New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-01-05


ru,.I districts. where Free Schools are said to
he uupopular Yet, as the Golden Flood from
California and Australia IL increasing money
values every where, it is evident that higher
nominal wages mrst be paid TO Teachers, or an
inferior grade of Teachers accepted. WI
sn,bodv seriously advocate the latter alterna-
tivel Webelieyetbe 1854 81 more expended
in the last fiscal year was actually less thanthe
amount discussed the year preceding.
The Secretary softly Observes that our
present School System, in its pecuniary aspects,
represents but 4 series ofGdjus;meHts between
conflicting interests" and rests on no principle
st all Such is the truth, done uP in velvet.
There is a principle which rent to form the ba-
sis of our School System, and be consistently
adhered to throughout; and this principle is
fairly stated By Mr.. Randall, as follows:
.Te principle that Elucsiion Is sooncern Of GoEera-
rer- ths, the Government usy OF ri-hf asd s boEad n
Srv 20 spppf H. and ihs, tie property Of the Country
nav be Justly taxed for tina; support has been distinctly
recognized BY the people Of this State from u earliest
orrtnizston."
That is TO say--the State, for its Own high
ends. las seen fit 10 establish a Common
School Sy stem, planting schOol-hOuse in each
district, ard calling on Nokes the dsy-labOrer,
Sykes the fisherman, Dilks who works on the
Squires farm at so much per month and inhab-
its a little cottage on one corner Of it, 10 send
their FIVE or SIX children each to the district
school They comply with the invitation,
drawing heavily on their scsnty wages TO iit
their children with clothes and books TO make
decent figure there; and az the close Of the
tenn they are waited on By tax-collectOr
with bills for the tuition Of their children.
Now il they had established the school, for
their own purposes, this vould be but reason
able but since the State has confessediy esta5-
lisbed it for hCr purposes. We insist that it IS
no such thing II any citizen were % make a
grand dinner party and all his friends aud
nei,Lbors. ard. after the repast, hand each man
bill for one-half or one third the alleged cost
of what he had eaten and drank, everybody
would consider that host sneak. The yian1s
might be very good, and the price very mole
rate; bat since he lad got up the dinner for
his ov n purposes, every one would say he ought
10 stsnd the expense. And We do not see how
he Rate biz nuisance is any more jastiiable
han his bills for the dinner would BE-.
Now let Us look at the matter in the light Of
expediency. Our State paid. during the last
fiscal year. S1,6ol,3i for Teachers Wages
alone. while the total Of collections on Rate
Bills was $22i919, or barely more than O1e
e;gih of the amount. For this paltry sum,
We venture TO say that not less than Sixty
Thousand children. mainly those most needing
state aid in obtaining an education. have been
kept out of school. while at least One Hundred
Thousand more, Gall belonging TO the poorer
class have been sent ryeguarly and less than
half the time they otherwise would have been,
because Of the Rote-Bll. When the Free
school law took effect, its most gratifying re-
suit was not the large accession Of children to
the schools, but the increased steadiness Of at
tendance. Poor parents, especially widows,
who End the Rate Bill heavy drain on their
meager resources. yet who cannot submit to
the degradation Of asking exemption as pau
pers, will send one child this week and another
next keeping them at home alternately so as
to tighten their rate-bills without exposing
their poverty to comment How miserable is
the education thus obtained, the OF week Just
about balancing the ON, We need hardly insist.
TheSecretarj informs us that the substitution
of 3 Mil-Tax 'or School purposes (as recon-
meBded ~ the late Secretary Morgan and eX-
Con missioner : s. Randall in lieu of the pres
ent arbitrary impost Of 8 100000, would suffice
10 rid us Of the rate.blll entirely and make
our Sci ools all free again. And this Mll-Tax
would not he heavier (per cent? than that re-
quired 10 raise the s-00,0C0 when il was en-.
acted. He admits that the State School Tax
ought TO be so levied that it, product should in
crease with the population and property the
State, Shile the present levy Of q fixed amount
becom,s less ard less adequate every year,
requiring steady increase Of local taxation
ard ratc-bills. Aud YET the Secretary tells us
that be cannot recommend Mill-Tax Nay.
We feel sure that it is not the Secretary who
says this. but the political aspirants, who, see
ing how much obloquy his predecessor encoun-
tered ty nobly fighting the battle Of Free
Schools, is determined TO keep himself out Of
harms way ifpossible.
What reasons does be urge for uphoding the
present system In l-jl. the Legislature,
with great unsnimity, passed the act now in
force Wei, il did; but THE PEOPLE had
twice voted to have Free Schools and nothing
short. Nay, this very act OF 1851 was passed
urder fraudulent title las the Secretary ad.
mits) purporting TO modify and establ sh the
Free School System when really oyerthrowing
IT, We cannot consider such an act intrin-