Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1846-09-03

connected with the proceedings of our
( National Legislature; and among the
greatest of these extravagances may be
placed the custom Of procuring, at each
session of Congress, at the public ex-
pense, thousands Of dollars worth of
| books, for the use of the members J.
The amount appropriated in this way,
in the last two years, is estimated at
one hundred and Twenty-Five thousand
dollars! Just think this vast sum
appropriated to educate our precocious
statesmen, at the expense Of the people,!
! No man, we are sure, can object to our
Legislators being men of matured know
edge and enlarged views upon the sci
ence of government-every man de-
sires that the law-maners should be
men of great learning, wisdom and
prudence but all will acknowledge,
that those who aspire to seats in the
councils of the nation, should acquire
the requisite qualifications before their
| eIevction to those seats. Congress
might, with just as much propriety, es-
tablish public schools, in which the
same knowledge might be impaired,
and perhaps more real benefit confer
red, thar is accomplished by the ap-
preparations of which we speak. 1t
becomes the press, and the people, to
speak out in the strongest terms ofcon-
demnatlon, against this wasteful and
unnecessary expenditure of the public
treasure. 1t is not a whit better than
the policy oftaxing the millions for the
benefit of few hundreds of those com
posing the wealthiest class among usl
Men who receive eight dollars q day,
(some of whom do nothing, ana others
only retard the public business,) one
would suppose, would be abundantly
able to furnish their own books, if they
are SO deplorably and culpably desti-
titute Of that knowledge which would
enable them to act intelligibly upon the
various public measures which they
may be called upon to act.
There are other abuses, practiced
under the head OF Stationery which
ought to be corrected. Hundreds of
dollars are annually expended, under
this head, unnecessarily, for the pur.
chase of penknives, steel-pens, quilts,
gilt-edged paper, etc. Many of these
articles might be dispensed with alto
gether, and more economy might be OBJ
served in procuring others.
PRoBLEMs.-On our fourth page
will be found several problems, which
some one or more Of "the company"
will please solve, and send in the an
swers. We wish to ego ahead'' again
in the good cause of teaching "the
young idea how to shoot, ''-not with
"squibs" and "pop- guns" dear rea-
der,-but with the "seventy-fve poun-
ders" Of science. Some writer twas it
Cowper or Pope?) says something a
bout Shooting folly as it flies" That
will do very well to engage the atten-
ton Of nov;ces and "green' uns," but
it is sport in which the members Of
"the company cannot join, consis-
tently with the importance of "train-
ing the infant mind" in those sublime
SCIENCES, to develope which is the OBJ
ject nearest their hearts. If our quo
tation is not wrong, (and we cannot
avouch its correctness, as we quote
from memory that which some peo-
pie are taught to "shoot" at "Ries;;"
and hence, must therefore belong to
the "feathery tribe" They, to be
sure, cannot be called "Jolly;;" that
would be superIative nonsense; but is
it not comparative "folly" to-make
$50 much ado about nothing!'
"The Southern and Western Litera.
ry Messenger and Revieao," for Sep
TENDER, has been received. 1t is No.
ofsterling merit, as the following table
ofcontents will show: l. Biographical
sketch of Mai. w. Cunningham, of S.