Year: 1876

.suOutu DG PROVIDED TOT ! sDut. .Wfec legislators
do not make universal systems to reach exc
ceptional cases.


The law which we assert is accounted for,
by several practical causes. Parents who,
remain too poor and callous to educate their
own children are so because they are igno-
rant, indolent, unaspiring, and vicious. The
children's characters are usually as much
the progeny OF the parents as their bodies.
Again: The aspiration, yirtnons desire, and
energy OF the parents are absolutely essen
tial to supply that impulse which the child's
mind requires to oyerrnie its youthful heed
lessness and to impel it to employ and as-
simulate its otherwise useless acquisitions.
| And once more: The home education is so
much more potential than that of the school
that the little modicum of training which q
| "common-school y system can give. to the
average masses is utterly trivial and inn
potent as q means Of reversing the chifd's
! tendency. That which costs nothing is never
valued. Old Judge Buell., OF Albany, placed
n sack OF o new variety OF beautiful wheat
upon the counter of the pavilion at great
agricultural fair, with label inviting every
| farmer to take one quart as gratuity, for
seed. At night the sack was almost un-
touched. The old gentleman, fretted at this
result, took it the second day to the booth OF
a seedman, and directed him to sell it at two
| dollars per quart. It was at once bought up
greedily. One Of the best teachers we ever
knew determined to devote his latter years
to the philanthropic work of teaching gra-
tuitous school for his rleighbors. In few
months it had dwindled to five pupils, and
died a natural death within the year. There
is natural humiliation, also, in being COM
PEELED to accept the provision Of charity, or
OF the State, for that which, conscience tells
parents, is obligatory on them. These rea-
sons account for the fact, which the adyo-
Gates OF public schools so desire to hide, that
the children do not attend, and the parents
do not care to make them attend He who
goes "behind the scenes" in the northern
States knows how extensively this is true.
| The rising movement for "compulSory edu-
cation" is confession of thiS fact. The
unwilling disclosure OF the failure Of the sys-
tenn is the only thing this new movement
will effect; for its folly is clear from
this simple thought, that it contravenes,
worse than all, the axiom: "One man can
lead the horse to water" &c. Hence it re-
suits, that the class which is low enough to
need this State aid is one which usually can
not be elevated by it. But the abortive
effort will awaken other influences, as we
shall see, which are likely to make the chill
dren more miserable and less innocent than
their ignorant parents.


Must the philanthropist, then, submit to
the conclusion that ignorance and its con-
sequences must needs be hereditary, and
that knowledge, culture, and virtue are not
to be extended beyond the fortunate youth
for whom their parents secure them? We
reply: this sad law does hold and must hold
to far wider extent than our oTer-weening
zeal is willing to acknowledge. Yet its
rigor may be relaxed; but not by the med
ding OF the civil magistrate or the arm OF
legislation. The agency must be social and


Christian. The work must be done by lay
ing hold of the sentiments, hearts, and con-
sciences od parents and children together
not through their grammatical and arith-
mctcal faculties. The agents for this blessed
work are the neighbor and the Church.
Christian charity and zeal, with the potent
social influences descending from superiors
to interiors, in society which is practically
kindly and liberal aristocracy; these may
break the reign OF ignorance and unaspir-
ing apathy. The State cannot; the work is
above its sphere.


Very, respectfully, your obedient servant,
| r. L. DABNEY.