 10$. 



In the year 1792 au asylum for the blind was established 

 in Edinburgh. The benevolent Dr. Blacklock, who resided 

 in that city many years, bad long anxiously wished that 

 such an establishment should be formed for the education 

 of those persons who, like himself, were deprived of sight. 

 He mentioned his wishes to his friend Mr. David Miller, 

 who was also blind, and was himself an eminent example 

 of what might be effected under the influence of early and 

 judicious instruction. In the year mentioned, it was deter- 

 mined by Mr. Miller and the Rev. Dr. David Johnston, of 

 Leith, that an attempt should he made to provide an asylum, 

 and means were taken to call public attention to the oliject. 

 Mr. Miller communicated with the Abbe Haiiy, and in 

 many ways rendered important services during the infancy 

 of the institution. The chief end. in the formation of the 

 contemplated asylum, next to imparting ordinary instruc- 

 tion (orally, it is presumed), and imbuing the minds of the 

 objects with religious truth, was to place them under such 

 superintendence as should train them in those trades in 

 which the blind ' are best fitted to excel;' at the same time 

 rewarding them for their labours according to their pro- 

 gress and proficiency. In later years the directors of the 

 asylum have extended their views, devoting increased at- 

 tention to the intellectual culture of the pupils ; but still 

 the main object appears to be that of training them to 

 habits of manual labour. The economical character of 

 the Edinburgh Asylum must be a striking feature to all 

 who compare its expenditure, considering the amount of 

 good it accomplishes, with that of similar institutions. We 

 have frequently heard of the excellent management of the 

 public charities of Edinburgh ; but in none is such manage- 

 ment more visible than in this. In 1806 the directors 

 formed a separate establishment for females, and since that 

 time they have opened a school for the instruction of the 



270. 



[THE PENNY CYCLOPEDIA.] 



VOL. IV.-3 X 



