Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-10-07
VOLUME ao---NG. ~.

10 condition worse than orphanage, By he igno-
rance, vice, or indo'erce Of his rarenis but com
| pei, by penal laws, universal attendance ard
instruction in their established Schools Win
such examples before u.s. il might be supposcd
that in country whose boast was the liberty o,
mind and appreciation o! knowledge and virtue,
every means would be useG 10 libeIa,e from ignu-
rance The minds and improve the morals Of is
people, even were there other motives for doing
! SO than those which aciuate European Govern.
ments in their humane and wise policy. Eu,
in Republic, whose policy and laws proceed
! from ana depend upon the menla! and moral char
acter oierery individual citizen, and eyince wis-
dom or folly. justice or oppression as The peep;
are educated or ignorant. vinnous or teriavec;
whose very existence org mates III ,cYia.H COH-
shtation, and can he preserved only by thorough
+ knowledge and StIct observance of that Consi-
tuition where Knowledge is" emPhaiically pow
! err" whether exeried Tor good or evii-mc>, dan
! eerous in The hands OF few mcsl beneficial, ard
| formidable alike 10 lyranis ard demesosue il;
! generally ditiused,-in such Slate would We
| naturally expecI 10 find tho mos, periec, system
OF universal Popular Education, The heh.sl az.
probation OF lis benefits ard necessity, The mos.
/ ardent Zeal Tor It's support and improvement and
/ devotion 10 lis Interests. Such would lie The eY-
! pcc.alion OF every reasoning mind-such wss III
| ardent hope and expectation OF George NaSh.
Other sages and founders Of The r public. For
,rca people did they irslne our ireslimable Cot-
siIutions; by sufh alone did hey expect them 10
| be preserved. Promote then" says The Father
OF his country IN his farwell Address, promote
Then, as an object OF primary importance instu-
! ton lor tie general Gitiusiun Of knowledge In
proportion as The structure OF d government gives
luIce 10 public opinion, il essential that public
!. opinion should be enlightened" Edu,alun."
says Adams, "is more indispensable il a iiee
Government than in any other. In a free
Government knowledge must be 2snelsl, and
ought 10 be universal" NOBODY can doubt nv
zeal iof tho general Instruction OF The people"
says Jefferson, when told that he was suspected
by some OF being willing 10 sacrifice The interests
OF Popular Education 10 The success Of the Uni.
versily
When We compare these JUS, expectations of
what should be The condition Of The people q tbs
/ Commonwealth with thal which The ol,.cal lie.
turns Of the Census and .. The Second Aucilor,
and which our own observation presents 10 US,
how hnmillaling is the contrast 10 every patriot!
what gloomy torebcdin9s must fill the mind cf
every friend OF Constitutional Liberty Acor.d-
ing 10 the census in 1910, OF the 33l ,0G9 white
citizens OF this Stale above the are q 20 years,
IS 1Sl, or mere Than one-siIth OF the whole num-
Ter couli not read or write OF the il0 500
whites under that age, lleTc would obviously te
i al least great and probably much larger pre-.
portion equally ignorant. Allowing Only lie
same proportion, We have -, 10 under 20 years
Of age, and i3l i29 whites, .! e.. ages, In p"pu-
laon Of only Il .95S, cf more than one in every
six, who are in Z state OF ignorance, mol very lar
removed from fufmehl OF The prophecy q
Mr. Jefferson, that hey would 'iali into The ranks
o! our negroes" To MANY these numbers may
appear greatly exaggerated. But however gin'i-
tyng such belief would be 10 US, lie conriolicn
/ OF their being probably below the tlue ancun's,
is forced upon US, moi only by The Consideration
OF the well known reluctance OF many ignorant
persons 10 acknowledge he eYlen, CT their isro-
/ rance; but also ~ lie tact that in some large
counties very lew ale returned III The census rs
unable 10 read and write ard, IN others, none arc
! 80 le,urnsd the iucoriecess q which returns i
i manifest 10 tie most limited ohscrTalien Nor
are these results 10 be- wondered ~, hu' ialhtf -
/ lie expected from the facts disclosed ID me ltp"i'
Of The Second uiiior and Sur.iihIendsn nj 81 Tie
I Literary Furd.
/ ) mopg the tn;iee which the School Ccrmis
I sinners are reoracS Ia perform Without comIcn
saliou md which, according 10 their own ccrics-
/ sions in ileiI IepniIs 10 the Auditor, and CON-
mon experience hey greatly neglect, Is 10 escef-
ta,a aud report The number oil INDECENT chiclen"
4 in their several COUNTIES accompanying which
report is The Official return OF the Commiss'on-
ers. county Treasurer and SchoolmasleIs, ven
fed on OATH Of the number of such children ac-
uay sen, 10 school. Thus, whilst The IaiicI
number is asceitaiHed VITA every rrecaulion
against error, and The utmost accuracy, he Tor
l ner is nu,oiionsy, generally nu.h E:i IS WHAT
! il should be, and Often merely Guessed e.. Aud
/ yet the On 1 Auditor ports, prerareG irom hr.e
4 official sources OF information, prescn' 10 u 40
i loliuwu. aaring and hunt atDg iac;f'
/ From The year 1884 lC 1929, inclusive he 81
mated numbers If "indigeni children" in liz
Y Common "eah average 1899 ennusliy--ot
whom only 1860, or A. per cent, received any
/ instruction.. During the period from lo@ -
ls43 inclusive, the nu!.ile! ot "iudIeeii ch'!-
dren" is estimated al numb1fs eveIaein" Al ,3Gi
/ each year-oi whom only an average RUNNER ct
% 293 were ever al school Thus, according 10
these reports, presenting, as they do, much ieo
/ favorable view Of The state OF education IN the
| Commonwealth, lheie were, annually, al least
l2I79. or SO per cent. Of The whole number Of
INDECENT children in the former period, and in the
latter l9,0GS, or So per cent. oil all who annually
remained 10 grow up in Tie darkest ignorance, 10
take part, many of them, in The government ci
the State!
Looking into The annual accounts rendered ci
the Literary Fund, Ne find that there have r.
manned in The stare Treasury, al The end Of each
year. annual quotas, undIawn by The SchrCl
Commits: uners, 10 amounts varying tfem 40,
1853 4G in 1914, 10 $40 l29 ~ IN $50 that. ~
similar periods, there were, unexPendtd, IN ~"
hands OF the School Treasures, sums VARYING
from SI3 252 81 in 1913, 10 $50 3s7 90 III the
year lS3S-and thu, I'll ,5l3 = had been sunk
into the principal sleek, having been quotas Tor
teited by dtcren, counties permitting item 10 re-
main undrawn IN The Stale Treasury more than
three years.
i These lew facts, which are sufficient 10 account
for the disgraceiul and alarming aMonni 81 ono
rance in our State md expose the Inc Efficiency oil
our present system OF popular education, and is
utter inadeqsacy 10 The wants 81 he re"p!c,
shonld arouse every good citizen 10 sense q tie
necessity of making every eXeltinn 81 which he IS
carable 10 every way which lies open 10 him, 10
prt cure The establishment, by The next Grnt ral
Assembly, OF some efficient, permanent and gene
raj system OF popular education, adapci 10 ne
wants, The feelings and character Of or people
That ii will be work Of difficulty, and requif"
much care andd-liheraIion, no weil-ini"rmed man
can doubt. But, al the same time II : .qna''y
the conviction OF every one who has Investigated
the subject that there are no such iDSHfe'+h'e an
hcullies and impracticahty in The urcert III &.
as are suggested by these (and unfortunately how
great is their number, who arc wholly or p"i'al-
" uniniormed upon The sutjert The compa'i.
son between what we have done towards the ecu
Gallon Of our people with what has been accom-
plished. not only by The States North Of rs. boz
also by many Southern saveholdng States, with
. white population much more Spare Than ours.
shows that we are far behind 6oti in Toinl Of Fopu-
lar education and intelligence when The cou par.
t atire density OF our population Is taken into me
/ account. The want Of sufficient interest IN The
, subjec, on the par, Of the people, 10 MAZE them
| willing 10 submit 10 The slight taralion re-
qusile, is more phantom eonjursd up in the
brains OF ,imid politicians and Representatives,
who have rot The moral courage TO do what
they know 10 be right lest it might lessen their
popularity, than reality or even we,l.lonnd.c r
prehension lie, the experiment be iried, and.
shonld: such an institution ever he a.saied By
: fac,iou. dcmagogues or designing politicians, 70
win for themselves popularity, which they 50 l;rle
I deserve, forthwith will Start up throughout the
+ Stale thousand champions to defend the cause
al MIND and Of MORALS. a Virginia people, dis
: abused Of any erroneous impressions made upon
their minds BY Misrepresentation, prJUdice "
falsehood shall cling 10. and guard more closely