THE 
MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
No. 0.171.) 
JUNE 
1, .1808. 
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AG of Vou. 25. 
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** As long as thofe who write aie ambitious of making Converts, and of giving to their Opinions 2 Maximum of 
** Influence and Celebrity, the moft extenfively circulated Mifcellany will repay with the greatett &ffec&t the 
8s Curiofity of thefe who read either for Amufement or Inftruction.” 
_ JOHNSON: 
ORIGINAL COMMUNIGATIONS. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
S education is asubject of great im- 
portance in itself, and within the 
last twelve months has become more in- 
teresting to the country than ever, [ hope 
you will have the goodness to permit ine 
to say a little on the originality of Lan- 
caster’s plan, compared with Dr. Bell’s.- 
Tam fully aware that the pages of your 
excellent publication are devoted to 
knowledge and science, and I sincerely 
wish they may long continue equally use- 
ful to society, and ornamental to litera- 
ture. I by no means wish to detract 
from their real utility, by inv estigating a 
question merely relative to the originality 
of a valuable invention, being convinced 
that such discussions often relate to no- 
thing but precedency, and are only ques- 
tions of words and names. I am gene- 
rally one of the most unwilling to agitate 
them; but in this case I see a personal 
persecution of adeserving individual, who 
has educated many thousands of poor 
children in his own institution, and else- 
where, and a designed injury to the edu- 
cation of the poor in general. I must 
flatter myself I shall not be deemed in- 
trusive or troublesome by you, in calling 
the public attention to the merits of 
the case, and the question who was the 
original author of the new system of tu- 
ition. I shall prove Mr. Lancaster was, 
though Dr. Bell claims it. 
Mr. Lancaster’s school has been estab- - 
lished these ten years; his system has not 
been seen in any one school where it was 
not introduced by himseif or bis pupils. 
A leading feature of his plan is, that one 
master can teach from fifty to a thousand 
children in one room, without any assist- 
ance in teaching but that derived from 
his boys.. Dr. Bell is brought forward 
by a few individuals to claim the inven- 
tion as originally Ais, Let us examine 
the merits of this claim, 
Dr. Bell’s first book, ** An Experi- 
ment in Education, 
Asylum, Madras,” was published in 1797. 
In page 18 of that tract, he mentions the 
Monruty Masc., No. 171, 
made at the Male 
names of the masters of the Male Asy- 
lum, “ Francis Johnson, Richard Tay- 
lor, ‘James Blood ;” these three masters, 
and himself super intendant, to a school - 
of twohundred boys! The reader's com- 
mon sense will shew him who must be 
the author of the plan for teaching a 
thousand children under one master, 
On Dr. Bell’s leaving Madras, the 
masters addressed him on his departure 
(page 43 of the same book) :, ‘‘ Reverend 
Sir— We, the masters cf the Maite Asylum, 
&c.” so signed by four names, “ Enea 
cis Johnson, John M‘Kay, Richard Tay- 
lor, and James Blood;” and Dr. Beil 
thanks them (page 44) for their grateful 
acknowledgments, and addresses his let- 
ter to “ Messrs. F. Johnson, J. Mackay, 
R. Taylor, and J. Blood,” beginning with. 
these words, ‘¢ This hee will offering af 
the masters of the Mate Asylun, Ko.” 
four masters and himself superinten- 
dant of a school ef two hundred boys, 
and claiming the merit of an invention 
which enables any person to teach a 
thousand! It caimot be said these mas- 
ters were boy-teachers, as in page 19 he 
gives a list of boys who were teachers in 
the Male Asylum, and none of the mas- 
ters’? names are in that. list. 
Dr. Bell did not publish a second edi- 
tion of his work until 1806; and he 
printed a third edition in 1807. In all 
those editions, the list of boys who were 
teachers is the some, but for what pur- 
pose, the candid reader may judge. In 
the two last editions, the names of the 
“ masters of the Male Asylum” are left 
out, as is their farewell letter to Dr. 
Rell, and his reply. ‘The hke omission 
occurs in the previous statement, page 
18, and the list of classes and boy-teach- 
ers is retained. ; 
Now as to the respective economy of 
‘the two plans.—In page $1, of the first 
edition of Dr. Rell’s hook, is.the follow- 
ing note, but, as usual, it is omitted in 
the following editions :—* At the com- 
mencement of the school, the salary of 
the masters amounted to 600 pagodas a_ 
year; for the last year (4796) it tell short 
3E of 
