AN ESSAY ON CHARITY-SCHOOLS, 3$ against the church of England, or to make them bigots to any sect or party. As we refuse no children of the members of the establishedchurch, so we teach them nothing that I know of in- consistent with their continuance in that church. In the second place, I answer, that though some few of these charity- schools in the established church, may perhaps in- dulge moderate principles, and have some favourable opinion of the protestant dissenters ; yet it has been sufficiently evi- dent, that too great a part of them have trained up children in a furious and blind opposition to all who separate from the church of England. And if parents, who know not these things, should be tempted for the sake of clothes and apprenticeship, to permit their children to learn -a different way of- worship, which they do not so well approve of, yet it is hard, to think that they should be almost constrained to send them to such schools, as may not only fill their heads with party notions *, but also tincture their hearts with a bitter party zeal ; such schools as may potbnly give them a set of different principles, but might indulge them to mock and deride the religious sentiments of their parents. And yet this might be the case in many placet, where the protestant dissenters are very poor ; they would fain have their children taught to read and write, yet perhaps there is no éther charity-school near them, but such as hates the name of a dissenter. And after all, I must intreat leave to observe, that this is not the worst of the case. The children in many of these pub- lic schools, would not be only brought up with an aversion to the religious sentiments and practices of their parents, but would be also in great danger of learning to hate the present government under his most, excellent majesty King George, and to rail at the establishment in the protestant succession, which is the glory of Great Britain, the defence of the reformed religion, and the securest guard of the liberties of Europe. This is not spoken at random, for I shall produce a most unquestionable authority ,for it; who declares it to have been lately so notorious, as that it is not possible to be denied. Now the education of youth in such schools, would not only prove the highest inconvenience and mischief to the children themselves, but a very great injury to the whole nation, and to man-kind ; and this would be the evident and unhappy effect, unless these schools are vastly re- formed from these hateful practices, and freed from the disho- nourable character, which most of them bore, and which many of them merited in years past. The right reverend the lord bishop of London, whose words * See Mr. Chandler's sermon for the bearfat of a eharity.sahool, Jan. i. 17278. page 34, as.
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