%%^- : ■& v^„ * .A .0^ ..-^^ ■^o 0^ .Oo v^ v^ ' /N ,0o. o 0' .-3^ '-^^ -"^ -ct-. <^ ' '^ oo ^o°<. sV ./ -^^ o^ ^^-^^ "oo'^ ,^:^ ■^^ •0^ /■"- ^, ..v\ -y c '^ <■ => oo' •0*^ , <■ ^ ' " * '"^ .'J) A^ ^ 5- '^cT- \\^ ^^^■^^ oV^ S-^> X ^^'■ >0 o .0^ . - .•v' -^ % '^ r" A^' "oo^ ^ 1 .^ ^< w REPOKTS AND DOCUMENTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. E. R. POTTER, LATE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WITH THE SCHOOL LAWS, FORMS FOR DOING BUSINESS UNDER THEM, AND REMARKS AND ADVICE RELATING TO THEM. PROVIDENCE: KNOWLES, ANTHONY & CO. PRINTERS. 18 5 5. Pi CONTENTS. ACTS RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Remarks on the duties of Officers under them. Towns 27 — Treasurer 27 — School Committees 26 — Principles on which districts should be laid off 28 — School Houses 30— Suggestions as to' examining teachers 31 — Suggestions as to visiting schools 3G — Selection jotbooks 39 — Specimens of School Regulations 40, 91 — Dividing money / (^40;7^Graded Schools 42, 49 — Power and duties of trustees 43 — Dis- tricts 45 — Quorum 47 — Use of school house for other purposes 48 [See Decision in Report January 18.53] — Clerk 49 — Suggestions to Teachers 50 — mode of calculating average attendance 51 — Bible in Schools 52 — Power of the teacher to punish and its extent 53 — Provis- ions of the statute for punishing distui'bance of schools 55 — Appeals 56 School Libraries 56 Forms for transaction op business. See the full index at the end. REPORT TO THi: LEGISLATURE JANUARY, A. D. 1850. With statistical tables. REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY A. D. 1851. With statistical tables. REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY A. D. 1852. Con^en^s.— General remarks 141 — Female teachers 142 — Deaf, Dumb &c; 143 — Blind 145 — Idiots 146 — Revision of law 147 — Means of improv- ing the schools 148 — Duty of a teacher 149 — Studies and object of edu- cation 154 — Normal school 157 — Grades of teachers 160 — Lyceums 160 Union districts and plans 161 — School attendance 163 — Children iu factories 165 — Moral education and its relation to crime 167 — Statistis- tical tables 182 Appendix No. 1. — Normal department in Brown University 185 Appendix No. 2. — Letter from Rev. E. M. Stone on Evening Schools 192 — Extracts from Report of Prof. Hart and Address of Judge Kelly on same subject 194 Appendix No. 3. — Ignorance and vice in cities and towns 202 iv € O N T K N T S i Appendix No. 4. — School and other llbrai-ies in Rhode Island 212 Appendix No. 5. — Outline of the system of education in Rhode Island. .215 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY A. D. 1853. Contents. — Deaf and Dumb 2 — Blind, Idiots, &c. 3 — Educational Maga- zine 4 — Private Normal School of Messrs. Greene & Colburn 5 — Teach- ers meetings and improvement of qualifications of teachers 6 — Colleges and their proper place in an educational system 14,3 7,48 — Objec- tions to education considered 17 — Fundamental principles of an educational system in a republican government, how far the State should interfere, danger of centralization 21, 72^Prayer and religious -j exercises in schools 28 — Statistical tablesT-rrv / ' 3S7 Appendix No. 1. — Relation of Colleges to Schools — Extracts from re- port of Prof Andrews of Marietta 37 — Prof. Taylor Lewis on the same 48 Appendix No. 2. — Decisions on the school laws — use of school houses for other purposes 54 — Making fires in schools 56 Appendix No. 3. — Religious education in schools — extracts from various writers and speakers on this subject 59 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY A. D. 1854. Content.'^. — Deaf and Dumb, Blind, &c. 5 — Mormal school 7 — Legislation and litigation 8 — Uniformity of Books 9 — Sectarianism in School books 11 — Schools in country districts 11 — Truancy 14 — The State and edu- cation. 1 6, G 7 Appendix No. 1. — Statistical Tables 19 Appendix No. 2. — Public Schools and religious Education. Extracts from Address of Thomas H. Burrows. Dr. Chalmers. Church's Let- ter to Cobden. Wm. C. Taylor L L. D. Robert Vaughan, D. D.— Prof. Nicoll, of Glasgow. Willm on the Education of the People. Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds. Siljistrom on Education in the United States. Westminster review. Massachusetts Common School Journal. Dr. Channing. Dr. Bushnell. Westminster Review. New Englander. Dr. Van Rensselear, Secretary of Presbyterian Board of Education 22 Appendix No. 3. — The State and Education. Extent to which the State should support Public Schools and compel attendance on them. Ex- tracts from Robert Vaughn, D. D. Baines. H. Spencer. E. R. Pot- ter's Historical Address. Rowland G. Hazard's Addresses. Guizot. . 67 Appendix No. 4. — Objections to Education answered. Extracts from Potter & Emerson, School and School Master ; and from Prof NicoU's Preface to Willm 78 Appendix No. 5. — Imjwrtance of Female Education. Views of Dymond and George Combe 85 Appendix No. 6. — Physical Education and Insanity 88 , Appendix No. 7. — Reform School 97 Appendix No. 8. — School and other Libraries in the State 101 C () N T E X T S . V Appendix No. 9. — Law of domieil or residence in relaiion to voting ... .104 Appendix No. 10. — Importance of directing attention to the artri of de- sign as a means of improving public taste, fnrnishing employment, and increasing National wealth. Extracts from Prof Mapes, Thomas A. Tefft, &c 107 Appendix No. 11. — Catalogne of Books tor selection for school, village and family libraries 113 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY A. D. 1854. Expenditures for Normal School 6 Board of Education 7, .51 Division of the new Appropriation of $15.000 S The Bible and Prayer in Public Schools 9, 52, lOD APPENDIX. No. 1 — Statistical Tables 3;j No. 2— Acts &c. relating to Schools, &c. passed since June 1851.. .:Mj No. 3 — Documents relating to the establishment of Normal School. Commmissioners letter to the Governor. Act establishing School. Address of E. R. Potter at opening of School. Circulars. Copy of lease of Normal School rooms 4 2 No. 4 — Bill to establish a Board of Education 7, 51 No. 5 — Religious Instruction in Public Schools 52 Extracts from various writers showing how the difiiculties growiii"- out of this question are obviated in other countries. Prussia and German v 52 Saxony 63 — Wirtemburg G5 — Austria G5 — Switzerland G7 — France 70 Extract from NicoU 71 — Victor Hugo's Speech 73 — Belghnu 75 — Ho!'- land 76 — Scotland 78, 95 — Ireland 82 — Oppression in Ireland 91 — England 93 — Canada, from Dr. Ryerson's Report 95 — Massachusetts 107. Opinions of writers upon the subject of the Bible and Re- ligion in School;-; 109 Prefatory Remarks by the Commissioner 109 — Statement of the question, (Harpers') 110 — Extracts from Dr. Cheever on the Bible in School 114 Address of Thomas S. Grinike 123 — Rosseauon the Bible 145 — Extract from Savage's Speech in N. Y. Legislature 14G — President JMCafTi'cy's Lecture 147 — Rev. 11. Humphrey's Lecture 150 — Extract from E. R. Potter's Report for 1852 on importance of moi-al education and its in fiuence in preventing crime 151 — Address of Thomas H. Burrowes 164 Report of Dr. Vnn ilensellaer of the Presbyterian Board of Education 1G6 — E. Schneider's Essay 170 — Speech of Rev. Di-. Bond (MethodistJ 171- Westminster Review 172- Address of II. Ketchum (Presbyterian) 173— Richard Gardner (English; 17,']— John Mills 1 74— Walter Fer- gerson 175 — Rev. W. McKerrow 176 — Rev. S. Davidson 176 — Rev. F. Tucker 177 — Rev. Edward Higglnson 178 — Mrs. Porter 178 — Dr. Bushnell, of Hai'tford on the modifications demanded by Catholics 179 I C ON TENTS . Extracts from New Englander (Congregational Quarterly Review) 184 Dr.Chanuing 196 — Dr. Siljestrom, a Swedish traveller 196 — Dr.Chalmers (Scotch Presbyterian) 197— Letter from 11. CobdenM, P. to Pv. Church 198_-Wr. C. Taylor 199— Dr. Robert Vaughan 199— J. P. NicoU's pref- ace to Wihn's treatise 199 — Wilm on the education of the people (French treatise) 203 — Opinion of Rev. Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds 204 — West- minster Review 205 — Twelfth Report of Horace Mann, of Massachusetts 205 — Decision on the use of school houses for other purposes than schools 233 — Decision of Gen. John A. Dix, Supt. of New York Schools, on same subject 235 — Extracts from Milton's "Areopagitica ; a Speech for the libertj' of unlicensed printing" 236 — Extract from IMilton on eccle- siastical power in civil causes 246. ERRATA. As the following errors affect the sense or accuracy of statements, it is rer quested that they may be corrected with a pen. In report for 1852, page 21G, line 11, for '■'■There is a Board of Education" read '■^There is no Board of Education." y In report January 1853, page 14, line od from bottom, for of read and ; page 18, line 17 for professions rend possessors ; page 19 for Sir Mondi read Sismondi ; page 21, line 7th from bottom, for these read the ; page 55, line 24 read to hold religious meetings. In report January 1854, in table No. 1, page 19, the footings of the columns should be — Total resources 125.004.70; Expense for instruction 115.081.00; Expense for school houses 21.901.62; Voted this year 24.021.32. Against town of Richmond the amount expended for instruction should be 821.18; against town of Warwick the amount expended for instruction should be 2.994.08 In table No. 2, page 20, footing of column of Total scholars should be 25.905.00. In table No. 3, l^age 21, footing of column of whole No. of scholars should be 25.905.00. Page 35, line 2d, for Western read Westmini- ster ; line 10th from bottom, for wAe^/^er and Whether. Page G 8 in line 2d of extract from H. Spencer for the read other. Page 77 line 4th fi-om bottom for due read the. 0ct)ooi Cams of Hljobt- IsUiib, ACTS RELATING TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS EHODE ISLAND, WITH REMARKS AND FORMS. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. CONSOLIDATED AND REVISED, JUNE, 1851. providence: SAYLES& MILLER, PRINTERS, 18 5 1. NOTE. Tlie first edition of the remarks and forms was prepared by the subscriber, with the aid of his predecessor, in October, 1846. They were intended to facilitate the transaction of business by districts and school officers, and it is believed that they have answered the purpose intended, and been the means of preventing much litiga- tion. They are now republished with the alterations necessary to conform them to the new act. The new act was passed Thursday, June 19, 1851. It takes effect on " the tenth day next after the rising of the General Assem- bly." The General Assembly rose on Saturday, June 21, 1851. E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. Providence, June 23, 1851. EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE, ARTICLE FIRST. DECLARATION OF CERTAIN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES. In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom established by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for our posterity, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable rights and principles hereinafter mentioned, shall be established, maintained, and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in all legislative, judicial and executive proceedings. ^ ^ At- :^ ^ ^ ^ ^ W "TS- "Jv- T^ Sec. 3. Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free ; and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and mean- ness ; and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment that a flourishing civil State may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in religious concernments : we, therefore, declare, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or to support any religious worship, place or ministry, whatever, except in fulfilment of his own volun- tary contract; nor enforced, restrained, molested or burthened in his body or goods ; nor disqualified from holding any office ; nor other- wise suffer on account of his religious belief; and that every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own con- science, and to profess and by argument to maintain his opinion in matters of religion ; and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or afllect his civil capacity. ARTICLE TWELFTH. OF EDUCATION. Section 1. The diffusion of knowledge, as well as of virtue, among the people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and liberties, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to promote 4 EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION. Public Schools, and to adopt all means which they may deem nec- essary and proper to secure to the people the advantages and op- portunities of education. Sec. 2. The money which now is, or which may hereafter he ap- propriated by law for the establishment of a permanent fund for the support of Public Schools, shall be securely invested and remain a perpetual fund for that purpose. Sec 3. All donations for the support of Public Schools or for other purposes of education, which may be received by the Gen- eral Assembly, shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donors. Sec 4. The General Assembly shall make all necessary pro- visions by law for carrying this article into effect. They shall not divert said money or fund from the aforesaid uses, nor borrow, ap- propriate, or use the same, or any part thereof, for any other pur- pose, under any pretence whatsoever. state of 3Ki)otre Kslantr antr J^rotjitrence Jllantatfons. AN ACT TO REVISE AND AIMEND THE LAWS REGULATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Passed June Session, A. D. 185L It is enacted by the General AssemUy as follows : Section 1. For the uniform and efficient administration of this act and the supervision and improvement of such schools as may be supported in any manner out of the General Treasury, the Gover- nor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall annu- ally at the annual general election, appoint an officer to be called the Commissioner of Public Schools. In case of sickness, tempo- rary absence or other disability, the Governor may appoint a person to act as Commissioner during such absence, sickness or disability. Sec. 2. The sum of thirty-five thousand dollars shall annually be paid out of the income of the school fund, deposit of surplus rev- enue, and other money in the General Treasury for the support of public schools in the several towns, upon the order of the Commis- sioner. He shall annually in May, apportion said sum among the several towns, in proportion to the number of children under the age of fifteen years, according to the then lastU. States census, and shall draw orders on the General Treasurer for their proportion in favor of all such towns as shall comply with the terms of this act on or before the first day of July annually. Sec. 3. The Commissioner shall visit as often and as far as prac- ticable, every school district in the State, for the purpose of in- specting the schools, and diffusing as widely as possible, by public addresses and personal communications with school officers, teach- ers and parents, a knowledge of the defects and desirable improve- ments in the administration of the system and the government and instruction of the schools : and shall recommend the best texj books and secure as far as practicable, a uniformity in the schools b AN ACT RELATING "of every toAvn at least ; and shall assist in the establishment of and selection of books for school libraries. Sec. 4. He shall prescribe from time to time suitable forms and regulations for carrying this act into effect, and for making all re- ports. He shall hear and decide all appeals and may remit all fines, penalties and forfeitures incurred by any town, district or person, under this act. He may appoint County Inspectors, to examine teachers and visit and report the state of the schools, whose office shall expire on the first Tuesday in May, annually, unless sooner removed, and who shall not be entitled to any compensation from the State Treasury : — and he shall annually at tBe January term of the October session, make a report to the General Assembly upon the state and condition of the schools and of education, Avith plans and suggestions lor their improvement. TOWNS. Sec. 5. Towns may establish and maintain, (Avithout forming districts,) a sufficient number of public schools, of different grades, at convenient locations, under the entire management of the School Committee, or they may vote at a meeting notified for that pur- pose, to provide school houses Avith the necessary fixtures and ap- pendages, in all the districts, (if there be districts,) at the conxmon expense of the toAvn : Provided, that in the latter case, if any district shall provide at their OAvn expense, a school house approved by the School Committee, such district shall not be liable to be taxed by the town to furnish or repair school houses for the other districts. They may raise by tax all sums of money they may deem necessary for the support of public schools, or for establishing and maintain- ng a public school library ; said library, AA^hen established, to be controlled and regulated from time to time by the School Commit- tee of the toAvn. Sec. 6. No toAvn shall receive any part of the State appropria- tion, unless they shall raise by tax for the supj)ort of public schools, a sum equal to one third of their proportion of the sum of twenty- five thousand dollars apportioned to them from the State Treasury, Avhich sum so raised shall be appropriated and paid by the ToAvn Treasur rer, asequired by this act. And if any toAvn shall refuse to raise or appropriate ihe sum hereby required, on or before the TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 7 first of July in any year, their proportion of the public money shall be forfeited, and the General Treasurer on being officially informed thereof by the Commissioner of Public Schools, shall invest the amount in stocks, to be added to the Permanent School Fund. Sec. 7. Any town may appoint or may authorize its School Com- mittee to appoint a Superintendent of the schools of the town, to perform under the advice and direction of the Committee, such du- ties and exercise such powers, as the Committee may assign to him, and to receive such compensation out of the Treasury as the town may vote. Sec. 8. Each town shall, at its annual town meeting for choice of town officers, choose a School Committee, to consist of not less than three residents of said town, to serve without compensation, unless voted by the town out of the Town Treasury. SCHOOL COMMITTEE. Sec. 9. The School Committee of each town shall have power, and it shall be their duty Sec. 10. To choose a Chairman and Clerk, either of whom may sign any orders or official papers. Sec. 11. To hold at least four stated meetings, viz. on the second Mondays of January, April, July and October, in every year, and as much oftener as the state of the schools requires. A majority of the number elected shall constitute a quorum, unless the committee consist of more than six, when four shall be a quorum, but any less number may adjourn. Sec. 12. To form, alter and discontinue school districts, and to settle their boundaries when undefined or disputed ; Provided, that no new district shall be formed with less than forty children between the ages of four and sixteen, unless with the approbation of the Commissioner of Public Schools, and further, that where a town is not now divided into districts, it shall not be done without the direction of the town. All existing districts shall continue un- til legally altered. Sec. 13. To locate all school houses, and not to abandon or change the site of any without good cause ; and in case the School Committee shall fix upon a location for a school house in any dis- trict, and the district shall have passed a vote to erect a school 8 AN ACT KELAT1.NG house, or where there is no district organization and the Committee shall fix upon a location for a school house, and the proprietor of the land shall refuse to convey the same, or cannot agree with the district for the price thereof, the School Committee of their own motion, or upon application of the district, shall be authorized to appoint three disinterested persons, who shall notify the parties and decide upon the valuation of the land ; and upon the tender or payment of the sum so fixed upon to the proprietor, the title to the land so fixed upon by the School Committee, (not exceeding one quarter of an acre,) shall vest in the district, for the purpose of maintaining a school house and the necessary appendages thereon : Provided, however, that an appeal shall be allowed to the Court of Common Pleas in such cases, in the same manner and with the same effect as is provided by law in case of laying out of high- ways. Sec. 14. To examine by themselves or by some one or more persons, by them appointed, all applicants for the situation of teach- ers in the Public Schools of the town, and to annul the certificates of such as prove unqualified or will not conform to the regulations of the Committee. Sec. 15. To visit by one or more of their number every Public School in town, at least twice during each term, once within two weeks of its opening, and once within two weeks of its close, at which visits they shall examine the register and other matters touch- ing the school house, library, studies, books, discipline, modes of teaching and improvement of the schools. Or the Committee may employ some person of or not of their number to perform this duty and to receive such compensation as they may allow, out of the money raised by the town, or as the town may allow out of the Town Treasury. Sec. 16. To make and cause to be put up in each school house, or furnished to each teacher, a general system of rules and regula- tions for the admission and attendance of pupils, the classification, studies, books, discipline and methods of instruction in the Public Schools. Sec. 17. To suspend during pleasure or expel during the school term all pupils found guilty of incorrigibly bad conduct, or violation TO PUBUC SCHOOLS. 9 of the school regulations, and re-admit them, on satisfactory evidence of amendment. Sec. 18. To fill any vacancy in the Committee occasioned by death, declining or refusing to serve, resignation, removal from office or from the town, or otherwise. Sec. 19. Where a town is not divided into districts, or shall vote in a meeting duly notified for that purpose to provide schools without reference to such division, the Committee shall manage and regulate said schools, and draw all orders for the payment of their expenses. Sec. 20. When the Public Schools are maintained by district organization, they shall apportion as early as practicable in each year, among the districts, the money received from the State, one half equally, and the other half according to the average daily at- tendance of the schools of the preceding year. Said money receiv- ed from the State shall be denominated " Teachers' money," and shall be applied to the wages of teachers and to no other purpose whatever. They shall appoition the money received from the town, from the registry tax, from funds or other grants, either equally or in such proportion as the town may direct, and for want of such direction, then in such manner as they may deem best. Sec. 21. They shall draw an order on the Town Treasurer in fa- vor of such districts only, as shall have made a return to them in manner and form prescribed by t'lem or by the Commissioners of Pub.ic Schools, or as may be required by law, from which it shall appear that for the year ending on the first of May previous, one or more Public School? have been kept for at least four months by a qualified teacher in a school house approved by the Committee or Comn.issioner, and that the money designated " Teacher's money," received the year previous, has been applied to the wages of teach- ers and f'^r no other purpose. Such orders may be made payable to the Trustees or their order, or to the district Treasurer, or teacher, and if the Treasurer receives the money, he shall pay it out to the order of the Trustees. Provided, however, that the Committee shall not be obliged to give any order until they are satisfied that the services have actually been performed for which the money is to be paid ; and provided further, that at the end of the school year any 10 AN ACT RELATI^•G money appropriated to any district which shall be forfeited (and the forfeiture not remitted,) or which shall remain unexpended, may be divided by the committee among the districts the following year. Sec. 22. They shall prepare and submit annually — first, a report to the Commissioner of Public Schools on or before the first day of July in manner and form by him prescribed — se.'ondly, a written or printed report to the town at the annual town meeting when the School Committee is chosen, setting forth their doings, the state and condition of the Schools, and plans for their improvement, which re- port (unless printed) shall be read in open town meeting. And the Committee may reserve annually out of the public appropriation a sum not exceeding twenty dollars to defray the expense of printing their report, TOWN TREASURER. Sec. 23. The Town Treasurer shall receive the money due from the State Treasury, and shall keep a separate account of all money appropriated by the State or town or otherwise for Public Schools, and shall pay the same to the order of the School Committee. He shall within one week after the town meeting at which the Com- mittee are elected, submit to them a statement of all monies in his hands belonging to Schools, specifying the sources whence derived, and to what districts, if any, belonging. TOAVN CLERK. Sec 24. The Town Clerk shall record the boundaries of school districts and all alterations thereof, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and shall distribute such school documents and blanks as may be sent to him to the persons for whom they are intended. DISTRICT MEETINGS. Sec 25. Notice of the time, place and object of holding the first meeting of a district for organization, or for a meeting to choose offi- cers or transact other business, in case there be no Trustees author- ized to call a meeting, shall be given by the School Committee of the town, at any time they may deem proper. Sec. 26. Every school district when organized shall hold an an- nual meeting in the month of April or May of each year, for choice of officers and transaction of any other business relating to schools. Sec 27. The Trustees may call a special meeting for election TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS li or other business at any time, and shall call one to be held within seven days on the written request of any five qualified voters, stating the object for which they wish it called ; and if the Trustees neg. lect or refuse to call a special meeting when requested, the Schoo' Committee may call it and fix the time therefor. Sec 28. District meetings shall be held at the school house unless otherwise ordered by the district. If there be no school house or place appointed by the district, the Trustees, or if there be no Trus- tees, the School Committee, shall determine the place, which shall always be within the district. Sec, 29. Notice of the time and place of every annual meeting, and of the time, place and object of every special meeting, shall be given for five days inclusive before holding the same. Sec 30. The Trustees shall give notice of a district meeting, either by publishing the same in a newspaper published in the dis trict, or by putting the notice on the district school house or on a sign post within the district, or if there be no newspaper, school house or sign post, then in such manner as the School Committee may direct: provided however that the district may from time to time prescribe the mode of notifying meetings, and the Trustees shall conform there- to. When the meeting is called by the School Committee, they shall direct when and how the notice shall be given. If in any case ap- pealed to the Commissioner, he shall be satisfied that full and actual notice has been given and that no injustice w^ill be done thereby, he may waive the compliance with the strict requirements of this sec- tion. Sec 31. Every district meeting may appoint a Moderator and ad- journ from time to time. Sec 32. Every person residing in the district may vote in district meetings to the same extent and with the same restrictions as he would at the time be qualified to vote in town meeting : provided, that no person shall vote upon any question of taxation of property or expending money thereby, vinless he shall have paid or be liable to pay a portion of the tax. And the clerk shall record the number and names of the persons voting and on which side of the question, at the request of any qualified voter. 12 AN ACT RELATING POWERS OF DISTRICTS. Sec. 33. Every school district shall be a body corporate, and shall be known by its number or other suitable or ordinary designation, and shall have power Sec. 34. To prosecute and defend in all actions, to purchase, re- ceive, hold and corvey any real or personal property for school pur- poses, and t:) establish and maintain a school library. Sec. 35 To build, purchase, hire and repair school houses, and supply the same with blackboards, maps, furniture and other neces- sary and useful appendages, and t j insure the house and appendages against damage by fire : Provided that the erection and repairs of the school house be made according to the plans approved by the School Committee or Commissioner < f Public Schools. Sec. 36. 'I'o raise money by tax on the rateable property of the district to support schools and to carry out the powers given them by this act ; Provided, that the amount of the tax shall be approved by the School Committee of the town. All such taxes shall be collected by the district or town collector in the same manner as town taxes are collected. Sec. 37. To elect a Clerk, either one or three Trustees a? they may decide, a Treasurer and Collector, and to fill vacancies in either of said offices arising from death, declining or refusing to serve, re- signation, removal from office or from the district, or otherwise, and if an election of any of said officers be not made at the time pr^crib- ed for the annual meeting, it may be done at any legally notified meeting afterward. The Clerk, Collector and Treasurer shall have the same power and perform the same duties as the Clerk, Collector and Treasurer of a town. But the Collector and Treasurer need not give bond unless required by the district, and any district may vote to place the collection of any district tax or rate bill in the hands of the collector of town taxes, who shall thereupon without any new bond or engagement be fully authorized to proceed and collect the same. Sec. 38. If any School district shall neglect to organize, or if or- ganized shall for the space of six months neglect to establish a school and employ a teacher, the School Committee of the town may them- TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 13 selves or by an agent establish a school in the district school house or elsewhere in their discretion, and employ a teacher. And any district may, with the consent of the Committee, devolve all the powers and duties relating to public schools in the district on the Committee. TRUSTEES. Skc. 39. The Trustees of School districts are authorized, and it shall be their duty Sec 40. To have the custody of the School house and other dis- trict property: to employ one or m^re qualified teachers for every fifty scholars in average daily attendance, provide school rooms and fuel, to visit the schools twice at least during each term, and notify the Committee or Superintendent of the time of opening and closing the school. Sec 41. To see that the scholars are properly supplied with books, and in case they are not, and the parents, guardians or masters have been notified thereof by the teacher, to provide the same at the expense of the district, and add the same to the next rate bill of such person. Sec 42. To make out the tax bill and rate bills for tuiti'^n against the persons liable to pay the same, and to deliver the same to the collector with a warrant by them signed annexed thereto, requiring him to collect and pay over the same to the Treasurer of the district. Sec 43. To make returns to the School Committee in manner and form prescribed by them or by tlie Commissioner of Public Schools, or as may be required by law, and perform all other lawful acts re- quired of them by the district, or necessary to carry into full effect the powers and duties of districts. Sec. 44. Trustees shall receive no compensation for services out of the money received from either the State-or town appropriations, nor in any way unless raised by tax by the district. TAXES. Sec. 45, District taxes shall be levied on the ratable property of the district according to its value in the town assessment then last made, unless the district shall direct it to be levied upon the next town assessment. And no notice shall be required to be given by the Trustees. But whenever any real estate in the district is assessed in 14 AN ACT RELATING the town tax bill with real estate out of the district, so that there is no distinct or separate value upon it, or in case of any person remov- ing into the district possessing personal property, or in case from death or sale of property a division and apportionment be necessary, or upon application of the party interested in case of investment of personal property in real estate, or in case of property omitted in the town valuation, the Trustees, if they cannot agree with the parties in- terested, shall call upon one or more of the town assessors not inter- ested and not residing in the district, who shall assess the value of the estate so situated : and the assessors shall give notice by putting up notices for ten days in three most public places in or near the district. And after notice is given as aforesaid, no person neglect- ing to appear before the assessor oi assessors shall have any remedy for being over taxed. Sec. 46. If a district tax shall be voted, assessed, approved of, and a contract legallj- entered into under it, or such contract be le- gally entered into without such vote, assessment or approval, and said district shall thereafter neglect or refuse to proceed and col- lect a tax, the Commissioner of Public Schools, after notice and hear- ing the parties, may appoint assessors to assess a tax, and issue a warrant to the collector of the district, or to a collector by him ap- pointed, authorizing and requiring him to proceed and collect said tax. Sec. 47. Errors in assessing a tax may be corrected, or the tax re-assessed in such manner as may be directed or approved by the Commissioner of Public Schools. Sec. 48. When any person having paid a tax for building or re- pairing a school house in one district, shall by alteration of boun- daries of districts, become liable to pay a tax in any other district, such abatement may be made therein, (if such person cannot agree with the district) as the School Committee (or in case of a district composed from different towns, the School Commissioner) may un- der the circumstances deem just and proper. APPOKTIONMZNT OF PKOPEKTY, &LC. Sec. 49. When any two or more districts shall be consolidated into one, the new district shall own all the corporate property of the several districts ; and when a district is divided and a portion TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 15 taken from it, the funds and property, or the income and proceeds thereof, shall he divided among the several parts in such manner as the School Committee of the town or towns to which the district belongs may determine : And when a part of one district is added to another district, or part of a district owning a school house or other property, such part shall pay to the district or part of a dis- trict to which it is added, (if demanded) such sum as the School Committee may determine. JOINT DISTKICTS. Sec. 50. Any two or more adjoining primary school districts in the same or adjoining towns, may by a concurrent vote, agrea to establish a secondary or grammar school, for the older and more advanced children of such districts. Such associating districts shall constitute a school district for all the purposes of providing a school house, fuel, furniture and apparatus, and for the election of a Board of Trustees, to consist of one member from each associating dis- trict, and for the laying of a tax for school purposes, and fixing rates of tuition, with all the rights and privileges of a school district, so far as the secondary school is concerned. The time and place for the meeting for organization of such secondary district, may be fixed by the School Committees, and any one or more of the asso- ciating districts may delegate to the trustees of the secondary dis- trict the care and management of its primary school. The School Committee of the town or towns in which such secondary school shall be established, shall draw an order in favor of the trustees of said school, to be paid out of the public money appropriated to each district interested in said secondary school, in proportion to the number of scholars from each. Sec. 51. Any two or more adjoining school districts in the same town may, by concurrent vote, with the approbation of the School Committee, unite together and be consolidated into one district, for the purpose of supporting public schools, and such consolidated dis- tinct shall have all the powers of a single district, but shall be enti- tled to receive the same proportion of public money the districts would receive if not united. The mode of organizing such districts and calling the first meetings thereof shall be regulated or prescrib- ed by the School Committee. 16 AN ACT RELATING Sec. 52. Two or more contiguous districts, or parts of districts in adjoining towns, may be formed into a joint school district by the School Committee of such towns concurring therein, and all joint districts heretofore or hereafter formed may by them be altered or discontinvied. The meeting for organization shall be called by notice signed by the School Committee of such towns, and set up in one or more places in each district, or part of a district. Such district shall have all the powers of a single school district, and be regulated in the same manner, and shall be subject to the super- vision and management of the School Committee of the town in Avhich the school is located. A whole district making a portion of such joint district shall be entitled to its portion of public money in the same manner as if it remained a single district ; and when part of a district is taken to form a portion of such joint district, the School Committee shall assign to it its reasonable proportion. Where a joint district shall vote to build or repair a school house by tax, the amount of the tax and the plan and specifications of the building and repairs shall be approved by the School Committees of the several towns, or by the Commissioner of Public Schools. And in case of assessing a tax by a joint or sec mdary district, if the town assessments be made upon different principles, or the relative value be not the same, the relative value and proportion shall be ascertained by one or more persons, to be appointed by the Com- missioner of Public Schools, and the assessment shall be made ac- cordingly. Sec. 53. The School Committee of any town, or trustees of any school district, may make arrangements with the School Committee of any adjacent town, or trustees of any adjacent district, for the attendance of such children as will be better accommodated in the public schools of such adjacent town or district, and may pay such portion of the expense as may be just and proper. TEACHEKS. Sec. 54. No person shall be employed in any town to teach as principal or assistant in any school supported entirely or in part by the public money, unless he has a certificate of qualification, signed either by the School Committee of the town, or by some person or persons appointed by said committee, which shall be valid within TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS 17 said town for one year, unless annulled, or by an inspector of the county, which shall express a higher degree of attainment and be ralid within the county for two years, and if countersigned by the Commissioner of Public Schools, within the State for three years, unless annulled. Sec. 55. Neither of the above authorities shall sign any certifi- cate of qualification unless the person named in the same shall pro- duce evidence of good moral character, and be found on examination or by experience, qualified to teach the English language, arithme- tic, penmanship, and the rudiments of geography and history, and to govern a school. Sec 56. The School Committee of any town may dismiss any teacher, by whomsoever examined, who shall refuse to conform to the regulations by them made, or for other just cause, and in such case shall give immediate notice to the Trustees of the district. Sec. 57. Every teacher in any public school shall keep a register of all the scholars attending said school, their ages, names of pa- rents or guardians, the time when each scholar enters and leaves the school, the daily attendance, together with the days of the month on which the school is visited by any of the authorities nam- ed in this act, and shall prepare the district's return to the School Committee of the town, if requested to do so by the Trustee. teacheks' institutes. Sec. 58. There shall annually be paid out of the General Treas- ury, to the order of the Commissioner of Public Schools, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars, for defraying the expense of hold- ing Teachers' or Normal Institutes, and the Commissioner shall file in the General Treasurer's office an account of the disbursement of said sum. OF EATE-BILLS FOE TUITION, &C. Sec. 59. Any school district may fix or authorize its Trustees to fix a rate of tuition, to be paid by the persons attending school, or by their parents, employers or guardians, towards the expense of fuel, books and other expenses (including estimated deficiencies of payments) over and above the money received from the town and State appropriations ; and where there is no district organization, the School Committee may fix the rate ; and the district, trustees 3 18 AN ACT RELATING or committee, shall exempt therefrom all persons whom they shall consider unable to pay the same. Provided, that the trustees may prescribe and collect a rate in their discretion, sufficient to keep the school for the four months required by law, without any vote of the district ; and Provided, also, that the rate of tuition shall not ex- ceed one dollar per scholar for any term of eleven weeks, except in towns or districts where different grades of schools are established, when the rate for the higher grades may be not exceeding two dol- lars per scholar for the same time : And Provided further, that the amount of the rate be approved by the School Committee of the town. All such rate bills may be required to be paid in advance, or may be delivered to the town or district collector, and may be by them collected in the same manner as town taxes are collected. Sec. 60. No person shall be excluded from any public schools in the district to which such person belongs, if the town is divided in- to districts, or if not so divided, from the nearest public school, on account of being over fifteen years of age, nor except by force of some general regulation applicable to all persons under the same circumstances, and in no case on account of the inability of himself, his parents, guardian or employer, to pay any rate bill, tax or assess- ment whatever. Sec. 61. Any person committed to jail by the town or district collector, either for a tax or for a rate bill for tuition or assessments, shall be entitled to the benefit of "An Act for the relief of poor persons imprisoned for debt," in the same manner as if committed for town taxes. And any person assessed in any rate bill as afore- said, may, before commitment, apply to any justice of the peace in the town, for a citation to the committee, trustee or trustees, to appear at a time and place named within said district, and show cause Avhy he should not be admitted to take the oath prescribed in said act : said citation shall be served by any officer or disinterested person three days before the time appointed, upon the chairman of clerk of the committee, or trustee, (or upon any one of them, it more than one) and the applicant shall be heard before the justice signing the citation, and may by him be admitted to take the oath aforesaid ; and a certificate thereof, signed by him, shall be a full protection to the applicant against any further proceedings for col- TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 19 lecting said rate. And the service of the citation aforesaid shall suspend such proceedings for at least ten days, unless the case be sooner heard and disposed of. ENGAGEMENTS. Sec. 62. All school officers appointed under this act, (except the moderator of a district meeting) shall take an engagement to sup- port the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution and laws of this State, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their several offices, so long as thej^ continue therein, before some judge, senator, justice or warden, notary, town clerk, member of the town council, or chairman or clerk of the School Committee. The clerk of the district may take the engagement in open district meeting, before the moderator, or any magistrate present, and the clerk's record that any district officer has been duly engaged, shall be pri- ma facie evidence thereof. And all district school officers may be engaged by the clerk of the district. If any school officer shall not take such engagement within a reasonable time, he shall be liable to a penalty of one dollar, to be recovered on complaint before any justice of the peace, to the use of the State : but all acts of such officers otherwise lawful shall be valid from the time of their elec- tion or appointment. Sec. 63. All officers under the school law shall, without a new engagement, hold their offices until the time of the next annual election or appointment for such office, and until other persons are appointed in their places. PENALTIES. Sec. 64. Any officer who shall make any false certificate, or ap- propriate any public school money to any purpose not authorized by law, or who shall refuse for a reasonable charge to give certified copies of any official paper, to account or deliver to his successor any accounts, papers or money in liis hands, or shall Avilfully or knowingly refuse to perform any duty of his office, or violate any provisions of any acts existing or hereafter passed, regulating pub- lic schools, except where a particular penalty may be prescribed, may be indicted therefor, and on conviction fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding six months, and shall besides be liable to suit for damages by any person injured thereby. 20 AN ACT RELATING Any person refusing to account or to deliver over any accounts, pa- pers, or monies to his successor in office, shall also he liahle to a suit therefor to he brought hy such successor. APPEALS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. Sec. 65. Any person conceiving himself aggrieved in consequence of any decision or doings of any School Committee, district meet- ing, trustees, county inspector, or in any other matter arising under this act, may appeal to the Commissioner of Public Schools, who is hereby authorized and required to examine and decide the same without cost to the parties ; and his decision shall be final : Pro- vided, that the Commissioner may, (and if requested on the hearing by either party, shall) lay a statement of the facts of the case before some one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, whose approval of such decision shall then be final. And the Commissioner may pre- scribe from time to time rules regulating the time and manner of making such appeals, and to prevent their being made for trifling and frivolous pretences. And any persons having any matter of dis- pute between them arising under this act, may agree in writing to submit the same to the adjudication of said Commissioner, and his decision therein shall be final. Sec. 66. If no appeal be taken from a vote of a district relating to the ordering of a tax or rate bill, or from the proceedings of the officers of the district in assessing the same ; or if on appeal, such proceedings are confirmed, the same shall not again be questioned before any Court of law or magistrate whatever : Provided, that this shall not be construed to dispense with legal notice of the meeting, or with the votes or proceedings being approved by the School Committee or Commissioner, Avhenever the same is required by law. Sec. 67. In any civil suit before any Court, against any school officer, for any matter which might by this act have been heard and decided by the Commissioner of Public Schools, no cost shall be taxed for the plaintiff", if the Court are of opinion that such officer acted in good faith. Sec. 68. Any inhabitant of a district, or person liable to pay taxes therein, may be allowed by any Court to answer a suit brought TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 21 against the district, on giving security for costs, in such manner as the Court may direct. Sec. 69. The school house lot with the school house and appen- dages shall be exempt from attachment or sale on execution in any suit against the district. When judgment has been or shall be re- covered in any Court of record against any school district, the Court rendering judgment shall order a warrant to be issued, (if no appeal be taken) to the assessors of taxes of the town, (or in case of a joint district, composed of parts of towns, then to one or more of the assessors of each town, with or without designating them,) in which such district is situated, requiring them to assess upon the ratable property in said district a tax sufficient to pay the debt or damages, costs, interest and a sum in the discretion of the Court sufficient to defray the expenses of assessment and collection. Said assessors shall, without a new engagement, proceed to assess the same, giving notice as in case of other district taxes. Said warrant shall also contain a direction to the collector of the town, (or in case of a joint district, then to the collector of either town the Court may direct,) requiring him to collect said tax ; and said warrant with the assessment annexed thereto shall be a sufficient authority for the collector, without a special engagement, to proceed and col- lect the same, with the same power as in case of a town tax ; and when collected, he shall pay over the same to the parties to whom it may belong, and the surplus, if any, to the district. And the Court may require a bond of the collector in their discretion. Sec. 70. "When any writ, summons or other process shall issue against any school district in any civil suit, the same may be served on the Treasurer or Clerk, and if there are no such officers to be found, the officer charged with ihe same may post up a certified copy thereof on the door of the school house, and if there is no school house, then in some most public place in the district, and the same when proved to the satisfaction of the Court, shall constitute a sufficient service thereof. Sec. 71. Inhabitants of school districts, or persons paying taxes therein, shall be competent witnesses in all civil and criminal cases, notwithstanding such interest, if not otherwise disqualified. Sec. 72. The record of a Clerk of a district, that a meeting has 22 AN ACT RELATING been duly or legally notified, shall be prima facie evidence tbat it lias been notified as the law requires. The Clerk shall procure, at the expense of the district, a suitable bound book for keeping the record therein. DEAF AND DUMB. Sec. 73. The sum of two thousand five hundred dollars is here- by annually appropriated for the education of the indigent deaf mutes, indigent blind, and indigent idiots of this State. Said sum shall be paid out of the General Treasury to the order of the Com- missioner of Public Schools, who shall have full authority to deter- mine which of said persons in this State shall be admitted to the benefit thereof, and the portion which each shall receive, and the nstitutions at which the benefiaciries of this State shall be educated: Provided, that no one person shall receive any portion thereof for more than five years, nor a greater sum in any one year than one hundred dollars. INDIAN SCHOOL. Sec. 74. The General Treasurer shall pay to the Treasurer of the town of Charlestown the sum of one hundred dollars annually, to be expended under the direction of some person or persons to be annually appointed by the Governor, in support of a school for the members of the Narragansett tribe of Indians, and for the purchase of books, and other incidental expenses thereof; and an account of the expenditure of said money and of the condition of the school shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of Public Schools on or before the first Tuesday of May annually ; and in the apportion- ment of the public money by the Commissioner and by the School Committee of Charlestown, the Narragansett Indians shall not be included. But no person shall be employed to keep said school, either as principal or assistant, unless he has received a certificate from the School Committee of Charlestown, or some competent au- thority, in the same manner as is required for other public schools. TOLUNTARY INCORPORATIONS FOR DIERARIES, &C. Sec. 75. Whenever any persons, to the number of three or more, shall hereafter associate together for the purpose of procuring and maintaining a library, or procuring or supporting an academy or school, they shall upon complying with the following provisions. TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 23 become a body corporate for that purpose, by such name as they may designate, and subject to such regulations, conditions and con- stitution as they may have adopted. And they may hold, control and convey real and personal estate, to an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars, exclusive of their building and the lot on which it may stand, and of their books, maps, pictures and library furni- ture. Sec. 76. In case of any association of any number of members heretofore formed for the purpose of maintaining a library, and not incorporated, any three of the members may call a meeting and ap- point a time and place therefor, giving to all the known members resident in this State, five days notice thereof, to be served as an original summons is required to be served, by some sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable or some disinterested person, who shall make oath thereto : and at the meeting so held, a majority of the persons pre- sent entitled to vote, may organize said association as a corporation under this act. Sec. 77. The library corporations formed under this act shall have the power to make assessments on shares and regulate by by- law the manner of selling them, on failure of payment : and all transfers of the shares shall be recorded in the books of the cor- poration. Sec. 78. All corporations organized under the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sections of this act, may elect such officers and for such time as they may deem proper, may regulate by by-laws the manner of calling annual and other meetings, may require their ofii- cers to give bonds, determine the manner of voting and how many shall constitute a quorum, and generally may make all necessary by-laws not inconsistent with law or their Constitution, and may prescribe suitable penalties for the violation of them, which, if in money, shall not exceed twenty dollars, and may be collected by action of debt, in the name of the corporation. All officers shall continue in office until their successors are appointed, and vacancies may be filled at any meeting, or in such manner as the corporation may direct. If no mode is provided for calling annual or other meetings, the Clerk or Secretary shall call a meeting on the request of any three members, by posting up a notice thereof five days, in. 24 AN ACT RELATING some public place upon the library building, academy or school house, and a majority of votes, either in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum, unless otherwise provided by the corporation. Sec. 79. To entitle any association to the benefit of the forego- ing provisions, the Constitution or articles of association and all alterations thereof, shall be recorded in the books of land evidence of the town where the library, academy or school house is situated. Any such corporation shall not be dissolved by any reduction of the number of its members. CONSTRUCTION AND BEPEAX. Sec. 80. In the construction of this act, the word town shall include the city of Providence only so far as to entitle said city to a distributive share of the public money, upon making a report to the Commissioner in the same manner as the School Committee of other towns are required to do. The public schools in said city shall continue as heretofore to be governed according to such ordinances and regulations as the proper city authorities may from time to time adopt. Sec. 81. All general acts and resolutions heretofore passed, relating to public schools, all acts relating to the education of the deaf, dumb, blind or idiots, and all acts authorizing par- ticular towns and districts to build school houses and perform other duties now in this act provided for, (excepting local acts and resolutions relating to the schools in Newport and Providence) are hereby repealed. But all parts of said acts which remain in substance the same as before this revisal, shall be consid- ered as having remained in force from their first enactment ; and all rights vested in any persons by virtue of any act hereby repeal- ed, shall remain unimpaired by this act ; and all matters commenc- ed by virtue of any act hereby repealed, now depending and unfin- ished, may be prosecuted and pursued to final effect, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed. And no new provision in this act shall affect any action or suit now pending, or judgment rendered. REMARKS On some of the provisions of the School Law, and on the duties of dif- ferent officers and bodies corporate under them. TOWNS. 82. In order to receive its allowance from the State Treasury, a town must first vote to raise the amount the law requires, (6) and if voted annually, the vote must be passed on or before July 1st, in every year. But an appropriation may be made by a standing by- law, under which the town treasurer may every year make the ne- cessary appropriation. 38. It is believed that where a town is divided into districts, and each district has trustees to manage its own local affairs, it will be better to have the town's committee a small one, provided competent persons can be obtained to undertake it. Their duties are to ex- amine teachers, visit and have a supervision of the schools. There is danger that a large committee will not meet often, and that they will attempt to perform too many of their duties by small sub-com- mittees of one or more. The delegation by the whole committee, to each member, of the power to manage some particular district, was one great cause of the inefficiency of the former system. The examination of teachers, will, in most cases, be better done by the whole committee ; and incompetent persons will be less likely to ap- ply to the whole committee, than to a single member, to be exam- ined. By the new act, a town may appoint or authorize its committee to appoint a superintendant of schools, in such case the superintend- ant would perform the duties of examining teachers, visiting schools, and such other duties as the committee might assign him. This would relieve the committee of a very laborious portion of their duties. TOWN TREASURER. 84. The town treasurer should, as soon as the State money is ap- portioned, which is to be done in May, and as soon as the school 4 26 TOWTM TREASUREK. committee have made their report and the town has voted to raise what the law requires, apply to the Commissioner for an order for his town's portion. If the town appropriation be made by standing by-law instead of an annual vote, he may apply immediately, pro- vided the school committee have made the report the law requires. Some towns make a practice of depositing their school money in some bank, which will pay them a low rate of interest. But it should be always subject to order. If the treasurer is newly elected, or his election not generally known, it may be well for him to procure from the town clerk a certificate to the fact of his being town treasurer. He is to keep a separate account of all school moneys, and is, within one week after the annual town meeting, to furnish the school committee with a particular account of all school moneys in his hands, the sources from which derived, &c. He can only pay out the school money (whether derived from the State, town or registry tax) to orders signed by the chairman or clerk of the school committee and if he pays it out or appropriates it otherwise, he would be liable to the penalty of the law. The town treasurer to obtain the State appropriation, should fur- nish to the Commissioner a certificate substantially in the following form, signed by himself, or the town clerk : Town of A. D. 18 I certify that in addition to the funds received from the State, and to the unexpended school moneys of last year, received from all sources, this town has by vote passed in a legal town meeting, ap- propriated the sum of dollars, to be paid out of the town treasury, for the support of Public Schools in this town for the present year, according to law. A. B. Town Treasurer of said town. To C. D., Commissioner of Public Schools, or Town Clerk. SCHOOL COMMITTEES. 85. The school committee should first be engaged and then elect their chairman and clerk. It would be well to have the cer- SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 27 tificate of their own election and engagement made upon the record book itself, as loose papers are more liable to be lost. [See form. The number of the school committee, three or more, may be fixed at each annual town election. If the town fails to elect at the an- nual town meeting, the town council must elect them at its next meeting. Otherwise the old committee will hold over. But any town may vote to delegate to the council the power of appointing the committee. [See Digest, page 302, ^ 5. 86. Vacancies. If any member of the committee resigns, the rest (if there be a quorum) may supply the vacancy. If so many resign or refuse to serve, as not to leave a quorum, the vacan- cy must, as in case of other town officers, be supplied by the town council, until the next town meeting. [See Digest, page 302, ^ 6. 87. Meetings. 'J "hey should hold meetings at least quarter- ly, as the law requires. But the schools cannot prosper much, un- less meetings are held much oftener than this. By frequent meet- ings and conversation, much valuable information may be acquired. And it would be well for committees to be continually endeavoring to obtain a Icnowledge of the situation of the different districts, the amount of taxable property in each district, the number of the agri- cultural and manufacturing population respectively, &c., &c., and this sort of information should be preserved, as it is absolutely neces- sary to enable them and their successors to discharge well their duties. All acts of the school committee to be valid, must be done at a meeting of the committee. Giving their assent to any measure se- parately, and without meeting, would probably be held illegal. The manner of calling special meetings of the committee, should be regulated by bylaw. If there be no by-law, the chairman should call them, and should give every member notice if possible. 83. Within a week after the annual town meeting, the school committee are entitled to receive from the town treasurer a report of all school moneys in his hands, specifying particularly the sources whence derived, &c. [See ^ 23. 89. As soon as elected, the clerk of the committee should forward to the School Commissioner a list of the names of the com- 28 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. mittee, with their post-office address, and should also inform him in what way packages or bundles can most conveniently be sent to them. This will materially aid the Commissioner in the discharge of the duties of his office, 90. Laying of Districts. A town may vote to manage its schools collectively or by districts. If there are districts, the whole power of laying them off, making new ones, altering them, and of settling disputed boundaries, is vested by law in the school commit- tee, subject to an appeal to the Commissioner, Although the law has not required any particular notice to be given before deciding on making or altering districts, yet reasonable notice should be given in all such cases. In laying off districts, regard should be had to the convenience of attending school, the number of scholars, the valuation of property, and ability to provide school houses, &c. It will be always expedi- ent to bound them by rivers, roads, or other natural or well-known boundaries, when practicable. When the lines can, without incon- venience, be so drawn as to include all of any person's farm in the same district where his dwelling house is, it will save a great deal of trouble and expense in assessing taxes. In New York they bound their school districts by lines running from one specified point to another, and when the line crosses any person's farm or lot, they tax the whole farm or lot in the district where the dwelling house is, if there be one on it. But this rule is objectionable, because when a tax is contemplated, a person so situ- ated may avoid a portion of it by a fraudulent conveyance of his land. And every purchase or sale of land so situated does practi- cally alter the bounds of the district. Districts must be set off by bounds including certain land. It is not sufficient (in those towns where the schools are managed and the school houses built by districts,) to declare that a district shall be composed of such and such persons. The Supreme Court of Massachusetts have declared such districts to be invalid. [7 Pick. 106 and 12 Pick. 206. When a district which has built a school house, is divided, or its bounds altered so as to take off any portion of it, the joint proper- SCHOOL COMMITTEE. ' 29 ty is to be equitably apportioned among them. If the district owe any debts, they should of course be considered in the apportion- ment. [See the law, %_4.9.] In some cases this can be done by a division of the property itself. In other cases the rent or income may be apportioned, according to the peculiar circumstances. The school committee must decide such cases, subject, of course, to the appeal provided by the law. Where it is more convenient for a person belonging to one dis- trict to send to a school in another district, the school committee may alter the bounds so as to include his house ; or the trustees, or if no trustees, the committee may permit his children to attend such school and pay for it under the provisions of ^ 53. And the com- mittee may make the same arrangement for those who can more conveniently attend a school situated in a neighboring town. In every town, after the boundaries of the districts are settled, it would be well to have a description of them printed for general in- formation and circulation. This might, with propriety, be attach- ed to the School Regulations. 91. The power of forming joint districts on the borders of the different towns, is also confided to the school committees. Many of the manufacturing villages are on streams which are the boun- daries of towns, and are partly in both towns. In such situations the school committees should encourage the union of the adjoining districts, as both together may be able to establish a better school, or keep one for a longer time, or to establish them of different grades. The manner of apportioning the money to a joint district is reg- ulated by ^ 52. In assigning to a district which forms part of a joint district, its proportion of that part of the money which is divided according to average attendance, the committee will of course take the average attendance of that portion of the scholars who belong to their own town. 92. By the school act of 1800, the power of laying off school districts was vested in town councils. By the act of 1S28, the power is not specially vested any where, but was probably intended to be exercised by the school committee. By the act of 1839, the power was vested in the towns, but all 30 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. former divisions, whether made by towns or school committees, were confirmed. By the act of June, 184-5, the power was vested in the towns. But by the acts of June, A. D. 1846, ^ 1, and October, A. D. 1846, (} 5, the sole power was vested in the school committees, where it now remains. For a history of the legislation of the State relating to public schools, and for a list of various special acts authorizing towns to divide into districts and erect school houses by taxation, see Journal of the R. I. Institute of Instruction, vol. 1, pages 97, 103. 93. Location, plans, ^c. The school committee are to lo- cate all school houses, and to approve of all plans and specifications for building them. When the district is unanimous, and the location on the whole, unobjectionable, the committee will defer to their wishes ; but in cases of dispute, they should endeavor to select such a site as will best accommodate the greater portion of the district. Plans for the erection and repairs of district school houses must also be approved by the school committee, or by the Commissioner. This provision, together with that requiring that the school committee must approve of all rates of tuition and taxes that any district may order, was intended to operate as a salutary check ngainst the im- proper exercise of the powers given to school districts. In some dis- tricts there may be but few legal voters ; in others, the majority of voters may be persons not interested in the property in the dis- trict ; and various other cases may happen where a minority should be protected against abuse of taxation. And for this pur- pose, the law requires the approbation of the school committee, the majority of whom will probably belong to other parts of the town, and have no private or personal interest in the local controversies and disputes of the district. For the same reason the law requires the plan of building to be approved by the committee. The committee should therefore inves- tigate this subject, and visit and examine the best school houses, so as to be prepared to act when called on. They will find a vari- ety of plans in the document on school houses, attached to the JRe- port of the late Commissioner, Henry Barnard, Esq., which they SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 31 can modify according to circumstances, and from which, at least, they may derive many useful hints. The subject of school houses and school apparatus, is most fully discussed in the work lately published by Mr. Barnard, on School Architecture, which includes all the various articles published in his different reports, while superintendent of schools in Connecticut and Ehode Island, and which cannot be too highly recommended to those wishing information on this subject. The material parts of this work were also printed in the three volumes of the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, copies of which have been furnished by the Legislature to every school district, and which will be found in all the public libraries. 94. Examining Teachers. The examination of persons wish- ing to teach as principal or assistants, the granting of certificates of qualification, and the annulling of such certificates, are among the most important duties devolving on the school committee, and on their faithful performance the efficiency of the law mainly de- pends. The inefficiency of the former school system in many of the towns was owing to the fact tliat the duties of examining teachers and visiting the schools were too generally neglected or ill performed. The law gives the committee the povver to appoint a sub-commit- tee for the purpose of examining teachers. But it is respectfully suggested that where the whole committee can meet for this purpose, it is most advisable. It will have a more imposing effect upon the teachers themselves, and incompetent persons will be less likely to present themselves. In making such examinations, whether by the whole board, or by the sub-committee, they should inquire first, as to moral character. On this point, the committee should be entirely satisfied, before pro- ceeding further. Some opinion can be formed from the general de- portment and language of the applicant, but the safest course will be, with regard to those who are strangers to the committee, to insist on the written testimony of persons of the highest respecta- bility in the towns and neighborhoods where they have resided ; and espeoially to require the certificate of the school committee and pa- 32 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. rents where they have taught before, as to the character they have sustained, and the influence they have exerted in the school and in society. While a committee should not endeavor to inquire into the pecu- liar religious or sectarian opinions of a teacher, and should not en- tertain any preferences or prejudices founded on any such grounds, they ought, without hesitation, to reject every person who is in the habit of ridiculing, deriding or scoffing at religion. And while the examination should in no case be extended to the political opinions of the candidate, yet it may with propriety extend " to their manner in expressing such belief, or maintaining it. If that manner is in itself boisterous and disorderly, intemperate and offensive, it may well be supposed to indicate ungoverned passions, or want of sound principles of conduct, which would render its pos- sessor obnoxious to the inhabitants of the district, and unfit for the sacred duties of a teacher of youth, who should instruct by exam- ple as well as by precept." — N. Y. Regulations. Second, as to literary attainments. The loAvest grade of attain- ments is specified in the school law in the proviso to ^ 55. Every teacher must have been found qualified by examination, or by pre- vious experience, which must have come to the personal knowledge of the committee, to teach the English language, arithmetic, pen- manship, and the rudiments of geography and history. An exam- ination as to the attainments of the teacher in these branches might be so conducted as to test his capacity, in those particulars, to teach any grade of schools. Some reference, therefore, must be had to the condition and wants of the district schools as they now are. But no person should be considered qualified to teach any school, who cannot speak and write the English language, if not elegantly, at least correctly. He should be a good reader, and be able to make the hearer understand and feel all that the author intended. He should be able to give the analysis as well as explain the meaning of the words of the sentence, and explain all dates, names and allusions. He should be a good speller ; and to test this, as well as his know- ledge of punctuation, the use of capitals, &c., he should be required to write out his answers to some of the questions of the committee. SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 33 He should understand, practically the first principles of English grammar, as illustrated in his own writing and conversation. He should be able to write a good hand, to make a pen. and teach others how to do both. He should show his knowledge of geography by applying his definitions of the elementary principles to the geogra- phy of his own town, state and country, and by questions on the map and globe. He should be able to answer promptly all questions relating to the leading events of the history of the United States and his own State, in arithmetic, he should be well versed in some treatise on mental arithmetic, and be able to work out before the committee, on the black board or slate, such questions as will test his ability to teach the text books on arithmetic prescribed for the class of schools he will be engaged in. Third, his ability to instruct. This ability includes aptness to teach, a power of simplifying difficult processes, — a skill in impart- ing knowledge, — of inducing pupils to try, and try in such a way that they will derive encouragement as they go along, which must be given by nature, but may be cultivated by observation and prac- tice. An examination into the literary qualifications of a candidate as ordinarily conducted, and even when conducted by an experi- enced committee-man, or even by a teacher, will not always deter- mine whether this ability is possessed, or possessed in a very emi- nent degree. Hence it is desirable for the committee to ascertain what success the candidate has had in other places, if he has taught before ; and if this evidence cannot be had, whether he has received any instruction in the art of teaching ; or has been educated under a successful teacher ; or has visited good schools. In conducting the examination to ascertain this point, the candidate should be asked how he would teach the several studies, He should be asked how he would proceed in teaching the alphabet to a child who had never been instructed at all in it ; as for example, whether he would give him words or single letters ; or letters having a general resemblance ; or in the order in which they are ordinarily printed ; or by copying them on a slate or black-board, and then repeating their names after the teacher ; or by picking them out of a collection of alphabet blocks, &c. &c. So in spelling. He should be asked how he would classify his scholars in this branch, and the methods of ar- 5 34 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. ranging and conducting a class exercise ; how far he would adopt with the class the simultaneous method, and how far the practice of calling on each member in regular order ; how far he would put out the word to the whole class, and after requiring all to spell it men- tally, name a particular scholar to spell it orally ; how far he would adopt the method of writing the word, and especially the difficult words , on a slate or blackboard ; how far he would connect spelling with the reading lessons, &c. It will be more satisfactory sometimes, perhaps, to have a class of small scholars present at the examination, and let the candidate go through a recitation with them, so that the committee can have a practical specimen of his tact in teaching each branch of study ; in explaining and removing difficulties, &c. The same method of examination should be carried into reading, and every other branch. It is more important to know that the teacher has sound views as to methods, than that he is qualified as to literary attainments. Fourth, ability to govern. This is an important qualification, in- sisted upon by the law, and indispensable to the success of the schools. On this point the committee should call for the evidence of former experience, wherever the candidate has taught before, and when this cannot be had, the examination should elicit the plans of the teacher as to making children comfortable, keeping them all use- fully employed, and interested in their studies, his best system of rewards and punishments, and examples of the kinds of punishment he would resort to in particular cases, and ail other matters pertain- ing to the good order and government of a school. In this connec- tion, the age, manners, bearing, knowledge of the world, love and knowledge of children, &c., of the applicant, will deserve attention. In addition to these qualifications which the law requires, the ad- dress and personal manners and habits of the applicant should be inquired into, for these will determine in a great measure the man- ners and habits of the children whom he will be called upon to teach. The most thorough and satisfactory mode of conducting the exam- ination is by written questions and answers ; it will be desirable, if the examination is conducted orally, to keep minutes of the ques- tions and answers. SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 35 W hile every teacher should be found qualified in the particulars specified in the law, the certificate might show the peculiar qualifi- cation of the person to whom it is given, viz ; that he or she is pe- culiarly fitted for a primary school, as principal or assistant, as the case may be. The school committee must remember that on the thoroughness and fidelity with which this duty is performed, depends in a great measure the success or failure of the school system. The whole machinery moves to bring good teachers into the schools, and to keep them as long, and under as favorable circumstances as pos- sib'e. If the teacher adds to his other qualifications, a knowledge of the art of singing, it will be an additional recommendation to him with those who desire to have a good school. Singing in school serves as a recreation and amusement, especially for the smaller scholars. It exercises and strengthens their voices and lungs, and by its influ- ence on the disposition and morals, enables a teacher to govern his school with comparative ease. The committee should exercise a sound discretion in the examin- ation. If a person has been before examined by them, and the com- mittee have often visited his school, and know him to be a good teacher, the law allows them to give him a certificate founded on this experience. But re-examinations can in no case do any injury, and by gradually increasing their rigor and adding to the require- ments, much may be done towards raising the general standard of education. The committee should, for convenience of reference, keep a tabular list of the names of all persons examined by them, either on their common record book, or in a book kept for that pur- pose, with columns for the date, age, place of residence of the ap- plicant, the result of the examination, and any other remarks that may appear worthy of remembrance. School committees should endeavor to encourage, by all the means in their power, our own young men to come forward and qualify themselves as teachers. A large portion of the money ex- pended here has been paid to teachers from abroad, many of whom were persons who could not obtain schools where they were better known. While the great object should be to secure the services of 36 SCHOOL COMMITTKE. the best teachers, from Avhatever State they may come, it is cer- tainly of great importance to the State, morally, intellectually and politically, that we should hereafter not be so dependent upon citi- zens of other States for our teachers, as we have heretofore been. The large amount of mouev cariied away every year, is, in fact, one of the least of the evils of this dependence. [See the Form of Cer- tificate. Annulling Ccrfijicatcs. As a teacher's qualifications depend not merely upon his learning, (of which a committee can judge from examination,) but upon his moral character, his disposition and temper, and his capacity to impart information, and to govern a school, in regard to all which the committee may be deceived or not fully informed ; the law gives the committee the power to annul any certificate they may have given, if on trial the teacher proves unqualified. A teacher may also refuse to adopt the proper books, may introduce improper books, may refuse to adopt what the com- mittee deem the best methods of instruction, or may violate other regulations of the committee. In such cases a remedy is necessary. Unless the ofi'ence is gross, and the evidence palpable, it will generally be best to give the teacher notice of any complaint before deciding to annul his certificate. And in many cases friendly ad- vice, and a private warning conveyed in courteous language, may settle the difficulty and render any public proceeding unnesessary. [See the Form.] Even if the teacher has a certificate signed by an inspector, or by the Commissioner, the committee are authorized to dismiss him if they think proper. [§ 56. 95. Visitation of Schools. There was no duty of the school com- mittee under the old law more generally neglected than that of vis- itation. The new law makes it the express duty of committees and trus- tees to visit the schools often. Without personal visits to the schools, the committee can know nothing about the teacher's capac- ity to impart information, or about his method of instruction and government. By § 15 the committee are authorized to employ some suitable person to visit the schools in their stead, and to pay him a reasona- ble compensation, SCHOOL COMMITTEK. 37 Visiting the schools also his the effect of encouraging the teacher in the performance of his duties ; and if the teacher is visited and treated with propsr respect by the committees, trustees and parents, it materially aids to secure to him respectful treatment from the scholars, and enables him to govern his school and preserve order with ease, and without resorting to corporeal punishment. But the greatest effect is on the pupils themselves. School is now considered by many of them as a place of punishment. But if their parents and others visit them often, and take an interest in their studies and progress, it gives a new character at once to the school and the school room, and they contemplate it with pleasure instead of dread. It will also have the effect of accustoming the pupils to recite be- fore strangers, and help them to get rid of that timidity and reserve which, if not early removed, may prove a serious hindrance to their success in many pursuits in after life. While it will be advisable to assign one or more schools to each member of the committee, for the purpose of visitation and general supervision, it will be very desirable that all the schools shall be visited at least once a term by the same person or persons, so that a comparison can be instituted between the different teachers and schools, and the official reports and returns be made out more un- derstandingly. The trustees and parents of each district should be invited to accompany the committee on their visits ; and it will be well to encourage the teachers to visit each other's schools, with a few of their most advanced scholars. In visiting schools, whether by the whole board, sub-committee, or individually, the following are among the objects which deserve attention : The condition of the school-house and appurtenances ; its loca- tion ; size and condition of yard and out-buildings ; construction, size, outward appearance, and state of repair of building ; by whom built and owned, whether by town, district or proprietors ; number and size of entries, and whether furnished with scraper, mat, hooks and shelves for hats, outer garments, water-pail and cup, broom, duster, &c. ; dimensions of school-room, and its condition as to light, whether too much or too little — as to the air, pure or impiivo. 3S SCHOOL COMMITTEE. — as to temperature, whether too high or too low ; modes of ven- tilation, whether by lowering or raising upper or lower sash, by opening into attic, by flue or otherwise ; whether heated by close or open stove, fire-place or furnace ; construction and arrangement of seats and desks ; whether all the scholars, and especially the younger, are comfortably seated, with backs to lean against, and with their feet resting on the floor, and all facing the teacher ; whether there is a platform where the teacher can overlook the whole school, and aisles to allow of his passing to every scholar, to give such instruction as may be necessary, in their seats ; whether there is a place to arrange the classes for recitation, and accommo- dations for visitors, &.C. On entering the school, the committee will first ascertain all nec- essary particulars respecting the teacher, such as his certificate, gen. era] plan, &/C. These will enable them to form a proper judgment of what takes place in the course of their subsequent inspection and inquiries. The school register should be called for, and such particulars as to the number and names of the scholars, their age, parents, attend- ance and studies, should be gleaned, as will enable them to speak on the importance of regular and punctual attendance, to expose the evils of the contrary practice, and to commend before the whole school those who are among the most regular. An inspection of the register will inform the committee what children are not con- nected with the school, and a kind and timely call, a word with the parents or guardian, may save such children from ignorance, and the community from its consequences. The committee should inquire into the number of classes, and the ■studies they pursue. Such exercises should be called for as will exhibit the proficiency of the pupils, and the methods of instruction adopted by the teacher, and enable the committee to judge of the tact of the teacher in imparting information. The teacher, injus- tice to himself and his pupils, should be allowed to conduct some of the exercises himself, and in his usual manner, as the scholars, (if not used to being visited by strangers,) will be less timid when ex- amined by him, and the committee will have a better opportunity to see his mode of instruction. But the committee should also ask SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 39 questions, and in some cases take the examination into their own hands. It will be well to place in the hands of the more advanced schol- ars, written or printed questions, to be answered in writing, Avhile the examination of other classes is going forward. And the same or similar questions should be asked in every school visited, and the answers will be to some extent an unexceptionable standard of comparison between the teachers and the schools. The committee should be careful to notice the manner in which the pupils spell and read. In reading, especially, there is great carelessness in many of our schools. They should also observe the teacher's manners and mode of governing. If the school is not pro- vided with proper maps, blackboards, &lc., by proper remarks on their uses and importance, they may be the means of inducing the district to procure them. Such inquiries should be made as will show how far the rules and regulations of the school committee are observed, as to teach- ers, books, the cleanliness and preservation of the school house, the manners of the pupils, &c. Great care should be taken not to wound unnecessarily the feel- ings of teacher or pupils, and commendation should be bestowed wherever it is deserved. Selecting Books. The schools have heretofore suffered much from the great variety used. It has rendered classification impossible, and whenever a scholar has changed his district or his school, a new set of books was to be purchased. Uniformity should be established in the schools of a town at least. And by proper management, by procuring some person in the town or county to act as agent, a great saving in expense to the parents can be effected. In regard to the selection, the committee are entitled to the advice of the Commissioner, and the benefit of his experience ; and it is expected that they in turn will co-operate with him in such measures as he may recommend or adopt to secure a uniformity of books in the State. But no rule which a committee may adopt as to the books to be used, should be so framed or construed, as to prevent a teacher from using explanations or illustrations to be found in other books upon 40 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. any particular subject. In arithmetic and algebra it will be a profit- able exercise for the teacher to give the pupils occasionally for solu- tion, questions and problems from other books besides the prescribed ones. No book should be introduced into any public school by the com- mittee, containing any passage or matter reflecti'g in the least de- gree upon any religious sect, or which any religious sect would be likely to consider offensive. 97. Rules and Regulations. The school committee should pre- scribe a system of rules and regulations respecting the age, admis- sion, attendance, classification, studies, discipline and instruction of pupils, in all the schools ; the examination and duties of teachers ; the kind of books to be used, &c. Useful hints in framing such rules may be derived from the " Eegulations " of the Providen 'c schools, appended to the Report of the School Commissioner for 1845, p. 240, (and which m^y aho be found in vol. 1 of the Journal of the R. I. Institute of Instruction,) and from the specimens of such rules, which will be found among the Forms. The age for admission should be uniform in all the districts of a town, as otherwise some districts may have the advantage over oth- ers in the apportionment of the public money. 98. Apportioning Mo7iey. 'J'he committee, having ascertained what they can depend upon from the State Treasury, the town and the registry act, and having reserved an amount sufficient to defray the expense of printing their report, [see § 22] will apportion it as soon as possible, according to ^ 20. But they are not authorized to pay out or give an order to any district which has not complied with § 21, for the year preceding. The law makes a district's complying with the provisions of ^ 21 for one year, a pre-requisite to its receiv- ing any money the next year. As to apportioning money to a joint district, see § 52, and to a secondary school, supported by two districts, see ^ 50. It will in all cases be desirable, and the safest course for the committee, to let the school money remain in the town treasury, (at interest, if possible) until the schools are kept, and not to give orders for it any faster than they are satisfied it is actually expend- ed. It may then be paid to the teacher or his order, on his produc- SCHOOL COMMITTEiE. 41" ing or sending a bill certified or allowed by the trustees, or other- wise, at the discretion of the committee. The committee will find it greatly to their convenience to keep a separate book for their accounts. In this book a separate account might be opened with each school or school district, in which the district should be from time to time credited with the money appor- tioned to them, and then charged with the orders which have been given to them. Another separate account may be so kept, by listing all the sums of money appropriated to schools on one side, and all orders given on the other, as to show at any time the balance under the commit- tee's control. 99. Reports. By ^ 43, trustees are to report to the school com- mittee, at such time and in such form as the committee or Commis- sioner may prescribe. These returns must be made in season to enable the committee to digest them, and prepare a report to the Commissioner by July 1st; [S> 22,] for which reports the Commis- sioner will furnish forms. The committee are, also, at the annual town meeting, to make a written or printed report to the town, of all their doings, the condition of the schools, plans for their improve- ment, &c. By ^ 22 the committee are authorized to reserve enough (not ex- ceeding $20) out of the school money to print their reports. And it is believed that no part of the school expenditure would do more good and tend more to keep up an interest in the schools, than this. 100. The committee must aid in organizing districts, by giving the notice for the first meeting. And when there are no trustees, or when the trustees neglect to call meetings, the committee must call them. In such cases they may direct the mode of notice. [See § 25, 27, 30. 101. Any district when met, may, by ^ 38, vote to devolve upon the committee, with their consent, the whole management of their schools ; and in that case the committee can exercise in that district all the powers which the district itself might exercise, may keep the school, have the custody of the school house, fix the rate of tuition, &c. 102. By ^ 38, if any district neglect to organize, or if organized, 42 SCHOOL COMMITTEE. shall, for the space of six months neglect or refuse to establish a school, the committee may, either by themselves or their agent, em- ploy and pay a teacher for the district. 103. Gradation of Schools. The school committee can promote a gradation of schools, or a separation of the younger and the older scholars, and the primary and advanced studies into distinct schools or departments. Whenever the schools of a town are managed independent of districts, a sufficient number of schools of different grades can be established by the committee, at convenient locations, varying in the studies pursued according to the circumstances of the population. And in towns which are divided into districts, there are many villages and thickly settled districts, where a gradation of schools can be introduced. By separating the small children from the older scholars, the instruction of both can be carried on to greater advan- tage, and with a great economy of time and expense. By putting the small children under the care of a female teacher, they can have more of the teacher's time devoted to them, and will learn with a rapidity surprising to those who have not seen the effects of it. This enables the teacher of the large scholars to devote his whole attention to their improvement. They may recommend the union of two or more adjacent dis- tricts, for the purpose of establishing a secondary or grammar sohool for the older and more advanced pupils of each district. This can be done to advantage in almost every town. [See ^ 50. In order to encourage the union of districts for the purpose of keeping a better school, ^ 5\ provides that they may unite and still receive the same amount of money they would receive if not united. 104. Records. At the beginning of the year the committee should have a warrant or certificate of their election from the town clerk, (see Form,) which it would be well to have made upon the record book itself, as loose papers are often lost. Then let the cer- tificate of engagement follow in order. The clerk should record any motion negatived, as well as those adopted, as parties may be interested, and have a right to appeal, in many cases, from a negative vote as well as from an affirmative one. When it can be conveniently done, the minutes of the proceed- TRUSTEES. ^ ings, as drawn out by the clerk, should be read in open meeting, or at the next meeting, for correction, if necessary. Misunderstand- ings may thus be prevented. The clerk should always record the names of the members of the committee present at any meeting. He should also keep the copies of all abstracts, and all reports made to the Commissioner, so that the committee may have them for future reference and comparison. TKUSTEES. 105. One or three trustees are to be appointed by a district at its annual meeting. If by any accident an election is not made then, or if a vacancy occurs, the district may elect afterwards. [§ 37. By § 63, trustees hold their offices until their successors are ap- pointed. 106. If there are three trustees, a majority can act. " Where a body or board of officers is constituted by law to perform a trust for the public, or to execute a power or perform a duty prescribed by aw, it is not necessary that all should concur in the act done. The g^ct of the majority is the act of the body. And where all have due notice of the time and place of meeting, in the manner prescribed by law, if so prescribed, — or by the rules and regulations of the body itself, if there be any — otherwise if reasonable notice is given, and no practice or unfair means are used to prevent all from attend- ing and participating in the proceeding, it is no objection that all the members do not attend, if there be a quorum." [21 Pick. Rep. 28. 107. The trustees must employ the teacher. It is suggested that a trustee should not employ a near relative to keep the school with- out consulting the district. Jealousies and disputes will thus be avoided. In employing a teacher or assistant teacher, trustees should be cautious to employ no one who has not a legal certificate, and not to employ one after notice that his certificate is annulled, as in such a case the trustees might be held personally liable for the teacher's wages. (See the form.) The trustees should see that the teacher keeps a proper register of attendance, in order that his district may receive its dne portion of school money next year ; and when the school is over, this register should be deposited with the trustees. 44 TRUSTEES. or in the office of the clerk of the district. They should require the teacher to furnish them Avith such items of information as are nec- essary to make out their annual report to the town committee, which report should be made about the first of May, or sooner if the school is out, or at such time as the committee shall fix. Forms for these reports will be furnished to the districts, and can be obtained from the committee or from the town clerk's office. If trustees appropriate any of the public money to pay a teacher not legally examined, they are liable to a penalty under § 64, The school must be kept four months in order to obtain the money for the next year. And the trustees without waiting for a vote of the district, may, if the public money is insufficient, assess a rate sufficient to keep the school four months, (see § 59) taking care, however, to have the rate approved by the School Committee, and exempting those they consider unable to pay. If any scholars can more conveniently attend school in an adjoin- ing district, trustees are authorized by § 53, to make a bargain for that purpose. They should also take care that the school is kept in a house which will not be disapproved of by the committee of the town. [§ 21. 108. Trustees should regard the visiting of the schools as one of the most important of their duties, and which should by no means be neglected. For some account of the subjects they should inquire into, whenever they visit a school, see § 95. 109. When a district is organized and has trustees, they are to notify the annual and special district meetings, and if there be no district school house, or place appointed by the district, they are to fix the place of meeting. If the trustees on application neglect to call a meeting, the School Committee may call it. [See § 27. Trustees for refusal to discharge any duty, call a meeting, assess a tax, &LC. &c., are liable to a penalty by § 64 of the law^. And the Supreme Court would probably, upon application, compel any school officer, by writ of mandamus, to discharge any duty plainly imposed on him by the law. 110. Trustees should encourage meetings of teachers in their neighborhood, for mutual improvement. And if any teacher neg- lects or refuses to attend a teacher's institute, when organized under DISTRICTS. 45 proper auspices, and when he conveniently can, it should be regard- ed as a sign of unfitness for the place. No one is so well qualified, as not to be able to learn from his fellows many useful hints as to methods of teaching, books, &c., and no one should be unwilling or *oo proud to learn. 111. Trustees should see that an inventory of all the maps, books and other property belonging to the district, is made from time to time, and preserved among the papers of the district. Several years since, a copy of Dr. Jackson's Geology of Rhode- Island was distributed by the Legislature to every school district. And two years since, each district received from the State a copy of the three volumes of the Journal of the R. I. Institute of Instruc- tion, published by our late Commissioner, Henry Barnard, Esq- These contain all the school documents, reports, history of school legislation, plans of school houses and a great variety of valuable nformation. If there is a library in the district, that will be the best place of deposit for these books. Every district should possess a dictionary, to be kept as an ap- pendage to the school house. Maps of the State, the United States* and of the town, (if there is one) should be procured. The trustees should keep a regular account of all moneys they may receive from assessments or other sources. 112. Trustees should recollect that in order to obtain from the School Committee any order for money, they must have made a proper return from their district, for the year ending on the first of May previous, and must also furnish to the committee a certificate that the " teacher's money," (i. e. the money which the district re- ceived from the town treasurer as their part of the State appropria- tion) for the year ending the 1st of May previous, had been applied to the wages of teachers, and for no other purpose whatever. The return of the district should include the whole time during which any portion of the public money has been used to support the school. For further particulars, see the law. See also the forms. DISTRICTS. 113. In order to be eligible to any district office, a person must 46 DISTRICTS. possess the qualifications of a voter ; and any voter may be elected to any district office. It is sufficient if the person elected have the qualifications of a voter at the time of his election. He will not afterwards lose the office by losing his qualification to vote. To enable a person to vote in district meeting, he must reside in the district and possess the qualifications requisite to entitle him to have his nam.e put upon the voting list of the town ; but his name need not actually be upon the list. 114. Meetings. As to notifying meetings, see ^ 29 and 30. When met the district must organize by choosing a moderator and clerk. The moderator need not be engaged. The clerk may be engaged in open meeting by the moderator, and the clerk may then engage all other district officers, and his record will be evidence of his own and their engagements. Every district meeting may choose a moderator who will preside at the meeting and any ad- journments of it. But the clerk is an annual officer. When met they may vote to devolve the care of the district school on the school committee, [see ^ 38 and form,] or may appoint one or three trus- tees to manage it. If they fail to appoint officers at their annual meeting, they may appoint them afterwards, and may fill vacancies at any time. If the moderator refuses to put questions to vote, or he or any other district officer violates the law, they are liable to pay a fine. [See ^ 64. The annual district meeting is to be in April or May, but special meetings may be called by the trustees at any time. By § 71, inhabitants of districts may be witnesses in all cases, and so may prove (if disputed) the legality of the notice and meet- ing, and the clerk's record that the meeting has been duly notified, will be prima-facie evidence of the fact. fSee ^ 72. 115. Vacancies may happen from any of the causes specified in § 37. A resignation need not be in writing. The person resigning should give information of it to the person or corporation authorized to fill the vacancy. 116. At all district meetings a reasonable time should be allowed for the people to assemble. And if in the course of proceeding, DISTRICTS. - 47 any legal vote is rejected, or any illegal vote is received by the mod- erator, by which the result is affected, an appeal may be taken to the Commissioner for redress. 117. Districts may fix a rate of tuition to be paid by the parents towards the support of the school, (provided said rate be approved by the school committee.) But no scholar can be excluded from the school on account of the inability of his parents to pay the rate. Or the district may authorize the trustees to fix the rate or as- sessment. And either district or trustees must exempt such as they consider unable to pay the assessment. And to guard against any abuse of this power, if a person is assessed for a rate who is una- ble to pay, he may apply to any Justice of the Peace and be dis- charged on taking the poor debtor's oath, without waiting to be com- mitted to jail. A liberal discretion should be used in exempting poor parents from the rate. Few will claim an exemption in such a case unless there is a real inability. 1 18. Quorum of District Meetings. It has been repeatedly de- cided in the courts of England and this country, that at common law where there is no statute provision, when a meeting of a cor- poration, consisting of an indefinite number of persons, (as towns, districts, &c.,) is properly notified, no particular number is requisite to form a quorum, but a majority of those present may act. To require a majority of the voters of a district, would in many cases prevent the doing of any business at all. And to fix any par- ticular number would be difficult, because there are some districts where this number would be more than the whole number of voters. The law has therefore required the notice of the meeting to be giv- en with great particularity, and then presumes that every voter who does not attend, assents to what is done by those present. At the same time, it will not be advisable to proceed in any mat- ter of importance, such as laying a tax, &c., unless a respectable number of voters attend. 119. Reconsideration. A district may reconsider and rescind any vote at any time before any contract has been made under it. But after a contract has been made, or an individual has incurred any expense or liabilities in consequence of a vote of the district, they cannot with justice rescind it. And if rescinded, they will be held 4S DISTRICTS. liable to make good all damages and losses incurred. [See ^ 467 120. Taxation. The districts have power to purcliase, hire and repair school houses, provide blackboards, maps, furniture, a clock or timepiece, a school library, bell, record and account books, mats, scrapers, water pails, and other necessary and useful appendages. The law gives them a general power to tax for school purposes. They may tax to pay rent of a hired house. They may also tax to repair a hired house, provided they have a valid lease of it for a definite period. And to guard against any abuse of this power, the tax must be approved by the school committee, and the plans for building and repairs must also be approved by the committee or Commissioner. And in all cases of laying taxes, it would be better to specify the precise amount, or the precise rate of the tax.' Fuel and tuition, (over and above what is received from the town and State money) may be raised either by a tax an the property of the district or by an assessment on the parents of the scholars. [See ^ 59.] But an assessment for this purpose must be author- ized by the district, except that the trustees are authorized to raise a rate sufficient to keep a four months' school. And the votes must in all cases be approved by the school committee. [See the forms and notes and especially the notes to* the form of a vote for laying a tax.] 121. Use of school house for other purposes. A school house built or bought by taxation, on the property of the district, should not be used for any other purpose than keeping a school, or for purposes directly connected with education, except by the general consent of the tax paying voters. The law gives the district the power of raising money by tax for no other purposes. To construe it other- wise, would be indirectly to give to the majority of a district the power to erect a meeting house for themselves, and to tax those of a. different persuasion, who constituted the minority, to help build it. But where a school house is given to the district or built by sub- scription, its use will of course depend upon the terms of the dona- tion or subscription. A district cannot vote to dissolve itself. Such a vote will be whol- ly null and void. UNION OF DISTRICTS DISTRICT CLERK. 49 TTNION OF DISTRICTS. 122. There are three provisions made in the law for uniting dis- tricts. B/ § 51, any two districts may form a partial union for the purpos:? of suppo'ting a higher, secondary or grammar school. This would not probably be found so convenient in practice as an entire union under the succeeding sections. By ^ 52, any contiguous districts in adjoining towns may be united by the school committees, and by ^ 51, first enacted June, A. D. 1S4.9, adjoining districts in the same town may consolidate themselves. When united they constitute a single district, and their affairs must be managed in the same way as if originally one dis- trict. They may prescribe the mode of notifying their meetings, lay taxes. &c. But they will be entitled to the same proportion of public money they would receive if not united. DISTRICT CLERK. 123. The district clerk should be engaged by the moderator in open nieeting and make a record of it. If not engaged in open meeting, he should be engaged before some officer mentioned in ^ 62 and liave a certificate of it, which it would be better to have made in the district record book. When engaged, he may engage all other district officers, and should enter all such cases in his record book. He should make himself thoroughly acquainted with all the pro- visions of the liw relating to district meetings, notices, &c., as upon his proceedings and proper management their legality will in many cases depend. When a trustee, treasurer, Sec, is elected.the clerk should make out and sign and seal a warrant or certificate of his election, upon which he may be engaged. [See Forms. The clerk should, at the request of any person interested, record a motion which is negatived, as well as a motion passed, as in many cases a parson may be entitled to an appeal. And he should record the number and names of the voters on request. [^ 32. In the record of every meeting, it would be well for the clerk to state how the meeting was notified, and when and by whom the notices were posted up. In many cases at some distance of time, it might be important to know how the meeting was notified, and 50 DISTRICT TREASURER DISTRICT COLLECTOR. the evidence of it should not be left to depend upon mere recollec- tion. By ^ 72, the record of the clerk is made prima facie evidence that the meeting was legally notified, and inhabitants of the district can be admitted to prove the notice. But it would be easy and best to preserve one of the original notices themselves, especially when a tax is to be voted. It would be well also for the clerk, at the close of every meeting, to read aloud the minutes he has made of the proceedings, so that any mistake may be corrected at the time. 'J'he clerk is to procure a bound record book at the expense of the district. For any wilful neglect or refusal to perform any duty, he is liable to indictment, and the Supreme Court would probably upon application, compel him by writ of mandamus, to perform any duty. [See Clerk in the Index. DISTRICT TREASURER. 124 It would be well for the treasurer to have a certificate of his election or warrant [see Form] and be engaged. He need not give bond unless required, [^ 37.] But if the district requires him to give bond, the district should fix the sum and approve of the surety or sureties. [9 37, and Digest, page 304, ^21. His duties are very simple j to keep the district's money, if they have any, pay it out to order, and keep proper accounts of it, and exhibit them to the trustees or district when required. DISTRICT COLLECTOR. 125. [See the, Forms for collecting taxes and notes.'] If the dis- trict requires the collector to give bond, the district should fix the sum. And it would be well also to have the district approve of the surety or sureties. [See Digest, page 304, ^ 19. TEACH BRS. 126. Every teacher is required to keep a register of all the schol- ars attending, their names, ages, names of parents or guardians, the time when they enter and leave school, and their daily attendance, and the dates when the school is visi'ed by the Commissioner, coun- ty inspector, committee or trustees. Forms for these registers will be prepared by the Commissioner. He must also furnish the trus- tees or district with such information as may be necessary to make the returns required by the school committee. TKACHERS. 51 The teacher should inform the committee of the time of commenc- ing and closing his school, in order that they may know when to visit it. 127. It is important that the register be correctly kept, and the average rightly calculated, as upon that depends the amount of mon- ■ey the district will receive next year. To ascertain the average, place the number of those who have attended each half day in a column under each other successively, add together, and divide the sum by the number of half days the school has been kept. The result will be the average to be report- ed. In case the school is kept longer than the four months requir- ed by law, the committee must use their discre'ion in fixing a rule for calculating the average. It should be uniform in each town. Where a summer term and a winter term are kept, and a different set of scholars attend each term, the following will probably answer. Calculate the average for the first term of four months, as before stated. Then for the other term take the names of all those who did not attend the other term, calculate the average of their attend- ance and add it to the first. A uniform rule should be adopted as to scholars belonging to one district who attend school in another. When a district allows any of the children belonging to it to at- tend school in another district and pays for them, it seems reasona- tle that the district which pays for them should be entitled to reckon them in making out its own average atten dance. 128. The teacher should conform to all regulations of the schooj committee, in regard to hours, discipline, books, Sz,c., as for any violation of them his certificate may be annulled, or he may be dis- missed. [§ 56.] He may, (if the school committee by regulation authorize it,) suspend a scholar temporarily, until a hearing can be had before the committee, in which case, he should immediately notify the committee. The teacher should assist the trustees by all the means in his power, in making proper reports, as upon the accuracy and fullness of these reports may depend the success or failure of many provisions of the law, as well as the wisdom of future alterations of it. A teacher should exercise great caution about commencing the 92 T£ACH£RS. business of teaching in his own district, and more especially when the trustee is his own father, or near relative. It is almost impos- sible in such cases to avoid difficulty. The law requires that the teacher should be qualified to teach certain branches. But he may teach other branches, and should endeavor to qualify himself for teaching the higher branches. If the teacher has a proper sense of the importance of his position, and conducts himself accordingly, he will secure to himself the affec- tion and respect of the people of his district, by exerting his utmost powers to promote the moral and intellectual advancement, not only of his scholars, but of the community around him. The moral in- fluence he may exert by his example and instructions, can hardly be estimated. And he may, by encouraging lectures and literary meet- ings, aid in diffusing much useful information. 129. In regard to the use of the Bible in schools, two observa- tions occur here. If the committee prescribe, or the teacher M'ishes to have the Bible read in school, it should not be forced upon any children whose parents have any objections whatever to its use. In most cases the teacher will have no difficulty with the parents on this subject, if he conducts with proper kindness and courtesy. In the next place, no scholars should be set to read in the Bible at school, until they have learned to read with tolerable fluency. To use it as a text book for the younger scholars, often has the effect of leading them to look upon it with the same sort of careless disre- gard, and sometimes dislike, with which they regard their other school books, instead of that respect and veneration with which this Book of books should always be treated and spoken of. IbO. There is another object, in the attainment of which, teach, ers may materially aid. In almost every school, there will be pu. pils studying surveying. By encouraging these to survey the limits of the district, he may not only give his scholars most valuable les- sons in the practice of the art, but by overseeing and ascertaining Hs correctness, may aid in procuring a good map of the town and 'he State. These maps might be drawn on a scale of rods to an inch, and represent the rivers, roads, principal buildings and farms, and any remarkable monuments and natural features of the district. Copies could be sent to the school committee, who might TEACHERS. 53 put them together, and thus obtain a correct map of their township. 13 1. Power to punish. The teacher should endeavor to exercise an inspection over tlie conduct of his scholars at all times. But the power to punish for ofFrnces committed out of school is doubtful. In a case where a boy had committed a theft out of school, the teacher called him to account for it, and punished him for refusing to answer. The Court ruled that the teacher had no right to pun- ish him for refusing to confess a crime for which he might be pun- ished at law. It has always been difficult to define the extent of the power of the teacher over his pupils out of school. The same difficulty has been met with in other titates and countries. The following upon this subject is from an excellent French trea- tise upon Education, by J. Willm, Inspector of the Academy at Strasbourg, p. 176: "The last question which presents itself is, how far teacheis should pay attention to the conduct of the pupils out of school, and especially at the time when they resort to it or re'^urn home. The road leading to school is truly a part of it, if we may so speak, as well as the play ground. Consequently any dis- orders ccmmitted by the pupils en it, ought to be suppressed by the teacher. He ought especially to watch over them at their play, for the sake of discipline, as well as for that of education in general. Their games are, as has been said, of serious importance to him. The conduct of the pupils, when under the paternal roof, and every- where but in the school or the road leading to it, escapes all the means of discipline ; but the teacher ought not to be indifferent to that conduct, especially in the country ; he should carefully enquire concerning it, for the sake of moral education. For the same rea- son, he will have to watch over his own conduct out of school, and avoid Avhatever might tend to diminish the respect his pupils owe to him, and which is the chief condition of the success of his mis- ion." The following remarks upon the same subject are from the Tenth Report of Hon. Horace Mann, late Secretary of the Board of Educa- tion in Massachusetts : " The question is not without some practical difficult)'-, how far the school committee and teachers may exercise authority over school -34 TEACHERS, children, before the hour when the school begins, or after the hour when it closes, or outside of the school house door or yard. On the one hand, there is certainly some limit to the jurisdiction of the committee and teachers, out of school hours and out of the school house ; and on the other hand, it is equally plain if their jurisdiction does not commence until the minute for opening the school has arrived, nor until the pupil has passed within the door of the school room, that all the authority left to them in regard to some of the most sacred objects for which our schools were institut- ed, would be but of little avail. To what purpose would the teacher prohibit profane or obscene language among his scholars, within the school room and during school hours, if they could indulge it with ■'mpunity, and to any extent of wantonness, as soon as the hour for dismissing the school should arrive ? To what purpose would he forbid quaireling and fighting among the scholars, at recess, if they could engage in single combat, or marshal themselves into hostile parties for a general encovmler, within the precincts of the school house; within the next five minutes after the school house should be closed ? And to what purpose would he repress insolence to him- self, if a scholar as soon as he had passed the threshold, might shake his fist in his teacher's face, and challenge him to personal combat? These considerations would seem to show that there must be a portion of time, both before the school commences and after it has closed, and also a portion of space between the door of the school house and that of the paternal mansion, where the jurisdiction o the parent on one side, and of the committee and teachers on the other, is concurrent. Many of the school committees in this Commonwealth have acted in accordance with these views, and have framed regulations for the government of the scholars, both before and after school hours, and while going to and returning from the school. The same principle of necessity by virtue of which this jurisdiction, out of school hours, and beyond school premises, is claimed, defines its extent and affixes its limit. It is claimed because the great objects of discipline and of moral culture would be frustrated without it. When not essen- tial, therefore, to the attainment of these objects, it should be fore^ borne." APPEALS. 55 132. That the teacher may know that the law has amply provid- ed for the protection of his school against all who may be disposed to disturb it, we publish here the provision of the law. " Every person who shall be convicted of wilfully interrupting or disturbing any town or ward meeting, any assembly of people met for religious worship, or any public or private school, or any meeting lawfully and peaceably held for purposes of literary or scientific improve- ment, either within or without the place where such meeting or school is held, shall be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or fined not exceeding five hundred dollars." [Digest, p. 395, § 93. A complaint under this act may be made to the Attorney General, or any justice of the peace. APPEALS. 133. The law has AVisely provided a cheap and efficient mode of settling all disputes arising under the school law. It was intended to save the expense of litigation to districts and individuals, and it is believed that it has already had the effect of saving a great ex- penditure of money in this way as well as effecting a more speedy settlement of difficulties, which, if continued, would interrupt the harmony of the districts and injure the schools. An appeal may be taken to the Commissioner, [see the Forms] and he will hear the parties without cost, and his decision is to be final. When ques- tions of law arise, provision is made for laying them before one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, but the Judges will not examine or hear the parties upon the facts of the case. Any party neglecting to appeal from a vote to tax, or assessment of a tax, cannot question it afterwards, [^ 66] provided the meeting was legally notified, and the tax approved, &c. It has been settled that an appeal brings the whole question up, and that the Commissioner in many cases is not confined to con- firming or reversing the proceedings appealed from, but may make a new decision. All appeals, however, should be taken within a reasonable time, and before any contract is made, or liability i'-.curred, under the vote or act appealed from. If the appeal is not made within such a reasonable time, that circumstance alone will be a sufficient reason 56 DEAF, DUMB, BUND, IDIOTS, INSANE, LIBRARIES. for dismissing it. And no appeal will be entertained unless made by the party aggrieved. DEAF, DUMB, BLIND, IDIOTS AND INSANE. 134. By ^ 73, the sum heretofore appropriated for the deaf and dumb, blind and idiots, is increased to two thousand five hundred dollars annually, and the Commissioner of Public Schools is ap- pointed to distribute it. By a separate act of the Legislature the Governor is authorized to aid in maintaining poor insane persons at the Butler Asylum, at Providence. And by another act the sum of fifteen dollars per quarter is appropriated out of the Stats Treasury to aid the towns in supporting their insane poor at the Asylum. As there are a number of these in every town in the State, the school committees, and friends of education and humanity, should look them "p and see that they receive tlieir proper share of the ap- propriations. LIBRARIES. 13-5. By § •'i, towns, and by ^ 34, districts are authorized to main- tain school libraries. The act of January, 1840, provided for district libraries, but for several years very little was done under it. By ^ 75, 76, 77, 7S and 79, provision is made by which library associations may form themselves into a corporotion without apply- ino- to the Assembly for a charter. These provisions were first en- acted in the School Law of January, A. D., 1839. Persons wishing to form these associations will find much valua- ble information as to the selection of books, lists of suitable books, &c., prepared by Mr. Barnard, in vol. 2 of the Journal of the R. L Institute of Instruction. Vol 3 contains the catalogue of the Wes- terly Library, the best school library in the State. This catalogue wis prepared by the Rev. Thomas H. Vail, of Westerly, and is a model of what a catalogue should be. Specimens of suitable regulations for libraries, will be found in the Journal, vol. 2, p. 204. The regulations of the Westerly libra- ry are in the Journal, vol. 3, p. 433. In the greater part of the towns, library associations have been formed and in some towns, several. These school libraries alone, LlEllARlEt-. 57 now contania a great number of volumes, accessible to all. In all towns or neighborhoods where there are none, exertions should be made at once to obtain them. The Commissioner will always be ready to aid in every way in his power. A list of the school libraries already formed, may be seen in the Journal, vol. 3, p. 428. For many of these the public are indebted to the exertions of the late Commissioner, Mr. Barnard, aided by several public spirited gentlemen in Providence. 136. The following is the proper form for the Constitution of an Association formed under the above laws : FORM OF mCORPOEATION. We, the subscribers, agree to associate and incorporate ourselves for the purpose of maintaining a public library by the name of the under the provisions contained for that purpose in " An act to revise and amend the laws regulating public schools," passed at the June session of the General Assembly, A. D., 1851, and to be governed by the following constitution : Article 1. This association shall be called the ;-. The Library shall be established and maintained at such place or places within the town of as the directors may from time to time appoint. 2. The officers of the association shall be a President, Vice- President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian, who shall constitute a board of directors for the management of the business of the as- sociation, ac-jording to such rules as the association may from time to time adopt. 3. The annual meeting shall be held at , on , and any officer shall be elected by ballot if demanded by any mem- bers. [The treasurer and librarian shall give bonds to the corpora- tion in the sum of each, with security to the satisfaction of the President for the faithful discharge of their duties.] 4. Any member for disorderly or immoral conduct may be ex- pelled, and any officer for misconduct may be removed at any regu- larly notified meeting of the society. 5. The directors may make all such regulations as they may deem proper for the government of the library, and prescribe fines for non-compliance, and may in any case of misuse of books, pro- 8 5S LIBRARIES. hibit any person from using the library, until satisfaction is made. 6. The library shall be held by the association, not in shares for the benefit of shareholders, but in trust for the public benefit ; to be open to all who shall comply with such reasonable rules as shal from time to time be made 'by the association or directors ; and for the purpose of continuing the existence of the corporation, the asso- ciation will from time to time elect as members such persons as they shall think most likely to co-operate zealously in promoting ts objects. No member shall be admitted unless proposed at a previous meeting. [_Note to Art. 6. This section will answer for all cases where the library is established by donations, and is intended to be for the benefit of the whole public. And this is undoubtedly the best plan for getting up such libraries. In this case, the corporation might be named " The Trustees of the Library." But if the library is intended to be owned in shares, and for the benefit of the shareholders, this article should be altered accordingly. They will then have the power to assess the shares and to sell them for non-payment of assessments. In this case the shareholders will be the members and compose the corporation. The law provides how the shares may be transferred.] 7. This constitution may be amended at any annual meeting, provided notice of the intended amendment has been given at some previous meeting. The Secretary shall cause this constitution and all alterations thereof to be recorded in the records of land evidence of the town of , as the law requires. The above are all the provisions necessary to be inserted in the constitution. All other provisions had better be made in the shape of Rules or Regulations, which might be altered from time to time with less trouble. Whenever it is intended to establish a permanent library, it will always be most prudent to be incorporated as above. If a library is owned by several persons unincorporated, it will be liable to divi- sion, and each one's interest liable to attachment. In a corpora- tion, the share only could be attached, and where the corporation hold the library merely as trustees, (as provided in Art. 6, above,) LIBRAKIES. 59 no individual would have any attachable interest whatever. In the Journal of R. I. Institute of Instruction, vol. 3, page 433, will be found the constitution of the Pawcatuck Library Association, a form differing from the above. The Pawcatuck Library is owned by shareholders. FORMS. These forms have been drawn out in order to assist those who may be disposed to undertake any office or duty under the school laws, to save them expense and trouble, and to bring about a uni- formity of practice, as far as can be done. These forms are not prescribed by law, but are believed to conform substantially to the law, and to be safe precedents. 137. Warrant or Certificate of election of School Officers. To of Greeting. This certifies that you the said were at a [town or district] meeting, held on the day of A. D. 18 chosen to the office of of [the town or district No. ] and are by virtue of said appointment fully authorized and empowered to discharge all the duties of said office, and to exercise all the powers thereto belonging, according to law. . /-»--^— ^ . Witness my hand, and the seal of said [town or dis- ) ^' ^- I trict] hereto affixed by me, this ' '■^'^'' day of A. D. 18 138. Engagement of School Officers. Town of A. D. 18 Before the subscriber personally appeared and took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution and laws of this State, and faithfully to discharge the duties of the office of School Committee [or Clerk, Trustee, Treas- urer of school district No, as the case may be] so long as he lontinues therein. A. B. Justice of the Peace or Notary, as the case may be. Note. See 5 62 of the law. 62 FORMS 139. 140. Ml. 139. Certificate to a Teacher from a Committee. The School Committee of the town of hereby certify that A. B. of is qualified to teach in the public schools in said town, according to the provisions of the acts relating to public schools. This certificate is to be valid with- in said town for one year from the date thereof, unless previously annulled by the School Committee or some superior authority. Date. In behalf of the School Committee of said town. Chairman, or Clerk. 140. Certificate from an Inspector. I, A. B., County Inspector for the county of under the provisions of the act relating to public schools, hereby certify that C. D. of is qualified to teach in the public schools of said county, according to the provisions of said act. This certificate to be valid in and throughout the county, for the space of two years from the date thereof, and if signed by the Commis- sioner of Public Schools, to be valid throughout the State for three years, unless sooner annulled according to law. Date. A. B., County Inspector. 141. Form for annulling a Certificate. To the Trustees of School Districts in the town of and all others it may concern. Whereas the School Committee of this town did on the day of A. D. 18 issue to of a certificate of qualificatioji as a teacher in the public schools : Now know ye, that upon further examination, investiga- tion and trial, the said has been found deficient and unqualified, {or the said has refused to conform to the regulations made by the Committee, as the case may be,) and Ave do therefore, by the authority given us by laAV, declare the said certificate to be annulled and void from this date, of which all per- FORMS 142. 63 sons whose duty it is to employ teachers of public schools, are here- by requested to take notice. By order and in behalf of the School Committee of the town of Date. Chairman, or Clerk. Note. — If a complaint is made against a teacher, it will in most cases be proper for him to be notified before a decision on his case. And notice of the annulling should be immediately given to the trustees of the district, and generally, in order to prevent his being again employed. 142. Memorandum of a Contract with a Teacher. This agreement, made this day of A. D. 18 between A. B., &c. [trustee, school committee or agent ap- pointed by the school committee, as the case may Jc,] of on the one part, and X. Y. of on the other jDart, wit- nesses, that the said X. Y. hereby agrees to teach, for the compen- sation herein mentioned, a district school in and for said district, [at specify the building, if desired] for the term of months [_or weeks] commencing and ending and the said X. Y. further engages to exert the utmost of his ability in conducting said school, and improving the education and morals of the scholars ; to keep such registers and make such returns to the trustees and to the school committee, as may be required of him, and in all respects to conform to all such regulations for the government of said school, as may be made by the school committee of said town, and to the provisions of the laws regulating public schools. And in case the certificate of qual- ification of said X. Y. should be annulled, or if he shall not keep the register and make return, as aforesaid, or shovdd violate such regulations as aforesaid, this agreement from thenceforth shall be of no efifect. And the said [committee, trustee or agent,] agree to pay the said X. Y. therefor at the rate of per month, [or per week] to be paid at the end of each month [_or the term] out of the school money by law apportioned to said district, and the legal assessments which may be made, and in no event out of the private property of the contractor. And it is further agreed, that the possession of the school house and its appurtenances shall 64 FORMS 143. 144. at all times be considered as being in the trustees [or school com- mittee or agent.] Witness our hands and seals hereto, the day first { x,. s. > above mentioned. ^-— v— ^ Sealed and executed in presence of I t. s. > 143 Notice of the first meeting of a District. Notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. in the town of at the school house in said district, [if no school house, then the school committee must appoint a place] at o'clock in the noon on the day of A, D. 185 , for the purpose of organizing said district, of electing officers for said district for the ensuing year, or for the purpose of considering the expediency of building [or repairing] the school house in said district, and laying a tax on the rateable property of the district therefor, [as the case may be] and of transacting any other business which may lawfully come before said meeting. By order and in behalf of the school committee of said town. Date. Chairman, or clerk Note. — See the provisions of the law as to notice. As to where the notice shall be posted up, see the law. All notices must be put up five days. And care should be taken to preserve evidence that the meeting was properly notified. 144 Notice of Annual District Meeting. Notice is hereby given to the legal voters of School District No. of the town of that the annual meeting of said district, for the choice of oflicers and the transaction of any other business which may lawfully come before said meeting, will be held on the day of A. D. 18 at o'clock in the noon, at ( Trustee Date. < or ( Trustees. Note, — A special meeting may be called by like form, except that the object of all special meetings must be stated. All notices must be posted up five days. As to where posted, see law. FOKMs 145, 146. 66 145. Application to Trustees for a Special Meeting. To A. B. &c., Trustee or Trustees of School District No. The subscribers respectfully request that you would call a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. as soon as the legal notice therefor can conveniently be given, for the purpose of fixing the rate of tuition to be paid by the parents, guardians cr em- ployers of children attending school — of taking measures to es:ab- lish a school library — of considering the propriety of building, re- pairing or removing a district school house — or of raising money by a tax on the rateable estates of the district for the purpose of &c., [as the case may be.] Date. To be signed by at least five persons quali- fied to vote. 146, Commencement of District Records. For first vieeti^ig. At a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. of the town of called by the school committee of said town, and notified according to law, [here in some cases it may be advisable to state particularly how the notice was given] — and held according to notice at the district school house, on the day of A. D. IS at o'clock in the noon. For Annual Meeting. At the annual meeting of the legal voters of School District No. of the town of notified by the trustees of said district according to law — [in some cases specify as above] and held according to notice at the district school house, [or as may be] on the day of A. D. 18 at o'clock in the noon. For Special Meeting. At a meeting of the legal voters of school District No. of the town of held (in pursuance of an application to the trustees) at on and which meeting was duly notified by the trustees as the law re- quires. For Adjourned Meeting. At a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. of the town of held accord- ing to adjournment at on 9 66 FORMS 147. 148. 147. Form for choosing Officers, 6fC. The following named persons were chosen to the offices set against their respective names, viz : A. B,, Moderator, C. D., Clerk, &c. Or instead of above, say — Voted, that A. B., be appointed Moderator of this meeting. Voted, that 0. D., be appointed Clerk, [or trust^e, treasurer, &c.J of this district, [in place of O. P. resigned, &c., if such be the case] to hold his office until the next annual meeting, and until his suc- cessor is appointed. The clerk then, in presence of the meeting took the oath in the form prescribed in § 62, of the Act regulating public schools, ad- ministered by E. F., Esq., Justice of the Peace, [or Public Notary, Moderator, Senator, Judge or Town Clerk.] It was moved by A. B., and seconded by C. D., that and after discussion, the question was put and the motion was re- jected, or adopted. Voted, that the Trustee [or trustees] of the district be authorized to fix such a rate of tuition or assessment, for the purposing of sup- porting the public school in this district, the ensuing year, as they may deem necessary, subject to the conditions of § 59 of the School Law. 148. Vote of a District prescribing mode of notifying Meetings. Whereas each school district has by law the power to prescribe the manner of notifying all future district meetings, voted, that here- after all such meetings shall be notified by posting up the noti- ces signed by the proper officers and for the time specified by law, at the following places within this district, viz., on the sign post of the tavern, now occupied by A. B., on the door of the school house, court house, grist-mill, or in some conspicuous place in the shop or store now kept by A. B., &c., [as the di.strict may decide.] Note. Experience shows that notices put up in the inside of a house, in a bar-room, shop, &c., are very seldom attended to, espe- cially if they be in writing, not printed. A sign-post, a large tree, close by the travelled part of the road, the railing of a bridge, the outside of a door, &c., are the places where they would be most FORMS 149. 150. 151. 67 likely to be seen. In some cases where there is a mill, store, &c., out of the district, to which the people of the district often resort, it would be well to put up a notice there, in addition to the notices within the district. But the power to prescriba the mode of notice does not authorize a district to dispense with notice, or to prescribe a less number of da3''s than five. 149. Vote of District to devolve care of School on School Committee. Voted, (if the school committee of this town consent thereto and accept thereof) that all the powers and duties of this district, and the trustees thereof, relating to keeping public schools in this dis- trict, be, and they are hereby devolved on said school committee, until this district shall choose a new trustee or trustees, or shall oth- erwise legally direct. Note. A copy of this vote, with a proper heading, " at a meet- ing of, &c.," attested by the clerk, should be furnished to the com- mittee. 150. Vote of District to build School House. Voted, that a school house be erected at or upon for the use of the public schools in this district, and that be a committee to cause the same t ) be erected, the said committee first procur'ng the plans and specifications for the building, to be ap- proved by the Commissioner of Public Schools, or by the committee of the town, according to law, and that the said shall have full power, in the name and behalf of the district, to sign, seal and execute any contracts which may be necessary to carry out this vote, to superintend the execution of said contracts, and to do any other matter or thing which may be necessary to carry out this vote. Note. The location, (unless before made) must be made by the school committee. 151. Form of a Contract to build School House. Articles of agreement made and executed on the day of A. D. 18 between A. B., of on the one part, and School District No. of the town of county of State of on the other part. eS FORM 151. The said A. B., for himself, his heirs, executors and administra- tors, doth hereby covenant and agree with the School District and their assigns, that he, the said A. B., his heirs, executors and ad- ministrators, for the considerations herein expressed, sliall, and will, within the space of months from the date hereof, erect, build and completely cover over and finish, upon — [here describe the lot] and upon such spot in said lot as said School District, or their proper officers may direct, a house, out-buiWings and fences, for tiie purpose of a district school house and appendages, according to plans, elevation and specifications more particularly expressed in a schedule hereto attached and signed by said parlies, and which is hereby made part and parcel of this agreement ; and also shall and will perform and execute all the works mentioned in the .said sched- ule, and in the manner therein mentioned, and within the time aforesaid ; and also "shall and will furnish and provide at his own charge, good and sufficient materials of the sorts and quality ex- pressed in said schedule, and all such other materials as may be necessary for the erecting and fully completing the house, out-houses and fences aforesaid, according to the plans and specifications afore- said. And it is further agreed between said parties, that if the said A. B., his heirs, executors or adrii'nistrators, shall not within the space of time above mentioned, finish and complete all said works as aforesaid, then said School District, or their agent, may go on and complete said works, at the cost and charge of the said A. B., his heirs, executors and administrators, and may deduct the same from the compensation herein agreed to be paid for said buildings and works ; and the said A. B., his heirs, executors and administrators, shall also be liable for any other damages incurred by said district by said failure, and shall also be liable to said district for any dam- ages incurred by any other unreasonable delay in completing the works aforesaid. And the said School District doth hereby covenant and agree v/ith the said A. B., his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, that upon the completion of said works as aforesaid, the said School District shall and will pay to the said A. B., his executors, adminis- trators or assigns, on or before the day of FORM 151. 69 A. D. 18 the sum of dollars, as full compensation for his services in building and completing said works. And it is further agreed, that if said School District or their agents shall direct any more work to be done upon or around said buildings than is herein before agreed, the said district shall pay the expense thereof in addition to the compensation aforesaid. And if said district, or their agents, shall direct to omit or diminish any part of the wor'k herein before agreed to be done and expressed in said schedule, then there shall be deducted from said compensa- tion, a reasonable sum, according to the proportion said work omit- ted may bear to the work herein first agreed to be done. And said district, or their proper agents, shall have a right io direct any ad- ditions or omissions as aforesaid, and the party of the other part shall be bound to comply with and perform the said directions. [^Clause to refer to aroitration.'\ And lastly, it is hereby agreed between the parties aforesaid, that if any dispute shall happen between the said district or its agents, and the said A. B., his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, in relation to the buildings herein agreed to be erected, work to be done, the payment of the money, or concerning the value and ex- pense of any work directed to be added or omitted as herein before mentioned, or concerning any other matter or thing whatever, re- lating to the construction of this agreement, or the amount of any damages claimed by either party, under its provisions, or for any alleged violation thereof, then in such case such dispute shall, up- on the demand of either party, be left to the award and determina- tion of three indifferent persons, one to be appointed in writing by each of said parties, immediately thereafter, and a third to be ap- pointed in writing by the two persons so first named. And the said parties hereby covenant and agree with each other, that they will severally abide by, perform and keep the award and determin- ation of the said three persons, or any two of them, touching said disputes, provided said award be made under the hands and seals of said arbitrators, or any two of them, within from the time of said reference. 70 FORM 152. In testimony whereof, the said A. B. hatli hereto set his hand and seal, and said district have hereto affixed their seal, by the hands of duly authorized for that purpose, who hath [or have] hereto also set their own hands. Sealed and delivered in presence of A. B. Names of committee or agents. 1^1 Note. — If the district wishes a surety for the performance of the contract of A. 15., it may be taken by a bond, conditioned for the performance by A. B. of the covenants and agreements in an instru- ment dated [and then briefly describe it.] 152 . Vote of District to Tax. At the annual meeting of the legal voters of School District No* of the town of held at on according to legal notice issued and signed by and posted up at for the five days previous required be law — [or, at a special meeting of, &c. called by &c.] Whereas, this district has voted to build a school-house in and for said district — [or to repair the district school-house,] Voted, that for the purpose of defraying the expense thereof, a tax of the sum of dollars be assessed upon, levied and col- lected from the rateable property in this district, in manner provided bylaw, the school committee of the town having approved of the amount of tax before mentioned for the purpose aforesaid, and that the assessment be made according to the estimate, apportionment and value affixed to said rateable property in the last assessment and tax bill made out by the town assessors — [or according to the esti- mate, apportionment and value which shall be affixed to said ratea- ble estates in the assessment and tax bill of this town which shall next be completed after the date of this A^ote.] Note. In case of laying a tax, it is important that the notice of the meeting should be legally given, and that evidence of the notice should be preserved. FORM 152. 71 All taxes must be voted and collected according to the present school act, all the former town and local acts being repealed. On laving a tax, or on any question relating to the expenditure of money, those only are entitled to vote who shall have paid or are lia- ble to pay taxes. (§ 32.) If the district vote to have their tax assessed according to the last town valuation, the trustee or trustees will immediately proceed to make out the tax bill accordingly. If there are any comj)laints of wrong valuation, it would be well for the district to postpone the tax until the next town assessment is completed, to give the parties an opportunity to be heard before the town assessors. If any property within the district is assessed to any person to- gether with property out of the district, so that there is no separate valuation of that portion which may lie within the district lines, and in the other cases referred to in § 45, the trustees should apply in writing to one or more of the town assessors, living out of the dis- trict, stating the names of the parties so situated, and the assessor will immediately issue a notice, and at the expiration of the ten days proceed to decide and apportion the valuation. The assessor should certify the facts upon the tax bill when made out. As the assessor is called upon to act in these cases so'ely upon business of the dis- trict, his fees should be paid by the district. The trustee should see that the assessor has taken his engagement before he acts in the case. Persons must be taxed for personal property according to their residence when the assessment is mide. The general rule as to tax- ation is that personal property shall be taxed to the owner where he resides and real estate where it lies. A few exceptions from this rule made by Statute are hereafter referred to. If any property has changed owners since the last town valuation, it of course must be assessed to the actual owners at the time the school-tax bill is made out. This is the reasonable construction of the law. 'J'he following is an abstract of the existing tax laws of the State ; but a collector before proceeding to act, should always enquire if they have been altered or amended : In assessing a tax, real and personal estate must be valued sepa- rately, and put in separate columns, and the assessors must dis- tinguish those who give in a list. Digest, page 427, ^ 7. They may assess it either to the owner or occupant. Digest, page 426, ^ 6. It should not be assessed against a person deceased. If the last town assessment is defective in any legal requisites, the district may vote to go by the next assessment, and in the mean time endeavor to have them remedied. Meeting-houses, school-houses, academies and colleges, the land on which they stand, and burial-grounds, are exempted from taxa- tion. Digest, p. 431, §27. Buildings on leased land are to be deemed real estate, p. 432, § 34. The custom-houses in Newport and Providence are exempt. Digest, p. 64. No poll tax can be laid 72 FORM 152. for any purpose, p. 297, s^S. It has been decided in Massachusetts, that a person residing on lond ceded to the United States, and where the State has only reserved a right of serving process, is not taxable. 8 Mass. Rep. 72—1 Metcalf Rep. 6S0. Machinery in cotton and woolen factories is to be taxed in the towns where located, in the same manner as if the owner resided there. Digest, p. 432, '^32, and see also Digest, p. 26], § 1. Personal property in trust, the income of Vv-hich is to be paid by some other person, must be assessed to the trustee in the town where such other person resides, if in the State, but if yuch other person lives out of the State, then it is to be taxed where the trustee, exe- cutor, &c. resides. Digest, p. 432, ^ 31. Personal property in the hands of executors, guardians, &c. is to be taxed to them in the town where the deceased dwelt or the ward re- sides. Pamphlet Laws, p. 744, ^8, Collection of Taxes. The mode of distraining and selling personal property is pointed out in Digest, p. 115, ^ 9, and in Pamphlet Laws, page 744, ^ 6. The mode of notifying and selling land for taxes is prescribed by Digest, p. 430, ^ 22, and Pamphlet Laws, p. 745, 9 7. If he find no real or personal estate, he may commit the body. Di- gest, p. 427, ^ 10. If a person is taxed for more than one parcel of land, the whole tax may be collected out of any one parcel. Digest, p. 432, ^ 35. If real estate is assessed to the tenant, the tenant's own real ar.d personal estate is liable to be taken for the tax, and if that cannot be found, the land in his occupation is liable. Digest, p. 426, §6. A tax warrant remains in force until the whole tax is col- lected. Digest, p. 431, <^ 24. The collector's fees are to be paid out of the district treasury, and will be five percent., unless he makes a different agreement with the district. Digest, p. 431, ^2b. If the collector dies or resigns, the new collector will have power to com- plete the collection. Digest, p. 304, § 20. The oath of the collector is admitted to prove a demand. Pamphlet LaAvs, p. 743, ^ 5. Any district may offer a deduction to those who pay in time, or impose a per centage on those who do not. Pamphlet Laws, p. 743, § 3. Any person committed to jail for a tax, rate or assessment, may swear out in the same manner as if he was committed for town taxes. And any person assessed for tuition may take the poor debtor's oath before being committed. School Act, ^01. The uniform, arms, ammunition and equipments of an officer or private in the militia, cannot be distrained for taxes. Digest, p. 510, ^ 54. And household furniture, family stores, tools, &c. are in some cases protected from distress by Digest, p. 114, ^S. Owners of real estate or buildings sold for taxes, may redeem within six months' after sale, on paying to the purchaser the amount paid therefor, with twenty per cent, in addition. Digest, p. 423, §36. By the new school act, the trustees are to assess the taxes (except in the cases where an assessor is to be called on) and the trustees issue the warrants immediately to the collector. And the district may vote to have it collected by the town collector. ^ 37 and 42. FORMS 15;:]. \'')i. 73 Any person neglecting to appear before the assessorafter notice given, has no remedy. ^ 45. Any tax or assessment not appealed from cannot be questioned in court afterwards. ^ 65. Provision is made for correcting errors and reassessing a tax. ^ 47. As to cases of persons affected by a change of boundaries of a district, see ^ 48. See Tax in the Index. 153. Fo7'7)i of a Tax Bill. Assessment of the taxes upon the rateable estates in School Dis- trict No. of the town, &:,c. made by the trustees thereof, ac- cording to law, this day of A. D. 18 for the purpose of raising the sum of dollars, according to a vote of said district, passed on the day of A. D. 18 Names. Real. I Personal. Total. Tax. Note. — The trustees should sign the tax bill. If the town as- sessors are applied to, it would be well to have them make their certificate at the foot of the tax bill, and sign it. 154. District Treasurer'' s Bond. Know all men, that we, A. B. of county of and State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, as principal, and C. D. of County of and State afore- said, as surety, [surety or sureties to the satisfaction of the district] are firmly held and bound unto the school district, No. of the town of and State aforesaid, in the full sum of [to be fixed by the district] to be paid to the said school district, or their assigns, to which we hereby jointly and severally bind our- selves, our several and respective heirs, executors and administra- tors. Sealed and dated the day of A. D. 18 The condition of the foregoing obligation is, that whereas the said A. B. was, at a meeting of said school district, holden appointed treasurer of said district. Now, if he shall faithfully dis- charge the duties of said office during his continuance therein, and at the expiration of his office he or his executors or administrators shall exhibit a true account, if required, and deliver over to his suc- cessor, or the order of the district, all books, papers and moneys 10 74 FORM 155. belonging to the district, in his hands, then the above obigation is to be void, otherwise to remain in force. Executed in presence of mi Note. — It may be advisable for the treasurer to receive a formal certificate of appointment, or Avarrant, and then his engagement can be endorsed upon it. The above bond need not be given unless the district require it. See the form of oath and see § 124-125.. 155. JDistrict Collector's Bond. Know all men, that we, A. B. of State of Rhode- Island and Providence Plantations, as principal, and C. D. of as surety, are firmly held and bound unto E. F. of Treasurer of School District No. in the town of and State aforesaid, in the full sum of [to be fixed by the district,, not exceeding double the tax] to be paid to said hi& successors in said office, or assigns, to which we jointly bind our- selves, our several and respective heirs, executors and adminis- trators. Sealed and dated this day of A. D. 18 The condition of this obligation is, that whereas the said A. B. was, at a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. of the town of appointed collector of the rates and taxes assessed and to be assessed in, by, and upon said district, and the said A. B. has accepted said office ; and whereas said district on the day of A. D. 18 voted that a tax of be assessed on all the rateable property in said district, for the purpose of and said tax has been legally assessed, and the trustee of said dis- trict hath issued his warrant to said collector, with said rate bill annexed, for the collection of said tax, the receipt of which said rate bill and warrant is hereby acknowledged, and by which said warrant, said tax is to be collected and paid over, on or before the FORM 156. 75 day of A. D. 18 Now if the sa'.d A. B. shall faithfully perform and discharge said office and trust, and with diligence and fidelity, levy and collect, as far as may be done, all the taxes that have been, or may be, so committed to him for collection, during his continuance in office, and he, his heirs, executors or administrators shall at all times on proper demand, render an account and pay over all the proceeds of such collections to the treasurer of said district, or his successors in office, according to the directions contained in the warrants for their collection, then this obligation is to be void, otherwise to remain in force. Executed in presence of < x. s. > Note. — The collector need not give bond, unless required. Sec § 12u. 15G. Warrant to collect a Tax. To A. B. Collector of Taxes of School District No. of the town of county of and State of Rhode- Island and Providence Plantations :■ — Gkeeting. You, having been appointed collector of taxes for said district, are hereby, in the name of said State, authorized and required to proceed and collect the tax specified in the annexed rate-bill, ac- cording to law, and to pay the same to the treasurer of the district, or to his successor in office ; and for so doing this shall be your sufficient warrant. Given under my hand and seal, at this day of A. D. 18 C. D. Trustee of said School District. Note. — The collector should also receive from the di-strict clerk a warrant or formal certificate of election, which may be in substance 76 FoiuM 157. according to the form No. 137. And then liis engagement can be certiiiecl upon the back. The district should approve the sum and sureties of the bond, and the clerk should certify the fact thereon. 157. Form of Tax Collector's Deed. To all to whom these presents may come. I, A. B. of county of and State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, Collector of Taxes of School District No. in said town, send Greeting : Whereas the said school district, at a meeting duly notified, and held on the day of A. D. 18 voted that a tax of dollars be assessed on the rateable pro- perty in said district, for the purpose of and said tax Avas afterwards, viz : on the day of A. D. 18 assessed according to law, and the tax-bill in due form delivered to me the said Collector, with a warrant at- tached thereto, signed by the trustees of said district, requiring me to proceed according to law and collect the said tax, and pay over the same to the treasurer of the district, or to his successor in office, and whereas C. D. of neglected to pay the tax asses- sed against him, and expressed in the said tax-bill, amounting to the sum of dollars, and in consequence thereof, I did on the day of levy said warrant upon a certain lot or tract of land belonging to said C. D. in said district, and did advertise the same for sale according to law, at two [or more] public places in said toAvn, for twenty days previous to sale, i[and also in the a newspaper printed in ] and on the day of A. D. 18 at o'clock in the noon, on the premises, being the time and place appointed, I proceeded to sell at auction so much of said land as was necessary to satisfy said tax and the incidental expenses, and E. F. of was the highest bidder therefor. Now, know yc, that in consideration of the sum of «lollurs, being the amount of said tax and expenses paid me by the FOEM 15S. 77 said E. F., I the said Collector, do hereby, give, grant, bargain, sell and convey unto the said E. F., his heirs and assigns, all the right, title and interest which said C. D. had at the time of asses- sing said tax, in and to the following described tract of land, situ- ated in the district and town aforesaid, containing acres, [more or less] and bounded [describe] or however otherwise bounded, with all [build- ings] and appurtenances, being so much of said land of the said C. D. levied on as was necessary to satisfy said tax and expenses. To have and to hold the same to said E. F., his heirs and assigns forever, subject to the right of redemption provided by law. And I, the said A. B., for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant with said E. F., his heirs and assigns, that I [have given bond and] have advertised said property as herein before stated, and have complied with the terms of the laws regulating the collecting of taxes, in respect to said sale, as herein before stated. Witness my hand and seal, this day of A. D. 18 Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of A. B. I 1. s. J Town of, &.C. A. D. 18 Before m9 the subscriber, appeared A. B. Collector of taxes of school dis- trict No. of the town of and acknowledged the foregoing to be his free act and deed, and his hand and seal to be thereto affixed. O. P. Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Town Clerk. Note. — In case of unimproved lands owned by persons out of the State, and also of improved lands where neither the owner nor occupant lives in the State, notice of the sale must be given twenty days in a newspaper. Digest p. 428 § 13. The purchaser under a tax collector's deed should see that the law has been complied with, and that his evidence of advertising is preserved. 158. Form of a Rate-bill for Tuition, ^c. Rate-bill or assessment of rates for tuition against the parents, guardians and employers, sending children to the district school, or 78 FORi\I 159. persons attending school, in School District No. of the town of for the term of school commencing and ending made out this day of A. D. 18 towards the expenses of tuition, fuel and other ex- penses. Names of persons. No. sent. Time sent. Assessment. Signed A. B. ) C. D. } Trustees. E. F. ) Note. This rate-bill is to be collected in the same manner as the tax-bill, and the same forms will answer with a little variation to suit the case. Any poor person liable for tuition, may, if the district or trustees refuse to exempt him, take the poor debtor's oath, either before or after being committed to jail. 159. Form of a Lease. These articles of agreement made this day of A. D. 18 witness that A. B. of doth hereby demise and let unto the School District No. of said town, (describe the room or building) with the appurtenances, in consider- ation of the rents and covenants by said school district herein men- tioned to be performed, to have and hold the same to said school dis- trict and their assigns for the space of year, commencing on the day of A. D. 18 and ending on the day of A. D. 18 for the purpose of keeping a district school therein, and holding such schools or lec- tures or other literary meetings, or meetings of business, as the school committee or the officers of said district may deem advisable for promoting the cause of education. And the said district agrees to pay therefor the sum of per annum as rent, and at that rate for any less time than a year, the payment to be made to the said A. B., his heirs or assigns, at his residence, on the last day of the year, [or on the last day of each year in the term,] without any notice or demand therefor [provisions about repairs, loss by fire, &c, mav be here inserted.] Witness the hand and seal of the said FORMS 160. ]6 1. 79 A. B. and the seal of the said district hereto affixed by by said district duly authorized, the day and year first above men- tioned. Sealed and executed in presence of * L. s. 160. Paicer of Attorney to take a Lease. Note. The District may authorize a person to execute this lease for them by a vote as follows : "Voted that the Trustees of the Dis- trict [or Treasurer] be and they are hereby fully empoweied to hire a building for the purpose of a school-house for the district, [here specify the building and fix the time and conditions or leave them at discretion] and to make and execute the necessary contracts therefor, and to seal, deliver and acknowledge the same in the name and be- half of the District." If the lease is for a year or less time, it may save trouble to take the lease in the name of the trustees themselves. If the above is to be acknowledged, see the form of acknowledgment to No. 163. 161. Deed to a School District. Know all men that I, A. B. of in the State o Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in consideration of the sum of paid me by C. D. Treasurer of School District No. in the town of and State aforesaid, the receipt of which I acknowledge and am therewith fully satisfied and paid, \if a gift say in consideration of my desire to aid and assist in diffusing the benefits of a good common school education among the inhabitants of School District No. &c. as the grantor pleases] do hereby give, grant, enfeoff, convey and confirm unto said School District and their assigns, a certain lot of land situated in said town of [describe] or however otherwise bounded, with all the appurtenances and privileges thereto belonging, to have and hold the same forever to the said school district [and their assigns, but if there is a desire to prevent the lot ever being used for any other purpose, omit assigns and say, for the purpose of maintaining thereon a district school house 80 FORM 161. and its appurtenances, for the benefit of the district school of said dis- trict, and for no other use or purpose whatever.] And I the said A. B. do hereby for myself, my heirs, executors aud administrators, cov- enant and engage to and with said school district [and their assigns] that the premises are free of all incumbrances, that I have good right to sell and convey as aforesaid, and that I, my heirs, executors and administrators shall and will forever warrant, secure and defend the premises to said school district [and their assigns, or to and for the purpose aforesaid,] against the lawful claims of all persons what- soever. And I, E. F. wife of the said A. B. for the consideration paid my said husband, hereby release unto said school district [and their assigns] all my right of dower in the premises. [If the premis- es are under mortgage a release may be here inserted.] And I, G. H. of in consideration of the sum of paid me by to my full satisfaction, do hereby give, grant, bargain, sell assign and convey unto said school district [and their assigns,] all the right, title and interest which I have in the premises by virtue of any mortgage deed thereof, [or of any other claim or title whatsoever.] In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands and seals this day of A. D. 18 Signed, sealed and delivered, in presence of State of county of town of A. D. 18 This day personally appeared before me and acknowledged the foregoing instrument to be voluntary act and deed and hand and seal to be thereto affixed. Before me, O. P., Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Town Clerk, {if executed in Rhode Island.) Note. ■ If the land belong to a married woman, her name should be inserted as one of the grantors, and the deed altered accordingly. FORMS 162. 163. 8 J She must acknowledge separately from her husband. Use the words of the law in the certificate of acknowledgment. See Digest, p. 258, § 10. 162. Vote appointing an Attorney to sell Land belonging to the District. At a meeting of the legal voters of School District No. of the town of &bc., notified as the law requires, and held at on the day of A. D. 18 Voted, That A. B. Treasurer of said School District, be and he is hereby appointed the agent and attorney of the district, to sell at his discretion, a certain lot of land, situated in and belonging to the district, containing bounded with the buildings and appurtenances, and with full power to affix the seal of the district to a deed or deeds conveying the same [with covenants of warranty or not, as the district may vote,] and in the name of the district to acknowledge and deliver the same, and to receive the purchase money, and give a full discharge therefor. A true copy of record : Witness, E. F., Clerk of said District. 163. District Land Deed. Know all men, that the School District No. of the town of county of State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, in consideration of the sum of paid to A. B. Treasurer of said district, to and for the use of said district, by M. N. of the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, does hereby give, grant, bargain, sell and convey unto the said M. N., his heirs and assigns, all the right, title and interest of said School District in and to a lot of land situated in said district, containing bounded or how- aver otherwise bounded, with all buildings and appurtenances, be- ing the same lot con-s^eyed to said district by deed of H. I, To have and to hold the same to said M. N., his heirs and assigns, for- ever. In testimony whereof, the said School District have hereto ffixed their seal, bv the hands of said A. B. their Treasurer, duly '11 82 FORMS 164. 16.'). appointed for that purpose, at a legal meeting of said district, and the said Treasurer hath hereunto affixed his own hand, this day of A. D. 18 A. B. Treasurer, as aforesaid, , ^— -^— v , J L. s. J Signed and sealed in presence of '«— v^;- Acknowledgment. State of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations, county of town of A. D. 18 The School District No. of said town, by A. B. their treasurer and attor- ney for that purpose, by vote of said district appointed, acknow- ledged the foregoing to be their voluntary act and deed, and tbeir seal to be thereto affixed ; and the said A. B. Treasurer and Attor- ney as aforesaid, also acknowledged his own hand affixed thereto, and that the same was the voluntary act and deed of himself and of the said district. Before me, P. Q., Justice of the Peace, or Notary Public, or Town Clerk, TsjoTE. — It will seldom, if ever, be advisable for a district to give anvthing more than a quit-claim deed. If they wish to insert any warranty, it would be best to consult a well informed attorney. 164. Order for Money. To A. B. Town Treasurer of the town of Pay to C. D. or order, the sum of it being for keeping a district school in School District No. in thi.? town. Date. By order of the School Committee of the town. E. F. Chairman or Clerk. Note. It will be the safest course, in all cases, to let the money remain in the hands of the Town Treasurer, and to give orders for it no faster than it is actually expended. 165. Notice of Appeal. To the School Committee of the town of [Trustees of School District No, in the town of Inspector, or as the case may ie.] loKiM 166. S3 I hereby notify you, that in conformity with the provisions of the laws regulating public schools, I appeal to A. B. Commissioner of Public Schools, from [here specify the vote or decision of the com- mittee, trustees, district or inspector, which is complained of."] Date. Signed, CD. A copy of this notice should be immediately served upon the clerk of the committee, clerk of the district, or upon the trustee, trustees or inspector, who have done the act complained of. And a notice of the appeal should be immediately forwarded to the Com- missioner, which may be as follows : To A. B. Commissioner of Public Schools of the State of Rhode- Island and Providence Plantations. Whereas the school committee, [inspector, trustees, or school district No. of the town of &c.] did at a meet- ing on the day of A. D. 18 pass a vote — [here copy or insert the substance, as nearly as can be pro- cured.] I, the subscriber, according to law, do hereby appeal to you from said vote or decision, and claim that the same may be reversed. [Here state plainly and briefly the reasons.] Signed, The Commissioner will immediately appoint a time for hearing the case, and notify the parties thereof. If the nominal party, as often happens, be not the party interested, care should be taken to notify the latter as well as the former. 166. Vote of district to establish a secondary School under § 50. Voted, That this district will unite with School District No. of this town — \_or in the adjoining town of ] in the establishment of a secondary school, according to the provisions of § 50 of an Act to revise and amend the laws regulating Public Schools, passed June session, A. D. 1851, for the common benefit of both said districts ; provided said School District No= 84 FORMS 167. 168. shall also give their consent thereto- — [within from this date]— and that the clerk of the district furnish a certified copy of this vote to said School District No. and also to the school committee that — [if said district consents] — they may take the nec- essary measures for establishing said school. 167. Vote of school committee to form joint district under ^ 52. Voted, [the school committee of the town of concurring herewith] that a joint district be formed according to the provisions of the acts relating to public schools, to consist of school district No. of this town, and school district No. of said town of and that said districts shall constitute a joint district from the time that the school committee of said town of shall concur herewith — \or if they have already passed a similar vote say from and after the passage of this vote.] Voted further, that the chairman be authorized, in conjunction with the school committee of said town of to cause notices to be posted up — [in one or more places in each of the two districts — specify them] for the first meeting of said joint district, to be held at on at o'clock in the noon [or to be held at such time and place as he may agree upon with the school committee of said town of ] and hat the clerk of the committee furnish a certified copy of this vote to the school committee of the said town of j^oTE. — A notice signed by the chairman of each committee should be posted up in one or more places in each district. After trustees are elected, they will notify the subsequent meetings. 168. Vote prescribing form of District Seal. Voted, That the clerk of the district cause to be made a seal for the use of the district, with the figure of engraven thereon, and the letters or inscription around its margin, and that the same is hereby adopted, and declared to be ' the common seal of this corporation, and shall be kept by the clerk nf the district. roRMS 169. 170. 85 Note. — Every town, district, or other corporation, shall have a common seal, with a suitable device ; but if they have no regular seal, any seal that may be affixed to any instrument by their au- thority, for instance a piece of paper attached by a wafer, will be considered to be their seal. 169. Appointment of a County Inspector. To A. B. of in the county of Know all men, that I, C. D. Commissioner of Public Schools of the State of Ehode-Island and Providence Plantations, do by the authority vested in me by law, appoint you the said A. B. to be County Inspector of the Public Schools in the county of for the year ending on the first Tuesday of May, A. D. 18 and you are therefore hereby authorized to examine teachers, and give them the certificates of qualification prescribed by law; to visit and inspect the public schools in said county, and to report their state and condition to the Commissioner, under such instructions as may from time to time be prescribed by said Commissioner, and generally to do and perform all acts which a County Inspector may do and perform under the provisions of the laws relating to public schools. Given under my hand, at this day of A. D. 18 C. D. Commissioner of Public Schools. ] 70. Form of District Return prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Schools. • The following is the form prescribed by the late Commissioner, Mr. Barnard, and is the one now used. The present Commis- sioner has been several times urged to prepare a shorter form. But on the best consideration he has been able to give the subject, he is satisfied that it is most for the good of the schools to retain the existing form. A trustee, having all this information himself, may •consider it trifling ; but it is all of importajice to the school com- 66 FOHM 170. imittes. Especially should exact returns of the attendance, studies and books be insisted on. By these the committee can ascertain whether improper books are used, and whether the teacher exercises proper judgment as to the studies and classification of his scholars. The trustee need have no trouble with it, if he will only require the teacher to fill it out, and there is nothing in the return but what the teacher can easily answer. I have seen instances of re- turns filled out by teachers in a manner and temper highly discred- itable to them. No return should be allowed by a trustee or com- mittee, unless the questions are answered in a respectful manner. Note. — When there are separate schools kept at difi'erent times In the year, a separate return is to be made for each school, but the items included in the divisions I., II., VIII. and IX., need not be returned but once a year. RETURN respecting the Public Schools in District No. in Town of for Term commencing 1S5 and ending 185 I.— NAME, SIZE, POPULATION AND PECUNIARY RESOURCES OF THE DISTRICT. Local or neighborhood name, Territorial extent or size of district, length breadth Number oi families residing in district, " engaged in agriculture, " " trade or shop-keeping, " " mechanic shops, " " factories or mills, " " navigation, clergymen, lawyers, physicians, inhabitants of all ages, Do. under 16 years. Do. between 5 and 15, " registered voters. Do. tax-paying voters, Amount of State and Town money actually expended during the present year, " of valuation of taxable property in the district, > FORM 1711. 87 Amount ot' money raised by lax during the present year, on pro- ^ party of district, to purchase or build school hdusc, site, 6lc. to repair or furnish old house, to purchase maps, globes and other apparatus, to purchase library, for wages of teachers, for teachers' board, for fuel, J Aggregate amount of money raised hy tax on the property of the district, during the year, for all purposes. Aggregate amount raised by rate, or tuition-bill, for teacher's wages and board, fuel, and other purposes, during the year. Amount given by individuals for any purpose during the year, Amount received from income of any land or fund, during the year, Aggregate amount of money expended for all purposes for the scliool year, ending May II.— SCHOOL HOUSE. Place where the School is kept — in school house, in building built or used for other purposes. Date when the school house was built, first cost, When last thoroughly repaired, and at what expense, By whom now owned, by district, town, proprietors, Furnished with a suitable play ground and out building. Material and condition of the building — material condition, (good, ordinary, bad) Provided with scraper, mat, water-pail and cup, sink, basin and towel, " old broom, for feet, pegs, hooks or shelves, broom and dust-biush. No, of school rooms, and size of each, length, width, height, Arrangements for desks, " seats, " ventilation, " warming. Provided with wood-shed, or shelter for fuel, " shovel and tongs, &c. thermometer, 88 FOKM 170. Provided with bell, witli globe, with clock, hand-bell for teacher. Do. ' with blackboard, the size (if any) Do. with map of R. Island) Do. with outline maps Do. with geometrical solids. III.— ATTENDANCE, LENGTH OF SCHOOL TERM. No. of families who sent children to the School — ^belonging to district^ Do. " " " from out of the do. No. of scholars, of all ages, registered during term — belonging to district, boys girls. No. of scholars of all ages, from out of the district, boys, ghrls. No. of scholars over 15 years of age, boys, girls, Do. under 5 years, boys, girls. Length of school-term in half days, weeks, (10 half days) months, (4 ioeeks) No. of scholars who attended three foxirtlis of the term and more. Do. " one half. Do. " less than one half Do. " less than one fourth. Average daily attendance of the School during the term, No. of scholars belonging to the district who attended school in other districts or towns, No. of children over 4 and under 16 years of age, who attended no school, public or private, during the term, IV.— STUDIES AND CLASSES. No. of scholars who commenced this term in Alphabet, Do. who attended during the whole term to Primer or Spelling-Book, exclusively. No. of classes in, No. of scholars in Reading, {not including scholars in Spelling-Book) No. of classes in, No. of scholars in Geography, No. of classes in. No. who draw maps. No. of scholars in Grammar, No. of classes in, No. of scholars in History of the U. States, No. of classes in. No. of scholars in General History, No. of classes in, FonM 170. 69 No. of classes in, No. of classes in, No. of classes in, No. of classes in, No. of classes in, No. of classes in. No. of classes in, No. of classes in, No. of classes in. Do. composition. No. of scholars in Etymology, or analysis of language. No. of classes in, No. of scholars in Definitions, No. of scholars in Mental Arithmetic, No. of scholars in Written Arithmetic, No. of scholars attending to Penmanship, No. of scholars in Book-Keeping, No. of scholars in Algebra, No. of scholars in Geometry, No. of scholars in Natural Philosophy, No. of scholars in Physiology, No. of scholars attending to Drawing, Do. " Declamation, Do. who engage in Vocal Music, No. of scholars in other studies, specifying the same, No. of scholars not provided with all books necessary in the studies pursued by them, No. of scholars not provided Avith a slate, v.— BOOKS. Name of each kind of Text-Book used in the school, and the num- ber of copies of each kind. Dictionary, Primer, Spelling-Book, Reading, Penmanship and Book-Keeping, Mental Arithmetic, Written Arithmetic, Geography, Grammar, History, Other studies. VI.— TEACHER. Name and age of teacher, Place [town and State] of birth. Do, do. do. residence, 12 90 roKM 170. Date of certificate, and by whom signed, No. of terms, or years, of experience as a teacher in any school, Do. do in this school before the present term. Compensation per month, in money, Aggregate amount in money for term, Is the teacher boarded by the district, in addition to his money wages ? Or does he board himself out of his wages ? Arrangement for board — board round At one place, If boarded in district, the amount paid, in money, for board. Vn.— SUPERVISION, OR VISITATION. No. of visits from Trustees, From Town Committee, Do. from County Inspector, from Parents and others, [not school officers,] VIII.— PRIVATE SCHOOLS, LYCEUMS, &c. No. and grade of Private or Select Schools kept in the district dur- ing the term. No. of pupils attending, Rate of Tuition per term, Name of any Lyceum, Debating Society, or Library, with date of establishment, number of members, books, &c. IX.— NAMES OF OFFICERS OF THE DISTRICT. Trustees, Clerk, Treasurer, Collector, To the School Committee of the Town of We, the Trustees of School District No. in said town, in conformity with the " Act to revise and amend the laws regulating Public Schools," do certify that the foregoing form of District Re- turn, prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Schools, has been filled up Avith due diligence and accuracy ; and that the money de- signated " teachers' money," received from the Treasurer of the town for the year previous to the first day of May, 185 , was FOKM 171. 91 applied to the wages of teachers, and for no other purpose whatever. Dated at 185 1 y Trustees. 171. Specimens of Rules and Regulatio7is to be adopted by School Committees for the governmeoit of Public Schools. We give helow, 1st, the rules adopted by the School Committee of Smithfield, A. D. 1846 ; 2nd, the rules adopted in North and South Kingstown, and some other towns ; 3d, extracts from the School Regulations of the town of Portsmouth. See 'i>97 of the Remarks. I. Regulations for the government of the Public Schools in the toiun of Smithfield. PREAMBLE. Teachers and candidates for teachers in the Public Schools, previ- ous to entering upon their engagements, should consider it of great importance to become familiar with some of the most approved plans of teaching and governing a school ; and should endeavor, as far as possible, to possess themselves of definite ideas in regard to the solemn duties and responsibilities of their profession. And in order to aid and assist them in establishing a uniform and systematic course of instruction and discipline, the Committee would respectfully submit the following RULES. 1. All the teachers of the public schools are required to be at their respective school-rooms and to ring the bell from ten to fifteen min- utes before the time of commencing the school in the morning and in the afternoon, and they shall require the pupils as they enter the room to be seated in an orderly manner, and prepare for study. 2. The bell shall again be struck or the hand-bell rung, precisely at the specified time for beginning the school, as a signal for com- 92 lOKM 171. mencing the exercises — previous to whicli all the scholars are ex- pected to be present and to have made all needful preparations for carrying on the business of the school, in order to prevent all unne- cessary movement after the exercises commence. 3. All the public schools shall be opened in the morning by read- ing a portion of the Scriptures, which may be done by the teacher alone, or in connection with the older pupils — the whole school being required at the same time to suspend all other subjects and to give proper and respectful attention ; and this exercise may be followed by prayer or not, at the discretion of the teacher. 4. Every scholar who comes in after the second bell rings, must present a satisfactory excuse ; and all who cannot do so, shall be con- sidered delinquent and marked tardy on the teacher's register, sub- ject to examination by parents, trustees, and school committee. 5. No teacher shall permit whispering or talking in school, or al- low the schokis to leave or change their seats, or to have communi cation with each other in school time, without permission, but shall strive to maintain that good order and thorough discipline which are absolutely essential to the welfare of the school. 6. It shall be the duty of teachers to guard the conduct of scholars, not only in the hours of school, but at recess, and on their way to and from school, and to extend at all times a watchful care over their morals and mariners, endeavoring to inculcate those virtues which lay a sure foundation for future usefulness and happiness. 7. The government and discipline of the school should be of a mild and parental character. The teacher should use his best exertions to bring scholars to obedience and a sense of duty, by mild measures and kind influences : and in cases where corporal punishment seems absolutely necessary, it should be inflicted with judgment and discre- tion, and in general not in presence of the school. 8. Teachers should ever avoid those low, degrading and improper forms of punishment, such as tying up scholars' hands and feet, com- pelling them to hold a weight in their hands with their arms ex- tended, pinching, pulling and wringing their ears, cheeks and arms, and other similar modes, which are sometimes used, as the commit- tee are decidedly of the opinion that a judicious teacher will find other methods of governing more consistent and more effectual. FORM 171. 93 9. In case of obstinate disobedience or wilful violation of order, a teacher may suspend a pupil from school for the time being, by in- forming the parents or guardians and school committee thereof, and re-admit him on satisfactory evidence of amendment ; or such pupils may, at the discretion of the teacher, be referred directly to the com- mittee, to be dealt with as their judgment and legal authority shall lictate. 10. The teachers shall classify the pupils of their respective schools according to their age a-'.d attainments, irrespective of rank or wealth, md shall assign them such lessons as seem best adapted to their ca- lacities, and render them all possible aid and assistance, without dis- inctionand without partiality. 11. For the purpose of preserving that system and order so essen- tial to a well regulated school, and securing to the pupils a thorough knowledge of the subjects pursued, there should be a specified time for every exercise and a certain portion of time devoted to it, and in no case should any one recitation interfere with the time appropriat- ed to another; and whatever the exercise may be, it should receive, for the time, the immediate and, as far as practicable, the exclusive attention of the teacher, 12. No child under the age of four years shall be received as a scholar in a district school, unless there be an assistant teacher or a primary department. 13. Exercises in declamation aiad composition shall be practiced )y the older and more advanced pupils, at the judgment of the sacher, under the advice of the committee. 14. Singing may be encouraged, and, as far as practicable, taught in all the schools, not only for its direct intellectual and moral uses, but as a healthy exercise of the lungs, an agreeable recreation to the pupils, and an auxiliary in good government. 15. Needle-work shall be allowed in the primary schools. 16. The teacher may employ the older scholars, under his direc- tion, in the management of the school when it can be done without disadvantage to them or to the good order of the school. 17. No teacher shall use or encourage the use of an}'' other books than those recommended by the committcp, without their approbation. 18. 'J'hcre shall be a recess of at least fifteen minutes in the middle 94 FOFwM 171. of every half day ; but the primary schools may have a recess of ten minutes every hour ; at the discretion of the teacher. 19. It shall be the duty of teachers to see that fires are made in cold weather, in their respective school rooms, at a seasonable hour to render them warm and comfortable by school time ; to take care that their rooms are properly swept and dusted ; and that a due re- gard to neatness and order is observed, both m and around the sohool house. 20. As pure air of a proper temperature is indispensable to health and comfort, teachers cannot be too careful in giving attention to these things. If the room has no ventilator, the doors and windows should be opened before and after school, to permit a free and health- ful circulation of air ; and the temperature should be regulated by a thermometer suspended five or six feet from the floor, in such a po- sition as to indicate as near as possible the average temperature, and should be kept at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. 21. The teachers shall take care that the school houses, tables* desks, and apparatus in the same, and all the public property en- trusted to their charge, be not cut, scratched, marked, or injured or defaced in any manner whatever. And it shall be the duty of the teachers to give prompt notice to one or more of the trustees, of any repairs that may be needed. 22. Every teacher shall keep a record of all the recitations of every class ; and of the manner in which every member of the class shall acquit himself in his recitation — using figures or otherwise to mark degrees of merit. Also, every act of disobedience or violation of or- der, shall be noted ; and the registers shall be at all times subject to the inspection of parents, trustees, and the school committee. 23. The following shall be the construction of teachers' engage- ments, unless otherwise specified in the written contract. They shall teach six hours every day, including the recess, and shall divide the day into two sessions, with at least one hour intermission. They shall teach every day in the week, except Saturday and Sunday, and four weeks for a month ; and they may dismiss the school on the 4th of July, on Christmas, and on days of public fast and thanks- giving, and one day out of every month for the purpose of attending a Teacher's Institute, or for vijiting schools. voRM 171. 95 PUPILS. 24. Good morals being of the first importance, and essential to their progress in useful knowledge, the pupils are strictly enjoined to avoid all vulgarity and profanity, falsehood and deceit, aud every wicked and disgraceful practice ; to conduct themselves in a sober, orderly and decent manner, both in and out of school ; to be diligent and attentive to their studies ; to treat each other politely and kind- ly in all their intercourse; to respect and obey all orders of their teachers in relation to their conduct and studies, and to be punctual and constant in their daily attendance. 25. Every pupil who shall, accidentalhj or otherwise, injure any school property, whether fences, gates, trees or shrubs, or any build- ing or any part thereof; or break any window glass, or injure or destroy any instrument, apparatus or furniture belonging to the school, shall be liable to pay all damages. 26. Every pupil who shall any where, on or around the school premises, use or write any profane or unchaste language, or shall draw any obscene pictures or representations, or cut, mark, or other- wise intentionally deface any school furniture or buildings, or any property whatsoever belonging to the school estate, shall be punished in proportion to the nature and extent of the offence, and shall be liable to the action of the civil law. 27. No scholar of either sex shall be permitted to enter any part of the yard or buildings appropriated to the other, without the teach- er's permission. 28. Smoking and chewing tobacco in the school house or upon the school premises, are strictly prohibited. 29. The scholars shall pass through the streets on their way to and from school in an orderly and becoming manner ; shall clean the mud and dirt from their feet on entering the school room ; and take their seats in a quiet and respectful manner, as soon as conve- nient after the first bell rings ; and shall take proper care that their books, desks, and the floor around them, are kept clean and in good order. 30. It is expected that all the scholars who enjoy the advantages of public schools, will give proper attention to the cleanliness of their persons, and the neatness and decency of their clothes — not only for 96 For.M 171. the moral effect of the habit of neatness and order, but that the pu- pils may be at all times prepared, both in conduct and external ap- pearance — to receive their friends and visitors in a respectable man- ner ; and to render the school room pleasant, comfortable and happy for teachers and scholars. 31. No scholar should try to hide the misconduct of his school- fellows or screen them from justice ; but it shall be the duty of every pupil who knows of any bad conduct, or violation of order, committed without the knowledge of the instructor, to the di.^grace and injury of the school, to inform the teacher thereof, and to do all in his power to discourage and discountenance improper behavior in others, and to as- sist the teacher in restoring good order and sustaining the reputation of the school. 32. Every teacher shall keep a copy of these rules and regulations p03ted up in the school room, and shall cause the same to be read aloud in school at least once in every month ; and in case of any difficulty in carrying out these regulations, or in the government and discipline of the school, it shall be the duty of the teacher to apply immediately to the committee for advice and direction. IP. Regulations for government of Public Schools, adopted in North a?id South Kingstown, SfC. TEACHERS, 1. Every person, before being employed to teach in any school supported wholly or in part by public money, shall be found qualified according to law ; and for any immoral or grossly improper conduct, or, for refusing to comply with the regulations of the School Com- mittee, or the requests of the Commissioner of Public Schools, shall be dismissed. 2. The teachers are expected to make the teaching of their school the main business, to give to it their best thoughts and energies, and to devote themselves to it to the exclusion of all other regular em- ployment. And it is recommended that frequent meetings of the teachers be held for the purpose of personal improvement and of giv- ing efficiency to the system of instruction, which meetings will be attended once a month by a committee of the Board. 3. It shall be the duty of the teachers to fill all blanks, and make FORM 171. 97 such returns as may be required of them by law and by the school committee or trustees ; and to give notice to the school committee, of the time when the term will begin and close, so that the school may be visited according to law, and any teacher who shall for the space of weeks neglect to give notice as aforesaid, shall forfeit his pay for that time, unless he renders a satisfactory excuse. 4. In cases of difficulty in the discharge of their official duties, or when they may desire any temporary indulgence, the teachers shall apply to the trustees or committee for advice and direction. 5. The teachers are required to be at tlieir respective school houses, at least fifteen minutes before the specified time for begin- ning the school in the morning and in the afternoon ; and to open their respective school rooms, for the reception of pupils, subject to all the rules of order for school hours, as soon as they enter the rooms. 6. The teachers shall enroll the names of scholars as they enter the school — and cause all cases of absence and tardiness to be marked every morning and afternoon, and any withdrawal from school before the hour for closing, except in .case of sickness, or upon a request stated in writing or in person, by the parent or guardian, shall be regarded as an absence. 7. As regularity and punctuality of attendance are indispensable to the success of a school, it is important to maintain the principle that necessity alone can justify absence. Sickness, domestic affliction, and absence from town are regarded as the only legitimate cause of absence. All other cases must be considered as in violation of rule, and deriving their only sanction from the private authority of a pa- rent or guardian. In every instance of absence, a written excuse or personal explanation shall be required of the parent, master, or guar- dian, on the return of the pupil to school. 8. The teachers in each school shall put the pupils into separate classes according to their age and attainments ; and shall teach them such portions of the prescribed studies as in their judgment it shall be most suitable for each class to pursue ; and each scholar shall be finconad to the studies of his class, unless for good reasons an excep- tion be made by the teacher under the advice, or with the approba- tion of the committee. 13 98 roKM 171. 9. It shall be the duty of the teachers to use their best endeavors to impress upon the minds of the youth committed to their care and instruction, the principles of piety, justice and a sacred regard to truth, love to their country, humanity and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, chastity, moderation, temperance and those other virtues which are the ornament of human society, and the basis upon which a republican constitution is founded ; and they shall endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities will allow, into a clear understanding of the tendency of these virtues to preserve and perfect a republican constitution, and secure the bles- sings of liberty, as well as to promote their own happiness ; and also to point out to them the evil tendency of the opposite vices. [From Laics of Massachusetts.] 10. It is expected that the teachers will exercise a general inspec- tion over the conduct of the scholars, not only while in school, but also during their recess, while in the aisles and yards, and while coming to and returning from school. 11. It is recommended that the school be opened by reading a por- tion of the Bible, which may be read, either separately by the teach- ers, or by the scholars, or by both in connection ; but no scholar shall be required to engage in this exercise against the expressed wishes of the parent or guardian. 12. The teachers shall practice such discipline in the schools as would be exercised by a kind, judicious parent in his family, and shall avoid corporal punishment in all cases where order can be pre- served by milder measures ; and they shall keep a faithful account of all punishments and the ofTenses for which they are inflicted — sub- ject to examination by the school committee, or trustees. 13. For violent opposition, or gross immorality, or indecency, or contagious disease, a teacher may exclude a pupil horn school for the time ; and in all such cases, shall forthwith give information in writ- ing, of the cause thereof, to the parents or guardian, and to the school committee. 14. Whenever the example of any scholar shall be such as to be dangerous to the morality of the other scholars or the good order of the school, and there is no hope of reformation, the teacher shall re- port the case to the school committee for their advice and decision. FORM 171. 99 15. The teachers shall exert themselves, under the advice of the committee, to impart a knowledge of the English language (includ- inor orthography, etymology, pronunciation, definitions, composition, grammar and reading) writing, mental and written arithmetic, geo- graphy, and the history of the United States. 16. The following books are recommended to be used in the public schools : no teacher shall permit the scholars to use any keys to arithmetics or other mathematical works. The following text books shall be used in the studies specified. [Here insert the name of such books as have been prescribed, or recom.mended, as the case may be, by the school committee.] 17. In case any scholar is not provided with the proper books, the teacher shall inform the parent, guardian or master thereof;" and if such parent, guardian or master shall not within one Aveek provide proper books, the teacher shall inform the trustees of the district, who shall provide the same in manner prescribed by law. 18. The teacher shall endeavor to combine the use of oral instruc- tion and familiar explanations with the recitation from the prescribed books, especially on the subject of morals and manners. 19. Needle work may be allowed in the primary schools. 20. Exercises in declamation shall take place at suitable times at the discretion of the teacher under the advice of the committee. 21. Singing shall be encouraged, and as far as practicable, taught in all the schools, not only for its direct intellectual and moral uses, but as a healthy exercise of the lungs, an agreeable recreation to the pupils, and an auxiliary in school government: but no one shall be required to engage in it against the wishes of his parents. 22. The teacher may, under the advice of the visiting committee, occasionally employ the older scholars to assist under his direction in the management of the sc'iool when they are capable, and when it can be done without disadvantage to them or to the good order of the school. 23. Every teacher shall keep a record of all the recitations of every class, and of the manner in which every member of the class shall acquit himself in his recitations, using figures or otherwise to mark degrees of merit, and shall exhibit the same to the parents or guar- dians, committee or trustee, when required. 100 FORM 171. 24. It is recommended that there shall be a recess of at least ten minutes in every half day for the older scholars, and of ten minutes in every hour, for the younger. 25. The teache'S shall give vigilant attention to the ventilation and temperature of their rooms, causing those that have been occu- pied to be opened and aired each morning and afternoon, at the times of recess, and at the end of school hours ; and they shall use all pro- per means to avoid those injurious extremes of heat and cold, which negligence might induce. 26. The teachers shall take care that their rooms and entries are kept neat and clean, and swept as often as necessary, and that they be dusted every day. 27. The teachers shall take care that the school houses, the appa- ratus in the same, and all the public property entrusted to their charge, be not defaced or otherwise injured by the scholars; and it shall be the duty of the teachers to give prompt notice, to one or more of the trustees, of any repairs or supplies that may be needed ; and they may prescribe such rules for the use of the yards and outbuild- ings connected with the school houses, as shall ensure their being kept in a neat and proper condition, and shall examine them as often as may be necessary for such purpose, and they shall be held respon- sible for any want of neatness or cleanliness about their premises. 28. The following rules shall be observed by all teachers unless otherwise specified in their written contract; — they shall teach six hours every day, including the recess, and shall divide the day into two sessions with at least one hour intermission in the middle of the day: — they shall teach every day in the week, except Saturday and Sunday, and four weeks for a month. They may dismiss the school on the Fourth of July, on Christmas, and days of Public Fast and Thanksgiving, and for the purpose of attending a Teachers' Institute, and such other meetings as the Commissioner of Public Schools may appoint and invite the attendance of the teachers. PUPILS. 29. Good morals being of the first importance, and essential to their progress in useful knowledge, the pupils are strictly enjoined to avoid idleness and profanity, falsehood and deceit, and every wicked and disgraceful practice, and to conduct themselves in a sober, order- FOKM 171. 101 ly and decent manner, both in and out of school, to obey all orders of their teachers in relation to their conduct and studies, and to be punctual and constant in daily attendance. 30. The scholars must scrape their feet on the scraper, and wipe them on every mat they pass over on their way to the school room ; they must hang their hats, caps and overcoats on the hooks, or de- posit them on the shelves appropriated to each respectively ; and must be held responsible for the neatness of their own desks and the floor nearest to their seal, and for the good order of their books and stationery, 31. No scholar who comes to school without proper attention hav- ing been given to the cleanliness of his person and of his dress, [or whose clothes are not properly repaired, shall be permitted to remain in school. 32. Every pupil who shall, any where on, or around the school premises, use or write any profane or unchaste language, or shall draw any obscene pictures or representations, or cut, mark, or other- wise intentionally deface any school furniture, or buildings inside or out, or any property whatsoever belonging to the school estate, shall be punished in proportion to the nature and extent of the oflence ; and shall be liable to the action of the civil law. 33. Every pupil who shall, accidentally or otherioise, injure any school property, whether fences, gates, trees or shrubs, or any building or any part thereof, or break any window glass, or injure or destroy any instrument, apparatus or furniture belonging to the school, shall be liable to pay in full for all the damage he has done. 34. All the scholars shall leave school in good order and quietly, as sopn as dismissed, unless permitted by the teacher to remain ; and all unnecessary noise in or around the school house is pro- hibited. The throwing of sticks, stones or other missiles in or near the school house and the knocking off of caps or hats are strictly prohibited. 35. No scholar of either sex shall be permitted to enter that part of the yard and buildings appropriated to the other, without the teacher's permission. 36. Smoking and chewing tobacco in the school house or upon the school premises are forbidden. 102 FORM 171. 37. There shall be a return made from every school supported in whole or in part by the public money, to the School Committee, according to the form published by the Commissioner of Public Schools, and with such additional items of information as the Com- missioner or Committee may from time to time require. And if there be summer and winter schools, or there be two or more schools of the same or a different grade, a separate account shall be given of each school. 38. Every teacher shall keep a copy of these rules and regula- tions posted up in the school room, and shall cause the same to be read aloud in school at least once in every month. A true copy : Witness, III. The following are extracts from the Regulations of the School Committee of Portsmouth, which were drawn up by Thomas R. Hazard, Esq. Sec. It shall be the teacher's duty to act as Librarian, and to adopt regulations from time to time for the security and useful ap- plication of the books ; subject to the approval of any committee which may be appointed by the district for that purpose. Sec. It shall be required of the teacher to read aloud to his pupils either at the commencement or close of the school, in suita- ble sections, the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of Rhode-Island, and to encourage his pupils in the perusal of such works as may be furnished the school library and approved of by the district, as may treat on Commerce, Finance, Agricul- ture, Manufactures, the Mechanic Arts, History of the Law (jf Na- tions as applicable in their intercourse with each other, and on such other subjects as may tend to qualify them to exercise that impor- tant and responsible trust, upon the faithful and upright discharge of which the very existence of their country may yet depend — " the right of suffrage." Sec. It shall be the teacher's duty not only to cultivate the intellects of his pupils, but he shall seek proper occasions to pro- mote their moral progress and improvement by discouraging the expansion of evil propensities ; an'1 instilling into their minds ov^ry TOKM m. 103 virtuous and elevated sentiment : such as at all times to adhere rigidly to the truth, both in heart and word, Avithout regard to con- sequences : that they maintain a strict regard to the rights and feelings of others ; and that they cultivate friendly and compas- sionate sentiments one towards another, and to all living creatures; that they ever abstain from inflicting unnecessary pain or death on any part of the animal creation : — and finally, that they live in con- formity with that comprehensive injunction of the Saviour of men, and which includes every duty of man to his fellow man, " to do unto others as we would that they should do unto us." INDEX. The references are to the sections in the margin. Academies may incorporate themselves, 75, 135. Accounts of committee, how kept, 98. of town treasurer, 23, 84. AFriBMATiON. See Engagement. Age OF ADMISSION should be uniform, 16, 97. over fifteen not excluded except by general rule, 60. Altekaxion of districts. See Districts. Annulling certificate, form for, 141. Appeal, to Commissioner, in what cases, 65, 133. if legal votes rejected, 116. decided without cost, 65. on appeal, strict notice may be dispensed with in certain cases, 30. form for, 165. rules may be prescribed by Commissioner, 65. from appraisal of land taken for school house, 13. Apportionment of property, 49. of money. See Monej'. Appkopkiation for schools, 2. for Indian school, 74. for deaf, dumb, blind and idiots, 73. for teachers' institutes, 58. for poor insane, 134. See act of January, 18o0. Akchitecture of school houses, 93. Assessment. See Trustees and Rate-bill. Assessors of town. See Tax. Assistant teacher to be examined, 54. Associations for libraries and academies may incorporate them- selves, 75, 135. Attendance average, how calculated, r27. register to be kept by teacher, 57, 126. half of State money apportioned according to, 20. 14 106. INDEX. The references are to the sections in the margin. Attokney. Districts must execute all deeds, leases, &c. by At- torney, vote to appoint Attorney to execute deed, 162. " " " take a lease, 160. " " " " execute building contract, 150, See Power of Attorney. Baknaed Henry, 92, 93, 111, 135. Bible, remarks on use of in schools, 129. Blackboards may be furnished by tax, 35. Blank forms prescribed by Commissioner, 4, 21 , 22. to be distributed by town clerks, 24. Blind, provision for education of, 73, 134. Bond, form of district treasurer's, 154. " collector's, 155. collector and treasurer need not give, unless required, 37- Books to be recommended by Commissioner, 3. to be regulated by school committee, 16, 96. to be furnished to poor scholars by trustees, 41. sectarian, should not be admitted, 96. distributed by Legislature to school districts. 111. See Bible. BouNDAHiES of districts. See District Boundaries. Building contracts, form of, 151. plans to be approved, 35. See Remarks, 93. BuRRiLLViLLE, special acts as to No. 2, January, 1836, and Jan- uary, 1838, repealed. Special act for town, June, 1840, repealed. Certificate of election. See Warrant. of engagement. See Engagement. of qualilication of teachers, 55. by whom annulled, 54, 56, 94. form of certificate, 139. form for annulling, 141. given by committee valid for one year in town, 54. by inspector valid in county two years, 54. by Commissioner in State three years, 54. subjects of and manner of examination, 55, 94. Charlestown, school for Indians in, 74. Indians not to be reckoned in apportioning money, 74. special act for building school houses, June 1837, repealed. Clerk of town. See Town Clerk. of district, must be an elector, 113, See Constitution. INDEX. 107 The references are to the sections in the margin. Clerk of committee may engage certain officers, 62. " to be engaged, 62, form lo8. of district may engage officers, 62. of district may sign all official papers, 10. " to be engaged, 62, 123, form of, 138. " may b^ engaged by moderator, 62. " to procure book of record, 72. "• should record district boundaries. *' to deliver papers to successor, 64. "■ to give copies, 64. violating laws, 64, 123. " his record evidence of engagement, 62. " " " notice of meeting, 72. " to record names of persons voting if requested, 32. " holds until successor appointed, 63. *' should record rejected as well as adopted mo- tions, 123. ." should read mimites of record in open meeting, 123. See Records and Tax. Chairman of committee to be engaged, 62. may engage certain officers, 62. or clerk to sign all official papers, 10. Collector. See tax. may be appointed at annual or any meeting, 37. must be elector, 113. See Constitution. should be engaged, 62. form of, 138. need not give bond unless required, 37. form of bond, 155, 125. to have powers of town collector, 37. to receive warrant for collecting from trustees, 42. town collector may be employed by district, 37, 59. " " need not be engaged anew, 37. selling land should preserve evidence of advertising, 152. form of deed on sale for taxes, 157, holds until successor appointed, 63. penalty for violating laws, 64. Commissioner, powers and duties, 2, 3, 4. to be engaged, 62. to decide appeals Avithout cost, 65. may make rules regulating appeals, 65, 4. to apportion school money in May, 2. to exclude Indians in apportioning. See Indians. to draw orders in favor of towns, 2. to prepare forms, 4, 22, 43. 108 WDEX. The references are to the sections tn the margin. Commissioner to visit schools, 3. to recommend books, 3. to hold teachers' institutes, 58. to appoint county inspectors, 4. form of appointment of inspector, 1 69. to grant certificates in cases, 54. to report to January session of Assembly, 4. to hold until successor appointed, 63. case of sickness, &c. Commissioner pro tem., 1. may approve plans of school houses, 35. may remit fines and forfeitures, 4. to distribute fund for deaf, dumb, blind and idiots, 73, 134. may order a tax in certain cases, 46. may correct errors in tax, 47. may abate tax in case of person changed from one district to another, 48. may waive strict notice in certain cases, 30. to receive report from Indian school, 74. Consolidation of school districts. See Union. Committee, when chosen and how many, 8. may be chosen by town council, in case, 85. to be engaged, 62. form of engagement, 138. need not be electors. See Constitution. hold until successors appointed, 63. quorum of, IJ . vacancies how filled, 18, 86i to have certificate of election, 85. form of, 137. will meet quarterly and when, 11. will receive report from town treasurer of unexpended money,23. should send list of Committee to Commissioner, 89. special meetings how called, 87, 106. to receive no compensation unless, &c. 8. to examine teachers, 14, 54. " subjects of examination, 94. " form of certificate, 139. may employ some person to examine, 14, 54. may annul certificates, 14, 54, form for annulling, 141. remarks on annulling certificates, 94. may dismiss teacher by whomsoever 'examined, 56. may make rules and regulations, 16, 97. forms for, 171. may prescribe books and modes of instruction, 1(5, 06. 109 The references are to the sectmis in the margin. Committee may lay off and alter school districts, 12. remarks on, 90. history of law relating to alterations of districts, 92. may apportion property of districts when altered, 49. may authorize two districts in town to unite, 51. may form joint district, with another town, 52, 91. form of vote, 167. may let scholars attend schools in other towns or districts, 53. to locate all school houses, 13. remarks on, 93. to fill vacancies in committee, 18, 86. to report to Commissioner on or before July 1st, 22. to town at town meeting, 22, 99. may reserve money to print their report, 22, 99. if not printed, report must be read in town meeting, 22. may suspend or expel scholars, I 7, 128. to visit schools and how often, 15. may employ person to visit, 15. remarks on visiting, 95. subjects for enquiry when visiting, 95. duty of com. when town is not divided into districts, 5, 59, 19. may assess a rate where there are no districts, 59. duty of com. when district devolves care of school on them. 38, 101. " " wl),en district neglects to keep school, 38. to apportion school money early and how, 20, 98, 74. may divide town money, if town does not, 20. may divide unexpended money, 21. to draw orders in favor of teachers, in case, 21. need not give orders until services performed, 21. form of order, 164. as to records. See records. deaf, dumb, blind, idiots and insane, 73, 134. should approve district tax and rate-bill, 36, 59. may abate tax when person is removed from one district to another, 48. may call district meeting for organization, or where no trus- tees, 25. " " where trustees neglect to call it, 27. " ••' may direct how to notify, 30. may he authorized by town to appoint superintendent, 7. superintendent, (if not one of committee) should be elector. Constitution. Constitution of state, provision for education. Article 12th. permanent school fund not to he diverted. • Idem. 110 INDEX. The references are to the sections 'm the margin. Constitution, school committee need not be electors. Article 9th. all other officers must be. Idem. any elector may be elected to office. Idem. Contract, with teacher. Form 142, 107. for building, 151. of district may be enforced by Commissioner, 46. Corporations, districts to be, 33. academies and libraries may, 75, 135. Costs, appeal to be decided without costs, 65. on suits against district officer, no costs if acted in good faith, 67. Council. See town council. County inspector. See inspector. Coventry. Special act as to No. 6, Jan. 7, 1842, repealed. Criminals, juvenile may be sentenced to Providence Reform School. See acts of January and October, 1S50. Cumberland. Special acts of October, 1S34, and October, 1838, now repealed. Deaf, dumb, blind and idiots, provision for, 73, 134. Debts and damages, how recovered of district, 46, 69. Declining office, 18, 37. Deed, form of, from school district, 163. power from district to execute, 162. to district, form of, 161, from tax collector, form of, 157. Deposit Fund. See act of October, 1836. District Clerk. See Clerk. District Collector. See Collector. District Treasurer, may be elected at any meeting, 37. should be elector, 113. See Constitution. should have certificate. " be engaged, 62, holds until successor appointed, 63. • need not give bond unless required, 37. form of bond, 154, 124. if receives school money, to pay it to trustees, 21, District Boundaries, to be fixed by committee, 12, on what principles, 90, 12. when altered, property to be apportioned, 49. history of the law relating to, 92. existing districts confirmed, 12. no new district with less than 40 children, unless approved by School Commissioner, 12. Districts, as to notice of meetings, see notice. may organise at any time on notice by committee, 25. INDEX. Ill The references are to the sections in the margin. Districts, annual meeting, when, 26, 114. meeting, if no trustees, called by committee, 25. shall be called on request, 27. if trustees neglect, committee may call, 27. shall be held at school house unless, 28. district may fix place of meeting, 28. meeting shall be in district, 28. if called by committee they shall notify, 30. district may prescribe mode of notice, 30. form of vote for this, 148. may choose moderator at each meeting, 31, 114. moderator need not be engaged, 62. " may engage clerk, 62. may choose clerk, one or three trustees, &c., 37. may fill vacancies, 37. if don't choose them at annual meeting, may at any other, 37. ofRcers must be electors, 113. See Constitution, may require bonds of collector and treasurer, 37. may insure against fire, 35. remarks on powers of, 114, 117, 120. quorum of district meeting, 118. may devolve care of school on committee, 38, 101. if do not organise or neglect, committee may provide school, 3S. may fix rates for tuition and incidentals, 59. may authorise trustees to fix rates, 59. see Kates. cannot keep scholar from school on account of poverty, 60. should exempt the poor from assessment, 59, 117. may build school houses by tax, 36. may tax for all school purposes, 36, 120. see Tax. may provide maps, blackboard, library, clock and appendages by tax, 35. must have plan of house and tax approved by committee or Commissioner, 35, 36. remarks on this provision, 93. must make returns to obtain money, 43, 21. must keep school in house approved by committee, 21. may adopt a seal, 168. must execute deeds, leases and contracts by attorney, debts and damages, how recovered, 46, 69. Avhen can rescind vote, 46, 120. forms of votes. See Forms, inhabitants may be witnesses, 71. " may answer suit against district, 68. 112 INDEX. The references are io the sections in the margin. Districts may place tax, &c, in hands of town collector, 37. refusing to collect tax in certain cases, 46, 69. writs against, how served, 70. school house exempt from execution, 69. " "• " taxation. Digest, p 431. may take land for school house, 13. may abate tax in case of person removed, 48. may join to establish secondary or grammar school, 50. in same town may join without losing money, 51, may form joint district with another town. See Districts Joint. existing districts confirmed, 12. Districts Joint, in adjoining towns, how formed, 52, 122. form of vote, 167. meeting, how called, 52. may prescribe mode of notifying meetings, 52, 30. form of vote, 148, money, how apportioned to, 52. under supervision of committee, where house located, 52. collecting tax in, 52. how altered, 52. Disturbing school, how punished, 132. scholars expelled for, 17. Division of Districts, property how apportioned, 49, 90. Dumb, provision for education of, 73, 134. East Greenwich, special act of January, 1832, now repealed. Election, of school committee, 8. who may be committee. Constitution. of chairman and clerk of committee, 10. of sub-committee for examination, 14. of district officers, 37, 114. Engagement to office, 62. penalty for not taking, 62. officers holding over, need not be engaged anew, 63. town collector need not be engaged anew, 37. record of clerk of district to be evidence of engagement, 62. Justice of peace cannot act out of his own town in civil mat- ters. Digest, p. 104, § 5. Examination by committee. See Committee. by inspector, 54, 55. manner of conducting, 94. See Certificate and Teacher. Executions against districts, how served, 69. Exemptions from taxes. See Tax. poor exempt from rate-bill, 59, 61. INDEX. 3 13 The references are to the sections in the margin. Exemptions, property exempt from distress, 152, note. school house exempt from execution, 69. school house exempt from taxation. Digest, page 431. ExETEK, special acts, January, 1838, and January, 1839, repealed. " as to No. 4, Oct. 1841, repealed. Fines. See Penalty. FiKE insurance, provision for, 35. FoEFEiTUKES. See Penalty. Forms, warrant or certificate of election of school officers, 137. oath and certificate of engagement of, 138. certificate to a teacher from committee, 139. certificate from county inspector, 140. annulling certificate, 141. contract with teacher to keep school, 142. notice of first meeting of district, 143. notice of annual district meeting, 144. application to trustees for special meeting, J 45. commencement of district records, 146. form for choosing officers, 147. vote of district prescribing mode of notice, 148. vote of district to devolve school on committee, 149. vote of district to build school house, 150. contract to build house, 151. vote to lay a tax, j52. form of a tax bill, 1 53. district treasurer's bond, 154. collector's bond, 155. warrant to collect taxes, 156. tax collector's deed, 157. rate bill for tuition, 158. lease to a district, 159. power of attorney from district to take a lease, 160. deed to a school district, 161. vote appointing attorney to sell district's land, 162. deed of district land, 163. order for money, 164. notice of appeal, 165, vote to establish secondary school, 166. vote of committee to establish joint district, 167. vote prescribing form of seal for district, 168. appointment of county inspector, 169. form of district's return, 170. rules and regulations of town schools, 171. of voluntary incorporation of libraries, &c. 136. 15 114 INDEr. The references are to the sections in the margin. Forms, of town treasurer's certificate to obtain school money, 84. of regulations for libraries, 135. Fuel, how provided, 59. Fund, permanent school fund cannot be diverted. Constitution, Art. 12. deposit fund or U. S. surplus revenue. See Act of Oct. 1836. General Treasurer. See Treasurer General. Glocestee, special act, January, 1840, repealed. GoxEKNOR to appoint Commissioner of Public Schools, 1 . " " committee to superintend Indian school, 74. may aid poor insane persons, 134. See Act of January, 1850. Gkadation of schools provided for by towns, 5. district may establish graded schools, 59, 103. two districts may establish secondary schools, 50. History of school legislation in Rhode-Island, 92. HoPKiNTON, special acts passed June, 1829, Nov. 1831, and June, 1835, now repealed, special act as to No. 9, Oct. 1838. Idiots, provision for training and education of, 73, 134. Imbeciles. See Idiots. Incorporations, voluntary, 75, 135. Indians in Charlestown, school for, 74. teacher to be examined, 74. not to be reckoned, 74. Insane poor may be aided by Governor out of treasury, 134. Act of January, 1 850. Inspectors to be appointed for each county, 4. form of appointment, 169. his certificate good for two years, 54. may be annulled, 54, 56. should import higher degree of qualification, 54. office expires first Tuesday of May and do not hold over, 4. may be removed, 4. Institute, teachers', to be held by Commissioner, 58. Insurance against fire, 35. Interrupting school, how punished, 132. scholars may be expelled for, 17. Jamestown, wardens may engage officers, 62. Johnston, special act as to No. 13, March, 1842, repealed. Joint districts. See Districts Joint. Judge may engage any office within the state, 62. of supreme court may decide appeals, 65. iNntx. 115 The references are to the sections in the TTiargin. Judgment against district, how enforced, 69. Justice of peace may engage officers, 62. cannot act out of his own town in civil matters, Digest, p 104, § 5 may administer poor debtor's oath in certain cases, 61. may sentence juvenile offenders in any county to the Reform School. Pamphlet Laws, p 794. Juvenile criminals may be sentenced to Providence Reform School. See acts of January and October, 1850. Lease of lot to school district, form of, 159. power of attorney from district to execute lease, 160. Legal proceedings, 30, 65. Library may be provided by town, 5. " " district tax, 34. association may incorporate itself, 75, 135. form for, 1 36. meetings and quorum of, 78. Little Compton, special act as to committee, May 1341, repealed. Local Acts, what ones repealed by new law, 81. see them collected in Journal of Institute, vol 1. see this index under the names of the towns. Location of school-houses to be made by committee, 13. remarks on, 93. Map of State, 111, 130. ISIaps, district may purchase, 35, 111. Meetings of school committee, when, 11. quorum of, 11. special, how called, 87, 106. of districts, when, 26. quorum of, 118. special meetings, how called, 27 form for calling special meeting, 145. shall be called on request, 27. if trustees neglect, committee may call, 27. if no trustees, committee may call, 25. shall be held at school house unless, 28. shall be in district, 28. see Notice and Districts, of joint districts, how called, 52. religious in school house, 121. of library corporations, how called, &c., 78. Misconduct, scholars expelled for, 17. of school officers, how punished, 64. Moderator elected for each meeting:. 31. 116 mDEi. The references are to the sections in the margin. Moderator, need not be engaged, 62. refusing to put questions to vote, 64. violating laws, 64. Money, how apportioned to towns, 2. Indians not included, 74. on what conditions, 2, 6, 22. how apportioned to districts, 20, 52, 98. on what conditions, 21. form of certificate of towns raising their proportion, 84. form of committee's order on town treasurer, 164. Music, 94. Narragansett Indians, 74. Newport, school fund. See acts of May, 1827, June, 1828, and June, 1830. New Shoreham, warden may engage officers, 62. New Testament. See Bible. North Kingstown, special act for No. 9, June, 1840. North Providence, special act as to No. I, October,1836, repealed. No. 7, May, 1838, repealed. " for town, January, 1841, May, 1841, and January, 1842, repealed. Notary may engage any officer within his county, 62. Notice of special meeting of school committee, 87, 106. of district meeting for organization, 25, 143, for annual or special meeting, 144. mode of notifying may be prescribed by district, 30. " " if called by school committee, 30. all notices from committee must be signed by chairman or clerk, 10. strict notice may be dispensed with in certain cases, 30. remarks on notices and preserving evidence of them, 123, clerk's record prima facie evidence of notice, 72. Oath. See Engagement. Officers to be engaged, 62. who may hold office, 1J3. to hold until successors appointed, 63. penalty for violating laws, 64. protected from costs in certain cases, 67. Orders on town treasurer for money, form of, 164. may be given to teachers, &c., by committee, 21. need not be given until services performed, 21. on general treasurer, how procured, 6, 84. of committee must be signed bv chairraan or clerk, 10, I.XDJiX. 117 The references are to the sectioTis in the margin. Organization of school committee, 10, 62, 85. districts may organize at any time, 25, 114. see Districts. Penalty for disturbing school, 132. Digest, p. 395, § 93. for misappropriating money, 64. for not delivering copies, 64. for not delivering over money or papers, 64. how collected, 64. for not taking engagement, 62, Commissioner may remit forfeitures, 4. Poor persons may be relieved from tax or rate bill on oath, 61. may take oath before commitment, 61. deaf, dumb, blind and idiots, 73. insane may be assisted by Governor out of State Treasury, 13 4. Act of January, 1850. Poor scholars not to be excluded from schools, 60. should be exempted from assessment, 59. supplied with books at expense of district, 41. Power of attorney. See Attorney. Process against districts, how served, 70, 69. Providence schools, how regulated, 80. reform school. See acts of January and Octobar, 1850. Punishment for disturbing school, 17, 132. power of teachers to punish for acts done out of school, 131. Qualification of teachers. See Examination and Teachers. of voters. See Voters, 113. any voter may be elected to ofTice, 113. Quorum of school committee, 11. of district meeting, 118. of library corporations, 78. Rate bills for tuition-, fuel and incidental expenses, 59. form of, 158, amount limited, 59. may be raised by trustees to keep four months without vote of district, 59. in all cases to be approved by committee, 59. how collected, 42, 59, 152. ' district may place them in hands of town collector, 37, 59. trustees to make out rate bills and issue warrants, 42. poor persons exempt from, 59. *' '* may take poor debtor's oath without being com- mitted, 61. 118 The references are to the sections in the margin. Reconsideration of vote when allowed, 46, 119. Records of bounds and alterations of district to be kept by town clerk, 24. of school committee, 104. of districts, 123. clerk to record number and names of voters on request, 32. " to procure book for records, 72. " should read record in open meeting, 123. record to be prima facie evidence of notice, 72. " " " engagement, 62. forms of district records, 146, 147. Reform school in Providence. See acts of January and Oct. 1850. juvenile delinquents in any county may be sen- tenced to. Idem. Refusal to serve, 18, 37. Register of attendance to be kept, 57, 127. Registry tax may be divided by such rule as town directs, 20. Regulations for schools may be made by committee, 16, 97. forms for, 171. for appeals, &c. may be made by Commissioner, 4, 65. violation of by scholars, 17. Religious meetings in school houses, 121. opinions of teacher, 94. Removal from office or district, &,c. 18, 37. Repairs may be made by tax, 35. must be approved by Committee or Com:nissioner, 35. reasons for restriction, 93. Rent, district may tax for, 35, 120. Report of Commissioner to Legislature, 4. forms to be prescribed by Commissioner, 4, 22, 43. of trustees to committee, 43, 99, 112. teacher must prepare them if requested, 57. forms of, 170. importance of having full and correct reports, 99. Note to 170. committee to report to Commissioner on or before July 1st, 22. " " to town at annual town meeting, 22. " may reserve money to print their report, 22. " if not printed, to be read in town meeting, 22. Repeal, former laws how far repealed, 81. Rescinding vote, when allowable, 46, 119. Resignation need not be in writing, 115. Returns. See Reports. Richmond, special acts of June, 1835, January,1836, and October, 1837, now repealed. " special act on petition of Fardon Olney, &c. Oct. 1838. i7?Diir. 119 The references are to tfie sections in t}ie margin. Richmond, special act on district No. 4, Richmond, Oct, 1838. Rules. See Regulations. Scholars may be suspended or expelled by committee, 17. teacher may be authorized by rule to suspend temporarily, 128. disturbing school how punished at law, 132. poor cannot be excluded from school, 60. poor to be supplied with books at expense of district, 41, not to be excluded for being over fifteen years old, 60. age may be regulated by committee, 16. School books. See Books. committee. See Committee. districts. See Districts. libraries. See Libraries, School fund, permanent, cannot be diverted. See Constitution, Art. 12. Deposit fund, or U. S. surplus revenue. See act of Oct. 1836. Schools must be kept in house approved by committee, 21. in district not organized to be kept by the committee or agent, 38. disturbance of how punished, 17, 132. misconduct, scholars may be expelled for, 1 7. power of teacher to punish for acts done out of school, 131. committee may make regulations, 16. register of attendance to be kept, 57, 127. in towns not divided into districts, committee to regulate, 5, 59, 19. superintendent of may be appointed, 7. School house, special acts for building. See the names of the towns. first gerieraZ act for building by taxation, January, 1844, now repealed. exempt from taxation, Digest, page 431, § 27. plan of must be approved of by Committee or Commissioner, 35, 93. use of for religious or other meetings, 121. may be built by town tax, 5. power of district to build, 35, 120. to be located by committee, 13. remarks on location, 93. form of vote to build, 150. " building contract, 151. " power of attorney to make contract, 150. exempt from sale on execution, 69. may be insured against fire, 35. SciTUATE, special act as to No. 15, January, 1841, repealed. 120 INDEX. TJie references are to the sictiims in the margin. Seal of district what will be, 168. form of vote to adopt one, 16S. Secondary schools, 50. Senator may engage any officers, 62. Smithfield, special acts of June, 1830, January, 1838, and Oct. 1837, now repealed. South Kingstown, special act as to No. 17, Oct. 1838, special act for town, January, 184 1, repealed. Special acts for building school houses. See the names of the towns. Studies. See Books. Sub-committee may be appointed to examine teachers, 14, 54. may be person not of committee, 14, 54. Suits at law, districts may prosecute, 34, proceedings in, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71. Superintendent of schools may be appointed by town, 7. to be paid by town, 7. town may authorize committee to appoint, 7. if not one of committee, must be an elector. Constitution. Supreme Court, judge approving Commissioner's decision, final, 65. Surplus Revenue of United States. See act of October, 1836. Tax, school house exempt from taxation. Digest, page 431. for what purpose towns may tax. See Towns. for what districts may tax, 36, 120. who may vote for, 32. to be levied according to town assessment, 45. assessment to be made by trustees, 42, trustees need not give notice, 45. tax and plans must be approved by school committee, 35, 36. trustee must issue warrant to collector, 42. form of warrant, 156. district may employ town collector to collect, 37, 59. town collector need not be engaged or give bond anew, 37. to be collected as town taxes, 37. in joint district to be approved by Committees or Commis- sioner, 52. in what cases town assessors to be called on, 45. town assessors to give ten days notice, 45. collector and treasurer need not give bond unless required, 37. form of collector's bond, 155, 125. vote to lay a tax, form of, 152. district refusing to collect tax. Commissioner to collect it in certain cases, 46. errors in assessing, how corrected, 47. INDEX. 121 The references are to the sections in the margin. Tax, if not appealed from, cannot be questioned in Court, 66. summarj' of statute law as to collecting taxes, 1 52, and note to form 157. may be abated in cases of persons changed from one district to another, 48. in suit against district officer, no costs if acted in good faith, 67. for local ac':s as to taxation. See names of towns, first general act for building school houses by tax, January, 1844, now repealed. Teacher, what qualifications required, 55, 126. to be examined and by whom, 14, 54, 94. must be employed by trustees, 40, 107. may be by committee in case, 38. foi-m of certificate, 139. may be dismissed by committee in all cases, 56. certificate may be aimulled, 54. to keep register and make returns, 57. importance of having full reports and returns, note to 170. form of contract with trustees, 142. remarks on duties of, 126. should attend teachers' meetings, 110. how to calculate average attendance, 127. may suspend scholars temporarily if allowed by rules, 128. remarks on using Bible in schools, 129. penalty on disturbing his school, ]32. power to punish scholars for acts done out of school, 131. should inform committee when school begins, should notify parents, &-c. if scholars have not proper books, 41 of Indian school to be examined, 74. Teachers' money, what, 20. Teachers' Institutes to be held by Commissioner, 58. Testament. See Bible. TfVERTON, special act as to No. 13, June, 1841, repealed. Towns, to raise money before receive proportion from State, 6. " July 1st, 2, if do not raise it, their proportion to be added to permanent fund, 6. but Commissioner may remit forfeitures, 4. may establish libraries, 5. may support schools, 5. may build houses by town tax, 5. to choose a school committee of not less than three, 8. may direct by what rules town money shall be divided among the districts, 20. 16 122 INDEX, The references are to the sections in the margiii. Towns, may appoint or empower committee to appoint superintend- ent, 7. not to be divided into districts without direction of town, I'S. Town Collector may be employed to collect tax or rate, 37, 59. need not be engaged or give bond anew, 37. Town Clerk to record boundaries and alterations, 24. to distribute school blanks, 24. to furnish committee certificate of election, form of, 137. may engage all officers, 62. Town Treasurer to keep separate account of all school monies, 23. to furnish account to committee on their election, 23. to apply to Commissioner for State money, 84. form of certificate to obtain it, 84. to pay it to order of committee only, 6, 23. form of committee's order, 164. penalty for misappropriating, 64. of Charlestown to receive money for Indian school, 74. Town Council may choose committee in case, 85, 86. may fill vacancies in case, 86. member of may engage school officers, 62. Treasurer General, to pay order of Commissianer, 2. to invest forfeited money, 6, to pay money for Indian school to treasurer of Charlestown, 74. Treasurer town. See Town Treasurer. Treasurer of district. See District Treasurer. Trustees, one or three may be elected, 37. when elected, 26, 37. must be electors, 113. See Constitution, hold until successors appointed, 63. form of certificate of election, 137. should be engaged, 62. form of, 138. to receive no pay, 44. vacancy how filled, 37. if three, majority may act, 106. meetings of trustees, how called, 106. remarks on duties of, 107, fcc. to employ no one unless examined, 54, 107. must keep school at least four months, 21. neglecting to keep school, committee may do it, 38. form of contract with teacher, 142. to make returns to committee, 43, 99, 112. may require teacher to prepare them, 57. formof returns, 170. INDEX. 123 The references are to the sections hi the margin. Trustees, importance of having full and correct returns, note to 170. to certify that teachers money has been rightly expended, 21. should keep inventory of district property, 111. to have custodj'^ of school house fexcept when committee keep the school) 40, 38. to notify committee when school begins, 40. duty to visit schools, 40. subjects for enquiry when visiting schools, 95. • may let scholars attend from other districts, 53. should exempt the poor from assessments, 59, 117. supply poor scholars with books at expense of district, 41. should encourage teachers to attend Institute and meetings, 110 to notify district meetings, and how, 29, 30, 109. if refuses to notify, committee may do it, 27. may collect rate to keep four months school without vote of district, 59. to make out rate bills and assess taxes, 42. but all rates and taxes must be approved by committee, 59. to issue warrants to collector, 42. form of warrant, 156. need not give notice of assessing tax, 45. when to call on town asssssors, 45. town assessors to give ten days notice, 45. to deliver over papers to successor, 64. penalty for failure of duty, 64, 109. Union of districts, districts united to own all the property, 49. altered, property to be apportioned, 49. provision for union, 50, 51, 52, 122. Vacancy in committee, how filled, 18, 86. in trustees and district officers, 37, 115. Vail, Rev. Thomas H., 135. Visiting schools, duty of, 3, 15, 40. subjects of enquiry in, 95. committee may employ person to visit, 15. Voluntary incorporation of libraries and academies, 75, 135. forms for, 136. Vote of district, when can be rescinded, 46,119, form of heading, 146. to elect officers, 147. prescribing mode of notifying meetings, 148. to build or repair school house, 150. to lay a tax, 152. " " if not appealed from, final, 66, to devolve care of school on committee, 38, 149, 124 INDEX. The references are to the sectio?is in the margin. Vote, to appoint agent or attorney to sign a deed, 162. " " " take a lease, 160. " " " execute building contract, 150. adopting a seal, 168. to form secondary district, 166. votes to be recorded on request and who voting, 32, 116. motions rejected should be recorded, 123. Voters, who are, 32, 113. who can vote on taxes or expending money, 32. lawful vote rejected, appeal, 116. qualified electors may be officers, 113. Warden in Jamestown and New Shoreham may engage officers, 62. Warrant or certificate of election of committee, 137. of district officers, 137. for collecting tax to be issued by trustees, 42, 156. for enforcing judgment against district, 69, 46. Westerly, special act of January, 1830, now repealed. Witnesses, inhabitants of districts may be, 71. Writs against district, how served, 70. lEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF PITBLIC SCHOOLS. To the Honorahle General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, <^c., January Session, A. D. 1850. The Commissioner of Public Schools respectfully pre- sents the following report : It is to be regretted that the abstract of the school returns, herewith presented, is so imperfect, but it is necessarily so, because a considerable portion of the town returns themselves are very incomplete. Few people seem to be aware of the value of correct statistical tables, and of the information to be derived from them. Different European nations have for years been en- deavoring to collect statistical information as to births, marriages, deaths, &c., with a view to show the effect of occupation, locality, age, sex, condition, and habits, upon the health, wealth, increase or decrease of crime, and general happiness of the people. In this country, Mas- sachusetts, foremost in this as in most other good works, has taken the lead in establishing a system of registra- tion. But little benefit has resulted from it as yet, be- cause the efforts of the State authorities have been thwarted by the neglect and indifference of those whose duty it was to make the returns. In regard to the subject of education, the efforts of those who are endeavoring to improve our schools would be materially aided by correct information as to the number of scholars, average attendance, ages, studies pursued, expense, fee, and it is absolutely necessary to sound legislation. In all of the towns in the State, excepting Providence, Newport, Bristol, and Warren, the schools are managed according to the district system. Nearly all the districts have organized and elected their officers under the pro- visions of the law. A few, from neglect to organize, still remain under the control of the town's committees. 4 which we can oniy hope for from an improved system, and in a long course of years. It is believed that the character and standard of »qual- ifications of our Rhode Island teachers have been greatly improved ; and to no point can our attention be more profitably directed than to this. In many parts of the State, where the schools are most backward, it will be found to result from the fact, that the people have not had the opportunity to know the difference between a good teacher and a poor one. Send a good teacher among them, and the people have good sense and shrewd- ness to appreciate his value, and to be willing to pay for his services. Our academies and high schools, in different parts of the State, have rendered great service in educating our young men for teachers, and in aiding to raise the stand- ard of qualification ; and thus, while all participate di- rectly or indirectly in the benefits derived from them, they are themselves deriving increased support and profit from the creneral desire and thirst for education which they aid in producing. And, in this connection, it may be well to consider, whether some arrangement may not be made by which the advantages now enjoyed by a few only, by means of the College, may be made more accessible to all, and may, in some measure, perhaps, supply the want of a Normal school for the more thorough training of teach- ers. Brown University already has a complete organi- zation, a good hbrary, buildings and officers, and an established reputation among collegiate institutions. It has been supported thus far entirely by private munifi- cence. To set up a new institution for the education of teachers, would require a large expenditure of money, trouble, and time. If, by any change of plan, provision could be made at the College for such as intend to be- come teachers, to obtain the knowledge necessary to qualify them for that office, at a moderate expense, it would be a great public benefit, and would increase the usefulness and influence of that institution. It would tend more and more to identify the interests of the Col- lege with the interests and honor of the State, and the College would then be, what it should be, the head and source of educational reform and progress in the State. As public libraries constitute an important part of the means of public instruction, it may be well to state, that it appears from a table prepared and published by my predecessor, that there are now in public libraries in this State, including the College, Athenaeum, and Redwood libraries, about 85,000 volumes. Nearly every town in the State has now a town or village library, for many of which we are indebted to the generosity of a single indi- vidual, x4masa Manton, Esq., of Providence. The present Commissioner would do injustice to his own feelings, if he should conclude without referring to the services rendered to the people of this State by his predecessor. During the six years he was amongst us, he labored incessantly in endeavoring to raise the char- acter of our teachers and our schools. He was the means, aided by the liberality of others, of establishing a large number of valuable school and town libraries. Under his advice and direction, most of the school- houses were erected, which are now the pride and orna- ment of the State. For his labors- and services, he is entitled to our warmest gratitude. Respectfully submitted, by E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. •ejiBtaSji QOOOOO© lOOOOOOCX) J£| CO i~ m '^ (M cc •* H O CO C5 lO to Cq TO i-H •puBlSI apoqa M CC CD 00 iC '.D •* r !-!■* OC^C-I OC^ICO-^TOO-jO I-OCOC0 lOCOCCCC M ■* 00 •* ■* o ooN a5-*c r-H i-H CO Cq ,0 OOiOTOt-NCl lOCOtHM TO r-1 Or-( 1-1 i-lrl i-l rH ^ Iz; = Saa--S.doMb -S S ^ a ^ o^ oS ' -3 =1 '- ^ £ g El -O o O r- O O ^ S^3 /; P ^ H ;.^ S « 'III 7i t- H Table No. 2, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Pubhc Schools. ^ o o WOUIB BE EEQUIKED TO RAISE IN •|3 It n TOWSS. 3 .ij 1 ^ 3 Ha o p C O o ■i 6 a f*l fi^ S« a o PT ci ^ a 05 1- CO-* tH tOt^ OOOiCrH r-( i-H '"' '"' tHt-I T-lrH I-l "• •aonupna? T-* p CO l^ CO Oi 05 00 CX) . .. . 05 i^ca-* ITS CO coerce 1- (N I— I CD C^ C0 ■$ CO 00 CO CD (M IN rH 0> lO t'rHrHl^O^COCO,. COlOO5CDC^C0C<)5aG^I(M OOC^lCOCOOl COCOO«*050tJ* ■ '^ COMlNrH IMrH •snsuaD Mon £q 'f aaAo 3^ ex japnn ■s.to:)0 ■udojd pu^sia •HJIOX 03COCO-*rH'*005-^'* rH »0 »0 CD iC T^ CO C^J 00 rH C^li£OOCD-*-*COCO(MCO CC|C5CD00rHt— O rHCOt— IT^lOC^liO ■* O rH C<1 O CD CO •*(MrHiOC4C0 lO O CO rH rH O OO -*< CO CO IN rH CO rH OCOrHlNrHOlrHCOl-Cq O •* O' t- C^l I - tO 05 »o C^l rH^ l^ L- -^ O O t- »0 -^ CO oTrH'ofrH'rH'rH'" IN 00 00 Td 00 (N IN O -^ I- l^ CO OO CD rH ■>* rH Cq CO CO - IN O CD . O lO CO rH -^CTCO-* lO ■* rH O to CO rH ■*t~CO t-CD-* C iCrH (N rH t^ rH rH rH »0 r^r~^T-ii-^ C^ >0 IN O rHiOOOCOCOt-C^ rH (MrH rH rH I- CD05-* OO O 03 rH -^ rH C^^ OCDI~l-0'*C005CD I-IOI— C»lOlN OOt-NCOrHCO (NrH rH T-lrH ■uo\}V.'~'iav.7, •not^uzi ■m;3.io UAiox c 2 2i2 _ o o _ O a I •? S -g -; p ^ a = 2§ zs ^ a ^^ t- fc 5 i§ H 'rJ £ 4 bo bn S - - e 2 _, f^T^-;' ^ ^ P 2 WJ t* S pfl i! H |1^ ' eg *"' £ "^ "^ l5^ o CO ^'^ Table No. 2, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. RECEIVED. OS 1 C3 o Mi . TOWNS. i c S ■6 IS II a a 'to "a o a p. 6 ^ o « H w > ^ Providenoe - S7,081 53 $29,926 02 354 35 $37,361 90 .$37,31)1 90 $0717 00 North-Providence 1,376 01 2,500 00 308 98 4,184 99 8.669 21 4,184 69 3500 00 150 00 Smithfield - 3,045 46 3.000 00 2,200 75 423 00 8.743 46 3000 00 1675 00 Cumberland 1,635 41 2,128 00 132 15 3,767 56 3,899 96 2000 00 1842 38 Scituate - 1.348 42 321 06 204 96 1,874 44 1,874 44 32106 827 00 Cranston 1,226 24 800 00 295 45 2,321 79 1,640 49 800 00 1220 00 Johnston 825 97 500 00 130 20 1.456 17 1.456 17 500 00 Glocester - - - 745 92 200 00 204 76 54 91 1,205 59 992 47 200 00 450 00 Foster 760 77 181 11 327 40 52 50 1,321 68 1,234 90 18111 605 00 BurrUlville 678 82 400 00 394 00 Newport 2,482 42 3,000 00 521 32 197 56 6,191 30 5.694 82 3500 00 558 29 Portsmouth 374 49 150 00 949 51 157 00 1,631 00 i;631 00 200 00 Middletown . 356 36 150 00 274 75 17 00 798 11 718 75 150 00 Tiyerton - 1,132 27 1,500 00 526 00 90 16 3.247 43 3.247 43 1500 00 Little-Compton 452 50 120 00 908 47 19 00 1,500 00 1.500 00 200 00 55 00 New-Shoreham - 100 00 Jamestown . - - 92 90 23 00 187 37 12 23 289 10 289 16 23 00 South. Kingstown 1.350 27 325 00 189 21 * 341 97 2.329 55 2,329 55 460 00 Westerly 635 58 200 00 800 00 20 71 1,656 29 1,854 00 200 00 85 00 North. Kingstown 933 59 225 00 360 36 94 77 1,610 72 1,560 02 300 00 Exeter 625 76 148 92 21 86 166 17 962 71 704 14 148 92 Charlestown 351 35 83 65 119 60 554 60 481 87 83 65 Hopkinton - 591 43 140 81 5 08 50 00 787 32 787 32 140 81 1084 00 Richmond 491 16 120 00 546 89 143 94 1,301 89 1,301 89 120 00 Warwick ... 2,178 99 650 00 145 40 142 04 3,116 43 3,206 43 600 00 90 00 Coventry 1,145 15 272 66 204 87 112 54 1,735 22 i;521 70 272 66 East. Greenwich 465 18 150 00 40 00 49 00 704 18 704 IS 115 00 5 14 West-Greenwich . 112 34 Bristol 1,146 06 2,217 56 550 00 3.913 62 3,907 45 2250 00 asoo 00 Warren - 641 13 1.000 00 210 33 1,851 46 1,893 85 1.300 00 Barrington ... 177 57 '200 00 186 08 5 57 569 22 569 22 200 00 18 00 * 250 from fund. Table No. 3, accompanying the Eeport of the Commissioner of Public Schools. TOVS-NS. c c .2 s •)0000000000(?o»n!j<00C^C0000^00 Ol(M00t-.O(N!O00O5«D00 ci (N r-T ,_r .-T lo" rt' CO ■-<' CO O t^ lO O . r- >n 00 »o o ooooo^~^-la>(^^>nc35lM(^^>nmeo<^^OOl^~;oocooo-*'*o»o^n(^^oo^o int^toocot-iMc^CTiooi-icoooirjooot^'-'cot^cooooio-^oo^ot^Oi-it-. a>C)^-mr^— ir)IN o^ cn 00 o> r^ CO T(; co_ ,-- o^ ■* 00 o_ to 00 CO (N o> (N o_ o r» 00 io_ O^ >n_i^ 00 ;o^ OJ^ to rt' in OO" CO' «^ (N i-< r-T (>r i-T «0 ,-;■-(' CO r-T rn rH 0^' rH f-l' CO r-T TjT i-T to 00 in 00 o» 00 )ininc>itDo»ooiooooi-»i— itooininomocooiTJcO'Hco OlMOOtJ'-^O^-^COOlOOOCOOOt^-tJilNt^Cvlr-iClOOinOJOC^OOl^ ooincot--m>no»i— ii— 11— ioso»oot-.oo-^'^Ttitoo»t~-0"ns<)r>.05too»-*io 0)OtDaiO'^t--'^(>)S^'*tOi— iTJ*ir<-tJi •* o o> O in a* CO o>Ot>.oininooM -*OC0rf< — t^cOiO^ Ir^COinOO i-H(Mi-c OOOOtOOOOi—COOOOOOOOOOClin — OOC(0noo_coooin(Np-<-*o_c^r-iin i-ir-4 CO CO" Co' -«--CO inm^rj"TjoitoooTtoot>-ojin ^^r^ininootDininoooc^'^r>.c^c^ coinTi3itoincotoo5«ninintoo>c io> oiomm — co^^r— lOr-toooooo "^ tOO500e0tO- SO^-Tfg^ o = g 1.-2 .>3 ^, 6 2 SH S 5 g-g S > 2 S.2.S fc 12; oi TABULAR STATEMENT. 183 Table No. 2, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. Districts School H auses Scholars. Teach'r* TOWNS. 'c a O d) .2 'S OS o 1 a o •a a> a O 00 o .£ p. 2 Ph .2 a 5 o S > "3 a Providence, 3,121 3,743 6,864 5,742 12 96 North Providence 10 10 953 812 1,763 990 8 17 Smithfield 36 24 11 1,139 1,080 2,311 1,762 23 23 Cumberland 20 17 654 653 1,307 971 12 21 Scituate 17 17 497 328 825 545 13 9 Cranston 11 11 548 346 894 597 5 10 Johnston 356 234 478 420 10 5 Glocester 13 12 1 237 162 422 299 3 10 Foster 19 11 8 303 231 534 341 16 8 Burrillville 16 16 495 332 737 518 7 15 Newport 2 6 642 587 1,229 950 5 12 Portsmouth 7 7 196 122 318 219 6 1 Middletown 5 5 106 57 163 103 5 3 Tiverton 17 16 1 548 430 978 708 10 12 Little Compton 9 1 9 1 258 171 429 202 9 10 New Shoreham 5 5 179 208 392 188 4 1 Jamestown 2 2 37 38 75 40 2 2 South Kingstown 20 1 18 3 502 383 885 639 14 8 Westerly 10 10 299 207 506 410 9 2 North Kingstown 15 12 3 368 271 639 459 9 8 Exeter 13 13 313 127 338 236 10 2 Charlestown 6 1 5 3 138 110 248 166 7 5 Hopkinton 12 12 304 242 546 378 10 1 Kichmond 13 12 1 212 178 390 273 12 1 Warwick 14 1 12 2 675 638 1,313 908 11 11 Coventry 18 14 3 383 275 658 413 12 5 East Greenwich 1 4 5 243 120 366 233 5 2 West Greenwich Bristol 7 370 264 634 579 4 10 Warren 175 156 331 321 Barringtoa 3 312 8 3 72 66 139 108 3 3 16 271 42 14,133 13,521 26.712 19,719 256 313 TABULAR STATEMENT. Table No. 3, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools, 1 o o CO 0) o § a o STATISTICS FBOM NSW CENSUS. a fl a s ft § C3 TOWNS. ga 6 rt o a ^ 2. a o « •a 'O.C £« 5 = . w g > < 111 O (U > P4T3 O V 0* .2 ' ! 4) Q 7 § a. M 121 •o B 5 9 IS tS,705 Providence 9,716 05 6,864 5,742 9,150 4,136 i 13,286 ~i 179 North Providence 1.857 50 1,763 990 1,743 797 2,540 1 3 4 2 1.310 433 Smithfield 2,759 19 2,3111 1,792 2,701 1.072 3,773 1 5 4 4 2,281 469 Cumberland 1.578 87 1.307 971 1,472 687 2,159 3 3 3 1,234 301 8cituate 1.026 74 '825 645 1,021 382 1,404 2;i 2 2 995 66 Cranston 1,115 96 894 497 1,072 454 1,526 5' 4 4 869 91 Johnston 752 61 478 320 751 278 1.029 2| 1 1 617 3 Gloceeter 623 80 422 299 593 260 853 3 4 4 3 691 66 Foster 475 35 684 341 457 193 650 lo; s 4 2 495 13 Burrillville 865 86 737 518 822 362 1,184 2 2 1 845 93 Newport 2,122 23 1,229 950 2,102 800 2,002 44 16 5 1,556 212 Portsmouth 449 02 318 219 448 166 614 5 3 4 442 81 Middletown 189 41 163 103 478 81 259 1 1 163 1 Tiverton 1,302 44 978 708 1.274 507 1,781 24 2 3 S 1,208 309 Litte Compton 356 87 429 202 288 100 488 1 2 503 New Shoreham 369 81 392 188 382 123 505 6 4 4 402 8 Jamestown 67 28 75 40 62 30 92 1 2 69 South Kingstown 961 69 885 639 952 363 1,315 1 5 1 929 71 "Westerly 663 29 506 410 649 258 907 3 6 3 634 40 North Kingstown 711 56 639 459 715 25ft 973 5! 4 7 5 778 111 Exeter 432 20 338 236 407 184 591 1 8 4 6 406 42 Charlestown 247 18 248 166 252 86 338 2 2 1 243 13 Hopkinton 655 24 546 378 660 236 896 5 1 3 691 80 Kichmoud 418 30 390 273 416 156 572 1 1 363 9 Warwick 1,755 86 1,313 908 1,793 608 2,401 3 2 9 1,385 85 Coventry- 841 OC 658 413 841 309 i;i50 1 1 6 1 213 99 East Greenwich 544 82 366 233 663 182 745 3 1 1 511 86 West Greenwich 324 7C 311 133 444 2 4 2 201 Bristol 1,080 86 634 579 1,074 404 1,478 6 6 99S 141 Warren 583 31 331 321 567 232 799 4 1 10 3 655 43 Harrington 148 45 139 108 143 60 203 65 Wi 1 '26.712 19,71S 33.959 13,898 47 857 108 68 233 28,331 3 744 APPENDIX No. 1, NORMAL DEPARTMENT IN BROWN UNIVERSITY- LETTER FROM PROF. GREENE. Pkovidence, February 12, 1852, Hon. E. R. Potter : Dear Sir : — You ask me to give you information respecting the organization, course of instruction, and present condition and prospects of the Normal Department of Brown University. In com- pliance with this request, permit me to premise that the enterprise is yet in its infancy, — the first class having been formed at the com- mencement of the present collegiate year. Hence little can be said of results. It promises well. All that could be reasonably hoped, during so short a period, has been realized. The department is in- tended to fit teachers for the practical duties of the school room. The course of instruction, the drill exercises, all tend towards this point. Two things are contemplated in the plan of organization. Of these that which is peculiar to the department is the professional training which the course in Didactics is intended to give. The second is the literary and scientific discipline which the va- rious courses afford to those who seek for situations in the higher grades of schools. Those who are candidates for degrees are, in the regular order of study, pursuing these courses. To such, the Nor- mal department is a kind of professional school, to fit them for their chosen occupation. But to those who come mainly to study Didac- tics, and yet wish to extend their literary and scientific researches, without obtaining a degree, the collegiate courses afford peculiar ad- vantages. The student is placed at once in a literary atmosphere. He is in daily contact with scholars. He has access to a large and ibb APPENDIX. valuable library. The principles of Chemistry and Natural Philoso* phy are illustrated by an extensive and well chosea apparatus. His- tory, English literature, Rhetoric, and English Composition, are all taught by able professors. And if he cliooses to pursue one or more of the languages, he has the privilege of doing it. All these can be attended to in connection with Didactics. But that the advantages of the department may be enjoyed still more widely, a second class, of a more popular character, has been organized. This class is attending a course of lectures and drill ex- ercises at the lecture room of the High School. It is opened for those teachers, male or female, who seek for situations in Grammar and Primary Schools, and who have already made sufficient progress in the elementary branches to fit them for their profession. The ex- ercises here are purely didactic. The principles of the art of teach- ing are distinctly stated and illustrated before the class ; and to ren- der the work more effective, the members themselves are called out individually to give elementary lessons, — regarding the class for the time as their school. The skill and efficiency with which these ex- ercises are conducted become, at once, a test of ability, aptness to teach, self possession, and power to command attention. This class, thus far, has been chiefly composed of ladies, mostly from Providence and the" surrounding towns. It consists at present of upwards of sixty members. The course of instruction in both classes is, in its general spirit, the same ; but in form it differs, to adapt it to the different degress of attainment of the two. All instructions are given by lectures and practical exercises. The aim of these lectures and exercises is to reach the elementary steps in every branch taught in our schools which can be most easily and readily comprehended by the child. It has also been our aim to determine not only what faculties of the child should be first addressed, but also the point of view from which instruction should be presented to them. Every subject may be said to have an interior and an exterior point of view, from which it may be examined. There is a vital element and an outward manifestation, which is only an unfolding of the former. He only can be said to comprehend a subject who examines it from its spirit and intent. When approached from this interior poini of view, a subject does not lose its identity though it ArPENDIX. 187 assume a variety of forms ; whereas, when viewed through some out" ward manifestation, it is usually seen only through a particular form and that but dimly. For example, the learner is told by the formal- ist in Arithmetic, that he must place vmits under units, tens under tens, hundreds under hundreds, &c. Why he should do so, he can- not tell. He is not made to feel the fitness of it, but obeys simply the letter of the rule. And in Addition, he must begin at the right hand, and add up the first column, writing underneath the entire sum, if it do not exceed nine, but writing only the right-hand figure and carrying the left to the next upper column, if the sum be greater than nine. To the learner thus taught, all these directions become in-wrought into the very idea of Addition, as though they were vital to it. He supposes this the only mode of adding : and that any de- viation from it is a violation of essential principles. Now let the same learner become familiar with every feature of the Arabic sys- tem of Notation as an ingenious invention — let him see how it can, with a few characters, represent all possible numbers— let him see by contrasting it with other methods, as the Koman, for example, what unparalleled facilities it affords for carrying on arithmetical operations — let him understand the fundamental principle that wholes are added to wholes when we unite all their corresponding parts — ■ and he will at once see that it will make, essentially, no 'difference whether we begin at the right hand, or the left, or in the middle, or whether we add up or doion, if so be that all the corresponding parts are united, and each figure has the place which its value demands. If, at length, it should be found by repeated experiments that it is more convenient to begin at the right hand, that conve7iience will then be appreciated, but appreciated as a convenience, and not as something essential. Now when the learner looks at Addition from this point of view, he will see, whatever may be the mode of adding, that every method is pervaded by one and the same principle, viz : that wholes, however large, are added to wholes when we unite their corresponding parts, and that it is the crowning excellence of the Arabic method of Notation, that it represents all numbers in corre- sponding parts, as units, tens, &c., and that these parts, taken sepa- rately, are small numbers, and easily comprehended. This interior view is capable of indefinite illustrations drawn from Arithmetic, Eeading, Grammar, History, Geography, and in fact, all 188 APPENDliC. the branches taught in our schools. It has been the chief aim of oixt course in Didactics, to open and unfold the methods by which the va- Tious branches may be presented from this point of view, to children. In no department has it been found necessary to labor more assidu- ously than in that of Reading. The elements of Reading, if taught at all, are too apt to be exhibited in the form of rules which cannot be readily comprehended, much less exemplified by the pupil. They are usually either a dead letter, or are exemplified only by a servile imitation of the teacher's voice. Now he who looks ata^ubject from this interior point, needs no rule, — the thought and feeling of the writer is his rule ; in other words, the rule is to give just such an expression of the spirit and life of the subject as one would naturally give to it himself, were he to embody it in his own words. Two things are needed to secure good reading. Foremost and chief, is a delicate appreciation of the sentiment to be expressed ; and then such a training of the vocal organs as will secure a forcible, clear, distinct, and musical utterance of that sentiment. He, therefore, who would teach Reading well, must dwell much upon the thought; he must cultivate the "mind's eye" of the child, that he may see what the writer saw, feel what the writer felt, and then express these thoughts and feelings without restraint. In so doing, the pupil, by his own voice, exemplifies the rules of good Reading, at first without knowing it; at length, his own utterance furnishes him with the rules for stress, force, inflection, quantity, rate, pitch, emphasis, cadence, modulation, -fee. &c. But all this must be under the guidance of an experienced teacher, who can himself ap- preciate and exemplify all these qualities of good Reading, and draw the attention of the learner to what his own voice illustrates. Hence, the necessity of such Normal exercises as will prepare teachers to take up Reading from the right point of view. The first error in teaching children to read, lies at the very foundation. The first les- son is usually wrong. Instead of presenting a child at the outset with ti letter, as a mere form for him to look at, and name, the teacher should give him an elementary sound and require him to utter it, — then another, and so on» The letter should afterwards be given as a symbol of the sound, to be associated with it, at first as an aid to his memory, and finally, as a permanent representation. In this way, APPENDIX. 189 the letter means something ; and in combining letters into syllables and words, their utility is readily appreciated. The next error lies in an almost total neglect of the thought^ in the mechanical process which the pupil must go through in spelling out the words of his reading lesson. Hence that stiff, broken, school-boy style of reading which is so disagreeable. It lacks soul — is wholly devoid of thought. To improve it, the unskilful teacher urges the child to " speak up loud," and " read faster," thus involving him in two other errors, — if possible, worse than the first, — and that, too, without correcting the first. The child's voice must, as soon as pos- sible, be placed under the supremacy of thought ; then will this me- chanical utterance yield to a life-like and graceful expression of the sentiment of the writer. Our exercises in the classes have aimed to exemplify this mode of teaching Reading. I have thus given you a few specimens of the methods which have been adopted in our course in Didactics. Suffice it to say, that sim- %r methods are adopted in all the school branches. We have not been through with an entire course in any one; this would be im- possible in the time allowed us. But we have given specimens of what may be called elementary teaching in the various departments of each. It has been our aim to show Jiow this kind of teaching should be conducted, in a suitable number of examples, and leave to the members the work of applying it universally. We have aimed to make them independent teachers, not leaning servilely upon the text-book. Those who give a good elementary lesson without a text-book, will be most likely to use that instrument to the best ad- vantage. Such is the course of instruction, so far as I can represent it in this short space. It should be added, that my connection with the Public Schools of Providence, enables me to give the members of the classes peculiar facilities for improvement. What cannot be seen in exercises conducted before the Normal class, since the members are not children, but only supposed to be for the time, may be witnessed in reality in the different grades of our Public Schools. To these schools, all the members of the class have free access. Here they can witness a practical exemplification of the principles to which their attention has been called. Upwards of eighty persons have availed themselves of the opportu- nity which these exercises afford, since the opening of the Depart- 4 190 APPENDIX, ment last September, It will be seen from this brief sketch of the organizaticn and condition of these classes, that a wider range for culture and mental improvement is h^^re aflorded than in any Normal School in the country. He who would with a liberal education pre- pare himself for teaching in Academies and High Schools, has here an opportunity for so doing. He, again, who would pursue a shorter yet thorough course, can accommodate himself to his wishes and cir- cumstances. And yet, again, he who wishes to combine the advan' tagos of tho Normal School and Teachers' Institute, may attend a course of lectures during the autumn and spring. Again, it will be seen that the exercises appropriately belonging to the Department are strictly didactic, not academic, the latter being furnished by the college courses. The question is not, have you at- tended to such a branch? but, how would you teach it to a beginner? How to one more advanced? What means would you adopt to se- cure order and thrift in a school? To inspire the pupil with enthu, siasm ? To create a love for study ? To raise him to a perception of what is noble, and worthy of his aspiration ? And yet, it is obvi- ous that every branch taken from this point of view assumes a new and peculiar interest, which leads to a far better comprehension of the branch itself, than when learned merely as a school task. A task accomplished simply for the recitation room, is often only half learned ; it is committed to the memory, rather than the understand- ing. But when learned by one who feels himself responsible for an explanation of every idea it contains, it must be thoroughly learned. He must know not only the lesson itself, but its various relations to collateral subjects. He cannot slight it, and then expect to teach it successfully. Hence, although the student, on entering this depart- ment, is supposed already to know what he is now learning to teach ; yet he will find his knowledge of the various branches greatly im- proved from the new impulses under which they are reviewed. The tests to which candidates are usually subjected in examina- tions, make known only their literary qualifications. Little is learned of one's aptness to teach, power to interest and secure attention, abil- ity to control, fruitfulness in expedients, skill in adapting instruction to ao-e and capacity of children, and force and impressiveness of illus- tration. But it is obvtous that these didactic exercises, in no incon- siderable degree, test the capacity of the candidate in all these. — APPENDIX. 191 Hence the advantage which school committees and S'jpervisors may <3erive from an acquaintance with the members of these classes, and the progress which they have made in all the characteristics of the good teacher. It is equally obvious, that the Department will afford peculiar fa- cilities to those who aspire to good situations, and would be placed in, a position to make them?elves known. I am often applied to for suitable persons to fill all classes of vacancies, from the High School down to the Common District School. Hoping that this imperfect outline may in a measure answer your inquiries, I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, SAMUEL S. GKEENE, Prof, of Didactics in Brown University, APPENDIX No. 1I„ EVENING SCHOOLS. LETTER FROM REV. E. M. STONE. Pkovidence, Feb. 11, 1852. Hon. Elisha R, Potter : — Dear Sir : — When I promised, at your request, to prepare an ar' tide on Evening Schools for your Annual Report, it was my inten- tion to have given to the subject the detailed consideration its impor- tance demands. From the fulfilment of this intention I am preclu- ded by an unusual press of duties, and at this eleventh hour can on- ly say a few words as an expression of my unabated interest in a class of institutions that must, from necessity, fill an important place in the educational movements of the day. In 1S49 I prepared, at the instance of your predecessor, Hon. Henry Barnard, an account of Public Evening Schools in this coun" try, embracing notices of all that were then know^nto be in operation. This account was published in his final report to the General As- sembly. Since then, similar schools have been established in New Orleans, Newburyport, (Mass.,) Portsmouth, (N. H.,) Portland^ (Me.,) and several other places : all of which have fulfilled the eX' pectations of their friends. Eighteen years have passed away since the first Public Evening Schools were opened in the United States, and theconviction of their utility has been gradually gaining strength in the public mind. The National Convention of the friends of education held in Philadelphia in 1849, and again in 1850, one of the most intelligent bodies that has been convoked in this country on any occasion, took up this sub* ject as one of commanding importance, and at the recommendation of a committee who, by Prof. Hart, their chairman, made an interest- ing report on the subject, adopted the following resolution : *' Eesolvid, That this Convention recommends to the earnest con-^ APPENDIX. 193' sideration of the community in the several States, the propriety of establishing generally, free Evening Schools for adults and for young pers-^ns who are not in attendance upon the day schools." From the report to which I have referred, I transcribe and enclose several paragraphs embracing statements worthy of profound consid-. eration. These statements confirm the opinion I have long entertained, that something should be done to meet wants that are not met by our day schools. In every manufacturing village are to be found many chil- dren and youth like those described in these extracts. There is also another class, a large portion of them foreigners. They are ignorant' often, of the simple rudiments of learning, and are precluded, by age, pride, or false shame, from entering a primary class in our public day schools. They form, to an extent, a distinct order, and if educated at all, must be approached in a way that does not arouse either of these hostile feelings. It is easier to form an evening school of fifty boys fourteen or fifteen years of age, who cannot read and write, than to induce five of that number to attend a day school. In a manufacturing State, like Rhode Island, having so many of this class amoug its population, these considerations bear with great force. Evening Schools should be established in every village for the benefit of its juvenile operatives, and of all others who need their advantages. It is not merely the dictate of philanthropy, but of en- lightened policy, to encourage in such the spirit of intellectual cul- ture, — never, indeed, losing sight of their moral and religious devel- opment. Intelligence is essential to the growth of the morals of the young, as it is to the improvement of their manners ; and to permit a generation to grow up among us without education sufficient to qualify them to transact ordinary business, or to give them correct ideas of our political institutions, is to violate a principle upon which their permanency rests. In conclusion, I have only time to add, that the efficiency of Eve- ning Schools may be greatly promoted by the appointment of an out- door assistant for each school, whose duty it shall be to collect schol- ars, visit their homes to ascertain the cause of every absence, and to gain the co-operation of parents and employers in securing a regular attendance. Very sincerely your friend, EDWIN M. STONE. 194 APPENDIX. EXTRACT FROM REPORT ON EVENING SCHOOLS. BY PKOF. HART, OF PHILADELPHIA. While speaking of the large proportion of the population that now^ in many states and cities, attend public schools, we are apt to forget that not more than one-third of the whole number attending school ever advance beyond the Primary. The High School and the Gram- rear Schools are, indeed, open to all ; but all, unfortunately, have not the leisure to advance to those open doors. Idleness and va- grancy, no doubt, contribute to this result ; yet, for the most part, it is stern necessity, work — want of bread— that compels more than two-thirds of the children of the public schools, to complete their schooling in the Primary. Having barely learned to read and write, and perhaps knowing something of the first four rules of Arithmetic, they are taken by their parents to assist in the mill, the workshop or the factory, — or to become errand boys and news boys. Experience has shown that a large number of these boys, thus early withdrawn from school, would, at the age of ten to twelve, and even much later, be glad to avail themselves of any opportunity of pursuing their studies, that did not interfere with the daily pursuits by which their subsistence is procured. Wherever night schools have been opened a large number of such boys have been among the applicants for ad- mission. If there be any class of the community that more than others have a claim upon the public for special means of instruction, it is those who, through a grinding necessity, are unable to attend an ordinary day school, even though it be entirely free. There is another important aspect of this case. The attention of those engaged in the cause of education has been occupied so exclu- sively with the instruction of the young, that we had well nigh for- gotten the existence among us of an ignorant adult population. The number of illiterate adults will be yet further and largely increased by the constant tide of emigration from abroad. Some isolated and not uninteresting efforts have been made, heretofore, to introduce the number of ignorant adults by the es- tablishment of schools expressly for them. But it is not until very recently, that anything like a general effort, in this direction, has been attempted. APPENDIX. 195 Within the last two or three years, in several of our large cities, as New York, Cincinnati, Providence, and Philadelphia, evening schools have been opened on a large scale, for the instruction, in part, of those beyond the proper age to attend the day schools. The special cause, which has led to this new impulse, has been the alarmino- in- crease, of late, of riotous and disorderly night assemblages in the streets of our cities. In nearly every city, there exist, at present, large gangs of disorderly young men, more or less organized, who nightly disturb the public peace. These young men, it has been found, in very many instances, were entirely unacquainted with the first rudi- ments of learning, unable to read and write, and thus shut out from the ordinary sources of improvement and of innocent recreation. It is believed that manyof these persons are, in the first instance, driven into street-prowling and other disorderly practices, by a mere physi- cal impulse — the love of action — and by force of the social principle. The case has been stated with great clearness by the Hon. Judge Kelly, of Philadelphia, in an address delivered before the House of Refuge, in December, 1849. "From whom, and what, is Philadelphia now suffering most ? — Not from the increasing frequency of the perpetration of crimes of the higher grades — these increase not in the ratio of the growth of our population; — nor from organized gangs of skilled and hardened felons, for, inefficient as our multiplex police departments are, our borders are now, as they have ever been, comparatively free from these pests of cities. Riot and tumult are the evils under which we groan. The wayward and restless youths who congregate at the street corners, hang about hose and engine houses, and throng the places of cheap and vulgar amusement in which the city abounds, are our terror at home and disgrace abroad. For these, if uncheck- ed we are all ready to predict a career of crime and punishment. — The project of establishing an armed police to hold them in subjec- tion, finds favor with many, and may yet be necessary. In Europe, such lads would constitute the strength of the government. Full of health and animal spirits, and pursuing novelty and adventure with the ardor of youth, they would be fascinated by the roving life of the soldier, and follow the recruiting sergeant. The standing armies of England, and the States of Europe, absorb enough of this class to overawe the remainder. Availing themselves of the impulses of yoiith, despotic governments discipline those who, with us, would be the "dangerous class," and rely upon them for the support of law and order ; and, if we fail to promote the peaceable and profitable action of these impulses, an armed police, the nucleus of a standing army, will be the consequence of our neglect. Pardon me for draw- 196 APPENDIX. ing an illustration from your own homes. Nothing essential to com- fort is wanting there. Your extensive libraries add to the charms of family intercourse. The chiselled marble and glowing canvass grace your walls. And. at your bidding, music sends over your so- cial group her enlivening and purifying influence. Yet, despite these abundant means of domestic enjoyment, your growing children weary of home. You gladly gather their young friends around them in the evening party ; you welcome gratefully the card which invites them to an evening of merriment under the roof of a judicious friend : and you open to them the concert and the lecture room, and every other means of virtuous enjoyment offered l)y society. The love of novelty is natural to your children. By providing amuse- ments, which are harmless, if not profitable for them, you hope to retain their confidence and love, and save them from the allurements of folly and vice. Your conduct is prompted by your parental in- stincts, and sanctioned by your experience. And it would be well for society to follow your example. The children of the poor and ig- norant differ not essentially from yours. Their appetite for pleasure is as keen, they are not more sedate, nor has nature given them greater power of enduring trial or resisting temptation. Crime is not the inevitable consequence of ignorance, but they have close and important relations. And I believe the day is not far distant, when the commonwealth will be const^-ained, not only to of- fer a generous elementary education to all her children, but to treat the failure of a parant to secure its advantages to a child as a for- feiture of parental rights. I had occasion recently to request some information on this subject from the heads of our penal establish- ments, the Clerk of the Quarter Sessions of the County, and the gen- tlemen who have held the office of Prosecuting Attorney for Phila- delphia during the last five years. The replies were all concurrent ; and the information they furnished cannot fail to interest in this con- nection, though it was obtained for another and different purpose. The statistics of the Penitentiary, and the convict department of the County Prison, show that less than two per cent, of the whole num- ber of convicts are thoroughly educated. Of one hundred and forty- nine prisoners received into the Eastern Penitentiary from this city and county, between January 1st, 1845, and December 17, 1849, twenty-eight had received a tolerable elementary education ; twenty- three could neither read nor write ; twenty-five could 'read a little :" and seventy-three could read and write imperfectly.* During the years 1847 and 1848, three hundred and thirty-five prisoners were received into the convict department of the County Prison, of whom one hundred and twentv-six could neither read nor write ; ninety could "read a little ;" one hundred and sixteen could read and write ♦Those marked in the above list as able to read and write are so registered upon their answers to questions at the time of their recepiion. It seldom amounts to more than bem^ able to read indifferently, nnd write very poorly ; not one in twenty being able to write a fair and connected letter. — Note from Thomas Scatlcrgood Warden. E. P. APPENDIX. 197 imperfectly ;* and three were well educated. Of twenty-one persons under the conviction of riot in the County Prison, on the 1 9th of J)ecember, 1S49, eight could not read ; three could read, but not write ; seven could read and write, but knew nothing of arithmetic ; and three could read, write and cipher. No one of them had a good elementary education. Of two hundred and thirty-seven boys over thirteen years of age, received into the White Department of Kefuge, between January Jst, 1847 and December 17th, 1849, forty-two could read well : one liUndred and fifty three could "read a little ;" and forty-two could not read at all. The Clerk of the Se.-sions says that a large majority of the persons held to bail in the court for riot, and other offences involving a breach of the peace, are ''destitute of education, being unable to write their names to the bail-bond." Messrs. Wharton, Webster, and Heed, who have in turn prosecuted the pleas of the commonwealth in this county for five years, agrcee that, with few exceptions, this class of offenders are "almost utterly un- edu-^ated." Nor do these facts stand alone. No graduate of the Philadelphia High School is known to have been charged with the commission of a crime ; and, though I have made eflbrts to discover the fact, if it was so, 1 have not learned that a single person who has completed the excellent course of instruction given in our Grammar Schools, has ever been tried or arraigned in acriminal court. t Let me not be misunderstood. I am not maintaining that man is wholly the creature of circumstances ; or that instruction in reading wr ting, and arithmetic, in grammar, geography, and mathematics, will purify his nature or defend him against all the assaults of folly and sin. What 1 mean to say is, that comprehension of and facility in, these branches of learning, elementary as they are, open to him vast fields of profit, pleasure, and advancement, from which his igno- rant brethren are excluded ; and that the fact that a boy has passed years in the Grammar School, proves that his childhood was not home- less ; that he had friends to watch over him, to encourage and coun- sel him, to guard him from vicious associations, to stimulate his em- ulation, and gratify his appetite for refined and profitable pleasures. Did our parental and fraternal sympathies extend beyond our homes, we would oftener pity than condenm the turbulent youth of our *Orthcse not more than one-fourth can be said to do more than write their names. — first Annual Report of the Boaid of Inspectors. tFiir nearly two years'! was prosecuting attorney in this county, and from the period when I went into ofRce down to the present moment, comprising an interval of five years, I have paid much attention to the working of the criminal system. i<'rom lieing, during the whole of this period, a Director of the Public Schools, my consideration has n:iturally been employed on 'he question how lar put lie crime is aflectcd by public education : and at one time I compiled a tabul ir statement of my observations on this particular point. I need now only give you the result, which is that, whether in prison waiting-trial, or in prison after trial, charged with riot or turbul. nee, I have never known a single pupil of the High School. 1 can go fur ■ ther, ai d say that, in all the cases in which recognizances of bail were taken, and in which the defendant was produced for the purpose of writing his name, and in all cases which by any test the educational position of the de'cndant could be evolved, I never knew, with but one exception, of a pupil of the public schools, of a higher grade than the third division, concerned. — Note from Francis Wharton, Esq, 198 appp:ndix. suburbs. Go with me to one of their homes ; not to that of the boy who never knew his parents, and has grown from infancy on the rough charities of the poor ; nor the son of the destitute widow, who, toiling wearily for food, clothes, and rent, reluctantly leaves her boy throughout the day to his own guidance, and the companionship af- forded by the alley in which they live ; nor the son of the inebriate, who labors by day only to purchase madness for the night. Such, though far from being exaggerated cases, do not illustrate the point under consideration so well as the apprentices of our well-conditioned mechanics. Many of these are worthy fanners' sons. The father's well-tilled farm will support the family ; but is too small to be again divided. The son must, therefore, carve out his own fortune. He is novv a well-grown boy, and, having enjoyed the example of his father's temperance and industry, the care and counsel of his fond mother, and such slender means of education as the wayside school affords, he turns his steps towards the city, as the field of widest and most varied enterprise. His object is the acquisition of a trade, by which he may gain an honest and independent livelihood. When his heart swells with recollections of home, he turns to the future and thinks of the happy time to come, when as a successful master-work- man, his ruof shall shelter, and his means maintain his aged parents. Finding employment, he enters on his apprenticeship. In his mas- ter he also finds a friend. Their contract, however, is a mere bar- gain, from which both parties expect advantage. The boy binds himsflf to give years of willing and obedient labor as the -considera- tion for food, clothing, and instruction in the art and mystery of the calling of his choice. The master — a kind-hearted man, and good mechanic — is cheered in the hope of making something more than a bare living for the little family with which God has blessed him. His home is in a respectable neighborhood. Embellished by few luxuries, it is well supplied with the means of substantial comfort. The snug parlor, darkened at other times, is opened to the family on Sunday, or when a few friends visit the master's thrifty helpmate. In the rear of the parlor is the little dining-room, warmed by the kitchen stove, around which the family gathers in the evening for the gossip of the day and neighborhood. In the attic is the boy's clean and well-made bed. 'I'he little room, though well finished, is without grate or fireplace. To warm it through the long evenings of the winter, when books or intercourse with young companions might engage him, would involve the master in the purchase of a stove, fuel, and lights ; a serious item of expenditure, which the cus- tom of the trade would not sanction, and the exigencies of the case do not require ; indeed, the boy does not expect it. He knows that ho enjoys more comforts than most of his class, and is grateful for them. He cannot, however, let his love of quiet and study be as keen as it may, confine himself in his cold chamber through the long winter evenings. True he is not denied — nay, he is sometimes welcomed — to a place in the "sitting room." He need not, how- ever, attempt to read there ; nor can he join as equal participant in the conversations. Feeling restraint from the presence of the heads APPENDIX. 199 of the family, he soon discovers that he too is a restraint on them. His acquaintances in the city are few, and remembering the oft re- peated admonitions of his mother against evil company, he is indis- posed to increase their number ; but he goes forth to escape the irksomeness of home. And where does he go ? To visit friends in the bosom of a virtuous and intelligent family ? Alas, he is a stran- ger! He goes, however, where society in his wisdom and goodness invites him — to the street corner, the hose or engine house, the beer shop or the bar-room — and if he go not speedily thence, to worse places — But I need not follow him. Were he a son of yours, your fears would indicate the thousand dangers that surround him." The same point is presented with equal clearness and force in a pamphlet, understood to be from the pen of the Rt. Eev. Bishop Pot- ter, entitled " An Appeal to Philadelphians." " Idleness is ever an abounding source of evil and misconduct. — What, then, may not be anticipated from the idleness of boys and young men congregated in large numbers in the streets — full of reck- less courage and lust of adventure — subject to manifold occasions of excitement — banded together, perhaps, by vows of fellowship and mu- tual support — unawed by a united and efficient police — often shel- tered by darkness — and fired, it may be, by the remembrance of wrongs still unavenged. Yet it is to the street alone that many of these young men and boys can be expected to resort. After the eve- ning meal is finished, and until the hour for sleep arrives, the homes of many of them offer neither attraction nor restraint. If they have money, the cheap theatre, the bowling alley, the gaming house, the well warmed and well lighted tippling shop holds out its lure, and through that lure, multitudes of unsuspecting youths are yearly drawn down to the gates of the Destroyer. Money, however, is that which most of them want. Hence, in many instances, petty thefts to enable them to encompass the means of indulgence — hence, more frequently, street gatherings for the younger, and meetings in the hose house or engine house, for the elder. Hence, the bands that we often pass at the corners of streets, and the throngs that gather round the avenues to each place of vulgar amusement. Hence, fire- arms are raised, and too often fires are even kindled, that hostile com- panies may be brought into conflict, and the opportunity for tumultu- ous excitement enjoyed. The aggregate result is seen in a spirit of wide-spread misrule among the young, which, by its outbreaks has often brought disgrace on the community, sacrificed many valuable lives, destroyed a vast amount of property, turned capital and enter- prise from the city to locations less exposed to outrages and tumults, subjected multitudes to extreme terror, and olten to danger, and which, at this moment, may well fill the heart of every reflecting cit- izen with anxious foreboding." According to the reasonings and suggestions of these admirable 200 APPENDIX. ; addresses, the method of correcting (he alarming social CA'il under con- sideration, is to find useful and attractive evening occupation for the persons here described. The method which, thus far, has been found most efficient for this purpose, is the opening of evening schools. It is proposed also, in connection with these schools, to institute reading rooms and libraries in the several suburban districts, where these ap- prentices chiefly reside. Such schools and reading-rooms with their accompaniments of popular lectures and books, their pleasant accom- modations and social aspect, can hardly fail to exert a counteracting influence upon the present downward tendencies of society. '' Experience proves," says Bishop Potter, in the pamphlet just re- ferred to, "that a comfortable school-room, with instruction and su- pervision from intelligent, and conscientious persons, will, at once, draw large bodies of these lads and young men within their walls. — Experience demonstrates, too, that when once admitted, they become attached to their teachers, interested in their studies, and respectful to the authority of the school. " Experience shows yet further, that this amelioration in manner and deportment extends from the school-room to the street, the work- shop, and the home. Most gratifying facts have reached the Com- mittee in illustration of this last remark, and they are precisely such facts as might have been anticipated. Awaken in the young feelings of kindness and gratitude — inspire a sense of self-respect and desire for knowledge and improvement — teach, experimentally, the pleasure and advantage of sustaining order and authority in a small communi- ty like the school, and we have then, a strong pledge for their good behavior at all times, and in all places." Again, he remarks in regard to very many of both sexes, and of diiferent ages, whose improvement cannot be provided for in Even- ing Public Schools : — " They are either too much occupied or too mucii advanced in knowledge. They need however a comfortable and respectable re- treat, where they can pass a quiet hour in reading good books, or in listening to instructive and entertaining lectures. Others, who are younger or less advanced in knowledge, would be willing — if oppor- tunity were given — to enter upon studies higher than those pursued in the Public Grammar Schools. For these last, rooms might be provided, in which, under teachers employed by themselves, or by oth- ers acting in their behalf, they could prosecute such branches as might best comport with their interests or tastes. During one-half tlie year, also, Evening Schools are not likely to be kept; and it is much to be desired, that at such times there should be other places of resort, where the tastes and habits developed in the school room, can be charished rather than discouraged," APPENDIX. 201 It would be premature, perhaps, from the limited experience as yet recorded, to draw any very general or absolute inference in regard to the final result of this agency. At the same time, the Committee feel authorized to say that, so far as they are apprised, nothing has yet occurred in the history of these efforts that may be considered of au untoward character ; on the contrary, very many facts have come to their knowledge, of the most cheering sort. They believe the friends of education, generally, should be encouraged to go on, and give the plan a thorough and effectual trial. In the city of New York, where it has been tried more thoroughly than elsewhere, those conversant with the subject, speak in terms of the highest confidence as to its entire ultimate success. APPENDIX No. III. IGNORANCE AND VICE IN CITIES AND TOWNS. BxTRACT FROM THE TwENTY-SeVENTH AnNUAL RePORT OF THE American Sunday School Union. There never has heen a time when the ills of society were more 'thoroughly searched out, or more glaringly exhibited than now. The institution of what are called the " Ragged Schools " of London, and of the Industrial Schools of Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sec, has probably had some share in opening to the light of day the hitherto dark abodes of moral and social degradation in the more populous cities of Europe ; and however false may have been the theories or visionary the schemes of some reformers, but for them, much that we now know of the condition of large masses of our suffering fellow- creatures would have remained unknown. When the Christian philanthropist attempts to analyze these ills, he soon detects the relation which each sustains to the other, and by which all may be traced to a common otigin. In the application of his efforts, however, he must oftentimes select a point quite remote from the seat of the disease, at which to commence the remedial prcfr cess. The ills which press most heavily on the mass of men, are those which affect chiefly their outward condition. The want of the comforts of life provoke many very bad passions ; but the want of the food necessary to sustain life itself, goads the sufferer to despera- tion. To the privation of wholesome food at proper intervals, — of clothing suitable to the varying seasons, — of comfortable sleep,= — of the decencies of domestic life, — of steady and honest employment, — and of all intellectual apd moral cultivation, may be ascribed most of the disease, the degradation, the suffering and the depraved habits and courses of those whose social condition excites so much sympathy in our day. APPENDIX. 203 The first wants to be relieved are those which are first and most generally felt. The hungry must be supplied with food, the naked with clothes, and the destitute and forsaken with a home and friends. To do this without encouraging or confirming idle and vicious habits, but, on the contrary, inspiring self-respect and self-exertion, is,one of the highest achievements of philanthropy. In the wise providence of God, the relief of these wants involves, to a great extent, the person- al efforts of the more favored classes. Alms houses, hospitals and asylums have their place, and a very important one, in the array of means ; but they supply none of the sympathy, and but an inconsid- erable portion of the relief which sufTering humanity demands. — The endless variety of wants and woes, their wide diffusion, and their minute ind"ividua]ity, suggest the idea that the provisions of mercy and sympathy, of which the more favored of our race are made the stewards, were, by this means, to be drawn out in corresponding va- riety, diffusiveness and individuality : — in other words, that every human being has something to contrive and to do for the good of some other human being. It is evidently no part of God's providential arrangements on this subject that a common fund should be established, to which the wealthy shall contribute, and from which the poor shall draw their supplies ; but each individual is constituted the Lord's almoner, and the nearer he comes to a personal knowledge of his beneficiary, and to a communion of thoughts and sympathies, the more effective is the charity, and the more permanent and happy its results to both parties. Perhaps, in the final vindication of the ways of God to man, it will appear that the darkest shades of human adversity w^ere in- tended, in part, to set in a more distinct and vivid light the power and grace of human sympathy. It is a remarkable feature of the ministry of the Founder of our religion, that the dispensation of truth was closely interwoven with the dispensation of mercy, — the promulgation of the gospel with the alleviation of suffering. Not only do " the poor have the gospel preached to them," but " the blind receive their sight, the lame walk and the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear and the dead are raised up.'' Beauty is given for ashes, and the garments of praise for the spirit of herviness. We are told that Jesus went about all the cities and villages of the Jews, not only teaching in their synagogues and 204 APPENDIX. preaching the gospel of the kingdom, but " healing every sickness and every disease among the people." When he gave his immediate disciples authority to preach the gospel, he connected with it a com- mand to " heal the sick ;" and when those who had waited on his teaching were exhausted and hungry, he provided for their full sup- ply by an exertion of miraculous p9wer. That these interpositions of his mercy were made the occasion of the display of his miraculous power, and so evidences of his claim to faith and obedience, does not take at all from the force of the in- ference, — for he might have revealed the same divine power in a thousand forms unconnected with human suffering. A similar trait appears in the ministry of the apostles ; and no one can read the annals of modern missionary labor without noting the increased fa- cilities with which the gospel is introduced where it is preceded or accompanied by the relief of physical suffering. How far this happy union is preserved in modern arrangements for the promulga- tion of Christianity among ourselves is worthy of thoughtful consid- eration. It is very obvious that in order to connect religious inculcation of any kind with ministrations to physical wants or griefs, we must find some avenue (hat will lead us to the family group, however little resemblance such a group may bear to the true idea of that relation. We must make our way to the place, obscure and revolting as it may be, where the instincts, if not the affections, of the parental and filial relation exist, and in which any permanent reform of the social state, as well as any ejfficient remedies for physical and social suffering, must take their rise. It is no mercy to a youth to limit the hours of labor in the workshop and factory, if the time so rescued from the grasping hand of an avaricious employer is to be spent in the filthy and sickening garret or cellar, or in the haunts of the idle and vicious, or in the resorts of topers and vagabonds. We must improve his home before we can have much heart to turn the child towards jt. And what shall we do first towards this desirable end ? A true economy will lead us, (1.) To apply the simplest and most ef- fective remedy. (2.) To do it as early as practicable, and (3.) To apply it to the mischief that lies nearest to us. Without disparage ing other agencies that claim confidence in this behalf, we think the Sunday School has some peculiar claims to be regarded as the expo^ nent of such an economy. APPENDIX. 205 It will be conceded, we presume, that the attempt to inculcate re- ligious truth upon adult minds that have been hitherto ignorant of it. is, to a great extent, fruitless. The obstacles to its action on those who stand most in need of it are numerous. Among them are, 1. — the absence of habits of reflection and meditation. 2. The customs which govern the places of resort for public worship and religious teaching. 3, The pressure of immediate and conscious wants. 4 False or vague views of the offices and requirements of religion. In confirmation of this opinion, we may cite a passage from a series of papers on the condition of large classes of the population of London, which have excited more than ordinary interest. " It is estimated that the number of costermongers or street sellers attending the London 'green' aud fish markets, is about 30,000 men, women, and children. It is supposed that not three in one hundred of them were ever in the interior of a church or any place of worship, or knew what is meant by Christianity. Of all things, they hate tracts. They hate them, because the people leaving them never give them any thing, and, as they can't read the tract, (not one in forty,) they're vexed to be bothered with it. And really, what is the use of giving people reading before you've taught them to read ? They re- spect the city missionaries, because they read to them, and because they visit the sick, and sometimes give oranges and such like to them and the children. We have known a city missionary buy a shilling's worth of oranges of a coster, and give them away to the sick and the children, and that made him respected among them. If the costers had to profess themselves of some religion to-morrow, they would all become Roman Catholics, every one of them. The priest, the sisters of charity, &c., always come to the sick, &c. They reckon that re- ligion's best that gives the most in charity." And is it impossible to teach them that the charity is best which brings with it the hopes and consolations of religion, secures to them permanent sources of prosperity, happiness and peace, frees the soul from the shackles of superstition and sensualism, and opens up before it the way of eternal life ? Perhaps the experiment may fail with adults, but it will succeed to a great extent with the children ; and this presents the array of Infant schools, Sunday schools, and Indus- trial and Ragged schools in an interesting aspect. They confer the boon of education, and thus supply the means of self-support. The Christian teachers go into a family as helpers, as suppliers of wants as counsellors, as friends in adversity, as sympathizers with woes whidh press most severely upon soul and body. 5 206 APPENDIX. It. is among the children that vve find the fewest obstacles to the full play of good influences — and surely the motives to exert them are strong enough? If there is an object of real pity in the wide world, jt is a little child making its way unguarded and uncounselled up in- to the busy haunts of men, with skin as fair and delicate as a palace- child, yet all begrimmed with dirt — affections susceptible of the gentlest influences, yet all rudely stifled — a temper pliable, yet goad- ed into obstinacy and violence — a mind capable of exalted attain- ments assimilating it to its Creator, yet left to rust and perish in bru- tish ignorance. We have seen such children : they sometimes find place in our Infant and Sunday schools, and when well cared for, they are among the most precious tokens of the redeeming virtue of such institutions. Dr. Bell thus describes the progress of one such, " But alas," he says, " it is a history of a frightful class in the population of the towns, and half the inmates of the ragged schools of the old world." " The little creature has an expression that does not belong to in- fancy. It looks sad and careworn. If it survive, it early creeps out into the street, there to begin a life that will probably end where it began. It learns to speak — but what is the language ? It sees and hears — but what does it see and hear? The reader knows. Sucli is its infantine education — an education that is unmixed, untinged even by the words of a good vocabulary. It does not know the meaning o{ lie, because it has never been taught the meaning of truth; nay, it has been taught to lie, and truth has been sedulously concealed from its mind. Anon, it is instructed in the art of pilfering, and in the hellish rhetoric of the wynds. When he is four or five years of age, he attracts the attention of the policeman, who ' marks him as his own ;' and he appears before the magistrate — an experienced thief — at the mature age of six years. How much this urchin knows ! He knows all the obscene words, and all the oaths, simple and com- pound, which are the pith and marrow of the language in the wynds. He knows all the highways and byways — the outs and the ins — the nooks and the crannies of the city. He knows the value of things. He knows the most approved method of appropriating what belongs to another. He is acquainted with the 'wee pawn' broker; and he knows the dram-seller, for whose sake he is an outcast. We say ■ that this boy as little deserves to be condemned for traversing the law, as the red-deer deserves to be slain for crossing the march upon the snow-clad hill, descending into the valley, and satisfying his ap- petite on the turnips of an upland farmer." Having thus found access to a group of neglected children, our first object is to subject them to the simplest and most effective process to APPENDIX. 207 give a right direction to their hearts and minds. There can be but one opinion as to what this process is. Instruction in the sacred Scriptures must be the predominant element of it. If they do not know how to read, they must be taught; and if they do, they must be persuaded to make a wise use of the attainment. If their secular time is absorbed in necessary labor, the more we must make of Sun- day. The whole array of moral means which the church and the friends of public virtue and good order can bring to bear on them must be drawn into service. It is not an easy matter to persuade the father and mother, (and still less easy to persuade one against the will of the other,) to attend a place of religious instruction; but the children are glad of the op- portunity. A thousand motives influence them to which their pa- rents are strangers. The excitement of preparation, the change of scene, the association with numbers, the ceremony of being enrolled , and classed, &c., all have their place and weight. No deficiency or inferiority of apparel or personal consideration, no regard to tlie speech of the world, no taunts or jeers are sufiicient to restrain them from embracing the opportunity. And it may be safe to say that in the absence of positive prohibition, or needless embarrassment inter- posed by parents, ninety-nine in a hundred of all the children in the land, of proper age to attend Sunday school would desire to avail themselves of an offer to do so. So that if we assume that commo- dious places of assembling Sunday schools were provided in all suit- able localities, and properly furnished with teachers and appurtenan- ces, there would be no difficulty in gathering together for Sunday school instruction ninety-nine hundredths of the children and youth now living in the United States between the ages of six and sixteen years. The alternative presented to us at this stage, is to take them /ro?/i home or to leave them untaught. There is no provision now made nor does any provision seem practicable by M'hich the proper influ- ence can be exerted upon hundreds of thousands of them at their dwellings. They must, therefore, be withdrawn for a little season, at stated times, in order that their hearts and minds and hands may be supplied, if possible, with something that they can take back with 208 APPENDIX, them for the good of the household.* A right principle in the heart, a simple hymn in the memory, or a pleasant little book in the hand, may be as a light to shine in a dark place. Thus we gently and ef- fectually introduce the gospel, unmixed with human philosophy and speculation, into the homes of the people ; and is not this substan- tially the true remedy for social evils, introduced at the right time and place, and operating upon the right class of persons? "We submit that it is only by this minute subdivision of Christian energy and self-denial, which brings a single individual of somewhat elevated moral and intellectual character into personal communion with another single individual of an inferior grade, that the general radical renovation of society can be brought about ; and when this personal intimate communion can be made to bear on the mass of ♦In a former report, we mentioned an enterprise of much promise, undertaken iij; New York, and known as the " Boys' Meeting." We make the following extract from the latest account we have seen of its success : After the lapse of more than two years, the managers (of whom there are four, be- side the gentlemen wlio officiate as speaker and chorister,) feel that it may interest some to know, that the meeting is still continued, and, as they think, with increas- ing usefulness. While they do not claim for the plan any rare excelltJnce, believing that the Sunday school would be a still better place of instruction for the children and youth now under their care, they cannot but feel that they are engaged in an important work. They are happy therefore, in being able to state, thnt three simi- lar'meetings have been e&tablished in other parts of the city, — one of which is under the care of a gentleman who is employed to devote his whole time to that partic- ular field. In regard to the children who attend this, the original Boys' Meeting, it may be said, that die greater portion of them belong to the very class for whom it was in- stituted ; and, though but a few of them are either ragged or filthy, they have not failed to develope phases of depravity, and exhibit a want of religious instruction, sufficient to sadden the heart, and call forearnesteflbrts in their behalf. Some of the attendants are Sunday school scholars, who insist on coming, notwithstanding they have been asked to stay away. These aside, it has been clearly demonstrated here, that there is a very large number of children and youth, all over the city, the ofT- spring of respectable parents, whose destitute condition demands the prayers, alms, and labors ol the Christian community. It is a mistaken notion that our vicious children are always clothed in rags. As to results, it may be remarked, that while the managers have not the happiness to record the conversion of any of those under their care, they have been permitted to witness a marked and growing interest on the part of many, while the deport- ment of ail, during the past twenty months, has been such as to secure almost per- fect order during the exercises. Some boys have been regular attendants from the very first day the meeting was opened. It is thought that the labors of the two individuals whose duty it is to visit the neighboring docks and streets for the purpose of collecting hearers at the room, are of essential service, [t is their custom to distribute papers, tracts, &c., among young rntn and others who cannot be induced to attend the meeting, while they are often permitted to say a word in season to some who never enter the sanc- tuary. The whole amount of money expended since July, 1848, is a little less than three hundred dollars. The principal items of expenditure have been for rent, furnishing the hall with matting, and for children's newspapers, &c. &c. APPENDIX. 209 children and youth, not otherwise similarly influenced, the advan- tage is inconceivably great. If it is conceded — as we think it must be by the must superficial ■observer — that the well-being of a community is greatly dependent ■on the moral and physical condition of what have been significantly called the " foundation classes," it cannot be a question of subordi- nate consequence, what shall make their condition in both respects eligible ? For ourselves, we do not entertain a doubt that indiffer- ence to the inslitutions and ordinances of religion — an habitual dis- regard of and dissatisfaction with the dealings of God's providence — and (in a multitude of instances) a settled and shameless unbelief in the dispensations of his grace, if not in his existence, — lie at the bot- tom of the gravest of the social evils which are so rife in the cities of Europe, and are becoming too familiar among ourselves to excite surprise or alarm. In this view, nothing can be more preposterous than to employ any remedy for them of which Christianity, in its purest and simplest principles, is not a predominant element. In the more elevated and prosperous classes of the community, in- fidelity may co-exist with an external regard to the proprieties and refinements of life. A thousand motives may be suggested for a con- cealment of such discreditable views. But it is far otherwise among those who are embarrassed by no snch restraints, and who feel the power of no such motives. They speak out, to each other and to all the world, with an emphasis which sliould by right belong exclusive- ly to truth, and lay themselves open to every influence that will con- firm and strengthen them in their false position. We cannot present this painful view of the social condition of large classes of people in our chief cities in more appropriate language than has been used in describing a like class in the English metropolis ; and it should always be remembered that what we lack in our native popular composition of the ingredients of ignorance, selfishness, and an unblushing contempt for authority, human and divine, is likely to be more than made up to us in the influx of foreign stock. " Very few of the working people of London," says a late writer, " give attention even to the outward ordinances of religion. There is scarcely a church or chapel in the metropolis that contains more than a mere sprinkling of them at Sabbath worship ; and although 210 APPENDIX. the lowest and degraded classes are sunk in a carnal and stupid indif- ference, yet this cannot be said of the class above them. ''What, then, are the opinions of these people respecting the doc- trines of Christianity ? Are they opposed to them, or favorable ? — Or are they in sentiment as in practice, resting in a cold, vague neutrality ? We know that the latter conclusion is a common, but sadly mistaken one. Can it for a moment be reasonably supposed that, in these days of social and intellectual upheavings and univer- sal excitement, the land flooded with literary publications of the most arousing character, and of every form and tendency, with social ar- rangements so eminently productive of mental activity, inquiry and decision — can it be supposed that, under such a state of things, the immense working population of this country — shrewd, intelligent, and conclusive upon every other question — have no definite opinions whatever upon the subject of religious truth ? We may safely an- swer this question by referring to the nature of the most powerful influences that are at work in forming their opinions. They are not religious. For them the influences of the pulpit are powerless, for they scarcely ever reach them ; and the Christianchurch has supplied no substitutionary means at all adequate to the work. She has trained and educated missionaries, and thus qualified ^em for for- eign labor, but to the missionaries and laborers among our heathen population at home, she gives no such training. She provides no Home Missionary Colleges where evangelists may he specially trained by men experimentally acquainted with their wants and circum- stances. And not only so, but there is scarcely any literature pro- vided of a suitable character. The mental appetite is quickened — it must be fed ; but the Christian church is not feeding it. We are ashamed to state it, but the rarest publication we can find is a religi- ous tract or periodical suited to the mental characteristics of the irre- ligious poor ! To the truth of this, every intelligent City Missionary or tract distributor will testify. Our monthly magazines would be less v/elcome, did they contain one long, dry religious essay, partly expressed in a language and style we could scarcely understand. — But such is generally the character of the monthly tracts written for the religious edification of the poor. Can we wonder, therefore, if they are seldom read? or that an instrumentality so feeble and in- eflicient in all its departments, should prove inoperative on our adult working population ? " We believe, and we speak from experience, that the infidel Sun- day newspapers and kindred periodicals, are exerting a more power- ful influence upon the adult working population of London, than is being exerted upon the same class of people by all denominations of evangelical Christians put together. They find a welcome entrance, from cellar to garret, in every lane and alley in the metropolis. — Their pages form the chief Sabbath reading of the poor, and are greedily perused, while the insipid tract is lying unopened upon the shelf, ready for the polite " call" of the district visitor. Even with the elder children, one of these newspapers is a favorite, and the on- APPENDIX. 211 ly one that some of our ragged emigrants have written to their pa- rents to send them, " Unlike the majority of modern Christians, each convert to infi- delity bezomes a missionary. In the workshop or manufactory, their opinions are industriously promulgated, and the sacred truths of the gospel derided and denied. The effects of this we have seen even in the Ragged Schools : workshop boys, coming with the determination of converting the whole class to their opinions — putting questions and uttering sophistical statements, which the teacher found some diffi- culty in refuting, " Among the conflicts which truth has yet to wage with the king- dom of darkness, and which every convulsive movement is hastening onward, we believe that the contest with infidelity will be neither the slightest nor the shortest." APPENDIX No. IV. SCHOOL AND OTHER LIBRARIES. The following table exhibits the number of volumes in the School Libraries, as nearly as can be ascertained : North Providence, Smithfield, Cumberland, - Burrillville, Glocester, - - Foster, - - - Scituate, - - Cranston, - - Johnston, - - East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry, - - - Warwick, - - ■ South Kingstowuj North Kingstown, No. Vols. Allendale, . . - Smith's Hill, No. 1, - - - No. 2, Lonsdale, - - - ' *900 Slatersville, - - *750 Globe, - - ^ *350 Hamlet, - - *275 Bernon, - - - *200 Manton Library at Cumberland Hill, 375 Manton Library at Pascoag, - ' 808 Chepachet, - - *750 Manton Library at Hemlock, - 1200 Aborn Library at North Scituate, 450 Smithville Seminary, - - 5t)0 No. 8, - - - *400 None. Old Library - -. 100 Methodist Seminary, - - 980 Episcopal Parish Library, 100 None. Washington Village, - 402 Bowen's Hill, - - 405 Old Warwick, - - 475 Ladies' Library at Old Warwick, 250 Phenix. - - - 720 Kingston. D. Rodman's. Peacedale. None. APPENDIX. 213 Westerly, Brand's Iron Works. Carolina Mills. Fisherville, One in three divisions, North End, South End, - Globe Factory, Two Libraries, No. Vols. 2000 *800 Westerly, - - Hopkinton, ) Richmond, ) Richmond, Exeter, - - Charlestown, - Portsmouth, - Middletown, - Tiverton, - - Little Compton, New Shoreham, Jamestown, Bristol, - - - AVarren - - Barrington, The following is believed to be the number of volumes in the College and other Libraiies. Lyceum, Female Seminary. Barrington, 675 706 425 650 *300 160 1108 MOO *500 147 850 550 Providence, Newport, Providence, 25,000 7000 1500 16,600 *4000 *1!00 *8000 *2500 *3300 *800 - College, (bound volumes,) College Societies, Friends' School, Atheneum, - . . - Redwood, founded 1747, Mechanics', founded 1828, Hammond's, founded 1820, Richardson's. - Historical Society, State Library. Mechanics . - - . Franklin, ... Those marked thus, • are estimates. In addition to the above, there are many parish libraries, of which we can obtain no account. And the number of volumes in the various Sunday School libraries, principally of juvenile books, is very large. There are still many places in the State, where village or school libraries should be established, as will be seen from an inspection of the foregoing table. These libraries have generally been formed upon the plan of loaning out the books for a small weekly charge to subscri- bers and non-subscribers alike. This is beiieved to be the wis- est arrangement. The friends of education should not be disappointed if the 214 APPENDIX. books should not be as much read a few years hence as now, while newly established. Still they should be maintained. — The youth who are growing up in our public schools, who feel a desire forjimprovement, should have the opportunities within their reach. And if even but one solitary scholar should have ambition or curiosity enough to lead him to use the library, slill it should be preserved.* ♦Those who wish to see a full historical account of our large libraries should con- sult the account by Prof, Jewett in the Fourth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. Also see Journal of R. I. Institute, by Mr. Barnard, vol. 3, page 428. — We have endeavored to correct some inaccuracies in their statements as to numbers. APPENDIX No. V. OUTLmE OP THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN RHODE ISLAND. The following outline is published as an answer to numerous en- quiries relating to our system. Population. — The population of the State is 147,549. Out of this, the city of Providence and the compact towns of Newport, Bris- tol and Warren, contain 58,795. And when to this is added the population of Woonsocket, East Greenwich, Wickford, Pawcatuck, Pawtucket, Pawtuxet, and the numerous manufacturing and other villages, it will be seen that by far the greater part of the population is in cities and villages. The State is divided into five counties and thirty-one townships. In Providence, Newport, Bristol and Warren, the schools of the whole town are managed by Committees. The other twenty-seven townships are divided into schools districts, which are corporate bodies for school purposes. School Officers. — Every city and town chooses annually a School Committee of not less than three persons, and they may ap- point or authorise the committee to appoint a superintendent. The city of Providence and several of the towns employ superintendents. In the four towns named, the Committees have the whole man- agement of the schools. In other towns, they have the general su- 216 APPENDIX. pervision, make regulations, define district boundaries, examine teachers, visit tlie schools, receive and make returns, and pay the bills by orders on the treasury. In the twenty-seven districted towns, each district chooses annual- ly one or three trustees, a clerk, treasurer, collector, &c. The duty of the trustee is to employ the teacher, have the custody of the dis- trict property, to visit the school, &c. The supervision of the State is exercised by means of a Commis- sioner of Public Schools, annually appointed by the Governor and Senate, and to whom an appeal may be taken from all doings of committees, trustees, and other school officers. There is « Board of Education. The duties and powers of these school officers may be seen more particularly by referring to the several heads in the Index to the School Law. County Inspectors may be appointed by the Commissioner, who are authorised to examine teachers and to give certificates, which are valid in all the towns in their county. They have no compensation. Compensation. — The Committees and Trustees, penerally, receive no compensation for services. Superintendents of towns are paid by the towns. The Commissioner's salary is paid from the State treas- ury. SciinoL Fund. — The State has a permanent fund invested in Bank Stock of $51,300. When the State received its pcrtion of the U. S. Surplus Reve- nue, it was also invested, and the annual income appropriated to Schools. Support of Schools. — From the interest of the School Fund, the U. S. Surplus Revenue, and other sources, the State appropri- ates S25,000, and from the proceeds of a direct tax $10,000— mak- ing in all $35,000 annually. This is apportioned among the town- ships in proportion to the population under 15. But in order to re- ceive its portion, each town must raise at least one-third of its por- tion of the $25,000. Most of the towns raise a great deal more than the amount required. APPENDIX. 217 In the twenty- seven districted towns the money is apportioned aa follows : The money from the State is divided into two parts — one part is divided equally among the districts, as corporations. The other part is divided according to the average attendance in the dis- tricts the previous year. Tiie money raised by the towns is divided by such rules as the towns or committees prescribe, generally equal- ly. There is also a registry tax on voters, and the money received from this source is applied to support schools in the town where it is received. The school districts can also raise money by direct property tax to support schools, or can make an assessment on scholars who are able to pay. In the greater part of the districts the deficiency of the public money is supplied by assessments. Union Districts. — Ample provision is made by the law for the gradation of schools, and to encourage country districts to unite for the sake of supporting a higher school. School Houses. — In the four towns named, and also in one other, school houses are erected by the whole town for all the districts. In the other towns, each district, as a corporate body, manages its own affjiirs, chooses officers, lays taxes to build and repair houses, support schools, &c. Locations and plans of houses, and the amount of taxes, must be approved by the committees of the towns. Teachers. — Committees can examine and give certificates for their towns, county Inspectors for their counties, and the Commis- sioner for the State. No teacher can be employed without a certifi- cate. Institutes. — Institutes are held at such places and times as the Commissioner decides. The expense is paid out of the State treas- ury. • Length of Schools. — In the compact places and villages in which so very large a portion of our population is concentrated, they are continued through the year. Each district is required to keep a school for four months, in order to receive its school money. The 218 APPENDIX. country districts generally keep a school from six to eight months, part in the winter and part in the summer. Academies and Colleges. — These receive no aid from the State. There are several academies and high schools, some of which are in- corporated. Brown University, at Providence, is an institution of long established reputation. Deaf and Duivtb, &c. — The State makes provision for the support and education of the indigent deaf and dumb, blind and idiots. The deaf and dumb have generally been sent to the Hartford Institution, and the blind and idiots to South Boston. Provision is also made by the State and towns for the support of the insane poor at the Butler Hospital for the Insane, at Providence. Libraries. — Towns or districts may raise money by tax for a School Library. And individuals may incorporate themselves by a provision in the School Law for this purpose. Under this provision a large number of associations have been formed. See the appendix No. 4 to this report. RHODE ISLAND EDUCATIONAL MAGAZINE; VOL. IL PROVIDENCE, JAN'RY AND FEB'RY, 1653. NOS. 1 & 2. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. To the Honorable General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. January Session, A. D. 1853. The Commissioner of Public Schools presents the annual report required of him by law. The accompanying abstracts of the returns from the seve- ral towns will inform the Legislature in regard to the appor- tionment and expenditure of the public money, and the statis- tics of the schools The returns for the last year were more exact and full than those of the previous year ; and it is hoped that the returns for the present year will be complete. It is gratifying to per- ceive that a large number of the towns are increasing their appropriations for schools, and it will be for the wisdom of the Legislature to determine whether the time has not arrived, or will not soon arrive, when public opinion and the condition of the treasury will justify and sustain an increase of our State appropriation. 2 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Many of the School Committees last year availed them- selves of the privilege given them by the revised law of print- ing their town reports. The money cannot be applied to a better pm-pose, or in a way to do more good. By printing and distributing to every family an account of the condition of the schools of the town, the general interest in the subject is kept alive and increased, errors are exposed and improve- ments suggested. DEAF AND DUMB. The following are the names of the persons who have re- ceived the benefit of the appropriation from its commence- ment : — Age whenadm. Entered. Left. Fanny Lanphear, Hopkinton, 26, May, 1S45, May, 1846. Abigal Slocum, Portsmouth, 25, May, 1S45, Mav, 1847. Peleg Slocum, Portsmouth, 20, May, 1S45, May, 1847. Mary E. Slocum, Portsmouth, 14, May, 1845, May, 1847. James Budlong, Warwick, 20, Aug, 1845, May, 1847. Charles H. Steere, Glocester, 15, May, 1846, May, 1850. PhebeA Winsor, Johnston, 8, May, 1846, " 1852. John W. Davenport, Tiverton, 13, May, 1847. Samuel W. Thompson, Glocester, 11, May, 1847. Mercy E. Tanner, Coventry, 10, May, 1847, 1852. Minerva Mowry, Smithfield, 13, May, 1848, May, 1851. SaiBuel G. Greene, Hopkinton, 11, July, 1849, Aug, 1851. George Gavit, Westerly, 10, May, 1850. Wm. E. Slocum, Cumberland, Sept, 1852. Agnes Mc'Laughlin North Prov. iSept, 1852. Mary E. Wilber, Little Compt. Sept. 1852. The orders for their support this year have been — June 21, 1852, 8250 00 Jan. 24, 1S53, S66 67 The beneficiaries of this State have been sent to the " American Asylum at Hartford, for the Education and In- struction of the Deaf and Dumb." The time for admission ot pupils is the third Wednesday of September in every year. The charge is $100 per annum. In case of sickness, extra charges are made. Persons applying for admission must be between the ages of eight and twenty-five years ; must be of good natural intellect, capable of forming and joining letters SCHOOL COM^IISSIONER'S REPORT. 3 with a pen legibly and correctly ; free from immoralities of conduct and from contagious disease. The charge for board includes washing, fuel, lights, stationery and tuition. No de- ductions are made for absence, except on account of sickness. THE BLIND. The following persons have received the benefit of our State appropriation for the blind : — Entered. Left. William Hatch, Bristol, January, 1845 Oliver Caswell, Jamestown, January, 1845. January, 1851, Elizabeth Eddy, Warren, January, 1845, January, 1848. Charles Coddington, Newport, March, 1846, Maria Dunham, Newport, March, 1846, Marcia Thurber, Providence, June, 1846, June, 1847. Alexander Kenyon, S. Kinj^stown, October, 1847. Wm. Tallowfield, Providence, Nov. 1849, Nov, 1850. James H. Graham, Newport, May, 1850. Elizabeth Dennely, S. Kingstown, October 1851. Lucy Ross, N, Prov, Dec, 1852, The orders for their support this year have been — May 24, 1852, S250 00 January 24, 1853, S650 00 The beneficiaries of this State have been sent to the Per- kins Listitution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, at Boston. The charge at that Institution is ^160 per annum, which covers board, washing, medicine, use of books, musi- cal instruments, and all expenses except clothing and travel- ing expenses. Pupils must be under fifteen when admitted, and of good character ; free from epilepsy or any contagious disease ; and the friends of the applicant are required to an- swer certain queries respecting his age, and the cause and de- gree of his blindness, and to furnish an obligation that when discharged he shall be removed without expense to the Insti- tution. If possible, pupils should be taught the letters before going to the Institution. Books in raised letters for the blind can be procured there. IDIOTS AND IMBECILES. Four persons only, have yet received the benefit of any por- tion of the State appropriation for Idiots and Imbeciles; of 4 SCHOOL COMMISSIONEK'S REPORT. these, two are at the Massachusets School for idiotic and feeble minded youth, (corner of First and K streets, South Boston.) one at the Barre School, and one under the care of Mr. J. B. Richards, at Philadelphia. The orders for their support have been — March, 1852, $100 GO April, 1852, $100 00 Sept. 1852, $100 00 Jan. 24, 1853, $100 00 For admission to the Massachusetts School, it is recom- mended that they be between the ages of six and twelve ; not epileptic, insane or incurably hydrocephalic or paralytic. The parents are required to provide clothing and to give surety that the pupil shall be removed without expense to the Ihsti- tution when discharged. Pupils are first taken for one month on trial. The terms at this Institution for beneficiaries, for board and tuition, are generally $150 per annum, but vary somewhat, according to the condition of the pupil. EDUCATIONAL MAGAZINE. Having for a long time felt the want of some periodical publication as a means of circulating information among school officers and teachers, the subscriber last year undertook the publication of one. His predecessor had maintained such a publication and had found great advantage in so doing. Knownig that no such publication could be supported by subscribers, and that if it was sent to subscribers only, it would never reach those persons and those portions of the State where it would be most needed, it was determined at the beginning to send the Educational Magazine gratis to the Chairmen and Clerks of School Committees, and to the Clerk of every School District, and to rely upon contributions prin- cipally, for its support. About one-third of the amount neces- sary to pay the expenses has been so raised, and other indi- viduals have expressed willingness to contribute a portion of the remainder. By means of such a magazine, all information can be speedi- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. g iy circulated. School documents, changes m the law, deci- sions on the construction of the law, information of education- al and teacher's meetings and their proceedings, can be made public and brought to the knowledge of those most inter- ested. The subscriber has cheerfully borne the trouble of editing and managing the Magazine, and a portion of the pecuniary risk, for the sake of the benefit to be derived from it. NORMAL SCHOOL. The last autumn a Normal School was established in the city of Providence, by Messrs. Greene, Russell, Colburn and Guyot. The term commenced on the first of November, and the school will close about the first of April. Instruction is here given in the modes of teaching, and by the ablest practical Teachers. The gentlemen concerned are all distinguished and well known in their several departments. Prof. Greene as a grammarian, Mr. Russell as an elocutionist, Mr. Colburn as a mathematician, and Prof Guyot in geogra- phy. The school will be opened again the next fall and winter. The success so far has equalled the expectations of its best friends. A large number of teachers have been in constant at- tendance from the commencement. f have no hesitation in saying that this institution establish- ed under private auspices, is more likely to succeed, more likely to do good and to realize the proper idea of a Normal School, than any institution established under corporate or State pa- tronage, with permanent officers and fixed salaries, could possi- bly do. The tendency of the latter is continually to de- generate. The present institution on its present basis, may well be commended to the benevolence of the public. It may need aid and should receive it. It well deserves it. Q SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. OF TEACHER'S MEETINGS AND IMPROVING THE aUALIFICATIONS' OF TEACHERS. During the past year as in previous years, meetings have been held in different parts of the State, for the gratuitous in- struction of those Teachers who attended. These meetings are generally denominated " Teacher's Institutes, " and con- tinue for one week. Lectures are delivered upon the various modes of teaching in the different branches of education, discussions are held upon different topics, in which the lectur- ers and teachers take part, and addresses are delivered to the parents and others who are assembled together, frequently in large numbers, by the interest they excite. The last of these meetings was held at Central Falls, and is considered to have been one of the most interesting and useful ever held in this State. Meetings of this sort are common in the New England and Nothern States. The credit of having originated them is due to our former Commissioner of Public Schools, who when Su- perintendent of Common Schools in Connecticut, organized a meeting for this purpose in the autumn of 1839, and similar meetings were held in that State under his care in the year 1840. Of the utility of these meetmgs, it is believed that the pub- lic mind is by this time fully satisfied. They are necessary to produce an ambition and to afford opportunities for individu- al and mutual improvement, and to create and preserve an es- prit du corps, without which improvement would be almost impossible. Other professions and trades have long ago realized the im- portance of such meetings. Our clergy of the different de- nominations have their regular associations for intercommu- nication. The men of science in Europe and America have for many years held their annual meetings for the ad- vancement of science. Our medical men hold their regular meetings in the several States, and have lately formed a na- tional association. The mechanical trades have also their SCHOOL COMmSSIONER'S REPORT. 7 periodical gatherings; indeed, association and incorporation were among the first causes of the elevation of the trades in the social scale. The friends of the various plans of benevo- lence and reform find these a most important aid to the suc- cess of their enterprises. Taka the case of a physician in a country village. He has received perhaps what was thought at the time a com- plete education for his profession. He retires to his coun- try practice. From want of use, much of his acquired- knowledge soon fades from his memory. New discove- ries in science are making, of which he never hears ; new diseases appear and new modes of ministermg to old dis- eases are found out. Hence the almost necessity to him of keeping up an acquaintance with the periodical litera- ture of his profession and of frequent meetings with his fellows, if he would keep his mind active and well informed, render himself useful to his fellow men, or even if he regards mere- ly the respectability of his standmg in his profession. So with the teacher. In the school, while learning, he has associates to cheer him in his progress. But when he begins to teach, he is thrown almost entirely upon his own resources. If he unfortunately commences in the neighborhood where he was born and brought up and is well known, he is looked upon by many with jealousy, as setting himself up to be a littla bet- ter and know a little more than the rest of us. " Is not this Joseph's son ?" If he goes among strangers, he has to en- dure the distrust of many, is looked upon by the children as their coming tyrant, by older boys as one with whom they are to have a struggle for physical superiority, and from none does he meet with any charitable allowance for his errors or inexperience. In most professions a certain amount of learning is expect- ed, which can be obtained by application and toil. In ordi- nary employments, honesty, industry and strict attention to business are all that the public expect, and will generally en- sure a competent support. 8 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Not SO with the teacher. Consider for a moment how great our expectations are in regard to the quaUfications of a good teacher, and we shall probably be surprised, not that a few fall short, but that so many come up to them. We expect of him a degree of learning in different branches which can only be acquired by close application, which pro- bably injures his health and secludes him from knowledge of his fellow-men. And then we expect of him a knowledge of human nature, of the feelings and passions of men, women and children, which can only be acquired by a constant and long experience and association with them, which would give little time to study. And we expect of him, also, a phy- sical constitution to endure continual mental labor and ever recurring perplexities, more wearing than any manual labor. Of a teacher in higher departments?, a professor in a college for example, we only expect knowledge, and an ability to communicate it. He has little trouble with governing, and he has a strong outward authority to support him. But of the teacher of a common school we expect knowledge, an ability to communicate it, (a science of itself) health to endure any and all things, a knowledge of the passions to enable him to govern without corporal punishment, or if corporal punish- ment is used, we expect of him a coolness and discretion to govern himself in the most exciting circumstances, to know just how far to go in punishing, so as not to overstep the limit of the law, a reasonable degree of punishment. We expect him to be doctor enough to look out for the physical health of his pupils — enough of a minister to look out for their morals; and all this we expect, not from young men and young wo- men, but from boys and girls from sixteen to twenty years of age. Well then may our surprise be, not that a few fail, but that so many succeed. And the lesson I would draw from these considerations is — not that we should not endeavor to obtain all these qualifications in the teachers we employ, — not that teachers should not aim at excellence in all these respects ; but a lesson of forbearance and charity for their short comings SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 9 The teacher who devotes himself to his profession from pro- per motives and with proper zeal, is entitled to our most charit- able construction of his motives and his acting — none more so. And these considerations lead us also, to see the utility of associations and frequent meeting together, to teachers. The art of communicating knowledge does not necessarily accom- pany the possession of it. The Teacher who has obtained his education finds that he has a new art to learn. And even if he has studied theories and teaching in books or normal schools, he finds difficulties in the practice. And the art of government too he has to learn. He carries his difficulties with him to the meetings of his fellow teachers. He there re- ceives instructions from those who are his seniors in years and , experience, he consults with his fellows, discusses modes of teaching and government, and what he sees and hears v/hich is applicable to his own difficulties, makes a permanent im- pression on him. No knowledge is so valuable as that de- rived from our own experience. And next to that is the in- struction which we receive from the accumulated experience of others, which happens to meet and explain the difficulties we presently feel, which satisfies some present want of the mind.- How often do we read a book — ably written it may be — which makes no impression on us and is soon forgotten. Let us read the same book at another time, when its instructions meet something in our recent experience, when its sentiments seem, to chime in with the tendency of our own thoughts, and it makes an impression on us never to be forgotten. We read a history and we forget it. But let us become interested in some recent event from reading or conversation, and the desire to trace the chain of causes which have led to it, makes every thing that relates to it interesting. We may study a theory of teaching, and may perhaps have a little amateur practice with it. but there is no instruction so valuable as that which we receive after we have met with difficulties ourselves; it be- comes incorporated into our very modes of thought and ac- tion, a part of our very life. And here is the great value of IQ SCHOOL COMMISSIOKER'S EEPORT. the instruction teachers receive or may receive at these meet- ings — it meets difficulties they have actually felt and of which they want a solution. But there is another and perhaps greater benefit resulting from these meetings. The teacher necessarily pursues his vocation at a distance from his fellow teachers, and often meets with but little sympathy. People-, generally, but imper- fectly understand the perplexities of his occupation. He must plod along in his course, relying only on his own energy and endurance. He is very apt, too, to become despondent, exag- gerating his own troubles and imagining that the like never happened to any one before. He meets here with friends who are engaged in the same business, who have experienced the same troubles, and who can sympathize with hmi in his labors. He no longer feels alone in the world. He begins to realize too, that he belongs to a profession, one of the most honorable and influential in society, and that the honor and respectabil- ity of this profession depend in some measure updn his own conduct as a member of it, and to the motives which before sustained him in the discharge of his duty are now added others, the desire not to dishonor his profession and the desire of acquiring a respectable standing in it. In regard to the mode of conducting these meetings and the plan of the lectures and studies to be attended to at them, it has been customary very much to confine the range of sub- jects to those actually taught in the schools. Discussions upon subjects of school government or of teaching have very profitably occupied a portion of the time, as it is in these chiefly that the teachers present can bring out the results of their own experience, and can suggest for solution the difficul- ties they themselves have met with or anticipate. Addresses to the teachers and the parents present upon various points of duty connected with education, have also formed a part of the general plan. It has been customary, as just observed, to confine the lec- tures and instruction very much to the subjects actually SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. H taught in the schools, not in the higher schools but in the common and ordinary schools. Reading and writing, gram- mar and arithmetic are fundamental branches, and no one would think of neglecting them, and in reading and grammar our schools and our teachers themselves certainly need im- provement. In some schools a retrograde movement in these branches would be impossible. But while these fundamental branches should not be neg- lected, the propriety of devoting the time exclusively to them, may well be questioned. The teachers have arriv^ed at an age when a more general acquaintance with the various branches of literature and science may be of great advantage to them. This general acquaintance serves to enlarge and liberalize tlifcir minds and to give them grander ideas of destiny and of duty. True, a great deal of this knowledge must necessarily be superficial, but not consequently useless. Few can be proficients in as- tronomy, but who would theiefore shut his eyes to the sight of the stars, and close his mind to the exciting thoughts and glorious imaginings they give rise to ! But the acquantance with various sciences, aids and elevates not merely by en- larging the mind and increasing its general power, but the different sciences are so related and connected and dependent uponeach other, that each one helps us in attaining others, and the further we advance in our education the more we shall be convinced of this truth. So that even if the teachers are not to teach all these branches, they are themselves benefitted, and indirectly their scholars receive the benefit of it. It is a great error to sup- pose that a teacher need know only the one or two branches which he is called to teach, and that if he is just ahead of his scholars in those branches it is sufficient. If I were address- ing an audience in some country district, on no point would I labor to convince them more than on this. Our children are all small, they say, and such a one, whom we can get very cheap, can teach them what they need to know, as well as a 12 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. more learned teacher. I will do them the justice to say that I believe the employment of poor teachers in country districts does not always proceed from the mean motive of stinting money from their children's schooling, but because they really believe that the poor teacher is good enough for chil- dren as small and no farther advanced than theirs. One of the greatest of errors. No degree of learning or experi- ence or acquaintance with the human mind, should be deemed too great for those who are to be employed to lay the foundations of knowledge in the young, a work which if badly done it may require the work of succeeding years to undo. I have said that to make a -good teacher requnes a great deal of discretion, and it certainly requires some discretion for a teacher to make the best use of what he hears and sees at teachers' meetings or institutes. It may be profita- ble to him at his age to learn a variety of things which yet he should not undertake to teach in all cases, and to scholars of all ages; and he will hear from diifei:ent teach- ers and even from the class instructors many plans of teaching which he should be very cautious about adopting. What .may have proved successful in the case of another school may not suit the circumstances of his school. Hence while he should hear all sides, discuss with all, receiv'^e hints and suggestions from all, he should adopt only such new modes as his own judgment tells him are suited to himself and his own peculiar circumstances. But perhaps the greatest danger of the times to which the teacher is exposed is the tendency, and which may in some cases be encouraged by these institutes, to undertake to teach too much and too fast. This has been called a railroad age. Impatience is fast becoming, if it has not already become, the characteristic of the public mind. Before railroads were made, folks in the country jogged along with their old chaises and horses, and thought they were getting along very fast if they went six miles an hour. Now, none but a few very old SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT, 13 fashioned people are content with such progress. This ten- dency of the age has been most ingeniously caricatured by Hawthorne in his "Celestial Railroad." He imagines a rail- road to heaven. Formerly, in the good old times, the Chris- tian in his Pilgrim's Progress, travelled on foot with his staff" in his hand and his heavy load of sins on his back, over hills and through valleys and sloughs, to the foot of the cross. Now, by the new invention, all obstructions are levelled, the travel- ler journeys pleasantly in a car, his heavy burden ticketed and safely stowed away in a baggage room. When, just at the end of his journey he awakes, and finds it all a dream. (iuintilian, who lived near the Christian era, censured the practice of undertaking to teach the young too fast, and com- pared it to undertaking to pour very fast into a narrow-necked bottle — a simile very often used since. One of the ancient princes who wished to learn geometry without any labor or study, was told by his preceptor that there was no royal road to geometry. Many in modern times seem to think that if there is no royal road, they have at least discovered a repub- lican road to learning. We are too apt to forget that one of the great objects in edu- cation is the discipline of the mind : that it is of more conse- quence to give the mind a degree of power which it shall be able to apply to any future study when needed, than it is to store it with any conceivable amount of learning. And the competition of schools, and the competition of teachers, and the desire of displaying the acquirements of scholars, all lead to increasing the number of studies in the schools, and to teach- ing on the railroad plan. Hard studies, calculated to strengthen and discipline the mind, are discountenanced and become unpopular. Scholars are shown how to avoid diffi- culties instead of being made to conquer them. We try to make knowledge easy by omitting every thing that is hard, instead of making it easy by making the mind strong to at- tack it.* *A. De Morgan. 14 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. COLLEGES AND THEIR PROPER PLACE IN AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. Even our Colleges have become infected with the prevail- ing epidemic. Attempting to supply the wants not only of general education but of professional, and in some cases ele- mentary also, they have gone on increasing the number of their studies until no more can well be added. As the num- ber of Colleges increases, the competition becomes severe, and each seeks to gain popularity and students by lowering the standard of education, and by giving way to the prejudices against classical and disciplinary studies. Instead of wonder, ing that there are so few students at our one hundred and twenty Colleges, we should rather wonder that there are so many. Our's is a young and growing country ; we have as 3^et comparatively but little accumulated capital to support higher institutions of learning; the avenues to wealth are open to all, and the temptations are to a life of activity and enterprise, instead of study. And a great many of our high schools do now give as good an education, and are just as much entitled to be called colleges, as many that go by that name. To the plan of allowing students who go to College, and who cannot spare the time or the money for a full course, the privilege of choosing the studies they think most useful to them, there can be but one serious objection, and that is that at the age at which young men, or rather boys go to College in this country, they are generally very poor judges of what is most useful to them. But this is nothing new. It is the plan of the European Universities, where the students are men, fit to choose for themselves. It is the plan of many, and of some of the oldest Universities in this country ; Vir- ginia, Cambridge and Yale. These partial cou^s have generally failed in this country after the first novelty^ the flush of popularity was over, and for this reason, that for those who cannot afford a thorough ed- ucation, our High Schools and Academies afford already a SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 15 good practical training, full as good indeed, as many called colleges. And those who can afford the time and expense for a thorough education will always prefer the old course. The men who have become renowned in the world, have been mostly educated under the old system, and every ju- dicious parent v/ill want his son to have all the advantages of it. But it is said the public do not support our Colleges, and this shows that they ought to be modified and brought down to suit the demands of the age. If a man makes a piece of cloth which he cannot sell, he must make something else or fail. True, but to apply this principle of supply and demand to morals and education is certainly something new. Ithas always been supposed that the benevolent and philanthropic v/ere doing good and deserved credit, when they exerted them- selves to elevate the standard of morals and of education ; when they, being in advance of their age, endeavored to raise others up to their own level. What if those who have so generally expended their wealth in founding Universities of the old world and the new, had waited until there was a de- mand for high education, instead of endeavoring to create a demand for it ? Would Jesus Christ ever have come, if he had waited until the world demanded his mission ? That our Colleges in the race for popularity and for stu- dents, have yielded too much to what they consider the de- mands of the age, instead of keeping their standard high and trying to raise the people to it, seems too evident. In- stead of the old and disciplinary studies, the tendency is to substitute anything and everything which happens to be popular for the day, which happens to get the popular name of practical, because the people can see its immediate use, and forgetting that to give the mind a power and energy ca- pable of being applied to any purpose, is to be practical in the highest degree. A great deal of prejudice has been excited against the old IQ SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. system, because fools come out of College ; as if Colleges could give men brains. Look at the effect of the opposite systems in Europe, in England and in Germany,* In the English Universities very little effort is made to go over a great variety of books or studies, but those who attain the University honors, must at least be thorough in what is required. And this system has made the statesmen who have directed the destinies of England^ and often influenced and decided those of the world. It has had no little influence in forming the character of the most practical of the nations of the earth. In Germany, on the contrary, not only education is univer- sal, but a high degree of learning is common. Her Universi- ties are truly seats of learning. And learning — the amount of learning — is the object of the scholar's ambition. England is practical. Germany, universally learned Germany, is theo- retic and visionary and cannot preserve her political liberty even when she has it in her own grasp. That the difference in the character of the people is entire- ly owing to the difference in their systems of education, I do not say. That it is in some measure owing to it, there can be little doubt. The question of the relation between Schools and Collages has been for some time agitated, and in many places a great deal of jealousy has been manifested by the friends of one towards the other. This should not be. There should be and there need be no contrariety of interests between the two. Let us do all in our power to advance the public schools, and let us do all in our power to raise the stand- ard of education in the colleges. Let the friends of com- mon schools discountenance and repel that levelling spirit which seeks to produce an equality not by raising up but by pulling down. If the accounts we have of European educa- *NoTE. This is noticed by Laing, one of the most intelligent of modem trav- ellers. SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. I7 tion are correct, a large number of our Colleges would be lit- tle better than high schools or academies there. One would suppose they needed elevation instead of depression. I would say to teachers in common schools, indulge no prejudices against higher schools or colleges. If you find among your scholars any intelligent and fond of study, urge them to complete their education, to go to some College — to some College worthy of the name. So as common schools prosper, our Colleges will prosper also. And if our Colleges and their graduates do their duty their influence may be a blessing to our common schools. I have said this much in favor of the old and disciplinary system, not because I wish to go to either extreme, but be- cause the tendency appears to be at present both in Schools and Colleges to look more to the number of studies and cramming the memory with facts than to the strengthening the faculties of the mind. As friends of education, we should put forth our united efforts to raise the standard of education every where, in the College and in the Common School, in the city, in the vil- lage and in the country. There is very little fear of any over education in the true sense of the word. OBJECTIONS TO EDUCATION CONSIDERED. We hear many who are opposed to education, express their fears that we are doing too much, that we are educa- ting the people too highly, that we shall make them discon- tented with their situation, and above their business. It were perhaps a sufficient answer to this, that do as much as we can, there is little probability in our life time of being able to give to the great mass of the people more than the mere elements of education, a little instruction in the fundamen- tal branches, reading, writing and arithmetic- This is all which the circumstances of most will allow them to obtain. But this is no reason why the opportunity should not be of- 2 23 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. fered freely to all, and why they should not be encouraged to educate themselves to the extent of their ability. But how far is it true that education does make people discontented ? If even a little education excites an ambition to improve, if it excites an ambition to improve one's self without envy or jealousy towards others, this certainly can- not be objected to. Discontent will always exist as long as human nature re- mains as it is. But ignorance especially is discontented. The ignorant man meets with misfortunes and poverty. He knows not who to attribute his misfortunes to, how far they are unavoidable, how far they are the result of circumstances he can control, or how far they are the results of inviolable laws of Providence to which he should have conformed. He therefore thinks it all luck, and he envies those who are luckier than himself. Knowledge, says Michelet, " does not make its malignant and envious, by what it communicates, but by what it holds back. He who is ignorant of the complicated media by which wealth is created, must naturally conclude that it is not created, that it does not grow, but changes hands only ; and that man cannot become rich save by de- spoiling his fellows. Every acquisition will seem to him a robbery, and he will hate all who have accumulated." (Peo- ple, 63.) Again the ignorant, rich as well as poor, attribute all their misfortunes to government : and this leads to the desire on the one side and on the other to have government constant- ly interfering with the business and concerns of the citizen, and produces the very evils which it dreads. Bat it is very common to hear an old fashioned person say that he can't see why his children can't do as he did, and that he has got along without much learning. Perhaps the best answer to such a one is to convince him that the SCHOOL COMMISSIONEE'S REPORT. j^g times have changed, that nations and states and cities and towns, and his neighbors all around him, are educating, and that if he does not wish his children to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the rest of the world, he must edu- cate, too. Throughout the civilized world intelligence takes the lead of brute force. Says Sit^Hondi, "Thought is the great hu- man power ; education and study enable us to join to our own experience and reflection the experience and reflection of all the human race. A man remaining uncultivated and knowing only what he has thought, what he has observed himself, opposed to him who is enriched by the thoughts and experience of ages, is like a poor individual who would con- tend with his own weak arm against the combined power of a multitude. The man also who by the obligation of man- ual labor must have condemned his faculties to almost con- stant idleness, opposed to him who by constant exercise has given to his mind rapidity, certainty and precision, has not the same means of making the most of his individual power of thought; whilst his adversary knows how to employ for his greatest advantage the treasure of thought of all those who have lived before him." Again, it is easy to see that in the present age the question is not, whether a child shall be educated at all, but how. In old times, before the days of turnpikes and steamboats and railroads, it might be possible for a person to grow up and live and die in brute ignorance of all around him. Such a thing as happy, contented ignorance was possible. But it is so no longer. We are all subjected to powerful influences which often control our course and shape the character. Per- liaps even in those who have the greatest advantages, this edu- cation of outward circumstances does more than instruction towards forming the character. The conversation and man- ners of our early associates, the desire to imitate those who have a reputation or standing in our neighborhood, our early 20 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. employments and our business relations, are all parts of our education and frequently of preponderating influence. Then in a free country, there is the information we derive from the proceedings of our district and town and other public meetings, our courts and juries, our various and intense po- litical agitations, and the all-pervading influence of the press. The influence of the Bible and of the religious and metaphy- sical discussion growing out of the questions connected with it, not only on the morals but on the intellect of a people, can hardly be overrated. All these influences, some for good and some for evil, are in modern times brought to bear upon every member of society. The School is therefore but a small part of the young man's education. It is in fact merely the means to future education, giving him the instruments wherewith to educate himself, and giving us also an opportunity to instill into his mind correct principles to guide him in his future course. But even in this view it is all-important. Every thing depends upon the influences under which the child starts in life. If you do not subject him to good influences, he will almost inevitably be subjected to bad. The stable school, the store school, the street school, and the wharf school,* will be always open to him, free of charge, and in them even dullness will be sure to learn. There is no danger that too many will be educated. Our whole vast country is open to us as a theatre for the employ- ment of our energies. New England has ahvays furnished and as long as their systems of education are inferior and as uneducated foreign emigrants multiply, will conthuie to fur- nish a large portion of the professional and literary men of the other States. It seems to be the mission of New Eng- land, Why should not Rhode Island do its part towards *Thc subject of a most interesting lecture before one of our Teachers' Institute?; by Rev. Thomas H. Vail, of Westerh'. SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 21 furnishing the educated men of the new States ? At present we do not furnish even our own. Even within our own borders for some years a great change has been going on. Our hard labor in our cities, wharves, workshops, and even on our farms, is beginning to be done by uneducated foreigners. Yanlcee intelligence and enterprise find more profitable employment. Headwork seems to be the yankee's peculiar business. This change has been slowly going on for years. It is only a part how- ever of the ordinary course of Divine Providence by which intelligence goes ahead of ignorance. This emigration should lead us to be doubly earnest in the work of educa- tion. We cannot prevent it if we would. For two hun- dred years this country has been the refuge of the oppressed of all nations. It will continue to be so. We would not selfishly close it against them, but with a broad and com- prehensive charity we would educate and qualify them for the part they have to perform in our future history. Their descendants are to be our fellow citizens, perhaps our judges and rulers. Our own safety, the prosperity of our country, the purity of our government, depend upon the education of all, rich and poor, native and foreigner. OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF A PUB- LIC EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. But if education be important, as we all hold it to be in a republican government, we should be cautious not to ad- vocate it upon principles or promote it in a manner incon- sistent with iheg^fundamental ideas upon vv^hich republican- ism is based. What then is our idea of republicanism or of democracy, for we commonly use these terms as meaning the same thing, although they do not strictly. A republic or commonwealth is not necessarily a democracy. By a democracy we mean a State where the body of the people themselves exercise 22 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. the powers of government directly and without the medium of representation, as in some of the states of antiquity. This is not practicable in any large or extensive country. The great security for the preservation of the liberties of a people is — not in the power being nominally in the people, which is of very little consequence if they neglect the exer- cise of it, nor in the people's occasionally exercising the power of electing their despots — but in the fact that the peo- ple do actually and practically take part in the manage- ment of affairs themselves. The perfection of government would be, undoubtedly, se// government — a state where every man should be a law unto himself — should govern himself and conform to the right without being compelled by outward force. This how- ever we do not expect to attain to. But if we cannot attain to perfection, we have at least a choice of systems. It should be our anxious desire, as we value freedom, to bring the management of State affairs home to every man, to localise government^ so to speak — to endeavor to have every man interested in and sharing in the disposal of the affairs of his neighborhood, and as far as possible the concerns of the State also. This is practically done in our system by our subdivisions into counties, towns and school districts, and in some States into parishes. Eve- ry man thus is brought to be acquainted more or less with public affairs. They are the schools of our liberty, with- out which other schools would be of little value. We are so familiar with these things here — we are so used to managing our own affairs, that we do not sufficiently value the privilege. To make a fair estimate of its value, we need only look at the condition of other countries. Take France for instance ; why have so many revolutions in France always ended in despotism? France has been for ages a centralized government — that is, the people in the dif- ferent portions of the country have had little or no share in SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPOET. 23 the? government. All the officers have been appointed and everything ordered from the city of Paris. Not a road or bridge could be repaired, or the smallest local improvement made, without being authorized by those in power at Paris. The people contracted a habit of looking to the govern- ment at Paris for everything, of depending upon the central government for everything, and of not relying upon their own resources or on their own judgment for any thing. They lost — rather never had any knowledge of governing themselves. Paris became France. When a revolution came, they all looked to Paris for their new masters, never thinking or dreaming that they had anything to do but to obey, and caring very little whom they obeyed. From the state of France we may also learn another fact — that equality of condition is no security for the liberties of a people. There is probably no country where the great mass of the people approach so near to each other in equali- ty of condition as to property, and they are all equal before the law. Yet they are not free. As an example of a different state of things, consider Eng- land, England is not a free country as compared with ours, but she is free as compared with the other countries of Eu- rope. And we have little hesitation in sayii'ig that a con- siderable portion of the liberty they enjoy is owing to their having always preserved their local municipal institutions. Our ancestors or many of them emigrated from England here at a period when the highest notions of liberty and in- dividual independence prevailed there. Even if they had had no training in the practice of local government at home, the necessity of their situation forced them to govern them- selves. Wealth and luxury did not exist to corrupt them, and so they learned and practiced the art of self government under influences best adapted to a healthy development. We have in our country carried the principle of local self 24 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. government farther than is done in any country of modern times, farther perhaps than it was ever carried in any coun- try of considerable extent. In the first place, we are a nation of confederated States, each in its own sphere sovereign. Then we are again subdivided into counties, towns, parishes and districts, each managing its own local affairs. Here every man learns to take an interest in the public welfare. I have said they are the schools of liberty. Better lose all other schools than these. It is a matter of course that when one of these little com- munities meets to talk over its affairs, there will be conflict of opinion. Some are ignorant, some are prejudiced, some are attached to old notions and averse to innovation. There will be continued agitation, and sometimes a change of course without reason. The system is not perfect, merely because man is not perfect. But manage their affairs as they will, with all their faults, it is far better, taking all things into consideration, and not looking merely to the success of the one object which we may wish to succeed, it is far better that their affairs should be managed by themselves, even if occasionally managed badly, than to have them managed with more wisdom by a superior power which should save them the trouble of gov- erning themselves. We should regard this principle of local self government as essential to the preservation of our liberties. We should guard watchfully against any encroachments on it. And this is the more necessary because the danger is not entirely from without. We are apt ourselves, when worried and fret- ted, when political affairs do not go as we like, to give up all interest in them, to throw them off upon any one who will take the trouble. This self government is a very trouble- some thing. We see this every where. We want to save the trouble of thinking in religious matters, and so we take SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 25 a pattern to think by. So in politics we follow our leaders, if they will only do the thinking for us, and once in a while contrive to give us a chance to rejoice in a victory. Some get earnest in the pursuit of wealth, and some love their comfort and ease, and thus the whole control of things gets into the hands of a few who are active and will spend the time necessary for it. It is an old proverb that Power is always stealing from the many to the few. Just so far as we depute to another, to one or more, the management of local affairs, which could be managed by the people of the neighborhood, just so far we are introducing the principle of centralization which tends to despotism. We are very apt to think that there is no despotism unless there is a person called an Emperor or King at the head of it. Read history — we need not do that even — study the present state of the world, and we shall see that despotism may exist under very various names and appearances. Its first advances will always be specious and imposing. I come now to the present application I intend to make of these principles. We have many zealous friends of education, who being themselves much in advance of their fellow citizens, are very impatient that all others do not come up to their mark — are not ready to go ahead as fast as themselves. Now in all great movements some portion of the people will be behind the rest. Some towns in the State and some districts in some towns are very backward and neglect education. This has led some to propose to do away with districts entirely. The same thing has, I believe, been pro- posed in Massachusetts. Perhaps in this way things would be better managed. Perhaps the people would get better schools ; perhaps not. But this it seems to me is not the only question. It is taking a very one sided view of the case. 2Q SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. By having some one to provide these things for us. we should in time lose the power of managing a system our- selves. We should soon cease to take an interest in that which was provided for us by a superior power, without any effort of our own. I am well aware that these views are not calculated to be popular among the ardent friends of education at the present day. The feeling in favor of using the power of a majority to compel the minority, is strong and probably gaining ground. When speaking of education, I have said that impatience is the characteristic of the present age. We are in haste to teach in one year what used to require several. We wish to educate and reform the world at once, God has patient- ly waited two thousand years, and but a small part of the world is yet Christian. Weak mortals are dissatisfied if they cannot immediately bring everybody into their way of thinking. And (as it has been quaintly said) there are some who if they had been alive at the creation, would have found fault with the Almighty for taking six days to create the world when he might have done it in one. The only compulsion I should like to see used, would be that which should oblige every man to take part in district meetings, and in the management of other public affairs, and which would punish the neglect of them as a failure of duty to the public. But even this degree of compulsion perhaps would be inconsistent with the principles here advo- cated. It results from these considerations that a central bureau, if established, should be for advice, conciliation and uniform- ity, and not for compulsion ; and in general, that we should endeavor to excite people to do for themselves, and not to do for them what they may better do themselves. A thorough and searching examination of the asserted SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ^27 grounds of the right and duty of the State to interfere in the education of the people, of the proper place of an edu- cational system in the frame of government, and of the logi- cal consistency of these grounds with other principles of government, political economy and religion, is yet to be made. It would furnish employment for the mind of a statesman and for the ablest pen. Public schools are more economical than private schools : a greater number can be educated at less expense. Yet this evidently furnishes no justification for the State in establish- ing such a system, unless it is assumed that the State has a right to interfere in, and direct all the economical concerns of the citizen. A public educational system, by educating greater num- bers, tends to make labor more productive and to increase the wealth of the community; but this does not seem to be a sufficient ground for its establishment. Public schools may tend to support a free government : not necessarily, however : for in many parts of Eiu'opa ele- mentary instruction is given as freely and as well as in' this country, and yet is made to serve to strengthen the founda- tions of the parental — that is, of the despotic form of gov- ernment. That education does not always prevent superstition, credulity and fanaticism, the world furnishes evidence enough at the present day. The prevention of crime seems to furnish a strong argu- ment in favor of public education ; yet even this has been called in question by able writers. If we once assume that it is the duty of the State as the common parent to educate all the children of the State, it would seem to follow that the State should treat all its chil- dren alike, should furnish to the child in the country the same education which the child in the city receives ; and 28 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. that the thinly settled agricultural townships of Exeter and West Greenwich should be supplied by the State with as able teachers as are employed in the cities and villages. OF PRAYER AND RELIGIOUS EXERCISES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND THE CONNECTION OF THESE SCHOOLS WITH RELIGION. The teacher in one of the districts in the town of Cum- berland, being in the habit of praying in his school, and pa- rents sending children to the school having objected to his prayers, the School Committee of the town instructed the teacher to desist until the decision of the Commissioner of Public Schools could be had on the case. The Commissioner would gladly have avoided deciding the case, not from any hesitation as to the course which ought to be pursued, but because it would have been desir- able if possible for our schools to have gone on harmoniously as they have done, each district adopting such plan as suited itself, and without any strict definition of their legal rights. The question involved the whole subject of moral and re- ligious and of sectarian instruction in schools. The opin- ion given and the reasons for it were substantially as fol- lows : The right and duty of parents to give their children mor- al and religious instruction will be acknowledged by all, and each parent must judge for himself how far he is justified in educating them in the peculiarities of his own sect. In a private school the teacher may prescribe his own ex- ercises and no one has any right to complain. All who send to it, are supposed to understand and agree to the teacher's regulations. Bat what are the rights of parents and the rights and du- ties of teachers in regard to moral and religious instructions in Public Schools established by law, and supported out of the common property by people of different sects, and in a SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.. 29 country too, where no particular denomination of religion is maintained by the State ? Of the importance of moral instruction, so f^ir as it can be given without inculcating notions offensive to any sect, there seems to be but one opinion. But that the teaching of the peculiarities of any religious denomination should be excluded from our schools, seems to result from the principles on which our system is founded, and from the impossibility of maintaining schools upon any other system. In regard to the use of books in schools, the following opinion was expressed in the notes to the edition of the School Laws, Sec. 96. "No book should be introduced into any public school by the committee, containing any passage or matter reflecting in the least degree upon any religious sect, or which any re- ligious sect would be likely to consider ofienslve." In regard to the use of the Bible in schools, the following remarks were made in Sec. 129 of the notes : "In regard to the use of the Bible in schools, two observa- tions occur here. If the committee prescribe, or the teacher wishes to have the Bible read in school, it should not be forced upon any children whose parents have any objections whatever to its use. In most cases the teacher will have no difficulty with the parents on this subject, if he conducts with proper kindness and courtesy. In the next place, no scholars should be set to read in the Bible at school, until they have learned to read with tolerable fluency. To use it as a text book for the younger scholars, often has the efTect of leading them to look upon it with the same sort of care- less disregard, and sometimes dislike, with which they re- gard then" other school books, instead of that respect and veneration with which this Book of books should always be treated and spoken of." The opinions here expressed have nov/ been before the public for six years, and it is presumed have met with the approbation of the community. The rule laid down in the Laws of the State of Massachu- 30 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. setts, while it points out and inculcates the duty of the teacher to give moral instruction, is carefully drawn to avoid giving countenance to any attempt to impart sectarian in- struction. "It shall be the duty of the teachers to use their best en- deavors to impress upon the minds of the youth committed to their care and instruction, the principles of piety, justice and a sacred regard to truth, love to their country, humanity and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, chastity, moderation, temperance and those other virtues which are the ornament of human society and the basis upon which a republican constitution is founded ; and they shall endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities will allow, into a clear understanding of the tendency of these virtues to preserve and perfect a republican constitution and secure the blessings of liberty, as well as to promote their own happiness ; and also to point out to them the evil ten- dency of the opposite vices." As these principles could not be expressed in better lan- guage, it has been copied almost word for word into the General Regulations of Upper Canada. Many of our towns have incorporated it in substance in their school regulations. It is well known that the greatest obstacles to establishing systems of education in England and Ireland have grown out of the question of religious instruction. The com- missioners of national education in Ireland, state that in the schools under their charge "the importance of religion is constantly impressed upon the minds of children through works calculated to promote good principles and fill the heart with love for religion, but which are so compiled as not to clash with the doctrines of any particular class of Christians." The books prepared for the Irish schools are in high repute. The common school law of Upper Canada provides "that in any model or common school established under this act, no child shall be required to read or study in or from any religious book, or to join in any exercise of devotion SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPOET. 3X or religion, which shall be objected to by his or her parents or guardians." I have adverted to these laws and regulations of foreign countries because they have there already encountered the very difficulties we are now contending with here, and that we may have the benefit of their experience. They show that even in countries where there is a church established by law, it has been found impossible to support any national or general system of educalion without most cautiously guarding against sectarianism. If sectarianism is to be excluded from our Schools, the question then arises, can prayer be made to express the sec- tarian peculiarities of the person who makes the prayer ? But one answer, an affirmative one, can be given to this question. It is the right and duty of every person to pray at the times and in the mode approved by his own conscience. But it seems equally plain that one person has no right to compel another to hear his prayers, if they are not agreea- ble to him. And it would amount to compulsion, if prayer is made a regular exercise of the school, and a pupil cannot come to the school without hearing it or violating the regu- lations of the school. Prayer may be a very proper and useful exercise in school, and yet government have no right to enforce attendance on it. Compulsory attendance on any religious worship is against the express provisions of our ancient declaration of rights, the substance of which is incorporated in our present Constitution. The conclusion, and the only conclusion that seems to me possible, is that prayer cannot be made a part of the regu- lar school exercises except by general consent. Any other rule would authorize a majority of a district, Episcopalian, Unitarian, Roman Catholic, or whatever de- nomination they might be of, to prescribe forms of worship 32 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. for schools and to compel the children of the minority to hear them, or to be absent during their performance. It is probable however that if a teacher, while he introdu- ces the forms of Christianity into the school, would also ex- hibit an example of the effects of genuine Christianity in his own life, temper and language, avoiding occasions of of- fending the feelings of those who differ from him, he would seldom meet with any objection to his religious exercises. To the Lord's Prayer, or any in a similar spirit, probably no one would object. Religious exercises must therefore be left to voluntary ar- rangement between the trustees, teachers and parents. Any attempt to subject them to precise regulations, would be con- sidered as an infringement on the religious liberties of the people, and at variance with the fundamental principles of our public school system. In bringing these remarks to a close, I would invite your attention briefly to consider the peculiar advantages we en- joy as a State for the education of our people. About two- thirds of our whole population is in cities and villages. Our agricultural population is comparatively small. No other State in the Union is situated as we are. And as compact places can always support higher schools, we can therefore without extravagant expenditure give a good education to a greater portion of our whole people, than any other State in the Union, Massachusetts not excepted. Politically too we have more need of it than any other State in the Union, to guard against those sudden flaws of popular passion to which all small communities are liable. In a few short years Rhode Island may be the best educated community in the whole world. If we can do this, if we can take this honorable stand among the nations of the earth, let us resolve to do all that in us lies to accomplish it. E. R. POTTER, Comm'r of Public Schools. , Kingston, Jan. 24, 1 853. SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 33 Table No. 1, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of PubUc Schools. Received from n <0 Kxpended. s| a .8 o p lis TOWNS. i CD V o."^ M o 1 o ^^2 s a K a "o ra'S ffl 1 o a o o o "3 o > M H « Pi Eh 46473.79 t32963.69 w Providence 9716.05 .34000.00 3157.74 3500.00 *4500.00 2000.00 *500.00 *]500.00 00.00 00.00 V, 81.11 ■i400.00 North Providence 1857.57 35('0.00 399.00 264211 5164.42 1929.98 Smithfield 2759 19 3000.00 300 00 6089.19 6089.19 1275.00 GumberlandJ 1578.87 2000.00 207.00 5138.37 5138.37 405.00 Scituate 1027.74 244.46 1368.42 454.61 391.12 3585.35 3242.80 Cranston 1115.96 1200.0(1 355 00 91.56 2762.52 2762 52 Johnston 752.51 500.00 217.54 91.20 212.10 1561.15 1561.15 400.00 Glocester Poster 623.80 475.35 200.00 181.11 650.00 855.02 165-56 405.57 '.473.80 2082.61 1473.80 1703.50 150.00 235.00 Burrillville 865.86 300.00 1165.66 1165.86 Newport^ Portsmouth 2122.23 1922.00 n23..54 333.26 6569.03 6066.77 239.23 3600.00 449.02 200.00 110.00 759.02 7.59.02 *250.00 Middletown 189.41 10000 405.06 56.00 750.41 825.00 43.3.00 *200.00 Tiverton 1302.44 1500.00 68.49 2870.9 S 2870.93 75.00 1500.00 Little Compton 356.87 120.00 12=3.44 15.30 1775.51 1775.57 130.00 *250.00 New Shoieham 369..S1 100.00 260.00 63.20 792.51 725.50 100.00 100.00 Jamestown 67.28 24.46 212.97 304.69 304.69 ''is South Kingstown <)61.69 460.00 828 334.41 22^.00 2808.10 2808.10 46000 Westerly 663.29 260.00 1172.58 6.84 46.23 2088.94 2042.71 200.00 North Kingstown 711.56 450.00 513.44 182.33 2139.05 1858.13 750.00 450.00 Kxeter 432 20 148.92 530 34 46.80 329.82 1488.08 1372.33 486.04 148.92 Charlestown 247.18 125.00 252.50 86.60 116,66 e•^^.9'i 896 31 125.00 Hopkinton 655.21 140.81 376.00 129.00 1301 05 1.301.05 SOO.OO 140.81 Kichmond 418.30 120.00 538.30 517.59 *200.00 Warwick 1755.86 600.00 261.80 846.24 3463.90 3075.49 Coventry 841.00 200.21 263.57 126.81 299.51 1731.13 1561.95 2517.25 ^3 East GreenwichTI 544.82 18J.60 8.00 76.24 81.81 894.47 667.10 181.60 West Greenwich 324.70 77.31 Bristol 1080.86 22.')0.00 723.00 87.00 22.43 5789.69 4585.0o! 200.00 *2900 0O Warren 583.31 15U0.00 6.00 85.69 44.55 2160.50 2180..50 *1700.0O Barrington 148.45 200.00 283.91 24.49 45.00 701.40 656.40 200.00 34997.89 55305.91 10209.79 8014.65 613157 115160.21 981.35.44 9625.50 Those tmrked thus * have increased their appropriations. tDeduct this from 46,873 79 and you have what has been spent for repairs, fuel, &c. J$1353 50 from tax Woonsocket. §$1078 from fund. ITA fund of $2000, but no income. 34 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. Table No. 2, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of PubUc Schools. Districts. School Houses. Schol ars. Teachers. TOWNS. ■a N '3 to O s .2 'u p. ■a a <* . a S U rs o t o o > d (a o O m K ^ tx. H ex! o.'~' 5 a . Is o B 3 Q 1 "3 3 -3 a O i. ^ Oi ■a 2 a a 13 n ^ < o o CI, Pi ■3 Q a S <% Providence 9,716 05 6,407 4,938 9,150 4,13C 13,286 3 7 lii 9 6,705 879 North Providence 1,857 60 1,744 1.116 1,74-3 797 2,540 1 3 4 2 1,310 433 Smithfiold 2,759 19 2,192 1,72! 2,701 l,07i •3,773 1 5 4 4 2,281 469 Cumberland 1.578 87 1,138 944 1,472 687 2.169 3 3 3 1,234 301 Scituate l,02tj 74 793 566 1021 SSi' 1,404 2 1 2 2 995 65 Cranston 1,116 9ti 868 669 1,072 45J 1,526 6 4 4 869 91 Johnston 752 51 627 401 751 27k 1,029 2 1 1 617 3 Glocester 623 80 471 341 593 260 8.53 3 4 4 3 691 66 Foster 475 35 577 351 467 193 650 10 3 4 2 495 13 Burrillville 865 86 650 413 822 362 1,184 2 2 1 845 92 Newport 2,122 23 975 851 2,102 800 2,902 4 4 16 5 1,556 212 Portsmouth 449 02 339 168 448 166 614 5 3 4 442 31 Middletovvn 189 41 161 110 478 81 259 1 1 163 1 Tiverton 1.302 44 975 697 1,274 507 1,781 24 2 3 3 1,208 503 309 Little Compton 3;)6 87 386 187 388 100 488 1 2 New Shoreham 369 31 360 189 362 123 505 6 4 4 402 8 Jamestown 67 28 49 36 62 30 92 1 2 69 South Kingstown 961 69 840 585 952 363 1,315 1 5 ] 929 71 Westerly 663 29 664 487 649 258 907 3 5 3 634 40 North Kingstown 711 56 562 385 715 258 973 6 4 7 5 778 111 Exeter 432 20 387 237 407 184 691 1 3 4 6 406 42 Charlestown 247 It 244 154 252 86 338 2 2 1 243 13 Hopkinton 655 24 526 321 666 236 896 5 1 3 691 30 Richmond 418 30 376 308 416 156 572 1 1 363 9 Warwick 1,755 86 1,244 812 1,793 608 2,401 3 2 9 1,386 85 Coventry 841 GO 699 448 841 309 1,150 1 1 6 1 213 99 East Greenwich 544 82 273 211 563 182 745 3 1 1 611 86 West Greenwich 324 70 290 200 311 133 444 2 4 2 201 Bristol 1.030 86 692 501 1,074 40'! 1,478 6 4 1 5 995 141 Warren 583 31 333 220 567 232 799 10 3 655 43 Barrington 148 45 122 102 143 60 203 142 1 Ind. School. 3b 13 - 26,200 18,772 33.95S 13,896 47.867 108 68 233 55 28,331 2,744 APPENDIX No. I. THE RELATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. The following extracts from a Report of Prof. Andrews, of Marietta, upon the relation between schools and colleges, con- tain so much good sense upon this subject, that we are very glad to republish them. They are from the Ohio Journal of Education. '• Another principle universally recognized, is, that there must he classificatioji — classification of schools as well as in schools. The schools themselves must be arranged in classes, as well as the pupils in a particular school. There is no one feature made more prominent than this, by the best instruc- tors in the nation. Its introduction into our towns has wrought a most wonderful transformation. There would be elemen- tary schools for beginners, then others of higher and higher grades, till ample provision should be made for the general education of every child and youth in the State. We should not expect that each pupil would complete the whole course. Yet the number that would attempt this, would be in proportion to the completeness of the classifica- tion, and to the excellence of the instruction in the elementa- ry departments. Nor do we now inquire how many or 'how high grades should be established in any individual township, town, or city ; we affirm only that, somewhere, institutions should be provided, in which the wants of all might be met. To equalize perfectly the advantages of any system would be manifestly impossible. The more dense the population, 38 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. the more complete the classification could be made. In the more sparsely settled regions, after progressing as far as their neighborhood schools could carry them thoroughly and eco- nomically, the more studious would seek admission into the High School or Academy of the nearest large town. And if any should wish to make acquisitions beyond what the High School could furnish, they must repair to institutions of still higher grade. Thus far our supposed system. Now, taking the State as a whole, have we not substantially the system already, so far at least as this feature of classification is concerned ? Is there not provisions for the child, from his entrance into the primary school, until he shall have finished the whole range of studies deemed necessary to a liberal education ? I do not say that these schools, of whatever grade, are in every particular, pre- cisely what they should be, but that the institutions exist which profess to furnish, each in its sphere, all that a finished general education requires. From what has been said, we cannot mistake as to the con- nection between Schools and Colleges. Colleges constitute the highest grade of our non-professional educational institu- tions. They are an integral part of the system, sustaining to the High School and Academy precisely the same relation which these sustain to the lower schools. Until recently, all non-professional institutions have been ranged in three divisions — Common Schools. Academies and Colleges. Of these three, the College has been much the most specific in its character. It has undertaken a more de- finite work than either of the others. In them a much great- er variety of attainment has always been found. The Aca- demy has admitted multitudes that ought to have been in the School, and the School has been compelled to retain many that should have been found in the Academy. In practice, there has been no boundary line between them, except in the case of a yery few of our best Academies. But the College |ias always had its boundaries on either side. It has required SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT, • 39 a definite amount of literaiy attainment for entrance, and the completion of the prescribed course of study, is the comple- tion of the student's connection witli it. Tlie inmates of the College have also been required to arrange themselves in class- es, that the instruction might be rendered as efficient as possi- ble, bj^ giving ample time to the recitations, and by permitting the instructors to confine themselves to particular branches^ Thus, Colleges have ever conformed to the two great features of classification. The other departments of what I have called general edu- cation are now beginning to follow the example of the Col- lege, in the matter of classification. Formerly, the common school and the academy had no limitation in the range of studies. The pupil might enter when he chose, and remain as long as he chose. And so long as his teacher was willing to hear him, he might study Vvdiat he. chose. Thus, the teach- er was sometimes required to pass from a recitation in the primer to one in Virgil — from one in the elements of numbers to one in Trigonometry. But an improvement has commenc- ed. The principle of division of labor, so long in use in our colleges, is beginning to be applied to schools. Most of our towns now have their Graded Schools, each possessing a defi- nite course of study, which the pupil must complete before he can pass on to the next higher : and when he has completed it, he must pass on. The advantages of this arrangement- are so manifest in theory'-, and in its practical workings it com- bines so fully both economy and efficiency, that no doubt can be indulged of its general prevalence. It is sometimes said that " Colleges are behind the age." It is one of the most general of all generalities, and may mean anything or nothing. Whatever may be intended by it when applied to Colleges, we have seen that one of the greatest im- provements introduced into our schools has been adopted from the Colleges : so that, if they are behind the age, they at least have the Union Schools to keep them company. The College then is, chronologically, the last school in our 40 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. general school system. Using the most general classification and nomenclature, we have five departments — the Primary? the Secondary, the Grammar School , the High School, and the College, occupying from two to four years each. They all have the same end in view, and differ only in the order of succession. Some think that Colleges are intended specially for professional men ; and so many think that High Schools and Academies are for the special benefit of the rich. The two opinions are deserving of equal credit. From the day the boy commences the alphabet, to the day that terminates his collegiate course of study, he is pursuing those studies which the intelligent voice of mankind has pronounced to be the best adapted to the development of his intellectual facul- ties. Examine the course of study in all the best Union Schools in Ohio, and you will find a remarkable similarity. Go to other States, and it is still the same. Whence has it arisen? Manifestly from the conviction, in the minds of in- telligent men engaged in the work of instruction, that these studies, each in its place, are just what the v/ants of the pu- pils require. If, as I have before supposed, the whole school system were to be re-constructed, should we not have substantially, the same grades as now exist ? It would hardly be affirmed that the highest grade is unnecessary, because some of our young men are too highly educated. Nor would it be said that the studies of that grade could be better pursued without instruc- tors. Professional education is obtained by the aid of teachers, and that, in most of the professions, at a very heavy expense. Much more, then, does general education, which precedes pro- fessional, require instructors. What institutions shall furnish the closing portion of a good general education ? Were our High Schools to attempt it with their present organization, they would violate the principle that lies at the basis of Graded Schools. Give them a large corps of instructors, and increase the time to six or eight years, and they might do it. In that case, however, they must be divi- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 41 (led into at least two grades ; the upper of which would be, in substance, a College. But. except in the case of our large cit- ies, the expense of such an arrangement would be an insuper- able obstacle. The Metropolitan City is now making the ex- periment with her Free Academy, and we doubt not that it will be successful. But even if all our large cities had institutions of the high- est grade for their own youth, they could not meet the wants of the citizens of our towns and townships. Parents would not send their children to the cities. There must be institu" tions, located at eligible points, to meet these wants. We have them already, and they are called Colleges. What link is wanting in the system? It may be enlarged and perfected, but it now seems to be a continuous system — an uninterrupted succession of links. I have dwelt more upon the relation of Colleges to the oth- er parts of the system, because of the vagueness which exists in the minds of not a few, as to the precise place which Col- leges occupy in our educational machinery. If the view now presented is the true one, the College is the highest of our in- stitutions for general education, as distinct from professional. The culture which it gives may be more essential to certain occupations than to others, but it is because these require a higher culture. In this, it is not peculiar. It is the same from the beginning of the school course. Especially is it true of the High School and Academy. But who calls these profes_ sional ? Or what Teacher, who is worthy of the name, would hesitate to affirm that the studies of the High School would be of incalculable value to every lad, no matter what might be his future employment ? From beginning to end, through every stage of the educational process, which commences in the primary school and closes with the college, the culture is intended for the future man, as man — as a being endowed by his Creator with noble faculties, which need development ; and not for him as a merchant, or a farmer, or a lawyer, in distinction from the other pursuits of life. 42 SCHOOL COMJIISSIONER'S REPORT. When a lad applies for admission to the public schools of this city, is the inquiry made, what is to be his future avoca- tion, and are his studies arranged accordingly? By no means. Who can tell, in this land of ours, what is to be a lad's future career ? The only inquiry is, what are his present attain- ments? These known, certain studies are assigned him, which are precisely what he needs ; and no material alteration would be made, could the instructor pierce the veil of futurity and know absolutely the occupation of the future man. Nei- ther, I venture to assert, does any superintendent excuse a lad from the study of arithmetic because he avows that he has no love for the study, or because a phrenological examination should develop the fact, that the mathematical bump was rath- er below than above the average. And yet, because Colleges do precisely in this respect what is done in the best schools in the land, we find men, otherwise well mformed, declaring that the present college system does not meet the wants of the age. Let it be remembered, that the principles of these obJ3ctions, so far as they are based on any principles, legitimately carried out with respect to the other parts of our great school system, would utterly annihilate its highest excellences. Every blow aimed at what is called the "compulsory" principle in our Colleges, is just as truly a blow at the sj^stem of Graded or Union Schools. They are parts of the same great and beau- tiful system, and are based on one and the same principle — perfect classification. To remodel the College System by taking away the " com- pulsory" principle, i. e., the principle of complete classification, and permitting each student to make his own selection of stu- dies, would be like giving up our Graded Schools and going back to the single district system. Yet such a plan has its advocates, who claim, withal, to be in the very van of the world's progressives. They say, a young man's tastes must be consulted — the studies must be adapted to his mental id- iosyncracy — or there will be no real discipline of the faculties ; and, again, his proposed pursuit in life must determine his SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ' 43 course of study. They do not tell us what is to be done, when his future occupation pulls him in one direction, and his mental idiosnycracy in the opposite. If an institution attempts to fit one young man to be a farm, er, another to be a merchant, and so on, through all the mul- tiplied avocations of society, its right to do so cannot be ques- tioned : ihis is a free country. But just so far as it does this, it becomes a professional school, and withdraws itself from the work of general education. And yet, strangely enough, it is on this -professional characteristic, that the clanns of such institutions to public favor are based. The points of differ- ence between them and other Colleges, are just those between them and the best Graded Schools, So far forth as they dif- fer from other Colleges, they have no closer affinity for the general school system than the Starling Medical College. The system of general education has then its completion in the College proper. The College is the continuation of the course commenced years before in the most elementary de- partment It sustains to the High School and Academy, ex- actly the relation that one of these does to the next before it in order of time. The whole forms a complete school system. The object of each department is the same as that of the oth- ers, and if any one fails perfectly to accomplish that work, it furnishes but another proof that imperfection attaches to all human works. Let us now consider the influence which Schools and Col- leges exert upon each other. The influence of the School upon the College is direct and immediate. The road to the latter lies through the former. The college having always adhered to the principle of the division of labor, must receive its pupils from the school. Ac- cording to the character of the training to which they have there been subjected, will be in no small measure, their future scholarship. If this early training has been imperfect, how- ever faithfully the student may perform his collegiate duties, he cannot wholly free himself from the difficulties which 44 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. have thus been brought upon him. On the other hand, when all this previous work has been properly performed, each branch having received its appropriate attention, and at the proper time, the student is prepared to reap all the advantages which a woU-digested collegiate course is calculated to fur- nish. The College is also dependent upon the School for the hab- its of study of its students. Before entering college the pupil has spent from six to twelve years in the different departments of the schools. In this long period, habits will have been formed which it will be difficult to change. If these are what they should be, the previous teachers will deserve no small share of the praise for the student's subsequent success; and so, if these habits are the opposite of what they should be, to the same previous teachers must be attributed a considerable portion of the blame of his final failure. In both the particulars now mentioned, it will be seen that the influence of the previous schools upon the College, is just the same as that of the lower schools upon the High School. The amount of this influence is believed in both cases to be greatly underrated, and the tendency is too common to attri- bute all the imperfections of a young man's education to the in- stitution, whether school or college, where his course was nominally finished ; whereas, in truth, every school in which he has been enrolled, and every teacher who has attempted to give him instruction, has contributed to the final result. A third particular may be mentioned in which the influence of the school upon the college is too great to be overlooked. It is an influence not affecting the scholarship of the students, but their number. The question whether a lad shall receive a liberal education, is very frequently decided by the teacher of the school. This is done in different ways ; sometimes by direct advice. A teacher who has imbibed a prejudice against collegiate institutions, learns that a bright lad among his pu- pils has a half-formed purpose of obtaining a liberal education. He endeavors to dissuade him— magnifies the difficulties to SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.. 45 be encountered — tells him that such an education will do him no good, and that he will be better off without it. Or, with- out taking ground thus positively against a college education, he may, by doubt and insinuation, accomplish the end quite as effectually. The ingenuous boy has confidence in his teacher, and the noble purpose is nipped in the bud. A word of encouragement, on the other hand, would have cherished and strengthened the purpose, and in after years that instruc- tor might perhaps have seen his former pupil taking his place among the magnates of the Republic, a dispenser of blessings to his country and the race. The same ends are often accomplished without any direct effort on the part of the teacher. Is he incompetent, possessed of little knowledge himself, and poorly fitted to impart that little, how can he stir up the dormant energies of those entrust- ed to his care ? — how instil into their minds that thirst for knowledge, which constitutes one of the strongest guaranties for future improvement? He stands before his pupils a sort of personification of education, and no wonder they have no desire to go farther. Contrast with him the man of large and varied acquirements, of ripe and polished scholarship, and pos- sessing, besides, that enthusiasm in his work, that power of enkindling in the breasts of his pupils a strong desire to know, which is second to no other qualification of the most success- ful teacher. Can genius long remain latent under such influ- ences? As part after part of the rich domain of knowledge is explored with suf^h a guide, will there not spring up an irre- pressible desire to go farther — to make still wider explorations ? The higher the culture, and the more varied and accurate the attainments of the teacher of the school, when associated, as they should always be, with intense enthusiasm, the greater will be the number to be seen urging their way onward from ijrade to grade, till they have possessed themselves of the liighest advantages that our great educational system can of- ler. But what is the influence of the College upon the School ? 46 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Keeping in mind that the College is the highest department in the system of genaral education, it is manifest that, wherever correct views are entertained of our educational machinery as a whole, the College must act with magnetic force upon the pupils of the other departments. Prominent among the rea- sons urged for the establishment of High Schools in our towns and cities, is this — that the High School will exert a. powerful influence upon the lower schools, by inciting their pupils to greater diligence and faithfulness in their studies. The ar- gument is equally applicable to the College. Again, it is urged in favor of the establishment of High Schools and Academies, that they will furnish teachers. This argument, too, whose truthfidness will not be questioned, ap- plies with equal pertinency to the College. The College ben- efits the School by training up and sending forth those that will become teachers. It seems hardly necessary to say, that I do not mean to affirm that the knowledge and intellectual discipline obtained in College, are all that the good teacher needs ; and yet there are not a few who seem to think, that because the young graduate does not at once equal the teach- er who has had the experience of half a score of years, there- fore a College education is no help to a man who would be- come an instructor. It requires strong logic to show the con- nection here between premise and conclusion. A College is not a Normal School, though it may have such a department. And it is no more to be blamed for not doing the work of a Normal School than is a High School. The province of each of them is, not to educate a young man as a teacher, any more, or any less, than as a merchant. Each has for its appropriate office the communication of knowledge and the development of the whole mind, and not that of in- itiating into the mysteries of teaching as a profession. This last is the province especially of the Normal School ; and when such a school shall have been established in our State, let every candidate for admission into the corps of teachers, be required to certify that he has been in attendance at that school, or some other, at least one term. SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 47 It requires a rare combination of excellencies to make a good teacher — a teacher of a school. It is hardly too much to say, that success — a high degree of success — is a more difficult attainment in this than in any other of the occupations of life. One of these excellencies, and certainly one of the first importance, is knowledge — knowledge of the subjects which our children must be taught. The more knowledge the teacher has the better, other things being equal ; for it is a rare complaint against him, that he knows too much, or too well. The best teacher is never satisfied with his present at- tainments — he is always learning. The more he learned when a pupil, the higher is his starting point as a teacher. Now some things taught in College are certainly more im- mediately available to the teacher than others, but there is not one which it is not for his interest to know — there is not one which our best instructors, whose early opportunities were limited, are not studying for themselves, as they can snatch fragments of time from the pressure of their daily duties. — Should it be said that it is better to pursue these studies thus than under instructors, then we may affirm the same of other branches lower down on the scale, till, in the end, we shall shut up every school house in the land. The principle that attainments in the higher studies quali- fy for the better understanding of the most elementary branch- es, is acted upon universally. The man who instructs the most advanced classes in the High School, is the Superinten- dent of the Primary Schools, the teachers of which instruct under his direction. So in the very center of educational pro- gress, on the soil where good schools flourish best, such thoroughly educated men as Horace Mann, Barnas Sears and Henry Barnard, are appointed State Superintendents. Once more : Colleges repay the Schools by scattering abroad through the community a class of men who are always found to be the warmest supporters of good schools. Liberally ed- ucated men, without exception, are anxious that their children should be well instructed. They are always foremost in em- 48 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ploying well qualified instructors, and most ready to give them an adequate compensation. Their countenance and support may be depended upon when the teacher has to contend with the prejudices of the narrow-minded and ignorant. Their ju- dicious suggestions for the improvement of his school, will always meet his approbation and encouragement. When our noble system of free schools is attacked by the demagogue under the plea of economy, the educated man will be found among its most earnest and successful defenders." SOME THOUGHTS ON COLLEGE EDUCATION. BY TAYLER LEWIS. The following letter, grew out of a request made to Professor Lewis to be present and take part in the discus- sion of the question, — Whether " Our Colleges meet the demands for education in this country." This was his reply : " Union College, Schenectady, ^ Tuesday, Feb. 6th, 1850. $ Dear Sir : — The discussion to which you invite me is certainly a very interesting one, and I should like much to be present. That, however, will be out of my power. Of the general question proposed I should take the negative side, but on very different grounds from those that would probably be assumed by my old friend, Mr. Greeley. A higher order of education, I would say, is demanded from our colleges, if we use the term demand for the intrinsic need or want, and in this sense, value of the thing, rather than the clamor of the popular press ; or, in other words, if we employ educa- tion in its true and highest meaning, as being the culture, growth, development, and formation of mind as mind, and of man as man, in distinction from the partial knowledge which has nothing to do with such culture and formation, but has regard solely to particular pursuits and branches of SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 49 business. If we take the word, then, in the first sense, and the true sense, and, as I could show (did time and space permit), the most really practical sense, our colleges do not meet the intrinsic demands for education in this country. They have been drawn away by the popular clamor into a more relaxed, diluted, and superficial course, which has taken the name of the practical ; whilst experience, as far as the experiment has been tried, is daily showing that it turns out weaker men, less truly practical men, less prepared to meet the flood of quakery which is pouring from the press, from the public lecture, and even from the pulpit. The immense amount of spurious opinions, spurious philos- ophy, and spurious science even (as the term is abused), all over our land, furnishes the strongest argument in proof of the need of a truly educated class, of the want of an order of minds thoroughly drilled in the strong old scholastic course, embracing that harmonious mixture of the pure mathematics, rich classical knowledge, logic, rlietoric, mental and moral philosophy, together with the fundamental ele- ments of physical science, which makes the strong man, the practical man, the man prepared to make himself master of any kind of useful, or useless, knowledge he may afterwards choose to acquire. Experience is showing that every essential departure from this course (although there may be modifications in detail) leads only to inefficiency, and super- ficial and chaotic knowledge. There is also (and here I speak from my decided experience as a teacher) a great fallacy about this so-called ^^ nscfiiV^ or " business knowledge." I have generally found the kind of education that deals most in this sort of cant, to be, of all others, the most worthless, useless, and absolutely good for nothing, if not positively pernicious. It does not even secure that at which it professes to aim. The reason is ob- vious. Cut of from its relations to the general design and innate idea of education, it is necessarily superficial; and all 4 50 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. superficial knowledge is chaotic, and thus far productive of mental imbecility. Again, it is one-sided ; and all one-sided knowledge taken out of the general scheme of truth, and viewed aside from its connexions with other sciences, is ne- cessarily distorted and incorrect. Partial course students, pursuing what are called the practical and useful branches, 1 have almost always found to be inferior, even in their own chosen studies, to those who take the full scholastic course, which goes to make up the harmonious whole we style a " liberal education.'' There is, again, another fallacy involved in these "useful science" schemes. Real scientific men can be only those, with very rare exceptions, who are able to devote their lives, and who do devote llieir lives, to scientific piu'suits. All absurd questions and complaints about aristocracy and demo- cracy, and "buried genius," and intellect " born to blush unseen," are here altogether out of j)lace. Life is too short, and " art too long," to admit the truth of any other idea re- specting it. Scientific men, truly scientific men, must, as a general rule, form a class. There is no help for it. And whilst this is so, the practical applications of science to bu- siness and trades, and mechanic arts, must be, more or less, the empirical use of principles brought out in the closet or the laboratory. If a man wants chemistry for no other or Jiigher purpose than some of its applications to his trade or business (and if he does want it for some higher purpose it is no longer as nsefiil knowledge), why should each one in these circiuiistances learn the whole science for himself, and study it out for liimsc-lf, when it has already been studied out for him by others, and that too so much better than he could have ever done it for himself? Why not in the same way each man his own physician ? But in truth, he does not really learn it. It is worse than emjiirical knowledge after all, for that may have some modesty about it, some sense of its own deficiency. To found mechanical or agri- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 5| eulcural colleges, in which, by a three months' or a six monfhs' attendance, onr young men generally are expected to be made scientific, is only the most ready way to make pretenders, and to fill the land with worthless, and worse than worthless, because superficial knowledge ; as from the very nature of the case and shortness of the time, it must be. One truly scientific and practical man sent abroad at the public expense to lecture throughout our state, on the direct applications of chemistry and other branches, would effect more than all the mechanical, or agricultural, or manual labor colleges that could be contrived to waste the public means. There is a third mistake on this subject. The science ac- tually required for practical pursuits, or for what is called business, is really far smaller in amount than is generally imagined. What there is of it, too, is much better, and more clearly, and more safely learned as accurate empirical knovv^ledge, than in a futile attempt to grasp what is- really never thoroughly laid hold on, and which, moreover, in consequence of its nectjssary superficialness, leaves the mind in a worse state than it found it. It is not only in a worse condition generally, but in a worse condition to use the very knowledge thus required, than if it had been received as simple fact or truth, without any weak attempts to theorize respecting it. **** * #** Now the very facts that such unsound notions are all abroad, and that they increase in proportion as our colleges are inclined to relax in favor of a more popular system ;. these very facts create the strongest arguments in favor of their retracing their steps, and aiming, on the other hand, to produce a more highly and thoroughly educated class, as a counteracting force. Hence would I maintain that our colleges, instead of accommodating themselves to a false sentiment, which is never satisfied with any concessions. 52 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. should rather return to a more scholastic system ; that is, a system more grounded on the most fundamental truth, — a system aiming at a well-balanced, well-harmonized course of study, in which the humanities (that is, the studies that pertain to man as man) should be well taught, rather than at great extent or diversity in matters of instruction, or at the accommodation of these to what are called "immediate practical utilities." If onr colleges once depart radically, in this way, from the true idea of liberal education, there can be consistently no stopping-place, no end to these demands of " practical utilities," until they have run through the whole course of occupations and trades, and established professorship for them all, from the art and mystery of the hod-carrier to that of the architect. They have already gone far enough in this direction. Experience, the best guide, is too conclusively showing that somehow, with all the pains and all the boast about being " useful^''' the results are after all poor and worthless. It is time, therefore, that there sliould be a reconstruction, a re- turn to a system known to have produced better fruit, although this old mode might perhaps, be slightly modified in non-essentials to meet the new demands of increased physical science. But even the necessary and fandamental department on this kind of knowledge have been greatly overrated ; at least in their comparative value. Chemistry is indeed a noble science ; but in the midst oi abounding moral, social, political, and theological quackery, logic, or a close acquaintance with the Jallacics as well as the legiti- mate power of language, may actually become not only higher, but even a more useful study than chemistry, with all its acknowledged value. Logical tests of false reasoning may be worth more, at such a time as this than chemical tests of poisons and bad medicines. Let any serious man read carefully for this purpose the speeches in Congress, and the leading articles in many of our most widely circulated SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 53 newspapers, and then seriously ask Jiimself, what kind of knowledge our young men most want. The knowledge of icords, which some with sneering ignorance would set in contrast with things^ becomes one of the most useful of all things, at a time when things themselves are perverted, or seen tlirough a false medium in consequence of the universal abuse of language, in the rejection or distortion of the fun- damental ideas or first truths in which it is grounded. APPENDIX No. II. DECISIONS ON THE SCHOOL LAWS. USE OF SCHOOL HOUSES FOR OTHER PURPOSES THAN SCHOOL&. In the case of the appeal of Isaac Hall, of School District No. 10, of the town of North Kingstown, from the proceed- ings of the Trustees of said district, in permitting the school house in said district to be used for a debating so- ciety ; the said Trustees having been notified and heard be- fore the Commissioner at Wickford, on the 1st day of Feb- ruary, A. D. 1853. The case involves the right of the district or trustees, to use the school house for other purposes than an ordinary school, and depends partly upon the provisions of the general school laws, and partly upon the conditions of the deed of the lot upon Avhich this particular school house stands. The following remark upon this subject is made in sec- tion 121 of the notes to the School act : — " A school house, built or bought by taxation on the property of the district, should not be used for any other purpose than keeping a school, or for purposes directly connected with education, ex- cept by the general cfnsent of the tax-paying voters." The rule here laid down is believed to be substantially correct and sound. The district holds the property intrust for educational purposes. The money has been taken from the tax-payers by force of law for certain purposes, and fcr those only, and cannot be applied by either district or trus- tees to any other use. SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S KEPOIIT. 55 I am of opinion that under the school law the house may be used for educational purposes collateral to the main pur- pose, such as meetings of the district for school business, lectures upon literary or scientific subjects, debating societies for the people or children of the district, &c. It may not be easy in all cases to draw the line between legal and illegal uses, but it woulJ be perfectly clear that the district could not use the house for trade or religious meetings, if any per- son objected to it. The question then arises whether the deed in the present case, varies the rights of partic^s from what they would be if the deed contained no conditions. By the deed from Joseph Case and others, dated October 11th, 1848, the school house lot is conveyed to the district, " for the purpose of maintaining thereon a district school house and appurtenances, for the benefit of the district school of said district, and for no other use or purpose what- ever, except religious meetings," and it is provided " that when said lot of land shall cease 10 be occupied for the pur- poses of a district school aforesaid, the same shall revert to the grantors, their heirs and assigns forever." The exception in regard to religious meetings may be left out of consideration in the present case, It cannot affect it in any way. If the district have no right to religious meet- ings there independent of the deed, the deed cannot give it to them. And if the district would have such a right other- wise it may admit of question whether a provision in a deed would deprive them of it. Leaving out of consideration the words, "except religious meetings," the remainder of the first passage quoted from the deed, appears to me, on the matnrest reflection, to ex- press no more and no less than the school law according to the construction herein given to it, would have expressed without the deed ; the provision in the deed is exactly in the spirit of the law, and neither adds to or lessens the rights and powers of the district or trustees. 56 SCHOOL COMMISSIOKER'S EEPOET. If the first passage quoted from the deed, does not vary the rights of the district, from what they would be, if there was no such provisions in the deed, the latter proviso appears for the same reason to contain no limitation as to the use of the house, which would prevent its being used for the purposes for which I have said the law apart from the deed would au- thorize. E. R. POTTER, Couimissioner of Public Schools. I have carefully considered of the above opioion and ap- prove of the same. I have also consulted with Judges Haile and Brayton, who concur with me in opinion. R. W. GREENE, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. March 4th, 1853. MAKING FIRES, ETC. IN SCHOOLS. Appeal to the Commissioner of Public Schools from a reg- ulation made by the School Committee of the town of North Kingstown, relating to the making of fires in school hmises. The regulation No. 26 adopted by the School Committee, October 25, 1852, is in these words : " The trustee or trustees of each district with the teacher, may cause the fires to be made in the school house, by directing the schol- ars of a suitable age, to take turns in making the fires, or procure them to be made in any other way they may think proper." In a private school the teacher has a right to prescribe his own terms. The parent who sends children to the school delegates to the teacher the right to govern them according to his own rules and to punish to a reasonable extent for the violation of them. The remedy of the parent, if he does not like the school or its regulations, is in not sending to it. Before the establishment of a public school system all our SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 57 schools were of this character. The practice of requiring the scholars toperform services of this sort, was generally adopted in the country schools, and in many of them has continued to this day. It remains to inquire what alteration tlie establishing of public schools by law, supported by the common funds and property of the State, has made in the rights of the parties in this respect. To a public school every parent has a legal right to send his children. He sends them subject to the lawful auihoiity of the teacher, and to the lawful regulations which may be prescribed for the discipline and studies of tiie school, but he has a right to insist that no regulations be made which the law does not authorize. The right claimed, if it exists at all, must be derived from the general power of the Committee to make regulations, or from the authority given to districts and trustees to make assessments on scholars and their patents. (Sec. 59.) The latter, however, it is very evident, contemplates only assess- ments to be paid in money and not labor. The power of the Committee to make regulations is giv- en by Section 16, which authorizes them, " to make and cause to be put up in each school house, or furnished to each teacher a general system of rules and regulations for the ad" mission and attendance of jiupils, the classification, studies, books, discipline and method of instruction in the public schools." It seems to me very plain that the power to make a regu- lation of the character of the one in question is not given in this paragraph. We might as well infer a right to require the scholars to cut and saw the wood. And as I can find no other authority for it in the law, it must be considered as un- authorized by law, and accordingly null and void. The practical difficulty in the case may be easily obviated .by a voluntary arrangement on the part of the parents, or by 58 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. making a small addition to the money assessments, and pay- ing some person for attending to it under the direction of the teacher. E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. Providence, R. I.. Jan. 1, 1853. APPENDIX No. III. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS. The following extracts from writers of diflerent religious denomitiations, are given, in order to exhibit the grea ivariety of views upon this subject. Some of the extracts it is believed will be found suggestive of subjects for the most ^erious reflection : Extract from a Lecture by Richard Gardnkr, Esq., be- fore the Public School Association of Lancasliire, England. " Another fundamental objection will be taken to the pl.m, as to which I shall not do more than throw out a few gen- eral observations. I alluded to the exclusion of theological teaching. This, it will be said, is godless education. Now, in the first ]ilace, that whicli is contemplated by the plan, or indeed by any system of day schools whatever, is not educa- tion at all, in the strict sense of the term. Education com- mences in the cradle, and is affected by all the circumstanceL; of a man's life in his course to the grave. The instruction received in the day school is one of those circumstances which we desire to make as favorable as possil)le. Then comes the question, What is to be taught in the day school ? I very much doubt whether, under any circumstances, this is the proper place for religious instruction. It is a place of labor, of restraint, and sentiments of punishment. I doubt whether the Bible and the Catechism have their appropriate place amidst the routine of ^xular studies, and whether one go SCPIOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. and the same teacher should be called upon, in one and the same course, to pass from the spelling book and the rule of three lo the mysteries and sanctions of Divine Truth. I lay very little stress upon that religious teaching which is given as a matter of drudgery and routine, sometimes, per- haps, amidst tears and disgrace. 1 know, at least, that this mixture is not generally attempted in day schools for the wealthier classes — at least it was not in my time. But how- ever this may be as an educational question, the political as- ])ect of the plan makes the exclusion in question necessary. Society cannot unite in its corporate capacity to teach theo- logy, because society is one, but forms of faith are many. If society selects one form for its patronage, as the symbol of the nation's faith, it is, in my opinion, guilty of injustice ; if many, or all, of latiludinarianism. It might be possible to dexnse a plan which would nominally get over the diffi- culty, but we are satisfied that no compromise of the kind would work. But though the plan excludes theology from its schools, not as undervaluing the imporfdnce of such stu- dies, but from the necessity of the case, it is clear, I think, that it is calculated to prove highly favorable to the effective teaching of religion in other and more appropriate places. I believe that one reason for the comparatively small success of Hie vast religious agencies, which are now at Vv^ork in this country, is the low state of the intellectual culture of the people. Depend upon it, that a nation of Protestants will never be a religious people, till it becomes an intelli- gent people, because Protestantism appeals so much to the understanding." Extract of a Lecture before the same by John Mills, Esq. " If the advantage of teaching be a social advantage, and if the evil of its neglect be a social evil, why not consign the task to social agency — to government for instance, as the recognised organ of society ? But an intelligent voluntary SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 61 would readily reply to this reasoning, *' 1 agree with you that the development of man's nature is a duty, and that the resulting advantage is a social one ; but it must not be for- gotten, that one part of the desired development is of a religious nature. Religion is a matter to be dealt with by individual conscience ; the law of conscience is, in reference to religious belief, supreme. Creeds vary ; the tax fund is contributed by the believers of all the varieties of creed. To devote any portion of that fund to the inculcation of any creed, is to violate the consciences of the adherents of all the rest. Between moral obligations, as between physical laws, there is, not indeed opposition, but due subordination, the lower to the higher. To secure human development by the compromise of spiritual freedom, would be to convert obedience to one behest of duty into a monstrous violation of another and higher requirement. This consideration, however, by no means impairs the obligation to educational effort, though it lays an interdict upon one particular me- thod." "Men of all parties, from John Foster the Baptist, to Dr. Hook the vicar of Leeds, had for some time been uttering indignant protests against the quiescence of the State in the matter of general education, before the present government, feeling the anomaly thus pointed out, addressed themselves to the task of removing it. There is reason to suppose* that a disposition was not wanting to present the country with a good national system of secular education, but this was denounced by anticipation with the glib adjective, 'godless;^ while, on the other hand, the intfoduction of doctrinal religion into such a system would have been in di- rect defiance of the large party who conscientiously object to State endowments of religion. The government, therc- * This su])position is founded upon a remarkable spoecli delivered by Lord Morpeth, at York, during the time of the agitation coiisctiuent on tlio issue of the minutes of the privy council on education. 52 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S KEPORT. fore, saw no better means of bringing the national resources to bear upon national culture, than to hand over the public money in aid of local efforts, in certain proportion to the amounts raised by the local promoters. This arrangement, and certain provisions for official inspection of schools and award of salaries to pupil teachers, form, substantially, the plan of the ' minutes of council.' " " That no spiritual inierest is placed in peril by the adop- tion of a system of instruction which leaves doctrinal teach- ing to specially qualified spiritual functionaries is a fact not merely to be assumed in theory, but one which has been proved by actual experiment. On the testimony of M. Victor Cousin, accredited by Mr. Leonard Horner, a gentle- man known to Lancashire, we are assured that, in Holland, after thirty years of instruction on this principle, the people ' are an honest and pious people ; and Christianity is rooted in the manners and creeds of the people.' And of America, where a system similar in this respect is adopted, we are as- sured, by Sir Charles Lyell, that 'the clergy are becoming more and more convinced that, where the education of the million has been carried furthest, the people are most regular in their attendance on public worship, most zealous in the defence of their theological opinions, and most liberal in contributing funds for the support of their pastors and the building of churches.' So that to expedite the spread of secular knowledge is a process not only not hostile, but largely helpful to the aims of the sects, even though the educational rate-fund be neither monopolized by one church nor shared by all. To this fact I allude, however, rather as a sedative for fears than as a stimulus to action. Extract of a Lecture before the same by Walter Fer- guson, Esq. " 1 have indicated the kind of education which is given in the common school of New England and New York. It is SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. g3 unseciarian. Some persons in this country might be dis- posed to call it irreligious — godless; but in America its ten- dency is generally considered to be decidedly favorable to religion. This much is certain, that where the common school system is most developed, tliere places of worship most abound, and are best attended, and ministers, mission- aries, Bible and benevolent societies, are most liberally sup- ported. The most active promoters of common schools are religious men, not wanting in zeal for their respective theo- logical opinions, but who do not think that it is their duty to assist on those opinions being inculcated in schools to which believers in other dogmas contribute equally with them- selves. A liigh moral character is strictly insisted upon as the first and most indispensable qualification for a teacher, for the want of which no attainments, and no powers of communicating them, can atone ; but no creed test is used, and teachers are forbid to inculcate their peculiar religious views (whatever those may be) on the children. This pro- hibition is not found to prevent conscientious and zealous religionists from accepting the office of teacher ; and hav- ing once undertaken it, it would be deemed a breach of faith on their part did they attempt to proselytize the chil- dren.'"' Extract from a Lecture before the same by Rev. W. McKekrow. of Manchester, England. '■' It cannot fail, first of all, to strike every one who makes iiiquiry into the subject of congregational schools, that they exhibit a lamentable waste of money and efTort. There has been in general but little forethought and calculation evinced in their formation. They have sprung from impulsive feel- ing, and not from sound judgment. The factory education bill, to which we have referred, brought many of them has- tily into existence, and the late " Minutes of Council" have been the means of adding to their number. There seemed ^4 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPOIIT. to be a kind of benevolent mania, prompting everywhere the erection of such schools ; and almost every Christian congregation that did not bestir itself to have one of them, was supposed by the zealous and sanguine to be indifferent to its duty and interest. But there being no considerate and kindly agreement amongst the sects, they have planted their educational establishments immediately adjoining their places of worship, or as near to them as possible. It has followed that in many quarters schools have been by far to closely crowded. Costly buildings, not a few, are to be seen almost within speaking distance of each other, where there is not a sufficient pop'.ilation of children to fill them. We find, for example, eight of them (exclusive of private schools) in one district of our city within the radius of little more than a quarter of a mile, and some of these almost in juxtaposition ; and four of them in another district, not more than two or three hundred yards apart. It is not to be wondered at, in these circumstances, that we should have empty rooms and dispirited teachers, as well as an unprofit- able investment of money and expenditure of labor. And not having arrived as yet at the niillenial period when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, who can tell how much pro- perty may yet be rendered useless by the rivalship of sects ? We have heard it said that in various parts of the country Churchmen have waited to see where Dissenters would place their schools, and then, having allowed them to exhaust their resources, have commenced in their immediate vicinity an oppositional establishmerit ; and similar charges have been made by Churchmen against Dissenters. But another circumstance in connection with these church and chapel schools, which we must also consider, is, the un- certainty of their support and continuance. They commonly arise from some species of excitement which soon subsides ; they have not within them, nor in connexion with them, the SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. g5 means of regular and constant sustenance and of perma- nency." Extract of a Lecture before the same association by Rev. Samuel Davidson, D. D. '•Still further, not only is it a matter of unavoidable expe- diency to keep away distinciive religious doctrine from the schools, because the plan CQuld not otherwise command itself to the sympathies of all. but it is better, both for the interests of religion and of secular education, that the separation in question should exist. It is better for religion that it should be dealt with in this method. It has always appeared to me that true religion has about it something so sacred and reverential as to demand a corresponding treatment. The Bible, claiming to be a di- vine book, should be read and explained with a veneration be- fitting its origin. It is difficult, however, if not impossible, to do this amid the noise of a daily school. There the sacred volume soon comes to be looked on by the scholars as an or- dinary book. It is associated with lessons, perhaps with dis- agreeable tasks that tax the memory. Insensibly, it may be and gradually, it takes its place virtually in the eyes of the pupils along with any other volume of varied contents. Amid the dust and drudgery of a common school, it does not long retain any hallowed association. It is put into the list of the lesson books, and comes round in the dull routine. Hence many carry away the most disagreeable recollections of it from the public school. Their memory associates it with feel- ings of irksomeness. They do not turn to it with pleasure in after life. They have a sort of aversion to it. Such is the effect of making the Bible an ordinary school book. The same observations will apply to the catechisms, which are em- ployed as embodying the distinctive principles of any religious denomination. It is not good, generally speaking, to make catechisms and confessions common books out of which lessons are repeated to a teacher in a day-school, unless one wish to 5 gg SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. run the risk of making them distasteful ever after, and so creating an aversion to religion, or at least to the formularies of it." " Everything, therefore, which helps a man to think, or as- sists in the development of his mental resources, is favorable to religion. The more an individual learns, the longer he re- flects, the better subject does he become for religious impres- sion and training. All science contributes to the progress of revealed truth. The advocates, therefore, of the latter, instead oi fearing, should welcome the triumphs of the former as illus- trating the operations of the same Almighty Being whose foot- steps are seen alike in nature and in revelation. If, then, the public schools which the plan of the Lancashire Association proposes be not directly religious — if the distinctive doctrines of one sect be not taught in them — they will at least be subser- vient to true religion. They will strengthen the mind, and thereby prepare it for the reception of Divine truth. They will help the pupil to trace God's laws in nature and providence? conducting him to a point where others may take him up and lead him into the ulterior region of sacred truth. Theoretical knowledge is good in itself. These schools propose to give a considerable amount of it. But in addition to that, they will seek to inculcate the immutable principles of justice, temper- ance, and the like, by holding up practical examples of them in history. They are meant to imbue the youthful mind with those moral maxims which Heat the foundation of all religion. Is not this sufficient ? The objector says no. You nujst have far more than this. You must have what I consider true re- ligion. But they are meant to be schools for all ; and true re- ligion means different things in the mouth of different profess- ing Christians. We cannot have the true religion of each sectary, and at the same time avoid infringing on the rights of conscience. We want to preserve those rights inviolate ; and to have all taught as far as practicable in the public schools." SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.. g^ Extract of a Lecture before the same, by Rev. Francis Tucker, of Manchester. '• And now I ask the devoted Sunday school teacher, (a char- acter whom r love and honor,) whether a good secular educa- tion on the week day will not prepare for him more hopeful pupils on the Sabbath ? 1 ask him whether he would not gladly be spared the toil and drudgery of teaching the a b c of elemen- tary instruction ? I ask him whether, when his whole soul has panted to lead his scholars on at once to the highest themes of human contemplation, he has not often felt himself chained and fettered by their inaptitude to think, or even their inability to read ?" Extract from a Prize Essay by Rev. Edward Higginson, published by the Central Society of Education in Eng- land. " In no country does the mutual intolerance of religious sec- tarianism display itself more actively than in England. It mars almost every project of benevolence in which the co- operation of numbers is to be desired. Each little sect is more ready to insist upon the introduction of its own special- purposes into the plan, than to contribute to the general strength ; and the consequence commonly is, that each par- ty pursues its own distinct course apart from the rest, and what ought to be the general cause of philanthropy, be- comes in a great degree, the scene of contention and rivalry among opposing sects In nothing is this more lamentably apparent than in the matter of education. Let the Sunday schools of the different sects be carefully examined ; and we believe they will be generally found to be devoted rather to the inculcation of the peculiar theology of the sect, than to communication of Scriptural or general knowledge, or the cultivation of moral and devotional principles. Partisans, of whatever religious creed, deeming religion the highest branch of education, insist, and rightly enough, that no education gg SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. can be complete without it ; they only mistake in their ap- plication of this principle, when they severally insist upon their own distinctive doctrinal views as being essential to that religious education which they would have the young receive at school. Instead of being satisfied to instil those leading principles of morality, respecting which they all agree, and to cultivate those religious affections in the young which are essentially the same in all devotional hearts, what- ever be the particular class of doctrinal opinions to which they may afterwards attach themselves, the zealots of each party can see no sufficient religious education short of the in- culcation of their own peculiarities of doctrine ; and they ac- cordingly withdraw to separate educational methods, and endeavor to perpetuate in the young, whom they respectively claim as their-ovvn. a iiigher regard for their trivial distinc- tions of opinion, than for the great principles and greater hab- its of intrinsic piety and goodness. At this present moment, a religious cry is ready to break out against any attempt on the part of the State, to institute schools for the general in- struction of the people, which, if instituted by the State for the use of all, must, of course, abstain from espousing the religious peculiarities of any. The zealots of all religious parties are already agreeing among themselves, that ' educa- tion without religion' would be worse than no education at all ; and they feel convinced that any system proposed by the State would be an education without their own religious pe- culiarities. They know that any truly national plan must be free from the sectarianism of all sects whatever; and they do not perceive how it might be so, and yet be intrin- sically and beautifully religious. The zealous and the big- oted are almost always the leaders of each party ; while the timid and the indilferent, by simple acquiescence, give their numerical strength to the movements of the party, and the more enlightened and liberal too often hold aloof from the evidently useless conflict, in which their iberality of princi- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPOHT. 09 pie would be vulgarly denounced as heresy, and their mode- ration of spirit as a lack of zealfor God, Extract from a Prize Essay by Mrs. G. R. Porter, pub- lished by the same Society. "If an extensive system of education be advocated, dispas- sionate enquiry as to the best means of promoting the wished- for end, and sanguine hope as to the benefits which are to arise from such an undertaking, are immediately interrupted and disturbed by the question importunately asked — " What rehgion is to be taught ?" Parties soon lose sight of the en- nobling subject — the raising and improving of our species ; and forget themselves in angry invective and virulent accusa- tion ; giving melancholy proof that education has mdeed been hitherto wofully neglect d, since it has failed to subdue that exclusive and intolerant spirit, which thus mixes itself up with our better feelings, and would crush everything that is good and useful in our nature. Before wa enquire '• What rehgion is to be taught ?" we should ask " what is rehgion?" Does it consist in the belief of particular dogmas and creeds, or in that vital principle of the soul which purifies and exalts our nature and should be the prime mover of all our actions ? The religion of Christ, which teaches men to love each other as brethren — which should lead them to exercise mutual charity and forbearance, and to join together heart and soul in trans- mitting and diffusing its Divine blessings to future genera- tions by means of education — this religion is made the ostensi- ble motive for hostility and opposition, and for counteracting every endeavor which does not originate in the exclusiveness of sectarianism. Surely there must be some mistake here. Religion cannot be inimical to good. This cannot be religion. Let us then shake off its unworthy counterfeit, and let us in the holy spirit of genuine Christianity fairly enter upon the subject ; let us, if possible, dismiss all angry feelings, all root- ed prejudices, and institute a calm investigation as to the best manner of meeting and settling this great question." 70 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Extract from an address by Hiram Ketchum, Esq., (Presby- terian), before the American Bible Society. "You all know that it is an elementary principle of Ameri- can law, and the American Constitution, and of Americars hearts, that ihe government has no right to raise money by tax for the support of the Christian religion. And it is a great elementary principle in American law and American politics, and of all American concerns, that religion here is to be sup- ported by voluntary contributions. It is our glory, our joy, that religion with us is upheld by free hearts. Men may tax themselves, and I thank God ihey do tax themselves, for the support of religion; but the State has no right to lay a tax for this purpose. It follows of necessity that ihese schools, maintained by a tax raised by the State, are not nurseries for instruction in re- ligion. It is acknowledged in them : it is recognized by them- But the peculiar doctrines of any one sect must not be taught in schools supported by any moneys raised by a tax on the people. Hence, schools furnished by the State, provide for the education of the children, as common elementary schools, for instruction in the common branches of education, and no more. Religious instruction is left to the parents, to spiritual teachers^ to religious friends, and to Sabbath schools. But here, nc instruction is given in any doctrines peculiar to any denomi- nation of Christians." Extract from a Lecture upon the use of the Bible in common schools, by Rev. Heman Humphrey, D. D., President of Amherst College, delivered before the American Institute of Instruction, August, 1843. "There is, I am aware, in the minds of some warm and re- spectable friends of popular education, an objection against in- corporating religious instruction into the system, as one of its essential elements. It cannot, they think, be done without bringing in along with it the evils of sectarianism. If this ob- jection could not be obviated, it would, I confess, have great SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ^1 weight in my own mind. It supposes that if any religious in- struction is given, the distinctive tenets of some particular de- nomination must be inculcated. But is this at all necessary ? Must we either exclude religion altogether from our Common Schools, or teach some one of the various creeds which are embraced by as many different sects in the ecclesiastical cal- ender ? Surely not. There are certain great moral and re- ligious principles, in which all denominations are agreed, such as the ten commandments, our Saviour's golden rule, every thing, in short, which lies within the whole range of duty to God and duty to our fellow men. I should be glad to know what sectarianism there can be in a schoolmaster's teaching my children the first and second tables of the moral law — to "love the Lord their God with all their heart, and their neigh- bor as themselves" — in teaching them to keep the Sabbath holy, to honor their parents, not to swear, nor drink, nor lie, nor cheat, nor steal, nor covet. Yerily, if this is what any mean by sectarianism, then the more we have of it in our Common Schools, the better. 'It is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation,' that there is so little of it. I have not the least hesitation in saying, that no instructor, whether male or female, ought ever to be employed, who is not both able and willing to teach morality and religion in the manner which I have just alluded to. Were this faithfully done in all the primary schools of the nation, our civil and religious lib- erties, and all our blessed institutions, would be incomparably safer than ihey are now. The parent who says, I do not send my child to school to learn religion, but to be taught reading, and writing, and grammar, knows not "what manner of spirit he is of" It is very certain that such a father will teach his children anything but religion at home ; and is it right that they should be left to grow up as heathens in a Christian land ? If he says to the schoolmaster, I do not wish you to make my son an Episcopalian, a Baptist, a Presbyterian, or a Methodist, very well. This is not the schoolmaster's business. He was not hired to teach sectarianism. But if the parent means to say, I do not send my child to school to have you 72 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. teach him to fear God, and keep his commandments, to be temperate, honest and true, to be a good son and a good man. then the child is to be pitied for having such a father ; and with good reason might we tremble for all that we hold most dear, if such remonstrances were to be multiplied and to pre- vail." Extracts from a Lecture delivered by Rev. John M'Caffrey, D.. D., President of Mount St. Mary's College, in St. Pat- rick's Hall, Philadelphia, Dec. 8th, 1852, being the first of a course of Lectures on Education. "If, at the present day, there be universal consent among men upon any point, it is in admitting the vast importance of education. All seem to agree that it is a question of deep concern to governments as well as individuals, and to men of all classes and in all the relations of life — to the farmer, me- chanic, and merchant, no less than the philosopher or states- man. But this wonderful harmony of minds may, in part, be accounted for by the vagueness of the term designating the thing about which all seem to b3 agreed. For education has no fixed meaning ; it may signify, for example, either the pro- cess of imparting knowledge and culture, or the knowledge and culture thus imparted : and, restricted to the latter sense, it may mean any amount of knowledge and culture, from the mere rudiments, reading, writing, and cyphering, up to the diversified and comprehensive attainments of thorough scholarship ; or, reaching beyond this to something infinitely higher and more important, it may include the formation of the moral and religious character, the training of the soul for everlasting happiness or misery." "Is it right then or is it wrong for the State to take out of your hands the business of education and attempt to manage it for the people, though always at the people's expense? It is not to be denied, that the State, or the whole commu- nity organized and acting through its constituted authorities, has a deep interest in the matter of education. True know- ledge is favorable to virtue : ignorance leaves a man more lia- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S KEPORT. ^3 ble to error and to vice. But there can be no greater fallacy than to argue, that bacaiise it concerns the State to have virtu- ous and enh'ghtencd citizens, therefore it is the duty of the public authorities to take upon themselves the task of making men enlightened and virtuous. Agriculture, Manufactures, <. ommerce, are all great public interests : must the government therefore instruct and form the farmer, the mechanic and the merchant? The press and the pulpit are both means of dif- fusing knowledge ; both may be employed with powerful effect in the cause of truth and morality. Are we then to stamp on our governments the features most repulsive to us in the monarchies of the old world ? I am not denying, that the State may encourage education and by various indirect means promote the diffusion of know- ledge and growth of virtue. I am only showing, that these are not the immediate ends of civil government and are not to be attained by legislative enactments, and expensive public institutions. The object of civil government is the protection of life, liberty and propcity. The constituted authorities, however appointed and by whatever name they are called, must hav'e power enough to render these secure, and not only may, but must do what is necessary for their security. The problem under all governments that pretend to be free, is this • how far must individual liberty be restricted for the public good — how much power must be vested in our rulers, that they may fulfil the purposes of their creation ? A nice and difficult problem and not so easily solved as our stump-ora- tors and newspaper editors would have us believe, nor to be decided everywhere alike. But who will venture to assert that the ends of government demand, that the parent be re-" stricted in the exercise of his right and duty in respect to the education of his children? Or who will seriously affirm, that the appointing of school-masters, the regulation of school-dis- cipline, the choice of books and determining the system of in- structiou. are among the powers i.eccssarily entrusted to our political rulers? And if not necessary to the ends of govern- 74 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ment, tlien the assumption of a power, which rudely touches the most sacred relation and violates the holy rights of a pa- rent, is manifestly a wicked and odious tyranny. It is no ex- tenuation of its guilt to say, that it is assumed and exercised only for the good of both parent and child. That, as we shall see, is at least a question." "Compulsory attendance on the established course of in- struction is the inevitable logical conclusion from the premises assumed in the theory of education by the State. And will not consistency require this stern logic to be carried out here as elsewhere? It has been proposed in various parts of the country, and practically tried at least in one, to send the con- stable on the singular errand of catching children and drag- ging them to school." "But compulsory education is a tyranny too gross and flagrant to excite any serious alarm. It will not be introduc- ed ; it would not be submitted to. It is impracticable while the great principles of common law are retained, while civil lights are recognized and government is not an absolute des- potism. I can understand a House of Refuge, or Correction, to which juvenile delinquents are sent for punishment, or re- form, after conviction ; but what are we to think of a Free School, which is at the same time, a prison — its pupils picked up by the police — the blessings of education forced on the un- willing urchins, their parents equally unwilling, by the tender mercies of the constabulary and other city authorities or digni- taries of the State ! ! ! There is another logical conclusion implied in the theory of State education, to which men shut their eyes because it is either unpalatable or unpopular. Still it is there, and you must either give up your own conclusion by denying those premises, or take this too along with them. For if it is the office of the State to educate, because it is her highest interest to have enlightened and virtuous citizens, then religion which undertakes directly to enlighten and guide the consciences of men, and, when necessary, to reform their morals, is a still more important concern to her and better entitled to her pat- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. ^^ ronage than any school system : and the Church is the proper dispenser of her bounties and minister of her benevolent wishes. Do you maintain that the school-house is a better instructor and a truer friend to morals, than the sanctuary and the pulpit : then you stand an avowed infidel. If you do not, be consistent and call for an established Church with its regu- lar endowments, glebes, tithes, advowsons, livings, parsonages —all !" "When education was their own concern, they kept the school-house open from six to twelve months : the State sala- ries the teacher two, three or five months only in the year. His competency, moral fitness and fidelity were then a question for themselves : they are now relieved from all consideration on the subject. Then the field was fairly open to competition, and superior merit in the teacher was rewarded with more extensive patronage : his remuneration in fact depended on his ability and success. These were elements of freedom in harmony with all our other institutions ; and while the old system was, like everything else, liable to objections and abus- es, it was also susceptible of improvement : it was in fact con- tinually improving: and the responsibility and the remedy were always in the right hands, — in the sense of duty, the en- lightened self-interest and affections of the parent. But all this is regulated by authority now, and the parent has no in- fluence, no responsibility and no choice : he must either send his children to the duly commissioned teacher, whatever his demerits or offences, or keep them at home and feel, that he is defrauded and they are wronged by the misguided policy of the State. More individuals may learn to read aud write : but in rural districts generally there is less interest, less care and solicitude about a proper education and ihe proper ineans of securing it, because it is no longer the business of the parent, but of the State, or those whom it appoints." '■I return to the great question, whether the State has the right to take upon itself the office of instruction. If it does assume that office, what, I ask, is to be its course in relation to the great concern of religion ? Shall it introduce it into the 76 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Academy and School-room or shut it out altogether? If it talce tlie former alternative, we have so far a State religion ; if the latter, the education wants what we and the great majority of our fellow-citizens hold to be an essential element : it is un- christian, Godless! In a community made up of men pro- fessing every variety of creed, from the lowest Deism, Panthe- ism, and Atheism, up to the fullest Christian orthodoxy, what religion shall the government select as the subject of its teach- ing? Shall it be the doctrines held by any one denomination of Christians ? By what right is the Jew or infidel excluded from the benefit of the common schools? He too is a citizen ; his property is taxed and his religious liberty is guaranteed by the fundamental law." "To repel the charge of sectarianism, the directors and ad- vocates of the common school system may repeat what has often been alleged, that the points of doctrinal agreement among Christians shall be the only articles inculcated in the public schools. Points of agreement among Christians ! Jews and infidels are then disfranchised ; they are at least ignored in practice, though the system in theory is made for all." "A government, whi'^h professes to protect all men alike in the full enjoyment of the most perfect liberty of conscience, and which is forbidden by the fundamental law either to es- tablish or favor any one form of belief and worship more than any other, cannot exercise the office of teaching religion. To require even the reading of the Bible is so far to patronize one system of religious notions in opposition to another. It is sectarianism of the meanest and most odious kind ; because it is practically a combination of all the sects, who agree in noth- ing else, to drive us Catholics from the public schools or force us to violate our consciences." "It is an important question, as I have endeavored to show you even in its purely political aspect. The wisest men and farthest-seeing patriots will in this matter incline to limit rath- er than enlarge the authority of the State. A tendency to- wards centralization, a disposition to remit the burdens and duties of life to the paternal care of government, is not a symp- SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. >jij torn of liberty, but of despotism. As population becomes more crowded and society more corrupt, (and no man can deny that corruption and crime are in this country advancing faster even than population,) as the disorders of the body politic be- come more alarming, the public authorities must necessarilly be armed with greater power or exercise more freely the pow- ers they have already. The rights and immunities of the citizens will grow less as the government grows stronger. Is it prudent then for a friend of freedom to put in the hands of the civil authority so potent an instrument as the absolute con- trol ot education ? Should parents abdicate iheir rights and citizens their liberty for such a purpose ? It may be very well f)r a monarchy relying on a standing army for security and stability, to take under its paternal charge the Church, the press, the university and the school-house. But is it not a strange spectacle under the sun, when a free people, not of necessity, but of choice, devolve a most sacred private duty upon public authority, and voluntarily divest themselves of a right so dear, — an interest so important as that of freely edu- cating their own children 1" ''It was one of Louis Philippe's deadliest sins against social order and the rights of conscience, one of the crimes, by which he merited his dethronement and exile, that he upheld an atheistical university in its monopoly of education and in its unwearied labors to dilfuse, by its false teachings, the poison of infidelity through all the veins and arteries of youthful France." Extract from an Essay on Denominational Schools in the Pennsylvania School Journal, by Elias Schneider. "A distribution of the school fund among our religious de- nominations would, of course, if properly done, have to be made according to the numerical strength, and the number of children, in their schools. The officers of the State would therefore need a yearly census before this fund could be equi- tably apportioned. Now how would such a census be made 7 78 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Would it include only the children of the diflerent religious denominations, or as many more as each denomination could induce to enter its schools from those whose parents make no profession of religion ? Suppose the latter. Look then for a moment at the consequences. Each religious body would of course make its utmost exertions to outstrip the others in ef- forts to ac([uire strength from those having no religious con- nection. Hence would follow jealousies and even hatred from members of one religious sect against those of another, grow- ing always in vehemency as one sect might be outstriped or over-reached by the others. And nothing could operate more seriously against genuine religion than such an unhappy state of things. But it must not be supposed that all those \vho make no profession of religion, would be willing to send their children to schools over which they could not be allowed to have any control. Being wholly denominational in their character, the voice of none could be regarded in what related to their man- agement, except those who belonged to these denominations. There would be a necessity, then, of assigning also a just portion of the school fund to those having no religious connec- tion. For, being taxed alike with the rest, their claim upon this fund would be as just as that of any other body of men, and their separate schools would be equally entitled to sup- port." "In regard to the last position, a few remarks must suffice. There are some sects in our country, who call themselves re- ligious bodies, but who advocate and openly practice what is contrary to ordinary morality. Among these may be men- tioned one, which advocates and practices polygamy. This sect, it seems, increases with no ordinary additions to its num- ber every year. It would have an equally just claim upon its portion of the school fund, if a distribution were made. And in assigning its share of this money, the State would be virtu- ally encouraging a doctrine not only in favor of immorality, but in violation of statute law, and the sect would thus use this money to increase its power to do evil. SCHOOL COMMISSIOJJER'S REPORT. 79 Suppose the present school system were aboHshed, as it ac- tually would be if the school fund were distributed among our different denominations, would it not also bring about a total destruction of all schools in the rural districts?" Extract from the speech of Rev. Dr. Bond, (Methodist) before the Common Council of New York city, October, 1840, up- on the application of the Roman Catholics for an allowance from the public school money for their separate schools. "But it is alleged that we are here to oppose Roman Catho- lics. Sir, we would oppose the Methodists if the same appli- cation was made by them. I would have stood here myself to oppose them, fori do not fear nor dodge any responsibility. We believe that all mankind are individually undergoing a moral and intellectual probation before God ; and that we can- not, without incurring the divine displeasure, substitute this probationary relation, by one before any man, or any num- ber of men, whether Pope or Council, or the Methodist Gen- eral Conference. None of these can release us from our ob- ligations as probationers before God. "To our own master we stand or fall." If the Methodist Episcopal Church had issued her mandate to me not to appear before this body, and not to oppose this application, I would have set her au" thority at naught. We believe that these Public Schools are necessary to our form of government ; that it is not safe to commit the preservation and perpetuation of the public liberty and of our civil institutions to an ignorant, untaught multitude, to those who will be incapable of appreciating their value, or who may be made the dupes of better educa- ted but more wicked men. We say it is necessary to the perpetuation of public liberty that the community be educa- ted — that all who exercise the elective franchise, should be taught to value our civil institutions. But we say that no sectarian body can do this ; it must be done by all together. If you were to give all this money to the sects, it could not be done — it can only be done by a common system, for if 80 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S EEPORT. all the sects had this money divided amongst them, there is one half of the community who would not sutfer their chil- dren to be taught by them. What then is to become of these children ? Our public liberties demand a public uni- versal system of education, and this can only be effected by agents appointed by the State, and answerable to the State ; it can never be done if the money be given to any denomi- nation, or divided among all the sects. Sir, we allege this is the broad principle on which the Common Schools are es- tablished ; take this away, and you have no right to lay a tax at all ; you could not lay a tax with any justice for this purpose. If the money is to be distributed among the dif- ferent sects and denominations of christians, and they are to use it as they think best, even for their own proselyting pur- poses — I speak of no particular denomination — all have their preferences and peculiar tenets, and all desire to make con- verts to their belief — I say give the money to this end, and what follows? Why, that you ought to tax them severally according to what they receive. What right have you to tax Roman Catholics for the support of Methodist Schools? or what right have you to tax Methodists for the support of Presbyterian Schools ? In short, what right have you to tax any sect for the support of the Schools of rival sects ? You have first to ascertain what each requires to support the schools under their care, and then to tax that denomination to the necessary amount. You have no right to tax me as a Methodist, for the Roman Catholic Schools but only on the ground that education is necessary for the preservation of our public liberties and for the public safety." Extracts from an article on education in the Westminster Review for July, 1851. ''Upon the second question — The mode of impartmg re- ligious instruction, the friends of secular schools lay down two positions : — that the schoolmaster is not the person best SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. '81 fitted for religious teaching ; and that it is not wise to delay thi} acquisition of elementary knowledge until all sects are agreed upon the precise forms and points of doctrine which should be superadded. The misconceptions that exist on this part of our subject are more numerous than upon any other; and they are ex- traordinary ; for, on examination, it will be found that the separation of religious from secular instruction, especially as regards credal theology, is not a novel theory, but the rule rather than the exception of the existing system. The reli- gious instruction now imparted to the children of the work- ing classes is almost exclusively confined to *S'//.;u/a?/ schools, with which no one proposes to interfere ] and in Sunday schools the teachers are not the masters of common day schools, but the zealous junior members of a religious con- gregation, assisted by the minister." "In infant schools, where the requirements of secular in- struction are less urgent, religion is made a leading feature . of the system ; but here, again, we may remark that the in- fant school system does not include credal theology. From the majority of infant schools catechisms are excluded." "The best schools, whether in England or on the Conti- nent, are those in which this division of labor is carried to the greatest extent. The worst are those in which some half-educated broken-down tradesman undertakes to teach everything, and to act in the double capacity of schoolmas- ter and divine. It is not for want of schools, nor for want of schools in which religion is nominally taught, that the working peo- ple of this country form neither an instructed nor a reli- gious population ; but from the too great preponderance of schools of the latter class. So much is thrown upon a nar- row capacity, that nothing is effectually accomi)lished. Boys leave a charity school at fourteen, often without the ability 6 32 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT; to make out a grocer's bill, and without a sentiment con- nected with religion beyond that of the weariness of an un- sopportable task. Prison Inspectors report, that among the juvenile delinquents at Parkhurst, and other prisons, there are lads of fifteen — a dozen times committed for as many different offences — as well versed in the Catechism and Lit- urgy as any membar of the bench of Bishops. Of what avail can be religion if it be degraded into a mere exercise of memory? Batter, surely, no teaching of religion than such modes of teaching it as reach neither the heart nor un- derstanding, and end in practical infidelity. It is for the interest of religion, that in every branch of education proper regard should be had to the division of la- bor, and the division of time. It is injurious to religion to attempt to reconcile incompatibilities. Arithmetic is one subject ; theology is another. Both are b?st taught separate- ly, and at seasons separately appropriate to each ; for "to every thing there is a season, and a Lime to every purpose under heaven." It is an awful experiment, fraught with a moral danger no one can adequately estimate — a danger involving the confounding together in the mind of all distinctions be- tween formal conventionalities and sincere piety, to attempt amidst the uproar of a school-room, to call off the attention of a child from a sum in the Rule of Three,* or a fault iu grammar, to questions of God and eternity. The beau ideal of religious instruction, would be that of a *In a -work on 'Elementary Arithraetic/ published by a former Secretary of the National School Society (the Rev. J. C. Wigram), the subject was illus- trated by questions of the following tenor : — "The Children of Israel were sadly given to idolatry, notwithstanding all they knew of God. Moses was obliged to have 3,000 men put to death for this griev- ous sin. AVhatdigits would you u^e to express this number 1 "Of Jacob's four wives, Leah had six sons, Rachel had two, Billah had two, and Zillah had also two. How many sons had Jacob ?" We quote these as an example of that Mse system of congruitics wliich we de- precate, and which cannot be too earnestly condemned by religious mindedmen ; but it is gratifying to be able to note that better counsels are now beginning to prevail in the "National S?hool Society, and that tlie work from which ths abov>», ^c takcn.is now laid asids in roost of their sshoals. SCHOOL COMmSSIONER'S REPORT. 83. s:hool suppiiod with eflici^nt teachers for all mecliaiiical, moral, and intellectual processes; each teaclnr restricted to the one department for which he might be the best fitted ; a:id thi teacher of religion, a man such as Goldsmith's "Vi- car of Wakefi3ld," — one to win the affections of youth ; as- sembling a class for conversational lessons on God's provi- dence, in a room apart, free from all din and tumult, and the intrusion of less solemn associations. There are schools in which this beau ideal is realized. Among them some un- der the superintendence of the present Dean of Hereford, Mr, Dawes. Tiiat they are not more numerous is to be la- mented." Persons wishing to enquire further into this subject may consult New Etiglander for April, 1S48. Horac3 Mann's 12ih Report on Schools of Massachusetts.. Dr. Ryerson's Reports on Canada Schools for ISol and 1652. Correspondence between Dr. Ryerson and Catholic Bishop of Toronto. Correspondence between Horace Mann and Rev. M. H. Smith. Reports of Presbyterian Board of Education. Willm's Treatise on Education, 67, 92, i32, and preface 60. Debate before the Common Council of New York, on the petition of the Catholics for a portion of the school fund for their own Schools. Princeton Review, July, 1846. Metropolitan Reviev.'- for March, 1853, published at Balti- more. Various articles in the Reviews. NoTR. — The Educational Magazine is published by Sayles, Mil- r..ER 4* SiJiON?, at ProviJence, R. 1. Price 50 cents per annum, pay- able in advance All communications should be addressed, postpaid,, to E. R. POTTER, at Providence, or at Kingston, E. L. INDEX. Report, - - - 1 Deaf and Dumb, - - - - 2 Blind, - - - - - 3 Idiots and Imbeciles, - - - - 3 Educational Magazine, - - - - 4 Normal School, - - - - -5 Teachers' meetings and qualifications, - 6 Colleges and their place in an educational system, - 14 Objections to education considered, - - - 17 Fundamental principles of a public system - - 21 Prayer and Religious Exercises in Schools. - - 28 StatisticalTables. - - - 33—34—35 Appendix : No. I. Relation of Schools arid Colleges. Extract from Report of Prof. Andrews, - - 37 — 4S Prof. Lewis' Thoughts on College Education, - 48 — 53 No. II. Decisions on construction of School Law, Use of School Houses for other purposes than schools, 54 — 56 Making fires in school, ... 56 — 5S No. III. Religious Exercises in Schools. Kxtracts giving opinions of various writersand speakers 59 — 83 REPORT UPON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION, IN THE STATE OF EHODE ISLAND ; MADE TO THE LEGISLATURE, JANUARY, 1854. BY E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. "It is vain to say that questions of religion and politics arc above the under- standing of the poorer classes : they are not above their misunderstanding, and they will think and talk about them," &c. — ^Dr. Abnoli>. PROVIDENCE: SAYLES, MILLER & SIMONS, STATE PRINTERS. 185 4. CONTENTS. Report of Commissioner of Public Schools, January, 1854. Page 1 " Deaf and Dumb, Blind, &c., . . .5 " ZTormal Scbool, .... 7 " Legislation and Litigation, . . .8 " Unifomuty of Books, ... 9 " Sectarianism in School-books, . . .11 " Schools in Country Districts, . . . 11 " Truancy, . . . . .14 « The State and Education, ... 16 Appendix to Report. No. 1. Statistical Tables, . . . .19 No. 2. Public Schools and Religious Education. Extracts from Ad- dress of Thomas H. Burrows. Dr. Chalmers. Church's Letter to Cobden. Wm. C. Taylor, LL. D. Robert Vaughn, D. D. Prof. Nicoll, of Glasgow. Willm on the Education of the People. Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds. Siljistrom on Education in the United States. Westmins- ter Review. Massachusetts Common School Journal. Dr. Channing. Dr. Bushnell. Westminster Review. New Englander. Dr. Van Rensselear, Secretary of Presb)'te- rian Board of Education. ... 22 No. 3. The state and Education. Extent to which the State should support Public Schools and compel attendance on them. Extracts from Robert Vaughn, D. D. Baines. H. Spen- cer. E. R. Potter's Historical Address. Rowland G. Hazard's Addresses. Guizot, . . 67 No. 4. Objections to Education Answered. Extracts from Potter & Emerson, School and School Master ; and from Prof. NicoU's Preface to Willm's, . . .78 No. 5. Importance of Female Education. Views of Dymond and Geo. Combe, .... 85 No. 6. Physical Education and Insanity, . . .88 No. 7. Reform School, . . . . 97 No. 8 School, and other Libraries in the State. No. 9. Law of domicil or residence in relation to voting. No. 10. Importance of directing attention to the arts of design as a means of improving public taste, furnishing employment, and increas- ing National wealth. Extracts from Prof. Mapes, Thomas A. Tefft, &c. No. 11. Catalogue of Books for selection for school, village and family libraries. ERRATA. In Table No. 1, page 19, the footing of the column of Total Resour- ces should be . . . . . 125,004 70 Expense for Instruction, .... 115,081 00 Expense for School Houses, .... 21,901 62 Voted this year, .... 24,021 32 Town of Richmond — Expended for Instruction, should be, . 821 18 " Warwick " " " . 2,994 08 In Table No. 2, page 20, the footing of the column of Total Scholars, should be, ..... 25,905 00 In Table No. 3, page 21, the feeting of column of "VNTiole No. Schol- ars, should be, .... 25,905 00 Page 35, line 2 from top, for western read Westminster. " line 10 from bottom, for whether read Whether. Page 68, in 2d line of Extract from Herbert Spencer, for the read other. REPORT. To the Honorable General Assembly : January Session, A. D. 1854. The Commissioner of Public Schools herewith presents the annual abstract of the statistics of the Public Schools of the State. He would renew the suggestion made in a former report as to the necessity of a revision of the general tax law. As school taxes are collected according to the general law, and this is in many respects ambiguous and deficient, a good law is ab- solutely necessary to the peace of the school districts. Town taxes are seldom resisted, partly because they are smaller in amount, and partly from the habit of paying them. But school taxes are often contested, and the present lawjeaves an am- ple field open for litigation. He would also respectfully urge upon the attention of the Legislature another suggestion before made. It is believed that the present condition of the finances of the State would Justify a large addition to the annual State appropriation for Schools. DEAF AND DUMB. The following are the names of the persons who have re- ceived the benefit of the the appropriation from its commence- ment : Age. when adm. Entered. Left. Fanny Lanphear, Hopkinton, 26, May, 1845, May, 1846. Abigal Slocum, Portsmouth, 25, May, 1845, May, 1847. Peleg Slocum, Portsmouth, 20, May, 1845, May, 1847- Mary E. Slocum, Portsmouth, 14, May, 1845, May, 1847. James Budlong, Warwick, 20, Aug,, 1845, May, 1847 Charles H. Steere, Glocester, 15, May, 1846, xMay, 1850. Phebe A. VVinsor, Johnston, 8, May, 1846, April, 1852. John W. Davenport, Tiverton, 13, May, 1847, Aug., 1853. Samuel W. Thompson, Glocester, II, May, 1847, April, 1853. Mercy E. Tanner, Coventry, 10, May, 1847, April, 1852. Minerva Mowry, Smithfield, 13, May, 1848, May, 1851, Samuel G. Greene, Hopkinton, 11, July, 1849, Aug., 1851. George Gavit, Westerly, iO, May, 1850. Wm. E. Slocum, Cumberland, Sept., 1852. Agnes McLaughlin North Prov., Sept., 1852. Mary E. Wilber, Little Comp., Sept., 1852. The orders on the Treasury for their support have been — 1853, April 1, ^300 00 " Oct. 1 0, 250 00 The beneficiaries of this State have been sent to the " American Asylum at Hartford, for the Education and In- struction of the Deaf and Dumb." The lime for admission of pupils is the third Wednesday of September in every year. The charge is $100 per annum. In case of sickness, extra charges are made. Persons applying for admission must be between the ages of eight and twenty-five years ; must be of good natural intellect, capable of forming and joining letters with a pen legibly and correctly; free from immoralities of conduct and from contagious disease. The charge for board includes washing, fuel, lights, stationery and tuition. No de- ductions are made for absence, except on account of sickness. THE BLIND. The following persons have received the benefit of our State appropriation for the blind :— Entered. Left. William Hatch, Bristol, January, 1S45, Oliver Caswell, Jamestown, January, 1845, January, 1851. Elizabeth Eddy, Warren, " 1845, " 1848. Charles Coddington, Newport, March, 1846, May, 1853. Maria Dunham, Newport, " 1846, "' " Marcia Thurber, Providence, June, 1846, June, 1847. Alexander Kenyon, S. Kingstown, October, 1847. Wm. Tallowfield, Providence, Nov. 1849, Nov. 1950. James H. Graham, Newport, May, 1850. Elizabeth Dennely, S. Kingstown, October. 1851. Lucy Ross, N. Prov. Dec. 1852. The orders on the Treasury for their support have been — 1853, Nov. 19, |400 00 The beneficiaries of this State have been sent to the Per- kins Institution and Massachusetts Asyhim for the Bhnd, at Boston. The charge at that Institution is ,$160 per annum, which covers board, washing, medicine, use of books, musical instruments, and all expenses except clothing and travelling expenses. Pupils must be under fifteen when admitted, and of good character ; free from epilepsy or any contagious dis- ease ; and the friends of the applicant are required to answer certain queries respecting his age, and the cause and degree of his blindness, and to furnish an obligation that when dis- charged he shall be removed without expense to the Institu- tion. If possible, pupils should be taught the letters before going to the Institution. Books in raised letters for the blind can be procured there. IDIOTS. The orders on the Treasury for the education of idiots and imbeciles have been — 1853, June 16, to Dr. Geo. Browne, of Barre, $100 00 " July to Dr. S. G. Howe, of South Boston, 284 45 For admission to the Massachusetts School, at South Bos- ton, it is recommended that they be between the ages of six and twelve ; not epileptic, insane, or incurably hydrocephalic or paralytic. The parents are required to provide clothing, and to give surety that the pupil when discharged shall be removed without expense to the institution. Pupils are^ at first taken for one month on trial. The terms for beneficia- ries for board and tuition, are generally $150 per annum, but vary somewhat according to the condition of the pupil. NORMAL SCHOOL. In my last Report I referred to the private Normal School, established in the City of Providence. The Instructors in this school are, Messrs. Greene, Colburn, and Sumner, with the assistance of Prof. Guyot, in Physical Geography. They are all excellent in their several departments, and there are few institutions in the country where Teachers can have as good instruction. 8 This institution is worthy of support, and if the assistance of the Legislature be necessary to its continuance I would recommend that it should be given. LEGISLATION AND LITIGATION. It is believed that the school law has to a considerable ex- tent effected one of its great purposes — the prevention of liti- gation in relation to school business. If every disputable mat- ter for the last ten years had been carried before the courts, the expense, delay, trouble, and the ill temper growing out of long lawsuits, would have been serious obstacles in the way of establishing a good system. One provision in the new law will probably tend still more to prevent litigation. By section G6 it was provided that no proceeding relating to ordering or assessing a school tax, if not appealed from, or if on appeal confirmed by the Commis- sioner, should afterwards be questioned in any court whatever. By this section a large source of lawsuits is at once cut off, and at the same time there is ample opportunity for redress in case of real injustice, as incase the Commissioner either refused or declined to grant the redress sought for, the General As- sembly might authorize a trial before a proper court. And it is better that the General Assembly should occasionally in- terfere, when necessary to prevent injustice, than that the whole subject should be thrown open to continual agitation. It is perhaps almost impossible so to draft a law as to pro- vide for all cases, and to make the rights and duties of parties so plain as to prevent litigation. Few but those who have been taught by experience and frequent failure, knew the dif- ficulty of drafting a good law upon any subject. There are a variety of questions to be considered in every case. Old cus- toms and institutions are to be consulted. Great care is ne- cessary in considering how far the new statute conflicts with or alters former laws. And so great is the variety of circum- stances constantly arising in a civilized and progressive socie- ty, that in making a law which we think perfectly just for one class of cases, we afterwards find we have been doing in- justice in another class of cases which did not happen to oc- cur to the Legislature. And such are the defects of language that the legislator often fails of carrying out his clearly under- stood intention. So the present school law undoubtedly has its defects and ambiguities. Although the present Commissioner and sever- al committees of the Legislature were for three years engaged in revising it and suggesting amendments and improvements, it is still no doubt imperfect. Many complain of its length. Yet while the law was before the Legislature, individuals were continually pressing to have their own particular cases spe- cially provided for in it. UNIFORMITY OF BOOKS. Questions are constantly arising as to the books proper to be used in schools, and as the present Commissioner has al- ways endeavored to abstain from interfering with this subject, he thinks proper to give some of his reasons for so doing. In a large school a uniformity of books is almost absolutely necessary, as without complete classification the small num- ber of teachers generally employed could not properly attend to the recitations. But even here an occasional change of books is not without its advantage. Novelty has its interest for both teachers and pupils. A new book containing seme diiferent mode of ex- plaining an old subject, contributes to forming habits of inves- tigation and to the thorough understanding of a question. It is true that if the teacher were what in theory he should be, if he fully understood a subject in all its bearings, could exhibit it to his pupils in all its different lights and aid them in un- ravelling its intricacies, it would matter little what text book was used. Such a teacher could supply all deficiencies. But many of our teachers are imperfectly educated, and this will probably always be the case. And as things are, pupils must sometimes have recourse to consulting many different books upon the same subject, for that variety and comprehensive- ness of view which the teacher fails to impart. But while uniformity in districts or towns has its advanta- ges, there are serious objections to it when attempted on a 10 larger scale, for instance throughout a state. It would par- take too much of the character of a monopoly. It would be a serious obstacle to improvement in text books. And it would put it in the power of those, whose views on any question of morals were in the ascendancy, to inculcate them upon the young through the medium of the reading lessons, the studies of history and philosophy, and other exercises in schools, and often, perhaps, without a suspicion of such an intention. But these are not the only objections. If one set of books is to be adopted or recommended for an entire State, it must probably be done through a Board of Examiners, appointed to look into the different books in use or offered, and to select those they deem the best. Now while school books are as profitable to their publishers as now, while a successful school book makes the fortune of its author and publishers, no exer- tions on their part would be spared to secure the monopoly of a State. The mere recommendation of such a State Board without any compulsory adoption, would be worth a large sum to any author. Intrigue would be at work in the selection of such a Board. And members of it who would not be access- ible to bribery, might still be influenced in various other ways. And when a book was adopted the efforts of all other publish- ers, their influence with teachers, school officers, &c., would at once be directed to procure a change. Some of these difliculties and objections to State uniformity are not entirely speculative. They have already been expe- rienced in other States. In regard to changes, in towns or districts, the suggestion of prudence and good sense would seem to be, that they should not be made hastily nor without full consideration. And this applies especially where the books now used have been adopt- ed after a full examination. In such a case a change should not be lightly made. And when made, it should be so man- ,aged as to be as little burdensome and expensive to the parents as possible. Good terms could almost always be secured by proper exertions from the publishers. New books will continue to be published as long as they arc 11 profitable. They are the natural product of the present ex- citement, of the interest generally felt in this country for the improvement of the schools. With the great amount of good, we must expect there will be a little quackery and humbug.* There is one thing, however, which should never be forgot- ten or overlooked in selecting the books for our schools. Every book should be promptly rejected which contains any reflec- tions upon any religious sect, or upon any political party, cal- culated to misrepresent their views, or injure their feelings. This is not only the rule dictated by a sense of justice and propriety, but it is the only way in which we can avoid serious difficulty and embarrassment in the management of the schools. SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS OF DESIGN. Since the last Annual Report, a movement has been made in the city of Providence, for the establishment of a school for the Arts of Design, a full account of which will be given in the appendix. SCHOOLS IN COUNTRY DISTRICTS. It is very desirable that something should be done to im- prove the condition of the schools in those districts which have no villages within their boundaries, which are entirely agri- cultural. There are many portions of our state where the land is very poor, and rough, where of course the population is thin, and in a district of very large surface it is difficult to get a school of more than a dozen pupils. As the school money is divided by population and attendance, of course these thin- ly populated towns and districts draw but little money, and can have a school but for a small portion of the year ; while to keep a good school in such a district, requires nearly as much money as for a district of four times the number of scholars. This is the situation of many towns and districts * For some very severe criticisms on the manner in which too many educational works are made up for sale and profit, see the Southern Quarterly Review for Jan- uary, 1854. For statements as to the profits made by the authors and publishers of various books, see the very able Essays of Henry C. Carey against intemationai copyright. 12 in the State, and if the wisdom of Ihe Legislature or the phi- lanthropy of private citizens can devise any means to aid them, it is a subject well worihy their attention. fn many of the country towns the first step towards im- provement should be to elect a good School Committee, and to let the committee understand that they should be supported in all necessary measures to obtain good teachers. They should have strict examinations, and be firm against all im- portunities of teachers or trustees to favor some particular district. If for a year several districts should go without a school in consequence of this strict examination, better do it than to have a school taught by an ignorant, stupid fellow, from whom the children could only learn stupidity and bad habits, which it would afterwards take other teachers years to correct. No teacher can be too good, or know too much, for a school of even the smallest scholars. This idea, so common in some districts, that such a teacher will do for us, because we have only a few small scholars, is one that committees and all friends of schools should endeavor to eradicate. Then again there can be no good school anywhere unless the parents co-operate with and sustain the teacher. And in a great many districts the school being a poor one, is wholly owing to the fault of the parelits in this respect. It is too common for parents to listen to and encourage the complaints of children against the teacher. Of course it is more difficult for a teacher in such cases to keep good order, and without good order there can be no good school. If the larger portion of the teacher's time is taken up in preserving order, the chil- dren themselves are the sufferers. Few parents realize how much their children are losing from their encouraging insub- ordination in this way. In regard to discipline, a great deal depends not on the mere physical strength, but on the tact of the teacher. Some teach- ers have a faculty of making school and school studies inter- esting, while under other teachers all studies are dry and dis- agraeable. 13 It is gratifying to observe that the number of female teach- ers now employed is so much greater than it was formerly. — It is to be hoped the time will soon arrive when the greater part of our schools will be taught by females. They will not only be cheaper but better. In regard to the necessity of aid to the poor districts be- fore spoken of, too much can hardly be said. It is respect- fully suggested to the legislature that a portion of the money from the State treasury should be divided among the towns upon some other principle than population. Even by the present law, when a town has received its money from the State, it is not divided out to the districts by population or attendance, because if so done, the poor districts would get nearly nothing. Nor is it divided equally among the districts, for this would, in m.any cases, be doing injustice in the other extreme. But the law has adopted both principles, and half the money is divided equally and the other half according to attendance. And in this way more justice is done than would be done by any one definite rule. Now if this is right in dividing the money among the dis- tricts, why is it not right in dividing the money among the towns ? To divide the money equally among the towns would be unjust to the compact places. The present rule of dividing by population is equally unjust to the large but poorer towns. There are many large country districts where the popu- lation is as thin as we have stated. They are already so large they cannot well be made larger, and the same districts are also generally the poorest. There are many cases where the whole valuation of a district is not equal to that of a sin- gle good house and lot in the city of Providence. There are two or three whole towns and parts of other towns so situated. If the state undertakes to educate, it should do as much for the country child as for the city child. Let the Legis- lature do all in their power, they cannot make his advanta- 14 ges equal, but this is no reason why something should not be done. The present distribution is an enormous injustice. The cities already contain the greater portion of the wealth of the State. They draw from the country towns nearly all their active and enterprising men. They can well aflford to be magnanimous and just. I have often urged this subject upon the attention of mem- bers of the Legislature in conversation and in various v/ays, and publicly in my report of January, A. D., 1851. But the present seems a suitable opportunity to remedy the diffi- culty, as the treasury is now amply able to sustain an in- creased appropriation.* TRUANCY. At the January session of the Legislature, on the 10th day of February, 1853, the following act was introduced into the House of Representatives : An Act concerning Truant Children and Absentees from School. It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section I. Any town or city in tliis State is hereby author- ized and empowered to make such bylaws and ordinances, concerning truant children between the ages of six and fifteen years, who are growing up in ignorance, are without any reg- ular and lawful occupation, and are habitual truants from school, as shall be most conducive to their welfare, and the good of such city or towns ; and may affix suitable penalties : Provided^ however, that said penalties in no case exceed a fine of twenty dollars ; or a committal to any such house of reformation, institution of instruction, or suitable situation, as may be provided for the purpose. Sec. 2. Any city or town availing itself of the provisions of this act, shall appoint, at the annual meetings of such town, or annually by the Mayor and Aldermen of such city, one or ♦Since these remarks were written, ths Legislature at its present session have made an addition to the State appropriation in accordance with the views here ex- pressed, by which each school district, without regard to its size, will receive about forty dollars more than it now receives. It is to be hoped that the effect of it wil' be a great improvement in the country schools. The Legislature by the same act, made appropriations for defraying the expenses of lectures and addresses in different parts of the .State, and also for a Normal School. 15 more persons, who alone shall be aiuiiorized to make com- plaints for the violation of said by-lav/s or ordinance, before any Justice of the Peace, or any Court exercising the jurisdic- tion of a Justice within the town or city where the offence was committed, which persons, thus appointed, shall also have sole authority to carry into execution the orders of such Justice or Court in all cases arising under this act. Sec, 3. Any minor convicted under this act of being an ha- bitual truant, or of not attending school, or of being without any regular and lawful occupation, or growing up in igno- rance, and sentenced to pay a fine, as provided in the first section of this act, may, in default of payment thereof, be committed to said house of reformation, institution of in- struction, or suitable situation provided as aforesaid, or to the county jail, as provided in case of non-payment of other fines. And upon proof that said minor is unable to pay said fine, and has no parent, guardian, or person chargeable with his support, able to pay the same, he may be discharged by said justice or court, whenever he or they shall see fit. Subsequently the act was amended and limited in its ac- tion to the city of Providence, and passed the House in the following shape, but was defeated in the Senate. An Act to prevent Truancy from School in the City of Providence. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. The Board of Aldermen of the City of Provi- dence, may, at any time after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter, appoint one or more discreet and suitable persons in said city, whose duty it shall be to see that all children, truants from school, between six and fifteen years of age, residing in said city, who are without lawful occupa- tion, and are growing up in ignorance, are placed and kept in some public or private school in said city. Said persons, so appointed, shall be called supervisors of schools, and shall have power to hear and examine complaints and at their dis- cretion to take such children to school ; and in case of con- tinued truancy, with the approbation of the Board of Alder- man of said city, as is hereinafter provided, may commit any such children to the Reform School in said city. Sec. 2. When any supervisor cannot induce any such child regularly to attend some school in said city, he shall report the name of such child to the Board of Aldermen, who are hereby authorised to cause such child, with their parents or guardians, to be brought before them by said supervisor, 16 and the matter shall then be, by said Board, fully investiga- ted ; and if npon a full hearing of the case, said Board deter- mine that said child cannot be- kept at school, and that such child is growing up in ignorance, having no lawful occupa- tion, said Board may order said supervisor to commit said child to the Reform School for a term not exceeding the period of his minority. Having heretofore expressed my opinion upon the princi- ples involved in these acts, I shall not trouble the legislature with repeating them. These bills confer great powers, and might be liable to great abuse. Too much caution cannot be used when we undertake to interfere between the parent and the child. THE STATE AND EDUCATION. In all parts of the country the feeling in favor of general popular education has been growing stronger and stronger. In almost all the states, the governments have provided the means of common elementary education for all the people. Thus far all its friends have gone on harmoniously. A sense of necessity has led them to overlook all objections, and no inquiry has been made into the grounds of the right of the state to educate, or the extent of this right. Bwt now some propose going further. Not content with elementary education, (to which from its obvious benefits no objection could be made) writers now advocate the duty of the state to give to every one a complete education for the business he intends to follow. The state is to institute agricultural colleges to make farmers, commercial schools to make mer- chants, schools for all the mechanic arts, engineering, chem- istry, geology, botany, astronomy, for painting, music, and every other pursuit which any one may choose to follow. This may seem a sort of reductio ad absurdum, and yet it is gravely put forth. But few have spoken out as yet, but the same thoughts and ideas are doubtless entertained by many. If the cause of education is injured by the propagation 17 of" such sentiments, it will not be the first time that ultraism has injured a good cause. Over zealous friends with perfect honesty and the best intentions, may do it harm which all the malice of its enemies would have labored for in vain. But the fact that such views are entertained, sliould lead us anew and often to examine the principles upon which the statevclaims the right to educate. How far can it go in providing the means of education, and how far can it justly compel attendance upon them ? If the state may compel at- tendance upon the schools, then the dominant party or sect may prescribe the education to be furnished, and will take good care that it is so directed as to support its own particu- lar views and policy. Having always entertained the view that in a free govern- ment, the sole object of government should be to prevent crimes against person and property, and that beyond this everything should be left to private enterprise, I see no rea- son to change these views. Every interference of govern- ment with private affairs, every case of doing for a man what he ought to do for himself, lessens the feeling of individual independence and enterprise. We should entourage and aid individual exertion, but never do anything which should dis- pense with it. In despotic governments the people are in the habit of looking to the government for everything ; they attempt nothing themselves. We should not encourage a habit which in its results would be the death^of our freedom. Even in those cases in our country, where the state has undertaken great works as a State, it may be doubted wheth- er the advantages compensate for the many evils incident to such a system. Many of our states have made great canals and railways, which have added greatly to their material pro- gress andwealth ; and if wealth was the only object of gov- ernment, then they may have been right in mak ing them. But this is but a short-sighted view. Even in New York state the great public works are a source of immense patron- 18 age, and consequently of faction, intrigue, and corruption. One of our other large states has a very unenviable reputa- tion as to the extent of corruption in its legislature, and among its public men. ^And in some of the newer and weaker states, repudiation of debts and public dishonor have been the re- sult of the State undertakings. The views here expressed will by many be deemed to be '■ behind the age." I believe them nevertheless to be sound. Having in my last report, under the head of " the funda- mental principles of an educational system,'' expressed my opinions cfti this subject, I shall not repeat them here, but will only refer to that, and to the appendix to this Report, for further considerations upon the subject. E. R. POTTER, Commi.sioner of Public Schools. Kingston, R. I., Jan. 1854. J^-^JL. ^lAAjxZau APPENDIX No. I. Table No. 1, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. ooooooooo OO05OOOOC3O ooooooooo i^O-tOO-^OOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIMOOOOO ooooooooo cooooinooo-*ooo>fio-^oooo OOOOOOOOO iQOO>-DO!MOOOTl'O-*Cf^O00O>nOO o^iTi^o^^in >n^o n^oi •-' •* *• o CO o O "O o o to o CT> CS C>l to ^ ■a ^ S s 5 5 2 oiS 2 => OOl^C>)tOOtOI^'i^■*^n»^l^CQO-3*'-H«owcoo Oi-comQO-^'l< r-ito i-H CO ^ •-I »n ,- — r- O CO 00 to to tC •— ' CO --< '- I— -^ 00 to OiOOOOOt^oOtoOOO — to0-*0cot0totc0r-00000— 't~- 0«Oooom>-"t^ooo-*C". otooao — t^— ■"*toi— t^ooOto--i-*c^oa5--tomotor- t— *imO OOOOOOO — O ■*'trl)t^ -^ ^ ^ •-! 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X 1 C5 < ■* r-T r-T r-T CO CO 4-> O 0~ r^ of i-T rt" rt' to lO* CI C5coOi-iiMooC(N>n» CT> CO ^__tD CO M m (M I-l 5S ■* Tjirtr-i_C0«C^rHi-i(M.-i»r5C0 ■--l iMcr>o-f'n-i^ncoc^^t^^co■»tio-*r- c & o s o w 1 J2 O 03 4) a" £2 11, O rlOllflOl-Ci-H MM I-l I-l— ( 'B OOO00r^n-CO— itOO CO CO a t^ « W P5 — 1 -J" ^■^TOfNTCM M^-«l<,-.rtO'«l'C0«^ Mr^ r-l as 2 CO ^ ^ CO p< in (rieoociTj'O^Tf o eoin.-i rt IM cjin^eo-ococn-^ooioc^mt^co.-^ oo-*r^if50— l--Oin-»j-0 ^_^r~ O^tO CO -* OOOCOINOtDi—lt^OCOOCOOOCO-.* t-OCT5tr>otooooocjcocDininoo HlMrtCOCO-H 0-Hr-< COINC^-H too«o<»ai(MccTj < 6 ■3 CO -*- 00 (M r- 00 iO -* t^ C3 CD — ' t^ in in .-(r-<><^ocoeo ooomco oocOf-HininmcoCTiooos coOcNco — ooeo — (N(N i?» to ■* c^i^i^ oi oi i^ n -1 CO 00 00 m' III 1 ? S ''-' 5* = £ iooor^'^to — Oinococ^'-^-*!- — ooooitoo OinrtOO»^05inoocooO(NO-^-foococsc£>iNmiM tor^ooo'5iO(Mcoinin(MOC3(NtDa:r co-<(N — ininr^'N^irie^t« 05" f-.' oT ^" —" — ' (M .-T oo-tctoocioto— iin — (NCOOOOOOt-OOrOrJi r^inooinr-i.*rtSt. Paul ; hut assuredly no one would commit the error of at- r«niptin^ to immerse the mind of a child amongst the arduous Epistles of the great Apostle, to the neglect ol the universal method of Christ? Now, it is in the varied interpretation of J't Paul's views, that wc find the principal source of gectarian discordances. 32 than that of keeping up, between the inhabitants who profess differ- ent religions, a separation which it would be desirable to have en- tirely removed ; still education and instruction do not suffer by it, a? it is sufficient, in organising the schools, to proceed in the same manner as if for several distinct conmiunities. But how can this be done in small villages which are divided between two sects ? There are in Alsace, villages with five hundred inhabitants which support two common schools, one of which, belonging to the minority, often contains no more than fifteen or twenty pupils. The result of this is, that the two schools are not in a desirable condition. Shall the suppression of this school of the minoiily, and consequently the ad- vantage of having but one school better endowed and more suitably organised, be placed in the balance against the inconvenience of in- trusting the education of a certain number of children to a teacher professing a different religion ? — or what amounts to the same thing, shall there be mixed schools in a country which reckons religious equality amongst the most precious of its rights, and where the law itself places religious instruction at the head of all education? We can conceive the assembling upon the same benches of pupils of dif- ferent religions in special schools, and even in colleges ; because their religious convictions are already formed, or because provision is made for the teaching of religion independently of, and apart from ordinary instruction; and, even there, a strict impartiality and an extreme delicacy is for many reasons necessary on the part of professors, lest they wound the feelings of one party of the pupils ; and care must be taken not to excite those differences, the effacing of which is the design of uniting them in the same school. But in popular schools, where religious instruction is not only the most im- portant part of education, but where the spirit of religion should per- vade all, and serve as the foundation of morality, and a common prayer should commence and terminate the lesson, this admixture offers much greater difficulties. There are, it is true, some mixed schools where the mrst strict impai'tiality presides, where no trace of confessed preference is found, where pupils of different religious professions sit quietly side by side, living together in the same man- ner, imbibing the same sentiments, and receiving from the same lips the same truths and precepts of morality and religion, not ot religion under any particular form, but of universal religion, of that which all religious men profess, and which serves as the common basis of all worship. But besides that few schools are thus managed, and that their management pre-supposes very rare qualities, at what sac- rifice are those results obtained ? Is it not at the expense of all that forms the essence of religious education, nay, which is religious ed- ucation itself? In suppressing at the commencement and close of the school confess'onal prayer, and substituting for it a prayer with- out any distinctive character, the religious habits of the children are disturbed ; the suppression of all prayer would deprive them of an important means of religious education ; and in making each portion of the? children offer prayer for themselves apart, or in causing them all to recite the same prayer, if some are to kneel while others are 33 standing, there is great risk of nourishing in the minds of the chil- dren that very intolerance which they profess to be contending with, or else of implanting in their hearts the germs of scepticism and in- difTerence. In such a school, the master who professes the religion of the majority is constantly under restraint, and never dares to ex- press himself with entire case and freedom, for fear of forgetting his part of professional indifTerence. He will he constantly liable to failure in his duty ; and he will not be able to fulfil it but at the ex- pense of the influence which he ought to exercise over his pupils. Until, therefore, by a general progress in religion effected by other means, the different sects become reconciled, I think it is better to institute primary mixed schools only where they are absolutely nec- essary ; that is to say, in districts very thinly peopled, or too poor to support several schools, or where nonconformists form only a very small minority. But in this case it is most indispensable that the superioi: authorities take care that the religious acquirements of this minority, be it Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish, be not sacrificed ; and whenever the funds will permit it, there should be added to the prin- cipal master, an assistiint who professes the religion of the minority. ****** * " I shall state, elsewhere, what (his instruction ought to be, and vihsii x\\\s, iyiitiation supposes; meanwhile I only remark, that reli- gious instruction can only be given with effect when the children have been prepared by religious education ; and that it ought to have no other end than the completion of this education. Religion is at once sentimc7it, worship, and science ; and it has value as scit?ice on- ly in so far as it is founded on seritiment, and may be expressed by worship. Worship itself is only of value when in connection with sentiment and knowledge. Without instruction, the religious senti- ment is blind and without capacity, and worship is a worthless form ; but, without sentiment, instruction falls upon a sterile soil, and pro- duces no fruit. Above all, then, we must apply ourselves to forming and developing the sentiment or religious spirit, Vv^hich is, at once, the fear of God, respect, adoration, and love ; therefore, it involves resignation to the decrees of Providence, self-denial, humility, char- ity, devotion to religious study as the expression of the Divine will — a devotion rendered easy by trust in God, and by the hope of an- other and better life. Such ought to be the object of religious education, without which instruction is powerless as such. To realise it, we must give the child the knowledge of the high dignity of man, of his noble origin, of his immortal destiny, and of his misery, his weakness, and his frailty ; we must fill his soul with the fear and love of God, and ele- vate his mind by sublime ideas of the Infinite, the Eternal, and the Absolute. Instruction will then have an easy task ; and whatever revolutions the minds of Fhe pupils may undergo when they become men, their religious convictions will remain unshaken as sentiments, and their inward faith resist the doubts which may try it. Their religious belief may be modified, it may be even overturned ; but they 34 will believe in their heart, although unbelief may take possession of their intellect — if unbelief as to essential doctrines could possibly gain an entrance into minds thus prepared." Opinion of Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, Eng.,_ quoted from a pamphlet, by Baines. " It is abundantly clear that the State cannot give a religious ed- ucation, as the word religion is understood by unsophisticated minds. * # # # Upon investigating the subject, we find that a notion prevails amonir careless people that religion may be treated as either general or special : special religion is doctrinal, and general religion is some system of morals, which being divested of all doctrine, looks so like no religion at all, that religious persons at once perceive, that when people talk of an education based on such a religion, they seek to deceive themselves as well as us, and utter a falsehood. Now all really Christian persons must stand opposed to any system of educa- tion, which being professedly based upon this general religion, which is no religion, will in fact unchristianize this country. To separate the morality of the gospel from the doctrines of the gospel, every one who knows what the gospel is, knows to be impossible. =* * * * Satan could desire no scheme for the extirpation of Christianity more crafty or more sure than this, which would substitute a system of morals for religion." Extract from " Educational Institutions in the United States, their character and organization," by Dr. P. A. Silsis- trom, a Swedish traveller in the United States. Translated from the Swedish by Frederica Rowan. •' I stated above that a truly religious spirit may reign in a school, notwithstatding that religion is excluded as a subject of positive in- struction ; but may we not go further and assert that in reality reli- gion suffers from being made a subject of instruction in the daily schools? ns religious instruction in the common schools must alter- nate with the temporal studies, is it not probable that in the minds of the pupils it will be placed on a level with other subjects ? Is it not probable that even the teacher will treat the one subject in ex- actly the same manner as the otheis, that is to say, they will treat it as an intellectual exercise and nothing more ? and can one suppose that all this will not contribute to degrade and profane religion in the thoughts of the young? at least as far as my experience goes, it tells me that thus it is. Observe the tone which generally rules in schools, where nevertheless, religion is daily taught. If there be an hour of school time from which it is thought absence will be of no consequence, it is the hour of prayer. And who that has ever fre- quented a school has not as many bitter or disagreeable recollections connected with the religious teaching as with any other lessons ? Who has not witnessed daily ebullitions of temper in the teacher as well as pupils, and found these as often called forth by the religious exercises as by any other ? And is it not most desirable that every 35 thing of this kind should be avoided in connexion with such a subject as religion?" — Westiim''Revieic. Extract from an article on ''Educational Institutions in the United States," from the Westminster Review, English, April, 1853. " Still by some inexplicable fatality, while Englishmen on the other side of the Atlantic, see in the development of natural intelli- gence through universal instruction, the essential preservation of a democracy under the most favorable condition, we, on this side take hardly any thought of this preservation, though hurrying into a democracy of much more difficult solution. Education with us in- deed, is not a citizen's question, but a priest's question. It is not how the country shall be filled with intelligent, self-reliant men, but hovv church or tabernacle shall be filled with submissive, uninquiring congregations. We ought to be getting ready for a virtual democracy, and we proceed as if we had no higher purpose than a theocracy. The school which should be a seminary of citizens, is to be made a net for proselytes. The schoolmaster, who ought to be as independent, and as sacred as the priest, must be his shadow or his tool. As Protestants, indeed, we are bound to assert, in the face of ' Papists,' that religion is a matter of private judgment, and that each man, on his own responsibility, must choose his own. But, as educators, we are bound to render such a dangerous practice impossible. We must catch the child as soon as he can learn — we must get him into a day school, where he shall be swathed in formulas, catechisms and prayers — we must carefully see that he never gets his secular knowl- edge pure — we must mix up dogmatic religion with his spelling, his reading, his arithmetic and his geography ; we must make him ac- cept our views of religious truth as true, and look upon every one else as false. When we have done this during the most plastic pe- riod of his life, when we have given him a bias from which we think it will be difficult for him to recover, drilled him into impressions we have taught him to venerate, carefully excluded from him all rea- soning or testimony adverse to our own, cramped him in his secular acquirements, and completely indisposed him to freedom of inquiry, — we can then safely, and without a blush, send him out into the world as a valuable illustration of Protestant liberty, and an eloquent witness of the glorious privilege of private judgment, whether, on the Protestant principle, honestly interpreted, such second-hand, birch-rod religion can secure him a place in heaven, may be a doubt, but that is his affair. It is calculated that it will induce him to take a seat in church, and that is the educator's affair. Now, that this is the use to which education in this country has been put, is now put, and is wished to be put, by every sect, no one not absolutely ignorant will deny. Yet the precious attempt to raise up a catecliism-taught, or God-fearing community, by means of day school, has been a ridiculous failure. Not only has the sec- 36 ular instruction been at zero, but also the religious instruction, or even below it. Reverend and lay inspectors of schools, inquiring into the matter, can scarcely describe without a smile, the irrational jumble that con- stitutes the religious knowledge of our "national schools." Extract from Massachusetts Common School Journal, A. D. 1852. vol. 14, 83, commenting upon a remark of Dr. Sears, jhat all sects were singularly agreed in support of the school law. "The only thing that can authorize the remark of the Sec- retary that "all sects are singularly agreed in support of this law " is, that the minds of the people have changed within four years. But we have no proof that there has been any such change. It may be true, that since the change of Sec- retaries, the opposition to the Board has been less public, be- cause the supposed latitudinarian views of the former Secre- tary are no longer a bug-bear, and the sectarian character of the Board and iis agents are a pledge, that, if any influence is exerted over the schools, it will be in the right direction : but we have reason to believe that the opposition to free schools is not diminished among the Protestant sects, and has greatly increased, or rather has gained courage as it has gained power among the Roman Catholics. A late member of the very Board of Education told us that he was in favor of sectarian schools, but as they could not be introduced into Massachusetts, he acquiesced in the present system. We have reason to believe that school committees are frequently nominated with a view to sectarian predominance ; and teach- ers have frequently been rejected by committees on account of their religious belief. But the opposition of the Protestant sects is nothing in comparison with that of the Romanists. It is well known that free schools are an abomination to them, unless under their control, and under their control they are no longer free. The Chartists " show their sagacity in distrusting the ed- ucation which would be given them by the mass of the aris- tocracy and clersy. It would be a servile one. Nothing would discourage me more than the success of the clergy in getting the education of the country into their hands. Reli- gion as it is called, would then become associated with old abuses and prejudices, and the spirit of reform would conse- quently become irreligious, so that not a few of the most ac- tive and generous spirits in the community would be found in the ranks of infidelity."' Channing^s Life. 3, 60. 37 Extracts from a Discourse on the Modifications demanded by Roman Catholics in the common schools. By Dr. Bush- nell, of Hartford, 1853. " We have slid off, imperceptibly, from the old Puritan, upon an American basis, and have undertaken to inaugurate a form of political order that holds no formal church connection. The properly Purit£.n common school is already quite gone byj; the intermixture of Methodists, Quakers, Unitarians, Episcopalians, and diverse other names of Christians, called Protestants, has burst the capsule of Puritanism, and as far as the schools are concerned, it is quite passed away ; even the Westminster catechism is gone by, to be taught in the schools no more. In precisely the same manner, have we un- dertaken also to loosen the bonds of Protestantism in the schools, when the time demanding it arrives. To this we are mortgaged by our great American doctrine itself, and there is no way to escape the obligation but to renounce the doctrine, and resume, if we can, the forms and lost prerogatives of a state religion. But there is one thing, and a very great thing, that we have not lost, nor agreed to yield ; viz., common schools. Here we may take our stand, and upon this we may insist as being a great American institution ; one that has its beginnings with our history itself; one that is inseparably joined to the fortunes of the republic ; and one that can never wax old, or be dis- continued in its rightsand reasons, till the pillars of the state are themselves cloven down forever. We can not have Puritan common schools — these are gone already — we can not, have Protestant common schools, or those which are distinctively so; but we can have cow wo^i schools, and these we must agree to maintain, till the last or latest day of our liberties. These are American, as our liberties themselves are Ameri- can, and whoever requires of us, whether directly or by im- plication, to give them up, requires what is more than our bond promises, and what is, in fact, a real affront to our name and birthright as a people. This great institution, too, of common schools, is not only a part of the state, but is imperiously wanted as such, for the common training of so many classes and conditions of people. There needs to be some place where, in early childhood, they may be brought together and made acquainted with each other ; thus to wear away the sense of distance, otherwise certain to become an established animosity of orders ; to form iViendships ; to be exercised together on a common footing 2 38 of ingenuous rivalry ; the children of the rich to feel the power and to do honor to the struggles of merit in the lowly, when it rises above them ; the children of the poor to learn the force of merit, and feel the benign encouragement yielded by the blameless victories. Indeed, no child can be said to be well trained, especially no male child, who has not met the people as they are, above him or below, in the seatings, plays and studies of the common school. Without this he can never be a fully qualified citizen, or prepared to act his part Avisely as a citizen. Confined to a select school, where only the children of wealth and distinction are gathered, he will not know what merit there is in the real virtues of the poor, or the power that slumbers in their talent. He will take his better dress as a token of his better quality, look down upon the children of the lowly with an educated con- tempt, prepare to take on lofty airs of confidence and pre- sumption afterwards ; finally, tomake the discovery when it is too late, that poverty has been the sturdy nurse of talent in some unhonored youth who comes up to afi:Vont him by an equal, or mortify and crush him by an overmastering force. So also the children of the poor ond lowly, if they should be privately educated, in some inferior degree, by the honest and faithful exertion of their parents : secreted as it were, in some back alley or obscure corner of the town, will either grow up in a fierce, inbred hatred of the wealthier classes, or else in a mind cowed by undue modesty, as being of another and inferior quality, unable, therefore, to fight the great battle of life hopefully, and counting it a kind of presumption to think that they can force their way upward, even by merit itself. It is very plain that we can not have common schools for the purposes above named, if we make ilistributions, whether of schools or of funds, under sectarian or ecclesiastical distinc- tions. At that moment the charm and very much of the reality of common schools vanish. Besides, the ecclesias- tical distinctions are themselves distinctions also of classes, in another form, and such too as are much more dangerous than any distinctions of wealth. Let the Catholic children, for example, be driven out of our schools by unjust trespasses on their religion, or be withdrawn for mere pretexts that have no foundation, and just there commences a training in religious antipathies bitter as the grave. Never brought close enough to know each other, the children, subject to the great well known principles that whatever is unknown is magnified by the darkness it is under, have all their prejudi- 39 ces and repugnances magnified a thousand fold. They grow up in the conviction that there is nothing but evil in each other, and close to that lies the inference that they are right in doing what evil to each other they please. I complain not of the fact that they are not assimulated, but of what is far more dishonest and wicked, that they are not allowed to un- derstand each other. They are brought up, in fact, for mis- understanding; separated that they may misunderstand each other ; kept apart, walled up to heaven in the inclosures of their sects, that they may be as ignorant of each other, as in« imical, as incapable of love and cordial good citizenship as possible. The arrangement is not only unchristian, but it is thoroughly un-American, hostile at every point, to our insti- tutions themselves. No bitterness is so bitter, no seed of fac- tion so rank, no division so irreconcilable, as that which grows out of religious distinctions, sharpened to religious animosi- ties, and softened by no terms of intercourse ; the more bitter when it begins with childhood ; and yet more bitter when it is exasperated also by distinctions of property and social life that correspond ; and yet more bitter still, when it is aggra- vated also by distinctions of stock or nation. In the latter view, the withdrawing of our Catholic chil- dren from the common schools, unless for some real breach upon their religion, and the distribution demanded of public moneys to them in schools apart by themselves, is a bitter cruelty to the children, and a very unjust affront to our insti- tutions. We bid them welcome as they come, and open to then' free possession, all the rights of our American citizen- ship. They, in return, forbid their children to be American, pen them as foreigners to keep them so, and train them up in the speech of Ashbod among us. And then, to complete the affront, they come to our legislatures demanding it as their right, to share in funds collected by a taxing of the whole people, and to have these funds applied to the purpose of keeping their children from being Americans. "Tf w ^ ^ T^ w The old school Presbyterian church took grounds, six years ago, in their General Assembly, at the crisis of their high church zeal, against common and in favor of parochial schools. Hitherto their agitation has yielded little more than a degree of discouragement and disrespect to the schools of their country ; but if the Catholics prevail in their attempt, they also will be forward in demanding the same rights, upon the same grounds, and their claim also must be granted. By that time the whole system of common schools is fatally shaken. 40 TT W aK * t'^ * In most of our x\merican communities, especially those which are older and more homogeneous, we have no difficul- ty in retaining the Bible m the schools and doing every thing necessary to a sound Christian training. Nor, in the larger cities, and the more recent settlements, where the population is partly Catholic, is there any, the least difficulty in arrang- ing a plan so as to yield the accommodation they need, if only tiiere were a real disposition on both sides to have the arrangement. And precisely here, I suspect, is the main difficulty. There may have been a want of consideration sometimes manifest d tm the Protestant side, or a willingness to thrust our own forms of religious teaching on the children of Catholics. Wherever we have insisted on retaining the Protestant Bible as a school book, and making the use of it by the children of (Catholic families, compulsory, there has been good reason for complaining of our intolerance, ****** Is it then impossible to prepare a volume, in the manner of the above card, which, without entering into any matter that pertains to Christianity as a faith, or a grace of salvation, will yet comprise everything thai pertains to the relative condi- tions of life, and even to God's authority concerning them — the Christian rules of forgiveness, gentleness, forbearance, do- cility, modesty, charity, truth, justice, temperance, industry, reverence towards God, drawn out in chapters, and formally developed — large extracts from the preceptive parts of the Bible, and its moral teachings ; from the Proverbs of Solo- mon, from the histories of Joseph and Haman, from the his- tory of Jesus, in his trial and crucifixion, taken as an exam- ple of conduct, from the moral teachings also of his sermon on the mount, the parable of the good Samaritan, the rule of the lowest seat, and other like expositions — enlivened also by those picturesque representations of Scripture that display the manner of human nature in matters of moral conduct, such as the parable of Jotham, the story of the ewe lamb, and the judgment of Solomon. In this way Christianity would have a clear and well-ascertained place in the schools. A Christian conscience would be formed, and a habit of religious rever- ence. And though we could wish for something more, we might safely leave the higher mysteries of faith and salvation to be taught elsewhere. ******* Out of these and other elements like these, it is not diffi- cult to construct, by agreement, such a plan as will be Chris- tian, and will not infringe, in the least, upon the tenets of either party, the Protestant or the Catholic. It has been 41 done in Holland and, where is it much more difficult, in Ire- land. The Britsh government, undertaking at last, in good faith, to construct a plan of national education for Ireland, appointed Archbishop Whatley and the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, with five others, one a Presbyterian and one a Unitarian, to be a board or committee of superintendence. They agreed upon a selection of reading lessons from both translations of the Scriptures, and, by means of a system of restrictions and qualifications, carefully arranged, providing for distinct methods and times of religious instructions, they were able to construct a union, not godless or negative, but thoroughly Christian in itscharacter, and so to draw as many as 500,000 of the children into the public schools ; conferring thus upon the poor neglected and hitherto oppressed Irish, greater benefit than they have before received from any and all public measures since the conquest. TV ^ ^ ^ TT There is a great deal of cant in this complaint of godless education, or the defect of religious instruction in schools, as Baptist Noel, Dr. Vaughan, and other distinguished English writers, have abundantly shown. It is not, of course, reli- gious instruction for a child to be drilled, year upon year, in spelling out the words of the Bible, as a reading book — it may be only an exercise that answers the problem how to dull the mind most effectually to all sense of the Scripture words, and communicate least of their meaning. Nay, if the Scriptures were entirely excluded from the schools, and all formal teach- ing of religious doctrine, I would yet undertake, if I could have my liberty as a teacher, to communicate more of real Christian truth to a Catholic and a Protestant boy, seated side by side, in the regulation of their treatment of each other, as related in terms of justice and charity, and their govern- ment as members of the school community, (where truth, or- der, industry and obedience are duties laid upon the con- science, under God,) than they will ever draw from any cate- chism, or have worn into their brain by dull and stammering exercise of a Scripture reading lesson. The Irish schools have a distinct Christian character, only not as distinct sec- tarian as if they were wholly Protestant or wholly Catholic. They are Christian schools, such as ours may be and ought to be, and, I trust, will be, to the latest generations, nor any the less so that they are common schools. Neither is it to be imagined or felt that religion has lost its place in the scheme of education, because the Scriptures are not read as a stated and compulsory exercise, or because the higher mysteries of Christianity as a faith or doctrine of sal- vation, are not generally taught, but only the Christian rules 42 of conduct, as pertaining to the common relations of duty under God. What is wanting may still be provided for, only- less adequately, in other places ; at home, in the church, or in lessons given by the clergy. It is not as when children are committed to a given school, like the Girard College, for ex- ample, there to receive their whole training, and where, if it excludes religion, they have no religious training at all. Ale -^ -ik 4k ■il' ^ TT' "?«■ ^ ^ It can not be said by any, the most prejudiced critic, that our conduct as a people, to strangers and men of another religion, has not been generous and free beyond any former example in the history of mankind. We have used hospitality without grudging. In one view it seems to be a dark and rather mys- terious providence, that we have thrown upon us, to be our fellow-citizens, such multitudes of people, depressed, for the most part, in character, instigated by prejudices so intense against our religion. But there is a brighter and more hope- ful side to the picture. These Irish prejudices, embittered by the crushing tyranny of England, for three whole centuries and more, will gradually yield to the kindness of our hospi- tality, and to the discovery that it is not so nuich the Prot- estant religion that has been their enemy, as the jealousy and harsh dominion of conquest. God knows exactly what is wanting, both in us and them, and God has thrown us to- gether that, in terms of good citizenship, and acts of love, we may be gradually melted into one homogeneous people. Probably no existing form of Christianity is perfect — the Romish we are sure is not — the Puritan was not, else why should it so soon have lost its rigors? The Protestant, more generally viewed, contains a wider variety of elements, but these too seem to be waiting for some process of assimulation ihat shall weld them finally together. Therefore God, we may suppose, throws all these diverse multitudes, Protestant and Catholic, together, in crossings so various, and a fer- ment of experience so manifold, that he may wear us into some other and higher and more complete unity, than we are able, of ourselves and by our own wisdom, to settle. Let us look lor this, proving all things, and holding fast that which is good, until the glorious result of a perfected and compre- hensive Christianity is made to appear, and is set up here for a sign to all nations. Extract from the Westminster Review for July, 1853, in answer to the charge of the schools being Godless : " Godless has both a negative and a positive signification, and the artful writer can easily use it in one sense, so as to satisfy and cheat his own conscience, while he intends thai 43 his readers shall swallow it in the other. An academy that teaches writing and cyphering without regard to any otVier branches of learning, moral or intellectual, may in a certain sense be called " godless," just as a tavern bill may be called '• godless" b'^cause in addition to its various items, it does not contain a form for grace before or after meat. Precisely in this sense, which conveys no reprehension whatever, may a secular system be called " godless," and the sectarian dema- gogue who employs the word is to a certain extent correct. But he knows very well that his hearers will supply the other active meaning of ' impious,' ' anti-religious,' and so forth,'* or educated by themselves, — that they find here educational institutions for the whole people, which will command their confidence, and secure the attendance of their children. The children of this country, of whatever parentage, should, not wholly, but to a certain extent, be educated to^-eihc}', — be educated, not as Baptists or Methodists, or Episcopalians, or Presbyterians ; not as Roman Catholics or Protestants ; still less as foreigners in language or spirit ; but as Ameri- cans, as made of one blood, and citizens of the same free country, — educated to be one harmonious people. This, the common school system, if wisely and liberally conducted, is well fitted, in part at least, to accomplish. While it does not profess to give a complete education, and allows ample opportunity for instruction and training in denominational peculiarities elsewhere, it yet brings the children of all sects together, gives them, to a limited extent, a common or like education, and, by such education, and by the commingling, acquaintance and fellowship which it involves, in the early, unprejudiced and impressible periods of life, assimilates and unites them. And it is with serious regret that we see it recommended, and zealously urged, to substitute for this common school system, a system of dividing children into sectarian schools for the avowed purpose of teaching them sectarian peculiarities, — a system which is fitted to lay deep in the impressible mind of childhood the foundations of di- visions and alienations, — a system well fitted to drive the children of foreigners, and especially of Roman Catholics, into clans by themselves, where ignorance and prejudice re- specting the native population, and a spirit remote from the American, and hostile to the Protestant, will be fostered in them. " It is with great pleasure that we have witnessed, for 4 54 some years, influences, and movements, fitted and intended to wear off the sharpness of sectarian distinctions ; to open and reduce the walls of sectarian division ; and to soften sec- tarian asperity, — fitted to convince men that all truth and wisdom are not in their sect ; to help them to see whatever is excellent in other denominations ; and to dispose them, while retaining an attachment to their own peculiarities, to place a paramount value upon the great truths in which all true Christians agree, and to unite in common enterprises and endeavors to promote the great objects of a common Chris tianity. And it is with mortification and impatience that we now see a movement virtually to subvert our common schools, so beneficent for purposes of unity and harmony, on the ground that they are not sufficiently sectarian, — that they do not admit sectarian instruction, — will not allow, as text- books, the Westminster and Church (Episcopal) Catechisms- Must we, then, carry our sectarianism into everything 7 Can there nhi be one of the many spheres of educational in- fluence, where all may meet as on common ground ? Must our children be all distributed into denominational quar- ters and shut up therein, for fear they will, for a few hours of the day, lack the teaching of our sectarian peculiarities : Is there nothing, not even a day-school, which we may un- dertake without the Westminster Catechism, or the Book of Common Prayer ? Must we carry into everything our sec- tarian manuals, and utter everywhere our sectarian shibbo- leths ? Verily, we had been encouraged to hope for better things. Verily, this is a backward movement, a narrowing and belittling operation, in this age of growing Christian un- ion and charity, which we vehemently dislike. "IV. The preceding course of argument fully evinces the duty of good citizens to sustain the common schools rather than introduce the church schools, provided the va- rieties of religious belief in our communities do not render any safe and valuable system of instruction in the former im- practicable. " This brings us to the great, and, so far as appears, the only objection to the common school system, — the religious objection. ' If, (say many,) we must give up the teaching of our religious doctrines in common schools, then give us parochial schools. Deliver us from an irreligious education for the young.' We have no doubt that some good and able men, not illiberal, or especially given to sectarianism, have, by such views and feelings, been led to look with favor on the church school movement. Our own state of mind was 65 for a time such that we are enabled to appreciate their views and feelings. And if it had not been, their character and general aims would preclude us from speaking of them oth- erwise than with respect and affection. We feel entire con- fidence, however, that a full investigation of the subject, a fair consideration of the. views which have convinced us, will remove their anxieties concerning the common school system, and confirm them in its support. " To this objection we would give such consideration as the character of those who indulge it, and its relations to our subject require. And we express, at the outset, our strong conviction that, while many theoretical difficulties may easily be called up and set in array ; yet, if the several religious denominations will act with an enlightened public spirit, with an earnest desire for the promotion of the com- mon weal by general education, and with the exercise of even a moderate degree of candor, liberality, and courtesy, toward each other, the practical difficulties will be found very few and small. " We begin by admitting in full, if necessary we will con- tend for, the principle, that, in common schools, schools un- der state and civil patronage, all religious denominations should stand on the same footing, should receive impartial treatment, and should all be protected from the invasion of their religious peculiarities. The opposite principle which has been so extensively adopted in the discussion of this subject, that in this country the state or civil power is Chris- tian and Protestant, and therefore that schools sustained and directed in part thereby are Christian and Protestant, and that whoever attends them has no right to object to a rule requiring all to study Christian and Protestant books and doctrines, we w^holly disbelieve and deny. The state, the civil power in whatever form in this country, is no more Protestant, or Christian, than it is Jewish or Mohammedan. It is of no religion whatever. It is simply political, inter- posing, or having the right to interpose, in matters of reli- gion, only by protecting its citizens in the free exercise of their religion, whatever it be : of course, excepting such vi- olations of civil rights, or civil morality, as any may commit under pretence, or a fanatical sense, of religion. If a com- pany of Mohammedans should take up their residence in one of our New England towns, they would be entitled freely to build their mosque, and to exercise their worship therein ; and entitled, also, as citizens, should they become citizens, to participate in the privileges of the common schools, on 56 the same ground with others, — entitled to the same consid- eration of their religious peculiarities, either by having a sep- arate school or otherwise, which the peculiarities of other religious denominations receive. Such is the principle of our political institutions oji this subject. And such it ought o be. This only is in accordance with that entire religious liberty which is recognized by the constitution of the Uni- ted States, This only fully guarantees the rights of con- science, and the free, unconstrained exercise of private judg- ment in sacred things. This best promotes the general in- terests, religious as well as civil and social. And this alone accords with the nature of true religion ; which is not and cannot be exercised by a corporation or state as such, but only by individuals, acting in their several spheres, public and private, — is not, and cannot be a corporation or state af- fair, but an affair of the individual soul, between that soul on the one hand and God and men on the other. Accord- ing to all just ideas of religion, a state religion is an absurdi- ty, a self-contradiction. " Let us not be misunderstood. A majority of the people of this country are undoubtedly Christian and Protestant. And therefore, the country is properly called Christian and Protestant. Moreover, they who are chosen to enact and execute our laws are bound, under their responsibility as in- dividual men. to be Christians, and to act in all their public duties each under the influence of christian principle. This truth cannot be too thoroughly enforced and felt. But the state, as a state, is simply political; — is of no religious de- nomination, or religion, whatever, any more than a bank or an insurance company; — is such as to forbid the holding of its offices, and the performance of its duties, no more by in- fidels, Mohammedans, Jews, or Roman Catholics, than by Christians and Protestants. It is, and ought to be, such that all political privileges and all civil advantages afforded there- by, are accessible and available to all alike of whatever reli- gion. The sooner Christians, generally understand and ac- knowledge this truth, the better, — the better for their own satisfaction, comfort and hope, and the better for their influ- ence on the general interests." ***** " We fully admit, and if necessary, would strenuously contend that, of a complete education, the religious instruc- tion and influence is an essential part, and far the most im- portant part ; and that it should be given in all the periods of a child's life. Any educational instruction, therefore, which assumes for any considerable period, the whole edu- 57 cation and training of a child or youth, like Girard College, or Dr. Arnold's Bugby School, or the many family schools in this country for boys or misses ; and yet gives no reli- gious instruction and training, is justly said to give an irre- ligious and godless education. But to say the same of a day-school which gives only secular instruction, — instruction that does not discredit or interfere with, but prepares the v/ay for and indirectly aids, religion, during only four or six hours in the day, avowedly leavmg religious instruction to other and better teachers, is palpably illogical and unfair. What would be thought of a general application of such logic ? A boy, who lives in his father's family, is employed six hours a day in a mechanic's manufactory, or in a mer- chant's store, or in a bank, but he receives, during those hours, no direct doctrinal or theological teachhig ; there- fore that employment is irreligious, and the manufactory, the store and the bank are atheistic ! A young man attends a course of chemical lectures, but in those lectures hears no theolegical or biblical teaching ; therefore, his chemical in- struction is irreligious, and the chemical lectures are atheis- tic ! A young man becomes a member of a medical school, or a law school, but he hears from the professors of medicine or law no theological instruction ; therefore, the medical school or the law school is irreligious and atheistic ! Plain- ly, in education, as well as in other things, there must be, — certainly there may be, a division of labor ; and secular teaching may be the exclusive department, — it must be the chief department, — of the day-school ; while religious teach- ing IS provided in other and better ways. And religious teaching may be none the less religious, because it is not given by the individual who teaches reading, writing and arithmetic ; and the teaching in the department of reading, writmg and arithmetic, should not be accounted irreligious and atheistic because it is not conjoined or combined with theological teaching. " Very little jealousy has been encountered with regard to religious influence in the common schools of New England. Almost uniformly, in the country towns, the ministers of the different denominations are the prominent members of the school committee and board of visiters ; and they usu- ally find no difficulty, when on their visits, in communica- ting whatever religious instruction, and in using whatever religions influence, their judgment approves. " If there should be districts, as probably there would be a few, in which the members of different religious denomi- 68 nations, not satisfied with the teaching of the common Chris- tianity, shonld insist on the teaching of their distinctive doc- trines, even ^o let it be. Let each scholar read or study his own Bible, and his own catechism. The pupils might, if it should be thought most convenient and wise, when the time for religious instruction arrived, be classified for this purpose, — the Roman Catholics, with their Douay or Catholic ver- sion of the Bible, and catechism, in one class : the Episco- palians, with their Church of England catechism, in anoth- er ; the Presbyterians, or Congregationalists, with their cat- echisms, in another ; and the Methodists and Baptists, with their doctrinal manuals, each in another ; and if there should be other varieties, let them be classed accordingly. We think the working of this would be admirable. It would be a spectacle of unity in diversity, very pleasant to see. It would form an early habit of agreeing to disagree, and of respecting each the religious peculiarities and associations of the other, which, without danger, would tend greatly to charity and harmony in after life. We know this is practi- cable ; for we have seen it practised for many years in a se- lect school. We well recollect, that in our early days we attended for many years,, an excellent private school, in which, every Saturday forenoon, we received religious in- struction on the elective affinity principle. We studied and recited our Westminster Catechism side by side with anoth- er who studied and recited the Church Catechism. And we well remember our boyish grievance in having so much the longest lesson. ^ jf. jf. jf. ^ ^ ^ "The day-school is, indeed, a powerful auxiliary to reli- gion, in the way of preparation. It teaches elementary knowledge, and gives the power of studying the Bible and other religious books. It disciplines the intellectual facul- ties. It disciplines the will, and the moral feelings. By a proper government, it teaches and necessitates subordination to superiors, subjugation of self-will and self-indulgence, re- gard for truth, control of temper, industrious, patient and persevering application, and that reverence for the Dejty and sacred things, and those universal principles of morals, in which all agree. In a word, the daily discipline of a school, and the incidental moral teaching it implies, work right prin- ciples into the minds of the pupils, and that in the perma- nent form of habits. So that the day-school is an important preparative and aid, to religious teaching. But its direct religious or doctrinal instruction, when attempted, is of very 59 little value, if it is not, as we think it is on the whole, worse than nothing. Of course there are manifest and decided ex- ceptions, — in the case of teachers of peculiar piety, and com- petency for religious instruction. But this does not invali- date the general truth ; which is attested by enlightened ob» servation — the observation of those acquainted with private schools in which religious instruction is attempted, (for, as we have said, there has been almost none in our public schools.) and by the observation of those who have been fa- miliar with the national schools of Great Britain, where some- what thorough religious teaching is required. Some testi- mony of this latter kind we will adduce, "The Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel, whom our readers know as an able and evangelical clergyman of the church of England, in a report, which, as an inspector of schools, he addressed to the Committee of Council on Education, af- ter having spent two months in visiting 195 schools, writes thus — we have room for only a short extract. — 'But it was in their understanding of the Scriptures, daily read, that I regretted to find the most advanced children of the national schools so extremely defective. Not only were they often ignorant of the principal facts recorded in the Bible, but they could not answer even the simplest questions upon the chapters which they had most recently read. Nor was thei- religious ignorance lessened by their knowledge of the cat- echism. I several times examined the first class upon a por- tion of the catechism, and I never once found them to com- prehend it. * * * Both in reading the scriptures to the mon- itors, and in repeating the catechism, the children showed a marked inattention and wearmess, occasionally varied, when the master's eye was not on them, by tokens of roguish mer- riment. * * * Being thus made the medium through which reading and spelling are taught, it (the Bible) becomes assor ciated ni their minds with all the rebukes and punishments to which bad reading, or false spelling, or inattention in class exposes them ; and it is tvell if being thus used for pvrposes never designed, it do 7iot become permanently the symbol of all that is irksome and repulsive.^ '- Equally decisive, and more directly to the confirmation of our position, is the testimony of Dr. Vaughan. — ' For our own part, we have always entertained a very lovV- opinion 0/ the religious instruction given in day-schools, and of the re- ligious impression produced by it. We have thought that a fuss has been made about it wonderfully greater than the thing itself would justify. It has reminded us too mnch of 60 our Oxford religionists, who would pass for being very pious because prayers are read in the college chapel every morning. We admit most readily, that the training of a good day-school may prepare a young mind for receiving religious lessons with advantage from the lips of a parent, a Sunday school feacher, or a minister ; but the man must have been a sorry observer of day-schools, who can regard the religious instruc- tion obtained there as being, while existing alone, of any great value.'* " * But while I believe many pious persons are most hon- est in their demands on this point, and while I admit that many teachers in daily schools do their best to give a reli- gious cast to their instructions, I am still obliged to repeat, that I have a very humble opinion of the direct religious in- struction which is given in day-schools, or that can ever be giveu in such institutions. Nor do I speak without expe- rience on this subject. I have served more than one appren- ticeship in the superintendence of schools on the British sys- tem, and the great benefit of such schools, I have always found to consist, not in any direct religious uupression pro- duced by them, but in their adaptation to prepare the young for receiving religious instruction with advantage elsewhere. My experience, in this respect, must be, I feel assured, that of a great majority of persons who have been observant of the working of day-schools; In other departments, men soon become alive to the advantages of a divison of labor ; and why should not popular education partake of benefit from such arrangements ? Why might not one part of edu- cation be given by the schoolmaster, another by the parent, by the minister of religion, or by the Sunday school teacher? Does religion cease to be a part of education, because not taught by the person who teaches reading and arithmetic ? In fact, is there not danger that sacred things may lose some- thing of their sacredness by being mixed up with the rough and often noisy routine of a day-school ? One would think that to give religion a place apart after this manner, and to approach it with a special seriousness, would be to secure at- tention to it, only the more becoming and promising. Sure I am, there are many considerate and devout persons who would prefer such a method purely on account of its better religious tendency. Let the day-school inculcate a rever- ence of truth and justice, and a love of everything kind, generous and noble-hearted, and let the directly religious in- struction be grafted upon such teaching, and it will be the ♦The British Quarterly Review, Vol. IV, p. 27 J.. Gl fault of the agents, and not the method, if you do not realise a scheme of popular education of the highest value. Nor can I doubt that the intermixture of the children, of all sects, in such schools, would tend to abate our sectarian animosities, and render the next generation, in that lespect, on nnprove- ment on the past.'* " Here we leave the subject. It is one in which we feel the deepest interest : for it is one, we believe, of great moment. We earnestly commend our reasonings and conclusions to public attention. They seem to us not only true, but timely. There has been manifested, of late, a growing disposition to dishonor and abandon our noble and beneficent system of common schools, and to substitute for it a system of sectarian schools, which must be inferior in character, and, (what is more important,) cannot perform the work which common schools, Vv^hen wisely and energetically administered, perform so well, the vital work o( general education, of educating the whole people, — a system, moreover, hostile to social and civil harmony. We cannot but think that if the subject is fau'ly placed before the public mind, this movement will be arrested. We hope, — perhaps it is hoping against hope, — that our Pres- byterian brethren (old school) who have recommended and commenced the movement, will recede. Certainly we hope that no other denomination will follow tbeir example. Far distant be the day,— LET IT NEVER COME,— when, in our beloved New England, the time-tested and time-honored common school system shall be abandoned, or weakened. Rather let renewed, persevering and united efforts be put forth to give it universally that perfection, of which it is capable, and which already, in many places, it has nearly attained." Extract from a very able report upon Parochial Schools, by Rev. G. Van Rensselear, from the annual report of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian church, for the year 1853. The next position in the line of argument, is that the re- quired religious training must be given in schools, as well as in families. In the progress of civilization, schools have been more and more relied upon for the purposes of instruction ; and their agency in promoting religious education is an important fam- ily auxiliary. Schools are necessary and useful, 1st. Because the family is not^ of itself^ siifirient for reli- gious any more than for secular education. l-iducation is a work by itself; it cannot be all done to advanta:^c within the boundaries of home. A child may indeed obtain the rudi- ♦Letter to the editor of the Morning Chronicle, on the question of popular educa- tion. 62 meiits of knowledge under parental instruction, and especial- 1}'' may acquire the moral habits and discipline which enter so thoroughly into the composition of a virtuous and well-bal- anced character. But progress from attainment to attainment must be sought in connexion with higher opportunities. Schools are expedients to| carry forward home nurture. As the ideas of secular knowledge, derived merely from house- hold intercourse and training, are not enough for all the pur- poses of an active and useful life, so the religious instruction, inculcated under similar circumstances, is not so complete as to dispense with the necessity of confirming and increasing it by other arrangements. On the contrary, so great a work needs all the advantages of which it can possibly avail itself. And the advantages of the school-room are neither few nor small, both for secular and religions instruction. The public prayer, the reading of Scripture, the songs of Zion, the verses in the Bible committed to memory, the catechetical exercise- the oral exhortation, all assist in forming the religious char- acter, just as reading, writing, and arithmetic improve the mind. The family, of itself, cannot wholly conduct the course of education, at least, in ordinary circumstances. The very existence of schools expresses household insufficiency. Education, above a certain point, must rely upon aid beyond that which parents can supply. It is common to exalt the Sabbath-school as an important help to parents in religious education. In many respects it unquestionably is so. But, on the same principle, parochial schools, during the six days of the week, are much more effi- cient allies, because more regular, steady, and thorough in their inculcation. The geatest aid which the family has ever received in forming the character of the young, is the Chris- tian day-school, including the academy and the college. In the progessive course of religious study, from the catechism, hymns, and Bible history, to the evidences of Christianity, natural theology, and Butler's Anatomy, the student derives the most important advantages to mind, and heart, and con- science. The religious training of Christian institutions is among the choicest blessings of an advanced social state. Such institutions will always be invaluable auxiliaries to the domestic constitution, and will contribute to promote religious as well as secular knowledge. Education is so much a business by itself, that it cannot wisely surrender the precious opportunities aflbrded by public schools. 2. The religious training of the young, enjoined by God, must be given in schools, because the great majority of compe- tent parents have not sufficient time to devote to the object. — Toil and labor by " the sweat of the brow" are the doom of the race. Neither fathers nor mothers have much time at 63 command during the day. The public duties of life, and the domestic duties of the household, occupy a prominence which prevents the requisite attention to this important subject. As a matter of fact, professional men, farmers, merchants, mechan- ics, and others, are called away from their homes, from morn- ing to evening ; and there are few mothers, whose domestic cares and engagements allow the necessary intervals to do according to their heart's desire. So that even competent pa- rents instinctively look to the teachers in schools, as the per- sons whom Providence substitutes in their place, to take part in the education of their children. There is a necessity for religious schools, growing out of the principle of the division of labor. "3. Moreover, multitudes of parents are utterly incompe- tent to the task of giving religious instruction. The majority of families feel no personal responsibilities in regard to reli- gious training. Their hearts are under the influence of the god of this world. Unconcerned about the things of their peace, they suffer their children to grow up in like ignorance and delusion. The voice of private or of family prayer is nev- er heard. The Scriptures are a sealed book. The Sabbath is not sanctified. The general neglect of personal religion throws its shade of gloom on the olive plants around the ta- ble, and the whole family influence is ' of the earth, earthy.' Whether the children of such households ought to be left to the awful disadvantages entailed upon them, is a question which Christianity is prompt to answer. If there is any worth in the human soul ; any necessity of repentance to the ungod- ly ; any love for our neighbor, ' for whom christ died ;' any responsibility to God, Christians cannot remain unmoved in the midst of surrounding spiritual desolation. Every agency which zeal in the cause of Christ can devise, should be put into requisition to supply wants so severe and wide-spread. — The organization of religious day-schools is, of all others, the agency best suited to remedy the evil. Such schools would well supply the daily deficiency, and bring religion into con- tact with the youthful mind in a hopeful and effectual way. Many parents, who make no pretension to piety, prefer to have their children taught religion in schools. But however di- verse might be the wishes of such parents, the fact of their acknowledged incompetency to teach their children the things pertaining to God, creates the obligation on the part of the Church to attempt to accomplish the object in some other way ; and no way is so effectual as schools, imbued with the spirit and principles of religion. " 4. This leads to the remark that all experience shows the insufficiency of other agencies, and the value of the one under consideration. All churches, even with all forms of er- 64 ror, have depended, in teaching rehgion. on the school as an essential means of sustaining their miiuence and hfe. ■^ ^ i^ ^ ^ " III. Adequate rehgious education can only he given in SCHOOLS WHICH ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF TUE (JhURCH. The State and other schools sometimes inculcate rehgion ; but this occurs only under specially favorable circumstances, and even then not often to the desired extent, . " 1. One reason why a thorough rehgious training can on- ly be given to the schools under ecclesiastical care is, because in none other can Christians choose the teacher, or determine the course of instruction. It is obvious that the character of schools depends altogether upon the matter taught, and the persons teaching. #^^ -V- ^f* -^ •/, ^ •??••?!" vr -/V- 'A* w "2. Even if religion were universally regarded as a proper subject for the school, the prevalent diversity of opinion, and sectarian jealousy, must prevent the adoption of any efficient system of religious instruction. These difficulties may be principally classed under two divisions ; those which arise from the doctrmal diversities of evangelical churches, and those occasioned by infidelity and Romanism. It would be no easy matter to reconcile evangelical Christians to the adop- tion of a common platform of scriptural teaching. And even if this could be done, what rational hope would there be of an acquiescence in evangelical doctrine by the infidels of all class- es, and the unvarying class of Romanists? Even the reading of the Bible in the public schools is becoming more and more difficult, not only on account of the Douay version but of the new Baptist version. ^- ^- ^ ^ * " IV. The two systems of parochial and of State schools may, and ought to, coexist. The one, under present circum- stances, supplements the other. " 1. The friends of parochial schools desire the utmost ef- ficiency to be given to the State system. ^^Pirst, because there are thousands of children who can- not be otherwise reached. In many districts, the sparseness of population will not admit of more than one school ; and in others, the question is, at least, a doubtful one. The State h s advantages under such circumstances which should be fairly acknowledged. It is far better that the children should be educated on some plan which brings them all together, and which is practical in common advantages, however small, than that the neighborhood should be left in i2;norance, or be agitated by hopeless contention. ^ w -?^ -vr 65 " iS'eco/ic?Zy, because secular education, with the minimum of moral and religious instruction, and with other facilities for receiving the latter, is a blessing. Ignorance and debasement commonly go hand in hand. Mental darkness too often in- tercepts light to the moral faculties. The most hopeless of all communities are those where ignorance abounds, with its attendant ills. The Gospel is hindsred in its power by com- ing in contact with minds incapable of appreciating truth, and of attending to its just conclusions. A great deal has been said, and said truly, of the danger of educating a people in- tellectually, without regard to their morals and religion. All such statements are strong pleas for Christian schools. But it does not necessarily follow that, in the absence of religion in schools, it would be better, in the condition of our country, to leave the people uneducated. Much religious instruction can be given to the people in other ways than in schools. M, M. M, AT. At. .AA. ^ ^ T "Tt" Tf- " Thirdly. Denominational schools are not exclusive, and need not be offensively sectarian. * * * Bigotry is com- monly the result of ignorance. An educated Presbyterian, however strongly he may be attached to his own form of faith and worship, is commonly charitable towards those who dif- fer from him. ******* " Fourthly. Another reason for the co-existence of the two kinds of schools is the health principle of competition. Mo- nopolies are not only odious but dangerous. The granting of railroad privileges by the State to a mammoth company is nothing in comparison with the danger of allowing the State to control the entire work of education throughout the leng-th and breadth of the land. A public school system might be made the engine of immense evil. It has the training of a nation at its command ; it may dictate its reading and con- trol its current and general opinions." APPENDIX NO. 3. THE STATE AND EDUCATION. EXTENT TO WHICH THE STATE SHOULD SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COMPEL ATTENDANCE ON TIIEM. Extract from a Pamphlet by Robert Vaughan. D. D,, being a reprint of an article in the British Quarterly Review. "To say that a government may consistently do its best to help a nation to grow rich, but that it must not be supposed to care a jot about the iniiuence which this money-getting may have upon its habits of industry, its intelligence, or its tone of moral feeling, would be to make distinctions, the weak- ness of which becomes manifest the moment they are stated. The end of government and the end of society it has been said — and we think truly said — are one. The general inter- est is the ultimate design of both; and in what that interest consists it belongs to society itself to determine. By govern- ment, in every well-ordered state, we are to understand a power created by the states and dependent upon it. Govern- ment is the expedient of society, the instrument which socie- ty forms for itself, that it may thereby realise its proper end. Society is the master, government is the servant. Man was not made for government, but government was m^adefor man. The question, accordingly, about the province of government, resolves itself into a question about the best division of labor. Christianity we regard as precluded from being an affair of government by its nature and its express laws ; but with re- gard to nearly all other things, the general interest is the great law and end to be observed, the matters which may be best done if left wholly to society being so left, and the matters which may be best done if assigned in whole or in part to the government being so assigned. Hence, if it can be made to appear, that popular education, like provision for the poor, would be best conducted by admitting a certain measure of agency from the government, it would be legitimate to admit that agency. " That children should obey their parents is a principle, and that subjects should obey their sovereign is a principle, but 68 there is a still higher piinciple having respect to the highest parentage and the highest soverignty to which the former class of principles are subordinate. In like manner, it may be the duty of a government to become an educator to a certain extent, and there may be a wider view of the general interest, requiring that it should not become an educator beyond a cer- tain point. In no respect are men betrayed into error on questions of this nature more commonly, than in th- ir attempts to lay down immutable rules, to be applicable in iheir fullest extent, in all circumstances and all times." Extract from Baines' " Strictures on the New Government Measure." '•' Government education is in my judgment a mighty error in principle. It can only be defended by reasons which would equally call for the superintendence of the government over our literature, our journals and our pulpits, if not over the food, the clothing and the habitations at least, of all the hum- bler classes. If on any ground of public policy, government is to support and regulate our schools, the same ground would require that it should support and regulate the press which supplies the bulk of the people with their reading, and should furnish every house with its intellectual food." Extracts from an article on " over Legislation," attributed to Herbert Spencer, Esq., author of Social Statics, "If we define the primary state-duty as protecting each individual against others ; then a\\^ state action comes un- der the definition of protecting each individual against him- self—against his own stupidity, his own idleness, his own im- providence, rashness, or other defect — his own incapacity for doing something or other which should be done. There is no questioning this classification ; for manifestly all the obsta- cles that lie between a man's desires and the satisfaction of them, are either obstacles arising from other men's counter desires, or obstacles arising from inability in himself, " Such of these counter desires as are just, have as much claim to satisfaction as his ; and may not therefore be thwart- ed. Such of thera as are unjust it is the state's duty to hold in check. The only other possible sphere for it, therefore, is saving the individual from the results of his own weakness, apathy, or foolishness — warding off the consequences of his nature ; or, as we say — protecting him against himself." ******* " Something too, might be added upon the perturbing effects of that ' gross delusion' as Mr. Guizot calls it, 'a belief in the sovereign power of political machinery,' a delusion to which 69 he partly ascribes, and, we believe, rightly so, the late revolu- tion in France ; and a delusion which is fostered by every new interference. But, passing over these, we would dwell for a short space upon the national enervation which this state-superintendence produces — an evil which, though sec- ondary, is, so far from being subordinate, perhaps greater than any other. " The enthusiastic philanthropist, urgent for some act of parliament to remedy this evil or secure the other good, thinks it a very trivial and far-fetched objection that the people will be morally injured by doing things for them instead of leav- ing them to do thmgs themselves. '•'He vividly realises the benefit he hopes to get achieved, which is a positive and readily imaginable thing : he does not realise the diffused, invisible, and slowly accumulating effect wrought on the popular mind, and so does not believe in it ; or if he admits it, thinks it beneath consideration." " If we are asked in what special directions this alleged helplessness, entailed by much state-superintendence, shows itself, we reply that it is seen in a retardation of all social growths requiring self confidence in the people — in a timidity that fears all difficulties not before encountered — in a thought- less contentment with things as they are. Let any one, after duly watching the rapid evolution going on in England, where men have been comparatively little helped by governments — or better still, after contemplating the unparalleled progress of the United States, which is peopled by self made men, and the recent descendants of self made men — let such an one, we say, go on to the Continent, and consider the relatively slow advance which things are there making ; and the still slower advance they would make but for English enterprise. * * * Andthen, if these illustrations of the progressiveness of a self- dependent race, and the torpidity of paternally-governed ones, do not suffice him, he may read Mr. Laing's successive vol- umes of European travel, and then study the contrast in de- tail. What, now, is the cause of this contrast ? In the order of nature, a capacity for self-help must in every case have arisen from the lack of demand for it. Do not these two antecedents and their two consequents agree with the facts as presented in England and Europe ') Were not the inhabi- tants of the two, some centuries ago, much upon a par in point of enterprise ? Were not the English even behind, in their manufactures, in their colonization, and in their com- merce ? Has not the immense relative change the English have undergone in this respect been coincident with the great 5 70 relative self-dependence they have been since habituated to ? And is not this change proximately ascribable to this habitual self-dependence 7 "Whoever doubts it is asked to assign a more probable cause. "Whoever admits it must admit that the enervation of a people by perpetual state-aids is not a tri- fling consideration, but the most weighty consideration. A general arrest of national growth he will see to be an evil greater than any special benefits can compensate for. And indeed, when, after contemplating this great fact, the over- spreading of the earth by the Anglo-saxons, he turns from it to remark the absence of any parallel phenomenon exhibited by a continental race. "When he reflects how this difference must depend chiefly on difference of character, and how such difference of character has been mainly produced by differ- ence of discipline, he will perceive that the policy pursued in this matter may have a large share in determining a nation's ultimate fate." — Westminster Review, Extract from an Address delivered before the Rhode Is- land Historical Society, on the evening of February 19th, 1851, by Elisha R. Potter. " But there is another tendency in the public mind, from which danger is to be apprehended. " Many years ago, although many of the States had a sys- tem of educational legislation more or less perfect, the subject seemed to be viewed with comparative indifference. But within a few years, the attention of the whole country has been aroused to the evils resulting from our former neglect. The talented and benevolent have contributed by their exer- tions, the rich and generous by their money, to carry forward the movement ; ana the pulpit, public meetings, and the press, have brought all their influence to its aid. And one State has vied with another, in a generous rivalry, to excel in the liber- ality of its legislation and endowments. " The excitement has pervaded the majority ; at .least, the majority of the active and leading minds, in many of the States. The majority are for reform. But in this, as in ev- ery other reform, we find many who are sluggish, and cannot be awakened. Sometimes, the calculations of private and im- mediate pecuniary interest ; sometimes, personal and local quarrels, stand in the way of progress. The friends of re- form, seeing the backwardness of the mass of the people ; that they sometimes will not receive instruction, when brought to their very doors, without money and without price ; and deeply impressed with the magnitude of the evil, are led to advocate a system of compulsion by force of law. "Many will probably suppose, that those who entertain the .71 idea of compulsion, must be few in number, and that the dan- ger of any controversy growing out of it, must be imaginary only. But he can have paid but little attention to the educa- tional literature of the country, who has not perceived the growing prevalence of this opinion. " Is a compulsory system advisable ? Is it right ? On first thought, it would seem, that when we had once concluded that a thing was right, it would be perfectly just and proper to enforce it by law, And hence, we find in all ages, parties who have sought to enforce religion and the various moral du- ties, by law. " Without entering into the argument upon this subject, we will only observe, that Providence seems to have designed, in connecting us in society, and making us dependent upon each other, to afford exercise for the affections and benevolent feel- ings, and for the development of character; so that in doing good to others, and persuading them to do their duty, we are adding to our own moral strength. And when we feel a vio- lent desire to do good to our neighbors, or to make them dis- charge their duties to themselves and their children, and are not willing to be at the expense of any moral effort for this end, but only make known our good will through the sheriff, the constable, or the tax gatherer, we may well suspect that our benevolence is of rather a questionable character. " Let us consider, in this view, the character of the great founder of our religion. He who came down from Heaven to save a world ; who might have had legions of angels minis- tering unto him, and who might have subdued his enemies by power alone, i7e was content to influence the world, by pre- cept and example, and by suffering ; and to leave the effects of his teachings to the operation of the laws which God has established for the human mmd. " But there is another view to be taken, of this question of enforcing education, or other moral reform, by law. In a re- publican government, founded on the basis of the right of the people to govern themselves, every person should be permit- ted to manage his own concerns, and to share in the general management, as far as he can with safety to the body politic. It is only by accustoming the people to govern themselves, and by carrying it out, as far as we can, in our municipal di- visions of towns and districts, that free government can be preserved. By the constant practice of consulting about town and district affairs, the mind of the people is kept awake, and even if they have no other education, they have a train, ing in the practice of government, which is a great security for the liberties of the nation. And wo to the people, when, from devotion to business, pursuit of wealth, or any other 72 cause, they neglect public affairs, and suffer their control to pass into the hands of a few. "Now, as a, matter of course, this liberty, this power of managing their own affairs, may be abused. And we may think we could manage tiieir affairs much better for them. By forcmg our system upon them, we might make a difference of a few years, perhaps, in the time of its adoption : but are we not striking a deadly blow at those principles of the right of self-government, and of civil and religious liberty, which we believe to be essential to our prosperity and happiness as a na- tion. " We may regret, when we are in pursuit of an object we think for the public good, that we cannot immediately per- suade others to think as'we do ; that we cannot change the habits and opinions of the people at once, and bring them all to our way of thinking. We may regret that people should be so slow to change, and think it an imperfection in the di- vine economy, that we cannot induce our neighbors to agree with us in our notions of right. But a wise God has order- ed otherwise. He has so ordered it, that the character of a people, ii the effect of the influences of all past ages, and that it should require thne and exertion, to change it. " When a man of ardent temperament, who has received the elements of a sound moral education, first comes to mix in the turmoil and business of the world, he finds the real, matter-of-fact world, to be a very different thing from what his young imagination had painted it. In private life, he finds vice triumphant, wealth honored, and, very often, vir- tuous poverty despised. '• In religion, he finds, even among the professed follow- ers of Christ, a multiplicity of sects, at variance with each other, and denouncing errors of opinion, with more violence than practical wickednesg ; and that the greatest hindrance to the prevalence of religion, in our own and other lands, is the variance between the professions and the practice of Christians themselves. " In the State, he finds laws founded, upon what seems to him, wrong and dangerous principles ; government doing what would be considered dishonorable in men ; and the people, in selecting officers, sacrificing the welfare of the commonwealth, to temporary interests and party feeling. He soon finds that there are other minds like his own, who have discovered these evils, and brooding over them, have fancied they have discovered some sovereign remedy. Won- dering that a benevolent God should permit the existence of so much misery, his sense of duty and his generous feelings 73 prompt him to set about the work of reform. Very often, instead of doing good to the extent of his ability, within the sphere to which Providence has allotted him, he imagines himself or joins with others in the carrying out of some the- ory, which is to change the face of society a'nd the world. " Such is the enthusiasm with which many ardent minds begin their intercourse with the world, and which a few on- ly maintain through life. Others, fondly trusting that they shall find every body ready to welcome their plans for ben- efitting the race, and improving the condition of society ; when they go forth into the world, find that those of older heads and less excitability, listen to them with carelessness, perhaps unwillingness ; that the vast majority appear to be satisfied with the world as it is, and that their projects of improvement are met with silence and contempt. " As they grow in years and knowledge, they find that the amount of human misery is incalculable. Seeing the little result of all their efforts, how many are there who be- come disheartened and discouraged, gradually lose their youthful ardor and enthusiasm, and finally become cold- hearted and concentrated in self alone: — fortunate if they are not led by disappointment, to be sceptical of the good- ness of God. and to spend the remainder of their days in doubt and despondency, •'Principally, from the reasons here alluded to, it is, that we observe that all movements, whether religious, social or political, seem to have their seasons of activity, and then, of decline ; and then, of reaction and new life. This seems to be the ordained course of human affairs : yet we may hope that by every new movement, something is gained for the good of man, although it may not always be the good which mere human wisdom anticipates. " There is, perhaps, no study better fitted to calm our en- thusiasm for reform, to a reasonable and Christian standard, than the study of History. We there find, that there is hardly any theory or opinion, of modern tunes, which has not had its advocates in times of old ; and that there is very little that is new under the sun. "When we are well acquainted with the history of the world, we see that suffering and misery are not peculiar to us or to our times ; and while we can more justly appreciate our privileges, we are less tempted to magnify present griev- ances. " It shows us too, that the condition of the world at this day, and the advantages we enjoy above our forefathers, are 74 the result of the exertions and labor of mind, of all the gen- erations gone by, and that as we take possession of the earth, improved by the labor of our ancestors, we must also take it subject to some of the burdens which human imperfection has left upon it. Politics and legislation, become historical sciences, and we learn that to establish a government, and to mould a people to our wishes, or even to make an ordi- nary statute, is not so simple a thing as we imagined it. " It may be thought that such views as these will have the effect of discouraging effort, and lessening the zeal of those who are trying to introduce moral reforms, and edu- cate the people. Far from suppressing, I would only inform and give a right direction to the enthusiasm of youth, and the spirit of benevolence. When a person of little experi- ence, undertakes a project from mere generous impulse, he soon meets with obstacles ; his success does not meet his ex- pectations ; he gives up and surrenders himself to despon- dency. But when we are well informed in the laws which govern the human mind, and when we have studied the course of the divine government, as shown in the history of the past ; we see that God has set limits to the power of human effort, and that all important changes are the work of time. Our expectations of the results of our labors, be- come more reasonable, and we are no longer liable to be dis- heartened by disappointment. What we may lose in warmth of feeling, we shall gain in discretion and practical wisdom. And if we have a proper feeling of duty, if our religion is anything more than sentiment, we shall not have the less zeal, but it will be a more practical zeal. We shall try to improve the condition of our neighbors, and of society, be- cause God has made us to feel it our duty, because he has commanded it. We shall do all in our power, and in faith leave the event to Him. He may see fit to bring about great results through our instrumenlality, and yet in a very different time and manner from what we expect or desire. All our efforts to influence our fellow men, will be made in a spirit of kindness. And if we meet with disappointment, we shall not despond, but still press on, trusting that the time will come when we shall see some good come of our labors. We shall cast our bread upon the waters, confident that we shall find it after many days." Extracts from Addresses of Rowland G. Hazard. " To do good or to resist evil, from an internal conviction of duty, and by an internal moral power, is the highest pre- 75 rogative of intelligent natures. It is the attribute of individ- ual sovereignty, and to yield this sovereign right, to substi- tute for this free vital activity, any external argument, law or force, would be the greatest sacrifice which pride, digni- ty and self respect, could make upon the altar of humanity. Allied to this, is the conviction, that whenever society in the form of government, or in subordinate associations by the authority of law, or the power of union, compel an indi- vidual to a course of action, even such as he approves, yet not originating in his own convictions of duty, they take from him the merit of voluntary performance, and rob him of the cheerful inference of self approval. They deprive him of some of the opportunities for improving his moral strength by its exercise in resisting evil and pursuing virtue." Address at Westerly, July 4, 1843. " These views are confirmed by analogies drawn from the system which Divine wisdom has established. If the Su- preme Governor of the world left no good to be preformed, no difficulties to be surmounted by individual effort, how would virtue be developed, or find occasions for its exercise ?" Historical Discourse. " Of the social influences, that which arises from the for- malion of governments, is a very important one, and fur- nishes an ample theme for the speculations of the philoso- pher, the philanthropist, and the statesman. " In proportion as men are obliged, or permitted to govern themselves, will their energies be directed to that object ; and hence it is, that under the elective form of government, the people are grave, sedate and thoughtful. Take from them the care of civil government, and they become more light Bud volatile. If in addition to this, they are relieved from the cares of the soul by a religious despotism, they become still more volatile and trifling. Proceed one step farther, and remove also the cares of providing for physical existence, and we reach the condition of the slave, who, when no im- mediate evil presses on him, is the most merry, grinning, fiddling specimen of humanity. But he, who, from this vol- atility, would argue a higher order of happiness, might ar- gue a yet higher for the fragile leaf, which yields to the im- pulse of every breath, dances to every breeze, and glitters in every ray which chances to beam upon it. Such happiness is little more than negative ; the mere ebuliti^n of animal spirit, freed from the immediate pressures of life. It is in that exercise of the mind, which the task of conducting our 76 own lives imposes, that its faculties are developed, and kept in that state of healthful progression, which is essential to dignified and rational enjoyment. In providing for the order of society then, as much should be left to the self restraint and moral power of individuals, as is consistent with public safety. ^ ^ i^ ^ ^ ^ :S& ■Tv' "Tv* 'jv- TV TV- •?%• TV- Rigid laws often create their own necessity. It is related that a citizen of Milan, voluntarily resided sixty years with- in its walls, and felt no disposition to pass their limits, un- til his prince commanded him not to do so. The mind spurns that authority which, depriving it of the exercise of its powers in the choice of action, degrades it to a machine, and taking from it the merit of voluntary per- formance, robs it of the cheering influence of self-approval. This induces a disposition to break despotic laws. The most noble and generous spirits rise in opposition to them. ' It is not, therefore, strange, that those who live under such laws, are prone to think that there is no security when any right is not guaranteed by force, forgetting that the disposi- tion to do wrong is often not so much to do the thing forbid- den, as to break the fetters and assert the dignity and su- premacy of the mind. 'Hence, too, it is, that skepticism in religion is most prevalent where its forms are most des- potic." — Adaptatio7i of the Universe to the Cultivation of Mind. " How far it is expedient to make education the subject of legislation, is an important question. In Prussia, an amiable king, disposed to exercise the despotic power with which he is vested, in a paternal care of his subjects, has furnished the means of instruction to all, and by penal en- actments, made it obligatory on parents and guardians, to send their children to the schools he has established. Such legislation would be worse than useless here. It would be repugnant to our feelings, and in opposition to the spirit of all our institutions. In some minor matters, regard- ing schools, imperative legislation has failed even in states where the people are more accustomed than we are, to the interfence of legislative authority with the sphere of indi- vidual duty. I apprehend, that in proportion as a state assumes the task of regulating the mode of instruction, parents will feel them- selves absolved from its responsibilities ; and it is the care and thought of parents in educating their children, which forms the foundation, or a very large portion, both of parent- 77 a! and filial virtues, the destruction of which would annihi- late all that is most beautiful and holy in the social fabric. Air, light and partial warmth, are all that a wise Provi- d(3nce has bestowed on us, without some efforts of our own, but having furnished these pre-requisites of life and activity, has made the rest dependent on that thought and labor, which are also necessary to develop the energies of body and mind. Let a state then provide the money essential to the existence of public schools — adopt means to enlighten the public mind on the subject, and to warm it into effort, adding such suggestions and recommendations, as on such a subject may very properly come from its selected talent and wisdom, and leave the rest to the free thought and voluntary action of the community." — Address on Education. These extracts upon the subject of Religion and State Education may, perhaps, be well concluded with the follow- ing remarks of the celebrated Guizot. " It must not be supposed that a bad principle vitiates an institution, nor even that it does all the evil with which it is pregnant. Nothing tortures history more than logic. No sooner does the human mind seize upon an idea than it draws from it all its possible consequences, makes it produce in imagination all that it would be really capable of produc- ing, and then figures it down in history, with all tkfe ex- travagant additions, which itself has conjured up. Events are not so prompt, in their consequences, as the human mind in its deductions." -7t APPENDIX NO. 4. OBJECTIONS TO EDUCATION ANSWERED. Extract from The School and School Master, by Potter & Emerson, page 106. "Apprehension is often expressed, and no doubt felt, lest education should inspire a restless and discontented spirit — lest it should make men unhappy, under the toils and obscu- rity which always await the majority in every land. If, in educating people, we teach them, directly or indirectly, that the only use of knowledge is to enable them ' to get along,' or ' to get up in the world,' as it is termed ; if, in other words, ev- ery appeal is addressed to a sordid ambition, then, doubtless, such result will not be unlikely to follow. But let it be ob- served here, that there neither is nor can be, in this country, any such prevailing ignorance and mental torpor as will keep the mass perfectly at rest, after the manner of the older coun- tries, or as will prevent them from struggling to better their condition. Such multifarious and multitudinous incitements to activity surround them on every hand — so many examples of individuals rising rapidly from the humblest circumstances to wealth or influence, that they who are looking on, must be agitated with some desire to share in the same success. But whose minds are most likely to be unsettled by these de- sires ? Are they those of the educated, or those of the igno- rant and unreflecting? Who are most likely to forget, that happiness is to be found, not in any measure of outward suc- cess or distinction, but in ruling our own spirits, and in culti- vating a proper sense of our duties and privileges ? Who is most likely to find, in his regular pursuits, however humble, as well as in his hours of leisure, that full and pleasant oc- cupation for his thoughts and faculties, which will render a feverish excitement from without, unecessary and undesir- able? It seems to me, that these questions carry with them their own answer. It can hardly be doubted that, the more fully the mind is stored with knowledge, and with resources of an intellectual and moral nature, the less is it likely to be- come restless or discontented ; that, while education imparts 79 higher and more refined tastes, it imparts, at the same time, the means of satisfying those tastes, without strngghng per- petually against the allotments of life, and the claims of our station. But two causes can interfere with this, the natural order of things. The one may be found in the practice, so mon- strously absurd — would we could add, so rare — of teaching that education is useful only so far as it enables its possess- or to rise in the world — as if position were everything, and the soul nothing. The other is, that we restrict the bless- ings of knowledge, and of a taste for reading, to a small por- tion of those who spend their lives in labor; and by that means leave them without sympathy among their compan- ions, while we at the same time invest them with a distinc- tion which will not be unlikely to inflame their vanity, and which may thus render them objects of envy and dislike. We occasionally meet those, whom education does seem to have made unhappy ; because it has brought with it, to their minds, the mistaken notion that knowledge and talent are out of place in an humble sphere or in a life of labor ; but we must remember, that they owe such unhappiness, not to ed- ucation, but to an entire misconception of the end and use of education.* Those who suffer through education, or higher intellectual tastes, merely because they are deprived thereby of the sympathy of their associates, are more rare ; and they all admit that, while this inconvenience may be charged in part to their own indiscretion, in not sufficiently cultivating those associates, it is overbalanced, on the other hand, a thou- sand times, by the inexhaustible fund of pleasure, which * " Already," says Howitt, in his Rural Life of England, " I know some who, through books, have reaped those blessings of an awakened heart and intellect, too long denied to the hard path of poverty, and which render them not the less se- date, industrious, and provident, but, on the contrary, more so. They have made them, in the humblest stations, the happiest of men ; quickened their sensibilities towards their wives and children ; converted the fields, the places of their daily toil, into places of earnest meditative delight — schools of perpetual observation of God's creative energy and wisdom. " It was but the other day that the farming man of a neighboring lady having been pointed out to me as at once remarkably fond of reading and attached to his profession, I entered into conversation with him, and it is long since 1 experienced such a cordial pleasure as in the contemplation of the character that opened upon me. He was a strong man, not to be distinguished by his dress and appearance from those of his '"lass, but having a very intelligent countenance; and the vigor- ous, healthful feelings and right views that seemed to fill not only his mind, but his whole frame, spoke volumes for that vast enjoyment and elevation of character, which a rightly-directed taste for reading would diffuse among our peasantry. His sound appreciation of those authors he had read — some of our best poets, historians, essayists, and travellers — was truly cheering, when contrasted with the miserable and frippery taste which distinguishes a large class of readers." " I found this countryman was a member of our Artisans' Library, and every Saturday evening he walked over to the town to exchange his books. I asked him whether reading did not make him less satisfied with his daily work ; his an- 80 they find in books, and in the exercise of their reflective faculties. The remedy for these evils is obvious. In the first place, let all be so far educated, as to awaken a taste for reading and a desire for improvement, and knowledge will then cease to be a distinction, and can no longer make its possessor an object of envy. In the second place, let all be taught that education is given, not that we may buy a short-lived and doubtful success, but that we may have enlightened minds and improved hearts, and be better able to fill with dignity and pleasure the claims of any station, however lov\rly, and then contentment will prevail just in proportion as instruc- tion becomes more general and more thorough. Extract from Nicoll's Preface to Wilm's Treatise on Edu- catio n. We have heard so frequently, in the course of discussion, of the hazard to Society, incident on a full enlightenment of the people, and M. Willm has spoken in a manner so marked, concerning guarantees required by Governments, that I should scarcely feel justified in omitting the opportunity of claiming entire freedom for the work of Education. I would remark, however, before looking at this matter more narrowly, that the social effects of Education have often been greatly exaggerated. In this case, as with other rem- edial agencies, we need look for the rectification only of one derangement ; for one single measure, whose end is special, can resolve the difficult and complex problem of Modern So- ciety. The solution of all the evils surrounding us, would demand the correction atid adjustment of many agents and circumstances ; for they are indeed multiplex, which con- Bwer deservers universal attention- ' Before he read, his work was weary to him ; for in the solitary fields, an empty head measured the time out tediously to double its length ; hut now, no place was so sweet as the solitary fields ; he had always something pleasant floating across his mind, and tiie labor was delightful, and the day oniy too short.' Seeing his ardent attachment to his country, 1 sent him the last edition of the ' Book of the Seasons ;' and I must here give a verbatim et litera- tim extract from a note in which he acknowledged its receipt, because it not only contains an experimental proof of the falsity of a common alarm on the subject of popular education, but shows at what a little cost much happiness may be con- veyed to a poor man. ' Believe me, dear sir, this act has made an impression on my heart whicii time will not easily erase. There are none of your works, in my opinion, more valuable than this. The study of nature is not only the most delight- ful, but the most elevating. This will be true in every station oiWie. But how much more ought the ■poor man to prize this study ! which, if prized and pursued as it ought, will enable him to bear, with patient resignation and cheerfulness, the lot by Providence assigned him. Oh, sir, I pity the working man who possesses not a taste for reading. 'Tistrue, it may sometimes lead him to neglect ihe other more important duties of his station, but tiis Letter and more enlightened judsrment will soon correct itsrif in this particular, and will enable him, while he steadily and dili- gently pursues his private studies, and participates in intellectual enjoyment, to prize as he ought his character as a man, in every relative duty of life. " 81 cur to produce the present state of the world : whereas, by Education, we only aspire after the improvement, incapaci- ty and power, of one solitary agency — viz. the Human Mind : and the question is therefore simply this — not how are all real or possible evils to be removed — but what effects, on the existing state and progress of society, are likely to result from the elevation of the character of Man ? I shall discuss the matter very briefly — rather offering only the heads of a full discussion. 1. Let us examine, first, the nature of the influence of the diffusion of a thorough Education on the stability of Society in its present form. — 1. It must be recollected, that in every system of Education which any good Gov- ernment ought to accept, or which indeed any enlightened man would attempt to establish, the prime end and aim, as M. Willm has so admirably shown, is noi instruction mexely , but development — tiie development, in particular, of the moral and religious sentiments. The evils of partial in- struction, respecting which one has heard so much, never can be the consequence of such a system ) just because In- struction is not its end or chief aim — nay, although having a distinct and independent value, it is yet always used as an instrument* To speak of the evils of partial Education or Training, on the other hand, were absurd ; for just in so far as Education has advanced, to that very extent must the mind have become more obedient to duty, and less under the control of impulse. The passions inherent in Human- ity, will not indeed be thus silenced, nor can we eradicate all illegitimate desires ; but, from his earliest years, every child would, by this system, have it impressed on him, that — if true to his nature — Man's activities must be checked, not merely by external power or the calculations of interest, but by the inherent Law, whose origin is in the will and the In- finite goodness of the unchangeable Lawgiver. It is clear, then, whether Education has advanced much or little, it will, if it has accomplished its aim, have aided all the con- servative powers of Society, by repressing the outbursts of passion ; — substituting, as a spring of acting, Duty for De- sire, and thoughtfulness in the room of rash and unheeding resolve. — 2. The evils at present attached to every condition of life must be relatively diminished by effects of Educa- * It will he seen, of course, that I refer in the text to the usual fallacy con- cerning the effect of "o little instruclion." The fallacy, itself, is a transparent on&; but no man will venture to denominate as dangerous, a little culture or moral and intellectual Training. The work of Education, includes both culture and instruction : but that which is wholly inseparable from it is— culture. 82 tion, inasmuch as its diffusion would augment the general means of enjoyment ; it would increase the attractions with which simple existence in this world has been benignantly environed. I shall not refer here to the purely intellectual pleasures open to a cultivated mind ; for the enjoyment of these may seem to demand leisure : but let us reflect on the widely different effects of the mere aspect of the external universe, to an instructed and an uninstructed eye ! Why, then prolong a condition of things m which the outward beauty and magnificence of Nature can be read only by the few belonging to our elevated circles ? Why, by our neglect of his earlier years, insure that the peasant lose — as he rises into manhood — the delight with which, in fresh infancy, he could live as a companion of the wild flowers on the heath ? Why, through reckless disregard of the source of emotions that belong to all Humanity, allow his heart to grow steeled to the gorgeousness of the Sky — to the appeals of the vast Ocean, or of Midnight ? If only a portion of that trouble were taken to preserve and elevate, which we positively do take to eradicate and depress ; if we were willing to make, in a right direction, sacrifices far less than those hourly de- manded, during our unavoidable association with sheer brut- ishness, or the jaded slaves of routine, I say not, that all men would become men of taste, but assuredly we might approximate to a state of things, so touchingly described by one of the most sagacious and benevolent men of his time — a state which would permit any one, however severe his toil and unremitting its exactions, yet now and then to plant his foot on the sod of this world, and even, with the splen- dors of the heavens above him, to thank the Eternal, who has made him a man ! — 3. The culture of the grand funda- mental affections and emotions of Humanity, whether by much or little, is, 'politically speaking, nothing less than equivalent to the strengthening oiihe positive bonds by which society is held together. Doubtless there is much of con- servatism in mere inertia. Gross social abuses, benefiting no one, but, on the contrary, injuring all — trampling on the rights of one class, and smothering the fairest activities of another — are often suffered to float downwards from one age to the next, purely through effect of that inertia which dis- inclines a man to act, ii by any means the merest necessi- ties of the passing moment can be supplied : but the positive bonds of society are nevertheless always dependent on the prevalence of those sympathies by which humanity recog- nises itself through all conditions and disguises. It has now become a received maxim, that every social system — every theoretical creed even — sustains itself not through its par- tialities, its sectarianism, its errors ; but through that Ca- tholicism, which, whether expressed, or merely assumed, serves as the strength of its foundation ; and surely no pat- riot or practical statesman can disguise from himself, the in- finite importance, at the present time, of the express wide- ning and strengthening of such foundations below our Brit- ish society. If the necessity be questioned — analyse the the feelings current among our higher orders, and then those prevailing through the tumultuous throngs around the base of our extraordinary Pyramid ! Take a description of any social institution — an account of any ordinance or doctrine — from a polished intellect toned among the habits of the first, and present it to any group of the energetic constituents of the latter ; — the chance is, that the hieroglyphic could in no wise be interpreted : and in thus far our society is indebted for its prolongation simply to the principle of Inertia. — 4. There is another consideration, perhaps still more important. One serious cause of social disturbance is, the tendency of unregu- lated and impetuous minds to attribute all evils incident to our present existence to the fault of those social arrangements amid which we live. Many, indeed, are so impetuous, that they charge the forms and institutions of society, with mis- fortunes evidently springing from the error of the individual, or the faultiness of the national character; but minds of an order far higher than that, are still apt to hold Government responsible for whatever is not the natural result of personal delinquency. A thoroughly trained intellect, versed in social philosophy, will, of course, never commit mistakes so egre- gious ; and their ultimate correction might safely be trusted to this amount of enlightenment, as its special work : but the point I am anxious to impress here, is, that while general Ed- ucation cannot possibly reach a degree of development suffi- cient to familiarise the popular mind with disquisitions of this nature, the views it must — if conducted in the right spirit — impress with regard to the march of the universe, do, in their entire tenor, go to remove the false conceptions I am complaining of, and to the correction of all such destructive impatience. In presence of the vast arrangements around us, the intelligent mind feels, on a first glimpse, that there is much — nay, that, so long as we are finite beings, there must be much — especially among the incidents affecting man and society, which we cannot co-ordinate with a narrow view of causation, or discern as results of prosperity and virtue, or of suffering and guilt. In what is nearest us — in whatever re- lates to the sanctions of duty — all is clear and emphatic ; but 84 farther onwards, the scene loses its simplicity, and is disturbed by the sweep of majestic laws inclosing our little world with- in a scheme far more stupendous, and therefore afTecling its arrangements. Prosperity, originating in no personal deserv- ings — depending on circumstances amid which we were born, or the place occupied by our peculiar nation, amid the long and complex unfoldings of human society ; calamity, whose special origin we know not, — pass over us and our world, like lights and shadows thrown from a sky that is far •above our terrestrial atmosphere. Sometimes, indeed, this view of the position of man in the world is employed to prostrate his will — to show him that the relations of things are wholly beyond his understanding, and therefore, that, on the occurrence of misery and misfortune, he has no resource except in self-abase- ment. In all such interpretations, however, it seems entirely forgotten, that unless there were a sphere of intelligent action freely opened to him, these farther mysteries would only be enigmas to Man ; the world would be a legitimate cause of Discontent, not the beautiful fountain of Faith ; and the In- scrutableness of the Infinite God would resolve itself into his separation from every Finite Creature. Faith can never be strengthened by the destruction of our activities : but, on the other hand, on learning that there are evils, whose remedy may be beyond reach of human power, and their occurrence beyond our prescience — we shall certainly become better pre- pared to deal, with moderation and effect, with derangements which are rectifiable by our experience, and with difficulties the virtuous will mav overcome. APPENDIX No. 5. IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE EDUCATION. Extracts from Dymond's Essays on Morality, page 251. "There does not appear any reason why the education of women should differ in its essentials, from that of men. — The education which is good for human nature is good for them. They are apart — and they ought to be in a much greater degree than they arc, a part — of the effective contrib- utors to the welfare and intelligence of the human family. In intellectual as well as in other affairs, they ought to be fit helps to man. The preposterous absurdities of chivalrous times still exert a wretched influence over the character and allotment of women. Men are not polite but gallant ; they do not act towards women as to beings of kindred habits and character, as to beings who, like the other portion of mankind, reason, and reflect, and judge, but as to beings who please, and whom men are bound to please. Essentially there is no kindness, no politeness in this ; but selfishness and insolence. He is the man of politeness who evinces his respect for the female mind. He is the man of insolence who tacitly says, when he enters into the society of women, that he needs not to bring his intellects with him. I do not mean to af- firm that these persons intend insolence, or are conscious al- ways of the real character of their habits: they think they are attentive and polite ; and habit has become so inveterate, that they really are not pleased if a woman by vigor of her conversation, interrupts the pleasant trifling to which they are accustomed. Unhappily, a great number of women themselves prefer this varnished and gilded contempt to solid respect. They would rather think themselves fascinat- ing than respectable. They will not see, and very often they do not see, the practical insolence with which they are treated ; yet what insolence is so great as that of half a dozen men, who, having been engaged in an intelligent con- versation, suddenly exchange it for frivolity, if ladies enter. 6 86 For this unhappy state of mtellectual intercourse, female education is in too great a degree adapted. A large class are taught less to think than to shine. If they glitter, it mat ters little whether it be the glitter of gilding or of gold. To be accomplished is of greater interest than to be sensible. — It is of more consequence to this class to charm by the tones of a piano, than to delight and invigorate by iniellectual con- versation. The effect is reciprocally bad. An absurd edu- cation disqualifies them for intellectual exertion, and that very disqualification perpetuates the degradation. I say the degradation, for the word is descriptive of the fact. A cap- tive is not the less truly bound because his chains are made of silver and studded with rubies. If any community ex- hibits, in the collective character of its females, an exception to these remarks, it is I think exhibited amongst the Society of Friends. Within the last twenty-five years the public have had many opportunities of observing the intellectual condition of quaker woman. The public have not been dazzled ; — who would wish it ? but they have seen intelli- gence, sound sense, considerateness, discretion. They have seen these qualities in a degree, and with an approach to universality of diffusion, that is not found in any other class of women as a class. There are, indeed, few or no au- thors amongst them. The quakers are not a writing- people. If they were, there is no reason to doubt that the intelligence and discretion which are manifested by their women's actions and conversation, would be exhibited in their books. Unhappily some of the causes which have produced these qualities, are not easily brought into operation by the public. One of the most efficient of these causes consists in that economy of the society, by which its women have an ex- tensive and a separate share in the internal administration of its affairs. In the exercise of this administration they are almost inevitably taught to think and to judge. The in- strument is powerful ; but how shall that instrument be ap- plied — where shall it be procured — by the rest of the public ?" Extract from a speech of George Combe, of Edinburg, at Washington, D. C, quoted from the Connecticut SchoolJour- nal, vol. 1. 1.50. " When I was in Berlin, in June, 1S37, a member of the Council of the jVIinister of Public Instruction for Prussia told me, that in one particular the Prussian system of education appeared to him to be defective ; in the lower schools the girls and boys are educated alike ; in the higher schools, 87 those which are attended chiefly by the children of the mid- dle classes, the boys are highly instructed in the elements of science and the principles of the arts, but the girls are neg- lected. The consequence has been, that a generation of young men has grown up who do not find the females of their own rank possessed of intelligence sufficient to render them objects of permanent respect ; and domestic felicity has suffered and is suffering a perceptible diminution from this cause. Whatever you do in education, preserve the women on a footing of equality with the men. The influence of the mother on the young mind is far greater than that even of the father. The father is engaged in arduous toils to provide for the subsistence of his family and he may often have lit- tle leisure to communicate instruction. But the mother is the guardian, the constant companion and the most efficient instructor of the young. But to enable her to answer the ceaseless inquiries of the child for information, you must pro- vide her with knowledge herself. To be able to rear her off- spring with success, she should be instructed in their physical and mental constitutions and on the influences of external agencies on them. America boasts of her chivalrous atten- tions women. Let her not neglect their education." APPENDIX NO. 6. PHYSICAL EDUCATION. INSANITY. Extracts from the Report of Dr. Isaac Ray, Superintend- ent of the Batler Hospital for the Insane, presented to the Corporation, at their annual meeting, January 25, 1854. Following the train of inquiry which v/as opened in my last two reports, I now solicit your attention to some of those physical agencies which have been deeply concerned in the increasing prevalence of insanity. And here let me guard against any misconception of my views respecting the man- ner in which insanity is produced. The popular tendency to refer every case to some particular cause, springs from a very superficial knowledge of the disease. Seldom, in fact, is it produced by any single incident or event. It requires a combination of adverse influences, each of which contrib- utes to the result, though we may be quite incompetent to determine precisely the share which they respectively take. In using the term, cause of insanity, therefore, "we mean to designate, not some particular incident having in itself the power of producing the disease, but rather one holding a prominent place in any combination of incidents more or less directly followed by insanity. -* *- ^ # ^ And here occurs the difiiculty to which we are subjected as a public institution exercising its functions under an act of the Legislature. On complying with certain conditions, we are authorized to hold in confinement persons who are insane, but no law of the land would justify us in depriving men of their liberty, for any other cause, however commendable the object. Now, the class of persons in question, [those insane from intemperance,] while in the paroxysm, or suffering un- der its immediate effects, may, in any proper sense of the term, be called msane, and so long as we have an unquestion- 89 able right to hold them. AVhen, however, this condition passes away, as it usually does within a few days or weeks, and the mind resumes its perfect consciousness, what are we to do? The person claims his liberty, while nobody doubts that he would use it, only to advance another step in the road to bodily and mental ruin. Here seems to be a conflict of duties, and with every disposition to do right, I do not see hovv we can help compromising, either the happiness of families or the rights of individuals. * * ^ # * ^ * It would seem then to be a very proper conclusion, that if we are expected to receive the class of persons in question, we must be invested with the requisite legal authority. Let the Legislature enact that habitual drunkenness shall be subjected to all the disabilties of insanity, and then we may engage in a work of humanity without infrniging upon the right of indi- viduals. Another prolific cause of insanity, not yet duly estimated, is to be found in that consumption of the vital energies produced by the manifold exigencies of civilized life, and often manifest- ed, sooner or later, in weakened or disorderly actions of the brain. In the struggle which is incessantly maintained between the vital forces and the adverse influences with which mod- ern life is crowded, the former give way, with a degree of frequency peculiar, I apprehend, to modern times, and espe- cially to our own country. There never was a lime when brains were more rapidly used up, as the phrase is, in one way or another, in consequence of the prolonged activity of the vital movements to which they are subjected. In the struggle for wealth, power or distinction, or even for the priv- ilege of living at all success, requires continuous attention, intense application, and a strain of all the faculties, to an ex- tent that was once comparatively rare. On the farm, in the work-shop, in the counting-room, — in every department of business and in every channel of human enterprise — the call for cerebral effort is urgent and unremitting. This call must be answered, and many there be that break down under the unnatural task which it imposes. The disastrous result is usually precipitated by habits of living not calculated to restore the energies thus prodigally ex- pended. The time devoted to mental toil is passed in apart- ments warmed by air that has been brought in contact with red-hot iron, and mixed, very likely, with carbonic acid gas escaping from a leaky apparatus. The blood is thus imper- fectly oxygenated, and of all the organs in the body, the brain is the first and the principal one to suffer. In such an atmos- phere, its natural elasticity, which enables it, easily and 90 promptly, to keep to its work, is impaired, and its operations are maintained by a dogged effort of the will. The jaded, wearisome feeling is prolonged into the intervals of rest, and, much of the time, the individual is conscious that he has a brain more by the discomfort it occasions than by those pleas- urable emotions that belong to its perfectly healthy condition. Being early habituated to this kind of warmth and ventila- tion, the greater part of our people grow up quite unconscious of their defects, and with their native sense of atmospherical durity completely perverted. Even men whose education has made them acquainted with the laws of the animal econ- omy, and whose avocations, it might be supposed, would leave them ample opportunity to care for their health, seem to be as regardless of good air, as any others. One has only to enter any shop, church, school-house or lecture-room, in the country, to find this statement confirmed, if he is capable of observing the fact, by the evidence of his own senses. As if this were not enough, in conjunction with excessive cerebral effort, to lay the foundations of mental disease, it is aided by a neglect of that kind of bodily exercise which is ab- solutely necessary for the preservation of the health, especially the health of the nervous system. Nothing, probably, is so ef- fectual in counteracting the unhealthy tendencies of excessive mental application, as active exercise in the open air. Besides its more common and well-recognized effect in developing and invigorating the physical powers, it furnishes rest to the brain ; and if properly managed, may supply it with a succession of pleasing emotions, more calculated to recruit its wearied ener- gies than absolute rest. In no country in the world, probably, is so little account made of exercise, among men of active minds, as in ours. Business is supposed to be entitled to all the attention not given to sleep and meals, and every thing like relaxation, as suitable only to children or pleasure-seek- ers. It is regarded as both the end and the means of living, and unremitting devotion to its pursuits, as the paramount virtue, the primal duty of man. Few seriously consider, even when cognizant of the fact, that the brain is a mortal organ endowed with limited powers, and subject to all the frailties incident to flesh and blood. Day after day, year after year, the same round of thought is pursued with increasing assidu- ity, and with a concentration of attention and steadiness of purpose, which make the pursuit the hardest description of work. Some are so forcibly struck by the necessity of exer- cise, that they determine not to neglect it altogether, and ac- cordingly they take it occasionally, very much as they take physic, or perform any other disagreeable duty. They take a solitary walk or ride, it may be frequently and regularly, but improve the opportunity of being more intent than usual on 91 Iheir customary thoughts. Every year or two they hurry off to a watering-place, or join the rush of a cheap excursion, but, all the while, their minds and hearts are away among the old, familiar scenes of business, and they long for the moment which will terminate their unwelcome absence. Whsn fairly through with it, they feel as if they had laid up a supereioga- tory stock of health, sufficient for any present if not future contingency. Yet these persons would smile at the idea of swallowing, at one sitting, food enough to supply the calls of hunger for a week. But the great mistake habitually made on this subject, is to suppose that the effect of exercise con- sists entirely in stirring the blood and promoting other vital movements; and hence, they whose duties oblige them to be much on their feet, are apt to draw the conclusion that they need not trouble themselves with any special means of exer- cise. It needs to be impressed upon this generation, that the object of special exercise is also to relieve, to recruit, to invig- orate, the brain ; and just according as it has this effect upon the class of persons in question, must we estimate its benefit. The effecis of vitiated air and inadequate exercise are gen- erally associated with that of improper food. I do not refer to the refinements of luxury, which nobody supposes to be very conducive to health. I mean that the habitual diet of the great bulk of our people is calculated*to task the energies of the digestive organs beyond the point of healthy endurance. Filled, as they are, two or three times a day, with bread just from the oven, charged with some deleterious drug, and sat- urated with butter ; with meat swimming in gravy, and swal- lowed with little mastication ; not to mention a host of othe.r articles equally improper, some one or more of which finds a place in the most frugal meal, they succumb at last, and then commences a series of morbid processes which, more or less directly, implicate the brain when predisposed by unhealthy tendencies or excessive exenion. The appetite flags, food is taken more sparingly, until the sense of hunger disappears al- together, and the person eats merely as a matter of duty. Be- tween the first and last of these incidents there occurs a period of months or years, while the functions of digestion is imper- fectly performed, and the stomach is radiating unhealthy in- fluences in every direction, and especially to the brain. Its vigor and elasticity are thus impaired, the usual cheerfulness and buoyancy are exchanged for anxiety and gloomy forebo- dings, the firm and resolute temper give way to restlessness and impatience, the customary self-possession and self-confi- dence are replaced by distrust, apprehension and suspicion. At- last, the natural sensibilities of the stomach fail altogether, food is regarded with loathing, and, in the mental condition here described, the very sight of it suggests the idea of poison. 92 Occasionally, the digestive organs, instead of being weakened by erroneous diet, seem to be endowed with fresh activity, and large quantities of food are elaborated into nutrative ma- terial. With every apparent sign of good health, the brain is staggering under the burden imposed upon it by this excessive supply of blood, and some untoward event is all that is want- ing to precipitate an attack of mental disease. When the blow falls at last, the phenomena which follow are subject to considerable variety. Lately, in a large proportion of cases, they have scarcely a single feature of resemblance to common insanity beyond that of mental aberration. The pathological change is of a graver character, and long before the suspicions of the superficial observer are aroused, the brain has become the seat of incurable disease which generally terminates in death, within a couple of years. It is a curious fact worth mentioning here for its practical importance, that, while the cerebral disease is thus steadily advancing, there is sometimes a decided improvement in the outward manifestations. The patient abandons his delusions, conducts with more steadiness and propriety, and regains his affections for his family and home. The friends, deceived by the apparent change which they take to be actual recovery or sometimes but little short of it, persuade themselves that our apprehensions are unfound- ed, and too readily yield to his entreaties to be removed. For a little while they see no reason to regret the step, but sooner or later, under the excitements of the world and the unre- stricted indulgence of his wishes, the cerebral disorder, which had only been kept in abeyance, reappears with more than its former severity and runs it course with accelerated ra- pidity. A form of mental disease, occurring in females, and in- timately connected with an unhealthy condition of the bod- ily organs, was noticed in the annual report for 1849. These cases, however, embrace but a small proportion of a large and increasing class whose derangement originates in the same general cause. Indeed, no careful observer can help coming to the conclusion, that, of all the incidents which tend to develope insanity in the female sex, none is so pro- lific as what is called " ill health ;" and there can be lit- tle doubt that, nowhere, is this condition more common than it is with us. In the tables of causes, published in the Re- ports of many of our hospitals, "ill health " always holds a prominent place. The term is vague, and fails to convey, very clearly, the precise relation which it indicates between the cause and effect ; but it sufficiently implies the fact, in a large proportion of cases, the attack has been preceded by a state of the system, characterized, less by any local af- fection, than by a loss of physical and mental power, and 93 by a host of uncomfortable sensations. The form of the dis- ease, in question, arises, in a great degree, from excessive domestic labor in conjunction with bad diet, bad air, insuffi- cient recreation, and, in married women, frequent child-bear- ing. Of course, it is confined to the classes that are obli- ged to give much of their attention and strength to the per- formance of domestic duties. It may perhaps require to be explained, why insanity should be more prevalent here, than it is in other countries, among the corresponding clas- ses, which are supposed to be subjectsd to similar influences. The latter, unquestionably, work hard and fare hard, but they start with a stronger constitution ; they are much in the open air ; they live on plain food, and move in a so- cial sphere that bounds all their wishes and aspirations. Here, however, the woman enters upon married life, with a con- stitution somewhat delicate, either with little physical train- ing, or one, perhaps, severe enough to have consumed no small portion of her physical power. Ambitious that her house and family should be distinguished among her neigh- bors by all the indications of good management, but unable to indulge i)i hired service, she labors beyond her strength, and does nothing towards restoring it by suitable relaxa- tion. The cares -of an increasing family, without increas- ing pecuniary means, seem to forbid the sHghtest rest from the daily routine of toil ; her duties are all within doors, in over-heated apartments ; while a certain regard for appear- ances and a perpetual straining after a higher social sphere, give rise to an uneasy if not repining state of mind. At last, the appetite fails, less and less food is taken into the stomach, the nervous system becomes irritable under the slightest impression, the sleep is diminished, the flesh reduc- ed, and the mind is depressed by unaccountable gloom and apprehension. The end is now at hand in the shape of un- equivocal insanity, from which recovery is tedious, at best, and often hopeless. Of all the physical agencies that have served to increase the prevalence of insanity, none has been so effectual as its he- reditary character. It is an undisputed fact that mental and physical qualities are not more surely transmitted from parent to offspring, than tendencies to disease. Without troubling ourselves to inquire very minutely into the theory of the matter, it is sufficient for our present purpose, to state the simple fact, that one is more likely to suffer certain dis- eases which his parents did before him, than otjiers are whose parents were not thus afflicted. In no disease is the hered- itary character more strikingly manifested, than in insanity. Where the off'spring of a person once insane is tolerably nu- 94 merous, and their lives are prolonged to adult age, it seldom happens that one or more of them does not also experience an attack. The proportion of cases having an hereditary or- igin is differently estimated by competent observers, the dif- ference ranging from one-fourth to six-sevenths of the whole number. It must be borne in mind that all these estimates embrace a considerable number in regard to whom we have no information at all, but which probably includes the ordi- nary proportion of hereditary cases. Sometimes the offspring, though never suffering an attack of insanity, present an habitual condition not very remote from it, characterised by strong mental peculiarities, regard- ed, perhaps, as whims, oddities, or eccentricities, but which are as dependent on some physical condition, and as little under the control of the will, as the most striking manifes- tations of disease. In the next, or third generation, we may witness the developement of unequivocal insanity. Of all the physical causes of insanity none should be more carefully heeded than this, because, it is, at the same time, the most prolific, and the most easily avoided. In fact, how- ever, none seems to be so little heeded — in this country, at least — and people go on forming alliances for life, as if it were a fanciful speculation instead of a very serious fact. The wisdom of the world is not witnessed here. In regard to the domestic animals, there is much correct information cencerning the transmission of physical traits, and much dis- position to act upon it. The man would be regarded as lit- tle better than insane, who should spend his money or his labor on stock which, though apparently in perfect health, were known to have come from unhealthy parents. The horse, the ox, the sheep, must possess a lineage unsullied by disease or blemish ; but in the human species, so be it that some attractive graces of mind or person are present, all con- siderations respecting the health of the constitution may be totally disregarded. While in the one case, we carefully avoid a step which, at the worst, would only entail the loss of our money and some vexation of spirit, in the other, we strangely incur the almost certain risk of bringing a dreadful malady within our doors, and embittering the happiness of the domestic circle by years of the most painful experience. Who can calculate the amount of human wretchedness which has flowed from the violation of this single organic law ! — How many a private history, if fully exposed, would reveal a kind of evidence on this subject, more impressive than fig- ures, or physical principles ! It would show us parent and 95 child, brother and sister, uncle and nephew, expiating, with years of suffering, the ignorance or the folly of those to whom they were indebted for existence, and disease. Can it be doubted that the hereditary character of insanity must necessarily increase its prevalence ? Here and there, an instance occurs where prudential considerations prevent its transmission, and it dies out in ihe person of the individ- ual. But, for one instance of this kind, there are, probably, forty of the other ; and even if the difference were less, yet the evil being propagated in a geometrical ratio, it is obvious that, by the operation of this single agency, the disease is in- creasing at a fearful rate. I think we are warranted in say- ing that insanity in persons who subsequently become pa- rents, is, upon the average, duplicated in the next genera- tion. It needs but little figuring to show what must be the inevitable result. Let the number of existing cases be rep- resented as one hundred. Fifty of these become parents and transmit the disease, at the rate of two for each. This gives one hundred cases from this cause alone, or as many as oc- curred in the previous generation, from all causes put togeth- er. We must, therefore, shut our eyes to this trait of insan- ity — its self-multiplying power — before we can doubt the fact of its rapid increase. And that this must continue for an indefinite period, we are forced to conclude by all our experience with mankind. A larger knowledge of the or- ganic laws, and the penalties that follow their violation, will, undoubtedly, check the evil, but this power will, too often, be overborne by the other agencies that are concerned in the case. When reason, prudence, foresight, inculcate one les- son, and passion, sentiment and taste, another, it is obvious enough which will generally prevail. The operation of the physical causes here mentioned is aid- ed in this country, there is much reason to believe, by pecu- liar atmospherical conditions. This is not the place for dis- cussing the scientific question, but of the general fact that our climate produces a remarkable degree of nervous excitability, and thereby favors the development of insanity, I think there can scarcely be a doubt. That our people are distin- guished by restlessness, impulsiveness, impetuous and bois- terous movement; may be regarded as a fixed fact. Tha^t this trait is to be attributed to atmospherical influences, is render- ed probable both by the absence of any other adequate cause, and by the greater excitability which accompanies insanity in this country, as compared with others. This character of the disease strikes the most superficial observer in passing through the galleries of American and Eut-opean hospitals for the in- 96 sane. In the former, especially those of the northern and the eastern States, more excitement will meet his notice in a sin- gle visit, than he will see in the latter, particularly the Eng- lish, in a whole week or month. And yet this excitability is but little less apparent in the Germans, Irish and English, who abound in our hospitals, than in the native Americans. It may possibly seem as if this account of the physical caus- es of insanity were imperfect, without a more special improve- ment of the subject. Were I writing a homily, it might be proper to inculcate, at some length, for the thousandth time, the hygienic importance of exercise, recreation, temperance, and purity. But having no call to preach, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear, I am satisfied with letting the story tell its own moral, and to all who are willing to learn, it will be sufficiently obvious and impressive I. RAY. Butler Hospital, January I7lh, 1854. APPENDIX NO. 7. REFORM SCHOOL. B}'' an arrangement between the State and the city of Providence, courts and magistrates in all parts of the State are authorised to sen- tence juvenile offenders in certain cases, to the Reform School es- tablished by the city. This fact should be generally known. The following is a portion of the last report of this Institution, drawn by, Hon. S. G. Arnold. " We do not propose to speak of the moral influence which the existence of this Institution cannot fail to exert upon the youth of our rapidly increasing city. It is a disadvantage under which the advocates of social or moral reform have ever laboied, that the first cost appeared disproportionate to the immediate benefit received. But in this instance the Board of Trustees feel persuaded that an intelligent opposition to the Reform School will cease when the sub- ject is carefully examined in all its bearings, and the result will be that all men will agree that a reasonable expenditure of the public money for this object is a wise precaution for the public welfare. What is more likely that a conflagration, lighted by a mischievous boy, more in sport than malice, would cause, in a single night, a greater destruction of property to our citizens than the entire cost of the Reform School from its commencement to the present time ? More destructive fires than this are not unfrequent in our city, and several commitments to the Reform School have been for this very cause. Table V. of the Superintendent's Report shows that more than one-third of the commitments by orders of the Court for the past j-ear have been for theft. It is believed that the aggregate of these pilferings would alone amount to a sum nearly one-half as great as the legitimate current expenses of the Reform School for the same period. These are little facts, but collectively they present a weight of argument in favor of this Institution, and an evidence of the wise foresight of those who established it, which on the ground of econ- omy alone, it is well to consider. In concluding this part of their Report the Trustees desire to say, that it upon examination of the subject it is thought that they have not had a due regard to economy 98 in their disbursements, they will be happy to have a committee con- nected with them, whether composed of members of the Council or of any other citizens whom the Council may appoint, in expending any future appropriations that may be made ; and more especially would they be pleased to have some of those who have been most earnest in their opposition associated with them in the gratuitous and somewhat arduous service which devolves upon the Board- One other point which the Trustees feel it their duty to submit to your Honorable Body remains to be answered. The Council are aware that, in consequence of an arrangement having been made between the State and the City, whereby the use of the Reform School was extended to the State, the General Assembly at the Oc- tober Session, 1S50, passed an act in accordance therewith, placing the State convicts sent thither under the same exclusive manage- ment and control of the Trustees as was given them, in the act es- tablishing the Reform School, over those sent by our City. With- in the past year two convicts have been discharged by act of the General Assembly, one in Febuary, and the other in September. In the former case, it appeared that an error had been made by the Jus- tice upon whose warrant the boy was committed, and that he was illegally detained, but having been entrusted to their charge, appar- ently in a proper manner, as a State convict, an act of the Assembly was necessary to authorise his release by the Trustees. In the other case, neither the Trustees or officers of the Institution were previously informed of the contemplated action. No application was made to them, or any representation of the fact upon which the petition was based, and no opportunity for the exercise of the discre- tion vested by law in this Board was granted. The first announce- ment they received of the proceeding was the duly attested order for the release. Against this perversion of the pardoning power, the Trustees take the earliest occasion to enter their formal and earnest protest. As a speedy and certain method of neutralizing the good effects of the Institution, by impairing the moral influence which its managers now hold over the inmates, this action of the General Assembly is deeply to be regretted. The efficacy of punishment consists not in the severity, but in tts certainty. Let the idea once gain ground that sentence to the Reform School carries with it no greater certainty of execution than a sentence to the State Prison of late years has done, and the efficiency of the Institution is lost — it had better be closed at once. The plan of a Reform School in- volves in itself the necessity of a more protracted confinement than is contemplated in a prison. The object of the latter is punishment for crime. The design of the former is the reformation of the ofTend- er, and because the hope of amendment is greater in youth the age is limited at which a convict can be received at such an an institu- tion. The law invests the Trustees with the power of discharge before the expiration of the sentence, to be used at their discretion. This is in effect the pardoning power, the highest and most delicate trust that can be confided to man, and one which, of all others, should be least interfered with, and is most liable to abuse when 99 incautiously exercised. If the policy of summary release thus un- fortunately commenced in behalf of the State convicts is not speedily abandoned, the only course by which the City can preserve to itself the benefit of an Institution that has cost it so much money and la- bor to perfect, will be to annul the existing arrangement with the State, and petition for the repeal of the act passed in October, 1S50, in amendment of the act concerning crimes and punishments. The Board of Trustees believe that in the case in question the General Assembly acted without a full knowledp-e of all the facts before them, receiving, as is too often the case, but an ex parte statement from the petitioners, enforced by such an array of signatures as ex- perience proves can always be obtained to a petition of the kind ; and that had the whole matter been laid properly before them, the wisdom of the Assembly would have dictated a different decision. They are led to this belief, from the fact, that when the first attempt of the kind was made by a petitioner to the Senate at the last Jan- uary session, a statement of the facts of the case, and of the impor- tant interests involved in the precedent, should it become established, which was made by one of this Board then a member of that Body, had the effect to convince Senators of the danger of granting the prayer, and the petitioner had leave to withdraw. The danger from this source can only be avoided, so long as the present arrangement exists with the State, by having some persons in the 7\ssembly spe- cially charged with the interests of tlie Reform School ; and to ac- complish this object, the Board would suggest that the delegation in each House, from the city, and especially the Committee on Con- victs Petitions, of the General Assembly, be requested to watch over the interests of the Eeform School, with particular reference to peti- tions for liberation. It has occurred of late that parents or guar- dians, interested in the release of boys confined by sentence of Court at the Reform School, have threatened that, unless their request was granted, they would appeal to the General Assembly, and in one instance within a few days the remark was made — " you know it is easy enough to get plenty of signers to a petition." The knowledge of this power in the General Assembly, and of their disposition to exercise it, has reached the ears of the boys, and is producing the effect that might be expected in encouraging a feeling of insubordi- nation, and rendering it necessary to use more stringent measures in the police of the Institution — thus verifying the prediction made in the State Senate on the occasion of the first petition for release, above mentioned. The Trustees have been obliged to forbid any communication with the inmates, except in the presence of an officer of the establishment, and under no circumstances to permit any con- versation on the subject of leaving the Reform School. Much more might be said upon a point of such vital interest to the Institution entrusted to our charge, but that this Report has already extended to an unusual length from the accumulation of important subjects requiring the consideration of the Council. In conclusion, the Board of Trustees desire to express their grate- ful acknowledgments to the City Council for the liberality with 100 which their suggestions have been seconded, by ample appropria- tions, and to repeat their conviction that an expenditure, however large, which has for its object the reformation of juvenile offenders, will be found in the end to be a wise and well-timed economy. All which is respectfully submitted on the part of the Board of Trustees SAMUEL GREENE ARNOLD, Secretary, APPENDIX, NO. 8. SCHOOL AND OTHER LIBRARIES. The following table exhibits the number of volumes in the School Libraries, as near as can be ascertained : No Pawtucket, No. 2, Lonsdale, Slatersville, Globe, Hamlet, Bernon, Manton Library at Cumberland Hill, 375 Woonsocket, Carrington Library, 2000 Manton Library at Pascoag, 808 Chepachet, - - *750 Manton Library at Hemlock, 1200 Aborn Library at North Scituate, 450 500 *400 North Providence, Smith field, Cumberland, Burrillville, Glocester, Foster, Scituate, Vols. 2000 350 *900 *750 *350 *275 *200 Cranston, Johnston, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry, Warwick South Kingstown, Kingston, D. Rodman's, Peacedale, Those marked thus* are estimates. 7 Smithville Seminary, No. 8, None, Old Library, Methodist Seminary, Episcopal Parish Library, None, Washington Tillage, Bo wen's Hill, Old Warwick, Ladies' Library at Old Warwick, Phoenix, 100 870 100 402 - 405 -475 250 720 800 - 100 100 .102 North Kingstown, None, . Westerly, Westerly, 2000 Hopkinton, > Richmond, 5 Brand's Iron Works, 800 Richmond, Carolina Mills, *100 Exeter, Fisherville, 675 Charlestown, One in three divisions, - 706 Portsmouth, North End, 425 South End, 650 Middletown, - *300 Tiverton, Globe Factory, 160 Little Compton, Two Libraries, - 1108 New Shoreham, - *400 Jamestown, - . . - *500 Old Library, - 550 Bristol, - 147 Warren, Lyceum, S50 Female Seminary, - 400 Barrington, - - - - 550 The following is believed to be the number of volumes in the College and other Libraries : No. Vols. Providence, College (bound volumes,) 25,000 College Societies, - 7500 Friends' School, founded 1819, 1500 Athenaeum, 1753, - 18,000 Historical Society, 1822, *2500 State Library, - *1500 Mechanics', 1821, - *3500 Franklin Lyceum, 1832, 1600 Bar Library, - - 1500 Franklin Society, 1823, - 500 Perrin's Circulating, - 4000 Winsor's, " - - 4000 City Teachers' Library, - 500 Newport, Redwood, founded 1747, *6500 Mechanics', founded 1828, *1100 Hammond's, founded 1820, *8000 Richardson's, - - 400 In addition to the above there are many parish libraries, of which we can obtain no account. And the number of volumes in the various Sunday School libraries, principally of juvenile books, is very large. There are still many places in the State where village or 103 school libraries should be established, as will be seen from an inspection of the foregoing table. These libraries have generally been formed upon the plan of loaning out the books for a small weekly charge to sub- scribers and non-subscribers alike. This is believed to be the wisest arrangement. Many individuals in the State have generously contribu- ted to the formation of our school and village libraries ; but it will be no injustice to others to mention Araasa Manton , Esq., of Providence, as having been among the earliest and most generous patrons of the enterprise. The friends of education should not be disappointed if the books should not be as much read a few years hence as now, while newly established. Still they should be maintained. The youth who are growing up in our public schools, who feel a desire for improvement, should have the opportunities within their reach. And if even but one solitary scholar should have ambition or curiosity enough to lead him to use the library, still it should be preserved.* There are many large and valuable private libraries in the State, which we cannot enumerate. John Carter Brown's collection of works on American History, many of them very rare and costly, and Albert G. Greene's collection of the works of American poets ought not, however, to be passed over. * Those who wish to see a full historical account of our large libraries should con- sult the account by Prof. Jewett in the Fourth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. Also see Journal of R. I. Institute, by Mr. Barnard, vol. 3, page 428. We have endeavored to correct some inaccuracies in their statements as to num- bers. APPENDIX NO. 9. THE LAW OF RESIDENCE IN RELATION TO VO- TING. Frequent dispules arise in school districts, as to the right to vote growing out oi the question of residence, and as fre- quent application is made to the Commissioner of Public Schools for advice and decision, it is deemed advisable to publish a synopsis of the principles upon which such cases are to be decided. The same principles govern the right to vote in town meetings, so far as relates to residence. Our statutes have in some cases required a particular length of residence in order to qualify to vote. Thus, to vote in town meeting a person must have been a resident in the town six months. In a school district, no particular length of residence in the district is required, but the voter must have resided in the town six months, and be otherwise qualified. Thus it becomes important to know what constitutes a residence in law, so as to know when it begins or from what time it is to be calculated. The words residence, domicil and inhabitancy, express nearly the same thing. The courts have sometimes tried hard to make a distinction, in order to satisfy the equity of some particular case, but these may be left out of considera- tion at present. When it is recollected that by the comity of states and na- tions, in case of the death of a person without a will, his per- sonal property is distributed according to the laws of he State or country where he resides at the time of his deatth, it will be seen at once that the question of what constitutes a residence, may sometimes involve great amounts of proper- ty. This has led to a full investigation of the subject, and the general principles regulating it are now well settled. — 105 Many of the rules are similar to those regulating the settle- ment of paupers, with which it is very often confounded by those ignorant of the law. We extract the following synopsis of them from Judge Story's Conflict of Laws : 1. The place of birth of a person is considered as his domicil, if it be at the time the domicil of his parents. This is called the domicil of nativity. But if his parents are on a visit or on a journey, the home of the parents will be deemed his domicil. An illegitimate child follows the dom- icil of his mother. 2. The domicil of birth continues until he has acquired a new domicil. 3. A minor is generally deemed incapable of changing his domicil, but if the parent changes his domicil, that of the minor follows if. If the father dies, his last domicil contin- ues that of his minor children. 4. A married woman follows the domicil of her husband. 5. A widow retains the domicil of her deceased husband, until she acquires another. 6. Prima facia, the place where a person lives, is deemed his domicil. 7. Every person of full age having a right to change his domicil. if he removes to another place, with an intention of making it his permanent residence^ that immediately becomes his domicil. 8. If a person removes to another place with an intention of remaining there for an indefinite time, and as a place of present domicil, it becomes his domicil, notwithstanding he may entertain a floating intention to return at some future period. 9- The place where a married man's family resides is gen- erally deemed his domicil, but not if it be a merely tempora- ry establishment. 10. If a married man has his family in one place, and his business in another, the former is deemed his domicil. 11. If a married man has two places of residence at differ- ent times of the year, that will be esteemed his domicil which he himself selects or deems his home, or which appears to be the centre of his affairs, or where he votes or exercises the rights and duties of a citizen. 12. If a man is unmarried, that is generally deemed his domicil where he transacts his business, exercises his pro- 106 fession or assumes the privileges or duties of a citizen. But this rule is subject to qualification. 13. Residence, to produce a change of domicil, must be voluntary, not by imprisonment, &c. 14. Mere intention to remove without the fact of removal, will not change the domicil ; nor will the fact of removal without intention. They must go together. 15. A domicil once acquired, remains until a new one is acquired. In the application of these rules, difficulties will often arise, especially in the case of young men without families. To constitute a change of residence there must be a removal to a place with the intention of remaining there. The fact of removal is easily proved, but it is often very difficult to ascertain the intention of the party, whether he intends to make a place his home or only a temporary residence. In these cases we may infer the intention from the facts, if there are any facts in proof, or from declarations of the party made without a view to aff'ect the case on trial. For want of other proof it is the practice of many boards of canvassers to admit the party himself on oath to declare what his inten- tion was, and with proper caution there can be no objection to admitting it. In many cases no other evidence can be obtained. APPENDIX NO. 10. Importance of directing attention to the Arts of Design, as a means of improving Public Taste, furnishing Employment to People, and increasing National Wealth. Extract from Professor Mapes' Address before the Rhode Island Agricultural Society, Sept. 1853. " Your Society is among the first of its kind that have at- tempted to nurture the Arts of Design ; some estimate of the importance of which may be gathered from the history of France. Napoleon established common schools for the Arts of Design throughout France ; indeed, he rendered it a le- gitimate branch of education in all the common schools, and the result has been, that France has placed the world under contribution for her designs. We have only to refer to the Gobelin tapestry, the Sevres China, to be convinced of the truthfulness of this result. The public galleries of France, filled with the finest specimens of the antique, were open to her people, and thousands of apprenticed boys might have been seen drawing from those rare figures, and imbuing their minds with the line of beauty. You all doubtless know that the letter S is an approximation to this line — the great- est departure from a straight line, — and when the eye once becomes imbued with the beauty of this figure, it seems im- possible for it to rid itself of this unobserved education. A sign-painter who can freely form a graceful letter S, may change his profession, and in whichever of the mechanic arts he may afterwards labor, the grace and beauty of that line will pervade his designs. The tin-plate workers of France have supplied the silver- plate workers of England with their patterns. Look at your own parlors, and you will find every girandole, candelebrum, carpet pattern, or fanciful piece of furnitue, is either of French design, or directly deduced from it. French calicoes and laces are sold in both the English and American markets at double the price of our own of the same quality of fabric, 108 simply from their superiority of design. By what means^ was France enabled to war with half Europe, without crea- ting a heavy national debt, and this too without colonial in- come ? Look to her Arts of Design, and the question will be answered. A pound of American cotton, worth 8 or 10' cents, is returned to us in the form of French lace, at a value of many hundreds of dollars, and this value is chiefly due to its design. Even in the year 1756, when the operations of the Bank of England, and the new coinage of both England and France, called in the bullion, England had but nineteen millions of pounds sterling, while France had ninety-four miUions. You need no better proof of the extra value added to the raw material, by the application of the Arts of Design than by examining the jewelry in your own exhibition ; for we have begun to render ourselves independent of the French in this respect — much more, however, remains to be done. Perhaps no product of the mechanic arts has been more benefitted by the Arts of Design than cast iron stoves. A few years since, they were square and unsightly boxes, pre- senting less than half the amount of surface for radiation of heat, in the same space, than with those now in use. The beauty of the Berlin castings has excited our stove makers to improve, and now many of their products are beautiful objects, embracing the finest class of design. But fifty years ago, and the China manufacture of Eng- land was an exact copy of that of the Chinese. Grotesque figures of mandarins, and pagodas, represented in cobalt blue, were the only ornaments to be found on English China un- til the time of Wedgewood. He established a school for the arts of design in his own factory, and many of the academi- cians of the Royal Academy of England, and one of its pres- idents, received their first instruction in Wedge wood's school. I am happy to say, that the New York State College, known as the New York Free Academy, has established a depart- ment for the arts of design, now in charge of Professor Dug- gan, and a few years hence, when the boys now under hisin- struction, shall be divided among the work-shops of New York, they may cease to import, as they now do, more than, a million of dollars worth per annum of French furniture,, simply in consequence of the superiority of its design." 109 Extracts from the report of Thomas A. Tefft to the Rhode Island Agricultural Society, 1853. " An Art Association has been organized, the same that was contemplated last spring, when a petition for the char- ter of such an association was circulated and handed in to the Legislature during the May session, but withdrawn on account of some misunderstanding as to its objects. Thus it will be seen that the first step has been taken : a society has been established on the most liberal basis for the accomplishment of a common good. At the meeting for or- ganization, earnest speeches were made by President Way- land and Zachariah Allen, This we mention to show the sincerity and importance of the movement. And as a com- mittee has been appointed to report upon a plan of action, we shall soon know how far the society will undertake the work that is before them. The constitution that has been adopted by this society seems to indicate a very clear view of its intention. It says, in article 2 : " It shall be the object of this society to establish in the city of Providence, a permanent Art Museum and Oallery of the Arts of Design, by exhibiting works of g.rt obtained by loan, purchase or otherwise, and investing the proceeds of snch exhibitions in works of permanent value and inter- est to the Association. The Association shall also use all other appropriate means for cultivating and promoting the ornamental and useful arts." Thus it seems that this association contemplates a truly noble work, and one that is deserving of earnest co-operation from every source. As a people we are very deficient in art education. We do not possess that pure discriminating taste that imparts to life one of its highest pleasures, and adds so materially to the wealth and dignity of a nation. #***#♦* If we turn to private dwellings we shall not find it at all dfficult to recall the appearance of some one that is overload- ed with jimcracks, is wanting in unity of style, or is not in harmony with the spirit of the place. If you go beyond the threshhold of many costly mansions you find that the same spirit prevails in the ornamentation and furnishing that marks the exterior. The ceiling is loaded with stucco en- richment, or set off with elaborate painting. The pictures are purchased in number and sizes to fit the walls, and the fur- 110 niture throughout is of the richest patterns that can be im- ported ; expense and quantity being considered instead of fitness and beauty of design. And why, let it be asked, has this mushroom style of house decoration been adopted by Americans ? It is wholly at variance with the spirit of our institutions, and it bespeaks a mind that is delighted with the external and meritricious. •yf* -T^ 'Tf TV -7^ •??■ Another important requisite of a highly cultivated taste would be manifested in schools of ornamental art, where work- men would be taught to mingle artistic skill with every kind of oramental workmanship, thus enchancing the value of home manufactures till we should begin to diminish the enormous tax of our importations. It is of no use to manu- facture an article until it is demanded in the market. And no American school of ornamental art will prosper until the present servile taste is succeeded by one sufficiently correct and national, to prefer American productions to foreign, when the former are the best. This we all know is not the case at present, we bow submissively to fashion, and she sends forth her edicts from beyond the sea, France has the mar- ket of the world in all works of taste and fancy, and it has been obtained legitimately. Under all changes of govern- ment, institutions for the promotion of art have been fostered with the greatest care, until it may well be said that the whole wealth and prosperity of France lies in her ornamen- tal art manufactures. The pre-eminence of the French in the great exhibition stimulated the English to a degree of earnestness and activi- ty that will ere long produce the best results. The perma- nent exhibition that will shortly be opened at Sydenham is the second step of real importance in this movement. This gives to creative art the importance that it deserves. It is placed before the people as a great fact of the times. The Dublin Exhibition is also to become a permanent aftair, and the Crystal Palace in New York, a beautiful work in itself, is henceforth to be devoted to the same noble pur- pose, a permanent exhibition or museum of creative art. — This is unquestionably the true place for diffusing art infor- mation. Lectures and papers upon the subject are nearly useless, if they point to no models for illustration. And art museum fails of its purpose, if its visitors are unprovided with a catalogue containing clear discrminating criticism. We sincerely hope the lesson taught us by these indus- trial exhibitions will not be lost, while they show the supe- Ill riority of American skill, in every thing that it has under- taken, they most clearly point to a startling fact that is ex- plained in the increasing amount of our importations. Foreign arts and manufactures flood our markets to the detriment of our own enterprising mechanics, who have had no chance to obtain an art education. Our workmen have not been taught the principles of design, the very first mo- tive and genius of all the arts, and while this continues, we must remain in our dependence upon the old world, and be satisfied with the frippery and inappropriate art-work that is offered us. We believe this work of industrial education has been commenced in this country, and when it is once earnestly undertaken as an enterprise, we may count upon the best results. It should be urged forward by every capitalist, by every educator, and by every American. Every teacher should be able to draw out artistic talent in the common schools, and the State, or some institution, should offer schools of ornamental art to those that evince decided taste and genius, where there could be obtained a complete educa- tion in every department of ornamental and useful art First of all, however, we should have, in every city, museums of art, including every article of taste or skill, with critical catalogues, with papers and lectures upon the impor- tance and advantages of this kind of culture, and thus ele- vate the public taste and add another means of enjoy menf and usefulness to our education. For the Committee, T. A. TEFFT. LETTER FROM THOMAS A. TEFFT, ESQ. To Hon. E. R. Potter, Com. of Public Schools of R. Island. Dear Sir, — Agreeably to your request, I send you the following in reference to the Rhode Island Art Association. The organization of this society took place the Sth of Dec., 1853, when the following persons were elected officers : President — William W. Hoppin, Providence. Vice Presidents — Geo. H. Calvert, Newport; Wm. S. Patten, Philip Allen, Jr., Providence. Secretary — Isaac Proud, Providence. Treasurer — G. H. Whitney, Providence. Directors — Thos. P. Shepard, Thos. P. Hoppin, John Gorham, Providence ; Rouse Babcock. Westerly; Wm. Binney, Providence : George C. Mason, Newport; Walter Manton, Providence; Andrew Robeson, Newport ; Albert G. Greene, T. A. TefTt, E. W. Howard, J . S. Pitman, Thos. A. Doyle, Providence. This association has been established for the especial purpose of 112 promoting ait in Rhode Island — a branch of education hitherto much neglected — although it is of growing importance, whether viewed in the light of an intellectual accomplishment, or a field of delightful and remunerative enterprise. The plan of action that has been adopted by the association is as follows : First — To hold an annual exhibition of borrowed pictures and other works, illustrative of the various departments of art, during the first part of September. Second — To open a permanent Art Museum as soon as practicable, which shall include every branch of ornamental and useful art. This exhibition to be kept up at all times upon the most liberal terms, and made as instructive and beneficial to the public as possible, by means of descriptive and critical catalogues. Third — To establish a school of design where every department of art would be taught unnder the best advantages. The collections of the Art Museum being made with reference to this object. Fourth — To publish an annual journal, made up of the various re- ports and proceedinjTs of the association, original papers and lectures, and extracts from books and publications which are particularly in- teresting to the Art Student, or intended to reform and elevate pub- lic taste. Fifth — To raise by subscription a fund of fifty thousand dollars for the successful accomplishment of the above objects. This sum is thought necessary to insure to the public an institution that shall stand unrivalled for its usefulness and good, and be a lasting orna- ment to the State. The movement is one that should enlist the zealous co-operation of every educator, statesman, and philanthropist. It has for its ob- ject the diffusion of a more cultivated taste in the ornamental and industrial arts, the immediate effect of which would be to lessen our dependence upon foreign labor, especially in those departments which are most remunerative, and afford to male and female labor in our own State a new field of occupation. This consideration, the open- ing of a new source of employment and profit to the young men, and especially young women of Rhode^Island, is one of the great advan- tages we look to in the prosecution of this plan. A circular based upon the above plan, setting forth more fully the objects, advantages and claims of this association, will soon be issued and extensively circulated. When this has been done, and when the important advantages to be derived from such an institution are fully understood, we hazard little in predicting that its interests will soon be identified with every true Rhode Islander. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, T. A. TEFFT. CATALOGUE OF BOOKS FOR SrIjacI, Wilk^t, or stnall WMt fihxKxm. PREPARED BY E. R. POTTER, COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS OP EHODE ISLAND. PREFATORY REMARKS. In preparing the following list of books, we did not set out with the idea of making a perfect catalogue. Deficient as it is, it has cost us a great deal of labor, more than we would have undertaken if we had anticipated it. We have been much aided by Mr. Bar- nard's list of books for libraries, published in the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, and the catalogue of the Paw- catuck Library, selected by him, Dr. Ryerson's catalogue, Kent's Course of Reading, &c. In regard to the organization of library associations, specimens of articles of agreement, and regulations for drawing books, full infor- mation will be found in the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute, edited by Mr. Barnard. It is important that the society should be a permanent body: it should therefore be a corporation. By the school laws of Rhode Island, provision is made for the voluntary incorporation of such societies. In the case of a small village or neighborhood library, experience shows that after a few years they are apt to be neglected. In such cases it would probably be for the interest of all, to vest the owner- ship in some church, or in the school-district — ^bodies which have regular meetings, and which would not be likely to neglect, entirely, the busincf^s of the library. There are serious objections to libraries being owned by individuals in shares : they are liable to division and dispersion at any time. Even where a library is owned by subscribers, it is a good plan to charge a small sum for the use of the books, .without regard to size : even if only one or two cents per week, it adds to the fund for the increase of the library. In making the first selection of books for a small library, it would be best to purchase a large proportion of standard works : it will be easier to raise more money to purchase lighter works afterward. 2 PREFATORY REMARKS. As to religious books, perhaps when a library is bought by sub- scribers of different sects, it would be a good rule to purchase no work objectionable to any sect. But there can be no objection to having the different religious sects present their sectarian works to such libraries, if they choose to do so ; rather they should be encour- aged to do it, so that the library should afford to the anxious inquirer after truth, an opportunity of examining all sides of religious ques- tions. In making out our list we have included some books of all de- nominations. Knowing that it would be impossible to avoid charges of sectarianism, we did not think it worth while to take very partic- ular pains to do it. "We have rather taken some pains to select a few of the best books of all denominations. A great deal of the value of a library will depend upon a good catalogue. Many books include information on a great variety of subjects, and should be placed under several different heads. A good catalogue should include, under the proper head, everything relating to it, articles in a review, magazines, &c. The catalogue of the Westerly Library, prepared by Rev. Thomas H. Vail, and published in the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, is a model of a good catalogue. A classified index on the plan of that in the last (1853) edition of the catalogue of the Providence Athe- naeum, will be found very useful. For advice as to the best mode of using a library, rules for read- ing and study, one may consult with great advantage the Hints on Reading contained in the preface to the Pawcatuck Catalogue; also Potter's Hand-book for Readers, Kent's Course of Reading, Pye- croft's course of Reading, Diesterwig's Rules for Study, ( Mass. School Journal, vol. 5,) and Journal of Rhode Institute of Instruc- tion, vol. 2, p. 163. Few juvenile religious books would perhaps be necessary in a public library, as those are generally amply supplied by the Sunday- school libraries. Many valuable hints as to selection of books may be derived from H. S. Randall's Report upon Common-School Libra- ries ; but no catalogue or printed suggestions can supersede the ne- cessity of good advice from a person well acquainted with books> their editions and prices. Note. In the catalogue, H. D. L. refers to Harpers' District Library by- numbers; H. Clas. Lib. refers to Harpers' Classical Library; and Mass. Lib. to the library first published by the Massachusetts Board of Education, but now also owned by the Harpers. CATALOGUE OF BOOKS. DICTIONARIES AND BOOKS OF REFERENCE. Penny Cyclopedia. 27 v. (New edi.) Encyclopedia Britannica. (New edi.) Encyclopedia Americana. 14 v. 8vo. Oswald's Etymological Dictionary. Worcester's Dictionary. Webster's Dictionary. 1 vol. 4to. Richardson's Dictionary. 2 vols. 4to. Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. Baldwin's Pronouncing Gazetteer. Crabb's Synonyms. 1 vol. 8vo. $2.00. Harpers. Graham's Synonyms. Appletons. Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Dr. Sears' edi. 1 vol. Smith's Dictionaries of Ancient His- tory, Biography and Mythology. 3 v. Anthon's Greek and Roman Antiqui- ties. 1 vol. 8vo. $4.00. Harpers. Anthon's Classical Dictionary. Harpers. Fisk's Manual of Classical Literature. McCuUoch's Universal Gazetteer. 2 vols. Svo. McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, 2 vols. Svo. Murray's Cyclopedia of Geography. 3 vols. Svo. Hayward's Gazetteer of U. S. Griswold's Cyclopedia of Biography, 3 vols. Harpers. Cyclopedia of History. Chamber's Cyclopedia of English Lit- erature. Chamber's Information for the People. Blaine's Cyclopedia of Rural Sports. Loudon's Cyclopedia of Agriculture. Loudon's Cyclopedia of Gardening. Brande's Cyclop, of Science, Art and Literature. 1 vol. Svo. $4.00. Har. lire's Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. 1 vol. Svo. $.5.50. Appletons. Webster's Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy. 1 vol. $3.75. Harpers. Hooper's Medical Lexicon. 1 vol, Svo. $3:00. Harpers. Poole's Index to the Quarterly Reviews, Magazines, &c, 1 vol. Svo. Norton. Rose's Biographical Dictionary. GOVERNMENT, LAW AND POLITICS. Taylor's NaturalHistory of Society. 2 v. Ferguson on Civil Society. 1 vol. Svo. Wheaton on Law of Nations. (Gov. Lawrence's edi.) Little fy Brown. Gardner's Moral Law of Nations and American Polity. 1 vol, 12mo. Mcintosh's Discourse on Law of Na- ture and Nations. (Miscellanies.) Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws. Burlemaque on Natural and Politic Law. Hallam's Constitutional History of En- gland. 3 vols. Svo. DeLolme on Constitution of England. (McGregor's edi.) 1 vol, Bohn. Guizot's History of Representative Government. 1 vol. Bohn. Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy, Blackstone's Commentaries. 4 vols. $7.00. Harpers. Kent's Commentaries. 4 vols, Svo. Holthouse's Law Dictionary. Bouviere's Law Dictionary. Constitutions of United States and States. Federalist ; by Madison, Jay and Hamilton. Story on Constitution. 1 vol. 60 cts. Mass. School Library, No. 13. BOOKS FOR SCHOOL AND VILLAGE LIBRARIES. Hart's Class Book of United States Constitution. Marshall's Decisions on Constitu. Law. Duer's Constitutional Jurisprudence. H. D. L., No. 232. Hildreth's Theory of Politics. Harpers. Lieber on Civil Liberty and Self Gov't. 2 V. r2mo. Lippincott , Grambo ^ Co. More's Utopia. Lippin., Grambo fy Co. Messages of Presidents. 2 vols. 8vo. DeTocqueville's Democracy in Amer- ica. 2 vols. 8vo. Dumas' Democracy in France The People, by DeLamenais. The People, by Michelet. Cooper's American Democrat. The Citizen of a Republic. Gales and Sea ton's Debates of Congress. Congressional Globe. Mansfield's Legal Rights of Women. Stroud's Slavery Laws. Guy's Medical Jurisprudence. Har. Story's Conflict of Laws. 1 vol. 8vo. Warren's Duties of Attorneys and So- licitors. 18mo. 7.5 cts. Harpers. Public Laws of the State. Reports of the Courts of Law. Greeley's Hints toward Reforms. Har. Jefferson's Manual. Cushing's Manual of Parliamentary Practice. POLITICAL ECONOMY. Smith's Wealth of Nations. $1.25. Say's Political Economy. Mill's Political Economy. 2 vols. Sismondi's Political Economy. Chalmers' Political Economy. Wayland's Political Economy. Potter's Political Economy. H. D. L., No. 124. McCuilagh's Industrial History of Free Nations. Mclntyre's Influence of Aristocracies. Sedgwick's Public and Private Econ- omy. 3 vols. }l. D. L., No. ISO. Carey on Credit System. Carey on Wages. Gouge's History of Banks and Banking. Raguet's Essays on Free Trade. Bastiat's Sophisms of the Protective Policy. Jacob's History of Precious Metals. Lieber on Property and Labor. H. D. L., x\o. 162. McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary. 2 vols. Anderson's History of Commerce. McPherson's Annals of Commerce. Mayhew's London Labor and Poor. Harpers. Book of Commerce. Craik's History of British Commerce. Oomstock's Silver and Gold. 1 v. 12mo. Vaughn's Age of Great Cities. 1 vol, 12mo. Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. DeBow's Magazine. Seaman's Progress of Nations. DeBow's Industrial Resources of the South and West. The Pro-Slavery Argument. Fletcher's Studies in Slavery. Cobden's White Slaves in England Miss Martineau''s Small Books on Cap- ital, Labor, 8fc. 1. Life in the Wilds. 2. Hill and Valley. 3. Brooke and Brooke Farm. 4. Demerara. RELIGION, Kitto's Cyclopedia of Biblical Litera- ture. 2 vols. 8vo. Home's Introduction. Calmet, Robinson's edi. Buck's Theological Dictionary. History of Religious Denominations by members of the same. 1 vol. 8vo. Hayward's Religious Creeds and Sta- tistics. PALESTINE. Robinson's Biblical Researches. Kitto's Land of Promise. Home's Biblical Geography. DeSauley's Bible Lands, a Journey round the Dead Sea and in the Bi- ble Lands. 1850-1. 2 vols. Svo. Lynch's Expedition. Stephens' Incidents of Travel. Hawes' Impressions of the East. Dr. Olin's Travels. 2 v. #'2.50. Har Headley's Sacred Mountains. Lamartine's Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Chateaubriand's do. Burder's Oriental Customs, &c. BOOKS FOR SCHOOL AND VILLAGE LIBRARIES. Davidson's Connection of Sacred and Profane History. 2 vols. Prideaux's Connection of Sacred and Profane History. 2 vols. $3.00. Har. Turner's Sacred History of the World. 3 vols. H. D. L., Nos. 238-240. Gleig's History of the Bible. 2 vols. 80 cts. Harpers "Works of Josephus. Harpers. Milman's History of the Jews. 3 vols. H. D. L. Kitto's History of Palestine. Sears. E-ussel's History of Palestine. H. D. L., No. 25. Wine's Commentaries on the Hebrew Laws. 1 vol. Svo. Wise's History of the Israelitish Nation. D'Israeli's Genius of Judaism. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. Neander's Life of Christ. 1 vol. Svo. $2.00. Harpers. Fleetwood's Lives of Christ and the Apostles. Milman's History of Christianity. 1 vol. Svo. $1.50. Harpers. Neander's History of Christianity, (by Dr. Torrey.) Parterini's General History of the Christian Church. Mosheim's Church History. 2 vols. $3.00. Harpers. Mosheim's Institutes of Ecclesiastical History. 3 vols. $7.50. Harpers. Hind's History of Christianity. Kip's Early Conflicts of Christianity. 1 vol. 12mo. 75 cts. Appletons. Kip's Catacombs of Rome, or the Church above and below ground. 12mo. Redjield. Osgood's Studies in Christian Biog. Bonnechose's Reformers before the Reformation. 50 cts. Harpers. Lives of Apostles and Early Martyrs. 25 cts. Harpers. REFORMATION. Ranke's History of the Popes. 3 vols. Bohn. Ranke's History of the Reformation. Burnet's Hist, of Reformation. 3 v. Svo. D'Aubigne's History of Reformation. Spalding's Review of D'Aubigne, Digby's Ages of Faith. Cobbett's History of the Reformation. Browning's History of the Huguenots. Smedley's Reformation in France. 3 vols. ISmo. $1.40. Harpers. Weis.s' History of French Protestant Refugees. Trans, by Rev. Geo. Foot. 2 vols. 12mo. J. W. Moore. Dyer's Life of Calvin. Audin's Life of Luther. (Catholic.) Audin's Life of Henry VIIL LeBas' Life of Cranmer. 2 vols. ISmo. $1.00. Harpers. LeBas' Life of Wicliflf. 1 vol. 16mo. 50 cts. Harpers. Sewall's History of the Quakers. Barclay's Apology for the Quakers. Barclay's Life of Penn. Barclay's Life of George Fox. Neal's History of the Puritans. Waddington's History of the Church. Benedict's Baptists. Gammel's Baptist Missions. Wayland's Life of Dr. Judson. Choules and Smith's Hist, of Missions. Baird's Religion in America. 1 vol. Svo. 62 cts. Harpers. Southey's Life of Wesley. 2 vols. 12mo. $200. Harpers. Life of Whitfield. Moehler's Symbolism. 1 vol. Svo. Whately's Kingdom of Christ. Maurice's Kingdom of Christ. Noel on Union of Church and State. 12mo. Harpers. Lifeof Channing. 3vols. ]2mo. $1.50. Whately's Errors of Romanism. Hall's Puritans. Coit's Puritans. Maurice on False Religions and their Relations to the True. Sale's Koran. Irving's Life of Mahomet. Bush's Life of Mahomet. Weise's Biblical Legends of the Mus- sulmans. H. D. L., No. 260. NATURAL THEOLOGY, &C. Paley's Natu'l Theology, (with Brough- am and Bell's notes.) H. D. L,, Nos. 6S and 69. Paley's Natural Theology. Mass. Lib., Nos. 2 and 3. Brougham's Natural Theology. Bridgewater Treatises. Chalmers' Bridgewater Treatise. 1 vol. 12mo. 60 cts. Harpers. Wiseman's Connection of Science and Religion. Bowen's Lowell Lectures. 1 vol. Svo. 6 BOOKS FOR SCHOOL AND VILLAGE LIBRARIES. Butler's Analogy. H. D, L. No. 222. Butler's Analogy. 1 vol. 12mo. Har. Hobart's Analysis of Butler's Analogy. 40 cts. Harpers. EVIDENCES, SERMONS AND PRACTICAL RELIGION. Paley's Evidences. H. D. L., No. 216. Spring's Obligations of the World to the Bible. Keith's Demonstrations. Harpers. Faber's Ditiiculties of Infidelity. Nelson on Infidelity. Chalmers' Evidences. Chalmers' Astronomical Discourses. Gambler's Moral Evidence. Shuttleworth's Consistency. 45 cts. Harpers. Reinhard's Plan. Campbell on the Miracles. Leland's View of Deistical Writers. Leland's Short Method with a Deist. Watson's Apology for the Bible. Soame Jenyns' Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. Paley's Horse Paulinse. Whately's Historic Doubts. Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity. Dr. J. P. Smith's Scripture and Ge- ology. Bohn. Rogers' Eclipse of Faith. West's Analysis of the Bible. 1 vol. 8vo. ^.5.00. Scribner. Locke's Common-Place Book of the Bible. Herder's Hebrew Poetry. Lowth's Hebrew Poetry. Kempis' Imitation of Life of Christ. Pascal's Thoughts. Mason's Self-Knowledge. Foster's Essays. Boyle's Reflections. Beveridge's Private Thoughts. Nevin's Thoughts. Cecil's Remains. Pollen's Selections from Fenelon. Wilson's Sacra Privata. Law's Serious Call. Feltham's Resolves. Bp. Butler's Sermons. Doddridge's Rise and Progress. Doddridge's Life of Col. Gardiner. 30 cts. (Methodist Catalogue.) Howe's Living Temple. Banyan's Pilgrim's Progress, (with- out notes.) Bunyan's Holy War. Dr. Dick's Works. 10 vols. #3.00. Biddle. Saurin's Sermons. 2 vols. Svo #3.00. Harpers. Summerfield's Sermons. Svo. $1.75. Harpers. Arnold's Rugby School Sermons. Montague's Selections. Hannah More's Works. 7 vols. $5.25. Harpers. Haze's Mission of the Comforter. Trench on the Miracles. Trench on the Parables. Taylor's Natu'l History of Enthusiasm Taylor's Fanaticism. Archbp. Leighton's Works. 1vol. Svo. Bp. Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying. Robert Hall's Works. $6.00. Harpers. Times of the Saviour, or Traditions of Palestine, by Miss Martineau. Gilfillan's Bards of the Bible. 37 cts. Harpers. Abbott's Young Christian. Abbott's Corner- Stone. Sturm's Reflections. Taylor's Saturday Evening. Venn's Complete Duty of Man. Ware on Formation of Christian Char- acter. Abercrombie's Miscellaneous Essays. 37 cts. Harpers. Upham's Life of Madame Guyon. 2 vols. 12mo. $2.00. Harpers. Upham's Life of Madam Catherine Adorna. r2mo. 60 cts. Harpers. Richmond's Annals of the Poor. 18 mo. 50 cts. (Methodist.) Osgood's Hearth Stone, or Home-Life in the City. Bungener's Preacher and the King. Wayland's Discourses. Wayland's University Sermons. Buckminster's Sermons. Dewey's Discourses on Human Life. Dewey's Moral Views of Commerce. Chapin's Moral Views of Cities. Boardman's Bible in the Counting- House. Headley's Sacred Scenes. Greenwood's Sermons of Consolation. Howitt's History of Priestcraft. Harpers. Taylor's (Bp. Jeremy) Liberty of Prophesying. Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art. Sir Thomas Brown's Urn Burial. Sir Thomas Brown's Religio Medici. Coleridge's Aids to Reflection. Permanent Temperance Documents. Grindrod's Bacchus. Beecher's Lectures on Intemperance Sargent's Temperance Tales. BOOKS FOR SCHOOL AND VILLAGE LIBRARIES. MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY. Henry's History of Intellectual Philos- ophy. 2vols. H. D. L.,Nos. 174,'5. Morell's History of Philosophy. Fenelon's Ancient Philosophers. H. D. L., No. 156. Good's Book of Nature. Locke's Essay on the Understanding. $1.25. Cousin's Psychology. Stewart's Intellectual Philos'y. 2 vols. Upham's Intellectual Philosophy. 2 vols. $2.50. Harpers. Abercronibie on Intellectual Powers. H. D. L., No. 20. Mcintosh's Ethical Dissertations, Watts on the Mind. Bowen's Essays. Hamilton's Discussions, (Introduction by Rev. R. TurnbuU.) 1 vol. 8vo. Harpers. Upham on Disordered Mental Action. H. D. L., No. 113. Spurzheim's Physiognomy. 1 vol. Spurzheiin's Phrenology. Redfield's Comparative Physioa:nomy. 1 vol. Svo. $2.00. Redfield. Combe on Constitution of Man. H. D. L., No. 220. Essays on Formation of Opinions, (by Bailey.) Essays on Truth, Evidence, &c., (by Bailey.) Deleuze's Animal Magnetism. Moore's Use of the Body. H. D. L., No. 265. Moore's Power of Mind over Body. 12mo. 50 cts. H. D. L., No. 270. Townsend's Facts in Mesmerism. 12 mo. 75 cts. Harpers. Cicero's Offices, with Orations, (Sec. 3 vols. 15mo $1.25. Harpers. Seneca's Morals. Antoninus' Meditations. Jouffrey's Introduction to Ethics. 2 vols. 12mo. Edwards on Will. Upham on Will. $1.25. Harpers. Tappan's Review of Edwards. Abercronibie on Moral Feelings. H. D. L., No. 40. Paley's Moral Philos. 60 cts. Harpers. Wayland's Moral Science. Whewell's Elements of Morality. 2 vols. H. D. L., Nos. 246, 247. Dymond's Essays on Morality. Coleridge's Aids to Reflection. Harpers. Sedgwick's Morals of Manners. Lieber's Political Etlii*s. Bacon's Essays and Locke. H. D. L., No. 170. Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. Hedge's Brown's Philosophy. 2 v. Svo. Sydney Smith's Sketches of Moral Phi- losophy. $1.00. Harpers. Boyd's Eclectic Moral Philosophy. 12 tno. 75 cts. Harpers. Wayland's Limitations of Human Re- sponsibility. Apjdetons^ Mrs. Opie's Illustrations of Lying. LOGIC, RHETORIC, COMPOSITION AND ELOCUTION. Bacon's Advancement of Learning. Mills' Logic. 1 vol Svo. $1.50. Har. Whately's Logic. 1 vol. ISmo. 37 cts Watts on the Mind. Baine's Port Royal Logic. 1 vol. 12mo. A. B. Johnson on Language. $1.75. Harpers. Sir John Stoddart's General Grammar. De Sacy's General Grammar. 1 vol. 12mo. Barnard's Polyglott Gram. 1 vol. Svo. Brown's Grammar of Grammars. 1 vol. Svo. Fowler's English Language. $1.50. Harpers. Harrison's English Language. Latham's Hand-Book of English Lan- guage. 1 vol. 12mo. $1.25. Apple. Harris' Hermes. Home Tooke's Diversions of Purley. Chapin on English Sufllxes. 1 vol. Svo. (New Haven.) Crabb's Synonyms. Trench on the Study of Words. 2 vols. Redfield. Cobbett's English Grammar. Whately's Rhetoric. Harpers. Kaimes' Elements of Criticism. $1.00. Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric. $1.25. Harpers. J. Q. Adams' Lectures on Rhetoric. 2 vols. Svo. ' Blair's Lectures. Burke on Sublime and Beautiful. 75 cts. Harpers. Alison on Taste. (Mills' edi.) 12 mo. 75 cts. Harpers. Boyd's Rhetoric. 12ino. 50 cts. Har. 8 BOOKS FOR SCHOOL AND VILLAGE LIBRARIES. Cicero on the Orator. Har. Class. Li- brary, No. 37. Parker's Aids to Composition. Ware's Hints on Extemporaneous Preaching. (_Ripley's edi.) Ostewald on the Composition and De- livery of a Sermon. 1 vol. 18mo. Walker's Rhyming Dictionary. lloget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. 1 vol. Svo- Rush on the Voice. 1 vol. Svo. Sheridan's Lectures on Elocution. Barber's Graiiimar of Elocution. 1 vol. 12mo. Gardner's Music of Nature. 1 vol. Svo. Maury's Principles of Eloquence. IS mo. H. D. L., No. 183. Russel and Murdoch on Orthophony or Vocal Culture. 02 cts. Ticknor. Porter's Analysis of Rhetorical Deliv- ery. 1 vol. 12mo. 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Coleridge's Biographia Literaria. Dickens' Household Words. Walker's Selection of Curious Articles from Gent's Magazine. 4 v. Svo. Miss Mitford's Recollections of her Lit- erary Life. McConnell's Sketches of Western Char- acters. Redfield. Bowriny's Minor Morals. 1 vol. 12mo. Todd's Lectures to Young Children. Bayard Taylor's Views Afoot, &c. Spectacles, their Uses and Abuses, by Sickel. Phillips, Sampson fy Co, Byrne's Lectures to Citizen Soldiers on the Art and Science of War. Donohue, Boston. Jomini's Art of War. Putnam. REPORT UPON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION IN RHODE ISLAND. OCTOBER, A. D. 1854. BY E. R. POTTER, COMMISSIONEK OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE LEGISLATURE. PROVIDENCE: KNOWLES, ANTHONY & CO. STATE PRINTERS. 1855. TABLE or CONTENTS. REPORT ■ 5 Expenditures for Normal School G Board of Education 7,51 Division of the new Appropriation of $15.000 8 The Bible and Prayer in Public Schools 9, 52, 109 APPENDIX. No. 1 — Statistical Tables 33 No. 2 — Acts &c. relating to Schools, &c. passed since June 1851.. .36 No. 3 — Documents relating to the establishment of Normal School. Commmissioners letter to the Governor. Act establishing School. Address of E. R. Potter at opening of School. Circulars. Copy of lease of Normal School rooms 42 No. 4 — Bill to establish a Board of Education 7, 51 No. 5 — Religious Instruction in Public Schools 52 Extracts from various writers showing how the difSculties growing out of this question are obviated in other countries. Prussia and Germany 52 Saxony 63 — Wirtemburg 65 — Austria C5 — Switzerland 6 7 — France 70 Extract from Nicoll 71 — Victor Hugo's Speech 73 — Belgium 75 — Hol- land 76 — Scotland 78, 95 — Ireland 82 — Oppression in Ireland 91 — England 93 — Canada, from Dr. Ryerson's Report 95 — Massachusetts 107. Opinions op writers upon the subject of the Bible and Re- ligion IN Schools 109 Prefatory Remarks by the Commissioner 109 Statement of the Question .... fHarpers'J 110 Extracts from Dr. Cheever on the Bible in School 114 — Address of Thomas S. Grimke 123 — Rosseau on the Bible 145 — Extract from Sav- age's Speech in N. Y. Legislature 146 — President MCafFrey's Lecture 147 — Rev. H. Humphrey's Lecture 150 — Extract from E. R. Potter's ' TABLE OF C0NTP:NTS. Report for 1852 on Importance of moral education and its influence in preventing crime 151 — Address of Thomas II. Burro wes 1C4 — Report of Dr. Van Rensellaer of the Presbyterian Board of Education 166 — E. Schreider's Essay 170 — Speech of Rev. Dr. Bond (MethodistJ 171 — Westminster Review 1 72 — Address of H. Ketclium (Presbyterian) 1 73 Richard Gardner (English^ 173 — John Mills 174 — Walter Fergerson 1/5— Rev. \Y. McKerrow 176— Rev. S. Davidson 176— Rev. F. Tucker 177— Rev. Edward Higginson 178— Mrs. Porter 178— Dr. Bushnell, of Hartford on the modifications demanded by Catholics 179 — Extracts from New Englander (Congregational Quarterly Review) 184 — Dr. Channing 196 — Dr. Siljestrora, a Sweedish traveller 196 — Dr. Chalmers (Scotch Presbyterian) 197— Letter from R. CobdenM. P. to R. Church ,198— W. C. Taylor 199— Dr. Robert Vaughan 199— J. P. NicoU's pref- ace to Wilm's treatise 1 9 9 — Wilm on the education of the people (French treatise) 203 — Opinion of Rev. Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds 204 — West- minster Review 205 — Twelfth Report of Horace Mann, of Massachusetts 205 — Decision on the use of school houses for other purposes than schools 233 — Decision of Gen. John A. Dix, Supt. of New York Schools, on same subject 235 — Extracts from Milton's " Areopagitica ; a Speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing" 236 — Exti'act from Milton on eccle- siastical power in civil causes 246. State of Hl)ok'-lslaiiir antr proolkncc IpiantaticuG. REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS To the Honorable General Assembly : — October Session, A. D. 1854, The subscriber respectfully presents the abstracts of the re- turns of the Public Schools made in May last. Since the last report the following sums have been drawn from the General Treasury for the support of the Deaf and Dumb, viz : April S, 1854, $200, and October 10, 1854, $200. Both payments were to the Hartford Institution. And one order of $100, dated June ]7, 1854, has been drawn in favor of Dr. Brown, of Barre, for the support of idiotic and feeble minded youth — in all .^500. In drawing the money from the public treasury for the Deaf and Dumb, Normal School, &c., which the law made sub- ject to my order, I have adopted the plan of never drawing the money until actually needed, and then making the order in favor of the person who was to receive the money. In this way the money did not come into the hands of the Commis- sioner at all, and he could not be liable to charges of using the money for private purposes, or to favor any friend or bank with which he might be connected. The only exception I have made from this rule has been in relation to the Teachers Institute money. In this case the amount was small, and a great deal of it paid out in small sums, and I have pursued the mode dictated by convenience. 6 NORMAL SCHOOL. The orders on the Treasury for the support of the Normal School have been — Ray Spink for seats, furniture, &c., Ray Spink balance of bill, George H. Whitney for books, &c., One quarter's rent, _ „ _ Rev. T. D. Cook, paid for furniture, D. P. Colburn, principal, quarter salary, Arthur Sumner, assistant, " " E. R. Potter, for expenses paid out, Knowles & Anthony, for printing, adver- tising, &c., _ - - _ D. P. Colburn, two months salary, A. Sumner, " " " D. P. Colburn, for money paid out, One quarter's rent, _ _ _ . Elisha S. Winsor, bill, _ - - George H. Whitney, bill, E. R. Potter, for money paid out, &c., D. P. Colburn, - - - - ' A. Sumner, $1,762 81 As soon as the act was passed establishing a State Normal School for the training of teachers, the Commissioner proceed- ed immediately to carry it into effect. Dana P. Colburn, for- merly of the Bridgewater Normal School, was appointed Prin- cipal, at a salary of $1200, and Arthur Sumner, from the Lancaster Normal School, Assistant, at a salary of $750. Large and convenient rooms were hired in the building of the Second Universalist Society in Broad street. Providence, upon a lease, a copy of which is herewith submitted. The school was opened on the 29th day of May, 1854, in presence of his Excellency Gov. Hoppin, Avho delivered an address upon the occasion. The Commissioner of Public Schools also delivered an address. The teachers are men well known and of high reputation, and there can be no doubt but that the school will flourish un- der their care. An arrangement has just been completed, by which Professor Greene, late Professor of Didactics in Brown University, and 1854 , June 10. July. June 24. July 15. u 29. a 29. a 29. a 31. Sept. 16. Sept. 30. u 30. (( 30. Oct. 6. ii 30. li 30. (C 30. ii 30. li 30. $150 00 113 76 82 85 187 50 15 00 300 00 187 25 31 63 22 00 200 00 125 00 21 00 187 50 5 19 20 50 13 63 50 00 50 00 7 now Superintendent of the city schools of Providence, with the assent of the City Council School Committee, will devote a portion of his time to instruction in the school. All who know Professor Greene will consider this a most valuable ac- quisition. BOARD OF EDUCATION. The want of some plan for concentrating the efforts and exertions of those who would be disposed to take an active part in promoting the cause of education, has long been felt. It is respectfully suggested that this result might be obtained by establishing a Board of Education, to consist of the princi- pal State officers, and other zealous friends of our public school system, to be appointed by the Governor. Such a Board would be capable of exerting a great influence. If they served without compensation, no one would desire the office except from motives for the public good. It is believed there are many individuals who would be glad to devote a portion of their time to the public service in this way, and with no other reward than the consciousness of doing all in their power to promote a good cause. I herewith submit a bill for this purpose. THE NEW APPROPRIATION. The appropriation made by the act of January last, has been apportioned to the ssveral towns as follows : — Towns. Districts. Providence, 22 North Providence, 10 Smithfield, 35 Cumberland, 20 Scituate, 18 Cranston, 11 Johnston, 13 Glocester, 15 Foster, 19 Burrillville, 16 Newport, 5 Portsmouth, 7 ' Middle town, 5 Tiverton, 1 7 Little Compton, 10 New Shoreham, 5 Jamestown, 2 South Kingstown, 21 Westerly, 12 North Kingstown, 15 Exetei', 12 Charlestown, 7 Hopkinton, 12 Richmond, 1 3 Warwick, 15 Coventry, 18 East Greenwich, 5 West Greenwich, 12 Bristol, 4 Warren, 3 Barrington, 3 Beinsi S39 2G to a district. Amount. $863 72 392 60 1,374 10 785 20 706 68 431 86 510 38 588 90 745 94 628 16 196 30 274 82 196 30 667 42 392 GO 196 30 78 52 824 46 471 12 588 90 471 12 274 82 471 12 510 38 588 90 706 68 196 30 471 12 157 04 117 78 117 78 382 $14,997 32 NOTE. SmiHiJield. — The districts are numbered to 3G, but there is no number 30. Glorcster — 15 districts. — The 3d, 4tli and 5th at Chci)ixchet, are united,for secondary school, butnotconsoli(hitcd. No. 14 is a joint district with part of Foster. North Kingstown — 15 districts. — Nos. 3 and 4 united. Exeter. — The districts are numbered to 13, but there is no number 3 ; part of No. 1 is joined to the whole of No. 12, Hopkinton; parts of 3 and 4 are joined to No. 13, Richmond. CharJestown — 7 districts. — A part of No. 5 malces a joint district at Carolina Mills. Birhmond — 13 districts.^No. 4 joined with No. 17, South Kin^'stown; No. 13 join- ed with parts of 3 and 4, Exeter; Joint districts also at Carolina Mills and Brand's Iron "Works. Hopkinton— 12 districts.— No. 12 joined with part of No. 1, Exeter. A joint dis- trict also at Brand's Iron Works. Cumherland—20 districts— Nos. 1, 2, 19, and 20, united atWoonsocket. Wcsterty— 12 districts.— 1 and 2 united at Westerly. Tiverton — 17 districts. — One more has been added since the appropriation was made. 9 THE BIBLE AND PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. For two years past the question of the connection of re- ligion with our public schools has arisen in various shapes, and the Commissioner has been cahed upon to express his opinion as to the legal rights of the respective parties. In 1852, he was called upon to give an opinion in a case which arose in Cumberland in regard to praying in school. In March, 1853, he decided on appeal a case which arose in North Kingstown, and which incidentally involved the ques- tion of holding religious meetings in a school house. The opinion in this case was approved by the Judges of the Supreme Court. Both these opinions are published in the report made January, 1853. The last year, being again called upon, he addressed the fol- lowing letter to a friend upon the subject of the use of the Bible in school. Office of Commissioner of Public Schools, ) Providence, Aug. 2, 1854. 5 T)ear Sir, — You enquire whether a teacher has a right to open a public school by reading of the Scriptures, if objected to. These questions relating to religious exercises in public schools cause a great deal of agitation, and yet it seems to me that the principles on which they should be decided are per- fectly plain. I have already had occasion to refer to these in a decision made in a case in Cumberland, which is published in the annual school report for 1853, and the reports for 1853 and 1854 contain the opinions of various writers and speakers upon the subject, collected together. I know of no sounder rule of law, of no higher law, which can be applied to the case you mention, than this : " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them." — Matt. 7: 12. It is well known (or ought to be) that there are two princi- pal English versions of the Bible, King James', or the common version used by Protestants, and the Douay, used by the Cath- olics. Now, if a Protestant, living in a district where the Roman Catholics had a majority of voters and appointed the trustees and the teachers, would not wish to have his children com- pelled to listen to the Douay version, for the same reasons a Catholic would not like to have his children compelled to listen to the Protestant version, and no Protestant should for a mo- ment think of compelling them to do so. 10 And it amounts to compulsion, of course, if it is made a regular school exercise and all are required to listen to it. But the view I have taken applies only to this case, i. e., where it is made a regular exercise, and all are required to take part in it or to listen to it. If a particular class only is required to read in the Bible, while other scholars are pursuing their own studies, no one not a member of the class has a right to object to it, more than he has to any other reading book being used by a class of which he is not a member. I have thus far referred only to the case of Catholics and Protestants, but the same rule, of course, would govern in case of any person who had conscientious objections. The power to regulate the books and exercises of the school is entirely in the hands of the school committees. No parent sending to the school has a right to interfere with it, from mere whim or caprice, for this would be to have no system at all. But this power is to be construed subject to the great con- stitutional provision for freedom of conscience. Any person, therefore, has a right to object in such cases from conscientious motives, and from those only. Our school system is a part of the machinery of the State, supported by the funds of the State ; and no one has a right to use it as a means to enforce upon others his own religious views. Very respectfully, yours, E. R. POTTER. John B. Tallman, Esq. As the principles upon which this opinion depends, have been misunderstood by many, and misrepresented by others, it may be well, perhaps, to enter into a brief consideration of the whole subject. To consider it properly, it is necessary to look at it in all its different phases, and from all sides of the ques- tion. Of the importance of moral instruction, and of the various modes in which it may be given without sectarian peculiarity, I have given my views in full in the report for 1853. Of the use of the Bible in schools the following opinion was expressed by me nine years ago in the notes to the school laws then published. " In regard to the use of the Bible in schools, two observations occur here. If the committee pre- scribe, or the teacher wishes to have the Bible read in school, it should not be forced upon any children whose parents have 11 any objections whatever to its use. In most cases the teacher will hav^e no difficulty with the parents on this subject, if he conducts with proper kindness and courtesy. In the next place, no scholars should be set to read in the Bible at school, until they have learned to read with fluency. To use it as a text book for the younger scholars, often has the effect of lead- ing them to look upon it with the same sort of careless disre- gard and sometimes dislike, with which they regard their other school books, instead of that respect and veneration with which this Book of books should always be treated and spoken of." As to the importance of moral and religions instruction, I presume we pretty generally agree ; but it should be recollect- ed that the present discussion is not about its importance, but about the legal and constitutional rights of parties, how far such instruction can be given in a public school, established by law, and supported by general taxation. The question is in fact, have we a right to use the civil law (for the school is an institution established by the civil law,) to inculcate our religious doctrines ? And it seems to me that the rule 1 have attempted lo lay down is the only one on which moral and religious instruction can be given in our public schools, consistently with a due re- gard for the consciences and constitutional rights of individ- uals, viz : that the teacher has no right to pray or read the Bible himself in school, if any one objects; but that an^^ class in school may read the Bible, and that no child not in the class has any right to object to their reading it, any more than he has a right to object to their reading from any other school book, provided he himself is allowed to be about his studies, and is not required to listen to it. This plan does not exclude the Bible from school, and it seems to me the only way in which we should wish to retain it, if v/e believe in voluntary, instead of compulsory religion. In the first place, if a teacher manages with discretion, ob- jection would seldom be made to his reading it himself ; and if objection be made, he can put those whose parents do not object to it in a class by themselves ; and then no other person would have a legal right to object to their reading in it, if not required to join in it or hear it himself. If the parents of any child in the Bible class objected to his using it, all the teacher would have to do, would be to excuse that child from the class, but the others would continue to read it. I believe I entertain as high veneration for the Bible as ma- ny of those who have differed from me on this question. 12 Without it I should consider our civil and religious liberties deprived of their main support. Bat I believe that religion is to be spread by persuasion and example, and the blessing of God upon these means, and not by forcing it upon others. Having thus given what I consider to be the only safe and practicable rule, the only one which does justice to the con- sciences of all, let us for a short space consider whether this is not the only rul« which can be supported upon constitution- al and legal principles, unless we are prepared to change our fundamental laws and to establish religion by law. In the first place, let us recollect that we are tallying not about private but about public schools, and we should consider that there is a material difference between a public and a pri- vate school. In a private school tiie teacher has the sole con- trol. The parents know his terms, and if the}' do not like his conduct, can withdraw their children. So also a school established by a church or any number of persons, at their own expense. But to a public school, every man has a right to send, and neither school officers nor teachers have a right to make any conditions which the law does not make. The school is supported, and the house built, by money collected by force of law from people of all religions, and from people of no religion. In this discussion I assume as a settled principle, that no portion of the people have a right to impose their worship on any other portion of the people, or upon any single individual, and cannot compel him to attend upon it, to hear it, or to sup- port it, by tax or in any other way whatevar. With those who dispute this principle, I have no disposition whatever to argue. It lies at the very foundation of Rhode Island institutions, formed a part of our ancient Declaration of Rights, and is embodied substantially in our present Con- stitution. Our ancestors were in advance of their age when they established it, and other States and nations have been slowly coming up to our standard. And a great change must have taken place in Rhode Island if any thing inconsistent with this fundamental principle can now be allowed here. In regard to prayer in a public school, if sectarianism is to be excluded from our Schools, the question then arises, can prayer be made to express the sectarian peculiarities of the person who makes the prayer? But one answer, an affirma- tive one, can be given to this question. It is the right and duty of every person to pray at the times and in the mode approved by his own conscience. But it 13 seems equally plain that one person has no right to compel another to hear his ])rayers, if they are not agreeable to him. And it would amount to compulsion, if prayer is made a regu- lar exercise of the school, and a pupil cannot come to the school without hearing it or violating the regulations of the school. Prayer may be a very proper and useful exercise in school, and yet government have no right to enforce attendance on it. And in regard to the Bible, we should recollect that there are many different versions. There is a Unitarian, there is to be a Baptist version : there is a Roman Catholic version. But It is suggested by many, that tlie teacher may pray and read the Bible in school, and that those who object to it should be permitted to leave the room while the exercises proceed. This also seems to me totally inconsistent with the princi- ples of religious liberty established by our forefathers, and by our constitution. The school and the school room are the common right and property of all, and no scholar should be obliged to leave it for any such purpose. The teacher is practically chosen by the majority of the dis- trict, for they choose the trustees, and the trustees choose the teacher. Now if a majority of a district or a teacher have a right to have religious exercises in a public scliool-house, and to require those who do not like it to leave, then has our Legis- lature, by its school law, authorized a majority of a district to support religious exercises, and to tax the minority for it. Once admit the right to have religious exercises in school without general consent, and who is to regulate the manner or the length of the exercises? In the last resort the Legislature must do It, and then Church and State would be united. An Episcopalian teacher might conscientiously think it his duty to read the whole morning and evening services of his church. A Catholic the same. A Unitarian might feel it his duty to read the new testament to his scholars from the Uni- tarian improved version, or a Catholic from the Douay version. And religion would in reality be supported by taxation. There are some districts in the State now, where the Roman Catholics have the majority, or nearly so, of the voters. Such a princi|)Ie would allow them to force their worship upon the Protestant minority, and to use for Catholic worship a building erected by the taxes of Protestants. And it may be well also, to consider whether if we make this a matter to be contested and regulated by majorities, the Bible might not in some places be prohibited altogether. 14 I hold that while we have the power, we should establish principles upon this subject hij which tve should be willins; to be governed ourselves if we were out of poiver. We sbould endeavor to lay down rules for districts where Protestants have the majority", by which we should be willing to abide if we lived in a district where Catholics had a majority ; rules for which we could honestly contend if oppressed, without the danger of having the Catholics turn round upon us and defend their intolerance by the example we had set before them. It seems to me therefore, the only safe way is to leave this matter to voluntary arrangement between the teacher and pa- rents and school officers. Religious exercises, if conducted in a really Christian spirit, would seldom be objected to. The Lord's Prayer, or one similar in substance, would probably never be objectd to. If a teacher goes beyond this, and en- deavors to impress upon his schrlars his peculiar denomination- al notions, the parent should have a right to put a stop to it. And if a teacher knows that a parent has this right, he will be more likely to try to avoid all occasion for objection. If a teacher feels it his duty before entering on his school exercises to ask for God's blessing on his exertions and for his aid and encouragemcnl in his work, this purpose may perhaps be answered more effectually by silent prayer, than by those public prayers, with which the unchristian motives of ostenta- tion and vanity will sometimes mingle, in spite of our best endeavors. The question in regard to religion in public schools has been agitated in many of the States of our Union. Thinking that it would probably soon be agitated here, I collected and pub- lished in the appendices to the two last School Reports — 18-53 and 1854 — the opinions of some of the most distinguished men of this and foreign countries, both for and against relig- ious education in schools, and to these I would refer those who wish for full information on this subject. The rule laid down in the laws of tlie State of Massachu- setts, while it ponits out and inculcates the duty of the teacher to give moral instruction, is carefully drawn to avoid giving counttmance to any attempt to impart sectarian instruction. "It shall be the duty of the teachers to use their best en- deavors to jmpress upon the minds of the youth commiued to their care and instruction, the principles of piety, justice and a sacred regard to truth, love to their country, humanity and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, chastity, moderation, temperance and those other virtues which are the 15 ornament of human society and the basis npon which a repub- lican constitution is founded ; and they shall endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities will allow, into a clear undei standing of the tendency of these virtues to preserve and perfect a republican constitution and secure the blessings of liberty, as well as to promote their own happiness; and also to point out to them the evil tendencj^ of the ojiposite vices." As these principles could not be expressed in better lati- guage, it has been copied word for word into the General Reg- ulations of Upper Canada. Many of our towns have incor- porated it in substance in their school regulations. In the old world also, this question has been long agitated and most ably argued. In our mother country England, the principal obstacle to establishing any system of public educa- tion is that religious sects cannot agree who shall control them. And so while sects quarrel, the children remain in stupid ig- norance. "Could Bossuet rise from his grave, how would he chuckle at this Engh'sh aspect of Protestantism, broken up into denom- inational portions incapable of co-operating in one grand scheme of national education ! Could he have foreseen what we see, with what scornful triumph would he not have predicted it as an extravagant issue of the new faith, and how indignantly would that faith have repudiated the monstrous imputation of so monstrous an issue? Why, see the absurdity of our posi- tion. It is the case of a number of rival beauties — or, in their own estimation, beauties, desirous to fascinate a powerful blind man, each confident of the infinite superiority of her charms, and each looking with proud contempt on her competitor. — 'Give the blind man sight,' you would expect them to say, 'and let him decide between us.' Not so our denominational rivals. Before they will allow him to be couched, each insists on impressing his mind with a clear appreciation of her partic- ular style of beauty, to the exclusion of every other. They are all anxious, they say, that he should see, but then all desire he should see with a foregone conclusion. They are very ar- rogant, all of them, about their charms, and yet each seems afraid to submit these charms to the free vision and unbiassed judgment of this blind Paris. There is a most sus[)icious struggle who it is that should superintend the couchmg, who should find the operator, who should first impress her form on the opening eye. Meanwhile, the strong man continues blind. Not harmless because he is blind, but the reverse. Now mis- 16 chievously exerting his massive energy as he would not have exerted it, could he have seen, and yet half pleased with the mischance as a retribution on those who will not cause him to see, instinctively feeling that he ouglit to see, and growing more and more disgusted with those selfish competitors, who for their own ends deprive hinn of the gift and privilege of sight." — ^Extract from Richard Church's letter to R. Cobden, Esq., 1852.] When we consider that the agitation of this question in the old world has been the chief obstacle to general popular edu- cation and how much trouble and opposition to school systems it has caused in some of our own States, we should be very cautions as to encountering the same dangers here. We should cordially unite in endeavoring to establish a platform upon which all can freely support our laws, with the full knowledge that no attempt will or can be made to influence the religious opinions of the children they send to the public schools. Even if we could not unite for any purpose beyond secular instruction and that of the most elementary character, better unite for that only than have no schools at all. The public school is in fact but a small part of a child's education. The influences of home are the all important and guiding influences which generally decide his career. The influences of compan- ions, of the public opinion (so to speak) of his little circle, and as he grows up the influences of the piess, and of the public institutions of his country all conjoin to mould his character. And when we endeavor to influence the child through re- ligious instruction in schools, are we not putting forth our ef- forts in the wrong direction, even to effect the very purpose we have in view? Ought not these exertions to be directed to their parents and their homes ? If all is right there, there is but little fear for the child, and if all is not right there, religious instruction in school can do but little. If religious instruction were to be given in schools there is a serious doubt whether it would be of a character to efl"ect the end proposed. "It is not, of course, religious instruction for a child to be drilled, year upon year, in spelling out the words of the Bible, as a reading book — it may be only an exercise that answers the problem how to dull the mind most effectually to all sense of the Scripture words, and communicate least of their mean- ing. Nay, if the Scriptures were entirely exch.ded from the schools, and all formal teaching of religious doctrine, I would yet undertake, if I could have my liberty as a teacher, to com- n mnnicate more of real Christian truth to a Catholic and a Protestant boy, seated side by side, in the regulation of their treatment of each other, as related in terms of justice and chantv, and their government as members of the school com- munity, (where truth, order, industry and obedience are duties laid upon the conscience, under God,j than they will ever draw from any catechism, or have worn into their brain by dull and stammering exercise of a Scripture reading lesson." — Extract from Dr. BushnelV s Discourse, 1853. " The day-school is, indeed, a powerful auxiliary to religion, in the way of preparation. It teaches elementary knowledge, and gives the power of studying the Bible and other religious books. It disciplines the intellectual faculties. It disciplines the will, and the moral feelings. By a proper government, it teaches and necesitates subordination to superiors, subjugation of self-will and self-indulgence, regard for truth, control of temper, industrious, patient andj persevering application, and that reverence for the Deity and sacred^ things, and those uni- versal principles of morals, in which all agree. In a word, the daily discipline of a school, and the incidental moral teaching it implies, work right principles into the minds of the pupils, and that in the permanent form of habits. So that the day- school is an important preparative and aid, to religions teaching. But its direct religious or doctrinal instruction, when attempt- ed, is of very little value, if it is not, as we think it is on the whole, worse than nothing. Of course there are manifest and decided exceptions, — in the case of teachers of peculiar piety, and competency for religious instruction. But this does not invalidate the general truth; which is attested by enlightened observation — the observation of those acquainted with private schools in which religious instruction is attempted, (for as we have said, there has been almost none in our ])ublic schools,) and by the observation of those who have been familiar with the national schools of Great Britain, where somewhat thorough religious teaching is required. Some testimony of this latter kind we will adduce. " The Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel, whom our readers know as an able and evangelical clergyman of the church of England, in a report, which, as an inspector of schools, he ad- dressed to the Committee of Council on Education, after having spent two months in visiting 195 schools, writes thus — we have room for only a short extract — ' But it was in their understand- ing of the Scriptures, daily read, that I regretted to find the most advanced children of the national schools so extremely 18 defective. Not only were they often ignorant of the principal facts recorded in the Bible, bnt they conld not answer even the simplest questions upon the chapters which they had most re- cently read. Nor was their religious ignorance lessened by their knowledge of the catechism. I several times examined the first class upon a portion of the catechism, and I never once found them to comprehend it. * * * Both in reading the scrip- tures to the monitors, and in repeating the catechism, the chil- dren showed a marked inattention and weariness, occasionally varied, when the master's eye was not on them, by tokens of roguish merriment. * * * Being thus made the medium through which reading and spelling are taught, it (the Bible) becomes associated in their minds with all the rebukes and punishments to which bad reading, or false spelling, or inattention in class exposes them ; and it is ivell if bein^ thus used for purposes tievfir desif^ned, it do not become permauently the symbol of all that is irksome and repulsive.'' '' Equally decisive, and more directly to the confirmation of our position, is the testimony of Dr. Vaughn. — ' For our own part, we have always entertained a very low opinion of the religious instruction given in day-schools, and of the re- ligious impression produced by it. We have thought that a fuss has been made about it wonderfully greater than the thing itself would justify. It has reminded us too much of our Ox- ford religionists, who would pass for being very pious because prayers are read in the college chapel every morning. We ad- mit most readily, that the training of a good day-school may prepare a young mind for receiving religious lessons with ad- vantage from the lips of a parent, a Sunday school teacher, or a minister; but the man must have been a sorry observer of day-schools, who can regard the religious instruction obtained there as being, while existing alone, of any great value.'* "' But while I believe many pious persons are most honest in their demands on this point, and while I admit that many teachers in daily schools do their best to give a religious cast to their instructions, I am still obliged to repeat, that I have a very humble opinion of the direct religious instruction which is given in day-schools, or that can ever be given in such in- stitutions. Nor do I speak without experience on this subject. I have served more than one apprenticeship in the superintend- ence of schools on the British system, and the great benefit of such schools, I have always found to consist, not in any direct religious impression produced by them, but in their adaption *The British Quarterly Review, Vol. IV, p. 271. 19 to prepare the young for receiving religious instruction with advantage elsewhere." — [Neiv Englander, for 1848.] "Prison Inspectors report that among the juvenile delin- quents at Parkhurst and other prisons, there are lads of fifteen a dozen times committed for as many different offences, as well versed in the catechism and Lyturgy as any member of the bench of Bishops." — [Westminster Review, July, 1851.] " As Protestants, indeed, we are bound to assert, in the face of ' Papists,' that religion is a matter of private judgment and that each man. on his own responsibility, must choose his own. But, as educators, we are bound to render such a dangerous practice impossible. We must catch the child as soon as he can learn — we must get him into a day-schdol, where he shall be swathed in formulas, catechisms and prayers — we must carefully see that he never gets his secular knowledge pure — we must mix up dogmatic religion with his spelling, his read- ing, his arithmetic and his geography; we must make him accept our views of religious truth as true, and look upon every one else as false. When we have done this during the most plastic period of his life, when we have given him a bias from which we think it will be difficult for him to recover, drilled into him impressions we have taught him to venerate, carefully excluded from him all reasoning or testimonj'' adverse to our own, cramped him in his secular acquirements, and completely indisposed him to freedom of inquiry, — we can then safely, and without a blush, send him into the world as a valuable il- lustration of Protestant liberty, and an eloquent witness of the glorious privilege of private judgment. Whether, on the Prot- estant principle, honestly interpreted, such second-hand, birch- rod religion can secure him a place in heaven, may be a doubt, but that is his affair. It is calculated that it will induce him to take a seat in church, and that is the educator's affair." — [Westminster Review, for 1853.] In order to carry out their idea of religious education in public schools, some have proposed a division of the public money to the different denominations. The State would then act merely as the tax collector, atid the denominations support their own schools. 3ut here difficulties at once arise. Ought each denomination to receive only what was raised from the tax upon their own members. If this is all, why should the State interfere at all ? or should each denomination receive not in proportion to what it paid, but in proportion to its num- bers? This would be manifestly unjust as one sect would be taxed to support the religion of another sect. And how should 20 the census be taken ? should it include all the nominal, or only the real adheients of each sect ? Justice would require too that if the denominations had their part of the money, those of no religion at all should have their portion too. And the end would be that a large portion of the children would go uneducated. The mistake is in supposing that a school, if it is not a re- ligious school, must necessarily be an irreligious or godless school. So far from this being the case, even if the school is merely secular, its whole influence would be favorable to re- ligion, from the habits which would be formed in it without any direct religious instruction. If any religious book can be read by the teacher in school or any religious exercise introduced upon any other ground than the one I have recommended, then some body or other, the teacher, the district, the school committee or town or the Legislature has of course the right to prescribe the length and form of these exercises. If the Legislature regulates them, then we have a religion established by the State or the majority for the time being. If the School Committee regulates them, then we have religious exercises established by the majority of a town, for this majority elects the school committee. Or the majority of the district may regulate them, and if the teacher regulates it himself, the majority of the district do in fact control it, as they choose the Trustees, they the teacher. Once have it understood that these officers have a right to control the religion of the schools, and their election becomes at once a struggle for sectarian predominance. We are apt to be misled in our views of this question, from the fact that in our own State, a very great majority of the peo- ple agree substantially in their religious views, and it seems strange to us, that a few, a small minority should have any right to oppose the religious views of a large majority. We forget for the moment that in matters of religious faith, num- bers cannot add to the right. They may resort to force indeed. If all were on one side but one single individual, that single man would have the same right in matters of conscience as the majority. Our Constitution and laws are nothing worth, if they cannot protect the religious rights of the meanest and weakest individual, be he Catholic, Jew, Mahometan, Chinese or Pagan. If any one single denomination should demand to have its peculiar worship introduced into the schools, all the other de- 21 nominations, as well as those who do not helong to any denom- ination, would join together in opposing and condemning it. But if five or six denominations who happen to agree as to some things they consider essentiid, should uniie in endeavor- ing to have these introduced in the schools, would the nnni- her of denominations who might joni in it, make that right in them which was wrong when attempted hy one denomiuaiioii only? The minority woidd still have their right. The desire to enforce our own views of right is a most nat- ural one: we have satisfied oinselves that a certain course or a certain doctrine is right — is it not right then that we should enforce the riuht cause hy all the means in our power? must we yield to other people's consciences — have we not consciences of our own? This is the natural logic of the midisciplined mind, and it requires a cool and comprehensive view of the suhject in its variinis lights, to see the defects of this reasoning. It is the foundation of all persecuiion ; it has filled the world with misery, and made the history of religion a history of con- tention and war. Says Archbishop Whately, one of the fairest and most can - did as well as ablest of modern religious writers, "Mist [christians] not as civil inajistrat'S, act on chrisiiiii principles? No doubt: but they would cease to act on christian principles, if they should employ the coercive power of civil mijistrates in the cause of Christianity ; if they should not only take a part in civil affairs, but claim as christians, or as members of a particular church, a monopoly of civil rights." {Kingdom of Christ. ) The desire to impose our own views upon otiiers in anv other way than by argument and persuasion, betrays a want of confidence in the sonnduess of those views. Or we are afraid that truth of itself is not strong enough without some help, forgetting that to entertain such a fear, is to throw a re- proach upon God's plan of governmcMit. Some of us after liviiii^ to a good old age in sin, are suddenly surprised by the awakening of our consciences and the shining of some new light upon us, and forthA'ith we are mad with all our neigh- bors if th&y do not see the same light as soon as we do. God lias been patient and endured us through a long lite of wicked- ness ; '1 e have no patience with them. " When Abraham sat at his tent door, according to his cus- tom, waiting to entertain strangers, he espied an old man stooping and leaning upoti his staff, weary with age and travel, 4 •22 coming towards him. who was an hundred years of age; he received him kindly, washed his feet, provided supper and caused him to sit down : but observing ihal the old man eat and prayed not, nor begged for a blessing on his meat, asked him why he did not worship the God of Heaven? The old man told him that he worshipped the fire only, and acknowl- edged no other God : at which answer Abraham grew so zeal- ously angry that he thrust the old man out of his tent and ex- posed him to all the evils of the night and an unguarded con- dition. When the old man was gone, God called to Abraham and asked him where the stranger was? he replied, I thrust him away because he did not worsliip tliee : God ai:swered him, I have suffered hiui thes(! hundred years, although he dislionoured me, and could'st thou not eudme him one night when he gave thee no trouble? n[)on this (saith the story) Abraham fetched him back again, and L'ave bun hospitable entertainment and wise instruction. Go thou and do likewise and thy chanty will be rewarded by the God of Abraham."* Let us for a while consider some of the views which we sometimes hear expressed upon this subject. It is said sometimes that this is a Protestant country, mean- ing, if they do n(;t say it, that therefore our Protestant religion should be taught in the schools. The only thing that can be meant by this, of course, is that the Protestants are the major- ity. Do those who use ibis argumeijt consider its conse- quences? If because Protestants are the majority here, we have a right to dictate religious exercises to the minority, or to spread our religion by any other means th;in fiersu.'ision, then because (vatlntiics are in the majority in France, Spain, Aus- tria, Italy, &c., we should jiisiify the means they take t? put down Protestantism there. Once you allow the right to go beyond persuasion, the degree of force must be left to the con- sciences of the Catholic majority. 'I'uscany did right then in prohibiting the Madiai from circulating the Protestant Bible. Hut it is also said we Protestants were here first with our religion — the others are intruders — the later emigrants came here knowing what our religuui was, and ought to be quiet Let us see what this would lead to. If because Piotesiants first stitiled New England, the consciences ofCatholics are not to be respected, then because Catholics first settled Maryland and Louisiana, the conscience of a l^rotestant is not to be re- garded m tliose Stales. If the first religion which obtains footing in a country has *8.sIiop Tayloi-'a L.bcrty of Prophcsyiug. It is said lo be a Jewisli tradition. a moral right to exclude all others, then Protestantism has no business whatever in Rhode-Island. The Indian religion was here before the Protestant. The Protestants were themselves intruders. Kantantowit would be the God of Rhode-lsla id ; we should hav'« to send off our present clergy, and tal^e our priests from the remnant of the Narragansett Indians in Charles- town. And suppose, not an emigrant, but one of our own native Protestant citizens, should from conviction change his religion and become a Catholic or a Mahometan. He certainly is no intruder. He was born heie and has the same rights to his own opinions as we have. Are w^e Protestants to assert the right to school his children in a religion whicii tlie parent be- lieves wrong ? Can any one in this age mean to reassert the monstrous principli', that because those of any particular religion happen to occupy and establish themselves in a country first, they have a right to prevent those of other religions coming there, or if they come, from enjoying all the rights of conscience, their religion or tiieir no religion, if they please? Has God appropriated any particular portion of the earth to any re- ligion ? It is said of the first settlers of a neighboring State that when they were at a loss how to get the land from the Indi- ans, they met in solemn conclave and passed the following re- solves : first, that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness there- of: secondly, the Lord has given it to his saints: and thirdly, (and very naturally,) we are the saints: and forthwiih they took possession under this title. The story was no doubt made up by those who desired to ridicule the zeal of the Pu- ritans, but it expresses a great deal of human nature. Our Protestant ancestors came here fugitives from persecu- tion, to obtain a shelter Inr the enjoyment of their own re- ligion and righjs of conscience. As soon as they found them- selves secure, they refused to allow the same rights to others, and the first settlement of Rhode-Island was the consequence,* * " They sought these shor- s, to establish here, far from English bishops and thcii" tyranny over reason ami conscience, religious liberty for themselves and their pos- terity. This, at first, certainly seems to promise tiie final accomplishment of the great object of the Reformation — even the entire emancipation of tiie individual mind from spiritual thraldom, and the cstablisliment of its f/ecdom in the bo-om of a congenial community. But, in fact, it pi'oved to be only anoUier step toward that end. What they meant by religious freeilom, was not the freeflom rvt'the individual mind from the domination of tlie spiritual order, bat merely the freedom of their particular church; and Just as the English government had thrown off tlie tyranny of the l^ope, to estal)U>h the tyranny of the bi^hops, they threw otf the tyranny of the bishops, to establish the tyrauay of the brethren, liiit still, a small cuauauuity, 24 Historians have often apologized for the persecutions by the Puritans, by saying that it was the spirit of the age, the fash- ion of the tinnes, forgetting that on this ground no one could justly condemn Archbishop Land, or the exactions of the En- glish government from which the Puritans themselves fled. Would yon, being a majority, establish Protestantism as the rehVion of the schocils of the State ? Then, with the same feelings, would yon not establish Episcopalianism, Unitarian- ism, or Congregationalism, if you had the majority and the power ?* The confusion of thought into which some v.^ry able wri- ters are betrayed by the warmth of their zeal upon this sub- ject, is truly wonderful. Take for instance the following fro n one of the ablest of (he Theological Reviews, the Princeton Review for Jtdy, 1 81 6 : '•What right has the State, a majority of the people (or a mere clique which in fact commonly control such matters) to say what shall be taught in schools which the people snsiain ? What more right have they to say that no religion shall be taught, than they have to say that Popery shall be taught? * * * If tlie ])eople of a particular district choose to have a school in which the Westminster * * Catechism is tauaht, we cannot see on what principle of reliuions liberty, the State has a right to interfere and say it shall not he done: if you teacli your religion, you shall nut draw your own money from the public fund." Now, liere is a writer who denies the right of the State or the inajo ity of the State to impose religion or no religion on the schools, and yet claims for the majority of a district the right to have the Westminster Catechism taught in it. If ma- jorities, as majorities, have any peculiar rights in religious mat- ters, the majority of the State, the superior corporation, would seem to have the best right. "^I'he writer claims protection for the rights of districts, but forgets that it is the duly of the State to protect individuals as well as'districts. And the State under the rule of brethren, is nearer to an individual than a nation under a mon- an-ji; and the establishment, here, of these churches or religious associations, even under their ecclesiastical and civil forms, proved to be a great approximation to- wai'd the realization of tiie full freedom of the individual mind in congenial social institutions. True, they established nothing but the liberty of Church and State cori)orations, and of their respective members; but it was easier to break from the restraints im|)Osed by a i)etty community, than from those imposed by the govern- ment and people of Englanti; especially when the daring adventurer had the wil- derness before him." — Judge Durfee's Historical Discourse. *The Protestant religion was actually supported by taxation la Massachusetts down to the yeoi- 1833. 25 does not say (as he represents) yon shall not draw your men money, but you sliall not apply to the support of your religion in the school, money drawn by taxation not only fro»n your- selves but from people oi other denominations and from peojjle of no denomuiation. We can have read the religious history of past ages to little purpose, if we expect to produce argreenient in matters of rel.g. ion'by any thing short of absolute prohibition of all freedom of speech and writing, and even then it would be a mere outward conformity. Constituted as the human mmd is, we necessarily disagree : of- ten, we do not so much disagree, as take different views of the same truth. Not even a tniracle, unless one which should en- tirely change our modes of thinking, could make us all see alike. It is related that there was once a great contestation in the church as to whicli service, that of St. Gregory or that of St. Ambrose should be used. God was appealed to to de- cide the matter by a .niracle. The two missals were laid upon the altar of the church in Milan and the door shut and sea'ed. In the morning St. Gregory's missal was found torn in pieces and scattered about the church and St. Ambrose's was found open upon the altar. Neither party denied the miracle, but they forthwith quarrelled about, its meaning. The friends of St. Gregory's missal argued that by the tearing and scattering about, it was meant that it should be used all over the world, but that St. Ambrose's being put upon the altar of the cliurch meant that it should be used in that church and there only. So ended this attempt, as the story goes, to produce uniformity by a miracle.* It seems a strange and selfish policy for us, ourselves the immediate descendants of those who emigrated from their homes to escape the civil and religious persecutions of a past age, having secured our own asylum, now to shut out tVom our country the present victims of the same spirit of oppression. Rather, not only as friends of civil liberty, but if we believe our religious views to be true, as friends of true religion, should we welcome them to our shores, to the full enjoyment of re- ligion and to all the privileges of our schools. So will they be brought within the intiuence of the spirit of enquiry and educated to think for themselves and to act as bi comes citizens of this great Republic. Many of these emigrants have come from countries where religion or at least the priesthood are in open alliance with the despotism which crushed them. What * Bishop Jeremy Taylor's Liberty of Prophesying. 26 wonder then that some of them have a prejudice as^ainst re- ligion, Jiaviiig seen it only in sucli guise? Many of these em- igrants too hive come from a country where they have heen kept down and o[)pressed by a Protestant government. Wliat wonder then, that they have a prejudice against Protestantism. Be it our endeavor to counteract lliese prejudices, to instil into them the true doctrine of religious charity and toleration, and to show them by our own example, its peaceful and beiieti- cent effect. But, it is said, we have to contend witli an uncompromising religion. Grianting that the Roman Catholics would if they could, impose their religion upon us, does that justify us in im- posing our religion upon them and their children? That would certainly be strange logic for a christian. Because they have done or would do wrong, are we to do wrong? The Jews in the days of (^'hrist were intoleran*'. to the extreme. Did Christ oppose them with their own weapons? and can we, unless we forsake christian principles ?* But it may be, and has been argued that Christ and his apostles did not use the civil law to spread their religion be- cause they were weak, but they did not mean that their fol- lowers v/hen they attained power should not use it in favor of their religion. To those who can argue thus, the only fit reply is in the words of Archbishop Whately: "If I could believe Jesus to have been guilty of such subterfuges as I have been speakiig of, I not only could not acknowledge Him as sent from God, but should reject Him with the deepest moral indig- nation." Biit.it is said, why should we respect the conscience of one person, and disregard the consciences of all others? This is only the old question in another shape : Have the majority a right to impose their religion on the minority? T'his'majority have of course a right to profess and maintain their religion in all places v/here they can do so without contravening the rights of others; but the minority have as good a right to attend the *" The only true spirit of tolerance consists in the conscientious toleration of each other's intolerance." — Jacobi quoted by Coleridge. " Toleration is a word which ought scarcely to be heard out of a Christian's mouth. I tolerate the religion of my brother ! I might as well say I tolerate the con- tinuance of his head upon his shoulders. I have no more right to hold his creed at my disposal, or his person in consequence of his creed, than his head. The idea of toleration, is a relic of the effect of the Papal usurpation. That usurpation did not tolerate : and Protestants thought it was a great thing for them to do what the Papacy had thus refused. And so it was. It was a great thing for //(cw. *** But (and we may reverently say. Thanks be to God ! ) we. live in happier times. We have advanced from intolerance to tolerance ; and now it is time for us to advance from toleration to Religious Liberty, to that religious liberty which excludes all reference to creeds from the civil institutions of a people." — Dymond. 07 /w i school as the majority' and as the school is not established in order to teach religion, it is not the proper place for the major- ity to undertake to propagate their religion. T'his is the old argument upon which the Kings and Priests of Europe have oppressed all those who did not agree with them in religion. We have consciences of oin- own, and must we not carry out the dictates of our own consciences ? What right have a few dissenters to insist that we shall regard their consciences. This has been the language of power in all ages. It is said, also, shall we have no respect for the teachers^ conscience ? The last observations apply here also. The teacher has a right to profess and maintain his own religion in all proper places. But that is the limit of his right. Would the teacher have a right to come into my [private house, and without my consent impose his religious exercises upon me? The school house is for educational purposes, the property of every parent and child in the district. Every child has a right to be there for school purposes. Besides, the teacher when he takes a public school should consider that he is taking an office established by the civil law, and paid out of the public funds, just as much as if he took the office of justice of the peace or any other civil office. It is said, also, if we have no right to have religious exer- cises in schools, what right have we to require persons in the State prison or jails to attend religious worship? None at all. The provisions of the constitution of Rhode-Island are broad enough to protect even the inmates of a prison. It is plain, even I eyoud quibbling. No keeper of a prison has a right to compel any convict to attend any place of religious worship. If he does so, he violates the plain letter, as well as the spirit of the constitution.* It is said, too, that in paying any attention to objections made by parents to particular books, we are defying the school law, and recognizing an authority not mentioned in the law. '^I'he school committees have indeed the power by law to regulate the literary exercises of a school, but not to prescribe religious exercises for a school. They have indeed the power to prescribe the books to be used in a school, but this [lower and all their powers must be construed subject to the pro- * A prison is a place of punishment, and the legislature and officers of the prison may have a right to regulate and prescribe tlie mode of punishment; but no one I hope would argue the right to compel attendauce on public worship as a part of limit punishment. 28 visions of the Const'itntion relating to religions freedom. The ConslitLition is the supreme la v, and overrides all other laws. It has been said also, that if one objector can drive the Bible out of school, he can drive all other books out of school on the same ground, and so may render necessary an expurga- tion of our whole school literature to suit every individual conscience. T'his ohj(;ction can only be made by those who misunderstand the principles I have laid down and endeavored to defend. As no one by objecting can drive the Hi hie out of school, but will only be taken out of the cl.tss which U5es it, and allowed to pursue his other studies ; so if he objects to any other book, he could not effect its expulsion from schodl, but merely would not be compelled to read in it or hear it read himself And knowing that he could not prevent others from using tfie book, objections would seldom be made from ill will or oostinacy, but only from real scru[)les of conscience. And it seems to me that the ground I have taken with re- gard to the nse of the Bible in public schools, is the only one upon which the consciences of all, majority and minority, can be properly regarded. The teacher cannot make it a public school exercise, and require the attention of the whole school to it, if any one objects. But if any one does object, the ma- jority can still use it in a class by themselves, leaving the ob- jector out of the class ; and he has then no more right to ob- ject to their reading in it, than he has to their using any other book, which he does not wish, or is not required to use him- self And do religious persons sufficiently consider that a right of objection to the extent I have laid down, may be necessary to protect even themselves from exercises and books whose ten- dency they would disapprove of? A teacher under the guise of prayer might inculcate doctrines they abhorred. A com- mittee or teacher might introduce a book containing doctrines in morals or religion they disapproved of. Books attacking a sect or a political party might be used. Books on natural his- tory, chemistry, geology, phrenology, and especially oti histo- ry, might contain objectionable doctrines. On this ground, a religious parent would have a right to object to any book con- taining a doctrine he considered irreligious. He might not, perhaps, be able to secure its exclusion from school. This would depend upon the good sense of the teacher or commit- tee ; but he could, at least, insist upon it as a constitutional and legal, as well as moral right, that his own children should not be obliged to read such a book, nor even to listen to it. 29 However desirous we may be that the education in the pub- lic schools should be religious and christian, and agreeing as we all do in its importance, I do not see how upon legal grounds we can take any other course. The school is an in- stitution established by the civil law, its officers, trustees, com- mittees, and teacher, derive their authority from the civil law ; it is supported by funds raised by law. And the statute law itself could not give any right to introduce public religious ex- ercises into schools (upon any other ground than general con- sent,) without contravening the constitution which is the su- preme law. Although it is a repetition of what has already been said, I will again state in conclusion the principles upon which 1 con- sider that all these cases should be decided, viz : that all pub- lic religious exercises, by which I mean prayer and the reading of the Bible, or any religious book, by the teacher and the whole school, the school being required to listen to it, can only be had by general consent. And it does not remove the difficulty to authorise a scholar who has conscientious objec- tions, to leave the school room while the exercises are proceed- ing. For school purposes, the house is his house, as much as his private dwelling house, and he has a right to be there. But if objection be made, which would seldom be the case if a teacher manages properly, then the Bible or any religious book may be used in classes, like any other book, by those whose parents do not object to it. If any other grounds than these can be supported at the present day, it would imply a most wonderful change in the feelings of the people of this State. We should need to re- print and restudy the noble works of John Milton, Jeremy Taylor, and John Locke in defence of religious freedom, to bring us back again to the doctrines avowed by our ancestors when they first settled this colony. The total seperation of religious and civil affairs was with them their cardinal prin- ciple. The first settlers of Providence established this principle in their very first act : '' We, whose names are hereunder, desirous to inhabit the town of Providence, do promise to subject ourselves, in active and passive obedience, to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for public good of the body, in an orderly icay, by the major assent of the present inhabitants, masters of fami- lies, incorporated together into a town-fellowship, and such as they shall admit unto them, onlij in civil thitigs.'"' 30 And in 1647, the Code of Laws then enacted by the Gen- eral Assembly, after prescribing rnnishment for the ordinary crimes against society, concludes with this noble declaration: " These are the laws that concern all men, and these are the penalties for the transgression thereof, which by common consent, are ratified and established thronghont the whole col- ony : and otherwise than thns what is herein forbidden, all men may walk as their consciences persuade them, every one ni the name of his God : and let the saints of the Most High walk in this colony without molestation, in the name of Je- hovah their God forever and ever." And when in 1663, they obtained the charter from England, they declared their object to be " to hold forth a lively experi- ment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained * * * with a full liberty in religious concern- ments." And lastly, the act relative to Religious Freedom which was omitted from our Statute Book when its substance was incor- porated into the present Constitution, lays down the principles ot religious freedom which actuated the founders of the State, and which should continue to actuate their posterity, so clearly and forcibly that it cannot too often be spread before the peo- ple, and especially the youth of our State. " Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free ; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or bur- thens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his almighty power to do ; that the presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed do- minion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time ; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher, of his own religious per- suasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most per- suasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry 31 those temporary rewards, which, proceeding from an approba- tion of their pereonal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labors for the instruction of mankind ; that onr civil rights have no dependence on our religious opin- ions ; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by la3ring upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he pro- fess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right ; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by brihing, with a monopoly of worldly honors and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed those are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way ; that to suffer the civil magis- trate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to re- strain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once de- stroys all religious liberty, because he, being of course judge of that tendency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own ; that it is time enough, for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order ; and, finally, that truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and lias nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by huiuan interposition disarmed of her natural weap- ons, free argument and debate : errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them: And whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country, and settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand, and best be main- tained, with a full liberty in religious concernments: Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, and by the authority thereof it is enacted, That no man shall be com- pelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever ; nor shall be enforced, restrained, mo- lested or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief ; but that 32 all men shall be free to profess, and hy argument to maintain^ their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities. The foregoing is respectfully submitted, by E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. Kingston, R. L, October 30, 1854. NOTE— See further the Preface to Appendix No. 5. There are several modes besides those I have mentioned, in which religion may- be taught in connection with the schools, and which are more fully described in the Appendix. One is the wav which is to a great extent pursued in England, where the government grants aid to schools of all denominations who comply with the re- quired conditions. But such a system can hardly be called a public scliool system. Another mode is the one adopted in many countries on the continent of Europe, where a certain time is set apart in the schools for religions instnwtion, and the clergy of the different churches then attend and instruct those who belong to their o%vn persuasion. This plan would not be practicable in a large portion of our country. APPENDIX No. I. Table No. 1, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. ^ C O OO O OOOOOOOOO O O — iOO-"00 oo ^m a o oo o ooooooooooocoooc^oo oo frtSf*> O oo O OOOOOOOOO— 'OOOOO— 'O CO »r„ O OO O OOOOOCiOOO'^O-rOOOCWO oo ■g5.S O) lOCi «0 COCMOCVfrt ^ol^rtrHrtCMOClrtrt C-Cl ^ -3 -r ^~ ^-- o Q 04 o S "a CI 00 O -3< CO o CM Of 00 o s a 03000 OjOJ-^OOi-OI-OOt-OJOOOOCOOJOOJOO-JCOTH-^OOCi-" COOO 05COOI>OOOOOCOOOOCMCOO'3-'5CiOO — It-t^ e»— l3:OJrOOGOCOOCiOC^OOOO— lOOOOCSr-iLOOO— 'C-Ot^ OOO QOc:20Jri<-oooi:-i>t-(»o>oi.ooocricoc-t^oor-xb-*o O__:0 C5_ I>_C3_C-;_00_O^0J^C5_T!_O .-<_00^lO CO '•'^„'-'v'~'„'~'„'~;>^ "^ "^^"^ 1> O CO c^ o -i*"o i>" cfoTr-r.— "r-T— ro"T-r .^".-r oToT cj"rt"r-r,-r co'.-r u^Tt-t CO CI i i is EH " — iooOt^-*wo>ooor~or--r~ooQO-fc-J-t-0 0coo-)o-*oooo-ri^coc~(i--ir^C3r;oo 00 CO__~__00__— ^C2 O ;r:_^C^O)^r-( OJ 35 ^^X O CO r-^00 'w_01 W -O 00 1>,I> 1> O 00 CO X) ^'"o'"t>'~CO~Co'"orC<~^'~'-r.-'''l>".-H"' ^"rn" CiC-Tc^^^'T^ co^ loof 00 CO OJ g oo" sic 347 15 61 38 196 46 47 09 192 23 11 70 2 00 319 26 79 81 37 29 516 11 59 23 102 62 385 19 160 22 189 45 24 49 32 95 o w" o !> 1-1 (>; o III 402 38 631 24 20 00 927 30 216 72 6 00 617 94 00 o O) 00_^ of II oocjQOor-^ ooor~r-ooooi>ooc3500ooo ooJ o o -f co ^oooooTt oooooT-irtoortOocoooooooot^as^ OO-tOCOl-OOiO •^0(M0010000COCOO!OCi'*-*Or-io)OTt<0.-l OOt^^Ori'OO OSrti>rHr~Ir~OCOC3iT-lrtOOC5000as«Of-l l> CO CO CO i-l (M T-l CO .-1 W -^ ,-H CM rt T-H C» O CO .-H 00 to 3 n 1 o oc^o oor--oooo^t^r^or~o o ooo .-H o CO o t^ CO 'H >o o o T-H — I o o i> o o ooo •^ CJCJco t^coc~-coooC')i.om-T<^o oo oooo CO rtOlO COCi-HOOT*r-QOOOCiO (^ 00^-* 00 00 CO -^ T? .-1 (N^,-l O! C~ 1> -^ O O l> .-1 l^ CJ CD S3 o~ i OOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOO— lOOCOOOOO COOOOOOOOr-lOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'riOOOO QOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOO-rfOOOOO— lOOOO CiOOOOOOO^OOOOOOOCJOOO^^O^OOOOOOOOO o_^>o__io o__o o_o oj r-( -at ooi d o__oj ^ .>300C0Tj< CO r- CI 00 o uo c> co-O vo(M05mc}toc5i>-o-H-^i>Tt CD 'd* 00 .-j,.^ --1 CO CO CO CiCOC-T^CNcO-^ t-^00 O CO 0_^0 i-H cTr-Tor^r-r^ Cf rH ^ -1 o «2 o Providence, North Providence, Smithfield, Cumberland, Scituate, Cranston, Johnston, Glocester, Foster, Burrillville, Newport, Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton, Little Compton, New Shoreham, Jamestown, South Kingstown, Westerly, North Kingstown, Exeter, Charlesto^vn, Hopkinton, Richmond, Warwick, Coventry, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Bristol, Warren, Barrington, 34 Table No. 2, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. 1 1 a K < c3 s C2O.^C5OO00C0O--!T-(0lTtiM'r)O« ^ CO CO 3 CO O a H <1 o o ro -f QO r^ r- r^ CO ->( i- ~ ro ro -f c^ oo -h i^ ?: a) r^ ^ ^ aJ :^i^o^ro_:^}__o 00 ■* CO -5< c-^ OJ -H o_ro co i> ut. co D -* t ro fo oi c- co ^ QO 0" "3 § » c~- -TJ -M -«• QO r> ro -H 00 QO r-i oj -Ti Ci -i> :::5 TJ fsi -H^l^ -H_0 COw-OIMOJr-,^^.-! Ot-H COOJCMrHTHOJT-lO(M>-lrHfO.-l 00" r-T oq_ "3 is 2 ° CTClO-H— lOOWO-HO— lOrfr-CTir-COO— "COXlOO-^fNCO-MO— 'CSvJilO— 1 QOco^^-*iO-:rQ033C^Jo:::^^-'oc500c-OJOJcoci-!'r:^l— 1— (OOQOi:-X)c^iCir^i> r-iGO'-iOrrOCOtMCMOJ-:!'.-! Ot-hOI ^CNCOCM^COCNOCO.-irtCO'-l co" ^ CD co"" •^ .-1 (M ■* (M 1-1 ■-! CO (N tH ,-' (M .-1 ^ -3< O CD H QB o o a a r-H— 1000— lOlCO— inD ^Tl}(Mr^(NO CO o o a d o H OJ rf 01 CO t~ CI 3 H Si It OO ^0 ,-lrH r-l CO^-Jl'CO (M IN <-0 00 ^ CO QO l-~ r- Oi d CN »0 OJ (M CO « 03 T-( CO CO 1 1 02 o Providence, North Providence, Smithfteld, Cumberland, Scituate, Cranston, Johnston, Gloccstcr, Foster, Burrillville, Newport, Portsmouth, Middlctown, Tiverton, Little Compton, New Shoreham, Jamestown, South Kingstown, Westerly, North Kingstown, Exeter, Chai-lestown, Hopkinton, Richmond, Warwick, Coventry, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Bristol, Warren, Barrington, 35 Table No. 3, accompanying the Report of the Commissioner of Public Schools. t^COXiOCOCS <0 T-l a —> CO 00-5" Tt< CO (N CI ^CO-COOCO'-H^'-(-ri ) to vr:' on c!^ ,— . ko CD on c^ r-^ ^-1 O r^ O ^" '^ "^ ^ '^ u .^ ^^ ^ uu -T- {-i O O C) OJ O IC 00 O --H lO GO 00 O tM__i.'0^t^^_-!"__L0_O^00 •£ — <_C5 O C) r-^ co'crco'cf-H'T-T.-r .-Tcf T-T i ^^ i— J I' ■_.' I--.' ^r^ c^ o O -r -t F~- ci o COO::5 0COQO>0-^^I>^TI'1-~OJ cf O t^ C) r^ O -!• 00 O CO 01 O CD . O CO CD 00 C^ .-__ 'r-ocoocoQOOO _ . J (^ CO 00 >0 (^ CO O X' O -O CO C3 O O) CO O O O 00 00 CO O O O 00 CO O CO 'D it^OOCO-cfC-JOirtCOCOrt OrtrH CO'^JOJ'-I CJrHCOCOT-Hrt-^CJ oco— 'Of — oJ^HCoc— CJCixoo-TOOocoooor-c^cocooo— ico^H-ic— f— ioiocD^H~j-"-o— 'i^o-rf — 1> i> ^ O p_I> O-I'00'-''3''*O)C0C0 CT3CO!>-*(MCO-^i>QOOCOOO'-l . "Or-' O CO >C CO O to t^ O ■— I OJ — f O <0 CD O O O >0 Ol -HI CO 1 r-. -o -T< -1" o r~ --I c^ CO o r- C2 o CO o! w o) lo — ' ( COOOiOO^OCl^I>'-( CD— lOl Vi ^ ^ i ^cij-TCT'-rc-co — 't^c:? CT>XO(MCDt-CJCOOCOCO-^C.. 00'— it^r~C^COOCO!M(MOJ ciocoo.'t-QOXiTrcoTrciOJt-ioooco )>ovocooj-*-^cos?irooJi>roi-i i-'OOQOCJ r^i O O O 00 CD CO O -3< CO O CI O CI O O CI O Of O 0^ O) OJ 00 O do O C) -» 00 00 C-CD— iCICOOOCOCiCiT-iCOOOCO-cPOOOlOTl'— icv. — OO—iCOOCOCO — Ol^C- CO Ct -f iO> CO — I O GO O CO CD -t O r~ CI CO QO ^ — 00 — 1 -f — I O C» 'CD CD — i^ r- r- •D r-. r~ CO o CO — 00 -r" o c^' t^ G-j CD Ci Ci c- CI r- CO r~ r- i^ — • 00 o C-. t^ o — I — OOCOCO(.--C--*OiOC-CDi-lCM'-lOCOt-( OO-cfOn-CJ-fiOOC-T-lTf— (r-HrH »c o '~^ r-- ^ ,o — ( o »o CD CO CI — ' -^ r^ 1-^ 00 Ci c:^ CD o o o — I c» r- cr- o 00 CO 00 CJ o -* 'i' Qo CO CI o c» o o! 00 O CTi CD O 00 -f O CO O C O CD — I 1,-0 I l-O) -' ■- "■~ -' Cf CO CO O 00 I> GO CO -* I 00 CO r~ ci 00 "D o c! CO to o c) c:> o c> CO o;' r- -^ CO -H c! t— o CO o — I -f — H o '^^ 00 I co i ,— I iC O I- CI — O 0> l> CO' C) -r 00 O O O O CO O — I CO -f O — O -* — " C) 00 00 -r I o I> C0__C-;_O__O_-H_l> CD -cl< 00 — <_-cl< — . CO^CO CO OCDI>T] i^ r, C ^ o o J;i _g Q o rt rcS c s to c •^ 4J t- ow ^ p; ^ p 36 APPENDIX No. II LAWS PASSED SINCE JUNE, A. D., 1851. An Act to limit the hours of labor and to regulate the employment of children m factories. — Passed January, 1853. It is enacted hy the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. From and after the first day of July next, labor per- formed in any manufacturing establishment and all mechanical labor, during the period of ten hours, in any one day, shall be considered a legal day's work, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, and no minor, under the age of twelve years shall be employed in or about any manufacturing establishment; provided, that the provisions of this section concerning the hours of labor, shall not apply to persons employed solely in packing goods in any warehouse or part of a fac- tory not used for any manufacturing process or for any labor incident to a manufacturing process. Sec. 2. If any owner of, or employer in, any manufacturing es- tablishment, or his or her agent, shall knowingly and wilfully employ any minor under the age of twelve years as cforesaid, the person so offending, shall pay a penalty of twenty dollars for every such offence, one half thereof shall enure to the complainant and the other half thereof to and for the use of the district school in the district in which such manufacturing establishment is situated. Sec. 3. Hereafter, no minor who has attained the age of twelve years and is under the age of fifteen years, shall be employed in any manufacturing establishment more than eleven hours in any one day ; any owner of, or employer in any manufacturing establishment as aforesaid, offending against the provisions of this section, shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars for every such offence, and one half thereof shall enure to the complainant, and one half thereof to and for the use of the distrtct school in the district in which such manufacturing establishment is situated. Sec. 4. From and after the first day of July next, if any parent or guardian shall permit or consent to the employment of his or her child or ward under the age of twelve years, in any such manufac- turing establishment, or of his or her child or ward, over the age of twelve yeais and. under the age of fifteen, for a longer time than eleven hours in any one day, the person so offending shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars for every such offence, to be appropri- ated as provided in the second section of this act. 37 Sec. 5. If any parent or guardian shall permit or consent to the employment in any manufacturing establishment, of his or her child or ward, under the age of fifteen years, before five o'clock in the morning, or of his or her child or ward, under the age of filteen years, after seven and a half o'clock in the evening, such parent or guardian and the owner of, or employer in such establishment, or his or her agent, who shall knowingly and wilfully furnish employment to such minors, shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars for every such offence, — to be appropriated as provided in the third section of this act. Seq. 6. The penalties imposed by this act, shall be recovered on complaint and warrant, before any Justice of the Peace in the town where the child employed in violation of its provisions shall reside, or where the establishment in which employment is so furnished shall be located ; — and every such complaint shall be commenced within thirty days after the offence complained of shall have been com- mitted. Sec. 7. In the trial of all actions and complaints arising under the provisions of this act, the defendant shall have the same rio-ht of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas as is provided by law in other criminal cases. An Act in relation to the election of School Committees in Little Compton and Portsmouth. — Passed January, 1853. It is cnattrd hy the General Axscmhly as follows : Section 1. The qualified electors of the towns of Little Comp- ton and Portsmouth, may choose their school committee at the annual town meeting holden for election of state officers and members of the General Assembly, on the first Wednesday of April, instead of the annual town meeting for choice of town officers : and all elections of such officers heretofore made on the first Wednesday of April in nny year, are hereby confirmed. An Act to enlarge the powers of the School Committee. — Passed / January, 1854. It is encatcd hy the General Assemhly as follows : Section 1. Any school or asylum incorporated by, or receiving aid from the State, either by direct grant or by exemption from tax- ation, shall be liable to be examined or visited by the School Com- mittee of the town or city in which such institution is situated, when- ever the committee shall see fit. Sec. 2. Any such institution refusing to admit such committee, when requested, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollar?, to and for the use of the State, to be recovered by indictment before any court of competent jurisdiction ; and their exemption from taxation shall also be deemed forfeited thereby. 6 38 An Act to increase the appropriation for the support of Public Schools. — Passed January, 1854. It is enacted hy the General Assembly as foUoivs : Section I. The sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be hereafter annually paid out of the General Treasury for the support of public schools, at the same time, manner, and on the same conditions, as now provided by law. Sec. 2. Of said amount, the sum of thirty-five thousand dol- lars shall be apportioned by the Commissioner of Public Schools annually, among the several towns, in proportion to the number of children under the age of fifteen years, according to the United States' census then last preceding ; and the sum of fifteen thousand dollars shall be apportioned among the several towns in proportion to the nt.raber of school districts in each town, corporate or other- wise ; and the proportion in each town shall be paid upon the order , of the Commissioner in the same manner as now provided. Sec. 3. The proportion of the aforesaid sum of fifteen thousand dollars, which shall be received by any town, shall be by the School Committee of such town, equally divided among all the districts in said town, in all cases where the town is divided into school districts having the management of their own concerns. Sec. 4. The sum of five hundred dollars is hereby annually ap- propriated to be paid to the order of the Commissioner of Public Schools, to be expended in providing suitable lectures and addresses in the several school districts, upon the subject of education and the best modes of teaching and improving the schools, and the Commis- sioner shall annually report to the General Assembly the mode of ex- pending said appropriation. Sec. 5. The sum of one thousand dollars is hereby annually ap- propriated to be expended under the direction of the Commissioner of Public Schools, in aiding in the support of a Normal School, or Institution for the training and qualifying teachers for the common schools. Said sum shall be paid to the order of said Commissioner, and he shall annually report to the General Assembly the expendi- ture thereof. An Act in relation to the election of School Committee in the city of Providence. — Passed January, 1854. It is enacted hy the General Assembly as folloivs : Section 1. The School Committee of the city of Providence, shall consist o'' thirty members, to be chosen as follows: — The electors in each Ward, qualified to vote for General Ofliicers, shall at the annual election in April of each year, by a majority of the votes cast, elect two members, who shall hold their places for the term of two years thereafter. The Mayor and President of the Common •Council, for the time being, shall be ex-ofiicio members. The City Council shall elect fourteen members of said Committee to serve until the annual election in April, A. D. 1855, and shall be empow- 39 ered and required from time to time to fill all vacancies that may occur in said Committee. Sec. 2. Any provision of former acts, inconsistent herewith, is hereby repealed. An Act in amendment of an act entitled an act to limit the hours of labor and to regulate the employment of children in factories. — Passed .Tanuary, 18.54. It is enacted by the General Assenihhj as folloics : Sectioiv 1. Hereafter no minor under the age of fifteen years shall be employed in any manufacturing establishment in this State, unless such minor shall have attended school for a term of at least three months in the year next preceding the time when such minor shall be so employed. And no such minor shall be so employed for more than nine months in any one calendar year. Sec. 2 If any parent or guardian shall permit or consent to the employment of any minor under the age of fifteen years in any man- ufacturing establishment, who has not attended or shall not attend school as herein before provided; or if any employer or his or her agent shall knowingly and wilfully employ any minor under the age of fifteen years in any manufacturing establishment in this State who has not attended or shall not attend school as herein before provided, such parent or guardian or such owner, employer, or agent, shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars for every such offence, to be re- covered and appropriated as is by law provided for any violations of the act of which this is an amendment. Sec. 3. In case of the recovery of any penalty as provided under this act, or the act of which this is an amendment for any violation thereof in the city of Providence, one half of such penalty shall enure to the complainant and one half thereof to and for the use of the public schools in said city. Sec 4. This act shall not go into effect until the first day of July next. An Act to establish a State Normal School. — Passed May, 1854, It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. A sum not exceeding three thousand dollars is hereby annually appropriated for the establishment and support of a Normal School for the training of teachers of common schools. Said sum shall be paid out of the general treasury to the order of the Commis- sioner of Public Schools, who shall annually report to the General Assembly the expenditure thereof, with the vouchers therefor. Sec 2. Th- fifth section of the " Act to increase the appropria- tion for the support of Public Schools," passed at January session, A. D., 1854, is hereby repealed. 4U An Act in addition to an act to revise and amend the laws regulating public schools. — Passed June, 1854. It is enacted hy the General Asstmbly as follows : Section 1. W any person shall keep any swine, of any descrip- tion, in any pen or other enclosure, within one hundred I'eet ol" any district school house, or within fifty feet of any fence enclosing the yard of any such school house, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty dollars, one half thereof to and for the use of the school dis- trict in which said offence is committed, and the other half thereof to and for the use of the State, which said penally shall be recovered by complaint and warrant in the name of the State, before any Jus- tice of the Peace or any court exercising the jurisdiction of justice of the peace, in the town or city where said offence is committed. Resolution relative to schools in Westerly. — Passed June, 1854. Kesolved, That the trustees of the first school district in the town of Westerly, be, and they are hereby authorized, to admit into the school of said district, pupils not residing in this State, provided it be done with the approbation of the school committee, and pro- vided further, that a tuition fee of not less than four dollars for the high school and two dollars for the other schools, for a term of eleven weeks, be charged to each scholar admitted under this reso- lution, and in making out the returns of scholars attending upon any school where there are pupils admitted, not resident of this State, those scholars only who are residents of this State and who attend upon such school, shall be included. An Act in relation to the salary of the Commissioner of Public Schools. — Passed October, 1854. It is enacted by the General Assembly as folloios : Section 1. The salary of the Commissioner of Public Schools shall be twelve hundred dollars per annum, payable quarterly to his order, out of the General Treasury. Sec. 3. Said Commissioner shall devote his time exclusively to the duties of his office. Sec 3. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Resolution relating to School Districts in West Greenwich. Passed October, 1854. Upon the petition of David Hopkins and others against school dis- tricts Nos. 3 and 11, in West Greenwich : Voted and resolved. That the prayer of said petitioners be, and the same is hereby granted, and that the boundaries of district No. 3 41 be and they are hereby restored as they were established before Jan- uary, 1854, and said school district No. 3 as established and bounded before said January last, shall build and erect a suitable new school house in said district, on the north-east corner of land of Nathan Carr, joining William Hall's land, or on a lot in the near neighbor- hood of said Carr's corner not exceeding a half of a mile south of said Hopkinsville Bridge, to be located by the School Commissioner, if not agreed upon by said district, on or before the first day of Oc- tober, 1855. And in the meantime, and until said new school house is built and erected on said lot suitable for said free school district, the free school in said No. 3 shall be kept and maintained in the school house situated on the north side of the village of Hopkinsville, where said school was formerly kept, and that the free money dis- tributed by law to said district shall be appropriated to the support of said free school in said house built on the north side of said district. After the building of said new school house on the lot at Carr's Cor- ner, or on said lot selected, the free school for said district shall be kept and maintained therein, and receive the free school money ap- propriated by law to District No. 3, and said school house on the north side of said river shall cease to receive the free money, and the same, after the first day of October, 1855, shall be paid for the sup- port of the free school in the school house at Carr's Corner. 42 APPENDIX No. Ill, DOCUMENTS EELATING TO STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. To His Excellency Wm. W. Hoppin. Sir : — Two years ago Messrs. Greene, Colburn and Sumner esta- blished in the city of Providence, a private institution for the training of school teachers for their profession, designed to give that sort of instruction, which would qualify them for the faithful and effi- cient discharge of their duties as teachers. After two years experience they have been obliged to abandon it. The reasons are apparent. Such a school requires instructors of the highest order of talent. A low rate of tuition will not support it, and a high rate of tuition would produce the same effect in a differ- ent way, as the greater part of the teachers would be unable to pay it. I had hoped that the institution would succeed as aprivate under- taking, and that the sum necessary to make up any deficiency might be supplied by private or legislative aid. At the last session of the General Assembly an appropriation was made for this purpose, but it has been found impracticable to continue the school in this way. The city of Providence will probably establish such a school for its own teachers, and the State might unite with the city for that pur- pose, but I apprehend that serious difficulties would arise from such a partnership, and that that plan would soon have to be given up. The importance of such a school is so obvious that I shall not en- large upon it ; and to make it most useful, it should be entirely free of expense for tuition, so that the poorest might receive its advan- tages. I would therefore recommend to the General Assembly through your Excellency, that the present appropriation should be increased so as to insure the accomplishment of the object. I would not propose that the State should make any expenditure for buildings, and if in a few years it should not succeed, the Legis- lature might at any time discontinue it; but I do not believe the General Assembly will have cause to regret the expenditure. I am very respectfully, Your Excellency's ob't servant, E. R. POTTER, Comm'r of Public Schools. Newport, May 3, 1854. 43 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. Passed May Session, A. D. 1854. It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows ; Section L A sum not exceeding three thousand dollars is here- by annually appropriated for the establishment and support of a Nor- mal School for the training of teachers of common schools. Said sum shall be paid out of the general treasury to the order of the Commissioner of Public Schools, who shall annually report to the General Assembly the expenditure thereof, with the vouchers there- for. Sec. 2. The fifth section of the " Act to increase the appro- priation for the support of Public Schools," passed at January ses- sion, A. D. 1854, is hereby repealed. CIRCULAR. RHODE ISLAND NORMAL SCHOOL. The first term of the State Normal School will commence on Monday, May 29, 1854. It will be held at the Second Universa- list Church, in Providence. Dana P. Colburn, formerly of Bridge- water Normal School, will be Principal, assisted by Arthur Sumner, late one of the teachers of the Lancaster Normal School. These Instructors have a high reputation in their profession, and are al- ready well known to a large number of our teachers. The school will be subject to such regulations as may from time to time be adopted by the Commissioner of Public Schools, or other authority to which the care of the School may be committed by the Legislature. The School will be open to pupils of both sexes. Persons apply- ing for admission will be required, (if not known to the Instructors) to bring with them evidence of good moral character, and to sign a declaration that it is their intention to qualify themselves for teach- ing in the Public Schools of this State. To all such, the tuition will be free. Good health, unobjectionable manners, and an acquaintance with the elementary branches of knowledge usually taught in the Schools, will also be considered as requisites. If the pupil has already had some experience in teaching, he will derive the greater advantage from the Normal instruction. Any pupil offending against good manners, or the discipline of the School, will be dismissed by the Principal. The application for admission should be addressed to Dana P. Colburn, Providence, R. I. E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. Providence, May I5th, 1854. 44 ADDRESS: DELIVERED AT THE OPENIXG OF THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, AT PROVIDENCE, MAY 29, 1854, BY E. E. POTTER, C03IMISSI0NER OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. We have met to celebrate the commencement of a State Normal School, and upon this occasion it seems appropriate to make a few remarks upon the objects and uses of such schools. The proper object of a State Normal School is to qualify teachers for the public common schools, by teaching them the best modes of instruction, development and discipline. It is to quality them for our public common schools. Hence in regulating the exercises of this school, while we do not overlook the higher schools, we must have reference chiefly to the wants of the common schools and to the studies pursued in them. I do not mean that a teacher need only be acquainted with the branches he is to teach : far from it : the more general knowledge he has, the better he will be qualified to teach well in any particular branch. It is to qualify them for these duties, by teaching them the best modes of instruction. It is not intended to teach the elements of any science, or to teach any science at all, except so far as reviews may be necessary. If we should undertake to teach the sciences, themselves, our school would then be degenerated into a mere ordi- nary academy, a very good academy it might be, but not properly a normal school. All the instruction here given must be with a special reference to teaching afterwards. And the State expects and has reason to ex- pect that all who come to partake of the advantages of this school, do honestly intend to become teachers in the public schools, and should declare that intention. It has been the common subject of remark for several years that good teachers have become scarce. 1 his is owing to several causes. There has been an increased demand for labor in all professions and modes of business. Wages in other departments have risen, and to get good teachers we are obliged to pay and should be willing to pay higher salaries than formerly. We cannot expect that a normal school should entirely supply the demand for good teachers, because while it will every year send forth a number prepared and qualified to teach, a large number ^vill be every year leaving the profession. 45 This is one of the difficulties we have to contend with. In the coun- tries of the old world, ranks and stations in life are fixed and generally unchangable. In whatever profession or rank a man begins life, in that he continues and dies. Here, such is the freedom and prosper- ity of our country, no man's rank or position in life is stationary. The world is open to every one. The teacher follows his profession only until he can find a pleasanter and more profitable one. And long may it be so. Long may it be, if ever, before society in this country shall sink into the stationary condition in which it exists in the old world. One good effect however, has resulted and is resulting from the scarcity of male teachers. Female teachers are more generally em- ployed. Ten years ago the number was very small, now it is very large. The old prejudices against their employment are dying aw. ay People are beginning to discover that — the education being the same — they make not only as good but better teachers than males, and thus another avenue is opened for respectable and useful employment for the female sex Again we should not look for too much from this school in another respect. Because our object is to make good teachers, it does not follow that every pupil who goes from it will necessarily make a good ' teacher. Some will come unprepared, and some will remain but a short time, and there will be some who have no tact for teaching or governing, who will not profit much even by a long stay here. Others of our pupils may fail in teaching from other causes. And it is well, in the commencement, that the public should be cautioned against unreasonable expectations, and that the school should not suffer in public estimation by these occasional failures. What then are these teachers to do when they have graduated from this school ? I have said that they are to be taught here modes of instruction, development and discipline, and this must of course be in reference to the wants of the common schools in which they are to teach. They are to be taught modes of instruction. It is in this branch perhaps that the utility of a normal school is most plainly seen, and to this the greater portion of the time must be devoted ; and the in- struction to be communicated in the common schools, and for which the teachers are to be prepared, has relation to the physical, the moral and intellectual constitution of the child. In the present state of our common schools, considering the age and attainment of the larger portion of the scholars, it is not probable that physiology can be made a regular study for classes in but ^ew of them. Yet the teacher should be acquainted with its general principles, and be able to impress them upon the scholars by familiar lectures or occasional exercises. We should take care that while we strengthen and cultivate the mind, we do not weaken its instru- ment, the body. Too much also cannot be said of the importance of moral instruc- tion. The same remark will apply here. In very few schools would 7 46 it be advisable to undertake to teach morals as a science, or from learned treatises ; but occasions will be constantly arising when the teacher will have an opportunity to impress upon the children the oreat principles of morals ; and such lessons given upon occasions as they arise, will produce more lasting effect than more studied disqui- sitions unconnected with passing events. 'I'he teacher of course should be qualified to give this instruction. The conscience should be awakened and cultivated. Our duty to God our creator and father, and the somewhat unfashionable duty of obedience to parents should be constantly kept in mind. Our duty to our family connex- ions, to society, to our fellow-men in relation to veracity, property, character, should also be dwelt upon. There are some classes of our duties to others which it is very difficult to define, but which are most essential to the happiness of society, and should receive our constant attention both in school and cut of it — our duty to others in regard to their feelings. And it is in regard to this very class of duties that the moral instruction of both young and old, in schools and colleges and at home, is most de- ficient. How many men who Avould scorn to injure their neighbors property, will yet make sport of injuring their feelings. If they can excite a quarrel, prejudice one person against another ; if there are any subjects which they know to be peculiarly unpleasant, which the person addressed would like to have forgotten, anything calculated to produce a feeling of disgrace or of physical or intellect- ual inferiority, or in any way to disturb his peace of mind, they take delight in suggesting it, in bringing it forward to the public gaze. And when we reflect how much of the happiness of life is made up of little things, how much it depends upon attention to the feelings of others, we see the importance of attending to it in early education. And while speaking of our duties to others, let us not forget the subject of manners. And here let us inquire, what is the reas(;n why so many of our wealthy people will not send their children to our common schools ? We see that it is so, and that our common schools are sufferers by it. I cannot believe that in so doing they are governed by the mean disgraceful motive of keeping their child- ren from associating with the poor. But I believe that we have the real reason of it here ; they are desirous of sending their children to schoo's where their morals and especially their manners will be at- tended to, and they do not send them to common schools, because their manners are too generally neglected in them. If this is the real reason, it certainly should be deeply pondered by all who have at heart the welfare of our common schools. There are many dis- tricts, where if the wealthy would expend upon the common schools but a portion of the money they pay for sending their children to private schools, it would be blessing a whole community. The com- mon school would be improved, and rich and poor alike receive the benefit of it. In regard to intellectual education, we should be guarded against the error too common in modern schools of undertaking to teach too 47 m much at once, of overburdening the mind and memory. We are tryin{r to in.ike every thing easy to the ynung ; forgetting that what is easily learned is generally easily forgotten ; forgetting that discipline of mind and development of the whole character, should be the object of edu- cation, and not merely the quantity of information communicated. — Upon these principles teaching by lectures or oral instruction should not be much resorted to in school ; and while teachers should be acquainted with the science of the subject so as to make it indilTorent to them what books they use, books should not be dispensed with, but the pupils should be made to exercise their own minds in obtain- ing knowledge. I must confess that I feel a great gratification in observing the reaction which (judging from the educational literature of our coun- try, addresses, magazines, &c ) seems to be taking place against the systems of crowding and making knowledge easy. Such systems were naturally popular in the commencement of an excitement when it was much easier to find fault with what was old than to provide a better substitute. But there seems now -to be a prevailing disposition to go back to the older and sounder system. Our ideal of education, to be carried out as far as time and circumstances permit, should be the proper and corresponding deve- lopment of all the faculties of the man, the formation of the perfect character. While we endeavor to give the young the knowledge to prepare them for active life, we should also endeavor to educate them to habits of self government, a habit of sacrificing the w'ill to a sense of duty ; to make them strong to meet and resist vice and temptation, and not to be afraid of it; we should endeavor to strengthen their minds to think for themselves, and not be deterred by a dread that on some subject they may not think as we do; we should endeavor to fit them to become good members of society : we should instruct them in their duties as citizens of a republic : we should endeavor to fit them for happiness here as far as the trials of this world permit, and to prepare them for eternal happiness and progress in the world to come. If modes of instruction and development of character receive great attention, modes of school government are not to be overlooked. There cannot be efficient teaching without order, and how to attain and preserve this, is often the greatest difficulty the young teacher has to encounter. While we do not give up the rod, public opinion is against severity and justly so. To secure order therefore the teacher must be able to interest the pupils in their studies, to attach them to himself and to the school ; and the various ways of doing this are of the utmost importance. In ordinary schools, a large por- tion of the teacher's time is taken up in watching and punishinc- disorder. Every thing then which enables a teacher to secure order with less effort, either by inducing the parents to co-operate with him or by making the school interesting, is so much gained in economiz- ing time and making the instruction more thorough and efficient. Such are some of the modes and principles with reference to which a normal school should be conducted. 48 There have been two favorite modes of training teachers for public schools ; one is to watch for the teaching talent as it is shown and developed in ordinary schools by the monitorial system and assis- tants, and to train and educate these through the different grades of the profession. The other system is to establish seminaries, normal schools, such as the one whose organization we now celebrate. The fi.-st is the Austrian and Dutch system, the latter is the Prussian and French system. To the first it is objected that its tendency is to perpetuate old modes of instruction, to confirm errors and to retard ail salutary progress. And to Normal schools it has been objected, that the pupils educated in them, will not be likely to choose to teach in the common schools in the poorer districts, where the greatest deficiency of good teachers exists. We hope that this objection may never be made to the Rhode- Island Normal School. If the teachers come into this honorable and honored profession with the proper spirit, not actuated by the love of gain merely, but while just to themselves, desirous of doing good to others, of being means of improving society, and that the world should be somewhat better for their having been in it, it will not be the case. There can be no greater field for usefulness than well educated teachers may find in lonely and ignorant portions of coun- try, and we need not go to heathen lands for them. In such a place, the educated teacher using his advantages not for display which would excite envy and jealousy, but for practical utility, may become a centre of enlightenment to a neighborhood. As years advance and his pupils grow up to take their places in society, his influence ex- tends. They look upon him with respect for the good he has done them. In no situation can one man exert more influence in mould- ing the character and destiny of a community. And I would have the pupils who attend the first session of this pchool, feel especially that a heavy responsibility rests upon them. This school will be judged by its fruits. The State has provided able instructors. These instructors must exert themselves in order to meet the high expectations which have been raised by what they have already done. If you on your part make a good use of the opportunities you have for improvement, and the people see and feel the benefits resulting from your attendence here, you will place the school on a foundation which cannot be shaken. I am confident that it will be so, and that we shall hereafter look back to the occasion of our meeting here to-day as constituting an era in our educational history. 49 RHODE-ISLAND STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, PROVIDENCE, R. I. The second term of the State Normal School will commence on Monday, September 11th, 1854. This School is designed exclusively as a professional one, for the training of teachers of both sexes for the Public Schools of the State ; and all its exercises will have special reference to the life, duties and qualifications, of a Public School Teacher. Candidates for admission should be present on the first day of the term. They will be required to present to the Principal a certificate of good moral character ; to undergo an examination m Reading, Writing, and Spelling, and in the elements of Geography, Arithme- tic, and Grammar; and, if admitted to the School, to sign a declar- ation that they intend to qualify themselves for Teachers in the Pub- lic Schools of Rhode-Island. To all such, the tuition will be free. Applications for admission should be addressed to DANA P COLBURN, Principal of JR. I. State Normal School. Providence, August 1, 1854. COPY OF AGKEEMENT CONCERNING THE NORMAL SCHOOL ROOMS. Memorandum of an agreement between the Second Universalist Society, in the city of Providence, in the State of Rhode-Island, and its Trustees on the one part, and Elisha R. Potter, of South Kings- town, Commissioner of Public Schools, of said State, in behalf of said State, and for the use of the Normal School established under the act of the Legislature of said State passed May session, 1854, on the other part. The said Trustees and Society agree to lease to the Commissioner of Public Schools, and his successors in said office, or such person or persons as may from time to time be charged by the Legislature with the oversight of the Normal School aforesaid, the Hall hereto- fore used by the Normal School, and the two rooms on the right of the entry, with the privies and all necessary rights of passing and re- passing, for the purpose of keeping said Normal School, for the term of five years, commencing April 1st, A. D. 1854, and ending March JUst, A. D. 1859 ; the State or its agents paying therefor rent at the rate of seven hundred and fifty dollars per annum, to be paid quar- terl)^ And the said Society agrees to be at the whole expense of taking care of, and heating said rooms, and to provide fuel and aper^ son to take charge of the same, and to see to their being comfortably warmed as the weather may demand. And the society reserves iht 50 right to use said rooms for their Sunday school or other meetings when not needed for the Normal School. And if the rent should re- main unpaid for the space of sixty days after the expiration of a quarter, the society may terminate this lease, notifying the other par- ty thereof. And either party shall have a right to terminate this lease at any time, giving six months notice thereof, and the State shall not then be held liable to pay any rent after the expiration of said six months. The State is to furnish all the necessary tables, seats for scholars and other furniture (excepting the seats in the hall now used by the society, and which are to remain there,) and to have the right to withdraw them at the end of the lease. In witness whereof the said Society and Trustees by Rev, T. D. Cooke, their agent and attorney for that purpose, and the said Eiisha R. Potter, Commissioner as aforesaid, have hereto set their seals this ]5th day of July, A. D. 18o4. Second Universalist Society, by T. D. COOKE, E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools, Executed in presence of "i Ray Spink, I John Gardner, j 51 APPENDIX No. IV. A Bill to establish a Board of Education. Introduced at October session, A. D. 1854, and now pending before the Legislature. It is enacted hy the General Assembly as folloivs : Section 1. The Governor shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate appoint, eight persons, who, with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Commissioner of Public Schools for the time being, shall constitute a Board of Education. Sec. 2. At the first meeting of said Board, the term of (office of the members appointed shall be decided by lot as follows : The term of the two whose names shall be first drawn shall expire on the first Tuesday of May next; of the two next drawn, on the first Tuesday of May, A. D. 1856; of the two next drawn, on the first Tuesday of May, A. D. 1857: of the other two, on the first Tuesday of May, A. D. 1858. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for the original appointment, and any person appointed to fill a vacancy, shall hold the office for the term of four years, or in case of vacancies from death, resignation or removal, for the remainder of the term for which he is appointed. The members of said Board shall receive no compensation, but they shall present to the General Assembly an ac- count of their actual expenses, which shall be allowed by the General Assembly. Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of said Board of Education to meet at least times a year, and oftener as they may deem necessary ; to exercise an oversight over the Normal School established by this State, and over the public schools; to use their best endeavors to im- prove the schools, and to secure to the whole people the blessings of a sound education ; and from time to time to recommend to the Gen- eral Assembly such measures as they may deem best suited to pro- mote these objects. APPENDIX No RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS. Under this head we wish to give an account of the various modes which have been adopted in other countries, in order to meet this most embarrassing question ; and also the opinions of various distin- guished writers upon the subject. We have selected from all denom- inations, and from writers on both sides of the question. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN EUROPE. Most of the extracts on this part of the subject, are from Mr. Bar- nard's " National Education in Europe," just published, which will be found a complete storehouse of information upon every thing re- lating to that subject. PRUSSIA AND GERMANY. The following is from Horace Mann's Report : BIBLE HISTORY AND BIBLE KNOWLEDGE. Nothing receives more attention in the Prussian schools than the Bible. It is taken up early and studied systematically. The great events recorded in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament ; the character and lives of those wonderful men, who, from age to age, were brought upon the stage of action, and through whose agency the future history and destiny of the race were to be so much modified ; and especially, those sublime views of duty and of morality which are brought to light in the Gospel, these are topics of daily and earnest inculcation, in every school. To these, in some schools, is added the history of the Christian religion, in connection with cotemporary civil history. So far as the Bible lessons are concerned, I can ratify the strong statements made by Professor Stowe, in regard to the absence of sectarian instruction, or endeavors at proselytism. The teacher being amply possessed of a knowledge of the whole chain of events, and of all biographical incidents ; and bringing to the exercise a heart glowing with love to man, and with devotion to his duty as a former of the character of children, has no necessity or occasion to 53 fall back upon the formulas of a creed. It is when a teacher has no knowledge of the wonderful works of God, and of the benevolence of the design in which they were created ; when he has qo power of ex- plaining and applying the beautiful incidents in the lives of prophets and apostles, and especially, the perfect example which is given to men in the life of Jesus Christ ; it is then, that, in attempting to give religious instruction, he is, as it were, constrained to recur again and again to the few words or sentences of his form of faith, what- ever that faith may be ; and, therefore, when giving the second lesson, it will be little more than a repetition of the first, and the two-hun- dredth lesson, at the end of the year, will difi"er from that at the be- ginning only in accumulated wearisomeness and monotony. There are one or two facts, however, which Professor Stowe has omitted to mention, and without a knowledge of which, one would form very erroneous ideas respecting the character of some of the re- ligious instruction in the Prussian schools. In all the Protestant schools, Luther's Catechism is regularly taught ; and in all the Ro- man Catholic schoolsj the Catechism of that communion. When the schools are mixed, they have combined literary with separate religious instruction ; and here all the doctrines of the respective denomina- tions are taught early and most assiduously. I well remember hearing a Roman Catholic priest inculcating upon a class of very young chil- dren the doctrine of transubstantiation. He illustrated it with the miracle of the water changed to wine, at the marriage feast in Cana ; and said that he who could turn water into wine, could turn his own blood into the same element, and also his body into bread to be eaten with it. Contrary, then, to the principles of our own law, sectarian- ism is taught in all the Prussian schools ; but it is nevertheless true, as Professor Stowe says, that the Bible can be taught, and is taught, without it. The following is from " Social condition and education of the peo- ple in England and Europe," by Joseph Kay, of Trinity College Cambridge. In Bavaria, Wirtemburg, the Duchy of Baden, and Nassau, as much and in Wirtemburg and Baden perhaps even more, has been done to promote the intelligence, morality, and civilization of the lower orders of society, than in Prussia. In each of these countries, every village has a good school-house, and at least one learned and practically effi- cient teacher, who has been educated for several years at a college ; every town has several well-organized schools, sufficiently large to re- ceive all the children of the town, who are between the ages of six and fourteen ; each of these schools contains from four to ten class-rooms, and each class-room is under the direction of a highly educated teacher. In each of these countries, every parent is obliged to educate his children, either at home or at some school, the choice of means being left to himself In none of these countries are children left to grow up in vicious ignorance or with debasing habits. In none of these countries, is there any class of children analogous 54 to that, whicli swarms in the back streets, alleys, and gutters of our great cities aud towns, and from which our paupers, our disaffected, and our criminals grow up, and from which our - ragged schools" are filled. All the children are intelligent, polite, clean, and neatly dress- ed, and grow up from their sixth to their fourteenth year under the teaching and iuHuence of educated men. In each of these countries a sufficient number of normal colleges has been founded, to enable it to educate a sufficient supply of teach- ers for the parishes and towns. In each of these countries, all the schools of every sect and party, private as well as public, are open to public inspection, and are visited several times every year by learned men, whose business it is to ex- amiue both teachers and scholars, and to give the government, the chambers, and the country, a full and detailed account of the state, condition, character, and progress of every school, so that parents may know where to send their children with safety ; that good teach- ers may be encouraged, rewarded, and promoted ; and that unworthy teachers may not be suffered to continue long in their situations. In each of these countries, the laws prohibit any person being a teacher of any school, until he has proved his efficiency to the com- mittee of professors, appointed by the State to examine candidates, and until he has laid before such committee testimonials of character from his religious minister, his neighbors, and the professors of the college at which he was educated. I can give a traveler, who is desirous of comprehending at one short view the workings of the German and Swiss systems of popular edu- cation, no better advice thsju to direct him to notice the state of the streets in any German or Swiss town, which he happens to visit ; no matter where it be, whether on the plains of Prussia or Bavaria, on the banks of the Rhine, in the small towns of the Black Forest or in the mountainous cantons of Alpine Switzerland, no matter where, let him only walk through the streets of such a town in the morning or the afternoon, and count the number of children to be found there above the age of four or five, or let him stand in the same streets, when the children are going to or returning from the schools, aud let him examine their cleanly appearance, the good quality, the excellent condition, and the cleanliness of their clothing, the condi- tion of the lesson books they are carrying, the happiness and cheer- fulness, and, at the same time, the politeness and ease of their man- ners: he will think he sees the children of the rich; but let him follow them home, and he will find that many of them are the off- spring of the poorest artizans and laborers ot the town. If that one spectacle does not convince him of the magnitude of the educational efforts of Germany, and of the happy results which they are produc- ing, let him go no further, for nothing he can further see will teach him. Let him then come home, and rejoice in the condition of our poor ; but, should he start at this extraordinary spectacle, as I have seen English travelers do. to whom I have pointed out this sign of advauced and advancing civilization, let Lim reflect, that this has b^en effected, spite of all the obstacles which impede ourselves. Bigotry 65 and ignorance have cried tlieir loudest ; Ilomanists have refused co- operatiou with Protestants, Protestants with Ilomanists, and yet they have CO operated. Tliere has been the same strong jealousy of all government interference, the same undefined and ill-digested love of liberty, and there has been the same selfish fear of retarding the de- velopment of physical resources. In Bavaria, the war has been waged between Romanists and Protestants ; in Argovie, opposition has been raised by the manufacturers ; in Lucerne, by the religious parties, and by the political opponents of the government ; and in Baden, the difficulties have been aggravated by the numbers of Jews, whom both Romanists and Protestants hated to receive into alliance, even more than they disliked to co-operate among themselves. Bat in all these countries the great principle has finally triumphed ; and all parties have yielded some little of their claims, in the full conviction, that a day is dawning upon Europe, fraught with the most overwhelming evils for that country which has not prepared for its approach. Whether the methods by which anj'- of these- different countries are carrying out their great design, are in any way applicable to this country or not, I shall not stop to consider, my desire being merely to show how different countries, with different degrees of political freedom, with different political constitutions, whose people profess different religious teuets, where Protestants of different sects, Roman Catholics, and Jews, are mingled up in every kind of proportion, have all managed to overcome difficulties precisely similar to those which stand in our way, and have all agreed to labor together to ed- ucate their poor. For it is a great fact, however much we may be inclined to doubt it, that throughout Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Bohe- mia, Wirtemburg, Baden, Hesse Darmstadt, Hesse Cassel, Gotha, Nassau, Hanover, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, and the Austrian Empire, all the children are actually, at this present time, attending school, and are receiving a careful, religious, moral, and intellectual education, from highly educated and efficient teachers. Over the vast tract of country, which I have mentioned, as well as in Holland, and the greater part of France, all the children above sis years of age are daily acquiring useful knowledge and good habits under the in- jluence of mural, religious, and learned teachers. All the youth of the greater part of these countries, below the age of twenty-one years, can read, write, and cipher, and know the Bible history, and the his- tory of their own counti'y. No children are left idle and dirty in the streets of the towns ; there is no class of children to be compared, in any respect, to the children who frequent our " ragged schools ;" all the children, even of the poorest parents, ai-e, in a great part of these countries, in dress, appearance, cleanliness, and manners, as polished and civilized as the children of our middle classes ; the children of the poor in Germany are so civilized that the rich often send their children to the schools intended for the poor ; and. lastly, in a great part of Germany and Switzi^rland, the children of the poor are receiv- ing a better education tluan that given in England to the children of the greater part of our middle classes ! These facts deserve to be well considered, 56 And let it be remembered that these great results have been at- tained, notwithstanding obstacles at hast as great as those which make it so difficult for us to act. Are they religious differences which hin- der us? Look at Austria, Bavaria, and the Prussian Rhine provin- ces, and the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Soleure. Will one say, that the religious difficulties in those countries are less than those which exist in our own ? Is the sectarianism of the Jesuits of Lu- cerne, or of the priests of Bavaria, of a more yielding character to- ward the Protestant " heretics," than that of one Protestant party in England toward another? And yet, in each of these countries the difficulties arising from religious diiferences have been overcome and all their children are brought under the influence of a religious edu- cation, without any religious party having been offended. But are they political causes, which prevent us proceeding in this great work, in which nearly all Europe has so long preceded us notwithstanding that we need it more than all the European nations put together ? Are they political causes, I ask ? I answer by referrihg my readers to the countries I have enumerated. Under the democratic govern- ments of the Swiss cantons, where it is the people who rule and legis- late ; under the constitutional governments of Saxony, Wirtemburg, and Baden, which were framed more or less upon the English model, and where the people have long had a direct influence upon the gov- ernment ; under the constitutional governments of France and Hol- land, and under all the different grades of absolute rule which existed but a few months since in Prussia, the German dukedoms, and the Austrian states, the difficulties of the question have long been over- come, and with such entire satisfaction to all parties, that among the present representatives of the people, no member has ever been heard to express a desire for the change of the laws which relate to primary education. But once again ; perhaps there are some who say, but there is no country which is troubled, as we are, by the union of both religious and political difficulties. I again refer my readers to the cases of Holland and Switzerland. They will find in these countries the same strong love of independence of action, which we boast so proudly and so justly. They will find also, not only strong religious feuds exist- ing among the Protestants themselves, and pushed to the most shame- ful extremities, as in the case of the canton of Vaud, from which one religious party has lately been driven as exiles, but they will find the still more formidable differences of the Protestants and Catholics ar- rayed against each other, and seemingly preventing all union on any subject whatsoever ; and yet, in fJl these various countries, differing as they do in the state of their religious parties, and of their political regulations, in all of them, I say, have all parties consented to join on this one great and important question, the education of the PEOPLE. But there are some who say, that if our means of direct education are worse, yet that our means of indirect education are better than those of other countries, and that if our people have not schools and good teachers, they have long had a free press, the right of assembling 57 together for political discussioB, plenty of cheap and very liberal journals, good reports of all the debates of our Houses of Legislature. and a literature free in its spirit, suggestive in its writings, and any thing but one-sided in its views of political and social questions, and that all this serves to stimulate the intellectual energies of the peo- ple. As far as regards the middle classes, this is all very true ; but, as regards the poor, it is ridiculously false. Most of our poor are eith^- wholly without education, or else possess so little as to be en- tirely out of the sphere of such influences, as those I have enumerated. What good can one of our boorish peasants gain from cheap literature, free parliamentary debates, free discussion, and liberal journals 1 What advantage is it to a starving man that there is bread in the baker's shop, if he has not wherewith to buy? What good is cheap litera- ture and free discussion to a poor peasant who can neither read nor think ? He starves in the midst of plenty, and starves too with a curse upon his lips. From the shores of the Baltic and the North Sea to the foot of the great Alpine range, and from the Khiue to the Danube, all the children of both rich and poor are receiving daily instruction, under the surveillance of their religious ministers, from long and most carefully educated teachers. Throughout the plains of Prussia, Bo- hemia, and Bavaria, among the hille and woods of Saxony and central Germany, in the forests and rich undulating lands of Wirtemburg and Baden, in the deep and secluded Alpine valleys of Switzerland and the Tyrol; in most of the provinces of the Austrian empire, through- out Holland. Denmark, and almost the whole of France, and even in the plains of Italian Lombardy, there is scarcely a single parish, which does not possess its school house and its one or two teachers. The school buildings are often built in really an extravagant manner ; and in Switzerland and South Germany, the village school is generally the finest erection of the neighborhood. In the towns the expenditure on these monuments of a nation's progress is still more remarkable — Here the municipal authorities generally'^prefer to unite several schools for the sake of forming one complete one. This is generally erected on the following plan : A large house is built of three or four stories in height, with commodious play yards behind. The one or two upper stories are used as apartments for the teachers ; the lower rooms are set apart for the difi'erent classes. A town school has gen- erally from eight to ten^ and sometimes twelve or fourteen, of these class-rooms, each of which is capable of containing from 80 to 100 children. An educated teacher is appointed to manage each class, so that there is generally a staff of at least eight teachers connected with each town school of Germany, and I have seen schools with as many as twelve and fourteen teachers. The rooms are filled with desks, maps, and all the apparatus which the teachers can require for the purposes of instruction. I generally noticed, on entering a small German or Swiss town, that next to the church, the finest building was the one set apart for the education of the children. It is impossible to estimate the enormous outlay which Germany has devoted to the erection and improvement of school-houses alone 58 during the last fifteen years. In the towns, hardly any of the old and inefficient buildings now remain, except where thej' have been im- proved and enlarged. In Munich, I directed ray conductor to lead me to the worst school buildings in the city, and I found all the class- rooms measuring fourteen feet high by about twenty-five square, and ten of such class-rooms in each school-house, each of which rooms was under the constant direction of an educated teacher. In whatever town I happened to be staying. I always sought out the worst, in pre- ference to the best schools. In Berlin, the worst that I could find contained four class-rooms, each eight feet in height, and about fifteen feet square ; and in the Grriind Duchy of Baden I found that the Chambers had passed a law prohibiting any school-house being built, the rooms of which were not fourteen feet high. Throughout G-ermany no expense seems to have been spared to im- prove the materials of popular instruction. Disputes about separate or mixed schools are xmheard of in Prussia, because every parish is left to please itself which kind it will adopt. One of the leading Pioman Catholic Counsellors of the Educational Bureau in Berlin assured me, that they never experienced any difii- culty on this point. •' We always,'' he said, " encourage separate schools when possible, as we think religious instruction can be promo- ted better in separate than in mixed schools ; but, of course, we all think it better to have mixed schools, than to have no schools at all; and when we can not have separate schools we are rejoiced to see the religious sects uniting in the support of a mixed one When mixed schools are decided on by the parochial committees, the teacher is elected by the most numerous of the two sects ; or, if two teachers are required, one is elected by one sect, and the other by the other,; and in this case each conducts the religious education of the children of his own sect. But when only one teacher is elected, the children of those parents, who difler from him in religious belief, are permitted to be taken from the school during the religious lessons, on condition that their parents make "rangements for their religious instruction by their own ministers." I went to Prussia with the firm expectation, that I should hear nothing but complaints from the peasants, and that I should find the school nothing but a worthy offshoot of an absolute government. To test whether this really was the case or not, as well as to see some- thing of the actual working of the system in the country districts, I traveled alone through diiferent parts of the Rhine provinces for four weeks before proceeding to the capital. During the whole of my soli- tary rambles, I put myself as much as possible into communication with the peasants and with the teachers, for the purpose of testing the actual state of feeling on this question. Judge, then, of my sur- prise, when I assure my readers that, although I conversed with many of the very poorest of the people, and with both Romanists and Prot- estants ; and although I always endeavored to elicit expressions of discontent, I never on' of the most liberal kind. On the one hand therefore, it intrusts the direction of them to the clergy ; and, on the other hand, it re- serves the right of examining them, so as tg have the power of inter- fering, in case the secular education of the students should be injudi- ciously curtailed. The director of each college appoints all the pro- fessors and teachers. The religious ministers have, therefore, a con, siderable share of the direction of these institutions. Their character is decidedly religious, and a union between the clergy and tlie teachers is effected, which is productive of the best possible results. Extract from Prof. Stoicc's Report on Eleinentary Instruction in Europe. " In regard to the necessity of moral instruction and the beneficial influence of the Bible in schools, the testimony was no less explicit and uniform. I inquired of all clas.ses of teachers, and men of every grade of religious faith, instructors in common schools, high schools, and schools of art, of professors in colleges, universities and profes- sional seminaries, in cities and in the country, in places where there was a uniformity and in places where was a diversity of creeds, of be- lievers and unbelievers, of rationalists and enthusiasts, of Catholics and Protestants ; and I never found but one reply, and that was, that to leave the moral faculty uninstructed was to leave the most impor- tant part of the human mind undeveloped, and to strip education of almost every thing that can make education valuable; and that the Bible, independently of the interest attending it, as containing the most ancient and influential writing.s ever recorded bv human hands, and comprising the religious system of almost the whole of the civi- lized world, is in itself the best book that can be put into the hands of children to interest, to exercise, and to unfold their intellectual and moral powers. Every teacher whom I consulted, repelled with indignation that moral instruction is not proper for schools ; and spurned with contempt the allegation, that the Bible cannot be intro- duced into common schools without encouraging a sectarian bias in the matter of teaching ; an indignation and contempt which I believe will be fully participated in by every high-minded teacher in Christen- dom." SAXONY. A number of common schools, corresponding to the wants of the people, is insured by a division of the kingdom into school circuits (schulbezirke.) and all the children residing in each circuit must at- tend the school there established. No boy can be apprenticed until after the age at which he may lawfully leave school. Congregations of different religious persuasions are allowed to establish schools in 64 their circuit, and if no other school exists than one so established, all the children of the circuit are bound to attend it; they are not, how- ever, required to take part in the religious instruction. Every school circuit must furnish a school-house, and a dwelling for the teacher. The schools are supported from funds of the church, from the interest on donations to the school fund, from fines levied on parents who neglect to send their children to school, from a payment made to the school fund in purchases of property, from collections, from the fees paid by the pupils, and from direct taxation. These funds are chargeable with the master's salary, with the furniture of the schools, books and slates for the poor children, prizes, insurance, and incidental expenses. The books used in the Protestant schools are, the Bible, Luther's Catechism, the hymn book, and three reading books, the selection of which is made by the local school inspector. In the Roman Catholic schools, the selection of books is left to the ecclesiastical authorities. The following is from Mr. Kay. Since the revolution of 1848, the education in all the -primary schools has been made perfectly gratuitous, so that every parent can send his children to any school free of expense ; except that, which is incurred by providing them with respectable clothing. Besides the day schools, there is still another class of schools, which merits our attention. These are the Saxon Sund.-iy schools. They are to be found in all the towns, in the great parishes, and in the man- ufacturing districts. They are opened on the Sunday mornings or Sunday evenings, and are intended for the instruction of all persons of whatever age they may be, who desire to continue their education, and who are prevented, by their week-day duties, from attending any of the primary or superior schools. They are frequented principally by adults, or by young people above the age of fifteen, who have left the primary schools. These classes are opened every Sunday for about three or four hours, and are conducted by some of the district teachers, who are paid for this extra labor by the county authorities. The education given in them is not confined to religious teaching. It comprehends besides this, instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geog- raphy, the physical sciences, drawing, and the new inventions of the age. These classes generally assemble on the Sunday evenings, in one of the dayrschools of the town or district. The incidental expenses necessary for warming and lighting the room, and for the purchase of the necessary books, &c , are generally defrayed by the voluntary con- tribution of the students, who attend the classes, and by the benevo- lence of rich people, who are interested in promoting these useful in- stitutions. When the funds derived from these sources do not suffice, the minister of public instruction is empowered to assist the town or other locality, in perfecting and supporting these schools. In many towns and parishes, however, they are entirely maintained by public subscriptions, and in these cases the students do not pay any thing for their education. 65 WIRTEMBURG. Each locality, comprising thirty families, is compelled by law to have a primary school. Localities containing a population of less than thirty families, are compelled by law to unite with a neighbor- ing locality in the establishment of a school. If the neighboring locality is at a distance of more than two and a half English miles, or the road thereto dangerous, then the Goverrrment Committee of Education can decree the establishment of a separate school even for fifteen families. If in a community of different religious confessions the minority comprises sixty families, they may claim the establishment and sup- port of a school of their own confession at the expense of the whole community. The expenses are paid by the whole community, with- out regard to religious confessions, and by each individual in propor- tion to the amount of taxes paid by him. In poor communities the government contributes in part toward the salary of the schoolmaster and repairs of the school. AUSTRIA. Austria has a system* of education which, from the village school to the university, is gratuitously open to all, and which, in all its de- partments, is. based on religion, and governed and moulded by the State. Its universality is secured not by direct compulsion, as in Prussia, but by enactments which render a certificate of school at- tendance and educational proficiency necessary to exercise a trade, or be employed as a workman,! to engage in the service of the State in any capacity, or to be married. Besides this, it is made the in- terest of the wealthy landholders to contribute liberally for the edu- cation of their tenants and the poor, by throwing upon them the support of the pauper population. All the institutions for education are under the supervision of a Board or Council (the Hof-studien Commission) at Vienna, composed of laymen appointed by the crown, and at the head of which a Miji- ister of Public Instruction was placed in 1848. It is the duty of this body to investigate all complaints against these institutions; suggest and prepare plans of improvement, and counsel the crown in all matters referred to them. Under them is a graduated system ' of superintendence, to be exercised jointly, by the civil and spiritual authorities in the various subdivisions of the empire. The bishop and his consistory, jointly with the landestelle, has charge of all the * The following account of the educational system of Austria is abridged main- ly from TurubuU's Austria. , t Turnbull mentions an instance of a large manufacturer in Bohemia, who was fined for employing a workman not provided with the requisite certificate of education. 66 scholastic institutions of the diocese ; the rural dean, jointly with the kreisamt, of those of a district ; the parochial incumbent, and the civil commsssary, those of a parish. This general arrangement has reference to the Catholic establishment ; but the proper authorities of the Protestant, Greek, and Hebrew churches are substituted for those of the Catholic, for all that regards the members of their several communions. Where children of different creeds are intermixed in one school, religious instruction and catechization is confined to the last hour of the morning and afternoon attendance, during which hour the non- Romanists are dismissed, to receive instruction elsewhere from their respective pastors ; but where the number of non-Romanists is suffi- ciently great to support a separate school, the minister of that per- suasion, whatever it may be, is charged exclusively with the same duties as, in the general schools, are imposed on the parish priest. — To ministers of all professions an equal recourse is, by the terms of the ordinances, allowed to the aid of the poor fund and of the grants from the kreisamt. If the schools be too distant or too numerous for the proper supervision of the local minister, a separate instructor is named by the bishop, or, if the school be Protestant, by the provincial superintendent; and, for the visitors of all denominations, the ex- pense of a carriage is equally borne by the public. Except in the points above enumerated, the parochial minister has no power to act, but only to report; in all those connected with defects or deficiencies of the buildings, he, in conjunctioii with the civil commissary, reports to the kreisamt, and in those of merely scholastic nature, as well as in the conduct oTthe teacher, he addresses his remarks to the inspec- tor of the district. To the episcopal consistories, headed by the bishop, is committed the general supervision of all the scholastic concerns of the diocese, the regulations of matters of discipline, the communication of instruc- tion, and the investigation of delinquencies. It is a part of their functions to order the erection of schools, to appoint the teachers, to authorize the payment of pensions to teachers in sickness or in age, and to their widows and orphans, when entitled to them ; but in these points, as in all others which involve any exercise of real authority, patronage, or influence, their acts are invalid without the confirma- tiim of the landestelle. For the professors of non-Romanist creeds, these respective functions are discharged in their several gradations by officers of their own persuasion. The Protestant seniors and SU' perintendents are the district-inspectors and the provincial inspectors- general for their respective communities ; and the functions of the diocesan consistories are transferred to the central Calvinistic and Lutheran consistories at Vienna. 67 SWITZERLAND. The following is from Mr. Kay. " Perhaps of all countries Switzerland offers the most instructive lesson to any one investigating educational systems and institutions. It is divided into twenty-two independent cantons, each of which manages its own internal policy after its own peculiar views ; so that the educational systems of the several cantons differ very materially, whilst the federal government which unites all, brings all into inti- mate connection one with another, and facilitates improvement, as the institutions which are found to work best are gradually adopted by all the different governments. Each canton being acquainted with tfie systems pursued by the others, the traveler is enabled, not only to make his own observations on the various results, but is benefited also by the conversation of men accustomed to compare what is being done by their own government with what is being done by others, and to inquire into the means of perfecting their educational systems. But the advantage to be derived from an investigation of the vari- ous efforts made by the different cantons, is still further increased by the fact of their great difference in religious belief Thus, the popu- lation of the canton of Vaud, for example, is decidedly Presbyterian — that of Lucerne is almost exclusively Roman Catholic, whilst those of Argovia and Berne, are partly Protestant and partly Roman Catholic. Not only, therefore, docs the traveler enjoy the advantage of study- ing the educational systems of countries professing different religious creeds, but the still greater one of witnessing the highly satisfactory solution of the various difficulties arising from differences of religious belief existing under the same government. The great development of primary education in Switzerland, dates from 1832 or 1833, immediately after the overthrow of the old aristo- cratical oligarchies. No sooner did the cantonal governments become thoroughly popular, than the education of the people was commenced on a grand and liberal scale, and from that time to this, each year has witnessed a still further progress, until the educational operations of the several governments have become by far their most weighty and important duties. Throughout all the cantons, with the exception of Geneva, Vallais, and three small mountainous cantons on the Lake of Lucerne, where the population is too scanty and too scattered to allow of the erection of many schools, education is compulsory; that is, all parents are re- quired by law to send their children to school from the age of six to the age of fourteen, and, in several cantons, to the age of sixteen. — The schoolmasters in the several communes are furnished with lists of all the children in their districts, which are called over every morn- ing on the assembling of the school ; the absentees are noted, and also the reasons, if any, for their absence; these lists are regularly examined by the inspectors, who fine the parents of the absentees for each day of absence. In the cantons of Berne, Vaud, Argovia, Zurich, Thurgovia, Lucerne, and SchafThausen, where this law is put in force most stringently, it 68 may be said with truth, that all the children between the ages of seven and fifteen are receiving a sound and religious education. This is a most charming result, and one which is destined to rapidly aflvance Switzerland, within the next eighty years, in the course of a high Christian civilization. One is astonished and delighted, in walking through the towns of the cantons I have mentioned, to miss those heart-rending scenes to be met with in every English town ; I mean the crowds of filthy, half-clothed children, who may be seen in the back streets of any of our towns, groveling in the disgusting filth of the undrained pavements, listening to the lascivious songs of the tramping singers, witnessing scenes calculated to demoralize adults, and certain to leave their impress on the susceptible minds of the young, quarrelling, swearing, fighting, and in every way emulating the immorality of those who bred them. There is scarcely a town in England and Wales whose poorer streets, from eight in the morn- ing until ten at night, are not full of these harrowing and disgusting scenes, which thus continually show us the real fountain-head of our demoralized pauperism. In Switzerland nothing of the kind is to be seen. The children are as regularly engaged in school, as their parents are in their daily occupations, and henceforward, instead of the towns continuing to be, as in England, and as they have hitherto been in Switzerland, the hot-beds and nurseries of irreligion, immor- ality, and sedition, they will only afford still more favorable opportu- nities, than the country, of advancing the religious, moral, and social interests of the children of the poor. How any one can wonder at the degraded condition of our poor, after having walked through the back streets of any of our towns, is a thing I never could understand. For even where there are any schools in the town, there are scarcely ever any play grounds annexed to them ; so that in the hours of re- creation the poor little children are turned out into the streets, to far more than forget all the moral and religious counsel given in the school. It is strange that we do not understand how invaluable the refuge is, which a school and playground afford to the children of the poor, however indifferent the education given in the school. This small country, beautified but impoverished by* its Alpine ranges, containing a population* less than that of Middlesex, and less than one-half its capital, supports and carries on an educational system greater than that which our government maintains for the whole of England and Wales! Knowing that it is hopeless to at- tempt to raise the character of the education of a country without first raising the character and position of the schoolmaster, Switzer- land has established, and at the present moment supports, thirteen Normal schools for the instruction of the school masters and school- mistresses, whilst England and Wales rest satisfied with six! Eleven of these schools are permanent, and are held during the whole of the year ; the remaining two sit only for about three months yearly, for * In 184G the population of Switzerland was about 2,100,000. 69 the purpose of examining monitors recommended by the masters of the primary schools, and desirous of obtaining diplomas to enable them to act as schoolmasters. In the majority of these schools the members of the different religious sects are received with a willing- ness and with a Christian charity, which puts to shame our religious intolerance. Nor does this liberality proceed from any carelessness about the religious education of the people, for no master can obtain, from his canton's government, a diploma, to enable him to officiate as schoolmaster, without having first obtained from a clergyman of his own church a certificate of moral character and of competency to conduct the religious education in the school for which he is des- tined ; but it proceeds rather from a recognition of this great truth, that the cause of religion must be deeply injured by neglecting the secular education of the people, and from a Christian resolution in all parties to concede somewhat, for the sake of insuring what must be the foundation of all social improvement, the advancement of the intelligence and morality of the people. M. Gauthe}-, a Presbyte- rian clergyman, and director of the Normal schools at Lausanne, M. Vehrli, director of the Normal school near Constance, the professors of the Normal school in Argovia, M. Schneider von Langnau, min- ister of public instruction in the canton of Berne, and M. Fellenberg, of Hofwyl, all assured me that they did not find the least inconven- ience resulting from the instruction of different sects in the same schools. Those who differ in faith from the master of the school are allowed to absent themselves from the doctrinal lessons given in the school, and are required to attend one of their own clergy for the purpose of receiving from him their doctrinal instruction. Even in Fribourg, a canton governed by Catholic priests, Protes- tants may be found mingled with the Catholics in the schools, and are allowed to absent themselves during the hours of religious les- sons; and, in Argovia, a canton which has lately so distinguished itself by its opposition to the Jesuits of Lucerne, I found that seve- ral of the professors in the Normal school were Catholics, and that the utmost .tolerance was manifested to all the Catholics attending the cantonal schools. The Swiss government perceived, that if the powerful sects in the several cantons were to refuse education to the Dissenters, only one part of the population would be educated. They perceived also, that secular education was necessary to the progress of religious educa- tion, and that they could secure neither without liberality ; and there- fore they resolved that all the children should be required to attend school, and that all the schools should be opened to the whole popu- lation. It may seem extraordinary to some that so small a country as Switzerland should require so many schools for teachers, but the ex- planation is very simple. Switzerland is a poor country, and al- though it gives the schoolmaster a very honorable station in society, and regards him as iiext in dignity to the priests and clergy, it is 10 70 not able to pay him very well, so that in many cases there is no other inducement to a schoolmaster to remain long at his post, than the interest he feels in his profession. From this cause there is al- ways a constant desertion from the ranks going on in some parts, and a consequent necessity for the preparation of a sufficient number to fill the vacant posts. If the masters were paid better, Switzer- land would be able to dispense with two or three of its Normal schools. Each canton in Switzerland is divided into a certain number of communes or parishes, and each of these communes is required by law to furnish sufficient school-room for the education of its children, and to provide a certain salary, the minimum of which is fixed by the cantonal government, and a house for each master it receives from the Normal school of the carUon. These communal schools lire, in the majority of cases, conducted by masters chosen from the most numerous religious sect in the commune, unless there are suffi- cient numbers of the different religious bodies to require more than one school, when one school is*conducted by a master belonging to one sect, and the other by a master chosen from a different sect. — The children of those parents, who differ in religion from the master of the school, are permitted to absent themselves from the doctrinal lessons, and are required to obtain instruction, in the religious doc- trines of their own creed, from clergy of their own persuasion. FRANCE. A distinguishing feature of the system of public instruction in France, is the appointment of all professors in ail the colleges and lyceums, and in the faculties of law, medicine, theology, and letters, and all the institutions of education above the primary school, by public competition {les concours.) A concours may last a few days only, or it may last for months. The months of September and Au- gust are the months of vacation in the different colleges, and are usual- ly devoted to the public competition of candidates for mfy professor- ship or chair declared to be vacant by the minister of public instruc- tion. The judges are selected from among the most distinguished scholars in France. The mode of conducting the trial varies with t'ne department to be filled. But it embraces every mode by which the accuracy and extent of the attainments of each candidate in the study can be tested, as well as his ability to communicate his knowl- edge to classes of pupils. Each candidate is subject to the criticism of his competitor. Every professor in all the colleges and great schools of France has passed through this ordeal. The central government, the departmental authorities, the muni- cipal authorities, the religious authorities, the heads of families, have e-i'ch their sphere of action, and their influence in the administration of primary schools. The local management of a primary school is intrusted tp a com- 71 mittee of tlie commune, consisting of the mayor, the president of the council, the cure, or pastor, and one person appointed by the committee of the arrondissement in which the commune is situated. The general supervision of the schools of eacli arrondissement is assigned to a committee of the arrondissement, which consists of the mayor of the chief town, of the juge de paix, a pastor of each of the recognized religious sects, a professor of a college, or school of secondary instruction, a primary schoolmaster, three members of the council of the arrondissement, and the members of the council-gen- eral of the department who reside in the arrondissement. Tliese committees meet once a month. The commun.al commit- tees inspect and report the condition of the schools in the commune to the committee of the arrondissement. Some member of the com- mittee of the arrondissement is present at each local inspection, and a report of the whole committee on the state of education in the ar- rondissement is made annually to the minister of public instruction. In each department there is a commission of primary education, composed of at least seven members, among which there must be a minister of each of the religious denominations recognized by law, and at least three persons who are at the time, or have been, engaged in teaching public schools of secondary instruction. This commit- tee is charged with the examination of all candidates for the certifi- cate of qualification to teach primary schools, or to enter the Normal School of the department. These examinations must be public, at a time fixed, and notified by the minister, and in the chief toAvn of the department. The examination is varied according to the grade of school for which the candidate applies. With a certificate of capac- ity from this commission, the candidate can teach in any commune in the department, without any local examination. From Nichol's Education of Ike People. OF MIXliD SCHOOLS, IN EESPECT OF THE MODE OF KELI- GIOUS WORSHIP. " Hitherto, while discussing the organization of primary schools, we have not taken into account that the inhabitants of the same district, as in many localities in Alsace, Lorraine, &c. in the south of France, may profess diiferent religions. It is on this account that the law gives to the Minister of Instruction, power to authorise, by the title of parish schools, seminaries especially belonging to any one of the forms of worship recognised by the State. This provision of the aw only treats with respect a custom already existing ; for in many of these mixed communities, the municipal contributions have for a long time been equally divided among the schools of the diiferent creeds. In populous villages, this division has no other inconvenience than that of keeping up, between the inhabitants who profess different religions, a separation which it would be desirable to have entirely removed ; still education and instruction do not suffer by it, as it is T2 suflBcient, in organising the schools, to proceed in the same manner as if for several distinct communities. But how can this be done in small villages which are divided between two sects ? There are in Alsace, villages with five hundred inhabitants which support two com- mon schools, one of which, belonging to the minority, often contains no more than fifteen or twenty pupils. The result of this is, that the two schools are not in a desirable condition. Shall the suppression of this school of the minority^ and consequently the advantage of having but one school better endowed and more suitably organised, be placed in the balance against the inconvenience of intrusting the education of a certain number of children to a teacher professing a different religion 1 — or what amounts to the same thing, shall there be mixed schools in a country which reckons religious equality amongst the most precious of its rights, and where the law itself places reli- gious instruction at the head of all education 1 We can conceive the assembling upon the same benches of pupils of different religions in special schools, and even in colleges ; because their religious con- victions are already formed, or because provision is made for the teach- ing of religion independently of, and apart from ordinary instruction ; and, even there, a strict impartiality an extreme delicacy is for many reasons necessary on the part of professors, lest they wound the feel- ings of one party of the pupils ; and care must be taken not to excite those differences, the effacing of which is the design of uniting them in the same school. But in popular schools, where religious instruc- tion is not only the most important part of education, but where the spirit of religion should pervade all. and serve as the foundation of morality, and a common prayer should commence and terminate the lesson, this admixture offers much greater difficulties. There are, it is true, some mixed schools where the most strict impartiality pre- sides, wnere no trace of confessed preference is found, where pupils of. differen religious professions sit quietly side by side, living together in the same manner, imbibing the same sentiments, and receiving from the same lips the same truths and precepts of morality and religion, not of religion under any particular form, but of universal religion, of that which all religious men profess, and which serves as the com- mon basis of all worship. But besides that few schools are thus man- aged, afid that their management pre-supposes very rare qualities, at what sacrifice are those results obtained 1 Is it not at the expense of all that forms the essence of religious education, nay, which is religious education itself? In suppressing at the commencement and close of the school confessional prayer, and substituting for it a prayer with- out any distinctive character, the religious habits of the children are disturbed ; the suppression of all prayer would deprive them of an important means of religious education ; and in making each portion of the children offer prayer for themselves apart, or in causing them all to recite the same prayer, if some are to kneel while others are standing, there is a great risk of nourishing in the minds of the chil- dren that very intolerance which they profess to be contending with, or else of implanting in their hearts the germs of scepticism and in- difference. In such a school, the master who professes the religion of 73 the majority is constantly under restraint, and never dares to express himself with entire ease and freedom, for fear of forgetting his jxirt of professional indiiference. He will be constantly liable to failure iu this duty ; and he will not be able to fulfil it but at the expense of the influence which he ought to exercise over his pupils. Until, there- fore, by a general progress in religion effected by other means, the diiTerent sects become reconciled, I think it is better to institute pri- mary mixed schools only where they are absolutely necessary ; that is to say, in districts very thinly peopled, or too poor to support several schools, or where nonconformists form only a very small minority — • But in this case it is most indispensable that the superior authorities take care that the religious acquirements of this minority, be it Cath- olic, Protestant, or Jewish, be not sacrificed ; and whenever the funds will permit it, there should be added to the principal master, an as- sistant who professes the religion of the minority." From the 3Inssachusetts Common School Journal, Volume 12. THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOLS OF FRANCE. Our readers may not be aware that, since the republic was pro- claimed in France, an attempt has been made by the Catholic clergy to procure an act of the General Assembly, restoring to the clergy the entire instruction and control of the National Schools. Before the time of Napoleon, every school, even the primaries, was instruct- ed by a priest, and very little was taught in them except the creed and the elements of the Catholic Faith. The Emperor changed the system entirely, and removed every priest from the schools. The Bourbons restored the priests at their own restoration, but the late revolution set the schools free again. Now an effort is making to bring the schools again under subjection to the church, and the fol- lowing extracts are from a speech by Victor Hugo, the author, who has had the manhood to speak the truth in the face of a hierarchy that would*supercede God and stultify men. — Ed. " You speak of religious teaching. Do you know what is the true religious teaching ; that before which we should prostrate ourselves; that which we have no occasion to disturb ? It is the Sister of Chari- ty at the bed of the dying. It is the Brother of Mercy ransoming the slave. It is A^'incent de Paul taking care of the foundling. It is the bishop of Marseilles in the midst of the plague-striken. It is the archbishop of Paris approaching with a smile that formidable faubourg St. Antoine, raising his crucifix above the civil war, and little disturbed at meeting his own death, if it only brings peace. — Here is true religious teaching; real, profound, efficacious, poi)ular religious teaching ; that which, happily for religion and humanity, makes more christians than you make. Ah, we know you ! we know the clerical party. It is an old party. This it is which mounts guard at the door of orthodoxy. This it is, 74 which has found for the truth those two marvellous supporters, ign-o- rance and error ! This it is, which forbids to science and to genius, the going beyond the missal, and which wishes to cloister thought in dogmas. Every step which the intelligence of Europe has taken, has been in spite of it. Its history is written in the history of human progress, but it is written on the back of the leaf. It is opposed to it all. This it is, which caused Prinelli to he scourged for having said that the stars would not fall. This it is, which put Campanella seven times to the torture for having affirmed that the number of worlds was infinite, and for having caught a glimpse at the secret of creation. This it is, which persecuted Harvey for having proved the circulation of the blood. In the name of Jesus, it shut up Galileo. In the name of Saint Paul, it imprisoned Christopher Columbus. To discover a law of the heavens was an impiety. To find a world was a heresy. This it is which anathematized Pascal in the name of re- ligion, Montaigne in the name of morality, Moliere in the name both of morality and of religion. Oh! yes, certainly, whoever you may be, who call yourselves the Catholic party and who are the clerical party, we know you. For a long time already the human conscience has revolted against you, and now demands of you, " What is it that you wish of me?" For a long time already you have tried to put a gag on the human intellect. You wish to b^ the masters of educa- tion. And there is not a poet, not an author, not a philosopher, not a thinker, that you accept. And all that has been written, found, dreamed, deduced, inspired, imagined, invented by genius, — the treasure of civilization, the venerable inheritance of generations, the common patrimony of knowledge, you reject. There is a book, a book which is, from one end to the other, an emanation from above, a book, which is for the whole world v/hat the Koran is for Islamism, what the Vedas are for India, a book which contains all human wisdom, illuminated by all divine wisdom, a book which the veneration of the people called THE Book, the Bible! Well, your censure has reached even that. Unheard of thing! popes have proscribed the Bible! How astonishing to wise spirits, how overpowering to simple hearts, to see the finger of Rome placed upcm the book of God ! And you claim the liberty of teaching. Stop, be sincere, let us understand the liberty which you claim; it is the liberty of not teaching. You wish us to give you the people to instruct. Very well. Let us see your pupils. Let us see those you have produced. What have you done for Italy? What have you done for Spain? For centuries you have kept in your hands, at your discretion, at your school, under your ferule, these two great nations, illustrious among the illustrious. What have you done for them? I am going to tell you. 1 hanks to you, Italy, whose name no man, who thinks, can any longer pronounce without an inexpressible filial emotion; Italy, mother of genius and of nations, which has spread over the universe all the most brilliant marvels of poetry and the arts, Italy, which has taught mankind to read, now knows not how to read ! Yes, Italy is, 75 of all the states of Europe, that where the smallest number of natives know how to read. Spain, magnificently endowed ; Spain, which received from the Romans her first civilization, from the Arabs her second civilization, from Providence, and in spite of you, a world, America; Spain, thanks to you, thanks to your yoke of stupor, which is a yoke of degradation and of decay, Spain has lost this secret of power, which it had from the Romans ; this genius of the arts, which it had from the Arabs ; this world, which it had from God ; and in exchange for all that you have made it lose, it has received from you — the Inqui- sition. The Inquisition, which certain men of the party try to-day to re- establish, with a shameful timidity far which I honor them ; the In- quisition, which has burned on the funeral pile five millions of men ; the Inquisition, which disinterred the dead to burn them as heretics ; the Inquisition, which declared the children of heretics even to the second generation infamous and incapable of any public honors, ex- cepting only those who shall have denounced their fathers ; the Inquisi- tion, which, while I speak, still holds, in the papal library, the man- uscripts of Galileo, sealed under the papal signet ! These are your master-pieces. This fire, which we call Italy, you have extinguished. This colossus, which we call Spain, you have undermined. The one in ashes, the other in ruins. This is what you have done for two great nations. What do you wish to do for France! Stop, you have just come from Rome! I congratulate you. You have had fine success there. You come trom gagging the Roman people ; now you wish to gag the French people. I understand. — This attempt is still more fine ; but take care, it is dangerous. France is a lion, and alive ! BELGIUM. During the union with Holland, the Catholics of Belgium com- plained of being oppressed by the Protestant government of Holland ; and this feeling no doubt led to the revolution of 1839 which sepa- rated the two countries. The popularity of the system of elementary schools was destroyed by the efforts of the government to control the institutions of second- ary and superior education, and especially by the measures adopted to enforce a Protestant influence from Holland into institutions sup- ported by the Catholics, who constituted a large majority of these provinces. In 1816 the king issued a decree for the organization of the upper branches of public instruction. By this decree three universities were created — at Louvain, at Ghent, and Liege — each to possess the five faculties, of theology, jurisprudence, medicine, mathematical and physical sciences, philosophy and letters. 76 In 1822, an edict was published forbidding all persons to exercise the functions of schoolmaster in the higher branches of education who had not been authorized by * the central board of instruction ; and by a decree of 1822, this edict was extended to all associations, civil and religious, and all persons were forbidden to take vows in any religious fraternity, without permission of the government. In 1825 all independent schools and seminaries were suppressed, and a philosophical college was established at Louvain, in which all who were destined for the ecclesiastical state were required to pass two years in study as a necessary condition for admission into any episcopal seminary. This movement was followed by a loud demand for liberty o^" in- struction, of the press, and of worship on the part of the Catholics, and finally a concordat was concluded with the court of Rome and the government of Holland, in virtue of which the episcopal theolog- ical seminaries were again opened, and the bishops left at liberty to provide at their own discretion for the instruction of the pupils. In 1830 the Nassau dynasty was banished from Belgium, and a constitutional monarchy was formed, under which the equal liberty of all creeds and religious communities was guaranteed, and the en- tire liberty of instruction proclaimed. HOLLAND. The general school laws provide that "measures shall be taken that the scholars be not left without instruction in the doctrinal creed of the religious community to which they belong ; but that part of the instruction shall not be exacted from the schoolmaster." — page 600. In the primary schools " at the opening and breaking up of each class, a christian prayer, solemn, short and suitable to the occasion, sliall be said daily or weekly. At the same time a hymn, adapted to the circumstances, may be sung." As the masters were prohibited from teaching any particular relig- ious doctrine in the schools, the government, through the Secretary of State for the Home Department, addressed a circular letter to the different ecclesiastical bodies in the country, inviting them to take upon themselves, out of school hours, the whole instruction of the younor, cither by properly-arranged lessons in the catechism, or by any other means. Answers were returned from the Synod of the Dutch Reformed church and other ecclesiastical bodies, assenting to the separation of doctrinal from the other instruction of the schools, and pledging themselves to extend the former through their ministers pf the different religious communions. 77 On the practical operation of the provisions for religious and moral education, we adduce the following testimony, Mr. Kay re- marks — The law of 1801 proclaims, as the great end of all instruction, the exercise of the social and Christian virtues. In this respect it agrees with the law of Prussia and France ; but it differs from the law of these countries in the way by which it attempts to attain this end. — In France, and all the German countries, the schools are the auxilia- ries, so to speak, of the churches, for, whilst the schools are open to all sects, yet the teacher is a man trained up in the particular doc- tiines of the majority of his pupils, and required to teach those doc- trines during certain hours, the children who differ from him in relig- ious belief, being permitted to absent themselves from the religious lesson on condition that their parents provided elsewhere for their religious instruction. But, in Holland, the teachers are required to give religious instruction to ail the children, and to avoid most care- fully touching on any of the grounds of controversy between the different sects. Mr. Nicholls says: "As respects religion, the population of Hol- land is divided, in about equal proportions, into Catholic, Lutheran, and Protestants of the reformed Calvinistic Church ; and the minis- ters of each are supported by the state. The schools contain, with- out distinction, the children of every sect of Christians. The religious and moral instruction afforded to the children is taken from the pages of Holy Writ, and the whole course of education is mingled with a frequent reference to the great general evidences of revelation. Bib- lical history is taught not as dry narration of facts, but as a store- house of truths, calculated to influence the affections, to correct and elevate the manners, and to inspire sentiments of devotion and virtue. The great principles and truths of Christianity, in which all are agreed, are likewise carefully inculcated ; but those points, which are the subjects of difference and religious controversy, form no part of the instruftion of the schools. This department of religious teaching is confided to the ministers of each persuasion, who discharge this portion of their duties out of school ; but within the schools the common ground of instruction is faithfully preserved, and they are, consequently, altogether free from the spirit of jealousy or proselytism. We witnessed the exercise of a class of the children of notables of Haarlem, (according to the simultaneous method,) respecting the death and resurrection of our Saviour, by a minister of the Lutheran church. The class contained children of Catholics, Calvinists and other denominations of Christians, as well as Lutherans, and all dis- putable doctrinal points were carefully avoided. The Lutherans are the smallest in number, the Calvinists the largest, and the Catholics about midway between the two; but all appear to live together in perfect ami- ty, without the slightest distinction in the common intercourse of life ; and this circumstance, so extremely interesting in itself, no doubt fa- ll 78 cilitated the establishment of the general system of education here de- scribed, the rjfirts of which arc so oppparciit in the highly moral and intellectual condition of the Dutch people.'" Baron Cuvier, in his report to the French government in 1811, says : The means devised for the religious instruction of all persuasions are extremely ingenious, and at the same time highly appropriate, without involving them in dangerous controversy. The particular doctrines of each communion are taught on Sundays, in the several places of worship, and by the clergy. The history of the New Tes- tament, the life and doctrines of Jesus Christ, and those doctrines in which all Christians agree, are taught in the schools on Saturdays, the day on which the Jews do not come to school, on account of their Sabbath. But those truths which are common to all religions, per- vade, are connected with, and are intimately mixed up with every branch of instruction, and every thing else may be said to be subor- dinate to them. The following is from Bache's " Report on Education in Europe." The results of the moral and religious instruction, communicated in and out of school, are fully shown in the character of the people of Holland; and these must be deemed satisfactory. Secto-rian instruc- tion is carefully kept out of the schools, while the historical parts of the Bible and its moral lessons are fully dwelt upon. There are various collections of Bible stories for this purpose, which are com- mented on by the teacher, and all the incidental instruction, so im- portant in a school, has the same tendency. Doctrinal instruction is given, according to an arrangement made with the churches of the various denominations when the school law was promulgated ; this instruction is imparted out of the school, on the half-holidays and Sun- days. Sometimes, when, as at the Hague, the pupils nearly all be- long to (me communion, a catechist attends at the school ; but even then, only those children whose parents wish it are present at the ex- ercises. • SCOTLAND. In 1615, an act of the Privy Council of Scotland empowered the bishops, along with the majority of the landlords or heritors, to es- tablish a school in every parish in their respective dioceses, and to assess the lands for that purpose. This act of the privy council was confirmed by an act of the Scotch Parliament, in 1633; and under its authority, schools were established in the lower and the more cul- tivated districts of the country. But the system was still far from being complete ; and means of obtaining elementary instruction con- tinued so very deficient, that it became necessary to make a more complete and certain provision for the establishment of schools. — 79 This was done by the famous act of 1696, the preamble of which states, thft " Our Sovereign Lord, con-siderino- lunv prejudicial tlie want of schools in many places had been, and how beneficial the es- tablishing and settling thereof will be to this church and kingdom, therefore, his Majesty, with advice and consent, &c." The act went on to order, that a school be established, and a schoolmaster appoint- ed in every parish ; and it further ordered that the landlords should be obliged to build a school-house, and a dwelling-house for the use of the master; and that they should pay him a salary, exclusive of the fees of his scholars: which should not fall short of 5/. lis. Id. a year, nor exceed 1 1/. 25. 2(1. The power of nominating and appoint- ing the schoolmaster was vested in the landlords and the minister of the parish ; and they were also invested with the power of fixing the fees to be paid him by the scholars. The general supervision of the schools was vested in the presbyteries in which they are respectively situated ; who have also the power of censuring, suspending, and dismissing the masters, without their sentence being subject to the review of any other tribujial. It has been usually expected that a Scotch parish schoolmaster, besides being a person of unexceptionable character, should be able to instruct his pupils in the reading of English, in the arts of writing and arithmetic, the more common and useful branches of practical mathematics, and that he should be possessed of such classical at- tainments as might qualify him for leaching Latin and the rudiments of Greek. It would be no easy matter to exaggerate the beneficial effects of the elementary instruction obtained at parish schools, on the habits and industry of the people of Scotland. It has given to that part of the empire an importance to which it has no claim, either from fer- tility of soil or amount of population. The universal diffusion of schools, and the consequent education of the people, have opened to all classes paths to wealth, honor and distinction. Persons of the humblest origin have raised themselves to the highest eminence in every walk of ambition, and a spirit of forethought and energy, has been widely disseminated. The best minds of Scotland are at this time directed to a recon- struction of the system of parochial schools, or to such an extension of its benefits, as will reach at once, the wants of the large towns, and of the sparsely populated parishes. Among the plans set forth, we have seen nothing more complete than the following, which is signed by some of the most distinguished names in Scotland. " The subscribers of this document, believing that the state of Scotland and the general feeling of its inhabitants justify and de- mand the legislative establishment of a comprehensive plan of na- tional education, have determined that an effort shall be made to unite the friends of this great cause on principles at once so general and so definite as to form a basis for practical legislation ; and with this view they adopt the following resolutions, and recominend them to the consideration of the country : — 80 1. That while it might be difficult to describe, with a near ap- proach to statistical precision, the exact condition of" Scotland at this moment in regard to education, there can be no doubt that, as a people, we have greatly sunk from our former elevated position, among educated nations, and that a large proportion of our youth are left without education, to grow up in an ignorance miserable to themselves and dangerous to society ; that this state of matters is the more melancholy, as this educational destitution is found chiefly among the masses of our crowded cities, in our manufacturing and mining districts, and in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where the people are not likely spontaneously to provide instruction for themselves ; that the quality of education, even where it does ex- ist, is often as defective as its quantity; and that this is a state of . things requiring an immediate remedy. 3. That the subscribers hold it to be of vital and primary impor- tance that sound religious instruction be communicated to all the youth of the land by teachers duly qualified ; and they express this conviction in the belief that there will never be any enlargement of education in Scotland, on a popular and national basis, which will not carry with it an extended distribution of religious instruction ; while, from the strong religious views entertained by the great mass of the people of this country, and the interest which they take in the matter of education, the subscribers can see in the increase of knowl- edge only an enlargement of the desire and of the capacity to com- municate a full religious education to the generation whose parents have participated in this advantage. 3. That the parish schools of Scotland are quite inadequnte to the educational wants of the country, and are defective and objectionable in consequence of the smallness of the class invested with the pat- ronage, the limited portion of the community from which the teach- ers are selected, the general inadequacy of their remuneration, and the system of management applicable to the schools, inferring as it does the exclusive control of church courts ; that a general system of national education, on a sound and popular basis, and capable of communicating instruction to all classes of the community, is urgent- ly called for ; and that provision should be made to include in any such scheme, not only all the parish schools, but also all existing schools, wherever they are required by the necessities of the popula- tion, whose supporters may be desirous to avail themselves of its advantages. 4. That the teachers appointed under the system contemplated by the subscribers should not be required by law to subscribe any relig- ious test; that Normal Schools for the training of teachers should be established; that, under a general arrangement for the examination of the qualifications of schoolmasters, the possession of a license of certificate of qualification should be necessary to entitle a teacher to become a candidate for any school under the national system ; and that provision should be made for the adequate remuneration of all teachers who may be so appointed. 81 5. That the duty and responsibility of communicating relicrious instruction to children have, in the opinion of tlie subscribers, been committed by God to their parents, and through ihem to such teach- ers as they may choose to intrust with that duty ; that in the numer- ous schools throughout Scotland, which have been founded and sup- ported by private contribution, the religious element has always held a prominent place ; and that, were the power of selecting the mas- ters, fixing the branches to be taught, and managing the schools, at present vested by law in the Heritors of Scotland and the Presbyte ries of the Established Church, to be transferred to the heads of fam- lies under a national system of education, the subscribers would regard such an arrangement as affording not only a basis of union for the great mass of the people of this country, but a far better se- curity than any that at present exists both for a good secular and a good Christian education. 6. That in regard to a legislative measure, the subscribers are of opinion, with the late lamented Dr. Chalmers, that 'there is no other method of extrication,' from the difficulties with which the question of education in connection with religion is encompassed in this coun- try, than the plan suggested by him as the only practicable one, — namely, ' That in any public measure for helping on the education of the people, government [should] abstain from introducing the element of religion at all into their part of the scheme, and this, not because they held the matter to be insignificant — the contrary might be strongly expressed in the preamble of their act — but on the ground that, in the present divided state of the Christian world, they would take no cognizance of, just because they would attempt no control over, the religion of applicants for aid — leaving this matter entire to the parties who had to do with the erection and management of the schools which they have been called upon to assist. A grant by the State upon this footing might be regarded as being appropriately and exclusively the expression of their value for a good secular educa- tion. 7. That in order to secure the confidence of the people of Scot- land generally in a national system of education, as well as to secure its efficiency, the following should be its main features : — 1st, That Local Boards should be established, the members to be appointed by popular election, on the principle of giving the franchise to all male heads of families being householders; and with these Boards should lie the selection of masters, the general management of the schools, and the right, without undue interference with the master, to direct the branches of education to be taught. 2d, That there should be a general superintending authority, so constituted as to secure the pub- lic confidence, and to be responsible to the country through Parlia- ment, which, without superseding the Local Boards, should see that their duties are not neglected — prevent abuses from being perpetra- ted through carelessness or design — check extravagant expenditure — protect the interest of all parties — collect and preserve the o-eneral statistics of education — and diffuse throughout the country, by com- 82 munication with the local boards, such knowledfre on the subject of education, and such enlightened views, as thair auth(3ritative position, and their comuiiind of aid from the highest intellects in the country, may enable them to communicate Were such a system adopted, the subscribers are of opinion that it would be quite unnecessary either for the legislature or any central authority to dictate or control the education to be imparted in the National Schools, or to prescribe any subject to be taught, or book to be used ; and should a measure founded on these suggestions become law, not only would the subscribers feel it to be their duty, but they confidently believe the ministers and religious communities in the various localities would see it to be theirs, to use all their influence in promoting such arrangements as, in the working of the plan, would eifectually secure a sound religious education to the children attend- ing the schools." IRELAND. The checkered experience of Ireland, — its dark and its brighf gi,5es. — forms one of the most instructive chapters in the history to popular education. It commences, according to the testimony of the earliest chroniclers, with institutions of learning, not only of earlier orio-in, but of higher reputation, than any in England or Scotland, — institutions Vvdiich were resorted to b}' English youth for instruction, who brouoht back the use of letters to their ignorant countrymen — According to Bedc and William of Malraesbury, this resort com- menced even so early as the seventh century, and these youth were not only taught, but maintiinod without service or reward. The o-reat college of Mayo wa.s called "the Mayo of the Saxons," because it was dedicated to the exclusive use of English students, who at one time amounted to no fewer than 2000. Bayle, on the authority of the historian of tlie-time, pronounces Ireland ''the most civilized country in Europe,* the nursery of the sciences" from the eighth to the thirteenth century, and her own writers are proud of pointing to the monastery of Lindisfarne, the college of Lismore, and the forty literary institutions of Borrisdole, as so many illustrative evidences of the early intellectual activity and literary munificence of the na- tion. But Ireland not only abounded with higher institutions, but there were connected with monasteries and churches, as early as the thirteenthcentury,teachersexpresslyset apart "for teaching poor schol- ars gratis." Whenthecountry was overrun by foreign armies, and torn by civif discord, and governed by new ecclesiastical authorities, set up by the conquerors, and not in harmony with the religion of the people, a change certainly passed over the face of things, and there follows a period of darkness and educational destitution, for which we find no *Thesc facts are stated on the authority of a speech of lion. Thomas Wysc, in the House of Commons, in 1835. 83 relief in turning to the history of English legislation in behalf of Ireland. Indeed there is not a darker page in the whole history of religious intolerance than that which records the action and legisla- tion of England for two centuries, toward this ill fated country, in this one particular. Even the statute of Henry VIII., which seems to be framed to carry out a system of elementary education already exist- ing before the new ecclesiastical authorities were imposed upon the country, was intended mainly to convert Irishmen into Englishmen. By that statute, every archbishop and bishop was bound to see that every clergyman took an oath "to keep, or cause to be kept, a school to learn English, if any children of his parish came to him to learn the same, taking for the keeping of the said school such convenient stipend or salary as in the said land is accustoraably used to be taken ;" and both higher and lower authorities, archbishops and their beneticod clergymen, are subjected to a fine for neglect of duty. The fatal error in this and in all subsequent legislation and associated effort for edu- cation in Ireland, until the last twenty years, was its want of nation- ality ; the schools were English and Protestant, and the people for whom they were established were Irish and Catholics, and every effort, by legislation or education, to convert Irishmen into Englishmen, and Catholics into Protestants, has not only failed, but only helped to sink the poor into ignorance, poverty, and barbarism, and bind both rich and poor more closely to their faith and their country. Every system of education, to be successful, must be adapted to the institutions, habits and convictions of the people. If this principle had been regarded in the statute of Henry VIII , Ireland, which had the same, if not a better foundation in previous habits and existing institutions, than either Scotland or Germany, would have had a sys- tem of parochial schools recognized and enforced by the state, but supervised by the clergy. This was the secret of the success of Lu- ther and Knox. What they did was in harmony with the convictions and habits of the people. So strangely was this truth forgotten in Ireland, that until the beginning of this century. Catholics, who con- stituted four-fifths of the population, were not only not permitted to endow, conduct, or teach schools, but Catholic parents even were not permitted to educate their own children abroad, and it was made an offense, punished by transportation, (and if the party returned it was made high treason.) in a Catholic, to act as a schoolmaster, or assist- ant to a schoolmaster, or even as a tutor in a private family. Such a law as that in operation for a century, coupled with legal disabilities in every form, and with a systen of legislation framed to benefit Eng- land at the expense of Ireland, would sink any people into pauperism and barbarism, especially when much, if not most, of the land itself was held in fee by foreigners, or Protestants, and the products of the soil and labor were expended on swarms of church dignitaries, state ofiicials, and absentee landlords. But even when these restrictions on freedom of education and teaching were removed in 1785. the grants of money by the Irish and Imperial Parliaments, down to 1825, were expended in supporting schools exclusively Protestant Upwards of $7,000,000 were expended on the Protestant Charter Schools, which 84 were supported by a society which originated in 1733, on the alleged ground '■ that Protestant English schools, in cortain countries inhabi- ted by Papists, were absolutely ney sects or religious persuasions ; thou i.s it the 98 theory, if not the design of such writers to preclude religious truth altogether from the minds of the youth of the land, and thus prepare the way for raising up a nation of infidels ! But if, on the other hand, it be insisted, as it has been by some, that as each religious persua- sion is the proper religious instructor of its own youth, therefore each religious persuasion should have its own elementary schools, and that thus denominational common schools should supersede our present public common schools, and the school fund be appropriated to the denominations instead of to the municipalities ; I remark that this theory is equally fallacious with the former, and is fraught with con- sequences no less fatal to the interests of universal education than is the former theory to the interests of all Christianity. The history of modern Europe in general and of England in particular, teaches us that when the elementary schools were in the hands of the church, and the state performed no other office in regard to schools than that of tax-assessor and tax-gatherer to the church, the mass of the people were deplorably ignorant and, therefore, deplorably enslaved. In Up- per Canada, the establishment and support of denominational schools to meet the circumstances of each religious persuasion would not only cost the people more than five-fold what they have now to pay for school purposes, but would leave the youth of minor religious persua- sions, and a large portion of the poorer youth of the country, without any means of education upon terms within the pecuniary resources of their parents, unless as paupers, or at the expense of their religious faith. 3. But the establishment of denominational common schools for the purpose of denominational religious instruction itself is inexpedi- ent. The common schools are not boarding, but day-schools. The children attending them reside with their own parents, and are within the charge of their own pastors ; and therefore the oversight and du- ties of the parents and pastors of children attending the common schools are not in the least suspended or interfered with. The chil- dren attending such schools can be with the teacher only from 9 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon of five or six days in the week, while during his morning and night of each week-day and the whole of Sunday, they are with their parents or pastors; and the mornings^ and evenings, and Sabbath of each week, are the very por- tions of time which convenience and usage and ecclesiastical laws pre- scribe for religious studies and instruction — portions of time during which pupils are not and cannot be with the teachei', but are and must be under the oversight of their parents or pastors. And the consti- tution or order of discipline of each religious persuasion enjoins upon its pastors and members to teach the summary of religious faith and practice required to be taught to the children of the members of each such persuasion. I might here adduce what is enjoined on this sub- ject by the Roman Catholic, and the several Protestant Churches ; iDut as an example of what is re(|uired, in some form or other, by the laws or rules of every religious persuasion, I will quote the 59th canon of tlio Churcli of Entrland. — which i.s as follows : 99 " Every Parson, Vicar, or Curate, upon every Sunday and Holy day, before Evening Prayei', shall, for half an hour or more, examine and instruct the youth and ignorant persons in his parish, in the Ten Commandments, the Articles of the Belief, and the Lord's Prayer ; and shall diligently hear, instruct, and teach them the Catechism set forth in the Book of Common Prayer ; and all fathers, mothers, mas- ters and mistresses, shall cause their children, servants, and apprentices, which have not learned the Catechism, to come to the Church at the time appointed, obediently to hear, and to be ordered by the Minister, until they have learned the same. And if any Minister neglects his duty herein, let him be sharply reproved upon the first complaint, and true notice thereof given to the Bishop or Ordinary of the place. If, after submitting himself, he shall willingly offend therein again, let him be suspended ; if so the third time, there being little hope that he will be therein reformed, then excommunicated, and so remain un- til he will be reformed. And, likewise, if any of the said fathers, mothers, masters, or mistresses, children, servants, or apprentices, shall neglect their duties, of the one sort of not causing them to come, and the other in refusing to learn, as aforesaid; let them be suspend- ed by their Ordinaries, (if they be nut cliildren.) and if they so per- sist by the space of a month, then let them be excommunicated." To require, therefore, the teacher in any common day scliool to teach the catechism of any religious persuasion, is not only a work of supererogation, but a direct interference with the disciplinary order of each religious persuasion ; and instead of providing by law for the extension of religious instruction and the promotion of Christian morality, it is providing by law for the neglect of pastoral and pa- rental duty, by transferring to the common school teacher the duties which their church enjoins upon them, and thus sanctioning immoral- ities in pastors and parents — which must, in a high degree, be injuri- ous to the interests of public morals no less than to the interests of children and of the common schools. Instead of providing by law for denominational day schools for the teaching of denominational catechisms in school, it would seem more suitable to enforce by law the performance of the acknowledged disciplinary duties of pastors and members of religious persuasions by not permitting their chil- dren to enter the public schools until their parents and pastors had taught them the catechism of their own church. The theory, there- fore, of denominational day schools is as inexpedient on religious grounds as it is on the grounds of economy and educatiimal extension. The demand to make the teacher do tlie canonical work of the clergy- men is as impolitic as it is selfish. Economy as well as patriotism requires that the schools established for all should be open to all upon equal terms, and upon principles common to all — leaving to each re- ligious persuasion the performance of its own recognized and appro- priate duties in the teaching of its own catechism to its own children. Surely it is not the province of government to usurp the functions of the religious persuasions of the country ; but it should recognize their existence, and therefore not provide for denominational teaching to the pupils in the day schools, any more than it should provide such TOO pupils with daily food and raiment, or weekly preaching or places of worship. As the state recognizes the existence of parents and the performance of parental duties by not providing children with what should be provided by their parents — namely, clothing and food ; — so should it recognize the existence of the religious persuasions and the performance of their duties by not providing for the teaching in the schools of that which each religious persuasion declares should be taught by its own ministers and the parents of its children. 4. But, it may be asked, ought not religious instruction be given in day schools, and ought not government require this in every school? I answer, what may or ought to be done in regard to religious in- struction, and what the government ought to require, are two diiferent things. Who doubts that public worship should be attended and fam- ily duties performed ? But does it therefore follow that government is to compel attendance upon the one, or the performance of the other 1 If our government were a despotism, and if there were no law or no liberty, civil or religious, but the absolute will of the Sovereign, then government would, of course, compel such religious and other instruc- tion as it pleased, — as is the case under despotisms in Europe, But as our government is a constitutional and a popular government, it is to compel no farther in matters of religious instruction than it is it- self the expression of the mind of the country, and than it is author- ized by law to do. Therefore, in the " General Regulations 07i the constitution and government of schools respecting religious instruc- tion^'' (quoted in a note on a preceding page) it is made the duty of every teacher to inculcate those principles and duties of piety and virtue which form the basis of morality and order in the state, while parents and school teachers and school managers are left free to pro- vide for and give such further religious instruction as they shall desire and deem expedient. If with us, as in despotic countries, the people were nothing politically or civilly but slaves and machines, command- ed and moved by the will of one man, and all the local school author- ities were appointed by him, then the schools might be the religious teachers of his will ; but with us the people in each municipality share as largely in the management of the schools as they do in making the school law itself They erect the school houses ; they employ the teachers ; they provide the greater part of the means for the support of the schools ; they are the parties immediately con- cerned — the parents and pastors of the children taught in the schools. Who then are to be the judges of the nature and extent of the relig- ious instruction to be given to the pupils in the schools, these parents and pastors, or the executive government, counselled and administered by means of heads of departments, who are changed from time to time at the pleasure of the popular mind, and who are not understood to be invested with any religious authority over the children of their constituents? 5. Then, if the question be viewed as one of fact, instead of theory, •what is the conclusion forced upon us ? xire those countries in Eu- rope in which denominational day schools alone are established and permitted by government, the most enlightened, the most virtuous, 101 the most free, the most pvosporou.s. of all the countries of Europe or America ? Nay, tlie very reverse is the fact Aud it were not ditiicult to show that those denominational schools in England which were endowed in former ages, have often been the seats of oppressions, vices, and practices, that would not be tolerated in the most imperfect of the common schools in Upper Canada. And when our common schools were formerly, in regard to government control, chiefly under the management of one denomination, were the teachers and schools more elevated in their religious and moral character, than at the present time ? Is not the reverse notoriously the case ? And if inquiry be made into the actual amount of religious instruction given in what are professedly denominational schools, whether male or female, (and I have made the enquiry.) it will be found to consist of prayers not more frei![uently than in the common schools, and of reciting a por- tion of catechism each week— a thing which is done in many of the common schools, although the ritual of each denomination requires catechetical instruction to be given elsewhere and by other parties — So obviously unnecessary on religious grounds are separate denomi- national schools, that two school houses which were built under the auspices of the Church of England for parish schools of that church — the one at Cobourg, by the congregation of the Archdeacon of York, and the other in connection with Trinity Church, Toronto E ist — have, after fair trial, been converted for the time being into common school houses, under the direction of the Public Boards of School Trustees in Toronto and Cobourg 6. I am persuaded that the religious interests of youth will be much more effectually cared f)r and advanced, by insisting that each religious persuasion shall fulfil its acknowledged rules and obligations for the instruction of its own youth, than by any attempt to convert for tliat purpose the common diiy schools into denominational ones, and thus legislate for the neglect of duty on the part of pastors and parents of the different religious persuasions. Tlie common day school and its teacher ought not to be burthened with duties which belong to the pastor, the parent, and the church The education of the youth of the country consists not merely of what is taught in the day school, bat also what is taught at home by the parents and in the church by the pastor. And if the religious part of the education of youth is, in any instance, neglected or defective, the blame rests with the pastors and parents concerned, who, by such neglect, have violated their own religious canons or rules, as well as the express commands of the Holy Scriptures. In all such cases pastors and parents are the responsi- ble, as well as the guilty parties, and not the teacher of the common school, nor the common school system. 7. But in respect to colleges and other high seminaries of learning, the case is different. Such institutions cannot be established within an hour's walk of every man's door. Youth, in order to attend them, must, as a general rule, leave their homes, and be taken from the daily oversight and instruction, of their parents and pastors During this period of their education, the duties of parental and pastoral care aod 14 102 instruction must be suspended, or provision made for it in connection with such institutions. Youth attending colleges and collegiate sem- inaries are at an age when they are most exposed to temptation — • most need the best counsels in religion and morals — are pursuing studies which must involve the principles of human action, and the duties and relations of common life. At such a period and under such circumstances, youth needs the exercise of all that is tender and vigilant in parental aii'ection, and all that is instructive and wise in pastoral oversight ; yet they are far removed from both their pastor and parent. Hence what is supplied by the parent and pastor at home, ought, as far as possible, to be provided in connection with each col- lege abroad. And, therefore, the same reason that condemns the es- tablishment of public denominational day schools, justifies the estab- lishment of denominational colleges, in connection with which the duties of the parent and pastor can be best discharged. Public aid is given to denominational colleges, not for denominational purposes, (which is the special object of denominational day schools.) but for the advancement of science and literature. alone, because such colleges are the most economical, efficient, and available agencies for teaching the higher branches of education in the country ; the aid be- ing given, not to theological seminaries, nor for the support of theo- logical professors, but exclusively towards the support of teachers of science and literature. Nor is such aid given to a denominational college until after a large outlay has been made by its projectors in the procuring of premises, erecting or procuring and furnishing build- ings, and the employment of professors and teachers — evincive of the intelligence, disposition and enierprise of a large section of the com- munity to establish and sustain such an institution. It is not, however, my intention to discuss the question of recogniz- ing and aiding denominational colleges in a system of public instruc- tion. My object in the foregoing remarks is to show that the objections against the establishment of a system of denominational day schools, do not form any objection to granting aid to denominational colleges as institutions of science and literature, and open to all classes of youth who may be desisous of attending them. The more carefully the question of religious instruction in connec- tion with our system of common schools is examined, the more clearly, I think, it will appear that it has been left where it properly belongs — with the local school municipalities, parents and managers of schools — the government protecting the right of each parent and child, but beyond this and beyond the principles aad duties of moralities common to all classes, neither compelling nor prohibiting — recognizing the duties of pastors and parents, as well as of school trustees and teach- ers, and considering the united labors of all as constituting the sys- tem of education for the youth of the country. — [pp. 261-267. Objections to the School System. I will now advert to some objections whicli have been made against the school law and the existing school system : — 103 1. Objections of certain opposers of the Separate School clauses of the Law. — The first objections which I shall notice, relate to that feature of the school law which permits, under any circumstances, the establishment of a Protestant or Roman Catholic separate school. On the theory involved in this provision of the law, or on the pol- icy of introducing it in the first place, I have nothing to say. But it is my deliberate and decided opinion — greatly strengthened by the experience and observation of the last year or two — that the abolition of this provision of the school law would greatly impede the advance- ment of the system, and do injury to all parties concerned ; and I entreat every friend to the continued and unparalleled prosperity of our school system, to abstain from all agitation and opposition against the provision of the school law for separate schools. I think it nec- essary, and but respectful, at the same time, to give my reasons for this opinion and counsel. 1. Let it be observed, that it is only when the teacher or teachers are Roman Catholics, that a Protestant separate seliool can be estab- lished, and only when the teach ir or teachers are Protestants, that a Roman Catholic separate school can be established. When once es- tablished, each school can be continued, as long as the parties establish- ing it shall comply with the reipurements of the law. 2. This provision for separate schools was introduced into the school law in 1S41, and has been continued in each of the four school acts which have since been passed by the Legislature. 3. This and all the other provisions of the school law^ have been considered from time to time, as unconnected with party politics or political parties. It is a singular faet, that four of the five school acts by means of which our school system has been thus far developed and sustained, were brought into the Legislature, and passed, under the auspices of four diflerent administrations of government. Es- pecially in 1850, when the whole school law underwent the most care- ful scrutiny and revision, and was placed upon its present foundation, it was agreed by the leading men of different political parties, that the interests and politics of parties should not be allowed, in any way whatever, to influence the consideration and interests of the school system. To that fact, and to the influence of the noble example thus given, upon the country at large, is our school system largely indebt- ed for its unrivaled success. I deprecate any departure from such a course; I deprecate making this or any other provision of the' school law, a political party watchword, or a " plank " in a political party " platform." The bitterest enemy of our school system could not de- vise a more effectual method of impairing its usefulness and impeding its progress, if not ultimately subverting it altogether, than by draw- ing it into the vortex of political partizanship, and eugulphing it in the whirlpool of political passions and sectarian animosities. 4. It is at variance with the principles of sound legislation and government to deprive any class of persons of any rights or privileges (whether rightly or wrongly conferred in the first instance) from the possession of which no public evils or wrongs have resulted. Now no evils have resulted or are likely to result from the len;al provision for 104 sepnrate schnols. Though this provision has been in existence twelve M'ars, the miinber of separate schools, both Protestant and Roman Ccitho ic, never exceeded 50. According to the last official returns, their number is only 2"), ot which four are colored, three are Protes- tant, and ei^^ldecn are Roman Catholic. Were they twice as numerous as they are, they would not affect the general operations and success of the school system. That system never had so strong a hold upon the public mind, and never was so prosperous, as at the present time. Tf the existence of the provision of the law for separate schools has not subverted, nor weakened, nor impeded the progress of the school system during twelve years of its infancy and weakness, it is absurd to suppose that that provision will endanger the system now that it has acquired strength and maturity, and is becoming interwoven with the warmest sympathies and dearest interests of the people generally. 5. The existence of this provision for separate schools, while it is practically harmless to the school system, prevents opposition and combinations which would otherwise be formed against it. Were there no such provision, how easily could tlie whole of one large religious persuasion be wrought up into vehement opposition to the school sys- tem ; how readily would individuals and small sections of other par- ties of the community, unite with such an opposition upon similar grounds, but with opposite objects in view; how promptly would a large number of persons in every country, opposed, upon selfish grounds, to all school rates on property, rise up under the pretexts of religious zeal against -state schoolism." In such circumstances, the school system would indeed be in danger, if not speedily overthrown. The existence of the provision for separate schools, averts such oppo- sition and renders such combinations impossible ; it fui'nishes a safety valve for the explosioa and evaporation of those feelings which would otherwise be arrayed against any national school system. The ex- emption of our school system from such opposition and combinations for its subversion and overthrow, has no doubt contributed to its more rapid growth and wider success. 6 The existence of the provision for separate schools has, in my opinion, averted, and does avert, evils from other parties — parties amonc whom the few separate schools chiefly exist. We have only to look to other states and countries to find examples of prohibitions, by ecclesiastical authority, to the youth of a large portion of the com- munity from attending the public schools at all, because of their al- leged danger to religious faith and morals; and in consequence of such prohibitions, many thousands of youth have 1 een seen growing up deprived of all school education; — it being maintained that it is better for our youth to grow up without ability to read or write, than ^ to have their religious faith corrupted or endangered From official intimations given, there is every reason to believe tiiat such prohibi- tions would be made in Upper Canada, as they have, indeed, been piade in several places The result would be the growing up amongst ps of many thousand youth wholly uneducated, and inveterately hos- tile to their fellow citizins of other religious persua>ions But with ^he provision in the law foj- establishment of separate schools, those 105 ecclesiastics who prohibit the youth of their flocks from attending the public schools, are morally and literally compelled to see them pro- vided with other schools: and wliere they neglect or fail to do the latter, they cannot honorably prohibit youth from the advantages of the former. Thus does this provision of the law afford a protection, as well as means, for securing to great numbers of youth a school ed- ucation of which they would otherwise be deprived. 7. Keligious minorities in school municipalities of Lower Canada, have the protection and alternative of a separate school ; and those minorities (being there chiefly Protestants) attach importance to this provision Religious minorities in Upper Canada, whether Protes- tant or Roman Catholic, cannot be fairly denied that relative protec- tion or right which, under the same legislature, they enjoy in Lower Canada. 8. The most, and, in my opinion, only effectual 'method of causing the ultimate discontinuance and abandonment of separate schools, is to retain the existing provision of the law on the subject. That pro- vision secures all that is granted to the dissenting minority of any municipality in Lower Canada, all that can be equitably asked for by such minority in any municipality of Upper Canada. I do not think the grounds on which separate schools are established, are valid ; I do not think there is any reasoHable necessity for such schools ; I think the law provides amply for the protection of the religious faith and morals of all classes in the public schools; I think those who establish separate schools voluntarily and needlessly place themselves and their children at a disadvantage in regard to sound education and in relation to the community at large ; I think it is impossible to make, as a general rule, the separate schools as efficient and cheap as the public schools; I think no other schools can rtand long in competition with the public free schools, especially in our cities, towns, and villages. But it is for the parties concerned to judge of their own interests and inclina- tions, not me. I am persuaded nothing but actual experiment, will satisfy them ; and I am equally persuaded that that experiment, the longer and more extensively it is tried, will produce only the deeper and wider conviction as to ihe disadvantage and inexpedience of sep- arate schools Experience and observation will teach the parties con- concerned, that their fellow citizens of other religious persuasions are not the unbelievers and dangerous characters they are represented to be ; that they have more interests and feelings in common with them, than in opposition to them ; that the tendencies of the age, and of all the institutions and enterprises of our country, are to cooperation and union among all classes of citizens, rather tlian to isolation and es- trangement from each other ; that there is no part of the civil and social economy in which this general cooperation and unity are more inijjortant and advantageous to all parties, than in the mental development of the whole youthful population of the country, and the diffusion of general know^.'dge ; that as all situations of public trust and emolument in our country are directly or indirectly depending upon the elective voice of the people, every man is inflicting an injury upon his chil- dren, who seeks to isolate them from that acquaintance and inter- 1 course and coraniunity of feeling with their fellow citizens, which, in the very nature of things, is necessary to secure general confidence and tavor. These silent and natural, but powerful, influences and obvious considerations will be more decisive and eifective, as to the multiplication and perpetuation of separate schools, than all the arbi- trary legislation that can be invoked on the subject. The burdens and disadvantage which are voluntarily embraced and selfincurred, can- not be complained of a grievance, and will not be long regarded as a privilege. — [pp. 19 to 22. Regulations resjoccting Religious Instruction and Exercises in the Schools. Objections to this Feature of the System. — Nothing has been elicited by the experience, observations, and discussions of another year to modify the conclusions which had been adopted as to the regulations in respect to religious instruction and^exercises in the schools. I ex- plained and remarked on these regulations at some length in my last annual report. I need add but little to what I then stated, and which will be found in Appendix G to this Report, No. 4, page 261. In the several petty and personal criticisms which have been publish- ed on my remarks, I have read nothing to weaken their force, or that has seemed to merit notice. All theories which transfer to the day- schoolmaster, between the hours of nine o'clock in the morning and four in the afternoon, during five days of the week, the obligations and duties which the Holy Scriptures, the primitive ages of the Christian Church, and the constitutions of all religious persuasions, enjoin upon parents and clergy, must be unsound and vicious in prin- ciple, and immoral in tendency. All theories which made the State the servant and creature of the Church is, as all history demonstrates, degrading to the former and corrupting to the latter. All theories which leave any portion of the population without a public provision for instruction in the elements of a practical education, and at vari- ance with the principles and ends of good government, and hostile to the rights and interests of men. All theories which compel, by human enactment, states or communities of men in respect to forms and exercises of religion, infringe the prerogative of Jehovah Him- self; trample upon the individual responsibility of man to his Maker ; and involve the assumptions on which have been based the most grind- ing politico-ecclesiastical despotisms and cruel persecutions that have cursed mankind and crimsoned the Church of Grod. If the right of local self-government is invested or recognised in an incorporated community, that right is as inviolable in respect to the smallest school municipality as in respect to the largest, Province or State. Facilities may be provided and recommendations may be given as to the mode of exercising that right ; but the adoption of such recommendations is at the discretion of the municipality itself Penalties, in the form of pecuniary losses, or in any other form,^o en- force such recommendations in exercises of religion, is an infringe- ment of a right sacred to every man as a moral agent, as well as to every free community. This painciple is so obvious, that it was recog- 107 nized and acted upon in Upper Canada, long before the creation of our present municipalities and the large discretionary powers with which they are invested. The utmost that a Provincial Board of Ed- ucation thought proper to do in those days, was to make the following recommendations, after the passing of the school law of 18 IG: — " 1. That the labors of the day commence with prayer. "2. That they conclude with reading publicly and solemnly a few verses of the JSew Testament, proceeding regularly through the Gos. pels. "3. That the forenoon of each Saturday be devoted to religious instruction." In those days there was nothing whatever in the school laiv on the subject of religious exercises and instruction, about which some per- sons talk so much now-a-days ; the most intemperate and vicious char- acters were employed as teachers ; there was no provision to give eft'oct to the above recommendation, or even to put them in the hands of school trustees ; they were scarcely known, if known at all, beyond the columns of one or two of the few oewspapers that were then pub- lished ; no steps whatever were taken to enforce them ; and every person acquainted with the state and character of the schools of those times, knows that in not one school out of ten, if in one out of twen- ty, were there daily prayers and Scripture reading, or religious in- struction of any kind, and that where anything of the kind was practiced, it was done at the option of the trustees and teacher of the school. Let any one compare the above quoted recommendations, with the existing regulations and recommendations on the subject, as given in the note to No. 4 in Appendix G- to this report, page 261, and he cannot fail to be impressed with the gross inconsistency of those who, though the architects and advocate of the former, are the assailants of the latter as essentially defective and even irreligious ! Perhaps a more remarkable example of blind partizanship could hardly be selected — an example, I believe, little approved of, or its spirit little participated in, by any considerable portion of the com- munity. — [pp. 27-29. M/VSSACHUSETTS. Extract from the Twelfth Annual Rejoort of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. The Colonial. Provincial, and State history of Massachusetts shows by what slow degrees the rigor of our own laws was relaxed, as the day-star of religious freedom slowly arose after the long, black midnight of the Past. It was not, indeed, until a very recent period, that all vestige of legal penalty or coercion was obliterated from our statute book, and all sects and denominations were placed upon a footing of absolute equality in the eye of the law. Until the ninth day of April, 1821, no person, in Massachusetts, was eligible to the 108 office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Counsellor, or to that of senator or representative in the General Coart, unless he would make oath to a belief in the particular form of religion adopted and sanc- tioned by the State. And until the eleventh day of November, 1833, every citizen was taxable, by the constitution and laws of the State, for the support of the Protestant religion, whether he were a Protestant, a Catholic, or a believer in any other faith. Nor was it until the tenth day of March, 1827, (St. 1826, ch. 143, ^ 7.) that it was made unlawful to use the Common Schools of the Slate as the means of proselyting children to a belief in the doctrines of particu- lar sects, whether their parents believed in those doctrines or not. All know the energetic tendency of men's minds to continue in a course to which long habit has accustomed them. The same law is as true in regard to institutions administered by bodies of men, as in regard to individual minds. The doctrine of momentum, or head- way, belongs to metaphysics, as much as to mechanics. A statute may be enacted, and may even be executed by the courts, long before it is ratified and enforced by public opinion. Within the last few years, how many examples of this truth has the cause of temperance furnished ! And such was the case, in regard to the law of 1827, prohibiting sectarian instruction in our Public Schools. It was not ea-y for committees, at once, tn withdraw or to exclude the books, nor for teachers to renounce the habits, by which this kind of instruction kad been given. Hence, more than ten years subsequent to the pass- age of that laWj at the time when I made my first educational and official circuits over the State, I found books in the schools, as strictly and exclusively doctrinal as any on the shelves of a tlieological library. I heard teachers giving oral instruction, as strictly and purely do:- trinal, as any ever heard from the pulpit, or from the professor's chair. And more than this; I have now in my possession, printed directions, given by committee men to teachers, enjoining upon them the use of a catechism, in school which is wholly devoted to an exposition of the doctrines of one of the denominations amongst us. These directions bear date a dozen years subsequent to the prohibi- tory law, above referred to. I purpo.sely forbear to intimate what doctrine or what denomination was ^"^ faoored" in the language of the law, by these means ; because I desire to have this statement as im- personal as it can be. 109 OPINIONS OF WRITERS UPON THE SUBJECT OF THE BIBLE AND RELIGION IN SCHOOt^S. PREFATORY REMARKS. After my report was nearly completed, I obtained and read the work of Dr. Cheever on "The Right of the Bible in the Public Schools." It is an able statement of all the arguments for the use of the Bible in public schools. Dr. C. argues that morality itself cannot be taught without religion, and that they cannot be disconnected. This is, to a certain extent, true, and makes one of the great difficul- ties of the question. With all that Dr. Cheever and Mr. Webster, and others whom he quotes, say upon the importance of Christian education, I fully agree. The question relates to the proper mode and place of giving it. The Dr. argues that a large portion of the children, if they did not obtain some knowledge of Christianity in the schools, would never get any at all. If this is true, would it not argue a great want of a proper zeal and attention among the Christians of our land ? But Dr. C. does not differ so much m practice^rom the plan I have proposed as would seem at first sight. A great part of his arguments are directed against the right claimed for any one single Catholic, or other person, to exclude the Bible entirely. I have advocated no such right, but so far as the law is concerned, I place the Bible on the same ground as other books. Dr. Cheever himself (pages 44 and 69) would allow Roman Catholics to use their Douay version in a class by themselves. And (page 52) he would allow parents to say whether their children should join in the reading or not. 1 he difference be- tween us is this : Dr. Cheever would allow this as di favor, an indul- gence, if I understand him aright, for, on page 51, he asserts the right to require pupils to read in the Bible, and maintains that it is no more compulsion than to require them to read in any other book. This is true, but I would not have pupils required to read from any book to which their parents had conscientious objections. What he would allow as a favor, I would acknowledge as a moral and legal right. Dr. C. refers to the case of an idolater, whose conscience might require him to destroy his own children, and to the case of a man who mjght conscientiously practice polygamy ; and asks, would the Legislature permit it out of regard to their consciences? Probably not. These cases seem to me to stand upon entirely different grounds from the right of freedom of opinion. These are cases entirely within 15 110 the competency and rightful authority of the Legislature to regulate, and we should all probably agree in the good sense and moral pro- priety of prohibiting them. But there is one credit which certainly belongs to Dr. Cheever beyond almost any Protestant writer upon the subject. He has not only the ability to see, but the candor and boldness to admit and state the full consequences of the doctrines he maintains. Catholics we know come out boldly ; and so does Dr. Cheever. Claiming, as Dr. Cheever does, that this is a case where the majority should govern, and that the " greater amount of conscience" should be respected, he frankly admits (page 63) that " if it be found on the side of the Bible, it ought to prevail in the right to have the Bible ; if it be found against the Bible, it ought to prevail in the right to exclude the Bible," and that whether it be found on the side of Protestantism or of Romanism, it ought to prevail. He admits (page 66) the right of a Jewish government to teach the Talmud, and of Mahometans to teach the Koran in schools. They have the right " both by majority and by conscience." Now Dr. Cheever himself is no persecutor : the references we have given above (44, 52, 69) show that he has none of this spirit; and yet it may be well to consider whether the principles he advocates (pages .51, 63, 66, &/C.) are not the same principles which have been used in foreign countries by Kings, Popes and Priests to justify their forcing their own religion upon a minority ; the same principles which drove our forefathers away in exile from their homes to the then New England wilderness. We now commence a series of extracts from different writers upon this question, writers of all denominations. Catholic and Protestant, giving their different views. We wish the people to see and hear all sides. It is only in this way that they can learn the difficulties which surround the question, and learn charity and forbearance for those who differ from them. We find these difficulties very ably and comprehensively stated in an article in one of our popular magazines, Harper's for July, 1853 : " All great questions have two sides to them. They would not be great questions if it were not so. A conviction of this is as essential to the correctness and clearness of our reasoning, as to the kindness and forbearance of our conclusions. Not that truth is indifferent, or is to be found by indolently travelling some convenient via media ; moral and political truth is as fixed in its principles as the mathemati- cal, but the interests, and passions, and depravities of mankind present Ill difficulties of application which have no place in the purely specula- tive. No mental faculty, therefore, is of higher value than that by which we are enabled to view qu(!stions from a foreign stand-point, and to get ourselves into the spirit of ages, and- circumstances, And modes of thinking, remotely diverse from our own." ********** " Among ourselves, three parties have already developed them- selves. More will probably arise; but they will all become arranged under these primary divisions. There is the Protest;) nt Evangelical interest — we use the name not as the most appropriate in itself, but as the best that can be employed if we would get rid of the vagueness which attaches to the first part of the compound — there is the Roman- ist — and there is the Infidel. The latter might be complained of as an improper and injurious term ; but we find nothing more conven- ient, and, in fact, more just, to denote those of every kind who would make education exclusively secular, and who maintain this ground, either through their dislike to the more serious aspects of religious truth, or because they claim it as the only possible way of avoiding the difliculties which are pressed upon the subject by the conflicting demands of the other two parties. They are Infidels, or, if they would prefer the name, Libaralixts, in regard to the belief that would hold the secular and the physical in education to be not only imper- fect, but positively pernicious, when pursued to the exclusion of the spiritual. The two extremes, or the two acute angles in this triangular con- troversy, are the Romanist and the Liberal ist, aswe have defined him. One contends for an education to be paid for by the State, and yet definitely and denominationally religious. The other demands the entire exclusion of religious teaching, or religious influences of every kind. The third party hopes to steer a middle course. It would secure religious and moral instruction; yet of such a characteras to give no just cause of offense — that is, no just cause in its estimation — either to its right or left hand antagonists. Are any of these schemes practicable? It would seem the easiest of all to deal with the position of the Romanist — we mean logically, for practically the greatest difficulty, perhaps, will be found on this side. The answer to his claim of a share of the public money pre- sents itself at once. If for one, for all. And so the whole of our boasted educational system is reduced to the collecting and distribu- ting of money. When brought to this condition, too, each sect could only receive, not in proportion to the number of its children, but, in proportion to the taxes it had contributed ; for who would contend for the justice of taxing Protestants to pay for the education of children in the exclusive tenets of Romanism? as must be the case, if, in pro- portion to their numbers, the former are the wealthiest portion of the community ? How is it with what we have called the Evangelical Protestant scheme ? It might do for a large middle ground ; though even this, a jealous sectarianism among Protestants themselves, would be con- tinually narrowing. It is, however, the best and only one of the three 112 that could be selected, should it be decided that the State must edu- cate, and that, too, on someone system that would make its education a blessing and not a curse. In that case, we must decide, as well as we can, what moral and religious influences are predominant in the nation, and make them the controlling power in a system of national education, with as much tolerance as possible for every thing else. By predominant we mean, not the bare assent of a numerical majority for the time being, but that prevailing view of things spiritual which has been active in the national history, and thus entered largely into the national character, or what may be called the national life. To disregard this is inevitably to denationalize ourselves. A State that does not, in this sense, possess some predominant moral and religious character, or that regards " all faiths, all forms" as alike good, alike evil, can have no true sanctions for its laws, can command no per- manent respect for its institutions. Its mere physical force wll be ultimately of no avail in the absence of that fixed moral sentiment, without which law has no self-sustaining power, and all enactments become in time a dead letter, not merely negatively useless, but actu- ally breeding a deadly pestilence in the national conscience. Such a State, in short, can claim no more regard, or reverential obedience, than the individual man who stands in the same faithless and godless predicament. We see no assailable point in these general positions. It is only when we attempt to make specific applications that the difficulties present themselves ; and these difiiculties it would be well for us to look steadily in the face. The advocate of some predominant middle ground is drivent o defend himself, and make goodhis position against two apparently most opposite antagonists. Almost every argument he urges against one extreme is turned with some plausibility against liim by the other. The Romanist pierces him with the same weapon he had employed against the infidel. The infidel assails him in the very quarter which he liad regarded as his vantage ground in a con- flict with the Romanist. Against this latter class of antagonists, he may indeed maintain, and with much appearance, at least, of proof, that their newly displayed zeal for common school education is lack- ing in a hearty sincerity. He may pose them with the questions — How comes it that this feeling ever slumbers until aroused by Pro- testant efforts? Why is it only exhibited in predominantly Protestant countries ? Why is there not as much interest felt for the education of the poor, and the children of the poor, in Sicily, and Portugal, and Mexico, as in Great Britain and America ? But all this amounts to nothing in the argument. T-Jie Romanist stands on the ground of the Constitution. His religion is to be respected. He claims relief against any public system of education which is either directly or indirectly hostile to it. It is no answer to him to say that this is according to the nature of things. It will not be enough to tell him that under present circumstances, as they exist in the present age of the world, all free or common education must be hostile to Roman- ism. Such a nature of things and circumstances, and such influences 113 of the present age, he would say are evil and wrong. They affect injuriously his cherished belief, and he asks protection from a State which is constitutionally bound, as he says, to an exact impartiality, or, rather, to an undisturbed indifference. Very similar to this is the reasoning the Evangelical Protestant is compelled to employ, when assailed by the Liberal ist with a demand for the entire exfclusion of all but the purest scientific instruction. Such an exclusion, he contends, although apparently a merely nega- tive act, is positive hostility. There can be strictly no neutrality. In the present state of things exclusion is reprobation, and an infidel bias upon the young mind is the fruit of an assumed yet unreal im- partiality. Under the pretense of indifference to all sects, there is a favoring of the very worst. There is a show of fairness, but in the very nature of such a state of things, every movement tends to the advantage of those who hoW to negations instead of positive truth. The definite language necessarily employed in the statement or de- fense of the latter carries the appearance of sectarianism. It stands outplear and uncompromising. The cant of an infidel rationalism is more flexible. It assumes to be philosophical, and under this guise attacks the most precious truth without creating alarm. No position can be more unanswerably just than that a system of education which, under the pretense of fairness, excludes certain definite religions views as sectarian, should also equally exclude any direct or indirect denials of them. If, for example, the doctrine of a future penal retribution can not be taught, or if it must be expurgated when even alluded to in a reading book, on what principle of justice or consistency shall another doctrine in every respect opposed to it be allowed to come creeping in under the name of phrenology, or the philosophy of hu- hmanity, or some system of pretended ethics, which, after all, is but the sheerest naturalism. There has been more than one example of just such a kind of neutrality in the selection of re^ading books, and volumes for district libraries. Robert Hall's works would be shut out as sectarian ; so would any religious periodical openly devoted to the maintaining certain definite theological views. On the other hand, Combe's Constitution of Man, and The Westminster Review, are freely allowed to come in under the cloak of philosophy and lite- rature. Our public officers may mean to be fair ; but of many of them it may be truly said — they know no better. Their own highest education, perhaps, has been that of the party newspaper, the political caucus, or the flash lecture system of the day ; and how should they be expected to keep the track of so wily and slimy a thing as the modern infidelity. Again, a direct attack on certain religious views is not half so dangerous as the pretense of teaching morals on a plan which Carefully excludes ail distinctively religious ideas. A believer in the Atonement and the Trinity might more safely have his chil- dren brought in direct contact with Volney and Voltaire, than with the system of expurgated school-books which has been adopted in some parts of our land. Thus reasons, and most justly and pertinently reasons, our middle 114 man, or our Evangelical Protestant, as we have styled him, when he loses sight of his Romish, and turns him to his Infidel antagonist. We have merely given the outline points of his argument, but it might be filled up so as to appear extremely forcible, to say the least, if not wholly unanswerable. It could be shown almost to a mathematical certainty, that in the present system of things, the decision of dispu- ted questions, arising out. of the selection of school and library books, must continually result in the triumph of the infidel, or negative, in- terest, whenever it comes in conflict with positive truth." Extracts from Dr. Checvcr on the "Right of the Bible in our Public Schools." " We propose to show, on the other hand, that while it is essential to forbid sectarianism in the public schools, it is as essential to bring them under the teachings and power of true religion ; that religion should not be driven out under cover of repelling sectarianism ; that it is as clearly the right and duty of the State to instruct the children in religious, as it is in secular truth; keepmg out sectarianism by keeping in the Bible, and preventing bigotry by making religion free, and bringing all the children under the same celestial light ; that the Bible in our schools is the birth-right of all the children, but especially of those who can have no other education but such as the State gives them ; that the government is bound, in justice to the overwhelming Christian majority whom it taxes for the support of common schools, to place the Bible and the common truths of Christianity in the course of free common school education ; that this is a right of the Christian conscience which cannot justly be refused at the demand of any sect; that It is essential to the security of our laws and institutions, and to the preservation. both of civil and religious liberty ; that its exclusion would alienate the affections and support of the whole Christian com- munity from the common school system ; that education in our coun- try has been grounded in the Bible from the beginning, and that its banishment would be a measure of defiance to the Supreme Being, and of inevitable danger and disaster to the republic." — [pp. 11-12. " The right to teach the Scriptures, and to have them read in the public schools, is founded on the fact that they are the Word of God for the instruction of mankind. A revelation from Heaven for all mankind is the property of no sect, and cannot be called sectarian ; consequently no sect has any right of conscience to object against it. If the introduction of it is contrary to conscience, if the reading of it is an act of intolerance towards those, or the conscience of those, who object against it, then the promulgation of it as an authoritative reve- lation, is an intrusion upon conscience, and by this argument God himself is represented as doing violence to conscience in enforcing his own Word upon all men, on pain of eternal penalties if they do not receive it." — [p. 13. 115 " You have forgotten or ignored the fact that others, besides the opposers of the Scriptures, have a conscience also. They are, more- over, the overwhehuing majority, a point which we shall thoroughly consider. They will tell you that after the Word of God is thus prohibited, and the whole round of literature expurgated of every ' religious bias,' all the religious element, and even the Protestant historical element eliminated, they, in their turn, are conscientiously prohibited, by that very exclusion and elimination, from the benefit of an education by the Government. They pay their tax ; but the Government oppresses and tramples on their constitutional and con- scientious rights, and offers them, instead of a free education, an edu- cation fenced round with bars and lances, an education provided with dykes to keep out the influx of Christianity, like the swamps of Hol- land with their embankments sustained at such an enormous expense, to keep out the sea. It offers them, instead of an education for free- men, an education hoodwinked, fettered, jealous, that like a liveried horse, cannot travel in the public highway without blinders. It offeis them, instead of a system open and fearless, producing habits of inquiry and investigation, a coward education that cannot bear the light, — nay, an education of which one of the fixed and guiding ele- ments is the exclusion of the light; an education that must stifle the voice and muffle the drum of history ; an education that cannot endure so much as the mention of the name of Martin Luther, but with priest's curses." — [pp. 33-34. " Have they no claim to a perfect religious freedom ? Are all sects in turn to be promoted, and they alone contemned ?" — [p. 35. " Their conscience happening to be in behalf of the Bible, is branded as an intolerant conscience, interfering with the rights of a perfect religious liberty. The conscience of the Romanist, who hates the Bible, and must get it out of the schools, and not only so, but must have the school-books expurgated by the priest, or he will not send his children, you respect." — [p. 36. " If the Romanists choose to use any other English version in the schools, they are at perfect liberty so to do ; let them use their Douay version, if they please. Classes might be formed in any or every school with the Douay verson, or the common English version, and either be used at pleasure. But for one party to say to the other, — Because we do not desire to have the English translation used in the schools, you shall not have it, and for this to be enforced as the rule, would be glaring injustice and intolerance." — [p. 44. " Suppose again, that the New Testament is used as a class book in the schools, and a certain number of children refuse to read that, and persist in the refusal. Is it any less wrong, any less a breach of order and discipline, to refuse to read the lesson in the New Testa- ment, than it would be to refuse to get the lesson in Colburn's Sequel ?"— [p. 47. 116 " Because the Constitution requires that all denominations shall have equal rights, therefore no denomination shall have a right to the Bible, if any denomination object to it. Is not that an admirable logic of equality and freedom ? " The appointment of a reading lesson from the sacred Scriptures, with a rule that the whole class, or the whole school, as the case may be, shall take part In it, is no more an instance of religious compul- sion, than the appointment of a reading lesson from the Task, or from the Paradise Lost. If the children were compelled to give their assent to it, or signify their belief of any religious truth in it, then indeed it would be compulsion. But the appointment of a reading lesson from the Bible is no more an oppression upon conscience, than the teaching of the art of reading itself is an oppression upon conscience. Any school exercise is as much an oppression as the reading of the Bible, if any child refuse it, and be compelled to join in it. Yet, to avoid even the appearance of compulsion, it should be entirely at the option of parents to say whether their children shall join in such an exercise. We shall consider this matter again under the example of Scotland." —[p. 51-2. " ' Conscience,' you say, ' knows no majorities.' Does it mend the matter to have the minurity rule ? You are bound to suppose as much conscience on the one side as the other; if a conscience in the minority against the Bible, a conscience also in the majority demand- ing it. If, then, it is not the bare force of a majority that retains the Bible, it must be the bare force of a minority that excludes it; and which intolerance and injustice is the greatest? By your reasoning, you would give all the positive rights of the majority into the power of a negative in the minority, sacrificing what is dear as a matter of conscience to twenty millions, for the prejudices of two millions." — [pp. 58-59. " My scruples in favor of the Bible are at least as sacred, and as worthy to be regarded, as the scruples of any other man against the Bible. The Government cannot any more rightfully deprive me of the benefit of an education, because I happen to have a conscience in favor of the Bible, than it can another man, who has a conscience against the Bible. Admit such an equality, and how i*s it possible to decide the matter, but by the majority?" — [pp. 60-61. "In this case, shall the conscience of the smaller number bind the conscience of the larger? That would be most glaring, absurd, and inicjuitous. Shall, then, the claim of the conscience of the lar- ger number be admitted as superior to the claim of the conscience of the smaller? There is no other alternative; and certainly, in all reason, if, as is the essence of this theory, and of this argument against the Bible, you-put both consciences on a par, as to right and excellence, the greater amount of conscience should weigh against the smaller. If, as you propose, conscience is to be respected, then the greater amount of conscience is to be respected, rather than the smaller, and this, no matter on what side the greater amount is to be 117 found. If it be found on the side of tlie Bible, it ought to prevail in the right to have the Bible; if it be found against the Bible, it ouo-ht to prevail in the right to exclude the Bible. If it be found on the side of Protestantism, (if you will force a sectarian question into the public school system, as you are doing,) it ought to prevail there ; if on the side of Romanism, it ought to prevail there. But it is those and those only, who would exclude the Bible, that have intruded this foreign question of strife and bitterness in regard to Romanism and Protestantism ; it was never broached before, never by the friends of the Bible, never by the founders of our school system, with the Bible free for all." — [pp. 62-G3. " But take it as you state it^ and set even the Talmud or the Koran in the balance, and on your own premises as to conscience, they would have that right, as on the principle of majority. And it would be the height of absurdity and intolerance to refuse it. You are not obliged to send your children to listen to the Talmud, if you happen to be living under a Jewish government ; you have the privilege of giving them whatever instruction you please at home. " But you would not send your children to such a school, you say, — could not conscientiously do it — and therefore you assume that it is wrong to have such a school. But this is just setting up your particular conscience as the law for theirs. And by what right could you pretend to do this? They have the right to teach the Talmud, both by majority and by conscience ; and are you to play the tyrant, and on the plea that your conscience is outraged by their schools, demand that they themselves shall outrage their own conscience for your sake, and banish the Talmud, which conscience requires them to use, because you aver that it is a pain and oppres- ion to conscience to hear it ? This would be despotism indeed. — Are you going to deny to a Jewish government the right to appoint the Talmud in its schools for the thousands who believe in it, be- cause you, as an individual, do not wish your children to hear it? — Yes, you say, because you have to pay a tax for the support of the schools. But on your own argument it is better to have schools even with the Talmud, than no schools ; so that no injustice is done you in taxing you for that which is as much for your good as for the good of society, even though you profess yourself conscientiously debarred from availing yourself of the benefits for your children. " You say you have the right to demand of the government a school according to your principles, because you pay your tax ; be it so; then certainly the majority of tax-payers have the same right to de- mand a school according to their principles ; they have the same right with yourself, on the ground of paying theAr tax, to say what A'/zjc? of schools thei/ shall have. Are you ready, by the fact of pay- ing yourtax, to claim the right of legislating by your opinion over all the other tax-payers ? Have you the right, because you pay your tax, to tell them that they shall not have the Talmud, which they consci- 16 118 entiously demand, because you, a tax-payer, cannot conscientiously listen to it ? Just so with the Koran and the Mohammedan. On your theory, you would have the ricrht to turn a whole village of Mo- hammedan children out of school by means of conscience ; making the government for your sake exclude the book and the element, without which they cannot conscientiously attend the school and re- ceive its benefit, in order that your children may, with their scrupu- lous consciences unviolated, avail themselves of its teachings. "It is then, after all, the majority that must determine, conscience or no conscience, ; if you have no ultimate authority, no higher law than the conflicting judgment, taste, preferences, and universally va- rying conscience of mankind. It is the majority that must determine, unless you assume, as in point of f;ict your theory does, that the con- science of the minority ought in all cases to prevail, or else that the conscience of some particular sect, and that the smallest and most pertinacious, must be the ruling law." — [pp. 65-69. "Their children need not be obliged to use the Word of God, but may be made an exception ; nothing is easier than this. But it is a piece of intolerance and oppression in the extreme, to require that because they dislike and reject it, therefore, ?cf shall not be per- mitted to use it and enjoy its light." — [p. 69. " And here we say, and we defy any man on grounds of just reason- ing to deny it, that if there be any solemn charge in regard to the children of the commonwealth resting upon the republic, if there be any right vested in the government to meddle in the matter of educa- tion at all, it is the right and the duty to provide the children with the Bible, and so to arrange the course of instruction in the common schools that they shall there come to the knowledge of the Bible." -[p. 78. "Let us suppose the Manhattan Gas Company to enter a conscien- tious plea against the sun-light in our school-houses, on the ground that the use of the sunlight prevents the use of their gas, and conse- quently deprives them of the benefit that might accrue to them and their families from a monopoly of light. Besides, they have among themselves a church canon, interdicting their own families from the use of any light but the company's gas. Under these circumstances, the sun-light becomes Protestant light, for all except those connected with the company, and under its authority, protest against the mo- nopoly of light; ergo, the sun-light is Protestant light, and it is against their consciences to endure it, or to permit the use of it ; and though they wish to send their children to the public schools, yet, they are prevented from that privilege, if the children are compelled to read by sun-light ; they cannot conscientiously put their children under any light but that of the company's gas. i)y that light, they may read and study arithmetic, history, and even Martin Luther's character, and what not, but never by the Protestant sunlight. — Whose picture is this, the counterfeit presentment of what faith 1 " And now suppose you make a compromise, and say to them : 119 well, to make all fair, you shall have the privilege of introducing the gas-light for your children, but at the same time the sun-light shall come in also, so that all may be satisfied. Ah, but that will not an- swer ; the sun-light must not be let in at all, for wherever it is, it ab- solutely puts theirs out. 'Tis of no use whatever, they say, to at- tempt a eompetition ; it is a gone case with us, if the sun-light is let in at all. Our gas in competition with the sun? Why, the chil- dren would re.ad on, and read on, and not even know that our gas was lighted." — [pp. 80-81. " The Government," says Hugh Miller, " that should punish with imprisonment or death, the man whose only crime was, that he had given a morsel of bread to a dying beggar, or rescued some un- happy human being who was in danger of perishing in the pit into which he had fallen, would be held to have violated the rights of man, if the person so punished was a subject of its own, and the rights of nations, if he was the subject of another State. But does not that Government as really violate the rights of man, and the laws of Chris- tian nations, which says, you shall not give a copy of the Bible to a human being, however desirous he may be to know the will of his Maker, and however much he may feel that his eternal welfare de- pends on knowing that will ?" — [pp. 90-91. " But if the State undertake to educate the children at all, is it not under obligation to give them as good an education as they can get elsewhere 1 If the State tax its citizens for the expenses of such an education, does it not stand pledged to teach the children of the citi- zens all that is essential to their welfare? Is it a fulfilment of that pledge to say that they may get religious instruction elsewhere, but that the State shall not provide that vital element, for fear of sec- tarianism ? J/ay get it elsewhere ! And who stands responsible for the consequences, if they should not 1" — [pp. 94-95. " If the State have any right to command the oath, the State has the same right, and comes under the highest obligation, to provide for and appoint such teachings, that her citizens may know their commonest forms of duty, and be prepared for their sincere and in- telligent performance. And what did Washington say upon this very point ? Let us recur to the sentence, which he wrote expressly to prove the absolute necessity of religion as well as morality for the ex- istence and well-being of the State, and therefore the necessity of the teaching of religion as well as morality. " Let it be simply asked, " said he, "where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the in- struments of investigation in courts of justice 1" But that sense ftiust desert them, if men are not taught those religious truths, by which only the oath can be understood in its sacredness, and in the knowl- edge of which alone it is worth anything. Now, is the State bound to provide means for the preparation of the children for the oblio-ations and duties of a citizen, in taking upon itself the work of their educa- tion, or is it not? If any education be given by the State, .surelv it 120 must be such that by means of it the children may arrive at the knowledge of those obligations and responsibilities which will rest upon them as members of the State. And what an anomaly, what a profound and palpable inconsistency, to appoint and enjoin a religious obligation for our civil and social life, and at the same time enjoin the exclusions from our common schools of all the peculiar instruc- tion and knowledge requisite for performing it !" — [pp. 120-121. "Morality itself, according to the sentiment we have quoted from Washington, is based upon religion, and if religion be excluded, mo- rality is also. The most perfect knowledge of physical law will not restrain the passions ; the sanctions of religion are essential for that. But really, to iguore'and exclude religion is to teach that it is not necessary, if it be not also directly to teach that there is no such thing, no one true religion, in regard to which there is any certainty that is is the truth, any more than all forms of religion under heaven are the truth. Is there not, must there not be, necessarily, inevitably, an infidel influence in such teaching?" — [pp. 124-125. " The churches and the parochial schools are glaringly inadequate ; perhaps not more than a sixth part of the families in our country ever attend any church, or any other schools than the free schools. Conse- quently, five-sixths of our whole youthful population are left unpro- vided with the knowledge of the Bible and any religious instructon , if you exclude it from the free public schools." — pp. 133-134. '^ It is admitted that we owe our present high prosperity, our good order, our civil and religious freedom, to theTinowledge and influence of the Bible among all classes. And can we now aff"ord to throw down the ladder, by which we have ascended to these blessings, and leave others to gain them as they may ? Can we safely rely upon an uninstructed generation to keep them, or even to appreciate their value? Or is there really such an indefatigable and all conquering zeal for teaching religion to the children of the masses out of school, as will supply the want of it in the eommon school education ?" — [p. 138. " Mr. Gladstone of England recently declared, in speaking of the happy union of religious and secular instruction in the schools in Scoltand, that there is the closest and the happiest harmony between the scientific training of the intellect and the religious training of the heart; that he commits a profanation against God and against human nature who would attempt to dissever them ; and that where the truths of the Christian faith are fully taught and rightly received, there you will best and most fruitfully pursue the work of that temporal and secular training, which is the specific object of the school." — p. 139. " The simplest elements of Moral Science cannot be taught without a religious bias. It is impossible to ignore or exclude Christianity, or place it on the same level with false religions, treating all alike, and at the same time instruct the pupil in the truths of moral philos- ophy. If you would make the subject of morals a subject of study at all the common schools, you are absolutely compelled to make choice 121 of sou}e system ; and unless you take the remnants of Pagan philoso- phy for a text-book, you must go upon the ground of Christianity ; and you cannot advance a step without breaking that law of impartial- ity, by which it is asserted, that the State can have nothing to do with religious instruction, but is bound to reject the Bible, and all distinc- tively religious truth. Morality itself, cannot possibly be taught with- out distinctively religious truth, so that this alleged rule of impartiality would tsclude morality as well as religion from the common schools." — [pp. 157-158. " There are two false assumptions in the objection ; first, that if the Bible be not excluded the Romanists will be shut out; and second, that if the Bible he excluded, you can in that way induce them to come in. They will neither be shut out by admitting the Bible, nor will they be drawn in by excluding the Bible." — [pp. 165-166 " Then again, to others they [the Roman Catholics] will say, Be- hold these godless schools ! These Protestants have a religion, which they have the impudence to assert is better than ours, and yet they dare not teach it to their children ! It can surely not be deemed very sacred by those, who on considerations of expediency, consent to keep it from their children, consent to excommunicate it from the public schools. Godless, atheistic, worthless ! We will have nothing to do with such an education ; we cannot, and will not send our children to such places!" — [pp. 168-169. "Previous to the administration of Col Stone, laws were pa ed in 1842 and 1843, containing the section forbidding sectarian teach- ing and books. Under cover of these laws, the effort was driven on to banish the Bible, as being itself a sectarian book, no statute having then been passed to prevent its banishment, because it had neve" been dreamed that the time would come when such a statute would be nec- essary ; the Scriptures having been read daily in all the public schools for forty years, without complaint or opposition. Col. Stone " advised, counselled, recommended, and remonstrated, terminating his official labors by invoking the interposition of the Legislature," to protect and preserve the schools from having the Bible turned out of them. It was in answer to his eloquent appeals that an amendment to the School Law was enacted in 1844, prohibiting the Board of Education from excluding the Holy Scriptures from any school."— [pp. 215-216. " Accordingly, provision was early made by law. giving opportunity for the exercise of a religious influence by the teachers, yet not secta- rian ; and under Mr. Spencer's administration it was decided, and the enactment is part of the system, that " Teachers may open and close their schools with prayer, and the reading of the Scriptures, ac- companied with suitable remarks, taking care to avoid all discussion of controverted points, or sectarian dogmas."* — pp. 226-227. * Raiulall's Common School System of the State of New York, p. 273. 122 "And the appeal to men's prejudices, and to their dread of eccle- siastical domination, has been artfully made, for the exclusion of the Bible and praj-er, on the ground that anything positively religious in the schools would be " the first step, and a decided one, towards placing them under ecclesiastical guardianship and supremacy." — And yet this very appeal., with all the sophistry of the demagogue, is made at the instigation of a sect, and for the very purpose of having the conscientious uight of all other sects to the Bible cut down, trampled on, destroyed, at the will of that one despotic sect demand- ing the exclusion of the Bible, and demanding it on the express grounds of their own ecclesiastical prejudices and canons !" — pp. 230- 231. " If we would keep our civil freedom, we must educate our children in the Scriptures. That freedom came to us from the Bible ; by the Bible only we can keep it. Like the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, Divine Truth led our heroic ancestors through all the sufferings, discipline, and struggles, by which they established our liberties, and nothing else can preserve those liberties, or the spirit of them in their descendants. We must have a religious education; and if an evil influence should prevail with the State so to change the system to which we have been accustomed as to banish the Bible and religion from it, then the church will be compelled to take it up, as she does the voluntary support of religious worship. In reliance on Christ alone, she has advanced religion mor ; than all State endow- ments in the world have ever done. In reliance on Christ alone, if compelled into it, she is able to do the same with education." — pp. 301-302. "Pray, by what rule should your rights be determined? Shall it be by the measure which would be meted out under a reverse of cir- cumstances to a like company of American Protestants in a Catholic country? You claim the right especially to interfere with the man- agement of our public schools. Pray, had you any such right in the country of your birth, where your religion adjusted rights, and dealt them out? Before Americans entrust you with the management of their public schools, they would like to see the result of your labors in the same way in Catholic countries. Can you point us to some spot in Italy, Spain, Austria, or any other country under the influ- ence of the Catholic Church, where the earliest care of Popery is to establish common schools, in which all the children shall be taught to read, and write, and cipher? "We should like to visit that Catholic country, where, in every neighborhood, the district school-house is the centre of interest, and to see the Catholic children as in neat attire they assemble blithely every morning. Is there any such spot in all the dominions of the Pope?" — p. 210. — Journal of Commerce quoted by Dr Cheevcr. 123 Address by Tliomas S. Grimke, on tlie expediency of" adopting the Bible, as a class book, in every scheme of Education, from the Primary School to the University. Delivered at Columbia, S. C. in the Presbyterian Church. on Friday Evening, 4th of December, 1829, before the Richland School. There is a Classic, the best the world has ever seen, the noblest, that has ever honored and dignified the lahguage of mortals. If we look into its an- tiquity, we discover a title to our veneration, unrivtilled in the history of Literature. If we have respect to its evidences, they are found in the testi- mony of miracle and prophecy; in the ministry of Man, of Nature and of Angels, yea even of " God, manifest in the flesh," of " God, blessed forever." If we consider its authenticity, no other pages have survived the lapse of time, that can be compared with it. If we examine its authority, for it speaks, as never man spake, we discover, that it came from Heaven in vision and prophecy, under the sanction of Him, who is the Creator of all things, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift. If we reflect on its truths, they are lovely and spotless, sublime and holy, as God himself, unchangeable as his nature, durable as his righteous dominion, and versatile as the moral con- dition of mankind. If Ave regard the value of its treasures, we must estimate them, not like the relics of classic Antiquity, by the perishable glory and beauty, virtue and happiness ot this world, but by the enduring perfection and supreme felicity of an eternal kingdom. If we inquire, who are the men, that have recorded its truths, vindicated its rights, and illustrated the excel- lence of its scheme — from the depth of Ages and from the living world, from the populous continent and the isles of the Sea — comes forth the answer — the Patriarch and the Prophet, the Evangelist and Martyr. If we look abroad through the world of men, the victims of folly and vice, the prey of cruelty and injustice, and incpiire what are its benefits, even in this temporal state, the great and the humble, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the learned and the ignorant reply, as with one voice, that humility and resignation, purity, order and peace, faith., hope, and charity, are its blessings upon Earth. And if we lift our eyes from Time to Eternity, from the world of mortal man to the world of just men made perfect, from the vis- ible creation, marvellous, beautiful and glorious as it is, to the invisible crea- tion, of Angels and Seraphs, from the footstool of God, to the Throne of God himself, and then ask, what are the blessings that flow from this one volume, let the question be answered by the pen of the Evangelist, the harp of the Prophet, and the records of the book of Life. Such is the best of Classics the world has ever admired ; such, the noblest that Man has ever adopted as a guide. And yet, incredible as it may seem, and to all but oui-selves, it would be incredible, this best, this noblest Classic, is excluded from all our plans of education, with a watchfulness, a zeal, a perseverance, worthy of the enemies, but dishonorable to the friends of the Bible. Had the Infidel constructed the schemes of education, which prevail in Christian countries, we should not be surprised to find them, such as they are ; for they exclude as much of scriptural elements, as even a politic Infidel could venture to omit ; whilst they embrace as ample a share of the consitu- enfs of paganism and of the world, as an Infidel could dare to employ, with the hidden purpose of depraving the heart, corrupting the moral taste, and keeping Religion and the Scriptures constantly out of view. I know that the good and the great, the wise and the learned, and not the Infidel, have been the founders, and the supporters of these schemes. I know that even the Christian ministry, in every variety of virtue and knowledge, under all the vicissitudes of wealth and poverty, of glory and obscurity, have honored them with their sanction, and sustained them by their influence. But I also know, that the great and the good, the wise and the learned have had their follies and prejudices, their unreasonable attachments and pernicious aver-' 12i sions. I know that even the Christian ministry have defended the cause of error and superstition, of the bigot and the fanatic. I know that they have preached the crusade against the infidel and heretic, that they have justified and acted their part, in the Auto da Fe, that, even among Protestants, they have objected to the scheme of Bible Societies, and to the mutual labors of different sects. I know that the great and the good, the wise and the learned, in the ministry and among the people, have vindicated the divine right of Kings and the doctrine of passive obedience, the necessity of an Established Church, and of orders of Nobility, the superiority of Monarchy and Aristoc- racy over Republican forms, the principle, that man is unfit for self-govern- ment, and the expediency of arming the civil magistrate with authority in matters of conscience. I know that they expelled the Huguenots from France, the Jews from Spain, the Puritans from England, and the followers of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. 1 know, that even in our own Carolina, they denied to the French refugees the rights of fellow-subjects; that in 17 78, they declared the Protestant to be the Established religion of the State; that, with- in a few years, they resisted the claims of a Hebrew to a seat in the Legisla- ture of North Carolina ; and in Maryland, first among the Colonies in toleration, last among the States in intolerance, the Israelite, until v.'ithin a few years, was condemned to political slavery. All these things I know ; for they are scattered over the pages of history and biography, they have insulted, degraded and afflicted mankind, they have dishonored even God himself. And, when I look backward througli the vista of nearly sixty centuries, and see the condition of Man, during the most of that time : and when I look abroad through the world as it is, and behold the ignorance and vice, that oppress the vast majority of our race, I cease to won- der at the inexorability of prejudice, and the unconf|uerable attachment to existing institutions. And, whan I remember that the great and the good, the wise and the learned, advocated James the 2d., and resisted the Revolu- tion of 1688; that they justified the tyrannical measures of Charles the 1st. and sought in a thirty year's war the enslavement of Protestant Germany ; that they condemned, even among ourselves, the cause of American Indepen- dence, and opposed in every form, the abolition of the Slave Trade by the British Parliament, still less do I wonder at the power of prejudice, and the despotism of ancient jjredilections. Truth has prevailed in many a battle against error ; though shielded by authority and strengthened by superstition, decorated by taste and genius, and recommended by talents and learning. I despair not then, of a total revolution in systems of education ; but the ac- complishment of this, as of every other great and good work among men, must be the achievement of time and patience, of rational inquiry and en- lightened perseverance, of a spirit of wisdom and moderation, equally re- moved from rashness and timidity, from the blindness of prejudice, and the spirit of wild innovation. I speak to a Christian audience, in a' land, adorned by Religion and Liter- ature, by Philosophy and the Arts, and dignified by a sober minded, rational liberty. In such an audience, the subject of education, even in a foreign land, would awaken a laudable curiosity ; but when it concerns themselves, it appeals to their high sense of duty as Men, as Christians, as Patriots ; and to their noblest affections, as Parents, Instructors, and Guardians. Let us then proceed to examine, deliberately and anxiously, the position, which I propose to establish, " that the Bible ought to he a prominent and never-ceas- ing part of all education, from the primarg School to the Universilji" This position is, I believe, adverse to the theory and practice of all existing insti- tutions. I shall maintain it, howerer, with firmness ; yet I trust, not offensively or unkmdly, but with delicacy and respect. It seems to be required of me, by the nature of my su1)ject, to investigate in the first instance, the origin of that practice, which has excluded the 125 Scriptures from scliomes of education : and then to consider what causes have led to the contitiuance of a system, irreconcileable with the great, the obvious duties of Christians. And if, in the prosecution of this inciuiry, I should be laid under the necessity, as assuredly I must be, of expressing opinions, ad- verse to the practice of the clergy, as Guardians and Instructors of youth, I trust, that I may stand acquitted of a desire to depreciate the sanctity of their office, or the usefulness of their labors. From the first institution of Christian- ity, I regard them, as indispensable to the promulgation of the Grospel, the observance of Ecclesiastical rule, the administration of Sacraments, and the perpetuity of the Church. I regard them, as the advocates of virtue, the promoters of happiness, and the friends of education. Considered as a body, I esteem them a main pillar, in the temple of social order. What though they are inferior in dignity to Patriarchs, and Prophets, and Apostles ; what though the cloven tongue of fire hath never rested on them, and no avenging flame hath ever, at their command, devoured the enemies of God ; what though they speak not, in the twinkling of an eye, in the languages of every nation under heaven ; what though the lame have not leaped up, nor the leper been cleansed, the blind hath not seen, nor the deaf heard, the sick have not been healed, and the dead have not arisen, at their bidding, yet is their office full of dignity and usefulness. To them, indeed, it hath not been given, to be called imto the ministry by the gracious words of Jesus; to be set apart for the work of Evangelists, by the miraculous voice of the Holy Spirit ; nor to be stayed, as by the terrors of another Sinai, in a vision, tearful as that, which smote Paul with blindness. But to them, it hath been granted, to bear consolation to the afflicted, to pour the light of truth on the darkened mind, to speak words of heavenly peace to the anxious enquirer, to win back the wanderer to the patli of duty, and to constrain even the rebellious to cast themselves, contrite and broken hearted, at the feet of a God of Love. How full then of Majesty and beauty, of honor and usefulness is the Christian ministry ! Who can look up to the gi-eat and the good in its ranks, but with reverence, admiration and gratitude V Who can look down on the worst, that have prostituted its authority, degraded its dignit}', and polluted its holi- ness, and yield to anger and contempt, rather than to pity and regret V — Who can survey the CIn-istian JNlinistry, in every age and country, and not acknowleilge, amidst atrocities and vices, amidst ignorance, folly, and other imperfections, that debt of gratitude, which never has been, and never can be paid by mortals. With Avhat spirit doth it then become me to speak of the Heralds of the Cross, of the Ambassadors of God to INlan, of the Servants of the Most High ! Whatever tiien I may utter, in questioning the soundness of their judgment, or the consistency of their practice, will be spoken, assured- ly, in respect, in sorrow, in surprise. I proceed now to the inquiry, to what origin may be traced this extraordi- nary character of Education, and to what may its continuance be ascribed ? The former, unquestionably, must be referred to the state of things in Cath- olic countries, before the liefbrmation ; the latter in Protestant Nations, chief- ly, if not wholly, to the Christian Ministry. Let us trace the history of this origin and continuance. AH Christendom was once Catholic, and of course the whole scheme of education arose and subsisted, under the infiuence of the Romish church. — For centuries, scarcely any but the clergy wei'e educated, since the lament- able ignorance of the laity was one of the most hideous features of the dark ages. Hence, almost the only instructors were of the Clerical order, and education must of necessity have received its character from them. Univer- sities and Colleges were Ecclesiastical, rather than Literary establishments. — When education began to extend to the Laity, two causes prevented the adop- 17 126 tion of the Scriptures into the System. Tlie first was the principle, that the laity were prohibited from reading them ; the second, that, as religion then lay buried under a mountain of monkish legends, and was distorted, con- founded, and darkened by the subtiltics and absurdities of scholastic theology, there was nothing to recommend the study of the Bible. While the Clergy bad cultivated, with considerable zeal, metaphysical divinity, they had not neglected the seven liberal arts, the trivium and quadrivium of the early ages ot the Church. Hence, they were at no loss to furnish abundant employment for the lay youth, under their charge. They needed not to dishonor the Mas- ter of Sentences, or the celebrated Doctors, styled the Invincible, the An- gelic, or the Subtile, the Irrefragable, or the Seraphic, by unfolding the mysteries of their Metaphysical Theology to the eyes of the Lait}-. >or is it surprising, that tliese should have preferred Homer and Aristotle, Cicero, Virgil and Ovid, (the great favorite of the middle ages) to the ponderous and gloomy'folios of Monks and Schoolmen. They were incapable, it is true, of comprehending the genius, or of relishing the beauties of ancient eloquence or poetry ; but the variety and novelty of incident and character, and the ease and spirit of the narrative, must have been eminently interesting, com- pared with aught else they could read. Thus, the combination of these two causes led to a result never contem- plated, and laid the foundation for the permanent exclusion ot Religion from schemes of general education. When the Laity were prohibited from the perusal of the Scriptures, the objeet was not to keep them ignorant of Re- liorion, but to prevent them from interpreting what they were believed to be equally incompetent and vuiworthy to interpret, and thus to secure to the Church, absolute, exclusive authority to teach and expound the Scriptures. — When the Laity dedicated themselves exclusively to the study of the Classics, it was not, because they regarded Heathen JNIythoIogy, as the true Religion, and Christianity as fabulous ; but because they could find nothing in the works of Monks and Schoolmen, comparable to the Authors of Greece and Rome. I now proceed to examine the causes, which have perpetuated the exclu- sion of the Scriptures, from schemes of liberal education, in Protestant coun- 'tries. The principles of the Reformation, it is to be remembered, were essentially religious ; but, in the coui'se of their development, it occurred from the simplicity and comprehensiveness of their nature, that they em- braced the whole circle of human knowledge. Hence it followed, that the system of education would be remodeled. In doing this, we are not very much surprised, that Religion should still have been excluded ; because its prevailing spirit at that period, was controversial, and, as to its character, as a scheme of morals and a system of doctrines, these were left under the guardianship of the church. Nor must we forget, that, receiving the plan of Education, as they did, without the Bible, and having so much to do, in re- moving the darkness, rubbish and absurdities, which deformed it, they may well have overlooked the c^uestion, " shall not the Bible be an inseparable part from the beginning to the end ?" When we consider, likewise, that almost the only books, which eould be had, were controversial, and chiefly in Latin, we are still less surprised at the result ; more especially since those works were written by the learned, for the learned, against the learned. Hence, the Leaders of the Reformation seemed to have done all that was called foj*, under the existing state of things, when they Incorporated religious education into the Ecclesiastical system, in the forms of prayer and psalmody, of creeds and confessions, of preaching and catechetical instruction. Nor must we lose sight of some otlier considerations, which contributed to the existence of this phenomenon. The Old Testament was in Hebrew, a language, at the time of the Reformation, scarcely known to Christians. — 127 The founder of the modern school of Hebrew learning was Reuchlin, a Catliolic- ; but the progress was very slow, and only a few engaged in its ■ study. The Hebrew, indeed, was not then, and never has been regarded, to the disgrace of Christians, as a Classical language, Avith a view, either to Literature or Education. Neither the Septuagint nor the Vulgate could be accepted as a substitute. Both were deficient in authority, neither could be acknowledged as classical compositions, and both were considered by Protes- tants, as, in some respects, objectionable. In like manner, the New Testa- ment, though in Greek, neither was then, nor has ever since, been regarded, to the dishonor of Christians be it spoken, as a classic, in point of language and style. Another principal reason for the exclusion of the Bible, is found in the fact, that the study of its language and history, of its evidences and antiquities, of its exegesis and connections with profane history, of its doctrines and mysteries, had been alwa}s considered as peculiar to a Theo- logical course, and, in no respect, an ap{)ropriate part of general education. As though the Bible were not, in the language of Chillingworth, the Religion of Protestants, both Clergy and Laity; and as though, to be ignorant on those subjects, were not disgraceful to anj^ intelligent man, who professes to have received a liberal education. Yet no provision has ever been made for it, in systems of general education : doubtless in some measure because these things have been considered as coulined to a theological course, which has been always decidedly sectarian. But a liberal course of truly Christian Studies, not indeed of sectarian divinity, ought to constitute the noblest feature in liberal education, commencing in the family, continued in the school, expanded in the academy, still farther perfected in the college, and accomplished in the university. The Reformation assumed, at a very early age, the sectarian character. — The controversies between the several sects of the reformed, and the pole- mical warfare between the Protestants and Romanists, gave, by their com- bined influence, a still more decisive character of controversy to religion. — Tlie peculiar feeling, Avliich belongs to sej^ai'ate communities, unenlightened by the jjure, wise spirit of toleration of our day, aggravated by Church Es- tablishments, and distorted by unnatural governments and artificial states of society, could not tail to prevent any liberal, enlarged scheme of action, on the foundation of the Scriptures. 'I'hcse, unhap])ily, were chiefly felt to be common ground, as to the llomish Church. Let us add to this, that the course of events led very much aud very natui'ally to the substitution of Cate^'hisms, and Articles, of Creeds, and Confessions, for the Scriptures, in the schemes of insitruction. After having translated the Bible into the vulgar tongue, and placed it in the power of the Laity, the great object with each sect ap- peared to be, not so much to t-^ach the Scriptures, as to teach the peculiar views, which each entertained as to all others, as well as in relation to the Catholic Church. Hence, public worship, preaching, confessions, creeds, «ind catechetical instruction might be expected to fill the whole measure of relig- ious education. I fear that another reason must be assigned for the gross neglect, which relig- ious education has experienced, even at the hands of t!ie Clergy. When placed at the head of schools and colleges, experience justifies too much the opinion, that overlooking the Ministerial character, they consider themselves only as Scholars. They seem to forget, that they are laid under an obligation to teach i-eligion, as well as literature and science. ISIan has indeed commis- sioned them, to instruct the young, in these departments of knowledge ; but have they forgotten, that the vow is upon them, to teach the everlasting gospel ? It may be excusable to decline a pastoi'al charge, as incompatible with the extent and variety of their duties, as instructors. But, how can they reconcile it to themselves, how can they stand acquitted iu the sight of 128 God, as his servants and ambassadors, when the Bible is actually placed un- der the ban of outlaicry, in all tlieir systems of instruction ? ^Viien they themselves never appear to their pupils, but in the character of laymen ? When, excepting the chapel pi'ayers, no one could ever suspect, that to them was confided the cure of" souls, as well as the cure of minds '? Would the Ap(5stles have acted thus ? The existing si-hemes were, of course, brought to om* own country, and subsisted in full force, up to the time of our becoming Independent. Then appeared that new jera, which combined all religious denominations, in one common bond of union, against the mother country. The abolition of all sectarian political distinctions and advantages, and the reduction of all to a common level, were but natural results of their mutual dependence, and of. the practical principle of the Reformation, that all had a right to think, and judge, and act for themselves. In point of numbers, wealth, talents and learn- ing, no sect was endowed with such ]K)wer and intluence, as to think of su- premacy. Hence, their partnership, in the glorious cause of political liberty and national independence, expanded itself, till it comprehended the advo- cates and champions of freedom, imder the still more glorious fellowship of Christian equality. The leading sects of Protestants in the United States, have always agreed in essentials : and all have acknowledged, without any qualifiL-cition, that the Bible is the religion ot Protestants. But they have differed in minor partic- ulars, each from the other, in a greater or less degree. As, however, and it is too much the common course, they found religion after the Revolution, not a part of the general scheme of education, they do not appear to have ever considered the question, Avhat reform ought to be made, or, if they did, they were deterred from any attempt by the unhappy jealousies, which still subsist too much among them, and by the absence of a truly christian spirit of nui- tual love and mutual labor. When it is considered also, that it has always been a common practice for youth of various denominations, to frequent the same schools, academies and colleges, it was to have been expected, thas this state of things should contribute a very ample share to the exclusion of relig- ion, as a regular, continued part of general education. Unfortunately, religion has been almost always regarded, far more in its controversial character, than it ought. The obvious effect has been, to exclude it from any plan of general education ; because, as a matter of course, it never could be admitted in that form, into any such scheme ; and if it were so admitted, the effect would be to banish at once the children of every other denomination. It well becomes Protestants, and esjjccially the Protestant Clergy, to con- sider, whether their mutual jealousies, and want of truly Christian liberality, are not the main causes, Avhy Heathen predominates so vastly over Christian literature, in all our schemes of education. I fear that each values \\\s peculiar sect, more than his common religion, and his own confession or articles more than the common standard, the Bible. It is not Avondcrful, that such a spirit should still persevere in keeping the Bible out of the school and college. But, I trust that the truly christian influences, which are now spreading abroad over the whole Avorld, Avill do mvcli toward substituting christian fellowship for sectarian jealousy, and christian for heathen influences, throughout the whole course of education. I would not indeed have the architecture of An- tiquity defaced, nor the Classics burnt, as is said to have been the fate of both, at the hands of Gregory the Great; but I v>-ould dethrone the latter from their despotic control In our schools and colleges, over the heart, conscience and understanding of the young. I would degrade them from the rank of masters, to the condition of st gain. So in regard to the wonderful increase of wealth in the present age. The first eflfect of the increase of wealth, and while it is in tlie hands of the few, is to offer temptations to crime ; and we see, as a consequence, an increase of certain sorts of offences in wealthy communities. But may we not hope, that as wealth becomes diff"used, as its beneficial effects are felt through all classes of society, as the luxuries of one age become the necessaries of life to the next, as the poor obtain comforts in one age which before only wealth could pur- chase, the class of crimes arising from disparity of wealth will dimin- ish. Poverty and distress we know to be fruitful sources of those of- fences which our laws denounce as crimes. As these disappear be- fore the progress of education and wealth, we may hope for a better state of society. If the diffusion of wealth is a blessing, then we must bear with whatever is necessary to this diffusion. So the prin- ciple of competition appears to be a necessary concomitant of the increase of wealth — yet it leads to a great amount of misery and crime. In this light, we should look upon these evils as temporary ones — as the undeniable consequences of our being in what I have called a transition state. These considerations serve to show us that while we should not indulge unreasonable expectations from moral education, we need not be without hope. We cannot expect, and perhaps ought not to, to remove all temptations from the way of youth. That virtue is of but little worth which has been brought up as a tender plant in the shade, and which is only virtue because it has never been exposed. We should rather endeavor to cultivate a moral energy which may be ac- quainted with vice and misery, and yet not be contaminated by it. 164 Extract from an Address on the -use of the Bible i?i common scJtools^ by Thomas H. Burrowes^from the JPenn. School Journal: '' But there are those who say it is a vioUition of their rights of con- science to have any version of the scriptures read or used in the pres- ence of their children, except the one authorized by their own ecclesi- astical authority ; nay it is said there are those who deny their un- restricted use to the laity at all, and who therefore prefer the same objection. In this, however, they labor under no greater hardship than does the non-combatant citizen who pays or is compelled to pay his quota towards the support of the military expenses of the Com- monwealth, and to defray the cost of the nation's wars : nor of him who denies the propriety of capital punishment, yet pays his tax to sustain the administration of justice : nor of those who are debarred from holding public office, or of being witnesses in a court of justice, for the want of belief in the Being of a Grod and a future state of re- wards and punishments ; nor of those who may, by act of Assembly, be fined or imprisoned for profaning Almighty God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit or the Scriptures of Truth, though they believe in none of them. All these are, also, cases of conscience quite as strong and a clear as those under consideration : yet the wheels of government are not to stand still, nor sectarian exemption to be made, to remove them. None of these classes of conscientious objectors suffer greater hardship than does the protestant citizen of the United States in Kome or the same citizen of any christian denomination in a Mahom- etan land, by being restricted in the worship of his God according to tbe dictates of his own reason and conscience. In either case he knows the restriction before he places himself, or while he continues in the position of restraint, and is bound to submit In the case of the American citizen abroad, the republican principle of self govern- ment teaches him to respect and submit to the laws and conform to the institutions of every foreign land he may visit. In that of the constrained citizen at home, submission to the law and the republican institutions of the land are no less obligatory. " But suppose the Bible to be expressly by law excluded from the common schools, or any tantamount legislation adopted, what would be the probable consequences? " In the first place the change would not — could not — stop there, even as regards conscience. "In the second place, the exclusion would lead to the expulsion of all moral training from the schools. " Granting for a moment that we might, a.s a people, with safety abandon the great distinctive principle of mental freedom, of which the free and unrestricted use of the scriptures is the very basis, let us see whether this would be the end of demanded concession to alleged rights of conscience. An instant's thought ahead will show that w^ould be but the beginning of the claim. " If the scriptures, as a whole, may not be used, then the same ob- jection would assuredly be urged against the almost innumerable 165 reading and other school books, now in use, which contain large ex- tracts from those scriptures. No objection is now made against this class of books on this account, for the reason, that, so long as they arc not so constructed as to promote any particular sectarian purpose, it were absurd to object to them as extracts, while you sanction the use of the book from which they are taken. But, exclude that Book — put its pages under a general ban — and the same decree must, by the rules of common fair play and consistency, condemn every book containing a chapter, or even a single verse, from the interdicted vol- ume, no matter how beautiful, eloquent or sublime the passage, or how innocent of sectarian tendency. " Again : The opening of the Bible to tlie world produced a marked era in History. Some call this a Heformation — some the reverse. — The purpo.«es of this address do not require an opinion here as to the pro^^riety or benefit of this change, or as to those of the events which followed. It is sufficient to assert that they are historic facts, to the knowledge of which, as such, our children have an undoubted right. But already, in several quarters, histories describing this event, and detailing in plain phr^ise the excesses of those called the early lleforra- ers and their opponents — for it cannot bo denied that both parties were guilty in this respect — have been objected to by the same sensi- tive feeling, which cannot listen to the reading of the Bible, and their exclusion demanded. Now, concede this first step, and it will be- come necessary to expurgate — nay to dismember and in effect to fal- sify history, and thus to dim, if not withdraw, the light of the past from the progress of the future. " But, in tlie second place, this will not be all, nor the worst, of the consequences of the exclusion. It will then be found impracticable at all to teacli morality in the common schools. '• Religion or piety would seem to be that spirit of action or system of principles which regulates human conduct with reference to the De- ity. Morality seems to be those principles of action which guide man's conduct towards his fellow-man. Both are undoubtedly eman- ations from the Deity: the principles and rules of religion being de- rived from the revealed will of God, and those of sound morality main- ly found in the same revelation. If this be so, then, as before re- marked, the disuse of the Bible, as a school book, deprives all the youth of the State of the opportunity of acquiring a full knowledge of that code of morality, in its pure source, while attending the common schools, and many of them of the opportunity of ever acquiring it at all ; for all the knowledge they will ever derive from books, on this or any other subject, must be obtained in these schools. " But further : we unfortunately differ not merely in religious creed, but also on some essential points of morality; and if you exclude the Bible, because it is objected to by particular sects, the same rule of liberty of conscience must cause you to abstain from teaching in mor- als, that which any deny or oppose. The Mormon preaches and prac- tices polygamy, the Jew denies the divine nature of the Savior, the Atheist says their is no Grod, and the habitual, but, it may be, moder- 22 166 ate drinker insist^, by precept and practice in his family, upon the propriety and healthfulness of his stimulant. Now, by what right or authority shall the teacher denounce polygamy or punish profanation of the name of God, or of the Savior, or even inculcate the propriety and necessity of abstinence from intoxicating drink, if the Bible be ex- cluded ? There can then be no authority for it shown. The same mistaken regard for the rights of conscience which will take the one out of his hand, will take the other out of his mouth ; and he must confine his care to the postures and health of the body and the train- ing of the mere intellect, leaving the heart uncultured and the moral sentiments undeveloped — uneducated. Then, indeed would the com- mon schools be, not merely those '• Godless Schools" which they have been sneeringly termed, but nurseries of intellectual monsters and hot-beds of luxuriant vice, from a comparison with which the schools of mere heathen philosophy might well shrink with disgust." Extract from a very able report vpon Parochial' Schools^ by Rev. C. Van Rensselear.Jrom tlie annual report of the Board of Educa- tion of tlie Presbyterian church, for the year 1853. The next position in the line of argument, is that the required re- ligious training must be given in schools, as well as in families. In the progress of civilization, schools have been more and more relied upon for the purposes of instruction ; and their agency in pro- moting religious education is an important family auxiliary. Schools are necessary and useful. 1st. Because the family is not.^ of itself . siifficient for religious, any more than for secular education. Education is a work by itself; it cannot be all done to advantage within the boundaries of home. A child may indeed obtain the rudiments of knowledge under parental instruction, and especially may acquire the moral habits and disci- pline which enter so thorouirhly into the composition of a virtuous and well-balanced character. But progress from attainment to attain- ment must be sought in connexion with higher opportunities. Schools are expedients to carry forward home nurture. As the ideas of secu- lar knowledge, derived merely from household intercourse and train- ing, are not^ enough for all the purposes of an active and useful life, so the religious instruction, inculcated under similar circumstances, is not so complete as to dispense with the necessity of confirming and increasing it by other arrangements. On the contrary, so great a work needs all the advantages of which it can possibly avail itself. — And the advantages of the schoolroom are neither few nor small, both for secular and religious instruction. The public prayer, the reading of Scripture, the songs of Zion, the verses in the Bible committed to memory, the chatechetical exercise, the oral exhortation, all assist in forming the religious character, just as reading, writing, and arithme- tic improve the mind. The family, of itself, cannot wholly conduct the course of education, at least, in ordinary circumstances. The very existence of schools expresses household insufficiency. Educa- 167 tion, above a certain point, must rely upon aid beyond that which pa- rents can supply. It is common to exalt the Sabbath-schooi as an important help to parents in religious education. In many respects it unquestionably is so. But, on the same principle, parochial schools, during the sis days of the week, are much more efficient allies, because more regular, steady. and thorough in their inculcation. The greatest aid which the family has ever received in forming the character of the young, is the Chrisi- ia?i day-school, includiug the acdidemy and the college. In the pro- gressive course of religious study, from the catechism, hymns, and Bi- ble history, to the evidences of Christianity, natural theology, and Butler's Analogy, the student derives the most important advanta- ges to mind, and heart, and conscience. The religious training of Christian institutions is among the choicest blessings of an advanced social state. Such institutions will always be invaluable auxiliaries to the domestic constitution, and will contribute to promote religious as well as secular knowledge. Education is so much a business by itself that it cannot wisely surrender the precious opportunities afforded by public schools 2. The religious training of the young, enjoined by God, must be given in schools, because the great majority of comj^etent parents have not sufficient time to devote to the object. Toil and labor by " the sweat of the brow" are the doom of the race. Neither fathers nor mothers have much time at command during the day. The public du- ties of life, and the domestic duties of the household, occui^y a promi- nence which prevents the requisite attention to this important sub- ject. As a matter of fact, professional men, farmers, merchants, me- chanics, and others, are called away from their homes, from morning to evening ; and there are few mothers, whose domestic cares and en- gagements allow the necessary intervals to do according to their heart's desire. So that even competent parents instinctively look to the teachers in schools, as the persons whom Providence substitutes in their place, to take part in the education of their children. There is a necessity for religious schools, growing out of the principle of the di- vision of labor. " 3. Moreover, multitudes of parents are utterly incomjMent to tJie task of giving religious instruction. The majoritiy of families feel no personal responsibilities in regard to religious training. — Their hearts are under the influence of the god of this world. Uncon- cerned about the things of their peace, they suffer their children to grow up in like ignorance and delusion. The voice of private or of family prayer is never heard. The Scriptures are a sealed book. — The Sabbath is not sanctified. The general neglect of personal re- ligion throws its shade of gloom on the olive plants around the table, and the whole family influence is ' of the earth, earthy.' Whether the children of such households ought to be left to the awful disad- vantages entailed upon them, is a question which Christianity is prompt to answer. If there is any worth in the human soul ; any necessity of repentance to the ungodly : any love for our neighbor, ' for whom Christ died ;' any responsibility to God, Christians can- 168 not remain unmoved in the midst of surrounding spiritual desolation. Every agency wliicli zeal in the cause of Christ can devise, should he put into requisition to supply wants so severe and wide-spread. The organization of religious day-schools is, of all others, the agency best suited to remedy the evil. Such schools would well supply the daily deficiency, and bring religion into contact with the youthful mind in a hopeful and effectual way. Many parents, who make no pretension to piety, prefer to have their cliildren taught religion in schools. — But however diverse might be the wishes of such parents, the fact of their acknowledged incompetency to teach their children the things pertaining to God, creates the obligation on the part of the Church to attempt to accomplish the object in some other way ; and no way is so effectual as schools, imbued with the spirit and principles of re- ligion. 4. " This leads to the remark that all experience shows the insuffiency of other agencies, aiid the value of the one under consideration. All churches, even with all forms of error, have depended, in teaching re- ligion, on the school as an essential means of sustaining their influ- ence and life. "III. Adequate religious education can only be given in schools WHICH ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE Church. The State and oth- er schools sometimes inculcate religion ; but this occurs only under specially favorable circumstances, and even then not often to the de- sired extent. " 1. One reason why a thorough religious training can only be given to the schools under ecclesiastical care is, because in none other can Christians choose the teacher^ or determine tlie course of instruction. It is obvious that the character of schools depends altogether upon the matter taught, and the persons teaching. * * *' * * # * " 2. Even if religion were universally regarded as a proper sub- ject for the school, the prevalent diversity of opinion, and sectarian jealousy, must prevent the adoption of any efficient system of relig- ious instruction. These difficulties may be principally classed under two divisions ; those which arise from the doctrinal diversities of evangelical churches, and those occasioned by infidelity and Koman- ism. It would be no easy matter to reconcile evangelical Christians to the adoption of a common platform of scriptural teaching. And even if this could be done, what rational hope would there be of an acquiescence in evangelical doctrine by the infidels of all classes, and the unvarying class of Romanists ? Even the reading of the Bible in public schools is becoming more and more difficult, not only on ac- count of the Douay version but of the new Baptist version. " lY. The two systems of parochial and of State schools may, and ought to coexist. The one, under present circumstances, supplements the other. " The friends of parochial schools desire the utmost efficiency to be given to the State system. 169 " First, because there are thousands of children who cannot be other- wise reached. In many districts tlie sparseness of population will not admit of more than one school ; and in others, the question is, at least, a doubtful one. The State has advantages under such circumstances which should be fairly acknowledged. It is far better that the chil- dren should be educated on some plan which brings them all together, and which is practical in common advantages, however small, than that the neighborhood should be left in ignorance, or be agitated by hope- less contention. " Secondly^ because secular education, with the minimum of moral and religious instruction, and with other facilities for receiving the latter, is a blessing. Ignorance and debasement commonly go hand in hand. Mental darkness too often intercepts light to the moral fa- culties. The most hopeless of all communities are those where igno- rance abounds, with its attendant ills. The Gospel is hindered in its power by coming in contact with minds incapable of appreciating truth, and of attending to its just conclusions. A great deal has been said, and said truly, of the danger of educating a people intellectually, with- out regard to their morals and religion. All such statements are strong pleas for Christian schools. But it does not necessarily follow that, in the absence of religion in schools, it would be better, in the condition of our country, to leave the people uneducated. Much reli- gious instruction can be given to the people in other ways than in schools. ******* " Thirdly. Another thing which reconciles many to sustain State education is that, in the present condition of public opinion, the com- mon schools are the only ones for which State patronage can be secur- ed ; and, without the aid of the Stale, the general education of the people cannot be accomplished. ^ ****** # " 2. On the other hand, the friends of tJie State system have no reason to oppose parochial schools. " First, because these schools do not owe their origin to hostility to the State system, but to views of Christian duty. Church schools are established for purposes which the State cannot accomplish. Whilst the latter aims only at qualifying its youth to be good citizens of the Commonwealth, the Church aims at preparing them both for the du- ties of this life and of the life to come. Secular education may, under certain circumstances, be good as far as it goes ; but religious educa- tion goes farther, and is better. ******* " Second/y. The utmost extent to which the denominational .sys- tem can be now carried will leave much ground that can only be occu- pied by the State. Parochial schools cannot rival or supersede the common schools. There is abundant room for all. At the present time, a large number of private, or select schools, exist within the lim- its of States which have adopted the common school system. In Scot- land, the number of ' adventure schools,' as they are there called 170 exceeds the Bumber of parochial schools. There is no interference, because all have enough to do. Now, if, in this country, the parochial schools should so far increase as to take the place of the thousands of private schools, no clashing between the two systems would take place ; and even if parochial schools were added to the number of private schools, the interference would not be for evil. ******* " Thirdly. Denominational schools are not exclusive, and need not be offensively sectarian. * * * Bigotry is commonly the result of ignorance. An educated Presbyterian, however strongly he may be attached to his own form of faith and worship, is commonly chari- table towards those who differ from him. ******* " Fourthly. Another reason for the co-existence of the two kinds of schools is the health principle of competition. Monopolies are not only odious but dangerous. The granting of railroad privileges by the State to a mammoth company is nothing in comparison with the danger of allowing the State to control the entire work of education throughout the length and breadth of the land. A public scnool sys- tem might be made the engine of immense evil. It has the training of a nation at its command ; it may dictate its reading and control its current and general opinions." Extract from an Essay on Denominational Schools in the Pennsylvania School Joui'nal, by Elias Schneider. " A distribution of the school fund among our religious denominations would, of course, if properly done, have to be made according to the numeri- cal strength, and the number of children, in their schools. The officers of the State would theretbre need a yearly census before this fund could be equitably apportioned. Now how would such a census be made ? Would it include only the children of the different religious denominations, or as many more as each denomination could induce to enter its schools from those whose parents make no profession of religion V Suppose the latter. Look then for a moment at the consequences. Each religious body would of course make its utmost exertions to outstrip the others in efforts to acquire strength from those having no religious connection. Hence would follow jealousies and even hatred from members of one religious sect against those of another, growing al- ways in vehemency as one sect might be outstripped or over-reached, by the othei's. And nothing could operate more seriously against genuine religion than such an unhappy state of things. But it must not be supposed that all those who make no profession of reli- gion, would be willing to send their children to schools over which they could not be allowed to have any control. Being wholly denominational in their character, the voice of none could be regarded in what related to their man- agement, except those who belonged to these denominations. There would be a necessity, then, of assigning also a just portion of the school fund to those having no religious connection. For, being taxed alike with the rest, their claim upon this fund would be as just as that of any other body of men, and their separate schools would be equally entitled to support." " In regard to the last position, a few remarks must suffice. There arc some sects in our country, who call themselves rehgious bodies, but who advo- 171 eate and openly practice what is contrary to ordinary morality. Among these may be mentioned one, which advocates and practices polygam.y. This sect, it seems, increases with no ordinary additions to its number every year. It would have an equally just claim upon its portion of the school fund, if a dis- tribution were made. And in assigning its share of this money, the State would be virtually encouraging a doctrine not only in favor of immorality, but in violation of statute law, and the sect would thus use this money to in- crease its power to do evil. Suppose the present school system were abolished, as it actually would be if the school fund were distributed among our diflerent denominations, would it not also bring about a total destruction of all schools in the rural districts." Extract from the speech of the Rev. Dr. Bond, (Methodist) before the Common Council of New York city, October, 1840, upon the application of the Roman Catholics for an allowance from the public school money lor their separate schools. " But it is alleged that we are here to oppose Roman Catholics. Sir, we would oppose the Methodists if the same application was made by them. I would have stood here myself to oppose them, for I do not fear nor dodge any responsibility. We believe that all mankind are individually undergoing a moral and intellectual probation before God ; and that we cannot, without incurring the divine displeasure, substitute this probationary relation, by one before any man, or any number of men, whether Pope or Council, or the Methodist General Conference. None of these can release us from our obli- gations as probationers before God. " To our own master we stand or fall." If the Methodist Episcopal Church had issued her mandate to me not to ap- pear before this body, and not to oppose this application, I would have set her authority at naught. We believe that these Public Schools are necessary to our form of government ; that it is not safe to commit the preservation and perpetuation of the public liberty and of our civil institutions to an ignorant, untaught multitude, to those Avho will be incapable of appreciating their value, or who may be made the dupes of better educated but more Micked men. We say it is necessary to the perpetuation of public liberty that the commu- nity be educated— that all who exercise the elective franchise, should be taught to value our civil institutions. But we say that no sectarian body can do this ; it must be done by all together. If you were to give all this money to the sects, it could not be done — it can only be done by a common system, for if all the sects had this money divided amongst them, there is one half of the community who would not suffer their children to be taught by them. What then is to become of these children ? Our public liberties demand a public universal system of education, and this can only be effected by agents appoint- ed by the State, and answerable to the State ; it can never be done if the money be given to any denomination, or divided among all the sects. Sir, we allege this is the broad principle on which the Common Schools are established ; take this away, and you have no right to lay a tax at all ; you could not lay a tax with any justice for this purpose. If the money is to be distributed among the different sects and denominations of christians, and they are to use it as they think best, even for their own proselyting purposes — I speak of no particu- lar denomination — all have their pi'eferences and peculiar tenets, and all desire to make converts to their belief — I say give the money to this end, and what follows ? — ^Vhy, that you ought to tax them severally according to what they receive. What right have you to tax Roman Catholics for the support of Methodist Schools V or what right have you to tax Methodists for the support of Presbyterian Schools V In short, what right have you to tax any sect for 172 tlie support of Scliools of any i-ival sects ? You have first to ascertain what each roqi'ires to support the schools under their care, and then to tax that denomi- nation to the necessary amount. You liave no risht to tax me as a Methodist, for the Roman Catholic Scliools but only on the ground that education is necessary tor the preservation of our public liberties and for the public safety." Extracts from an article on Education, in the Westminster Review, for July, 1851. " Upon the second question — The mode of imparting religious instruction,- the friends of secular schools lay down two positions, — that the schoolmaster is not the person best fitted for religious teaching ; and that it is not wise to delay the acquisition of elementary knowledge until all sects are agreed upon the precise forms and points of doctrine which should be superadded. The misconceptions that exist on this part of our subject are more numei"- ous than upon any other; and they arc extraordinary; for, on examination, it will be ibund that the separation of religious from secular instruction, espe- cially as regards credal theology, is not a novel theory, but the rule rather than the exception of the existing system. The religious instruction now im- parted to the children of the working classes is almost exclusively confined to Sunday schools, with which no one proposes to interfere ; and in Sunday schools the teachers are not the masters of common day schools, but the zeal- ous junior members of a religious congregation, assisted by the minister." " In infant schools, where the requirements of secular instruction are less urgent, religion is made a leading feature of the system ; but here, again, we may remark that the intant school system does not include credal theo- logy. Fi'om the majority of infant schools catechisms are excluded." " The best schools, whether in England or on the Continent, are those in which this division of labor is carried to the greatest extent. The woi-st are those in which some half-educated broken-down tradesman undertakes to teach everything, and to act in the double capacity of schoolmaster and divine. It is not for want of schools, nor for want of schools in which religion is nominally taught, that the working people of this country form neither an In- structed nor a religious population ; but from the too great prepondei-ance of schools of the latter class. So much is thrown upon a narrow capacity, that nothing is effectually accomplished. Boys leave a charity school at fourteen, often without the ability to make out a grocer's bill, and without a sentiment connected with religion beyond that of the weariness of an unsupportable task. Prison Inspectors report, that among the juvenile delinquents at Park- hurst, and other prisons, there are lads of fifteen — a dozen times committed for as many different offences — as well versed in the Catechism and Liturgy as any member of the bench of Bishops. Of what avail can be religion if It be degraded Into a mere exercise of memory ? Better, surely, no teach- ing of religion than such modes of teaching it as reach neither the heart nor understanding, and end In practical Infidelity. It Is for the Interest of religion, that in every branch of education proper regard should ha had to the division of labor, and the division of time. It is injurious to religion to attempt to reconcile incompatibilities. Arithmetic Is one subject ; theology is another. Both are best taught separately, and at seasons separately appropriate to each ; for " to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." It Is an awful experiment, fraught wi h a moral danger no one can adequately estimate — a danger involving the confounding together in the mind of all distinctions between formal conven- tionalities and sincere piety, to attempt amidst the uproar of a schuol-room, to 173 call off the attention of a cliild from a sum in the Rule of Three,* or a fault in grammar, to questions of God and eternity. The heuu ideal of religious instruction, would be that of a school supplied with mechanical teachers for all efficient, moral and intellectual processes ; each teacher restricted to the one department for which he might be the best fitted ; and the teacher of religion, a man such as Goldsmith's " Vicar of Wakefield," — one to win the affections of youth ; assembling a class for conversational lessons on God's providence, in a room apai't, free from all din and tumult and the intrusion of less solemn associations. There are schools in which this beau ideal is realized. Among them some under the superintendence of the present Dean of Hereford, Mr. Dawes. That they are not more numerous, is to be lamented. Extract from an address by Hiram Ketchum, Esq., (Presbyterian), before the American Bible Society. " You all know that it is an elementary principle of American law, and the American Constitution, and of American hearts, that the government has no right to raise money by tax for the support of Christian religion. And It Is a great elementary principle In American law and American politics, and of all American concerns, that religion here Is to be supported by voluntary contri- butions. It is our glory, our joy, that religion with us Is upheld by free hearts. Men may tax themselves, and I thank God they do tax themselves, for the support of religion ; but the State has no right to lay a tax for this purpose. It follows of necessity that these schools, maintained by a tax raised hy the State, are not nurseries for Instruction In religion. It is acknowledged in them ; It Is recognised by them. But the peculiar doctrines of any one sect must not be taught In schools supported by any moneys raised by a tax on the people. Hence, schools furnished by the State, provide for the education of the children, as common elementary schools, for Instruction In the common branches of education, and no more. Religious Instruction is left to the pa- rents, to spiritual teachers, to religious friends, and to Sabbath schools. But here, no Instruction Is given In any doctrines pecidlar to any denomination of Christians." Extract from a Lecture by Richard Gardner, Esq., before the Public School Association of Lancashire, England. " Another fundamental objection will be taken to the plan, as to which I shall not do more than throw out a few general observations. I alluded to the exclusion of theological teaching. This, it will be said. Is godless edu- * In a work on Elementary Arithmetic,' published by a former Secretary of the National School Society (the Kev. J. C. Wigram), the subject was illustrated by questions of the following tenor : — " The Children of Israel were sadly given to idolatiy, notwithstanding all they knew of God. Moses was obliged to have 3,000 men put to death for this grievous sin. What digits would you use to express this number? " Of Jacob's four wives, Leah had six sons, Rachel had two, Billah had two, and Zillah had also two. How many sons had Jacob?" We quote these as an example of that false system of congruities which we depre- cate, and which cannot be too earnestly condemned by religious minded men; but it is gratifying to be able to note that better counsels are now beginning to prevail in the National School Society, and that the work from which the above are taken is now laid aside in most of their schools. 33 174 cation. Now, in the first place, that which is contemplated by the plan, or indeed by any system of day schools whatever, is not education at all, in the strict sense of the term. Education commences in the cradle, and is affected by all the circumstances of a man's lii'e in his course to the grave. The instruction received in the day school is one ot those circumstances which we desire to make as favorable as possible. Then comes the question. What is to be taught in the day school ? I very much doubt whether, under any cir- cumstances, this is the proper place for religious instruction. It is a place of 'abor, of restraint, and sentiments of punishment. I doubt whether the Bible and the Catechism have their appropriate place amidst the routine of secular studies, and Avhether one and the same teacher should be called upon, in one and the same course, to pass from the spelling book and the rule of three to the mysteries and sanctions of Divine Truth. I lay very little stress upon that religious teaching which is given as a matter of drudgery and routine, sometimes, perhaps, amidst tears and disgrace. I know, at least, that this mixture is not generally attempted in daj' schools for the wealthier classes — at least it was not in m_y time. But however this may be as an educational question, the political aspect of the plan makes the exclusion in question necessary. Society cannot unite In its corporate capacity to teach theology, because society is one, but forms of faith are many. If society selects one form for its patronage, as the symbol of the nation's faith, it is in my opinion, giiilty of injustice; if many, or all, of latitudinarianlsm. It might be possible to devise a plan which would nominally get over the difficulty, but we are satis- fied that no compi-omise of the kind would work. But though the plan ex- cludes theology from its schools, not as undervaluing the importance of such studies, but from the necessity of the case, it is clear, I think, that it is calcu- lated to prove highly favorable to the effective teaching of religion in other and more appropropriate places. I believe that one reason for the compar- atively small success of the vast religious agencies, which are now at work in this country, is the low state of intellectual culture of the people. Depend npon it, that a nation of Protestants will never be a religious people, till it becomes an intelligent people, because Protestantism appeals so much to the understanding." Extract of a Lecture before the same by John Mills, Esq. " If the advantage of teaching be a social advantage, and if the evil of its neglect be a social evil, why not consign the task to social agency — to govern- ment for instance, as the recognised organ of society ? But an intelligent voluntary would readily reply to the reasoning, " I agree with you that the development of a man's nature Is a duty, and that the resulting advantage is a social one ; but it must not be forgotten, that one part of the desired development is of a religious nature. Religion is a matter to be dealt with by individual con- science ; the law of conscience is, in reference to religious belief, supreme. Creeds vary ; the tax fund is contributed by the believers of all the varietiea of creed. To devote any portion of that fund to the inculcation of any creed, is to violate the consciences of the adherents of all the rest. Between moral obligations, as between physical laws, there is, not indeed opposition, but due subordination, the lower to the higher. To secure human development by the compromise of spiritual freedom, would be to convert obedience to one behest of duty into a monstrous violation of another and higher requirement. This consideration, however, bj' no means impairs the obligation to educational effort, though it lays an interdict upon one particular method." " Men of all parties, from John Foster the Baptist, to Dr. Hook the vicar of Leeds, had for some time been uttering indignant j^rotests against the qui- 175 esence of the State in the matter of general education, before the pre?ent government, feeling the anomaly thus pointed out, addressed themselves to the task ofremoving it. There is reason to suppose* that a disposiion was not wantnig to present the country with a good national sj^stem of secular educa- tion, but this was denounced by anticipation with the glib adjective '■ (jodless ;' ■while, on the other hand, the introduction of doctrinal religion into such a system would have been in direct defiance of a large party who conscientiously object to State endowments of religion. The government, therefore, saw no better means of bringing the national resources to bear upon national culture, than to hand over the public money in aid of local efibrts, in certain propor- tion to the amounts raised by the local promoters. This arrangement, and certain provisions for official inspection of schools, and award of salaries to pupil teachei's, form, substantially, the plan of the ' minutes of council.' " " That no spiritual interest is placed in peril by the adoption of a system of instruction which leaves docti-inal teaching to specially qualified spiritual functionaries is a fact not merely to be assumed in theory, but one wliich has been proved by actual experiment. On the testimony of M. Victor Cousin, accredited by Mr. Leonard Horner, a gentleman known to Lancashu'e, we are assured that, in Holland, after thirty years of instruction on this principle, the people 'are an honest and pious people; and Christianity is I'ooted in the manners and creeds of the people.' And of America, where a system similar in this respect is adopted, we are assured, by Sir Charles Lyell, that ' the clergy are becoming more and more convinced that, Avhere the education of the million has been carried furthest, the people are most regular in their attendance on public worship, most zealous in the defence of their theological opinions, and most liberal in contributing funds for the support of their pas- tors and the building of churches.' So that to expedite the spread of secular knowledge is a process not only hostile, but largely helpful to the aims of the sects, even though the educational rate-fund be neither monopolized by one church nor shared by all." To this tact I allude, however, rather as a sedative for fears than as a stim- ulus to action. Extract of a Lecture before the same by Walter Feegusox, Esq. " I have indicated the kind of education which is given in the common school of New England and New York. It is unsectai'ian. Some persons in this country might be disposed to call it irreligious — godless : but in America its tendency is generally considered to be decidedly favorable to religion. — This much is certain, that where the common school system is most developed, there places of worship most abound, and are best attended, and ministers, missionaries, Bible and benevolent societies, are most liberally supported. — The most active promoters of common schools are religious men, not wanting in zeal for their respective theological opinions, but who do not think that it is their duty to insist on those opinions being inculcated in schools to which believers in other dogmas contribute equally with themselves. A high moral character is strictly insisted upon as the first and most indispensable cpialfica- tion for a teacher, for the want of which no attainments, and no powers of communicating them can atone ; but no creed test is used, and teachers are forbid to inculcate their peculiar religious views (whatever those may be) on *This supposition is founded upon a remarkable speech delivered by Lord Mor- peth, at York, during the time of the agitation consequent on the "^issuo of tho minutes of the privy council on education. 176 the children. This prohibition is not found to prevent conscientious and zeal- ous religionists from accepting the office of teacher ; and having once under- taken it, it would be deemed a breach of faith on their part did they attempt to proselytize the children." Extract from a Lecture before the same by Rev. W. McKerrow, of Man- chester, England. " It cannot fail, first of all to strike every one who makes inquiry into the subject of congregational schools, that they exhibit a lamentable waste of money and eflort. There has been in general but little forethought and cal- culation evinced in their formation. They have sprung from impulsive feeling, and not from sound judgment. The factory education bill, to which we have referred, brought many of them hastily into existence, and the late " Minutes of Council " have been the means of adding to their number. There seemed to be a kind of benevolent mania, prompting every where the erection of such schools ; and almost every Christian congregation that did not bestir itself to have one of them, was supposed by the zealous and sanguine to be indifferent to its duty and interest. But there being no considerate and kindly agreement amongst the sects, they have planted their educational establishments immedi- ately adjoining their places of worship, or as near to them as possible. It has followed that in many quarters schools have been by far too closely crowded. Costly buildings, not a few, are to be seen almost within speaking distance of each other, where there is not a sufficient jiopulation of children to fill them. We find, for example, eight of them (exclusive of private schools) in one dis- trict of our city within the radius of little more than a quarter of a mile, and some of these almost in juxtaposition ; and tour of them in another district, not more than two or three hundred yards apart. It is not to be wondered at, in these circumstances, that we should have empty rooms and dispirited teach- ers, as well as an unprofitable investment of money and expenditure of labor. And not having arrived as yet at the millenial jDcriod when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, who can tell how much property may yet be rendered useless by the rivalship of sects ? We have heard it said that in various jDarts of the country Churchmen have waited to see where Dissenters would place their schools, and then, having allowed them to exhaust their resources, have commenced in their immediate vicinity an oppositional establishment ; and similar charges have been made by Churchmen against Dissenters. But another circumstance in connection with these church and chapel schools, which we must also consider, is, the uncertainty of their support and continuance. They commonly arise from some species of excitement which soon subsides ; they have not within them, nor in connection with them, the means of regular and constant sustenance and of permanency." Extract of a Lecture before the same association by Rev. Samuel David- son, D. D. " Still further, not only is it a matter of unavoidable expediency to keep away distinctive religious doctrine from the schools, because the plan could not otherwise commend itself to the sympathies of all, but it is better, both for the interests of religion and of secular education, that the separation in question should exist. It is better for religion that it should be dealt with In this method. It has always appeared to me that true religion has about it something so sacred and reverential as to demand a corresponding treatment. The Bible, claiming to 177 be a divine book, should be read and explained -mith a veneration befitting its origin. It is difficult, however, if not impossible, to do this amid the noise of a daily school. There the sacred volume soon comes to be looked on by the scholars as an ordinary book. It is associated with lessons, perhaps with disa- greeable tasks that tax the memory. Inseimbli/, it may be, and gradually, it takes its place virtiialli/ in the eyes of the pupils along with any other volume of varied contents. Amid the dust and drudgery of a common school, it does not long retain any hallowed association. It is put into the list of the lesson books, and comes round in the dull routine. Hence many carry away the most disagreeable recollections of it from the public school. Their memory asso- ciates it with feelings of irksomeness. They do not turn to it with pleasure in after life. They" have a sort of aversion to it. Such is the effect of making the Bible an ordinary school book. The same observations will apply to the catechisms, which are employed as embodying the distinctive principles of any religious denomination. It is not good, generally speaking, to make catechisms and confessions common books out of Avhich lessons are repeated to a teacher it a day-school, unless one wish to run the risk of making them distasteful ever after, and so creating an aversion to religion, or at least to the formula- ries of it." " Everything, therefore, which helps a man to think, or assists in the devel- opment of his mental resources, is favorable to religion. The more an indi- vidual learns, the longer he reflects, the better subject does he become for religious impression and training. All science contributes to the progess of revealed truth. The advocates, therefore, of the latter, instead of fearing, should welcome the triumphs of the former as illustrating the operations of the same Almighty Being whose footsteps are seen alike in nature and in revela- tion. If, then, the public schools which the plan of the Lancashire Associa- tion proposes be not directly religious — if the distinctive doctrines of one sect be not taught in them — they will at least be subservient to true religion. — They will strengthen the mind, and thereby prepare it for the reception of Divine truth. They will help the pupil to trace God's laws in nature and providence, conducting him to a point where others may take him up and lead him into the ulterior region of sacred truth. Theoretical knowledge is good in itself These schools propose to give a considerable amount of it. But in addition to that, they will seek to inculcate the immutable principles of justice, temperance, and the like, by holding up practical examples of them in history. They are meant to imbue the youthful mind with those moral maxims which lie at the foundation of all religion. Is not this sufficient V The objector says no. You must have far more than this. You must have what I consider true re- ligion. But they are meant to be schools for all ; and true religion means different things in the mouth of different professing Christians. We cannot have the true religion of each sectary, and at the same time avoid infringing on the rights of conscience. We want to preserve those rights inviolate ; and to have all taught as far as practicable in the public schools." Extract of a Lecture before the same, by Rev. Francis Tucker, of Man- chester. " And now I ask the devoted Sunday school teacher, (a character whom I love and honor,) whether a good secular education on the week day will not prepare for him more hopeful pupils on the Sabbath ? I ask him whether he would not gladly be spared the toil and drudgery of teaching the a b c of el- ementary instruction ? I ask him whether, when his whole soul has panted to lead his scholars on at once to the highest themes of human contemplation, he has not often felt himself chained and fettered by their inaptitude to think, or even their inabilitv to read V " 178 Extract from a Prize Essay by Rev. Edavard Higginson, published by the Central Society of Education in England. " In no country does the mutual intolerance of religious sectarianism dis- play itself more actively than in England. It mai's almost every project of benevolence in which the co-operation of numbers is to be desired. Each little sect is more ready to insist upon the introduction of its own special pur- poses into the plan, than to contribute to the general strength ; and the con- sequence commonly is, that each party pursues its own distinct course apart from the rest, and what ought to be the general cause of philanthropy, becomes in a great degree, the scene of contention and rivalry among opposing sects. In nothing is this more lamentably apparent than in the matter of education. Let the iSunday schools of the different sects be carefully examined ; and we believe they will be generally found to be devoted rather to the inculcation of the pecuhar theology of the sect, than to communication of Scriptural or gen- eral knowledge, or the cultivation of moral and devotional principles. Tar- tisans, of whatever religious creed, deeming religion the highest branch of education, insist, and rigiitly enough, that no education can be complete with- out it ; they only mistake in their application of this principle, when they severally insist upon their own distinctive doctrinal views as being essential to that religious education which they would have the young receive at school. — Instead of being satisfied to instil those leading principles of morality, respect- ing which they all agree, and to cultivate those religious affections in the young which are essentially the same in all devotional hearts, whatever may be the particular class of doctrinal opinions to which they may afterwards attach themselves, the zealots of each party can see no sufficient religious education short of the Inculcation of their own peculiarities of doctrine ; and they ac- cordingly withdraw to separate educational methods, and endeavor to perpet- uate in the young, whom they respectively claim as their own, a higher regard for their trivial distinctions of opinion, than for the great principles and greater habits of Intrinsic piety and goodness. At this present moment, a religious cry is ready to break out against any attempt on the part ot the State, to in- stitute schools for the general instructioia of the people, which, If Instituted by the State for the use ot all, must, of course, abstain from espousing the relig- ious peculiarities of any. The zealots of all religious parties are already agi'eeing among themselves, that ' education without religion' would be worse than no education at all ; and they feel convinced that any system proposed by the State would be an education without their own religious peculiarities. They know that any truly national plan must be free from the sectarianism of all sects whatever ; and they do not perceive how it might be so, and yet be intrinsically and beautifully religious. The zealous and the bigoted are al- most always tne leaders of each party; while the timid and the indiflerent, by simple acc^ulescence, give thesr numerical strength to the movements of the party, and the more enlightened and liberal too often hold aloof from the evidently useless conflict, in which their liberality of principle Avould be vul- garly denounced as heresy, and their moderation of spirit as a lack of zeal for God." Extract from a Prize Essay by Mrs. G. R. Porter, published by the same Society. " If an extensive system of education be advocated, dispassionate enquiry as to the best means of promoting the wished-for end, and sanguine hope as to the benefits which are to arise from such an undertaking, are immediately interrupted and disturbed by the question importunately asked — " What re- 179 ligion Is to be taught?" Parties soon lose sight of the ennobling subject — the raising and improving of our species ; and forget themselves in angry in- vective and virulent accusation ; giving melancholy proof that education has indeed been hitherto -wofully neglected, since it has failed to subdue that ex- clusive and intolerant spirit, -which thus mixes itself up with our better feelings, and would crush everything that is good and useful in our nature. Before we enquire " What religion is to be taught V" we should ask " what is religion ?" Does it consist in the belief of particular dogmas and creeds, or in that vital principle of the soul which purifies and exalts our nature and should be the prime mover of all our actions V The religion of Christ, which teaches men to love each other as brethren — which should lead them to exercise mutual charity and forbearance, and to join together heart and soul in transmitting and diffusing its Divine blessings to future generations by means of educa- tion — this religion is made the ostensible motive for hostility and opposition, and for counteracting every endeavor which does not originate in the exclu- siveness of sectarianism. Surely there viust be some mistake here. Religion rannot be inimical to good. This cannot be religion. Let us then shake off its unworthy counterfeit, and let us in the holy spirit of genuine Christianity fairly enter upon the subject ; let us, if possible, dismiss all angry feelings, all rooted prejudices, and institute a calm investigation as to the best manner of meeting and settling this great question." Extracts from a discourse ou the Modifications demanded by Roman Catholics in the common schools. By Dr. Bushnell, of Hartford, 1853. " We have slid off, imperceptibly, from the old Puritan, upon an American basis, and have iindertaken to inaugurate a form of political order that holds no formal church connection. The properly Puritan common school is already quite gone by ; the intermixture of Metho- dists, Quakers, Unitarians, Episcopalians, and diverse other names of Christians, called protestants, has burst the capsule of Puritanism, and as far as the schools are concerned, it is quite passed away ; even the Westminster catechism is gone by, to be taught in the schools no more. In precisely the same manner, have we undertaken also to loosen the bonds of Protestantism in the schools, when the time demacding it arrives. To this we are mortgaged by our great American doctrine itself, and there is no way to escape the obligation but to renounce the doctrine, and resume, if we can, the forms and lost prerogatives of a state religion. But there is one thing, and a very great thing, that we have not lost, nor agreed to yield ; viz., commo?i schools. Here we may take our stand, and upon this we may insist as being a great American institution; one that has its beginnings with our history itself; one that is inseparably joined to the fortunes of the republic ; and one that can never wax old, or be discontinued in its rights and rea- sons, till the pillars of the state are themselves cloven down forever. We can not have Puritan common schools — these are gone already — we cannot have Protestant common scools, or those which are distioc- ively so ; but can we have comono7i schools, and these we must agree to maintain, till the la.«t or latest day of our liberties. These are American, as our liberties themselves are American, and whoever 180 requires of us, whether directly or by implication, to give them up, requires what is more than our boud promises, and what is, iu fact, a real affront to our name and birthright as^a people. * * * * *' * # This great institution, too, of common schools, is not only a part of the state, but is imperiously wanted as such, for the common training of so many classes and conditions of people. There needs to be some place where, in early childhood, they may be brought together and made acquainted with each other ; thus to wear away the sense of dis- tance, otherwise certain to become an established animosity of orders ; to form friendships ; to be exercised on a common footing of ingenu- ous rivalry ; the children of the rich to feel the power and to do honor to the struggles of merit in the lowly, when it rises above them ; the children of the poor to learn the force of merit, and feel the benign encouragement yielded by the blameless victories. Indeed, no child can be said to be well trained, especially no male child, who has not met the people as they are, above him or below, in the seatiugs, plays and studies of the common school. "Without this he can never be a fully qualified citizen, or prepared to act his part wisely as a citizen. Con- fined to a select school, where only the children of wealth and distinc- tion are gathered, he will not know what merit there is in the real virtues of the poor, or the power that slumbers in their talent. He will take his better dress as a token of his better quality, look down upon the children of the lowly with an educated contempt, pepare to take on lofty airs of confidence and presumption afterwards ; finally, to make the discovery when it is too late, that poverty has been the sturdy nurse of talent in some unhonored youth who comes up to af- front him by an equal, or mortify and crush him by an overmastering force. So also the children of the poor and lowly, if they should be privately educated, in some inferior degree, by the honest and faithful exertion of their parents : secreted as it were, in some back alley or obscure corner of the town, will either grow up in fierce, inbred hatred of the wealthier classes, or else in a mind cowed by undue modesty, as being of another and inferior quality, unable, therefore, to fight, the great battle of life hopefully, and counting it a kind of presumption to think that they can force their way iipward, even by merit itself. * '* * * * * * It is very plain that we cannot have common schools for the pur- poses above named, if we make distributions, whether of schools or of funds, under sectarian or ecclesiastical distinctions. At that moment the charm and very much of the reality of common schools vanish. Besides, the ecclesiastical distinctions are themselves distinctions also of classes, in another form, and such too as are much more dangerous than any distinctions of wealth. Let the Catholic children, for example, be driven out of our schools by unjust trespasses on their religion, or be withdrawn for mere pretexts that have no foundation, and just there commences a training in religious antipathies bitter as the grave — Never brought close enough to know each other, the children, subject to the great well known principles that whatever is unknown is mag- nified by the darkness it is under, have all their prejudices and repug- 181 nances magnified a thousand fold. They grow up in the conviction that there is nothing but evil in each other, and close to that lies the inference that they are right in doing what evil to each other they please. I complain not of the fact that they are not assimilated, but of what is far more dishonest and wicked, that they are not allowed to understand each other. They are brought up, in fact, for misunder- standing ; separated that they may misunderstand each other ; kept apart, walled up to heaven in the inclosures of their sects, that they may be as ignorant of each other, as inimical, as incapable of love and cordial good citizenship as possible. The arrangement is not only unchristian, but it is thoroughly un-American, hostile at every point, to our institutions themselves. No bitterness is so bitter, no seed of faction so rank, no division so irreconcilable, as that which grows out religious distinctions, sharpened to religious animosities, and softened by no terms of intercourse ; the more bitter when it begins with child- hood ; and yet more bitter when it is exasperated also by distinctions of property and social life that correspond ; and yet more bitter still, when it is aggravated also by distinctions of stock or nation. In the latter view, the withdrawing of our Catholic children from the common schools, unless from some real breach upon their religion, and the distribution demanded of public moneys to them in schools apart by themselves, is a bitter cruelty to the children, and a very un- just aifront to our institutions. We bid them welcome as they come, and open to their free possession, all the rights of our American citi- zenship. They, in return, forbid their children to be American, pen them as foreigners to keep them so, and traiu them up in the speech of Ashbod among us. And then, to complete the affront, they come to our legislatures demanding it as their right, to share in funds col- lected by a taxing of the whole people, and to have these funds applied to the purpose of keeping their children from being Americans. * ****** The old school Presbyterian church took grounds, six years ago, in their General Assembly, at the crisis of their high church zeal, against common and in favor of parochial schools. Hitherto their agitation has yielded little more than a degree of discouragement and disrespect to the schools of their country ; but if the Catbolics prevail in their attempt, they also will be forward in demanding the same rights, upon the same grounds, and their claim also must be granted. By that time the whole system of common schools is fatally shaken. ******** In most of our American communities, especially those which are older and more homogeneous, we have no difficulty in retaining the Bible in the schools and doing every thing necessary to a sound Chris- tian training Nor, in the lai-ger cities, and the more recent settle- ments, where the population is partly Catholic, is there any, the least difficulty in arranging a plan so as to yield the accommodation they need, if only there were a real disposition on both sides to have the arrangement. And precisely here, I suspect, is the main difficulty. There may have been a want of consideration sometimes manifested on the Protestant side, or a willingness to thrust our own forms of 24 182 religious teaching on the children of Catholics. Wherever we have insisted on retaining the Protestant Bible as a school book, and mak- ing the use of it by the children of Catholic families, compulsory, there has been good reason for complaining of our intolerance. ******* Is it then impossible to prepare a volume, in the manner of the above card, which, without entering into any matter that pertains to Chris- tianity as a faith, or a grace of salvation, will yet comprise everything that pertains to the relative conditions of life, and even to God's au- thority concerning them — the Christian rules of forgiveness, gentle- ness, forbearance, docility, modesty, charity, truth, justice, temperance, industry, reverence towards God, drawn out in chapters, and formally developed — large extracts from the preceptive parts of the Bible, and its moral teachings ; from the Proverbs of Solomon, from the histories of Joseph and tiaman, from the history of Jesus, in his trial and cru- cifixion, taken as an example of conduct, from the moral teachings also of his sermon on the mount, the parable of the good Samaritan, the rule of the lowest seat, and other like expositions — enlivened also by those picturesque representations of Scripture that display the manner of human nature in matters of moral conduct, such as the parable of Jotham, the story of the ewe lamb, and the judgment of Solomon. In this way Christianity would have a clear and well ascertained place in the schools. A Christian conscience would be formed, and a habit of religious reverence. And though we could wish for something more, we might safely leave the higher mysteries of faith and salvation to be taught elsewhere. Out of these and other elements like these, it is not difficult to con- struct, by agreement, such a plan as will be Christian, and will not infringe, in the least, upon the tenets of either party, the Protestant or the Catholic. It has been done in Holland and, where it is much more difficult, in Ireland. The British government, undertaking at last, in good faith, to construct a plan of national education for Ire- land, appointed Archbishop Whatley and the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, with five others, one a Presbyterian and one a Unitarian, to be a board or committee of superintendence. They agreed upon a selec- tion of reading lessons from both translations of the Scriptures, and, by means of a system of restrictions and qualifications, carefully arranged, providing for distinct methods and times of religious instructions, they were able to construct a union, not godless or negative, but thoroughly Christian in its character, and so to draw as many as 500,000 of the children into the public schools ; conferring thus upon the poor ne- glected and hitherto oppressed Irish, greater benefit than they have before received from any and all public measures since the conquest. There is a great deal of cant in this complaint of godless education, or the defect of religious instruction in schools, as Baptist Noel, Dr. Vaughan, and other distinguished English writers, have abundantly shown. It is not, of course, religious instruction for a child to be drill- ed, year upon year, in spelling out the words of the Bible, as a read- 183 ing book — it may be only an exercise that answers the problem how to dull the mind m^st etfectually to all sense of the Scripture words, and communicate least of their meaning. Nay, if the Scriptures were entirely excluded from the schools, and all formal teaching of religious doctrine, I would yet undertake, if I could have my liberty as a teacher, to communicate more of real Christian truth to a Catholic and a Protes- tant b(iy, seated side by side, in the regulation of their treatment of cnch other, as related in terms of justice and charity, and their government as members of the school community, (where truth, order, industry and obedience are duties laid upon the conscience, under Grod.) tlian they will ever draw from any catechism, or have worn into their brain by dull and stammering exercise of a Scripture reading lesson. The Irish schools have a distinct Christian character, oidy not as dis'iict sectarian as if they were wholly Protestant or wholly Catholic They are Christian schools, such as ours may be and ought to be, and, I trust, will be, to the latest generations, nor any the less so that they are common schools. Neither is it to be imagined or felt that religion has lost its place in the scheme of education, because the Scriptures are not read as a stated and compulsory exercise, or because the higher mysteries of Christianity as a faith or doctrine of salvation, are not generally tauolit but only the Christian rules of conduct, as pertaining to the'common relations of duty uiidtr God. What is wanting may .■'till be provided for, only less adequately, in other places: at home, in the church, or in lessons given by the clergy. It is not as when children are com- mitted to a given school, like the Girard College, for example, there to receive their whole training, and where, if it excludes religion they have no religious training at all It cannot be said by any, the most prejudiced critic, that our conduct as a people, to strangers and men of another religion, has not been generous and free beyond any former example in the history of man- kind. We have used hospitality without grudging. In one view it seems to be a dark and rather mysterious providence, that we have thrown upon us, to be our fellow-citizens, such multitudes of people depressed, for the most part, in character, instigated by prejudices so intense against our religion. But there is a brighter and more hopeful side to the picture. These Irish prejudices, embittered by the crushing tyranny of England, for three whole centuries and morf^ will grad- ually yield to the kindness of our hospitality, and to the discovery'^that it is not so much the Protestant religion that has been their enemy, as the jealousy and harsh dominion of conquest. God knows exactlv what is wanting, both in us and them, and God has thrown us too-ether that in terms of good citizenship, and acts of love, we may be gradually melted into one homogeneous people. Probably no existing form of Christianity is perfect — the Romish we are sure is not — the Puritan was not, else why should it so soon have lost its rigors? The Protes- tant, more generally viewed, contains a wider variety of elements, but these too seem to be waiting for some process of assimilation that shall weld them finally together. Therefore God, we may suppose, throws 184 :ill these diverse multitudes, Protestant aud Catholic, together, in cross- ings so various, and a ferment of experience so manifold, that he may wear us into some other and higher and more complete unity, than we are able, of ourselves and by our own wisdom, to settle. Let us look for this, proving ail things, and holding fast that which is good, until the glorious result of a perfected and comprehensive Christianity is made to appear, and is set up here for a sign to all nations. Extracts from the New Englander for April, 1848, a religious Quarterly Keview published at New Haven, Coun. The proposed substitution of Sectarian for Public Schools. " In the last number of our last volume, in a note to an article on ' The com- mon school controversy in Massachusetts,' we announced our intention to give a distinct consideration to the subject of 'parochial schools'— by which phrase weniean church schools — schools under the direction, control, and support of rehgious sects or denominations. " This subject has, of late, been urged on the public attention In various ways. For many yeai's past, in this country, several religious denominations have manifested not a little uneasiness at the prevalent common school sys- tem, because it excludes (as from its nature itmust^ all distinctively sectarian rehgious instruction ; and have evinced a desire to have schools which would be under their exclusive supervision. The Roman Catholics almost univer- sally, * * * have opposed the attendance of children of that denomination upon the public schools ; and have, in some instances, requested or demanded a i)ortion of the public school money for the support of Roman Catholic schools. Episcopal conventions and Episcopal bishops in their charges, have recommended the establishment of Episcopal schools, especially those of a higher grade. The section of the Presbyterian church, called ' old school, in their jjeriodicals, at meetings of Presbyteries and synods ; and for a few years past,_ at the annual meetings of their General Assembly, have given earnest consideration to the subject of ' parochial schools.' The able Secretary of the Assembly's Board of Education, (Rev. Cortland Van Rensalear) has been unwearied in urging the matter upon the attention of the ecclesiastical bodies, and of the members of that church. The General Assembly have listened, year after year, to elaborate rej^orts from committees appointed to investigate the subject, and to recommend appropriate plans, ways, and means. And they have expressed 'their firm conviction that the interests of the church and the glory of the Redeemer demand, that immediate and strenuous oiforts be made, as far as practicable, b)' every congregation, to establish within its bounds one or more primary schools.' Circulars have been addressed, in the name of the General Assembly, to all the Presbyteries and Sessions ot that church, urging action according to this recommendation, and calling upon all to contribute by annual collections, and, as individuals may be disposed, by do- nations and legacies, to form and maintain a Presbyterian school extension fund for the support of Presbyterian schools within the limits of feeble churches. And to the Assembly's Board of Education Is committed the care of this fund, and the general supervision and direction of the schools thereby organized and sustained. " Meanwhile the Congregationalists have not been uninterested spectators of this movement among their Presbyterian brethren. Some among them have approved It, and have been disposed to encourage one of similar chai'ac- acter within their own communion. At the last meeting of the General As- 185 sociation of Congregational ministers in one of the New England States, a paragraph Avas introduced into the annual report or circular on the state of religion, commending in high terms the system of church schools, brought to the notice of the Association by the report ot the delegate from the old school General Assembly. The paragraph, however, excited decided, and so far as appeared, general disapprobation, and was immediately stricken out. * * "The thoughts, which we have long been maturing on this subject, we shall endeavor to present in a series of distinct, yet closely related observations. " 1. The two systems of popular education, the common school system, and the church school system, cannot prosperously coexist, if indeed they can coex- ist at all. » * * * W * * " ir. < )n the question, thus reduced, it is pertinent to say that, while the church school system is new and untried, — yet to be introduced and estab- lished, — the common school system is established, tried and funded. * * ^; * * * * * " III. The preceding course of thought, showing the necessity of proving, and proving indubitably, the decided superiority of the church school system to the common school system, before any attempt can, with reason antl pro- priety, be made to substitute the Ibrmer lor the latter, brings us to a compari- son of the merits of the two systems. ' " And here, after no little investigation and consideration of the matter, we are impelled by our thorough convictions to take the position, that lor the ed- ucational purposes and interests of a country like ours, the tried and established system of common schools, instead of being inferior, is decidedly superior in merit to any system of church or sectarian schools. If we were now to begin anew, the former ought to be chosen. ******** " The right of the civil government, through its various departments, to establish, support and regulate a system of common schools, ("and it is by the civil government that this usuallj' has been, and, for aught we see, must usu- ally be, done, J this right being admitted, provided there is occasion for its ex- ercise, we are brought to consider the position already taken — the superiority of the established and tried common school system to the jjroposed substitute, the church school system. " 1. The commom school system secures the general, we may say the uni- versal, education of the people. The church school system would not. There would be a large number, who could not be reached by it, and who would grow up in ignorance. This is the first reason we offer to sustain our posi- tion. " This is a truth, (we will prove it to be such presently,^ whose importance cannot easily be exaggerated. Its importance we do not here argue. That would be superfluous. If there be any man who now denies that knowledge is good, or that an elementary education at least, is necessary to make one a good citizen, 'he must,' as another has said, 'be looked upon as a fossil relic of a past world — an antediluvian — one Avho is born behind the time.' We do not expect to number any such man among our readers. It is not necessary here to prove the intimate connection between ignorance and vice, nor that knowledge and virtue are specially im])ortant and neceseary for the citizens of a free country. A free people need the intelligence to discern the true amid the false, and the virtue to love and obey it. They must have the in- telligence to understand and defend their rights, and to retain in their own hand the exercise of their lawful powers, against all the machinations and arts of the ambitious, the designing, and the powerful. Despotism stands on pop- ular ignorance; freedom on popidar intelligence and virtue. And no cunning or care of man can make them change foundations. Among an inteUisent 186 and virtuous people, freedom will, sooner or later, displace despotism. Among an ignorant people, despotism will displace freedom. And for the security, much more for the prosperous working, of civil liberty, this intelligence must be extended to the whole people. It must be diffused as widely as in the ex- ei'cise of political sovereignty. Where almost every man over twenty-one years of age has a part in electing those who are to enact and execute laws, and make war or peace, it is unsafe to leave any such men, or their parents, or sisters, or any wdio form their character, or influence their conduct, with- out the enlightening and conservative power of education. It is not enough for the rich to educate their children, if the children of the poor are left to ignorance. It will not avail for Protestants to educate their children, if the chil- dren of the Romau Catholics are left without knowledge and discipline. It will not avail tor the members of churches and christian congregations to give their children instruction in good schools, if the children of those who care neither for Sabbaths nor sanctuaries, grow up untaught and ungoverned. The ballots of the one class weigh as much in the scales of the nation's destiny, as those of the other. They are all embarked in the same ship, to sink or swim together, and the ignorance and vice of a part endanger the prosperity and existence of the whole. '• And this, by the way, seems to us a strong argument to prove that a re- publican form of government, and a liberal extension of the elective franchise, are in accordance with the divine arrangment and pleasure ; for they tend more povverfully than do other forms of government and restricted suffrage to this excellent end, — knowledge and goodness among the people , since they lay on the community a strong constraint to educate and evangelize all its members. They use the powerful instinct of self-preservation in a nation, to compel it to give the means of knowledge and of grace to all its citizens. " That the common school system, if wisely and efficiently directed and supported, would secure the genei'al, indeed Ave may say the universal, preva- leuL'C of elementary education, is no conjecture. We know it. We know it from the experience of the past. We know what it will do by what it has done. There is left no room for reasonable doubt on this point, by the fact, that, in those states wherein the common school system has anything like a wise and energetic administration, the elementary education of the native population is universal — that few persons indeed can be found, born and bred in those communities, who cannot read and write. It may be said, that the trial has not been sufficient or fair, since the population of these states has been in the past vei-y unlike what it will be in the future, homogeneous. But it would be said without reason, for there has been from the begitming a variety of races, the white, the red, and the black, and, after the first century, and extensively for the last fifty years, a variety on the most miportant matter of discrepancy, religious opinion, certainly a large variety of the protestant sects. True, we have not had in these states as many Roman Catholics as we expect in the future to have, through the channels of emigration ; and there has been, in many cases, and, perhaps in a large proportion of cases, a refusal by Ro- man Catholics to allow their children to attend the common schools. But this refusal, we believe, has been owing mainly to a lack of due liberality on the part of the directors and teachers of these schools towards Roman Catholics, — to the fact that they were not allowed to come into the schools on any other than a Protestant footing, — that their religious peculiarities have not had the same liberal treatment, which the religious peculiarities of Protestants have received, — to the fact, in a word, that it has been insisted, unwisely and un- fairly, as we think, that the common schools should be Protestant schools, and that, if the children of Roman Catholics came into them, they should conform to Protestant rules, and receive a Protestant education. Whenever the op- posite principle has been adopted, and acted upon long enough to banish jeal- 187 ousy and excite confidence, there has been no difficulty in securing the at- tendance of Homan Catholic children.* And we anticipate little difficulty in *[Here follow the proofs, offered by the reviewer, that if a system of liberality and justice be practiced towards the Roman Catholics, they will send their children to the common schools. — Ed.] "Lowell, March 10, 1818. " My dear Sir, — Yours of the 4th inst. was duly received, with inquiries which I proceed to answer. " 1. Do the children of our foreign or imigrant population, especially the Catho- lic portion of them, attend our public schools ? " In the first settlement of Lowell in 1822, owing to several causes, the Irish were collected and built their dwellings chiefly in one quarter, on a tract of land known ever since as the Acre. A large population was here gathered, destitute of nearly every means of moral and intellectual improvement. It was not to be expected that a community thus situated and neglected, so near a populous town of New England people, could be viewed with iniiitference ; on the contrary, it would be watched with great anxiety and apprehension. Accordingly, by the advice and efforts of philanthropic persons, a room was soon rented and supplied with fuel and other necessaries, and a teacher placed there, who was remunerated by a small weekly vol- untary tax, I think, six cents a week for each child. From the poverty and indiffer- ence of these parents, however, the school was always languishing and became ex- tinct. From time to time it revived, and then, after months of feebleness again failed. "At the annual town meeting in May, 1830, an article was inserted in the warrant, for the appointment of a committee to '"consider the expedienc}' of establishing a separate school for the benefit of the Irish population. A committee thus appointed, reported in April, 1831, in favor of such a school. This report was accepted by the town, and as our schools were then carried on in districts, the sum of fifty dollars was apiu'opriatcd for the maintenance of a separate district school for the Irish. — Here was the fir^t municipal regulation relating to this matter, and the origin of the separation between the two races. The district school had many vicissitudes for three years, was kept only a part of the year as our other district schools were, and was often suspended because a suitable room could not be had. On the whole, it was unsatisfactory as in 1834. The Catholic priest here appears to have been carry- ing on a private school under his church, which had been erected in this quarter. In 183-5, this gentleman made formal application to the school committee for aid, and was present at several of their meetings. The result of these deliberations is thus detailed in the annual report of the school committee in March, 1S36. " It is known to the citizens generally, that various fruitless attempts have been hitherto made to extend the benefits of our public schools more fidly to our Irish population. Those attempts have been hitherto frustrated, chiefiy perhaps by a natural apprehension on the part of the parents and pastors of placing their children xmder Protestant teachers, and in a measure also, by the mutual prejudices and con- sequent disagreements among the Protestant and Catlu)lic children themselves. — Your committee have great pleasure in stating that these difficulties appear to have been overcome, and the above most desirable object to have been finally accom- plished. "In .June last, Rev. Mr. Conolly, of the Catholic church, applied to the committee for such aid as they might l)e able to give to his exertions for the education and im- provement of the children under his charge. The committee entered readily and fully into his views, and in subsequent interviews a plan was matured and has since been put into operation. On the part of the committee, the following conditions were insisted on as indispensable, before any appropriation of the public money could be made : "'1. That the instructors must be examined as to their qualifications by the committee, and receive their appointment from them. "'2. That the l)ooks. exercises and studies should be all prescribed and regu- lated by the committee, and that no other whatever should be taught or allowed. "'3. That these schools should be placed, as respects the examinations, inspec- tion and general supervision of the committee, on precisely the same footing with the other schools of the town. " ' On the part of Mr. Conolly it was urged that to facilitate his efforts, and to ren- lo that every thing of this kind should be avoided in connection with such a subject as reiigion ?" — West. Review. Extract giving the last views of Dr. Chalmers upon tlic religious edu- cntion question " It were the best state of things, that we had a Parliament suffi- ciently theological to discriminate between the right and the wrong in religion, and to encourage or endow accordingly. But falling this, it seems to us the next best thing, that in any public measure, for helping on the education of the people, Government were to abstain from introducing the element of religion at all into their part of the scheme, and this not because they held the matter to be insignificant — the contrary might be strongly expressed in the preambh; of their act ; but on the ground that, in the present divided state of the Chris- tian world, they would take no cognizance of, just because tliey would attempt no control over the religion of applicants for aid — leaving this matter entire to the parties who had to do with the erection and management of the schools which they had been called upon to assist. A grant by the State upon this footing, might be regarded as being appropriately and exclusively the expression of their value for a good secular education. " The confinement, for the time being, of any Government measure for schools to this object, we hold to be an imputation, not so much on the present state of our Legislature, as on the present state of the Christian world, now broken up into sects and parties innumerable, and seemingly incapable of any effort for so healing these wretched di- visions, as to present the rulers of our country with aught like such a clear and unequivocal majority in favor of what is good and true, as might at once determine them to fix upon and to espouse it. " It is this which has encompassed the Government with difficulties, from which we can see no other method of extrication than the one which we have ventured to suggest. And as there seems no reason why, because of these unresolved differences, a public measure for the 26 198 health of all — for the recreation of all — for the economic advancement oi:' all — should bo held in abeyance, there seems as little reason why, because of these difi'erences, a public measure for raising the general intelligence of all should be held ia abeyance. Let the men, there- fore, of all churches and all denominations, alike hail such a measure, whether as carried into eifect by a good education in letters or in any of the sciences ; and, meanwhile, in these very seminaries, let that ed- ucation in religion which the Legislature abstains from providing for, be provided for as freely and amply as they will by those who have undertaken the charge of them. '• We should hope, as the result of such a scheme, for a most whole- some rivalship on the part of many in the great aim of rearing on the basis of their respective systems amoral and Christian population, well taught in the principles and doctrines of the gospel, along with being well taught in the lessons of ordinary scholarship. Although no at- tempt should be made to regulate or to enforce the lessons of religion in the inner hall of legislation, this will not prevent, but rather stimu- late to a greater earnestness in the contest between truth and false- liood — between liglit and darkness — in the outer field of society ; nor will the result of such a contest in favor of what is right and good be at all the more unlikely, that the families of the land have been raised by the helping hand of the state to a higher platform than before, whether as respects their health, or their physical comfort, or their economic condition, or, last of all, their place in the scale of intelli- gence and learning. "Religion would, under such a system, be the immediate product, not of legislation, but of the Christian and philanthropic zeal which obtained throughout society at large. But it is well when what legis- lation does for the fulfilment of its object tend not to the impediment, but rather we apprehend, to the furtherance of these greater and higher objects which are in the contemplation of those whose desires are chiefly set on the immortal well being of man." Extract from the " Rise and Progress of National Education," — a let- ter to R. Cobden, Esq., M. P., by Richap.d Church. — Secretary of the Yorkshire Society for promoting National Education : 1852. " In the presence of such authorities (Dr. Hook, Dr. Chalmers, Dr. Yaughn, &c ) to argue on the innocuousness of secular instruction, though administered alone, seems unnecessary, as in fact, to argue for it in the presence of that protestantism which sprang from the revival of secular knowledge seems absurd. For the man who admits that, in the sixteenth century, the diifusion of the secular knowedge of the heathen had the remarkable eiiect of bringing men from what he deems a false form of Christianity to a true one, admits at the same time that there is something in secular knowledge which renders it an efficient test of religious truth. But now, if he will not permit it to act alone, if he insists on bindiog it by foregone conclusions, and forcibly linking it to certain religious views, the presumption must be that he treats it 199 in this way for the express purpose of preventing its being such a test. How far such a suspicion is creditable to him or advantagious to his religion, I leave him to decide." Extract from " The Natural History of Society," by W. C. Taylor, LL. D , of Trinity College, Dublin. " lu a great many schools, notwithstanding modern improvements, children are still taught that heaven is a definite locality above their heads, and hell an equally definite place under their feet. These ab- surd notions are engrafted on the interpretation of the Bible, and are consequently given and received as articles of faith. When the per- sons thus instructed acquire even an elementary knowledge of geogra- phy and astronomy, they discover the utter folly of such notions ; but too often they believe that the absurdity esists in the Bible, and not in the presumption of ignorant teachers. This is one of the most common causes of infidelity among the half-educated, and its influence is far more extensive than is generally imagined, "With some sad proofs of the mischief thus produced immediately before our eyes, we reny be permitted to question the prudence of making the Bible a school book, at least until school-masters and mistresses are better qualified to ex- plain its peculiar phraseology than they are at present." — Vol. 1. p. 304— Note. Extract from a pamphlet on Popular Education in England, by Ro- bert Vaughan, D. D. '• I have a very humble opinion of the direct religious teachings which is given in day schools, or that ever can be given in such institutions. Nor do I speak without experience on this subject. I have served more than one apprenticeship in the superintendence of schools on the Britisli system, and the great benefit of such schools, I have always found to consist, not in any direct religious impression produced by them, but in their adaptation to prepare the young for receiving reli- gious instruction with advantage elsewhere." Extracts from a Preliminary Dissertation by J. P. Nicoll, LL. D., Professor in Glasgow University, prefixed to Willm's Treatise on Education. "Turning from Morality to those other classes of human faculties which Education ought to develop, we discern without difficulty, that, from all special sectarian questions, they are much farther removed. The chief of them is the L\TELL'r:cT, guiding us towards a view of the order and grandeur of Material Nature : and surely it requires no re- search, to establish that its functions, in this inquiry, are wholly inde- pendent. By its inductive and deductive processes, the laws of whicli 200 are abstract, and perfectly definite, the human intellect group the forms and events around it, according to their similitudes ; and hav- ing, hy well selected or critical instunces, ascended to some compre- hensive principle, it uses it to unwind all other complicacy and seeming confusion, and thus descries the simplicity and perfection of iS'ature. Religion in^lced — even in its most comprehensive expression — can have no part or share in processes like these ; but I am persuaded, never- theless, that no parent could desire that his child be conducted through the halls of this gorgeous palace, as if it had no King ; or discern, in the play of these mighty Energies, only the clank of an inert mechan- ism — the movements of the arm of a giant Necessity possessing all the Universe. At once then I repudiate the idea of a banishment of the Religious sentiments from connection with our contemplations of Nature ; and, in the earnestness with which I do so, I recognise only the repetition of a sentiment influencing my countrymen at large : but this feeling, however sound and strong, does not, when duly interpre- ted, in any wise require us to reject the clear and inestimable benefits of a united Education. The question, be it remembered, is — not about separating the training of the intellect from training in religion — but hoiv far are we precluded, by respect due to tlie discrepancies of sects, from accompanying the training of the intellect, in a common school, with all the aids and illustration it might receive from its con- nection with man's religious nature ?* Now, there are only two points in reference to which it is possible to conjoin the Religious sentiments with the survey of the Material Universe, assuredly they are sufficienly remote from relationship with the matters concerning which our churches are divided. 1]\e first is, the existence of design in the Uni- verse — which would present Deity as the intelligent Final Cause of all that exists. This view of the First rnndph is as old at least as the time of the Stagyuite : and every scholar Icuows, how thoroughly the entire inquiries of that great man were impregnated with it as a living and effective belief It were of course only trifling with time to prove elaborately that this subject, and everything connected with it, is altogether apart from religious controversy. The second point, indeed, has profounder relations ; but still, it is only the Theodicy of Plato. It is the view which presents G-on as a Providence; which discerns the energies of Nature as his ministers ; nay. which as its culmination, recognises in the Material World no energy or activity save His — the omnipresence of a Spirit whose distinguishing characteristic is Life. So long as the individuality or independent freedom and responsibi- *An influential Eeligious Body in Scotland lias arrived at the conclusion that Reading cannot be taught M'ithout involving Religion.s differences, and therefore they have asked Government to endow no Schools in which Reading is tnnght! There is such a thing in Experimental philosophy as :in Expfrimentmn cruets ; in Mathematics we have the reductio ad absurdtnn. Surely the result arrived at here, should indicate to sensible minds that a great error must have been committed — if not in logic — at least in the right interpretation of fundamental principles: it looks very like as if we had got amongst the unnatural although cminentlj' logical fanta- sies of some modern Ptolmaic System. I appeal confidently to the good sense of my countrymen, against this most extraordinary, and extravagant — but withal most useful — determination of a most powerful and learned Ecclesiastical Body. 201 lity of the Moral Conscience is preserved — without which it degene- rates into some form of Pantheism and attendant Fatalism — this view of Providence leads us to the personal Jehovah ; and the anthem of Nature is the same as that of the noblest of our inspired Bards ; but surely it too is entirely removed from the matter of sectarian disputes : ■ — nay, it is only because we have so deep and broad a foundation of universal Truth, that there is a possibility of there being ^Secta at all. The relation indeed, of the march of external Nature with the plans and agency of Deity, rather belong to what may be termed the Religious Philosophy of the time. They are the forms into which the prevalent philosophv directs the reliizious scntwients ; and, at a period in which Materialism is unfashionable, or rather scarce!}'- recognised as a possi- ble exponent of the Universe ; they, or something equivalent, will arise in every mind of natural Piety. I fear we only weaken the chance of such Piety flowing out freely and sincerely in that direction, when, unnecessarily, we mix it up with minute causes of divergence. " One practical result of these views seems eminently important. Moved by anxiety that a religious spirit shall pervade all teaching, — or, in other words, that this important part of Man's nature shall in no wise be repressed or held in abeyance, — the Founders of many of our Educational Institutions (among others, of the Scottish Universi- ties) have sought to secure fitting dispositions in the Instructor, by demanding that, previous to his induction in office, he subscribe the special articles of a Church. Now, in many cases, this subscription may be defensible on other grounds; it may, for instance, form part of a general ecclesiastical system ; in this place, however, I simply de- sire to examine the propriety and efficacy of the practice, in relation to the foregoing special end ; and, considered exclusively in this re- spect, I can see no barrier to our immediate and direct condemnation of all such usages It would seem to follow at once from our previous discussions, that the power of treating even the science of Morals, reli- giously, has nothing to do with the considerations which may guide the teacher's choice among the Churches of these lands ; and, assur- edly, it is still more manifest that the relations between our religious sentiments and the results of the Physical Sciences, are altogether re- mote from the questions about which sects usually differ. There is, however, a further consideration entitled to great weight in this mat- ter. I have said, that, to secure that the teacher be a religiousl}'^ dis- posed man, it is unnecessary to descend among these disputed details: but it is oven more than unnecessary ; such subscriptions are wholly unfitted to realise that object. The quality of mind desired, be it recol- lected, is what a powerful English Journal — the Quarterly Rcvietv — has well named Religiousness : while these articles are mere formu- las, expressing certain views of the logical relations existing between metaphysical and religious ideas. The religiousness of a man's nature consists in the clearness icilh tchich he apprelievds these ideas thei7i- selves ; in the depth, in short, to which they have penetrated among his sentiments and affections : but the most acute and skilful discus- sions may be conducted, with regard to their logical rela.tions. by per- son.s who have only the slightest apprehension of them, and over whom, 202 pi'actically, as efficient principles of life and action, they have compar- atively little power. A man, in short, may be a thoroughly religious man, who, either from inattention to the subject, or a deficiency of the logical powers, has no interest in sets of articles ; and, on the other hand, that anomaly is easily explained which presents us so frequently Vfith high and severe Churchmen — stern and rigid supporters of sys- tems of Articles, and other dogmatic forms — who exhibit withal only very slight susceptibility in respect of religious impressiotis. There is not, as is commonly supposed, any liypocrisy in this state of mind. It is a real, and not an assumed or pretended state — arising in the activity of the logical faculties, and the comparative interests of the powers of contemplation ; and it has an exact counterpart in a pheno- menon already referred to, connected with the cultivation of physical science. Men, as I previously stated, are far from uncommon, who, while enjoying the greatest pleasure in the analytic representation and development of assumed Physical Laws, have yet but imperfect powers to sift thoroughly the physical facts on which alone laws can be found- ed ; and, in the same manner, it is quite possible that a mind have much interest in the process and the investigations of systematic, or, rather, of dogmatic theology, without a corresponding power to de- scend into the far profounder region of the Intuitions. If we want KELiGioN, then, let us correct this serious mistake. It is indeed a mis- take most serious, and it would have driven, from the service of the Universities of Scotland, men to whom they have often owed the pre- servation and extension of their repute, had not the evil been averted by a usual consequence of the existence of laws practically inapplicable to their object, viz : a systematical breach of the formal obligation, through the general consent that it be regarded as a dead letter. But this corrective — however otherwise welcome-— involves the hazard of lamentably weakening some of the most important sanctions of moral- ity."* " A point of infinitely greater moment remains to be discussed. — Hoiv far ought our religious variations to interfere ivith tlie common or united Education of the young, even in matters expressly Religious? It is of essential importance that we discuss this subject not as Secta- rians, but as Christian men. Can it be possible, then, surrounded as we are by the noblest examples of wortli and piety, limited to no church, confined with no special creed, — can it be possible to evade the conclusion, that perhaps the most important elements of the Christian life, are, after all, those grand sanctions which, for the most part, lie, below our sectarian differences 1 How far, let me be permitted to ask *The considerations in the text seem to me quite adequate to establish the entire inutility or inapplicability of our existing tests in Scotland; but they go much farther — they show the necessary erroneousness of any Positive Tests whatsoever. Unless where purely dogmatic Theological teaching is concerned, what we want is, reli- gious dispositions or susceptibilities; character indeed, and not opinion. The for- mer, it is evident, cannot be assured by the mere assent of the reasoning powers to any set of systematic articles : its existence or non-existence, its strength or weak- ness, will 1)0 indicated only as other points of men's character are indicated : and the Authority wiiich has the power of selecting the Instructor, need never be at any loss in reaching a conclusion on the subject. 203 would these specialities of oui* separate cburches, interfere witli our efforts to bring the young mind into submission to the wholly unme- taphysical teaching of Chiust? Nay, to look deeper into the subject : — wiiatis the ultimate aim of all sects? what the object of their appa- ratus of creeds and worships 1 Is it not, in so far as teaching is con- cerned, to reconcile the Mercy of the Almighty with our ideas of his Holiness 1 Is it not to present him as Infinitely pure — hateful of sin, and yet the merciful Father of the repentant wanderer? If any sectarian scheme whatsoever, has reached, as its final result, conclu- sions — I don't say at variance with— -but loftier in any sense, tlian the lesson in our Lord's tale of the Prodigal — I confess they are unknown to me ; and I earnestly appeal to those to whom the young generation is the dearest — to those conscientious parents who are thinking solely of their children's welfare, why these children might not be taught in common, that exquisite representation of our relations with a Holy and Merciful God 1 It is true, this is not the whole of the scheme of Christianity. It is, besides, a most profound philosophical or meta- physical system, and as such it is represented in our Articles ; but assuredly, our distinct duty to the child is. in the first place, to draw out his religious sentiments — -to familiarise him with t\xo&Q grand initci- tions on which that system rests ; and certainly by no means to substi- tute, a purely dogmatic teaching. We are verging, perhaps, on too logical an age. The unresting energies around us — that excessive bustle of modern life — conduce to intellectual activity^ but they are adverse to the sentence of contemplation ; and I should say, therefore, that it is a formal duty with the Churches, acting for the highest in- terests of culture in our times — to address themselves powerfully to the development of the Intuitions — in other words, to the inculcation of religion on the young mind, by that best method of the Gospels. It is right, indeed, that teaching should proceed farther than this. Just as in the case of Morals, when the scholar's intellect is ripe enough, he should be led into contact with those diflficulties and con- tests whose record occupies the pages of Ecclesiastical Histories ; and probably one good manner of presenting a view of these is by the form of Catechisms. But the teaching of Catechisms — in this view of the subject — must clearly belong to ihe category of special instruction ; and therefore may be studied apart."* Extracts from the " Education of the People," by J. Willm, Inspector of the Academy of Strasburg. France. '' I shall state, elsewhere, what this instruztion. ought to be, and what this initiation supposes ; lueanwhile I only remark, that religious * The importance of clogmatic teaching needs no further illustration, than the fact, that the construction of Christianity into a consummate philosophical .s,ystem, occu- pied the life and unparalleled energies of St. Paul; but assuredly no one M-ouId commit the error of attempting to immerse the mind of a cliild amongst the arduous Epistles of the great Apostle, to the neglect of the universal method of Christ? — Now, it is in the varied interpretation of St. Paul's views, that we find the principal source of sectarian discordamces. 204 instructdon can only be given with effect when the children have been prepared by religious education ; and that it ought to have no other end than the completion of this education, lleligion is at once senti- inent., worship, and science ; and it has value as science only in so far as it is founded on sentiment, and may be expressed by loorslnp. Wor- ship itself is only of value when in connection with sentiment and knowledge. Without instruction, the religious sentiment is blind and without capacity, and worship is a worthless form ; but. without senti- ment, instruction falls upon a sterile soil, and produces no fruit. Above ail, then, we must apply ourselves to forming and developing the sen- timent or religious spirit, which is, at once, the fear of God, respect, adoration, and love ; therefore, it involves, resignation to the decrees of Providence, .self-denial, humility, charity, devotion to religious study as the expression of the Divine will — a devotion rendered easy by trust in Grod, and by the hope of another and better life. Such ought to be the object of religious education, without which instruction is powerless as such. To realise it, we must give the child the knowledge of the high dignity of man, of his noble origin, of his immortal destiny, and of his misery, his weakness, and his frailty ; we must fill his soul with the fear and love of God, and elevate his mind by sublime ideas of the Infinite, the Eternal, and the Absolute. In- struction will then have an easy task ; and whatever revolutions the minds of the pupils may undergo when they become men, their reli- gious convictions will remain unshaken as sentiments, and their inward faith resist the doubts which may try it. Their religious belief may be modified, it may be even overturned ; but they will believe in their heart, although unbelief may take possession of ther intellect — if unbe- lief as to os.sential doctrines could possibly gain an entrance into minds thus prepared." Opinion of Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, Eng., quoted from a pamphlet by Bai.mes. " It is abundantly clear that the State cannot give a religious edu- cation, as the word religion is understood by unsophisticated minds. * * * * Upon investigating the subject, we find that a notion prevails among careless people that religion may be treated as either general or special : special religion is doctrinal, and general religion is some system of morals, which being divested of all doctrine, looks so like no religion at all, that religious persons at once perceive, that when people talk of an education based on such a religion, tiiey seek to deceive themselves as well as us, and utter a falsehood. Now, all really Christian persons must stand opposed to any system of educa- tion, which being professedly based upon this general religion, which is no religion, will in fact unchristianize this country. To separate the morality of the gospel from the doctrines of the gospel, every one who knows what the gospel is. knows to be impossible. * * * * Satan could desire no scheme for the extirpation of Christianity more crafty or more sure than this, which would substitute a system of mor- als for reliijion." 205 Extract from the Westminster Keview for July, 1853, iu Jinswer to the charge of the schools being Godless. " Godless has both a negative and a positive signification, and the artful writer can easily use it in one sense, so as to satisfy and cheat his own conscience, while he intends that his readers shall swallow it in the other. An academy that teaches writing and cyphering without regard to any other branches of learning, moral or intellectual, may in a certain sense be called '• godless," just as a tavern bill may be called "godless" because in addition to its various items, it does not contain a form for grace before or after meat. Precisely in this sense, which conveys no reprehension whatever, may a secular system be called '' godless," and the sectarian demagogue who employs the word is to a certain extent correct. But he knows very well that his hearers will supply the other active meaning of ' impious,' ' anti-religious,' and so forth," &c., &c. Extract from Twelfth Report on Schools in Massachusetts by Ho- EACE Mann. Religious Educatioii. But, it will be said that this grand result, in Practical Morals, is a consummation of blessedness that can never be attained without Reli- gion ; and that no community will ever be religious, without a Religious Education. Both these propositions, I regard as eternal and immu- table truths. Devoid of religious principles and religious affections, the race can never fall so low but that it may sink still lower ; anima- ted and sanctified by them, it can never rise so high but that it may ascend still higher. And is it not at least as presumptuous to expect that mankind will attain to the knowledge of truth, without being instructed in truth, and without that general expansion and develop- ment of faculty which will enable them to recognize and comprehend truth, in any other department of human interest, as in the depart- ment of religion ? No creature of God, of whom we have any know- ledge, has such a range of moral oscillation as a human being. He may despise privileges, and turn a deaf ear to warnings and instruc- tions, such as evil spirits may never have known, and therefore be more guilty than they ; or. ascending through temptation and conflict, along the radiant pathway of duty, he may reach the sublimest heights of happiness, and may there experience the joys of a contrast, such as ever-perfect beings can never feel. And can it be that our nature, in this respect, is taken out of the law that governs it in every other re- spect ; — the law, namely, that the teachings which supply it with new views, and the training that leads it to act in conformity with those views, are ineffective and nugatory ? Indeed, the whole frame and constitution of the human soul show, t^i.at if man be not a religious being, he is among the most deformed and monstrous of all possible existences. His propensities and pas- 27 206 sions need the fear of God, as a restraint from evil ; and his senti- ments and affections need the love of God, as a condition and prelim- inary to every thing worthy of the name of happiness. Without a capability or susceptibility, therefore, of knowing and reverencing his Maker and Preserver, his whole nature is a contradiction and a sole- cism ; it is a moral absurdity, — as strictly so, as a triangle with but two sides, or a circle without a circumference, is a mathematical absur- dity. The man, indeed, of whatever denomination, or kindred, or tongue, he may be, who believes that the human race, or any nation, or any individual in it, can attain to happiness, or avoid misery, with- out religious principle and religious affections, must be ignorant of the capacities of the human soul, and of the highest attributes in the nature of man. We know, from the very structure and functions of our phy- sical organization, that all the delights of the appetites and of the grosser instincts are evanescent and perishing. All bodily pleasures over-indulged, become pains. Abstemiousness is the stern condition of prolonged enjoyment, — a condition that balks desire at the very moment when it is most craving. Did the fields teem, and the forests bend, and the streams flow, with the most exquisite delicacies, how small the proportion of our time in which we could luxuriate in their sweets, without satiety and disgust ! Unchased by temperance, the richest earthly banquets stimulate, only to end in loathing. Perpe- tual self-restraint, on the one side, or intolerable pains, on the other, is the law of all our animal desires ; and it may well be questioned, which are the sharper suffering.s, — the fiercest pangs of hunger and of thirst, or the agonizing diseases that form the fearful retinue of epicurism and Bacchanalian indulgence. Were the pleasures of sense the only pleasures we could enjoy, immortality might well be scof- fed at as worthless, and annihilation welcomed ; for, if another Eden were created around us, filled with all that could gratify the appetite or regale the sense, and were the whole range and command of its embowering shades and clustering fruits bestowed upon us, still, with our present natures, we should feel intellectual longings, which not all the objects of sight and of sense could appease ; and luxuries would sate the palate, and beauties pall upon the eye, in the absence of objects to quicken and stimulate the sterner energies of the mind. The delights of the intellect are of a far nobler order than those of the senses ; but even these have no power to fill up the capacities of an immortal mind. The strongest intellect tires. It cannot sustain an ever-upward wing. Even in minds of Olympian vastness and vigor, there must be seasons for relaxation and repose ; — intervals, when the wearied faculties, mounted upon the topmost of all their achievements, must stop in their ascending career, to review the distance they have traversed, and to replenish their energies for an onward flight. And, although, in the far-off cycles of eternity, the stature of the intellect should become lofty as an archangel's ; although its powers of compre- hension should become so vast, and its intuitions so penetrating, that it could learn the history of a planet in a day, and master, at a'single lesson, all the sciences that belong to a system of stars ;gstill, I repeat, that, with our present nature, we should be conscious of faculties unoc- 207 cupied, aud restless, yea, tormented Avith a sense of privation and loss, — like lungs in a vacuum gasping vainly for breath, or like the eye in darkness straining to catch some glimmering of light. Without sym- pathy, without spiritual companionship with other beings, without some Being, all-glorious in his perfections, whom the spirit could commune with and adore, it would be a mourner and a wanderer amid all the splendors of the universe. Through the lone realms of immen- sity would it fly, calling for love, as a mother calls for her departed first-born, but its voice would return to it in echoes of mockery. Nay, though the intellect of man should become as effulgent as the stars amid which he might walk, yet sympathetic and devout affections alone can fertilize the desolations of the heart. Love is as necessary to the human heart as knowledge is to the mind ; and infinite knowledge can never supply the place of infinite good. The universe, grand, glorious, and beautiful as it is, can be truly enjoyed only through the worship as well as the knowledge of the great being that created it. Among people, where there is no true knowledge of God, the errors, super- stitions, and sufferings of a false religion, always rush in to fill the vacuum. There is not a faculty nor a susceptibility in the nature of man, from the lightning-like intuitions that make him akin to the cherubim, or the fire and fervor of affection that assimilate him to seraphic beings, down to the lowest appetites and desires by which he holds brotherhood with beast and reptile and worm ; — there is not one of them all, that will ever be governed by its proper law, or enjoy a full measure of the gratification it was adapted to feel, without a know- ledge of the true God, without a sense of acting in harmony with His will; and without spontaneous effusions of gratitude for His goodness. Convictions and sentiments, such as these, can alone supply the vacu- ity in the soul of man, aud fill with insignificance and loveliness what would otherwise be a blank and hollow universe. How limited and meagre, too, would be the knowledge which should know all things else, but still be ignorant of the self-existent Author of all ! What is the exquisite beauty of flowers, of foliage, or of plum- age, if we know nothing of the Great Limner who has painted them, aud blended their colors with such marvellous skill? So the profun- dity of all science is shallowness, if we know nothing of the Eternal Mind that projected all sciences, and made their laws so exact and harmonious, that all the objects in an immensity can move onward throughout an eternity, without deviation or error. Even the visible architecture of the heavens, majestic and refulgent as it is, dwindles and glooms into littleness and darkness, in the presence of tke Great Builder, who "of old laid the foundatioa of the earth," and " meted out heaven with a span." Among all the objects of knowledge, the Author of knowledge is infinitely the greatest ; and the microscopic animalcule, which, by a life of perseverence, has circumnavigated a drop of water, or the tiny insect which has toiled and climbed, until it has at last reached the highest peak of a grain of sand, knows propor- tionately more of the height and depth and compass of planetary spaces, than the philosopher who has circuited all other knowledge, 208 but is still ignorant of Grod. In the acquisition of whatever art, or in the pursuit of whatever science, there is a painful sense of incomplete- ness and imperfection, while we remain untaught in any great depart- ment known to belong to it. And so, in the development and culture of the human soul, we are conscious not merely of tlie want of sym- metry, but of gross disfigurement and mutilation, when the noblest and most enduring part of an appropriate development and culture is wanting. In merely an artistic point of view, to be presented with the torso of Hercules, or with the truncated body of Minerva, when we were expecting to behold the fulness of their majestic proportions, would be less painful and shocking, than a system of human culture from which religious culture should be omitted. So, too, if the subject be viewed in relation to all the purer and lof- tier afi'ectious and susceptibilities of the human soul, the results are the same. If, in surveying the highest states of perfection which the character of man has ever yet reached upon earth, we select, from among the whole circle of our personal or historical acquaintances, those who are adorned with the purest quality and the greatest num- ber of excellencies, as the objects of our most joyful admiration and love ; why should not the soul be lifted into sublimer existences, and into raptures proportionably more exalted and enduring, if it could be raised to the contemplation of Him, whose " name alone is excellent?" If we delight in exhibitions of power, why should we pass heedlessly by the All-powerful ? If human hearts are touched with deeds of mercy, there is One whose tender mercies are over all His works. If we re- verse wisdom, there is such perfect wisdom on high, that that of angels becomes " folly" in its presence. If we love the sentiment of love, has not the Apostle told us that God is Love ? There are many en- dearing objects upon earth from which the heart of man may he sun- dered ; but he only is bereaved of all things who is bereaveJ of his Father in heaven. I here place the argument, in favor of religious education for the young, upon the most broad and general grounds ; purposly leaving it to every individual to add, for himself, those auxiliary arguments which may result from his own peculiar views of religious truth. But such is the force of the conviction to which my own mind is brought by these general considerations, that I could not avoid regarding the man, who should oppose the religious education of the young, as an insane man ; and were it proposed to debate the question between us, I should desire to restore him to his reason, before entering upon the discussion. If, suddenly summoned to eternity, I were able to give but one parting word of advice to my own children, or to the children of others ; — if I were sinking beneath the wave, and had time to utter but one articu- late breath, or were wasting away upon the death-bed, and had strength to make but one exhortation more, — that dying legacy should be, " Re- member thy Creator in the days of thy youth." I can, then, confess myself second to no one in the depth and sin- cerity of my convictions and desires, respecting the necessity and universality, both on abstract and on practical grounds, of a religious education for the young ; and if I had stronger words at command, in 209 whicli to embody these views, I would not fail to use them. But the question still remaius, How shall so momentous an object be pursued ? In the measures we adopt to give a religious education to others, shall we ourselves abide by the dictates of religion ; or shall we do, as has almost universally been done, ever since the unhallowed union between church and state, under Constantino, — shall we seek to educate the community religiously, through the use of the most irreligious means ? On this subject, I propose to speak with freedom and plainness, and more at length than I should feel required to do, but from the pecu- liar circumstances in which I have been placed. It is matter of noto- riety, that the views of the Board of Education, — and my own, perhaps still more than those of the Board, — on the subject of religious instruc- tion in our Public Schools, have been subjected to animadversion. — Grave charges have been made against us, that our purpose was to exclude religion ; and to exclude that, too, which is the common expo- nent of religion, — the Bible, — from the Common schools of the State; or, at least, to derogate from its authority, and destroy its iuiluence in them. Whatever prevalence a suspicion of the truth of these imputa- tions may have heretofore had, I have reason to believe that further inquiry and examination have done much to disabuse the too credu- lous recipients of so groundless a charge. Still, amongst a people so commendably sensitive ou the subject of religion, as are the people of Massachusetts, any suspicion of irreligious tendencies, will greatly prejudice any cause, and, so far as any cause may otherwise have the power of doing good, will greatly impair that power. It is known, too, that our noble system of Free Schools for the whole people, is strenuously opposed ; — by a few persons in our own State and by no inconsiderable numbers in some of the other states of this Union ; — and that a rival system of " Parochial" or '• Sectarian Schools," is now urged upon the public by a numerous, a powerful, and a well-organized body of men. It has pleased the advocates of this rival system, in various public addresses, in reports, and through peri- odicals devoted to their cause, to denounce our system as irreligious and anti-Christian. They do not trouble themselves to describe what our system is, but adopt a more summary way to forestall public opin- ion against it, by using general epithets of reproach, and signals of alarm. In this age of the world, it seems to me that no student of history, or observer of mankind, can be hostile to the precepts and the doc- trines of the Christian religion, or opposed to any institutions which expound and exemplify them ; and no man who thinks, as I can not but think, respecting the enduring elements of character, whether public or private, can be willing to have his name mentioned while he is living, or remembered when he is dead, as opposed to religious instruction, and Bible instruction for the young. In making this final lleport, therefore, I desire to vindicate my conduct from the charges that have been made against it ; and, so far as the Board has been implicated in these charges, to leave my testimony on record for their exculpa- tion. Indeed, on this point, the Board and myself must be justified or condemened together ; for I do not believe they would have enabled 210 me, by their annual reelections, to carry forward any plan for exclud- ing either the Bible or religious instruction from the schools ; and had the Board required me to execute such a purpose, I certainly should have given them the earliest opportunity to appoint my suc- cessor. I desire, also, to vindicate the system with which I have been so long and so intimately connected, not only from the aspersion, but from the suspicion, of being an irreligious, or anti-Christian, or an un- christian system. I know, full well, that it is unlike the systems which prevail in Great Britain, and in many of the continental nations of Europe, where the Established Church controls the education of the young, in order to keep itself established. But this is presumptive evidence in its favor, rather than against it. All the schemes ever devised by governments, to secure the preva- lence and permanence of religion among the people, however variant in form they may have been, are substantially resolvable into two sys- tems. One of these systems holds the regulation and control of the religious belief of the people to be one of the functions of government, like the command of the army or the navy, or the establishment of courts, or the collection of revenues. According to the other system, religious belief is a matter of individual and parental concern; and, while the government furnishes all practicable facilities for the inde- pendent formation of that belief, it exercises no authority to prescribe, or coercion to enforce it. The former is the system, which, with very few exceptions, has prevailed throughout Christendom, for fifteen hun- dred years. Our own government is almost a solitary example among the nations of the earth, where freedom of opinion, and the inviolabi- lity of conscience, have been even theoretically recognized by the law. The argument in behalf of a government-established religion, at the time when it was first used, was not without its plausibilty ; but the principle, once admitted, drew after it a train of the most appalling consequences. If religion is absolutely essential to the stability of the State, as well as to the present and future happiness of the subject ; why, it was naturally asked, should not the government enforce it ? And, if government is to enforce religion, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that it must define it 1 — for how can it enforce a duty which, being undefined, is uncertain 1 And, again, if government be- gins to define religion, it must define what it is not, as well as what it is ; and while it upholds whatever is included in the definition, it must suppress and abolish whatever is excluded from it. The defini- tion, too, must keep pace with speculation, and must take cognizance of all outward forms and observances ; for, if speculation is allowed to run riot, and ceremonies and observances to spring up unrestrained, religion will soon elude control, emerge into new forms, and exercise, if it does not arrogate, a substantial independence. Both in regard to matters of form and of substance, all recusancy must be subdued, either by deprivation of civil rights, or by positive inflictions ; for the laws of man, not possessing, like the laws of God, a self-executing power, must be accompanied by some effective sanction, or they will not be obeyed. If a light penalty proves inadequate, a heavier one must follow, — the loss of civil privileges by disfranchisement, or of 211 religious hopes by excommunication. If the non-conformist feels him- self, by the aid of a higher power, to be secure against threats of future perdition, the civil magistrate has terrible resources at command, in this life, — imprisonment, scourging, the rack, the fagot, death. Should it ever be said that these are excessive punishments for exercising free- dom of thought, and for allowing the heart to pour forth those senti- ments of adoration to God, with which it believes God himself has inspired it ? — the answer is always ready, that nothing is so terrible as the heresy that draws after it the endless wrath of the Omnipotent ; and, therefore, that Smithfield fires, and Inquisitorial tortures, and auto-de-fes, and St. Bartholomews, are cheap offerings at the shrine of Truth ; — nay, compared with the awful and endless consequences of a false faith, they are of less moment than the slightest puncture of a nerve. And, assuming the truth of the theory, and the right of the government to secure faith by force, it surely would be better, infinitely better, that every hill-top should be lighted with the fires of Smithfield, and every day in the calendar be^a St. Bartholomew's, than that errors so fatal should go un-abolished. In the council-hall of the Inquisition at Avignon, there still is, or lately was, to be seen, a picture of the good Samaritan painted upon the wall. The deed of mercy commemorated by this picture, was supposed to be the appropriate emblem of the Inquisitor's work. The humanity of pouring oil and wine into the wounds of the bleeding wayfarer who had fallen among thieves ; the kindness of dismounting from his own beast, and setting the half-dead victim of violence upon it; and the generosity of purchasing comfort and restoration for him at an inn, were held to be copied and imitated, upon an ampler and a nobler scale, by the arrest of the heretic, by the violence that tore him from home and friends, and by the excruciating tortures that at last wrenched soul and body assunder. The priests who sentenced, and the familiars that turned the wheel, or lighted the fagot ; or, with red-hot pincers, tore the living flesh from the quivering limbs, were but imitators of the good Samaritan, binding up moral wounds, and seeking to take a lost traveller to a place of recovery and eternal re- pose. So when the news of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's, — on which occasion, thirty thousand men, women, and children, were butchered at the stroke of a signal-bell, — reached Rome, the Pope and his cardinals ordained a Thanksgiving, that all true believers might rejoice together at so glorious an event, and that God might be honored for the pious hearts that designed and the benevolent hands that executed so Christian a deed. And, admitting their premises, surely they were right. Could communities, or even individuals, be rescued from endless perdition, at the price of a massacre or an auto- de-fc, the men who would wield the sword, or kindle the flame, would be only nobler Samaritans; and the picture upon the Inquisition walls at Avignon would be but an inadequate emblem of their soul- saving beneficence. But in all the persecutions and oppressions ever committed in the name of religion, one point has been unwarrantably assumed ; — name- ly, that the faith of their authors was certainh/ and infallibly the 212 true faith. With the fewest exceptions, the advocates of all the myriad conflicting creeds that have ever been promulgated have held substantially the same language: " Our faith we know to be true. — For its truth, we have the evidence of our reason and our conscience; we have the Word of God in our hands, and we have the Spirit of God in our hearts, testifying to its truth."* The answer to this claim is almost too obvious to be mentioned. The advocates of hundreds and thousands of hostile creeds have placed themselve upon the same ground. Each has claimed the same proof from reason and con- science, the same external revelation from God, and the same inward light of His spirit. But if truth be one, and hence necessarily har- monious; if God be its author ; and if the voice of God be not more dissonant than the tongues of Babel ; then, at least all but one of the different forms of faith ever promulgated by human authority, so far as these forms conflict with each other, cannot have emanated from the Fountain of all truth. These faiths must have been more or less erroneous. The believers in them must have been more or less mista- ken. Who, on an impartial survey of the whole, and a recollection of the confidence with which each one has been claimed to be infal- libly true, shall dare to affirm that any one of them all is a perfect transcript of the perfect law, as it exists in the Divine Mind, and that that one is his ? But here arises a practical distinction, which the world has lost sight of It is this ; After seeking all possible light from within, from without, and from above, each man's belief is his own standard of truth; but it is not the standard for any other man. The believer is bound to live by his belief under all circumstances, in the face of all perils, and at the cost of any sacrifice. But his standard of truth is the standard for himself alone ; never for his neighbor. That neighbor must have his own standard, which to him must be supreme. And the fact that each man is bound to follow his own best light and guidance is an express negation of any other man's right, and of any government's right, of forcible interference. Here is the dividing line. On one side, lie personal freedom and the recognition of free- dom in others; on the other side, are intolerance, oppression, and all the wrongs and Vv'oes of persecution for conscience' sake. The hier- archs of the world have generally reversed this rule of duty. They have been more rigid in demanding that others should live according to their faith, than in living in accordance with it themselves. Did the history of mankind show that there has been the most of virtue and piety in those nations where religion has been most rigor- ously enforced by law, the advocates of ecclesiastical domination would have a powerful argument in favor of their measures of coer- cion. But the united and universal voice of history, observation, and experience, gives the argument to the other side. Nor is this sur- prising. Weak and fallible as human reason is, it was too much to * Or, as I once heard the same sentiment expressed in the pulpit, from the lips of an eminent divine : I am right, and I know 1 am right, and I know I know it." 2I?5 expect that any mere man, even though aided by the light of a written revehition, would ever futhom the whole counsels of the Omnipotent and the Eternal. But the limitations and shortsightedness of men's reason did not constitute the only obstacle to their discovery of truth. All the passions and perversities of human nature conspired to pre- vent so glorious an achievement. The easily-acquired but awful power possessed by those who were acknowledged to be the chosen expounders of the Divine will, tempted man to set up a false claim to be the depositaries of God's purposes towards men, and the selected medium of his communication with them ; and to this temptation err- ing mortals were fain to yield. Those who were supposed able to determine the destiny of the soul in the next world, came easily to control opinion, conduct, and fortune, in this. Hence they estab- lished themselves as a third power, — a power between the creature and the Creator, — not to facilitate the direct communion between man and his Maker, but to supersede it. They claimed to carry on the intercourse between heaven and earth, as merchants carry on com- merce between distant nations, where the parties to the interchange never meet each other. The consequence soon was, that this celestial commerce degenerated into the basest and most mercenary trafiic. — The favors of heaven were bought and sold, like goods in the market- place. Robbery purchased pardon and impunity by bribing the judge with a portion of the wealth it had plundered. The assassin bought permission to murder, and the incendiary to burn. A Price-Current of crime was established, in which sins were so graduated, as to meet the pecuniary ability of both rich and poor offenders. Licenses to. violate the laws of God and man became luxuries, for which custom- ers paid according to their several ability. Gold was the representa- tive of all virtues as well as of all values. Under such a system, men lost their conscience, and women their virtue; for the right to com- mit all enormities was purchasable by money, and pardonable by grace; save only the guilt of heresy ; and the worst of all heresy con- sisted in men's worshipping the God of their fathers according to the dictates of their consciences. Those religious exercises which consist in a communion of the soul with its Father in heaven, have been beautifully compared to telegraphic communications between distant friends; where, silent as thought, and swift as the lightning, each makes known to the other his joys and his desires, his affection and his fidelity, while the busy world around may know nought of their sacred communings. But as soon as hierarchies obtained control over men, they changed the channel of these communications between heaven and earth. An ecclesiastical bureau was established; and it was decreed that all the telegraphic wires should centre in that; — so that all the communica- tions between man and his Maker should be subject to the inspection of its chiefs, and carried on through their agency alone. Thus, whether the soul had gratitude or repentance to offer to its God, or light or forgiveness to receive from on high, the whole intercourse, 28 214 in both directions, must go through the government office, and there be subject to take such form ; to be added to or subtracted from, as the ministers or managers, in possession of power, might deem to be expedient. Considering the nature of man, one may well suppose that many of the most precious of the messages were never forward- ed ; that others were perverted, or forged ones put in their place ; and that, in some instances at least, the reception of fees was the main inducement to keep the machinery in operation. Among the infinite errors and enormities, resulting from systems of religion devised by man, and enforced by the terrors of human government, have been those dreadful reactions, which have abjured all religion, spurned its obligations, and voted the Deity into non-ex- istence. This extreme is, if possible, more fatal than that by which it was produced. Between these extremes, philanthropic and godly men have sought to find a medium which should avoid both the evils of ecclesiastical tyranny, and the greater evils of atheism. And this medium has at length been supposed to be found. It is promulgated in the great principle, that government should do all that it can to facilitate the acquisition of religious truth; but shall leave the de- cision of the question, what religious truth is, to the arbitrament, without human appeal, of each man's reason and conscience ; — in other words, that government shall never, by the infliction of pains and penalties, or by the privation of rights or immunities, call such decision either into pre-judgment or into review. The formula in which the Constitution of Massachusetts expresses it, is in these words; "All religious sects and denominations, demeaning them- selves peaceably and as good citizens, shall be equally under the pro- tection of law; and no subordination of one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law." The great truth recognized and expressed in these few words of our Constitution, is one which it has cost centuries of struggle and of suffering, and the shedding of rivers of blood, to attain; and he who would relinquish or forfeit it, virtually impetrates upon his fel- low-men other centuries of suffering and the shedding of other rivers of blood. Nor are we yet entirely removed frDm all danger of re- lapse. The universal interference of government in matters of relig- ion, for so many centuries, has hardened the public mind to its usurpations. Men have become tolerant of intolerance; and among many nations of Christendom the common idea of Religious Freedom is satisfied by an exemption from fine and imprisonment for religious belief They have not yet reached the conception of equal privileges and franchises for all. Doubtless the time will come when any in- terference, either by positive infliction or by legal disability, with another man's conscience in religious concernments, so long as he molests no one by the exercise of his faith, will be regarded as the crowning and supereminent act of guilt which one human being can perpetrate against another. But this time is far from having yet arrived, and nations, otlierwise equally enlightened, are at very dif- ferent distances from this moral goal. The oppressed, on succeeding 215 to power, ate prone to become oppressors, in their turn, and to forget, as victors, the lessons, which, as victims, they had learned. The Colonial, Provincial, and State history of Massachusetts shows by what slow degrees the rigor of our own laws was relaxed, as the day-star of religious freedom slowly arose after the long, black mid- night of the Past. It was not, indeed, until a very recent period, that all vestige of legal penalty or coercion was obliterated from our statute book, and all sects and denominations were placed upon a footing of absolute equality in the eye of the law. Until the ninth day of April, 1831, no person, in Massachusetts, was eligible to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Counsellor, or to that of senator or representative, in the General Court, unless he would make oath to a belief in the particular form of religion adopted and sanc- tioned by the State. And until the eleventh day of November, 1833, every citizen was taxable, by the constitution and laws of the State, for the support of the Protestant religion, whether he were a Protes- tant, a Catholic, or a believer in any other faith. Nor was it until the tenth day of March, 1827, (St. 1826, ch. 143, § 7,) that it was made unlawful to use the Common Schools of the State as the means of proselyting children to a belief in the doctrines of particular sects, whether their parents believed in those doctrines or not. All know the energetic tendency of men's minds to continue in a course to which long habit has accustamed them. The same law is as true in regard to institutions administered by bodies of men, as in regard to individual minds. The doctrine of momentum, or head- way, belongs to metaphysics, as much as to mechanics. A statute may be enacted, and may even be executed by the courts, long before it is ratified and enforced by public opinion. Within the last few years, how many examples of this truth has the cause of temperance furnished? And such was the case, in regard to the law of 1827, prohibiting sectarian instruction in our Public Schools. It was not easy for committees, at once, to withdraw or to exclude the books, nor for teachers to renounce the habits, by which this kind of instruc- tion had been given. Hence, more than ten years subsequent to the passage of that law, at the time when I made my first educational and official circuits over the State, I found books in the schools, as strictly and exclusively doctrinal as any on the shelves of a theological libra- ry. I heard teachers giving oral instruction, as strictly and purely doctrinal, as any ever heard from the pulpit, or from the professor's chair. And more than this ; I have now in my possession, printed directions, given by committee men to teachers, enjoining upon them the use of a catechism, in school, which is wholly devoted to an ex- position of the doctrines of one of the denominations amongst us. — These directions bear date a dozen years subsequent to the prohibi- tory law, above referred to. I purposely forbear to intimate what doctrine or what denomination was " /awwrcf/," in the language of the law, by these means; because I desire to have this statement as in)personal as it can be. In the first place, then, I believed these proceedings not only to be 216 wholly unvvarraiited by law, but to be ia plain contravention of law. And, ill the next place, the Legislature has made it the express duty of the Secretary, " diligently to apply himself to the object of col- lecting information of the condition of the Public Schools, [through- out the State,] of the fulfilment of the duties of thsir office by all members of the school committees of all the towns, and the circum- stances of the several school districts in regard to all the subjects of teachers, pupils, books, apparatus, and methods of education," and so forth. I believed then, as now, that religious instruction in our schools, to the extent which the constitution and laws of the State allowed and prescribed, was indispensable to their highest Vv^elfare, and essential to the vitality of moral education. Then as now, also, I believed that sectarian books, and sectarian instruction, if their en- croachments were not resisted, would prove the overthrow of the schools. While, on the one hand, therefore, I did deplore, in lan- guage as earnest and solemn as I was capable of commanding, the insufficiency of moral and religious instruction given in the schools; on the other hand, instead of detailing what I believed to be infrac- tions of the law, in regard to sectarian instruction, I endeavored to set forth what was supposed to be the true meaning and intent of the huv. Such a genera! sta.tement of legal limitations and prohibi- tions, instead of a specific arraignment of teachers or of committees, for disregarding them, I judged to be the milder and more eligible course. Less, I could not do, and discharge the duty which the law had expressly enjoined upon me. More, I deemed it unadvisable to do, lest transgressors should take offence at what thev might deem to be an unnecessary personal exposure, and further, I had confidence, that when the law itself and the reasons of equity and public policy on which it was founded should be better understood, all violations of it would cease. Every word of my early reports having any reference to this subject, was read in the presence of the Board, on which sat able lawyers and distinguished clergymen of different denominations, and no word of exception was ever taken to the views there present- ed, either on the ground that they were contrary to law, or had any sinister or objectionable tendency. No person, then, in the whole community, could have been more surprised or grieved than n)yself, at finding my views, in regard to the extent and limitation of religious instruction in our Public Schools, attributed to a hostility to religion itself, or a hostility to the Scrip- tures which are the " lively oracles" of the Christian's faith. As the Board was implicated with me in these charges, (they never hav- ing dissented from my views, and continuing to reelect me annually to the office of Secretary,) it is well known to its earlier members, that I urged the propriety of their meeting these charges with a pub- lic and explicit denial of their truth. In so grave a matter, I did not think that a refutation of the calamity would derogate from their dig- nity ; but only evince the sensitiveness of their moral feelings, and the firmness of their moral principles. Such was the course pursued by the Board of Commissioners of Education, in Ireland, composed 217 of some of the most pious and elevated dignitaries in both commun- ions; and, at whose head, was that most able and venerable prelate, Archbishop Whateley. When their conduct was assailed, and their motives impugned, because they refused to turn the National Schools into engines for pryselyting from one sect to another, they met the charges from year to year, in their annual reports; and finally dis- comfitted and put to shame their bigoted assailants. To my suggestion, in regard to vindicatory measures, the reply was, that, as the charges were groundless, they probably would be tempo- rary : and that a formal reply to the accusations might bestow an un- deserved importance upon the accusers. Were it not that the opinion of the Board at that time did not coincide with my own, I should still think, that an early, temperate, but decided refutntion, by the Board itself, of the charges against them, and against the system adminis- tered by them, or under their auspices, would have been greatly pre- ventive of evil, and fruitful of good. The preoccupancy of the public mind with error, on so important a subject, is an unspeakable calam- ity ; and errors that derive their support from religious views, are among the most invincible. But different counsels prevailed ; and, for several years, in certain quarters, suspicions continued rife. I was made to see, and deeply to feel, their disastrous and alienating influence, as I travelled about the State; sometimes withdrawing the hand of needed assistance, and sometimes, when conduct extorted approval, impeaching the motives that prompted it. By no cause, not dearer to me than life itself, could I ever have persevered, amid the trials and anxieties, and against the obstacles, that beset my path. But I felt that there is a profound gratification in standing by a good cause, in the hour of its adversity. I believed there must be a deeper pleasure in following truth to the scaffold, than in shouting in the ret- inue where error triumphs. I felt, too, a religious confidence, that truth would ultimately prevail ; and that it was my duty to labor, in the spirit of a genuine disciple, who toils on with equal diligence and alacrity, whether his cause is to be crowned with success in his own life-time, or only at the end of a thousand years. And, as the com- plement of all other motives, I felt that a true education Vv'ould be among the most efficient of means to prevent the reappearance in another generation, of such an aggressive and unscrupulous opposi- tion, as the Board and myself wer suffering under in this. After years of endurance, after suffering under misconstructions of conduct, and the imputation of motives, whose edge is sharper than a knife, it was, at my suggestion, and by making use of materials which I had laboriously collected, that the Board made its Eighth Annual report; — a document said to be the ablest arguii^ent in favor of the use of the Bible in Schools, any where to be found. This Re- port had my full concurrence. Since its appearance, I have always referred to it, as explanatory of the views of the Board, and as setting forth the law of a wise Commonwealth and the policy of a Christian people. Officially and unofficially, publicly and privately, in theory and in practice, my course has always been in conformity with its 218 doctrines. And I avail myself of this, the last opportunity which I may ever have, to say, in regard to all affirmations or intimations, that I have ever attempted to exclude religious instruction from school, or to exclude the Bible from school, or to impair the force of that vol- ume, arising out of itself, are now, and always have been, without substance or semblance of truth. But it may still be said, and it is said, that, however sincere, or however religiously disposed, the advocates of our school system may be, still the character of the system is not to be determined by the number, nor by the sincerity of its defenders, but by its own inherent attributes; and that, if judged by these attributes, it is, in fact and in truth, an irreligious, and un-Christian, and an anti-Christian system. Having devoted the best part of my life to the promotion of this sys- tem, and believing it to be the only system which ought to prevail, or can permanently prevail, in any free country; I am not content to see it suffer, unrelieved, beneath the weight of imputations so griev- ous ; nor is it right that any hostile system should be built up by so gross a misrepresentation of ours. That our Public Schools are not Theological Seminaries, is admitted. That they are debarred by law from inculcating the peculiar and distinctive doctrines of any one re- ligious denomination amongst us, is claimed; and that they are also prohibited from ever teaching that what they do teach, is the whole of religion, or all that is essential to religion or to salvation, is equally certain. But our system earnestly inculcates all Christian morals; it founds its morals on the basis of religion ; it welcomes the religion of the Bible; and, in receiving the Bible, it allows it to do what it is allowed to do in no other systen, — to speak for itself. But here it stops, not because it claims to have compassed all truth, but because it disclaims to act as an umpire between hostile religious opinions. The very terms. Public School, and Common Sc/iool, bear upon their face, that they are schools which the children of the entire com- munity may attend. Every man, not on the pauper list, is taxed for their support. But he is not taxed to support them as special relig- ious institutions; if he were, it would satisfy, at once, the largest definition of a Religious Establishment. But he is taxed to support them, as a preventive means against dishonesty, against fraud, and against violence ; on the same principle that he is taxed to support criminal courts as a punitive means against the same offences. He is taxed to support schools, on the same principle that he is taxed to support paupers; because a child without education is poorer and more wretched than a man without bread. He is taxed to support schools, on the same principle that he would be taxed to defend the nation against foreign invasion, or against rapine committed by a for- eign foe; because the general prevalencs of ignorance, superstition, and vice, will breed Goth and Vandal at home, more fatal to the pub- lic well-being, than any GothorVandal from abroad. And, finally, he is taxed to support schools, because they are the most effective means of developing and training those powers and faculties in a child, by which, when he becomes a man, he may understand what his highest 21<) interests and his highest duties are ; and may be, in fact, and not in name only, a free agent. The elements of a political education are not bestowed upon any school child, for the purpose of making him vote with this or that political party, when he becomes of age ; but for the purpose of enabling him to choose for himself, with which party he will vote. So the religious education which a child receives at school, is not imparted to him, for the purpose of making him join this or that denomination, when he arrives at years of discretion, but for the purpose of enabling him to judge for himself, according to the dictates of his own reason and conscience, what his religious obliga- tions are, and whither they lead. But if a man is taxed to support a school, where religious doctrines are inculcated which he believes to be false, and which he believes that God condemns; then he is ex- cluded from the school by the Divine law, at the same time that he is compelled to support it by the human law. This is a double wrong. It is politically wrong, because, if such a man educates his children at all, he must educate them elsewhere, and thus pay two taxes, while some of his neighbors pay less than their due proportion of one ; and it is religiously wrong, because he is constrained, by human power, to promote what he believes the Divine Power forbids. The princi- ple involved in such a course is pregnant with all tyrannical conse- quences. It is broad enough to sustain any claim of ecclesiastical domination, ever made in the darkest ages of the world. Every relig- ious persecution, since the time of Constantine, may find its warrant in it, and can be legitimately defended upon it. If a man's estate may be taken from him to pay for teaching a creed which he believes to be false, his children can be taken from him to be taught the same creed ; and he, too, may be punished to any extent, for not volunta- rily surrendering both his estate and his offspring. If his children can be compulsorily taken and taught to believe a creed whicli the parent disbelieves, then the parent can be compulsorily taken snd made to subscribe the same creed. And, in regard to the extent of the penalties which may be invoked to compel conformity, there is no stopping-place between taking a penny and inflicting perdition. It is only necessary to call a man's reason and conscience and religious faith, by the name of recusancy, or contumacy, or heresy, and so to inscribe them on the statute book; and then the non-conformist or dissenter may be subdued by steel, or cord, or fire; by anathema and excommunication in this life, and the terrors of endless perdition in the next. Surely, that system cannot be an irreligious, an anti- Christian, or an un-Christian one, whose first and cardinal principle it is, to recognize and protect the highest and dearest of all human interests, and of all human rights. Again ; it seems almost too clear for exposition, that our system, in one nf its most essential features, is not only, not an irreligious one, but that it is more strictly religious than any other which has ever yet been adopted. Every intelligent man understands what is meant by the term "Jurisdiction." It is the rightful authority which one per- son, or one body of men, exercises over another person, or persons. 220 Every intelligent man understands, that there are some things which are within the jurisdiction of government, and other things which are not within it. As Americans, we understand that there is a line, di- viding the jurisdiction of the State Governments from the jurisdiction of the Federal Government; and that it is a violation of the constitu- tions of both, for either to invade the legitimate sphere of action which belongs to the other. We all understand, that neither any State in this Union, nor the TTnion itself, has any right of interference between the British sovereign and a British subject, or between the French government and a citizen of France. Let this doctrine be applied to the relations wtiich our fellow-citizens bear to the rulers who have authority over them. Primarily, religious rights embrace the relations between the creature and the Creator, just as political rights embrace the relations between subject and sovereign, or between a free citizen and the government of his choice ; and just as parental rights embrace the relation between parent and child. Rights, there- fore, which are strictly religious, lie out of, and beyond the jurisdic- tion of civil governments. They belong, exclusively, to the jurisdic- tion of the Divine government. If, then, the State of Massachusetts has no right of forcible interference between an Englishman, or a Frenchman, and the English or French government; still less, far less has it any right of forcible interference, between the soul of man, and the King and Lord to whom that soul owes undivided and supreme allegiance. Civil society may exist, or it may cease to exist. Civil government may continue for centuries in the hands of the same dynasty, or it may change hands, by revolution, with every new moon. The man, outcast and outlawed to-day, and to whom, therefore, we owe no obedience, may be rightfully installed in office to-morrow, and may then require submission to his legitimate authority. The civil governor may resign, or be deposed ; the frame-work of the government may be changed, or its laws altered ; so that the duty of allegiance to a temporal sovereign may have a succession of new ob- jects, or a succession of new definitions. But the relation of man to his Maker never changes. Its object and its obligations are immuta- ble. The jurisdiction which God exercises over the religious obli- gations which his rational and accountable oflspring owe to Him, excludes human jurisdiction. And, hence it is, that religious rights are inalienable rights. Hence, also, it is, that it is an indefinitely greater offence to invade the special and exclusive jurisdiction which the Creator claims over the consciences and hearts of men, than it would be to invade the jurisdiction which any foreign nation right- fully possesses over its own subjects or citizens. The latter would be only an offence against international law ; the former is treason against the majesty of Heaven. The one violates secular and tem- poral rights only ; the other violates sacred and eternal ones. When the British Government passed its various statutes o\ proimunire, as they were called, — statutes to prevent the Roman Pontiff" from inter- fereing between the British sovereign and the British subject, — it was itself constantly enacting and enforcing laws which interfered be- 221 Iween the Sovereign of the universe and His subjects upon earth, far more direct!}' and aggressively, than any edict of the Roman See ever interfered with any allegiance due from a British subject to the self-styled Defender of the Faith. It was in consequence of laws that invaded the direct and exclusive jurisdiction which our Father in heaven exercises over his children upon earth, that the Pilgrims fled from their native land, to that which is the land of our nativity. They sought a residence so remote and so inaccessible, in the hope that the prerogatives of the Divine Mag- istrate might no longer be set at nought by the usurpations of the civil power. Was it not an irreligious and an impious act, on the part of the British government, to pursue our ancestors with such cruel pen- alties and privations, as to drive them into banishment? Was it not a religious and a pious act in the Pilgrim Fathers to seek a place of refuge, where the arm of earthly power could neither restrain them from worshipping God in the manner which they believed to be most acceptable to Him. nor command their worship in a manner believed to be unacceptable? And if it was irreligious in the British govern- ment to violate freedom of conscience in the case of our forefathers, two centuries ago, then it is more flagrantly irreligious to repeat the oppression, in tliis more enlightened age of the world. If it was a religious act in our forefathers to escape from ecclesiastical tyranny, then it must be in the strictest conformity to religion for us to abstain from all religious oppression over others ; and to oppose it wherever it is threatened. And this abstinence from religious oppression, this acknowledgement of the rights of others, this explicit recognition and avowal of the supreme and exclusive jurisdiction of Heaven, and this denial of the right of any earthly power to encroach upon that juris- diction, is precisely what the Massachusetts school system purports to do in theory, and what it does actually in practice. Hence I infer that our system is not an irreligious one, but is in the strictest accord- ance with religion and its obligations. It is still easier to prove that the Massachusetts school system is not anti-Christian nor un-Ghristian. The Bible is the acknowledged expositor of Christianity. In strictness, Christianity has no other authoritative expounder. This Bible is in our Common Schools, by common consent. Twelve years ago, it was not in all the schools. — Contrary to the genius of our government, if not contrary to the ex- press letter of the law, it had been used for sectarian purposes. — to prove one sect to be right, and others to be wrong. Hence, it had been excluded from the schools of some towns, by an express vote — But since the law and the reasons on which it is founded, have been more fully explained and better understood ; and since sectarian in- struction has, to a great extent, ceased to be given, the Bible has been restored. I am not aware of the existence of a single town in the State, in whose schools it is not now introduced, either by a direct vote of the school committee, or by such general desire and acquies- cence, as supersede the necessity of a vote. In all my intercourse, for twelve years, whether personal or by letter, with all the school ofi&cers 29 222 ia the State, and with tens of thousands of individuals in it, I have never heard an objection made to the use of the Bible in school, ex- cept in one or two instances ; and, in those cases, the objection was put upon the ground, that daily familiarity with the book, in school, would tend to impair a reverence for it. If the Bible, then, is the exponent of Christianity; if the Bible contains the communications, precepts, and doctrines, which make up the religious system, called and known as Christianity ; if the Bible makes known those truths, which, according to the faith of Ciiristiaus, are able to make men wise unto salvation: and if this Bible is in the schools, how can it be said that Christianity is excluded from the schools ; or how can it be said that the school system, which adopts and uses the Bible, is an anti-Christian, or an un-Christian system? If that which is the acknowledged exponent and basis of Christianity is in the schools, by what tergiversation in language, or paralogism in logic, can Christianity be said to be shut out from the schools? If the Old Testament were in the schools, could a Jew complain, that Judaism was excluded from them ? If the Koran were read regular- ly and reverently in the schools, could a Mahommedan say that Ma- hommedanism was excluded? Or, if the Mormon Bible were in the schools, could it be said that Mormonism was excluded from them? Is it not, indeed, too plain, to require the formality of a syllogism, that if any man's creed is to be found in the Bible, and the Bible is in the schools, (hen that man's creed is in the schools? This seems even plainer than the proposition, that two and two make four ; — that is, we can conceive of a creature so low down in the scale of intelli- gence, that he could not see what sum would be produced by adding two and two together, who still could not fail to see, that, if a certain system, called Christianity, were contained in, and inseparable from, a certain book called the Bible, then wherever the Bible might go, there the system of Chi*istianity must be. If a vase of purest alabaster, tilled with myrrh and frankincense, and precious ointments, were in the school, would not their perfumes be there also? And would the beautiful vase, and the sweet aroma of spice and ungent be any more truly there, if some concocter of odors, such as nature never made, should insist upon saturating the air with the products of his own distillations, which, though pleasant to Ids idiosyncracy, would be nau- seous to every body else? But if a man is conscious or suspicious, that his creed is not in the Bible, but resolves that it shall be in the schools, at any rate ; then it is easy to see that he has a motive either to exclude the Bible from school, or to introduce some other book, or some oral interpreter in company with it, to misconstrue and override it. If the Bible is in the schools, we can see a reason why a Jew, who disbelieves in the mi.«sion of our Savior ; or a Mahomedan who believes in that of the Prophet, should desire, by oral instruction, or catechism, or otherwise, to foist in his own views, and thereby smother all conflicting views : but even they would not dare to say that the schools where the Bible was found, were either anti-Chii-tian or un- Christian. So far from this, if they were candid, they would acknowl- edge that the system of Ciiristianity was in the schools, and that they wished to neutralize and discard it, by hostile means. 223 Andfurtbei-; our law explicitly and solemnly enjoins it upon all teachers, without any exception,*" to exert their best endeavors, to impress on the minds of children and youth committed to their care and instruction, the principles of piety, justice, and a sacred regard to truth, love to their country, humanity and universal benevolence, so- briety, industry, and frugality, chastity, moderation, and temperance, and those other virtues which are the ornament of human society, and the basis upon which a republican constitution is founded.'' Are not these virtues and sraees part and parcel of Christianity? In other words, can there be Christianity without them? While these virtues and these duties towards God and man, are inculcated in our schools, any one who says that the schools are anti-Christian or un-Christian, expressly affirms that his own system of Christianity does not em- brace any one of this radiant catalogue ; that it rejects them all ; that it embraces their opposites ! And further still ; our system makes it the express duty of all the " resident ministers of the Gospel" to bring all the children withm the moral and Christian inculcations above enumerated ; so that he who avers that our system is an anti-Christian or an un-Christiau one, avers that it is both anti-Christian and un-Christian for a "minister OF THE Gospel" to promote, or labor to diffuse, the moral attributes and excellences, which the statute so earnestly enjoins. So far, the argument has been of an affirmative character. Its scope and purpose show, or, at least, tend to show, hy direct^ proof, that the school system of Massachusetts is not an anti-Chri^stian, nor an un-Christian system. But there is still another mode of proof.— The truth of a proposition may be established, by showing the falsity or absurdity of all conflicting propositions. So far as this method can be applied to moral questions, its aid may safely be invoked here. What are the other courses, which the State of lUassachusetts might adopt or sanction, in relation to the education of its youth ? They are these four : — 1. It might establish schools, but expressly exclude all religious instruction from them,— -making them merely schools for secular in- struction. 2. It might adopt a course, directly the reverse of this. It might define and prescribe a system of religion for the schools, and appoint the teachers and officers, whose duty it should be to carry out that system. 3. It might establish schools by law, and empower each religious sect, whenever and wherever it could get a majority, to determine what religious faith should be taught in them. And, 4. It might expressly disclaim and refuse all interference with the education of the young, and abandon the whole work to the hazards of private enterprise, or to parental will, ability, or caprice. 1. A system of schools from which all religious instruction should be excluded, might properly be called un-Christian, or. rather, non- Christian, in the same sense in which it could be called non-Jewish, or non-Mahomedan ; that is, as having no connection with either. I do not suppose a man can be fouud in Massachusetts, who would de- clare such a system to be his first ohoice. 224 2. Were the State to establisli schools, and prescribe a system of religion to be taught in them, and appoint the teachers and officers to superintend it, could there be any better definition or exemplification of an Ecclesiastical Establishment ? Such a system would create, at once, the most formidable and terrible hierarchy ever established upon earth. It would plunge society back into the Dark Ages, at one precipitation. The people would be compelled to worship the image which the government, like another Nebuchadnezzar might set up ; and, for any refusal, the fiery furnace, seven times heated, would be their fate. And worse than this. The sacerdotal tyranny of the Dark Ages, and of more ancient, as well as of more modern times, address- ed its commands to inen. Against men^ it fulminated its anathemas. On onen^ its lightnings fell. But men had free agency. They could sometimes escape. They could always resist. They were capable of thought. They had powers of endurance. They could be upheld by a sense of duty here, and by visions of transcending rewards and glories hereafter. They could proclaim truth, in the gaspings of death, — on the scaffold, in the fire, in the interludes of the rack, — and leave it as a legacy and a testimony to others. But children have no such resources to ward of tyranny, or to endure its terrors. They are incapable of the same comprehensive survey of truth ; of the same invincible resolve ; of being inspired with an all-sustaining courage and endurance from the realities of another life. They would die un- der imprisonment. Affrighted at the sight of the stake, or of any of the dread machinery of torture, they would surrender their souls to be distorted into any deformity, or mutilated into any hideousness. — • Before the process of starvation had gone on for a day, they would swallow any belief, — from Atheism to Thuggery. For any human government, then, to attempt to coerce and prede- termine the religious opinions of children, by law, and contrary to the will of their parents, is unspeakably more criminal than the usurpa- tion of such control over the opinions of men. The latter is treason against truth ; but the former is sacrilege. As the worst of all crimes against chastity are those which debauch the infant victim before she knows what chastity is; so the worst of all crimes against religious truth, are those which forcibly close up the avenues, and bar the doors, that lead to the forum of reason and conscience. The spirit of eccle- siastical domination, in modern times, finding that the principles of men are too strong for it, is attempting the seduction of children. — Fearing the opinions that may be developed by mature reflection, it anticipates and forestalls those opinions; and seeks to imprint, upon the ignorance and receptiveness of childhood, the convictions which it could never fasten upon the minds of men in their maturity. As an instance of this, the " Factories Bill," so called, which, in the year 1843, was submitted by Sir James Graham to the British Parliament, may be cited. Among other things, this bill provided that schools should be established in manufacturing districts, under the auspices of the nation, and partly at its expense. These schools were to be placed under the immediate superintendence and visitation of officers appointed by the government. No teacher was to be eligible unless 225 approved by a bishop or arcbbisliop. Any parent, who hired out his child to work in a factory, for half a day, unless he should go to this sectarian, or government school the other half of the day, was to be fined ; and, for non-payment of the fine, imprisonment was the legal consequence. So, any overseer, or factory proprietor, who should em- ploy a child for half a day, who did not attend school the other half, was also subject to a fine ; and. of course, to imprisonment, if the fine were not paid. It did not at all alter the principle, that, in a few ex- cepted cases, owing to the peculiar nature of the work, the children were allowed to prosecute it for a whole day, or for two or three days in succession ; because, just so long as they were permitted to work, just so long were they required to go to the school, after the work. — Nor, in a great majority of cases, was it any mitigation of the plan, that, if the parents would provide a separate school for their children, at their own expense, they might send to it : because not one in ten of the operatives had either time or knowledge to found such a school, or pecuniary ability to pay its expenses, if it were founded. The di- rect object and eifect, therefore, of the proposed law, were to compel children to attend the government school, and be taught the govern- ment religion, under the penalty of starvation or the poor-house. — Children were debarred from a morsel of bread, unless they took it saturated with the government theology. Now, to the moral sentiments of every lover of truth, of every lover of freedom for the human soul, is there not a meanness, is there not an infamy, in such a law, compared with which the bloody statutes of Eli- zabeth and Mary were magnanimous and honorable 1 To bring the awful forces of government to bear upon and to crush such lofty and indomitable souls, as those of Latimer and Cranmer, or Ridley and Ro- gers, one would suppose to be diabolical enough to satisfy the worst spirits in the worst regions of the universe ; but for a government to doom its children to starvation, unless they will say its catechism ; and to imprison the parent, and compel him to hear the wailings of his own famishing offspring, — compel him to see them perish, physi- cally, by starvation, or, morally, by ignorance, — unless he will consent that they shall be taught such religious doctrines, as he believes will be a peril and a destruction to their immortal souls ; — is it not the essence of all tyrannies, of all crimes, and of all basenesses, concreted into one ! Such a system as this stands in the strongest possible contrast to the Massachusetts system. Will those who call our system un-Chris- tian and anti-Christian, adopt and practise this system, as Christian and religious. 3. As a third method, the government might establish schools by law, and empower each religious sect, whenever and wherever it could get a majority, to determine what religious faith should be taught in them. Under such a sytem, each sect would demand that its own faith should be inculcated in all the schools , — and tkis, on the clear and simple ground that such faith is the only true one. Each differing faith, believed in by all the other sects, must, of course, be excluded from the schools ; — and this, on the equally clear and simple ground, 226 that there can be but one true faith ; and which that is, has already been determined, and is no longer an open f|uestiou. Under such a system, it will not suffice to have the Bible in the schools, to speak for itself. Each sect will rise up and virtually say, •' Although the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is in the schools, yet its true meaning and doctrines are not there ; Christianity is not there, unless our commen- tary, our creed, our catechism, is there also. A revelation from God is not sufficient. Our commentary, or our teacher, must go with it, to reveal what the revelation means. Our book, or our teacher, must be superadded to the Bible, as an appendix or an erratum is subjoined at the end of a volume, to supply oversights and deficiences, and to rectify the errors of the text. It is not sufficient that the Holy Ghost has spoken by the mouth of David ; it is not sufficient that God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets, which have been since the world began ; it is not sufficient, that you have the words of one who spoke as never man spake ; — all this leaves you in fatal ignorance and error, unless you have o\ir ' Addenda' and '■Corrigenda,' — our things to be supplied, and things to be corrected. Nay, we affirm, that, without our interpretation and explanation of the faith which was once delivered unto the saints ; all that the Holy Ghost, and God and Christ have promulgated and taught to man, still leaves your system an un- christian and an anti-Christian system. To accept a revelation direct from Jehovah, is not enough. His revelation must pass through our hands ; His Infinite Mind must be measured and squared by our minds; we have sat in council over his law, His promises, and His threaten- ings, and have decided, definitively, unappealably, and forever, upon the only true interpretation of them all. Your schools may be like the noble Bereans, searching the Scriptures daily, but unless the result of those scarchings have our countersign and^endorsement, those schools are un-Christian and anti-Christian. Now, it is almost too obvious to be mentioned, that such a claim as the above, reduces society at once to this dilemma : If one religious sect is authorized to advance it, for itself, then all other sects are equally authorized to do the same thing, for themselves. The right being equal among all the sects, and each sect being equally certain and equally determined ; what shall be done ? Will not each sect, acting under religious impulses, — which are the strongest impulses that ever animate the breast of man, — will not each sect do its utmost to establish its supremacy in all the schools? Will not the heats and animosities engendered in families, and among neighbors, burst forth with a de- vouring fire, in the primary, or district school meetings ; and when the inflammable materials of all the district meetings are gathered to- gether in the town meeting, what can quell or quench the flames, till the zealots, themselves, are consumed in the conflagration they have kindled? Why would not all those machinations and oppressions be resorted to, in order to obtain the ascendancy, if religious proselytism should be legalized in the schools, which would be resorted to, as I have endeavored, in a preceding part of this report, to explain, if political proselytism were permitted in the schools ? Suppose, at last, that differeat sects should obtain predominance in different schools, — ^just 227 as is done by the different religions in the different nations in Europe^ — so. that, in one school, one system of doctrines should be taught to the children, under the sanctions of law, as eternal truth ; and, in the neighboring schools, other and opposite systems should also be taught, as eternal truth. Under such circumstances, perhaps it is not too much to suppose, that, although some of the weaker sects might be crushed out of existence at once, yet, that all the leading denominations, with their divisions and subdivisions, would have their representative schools. Into the^e, their respective catechisms, or articles of faith, would be in- troduced. And though the Bible itself might accompany tliem, yet, if we may judge from the history of all the religious struggles by which the world has been afflicted, the Bible would become the incident, and the catechism, and the articles, the principal. And if these various catechisms, or articles, do declare, as is averred by each party, what the Bible means, and what the Christian religion is ; then, what a pie- bald, hetrogeneous, and self-contradictory system, does Christianity become ! Suppose these schools to be brought nearer together, — within hearing distance of each other ; how discordant are the sounds they utter ! Bring them under the same roof; remove partition, or other architectural barrier, so that they may occupy the same apartment ; so that the classes may sit side by side ; and does the spectacle which they now exhibit illustrate the one indivisible, all-glorious system of Christianity ; — or is it the return of Babel ! Would such a system as this be called Christian, by those who denounce our system as anti- Christian. Is there not, on the contrary, an unspeakable value in the fact, that, under the Massachusetts system, the Bible is allowed to speak for it- self? Under a system, opposite to ours, this right of speaking for itself would never be vouchsafed to it. And how narrow is the dis- tance between those who would never allow the Bible to be read by the people at all, and those who will allow it to be read only in presence of a government interpreter ! If government and teachers really believe the bible to be the word of God, — as strictly and literally given by His inspiration, as the tables of the law which Moses brought down from the mount were written by His finger, — then they cannot deny, that when the Bible is read, God speaks ; — ^just as literally and truly, as an orator or a poet speaks, when his oration or his poem is rehears- ed. With this belief it is no figure of speech to say, when the lids of the Bible are opened, in school, that its oracles may be uttered, that the lips of Jehovah are opened that He may commune with all His children, of whatever faith, who may be there assembled. Is that a time and an occasion, for a worm of the dust, a creature of yesterday, to rush in and close the book, and silence the Eternal One, that he may substitute some form of faith of his own ; — some form, either re- ceived from tradition, or reasoned out, or guessed out, by his fallible faculties. — and impose it upon the children, as the plainer and better word of God ! Or, when the allotted hour for religious instruction comes ; or the desire arises in the teacher's mind, that the children of the school should hold communion with their heavenly Fatlier; suppose that Father, instead of the medium of the Bible, should send an angel 228 from His throne, to make known to them His commands and His ben- ediction, by living lips and in celestial words. Would that be a time for the chiefs of twenty different sects to rush in with their twenty diilerent catechisms,^ and thrust the heavenly Messenger aside, and struggle to see which could out-vociferate the rest, in proclaiming what the visitant on high was about to declare ? I hold it, then, to be one of the excellences, one of the moral beauties of the Massachusetts system, that there is one place in the land, where the children of all the different denominations are brought together for instruction, where the Bible is allowed to speak for itself; — one place, where the children can kneel at a common altar, and feel that they have a common Father and where the services of religion tend to cre- ate brothers, and not Ishmaelites. If this be so, then it does violence to truth, to call our system anti-Christian or un-Christian. 'i hus far, under this head, I have supposed that the different sects, in their contests for supremacy, would keep the peace. But every page in the history of polemic struggles, shows such a supposion to be delusive. In the contests for victory, success would lead to haughti- ness, and defeat to revenge. Affinities and repulsions would gather men into bodies ; these bodies would become battallions, and would set themselves in hostile array against each other. Weakness of argu- ment would reinforce itself by strength of arm ; and the hostile par- ties would appeal from the tribunal of reason to the arbritrament of war. But, after cities had been burned, and men slaughtered by thou- sands, and every diabolical passion in the human breast satiated, and the combatants were forced, from mere exhaustion, to rest upon their arms ; it would be found upon a reexamination of the controverted grounds, that not a rule of interpretation had been altered ; not the tense of a single verb, in any disputed text had been changed ; not a Hebrew point, nor a Grreek article, had been added or taken away ; but that every subject of dispute remained as unsettled and uncertain as before. Is any system, which, by the law of human passions, leads to such results, either Christian or religious 1 4. One other system, — if it may be so called, — is supposable ; and this exhausts the number of those which stand in direct conflict with ours. It is this : Government might expressly disclaim and refuse all interference with the education of the young, abandoning the whole work to the hazards of private enterprise, or to parental will, ability, or caprice. The first effect "of this course would be, the abandonment of a large portion of the children of every community to hopeless and inevitable ignorance. Even with all the aids, incitements, and bounties, now be- stowed upon education, by the most enlightened states in this Union, there exists a perilous and growing body of ignorance, animated by the soul of vice. Were government systems to be abolished, and all government aids to be withdrawn, the number of "American children, who, in the next generation, would be doomed to all the wants and woes that can come in the train of ignorance and error, would be count- ed by millions. This abandoned portion of the community would be left, without any of the restraints of education, to work out the infinite possibilities of human depravity. In the more favored parts of the 229 country, the rich might educate their own children ; although it is well known, even now, that throughout extensive regions of the South and AVest, the best education which wealth can procure, is meagre, and stinted, and alloyed with much error. The " Parochial," or " Secta- rian" system might effect something in populous places ; but what could it do in rural districts, where so vast a proportion of all the in- habitants of this country reside ? In speaking of the difficulties of establishing schools at the West, Miss Beecher gives an account of a single village which she found there, consisting of only four hundred inhabitants, where there were fourteen different denominations. " Of the most numerous portions of these," she says, " each was jealous, lest another should start a church first, and draw in the rest. The result was, neither church nor Sunday school, of any kind was in existence." Of another place, she says, " I found two of the most influential citi- zens arrayed against each other, and supported by contending parti- sans, so that, whatever school one portion patronized, the other would oppose. The result was, no school could be raised, large enough to support any teacher." And, again, " In another large town, I was in- formed by one of the clergymen, that no less than twenty different teachers opened schools and gave them up, in about six months." In a population of four hundred, there would be about one hundred children who ought to attend school ; although this proportion, on an average of the whole country, is nearly three fold the number of actual attendants. One hundred children would furnish the materials for a good school ; but, divided between fourteen different schools, would give only seven children and one seventh of a child to each school. How impossible to sustain schools on such a basis ! The more nume- rous sects, it is true, would have a larger proportion ; but just so much less would be the proportion of the smaller sects; and, doubtless, there would be some who would be fully represented by the above mentioned fraction of one seventh of a child. But let us take the case of Massa- chusetts, where the population has a density of five times the average of the other states in the Union ; and let us see how insane aad suici- dal would be such a course of policy, even with us. Leaving out all the cities, there are three hundred and five toims, in Massachusetts, and thr-se comprise most of the rural and sparsely populated portion of the State. These three hundred and five towns have an average of eleven schools, (wanting a very small fraction,) for each. Two hun- dred and twenty-six, of these three hundred and five towns, have a population, according to the last census, of less than twenty-two hun- dred each. If there are twenty-two hundred inhabitants, and eleven schools, in a town, each school represents an average of two hundred inhabitants. Including every child, who was found in ail our Public Schools, last year, for any part either of the summer or winter terms, they would make a mean average, for those terms, of only forty-eight to a school. Now, suppose these forty-eight scholars to be divided, not between '■• fourteen^ hut only between^oz/r different denomina- tions, there would be but ttvelve to a school. Connect this result with the fact, that Massachusetts has a population five times as dense as the 30 230 average of the residue of the Union, and it will be seen, by intuition, that only in a few favored localities, could the system of •• Sectarian"' schools be maintained. Tliis obstacle might be partially overcome by a union of two or more sects, between whom the repellency, resulting from some punctilios in matters of form or ceremonial observance, would not overcome the argument from availability: but this union, having been purchased by the sacrifice of a portion of what each holds to be absolute truth ; why, when any one of the allies should Lecome sufficiently powerful to stand alone, would it not dissolve the alliance, set up for itself, and abandon its confederates to their fate. In making the above computation, which gives an average of forty- eight scholars to each school ; it will be observed, that all the schools in the State are included. — the numerously attended schools of the cities, as well as the small ones of the country. And. although the number of districts in the two hundred and twenty-six towns, whose population is less than twenty-two hundred each, may be somewhat less than in the remaining seventy-nine towns: yet the fact unques- tionably is. that an allowance of forty-eight scholars to a school is much too large an average for the schools in these two hundred and twenty-sis. of the three hundred and five towns in the State. Of course, twelve scholars to a school would be much too large an aver- age, if the schools were divided only between four different sects. Nor has auy mention been made of the large numbers who connect them- selves with no religious sect ; and who. therefore, if united at all, would be united on the principle of opposition to sect. Surtly, the very statement of the case supersedes argument, in regard to the possibility of maintaining schools, for any considerable portion of the children of the country, ou such a basis. The calamities necessarily resulting from so partial and limited a system, as the one now under consideration, would inflict retributive loss and weakness upon all classes in the community, but upon the children of the poor, the ignorant, and the unfortunate, would the blow fall, with terrible severity. And what class of children ought we most assiduously to care for ? Christ came to save that which would other- wise be lost All good men, and all governments, so far as they imi- tate the example of Christ, strive to succor the distressed, and to reclaim the guilty : — in an intellectual and in a moral sense, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick and the imprisoned ; — amid the priceless wealth of character, to find the lost piece of silver, and, amid the wanderings from the fold of truth, to recover the lambs. Before heaven, it is now. to-day, the first duty of every government in Christendom, to bring forward those unfortunate classes of the people, who. in the march of civilization, have been left in the rear. Though the van of society should stand still for a century, the rear ought to be brought up. The exterminating decree of Herod was pa- rental and beneficent, compared with the cruel sway of those rulers who dig the pit-falls of temptation along the pathway of children, and suffer them to fall, unwarned and unassisted, into the abvss of ruin. y^ hat. then, shall he said of that opposition to our system, which, should it prevail, would doom to remediless ignorance and vice, the great 231 majority of all the children in this land ? Is such a system, as con- tradistinguished from our free system, Christian and reiigiinis? It is a very surprising fact, but oue which is aut l.eiiticated by a Report, made in the month of July last, by a committee of tlie Boston Primary Schools, that of the ten thousand one hundred and sixty tico children belonging to said schools, Jive tliousand one hundred and -fifty-four were of foreign parentage. Let sectarianism be introduced into the Boston schools ; or, rather, let it be understood, that the schools are to be carried on for the avowed purpose of building up any one of the New Eugland denominations ; and what a vast proportion of these five thousand one hundred and fifty four children would be immediately withdrawn from the schools. Their parents would as soon permit them to go to a lazar-house as to such schools ; and this, too, from the sinccrest of motives. The same thing would prove rela- tively true, in regard to no inconsiderable number of the less populous cities, and of the most populous towns in the State. Now, what would be the condition of such children, at the end of twenty years ; and what the condition of the communities, which had thus cruelly closed the school-house doors upon them ? Would not these communities be morally responsible for all the degradation, the miseries, the vices, and the crimes, consequent upon such expulsion from the school? And would such a result be one of the fruits of a Christian and a religious system ? But there would be another inseparable accompaniment of such a sys- tem. In Massachusetts, the average compensation paid to male teachers, is very much larger thau that which is paid in any other state in the Un- ion. It is nearly double what is given in most of the States; and yet, even with us, the great body of ambitious and aspiring young men pass by the profession of teaching, and betake themselves to some other employment known to be more lucra.ive, and falsely supposed to be more honora-, ble. How degrading, then, must be the eifect upon the general clitirac- ter and competency of teachers, as a profession, when, on the abolition of the Public Schools, and the substitution of Private and Sectarian Schools in their stead, the wages of teachers, for the poorer classes, shall be reduced to a pittance, and the collection of even this pittance shall be precarious.^ What will be the social rank and standing of teachers, when their customary income encourages no previous prepa- ration for their work, doles out only a niggardly subsistence even while they are engaged in the service, and leaves no surplus for the probable wants of sickness, or the certain ones of age? And among whom shall the teacher seek his associates, when he is shunned by the learned for his want of culture, and ridiculed for his poverty by the devotees of wealth? Even in England, where the population is so dense that, hardly a spot can be selected as a centre, which will not embrace, within a circumference of convenient distance, a sufficient number of children for a school; — even there, the voluntary and sectarian system leaves at least two thirds of the agricultural and manufacturing classes in a state ot the most deplorable ignorance ; — supplying them with teachers so far as it supplies them with teachers at all, who fulfil the double office of perpetuating errors, iu school, and degrading the character oi the profession, out of it 232 There is another fact of fearful significance, which no one who has any regard for the common interests of society, can be pardoned for forgetting. It is known to all, that, in many parts of the Union, the population is so sparse, and can command so little of ready means for pa3'ing salaries, that no resident clergyman of any denomination is to be found, throughout wide districts of country ; and many of those who do devote themselves to the spiritual welfare of their fellow men are most scantily provided for. If unmarried, they can barely live ; if they have a family, there is, oftentimes, a real scantiness of the comforts and neces- saries of life. They have neither books to peruse ; nor leisure to read, even if they had books. They may be a pious, but they cannot be a learned clergy. At least in one respect, they are compelled to imitate St. Paul; for, as he wrought at his own "craft" for a subsistence, so must they. And now, if existing means are too scanty to give a respectable support, even to the ministry; how disastrous must be the effect of dividing these scanty means between the institution of the Gos- pel, and the institution of the School? Will not the vineyard of the Lord be overgrown with weeds ; will not its hedges be broken down, and the wild beasts of the forest make their lair therein, if the servants who are set to tend and to dress it, are so few in number, and so misera- bly provided for 1 Is not this another criterion by which to deter- mine, whether our system is not as Christian and as religious, as that which would supplant it ? I know of but one argument, having the semblance of plausibility, that can be urged against this feature of our system. It may be said that if questions of doctrinal religion are left to be decided by men, for themselves, or by parents for their children, numerous and griev- ous errors will be mingled with the instruction. Doubtless the fact is so. If truth be one, and if man 3^ contradictory dogmas are taught as truth, then it is mathematically certain, that all the alleged truths, but one, is a falsity. But, though the statement is correct, the infer- ence which is drawn from it, in favor of a government standard of faith, is not legitimate ; for all the religious errors which are believed in by the free mind of man, or which are taught by free parents to their children, are tolerable and covetable, compared with those which the patronage and the seductions of government can suborn men to adoptj and which the terrors of government can compel them to per- petuate. The errors of free minds are so numerous and so various, that they prevent any monster-error from aquiring the ascendancy ; and, therefore. Truth has a chance to struggle forward amid the strifes of the combatants ; but if the monster-error can usurp the throne of the civil Power, fortify itself by prescription, defend its infallibility with all the forces of the State, sanctify its enormities under sacred names, and plead the express command of God for all its atrocities ; — against such an antagonist. Truth must struggle for centuries, bleed at at every pore, be wounded in every vital part, and can triumph at last only after thousands and tens of thousands of her holiest disciples, shall have fallen in the conflict. If, then, a government would recognize and protect the rights of religious freedom, it must abstain from subjugating the capacities of 233 its children to any legal standard of religious faith, with as great jBde- lity as it abstains from controllicg the opinions of men. It must meet the unquestionable fact, that the old spirit of religious dominion is adopting new measures to accomplish its work. — measures, which, if successful, will be as fatal to the liberties of mankind, as those which were practised in by-gone days of violence and terror. These new measures are aimed at children instead of men. They propose to supersede the necessity of subduing free thought, in the nnind of the adult^ by forestaliug tlae development of any capacity of free thought, in the mind of the child. They expect to find it easier to subdue the free agency of children, by binding them in fetters of bigotry, than to subdue the free agency of men, by binding them in fetters of iron. — For this purpose, some are attempting to deprive children of their right to labor, and, of course, of their daily bread, unless they will at- tend a gevernment school, and receive its sectarian instruction. Some are attempting to withhold all means, even of secular education, from the poor, and thus punish them with ignorance, unless, with the secu- lar knowledge which they desire, they will accept theological know- ledge which they condemn. Others, still are striving to break down all free Public School systems, where they exist, and to prevent their establishment, where they do not exist, in the hope, that on the down- fall of these, their system will succeed. The sovereign antidote against these machinations, is, Free Schools for all, and the right of every pa- rent to determine the religious education of his children. Use of School Houses for other 2'>urposes than Schools. In the case of the appeal of Isaac Hall, of School District No. 10, of the town of North Kingstown, from the proceedings of the Trustees of said district, in permitting the school house in said district to be used for a debatii^g society ; the said Trustees having been notified and heard before the Commissioner at Wickford, on the first day of February, A. D., 1853. The case involves the right of the district or trustees, to use the school house for other purposes than an ordinary school, and depends partly upon the provision of the general school laws, and partly upon the conditions of the deed of the lot upon which this particular school house stands. The following remark upon the subject is made in section one hun- dred and twenty-one of the notes to the School act : — " A school house built or bought by taxation on the property of the district, should not be used for any other purpose than keeping a school, or for purposes directly connected with education, except, by the general consent of the tax paying voters." The rule here laid down is believed to be substantially correct and sound. The district holds the property in trust for educational pur- poses. The money has been taken from the tax payers by force of law for certain purposes, and for those only, and cannot be applied by either district or trustees to any other use. 234 I am of opinion that under the school law the house may be used for educational purposes cullMteral to the m;iin purpose, such as meet- ings of the district for school business, lectures upon literary or scien- tific subjects, debating societies for the people or children of the dis- trict, &c. It may not be easy in all cases to draw the line between legal and illegal uses, but it would be perfectly clear that the district could not use the house for trade or religious meetings if any person objected to it. The question then arises whether the deed in the present case, varies the rights of parties from what they would be if the deed contained no conditions. By the deed from Joseph Case and others, dated October 11th, 1848, the school house lot is conveyed to the district, '-for the pur- pose of maintaining thereon a district school house and its appurte- nances, for the benefit of the district school of said district, and for no other use or purpose whatever, except religious meetings,' and it is provided, " that when said lot of land shall cease to be occupied for the purposes of a district school aforesaid, the same shall revert to the grantors, their heirs and assigns forever-" The exception in regard to religious meetings may be left out of consideration in the present case. It cannot afi"ect it in any way. — If the district have no right to hold religious meetings there indepen- dent of the deed, the deed cannot give it to them. And if the dis- trict would have such a right otherwise, it may admit of question whether a provision in a deed would deprive them of it. Leaving out of consideration the words, "except religious meet- ings," the remainder of the first passage quoted from the deed, ap- pears to me, on the maturest reflection, to express no more and no less than the school law, according to the construction herein given to it, would have expressed without the deed ; the provision in the deed is exactly in the spirit of the law, and neither adds to or lessens the rights and powers of the district or trustees. If the first passage quoted from the deed, does not vary the rights of the district, from what they would be, if there was no such provis- ion in the deed, the latter proviso appears for the same reason to contain no limitation as to the use of the house, which would prevent its being used for the purposes for which I have said the law apart from the deed would authorize. E. R. POTTER, Commissioner of Public Schools. I have carefully considered of the above opinion and approve of the same. I have also consulted with Judges Haile and Brayton, who con- cur with me in opinion. R. W. GREENE, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. March 4th, 1853. 235 Opinion of Gen. John A. Diz, Secretary of State and Sii'perintend- ent of Schools of Neiv York., upon the foUoiuing questions : — 1st. Whether Trustees have a right to hold the school house of their district open for any religious or temperance meetings, when not encroaching on school hours. 2d. Whether a vote of the majority of the taxa'ole inhabitants in any district shall decide as to the duty of Trustees on the question above mentioned. Mr. Dix, in his opinion given, February 19th, 1833, says: " 1st. The Trustees of each school district have the custody and safe keeping of the district school house. They have the custody of it for the purposes specified in the act from which they derive their authority ; and they have therefore strictly no more right to allow it to be used for religious meetings, than the Trustees of a religious society would have to allow the church or meeting house to be used for keeping a school. There would be no impropriety in allowing either to be used for one purpose or the other, if no objection were raised by the district or the society. But where controversies grow out of the application of a school bouse, to purposes not contemplated in establishing it; it is the duty of the Trustees to confine its use strictly to the legitimate objects. 2d. I do not consider the voice of a majority of the inhabitants of a district, as a proper criterion for determining the propriety of ap- ph ing a school house to other uses than those for which it was de- signed. The law has determined this question. It cannot with strict propriety be applied to other than common school purposes. It may be othewise used by the general consent of the parties in- terested. But if such use were likely to distract the district by breed- ing dissentions, and a respectable minority should apply to me for an order to confine the school house to its legitimate purposes, I should not consider myself at liberty to deny the application. 236 Extracts from Areopagitica : a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing, to the Parliament of England, by John Milton. (Young's edition of Milton's works.) " They,who to states and governors of the commonwealth direct their speech) high court of parliament ! or wanting such access in a private condition, write that which they foresee may advance the public good, I suppose them, as at the beginning of no mean endeavour, not a little altered and moved inwardly in their minds ; some with doubt of what will be the success, otiiers with fear of what will be the censure ; some with hope, others with confidence of what they have to speak. And me j^erhaps each of these dispositions, as the sub- ject was whereon I entered, may have at other times variously affected, and likely might in these foremost expressions now also disclose which of them swayed most, but that the very attempt of this address thus made, and the thought of whom it hath recourse to, hath got the power within me to a pas- sion, tar more welcome than incidental to a preface; which though I stay not to confess ere any ask, I shall be blameless, if it be no other, than the joy and gratulation which it brings to all who wish and promote their country's liberty, whereof this whole discourse proposed will be a certain testimony, if not a trophy. For this is not the liberty which we can hope, that no grievancer ever should arise in the commonwealth ; that let no man in this world expect ; but when complaints are freely heard, deeply considered, and speedily reformed, then is the utmost bound of civil liberty attained that wise men look for ; to which if I now manifest by the very sound of this which I shall utter, that we are already in good part arrived, and yet from such a steep disadvantage of tyran- ny and superstition grounded into our principles as was beyond the manhood of a Roman recovery, it will be attributed first, as is most due, to the strong as- sistance of God, our deliverer ; next, to your faithful guidance and undaunted wisdom, lords and commons of England !" — ps. 17, 18. ******** " Dionysius Alexandrinus was about the year two hundred forty, a person of great name in the church, for piety and learning, who had wont to avail himself much against heretics, by being conversant in their books, until a cer- tain presbyter laid It scrupulously to his conscience, how he durst venture himself amongst those defiling volumes. The worthy man, loth to give offence, fell into a new debate with himself, what was to be thought ; when suddenly a vision sent from God, it is his own epistle that so avers it, confirmed him in these words ; ' Read any books whatever come to thy hands, for thou art suf- ficient both to judge aright, and to examine each matter.' To this revelation he assented the sooner, as he confesses, because it was answerable to that of the apostles to the Thessalonians ; ' Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.' And he might have added another remarkable saying of the same au- thor; ' To the pure, all things are pure;' not only meats and drinks, but all kind of knowledge, whether of good or evil. The knowledge cannot defile, nor consccjuently the books, if the Avill and conscience be not defiled. For books are as meats and viands are ; some of good, some of evil svibstance ; and yet God, in that unapocryphal vision, said without exception, ' Rise, Peter, kill and eat ;' leaving the choice to each man's discretion. Wholesome meats to a vitiated stomach, diff"er little or nothing from unwholsome ; and best books to a naughty mind are not unapplicable to occasions of evil. Bad meats will scarce breed good nourishment in the healthiest concoction ; but herein the dif- fernce is of bad books, that they, to a discreet and judicious reader, serve in many respects to discover, to confute, to forewarn, and to illustrate ; whereof what better witness can ye expect I should produce, than one of your own now sitting in parliament, the chief of learned men reputed in this land, Mr. Selden, whose volume of natural and national laws proves, not only by great authorities brought together, but by exquisite reasons and theorems almost 237 mithomatlcally flomorstrative, that all opinion?, yoa, errors, knOTrn. rend, and cullati'd, arc of main SLTvire aii.l ass.staacc tuward ttiu speedy attainment of wliat is truest. I conreivc therc'bre, tint when God did enlaroe the universal diet of man's body, Sdviiior ever the rules of temperame, he then also, as hetbre, left arbi- trary the dieting and repastinp; our minds, as wherein every mature man m:j>iit have to e.Kereise his own leading eapaiity. How great a virtue is tem- perance '? how mu -h of moment through the whole lift.' of man V Yet God commits the managing so gre it a trust, without p irticulir law or prese) iption, wliolly to the (h-me uiour of every grown man. An '. therefore, when he him- self tabled the Jews from heiven. th it omer wlii^-h was every min's daily por- tion of miiina, is coniMuted to hive been more thin might iiave well sulHeed the heartiest feeder tliriee as mmv meals. For those a -tions ■wiiich enter into a man, ratlier than issue out of iiim, and therel'ore defile not, (rod uses not to captivate under a perpetual childhood of prescription, lait trusts him with the gift of reason to be his own chooser. There were but Utile woik left for preaching, if law and compulsion should grow so fast nprn! those thing? which heretofore were govern<-d oidy by e.xhortation. So omon informs us, that mu -h reading is a weariness to the flesh ; but neither he, nor otlier inspired author tdls us ihat su.di or such reading is unlawful ; j-et certainly had God thought good to limit us herein, it had been nuicii more expedient to have told us what was unlawful, tlian Avhat was wearisome." — ps. 31 — '3'6. * * « * * * * * " Good and evil wc know in the field of this world grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is so invo've.l and interwoven with the kiiowledgi! of evil, and in so many cunning resemblances hardly to be dis- cerned, that those confused seeds whi( h ^\e.e imposed upon I'syche as an incessant labor to cull out and sort asunder, were not more intermixed. It was from out thi- rind of one ap[)le tasted, that the knowIek, there is no reason that we should deprive a wise man of any advantage to his wisdom, while we sei'k to restrain from a fool, thit which being restrained will be no hindran'e to his folly. For if there should be so much exactness always used to keep that from him which is unfit for his reading, wj should, in the jungment of Aristotle not only, but of Solomon, and of our Sa^i(>ul^ not vouchsafe him good precept, and by con- se(pien:'e not willingly adnut him to good books, as lieing certain that a wise mm will mike a better use of an idle pamjdilet, than a tool will do of sacred scripture." — ps. 3G, 3 7. ******** " If we think to regulate printing, thereby to rectify manners, we nuist resxu- late all recreitioa-i and pistimcs, all tint is delightful to man. No music nnist be heard, no song be set or sung, but what is grave and Doric. There must be licensing dangers, that no gesture, motion, or deportment be taught our youth, but wl»;>t, by their allowance, shall be thought honest; for such Plato was provided of It will ask more than the work of twenty licensers to exam- ine all the lutes, the violins, and the guitars in every house ; they nmst not lie suHiTcd to prattle as they do, but must be licensed what they may say. And who shall silence all tlic airs and madrigals that whisper softness in chambers V — The windows also, an(] the balconies must be thought on ; there are shrewd books, with dangerous frontispieces, set to sale; who shall prohibit them? shall twenty licensers '? The villages also must have their visitois to in- quire what lectures the bagpi])e, and the rebec reads, even to the ballatry and g mint of every municipal fiddler; for these are the countryman's Arcadias and his Alonle Mayors. Aext, what more national corruption, for which Kngland heirs ill abro id, than household gluttony V Who shall be the rectors of our d.iily rii>ting ? and wlnt shall be done to inhibit the multituiles that frequent those houses where drind:h Is more dangerous, but openly by writing publish to the world what his opinion is, what his reasons, and wherefore that whirh is now thought cannot be sound? Christ urged it as wherewith to justify himself that he preached in public; yet writing is more public than preaching, and more easy to refutation, if need be, there being so many whose business and profession merely it is to be the champions of truth ; which if they neglect, what can be imputed but their sloth or inability ? " — p. 56. * * * * * * " * * " Truth indeed came once into the world with her divine master, and was a perfect shape most glorious to look on ; but when He ascended, and His apostles after Him were laid asleep, then straight arose a wicked rai-e of deceiv- ers, who as that story goes of the Egyptian 'JVphon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin Truth, hewed her lovely form into a thousand pieces, and scattered them to the four winds. From that time ever since, the sad friends of Truth, such as durst appear, imitating the careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, went up and down, gath- ering up limb by limb still as they could find them. We have not yet found them all, lords and commons ! nor ever shall do, till her Master's second coming ; He shall bring together every joint and member, and shall mould them into an immortal feature of lovehness and perfection. bulTer not these licensing prohibitions to stand at every jilace of opportunity, forbidding and distui-bing them that continue seeking, that continue to do our obsequies to the torn body of our martyred saint. 242 "We boast our H^ht ; but if we look not wisely on the snn itself, it smites us into darkness. Who can disrern those planets that are oft combust, and those stars of the briirhtest magnitude that rise and set with the sun, until the opposite motion of their orbs bring them to such a place in the firmament, where they may be seen evening or morning? The light Avhich we have gained, was given us, not to be ever staring on, but by it to discover onward tilings more remote from our knowledge. It is not the luifrocking of a priest, the un- mitring of a bishop, and the removing him from off the presbyterian shoul- ders, that will make us a happy nation. No, if other things as great in the church, and in the rule of life, both economical and political, be not looked into and reformed, we have looked so long upon the blaze that Zuinglius and Calvin have beaconed up to us, that we are stark blind. There be who per- petually complain of schisms and sects, and make it such a calamity, that any man dissents from their maxims. It is their own pride and ignorance which causes the disturbing, who neither will hear with meekness, nor can convince, yet all must be suppressed which is not found in their Syntagma. They are the troublers, they are the dividers of unity, who neglect and permit not others to unite those dissevered pieces which are yet wanting to the body of Truth. To be still searching what *\ve know not by what we know, still closing up truth to truth as we find it, for all her body is homogeneal and proportional, this is the golden rule in theology as well as in Arithmetic, and makes up the best harmony in a church ; not the forced and outward union of cold, and neutral, and inwardly divided minds." — ps. 5 7-59. ******** " Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; tor opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making. Under these fantastic terrors of sect and schism, we wrong the earnest and zealous thirst after knowledge and understanding, which God hath stirred up in this cit>'. What some lament of, we I'ather should rejoice at, should rather praise this pious forwardness among men, to reassume the ill deputed care of their religion into their own hands again. A little generous prudence, a little forbearance of one another, and some grain of charity might win all these diligencies to join, and unite into one general and brotherly seai'ch after truth, could we but forego this prelatical tradition of crowding free consciences and christian liberties into canons and precppts of men. I doubt not, if some great and worthy stranger should come among us, wise to discern the mould and temper of a people, and how to govern it, observing the hiffh hopes and aims, the diligent alacrity of our extended thoughts and reasonings in the pursuance of truth and freedom, but that he would cry out as Pyrrhus did, admiring the Roman docility and courage ; If such were my Epirots, I Avould not despair the greatest design that could be attempted to make a church or kingdom happy. Yet these are the men cried out against for schismatics and sectaries, as if, while the temple of the Lord was building, some cutting, some squaring the marble, others hewing the cedars, there should be a sort of irrational men, who could not consider there must be many schisms and many dissections made in the quarry and in the timber, ere the house of God can be built. And when every stone is laid artfully together, it cannot be united into a continuity, it can but be contiguous in this world. Neither can every piece of the building be of one form ; nay, rather, the perfection consists in this, that out of many moderate varieties and brotherly dissimilitudes that are not vastly disproportional, arises the goodly and the graceful symmetry that commends the whole pile and structure. Let us therefore be mqre considerate builders, more wise in spiritual architecture, when great reformation is expected. For now the time seems come, wherein TMoses, the great prophet, may sit in heaven rejoicing to see that memorable 243 and jrlorioiis M-ish of his fulfilled, when not only our seventy elder?, but all the Lord's peop'e are become propliets. No marvel then tlioujrii some men, and some i>ood mt'ii too perhaps, but young in goodness, as Josliua tlien was, envy tlieni. They fret, and out of their own weakness are in a^onv, lest these divisions and subdivisions will undo us. The adversary again ap])Iauds, and waits the hour. When they have branehed themselves out, saith he, small enough into parties and partitions, then will be our time. Fool ! he sees not the firm root, out of whieli we all grow, though into branches; nor will beware until he see our small divided maniples cutting through at every angle of his ill- united and unwieldly brigade. And that we are to hope better "of all these supposed sects and schisms, and that we shall not need that solicitude, honest perhaps, tliongh overtimerous, of them that ve.\ in this behalf, but shall laii::■ * * * " And now the time in special is, by privilege to write and speak what may help to tlie turther discussing of matters in agitation. The temple of Janus, with his two controversal faces, might now not unsigniticantly be set open. And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and |)rohibiting to misdoubt her' strength. Let her and falsehood grajjple. Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a t'vi^e and open encounter V Her confuting is the best and surest oppressing, lie who hears what praying there is tor liglit and clear knowledge to be sent down among us, would think of other mailers to be constituted beyond the discipline of Geneva, framed and fabricated already to our hands. Yet when the new light which we beg for, shines in upon us, there be who envy and oppose, if it come not first in at their easements. What a collision is this, when as we are exhorted by the wi^e man to use ddi- gence, ' to seek fijr wisdom as for hidden treasures ' early and late, that another order shall enjoin us, to know nothing but by statute ? When a man hath been laboring the hardest labor in the deep mines of knowledge, hath fur- nished out his findings in all their equifjage, drawn forth his reasons as it were a battle ranged, scattered and defeated all objections in his way, calls out his adversary into the plain, otiers him the advantage of wind and sun, if he please, only that he may try the matter by dint of arguuient, for his oppo- nents then to sculk, to lay ambushments, to keep a narrow bridge of licensmg where the challenger should pass, though it be valor enough in toldiership, is but weakness and cowardice in the wars of Truth. J "or who knows not that Truth is strong, next to the Almighty. She needs no policies, nor stratagems, nor licensings to make iier victorious. Those are the shifts and the defences that Error uses against her power. Give her but room, and do not bind .ler when she sleeps, for then she speaks not true, as the old Proteus did, who s])ake oracles only when he was caught and bound, but then rather she turns herself into all shapes, except her own, and ])erhaps tunes her voice according to the time, as Micaiah did before Ahab, until she be abjured into her own likeness. Yet is it not impossible that she may have more shapes than one V What else is all that rank of things indifferent, wherein Truth may be on this side, or on the other, without being uidike herself V What but a vain shadow else is the abolition of 'those ordinances, that hand-writing nailed to the cross?' What great purchase is this <;hristian liberty which Paul so often boasts of? His doctrine is, that he who eats or eats not, regards a ilay or re- gards it not, may do either to the Lord. How many other things might be tolerated in peace, and left to conscience, had we but chiirity, and were it not the chief sti'oug hold of our hypocrisy to be ever judging another! I fear yet this iron yol^e ot outward conformity hath left a slavish print upon our necks ; the ghost of a linen decency yet haunts us. We stumble, and are impatient at the least dividing of one visible congregation from another, though it be not in fundamentals ; and through our forwardness to suppress, and our backwarduess to recover any enthralled piece of truth out of the gripe of custom, we care not to keep truth se[)arated from tiuth, whirh is the fiercest rent and disunion of all. We do not see th.it while we still affect by all means a rigid external tbrniality, we may as soon fall again into a gross conforming stupidity, a stark and dead congealment of ' wood and hay and stubble ' forced and frozen together, which is more to the sudden degene- rating of a church than many subdichomies of petty schisms. jN'ot that I can 245 think well of every light separation ; or that all in a church is to be expected ' gold and silver and precious stones ; ' it is not possible for man to sever tlic wheat from the tares, the good fish from the other fry ; that must be the angel's ministry at the end of mortal things. Yet if all cannot be of one mind, as who looks they should be ? this doubt- less is more wholesome, more prudent, and more christian, that many be tolerated, rather than all compelled. I n;ean not tolerated popery, and open supei'stition, which, as it extirpates all religious and civil supremacies, so itself should be extirpate, provided first that all charitable and compassionate means be used to win and i-egain the weak and the misled. That also which is im- pious or evil absolutely, either against faith or manners, no law can possibly permit, that intends not to unlaw itself; but those neighboring dillerences, or rather indifferences, are what I speak oi', whether in some jjoint of doctrine or of discipline, which, though they may be many, yet need not interrupt the unity of spirit, if we could but find among us the bond of peace. In the mean while, if any one would write, and bring his helpful hand to the slow moving reformation which we labor under, if Truth have spoken to him before others. or but seemed at least to speak, who hath so bejesuited us that we should trouble that man with asking license to do so worthy a deed, and not consider this, that if it come to pi-ohibiting. there is not aught more likely to be pro- hibited than truth itself-; whose first appearance to our eyes, bleared and dimmed with prejudice and custom, is more unsightly and uuplausible than many errors, even as the person is of many a great man, slight and contempti- ble to see to ? And what do they tell us vainly of new opinions, when in this very opinion of theirs, that none must be heard but whom they like, is the worst and newest opinion of all others, and is the chief cause why sects and schisms do so much abound, and true knowledge is kept at a distance from us ; besides yet a greater danger which is in it. For when God shakes a kingdom, with strong and healthful commotions, to a general reforming, it is not untrue that many sectaries and false teachers are then busiest in seducing. But yet more true it is, that God then raises to his own work men of rare abilities and more than common industry, not onl}' to look back and revise what hath been tavight heretofore, but to gain further and to go on for some new enlightened steps in the discovery of truth. For such is the order of God's enlightening his church, to dispense and deal out by degrees His beam, so as our earthly eyes may best sustain it. Neither is God appointed and confined, where and out of what place these his chosen shall be first heai'd to speak ; for he sees not as man sees, chooses not as man chooses, lest we should devote ourselves again to set places, and assemblies, and outvv'ard callings of men, planting our faith one while in the old Convocation house, and another while in the chapel at Westminster, when all the faith and religion that shall be there canonized, is not snfHcient without plain convincement, and the charity of patient instruc- tion, to supple the least bruise of conscience, to edify the meanest Uliristian, who desires to walk in the spirit, and not in the letter of human trust, for all the number of voices that can be there made ; no, though Harry the Seventh himself there, Avith all his liege tombs about him, should lend them voices from the dead, to swell their number. And if the men be erroneous who appear to be the leading schismatics, what withholds us but our sloth, our self will, and distrust in the right cause, that we do not give them gentle meet- ings and gentle dismissions, that we debate not and examine the matter thor- oughly with liberal and freipient audience, if not for their sakes, yet for our own y seeing no man who hath tasted learning, but will confess the many ways of profiting by those, who, not contented with stale receipts, are able to manage and set forth new positions to the world. And were thej' but as the 32 246 dust and cinders of our feet, so long [as in that notion they may yet serve to polish and brighten the armory of truth, even for that respect they were not utterly to be cast away. But if they be of those whom God hath fitted for the special use of these times with eminent and ample gifts, and those per- haps neither among the priests nor among the Pharisees, and we in the haste of a precipitant zeal shall make no distinction, but resolve to stop their mouths, because we fear they come with new and dangerous opinions, as we commonly forejudge them, ere we understand them, no less than woe to us, while, think- ing^thus to defend the gospel, we are found the persecutors ! " — ps. 67-70. Extracts from Iftlton's treatise on Ecclesiatical power in civil causes^ " How many persecutions, then, imprisonments, banishments, penalties, and stripes ; how much bloodshed have the forcers of conscience to answer for, protestants rather than papists ! For the papist, judging by his principles, punishes them Avho believe not as the church believes, though against the scripture ; but the protestant, teaching every one to believe the scripture, though against the church, counts heretical, and persecutes against his own principles, them who in any particular so believe as he in general teaches them ; them who most honor and believe divine scripture, but not against it any human interpretation though universal ; them who interpret scripture only to themselves, which by his own doctrine to their edification, than he himself uses it to their punishing ; and so whom his doctrine acknowledges a true believer, his disciples persecutes as a heretic. The papist exacts our belief as to the church due above scripture, and by the church, which is the whole people of God, imderstands the pope, the general councils, prelatical only, and the surnamed fathers. But the forcing protestant, though he deny such belief to any church whatsoever, yet takes it to himself and his teachers, of far less authority than to be called the church, and above scripture be- lieved ; which renders his practice both contrary to his belief, and far worse than tliat belief which he oondeums in the papist. By all which, well con- sidered, the more he professes to be a true protestant, the more he has to answer for his persecuting than a papist. No protestant therefore, of what sect soever, following scripture only, which is the common sect wherein they all agree, and the granted rule of every man's conscience to himself, ought, by the common doctrine of protestants, to be forced or molested for religion." ps. 254, 255. ******** " I answer, that seducement is to be hindered by fit and proper means or- dained in church discipline, by instant and powerful demonstration to the contrary, by opposing Truth to Error, no une([ual match ; Truth the strong, to Error the weak, though sly and shifting. Force is no honest confutation, but aneffectual, and for the most part unsuccessful, ofttimes fatal to them who use it ; sound doctrine diligently and duly taught, is of herself both sufficient, and of herself, if some secret judgment of God hinder not, always prevalent against seducers." — p. 262. " As for scandals, if any man be offended at the conscientious liberty of another, it is a taken scandal, not a given. To heal one conscience, we must not wound another ; and men must be exhorted to beware of scandals in christian liberty, not forced by the magistrate ; lest while he goes about to take away the scandal, which is uncertain whether given or taken, he take away our liberty, which is the certain and the sacred gift of God, neither to be touched by Him, nor to be parted with l>v us. * * As for that fear, lest 247 profane and licentious men should be encouraged to omit the performance of religious and holy duties, how can that care belong to the civil magistrate, es'* pecially to his force ? For if profane and licentious persons must not neglect the performance of reUgious and holy duties, it implies that such duties they can perform, which no protestant will affirm. They who mean the outward performance, may so explain it, and it will then appear yet more plainly, that such performance of religious and holy duties, especially by profane and li- centious persons, is a dishonoring rather than a worshipping of God ; and not only by Him not required, but detested ; Prov. xxi. 27, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination ; how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind ? '"—p. 263 .0^ xO^'^ ■\ 4^ ^,^m-: ■^oo^ c> ^ O^ *■ N ' .^S .0 >^ , ^ -% . . ,.._ ^'^^ l\^.. . ■: ^. V .^^^ ■•-*. >> ^. O » X '^^i ' » * s ,0 o. .0 0, \^ ■"-<. \^ ^A V^ O. .^ .-i ,0o .V^ '^^. ■ 'O- v^ ^// "C" ^< .x^^ %^' ,0o ,-0* .v^^' -- x^^' 'V "■p^ C^ "^^ v^ C