Year: 1872

cellent school law Will soon 60 into


operation in that State, which has


just passed the Legislature. AT


present Savannah and Columbus


are the only cities in the State that


have school systems worthy of the
name"


The gentleman from Georgia also
calls our attention to what he thinks
of the patriotism existing in Geor-
gia. He says:


II feel safe in expressing my be-
lief that there is intelligence and
patriotism enough in the State of
Georgia to-day to manage it's pro-
portion of this fund properly if it is
turned over to the State"


I suppose he refers to that patri-
otism existing among the colored
people, or that which the whites
have inculcated since May, 1865.
Now, MIR. Speaker, if we judge of
the patriotism existing among the
Democratic party In Georgia to-day
from the course that party has pur-
sued in that State relative to free
schools and the education of the
negro, our conclusion will be that
Georgia is not opposed to free
schools, and the education of the
negro and poor white children, as
heretofore.


It is useless to talk about patri-
otism existing in those States in
connection with free schools under
Democratic system, and in connec-
tion with those who now and always
have believed that it was wrong to
educate the negro, and that such
offenses should be punishable by
death or the lash. Away with the
patriotism that advocates and pre-
fers ignorance to intelligence!


Let us look into the patriotism
of Florida's sister State, Georgia.
My State has been very retrogres-
sive in connection with free schools,
but she is still ahead of Georgia in
this respect. I am indeed sorry I
cannot say as much for the patriot
ism of the Democratic party of my
State as the gentleman has about
Georgia, when I know that in 1S45
the General Government donated
to Florida, while under Democratic
rule, 9O8,5O3 acres of the public
domain of that State for common
school purposes. And what did
they do with It? Why, sir, they
enacted a school law which
did not mean anything, which was
enacted only to obtain the possess
sion Of the lands donated. In this
same law they created a common
school fund, and under the opera
ton of this bogus law they obtained
fraudulent possession of the lands,
sold them, and applied the proceeds
to everything else except that for
which they were donated. Is this
the kind of patriotism to which the
gentleman, alluded in his remarks :?


I am in favor, Mr.. Speaker, of
not only this bill, but of a national
system of education, because I
believe that the national Govern
ment is the guardian of the liberties
of all its subjects. And having
within a few years Incorporated
into the body polite a class of un-
educated people, the majority of
whom, I am sorry to say, are col
ored, the question for solution and
the problems to be solved, then,
are: can these people protect their
liberties without education; and
can they be educated under the
present condition of society in the
States where they were when freed?


Can this be done without the aid,
assistance, and supervision of the
General Government ? No, sir, it
cannot. Were it not that the pre-
judice of slavery is 80 prevalent
among the former stakeholder
against the education of the negro,
it would be superficial to say that
the negro could not protect his
educational interests, or could not
be educated without the establish
ment of a national system of educa-
ton. This prejudice is attributable
TO the fact that they were copanelled