Meantime they had been making steady and success- ful progress in Great Britain, where they were promoted by two classes of agencies, the philanthropic and the religious. Owing to the low state of public education in that country, hundreds of thousands of children were wholly dependent upon Sunday-schools for the first ele- ments of instruction. Hence reading and writing were universally taught in the Sunday-schools — the former as essential to the perusal of the Word of God or the Catechism, which from the first were the text-books for all pupils aide to use them.
Although much and well-rewarded effort was put forth in behalf of Sunday-schools from purely philan- thropic motives, yet the greatest progress made by them and the highest results secured through them were in sequence of avowed and consistent religious effort. When, at length, this species of effort became general, Sunday-schools assumed a position of importance and of promise not before realized. About the .^ame jieriod they began to develop what may be called their cnniu- lative power. This was seen when the first generation of Sunday -.school scholars had grown up to become teachers, and felt themselves moved to do for others what had been done for them. In this manner the teaching force in Sunday-schools became greatly aug- mented. Besides, cases were not rare in which the grown-up scholars of Sunday-schools became ministers of the Gospel, while others, continuing in secular life, became prominent men in business and in society. The strong and effective support rendered by such persons, as well as by many others of less prominence, gave a new impetus to the Sunday-school enterprise, which has been enlarging and repeating itself ever since.
The enlistment of the press as an auxiliary to Sun- day-schools was an event of great importance. For a considerable period Sunday-school work was done at a great disadvantage for lack of suitable books of all kinds, not excepting copies of the Scriptures. The organiza- tion of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, and subsequently of numerous other societies for the publication and diffusion of the Word of God, tended to a general supply of the Holy Scriptures in forms and at
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prices adapted to extensive use in Sunday-schools. Be- sides Testaments, Hildes, and elementary instruction- books, the first |)uL)lications introduced extensively into Sunday-schools wore called reward-books, on account of their beins^ presented to chiklren as an encourage- ment for punctual and regular attendance and for the memorization of lessons. At first they were tracts and story-books, in paper covers, of verj' inferior quality, no others being attainable. About 1810 the Religious Tract Society of London began issuing ciiildren's books, pre- pared and printed specially with reference to Sunday- school patronage. Tlie demand for such books increased in the ratio of tlieir production, so that other religious societies, and even miscellaneous publisliers, found it to their interest to provide them. At length the idea of introducing circulating -libraries into Sunday-schools came into vogue, and with it a still greater publication of books designed for juvenile reading, and also for the instruction and aid of teachers.
There are no data for accurately tracing the numer- ical growth of Sunday-schools in the earlier periods of their history. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to know that some of the workers of those days were not inattentive to the broader aspects of the enterprise in which they were engaged. It was estimated by the Sunday-school Society of London, in 178G, that within five years after the opening of Kaikes's first school 250,000 scholars had been enrolled in the schools then established. About forty j-ears later (1827) the American Sunday-school Union estimated that the aggregate number of scholars enrolled in the Sunday-schools of different countries was 1,250,000.
IL The Second Penod of the Sunday-school Enter- prise.— This enterprise, at the present writing, has had a recognised existence of about one hundred years. In considering its history, it seems proper to divide its first century into two periods of fifty j'ears each. The first, which has been summarily sketched above, may be de- nominated its initial and formative period. The sec- ond, now closing, constitutes its period of adolescence. We must look to the future for its full development.
Owing to causes noticed above, it was not earlier than from 1825 to 1830 that the Sundav-school cause came generally and prominently before the American public. Between the j'ears named two leading Sunday-school unions (q. v.) were organized — one in Philadelphia and one in New York. About that time several great pub- lishing societies were established tliathave given much auxiliary aid to Sunday-school efforts. The idea of re- ligious instruction as the one great business of Sunday- schools had then found universal acceptance. The de- velopment of public secular instruction had by that time become so general, at least in the Northern and Central States of the American Union, that Sunday-schools had little occasion to go out of their proper sphere. The movement in behalf of general education in England had begun, having been greatly stimulated by the re- sults of Sunday-schools. The purchase and use of Sun- day-school libraries had become common in both coun- tries, and the means of supplying them with suitable books were improving. In short, the Sunday-school enterprise was fairly launched, but no more than that. All the general improvement and progress of the inter- vening fifty years, together with the united and consec- utive efforts of the multi|)liod workers in Sunday-schools. have been needed to bring those schools to the position they at present occupy.