Newspapers / The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, … / Aug. 5, 1857, edition 1 / Page 2
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THE NOM 5 S s fit e i r 4 44 i. u :''; 'IT'- i! - 4;f ' '4 V. ; m 3 ,f:: . Hi PUBUSHKO BT MOOWT W tH ASSOCIATION. ADDRESS ;r , Delivered "before the State Educational Association of North-Qanlina, at WarrenUm, July 1st, 1857. By Wilbiam W. Holden, Esq. . ixutteg, Fellow-Citizens, and Gen tlemen of the State Educational Association : I am here to-day upon the invitation of the Exec ' utive Committee of the State Educational Associa tion, to say 8ometh:ng on the subject of education in North Carolina, and particularly in relation to common schools. Unfitted as I am for this duty, and with no desiro, 1 trust, for mere personal pro minence or display, I nevertheless felt I ought to accept the position so kindly assigned me. There is no cause more important to a free people than that of education education of the mind and of the heart; and it is the duty and the privilege of every one, however humble, to cast his mite into the treas ury of this common cause. . " Our ancestors did not come hither in organized communities, like those of the people of Massachu setts, but, as a general thing, in detached bands, from the other colonies and from Europe. They spread themselves over a wider surface, and their habits and customs were more varied and more dis similar than those of many other colonies. In the words of our own historian, Dr. Hawks, "that por tion of the United States included within the limits of North-Carolina, may justly claim the honor of having received the first English colony that was planted in the western hemisphere;" yet, owing to various causes, no permanent settlement was made till about the year 1660 forty years after the land ing of the pilgrims at Plymouth rock. And al though many of the early settlers of North-Carolina were men of education and refinement, and though they brought with them laws and constitutions, and the frame-work of civil and social government, and claimed the right, through their delegates or depu ties, to enact new laws and frame new constitutions; yet they were deficient in that organization, which must always precede ' educational establishments, and which, in Massachusetts, for example, resulted, among the first acts of that colony, in the creation Of public schools. In the glowing account given by Mr. Bancroft, of the early settlers of North-Carolina, he says " care less of re'igious sects, or colleges, or lawyers, or absolute laws, the early settlers enjoyed liberty of conscience and personal independence, freedom of the forest and of the river and, he adds 11 North Carolina was settled by the freest of the free." No allusion is made to education in the first and second charters of Charles the Second, nor in the " fundamental constitutions of Carolina." Civil government, based for the most part on monarchical and aristocratica! principles, was founded; and the church the old . English church following the footsteps of our ancestors, and intertwining itself with the civil fabric, sought to provide not only for their souls, but for their minds and bodies. Jealous of ecclesiastical rule, and having witnessed or en dured the misapplication and the perversion of learning in the schools of Europe, it is no matter for surprise that our ancestors were not inclined to endow and sustain parochial schools, the only ones probably of a public character which the govern ment would have sanctioned. Besides, the rights of the masses of mankind were then comparatively unknown and undefined. The great body of the people at that day were expected rather to obey than to govern ; and the condition of their descend ants for many generations to come, was thought to have been already fixed. There appeared, there fore, even to the educated and active members of the colony, no imperative necessity for providing means for enlightening the masses ; and it is to be questioned, if such means had been provided, whether they would have produced substantial ben efits among a people so sparsely settled, so dissimi lar in their origin, their habits and customs, and so j jealous of their personal independence. No provision was, therefore, made for public or common schools by the early settlers of North-Carolina ; and there was no printing press even erected till about the year 1750. The prominent men of the colony, themselves ed ucated, as we have seen, for the most part caused their sons to be educated in Europe ; and thus the light of science, kindled at an early period on these shores, was kept burning by regular supplies from the parent fountain. But gradually, as the masses of the people eroerg edfrom obscurity and poverty, the old English neighborhood schools were established, and their children were instructed in the rudiments of knowl edge. We know that the men of 1765, in the Al bemarle, 'the Pamptico, the Cape Fear, the Orange, and the Mecklenburg regions, understood their rights as British subjects ; and we know also, that the enlightened and patriotic leaders in the incipi ent struggles for independence, were followed by men no less patriotic than they were, and who pos sessed well defined and sensible ideas of the mean ing and objects of laws and constitutions. The free dom of conscience, the fell recognition of the rights of property, .and that high sense of individuality and of personal independence which characterized our ancestors, were the legitimate fruits of both mental ajtd moral culture. If that culture was not as gen eral as could have been wished, we yet know that it existed ; and we can see its results in the resistance to the 6tamp act jn the Cape Fear country, in the great deed of Mecklenburg, jand in the fact, that the Congress at Halifax was the firet, in all the colonies, .to instruct their delegates in general Congress to go for independence. The first public official allusion to the want of schools, is believed to have been made by Gov. Johnston, a native of Scotland, in his address to the Legislature, in Edenton, in 1736; and the first ef fectual act for the encouragement of literature, was a law passed in 1762, for the erection of a school house in the town of New-Berne. Constitutions are the products not merely of physical effort, but of thought The founders of our liberties in 1775-'6, were noted for their thoughtfulness, their habits of observation, and the soundness of their judgments. They felt they were doing a work for all time ; and they sought to add to the beneficence and grandeur of that work, and to render it enduring, by binding the generations of all coming time to be faithful to what they had be gun. They knew that liberty could not exist with out knowledge ; and so in the State Constitution, framed at Halifax, in December, 1776, they provid ed u that a school or schools shall be established by the Legislature for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at low prices ; and all useful learning shall be encouraged in one or more Universities.' The establishment of public schools was thus expressly enjoined upon the Leg islature; and the order in which the public school and the University is mentioned, shows the connec tion and dependence which the framers of the con stitution thought should exist between them. They knew that the great river of knowledge was com posed of many streams, and they wished first to open the fountains in all directions, so that the river might in due time be fed and filled. The language was mandatory "schools shall be established by the Legislature." The schools were to be fit " con venient "accessible to all ; and the salaries to the masters were to be "paid by the public." They provided, first, in the organic - law, for the instruc tion of the children of the people at the public charge; and secondly, for . "one or more Universi ties," in which "all useful learning " should be en couraged. In 1789 the University of North-Carolina was es tablished and endowed, but no provision was made for common schools. With all respect for the pub lic men of that day, and with every allowance for the difficulties which surrounded them, this was a great mistake. The framers of the constitution did not err, common schools should have preceded the ueI?tyCr tbe "me act should have provided , The edifice for the encouragement of M all naefal learning" was erected by itself, upon the SSSTn l I8nornce, which threatened for a time to swallow rit un r and Von i . -r- ,, , . . : , vuc earnest ana pro- joed labors which were necessary to make it sta bleaanng. But, though it shook in the blasts of pK,ce n1 nw, and though clouds and 'darkness now fiSi!" catmd it, yet, as it settled, its imperishable toiiij"on8 wre maue last upon the rock of hope; and (u&t&bt of mind, falling upon it from a thousand points, 5&&n appeared after its ereetion. revealed it to the eenSAa! public view, a fountain of mental and moral life Jnfcaj mids V n object which has long commanded, and which, I trust, will continue to command, in yet fuller meas ure, the support, the confidence, and the admiration of the whole people Of tbe State. , Meanwhile, from 1789 to 1825, though the "old field " or English schools were multiplied, and a few academies and high schools - were established, no provision was made or common schools.' In 1816, Hon. Archibald D. Murpbey, of the county 'of Or ange, then a member of the State Senate, made an able and highly interesting report to that body on the subject of public instruction, urging the estab lishment of common schools, and also of an institu tion for the deat and dumb. The report concluded with a resolution authorizing the Speakers of the two houses to appoint .three persons to digest a system of public instruction, and submit the same to the next General Assembly. The report and resolution were adopted; and subsequently,, and it is presumed under this resolution. Duncan Cameron nd Peter Browne, Esquires, and the Rev.' Joseph Caldwell, the President of the University, were charged with this duty. The committee never met, but a report was prepared by their chairman, and laid before the Assembly. In 1819, Mr. Murpbey made another report, more in detail and more prac tical than his first one, suggesting a plan of public instruction. This was, however, preceded by a re commendation of some plan of common schools, by Gov. Miller, a native of Warren, in his message to the two houses in 1815: and to their honor be it stated, all the Governors of the State, so far as I have been able to observe, from the earliest period up to the full establishment of the system, made similar recommendations. In 1825, the Legislature passed the first act on the subject " an act to create a fund for the estab lishment of common schools." To Bartlett Tancey, of the county of Caswell, is due the high distinction of baring conceived and penned the first act for the establishment and promotion of common schools, which took its place among our laws. This act set apart for the purpose certain stocks, the vacant and unappropriated swamp lands, the tax on auctioneers, retailers of ardent spirits, &c " the parings of the treasury," as they were called by Mr. Yancey him self. But the funds accumulated slowly, and the friends of the system went to work by tongue and pen to increase the fund, and thus obtain means lor starting the schools. Foremost among these, was the Kev. Joseph Caldwell, a scholar, a philosopher, a statesman, and a Christian. He wrote, and c msed to be published at his own expense, in 1832, a series of Letters on Popular Education, addressed to the people of North-Carolina ;" in which he examiued the whole subject with great care, showed the im portance of educating all the children of the State, and urged the people to instruct their representatives to take early and effectual steps in this, their high est temporal concern. These letters, characterized as they were by clearness and simplicity of style, by sound common sense, and intense earnestness. produced a most happy effect upon the public mind. I was then a lad of fourteen, in the Recorder office in Hillsborough, in which they were printed ; and I thus happened to tbe honor of aiding somewhat in putting them in type. I remember well the min gled surprise and gratification I felt in reading those letters ; surprise, that the head of the State Univer sity, which was regarded by many even at that late day as an exclusive, not to say aristocratical cstab- .iBiiiuciit, biiuuiu uius luiiiK. ui, auu lauur lur, uie children of the people; gratification, that his labors, and the labors of the eminent men who had pre ceded him, were about to be crowned with success. But the University was true then, as it is now, to the cause of general public instruction. Its present distinguished and patriotic head is known to have been always, as he is now, a fast friend of common schools: and indeed, the presence on this occasion. as on a former one at Salisbury, of persons of high standing in the University, is one of the best pledges mat could be ottered, it any were required, of the friendship and co-operation of that institution in. this noble cause. No monuments have been erected to Murphev and Yancey ; but there is one in the campus at Chapel am to the memory of Caldwell. Once a year, in the rich atmosphere of early June, and in the shad ows of the stately oaks that crown the campus, as the young men who have gone up thither to be in structed in "all useful learning," and as the citizens, who have also gone up thither to observe their pro gress and to encourage them, muster together in procession and pass by that monument, every bead is uncovered ; and the homage of the heart thus offered, is far more impressive than any ever ren dered at the tombs of emperors and kings. That granite column will decay ; but the examples of such men as Murphey, and Yancey, and Caldwell will re main, to instruct, to direct, to animate, and to ele vate succeeding generations. In 1836, another act was passed, organizing "a Board of Literature " providing for draining the swamp lands, and still further increasing the school fund. The public mind now began to be generally aroused on the subject ; and several able papers, advocating public instruction, were presented to the Legislature in 1838 one by the president and di rectors of the literary fund, and one by Mr. W. W. Cherry, of Bertie, being a report of his as chairman of the committee on education. In 1837. the State received on deposit from the general government, under the deposit act of 1836, the sum of one mil lion four hunded and thirty-three thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven dollars and thirty-nine cents. The greater portion of this was wisely vested in bank stocks and internal improvements for the ben- ent ot common schools. In 1836, the permanent fund for common schools amounted to about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; in 1837, to about one million seven bundled and thirty-two luuunauu uuuars, exclusive oi swamp lands. In 1838, a bill drawn by Mr. W. W. Cherrv. pro viding for laying off the State into school districts, and for submitting the question df " school " or " no school to the people of the respective counties, was passed. This act embraced the present plan of re quiring each county to raise one dollar for every iwu uuuars uisinouiea Dy tne literary board. In 1839, nearly all of the counties adopted the system ; and in 1841, it was put in full operation. Mr. Jonathan Worth, of Randolph, from the joint com mittee on education in the Legislature of 1840-'41 reported the bill which finally passed, and is the basis of our present system. This committee con sisted, on we part or the Senate, of Willie P. Man- gum or Urange, Sam'l L. Arrmgton of Nash, William B. Shepard of Pasquotank, David S. Reid of Rock ingham, Jonathan Worth of Randolph, Absalom myers oi Anson, and Thos. VV ard of Lincoln ; and on the part of the Commons of W. N. H. Smith of Hertford, Isaac Joiner of Pitt, Geo. W. Bannerman of Bladen, Duncan McLaurin of Richmond, Geo. C. flicuucuuau oi uuuiora, tionn walker oi Mecklen burg, Nat Boyden of Surrv. J. TL Gilliam of TWti W. B. Wads worth of Craven, William Eaton, Jr., of warren, vaawauaoer j ones, Jr., of Orange, B. L. Beall of Davidson, and E. P. Miller of Burke. Having thus glanced at the history of education in the State, and having traced common schools from 1825, when the first permanent fund for the same was created, to 1841, when the system was put in operation, let us now notice the progress which has been made since the latter period, and especially during the last ten years. North-Carolina extends over an area of 50,000 square miles, or 32.000.000 of acres. Tn ISin white population was 484,870, and ber total popu s'! 753,419, or about 15 to the square mile. In 1850, her white population was 553,028r and her total population 869,039, or about 17 to the square mile. The increase of ber whifo nnnniit ion fpvm 1830 to 1840, had been only about 2 per cent, while o.c yupuiaiiua was nearly stationary ; where as, the increase of her white nonnlatinn from iRin when her common schools were commenced, to xoom, was i per cent, and that of her slave popu lation for the same time 17 per cent I do not say that this increase in. population from 1840 to iftfin is to be attributed entirely, or even in any very great degree, to the establishment of common schools ; but I do insist that the orosnect thus hiM out to the masses of general public instruction, and the benefits which it was foreseen would flow .from it in the way of internal improvements alone, must have had an important influence in checking emi gration to other States. In 1840 the surface of the State that is, the " 7 V v improvements thereon were esti mated to be worth on an average 2 "iUPi!SL 64,000,000 ; and all other property 18.W000-making in an,' as th value of the State, $200,000,000 Now, the aggregate valuation of the lands or real estate of the State is estimated in the Comptroller's report at $98,800,636 08; but I am satisfied this valuation is too low ; and I as sume, as a fair estimate, that the lands of the State, with their improvements, are worth on an average $4 per acre making $128,000,000. Add to this 300,000 slaves, worth on an average $500 each, and we have $150,000,000 more ; and then add to this live stock,, worth $20,000,000, shipping, lumber, naval stores, cotton and wheat in hand, and tobacco, manufactured and unmanufactured air 'ready for market, and that can be spared money at interest, ' stocks in banks, State securities, and all other per sonal property' of whatsoever kind, and we have an aggregate of. not less than five hundred millions of dollars, as 'the cash valuation of North-Carolina; showing an increase in. wealth since '1840, of one .hundred and fifty -per cent,' or, on an average, of nine per cent per annum. - In 1840, when common schools were established, "there were but two colleges in the State, but one hundred and forty academies, and but six hundred and thirty-two primary or "old field" schools. There were, at these colleges, about 175 students, at academies about 5,000, and at all the other schools about 15,000 making in all, male and female, about 20,000. Now, there are six male, and about ten female colleges ; not less than 350 academies and institutes ; and 3,500 primary or common schools. There are now at colleges not less than 1,500 sta dents, at academies 12,000, and at common schools about 140,000 making, in all, 153,500 of the 215, 000 children of the State, between 5 and 21, con stantly at school. One cheering fact is, that all the new counties and new towns at once go to work to establish their academies and schools ; while many of the older communities in the State seem to have received new educational life. The new county of Polk his, for example, recently appropriated $15, 000 for a school in which to educate common school teacheis; and if even half the counties in the State would go and do likewise," the deficiency in our system in this respect, now so seriously felt, would soon be remedied. In 1845, thero was distributed by the literary board for common schools the counties raising by taxation half the amount the sum of $97,852 44; and in 1846, the sum of $95,578 65 making in all per annum disbursed and raised, $146,700. In 1855, 1856, and 1857, there was distributed by the board for each year the sum of $180,880 making, with the amount raised by the counties, the sum of $271,320; showing an increase in ten years of the amount appropriated to common schools of $124,620 per annum. This increase in the amount distributed by the board, is mainly owing to the increased divi dends on bank stock, and to the income of $24,000 per annum from tbe Wilmington and Weldon rail road. In 1840, the permanent fund for common Bchools, exclusive of tbe swamp lands, was about $1,800,000. Of this amount, however, $600,000 were in the stock of the Wilmington and Weldon railroad, then un productive, leaving only $1,200,000 in productive stocks. Now, the permanent fund, exclusive of swamp lands, is as follows : 5,027 shares in the Bank of the State, at $100 each, ' . $502,700 00 5,444 shares in the Bank of Cape Fear, at $100 each, 544,400 00 4,000 shares in the Wilmington and Weldon railroad, at $100 each, .400,000 00 2,000 shares in the Wilminrton and Mnnchea- " tcr road, at (100 each, 200,000 00 650 shares in the Cape Fear Navigation Co., at $100 each. 65,000 00 500 shares in the Roanoke Navigation Co., at $100 each, 50,000 00 Amount due by the State on bonds, 803,000 00 " by Wilmington and Weldon rail road Company, 52,250 00 " " by Literary Institutions, 81,S24 80 - by Individuals, 7,571 12 Making, " $2,156,745 42 Two hundred thousand dollars of these stocks, to wit, in the Wilmington and Manchester company, are not yet productive ; while the Cape Fear Navi gation is paying but four, and the Roanoke but one per cent ; yet the day is near at hand when the Wil mington and Manchester will pay six per cent ; and the value above par of the 10,471 shares of bank, stock would more than cover what I trust will not happen the entire loss of the Cape Fear and Roan oke Navigation stocks. So the foregoing amount of $2,156,745 42 may be safely assumed as the perma nent productive fund now in hand. This does not include the swamp lands, which must, after a time, be a source of considerable income to the permanent fund ; nor the tax on retailers and auctioneers, and entries of vacant lands, which are increasing every year. Let this fund be sacred. Let no demagogue dare lay his selfish, itching palm upon it 1 It is the result of long years of anxious effort, and it has been sol emnly dedicated to the noblest object that can en gage the attention of a free people. Let us guard it with jealous care, and let us strive, by all just means, to add to it, and thus extend and deepen its field of usefulness. There are persons here who can remember when there was no fund like this, nor indeed any fund ; and when there was not more than one " old-field" school to every ten miles square. We can never for get it, the thirst for knowledge, and the want of means to acquire knowledge. The rude cabins in which we studied our first lessons ; the long and wea ry walks to school; the books we thumbed, and over which we pored Pike, Webster, the Columbian Orator all, besides the Bible, that we had ; the pot hooks and hangers we constructed, never getting hung ourselves, save in " Practice" or in " Tare ana Tret;" the rivalry in spelling, and the trapping thereupon; the. master's looks, with well-brushed clothes, hia watch in fob, with shining silver key his face, so gravely kind, checking the wayward, en couraging the diligent, and drawing out the timid Vl I a rnncrinnlinneiiAeo f 1 r I n r ia ..Ksv1.. J..a 1 . t boys, and by the red-lipped, bright-eyed girls, for just $6 by the year, duly subscribed before the school begun ; the rustic play-grounds, and the mos sy spring, by which, in the thick shade, we took our meals at noon ; the ghosts we thought we saw re turning home late in the biting or the mellow eve the awe with which we looked out on the great world, so far away from us, and yet so near the poverty that dogged our steps and barred our way, yet fitted us for life and made us happy, though we knew it not and the State's poverty, which denied us mental food : all this is fresh before us as of yes terday, graven on our memories in lines of fire and if ever I forget those boys and girls, now men and women, or their children after them, or their children's children; and if ever I forsake this, their cause, as it once was mine, may my arm be palsied and my tongue be dumb! Nor has the progress of the University during the last ten years been less remarkable and gratifying than that of common schools. In 1846-'7, the fac ulty consisted of but ten professors and tutors; now, there are seventeen. In 1847 there was no scientific school attached to the University; now, there is one with Bixty-nine . pupils. In 1846-'7, there were 155 matriculates ; now, there are 440. In 1847, there were 88 graduates ; at the late com mencement there were 69. Tbe increase in the li braries has not been less than 25 per cent During this time, Prof. Mitchell has issued a new edition of his work on chemistry ; and Prof. Chas. Phillips has prepared and published a treatise on trigonometry, which is pronounced by competent judges a superi or work. - The examinations preparatory to admis sion to college are more strict, I am informed, than heretofore ; and the standard of both preliminary and regular scholarship has been raised. And above . all this, crowning it with What is vastly more impor tant than mere learning, the moral government ex ercised over the students is in every respect most salutary ; which is apparent in the good order that prevails among so many spirited young men. It is not my purpose, nor is it expected of me, to refer in detail to the other colleges in the State, or to the academies and institutes. It may be observ ed, however, and with strict truth, that they are flourishing beyond all former example ; and I attri bute, in no inconsiderable degree, the prosperity they are enjoying to the establishment and success--ful operation of common schools. The common i!?LVi e7 supplanted tbe subscription or old-field" schools, have yet introduced five State schools for every one of the " old field" schools thus discontinued. Education, therefore, so far from havfoe been retarded, has been greatly aided . in its progress by the common school system ; not merely education of an ordinary but of a higher grade. The colleges depend upon the academies as preparatory schools : these preparatory schools depend more or less upon the common schools ; while, as we have seen, the very resUblishment and operation of the common school system have tended gVeatlj to increase the number of preparatory schools. In 1852, a State Superintendent of common schools was appointed. This was another impor tant improvement in the system. It produced order, regularity, and. accountability, which were so much needed. In 1846, for example, only 33 chairmen out of the 80 reported to the literary board the con dition of the schools and the funds in their respec- tive counties. In 1855, all of them but one report ed to the superintendent; and now, a - failure to re port is as rare as it -formerly was common. The superintendent has visited " the schools in various parts of the State has established and enforced ac countability in their management, and . has seen, wherever it was necessary, to 'the proper disposition and application of the funds has decided many im- I)ortant and perplexing questions arising under the aw has made from time to time full reports of the progress of the system to the Governor and to the " Legislature has labored, session - after session, in concert' with committees of tbe Legislature,' to im- Erove the law has given his time, his attention, and is interest in the same, without pecuniary return, or the hope of it, to furnish a series of North-Carolina Readers," home readers, to the children of the State has published through his own efforta,and sent out without charge, a Common School Journal, one copy to each of the 3,500 districts in the State ; and has, in fine, by both tongue and pen, and by inces sant watchfulness and toil, made himself felt for good in all portions of the State. Looking at the re sults of his labors, and contrasting the system now with what it was before he was appointed, we are surprised that the Office was not created sooner. Our common school system, though by no means perfect, was framed with care, and has since been revised and improved as our own experience and the experience of other States have saggested ; and it is now believed to be superior, both in its machinery and its results, to any system in the slaveholding States. It commences, as Mons. De Tocqueville has observed, where all free government begins iu the primary county and township . districts. It is thus bottomed in the public confidence. And herein we North-Americans differ from all other peoples. We acquire the rudiments of self-government and a spir it of local independence step by step as we acquire the rudiments of knowledge. We learn to govern ourselves from the captain's districts, and the school districts, up to the county organizations, which are represented by sovereign States. . And thus it is that authority is as promptly and as cheerfully obeyed as it is exercised ; and thus it is that our people, schooled and skilled from the very start in the prin ciples and in the practice of self-government, engage with so much facility and fearlessness in founding new States There is nothing like it in ancient his tory, nor in the existing States of Europe. They have constructed from the centre to the extremities; we from the extremities to the centre, wisely distri buting power, so that no portion of the State can be superior to another. Their fabrics, political and so cial, tend to consolidation, ending in oppression and decay; ours are strengthened as the extremities stretch out, and are kept vigorous and healthful by the fresh blood constantly poured back into the great heart of tbe body politic. We established a new order of things by beginning sovereignties in the primary districts ; they subjugated provinces and called them States, but provinces they are still. It would be something both novel and gratifying in human government, if out of these province, and with these strong central influences, they should ev er succeed in creating enlightened, independent, self governing sovereign States. We have, first, in our system of common schools, school-committee-men, three to a district, chosen by the people. They have the immediate control of the schools. Secondly, county superintendents, gen erally seven, appointed by tbe county courts. These boards choose their own chairmen, one to each coun ty ; and they legislate, within their sphere, for tbe several districts. The chairmen are the executive officers for the counties, as the general superintend ent is for the State. Thirdly, committees of examt nation, not more than three to a county, annually appointed by the board of superintendents. They examine all applicants for the office of teacher, and grant or refuse licenses to teach, as may seem to them best Fourthly, a State superintendent, to whose duties and labors I have already briefly re ferred. He is responsible to the board of literature, which is charged with the management of the gen eral fund, and also to the Legislature ; and the Leg islature is responsible to the whole people of the State. All the officers, teachers included, are mem bers of one system, and 6hould always act together, cordially and faithfully. The teacher's occupation, from the common school to the University, is the most important and useful among us ; but is not, it must be confessed, estima ted as it should be. It is always laborious and some times ungrateful ; and its rewards are generally scan ty and uncertain. But what higher calling can there be save that of proclaiming the gospel of eternal truth than that of training our children in tbe ways of virtue and knowledge f And what is it, af ter all, that chiefly sustains the competent and con scientious teacher f It is a sense of his integrity and of the exalted nature of his work. The vain, the arrogant, the ambitious the man of foolish pride or of mere wealth, may overlook him, or under estimate him ; but his work speaks for him, and be has the respect and the sympathy of the wise and good. Toil on, then, ye faithful and indefatigable workers in the fields of mind ! ye are happier by far, and more useful to the world, than many who sit in Senates, or lead armies over fields of blood. . Remember remember, that you are co-workers al ways with the mothers of the land. Education be gins with the first look and lisp of infancy ; and it implies the highest physical, mental and moral de velopment of which human nature is capable. It begins with the mother. In the serene hours of the summer twilight, when the birds and the bees, the emblems of innocence and industry, have gone to their repose, and when God, in kindness to all his creatures, has shut the eye of day, the mother bends over her babe, and imagines for it in the future all of prosperity, of honor, or. of happiness which her full heart prompts. She teaches it its first lessons of love, order, and obedience. Training it gently like some precious vine, she breaks no tendril of af fection, and crushes no leaf which comes forth bear ing the imprint of future hope. Affectionately at her knee, and reverently at that of the father, it hears for the first time why it was created, its re sponsibilities and duties here, and something of its destiny hereafter. In this family circle, so infinitely Bmall when compared with the universe, it learns the reasons of that obedience which is the indispen sable pre-reqnisite to future . felicity ; and without which, from the cradle of the infant to tbe depths of space, in which countless worlds are floating, dis order and oon fusion would prevail. PUocd ber with only five senses, the mind is dependent upon them ; and their uses must, therefore, first be ac quired. And then, as the mental and physical fac ulties are drawn out and trained, the affections, which have their seat in the soul, roust also be evok ed, and nurtured, and lifted up towards the divine fountain from which they flowed ; lest the animal obtain the mastery, and the shadows of sin and death fall over them eternally. Here, then, educa tion begins with the .mother ; and the teacher takes up the threads in 'the web "of the child's destiny as they fall from her hands. How important, there fore, that sound and healthy morals should pervade all our schools; that the lessons learned at home be not effaced, but improved, and - new, ones added as the pup? may need, or be able to receive them ; that all our .teachers should be men, whether members of churches or not, who " fear God and eschew evil so that the good work begun by parents be car ried forward, till the child is educated not only in mini, but morally, in all the exalted and savine af fections of the heart . - -The world is -full history is full of examples, showing the paramount importance of moral in struction to the voune. " Th nl f said the great John Mil ton, is to repair the ruin of B j . a4l kSSQ u.o. i,c,.u, uj regaining to know God arieht. and out of that knowledge to love him, as we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue. which, beine united to th htni. r make up the highest perfection." "Virtue," says John Locke," "is the hard and valuable part to be aimed at in education, and not a, forward pertness, : or any little arts of shifting ; all other considerations -and accomplishments should give way and be post poned to this. Learning must be had indeed, but in tbe second place, as subservient to greater quali ties. Seek somebody as your son's tutor, that may v know how discreetly to form his manners ; place him in hands where y on may, as much as possible, se cure bis innocence. Cherish and nurse np the good, and gently correct and weed out any' bad inclina tions, and settle- him in good habits.- TbH is the main point, and .this being provided for, learning may be bad into' the bargain.' " Atid whosoever thou be that hast children" said Miles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, in 1535, in . his J Prologe" to his translation of the Holy Scriptures " bring tbem up in tbe nurture and information of the Lord.,' And if thou be ignorant, or art otherwise occupied law fully; that tboo canst not teach them thyself, then be even as .diligent to seek a good . master for tby children, as thou wast to seek a mother to bear them ; for there lieth as great weight in. the one as in the other. Yea, better it were for them to be un born than not to fear God, or to be evil brought up; which thing I mean bringing up well of children if it be diligently looked to, it is the upholding of all commonwealths ; and the negligence of the same, the very decay of all realms." Without this moral instruction, ' by both mother and teacher, -mental strength is but the strength of tbe savage or of an insane giant, leaving naught in its path to gladden, or improve, or benefit mankind. As ignorance is the parent of the most degrading vices, so mere hu man learning without morals, is the prolific source of materialism, spiritualism, scepticism and in fidelity. . Systems of public instruction have occupied the attention, and enlisted the energies of philanthro pists and statesmen, both in Europe and America, for the last two hundred and fifty years ; but it is in this country, where Church and State are kept apart, and where the education of tbe masses is essential to the pet petuation of our political and social institutions, that they have been most successful and prosperous. As early as 1494 parochial schools received tha sanc tion of the Scottish parliament; and in 1615, "the Privy Council of Scotland empowered the bishops, along with a majority of the landholders, to estab lish a school in every parish, anu to assess the lands for that purpose." " The dates of this enactment, 1615," Bays the American Educational Year Book, and of the immigration of the puritans to this country, in 1620, are too close to each other to escape no tice." Prussia, one of the most enlightened consti tutional monarchies in Europe, has long had a sys tem of public schools, in which the lower classes of her population are instructed and prepared for the ordinary business of life. The Prussians say, that ' whatever you would have appear in the life of a nation, you must put it into its schools" and they act accordingly. A love for "fatherland" is con stantly inculcated in their schools the national songs are sung, and the Prussian child is educated to believe Prussia and its government the best in tbe world. The result is, Prussia is one of the most thrifty States of Europe, and her peoplevdo not em igrate, as so many other European peoples do, to other lands. We seldom, for example, see a native of Prussia in this country. But all monarchies and aristocracies, and especially those that are absolute, are founded and administered on popular ignorance; and even tbe King of Prussia is careful not to per mit the introduction of liberal ideas in to his schools. The republic of Chili, the most stable and respecta ble of the South-American States, has a system of public schools ; and it is stated, as a significant fact, that her present President was elected mainly on ac count of his devotion to the cause of public edu cation. . The people of Massachusetts preceded all others in America in establishing common schools; and they were soon followed by Connecticut, New Hamp shire, and the other New England State5. Nearly ev ery State in the Union now has some system of public instruction ; and a brief notice of the systems in the different States, may not be altogether uninteresting. The State of Maine raises every year, by taxes, for common schools, $333,019 76, and distributes from the State treasury, derived from stocks, $71, 644 78 making $404,664 54, disbursed and raised for common schools. Every township is required to pay sixty cents for each white - inhabitant Her to tal white population in 1850 was 581,813. There is a superintendent of common schools, who is requir ed to hold annually a teacher's convention or insti tute in each county. These institutes are in session from three to five days. 1691 teachers attended in 1855, 739 males and 952 females. Tbe State has no normal school, and relies mainly upon these insti tutes for preparing and supplying teachers. Aver age length of the schools in Maine, in 1855, 4 months and 8 weeks. New Hampshire has a permanent school fund of only $17,000, but she raised by taxes for school in 1855, $212,346 17. Total white population 317,456. There is no normal school, but 22 teacher's insti tutes were held in 1855, with an attendance of 2, 253 teachers. Average length of schools, 5 months. The office of superintendent in Vermont has been vacant since 1851, and we have no returns. There is no normal school Average length of schools, 6 months. The permanent school fund of Massachusetts is $1,602,597 02, the interest of which is annually di vided among such towns and cities as raise $1 50 for each person between 5 and 15 years of age. The amount of taxes raised for support of schools in 1855, was $1,137,407 76 total amount expended, $1,266,436 42. Total white population 985,450. There is a board of education, whose secretary is the State superintendent. There are four normal schools at an expense of $14,500 per annum. Bos ton has one at its own charge. There are also elev en teacher's institutes, numerous county associations and a State teacher's association. Length of schools, 7 months and 16 days. The common school school system of Rhode Is land was not thoroughly organized till 1851. There was expended for public instruction in 1855, $154, 614 40, partly from taxes and parly from perma nent fund. Total white population, 143,875 .There is a State normal school ; also, a State institute for teachers. Connecticut has a permanent fund of nearly $3, 000.000, yielding $150,000 per annum. In addition to this the State raised by taxes in 1855, $83,732 87 making, with other items of income, total expen diture for schools, $342,049 37. Total white popu lation, 863,099. There is a State superintendent There is also a State normal school. In 1855, eight teacher's institutes were held, with 755 teachers. To Massachusetts is due the credit of having estab lished the first normal school on this side of the At lantic, at Lexington, in 1839 ; and to Connecticut is due the credit of having originated teacher's insti tutes at Hartford, tbe same year. These institutes, though their sessions are necessarily of brief dura tion, are designed to teach the theory and art of teaching; and they have been of signal service in all the States that have tried them. The great State of New York began to create a fund for common schools in 1795. Fifty thousand dollars were voted annually from the treasury for five years; and tho towns were required to raise by taxation an amount equal to that apportioned to them annually. . In 1814, the system was put in op eration. The permanent school fund is now about seven millions of dollars; tho Stale constitution wisely providing that it shall be increased $25,000 annually. She expends about $3,600,000 per annum for educational purposes of all kinds, of which about one million is raised by direct taxation. Total white population 3,048,325. Average length of schools, 8 months. There is a State superintendent There is a State normal school costing $12,000 per year, and one or more teacher's institutes to each county. New York has graduated at her normal school, after a full course, not less than 1,000 teachers 5,000 Te ajken partial course ; and she is now provi ding " instruction in the science of common school teaching" for 1,800 pupils ' annually. Her common school system should command the admiration of the world. ' New Jersey has a permanent fund of $413,454 96. Tbe whole amount appropriated to school purposes in 1855, was $475,163 64, of which about one-half was raised by taxes. Total white population 465, 609. There is a State superintendent Eight teach er's institutes were held in 1855. There is also a State normal school, recently established, costine $10,009 per annum. . . . .. . . .r Pennsylvania provided in her constitution in 1790, f? ?monT Bcbool8 tut no system was attempted till 1831. In 1834, the State was districted for acbools; and in 1854, her system was revised and much improved. The Stale now raises by taxation for schools, the sum of $1,242,223 70 total amount expended for. schools $1,560,854 "82 and this with a very heavy State debt This does not, however, include Philadelphia, whoso common schools are of a superior order and hizhlv flourishing $592,870 80 per annum. Total white population of Pennsylvania, 2,258,160. Averagelenrth m- , 5 1-8 months. There is a State supeSH there are no normal schools or teacher. -H under State patronage. 8 ,nstitu -Delaware has a permanent fund of 43s raises- by taxation $24,000 per year Sh v normal school Qe Maryland bas no general system of puU;- tion.' There , is a permanent fund TieM m8t4Te $70,000 per annum, which is divided arnon8 ,K miesahd schools of a lower grade. Balti ck however, an excellent system, and devote Te K $110,000 per year. uie8U"ibo$ - irgima bas no. general common school ' The Slat has a literary fund of $1,588 pn f income of which is about $90,000. Of thCT - per annum are distributed to tbe M poor r and district' schools, and $15,000 to the TV There is no State superintendent, and no & ; schools. Total white population 894 800 V0'0! Virginia had 12 colleges of all kinds,' with lY l85. pils 303 academies and high schools. xSi J public schools. . " v27 South Carolina, like Virginia, has a narm ' defective system, intended solely for the The State has no- school fund, but appronri.f0 rectly from the treasury. In 1854, she V i $30,000 for military schools, $22,000 for thTt1 f college, $20,000 for the medical colle-e ftonni??8 the Charleston college, and but Aw . f0,000 fo,C M poor" schools. Her school system for th. . 9 is a 'pauper" system, so characteri, i. r enlightened public men, are rousing the public to the importance of some adequate system of mon schools ; and the people of Charleston, n u are doing their duty on the subject Total population of the State, 274,563. In 1850 W Carotin had ft t-nWwa n-Wh Ton ' uu- to " 1 v. pupils 'ft , emies, with 7,467 pupila, and about 40.COO nar i all her schools. - The number at present U ffi,0 I 60,000. "P'obaUj j Georgia has also a " poor " or pauper " Krrt i There are two school funds of $300,000 each f. for academies and one for " poor " schools. In i f there were in the State 13 colleees. ii i t, 1 1 join . j ... b N J-Jl PUbie ov-iifuis, auu Mia Bcaueuiies, wun a total 1teA of 7 7,015 pupils. Total white population 51 Florida adopted a common school systemin 'uTs Her permanent fund is $500,000, which wffl t largely increased from sales of school landjL i 1850, there were 69 com.non schools with ie-a pils, and 34 academies with 1251 punils. To,5 J" population 17,203. P ' roiUt Alabama has a permanent fund of 010 971 r The statistics are meagre, but her sySt?rn is' knoS to be improving. There are teacher s institute? 3 efforts are making for a normal school. ' Mississippi made provision for a common ' fund in 1846 and in 1852, $3000 . ted for educational purposes. . The new constitution of Louisiana provides f ' , , cre 13 a otate superintendent who dep.ores the defectire system that exists. U statistics from these two States are by no means M or satisfactory. Tbe permanent fund of Arkansas prospective) estimated t 4- rwm iwv tv .... are in their infancy, and tbe State superintendent, heartened? mDJ difficaltie8 s"td t Texas has a permanent fund of $2,200,000. U- sides her school lands, which are estimated to be worth $15,000,000. But beyond a provision of funds, Texas has made little progress with her com- mnn Rrhnnls If tma tn. 1. -.ir - .1 to her children, a great and glorious future is before her. In 1823, Tennessee passed an act creating a per- ( peiuai iuna ior common schools. There is a perma- nent fund of $1 .500.000. and she has 3 r.nn nnn . of school lands, which will largely increase'it There 1 is a State superintendent The returns are not full but for a State comparatively new, they are quite -cheering. In 1850, there were 2,667 public schools, with 103,651 pupils 17 colleges, with 1605 sto- ' aenw, ana zoo academies, with 9,517 pupils. Total white Donulation 75 ft RS fi . i Kentucky has a permanent fund of $1,443,164 73, t with an income of $164,513 50. There is an dowment by the State of $12,000 per annum h f Transylvania University for a normal school depsrt men t, in which 116 student" are annnally prepared " as teachers. In 1856, the Lerislature passed an act leaving it to the people to say whether they worid triple their taxes for common schools; and amijdr- ' ity of more than three to one out of 110,000 voters, voted yea I This is one of the noblest votes of mod ern times, and is eminently worthy the liberality, the intelligence, and the manhood of "old Ken tucky." The amount distributed was at once raised to $286,262 55. There were in 1850, 15 colleges, with 1873 students 2,234 common schools, with 71,429 pupils 330 academies, with 12.712 pupils; total attendance at all the schools, 130.917. Ken tucky has a Mate superintendent Total white pop ulation 761,413. Ohio has a large permanent fund. The whole amount expended in 1855 for common schools vu $2,631,818 40. Total white population 1,955,05a There is a State superintendent Tbe State has no normal school, but teacher's institutes are annuahj held in all the counties, and there is a State teacher's association. Michigan has a permanent fund of $2,000,000 which is constantly increasing. The State distribu ted from the fund in 1854, $130,996 69, and raised by taxation $220,679 33 making in all $351,676 01 There was also raised for libraries, by a two mill tax, tbe sum of $67,179 55. There is a State su perintendent Total white population 395.071. Indiana has permanent fund of $5,000,000, pres ent and prospective. There is also a tax of one mill on tbe dollar's worth of property, and 50 cents on the poll, yielding in 1854, $230,218 00. There was distributed for that year $575,000. Indiana also imposes a tax for school libraries.. There is a State superintendent Tbe State bas no normal school, but there are teacher's institutes in all the counties, and a State teacher's association. Total white pop ulation 977,154. Illinois has a permanent fund of $3,500,000. Whole amount expended for schools in 1854, $400, 000. Average length of schools, 6 months. Total white population 846,034. Tbe State has no normal school, but there are a number of teacher's insti tutes. Missouri has a permanent fund of $1,500,000, and the State appropriates one-fourth of the annual rev enue for school purposes. There is no normal school, but a number of teacher's institutes. . The new States'of Iowa and Wisconsin have large and permanent funds, and are commencing excel lent systems of schools; and the young State of Cal ifornia is also taking active and vigorous steps in tbe same direction. From the foregoing facts and statistics we dedoce these results : The average length of the schools of Maine, whose system is in a highly flourishing condition, is four months and three weeks; of New Hampshire frt months ; of North-Carolina four months. Maine distributes about 70 cents to the head of ber white population ; New Hampshire about the same; Connecticut, 95 cents ; North-Carolina about 60 cents; Virginia, 8 cents; Connecticut nearly one dollar Pennsylvania nearly the same as Connecti cut ; and New York and Ohio a fraction over one dollar each to their total white population. North-Carolina, though her white population ' 200.000 less than that of Kentucky, expends nesrlj as much as she does for educational purposes. North-Carolina has a larger school fund thafl Maine, or New Hampshire, or New Jersey, (br IV 600,000) oi Maryland, or Virginia, (by $600,000) of Massachusetts, (by $500,000) or Georgia, (by IV 600,000.) North-Carolina has as many colleges as Georgi. more academies by 100, and 2,000 more cotnn01 schools. The two States are about equal in population. North-Carolina-has more colleges than SooW" Carolina, more academies by 100, and nearly th times as many children at school. Virginia bas 340,000 white population more tba North-Carolina; yet the latter has quite asmanj colleges as the former, as many academies, and fir cr six hundred more public schools. Kentucky has 00,000 white population no" than North-Carolina; yet the latter has as colleges as the. former, as many academies, n" I am indebted for these and otber sUtistics. to" American Educational Tear Book for 1856, to tbe "?2 Journal of dt cation, to tbe Censns of 1&50, ana u oas Report of ilr. .Wiley, SUte Suparinteudeiit.
The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 5, 1857, edition 1
2
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