228 Domestic Notices : — Scotland. 



has been one main source of our power and opulence ; and that every thing 

 which tends to shake that security must be productive of the vyorst conse- 

 quences, especially to the labouring classes ; that differences of fortune are 

 inherent in the nature of things, and that they are, in fact, as much a part 

 of the order of Providence as differences of soil and cHmate ! How seldom 

 is the workman led to consider the advantages to himself and to the com^ 

 munity of which he forms a part, arising from the subdivision of labour ! 

 How often have we had reason to lament the fatal consequences produced 

 by prejudices against the introduction and improvements of machinery! 

 How sadly ignorant are the working classes of the circumstances by which 

 the wages tliey receive for their labour must be regulated ! What inestimable 

 blessings have been derived from the establishment of friendly societies, 

 savings banks, and those associations which teach the labourer to be pro- 

 vident ; and how often have the savings of years of economy been lost by 

 errors in the principles upon which these associations have been formed ! 

 Of what vital importance is it to the state that the working classes should 

 feel, that to look to any other resources than their own exertions for their 

 support ; that to depend upon the funds which the poor laws supply, and 

 which should belong to the aged and the sick, to those who cannot labour, 

 and who have none to help them, degrades them as men, and bereaves them 

 of what they should most value — a virtuous independence ! 



^' These are undeniable truths ; and this institution cannot be more cer- 

 tainly or more extensively useful than in removing ignorance so fatal in its 

 consequences, and in diftiising correct opinions upon subjects so intimately 

 allied with the well-being of the labouring classes, and, through them, of 

 the community at large, 



" The directors propose, therefore, that there shall be a lecture weekly 

 during the remainder of the session upon the following topics : — 1. That 

 security of property is indispensable to the welfare and advancement of 

 society; and that differences in the fortunes and conditions of indi- 

 viduals must necessarily exist in every community. 2. On the advancement 

 of civilisation, and the improved condition of the working classes, from the 

 subdivision of labour. 3. On the advantages to all classes of society from 

 the introduction and improvements of machinery. 4. On the circumstances 

 which regulate the wages of labour. 5. On the advantages of friendly 

 societies, savings banks, and other provident associations ; with an exposi^. 

 tion of the principles upon which they must be established, in order to 

 secure their stability. 6. Dn the operation of the poor laws, as affecting 

 the character and condition of the labouring classes." 



When we compare the present intellectual state of the labouring classes of 

 Edinburgh with what it was when we were at school tliere thirty-five years 

 ago, when there was not even a police, the progress appears very con- 

 siderable. At that time the lower classes were as completely eaten up 

 with fanaticism, as they had been a short time before wdth democratical prin- 

 ciples. The true way to keep a people steady, either in opinion or conduct, 

 is, to enlighten them generally and to the utmost ; because, when the mind 

 is occupied with a variety of subjects, it cannot so easily be overwhelmed with 

 any one new idea. A new and striking idea, to a vacant mind of native vigour, 

 may be compared to a single seed inserted in a piece of naked ground ; it 

 soon,whether useful or noxious, takes exclusive possession of the whole plot. 

 To enlighten the whole of a people by education would therefore be not 

 less politic on the part of a govei'nment, as a means of governing them with 

 ease, than it is benevolent on the part of individuals with a view to the 

 increase of the comfoi'ts and happiness of theii- fellow-creatures. The 

 object of the lectures on natural history and natural theology, to be 

 delivered at the Edinburgh School of Arts, is, by cultivating the heart as 

 well as the head, " to guard against the possibility of mischief from a too 

 exclusive study of the mathematical and physical sciences." — Cond. 



