The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1859-06-04
Original Artiflcs.
For The Cecil " his.
Pay of School Teachers.

Mn. EDITOR 1T is a saying no less tritc
than true, that the workman is worthy Of his
hire, and that whoever operates for the public
i'll literary capacity which has tendency TO
lessen the criminal calendar by the prevention
of crime, is at least as much entitled to public
gratitude and compensation for h $ services,
as he who arraigns the culprit and effects his
condemnation for fragrant violation of legal
cnActments.
| am led to these observations whilr con-
sidering x An Act to Establish II Unfit rm
System OF Schools in Cecil couuty,'i and i'll
commenting on the Bylaws for the govern
m"nt Of the Board Of Commission, Of PuHlic
Schools in said county. Foremost in the
rank OF duties in sustaining system of inter
nal imp ovemcnt, whether Of canals. railroads
or educational establishments. is the one of
ascertaining how stands the cXcheIuer in
relation to finance, lest they who begin TO
build be not able to finish the supcrSructnle
whose foundations they imagined to be laid
broad and deep, detying the pillows Of the
tempest
The consideration of this point leads me to
inquire the amount Of salary nj which the
Teacher is expected to operate fol the cduca-
tional benefit Of his fellow citizens The
bylaws fix the minimum at SlSG per annum,
or SD per quarter, while at the same time il
is suggested that under certain circumstances
the teacher is liable TO a fine at the discretion
the Commissioners for some ila,.veltcnce
or mismanagcm@nt Of affairs.
In the true spirit Of American equality, per
nit me to state the effect which this minimum!
salary will have on the teacher and the neigh
borhood where the young idea is about being
taught how TO shoot. The teacher cannot
honestly and lonorahly be engaged in other
business than teaching while ms obligation
TO fulfill his contract it'll the Commas toner's
is binding. The study Of medicine, law or
divinity, is for the time in allegiance. He is
to be the teacher for at Least Il definite period
1ftor all coming time he is TO be he teacher
may depend upon the system OF finance
How stands the case in relation to the
minimum salary! 1t is &i5 per quarter, and
his board will perhaps amount y $50 pei
quarter; he will, therefore, realize the diff
ference between SID and $50, which is 50, as
the amount of which he may claim the owner
ship at the termination Of the quarter. Pro-
vided, he be a competent teacher. 1t is GER
tainly low estimate at which his services
have accommodated the public. When We
consider what a trlIling pccuniary comptnSa
ton the original purchaser gave for tic sol
of our common country, it might be supposed
that the instructions Of those who have
taught our countrymen to enhance its value
more than thousand fold, might deserve ;
greater boon than SO a month, beside paying
their board, for aiding in the cause of human
freedom, by advancing that knowledge whicl
wherever floats the Stars and Stripes, is tht
palladium Of American Liberty.
One cannot imagine an honorable business
in any walk Of life, whether intellectual,
elevated or laboriously depressed, so made
quatcly compensated on the American soil
as the teacher of youth, whose profession il
the highest and noblest on the record, whicl
tells of liberty and glorious Independence il
the annals of time.
We will not compare him with the Russian
scrf, who has everything but freedom. VI
Will say nothing Of those who perform nyol
nntary servitnde elsewhere; but we will su,
that for the people to expect the services o
their teachers at the estimation which thcst
Bylaws require them to be performed, i
admitting them to possess more elevate,
patriotism than belongs to the monicC
aristrocracy, who for the advancement Q
human rights possess the means to dissent
nate knowledge broadcast over the fields o
Cecil county, and confer honor and shcC
unlading lustre on Maryland's cscutchcon.-
Further remarks are postponed fer the present
PHILoMArHEAN.