Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-04-27
Promotion Of Education.

frOsSer, VI. y. from tne NaSnVllle DlSlrlct
delivered in the House of Representative
on the 18th of January, 1870, we make the
following extracts, to which we invite tn,
attention of the friends of education:
Mr.. Prosser.-Mr. Speaker, il is TO me &
matter of the most profound surprise an6
regret that q subject of such infinite inn
portance, especially to Republic like oul
own, should have been so long and so en-
tirely neglected by the Government of the
United States. Elsewhere, outside of ouI
own country, no subject has of late received
larger share of public attention or been
the object of more specific legislation.
Every civilized nation on the face of the
globe has in operation to-day system OF
public instruction more or less efficient, eX-
cept the United States. Yet the prime
value, the absolute necessity of popular ed
ucaton to ourselves more than any other
people on the face of the earth, | presume
all will acknowledge.
IMAM BECOMES WHAT HE is BY HIS EDU-
CATION"
Nearly every wise man who has lived du-
ring the last two thousand years and whose
opinions have been preserved to us by the
use of letters has reafiirmed, i'm terms which
only gather weight and force with each
succeeding century, the sentiment Plato
had already expressed, Man becomes
what he is principally by his education"
So, coming down TO our own day, and un-
der free Government where each individ-
ual stands upon his merits, the sentiment
30 well expressed by the English philoso-
pher Locke, is even more forcibly Illus
trated, that
"Of all the men we meet, nine out of
ten are what they are, good or evil, useful
or not, by their education"
RELIGION DEPENDS ON EDUCATION.
The morality of the people, nay, religion
IL -
cation of the people. Justice, charity, and
all the virtues must be taught, and the pu-
pill must be measurably educated to receive
these primary ethics, the foundation upon
which all religion is built. This idea
doubtless led Goldsmith to declare, az will
be bold enough to say that schoolmasters in
a State are more necessary than clergymen,
as children stand in need of more instruc-
ton than their parents The sentiments
of religion and morality, even the exist
ence of a God, must be taught. " And
thou shall teach them diligently unto thy
children" said Moses among his parting
injunctions to the children of Israel when
they were about to enter the promised land,
referring to all the sacred commandments
and wise rules for their guidance which he
had from time to time committed to them.
The attainment of the summit of their de-
sires as nation, the reward of their forty
years in the wilderness, was not sufficient.
The children must be taught diligently ia
order to secure the permanence of their
prosperity nation. And who can
doubt that their vitality as people to this
day is largely owing to the thorough edU-
cation they have given their children?
EDUCATION MAKES THE NATION.
So all there is of nation that is good
that is mighty, that exercises influence,
that is admirable in any respect, is the pro-
duct of the education of its citizens for il
iey1 fln mn hlr pfh hair
prised under one form of government, nor
the extent or fertility of the territory they
occupy, nor the wealth which makes a ma
ton. Its people may be as numerous as the
Chinese; they may occupy continent fer
tile as a garden and containing mountains
of precious and useful metals; they may
have much native force, yet if they lack
the potent agent of education, which rem
ders all material things available, they fall
short of the power and influence they
should possess. Whatever may be the dis
tinctions in any country upon which rank
is founded, the rank that nation occupies
among the powers of the earth will be
found to rest upon the practical education
of the people.
ITS IMPORTANCE RECOGNIZED But NOT
REALIZED.
While the general importance of educat-
ing the people Is acknowledged by every
reasonable person, nearly all fail to realize
that the intelligence OF the masses is of
vital importance to Republic, the only
foundation upon which it can stand. AS
Montesquieu has well expressed it:
Education makes the man; that alone
is the parent of every virtue; 1t is the most
sacred, the most useful, and at the same
time the most neglected thing in every
country"
CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY.
Such being the primary importance of
education, what is the condition of our peo-
pie in respect to it; and is our country
keeping up with contemporary nations,
and the spirit of the age? The answer to
this question diseloses facts which should,
and will, no doubt, astonish and arouse
every liberty-loyiHg legislator to action for
they are melancholy in their nature, they
are startling in their character.
Sir, familiar with the fact that large
amount of ignorance and apathy existed
on the subject, was startled when L came
TO examine the statistics bearing upon the
question, knowing that there can be no Sc
curity to the liberties of the people so long
as this dangerous element of Ignorance ex-
lists in the community, to an extent, as
nearly as can be estimated, of about one
fourth or one-ffth of the whole number.
The greatest despotism on EARTH" says
DIR Tocqueville is an excited untaught
public sentiment" truth already too well
illustrated to-day among the Ignorant
masses in New York.
With form of government which can