North Carolina Newspapers

"rhmt S3-umi of Muuirhu.riU unii Con. ttctti.'ut. The State of Hisw-tmsetts h divided into l.ire vt.n ior, which are subdivided Wit townships, varkms liintiiimi. The tow ohtity urea so divided into School Districts, thq size of which depends on the denseness of the population. Lach township is, fur many purposes, a tittle re public within Until, possessing many of the powers of self government. Among those powers, one of the most importance b that of rawing; money, by an ud valorem tax, for the support of school. It is ex erci ted by the legal voter of the town ship, assembled in town meeting. Each man has a right to propose the sum which to him may seem expedient; the vote is taken upon the highest first, and so on, un til Home particular sum obtains the assent of a majority. . The amount so voted is' assessed upon the property of the town ahip, and collected like other taxes. It is apportioned among the several school dia tricts. In proportion to the number of chil dren to be educated in each, and paid over to the Trustee of the district. lie is an officer chosen by the people of each dis trkt, in public meeting at their school house, and it ii bis duty to receive the mo ney, hire teachers, and superintend all the details of the school. The sum en pond ed in e.ch district, varies according to the wealth and liberality of the township, or the number of children in the district; but there is no spot, throughout the State, from which a school is not ac; essible from fix weeks to four months in thb winter season, and fi am two to five months in the summer season. The winter schools are taught by men, and are attended bv boys and girlj of ail ages, from infancy to mature age. The summer schools are taught by ladies, and attended by girls ami younjj children of both sexes. In the winter schools, arc taught reading, writing, arithmetic, Eng lish grammar, geography ; in the sum mer schools, generally, reading and wri tin.. The wages of a winter teacher arc from twelve to twenty five dollars per m nth, cording to the wealth of the dis trict and the reputation of the teacher ; but the average price is about eighteen dol lars, togethcrwiththeirboard. The sum mer teachers receive about nine or ten dollars per month, together with their board. This system is admirable fr its simplicity, its cheapness, and its efliracy. It has no complicated machinery to em barrass its operations ; its cost is not two dollars per scholar for six months' tui tion ; and it reaches and blesses, with' at least the most useful parts of knowledge, every child in the community; rich or poor. Connecticut presents us with another system of Free Schools, founded on dif ferent principles, but equally efficient and extensive. That State h as a School I'und, amounting to about g 1,600,000, the inter est of which i annually applied te the upport of csmition schools. To this w is added an amount equal to two dol lars on every one thousand dollars of the lis' s of taxable property throughout the State, drawn from the public treasury.- The State is divided into School Societies, which include the inhabitants living with in the limits of the ecclesiastical socie ties or parishes. These Sxic'.ies have power to appoints Committee, Treasurer and Clcik ; to lay taxes on themselves, by a majority of votes, for the put pose of budding and iep.;ring schools. 1 hey al so have power to eiablih school districts within their respective limits, and appoint one individual as a cotnruktcc in each ilia-! trict, whose business it is to employ an Instnicter, and manage, the concerns of the district. The districts have also the; power to choose a Ocr' and Treasurer, and to tax themselves tor the purple ol bu'ldingor repairing their school-houses, and furnishing it with the nc:rs-ry ,p. pe ndages and furniture. They have also power to appoint the necessary officers for managing their affairs, make rules rrJ-titre to the school house, &c and en fore their observance, by excluding from s hoot the children of those who refuse compliance with them. Visitors or Over seers of School Societies, to visit the schools at least twice during each term, and examine into the progress which the scholars have ma(!e in the several branch es of teaming. No person is permitted In trarli school wkbkt the ootlktv. Utiles he first obtain a certificate of qualification' from the Visitors. Kach Society has the power, by a vote of the majority, to cs tabliah a school of a Itigher oidu, the ot je t of which is to instruct the jouia of the Society in t'lvglish grammar, compo sition, tocography and the learned langua ges. The school money is distributed among the Several School Societies and DUtitcls, in proportion to the number of persona residing within each, between the at;es of four and sixteen jears. , To as certain this number, the com-nUtee of each ilistikt annually makes returns to the commi'tee of the Society of the'names of allsmh persons; un.l th aggregate amount bc'tngrelurncd tothc Comptroller, an .ffker similar to our Auditor, he Uswtt an . dcr on the tt e istiry for a due propor tion of the public iiiiiiicv, whic h it drawn by the Committee .f the Society and p.i.' over to i'.j Treasurer. I he money so drawn is paid cxwtaMvciy toward the wa gc and board of teachers. If the school money ic ctved by each district is not suf ficient to pay the teacher and hu board, the balance is assessed upon those who have sent their children to school, in pro portion to the number of days each scho lar has attended; or, in case that Cannot be ascertained, in proportion to the number of children sent by each. Thus, by the interest of the School Fund, by a state tax. of two dollars on the one.lhousand, by a voluntary tax laid by the school socie ties on themselves, and, in case all these sources be not sufficient. b an assess ment upon the parents of children sent to school, are raised moneys which sup port a general system of common schools throughout the State of Connecticut-- Though more complicated in its machin ery, its effects are known to be not less beneficial or extensive than those of the more simple system of Massachusetts. The Connecticut system originated more than 150 years ago, and having under, gone a variety of modifications, has be come an example for other States and the admiration of the Union. THE J'WXEEUS." Such is the avidity for novel reading a mongus, that this work is by this time, we suppose, in the bandsof nun y of our read ingcemrnuni'y . These who have not read it will feel much interest and pleasure in the perusal, if they will be content to postpone their gratification until the second volume. The first is rather awkardly commenced, is meagre in incident, and abounds too much in minu'e descriptions of wood and lake scenery, kc flie passing of a deer across the road is the key stone of the arch, on w hich the novel depends. Nor would this have produced any result, but for the pertinacity of an obs-inate judge, who thinks he knows every thing in the world as well as law, and enters into a ri diculous contest to shew that he had kill ed the deer. He ii convinced to his mor location and sorrow, that he had wound ed a man instead of killing a deer. The wounded hunter becomes the he ro of the piece, and the daughter of the judge, the heroine. The scene cf the settlement is entirely new- the time soon after the revolutionary war when the civilized felt insecure, and the savage brooded over revenge- Yet is there no thing developed in the piece to justify ei ther sentiment, and all the wrongs t on ceived or attempted were on the part of the civilized whites The author does justice tothc Indim character. It is not too soon when the sun is sunk below the horizon; the twi liht should enme to prescne its beams Decidedly the best charctcr in the novel, is an old man, whose whole life has been pastvith the aborigines and who was a celebrated warrior among the Indians. Wherever danger is to be encountered or KO'xl to be done, he is present, active and successful ; and if even hi-, noble virtues do not shield him from suspicion and ha tred, yet in the end he triumphs over them all, and throws shame upon his ac-cu-ers. The second volume is full of interest but it is n interest jrisini raihet from the rapid succession of surp isin nd un locked for incidents, than from the excite ment of any strong passion or deep sen sibility. There is enough of external na ture, but too little is drawn from the springs of the heart. The style is natural and unambitious, and the author in the second volume, par ticulnly, has exemplified no small power in interesting the attention of his readers. As an American production, it is wel come and ought to be patronized ; and we wish the -uthor a golden harvest. As no'.ltin); has yet !ee: done for author in this country, every thing is t be hoped for; and, us there wn enre a shower of stones in Connecticut and a shower of fish on Boston Common, who knows but there mybe, in some fortunate hour, a sprink lin;j of gold on despairing Letters. Cftai. Courier. The Baltimore VederU Gazette men tions two cases of imprisonment for debt in that city, for which vVe fear, parallels could be found in other cities. Thev are as follows H'ah. Rtf ui. M The- first is of a man, probably fifty years of u;e, whose residence is in the state of N. York, where he hns a family :i on a casual visit to Baltimore, he w.s ir rested here for a debt amounting to ix t!it!a- tnd some cts. ; being imaMe to pay or give security, be was committed to prison, where he has already been cenfin- ed ninety-eight days, and his creditor has paid fo; his suniort in prison, upwards of twelve UvJluff , , ! nc otnercase lsoi a sick ;-, ;'-, tev enteen yrurt c ue, wha has Wt"i con fined for upwaidsof two weeks past, for a debt between six and seven dollars; - al though in ill health, lur accommodations are similar to those of the Hie,l ni-!e drhtor food nd fuel ate r.irt full sup plied by the Sheriff, but clotbtn.;. a bed, or even a blanket are not allowed by law to the unforun.de dtbtor." At Albany, mi Fri lav, 7ih nit. the mer cut r at suniisu was IS decrees below :ero. INTKlJaKlCNCE. Ho eoiin-s, the lu nd.l tt it noisy world, . Ncvti ii 'Mil all nation lumh'ring at hi Iku.Ic, IMl'OUTA.NT lltOit VfcNKZXKLA. We uie indebted to the editors of the Norfolk Bc&cott, for the following impor tant intelligence from Venezuela, which we received yesterday in a news slip from that office. Vcr. HrftubUcan. lhuan OyiVr, Aurfoli; 'VA. 2j. Late and Important from Venezuela. The schooner Fourth of July, captain I'hillips, of Baltimore, arrived off Smith's Island yesterday after 24 days passajjc from LaGuayra. Capt. Hathaway, a pas senger, very politely furnished Mr. Dent- "zel, the keeper of our Heading Roonuwith a regular file ol the f ftiez'jlano, (a paper published at Carracas) from the 9th De cember to the 1 3th January, both dayu in clusive ; and to Mr. Myers, smother pas senger, we re indebted for the following interesting items of news from the Main. The late hour at which we received these papers and the verbal intelligence, put it out of our power to notice them in this morning's Beacon. The papers arc now in the bands of a translator, and should they contain any thing interesting, we shall lose no time in laying it before our readers. The Fourth of July sailed from La Guayra on the 1st ult. at whirh time the Colombian arms were eery where suc cessful, and the retreat of Morales to the seaboard was entirely cut ofT. Gen. Paez bad sent back from St. Carlos 1500 men, stating to gen. Sublette that he had no use for them, having Morales completely in his power. Tnc Spanish frigate Legera having been totally lost, off St. Jago de Cuba, in the heavy gale of the 2 1st December, the na val force of Morales was i educed to one vrssel, the biig of war Hercules, which was at Curracoa, and would not venture out, lest she should fall into the hands of the patriots. I he Colombian squadron, consisting of 3 ships and two bri;;s, under commodore Daniels, blockaded Porto Cavcllo, and had captured the Spanish, sloop of war Marie Francisco, having on board SCO troops und 40.000 dollars in specie, and a schoo ner in company with her, loaded with clothing, &c. for the royalists. .The Colombian privateer Eagle, capt. Cottcrell, had captured the Spanish brig Conception, having on board 46,000 dol lars in vpecie, and an assorted cargo, val ued at 33.000 dollars. She had also sent into La Guayra, a Spanish Polacre, with a cariroof Cocoa, kc worth 31,000 dollars. The above intelligence Rives a very dif ferent aspect to the affairs of the patriots on the Main, from that received from the same quarter a few months ago, and jus tifies the expectation, that the patriots will soon be the indisputable masters of thdt rountrv, which they have consecrated to liberty, by their best blood and treasure- LATE AND IMl'OHI XNT FROM MAIIA--CABO. Extract to tht Editor tj tfie Democratic Prrtt, dated, Cl'RRACOA, 18th J4K. 1623. " An hour e;o a Colombian nrhr. of war hove too off this harbor and sent her boat ashore. She has lud only tir day passee from Maracailw. I conversed with the officer, who informed me that Mararatbo is closely blockaded by 29 ves sels of war, under Com- Rcllurhc and that General Urd wctte with 430(j men is closely besieging the same place. Mo rales is completely hemmed in, and the town must necessarily fall ; by the time this reaches vou, it no dot.bt will be in the hands of the Pattiots. " Markets bete for American produce very dull, 'he warehouses and stores arc literally filled and no sales can be cfected. The affairs of the Main have caused a stagnation of business. When M uacai bo shall again wear the fl g of Indepen dence, we may expect a revival of Commerce-" 1MUATE SQt ADUON, Wc Icarn that Commodore Portkr put to sea, mi the evening of the Ith ul timo, with his squadron of Aniall vessels, headed by the Peatork sloop of wr, in pursuit r-f the Pirates in the West Indian Seas. Wi have a list of the vessels, ami of iUk takers, as wc have already said. hut shall not A present publish it, (the publication in this paper of the List of Of li(crot the schr. Shark, one of the squid ion, having b m an inadvert ence, which wc regret.; VV e will not publish the lut. because the enumeration or so many well j known names of gallant sn'uits, who have ( orv..l-i thi Mr.irF mt nlp.iii easurrs of the ind for the toil and privation inseparable fomi the vrvks on board there diminu tive vessels, might lead our re ndem for some daring exploit, some biilliant vktory, or some valuable acquisition, as the result of tiuirrtni.'e. Wlicnaa, ia pi.iinid honest truth, thU squadron, h ever useful its destination, however hon orjhly maimed, is engaged in a pursuit wh"u h my tic hazardous, perhaps, and ih he Irtboiious. but cannot be fclnriuus. I he greatest suu ess that ran be aniici patni horn it. Ms the desti ti n of tUe lew piratical vessels which have not aire a- dy taketi the- aUn.t and fled, artT the breaking up of the haunts of the free boo ters, so radically as never again to be re-occupied- . It is precisely because so little can be reasonably expected from this enterprise, that unbounded credit is due to the olli cersof this squadron to those who have families, particularly, and to Commodore Pohtku at their head, for the promptitude with which they have tallied round the standard of their country, moved by the cries of suffering humanity, rather than the seductions of glory. Their service will have been honorable to them, though no pirate should be found by them on the ocean or oti its borders. Aut. c;. Letters fiom Havana, represent the state of society at that place, us danger-; the house was situated, and that it was ot ous in the extreme for s'.t angers, and A-1 ordinary character. In the evening he mcricans in particular. One dated fill) j went, accompanied by the groom, to as inst. with ar, extract from which we have i certain the person who had purloined his been favored, says u I shall get away ! properly. On entering the mansion of from this, as soon as possible, for a test--the fair ludy, to the great astonishment tlcnce here is really dangerous to stran-jof the groom, he discovered that the per gers 6 or 7 men have been murdered j petrator of the deed proved I a be no oth within the last week ; some of them iuthcer than his first grount'n man. Ihs fecl- mosuhoc kingmanncr, bcingstizetl, tirip- ped, and then laid on a cot and complete ly cut to pieces, from head to foot. It is not considered safe to be out after sun-set. The bo;,t of the U. S. big tyari, was stoned at the public, landing a few days sinte,and there is no doubt that they would all have been murdered, had the officer persisted i:i landing. On beim: informed of the circumstance, Capt. Wilkinson wrote to the General f Marine, to know if he must arm his boat's crew, or wheth er the authorities here would protect him. The unswer, I am told, was a very polite one; stating, in siibstanccth.it he and his crew would be protected ; and expressing regret at the outrage which had been com mitted." Ciaa. Courier. Pirate j. Capt. Granger, it N'cw-Yotk, from Matanzas, informs that two vessels, supposed American, lu.l been cap: uied by pirates 16 miles to the wot a aid of that place. T he crews wire tied in the rig ging, the vessels set on tire, and all burn cd together! ! Copt. G. also inform' that Matanzas swarmed with pirates. A few days previous to his sailinittthcv attacked the Americans on the King's Dork, with clubs, stones, &c ; a number were driven into the River, and others seriously hurt. Capt. Culver, of the schr. Wni. k Henry, ofN'ew-Yoi k, was nearly killed, by u stone thrown from the Custom House. Cap tains Garnerand Blinn, were also wound ed. Three piratical vessels were cruiz ing between point Ycacos and Havana. Charleston, feb. J9 The schr. .id veho brought a broken file of N'cw-Orleans papers to the 24th ult. We are indebted to a friend in this city for the use of them. There was some stormy work in the Senate of Louisiana on the 20th January, occasioned by a resolution offered by M. Lislct, to eject from their body the mem bers ol some parishes in Florida, but which parishes had been by Congress an nexed to Louisiana. Mr. Clark after wards moved that the resolution and the proceedings on it, should be expunged from the journals of the house there was littlc'doubt that this motion would prevail. Some of the New-Orlcans papers are ve- rv vehement upon this subject, and spc..u ol the unbounded hos'ihty or foreign Frenchmen to Americans and their insti- unions. The legislature of Louisiana U very far from being in a state of lurmu ny, and the parties in it are eMrcmely bit ter against each o'her. A bill to call a convention to remodel the constitution has hern referred to a committee Mercury. i n rat rtULiuLi.ru;,! run. A circumstance occurred in this city a few weeks since, which being a singular instance of the turpitude of human ma ture, its publicity cannot be unaccept able to the readers of your journal. A young man ind woman belonging to the sinicly of friend, were, in the presence of a large assemblage of persons in their meeting, united in the bandsof matrimo ny. The cercn.onv brim; over, the mar ried couple repaired to the d citing of the bride, which was occupied as a boarding house, where they intended to remain a short time ; having rrgalcd t few of their friends, ut a reasonable hour the guests retired to their respective homes. One of the inmates of the house, about this time mhsen a plaid cloak, which wos in the entry ; several fruitless inquiries wcie nude concerning the cloak, suid it was finally concluded it wa stolen. The groom necessarily suspended his attention te mcrcantjlc concerns for a few days, end then went to his store, when on cxamin ing his merchandise, he discovered that two merino shawls of considerable value were gone- The clerk was questioned, concerning t'ner.i, U could frive 1,0 tidings of them. nor could he acronnt in uny way lor their disappear.,!!! e. Just at this time two voujig women passed the store; the groom rouictiiied a merino shawl on one of them. which he knew to be one of his ; motive of delicacy prevented him from accusing hcrj- ihry were su fie red to pass unmo lested. The young man in the store hav iii)! disputed an account with a tradesman, nil reriMiiu to p.v it, was served with a summons by an officer, (well kno'.vn to :bc citizens of Philadelphia,) die affair of the shawls was rclutcd tu him and during the conversation, the young woman alluded to, repassed the store. The officer bcinj; apprised of k, was determined to inyesti gate the matter. IU accosted the ane with the shawl, and requested her to walL into the store, as u gentleman wished to speak ;o her, She immediately entered ; the question was then put where she had purchased that shawl ; the reply was that she did i,ot purchase it, that it was u pres. cm from Mr. S. of New-York ; he lodged at J hotel i that she expected him in the evening at her residence, where if they wished to sec him they were ut liberty to call. At the request of the officer she left the shawl, and one of small value was : supplied her. The officer kiiew where jings may be more easily imagined that. described. Suffice it to say, the youin man, who had heretofore sustained a re spectable character, confessed that he had not oiily stolen the shawl, but also the plaid cloak referred to. Washington, eu. 22 The bill to ap propriate 25,000 dollars for the repair of the Cumberland Hoad, was yesterday or dered to a third reading in the House of Representatives, by such a majority as leaves no doubt of its final passage this day. The amendments made to it are unimportant, and the. Senate will, no doubt, concur in t';em. We arc assured before hand of the approbation of the President !o this net ; so that our readers, who feel an intrrcst in the preservation of that Na tional Road, may assure themselves of the fulfilment of their wishes in its behalf. Act. Jut 1 1. Osr;rrsiwal Jllection.Tberc appcan to be no doubt of the re-election to the next Congress, of Messrs Poinsett, M' DufTie, Hamilton, Gist, Carter, and Tuck er. Mr. Warren R. Davie, is said to have been returned from Pendleton and Gicenvillc- Col Campbell has succeed ed against Mr. Mitchell in the George town District ; and Major Felder is said to have a small majority over Mr. Govan, in Orantjeburg and Barnwell. Chat. Ceurier. From the Hiclimond Enquirer. Cuta Great Britain. Much intercit prevails in consequence of the rumour, that England is about to occupy Cuba. . Our correspondent at Washington, (who derives his information from the first au ll 10: it v has authorized us to say, that the rumor of Knland being about to take possession of Cuba, is entirely groundless and that so far from it, Mr. Canning, it is said, has made an official communica tion tc, the government of the United States, that the Hritish government wm!J co'ui.ter i!e!f i! graced, vere it to avail it telf if t'.e .resent condition if SfiM't to nj grvndiie herself by the ditinembermcnt (J U'if S.n'iith territories I fnm Qn, tK(T CwretJlwdtnt ' , . , ., -., r, . . , v f on, 4 The British here (Mr. Unntng) wvucdsonic nine ago upon .wr. suatus, .-secretary oi State, and read to him a letter from his cousin. George Canning, in which he scak of the tumours as to Cuba ; denies in the most positive manner any xsmh or inieiuiju on the part of the British gov ernment to ciWn it, and expresses uu opinion that it would be dithanorub'it in them to avail themselves of the veaknesa of Spain for ar.v such purpose. It teems too, that the Minister here was directed by his government to read tfd letter to the Secretary of State. No copy was furnished, and Mr. Monroe directed Mr. Adams to apply to know whether one would be furnished. It is said, he has snot had an antwer, but that it twi nor. This ?s all the informa'ion our govern ment has on the subject." The New Y'ork Canal Commissioners have reported in favor of const! urting a basin at the termination of the Canal at Albany, which will cost about 100,000 dollars. It is to be so conducted as to ,uM ,,HnfcKinv,nt , K- mart ltv.r, caiudand river craft, without the cost and delay of cartage and storage. A MRKRAL SPJIUT. Thrjirtt ttone a Prutt!ant Church l-tid by a Catholic Dukf. The first stone of a new church has been laid at Altrrchlfe ; tho Ihlcf .'jf folk, attended by Lads Fiu.iikiHi atnl Surry, Lord Milton, and others, presided. The singulaiity of a Catholic Duke lay- itm the first stone for a Protestant church. ! elicited the following remarks from his ' Grce : He felt no scruple at what he ! had done ; in many respects, he consider- ed himself as mucL a Protectant as any of his fellow subjects; that he had taken the oath of allowance to a Protestant King, and if that King were ever to become a Catholic,, he should consider himsrjf tb I solved from hi allegiance'