The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1863-05-01

: world The drill is faultless. / know of n
. place where, among an equal number of me
gathered from the lower walks of societ,
there are so few breaches of decorum; We
when the inmates reappear in society, the
are not improved. You undertook to intro
duce military drill, Or prison drill, or both
into Your family; and you failed, precisel
as generals and wardenS fail You never re
cosnized the fact that the essential part of 1
chlld's education is that of teaching him tn,
use OF his liberty, under The control of hi
sense of that which is right and proper ant
lauGable in human conduct. You did no
undertake to develop and enlighten tha
sense at all. You managed your children in
stead of teaching them how to manage them
selves. You nerer appealed to their sens,
Of honor, or TO their sense of right or pro-
priety, as the motive to any desirable course
of conduct; and when you placed your COM
mand upon one Of them, and he dared to ask
You for areason, you crushed him into silence
by assuring him that he had nothing TO dc
with a reason.
4 1t Is not uncommon TO hear the assertion
that the sons of ministers and deaoons turn
out badly. Statistics show that the state
meat is too broad, and yet common observa-
ton uni;es in giving it some basis in truth.
Ii is not at all uncommon 10 see the children
of excellent parents,-ehildren who have
been bred in the most orderly manner-going
raight to destruction the moment they leave
the family roof, and cease TO feel parental
restraint. These parents feel, doubtless,
very much as YOU do, that il is all a myste-
rious dispensaiion of Providence, but it is
only the natural result of their style of train
ing.
know of public institutions for the re-
form of vagrant children that are celebrated
for the delightful manner in which those
children are brought to square their conduct
by rule. They march ike soldiers. They
sing ike machines. They enter their school
rooms in silent flies that would delight the
eye of an Indian warrior. They recite in
concert the most complicated prose and verse.
They play by rule, and go to bed to the ring
ing of bell, and say the Lords player in
unison. And they run away when they can
get chance. and steal, and swear, and cheat,
and prowl. and indulge in obscene talk as of
Old. know Of other public institutions of
TINS kind. or. at least, one other, that has no
rule of action except the general Christian
rdle within it. The children are taught TO
10 right They are instructed in that which
is right. Their sense of that which is true
and good and pure and right and proper is
educated, developed, stimulated, AMI thus
are the children taught TO govern themselves.
they govern themselves while in tie institu-
lion, and they govern themselves after they
Lave il. 1t is impossible TO reform vicious
child without patiently teaching that child
sef-government. All the drill of ali the
reformers in the world VIII not reform 4 sin
gle child; and this show of Juvenile drill
that We meet with in schools and charitable
institutions is frequently-nay, l vii say,
genera y-a most deceitful thing-the spe-
cious cover of a system of training that is
terribly worse than useless. If dogs couli
talk, they could be taught TO DO the same
way: but they would hunt cats and bark at
passengers in the old fashion when beyond
the reach of their masters lash.
You will see, Deacon Jones, that Your
mode of family training has introduced me
to field of discussion as wide as il is impnr-
tant. It relates to public institutions as well
as to families, and 10 nations As we'll as to
public institutions. You and |, and all the
democrats of America, have been indulging
in dreams of democracy in Europe. but these
dreams do not come to pass, and are not
likely TO be realized at all. The people Of
Europe have been governed. They know
nothing about self-government, and, when
ever they have tried the experiment, they
have sadly failed That which alone imper-
lis democracy in this country is the loss of
the power of self government, and that which
alone prevents the establishment of democ-
racy in Europe is the lack of that power
The governing classes of Europe will take
good Care to see that that power be not de-
veloped.
But return to this matter of family gov
ernment, and | imagine that, before this
time, you have asked me whether have in
tended TO sneer at orderly families. | an
swer-not all. There must be, without ques-
ton, more or less repression of the irregular
tiles of young lie, and of such rough passions
as sometimes break out and gain ascendency
in certain natures; but this should be excep-
tional. | do not sneer at orderly families.
hut ike to see order growing out of each
members sense of proprie,y, and each men,
bers desire to contribute to the general good
conduct and harmony of the family life. l
like TO see each child gradually transformed
into gentleman Or lady, with gentlemanly
Or ladylike habits-cultivated by asense of
that which is proper and good. know that
children thus bred-taught from the begin
ming that they have stake and response
bility in the family life-used from the be-
ginning to manage themselres-are prepared
- -. -. .ha rrorlA al .nl-a 49,