Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-01-03

short the Indiana Ambassador, and de-
! termined that his Instructions should not
\ be read IN the presence of that body de-
ciaring thereby, in language not TO be
misunderstood, that il did not concur i'm
opinion with the State Legislatures in the
meaning OF the term g Instructions" nor
IN The doctrine deduced from ii.
In the House of Representatives too,
AT the same session, the same term WAS
iearnedly debated for long time and
| important differences ofopinion were dis
, covered TO exist, both as 10 the meaning
OF the term, and the use TO which it was
attempted 10 he applied. From this no.
| ,orlety OF tie indefinite character of the
term, +" Instructions it is difficult to ac-
count for the object of the General AS
sembly i'll selecting the singular number
OF the same noun as the fayorile term for
making a transfer ofpower. 1t can hard
~ be presumed, that the General Assem-
bly, Intended To- authorize the e board of
public instruction" TO instruct all public
agents III the discharge of their public
dulles, yet such an inference would not
be altogether unwarranted, by comparing
the general and indefinite terms used i'm
transferring powers 10 1t, with the term
used as descriptive of the object of It's
powers. Indeed, The terms used in The
bill itself are SO vague and uncertain, as
Will be shown more particularly hereafter,
thai reference is necessarily had TO some
accompanying papers, for the more parii
cular specifications Of the object of The
General Assembly and if reference be
had 10 The letters of the two most cele-
bratcd philosophers I'M the u. States, Mr..
Jefferson and Doctor MitchiI!, il will be
found, that 1t is proposed 10 commit 10
the board ofpubtic Instruction and lis SUI
coordinate and affiliated corporations, pow
ers TO regulate and control the religious,
moral, political, mathematical, literary,
military, agricultural. mechanical, sym-
uastic, miisicaland diverSional msiruc-
lion Of the whole commonwealth ; ia
short, to commit 30 IFS management and
control every thing which can tend 10
improve or embcllsh the mind the bo-
dy of man. II all these powers are TO be
committed To combination OF corpora
tons, III perpetual succession, and upon
Il principle OF subordlnatIon, IL needs no
process ot reasoning 10 show, that II Is
mol material 10 make Il question, Wheih-
er the power 10 instruct all public a.
gents be involved In these general DOW
ers or not; because, such a system OF
corporations, if rendered tilectual, and
made TO cooperate harmonlously, would
not only instruct the General Assembly
itself, but would first make il, and in
struct II afterwards, and in It's own
true sense, TOO, of the despotic inilu-
cnce OF instructions. Their Instructions
would be III no respect advisory, but in
all respects mandatory; completely strip
ping the instructed agent of every vestige
ot discretion, as will be more particularly
shown hereafter. Nor is the bill more for
tunate In selecting terms for depriving
and limiting the control of the govern
ment over infants ; nor ascertainingwhat
VII! remain TO the parent, guardian or
master; nor can any thing satisfactory
upon this important point be found i'll "a
ny OF the accompany ingpapers. The on.
~ paper which suems TO have had this
point in contemplation, is the message of
the late chiefmagistrate TO the last General
Assembly, before quoted. He there re-
commends 1t 10 the legislative body, TO
make the genius of youth public property,
that II may be & national benefit This re-
commentator, however, seems TO be
confined to the genius of the poor mans
child. 1t gives no clue TO the intended
! control over the genius of the rich mans
| child; nor is the line Of demarcation be.
tween them accurately sketched. This
| discrimination, however, must be alto
| gether arbitrary, and wanting itseIfin de-
| tinltion-Nor can theintended compliment
nor the intended benefit to the poor man
be seen, III depriving him of his r.ghts o.
yer his own child, and leaving the same
rights 10 the rich; when, if they are pro-
Herly exercised, they are iHfinitely more
useful and important TO him than thew
are to The rich still less can any national
| benefit be seen to arise, from this discri-
mlnation nor from this new species of
publc property.
lf, upon the whole. without insisting
upon precise definitions, il be the object
| OF The General Assembly tC convert GER
tam private rights ofInsiruct ton, into pub
| TIC rights, and by that mean TO improve
| the condition of man-to elevate him al
least one link higher in the chain of be-
| lngs III the universe, than IT has pleased
an unerring God TO place him: If must
| produce vast change in the relations OF
| the governors and gOverned--The rights
OF lie governors, enlarged and extended !;
| The rights of The governed properfionabIv
lessened and restricted. For this great
ana delicate sacrifice, on the part of The
| governed, some great correspondent com
| pensatlon ought TO be ensured on the
| part OF the governors aud to effect this
| grand, tins fascinating, this phianthro-
| PIC OBJECT on their part, some political
machinery of unusual powers must be in
vented and uSurDed, completely demon
strating the truth of one proposition in
the text" That theoretical perfection in
| government, and practical oppression, are
closely allied" Accordingly, for this pui-
pose, machinery novel, complicated and
powerful, has been invented and it shall
be the province of the next No. TO pre-
sent compendious view of Tie whole of
this stupendOus machinery, with its most
essential component parts.
NOTES.
| the HnI. g. a.. l.1i4..i. . ~ een WI,II