Year: 1859

suiYed them 10 examine INTO VIC oPoi''"n VI WV
s.AooI ,ystem Of this City, and report thereon
,,.,ious TO jan /, 1853, and to annex to their re-
- . draft of bill making such changes and i'm
.,cvemeuts in the laws relative thereto as they
.,;.ht deem advisable. The Commission msde
,,port 70 the Governor accordingly, but nitted to
amer a draft Of q bill This report makes a for
p;d.ble document of l, 1872 pages of which 1000
coues were printed at an expense to the people OF
This state of doubtless at least as many dollars.
II contained some twenty pages OF report proper,
few more pages Of statistics collected by the Com
mission, while the remaining thousand aud ODD
pages consisted of documents previously printed by
the Board of Education, large portion OF which
had already become lumber. Before this docu-
nert IN its full proportions had had an opportunity
70 make that impression on the Legislature which
il has since left upon the minds Of those who have
seen it in its printed form-for we presume no one
has yentured TO peruse 1.-THE Commission secured
the passage Of law giving them another year TO
aiscbarge the duty for which they were appointed,
namely, to prepare and report bill amending the
School Laws. This bill they have now reported,
and printed copy of it is before us. Upon eI-
hmlI btOu vi ~ VIC n1c C0u'IutCN Inotp IL 'h"NsNN
into law, the increased expenses which it will en-
tail upon the City will exceed the cost TO the State
Of printing the fret report Of the Commission as
largely as a mountain does molehll, unless, as Is
probable, the expenditure under the law would Dc
10 enormous as to secure its overthrow, II not the
destruction of the School System. The following
are some Of the objections TO the bill which we
notice:


The Board Of Education is to consist OF one
member from each Ward, instead OF two as now.
We do not consider il very important whether, If
the Ward system is preserved, the representation
be one or two but we object decidedly to the basis
It's fragrant wrong that the Wards below Houston
street, which contain but very little more than
quarter of the population of the City, should elect
half of the members. This evil has been corrected
in the formation of the Common Council, and
should be in the organization Of the Board OF Edu-
cation. 1t is further serious objection that only
Eve or six Wards are TO elect Commissioners in
the same year. In this City, where there is much
moving from Ward to Ward, voter would be
often in doubt until the day of election, whether ne
was to vote for Commissioner or not, and would,
therefore, neglect TO inform himself in respect to
the merits of the candidates. The members of the
Board of Education should be elected at regular
periods, and the whole City should vote at the same
time.


While no attempt is made to reform the material
of which the Board is composed and 1T is left con-
stituted upon an unfair basis patronage and power
are given to it to an extent which would inevitably
make il far more corrupt than it has ever yet been
suspected TO be. Unrestricted authority is in the


rst place granted to it TO provide sites and build
ipgs for general purposes, and then the purchase
OF sites and the contracting for new schoohouses,
which are now made by the local boards with the
sanction of the Board Of Education, are to be ex-
clusvcly confded to the latter. without the least
restriction whatever.


Another objection of controlling force is that the
most unbounded power is given to the Board OF
Education TO employ whatever officers and work
men it pleases, and at such salaries and to this
sweeping patronage is added the power to establish
School Police to be called truant officers" 81 so
"msny ~ may be deemed necessary and proper
who are to have in relation TO side and trulnt
children" for "the safety and protection OF
"teachers and scholars" and "for the purposes OF
the act" "the powers Of police officers aud
"such other powers as the Board OF Education
"may prescribe ~" 1t is reasonable to assume
that ten officers to Ward would be deemed a
necessary and proper number; and as they are
to have greater powers than the metropolitan
Police of course the same pay, $500 year, would
be moderate; being an annual cost for 22O officers
of $l76,O00. No sane person will imagine that
these would be anything el,e than sinecure places,
except at election times, when the force would of
course work hard for the reelection of their EN-
ployers; but it may be refreshing to taxpayers to
be reminded that the proposal to establish the
force originates with a Commission appointed
under an act the title Of which declared that they
were Ito secure the more perfect economy OF
"Common Schools in the City Of New-iork." j"
One of the School Commission is also Police
Commissioner, but We hardly supposed that he
would be willing TO make such decided hit at the
efficiency Of the present police force The police
men We meet in the streets do not seem to be so
o,erburdened with duties that they could not also
look after yagrant children if such supervision is
necessary.


While the Board of Education is thus loaded
with dangerous patronage, its powers for useful
ness are essened. 1t now has comprehensive au-
thority to control by general rules and regula-
''tions" the action of the local Boards, and the
Commission may have intended to continue this
authority; but if So they not very explicit nor
fortunate in the language they employ.


The present local organization by Wards Is