OEPHANS’ FRIEND.
\V‘lnesday, Fel>iiasiry li.
“*0110 of the firyt things to bo done is
to be^u ■with t)ie ])et)i)lc fiiul "we mean
all the people. We must liave a health-
ly i}ubUc sentiment on the subject of
education. We can’t do anything
■\vithout it. This ciuinot be brought
about by ^‘rigorous laws,” e.si)ecial]y
if by “rigorous laws,” -is meant a cum-
pul8or>’ school la■\^^ We do not think
our people are ])re])aredforcom])aLsory
la’ws on tlie subject. Tiiey ■would not,
in our opinion, sustain the Jjegislature,
should that body see lit to make such a
la'w. We are opposed to such laws.
If it ■^vere neeessaiy we could give tlie
grounds of our opposition. We are
willing for the State to aid and encour-
Hge, and think it should, as far as 3)os-
fiible, aid and encourage, general edu
cation, but it ought not in onr opinion
to comi)cI.”—--Biblical Itecorder.
The people not prepared for compul-
jaory laws on the subject of education !
6o think the editors of a po])ular paper,
in an able article on popular cdiu^ation.
They are opposo.l to such laws and they
wani timid legislators against them.
How strange! For many years we
have had such laws in force in our
-State j the Legislature has enacted
them; the peoj)!© have approved them
and enforced them j and now it is dis
covered tliat the people are not prepared
for such laws ! When boys and gii-ls
are bound oait, the men to whom they
are bound are required by law to send
them to school for a specified time.
This is compulsory education as far as
it goes. Are the editors of tlie Eccor-
der opposed to it ? Are they opposed
to the law that lets a boy go to school
for a few months, so that he may learn
to read the laws of his country and the
commandments of his Maker f If so,
may the Lord have mercy on their souls.
But if bound children have a right to
learn to read, shall the same privilege
be denied to children living with their
parents 1
Take this case : A married woman
dies lea\ing a boy. The husband
•wishes to marry again. The second
wife does not want the first-svite’s child.
The father gives the boy to a poor old
■woman who hires him out and lives
upon his wages. The boy is worked
iiiglit and day, very scantily' fed and
clothed, and never allowed a day in
school, though Mias Bradley’s excellent
free school is near at hand. Some compul-
ROiy law ought to compid that father to
allow that motherless boy to learn to
read. But the editors of the Eecorder
are opi^osed to such a law! Then they
are the avowed advocates of compulso
ry ignorance ! Alas, for our country
when our wise and good men propose
to rivet the fetters of vice and ignorance
on childhood and mnocence! Those
wlio opimso compulsoiy education are
obliged to advocate comi)ulsory igno
rance. we beg the editors of the
Recorder to reconsider the question,
oefore they lend thmr immense indu-
cace to an umighteous and ruinous
'■-luse.
We believe that children (as ■well as
■2,routs) have some iidierent rights, a
. 'ght to do right, and a right to learn
'hat is right. Tlxe i>eople are willing
> grant them these rights. How can
00(1 men say, “we are opposed to such
ws f ’
Tnii X. C. Bond-holders, residing in
*w York, have foiuid out that, the
il North State is worth $200,250,000,
d want UvS taxed accordingly. Tliey
r’get that we owe others besides tlicm-
( 'Ives. The State is in debt, the coun-
^ is are in debt, the cities are in debt,
' churches are in debt, the lodges
I societies are in debt, and (worse
. .u all) iiidmduals are in debt. Some
rcliants already owe New York
■ )re than they are worth. Debt pro
ds as an epidemic on man, and to
• me C-xtent it is epizo-otic among the
ists. The State is. building a peni-
itiiuy to cost a million, and a new
d-house at Morgaiiton to cost $100.-
0. We are also obliged to pay high
• the privilege of being gouged and
,'or»ed. All this is to be done after
houses have been burned, our cro])s
'oured, and our preqK'rty plundered,
wonder our i)oliti(aans touch so
• hu-Iy the delicate RMVj*et. But af-
ufl, we ought to pay our lienest
ts.
PALIiMJKUS NODDING AX’ X'lIE
HELITI.
The N. 0. rresbytenanis edited Avith
cousincuous ability, and we read it
with eager interest. Generally it is
remarkably accurate ; but in the paper
of last Aveek, in the editorial leader, is
the folloAving:
“But, kike ]>riest, Iike*people’ is as
true now as (iA'er it Avas. A ministry
richly instructed, and with a zeal i)ro-
portiojK'd iii its intelligence and in its
warmtli to llie doctrinal knowledge
Avlihdi iiiforms it as Aveli as to tlie i)U‘ty
which ennobles it, Avill usually, by
God’s ordinary .moA'ements uiKm the
liearts of Ilis 3)eo3>k‘, be the means of
bringing them iq) in iiarmonv Avitli it
self.”
Hosoa says: “ And there shall bo
like ])eoplo, like priest, and I will pun
ish them for tludr Avays and reward
them for their doings.”
Isaiah also says: “And it shall bo,
as Avith tlie people, so Aviththe priest.”
We have seen a few excei)tio]is, but
the Bible rule is true: “.like p(H)i)lc,
like priest.” G-onerally the 3)reacliers
go down to tlie pedide, or tlie people
take one from their own Uwel. The
preacher can not pull them iqi to a
higher plane. I\Ioro learning and more
religion A^'ill elevate them. Ellie.ient
schools and AA'orks of charity should
therefore be to the ministry ob.jeets of
careful culture; for these Avill lift the
people u]). Some denominations are
now making a serious blunder in lay
ing too much stress on tlie education
of ministers. Educate the iieople and
there Avill be a demand for edueated
ministers, and for no others. Tlien
ignorance Avill retire from the ludpit,
as mist before the morning sun. But
keci) the peoide ignorant, and they
Avill keep themselves siqiplied Avith
preachers like tlieinseh'es.
TIfiE IIIGSaWAY TO ASIA.
We are glad that tardy old England
has at last seen the A-alue of tlie iioav
road to Asia, and has iiiA'ested heavily
in tlic stock of the Suez Canal. Eng
land owns the Eock of Gibraltar, dots
CA'cry sea Avith lier commerce, and
ought to be tired of doubling the Avliolc
continent of Africa to reach her pos
sessions in Asia.
Whmi Cicsar Avas a school-lxiy, jii-
rates infested the Mediterranean; but
Eomjx^y, Avith an arjiiy on eai^h sidi^
and a navy (ui the sea, drove them be
fore him from the Pillars of .Hercules
on tlie West to the end of tlie waters
on tlie East. Then the midland sea
became a great higliway for the na
tions, and so may it ever continue. It
is a gTcat blessing to all mankind tliat
a shi]) may load in New York, Norfolk,
Wilmington, Newbern, or Beaufort,
ajid unload at Brindisi, Jafia, Alexan
dria, jMocha, Calcutta, or Shanghai.
Ea'cii the heathen may peep into ciA'il-
ization, and the learned may A'erify
history by the monuments of antiquity.
The RQw Judge, Gen Cox,
appointed by the Clovernor to
succeed Judge Watts, is aiaking
a good impression. Mr. Ball, ed
itor of the New North State, and
a political opponent, says :
“ lie .scons actuated l)y a laudable
desire to do justice, to all ])arties, and
wliile he a|)])ears to bo kind-liearted,
he is at the same time iirm andprom])!
in Ids administration of justice. Ills
rulhis's, so far, liave piven siitisfaetiou;
and it may be .siifel,\' ])rediet«Hl tliat he
will make a most excellent judge.”
The Prodigal Son
represents the Gentiles, and the
elder sou is a type of the Jews.
But . every wandering sinner
should consider himself a prodi
gal, and, after coming to himself,
return to his Father. The good
slieep will probably never un
derstand why so much joy is ex
pressed at the return of those
which perversely go astra}'.
Rev. Elias Dodson says
that, ill old times, presidents were
elected by throwing in votes;
no« they are elected by throw
ing out votes.
Returning Spring
Enables a Xash beau to ride
a high horse. He is describing,
in the Wilson Advance, a human
girl raised on meat and bread.
Just listen ;
“A beautiful, gi’aeefiil and gifted
young lady, wonderoiisly attractive, in
body and mind—comjilexion fair a,s the
dawn of a siiiiniier iiioriiiiig—lilies and
roses am! jicacli blooni.s com 1 lined, eyes
iliat dri'vc the stars of heaven distract
ed with envy, lasiies iiiore gloriomsly
silken tlian ever friny;ed the lids of
oriental lloiiri, hair inwliieli ten tlioii-
saiid clouded sunbeams nestle, darkly
liright, iine as gossamer tlireads, pow
erful as tlie greeu witlis tliat bound
Delilah’s Bamp.son; a lovlier and a
more euehaiitiiig creature never tiitted
the jiortahs of a piirailise in a poet’s
ilream, left our niidst last Tliursday.”
lierQ is anotiiier
from the liocky Mount Mail. He
is congratulating a bridegroom
and a hrido. Hoar him :
“ tVlieii .spring hath fairy treasures
in her keejiing and many are the hiiid-
scaiies tliat she weaves, ma,v yoiu’s be
a lot of eontcntiiieiit. When summer
comes with broiling sun and beautiful
liiiwei's, may your dreain.s of fairy
liowers ami pleasant hours be all you
wislied. Wlien Autumn comes and
\'egetatioii begins to fade, iiiiiy yoiir
lives then .shine out beautiful from be
neath tlie sombre shade of yellow
crisiied leave.s. When winter comes
and all nature slicds her rich eo.stumi',
may your lives tlien glisten like dew-
drops in tlie .sliade, and may your
hearts ever glow in the delicious trance
of love—tliiit love wliicli iiiakes a un
ion of I he soul.
We eengratiilato yon “Buck,”
You’ve hail g.jud luck.
Next.
Judge Battle
is to reopen liis law-school at
Chapel Hill. Sensible and timely.
The Committee of the Legisla
ture, on the Asylum for the In
sane, says:
That everything in and around the
A.syluiii gives evidence of tlie faithful
ness witli which the ollicers and em
ployees of the institution diseharge the
respective duties incumbent upon tiieiii.
This is certainly .a high coiii-
plimont to Dr. Grissom, and it is
not at all strange that so many
people oppose a change of ad-
niiiiisfration.
Is EduGation a derrick
or a jack-screw I Must it raise
up the ))cople from above, or
must it lift tlieni from beneath ?
Will universities, colleges and
high schools draw the people up,
or must elernentarv schools create
a demand for higher education ?
Wo should like to have the views
of educators on this important
question.
The Constitution
of North Carolina says: “The
people have, a right to the privi
lege of education.” “It is the
duty of the State to guard and
maintain that right.” “Schools
and the means of oducation shall
forever be encouraged.”
And still some good men are
opposed to compulsory laws on
this vital subject.
—Rev. Mr. Griftitli, fimner iia.stor of
tlie Metliodist cliurcli in tins place,
spent last Siiiidiiy witli lii.s old cliarge.
In the iiftemoon lie ])reaclied at tlie
Oiyilian A.sylum. He believes in prac
tising wliat he preaclie.s.
Rev. Elias Dodson, jiassing through
Oxford, ])i'eached at the oi'idian Asy
lum last Monday evening.
“Don’t kill tlio birds!--the linlo birds
That sing .about your door,”
Has furnished many a juvenile ora
tor with a Friday evciiiiig’.s recitation;
but a eorrespoiiileut iif The English
Mechanic gives a novel reason for such
humanity in unfolding the tlieory that
the siiig-iiig of birds is conducive to
vegetable life ami states tliat he noted
a woiiilcrful impvovemoiit in Ids roses
and other liowers after intriKlncing a
lini'nioniuni i:ito his green hjime. Ver
ily thi;is an
.•..riiii.
A troublesome old woman
can be exceedingly ^troublesome,
when she sets her heart upon it.
We receive children having no jja-
rents, and'those having no fathers
and destitute or degraded mothers.
But tliese mothers often prove an
interminable annoj’ance. Some
times they come here and attonqit
to revise our plans for us. Some
times they take children awav
just as wo get them started in
their studies, and so prevent anv
good we might he able to do
them. Now we ask the i'rieiuls of
the orjiliaiis not to Send ns any
more children of troublesome
mothers.
JLSI’B.—(From ilte F rench.)
I have already' jiassed over the
larger portion of the life appoint
ed me; 1 am famihar with its
promises, its realities, its illti.dons.
You might remind me what it is
fancied to he ; I will tell you how
it is realized, not to dispel the
fragrance of Ilojie’s sweet flowers
(life is a perfect good to him who
knows its aim,) hut to guard
against mistakes in regard to tliis
very aim, and, in revealing what
it can give, to teach j-oii what
you must expect from it, and in
what manner you must eniploy
it.
Some, my yniing pupils, think
it long ; hut it is very short: for
youth is only its slow budding,
and old age, ils gradual decay.
In seven or eigiit years you will
have glimpsed all the fruitful
ideas of which you are capable,
and tliere will remain to you on
ly twenty years of real strength
to tarn these to jirolit. Twenty
years ! _vou exclaim, tliat is an
eternity ! and yet, it is hut a mo
ment. Listen H) those to wliom
these twenty years are no more :
they flit by as a shadow, and
nought remains of them. Learn
then the value of time; enipiov
it with jealous unwearied activity.
You will liave much to do : tiiese
years which stretch out bclhre
you ns a limitless panorama, w:l.
realiz'd lint a small part of the ex-
jiectations of your youth ; the rest
willremaiii undeveloped hudsovm-
which tlie swift summer of life
will have passed without iiowering,
and which will witlier witliout
fruit, under the frost of old age.
Your age is liable to deception
5”et, taking another view of life :
the unrealized dreams ot happi
ness. That which paints youth
in such bright tints, making us
mourn over its loss, is tiie two
fold deception which puts far off
the horizon of life, and invests it
with golden hues. Those noble
instincts that speak within us, and
which reach such lofty heights.;
those ardent desires tliat invite
us and impel ns, liow can we help
believing that God has endowed
us with them for their indulgence,
with the promise that life shall
supply it ? Yes, thereis a promise,
the promise of a great and a glo
rious destiny, and every longing
it awakes in j’our breast will be
realized ; but if you expect it in
this world, you will be disap
pointed. This existence is finite,
and tlio cravings of your hoinn-,
are infinite. Though each of yoii
miglit wrest from it all the treas
ures that it liolds, these treasures
cast into that aching void, would
fail to fill it; and these treasures
come not at our call, a part is to
he gained only at the cost of great
effort, and Fortune does not al
ways bestow the best on the most
deserving. This is the lesson
that experience teaches; that
which saddens and discourages ;
that v.'liicli causes us t.) murmur
at it, and with it, the IhoviJeiice
that
gives It.
was th
an epoch more propitious than tlio
present; none fias more generouta
ly opened to all the means of
securing life’s joj's, and yet it
reechoes this complaint; failure
in tlio pursuit of liappiness is im
puted to God and to men, to so
ciety and its leaders. Let V'our
tongue not once join in this fool-
isli querLiioiisiiess, lot v’our sjjirit
never yield in its turn to this
wretched depression ; and tliere-
firo learn early to view life as it
is, anti not to expect from il wluU
it Joes not possess. It is neither
Providence nor it that receives
3'ou ; it is we who are mistaken
as to the designs of the one and
the aiiii.= of the other. It is hy
mistaking this aim that we sin
and are unliappy ; it is in under-
standitig it or accepting it, that
the man is developed. Listen (o
me, and let me tell you the truth.
You are soon to enter on the
stage ol life: of the thousand paths
wiiicli it opens to human industry,
each one of v'ou will take one.
Tile career of some will be hi’il-
liarit, that of otliers quiet and un
known. Theposition and fortune
of 3’Oiir pan n:s will, in a great
measure, decide v'our destiin-.
Let those who shall secure a mod-
orale portion not nuirmur there at.
Besides, providence is just, and
that wlildi comes not tons would
not he a blessing; and then onr
country witnes.ses the competition
and the toil of lier children, and
in the machhieiy of society there
is not a useless spring. Between
the minister who governs the state
and the workman who contributes
to its prosperity, there is hut one
difference, tlio duties of the one
involvemoreof res|)orsihility than
those of the other: hut to faitli-
fulh' execute them, the moral
worth is the same. Let each of
you he satisfied with whatsoever
part may fall to liim. Whatsoev
er niav he ids eai'cer, it will fur
nish liiiii a iiiis.sion, duties, and a
certain aniinint of good to eifect,
Tliat, then, will he his ta.sk; let
him accomplisli it witli resolution '
and energy, lionestlv and faitn-
faly' and he will have done in hi.s
station all that is reijnired of man
lo aciiive. Let him achieve it, also,
without einy of In.s rival.-. Yon
will not ho alone in vonr joariiey;
you will 1)0 as.sociated with otliers
called by Providence to |nirsiio
the same end. In this ihtecour.-o
of life the}’ will he able to surpass
you, by talent or bj’ being
indebted to fortune ior a success
whicli yon have failed to attain.
Do not blame them; and if you ,
have done the best you could, do
not blame yourselves. Success is
not the most important thing;
that which is of vital importance,
is the will to do; is that which
depends on man, wliich elevates
iiim wliich gives him conscious
ness of duty done. Thediscliargo
of duty, this is, may young pu
pils, the true aim of life, the
true good. Atyu recognize it by
this taken that it depends entirety
on your will to attain it, and hy
this also, that it is equally within
the reach af all, the poor as well
as the ricli, the ignorant or the
wise, tlie herdsman or the King;
and that it permits God to cast
us all, as we are, in the same
balance and to weight us with
the same weights. It is h\' such
a course as this, that the only
real happiness in tlie world i.s
produced in the soul, and the only
one also which is acoesiblo to all,
and appertained to each one ac
cording to his merit—contenmenl.
Thus all is just, all hariiionious,
all well ordined in life, wlien it
is co'mprefioiidcJ as God lias made
it, when it answers its true pur
pose. UxcLB An.