[Moral Education League of London (John Stuart Mackenzie, President).] Seventeen pieces of ephemera relating to the MEL, including pamphlets, leaflets, subscription forms, circular letters. With three related documents.

An interesting archive of material relating to a movement whose influence extended beyond the British Empire. In 1906 the MEL had induced the Board of Education to make provision for moral instruction in the education code for England and Wales, and two years later the first in a series of International Moral Education Congresses was held at the University of London, with Michael Sadler in the chair (the sixth and last would take place in Krakow, Poland, in 1934). The twenty items present here are in good condition, lightly aged and worn. They all appears to have been sent by the MEL in 1914 to member W. R. Macpherson of 17 King Charles Road, Surbiton, Surrey (formerly of Chancery Lane), and includes [One] a TLS to him from the MEL Secretary, Alexander Farquharson (1864-1951), with [Two] receipt for his subscription of five shillings signed by G. M. Watkinson. The three largest items are 4to bifoliates: [Three to Five] 'A Graduated Syllabus of Moral and Civic Instruction for Elementary Schools. Adopted, with slight modifications, by the Cheshire, Buckinghamshire, Devonshire, Surrey, West Riding of Yorkshire, and other Education Authorities. First issued 1902. Revised December, 1905.' (3pp + ads, the syllabus covering the two centre pages, for children from infants under seven years to those of fourteen years); 'Moral Instruction. Replies to some objections' (4pp, lengthy replies to six objections, in small print); 'Moral Instruction. What It Is Not and What It Is.' (3pp + ads) [Six] Smaller 4to bifoliate titled 'Moral Instruction. A few words addressed to teachers in elementary school.' (3pp + ads). [Seven] 'Moral Education League. An Appeal to all Members and Friends' by 'G. A. Smith, | Hon. Treasurer' (2pp, 4to). [Eight] Circular letter from MEL Secretary Alexander Farquharson, dated 31 January 1914, appealing for 'fresh people who are willing to share the burden of Committee-work on the League's behalf' (1p, 4to); with [Nine] 'Agenda' of the 'Sixteenth Annual General Meeting of Members of the League', addressed by Farquharson on same date (1p, 4to). [Ten to Twelve] Three issues of 'The Moral Education League Quarterly': no.36 (1 April 1914, 8pp, six articles, including 'Mr. William Archer on “Knowledge and Character”'), no.37 (1 July 1914, 12pp, seven articles, including 'Mr. Gould's American Tour'), no.38 (1 October 1914, 8pp, seven articles, including 'The Sex Ideal'). [Thirteen] 'To all interested in moral and civic education in schools' (3pp + ads, 4to, information leaflet and perforated application form). [Fourteen] 'Moral Lesson Books | Published for and recommended by the Moral Education League' (4pp, 12mo). Also [Fifteen to Seventeen] a subscription form, an order form, and a leaflet (headed 'Notices to Members'. No other copies of any of these seventeen items found on COPAC. The British Library has five MEL leaflets dating from 1915 to 1921, otherwise no similar material traced. Also included are [Eighteen to Twenty] three related items not published by the MEL, being brochures advertising new publications (possibly enclosed with MEL documents): 'Minimum Rates in the Chain-making Industry' by R. H. Tawney; 'The Ethical Movement Its Principles and Aims', edited by H. J. Bridges; 'Historical Materialism and the Economics of Karl Marx' by Benedetto Croce.