Wilmington journal., 1876-08-25
HOW OUR EDUOATBONALH L. HN Sc -
ENES WILL BE AFFECTED BS
THE AMENDMENTS. A M

HOW OUR EDUCATIONAL IN Gfs's-
E>'GS WILL BE AFFECTED BS
THE AMENDMENTS.
The amendments make other changes
in the article on Education beside that
requiring the children of the tworac"s
to be kept separate and apart from
each other in the public schools. They
propose to strike out section 4 of this
article and in iis place 20 insert two
new sections. The difference between
that part proposed to be stricken out
and that part proposed to be inserted
is substantially as follows:
q" Under section 4, as it now stands, all
monies, stocks, bonds or other pro-
perty, belonging to any State fund for
the purpose of education are required
to be securely invested and the prin-
cipal thereof to be sacredly preserved
as an irreducible educational fund
The annual income only, arising from
this investment, can be used for kee p
ing up our public schools. The prin-
cipal is not allowed to be touched
under any circumstances. The pro-
posed amendments give to the Legis-
lature the discretion to devote both
principal and interest of this edu-
cational fund to the maintenance of
our public schools in such a manner
as may be deemed most conducive to
their support.
And there is plain reason i'll the
present condition of our people why
both principal and interest of all edu
cational funds should be at the dis
posal of the Legislature. The educa
tional necessities of the State Of North
Carolina are far greater to-day than
ever before in her history, but her
ability to meet such necessities was
treasury of the State for educational
purposes were spent upon the present
generation of school children, it would
not meet their requirements, for they
are now in the utmost need of all pos
sible educational facilities. If these
needs be promptly supplied. when the
children of to-day take charge of the
affairs of the State, as in the
course of nature in a very few years
| they will do, the State will be
in the hands of educated, Intelligent
men who will have both the will and
rhe means to provide for their children,
| # the needs of the present generation
be not met and met promptly, it will
! be but few, but very few years ere
the State will be inhabited by totally
unlettered and ignorant population
who will neither know or care any
thing about the value of education.
Think for moment of the condition
of things if but a single generation
shall grow up in ignorance. If this
shall happen another century will
have passed ere the pernicious conse-
quences Of SO great an evil will have
ceased to be visible. It will be curse
to tha land, comparable to which all
other evils that have befalleu it, war,
pestilence, conquest, subiugation and
reconstruction, will seem almost bless
ings. The interest or annual income
of all our educational funds, even when
added to such annual appropriations
of moni IS arising from direct taxation
as we may be able to make, is utterly
inadequate to meet the requirements
Of The present generation of schoo
children.
There is a pressing necessity then,
to give to the Legislature power to ap
propriate to educational purposes the
principal as we'll as the interest of such
educational funds as we may have. II
is like the prudent father who, when
he has but little to give his son, spends
that little in giving him an education
wisely considering that if a young man
has an education he has an estate that
cannot be taken from him. Suficien,
unto the day is the evil thereof. lu
the matter of education our first duty
is to our own generation rather than
tn DOstaritv