Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-02-19

10 know what our anthor means by dc,ai.
corporation, as we'll a. TO Learn how the detini-
ton applies 10 tie primary schools. \ member
OF the NirgiUia House of Delegates declaredin
a speech last year, that a corporation was the
devil" AccO. ding 10 this DEFINITION, II is pre-
sNmed Gemi corporation must mean dcpli-
devil but which OF the various Orders Ot a.
formal powers is characterized by this appell,
tou, l ann not sufficiently vetsed in the mystic
res of the black art to know still ieSsto per
ccive bow the term applies to the primary
schools or their trustees, unless by a kind o.
forced analogy bstweeN the welt known turbu
ence of the demOniacal race, aud the notorious
chstreperouSnesS of the advocates of universal
Suffrage, (which IL is strongly hnte Il bv our
anthor, we shall see hereafter, these primary
, schools will introduce. would further re.
mask that the people are not to he frightened
| by the word CORPORATION, mere than by the
words theory and philosophy. Their legislature
| is a corporation, their turnpike companies are
corporations, and so are their present acade-
| mics. They know very well thata corporation
| as well as theory, may be good OF bad, useful
or perncouS, according toits objects and priu-
cples. They have not yet and l hope never
will subscribe to the doctrine of the intangibi.
| lity OF d charter. They know that legislature
| has no power 20 give away theirlIberiies under
! the sapctlor OF public taitb, or on the pre-
text OF Justice TO secure privileges to indivitiu
| ais which are taken away from the community.
| They know that every legislature has therights
of every preceding Legislature, and that its bu-
! sness is not To enquire whether the terms of
| charter have been complied with, aud individ.
| ais will be benefited by il !; but whether it is
| constitutional and the nation will be injured.
| This is then the proper subject OF enquiry in
| relation to the board OF public instruction, and
/ its subordinate Institutions; ana the author
| has pursued il IN his customary uanner, en-
| planning what he considers the OJSct1um, per Oh
| scTios.
! Their powers arc, he says, ia perpetuify, de-
| iicate Indefinite and irresponsible. Ii is TO he
| regretted lilac he has not added fifth objec-
| ton and declared them 10 be mischlevous, as
Ia Hon
/ critic, that the question depends, at least in
| part, on tue existence Of this quality. These
| are. il is presumed, the four cardnalobje
| which incirde all others. Now, we have
| already said, their perpetnity will depend
| entirely their utility. unless tits denied that
| the legislature has risht TO abolish them, or
| having the RIGHT, will not for some reason,
| which ought to be shown, exercise IL. As
| to their delcacy, the very idea of decacy and
| power dissociaicd in the mind that II is
I difficult to conjecture wha; is meant, unless we
refer to the grarultous assumption of Tie right
intended TO be given To take children away
| from their parents and guardians, against their
consent, for the purpose of educating them,
| which we have already shown TO he totally
destitute of the slightest foundation. have
also had occasion To speak OF the absnrdity OF
| experimenting danger from indefinite legal
| powers i'll "A country where il is wisely provi-
| ded that TO be indefinite is the same thing as
| not to be at all. The charge responsibility
| is equally unfounded. Subsequently To this
! charge of irresponsihiity, il is said of the
" mother corporation" that its only response
| hilty consists i'll its dependence on the General
! Assembly tor its ANIMAL appointment. | should
| like 10 know what other responsibility the
| members of the legislature the governor, and
| ether officers of the government uuder,
| except the constitution aud ialcS which equally
| bind the board. The Senators elected for
| longer time. are still stronger examples. The
only reason, said lady TO her lover, why
| can't marry You is. that L don't love yOIi.....
! After the salts is established, he must be very
nf1f Inn ,l a1n t1a
| tHR. The fact ~, their responsibility is pre-
| csely proportioned TO their rights, as all res
| possibility should be. Where right granted
| is extremely limited in its nature, and il is the
! interest of the grantee to exercise it, but little
! responsibility can be necessary. The power
of removal from office, for the omission TO per
form duty, of which the persons performing
| IL are 10 derive the benefit, one would suppose
an amply sufficient sanction. For the COM
mission of breach Of that duty, OF the exer-
else Of i power beyond il, one would also ina
CINE that the laws OF the land were IN ade-
| quate security. Now the board of public
instruction is responsible forts sins of oR!iSsiOh
as we'll as commission, and the responsibility is
in both cases proportional to the injury which
may be done. The rights OF the board being
restricted to the enactiOn of bylaws for the
| internal administration and police of the inSti
tutions committed to their care, 4 power TO
remove from office is the remedy fer their nom
performance of the duties annexed to them.
For any extra judicial proceeding, for any
usurpation or infringement of private or pub
lie rights, or unauthorized extension of prero-
gative, the remedyis precisely the same that
ii is against the same attempt in every other
individual, or set of individuals, in the com
mOnweath-the constitution and laws of Vir-
gna and of the u. States, by which they are
| expressly limited. If responsibility 10 these
| authorities is not sufficient, then they should
be rcOrgauizcd, for tits the only kind of respon-
sibility that we know OF, any where or in any
! persons, except that which we owe our God
and Our conscience and no man can be res
nU m IN NVh1 hn
cannot do. Before then this preceptor of
! legislatures talks about responsibility, let him
show the existence of substantial power which
there is capacity to exercise. Substantial
F. prior ct dtgRlOT est acctdente.
In effect, after deliberate and impartial
investigation of this subject, it must appear TO
| every candid mind, that TO give efficacy TO any
| general system OF education, it would be i'm
possible to vest in its supervisors, whOsoeveT
| they may be, less power than is vested in the
board of public instruction., or to guard more
effectually against its encroachments than is
| done by the bill creating them. In the first
place, not a single power can he exercised un
der the law creating them, unless by the ,oW Of
the people, for the very existence of the inStitu-
tions, out of which all their powers spring, de-
pendS on conditions which il is competent TO
| the people only to fulfil. Thus so lar from
| their having power to establish fitty-forr
corporations and two thousand demi- corpora
! lions" they cannot establish even a solitary
| tEcc school, unless the people give their con-
| sent; nor will their consent simply suffice TO
| confer the pewer. 1t cannot exist until they
take some active measures TO cooperate with
| the board. Tins tie whole system of this
d" tremendous power" depends, as indeed has
already been confessed by the Constituent on
| the WiH of the people, and not either upsn pas
sive consent sutteTduce, but upon their
| active wishes aud express appropriations. And
| whatever may be the opinion of the writer in
| the Enquirer with respect 10 the incapacity of
the people to decide on this subject, because
. 4 Ii.