Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-02-28

pythe House OF Delegates, providing Tor Ihe
establishment of Primary Schools, Academies,
Colleges, and AN University, which has been
recently attacked by an anonymous writer IN
The Euauirer.- As TO the character OF thiswri-
ter, and the aspeisons cast on him IN Tie IL. of
Delegates, and of which he so mncb complains
IN his last number. il is enough for me 10 re-
mark, that Misrepresentation should not he
shielded by the mask assumed by him and who
could he replied To in no other way than
that adopted by some member of that house
ana whose own admissions prove al least he
was mistajser as 20 the real provisions of this
law neither this was innocent mistake,
ora u,ahriouss' wilful Observation-Disclosures for
a.cansiid public to decide, when they shall hsve
the biiibeiore them, and fair Statemcu, OF its
progress through Tie Legislature. The report
OF the President and Directors of the Literary
Fund, Iaade ia pursuance of certain resolutions
adopted by the iaa Legislature, was presented
IN the last OF November, 1916, recommending
the enactment of a law similar TO the one vhc,
has been sent to the senate; this report was
committed and deliberately examined by the
Committee of Schools and Colleges, who rcpor-
ted Oh ii about the 10Th at nercinber; their
report. was acted on four weeks since The re-
solutions reported by them. concurIed in by
Tire House, and bills ordered 70 be BROUGHT in
About the 18th of Jannary,;lie resolutions OF.
fetcd 10y Mr.. Garrett for creating tie Board
OF 'uolic Instruction, were presented. and 3p-
peared the day after in the Enquircr-at all
events, before tho Ist OF February. In these
latter resolutions. it was contemplated ny the
mover and 50 expressed, that tl.is Board were
10 be elected septcnnially, but tho period was
ohlected to, on tho ground of being too long
when at WAS struck ont and left blank. 81 con-
tinued so in the hill which has passe.i the House
of u Delegates, until the nth when al the in
sianceof member from York il was filed
viii, Tie word annually. The provisions of the
bill have been detailed in paper published in
Richmond of the 18th, and re- published i'm an
Alexandria paper, now before me. of The 18th
inst. The House were again and again invited
bymembers from Ioudoun and York to exam
al conversations and private discus>iou for three
weeks before the measure was iinaiy decided,
ana vet an Anonymous writer, who claims for
his Character great sanctity because lie docs
not come out IN pTopriG persona y slgn his
name, now presumes so nuch upon the igno-
rance or natienton of the members of the te-
giSlature. AS to suppose that this measure which
had been before them in some shape or other.
for three months had been properly examined
or correctly understood.
Indeed. The writer himself manfests
either the one trait or the Othcr-f0r. III his
iirstuumaer he sets out with stating that the
Board ot Public Instruction are q body perpe-
tual. RESPONSIBLE TO no tribunal filing their own
vacancies, and holding their appointments for
iIte-tvery portion Of this statement is inc or
rect, TO say the least it, The bin provides for
their annual election by the Le:riSlaiure-and
+ this writer had only put himself to the trou-
ible of reading The bill and ascertaininr its
provisions, before he attempted to state them
he would have acted much more candidlv with
the persons whose opinions he WAS DESTROYS Of
influencing. But ii is impossible for this writer
to have misunderstood 50 far this sub:ecfwIicb
had attracted the notice of all orr prints ~
| cannot hut believe, that under such circum
stances, the opinions of the members of the
Legislature are entitled to more respect than
those OF an unknown and mthnking writer
But this wise man has changed his ground in
his last number and finding what eXcitement
had been created by this W wonderfully incOnpr,l.
Gus statement, he appears in another garb and
sounding the tocsin fhis own virtue he begs us
to believe five knew him we could not believe
he wOuld he guilty OF malicious misrepresenta-
tons. Judge men from their actions not
their professions, and have enough before ne
TO decide my opinion.
INT thousand objections are now started,
not thought of be !ore-iet us examine tI,pn,
aud see if they are not mere air. lie has 40,
misrepresented the distinctive features OF lie
bill, and the i'oard of Directors have all the
powers he attributed 10 them, except, indeed
that OF being perpetual and a wide cXception
indeed. But it is all a natural mis-. axe, and If
the language of the bill had been rs is usual in
such cases, the mistake would not have been
made. WilsyOu, good Mir. -, rest the
decision ct this question of msreprese al ton
to this argument; il You ho, close with vcu.
You have again gone ON stating facts before
you have examined, aud making round asser-
tons without proo!.-Read. beg YOU, the law
creating tho Board of Public Works, aud see
it thelanguage ct this law is not copied in this
respect almost verbatim from III So here
again YOU must acknowledge you have commit
tea only n SlIgDt mistake.
The whole of the prolix argument against
this bill, is in auuf-sliell butbefore attempt
to answer it, let me remark that the thinnesS of
the House should surely be no objection to its
passage, IT members are ready 30 abandon their
duty. ~ desert their posts--knCwing TOO that
this important measure was to be acted on and
the directions toits adoption must be weak, in
deed, when so poor an argument is brought a
gainst it. This billwili not GO into operation
so Tar asitrelates to the expenditure of money,
until the next session. Bnt we are all. by MIA.
gle, to be made aristocrats; we are, by this law,
to change the whole political face of the coun-
try, and the means Of doing all this is poor 10
Directors, elected for poor ~ months
Really, this cannot be man who means to
think seriously on the subject he writes about
But how is this wonderful revolution 10 he
wrought the writer tells Won he does not nlea,,
to specify them-O no. lie can deal i'm nothing
but generals, declarations without proof and
statements without argument. The whole
strength Of the argument is that the con
trout by an annual election is nota smf5c emf
check TO prevent the abuse Of the pow cis en-
trusted to the Board really, if ihis is true.
what becomes fyour Governor, your members
of Congress, your Delegates, and your Sen :
tors! Abolish them, | beg YOU, and return,
your tlIaBks-nay, IL required erect "A morn.
ment TO the memory ofthc manwho has proved
TO you yonr danger, and shewn ;hatfhe people
should IegiSate for themselves, be their own
governors, because for ootl, if YOU elect man
each year to perform these duties he will abuse
the trust rcposed in him.
" But the system of education in other cOun-
tries where the government has nterfered.
have had the tendency Of retaining in existence
exploded opinions, and keeping things in stu
tn mo" When this writer shall state spe eff
caly what opinions now prevalent he wishes TO