The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-06-22
~. Education CT the people as

par.mrnts seem TO he E,'aiins ideas, ani
pr.'notr the one by ihcr, s>ii" our rduc.-
. ri' :ncIl!trs. ai,d hr other by higher
education il Colleges and Cni"cr:i;ies lor
'i,u>" wi,o in the lower grades prov" ,heir
qualification and adaptation TO TAX" 4nd i'm.
r"ovr it. We do not pretend 10 say that
education alone will make u> great CT
gond people, nor DO We look to common
schools or college training alone to solve
the prob. ems before us, or overcome nj! Of
onr difficulties. But we do assert tha,
| education is a necessity for one and the
her. and that it will help more than any
one agency 10 remedy the evils from which
we nre now suffering politically, and in
consequence thereof economically 1t goes
TO their roots, namely, ignorance, prejudice
and lack of individual responsibility In an
address delivered in 1878, at Saratoga, be-
to:e ihe Bar Association Of New York, Mr.
Dex!er Hawkins, prominent member Of
I'll" profession, chose as his subject, "Edu-
cation the need Of the South" 1t is by all
odds the best and most sensible treatise on
the subject we have ever read from that
section of the country. 1t does credit to
his heart as we'll as mis- head. He discusses
the question in all of its bearingj, shows the
startling iliiteracy of the South, and demon
strates that only through education can
universal suffrage be made com patible with
free institutions He goes further and from
q purely practical standpoint shows the
utility and economy Of intelligent over un-
intelligent labor, and in proof adduces many
curious and satisfactory statistics. When
we consider the fact that ffty-seven per
centum of the population Of South Carolina
Grc illierate We may we'll start back with
astonishment and apprehension unless we
take steps to correct it. II is subject
which appeals to the patriot and the philan-
thropisL, and wisdom and policy alike de-
mand that we rise to the fullest measure of
our duty. The State has wisely taken hold
Of the subject, and We cannot be too liberal
in our appropriations, so far as our means
will permit. Whether it is better to do it
by general or local taxation is inmaterial,
provided the result is attained With en-.
larged means, increased facilities ard
heightened school terms the effect would 10
few years BE- percsptible OF our condition.
To have good schools we must have compe-
tent seachers. and it is all impcrtant that
they should be regularly trained for the
work. To this end no more bencicent in-
stitutions can be established than Normal
Schools. Teaching is @ gift as we'll as an
art, and involves not only the idea of know.
ing but Of impar,iug knowledge. teach
er must have selfcontrol, and his influence
should be felt morally as well as in,elec-
tualy. No bad, or ill-tempered man, should
be permitted to teach. The methods Of
teaching and its disciplinary ideas have ma
terially changed, while in text books and
appliances still greater changes are notice
able. teacher to be thoroughly compe-
tent must have the groundwork laid on q
most secure foundation. 1t is an immense
responsibility. The Normal School insti-
tuted last Summer QSs0), by orr accomplish
ed Superintendent of Education, in which
he was so ably assisted by the incompara.
BILE Scldan, the versatile and brilliant
JoyDes, and the earnest and talented Davis
and others, and to which Carlisle, Duncan
and Furman, names synonymous with
learning. culture and piety gave their sup
port and co.operation-did more for the
cause of education during lis sixty days
session in the training afforded the scores
of teachers in attendance than any other
instrumentality which could have been put
in operation. With liberal appropri atoms,
full schools and competent teachers, the
foundation is laid for step higher in the
College and University curriculum for those
youth found especially proficient and wor.
thy in the various schools. The several
Colleges in the State under the manage
ment of their experienced and learned "a.
culties, and whose standards Of education
| are so elevated aad enuobing should be
lib rally endowed aud patronized, while the
| University of the State. thesucceSsor Of that
glorious old College, the nursery OF so many
of her great men, and around whose venera-
BILE walls cluster memories and associations
so dear TO our people, an institution which
has been to South Carolipa in the past what
the. Academy Of Plato and the Walks OF the
Stagiritc were to Athens, should be placed
| on the broadest and most comprehensive
basis. Then indeed will the State fulfill the
destiny which blind old Milton saw, as in
rapt vision he contemplated the future of his
country. and renew once more her youth
and Joy in the attainment, excellence and
training Of the noble army Of athletes which
she will yearly send forth to build up h..r
waste places, develop her power and utilize
her resources. We indulge in no Utopian
dream. The supply will keep apace With the
demand, and the demand will necesstate an
increased supply. Let US rec how trained
men will be needed, and thus practically
apply what We have briefly attempted to
formulate. We must have trained men
for the pulpit, upon whose shoulders the
mentles Of the good and pious who have
maintained true religion can fall, and who
by the learning instilled into them in the
advanced courses Of our Colleges anl Sem.
inaries csn dispel the impressions and infu.
ence of the modern school of in6delity, re-
presented BY Darwin, Huxley, Tyndal!, Stu
art Mill, Spencer and others; men who have
exhibited wonderful research in the domain
Of thought and science, but have counter
acted it all by their attacks on religious
faith, and who, without faith themselves,
have in their destructive mania substituted
nothing in lieu thereof on which to hinge
hope or base belief 1t is, however, the
most subtle attack that has ever been made
on religion, and it will not do to poob-pooh
it, It must be met by learning and by
counter aggression. We must have me,
to fill our chairs of learning. Men who can
rise to the level of the LeContes, Toy, Vena-
Bile, GilderslecEe, DeFere. and numerous
others who by their learning are now she'd
ding lustre over Southern scholarship Men
who in history will carry on the work of
Ramsay, Rivers and Davidson, of Timrod
and Haync in poetry, and of Sims in fiction.
We must have men trained for public life,
who by their character, education and at
tainments will advance, if possible. still
higher the proud reputation of the CID State.
Public office is high trust, and its duties de-
raa1d CAPACITY and patriotism. Every citi-
zen of O government should take deep in-
terest in its welfare, and ours especially,
made by the people and for the people, de-
mands the love and watchful care of every
citizen, for only thus can its blessings in
their essential and purer elements be pre-
served. The vast area of or country, its
comparative Spersity Of population and scope
for Individual action. serve at present as
safety valves, but the premonitions Of the
contest between capital and monopoly on the
one hand, and the great mass Of the peonIe