The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-04-07
slavery and Eascaftea-The veEse Of vir-
xinfa.

The experience of the various slave States in
which efforts have been made te establish sys-
TENS Of Common Schools, demonstrates the ut
ter incompatibiity Of such systems with slave
~. Hare, in our own Commonwealth, for sew
sral years our most philsnthropic statesmen la
bored hard to produce public sentiment favors-
BILE 10 the establishment Of well-digested sys-
TEN Of public schools. At length, a bill to es-
tablish such system passed our legislature, and
thousands Of our fellow-citizeDs congratulated
each other on 30 suspicious an event. In their
visions Of the future, Kentucky seemed
dotted all over with school-houses. in which
the children Of the State were about TO receive
the blessings Of good common education. The
Ignorance that disgrsced the Commonwealth
was to be removed, and every child was 10 be
instructed how 10 read and write, and to develop
his mind by couverss with the great works Of
the master minds Of all time.
The melancholy truth, 80 different from the
darling fancy we have referred to, remains 10
be told. Ten years have passed since the legis-
lsture Of Kentucky passed the act for the estab-
lishment Of school system from which the
sdtO HOw. But, alas, very little more than the
mere passage Of the bill has yet been accom-
plIshsd. The dark clouds of ignorance, that
have 80 long frOwned over every portion Of our
State, are az yet unillumined by the rays Of
knowledge. Darkness yet covers much Of the
mind Of the State, and although we can boast
Of brilliant statesmen and wise Legislators, al
though several IF our greatest men have very
wide repufstion for genius and the accomplish
mens Of cultivated intellect, yet the masses
are permitted to grow up unconscious Of the
great results which the human mind has pro
duced in former centuries, and ignorant Of the
mastery problems which the intellect Of the
present age IL working out for the alienation Of
the human family. To them the history Of the
past, the present condition Of the world, and
the future destiny Of our species 20 fall Of
promise, are alike shrouded in night. They
know but little more than they would have
known had they been born during the darkness
Of the feudal ages. All the discoveries of geni-
Ms and all the improvements Of science are lost
TO them.
TIE truth is now pretty generally admitted
that State which cherisbes the Institution Of
slavery, must also be cursed with an ignorant
white population. This is one Of the wrstched
rstributions that slavery brings upon the COM
munity.S The enlargement Of the black man
b ever associated with the ilIiteracy Of the white
masses. II slavery produced no other sad re-
suit than this--if NO blightiag influence other
than that which bsnishes the possibility of ed
ucation from every tenth mind born in The
state-if no other gloomy and destructive con-
sequence but the ignorance Of large portion
Of The white race resulted from slavery, even
then all the advantages, fancied and real, which
slavery cOnfers on community, would be pur-
chased at most ruinous price
u the mere locking mp Of the immortal mind
in q state Of unbreaking darkness were the on |
ly wretehed result Of slavery, every phiIsn-
thropist would desire to see the system sbropat-
cd. But from the Ignorance engendered by ala.
very, q host Of inconveniencies, vices. and
crimes spring. The statistics Of psnitentisris.
speak a language in relation To the moral effect.
Of ignorance too plain to be misunderstood, Zoo
deeply sad ever to be forgotten. Ignorance !.
the great parent Of vice and crime, and iruo.
nance u the invsriable concomitant Of sl.vs,v
You cannot disioin the two curses. They M
hand in hand together. Wherever The one i,
found the demon form Of the other j. sure to be
seen.
Unlocking over the Richmond, Va Wing for
December llth, le45, we find communication
written for that paper. which Re full of good
'shss and truth. We recommend IL to tire at