The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1858-12-18

community i'll proportion To thinking ard too
much theory and too little practice. More
hereafter. Cecil.
Correspondence of The Cecil Whiel
HARKIsvIILE, Cecil Co.. Dec. Is. SO -.
NlR. EDITOR The Public School System
is one Of the questions. and :. What shall we
do with onr free negroes e is the other grca,
question now demanding the attention Of the
people of this county. TO the first there are
many objections: among others we have
heard the following: That the law is ducr
tive and INADEQUATE to the wants Of the people
That the System of Educstion supported by
taxation is Inconsistent with the spirit Of
Ncrnh!lcaniSm, 10y compelling onc individual
10 pay TAX to educate the children Of another:
That the whole thing was got up to create "A
new set Of Offices for set hungry lonnccrS
who are too lazy 10 support themselves by
honest industry. And Of late we hear the
hue and cry raised against Tie Teachers sala.
ricS, as fixed by the School Commissioners.
Crackers are no new things. They existed
before Public Schools, and they will both be
likely to become Xtuct about the same time,
rs to tic first o. 'cr'o o.: if hey who make it
are p.Ey h n'st and oH'y Ole t 10 II c system
because OF lis upper cctions and inadcquacy
to the wants Of the people, why not 20 to
work checrfuly ard zealously and aid in rc,-
lcct;ng the law ! The most Jealous friends
If The law never claimed perfection fer it
| hey accepted it as the best they could get
hoping Shat the wisdom which experience
lmr&Its would in the course pf inc mnull i,
TO suit the wants Of The community. Mr.
\. saws: why shoald be taxed to educate
Mr. Il $ children? Sure enough, Mr. 4 and
why should gou be tnred to support your
Aims House and County Prison to pay for
all criminal prosecutions and occasional exc.
cutons ! For the most fruitful source Of all
his taxation is ignorance. tits Mr. C's and
MI. D,s and others children who have been
raised in ignorance and crime. (amost always
hand-mald,ns,) that nil You, Prison Houses.
and flood your county with petty thieves and
panIers. Mr.. A., would yon not rather rny
dollar 30 educate Mr.. BIS child than dime
toimpriSon or execute him for some crime
some outrage upon society Which dollars and
cents perhaps can ne,er ,crair ESQ, never
again raise YOUR voice against education.
The thild objection seems unworthy ors2ri-
Gus consideration as it evidently emrna,cs from
an unkind and malicious spirit, and is not
clothed with that charity which wisdom and
good sense would prompt Us to cxtcnd to our
fellow ci'izens, who are engaged in such
noble and praiSewor,hy undertaking. AS to
the salaries: | think Ihcy are all that could
be expected under the present State of things.
The salaries are quite as high as they were in
Pennsylvania when the Public School System
was frs, established there, and. in fact. there
are many Of the cognlils in the state that do
not pay more, (if as much,) now In sume
of the most wealthy aud populous counties in
that state. they pay much higher salaries than
our Commissioners have fixed on for this
county. without, perhaps, paying much
l. c. twelve cents TO the hundred dollars. And
the reason is obvious. The land in these coun-
tics is under higher state Of cultivation. las
a general thing better improved with build.
ings and fencing, &c, and Of course, assessed
at much higher rate per acre than our land
in Cecil comfy, and consequently producing
a greater amount Of revenue, at the same rate
of taxation. Cecil county is now perhaps.
increasing in wealth and population as fast as
the most flonrishing counties o: Pennsylvania
and by the time the next >s.s>mcnt of prop
crty comes around (Which will not lie long
to waltz you will find that there will be such
an increase in the assessed value Of property
that you can, even at the present low rate Of
twelve cents on the hundred dollars, pay
your teachers much better salaries than at
present. We will have to learn to walk be-
fore we can expect to run; we will not there
fore dcspisc the day Of small things but con-
tent ourselves with storting where most of
the new beginners in the Public School Sys-
tim have been compelled from force of circum-
stances, to start.
What shall we 90 with our Free Negroes :?
This appears to be "a question that is growing
into Importance of late days. That the state
will be compelled ere long, to take some de-
cisivc Step in regard to this question SONS
evident There is class Of worthless. vaga-
bond negroes sprnging up all Over the state
who are a blight and curse to society, in every
sense Of the word; nnproductivc to the state
and with a few exceptions, common thieves
and Migrants. And every day the evil iii
creascs-every week they become more worth
less, and more bold in their worlhlessncsS. -
For one think the sooner the state gets clear
of them the better it will be for those that are
left. Would it be remcdying the evil to turn
them over into slavery? think not.
would be in favor of turning them over into
- Freedom" Drive thtm Cut Of The state -