Transcribed from the 1836 J. Fletcher edition by DavidPrice.
In Norwich and inNorfolk,
ANDOCCASIONED BY
THE PROPOSED EXCLUSIVE SYSTEM
OF
INFANT EDUCATION.
BY JOHN ALEXANDER,
MINISTER OF PRINCE’S STREET CHAPEL,NORWICH.
“There are still some who wish to confinethe element of water to their own well, and
to find the full ripe corn only in their own fields. Withthem, I confess, I have
no sympathy.”SamuelWilderspin.
NORWICH:
SOLD BY J.FLETCHER; JARROLD & SONS;
AND THE OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
1836.
Price Fourpence.
It would have been most agreeableto the author of the following letter to have published itanonymously; but he thought that, however insignificant a writermight be, it was more respectful to the parties addressed toaffix his name to his publication. His object, in writingit, he can truly say, has not been to offend, but to convince;and, though he feels deeply on the subject of the letter, itwould have been highly unbecoming, when addressing a respectableand influential body of persons, to convey his remonstrance inany other language than that of affectionate fidelity andfirmness. He has never yet come forward, on any occasion,to widen the distance which may exist between any denominationsof Christians; and he feels, increasingly, the importance ofemploying his single talent in promoting the salvation ofsinners, and the holiness and peace of the Christian Church.
Norwich, March 28th, 1836.
Christian Friends,
An advertisement has appeared inthe Norwich papers of the 26th instant, announcing that “apublic meeting of members of the Established Church will be heldin the Hall in the Market, Norwich, on Thursday, 7th of April,for the purpose of forming a Society to promote the extension ofthe Infant School system in the County and City.” Itis somewhat remarkable that a notice of such importance, andaddressed to a large and respectable body of Christians, shouldhave been inserted in the public papers anonymously, andthat you should be called upon to assemble in the Hall, withoutknowing by whose authority such an assembly is convened, andwithout even knowing who is to preside on the occasion. Believing, however, that the advertisement does proceed from somecompetent authority, and perceiving, from the terms in which p. 6it isexpressed, that all the inhabitants of this City, except“the members of the Established Church,” areprohibited from attending the meeting, I take the liberty, as oneof the excluded party, of addressing you from the press—andmy object in so doing, is to explain to you the principles onwhich the