Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-06-24

AGAIN mere - Inc Bureau OF NAvigatton
/ Of the Navy, and the adoption OF al Improve.
ments in Instruments OF nautical use. Also,
under he direction OF ths Navy, We Mud an
Na:iOnai oss.r"a.oly, ne D onIs O. s.ss abe
lisnment Of he Kind IN the United States
properly equipped. furnished with corps OF
| this IS not all. Under the Ordnance Depart
nspt Of the Army and Navy . series Of ex.
| prrirlepts are almost constaatly IN progress,
| results Of impor lance 10 the weli.being OF the
| nation. Fprthermore, we have in this city q
| m.dicsl museum, under the direction Of the
| Surgeon G~ne:ai, containing, perhaps, more
intervening collection OF specimens 70 illustrate
| surgical or morbid anatomy than ANY
| other in existence. In Tits museum q
| truths and prodn cling results, by the aid OF the
microscope aud the appliances OF laboratory,
which have challenged the admiration OF the
M. d,cai profession. both in this country and
ment, which has established 4 laboratory and
q museum of economical products which will
net only add 70 the attractions OF this city, bu,
assist In dinusinR, through the annual reports
of the department; q knowledge OF an art on
which the material prosperity Of he country
principally depends.
In this connection need hardly remind Won
of the munificent endowment made by nv
riend on the rIgh:, Mr.. w. W. Corcoran, TO es-
tablish n gallery and school of art; q gIft
which viii no; only tend 20 refine and elevat.
the character OF the u: stric; OF Columbia but
Will also serve as n precedent TO be folio wed
bv others, who, by the exercise Of native talents
have acquired princsly fortunes. In addition
- the es,abh ssmen;s j have enumerated this
city is far from being deficient in ordinary Ii.
terary and professional Institutions. /. mum.
oers two well established ordinary literary
colleges, & law school, and two medic II schools
al asylum for the insane, and two hospitals for
invalids. After this review i Will no: detain
You by referring TO the assembly OF the
Judges OF the Supreme Court, the Sen
ate and House OF Representatives, 20
he Court OF Claims, or the District Courts:
the different heads of Departments and their
bureaus. with their several thousand clerks
all OF whom include individuals of more than
ordinary intelligence. Did / not fear to tire
you. might further enumerate to you the ad-
muable school systsm of the District and the
immense establishment of the Government
printing Office; but what l have said is suffi.
Gent, think, to warrant the assertion which
have before made as to the intellectual activ.
ity OF the city, in comparison with that of any
other OF equal population In this or perhaps
any other country. In making these remarks
/ do NO, intend 70 forget the occasion on which
We are assembled, nor 20 fail to express nv
hearty approval OF the enterprise which has
been 60 worthiiy inaugurated, of establishing
under the patronage of the Government, a col.
lege or institution for the higher education
Of the Deaf and Dumb. Our senses are the in
strumentali.ies by which the soul takes coyni-
Zance ofthephenomenao the outer world with
out the senses, though the soul has capacities,
II mas NO innate propositions, and the unfortu.
nate Individual therefore VINO is deprived of
any one sense, must be deficient In a definite
conception OF the phenomena to which that
sense is specially adapted. 1t is true that man
has been enabled through science to improve ms
natural senses. He has invented instruments
which on the one hand reveal to him sun 10
every star or world i'll every pl met, aud on
the other cosmos of teemipg lite in every drop
OF The staenant pool. He has invented
acoustic instruments which add power to
voice and render otherwise inaudible sounds
percephble. Even the sense Of smell is in some
investigations assisted by means of iastru.
ments which concentrate odors and the sens.
OF touch is rendered more acute by physical
applances. II II therefore mo- surprising
that in the advance Of humanity a
higher civilization than that OF Greece or
Rome In their Palmy days. that means should
be adopted for the amelioration OF those who
are deficient In one sense by a higher cultIya.
tioa o. the senses which still remain.
The art OF the education Of the deaf Is, how.
were considered on level with idiots, by the
Roman law they were held incapable OF
consent and consequently unable to enter into
legal obligations. ltwas happy idea there
fore, - substitute the sense of sight and touch
icr that OF sound in conveying intelligence to
this isolated portion of the human family.
whatever is presented 10 the mind through
the eye IL more definitely conceived and is
more iDdellibly impressed upon the memory
than That through any other organ of sense.
facts mus acquired may also serve as perma.
hent nuc'e around which to gather by associa-
tion thousands OF CtueT impressions received
through other ser-ss aud 81 no reason WHY
the education Of tn deaf should be confined n
the ordinary branch,s ofeGucat iouaI trailing
They should have the means no -ded then. of
attaining the highest mental development OF
which their capacities are susceptible. They
are certainly capable of being trstned adml-
Fable observer OF natural phenomena. In The
vast domain of ASTRONOMY, where no voice nor
sound is heard, whose eyes are better fit d 10
marx The pecuharitlies and study the char ges
OF ths heavenly bodies than those of the deaf
mU'e' The science OF mathematics in all
It's various ramiica,ions il Jully open u
TIER Investigations, and as many of thu
pnenornena OF sound are connected with
visible effects; they are not even entirely ex-
ciuded from kno wledge OF these, aud indeed
II would seem that IN the study % abstract
sciei c. eenerslIy they have the advantage of
an entire Withdrawal, as II were from the
world OF sense 70 that Of the relation of the
ideas which have already been acquired An
institution of this Kind is. therefore. worthy of
The patronage 81 The Government, which
should foster higher as well as ordinary COM
mon school education. There Is no country in
the world which. al the present time so much
requires he AID OF men OF profoudd thought AID
leaoy ana correct expression as our own.
tnsre are constantly occurring questions which
cannot be solved except by minds accustomed
70 accurate observations, stored with precise
knoWi ledge, and trained 10 logical deductions
We are. however, too prone TO look at the i'm.
mediatsly practical, ana TO forget that all
knowledge 10 ussful. and that the purely alb
pable concrete. AT the present time We lack
men OF thought more than men OF action Our
country produces spontaneously large crop
OF the latter. while the former are only de.
veIoped by laborious culture.
Inc s1th least was: '.Our Sister Colleges
grateful for your recognition, we emulate your
Professor whittlesey, OF Howard Universe.
~. VINO sta ed that he had always tried to fol.
low the advice Of one OF his old profes sors,
never to make an extempore speech without
hrst preparing it, and II he had expected to
nave been called upon he certainly would have
prepared speech; that the advancement he
mad seen to-day gave him great hope in the
work in which he was engaged, and when the
world came 10 know what had been a. tuaIly
done by this institute, they will find there is
much 10 lie arm from this institution in the train
ing ofthe human mind.
The seventh and last toast: sHon. Amos Ken.
dali, the founder Of the institution and its con.
slant friend" To which Mr. Kendall respond.
ed IN few well-chosen remarks, in which he
stated that his heart WIS in the WORK, and he
had been rewaI ded to-day for all be had done
for the institution.
At the close Of Mr.. Kendall's speech the
President announced that the Board of Direc.
tots had conferred the 15.eunde M Degree of
Master Of Arts on Mr.. James DenisOn, the
senior instructor in the Academic Department
Of the Institution, and that the Honorsry
Deglee OF Master Of Arts had been Conferred
on j. Scott Hutton. principal of the Halifax
IN. s. Institution for the Deaf and Dumb