Year: 1879

ing III ODtISabOtysa llSbc1A VI OPvAOA


al. upon the several County Court


to levy supplemental tax sufficient
| ly ample to sustain a five months


free school in every scholastic dis


trict in the State, provided il b


deemed impolitie for the State t.


levy tax for this purpose. Thi


action would place beyond the reacl


of either ignorance or prejudice th'


power to deprive the children whc


are soon to be the adult citizens o


the State from receiving that practi


cal English education which is nee


essary to enable them to discharge


with credit the duties aud rights o


their citizenship.


As to how much should be appro


priated from the Public Treasury to


each county for educational pur'


poses, and how much each county


should be required to raise, to en-


title it to receive this appropriation,


is a point to be determined by our


Legislature, after a carefalexamina


ton into the status of education in


the various sections Of the State.


AS to whether the time will eUer


come when the great body of the


people will be so intelligent and


virtueus as to need no legislative


stimulant to force them to prose


cution of the work, is question we
cannot now undertake to decide.
Be it enough for us to know that
such is not nos0 the case.


may be here permitted to di-
gress and to state as my conviction,
that one of the most serious OBJ
stacles that initiate against the suc-
cessful operation Of our free school
system, is the existence Of vast


y


army of inexperienced and inefficient
teachers for, ''as is the teacher so
is the school )" and as long as we
are denied wise and liberal pro-
vision for educational necessities, so
long will this incubus press upon US.
But we are met at the very outset
by the objection that, where there is
a demand, there always will be an
supply, and that, therefore,
legislative enactments are wholly
unnecessary and uDadvisable. In
reply to this, we may state that. in
the case of man individual interests
his objection may unquestionably
be regarded as valid. It is an ac-
1nowledged fact, that what men feel
,he need of, they will endeavor to
possess; and if they cannot provide
t for themselves, they oOiIL make it
10 the interests Of others to provide
or them. But suppose men have
wants which, individually, they very
mperfectly realize; and suppose
urther, that the public welfare is far
more Immediately and far more
leeply concerned in the supply Of
hose wants than it is possible for
he individual to be, to what source
,ught we TO look for the first and
most suggestive movement on the
ubject? TO be still more emphatic:
.onceded the fact that the system of
means best adapted to supply the
demand was, in point of extent and
expense, far beyond individual abil.
ty. and to be compassed only by the
esources of the State, where should /
lction begin? And this is precisely
he situation occupied by the Public
schools. of this State at the present !
moment. The want of education is !
sot so universally felt to be SO great /
N evil as it really is, The ignorant |
1.-The very class who should be most (
leeply concerned-are the least af-
ected by their fearful destitution. I
n such a government as that Of the
United States--dspendent as it is
It every step upon the intelligence
md virtue of its people-great pub,
&c interests will be the first to suffer
rom popular ignorance and Deep
ooted viciousness. Those public
wills will, indeed, eventually spread
,yer aud extend to the lowest citi-
ZEN in the land. But the masses of
be people will, in the meantime. re-
main insenslble to them, and it is
exceedingly difficult to convince
hem of the true source from which
hey emanate, They will attach the
blame to this or that particular
Measure, or to the actions of some
partizan, forgetting all the
While that a better educated people
would have selected wiser legisla-
ors and been favored with better
md more wholesome laws. While |
he public is more directly and more
leeply interested in the education
# the entire body Of the people than
can possibly be, it is
alike the duty and the |
-ital interest of the public to provide |
or such necessary instruction. To
lelay in this case for the ordinary |
,perations of the principle that de-