The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-05-12
rUBEIe LssrsUcrIoS.

Tho good sCnHf = mankind has came 81 lass I
the conclusion that the suresi and swiftost rem
cog inr pebble Us is puhlic education, rremisia
the vhiic that BY ihie Is meni the smallaneou
Instruction ~ tbt heart and fhe head
Fer gur psn wo have scenty faith ID the NOR
heapiug u -uis and oiogies. without the iuenlca
tioh p sterling moral principle arinatcd and sis
iacd BY 9 relhope e pnaer aud loftier tlsings bo
yond tbe aardid struggle of ,lia world. 10 hn
perrerad mind uith ksnwiedge II but Is ulac
weapons 10 the hands II crime Religious instrae
tim must accompany the acquisition Of facts. j
order b make 1t useful. or even safe Tor mankind
N Illustration, lei us suppose a malignant MIR
lcrons spirit to possess 81 the secrets of chemis
srN electricity and galyanism Who woald b
cafe within The radius u its wicked inaucnse r
From time % time such a mind obtains possess
ION ~ these powers, ard the aunais u crime ar,
enriched with unaccustoncd horrors Bat usual
ly, Ia the dispeBsatian of Providence, il Is So az
ranged that ignorance aud complete wiekednes
20 together, ur that In the very act Of acquiring
knowledge, the intellect becomes moro gentle ant
refined, until instruction shrinks from what woulf
baye seemed perfectly natural to the bonghtet
understanding. The executions to this rule ar,
alas far too many still, but they are few cotnpar
cd with the whole mass Of cases The deduction
is rhat ignorance Il the great bane Of our race
but that In releaying It we must be careful how
We apply the antidoto
The general condition Of the masses Of any ma.
tion may be pretty fairly guaged BY their degree
Of instruction To trace the relations Of knowl.
with pauporism, is quite a surious, as it is a most
4 f3fuuopfaBf IN T&aF
/ the Lombardia, we find some most interesting de.
tails on the subject. Italy, as We have bofore had
occasion 70 say, il making every effort under the
regime Of Victor Emanuel to make education
universal in her dominions, aud publcists eager
ly lay hold ofany thing that assists their research
es On the subject
The Lombardia first refers to the map of the
French sayant, Brou Charles Dupin drawn IN
some years age b illustrate the exact status of
public instruction IN France The chart Of the
country was shaded in various degrees OF dark
colors TO express the comparative degree OF intel
leetuai light in ditfereet districts The statissi
can; Manner, has within few months. revived
Dnpin's idea with sundrymluable additions apply
ing the same to ali Europe The result Is astound-
ing To the most earnest and crepulous believers
in the intellectual progress attained in this late
hour Of history. Ignorance Of reading and writ
ing still rules three-fourths Of the entire popua
ton
The Pontiaeiai ststos Spain, Portugal the Mol
do-Wallachian Dachies, Russia, Poland and Turky
form the base Of the pyramid.
In Russia comprising as her vast realm so many
half-ciyili2ed tribes, but persons in every 1000
can read aud write. In Poland 81 out Of 100 are
ignorant Of the alphabet IN Russia only Sc cen
times, or about cents Of our money are annually
spent upon every pupil, while Switzerland spends
franc and centimes, or about 20 cents on each
Of hers.
Spain has Is in every 100 ignorant Of the alpha
bet In Greece there is one pupil to every Is in
habitants. Italy, despite her great cxortons. is
still far in the background, aud in her southern
Provinces three-fourths Of the people do not know
their letters Northern Italy, on the other hand
has l pupil in every 10, and in somc places, in
every inhabitants. The German provinces Of the
Austrian empire count pupil in 7, while in Croa-
TIA only one-hfth Of the children, and in Hungary
no more than half go TO school.
The three nations that have an ignorant average
less than 50 per cent are Great Britain, Belgium
and France. But even England is by no means
80 far advanced as we often think her, in the ed
ucation Of the poorest classes. OF 100 persons in
in prison there, two-hfths did not know the name
of The Saviour, and threc-fifts were ignorant Of
the title and name Of the Queen. OF 100 sailors
only % could write their own names In Ireland.
80 men and "a women in every 100 Of each can
neither read nor write.
Ralrfut. nr.a- third ,,f flo v,,,..,,
at 20 years of age, cannot read or write, and al
the city Of Gent 40 betrothed persons IN every 100
could not subscribe their names 10 the marriage
registers In the map of France Of tho SO de-
partments, 81 arc colored black because they
number from 80 TO Is in 100 inhabitants who do
not know the alphabet
The Scandinavian and Germanic nations range
away a the rest for wide diffusion Of knowledge.
Among them absolute ignorance is a rare excep-
tion. In Prussia only three soldiers of the Land
Nehr we're found by the ministry Of war, ia y
years, wbo could not write. In Denmark and
Sweden, there is bat / person in each 100 who
does not know tAe alphabet In Holland, persons
ignorant q the letters are in the small proportion
of per 400. n saxouy il is rare thing 70 find
a person uBacquainted with the alphabet. Three
wears ago, an order ~ the day was read aloud n
the army, ia which il was stated that tive soldels
have been discovered who could neither read nor
write but that 50 as not TO expose tbon to public
contempt their names would, for the time being, 4
be Kept silent
A. conclusive summing up. and bitter sa-
tiFe upea the system ly which Europe is govern 4
Cd Aanier places side by side tie proporironats 4
sums sIeut By each county for military purposes
and ior pablAc Instruction, thus ~
War. Educa-