New-York daily tribune., 1843-02-04
THE TRIBUNE
OUR COMMON SCHOOLS.

Report Of W1ltiam L. .Stone, Deputy .Super-
intendeatof Schools jor the City of New-
York, 10 Hon. Samuel Young, .Secreta-
ryef .Stdte.
u,, SAMUEL YOUNG. Secretary of State,
''A Ind Superintendent of Common Schools
for the State Of fe1r- York;
SIR: am aware that by the instructions from
YOUR Department to the Deputy Superintendents
If Common Schools for the several counties, the
Annual Reports from the said Superintendents are
required to be transmitted to you as early as the
,nsnth of October. The peculiar circumstances in
which have been placed, however, and which
have in part been explained you orally, have rem
dered compliance with these instructions, in this
aspect, impossible. The law by virtue Of which
Deputy Superintendent of Common Schools was
directed to be appointed for the City and County
ofNew.York, lis only of recent enactment-the same
having been passed on the 1lth of April, 1842.-
The first election Of officers for carrying that law
into effect, was held on the first Monday Of June; {;
The undersigned having been notified of his sp-
pointmeat as Deputy Superintendent only on the
10Th of July. 1t was then midsummer. The
Board of Education provided for under the new
law, had but merely organized itself by the choice
Of its presiding officer and clerk without having
proceeded to any business farther than to refer the
law which called it into existence, to Committee
oflegal gentlemen for the purpose of obtaining an
opinion to their powers and duties in its admin
isra,ion. No new schools had been established
under the law requiring the attention of the Super
,t,o hand
the annual vacations of the Schools of the Public
School Society, brought by the new law under the
partial supervision of the Superintendent were to
take place. II was judged expedient by the un-
designed, therefore, under tho circumstances OF
the case, defer formal course of visitation to
the Schools of the Society and Of the other Schools
within the City and County participating in the
school-fund, until after the commencement of tn,
new scholastic year, on the Goth Of August And
such is the number Of those Schools and the delib
crate examination that has been given them thar
the undersigned was not ready to commence wri-
ting the present report until the Goth day of De.
csmber instant.
have said that no Schools had been established
under the act of April last, at the date of my ap-
such established, although measures are in pro-
rress for the organization of several. These mea
sures, however, have been greatly retarded by Oh.
s.aces existing, which supposed to exist, III
the phraseology of the law. Nor these diff.
cu,ies discovered alone by the Board of Educa
tioo. 1t was certain, at glance, that the new
enactmsn, affected materially, il not fatally, the
operations of the Public School Society; and the
members Of that intelligent Board lost no time in
obtaining the soundest legal advice to be found In
the City of New-York Copies of the opinions OF
| three Of the eminent Counselors to whom the new
law was submitted, are incosed for your examina-
ton [See documents A, B and c, containing the
opinions of Chancellor Kent, Hon. Peter A. Jay,
and Hiram Ketchum, Esq
1t is well known that the law in question, entl-
lied An Act to extend TO the City and County OF
New.York the provisions of the General Act In
relation to Common Schools was passed in great
haste, and under very peculiar circumstances A
clamor had been raised against the Public School,
Sociey--an association of publc-spirited and be-
uevolent mon, acting without fee or reward, to
whose hands, in chief for the long period of thr-
ty.seven wears, had been consded the direction of
the Common School Education of this city, for
lrea,ons, or in respect to mates, which 1t would
3be difficult to ascertain with precision, and which,
even if ascertaned, it would perhaps be incxpedl-
en-, to set forth in report like the present Sui
ice it to say that the principal charge against the
Schools in the outset, was, that they were not only
Protestant Schools, but 80 decidedly sectarian in
their character. that our Roman Catholic fellow
citizens could not censcentiously allow their child
zen 70 be educated therein. The charge was met
fr the Public School Society, time after time and
Eruved as often to be utterly unfounded in truth.
Ssu was nevertheless, persisted in, and repeated
frequently, and, Us the passions OF men became
acited, with such increasing emphasis, that, In
D evil hour for the cause of popular instruction,
B as Chief Magistrate of the State was induced to
/ ing the subject before the Legislature in one OF
is Annual Messages From that moment the
,aatroversy unhapply began to assume a political
spect. At FIRST political action was confined to
Rry small portion of our citizens, but few, 1t any,
whom, were of the Protestant faith Both the
eat political parties IN the city were at that time
sterly opposed to any interference with system
tpupular education, the fruit of so many years
d experience. which had proved itself SO eff
Gent and which had worked so long and SO well
rader the administration of the Public School So
csy; and both were indisposed TO any interter-
s'ee with it But it was soon found that there
were not wanting demagogues, in the ranks OF
10Th parties, willing to make capital BY aglsaung
Se question; and the result, in process OF une'
,ad ,ha. no very long time, was the act OF which
have cited the title abovs-an act complex In ITS
Provisions, it not contradictory; and under which
20 many embarrassing questions have been pre-
ea'ed, ,ha, thus r it has had sautary operation
snstsoeyer. No, single School, as have already
'sa, has yet been organized under its provisions
Meantime the labors of the Public School So
ee;y have NOT been intermitted, and the Schools
ssosr their charge have never been so fiourishing
a@ the present time. Tho numbers of children
attendance upon the Schools have increased,
I'D never so rapidly a.during the period in which