Constantine republican. [volume] (Constantine, Mich.) 1836-1838, 1838-02-28

onward in the paths ofiterature and science,
It IL nevertheless true that much less
amount OF knowledge will be found to be
sufficient for the ordinary transactions of
life. The education OF Washington the
great, was confined in early life TO the or
binary branches of an English education, at
a period when knowledge and the means Of
acquiring it were not what they now are.
This fact strkingly illustrates the truth of
the remark of great man, that, give
child sufficient mastery Of the English
language to enable him TO spell, read and
write it, and out of this amount of instruc-
ton, with desire TO improvement, he would
work his way to the highest achievements
of intellectual power. Hence, says Paul
ding. in his life Of Washington, "while it
serves TO exalt the character and abilities of
that famous man, TO learn that though his
means of acquiring knowledge were not su.
perior, nay, not equal to those now within
The reach of all for whom write, yet did
he, in after life, by the force of his genius,
and the exercise Of a manly perseverance,
supply all his deficiencies so that when
called upon 10 take charge of the destinies
o! his country, and bear load as large as
was ever laid on the shoulders of man.
he was found gloriously adequate to the
task, and bore her trumphantly through q
struggle which may be lkened to the ago.
MES Of death, resulting In Immortality. As
with this. so with my youthful readers, most
of whose opportunities Of acquiring know.
ledge are greater than those of Washington,
and who. though they will not reach his
fame, may nationally aspire to an imitation
of his perseverance, his integrity, and his
patriotism. Opportunities for great actions
occur but seldom, but every day and every
hour presents occasion for the perfor.
nance of our duties" Who would not
teach his children to lisp the name Of
Washington, and TO emulate his virtues
Who would not wish every child ofihe state
TO study his character. and read the history
Of his splendid achievements But con.
summation so much to be desired, can be
attained only by furnishing every such child
with a good education. With such an ed
ucation the children of our state universally
can and must be furnished.
In most of the western and southwestern
states, common school education has been
sadly neglected. Though in the formation
of most of their constitutions, and in the
commencement of their respective govern
ments, the subject may have been gravely
recognized as one worthy of the highest
consideration and though some general
law may have been passed by their legls-
latures, yet no efficient organization has
been ever effected in any of them. the
consequence is, thousands have come up,
and many thousands more are growing UP,
unable either TO read or write. The sup
posed rich endowments and donations of
lands granted by Congress TO the surveyed
townships, for the purpose Of education IN
the western states, is assigned as one rca-.
son OF neglect. In an address before
convention of teachers at Columbus, during
The past winter, and published by order Of
the legislature, Mr.. Lewis, the present su.
perntendent Of common schools for Ono
says; "The impression that ample prow-
sion was made, became so general and re-
mained so 10 q. that for years our leglsla-
ture omitted all action OF the subject; and
TO this cause only do attribute what would
otherwise seem an objectionable neglect. F"
Again after speaking of the praises lavish
ed on education, and on all who engage III
the work, he says, "lf then, there is such u
general concurrence Of opinion in favor OF
common schools, is it not natural to wonder
why SO much remains TO be done Why
is it that every thing else is carried forward
with enthusiasm, and this neglected One
of the causes may be found in the hurry
of executing so many other things, and the
fact that public attention has not been spe.
cially directed to specific mode of OPERA
ton" But new spirit has recently been
infused into the councils Of this great and
populous state; and it is TO be hoped that
this spirit will extend itself into o;h-r states
and wise and efficient measures will be a.
dopied to forward this great and good work.
Had the school lands been given to the
states in which they are located, instead OF
the townships, it is confidently believed an
efficient organization would have been eff.
fected long ERE this in each ofthem. Time,
which brings to the test all human systems,
has proved the dispositions of those lands,
in all the new states, except Michigan, to
have been extremely unfortunate. Accord
ing 70 an estimate made by the highest au-
thority in Ohio alone, rising Of two millions
has been lost from the school fund, which
is truly serious defalcation to the cause
of education. The lands were gi, en- to the
townships, which were authorized, by an act
of the state legislature, to appraise and lease
the same for term not exceeding ten years
the lessee having the privilege of taking the
land during the continuance of his lease by
paving certain amount. In numberless
cases the sixteenth sections have been APP
praised, leased, and sold, perhaps by an In
ierested few, at e-tenth their real value.
The result is, very few of the townships
have any thing like an adequate school
fund. In Illinois, any township having
fifty inhabitants may sell their sixteenth
section, by giving three months previous
notice. low easy in such circumstances to
form combinations and bid them off at G
mere nominal sum. Accordingly, many
valuable tracts are understood to have beer
sold at about government price. The trutl
is, very little has ever been realized out o
lands granted TO townships for the supper
of schools and there are obvious reasons
why it is so. This subject is here referred
to, for the purpose of indicating what is, il
the judgement Of the superintendent, thu
true reason why so little has been done by
the western states for the promotion of pri
mary school education. Nothing was pu
n