Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-08-13

means If ins,rnc,;on should be encouraged in |
such a way as is consslen, with freede m Vi con
science" Aching on The admirable sentiment oi
this provision, she hal established, as long ago
as 1910, eighteen COLLEGES and neatly SIX lheusahd
schools, which were attended By Two hundred and
twenty-five thousand scholars. .
These illustrations ev.uce, al a single glance,
the extended Interest OF our people ID Inc anu
sion Of knowledge, and The masnincehl resu',s
which that patfoc interest mas dcnieseu' ~
some States have done less than ONO ior The
cause OF instruction here are others which have
done n ore; and all Of them, believe without ex-
cep.on. hare RECOGNISED its importance by wise
constitutional or legal provisions. The pablo
funds Sci apart Tor this purpose in The whole
Union, including tie generous grants q !and oy
the Federal Government, 10 promote the sales ol
il. public domain, need not shrink from compa-
rison with The boosted literary endownenlS oil
Europe; and yet they fall very lar shoF' oi me
entire expenditure in Ihe United Staits Tor me
education oil the young. The cost of private IN.
slructon forms OF Itself an additional iem oi
immense amount, while the grand aggregate IS
sill further increased by The frequent cunriou-
liUns OF individual benefcence, The lunnualloh
OF Libraries, or The improvement Oh schools. 10
The field Of letters, as everywhere else ID our
country, The great principle oil voluntary enor' IS
ceaselessly al woIa, and constantly riVais, oi Tue
energy Of its movements, and The magnitude oil
ils effects the most successful action on the par
of Government The exercise ofiheir combined
power has pervaded the very heat OF The people
with the Influences ct moral and mental culture,
and has extended The means oil education 10 every
grade OF society and every condition Of lie.
Aided, however. by no combination with the
Stale, The religious teachings of America are The
work purely OF private bsneflcence. In the Ie-
pub!ics Of antiquity, religion was only part ol
their political sysicn, and tic head OF The Stale
was also The iathcr OF The church. This unnalu-
raj connection, fatal alike 10 Christianity and 10
liberty, which even YET fingers III the Old World,
has been wholly repudiaed in the nsr; and the
land Of RI ger Williams and Thomas Jefferson
proclaims llterty OF conscience from sixty thou
sand churches aud incucatcs virtue and iolera
lion in as many Sabbath schools. Free govern.
ment is valuable, alter all, not so much Tor any
direct eXcItion OF its own power, as Tor what il
permits The rccpe 10 work out Tor themselves
The press began It's work In 1885, century
afterwards i! had earned the prohibition ot Eng
land, and was strong enough 10 defy il; and, al
This day, il asserts lis freedom by an influence
which is only hul despoIic because il is not har-
monious. Far oulsirippins b. its enterprise The
fertility of our own writer's, the American press
appropraies unshrnkinsly the literary treasures
Of the whole earth; while il almost lorhids i'm
portation Of books BY the chearncss with which
il reprints them, and The facility with which il
scaltcrs them among all classes Of the reading
community. But The most striking displays OF
lis ACTIVITY ami power are only 10 be witnessed in
the field OF journalism, where il more than equals
France in eiergy, and knows no other rival
throughout tie world. Ii printed the first news
paper in America in The year 1904; in 1928 il
had Joined al additional number OF eight hun
bred and f,'y and, at this day, il acts upon the
popular mind through the teeming columns Of
more Than Two thousand journals Sharing, as
well as stimulating, the progressive spirit Of The
age il advances into the wilderness with our
hardy pioreers; keeps company with our COM
mercc among The islands of the sea; and contends
Tor supremacy with the sword upon every battle
feel! which is won by our victorious arms. Al
ready ii sends iis shipping lists from The Sandwich
Islands. chronicles the news Of the day IN La
Vera Cruz, and echoes back the thunder u our
cannon from The shores OF The Tar PACING. Be-
coming thus tic missionary as well as the school
master oil Ieputlicanism, il plants among other
nations the seeds Of freedom, which il has itself
rinencd upon our soil: and having first conirihu-
ted 10 the glory OF America al home, il crowns lis
labor Of patriotism by making il better known,
and therefore more honoled, abroad.
With influences such as these, il more .han
paws back 10 our country whatever Of nurture il
has received from il, and richly aiones Tor all The
impclfec,ons or abuses by which il SO often de-
serves the reproaches OF society, and sometimes
seems almost 10 require the censorship OF law
The force OF enlightened public opinion coEst-
tutes, after all its best restraint, and the only one
which would leave 10 il ali is value. Underthis
guidance, il its teachings are not always pure,
they are seldom dangerous; for its errors are mel
hav
lance OF Achilles, il has The virtue 10 heal The
wounds which it has itself inflicted. 10 The light
irs sisrAes q itsJa,uGn Ind ii it is less Zee from
ccnsurc in its higher Publications, YET is agency
even there is on the side oil virtue and in favor Of
liberty "Werc il left 10 me TO decide" writes
MIR. jefferson, "whether We should have 60
vernmenl without newspapers, or newspapers
without government would mol hesitate mo-
ment 10 prefer the latter" Paradox.cal as this
may seem, il cannot be doubled that no govern
ment can be maintained in The spirit Of liberty
and purity without The Christening influences Of
The newspaper press.
Il is sometimes said that rich scrTee OF in
slrucicn is closed TO US, because America has
no monuments; and if by this il is meant that she
is not We, marked with the decay Of age and the
ravages OF time, The assertion is strictly true. But
unless ruin is more desirable than greatness, and
the dim figures Of antiquity more precious than
The fresh and glowing forms OF youth, This fca-
ture OF her character is rather her glory than her
reproach. The Monuments OF America are no,
foand in The scattered fragments Of the dusty
past, but point, all OF them 10 The rising gran
deur OF the iar-of future; and while older ma
lions look back through the twilight Of ages
that lose themselves in night" the genius Of our
republic goes forth in the dawn of morning 10
mrel and welcome the approach OF day. No ieu
dal Castles, crumbling upon our hill-, attest the
ancient violence Of rUbber-lords and mol Tor US
do the glorious relics of noble ancestry bear
witness, in buried columns and broken arches, 10
The degenerate spirits oi heir unworthy sons; hut
in place OF these, and far beer Than these, IRE
crown our landscapes with con en;ed homes, We
buid allars 10 science by he heanhsione Of Every
citizen, and with The spi cs Of thousands OF
churches We point our children the path 10 Hca
ven. While We can preserve, unimpaired 10 our
country, free instruction, free religion, and FREE
press, We need ask no other support Tor our insi-
lulions and no other witnesses 10 our fame.
To the means of instruction which have been
already mentioned, should do wrong no, 10 add
that other and peculiar education which springs
from The very working of our republican system,
and from which no member Of The community
can we'll escape, even if he would. Under GU,
policy, every cilizsn is part Of he government,
ard some oil lis most important duties ire peIioc-
ical!y devolved upon him, DO BY law and ~
necessity He yields The power Of the elective
franchise, and determines by his vote the choice
alike OF measures and OF men-not only aodo shall
rule him, but whot shall rule him; he sits in
the jury box, and The fortune, The fame, nay, The
very lie OF his neishhor, rest upon his decision
he is called AS witness, and is sWuin 10 give |
true testimony on questions involving the cecp |
est interests and the most important results; or
by the SURFACES OF his lellow-ciizens he is cloth
Ell with still greater trusts, ard assumes respon-
sibiiies which belong only 10 he highest STA
lions in The gilt OF The people. A sovereign in
his own right, The symbols OF his authority
are thus constantly before his eyes; and from
every new exercise OF his power, the American
citizen derives fresh excitement 10 his intellect,
and increased dignity 10 his character. In all
his public acts, the double motive presses
upon him 10 ensure reward and 10 avoid |
disgrace. Under a free government, he knows
INT ,uol Tho, with intelliopncp hipli. /