New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-02-19
COMMON SCHOOLS.
shall they be Free to All t-Thc Lessons OF
Experience
Correspondence Of The Tribune.
Lawrence, Mass Friday, Feb. 7.


valueless my opinions may be considered you
Yourself can bear witness, that have long
enough been a hearty and thorough going friend
Of Free Education, to entite them to respect
In addition 10 this, residence of several years.
formerly. in your State, makes me sensitive to
the course that your rulers may take on thus
great question, aside from the attraction OF the
general subject.
In the first place, let me say, that have been
literally astounded at the course the controversy
has taken. One would suppose from the nature
If the most of the augmentation put forth, that
Naw.York is now to make the first grand expert
ment of the feasibility and justice OF Free Schools
ever suggested in the known world and that the
most fearful obstacle arises, from the dreadful
danger of venturing so hazardously, with no
Hebts Of experience or observation to serve as
landmark in the dangerous attempt. The Tn
b,,ns has had some emphatic appeals to the ex
ample of the New.England States but beyond
that. have seen little or nothing from the pens
of disputants among you, that would give me
even hint, that cheek by jowl with your tmldly
venturesome State, on her East border, are sun
drv wel.to.do sister republics, that have had
prospect of the elephant from various points OF
,iebt for an indefinite number of years; and that
they can readily prove that, take him how you
will. he is not the awful monster so many of your
keen.siehted panic makers would fain have the
people believe.
There is Connecticut with one system OF Public
Schools. Massachusetts with another, and Yer
mont With yet dissmilar notifications and fur
thermore, here in Massachusetts, at least, all the
elements OF dissatisfaction and resistance and EVIL
omen, thai now obscure your heavens and threaten
a convulson, have from time to time come to
head, exhausted all their possible fury, and been
dismissed to the oblivion that Is their Legitimate
burial place.
First. for instance, comes the question whether
the property shall not take care OF the Schools
Now if anywhere the protest OF capital against
Free Education ought to be regarded, 1t Is here,
in old Massachusetts, where SO much oil the capl'
tai invested in manufacturing establishments, IS
taxed in towns far distant, perhaps, from the resi-
dence of the owners thereof and where, there
fore no direct benefit can accrue to themselves or
their families Look as an example. at this new
town of Lawrence-a glorious example by the
bye, OF heightened appreclatlve spirit on thls
snbiect Five wears ago, this place was SAND
nlain with a half dozen houses and the people
as they came focking in, might have been ex,
cused if absorption in material enterprise had
made them neelectful of schools. But on the con
trary, the appropriation for the present fiscal
wear, was about nine thousand dollars Tor the
current expenses of the schools and the perma
nent investment in school houses already, is not
short of forty thousand dollars. Now OF this
amount the Corporations pay about tCo thirds
and but small fraction of their stock Is held In
the town.
But do these distant capitalists, in Boston and
elsewhere, complain of this large taxation for the
! L.. -, ha
praised here in Massachusetts,, political economy
has progressed far beyond such pulling, baoy IN
arms notions of right and wrong, and expedlency
and prosperity. The men of capital know re-
alze, it is iRgraiaed that the free thorough edu-
cation of all the people OF the State, is not only
the best safeguard OF capital but one OF the most
secure high dividend paying Investments, that
money can make. Witness the fact that the
property of the State has doubled IN tho last ten
years
And when you get beyond the clog that seems
TO fetter many at the threshold, VIZ the ques-
ton, whether 1.-The property shall not support
the schools" you then are all ahoat on the point
as 10 what mode OF taxation 1t is best to adopt
And here | find that you yourself give in par
tial adhesion to the plan recommended by your
State Superintendent, that It Is best to levy
State tax and divide the proceeds on some basis
of just distribution among the counties or the
towns. Now this is Just the point where the ex-
perence OF others, WHO have had .ong trial Of
Free Schools, should be carefully and studl0usly
regarded. And with due aspect for the eabo.
rated opinions OF your Superintendent venture
to say that the weight of evidence is decidedly
against him and that his plan in whatever man
ner it may be modified, is comparatively unsound,
and will prove, if adopted, correspOndingly lame.
For where is there the largest, freest and most
cordial support of schools, and OF consequence
the best schools IL is where there is neither
School Fund, nor any mode ormanner Of support
soho nd fha uplu mn and
immediate action Of the people themseives. The
people, on the good old Democratic principle of
the rule of the majority, in their primary political
assemblies, towns or districts, must cote heir
ocn tareS for their Olon schools. Put the support
in any other form, either as a fund.- as in Connec-
ticut, or as a forced contribution by State au.
thority and the experience of this and other
States authorizes me to predict that your school
system will have q radical defect and prove
partial failure.
The curse ola church is a fund that may be reli.
ed upon for current expenses The curse OF State
is School Fund relied upon to sustain the schools.
Connecticut has proved IL so, and our Legislators
have very wisely limited the growth Of our fund
to one million OF dollars and moreover, the in
come of it is not distributed for the direct sup
port of the schools, but is given as a sort of re-
ward OF merit, to be expended for purposes over
and above what the towns are obligated by law to
accomplish for the schools. Our Governor has
recommended large increase of the fund But
be will scarcely enlist many abettors of his sug
gestion, in the face of the admirable practical
working of the present system.
Now it seems to me that a State tax will have
many of the evils of the Fund" system, so far
as this at least that it removes the support of the
schools from the immediate, free voluntary action
Of the people.
But you will say, how then enforce education
at all? Simply thus
Our law obliges every town of whatever mum.
Der Of inhabitants to provide schooling, specified
number Of months per annum, for every child be-
tween certain limits of age And in default of
this, any parent has claim on his town for dam
ages, recoverable by suit at common law.
Towns of q anecifad nnmher of families or In.