Washington telegraph., 1855-08-15
Education.

patronage to our seminaries of learning.
and assumed the position that the duty is
obligatory OF The patriot, philanthropist, and
christian Ir this number we shall at
tempt to present few reasons why the
patriot should feel called on to enter ac-
lively and zealOusly into this field of la
Dor. second to none in real intrinsic impor-
tanee
We remark in the first place, that eleva-
ted intelligence is absolutely necessary to
the perpetuity of our civil liberty
1t cannot be denied that the people of
the United States possess this liberty more
fully. and in greater perfection than any
nation which now has, or ever had politi-
cal existence. We viii not pause to sus-
tain by reference to history an assertion so
grateful to every American heart, but sim
ply remark, that this liberty came not By
chance-is not the result of combination
of fortuitous circumstances 1t came as the
glorious sequence of noble daring in the
blood-red battlefield, and of political sa-
gaciiy, never equaled in the halls of solemn
counsel. The offspring of chivalry and
wisdom, it must look to the same paternity
for strength of growth. vigor Of vitality,
and perpetuity of existence. The one Is
necessary to impart vitality, the other to
comprehend its organism of checks aud
balances-the elements of its nature and
leading characteristics-in fine, to know
what civil liberty is. and provide every in
dispensable requisite for it's preservation
This requires cultivated, developed and dis
ciplned mind, which can only be acquired
by close application to the study of the
great body of science in youth-hence the
controlling influence of literary institutions
upon the destiny Of nations. In the dark
ages they were the nuclei Of civilization,
and now they are the foci of science. and
the nurseries Of political wisdom. From
their portals issue awakened intellect, the
powerful, predominant, and all-controlling
agent in the affairs of men, The educated
are the living agents. while the uneduca-
ted are the mere automata in the battle of
life
In a country where every man is SOW
ereign, every man should be educated. In
the United States every individual exercises,
according to the principles of our government.
a part of the sovereign power, which in
monarchies is exercised By the monarch
alone The excellency Of civil Institutions
in them, depends upon the purity and intel
ligence Of the regal line. In controlling
the heads of civil departments, or IN franz
ing code of laws, no demand is made up
on the wisdom of the people Be the gov
ernment mild or oppressive, blind uneqniv-
ocal obedience is all that is required. To
sustain the kingdom no requisition is made
upon their intelligence-their Ignorance is
the security Of despotism. AS the peo-
pie acquire light, tyranny trembles-but it
is no. so in republic, where the rights of
all constitute the basis, and the happiness of
all the object This is the theory of our
government, but no theory or machinery of
government has, per Sc, any magic power to
preserve It's salutary functions, despite an ig-
norant and corrupt people. Here the people
are the life, and the government is merely
the form through which they act. Hence
however perfect our organic law may be,
however symmetrical its proportions, howev-
er nicely adopted in its structure to its orig
inal design. we cannot re y upon it for the
conservation Of our liberties. Though our
excellent constitution resulted from the de-
Iiberations Of the purest patriots, enlight
ened by the wisdom which they had collect
ed from the experimental treasures of ages
yet we cannot rely alone upon it. Nor
can we base eur expectations upon the geo.
graphical relations of our country,-however
well adapted by nature to enfold one vast
empire. .--aud however. they may be strength
ened by means of multiplied and still null
tiplying channels of interconmunieation,
linking the different sections Of this great
confederacy Of sovereign States together
Railroads may aunihilate space. and social
ize the most distant extremes-the iron le-
viaihan of the deep may cross the mountain
wave and spurn its fury in triumph-the
telegraph, in a moment of time, may con-
vey upon its magic wires, the words and
deeds of an entire hemisphere-the mighty
power of steam may be reduced to servitude
the lightnings pinion may be seized
even the yielding atmosphere may become
the medium of INSTRUMENTATION, and
still, even upon them we cannot base our
hopes Much less can We rest them upon
cur widely extended territory.-rea reaching
from the lakes of the North, to the Rio