Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-03-20
FOR THE ENQUIRER

No. Wand LAST.
Eradication Of The " Proposed system Of Pabiic
Eaaeation' from the Doubts" @" Il COasii-
tuegt."
is highly Interesting to our county and it i. the
duty Of its funciionares 10 provide that every czenn
II shuud receive education pToportoIed 10 tue con
dltion and pursuits Of his life.'
Letter from 2hos. Jefferson TO p. Carr.
The 9Th No. of the Constituent, though il
contains a reasonable proportion OF absurdity,
misrepresentation, and frivolity, is, upon tl!e
whole, tue best written in the essay. In the
very hrst sentence, we come to the follow
ing declaration eve have lust heard, il must
be rccoliectei, that the E" greatest error of the
system was IN suppOsiug that the evils of
society proceed from a want of learning. 49,.
Your Constituent most earnestly iinpioreS the
most serious attention OF the General Assembly
TO what he couceiyes to be the great error in
the fundamental principle in the proposed
system of public edmcation"-upen tile adop.
ton rejection OF which (ie says ia 50 many
Words depends the question of liberty or
d2spotIsm. " The great and erroneous prin-
ciple is, that, that government uHd, rt;kes 10
abSO!ve the citizen from the discharge of his
FIRST and most Iinperious duty in his individual
character, aud TO perform II for iIm in his
corporate character" Thus we have the
greatest aud the great error, the greater error
only Is wanting now to give us the three de-
grees of grammatical cOmparisOu. We must
ali be little surprised 10 learu that ii is "the
first and most iiuperious duty OF the citizen" to
make his offspring "drOnes' in his family, 20
max them 'i6ie," to make them "pTetenderS,' -
10 make them "philosophers," TO elevate
them above themselves, to make him more
ihan men,, HAT they may I" become less, for
tilss rs precisely what we nave heard all along
: tl,e government had undertaken" 10 do aud
r hat would be the inevitable consequence of
three years schooling" without any provision
10 acquire the " simultaneous kR0'riedge ct
learning End of labor" Here is "a new system
o. cities
The only important idea i'm this No. of the
Constituent, and indeed may say, the only
important one in the whole ESSAY, TOR IL is
remarkable, although the subject OF this essay
i~-edpcation, that III about forty columns of
the Enquirer, not one solitary original and
valuable idea has been presented to view,
touching the subject,) is, that the system by
undertaking to educate the poor grotuitouSIy.
: VIII weaken the relative dependence of pa
rent and child, and operate like the poor laws
as a Bounty on ideness and dissipation. This
objection, heweveT, is rather specious than
solid, and has more weight as general argu-
ment, than in application TO the particular
system in question. 1t is not easy to conceive,
thai tire mere circumstance of Il child being
schooled three years, at the public expense,
should make his parents less atfectionate to.
wards hin, or less DESTROYS TO provide for him
comfortable subsistence. The law does not
undertake 10 relieve the parent entirely from
providing Tor his offspring it only proposes
10 FcIieve hun from very small expense,
nuTiag small portion of his life. 1t is still
more difficult 10 believe that the effect of edu
cation would DC to weaken the dependence of
ihe child on Che parent. 1t could do this in 10
eSner sense, than that in which may be said
thatknoe ease essens our dependence gene.
lally and tbs effect would hardly be depre-
Gated by ANY one. The ability to aid each
other, by theac quisitou of knowledge on the
p...t Vt nc sblld, aHd the savings on the part of
ibe psrpnt, >, led by that natural affection
which snts-zA ~een them, and which few
hours during tie day, for few
years, ct,,lG .,- ..,pair, would be TO the ad.
vantage OF both As to the idea that the
. money the parent is released from paving,
for SCHOOLING" will he applied 10 buying whis-
key, had understood the Constituent to say
that The loss of his child labor would occasion
Ammunition, rather than an augmentation of
his means, aud, 10 this case, ono would suppose
mat he would have to employ greater industry
20 gain his living no one can suppose that this
diuiuutiOn OF his means would make him
greater spendthrift. But admitting that he
would save money by the schooling of has son
Al the public expense, as he undoubtedly
gould, would this small addition to his income
make a man fond OF whiskey, who was not so
before; or would man who was so, be res.
trained from indulging his fondness from
desire TO educate his children 1t is admitted
that money given away, is generally spent
thouShtiessly by the receiver bat mouev
eaiued by labor, aud the expenditure Of which
is saved by any good fortune, is,uot the less
priced. 1t might be cOntended, that the mo.
ney which MANS" released from paving" in
consequence OF the death or marriage Of his
W0pld he used ito buy whskey," with asniucn
prOpriety as that the money he is IS released
from paying" by his being educated at the
public expense, would be so employed. The
comparison OF the system with the poor laws
is not accurate the one provides for instruc-
ton for a short period of life; the other for
subsistence for the whole life. The utility of
both, however, depends, in great degree,
upon their being exercised with a sound dis
erection. But shall we forego the use of
thing because Of the possibility of the dJusq p
Snail we snffer no fire to he brought into our
house lest II should be burnt down; or take no
food for fear that it may contain poison Is
there the least earthly probability that the
trustees of the primary schools, elected annm-
ally by the people, wonld abuse their trust p
II they were disposed to do so, how, III tins
instance, would they manageitS Would II be
Nv the proportion Of children they admitted to
gratUitOns Instruction. There are not many
in our state of that description. who wOnld
sequire gfatlitOus instruction; but suppose
that IL 10 be extended to all the evils in NY
0pinion are not precisely those which have
been pointed out by the Constituent. have
always been opposed to gratuitous instruction
--Dnt IL IS not because II lessons the relative
dependence of father and child, and produces
iondness for whiskey. 1t Is because that
winch IS obtained without exeTtion, is never
~ highly valued as That which is obtained by
bbsr, or Which IS purchased with our own
rnuuey aud lie RIGHT of being educated would
neither be valued 20 highly by parent or child
WHEN grdlaitOus as when II cost something
OF c1Hrse the same industry would not be used
20 0Dtaiutbe greatest advantage from It, This
principle is perfectly well understood IN Scot
ia1d, aud acted Oh iOr there, the poorest pay
something. As tar as 4 know, IL is the only
country where the poor schools are not a5so.
ip'fig free. Ia Eugldud, and iu The United
States, grstniieHs instruction is provided for;
obi the laws iDr edncauDu in Virginia, provide
TO- Ii absoip.fiy, eSrept tile school bin IA queS
tOn, sslicb. hy icdVnw 20 discretionary with
tie trustees vi prim1Ty schools TO determine
who IL able 20 pay, pli 10 into their power 20
reduce We nnuhcr Of gsafuHOns scholars 50