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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19056-8.txt b/19056-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d5c17d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/19056-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8323 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thoughts on Educational Topics and +Institutions, by George S. Boutwell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions + +Author: George S. Boutwell + +Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #19056] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOUGHTS ON EDUCATIONAL *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Martin Pettit and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +THOUGHTS + +ON + +EDUCATIONAL TOPICS + +AND + +INSTITUTIONS. + + + +BY + +GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. + + + +BOSTON: +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY. +MDCCCLIX. + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by +GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of +Massachusetts. + + +STEREOTYPED BY +HOBART AND ROBBINS, BOSTON. + + +To + +THE TEACHERS OF MASSACHUSETTS, + +WHOSE + +ENLIGHTENED DEVOTION TO THEIR DUTIES + +HAS + +CONTRIBUTED EFFECTUALLY TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING, + +This Volume + +IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. + G. S. B. + + +CONTENTS. + + PAGE +THE INTRINSIC NATURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING, AND ITS +INFLUENCE UPON LABOR, 9 + +EDUCATION AND CRIME, 49 + +REFORMATION OF CHILDREN, 75 + +THE CARE AND REFORMATION OF THE NEGLECTED AND EXPOSED +CLASSES OF CHILDREN, 86 + +ELEMENTARY TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 131 + +THE RELATIVE MERITS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENDOWED +ACADEMIES, 152 + +THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM, 164 + +NORMAL SCHOOL TRAINING, 203 + +FEMALE EDUCATION, 221 + +THE INFLUENCE, DUTIES, AND REWARDS, OF TEACHERS, 241 + +LIBERTY AND LEARNING, 274 + +MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND, 308 + +A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, 339 + + + + +THE INTRINSIC NATURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING, AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON +LABOR. + +[Lecture before the American Institute of Instruction.] + + +Words and terms have, to different minds, various significations; and we +often find definitions changing in the progress of events. Bailey says +learning is "skill in languages or sciences." To this, Walker adds what +he calls "literature," and "skill in anything, good or bad." Dr. Webster +enlarges the meaning of the word still more, and says, "Learning is the +knowledge of principles or facts received by instruction or study; +acquired knowledge or ideas in any branch of science or literature; +erudition; literature; science; knowledge acquired by experience, +experiment, or observation." Milton gives us a rhetorical definition in +a negative form, which is of equal value, at least, with any authority +yet cited. "And though a linguist," says Milton, "should pride himself +to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he have +not studied the solid things in them, as well as the words and +lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man, as any +yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother dialect +only."--"Language is but the instrument conveying to us things useful to +be known." + +This is kindred to the saying of Locke, that "men of much reading are +greatly learned, but may be little knowing." We must give to the term +_learning_ a broad definition, if we accept Milton's statement that its +end "is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know +God aright;" for this necessarily implies that we are to study carefully +everything relating to the nature of our existence, to the spot and +scene of our existence, with its mysterious phenomena, and its +comparatively unexplained laws. And we must, moreover, always keep in +view the personal relations and duties which the Creator has imposed +upon the members of the human race. The knowledge of these relations and +duties is one form of learning; the disposition and the ability to +observe and practise these relations and duties, is another and a higher +form of learning. The first is the learning of the theologian, the +schoolman; the latter is the learning of the practical Christian. Both +ought to exist; but when they are separated, we place things above +signs, facts above forms, life above ideas. Law and justice ought always +to be united; but when by error, or fraud, or usurpation, they are +separated, we observe the forms of law, but we respect the principles of +justice. This is a good illustration of the principles which guide to a +true distinction in the forms of learning. Of all the definitions +enumerated, we must give to the word _learning_ the broadest +signification. It is safe to accept the statement of the great poet, +that a man may be acquainted with many languages, and yet not be +learned; even as the apostle said he should become as sounding brass or +a tinkling cymbal, if he had not charity, though he spoke with the +tongues of men and angels. Learning includes, no doubt, a knowledge of +the languages, the sciences, and all literature; but it includes also +much else; and this much else may be more important than the enumerated +branches. The term _learned_ has been limited, usually, by exclusive +application to the schoolmen; but it is a matter of doubt, especially in +this country, upon the broad definition laid down, whether there is more +learning in the schools, or out of them. This remark, if true, is no +reflection upon the schools, but much in favor of the world. Those were +dark ages when learning was confined to the schools; and, though we can +never be too grateful for their existence, and the fidelity with which +they preserved the knowledge of other days, that is surely a higher +attainment in the life of the race, when the learning of the world +exceeds the learning of the cloister, the school, and the college. + +In a private conversation, Professor Guyot made a remark which seems to +have a public value. "You give to your schools," said he, "credit that +is really due to the world. Looking at America with the eye of an +European, it appears to me that your world is doing more and your +schools are doing less, in the cause of education, than you are inclined +to believe." For one, though I ought, as much as any, to stand for the +schools, I give a qualified assent to the truth of this observation. +There is much learning among us which we cannot trace directly to the +schools; but the schools have introduced and fostered a spirit which has +given to the world the power to make itself learned. It is much easier +to disseminate what is called the spirit of education, than it was to +create that spirit, and preserve it when there were few to do it homage. +For this we are indebted to the schools. Unobserved in the process of +change, but happy in its results, the business of education is not now +confined to professional teachers. + +The greatest change of all has been wrought by the attention given to +female education, so that the mother of this generation is not compelled +to rely exclusively upon the school and the paid teacher, public or +private, but can herself, as the teacher ordained by nature, aid her +children in the preparatory studies of life. This power does not often +manifest itself in a regular system of domestic school studies and +discipline, but its influence is felt in a higher home preparation, and +in the exhibition of better ideas of what a school should be. And we may +assume, with all due respect to our maternal ancestry, that this fact is +a modern feature, comparatively, in American civilization. Female +education has given rise to some excesses of opinion and conduct; but +the world is entirely safe, especially the self-styled lords of +creation, and may wisely advocate a system of general education without +regard to sex, and leave the effect to those laws of nature and +revelation which are to all and in all, and cannot permanently be +avoided or disobeyed. + +The number of educators has strangely increased, and they often appear +where they might least be expected. We speak of the revival of +education, and think only of the change that has taken place in the last +twenty years in the appropriations of money, the style of school-houses, +and the fitness of professional teachers for the work in which they are +engaged; but these changes, though great, are scarcely more noteworthy +than those that have occurred in the management of our shops, mills, and +farms. When we write the sign or utter the sound which symbolizes +_Teacher_, what figure, being, or qualities, are brought before us? We +_should_ see a person who, in the pursuit of knowledge, is self-moving, +and, in the exercise of the influence which knowledge gives, is able to +appreciate the qualities of others; and who, moreover, possesses enough +of inventive power to devise means by which he can lead pupils, +students, or hearers, in the way they ought to go. We naturally look for +such persons in the lecture-room, the school, and the pulpit. And we +find them there; but they are also to be found in other places. There +are thousands of such men in America, engaged in the active pursuits of +the day. They are farmers, mechanics, merchants, operatives. They do not +often follow text-books, and therefor are none the worse, but much the +better teachers. Insensibly they have taken on the spirit of the teacher +and the school, and, apparently ignorant of the fact, are, in the quiet +pursuits of daily life, leaders of classes following some great thought, +or devoted to some practical investigation. And in one respect these +teachers are of a higher order than _some_--not all, nor most--of our +professional teachers. They never cease to be students. When a man or +woman puts on the garb of the teacher, and throws off the garb of the +student, you will soon find that person so dwindled and dwarfed, that +neither will hang upon the shoulders. This happens sometimes in the +school, but never in the world. + +The last twenty-five years have produced two new features in our +civilization, that are at once a cause and a product of learning. I +speak of the Press, and of Associations for mutual improvement. + +The newspaper press of America, having its centre in the city of New +York, is more influential than the press of any other country. It may +not be conducted with greater ability; though, if compared with the +English press, the chief difference unfavorable to America is found in +the character of the leading editorial articles. In enterprise, in +telegraphic business, maritime, and political news and information, the +press of the United States is not behind that of Great Britain. + +It must, however, be admitted that a given subject is usually more +thoroughly discussed in a single issue from the English press; but it is +by no means certain that public questions are, upon the whole, better +canvassed in England than in America. Indeed, the opposite is probably +true. Our press will follow a subject day after day, with the aid of +new thoughts and facts, until it is well understood by the reader. +European ideas of journalism cannot be followed blindly by the press of +America. The journalist in Europe writes for a select few. His readers +are usually persons of leisure, if they have not always culture and +taste; and the issue of the morning paper is to them what the appearance +of the quarterly, heavy or racy, is to the cultivated American reader. + +But the American journalist, whatever his taste may be, cannot afford to +address himself to so small an audience. He writes literally for the +million; for I take it to be no exaggeration to say that paragraphs and +articles are often read by millions of people in America. This fact is +an important one, as it furnishes a good test of the standard taste and +learning of the people. Our press answers the demand which the people +make upon it. The mass of newspaper readers are not, in a scholastic +sense, well-educated persons. Newspaper writers do not, therefore, +trouble themselves about the colleges with their professors, but they +seek rather to gain the attention and secure the support of the great +body of the people, who know nothing of colleges except through the +newspapers. We have always been permitted to infer the intellectual and +moral character of the audiences of Demosthenes, from the orations of +Demosthenes; and may we not also infer the character of the American +people, from the character of the press that they support? In a single +issue may often be found an editorial article upon some question of +present interest; a sermon, address, or speech, from a leading mind of +the country or the world; letters from various quarters of the globe; +extracts from established literary and scientific journals; original +essays upon political, literary, scientific, and religious subjects; and +items of local or general interest for all classes of readers. This +product of the press, in quantity and quality, could not be distributed, +week after week, and year after year, among an ignorant class of people. +It could be accepted by intelligent, thinking, progressive minds only; +and, as a fact necessarily coëxisting, we find the newspaper press +equally essential to the best-educated persons among us. The newspaper +press in America is a century and a half old; but its power does not +antedate this century, and its growth has been chiefly within the last +twenty-five years. What that growth has been may be easily seen by any +one who will compare the daily sheet of the last generation with the +daily sheet of this; and the future of the American press may be easily +predicted by those who consider the progressive influences among us, of +which the newspaper must always be the truest representative. + +Within the same brief period of time it has become the fixed custom of +the people to associate together for educational objects. + +As a consequence, we have the lyceum for all, libraries for all, +professional institutes and clubs for merchants, mechanics, and farmers, +and, at last, free libraries and lectures for the operatives in the +mills. Where these institutions can exist, there must be a high order of +general learning; and where these institutions do exist, and are +sustained, the learning of the people, whether high or low at any given +moment, must be rapidly improved. Yet some of these agencies--lectures +and libraries, for example--are not free from serious faults. It may +seem rash and indefensible to criticize lectures upon the platform of +the lecturer; but, as the audience can inflict whatever penalty they +please upon the speaker, he will so far assume responsibility as to say +that amusement is not the highest object of a single lecture, and when +sought by managers as the desirable object of a whole course, the +lecture-room becomes a theatre of dissipation; surely not so bad as +other forms of dissipation, but yet so distinctly marked, and so +pernicious in its influence, as to be comparatively unworthy of general +support. Let it not, however, be inferred that wit, humor, and drollery +even, are to be excluded from the lecture-room; but they should always +be employed as means by which information is communicated. Between +lecturers equal in other respects, one with the salt of humor, native to +the soil, should be preferred; but it is a sad reflection upon public +taste, when a person whose entire intellectual capital is wit, humor, or +buffoonery, is preferred to men of solid learning. But it is a worse +view of human nature, when men of real merit and worth depreciate +themselves and lower the public taste, by attempting to do what, at +best, they can have but ill success in, and what they would despise +themselves for, were they to succeed completely. Shakspeare says of a +jester: + + + "This fellow's wise enough to play the fool; + And to do that well, craves a kind of wit: + + * * * * * + + This is a practice + As full of labor as a wise man's art: + For folly, that he wisely shows, is fit; + But wise men, folly-fallen, quite taint their wit." + + +A kindred mental dissipation follows in the steps of progress, and +demands aliment from our public libraries. In the selection of books +there is a wide range, from the trashy productions of the fifth-rate +novelist, to stately history and exact science. It is, however, to be +assumed that libraries will not be established until they are wanted, +and that the want will not be pressing until there is a taste for +reading somewhat general. Where this taste exists, it is fair to assume +that it is in some degree elevated. The direction, however, which the +taste of any community is to take, after the establishment of a public +library, depends, in a great degree, upon the selection of books for its +shelves. Two dangers are to be avoided. The first, and greatest, is the +selection of books calculated to degrade the morals or intellect of the +reader. This danger is apparent, and to be shunned needs but to be seen. +Books, of more or less intrinsic value, are so abundant and cheap, that +common men must go out of their way to gather a large collection that +shall not contain works of real merit. But the object should be to +exclude all worthless and pernicious works, and meet and improve the +public taste, by offering it mental food better than that to which it +has been accustomed. The other danger is negative, rather than positive; +but, as books are comparatively worthless when they are not read, it +becomes a matter of great moment to select such as will touch the public +mind at a few points, at least. It is indeed possible, and, under the +guidance of some persons, it would be natural, to encumber the shelves +of a library with _good books_ that might ever remain so, saving only +the contributions made to mould and mice. + +Now, if you will pardon a little more fault-finding,--which is, I +confess, a quality without merit, or, as Byron has it, + + + "A man must serve his time to every trade + Save censure--critics all are ready made,"-- + + +I will hazard the opinion that the practice of establishing libraries in +towns for the benefit of a portion of the inhabitants only is likely to +prove pernicious in the end. To be sure, reading for some is better than +reading for none; but reading for all is better than either. In +Massachusetts there is a general law that permits cities and towns to +raise money for the support of libraries; yet the legislature, in a few +cases, has granted charters to library associations. With due deference, +it may very well be suggested, that, where a spirit exists which leads a +few individuals to ask for a charter, it would be better to turn this +spirit into a public channel, that all might enjoy its benefits. And it +will happen, generally, that the establishment of a public library will +be less expensive to the friends of the movement, and the advantages +will be greater; while there will be an additional satisfaction in the +good conferred upon others. + +We shall act wisely if we apply to books a maxim of the Greeks: "All +things in common amongst friends." Under this maxim Cicero has +enumerated, as principles of humanity, not to deny one a little running +water, or the lighting his fire by ours, if he has occasion; to give the +best counsel we are able to one who is in doubt or distress; which, says +he, "are things that do good to the person that receives them, and are +no loss or trouble to him that confers them." And he quotes, with +approbation, the words of Ennius: + + + "He that directs the wandering traveller + Doth, as it were, light another's torch by his own; + Which gives him ne'er the less of light, for that + It gave another." + + +A good book is a guide to the reader, and a well-selected library will +be a guide to many. And shall we give a little running water, and turn +aside or choke up the streams of knowledge? light the evening torch, and +leave the immortal mind unillumined? give free counsel to the ignorant +or distressed, when he might easily be qualified to act as his own +counsellor? In July 1856, Mr. Everett gave five hundred dollars toward a +library for the High School in his native town of Dorchester; and in +1854 Mr. Abbott Lawrence gave an equal sum to his native town for the +establishment of a public library. These are not large donations, if we +consider only the amount of money given; but it is difficult to suggest +any other equal appropriation that would be as beneficial, in a public +sense. These donations are noble, because conceived in a spirit of +comprehensive liberality. They are examples worthy of imitation; and I +venture to affirm, there is not one of our New England towns that has +not given to the world a son able to make a similar contribution to the +cause of general learning. Is it too much to believe that a public +library in a town will double the number of persons having a taste for +reading, and consequently double the number of well-educated people? +For, though we are not educated by mere reading, it is yet likely to +happen that one who has a taste for books will also acquire habits of +observation, study, and reflection. + +Professional institutes and clubs also serve to increase the sum of +general learning. They have thus far avoided the evil which has waited +or fastened upon similar associations in Europe,--subserviency to +political designs. Every profession or interest of labor has peculiar +ideas and special purposes. These ideas and purposes may be wisely +promoted by distinct organizations. Who can doubt the utility of +associations of merchants, mechanics, and farmers? They furnish +opportunities for the exchange of opinions, the exhibition of products, +the dissemination of ideas, and the knowledge of improvements, that are +thus wisely made the property of all. Knowledge begets knowledge. What +is the distinguishing fact between a good school and a poor one? Is it +not, that in a good school the prevailing public sentiment is on the +side of knowledge and its acquisition? And does not the same fact +distinguish a learned community from an ignorant community? If, in a +village or city of artisans, each one makes a small annual contribution +to the general stock of knowledge, the aggregate progress will be +appreciable, and, most likely, considerable. If, on the other hand, each +one plods by himself, the sum of professional knowledge cannot be +increased, and is likely to be diminished. + +The moral of the parable of the ten talents is eminently true in matters +of learning. "Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have +abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that +which he hath." We cannot conceive of a greater national calamity than +an industrial population delving in mental sluggishness at unrelieved +and unchanging tasks. The manufacture of pins was commenced in England +in 1583, and for two hundred and fifty years she had the exclusive +control of the trade; yet all that period passed away without +improvement, or change in the process; while in America the business was +revolutionized, simplified, and economized one-half, in the period of +five years. In 1840 the valuation of Massachusetts was about three +hundred millions of dollars; but it is certain that a large portion of +this sum should have been set off against the constant impoverishment of +the land, commencing with the settlement of the state,--the natural and +unavoidable result of an ignorant system of farm labor. The revival of +education in America was soon followed by a marked improvement in the +leading industries of the people, and especially in the department of +agriculture. The principle of association has not yet been as beneficial +to the farmers as to the mechanics; but the former are soon to be +compensated for the delay. With the exception of the business of +discovering small planets, which seem to have been created for the +purpose of exciting rivalry among a number of enthusiastic, well-minded, +but comparatively secluded gentlemen, agricultural learning has made the +most marked progress in the last ten years. But an agricultural +population is professionally an inert population; and, therefore, as in +the accumulation of John Jacob Astor's fortune, it was more difficult to +take the first step than to make all the subsequent movements. Now, +however, the principle of association is giving direction and force to +the labors of the farmer; and it is easy for any person to draw to +himself, in that pursuit, the results of the learning of the world. + +Libraries and lectures for the operatives in the manufactories +constitute another agency in the cause of general learning. The city of +Lawrence, under the lead of well-known public-spirited gentlemen there, +has the honor of introducing the system in America. A movement, to which +this is kindred, was previously made in England; but that movement had +for its object the education of the operatives in the simple elements of +learning, and among the females in a knowledge of household duties. An +English writer says: "Many employers have already established schools in +connection with their manufactories. From many instances before us, we +may take that of Mr. Morris, of Manchester, who has risen, himself, from +the condition of a factory operative, and who has felt in his own person +the disadvantages under which that class of workmen labor. He has +introduced many judicious improvements. He has spent about one hundred +and fifty pounds in ventilating his mills; and has established a +library, coffee-room, class-room, weekly lectures, and a system of +industrial training. The latter has been established for females, of +whom he employs a great many. This class of girls generally go to the +mills without any knowledge of household duties; they are taught in the +schools to sew, knit," etc. + +But, in the provision made at Lawrence for intellectual culture, it is +assumed, very properly, that the operatives are familiar with the +branches usually taught in the public schools. This could not be assumed +of an English manufacturing population, nor, indeed, of any town +population, considered as a whole. Herein America has an advantage over +England. Our laborers occupy a higher standpoint intellectually, and in +that proportion their labors are more effective and economical. The +managers and proprietors at Lawrence were influenced by a desire to +improve the condition of the laborers, and had no regard to any +pecuniary return to themselves, either immediate or remote. And it would +be a sufficient satisfaction to witness the growth of knowledge and +morality, thereby elevating society, and rendering its institutions more +secure. + +These higher results will be accompanied, however, by others of +sufficient importance to be considered. When we _hire_, or, what is, +for this inquiry, the same thing, _buy_ that commodity called, _labor_, +what do we expect to get? Is it merely the physical force, the animal +life contained in a given quantity of muscle and bone? In ordinary cases +we expect these, but in all cases we expect something more. We sometimes +buy, and at a very high cost, too, what has, as a product, the least +conceivable amount of manual labor in it,--a professional opinion, for +example; but we never buy physical strength merely, nor physical +strength at all, unless it is directed by some intellectual force. The +descending stream has power to drive machinery, and the arm of the idiot +has force for some mechanical service, but they equally lack the +directing mind. We are not so unwise as to purchase the power of the +stream, or the force of the idiot's arm; but we pay for its application +in the thing produced, and we often pay more for the skill that has +directed the power than for the power itself. The river that now moves +the machinery of a factory in which many scores of men and women find +their daily labor, and earn their daily bread, was employed a hundred +years ago in driving a single set of mill-stones; and thus a man and boy +were induced to divide their time lazily between the grist in the hopper +and the fish under the dam. The river's power has not changed; but the +inventive, creative genius of man has been applied to it, and new and +astonishing results are produced. With man himself this change has been +even greater. In proportion to the population of the country, we are +daily dispensing with manual labor, and yet we are daily increasing the +national production. There is more mind directing the machinery +propelled by the forces of nature, and more mind directing the machinery +of the human body. The result is, that a given product is furnished by +less outlay of physical force. Formerly, with the old spinning-wheel and +hand-loom, we put a great deal of bone and muscle into a yard of cloth; +now we put in very little. We have substituted mind for physical force, +and the question is, which is the more economical? Or, in other words, +is it of any consequence to the employer whether the laborer is ignorant +or intelligent? + +Before we discuss this point abstractly, let us notice the conduct of +men. Is any one willing to give an ignorant farm laborer as much as he +is ready to pay for the services of an intelligent man? And if not, why +the distinction? And if an ignorant man is not the best man upon a farm, +is he likely to be so in a shop or mill? And if not, we see how the +proprietors of factories are interested in elevating the standard of +learning, in the mills and outside. But they are not singular in this. +All classes of employers are equally concerned in the education of the +laborer; for learning not only makes his labor more valuable to himself, +but the market price of the product is generally reduced, and the change +affects favorably all interests of society. This benefit is one of the +first in point of time, and the one, perhaps, most appreciable of all +which learning has conferred upon the laborer. As each laborer, with the +same expenditure of physical force, produces a greater result, of course +the aggregate products of the world are vastly increased, although they +represent only the same number of laborers that a less quantity would +have represented under an ignorant system. + +The division of these products upon any principle conceivable leaves for +the laborer a larger quantity than he could have before commanded; for, +although the share of the wealthy may be disproportionate, their ability +to consume is limited; and, as poverty is the absence or want of things +necessary and convenient for the purposes of life, according to the +ideas at the time entertained, we see how a laboring population, +necessarily poor while ignorance prevails, is elevated to a position of +greater social and physical comfort, as mind takes the place of brute +force in the industries of the world. Learning, then, is not the result +of social comfort, but social comfort is the product of intelligence, +and increases or diminishes as intelligence is general or limited. It is +not, however, to be taken as granted that each laborer's position +corresponds or answers to the sum of his own knowledge. It might happen +that an ignorant laborer would enjoy the advantages of a general +culture, to which he contributed little or nothing; and it must of +necessity also happen that an intelligent laborer, in the midst of an +ignorant population, as in Ireland or India, for example, would be +compelled to accept, in the main, the condition of those around him. But +there is no evidence on the face of society now, or in its history, that +an ignorant population, whether a laboring population or not, has ever +escaped from a condition of poverty. And the converse of the proposition +is undoubtedly true, that an intelligent laboring community will soon +become a wealthy community. Learning is sure to produce wealth; wealth +is likely to contribute to learning, but it does not necessarily produce +it. Hence it follows that learning is the only means by which the poor +can escape from their poverty. + +In this statement it is assumed that education does not promote vice; +and not only is this negative assumption true, but it is safe to assume, +further, that education favors virtue, and that any given population +will be less vicious when educated than when ignorant. This, I cannot +doubt, is a general truth, subject, of course, to some exceptions. + +The educational struggle in which the English people are now engaged has +made distinct and tangible certain opinions and impressions that are +latent in many minds. There has been an attempt to show that vice has +increased in proportion to education. This attempt has failed, though +there may be found, of course, in all countries, single facts, or +classes of facts, that seem to sustain such an opinion. + +Now, suppose this case,--and neither this case nor any similar one has +ever occurred in real life,--but suppose crime to increase as a people +were educated, though there should be no increase of population; would +this fact prove that learning made men worse? By no means. Our answer is +apparent on the face of the change itself. By education, the business, +and pecuniary relations and transactions of a people are almost +indefinitely multiplied; and temptations to crime, especially to crimes +against property, are multiplied in an equal ratio. Would person or +property be better respected in New York or Boston, if the most ignorant +population of the world could be substituted for the present +inhabitants of those cities? The business nerves of men are frequently +shocked by some unexpected defalcation, and short-sighted moralists, who +lack faith, exclaim, "All this is because men know so much!" Such +certainly forget that for every defaulter in a city there are hundreds +of honest men, who receive and render justly unto all, and hold without +check the fortunes of others. So Mr. Drummond argued in the British +House of Commons against a national system of education, because what he +was pleased to call _instruction_ had not saved William Palmer and John +Sadlier. But the truth in this matter is not at the bottom of a well; it +is upon the surface. Where it is the habit of society generally to be +ignorant, you will find it the necessity of that society to be poor; and +where ignorance and poverty both abound, the temptations to crime are +unquestionably few, but the power to resist temptation is as +unquestionably weak. The absence of crime is owing to the absence of +temptation, rather than to the presence of virtue. Such a condition of +society is as near to real virtue as the mental weakness of the idiot is +to true happiness. + +Turning again to the discussion in the British Parliament of April, +1856, we are compelled to believe that some English statesmen are, in +principle and in their ideas of political economy, where a portion of +the English cotton-spinners were a hundred years ago. The +cotton-spinners thought the invention of labor-saving machinery would +deprive them of bread; and a Mr. Ball gravely argues that schools will +so occupy the attention of children, that the farmers' crops will be +neglected. I am inclined to give you his own words; and I have no doubt +you will be in a measure relieved of the dulness of this essay, when you +listen to what was actually cheered, in the British Commons. Speaking of +the resolutions in favor of a national system of instruction, Mr. Ball +said: "It was important to consider what would be their bearing on the +agricultural districts of the country. He had obtained a return from his +own farm, and, supposing the principles advocated by the noble lord were +adopted, the results would be perfectly fearful. The following was the +return he had obtained from his agent: William Chapman, ten years a +servant on his (Mr. Ball's) farm; his own wages thirteen shillings, +besides a house; he had seven children, who earned nine shillings a +week; making together twenty-two shillings a week. Robert Arbor, fifteen +years on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week, and a house; six +children, who earned six shillings a week; making together nineteen +shillings. John Stevens, thirty-three years a servant on the farm; his +own wages fourteen shillings a week; he had brought up ten children, +whose average earnings had been twelve shillings weekly, making together +twenty-six shillings a week. Robert Carbon, twenty-two years a servant +on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week; having ten children, who +earned ten shillings a week; making together twenty-three shillings a +week. Thus it appeared that in these four families the fathers earned +fifty-three shillings weekly, and the children thirty-seven shillings a +week; so that the children earned something more than two-thirds of the +amount of the earnings of the fathers. He would ask the house, if the +fathers were to be deprived of the earnings of the children, how could +they provide bread for them? It was perfectly impossible. They must +either increase the parent's wages to the amount of the loss he thus +sustained, or they must make it up to him from a rate. Then, again, +those who were at all conversant with agriculture knew that if they +deprived the farmer of the labor of children, agriculture could not be +carried on. There was no machinery by which they could get the weeds out +of the land."--_London Times_. + +The light which this statement furnishes is not hid under a bushel. The +argument deserves a more logical form, and I proceed gratuitously to +give the author the benefit of a scientific arrangement. "If a national +system of education is adopted, the children of my tenants will be sent +to school; if the children of my tenants are sent to school, my turnips +will not be weeded; if my turnips are not weeded, I shall eat fat mutton +no more." + +After this from a statesman, we need not wonder that a correspondent of +Lord John Russell writes, "That a farmer near him has been heard to say, +he would not give anything to a day-school; he finds that since +Sunday-schools have been established the birds have increased and eat +his corn, and because he cannot now procure the services of the boys, +whom he used to employ the whole of Sunday, in protecting his +fields."--_London Times, April 13th, 1856._ + +Now, I do not go to England for the purpose of making an attack upon her +opinions; but, as kindred ideas prevail among us, though to a limited +extent only, the folly of them may be seen in persons at a distance, +when it would not be realized by ourselves. Moreover, the presentation +of these somewhat ridiculous notions brings ridicule upon a whole class +of errors; and when errors are so ingrained that men cannot reason in +regard to them, ridicule is often the only weapon of successful attack. +And it is no compliment to an American audience for the speaker to say +that their own minds already suggest the refutation which these errors +demand. If the chief end of man, for which boyhood should be a +preparation, were to weed turnips or to frighten blackbirds from +corn-fields, then surely the objection of Mr. Ball, and the complaint +and spirit of resistance offered by Lord John Russell's farmer, would be +eminently proper. But Lord John Russell did not himself assent to the +view furnished by his correspondent. Mr. Ball's theory evidently is, +"Take good care of the turnips, and leave the culture of the boys and +girls to chance;" and Lord John Russell's wise farmer unquestionably +thinks that cereal peculations of blackbirds are more dangerous than the +robberies committed by neglected children, grown to men. + +Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston jail, says: "Thirty-six per cent. come +into jail unable to say the Lord's Prayer; and seventy-two per cent. +come in such a state of moral debasement that it is in vain to give them +instruction, or to teach them their duty, since they cannot understand +the meaning of the words used to them." Here we have, as cause and +effect, the philosophy of Mr. Ball, and the facts of Mr. Clay. And, +further, this philosophy is as bad in principle, when tried by the rules +of political economy, as when subjected to moral and Christian tests. + +Mr. Ball says there is no machinery by which the farmers can get the +weeds out of the land. This may be true; and once there was no +machinery by which they could get the seed into the land, or the crops +from it. Once there was little or no inventive power among the +mechanics, or scientific knowledge, or even spirit of inquiry, among the +farmers. How have these changes been wrought? By education, surely, and +that moral and religious culture for which secular education is a fit +preparation. The contributions of learning to labor, in a pecuniary +aspect alone, have far exceeded the contributions of labor to learning. + +It is impossible to enumerate the evidences in support of this +statement, but single facts will give us some conception of their +aggregated value and force. + +It was stated by Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of +Agriculture, in his Annual Report for 1855, "That the saving to the +country, from the improvements in ploughs alone, within the last +twenty-five years, has been estimated at no less than ten millions of +dollars a year in the work of teams, and one million in the price of +ploughs, while the aggregate of the crops is supposed to have been +increased by many millions of bushels." From this fact, as the +representative of a great class of facts, we may safely draw two +conclusions. First, these improvements are the products of learning, the +contribution which learning makes to labor, far exceeding in amount any +tax which the cause of learning, in schools or out, imposes upon labor. +Secondly, we see that a given amount of adult labor upon a farm, with +the help of the improved implements of industry, will accomplish more in +1856, than the same amount of adult labor, with its attendant juvenile +force, could have accomplished in 1826. If we were fully to illustrate +and sustain the latter inference, we should be required to review the +improvements made in other implements of farming, as well as in ploughs. +Their positive pecuniary value, when considered in the aggregate, is too +vast for general belief; and in England alone it must exceed the +anticipated cost of a system of public instruction, say six millions of +pounds, or thirty millions of dollars, per year. But learning, as we +have defined it, has contributed less to farming than to other +departments of labor. + +The very existence of manufactures presupposes the existence of +learning. There is no branch of manufactures without its appropriate +machine; and every machine is the product of mind, enlarged and +disciplined by some sort of culture. The steam engine, the +spinning-jenny, the loom, the cotton-gin, are notable instances of the +advantages derived by manufacturing industry from the prevalence of +learning. It was stated by Chief Justice Marshall, about thirty years +ago, that Whitney's cotton-gin had saved five hundred millions of +dollars to the country; and the saving, upon the same basis, cannot now +be less than one thousand millions of dollars,--a sum too great for the +human imagination to conceive. When we contemplate these achievements of +mind, by which manual labor has been diminished, and every physical +force both magnified and economized, how unstatesmanlike is the view +which regards a human being as a bundle of muscles and bones merely, +with no destiny but ignorance, servitude, and poverty! + +Ancient commerce, if we omit to notice the conjecture that the mariner's +compass was in possession of the old Phoenician and Indian navigators, +reproduced, rather than invented, in modern times, did not rest upon any +enlarged scientific knowledge; but, in this era, many of the sciences +contribute to the extension and prosperity of trade. After what has been +accomplished by science, and especially by physical geography, for +commerce and navigation, we have reason to expect a system, based upon +scientific knowledge and principles, which shall render the highway of +nations secure against the disasters that have often befallen those who +go down to the sea in ships. Science gave to the world the steamship, +which promised for a time to engross the entire trade upon the ocean; +but science again appears, constructs vessels upon better scientific +principles, traces out the path of currents in the water and the air, +and thus restores the rival powers of wind and steam to an equality of +position in the eye of the merchant. Will any one say that all this +inures to capital, and leaves the laborer comparatively unrewarded? We +are accustomed to use the word prosperity as synonymous with +accumulation; and yet, in a true view, a man may be prosperous and +accumulate nothing. Suppose we contrast two periods in the life of a +nation with each other. Since the commencement of this century, the +wages of a common farm laborer in America have increased seventy-five or +one hundred per cent., while the articles necessary and convenient for +his use have, upon the whole, diminished in price. Admit that there was +nothing for accumulation in the first period, and that there is nothing +for accumulation now,--is not his condition nevertheless improved? And, +if so, has he not participated in the general prosperity? + +Indeed, we may all accept the truth, that there is no exclusiveness in +the benefits which learning confers; and this leads me to say, next, +that there ought to be no exclusiveness in the enjoyment of educational +privileges. + +In America we agree to this; and yet, confessedly, as a practical result +we have not generally attained the end proposed. There are two practical +difficulties in the way. First, our aim in a system of public +instruction is not high enough; and, secondly, we do not sufficiently +realize the importance of educating each individual. Our aim is not high +enough; and the result, like every other result, is measured and limited +by the purpose we have in view. Our public schools ought to be so good +that private schools for instruction in the ordinary branches would +disappear. Mr. Everett said, in reply to inquiries made by Mr. +Twistleton, "I send my boy to the public school, because I know of none +better." It should be the aim of the public to make their schools so +good that no citizen, in the education of his children, will pass them +by. + +It is as great a privilege for the wealthy as for the poor to have an +opportunity to send their children to good public schools. It is a maxim +in education that the teacher must first comprehend the pupil mentally +and morally; and might not many of the errors of individual and public +life be avoided, if the citizen, from the first, were to have an +accurate idea of the world in which he is to live? The demand of labor +upon education, as they are connected with every material interest of +society, is, that no one shall be neglected. The mind of a nation is +its capital. We are accustomed to speak of money as capital; and +sometimes we enlarge the definition, and include machinery, tools, +flocks, herds, and lands. But for this moment let us do what we have a +right to do,--go behind the definitions of lexicographers and political +economists, and say, "_capital_ is the producing force of society, and +that force is mind." Without this force, money is nothing; machinery is +nothing; flocks, herds, lands, are nothing. But all these are made +valuable and efficient by the power of mind. What we call +civilization,--passing from an inferior to a superior condition of +existence,--is a mental and moral process. If mind is the capital,--the +producing force of society,--what shall we say of the person or +community that neglects its improvement? Certainly, all that we should +say of the miser, and all that was said of the timid servant who buried +his talent in the earth. If one mind is neglected, then we fail as a +generation, a state, a nation, as members of the human family, to answer +the highest purposes of existence. Some possible good is unaccomplished, +some desirable labor is unperformed, some means of progress is +neglected, some evil seed, it may be, is sown, for which this generation +must answer to all the successions of men. But let us not yield to the +prejudice, though sanctioned by custom, that learning unfits men for +the labors of life. The _schools_ may sometimes do this, but _learning_ +never. We cannot, however, conceal from our view the fact that this +prejudice is a great obstacle to progress, even in New England; an +obstacle which may not be overcome without delay and conflict, in many +states of this Union; and especially in Great Britain is it an obstacle +in the way of those who demand a system of universal education. + +In the House of Commons, Mr. Drummond opposes a national system of +education in this wise: "And, pray, what do you propose to rear your +youth for? Are you going to train them for statesmen? No. (A laugh.) The +honorable gentleman laughs at the notion, and so would I. But you are +going to fit them to be--what? Why, cotton-spinners and pin-makers, or, +if you like, blacksmiths, mere day laborers. These are the men whom you +are to teach foreign languages, mathematics, and the notation of music. +(Hear, hear.) Was there ever anything more absurd? It really seems as if +God had withdrawn common sense from this house." Now, what does this +language of Mr. Drummond mean? Does he not intend to say that it is +unwise to educate that class of society from which cotton-spinners, +pin-makers, blacksmiths, mere day laborers, are taken? Is it not his +opinion that the business of pin-making is to be perpetuated in some +families and classes, and the business of statesmanship is to be +perpetuated in others? And, if so, does he not believe that the best +condition of society is that which presents divisions based upon the +factitious distinctions of birth and fortune? Most certainly these +questions indicate his opinions, as they indicate the opinions of those +who cheered him, and as they also indicate the opinions of a few in this +country, who, through ignorance, false education, prejudice, or sympathy +with castes and races, fear to educate the laborer, lest he may forsake +his calling. With us these fears are infrequent, but they ought not to +exist at all. The question in a public sense is not, "From what family +or class shall the pin-maker or the statesman be taken?" There is no +question at all to be answered. Educate the whole people. Education will +develop every variety of talent, taste, and power. These qualities, +under the guidance of the necessities of life and the public judgment, +will direct each man to his proper place. If the son of a cotton-spinner +become a statesman, it is because statesmanship needs him, and he has +some power answering to its wants. And if Mr. Drummond's son become a +cotton-spinner, it is because that is his right place, and the world +will be the better and the richer that Mr. Drummond's son is a +cotton-spinner, and that he is a learned man too; but, if Mr. Drummond's +son occupy the place of a statesman because he is Mr. Drummond's son, +though he be no statesman at all himself, then the world is all the +worse for the mistake, and poor compensation is it that Mr. Drummond's +son is a learned man in something that he is never called to put in +practice. + +When it is said that the statesmen, or those engaged in the business of +government, shall come from one-tenth of the population, is not the +state, according to the doctrine of chances, deprived of nine-tenths of +its governing force? And may not the same suggestion be made of every +other branch of business? + +But I pass now to the last leading thought, and soon to the conclusion +of my address. The great contribution of learning to the laborer is its +power, under the lead of Christianity, to break down the unnatural +distinctions of society, and to render labor of every sort, among all +classes, acceptable and honorable. Ignorance is the degradation of +labor, and when laborers, as a class, are ignorant, their vocation is +necessarily shunned by some; and, being shunned by some, it is likely to +be despised by others. Wherever the laboring population is in a +condition of positive, or, by a broad distinction, of comparative +ignorance, society will always divide itself into two, and oftentimes +into three classes. We shall find the dominant class, the servient +class, and then, generally, the despised class; the dominant class, +comparatively intelligent, possessing the property, administering the +government, giving to social life its laws, and enjoying the fruits of +labor which they do not perform; the servient class, unwittingly in a +state of slavery, whether nominally bond or free, having little besides +physical force to promote their own comfort or to contribute to the +general prosperity, and furnishing security in their degradation for a +final submission to whatever may be required of them; and last, a +despised class, too poor to live without labor, and too proud to live by +labor, assuming a position not accorded to them, and finally yielding to +a social and political ostracism even more degrading, to a sensitive +mind, than the servient condition they with so much effort seek to shun. + +All this is the fruit of ignorance; all this may be removed by general +learning. If all men are learned, the work of the world will be +performed by learned men; and why, under such circumstances, should not +every vocation that is honest be equally honorable? But if this, in a +broad view, seem utopian, can we not agree that learning is the only +means by which a poor man can escape from his poverty? And, if it +furnish certain means of escape for one man, will it not furnish equally +certain means of escape for many? And if so, is not learning a general +remedy for the inequalities among men? + + + + +EDUCATION AND CRIME. + +[Extract from the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.] + + +The public schools, in their relations to the morals of the pupils and +to the morality of the community, are attracting a large share of +attention. In some sections of the country the system is boldly +denounced on account of its immoral tendencies. In states where free +schools exist there are persons who doubt their utility; and +occasionally partisan or religious leaders appear who deny the existence +of any public duty in regard to education, or who assert and maintain +the doctrine that free schools are a common danger. As the people of +this commonwealth are not followers of these prophets of evil, nor +believers in their predictions, there is but slight reason for +discussion among us. It is not probable that a large number of the +citizens of Massachusetts entertain doubts of the power and value of our +institutions of learning, of every grade, to resist evil and promote +virtue, through the influence they exert. But, as there is nothing in +our free-school system that shrinks from light, or investigation even, +I have selected from the annual reports everything which they contain +touching the morality of the institution. In so doing, I have had two +objects in view. First, to direct attention to the errors and wrongs +that exist; and, secondly, to state the opinion, and enforce it as I may +be able, that the admitted evils found in the schools are the evils of +domestic, social, municipal, and general life, which are sometimes +chastened, mitigated, or removed, but never produced, nor even +cherished, by our system of public instruction. In the extracts from the +school committees' reports there are passages which imply some doubt of +the moral value of the system; but it is our duty to bear in mind that +these reports were prepared and presented for the praiseworthy purpose +of arousing an interest in the removal of the evils that are pointed +out. The writers are contemplating the importance of making the schools +a better means of moral and intellectual culture; but there is no reason +to suppose that in any case a comparison is instituted, even mentally, +between the state of society as it appears at present and the condition +that would follow the abandonment of our system of public instruction. +There are general complaints that the manners of children and youth have +changed within thirty or fifty years; that age and station do not +command the respect which was formerly manifested, and that some +license in morals has followed this license in manners. + +The change in manners cannot be denied; but the alleged change in morals +is not sustained by a great amount of positive evidence. The customs of +former generations were such that children often manifested in their +exterior deportment a deference which they did not feel, while at +present there may be more real respect for station, and deference for +age and virtue, than are exhibited in juvenile life. In this +explanation, if it be true, there is matter for serious thought; but I +should not deem it wise to encourage a mere outward show of the social +virtues, which have no springs of life in the affections. + +And, notwithstanding the tone of the reports to which I have called +attention, and notwithstanding my firm conviction that many moral +defects are found in the schools, I am yet confident that their moral +progress is appreciable and considerable. + +In the first place, teachers, as a class, have a higher idea of their +professional duties, in respect to moral and intellectual culture. Many +of them are permanently established in their schools. They are persons +of character in society, with positions to maintain, and they are +controlled by a strong sense of professional responsibility to parents +and to the public. It has been, to some extent, the purpose and result +of Teachers' Associations, Teachers' Institutes, and Normal Schools, to +create in the body of teachers a better opinion concerning their moral +obligations in the work of education. It must also be admitted that the +changes in school government have been favorable to learning and virtue. +For, while it is not assumed that all schools are, or can be, controlled +by moral means only, it is incontrovertible that a government of mild +measures is superior to one of force. This superiority is as apparent in +morals as in scholarly acquisitions. It is rare that a teacher now +boasts of his success over his pupils in physical contests; but such +claims were common a quarter of a century ago. The change that has been +wrought is chiefly moral, and in its influence we find demonstrative +evidence of the moral superiority of the schools of the present over +those of any previous period of this century. Before we can comprehend +the moral work which the schools have done and are doing, we must +perceive and appreciate with some degree of truthfulness the changes +that have occurred in general life within a brief period of time. The +activity of business, by which fathers have been diverted from the +custody and training of their children; the claims of fashion and +society, which have led to some neglect of family government on the +part of mothers; the aggregation of large, populations in cities and +towns, always unfavorable to the physical and moral welfare of children; +the comparative neglect of agriculture, and the consequent loss of moral +strength in the people, are all facts to be considered when we estimate +the power of the public school to resist evil and to promote good. If, +in addition to these unfavorable facts and tendencies, our educational +system is prejudicial to good morals, we may well inquire for the human +agency powerful enough to resist the downward course of New England and +American civilization. To be sure, Christianity remains; but it must, to +some extent, use human institutions as means of good; and the assertion +that the schools are immoral is equivalent to a declaration that our +divine religion is practically excluded from them. This declaration is +not in any just sense true. The duty of daily devotional exercises is +always inculcated upon teachers, and the leading truths and virtues of +Christianity are made, as far as possible, the daily guides of teachers +and pupils. The tenets of particular sects are not taught; but the great +truths of Christianity, which are received by Christians generally, are +accepted and taught by a large majority of committees and teachers. It +is not claimed that the public schools are religious institutions; but +they recognize and inculcate those fundamental truths which are the +basis of individual character, and the best support of social, +religious, and political life. The statement that the public schools are +demoralizing must be true, if true at all, for one of three reasons. +Either because all education is demoralizing; or, secondly, because the +particular education given in the public schools is so; or, thirdly, +because the public-school system is corrupting, and consequently taints +all the streams of knowledge that flow through or emanate from it. For, +if the public system is unobjectionable as a system, and education is +not in itself demoralizing, then, of course, no ground remains for the +charge that I am now considering. + + +I. _Is all education demoralizing?_ An affirmative answer to this +question implies so much that no rational man can accept it. It is +equivalent to the assertion that barbarism is a better condition than +civilization, and that the progress of modern times has proceeded upon a +misconception of the true ideal perfection of the human race. As no one +can be found who will admit that his happiness has been marred, his +powers limited, or his life degraded, by education, so there is no +process of logic that can commend to the human understanding the +doctrine that bodies of men are either less happy or virtuous for the +culture of the intellect. I am not aware of any human experience that +conflicts with this view; for individual cases of criminals who have +been well educated prove nothing in themselves, but are to be considered +as facts in great classes of facts which indicate the principles and +conduct of bodies of men who are subject to similar influences. In fact, +the statistics to which I have had access tend to show that crime +diminishes as intelligence increases. On this point the experience of +Great Britain is probably more definite, and, of course, more valuable, +than our own. The Aberdeen Feeding Schools were established in 1841, and +during the ten years succeeding the commitments to the jails of children +under twelve years of age were as follows:[1] + + + In 1842, 30 In 1847, 27 + + 1843, 63 1848, 19 + + 1844, 41 1849, 16 + + 1845, 49 1850, 22 + + 1846, 28 1851, 8 + ___ ___ + 211 92 + + +In the work of Mr. Hill it is also stated that "the number of children +under twelve committed for crime to the Aberdeen prisons, during the +last six years, was as follows: + + + Males. Females. Total. + + 1849-50, 11 5 16 + + 1850-51, 14 8 22 + + 1851-52, 6 2 8 + + 1852-53, 23 1 24 + + 1853-54, 24 1 25 + + 1854-55, 47 2 49 + + +"It will be observed that in the last three years there has been a great +increase of boy crime, contemporaneously with an almost total absence of +girl crime, though formerly the amount of the latter was considerable. +Now, since this extraordinary difference coïncides in point of time with +the fact of full girls' schools and half empty boys' schools, the +inference can hardly be avoided that the two facts bear the relation of +cause and effect, and that, so far from the late increase of youthful +crime in Aberdeen any-wise impairing the soundness of the principle on +which the schools are based, it is its strongest confirmation. In moral +as in physical science, when the objections to a theory are, upon +further investigation, explained by the theory itself, they become the +best evidence of its truth. Indeed, it is proved, by the experience, not +only of Aberdeen, but, as far as I have been able to ascertain, of every +town in Scotland in which industrial schools have been established, +that the number of children in the schools and the number in the jail +are like the two ends of a scale-beam; as the one rises the other falls, +and _vice versa_. + +"The following list of imprisonments of children attending the schools +of the Bristol Ragged School Union shows considerable progress in the +right direction: + + +____________________________________________________________________ + |1847.|1848.|1849.|1850.|1851.|1852.|1853.|1854.|1855.| +_____________|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| + Imprisoned, | 12 | 19 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | +_____________|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| + +Imprisonments in } 66, averaging 16.5 per year on number of 417 +the first four years} children. + +In subsequent five } 3, averaging 0.6 per year on number of 728 +years, } children. + ____ + Difference, 15.9 + + 16.5 : 15.9 :: 100 : 96.36. + + +"Thus," says Mr. Thornton, "it appears that the diminution of the +average annual number of children attending our schools imprisoned in +the latter period of five years, as compared with the annual average of +the previous four years, is ninety-six per cent.--a striking fact, which +is, I think, a manifest proof of the benefit conferred on them by the +religious and secular instruction they receive in our schools, or, at +the very least, of the advantages of rescuing them from the temptations +of idleness, and from evil companionship and example." + +I also copy, from the work already referred to, an extract from a paper +on the Reformatory Institutions in and near Bristol, by Mary Carpenter: +"In numberless instances children may be seen growing up decently, who +owe their only training and instruction to the school. Young persons are +noticed in regular work, who, before they attended the Ragged Schools, +were vagrants, or even thieves. Not unfrequently a visit is paid at the +school by a respectable young man, who proves to have been a wild and +troublesome scholar of former times." + +Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, in a charge to the grand jury, made in +1839, speaking of the means of repressing crime, says: "It is to +education, in the large and true meaning of the word, that we must all +look as the means of striking at the root of the evil. Indeed, of the +close connection between ignorance and crime the calendar which I hold +in my hand furnishes a striking example. Each prisoner has been examined +as to the state of his education, and the result is set down opposite +his name. It appears, then, that of forty-three prisoners only one can +read and write well. The majority can neither read nor write at all; and +the remainder, with the solitary exception which I have noted down, are +said to read and write imperfectly; which necessarily implies that they +have not the power of using those great elements of knowledge for any +practical object. Of forty-three prisoners, forty-two, then, are +destitute of instruction." + +These authorities are not cited because they refer to schools that +answer in character to the public schools of Massachusetts, for the +latter are far superior in the quality of their pupils, and in the +opportunities given for intellectual and moral education; but these +cases and opinions are presented for the purpose of showing what has +been done for the improvement of children and the repression of crime +under the most unfavorable circumstances that exist in a civilized +community. If such benign results have followed the establishment of +schools of an inferior character, is it unreasonable to claim that +education and the processes of education, however imperfect they may be, +are calculated to increase the sum of human progress, virtue, and +happiness? + + +II. _Is the particular education given in the public schools unfavorable +to the morals of the pupils, and, consequently, to the morality of the +community?_ I have already presented a view of the moral and religious +education given in the schools, and it only remains to consider the +culture that is in its leading features intellectual. It may be said, +speaking generally, that education is a training and development of the +faculties, so as to make them harmonize in power, and in their relations +to each other. Among other things, the ability to read is acquired in +the public schools. In the individual, this is a power for good. It +opens to the mind and heart the teachings of the sacred Scriptures; it +secures the companionship of the great, the wise, and the good, of every +age; and it is a possession that, in all cases, must be the foundation +of those scientific acquisitions, intellectual, moral, and natural, +which show the beneficence and power of the Creator, and indicate the +fact and the law of human responsibility. The natural and general effect +of the sciences taught in the schools is an illustration of the last +statement. Moreover, the mere presence of a child, though he took no +part in the studies of the school, is to him a moral lesson. He feels +the force of government, he acquires the habit of obedience, and, in +time, he comprehends the reason of the rules that are established. This +discipline is essentially moral, and furnishes some basis, though +partial and unsatisfactory, for the proper discharge of the duties of +life. But it is to be remembered that the power of the school is but in +its beginning when the presence of a pupil is recognized. The constancy +and punctuality of attendance required by all judicious parents and +faithful teachers are important moral lessons, whose influence can never +be destroyed. The fixedness of purpose that is required, and is +essential in school, remains as though it were a part of the nature of +the child and the man. School-life strengthens habits of industry when +they exist, and creates them when they do not. It is, indeed, the only +means, of universal application, that is competent to train children in +habits of industry. Private schools can never furnish this training; for +large numbers of children, by the force of circumstances, are deprived +of the tuition of such schools. Business life cannot furnish this +training; for the habits of the child are usually moulded, if not +hardened, before he arrives at an age when he can be constantly employed +in any industrial vocation. The public school is no doubt justly +chargeable with neglects and omissions; but its power for good, measured +by the character of the education now furnished, is certainly very +great. It inculcates habits of regularity, punctuality, constancy, and +industry, in the pursuits of business; through literature and the +sciences in their elements, and, under some circumstances, by an +advanced course of study, it leads the pupil towards the fountain of +life and wisdom; and, by the moral and religious instruction daily +given, some preparation is made for the duties of life and the +temptations of the world. + + +III. _Is the public school system, as a system, in itself necessarily +corrupting?_ As preliminary to the answer to be given to this question, +it is well to consider what the public-school system is. + +1. Every inhabitant is required to contribute to its support. + +2. It contemplates the education of every child, regardless of any +distinction of society or nature. + +3. The system is subject in many respects to the popular will; and +ultimately its existence and character are dependent upon the public +judgment. + +4. In the Massachusetts schools, the daily reading of the Scriptures is +required. + +The consideration of these topics will conclude my remarks upon the +general subject of the moral influence of the American system of public +instruction. In New England it is very unusual to hear the right of the +state to provide for the support of schools by general taxation called +in question; but I am satisfied, from private conversations, and from +occasional public statements, that there are leading minds in some +sections of the country that are yet unconvinced of the moral soundness +of the basis on which a system of public instruction necessarily rests. +Taxation is simply an exercise of the right of the whole to take the +property of an individual; and this right can be exercised justly in +those cases only where the application of the property so taken is, +morally speaking, to a public use. The judgment of the public determines +the legality of the proceeding; but it is possible that in some cases a +public judgment might be secured which could not be supported by a +process of moral reasoning. On what moral grounds, then, does the right +of taxation for educational objects rest? I answer, first, education +diminishes crime. The evidence in support of this statement has already +been presented. It is a manifest individual duty to make sacrifices for +this object; and, as every crime is an injury, not only to him who is +the subject of it, but to every member of society, the prevention of +crime becomes a public as well as an individual duty. + +The conviction of a criminal is a public duty; and, under all +governments of law, it is undertaken at the public charge. Offences are +not individual merely; they are against society also, inasmuch as it is +the right of society that all its members shall behave themselves well. +And, if it is the right of society that its members shall behave +themselves well, is it not the duty of society to so provide for their +education that each individual part may meet the demand which the whole +body asserts? And, further, as a majority of persons cannot individually +provide for their own protection, it is the duty of society, or the +state, or the government, to furnish the needed protection in the most +economical and effective manner possible. The state has no moral right +to jeopard property, life, and reputation, when, by a different policy, +all these might be secure; nor has the state a moral right to make the +security furnished, whether perfect or not, unnecessarily expensive. It +is the dictate of reason and the experience of governments that the most +effectual method of repressing crime is to diminish the number of +criminals; and, though punitive measures may accomplish something, our +chief reliance must be upon the education and training of children and +youth. The facts drawn from the experience of England and Scotland, +which have been quoted, lead to the conclusion that schools diminish the +number of criminals, and consequently lessen the amount of crime; but I +think it proper to add some extracts from a communication made, in +August, 1856, by Mr. Dunne, chief constable of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to +the Secretary of the National Reformatory Union.[2] + +"I know, from my own personal knowledge and observation, that, since +parental responsibility has been enforced in the district, under the +direction of the Secretary of State, the number of juvenile criminals in +the custody of the police has decreased one-half. I know that many of +the parents, who were in the habit of sending their children into the +streets for the purposes of stealing, begging, and plunder, have quite +discontinued that practice, and several of the children so used, and +brought up as thieves and mendicants, are now at some of the free +schools of the town; others are at work, and thereby obtain an honest +livelihood; and, so far as I can ascertain, they seem to be thoroughly +altered, and appear likely to become good and honest members of society. +I have, for my own information, conversed with some of the boys so +altered, and, during the conversation I had with them, they declared +that they derived the greatest happiness and satisfaction from their +change in life. I don't at all doubt the truth of these statements, for +their evident improvement and individual circumstances fully bear them +out; and I believe them to be really serious in all they say, and truly +anxious to become honest and respectable. I attribute, in a great +measure, this salutary change to the effects arising in many respects +from the establishment of reformatory schools; but I have more +particularly found that greater advantages have emanated from those +institutions since the parents of the children confined in them have +been made to pay contributions to their maintenance; for it appears +beyond doubt that the effect of the latter has been to induce the +parents of other young criminals to withdraw them from the streets, and, +instead of using them for the purposes of crime, they seem to take an +interest in their welfare. And I know that many of them are now really +anxious to get such employment for their children as will enable them to +obtain a livelihood; and it is my opinion that the example thus set to +older and more desperate criminals, belonging in many instances to the +same family as the juvenile thief, has had the effect of reforming them +also; for many of them have left off their course of crime, and are now +living by honest labor. The result is that serious crime has +considerably decreased in this district, so much so that there were only +six cases for trial at the assizes, whereas, at the previous assizes, +the average number of cases was from twenty-five to thirty, which fact +was made the subject of much comment and congratulation by Mr. Justice +Willes, the presiding judge." + +These remarks relate chiefly to the reformatory schools, but we know +that the prevention of crime by education is much easier than its +reformation by the same means. Indeed, it is the result of the +experience of Massachusetts that the necessity for reform schools has in +a large degree arisen from neglect of the public schools. It is stated +in the Tenth Annual Report of the Chaplain of the State Reform School +that of nineteen hundred and nine boys admitted since the establishment +of the institution, thirteen hundred and thirty-four are known to have +been truants. It is also quite probable that the number reported as +truants is really less than the facts warrant. It may not be out of +place to suggest, in this connection, that when a boy sentenced to the +Reform School is known to have been guilty of truancy, if the parents +were subjected to some additional burdens on that account, the cause of +education would be promoted, and the number of criminals in the +community would be diminished. From the views and facts presented, as +well as from the daily observation and experience of men, I assume that +ignorance is the ally of crime, and that education is favorable to +virtue. It is also the result of experience and the dictate of reason +that general taxation is the only means by which universal education can +be secured. All other plans and theories will prove partial in their +application. If, then, it is the duty of the state to protect itself +against crime, and of course to diminish the number of criminals; if +education is the most efficient means for securing these results; if +this education must be universal in order to be thoroughly effective; if +the state is the only agent or instrumentality of sufficient power to +establish schools and furnish education for all; and if general taxation +is the only means which the state itself can command, is not every +inhabitant justly required and morally bound to contribute to the +support of a system of public instruction? + +It will not necessarily happen that public schools will furnish to every +child and youth the desired amount of education. Professional schools, +classical schools, and academies of various grades, will be continued; +but there is an amount of intellectual and moral training needed by +every child which can be best given in the public school. This training +in the public schools ought to be carried much further than it usually +is. In the city of Newburyport, as I have been informed, there are no +exceptions to the custom of educating all the children of the town in +the public schools up to the moment when young men enter college. In +large towns and cities there is no excuse for the existence of private +schools to do the work now done in such schools as those of Newburyport +and other places where equal educational privileges exist. + +The chief objection brought against the public school, touching its +morality, is derived from the fact that children who are subject to +proper moral influences at home are brought in contact with others who +are already practised in juvenile vices, if they have not been guilty of +petty crimes. I am happy to believe that this statement is not true of +many New England communities. The objection was considered in the last +Annual Report,--it has been often considered elsewhere; and I do not +propose to repeat at length the views which are entertained by the +friends of public education. + +I have, however, to suggest that while this objection applies with some +force to the public school, it applies also to every other school, and +that the evil is the least dangerous when the pupil is intrusted to the +care of a qualified teacher, who is personally responsible to the public +for his conduct, and when the child is also subject to the restraints, +and influenced by the daily example and teachings, of the parents. + +Moreover, it is to be remembered that the great value of education, in a +moral aspect, is the development of the power to resist temptation. This +power is not the growth of seclusion; and while neither the teacher nor +the parent ought wantonly to expose the child to vicious influences, the +school may be even a better preparation for the world from the fact that +temptation has there been met, resisted, and overcome. It is also to be +remembered that the judgment of parents in a matter so difficult and +delicate as a comparison between their own children and other children +would not always prove trustworthy nor just; and that a judgment of +parties not interested would prove eminently fruitful of dissatisfaction +and bitterness. + +If all are to be educated, it only remains, then, that they be educated +together, subject to the general rule of society, that when a member is +dangerous to the safety or peace of his associates, he is to be excluded +or restrained. Nor is this necessity of association destitute of moral +advantages. If the comparatively good were separated from the relatively +vicious, it is not improbable that the latter would soon fall into a +state of barbarity. It seems to be the law of the school and of the +world that the most rapid progress is made when the weight of public +sentiment is on the side of improvement and virtue. It is not necessary +for me to remark that such a public sentiment exists in every town and +school district of the state; but who would take the responsibility in +any of these communities, great or small, of separating the virtuous +classes from the dangerous classes? Parents, from the force of their +affections, are manifestly incompetent to do this; and those who are not +parents are probably equally incompetent. But, if it were honestly +accomplished, who would be responsible for the crushing effects of the +measure upon those who were thus excluded from the presence and +companionship of the comparatively virtuous? These, often the victims of +vicious homes, need more than others the influence and example of the +good; and it should be among the chief satisfactions of those who are +able to train their own children in the ways of virtue, that thereby a +healthful influence is exerted upon the less fortunate of their race. +There is also in this course a wise selfishness; for, although +_children_ may be separated from each other, the circumstances of +maturer years will often make the virtuous subject to the influence of +the vicious. The safety of society, considered individually or +collectively, is not in the virtuous training of any part, however large +the proportion, but in the virtuous training of all. I cannot deem it +wise policy, whether parental or public, that takes the child from the +school on account of the immoral associations that are ordinarily found +there, or, on the other hand, that drives the vicious or unfortunate +from the presence of those who are comparatively pure. When it is +considered that the school is often the only refuge of the unhappy +subject of orphanage, or the victim of evil family influences, it seems +an unnecessary cruelty to withhold the protection, encouragement, and +support, which may be so easily and profitably furnished. It is said +that a sparrow pursued by a hawk took refuge in the bosom of a member of +the sovereign assembly of Athens, and that the harsh Areopagite threw +the trembling bird from him with such violence that it was killed on the +spot. The assembly was filled with indignation at the cruelty of the +deed; the author of it was arraigned as an alien to that sentiment of +mercy so necessary to the administration of justice, and by the +unanimous suffrages of his colleagues was degraded from the senatorial +dignity which he had so much dishonored. + +It does not seem necessary to offer an argument in support of the +position that the public school is not unfavorably affected, morally, by +the fact that it is subject to the popular judgment. This judgment can +be rendered only at stated times, and under the forms and solemnities of +law. The history of public schools would probably furnish but few +instances of wrong in this respect. The people are usually sensitive in +regard to the moral character of teachers; they contribute liberally for +the support of the schools, are anxious for their improvement, and there +is no safer depositary of a trust that is essential to a nation in which +is the hope of freedom and free institutions. + +And, last, a school cannot be truly said to be destitute of moral +character and influence in which the sacred Scriptures are daily read. + +The observance of this requirement is a recognition of the existence of +the Supreme Being, of the Bible as containing a record of his will +concerning men, and of the common duty of rational creatures to live in +obedience to the obligations of morality and religion. + +It has been no part of my purpose, in this discussion of the public +school as an institution fitted to promote morality, to deny the +existence of serious defects, or to screen them from the eyes of men. +The public school needs a more thorough discipline, a purer morality, a +clearer conception and a more practical recognition of the truths of +Christianity. But, viewed as a human institution, it claims the general +gratitude for the good it has already accomplished. The public school +was established in Massachusetts that "learning might not be buried in +the graves of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth;" and, in some +measure, at least, the early expectation thus quaintly expressed has +been realized. Learning has ever been cherished and honored among us. +The means of education have been the possession of all; and the +enjoyment of these means, often inadequate and humble, has developed a +taste for learning, which has been gratified in higher institutions; +and thus continually have the resources of the state been magnified, and +its influence in the land has been efficient in all that concerns the +welfare of the human race on the American continent. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The Repression of Crime. By M. D. Hill. + +[2] The Repression of Crime, pp. 358, 359. + + + + +REFORMATION OF CHILDREN. + +[Address at the Inauguration of WILLIAM E. STARR, Superintendent of the +State Reform School at Westborough.] + + +Neither the invitation of the Trustees nor my own convenience will +permit a detailed examination of the topics which the occasion suggests; +and it is my purpose to address myself to those who are assembled to +participate in the exercises of the day, trusting to familiar and +unobserved visits for other and better opportunities for conference with +the inmates of the institution. + +As the mariner, though cheered by genial winds and canopied by cloudless +skies, tests and marks his position and course by repeated observations, +so we now desire to note the progress of this humanity-freighted vessel +in its voyage over an uncertain sea, yet, as we trust, toward lands of +perpetual security and peace. All are voyagers on the sea of life. Some, +with the knowledge of ancient days only, grope their way by headlands, +or trust themselves occasionally to the guidance of the sun or the +stars; while others, with the chart and compass of the Christian era, +move confidently on their course, attracted by the Source and Centre of +all good. And it is a blessing of this state of existence, though it may +sometimes seem to be a curse, that the choice between good and evil yet +remains. The wisdom of a right choice is here manifested in the +benevolence of this foundation. + +The State Reform School for Boys has now enjoyed eight full years of +life and progress; and, though we cannot estimate nor measure the good +it may have induced, or the evil it may have prevented, yet enough of +its history and results is known to justify the course of its patrons, +both public and private, and to warrant the ultimate realization of +their early cherished hopes. The state is most honored in the honor +awarded to its sons; and the name of LYMAN, now and evermore associated +with a work of benevolence and reform, will always command the +admiration of the citizens of the commonwealth, and stimulate the youth +of the school to acquire and practise those virtues which their generous +patron cherished in his own life and honored in others. Governor +Washburn, in the Dedication Address, said, "We commend this school, with +its officers and inmates, to a generous and grateful public, with the +trust that the future lives of the young, who may be sent hither for +correction and reform, may prove the crowning glory of an enterprise so +auspiciously begun." Since these words were uttered, and this hope, the +hope of many hearts, was expressed, nearly two thousand boys, charged +with various offences,--many of them petty, and others serious or even +criminal,--have been admitted to the school; and the chaplain, in his +report for the year 1854, says that "the institution will be +instrumental in saving a majority of those who come under its fostering +care." This opinion, based, no doubt, upon the experience which the +chaplain and other officers of the institution had had, is to be taken +as possessing a substantial basis of truth; and it at once suggests +important reflections. + +Massachusetts is relieved of the presence of a thousand criminal, or, at +best, viciously disposed persons. A thousand active, capable, +industrious, productive, full-grown men have been created; or, rather, a +thousand consumers of the wealth of others, enemies of the public order +and peace, have been transformed into intelligent supporters of social +life, into generous, faithful guardians of public virtue and +tranquillity. Nor would the influences of this degraded population, if +unreformed, have ceased with its own existence; every succeeding +generation must have gathered somewhat of a harvest of crime and woe. A +thousand boys, hardened by neglect, educated in vice, and shunned by +the virtuous, would, as men, have been efficient missionaries of +lawlessness, wrong, and crime. And who shall estimate how much their +reform adds, in its results, to the wealth, the intellectual, moral, and +religious character, of the state? The criminal class is never a +producing class; and the labor of a thousand men here reclaimed, if +estimated for the period of twenty years only, is equal to the labor of +twenty thousand men for one year, which, at a hundred dollars each, +yields two millions of dollars. The pecuniary advantages of this school, +as of all schools, we may estimate; but there are better and higher +considerations, in the elevated intellectual, moral, and religious life +of the state, that are too pure, too ethereal, to be weighed in the +balance against the grosser possessions and acquisitions of society. We +thus get glimpses of the prophetic wisdom which led Mr. Lyman to say, "I +do not look on this school as an experiment; on the contrary, it strikes +me that it is an institution which will produce decidedly beneficial +results, not only for the present day, but for many years to come. I do +not, therefore, think that it should, even now, be treated in any +respect in the light of an experiment, to be abandoned if not +successful; for, if the school is introduced to public notice on no +better footing and with no more preparation than usually attend +trial-schemes of most kinds, the probability is that it will fail, +considering the peculiar difficulties of the case." Here is a high order +of faith in its application to human affairs; but Mr. Lyman saw, also, +that the work to be performed must encounter obstacles, and that its +progress toward a perfect result would be slow. + +These obstacles have been encountered; and yet the progress has been +more rapid than the words of our founder imply. But are we not at +liberty to forget the trials, crosses, and perplexities, of this +movement, as we behold the fruits, already maturing, of the wisdom and +Christian benevolence of our honored commonwealth? + +We are assembled to review the past, and to gather from it strength and +courage for the future; and we may with propriety congratulate all, +whether present or absent, who have been charged with the administration +of this school, and have contributed their share, however humble, to +promote these benign results. And we ought, also, to remember those, +whether living or dead, whose faith and labors laid the foundation on +which the state has built. Of the dead, I mention Lyman, Lamb, Denny, +Woodward, Shaw, and Greenleaf,--all of whom, with money, counsel, or +personal service, contributed to the plan, progress, and completion, of +the work. + +The good that they have done is not interred with their bones; and their +example will yet find many imitators, as men more generally and more +perfectly realize the importance of faith in childhood and youth, as the +element of a true faith in our race. If this enterprise, in the judgment +of its founder, was not an experiment ten years ago, it cannot be so +regarded now; yet the public will look with anxiety, though with hope, +upon every change of the officers of the institution. The trustees +having appointed a new superintendent, he now assumes the great +responsibility. It may not be second to any in the state; yet a man of +energy, who is influenced by a desire to do good, and who will not +measure his reward by present emoluments or temporary fame, can bear +steadily and firmly the weight put upon him. The superintendent elect +has been a teacher elsewhere, and he is to be a teacher here also. His +work will not, in all particulars, correspond with the work that he has +left; yet the principles of government and education are in substance +the same. The head of a school always occupies a position of influence; +the characters of the children and youth confided to him are in a great +degree subject to his control. Here the teacher is neither aided nor +impeded by the usual home influences. This institution is at once a home +and a school; and its head has the united power and responsibility of +the parent and the teacher. Here are to be combined the social and moral +influences of home, the religious influences of the Sunday-school, with +the intellectual and moral training of the public school. He who to-day +enters upon this work should have both faith and courage. He is to deal +with the unfortunate rather than with the exceptional cases of humanity; +for all these are children whom the Father of the race, in his +providence, has confided to earthly parents to be educated for a +temporal and an immortal existence. That these parents, through crime, +ignorance, indolence, carelessness, or misfortune, have failed in their +work, is no certain evidence that we are to fail in ours. May we not +hope to see in this school the kindness, consideration, affection, and +forethought, of the parent, without the delusion which sometimes causes +the father or mother to treat the vices of the child as virtues, to be +encouraged? And may we not expect from the superintendent, to whom, +practically, the discipline of the school is confided, one +characteristic of good government, not always, it is feared, found in +punitive and reformatory institutions? I speak of the attributes of +equality, uniformity, and certainty, in the administration of the law. +To be sure, a school, a prison, or a state, will suffer when its code is +lax; and it will also suffer when its system is oppressive or +sanguinary; but these peculiarities in themselves do not so often, in +any community, produce dissatisfaction, disorder, and violence, as an +unequal, partial, and uncertain administration of the laws. If at times +the laws are administered strictly according to the letter, and if at +other times they are reluctantly enforced or altogether disregarded; if +it can never be known beforehand whether a violation is to be followed +by the prescribed penalty--especially if this uncertainty becomes +systematic, and a portion are favored, while the remainder are required +to answer strictly for all their delinquencies; and if, above all, these +favored ones are recognized as sentinels, or spies, or informers in the +service of the officers,--then not only will the spirit of +insubordination manifest itself, but that spirit may ripen into +alienations, feuds, and personal enmities, dangerous to the prosperity +of the institution. Here the scales of justice should be evenly +balanced, and the boy should learn, from his own daily experience, to +measure equal and exact justice unto others. I do not speak of systems +of government: they are essential, no doubt; but they are not to be +regarded as of the first importance in institutions for punishment or +reformation. Establish as wise a system as you can; but never trust to +that alone. Administer the system that you have with all the equality, +uniformity, and certainty, that you can command. As a general truth, it +may be said that the law is respected when these qualities are exhibited +in its administration; and, when these qualities are wanting, the spirit +of obedience is driven from the hearts and minds of the people. + +But we are not to rely altogether, nor even chiefly, upon the visible +weapons of authority. Especially must the mind and heart of childhood +and youth be approached and quickened and strengthened by judicious +appeals to the sentiments of veneration and love, and to the principles +of the Christian faith. In this institution, one serious obstacle is +present; yet it may be overcome by energy, industry, and a spirit of +benevolence. I speak of the large number of inmates to be superintended +by one person. Men act in masses for the removal of general evils; but +the reformation of children must be individual, and to a great extent +dependent upon the agency, or at least upon the coöperation, of the +subjects of it. It is not easy for the superintendent to make himself +acquainted with the persons and familiar with the lives of six hundred +boys; yet this knowledge is quite essential to the exercise of a +salutary influence over them. He may be aided by the subordinate +officers of the institution; and that aid, under any circumstances, he +will need: but, after all, his own influence and power for good will be +measured by the extent of his personal acquaintance with the inmates as +individuals. First, then, government is essential to this school; not a +reign of terror, but a government whose majesty, power, equality, +certainty, uniformity, and consequent justice, shall be experienced by +all alike; and, being experienced by all alike, will be respected, +reverenced, and obeyed. + +And next the social, intellectual, and moral influences of the school +and the home should be combined and mingled, or else the visible forms +of government become a skeleton, merely indicating the figure, +structure, and outline, of the perfect body, but destitute of the vital +principle which alone could render it of any value to itself or to the +world. + +This institution is not an end, but a means. The home itself is only a +preparatory school for life. This is a substitute for the home, but is +not, and never can be, its equal. It therefore follows that a boy should +be removed whenever a home can be secured, especially if his reformation +has been previously so far accomplished as to render the completion of +the work probable. + +A great trust has been confided to the officers of the Reform School; +but the power to do good is usually proportionate to the responsibility +imposed upon the laborer. In this view, much will be expected; but the +expectations formed ought not to relate so much to results as to the +wisdom and humanity with which the operations are conducted. +Massachusetts is charged with the support of a great number of +charitable and reformatory institutions. Their necessity springs from +the defects of social life; therefore their existence is a comparative +rather than a positive good; and he is the truest friend of the race who +does most to remove the causes of poverty, ignorance, insanity, mental +and physical weakness, moral waywardness, and crime. + + + + +THE CARE AND REFORMATION OF THE NEGLECTED AND EXPOSED CLASSES OF +CHILDREN. + +[An Address delivered at the opening of the State Industrial School for +Girls, at Lancaster, Massachusetts.] + + +In man's limited view, the moral world presents a sad contrast to the +natural. The natural world is harmonious in all its parts; but the moral +world is the theatre of disturbing and conflicting forces, whose laws +the finite mind cannot comprehend. The majesty and uniformity of the +planetary revolutions, which bring day and night, summer and winter, +seed-time and harvest, know no change. Worlds and systems of worlds are +guided by a law of the Infinite Mind; and so, through unnumbered years +and myriads of years, birth and death, creation and decay, decrees whose +fixedness enables finite minds to predict the future, and rules whose +elasticity is seen in a never-ending variety of nature, all alike prove +that the sin of disobedience is upon man alone. + +But, if man only, of all the varied creations of earth, may fall from +his high estate, so to him only is given the power to rise again, and +feebly, yet with faith, advance towards the Divine Excellence. This, +then, is the great thought of the occasion, to be accepted by the hearts +and illustrated in the lives of all. The fallen may be raised up, the +exposed may be shielded, the wanderers may be called home, or else this +house is built upon the sand, and doomed to fall when the rains shall +descend, the floods come, and the winds blow. The returning autumn, with +its harvest of sustenance and wealth, bids us contemplate again the +mystery and harmony of the natural world. The tree and the herb produce +seed, and the seed again produces the tree and the herb, each after its +kind. There is a continued production and reproduction; but of +responsibility there is none. As there is no intelligent violation of +law, there is no accountability. Man, however, is an intelligent, +dependent, fallible, and, of course, responsible being. He is +responsible for himself, responsible in some degree for his fellow-man. +There is not a chapter in the history of the human race, nor a day of +its experience, which does not show that the individual members are +dependent upon, and responsible to, each other. This great fact, of six +thousand years' duration, at once presents to us the necessity for +government, and defines the limits of its powers and duties. Government, +then, is a union of all for the protection and welfare of each. This +definition presents, in its principles and statement, the highest form +of human government,--a form not yet perfectly realized on earth. It +sets forth rather what government ought to be, than what it has been or +is. Too often historical governments, and living governments even, may +be defined as a union of a few for their benefit, and for the oppression +of many. The reason of man has not often been consulted in their +formation, and the interests and principles of the masses have usually +been disregarded in their administration. + +A true government is at once representative, patriarchal, and paternal. +In the path of duty for this day and this occasion, we shall consider +the last-named quality only,--governments should be paternal. The +paternal government is devoted to the elevation and improvement of its +members, with no ulterior motive except the necessary results of +internal purity and strength. Every government is, in some degree, no +doubt, paternal. Nor are those governments to be regarded as eminently +so, where the people are most controlled in their private, personal +affairs. These are mere despotisms; and despotism is not a just nor +necessary element of the paternal relation. That government is most +truly paternal which does most to enable its citizens or subjects to +regulate their own conduct, and determine their relations to others. In +the midst of general darkness, the paternal element of government has +been a light to the human race. It modified the patriarchal slavery of +the Hebrews, relieved the iron rule of Sparta, made European feudalism +the hope of civilization in the Dark Ages, and the basis of its coming +glories in the near future; and it now leads men to look with toleration +upon the despotism of Russia, and with kindness upon the simplicity and +arrogance of the Celestial Empire. + +We complain, justly enough, that the world is governed too much; and +yet, in a great degree, we neglect the means by which the proper +relations of society could be preserved, and the world be governed less. +In what works are the so-called Christian governments principally +engaged? Are they not seeking, by artifice, diplomacy, and war, to +extend national boundaries, preserve national honor, or enforce nice +distinctions against the timid and weak? Yet it is plain that a nation +is powerful according to the character of the living elements of which +it is composed. If it is disorganized morally, uncultivated in +intellect, ignorant, indolent, or wasteful in its labor, its claims to +greatness are destitute of solid foundation, and it must finally yield +to those that have sought and gained power by the elevation of the +individual as the element of the nation. + +That nation, then, is wise, and destined to become truly great, which +cultivates the best elements of individual life and character. It is not +enough to read the parable of the lost sheep, and of the ninety and nine +that went not astray, and then say, "Even so, it is not the will of your +Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish," +while the means of salvation, as regards the life of this world merely, +are very generally neglected. Such neglect is followed by error and +crime; and error and crime are followed by judgment not always tempered +with mercy. + +While human governments debate questions of war and peace, of trade and +revenue, of annexations with ceremony, and appropriations of territory +without ceremony, who shall answer to the Governor and Judge of all for +the neglect, indifference, and oppression, which beget and foster the +delinquencies of childhood, and harden the criminals of adult life? + +And who shall answer for those distinctions of caste and systems of +labor which so degrade and famish masses of human beings, that the +divine miracle of the feeding of the five thousand must be multiplied +many times over before the truths of nature or revelation can be +received into teachable minds or susceptible hearts? And who shall +answer for the hereditary poverty, ignorance and crime, which +constitute a marked feature of English life, and are distinctly visible +upon the face of American civilization? These questions may point with +sufficient distinctness to the sources of the evils enumerated; but we +are not to assume that mere human governments can furnish an adequate +and complete remedy. Yet this admitted inability to do everything is no +excuse for neglecting those things which are plainly within their power. +Taking upon themselves the parental character, forgetting that they have +wrongs to avenge, and seeking reformation through kindness, criminals +and the causes of crime will diminish, if they do not disappear. This is +the responsibility of the nations, and the claim now made upon them. +Individual civilization and refinement have always been in advance of +national; and national character is the mirrored image of the individual +characters, not excepting the humblest, of which the nation is composed. +Each foot of the ocean's surface has, in its fluidity or density or +position, something of the quality or power of every drop of water which +rests or moves in the depths of the sea. What is called national +character is the face of the great society beneath; and, as that society +in its elements is elevated or debased, so will the national character +rise or fall in the estimation of all just men, and upon the page of +impartial history. Government, which is the organized expression of the +will of society, should represent the best elements of which society is +composed; and it ought, therefore, to combat error and wrong, and seek +to inaugurate labor, justice, and truth, as the elements of stability, +growth, and power. It must accept as its principles of action the best +rules of conduct in individuals. The man who avenges his personal wrongs +by personal attacks or vindictive retaliation, must sacrifice in some +measure the sympathy of the wise, the humane, and the good. So the +nation which avenges real or fancied wrongs crushes out the elements of +humanity and a higher life, which, properly cultivated, might lead an +erring mortal to virtue and peace. The proper object of punishment is +not vengeance, but the public safety and the reformation of the +criminal. Indeed, we may say that the sole object of punishment is the +reformation of the criminal; for there can be no safety to the public +while the criminal is unreformed. The punishment of the prison must, +from its nature, be temporary; perpetual confinement can be meted out to +a few great crimes only. If, then, the result of punishment be +vengeance, and not reformation, the last state of society is worse than +its first. The prison must stand a sad monument of the want of true +paternal government in the family and the state; but, when it becomes +the receptacle merely of the criminal, and all ideas of reformation are +banished from the hearts of convicts and the minds of keepers, its +influence is evil, and only evil continually. + +Vice, driven from the presence of virtue, with no hope of reformation or +of restoration to society, begets vice, and becomes daily more and more +loathsome. Misery is so universal that some share falls to the lot of +all; but that misery whose depths cannot be sounded, whose heights +cannot be scaled, is the fortune of the prison convict only, who has no +hope of reformation to virtue or of restoration to the world. His is the +only misery that is unrelieved; his is the only burden that is too great +to be borne. To him the foliage of the tree, the murmur of the brook, +the mirror of the quiet lake, or the thunder of the heaving ocean, would +be equally acceptable. His separation from nature is no less burdensome +than his separation from man. The heart sinks, the spirit turns with a +consuming fire upon itself, the soul is in despair; the mind is first +nerved and desperate, then wandering and savage, then idiotic, and +finally goes out in death. Governments cannot often afford to protect +themselves, or to avenge themselves, at such a cost. There may be great +crimes on which such awful penalties should be visited; but, for the +honor of the race, let them be few. + +We may err in our ideas of the true relations of the prison to the +prisoner. We call a prison good or bad when we see its walls, cells, +workshops, its means of security, and points of observation. These are +very well. They are something; but they are not all. We might so judge a +hospital for the sick; and we did once so judge an asylum for the +insane. + +But what to the sick man are walls of wood, brick, granite, or marble? +What are towers and turrets, what are wards, halls, and verandas, if +withal he is not cheered and sustained by the sympathizing heart and +helping hand? And similar preparations furnish for the insane personal +security and physical comfort; but can they + + + "Minister to a mind diseased; + Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow; + Raze out the written troubles of the brain?" + + +And it may be that the old almshouse at Philadelphia, which was nearly +destitute of material aids, and had only superintendent, matrons, and +assistants, was, all in all, the best insane asylum in America. + +We cannot neglect the claims of security, discipline, and labor, in the +erection of jails and prisons; but to acknowledge these merely will +never produce the proper fruit of punishment--reformation. Indeed, +walls of stone, gates of iron, bolts, locks, and armed sentinels, though +essential to security, without which there could be neither punishment +nor reformation, are in themselves barriers rather than helps to moral +progress. Standing outside, we cannot say what should be done either in +the insane hospital or the prison; but we can deduce from the experience +of modern times a safe rule for general conduct. In the insane hospital +the patient is to be treated as though he were sane; and in the jail the +prisoner is to be treated, nearly as may be, as though he were virtuous. +This rule, especially as much of it as applies to the prisoner, may be +recklessness to some, to others folly, to others sin. + +"The court awards it, and the law doth give it," is no doubt the essence +and strength of governmental justice in the sentence decreed; but it +would be a sad calamity if there were no escape from its literal +fulfilment. And let no one borrow the words of Portia to the Jew, and +say to the state, + + + "Nor cut thou less nor more, + But just a pound of flesh." + + +As the criminal staggers beneath the accumulated weight of his sin and +its penalty, he should feel that the state is not only just in the +language of its law, but merciful in its administration; that the +government is, in truth, paternal. This feeling inspires confidence and +hope; and without these there can be no reformation. And, following this +thought, we are led to say, it is a sad and mischievous public delusion +that the pardoning power is useless or pernicious. It is a _delusion_; +for it is the only means by which the state mingles mercy with its +justice,--the means by which the better sentiments of the prison are +marshalled in favor of order, of law, of progress. It is a _public +delusion_; for it has infected not only the masses of society, who know +little of what is going on in courts and prisons, but its influence is +observed upon the bench and in the bar, especially among those who are +accustomed to prosecute and try criminals. This is not strange, nor +shall it be a subject of complaint; but we must not always look upon the +prisoner as a criminal, and continually disregard his claims as a man. +It is not often easy, nor always possible, to make the proper +distinction between the _character_ and _condition_ of the prisoner. But +the prison, strange as it may seem, follows the general law of life. It +has its public sentiment, its classes, its leading minds, as well as the +university or the state; it has its men of mark, either good or bad, as +well as congress or parliament. As the family, the church, or the +school, is the reflection of the best face of society, so the prison is +the reflection of the worst face of society. But it nevertheless is +society, and follows its laws with as much fidelity as the world at +large. + +It is said that Abbé Fissiaux, the head of the colony of Marseilles, +when visiting Mettray, a kind of reform school, at which boys under +sixteen years of age, who have committed offences without discernment, +are sent, asked the colonists to point out to him the three best boys. +The looks of the whole body immediately designated three young persons +whose conduct had been irreproachable to an exceptional degree. He then +applied a more delicate test. "Point out to me," said he, "the worst +boy." All the children remained motionless, and made no sign; but one +little urchin came forward, with a pitiful air, and said, in a very low +tone, "_It is me._" Such were the public sentiment and sense of honor, +even in a reform school. This frankness in the lad was followed by +reformation; and he became in after years a good soldier,--the life +anticipated for many members of the institution. + +The pardoning power is not needed in reform and industrial schools, +where the managers have discretionary authority; but it is quite +essential to the discipline of the prison to let the light of hope into +the prisoner's heart. Not that all are to enjoy the benefits of +executive clemency,--by no means: only the most worthy and promising +are to be thus favored. But, for many years, the Massachusetts prison +has been improved and elevated in its tone and sentiment above what it +would have been; while, as it is believed, over ninety per cent. of the +convicts thus discharged have conducted themselves well. If the +prisoner's conduct has not been, upon the whole, reasonably good, and +for a long time irreproachable, he has no chance for clemency; and, +whatever may be his conduct, and whatever may be the hopes inspired, he +should not be allowed to pass without the prison walls until a friend, +labor, and a home, are secured for him. And the exercise of the +pardoning power, if it anticipate the expiration of the legal sentence +but a month, a week, or a day even, may change the whole subsequent +life. Men, criminals, convicts, are not insensible to kindness; and when +the government shortens the legal sentence, which is usually their +measure of justice, they feel an additional obligation to so behave as +to bring no discredit upon a power which has been a source of +inestimable joy to them. And prisoners thus discharged have often gone +forth with a feeling that the hopes of many whom they had left behind +were centred in them. + +Mr. Charles Forster, of Charlestown, says, in a letter to me: "I have +been connected with the Massachusetts State Prison for a period of +thirty-eight years, and have always felt a strong interest in the +improvement, welfare, and happiness, of the unfortunate men confined +within its walls. I am conversant with many touching cases of deep and +heartfelt gratitude for kindly acts and sympathy bestowed upon them, +both during and subsequent to their imprisonment." And the same +gentleman says further, "I think that the proportion of persons +discharged from prison by executive clemency, who have subsequently been +convicted of penal offences, is very small indeed." To some, whose +imaginations have pictured a broad waste or deep gulf between themselves +and the prisoner class, these may seem strange words; but there is no +mystery in this language to those who have listened to individual cases +of crime and punishment. Men are tried and convicted of crimes according +to rules and definitions which are necessarily arbitrary and technical; +but the moral character of criminals is not very well defined by the +rules and definitions which have been applied to their respective cases. +Our prisons contain men who are great and professional criminals,--men +who advisedly follow a life of crime themselves, and deliberately +educate generation after generation to a career of infamy and vice. As a +general thing, mercy to such men would be unpardonable folly. Of them I +do not now speak. But there is another class, who are involved in guilt +and its punishment through the defects of early education, the +misfortune of orphanage, accident, sudden temptation, or the influence +of evil companionship in youth. + +The field from which this class is gathered is an extensive one, and its +outer limits are near to every hearthstone. To all these, prison life, +unless it is relieved by a hope of restoration to the world at the hand +of mercy, is the school of vice, and a certain preparation for a career +of crime. As a matter of fact, this class does furnish recruits to +supply the places of the hardened villains who annually die, or +permanently forsake the abodes of civilized men. What hope can there be +for a young man who remains in prison until the last day of his sentence +is measured by the sun in his course, and then passes into the world, +with the mark of disgrace and the mantle of shame upon him, to the +society of the companions by whose influence he first fell? For such a +one there can be no hope. And be it always remembered that there are +those without the prison walls, as well as many within, who resist every +effort to bring the wanderers back to obedience and right. I was present +at the prison in Charlestown when the model of a bank-lock was taken +from a young man whose term had nearly expired. The model was cut in +wood, after a plan drawn upon sand-paper by an experienced criminal, +then recently convicted. This old offender was so familiar with the +lock, that he was able to reproduce all its parts from memory alone. +This fact shows the influence that may be exerted, even in prison, upon +the characters of the young and less vicious. Now, can any doubt that +these classes, as classes, ought to be separated? Nor let the question +be met by the old statement, that all communication between prisoners +should be cut off. Humanity cannot defend, as a permanent system, the +plan which shuts up the criminal, unless he is a murderer, from the +light of the human countenance. Such penalties foster crimes, whose +roots take hold of the state itself. + +The result of the exercise of the pardoning power is believed to have +been, upon the whole, satisfactory. This is the concurrent testimony of +officers and others whose opinions are entitled to weight. Permit the +statement of a single case, to which many similar ones might be added. +In a remote state of the West there is a respectable and successful +farmer, who was once sentenced to the penitentiary for life. His crime +was committed in a moment of desperation, produced by the contrast +between a state of abject poverty in a strange land, at the age of +twenty-three, and the recollection of childhood and youth passed beneath +the parental roof, surrounded by the comforts and conveniences of the +well-educated and well-conditioned classes of English society. This, it +is true, was a peculiar case. It was marked in the circumstances and +enormity of the crime, and marked in the subsequent good conduct of the +prisoner. But can any one object, that, after ten years' imprisonment, +this man was allowed to try his fortunes once more among his fellow-men? +Are there those who would have had no faith in his uninterrupted good +conduct; in the abundant evidence of complete reformation; in the fact +that, in prison and poverty and disgrace, he had allied to him friends +of name and fortune and Christian virtues, who were ready to aid him in +his good resolutions? If any such there be, let them visit the solitary +cell of the despairing convict, whose crime is so great that executive +clemency fears to approach it. Crime and despair have made the features +appalling; all the worst passions of our nature riot together in the +temple made for the living God; and the death of the body is almost +certainly to be preceded by madness, insanity, and idiocy of the mind. +Or, if any think that this person escaped with too light an expiation +for so great a crime, let them recall the incident of the youth who was +questioned because he looked with fond affection into the babbling face +of the running brook, and, apologizing, as it were, in reply said, "O, +yes, it is very beautiful, and especially to me, who have seen no water +for four years, beside what I have had to drink!" + +Nor is it assumed, in all that is said upon this subject, that the laws +are severe, or that the judicial administration of them is not +characterized by justice and mercy. In the ordinary course of affairs, +the pardoning power is not resorted to for the correction of any error +or injustice of the courts; but it is the means by which the state +tempers its justice with mercy; and, if the penalties for crime were +less than they are, the necessity for the exercise of this power would +still remain. It assumes that the object of the penal law is +reformation; and if this object, in some cases, can be attained by the +exercise of the pardoning power, while the rigid execution of the +sentence would leave the criminal, as it usually will, still hardened +and unrepenting, is it not wise for the state to benefit itself, and +save the prisoner, by opening the prison-doors, and inviting the convict +to a life of industry and virtue? And let it never be forgotten, though +it is the lowest view which can be taken of crime and prisons, that the +criminal class is the most expensive class of society. In general, it is +a non-producing class, and, whether in prison or out, is a heavy burden +upon the public. The mere interest of the money now expended in prisons +of approved structure is, for each cell, equal annually to the net +income of a laboring man; and professional thieves, when at large, often +gather by their art, and expend in profligacy, many thousand dollars a +year. And here we see how much wiser it is, in an economical point of +view, to save the child, or reform the man, than to allow the adult +criminal to go at large, or provide for his safe-keeping at the expense +of the state. + +Under the influence of the pardoning power, wisely executed, the +commonwealth becomes a family, whose law is the law of kindness. It is +the paternal element of government applied to a class of people who, by +every process of reasoning, would be found least susceptible to its +influence. It is the great power of the state, both in the wisdom +required for its judicious exercise, and in the beneficial results to +which it may lead. Men may desire office for its emoluments in money or +fame; they may seek it in a spirit of rivalry, or for personal pride, or +for the opportunity it brings to reward friends and punish enemies; but +all these are poor and paltry compared with the divine privilege, +exercised always in reference to the public welfare, of elevating the +prisoner to the companionship of men, and cheering him with words of +encouragement on his entrance anew to the duties of life. + +Yet think not that the prison is a reformatory institution: far from it. +If the prison should be left to the influence of legitimate prison +discipline merely, it is doubtful whether the sum of improvement would +equal the total of degradation. This may be said of the best prisons of +America, of New England. The prison usually contains every class, from +the hardened convict, incarcerated for house-breaking, robbery, or +murder, to the youth who expiates his first offence, committed under the +influence of evil companions, or sudden temptation. The contact of these +two persons must be injurious to one of them, without in any degree +improving the other. Therefore the prison, considered without reference +to the elevating influence of the pardoning power, has but little +ability to reform the bad, and yet possesses a sad tendency to debase +the comparatively good. + +We miss, too, in the prison, another essential element of a reformatory +institution. Reformation in individual cases may take place under the +most adverse circumstances; but an institution cannot be called +reformatory unless its prevailing moral sentiment is actively, +vigorously, and always, on the side of progress and virtue. This moral +influence must proceed from the officers of the institution; but it +should be increased and strengthened by the sympathy and support of the +inmates. This can hardly be expected of the prison. The number of adult +persons experienced in crime and hardened by its penalties is usually so +large, that the moral sentiment of the officers, and the weak +resolutions of the small class of prisoners, who, under favorable +circumstances, might be saved, are insufficient to give a healthy tone +to the whole institution. The prison is a battle-field of vice and +virtue, with the advantage of position and numbers on the side of vice. +Indeed, there can hardly be a worse place for the young or the +inexperienced in crime. This is the testimony of reason and of all +experience; yet the public mind is slow to accept the remedy for the +evil. It is a privilege to believe that the worst scenes of prison life +are not found in the United States. Consider this case, reported in an +English journal, _The Ragged-School Magazine_: + +"D. F., aged about fourteen. Mother dead several years; father a +drunkard, and deserted him about three years ago. Has since lived as he +best could,--sometimes going errands, sometimes begging and thieving. +Slept in lodging-houses when he had money; but very often walked the +streets at night, or lay under arches or door-steps. Has only one +brother; he lives by thieving. Does not know where he is; has no other +friend that he knows; never learnt to read; was badly off; picked a +handkerchief out of a gentleman's pocket, and was caught by a policeman; +sent to Giltspur-street Prison; was fed on bread and water; instructed +every day by chaplain and schoolmaster; much impressed with what the +chaplain said; felt anxious to do better; behaved well in prison; _was +well flogged the morning he left; back bruised, but not quite bleeding_; +was then turned into the street, ragged, barefooted, friendless, +homeless, penniless; walked about the streets till afternoon, when he +received a penny from a gentleman to buy a loaf; met, next day, some +expert thieves in the Minories; went along with them, and continues in a +course of vagrancy and crime." + +And what else could have been expected? The government, having sown +tares, had no right to gather wheat. Yet, had this boy been provided +with a home, either in a family or a reform school, with sufficient +labor, and proper moral and intellectual culture, he might have been +saved. Of the three thousand persons annually in prison at Newgate, +four hundred are less than sixteen years of age; and twenty thousand +children and youth under seventeen years of age yearly pass through the +prisons of England. "Many of the juvenile prisoners," it is said, "have +been frequently in prison, and are very hardened. Some, from nine to +eleven, have been in prison repeatedly, and have very little fear of +it." + +The officers of the Liverpool Borough Jail are united in the opinion +that, when a boy comes once, he is almost certain to come again and +again, until he is transported. And, of every one hundred young persons +discharged from the principal prisons of Paris, seventy-five are in the +custody of the law within the next three months. A professed thief said +to the Rev. Mr. Clay, of England, "I am convinced of this, having too +bitterly experienced it, that communication in a prison has brought +thousands to ruin. I speak not of boys only, but of men and women also." +And Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, says of the sentences imposed in +his court, "We are compelled to carry into operation an ignorant and +vengeful system, which augments to a fearful extent the very evils it +was framed to correct." A few years ago, there was a lad in a New +England prison whose experience is a pertinent illustration of the evil +we are now considering. His father, a resident of a city, died while +the boy was in infancy. He, however, soon passed beyond the control of +his mother, and at an early age was selected by a brace of thieves, who +petted, caressed, and humored him, until he was completely subject to +their will. He was then made useful to them in their profession; but at +last they were all arrested while engaged in robbing a store,--the boy +being within the building, and the men stationed as sentinels without. +In this case, the discretion of the court, which distinguished in the +sentence between the hardened villains and the youth, was inadequate to +the emergency. The child, unfit for the prison, and sure to be +contaminated by it, ought to have been sent to a house of reformation, a +reform school, or, perhaps better than either, to the custody of a +well-regulated, industrious family. Now, in such cases, the distinction +which the law, judicially administered, does not make, and cannot make, +must be made by the executive in the wise exercise of the pardoning +power. But this power, in the nature of things, has its limits; and on +one side it is limited to those who have been convicted of crime. + +At this point, we may see how faulty, and yet how constantly improving, +has been the administration of the criminal law. First, we have the +prison without the pardoning power, except in cases of +mal-administration of the law,--a receptacle of the bad and good, where +the former are not improved, and the latter are hurried rapidly on in +the path of degradation and crime. Then we have the prison under the +influence of the pardoning power, more or less wisely administered, but, +in its best form, able only to arrest and counteract partially the +tendencies to evil. Next, from the imperfections of this system an +advancing civilization has evoked the Reform School, which gathers in +the young criminals and viciously inclined youth, and prepares them, by +labor, and culture of the mind and heart, to resist the temptations of +life. But this institution seems to wait, though it may not always in +reality do so, until the candidate is actually a criminal. + +Hence the necessity which calls us to-day to consider the means adopted +elsewhere, and the means now to be employed here, to save the young and +exposed from the dangers which surround them. + +Passing, then, in review, ladies and gentlemen, the thoughts which have +been presented, I deduce from them for your assent and support, if so it +please you, the following propositions as the basis of what I have yet +to say: + +I. Government, in the prevention and punishment of crime, should be +paternal. + +II. The object of punishment should be reformation, and not revenge. + +III. The law of reformation in the state, as in the family, is the law +of kindness. + +IV. As criminals vary in age and in experience as criminals, so should +their treatment vary. + +V. Prisons and jails are not, in their foundation and management, +reformatory institutions, and only become so through influences not +necessarily nor ordinarily acting upon them. + +VI. As prisons and jails deter from crime through fear only, exert very +little moral influence upon the youth of either sex, and fail in many +respects and in a majority of cases as reformatory institutions, we +ought to avail ourselves of any new agency which promises success. + + +Influenced, as we may reasonably suppose, by these or kindred +sentiments, and aided by the noblest exhibitions of private benevolence, +the state has here founded a school for the prevention of crime. As we +have everywhere among us schools whose _leading_ object is the +development of the intellect, so we now dedicate a school whose +_leading_ object is the development of the affections as the basis of +the cardinal virtues of life. + +The design of this institution is so well expressed by the trustees, +that it is a favor to us all for me to read the first chapter of the +by-laws, which, by the consent of the Governor and Council, have been +established: + +"The intention of the state government, and of the benevolent +individuals who have contributed to the establishment of this +institution, is to secure a _home_ and a _school_ for such girls as may +be presented to the magistrates of the state, appointed for that +purpose, as vagrants, perversely obstinate, deprived of the control and +culture of their natural guardians, or guilty of petty offences, and +exposed to a life of crime and wretchedness. + +"For such young persons it is proposed to provide, not a prison for +their restraint and correction, but a family school, where, under the +firm but kind discipline of a judicious home, they shall be carefully +instructed in all the branches of a good education; their moral +affections be developed and cultivated by the example and affectionate +care of one who shall hold the relation of a mother to them; be +instructed in useful and appropriate forms of female industry; and, in +short, be fitted to become virtuous and happy members of society, and to +take respectable positions in such relations in life as Providence shall +hereafter mark out for them. + +"It is to be distinctly understood that the institution is not to be +considered a _place of punishment_, or its subjects as criminals. It is +to be an inviting refuge, into which the exposed may be gathered to be +saved from a course which would inevitably end in penal confinement, +irretrievable ruin, or hopeless degradation. + +"The inmates are to be considered hopeful and promising subjects of +appropriate culture, and to be instructed and watched over with the care +and kindness which their peculiar exposures demand, and with the +confidence which youth should ever inspire. + +"The restraint and the discipline which will be necessary are to be such +as would be appropriate in a Christian family or in a small +boarding-school; and the 'law of kindness' should be written upon the +heart of every officer of the institution. The chief end to be obtained, +in all the culture and discipline, is the proper development of the +faculties and moral affections of the inmates, however they may have +been heretofore neglected or perverted; and to teach them the art, and +aid them in securing the power, of self-government." + +Under the influence of these sentiments, we pass, if possible, in the +work of reformation, from the rigor of the prison to the innocent +excitement and rivalry of the school, the comfort, confidence and joys +of home. This institution assumes that crime, to some extent at least, +is social, local, or hereditary, in its origin; that the career of +hardened criminals often takes its rise in poverty, idleness, ignorance, +orphanage, desertion, or intemperance of parents, evil example, or the +indifference, scorn and neglect of society. It assumes, also, that there +is a period of life--childhood and youth--when these, the first +indications of moral death, may be eradicated, or their influence for +evil controlled. In this land of education, of liberty, of law, of labor +and religion, we may not easily imagine how universal the enumerated +evils are in many portions of Europe. The existence of these evils is in +some degree owing to institutions which favor a few, and oppress the +masses; but it is also in a measure due to the fact that Europe is both +old and multitudinous. America, though still young, is even now +multitudinous. Hence, both here and there, crime is social and local. +The truth of this statement is proportionate to the force of the causes +in the respective countries. + +We are assembled upon a sloping hillside, over-looking a quiet country +village. Happy homes are embowered in living groves, whose summer +foliage is emblematical of innocence, progress, and peace. We have here +a social life, with natural impulses, cultivated worldly interests, +moral and religious sentiments, all on the side of virtue. Crime here +is not social. If it appear at all, it is segregated; and, as the +burning taper expires when placed at the centre of the spirit lamp's +coiling sheet of flame, so vice and crime cannot thrive in the genial +embrace of virtue. + +Circumstances are here unfavorable to crime; it is never social; but +sometimes, though not often, it is hereditary. A family for many +generations seems to have a criminal tendency. Perhaps the members are +not in any generation guilty of great crimes, but often of lesser ones; +and are, moreover, in the daily practice of vices that give rise to +suspicion, neglect, and reproach. Here together are associated, and made +hereditary, poverty, ignorance, idleness, beggary, and vagrancy. Surely +these instances are not common, probably not so common as they were in +the last generation. But how is the boy or girl of such a family to rise +above these circumstances, and throw off these weights? Occasionally one +of great energy of character may do so; but, if the children of more +fortunate classes can scarcely escape the influence of temporary evil +example, how shall they who are born to a heritage of poverty, +ignorance, and ever-present evil counsel and conduct under the guise of +parental authority, pass to the position of intelligent, industrious, +respectable members of society? Some external influence must be +applied; by some means from without, the spell must be broken; the +fatal succession of vicious homes must be interrupted. The family has +here failed to discharge its duty to itself and to the state; and shall +not the state do its duty to itself, by assuming the paternal relation +under the guidance of that law of kindness, which we have seen effectual +to control the insane, and melt the hardened criminal? But in cities we +find vice, not only hereditary in families, but local and social; so +that streets and squares are given up, as it were, to the idle and +vicious, whose numbers and influence produce and perpetuate a public +sentiment in support of their daily practices. This phase of life is not +due to the fact that cities are wealthy, or that they are engaged in +manufactures or commerce; but to the single fact that they are +multitudinous, and their inhabitants are, therefore, in daily contact +with each other, while, in the country, individuals and families are +comparatively isolated. Yet some may very well doubt whether such an +institution as this, with all the benign influences of home which we +hope to see centred and diffusive here, will save a child of either sex, +whose first years shall have been so unfavorable to a life of virtue. + +The answer is plain: as in other reformatory institutions, there will be +some successes and some failures. The failures will be reckoned as they +were; the successes will be a clear gain. + +But investigation and trial will show a natural aptitude or instinct in +children that will aid in their improvement and reformation. There has +been in one of our public schools a lad, who, at the age of fourteen +years, could not recall distinctly the circumstances of his life +previous to the time when he was a newsboy in the city of New York. He +was ignorant of father, mother, kindred, family name, and nation. At an +early age, he travelled through the middle, southern and south-western +states, engaged in selling papers and trash literature; and, for a time, +he was employed by a showman to stand outside the tent and describe and +exaggerate the attractions within. When he was in his fourteenth year, +he accepted the offer of a permanent home; his chief object being, as he +said, to obtain an education. "I have found," said he, "that a man +cannot do much in this country unless he has some learning." This truth, +simple, and resting upon a low view of education, may yet be of infinite +value if accepted by those who, even among us, are advancing to adult +life without the preparation which our common schools are well fitted to +furnish. And the case of this lad may be yet further useful by showing +how compensation is provided for evils and neglects in mental and moral +relations, as well as in the physical and natural world. Though ignorant +of books, he was thoroughly and extensively acquainted with things, and +consequently made rapid progress in the knowledge of signs; for they +were immediately applied, and of course remembered. In a few months, he +took a respectable position among lads of his age. The world had done +for this boy what good schools do not always accomplish,--made him +familiar with things before he was troubled with the signs which stand +for them. There is an ignorance in manhood; an ignorance under the show +of profound learning; an ignorance for which schools, academies and +colleges, are often responsible; an ignorance that neither schools, +academies nor colleges, can conceal from the humblest intellects; an +ignorance of life and things as they are within the sphere of our own +observation. From this most deplorable ignorance this boy had escaped; +and the light of learning illumined his mind, as the sun in his daily +return reveals anew those forms of life, which, even in an ungenial +spring and early summer, his rays had warmed into existence, and +nourished and cherished in their progress towards perfection. + +And, ladies and gentlemen, let us indulge the hope that the events of +this day and the faith of this assembly will declare that it is +possible to save the children of orphanage, intemperance, neglect, scorn +and ignorance, from many of the evils which surround them. Let it not be +assumed and believed that the task of training and saving girls is less +hopeful than similar labors in behalf of the other sex. It has been +found true in Europe, and it is a prevailing opinion in this country, +that, among adults, the reformation of females is more difficult than +the reformation of males. But an analysis of this fact, assuming it to +be true, will unfold qualities of female character that render it +peculiarly easy to shield and save girls who are exposed to a life of +crime; for, be it remembered, this institution deals with mere children, +who are exposed, but not yet lost. It differs, in this respect, from +most institutions, although many include this class with others. And it +may be well to remark, that every reformatory school in Europe, even +those altogether penal,--as Parkhurst in England, and Mettray in +France,--have had some measure of success. Eighty-nine per cent. of the +colons, or convicts, at Mettray, have become respectable and useful; +while, of the youth sent to the ordinary jails and prisons, seventy-five +per cent. are totally lost. It is not fair, therefore, to assume that +this attempt will fail. The degree of success will depend upon +circumstances and causes, to a great extent, within human control. +There are, however, three elements of success, so distinct that they may +well stand as the appropriate divisions of what remains for +consideration. They are the right action of the government; the faithful +conduct of superintendent, matrons, and assistants; the sympathy and aid +of the people of the state in matters which do not admit of legislative +interference. + +The act of the Legislature, though voluminous in its details, +contemplates only this: A home for girls between seven and sixteen years +of age, who are found "in circumstances of want and suffering, or of +neglect, exposure, or abandonment, or of beggary." The first idea of +_home_ precludes the possibility of the inmates being sent here as a +punishment for crime; therefore they are neither adjudged nor actual +criminals, but persons exposed to a vicious life. Secondly, the idea of +home involves the necessity of reproducing the family relation, as +circumstances may permit. Hence, the members of this institution are to +be divided into families; and over each a matron will preside, who is to +be a kind, affectionate, discreet mother to the children. + +And here, for once, in Massachusetts, a public institution has escaped +the tyranny of bricks and mortar; and we are permitted to indulge the +hope, that any future additions will tend to make this spot a +neighborhood of unostentatious cottages, quiet rural homes, rather than +the seat of a vast edifice, which may provoke the wonder of the +sight-seer, inflame local or state pride, but can never be an effectual, +economical agency in the work of reformation. Every public institution +has some great object. Architecture should bend itself to that object, +and become its servant; and it must ever be deemed a mistake, when +utility is sacrificed that art or fancy may have its way. + +Reformation, if wrought by external influences, is the result of +personal kindness. Personal kindness can exist only where there is +intimate personal acquaintance; this acquaintance is impossible in an +institution of two, three, or five hundred inmates. But, in a family of +ten, twenty, or thirty, this knowledge will exist, and this kindness +abound. Warm personal attachments will grow up in the family, and these +attachments are likely to become safeguards of virtue. + +Nor let the objection prevail that the expense is to be increased. It is +not the purpose to set up an establishment and maintain it for a +specific sum of money, but to provide thorough mental and moral training +for the inmates. Make the work efficient, though it be limited to a +small number, rather than inaugurate a magnificent failure. + +The state has wisely provided that the "trustees shall cause the girls +under their charge to be instructed in piety and morality, and in such +branches of useful knowledge as shall be adapted to their age and +capacity; they shall also be instructed in some regular course of labor, +either mechanical, manufacturing, or horticultural, or a combination of +these, and especially in such domestic and household labor and duties as +shall be best suited to their age and strength, disposition and +capacity; also in such other arts, trades, and employments, as may seem +to the trustees best adapted to secure their reformation, amendment, and +future benefit." + +It is sometimes the bane of the poor that they do not work, and it is +often equally the bane of the rich that they have nothing to do. The +idle, both rich and poor, carry a weight of reproach that not all ought +to bear. The disposition and the ability to labor are both the result of +education; and why should the uneducated be better able to labor than to +read Greek and Latin? Surely only that there are more teachers in one +department than in the others; but a good teacher of labor may be as +uncommon as a good teacher of Latin or Greek. There is a false, vicious, +unmanly pride, which leads our youth of both sexes to shun labor; and +it is the business of the true teacher to extirpate this growth of a +diseased civilization. And we could have no faith in this school, if it +were not a school of industry as well as of morality,--a school in which +the divine law of labor is to be observed equally with the laws of men. +Industry is near to all the virtues. In this era every branch of labor +is an art, and sometimes it is necessary for the laborer to be both an +artist and a scientific person. How great, then, the misfortune of +those, whether rich or poor, who are uninstructed in the business of +life! We should hardly know what judgment to pass upon a man of wealth +who should entirely neglect the education of his children in schools; +but the common indifference to industrial learning is not less +reprehensible. Labor should be systematic; not constant, indeed, but +always to be reckoned as the great business of life, never to be +avoided, never to cease. + +Labor gives us a better knowledge of the fulness, magnificence and +glory, of the divine blessing of creation. This lesson may be learned by +the farmer in the wonderful growth of vegetation; by the artist, in the +powers of invention and taste of the human mind and soul; by the man of +science, in the beauty of an insect or the order of a universe. The +vision of the idle is limited. The ability to see may be improved by +education as much as the ability to read, remember, or converse. With +many people, not seeing is a habit. Near-sighted persons are generally +those who declined to look at distant objects; and so nature, true to +the most perfect rules of economy, refused to keep in order faculties +that were entirely neglected. The laborer's recompense is not money, nor +the accumulation of worldly goods chiefly; but it is in his increased +ability to observe, appreciate, and enjoy the world, with its beauties +and blessings. Nor is labor, the penalty for sin, a punishment merely, +but a divine means of reformation. It is, therefore, a moral discipline +that all should submit to; and especially is it a means by which the +youth here are to be prepared for the duties of life. But industry is +not only near to all the virtues; it is itself a virtue, as idleness is +a vice. The word _labor_ is, of course, used in the broadest +signification. Labor is any honest employment, or use of the head or +hands, which brings good to ourselves, and consequently, though +indirectly, brings good to our fellow-men. + +The state has now furnished a home, reproduced, as far as practicable, +the family relation, and provided for a class of neglected and exposed +girls the means of mental, industrial, moral, and religious culture. The +plan appears well; but its practical value depends upon the fidelity of +its execution by the superintendent, matrons and assistants. I venture +to predict in advance, that the degree of success is mainly within their +control. This is a school, they are the teachers; and they must bend to +the rule which all true teachers willingly accept. + +The teacher must be what he would have his pupils become. This was the +standard of the great Teacher; this is the aim of all who desire to make +education a matter of reality and life, and not merely a knowledge of +signs and forms. Here will be needed a spirit and principle of devotion +which will be fruitful in humility, patience, earnestness, energy, good +words and works for all. Here must be strictness, possibly sternness of +discipline; but this is not incompatible with the qualities mentioned. +It is a principle at Mettray to combine unbounded personal kindness with +a rigid exclusion of personal indulgence. + +This principle produces good results that are two-fold in their +influence. First, personal kindness in the teacher induces a reciprocal +quality in the pupils. The habit of personal kindness, proceeding from +right feelings, is a potent element of good in the family, the school, +and the prison. Indeed, it is an element of good citizenship; and no one +destitute of this quality ought to be intrusted with the education of +children, or the punishment and reformation of criminals. + +Secondly, the rigid exclusion of personal indulgence trains the inmates +in the virtue of self-control. And may it not be forgotten that all +apparent reformation must be hedged by this cardinal virtue of practical +life! Otherwise the best-formed expectations will fail; the highest +hopes will be disappointed; and the life of these teachers, and the +promise of the youth who may be gathered here, will be like the sun and +the winds upon the desert, which bring neither refreshing showers nor +fruitful harvests. Every form of labor requires faith. This labor +requires faith in yourselves, and faith in others;--faith in yourselves, +as teachers here, based upon your own knowledge of what you are and are +to do; and faith in others upon the divine declaration that God breathed +into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul,--not merely as +the previous creations, possessed of animal life; but as a sentient, +intellectual, and moral being, capable of a progressive, immortal +existence. + + + "'Tis nature's law + That none, the meanest of created things, + + * * * * * + + Should exist + Divorced from good,--a spirit and pulse of good, + A life and soul, to every mode of being + Inseparably linked. + + See, then, your only conflict is with men; + And your sole strife is to defend and teach + The unillumined, who, without such care, + Must dwindle." + + +And always, as in the beginning, the reliance of this school is upon the +people of the commonwealth, whose voice has spoken into existence +another instrumentality to give eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, a +heart for the work of this life, and a hope for an hereafter, to those +who from neglect and vicious example would soon pass the period of +reformation. But may the people always bear in mind the indisputable +truth, that schools for the criminal and the exposed yield not their +perfect fruits in a day or a year! They must, if they will know whether +the seed here planted produces a harvest, wait for the birth and growth +of one generation, the decay and death of another. Yet these years of +delay will not be years of uncertainty. The public faith will be +strengthened continually by cases of reformation, usefulness, and +virtue. But, whether these cases be few or many, let no one despond. The +career of the criminal is, often in money and always in influence, the +heaviest burden which an individual can impose upon society. + +This is a school for girls; and we may properly appeal to the women of +Massachusetts to do their duty to this institution, and to the cause it +represents. We can already see the second stage in the existence of many +of those who are to be sent here; and there is good reason to fear that +the relation of mistress and servant among us is in some degree +destitute of those moral qualities that make the house a home for all +who dwell beneath its roof. But, whether this fear be the voice of truth +or the suggestion of prejudice, that woman shall not be held blameless, +who, under the influence of indolence, pride, fashion, or avarice, shall +neglect, abuse, or oppress, the humblest of her sex who goes forth from +these walls into the broad and dangerous path of life. But this day +shall not leave the impression that they who are most interested in the +elevation and refinement of female character are indifferent to the +means employed, and the results which are to wait on them. + +The greatest delineator of human character in this age says, as the +images of neglected children pass before his vision: + +"There is not one of them--not one--but sows a harvest mankind _must_ +reap. From every seed of evil in this boy a field of ruin is grown that +shall be gathered in, and garnered up, and sown again in many places in +the world, until regions are over-spread with wickedness enough to raise +the waters of another deluge. Open and unpunished murder in a city's +streets would be less guilty in its daily toleration than one such +spectacle as this. There is not a father, by whose side, in his daily or +nightly walk, these creatures pass; there is not a mother among all the +ranks of loving mothers in this land; there is no one risen from the +state of childhood, but shall be responsible, in his or her degree, for +this enormity. There is not a country throughout the earth on which it +would not bring a curse. There is no religion upon earth that it would +not deny; there is no people on earth that it would not put to shame." + +This institution, then, in the true relation of things, is not the glory +of the state, but its shame. It speaks of families, of schools, of the +church, of the state, not yet educated to the discharge of their +respective duties in the right way. But it is the glory of the state as +a visible effort to correct evils, atone for neglects, and compensate +for wrongs. It comes to do, in part at least, what the family, the +school, the press, the library, the Sabbath, have nest yet perfectly +accomplished. As these agencies partially failed, so will this; but, as +the law of progress exists for all, because perfection with us is +unattainable, we may reasonably have faith in human improvement, and +trust that the life of each succeeding generation shall unite, in +ever-increasing proportions, the innocence of childhood with the wisdom +of age. + + + + +ELEMENTARY TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. + +[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.] + + +We are still sadly defective in methods of education. Until recently +teaching was almost an unknown art; and we are at present struggling +against ignorance without any well-defined plan, and attempting to +develop and build up the immortal character of children, without a +philosophical and generally accepted theory of the nature of the human +mind. There are complaints that the duties and exactions of the schools +injure the health and impair the constitutions of pupils; that the +progress in intellectual attainments is not always what it should be; +that the training given is sometimes determined by the wishes of +committees against the better judgment of competent teachers; that the +text-books are defective; that the studies in the common schools are too +numerous; that the elements are consequently neglected; and that, in +fine, too much thought is bestowed upon exhibitions and contests for +public prizes, to the injury of good learning, and of individual and +general character. For these complaints there is some foundation; but +care should be exercised lest incidental and necessary evils become, in +the public estimation, great wrongs, and exceptional cases the evidence +of general facts. + +It is to some extent true that the duties and exactions of the schools +seriously test the health of pupils; but it is, as I believe, more +generally true that many pupils are physically unable to meet the +ordinary and proper duties of the school-room. School life, as usually +conducted, is physically injurious, and our best efforts thus far have +been limited to the dissemination of elementary knowledge of physiology +as a science, and to an acquaintance with a limited number of important +physiological facts. Yet even here little has been accomplished in +comparison with what may be done. In this department there is much +instruction given that has no practical value, and children are often +permitted to live in daily and uniform neglect of the most essential +truths of science and the facts of human experience. Neither physiology +nor hygiene can be of much value in the schools, as a study, unless +there is an application of what is taught. Great proficiency cannot be +made in these branches in the brief period of school life; but a +competent teacher may induce the pupils to put in practice the lessons +that are applicable to childhood and youth. If, however, as is sometimes +the case, pupils are undermining the physical constitution in their +efforts to know how they are made, the loss is, unquestionably, more +than the gain. Physical health and growth depend, first, upon +opportunity; and hence it happens that, where physical life is most +defective, there the greatest difficulties in the way of its improvement +are found. Boys born in the country, living upon farms, accustomed +continually to outdoor labors and sports, walking a mile or more every +day to school, have but little use, in their own persons, for the +science or facts of physiology; and it is a very rare thing, where such +conditions have existed, that any teacher is able to exact an amount of +intellectual service that proves in any perceptible degree injurious. + +But these opportunities are not so generally enjoyed by girls, and the +mass of children in cities are wholly deprived of them. In the country, +and even in villages and towns of considerable size, there is no excuse, +better than ignorance or indifference, for the lack of judicious and +efficient physical training of children and youth of both sexes. But +ignorance and indifference are facts; and, while and where they exist, +they are prejudicial to the growth of mind and body. The age at which +children should be admitted to school has not been ascertained, nor can +a satisfactory rule upon this point ever be laid down. If children are +not in schools, they are yet subject to influences that are formative of +character. When proper government and methods of education exist at +home, the presence of the child in school at an early age is not +desirable. Even when education at home is not methodical, it may be +continued until the child is seven or even eight years of age, if it is +at once moral, intelligent, and controlling. It is not, however, wise to +expect a child who is infirm physically to perform the labors imposed by +the necessary and proper regulations of school. When children enjoy good +health, and are not blessed with suitable training at home, they may be +introduced to the school, at the age of five years, with positive +advantage to themselves and to society. + +When the child is a member of the school, what shall be done with him? +He must first be taught to take an interest in the exercises by making +the exercises interesting to him. That the transition from home to the +school may be easy, he should first occupy himself with those topics and +studies that are presented to the eye and to the ear, and may be +mastered, so as to produce the sensation that follows achievement with +only a moderate use of the reasoning and reflective faculties. Among +these are reading, writing, music, and drawing. This is also the time +when object lessons may be given with great advantage. The forms and +names of geometrical solids may be taught. Exercises may be introduced +tending to develop those powers by which we comprehend the qualities of +color, size, density, form, and weight. Important moral truths may be +presented with the aid of suitable illustrations. In every school the +teacher and text-books may be considered a positive quality which should +balance the negative power of the school itself. In primary schools +text-books have but little value, and the chief reliance is, therefore, +upon the teacher. Instruction must be mainly oral; hence the mind of the +teacher should be well furnished, and her capacities chastened by +considerable experience. As the pupils are unable to study, the teacher +must lead in all their exercises, and find profitable employment for the +children, or they will give themselves up to play or to stupid +listlessness. Of these alternatives, the latter is more objectionable +than the former. + +It is, of course, not often possible for a teacher to occupy herself six +hours a day with a single class in a primary school, especially if she +confines her attention to the studies enumerated. In many schools, of +various grades, gymnastic exercises have been introduced with marked +advantage. There are many such exercises which do not need apparatus, +and in which the teacher can properly lead. + +These furnish a healthful variety to the studies usually pursued, and +they prepare the pupils to receive appropriate instruction in sitting, +standing, and in the modulation and use of the voice. Indeed, gymnastic +exercises are indispensable aids to proper training in reading, which, +as an art of a high order, is immediately dependent upon position, +habits of breathing, the consequent power of voice, and expressiveness +of tone. I am fully satisfied that much more may be done in the early +period of school life than is usually accomplished. In the district +mixed schools the primary pupils receive but little attention, and they +are not infrequently occupied from one to three years in obtaining an +imperfect knowledge of the alphabet. Usually much better results are +attained by the combined agency of the home and the school, but there is +an average loss of one-fourth of the time employed in teaching and +learning the elements of our language. + +Mr. Philbrick, Superintendent of Public Schools in Boston, has taught +and trained a class of fifty primary-school pupils with a degree of +success which fully sustains the statement of the average waste in +schools generally. Twenty-two lessons of a half-hour each were given; +and in this brief period of time the class, with a few exceptions, were +so well advanced that they could write the alphabet in capital and +script hand, give the elementary sounds of the letters, produce and name +the Arabic characters and the common geometrical figures found upon +Holbrook's slates. I saw a girl, five and a half years of age, write the +alphabet without delay in script hand, in a manner that would have been +creditable to a pupil in a grammar school. + +I present Mr. Philbrick's own account of his mode of proceeding, in an +extract from his third quarterly report to the school committee of the +city of Boston. + +"The regulations relating to the primary schools require every scholar +to be provided with a slate, and to employ the time not otherwise +occupied in drawing or writing words from their spelling lessons, on +their slates, in a plain script hand. It is further stated, in the same +connection, that the teachers are expected to take special pains to +teach the first class to write--not print--all the letters of the +alphabet on slates. + +"The language of this requirement seems to imply that the classes below +the first are to draw and write words, in a plain script hand, without +any special pains to teach them, and that by such occupation they were +to be kept from idleness. As I saw neither of these objects +accomplished in any primary school, I thought it worth while to satisfy +myself, by actual experiment, what can and ought to be done, in the use +of the slate and blackboard, in teaching writing and drawing in primary +schools. To accomplish this object, I have given a course of lessons in +a graded or classified school of the third class. The number of pupils +instructed in the class was about fifty. The materials of the school are +rather below the average; about twenty of the pupils being of that +description usually found in schools for special instruction. The +school-room is furnished, as every primary school-room should be, with +stationary chairs and desks, and Holbrook's primary slates. Twenty-two +lessons, of from thirty to forty minutes each, were given, about +one-third of the time being devoted to drawing, and two-thirds to +writing. As to the method pursued, the main points were, to present but +a single element at a time; to illustrate on the blackboard defects and +excellences in execution; frequent review of the ground passed over, +especially in the _first_ steps of the course; a vigorous exercise of +all the mental faculties requisite for the performance of the task; and +a desire for improvement, encouraged and stimulated by the best and +strongest available motives; the greater part of the time being +bestowed upon the dull and backward pupils. + +"The result has exceeded my expectations. About three-fourths of the +number taught can draw most of the simple mathematical lines and +figures, given as copies on the slates used, with tolerable accuracy, +and write all the letters of the alphabet in a fair script hand. This +experiment satisfies me that, with the proper facilities, the three +upper classes in graded primary schools can be taught to write the +letters of the alphabet in a plain script hand, and even to join them +into words, without any material hindrance to the other required +studies; and, moreover, that the great remedy for the complaint of want +of time, in these schools, is the increase of skill in the art of +teaching." + +It is well known that in this country and in Europe methods of teaching +the alphabet have been introduced which materially diminish the labor of +teachers, and lessen the drudgery to which children are usually +subjected. The alphabet is taught as an object lesson. The object is +usually an animal, plant, or flower. More frequently the first. The mind +of the child is awakened either by the presence of the animal, or by a +brief but vivid description of its characteristics. The children are +first required to pronounce properly the name of the animal. Here is an +opportunity for training in the use of the voice, and in the art of +breathing, with which the general health, as well as the vocal power, is +intimately connected. The word which is the name of the animal is +analyzed into its elementary sounds. It may then be reconstructed +without the aid of visible signs, either written or printed. Next the +teacher produces the signs which stand for the several sounds, and gives +their names. The letters are presented in any way that suits the +teacher. There may be no better method than to produce them upon the +blackboard, as this course encourages the pupils to draw them upon their +slates, and thus they are at once, and without formal preliminaries, +engaged in writing. + +An outline of the animal may be drawn upon the blackboard, which the +pupils will eagerly copy; and though this exercise may not be valuable +in a high degree, as preparation for the systematic study of drawing, +yet it trains the perceptive and reflective faculties in a manner that +is pleasant to the great majority of children. It is also in the power +of the teacher, at any point in the exercises, and with reference both +to variety and usefulness, to give the most apparent facts, which to +children are the most interesting facts, in the natural history of the +animal. This plan contemplates instruction in pronunciation in +connection with exercises in breathing, in the elementary sounds of +words both consonant and vowel, in the names of letters, in writing and +drawing, to all of which may be added something of natural history. It +is of course to be understood that such exercises would be extended over +many lessons, be subject to frequent reviews, and valuable in proportion +to the teacher's ability to interest children. The outline given is +suggestive, merely, and it is not presented as a plan of a model course; +but enough has been done and is doing in this department to warrant +increased attention, and to justify the belief that a degree of progress +will soon be made in teaching the elements that will mark the epoch as a +revolution in educational affairs. It is to be observed that the system +indicated requires a high order of teaching talent. Only thorough +professional culture, or long and careful experience, will meet the +claims of such a course. It is quite plain, however, that no advantage +would arise from keeping pupils in school six hours each day; and that, +regarding only the intellectual advancement of the child during the +elementary course, his presence might be reduced to two hours, or +possibly in some cases to one: provided, always, that he could enjoy, +with his class associates, the undivided attention of the teacher. In +this view of the subject, it would be possible, where the primary +schools are graded, as in portions of the city of Boston, for one +teacher to take charge of two classes or schools, each for an hour in +the forenoon and an hour in the afternoon. This arrangement would apply +only to the younger pupils; yet I am aware that parents and the public +would be solicitous concerning the manner of employing the time that +would remain. In the cities this question is one of magnitude, and there +are strong reasons for declining any proposition to reduce the school +day full one-half, which does hot provide occupation for the children +during the remainder of the time. It is only in connection with such a +proposition that projects for gymnastic training are practicable. When +children are employed six hours in school, it is not easy to find time +for a course of systematic physical education; and physical education, +to be productive of appreciable advantages, must be systematic. When +left to children and youth, or to the care of parents, very little will +be accomplished. Children will participate in the customary sports, and +perform the allotted labors; but in cities these sports and labors are +inadequate even for boys, and in country, as well as city, girls are +often the victims of neglect in this respect. Availing ourselves, then, +of the light shed by recent experience upon the subject of primary +instruction, it seems possible to diminish the length of the school day +with a gain rather than a loss of educational power. This change may be +followed by the establishment, in cities and large towns, of public +gymnasiums, where teachers answering in moral qualifications to the +requisitions of the laws shall be employed, and where each child, for +one, two, or three years, shall receive discreet and careful, but +vigorous physical training. After a few years thus passed in +corresponding and healthful development of the mind and body, the pupil +is prepared for admission to the advanced schools, where he can submit, +with perfect safety, to greater mental requirements even than are now +made. The school, as at present constituted, cannot do much for physical +education; and it must, as a necessity and a duty, graduate its demands +to the physical as well as the intellectual abilities of its pupils. But +I am satisfied that it is occasionally made to bear a weight of reproach +that ought to be laid upon the customs and habits of domestic, social +and general life. + +Assuming that the principal work of the primary schools, after moral and +physical culture, should be to give instruction in reading, spelling, +writing, music and drawing, it is just to say that special attention +should be bestowed upon the two branches first named. So imperfectly is +reading sometimes taught, that pupils are found in advanced classes, and +in advanced schools, whose progress in other branches is retarded by +their inability to read the language fluently and intelligently. When +children are well educated in reading, they find profitable employment; +and they are, of course, by the knowledge of language acquired, able to +comprehend, with greater facility, every study to which they are called. + +Pupils often appear dull in grammar, geography and arithmetic, merely +because they are poor readers. A child is not qualified to use a +text-book of any science until he is able to read with facility, as we +are accustomed to speak, in groups of words. This ability he cannot +acquire without a great deal of practice. If phonetic spelling is +commenced with the alphabet, he will be accurately trained in that art +also. It is certain that reading, writing and spelling, have been +neglected in our schools generally. + +If there is to be a reform, it must be commenced, and in a considerable +degree accomplished, in the primary schools. These studies will be +taught afterwards; but the grammar and high schools can never compensate +for any defect permitted, or any wrong done, in the primary schools. +Reading is first mechanical, and then intellectual and emotional. In the +primary schools attention is first given to mechanical training, while +the intellectual and emotional culture is necessarily in a degree +postponed. When the first part of the work is thoroughly done, there is +no ground for complaint, and we may look to the teachers of advanced +classes and schools for the proper performance of the remaining duty. +The ability to spell arbitrarily, either in writing or orally, and the +ability to read mechanically,--that is, the ability to seize the words +readily, and utter them fluently and accurately,--must be acquired by +much spelling and much reading. + +This work belongs to the early years of school-life; and, if it can be +faithfully performed, the introduction of text-books in grammar, +geography and arithmetic, may be wisely postponed. But it is a sad +condition of things, which we are often compelled to contemplate, when a +pupil, who might have become a respectable reader had the elementary +training been careful, accurate and long-continued, is introduced to an +advanced class, and there struggles against obstacles which he cannot +comprehend, and which the teacher cannot remove, and finally leaves the +school without the ability to read in a manner intelligible to himself, +or satisfactory to others. It is the appropriate work of primary +schools, and of the teachers of primary classes in district schools, to +develop and chasten the moral powers of children, to train them in those +habits and practices that are favorable to health and life, whether +anything is known of physiology as a science or not, and to give the +best culture possible to the eye, the ear, the hand and the voice. This +plan is comprehensive enough for any teacher, and it will be found +sufficient for any pupil less than ten years of age. Nor am I speaking +of that culture which is merely preparatory for the life of the artist, +but of that practical training which will enable the subject of it so to +use his powers as to render his life valuable to himself, and valuable +to the world. There will be, in the exercises comprehended by this +outline, sufficient mental discipline. It will, of course, be chiefly +incidental, and it may well be doubted whether studies that are merely +disciplinary should ever be introduced into our schools. There are +useful occupations for pupils that, at the same time, tax and test the +mind sufficiently. The plan indicated does not exclude grammar, +geography and mental arithmetic, but text-books will not at first be +needed. Grammar should be taught by conversation, and in connection with +the exercises in reading. Grammar is the appreciation of the power of +the words of the language in any given relations to each other, and a +knowledge of grammar is essential to the ability to speak, read and +write properly. Therefore, grammatical rules and definitions are, or +should be, deduced from the language. Hence children should be first +trained to speak with accuracy, so that habit shall be on the side of +taste and science; next the offices which words perform in simple +sentences should be illustrated and made clear; And thus far without +text-books; when, finally, with their help, the pupils in the higher +schools may acquire a knowledge of the science, and, at once, as the +result of previous training, discern the reason for each rule and +definition. The study of grammar requires some use of mental power; but +when it is presented to pupils by the aid of an object which, in itself +and in what it does, illustrates the subject and the predicate of a +sentence, the work of comprehending the offices which words perform is +rendered comparatively easy. Having the skeleton thus furnished, and +with the eyes and minds of the pupils fixed upon an object that +possesses known and appreciable powers and qualities, it is not +difficult for the teacher to construct a sentence that shall contain +words of several parts of speech, all understood, because the +grammatical office of each was seen even before the word itself was +used. This work may be commenced when the child is young, and very +satisfactory results ought to be secured as soon as the pupil is in +other respects qualified to enter a grammar school. The pupil should be +trained in reading as an art; that is, with the purpose of expressing +whatever is intellectual and emotional in the text. Satisfactory results +cannot at first be secured by much reading; it seems wiser for the +teacher to select an extract, paragraph, or single sentence only, and +drill a pupil or a class until the meaning of the author is +comprehended, and accurately or even artistically expressed. This can be +done only when the teacher reads the passage again and again in the best +manner possible. The contrary practice of reading volumes of extracts +from the writings of the most gifted men of ancient and modern times, +without preparation by the pupil, without example, explanation, +correction, or questionings, by the teacher, cannot be too strongly +condemned. The time will come when these selections may be read with +profit; but it is better to read something well than to read a great +deal; or there should be at least thorough drill in connection with +every exercise, until the pupils have attained some degree of +perfection. It may not be best to confine advanced pupils to the +exercises in the text-books. If such pupils are invited occasionally to +make selections from their entire range of reading, the teacher will +have an opportunity to correct whatever is vicious in taste; and the +pupil making the selection will be compelled to read in such a manner +that those who listen can understand, which is not always the case when +the language is addressed to the eye as well as to the ear. + +The introduction of Colburn's Intellectual Arithmetic was an epoch in +the science. It wrought a radical change in the ability of the people to +apply the power of numbers to the practical business of life. Its +excellence does not consist in rules and illustrations by which examples +and problems are easily solved, but in leading the mind of the pupil +into natural and apparent processes of reasoning, by which he is enabled +to comprehend a proposition as an independent fact. Herein is a mental +discipline of great value, not only in the sciences, but in the daily +affairs of men of all classes and conditions. It is to be feared that +equally satisfactory results have not been attained in what is called +written arithmetic. This partial failure deserves consideration. The +first cause may be found in an erroneous opinion concerning the +difference between mental and written arithmetic. Written arithmetic is +mental arithmetic merely, with a record at given stages of the process +of what at that point is accomplished. But, as written arithmetic tends +to lessen the power of the pupil for the performance of those operations +that are purely mental, he should be subjected, each day, to a searching +and rapid drill in mental arithmetic also. This neglect on the part of +teachers explains the singular fact that pupils, well trained in mental +arithmetic, after attending to written arithmetic for three or six +months, appear to have lost rather than gained in their knowledge of the +science as a whole. + +The second cause of failure may be found in the fact that rules, +processes and simple methods of solution, contained in the books, are +substituted for the power of comprehension by the pupil. He should be +trained to seize an example mentally, whether the slate is to be used or +not, and hold it until he can determine by what process the solution is +to be wrought. Nor is it a serious objection that he may not at first +avail himself of the easiest method. The difference between methods or +ways is altogether a subordinate consideration. There may be many ways +of reaching a truth, but no one of them is as important as the truth +itself. The text-books should contain all the facts needed for the +comprehension and the solution of the examples given; the teacher should +furnish explanations and other aids, as they are needed; but the +practice of adopting a process and following it to an apparently +satisfactory conclusion, without comprehending the problem itself, is a +serious educational evil, and it exerts a permanent pernicious +influence. + +The remarks I have now made upon methods of teaching, which may seem to +have been offered in a spirit of severe criticism, should be qualified +and relieved by the statement that our teachers are as well educated as +any in the country, and that they are yearly making progress in their +profession. Indeed, I am encouraged to suggest that better things are +possible, by the consideration that many instances of distinguished +success in teaching the alphabet, reading and grammar, are known to me; +and that teachers are themselves aware that the work is, upon the whole, +inadequately performed. If, as is generally conceded, the highest order +of teaching talent is required in the primary schools, then that talent +should be sought out by committees; the persons possessing it should +enjoy the best means of preparation; they should receive the highest +rewards, both in money and public consideration, and they should be +induced to labor, without change or interruption, in the same schools +and the same people. + + + + +THE RELATIVE MERITS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENDOWED ACADEMIES. + +[Remarks before the American Institute of Instruction, at Manchester, N. +H.] + + +Indebted to my friend on the other side, and to you, sir, and this +audience, for inviting me to take a position on this floor, I am still +without any special preparation to discuss the subject. I have thought +upon it, because any one, however humbly connected with free schools in +this country, must have done so. And especially just now, when, in the +educational journal of Massachusetts, a discussion has been conducted +between one of its editors and Mr. Gulliver, the able originator of a +school in Norwich, Ct., and the advocate of the system of school +government established there. And, therefore, every one who has had his +eyes open must have seen that here is a great contest, and that +underlying it is a principle which is important to society. + +The distinguishing difference between the advocates of endowed schools +and of free schools is this: those who advocate the system of endowed +academies go back in their arguments to one foundation, which is, that +in education of the higher grades the great mass of the people are not +to be trusted. And those who advocate a system of free education in high +schools put the matter where we have put the rights of property and +liberty, where we put the institutions of law and religion--upon the +public judgment. And we will stand there. If the public will not +maintain institutions of learning, then, I say, let institutions of +learning go down. If I belong to a state which cannot be moved from its +extremities to its centre, and from its centre to its extremities, for +the maintenance of a system of public instruction, then, in that +respect, I disown that state; and if there be one state in this Union +whose people cannot be aroused to maintain a system of public +instruction, then they are false to the great leading idea of American +principles, and of civil, political, and religious liberty. + +It is easy to enumerate the advantages of a system of public education, +and the evils--I say evils--of endowed academies, whether free or +charging payment for tuition. Endowed academies are not, in all +respects, under all circumstances, and everywhere, to be condemned. In +discussing this subject, it may be well for me to state the view that I +have of the proper position of endowed academies. They have a place in +the educational wants of this age. This is especially true of academies +of the highest rank, which furnish an elevated and extended course of +instruction. To such I make no objection, but I would honor and +encourage them. Yet I regard private schools, which do the work usually +done in public schools, as temporary, their necessity as ephemeral, and +I think that under a proper public sentiment they will soon pass away. +They cannot stand,--such has been the experience in Massachusetts,--they +cannot stand by the side of a good system of public education. Yet where +the population is sparse, where there is not property sufficient to +enable the people to establish a high school, then an endowed school may +properly come in to make up the deficiency, to supply the means of +education to which the public wealth, at the present moment, is unequal. +Endowed institutions very properly, also, give a professional education +to the people. At this moment we cannot look to the public to give that +education which is purely professional. But what we do look to the +public for is this: to furnish the means of education to the children of +the whole people, without any reference to social, pecuniary, political, +or religious distinctions, so that every person may have a preliminary +education sufficient for the ordinary business of life. + +It is said that the means of education are better in an endowed +academy, or in an endowed free school, than they can be in a public +school. What is meant by _means_ of education? I understand that, first +and chiefly, as extraneous means of education, we must look to a correct +public sentiment, which shall animate and influence the teacher, which +shall give direction to the school, which shall furnish the necessary +public funds. An endowed free academy can have none of these things +permanently. Take, for example, the free school established at Norwich +by the liberality of thirty or forty gentlemen, who contributed ninety +thousand dollars. What security is there that fifty years hence, when +the educational wants of the people shall be changed, when the +population of Norwich shall be double or treble what it is now, when +science shall make greater demands, when these forty contributors shall +have passed away, this institution will answer the wants of that +generation? According to what we know of the history of this country, it +will be entirely inadequate; and, though none of us may live to see the +prediction fulfilled or falsified, I do not hesitate to say that the +school will ultimately prove a failure, because it is founded in a +mistake. + +Then look and see what would have been the state of things if there had +been public spirit invoked to establish a public high school, and if the +means for its support had been raised by taxation of all the people, so +that the system of education would have expanded according to the growth +of the city, and year by year would have accommodated itself to the +public wants and public zeal in the cause. Though these means seem now +to be ample, they will by and by be found too limited. The school at +Norwich is encumbered with regulations; and so every endowed institution +is likely to be, because the right of a man to appropriate his property +to a particular object carries with it, in the principles of common law, +and in the administration of the law, in all free governments, the right +to declare, to a certain extent, how that property shall be applied. +Rules have been established--very proper and judicious rules for to-day. +But who knows that a hundred years hence they will be proper or +acceptable at all? They have also established a board of trustees, +ultimately to be reduced to twenty-five. These trustees have power to +perpetuate themselves. Who does not see that you have severed this +institution from the public sentiment of the city of Norwich, and that +ultimately that city will seek for itself what it needs; and that, a +hundred years hence, it will not consent to live, in the civilization of +that time, under the regulations which forty men have now established, +however wise the regulations may at the present moment be? + +One hundred and fifty years ago, Thomas Hollis, of London, made a +bequest to the university at Cambridge, with a provision that on every +Thursday a professor should sit in his chair to answer questions in +polemic theology. All well enough then; but the public sentiment of +to-day will not carry it out. + +So it may be with the school at Norwich a hundred years hence. The man +or state that sacrifices the living public judgment to the opinion of a +dead man, or a dead generation, makes a great mistake. We should never +substitute, beyond the power of revisal, the opinion of a past +generation for the opinion of a living generation. I trust to the living +men of to-day as to what is necessary to meet our existing wants, rather +than to the wisest men who lived in Greece or Rome. And, if I would not +trust the wise men of Greece and Rome, I do not know why the people, a +hundred years hence, should trust the wise men of our own time. + +And then look further, and see how, under a system of public +instruction, you can build up, from year to year, in the growth of the +child, a system according to his wants. Private instruction cannot do +this. What do we do where we have a correct system? A child goes into a +primary school. He is not to go out when he attains a certain age. He +might as well go out when he is of a certain height; there would be as +much merit in one case as in the other. But he is advanced when he has +made adequate attainments. Who does not see that the child is incited +and encouraged and stimulated by every sentiment to which you should +appeal? And, then, when he has gone up to the grammar school, we say to +him, "You are to go into the high school when you have made certain +attainments." And who is to judge of these attainments? A committee +appointed by the people, over whom the people have some ultimate +control. And in that control they have security for two things: first, +that the committee shall not be suspected of partiality; and secondly, +that they shall not be actually guilty of partiality. In the same +manner, there is security for the proper connection between the high +school and the schools below. But in the school at Norwich--of which I +speak because it is now prominent--you have a board of twenty-five men, +irresponsible to the people. They select a committee of nine; that +committee determines what candidates shall be transferred from the +grammar schools to the high school. May there not be suspicion of +partiality? If a boy or girl is rejected, you look for some social, +political, or religious influence which has caused the rejection, and +the parent and child complain. Here is a great evil; for the real and +apparent justice of the examination and decision by which pupils are +transferred from one school to another is vital to the success of the +system. + +There is another advantage in the system of public high schools, which I +imagine the people do not always at first appreciate. It is, that the +private school, with the same teachers, the same apparatus, and the same +means, cannot give the education which may be, and usually is, furnished +in the public schools. This statement may seem to require some +considerable support. We must look at facts as they are. Some people are +poor; I am sorry for them. Some people are rich, and I congratulate them +upon their good fortune. But it is not so much of a benefit, after all, +as many think. It is worth something in this world, no doubt, to be +rich; but what is the result of that condition upon the family first, +the school afterwards, and society finally? It is, that some learn the +lesson of life a little earlier than others; and that lesson is the +lesson of self-reliance, which is worth more than--I will not say a +knowledge of the English language--but worth more than Latin or Greek. +If the great lesson of self-reliance is to be learned, who is more +likely to acquire it early,--the child of the poor, or the child of the +rich; the child who has most done for him, or the child who is under the +necessity of doing most for himself? Plainly, the latter. Now, while a +system of public instruction in itself cannot be magnified in its +beneficial influences to the poor and to the children of the poor, it is +equally beneficial to the rich in the facility it affords for the +instruction of their children. Is it not worth something to the rich +man, who cannot, from the circumstances of the case, teach self-reliance +around the family hearth, to send his child to school to learn this +lesson with other children, that he may be stimulated, that he may be +provoked to exertions which he would not otherwise have made? For, be it +remembered that in our schools public sentiment is as well marked as in +a college, or a town, or a nation; that it moves forward in the same +way. And the great object of a teacher should be to create a public +sentiment in favor of virtue. There should be some pioneers in favor of +forming a correct public sentiment; and when it is formed it moves on +irresistibly. It is like the river made up of drops from the mountain +side, moving on with more and more power, until everything in its waters +is carried to the destined end. + +So in a public school. And it is worth much to the man of wealth that +there may be, near his own door, an institution to which he may send his +children, and under the influence of which they may be carried forward. +For, depend upon it, after all we say about schools and institutions of +learning, it is nevertheless true of education, as a statesman has said +of the government, that the people look to the school for too much. It +is not, after all, a great deal that the child gets there; but, if he +only gets the ability to acquire more than he has, the schools +accomplish something. If you give a child a little knowledge of +geography or arithmetic, and have not developed the power to accomplish +something for himself, he comes to but little in the world. But put him +into the school,--the primary, grammar, and high school, where he must +learn for himself,--and he will be fitted for the world of life into +which he is to enter. + +You will see in this statement that, with the same parties, the same +means of education, the same teachers, the public schools will +accomplish more than private schools. + +I find everywhere, and especially in the able address of Mr. Gulliver, +to which I have referred, that the public schools are treated as of +questionable morality, and it is implied that something would be gained +by removing certain children from the influence of these schools. If I +were speaking from another point of view, very likely I should feel +bound to hold up the evils and defects which actually exist in public +schools; but when I consider them in contrast with endowed and private +schools, I do not hesitate to say that the public schools compare +favorably; and, as the work of education goes on, the comparison will be +more and more to their advantage. Why? I know something of the private +institutions in Massachusetts; and there are boys in them who have left +the public schools because they have fallen in their classes, and the +public interest would not justify their continuance in the schools. It +was always true that private schools did not represent the world exactly +as it was. It is worth everything to a boy or girl, man or woman, to +look the world in the face as it is. + +Therefore, the public school, when it represents the world as it is, +represents the facts of life. The private school never has done and +never will do this; and as time goes on, it will be less and less a true +representative of the world. From this point of view, it seems to be a +mistake on the part of parents to exclude their children from the world. +Is it not better that the child should learn something of society, even +of its evils, when under your influence, and when you can control him by +your counsel and example, than to permit him finally to go out, as you +must when his majority comes, perhaps to be seduced in a moment, as it +were, from his allegiance to virtue? Virtue is not exclusion from the +presence of vice; but it is resistance to vice in its presence. And it +is the duty of parents to provide safeguards for the support of their +children against these temptations. When Cicero was called on to defend +Muræna against the slander that, as he had lived in Asia, he had been +guilty of certain crimes, and when the testimony failed to substantiate +the charge, the orator said, "And if Asia does carry with it a suspicion +of luxury, surely it is a praiseworthy thing, not never to have seen +Asia, but to have lived temperately in Asia." And we have yet higher +authority. It is not the glory of Christ, or of Christianity, that its +Divine Author was without temptation, but that, being tempted, he was +without sin. This is the great lesson of the day. + +The duty of the public is to provide means for the education of all. To +do that, we need the political, social, and moral power of all, to +sustain teachers and institutions of learning; and, endowed or free +schools, depending upon the contributions of individuals, can never, in +a free country, be raised to the character of a system. If you rob the +public schools of the influence of our public-spirited men, if they take +away a portion of their pupils from them, our system is impaired. It +must stand as a whole, educating the entire people, and looking to all +for support, or it cannot be permanently maintained. + + + + +THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM. + +[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the Powers Institute, +Bernardston.] + + +There cannot be a more gratifying spectacle than the universal homage +offered to education and to the young. Childhood is attractive in +itself; and it is peculiarly an object of solicitude for its promises +concerning the future. Hence the labors of philanthropists, reformers, +and Christians, as well as of teachers, are devoted to the culture and +improvement of the rising generation, as the chief security possible for +the prevalence of better ideas in the state and in the world. + +Massachusetts has been peculiarly favored in the means of education; and +we ought ever to recognize the divine influence in the wisdom which led +our fathers to lay the foundations of a system that contemplated the +education of the whole people. The power of this great idea, universal +education, has not been limited to Massachusetts; the states of the +West, the states of the South, receive it as the basis of a wise public +policy; and had our ancestors contributed nothing else to the glory of +the republic, they would yet be entitled to the distinguished +consideration of every age and people. The vigor of our culture and the +hardihood of our institutions are more manifest out of Massachusetts +than in it. The immigrant in his new home in the great valley of +prairies, on the northern shores of the American lakes, in Oregon, +California, or the islands of the Pacific, invokes the spirit of New +England in the establishment of a free church and a free school. And in +the spirit and discipline of New England, the thoughts of her sons are +turned homeward in adversity, seeking consolation at the sources of +early, vigorous, and happy life; or, in prosperity, that they may offer, +in gratitude to man and to God, some tribute, always noble, however +humble, to the principles and institutions that first formed their +characters, and then controlled their destiny; or, in old age, the +wanderer, like Jacob in Egypt, with his blessing upon the tribes and +families of men, says, "I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with +my fathers." This occasion and its honors are due to the memory of him +whose name this institution bears; and his last will and testament is an +illustration, or rather the cause, of these prefatory remarks. As the +reasonably extended and eminently prosperous life of your wise +benefactor approached its close, he, in the principles of Old England +and of New England, ordered and directed the payment of all his just +debts; and then, secondly, expressed the wish, "if practicable, to be +buried by the side of his parents in the cemetery at Bernardston." First +justice, and then affection for parents, kindred, and home, animated the +vital, never-dying soul, as the life of the body ebbed and flowed, and +flowed and ebbed, to flow no more. For every good the ancients imagined +and named a divinity; and there is in every good something divine. + +We do not deify the living nor the dead; yet such foundations and +institutions as the Lawrence Scientific School, the Peabody Institute, +the Powers Institute, will bear to a grateful posterity a knowledge of +the virtues of their respective founders, and of the exactness, +rectitude, and wisdom, of the public sentiment which religiously +consecrates the means provided to the ends proposed. + +But just eulogy of the dead is the appropriate duty of those who were +the associates and friends of the founder of this school.--It will be my +purpose, in the humble part I take in the services of this honored +occasion, to point out, as I may be able, the connection between +learning and wisdom, and then, by the aid of some general remarks upon +education, to examine the fitness of this foundation, and the rules +here established, to promote human progress and virtue. + +The actual available power of a state is in its adult population; but +its hope is in the classes of children and youth whose plastic minds +yield to good influences, and are moulded to higher forms of beauty than +have been conceived by Italian or Grecian art. Excellence is always +adorable and to be adored. If it appear in beauty of person, it commands +our admiration; and how much more ought wisdom, which is the beauty of +the mind and the excellency of the soul, to be cultivated and cherished +by every human being! "For what is there, O, ye gods!" says Cicero, +"more desirable than wisdom? What more excellent and lovely in itself? +What more useful and becoming for a man? Or what more worthy of his +reasonable nature?" + +But wisdom cannot be acquired in a day, nor without devotion and toil. +It is the achievement of a life. It is to be pursued carefully through +schools, colleges, and the world,--to be mastered by study, intense +thought, rigid mental discipline, and an extensive acquaintance with the +best authors of ancient and modern times. It is not the child of ease, +indolence, or luxury; and it is well that it is not, The best of human +possessions are cheapened their attainment is no longer difficult. The +wealth of California and Australia has made silver, as an article of +luxury, the rival of gold; and the pearl loses its beauty when the +mountain streams are as fertile as the depths of the sea. Wisdom +comprehends learning, but learning is often found where wisdom is +wanting. Wisdom is not accomplishment in study, or perfection in art, or +supremacy in poetry or eloquence. Learning is essential to wisdom, for +we cannot imagine a wise man who is not also a learned man; and the +extent and soundness of his learning may be a measure of his wisdom. +Wisdom must always have a basis of learning, but learning is not always +a basis of wisdom. Learning is a knowledge of particulars, of details; +wisdom is such a combination of these particulars as enables us to +harmonize our lives with the laws of nature and of God. + +Learning is manifested in what we know; wisdom in what we are, based +upon what we know. Philosophy, even, is love for wisdom rather than +wisdom itself. The old philosophers defined wisdom to be "the knowledge +of things, both divine and human, together with the causes on which they +depend;" and in the proverb of Solomon, "The fear of the Lord is the +instruction of wisdom." Purity, truth, and justice, are also of its +foundation. Wise men of the Jewish and Pagan world built on this +foundation, and the Christian can build on none other. Having combined +learning with these essential virtues, a liberal, symmetrical, +comprehensive character may be built up. In the formation of such a +character, industry, powers of observation, strength of will and +intellectual humility, are requisite. The virtue and the glory of +industry cannot be presented too often to the young. I know of no +worldly good or human excellence that can be attained without it; nor is +there any inherited possession of name, or wealth, or position, that can +be preserved in its extent and quality without active, systematic, +judicious labor. + +It is not necessary to consider industry as habitual diligence in a +pursuit, manual or intellectual; but rather as a judicious arrangement +of business and recreation, so as always to have time for the necessary +duties of life. Mere diligence is not industry in a good sense; it is +labor in a bad sense. Our time should be systematically appropriated to +our employments, and each measure of time should be equal to the work or +duty appointed for it. Moreover, each work or duty should be +accomplished in its appointed time; and this can be secured only by a +strong will. The power of will admits of education, culture, +improvement, as much as any faculty of the mind or quality of +character. A fickle, planless life cannot accomplish much. System in +our plans, and firmness of will in their execution, will place us beyond +the reach of ordinary disasters; yet how often do young men go through a +course of school studies without a plan, even for the moment, and enter +upon life the slaves of chance, the victims of what they call fortune, +while they might by industry, system and firmness of will, rise superior +to circumstances, and extort a measure of success not unworthy of a +noble ambition! + +Idleness is a wasting disease, a consuming fire, a destroying demon; in +youth it is a calamity, in the vigor of manhood it is a disgrace and a +sin, and in old age it can be honorably accepted only as the symbol of +reflective leisure earned by a life of industry and virtue. Industry is +a badge of honor, an introduction everywhere to the true nobility of the +world, the security that each may take of the future for his own +happiness and prosperity in it. + +Cardinal, personal virtues shrink and wither, or are blasted and die, in +the company of idleness; and, without firmness of will, the noblest +principles and purest sentiments sometimes wear the livery of vice, and +often they give encouragement to it. Good principles, good purposes, +good ideas, are made fruitful by a strong resolution; while without it +they are like bubbles of water, brilliant in the sun-light, but destined +to collapse by the changing, silent force of the medium in which they +float. And can any life, not positively vicious and criminal, be less +desirable than that of the young man who quietly accepts whatever +condition circumstances assign to him? I speak now of his moral and +intellectual condition rather than of his social position among men. The +latter is not in itself important, and only becomes so through the +exhibition of high qualities of mind and character. Social and political +consideration we cannot demand as a right; but we may acquire knowledge, +develop qualities of character, give evidences of wisdom that entitle us +to the respect of our fellows. + +It may be agreeable, but it is not absolutely essential, for us to enjoy +the public confidence, or even the public consideration; though we can +be happy ourselves only when we are conscious of not being totally +unworthy. But no social or political concession or consideration is +acceptable to a noble mind, that is grudgingly yielded or doubtingly +bestowed; and the lustre of great intellects is dimmed when they become +subservient to claims that they despise. + +But can we acquire a knowledge of things, either divine or human, unless +we cultivate our powers of observation? Partial or inaccurate +observation, especially of natural things, is a great defect of +character; and in New England, where the aim of educators and of the +public in matters of education is elevated, a remedy for this defect +ought at once to be sought and applied. Our ideas are vague concerning +many subjects of common sight and common observation. Is adult life, +even among the educated classes, equal to a description of the common +animals, trees, fruits and flowers? Who will paint with words the elm or +the oak so that its species will be known while the name is withheld? +The introduction of drawing into the schools will improve the power of +observation among the people, especially if the pupils are required to +make nature their model. And this should always be done. O, how is +education belittled and the mind dwarfed by those teachers who keep +their pupils' thoughts upon signs and definitions, when they ought to +deal continually with the facts, things and life of the world! It is no +fable that a student of the higher mathematics, when his master, a +practical engineer upon the Boston water-works, required his services, +exclaimed, "I had no idea that you had sines and tangents out of doors." +With such, + + + "Nothing goes for sense or light + That will not with old rules jump right; + As if rules were not in the schools + Derived from truth, but truth from rules." + + +And Butler, in his satirical description of Sir Hudibras, ascribes to +his hero more practical philosophy than he appears to have intended, and +more, certainly, than is found in some modern systems of education: + + + "In mathematics he was greater + Than Tycho Brahe or Erra Pater; + For he, by geometric scale, + Could take the size of pots of ale; + Resolve by sines and tangents straight, + If bread or butter wanted weight; + And wisely tell what hour o' th' day + The clock does strike, by algebra." + + +Another prerequisite of wisdom is intellectual humility, Solomon, says, +"Before honor is humility;" and humility is before wisdom, and even +before learning. We ought not to be ashamed of involuntary ignorance. +Franklin, when asked how he came to know so much, replied, "By never +being ashamed to ask a question." + +It is idle for any one to imagine that there is nothing more for him to +learn. Indeed, such a theory is good evidence of defective education and +limited attainments, if not of a defective mental and moral structure. + +Naturalists delight and instruct their pupils and auditors with the +wonderful truths folded in the flower, garnered in the plant, or +imprisoned in the rock. Yet how much more there must be of God's wisdom +in the humblest of the beings created in his image! There are +distinctions among men; and out of these distinctions come the truth and +the necessity that each may be both a teacher and a pupil of every +other. No man, however learned he may be, does know or can know all that +is known by his neighbor, though that neighbor be the humblest of +shepherds or of fishermen. We are not independent of each other in +anything. The earnest and faithful disciple of wisdom goes through life +everywhere diffusing knowledge, and everywhere gathering it up. Over the +great gateway of life is the inscription, "None but learners enter +here;" and along its paths and in its groves are tablets, on which is +written, "None but learners sojourn here." He is a poor teacher who is +not a learner, and he is but little of a learner who is not something of +a teacher also. The best teachers are they who are pupils, and the best +pupils are already teachers. Such was the real and avowed character of +the great teachers of antiquity; such is the best practice of modern +continental Europe, and such is the requirement of nature in all ages. +He who does not learn cannot teach. Socrates professed to know only +this, that he knew nothing. Plato was a disciple of Socrates and +Euclid; a pupil in the school of Pythagoras; and, as a traveller, under +the disguise of a merchant and a seller of oil, he visited Egypt, and +thus gained a knowledge of astronomy, and added something to his +learning in other departments. He numbered among his pupils Isocrates, +Lycurgus, Aristotle, and Demosthenes; and for eight years Alexander the +Great was the pupil of Aristotle, while Demosthenes + + + "Wielded at will that fierce Democratie, + Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece + To Macedon, and Artaxerxes' throne." + + +Thus we trace Demosthenes and Alexander, the master spirits in the +struggle of Grecian independence against Macedonian supremacy, through +teachers and culture up to Socrates, the wanderer in the streets, and +the disturber of the peace of Athens. + +It is stated that a distinguished modern philosopher often says, "I +don't know," when the curiosity or science of his pupils suggests +questions that he has not considered. If we respect and admire the +wisdom of the wise, how ought we to be humbled, intellectually, by the +reflection that the unknown far exceeds the known, and that all become +as little children when they enter the temple of the sages! The +ancients prized schools, teachers, and learning, because they were +essential to wisdom; and wisdom enabled them to live temperately, +justly, and happily, in the present world; while we prize schools, +teachers, and learning, because they contribute to what we call success +in life. The population of New England, is composed of skilful artisans, +intelligent merchants, shrewd or eloquent lawyers, industrious and +intelligent farmers; and to these results our system of education is too +exclusively subservient. These results are not to be condemned, nor are +the processes by which they are secured to be neglected. But our schools +ought to do something always and for every one, for the full development +of a character that is essential to artisans, merchants, lawyers, or +farmers. Learning should not be prized merely as an aid to the daily +work of life,--though this it properly is and ever ought to be,--but for +its expansive power in the mind and soul, by which we attain to a more +perfect knowledge of things human and divine. There are many persons who +accomplish satisfactorily the tasks assigned them, but who do not always +comprehend the processes of life, in its political, social, literary, +scientific and industrial relations, by which the affairs of the world +are guided. + +Something of this is due, speaking of America, and especially of New +England, to the universal desire to be engaged in active business. Young +men destined for the farm or the shop, the counting-house or the store, +leave home and school so early that their apprenticeship is ended long +before their majority commences; and they are thus prepared to enter +early and vigorously upon the business of life. This course has its +advantages, and it is also attended by many evils. Our youth have but +little opportunity for observation, and a great deal of time for +experience. They fall into mistakes that should have been observed, and +consequently shunned. Moreover, this custom tends to make business men +too exclusively and rigidly technical and professional; that is, in +plain language, speaking relatively, they know too much of their own +vocation, and too little of everything else. Business life follows so +closely upon home life and school life, that the lessons of the latter +fail to exert an immediate and controlling influence, and it is often +only in maturer years that the fruits of early training are seen. The +connection is such that the boy or youth becomes a devotee of business +before he is developed into complete manhood. This is movement, but not +true progress; activity, but not culture; appropriation and +accumulation, but not natural development. This peculiarity is less +prominent in England, and it is hardly known in the central states of +Europe. It is to some extent a national, and especially is it a New +England characteristic. It is a manifestation of the forward moving +spirit of our people, and it is also at once a promise and the security +for the ultimate supremacy of the American race and nation in the +affairs of the world. In Athens young men attained their majority when +they were sixteen; but they usually prosecuted their studies afterwards, +and Aristotle thought them unfit for marriage until they were +thirty-seven years of age. This rule was observed by Aristotle in his +own case; but we are unable to say whether the rule was made before or +after his marriage, which is a fact of much importance when we consider +the wisdom of the precept, and the real principles and philosophy of its +famous author. Moreover, regardless of one-half of creation, he has +neither stated the age at which females are marriageable, nor given us +that of his own wife. This neglect justly detracts from his authority; +and it will not be strange if young men and women view with distrust an +opinion that is so manifestly partial and one-sided. If schools make +merely learned people, in a narrow and technical sense, they are not +doing their whole work. Such learning makes an efficient population, +which is certainly desirable; but it ought also to be a well-educated +population in a broad, comprehensive, philosophic sense. By the force of +nature and the developing influences of society, including the church, +the school, and the home, we ought first to be educated men and women, +and then apply that education to the particular work we have in hand. By +learning, in this connection, I do not mean the learning of Agassiz as a +naturalist, the learning of Choate as a lawyer, or the learning of +Everett as an orator; but a more general and less minute culture, by +which men are prepared to form an accurate judgment upon subjects that +usually attract public attention. + +In the gardens of the wealthy, we often see peach-trees and pear-trees +trained against brick or stone walls, to which they are attached by +substantial thongs. These trees are carefully and systematically +trained, and they are trained so as to accomplish certain results. They +present a large surface, in proportion to the whole, to the sun and air; +in addition to the direct rays of the sun, they receive the reflected +and accumulated heat of the walls to which they are fastened; and they +furnish ripe fruit much in advance of trees in the gardens and fields of +the common farmers. Here art and nature, in brick walls, manure, the +germinating power of the peach or pear, and rigid training and pruning, +have produced very good machines for the manufacture of fruit; but for +the full-grown, symmetrically developed tree, or even for the choicest +fruit in its season, we must look elsewhere. And who does not perceive, +if all the trees of the gardens, fields, and forests, were treated in +the same way, that the world would be deprived of a part of its beauty +and glory, and that many species of trees would soon become extinct? Who +would not give back the luscious pear and peach to their native +acritude, rather than subject the highest forms of vegetable life to +such irreverence? And, upon reflection, we shall say that such cruelty +to inanimate life can be justified only as we justify the naturalist who +dexterously and suddenly extracts a vital organ from a reptile, that he +may observe the effect upon that form of animal existence. + +But the tree is not to be left in its native state. By culture its +growth is so aided, that it is first and always a tree after its own +kind, whether it be peach, pear, apple, elm, or oak; at once ornamental +and graceful, stately or majestic, according to the germinating +principle which diffuses itself through each individual creation. "For +the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the +ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So in the human heart, mind, +and soul, nature bringeth forth fruit of herself; and it is the work of +schools and teachers to aid nature in developing a full and attractive +character, that shall yield fruit while all its powers are enlarged and +strengthened, as the almond in the peach is not only more luscious in +its fruit, but more graceful in its branches. Culture, in a broad sense, +is the aid rendered to each individual creation in its work of +self-improvement. It is not a noble and generous culture which dwarfs +the tree that early ripened or peculiarly flavored fruit may be +obtained; and it is not a noble and generous culture of the child which +forces into unnatural activity certain faculties or powers that surprise +us by their precocity, or excite wonder by the skill exhibited in their +use. Rather let the child grow, expand, mature, according to the law of +its own being, giving it only encouragement and example, which are the +light and air of mental and moral life. I am not conscious that any one +has given us a philosophical, logical system of development, that +relates to the physical, intellectual, and moral character; and to-day I +state the educational want in this particular, but I do not attempt to +supply it. Yet in nature such a system there must be, and only powers of +observation are needed that we may avail ourselves of it. And in stating +this want more particularly, I offer, as my first suggestion, the +opinion, common among educators, that, speaking generally and with +reference to a system, we have no physical training whatever. + +In the days of our ancestors, one hundred or two hundred years ago, this +training, as a part of a system of education, was not needed. We had no +cities, and but few large towns. Agriculture and the ruder forms of +mechanical labor were the chief occupations of the people. Populous +cities, narrow streets, dark lanes, cellar habitations, crowded +workshops, over-filled and over-heated factories, and the number of +sedentary pursuits that tax and wear and destroy the physical powers, +and undermine the moral and mental, were unknown. These are the +attendants of our civilization, and they have brought a melancholy train +of evils with them. In the seventeenth century, men perished from +exposure, from ignorance of the laws of health, from the prevalence of +malignant diseases that defied the science of the times; and, as a +consequence, the average length of human life was not greater than it +now is. At present, there is but little exposure that is followed by +fatal results; malignant diseases are deprived of many of their terrors; +rules of living, founded upon scientific principles, are accessible to +all; and yet we daily meet young men and women who are manifestly +unequal to the lot that is before them. In some cases, the sin of the +parent is visited upon the children, and the measure of life meted out +to them is limited and insufficient. In other cases, the individuals, +first yielding in their own persons, are the victims of positive vice, +or of some of the evils stated. Civilization is not an unmixed good; and +we cannot offer to the city or the factory any adequate compensation for +the loss of pure water, pure air, and the healthful exercise of body, +which may be enjoyed in the country villages and agricultural districts +of the state. + +Yet even in cities and large towns the culture of home and school should +diminish these evils; and it is a pleasure to believe that our system of +domestic and public education is doing something at the present moment +in behalf of the too much neglected body; but nowhere, either in city or +country, do we observe the evidences of juvenile health and strength +that a friend of the race would desire to see. And it is, I fear, +specially true of schools, and to some extent it is true of teachers, as +a class, that too little attention is given to those exercises and +habits which secure good health. There are many causes which tend to +lower the average health and strength of our people. 1st. The practice +of sending children to school at the tender age of five, four, or even +three years. Every school necessarily imposes some restraint upon the +pupils; and I assume that no child under five years of age should be +subject to such restraints. But the education of the child is not, +therefore, to be neglected. Parents, brothers and sisters, may all do +something for the young inquirer; but he should never have lessons +imposed, nor be subject to the rules of a school of any description. The +moment of his admission must be determined by circumstances, and the +force of the circumstances must be judged of by parents. If a child is +blessed with kind, considerate, intelligent parents, the first eight +years of his life can be spent nowhere else as profitably as at home. +The true mother is the model teacher. No other person can ever acquire +the control over her off-spring that is her own rightful possession. +When she neglects the trust confided to her, she is guilty of a serious +wrong; and when she transfers it to another, she takes upon herself a +greater responsibility than she yields up. The instinctive judgment of +the world cannot be an erroneous judgment. The mother has always, to a +great extent, been made responsible for the child; and the honor of his +virtues or the disgrace of his crimes has been traced through him to +her. + +2dly. Some portion of every school-day should be systematically and +strictly devoted to recreation, physical exercise and manual labor; and +the hours given to study ought to be defined and limited. Some persons +say, "Let a child study as much as he will, there is time enough to +play." This may be generally true, but it is not universally so. I +cannot but think that the practice of assigning lessons and giving the +pupil the free use of the four-and-twenty hours is a bad practice. Would +it not be better to give to each pupil certain hours for study?--assign +him lessons, by topics if possible, allow him to do what he can in the +allotted time, and then prohibit the appropriation of an additional +minute? Why should a dull scholar, or one who has but little taste or +talent for a given study, be required to plod twelve, sixteen, or +eighteen hours at unwelcome tasks, while another more favored disposes +of his work in six? Why should a pupil, who is laboring under some +mental or physical debility, be required to apply his mind unceasingly +when he most needs rest and recreation? Why should the pages of a +spelling-book, grammar, geography, or arithmetic, be the measure of each +pupil's capacity? Lessons are to be assigned, not necessarily to be +mastered by the pupil, though they should have just reference to his +capacity, but as the subject of his studies for a given period of time. +The pupil should be responsible for nothing but the proper use of that +time. Two advantages might result from this practice. First, the pupil +would acquire the habit of performing the greatest amount of labor +possible in the given time; and, secondly, he would naturally throw off +all care for books and school when the hour for relaxation arrived. If +particular studies are assigned to specified hours, the pupil must +master his thoughts, and give them the required direction. This in +itself is a great achievement. I put it, in practical value, before any +of the studies that are taught and learned in the schools. The danger to +which pupils are often exposed, in this connection, is quite apparent. A +lesson is assigned for a succeeding day. The attention is not +immediately fixed upon it. One hour passes, and then another. Nothing is +accomplished, yet the pupil is continually oppressed by the +consciousness of duty unperformed, and the result is, that he neither +does what he ought to do, nor does anything else. Would it not be better +to measure and assign his time, and then require him to abandon all +thought of the matter? This practice might give our people the faculty +and the habit of throwing off cares and occupations, when they leave the +scenes of them. It is a just criticism upon American character, that our +business men carry their occupations with them wherever they go. I +should put high up among the elements of worldly success the ability to +give assiduously, studiously and devotedly, the necessary time to a +subject of business, and then to throw off all thought of it. There can +be no peace of mind for the business man who does not possess this +quality; and I think it will contribute essentially to a long life and a +quiet old age. No wise man ever attempts more than one thing at a time; +and the man who attempts to do more than one thing at a time has no +security that he can do anything well. The statements of biography and +history, that Napoleon was accustomed to do several things at once, rest +upon a misconception of the operations of the human mind. His facility +for the direction and transaction of business depended upon the quality +I am now considering. He had the faculty of giving his attention, +undivided and strongly fixed, to a subject for an hour, half-hour, +minute, half-minute, or second, and then of dismissing the matter +altogether, and directing his thoughts, without loss of time, to +whatever next might be presented. One thing at a time is a law which no +finite power can violate; and ability in execution depends upon the +ability to concentrate all the powers of the mind, at a given moment, +upon the assigned topic, and then to change, without friction or loss of +time, to something else. + +The institution is a high school, and the question is now agitated, +especially in the State of Connecticut, "How can the advantages of a +high school education be best secured?" This question I propose to +consider. And, first, the high school must be a public school. A _public +school_ I understand to be a school established by the +public,--supported chiefly or entirely by the public, controlled by the +public, and accessible to the public upon terms of equality without +special charge for tuition. + +Private schools may be established and controlled by an individual, or +by an association of individuals, who have no corporate rights under the +government, but receive pupils upon terms agreed upon, subject to the +ordinary laws of the land. + +Private schools may be founded also by one or more persons, and by them +endowed with funds, for their partial or entire support. In such cases, +the founder, through the money given, has the right to prescribe the +rules by which the school shall be controlled, and also to provide for +the appointment of its managers or trustees through all time. In such +cases, corporate powers are usually granted by the government for the +management of the business. But the chief rights of such an institution +are derived from the founder, and the facilities for their easy exercise +and quiet enjoyment are derived from the state. + +Such schools are sometimes, upon a superficial view, supposed to be +public, because they receive pupils upon terms of equality, and no rule +of exclusion exists which does not apply to all. And especially has it +been assumed that a free school thus founded, as the Norwich Free +Academy, which makes no charges for tuition, and is open to all the +inhabitants of the city, is therefore a public school. These +institutions are public in their use, but not in their foundation or +control, and are therefore not public schools. The character of a +school, as of any eleemosynary institution, is derived from the will of +the founder; and when the beneficial founder is an individual, or a +number of individuals less than the whole political organization of +which the individuals are a part, the institution is private, whatever +the rules for its enjoyment may be. To say that a school is a public +school because it receives pupils free of charge for tuition, or because +it receives them upon conditions that are applied alike to all, is to +deny that there are any private schools, for all come within the +definition thus laid down. + +Nor is there any good reasoning in the statement that a school is public +because it receives pupils from a large extent of country. Dartmouth +College is a private school, though its pupils come from all the land or +all the world; while the Boston Latin School is a public school; though +it receives those pupils only whose homes are within the limits of the +city. The first is a private school, because it was founded by President +Wheelock, and has been controlled by him and his successors, holding and +governing and enjoying through him, from the first until now; while the +Boston Latin School is a public school, because it was established by +the city of Boston, through the votes of its inhabitants, under the laws +of the state, and is at all times subject, in its government and +existence, to the popular will which created it. When we speak of the +public we do not necessarily mean the world, nor the nation, nor even +the state; but the word _public_, in a legal sense, may stand for any +legal political organization, territorially defined, and intrusted in +any degree with the administration of its own affairs. And the public +character of a particular school, as the Boston Latin School, for +example, may be determined, by a process of reasoning quite independent +of that already presented. The State of Massachusetts, a complete +sovereignty in itself, has provided by her constitution and laws, which +are the expressed judgment of her people, for the establishment of a +system of public schools, through the agency and action of the +respective cities and towns of the commonwealth. These towns and cities, +under the laws, set up the schools; and of course each school partakes +of the public character which the action of the state, followed by the +corporate public action of the city or town, has given to it. Thus it is +seen that our public schools answer to the requirement already stated. +They are established by the public, supported chiefly or entirely by the +public, controlled by the public, and accessible to the public upon +terms of equality, without special charge for tuition. Nor is the public +character of a school changed by the fact that private citizens may have +contributed to its maintenance, if such contributors do not assume to +stand in the relation of founders. It is well understood that the +beneficial founder of a school is he who makes the first gift or bequest +to it, and the legal founder is the government which grants a charter, +or in any way confers upon it a corporate existence. If a town establish +a high school, as in Bernardston to-day, and accept a gift or bequest, +the character of the school is not changed thereby. Mr. Powers did not +attempt to establish a new school. He gave the income of ten thousand +dollars for the aid of schools then existing, and for the aid of a +school whose existence was already contemplated by the laws of the +state. No change has been wrought in your institutions; they are still +public,--your generous testator has only contributed to their support. +And, in considering yet further the question, "How can the advantages +of a high-school education be best secured?" I shall proceed to compare, +with what brevity I can command, the public high school with the free +high school or academy upon a private foundation. My reasoning is +general, and the argument does not apply to all the circumstances of +society. It is not everywhere possible to establish a public high +school. In some cases the population may not be sufficient, in others +there may not be adequate wealth, and in others there may not be an +elevated public sentiment equal to the emergency. In such circumstances, +those who desire education must obtain it in the best manner possible; +and academies, whether free or not, and private schools, whether endowed +or not, should be thankfully accepted and encouraged. Nor will high +schools meet all the wants of society. There must always be a place for +classical schools, scientific schools, professional schools, which, in +their respective courses of study, either anticipate or follow, in the +career of the student, his four years of college life. With these +conditions and limitations stated, the point I seek to establish is that +a public high school can do the work usually done in such institutions +more faithfully, thoroughly, and economically, than it can be done +anywhere else. + +1st. The supervision of the public school is more responsible, and +consequently more perfect. In private schools, academies and free high +schools which are endowed, there is a board of trustees, who perpetuate, +as a corporation, their own existence. Each member is elected for life, +and he is not only not responsible to the public, but he is not even +responsible, except in extraordinary cases, to his associates. +Responsibility is, in all governments, the security taken for fidelity. +The election of representatives, in the state or national legislature, +for life, would be esteemed a great and dangerous innovation. + +It maybe said that boards of trustees are usually better qualified to +manage a school than the committees elected by the respective cities and +towns. Judged as individuals, this is probably true; though upon this +point I prefer to admit a claim rather than to express an opinion. But +positively incompetent school committees are the exception in +Massachusetts; usually the people make the selection from their best +men. But in the public school you get the immediate, direct supervision +of the public. Not merely in the election of committees, but in a daily +interest and vigilance whose results are freely disclosed to the +superintending committee, as every inhabitant feels that his +contribution, as a tax-payer, gives him the right to judge the character +of the school, and makes it his duty to report its defects to those +charged with its management. The real defects of a school, especially of +a high school, will be first discovered by pupils; and they are likely +to report these defects to their parents. In the case of the endowed +private school, the parent feels that he buys whatever the trustees have +to sell, or takes as a gift whatever they have to offer free; and he +does not, logically nor as a matter of fact, infer from either of these +relations his right to participate in the government of the school. In +one case you have the observation, the judgment, the supervision, of the +whole community; in the other case you have the learning and judgment of +five, seven, ten, or twelve men. + +2dly. The faithfulness of the teacher is very much dependent upon the +supervision to which he is subject. This is only saying that the teacher +is human. In the public school there is no motive which can influence a +reasonable man that would lead him to swerve in the least from his +fidelity to the interest of the school as a whole. No partiality to a +particular individual, no desire to promulgate a special idea, can ever +stand in the place of that public support which is best secured by a +just performance of his duties. In the private school, with a +self-perpetuating board of trustees, the temptation is strong to make +the organization subservient to some opinion in politics, religion, or +social life. This may not always be done; but in many cases it has been +done, and there is no reason to expect different things in the future. I +concur, then, unreservedly in the judgment which has placed this +institution, in all its interests and in all its duties, under the +control of the inhabitants of Bernardston. When they who live in its +light and enjoy its benefits cease to respect it, when they to whom it +is specially dedicated cease to love and cherish it, it will no longer +be entitled to the favorable consideration of a more extended public +sentiment. As all trustworthy national patriotism must be built on love +for state, town, and home, so every school ought to esteem its power for +usefulness in its own neighborhood its chief means of good. + +It will naturally be inferred, from the remarks made upon the singleness +of purpose and fidelity of the public school to the cause of education, +that the instruction given in it is more thorough than is usually given +in the private school. But, in examining yet further the claim of the +public school to superior thoroughness, I must assume that it enjoys the +advantages of comfortable rooms, adequate apparatus and competent +teachers. And this assumption ought to be supported by the facts. There +is no good reason why any town in Massachusetts should be negligent or +parsimonious in these particulars. True economy requires liberal +appropriations. With these appropriations, the best teachers, even from +private schools and academies, can be secured, and all the aids and +encouragements to liberal culture can be provided. Is it possible that +any of the means of a common-school education are necessarily denied to +a million and a quarter of industrious people, who already possess an +aggregate capital of seven or eight hundred millions of dollars? But the +character of a high school must always depend materially upon the +previous training of the pupils, and the qualifications required for +admission. When the high school is a public school, the studies of the +primary and grammar or district schools are arranged with regard to the +system as a system. There is no inducement to admit a pupil for the sake +of the tuition fees, or for the purpose of adding to the number of +scholars. The applicant is judged by his merits as a scholar; and where +there is a wise public sentiment, the committee will be sustained in the +execution of just rules. + +In the public high school we avoid a difficulty that is almost universal +in academies and private schools--the presence of pupils whose +attainments are so various that by a proper classification they would be +assigned to two, if not to three grades, where the graded system +exists. The vigilance, industry and fidelity of teachers, cannot +overcome this evil. The instruction given is inevitably less systematic +and thorough. The character which the high school, whether public or +private, presents, is not its own character merely; it reflects the +qualities and peculiarities of the schools below. It follows, then, that +the attention of the public should be as much directed to the primary +and grammar or district schools as to the high school itself. Of course, +it ought not to be assumed that the existence of a high school will +warrant any abatement of appropriations for the lower grades; indeed, +the interest and resources of these schools ought continually to +increase. + +Nor can it be assumed that your contributions to the cause of education +will be diminished by the bequest of your generous testator. He did not +seek to lessen your burdens, but to add to the means of education among +you. + +There is also an inherent power of discipline in the public schools, +where they are graded and a system of examinations exists, that is not +found elsewhere. Neither the pupil nor the parent is viewed by the +teacher in the light of a patron; hence, he seeks only to so conduct his +school as to meet the public requirement. Moreover, as admission to a +high school can be secured by merit only, the results of the +preliminary training must have been such as to create a reasonable +presumption in favor of the applicant, mentally and morally. Hence, the +public schools are filled by youth who are there as the reward of +individual, personal merit. Practically, the motive by which the pupils +are animated has much to do with their success. If they are moved by a +love for learning, they attain the object of their desires even without +the aid of teachers; but where they are aided and encouraged by faithful +teachers, the school is soon under the control of a public sentiment +which secures the end in view. + +This public sentiment is not as easily built up in a private school; +for, in the nature of things, some pupils will find their way there who +are not true disciples of learning; and such persons are obstacles to +general progress, while they advance but little themselves. + +And, gentlemen trustees and citizens of Bernardston, may I not +personally and especially invite you to consider the importance of a +fixed standard of admission and a careful examination of candidates? +This course is essential to the improvement of your district and village +schools. It is essential to the true prosperity of this seminary, and it +is also essential to the intellectual advancement of the people within +your influence. You expect pupils from the neighboring towns. Your +object is not pecuniary profit, but the education of the people. If your +requirements are positive, though it may not be difficult to meet them +in the beginning, every town that depends upon this institution for +better learning than it can furnish at home will be compelled to +maintain schools of a high order. On the other hand, negligence in this +particular will not only degrade the school under your care here, but +the schools in this town and the cause of education in the vicinity will +be unfavorably affected. Nor let the objection that a rigid standard of +qualifications will exclude many pupils, and diminish the attendance +upon the school, have great weight; for you perform but half your duty +when you provide the means of a good education for your own students. +You are also, through the power inherent in this authority, to do +something to elevate the standard of learning in other schools, and in +the country around. What harm if this school be small, while by its +influence other schools are made better, and thus every boy and girl in +the vicinity has richer means of education than could otherwise have +been secured? Thus will tens, and hundreds, and thousands, of successive +generations, have cause to bless this school, though they may never have +sat under its teachers, or been within its walls. + +In a system of public schools, everything may be had at its prime cost. +There need be no waste of money, or of the time or power of teachers. As +the public system must everywhere exist, it is a matter of economy to +bring all the children under its influence. The private system never can +educate all; therefore the public system cannot be abandoned, unless we +consent to give up a part of the population to ignorance. It may, then, +be said that the private schools, essential in many cases, ought to give +way whenever the public schools are prepared to do the work; and when +the public schools are so prepared, the existence of private schools +adds their own cost to the necessary cost of popular education. + +But we are not to encourage parsimony in education; for parsimony in +this department is not true economy. It is true economy for the state +and for a town to set up and maintain good schools as cheaply as they +can be had, yet at any necessary cost, so only that they be good. +Massachusetts is prosperous and wealthy to-day, respected in evil report +as well as in good, because, faithful to principle and persistent in +courage, she has for more than two hundred years provided for the +education of her children; and now the re-flowing tide of her wealth +from seaboard and cities will bear on its wave to these quiet valleys +and pleasant hill-sides the lovers of agriculture, friends of art, +students of science, and such as worship rural scenes and indulge in +rural sports; but the favored and first-sought spots will be those where +learning has already chosen her seat, and offers to manhood and age the +culture and society which learning only can give, and to childhood and +youth, over and above the training of the best schools, healthful moral +influences, and elements of physical growth and vigor, which ever +distinguish life in the country and among the mountains from life in the +city or on the plain. And over a broader field and upon a larger sphere +shall the benignant influence of this system of public instruction be +felt. In the affairs of this great republic, the power of a state is not +to be measured by the number of its votes in Congress. Public opinion is +mightier than Congress; and they who wield or control that do, in +reality, bear rule. Power in the world, upon a large view, and in the +light of history, has not been confided to the majorities of men. +Greece, unimportant in extent of territory, a peninsula and archipelago +in the sea, led the way in the civilization of the west, and, through +her eloquence, poetry, history and art, became the model of modern +culture. Rome, a single city in Italy, that stretches itself into the +sea as though it would gaze upon three continents, subjugated to her +sway the savage and civilized world, and impressed her arms and +jurisprudence upon all succeeding times; then Venice, without a single +foot of solid land, guarded inviolate the treasure of her sovereignty +for thirteen hundred years against the armies of the East and the West; +while, in our own time, England, unimportant in the extent of her +insular territory, has been able, by the intelligence and enterprise of +her people, to make herself mistress of the seas, arbiter of the +fortunes of Europe, and the ruler of a hundred millions of people in +Asia. + +These things have happened in obedience to a law which knows no change. +Power in America is with those who can bring the greatest intellectual +and moral force to bear upon a given point. And Massachusetts, limited +in the extent of her territory, without salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or wealth of mines, will have influence, through her people at +home and her people abroad, proportionate to her fidelity to the cause +of universal public education. + + + + +NORMAL SCHOOL TRAINING. + +[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the State Normal School, at +Salem.] + + +The human race may be divided into two classes. One has no ideal of a +future different from the present; or, if it is not always satisfied +with this view, it has yet had no clear conception of a higher +existence. + +The other class is conscious of the power of progress, is making +continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its +judgment, the present ought to be. Both of these classes have +institutions; for institutions are not the product of civilization, as +they exist wherever our social nature is developed. Man is also a +dependent being, and he therefore seeks the company, counsel and support +of his fellows. From the right of numbers to act comes the necessity of +agreement, or at least so much concurrence in what is to be done as to +secure the object sought. The will of numbers can only be expressed +through agencies; and these, however simple, are indeed +institutions--the evidence of civilization, rather than its product. +They are always the sign, symbol, or language, by which the living man +expresses the purpose of his life. Therefore, institutions differ, as +the purposes of men vary. + +The savage and the man of culture do not seek the same end; hence they +will not employ the same means. + +The institutions of the savage are those of the family, clan, or tribe, +to which he belongs. There the child is instructed in the art of dress, +in manners and language, in the rude customs of agriculture, the chase, +and war. This with him is life, and the history of one generation is +often the history of many generations. Their ideal corresponds with +their actual life; and, as a necessary result, there is little or no +progress. + +But the other class establishes institutions which indicate the +existence of new relations, and exact the performance of new duties. As +man is a social being, he necessarily creates institutions of government +and education corresponding to the sphere in which he is to act. If a +nation desires to educate only a part of its people, its institutions +are naturally exclusive; but wherever the idea of universal education +has been received, the institutions of the country look to that end. + +When Massachusetts was settled there were no truly popular institutions +in the world, for there was really no belief in popular rights. And why +should those be encouraged to think who have no right to act? The +principle that every man is to take a part in the affairs of the +community or state to which he belongs seems to be the foundation of the +doctrine that every man should be educated to think for himself. Free +schools and general education are the natural results of the principles +of human equality, which distinguish the people and political systems of +America. + +The purposes of a people are changeable and changing, but institutions +are inflexible; therefore these latter often outlast the ideas in which +they originated, or the ideas may be acting in other bodies or forms. +Institutions are the visible forms of ideas, but they are useful only +while those ideas are living in the minds of men. If an institution is +suffered to remain after the idea has passed away, it embarrasses rather +than aids an advancing people. Such are monastic establishments in +Protestant countries; such is the Church of England, as an institution +of religion and government, to all classes of dissenters; such are many +seminaries of learning in Europe, and some in America. + +Massachusetts has had one living idea, from the first,--that general +intelligence is necessary to popular virtue and liberty. This idea she +has expressed in various ways; the end it promises she has sought by +various means. In obedience to this idea, she has established colleges, +common schools, grammar schools, academies, and at last the Normal +School. + +The _institution_ only of the Normal School is new; the _idea_ is old. +The Normal system is but a better expression of an idea partially +concealed, but nevertheless to be found in the college, grammar school +and academy of our fathers. Nor have we accepted the institution so +readily from a knowledge of its results in other countries, as from its +manifest fitness to meet a want here. It is not, then, our fortune to +inaugurate a new idea, but only to clothe an old one again, so that it +may more efficiently advance popular liberty, intelligence and virtue. +And this is our duty to-day. + +The proprieties of this occasion would have been better observed, had +his excellency, Governor Washburn, found it convenient to deliver the +address, which, at a late moment, has been assigned to me. But we are +all in some degree aware of the nature and extent of his public duties, +and can, therefore, appreciate the necessity which demands relief from +some of them. + +Massachusetts has founded four Normal Schools, and at the close of the +present century she may not have established as many more, for she now +satisfies the just demands of every section of her territory, and +presents the benefits of this system of instruction to all her +inhabitants. The building we here set apart, and the school we now +inaugurate to the service of learning, are to be regarded as the +completion of the original plan of the state, and any future extension +will depend upon the success of the Normal system as it shall appear in +other years to other generations of men. But we have great faith that +the Normal system, in itself and in its connections, will realize the +cherished idea of our whole history; and if so, it will be extended +until every school is supplied with a Normal teacher. + +This, then, is an occasion of general interest; but to the city of +Salem, and the county of Essex, it is specially important. Similar +institutions have been long established in other parts of the state; but +some compensation is now to be made to you, in the experience and +improvements of the last fifteen years. Intelligent labor sheds light +upon the path of the laborer, and, though the direct benefits of this +system have not been here enjoyed, many resulting advantages from the +experience of similar institutions in other places will now inure to +you. + +The city of Salem, with wise forecast, anticipated these advantages, and +generously contributed a sum larger even than that appropriated by the +state itself. This bounty determined the location of the school, but +determined it fortunately for all concerned. + +Salem is one of the central points of the state; and in this respect no +other town in the vicinity, however well situated, is a competitor. +Pupils may reside at their homes in Newburyport, Lynn, Lawrence, +Haverhill, Gloucester and Lowell, or at any intermediate place, and +enjoy the benefit of daily instruction within these walls. This is a +great privilege for parents and pupils; and it could not have been so +well secured at any other point. Here, also, pupils and teachers may +avail themselves of the libraries, literary institutions and cabinets of +this ancient and prosperous town. These are no common advantages. + +We are wiser and better for the presence of great numbers of books, +though we may never know what they contain. We see how much perseverance +and labor have accomplished, and are sensible that what has been may be +equalled if not excelled. In great libraries, we realize how the works +of the ambitious are neglected, and their names forgotten, while we +cannot fail to be impressed with the value of the truth, that the only +labor which brings a certain reward is that performed under a sense of +duty. + +Salem is itself the intelligent and refined centre of an intelligent and +prosperous population; and we may venture so far, in just eulogy, as to +attribute to it the united advantages of city and country, without a +large share of the privations of the one, or the vices of the other. Of +the four Normal Schools, this is, unquestionably, the most fortunate in +its position and surroundings. We, therefore, ask for the concurrence of +the public in the judgment which has established it in this city. If it +shall be the fortune of the government to assemble a body of instructors +qualified for their stations, there will then remain no reason why these +accommodations and advantages should not be fully enjoyed. + +The Normal School differs from all other seminaries of learning, and +only because it is an auxiliary to the common schools can it be deemed +their inferior in importance. The academy and college take young men +from the district and high schools, and furnish them with additional +aids for the business of life; but the Normal School is truly the helper +of the common schools. It receives its pupils from them, fits these +pupils for teachers, and sends them back to superintend where a few +months before they were scholars. The Normal Schools are sustained by +the common schools; and these latter, in return, draw their best +nutriment from the former. This institution stands with the common +school; it is as truly popular, as really democratic in a just sense, +and its claim for support rests upon the same foundation. + +In Massachusetts we have abandoned the idea, never, I think, general, +that instruction in the art of teaching is unnecessary. + +The Normal School is, with us, a necessity; for it furnishes that +tuition which neither the common school, academy, nor college can. These +institutions were once better adapted to this service than now. There +has been a continual increase of academic studies, until it has become +necessary to establish institutions for special purposes; and of these +the Normal School is one. Its object is definite. The _true_ Normal +School instructs only in the art of teaching; and, in this respect, it +must be confessed we have failed, sadly failed, to realize the ideal of +the system. It is not a substitute for the common school, academy, or +college, though many pupils, and in some degree the public, have been +inclined thus to treat it. There should be no instruction in the +departments of learning, high or low, except what is incidental to the +main business of the institution; yet some have gone so far in the wrong +course as to suggest that not only the common branches should be +studied, but that tuition should be given in the languages and the +higher mathematics. A little reflection will satisfy us how great a +departure this would be from the just idea of the Normal School. Yet +circumstances, rather than public sentiment, have compelled the +government to depart in practice, though never in theory, from the true +system. + +It so happens that much time is occupied in instruction in those +branches which ought to be thoroughly mastered by the pupil before he +enters the Normal School,--that is, before he begins to acquire the art +of teaching what he has not himself learned. + +Such is the state of our schools that we are obliged to accept as pupils +those who are not qualified, in a literary point of view, for the post +of teachers. By sending better teachers into the public schools, you +will effectually aid in the removal of this difficulty. The Normal +School is, then, no substitute for the high school, academy, or college. +Nor do we ask for any sympathy or aid which properly belongs to those +institutions. He is no friend of education, in its proper signification, +who patronizes some one institution, and neglects all others. We have no +seminaries of learning which can be considered useless, and he only is a +true friend who aids and encourages any and all as he has opportunity. +What is popularly known as learning is to be acquired in the common +school, high school, academy and college, as heretofore. The Normal +School does not profess to give instruction in reading and arithmetic, +but to teach the art of teaching reading and arithmetic. So of all the +elementary branches. But, as the art of teaching a subject cannot be +acquired without at the same time acquiring a better knowledge of the +subject itself, the pupil will always leave the Normal School better +grounded than ever before in the elements and principles of learning. It +is not, however, to be expected that complete success will be realized +here more than elsewhere; yet it is well to elevate the standard of +admission, from time to time, so that a larger part of the exercises may +be devoted to the main purpose of the institution. The struggle should +be perpetual and in the right direction. First, elevate your common +schools so that the education there may be a sufficient basis for a +course of training here. If the Normal School and the public schools +shall each and all do their duty, candidates for admission will be so +well qualified in the branches required, that the art of teaching will +be the only art taught here. When this is the case, the time of +attendance will be diminished, and a much larger number of persons may +be annually qualified for the station of teachers. + +Next, let the committees and others interested in education make +special efforts to fill the chairs of your hall with young women of +promise, who are likely to devote themselves to the profession. It is, +however, impossible for human wisdom to guard against one fate that +happens to all, or nearly all, the young women who are graduated at our +Normal Schools. But this remark is not made publicly, lest some anxious +ones avail themselves of your bounty as a means to an end not +contemplated by the state. + +The house you have erected is not so much dedicated to the school as to +the public; the institution here set up is not so much for the benefit +of the young women who may become pupils, as for the benefit of the +public which they represent. The appeal is, therefore, to the public to +furnish such pupils, in number and character, that this institution may +soon and successfully enter upon the work for which it is properly +designed. + +But the character and value of this school depend on the quality of its +teachers more than on all things else. They should be thoroughly +instructed, not only in the branches taught, but in the art of teaching +them. + +The teacher ought to have attained much that the pupil is yet to learn; +if he has not, he cannot utter words of encouragement, nor estimate the +chances of success. It is not enough to know what is contained in the +text-book; the pupil should know that, at least; the teacher should know +a great deal more. A person is not qualified for the office of teacher +when he has mastered a book; and has, in fact, no right to instruct +others until he has mastered the subject. + +Text-books help us a little on the road of learning; but, by and by, +whatever our pursuit or profession, we leave them behind, or else +content ourselves with a subordinate position. Practical men have made +book-farmers the subject of ridicule; and there is some propriety in +this; for he is not a master in his profession who has not got, as a +general thing, out of and beyond the books which treat of it. + +Books are necessary in the school-room; but the good teacher has little +use for them in his own hands, or as aids in his own proper work. He +should be instructed in his subject, aside from and above the arbitrary +rules of authors; and he will be, if he is himself inspired with a love +of learning. _Inspired with a love of learning!_ Whoever is, is sure of +success; and whoever is not, has the best possible security for the +failure of his plans. There cannot be a good school where the love of +learning in teacher and pupil is wanting; and there cannot be a bad one +where this spirit has control. As the master, so is the disciple; as the +teacher, so is the pupil; for the spirit of the teacher will be +communicated to the scholars. There must also be habits of industry and +system in study. We have multitudes of scholars who study occasionally, +and study hard; but we need a race of students who will devote +themselves habitually, and with love, to literature and science. + +On the teachers, then, is the chief responsibility, whether the young +women who go out from this institution are well qualified for their +profession or not. The study of technicalities is drudgery of the worst +sort to the mere pupil; but the scholar looks upon it as a preparation +for a wide and noble exercise of his intellectual powers--as a key to +unlock the mysteries of learning. It is the business of the teacher to +lighten the labors of to-day by bright visions of to-morrow. + +There is a school in medicine, whose chief claim is, that it invites and +prepares Nature to act in the removal of disease. + +We pass no judgment upon this claim; but he is, no doubt, the best +teacher who does little for his pupils, while he incites and encourages +them to do much for themselves. Extensive knowledge will enable the +teacher to do this. + +He is a poor instructor of mathematics who sees only the dry details of +rules, tables and problems, and never ascends to the contemplation of +those supreme wonders of the universe which mathematical astronomy has +laid open. The grammar of a language is defined to be the art of reading +and writing that language with propriety. The study of its elements is +dry and uninteresting; and, while the teacher dwells with care upon the +merits of the text, he should also lift the veil from that which is +hidden, and lead his pupils to appreciate those riches of learning which +the knowledge of a language may confer upon the student. + +It is useful to know the division of the globe into continents and +oceans, islands and lakes, mountains and rivers--and this knowledge the +text-books contain; but it is a higher learning to understand the effect +of this division upon climate, soil and natural productions--upon the +character and pursuits of the human race. Books are so improved that +they may very well take the place of poor, or even ordinary teachers. + +Explanations and illustrations are numerous and appropriate, and very +little remains for the mere text-book teacher to do. But, when the +duties of teacher and the exercises of the school-room are properly +performed, the entire range of science, business, literature and art, is +presented to the student. May it be your fortune to see education thus +elevated here, and then will the same spirit be infused into the public +schools of the vicinity. + +The Massachusetts system of education is a noble tribute to freedom of +thought. The power of educating a people, which is, in fine, the chief +power in a state, has been often, if not usually, perverted to the +support of favored opinions in religion and government. The boasted +system of Prussia is only a prop and ally of the existing order of +things. In France, Napoleon makes the press, which has become in +civilized countries an educator of the people, the mere instrument of +his will. Tyrants do not hesitate to pervert schools and the press, +learning and literature, to the support of tyranny. But with us the +press and the school are free; and this freedom, denied through fear in +other countries, is the best evidence of the stability of our +institutions. It is now a hundred years since an attempt was made in +Massachusetts to exercise legal censorship over the press; but we +occasionally hear of movements to make the public schools of America +subservient to sect or party. The success of these movements would be as +great a calamity as can ever befall a free people. Ignorance would take +the place of learning, and slavery would usurp the domain of liberty. + +No defence, excuse, or palliation, can be offered for such movements; +and their triumph will safely produce all the evils which it is possible +for an enlightened people to endure. Our system of instruction is what +it professes to be,--a public system. As sects or parties, we have no +claim whatever upon it. A man is not taxed because he is of a particular +faith in religion, or party in politics; he is not taxed because he is +the father of a family, or excused because he is not; but he contributes +to the cause of education because he is a citizen, and has an interest +in that general intelligence which decides questions of faith and +practice as they arise. It is for the interest of all that all shall be +educated for the various pursuits and duties of the time. The education +of children is, no doubt, first in individual duty. It is the duty of +the parent, the duty of the friend; but, above all, it is the duty of +the public. This duty arises from the relations of men in every +civilized state; but in a popular government it becomes a necessity. The +people are the source of power--the sovereign. And is it more important +in a monarchy than in a republic that the ruler be intelligent, +virtuous, and in all respects qualified for his duties? + +The institution here set up is an essential part of our system of public +instruction, and, as such, it claims the public favor, sympathy and +support. + +This is a period of excitement in all the affairs and relations of men, +and America is fast becoming the central point of these activities. They +are, no doubt, associated with many blessings, but they may also be +attended by great evils. We claim for our country preëminence in +education. This may be just, but it is also true that Americans, more +than any other people, need to be better educated than they are. Where +else is the field of statesmanship so large, or the necessity for able +statesmen so great? + +With the single exception of Great Britain, there is no nation whose +relations are such as to require a union in rulers of the rarest +practical abilities with accurate, sound and varied learning; and there +is no nation whose people are so critical in the tests they apply to +their public agents. We need men thoroughly educated in all the +departments of learning; to which ought to be added, travel in foreign +countries, and an intimate acquaintance with every part of our own. Such +men we have had--such men we have now; but they will be more and more +important as we advance in numbers, territory and power. A corresponding +culture is necessary in theology, in law, and in all the pursuits of +industry. + +No other nation has so great a destiny. That destiny is manifest, and +may be read in the heart and purpose of the people. They seek new +territories, an increase of population, the prosperity of commerce, of +all the arts of industry, and preëminence in virtue, learning and +intellectual power. And all this they can attain; for the destiny of a +people, within the limits prescribed by reason, is determined by +themselves. If, however, by conquest, annexation and absorption, we +acquire new territories, and strange races and nations of men, and yet +neglect education, every step will but increase our burdens and perils, +and hasten our decay. + + + + +FEMALE EDUCATION. + +[An Address before the Newburyport Female High School.] + + +I accepted, without a moment's delay, the invitation of the principal of +this school to deliver the customary address on this, the fifteenth +anniversary of its establishment. My presence here in connection with +public instruction is not a proper subject for comment by myself; but I +have now come, allow me to say, with unusual alacrity, that we may +together recognize the claims of an institution which furnishes the +earliest evidence existing among us of a special design on the part of +the public to provide adequate intellectual and moral training for the +young women of the state. + +Those movements which have accomplished most for religion, liberty, and +learning, have not been sudden in their origin nor rapid in their +progress. Christianity has been preached eighteen hundred years, yet it +is not now received, even intellectually, by the larger part of the +human race. Magna Charta is six centuries old, but its principles are +not accepted by all the nations of Europe and America; and it is not, +therefore, strange that a system of public instruction, originated by +the Puritans of New England, should yet be struggling against prejudice +and error. In Asia woman is degraded, and in Europe her common condition +is that of apparent and absolute inferiority. When America was settled +she became a participator in the struggles and sufferings which awaited +the pioneers of civilization and liberty on this continent, and she thus +earned a place in family, religious, and even in public life, which +foreshowed her certain and speedy disenthrallment from the tyranny of +tradition and time. Her rights with us are secure, and the anxiety and +boisterous alarm exhibited by some strong-minded women, and the +horror-fringed apprehensions and prophecies of some weak-minded men, are +equally unreasonable and absurd. Woman is sharing the lot of humanity, +and therewith she ought to be content. Man does not remove the burden of +ignorance and oppression from his sex, merely, but generally from his +kind. At least, this is the experience and promise of America. If woman +does not vote because she is woman, so and for the same reason she is +not subject to personal taxation. It is an error to suppose that voting +is a privilege, and taxation, ever and always, a burden. Both are +duties; and the privilege of the one and the burden of the other are +only incidental and subordinate. The human family is an aggregation of +families; and the family, not the man nor the woman, is the unit of the +state. The civil law assumes the existence of the family relation, and +its unity where it exists; hence taxation of the woman brings no revenue +to the state that might not have been secured by the taxation of the +man; and hence the exercise of the elective franchise by the woman +brings no additional political power; for, in the theory of the relation +to which there are, in fact, but few exceptions, there is in the +household but one political idea, and but one agent is needed for its +expression. The ballot is the judgment of the family; not of the man, +merely, nor of the woman, nor yet, indeed, always of both, even. The +first smile that the father receives from the child affects every +subsequent vote in municipal concerns, and likely enough also in +national affairs. From that moment forward, he judges constables, +selectmen, magistrates, aldermen, mayors, school-committees, and +councillors, with an altered judgment. The result of the election is not +the victory or defeat of the man alone; it is the triumph or prostration +of a principle or purpose with which the family is identified. + +Is it said that there is occasionally, if not frequently, a divided +judgment in the household upon those questions that are decided by the +ballot? This must, of course, be granted as an exceptional condition of +domestic life; but, for the wisest reasons of public policy, whose +avoidance by the state would be treachery to humanity, the law universal +can recognize only the general condition of things. So, and for kindred +but not equally strong reasons, the elective franchise is exercised by +men without families, and denied to those women who by the dispensations +of Divine Providence are called to preside in homes where the father's +face is seen no more. But why, in the eye of the state, shall the man +stand as the head of the family, rather than the woman? Because God has +so ordained it; and no civil community has ever yet escaped from the +force of His decree in this respect. Those whose physical power defends +the nation, or tribe, or family, are naturally called upon to decide +what the means of defence shall be. Is not woman, then, the equal of +man? We cannot say of woman, with reference to man, that she is his +superior, or his inferior, or his equal; nor can we say of man, with +reference to woman, that he is her superior, or her inferior, or her +equal. He is her protector, she is his helpmeet. His strength is +sufficient for her weakness, and her power is the support of his +irresolution and want of faith. Woman's rights are not man's rights; nor +are man's rights the measure of woman's rights. If she should assert +her independence, as some idiosyncratic persons desire, she could only +declare her intention to do all those acts and things which woman may of +right do. Given that this is accomplished, and I know not that she would +possess one additional domestic, political, or public right, or enjoy +one privilege in the family, neighborhood, or state, to which she is +not, in some degree, at least, already accustomed. + +These views and reflections may serve to illustrate and enforce the +leading position of this address--that we are to educate young women for +the enjoyments and duties of the sphere in which they are to move. We +speak to-day of public instruction; but it should ever be borne in mind +that the education of the schools is but a part, and often only the +least important part, of the training that the young receive. There is +the training of infancy and early childhood, the daily culture of home, +with its refining or deadening influences, and then the education of the +street, the parlor, the festive gathering, and the clubs, which exert a +power over the youth of both sexes that cannot often be controlled +entirely by the school. + +Womanhood is sometimes sacrificed in childhood, when the mother and the +family fail to develop the womanly qualities of modesty, grace, +generosity of character, and geniality of temper, which dignify, adorn, +and protect, + + + "The sex whose presence civilizes ours." + + +The child, whether girl or boy, reflects the character of its home; and +therefore we are compelled to deal with all the homes of the district or +town, and are required often to counteract the influences they exert. +Early vicious training is quite as disastrous to the girl as to the boy; +for, strange as it may seem, the world more readily tolerates ignorance, +coarseness, rudeness, immodesty, and all their answering vices, in man +than in woman. In the period of life from eight to twenty years of age +the progress of woman is, to us of sterner mould, inconceivably rapid; +but from twenty to forty the advantages of education are upon the other +side. It then follows that a defective system of education is more +pernicious to woman than to man. + +We may contemplate woman in four relations with their answering +responsibilities--as pupil, teacher, companion, and mother. As a pupil, +she is sensitive, conscientious, quick, ambitious, and possesses in a +marvellous degree, as compared with the other sex, the power of +intuition. The boy is logical, or he is nothing; but logic is not +necessary for the girl. Not that she is illogical; but she usually sees +through, without observing the steps in the process which a boy must +discern before he can comprehend the subject presented to his mind. In +the use of the eye, the ear, the voice, and in the appropriation of +whatever may be commanded without the highest exercise of the reasoning +and reflective faculties, she is incomparably superior. She accepts +moral truth without waiting for a demonstration, and she obeys the law +founded upon it without being its slave. She instinctively prefers good +manners to faulty habits; and, in the requirements of family, social, +and fashionable life, she is better educated at sixteen than her brother +is at twenty. She is an adept in one only of the vices of the +school--whispering--and in that she excels. But she does not so readily +resort to the great vice--the crime of falsehood--as do her companions +of the other sex. I call falsehood the great vice, because, if this were +unknown, tardiness, truancy, obscenity, and profanity, could not thrive. +Holmes has well said that "sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle +that will fit them all." + +In many primary and district schools the habits and manners of children +are too much neglected. We associate good habits and good manners with +good morals; and, though we are deceived again and again, and +soliloquize upon the maxim that "all is not gold that glitters," we +instinctively believe, however often we are betrayed. Habits and manners +are the first evidence of character; and so much of weight do we attach +to such evidence, that we give credit and confidence to those whom in +our calmer moments we know to be unworthy. The first aim in the school +should be to build up a character that shall be truthfully indicated by +purity and refinement of manner and conversation. It does, indeed, +sometimes happen that purity of character is not associated with +refinement of manners. This misfortune is traceable to a defective early +education, both in the school and the home; for, had either been +faithful and intelligent, the evil would have been averted. And, as +there are many homes in city and country where refinement of manners is +not found, and, of course, cannot be taught, the schools must furnish +the training. In this connection, the value of the high school for +females--whether exclusively so or not, does not seem to me +important--is clearly seen. Young women are naturally and properly the +teachers of primary, district, and subordinate schools of every grade; +and society as naturally and properly looks to them to educate, by +example as well as by precept, all the children of the state in good +habits, good manners, and good morals. We are also permitted to look +forward to the higher relations of life, when, as wives and mothers, +they are to exert a potent influence over existing and future +generations. The law and the lexicons say "_home_ is the house or the +place where one resides." This definition may answer for the law and the +lexicons, but it does not meet the wants of common life. + +The wife will usually find in her husband less refinement of manners +than she herself possesses; and it is her great privilege, if not her +solemn duty, to illustrate the line of Cowper, and show that she is of + + + "The sex whose presence civilizes ours." + + +It is the duty of the teacher to make the school attractive; and what +the teacher should do for the school the wife should do for the home. +The home should be preferred by the husband and children to all other +places. Much depends upon themselves; they have no right to claim all of +the wife and mother. But, without her aid, they can do but little. With +her aid, every desirable result may be accomplished. That this result +may be secured, female education must be generous, critical, and pure, +in everything that relates to manners, habits, and morals. Much may be +added to these, but nothing can serve in their stead. We should add, no +doubt, thorough elementary training in reading, writing, and spelling, +both for her own good and for the service of her children. Intellectual +training is defective where these elements are neglected, and their +importance to the sexes may be equal. We should not omit music and the +culture of the voice. The tones of the voice indicate the tone of the +mind; but the temper itself may finally yield to a graceful and gentle +form of expression. It is not probable that we shall ever give due +attention to the cultivation of the human voice for speaking, reading, +and singing. This is an invaluable accomplishment in man. Many of us +have listened to New England's most distinguished living orator, and +felt that well-known lines from the English poets derived new power, if +not actual inspiration, from the classic tones in which the words were +uttered. + +A cultivated voice in woman is at once the evidence and the means of +moral power. As the moral sensibilities of the girl are more acute than +those of the boy, so the moral power of the woman is greater than that +of the man. Many young women are educating themselves for the business +of teaching; and I can commend nothing more important, after the proper +ordering of one's own life, than the discreet and careful training of +the voice. It is itself a power. It demands sympathy before the +suffering or its cause is revealed by articulate speech; its tones awe +assemblies, and command silence before the speaker announces his views; +and the rebellious and disorderly, whether in the school, around the +rostrum, or on the field, bow in submission beneath the authority of its +majestic cadences. It is hardly possible to imagine a good school, and +very rare to see one, where this power is wanting in the teacher. Women +are often called to take charge of schools where there are lads and +youth destitute of that culture which would lead them to yield respect +and consequent obedience. Physical force in these cases is not usually +to be thought of; but nature has vouchsafed to woman such a degree of +moral power, of which in the school the voice is the best expression, as +often to fully compensate for her weakness in other respects. + +It is unnecessary to commend reading as an art and an accomplishment; +but good readers are so rare among us, that we cannot too strongly urge +teachers to qualify themselves for the great work. I say _great work_, +because everything else is comparatively easy to the teacher, and +comparatively unimportant to the pupil. Grammar is merely an element of +reading. It should be introduced as soon as the child's reasoning +faculties are in any degree developed, and presented by the living +voice, without the aid of books. The alphabet should be taught in +connection with exercises for strengthening and modulating the voice, +and the elementary sounds of the letters should be deemed as important +as their names. All this is the proper work of the female teacher; and, +when she is ignorant or neglects her duty, the evil is usually so great +as to admit of no complete remedy. + +Reading is at once an imitative and an appreciative art on the part of +the pupil. He must be trained to appreciate the meaning of the writer; +but he will depend upon the teacher at first, and, indeed, for a long +time, for an example of the true mode of expression. This the teacher +must be ready to give. It is not enough that she can correct faults of +pronunciation, censure inarticulate utterances, and condemn gruff, +nasal, and guttural sounds; but she must be able to present, in +reasonable purity, all the opposite qualities. The young women have not +yet done their duty to the cause of education in these respects; nor is +there everywhere a public sentiment that will even now allow the duty to +be performed. + +It is difficult to see why the child of five, and the youth of fifteen, +should be kept an equal number of hours at school. Each pupil should +spend as much time in the school-room as is needed for the preparation +of the exercise and the exercise itself. The danger from excessive +confinement and labor is with young pupils. Those in grammar and high +schools may often use additional hours for study; but a pupil should be +somewhat advanced, and should possess considerable physical strength and +endurance, before he ventures to give more than six hours a day to +severe intellectual labor. It must often happen that children in primary +schools can learn in two hours each day all that the teacher has time to +communicate, or they have power to receive and appropriate. Indeed, I +think this is usually so. It may not, however, be safe to deduce from +this fact the opinion that children should never be kept longer in +school than two hours a day; but it seems proper to assume that, if +blessed with good homes, they may be relieved from the tedium of +confinement in the school-room, when there is no longer opportunity for +improvement. + +We are beginning to realize the advantages of well-educated female +teachers in primary schools; nor do I deem it improbable that they shall +become successful teachers and managers of schools of higher grade, +according to the present public estimation. But, in regard to the latter +position, I have neither hope, desire, nor anxiety. Whenever the public +judge them, generally, or in particular cases, qualified to take charge +of high schools and normal schools, those positions will be assigned to +them; and, till that degree of public confidence is accorded, it is +useless to make assertions or indulge in conjectures concerning the +ability of women for such duties. It is my own conviction that a higher +order of teaching talent is required in the primary school, or for the +early, judicious education of children, than is required in any other +institutions of learning. Nor can it be shown that equal ability for +government is not essential. There must be different manifestations of +ability in the primary and the high school; but, where proper training +has been enjoyed, pupils in the latter ought to be far advanced in the +acquisition of the cardinal virtue of self-control, whose existence in +the school and the state renders government comparatively unnecessary. + +Where there is a human being, there are the opportunity and the duty of +education. But our present great concern, as friends of learning, is +with those schools where children are first trained in the elements. If +in these we can have faithful, accurate, systematic, comprehensive +teaching, everything else desirable will be added thereunto. But, if we +are negligent, unphilosophical, and false, the reasonable public +expectation will never be realized in regard to other institutions of +learning. + +The work must be done by women, and by well-educated women; and, when it +is said that in Massachusetts alone we need the services of six +thousand such persons, the magnitude of the work of providing teachers +may be appreciated. Have we not enough in this field for every female +school and academy, where high schools are not required, or cannot +exist, and for every high school and normal school in the commonwealth? +If it is asserted that the supply of female teachers is already greater +than the demand, it must be stated, in reply, that there are persons +enough engaged in teaching, but that the number of competent teachers +is, and ever has been, too small. It is something, my friends, it is +often a great deal, to send into a town a well-qualified female teacher. +She is not only a blessing to those who are under her tuition, but her +example and influence are often such as to change the local sentiment +concerning teachers and schools. When may we expect a supply of such +persons? The hope is not a delusion, though its realization may be many +years postponed. How are competent persons to be selected and qualified? +The change will be gradual, and it is to be made in the public opinion +as well as in the character of teachers and schools. And is it not +possible, even in view of all that has been accomplished, that we are +yet groping in a dark passage, with only the hope that it leads to an +outward-opening door, where, in marvellous but genial light we shall +perceive new truths concerning the philosophy of the human mind, and +the means of its development? At this moment we are compelled to admit +that practical teachers and theorists in educational matters are alike +uncertain in regard to the true method of teaching the alphabet, and +divided and subdivided in opinion concerning the order of succession of +the various studies in the primary and grammar schools. Perfect +agreement on these points is not probable; it may not be desirable. I am +satisfied that no greater contribution can be made to the cause of +learning than a presentation of these topics and their elucidation, so +that the teacher shall feel that what he does is philosophical, and +therefore wise. + +The only way to achieve success is to apply faithfully the means at +hand. Generations of children cannot wait for perfection in methods of +teaching; but teachers of primary schools ought not to neglect any +opportunity which promises aid to them as individuals, or progress in +the profession that they have chosen. As teachers improve, so do +schools; and, as schools improve, so do teachers. The influence exerted +by teachers is first beneficial to pupils, but, as a result, we soon +have a class of better qualified teachers. With these ideas of the +importance of the teacher's vocation to primary instruction, and, +consequently, to all good learning, it is not strange that I place a +high value upon professional training. A degree of professional training +more or less desirable is, no doubt, furnished, by every school; but the +admission does not in any manner detract from the force of the statement +that a young man or woman well qualified in the branches to be taught, +yet without experience, may be strengthened and prepared for the work of +teaching, by devoting six, twelve, or eighteen months, under competent +instructors, in company with a hundred other persons having a similar +object in view, to the study, examination, and discussion, of those +subjects and topics which are sometimes connected with, and sometimes +independent of, the text-books, but which are of daily value to the +teacher. + +At present only a portion of this necessary professional training can be +given in the normal schools. If, however, as I trust may sometimes be +the case, none should be admitted but those who are already qualified in +the branches to be taught, the time of attendance might be diminished, +and the number of graduates proportionately increased. There are about +one hundred high schools in the state, and, within the sphere of their +labors, they are not equalled by any institutions that the world has +seen. Young men are fitted for the colleges, for mechanical, +manufacturing, commercial, agricultural, and scientific labors, and +young men and young women are prepared for the general duties of life. +They are also furnishing a large number of well-qualified teachers. Some +may say that with these results we ought to be content. Regarding only +the past, they are entirely satisfactory; but, animated with reasonable +hopes concerning the future, we claim something more and better. It is +not disguised that the members of normal schools, when admitted, do not +sustain an average rank in scholarship with graduates of high schools. +This is a misfortune from which relief is sought. It is a suggestion, +diffidently made, yet with considerable confidence in its practicability +and value, that graduates of high schools will often obtain additional +and necessary preparation by attending a normal school, if for the term +of six months only. And I am satisfied, beyond all reasonable doubt, +that, when the normal schools receive only those whose education is +equivalent to that now given in the high schools, a body of teachers +will be sent out who will surpass the graduates of any other +institution, and whose average professional attainments and practical +excellence will meet the highest reasonable public expectation. Nor is +it claimed that this result will be due to anything known or practised +in normal schools that may not be known and practised elsewhere; but it +is rather attributable to the fact that in these institutions the +attention of teachers and pupils is directed almost exclusively to the +work of teaching, and the means of preparation. The studies, thoughts, +and discussions, are devoted to this end. If, with such opportunities, +there should be no progress, we should be led to doubt all our previous +knowledge of human character, and of the development of the youthful +mind. + +And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude, allow me to remove, or +at least to lessen, an impression that these remarks are calculated to +produce. I have assumed that teaching is a profession--an arduous +profession--and that perfection has not yet been attained. I have +assumed, also, that there are many persons engaged in teaching, +especially in the primary and mixed district schools, whose +qualifications are not as great as they ought to be. But let it not be +thence inferred that I am dissatisfied with our teachers and schools. +There has been continual progress in education, and a large share of +this progress is due to teachers; but the time has not yet come when we +can wisely fold our arms, and accept the allurements of undisturbed +repose. + +Nor have I sought, on this occasion, to present even an outline of a +system of female education. In all the public institutions of learning +among us, it should be as comprehensive, as minute, as exact, as that +furnished for youth of the other sex. Nor is it necessary to concern +ourselves about the effect of this liberal culture upon the character +and fortunes of society. I do not anticipate any sudden or disastrous +effects. The right of education is a common right; and it is +unquestionably the right of woman to assert her rights; and it is a +wrong and sin if we withhold any, even the least. Having faith in +humanity, and faith in God, let us not shrink from the privilege we +enjoy of offering to all, without reference to sex or condition, the +benefits of a public and liberal system of education, which seeks, in an +alliance with virtue and religion, whose banns are forbidden by none, to +enlighten the ignorant, restrain and reform the depraved, and penetrate +all society with good learning and civilization, so that the highest +idea of a well-ordered state shall be realized in an advanced and +advancing condition of individual and family life. + + + + +THE INFLUENCE, DUTIES, AND REWARDS, OF TEACHERS. + +[A Lecture delivered at Teachers' Institutes.] + + +It is the purpose, and we believe that it will be the destiny, of +Massachusetts, to build up a comparatively perfect system of public +instruction. To this antiquity did not aspire; and it is the just boast +of modern times, and especially of the American States, that learning is +not the amusement of a few only, whom wealth and taste have led into its +paths, but that it is encouraged by governments, and cherished by the +whole people. Antiquity had its schools and teachers; but the latter +were, for the most part, founders of sects in politics, morals, +philosophy, religion, or the habits of daily life; while its schools +were frequented and sustained by those who sought to build on the +civilization of the times such structures as their tastes conceived or +their opinions dictated. + +There were not in Athens or Rome, according to the American idea, any +schools for the people; and Carlyle, Brownson, and Emerson, are such +teachers in kind, though not in power and influence, as were Socrates, +Plato, and Aristotle. These men were leaders as well as teachers, and +their followers were disciples and controversialists rather than pupils. +But it is not possible for modern leaders in politics, philosophy, and +social life, to rival the ancients. Manual labor is not more divided and +subdivided than is the influence of the human intellect. The newspaper +has inspired every man with the love of self-judgment, and the common +school has qualified him, in some degree, for its exercise. The +ancients, whose names and fame have come down to us, taught by +conversations, discussions, and lectures; the moderns, as Carlyle, +Brownson, and Emerson, by lectures, essays, and reviews. But these +systems are quite inadequate to meet the wants of American civilization. + +Indeed, however men of talent may strive, there cannot be another +Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle; for the printing-press has come, and +their occupation has gone. Teachers were philosophers, pupils were +followers and disciples, while learning was devoted to the support of +speculations and theories. + +But, while we have no such teachers as those of Athens, and need no such +schools as they founded, we have teachers and schools whose character +and genius correspond to the age in which we live. Teaching is a +profession; not merely an ignoble pursuit, nor a toy of scholastic +ambition, but a profession enjoying the public confidence, requiring +great talents, demanding great industry, and securing, permit me to say, +great rewards. To be the leader of a sect or the founder of a school, is +something; but the acceptable teacher is superior to either; he is the +first and chief exponent of a popular sovereignty which seeks happiness +and immortality for itself by elevating and refining the parts of which +it is composed. The ancient teacher gathered his hearers, disciples, and +pupils, in the streets, groves, and public squares. The modern teacher +is comparatively secluded; but let him not hence infer that he is +without influence. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, had their triumphs; +but none more distinguished than that of a Massachusetts teacher, who, +at the age of fourscore years, on a festive day, received from his +former pupils--and among them were the most eminent of the land--sincere +and affectionate assurances of esteem and gratitude. The pupil may be +estranged from the master in opinion, for our system does not concern +itself with opinions, political or religious; but the faithful teacher +will always find the evidence of his fidelity in the lives of those +intrusted to his care. No position is more important than the teacher's; +and his influence is next to that of the parent. It is his high and +noble province to touch the youthful mind, test its quality, and develop +its characteristics. He often stands in the place of the parent. He aids +in giving character to the generations of men; which is at once a higher +art and a purer glory than distinguishes those who build the walls of +cities, or lay the foundations of empires. The cities which contested +for the honor of being the birthplace of Homer are forgotten, or +remembered only because they contested for the honor, while Homer +himself is immortal. If, then, the mere birth of a human being is an +honor to a city, how illustrious the distinction of those who guide the +footsteps of youth along the rugged paths of learning, and develop in a +generation the principles of integrity and mercy, justice and freedom, +government and humanity! If in a lifetime of toil the teacher shall +bring out of the mass of common minds one Franklin, or Howard, or +Channing, or Bowditch, he will have accomplished more than is secured by +the devotees of wealth, or the disciples of pleasure. As the man is more +important than the mere philosopher, so is the modern teacher more +elevated than the ancient. + +The true teacher takes hold of the practical and elementary, as +distinguished from the learning whose chief or sole value is in display. +Present gratification is desirable, especially to parents and teachers; +but it may be secured at the cost of solid learning and real progress. +This is a serious error among us, and it will not readily be abandoned; +but it is the duty of teachers, and of all parents who are friends to +genuine learning, to aid in its removal. We are inclined to treat the +period of school-life as though it covered the entire time that ought +properly to be devoted to education. The first result--a result followed +by pernicious consequences--is that the teacher is expected to give +instruction in every branch that the pupil, as child, youth, or adult, +may need to know. It is impossible that instruction so varied should +always be good. Learning is knowledge of subjects based and built upon a +thorough acquaintance with their elements. The path of duty, therefore, +should lead the teacher to make his instruction thorough in a few +branches, rather than attempt to extend it over a great variety of +subjects. This, to the teacher who is employed in a district or town but +three or six months, is a hard course, and many may not be inclined to +pursue it. Something, no doubt, must be yielded to parents; but they, +too, should be educated to a true view of their children's interests. As +the world is, a well-spoken declamation is more gratifying to parents, +and more creditable to teachers, than the most careful training in the +vowel-sounds; yet the latter is infinitely more valuable to the scholar. +Neither progress in the languages nor knowledge of mathematics can +compensate for the want of a thorough etymological discipline. This +training should be primary in point of time, as well as elementary in +character; and a classical education is no adequate compensation. + +Elements are all-important to the teacher and the student. It is not +possible to have an idea of a square without some idea of a straight +line, nor to express with pencil or words the arc of a circle without a +previous conception of the curve. Combination follows in course. We are +driven to it. Our own minds, all nature, all civilization, tend to the +combination of elements. + +We think fast, live fast, learn fast, and, as the fashion of the world +requires a knowledge of many things, we crowd the entire education of +our children into the short period of school-life. Here, and just here, +public sentiment ought to relieve the teacher by reforming itself. + +It should be understood that school-life is to be devoted to the +thorough discipline of the mind to study, and to an acquaintance with +those simple, elementary branches, which are the foundation of all good +learning. When a knowledge of the elements is secured, then the +languages, mathematics, and all science, may be pursued with enthusiasm +and success by a class of men well educated in every department. Public +sentiment must allow the teacher to give careful instruction in reading +and spelling, for example, in the most comprehensive meaning of those +terms--in the sound and power of letters, in the composition and use of +words, and in the natural construction of sentences. This, of course, +includes a knowledge of grammar, not as a dry, philological study, but +as a science; not as composed of arbitrary rules, merely, but as the +common and best judgment of men concerning the use and power of +language, of which rules and definitions are but an imperfect +expression. + +Nor do we herein assign the teacher to neglect or obscurity. He, as well +as others, must have faith in the future. His reward may be distant, but +it is certain. + +It is, however, likely that the labors of a faithful elementary teacher +will be appreciated immediately, and upon the scene of his toil. But, if +they are not, his pupils, advancing in age and increasing in knowledge, +will remember with gratitude and in words the self-sacrificing labors of +their master. + +We are not so constituted as to labor without motive. With some the +motive is high, with others it is low and grovelling. The teacher must +be himself elevated, or he cannot elevate others. The pupil may, +indeed, advance to a higher sphere than that occupied by the teacher; +but it is only because he draws from a higher fountain elsewhere. In +such cases the success of the pupil is not the success of the master. He +who labors as a teacher for mere money, or for temporary fame, which is +even less valuable, cannot choose a calling more ignoble, nor can he +ever rise to a higher; for his sordid motives bring all pursuits to the +low level of his own nature. + +Yet it is not to be assumed that the teacher, more than the clergyman, +is to labor without pecuniary compensation; for, while money should not +be the sole object of any man's life, it is, under the influence of our +civilization, essential to the happiness of us all. Wealth, properly +acquired and properly used, may become a means of self-education. It +purchases relief from the harassing toil of uninterrupted manual labor. +It is the only introduction we can have to the thoroughfares of travel +by which we are made acquainted personally with the globe that we +inhabit. It brings to our firesides books, paintings, and statuary, by +which we learn something of the world as it is and as it was. It gives +us the telescope and the microscope, by whose agency we are able to +appreciate, even though but imperfectly, the immensity of creation on +the one hand, and its infinity on the other. The teacher is not to +labour without money, nor to despise it more than other men; and the +public might as well expect the free services of the minister, lawyer, +physician, or farmer, as to expect the gratuitous or cheap education of +their children. While the teacher is educating others, he must also +educate himself. This he cannot do without both leisure and money. The +advice of Iago is, therefore, good advice for teachers: "Go, make money. +* * Put money enough in your purse." The teacher's motives should be +above mere gain; though this view of the subject does not, as some might +infer, lead to the conclusion that he ought to labor for inadequate +compensation. + +When George III. was first insane, Dr. Willis was called to the +immediate personal charge of the king. Dr. Willis had been educated to +the church, and a living had been assigned him; but, becoming interested +in the subject of insanity, he had established an asylum, and gained a +distinguished position in his new profession. The suffering monarch was +sadly puzzled to know why Dr. Willis was with him, and how he had been +brought there. The custodian was not very definite in his explanations, +but suggested that he came to comfort the king in his afflictions; and, +said he, "You know that our Saviour went about doing good."--"Yes," +said the king, "but he never received seven hundred pounds a year for +it." This was good wit, especially good royal wit, because unexpected. +But there is no reason why actual monarchs of England, or coming +monarchs of America, should be treated or taught gratuitously. The +compensation, the living of the teacher, is one thing; the motive may +and ought to be quite different. The teacher should labor in his +profession because he loves it, because he does good in it, and because +he can in that sphere answer a high purpose of existence. These being +the motives of the teacher, he should educate, draw out, corresponding +ones in his pupils. + +The teacher is not to create--he is to draw out. Every child has the +germs of many, and, it may be, quite different qualities of character. +Look at the infant. It is so constituted that it may have a stalwart +arm, broad chest, and well-rounded, vigorous muscles; but yet it may +come to adult age destitute of these physical excellences. Yet you will +not say that the elements did not exist in the child. They were there; +but, being neglected, they followed a law of our nature, that the +development of a faculty depends upon its exercise. Nature will develop +some quality in every man; for our existence demands the exercise of a +part of our faculties. The faculty used will be developed in excess as +compared with other faculties. It is the business of the teacher to aid +nature. For the most part, he must stimulate, encourage, draw out, +develop, though it may happen that he will be required occasionally to +check a tendency which threatens to absorb or overshadow all the others. +He must, at any rate, prevent the growth of those powers which tend +towards the savage state. + +While the teacher creates nothing, he must so draw out the qualities of +the child that it may attain to perfect manhood. He moulds, he renders +symmetrical, the physical, the intellectual, the moral man. Nature +sometimes does this herself, as though she would occasionally furnish a +model man for our imitation, as she has given lines, and forms, and +colors, which all artists of all ages shall copy, but cannot equal. But, +do the best we can, education is more or less artificial; and hence the +child of the school will suffer by comparison with the child of nature, +when she presents him in her best forms. + +In a summer ramble I met a man so dignified as to attract the notice and +command the respect of all who knew him. I was with him upon the lakes +and mountains several days and nights, and never for a moment did the +manliness of his character desert him. I have seen no other person who +could boast such physical beauty. Accustomed to a hunter's life; +carrying often a pack of thirty or forty or fifty pounds; sleeping upon +the ground or a bed of boughs; able, if necessity of interest demanded, +to travel in the woods the ordinary distance which a good horse would +pass over upon our roads; with every organ of the arm, the leg, the +trunk, fully expressed; with a manly, kind, intelligent countenance, a +beard uncut, in the vigor of early manhood, he seemed a model which the +statuaries of Greece and Rome desired to see, but did not. He had at +once the bearing of a soldier and the characteristics of a gentleman. He +was ignorant of grammatical rules and definitions, yet his conversation +would have been accepted in good circles of New England society. This +man had his faults, but they were not grievous faults, nor did they in +any manner affect the qualities of which I have spoken. + +This is what nature sometimes does; this is what we should always strive +to do, extending this symmetry, if possible, to the moral as well as to +the intellectual and physical organization. This man is ignorant of +science, of books, of the world of letters, and the world of art, yet we +respect him. Why? Because nature has chosen to illustrate in him her own +principles, power and beauty. + +That we may draw out the qualities of the human mind as they exist, we +must first appreciate our influence upon childhood and youth. Our own +experience is the best evidence of what that influence is. All along our +lives the lessons of childhood return to us. The hills and valleys, the +lakes, rivers, and rivulets, of our early home, come not in clearer +visions before us than do the exhortations to industry, the incentives +to progress, the lessons of learning, and the principles of truth, +uttered and offered by the teachers of early years. In the same way the +lines of the poet, the reflections of the philosopher, the calm truths +of the historian, read once and often carelessly, and for many years +forgotten, return as voices of inspiration, and are evermore with us. + +That the teacher may have influence, his ear must be open to the voice +of truth, and his mouth must be liberal with words of consolation, +encouragement, and advice. He rules in a little world, and the scales of +justice must be balanced evenly in his hands. He should go in and out +before his scholars free from partiality or prejudice; indifferent to +the voice of envy or detraction; shunning evil and emulous of good; +patient of inquiries in the hours of duty; filled with the spirit of +industry in his moments of leisure; gathering up and spreading before +his pupils the choicest gems of literature, art, and science, that they +may be early and truly inspired with the love of learning. + +The public school is a little world, and the teacher rules therein. It +contains the rich and the poor, the virtuous and the corrupt, the +studious and the indifferent, the timid and the brave, the fearful and +the hearts elate with hope and courage. Life is there no cheat; it wears +no mask, it assumes no unnatural positions, but presents itself as it +is. Deformed and repulsive in some of its features, yet to him whose eye +is as quick to discover its beauty as its deformity, its harmony as its +discord, there is always a bright spot on which he may gaze, and a fond +hope to which he may cling. Artificial life, whether in the select +school or the select party, tends to weaken our faith in humanity; and a +want of faith in our race is an omen of ill-success in life. Teachers +should have faith in humanity, and should labor constantly to inspire +others with the belief that the true law of our nature is the law of +progress. + +Those who come early in life to the conclusion that the many cannot be +moved by the higher sentiments and ideas which control a few favored +mortals, cease to labor for the advancement of the race. They +consequently lose their hold upon society, and society neglects them. +For such men there can be no success. + +Others, like Jefferson and Channing, never lose confidence in their +species, and their species never lose confidence in them. When the +teacher comes to believe that the world is worse than it was, and never +can be better, he need wait for no other evidence that his days of +usefulness are over. + +The school-room will teach the child, even as the prison will instruct +maturity and age, that few persons are vicious in the extreme, and that +no one lives without some ennobling traits of character and life. The +teacher's faith is the measure of the teacher's usefulness. It is to him +what conception is to the artist; and, if the sculptor can see the image +of grace and beauty in the fresh-quarried marble, so must the teacher +see the full form of the coming man in the trembling child or awkward +youth. + +The teacher ought not to grow old. To be sure, time will lay its hand on +him, as it does on others; but he should always cultivate in himself the +feelings, sentiments, and even ambitions of youth. Far enough removed +from his pupils in age and position to stimulate them by his example, +and encourage them by his precepts, he should yet be so near them that +he can appreciate the steps and struggles which mark their progress in +the path of learning. There must be some points of contact, something +common to teacher and pupils. Indeed, for us all it is true that age +loses nothing of its dignity or respect when it accepts the sentiments +and sports of youth and childhood. But above all should the teacher +remember the common remark of La Place, in his Celestial Mechanics, and +the observation of Dr. Bowditch upon it. "Whenever I meet in La Place +with the words, 'Thus it plainly appears,' I am sure that hours, and +perhaps days, of hard study, will alone enable me to discover _how_ it +plainly appears." The good teacher will seek first to estimate each +scholar's capacity, and then adapt his instructions accordingly. Though +he may be far removed from his pupils in attainments, he should be able +to mark the steps by which ordinary minds pass from common principles to +their noblest application. + +This observation may by some be deemed unnecessary; but there are living +teachers who, having mastered the noblest sciences, are unable to +appreciate and lead ordinary minds. + +The teacher must be in earnest. This is the price of success in every +profession. The law, it is said, is a jealous mistress, and permits no +rivals; the indifferent, careless minister is but a blind leader of the +blind, and the "undevout astronomer is mad." + +Sincerity of soul and earnestness of purpose will achieve success. +According to an eminent authority, there are three kinds of great men: +those who are born great, those who achieve greatness, and those who +have greatness thrust upon them. If we take greatness of birth to be in +greatness of soul and intellect, and not in the mere accident of +ancestry, it is such only who have greatness thrust upon them; for the +world, after all, rarely makes a mistake in this respect. But there is a +larger and a nobler class, whose greatness, whatever it is, must be +achieved; and to this class I address myself. + +Success is practicable. There need be no failures. A man of reflection +will soon find whether he can succeed in his pursuit; if not, he has +mistaken his calling, or neglected the proper means of success. In +either case, a remedy is at hand. If a teacher is indifferent to his +calling, and cannot bring himself to pursue it with ardor, it is a duty +to himself, to his profession, to his pupils, to abandon it at once. It +is idle to suppose that we are doing good in a work to which we are not +attracted by our sympathies, and in which we are not sustained by our +faith and hopes. The men who succeed are the men who believe that they +can succeed. The men who fail are those to whom success would have been +a surprise. There is no doubt some appropriate pursuit in life for every +man of ordinary talents; but no one can tell whether he has found it for +himself until he has made a vigorous and persistent application of his +powers. If the teacher fail to do this, he need not seek for success in +another profession, when he has already declined to pay its price. + +The choice of a profession is one of the great acts of life. It should +not be done hastily, nor without a careful examination and just +appreciation of the elements of character. A competent teacher may aid +his pupils in this respect. A mistake in occupation is a calamity to the +individual, and an injury to the public. Our school-rooms contain +artists, farmers, mathematicians, mechanics, poets, lawyers, statesmen, +orators, and warriors; but some one must do for them what Shakspeare +says the monarch of the hive has done for all his subjects--assigned +them + + + "Officers of sorts; + Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; + Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad; + Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, + Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds; + Which pillage, they with merry march bring home + To the tent-royal of their emperor; + Who, busied in his majesty, surveys + The singing masons, building roofs of gold; + The civil citizens kneading up the honey; + The poor mechanic porters crowding in + Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate; + The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum, + Delivering o'er to executors pale + The lazy, yawning drone." + + +Teachers are so situated that they may give wholesome advice; while +parents--and I say it with respect--are quite likely, under the +influence of an instinctive belief that their children are fitted for +any place within the range of human labor or human ambition, to make +fatal mistakes. While all pursuits and professions, if honest, are +equally honorable, the individual selection must be determined by taste, +circumstances, individual habits, and often by physical facts. It is not +for one person to do everything, but it is for each person to do at +least one thing well. As a general rule, the painter, who has spent his +youth and manhood in studying the canvas, had better not study the +stars; and the artist, who has power to bring the form of life from the +cold marble, has no right to solve problems in geometry, weigh planets, +or calculate eclipses. The proper choice of the business of life may do +much to perfect our social system, and it will certainly advance our +material prosperity. There is everywhere in our civilization mutual +dependence, and there must be mutual support. In no other way can we +advance to our destiny as becomes an enlightened people. + +But all of life and education, either to pupil, teacher, or man, is not +to be found in the school-room. The common period of school-life is +sufficient only for elementary education. The average school-going +period is ten years. Of this, one-half is spent in vacations and +absences, so that each child has about five years of school-life. Only +one-fourth of each day is spent in the school-room; and the continuous +attendance, therefore, is about fifteen months, equal to the time which +most of us give to sleep, every four or five years of our existence. +This view leads me to say again that it is the duty of the teacher in +this brief period to lay a good foundation for subsequent scientific and +classical culture. More than this cannot be accomplished; and, where +this is accomplished, and a taste for learning is formed, and the means +to be employed are comprehended, a satisfactory school-life has been +passed. + +Education--universal education--is a necessity; and, as there is no +royal road to learning, so there is no aristocracy of mental power +depending upon social or pecuniary distinctions. The New England +colonies, and Massachusetts first of all, established the system of +education now called universal or public. It was not then easy to +comprehend the principle which lies at the foundation of a system of +public instruction. We are first to consider that a system of public +instruction implies a system of universal taxation. The only rule on +which taxes can be levied justly is that the object sought is of public +necessity, or manifest public convenience. It quite often happens that +men of our own generation are insensible or indifferent to the true +relation of the citizen to the cause of education. Some seem to imagine +that their interest in schools, and of course their moral obligation to +support them, ceases with the education of their own children. This is a +great error. The public has no right to levy a tax for the education of +any particular child, or family of children; but its right of taxation +commences when the education or plan of education is universal, and +ceases whenever the plan is limited, or the operations of the system are +circumscribed. + +No man can be taxed properly because he has children of his own to +educate; this may be a reason with some for cheerful payment, but it has +in itself no element of a just principle. When, however, the people +decide that education is a matter of public concern, then taxation for +its promotion rests upon the same foundation as the most important +departments of a government. Yet, many generations of men came and +passed away before the doctrine was received that, as a public matter, a +man is equally interested in the education of his neighbor's children +as in the education of his own. As parents, we have a special interest +in our children; as citizens, it is this, that they may be honest, +industrious, and effective in their labors. This interest we have in all +children. + +The safety of our persons and property demands their honesty; our right +to be exempt from pauper and criminal taxes requires habits of universal +industry; and our part in the general wealth and prosperity is increased +by the intelligent application of manual labor in all the walks of life. + +A man may, indeed, be proud of the attainments of his family, as men are +often proud of their ancestry; yet they possess little real value as a +family possession. The pride of ancestry has no value; it + + + "Is like a circle in the water, + Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself + Till, by broad-spreading, it disperse to naught." + + +I pass from this digression to the statement that the chief means of +self-improvement are five: Observation, Conversation, Reading, Memory, +and Reflection. + +It is an art to observe well--to go through the world with our eyes +open--to see what is before us. All men do not see alike, nor see the +same things. Our powers of observation take on the hues of daily life. +The artist, in a strange city or foreign land, observes only the +specimens of taste and beauty or their opposites; the mechanic studies +anew the principles of his science as applied to the purposes of life; +the architect transfers to his own mind the images of churches, +cathedrals, temples, and palaces; while the philanthropist rejoices in +cellars and lanes, that he may know how poverty and misery change the +face and heart of man. + +An American artist, following the lead of Mr. Jefferson, has beautifully +illustrated the nature of the power of observation. We do not see even +the faces of our common friends alike. The stranger observes a family +likeness which is invisible to the familiar acquaintance. The former +sees only the few points of agreement, and decides upon them; while the +latter has observed and studied the more numerous points of difference, +until he is blind to all others. Hence a portrait may appear true to a +stranger, which, to an intimate acquaintance, is barren in expression, +and destitute of character. Therefore, the artist wisely and properly +esteemed himself successful when his work was approved by the wife or +the mother. The world around us is full of knowledge. We should so +behold it as to be instructed by all that is. The distant star paints +its image on our eye with a ray of light sent forth thousands of years +ago; yet its lesson is not of itself, but of the universe and its +mysteries, and of the Creator out of whose divine hand all things have +come. + +Conversation is at once an art, an accomplishment, and a science. It +leads to valuable practical results. It has a place, and by no means an +inferior place, in the schools. Facts stated, questions proposed, or +theories illustrated, in conversation, are permanently impressed upon +the mind. It is in the power of the teacher to communicate much +information in this way, and it is in the power of us all to make +conversation a means of improvement. + +But, when the pupil leaves the school, _reading_, so systematic and +thorough as to be called study, is, no doubt, the best culture he can +enjoy. In the first place, books are accessible to all, and they may be +had at all times. They can be used in moments of leisure, in solitude, +in the hours when sleep is too proud to wait on us, and when friends are +absent or indifferent to our lot. Conversation may be patronizing, or it +may leave us a debtor; when the book-seller's bill is settled, we have +no account with the author. + +If I am permitted to speak to all, pupils as well as teachers, I am +inclined to say, "Do not consider your education finished when you leave +home and the school." Your labors of a practical sort ought then to +commence. With system and care, you may read works of literature and +history, or devote yourself to mathematics in the higher departments of +science. As a general thing, however, it is not wise to attempt too much +at once. The custom of the schools is to require each pupil to attend to +several branches at the same time; but this course cannot be recommended +to adult persons with disciplined minds. It seems better to select one +subject, and make it the leading topic, for a time, of our studies and +thoughts. It may also be proper to suggest that works of fiction, +poetry, and romance, ought not to be read until the mind is well +disciplined, and a good foundation of solid learning is laid. Such works +tend to make one's style of thought and writing easy, flowing, and +agreeable; but they are also calculated to make us dissatisfied with the +more substantial labors of intellectual life. Having obtained the +elements of learning, one thing is absolutely essential--system in +study. I fancy that there are two prevalent errors among us. First, that +men often attain intellectual eminence without study; and, secondly, +that exclusive devotion to books is the price of success. Whoever +neglects study, whatever his natural abilities, will find himself +distanced by inferior men; and, on the other hand, whoever will devote +three hours each day to the systematic improvement of his mind will +finally be numbered among the leading persons of the age. But, while we +observe, converse, and read, the power of memory and the habit of +reflection should be cultivated. The habit of reflection is a great aid +to the memory, and together they enable us to use the knowledge we daily +acquire. + +No previous age of the world has offered so great encouragement, whether +in fame or money, to men of science and literature, as the present. +Formerly, authors flourished under the patronage of princes, or withered +by their neglect; but now they are encouraged and paid by the people, +and reap where they have sown, whether kings will or not. The poverty of +authors was once proverbial; but now the only authors who are poor are +poor authors. Good learning, integrity, and ability, are well +compensated in all the professions. Some one remarked to Mr. Webster, +"That the profession of the law was crowded."--"Yes," said he, "rather +crowded below, but there is plenty of room above." Littleness and +mediocrity always seek the paths worn by superior men; and the truly +illustrious in literature and science are few in number compared with +those who attempt to tread in the footsteps of their illustrious +predecessors; but none of these things ought to deter young men of +ability, industry, and integrity, from boldly entering the lists, +without fear of failure. The world is usually just, and it will +ultimately award the tokens of its approbation to those who deserve +success. + +And there is a happy peculiarity in talent,--the variety is so great +that the competition is small. Of all the living authors, are there two +so alike that they can be considered competitors or rivals? The nation +has applauded and set the seal of its approbation upon the eloquence of +Henry, Otis, Adams, Ames, Pinckney, Wirt, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, +not because these men resembled one another, but because each had +peculiarities and excellences of his own. The same variety of excellence +is seen in living orators, and in all the eloquence and learning of +antiquity which time has spared and history has transmitted to us. It is +said that when Aristides wrote the sentence of his own banishment for a +humble and unknown enemy, the only reason given by the peasant was that +he was "tired with hearing him called the Just." And the world sometimes +appears to be restive under the influence of men of talent; but that +influence, whether always agreeable or not, is both permanent and +beneficial. + +Not only does each generation respect its own leading minds, but it is +submissive to the learning and intellect of other days. The influence of +ancient Greece still remains. We copy her architecture, borrow from her +philosophy, admire her poetry, and bow with humility before the remnants +of her majestic literature. So the policy of Rome is perceptible in the +civilization of every European country, and it is a potent element in +the laws and jurisprudence of America. The eloquence of Demosthenes has +been impressed upon every succeeding generation of civilized men; the +genius of Hannibal has stimulated the ambition of warriors from his own +time to that of Napoleon; while Shakspeare's power has been the wonder +of all modern authors and readers. It is a great representative fact in +mental philosophy, which we cannot too much contemplate, that +Demosthenes and Cicero not only enchained the thousands of Greece and +Rome in whose presence they stood, but that their eloquence has had a +controlling influence over myriads to whom the language in which they +spoke was unknown. The words that the houseless Homer sung in the +streets of Smyrna have commanded the admiration of all later times; and +even the mud walls around Plato's garden, on which are preserved the +fragments of statuary with which the garden was once adorned, attract +and instruct the wanderers and students about Athens. + +But let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that we can illustrate +anew the greatness which has distinguished a few men only in all the +long centuries of the world's existence. Be not imitators nor followers +of other men's glory. There is a path for each one, and his duty lies +therein. Yet the leading men of the world are lights which ought not to +be hid from the young, for they serve to show the extent of the field in +which human powers may be employed. The rule of the successful life is +to neglect no present opportunity of good either to yourself or to +others; and the rule of the successful student is to gather information +from whatever source he may, not doubting that it will prove useful to +himself or to his fellow-men. + +Our own age has furnished two men,--one living, the other dead,--quite +opposite in talents and attainments, whose power and influence may not +have been surpassed in ancient or modern times. I speak of Kossuth and +Webster. Our history has no parallel for the first. Most men, young or +old, gay or severe, radical or conservative, were touched by his +mournful strains, and influenced by his magic words. He came from a land +of which we knew little, and so laid open the history of its wrongs that +he enlisted multitudes in its behalf. I speak not now of the views he +presented, nor of the demands he made upon the American people. If he +taught error and asked wrong, so the more wonderful was his career. No +doubt his cause did much for him; but other patriots and exiles have +had equal opportunities with Kossuth, yet no one has so swayed the +public mind. + +He was distinguished in intellect, a master of much learning, a man of +nice moral feeling and strong religious sentiments, all of which were +combined and blended in his addresses to the people. But he spoke a +language whose rudiments he first learned in manhood. In his speech he +neglected the chief rule of Grecian eloquence. With one theme, +only,--the wrongs of Hungary; with one object, only,--her relief and +elevation,--he commanded the general attention of the American mind. The +mission of Kossuth in America deserves to be remembered as an +intellectual phenomenon, whose like, we of this generation may not again +see. + +Mr. Webster had never great personal popularity. His presence was +majestic, but forbidding. His manners were agreeable, and sometimes +fascinating to his friends, when he was in a genial mood; but he was +often reserved or even austere to strangers, and terrible to his +enemies. His style of thought was mathematical, his language expressive, +but never popular. He wrote as a man would dictate an essay which was to +appear as a posthumous work. His eloquence was not that which often +passes for eloquence upon the stump or at the bar. He seldom attempted +to court the people, and when he did, it was as if he mocked himself, +and scorned the spirit which could be moved by the breezes of popular +favor. He was not free from faults, personal and political; yet he +acquired a control which has not been possessed by any man since +Washington. Whenever he was to speak, the public were anxious to hear +and to read. Hardly any man has had the fortune to present his views in +addresses, letters, and speeches, to so large a portion of his +countrymen; yet the people whom he addressed, and who were anxious for +his words and opinions, did not always, or even generally, agree with +him. Mr. Webster's power was chiefly, if not solely, intellectual. He +had not the personal qualities of Mr. Clay or General Jackson; he was +not, like Mr. Jefferson the chosen exponent of a political creed, and +the admitted leader of a great political party; nor had he the military +character and universally acknowledged patriotism of General Washington, +which made him first in the hearts of his countrymen. Mr. Webster stands +alone. His domain is the intellect, and thus far in America he is +without a rival. To Mr. Webster, and to all men proportionately, +according to the measure of their gifts and attainments, we may apply +his great words: "A superior and commanding human intellect, a truly +great man, when Heaven vouchsafes so rare a gift, is not a temporary +flame, burning brightly for a while, and then giving place to returning +darkness. It is rather a spark of fervent heat, as well as radiant +light, with power to enkindle the common mass of human mind; so that, +when it glimmers in its own decay, and finally goes out in death, no +night follows, but it leaves the world all light, all on fire, from the +potent contact of its own spirit." + +Some humble measure of this greatness may be attained by all; and, if I +have sought to lead you in the way of improvement by considerations too +purely personal and selfish, I will implore you, in conclusion, as +teachers and as citizens, to consider yourselves as the servants of your +country and your race. There can be no real greatness of mind without +generosity of soul. If a superior human intellect seems to be specially +the gift of God, how is he wanting in true religion who fails to +dedicate it to humanity, justice, and virtue! + +An eminent historian, seeing at one view, and as in the present moment, +the fall of great states, ancient and modern, and anticipating a like +fate for his own beloved land, has predicted that in two centuries there +will be three hundred millions of people in North America speaking the +language of England, reading its authors, and glorying in their +descent. If this be so, what limits can we assign to the work, or how +estimate the duty, of those intrusted with the education of the young? + +Who can say what share of responsibility for the future of America is +upon the teachers of the land? + + + + +LIBERTY AND LEARNING. + +[An Address delivered at Montague, July 4th, 1857.] + + +I congratulate you upon the auspicious moments of this, the eighty-first +anniversary of our National Independence; and its return, now and ever, +should be the occasion of gratitude to the Author of all good, that He +hath vouchsafed to our fathers and to their descendants the wisdom to +establish and the wisdom to preserve the institutions of Liberty in +America. + +And I congratulate you that you accept this anniversary as the occasion +for considering the subject of education. Ignorant and blind worshippers +of Liberty can do but little for its support; but, whatever of change or +decay may come to our institutions, Liberty itself can never die in the +presence of a people universally and thoroughly educated. It is not, +then, inappropriate nor unphilosophical for us to connect Education and +Liberty together; and I therefore propose, after presenting some +thoughts upon the Declaration of Independence, and its relations to the +American Union, to consider the value of political learning, its +neglect, and the means by which it may be promoted. + +The events and epochs of life are logical in their nature, and are +harmonious or inharmonious as the affairs of men are controlled by +principle, policy, or accident. Humboldt, Maury, and Guyot, Arago, +Agassiz, and Pierce, by observation, philosophy, and mathematics, +demonstrate the harmony of the physical creation. In the microscopic +animalculæ; in the gigantic remains, whether vegetable or animal, of +other ages and conditions of life; in the coral reef and the mountain +range; in the hill-side rivulet that makes "the meadows green;" in the +ocean current that bathes and vivifies a continent; in the setting of +the leaf upon its stem, and the moving of Uranus in its orbit, they +trace a law whose harmony is its glory, and whose mystery is the +evidence of its divinity. + +National changes, the movements and progress of the human race, as a +whole and in its parts, are obedient, likewise, to law; and are, +therefore, logical in their character, though generally lacking in +precision of connection and order of succession. Or it may be, rather, +that we lack power to trace the connection between events that depend in +part, at least, upon the prejudices, passions, vices, and weaknesses, of +men. The development of the logic of human affairs waits for a +philosopher who shall study and comprehend the living millions of our +race, as the philosophers now study and comprehend the subjects of +physical science. We have no guaranty that this can ever be done. As +mind is above matter, the mental philosopher enters upon the most varied +and difficult field of labor. + +Keeping this fact in mind, it appears to be true that every person of +observation, reading, and reflection, is something of a mental +philosopher, though much the larger number have no knowledge of physical +science. And especially must the student of history have a system of +mental philosophy; but often, no doubt, his system is too crude for +general notice. Every historian connects the events of his narrative by +some thread of philosophy or speculation; every reader observes some +connection, though he may never develop it to himself, between the +events and changes of national and ethnological life; and even the +observer whose vision is limited by his own horizon in time and space +marks a dependence, and speaks of cause and effect. All this follows +from the existence and nature of man. Man is not inert, nor even +passive, merely; and his activity will continually organize itself into +facts and forms, ever changing in character, it may be, yet subject to +a law as wise and fixed as that of planetary motion. + +The Independence of the British Colonies in America, declared on the 4th +of July, 1776, is not an isolated fact; nor is the Declaration itself a +hasty and overwrought production of a young and enthusiastic adventurer +in the cause of liberty. + +The passions and the reason of men connected the Declaration of +Independence with the massacre in King-street, of March 5th, 1770; with +the passage and repeal of the Stamp Act; with the attempt to enforce the +Writs of Assistance; with the act to close the port of Boston; with the +peace of 1763; with the Act of Settlement of 1688; with the execution of +Charles I., and the Protectorate of Cromwell; with the death of Hampden; +with the confederation of 1643; with the royal charters granted to the +respective colonies; with the compact made on board the Mayflower; and, +finally, and distinctly, and chiefly,--as the basis of the greatest +legal argument of modern times, made by the Massachusetts House of +Representatives, from 1765 to 1775,--with the events at Runnymede, and +the grant of the Great Charter to the nobles and people of England in +1215, which is itself based upon the concessions of Edward the +Confessor, and the affirmation of the Saxon laws in the eleventh +century. Our Independence is, then, one logical fact or event in a long +succession, to the enumeration of which we may yet add the confederation +of 1778, the constitution of 1787, the French Revolution of 1789, the +rapid increase of American territory and States, the revolutionary +spirit of continental Europe, the reforms in the British government at +home, the wise modifications of its colonial policy, and for us a long +career of prosperity based upon the cardinal doctrine of the equality of +all men before the law. + +Nor can any reader of the Declaration itself assume that it contains one +statement, proposition, idea, or word, not carefully considered, and +carefully expressed. It was not the production of hasty, thoughtless, or +reckless men. The country had been gradually prepared for the great +event. States, counties, and towns, had made the most distinct +expressions of opinion upon the relations of the colonies to the mother +country. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, +moved, in the Congress of the United Colonies, a resolution declaring, +That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British crown, and that all political connection between them and the +state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. The +subject was considered on the tenth; and, on the eleventh instant, the +committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Dr. Franklin, +Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed. On the +twenty-fifth of June, a Declaration of the Deputies of Pennsylvania, in +favor of Independence, was read. On the twenty-eighth, the credentials +of the delegates from New Jersey, in which they were instructed to favor +Independence, were presented; and on the first of July similar +instructions to the Maryland delegates were laid before Congress. At +this time Congress proceeded to consider the Declaration and resolution +reported by the committee. The Declaration was carefully considered, and +materially amended in committee of the whole, on the first, second, +third, and fourth, when it was finally adopted. It was then signed by +the president and secretary, and copies were transmitted to the several +colonies. The order for its engrossment, and for the signature by every +member, was not passed until the nineteenth of July, and it was not +really signed until the second of August following. It is not likely, +considering the circumstances, and the known character of the members of +Congress, among whom may be mentioned John Hancock, Samuel Adams, +Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris, Benjamin Harrison, Elbridge Gerry, John +Witherspoon, a descendant of John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, Charles +Carroll, and Samuel Huntington,--all distinguished for coolness, +probity, and patriotism,--that the immortal document can contain one +thought or word unworthy its sacred associations, and the character of +the American people! + +And it is among the alarming symptoms of public sentiment that the +Declaration of Independence is by some publicly condemned, and by others +quietly accepted as entitled to just the consideration, and no more, +that is given to an excited advocate's speech to a jury, or a +demagogue's electioneering harangue, or the daily contribution of the +partisan editor to the stock of political capital that aids the election +of his favorite candidates. And upon this evidence is the nation and the +world to be taught that but little was meant by the assertions, "that +all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with +certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are +instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the +governed"? Would it not be wiser to test the government we have, by a +statesmanlike application of the principles of the Declaration of +Independence in the management of public affairs? + +The Union is connected with the Declaration of Independence. The Union +is an institution: the Declaration of Independence is an assertion of +rights, and an exposition of principles. When principles are +disregarded, institutions do not, for any considerable time, retain +their original value. And it would be the folly of other nations, +without excuse in us, were we to worship blindly any institution, +whatever its origin or its history. I do not, myself, doubt the value of +the American Union. It was the necessity of the time when it was formed; +it is the necessity of the present moment; it was, indeed, the claim of +our whole colonial life, and its recognition could be postponed no +longer when the colonies crossed the threshold of national existence. + +The colonies had carried on a correspondence among themselves upon +important matters; the New England settlements formed a confederation in +1643, that was the prototype of the present Union; and the convention at +Albany, in 1754, considered in connection with various resolutions and +declarations, indicated a growing desire "to form a more perfect union, +establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common +defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of +liberty" to the successive generations that should occupy the American +continent. + +For these exalted purposes the Constitution was framed, and the Union +established; and the Constitution and the Union will remain as long as +these exalted purposes, with any considerable share of fidelity, are +secured. The Union will not be destroyed by declamation, nor can +declamation preserve it. Words have power only when they awaken a +response in the minds of those who listen. The Union will be judged, +finally, by its merits; and they are not powerful enemies for evil who +attack it through the press and from the rostrum; but rather they who, +clothed with authority, brief or permanent, interpret the constitution +so as to defeat the end for which it was framed. Nor are they the best +friends of the Union who lavishly bestow upon it nicely-wrought +encomiums, as though the gilding of rhetoric and the ornament of praise +could shield a human institution from the judgment of a free people; but +rather they who, under Heaven, and in the presence of men, seek to so +interpret the constitution as, in the language and in the order of its +preamble, "to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure +domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the +general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty" to themselves and +their posterity. Words are powerless, and enemies--envious, jealous, or +deluded--are powerless, when they war upon a system of government that +secures such exalted results. And, if in these later days of our +national existence patriotism has been weakened, respect and reverence +for the constitution and the Union have been diminished, it is because +the actual government under the constitution has, in the judgment of +many, failed to realize the government of the constitution. + +But let no one despair of the Republic. Men are now building better than +they know; possibly, better than they wish. A great government, powerful +in its justice, and therefore to be respected and maintained, must also +be powerful in its errors, prejudices, and wrongs, and therefore to be +changed and reformed in these respects. The declaration "that all men +are created equal" is vital, and will live in the presence of all +governments, strong as well as weak, hostile as well as friendly. It has +no respect for worldly authority, so evidently is it a direct emanation +of the Divine Mind, and so does it harmonize with the highest +manifestations of the nature of man. But the Declaration of Independence +does not, in this particular, assert that all men are created equal in +height or weight, equal in physical strength, intellectual power, or +moral worth. It is not dealing with these qualities at all, but with the +natural political rights and relations of men. In its view, all are born +free from any political subordination to others on account of the +accidents or incidents of family or historic name. And hence it follows +that no man, by birth or nature, has any right in political affairs to +control his fellow-man; and hence it follows further, as there is +neither subjection anywhere nor authority anywhere, that all men are +created equal, that governments derive their "just powers from the +consent of the governed." And hence it must, ere long, be demonstrated +by this country, under the light of Christianity, and in the presence of +the world, that man cannot have property in his fellow-man. + +And, again, let no one despair of the Republic or of the Union; nor let +any, with rash confidence, believe that they are indestructible. They +are human institutions built up through great sacrifices, and by the +exercise of a high order of worldly wisdom. But the government is not an +end--it is a means. The end is Liberty regulated by law; and the means +will exist as long as the end thereof is attained. But, should the time +ever come when the institutions of the country fail to secure the +blessings of liberty to the living generation, and hold out no promise +of better things in the future, I know not that these institutions could +longer exist, of that they ought longer to exist. To be sure, the +horizon is not always distinctly seen. The sky is not always clear; +there are dark spots upon the disk of Liberty, as upon the sun in the +heavens; but, like the sun, its presence is for all. And, whether there +be night, or clouds, or distance, its blessings can never be wholly +withdrawn from the human race. + +It is not to be concealed, however, that the affections of the people +have been alienated from the American Union during the last seven years, +as they were from the union with Great Britain during the years of our +colonial life immediately previous to the Massacre in King-street, in +1770. This solemn personal and public experience is fraught with a great +lesson. It should teach those who are intrusted with the administration +of public affairs to translate the language of the constitution into the +stern realities of public policy, in the light of the Declaration of +Independence, and of Liberty; and it should warn those who constitute +the government, and who judge it, not to allow their opposition to men +or to measures to degenerate into indifference or hostility to the +institutions of the country. + +A little distrust of ourselves, who see not beyond our own horizon, +might sometimes lend charity to our judgment, and discretion to our +opposition; for, in the turmoil of politics, and the contests of +statesmanship, even, it is not always + + + "----the sea that sinks and shelves, + But ourselves, + That rook and rise + With endless and uneasy motion, + Now touching the very skies, + Now sinking into the depths of ocean." + + +And, as there must be in every society of men something of evil that can +be traced to the government, and something of good neglected that a wise +and efficient government might have accomplished, it is easy to build up +an argument against an existing government, however good when compared +with others. This is a narrow, superficial, unsatisfactory, dangerous +view to take of public affairs. + +We should seek to comprehend the relations of the government, the +principles on which it is founded; and, while we justly complain of its +defects, and seek to remedy them, we ought also to compare it with other +systems that exist, or that might be established. This proposition +involves an intelligent realization by the people of the character of +their institutions; and I am thus led to express the apprehension that +the popular political education of our day is inferior to that of the +revolutionary era, and of the age that immediately succeeded it. + +There is, no doubt, a disposition and a tendency to extol the recent +past. The recollections of childhood are quite at variance with the real +truth, and tradition is often the dream of old age concerning the +events of early life. As rivers, hills, mountains, roads, and towns, are +all magnified by the visions of childhood, it is not strange that men +should be also. Hence comes, in part, the popular belief in the superior +physical strength and greater longevity of the people who lived fifty or +a hundred years ago. Each generation is familiar with its predecessor; +but of the one next remote it knows only the marked characters. Those +who possessed great physical excellences remain; but they are not so +much the representatives of their generation as its exceptions. The +weak, the diseased, have fallen by the way; and, as there is an intimate +connection between physical and intellectual power, the remnant of any +generation, whatever its common character, will retain a +disproportionate number of strong-minded men. Hence it is not safe to +judge a generation as a whole by those who remain at the age of sixty or +seventy years; especially if we reflect that public opinion and +tradition are most likely to preserve the names and qualities of those +who were distinguished for physical or mental power. Yet, after making +due allowance for these exaggerations, I cannot escape the conclusion +that we have, as a people, deteriorated in average sound political +learning; and I proceed to mention some of the causes and evidences of +our degeneracy, and of the superiority of our ancestors. + +I. _The political condition of the country has been essentially +changed._--General personal and family comfort, according to the ideas +now entertained, was not a feature of American society for one hundred +and seventy years from the settlement at Plymouth. Life was a continual +contest--a contest with the forest, with the climate, with the Indians, +and especially was it a continual contest with the mother country. The +colonists sought to maintain their own rights without infringement, +while they accorded to the sovereign his constitutional privileges. +Conflicts were frequent, and apprehensions of conflict yet more +frequent. Hence those who had the conduct of public affairs were +compelled to give some attention to English history, and to the +constitutional law of Great Britain. Moreover, it was always important +to secure and keep a strong public sentiment on the side of liberty; and +there were usually in every town men who thoroughly investigated +questions of public policy. There was one topic, more absorbing than any +other, that involved the study of the legal history and usage of Great +Britain, and a careful consideration of the general principles of +liberty; namely, the constitutional rights of a British subject. Here +was a broad field for inquiry, investigation, and study; and it was +faithfully cultivated and gleaned. There has never been a political +topic for public discussion in America more important in itself, or +better calculated to educate an American in a knowledge of his political +rights, than the examination of the political relations of the subject +to the crown and parliament of Great Britain previous to the Declaration +of Independence. It was not an abstraction. It had a practical value to +every man in the colonies, and it was the prominent feature of the +masterly exposition made by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, +to which I have already referred. And we can better estimate the +political education which the times furnished, when we consider that the +revolutionary war was made logical and necessary through a knowledge of +positions, facts, and arguments, scattered over the history of the +colonies. But, when our Independence had been established and +recognized, constitutions had been framed, and the governments of the +states and nation set in motion, the beauty and harmony of our political +system seemed to render continued attention to political principles and +the rights of individual men unnecessary. Hence, we may anticipate the +judgment of impartial history in the admission that public attention was +gradually given to contests for office which did not always involve the +maintenance of a fundamental principle of government, or the recognition +of an essential human right. It does not, however, follow, from this +admission, that we are indifferent to our political lot,--occasional +contests upon principle refute such a conjecture,--but that men are not +anxious concerning those things which appear to be secure. And the +differences of political parties of the last fifty years have not been +so much concerning the nature of human rights, as in regard to the +institutions by which those rights can be best protected. Therefore our +political questions have been questions of expediency rather than of +principle. And, if there is any foundation for the popular impression +that public offices are conferred on men less eminently qualified to +give dignity to public employments, the reason of this degeneracy--less +noteworthy than it is usually represented--is to be found in this +connection. + +Governments and political organizations accept the common law of +society. When an individual or a corporation is prosperous, places of +trust and emolument are often gained and occupied by unworthy men; but, +when profits are diminished, or when they disappear entirely; when +dividends are passed, when loss and bankruptcy are imminent, then, if +hope and courage still remain, places of importance are filled by the +appointment of abler and worthier men. The charge made against official +character, to whatever extent true, is better evidence of confidence and +prosperity than it is of the degeneracy of the people; and a public +exigency, serious and long-continued, would call to posts of +responsibility the highest talent and integrity which the country could +produce. But it is, nevertheless, to be admitted as a necessary +consequence of the facts already stated, and the views presented, that +the average amount of sound political learning among those engaged in +public employments is less than it was during the revolutionary era. It +is, however, also to be observed, that, when such learning seems to be +specially required, the people demand it and secure it. Hence the work +of framing constitutions, even in the new states, has, in its execution, +commanded the approval of political writers in this country and in +Europe. And it must, also, be admitted that peace and prosperity render +sound political learning and great experience less necessary, and at the +same time multiply the number of men who are considered eligible to +office. Candidates are put in nomination and elected because they have +been good neighbors, honorable citizens, competent teachers of youth, or +faithful spiritual guides; or, possibly, because they have been +successful in business, are of the military or of the fire department, +or because they are leaders and benefactors of special classes of +society. In ordinary times these facts are all worthy of consideration +and real deference; but when, as in the Revolution, every place of +public service is a post of responsibility, or sacrifice, or danger, +candidates and electors will not meet upon these grounds, but, +disregarding such circumstances, the canvass will have special reference +to the work to be done. For civil employments, political learning and +experience are required; and for military posts, skill, sagacity, and +courage. It may be said that our whole colonial life was a preparatory +school for the revolutionary contest; and, therefore, the major part of +the enterprise, ambition, and patriotism, of the country, was given to +the training, studies, and pursuits, calculated to fit men for so stern +a struggle. But now that other avenues are inviting in themselves, and +promise political preferment, we are liable to the criticism that our +young men, well educated in the schools and in a knowledge of the world, +are not well grounded in political history and constitutional law, +without which there can be no thorough and comprehensive statesmanship. +And, as I pass from this branch of my subject, I may properly say that I +do not seek to limit the number of candidates for public office; for +every office is a school, and the public itself is a great and wise +teacher. Nor do I ask any to abandon the employments and duties, or to +neglect the claims of business and of social life; but I seek to impress +upon our youth a sense of the importance of adding something thereto. +The knowledge of which I have spoken is valuable in the ordinary course +of public business, and absolutely essential in the exigences of +political and national life. And it is with an eye single to the +happiness of individuals, and the welfare of the public, that I invite +my fellow-citizens, and especially the young men of the state, to take +something from the hours of labor, where labor is excessive; or +something from amusement, where amusement has ceased to be recreation; +or something from light reading, which often is neither true, nor +reasonable, nor useful; or something from indolence and dissipation; +and, in the minutes and hours thus gained, treasure up valuable +knowledge for the circumstances and exigences of citizenship and public +office. + +II. _The claims of business and society are unfavorable to political +learning._--I assume it to be true of Massachusetts that the proportion +of freehold farmers to the whole population is gradually diminishing, +and that the amount of labor performed by each is gradually increasing. +From the settlement of the country to the commencement of the present +century, there was a great deal of privation, hardship, and positive +suffering; but the claim for continuous labor was not exacting. + +The necessary articles of food and clothing were chiefly supplied from +the land, and the majority did not contemplate any great accumulation of +worldly goods, but sought rather to place their political and religious +privileges upon a sure foundation. Agriculture was in a rude state, and +consequently did not furnish steady employment to those engaged in it. +It is only when there are valuable markets, scientific, or at least +careful cultivation, and large profits, that the farmer can use his +evenings and long winters in his profession. These circumstances did not +exist until the present century; and we have thus in this discussion +found both the motive and the opportunity for political learning among +our ancestors. + +It is also possible that the increased activity of business and business +men is unfavorable to those studies and thoughts that are essential to +political learning. Commerce and trade are stimulated by never-ceasing +competition; and manufacturers are not free from the influence of +markets, and the necessity of variety, taste, and skill, in the +management of their business. If the larger share of the physical and +mental vigor of a man is given to business, his hours of leisure must be +hours of relaxation; and to most minds the study of history and of +kindred topics is by no means equivalent to recreation. Moreover, +society presents numerous claims which are not easily disregarded. +Fashionable life puts questions that but few people have the courage to +answer in the negative. Have you read the last novel? the new play? the +reviews of the quarter? the magazines of the month? or the greatest +satire of the age? These questions have puzzled many young men into +customary neglect of useful reading, that they may not admit their +ignorance in the presence of those whom they respect or admire. + +But, everything valuable is expensive, and learning can be secured only +by severe self-sacrifice. With our ancestors, after religious culture, +historical and political reading was next immediately before them; but +the youth of this generation who seek such learning are compelled to +make their way without deference to the daily customs of society. There +is no fashionable or tolerated society that invites young men to read +the history of England prior to the time when Macaulay begins. Nor does +public sentiment recommend De Lolme on the British constitution, the +Federalist, the writings of Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, Story, and +Webster, upon the constitution of the United States, and the practice of +the government under it. Not but that these topics are considered in the +higher institutions of learning; but I address myself to those who have +enjoyed the advantages of our common schools only, where thorough +instruction in national and general political history cannot be given. +This kind of learning must be self-acquired, and acquired by some +temporary sacrifice; and the sooner, in the case of every young man, +this sacrifice is contemplated and offered, the more acceptable and +useful it will be. And the acquisition of this kind of learning does +not, in a majority of cases, admit of delay. It should be the work of +youth and early manhood. The duties of life are so constant and pressing +that we find it difficult to abstract ourselves and our thoughts from +the world; but, from the age of sixteen to the age of twenty-five, the +attention may be concentrated upon special subjects, and their elements +mastered. + +By the Athenian law, minority terminated at the age of sixteen years; +and Demosthenes, at that period of his life, commenced a course of +self-education by which he became the first orator of Athens, and the +admiration of the after-world. The father of Demosthenes died worth +fourteen talents; and the son, though defrauded by his guardians, was, +as his father had been, enrolled in the wealthiest class of citizens; +yet he did not hesitate to subject himself to the severest mental and +physical discipline, in preparation for the great life he was to lead. + +"Demosthenes received, during his youth, the ordinary grammatical and +rhetorical education of a wealthy Athenian.... It appears also that he +was, from childhood, of sickly constitution and feeble muscular frame; +so that, partly from his own disinclination, partly from the solicitude +of his mother, he took little part, as boy or youth, in the exercises of +the palæstra.... Such comparative bodily disability probably contributed +to incite his thirst for mental and rhetorical acquisitions, as the only +road to celebrity open. But it at the same time disqualified him from +appropriating to himself the full range of a comprehensive Grecian +education, as conceived by Plato, Isokrates, and Aristotle; an education +applying alike to thought, word, and action--combining bodily strength, +endurance, and fearlessness, with an enlarged mental capacity, and a +power of making it felt by speech. + +"The disproportion between the physical energy and the mental force of +Demosthenes, beginning in childhood, is recorded and lamented in the +inscription placed on his statue after his death.... Demosthenes put +himself under the teaching of Isæus; ... and also profited largely by +the discourse of Plato, of Isokrates, and others. As an ardent +aspirant, he would seek instruction from most of the best sources, +theoretical as well as practical--writers as well as lecturers. But, +besides living teachers, there was one of the last generation who +contributed largely to his improvement. He studied Thucydides with +indefatigable labor and attention; according to one account, he copied +the whole history eight times over with his own hand; according to +another, he learnt it all by heart, so as to be able to rewrite it from +memory, when the manuscript was accidentally destroyed. Without minutely +criticizing these details, we ascertain, at least, that Thucydides was +the peculiar object of his study and imitation. How much the composition +of Demosthenes was fashioned by the reading of Thucydides, reproducing +the daring, majestic, and impressive phraseology, yet without the +overstrained brevity and involutions of that great historian,--and +contriving to blend with it a perspicuity and grace not inferior to +Lysias,--may be seen illustrated in the elaborate criticism of the +rhetor Dionysius. + +"While thus striking out for himself a bold and original style, +Demosthenes had still greater difficulties to overcome in regard to the +external requisites of an orator. He was not endowed by nature, like +Æschines, with a magnificent voice; nor, like Demades, with a ready flow +of vehement improvisation. His thoughts required to be put together by +careful preparation; his voice was bad, and even lisping; his breath +short; his gesticulation ungraceful; moreover, he was overawed and +embarrassed by the manifestations of the multitude.... The energy and +success with which Demosthenes overcame his defects, in such manner as +to satisfy a critical assembly like the Athenians, is one of the most +memorable circumstances in the general history of self-education. +Repeated humiliation and repulse only spurred him on to fresh solitary +efforts for improvement. He corrected his defective elocution by +speaking with pebbles in his mouth; he prepared himself to overcome the +noise of the assembly by declaiming in stormy weather on the sea-shore +of Phalerum; he opened his lungs by running, and extended his powers of +holding breath by pronouncing sentences in marching up-hill; he +sometimes passed two or three months without interruption in a +subterranean chamber, practising night and day either in composition or +declamation, and shaving one-half of his head in order to disqualify +himself from going abroad."[3] Yet all this effort and sacrifice were +accompanied by repeated and humiliating failures; and it was not until +he was twenty-seven years of age that the great orator of the world +achieved his first success before the Athenian assembly. + +But how can the youth of this age hope to be followers, even at a +distance, of Demosthenes, and of those his peers, who, by eloquence, +poetry, art, science, and general learning, have added dignity to the +race, and given lustre to generations separated by oceans and centuries, +unless they are animated by a spirit of progress, and cheered by a faith +that shall be manifested in the disposition and the power to overcome +the obstacles that lie in every one's path? + +Such a course of training requires individual effort and personal +self-sacrifice. It would not be wise to follow the plan of the Athenian +orator; he adapted his training to his personal circumstances, and the +customs of the country. His history is chiefly valuable for the lessons +of self-reliance, and the example of perseverance under discouragements, +that it furnishes. But it is always a solemn duty to hold up before +youth noble models of industry, perseverance, and success, that they may +be stimulated to the work of life by the assurance of history that, + + + "Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, + Is our destined end or way; + But to act, that each to-morrow + Find us further than to-day." + + +III. _The popular reading of the day does not contribute essentially to +the education of the citizen and statesman._--It is not, of course, +expected that every man is to qualify himself for the life of a +statesman; but it does seem necessary for all to be so well instructed +in political learning as to possess the means of forming a reasonable +and philosophical opinion of the policy of the government. It is as +discreditable to the intellect and judgment of a free people to complain +of that which is right in itself, and rests upon established principles +of right, as to submit without resistance or murmur to usurpation or +misgovernment. I do not mean to undervalue the periodical press; but it +must always assume something in regard to its readers, and in politics +it must assume that the principles of government and the history of +national institutions are known and understood. + +But the young man should subject himself to a systematic course of +training; and I know of nothing more valuable in political studies than +a thorough acquaintance with English history. Our principles of +government were derived from England; and it is in the history of the +mother country that the best discussion of principles is found, as in +that country many of the contests for liberty occurred. But, as our +government is the outgrowth rather than a copy of British principles and +institutions, the American citizen is not prepared for his duties until +he has made himself familiar with American history, in all its +departments. How ill-suited, then, for the duties of citizenship and +public life, in the formation of taste and habits of thought, is much of +the reading of the present time! And I may here call attention to the +fact that each town in Massachusetts is invested with authority to +establish a public library by taxation. This, it seems to me, is one of +the most important legislative acts of the present decennial period; +and, indeed, a public library is essential to the view I am taking of +the necessity and importance of political education. Private libraries +exist, but they are not found in every house, nor can every person enjoy +their advantages. Public libraries are open to all; and, when the +selection of books is judicious, they furnish opportunities for +education hardly less to be prized than the common schools themselves. +The public library is not only an aid to general learning, a contributor +to political intelligence and power, but it is an efficient supporter of +sound morals, and all good neighborhood among men. + + +If the public will not offer to its youth valuable reading, such as its +experience, its wisdom, its knowledge of the claims of society, its +morality may select, shall the public complain if its young men and +women are tempted by frivolous and pernicious mental occupations? It is, +moreover, the duty of the public to furnish the means of self-education, +especially in the science of government; and political learning, for the +most part, must be gained after the school-going period of life has +passed. + + +Let American liberty be an intelligent liberty, and therefore a +self-sustaining liberty. Freedom, more or less complete, has been found +in two conditions of life. Man, in a rude state, where his condition +seemed to be normal, rather than the result of a process of mental and +moral degeneracy, has often possessed a large share of independence; but +this should by no means be confounded with what in America is called +liberty. The independence of the savage, or nomad, is manifested in the +absence of law; but the liberty of an American citizen is the power to +do whatever may be beneficial to himself, and not injurious to his +neighbor nor to the state. The first leaves self-protection and +self-regulation to the individual, while the latter restrains the +aggressive tendencies of all for the security of each. The first is +natural equality without law; the second is natural equality before the +law. With the first, might makes right; with the latter, right makes +might. With the first, the power of the law, or of the will of an +individual or clan, is in the rigor and success of execution; with the +latter, the power of the law is in the justice of its demand. We, as a +people, have passed the savage and nomadic state, and can return to it +only after a long and melancholy process of decay and change, out of +which ultimately might come a new and savage race of men. This, then, is +not our immediate, even if it be a possible danger. But we are to guard +against intellectual, political, and moral degeneracy. We are, through +family, religious, and public education, to take security of the +childhood and youth of the land for the preservation of the institutions +we have, and for the growth, greatness, and justice, of the republic. +Liberty in America, if you will admit the distinction, is a growth and +not a creation. The institutions of liberty in America have the same +character. By many centuries of trial, struggle, and contest, through +many years of experience, sometimes joyous, and sometimes sad, the fact +and the institutions of liberty in America have been evolved. It has not +been a work of destruction and creation, but a process of change and +progress. And so it must ever be. Reformation does not often follow +destruction; and they who seek to destroy the institutions of a country +are not its friends in fact, however they may be in purpose. Ignorance +can destroy, but intelligence is required to reform or build up. Let +the prejudice against learning, not common now, but possibly existing in +some minds, be forever banished. Learning is the friend of liberty. Of +this America has had evidence in her own history, and in her observation +of the experience of others. The literary institutions and the +cultivated men of America, like Milton and Hampden in England, preferred + + + "Hard liberty before the easy yoke + Of servile pomp." + + +It was the intelligence of the country that everywhere uttered and +everywhere accepted the declaration of the town of Boston, in the +revolutionary struggle, "We can endure poverty, but we disdain slavery." +Ignorance is quicksand on which no stable political structure can be +built; and I predict the future greatness of our beloved state, in those +historical qualities that outlast the ages, from the fact that she is +not tempted by her extent of territory, salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or by the presence and promise of any natural source of wealth, +to falter in her devotion to learning and liberty. And I anticipate for +Massachusetts a career of influence beneficial to all, whether disputed +or accepted, when I reflect that, with less good fortune in the presence +and combination of learning and liberty, Greece, Rome, Venice, Holland, +and England, enjoyed power disproportionate to their respective +populations, territory, and natural resources. And, while the object for +which we are convened may pardon something to local attachments and +state pride, the day and the occasion ought not to pass without a +grateful and hearty acknowledgment of the interest manifested by other +states and sections in the cause of general learning, and especially in +common-school education. The Canadas are our rivals; the states of the +West are our rivals; the states of the South are our rivals; and, were +our greater experience and better opportunities reckoned against us, I +know not that there would be much in our systems of education of which +we could properly boast. It is, indeed, possible that North Carolina, +untoward circumstances having their due weight, has made more progress +in education, since 1840, than any other state of the Union. + +Education is not only favorable to liberty, but, when associated with +liberty, it is the basis of the Union and power of the American states. +As citizens of the republic, we need a better knowledge of our national +institutions, a better knowledge of the institutions of the several +states, a more intimate acquaintance with one another, and the power of +judging wisely and justly the policies and measures of each and all. +These ends, aided or accomplished by general learning, will so +strengthen the Union as no force of armies can--will so strengthen the +Union as that by no force of armies can it be overthrown. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[3] Grote's Hist., vol. xi., p. 266, et seq. + + + + +MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND. + +[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Board of Education.] + + +The Massachusetts School Fund was established by the Legislature of 1834 +(stat. 1834, chap. 169), and it was provided by the act that all moneys +in the treasury on the first of January, 1835, derived from the sale of +lands in the State of Maine, and from the claim of the state on the +government of the United States for military services, and not otherwise +appropriated, together with fifty per centum of all moneys thereafter to +be received from the sale of lands in Maine, should be appropriated to +constitute a permanent fund, for the aid and encouragement of Common +Schools. It was provided that the fund should never exceed one million +of dollars, and that the income only should be appropriated to the +object in view. The mode of distribution was referred to a subsequent +Legislature. It was, however, provided that a greater sum should never +be paid to any city or town than was raised therein for the support of +common schools. There are two points in the law that deserve +consideration. First, the object of the fund was the aid and +encouragement of the schools, and not their support; and secondly, the +limit of appropriation to the respective towns was the amount raised by +each. There is an apparent inconsistency in this restriction when it is +considered that the income of the entire fund would have been equal to +only forty-three cents for each child in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and that each town raised, annually, by +taxation, a larger sum; but this inconsistency is to be explained by the +fact that the public sentiment, as indicated by resolves reported by the +same committee for the appointment of commissioners on the subject, +tended to a distribution of money among the towns according to their +educational wants. + +As early as 1828, the Committee on Education of the House of +Representatives, in a Report made by Hon. W. B. Calhoun, declared, "That +means should be devised for the establishment of a fund having in view +not the _support_, but the _encouragement_, of the common schools, and +the instruction of school teachers." This report was made in the month +of January, and in February following the same committee say: "The +establishment of a fund should look to the support of an institution for +the instruction of school teachers in each county in the commonwealth, +and to the distribution, annually, to all the towns, of such a sum for +the benefit of the schools as shall simply operate as an encouragement +to proportionate efforts on the part of the towns. A fund which should +be so large as to suffice for the support of the whole school +establishment of the state, as is the case in Connecticut, would, in the +opinion of the committee, be rather detrimental than advantageous; it +would only serve to draw off from the mass of the community that +animating interest which will ever be found indispensable where a +resolute feeling upon the subject is wished for or expected. Such a +result is, in every sense, to be deprecated, and whatever may tend to +it, even remotely, should be anxiously avoided. A fund which should +admit of the distribution of one thousand dollars to any town which +should raise three thousand dollars, in any manner within itself, or in +that proportion, would operate as a strong incentive to high efforts; +and, if to this should be added the further requisition of a faithful +return to the Legislature, annually, of the condition of the schools, +the consequences could not be otherwise than decidedly favorable." This +report was accompanied by a bill "for the establishment of the +Massachusetts Literary Fund." The bill followed the report in regard to +the proportionate amount of the income of the fund to be distributed to +the several towns. This bill failed to become a law. + +In January, 1833, the House of Representatives, under an order +introduced by Mr. Marsh, of Dalton, appointed a committee "to consider +the expediency of investing a portion of the proceeds of the sales of +the lands of this commonwealth in a permanent fund, the interest of +which should be annually applied, as the Legislature should from time to +time direct, for the encouragement of common schools." The adoption of +this order was the incipient measure that led to the establishment of +the Massachusetts School Fund. On the twenty-third of the same month, +Mr. Marsh submitted the report of the committee. The committee acted +upon the expectation that all moneys then in the treasury derived from +the sale of public lands, and the entire proceeds of all subsequent +sales, were to be set apart as a fund for the encouragement of common +schools; but, as blanks were left in the bill reported, they seem not to +have been sanguine of the liberality of the Legislature. The cash and +notes on hand amounted to $234,418.32, and three and a half millions of +acres of land unsold amounted, at the estimated price of forty cents per +acre, to $1,400,000 more; making together a fund with a capital of +$1,634,418.32. The income was estimated at $98,065.09. It was also +stated that there were 140,000 children in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and it was therefore expected that the income of +the fund would permit a distribution to the towns of seventy cents for +each child between the afore-named ages. This certainly was a liberal +expectation, compared with the results that have been attained. The +distributive share of each child has amounted to only about one-third of +the sum then contemplated. The committee were careful to say, "It is not +intended, in establishing a school fund, to relieve towns and parents +from the principal expense of education; but to manifest our interest +in, and to give direction, energy, and stability to, institutions +essential to individual happiness and the public welfare." In +conclusion, the committee make the following inquiries and suggestions: + +"Should not our common schools be brought nearer to their constitutional +guardians? Shall we not adopt measures which shall bind, in grateful +alliance, the youth to the governors of the commonwealth? We consider +the application, annually, of the interest of the proposed fund, as the +establishment of a direct communication betwixt the Legislature and the +schools; as each representative can carry home the bounty of the +government, and bring back from the schools returns of gratitude and +proficiency. They will then cheerfully render all such information as +the Legislature may desire. A new spirit would animate the community, +from which we might hope the most happy results. This endowment would +give the schools consequence and character, and would correct and +elevate the standard of education. + +"Therefore, to preserve the purity, extend the usefulness, and +perpetuate the benefits of intelligence, we recommend that a fund be +constituted, and the distribution of the income so ordered as to open a +direct and more certain intercourse with the schools; believing that by +this measure their wants would be better understood and supplied, the +advantages of education more highly appreciated and improved, and the +blessings of wisdom, virtue, and knowledge, carried home to the fireside +of every family, to the bosom of every child." The bill reported by this +committee was read twice, and then, upon Mr. Marsh's motion, referred to +the next Legislature. + +In 1834, the bill from the files of the last General Court to establish +the Massachusetts School Fund, and so much of the petition of the +inhabitants of Seekonk as related to the same subject, were referred to +the Committee on Education. + +In the month of February, Hon. A. D. Foster, of Worcester, chairman of +the committee, made a report, and submitted a bill which was the basis +of the law of March 31, 1834. The committee were sensible of the +importance of establishing a fund for the encouragement of the common +schools. These institutions were languishing for support, and in a great +degree destitute of the public sympathy. There were no means of +communication between the government and the schools, and in some +sections towns and districts had set themselves resolutely against all +interference by the state. In 1832, an effort was made to ascertain the +amount raised for the support of schools. Returns were received from +only ninety-nine towns, showing an annual average expenditure of one +dollar and ninety-eight cents for each pupil. + +The interest in this subject does not seem to have been confined to the +Legislature, nor even to have originated there. The report of the +committee contains an extract from a communication made by Rev. William +C. Woodbridge, then editor of the _American Annals of Education and +Instruction_. His views were adopted by the committee, and they +corresponded with those which have been already quoted. The dangers of a +large fund were presented, and the example of Connecticut, and some +states of the West, where school funds had diminished rather than +increased the public interest in education, was tendered as a warning +against a too liberal appropriation of public money. On the other hand, +Mr. Woodbridge claimed that the establishment of a fund which should +encourage efforts rather than supply all wants, and, without sustaining +the schools, give aid to the people in proportion to their own +contributions, was a measure indispensable to the cause of education. He +also referred to the experience of New Jersey, which had made a general +appropriation to be paid to those towns that should contribute for the +support of their own schools; but, such was the public indifference, +that after many years the money was still in the treasury. Hence it was +inferred that all these measures were ineffectual, and that mere +taxation was, upon the whole, to be preferred to any imperfect system. +But the example of New York was approved, where the distribution of a +small sum, equal to about twenty cents for each pupil, had increased the +public interest, and wrought what then seemed to be an effectual and +permanent revolution in educational affairs. These facts and reasonings, +say the committee, seem to be important and sound, and to result in +this,--that no provision ought to be made which shall diminish the +present amount of money raised by taxes for the schools, or the interest +felt by the people in their prosperity; that a fund may be so used as +satisfactorily to increase both--and that further information in regard +to our schools is requisite to determine the best mode of doing this. +These opinions are supported generally by the judgment of the present +generation. Yet it is to be remarked, by way of partial dissent, that +the public apathy in Connecticut and the states of the West was not in a +great degree the effect of the funds, but was rather a coëxisting, +independent fact. It ought not, therefore, to have been expected that +the mere offer of money for educational purposes, while the people had +no just idea of the importance of education or of the means by which it +could be acquired, would lead them even to accept the proffered boon; +and it certainly, in their judgment, furnished no reason for +self-taxation. It is, however, no doubt true that the power of local +taxation for the support of schools is in its exercise a means of +provoking interest in education; and it is reasonable to assume that a +public system of instruction will never be vigorous and efficient at all +times and under all circumstances where the right of local taxation does +not exist or is not exercised. When the entire expenditure is derived +from the income of public funds, or obtained by a universal tax, and the +proceeds distributed among the towns, parishes, or districts, there will +often be general conditions of public sentiment unfavorable, if not +hostile, to schools; and, there will always be found in any state, +however small, local indifference and lethargy which render all gifts, +donations, and distributions, comparatively valueless. The subject of +self-taxation annually is important in connection with a system of free +education. It is the experience of the states of this country that the +people themselves are more generous in the use of this power than are +their representatives; and it is also true that when the power has been +exercised by the people, there is usually more interest awakened in +regard to modes of expenditure, and more zeal manifested in securing +adequate returns. The private conversations and public debates often +arouse an interest which would never have been manifested had the means +of education been furnished by a fund, or been distributed as the +proceeds of a general tax assessed by the government of the state. + +I have no doubt that much of our success is due to the fact that in all +the towns the question of taxation is annually submitted to the people. +It is quite certain that the sum of our municipal appropriations never +could have been increased from $387,124.17, in 1837, to $1,341,252.03, +in 1858, without the influence of the statistical tables that are +appended to the Annual Reports of the Board of Education; and it is also +true that the materials for these tables could not have been secured +without the agency of the school fund. Our experience as a state +confirms the wisdom of the reports of 1833 and 1834; and I unreservedly +concur in the opinion that a fund ought not to be sufficient for the +support of schools, but that such a fund is needed to give encouragement +to the towns, to stimulate the people to make adequate local +appropriations, to secure accurate and complete returns from the +committees, and finally to provide means for training teachers, and for +defraying the necessary expenses of the educational department. The law +of 1834, establishing the school fund, was reënacted in the Revised +Statutes (chap. 11, sects. 13 and 14). The Revised Statutes (chap. 23, +sects. 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67) also required that returns should be +made, each year, from all the towns of the commonwealth, of the +condition of the schools in various important particulars. The income of +the fund was to be apportioned among the towns that had raised, the +preceding year, the sum of one dollar by taxation for each pupil, and +had complied with the laws in other respects; and it was to be +distributed according to the number of persons in each between the ages +of four and sixteen years. These provisions have since been frequently +and variously modified; but at all times the state has imposed similar +conditions upon the towns. By the statute of 1839, chapter 56, the +income of the school fund was to be apportioned among those towns that +had raised by taxation for the support of schools the sum of one dollar +and twenty-five cents for each person between the ages of four and +sixteen years; and, by the law of 1849, chapter 117, the income was to +be apportioned among those towns which had raised by taxation the sum of +one dollar and fifty cents for the education of each person between the +ages of five and fifteen years. This provision is now in force. By an +act of the Legislature, passed April 15th, 1846, it was provided that +all sums of money which should thereafter be drawn from the treasury, +for educational purposes, should be considered as a charge upon the +moiety of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands set apart for +the purpose of constituting a school fund. This provision continued in +force until the reörganization of the fund, in 1854. By the law of that +year (chap. 300), it was provided that one half of the annual income of +the fund should be apportioned and distributed among the towns according +to the then existing provisions of law, and that the educational +expenses before referred to should be chargeable to and paid from the +other half of the income of said fund. These provisions are now in +force. + +The limitation of the act of 1834, establishing the fund, and of the +Revised Statutes, was removed by the law of 1851, chapter 112, and the +amount of the fund was then fixed at one million and five hundred +thousand dollars. By the act of 1854 the principal was limited to two +millions of dollars. The Constitutional Convention of 1853 had, with +great unanimity, declared it to be the duty of the Legislature to +provide for the increase of the school fund to the sum of two millions +of dollars; and, though the proposed constitution was rejected by the +people, the provision concerning the fund was generally, if not +universally, acceptable. Under these circumstances, the legislature of +1854 may be said to have acted in conformity to the known opinion and +purpose of the state. + +On the 1st of June, 1858, the principal of the fund was $1,522,898.41, +including the sum of $1,843.68, added during the year preceding that +date. In this statement no notice is taken of the rights of the school +fund in the Western Railroad Loan Sinking Fund. + +It may be observed that the committee of 1833 contemplated the +establishment of a fund, with a capital of $1,634,418.32, and yet, after +twenty-five years, the Massachusetts School Fund amounts to only +$1,522,898.41. Its present means of increase are limited to the excess +of one-half of the annual income over the current educational expenses. +The increase for the year 1856-7 was $4,142.90; and for the year 1857-8, +$1,843.68. With this resource only, and at this rate of increase, about +one hundred and sixty years will be required for the augmentation of the +capital to the maximum contemplated by existing laws. But the +educational wants of the state are such that even this scanty supply +must soon cease. It is then due to the magnitude of the proposition for +the considerable and speedy increase of the school fund, that its +necessity, if possible, or its utility, at least, should be +satisfactorily demonstrated; and it is for this purpose that I have +already presented a brief sketch of its history in connection with the +legislation of the commonwealth, and that I now proceed to set forth its +relations to the practical work of public instruction. + +When the fund was instituted, public sentiment in regard to education +was lethargic, if not retrograding. The mere fact of the action of the +Legislature lent new importance to the cause of learning, inspired its +advocates with additional zeal, gave efficiency to previous and +subsequent legislation, and, as though there had been a new creation, +evoked order out of chaos. + +Previous to 1834 there was no trustworthy information concerning the +schools of the state. The law of 1826, chapter 143, section 8, required +each town to make a report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, of the +amount of money paid, the number of schools, the aggregate number of +months that the schools of each city and town were kept, the number of +male and female teachers, the whole number of pupils, the number of +private schools and academies and the number of pupils therein, the +amount of compensation paid to the instructors of private schools and +academies, and the number of persons between the ages of fourteen and +twenty-one years who were unable to read and write. The Legislature did +not provide a penalty for neglect of this provision, nor does there seem +to have been any just method of compelling obedience. The Secretary of +the Commonwealth sent out blank forms of returns, and replies were +received from two hundred and fourteen towns, while eighty-eight were +entirely silent. + +The returns received furnish a series of interesting facts for the year +1826. There were one thousand seven hundred and twenty-six district +schools, supported at an expense of two hundred and twenty-six thousand +two hundred and nineteen dollars and ninety cents ($226,219.90), while +there were nine hundred and fifty-three academies and private schools +maintained at a cost of $192,455.10. The whole number of children +attending public schools was 117,186, and the number educated in +private schools and academies was 25,083. The expense, therefore, was +$7.67 per pupil in the private schools, and only $1.93 each in the +public schools. These facts are indicative of the condition of public +sentiment. About one-sixth of the children of the state were educated in +academies and private schools, at a cost equal to about six-sevenths of +the amount paid for the education of the remaining five-sixths, who +attended the public schools. The returns also showed that there were +2,974 children between the ages of seven and fourteen years who did not +attend school, and 530 persons over fourteen years of age who were +unable to read and write. The incompleteness of these returns detracts +from their value; but, as those towns where the greatest interest +existed were more likely to respond to the call of the Legislature, it +is probable that the actual condition of the whole state was below that +of the two hundred and eighty-eight towns. The interest which the law of +1826 had called forth was temporary; and in March, 1832, the Committee +on Education, to whom was referred an order with instructions to inquire +into the expediency of providing a fund to furnish, in certain cases, +common schools with apparatus, books, and such other aid as may be +necessary to raise the standard of common school education, say that +they desire more accurate knowledge than could then be obtained. The +returns required by law were in many cases wholly neglected, and in +others they were inaccurately made. In the year 1831 returns were +received from only eighty-six towns. In order to obtain the desired +information, a special movement was made by the Legislature. The report +of the committee was printed in all the newspapers that published the +laws of the commonwealth, and the Secretary was directed to prepare and +present to the Legislature an abstract of the returns which should be +received from the several towns for the year 1832. The result of this +extraordinary effort was seen in returns from only ninety-nine of three +hundred and five towns, and even a large part of these were confessedly +inaccurate or incomplete. They present, however, some remarkable facts. + +The following table, prepared from the returns of 1832, shows the +relative standing and cost of public and private schools in a part of +the principal towns. It appears that the towns named in the table were +educating rather more than two-thirds of their children in the public +schools, at an expense of $2.88 each, and nearly one-third in private +schools, at a cost of $12.70 each, and that the total expenditure for +public instruction was about thirty-six per cent. of the outlay for +educational purposes. + +Column Headings: +A - Amount paid for public instruction during the year. +B - Whole No. of Pupils in the Public Schools in the course of the yr. +C - Number of Academies and Private Schools. +D - Number of Pupils in Academies and Private Schools and not attending +Public Schools. +E -Estimated amount of compensation of Instructors of Academies and +Private Schools. + +==============+============+========+=====+=======+============ + TOWNS. | A | B | C | D | E +--------------+------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Beverly, | $1,800 00 | 580 | 28 | 490 | $2,365 33 +Bradford, | 750 00 | 600 | 9 | 177 | 1,725 00 +Danvers, | 2,000 00 | 873 | 6 | 150 | 1,500 00 +Marblehead, | 2,200 00 | 650 | 31 | 650 | 3,800 00 +Cambridge, | 8,600 00 | 970 | 16 | 441 | 5,782 00 +Medford, | 1,200 00 | 284 | 6 | 151 | 2,372 00 +Newton, | 1,600 00 | 542 | 3 | 100 | 2,975 00 +Amherst, | 850 00 | 556 | 2 | 270 | 4,600 00 +Springfield, | 3,600 00 | 1,957 | 4 | 800 | 2,500 00 +Greenfield, | 633 75 | 216 | 2 | 65 | 1,400 00 +Dorchester, | 2,599 00 | 613 | 15 | 124 | 1,800 00 +Quincy, | 1,800 00 | 465 | 7 | 106 | 2,741 50 +Roxbury, | 4,450 00 | 836 | 12 | 313 | 8,218 00 +New Bedford, | 4,000 00 | 1,268 | 15 | 537 | 6,300 00 +Hingham, | 2,144 00 | 703 | 8 | 180 | 2,625 00 +Provincetown, | 584 32 | 450 | 4 | 140 | 800 00 +Edgartown, | 450 00 | 350 | 10 | 100 | 2,700 00 +Nantucket, | 2,633,40 | 882 | 50 | 1,084 | 10,795 00 + |------------|--------|-----|-------+------------ +18 Towns, | $36,894 47 | 12,795 | 228 | 5,378 | $64,948 83 +==============+============+========+=====+=======+============ + + +The evidence is sufficient that the public schools were in a deplorable +and apparently hopeless condition. + +The change that has been effected in the eighteen towns named may be +seen by comparing the following table with the one already given. In +1832, 64 per cent. of the amount paid for education was expended in +academies and private schools, while in 1858 only 24 per cent. was so +expended. In the same period the amount raised for public schools +increased from less than thirty-seven thousand dollars to more than two +hundred and fifty-nine thousand dollars. At the first period, the +attendance of pupils upon academies and private schools was nearly 30 +per cent. of the whole number, while in 1858 it was only 8 per cent. The +private schools of some of these towns were established recently, and +are sustained in a degree by pupils who are not inhabitants of the +state, but who have come among us for the purpose of enjoying the +culture which our teachers and schools, private as well as public, are +able to furnish. If, as seems probable, the number of foreign pupils was +less in 1832 than in 1858, the decrease of pupils in private schools +would be greater than is indicated by the tables. The cost of education, +as it appears by this table, is rather more than thirty dollars per +pupil in the private schools, and only eight dollars and forty-nine +cents in the public schools. In the following table, Bradford includes +Groveland, Danvers includes South Danvers, Springfield includes +Chicopee, and Roxbury includes West Roxbury. This is rendered necessary +for the purposes of comparison, as Groveland, South Danvers, Chicopee, +and West Roxbury, have been incorporated since 1832. + +Column Headings: +A - Amount paid for Public Schools in 1857-8, including tax, income of +Surplus Revenue, and of State School Fund, when such income is +appropriated for such schools, and exclusive of sums paid for +school-houses. +B - Whole No. of pupils attending Public Schools in 1857-8--the largest +No. returned as in attendance during any one term. +C - Number of incorporated and unincorporated Academies and Private +Schools returned in 1858. +D - Estimated attendance in Academies and Private Schools in 1857-8. +E - Estimated amount of tuition paid in Academies and Priv. Schools in +1857-8. + +=============+=============+========+=====+=======+============ +TOWNS. | A | B | C | D | E +-------------+-------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Beverly, | $5,748 20 | 1,114 | 1 | 10 | $100 00 +Bradford, | 2,416 47 | 513 | 2 | 84 | 1,720 00 +Danvers, | 14,829 52 | 2,066 | 1 | 40 | 360 00 +Marblehead, | 7,311 10 | 1,188 | 6 | 160 | 1,390 00 +Cambridge, | 37,420 86 | 4,710 | 14 | 400 | 15,000 00 +Medford, | 7,794 44 | 837 | 5 | 130 | 3,800 00 +Newton, | 12,263 50 | 1,138 | 8 | 308 | 22,800 00 +Amherst, | 2,142 80 | 536 | 5 | 121 | 3,934 00 +Springfield, | 27,324 84 | 3,864 | 6 | -- | -- +Greenfield, | 2,627 50 | 589 | 2 | 25 | 1,800 00 +Dorchester, | 22,338 51 | 1,795 | 1 | 31 | 600 00 +Quincy, | 8,861 46 | 1,260 | 2 | 20 | 225 00 +Roxbury, | 50,000 00 | 4,400 | 25 | 561 | 10,600 00 +New Bedford, | 36,074 25 | 3,548 | 20 | 434 | 15,074 00 +Hingham, | 4,904 13 | 728 | 2 | 71 | 1,717 56 +Provincetown,| 3,147 26 | 689 | -- | -- | -- +Edgartown, | 2,578 63 | 380 | 8 | 96 | 200 00 +Nantucket, | 11,596 27 | 1,198 | 13 | 259 | 3,466 23 +-------------+-------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Totals, | $259,379 74 | 30,553 | 121 | 2,750 | $82,786 79 +=============+=============+========+=====+=======+============ + + +The Legislature of 1834 acted with wisdom and energy. The school fund +having been established, the towns were next required to furnish answers +to certain questions that were substituted for the requisition of the +statute of 1826, and any town whose committee failed to make the return +was to be deprived of its share of the income of the school fund, +whenever it should be first distributed. (Res. 1834, chap. 78.) + +Those measures were in the highest degree salutary. There were 305 towns +in the state, and returns were received from 261. There was still a want +of accuracy and completeness; but from this time forth the state secured +what had never before been attained,--intelligent legislation by the +government, and intelligent coöperation and support by the people. + +In December, 1834, the Secretary of the Commonwealth prepared an +aggregate of the returns received, of which the following is a copy: + + +Number of towns from which returns have been received, 261 +Number of school districts, 2,251 +Number of male children attending school from + four to sixteen years of age, 67,499 +Number of female children attending school from + four to sixteen years of age, 63,728 +Number over sixteen and under twenty-one unable + to read and write, 158 +Number of male instructors, 1,967 +Number of female instructors, 2,388 +Amount raised by tax to support schools, $810,178 87 +Amount raised by contribution to support schools, 15,141 25 +Average number of scholars attending academies + and private schools, 24,749 +Estimated amount paid for tuition in academies and private + schools, $276,575 75 +Local funds--Yes, 71 +Local funds--No, 181 + + +Thus, by the institution of the school fund, provision was made for a +system of annual returns, from which has been drawn a series of +statistical tables, that have not only exhibited the school system as a +whole and in its parts, but have also contributed essentially to its +improvement. + +These statistics have been so accurate and complete, for many years, as +to furnish a safe basis for legislation; and they have at the same time +been employed by the friends of education as means for awakening local +interest, and stimulating and encouraging the people to assume freely +and bear willingly the burdens of taxation. It is now easy for each +town, or for any inhabitant, to know what has been done in any other +town; and, as a consequence, those that do best are a continual example +to those that, under ordinary circumstances, might be indifferent. The +establishment and efficiency of the school-committee system is due also +to the same agency. There are, I fear, some towns that would now neglect +to choose a school committee, were there not a small annual distribution +of money by the state; but, in 1832, the duty was often either +neglected altogether, or performed in such a manner that no appreciable +benefit was produced. The superintending committee is the most important +agency connected with our system of instruction. In some portions of the +state the committees are wholly, and in others they are partly, +responsible for the qualifications of teachers; they everywhere +superintend and give character to the schools, and by their annual +reports they exert a large influence over public opinion. The people now +usually elect well-qualified men; and it is believed that the extracts +from the local reports, published annually by the Board of Education, +constitute the best series of papers in the language upon the various +topics that have from time to time been considered.[4] By the +publication of these abstracts, the committees, and indeed the people +generally, are made acquainted with everything that has been done, or is +at any time doing, in the commonwealth. Improvements that would +otherwise remain local are made universal; information in regard to +general errors is easily communicated, and the errors themselves are +speedily removed, while the system is, in all respects, rendered +homogeneous and efficient. + +Nor does it seem to be any disparagement of Massachusetts to assume +that, in some degree, she is indebted to the school fund for the +consistent and steady policy of the Legislature, pursued for more than +twenty years, and executed by the agency of the Board of Education. In +this period, normal schools have been established, which have educated a +large number of teachers, and exerted a powerful and ever increasing +influence in favor of good learning. Teachers' institutes have been +authorized, and the experiment successfully tested. Agents of the Board +of Education have been appointed, so that it is now possible, by the aid +of both these means, as is shown by accompanying returns and statements, +to afford, each year, to the people of a majority of the towns an +opportunity to confer with those who are specially devoted to the work +of education. In all this period of time, the Legislature has never +been called upon to provide money for the expenses which have thus been +incurred; and, though a rigid scrutiny has been exercised over the +expenditures of the educational department, measures for the promotion +of the common schools have never been considered in relation to the +general finances of the commonwealth. While some states have hesitated, +and others have vacillated, Massachusetts has had a consistent, uniform, +progressive policy, which is due in part to the consideration already +named, and in part, no doubt, to a popular opinion, traditional and +historical in its origin, but sustained and strengthened by the measures +and experience of the last quarter of a century, that a system of public +instruction is so important an element of general prosperity as to +justify all needful appropriations for its support. + +It may, then, be claimed for the Massachusetts School Fund, that the +expectations of those by whom it was established have been realized; +that it has given unity and efficiency to the school system; that it has +secured accurate and complete returns from all the towns; that it has, +consequently, promoted a good understanding between the Legislature and +the people; that it has increased local taxation, but has never been a +substitute for it; and that it has enabled the Legislature, at all times +and in every condition of the general finances, to act with freedom in +regard to those agencies which are deemed essential to the prosperity of +the common schools of the state. + +Having thus, in the history of the school fund, fully justified its +establishment, so in its history we find sufficient reasons for its +sacred preservation. While other communities, and even other states, +have treated educational funds as ordinary revenue, subject only to an +obligation on the part of the public to bestow an annual income on the +specified object, Massachusetts has ever acted in a fiduciary relation, +and considered herself responsible for the principal as well as the +income of the fund, not only to this generation, but to every generation +that shall occupy the soil, and inherit the name and fame of this +commonwealth. + +It only remains for me to present the reasons which render an increase +of the capital of the fund desirable, if not necessary. The annual +income of the existing fund amounts to about ninety-three thousand +dollars, one-half of which is distributed among the towns and cities, in +proportion to the number of persons in each between the ages of five and +fifteen years. The distribution for the year 1857-8 amounted to twenty +cents and eight mills for each child. The following table shows the +annual distribution to the towns from the year 1836; the whole number +of children for each year except 1836 and 1840, when the entire +population was the basis; and the amount paid on account of each child +since the year 1849, when the law establishing the present method of +distribution was enacted: + + +=================================================== + | | | Income + | | | per +Year. | Children. | Income. | pupil. +---------+--------------+---------------+---------- +1836. | 473,684 |$16,230 57[5] | -- +1837. | 160,676 | 19,002 74[6] | -- +1838. | 174,984 | 19,970 47 | -- +1839. | 180,070 | 21,358 81 | -- +1840. | 701,331 | 21,202 64[7] | -- +1841. | 179,967 | 32,109 32[8] | -- +1842. | 179,917 | 24,006 89 | -- +1843. | 173,416 | 24,094 87 | -- +1844. | 158,193 | 22,932 71 | -- +1845. | 170,823 | 28,248 35 | -- +1846. | 195,032 | 30,150 27 | -- +1847. | 197,475 | 34,511 89 | -- +=================================================== + +=================================================== + | | | Per Pupil + | | | in Cents +Year. | Children. | Income. | & Mills. +---------+--------------+---------------+---------- +1848. | 210,403 |$33,874 87 | -- +1849. | 210,770 | 33,723 20 | -- +1850. | 182,003 | 37,370 51[9] | .205 +1851. | 192,849 | 41,462 54 | .215 +1852. | 198,050 | 44,066 12 | .222 +1853. | 199,292 | 46,908 10 | .235 +1854. | 202,102 | 48,504 48 | .240 +1855. | 210,761 | 46,788 94 | .222 +1856. | 221,902 | 44,842 75 | .202 +1857. | 220,336 | 46,783 64 | .212 +1858. | 222,860 | 46,496 19 | .208 +=================================================== + + +It was contemplated by the founders of the school fund that an amount +might safely be distributed among the towns equal to one-third of the +sums raised by taxation, but the state is really furnishing only +one-thirtieth of the annual expenditure. A distribution corresponding to +the original expectation is neither desirable nor possible; but a +substantial addition might be made without in any degree diminishing the +interest of the people, or relieving them from taxation. The income of +the school fund has been three times used as a means of increasing the +appropriations in the towns. It is doubtful whether, without an addition +to the fund, this power can be again applied; and yet there are, +according to the last returns, twenty-two towns that do not raise a sum +for schools equal to $2.50 for each child between the ages of five and +fifteen years; and there are fifty-two towns whose appropriations are +less than three dollars. When the average annual expenditure is over six +dollars, the minimum ought not to be less than three. + +It is to be considered that, as population increases, the annual +personal distribution will diminish, and consequently that the bond now +existing between the Legislature and people will be weakened. Moreover, +any definite sum of money is worth less than it was twenty years ago; +and it is reasonably certain that the same sum will be less valuable in +1860, and yet less valuable in 1870, than it is now. Hence, if the fund +remain nominally the same, it yet suffers a practical annual decrease. +It is further to be presumed that the Legislature will find it expedient +to advance in its legislation from year to year. A small number of +towns, few or many, may not always approve of what is done, and it is +quite important that the influence of the fund should be sufficient to +enable the state to execute its policy with uniformity and precision. + +As is well known, the expenses of the educational department are +defrayed from the other half of the income of the fund. From this income +the forty-eight scholarships in the colleges, the Normal Schools, the +Teachers' Institutes, the Agents of the Board of Education, are +supported, and the salaries of the Secretary and the Assistant-Secretary +are paid. As has been stated, the surplus carried to the capital of the +fund in June last was only $1,843.68. The objects of expenditure, +already named, may be abolished, but no reasonable plan of economy can +effect much saving while they exist. It is also reasonably certain that +the expenses of the department must be increased. The law now provides +for twelve Teachers' Institutes, annually, and there were opportunities +during the present year for holding them; but, in order that one agent +might be constantly employed, and a second employed for the term of six +months, I limited the number of sessions to ten. + +The salaries of the teachers in the Normal Schools are low, and the +number of persons employed barely adequate to the work to be done. Some +change, involving additional expense, is likely to be called for in the +course of a few years. + +In view of the eminent aid which the school fund has rendered to the +cause of education, with due deference to the wisdom and opinions of its +founders, and with just regard to the existing and probable necessities +of the state in connection with the cause of education, I earnestly +favor the increase of the school fund by the addition of a million and a +half of dollars. + +Nor does the proposition for the state to appropriate annually $180,000 +in aid of the common schools seem unreasonable, when it is considered +that the military expenses are $65,000, the reformatory and correctional +about $200,000, the charitable about $45,000, and the pauper expenses +nearly $250,000 more, all of which will diminish as our schools are year +by year better qualified to give thorough and careful intellectual, +moral, and religious culture. + +This increase seems to be necessary in order that the Massachusetts +School Fund may furnish aid to the common schools during the next +quarter of a century proportionate to the relative influence exerted by +the same agency during the last twenty-five years. Nor will such an +addition give occasion for any apprehension that the zeal of the people +will be diminished in the least. Were there to be no increase of +population in the state, the distribution for each pupil would never +exceed forty cents, or about one-fifteenth of the amount now raised by +taxation. + +So convinced are the people of Massachusetts of the importance of common +schools, and so much are they accustomed to taxation for their support, +that there is no occasion to hesitate, lest we should follow the example +of those communities where large funds, operating upon an uneducated and +inexperienced popular opinion, have injured rather than benefited the +public schools. The ancient policy of the commonwealth will be +continued; but, whenever the people see the government, by solemn act, +manifesting its confidence in schools and learning, they will be +encouraged to guard and sustain the institutions of the fathers. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] An eminent friend of education, and an Englishman, speaking of the +reports for the year 1866-7, says: "The views enunciated by your local +committees, while they have the sobriety indicative of practical +knowledge, are at the same time enlightened and expansive. The writers +of such reports must be of inestimable aid to your schoolmasters, +standing as they do between the teacher and the parent, and exercising +the most wholesome influence on both. Let me remark, in passing, that I +am struck with the power of composition evinced in these provincial +papers. Clear exposition, great command of the best English, correctness +and even elegance of style, are their characteristics." + +[5] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to an Act of 1835. +(Stat. 138, § 2.) + +[6] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. (Rev. Stat., +chap. 23, § 67.) + +[7] Income distributed among the cities and towns, according to +population, under an Act passed Feb. 22, 1840. (Stat. 1840, Chap. 7.) +This act was repealed by an act passed Feb. 8, 1841. (Stat. 1841, chap. +17, § 2.) + +[8] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. (Stat. 1841, +chap. 17, § 2.) + +[9] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of five and fifteen years. (Stat. 1849, +chap. 117, § 2.) + + + + +A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. + +[An Address before the Barnstable Agricultural Society, Oct. 8, 1857.] + + +In the month of February, 1855, a distinguished American, who has read +much, and acquired, by conversation, observation, and travels in this +country and Europe, the highest culture of American society, wrote these +noticeable sentences: "The farmers have not kept pace, in intelligence, +with the rest of the community. They do not put brain-manure enough into +their acres. Our style of farming is slovenly, dawdling, and stupid, and +the waste, especially in manure, is immense. I suppose we are about, in +farming, where the Lowlands of Scotland were fifty years ago; and what +immense strides agriculture has made in Great Britain since the battle +of Waterloo, and how impossible it would have been for the farmers to +have held their own without!"[10] + +It would not be civil for me to endorse these statements as introductory +to a brief address upon Agricultural Education; but I should not accept +them at all did they not contain truth enough to furnish a text for a +layman's discourse before an assembly of farmers. + +Competent American travellers concur in the opinion that the Europeans +generally, and especially our brethren of England, Ireland, and +Scotland, are far in advance of us in scientific and practical +agriculture. This has been stated or admitted by Mr. Colman, President +Hitchcock, and last by Mr. French, who has recently visited Europe under +the auspices of the National Agricultural Society. + +There are good reasons for the past and for the existing superiority of +the Old World; and there are good reasons, also, why this superiority +should not much longer continue. Europe is old,--America is young. Land +has been cultivated for centuries in Europe, and often by the same +family; its capacity tested, its fitness or unfitness for particular +crops proved, the local and special effects of different fertilizers +well known, and the experience of many generations has been preserved, +so as to be equivalent to a like experience, in time and extent, by the +present occupants of the soil. + +In America there are no family estates, nor long occupation by the same +family of the same spot. Cultivated lands have changed hands as often as +every twenty-five years from the settlement of the country. The +capacity of our soils to produce, when laboriously and systematically +cultivated, has not been ascertained; there has been no accumulation of +experience by families, and but little by the public; and the effort, in +many sections, has been to draw as much as possible from the land, while +little or nothing was returned to it. Farming, as a whole, has not been +a system of cultivation, which implies improvement, but a process of +exhaustion. It has been easier for the farmer, though, perhaps, not as +economical, if all the elements necessary to a correct opinion could be +combined, to exchange his worn-out lands for fresh soils, than to adopt +an improving system of agriculture. The present has been consulted; the +future has been disregarded. As the half-civilized hunters of the pampas +of Buenos Ayres make indiscriminate slaughter of the myriads of wild +cattle that roam over the unfenced prairies of the south, and preserve +the hides only for the commerce and comfort of the world, so we have +clutched from nature whatever was in sight or next at hand, regardless +of the actual and ultimate wrong to physical and vegetable life; and, as +the pioneers of a better civilization now gather up the bones long +neglected and bleaching under tropical suns and tropical rains, and by +the agency of trade, art, and industry, extort more wealth from them +than was originally derived from the living animals, so we shall find +that worn-out lands, when subjected to skilful, careful, scientific +husbandry, are quite as profitable as the virgin soils, which, from the +day of the migration into the Connecticut valley to the occupancy of the +Missouri and the Kansas, have proved so tempting to our ancestors and to +us. But there has been some philosophy, some justice, and considerable +necessity, in the course that has been pursued. Subsistence is the first +desire; and, in new countries where forests are to be felled, dwellings +erected, public institutions established, roads and bridges built, +settlers cannot be expected, in the cultivation of the land, to look +much beyond the present moment. And they are entitled to the original +fertility of the soil. Europe passed through the process of settlement +and exhaustion many centuries ago. Her recovery has been the work of +centuries,--ours may be accomplished in a few years, even within the +limits of a single life. The fact from which an improving system of +agriculture must proceed is apparent in the northern and central +Atlantic states, and is, in a measure, appreciated in the West. We have +all heard that certain soils were inexhaustible. The statement was first +made of the valley of the Connecticut, then of the Genesee country, then +of Ohio, then of Illinois, and occasionally we now hear similar +statements of Kansas, or California, or the valley of the Willamette. In +the nature of things these statements were erroneous. The idea of soil, +in reason and in the use of the word, contains the idea of exhaustion. +Soil is not merely the upper stratum of the earth; it is a substance +which possesses the power, under certain circumstances, of giving up +essential properties of its own for the support of vegetable and +ultimately of animal life. What it gives up it loses, and to the extent +of its loss it is exhausted. It is no more untrue to say that the great +cities of the world have not, in their building, exhausted the forests +and the mines to any extent, than to say that the annual abundant +harvests of corn and wheat have not, in any degree, exhausted the +prairies and bottom lands of the West. Some lands may be exhausted for +particular crops in a single year; others in five years, others in ten, +while others may yield undiminished returns for twenty, fifty, or even a +hundred years. But it is plain that annual cropping without rotation, +and without compensation by nature or art, must finally deprive the soil +of the required elements. Nor should we deceive ourselves by considering +only those exceptions whose existence is due to the fact that nature +makes compensation for the loss. Annual or occasional irrigation with +rich deposits,--as upon the Nile and the Connecticut,--allowing the +land to lie fallow, rotation of crops and the growth of wood, are so +many expedients and provisions by which nature increases the +productiveness of the earth. Nor is a great depth of soil, as two, five, +ten, or twenty feet, any security against its ultimate impoverishment. +Only a certain portion is available. It has been found in the case of +coal-mines which lie at great depths, that they are, for the present, +valueless; and we cannot attach much importance to soil that is twenty +feet below the surface. Neither cultivation nor vegetation can go beyond +a certain depth; and wherever vegetable life exists, its elements are +required and appropriated. Great depth of soil is desirable; but, with +our present knowledge and means of culture, it furnishes no security +against ultimate exhaustion. + +The fact that all soils are exhaustible establishes the necessity for +agricultural education, by whose aid the processes of impoverishment may +be limited in number and diminished in force; and the realization of +this fact by the public generally is the only justification necessary +for those who advocate the immediate application of means to the +proposed end. + +And, gentlemen, if you will allow a festive day to be marred by a single +word of criticism, I feel constrained to say, that a great obstacle to +the increased usefulness, further elevation, and higher respectability, +of agriculture, is in the body of farmers themselves. And I assume this +to be so upon the supposition that agriculture is not a cherished +pursuit in many farmers' homes; that the head of the family often +regards his life of labor upon the land as a necessity from which he +would willingly escape; that he esteems other pursuits as at once less +laborious, more profitable, and more honorable, than his own; that +children, both sons and daughters, under the influence of parents, both +father and mother, receive an education at home, which neither school, +college, nor newspaper, can counteract, that leads them to abandon the +land for the store, the shop, the warehouse, the professions, or the +sea. + +The reasonable hope of establishing a successful system of agricultural +education is not great where such notions prevail. + +Agriculture is not to attain to true practical dignity by the borrowed +lustre that eminent names, ancient and modern, may have lent to it, any +more than the earth itself is warmed and made fruitful by the aurora +borealis of an autumn night. Our system of public instruction, from the +primary school to the college, rests mainly upon the public belief in +its importance, its possibility, and its necessity. It is easy on a +professional holiday to believe in the respectability of agriculture; +but is it a living sentiment, controlling your conduct, and inspiring +you with courage and faith in your daily labor? Does it lead you to +contemplate with satisfaction the prospect that your son is to be a +farmer also, and that your daughter is to be a farmer's wife? These, I +imagine, are test questions which not all farmers nor farmers' wives can +answer in the affirmative. Else, why the custom among farmers' sons of +making their escape, at the earliest moment possible, from the labors +and restraints of the farm? Else, why the disposition of the farmer's +daughter to accept other situations, not more honorable, and in the end +not usually more profitable, than the place of household aid to the +business of the home? How, then, can a system of education be prosperous +and efficient, when those for whom it is designed neither respect their +calling nor desire to pursue it? You will not, of course, imagine that I +refer, in these statements, to all farmers; there are many exceptions; +but my own experience and observation lead me to place confidence in the +fitness of these remarks, speaking generally of the farmers of New +England. It is, however, true, and the statement of the truth ought not +to be omitted, that the prevalent ideas among us are much in advance of +what they were ten years ago. In what has been accomplished we have +ground for hope, and even security for further advancement. + +I look, then, first and chiefly to an improved home culture, as the +necessary basis of a system of agricultural education. Christian +education, culture, and life, depend essentially upon the influences of +home; and we feel continually the importance of kindred influences upon +our common school system. + +It will not, of course, be wise to wait, in the establishment of a +system of agricultural education, until we are satisfied that every +farmer is prepared for it; in the beginning sufficient support may be +derived from a small number of persons, but in the end it must be +sustained by the mass of those interested. Other pursuits and +professions must meet the special claims made upon them, and in the +matter of agricultural education they cannot be expected to do more than +assent to what the farmers themselves may require. + +An important part of a system of agricultural education has been, as it +seems to me, already established. I speak of our national, state, +county, and town associations for the promotion of agriculture. The +first three may educate the people through their annual fairs, by their +publications, and by the collection and distribution of rare seeds, +plants, and animals, that are not usually within reach of individual +farmers. By such means, and others less noticeable, these agencies can +exert a powerful influence upon the farmers of the country; but their +thorough, systematic education must be carried on at home. And for local +and domestic education I think we must rely upon our public schools, +upon town clubs or associations of farmers, and upon scientific men who +may be appointed by the government to visit the towns, confer with the +people, and receive and communicate information upon the agricultural +resources and defects of the various localities. It will be observed +that in this outline of a plan of education I omit the agricultural +college. This omission is intentional, and I will state my reasons for +it. I speak, however, of the present; the time may come when such an +institution will be needed. In Massachusetts, Mr. Benjamin Bussey has +made provision for a college at Roxbury, and Mr. Oliver Smith has made +similar provision for a college at Northampton; but these bequests will +not be available for many years. In England, Ireland, Scotland, France, +Belgium, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and the smaller states of Europe, +agricultural schools and colleges have been established; and they appear +to be the most numerous where the ignorance of the people is the +greatest. England has five colleges and schools, Ireland sixty-three, +while Scotland has only a professorship in each of her colleges at +Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In France, there are seventy-five agricultural +schools; but in seventy of them--called inferior schools--the +instruction is a compound of that given in our public schools and the +discipline of a good farmer upon his land, with some special attention +to agricultural reading and farm accounts. Such schools are not desired +and would not be patronized among us. When an agricultural school is +established, it must be of a higher grade,--it must take rank with the +colleges of the country. President Hitchcock, in his report, published +in 1851, states that six professors would be required; that the first +outlay would be sixty-seven thousand dollars, and that the annual +expense would be six thousand and two hundred dollars. By these +arrangements and expenditures he contemplates the education of one +hundred students, who are to pay annually each for tuition the sum of +forty dollars. It was also proposed to connect an agricultural +department with several of the existing academies, at an annual expense +of three thousand dollars more. These estimates of cost seem low, nor do +I find in this particular any special objection to the recommendation +made by the commissioners of the government; any other scheme is likely +to be quite as expensive in the end. + +My chief objection is, that such a plan is not comprehensive enough, and +cannot, in a reasonable time, sensibly affect the average standard of +agricultural learning among us. The graduation of fifty students a year +would be equal to one in a thousand or fifteen hundred of the farmers of +the state; and in ten years there would not be one professionally +educated farmer in a hundred. We are not, of course, to overlook the +indirect influence of such a school, through its students annually sent +forth: the better modes of culture adopted by them would, to some +extent, be copied by others; nor are we to overlook the probability of a +prejudice against the institution and its graduates, growing out of the +republican ideas of equality prevailing among us. But the struggle +against mere prejudice would be an honorable struggle, if, in the hour +of victory, the college could claim to have reformed and elevated +materially the practices and ideas of the farmers of the country. I fear +that even victory under such circumstances would not be complete +success. An institution established in New England must look to the +existing peculiarities of our country, rather than venture at once upon +the adoption of schemes that may have been successful elsewhere. Here +every farmer is a laborer himself, employing usually from one to three +hands, and they are often persons who look to the purchase and +cultivation of a farm on their own account; while in England the master +farmer is an overseer rather than a laborer. The number of men in Europe +who own land or work it on their own account is small; the number of +laborers whose labors are directed by the proprietors and farmers is +quite large. Under these circumstances, if the few are educated, the +work will go successfully on; while here, our agricultural education +ought to reach the great body of those who labor upon the land. Will a +college in each state answer the demand for agricultural education now +existing? Is it safe in any country, or in any profession or pursuit, to +educate a few, and leave the majority to the indirect influence of the +culture thus bestowed? And is it philosophical, in this country, where +there is a degree of personal and professional freedom such as is +nowhere else enjoyed, to found a college or higher institution of +learning upon the general and admitted ignorance of the people in the +given department? or is it wiser, by elementary training and the +universal diffusion of better ideas, to make the establishment of the +college the necessity of the culture previously given? Every new school, +not a college, makes the demand for the college course greater than it +was before; and the advance made in our public schools increases the +students in the colleges and the university. We build from the primary +school to the college; and without the primary school and its +dependents,--the grammar, high school, and academy,--the colleges would +cease to exist. This view of education supports the statement that an +agricultural college is not the foundation of a system of agricultural +training, but a result that is to be reached through a preliminary and +elementary course of instruction. What shall that course be? I say, +first, the establishment of town or neighborhood societies of farmers +and others interested in agriculture. These societies ought to be +auxiliary to the county societies, and they never can become their +rivals or enemies unless they are grossly perverted in their management +and purposes. As such societies must be mutual and voluntary in their +character, they can be established in any town where there are twenty, +ten, or even five persons who are disposed to unite together. Its object +would, of course, be the advancement of practical agriculture; and it +would look to theories and even to science as means only for the +attainment of a specified end. The exercises of such societies would +vary according to the tastes and plans of the members and directors; but +they would naturally provide for discussions and conversations among +themselves, lectures from competent persons, the establishment of a +library, and for the collection of models and drawings of domestic +animals, models of varieties of fruit, specimens of seeds, grasses, and +grains, rocks, minerals, and soils. The discussions and conversations +would be based upon the actual observation and experience of the +members; and agriculture would at once become better understood and more +carefully practised by each person who intended to contribute to the +exercises of the meeting. + +Until the establishment of agricultural journals, there were no means by +which the results of individual experience could be made known to the +mass of farmers; and, even now, men of the largest experience are not +the chief contributors. + +Wherever a local club exists, it is always possible to compare the +knowledge of the different members; and the results of such comparison +may, when deemed desirable, be laid before the public at large. It is +also in the power of such an organization thoroughly and at once to test +any given experiment. The attention of this section of the country has +been directed to the culture of the Chinese sugar-cane; and merchants, +economists, and statesmen, as well as the farmers themselves, are +interested in the speedy and satisfactory solution of so important an +industrial problem. Had the attention of a few local societies in +different parts of New England been directed to the culture, with +special reference to its feasibility and profitableness, a definite +result might have been reached the present year. The growth of flax, +both in the means of cultivation and in economy, is a subject of great +importance. Many other crops might also be named, concerning which +opposite, not to say vague, opinions prevail. The local societies may +make these trials through the agency of individual members better than +they can be made by county and state societies, and better than they can +usually be made upon model or experimental farms. It will often happen +upon experimental farms that the circumstances do not correspond to the +condition of things among the farmers. The combined practical wisdom of +such associations must be very great; and I have but to refer to the +published minutes of the proceedings of the Concord Club to justify this +statement in its broadest sense. The meetings of such a club have all +the characteristics of a school of the highest order. Each member is at +the same time a teacher and a pupil. The meeting is to the farmer what +the court-room is to the lawyer, the hospital to the physician, and the +legislative assembly to the statesman. + +Moot courts alone will not make skilful lawyers; the manikin is but an +indifferent teacher of anatomy; and we may safely say that no statesman +was ever made so by books, schools, and street discussions, without +actual experience in some department of government. + +It is, of course, to be expected that an agricultural college would have +the means of making experiments; but each experiment could be made only +under a single set of circumstances, while the agency of local +societies, in connection with other parts of the plan that I have the +honor diffidently to present, would convert at once a county or a state +into an experimental farm for a given time and a given purpose. The +local club being always practical and never theoretical, dealing with +things always and never with signs, presenting only facts and never +conjectures, would, as a school for the young farmer, be quite equal, +and in some respects superior, to any that the government can establish. +But, it may be asked, will you call that a school which is merely an +assembly of adults without a teacher? I answer that technically it is +not a school, but that in reality such an association is a school in the +best use of the word. A school is, first, for the development of powers +and qualities whose germs already exist; then for the acquisition of +knowledge previously possessed by others; then for the prosecution of +original inquiries and investigations. The associations of which I speak +would possess all these powers, and contemplate all these results; but +that their powers might be more efficient, and for the advancement of +agriculture generally, it seems to me fit and proper for the state to +appoint scientific and practical men as agents of the Board of +Agriculture, and lecturers upon agricultural science and labor. If an +agricultural college were founded, a farm would be required, and at +least six professors would be necessary. Instead of a single farm, with +a hundred young men upon it, accept gratuitously, as you would no doubt +have opportunity, the use of many farms for experiments and repeated +trials of crops, and, at the same time, educate, not a hundred only, but +many thousand young men, nearly as well in theory and science, and much +better in practical labor, than they could be educated in a college. Six +professors, as agents, could accomplish a large amount of necessary +work; possibly, for the present, all that would be desired. Assume, for +this inquiry, that Massachusetts contains three hundred agricultural +towns; divide these towns into sections of fifty each; then assign one +section to each agent, with the understanding that his work for the +year is to be performed in that section, and then that he is to be +transferred to another. By a rotation of appointments and a succession +of labors, the varied attainments of the lecturers would be enjoyed by +the whole commonwealth. But, it may be asked, what, specifically stated, +shall the work of the agents be? Only suggestions can be offered in +answer to this inquiry. An agent might, in the summer season, visit his +fifty towns, and spend two days in each. While there, he could ascertain +the kinds of crops, modes of culture, nature of soils, practical +excellences, and practical defects, of the farmers; and he might also +provide for such experiments as he desired to have made. It would, +likewise, be in his power to give valuable advice, where it might be +needed, in regard to farming proper, and also to the erection and repair +of farm-buildings. I am satisfied that a competent agent would, in this +last particular alone, save to the people a sum equal to the entire cost +of his services. After this labor was accomplished, eight months would +remain for the preparation and delivery of lectures in the fifty towns +previously visited. These lectures might be delivered in each town, or +the agent might hold meetings of the nature of institutes in a number of +towns centrally situated. In either case, the lectures would be at once +scientific and practical; and their practical character would be +appreciated in the fact that a judicious agent would adapt his lectures +to the existing state of things in the given locality. This could not be +done by a college, however favorably situated, and however well +accomplished in the material of education. It is probable that the +lectures would be less scientific than those that would be given in a +college; but when their superior practical character is considered, and +when we consider also that they would be listened to by the great body +of farmers, old and young, while those of the college could be enjoyed +by a small number of youth only, we cannot doubt which would be the most +beneficial to the state, and to the cause of agriculture in the country. + +An objection to the plan I have indicated may be found in the belief +that the average education of the farmers is not equal to a full +appreciation of the topics and lectures to be presented. My answer is, +that the lecturers must meet the popular intelligence, whatever it is. +Nothing is to be assumed by the teacher; it is his first duty to +ascertain the qualifications of his pupils. I am, however, led to the +opinion that the schools of the country have already laid a very good +basis for practical instruction in agriculture; and, if this be not so, +then an additional argument will be offered for the most rapid advance +possible in our systems of education. In any event, it is true that the +public schools furnish a large part of the intellectual culture given in +the inferior and intermediate agricultural schools of Europe. + +The great defect in the plan I have presented is this: That no means are +provided for the thorough education needed by those persons who are to +be appointed agents, and no provision is made for testing the qualities +of soils, and the elements of grains, grasses, and fruits. My answer to +this suggestion is, that it is in part, at least, well founded; but that +the scientific schools furnish a course of study in the natural sciences +which must be satisfactory to the best educated farmer or professor of +agricultural learning, and that analyses may be made in the laboratories +of existing institutions. + +It is my fortune to be able to read a letter from Professor Horsford, +which furnishes a satisfactory view of the ability of the Scientific +School at Cambridge. + + + "_Cambridge, Sept. 19, 1857._ + +"MY DEAR SIR: The occupation incident to the opening of the term has +prevented an earlier answer to your letter of inquiry in regard to the +Scientific School. + +"The Scientific School furnishes, I believe, the necessary scientific +knowledge for students of agriculture (such as you mention), 'who have +been well educated at our high schools, academies, or colleges, and have +also been trained practically in the business of farming.' It provides: + +"1st. Practical instruction in the modes of experimental investigation. +This is, I know, an unrecognized department, but it is, perhaps, the +better suited name to the course of instruction of our chemical +department. It qualifies the student for the most direct methods of +solving the practical problems which are constantly arising in practical +agriculture. It includes the analysis of soils, the manufacture and +testing of manures, the philosophy of improved methods of culture, of +rotation of crops, of dairy production, of preserving fruits, meats, &c. +It applies more or less directly to the whole subject of mechanical +expedients. + +"2d. Practical instruction in surveying, mensuration, and drawing. + +"3d. And by lectures--in botany, geology, zoology, comparative anatomy, +and natural philosophy. + +"Some of them--indeed, all of them, if desired--might be pursued +practically, and with the use of apparatus and specimens. + +"This course contemplates a period of study of from one year to two and +a half years, according to the qualification of the pupil at the outset. +He appears an hour each day at the blackboard, where he shares the drill +of a class, and where he acquires a facility of illustration, command of +language, an address and thorough consciousness of real knowledge, which +are of more value, in many cases, as you know, than almost any amount of +simple acquisition. He also attends, on an average, about one lecture a +day throughout the year. During the remaining time he is occupied with +experimental work in the laboratory or field. + +"The great difficulty with students of agriculture, who might care to +come to the Scientific School, is the expense of living in Cambridge. If +some farmer at a distance of three or four miles from college, where +rents for rooms are low, would open a boarding-house for students of +agriculture in the Scientific School, where the care of a kitchen garden +and some stock might be intrusted to them, and where a farmer's plain +table might be spread at the price at which laborers would be received, +we might hope that our facilities would be taken advantage of on a +larger scale. As it is, but few, comparatively, among our students, come +to qualify themselves for farming." + +I should, however, consider the arrangements proposed as temporary, and +finally to be abandoned or made permanent, as experience should dictate. + +It may be said, I think, without disparagement to the many distinguished +and disinterested men who have labored for the advancement of +agriculture, that the operations of the government and of the state and +county societies have no plan or system by which, as a whole, they are +guided. The county societies have been and are the chief means of +influence and progress; but they have no power which can be +systematically applied; their movements are variable, and their annual +exhibitions do not always indicate the condition of agriculture in the +districts represented. They have become, to a certain extent, localized +in the vicinity of the towns where the fairs are held; and yet they do +not possess the vigor which institutions positively local would enjoy. + +The town clubs hold annual fairs; and these fairs should be made +tributary, in their products and in the interest they excite, to the +county fairs. Let the town fairs be held as early in the season as +practicable, and then let each town send to the county fairs its +first-class premium articles as the contributions of the local society, +as well as of the individual producers. Thus a healthful and generous +rivalry would be stirred up between the towns of a county as well as +among the citizens of each town; and a county exhibition upon the plan +suggested would represent at one view the general condition of +agriculture in the vicinity. No one can pretend that this is +accomplished by the present arrangements. Moreover, the county society, +in its management and in its annual exhibitions, would possess an +importance which it had not before enjoyed. As each town would be +represented by the products of the dairy, the herd, and the field, so it +would be represented by its men; and the annual fair of the county would +be a truthful and complete exposition of its industrial standing and +power. + +Out of a system thus broad, popular, and strong, an agricultural college +will certainly spring, if such an institution shall be needed. But is it +likely that in a country where the land is divided, and the number of +farmers is great, the majority will ever be educated in colleges, and +upon strict scientific principles? I am ready to answer that such an +expectation seems to me a mere delusion. The great body of young farmers +must be educated by the example and practices of their elders, by their +own efforts at individual and mutual improvement, and by the influence +of agricultural journals, books, lecturers, and the example of +thoroughly educated men. And, as thoroughly educated men, lecturers, +journals, and books of a proper character, cannot be furnished without +the aid of scientific schools and thorough culture, the farmers, as a +body, are interested in the establishment of all institutions of +learning which promise to advance any number of men, however small, in +the mysteries of the profession; but, when we design a system of +education for a class, common wisdom requires us to contemplate its +influence upon each individual. The influence of a single college in any +state, or in each state of this Union, would be exceedingly limited; but +local societies and travelling lecturers could make an appreciable +impression in a year upon the agricultural population of any state, and +in New England the interest in the subject is such that there is no +difficulty in founding town clubs, and making them at once the agents of +the government and the schools for the people. + +In the plan indicated, I have, throughout, assumed the disposition of +the farmers to educate themselves. This assumption implies a certain +degree of education already attained; for a consciousness of the +necessity of education is only developed by culture, learning, and +reflection. Such being the admitted fact, it remains that the farmers +themselves ought at once to institute such means of self-improvement as +are at their command. They are, in nearly every state of this Union, a +majority of the voters, and the controlling force of society and the +government; but I do not from these facts infer the propriety of a +reliance on their part upon the powers which they may thus direct. +However wisely said, when first said, it is not wise to "look to the +government for too much;" and there can be no reasonable doubt of the +ability of the farmers to institute and perfect such measures of +self-education as are at present needed. But the spirit in which they +enter upon this work must be broad, comprehensive, catholic. They will +find something, I hope, of example, something of motive, something of +power, in their experience as friends and supporters of our system of +common school education; and something of all these, I trust, in the +facts that this system is kept in motion by the self-imposed taxation of +the whole people; that all individuals and classes of men, forgetting +their differences of opinion in politics and religion, rally to its +support, as being in itself a safe basis on which may be built whatever +structures men of wisdom and virtue and piety may desire to erect, +whether they labor first and chiefly for the world that is, or for that +which is to come. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[10] Hon. George S. Hillard. + + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS + + +JUVENILE BOOKS. + +THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST ENTERTAINING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN EVER +PUBLISHED. + + +MR. CRANCH'S ILLUSTRATED STORIES. + +THE LAST OF THE HUGGERMUGGERS: a Giant Story. By CHRISTOPHER PEARSE +CRANCH, With illustrations on wood, from drawings by the author. Printed +on fine, hot-pressed paper, from large, fair type. Price $1.00. + +This book has been received with the utmost delight by all the children. +Mr. Cranch is at once painter and poet, and his story and illustrations +are both characteristic of a man of genius. + +KOBBOLTOZO; being a Sequel to "The Last of the Huggermuggers." By +CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH. With illustrations by the author. + +The hand of the author in the tale, and especially in the drawings, is +freer than in his former work. The pictures are exquisite, and much more +numerous than in the "Huggermuggers." Both these books will please the +larger or grown-up children, as well as those still in the nursery. + +Uniform in style with its predecessor. Price $1.00. + + +COUSIN FANNIE'S JUVENILE BOOKS. + +EVERY BEGINNING IS EASY FOR CHILDREN WHO LOVE STUDY. Translated from the +German, by COUSIN FANNIE. Largo quarto, with elegantly colored +lithographic plates. Price $1.00. + +Altogether one of the most attractive books, both in matter and style, +ever issued in this country. + +AUNTY WONDERFUL'S STORIES. Translated from the German, by COUSIN FANNIE. +With spirited lithographic illustrations. It has proved immensely +popular among the little folks. Price 75 cents. + +RED BEARD'S STORIES FOR CHILDREN. Translated from the German, by COUSIN +FANNIE. + +The illustrations for this book are of a most novel and taking +character. They are in imitation of the _silhouettes_ or pictures cut +out by scissors, in which our ancestors' portraits have often been +preserved. The pictures are numerous, spirited and effective. The +stories are worthy of their elegant dress. Price 75 cents. + +BRIGHT PICTURES OF CHILD-LIFE. Translated from the German, by COUSIN +FANNIE. Illustrated by numerous highly-finished colored engravings. +Price 75 cents. + + +VIOLET; A Fairy Story. Illustrated by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 +cents. + +The publishers desire to call attention to this exquisite little story. +It breathes such a love of Nature in all her forms; inculcates such +excellent principles, and is so full of beauty and simplicity, that it +will delight not only children, but all readers of unsophisticated +tastes. The author seems to teach the gentle creed which Coleridge has +embodied in those familiar lines-- + + + "He prayeth well who loveth well + Both man, and bird, and beast." + + +DAISY; or the Fairy Spectacles. By the author of "VIOLET." Illustrated. +Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 cents. + +THE GREAT ROSY DIAMOND. By MRS. ANNE AUGUSTA CARTER With illustrations +by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt 75 cents. + +This is a most charming story, from an author of reputation in this +department, both in England and America. The machinery of Fairy Land is +employed with great ingenuity; the style is beautiful, imaginative, yet +simple. The frolics of Robin Goodfellow are rendered with the utmost +grace and spirit. + +TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE. Designed for the Use of Young Persons. By CHARLES +LAMB. From the fifth London edition. 12mo. Illustrated. Price, bound in +muslin, $1.00; gilt, $1.50. + +These tales are intended to interest children and youth in some of the +plays of Shakspeare. The form of the dialogue is dropped, and instead +the plots are woven into stories, which are models of beauty. What +Hawthorne has lately done for the classical mythology, Lamb has here +done for Shakspeare. + + +PUBLISHED BY +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston, +And for sale by all Booksellers in the United States. + + +JUVENILE BOOKS. + + +THE ROLLO BOOKS. By REV. JACOB ABBOTT. In fourteen volumes. New edition, +with finely executed engravings from original designs by Billings. Price +$7; single, 50 cents, Any volume sold separately. + + + Rollo Learning to Talk. + Rollo Learning to Read. + Rollo at Work. + Rollo at Play. + Rollo at School. + Rollo's Vacation. + Rollo's Experiments. + Rollo's Museum. + Rollo's Travels. + Rollo's Correspondence. + Rollo's Philosophy--Water. + Rollo's Philosophy--Fire. + Rollo's Philosophy--Air. + Rollo's Philosophy--Sky. + + +This is undoubtedly the most popular series of juvenile books ever +published in America. This edition is far more attractive externally +than the one by which the author first became known. Nearly one hundred +new engravings, clear and fine paper, a new and beautiful cover, with a +neat box to contain the whole, will give to this series, if possible, a +still wider and more enduring reputation. + +The same, without illustrations, fourteen volumes, muslin, $5.25. + + +EXCELSIOR GIFT BOOKS. + +Six volumes, large 16mo., illustrated. 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Price, muslin, 60 cents; muslin, +full gilt, 88 cents. + +UNCLE FRANK'S BOYS' AND GIRLS' LIBRARY. A beautiful series, comprising +six volumes, square 16mo., with eight tinted Engravings in each volume. +The following are their titles respectively; + + + I. The Pedler's Boy; or, I'll be Somebody. + II. The Diving Bell; or, Pearls to be sought for. + III. The Poor Organ Grinder; and other Stories. + IV. Loss and Gain; or, Susy Lee's Motto. + V. Mike Marble; his Crotchets and Oddities. + VI. The Wonderful Letter Bag of Kit Curious. + + +By FRANCIS C. WOODWORTH. Price, bound in muslin, 50 cents per volume; +muslin, gilt, 75 cents per volume. + +Catalogues of the publications P. S. & Co. sent, post paid, upon +application. + + +PUBLISHED BY +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston, +And for sale by all Booksellers in the United States. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thoughts on Educational Topics and +Institutions, by George S. 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Boutwell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions + +Author: George S. Boutwell + +Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #19056] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOUGHTS ON EDUCATIONAL *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Martin Pettit and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>THOUGHTS</h1> + +<h3>ON</h3> + +<h1>EDUCATIONAL TOPICS</h1> + +<h3>AND</h3> + +<h1>INSTITUTIONS.</h1> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>GEORGE S. BOUTWELL.</h2> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h3>BOSTON:<br />PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY.<br />MDCCCLIX.</h3> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h4>Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by<br /> +GEORGE S. BOUTWELL,<br />In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of +Massachusetts.</h4> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<h4>STEREOTYPED BY<br />HOBART AND ROBBINS, BOSTON.</h4> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h4>To</h4> + +<h3>THE TEACHERS OF MASSACHUSETTS,</h3> + +<h4>WHOSE<br />ENLIGHTENED DEVOTION TO THEIR DUTIES<br />HAS<br /> +CONTRIBUTED EFFECTUALLY TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING,<br /> +This Volume<br />IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.</h4> + +<h4 class='right'>G. S. B.</h4> + +<hr /> + +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class="index"> +<ul> +<li><a href="#THE_INTRINSIC_NATURE_AND_VALUE_OF_LEARNING_AND_ITS_INFLUENCE_UPON"><span class="smcap">The Intrinsic Nature and Value of Learning, and its Influence upon Labor</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#EDUCATION_AND_CRIME"><span class="smcap">Education and Crime</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#REFORMATION_OF_CHILDREN"><span class="smcap">Reformation of Children</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_CARE_AND_REFORMATION_OF_THE_NEGLECTED_AND_EXPOSED_CLASSES_OF"><span class="smcap">The Care and Reformation of the Neglected and Exposed Classes of Children</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#ELEMENTARY_TRAINING_IN_THE_PUBLIC_SCHOOLS"><span class="smcap">Elementary Training in the Public Schools</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_RELATIVE_MERITS_OF_PUBLIC_HIGH_SCHOOLS_AND_ENDOWED_ACADEMIES"><span class="smcap">The Relative Merits of Public High Schools and Endowed Academies</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_HIGH_SCHOOL_SYSTEM"><span class="smcap">The High School System</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#NORMAL_SCHOOL_TRAINING"><span class="smcap">Normal School Training</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#FEMALE_EDUCATION"><span class="smcap">Female Education</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#THE_INFLUENCE_DUTIES_AND_REWARDS_OF_TEACHERS"><span class="smcap">The Influence, Duties, and Rewards, of Teachers</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#LIBERTY_AND_LEARNING"><span class="smcap">Liberty and Learning</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#MASSACHUSETTS_SCHOOL_FUND"><span class="smcap">Massachusetts School Fund</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#A_SYSTEM_OF_AGRICULTURAL_EDUCATION"><span class="smcap">A System of Agricultural Education</span></a></li> +<li><a href="#ADVERTISEMENTS"><span class="smcap">Advertisements</span></a></li> +</ul> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="THE_INTRINSIC_NATURE_AND_VALUE_OF_LEARNING_AND_ITS_INFLUENCE_UPON" id="THE_INTRINSIC_NATURE_AND_VALUE_OF_LEARNING_AND_ITS_INFLUENCE_UPON"></a>THE INTRINSIC NATURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING, AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON LABOR.</h2> + +<h3>[Lecture before the American Institute of Instruction.]</h3> + +<p>Words and terms have, to different minds, various significations; and we +often find definitions changing in the progress of events. Bailey says +learning is "skill in languages or sciences." To this, Walker adds what +he calls "literature," and "skill in anything, good or bad." Dr. Webster +enlarges the meaning of the word still more, and says, "Learning is the +knowledge of principles or facts received by instruction or study; +acquired knowledge or ideas in any branch of science or literature; +erudition; literature; science; knowledge acquired by experience, +experiment, or observation." Milton gives us a rhetorical definition in +a negative form, which is of equal value, at least, with any authority +yet cited. "And though a linguist," says Milton, "should pride himself +to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he have +not studied the solid things in them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> as well as the words and +lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man, as any +yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother dialect +only."—"Language is but the instrument conveying to us things useful to +be known."</p> + +<p>This is kindred to the saying of Locke, that "men of much reading are +greatly learned, but may be little knowing." We must give to the term +<i>learning</i> a broad definition, if we accept Milton's statement that its +end "is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know +God aright;" for this necessarily implies that we are to study carefully +everything relating to the nature of our existence, to the spot and +scene of our existence, with its mysterious phenomena, and its +comparatively unexplained laws. And we must, moreover, always keep in +view the personal relations and duties which the Creator has imposed +upon the members of the human race. The knowledge of these relations and +duties is one form of learning; the disposition and the ability to +observe and practise these relations and duties, is another and a higher +form of learning. The first is the learning of the theologian, the +schoolman; the latter is the learning of the practical Christian. Both +ought to exist; but when they are separated, we place things<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> above +signs, facts above forms, life above ideas. Law and justice ought always +to be united; but when by error, or fraud, or usurpation, they are +separated, we observe the forms of law, but we respect the principles of +justice. This is a good illustration of the principles which guide to a +true distinction in the forms of learning. Of all the definitions +enumerated, we must give to the word <i>learning</i> the broadest +signification. It is safe to accept the statement of the great poet, +that a man may be acquainted with many languages, and yet not be +learned; even as the apostle said he should become as sounding brass or +a tinkling cymbal, if he had not charity, though he spoke with the +tongues of men and angels. Learning includes, no doubt, a knowledge of +the languages, the sciences, and all literature; but it includes also +much else; and this much else may be more important than the enumerated +branches. The term <i>learned</i> has been limited, usually, by exclusive +application to the schoolmen; but it is a matter of doubt, especially in +this country, upon the broad definition laid down, whether there is more +learning in the schools, or out of them. This remark, if true, is no +reflection upon the schools, but much in favor of the world. Those were +dark ages when learning was confined to the schools; and, though we can +never be too grateful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> for their existence, and the fidelity with which +they preserved the knowledge of other days, that is surely a higher +attainment in the life of the race, when the learning of the world +exceeds the learning of the cloister, the school, and the college.</p> + +<p>In a private conversation, Professor Guyot made a remark which seems to +have a public value. "You give to your schools," said he, "credit that +is really due to the world. Looking at America with the eye of an +European, it appears to me that your world is doing more and your +schools are doing less, in the cause of education, than you are inclined +to believe." For one, though I ought, as much as any, to stand for the +schools, I give a qualified assent to the truth of this observation. +There is much learning among us which we cannot trace directly to the +schools; but the schools have introduced and fostered a spirit which has +given to the world the power to make itself learned. It is much easier +to disseminate what is called the spirit of education, than it was to +create that spirit, and preserve it when there were few to do it homage. +For this we are indebted to the schools. Unobserved in the process of +change, but happy in its results, the business of education is not now +confined to professional teachers.</p> + +<p>The greatest change of all has been wrought by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> the attention given to +female education, so that the mother of this generation is not compelled +to rely exclusively upon the school and the paid teacher, public or +private, but can herself, as the teacher ordained by nature, aid her +children in the preparatory studies of life. This power does not often +manifest itself in a regular system of domestic school studies and +discipline, but its influence is felt in a higher home preparation, and +in the exhibition of better ideas of what a school should be. And we may +assume, with all due respect to our maternal ancestry, that this fact is +a modern feature, comparatively, in American civilization. Female +education has given rise to some excesses of opinion and conduct; but +the world is entirely safe, especially the self-styled lords of +creation, and may wisely advocate a system of general education without +regard to sex, and leave the effect to those laws of nature and +revelation which are to all and in all, and cannot permanently be +avoided or disobeyed.</p> + +<p>The number of educators has strangely increased, and they often appear +where they might least be expected. We speak of the revival of +education, and think only of the change that has taken place in the last +twenty years in the appropriations of money, the style of school-houses, +and the fitness of professional teachers for the work in which they are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +engaged; but these changes, though great, are scarcely more noteworthy +than those that have occurred in the management of our shops, mills, and +farms. When we write the sign or utter the sound which symbolizes +<i>Teacher</i>, what figure, being, or qualities, are brought before us? We +<i>should</i> see a person who, in the pursuit of knowledge, is self-moving, +and, in the exercise of the influence which knowledge gives, is able to +appreciate the qualities of others; and who, moreover, possesses enough +of inventive power to devise means by which he can lead pupils, +students, or hearers, in the way they ought to go. We naturally look for +such persons in the lecture-room, the school, and the pulpit. And we +find them there; but they are also to be found in other places. There +are thousands of such men in America, engaged in the active pursuits of +the day. They are farmers, mechanics, merchants, operatives. They do not +often follow text-books, and therefor are none the worse, but much the +better teachers. Insensibly they have taken on the spirit of the teacher +and the school, and, apparently ignorant of the fact, are, in the quiet +pursuits of daily life, leaders of classes following some great thought, +or devoted to some practical investigation. And in one respect these +teachers are of a higher order than <i>some</i>—not all, nor most—of our +professional teach<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>ers. They never cease to be students. When a man or +woman puts on the garb of the teacher, and throws off the garb of the +student, you will soon find that person so dwindled and dwarfed, that +neither will hang upon the shoulders. This happens sometimes in the +school, but never in the world.</p> + +<p>The last twenty-five years have produced two new features in our +civilization, that are at once a cause and a product of learning. I +speak of the Press, and of Associations for mutual improvement.</p> + +<p>The newspaper press of America, having its centre in the city of New +York, is more influential than the press of any other country. It may +not be conducted with greater ability; though, if compared with the +English press, the chief difference unfavorable to America is found in +the character of the leading editorial articles. In enterprise, in +telegraphic business, maritime, and political news and information, the +press of the United States is not behind that of Great Britain.</p> + +<p>It must, however, be admitted that a given subject is usually more +thoroughly discussed in a single issue from the English press; but it is +by no means certain that public questions are, upon the whole, better +canvassed in England than in America. Indeed, the opposite is probably +true. Our press will follow a subject day after day, with the aid of +new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> thoughts and facts, until it is well understood by the reader. +European ideas of journalism cannot be followed blindly by the press of +America. The journalist in Europe writes for a select few. His readers +are usually persons of leisure, if they have not always culture and +taste; and the issue of the morning paper is to them what the appearance +of the quarterly, heavy or racy, is to the cultivated American reader.</p> + +<p>But the American journalist, whatever his taste may be, cannot afford to +address himself to so small an audience. He writes literally for the +million; for I take it to be no exaggeration to say that paragraphs and +articles are often read by millions of people in America. This fact is +an important one, as it furnishes a good test of the standard taste and +learning of the people. Our press answers the demand which the people +make upon it. The mass of newspaper readers are not, in a scholastic +sense, well-educated persons. Newspaper writers do not, therefore, +trouble themselves about the colleges with their professors, but they +seek rather to gain the attention and secure the support of the great +body of the people, who know nothing of colleges except through the +newspapers. We have always been permitted to infer the intellectual and +moral character of the audiences of Demosthenes, from the ora<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>tions of +Demosthenes; and may we not also infer the character of the American +people, from the character of the press that they support? In a single +issue may often be found an editorial article upon some question of +present interest; a sermon, address, or speech, from a leading mind of +the country or the world; letters from various quarters of the globe; +extracts from established literary and scientific journals; original +essays upon political, literary, scientific, and religious subjects; and +items of local or general interest for all classes of readers. This +product of the press, in quantity and quality, could not be distributed, +week after week, and year after year, among an ignorant class of people. +It could be accepted by intelligent, thinking, progressive minds only; +and, as a fact necessarily coëxisting, we find the newspaper press +equally essential to the best-educated persons among us. The newspaper +press in America is a century and a half old; but its power does not +antedate this century, and its growth has been chiefly within the last +twenty-five years. What that growth has been may be easily seen by any +one who will compare the daily sheet of the last generation with the +daily sheet of this; and the future of the American press may be easily +predicted by those who consider the progressive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> influences among us, of +which the newspaper must always be the truest representative.</p> + +<p>Within the same brief period of time it has become the fixed custom of +the people to associate together for educational objects.</p> + +<p>As a consequence, we have the lyceum for all, libraries for all, +professional institutes and clubs for merchants, mechanics, and farmers, +and, at last, free libraries and lectures for the operatives in the +mills. Where these institutions can exist, there must be a high order of +general learning; and where these institutions do exist, and are +sustained, the learning of the people, whether high or low at any given +moment, must be rapidly improved. Yet some of these agencies—lectures +and libraries, for example—are not free from serious faults. It may +seem rash and indefensible to criticize lectures upon the platform of +the lecturer; but, as the audience can inflict whatever penalty they +please upon the speaker, he will so far assume responsibility as to say +that amusement is not the highest object of a single lecture, and when +sought by managers as the desirable object of a whole course, the +lecture-room becomes a theatre of dissipation; surely not so bad as +other forms of dissipation, but yet so distinctly marked, and so +pernicious in its influence, as to be comparatively unworthy of general +support. Let it not,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> however, be inferred that wit, humor, and drollery +even, are to be excluded from the lecture-room; but they should always +be employed as means by which information is communicated. Between +lecturers equal in other respects, one with the salt of humor, native to +the soil, should be preferred; but it is a sad reflection upon public +taste, when a person whose entire intellectual capital is wit, humor, or +buffoonery, is preferred to men of solid learning. But it is a worse +view of human nature, when men of real merit and worth depreciate +themselves and lower the public taste, by attempting to do what, at +best, they can have but ill success in, and what they would despise +themselves for, were they to succeed completely. Shakspeare says of a +jester:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"This fellow's wise enough to play the fool;</div> +<div>And to do that well, craves a kind of wit:</div> +</div> +<hr class='smler' /> +<div class="stanza"> +<div class="i10">This is a practice</div> +<div>As full of labor as a wise man's art:</div> +<div>For folly, that he wisely shows, is fit;</div> +<div>But wise men, folly-fallen, quite taint their wit."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>A kindred mental dissipation follows in the steps of progress, and +demands aliment from our public libraries. In the selection of books +there is a wide range, from the trashy productions of the fifth-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>rate +novelist, to stately history and exact science. It is, however, to be +assumed that libraries will not be established until they are wanted, +and that the want will not be pressing until there is a taste for +reading somewhat general. Where this taste exists, it is fair to assume +that it is in some degree elevated. The direction, however, which the +taste of any community is to take, after the establishment of a public +library, depends, in a great degree, upon the selection of books for its +shelves. Two dangers are to be avoided. The first, and greatest, is the +selection of books calculated to degrade the morals or intellect of the +reader. This danger is apparent, and to be shunned needs but to be seen. +Books, of more or less intrinsic value, are so abundant and cheap, that +common men must go out of their way to gather a large collection that +shall not contain works of real merit. But the object should be to +exclude all worthless and pernicious works, and meet and improve the +public taste, by offering it mental food better than that to which it +has been accustomed. The other danger is negative, rather than positive; +but, as books are comparatively worthless when they are not read, it +becomes a matter of great moment to select such as will touch the public +mind at a few points, at least. It is indeed possible, and, under the +guidance of some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> persons, it would be natural, to encumber the shelves +of a library with <i>good books</i> that might ever remain so, saving only +the contributions made to mould and mice.</p> + +<p>Now, if you will pardon a little more fault-finding,—which is, I +confess, a quality without merit, or, as Byron has it,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"A man must serve his time to every trade</div> +<div>Save censure—critics all are ready made,"—</div> +</div></div> + +<p>I will hazard the opinion that the practice of establishing libraries in +towns for the benefit of a portion of the inhabitants only is likely to +prove pernicious in the end. To be sure, reading for some is better than +reading for none; but reading for all is better than either. In +Massachusetts there is a general law that permits cities and towns to +raise money for the support of libraries; yet the legislature, in a few +cases, has granted charters to library associations. With due deference, +it may very well be suggested, that, where a spirit exists which leads a +few individuals to ask for a charter, it would be better to turn this +spirit into a public channel, that all might enjoy its benefits. And it +will happen, generally, that the establishment of a public library will +be less expensive to the friends of the movement, and the advantages +will be greater; while there will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> be an additional satisfaction in the +good conferred upon others.</p> + +<p>We shall act wisely if we apply to books a maxim of the Greeks: "All +things in common amongst friends." Under this maxim Cicero has +enumerated, as principles of humanity, not to deny one a little running +water, or the lighting his fire by ours, if he has occasion; to give the +best counsel we are able to one who is in doubt or distress; which, says +he, "are things that do good to the person that receives them, and are +no loss or trouble to him that confers them." And he quotes, with +approbation, the words of Ennius:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"He that directs the wandering traveller</div> +<div>Doth, as it were, light another's torch by his own;</div> +<div>Which gives him ne'er the less of light, for that</div> +<div>It gave another."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>A good book is a guide to the reader, and a well-selected library will +be a guide to many. And shall we give a little running water, and turn +aside or choke up the streams of knowledge? light the evening torch, and +leave the immortal mind unillumined? give free counsel to the ignorant +or distressed, when he might easily be qualified to act as his own +counsellor? In July 1856, Mr. Everett gave five hundred dollars toward a +library for the High School<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> in his native town of Dorchester; and in +1854 Mr. Abbott Lawrence gave an equal sum to his native town for the +establishment of a public library. These are not large donations, if we +consider only the amount of money given; but it is difficult to suggest +any other equal appropriation that would be as beneficial, in a public +sense. These donations are noble, because conceived in a spirit of +comprehensive liberality. They are examples worthy of imitation; and I +venture to affirm, there is not one of our New England towns that has +not given to the world a son able to make a similar contribution to the +cause of general learning. Is it too much to believe that a public +library in a town will double the number of persons having a taste for +reading, and consequently double the number of well-educated people? +For, though we are not educated by mere reading, it is yet likely to +happen that one who has a taste for books will also acquire habits of +observation, study, and reflection.</p> + +<p>Professional institutes and clubs also serve to increase the sum of +general learning. They have thus far avoided the evil which has waited +or fastened upon similar associations in Europe,—subserviency to +political designs. Every profession or interest of labor has peculiar +ideas and special purposes. These ideas and purposes may be wisely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +promoted by distinct organizations. Who can doubt the utility of +associations of merchants, mechanics, and farmers? They furnish +opportunities for the exchange of opinions, the exhibition of products, +the dissemination of ideas, and the knowledge of improvements, that are +thus wisely made the property of all. Knowledge begets knowledge. What +is the distinguishing fact between a good school and a poor one? Is it +not, that in a good school the prevailing public sentiment is on the +side of knowledge and its acquisition? And does not the same fact +distinguish a learned community from an ignorant community? If, in a +village or city of artisans, each one makes a small annual contribution +to the general stock of knowledge, the aggregate progress will be +appreciable, and, most likely, considerable. If, on the other hand, each +one plods by himself, the sum of professional knowledge cannot be +increased, and is likely to be diminished.</p> + +<p>The moral of the parable of the ten talents is eminently true in matters +of learning. "Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have +abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that +which he hath." We cannot conceive of a greater national calamity than +an industrial population delving in mental sluggishness at unrelieved +and unchanging tasks. The manufac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>ture of pins was commenced in England +in 1583, and for two hundred and fifty years she had the exclusive +control of the trade; yet all that period passed away without +improvement, or change in the process; while in America the business was +revolutionized, simplified, and economized one-half, in the period of +five years. In 1840 the valuation of Massachusetts was about three +hundred millions of dollars; but it is certain that a large portion of +this sum should have been set off against the constant impoverishment of +the land, commencing with the settlement of the state,—the natural and +unavoidable result of an ignorant system of farm labor. The revival of +education in America was soon followed by a marked improvement in the +leading industries of the people, and especially in the department of +agriculture. The principle of association has not yet been as beneficial +to the farmers as to the mechanics; but the former are soon to be +compensated for the delay. With the exception of the business of +discovering small planets, which seem to have been created for the +purpose of exciting rivalry among a number of enthusiastic, well-minded, +but comparatively secluded gentlemen, agricultural learning has made the +most marked progress in the last ten years. But an agricultural +population is professionally an inert population; and, therefore, as in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +the accumulation of John Jacob Astor's fortune, it was more difficult to +take the first step than to make all the subsequent movements. Now, +however, the principle of association is giving direction and force to +the labors of the farmer; and it is easy for any person to draw to +himself, in that pursuit, the results of the learning of the world.</p> + +<p>Libraries and lectures for the operatives in the manufactories +constitute another agency in the cause of general learning. The city of +Lawrence, under the lead of well-known public-spirited gentlemen there, +has the honor of introducing the system in America. A movement, to which +this is kindred, was previously made in England; but that movement had +for its object the education of the operatives in the simple elements of +learning, and among the females in a knowledge of household duties. An +English writer says: "Many employers have already established schools in +connection with their manufactories. From many instances before us, we +may take that of Mr. Morris, of Manchester, who has risen, himself, from +the condition of a factory operative, and who has felt in his own person +the disadvantages under which that class of workmen labor. He has +introduced many judicious improvements. He has spent about one hundred +and fifty pounds in ventilating his mills; and has estab<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>lished a +library, coffee-room, class-room, weekly lectures, and a system of +industrial training. The latter has been established for females, of +whom he employs a great many. This class of girls generally go to the +mills without any knowledge of household duties; they are taught in the +schools to sew, knit," etc.</p> + +<p>But, in the provision made at Lawrence for intellectual culture, it is +assumed, very properly, that the operatives are familiar with the +branches usually taught in the public schools. This could not be assumed +of an English manufacturing population, nor, indeed, of any town +population, considered as a whole. Herein America has an advantage over +England. Our laborers occupy a higher standpoint intellectually, and in +that proportion their labors are more effective and economical. The +managers and proprietors at Lawrence were influenced by a desire to +improve the condition of the laborers, and had no regard to any +pecuniary return to themselves, either immediate or remote. And it would +be a sufficient satisfaction to witness the growth of knowledge and +morality, thereby elevating society, and rendering its institutions more +secure.</p> + +<p>These higher results will be accompanied, however, by others of +sufficient importance to be con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>sidered. When we <i>hire</i>, or, what is, +for this inquiry, the same thing, <i>buy</i> that commodity called, <i>labor</i>, +what do we expect to get? Is it merely the physical force, the animal +life contained in a given quantity of muscle and bone? In ordinary cases +we expect these, but in all cases we expect something more. We sometimes +buy, and at a very high cost, too, what has, as a product, the least +conceivable amount of manual labor in it,—a professional opinion, for +example; but we never buy physical strength merely, nor physical +strength at all, unless it is directed by some intellectual force. The +descending stream has power to drive machinery, and the arm of the idiot +has force for some mechanical service, but they equally lack the +directing mind. We are not so unwise as to purchase the power of the +stream, or the force of the idiot's arm; but we pay for its application +in the thing produced, and we often pay more for the skill that has +directed the power than for the power itself. The river that now moves +the machinery of a factory in which many scores of men and women find +their daily labor, and earn their daily bread, was employed a hundred +years ago in driving a single set of mill-stones; and thus a man and boy +were induced to divide their time lazily between the grist in the hopper +and the fish under the dam.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> The river's power has not changed; but the +inventive, creative genius of man has been applied to it, and new and +astonishing results are produced. With man himself this change has been +even greater. In proportion to the population of the country, we are +daily dispensing with manual labor, and yet we are daily increasing the +national production. There is more mind directing the machinery +propelled by the forces of nature, and more mind directing the machinery +of the human body. The result is, that a given product is furnished by +less outlay of physical force. Formerly, with the old spinning-wheel and +hand-loom, we put a great deal of bone and muscle into a yard of cloth; +now we put in very little. We have substituted mind for physical force, +and the question is, which is the more economical? Or, in other words, +is it of any consequence to the employer whether the laborer is ignorant +or intelligent?</p> + +<p>Before we discuss this point abstractly, let us notice the conduct of +men. Is any one willing to give an ignorant farm laborer as much as he +is ready to pay for the services of an intelligent man? And if not, why +the distinction? And if an ignorant man is not the best man upon a farm, +is he likely to be so in a shop or mill? And if not, we see how the +proprietors of factories are interested<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> in elevating the standard of +learning, in the mills and outside. But they are not singular in this. +All classes of employers are equally concerned in the education of the +laborer; for learning not only makes his labor more valuable to himself, +but the market price of the product is generally reduced, and the change +affects favorably all interests of society. This benefit is one of the +first in point of time, and the one, perhaps, most appreciable of all +which learning has conferred upon the laborer. As each laborer, with the +same expenditure of physical force, produces a greater result, of course +the aggregate products of the world are vastly increased, although they +represent only the same number of laborers that a less quantity would +have represented under an ignorant system.</p> + +<p>The division of these products upon any principle conceivable leaves for +the laborer a larger quantity than he could have before commanded; for, +although the share of the wealthy may be disproportionate, their ability +to consume is limited; and, as poverty is the absence or want of things +necessary and convenient for the purposes of life, according to the +ideas at the time entertained, we see how a laboring population, +necessarily poor while ignorance prevails, is elevated to a position of +greater social and physical comfort, as mind takes the place of brute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +force in the industries of the world. Learning, then, is not the result +of social comfort, but social comfort is the product of intelligence, +and increases or diminishes as intelligence is general or limited. It is +not, however, to be taken as granted that each laborer's position +corresponds or answers to the sum of his own knowledge. It might happen +that an ignorant laborer would enjoy the advantages of a general +culture, to which he contributed little or nothing; and it must of +necessity also happen that an intelligent laborer, in the midst of an +ignorant population, as in Ireland or India, for example, would be +compelled to accept, in the main, the condition of those around him. But +there is no evidence on the face of society now, or in its history, that +an ignorant population, whether a laboring population or not, has ever +escaped from a condition of poverty. And the converse of the proposition +is undoubtedly true, that an intelligent laboring community will soon +become a wealthy community. Learning is sure to produce wealth; wealth +is likely to contribute to learning, but it does not necessarily produce +it. Hence it follows that learning is the only means by which the poor +can escape from their poverty.</p> + +<p>In this statement it is assumed that education does not promote vice; +and not only is this negative assumption true, but it is safe to assume, +further, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> education favors virtue, and that any given population +will be less vicious when educated than when ignorant. This, I cannot +doubt, is a general truth, subject, of course, to some exceptions.</p> + +<p>The educational struggle in which the English people are now engaged has +made distinct and tangible certain opinions and impressions that are +latent in many minds. There has been an attempt to show that vice has +increased in proportion to education. This attempt has failed, though +there may be found, of course, in all countries, single facts, or +classes of facts, that seem to sustain such an opinion.</p> + +<p>Now, suppose this case,—and neither this case nor any similar one has +ever occurred in real life,—but suppose crime to increase as a people +were educated, though there should be no increase of population; would +this fact prove that learning made men worse? By no means. Our answer is +apparent on the face of the change itself. By education, the business, +and pecuniary relations and transactions of a people are almost +indefinitely multiplied; and temptations to crime, especially to crimes +against property, are multiplied in an equal ratio. Would person or +property be better respected in New York or Boston, if the most ignorant +population of the world could be substituted for the present +inhab<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>itants of those cities? The business nerves of men are frequently +shocked by some unexpected defalcation, and short-sighted moralists, who +lack faith, exclaim, "All this is because men know so much!" Such +certainly forget that for every defaulter in a city there are hundreds +of honest men, who receive and render justly unto all, and hold without +check the fortunes of others. So Mr. Drummond argued in the British +House of Commons against a national system of education, because what he +was pleased to call <i>instruction</i> had not saved William Palmer and John +Sadlier. But the truth in this matter is not at the bottom of a well; it +is upon the surface. Where it is the habit of society generally to be +ignorant, you will find it the necessity of that society to be poor; and +where ignorance and poverty both abound, the temptations to crime are +unquestionably few, but the power to resist temptation is as +unquestionably weak. The absence of crime is owing to the absence of +temptation, rather than to the presence of virtue. Such a condition of +society is as near to real virtue as the mental weakness of the idiot is +to true happiness.</p> + +<p>Turning again to the discussion in the British Parliament of April, +1856, we are compelled to believe that some English statesmen are, in +principle and in their ideas of political economy, where a portion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +the English cotton-spinners were a hundred years ago. The +cotton-spinners thought the invention of labor-saving machinery would +deprive them of bread; and a Mr. Ball gravely argues that schools will +so occupy the attention of children, that the farmers' crops will be +neglected. I am inclined to give you his own words; and I have no doubt +you will be in a measure relieved of the dulness of this essay, when you +listen to what was actually cheered, in the British Commons. Speaking of +the resolutions in favor of a national system of instruction, Mr. Ball +said: "It was important to consider what would be their bearing on the +agricultural districts of the country. He had obtained a return from his +own farm, and, supposing the principles advocated by the noble lord were +adopted, the results would be perfectly fearful. The following was the +return he had obtained from his agent: William Chapman, ten years a +servant on his (Mr. Ball's) farm; his own wages thirteen shillings, +besides a house; he had seven children, who earned nine shillings a +week; making together twenty-two shillings a week. Robert Arbor, fifteen +years on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week, and a house; six +children, who earned six shillings a week; making together nineteen +shillings. John Stevens, thirty-three years a servant on the farm; his +own wages fourteen shillings a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> week; he had brought up ten children, +whose average earnings had been twelve shillings weekly, making together +twenty-six shillings a week. Robert Carbon, twenty-two years a servant +on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week; having ten children, who +earned ten shillings a week; making together twenty-three shillings a +week. Thus it appeared that in these four families the fathers earned +fifty-three shillings weekly, and the children thirty-seven shillings a +week; so that the children earned something more than two-thirds of the +amount of the earnings of the fathers. He would ask the house, if the +fathers were to be deprived of the earnings of the children, how could +they provide bread for them? It was perfectly impossible. They must +either increase the parent's wages to the amount of the loss he thus +sustained, or they must make it up to him from a rate. Then, again, +those who were at all conversant with agriculture knew that if they +deprived the farmer of the labor of children, agriculture could not be +carried on. There was no machinery by which they could get the weeds out +of the land."—<i>London Times</i>.</p> + +<p>The light which this statement furnishes is not hid under a bushel. The +argument deserves a more logical form, and I proceed gratuitously to +give the author the benefit of a scientific arrangement. "If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> a national +system of education is adopted, the children of my tenants will be sent +to school; if the children of my tenants are sent to school, my turnips +will not be weeded; if my turnips are not weeded, I shall eat fat mutton +no more."</p> + +<p>After this from a statesman, we need not wonder that a correspondent of +Lord John Russell writes, "That a farmer near him has been heard to say, +he would not give anything to a day-school; he finds that since +Sunday-schools have been established the birds have increased and eat +his corn, and because he cannot now procure the services of the boys, +whom he used to employ the whole of Sunday, in protecting his +fields."—<i>London Times, April 13th, 1856.</i></p> + +<p>Now, I do not go to England for the purpose of making an attack upon her +opinions; but, as kindred ideas prevail among us, though to a limited +extent only, the folly of them may be seen in persons at a distance, +when it would not be realized by ourselves. Moreover, the presentation +of these somewhat ridiculous notions brings ridicule upon a whole class +of errors; and when errors are so ingrained that men cannot reason in +regard to them, ridicule is often the only weapon of successful attack. +And it is no compliment to an American audience for the speaker to say +that their own minds already suggest the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> refutation which these errors +demand. If the chief end of man, for which boyhood should be a +preparation, were to weed turnips or to frighten blackbirds from +corn-fields, then surely the objection of Mr. Ball, and the complaint +and spirit of resistance offered by Lord John Russell's farmer, would be +eminently proper. But Lord John Russell did not himself assent to the +view furnished by his correspondent. Mr. Ball's theory evidently is, +"Take good care of the turnips, and leave the culture of the boys and +girls to chance;" and Lord John Russell's wise farmer unquestionably +thinks that cereal peculations of blackbirds are more dangerous than the +robberies committed by neglected children, grown to men.</p> + +<p>Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston jail, says: "Thirty-six per cent. come +into jail unable to say the Lord's Prayer; and seventy-two per cent. +come in such a state of moral debasement that it is in vain to give them +instruction, or to teach them their duty, since they cannot understand +the meaning of the words used to them." Here we have, as cause and +effect, the philosophy of Mr. Ball, and the facts of Mr. Clay. And, +further, this philosophy is as bad in principle, when tried by the rules +of political economy, as when subjected to moral and Christian tests.</p> + +<p>Mr. Ball says there is no machinery by which the farmers can get the +weeds out of the land. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> may be true; and once there was no +machinery by which they could get the seed into the land, or the crops +from it. Once there was little or no inventive power among the +mechanics, or scientific knowledge, or even spirit of inquiry, among the +farmers. How have these changes been wrought? By education, surely, and +that moral and religious culture for which secular education is a fit +preparation. The contributions of learning to labor, in a pecuniary +aspect alone, have far exceeded the contributions of labor to learning.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to enumerate the evidences in support of this +statement, but single facts will give us some conception of their +aggregated value and force.</p> + +<p>It was stated by Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of +Agriculture, in his Annual Report for 1855, "That the saving to the +country, from the improvements in ploughs alone, within the last +twenty-five years, has been estimated at no less than ten millions of +dollars a year in the work of teams, and one million in the price of +ploughs, while the aggregate of the crops is supposed to have been +increased by many millions of bushels." From this fact, as the +representative of a great class of facts, we may safely draw two +conclusions. First, these improvements are the products of learning, the +con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>tribution which learning makes to labor, far exceeding in amount any +tax which the cause of learning, in schools or out, imposes upon labor. +Secondly, we see that a given amount of adult labor upon a farm, with +the help of the improved implements of industry, will accomplish more in +1856, than the same amount of adult labor, with its attendant juvenile +force, could have accomplished in 1826. If we were fully to illustrate +and sustain the latter inference, we should be required to review the +improvements made in other implements of farming, as well as in ploughs. +Their positive pecuniary value, when considered in the aggregate, is too +vast for general belief; and in England alone it must exceed the +anticipated cost of a system of public instruction, say six millions of +pounds, or thirty millions of dollars, per year. But learning, as we +have defined it, has contributed less to farming than to other +departments of labor.</p> + +<p>The very existence of manufactures presupposes the existence of +learning. There is no branch of manufactures without its appropriate +machine; and every machine is the product of mind, enlarged and +disciplined by some sort of culture. The steam engine, the +spinning-jenny, the loom, the cotton-gin, are notable instances of the +advantages derived by manufacturing industry from the prevalence of +learning. It was stated by Chief Justice Marshall, about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> thirty years +ago, that Whitney's cotton-gin had saved five hundred millions of +dollars to the country; and the saving, upon the same basis, cannot now +be less than one thousand millions of dollars,—a sum too great for the +human imagination to conceive. When we contemplate these achievements of +mind, by which manual labor has been diminished, and every physical +force both magnified and economized, how unstatesmanlike is the view +which regards a human being as a bundle of muscles and bones merely, +with no destiny but ignorance, servitude, and poverty!</p> + +<p>Ancient commerce, if we omit to notice the conjecture that the mariner's +compass was in possession of the old Phœnician and Indian navigators, +reproduced, rather than invented, in modern times, did not rest upon any +enlarged scientific knowledge; but, in this era, many of the sciences +contribute to the extension and prosperity of trade. After what has been +accomplished by science, and especially by physical geography, for +commerce and navigation, we have reason to expect a system, based upon +scientific knowledge and principles, which shall render the highway of +nations secure against the disasters that have often befallen those who +go down to the sea in ships. Science gave to the world the steamship, +which promised for a time to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> engross the entire trade upon the ocean; +but science again appears, constructs vessels upon better scientific +principles, traces out the path of currents in the water and the air, +and thus restores the rival powers of wind and steam to an equality of +position in the eye of the merchant. Will any one say that all this +inures to capital, and leaves the laborer comparatively unrewarded? We +are accustomed to use the word prosperity as synonymous with +accumulation; and yet, in a true view, a man may be prosperous and +accumulate nothing. Suppose we contrast two periods in the life of a +nation with each other. Since the commencement of this century, the +wages of a common farm laborer in America have increased seventy-five or +one hundred per cent., while the articles necessary and convenient for +his use have, upon the whole, diminished in price. Admit that there was +nothing for accumulation in the first period, and that there is nothing +for accumulation now,—is not his condition nevertheless improved? And, +if so, has he not participated in the general prosperity?</p> + +<p>Indeed, we may all accept the truth, that there is no exclusiveness in +the benefits which learning confers; and this leads me to say, next, +that there ought to be no exclusiveness in the enjoyment of educational +privileges.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>In America we agree to this; and yet, confessedly, as a practical result +we have not generally attained the end proposed. There are two practical +difficulties in the way. First, our aim in a system of public +instruction is not high enough; and, secondly, we do not sufficiently +realize the importance of educating each individual. Our aim is not high +enough; and the result, like every other result, is measured and limited +by the purpose we have in view. Our public schools ought to be so good +that private schools for instruction in the ordinary branches would +disappear. Mr. Everett said, in reply to inquiries made by Mr. +Twistleton, "I send my boy to the public school, because I know of none +better." It should be the aim of the public to make their schools so +good that no citizen, in the education of his children, will pass them +by.</p> + +<p>It is as great a privilege for the wealthy as for the poor to have an +opportunity to send their children to good public schools. It is a maxim +in education that the teacher must first comprehend the pupil mentally +and morally; and might not many of the errors of individual and public +life be avoided, if the citizen, from the first, were to have an +accurate idea of the world in which he is to live? The demand of labor +upon education, as they are connected with every material interest of +society, is, that no one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> shall be neglected. The mind of a nation is +its capital. We are accustomed to speak of money as capital; and +sometimes we enlarge the definition, and include machinery, tools, +flocks, herds, and lands. But for this moment let us do what we have a +right to do,—go behind the definitions of lexicographers and political +economists, and say, "<i>capital</i> is the producing force of society, and +that force is mind." Without this force, money is nothing; machinery is +nothing; flocks, herds, lands, are nothing. But all these are made +valuable and efficient by the power of mind. What we call +civilization,—passing from an inferior to a superior condition of +existence,—is a mental and moral process. If mind is the capital,—the +producing force of society,—what shall we say of the person or +community that neglects its improvement? Certainly, all that we should +say of the miser, and all that was said of the timid servant who buried +his talent in the earth. If one mind is neglected, then we fail as a +generation, a state, a nation, as members of the human family, to answer +the highest purposes of existence. Some possible good is unaccomplished, +some desirable labor is unperformed, some means of progress is +neglected, some evil seed, it may be, is sown, for which this generation +must answer to all the successions of men. But let us not yield to the +prejudice, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> sanctioned by custom, that learning unfits men for +the labors of life. The <i>schools</i> may sometimes do this, but <i>learning</i> +never. We cannot, however, conceal from our view the fact that this +prejudice is a great obstacle to progress, even in New England; an +obstacle which may not be overcome without delay and conflict, in many +states of this Union; and especially in Great Britain is it an obstacle +in the way of those who demand a system of universal education.</p> + +<p>In the House of Commons, Mr. Drummond opposes a national system of +education in this wise: "And, pray, what do you propose to rear your +youth for? Are you going to train them for statesmen? No. (A laugh.) The +honorable gentleman laughs at the notion, and so would I. But you are +going to fit them to be—what? Why, cotton-spinners and pin-makers, or, +if you like, blacksmiths, mere day laborers. These are the men whom you +are to teach foreign languages, mathematics, and the notation of music. +(Hear, hear.) Was there ever anything more absurd? It really seems as if +God had withdrawn common sense from this house." Now, what does this +language of Mr. Drummond mean? Does he not intend to say that it is +unwise to educate that class of society from which cotton-spinners, +pin-makers, blacksmiths, mere day labor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>ers, are taken? Is it not his +opinion that the business of pin-making is to be perpetuated in some +families and classes, and the business of statesmanship is to be +perpetuated in others? And, if so, does he not believe that the best +condition of society is that which presents divisions based upon the +factitious distinctions of birth and fortune? Most certainly these +questions indicate his opinions, as they indicate the opinions of those +who cheered him, and as they also indicate the opinions of a few in this +country, who, through ignorance, false education, prejudice, or sympathy +with castes and races, fear to educate the laborer, lest he may forsake +his calling. With us these fears are infrequent, but they ought not to +exist at all. The question in a public sense is not, "From what family +or class shall the pin-maker or the statesman be taken?" There is no +question at all to be answered. Educate the whole people. Education will +develop every variety of talent, taste, and power. These qualities, +under the guidance of the necessities of life and the public judgment, +will direct each man to his proper place. If the son of a cotton-spinner +become a statesman, it is because statesmanship needs him, and he has +some power answering to its wants. And if Mr. Drummond's son become a +cotton-spinner, it is because that is his right place, and the world +will be the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> better and the richer that Mr. Drummond's son is a +cotton-spinner, and that he is a learned man too; but, if Mr. Drummond's +son occupy the place of a statesman because he is Mr. Drummond's son, +though he be no statesman at all himself, then the world is all the +worse for the mistake, and poor compensation is it that Mr. Drummond's +son is a learned man in something that he is never called to put in +practice.</p> + +<p>When it is said that the statesmen, or those engaged in the business of +government, shall come from one-tenth of the population, is not the +state, according to the doctrine of chances, deprived of nine-tenths of +its governing force? And may not the same suggestion be made of every +other branch of business?</p> + +<p>But I pass now to the last leading thought, and soon to the conclusion +of my address. The great contribution of learning to the laborer is its +power, under the lead of Christianity, to break down the unnatural +distinctions of society, and to render labor of every sort, among all +classes, acceptable and honorable. Ignorance is the degradation of +labor, and when laborers, as a class, are ignorant, their vocation is +necessarily shunned by some; and, being shunned by some, it is likely to +be despised by others. Wherever the laboring population is in a +con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>dition of positive, or, by a broad distinction, of comparative +ignorance, society will always divide itself into two, and oftentimes +into three classes. We shall find the dominant class, the servient +class, and then, generally, the despised class; the dominant class, +comparatively intelligent, possessing the property, administering the +government, giving to social life its laws, and enjoying the fruits of +labor which they do not perform; the servient class, unwittingly in a +state of slavery, whether nominally bond or free, having little besides +physical force to promote their own comfort or to contribute to the +general prosperity, and furnishing security in their degradation for a +final submission to whatever may be required of them; and last, a +despised class, too poor to live without labor, and too proud to live by +labor, assuming a position not accorded to them, and finally yielding to +a social and political ostracism even more degrading, to a sensitive +mind, than the servient condition they with so much effort seek to shun.</p> + +<p>All this is the fruit of ignorance; all this may be removed by general +learning. If all men are learned, the work of the world will be +performed by learned men; and why, under such circumstances, should not +every vocation that is honest be equally honorable? But if this, in a +broad view, seem utopian,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> can we not agree that learning is the only +means by which a poor man can escape from his poverty? And, if it +furnish certain means of escape for one man, will it not furnish equally +certain means of escape for many? And if so, is not learning a general +remedy for the inequalities among men?</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="EDUCATION_AND_CRIME" id="EDUCATION_AND_CRIME"></a>EDUCATION AND CRIME.</h2> + +<h3>[Extract from the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.]</h3> + +<p>The public schools, in their relations to the morals of the pupils and +to the morality of the community, are attracting a large share of +attention. In some sections of the country the system is boldly +denounced on account of its immoral tendencies. In states where free +schools exist there are persons who doubt their utility; and +occasionally partisan or religious leaders appear who deny the existence +of any public duty in regard to education, or who assert and maintain +the doctrine that free schools are a common danger. As the people of +this commonwealth are not followers of these prophets of evil, nor +believers in their predictions, there is but slight reason for +discussion among us. It is not probable that a large number of the +citizens of Massachusetts entertain doubts of the power and value of our +institutions of learning, of every grade, to resist evil and promote +virtue, through the influence they exert. But, as there is nothing in +our free-school system that shrinks from light, or inves<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>tigation even, +I have selected from the annual reports everything which they contain +touching the morality of the institution. In so doing, I have had two +objects in view. First, to direct attention to the errors and wrongs +that exist; and, secondly, to state the opinion, and enforce it as I may +be able, that the admitted evils found in the schools are the evils of +domestic, social, municipal, and general life, which are sometimes +chastened, mitigated, or removed, but never produced, nor even +cherished, by our system of public instruction. In the extracts from the +school committees' reports there are passages which imply some doubt of +the moral value of the system; but it is our duty to bear in mind that +these reports were prepared and presented for the praiseworthy purpose +of arousing an interest in the removal of the evils that are pointed +out. The writers are contemplating the importance of making the schools +a better means of moral and intellectual culture; but there is no reason +to suppose that in any case a comparison is instituted, even mentally, +between the state of society as it appears at present and the condition +that would follow the abandonment of our system of public instruction. +There are general complaints that the manners of children and youth have +changed within thirty or fifty years; that age and station do not +command the respect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> which was formerly manifested, and that some +license in morals has followed this license in manners.</p> + +<p>The change in manners cannot be denied; but the alleged change in morals +is not sustained by a great amount of positive evidence. The customs of +former generations were such that children often manifested in their +exterior deportment a deference which they did not feel, while at +present there may be more real respect for station, and deference for +age and virtue, than are exhibited in juvenile life. In this +explanation, if it be true, there is matter for serious thought; but I +should not deem it wise to encourage a mere outward show of the social +virtues, which have no springs of life in the affections.</p> + +<p>And, notwithstanding the tone of the reports to which I have called +attention, and notwithstanding my firm conviction that many moral +defects are found in the schools, I am yet confident that their moral +progress is appreciable and considerable.</p> + +<p>In the first place, teachers, as a class, have a higher idea of their +professional duties, in respect to moral and intellectual culture. Many +of them are permanently established in their schools. They are persons +of character in society, with positions to maintain, and they are +controlled by a strong sense of professional responsibility to parents +and to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> public. It has been, to some extent, the purpose and result +of Teachers' Associations, Teachers' Institutes, and Normal Schools, to +create in the body of teachers a better opinion concerning their moral +obligations in the work of education. It must also be admitted that the +changes in school government have been favorable to learning and virtue. +For, while it is not assumed that all schools are, or can be, controlled +by moral means only, it is incontrovertible that a government of mild +measures is superior to one of force. This superiority is as apparent in +morals as in scholarly acquisitions. It is rare that a teacher now +boasts of his success over his pupils in physical contests; but such +claims were common a quarter of a century ago. The change that has been +wrought is chiefly moral, and in its influence we find demonstrative +evidence of the moral superiority of the schools of the present over +those of any previous period of this century. Before we can comprehend +the moral work which the schools have done and are doing, we must +perceive and appreciate with some degree of truthfulness the changes +that have occurred in general life within a brief period of time. The +activity of business, by which fathers have been diverted from the +custody and training of their children; the claims of fashion and +society, which have led to some neglect of family<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> government on the +part of mothers; the aggregation of large, populations in cities and +towns, always unfavorable to the physical and moral welfare of children; +the comparative neglect of agriculture, and the consequent loss of moral +strength in the people, are all facts to be considered when we estimate +the power of the public school to resist evil and to promote good. If, +in addition to these unfavorable facts and tendencies, our educational +system is prejudicial to good morals, we may well inquire for the human +agency powerful enough to resist the downward course of New England and +American civilization. To be sure, Christianity remains; but it must, to +some extent, use human institutions as means of good; and the assertion +that the schools are immoral is equivalent to a declaration that our +divine religion is practically excluded from them. This declaration is +not in any just sense true. The duty of daily devotional exercises is +always inculcated upon teachers, and the leading truths and virtues of +Christianity are made, as far as possible, the daily guides of teachers +and pupils. The tenets of particular sects are not taught; but the great +truths of Christianity, which are received by Christians generally, are +accepted and taught by a large majority of committees and teachers. It +is not claimed that the public schools are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> religious institutions; but +they recognize and inculcate those fundamental truths which are the +basis of individual character, and the best support of social, +religious, and political life. The statement that the public schools are +demoralizing must be true, if true at all, for one of three reasons. +Either because all education is demoralizing; or, secondly, because the +particular education given in the public schools is so; or, thirdly, +because the public-school system is corrupting, and consequently taints +all the streams of knowledge that flow through or emanate from it. For, +if the public system is unobjectionable as a system, and education is +not in itself demoralizing, then, of course, no ground remains for the +charge that I am now considering.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>I. <i>Is all education demoralizing?</i> An affirmative answer to this +question implies so much that no rational man can accept it. It is +equivalent to the assertion that barbarism is a better condition than +civilization, and that the progress of modern times has proceeded upon a +misconception of the true ideal perfection of the human race. As no one +can be found who will admit that his happiness has been marred, his +powers limited, or his life degraded, by education, so there is no +process of logic that can commend to the human understanding the +doctrine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> that bodies of men are either less happy or virtuous for the +culture of the intellect. I am not aware of any human experience that +conflicts with this view; for individual cases of criminals who have +been well educated prove nothing in themselves, but are to be considered +as facts in great classes of facts which indicate the principles and +conduct of bodies of men who are subject to similar influences. In fact, +the statistics to which I have had access tend to show that crime +diminishes as intelligence increases. On this point the experience of +Great Britain is probably more definite, and, of course, more valuable, +than our own. The Aberdeen Feeding Schools were established in 1841, and +during the ten years succeeding the commitments to the jails of children +under twelve years of age were as follows:<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + + +<table border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='commitments to the jails of children +under twelve years of age'> + <tr> + <td>In 1842, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>30</td> + <td> In 1847, . . . . . </td> + <td>27</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1843, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>63</td> + <td> 1848, . . . . . </td> + <td>19</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1844, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>41</td> + <td> 1849, . . . . . </td> + <td>16</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1845, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>49</td> + <td> 1850, . . . . . </td> + <td>22</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1846, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>28</td> + <td> 1851, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + <td></td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td class='right'>211</td> + <td></td> + <td class='right'>92</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p>In the work of Mr. Hill it is also stated that "the number of children +under twelve committed for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> crime to the Aberdeen prisons, during the +last six years, was as follows:</p> + +<table border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='the number of children +under twelve committed for crime to the Aberdeen prisons'> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td>Males.</td> + <td>Females.</td> + <td class='right'>Total.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1849-50, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>11</td> + <td> . . . . . 5</td> + <td> . . . . . 16</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1850-51, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>14</td> + <td> . . . . . 8</td> + <td> . . . . . 22</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1851-52, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>6</td> + <td> . . . . . 2</td> + <td class='right'> . . . . . 8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1852-53, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>28</td> + <td> . . . . . 1</td> + <td> . . . . . 24</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1853-54, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>24</td> + <td> . . . . . 1</td> + <td> . . . . . 25</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>1854-55, . . . . . </td> + <td class='right'>47</td> + <td> . . . . . 2</td> + <td> . . . . . 49</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p>"It will be observed that in the last three years there has been a great +increase of boy crime, contemporaneously with an almost total absence of +girl crime, though formerly the amount of the latter was considerable. +Now, since this extraordinary difference coïncides in point of time with +the fact of full girls' schools and half empty boys' schools, the +inference can hardly be avoided that the two facts bear the relation of +cause and effect, and that, so far from the late increase of youthful +crime in Aberdeen any-wise impairing the soundness of the principle on +which the schools are based, it is its strongest confirmation. In moral +as in physical science, when the objections to a theory are, upon +further investigation, explained by the theory itself, they become the +best evidence of its truth. Indeed, it is proved, by the experience, not +only of Aberdeen, but, as far as I have been able to ascertain, of every +town in Scot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>land in which industrial schools have been established, +that the number of children in the schools and the number in the jail +are like the two ends of a scale-beam; as the one rises the other falls, +and <i>vice versa</i>.</p> + +<p>"The following list of imprisonments of children attending the schools +of the Bristol Ragged School Union shows considerable progress in the +right direction:</p> + +<table border='1' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='imprisonments'> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td>1847.</td> + <td>1848.</td> + <td>1849.</td> + <td>1850.</td> + <td>1851.</td> + <td>1852.</td> + <td>1853.</td> + <td>1854.</td> + <td>1855.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Imprisoned,</td> + <td class='center'>12</td> + <td class='center'>19</td> + <td class='center'>26</td> + <td class='center'>9</td> + <td class='center'>1</td> + <td class='center'>1</td> + <td class='center'>—</td> + <td class='center'>1</td> + <td class='center'>—</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<table border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='imprisonments'> + <tr> + <td>Imprisonments in }<br />the first four years}</td> + <td>66, averaging 16.5 per year on number of 417<br />children.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>In subsequent five }<br /> years, }</td> + <td>3, averaging 0.6 per year on number of 728<br />children.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> ——</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Difference,</td> + <td> . . . . 15.9</td> + </tr> +</table> +<p class='center'>16.5 : 15.9 :: 100 : 96.36.</p> + +<p>"Thus," says Mr. Thornton, "it appears that the diminution of the +average annual number of children attending our schools imprisoned in +the latter period of five years, as compared with the annual average of +the previous four years, is ninety-six per cent.—a striking fact, which +is, I think, a manifest proof of the benefit conferred on them by the +religious and secular instruction they receive in our schools, or, at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +the very least, of the advantages of rescuing them from the temptations +of idleness, and from evil companionship and example."</p> + +<p>I also copy, from the work already referred to, an extract from a paper +on the Reformatory Institutions in and near Bristol, by Mary Carpenter: +"In numberless instances children may be seen growing up decently, who +owe their only training and instruction to the school. Young persons are +noticed in regular work, who, before they attended the Ragged Schools, +were vagrants, or even thieves. Not unfrequently a visit is paid at the +school by a respectable young man, who proves to have been a wild and +troublesome scholar of former times."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, in a charge to the grand jury, made in +1839, speaking of the means of repressing crime, says: "It is to +education, in the large and true meaning of the word, that we must all +look as the means of striking at the root of the evil. Indeed, of the +close connection between ignorance and crime the calendar which I hold +in my hand furnishes a striking example. Each prisoner has been examined +as to the state of his education, and the result is set down opposite +his name. It appears, then, that of forty-three prisoners only one can +read and write well. The majority can neither read nor write at all; and +the remainder, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> the solitary exception which I have noted down, are +said to read and write imperfectly; which necessarily implies that they +have not the power of using those great elements of knowledge for any +practical object. Of forty-three prisoners, forty-two, then, are +destitute of instruction."</p> + +<p>These authorities are not cited because they refer to schools that +answer in character to the public schools of Massachusetts, for the +latter are far superior in the quality of their pupils, and in the +opportunities given for intellectual and moral education; but these +cases and opinions are presented for the purpose of showing what has +been done for the improvement of children and the repression of crime +under the most unfavorable circumstances that exist in a civilized +community. If such benign results have followed the establishment of +schools of an inferior character, is it unreasonable to claim that +education and the processes of education, however imperfect they may be, +are calculated to increase the sum of human progress, virtue, and +happiness?</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>II. <i>Is the particular education given in the public schools unfavorable +to the morals of the pupils, and, consequently, to the morality of the +community?</i> I have already presented a view of the moral and religious +education given in the schools, and it only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> remains to consider the +culture that is in its leading features intellectual. It may be said, +speaking generally, that education is a training and development of the +faculties, so as to make them harmonize in power, and in their relations +to each other. Among other things, the ability to read is acquired in +the public schools. In the individual, this is a power for good. It +opens to the mind and heart the teachings of the sacred Scriptures; it +secures the companionship of the great, the wise, and the good, of every +age; and it is a possession that, in all cases, must be the foundation +of those scientific acquisitions, intellectual, moral, and natural, +which show the beneficence and power of the Creator, and indicate the +fact and the law of human responsibility. The natural and general effect +of the sciences taught in the schools is an illustration of the last +statement. Moreover, the mere presence of a child, though he took no +part in the studies of the school, is to him a moral lesson. He feels +the force of government, he acquires the habit of obedience, and, in +time, he comprehends the reason of the rules that are established. This +discipline is essentially moral, and furnishes some basis, though +partial and unsatisfactory, for the proper discharge of the duties of +life. But it is to be remembered that the power of the school is but in +its beginning when the presence of a pupil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> is recognized. The constancy +and punctuality of attendance required by all judicious parents and +faithful teachers are important moral lessons, whose influence can never +be destroyed. The fixedness of purpose that is required, and is +essential in school, remains as though it were a part of the nature of +the child and the man. School-life strengthens habits of industry when +they exist, and creates them when they do not. It is, indeed, the only +means, of universal application, that is competent to train children in +habits of industry. Private schools can never furnish this training; for +large numbers of children, by the force of circumstances, are deprived +of the tuition of such schools. Business life cannot furnish this +training; for the habits of the child are usually moulded, if not +hardened, before he arrives at an age when he can be constantly employed +in any industrial vocation. The public school is no doubt justly +chargeable with neglects and omissions; but its power for good, measured +by the character of the education now furnished, is certainly very +great. It inculcates habits of regularity, punctuality, constancy, and +industry, in the pursuits of business; through literature and the +sciences in their elements, and, under some circumstances, by an +advanced course of study, it leads the pupil towards the fountain of +life and wisdom; and, by the moral and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> religious instruction daily +given, some preparation is made for the duties of life and the +temptations of the world.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>III. <i>Is the public school system, as a system, in itself necessarily +corrupting?</i> As preliminary to the answer to be given to this question, +it is well to consider what the public-school system is.</p> + +<p>1. Every inhabitant is required to contribute to its support.</p> + +<p>2. It contemplates the education of every child, regardless of any +distinction of society or nature.</p> + +<p>3. The system is subject in many respects to the popular will; and +ultimately its existence and character are dependent upon the public +judgment.</p> + +<p>4. In the Massachusetts schools, the daily reading of the Scriptures is +required.</p> + +<p>The consideration of these topics will conclude my remarks upon the +general subject of the moral influence of the American system of public +instruction. In New England it is very unusual to hear the right of the +state to provide for the support of schools by general taxation called +in question; but I am satisfied, from private conversations, and from +occasional public statements, that there are leading minds in some +sections of the country that are yet unconvinced of the moral soundness +of the basis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> on which a system of public instruction necessarily rests. +Taxation is simply an exercise of the right of the whole to take the +property of an individual; and this right can be exercised justly in +those cases only where the application of the property so taken is, +morally speaking, to a public use. The judgment of the public determines +the legality of the proceeding; but it is possible that in some cases a +public judgment might be secured which could not be supported by a +process of moral reasoning. On what moral grounds, then, does the right +of taxation for educational objects rest? I answer, first, education +diminishes crime. The evidence in support of this statement has already +been presented. It is a manifest individual duty to make sacrifices for +this object; and, as every crime is an injury, not only to him who is +the subject of it, but to every member of society, the prevention of +crime becomes a public as well as an individual duty.</p> + +<p>The conviction of a criminal is a public duty; and, under all +governments of law, it is undertaken at the public charge. Offences are +not individual merely; they are against society also, inasmuch as it is +the right of society that all its members shall behave themselves well. +And, if it is the right of society that its members shall behave +themselves well, is it not the duty of society to so provide for their +educa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>tion that each individual part may meet the demand which the whole +body asserts? And, further, as a majority of persons cannot individually +provide for their own protection, it is the duty of society, or the +state, or the government, to furnish the needed protection in the most +economical and effective manner possible. The state has no moral right +to jeopard property, life, and reputation, when, by a different policy, +all these might be secure; nor has the state a moral right to make the +security furnished, whether perfect or not, unnecessarily expensive. It +is the dictate of reason and the experience of governments that the most +effectual method of repressing crime is to diminish the number of +criminals; and, though punitive measures may accomplish something, our +chief reliance must be upon the education and training of children and +youth. The facts drawn from the experience of England and Scotland, +which have been quoted, lead to the conclusion that schools diminish the +number of criminals, and consequently lessen the amount of crime; but I +think it proper to add some extracts from a communication made, in +August, 1856, by Mr. Dunne, chief constable of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to +the Secretary of the National Reformatory Union.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p>"I know, from my own personal knowledge and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> observation, that, since +parental responsibility has been enforced in the district, under the +direction of the Secretary of State, the number of juvenile criminals in +the custody of the police has decreased one-half. I know that many of +the parents, who were in the habit of sending their children into the +streets for the purposes of stealing, begging, and plunder, have quite +discontinued that practice, and several of the children so used, and +brought up as thieves and mendicants, are now at some of the free +schools of the town; others are at work, and thereby obtain an honest +livelihood; and, so far as I can ascertain, they seem to be thoroughly +altered, and appear likely to become good and honest members of society. +I have, for my own information, conversed with some of the boys so +altered, and, during the conversation I had with them, they declared +that they derived the greatest happiness and satisfaction from their +change in life. I don't at all doubt the truth of these statements, for +their evident improvement and individual circumstances fully bear them +out; and I believe them to be really serious in all they say, and truly +anxious to become honest and respectable. I attribute, in a great +measure, this salutary change to the effects arising in many respects +from the establishment of reformatory schools; but I have more +particularly found that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> greater advantages have emanated from those +institutions since the parents of the children confined in them have +been made to pay contributions to their maintenance; for it appears +beyond doubt that the effect of the latter has been to induce the +parents of other young criminals to withdraw them from the streets, and, +instead of using them for the purposes of crime, they seem to take an +interest in their welfare. And I know that many of them are now really +anxious to get such employment for their children as will enable them to +obtain a livelihood; and it is my opinion that the example thus set to +older and more desperate criminals, belonging in many instances to the +same family as the juvenile thief, has had the effect of reforming them +also; for many of them have left off their course of crime, and are now +living by honest labor. The result is that serious crime has +considerably decreased in this district, so much so that there were only +six cases for trial at the assizes, whereas, at the previous assizes, +the average number of cases was from twenty-five to thirty, which fact +was made the subject of much comment and congratulation by Mr. Justice +Willes, the presiding judge."</p> + +<p>These remarks relate chiefly to the reformatory schools, but we know +that the prevention of crime by education is much easier than its +reformation by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> the same means. Indeed, it is the result of the +experience of Massachusetts that the necessity for reform schools has in +a large degree arisen from neglect of the public schools. It is stated +in the Tenth Annual Report of the Chaplain of the State Reform School +that of nineteen hundred and nine boys admitted since the establishment +of the institution, thirteen hundred and thirty-four are known to have +been truants. It is also quite probable that the number reported as +truants is really less than the facts warrant. It may not be out of +place to suggest, in this connection, that when a boy sentenced to the +Reform School is known to have been guilty of truancy, if the parents +were subjected to some additional burdens on that account, the cause of +education would be promoted, and the number of criminals in the +community would be diminished. From the views and facts presented, as +well as from the daily observation and experience of men, I assume that +ignorance is the ally of crime, and that education is favorable to +virtue. It is also the result of experience and the dictate of reason +that general taxation is the only means by which universal education can +be secured. All other plans and theories will prove partial in their +application. If, then, it is the duty of the state to protect itself +against crime, and of course to diminish the number of criminals;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> if +education is the most efficient means for securing these results; if +this education must be universal in order to be thoroughly effective; if +the state is the only agent or instrumentality of sufficient power to +establish schools and furnish education for all; and if general taxation +is the only means which the state itself can command, is not every +inhabitant justly required and morally bound to contribute to the +support of a system of public instruction?</p> + +<p>It will not necessarily happen that public schools will furnish to every +child and youth the desired amount of education. Professional schools, +classical schools, and academies of various grades, will be continued; +but there is an amount of intellectual and moral training needed by +every child which can be best given in the public school. This training +in the public schools ought to be carried much further than it usually +is. In the city of Newburyport, as I have been informed, there are no +exceptions to the custom of educating all the children of the town in +the public schools up to the moment when young men enter college. In +large towns and cities there is no excuse for the existence of private +schools to do the work now done in such schools as those of Newburyport +and other places where equal educational privileges exist.</p> + +<p>The chief objection brought against the public<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> school, touching its +morality, is derived from the fact that children who are subject to +proper moral influences at home are brought in contact with others who +are already practised in juvenile vices, if they have not been guilty of +petty crimes. I am happy to believe that this statement is not true of +many New England communities. The objection was considered in the last +Annual Report,—it has been often considered elsewhere; and I do not +propose to repeat at length the views which are entertained by the +friends of public education.</p> + +<p>I have, however, to suggest that while this objection applies with some +force to the public school, it applies also to every other school, and +that the evil is the least dangerous when the pupil is intrusted to the +care of a qualified teacher, who is personally responsible to the public +for his conduct, and when the child is also subject to the restraints, +and influenced by the daily example and teachings, of the parents.</p> + +<p>Moreover, it is to be remembered that the great value of education, in a +moral aspect, is the development of the power to resist temptation. This +power is not the growth of seclusion; and while neither the teacher nor +the parent ought wantonly to expose the child to vicious influences, the +school may be even a better preparation for the world from the fact that +temptation has there been met, resisted, and over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>come. It is also to be +remembered that the judgment of parents in a matter so difficult and +delicate as a comparison between their own children and other children +would not always prove trustworthy nor just; and that a judgment of +parties not interested would prove eminently fruitful of dissatisfaction +and bitterness.</p> + +<p>If all are to be educated, it only remains, then, that they be educated +together, subject to the general rule of society, that when a member is +dangerous to the safety or peace of his associates, he is to be excluded +or restrained. Nor is this necessity of association destitute of moral +advantages. If the comparatively good were separated from the relatively +vicious, it is not improbable that the latter would soon fall into a +state of barbarity. It seems to be the law of the school and of the +world that the most rapid progress is made when the weight of public +sentiment is on the side of improvement and virtue. It is not necessary +for me to remark that such a public sentiment exists in every town and +school district of the state; but who would take the responsibility in +any of these communities, great or small, of separating the virtuous +classes from the dangerous classes? Parents, from the force of their +affections, are manifestly incompetent to do this; and those who are not +parents are probably equally<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> incompetent. But, if it were honestly +accomplished, who would be responsible for the crushing effects of the +measure upon those who were thus excluded from the presence and +companionship of the comparatively virtuous? These, often the victims of +vicious homes, need more than others the influence and example of the +good; and it should be among the chief satisfactions of those who are +able to train their own children in the ways of virtue, that thereby a +healthful influence is exerted upon the less fortunate of their race. +There is also in this course a wise selfishness; for, although +<i>children</i> may be separated from each other, the circumstances of +maturer years will often make the virtuous subject to the influence of +the vicious. The safety of society, considered individually or +collectively, is not in the virtuous training of any part, however large +the proportion, but in the virtuous training of all. I cannot deem it +wise policy, whether parental or public, that takes the child from the +school on account of the immoral associations that are ordinarily found +there, or, on the other hand, that drives the vicious or unfortunate +from the presence of those who are comparatively pure. When it is +considered that the school is often the only refuge of the unhappy +subject of orphanage, or the victim of evil family influences, it seems +an unnecessary cruelty to withhold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> the protection, encouragement, and +support, which may be so easily and profitably furnished. It is said +that a sparrow pursued by a hawk took refuge in the bosom of a member of +the sovereign assembly of Athens, and that the harsh Areopagite threw +the trembling bird from him with such violence that it was killed on the +spot. The assembly was filled with indignation at the cruelty of the +deed; the author of it was arraigned as an alien to that sentiment of +mercy so necessary to the administration of justice, and by the +unanimous suffrages of his colleagues was degraded from the senatorial +dignity which he had so much dishonored.</p> + +<p>It does not seem necessary to offer an argument in support of the +position that the public school is not unfavorably affected, morally, by +the fact that it is subject to the popular judgment. This judgment can +be rendered only at stated times, and under the forms and solemnities of +law. The history of public schools would probably furnish but few +instances of wrong in this respect. The people are usually sensitive in +regard to the moral character of teachers; they contribute liberally for +the support of the schools, are anxious for their improvement, and there +is no safer depositary of a trust that is essential to a nation in which +is the hope of freedom and free institutions.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>And, last, a school cannot be truly said to be destitute of moral +character and influence in which the sacred Scriptures are daily read.</p> + +<p>The observance of this requirement is a recognition of the existence of +the Supreme Being, of the Bible as containing a record of his will +concerning men, and of the common duty of rational creatures to live in +obedience to the obligations of morality and religion.</p> + +<p>It has been no part of my purpose, in this discussion of the public +school as an institution fitted to promote morality, to deny the +existence of serious defects, or to screen them from the eyes of men. +The public school needs a more thorough discipline, a purer morality, a +clearer conception and a more practical recognition of the truths of +Christianity. But, viewed as a human institution, it claims the general +gratitude for the good it has already accomplished. The public school +was established in Massachusetts that "learning might not be buried in +the graves of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth;" and, in some +measure, at least, the early expectation thus quaintly expressed has +been realized. Learning has ever been cherished and honored among us. +The means of education have been the possession of all; and the +enjoyment of these means, often inadequate and humble, has developed a +taste<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> for learning, which has been gratified in higher institutions; +and thus continually have the resources of the state been magnified, and +its influence in the land has been efficient in all that concerns the +welfare of the human race on the American continent.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The Repression of Crime. By M. D. Hill.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The Repression of Crime, pp. 358, 359.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="REFORMATION_OF_CHILDREN" id="REFORMATION_OF_CHILDREN"></a>REFORMATION OF CHILDREN.</h2> + +<h3>[Address at the Inauguration of <span class="smcap">William E. Starr</span>, Superintendent of the +State Reform School at Westborough.]</h3> + +<p>Neither the invitation of the Trustees nor my own convenience will +permit a detailed examination of the topics which the occasion suggests; +and it is my purpose to address myself to those who are assembled to +participate in the exercises of the day, trusting to familiar and +unobserved visits for other and better opportunities for conference with +the inmates of the institution.</p> + +<p>As the mariner, though cheered by genial winds and canopied by cloudless +skies, tests and marks his position and course by repeated observations, +so we now desire to note the progress of this humanity-freighted vessel +in its voyage over an uncertain sea, yet, as we trust, toward lands of +perpetual security and peace. All are voyagers on the sea of life. Some, +with the knowledge of ancient days only, grope their way by headlands, +or trust themselves occasionally to the guidance of the sun or the +stars; while others, with the chart and compass of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> Christian era, +move confidently on their course, attracted by the Source and Centre of +all good. And it is a blessing of this state of existence, though it may +sometimes seem to be a curse, that the choice between good and evil yet +remains. The wisdom of a right choice is here manifested in the +benevolence of this foundation.</p> + +<p>The State Reform School for Boys has now enjoyed eight full years of +life and progress; and, though we cannot estimate nor measure the good +it may have induced, or the evil it may have prevented, yet enough of +its history and results is known to justify the course of its patrons, +both public and private, and to warrant the ultimate realization of +their early cherished hopes. The state is most honored in the honor +awarded to its sons; and the name of <span class="smcap">Lyman</span>, now and evermore associated +with a work of benevolence and reform, will always command the +admiration of the citizens of the commonwealth, and stimulate the youth +of the school to acquire and practise those virtues which their generous +patron cherished in his own life and honored in others. Governor +Washburn, in the Dedication Address, said, "We commend this school, with +its officers and inmates, to a generous and grateful public, with the +trust that the future lives of the young, who may be sent hither for +correction and reform, may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> prove the crowning glory of an enterprise so +auspiciously begun." Since these words were uttered, and this hope, the +hope of many hearts, was expressed, nearly two thousand boys, charged +with various offences,—many of them petty, and others serious or even +criminal,—have been admitted to the school; and the chaplain, in his +report for the year 1854, says that "the institution will be +instrumental in saving a majority of those who come under its fostering +care." This opinion, based, no doubt, upon the experience which the +chaplain and other officers of the institution had had, is to be taken +as possessing a substantial basis of truth; and it at once suggests +important reflections.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts is relieved of the presence of a thousand criminal, or, at +best, viciously disposed persons. A thousand active, capable, +industrious, productive, full-grown men have been created; or, rather, a +thousand consumers of the wealth of others, enemies of the public order +and peace, have been transformed into intelligent supporters of social +life, into generous, faithful guardians of public virtue and +tranquillity. Nor would the influences of this degraded population, if +unreformed, have ceased with its own existence; every succeeding +generation must have gathered somewhat of a harvest of crime and woe. A +thousand boys, hardened by neglect,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> educated in vice, and shunned by +the virtuous, would, as men, have been efficient missionaries of +lawlessness, wrong, and crime. And who shall estimate how much their +reform adds, in its results, to the wealth, the intellectual, moral, and +religious character, of the state? The criminal class is never a +producing class; and the labor of a thousand men here reclaimed, if +estimated for the period of twenty years only, is equal to the labor of +twenty thousand men for one year, which, at a hundred dollars each, +yields two millions of dollars. The pecuniary advantages of this school, +as of all schools, we may estimate; but there are better and higher +considerations, in the elevated intellectual, moral, and religious life +of the state, that are too pure, too ethereal, to be weighed in the +balance against the grosser possessions and acquisitions of society. We +thus get glimpses of the prophetic wisdom which led Mr. Lyman to say, "I +do not look on this school as an experiment; on the contrary, it strikes +me that it is an institution which will produce decidedly beneficial +results, not only for the present day, but for many years to come. I do +not, therefore, think that it should, even now, be treated in any +respect in the light of an experiment, to be abandoned if not +successful; for, if the school is introduced to public notice on no +better footing and with no more prepar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>ation than usually attend +trial-schemes of most kinds, the probability is that it will fail, +considering the peculiar difficulties of the case." Here is a high order +of faith in its application to human affairs; but Mr. Lyman saw, also, +that the work to be performed must encounter obstacles, and that its +progress toward a perfect result would be slow.</p> + +<p>These obstacles have been encountered; and yet the progress has been +more rapid than the words of our founder imply. But are we not at +liberty to forget the trials, crosses, and perplexities, of this +movement, as we behold the fruits, already maturing, of the wisdom and +Christian benevolence of our honored commonwealth?</p> + +<p>We are assembled to review the past, and to gather from it strength and +courage for the future; and we may with propriety congratulate all, +whether present or absent, who have been charged with the administration +of this school, and have contributed their share, however humble, to +promote these benign results. And we ought, also, to remember those, +whether living or dead, whose faith and labors laid the foundation on +which the state has built. Of the dead, I mention Lyman, Lamb, Denny, +Woodward, Shaw, and Greenleaf,—all of whom, with money, counsel, or +personal service, contributed to the plan, progress, and completion, of the work.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>The good that they have done is not interred with their bones; and their +example will yet find many imitators, as men more generally and more +perfectly realize the importance of faith in childhood and youth, as the +element of a true faith in our race. If this enterprise, in the judgment +of its founder, was not an experiment ten years ago, it cannot be so +regarded now; yet the public will look with anxiety, though with hope, +upon every change of the officers of the institution. The trustees +having appointed a new superintendent, he now assumes the great +responsibility. It may not be second to any in the state; yet a man of +energy, who is influenced by a desire to do good, and who will not +measure his reward by present emoluments or temporary fame, can bear +steadily and firmly the weight put upon him. The superintendent elect +has been a teacher elsewhere, and he is to be a teacher here also. His +work will not, in all particulars, correspond with the work that he has +left; yet the principles of government and education are in substance +the same. The head of a school always occupies a position of influence; +the characters of the children and youth confided to him are in a great +degree subject to his control. Here the teacher is neither aided nor +impeded by the usual home influences. This institution is at once a home +and a school; and its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> head has the united power and responsibility of +the parent and the teacher. Here are to be combined the social and moral +influences of home, the religious influences of the Sunday-school, with +the intellectual and moral training of the public school. He who to-day +enters upon this work should have both faith and courage. He is to deal +with the unfortunate rather than with the exceptional cases of humanity; +for all these are children whom the Father of the race, in his +providence, has confided to earthly parents to be educated for a +temporal and an immortal existence. That these parents, through crime, +ignorance, indolence, carelessness, or misfortune, have failed in their +work, is no certain evidence that we are to fail in ours. May we not +hope to see in this school the kindness, consideration, affection, and +forethought, of the parent, without the delusion which sometimes causes +the father or mother to treat the vices of the child as virtues, to be +encouraged? And may we not expect from the superintendent, to whom, +practically, the discipline of the school is confided, one +characteristic of good government, not always, it is feared, found in +punitive and reformatory institutions? I speak of the attributes of +equality, uniformity, and certainty, in the administration of the law. +To be sure, a school, a prison, or a state, will suffer when its code is +lax; and it will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> also suffer when its system is oppressive or +sanguinary; but these peculiarities in themselves do not so often, in +any community, produce dissatisfaction, disorder, and violence, as an +unequal, partial, and uncertain administration of the laws. If at times +the laws are administered strictly according to the letter, and if at +other times they are reluctantly enforced or altogether disregarded; if +it can never be known beforehand whether a violation is to be followed +by the prescribed penalty—especially if this uncertainty becomes +systematic, and a portion are favored, while the remainder are required +to answer strictly for all their delinquencies; and if, above all, these +favored ones are recognized as sentinels, or spies, or informers in the +service of the officers,—then not only will the spirit of +insubordination manifest itself, but that spirit may ripen into +alienations, feuds, and personal enmities, dangerous to the prosperity +of the institution. Here the scales of justice should be evenly +balanced, and the boy should learn, from his own daily experience, to +measure equal and exact justice unto others. I do not speak of systems +of government: they are essential, no doubt; but they are not to be +regarded as of the first importance in institutions for punishment or +reformation. Establish as wise a system as you can; but never trust to +that alone. Administer the system<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> that you have with all the equality, +uniformity, and certainty, that you can command. As a general truth, it +may be said that the law is respected when these qualities are exhibited +in its administration; and, when these qualities are wanting, the spirit +of obedience is driven from the hearts and minds of the people.</p> + +<p>But we are not to rely altogether, nor even chiefly, upon the visible +weapons of authority. Especially must the mind and heart of childhood +and youth be approached and quickened and strengthened by judicious +appeals to the sentiments of veneration and love, and to the principles +of the Christian faith. In this institution, one serious obstacle is +present; yet it may be overcome by energy, industry, and a spirit of +benevolence. I speak of the large number of inmates to be superintended +by one person. Men act in masses for the removal of general evils; but +the reformation of children must be individual, and to a great extent +dependent upon the agency, or at least upon the coöperation, of the +subjects of it. It is not easy for the superintendent to make himself +acquainted with the persons and familiar with the lives of six hundred +boys; yet this knowledge is quite essential to the exercise of a +salutary influence over them. He may be aided by the subordinate +officers of the institution; and that aid, under any cir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>cumstances, he +will need: but, after all, his own influence and power for good will be +measured by the extent of his personal acquaintance with the inmates as +individuals. First, then, government is essential to this school; not a +reign of terror, but a government whose majesty, power, equality, +certainty, uniformity, and consequent justice, shall be experienced by +all alike; and, being experienced by all alike, will be respected, +reverenced, and obeyed.</p> + +<p>And next the social, intellectual, and moral influences of the school +and the home should be combined and mingled, or else the visible forms +of government become a skeleton, merely indicating the figure, +structure, and outline, of the perfect body, but destitute of the vital +principle which alone could render it of any value to itself or to the +world.</p> + +<p>This institution is not an end, but a means. The home itself is only a +preparatory school for life. This is a substitute for the home, but is +not, and never can be, its equal. It therefore follows that a boy should +be removed whenever a home can be secured, especially if his reformation +has been previously so far accomplished as to render the completion of +the work probable.</p> + +<p>A great trust has been confided to the officers of the Reform School; +but the power to do good is usually proportionate to the responsibility +imposed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> upon the laborer. In this view, much will be expected; but the +expectations formed ought not to relate so much to results as to the +wisdom and humanity with which the operations are conducted. +Massachusetts is charged with the support of a great number of +charitable and reformatory institutions. Their necessity springs from +the defects of social life; therefore their existence is a comparative +rather than a positive good; and he is the truest friend of the race who +does most to remove the causes of poverty, ignorance, insanity, mental +and physical weakness, moral waywardness, and crime.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_CARE_AND_REFORMATION_OF_THE_NEGLECTED_AND_EXPOSED_CLASSES_OF" id="THE_CARE_AND_REFORMATION_OF_THE_NEGLECTED_AND_EXPOSED_CLASSES_OF"></a>THE CARE AND REFORMATION OF THE NEGLECTED AND EXPOSED CLASSES OF CHILDREN.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address delivered at the opening of the State Industrial School for +Girls, at Lancaster, Massachusetts.]</h3> + +<p>In man's limited view, the moral world presents a sad contrast to the +natural. The natural world is harmonious in all its parts; but the moral +world is the theatre of disturbing and conflicting forces, whose laws +the finite mind cannot comprehend. The majesty and uniformity of the +planetary revolutions, which bring day and night, summer and winter, +seed-time and harvest, know no change. Worlds and systems of worlds are +guided by a law of the Infinite Mind; and so, through unnumbered years +and myriads of years, birth and death, creation and decay, decrees whose +fixedness enables finite minds to predict the future, and rules whose +elasticity is seen in a never-ending variety of nature, all alike prove +that the sin of disobedience is upon man alone.</p> + +<p>But, if man only, of all the varied creations of earth, may fall from +his high estate, so to him only is given the power to rise again, and +feebly, yet with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> faith, advance towards the Divine Excellence. This, +then, is the great thought of the occasion, to be accepted by the hearts +and illustrated in the lives of all. The fallen may be raised up, the +exposed may be shielded, the wanderers may be called home, or else this +house is built upon the sand, and doomed to fall when the rains shall +descend, the floods come, and the winds blow. The returning autumn, with +its harvest of sustenance and wealth, bids us contemplate again the +mystery and harmony of the natural world. The tree and the herb produce +seed, and the seed again produces the tree and the herb, each after its +kind. There is a continued production and reproduction; but of +responsibility there is none. As there is no intelligent violation of +law, there is no accountability. Man, however, is an intelligent, +dependent, fallible, and, of course, responsible being. He is +responsible for himself, responsible in some degree for his fellow-man. +There is not a chapter in the history of the human race, nor a day of +its experience, which does not show that the individual members are +dependent upon, and responsible to, each other. This great fact, of six +thousand years' duration, at once presents to us the necessity for +government, and defines the limits of its powers and duties. Government, +then, is a union of all for the protection and welfare of each. This +definition pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>sents, in its principles and statement, the highest form +of human government,—a form not yet perfectly realized on earth. It +sets forth rather what government ought to be, than what it has been or +is. Too often historical governments, and living governments even, may +be defined as a union of a few for their benefit, and for the oppression +of many. The reason of man has not often been consulted in their +formation, and the interests and principles of the masses have usually +been disregarded in their administration.</p> + +<p>A true government is at once representative, patriarchal, and paternal. +In the path of duty for this day and this occasion, we shall consider +the last-named quality only,—governments should be paternal. The +paternal government is devoted to the elevation and improvement of its +members, with no ulterior motive except the necessary results of +internal purity and strength. Every government is, in some degree, no +doubt, paternal. Nor are those governments to be regarded as eminently +so, where the people are most controlled in their private, personal +affairs. These are mere despotisms; and despotism is not a just nor +necessary element of the paternal relation. That government is most +truly paternal which does most to enable its citizens or subjects to +regulate their own conduct, and deter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>mine their relations to others. In +the midst of general darkness, the paternal element of government has +been a light to the human race. It modified the patriarchal slavery of +the Hebrews, relieved the iron rule of Sparta, made European feudalism +the hope of civilization in the Dark Ages, and the basis of its coming +glories in the near future; and it now leads men to look with toleration +upon the despotism of Russia, and with kindness upon the simplicity and +arrogance of the Celestial Empire.</p> + +<p>We complain, justly enough, that the world is governed too much; and +yet, in a great degree, we neglect the means by which the proper +relations of society could be preserved, and the world be governed less. +In what works are the so-called Christian governments principally +engaged? Are they not seeking, by artifice, diplomacy, and war, to +extend national boundaries, preserve national honor, or enforce nice +distinctions against the timid and weak? Yet it is plain that a nation +is powerful according to the character of the living elements of which +it is composed. If it is disorganized morally, uncultivated in +intellect, ignorant, indolent, or wasteful in its labor, its claims to +greatness are destitute of solid foundation, and it must finally yield +to those that have sought and gained power by the elevation of the +individual as the element of the nation.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>That nation, then, is wise, and destined to become truly great, which +cultivates the best elements of individual life and character. It is not +enough to read the parable of the lost sheep, and of the ninety and nine +that went not astray, and then say, "Even so, it is not the will of your +Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish," +while the means of salvation, as regards the life of this world merely, +are very generally neglected. Such neglect is followed by error and +crime; and error and crime are followed by judgment not always tempered +with mercy.</p> + +<p>While human governments debate questions of war and peace, of trade and +revenue, of annexations with ceremony, and appropriations of territory +without ceremony, who shall answer to the Governor and Judge of all for +the neglect, indifference, and oppression, which beget and foster the +delinquencies of childhood, and harden the criminals of adult life?</p> + +<p>And who shall answer for those distinctions of caste and systems of +labor which so degrade and famish masses of human beings, that the +divine miracle of the feeding of the five thousand must be multiplied +many times over before the truths of nature or revelation can be +received into teachable minds or susceptible hearts? And who shall +answer for the hereditary poverty, ignorance and crime,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> which +constitute a marked feature of English life, and are distinctly visible +upon the face of American civilization? These questions may point with +sufficient distinctness to the sources of the evils enumerated; but we +are not to assume that mere human governments can furnish an adequate +and complete remedy. Yet this admitted inability to do everything is no +excuse for neglecting those things which are plainly within their power. +Taking upon themselves the parental character, forgetting that they have +wrongs to avenge, and seeking reformation through kindness, criminals +and the causes of crime will diminish, if they do not disappear. This is +the responsibility of the nations, and the claim now made upon them. +Individual civilization and refinement have always been in advance of +national; and national character is the mirrored image of the individual +characters, not excepting the humblest, of which the nation is composed. +Each foot of the ocean's surface has, in its fluidity or density or +position, something of the quality or power of every drop of water which +rests or moves in the depths of the sea. What is called national +character is the face of the great society beneath; and, as that society +in its elements is elevated or debased, so will the national character +rise or fall in the estimation of all just men, and upon the page<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> of +impartial history. Government, which is the organized expression of the +will of society, should represent the best elements of which society is +composed; and it ought, therefore, to combat error and wrong, and seek +to inaugurate labor, justice, and truth, as the elements of stability, +growth, and power. It must accept as its principles of action the best +rules of conduct in individuals. The man who avenges his personal wrongs +by personal attacks or vindictive retaliation, must sacrifice in some +measure the sympathy of the wise, the humane, and the good. So the +nation which avenges real or fancied wrongs crushes out the elements of +humanity and a higher life, which, properly cultivated, might lead an +erring mortal to virtue and peace. The proper object of punishment is +not vengeance, but the public safety and the reformation of the +criminal. Indeed, we may say that the sole object of punishment is the +reformation of the criminal; for there can be no safety to the public +while the criminal is unreformed. The punishment of the prison must, +from its nature, be temporary; perpetual confinement can be meted out to +a few great crimes only. If, then, the result of punishment be +vengeance, and not reformation, the last state of society is worse than +its first. The prison must stand a sad monument of the want of true +paternal government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> in the family and the state; but, when it becomes +the receptacle merely of the criminal, and all ideas of reformation are +banished from the hearts of convicts and the minds of keepers, its +influence is evil, and only evil continually.</p> + +<p>Vice, driven from the presence of virtue, with no hope of reformation or +of restoration to society, begets vice, and becomes daily more and more +loathsome. Misery is so universal that some share falls to the lot of +all; but that misery whose depths cannot be sounded, whose heights +cannot be scaled, is the fortune of the prison convict only, who has no +hope of reformation to virtue or of restoration to the world. His is the +only misery that is unrelieved; his is the only burden that is too great +to be borne. To him the foliage of the tree, the murmur of the brook, +the mirror of the quiet lake, or the thunder of the heaving ocean, would +be equally acceptable. His separation from nature is no less burdensome +than his separation from man. The heart sinks, the spirit turns with a +consuming fire upon itself, the soul is in despair; the mind is first +nerved and desperate, then wandering and savage, then idiotic, and +finally goes out in death. Governments cannot often afford to protect +themselves, or to avenge themselves, at such a cost. There may be great +crimes on which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> such awful penalties should be visited; but, for the +honor of the race, let them be few.</p> + +<p>We may err in our ideas of the true relations of the prison to the +prisoner. We call a prison good or bad when we see its walls, cells, +workshops, its means of security, and points of observation. These are +very well. They are something; but they are not all. We might so judge a +hospital for the sick; and we did once so judge an asylum for the +insane.</p> + +<p>But what to the sick man are walls of wood, brick, granite, or marble? +What are towers and turrets, what are wards, halls, and verandas, if +withal he is not cheered and sustained by the sympathizing heart and +helping hand? And similar preparations furnish for the insane personal +security and physical comfort; but can they</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div class="i6">"Minister to a mind diseased;</div> +<div>Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow;</div> +<div>Raze out the written troubles of the brain?"</div> +</div></div> + +<p>And it may be that the old almshouse at Philadelphia, which was nearly +destitute of material aids, and had only superintendent, matrons, and +assistants, was, all in all, the best insane asylum in America.</p> + +<p>We cannot neglect the claims of security, discipline, and labor, in the +erection of jails and prisons; but to acknowledge these merely will +never produce<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> the proper fruit of punishment—reformation. Indeed, +walls of stone, gates of iron, bolts, locks, and armed sentinels, though +essential to security, without which there could be neither punishment +nor reformation, are in themselves barriers rather than helps to moral +progress. Standing outside, we cannot say what should be done either in +the insane hospital or the prison; but we can deduce from the experience +of modern times a safe rule for general conduct. In the insane hospital +the patient is to be treated as though he were sane; and in the jail the +prisoner is to be treated, nearly as may be, as though he were virtuous. +This rule, especially as much of it as applies to the prisoner, may be +recklessness to some, to others folly, to others sin.</p> + +<p>"The court awards it, and the law doth give it," is no doubt the essence +and strength of governmental justice in the sentence decreed; but it +would be a sad calamity if there were no escape from its literal +fulfilment. And let no one borrow the words of Portia to the Jew, and +say to the state,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div class='i2'>"Nor cut thou less nor more,</div> +<div>But just a pound of flesh."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>As the criminal staggers beneath the accumulated weight of his sin and +its penalty, he should feel that the state is not only just in the +language of its law, but merciful in its administration; that the +govern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>ment is, in truth, paternal. This feeling inspires confidence and +hope; and without these there can be no reformation. And, following this +thought, we are led to say, it is a sad and mischievous public delusion +that the pardoning power is useless or pernicious. It is a <i>delusion</i>; +for it is the only means by which the state mingles mercy with its +justice,—the means by which the better sentiments of the prison are +marshalled in favor of order, of law, of progress. It is a <i>public +delusion</i>; for it has infected not only the masses of society, who know +little of what is going on in courts and prisons, but its influence is +observed upon the bench and in the bar, especially among those who are +accustomed to prosecute and try criminals. This is not strange, nor +shall it be a subject of complaint; but we must not always look upon the +prisoner as a criminal, and continually disregard his claims as a man. +It is not often easy, nor always possible, to make the proper +distinction between the <i>character</i> and <i>condition</i> of the prisoner. But +the prison, strange as it may seem, follows the general law of life. It +has its public sentiment, its classes, its leading minds, as well as the +university or the state; it has its men of mark, either good or bad, as +well as congress or parliament. As the family, the church, or the +school, is the reflection of the best face of society,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> so the prison is +the reflection of the worst face of society. But it nevertheless is +society, and follows its laws with as much fidelity as the world at +large.</p> + +<p>It is said that Abbé Fissiaux, the head of the colony of Marseilles, +when visiting Mettray, a kind of reform school, at which boys under +sixteen years of age, who have committed offences without discernment, +are sent, asked the colonists to point out to him the three best boys. +The looks of the whole body immediately designated three young persons +whose conduct had been irreproachable to an exceptional degree. He then +applied a more delicate test. "Point out to me," said he, "the worst +boy." All the children remained motionless, and made no sign; but one +little urchin came forward, with a pitiful air, and said, in a very low +tone, "<i>It is me.</i>" Such were the public sentiment and sense of honor, +even in a reform school. This frankness in the lad was followed by +reformation; and he became in after years a good soldier,—the life +anticipated for many members of the institution.</p> + +<p>The pardoning power is not needed in reform and industrial schools, +where the managers have discretionary authority; but it is quite +essential to the discipline of the prison to let the light of hope into +the prisoner's heart. Not that all are to enjoy the benefits of +executive clemency,—by no means: only the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> most worthy and promising +are to be thus favored. But, for many years, the Massachusetts prison +has been improved and elevated in its tone and sentiment above what it +would have been; while, as it is believed, over ninety per cent. of the +convicts thus discharged have conducted themselves well. If the +prisoner's conduct has not been, upon the whole, reasonably good, and +for a long time irreproachable, he has no chance for clemency; and, +whatever may be his conduct, and whatever may be the hopes inspired, he +should not be allowed to pass without the prison walls until a friend, +labor, and a home, are secured for him. And the exercise of the +pardoning power, if it anticipate the expiration of the legal sentence +but a month, a week, or a day even, may change the whole subsequent +life. Men, criminals, convicts, are not insensible to kindness; and when +the government shortens the legal sentence, which is usually their +measure of justice, they feel an additional obligation to so behave as +to bring no discredit upon a power which has been a source of +inestimable joy to them. And prisoners thus discharged have often gone +forth with a feeling that the hopes of many whom they had left behind +were centred in them.</p> + +<p>Mr. Charles Forster, of Charlestown, says, in a letter to me: "I have +been connected with the Mas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>sachusetts State Prison for a period of +thirty-eight years, and have always felt a strong interest in the +improvement, welfare, and happiness, of the unfortunate men confined +within its walls. I am conversant with many touching cases of deep and +heartfelt gratitude for kindly acts and sympathy bestowed upon them, +both during and subsequent to their imprisonment." And the same +gentleman says further, "I think that the proportion of persons +discharged from prison by executive clemency, who have subsequently been +convicted of penal offences, is very small indeed." To some, whose +imaginations have pictured a broad waste or deep gulf between themselves +and the prisoner class, these may seem strange words; but there is no +mystery in this language to those who have listened to individual cases +of crime and punishment. Men are tried and convicted of crimes according +to rules and definitions which are necessarily arbitrary and technical; +but the moral character of criminals is not very well defined by the +rules and definitions which have been applied to their respective cases. +Our prisons contain men who are great and professional criminals,—men +who advisedly follow a life of crime themselves, and deliberately +educate generation after generation to a career of infamy and vice. As a +general thing, mercy to such men would be unpar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>donable folly. Of them I +do not now speak. But there is another class, who are involved in guilt +and its punishment through the defects of early education, the +misfortune of orphanage, accident, sudden temptation, or the influence +of evil companionship in youth.</p> + +<p>The field from which this class is gathered is an extensive one, and its +outer limits are near to every hearthstone. To all these, prison life, +unless it is relieved by a hope of restoration to the world at the hand +of mercy, is the school of vice, and a certain preparation for a career +of crime. As a matter of fact, this class does furnish recruits to +supply the places of the hardened villains who annually die, or +permanently forsake the abodes of civilized men. What hope can there be +for a young man who remains in prison until the last day of his sentence +is measured by the sun in his course, and then passes into the world, +with the mark of disgrace and the mantle of shame upon him, to the +society of the companions by whose influence he first fell? For such a +one there can be no hope. And be it always remembered that there are +those without the prison walls, as well as many within, who resist every +effort to bring the wanderers back to obedience and right. I was present +at the prison in Charlestown when the model of a bank-lock was taken +from a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> young man whose term had nearly expired. The model was cut in +wood, after a plan drawn upon sand-paper by an experienced criminal, +then recently convicted. This old offender was so familiar with the +lock, that he was able to reproduce all its parts from memory alone. +This fact shows the influence that may be exerted, even in prison, upon +the characters of the young and less vicious. Now, can any doubt that +these classes, as classes, ought to be separated? Nor let the question +be met by the old statement, that all communication between prisoners +should be cut off. Humanity cannot defend, as a permanent system, the +plan which shuts up the criminal, unless he is a murderer, from the +light of the human countenance. Such penalties foster crimes, whose +roots take hold of the state itself.</p> + +<p>The result of the exercise of the pardoning power is believed to have +been, upon the whole, satisfactory. This is the concurrent testimony of +officers and others whose opinions are entitled to weight. Permit the +statement of a single case, to which many similar ones might be added. +In a remote state of the West there is a respectable and successful +farmer, who was once sentenced to the penitentiary for life. His crime +was committed in a moment of desperation, produced by the contrast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +between a state of abject poverty in a strange land, at the age of +twenty-three, and the recollection of childhood and youth passed beneath +the parental roof, surrounded by the comforts and conveniences of the +well-educated and well-conditioned classes of English society. This, it +is true, was a peculiar case. It was marked in the circumstances and +enormity of the crime, and marked in the subsequent good conduct of the +prisoner. But can any one object, that, after ten years' imprisonment, +this man was allowed to try his fortunes once more among his fellow-men? +Are there those who would have had no faith in his uninterrupted good +conduct; in the abundant evidence of complete reformation; in the fact +that, in prison and poverty and disgrace, he had allied to him friends +of name and fortune and Christian virtues, who were ready to aid him in +his good resolutions? If any such there be, let them visit the solitary +cell of the despairing convict, whose crime is so great that executive +clemency fears to approach it. Crime and despair have made the features +appalling; all the worst passions of our nature riot together in the +temple made for the living God; and the death of the body is almost +certainly to be preceded by madness, insanity, and idiocy of the mind. +Or, if any think that this person escaped with too light an expiation +for so great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> a crime, let them recall the incident of the youth who was +questioned because he looked with fond affection into the babbling face +of the running brook, and, apologizing, as it were, in reply said, "O, +yes, it is very beautiful, and especially to me, who have seen no water +for four years, beside what I have had to drink!"</p> + +<p>Nor is it assumed, in all that is said upon this subject, that the laws +are severe, or that the judicial administration of them is not +characterized by justice and mercy. In the ordinary course of affairs, +the pardoning power is not resorted to for the correction of any error +or injustice of the courts; but it is the means by which the state +tempers its justice with mercy; and, if the penalties for crime were +less than they are, the necessity for the exercise of this power would +still remain. It assumes that the object of the penal law is +reformation; and if this object, in some cases, can be attained by the +exercise of the pardoning power, while the rigid execution of the +sentence would leave the criminal, as it usually will, still hardened +and unrepenting, is it not wise for the state to benefit itself, and +save the prisoner, by opening the prison-doors, and inviting the convict +to a life of industry and virtue? And let it never be forgotten, though +it is the lowest view which can be taken of crime and prisons, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> the +criminal class is the most expensive class of society. In general, it is +a non-producing class, and, whether in prison or out, is a heavy burden +upon the public. The mere interest of the money now expended in prisons +of approved structure is, for each cell, equal annually to the net +income of a laboring man; and professional thieves, when at large, often +gather by their art, and expend in profligacy, many thousand dollars a +year. And here we see how much wiser it is, in an economical point of +view, to save the child, or reform the man, than to allow the adult +criminal to go at large, or provide for his safe-keeping at the expense +of the state.</p> + +<p>Under the influence of the pardoning power, wisely executed, the +commonwealth becomes a family, whose law is the law of kindness. It is +the paternal element of government applied to a class of people who, by +every process of reasoning, would be found least susceptible to its +influence. It is the great power of the state, both in the wisdom +required for its judicious exercise, and in the beneficial results to +which it may lead. Men may desire office for its emoluments in money or +fame; they may seek it in a spirit of rivalry, or for personal pride, or +for the opportunity it brings to reward friends and punish enemies; but +all these are poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> and paltry compared with the divine privilege, +exercised always in reference to the public welfare, of elevating the +prisoner to the companionship of men, and cheering him with words of +encouragement on his entrance anew to the duties of life.</p> + +<p>Yet think not that the prison is a reformatory institution: far from it. +If the prison should be left to the influence of legitimate prison +discipline merely, it is doubtful whether the sum of improvement would +equal the total of degradation. This may be said of the best prisons of +America, of New England. The prison usually contains every class, from +the hardened convict, incarcerated for house-breaking, robbery, or +murder, to the youth who expiates his first offence, committed under the +influence of evil companions, or sudden temptation. The contact of these +two persons must be injurious to one of them, without in any degree +improving the other. Therefore the prison, considered without reference +to the elevating influence of the pardoning power, has but little +ability to reform the bad, and yet possesses a sad tendency to debase +the comparatively good.</p> + +<p>We miss, too, in the prison, another essential element of a reformatory +institution. Reformation in individual cases may take place under the +most adverse circumstances; but an institution cannot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> be called +reformatory unless its prevailing moral sentiment is actively, +vigorously, and always, on the side of progress and virtue. This moral +influence must proceed from the officers of the institution; but it +should be increased and strengthened by the sympathy and support of the +inmates. This can hardly be expected of the prison. The number of adult +persons experienced in crime and hardened by its penalties is usually so +large, that the moral sentiment of the officers, and the weak +resolutions of the small class of prisoners, who, under favorable +circumstances, might be saved, are insufficient to give a healthy tone +to the whole institution. The prison is a battle-field of vice and +virtue, with the advantage of position and numbers on the side of vice. +Indeed, there can hardly be a worse place for the young or the +inexperienced in crime. This is the testimony of reason and of all +experience; yet the public mind is slow to accept the remedy for the +evil. It is a privilege to believe that the worst scenes of prison life +are not found in the United States. Consider this case, reported in an +English journal, <i>The Ragged-School Magazine</i>:</p> + +<p>"D. F., aged about fourteen. Mother dead several years; father a +drunkard, and deserted him about three years ago. Has since lived as he +best could,—sometimes going errands, sometimes beg<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>ging and thieving. +Slept in lodging-houses when he had money; but very often walked the +streets at night, or lay under arches or door-steps. Has only one +brother; he lives by thieving. Does not know where he is; has no other +friend that he knows; never learnt to read; was badly off; picked a +handkerchief out of a gentleman's pocket, and was caught by a policeman; +sent to Giltspur-street Prison; was fed on bread and water; instructed +every day by chaplain and schoolmaster; much impressed with what the +chaplain said; felt anxious to do better; behaved well in prison; <i>was +well flogged the morning he left; back bruised, but not quite bleeding</i>; +was then turned into the street, ragged, barefooted, friendless, +homeless, penniless; walked about the streets till afternoon, when he +received a penny from a gentleman to buy a loaf; met, next day, some +expert thieves in the Minories; went along with them, and continues in a +course of vagrancy and crime."</p> + +<p>And what else could have been expected? The government, having sown +tares, had no right to gather wheat. Yet, had this boy been provided +with a home, either in a family or a reform school, with sufficient +labor, and proper moral and intellectual culture, he might have been +saved. Of the three thousand persons annually in prison at New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>gate, +four hundred are less than sixteen years of age; and twenty thousand +children and youth under seventeen years of age yearly pass through the +prisons of England. "Many of the juvenile prisoners," it is said, "have +been frequently in prison, and are very hardened. Some, from nine to +eleven, have been in prison repeatedly, and have very little fear of +it."</p> + +<p>The officers of the Liverpool Borough Jail are united in the opinion +that, when a boy comes once, he is almost certain to come again and +again, until he is transported. And, of every one hundred young persons +discharged from the principal prisons of Paris, seventy-five are in the +custody of the law within the next three months. A professed thief said +to the Rev. Mr. Clay, of England, "I am convinced of this, having too +bitterly experienced it, that communication in a prison has brought +thousands to ruin. I speak not of boys only, but of men and women also." +And Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, says of the sentences imposed in +his court, "We are compelled to carry into operation an ignorant and +vengeful system, which augments to a fearful extent the very evils it +was framed to correct." A few years ago, there was a lad in a New +England prison whose experience is a pertinent illustration of the evil +we are now considering. His father, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> resident of a city, died while +the boy was in infancy. He, however, soon passed beyond the control of +his mother, and at an early age was selected by a brace of thieves, who +petted, caressed, and humored him, until he was completely subject to +their will. He was then made useful to them in their profession; but at +last they were all arrested while engaged in robbing a store,—the boy +being within the building, and the men stationed as sentinels without. +In this case, the discretion of the court, which distinguished in the +sentence between the hardened villains and the youth, was inadequate to +the emergency. The child, unfit for the prison, and sure to be +contaminated by it, ought to have been sent to a house of reformation, a +reform school, or, perhaps better than either, to the custody of a +well-regulated, industrious family. Now, in such cases, the distinction +which the law, judicially administered, does not make, and cannot make, +must be made by the executive in the wise exercise of the pardoning +power. But this power, in the nature of things, has its limits; and on +one side it is limited to those who have been convicted of crime.</p> + +<p>At this point, we may see how faulty, and yet how constantly improving, +has been the administration of the criminal law. First, we have the +prison without the pardoning power, except in cases of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +mal-administration of the law,—a receptacle of the bad and good, where +the former are not improved, and the latter are hurried rapidly on in +the path of degradation and crime. Then we have the prison under the +influence of the pardoning power, more or less wisely administered, but, +in its best form, able only to arrest and counteract partially the +tendencies to evil. Next, from the imperfections of this system an +advancing civilization has evoked the Reform School, which gathers in +the young criminals and viciously inclined youth, and prepares them, by +labor, and culture of the mind and heart, to resist the temptations of +life. But this institution seems to wait, though it may not always in +reality do so, until the candidate is actually a criminal.</p> + +<p>Hence the necessity which calls us to-day to consider the means adopted +elsewhere, and the means now to be employed here, to save the young and +exposed from the dangers which surround them.</p> + +<p>Passing, then, in review, ladies and gentlemen, the thoughts which have +been presented, I deduce from them for your assent and support, if so it +please you, the following propositions as the basis of what I have yet +to say:</p> + +<p>I. Government, in the prevention and punishment of crime, should be paternal.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>II. The object of punishment should be reformation, and not revenge.</p> + +<p>III. The law of reformation in the state, as in the family, is the law +of kindness.</p> + +<p>IV. As criminals vary in age and in experience as criminals, so should +their treatment vary.</p> + +<p>V. Prisons and jails are not, in their foundation and management, +reformatory institutions, and only become so through influences not +necessarily nor ordinarily acting upon them.</p> + +<p>VI. As prisons and jails deter from crime through fear only, exert very +little moral influence upon the youth of either sex, and fail in many +respects and in a majority of cases as reformatory institutions, we +ought to avail ourselves of any new agency which promises success.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>Influenced, as we may reasonably suppose, by these or kindred +sentiments, and aided by the noblest exhibitions of private benevolence, +the state has here founded a school for the prevention of crime. As we +have everywhere among us schools whose <i>leading</i> object is the +development of the intellect, so we now dedicate a school whose +<i>leading</i> object is the development of the affections as the basis of +the cardinal virtues of life.</p> + +<p>The design of this institution is so well expressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> by the trustees, +that it is a favor to us all for me to read the first chapter of the +by-laws, which, by the consent of the Governor and Council, have been +established:</p> + +<p>"The intention of the state government, and of the benevolent +individuals who have contributed to the establishment of this +institution, is to secure a <i>home</i> and a <i>school</i> for such girls as may +be presented to the magistrates of the state, appointed for that +purpose, as vagrants, perversely obstinate, deprived of the control and +culture of their natural guardians, or guilty of petty offences, and +exposed to a life of crime and wretchedness.</p> + +<p>"For such young persons it is proposed to provide, not a prison for +their restraint and correction, but a family school, where, under the +firm but kind discipline of a judicious home, they shall be carefully +instructed in all the branches of a good education; their moral +affections be developed and cultivated by the example and affectionate +care of one who shall hold the relation of a mother to them; be +instructed in useful and appropriate forms of female industry; and, in +short, be fitted to become virtuous and happy members of society, and to +take respectable positions in such relations in life as Providence shall +hereafter mark out for them.</p> + +<p>"It is to be distinctly understood that the insti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>tution is not to be +considered a <i>place of punishment</i>, or its subjects as criminals. It is +to be an inviting refuge, into which the exposed may be gathered to be +saved from a course which would inevitably end in penal confinement, +irretrievable ruin, or hopeless degradation.</p> + +<p>"The inmates are to be considered hopeful and promising subjects of +appropriate culture, and to be instructed and watched over with the care +and kindness which their peculiar exposures demand, and with the +confidence which youth should ever inspire.</p> + +<p>"The restraint and the discipline which will be necessary are to be such +as would be appropriate in a Christian family or in a small +boarding-school; and the 'law of kindness' should be written upon the +heart of every officer of the institution. The chief end to be obtained, +in all the culture and discipline, is the proper development of the +faculties and moral affections of the inmates, however they may have +been heretofore neglected or perverted; and to teach them the art, and +aid them in securing the power, of self-government."</p> + +<p>Under the influence of these sentiments, we pass, if possible, in the +work of reformation, from the rigor of the prison to the innocent +excitement and rivalry of the school, the comfort, confidence and joys +of home. This institution assumes that crime, to some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> extent at least, +is social, local, or hereditary, in its origin; that the career of +hardened criminals often takes its rise in poverty, idleness, ignorance, +orphanage, desertion, or intemperance of parents, evil example, or the +indifference, scorn and neglect of society. It assumes, also, that there +is a period of life—childhood and youth—when these, the first +indications of moral death, may be eradicated, or their influence for +evil controlled. In this land of education, of liberty, of law, of labor +and religion, we may not easily imagine how universal the enumerated +evils are in many portions of Europe. The existence of these evils is in +some degree owing to institutions which favor a few, and oppress the +masses; but it is also in a measure due to the fact that Europe is both +old and multitudinous. America, though still young, is even now +multitudinous. Hence, both here and there, crime is social and local. +The truth of this statement is proportionate to the force of the causes +in the respective countries.</p> + +<p>We are assembled upon a sloping hillside, over-looking a quiet country +village. Happy homes are embowered in living groves, whose summer +foliage is emblematical of innocence, progress, and peace. We have here +a social life, with natural impulses, cultivated worldly interests, +moral and religious sentiments, all on the side of virtue. Crime here +is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> not social. If it appear at all, it is segregated; and, as the +burning taper expires when placed at the centre of the spirit lamp's +coiling sheet of flame, so vice and crime cannot thrive in the genial +embrace of virtue.</p> + +<p>Circumstances are here unfavorable to crime; it is never social; but +sometimes, though not often, it is hereditary. A family for many +generations seems to have a criminal tendency. Perhaps the members are +not in any generation guilty of great crimes, but often of lesser ones; +and are, moreover, in the daily practice of vices that give rise to +suspicion, neglect, and reproach. Here together are associated, and made +hereditary, poverty, ignorance, idleness, beggary, and vagrancy. Surely +these instances are not common, probably not so common as they were in +the last generation. But how is the boy or girl of such a family to rise +above these circumstances, and throw off these weights? Occasionally one +of great energy of character may do so; but, if the children of more +fortunate classes can scarcely escape the influence of temporary evil +example, how shall they who are born to a heritage of poverty, +ignorance, and ever-present evil counsel and conduct under the guise of +parental authority, pass to the position of intelligent, industrious, +respectable members of society? Some external influence must be +applied;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> by some means from without, the spell must be broken; the +fatal succession of vicious homes must be interrupted. The family has +here failed to discharge its duty to itself and to the state; and shall +not the state do its duty to itself, by assuming the paternal relation +under the guidance of that law of kindness, which we have seen effectual +to control the insane, and melt the hardened criminal? But in cities we +find vice, not only hereditary in families, but local and social; so +that streets and squares are given up, as it were, to the idle and +vicious, whose numbers and influence produce and perpetuate a public +sentiment in support of their daily practices. This phase of life is not +due to the fact that cities are wealthy, or that they are engaged in +manufactures or commerce; but to the single fact that they are +multitudinous, and their inhabitants are, therefore, in daily contact +with each other, while, in the country, individuals and families are +comparatively isolated. Yet some may very well doubt whether such an +institution as this, with all the benign influences of home which we +hope to see centred and diffusive here, will save a child of either sex, +whose first years shall have been so unfavorable to a life of virtue.</p> + +<p>The answer is plain: as in other reformatory institutions, there will be +some successes and some fail<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>ures. The failures will be reckoned as they +were; the successes will be a clear gain.</p> + +<p>But investigation and trial will show a natural aptitude or instinct in +children that will aid in their improvement and reformation. There has +been in one of our public schools a lad, who, at the age of fourteen +years, could not recall distinctly the circumstances of his life +previous to the time when he was a newsboy in the city of New York. He +was ignorant of father, mother, kindred, family name, and nation. At an +early age, he travelled through the middle, southern and south-western +states, engaged in selling papers and trash literature; and, for a time, +he was employed by a showman to stand outside the tent and describe and +exaggerate the attractions within. When he was in his fourteenth year, +he accepted the offer of a permanent home; his chief object being, as he +said, to obtain an education. "I have found," said he, "that a man +cannot do much in this country unless he has some learning." This truth, +simple, and resting upon a low view of education, may yet be of infinite +value if accepted by those who, even among us, are advancing to adult +life without the preparation which our common schools are well fitted to +furnish. And the case of this lad may be yet further useful by showing +how compensation is provided for evils and neglects<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> in mental and moral +relations, as well as in the physical and natural world. Though ignorant +of books, he was thoroughly and extensively acquainted with things, and +consequently made rapid progress in the knowledge of signs; for they +were immediately applied, and of course remembered. In a few months, he +took a respectable position among lads of his age. The world had done +for this boy what good schools do not always accomplish,—made him +familiar with things before he was troubled with the signs which stand +for them. There is an ignorance in manhood; an ignorance under the show +of profound learning; an ignorance for which schools, academies and +colleges, are often responsible; an ignorance that neither schools, +academies nor colleges, can conceal from the humblest intellects; an +ignorance of life and things as they are within the sphere of our own +observation. From this most deplorable ignorance this boy had escaped; +and the light of learning illumined his mind, as the sun in his daily +return reveals anew those forms of life, which, even in an ungenial +spring and early summer, his rays had warmed into existence, and +nourished and cherished in their progress towards perfection.</p> + +<p>And, ladies and gentlemen, let us indulge the hope that the events of +this day and the faith of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> assembly will declare that it is +possible to save the children of orphanage, intemperance, neglect, scorn +and ignorance, from many of the evils which surround them. Let it not be +assumed and believed that the task of training and saving girls is less +hopeful than similar labors in behalf of the other sex. It has been +found true in Europe, and it is a prevailing opinion in this country, +that, among adults, the reformation of females is more difficult than +the reformation of males. But an analysis of this fact, assuming it to +be true, will unfold qualities of female character that render it +peculiarly easy to shield and save girls who are exposed to a life of +crime; for, be it remembered, this institution deals with mere children, +who are exposed, but not yet lost. It differs, in this respect, from +most institutions, although many include this class with others. And it +may be well to remark, that every reformatory school in Europe, even +those altogether penal,—as Parkhurst in England, and Mettray in +France,—have had some measure of success. Eighty-nine per cent. of the +colons, or convicts, at Mettray, have become respectable and useful; +while, of the youth sent to the ordinary jails and prisons, seventy-five +per cent. are totally lost. It is not fair, therefore, to assume that +this attempt will fail. The degree of success will depend upon +circumstances and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> causes, to a great extent, within human control. +There are, however, three elements of success, so distinct that they may +well stand as the appropriate divisions of what remains for +consideration. They are the right action of the government; the faithful +conduct of superintendent, matrons, and assistants; the sympathy and aid +of the people of the state in matters which do not admit of legislative +interference.</p> + +<p>The act of the Legislature, though voluminous in its details, +contemplates only this: A home for girls between seven and sixteen years +of age, who are found "in circumstances of want and suffering, or of +neglect, exposure, or abandonment, or of beggary." The first idea of +<i>home</i> precludes the possibility of the inmates being sent here as a +punishment for crime; therefore they are neither adjudged nor actual +criminals, but persons exposed to a vicious life. Secondly, the idea of +home involves the necessity of reproducing the family relation, as +circumstances may permit. Hence, the members of this institution are to +be divided into families; and over each a matron will preside, who is to +be a kind, affectionate, discreet mother to the children.</p> + +<p>And here, for once, in Massachusetts, a public institution has escaped +the tyranny of bricks and mortar; and we are permitted to indulge the +hope,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> that any future additions will tend to make this spot a +neighborhood of unostentatious cottages, quiet rural homes, rather than +the seat of a vast edifice, which may provoke the wonder of the +sight-seer, inflame local or state pride, but can never be an effectual, +economical agency in the work of reformation. Every public institution +has some great object. Architecture should bend itself to that object, +and become its servant; and it must ever be deemed a mistake, when +utility is sacrificed that art or fancy may have its way.</p> + +<p>Reformation, if wrought by external influences, is the result of +personal kindness. Personal kindness can exist only where there is +intimate personal acquaintance; this acquaintance is impossible in an +institution of two, three, or five hundred inmates. But, in a family of +ten, twenty, or thirty, this knowledge will exist, and this kindness +abound. Warm personal attachments will grow up in the family, and these +attachments are likely to become safeguards of virtue.</p> + +<p>Nor let the objection prevail that the expense is to be increased. It is +not the purpose to set up an establishment and maintain it for a +specific sum of money, but to provide thorough mental and moral training +for the inmates. Make the work efficient,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> though it be limited to a +small number, rather than inaugurate a magnificent failure.</p> + +<p>The state has wisely provided that the "trustees shall cause the girls +under their charge to be instructed in piety and morality, and in such +branches of useful knowledge as shall be adapted to their age and +capacity; they shall also be instructed in some regular course of labor, +either mechanical, manufacturing, or horticultural, or a combination of +these, and especially in such domestic and household labor and duties as +shall be best suited to their age and strength, disposition and +capacity; also in such other arts, trades, and employments, as may seem +to the trustees best adapted to secure their reformation, amendment, and +future benefit."</p> + +<p>It is sometimes the bane of the poor that they do not work, and it is +often equally the bane of the rich that they have nothing to do. The +idle, both rich and poor, carry a weight of reproach that not all ought +to bear. The disposition and the ability to labor are both the result of +education; and why should the uneducated be better able to labor than to +read Greek and Latin? Surely only that there are more teachers in one +department than in the others; but a good teacher of labor may be as +uncommon as a good teacher of Latin or Greek. There is a false, vicious, +unmanly pride, which leads<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> our youth of both sexes to shun labor; and +it is the business of the true teacher to extirpate this growth of a +diseased civilization. And we could have no faith in this school, if it +were not a school of industry as well as of morality,—a school in which +the divine law of labor is to be observed equally with the laws of men. +Industry is near to all the virtues. In this era every branch of labor +is an art, and sometimes it is necessary for the laborer to be both an +artist and a scientific person. How great, then, the misfortune of +those, whether rich or poor, who are uninstructed in the business of +life! We should hardly know what judgment to pass upon a man of wealth +who should entirely neglect the education of his children in schools; +but the common indifference to industrial learning is not less +reprehensible. Labor should be systematic; not constant, indeed, but +always to be reckoned as the great business of life, never to be +avoided, never to cease.</p> + +<p>Labor gives us a better knowledge of the fulness, magnificence and +glory, of the divine blessing of creation. This lesson may be learned by +the farmer in the wonderful growth of vegetation; by the artist, in the +powers of invention and taste of the human mind and soul; by the man of +science, in the beauty of an insect or the order of a universe. The +vision of the idle is limited. The ability to see may be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> improved by +education as much as the ability to read, remember, or converse. With +many people, not seeing is a habit. Near-sighted persons are generally +those who declined to look at distant objects; and so nature, true to +the most perfect rules of economy, refused to keep in order faculties +that were entirely neglected. The laborer's recompense is not money, nor +the accumulation of worldly goods chiefly; but it is in his increased +ability to observe, appreciate, and enjoy the world, with its beauties +and blessings. Nor is labor, the penalty for sin, a punishment merely, +but a divine means of reformation. It is, therefore, a moral discipline +that all should submit to; and especially is it a means by which the +youth here are to be prepared for the duties of life. But industry is +not only near to all the virtues; it is itself a virtue, as idleness is +a vice. The word <i>labor</i> is, of course, used in the broadest +signification. Labor is any honest employment, or use of the head or +hands, which brings good to ourselves, and consequently, though +indirectly, brings good to our fellow-men.</p> + +<p>The state has now furnished a home, reproduced, as far as practicable, +the family relation, and provided for a class of neglected and exposed +girls the means of mental, industrial, moral, and religious culture. The +plan appears well; but its practical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> value depends upon the fidelity of +its execution by the superintendent, matrons and assistants. I venture +to predict in advance, that the degree of success is mainly within their +control. This is a school, they are the teachers; and they must bend to +the rule which all true teachers willingly accept.</p> + +<p>The teacher must be what he would have his pupils become. This was the +standard of the great Teacher; this is the aim of all who desire to make +education a matter of reality and life, and not merely a knowledge of +signs and forms. Here will be needed a spirit and principle of devotion +which will be fruitful in humility, patience, earnestness, energy, good +words and works for all. Here must be strictness, possibly sternness of +discipline; but this is not incompatible with the qualities mentioned. +It is a principle at Mettray to combine unbounded personal kindness with +a rigid exclusion of personal indulgence.</p> + +<p>This principle produces good results that are two-fold in their +influence. First, personal kindness in the teacher induces a reciprocal +quality in the pupils. The habit of personal kindness, proceeding from +right feelings, is a potent element of good in the family, the school, +and the prison. Indeed, it is an element of good citizenship; and no one +destitute of this quality ought to be intrusted with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> education of +children, or the punishment and reformation of criminals.</p> + +<p>Secondly, the rigid exclusion of personal indulgence trains the inmates +in the virtue of self-control. And may it not be forgotten that all +apparent reformation must be hedged by this cardinal virtue of practical +life! Otherwise the best-formed expectations will fail; the highest +hopes will be disappointed; and the life of these teachers, and the +promise of the youth who may be gathered here, will be like the sun and +the winds upon the desert, which bring neither refreshing showers nor +fruitful harvests. Every form of labor requires faith. This labor +requires faith in yourselves, and faith in others;—faith in yourselves, +as teachers here, based upon your own knowledge of what you are and are +to do; and faith in others upon the divine declaration that God breathed +into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul,—not merely as +the previous creations, possessed of animal life; but as a sentient, +intellectual, and moral being, capable of a progressive, immortal +existence.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"'Tis nature's law</div> +<div>That none, the meanest of created things,</div></div> +<hr class='smler' /> +<div class="stanza"> +<div class="i12">Should exist</div> +<div>Divorced from good,—a spirit and pulse of good,</div> +<div>A life and soul, to every mode of being</div> +<div>Inseparably linked.</div> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<div>See, then, your only conflict is with men;</div> +<div>And your sole strife is to defend and teach</div> +<div>The unillumined, who, without such care,</div> +<div>Must dwindle."</div> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>And always, as in the beginning, the reliance of this school is upon the +people of the commonwealth, whose voice has spoken into existence +another instrumentality to give eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, a +heart for the work of this life, and a hope for an hereafter, to those +who from neglect and vicious example would soon pass the period of +reformation. But may the people always bear in mind the indisputable +truth, that schools for the criminal and the exposed yield not their +perfect fruits in a day or a year! They must, if they will know whether +the seed here planted produces a harvest, wait for the birth and growth +of one generation, the decay and death of another. Yet these years of +delay will not be years of uncertainty. The public faith will be +strengthened continually by cases of reformation, usefulness, and +virtue. But, whether these cases be few or many, let no one despond. The +career of the criminal is, often in money and always in influence, the +heaviest burden which an individual can impose upon society.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> + +<p>This is a school for girls; and we may properly appeal to the women of +Massachusetts to do their duty to this institution, and to the cause it +represents. We can already see the second stage in the existence of many +of those who are to be sent here; and there is good reason to fear that +the relation of mistress and servant among us is in some degree +destitute of those moral qualities that make the house a home for all +who dwell beneath its roof. But, whether this fear be the voice of truth +or the suggestion of prejudice, that woman shall not be held blameless, +who, under the influence of indolence, pride, fashion, or avarice, shall +neglect, abuse, or oppress, the humblest of her sex who goes forth from +these walls into the broad and dangerous path of life. But this day +shall not leave the impression that they who are most interested in the +elevation and refinement of female character are indifferent to the +means employed, and the results which are to wait on them.</p> + +<p>The greatest delineator of human character in this age says, as the +images of neglected children pass before his vision:</p> + +<p>"There is not one of them—not one—but sows a harvest mankind <i>must</i> +reap. From every seed of evil in this boy a field of ruin is grown that +shall be gathered in, and garnered up, and sown again in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> many places in +the world, until regions are over-spread with wickedness enough to raise +the waters of another deluge. Open and unpunished murder in a city's +streets would be less guilty in its daily toleration than one such +spectacle as this. There is not a father, by whose side, in his daily or +nightly walk, these creatures pass; there is not a mother among all the +ranks of loving mothers in this land; there is no one risen from the +state of childhood, but shall be responsible, in his or her degree, for +this enormity. There is not a country throughout the earth on which it +would not bring a curse. There is no religion upon earth that it would +not deny; there is no people on earth that it would not put to shame."</p> + +<p>This institution, then, in the true relation of things, is not the glory +of the state, but its shame. It speaks of families, of schools, of the +church, of the state, not yet educated to the discharge of their +respective duties in the right way. But it is the glory of the state as +a visible effort to correct evils, atone for neglects, and compensate +for wrongs. It comes to do, in part at least, what the family, the +school, the press, the library, the Sabbath, have nest yet perfectly +accomplished. As these agencies partially failed, so will this; but, as +the law of progress exists for all, because perfection with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> us is +unattainable, we may reasonably have faith in human improvement, and +trust that the life of each succeeding generation shall unite, in +ever-increasing proportions, the innocence of childhood with the wisdom of age.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="ELEMENTARY_TRAINING_IN_THE_PUBLIC_SCHOOLS" id="ELEMENTARY_TRAINING_IN_THE_PUBLIC_SCHOOLS"></a>ELEMENTARY TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.</h2> + +<h3>[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.]</h3> + +<p>We are still sadly defective in methods of education. Until recently +teaching was almost an unknown art; and we are at present struggling +against ignorance without any well-defined plan, and attempting to +develop and build up the immortal character of children, without a +philosophical and generally accepted theory of the nature of the human +mind. There are complaints that the duties and exactions of the schools +injure the health and impair the constitutions of pupils; that the +progress in intellectual attainments is not always what it should be; +that the training given is sometimes determined by the wishes of +committees against the better judgment of competent teachers; that the +text-books are defective; that the studies in the common schools are too +numerous; that the elements are consequently neglected; and that, in +fine, too much thought is bestowed upon exhibitions and contests for +public prizes, to the injury of good learning,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> and of individual and +general character. For these complaints there is some foundation; but +care should be exercised lest incidental and necessary evils become, in +the public estimation, great wrongs, and exceptional cases the evidence +of general facts.</p> + +<p>It is to some extent true that the duties and exactions of the schools +seriously test the health of pupils; but it is, as I believe, more +generally true that many pupils are physically unable to meet the +ordinary and proper duties of the school-room. School life, as usually +conducted, is physically injurious, and our best efforts thus far have +been limited to the dissemination of elementary knowledge of physiology +as a science, and to an acquaintance with a limited number of important +physiological facts. Yet even here little has been accomplished in +comparison with what may be done. In this department there is much +instruction given that has no practical value, and children are often +permitted to live in daily and uniform neglect of the most essential +truths of science and the facts of human experience. Neither physiology +nor hygiene can be of much value in the schools, as a study, unless +there is an application of what is taught. Great proficiency cannot be +made in these branches in the brief period of school life; but a +competent teacher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> may induce the pupils to put in practice the lessons +that are applicable to childhood and youth. If, however, as is sometimes +the case, pupils are undermining the physical constitution in their +efforts to know how they are made, the loss is, unquestionably, more +than the gain. Physical health and growth depend, first, upon +opportunity; and hence it happens that, where physical life is most +defective, there the greatest difficulties in the way of its improvement +are found. Boys born in the country, living upon farms, accustomed +continually to outdoor labors and sports, walking a mile or more every +day to school, have but little use, in their own persons, for the +science or facts of physiology; and it is a very rare thing, where such +conditions have existed, that any teacher is able to exact an amount of +intellectual service that proves in any perceptible degree injurious.</p> + +<p>But these opportunities are not so generally enjoyed by girls, and the +mass of children in cities are wholly deprived of them. In the country, +and even in villages and towns of considerable size, there is no excuse, +better than ignorance or indifference, for the lack of judicious and +efficient physical training of children and youth of both sexes. But +ignorance and indifference are facts; and, while and where they exist, +they are prejudicial to the growth of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> mind and body. The age at which +children should be admitted to school has not been ascertained, nor can +a satisfactory rule upon this point ever be laid down. If children are +not in schools, they are yet subject to influences that are formative of +character. When proper government and methods of education exist at +home, the presence of the child in school at an early age is not +desirable. Even when education at home is not methodical, it may be +continued until the child is seven or even eight years of age, if it is +at once moral, intelligent, and controlling. It is not, however, wise to +expect a child who is infirm physically to perform the labors imposed by +the necessary and proper regulations of school. When children enjoy good +health, and are not blessed with suitable training at home, they may be +introduced to the school, at the age of five years, with positive +advantage to themselves and to society.</p> + +<p>When the child is a member of the school, what shall be done with him? +He must first be taught to take an interest in the exercises by making +the exercises interesting to him. That the transition from home to the +school may be easy, he should first occupy himself with those topics and +studies that are presented to the eye and to the ear, and may be +mastered, so as to produce the sensation that follows achievement with +only a moderate use of the reason<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>ing and reflective faculties. Among +these are reading, writing, music, and drawing. This is also the time +when object lessons may be given with great advantage. The forms and +names of geometrical solids may be taught. Exercises may be introduced +tending to develop those powers by which we comprehend the qualities of +color, size, density, form, and weight. Important moral truths may be +presented with the aid of suitable illustrations. In every school the +teacher and text-books may be considered a positive quality which should +balance the negative power of the school itself. In primary schools +text-books have but little value, and the chief reliance is, therefore, +upon the teacher. Instruction must be mainly oral; hence the mind of the +teacher should be well furnished, and her capacities chastened by +considerable experience. As the pupils are unable to study, the teacher +must lead in all their exercises, and find profitable employment for the +children, or they will give themselves up to play or to stupid +listlessness. Of these alternatives, the latter is more objectionable +than the former.</p> + +<p>It is, of course, not often possible for a teacher to occupy herself six +hours a day with a single class in a primary school, especially if she +confines her attention to the studies enumerated. In many schools, of +various grades, gymnastic exercises have been intro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>duced with marked +advantage. There are many such exercises which do not need apparatus, +and in which the teacher can properly lead.</p> + +<p>These furnish a healthful variety to the studies usually pursued, and +they prepare the pupils to receive appropriate instruction in sitting, +standing, and in the modulation and use of the voice. Indeed, gymnastic +exercises are indispensable aids to proper training in reading, which, +as an art of a high order, is immediately dependent upon position, +habits of breathing, the consequent power of voice, and expressiveness +of tone. I am fully satisfied that much more may be done in the early +period of school life than is usually accomplished. In the district +mixed schools the primary pupils receive but little attention, and they +are not infrequently occupied from one to three years in obtaining an +imperfect knowledge of the alphabet. Usually much better results are +attained by the combined agency of the home and the school, but there is +an average loss of one-fourth of the time employed in teaching and +learning the elements of our language.</p> + +<p>Mr. Philbrick, Superintendent of Public Schools in Boston, has taught +and trained a class of fifty primary-school pupils with a degree of +success which fully sustains the statement of the average waste in +schools generally. Twenty-two lessons of a half-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>hour each were given; +and in this brief period of time the class, with a few exceptions, were +so well advanced that they could write the alphabet in capital and +script hand, give the elementary sounds of the letters, produce and name +the Arabic characters and the common geometrical figures found upon +Holbrook's slates. I saw a girl, five and a half years of age, write the +alphabet without delay in script hand, in a manner that would have been +creditable to a pupil in a grammar school.</p> + +<p>I present Mr. Philbrick's own account of his mode of proceeding, in an +extract from his third quarterly report to the school committee of the +city of Boston.</p> + +<p>"The regulations relating to the primary schools require every scholar +to be provided with a slate, and to employ the time not otherwise +occupied in drawing or writing words from their spelling lessons, on +their slates, in a plain script hand. It is further stated, in the same +connection, that the teachers are expected to take special pains to +teach the first class to write—not print—all the letters of the +alphabet on slates.</p> + +<p>"The language of this requirement seems to imply that the classes below +the first are to draw and write words, in a plain script hand, without +any special pains to teach them, and that by such occupation they were +to be kept from idleness. As I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> saw neither of these objects +accomplished in any primary school, I thought it worth while to satisfy +myself, by actual experiment, what can and ought to be done, in the use +of the slate and blackboard, in teaching writing and drawing in primary +schools. To accomplish this object, I have given a course of lessons in +a graded or classified school of the third class. The number of pupils +instructed in the class was about fifty. The materials of the school are +rather below the average; about twenty of the pupils being of that +description usually found in schools for special instruction. The +school-room is furnished, as every primary school-room should be, with +stationary chairs and desks, and Holbrook's primary slates. Twenty-two +lessons, of from thirty to forty minutes each, were given, about +one-third of the time being devoted to drawing, and two-thirds to +writing. As to the method pursued, the main points were, to present but +a single element at a time; to illustrate on the blackboard defects and +excellences in execution; frequent review of the ground passed over, +especially in the <i>first</i> steps of the course; a vigorous exercise of +all the mental faculties requisite for the performance of the task; and +a desire for improvement, encouraged and stimulated by the best and +strongest available motives;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> the greater part of the time being +bestowed upon the dull and backward pupils.</p> + +<p>"The result has exceeded my expectations. About three-fourths of the +number taught can draw most of the simple mathematical lines and +figures, given as copies on the slates used, with tolerable accuracy, +and write all the letters of the alphabet in a fair script hand. This +experiment satisfies me that, with the proper facilities, the three +upper classes in graded primary schools can be taught to write the +letters of the alphabet in a plain script hand, and even to join them +into words, without any material hindrance to the other required +studies; and, moreover, that the great remedy for the complaint of want +of time, in these schools, is the increase of skill in the art of +teaching."</p> + +<p>It is well known that in this country and in Europe methods of teaching +the alphabet have been introduced which materially diminish the labor of +teachers, and lessen the drudgery to which children are usually +subjected. The alphabet is taught as an object lesson. The object is +usually an animal, plant, or flower. More frequently the first. The mind +of the child is awakened either by the presence of the animal, or by a +brief but vivid description of its characteristics. The children are +first required to pronounce properly the name of the animal. Here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> is an +opportunity for training in the use of the voice, and in the art of +breathing, with which the general health, as well as the vocal power, is +intimately connected. The word which is the name of the animal is +analyzed into its elementary sounds. It may then be reconstructed +without the aid of visible signs, either written or printed. Next the +teacher produces the signs which stand for the several sounds, and gives +their names. The letters are presented in any way that suits the +teacher. There may be no better method than to produce them upon the +blackboard, as this course encourages the pupils to draw them upon their +slates, and thus they are at once, and without formal preliminaries, +engaged in writing.</p> + +<p>An outline of the animal may be drawn upon the blackboard, which the +pupils will eagerly copy; and though this exercise may not be valuable +in a high degree, as preparation for the systematic study of drawing, +yet it trains the perceptive and reflective faculties in a manner that +is pleasant to the great majority of children. It is also in the power +of the teacher, at any point in the exercises, and with reference both +to variety and usefulness, to give the most apparent facts, which to +children are the most interesting facts, in the natural history of the +animal. This plan contemplates instruction in pronunciation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> in +connection with exercises in breathing, in the elementary sounds of +words both consonant and vowel, in the names of letters, in writing and +drawing, to all of which may be added something of natural history. It +is of course to be understood that such exercises would be extended over +many lessons, be subject to frequent reviews, and valuable in proportion +to the teacher's ability to interest children. The outline given is +suggestive, merely, and it is not presented as a plan of a model course; +but enough has been done and is doing in this department to warrant +increased attention, and to justify the belief that a degree of progress +will soon be made in teaching the elements that will mark the epoch as a +revolution in educational affairs. It is to be observed that the system +indicated requires a high order of teaching talent. Only thorough +professional culture, or long and careful experience, will meet the +claims of such a course. It is quite plain, however, that no advantage +would arise from keeping pupils in school six hours each day; and that, +regarding only the intellectual advancement of the child during the +elementary course, his presence might be reduced to two hours, or +possibly in some cases to one: provided, always, that he could enjoy, +with his class associates, the undivided attention of the teacher. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +this view of the subject, it would be possible, where the primary +schools are graded, as in portions of the city of Boston, for one +teacher to take charge of two classes or schools, each for an hour in +the forenoon and an hour in the afternoon. This arrangement would apply +only to the younger pupils; yet I am aware that parents and the public +would be solicitous concerning the manner of employing the time that +would remain. In the cities this question is one of magnitude, and there +are strong reasons for declining any proposition to reduce the school +day full one-half, which does hot provide occupation for the children +during the remainder of the time. It is only in connection with such a +proposition that projects for gymnastic training are practicable. When +children are employed six hours in school, it is not easy to find time +for a course of systematic physical education; and physical education, +to be productive of appreciable advantages, must be systematic. When +left to children and youth, or to the care of parents, very little will +be accomplished. Children will participate in the customary sports, and +perform the allotted labors; but in cities these sports and labors are +inadequate even for boys, and in country, as well as city, girls are +often the victims of neglect in this respect. Availing ourselves, then, +of the light<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> shed by recent experience upon the subject of primary +instruction, it seems possible to diminish the length of the school day +with a gain rather than a loss of educational power. This change may be +followed by the establishment, in cities and large towns, of public +gymnasiums, where teachers answering in moral qualifications to the +requisitions of the laws shall be employed, and where each child, for +one, two, or three years, shall receive discreet and careful, but +vigorous physical training. After a few years thus passed in +corresponding and healthful development of the mind and body, the pupil +is prepared for admission to the advanced schools, where he can submit, +with perfect safety, to greater mental requirements even than are now +made. The school, as at present constituted, cannot do much for physical +education; and it must, as a necessity and a duty, graduate its demands +to the physical as well as the intellectual abilities of its pupils. But +I am satisfied that it is occasionally made to bear a weight of reproach +that ought to be laid upon the customs and habits of domestic, social +and general life.</p> + +<p>Assuming that the principal work of the primary schools, after moral and +physical culture, should be to give instruction in reading, spelling, +writing, music and drawing, it is just to say that special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> attention +should be bestowed upon the two branches first named. So imperfectly is +reading sometimes taught, that pupils are found in advanced classes, and +in advanced schools, whose progress in other branches is retarded by +their inability to read the language fluently and intelligently. When +children are well educated in reading, they find profitable employment; +and they are, of course, by the knowledge of language acquired, able to +comprehend, with greater facility, every study to which they are called.</p> + +<p>Pupils often appear dull in grammar, geography and arithmetic, merely +because they are poor readers. A child is not qualified to use a +text-book of any science until he is able to read with facility, as we +are accustomed to speak, in groups of words. This ability he cannot +acquire without a great deal of practice. If phonetic spelling is +commenced with the alphabet, he will be accurately trained in that art +also. It is certain that reading, writing and spelling, have been +neglected in our schools generally.</p> + +<p>If there is to be a reform, it must be commenced, and in a considerable +degree accomplished, in the primary schools. These studies will be +taught afterwards; but the grammar and high schools can never compensate +for any defect permitted, or any wrong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> done, in the primary schools. +Reading is first mechanical, and then intellectual and emotional. In the +primary schools attention is first given to mechanical training, while +the intellectual and emotional culture is necessarily in a degree +postponed. When the first part of the work is thoroughly done, there is +no ground for complaint, and we may look to the teachers of advanced +classes and schools for the proper performance of the remaining duty. +The ability to spell arbitrarily, either in writing or orally, and the +ability to read mechanically,—that is, the ability to seize the words +readily, and utter them fluently and accurately,—must be acquired by +much spelling and much reading.</p> + +<p>This work belongs to the early years of school-life; and, if it can be +faithfully performed, the introduction of text-books in grammar, +geography and arithmetic, may be wisely postponed. But it is a sad +condition of things, which we are often compelled to contemplate, when a +pupil, who might have become a respectable reader had the elementary +training been careful, accurate and long-continued, is introduced to an +advanced class, and there struggles against obstacles which he cannot +comprehend, and which the teacher cannot remove, and finally leaves the +school without the ability to read in a manner intelligible to himself, +or satisfactory to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> others. It is the appropriate work of primary +schools, and of the teachers of primary classes in district schools, to +develop and chasten the moral powers of children, to train them in those +habits and practices that are favorable to health and life, whether +anything is known of physiology as a science or not, and to give the +best culture possible to the eye, the ear, the hand and the voice. This +plan is comprehensive enough for any teacher, and it will be found +sufficient for any pupil less than ten years of age. Nor am I speaking +of that culture which is merely preparatory for the life of the artist, +but of that practical training which will enable the subject of it so to +use his powers as to render his life valuable to himself, and valuable +to the world. There will be, in the exercises comprehended by this +outline, sufficient mental discipline. It will, of course, be chiefly +incidental, and it may well be doubted whether studies that are merely +disciplinary should ever be introduced into our schools. There are +useful occupations for pupils that, at the same time, tax and test the +mind sufficiently. The plan indicated does not exclude grammar, +geography and mental arithmetic, but text-books will not at first be +needed. Grammar should be taught by conversation, and in connection with +the exercises in reading. Grammar is the appreciation of the power of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +the words of the language in any given relations to each other, and a +knowledge of grammar is essential to the ability to speak, read and +write properly. Therefore, grammatical rules and definitions are, or +should be, deduced from the language. Hence children should be first +trained to speak with accuracy, so that habit shall be on the side of +taste and science; next the offices which words perform in simple +sentences should be illustrated and made clear; And thus far without +text-books; when, finally, with their help, the pupils in the higher +schools may acquire a knowledge of the science, and, at once, as the +result of previous training, discern the reason for each rule and +definition. The study of grammar requires some use of mental power; but +when it is presented to pupils by the aid of an object which, in itself +and in what it does, illustrates the subject and the predicate of a +sentence, the work of comprehending the offices which words perform is +rendered comparatively easy. Having the skeleton thus furnished, and +with the eyes and minds of the pupils fixed upon an object that +possesses known and appreciable powers and qualities, it is not +difficult for the teacher to construct a sentence that shall contain +words of several parts of speech, all understood, because the +grammatical office of each was seen even before the word<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> itself was +used. This work may be commenced when the child is young, and very +satisfactory results ought to be secured as soon as the pupil is in +other respects qualified to enter a grammar school. The pupil should be +trained in reading as an art; that is, with the purpose of expressing +whatever is intellectual and emotional in the text. Satisfactory results +cannot at first be secured by much reading; it seems wiser for the +teacher to select an extract, paragraph, or single sentence only, and +drill a pupil or a class until the meaning of the author is +comprehended, and accurately or even artistically expressed. This can be +done only when the teacher reads the passage again and again in the best +manner possible. The contrary practice of reading volumes of extracts +from the writings of the most gifted men of ancient and modern times, +without preparation by the pupil, without example, explanation, +correction, or questionings, by the teacher, cannot be too strongly +condemned. The time will come when these selections may be read with +profit; but it is better to read something well than to read a great +deal; or there should be at least thorough drill in connection with +every exercise, until the pupils have attained some degree of +perfection. It may not be best to confine advanced pupils to the +exercises in the text-books. If such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> pupils are invited occasionally to +make selections from their entire range of reading, the teacher will +have an opportunity to correct whatever is vicious in taste; and the +pupil making the selection will be compelled to read in such a manner +that those who listen can understand, which is not always the case when +the language is addressed to the eye as well as to the ear.</p> + +<p>The introduction of Colburn's Intellectual Arithmetic was an epoch in +the science. It wrought a radical change in the ability of the people to +apply the power of numbers to the practical business of life. Its +excellence does not consist in rules and illustrations by which examples +and problems are easily solved, but in leading the mind of the pupil +into natural and apparent processes of reasoning, by which he is enabled +to comprehend a proposition as an independent fact. Herein is a mental +discipline of great value, not only in the sciences, but in the daily +affairs of men of all classes and conditions. It is to be feared that +equally satisfactory results have not been attained in what is called +written arithmetic. This partial failure deserves consideration. The +first cause may be found in an erroneous opinion concerning the +difference between mental and written arithmetic. Written arithmetic is +mental arithmetic merely, with a record at given stages<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> of the process +of what at that point is accomplished. But, as written arithmetic tends +to lessen the power of the pupil for the performance of those operations +that are purely mental, he should be subjected, each day, to a searching +and rapid drill in mental arithmetic also. This neglect on the part of +teachers explains the singular fact that pupils, well trained in mental +arithmetic, after attending to written arithmetic for three or six +months, appear to have lost rather than gained in their knowledge of the +science as a whole.</p> + +<p>The second cause of failure may be found in the fact that rules, +processes and simple methods of solution, contained in the books, are +substituted for the power of comprehension by the pupil. He should be +trained to seize an example mentally, whether the slate is to be used or +not, and hold it until he can determine by what process the solution is +to be wrought. Nor is it a serious objection that he may not at first +avail himself of the easiest method. The difference between methods or +ways is altogether a subordinate consideration. There may be many ways +of reaching a truth, but no one of them is as important as the truth +itself. The text-books should contain all the facts needed for the +comprehension and the solution of the examples given; the teacher should +furnish explanations and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> other aids, as they are needed; but the +practice of adopting a process and following it to an apparently +satisfactory conclusion, without comprehending the problem itself, is a +serious educational evil, and it exerts a permanent pernicious +influence.</p> + +<p>The remarks I have now made upon methods of teaching, which may seem to +have been offered in a spirit of severe criticism, should be qualified +and relieved by the statement that our teachers are as well educated as +any in the country, and that they are yearly making progress in their +profession. Indeed, I am encouraged to suggest that better things are +possible, by the consideration that many instances of distinguished +success in teaching the alphabet, reading and grammar, are known to me; +and that teachers are themselves aware that the work is, upon the whole, +inadequately performed. If, as is generally conceded, the highest order +of teaching talent is required in the primary schools, then that talent +should be sought out by committees; the persons possessing it should +enjoy the best means of preparation; they should receive the highest +rewards, both in money and public consideration, and they should be +induced to labor, without change or interruption, in the same schools +and the same people.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_RELATIVE_MERITS_OF_PUBLIC_HIGH_SCHOOLS_AND_ENDOWED_ACADEMIES" id="THE_RELATIVE_MERITS_OF_PUBLIC_HIGH_SCHOOLS_AND_ENDOWED_ACADEMIES"></a>THE RELATIVE MERITS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENDOWED ACADEMIES.</h2> + +<h3>[Remarks before the American Institute of Instruction, at Manchester, N. H.]</h3> + +<p>Indebted to my friend on the other side, and to you, sir, and this +audience, for inviting me to take a position on this floor, I am still +without any special preparation to discuss the subject. I have thought +upon it, because any one, however humbly connected with free schools in +this country, must have done so. And especially just now, when, in the +educational journal of Massachusetts, a discussion has been conducted +between one of its editors and Mr. Gulliver, the able originator of a +school in Norwich, Ct., and the advocate of the system of school +government established there. And, therefore, every one who has had his +eyes open must have seen that here is a great contest, and that +underlying it is a principle which is important to society.</p> + +<p>The distinguishing difference between the advocates of endowed schools +and of free schools is this: those who advocate the system of endowed +academies go back in their arguments to one foundation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> which is, that +in education of the higher grades the great mass of the people are not +to be trusted. And those who advocate a system of free education in high +schools put the matter where we have put the rights of property and +liberty, where we put the institutions of law and religion—upon the +public judgment. And we will stand there. If the public will not +maintain institutions of learning, then, I say, let institutions of +learning go down. If I belong to a state which cannot be moved from its +extremities to its centre, and from its centre to its extremities, for +the maintenance of a system of public instruction, then, in that +respect, I disown that state; and if there be one state in this Union +whose people cannot be aroused to maintain a system of public +instruction, then they are false to the great leading idea of American +principles, and of civil, political, and religious liberty.</p> + +<p>It is easy to enumerate the advantages of a system of public education, +and the evils—I say evils—of endowed academies, whether free or +charging payment for tuition. Endowed academies are not, in all +respects, under all circumstances, and everywhere, to be condemned. In +discussing this subject, it may be well for me to state the view that I +have of the proper position of endowed academies. They have a place in +the educational wants of this age. This is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> especially true of academies +of the highest rank, which furnish an elevated and extended course of +instruction. To such I make no objection, but I would honor and +encourage them. Yet I regard private schools, which do the work usually +done in public schools, as temporary, their necessity as ephemeral, and +I think that under a proper public sentiment they will soon pass away. +They cannot stand,—such has been the experience in Massachusetts,—they +cannot stand by the side of a good system of public education. Yet where +the population is sparse, where there is not property sufficient to +enable the people to establish a high school, then an endowed school may +properly come in to make up the deficiency, to supply the means of +education to which the public wealth, at the present moment, is unequal. +Endowed institutions very properly, also, give a professional education +to the people. At this moment we cannot look to the public to give that +education which is purely professional. But what we do look to the +public for is this: to furnish the means of education to the children of +the whole people, without any reference to social, pecuniary, political, +or religious distinctions, so that every person may have a preliminary +education sufficient for the ordinary business of life.</p> + +<p>It is said that the means of education are better in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> an endowed +academy, or in an endowed free school, than they can be in a public +school. What is meant by <i>means</i> of education? I understand that, first +and chiefly, as extraneous means of education, we must look to a correct +public sentiment, which shall animate and influence the teacher, which +shall give direction to the school, which shall furnish the necessary +public funds. An endowed free academy can have none of these things +permanently. Take, for example, the free school established at Norwich +by the liberality of thirty or forty gentlemen, who contributed ninety +thousand dollars. What security is there that fifty years hence, when +the educational wants of the people shall be changed, when the +population of Norwich shall be double or treble what it is now, when +science shall make greater demands, when these forty contributors shall +have passed away, this institution will answer the wants of that +generation? According to what we know of the history of this country, it +will be entirely inadequate; and, though none of us may live to see the +prediction fulfilled or falsified, I do not hesitate to say that the +school will ultimately prove a failure, because it is founded in a +mistake.</p> + +<p>Then look and see what would have been the state of things if there had +been public spirit invoked to establish a public high school, and if the +means for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> its support had been raised by taxation of all the people, so +that the system of education would have expanded according to the growth +of the city, and year by year would have accommodated itself to the +public wants and public zeal in the cause. Though these means seem now +to be ample, they will by and by be found too limited. The school at +Norwich is encumbered with regulations; and so every endowed institution +is likely to be, because the right of a man to appropriate his property +to a particular object carries with it, in the principles of common law, +and in the administration of the law, in all free governments, the right +to declare, to a certain extent, how that property shall be applied. +Rules have been established—very proper and judicious rules for to-day. +But who knows that a hundred years hence they will be proper or +acceptable at all? They have also established a board of trustees, +ultimately to be reduced to twenty-five. These trustees have power to +perpetuate themselves. Who does not see that you have severed this +institution from the public sentiment of the city of Norwich, and that +ultimately that city will seek for itself what it needs; and that, a +hundred years hence, it will not consent to live, in the civilization of +that time, under the regulations which forty men have now established, +however wise the regulations may at the present moment be?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>One hundred and fifty years ago, Thomas Hollis, of London, made a +bequest to the university at Cambridge, with a provision that on every +Thursday a professor should sit in his chair to answer questions in +polemic theology. All well enough then; but the public sentiment of +to-day will not carry it out.</p> + +<p>So it may be with the school at Norwich a hundred years hence. The man +or state that sacrifices the living public judgment to the opinion of a +dead man, or a dead generation, makes a great mistake. We should never +substitute, beyond the power of revisal, the opinion of a past +generation for the opinion of a living generation. I trust to the living +men of to-day as to what is necessary to meet our existing wants, rather +than to the wisest men who lived in Greece or Rome. And, if I would not +trust the wise men of Greece and Rome, I do not know why the people, a +hundred years hence, should trust the wise men of our own time.</p> + +<p>And then look further, and see how, under a system of public +instruction, you can build up, from year to year, in the growth of the +child, a system according to his wants. Private instruction cannot do +this. What do we do where we have a correct system? A child goes into a +primary school. He is not to go out when he attains a certain age. He +might as well go out when he is of a certain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> height; there would be as +much merit in one case as in the other. But he is advanced when he has +made adequate attainments. Who does not see that the child is incited +and encouraged and stimulated by every sentiment to which you should +appeal? And, then, when he has gone up to the grammar school, we say to +him, "You are to go into the high school when you have made certain +attainments." And who is to judge of these attainments? A committee +appointed by the people, over whom the people have some ultimate +control. And in that control they have security for two things: first, +that the committee shall not be suspected of partiality; and secondly, +that they shall not be actually guilty of partiality. In the same +manner, there is security for the proper connection between the high +school and the schools below. But in the school at Norwich—of which I +speak because it is now prominent—you have a board of twenty-five men, +irresponsible to the people. They select a committee of nine; that +committee determines what candidates shall be transferred from the +grammar schools to the high school. May there not be suspicion of +partiality? If a boy or girl is rejected, you look for some social, +political, or religious influence which has caused the rejection, and +the parent and child complain. Here is a great evil; for the real and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +apparent justice of the examination and decision by which pupils are +transferred from one school to another is vital to the success of the +system.</p> + +<p>There is another advantage in the system of public high schools, which I +imagine the people do not always at first appreciate. It is, that the +private school, with the same teachers, the same apparatus, and the same +means, cannot give the education which may be, and usually is, furnished +in the public schools. This statement may seem to require some +considerable support. We must look at facts as they are. Some people are +poor; I am sorry for them. Some people are rich, and I congratulate them +upon their good fortune. But it is not so much of a benefit, after all, +as many think. It is worth something in this world, no doubt, to be +rich; but what is the result of that condition upon the family first, +the school afterwards, and society finally? It is, that some learn the +lesson of life a little earlier than others; and that lesson is the +lesson of self-reliance, which is worth more than—I will not say a +knowledge of the English language—but worth more than Latin or Greek. +If the great lesson of self-reliance is to be learned, who is more +likely to acquire it early,—the child of the poor, or the child of the +rich; the child who has most done for him, or the child who is under the +necessity of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> doing most for himself? Plainly, the latter. Now, while a +system of public instruction in itself cannot be magnified in its +beneficial influences to the poor and to the children of the poor, it is +equally beneficial to the rich in the facility it affords for the +instruction of their children. Is it not worth something to the rich +man, who cannot, from the circumstances of the case, teach self-reliance +around the family hearth, to send his child to school to learn this +lesson with other children, that he may be stimulated, that he may be +provoked to exertions which he would not otherwise have made? For, be it +remembered that in our schools public sentiment is as well marked as in +a college, or a town, or a nation; that it moves forward in the same +way. And the great object of a teacher should be to create a public +sentiment in favor of virtue. There should be some pioneers in favor of +forming a correct public sentiment; and when it is formed it moves on +irresistibly. It is like the river made up of drops from the mountain +side, moving on with more and more power, until everything in its waters +is carried to the destined end.</p> + +<p>So in a public school. And it is worth much to the man of wealth that +there may be, near his own door, an institution to which he may send his +children, and under the influence of which they may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> be carried forward. +For, depend upon it, after all we say about schools and institutions of +learning, it is nevertheless true of education, as a statesman has said +of the government, that the people look to the school for too much. It +is not, after all, a great deal that the child gets there; but, if he +only gets the ability to acquire more than he has, the schools +accomplish something. If you give a child a little knowledge of +geography or arithmetic, and have not developed the power to accomplish +something for himself, he comes to but little in the world. But put him +into the school,—the primary, grammar, and high school, where he must +learn for himself,—and he will be fitted for the world of life into +which he is to enter.</p> + +<p>You will see in this statement that, with the same parties, the same +means of education, the same teachers, the public schools will +accomplish more than private schools.</p> + +<p>I find everywhere, and especially in the able address of Mr. Gulliver, +to which I have referred, that the public schools are treated as of +questionable morality, and it is implied that something would be gained +by removing certain children from the influence of these schools. If I +were speaking from another point of view, very likely I should feel +bound to hold up the evils and defects which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> actually exist in public +schools; but when I consider them in contrast with endowed and private +schools, I do not hesitate to say that the public schools compare +favorably; and, as the work of education goes on, the comparison will be +more and more to their advantage. Why? I know something of the private +institutions in Massachusetts; and there are boys in them who have left +the public schools because they have fallen in their classes, and the +public interest would not justify their continuance in the schools. It +was always true that private schools did not represent the world exactly +as it was. It is worth everything to a boy or girl, man or woman, to +look the world in the face as it is.</p> + +<p>Therefore, the public school, when it represents the world as it is, +represents the facts of life. The private school never has done and +never will do this; and as time goes on, it will be less and less a true +representative of the world. From this point of view, it seems to be a +mistake on the part of parents to exclude their children from the world. +Is it not better that the child should learn something of society, even +of its evils, when under your influence, and when you can control him by +your counsel and example, than to permit him finally to go out, as you +must when his majority comes, perhaps to be seduced in a moment, as it +were, from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> his allegiance to virtue? Virtue is not exclusion from the +presence of vice; but it is resistance to vice in its presence. And it +is the duty of parents to provide safeguards for the support of their +children against these temptations. When Cicero was called on to defend +Muræna against the slander that, as he had lived in Asia, he had been +guilty of certain crimes, and when the testimony failed to substantiate +the charge, the orator said, "And if Asia does carry with it a suspicion +of luxury, surely it is a praiseworthy thing, not never to have seen +Asia, but to have lived temperately in Asia." And we have yet higher +authority. It is not the glory of Christ, or of Christianity, that its +Divine Author was without temptation, but that, being tempted, he was +without sin. This is the great lesson of the day.</p> + +<p>The duty of the public is to provide means for the education of all. To +do that, we need the political, social, and moral power of all, to +sustain teachers and institutions of learning; and, endowed or free +schools, depending upon the contributions of individuals, can never, in +a free country, be raised to the character of a system. If you rob the +public schools of the influence of our public-spirited men, if they take +away a portion of their pupils from them, our system is impaired. It +must stand as a whole, educating the entire people, and looking to all +for support, or it cannot be permanently maintained.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_HIGH_SCHOOL_SYSTEM" id="THE_HIGH_SCHOOL_SYSTEM"></a>THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the Powers Institute, Bernardston.]</h3> + +<p>There cannot be a more gratifying spectacle than the universal homage +offered to education and to the young. Childhood is attractive in +itself; and it is peculiarly an object of solicitude for its promises +concerning the future. Hence the labors of philanthropists, reformers, +and Christians, as well as of teachers, are devoted to the culture and +improvement of the rising generation, as the chief security possible for +the prevalence of better ideas in the state and in the world.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts has been peculiarly favored in the means of education; and +we ought ever to recognize the divine influence in the wisdom which led +our fathers to lay the foundations of a system that contemplated the +education of the whole people. The power of this great idea, universal +education, has not been limited to Massachusetts; the states of the +West, the states of the South, receive it as the basis of a wise public +policy; and had our ancestors contributed nothing else to the glory of +the republic,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> they would yet be entitled to the distinguished +consideration of every age and people. The vigor of our culture and the +hardihood of our institutions are more manifest out of Massachusetts +than in it. The immigrant in his new home in the great valley of +prairies, on the northern shores of the American lakes, in Oregon, +California, or the islands of the Pacific, invokes the spirit of New +England in the establishment of a free church and a free school. And in +the spirit and discipline of New England, the thoughts of her sons are +turned homeward in adversity, seeking consolation at the sources of +early, vigorous, and happy life; or, in prosperity, that they may offer, +in gratitude to man and to God, some tribute, always noble, however +humble, to the principles and institutions that first formed their +characters, and then controlled their destiny; or, in old age, the +wanderer, like Jacob in Egypt, with his blessing upon the tribes and +families of men, says, "I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with +my fathers." This occasion and its honors are due to the memory of him +whose name this institution bears; and his last will and testament is an +illustration, or rather the cause, of these prefatory remarks. As the +reasonably extended and eminently prosperous life of your wise +benefactor approached its close, he, in the principles of Old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> England +and of New England, ordered and directed the payment of all his just +debts; and then, secondly, expressed the wish, "if practicable, to be +buried by the side of his parents in the cemetery at Bernardston." First +justice, and then affection for parents, kindred, and home, animated the +vital, never-dying soul, as the life of the body ebbed and flowed, and +flowed and ebbed, to flow no more. For every good the ancients imagined +and named a divinity; and there is in every good something divine.</p> + +<p>We do not deify the living nor the dead; yet such foundations and +institutions as the Lawrence Scientific School, the Peabody Institute, +the Powers Institute, will bear to a grateful posterity a knowledge of +the virtues of their respective founders, and of the exactness, +rectitude, and wisdom, of the public sentiment which religiously +consecrates the means provided to the ends proposed.</p> + +<p>But just eulogy of the dead is the appropriate duty of those who were +the associates and friends of the founder of this school.—It will be my +purpose, in the humble part I take in the services of this honored +occasion, to point out, as I may be able, the connection between +learning and wisdom, and then, by the aid of some general remarks upon +education, to examine the fitness of this foundation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> and the rules +here established, to promote human progress and virtue.</p> + +<p>The actual available power of a state is in its adult population; but +its hope is in the classes of children and youth whose plastic minds +yield to good influences, and are moulded to higher forms of beauty than +have been conceived by Italian or Grecian art. Excellence is always +adorable and to be adored. If it appear in beauty of person, it commands +our admiration; and how much more ought wisdom, which is the beauty of +the mind and the excellency of the soul, to be cultivated and cherished +by every human being! "For what is there, O, ye gods!" says Cicero, +"more desirable than wisdom? What more excellent and lovely in itself? +What more useful and becoming for a man? Or what more worthy of his +reasonable nature?"</p> + +<p>But wisdom cannot be acquired in a day, nor without devotion and toil. +It is the achievement of a life. It is to be pursued carefully through +schools, colleges, and the world,—to be mastered by study, intense +thought, rigid mental discipline, and an extensive acquaintance with the +best authors of ancient and modern times. It is not the child of ease, +indolence, or luxury; and it is well that it is not, The best of human +possessions are cheapened their attainment is no longer difficult. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +wealth of California and Australia has made silver, as an article of +luxury, the rival of gold; and the pearl loses its beauty when the +mountain streams are as fertile as the depths of the sea. Wisdom +comprehends learning, but learning is often found where wisdom is +wanting. Wisdom is not accomplishment in study, or perfection in art, or +supremacy in poetry or eloquence. Learning is essential to wisdom, for +we cannot imagine a wise man who is not also a learned man; and the +extent and soundness of his learning may be a measure of his wisdom. +Wisdom must always have a basis of learning, but learning is not always +a basis of wisdom. Learning is a knowledge of particulars, of details; +wisdom is such a combination of these particulars as enables us to +harmonize our lives with the laws of nature and of God.</p> + +<p>Learning is manifested in what we know; wisdom in what we are, based +upon what we know. Philosophy, even, is love for wisdom rather than +wisdom itself. The old philosophers defined wisdom to be "the knowledge +of things, both divine and human, together with the causes on which they +depend;" and in the proverb of Solomon, "The fear of the Lord is the +instruction of wisdom." Purity, truth, and justice, are also of its +foundation. Wise men of the Jewish and Pagan world built on this +founda<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>tion, and the Christian can build on none other. Having combined +learning with these essential virtues, a liberal, symmetrical, +comprehensive character may be built up. In the formation of such a +character, industry, powers of observation, strength of will and +intellectual humility, are requisite. The virtue and the glory of +industry cannot be presented too often to the young. I know of no +worldly good or human excellence that can be attained without it; nor is +there any inherited possession of name, or wealth, or position, that can +be preserved in its extent and quality without active, systematic, +judicious labor.</p> + +<p>It is not necessary to consider industry as habitual diligence in a +pursuit, manual or intellectual; but rather as a judicious arrangement +of business and recreation, so as always to have time for the necessary +duties of life. Mere diligence is not industry in a good sense; it is +labor in a bad sense. Our time should be systematically appropriated to +our employments, and each measure of time should be equal to the work or +duty appointed for it. Moreover, each work or duty should be +accomplished in its appointed time; and this can be secured only by a +strong will. The power of will admits of education, culture, +improvement, as much as any faculty of the mind or quality of +character.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> A fickle, planless life cannot accomplish much. System in +our plans, and firmness of will in their execution, will place us beyond +the reach of ordinary disasters; yet how often do young men go through a +course of school studies without a plan, even for the moment, and enter +upon life the slaves of chance, the victims of what they call fortune, +while they might by industry, system and firmness of will, rise superior +to circumstances, and extort a measure of success not unworthy of a +noble ambition!</p> + +<p>Idleness is a wasting disease, a consuming fire, a destroying demon; in +youth it is a calamity, in the vigor of manhood it is a disgrace and a +sin, and in old age it can be honorably accepted only as the symbol of +reflective leisure earned by a life of industry and virtue. Industry is +a badge of honor, an introduction everywhere to the true nobility of the +world, the security that each may take of the future for his own +happiness and prosperity in it.</p> + +<p>Cardinal, personal virtues shrink and wither, or are blasted and die, in +the company of idleness; and, without firmness of will, the noblest +principles and purest sentiments sometimes wear the livery of vice, and +often they give encouragement to it. Good principles, good purposes, +good ideas, are made fruitful by a strong resolution; while with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>out it +they are like bubbles of water, brilliant in the sun-light, but destined +to collapse by the changing, silent force of the medium in which they +float. And can any life, not positively vicious and criminal, be less +desirable than that of the young man who quietly accepts whatever +condition circumstances assign to him? I speak now of his moral and +intellectual condition rather than of his social position among men. The +latter is not in itself important, and only becomes so through the +exhibition of high qualities of mind and character. Social and political +consideration we cannot demand as a right; but we may acquire knowledge, +develop qualities of character, give evidences of wisdom that entitle us +to the respect of our fellows.</p> + +<p>It may be agreeable, but it is not absolutely essential, for us to enjoy +the public confidence, or even the public consideration; though we can +be happy ourselves only when we are conscious of not being totally +unworthy. But no social or political concession or consideration is +acceptable to a noble mind, that is grudgingly yielded or doubtingly +bestowed; and the lustre of great intellects is dimmed when they become +subservient to claims that they despise.</p> + +<p>But can we acquire a knowledge of things, either divine or human, unless +we cultivate our powers of observation? Partial or inaccurate +observation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> especially of natural things, is a great defect of +character; and in New England, where the aim of educators and of the +public in matters of education is elevated, a remedy for this defect +ought at once to be sought and applied. Our ideas are vague concerning +many subjects of common sight and common observation. Is adult life, +even among the educated classes, equal to a description of the common +animals, trees, fruits and flowers? Who will paint with words the elm or +the oak so that its species will be known while the name is withheld? +The introduction of drawing into the schools will improve the power of +observation among the people, especially if the pupils are required to +make nature their model. And this should always be done. O, how is +education belittled and the mind dwarfed by those teachers who keep +their pupils' thoughts upon signs and definitions, when they ought to +deal continually with the facts, things and life of the world! It is no +fable that a student of the higher mathematics, when his master, a +practical engineer upon the Boston water-works, required his services, +exclaimed, "I had no idea that you had sines and tangents out of doors." +With such,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"Nothing goes for sense or light</div> +<div>That will not with old rules jump right;</div> +<div>As if rules were not in the schools</div> +<div>Derived from truth, but truth from rules."</div> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>And Butler, in his satirical description of Sir Hudibras, ascribes to +his hero more practical philosophy than he appears to have intended, and +more, certainly, than is found in some modern systems of education:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"In mathematics he was greater</div> +<div>Than Tycho Brahe or Erra Pater;</div> +<div>For he, by geometric scale,</div> +<div>Could take the size of pots of ale;</div> +<div>Resolve by sines and tangents straight,</div> +<div>If bread or butter wanted weight;</div> +<div>And wisely tell what hour o' th' day</div> +<div>The clock does strike, by algebra."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>Another prerequisite of wisdom is intellectual humility, Solomon, says, +"Before honor is humility;" and humility is before wisdom, and even +before learning. We ought not to be ashamed of involuntary ignorance. +Franklin, when asked how he came to know so much, replied, "By never +being ashamed to ask a question."</p> + +<p>It is idle for any one to imagine that there is nothing more for him to +learn. Indeed, such a theory is good evidence of defective education and +limited attainments, if not of a defective mental and moral structure.</p> + +<p>Naturalists delight and instruct their pupils and auditors with the +wonderful truths folded in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> flower, garnered in the plant, or +imprisoned in the rock. Yet how much more there must be of God's wisdom +in the humblest of the beings created in his image! There are +distinctions among men; and out of these distinctions come the truth and +the necessity that each may be both a teacher and a pupil of every +other. No man, however learned he may be, does know or can know all that +is known by his neighbor, though that neighbor be the humblest of +shepherds or of fishermen. We are not independent of each other in +anything. The earnest and faithful disciple of wisdom goes through life +everywhere diffusing knowledge, and everywhere gathering it up. Over the +great gateway of life is the inscription, "None but learners enter +here;" and along its paths and in its groves are tablets, on which is +written, "None but learners sojourn here." He is a poor teacher who is +not a learner, and he is but little of a learner who is not something of +a teacher also. The best teachers are they who are pupils, and the best +pupils are already teachers. Such was the real and avowed character of +the great teachers of antiquity; such is the best practice of modern +continental Europe, and such is the requirement of nature in all ages. +He who does not learn cannot teach. Socrates professed to know only +this, that he knew nothing. Plato was a disciple<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> of Socrates and +Euclid; a pupil in the school of Pythagoras; and, as a traveller, under +the disguise of a merchant and a seller of oil, he visited Egypt, and +thus gained a knowledge of astronomy, and added something to his +learning in other departments. He numbered among his pupils Isocrates, +Lycurgus, Aristotle, and Demosthenes; and for eight years Alexander the +Great was the pupil of Aristotle, while Demosthenes</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"Wielded at will that fierce Democratie,</div> +<div>Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece</div> +<div>To Macedon, and Artaxerxes' throne."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>Thus we trace Demosthenes and Alexander, the master spirits in the +struggle of Grecian independence against Macedonian supremacy, through +teachers and culture up to Socrates, the wanderer in the streets, and +the disturber of the peace of Athens.</p> + +<p>It is stated that a distinguished modern philosopher often says, "I +don't know," when the curiosity or science of his pupils suggests +questions that he has not considered. If we respect and admire the +wisdom of the wise, how ought we to be humbled, intellectually, by the +reflection that the unknown far exceeds the known, and that all become +as little children when they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> enter the temple of the sages! The +ancients prized schools, teachers, and learning, because they were +essential to wisdom; and wisdom enabled them to live temperately, +justly, and happily, in the present world; while we prize schools, +teachers, and learning, because they contribute to what we call success +in life. The population of New England, is composed of skilful artisans, +intelligent merchants, shrewd or eloquent lawyers, industrious and +intelligent farmers; and to these results our system of education is too +exclusively subservient. These results are not to be condemned, nor are +the processes by which they are secured to be neglected. But our schools +ought to do something always and for every one, for the full development +of a character that is essential to artisans, merchants, lawyers, or +farmers. Learning should not be prized merely as an aid to the daily +work of life,—though this it properly is and ever ought to be,—but for +its expansive power in the mind and soul, by which we attain to a more +perfect knowledge of things human and divine. There are many persons who +accomplish satisfactorily the tasks assigned them, but who do not always +comprehend the processes of life, in its political, social, literary, +scientific and industrial relations, by which the affairs of the world are guided.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>Something of this is due, speaking of America, and especially of New +England, to the universal desire to be engaged in active business. Young +men destined for the farm or the shop, the counting-house or the store, +leave home and school so early that their apprenticeship is ended long +before their majority commences; and they are thus prepared to enter +early and vigorously upon the business of life. This course has its +advantages, and it is also attended by many evils. Our youth have but +little opportunity for observation, and a great deal of time for +experience. They fall into mistakes that should have been observed, and +consequently shunned. Moreover, this custom tends to make business men +too exclusively and rigidly technical and professional; that is, in +plain language, speaking relatively, they know too much of their own +vocation, and too little of everything else. Business life follows so +closely upon home life and school life, that the lessons of the latter +fail to exert an immediate and controlling influence, and it is often +only in maturer years that the fruits of early training are seen. The +connection is such that the boy or youth becomes a devotee of business +before he is developed into complete manhood. This is movement, but not +true progress; activity, but not culture; appropriation and +accumulation, but not natural development.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> This peculiarity is less +prominent in England, and it is hardly known in the central states of +Europe. It is to some extent a national, and especially is it a New +England characteristic. It is a manifestation of the forward moving +spirit of our people, and it is also at once a promise and the security +for the ultimate supremacy of the American race and nation in the +affairs of the world. In Athens young men attained their majority when +they were sixteen; but they usually prosecuted their studies afterwards, +and Aristotle thought them unfit for marriage until they were +thirty-seven years of age. This rule was observed by Aristotle in his +own case; but we are unable to say whether the rule was made before or +after his marriage, which is a fact of much importance when we consider +the wisdom of the precept, and the real principles and philosophy of its +famous author. Moreover, regardless of one-half of creation, he has +neither stated the age at which females are marriageable, nor given us +that of his own wife. This neglect justly detracts from his authority; +and it will not be strange if young men and women view with distrust an +opinion that is so manifestly partial and one-sided. If schools make +merely learned people, in a narrow and technical sense, they are not +doing their whole work. Such learning makes an efficient population, +which is cer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>tainly desirable; but it ought also to be a well-educated +population in a broad, comprehensive, philosophic sense. By the force of +nature and the developing influences of society, including the church, +the school, and the home, we ought first to be educated men and women, +and then apply that education to the particular work we have in hand. By +learning, in this connection, I do not mean the learning of Agassiz as a +naturalist, the learning of Choate as a lawyer, or the learning of +Everett as an orator; but a more general and less minute culture, by +which men are prepared to form an accurate judgment upon subjects that +usually attract public attention.</p> + +<p>In the gardens of the wealthy, we often see peach-trees and pear-trees +trained against brick or stone walls, to which they are attached by +substantial thongs. These trees are carefully and systematically +trained, and they are trained so as to accomplish certain results. They +present a large surface, in proportion to the whole, to the sun and air; +in addition to the direct rays of the sun, they receive the reflected +and accumulated heat of the walls to which they are fastened; and they +furnish ripe fruit much in advance of trees in the gardens and fields of +the common farmers. Here art and nature, in brick walls, manure, the +germinating power of the peach or pear, and rigid training and pruning, +have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> produced very good machines for the manufacture of fruit; but for +the full-grown, symmetrically developed tree, or even for the choicest +fruit in its season, we must look elsewhere. And who does not perceive, +if all the trees of the gardens, fields, and forests, were treated in +the same way, that the world would be deprived of a part of its beauty +and glory, and that many species of trees would soon become extinct? Who +would not give back the luscious pear and peach to their native +acritude, rather than subject the highest forms of vegetable life to +such irreverence? And, upon reflection, we shall say that such cruelty +to inanimate life can be justified only as we justify the naturalist who +dexterously and suddenly extracts a vital organ from a reptile, that he +may observe the effect upon that form of animal existence.</p> + +<p>But the tree is not to be left in its native state. By culture its +growth is so aided, that it is first and always a tree after its own +kind, whether it be peach, pear, apple, elm, or oak; at once ornamental +and graceful, stately or majestic, according to the germinating +principle which diffuses itself through each individual creation. "For +the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the +ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So in the human heart, mind, +and soul, nature bringeth forth fruit of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> herself; and it is the work of +schools and teachers to aid nature in developing a full and attractive +character, that shall yield fruit while all its powers are enlarged and +strengthened, as the almond in the peach is not only more luscious in +its fruit, but more graceful in its branches. Culture, in a broad sense, +is the aid rendered to each individual creation in its work of +self-improvement. It is not a noble and generous culture which dwarfs +the tree that early ripened or peculiarly flavored fruit may be +obtained; and it is not a noble and generous culture of the child which +forces into unnatural activity certain faculties or powers that surprise +us by their precocity, or excite wonder by the skill exhibited in their +use. Rather let the child grow, expand, mature, according to the law of +its own being, giving it only encouragement and example, which are the +light and air of mental and moral life. I am not conscious that any one +has given us a philosophical, logical system of development, that +relates to the physical, intellectual, and moral character; and to-day I +state the educational want in this particular, but I do not attempt to +supply it. Yet in nature such a system there must be, and only powers of +observation are needed that we may avail ourselves of it. And in stating +this want more particularly, I offer, as my first suggestion, the +opinion, common among edu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>cators, that, speaking generally and with +reference to a system, we have no physical training whatever.</p> + +<p>In the days of our ancestors, one hundred or two hundred years ago, this +training, as a part of a system of education, was not needed. We had no +cities, and but few large towns. Agriculture and the ruder forms of +mechanical labor were the chief occupations of the people. Populous +cities, narrow streets, dark lanes, cellar habitations, crowded +workshops, over-filled and over-heated factories, and the number of +sedentary pursuits that tax and wear and destroy the physical powers, +and undermine the moral and mental, were unknown. These are the +attendants of our civilization, and they have brought a melancholy train +of evils with them. In the seventeenth century, men perished from +exposure, from ignorance of the laws of health, from the prevalence of +malignant diseases that defied the science of the times; and, as a +consequence, the average length of human life was not greater than it +now is. At present, there is but little exposure that is followed by +fatal results; malignant diseases are deprived of many of their terrors; +rules of living, founded upon scientific principles, are accessible to +all; and yet we daily meet young men and women who are manifestly +unequal to the lot that is before them. In some cases, the sin of the +parent is visited upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> children, and the measure of life meted out +to them is limited and insufficient. In other cases, the individuals, +first yielding in their own persons, are the victims of positive vice, +or of some of the evils stated. Civilization is not an unmixed good; and +we cannot offer to the city or the factory any adequate compensation for +the loss of pure water, pure air, and the healthful exercise of body, +which may be enjoyed in the country villages and agricultural districts +of the state.</p> + +<p>Yet even in cities and large towns the culture of home and school should +diminish these evils; and it is a pleasure to believe that our system of +domestic and public education is doing something at the present moment +in behalf of the too much neglected body; but nowhere, either in city or +country, do we observe the evidences of juvenile health and strength +that a friend of the race would desire to see. And it is, I fear, +specially true of schools, and to some extent it is true of teachers, as +a class, that too little attention is given to those exercises and +habits which secure good health. There are many causes which tend to +lower the average health and strength of our people. 1st. The practice +of sending children to school at the tender age of five, four, or even +three years. Every school necessarily imposes some restraint upon the +pupils; and I assume<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> that no child under five years of age should be +subject to such restraints. But the education of the child is not, +therefore, to be neglected. Parents, brothers and sisters, may all do +something for the young inquirer; but he should never have lessons +imposed, nor be subject to the rules of a school of any description. The +moment of his admission must be determined by circumstances, and the +force of the circumstances must be judged of by parents. If a child is +blessed with kind, considerate, intelligent parents, the first eight +years of his life can be spent nowhere else as profitably as at home. +The true mother is the model teacher. No other person can ever acquire +the control over her off-spring that is her own rightful possession. +When she neglects the trust confided to her, she is guilty of a serious +wrong; and when she transfers it to another, she takes upon herself a +greater responsibility than she yields up. The instinctive judgment of +the world cannot be an erroneous judgment. The mother has always, to a +great extent, been made responsible for the child; and the honor of his +virtues or the disgrace of his crimes has been traced through him to +her.</p> + +<p>2dly. Some portion of every school-day should be systematically and +strictly devoted to recreation, physical exercise and manual labor; and +the hours<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> given to study ought to be defined and limited. Some persons +say, "Let a child study as much as he will, there is time enough to +play." This may be generally true, but it is not universally so. I +cannot but think that the practice of assigning lessons and giving the +pupil the free use of the four-and-twenty hours is a bad practice. Would +it not be better to give to each pupil certain hours for study?—assign +him lessons, by topics if possible, allow him to do what he can in the +allotted time, and then prohibit the appropriation of an additional +minute? Why should a dull scholar, or one who has but little taste or +talent for a given study, be required to plod twelve, sixteen, or +eighteen hours at unwelcome tasks, while another more favored disposes +of his work in six? Why should a pupil, who is laboring under some +mental or physical debility, be required to apply his mind unceasingly +when he most needs rest and recreation? Why should the pages of a +spelling-book, grammar, geography, or arithmetic, be the measure of each +pupil's capacity? Lessons are to be assigned, not necessarily to be +mastered by the pupil, though they should have just reference to his +capacity, but as the subject of his studies for a given period of time. +The pupil should be responsible for nothing but the proper use of that +time. Two advantages might result from this practice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> First, the pupil +would acquire the habit of performing the greatest amount of labor +possible in the given time; and, secondly, he would naturally throw off +all care for books and school when the hour for relaxation arrived. If +particular studies are assigned to specified hours, the pupil must +master his thoughts, and give them the required direction. This in +itself is a great achievement. I put it, in practical value, before any +of the studies that are taught and learned in the schools. The danger to +which pupils are often exposed, in this connection, is quite apparent. A +lesson is assigned for a succeeding day. The attention is not +immediately fixed upon it. One hour passes, and then another. Nothing is +accomplished, yet the pupil is continually oppressed by the +consciousness of duty unperformed, and the result is, that he neither +does what he ought to do, nor does anything else. Would it not be better +to measure and assign his time, and then require him to abandon all +thought of the matter? This practice might give our people the faculty +and the habit of throwing off cares and occupations, when they leave the +scenes of them. It is a just criticism upon American character, that our +business men carry their occupations with them wherever they go. I +should put high up among the elements of worldly success the ability to +give assid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>uously, studiously and devotedly, the necessary time to a +subject of business, and then to throw off all thought of it. There can +be no peace of mind for the business man who does not possess this +quality; and I think it will contribute essentially to a long life and a +quiet old age. No wise man ever attempts more than one thing at a time; +and the man who attempts to do more than one thing at a time has no +security that he can do anything well. The statements of biography and +history, that Napoleon was accustomed to do several things at once, rest +upon a misconception of the operations of the human mind. His facility +for the direction and transaction of business depended upon the quality +I am now considering. He had the faculty of giving his attention, +undivided and strongly fixed, to a subject for an hour, half-hour, +minute, half-minute, or second, and then of dismissing the matter +altogether, and directing his thoughts, without loss of time, to +whatever next might be presented. One thing at a time is a law which no +finite power can violate; and ability in execution depends upon the +ability to concentrate all the powers of the mind, at a given moment, +upon the assigned topic, and then to change, without friction or loss of +time, to something else.</p> + +<p>The institution is a high school, and the question is now agitated, +especially in the State of Con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>necticut, "How can the advantages of a +high school education be best secured?" This question I propose to +consider. And, first, the high school must be a public school. A <i>public +school</i> I understand to be a school established by the +public,—supported chiefly or entirely by the public, controlled by the +public, and accessible to the public upon terms of equality without +special charge for tuition.</p> + +<p>Private schools may be established and controlled by an individual, or +by an association of individuals, who have no corporate rights under the +government, but receive pupils upon terms agreed upon, subject to the +ordinary laws of the land.</p> + +<p>Private schools may be founded also by one or more persons, and by them +endowed with funds, for their partial or entire support. In such cases, +the founder, through the money given, has the right to prescribe the +rules by which the school shall be controlled, and also to provide for +the appointment of its managers or trustees through all time. In such +cases, corporate powers are usually granted by the government for the +management of the business. But the chief rights of such an institution +are derived from the founder, and the facilities for their easy exercise +and quiet enjoyment are derived from the state.</p> + +<p>Such schools are sometimes, upon a superficial view, supposed to be +public, because they receive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> pupils upon terms of equality, and no rule +of exclusion exists which does not apply to all. And especially has it +been assumed that a free school thus founded, as the Norwich Free +Academy, which makes no charges for tuition, and is open to all the +inhabitants of the city, is therefore a public school. These +institutions are public in their use, but not in their foundation or +control, and are therefore not public schools. The character of a +school, as of any eleemosynary institution, is derived from the will of +the founder; and when the beneficial founder is an individual, or a +number of individuals less than the whole political organization of +which the individuals are a part, the institution is private, whatever +the rules for its enjoyment may be. To say that a school is a public +school because it receives pupils free of charge for tuition, or because +it receives them upon conditions that are applied alike to all, is to +deny that there are any private schools, for all come within the +definition thus laid down.</p> + +<p>Nor is there any good reasoning in the statement that a school is public +because it receives pupils from a large extent of country. Dartmouth +College is a private school, though its pupils come from all the land or +all the world; while the Boston Latin School is a public school; though +it receives those pupils only whose homes are within the limits of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +city. The first is a private school, because it was founded by President +Wheelock, and has been controlled by him and his successors, holding and +governing and enjoying through him, from the first until now; while the +Boston Latin School is a public school, because it was established by +the city of Boston, through the votes of its inhabitants, under the laws +of the state, and is at all times subject, in its government and +existence, to the popular will which created it. When we speak of the +public we do not necessarily mean the world, nor the nation, nor even +the state; but the word <i>public</i>, in a legal sense, may stand for any +legal political organization, territorially defined, and intrusted in +any degree with the administration of its own affairs. And the public +character of a particular school, as the Boston Latin School, for +example, may be determined, by a process of reasoning quite independent +of that already presented. The State of Massachusetts, a complete +sovereignty in itself, has provided by her constitution and laws, which +are the expressed judgment of her people, for the establishment of a +system of public schools, through the agency and action of the +respective cities and towns of the commonwealth. These towns and cities, +under the laws, set up the schools; and of course each school partakes +of the public character which the action of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> state, followed by the +corporate public action of the city or town, has given to it. Thus it is +seen that our public schools answer to the requirement already stated. +They are established by the public, supported chiefly or entirely by the +public, controlled by the public, and accessible to the public upon +terms of equality, without special charge for tuition. Nor is the public +character of a school changed by the fact that private citizens may have +contributed to its maintenance, if such contributors do not assume to +stand in the relation of founders. It is well understood that the +beneficial founder of a school is he who makes the first gift or bequest +to it, and the legal founder is the government which grants a charter, +or in any way confers upon it a corporate existence. If a town establish +a high school, as in Bernardston to-day, and accept a gift or bequest, +the character of the school is not changed thereby. Mr. Powers did not +attempt to establish a new school. He gave the income of ten thousand +dollars for the aid of schools then existing, and for the aid of a +school whose existence was already contemplated by the laws of the +state. No change has been wrought in your institutions; they are still +public,—your generous testator has only contributed to their support. +And, in considering yet further the question, "How can the advan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>tages +of a high-school education be best secured?" I shall proceed to compare, +with what brevity I can command, the public high school with the free +high school or academy upon a private foundation. My reasoning is +general, and the argument does not apply to all the circumstances of +society. It is not everywhere possible to establish a public high +school. In some cases the population may not be sufficient, in others +there may not be adequate wealth, and in others there may not be an +elevated public sentiment equal to the emergency. In such circumstances, +those who desire education must obtain it in the best manner possible; +and academies, whether free or not, and private schools, whether endowed +or not, should be thankfully accepted and encouraged. Nor will high +schools meet all the wants of society. There must always be a place for +classical schools, scientific schools, professional schools, which, in +their respective courses of study, either anticipate or follow, in the +career of the student, his four years of college life. With these +conditions and limitations stated, the point I seek to establish is that +a public high school can do the work usually done in such institutions +more faithfully, thoroughly, and economically, than it can be done +anywhere else.</p> + +<p>1st. The supervision of the public school is more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> responsible, and +consequently more perfect. In private schools, academies and free high +schools which are endowed, there is a board of trustees, who perpetuate, +as a corporation, their own existence. Each member is elected for life, +and he is not only not responsible to the public, but he is not even +responsible, except in extraordinary cases, to his associates. +Responsibility is, in all governments, the security taken for fidelity. +The election of representatives, in the state or national legislature, +for life, would be esteemed a great and dangerous innovation.</p> + +<p>It maybe said that boards of trustees are usually better qualified to +manage a school than the committees elected by the respective cities and +towns. Judged as individuals, this is probably true; though upon this +point I prefer to admit a claim rather than to express an opinion. But +positively incompetent school committees are the exception in +Massachusetts; usually the people make the selection from their best +men. But in the public school you get the immediate, direct supervision +of the public. Not merely in the election of committees, but in a daily +interest and vigilance whose results are freely disclosed to the +superintending committee, as every inhabitant feels that his +contribution, as a tax-payer, gives him the right to judge the character +of the school, and makes it his duty to report its defects to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> those +charged with its management. The real defects of a school, especially of +a high school, will be first discovered by pupils; and they are likely +to report these defects to their parents. In the case of the endowed +private school, the parent feels that he buys whatever the trustees have +to sell, or takes as a gift whatever they have to offer free; and he +does not, logically nor as a matter of fact, infer from either of these +relations his right to participate in the government of the school. In +one case you have the observation, the judgment, the supervision, of the +whole community; in the other case you have the learning and judgment of +five, seven, ten, or twelve men.</p> + +<p>2dly. The faithfulness of the teacher is very much dependent upon the +supervision to which he is subject. This is only saying that the teacher +is human. In the public school there is no motive which can influence a +reasonable man that would lead him to swerve in the least from his +fidelity to the interest of the school as a whole. No partiality to a +particular individual, no desire to promulgate a special idea, can ever +stand in the place of that public support which is best secured by a +just performance of his duties. In the private school, with a +self-perpetuating board of trustees, the temptation is strong to make +the organization subservient to some opinion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> in politics, religion, or +social life. This may not always be done; but in many cases it has been +done, and there is no reason to expect different things in the future. I +concur, then, unreservedly in the judgment which has placed this +institution, in all its interests and in all its duties, under the +control of the inhabitants of Bernardston. When they who live in its +light and enjoy its benefits cease to respect it, when they to whom it +is specially dedicated cease to love and cherish it, it will no longer +be entitled to the favorable consideration of a more extended public +sentiment. As all trustworthy national patriotism must be built on love +for state, town, and home, so every school ought to esteem its power for +usefulness in its own neighborhood its chief means of good.</p> + +<p>It will naturally be inferred, from the remarks made upon the singleness +of purpose and fidelity of the public school to the cause of education, +that the instruction given in it is more thorough than is usually given +in the private school. But, in examining yet further the claim of the +public school to superior thoroughness, I must assume that it enjoys the +advantages of comfortable rooms, adequate apparatus and competent +teachers. And this assumption ought to be supported by the facts. There +is no good reason why any town in Massachusetts should be negli<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>gent or +parsimonious in these particulars. True economy requires liberal +appropriations. With these appropriations, the best teachers, even from +private schools and academies, can be secured, and all the aids and +encouragements to liberal culture can be provided. Is it possible that +any of the means of a common-school education are necessarily denied to +a million and a quarter of industrious people, who already possess an +aggregate capital of seven or eight hundred millions of dollars? But the +character of a high school must always depend materially upon the +previous training of the pupils, and the qualifications required for +admission. When the high school is a public school, the studies of the +primary and grammar or district schools are arranged with regard to the +system as a system. There is no inducement to admit a pupil for the sake +of the tuition fees, or for the purpose of adding to the number of +scholars. The applicant is judged by his merits as a scholar; and where +there is a wise public sentiment, the committee will be sustained in the +execution of just rules.</p> + +<p>In the public high school we avoid a difficulty that is almost universal +in academies and private schools—the presence of pupils whose +attainments are so various that by a proper classification they would be +assigned to two, if not to three grades, where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> graded system +exists. The vigilance, industry and fidelity of teachers, cannot +overcome this evil. The instruction given is inevitably less systematic +and thorough. The character which the high school, whether public or +private, presents, is not its own character merely; it reflects the +qualities and peculiarities of the schools below. It follows, then, that +the attention of the public should be as much directed to the primary +and grammar or district schools as to the high school itself. Of course, +it ought not to be assumed that the existence of a high school will +warrant any abatement of appropriations for the lower grades; indeed, +the interest and resources of these schools ought continually to +increase.</p> + +<p>Nor can it be assumed that your contributions to the cause of education +will be diminished by the bequest of your generous testator. He did not +seek to lessen your burdens, but to add to the means of education among +you.</p> + +<p>There is also an inherent power of discipline in the public schools, +where they are graded and a system of examinations exists, that is not +found elsewhere. Neither the pupil nor the parent is viewed by the +teacher in the light of a patron; hence, he seeks only to so conduct his +school as to meet the public requirement. Moreover, as admission to a +high school can be secured by merit only, the results<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> of the +preliminary training must have been such as to create a reasonable +presumption in favor of the applicant, mentally and morally. Hence, the +public schools are filled by youth who are there as the reward of +individual, personal merit. Practically, the motive by which the pupils +are animated has much to do with their success. If they are moved by a +love for learning, they attain the object of their desires even without +the aid of teachers; but where they are aided and encouraged by faithful +teachers, the school is soon under the control of a public sentiment +which secures the end in view.</p> + +<p>This public sentiment is not as easily built up in a private school; +for, in the nature of things, some pupils will find their way there who +are not true disciples of learning; and such persons are obstacles to +general progress, while they advance but little themselves.</p> + +<p>And, gentlemen trustees and citizens of Bernardston, may I not +personally and especially invite you to consider the importance of a +fixed standard of admission and a careful examination of candidates? +This course is essential to the improvement of your district and village +schools. It is essential to the true prosperity of this seminary, and it +is also essential to the intellectual advancement of the people within +your influence. You expect pupils from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> neighboring towns. Your +object is not pecuniary profit, but the education of the people. If your +requirements are positive, though it may not be difficult to meet them +in the beginning, every town that depends upon this institution for +better learning than it can furnish at home will be compelled to +maintain schools of a high order. On the other hand, negligence in this +particular will not only degrade the school under your care here, but +the schools in this town and the cause of education in the vicinity will +be unfavorably affected. Nor let the objection that a rigid standard of +qualifications will exclude many pupils, and diminish the attendance +upon the school, have great weight; for you perform but half your duty +when you provide the means of a good education for your own students. +You are also, through the power inherent in this authority, to do +something to elevate the standard of learning in other schools, and in +the country around. What harm if this school be small, while by its +influence other schools are made better, and thus every boy and girl in +the vicinity has richer means of education than could otherwise have +been secured? Thus will tens, and hundreds, and thousands, of successive +generations, have cause to bless this school, though they may never have +sat under its teachers, or been within its walls.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>In a system of public schools, everything may be had at its prime cost. +There need be no waste of money, or of the time or power of teachers. As +the public system must everywhere exist, it is a matter of economy to +bring all the children under its influence. The private system never can +educate all; therefore the public system cannot be abandoned, unless we +consent to give up a part of the population to ignorance. It may, then, +be said that the private schools, essential in many cases, ought to give +way whenever the public schools are prepared to do the work; and when +the public schools are so prepared, the existence of private schools +adds their own cost to the necessary cost of popular education.</p> + +<p>But we are not to encourage parsimony in education; for parsimony in +this department is not true economy. It is true economy for the state +and for a town to set up and maintain good schools as cheaply as they +can be had, yet at any necessary cost, so only that they be good. +Massachusetts is prosperous and wealthy to-day, respected in evil report +as well as in good, because, faithful to principle and persistent in +courage, she has for more than two hundred years provided for the +education of her children; and now the re-flowing tide of her wealth +from seaboard and cities will bear on its wave to these quiet valleys +and pleasant hill-sides the lovers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> of agriculture, friends of art, +students of science, and such as worship rural scenes and indulge in +rural sports; but the favored and first-sought spots will be those where +learning has already chosen her seat, and offers to manhood and age the +culture and society which learning only can give, and to childhood and +youth, over and above the training of the best schools, healthful moral +influences, and elements of physical growth and vigor, which ever +distinguish life in the country and among the mountains from life in the +city or on the plain. And over a broader field and upon a larger sphere +shall the benignant influence of this system of public instruction be +felt. In the affairs of this great republic, the power of a state is not +to be measured by the number of its votes in Congress. Public opinion is +mightier than Congress; and they who wield or control that do, in +reality, bear rule. Power in the world, upon a large view, and in the +light of history, has not been confided to the majorities of men. +Greece, unimportant in extent of territory, a peninsula and archipelago +in the sea, led the way in the civilization of the west, and, through +her eloquence, poetry, history and art, became the model of modern +culture. Rome, a single city in Italy, that stretches itself into the +sea as though it would gaze upon three continents, subjugated to her +sway the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> savage and civilized world, and impressed her arms and +jurisprudence upon all succeeding times; then Venice, without a single +foot of solid land, guarded inviolate the treasure of her sovereignty +for thirteen hundred years against the armies of the East and the West; +while, in our own time, England, unimportant in the extent of her +insular territory, has been able, by the intelligence and enterprise of +her people, to make herself mistress of the seas, arbiter of the +fortunes of Europe, and the ruler of a hundred millions of people in +Asia.</p> + +<p>These things have happened in obedience to a law which knows no change. +Power in America is with those who can bring the greatest intellectual +and moral force to bear upon a given point. And Massachusetts, limited +in the extent of her territory, without salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or wealth of mines, will have influence, through her people at +home and her people abroad, proportionate to her fidelity to the cause +of universal public education.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="NORMAL_SCHOOL_TRAINING" id="NORMAL_SCHOOL_TRAINING"></a>NORMAL SCHOOL TRAINING.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the State Normal School, at Salem.]</h3> + +<p>The human race may be divided into two classes. One has no ideal of a +future different from the present; or, if it is not always satisfied +with this view, it has yet had no clear conception of a higher +existence.</p> + +<p>The other class is conscious of the power of progress, is making +continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its +judgment, the present ought to be. Both of these classes have +institutions; for institutions are not the product of civilization, as +they exist wherever our social nature is developed. Man is also a +dependent being, and he therefore seeks the company, counsel and support +of his fellows. From the right of numbers to act comes the necessity of +agreement, or at least so much concurrence in what is to be done as to +secure the object sought. The will of numbers can only be expressed +through agencies; and these, however simple, are indeed +institutions—the evidence of civilization, rather than its product. +They are always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> the sign, symbol, or language, by which the living man +expresses the purpose of his life. Therefore, institutions differ, as +the purposes of men vary.</p> + +<p>The savage and the man of culture do not seek the same end; hence they +will not employ the same means.</p> + +<p>The institutions of the savage are those of the family, clan, or tribe, +to which he belongs. There the child is instructed in the art of dress, +in manners and language, in the rude customs of agriculture, the chase, +and war. This with him is life, and the history of one generation is +often the history of many generations. Their ideal corresponds with +their actual life; and, as a necessary result, there is little or no +progress.</p> + +<p>But the other class establishes institutions which indicate the +existence of new relations, and exact the performance of new duties. As +man is a social being, he necessarily creates institutions of government +and education corresponding to the sphere in which he is to act. If a +nation desires to educate only a part of its people, its institutions +are naturally exclusive; but wherever the idea of universal education +has been received, the institutions of the country look to that end.</p> + +<p>When Massachusetts was settled there were no truly popular institutions +in the world, for there was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> really no belief in popular rights. And why +should those be encouraged to think who have no right to act? The +principle that every man is to take a part in the affairs of the +community or state to which he belongs seems to be the foundation of the +doctrine that every man should be educated to think for himself. Free +schools and general education are the natural results of the principles +of human equality, which distinguish the people and political systems of +America.</p> + +<p>The purposes of a people are changeable and changing, but institutions +are inflexible; therefore these latter often outlast the ideas in which +they originated, or the ideas may be acting in other bodies or forms. +Institutions are the visible forms of ideas, but they are useful only +while those ideas are living in the minds of men. If an institution is +suffered to remain after the idea has passed away, it embarrasses rather +than aids an advancing people. Such are monastic establishments in +Protestant countries; such is the Church of England, as an institution +of religion and government, to all classes of dissenters; such are many +seminaries of learning in Europe, and some in America.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts has had one living idea, from the first,—that general +intelligence is necessary to popular virtue and liberty. This idea she +has expressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> in various ways; the end it promises she has sought by +various means. In obedience to this idea, she has established colleges, +common schools, grammar schools, academies, and at last the Normal +School.</p> + +<p>The <i>institution</i> only of the Normal School is new; the <i>idea</i> is old. +The Normal system is but a better expression of an idea partially +concealed, but nevertheless to be found in the college, grammar school +and academy of our fathers. Nor have we accepted the institution so +readily from a knowledge of its results in other countries, as from its +manifest fitness to meet a want here. It is not, then, our fortune to +inaugurate a new idea, but only to clothe an old one again, so that it +may more efficiently advance popular liberty, intelligence and virtue. +And this is our duty to-day.</p> + +<p>The proprieties of this occasion would have been better observed, had +his excellency, Governor Washburn, found it convenient to deliver the +address, which, at a late moment, has been assigned to me. But we are +all in some degree aware of the nature and extent of his public duties, +and can, therefore, appreciate the necessity which demands relief from +some of them.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts has founded four Normal Schools, and at the close of the +present century she may not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> have established as many more, for she now +satisfies the just demands of every section of her territory, and +presents the benefits of this system of instruction to all her +inhabitants. The building we here set apart, and the school we now +inaugurate to the service of learning, are to be regarded as the +completion of the original plan of the state, and any future extension +will depend upon the success of the Normal system as it shall appear in +other years to other generations of men. But we have great faith that +the Normal system, in itself and in its connections, will realize the +cherished idea of our whole history; and if so, it will be extended +until every school is supplied with a Normal teacher.</p> + +<p>This, then, is an occasion of general interest; but to the city of +Salem, and the county of Essex, it is specially important. Similar +institutions have been long established in other parts of the state; but +some compensation is now to be made to you, in the experience and +improvements of the last fifteen years. Intelligent labor sheds light +upon the path of the laborer, and, though the direct benefits of this +system have not been here enjoyed, many resulting advantages from the +experience of similar institutions in other places will now inure to +you.</p> + +<p>The city of Salem, with wise forecast, anticipated these advantages, and +generously contributed a sum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> larger even than that appropriated by the +state itself. This bounty determined the location of the school, but +determined it fortunately for all concerned.</p> + +<p>Salem is one of the central points of the state; and in this respect no +other town in the vicinity, however well situated, is a competitor. +Pupils may reside at their homes in Newburyport, Lynn, Lawrence, +Haverhill, Gloucester and Lowell, or at any intermediate place, and +enjoy the benefit of daily instruction within these walls. This is a +great privilege for parents and pupils; and it could not have been so +well secured at any other point. Here, also, pupils and teachers may +avail themselves of the libraries, literary institutions and cabinets of +this ancient and prosperous town. These are no common advantages.</p> + +<p>We are wiser and better for the presence of great numbers of books, +though we may never know what they contain. We see how much perseverance +and labor have accomplished, and are sensible that what has been may be +equalled if not excelled. In great libraries, we realize how the works +of the ambitious are neglected, and their names forgotten, while we +cannot fail to be impressed with the value of the truth, that the only +labor which brings a certain reward is that performed under a sense of +duty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> + +<p>Salem is itself the intelligent and refined centre of an intelligent and +prosperous population; and we may venture so far, in just eulogy, as to +attribute to it the united advantages of city and country, without a +large share of the privations of the one, or the vices of the other. Of +the four Normal Schools, this is, unquestionably, the most fortunate in +its position and surroundings. We, therefore, ask for the concurrence of +the public in the judgment which has established it in this city. If it +shall be the fortune of the government to assemble a body of instructors +qualified for their stations, there will then remain no reason why these +accommodations and advantages should not be fully enjoyed.</p> + +<p>The Normal School differs from all other seminaries of learning, and +only because it is an auxiliary to the common schools can it be deemed +their inferior in importance. The academy and college take young men +from the district and high schools, and furnish them with additional +aids for the business of life; but the Normal School is truly the helper +of the common schools. It receives its pupils from them, fits these +pupils for teachers, and sends them back to superintend where a few +months before they were scholars. The Normal Schools are sustained by +the common schools; and these latter, in return, draw their best +nutriment from the former. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> institution stands with the common +school; it is as truly popular, as really democratic in a just sense, +and its claim for support rests upon the same foundation.</p> + +<p>In Massachusetts we have abandoned the idea, never, I think, general, +that instruction in the art of teaching is unnecessary.</p> + +<p>The Normal School is, with us, a necessity; for it furnishes that +tuition which neither the common school, academy, nor college can. These +institutions were once better adapted to this service than now. There +has been a continual increase of academic studies, until it has become +necessary to establish institutions for special purposes; and of these +the Normal School is one. Its object is definite. The <i>true</i> Normal +School instructs only in the art of teaching; and, in this respect, it +must be confessed we have failed, sadly failed, to realize the ideal of +the system. It is not a substitute for the common school, academy, or +college, though many pupils, and in some degree the public, have been +inclined thus to treat it. There should be no instruction in the +departments of learning, high or low, except what is incidental to the +main business of the institution; yet some have gone so far in the wrong +course as to suggest that not only the common branches should be +studied, but that tuition should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> be given in the languages and the +higher mathematics. A little reflection will satisfy us how great a +departure this would be from the just idea of the Normal School. Yet +circumstances, rather than public sentiment, have compelled the +government to depart in practice, though never in theory, from the true +system.</p> + +<p>It so happens that much time is occupied in instruction in those +branches which ought to be thoroughly mastered by the pupil before he +enters the Normal School,—that is, before he begins to acquire the art +of teaching what he has not himself learned.</p> + +<p>Such is the state of our schools that we are obliged to accept as pupils +those who are not qualified, in a literary point of view, for the post +of teachers. By sending better teachers into the public schools, you +will effectually aid in the removal of this difficulty. The Normal +School is, then, no substitute for the high school, academy, or college. +Nor do we ask for any sympathy or aid which properly belongs to those +institutions. He is no friend of education, in its proper signification, +who patronizes some one institution, and neglects all others. We have no +seminaries of learning which can be considered useless, and he only is a +true friend who aids and encourages any and all as he has opportunity. +What is popularly known as learning is to be acquired in the common<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +school, high school, academy and college, as heretofore. The Normal +School does not profess to give instruction in reading and arithmetic, +but to teach the art of teaching reading and arithmetic. So of all the +elementary branches. But, as the art of teaching a subject cannot be +acquired without at the same time acquiring a better knowledge of the +subject itself, the pupil will always leave the Normal School better +grounded than ever before in the elements and principles of learning. It +is not, however, to be expected that complete success will be realized +here more than elsewhere; yet it is well to elevate the standard of +admission, from time to time, so that a larger part of the exercises may +be devoted to the main purpose of the institution. The struggle should +be perpetual and in the right direction. First, elevate your common +schools so that the education there may be a sufficient basis for a +course of training here. If the Normal School and the public schools +shall each and all do their duty, candidates for admission will be so +well qualified in the branches required, that the art of teaching will +be the only art taught here. When this is the case, the time of +attendance will be diminished, and a much larger number of persons may +be annually qualified for the station of teachers.</p> + +<p>Next, let the committees and others interested in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> education make +special efforts to fill the chairs of your hall with young women of +promise, who are likely to devote themselves to the profession. It is, +however, impossible for human wisdom to guard against one fate that +happens to all, or nearly all, the young women who are graduated at our +Normal Schools. But this remark is not made publicly, lest some anxious +ones avail themselves of your bounty as a means to an end not +contemplated by the state.</p> + +<p>The house you have erected is not so much dedicated to the school as to +the public; the institution here set up is not so much for the benefit +of the young women who may become pupils, as for the benefit of the +public which they represent. The appeal is, therefore, to the public to +furnish such pupils, in number and character, that this institution may +soon and successfully enter upon the work for which it is properly +designed.</p> + +<p>But the character and value of this school depend on the quality of its +teachers more than on all things else. They should be thoroughly +instructed, not only in the branches taught, but in the art of teaching +them.</p> + +<p>The teacher ought to have attained much that the pupil is yet to learn; +if he has not, he cannot utter words of encouragement, nor estimate the +chances of success. It is not enough to know what is con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>tained in the +text-book; the pupil should know that, at least; the teacher should know +a great deal more. A person is not qualified for the office of teacher +when he has mastered a book; and has, in fact, no right to instruct +others until he has mastered the subject.</p> + +<p>Text-books help us a little on the road of learning; but, by and by, +whatever our pursuit or profession, we leave them behind, or else +content ourselves with a subordinate position. Practical men have made +book-farmers the subject of ridicule; and there is some propriety in +this; for he is not a master in his profession who has not got, as a +general thing, out of and beyond the books which treat of it.</p> + +<p>Books are necessary in the school-room; but the good teacher has little +use for them in his own hands, or as aids in his own proper work. He +should be instructed in his subject, aside from and above the arbitrary +rules of authors; and he will be, if he is himself inspired with a love +of learning. <i>Inspired with a love of learning!</i> Whoever is, is sure of +success; and whoever is not, has the best possible security for the +failure of his plans. There cannot be a good school where the love of +learning in teacher and pupil is wanting; and there cannot be a bad one +where this spirit has control. As the master, so is the disciple; as the +teacher, so is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> pupil; for the spirit of the teacher will be +communicated to the scholars. There must also be habits of industry and +system in study. We have multitudes of scholars who study occasionally, +and study hard; but we need a race of students who will devote +themselves habitually, and with love, to literature and science.</p> + +<p>On the teachers, then, is the chief responsibility, whether the young +women who go out from this institution are well qualified for their +profession or not. The study of technicalities is drudgery of the worst +sort to the mere pupil; but the scholar looks upon it as a preparation +for a wide and noble exercise of his intellectual powers—as a key to +unlock the mysteries of learning. It is the business of the teacher to +lighten the labors of to-day by bright visions of to-morrow.</p> + +<p>There is a school in medicine, whose chief claim is, that it invites and +prepares Nature to act in the removal of disease.</p> + +<p>We pass no judgment upon this claim; but he is, no doubt, the best +teacher who does little for his pupils, while he incites and encourages +them to do much for themselves. Extensive knowledge will enable the +teacher to do this.</p> + +<p>He is a poor instructor of mathematics who sees only the dry details of +rules, tables and problems,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> and never ascends to the contemplation of +those supreme wonders of the universe which mathematical astronomy has +laid open. The grammar of a language is defined to be the art of reading +and writing that language with propriety. The study of its elements is +dry and uninteresting; and, while the teacher dwells with care upon the +merits of the text, he should also lift the veil from that which is +hidden, and lead his pupils to appreciate those riches of learning which +the knowledge of a language may confer upon the student.</p> + +<p>It is useful to know the division of the globe into continents and +oceans, islands and lakes, mountains and rivers—and this knowledge the +text-books contain; but it is a higher learning to understand the effect +of this division upon climate, soil and natural productions—upon the +character and pursuits of the human race. Books are so improved that +they may very well take the place of poor, or even ordinary teachers.</p> + +<p>Explanations and illustrations are numerous and appropriate, and very +little remains for the mere text-book teacher to do. But, when the +duties of teacher and the exercises of the school-room are properly +performed, the entire range of science, business, literature and art, is +presented to the student. May it be your fortune to see education thus +ele<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>vated here, and then will the same spirit be infused into the public +schools of the vicinity.</p> + +<p>The Massachusetts system of education is a noble tribute to freedom of +thought. The power of educating a people, which is, in fine, the chief +power in a state, has been often, if not usually, perverted to the +support of favored opinions in religion and government. The boasted +system of Prussia is only a prop and ally of the existing order of +things. In France, Napoleon makes the press, which has become in +civilized countries an educator of the people, the mere instrument of +his will. Tyrants do not hesitate to pervert schools and the press, +learning and literature, to the support of tyranny. But with us the +press and the school are free; and this freedom, denied through fear in +other countries, is the best evidence of the stability of our +institutions. It is now a hundred years since an attempt was made in +Massachusetts to exercise legal censorship over the press; but we +occasionally hear of movements to make the public schools of America +subservient to sect or party. The success of these movements would be as +great a calamity as can ever befall a free people. Ignorance would take +the place of learning, and slavery would usurp the domain of liberty.</p> + +<p>No defence, excuse, or palliation, can be offered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> for such movements; +and their triumph will safely produce all the evils which it is possible +for an enlightened people to endure. Our system of instruction is what +it professes to be,—a public system. As sects or parties, we have no +claim whatever upon it. A man is not taxed because he is of a particular +faith in religion, or party in politics; he is not taxed because he is +the father of a family, or excused because he is not; but he contributes +to the cause of education because he is a citizen, and has an interest +in that general intelligence which decides questions of faith and +practice as they arise. It is for the interest of all that all shall be +educated for the various pursuits and duties of the time. The education +of children is, no doubt, first in individual duty. It is the duty of +the parent, the duty of the friend; but, above all, it is the duty of +the public. This duty arises from the relations of men in every +civilized state; but in a popular government it becomes a necessity. The +people are the source of power—the sovereign. And is it more important +in a monarchy than in a republic that the ruler be intelligent, +virtuous, and in all respects qualified for his duties?</p> + +<p>The institution here set up is an essential part of our system of public +instruction, and, as such, it claims the public favor, sympathy and +support.</p> + +<p>This is a period of excitement in all the affairs and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> relations of men, +and America is fast becoming the central point of these activities. They +are, no doubt, associated with many blessings, but they may also be +attended by great evils. We claim for our country preëminence in +education. This may be just, but it is also true that Americans, more +than any other people, need to be better educated than they are. Where +else is the field of statesmanship so large, or the necessity for able +statesmen so great?</p> + +<p>With the single exception of Great Britain, there is no nation whose +relations are such as to require a union in rulers of the rarest +practical abilities with accurate, sound and varied learning; and there +is no nation whose people are so critical in the tests they apply to +their public agents. We need men thoroughly educated in all the +departments of learning; to which ought to be added, travel in foreign +countries, and an intimate acquaintance with every part of our own. Such +men we have had—such men we have now; but they will be more and more +important as we advance in numbers, territory and power. A corresponding +culture is necessary in theology, in law, and in all the pursuits of +industry.</p> + +<p>No other nation has so great a destiny. That destiny is manifest, and +may be read in the heart and purpose of the people. They seek new +terri<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>tories, an increase of population, the prosperity of commerce, of +all the arts of industry, and preëminence in virtue, learning and +intellectual power. And all this they can attain; for the destiny of a +people, within the limits prescribed by reason, is determined by +themselves. If, however, by conquest, annexation and absorption, we +acquire new territories, and strange races and nations of men, and yet +neglect education, every step will but increase our burdens and perils, +and hasten our decay.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="FEMALE_EDUCATION" id="FEMALE_EDUCATION"></a>FEMALE EDUCATION.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address before the Newburyport Female High School.]</h3> + +<p>I accepted, without a moment's delay, the invitation of the principal of +this school to deliver the customary address on this, the fifteenth +anniversary of its establishment. My presence here in connection with +public instruction is not a proper subject for comment by myself; but I +have now come, allow me to say, with unusual alacrity, that we may +together recognize the claims of an institution which furnishes the +earliest evidence existing among us of a special design on the part of +the public to provide adequate intellectual and moral training for the +young women of the state.</p> + +<p>Those movements which have accomplished most for religion, liberty, and +learning, have not been sudden in their origin nor rapid in their +progress. Christianity has been preached eighteen hundred years, yet it +is not now received, even intellectually, by the larger part of the +human race. Magna Charta is six centuries old, but its principles are +not accepted by all the nations of Europe and America;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> and it is not, +therefore, strange that a system of public instruction, originated by +the Puritans of New England, should yet be struggling against prejudice +and error. In Asia woman is degraded, and in Europe her common condition +is that of apparent and absolute inferiority. When America was settled +she became a participator in the struggles and sufferings which awaited +the pioneers of civilization and liberty on this continent, and she thus +earned a place in family, religious, and even in public life, which +foreshowed her certain and speedy disenthrallment from the tyranny of +tradition and time. Her rights with us are secure, and the anxiety and +boisterous alarm exhibited by some strong-minded women, and the +horror-fringed apprehensions and prophecies of some weak-minded men, are +equally unreasonable and absurd. Woman is sharing the lot of humanity, +and therewith she ought to be content. Man does not remove the burden of +ignorance and oppression from his sex, merely, but generally from his +kind. At least, this is the experience and promise of America. If woman +does not vote because she is woman, so and for the same reason she is +not subject to personal taxation. It is an error to suppose that voting +is a privilege, and taxation, ever and always, a burden. Both are +duties; and the privilege of the one and the burden of the other are +only incidental and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> subordinate. The human family is an aggregation of +families; and the family, not the man nor the woman, is the unit of the +state. The civil law assumes the existence of the family relation, and +its unity where it exists; hence taxation of the woman brings no revenue +to the state that might not have been secured by the taxation of the +man; and hence the exercise of the elective franchise by the woman +brings no additional political power; for, in the theory of the relation +to which there are, in fact, but few exceptions, there is in the +household but one political idea, and but one agent is needed for its +expression. The ballot is the judgment of the family; not of the man, +merely, nor of the woman, nor yet, indeed, always of both, even. The +first smile that the father receives from the child affects every +subsequent vote in municipal concerns, and likely enough also in +national affairs. From that moment forward, he judges constables, +selectmen, magistrates, aldermen, mayors, school-committees, and +councillors, with an altered judgment. The result of the election is not +the victory or defeat of the man alone; it is the triumph or prostration +of a principle or purpose with which the family is identified.</p> + +<p>Is it said that there is occasionally, if not frequently, a divided +judgment in the household upon those questions that are decided by the +ballot? This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> must, of course, be granted as an exceptional condition of +domestic life; but, for the wisest reasons of public policy, whose +avoidance by the state would be treachery to humanity, the law universal +can recognize only the general condition of things. So, and for kindred +but not equally strong reasons, the elective franchise is exercised by +men without families, and denied to those women who by the dispensations +of Divine Providence are called to preside in homes where the father's +face is seen no more. But why, in the eye of the state, shall the man +stand as the head of the family, rather than the woman? Because God has +so ordained it; and no civil community has ever yet escaped from the +force of His decree in this respect. Those whose physical power defends +the nation, or tribe, or family, are naturally called upon to decide +what the means of defence shall be. Is not woman, then, the equal of +man? We cannot say of woman, with reference to man, that she is his +superior, or his inferior, or his equal; nor can we say of man, with +reference to woman, that he is her superior, or her inferior, or her +equal. He is her protector, she is his helpmeet. His strength is +sufficient for her weakness, and her power is the support of his +irresolution and want of faith. Woman's rights are not man's rights; nor +are man's rights the measure of woman's rights. If she should assert +her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> independence, as some idiosyncratic persons desire, she could only +declare her intention to do all those acts and things which woman may of +right do. Given that this is accomplished, and I know not that she would +possess one additional domestic, political, or public right, or enjoy +one privilege in the family, neighborhood, or state, to which she is +not, in some degree, at least, already accustomed.</p> + +<p>These views and reflections may serve to illustrate and enforce the +leading position of this address—that we are to educate young women for +the enjoyments and duties of the sphere in which they are to move. We +speak to-day of public instruction; but it should ever be borne in mind +that the education of the schools is but a part, and often only the +least important part, of the training that the young receive. There is +the training of infancy and early childhood, the daily culture of home, +with its refining or deadening influences, and then the education of the +street, the parlor, the festive gathering, and the clubs, which exert a +power over the youth of both sexes that cannot often be controlled +entirely by the school.</p> + +<p>Womanhood is sometimes sacrificed in childhood, when the mother and the +family fail to develop the womanly qualities of modesty, grace, +generosity of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> character, and geniality of temper, which dignify, adorn, +and protect,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"The sex whose presence civilizes ours."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>The child, whether girl or boy, reflects the character of its home; and +therefore we are compelled to deal with all the homes of the district or +town, and are required often to counteract the influences they exert. +Early vicious training is quite as disastrous to the girl as to the boy; +for, strange as it may seem, the world more readily tolerates ignorance, +coarseness, rudeness, immodesty, and all their answering vices, in man +than in woman. In the period of life from eight to twenty years of age +the progress of woman is, to us of sterner mould, inconceivably rapid; +but from twenty to forty the advantages of education are upon the other +side. It then follows that a defective system of education is more +pernicious to woman than to man.</p> + +<p>We may contemplate woman in four relations with their answering +responsibilities—as pupil, teacher, companion, and mother. As a pupil, +she is sensitive, conscientious, quick, ambitious, and possesses in a +marvellous degree, as compared with the other sex, the power of +intuition. The boy is logical, or he is nothing; but logic is not +necessary for the girl. Not that she is illogical; but she usually sees +through,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> without observing the steps in the process which a boy must +discern before he can comprehend the subject presented to his mind. In +the use of the eye, the ear, the voice, and in the appropriation of +whatever may be commanded without the highest exercise of the reasoning +and reflective faculties, she is incomparably superior. She accepts +moral truth without waiting for a demonstration, and she obeys the law +founded upon it without being its slave. She instinctively prefers good +manners to faulty habits; and, in the requirements of family, social, +and fashionable life, she is better educated at sixteen than her brother +is at twenty. She is an adept in one only of the vices of the +school—whispering—and in that she excels. But she does not so readily +resort to the great vice—the crime of falsehood—as do her companions +of the other sex. I call falsehood the great vice, because, if this were +unknown, tardiness, truancy, obscenity, and profanity, could not thrive. +Holmes has well said that "sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle +that will fit them all."</p> + +<p>In many primary and district schools the habits and manners of children +are too much neglected. We associate good habits and good manners with +good morals; and, though we are deceived again and again, and +soliloquize upon the maxim that "all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> is not gold that glitters," we +instinctively believe, however often we are betrayed. Habits and manners +are the first evidence of character; and so much of weight do we attach +to such evidence, that we give credit and confidence to those whom in +our calmer moments we know to be unworthy. The first aim in the school +should be to build up a character that shall be truthfully indicated by +purity and refinement of manner and conversation. It does, indeed, +sometimes happen that purity of character is not associated with +refinement of manners. This misfortune is traceable to a defective early +education, both in the school and the home; for, had either been +faithful and intelligent, the evil would have been averted. And, as +there are many homes in city and country where refinement of manners is +not found, and, of course, cannot be taught, the schools must furnish +the training. In this connection, the value of the high school for +females—whether exclusively so or not, does not seem to me +important—is clearly seen. Young women are naturally and properly the +teachers of primary, district, and subordinate schools of every grade; +and society as naturally and properly looks to them to educate, by +example as well as by precept, all the children of the state in good +habits, good manners, and good morals. We are also permitted to look +forward to the higher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> relations of life, when, as wives and mothers, +they are to exert a potent influence over existing and future +generations. The law and the lexicons say "<i>home</i> is the house or the +place where one resides." This definition may answer for the law and the +lexicons, but it does not meet the wants of common life.</p> + +<p>The wife will usually find in her husband less refinement of manners +than she herself possesses; and it is her great privilege, if not her +solemn duty, to illustrate the line of Cowper, and show that she is of</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"The sex whose presence civilizes ours."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>It is the duty of the teacher to make the school attractive; and what +the teacher should do for the school the wife should do for the home. +The home should be preferred by the husband and children to all other +places. Much depends upon themselves; they have no right to claim all of +the wife and mother. But, without her aid, they can do but little. With +her aid, every desirable result may be accomplished. That this result +may be secured, female education must be generous, critical, and pure, +in everything that relates to manners, habits, and morals. Much may be +added to these, but nothing can serve in their stead. We should add, no +doubt, thorough elementary training in reading, writing, and spelling, +both for her own good and for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> the service of her children. Intellectual +training is defective where these elements are neglected, and their +importance to the sexes may be equal. We should not omit music and the +culture of the voice. The tones of the voice indicate the tone of the +mind; but the temper itself may finally yield to a graceful and gentle +form of expression. It is not probable that we shall ever give due +attention to the cultivation of the human voice for speaking, reading, +and singing. This is an invaluable accomplishment in man. Many of us +have listened to New England's most distinguished living orator, and +felt that well-known lines from the English poets derived new power, if +not actual inspiration, from the classic tones in which the words were +uttered.</p> + +<p>A cultivated voice in woman is at once the evidence and the means of +moral power. As the moral sensibilities of the girl are more acute than +those of the boy, so the moral power of the woman is greater than that +of the man. Many young women are educating themselves for the business +of teaching; and I can commend nothing more important, after the proper +ordering of one's own life, than the discreet and careful training of +the voice. It is itself a power. It demands sympathy before the +suffering or its cause is revealed by articulate speech; its tones awe +assemblies, and command silence before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> the speaker announces his views; +and the rebellious and disorderly, whether in the school, around the +rostrum, or on the field, bow in submission beneath the authority of its +majestic cadences. It is hardly possible to imagine a good school, and +very rare to see one, where this power is wanting in the teacher. Women +are often called to take charge of schools where there are lads and +youth destitute of that culture which would lead them to yield respect +and consequent obedience. Physical force in these cases is not usually +to be thought of; but nature has vouchsafed to woman such a degree of +moral power, of which in the school the voice is the best expression, as +often to fully compensate for her weakness in other respects.</p> + +<p>It is unnecessary to commend reading as an art and an accomplishment; +but good readers are so rare among us, that we cannot too strongly urge +teachers to qualify themselves for the great work. I say <i>great work</i>, +because everything else is comparatively easy to the teacher, and +comparatively unimportant to the pupil. Grammar is merely an element of +reading. It should be introduced as soon as the child's reasoning +faculties are in any degree developed, and presented by the living +voice, without the aid of books. The alphabet should be taught in +connection with exercises for strengthening and modu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>lating the voice, +and the elementary sounds of the letters should be deemed as important +as their names. All this is the proper work of the female teacher; and, +when she is ignorant or neglects her duty, the evil is usually so great +as to admit of no complete remedy.</p> + +<p>Reading is at once an imitative and an appreciative art on the part of +the pupil. He must be trained to appreciate the meaning of the writer; +but he will depend upon the teacher at first, and, indeed, for a long +time, for an example of the true mode of expression. This the teacher +must be ready to give. It is not enough that she can correct faults of +pronunciation, censure inarticulate utterances, and condemn gruff, +nasal, and guttural sounds; but she must be able to present, in +reasonable purity, all the opposite qualities. The young women have not +yet done their duty to the cause of education in these respects; nor is +there everywhere a public sentiment that will even now allow the duty to +be performed.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to see why the child of five, and the youth of fifteen, +should be kept an equal number of hours at school. Each pupil should +spend as much time in the school-room as is needed for the preparation +of the exercise and the exercise itself. The danger from excessive +confinement and labor is with young pupils. Those in grammar and high<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +schools may often use additional hours for study; but a pupil should be +somewhat advanced, and should possess considerable physical strength and +endurance, before he ventures to give more than six hours a day to +severe intellectual labor. It must often happen that children in primary +schools can learn in two hours each day all that the teacher has time to +communicate, or they have power to receive and appropriate. Indeed, I +think this is usually so. It may not, however, be safe to deduce from +this fact the opinion that children should never be kept longer in +school than two hours a day; but it seems proper to assume that, if +blessed with good homes, they may be relieved from the tedium of +confinement in the school-room, when there is no longer opportunity for +improvement.</p> + +<p>We are beginning to realize the advantages of well-educated female +teachers in primary schools; nor do I deem it improbable that they shall +become successful teachers and managers of schools of higher grade, +according to the present public estimation. But, in regard to the latter +position, I have neither hope, desire, nor anxiety. Whenever the public +judge them, generally, or in particular cases, qualified to take charge +of high schools and normal schools, those positions will be assigned to +them; and, till that degree of public confidence is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> accorded, it is +useless to make assertions or indulge in conjectures concerning the +ability of women for such duties. It is my own conviction that a higher +order of teaching talent is required in the primary school, or for the +early, judicious education of children, than is required in any other +institutions of learning. Nor can it be shown that equal ability for +government is not essential. There must be different manifestations of +ability in the primary and the high school; but, where proper training +has been enjoyed, pupils in the latter ought to be far advanced in the +acquisition of the cardinal virtue of self-control, whose existence in +the school and the state renders government comparatively unnecessary.</p> + +<p>Where there is a human being, there are the opportunity and the duty of +education. But our present great concern, as friends of learning, is +with those schools where children are first trained in the elements. If +in these we can have faithful, accurate, systematic, comprehensive +teaching, everything else desirable will be added thereunto. But, if we +are negligent, unphilosophical, and false, the reasonable public +expectation will never be realized in regard to other institutions of +learning.</p> + +<p>The work must be done by women, and by well-educated women; and, when it +is said that in Massachusetts alone we need the services of six +thousand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> such persons, the magnitude of the work of providing teachers +may be appreciated. Have we not enough in this field for every female +school and academy, where high schools are not required, or cannot +exist, and for every high school and normal school in the commonwealth? +If it is asserted that the supply of female teachers is already greater +than the demand, it must be stated, in reply, that there are persons +enough engaged in teaching, but that the number of competent teachers +is, and ever has been, too small. It is something, my friends, it is +often a great deal, to send into a town a well-qualified female teacher. +She is not only a blessing to those who are under her tuition, but her +example and influence are often such as to change the local sentiment +concerning teachers and schools. When may we expect a supply of such +persons? The hope is not a delusion, though its realization may be many +years postponed. How are competent persons to be selected and qualified? +The change will be gradual, and it is to be made in the public opinion +as well as in the character of teachers and schools. And is it not +possible, even in view of all that has been accomplished, that we are +yet groping in a dark passage, with only the hope that it leads to an +outward-opening door, where, in marvellous but genial light we shall +perceive new truths concerning the philosophy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> of the human mind, and +the means of its development? At this moment we are compelled to admit +that practical teachers and theorists in educational matters are alike +uncertain in regard to the true method of teaching the alphabet, and +divided and subdivided in opinion concerning the order of succession of +the various studies in the primary and grammar schools. Perfect +agreement on these points is not probable; it may not be desirable. I am +satisfied that no greater contribution can be made to the cause of +learning than a presentation of these topics and their elucidation, so +that the teacher shall feel that what he does is philosophical, and +therefore wise.</p> + +<p>The only way to achieve success is to apply faithfully the means at +hand. Generations of children cannot wait for perfection in methods of +teaching; but teachers of primary schools ought not to neglect any +opportunity which promises aid to them as individuals, or progress in +the profession that they have chosen. As teachers improve, so do +schools; and, as schools improve, so do teachers. The influence exerted +by teachers is first beneficial to pupils, but, as a result, we soon +have a class of better qualified teachers. With these ideas of the +importance of the teacher's vocation to primary instruction, and, +consequently, to all good learning, it is not strange<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> that I place a +high value upon professional training. A degree of professional training +more or less desirable is, no doubt, furnished, by every school; but the +admission does not in any manner detract from the force of the statement +that a young man or woman well qualified in the branches to be taught, +yet without experience, may be strengthened and prepared for the work of +teaching, by devoting six, twelve, or eighteen months, under competent +instructors, in company with a hundred other persons having a similar +object in view, to the study, examination, and discussion, of those +subjects and topics which are sometimes connected with, and sometimes +independent of, the text-books, but which are of daily value to the +teacher.</p> + +<p>At present only a portion of this necessary professional training can be +given in the normal schools. If, however, as I trust may sometimes be +the case, none should be admitted but those who are already qualified in +the branches to be taught, the time of attendance might be diminished, +and the number of graduates proportionately increased. There are about +one hundred high schools in the state, and, within the sphere of their +labors, they are not equalled by any institutions that the world has +seen. Young men are fitted for the colleges, for mechanical, +manufacturing, commercial, agricultural,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> and scientific labors, and +young men and young women are prepared for the general duties of life. +They are also furnishing a large number of well-qualified teachers. Some +may say that with these results we ought to be content. Regarding only +the past, they are entirely satisfactory; but, animated with reasonable +hopes concerning the future, we claim something more and better. It is +not disguised that the members of normal schools, when admitted, do not +sustain an average rank in scholarship with graduates of high schools. +This is a misfortune from which relief is sought. It is a suggestion, +diffidently made, yet with considerable confidence in its practicability +and value, that graduates of high schools will often obtain additional +and necessary preparation by attending a normal school, if for the term +of six months only. And I am satisfied, beyond all reasonable doubt, +that, when the normal schools receive only those whose education is +equivalent to that now given in the high schools, a body of teachers +will be sent out who will surpass the graduates of any other +institution, and whose average professional attainments and practical +excellence will meet the highest reasonable public expectation. Nor is +it claimed that this result will be due to anything known or practised +in normal schools that may not be known and practised elsewhere; but it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +is rather attributable to the fact that in these institutions the +attention of teachers and pupils is directed almost exclusively to the +work of teaching, and the means of preparation. The studies, thoughts, +and discussions, are devoted to this end. If, with such opportunities, +there should be no progress, we should be led to doubt all our previous +knowledge of human character, and of the development of the youthful +mind.</p> + +<p>And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude, allow me to remove, or +at least to lessen, an impression that these remarks are calculated to +produce. I have assumed that teaching is a profession—an arduous +profession—and that perfection has not yet been attained. I have +assumed, also, that there are many persons engaged in teaching, +especially in the primary and mixed district schools, whose +qualifications are not as great as they ought to be. But let it not be +thence inferred that I am dissatisfied with our teachers and schools. +There has been continual progress in education, and a large share of +this progress is due to teachers; but the time has not yet come when we +can wisely fold our arms, and accept the allurements of undisturbed +repose.</p> + +<p>Nor have I sought, on this occasion, to present even an outline of a +system of female education. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> all the public institutions of learning +among us, it should be as comprehensive, as minute, as exact, as that +furnished for youth of the other sex. Nor is it necessary to concern +ourselves about the effect of this liberal culture upon the character +and fortunes of society. I do not anticipate any sudden or disastrous +effects. The right of education is a common right; and it is +unquestionably the right of woman to assert her rights; and it is a +wrong and sin if we withhold any, even the least. Having faith in +humanity, and faith in God, let us not shrink from the privilege we +enjoy of offering to all, without reference to sex or condition, the +benefits of a public and liberal system of education, which seeks, in an +alliance with virtue and religion, whose banns are forbidden by none, to +enlighten the ignorant, restrain and reform the depraved, and penetrate +all society with good learning and civilization, so that the highest +idea of a well-ordered state shall be realized in an advanced and +advancing condition of individual and family life.</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="THE_INFLUENCE_DUTIES_AND_REWARDS_OF_TEACHERS" id="THE_INFLUENCE_DUTIES_AND_REWARDS_OF_TEACHERS"></a>THE INFLUENCE, DUTIES, AND REWARDS, OF TEACHERS.</h2> + +<h3>[A Lecture delivered at Teachers' Institutes.]</h3> + +<p>It is the purpose, and we believe that it will be the destiny, of +Massachusetts, to build up a comparatively perfect system of public +instruction. To this antiquity did not aspire; and it is the just boast +of modern times, and especially of the American States, that learning is +not the amusement of a few only, whom wealth and taste have led into its +paths, but that it is encouraged by governments, and cherished by the +whole people. Antiquity had its schools and teachers; but the latter +were, for the most part, founders of sects in politics, morals, +philosophy, religion, or the habits of daily life; while its schools +were frequented and sustained by those who sought to build on the +civilization of the times such structures as their tastes conceived or +their opinions dictated.</p> + +<p>There were not in Athens or Rome, according to the American idea, any +schools for the people; and Carlyle, Brownson, and Emerson, are such +teachers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> in kind, though not in power and influence, as were Socrates, +Plato, and Aristotle. These men were leaders as well as teachers, and +their followers were disciples and controversialists rather than pupils. +But it is not possible for modern leaders in politics, philosophy, and +social life, to rival the ancients. Manual labor is not more divided and +subdivided than is the influence of the human intellect. The newspaper +has inspired every man with the love of self-judgment, and the common +school has qualified him, in some degree, for its exercise. The +ancients, whose names and fame have come down to us, taught by +conversations, discussions, and lectures; the moderns, as Carlyle, +Brownson, and Emerson, by lectures, essays, and reviews. But these +systems are quite inadequate to meet the wants of American civilization.</p> + +<p>Indeed, however men of talent may strive, there cannot be another +Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle; for the printing-press has come, and +their occupation has gone. Teachers were philosophers, pupils were +followers and disciples, while learning was devoted to the support of +speculations and theories.</p> + +<p>But, while we have no such teachers as those of Athens, and need no such +schools as they founded, we have teachers and schools whose character +and genius correspond to the age in which we live.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> Teaching is a +profession; not merely an ignoble pursuit, nor a toy of scholastic +ambition, but a profession enjoying the public confidence, requiring +great talents, demanding great industry, and securing, permit me to say, +great rewards. To be the leader of a sect or the founder of a school, is +something; but the acceptable teacher is superior to either; he is the +first and chief exponent of a popular sovereignty which seeks happiness +and immortality for itself by elevating and refining the parts of which +it is composed. The ancient teacher gathered his hearers, disciples, and +pupils, in the streets, groves, and public squares. The modern teacher +is comparatively secluded; but let him not hence infer that he is +without influence. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, had their triumphs; +but none more distinguished than that of a Massachusetts teacher, who, +at the age of fourscore years, on a festive day, received from his +former pupils—and among them were the most eminent of the land—sincere +and affectionate assurances of esteem and gratitude. The pupil may be +estranged from the master in opinion, for our system does not concern +itself with opinions, political or religious; but the faithful teacher +will always find the evidence of his fidelity in the lives of those +intrusted to his care. No position is more important than the teacher's; +and his influence is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> next to that of the parent. It is his high and +noble province to touch the youthful mind, test its quality, and develop +its characteristics. He often stands in the place of the parent. He aids +in giving character to the generations of men; which is at once a higher +art and a purer glory than distinguishes those who build the walls of +cities, or lay the foundations of empires. The cities which contested +for the honor of being the birthplace of Homer are forgotten, or +remembered only because they contested for the honor, while Homer +himself is immortal. If, then, the mere birth of a human being is an +honor to a city, how illustrious the distinction of those who guide the +footsteps of youth along the rugged paths of learning, and develop in a +generation the principles of integrity and mercy, justice and freedom, +government and humanity! If in a lifetime of toil the teacher shall +bring out of the mass of common minds one Franklin, or Howard, or +Channing, or Bowditch, he will have accomplished more than is secured by +the devotees of wealth, or the disciples of pleasure. As the man is more +important than the mere philosopher, so is the modern teacher more +elevated than the ancient.</p> + +<p>The true teacher takes hold of the practical and elementary, as +distinguished from the learning whose chief or sole value is in display. +Present gratifica<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>tion is desirable, especially to parents and teachers; +but it may be secured at the cost of solid learning and real progress. +This is a serious error among us, and it will not readily be abandoned; +but it is the duty of teachers, and of all parents who are friends to +genuine learning, to aid in its removal. We are inclined to treat the +period of school-life as though it covered the entire time that ought +properly to be devoted to education. The first result—a result followed +by pernicious consequences—is that the teacher is expected to give +instruction in every branch that the pupil, as child, youth, or adult, +may need to know. It is impossible that instruction so varied should +always be good. Learning is knowledge of subjects based and built upon a +thorough acquaintance with their elements. The path of duty, therefore, +should lead the teacher to make his instruction thorough in a few +branches, rather than attempt to extend it over a great variety of +subjects. This, to the teacher who is employed in a district or town but +three or six months, is a hard course, and many may not be inclined to +pursue it. Something, no doubt, must be yielded to parents; but they, +too, should be educated to a true view of their children's interests. As +the world is, a well-spoken declamation is more gratifying to parents, +and more creditable to teachers, than the most careful training in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> +vowel-sounds; yet the latter is infinitely more valuable to the scholar. +Neither progress in the languages nor knowledge of mathematics can +compensate for the want of a thorough etymological discipline. This +training should be primary in point of time, as well as elementary in +character; and a classical education is no adequate compensation.</p> + +<p>Elements are all-important to the teacher and the student. It is not +possible to have an idea of a square without some idea of a straight +line, nor to express with pencil or words the arc of a circle without a +previous conception of the curve. Combination follows in course. We are +driven to it. Our own minds, all nature, all civilization, tend to the +combination of elements.</p> + +<p>We think fast, live fast, learn fast, and, as the fashion of the world +requires a knowledge of many things, we crowd the entire education of +our children into the short period of school-life. Here, and just here, +public sentiment ought to relieve the teacher by reforming itself.</p> + +<p>It should be understood that school-life is to be devoted to the +thorough discipline of the mind to study, and to an acquaintance with +those simple, elementary branches, which are the foundation of all good +learning. When a knowledge of the elements is secured, then the +languages, mathematics, and all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> science, may be pursued with enthusiasm +and success by a class of men well educated in every department. Public +sentiment must allow the teacher to give careful instruction in reading +and spelling, for example, in the most comprehensive meaning of those +terms—in the sound and power of letters, in the composition and use of +words, and in the natural construction of sentences. This, of course, +includes a knowledge of grammar, not as a dry, philological study, but +as a science; not as composed of arbitrary rules, merely, but as the +common and best judgment of men concerning the use and power of +language, of which rules and definitions are but an imperfect +expression.</p> + +<p>Nor do we herein assign the teacher to neglect or obscurity. He, as well +as others, must have faith in the future. His reward may be distant, but +it is certain.</p> + +<p>It is, however, likely that the labors of a faithful elementary teacher +will be appreciated immediately, and upon the scene of his toil. But, if +they are not, his pupils, advancing in age and increasing in knowledge, +will remember with gratitude and in words the self-sacrificing labors of +their master.</p> + +<p>We are not so constituted as to labor without motive. With some the +motive is high, with others it is low and grovelling. The teacher must +be him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>self elevated, or he cannot elevate others. The pupil may, +indeed, advance to a higher sphere than that occupied by the teacher; +but it is only because he draws from a higher fountain elsewhere. In +such cases the success of the pupil is not the success of the master. He +who labors as a teacher for mere money, or for temporary fame, which is +even less valuable, cannot choose a calling more ignoble, nor can he +ever rise to a higher; for his sordid motives bring all pursuits to the +low level of his own nature.</p> + +<p>Yet it is not to be assumed that the teacher, more than the clergyman, +is to labor without pecuniary compensation; for, while money should not +be the sole object of any man's life, it is, under the influence of our +civilization, essential to the happiness of us all. Wealth, properly +acquired and properly used, may become a means of self-education. It +purchases relief from the harassing toil of uninterrupted manual labor. +It is the only introduction we can have to the thoroughfares of travel +by which we are made acquainted personally with the globe that we +inhabit. It brings to our firesides books, paintings, and statuary, by +which we learn something of the world as it is and as it was. It gives +us the telescope and the microscope, by whose agency we are able to +appreciate, even though but imperfectly, the immensity of creation on +the one hand,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> and its infinity on the other. The teacher is not to +labour without money, nor to despise it more than other men; and the +public might as well expect the free services of the minister, lawyer, +physician, or farmer, as to expect the gratuitous or cheap education of +their children. While the teacher is educating others, he must also +educate himself. This he cannot do without both leisure and money. The +advice of Iago is, therefore, good advice for teachers: "Go, make money. +* * Put money enough in your purse." The teacher's motives should be +above mere gain; though this view of the subject does not, as some might +infer, lead to the conclusion that he ought to labor for inadequate +compensation.</p> + +<p>When George III. was first insane, Dr. Willis was called to the +immediate personal charge of the king. Dr. Willis had been educated to +the church, and a living had been assigned him; but, becoming interested +in the subject of insanity, he had established an asylum, and gained a +distinguished position in his new profession. The suffering monarch was +sadly puzzled to know why Dr. Willis was with him, and how he had been +brought there. The custodian was not very definite in his explanations, +but suggested that he came to comfort the king in his afflictions; and, +said he, "You know that our Saviour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> went about doing good."—"Yes," +said the king, "but he never received seven hundred pounds a year for +it." This was good wit, especially good royal wit, because unexpected. +But there is no reason why actual monarchs of England, or coming +monarchs of America, should be treated or taught gratuitously. The +compensation, the living of the teacher, is one thing; the motive may +and ought to be quite different. The teacher should labor in his +profession because he loves it, because he does good in it, and because +he can in that sphere answer a high purpose of existence. These being +the motives of the teacher, he should educate, draw out, corresponding +ones in his pupils.</p> + +<p>The teacher is not to create—he is to draw out. Every child has the +germs of many, and, it may be, quite different qualities of character. +Look at the infant. It is so constituted that it may have a stalwart +arm, broad chest, and well-rounded, vigorous muscles; but yet it may +come to adult age destitute of these physical excellences. Yet you will +not say that the elements did not exist in the child. They were there; +but, being neglected, they followed a law of our nature, that the +development of a faculty depends upon its exercise. Nature will develop +some quality in every man; for our existence demands the exercise of a +part of our faculties.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> The faculty used will be developed in excess as +compared with other faculties. It is the business of the teacher to aid +nature. For the most part, he must stimulate, encourage, draw out, +develop, though it may happen that he will be required occasionally to +check a tendency which threatens to absorb or overshadow all the others. +He must, at any rate, prevent the growth of those powers which tend +towards the savage state.</p> + +<p>While the teacher creates nothing, he must so draw out the qualities of +the child that it may attain to perfect manhood. He moulds, he renders +symmetrical, the physical, the intellectual, the moral man. Nature +sometimes does this herself, as though she would occasionally furnish a +model man for our imitation, as she has given lines, and forms, and +colors, which all artists of all ages shall copy, but cannot equal. But, +do the best we can, education is more or less artificial; and hence the +child of the school will suffer by comparison with the child of nature, +when she presents him in her best forms.</p> + +<p>In a summer ramble I met a man so dignified as to attract the notice and +command the respect of all who knew him. I was with him upon the lakes +and mountains several days and nights, and never for a moment did the +manliness of his character desert him. I have seen no other person who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +could boast such physical beauty. Accustomed to a hunter's life; +carrying often a pack of thirty or forty or fifty pounds; sleeping upon +the ground or a bed of boughs; able, if necessity of interest demanded, +to travel in the woods the ordinary distance which a good horse would +pass over upon our roads; with every organ of the arm, the leg, the +trunk, fully expressed; with a manly, kind, intelligent countenance, a +beard uncut, in the vigor of early manhood, he seemed a model which the +statuaries of Greece and Rome desired to see, but did not. He had at +once the bearing of a soldier and the characteristics of a gentleman. He +was ignorant of grammatical rules and definitions, yet his conversation +would have been accepted in good circles of New England society. This +man had his faults, but they were not grievous faults, nor did they in +any manner affect the qualities of which I have spoken.</p> + +<p>This is what nature sometimes does; this is what we should always strive +to do, extending this symmetry, if possible, to the moral as well as to +the intellectual and physical organization. This man is ignorant of +science, of books, of the world of letters, and the world of art, yet we +respect him. Why? Because nature has chosen to illustrate in him her own +principles, power and beauty.</p> + +<p>That we may draw out the qualities of the human<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> mind as they exist, we +must first appreciate our influence upon childhood and youth. Our own +experience is the best evidence of what that influence is. All along our +lives the lessons of childhood return to us. The hills and valleys, the +lakes, rivers, and rivulets, of our early home, come not in clearer +visions before us than do the exhortations to industry, the incentives +to progress, the lessons of learning, and the principles of truth, +uttered and offered by the teachers of early years. In the same way the +lines of the poet, the reflections of the philosopher, the calm truths +of the historian, read once and often carelessly, and for many years +forgotten, return as voices of inspiration, and are evermore with us.</p> + +<p>That the teacher may have influence, his ear must be open to the voice +of truth, and his mouth must be liberal with words of consolation, +encouragement, and advice. He rules in a little world, and the scales of +justice must be balanced evenly in his hands. He should go in and out +before his scholars free from partiality or prejudice; indifferent to +the voice of envy or detraction; shunning evil and emulous of good; +patient of inquiries in the hours of duty; filled with the spirit of +industry in his moments of leisure; gathering up and spreading before +his pupils the choicest gems of literature, art, and science,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> that they +may be early and truly inspired with the love of learning.</p> + +<p>The public school is a little world, and the teacher rules therein. It +contains the rich and the poor, the virtuous and the corrupt, the +studious and the indifferent, the timid and the brave, the fearful and +the hearts elate with hope and courage. Life is there no cheat; it wears +no mask, it assumes no unnatural positions, but presents itself as it +is. Deformed and repulsive in some of its features, yet to him whose eye +is as quick to discover its beauty as its deformity, its harmony as its +discord, there is always a bright spot on which he may gaze, and a fond +hope to which he may cling. Artificial life, whether in the select +school or the select party, tends to weaken our faith in humanity; and a +want of faith in our race is an omen of ill-success in life. Teachers +should have faith in humanity, and should labor constantly to inspire +others with the belief that the true law of our nature is the law of +progress.</p> + +<p>Those who come early in life to the conclusion that the many cannot be +moved by the higher sentiments and ideas which control a few favored +mortals, cease to labor for the advancement of the race. They +consequently lose their hold upon society, and society neglects them. +For such men there can be no success.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p> + +<p>Others, like Jefferson and Channing, never lose confidence in their +species, and their species never lose confidence in them. When the +teacher comes to believe that the world is worse than it was, and never +can be better, he need wait for no other evidence that his days of +usefulness are over.</p> + +<p>The school-room will teach the child, even as the prison will instruct +maturity and age, that few persons are vicious in the extreme, and that +no one lives without some ennobling traits of character and life. The +teacher's faith is the measure of the teacher's usefulness. It is to him +what conception is to the artist; and, if the sculptor can see the image +of grace and beauty in the fresh-quarried marble, so must the teacher +see the full form of the coming man in the trembling child or awkward +youth.</p> + +<p>The teacher ought not to grow old. To be sure, time will lay its hand on +him, as it does on others; but he should always cultivate in himself the +feelings, sentiments, and even ambitions of youth. Far enough removed +from his pupils in age and position to stimulate them by his example, +and encourage them by his precepts, he should yet be so near them that +he can appreciate the steps and struggles which mark their progress in +the path of learning. There must be some points of contact, something +common to teacher and pupils. Indeed, for us all it is true<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> that age +loses nothing of its dignity or respect when it accepts the sentiments +and sports of youth and childhood. But above all should the teacher +remember the common remark of La Place, in his Celestial Mechanics, and +the observation of Dr. Bowditch upon it. "Whenever I meet in La Place +with the words, 'Thus it plainly appears,' I am sure that hours, and +perhaps days, of hard study, will alone enable me to discover <i>how</i> it +plainly appears." The good teacher will seek first to estimate each +scholar's capacity, and then adapt his instructions accordingly. Though +he may be far removed from his pupils in attainments, he should be able +to mark the steps by which ordinary minds pass from common principles to +their noblest application.</p> + +<p>This observation may by some be deemed unnecessary; but there are living +teachers who, having mastered the noblest sciences, are unable to +appreciate and lead ordinary minds.</p> + +<p>The teacher must be in earnest. This is the price of success in every +profession. The law, it is said, is a jealous mistress, and permits no +rivals; the indifferent, careless minister is but a blind leader of the +blind, and the "undevout astronomer is mad."</p> + +<p>Sincerity of soul and earnestness of purpose will achieve success. +According to an eminent author<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>ity, there are three kinds of great men: +those who are born great, those who achieve greatness, and those who +have greatness thrust upon them. If we take greatness of birth to be in +greatness of soul and intellect, and not in the mere accident of +ancestry, it is such only who have greatness thrust upon them; for the +world, after all, rarely makes a mistake in this respect. But there is a +larger and a nobler class, whose greatness, whatever it is, must be +achieved; and to this class I address myself.</p> + +<p>Success is practicable. There need be no failures. A man of reflection +will soon find whether he can succeed in his pursuit; if not, he has +mistaken his calling, or neglected the proper means of success. In +either case, a remedy is at hand. If a teacher is indifferent to his +calling, and cannot bring himself to pursue it with ardor, it is a duty +to himself, to his profession, to his pupils, to abandon it at once. It +is idle to suppose that we are doing good in a work to which we are not +attracted by our sympathies, and in which we are not sustained by our +faith and hopes. The men who succeed are the men who believe that they +can succeed. The men who fail are those to whom success would have been +a surprise. There is no doubt some appropriate pursuit in life for every +man of ordinary talents; but no one can tell whether he has found it for +himself until he has made a vig<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>orous and persistent application of his +powers. If the teacher fail to do this, he need not seek for success in +another profession, when he has already declined to pay its price.</p> + +<p>The choice of a profession is one of the great acts of life. It should +not be done hastily, nor without a careful examination and just +appreciation of the elements of character. A competent teacher may aid +his pupils in this respect. A mistake in occupation is a calamity to the +individual, and an injury to the public. Our school-rooms contain +artists, farmers, mathematicians, mechanics, poets, lawyers, statesmen, +orators, and warriors; but some one must do for them what Shakspeare +says the monarch of the hive has done for all his subjects—assigned +them</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div class="i10">"Officers of sorts;</div> +<div>Where some, like magistrates, correct at home;</div> +<div>Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad;</div> +<div>Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings,</div> +<div>Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds;</div> +<div>Which pillage, they with merry march bring home</div> +<div>To the tent-royal of their emperor;</div> +<div>Who, busied in his majesty, surveys</div> +<div>The singing masons, building roofs of gold;</div> +<div>The civil citizens kneading up the honey;</div> +<div>The poor mechanic porters crowding in</div> +<div>Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate;</div> +<div>The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum,</div> +<div>Delivering o'er to executors pale</div> +<div>The lazy, yawning drone."</div> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>Teachers are so situated that they may give wholesome advice; while +parents—and I say it with respect—are quite likely, under the +influence of an instinctive belief that their children are fitted for +any place within the range of human labor or human ambition, to make +fatal mistakes. While all pursuits and professions, if honest, are +equally honorable, the individual selection must be determined by taste, +circumstances, individual habits, and often by physical facts. It is not +for one person to do everything, but it is for each person to do at +least one thing well. As a general rule, the painter, who has spent his +youth and manhood in studying the canvas, had better not study the +stars; and the artist, who has power to bring the form of life from the +cold marble, has no right to solve problems in geometry, weigh planets, +or calculate eclipses. The proper choice of the business of life may do +much to perfect our social system, and it will certainly advance our +material prosperity. There is everywhere in our civilization mutual +dependence, and there must be mutual support. In no other way can we +advance to our destiny as becomes an enlightened people.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>But all of life and education, either to pupil, teacher, or man, is not +to be found in the school-room. The common period of school-life is +sufficient only for elementary education. The average school-going +period is ten years. Of this, one-half is spent in vacations and +absences, so that each child has about five years of school-life. Only +one-fourth of each day is spent in the school-room; and the continuous +attendance, therefore, is about fifteen months, equal to the time which +most of us give to sleep, every four or five years of our existence. +This view leads me to say again that it is the duty of the teacher in +this brief period to lay a good foundation for subsequent scientific and +classical culture. More than this cannot be accomplished; and, where +this is accomplished, and a taste for learning is formed, and the means +to be employed are comprehended, a satisfactory school-life has been +passed.</p> + +<p>Education—universal education—is a necessity; and, as there is no +royal road to learning, so there is no aristocracy of mental power +depending upon social or pecuniary distinctions. The New England +colonies, and Massachusetts first of all, established the system of +education now called universal or public. It was not then easy to +comprehend the principle which lies at the foundation of a system of +public instruction. We are first to consider that a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> system of public +instruction implies a system of universal taxation. The only rule on +which taxes can be levied justly is that the object sought is of public +necessity, or manifest public convenience. It quite often happens that +men of our own generation are insensible or indifferent to the true +relation of the citizen to the cause of education. Some seem to imagine +that their interest in schools, and of course their moral obligation to +support them, ceases with the education of their own children. This is a +great error. The public has no right to levy a tax for the education of +any particular child, or family of children; but its right of taxation +commences when the education or plan of education is universal, and +ceases whenever the plan is limited, or the operations of the system are +circumscribed.</p> + +<p>No man can be taxed properly because he has children of his own to +educate; this may be a reason with some for cheerful payment, but it has +in itself no element of a just principle. When, however, the people +decide that education is a matter of public concern, then taxation for +its promotion rests upon the same foundation as the most important +departments of a government. Yet, many generations of men came and +passed away before the doctrine was received that, as a public matter, a +man is equally interested in the education of his neighbor's children<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +as in the education of his own. As parents, we have a special interest +in our children; as citizens, it is this, that they may be honest, +industrious, and effective in their labors. This interest we have in all +children.</p> + +<p>The safety of our persons and property demands their honesty; our right +to be exempt from pauper and criminal taxes requires habits of universal +industry; and our part in the general wealth and prosperity is increased +by the intelligent application of manual labor in all the walks of life.</p> + +<p>A man may, indeed, be proud of the attainments of his family, as men are +often proud of their ancestry; yet they possess little real value as a +family possession. The pride of ancestry has no value; it</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div class="i6">"Is like a circle in the water,</div> +<div>Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself</div> +<div>Till, by broad-spreading, it disperse to naught."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>I pass from this digression to the statement that the chief means of +self-improvement are five: Observation, Conversation, Reading, Memory, +and Reflection.</p> + +<p>It is an art to observe well—to go through the world with our eyes +open—to see what is before us. All men do not see alike, nor see the +same things. Our powers of observation take on the hues of daily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> life. +The artist, in a strange city or foreign land, observes only the +specimens of taste and beauty or their opposites; the mechanic studies +anew the principles of his science as applied to the purposes of life; +the architect transfers to his own mind the images of churches, +cathedrals, temples, and palaces; while the philanthropist rejoices in +cellars and lanes, that he may know how poverty and misery change the +face and heart of man.</p> + +<p>An American artist, following the lead of Mr. Jefferson, has beautifully +illustrated the nature of the power of observation. We do not see even +the faces of our common friends alike. The stranger observes a family +likeness which is invisible to the familiar acquaintance. The former +sees only the few points of agreement, and decides upon them; while the +latter has observed and studied the more numerous points of difference, +until he is blind to all others. Hence a portrait may appear true to a +stranger, which, to an intimate acquaintance, is barren in expression, +and destitute of character. Therefore, the artist wisely and properly +esteemed himself successful when his work was approved by the wife or +the mother. The world around us is full of knowledge. We should so +behold it as to be instructed by all that is. The distant star paints +its image on our eye with a ray of light sent forth thousands of years +ago; yet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> its lesson is not of itself, but of the universe and its +mysteries, and of the Creator out of whose divine hand all things have +come.</p> + +<p>Conversation is at once an art, an accomplishment, and a science. It +leads to valuable practical results. It has a place, and by no means an +inferior place, in the schools. Facts stated, questions proposed, or +theories illustrated, in conversation, are permanently impressed upon +the mind. It is in the power of the teacher to communicate much +information in this way, and it is in the power of us all to make +conversation a means of improvement.</p> + +<p>But, when the pupil leaves the school, <i>reading</i>, so systematic and +thorough as to be called study, is, no doubt, the best culture he can +enjoy. In the first place, books are accessible to all, and they may be +had at all times. They can be used in moments of leisure, in solitude, +in the hours when sleep is too proud to wait on us, and when friends are +absent or indifferent to our lot. Conversation may be patronizing, or it +may leave us a debtor; when the book-seller's bill is settled, we have +no account with the author.</p> + +<p>If I am permitted to speak to all, pupils as well as teachers, I am +inclined to say, "Do not consider your education finished when you leave +home and the school." Your labors of a practical sort ought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> then to +commence. With system and care, you may read works of literature and +history, or devote yourself to mathematics in the higher departments of +science. As a general thing, however, it is not wise to attempt too much +at once. The custom of the schools is to require each pupil to attend to +several branches at the same time; but this course cannot be recommended +to adult persons with disciplined minds. It seems better to select one +subject, and make it the leading topic, for a time, of our studies and +thoughts. It may also be proper to suggest that works of fiction, +poetry, and romance, ought not to be read until the mind is well +disciplined, and a good foundation of solid learning is laid. Such works +tend to make one's style of thought and writing easy, flowing, and +agreeable; but they are also calculated to make us dissatisfied with the +more substantial labors of intellectual life. Having obtained the +elements of learning, one thing is absolutely essential—system in +study. I fancy that there are two prevalent errors among us. First, that +men often attain intellectual eminence without study; and, secondly, +that exclusive devotion to books is the price of success. Whoever +neglects study, whatever his natural abilities, will find himself +distanced by inferior men; and, on the other hand, whoever will devote +three hours each day to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> systematic improvement of his mind will +finally be numbered among the leading persons of the age. But, while we +observe, converse, and read, the power of memory and the habit of +reflection should be cultivated. The habit of reflection is a great aid +to the memory, and together they enable us to use the knowledge we daily +acquire.</p> + +<p>No previous age of the world has offered so great encouragement, whether +in fame or money, to men of science and literature, as the present. +Formerly, authors flourished under the patronage of princes, or withered +by their neglect; but now they are encouraged and paid by the people, +and reap where they have sown, whether kings will or not. The poverty of +authors was once proverbial; but now the only authors who are poor are +poor authors. Good learning, integrity, and ability, are well +compensated in all the professions. Some one remarked to Mr. Webster, +"That the profession of the law was crowded."—"Yes," said he, "rather +crowded below, but there is plenty of room above." Littleness and +mediocrity always seek the paths worn by superior men; and the truly +illustrious in literature and science are few in number compared with +those who attempt to tread in the footsteps of their illustrious +predecessors; but none of these things ought to deter young men of +ability, industry, and integrity, from boldly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> entering the lists, +without fear of failure. The world is usually just, and it will +ultimately award the tokens of its approbation to those who deserve +success.</p> + +<p>And there is a happy peculiarity in talent,—the variety is so great +that the competition is small. Of all the living authors, are there two +so alike that they can be considered competitors or rivals? The nation +has applauded and set the seal of its approbation upon the eloquence of +Henry, Otis, Adams, Ames, Pinckney, Wirt, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, +not because these men resembled one another, but because each had +peculiarities and excellences of his own. The same variety of excellence +is seen in living orators, and in all the eloquence and learning of +antiquity which time has spared and history has transmitted to us. It is +said that when Aristides wrote the sentence of his own banishment for a +humble and unknown enemy, the only reason given by the peasant was that +he was "tired with hearing him called the Just." And the world sometimes +appears to be restive under the influence of men of talent; but that +influence, whether always agreeable or not, is both permanent and +beneficial.</p> + +<p>Not only does each generation respect its own leading minds, but it is +submissive to the learning and intellect of other days. The influence of +ancient Greece still remains. We copy her architecture, bor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>row from her +philosophy, admire her poetry, and bow with humility before the remnants +of her majestic literature. So the policy of Rome is perceptible in the +civilization of every European country, and it is a potent element in +the laws and jurisprudence of America. The eloquence of Demosthenes has +been impressed upon every succeeding generation of civilized men; the +genius of Hannibal has stimulated the ambition of warriors from his own +time to that of Napoleon; while Shakspeare's power has been the wonder +of all modern authors and readers. It is a great representative fact in +mental philosophy, which we cannot too much contemplate, that +Demosthenes and Cicero not only enchained the thousands of Greece and +Rome in whose presence they stood, but that their eloquence has had a +controlling influence over myriads to whom the language in which they +spoke was unknown. The words that the houseless Homer sung in the +streets of Smyrna have commanded the admiration of all later times; and +even the mud walls around Plato's garden, on which are preserved the +fragments of statuary with which the garden was once adorned, attract +and instruct the wanderers and students about Athens.</p> + +<p>But let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that we can illustrate +anew the greatness which has distinguished a few men only in all the +long centuries<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> of the world's existence. Be not imitators nor followers +of other men's glory. There is a path for each one, and his duty lies +therein. Yet the leading men of the world are lights which ought not to +be hid from the young, for they serve to show the extent of the field in +which human powers may be employed. The rule of the successful life is +to neglect no present opportunity of good either to yourself or to +others; and the rule of the successful student is to gather information +from whatever source he may, not doubting that it will prove useful to +himself or to his fellow-men.</p> + +<p>Our own age has furnished two men,—one living, the other dead,—quite +opposite in talents and attainments, whose power and influence may not +have been surpassed in ancient or modern times. I speak of Kossuth and +Webster. Our history has no parallel for the first. Most men, young or +old, gay or severe, radical or conservative, were touched by his +mournful strains, and influenced by his magic words. He came from a land +of which we knew little, and so laid open the history of its wrongs that +he enlisted multitudes in its behalf. I speak not now of the views he +presented, nor of the demands he made upon the American people. If he +taught error and asked wrong, so the more wonderful was his career. No +doubt his cause did much for him;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> but other patriots and exiles have +had equal opportunities with Kossuth, yet no one has so swayed the +public mind.</p> + +<p>He was distinguished in intellect, a master of much learning, a man of +nice moral feeling and strong religious sentiments, all of which were +combined and blended in his addresses to the people. But he spoke a +language whose rudiments he first learned in manhood. In his speech he +neglected the chief rule of Grecian eloquence. With one theme, +only,—the wrongs of Hungary; with one object, only,—her relief and +elevation,—he commanded the general attention of the American mind. The +mission of Kossuth in America deserves to be remembered as an +intellectual phenomenon, whose like, we of this generation may not again +see.</p> + +<p>Mr. Webster had never great personal popularity. His presence was +majestic, but forbidding. His manners were agreeable, and sometimes +fascinating to his friends, when he was in a genial mood; but he was +often reserved or even austere to strangers, and terrible to his +enemies. His style of thought was mathematical, his language expressive, +but never popular. He wrote as a man would dictate an essay which was to +appear as a posthumous work. His eloquence was not that which often +passes for eloquence upon the stump or at the bar. He seldom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> attempted +to court the people, and when he did, it was as if he mocked himself, +and scorned the spirit which could be moved by the breezes of popular +favor. He was not free from faults, personal and political; yet he +acquired a control which has not been possessed by any man since +Washington. Whenever he was to speak, the public were anxious to hear +and to read. Hardly any man has had the fortune to present his views in +addresses, letters, and speeches, to so large a portion of his +countrymen; yet the people whom he addressed, and who were anxious for +his words and opinions, did not always, or even generally, agree with +him. Mr. Webster's power was chiefly, if not solely, intellectual. He +had not the personal qualities of Mr. Clay or General Jackson; he was +not, like Mr. Jefferson the chosen exponent of a political creed, and +the admitted leader of a great political party; nor had he the military +character and universally acknowledged patriotism of General Washington, +which made him first in the hearts of his countrymen. Mr. Webster stands +alone. His domain is the intellect, and thus far in America he is +without a rival. To Mr. Webster, and to all men proportionately, +according to the measure of their gifts and attainments, we may apply +his great words: "A superior and commanding human intellect, a truly +great man, when Heaven<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> vouchsafes so rare a gift, is not a temporary +flame, burning brightly for a while, and then giving place to returning +darkness. It is rather a spark of fervent heat, as well as radiant +light, with power to enkindle the common mass of human mind; so that, +when it glimmers in its own decay, and finally goes out in death, no +night follows, but it leaves the world all light, all on fire, from the +potent contact of its own spirit."</p> + +<p>Some humble measure of this greatness may be attained by all; and, if I +have sought to lead you in the way of improvement by considerations too +purely personal and selfish, I will implore you, in conclusion, as +teachers and as citizens, to consider yourselves as the servants of your +country and your race. There can be no real greatness of mind without +generosity of soul. If a superior human intellect seems to be specially +the gift of God, how is he wanting in true religion who fails to +dedicate it to humanity, justice, and virtue!</p> + +<p>An eminent historian, seeing at one view, and as in the present moment, +the fall of great states, ancient and modern, and anticipating a like +fate for his own beloved land, has predicted that in two centuries there +will be three hundred millions of people in North America speaking the +language of England, reading its authors, and glorying in their +descent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> If this be so, what limits can we assign to the work, or how +estimate the duty, of those intrusted with the education of the young?</p> + +<p>Who can say what share of responsibility for the future of America is +upon the teachers of the land?</p> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="LIBERTY_AND_LEARNING" id="LIBERTY_AND_LEARNING"></a>LIBERTY AND LEARNING.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address delivered at Montague, July 4th, 1857.]</h3> + +<p>I congratulate you upon the auspicious moments of this, the eighty-first +anniversary of our National Independence; and its return, now and ever, +should be the occasion of gratitude to the Author of all good, that He +hath vouchsafed to our fathers and to their descendants the wisdom to +establish and the wisdom to preserve the institutions of Liberty in +America.</p> + +<p>And I congratulate you that you accept this anniversary as the occasion +for considering the subject of education. Ignorant and blind worshippers +of Liberty can do but little for its support; but, whatever of change or +decay may come to our institutions, Liberty itself can never die in the +presence of a people universally and thoroughly educated. It is not, +then, inappropriate nor unphilosophical for us to connect Education and +Liberty together; and I therefore propose, after presenting some +thoughts upon the Declaration of Independence, and its relations to the +American Union, to consider the value<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> of political learning, its +neglect, and the means by which it may be promoted.</p> + +<p>The events and epochs of life are logical in their nature, and are +harmonious or inharmonious as the affairs of men are controlled by +principle, policy, or accident. Humboldt, Maury, and Guyot, Arago, +Agassiz, and Pierce, by observation, philosophy, and mathematics, +demonstrate the harmony of the physical creation. In the microscopic +animalculæ; in the gigantic remains, whether vegetable or animal, of +other ages and conditions of life; in the coral reef and the mountain +range; in the hill-side rivulet that makes "the meadows green;" in the +ocean current that bathes and vivifies a continent; in the setting of +the leaf upon its stem, and the moving of Uranus in its orbit, they +trace a law whose harmony is its glory, and whose mystery is the +evidence of its divinity.</p> + +<p>National changes, the movements and progress of the human race, as a +whole and in its parts, are obedient, likewise, to law; and are, +therefore, logical in their character, though generally lacking in +precision of connection and order of succession. Or it may be, rather, +that we lack power to trace the connection between events that depend in +part, at least, upon the prejudices, passions, vices, and weaknesses, of +men. The development of the logic of human affairs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> waits for a +philosopher who shall study and comprehend the living millions of our +race, as the philosophers now study and comprehend the subjects of +physical science. We have no guaranty that this can ever be done. As +mind is above matter, the mental philosopher enters upon the most varied +and difficult field of labor.</p> + +<p>Keeping this fact in mind, it appears to be true that every person of +observation, reading, and reflection, is something of a mental +philosopher, though much the larger number have no knowledge of physical +science. And especially must the student of history have a system of +mental philosophy; but often, no doubt, his system is too crude for +general notice. Every historian connects the events of his narrative by +some thread of philosophy or speculation; every reader observes some +connection, though he may never develop it to himself, between the +events and changes of national and ethnological life; and even the +observer whose vision is limited by his own horizon in time and space +marks a dependence, and speaks of cause and effect. All this follows +from the existence and nature of man. Man is not inert, nor even +passive, merely; and his activity will continually organize itself into +facts and forms, ever changing in character, it may be, yet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> subject to +a law as wise and fixed as that of planetary motion.</p> + +<p>The Independence of the British Colonies in America, declared on the 4th +of July, 1776, is not an isolated fact; nor is the Declaration itself a +hasty and overwrought production of a young and enthusiastic adventurer +in the cause of liberty.</p> + +<p>The passions and the reason of men connected the Declaration of +Independence with the massacre in King-street, of March 5th, 1770; with +the passage and repeal of the Stamp Act; with the attempt to enforce the +Writs of Assistance; with the act to close the port of Boston; with the +peace of 1763; with the Act of Settlement of 1688; with the execution of +Charles I., and the Protectorate of Cromwell; with the death of Hampden; +with the confederation of 1643; with the royal charters granted to the +respective colonies; with the compact made on board the Mayflower; and, +finally, and distinctly, and chiefly,—as the basis of the greatest +legal argument of modern times, made by the Massachusetts House of +Representatives, from 1765 to 1775,—with the events at Runnymede, and +the grant of the Great Charter to the nobles and people of England in +1215, which is itself based upon the concessions of Edward the +Confessor, and the affirmation of the Saxon laws in the eleventh +century. Our Independence is, then,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> one logical fact or event in a long +succession, to the enumeration of which we may yet add the confederation +of 1778, the constitution of 1787, the French Revolution of 1789, the +rapid increase of American territory and States, the revolutionary +spirit of continental Europe, the reforms in the British government at +home, the wise modifications of its colonial policy, and for us a long +career of prosperity based upon the cardinal doctrine of the equality of +all men before the law.</p> + +<p>Nor can any reader of the Declaration itself assume that it contains one +statement, proposition, idea, or word, not carefully considered, and +carefully expressed. It was not the production of hasty, thoughtless, or +reckless men. The country had been gradually prepared for the great +event. States, counties, and towns, had made the most distinct +expressions of opinion upon the relations of the colonies to the mother +country. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, +moved, in the Congress of the United Colonies, a resolution declaring, +That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British crown, and that all political connection between them and the +state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. The +subject was considered on the tenth;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> and, on the eleventh instant, the +committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Dr. Franklin, +Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed. On the +twenty-fifth of June, a Declaration of the Deputies of Pennsylvania, in +favor of Independence, was read. On the twenty-eighth, the credentials +of the delegates from New Jersey, in which they were instructed to favor +Independence, were presented; and on the first of July similar +instructions to the Maryland delegates were laid before Congress. At +this time Congress proceeded to consider the Declaration and resolution +reported by the committee. The Declaration was carefully considered, and +materially amended in committee of the whole, on the first, second, +third, and fourth, when it was finally adopted. It was then signed by +the president and secretary, and copies were transmitted to the several +colonies. The order for its engrossment, and for the signature by every +member, was not passed until the nineteenth of July, and it was not +really signed until the second of August following. It is not likely, +considering the circumstances, and the known character of the members of +Congress, among whom may be mentioned John Hancock, Samuel Adams, +Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris, Benjamin Harrison, Elbridge Gerry, John +Witherspoon, a descendant of John Knox, the Scot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>tish Reformer, Charles +Carroll, and Samuel Huntington,—all distinguished for coolness, +probity, and patriotism,—that the immortal document can contain one +thought or word unworthy its sacred associations, and the character of +the American people!</p> + +<p>And it is among the alarming symptoms of public sentiment that the +Declaration of Independence is by some publicly condemned, and by others +quietly accepted as entitled to just the consideration, and no more, +that is given to an excited advocate's speech to a jury, or a +demagogue's electioneering harangue, or the daily contribution of the +partisan editor to the stock of political capital that aids the election +of his favorite candidates. And upon this evidence is the nation and the +world to be taught that but little was meant by the assertions, "that +all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with +certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are +instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the +governed"? Would it not be wiser to test the government we have, by a +statesmanlike application of the principles of the Declaration of +Independence in the management of public affairs?</p> + +<p>The Union is connected with the Declaration of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> Independence. The Union +is an institution: the Declaration of Independence is an assertion of +rights, and an exposition of principles. When principles are +disregarded, institutions do not, for any considerable time, retain +their original value. And it would be the folly of other nations, +without excuse in us, were we to worship blindly any institution, +whatever its origin or its history. I do not, myself, doubt the value of +the American Union. It was the necessity of the time when it was formed; +it is the necessity of the present moment; it was, indeed, the claim of +our whole colonial life, and its recognition could be postponed no +longer when the colonies crossed the threshold of national existence.</p> + +<p>The colonies had carried on a correspondence among themselves upon +important matters; the New England settlements formed a confederation in +1643, that was the prototype of the present Union; and the convention at +Albany, in 1754, considered in connection with various resolutions and +declarations, indicated a growing desire "to form a more perfect union, +establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common +defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of +liberty" to the successive generations that should occupy the American +continent.</p> + +<p>For these exalted purposes the Constitution was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> framed, and the Union +established; and the Constitution and the Union will remain as long as +these exalted purposes, with any considerable share of fidelity, are +secured. The Union will not be destroyed by declamation, nor can +declamation preserve it. Words have power only when they awaken a +response in the minds of those who listen. The Union will be judged, +finally, by its merits; and they are not powerful enemies for evil who +attack it through the press and from the rostrum; but rather they who, +clothed with authority, brief or permanent, interpret the constitution +so as to defeat the end for which it was framed. Nor are they the best +friends of the Union who lavishly bestow upon it nicely-wrought +encomiums, as though the gilding of rhetoric and the ornament of praise +could shield a human institution from the judgment of a free people; but +rather they who, under Heaven, and in the presence of men, seek to so +interpret the constitution as, in the language and in the order of its +preamble, "to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure +domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the +general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty" to themselves and +their posterity. Words are powerless, and enemies—envious, jealous, or +deluded—are powerless, when they war upon a system of government that +secures such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> exalted results. And, if in these later days of our +national existence patriotism has been weakened, respect and reverence +for the constitution and the Union have been diminished, it is because +the actual government under the constitution has, in the judgment of +many, failed to realize the government of the constitution.</p> + +<p>But let no one despair of the Republic. Men are now building better than +they know; possibly, better than they wish. A great government, powerful +in its justice, and therefore to be respected and maintained, must also +be powerful in its errors, prejudices, and wrongs, and therefore to be +changed and reformed in these respects. The declaration "that all men +are created equal" is vital, and will live in the presence of all +governments, strong as well as weak, hostile as well as friendly. It has +no respect for worldly authority, so evidently is it a direct emanation +of the Divine Mind, and so does it harmonize with the highest +manifestations of the nature of man. But the Declaration of Independence +does not, in this particular, assert that all men are created equal in +height or weight, equal in physical strength, intellectual power, or +moral worth. It is not dealing with these qualities at all, but with the +natural political rights and relations of men. In its view, all are born +free from any political subordi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>nation to others on account of the +accidents or incidents of family or historic name. And hence it follows +that no man, by birth or nature, has any right in political affairs to +control his fellow-man; and hence it follows further, as there is +neither subjection anywhere nor authority anywhere, that all men are +created equal, that governments derive their "just powers from the +consent of the governed." And hence it must, ere long, be demonstrated +by this country, under the light of Christianity, and in the presence of +the world, that man cannot have property in his fellow-man.</p> + +<p>And, again, let no one despair of the Republic or of the Union; nor let +any, with rash confidence, believe that they are indestructible. They +are human institutions built up through great sacrifices, and by the +exercise of a high order of worldly wisdom. But the government is not an +end—it is a means. The end is Liberty regulated by law; and the means +will exist as long as the end thereof is attained. But, should the time +ever come when the institutions of the country fail to secure the +blessings of liberty to the living generation, and hold out no promise +of better things in the future, I know not that these institutions could +longer exist, of that they ought longer to exist. To be sure, the +horizon is not always distinctly seen. The sky is not always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> clear; +there are dark spots upon the disk of Liberty, as upon the sun in the +heavens; but, like the sun, its presence is for all. And, whether there +be night, or clouds, or distance, its blessings can never be wholly +withdrawn from the human race.</p> + +<p>It is not to be concealed, however, that the affections of the people +have been alienated from the American Union during the last seven years, +as they were from the union with Great Britain during the years of our +colonial life immediately previous to the Massacre in King-street, in +1770. This solemn personal and public experience is fraught with a great +lesson. It should teach those who are intrusted with the administration +of public affairs to translate the language of the constitution into the +stern realities of public policy, in the light of the Declaration of +Independence, and of Liberty; and it should warn those who constitute +the government, and who judge it, not to allow their opposition to men +or to measures to degenerate into indifference or hostility to the +institutions of the country.</p> + +<p>A little distrust of ourselves, who see not beyond our own horizon, +might sometimes lend charity to our judgment, and discretion to our +opposition; for, in the turmoil of politics, and the contests of +statesmanship, even, it is not always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div class='i1'>"——the sea that sinks and shelves,</div> +<div class='i1'>But ourselves,</div> +<div>That rook and rise</div> +<div class='i1'>With endless and uneasy motion,</div> +<div>Now touching the very skies,</div> +<div class='i1'>Now sinking into the depths of ocean."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>And, as there must be in every society of men something of evil that can +be traced to the government, and something of good neglected that a wise +and efficient government might have accomplished, it is easy to build up +an argument against an existing government, however good when compared +with others. This is a narrow, superficial, unsatisfactory, dangerous +view to take of public affairs.</p> + +<p>We should seek to comprehend the relations of the government, the +principles on which it is founded; and, while we justly complain of its +defects, and seek to remedy them, we ought also to compare it with other +systems that exist, or that might be established. This proposition +involves an intelligent realization by the people of the character of +their institutions; and I am thus led to express the apprehension that +the popular political education of our day is inferior to that of the +revolutionary era, and of the age that immediately succeeded it.</p> + +<p>There is, no doubt, a disposition and a tendency to extol the recent +past. The recollections of childhood are quite at variance with the real +truth, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> tradition is often the dream of old age concerning the +events of early life. As rivers, hills, mountains, roads, and towns, are +all magnified by the visions of childhood, it is not strange that men +should be also. Hence comes, in part, the popular belief in the superior +physical strength and greater longevity of the people who lived fifty or +a hundred years ago. Each generation is familiar with its predecessor; +but of the one next remote it knows only the marked characters. Those +who possessed great physical excellences remain; but they are not so +much the representatives of their generation as its exceptions. The +weak, the diseased, have fallen by the way; and, as there is an intimate +connection between physical and intellectual power, the remnant of any +generation, whatever its common character, will retain a +disproportionate number of strong-minded men. Hence it is not safe to +judge a generation as a whole by those who remain at the age of sixty or +seventy years; especially if we reflect that public opinion and +tradition are most likely to preserve the names and qualities of those +who were distinguished for physical or mental power. Yet, after making +due allowance for these exaggerations, I cannot escape the conclusion +that we have, as a people, deteriorated in average sound political +learning; and I proceed to mention some of the causes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> and evidences of +our degeneracy, and of the superiority of our ancestors.</p> + +<p>I. <i>The political condition of the country has been essentially +changed.</i>—General personal and family comfort, according to the ideas +now entertained, was not a feature of American society for one hundred +and seventy years from the settlement at Plymouth. Life was a continual +contest—a contest with the forest, with the climate, with the Indians, +and especially was it a continual contest with the mother country. The +colonists sought to maintain their own rights without infringement, +while they accorded to the sovereign his constitutional privileges. +Conflicts were frequent, and apprehensions of conflict yet more +frequent. Hence those who had the conduct of public affairs were +compelled to give some attention to English history, and to the +constitutional law of Great Britain. Moreover, it was always important +to secure and keep a strong public sentiment on the side of liberty; and +there were usually in every town men who thoroughly investigated +questions of public policy. There was one topic, more absorbing than any +other, that involved the study of the legal history and usage of Great +Britain, and a careful consideration of the general principles of +liberty; namely, the constitutional rights of a British subject. Here +was a broad field<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> for inquiry, investigation, and study; and it was +faithfully cultivated and gleaned. There has never been a political +topic for public discussion in America more important in itself, or +better calculated to educate an American in a knowledge of his political +rights, than the examination of the political relations of the subject +to the crown and parliament of Great Britain previous to the Declaration +of Independence. It was not an abstraction. It had a practical value to +every man in the colonies, and it was the prominent feature of the +masterly exposition made by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, +to which I have already referred. And we can better estimate the +political education which the times furnished, when we consider that the +revolutionary war was made logical and necessary through a knowledge of +positions, facts, and arguments, scattered over the history of the +colonies. But, when our Independence had been established and +recognized, constitutions had been framed, and the governments of the +states and nation set in motion, the beauty and harmony of our political +system seemed to render continued attention to political principles and +the rights of individual men unnecessary. Hence, we may anticipate the +judgment of impartial history in the admission that public attention was +gradually given to contests for office which did not always involve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> the +maintenance of a fundamental principle of government, or the recognition +of an essential human right. It does not, however, follow, from this +admission, that we are indifferent to our political lot,—occasional +contests upon principle refute such a conjecture,—but that men are not +anxious concerning those things which appear to be secure. And the +differences of political parties of the last fifty years have not been +so much concerning the nature of human rights, as in regard to the +institutions by which those rights can be best protected. Therefore our +political questions have been questions of expediency rather than of +principle. And, if there is any foundation for the popular impression +that public offices are conferred on men less eminently qualified to +give dignity to public employments, the reason of this degeneracy—less +noteworthy than it is usually represented—is to be found in this +connection.</p> + +<p>Governments and political organizations accept the common law of +society. When an individual or a corporation is prosperous, places of +trust and emolument are often gained and occupied by unworthy men; but, +when profits are diminished, or when they disappear entirely; when +dividends are passed, when loss and bankruptcy are imminent, then, if +hope and courage still remain, places of importance are filled by the +appointment of abler and worthier men.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> The charge made against official +character, to whatever extent true, is better evidence of confidence and +prosperity than it is of the degeneracy of the people; and a public +exigency, serious and long-continued, would call to posts of +responsibility the highest talent and integrity which the country could +produce. But it is, nevertheless, to be admitted as a necessary +consequence of the facts already stated, and the views presented, that +the average amount of sound political learning among those engaged in +public employments is less than it was during the revolutionary era. It +is, however, also to be observed, that, when such learning seems to be +specially required, the people demand it and secure it. Hence the work +of framing constitutions, even in the new states, has, in its execution, +commanded the approval of political writers in this country and in +Europe. And it must, also, be admitted that peace and prosperity render +sound political learning and great experience less necessary, and at the +same time multiply the number of men who are considered eligible to +office. Candidates are put in nomination and elected because they have +been good neighbors, honorable citizens, competent teachers of youth, or +faithful spiritual guides; or, possibly, because they have been +successful in business, are of the military or of the fire department, +or because they are leaders<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> and benefactors of special classes of +society. In ordinary times these facts are all worthy of consideration +and real deference; but when, as in the Revolution, every place of +public service is a post of responsibility, or sacrifice, or danger, +candidates and electors will not meet upon these grounds, but, +disregarding such circumstances, the canvass will have special reference +to the work to be done. For civil employments, political learning and +experience are required; and for military posts, skill, sagacity, and +courage. It may be said that our whole colonial life was a preparatory +school for the revolutionary contest; and, therefore, the major part of +the enterprise, ambition, and patriotism, of the country, was given to +the training, studies, and pursuits, calculated to fit men for so stern +a struggle. But now that other avenues are inviting in themselves, and +promise political preferment, we are liable to the criticism that our +young men, well educated in the schools and in a knowledge of the world, +are not well grounded in political history and constitutional law, +without which there can be no thorough and comprehensive statesmanship. +And, as I pass from this branch of my subject, I may properly say that I +do not seek to limit the number of candidates for public office; for +every office is a school, and the public itself is a great and wise +teacher. Nor do I ask any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> to abandon the employments and duties, or to +neglect the claims of business and of social life; but I seek to impress +upon our youth a sense of the importance of adding something thereto. +The knowledge of which I have spoken is valuable in the ordinary course +of public business, and absolutely essential in the exigences of +political and national life. And it is with an eye single to the +happiness of individuals, and the welfare of the public, that I invite +my fellow-citizens, and especially the young men of the state, to take +something from the hours of labor, where labor is excessive; or +something from amusement, where amusement has ceased to be recreation; +or something from light reading, which often is neither true, nor +reasonable, nor useful; or something from indolence and dissipation; +and, in the minutes and hours thus gained, treasure up valuable +knowledge for the circumstances and exigences of citizenship and public +office.</p> + +<p>II. <i>The claims of business and society are unfavorable to political +learning.</i>—I assume it to be true of Massachusetts that the proportion +of freehold farmers to the whole population is gradually diminishing, +and that the amount of labor performed by each is gradually increasing. +From the settlement of the country to the commencement of the present +century, there was a great deal of privation, hardship,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> and positive +suffering; but the claim for continuous labor was not exacting.</p> + +<p>The necessary articles of food and clothing were chiefly supplied from +the land, and the majority did not contemplate any great accumulation of +worldly goods, but sought rather to place their political and religious +privileges upon a sure foundation. Agriculture was in a rude state, and +consequently did not furnish steady employment to those engaged in it. +It is only when there are valuable markets, scientific, or at least +careful cultivation, and large profits, that the farmer can use his +evenings and long winters in his profession. These circumstances did not +exist until the present century; and we have thus in this discussion +found both the motive and the opportunity for political learning among +our ancestors.</p> + +<p>It is also possible that the increased activity of business and business +men is unfavorable to those studies and thoughts that are essential to +political learning. Commerce and trade are stimulated by never-ceasing +competition; and manufacturers are not free from the influence of +markets, and the necessity of variety, taste, and skill, in the +management of their business. If the larger share of the physical and +mental vigor of a man is given to business, his hours of leisure must be +hours of relaxation; and to most minds the study of history and of +kindred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> topics is by no means equivalent to recreation. Moreover, +society presents numerous claims which are not easily disregarded. +Fashionable life puts questions that but few people have the courage to +answer in the negative. Have you read the last novel? the new play? the +reviews of the quarter? the magazines of the month? or the greatest +satire of the age? These questions have puzzled many young men into +customary neglect of useful reading, that they may not admit their +ignorance in the presence of those whom they respect or admire.</p> + +<p>But, everything valuable is expensive, and learning can be secured only +by severe self-sacrifice. With our ancestors, after religious culture, +historical and political reading was next immediately before them; but +the youth of this generation who seek such learning are compelled to +make their way without deference to the daily customs of society. There +is no fashionable or tolerated society that invites young men to read +the history of England prior to the time when Macaulay begins. Nor does +public sentiment recommend De Lolme on the British constitution, the +Federalist, the writings of Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, Story, and +Webster, upon the constitution of the United States, and the practice of +the government under it. Not but that these topics are considered in the +higher institutions of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> learning; but I address myself to those who have +enjoyed the advantages of our common schools only, where thorough +instruction in national and general political history cannot be given. +This kind of learning must be self-acquired, and acquired by some +temporary sacrifice; and the sooner, in the case of every young man, +this sacrifice is contemplated and offered, the more acceptable and +useful it will be. And the acquisition of this kind of learning does +not, in a majority of cases, admit of delay. It should be the work of +youth and early manhood. The duties of life are so constant and pressing +that we find it difficult to abstract ourselves and our thoughts from +the world; but, from the age of sixteen to the age of twenty-five, the +attention may be concentrated upon special subjects, and their elements +mastered.</p> + +<p>By the Athenian law, minority terminated at the age of sixteen years; +and Demosthenes, at that period of his life, commenced a course of +self-education by which he became the first orator of Athens, and the +admiration of the after-world. The father of Demosthenes died worth +fourteen talents; and the son, though defrauded by his guardians, was, +as his father had been, enrolled in the wealthiest class of citizens; +yet he did not hesitate to subject him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>self to the severest mental and +physical discipline, in preparation for the great life he was to lead.</p> + +<p>"Demosthenes received, during his youth, the ordinary grammatical and +rhetorical education of a wealthy Athenian.... It appears also that he +was, from childhood, of sickly constitution and feeble muscular frame; +so that, partly from his own disinclination, partly from the solicitude +of his mother, he took little part, as boy or youth, in the exercises of +the palæstra.... Such comparative bodily disability probably contributed +to incite his thirst for mental and rhetorical acquisitions, as the only +road to celebrity open. But it at the same time disqualified him from +appropriating to himself the full range of a comprehensive Grecian +education, as conceived by Plato, Isokrates, and Aristotle; an education +applying alike to thought, word, and action—combining bodily strength, +endurance, and fearlessness, with an enlarged mental capacity, and a +power of making it felt by speech.</p> + +<p>"The disproportion between the physical energy and the mental force of +Demosthenes, beginning in childhood, is recorded and lamented in the +inscription placed on his statue after his death.... Demosthenes put +himself under the teaching of Isæus; ... and also profited largely by +the discourse of Plato, of Isokrates, and others. As an ardent +as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>pirant, he would seek instruction from most of the best sources, +theoretical as well as practical—writers as well as lecturers. But, +besides living teachers, there was one of the last generation who +contributed largely to his improvement. He studied Thucydides with +indefatigable labor and attention; according to one account, he copied +the whole history eight times over with his own hand; according to +another, he learnt it all by heart, so as to be able to rewrite it from +memory, when the manuscript was accidentally destroyed. Without minutely +criticizing these details, we ascertain, at least, that Thucydides was +the peculiar object of his study and imitation. How much the composition +of Demosthenes was fashioned by the reading of Thucydides, reproducing +the daring, majestic, and impressive phraseology, yet without the +overstrained brevity and involutions of that great historian,—and +contriving to blend with it a perspicuity and grace not inferior to +Lysias,—may be seen illustrated in the elaborate criticism of the +rhetor Dionysius.</p> + +<p>"While thus striking out for himself a bold and original style, +Demosthenes had still greater difficulties to overcome in regard to the +external requisites of an orator. He was not endowed by nature, like +Æschines, with a magnificent voice; nor, like Demades, with a ready flow +of vehement improvisation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> His thoughts required to be put together by +careful preparation; his voice was bad, and even lisping; his breath +short; his gesticulation ungraceful; moreover, he was overawed and +embarrassed by the manifestations of the multitude.... The energy and +success with which Demosthenes overcame his defects, in such manner as +to satisfy a critical assembly like the Athenians, is one of the most +memorable circumstances in the general history of self-education. +Repeated humiliation and repulse only spurred him on to fresh solitary +efforts for improvement. He corrected his defective elocution by +speaking with pebbles in his mouth; he prepared himself to overcome the +noise of the assembly by declaiming in stormy weather on the sea-shore +of Phalerum; he opened his lungs by running, and extended his powers of +holding breath by pronouncing sentences in marching up-hill; he +sometimes passed two or three months without interruption in a +subterranean chamber, practising night and day either in composition or +declamation, and shaving one-half of his head in order to disqualify +himself from going abroad."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Yet all this effort and sacrifice were +accompanied by repeated and humiliating failures; and it was not until +he was twenty-seven years of age that the great orator of the world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> +achieved his first success before the Athenian assembly.</p> + +<p>But how can the youth of this age hope to be followers, even at a +distance, of Demosthenes, and of those his peers, who, by eloquence, +poetry, art, science, and general learning, have added dignity to the +race, and given lustre to generations separated by oceans and centuries, +unless they are animated by a spirit of progress, and cheered by a faith +that shall be manifested in the disposition and the power to overcome +the obstacles that lie in every one's path?</p> + +<p>Such a course of training requires individual effort and personal +self-sacrifice. It would not be wise to follow the plan of the Athenian +orator; he adapted his training to his personal circumstances, and the +customs of the country. His history is chiefly valuable for the lessons +of self-reliance, and the example of perseverance under discouragements, +that it furnishes. But it is always a solemn duty to hold up before +youth noble models of industry, perseverance, and success, that they may +be stimulated to the work of life by the assurance of history that,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,</div> +<div class='i1'>Is our destined end or way;</div> +<div>But to act, that each to-morrow</div> +<div class='i1'>Find us further than to-day."</div> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>III. <i>The popular reading of the day does not contribute essentially to +the education of the citizen and statesman.</i>—It is not, of course, +expected that every man is to qualify himself for the life of a +statesman; but it does seem necessary for all to be so well instructed +in political learning as to possess the means of forming a reasonable +and philosophical opinion of the policy of the government. It is as +discreditable to the intellect and judgment of a free people to complain +of that which is right in itself, and rests upon established principles +of right, as to submit without resistance or murmur to usurpation or +misgovernment. I do not mean to undervalue the periodical press; but it +must always assume something in regard to its readers, and in politics +it must assume that the principles of government and the history of +national institutions are known and understood.</p> + +<p>But the young man should subject himself to a systematic course of +training; and I know of nothing more valuable in political studies than +a thorough acquaintance with English history. Our principles of +government were derived from England; and it is in the history of the +mother country that the best discussion of principles is found, as in +that country many of the contests for liberty occurred. But, as our +government is the outgrowth rather than a copy of British principles and +institutions, the American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> citizen is not prepared for his duties until +he has made himself familiar with American history, in all its +departments. How ill-suited, then, for the duties of citizenship and +public life, in the formation of taste and habits of thought, is much of +the reading of the present time! And I may here call attention to the +fact that each town in Massachusetts is invested with authority to +establish a public library by taxation. This, it seems to me, is one of +the most important legislative acts of the present decennial period; +and, indeed, a public library is essential to the view I am taking of +the necessity and importance of political education. Private libraries +exist, but they are not found in every house, nor can every person enjoy +their advantages. Public libraries are open to all; and, when the +selection of books is judicious, they furnish opportunities for +education hardly less to be prized than the common schools themselves. +The public library is not only an aid to general learning, a contributor +to political intelligence and power, but it is an efficient supporter of +sound morals, and all good neighborhood among men.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>If the public will not offer to its youth valuable reading, such as its +experience, its wisdom, its knowledge of the claims of society, its +morality may select, shall the public complain if its young men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> and +women are tempted by frivolous and pernicious mental occupations? It is, +moreover, the duty of the public to furnish the means of self-education, +especially in the science of government; and political learning, for the +most part, must be gained after the school-going period of life has +passed.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>Let American liberty be an intelligent liberty, and therefore a +self-sustaining liberty. Freedom, more or less complete, has been found +in two conditions of life. Man, in a rude state, where his condition +seemed to be normal, rather than the result of a process of mental and +moral degeneracy, has often possessed a large share of independence; but +this should by no means be confounded with what in America is called +liberty. The independence of the savage, or nomad, is manifested in the +absence of law; but the liberty of an American citizen is the power to +do whatever may be beneficial to himself, and not injurious to his +neighbor nor to the state. The first leaves self-protection and +self-regulation to the individual, while the latter restrains the +aggressive tendencies of all for the security of each. The first is +natural equality without law; the second is natural equality before the +law. With the first, might makes right; with the latter, right makes +might. With the first, the power of the law, or of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> the will of an +individual or clan, is in the rigor and success of execution; with the +latter, the power of the law is in the justice of its demand. We, as a +people, have passed the savage and nomadic state, and can return to it +only after a long and melancholy process of decay and change, out of +which ultimately might come a new and savage race of men. This, then, is +not our immediate, even if it be a possible danger. But we are to guard +against intellectual, political, and moral degeneracy. We are, through +family, religious, and public education, to take security of the +childhood and youth of the land for the preservation of the institutions +we have, and for the growth, greatness, and justice, of the republic. +Liberty in America, if you will admit the distinction, is a growth and +not a creation. The institutions of liberty in America have the same +character. By many centuries of trial, struggle, and contest, through +many years of experience, sometimes joyous, and sometimes sad, the fact +and the institutions of liberty in America have been evolved. It has not +been a work of destruction and creation, but a process of change and +progress. And so it must ever be. Reformation does not often follow +destruction; and they who seek to destroy the institutions of a country +are not its friends in fact, however they may be in purpose. Ignorance +can destroy, but intelligence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> is required to reform or build up. Let +the prejudice against learning, not common now, but possibly existing in +some minds, be forever banished. Learning is the friend of liberty. Of +this America has had evidence in her own history, and in her observation +of the experience of others. The literary institutions and the +cultivated men of America, like Milton and Hampden in England, preferred</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"Hard liberty before the easy yoke</div> +<div>Of servile pomp."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>It was the intelligence of the country that everywhere uttered and +everywhere accepted the declaration of the town of Boston, in the +revolutionary struggle, "We can endure poverty, but we disdain slavery." +Ignorance is quicksand on which no stable political structure can be +built; and I predict the future greatness of our beloved state, in those +historical qualities that outlast the ages, from the fact that she is +not tempted by her extent of territory, salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or by the presence and promise of any natural source of wealth, +to falter in her devotion to learning and liberty. And I anticipate for +Massachusetts a career of influence beneficial to all, whether disputed +or accepted, when I reflect that, with less good fortune in the presence +and combination of learning and lib<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>erty, Greece, Rome, Venice, Holland, +and England, enjoyed power disproportionate to their respective +populations, territory, and natural resources. And, while the object for +which we are convened may pardon something to local attachments and +state pride, the day and the occasion ought not to pass without a +grateful and hearty acknowledgment of the interest manifested by other +states and sections in the cause of general learning, and especially in +common-school education. The Canadas are our rivals; the states of the +West are our rivals; the states of the South are our rivals; and, were +our greater experience and better opportunities reckoned against us, I +know not that there would be much in our systems of education of which +we could properly boast. It is, indeed, possible that North Carolina, +untoward circumstances having their due weight, has made more progress +in education, since 1840, than any other state of the Union.</p> + +<p>Education is not only favorable to liberty, but, when associated with +liberty, it is the basis of the Union and power of the American states. +As citizens of the republic, we need a better knowledge of our national +institutions, a better knowledge of the institutions of the several +states, a more intimate acquaintance with one another, and the power of +judging wisely and justly the policies and measures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> of each and all. +These ends, aided or accomplished by general learning, will so +strengthen the Union as no force of armies can—will so strengthen the +Union as that by no force of armies can it be overthrown.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Grote's Hist., vol. xi., p. 266, et seq.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="MASSACHUSETTS_SCHOOL_FUND" id="MASSACHUSETTS_SCHOOL_FUND"></a>MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND.</h2> + +<h3>[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the Board of Education.]</h3> + +<p>The Massachusetts School Fund was established by the Legislature of 1834 +(stat. 1834, chap. 169), and it was provided by the act that all moneys +in the treasury on the first of January, 1835, derived from the sale of +lands in the State of Maine, and from the claim of the state on the +government of the United States for military services, and not otherwise +appropriated, together with fifty per centum of all moneys thereafter to +be received from the sale of lands in Maine, should be appropriated to +constitute a permanent fund, for the aid and encouragement of Common +Schools. It was provided that the fund should never exceed one million +of dollars, and that the income only should be appropriated to the +object in view. The mode of distribution was referred to a subsequent +Legislature. It was, however, provided that a greater sum should never +be paid to any city or town than was raised therein for the support of +common schools. There are two points in the law<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> that deserve +consideration. First, the object of the fund was the aid and +encouragement of the schools, and not their support; and secondly, the +limit of appropriation to the respective towns was the amount raised by +each. There is an apparent inconsistency in this restriction when it is +considered that the income of the entire fund would have been equal to +only forty-three cents for each child in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and that each town raised, annually, by +taxation, a larger sum; but this inconsistency is to be explained by the +fact that the public sentiment, as indicated by resolves reported by the +same committee for the appointment of commissioners on the subject, +tended to a distribution of money among the towns according to their +educational wants.</p> + +<p>As early as 1828, the Committee on Education of the House of +Representatives, in a Report made by Hon. W. B. Calhoun, declared, "That +means should be devised for the establishment of a fund having in view +not the <i>support</i>, but the <i>encouragement</i>, of the common schools, and +the instruction of school teachers." This report was made in the month +of January, and in February following the same committee say: "The +establishment of a fund should look to the support of an institution for +the instruction of school teachers in each county in the common<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>wealth, +and to the distribution, annually, to all the towns, of such a sum for +the benefit of the schools as shall simply operate as an encouragement +to proportionate efforts on the part of the towns. A fund which should +be so large as to suffice for the support of the whole school +establishment of the state, as is the case in Connecticut, would, in the +opinion of the committee, be rather detrimental than advantageous; it +would only serve to draw off from the mass of the community that +animating interest which will ever be found indispensable where a +resolute feeling upon the subject is wished for or expected. Such a +result is, in every sense, to be deprecated, and whatever may tend to +it, even remotely, should be anxiously avoided. A fund which should +admit of the distribution of one thousand dollars to any town which +should raise three thousand dollars, in any manner within itself, or in +that proportion, would operate as a strong incentive to high efforts; +and, if to this should be added the further requisition of a faithful +return to the Legislature, annually, of the condition of the schools, +the consequences could not be otherwise than decidedly favorable." This +report was accompanied by a bill "for the establishment of the +Massachusetts Literary Fund." The bill followed the report in regard to +the proportionate amount of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> the income of the fund to be distributed to +the several towns. This bill failed to become a law.</p> + +<p>In January, 1833, the House of Representatives, under an order +introduced by Mr. Marsh, of Dalton, appointed a committee "to consider +the expediency of investing a portion of the proceeds of the sales of +the lands of this commonwealth in a permanent fund, the interest of +which should be annually applied, as the Legislature should from time to +time direct, for the encouragement of common schools." The adoption of +this order was the incipient measure that led to the establishment of +the Massachusetts School Fund. On the twenty-third of the same month, +Mr. Marsh submitted the report of the committee. The committee acted +upon the expectation that all moneys then in the treasury derived from +the sale of public lands, and the entire proceeds of all subsequent +sales, were to be set apart as a fund for the encouragement of common +schools; but, as blanks were left in the bill reported, they seem not to +have been sanguine of the liberality of the Legislature. The cash and +notes on hand amounted to $234,418.32, and three and a half millions of +acres of land unsold amounted, at the estimated price of forty cents per +acre, to $1,400,000 more; making together a fund with a capital of +$1,634,418.32. The income was estimated at $98,065.09. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> also +stated that there were 140,000 children in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and it was therefore expected that the income of +the fund would permit a distribution to the towns of seventy cents for +each child between the afore-named ages. This certainly was a liberal +expectation, compared with the results that have been attained. The +distributive share of each child has amounted to only about one-third of +the sum then contemplated. The committee were careful to say, "It is not +intended, in establishing a school fund, to relieve towns and parents +from the principal expense of education; but to manifest our interest +in, and to give direction, energy, and stability to, institutions +essential to individual happiness and the public welfare." In +conclusion, the committee make the following inquiries and suggestions:</p> + +<p>"Should not our common schools be brought nearer to their constitutional +guardians? Shall we not adopt measures which shall bind, in grateful +alliance, the youth to the governors of the commonwealth? We consider +the application, annually, of the interest of the proposed fund, as the +establishment of a direct communication betwixt the Legislature and the +schools; as each representative can carry home the bounty of the +government, and bring back from the schools returns of gratitude and +pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>ficiency. They will then cheerfully render all such information as +the Legislature may desire. A new spirit would animate the community, +from which we might hope the most happy results. This endowment would +give the schools consequence and character, and would correct and +elevate the standard of education.</p> + +<p>"Therefore, to preserve the purity, extend the usefulness, and +perpetuate the benefits of intelligence, we recommend that a fund be +constituted, and the distribution of the income so ordered as to open a +direct and more certain intercourse with the schools; believing that by +this measure their wants would be better understood and supplied, the +advantages of education more highly appreciated and improved, and the +blessings of wisdom, virtue, and knowledge, carried home to the fireside +of every family, to the bosom of every child." The bill reported by this +committee was read twice, and then, upon Mr. Marsh's motion, referred to +the next Legislature.</p> + +<p>In 1834, the bill from the files of the last General Court to establish +the Massachusetts School Fund, and so much of the petition of the +inhabitants of Seekonk as related to the same subject, were referred to +the Committee on Education.</p> + +<p>In the month of February, Hon. A. D. Foster, of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> Worcester, chairman of +the committee, made a report, and submitted a bill which was the basis +of the law of March 31, 1834. The committee were sensible of the +importance of establishing a fund for the encouragement of the common +schools. These institutions were languishing for support, and in a great +degree destitute of the public sympathy. There were no means of +communication between the government and the schools, and in some +sections towns and districts had set themselves resolutely against all +interference by the state. In 1832, an effort was made to ascertain the +amount raised for the support of schools. Returns were received from +only ninety-nine towns, showing an annual average expenditure of one +dollar and ninety-eight cents for each pupil.</p> + +<p>The interest in this subject does not seem to have been confined to the +Legislature, nor even to have originated there. The report of the +committee contains an extract from a communication made by Rev. William +C. Woodbridge, then editor of the <i>American Annals of Education and +Instruction</i>. His views were adopted by the committee, and they +corresponded with those which have been already quoted. The dangers of a +large fund were presented, and the example of Connecticut, and some +states of the West, where school funds had diminished rather than +increased the public interest in education, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> tendered as a warning +against a too liberal appropriation of public money. On the other hand, +Mr. Woodbridge claimed that the establishment of a fund which should +encourage efforts rather than supply all wants, and, without sustaining +the schools, give aid to the people in proportion to their own +contributions, was a measure indispensable to the cause of education. He +also referred to the experience of New Jersey, which had made a general +appropriation to be paid to those towns that should contribute for the +support of their own schools; but, such was the public indifference, +that after many years the money was still in the treasury. Hence it was +inferred that all these measures were ineffectual, and that mere +taxation was, upon the whole, to be preferred to any imperfect system. +But the example of New York was approved, where the distribution of a +small sum, equal to about twenty cents for each pupil, had increased the +public interest, and wrought what then seemed to be an effectual and +permanent revolution in educational affairs. These facts and reasonings, +say the committee, seem to be important and sound, and to result in +this,—that no provision ought to be made which shall diminish the +present amount of money raised by taxes for the schools, or the interest +felt by the people in their prosperity; that a fund may be so used as +satisfactorily to in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>crease both—and that further information in regard +to our schools is requisite to determine the best mode of doing this. +These opinions are supported generally by the judgment of the present +generation. Yet it is to be remarked, by way of partial dissent, that +the public apathy in Connecticut and the states of the West was not in a +great degree the effect of the funds, but was rather a coëxisting, +independent fact. It ought not, therefore, to have been expected that +the mere offer of money for educational purposes, while the people had +no just idea of the importance of education or of the means by which it +could be acquired, would lead them even to accept the proffered boon; +and it certainly, in their judgment, furnished no reason for +self-taxation. It is, however, no doubt true that the power of local +taxation for the support of schools is in its exercise a means of +provoking interest in education; and it is reasonable to assume that a +public system of instruction will never be vigorous and efficient at all +times and under all circumstances where the right of local taxation does +not exist or is not exercised. When the entire expenditure is derived +from the income of public funds, or obtained by a universal tax, and the +proceeds distributed among the towns, parishes, or districts, there will +often be general conditions of public sentiment unfavorable, if not +hostile, to schools; and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> there will always be found in any state, +however small, local indifference and lethargy which render all gifts, +donations, and distributions, comparatively valueless. The subject of +self-taxation annually is important in connection with a system of free +education. It is the experience of the states of this country that the +people themselves are more generous in the use of this power than are +their representatives; and it is also true that when the power has been +exercised by the people, there is usually more interest awakened in +regard to modes of expenditure, and more zeal manifested in securing +adequate returns. The private conversations and public debates often +arouse an interest which would never have been manifested had the means +of education been furnished by a fund, or been distributed as the +proceeds of a general tax assessed by the government of the state.</p> + +<p>I have no doubt that much of our success is due to the fact that in all +the towns the question of taxation is annually submitted to the people. +It is quite certain that the sum of our municipal appropriations never +could have been increased from $387,124.17, in 1837, to $1,341,252.03, +in 1858, without the influence of the statistical tables that are +appended to the Annual Reports of the Board of Education; and it is also +true that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> materials for these tables could not have been secured +without the agency of the school fund. Our experience as a state +confirms the wisdom of the reports of 1833 and 1834; and I unreservedly +concur in the opinion that a fund ought not to be sufficient for the +support of schools, but that such a fund is needed to give encouragement +to the towns, to stimulate the people to make adequate local +appropriations, to secure accurate and complete returns from the +committees, and finally to provide means for training teachers, and for +defraying the necessary expenses of the educational department. The law +of 1834, establishing the school fund, was reënacted in the Revised +Statutes (chap. 11, sects. 13 and 14). The Revised Statutes (chap. 23, +sects. 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67) also required that returns should be +made, each year, from all the towns of the commonwealth, of the +condition of the schools in various important particulars. The income of +the fund was to be apportioned among the towns that had raised, the +preceding year, the sum of one dollar by taxation for each pupil, and +had complied with the laws in other respects; and it was to be +distributed according to the number of persons in each between the ages +of four and sixteen years. These provisions have since been frequently +and variously modified; but at all times the state has imposed similar +conditions upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> the towns. By the statute of 1839, chapter 56, the +income of the school fund was to be apportioned among those towns that +had raised by taxation for the support of schools the sum of one dollar +and twenty-five cents for each person between the ages of four and +sixteen years; and, by the law of 1849, chapter 117, the income was to +be apportioned among those towns which had raised by taxation the sum of +one dollar and fifty cents for the education of each person between the +ages of five and fifteen years. This provision is now in force. By an +act of the Legislature, passed April 15th, 1846, it was provided that +all sums of money which should thereafter be drawn from the treasury, +for educational purposes, should be considered as a charge upon the +moiety of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands set apart for +the purpose of constituting a school fund. This provision continued in +force until the reörganization of the fund, in 1854. By the law of that +year (chap. 300), it was provided that one half of the annual income of +the fund should be apportioned and distributed among the towns according +to the then existing provisions of law, and that the educational +expenses before referred to should be chargeable to and paid from the +other half of the income of said fund. These provisions are now in +force.</p> + +<p>The limitation of the act of 1834, establishing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> fund, and of the +Revised Statutes, was removed by the law of 1851, chapter 112, and the +amount of the fund was then fixed at one million and five hundred +thousand dollars. By the act of 1854 the principal was limited to two +millions of dollars. The Constitutional Convention of 1853 had, with +great unanimity, declared it to be the duty of the Legislature to +provide for the increase of the school fund to the sum of two millions +of dollars; and, though the proposed constitution was rejected by the +people, the provision concerning the fund was generally, if not +universally, acceptable. Under these circumstances, the legislature of +1854 may be said to have acted in conformity to the known opinion and +purpose of the state.</p> + +<p>On the 1st of June, 1858, the principal of the fund was $1,522,898.41, +including the sum of $1,843.68, added during the year preceding that +date. In this statement no notice is taken of the rights of the school +fund in the Western Railroad Loan Sinking Fund.</p> + +<p>It may be observed that the committee of 1833 contemplated the +establishment of a fund, with a capital of $1,634,418.32, and yet, after +twenty-five years, the Massachusetts School Fund amounts to only +$1,522,898.41. Its present means of increase are limited to the excess +of one-half of the annual<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> income over the current educational expenses. +The increase for the year 1856-7 was $4,142.90; and for the year 1857-8, +$1,843.68. With this resource only, and at this rate of increase, about +one hundred and sixty years will be required for the augmentation of the +capital to the maximum contemplated by existing laws. But the +educational wants of the state are such that even this scanty supply +must soon cease. It is then due to the magnitude of the proposition for +the considerable and speedy increase of the school fund, that its +necessity, if possible, or its utility, at least, should be +satisfactorily demonstrated; and it is for this purpose that I have +already presented a brief sketch of its history in connection with the +legislation of the commonwealth, and that I now proceed to set forth its +relations to the practical work of public instruction.</p> + +<p>When the fund was instituted, public sentiment in regard to education +was lethargic, if not retrograding. The mere fact of the action of the +Legislature lent new importance to the cause of learning, inspired its +advocates with additional zeal, gave efficiency to previous and +subsequent legislation, and, as though there had been a new creation, +evoked order out of chaos.</p> + +<p>Previous to 1834 there was no trustworthy information concerning the +schools of the state. The law<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> of 1826, chapter 143, section 8, required +each town to make a report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, of the +amount of money paid, the number of schools, the aggregate number of +months that the schools of each city and town were kept, the number of +male and female teachers, the whole number of pupils, the number of +private schools and academies and the number of pupils therein, the +amount of compensation paid to the instructors of private schools and +academies, and the number of persons between the ages of fourteen and +twenty-one years who were unable to read and write. The Legislature did +not provide a penalty for neglect of this provision, nor does there seem +to have been any just method of compelling obedience. The Secretary of +the Commonwealth sent out blank forms of returns, and replies were +received from two hundred and fourteen towns, while eighty-eight were +entirely silent.</p> + +<p>The returns received furnish a series of interesting facts for the year +1826. There were one thousand seven hundred and twenty-six district +schools, supported at an expense of two hundred and twenty-six thousand +two hundred and nineteen dollars and ninety cents ($226,219.90), while +there were nine hundred and fifty-three academies and private schools +maintained at a cost of $192,455.10. The whole number of children +attending public schools was 117,186,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> and the number educated in +private schools and academies was 25,083. The expense, therefore, was +$7.67 per pupil in the private schools, and only $1.93 each in the +public schools. These facts are indicative of the condition of public +sentiment. About one-sixth of the children of the state were educated in +academies and private schools, at a cost equal to about six-sevenths of +the amount paid for the education of the remaining five-sixths, who +attended the public schools. The returns also showed that there were +2,974 children between the ages of seven and fourteen years who did not +attend school, and 530 persons over fourteen years of age who were +unable to read and write. The incompleteness of these returns detracts +from their value; but, as those towns where the greatest interest +existed were more likely to respond to the call of the Legislature, it +is probable that the actual condition of the whole state was below that +of the two hundred and eighty-eight towns. The interest which the law of +1826 had called forth was temporary; and in March, 1832, the Committee +on Education, to whom was referred an order with instructions to inquire +into the expediency of providing a fund to furnish, in certain cases, +common schools with apparatus, books, and such other aid as may be +necessary to raise the standard of common school education, say that +they desire<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> more accurate knowledge than could then be obtained. The +returns required by law were in many cases wholly neglected, and in +others they were inaccurately made. In the year 1831 returns were +received from only eighty-six towns. In order to obtain the desired +information, a special movement was made by the Legislature. The report +of the committee was printed in all the newspapers that published the +laws of the commonwealth, and the Secretary was directed to prepare and +present to the Legislature an abstract of the returns which should be +received from the several towns for the year 1832. The result of this +extraordinary effort was seen in returns from only ninety-nine of three +hundred and five towns, and even a large part of these were confessedly +inaccurate or incomplete. They present, however, some remarkable facts.</p> + +<p>The following table, prepared from the returns of 1832, shows the +relative standing and cost of public and private schools in a part of +the principal towns. It appears that the towns named in the table were +educating rather more than two-thirds of their children in the public +schools, at an expense of $2.88 each, and nearly one-third in private +schools, at a cost of $12.70 each, and that the total expenditure for +public instruction was about thirty-six per cent. of the outlay for +educational purposes.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> </p> + +<table border='1' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='relative costs of public and private schools'> + <tr> + <th>TOWNS</th> + <th>A</th> + <th>B</th> + <th>C</th> + <th>D</th> + <th>E</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Beverly,</td> + <td class='right'>$1,800 00</td> + <td class='right'>580</td> + <td class='right'>28</td> + <td class='right'>490</td> + <td class='right'>$2,365 33</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Bradford,</td> + <td class='right'>750 00</td> + <td class='right'>600</td> + <td class='right'>9</td> + <td class='right'>177</td> + <td class='right'>1,725 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Danvers,</td> + <td class='right'>2,000 00</td> + <td class='right'>873</td> + <td class='right'>6</td> + <td class='right'>150</td> + <td class='right'>1,500 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Marblehead,</td> + <td class='right'>2,200 00</td> + <td class='right'>650</td> + <td class='right'>31</td> + <td class='right'>650</td> + <td class='right'>3,800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Cambridge,</td> + <td class='right'>8,600 00</td> + <td class='right'>970</td> + <td class='right'>16</td> + <td class='right'>441</td> + <td class='right'>5,782 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Medford,</td> + <td class='right'>1,200 00</td> + <td class='right'>284</td> + <td class='right'>6</td> + <td class='right'>151</td> + <td class='right'>2,372 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Newton,</td> + <td class='right'>1,600 00</td> + <td class='right'>542</td> + <td class='right'>3</td> + <td class='right'>100</td> + <td class='right'>2,975 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Amherst,</td> + <td class='right'>850 00</td> + <td class='right'>556</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>270</td> + <td class='right'>4,600 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Springfield,</td> + <td class='right'>3,600 00</td> + <td class='right'>1,957</td> + <td class='right'>4</td> + <td class='right'>800</td> + <td class='right'>2,500 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Greenfield,</td> + <td class='right'>633 75</td> + <td class='right'>216</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>65</td> + <td class='right'>1,400 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Dorchester,</td> + <td class='right'>2,599 00</td> + <td class='right'>613</td> + <td class='right'>15</td> + <td class='right'>124</td> + <td class='right'>1,800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Quincy,</td> + <td class='right'>1,800 00</td> + <td class='right'>465</td> + <td class='right'>7</td> + <td class='right'>106</td> + <td class='right'>2,741 50</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Roxbury,</td> + <td class='right'>4,450 00</td> + <td class='right'>836</td> + <td class='right'>12</td> + <td class='right'>313</td> + <td class='right'>8,218 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>New Bedford,</td> + <td class='right'>4,000 00</td> + <td class='right'>1,268</td> + <td class='right'>15</td> + <td class='right'>537</td> + <td class='right'>6,300 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Hingham,</td> + <td class='right'>2,144 00</td> + <td class='right'>703</td> + <td class='right'>8</td> + <td class='right'>180</td> + <td class='right'>2,625 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Provincetown,</td> + <td class='right'>584 32</td> + <td class='right'>450</td> + <td class='right'>4</td> + <td class='right'>140</td> + <td class='right'>800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Edgartown,</td> + <td class='right'>450 00</td> + <td class='right'>350</td> + <td class='right'>10</td> + <td class='right'>100</td> + <td class='right'>2,700 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Nantucket,</td> + <td class='right'>2,633 40</td> + <td class='right'>882</td> + <td class='right'>50</td> + <td class='right'>1,084</td> + <td class='right'>10,795 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th class='left'>18 Towns,</th> + <th class='right'>$36,894 47</th> + <th class='right'>12,795</th> + <th class='right'>228</th> + <th class='right'>5,378</th> + <th class='right'>$64,948 83</th> + </tr> +</table> + +<h4>Key to Column Headings:</h4> + +<p>A - Amount paid for public instruction during the year.<br /> +B - Whole No. of Pupils in the Public Schools in the course of the yr.<br />C +- Number of Academies and Private Schools.<br />D - Number of Pupils in +Academies and Private Schools and not attending Public Schools.<br />E - +Estimated amount of compensation of Instructors of Academies and Private +Schools.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>The evidence is sufficient that the public schools were in a deplorable +and apparently hopeless condition.</p> + +<p>The change that has been effected in the eighteen towns named may be +seen by comparing the following table with the one already given. In +1832, 64 per cent. of the amount paid for education was expended in +academies and private schools, while in 1858 only 24 per cent. was so +expended. In the same period the amount raised for public schools +increased from less than thirty-seven thousand dollars to more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> than two +hundred and fifty-nine thousand dollars. At the first period, the +attendance of pupils upon academies and private schools was nearly 30 +per cent. of the whole number, while in 1858 it was only 8 per cent. The +private schools of some of these towns were established recently, and +are sustained in a degree by pupils who are not inhabitants of the +state, but who have come among us for the purpose of enjoying the +culture which our teachers and schools, private as well as public, are +able to furnish. If, as seems probable, the number of foreign pupils was +less in 1832 than in 1858, the decrease of pupils in private schools +would be greater than is indicated by the tables. The cost of education, +as it appears by this table, is rather more than thirty dollars per +pupil in the private schools, and only eight dollars and forty-nine +cents in the public schools. In the following table, Bradford includes +Groveland, Danvers includes South Danvers, Springfield includes +Chicopee, and Roxbury includes West Roxbury. This is rendered necessary +for the purposes of comparison, as Groveland, South Danvers, Chicopee, +and West Roxbury, have been incorporated since 1832.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> </p> + +<table border='1' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='relative costs of public and private schools'> + <tr> + <th>TOWNS</th> + <th>A</th> + <th>B</th> + <th>C</th> + <th>D</th> + <th>E</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Beverly,</td> + <td class='right'>$5,748 20</td> + <td class='right'>1,114</td> + <td class='right'>1</td> + <td class='right'>10</td> + <td class='right'>$100 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Bradford,</td> + <td class='right'>2,416 47</td> + <td class='right'>513</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>84</td> + <td class='right'>1,720 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Danvers,</td> + <td class='right'>14,829 52</td> + <td class='right'>2,066</td> + <td class='right'>1</td> + <td class='right'>40</td> + <td class='right'>360 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Marblehead,</td> + <td class='right'>7,311 10</td> + <td class='right'>1,188</td> + <td class='right'>6</td> + <td class='right'>160</td> + <td class='right'>1,390 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Cambridge,</td> + <td class='right'>37,420 86</td> + <td class='right'>4,710</td> + <td class='right'>14</td> + <td class='right'>400</td> + <td class='right'>15,000 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Medford,</td> + <td class='right'>7,794 44</td> + <td class='right'>837</td> + <td class='right'>5</td> + <td class='right'>130</td> + <td class='right'>3,800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Newton,</td> + <td class='right'>12,263 50</td> + <td class='right'>1,138</td> + <td class='right'>8</td> + <td class='right'>308</td> + <td class='right'>22,800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Amherst,</td> + <td class='right'>2,142 80</td> + <td class='right'>536</td> + <td class='right'>5</td> + <td class='right'>121</td> + <td class='right'>3,934 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Springfield,</td> + <td class='right'>27,324 84</td> + <td class='right'>3,864</td> + <td class='right'>6</td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Greenfield,</td> + <td class='right'>2,627 50</td> + <td class='right'>589</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>25</td> + <td class='right'>1,800 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Dorchester,</td> + <td class='right'>22,338 51</td> + <td class='right'>1,795</td> + <td class='right'>1</td> + <td class='right'>31</td> + <td class='right'>600 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Quincy,</td> + <td class='right'>8,861 46</td> + <td class='right'>1,260</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>20</td> + <td class='right'>225 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Roxbury,</td> + <td class='right'>50,000 00</td> + <td class='right'>4,400</td> + <td class='right'>25</td> + <td class='right'>561</td> + <td class='right'>10,600 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>New Bedford,</td> + <td class='right'>36,074 25</td> + <td class='right'>3,548</td> + <td class='right'>20</td> + <td class='right'>434</td> + <td class='right'>15,074 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Hingham,</td> + <td class='right'>4,904 13</td> + <td class='right'>728</td> + <td class='right'>2</td> + <td class='right'>71</td> + <td class='right'>1,717 56</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Provincetown,</td> + <td class='right'>3,147 26</td> + <td class='right'>689</td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + <td class='right'>—</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Edgartown,</td> + <td class='right'>2,578 63</td> + <td class='right'>380</td> + <td class='right'>8</td> + <td class='right'>96</td> + <td class='right'>200 00</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Nantucket,</td> + <td class='right'>11,596 27</td> + <td class='right'>1,1980</td> + <td class='right'>13</td> + <td class='right'>259</td> + <td class='right'>3,466 23</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th class='left'>Totals,</th> + <th class='right'>$259,379 74</th> + <th class='right'>30,553</th> + <th class='right'>121</th> + <th class='right'>2,750</th> + <th class='right'>$82,786 79</th> + </tr> +</table> + +<h4>Key to Column Headings:</h4> + +<p>A - Amount paid for Public Schools in 1857-8, including +tax, income of Surplus Revenue, and of State School Fund, when such +income is appropriated for such schools, and exclusive of sums paid for +school-houses.<br /> +B - Whole No. of pupils attending Public Schools in +1857-8—the largest No. returned as in attendance during any one term.<br />C +- Number of incorporated and unincorporated Academies and Private +Schools returned in 1858.<br />D - Estimated attendance in Academies and +Private Schools in 1857-8.<br />E - Estimated amount of tuition paid in +Academies and Priv. Schools in 1857-8.</p> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p>The Legislature of 1834 acted with wisdom and energy. The school fund +having been established, the towns were next required to furnish answers +to certain questions that were substituted for the requisition of the +statute of 1826, and any town whose committee failed to make the return +was to be deprived of its share of the income of the school fund,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> +whenever it should be first distributed. (Res. 1834, chap. 78.)</p> + +<p>Those measures were in the highest degree salutary. There were 305 towns +in the state, and returns were received from 261. There was still a want +of accuracy and completeness; but from this time forth the state secured +what had never before been attained,—intelligent legislation by the +government, and intelligent coöperation and support by the people.</p> + +<p>In December, 1834, the Secretary of the Commonwealth prepared an +aggregate of the returns received, of which the following is a copy:</p> + +<table border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='aggregate of the returns received'> + <tr> + <td>Number of towns from which returns have been received,</td> + <td class='right'>261</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number of school districts,</td> + <td class='right'>2,251</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number of male children attending school fromfour to sixteen years of age,</td> + <td class='right'>67,499</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number of female children attending school from four to sixteen years of age,</td> + <td class='right'>63,728</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number over sixteen and under twenty-one unable to read and write,</td> + <td class='right'>158</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number of male instructors,</td> + <td class='right'>1,967</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Number of female instructors,</td> + <td class='right'>2,388</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Amount raised by tax to support schools,</td> + <td class='right'>$810,178 87</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Amount raised by contribution to support schools,</td> + <td class='right'>15,141 25</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Average number of scholars attending academies and private schools,</td> + <td class='right'>24,749</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Estimated amount paid for tuition in academies and private schools,</td> + <td class='right'>$276,575 75</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Local funds—Yes,</td> + <td class='right'>71</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Local funds—No,</td> + <td class='right'>181</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='tbrk'> </p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>Thus, by the institution of the school fund, provision was made for a +system of annual returns, from which has been drawn a series of +statistical tables, that have not only exhibited the school system as a +whole and in its parts, but have also contributed essentially to its +improvement.</p> + +<p>These statistics have been so accurate and complete, for many years, as +to furnish a safe basis for legislation; and they have at the same time +been employed by the friends of education as means for awakening local +interest, and stimulating and encouraging the people to assume freely +and bear willingly the burdens of taxation. It is now easy for each +town, or for any inhabitant, to know what has been done in any other +town; and, as a consequence, those that do best are a continual example +to those that, under ordinary circumstances, might be indifferent. The +establishment and efficiency of the school-committee system is due also +to the same agency. There are, I fear, some towns that would now neglect +to choose a school committee, were there not a small annual distribution +of money by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> the state; but, in 1832, the duty was often either +neglected altogether, or performed in such a manner that no appreciable +benefit was produced. The superintending committee is the most important +agency connected with our system of instruction. In some portions of the +state the committees are wholly, and in others they are partly, +responsible for the qualifications of teachers; they everywhere +superintend and give character to the schools, and by their annual +reports they exert a large influence over public opinion. The people now +usually elect well-qualified men; and it is believed that the extracts +from the local reports, published annually by the Board of Education, +constitute the best series of papers in the language upon the various +topics that have from time to time been considered.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> By the +publication<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> of these abstracts, the committees, and indeed the people +generally, are made acquainted with everything that has been done, or is +at any time doing, in the commonwealth. Improvements that would +otherwise remain local are made universal; information in regard to +general errors is easily communicated, and the errors themselves are +speedily removed, while the system is, in all respects, rendered +homogeneous and efficient.</p> + +<p>Nor does it seem to be any disparagement of Massachusetts to assume +that, in some degree, she is indebted to the school fund for the +consistent and steady policy of the Legislature, pursued for more than +twenty years, and executed by the agency of the Board of Education. In +this period, normal schools have been established, which have educated a +large number of teachers, and exerted a powerful and ever increasing +influence in favor of good learning. Teachers' institutes have been +authorized, and the experiment successfully tested. Agents of the Board +of Education have been appointed, so that it is now possible, by the aid +of both these means, as is shown by accompanying returns and statements, +to afford, each year, to the people of a majority of the towns an +opportunity to confer with those who are specially devoted to the work +of education. In all this period of time, the Legislature has never +been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> called upon to provide money for the expenses which have thus been +incurred; and, though a rigid scrutiny has been exercised over the +expenditures of the educational department, measures for the promotion +of the common schools have never been considered in relation to the +general finances of the commonwealth. While some states have hesitated, +and others have vacillated, Massachusetts has had a consistent, uniform, +progressive policy, which is due in part to the consideration already +named, and in part, no doubt, to a popular opinion, traditional and +historical in its origin, but sustained and strengthened by the measures +and experience of the last quarter of a century, that a system of public +instruction is so important an element of general prosperity as to +justify all needful appropriations for its support.</p> + +<p>It may, then, be claimed for the Massachusetts School Fund, that the +expectations of those by whom it was established have been realized; +that it has given unity and efficiency to the school system; that it has +secured accurate and complete returns from all the towns; that it has, +consequently, promoted a good understanding between the Legislature and +the people; that it has increased local taxation, but has never been a +substitute for it; and that it has enabled the Legislature, at all times +and in every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> condition of the general finances, to act with freedom in +regard to those agencies which are deemed essential to the prosperity of +the common schools of the state.</p> + +<p>Having thus, in the history of the school fund, fully justified its +establishment, so in its history we find sufficient reasons for its +sacred preservation. While other communities, and even other states, +have treated educational funds as ordinary revenue, subject only to an +obligation on the part of the public to bestow an annual income on the +specified object, Massachusetts has ever acted in a fiduciary relation, +and considered herself responsible for the principal as well as the +income of the fund, not only to this generation, but to every generation +that shall occupy the soil, and inherit the name and fame of this +commonwealth.</p> + +<p>It only remains for me to present the reasons which render an increase +of the capital of the fund desirable, if not necessary. The annual +income of the existing fund amounts to about ninety-three thousand +dollars, one-half of which is distributed among the towns and cities, in +proportion to the number of persons in each between the ages of five and +fifteen years. The distribution for the year 1857-8 amounted to twenty +cents and eight mills for each child. The following table shows the +annual<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> distribution to the towns from the year 1836; the whole number +of children for each year except 1836 and 1840, when the entire +population was the basis; and the amount paid on account of each child +since the year 1849, when the law establishing the present method of +distribution was enacted:</p> + +<table border='1' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='5' summary='annual distribution to the towns from the year 1836'> + <tr> + <th>Year.</th> + <th>Children.</th> + <th>Income.</th> + <th>Income per pupil.</th> + <th>Year.</th> + <th>Children.</th> + <th>Income.</th> + <th>Per pupil in Cents & Mills.</th> + </tr> + +<tr><td>1836. </td><td> 473,684 </td><td>$16,230 57<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1848. </td><td> 210,403 </td><td>$33,874 87 </td><td class='right'> —</td></tr> +<tr><td>1837. </td><td> 160,676 </td><td> 19,002 74<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1849. </td><td> 210,770 </td><td> 33,723 20 </td><td class='right'> —</td></tr> +<tr><td>1838. </td><td> 174,984 </td><td> 19,970 47 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1850. </td><td> 182,003 </td><td> 37,370 51<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> </td><td class='right'> .205</td></tr> +<tr><td>1839. </td><td> 180,070 </td><td> 21,358 81 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1851. </td><td> 192,849 </td><td> 41,462 54 </td><td class='right'> .215</td></tr> +<tr><td>1840. </td><td> 701,331 </td><td> 21,202 64<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1852. </td><td> 198,050 </td><td> 44,066 12 </td><td class='right'> .222</td></tr> +<tr><td>1841. </td><td> 179,967 </td><td> 32,109 32<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1853. </td><td> 199,292 </td><td> 46,908 10 </td><td class='right'> .235</td></tr> +<tr><td>1842. </td><td> 179,917 </td><td> 24,006 89 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1854. </td><td> 202,102 </td><td> 48,504 48 </td><td class='right'> .240</td></tr> +<tr><td>1843. </td><td> 173,416 </td><td> 24,094 87 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1855. </td><td> 210,761 </td><td> 46,788 94 </td><td class='right'> .222</td></tr> +<tr><td>1844. </td><td> 158,193 </td><td> 22,932 71 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1856. </td><td> 221,902 </td><td> 44,842 75 </td><td class='right'> .202</td></tr> +<tr><td>1845. </td><td> 170,823 </td><td> 28,248 35 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1857. </td><td> 220,336 </td><td> 46,783 64 </td><td class='right'> .212</td></tr> +<tr><td>1846. </td><td> 195,032 </td><td> 30,150 27 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td>1858. </td><td> 222,860 </td><td> 46,496 19 </td><td class='right'> .208</td></tr> +<tr><td>1847. </td><td> 197,475 </td><td> 34,511 89 </td><td class='center'> —</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>It was contemplated by the founders of the school fund that an amount +might safely be distributed among the towns equal to one-third of the +sums raised by taxation, but the state is really furnishing only +one-thirtieth of the annual expenditure. A distribution corresponding to +the original expectation is neither desirable nor possible; but a +substantial addition might be made without in any degree diminishing the +interest of the people, or relieving them from taxation. The income of +the school fund has been three times used as a means of increasing the +appropriations in the towns. It is doubtful whether, without an addition +to the fund, this power can be again applied; and yet there are, +according to the last returns, twenty-two towns that do not raise a sum +for schools equal to $2.50 for each child between the ages of five and +fifteen years; and there are fifty-two towns whose appropriations are +less than three dollars. When the average annual expenditure is over six +dollars, the minimum ought not to be less than three.</p> + +<p>It is to be considered that, as population increases, the annual +personal distribution will diminish, and consequently that the bond now +existing between the Legislature and people will be weakened. Moreover, +any definite sum of money is worth less than it was twenty years ago; +and it is reasonably certain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> that the same sum will be less valuable in +1860, and yet less valuable in 1870, than it is now. Hence, if the fund +remain nominally the same, it yet suffers a practical annual decrease. +It is further to be presumed that the Legislature will find it expedient +to advance in its legislation from year to year. A small number of +towns, few or many, may not always approve of what is done, and it is +quite important that the influence of the fund should be sufficient to +enable the state to execute its policy with uniformity and precision.</p> + +<p>As is well known, the expenses of the educational department are +defrayed from the other half of the income of the fund. From this income +the forty-eight scholarships in the colleges, the Normal Schools, the +Teachers' Institutes, the Agents of the Board of Education, are +supported, and the salaries of the Secretary and the Assistant-Secretary +are paid. As has been stated, the surplus carried to the capital of the +fund in June last was only $1,843.68. The objects of expenditure, +already named, may be abolished, but no reasonable plan of economy can +effect much saving while they exist. It is also reasonably certain that +the expenses of the department must be increased. The law now provides +for twelve Teachers' Institutes, annually, and there were opportunities +during the present year for holding them; but,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> in order that one agent +might be constantly employed, and a second employed for the term of six +months, I limited the number of sessions to ten.</p> + +<p>The salaries of the teachers in the Normal Schools are low, and the +number of persons employed barely adequate to the work to be done. Some +change, involving additional expense, is likely to be called for in the +course of a few years.</p> + +<p>In view of the eminent aid which the school fund has rendered to the +cause of education, with due deference to the wisdom and opinions of its +founders, and with just regard to the existing and probable necessities +of the state in connection with the cause of education, I earnestly +favor the increase of the school fund by the addition of a million and a +half of dollars.</p> + +<p>Nor does the proposition for the state to appropriate annually $180,000 +in aid of the common schools seem unreasonable, when it is considered +that the military expenses are $65,000, the reformatory and correctional +about $200,000, the charitable about $45,000, and the pauper expenses +nearly $250,000 more, all of which will diminish as our schools are year +by year better qualified to give thorough and careful intellectual, +moral, and religious culture.</p> + +<p>This increase seems to be necessary in order that the Massachusetts +School Fund may furnish aid to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> the common schools during the next +quarter of a century proportionate to the relative influence exerted by +the same agency during the last twenty-five years. Nor will such an +addition give occasion for any apprehension that the zeal of the people +will be diminished in the least. Were there to be no increase of +population in the state, the distribution for each pupil would never +exceed forty cents, or about one-fifteenth of the amount now raised by +taxation.</p> + +<p>So convinced are the people of Massachusetts of the importance of common +schools, and so much are they accustomed to taxation for their support, +that there is no occasion to hesitate, lest we should follow the example +of those communities where large funds, operating upon an uneducated and +inexperienced popular opinion, have injured rather than benefited the +public schools. The ancient policy of the commonwealth will be +continued; but, whenever the people see the government, by solemn act, +manifesting its confidence in schools and learning, they will be +encouraged to guard and sustain the institutions of the fathers.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> An eminent friend of education, and an Englishman, speaking +of the reports for the year 1866-7, says: "The views enunciated by your +local committees, while they have the sobriety indicative of practical +knowledge, are at the same time enlightened and expansive. The writers +of such reports must be of inestimable aid to your schoolmasters, +standing as they do between the teacher and the parent, and exercising +the most wholesome influence on both. Let me remark, in passing, that I +am struck with the power of composition evinced in these provincial +papers. Clear exposition, great command of the best English, correctness +and even elegance of style, are their characteristics."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Distributed among the cities and towns, according to an Act +of 1835. (Stat. 138, § 2.)</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the +number of persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. +(Rev. Stat., chap. 23, § 67.)</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Income distributed among the cities and towns, according to +population, under an Act passed Feb. 22, 1840. (Stat. 1840, Chap. 7.) +This act was repealed by an act passed Feb. 8, 1841. (Stat. 1841, chap. +17, § 2.)</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the +number of persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. +(Stat. 1841, chap. 17, § 2.)</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the +number of persons in each between the ages of five and fifteen years. +(Stat. 1849, chap. 117, § 2.)</p></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="A_SYSTEM_OF_AGRICULTURAL_EDUCATION" id="A_SYSTEM_OF_AGRICULTURAL_EDUCATION"></a>A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.</h2> + +<h3>[An Address before the Barnstable Agricultural Society, Oct. 8, 1857.]</h3> + +<p>In the month of February, 1855, a distinguished American, who has read +much, and acquired, by conversation, observation, and travels in this +country and Europe, the highest culture of American society, wrote these +noticeable sentences: "The farmers have not kept pace, in intelligence, +with the rest of the community. They do not put brain-manure enough into +their acres. Our style of farming is slovenly, dawdling, and stupid, and +the waste, especially in manure, is immense. I suppose we are about, in +farming, where the Lowlands of Scotland were fifty years ago; and what +immense strides agriculture has made in Great Britain since the battle +of Waterloo, and how impossible it would have been for the farmers to +have held their own without!"<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> + +<p>It would not be civil for me to endorse these statements as introductory +to a brief address upon Agricultural Education; but I should not accept +them at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> all did they not contain truth enough to furnish a text for a +layman's discourse before an assembly of farmers.</p> + +<p>Competent American travellers concur in the opinion that the Europeans +generally, and especially our brethren of England, Ireland, and +Scotland, are far in advance of us in scientific and practical +agriculture. This has been stated or admitted by Mr. Colman, President +Hitchcock, and last by Mr. French, who has recently visited Europe under +the auspices of the National Agricultural Society.</p> + +<p>There are good reasons for the past and for the existing superiority of +the Old World; and there are good reasons, also, why this superiority +should not much longer continue. Europe is old,—America is young. Land +has been cultivated for centuries in Europe, and often by the same +family; its capacity tested, its fitness or unfitness for particular +crops proved, the local and special effects of different fertilizers +well known, and the experience of many generations has been preserved, +so as to be equivalent to a like experience, in time and extent, by the +present occupants of the soil.</p> + +<p>In America there are no family estates, nor long occupation by the same +family of the same spot. Cultivated lands have changed hands as often as +every twenty-five years from the settlement of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> country. The +capacity of our soils to produce, when laboriously and systematically +cultivated, has not been ascertained; there has been no accumulation of +experience by families, and but little by the public; and the effort, in +many sections, has been to draw as much as possible from the land, while +little or nothing was returned to it. Farming, as a whole, has not been +a system of cultivation, which implies improvement, but a process of +exhaustion. It has been easier for the farmer, though, perhaps, not as +economical, if all the elements necessary to a correct opinion could be +combined, to exchange his worn-out lands for fresh soils, than to adopt +an improving system of agriculture. The present has been consulted; the +future has been disregarded. As the half-civilized hunters of the pampas +of Buenos Ayres make indiscriminate slaughter of the myriads of wild +cattle that roam over the unfenced prairies of the south, and preserve +the hides only for the commerce and comfort of the world, so we have +clutched from nature whatever was in sight or next at hand, regardless +of the actual and ultimate wrong to physical and vegetable life; and, as +the pioneers of a better civilization now gather up the bones long +neglected and bleaching under tropical suns and tropical rains, and by +the agency of trade, art, and industry, extort more wealth from them +than was originally derived<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> from the living animals, so we shall find +that worn-out lands, when subjected to skilful, careful, scientific +husbandry, are quite as profitable as the virgin soils, which, from the +day of the migration into the Connecticut valley to the occupancy of the +Missouri and the Kansas, have proved so tempting to our ancestors and to +us. But there has been some philosophy, some justice, and considerable +necessity, in the course that has been pursued. Subsistence is the first +desire; and, in new countries where forests are to be felled, dwellings +erected, public institutions established, roads and bridges built, +settlers cannot be expected, in the cultivation of the land, to look +much beyond the present moment. And they are entitled to the original +fertility of the soil. Europe passed through the process of settlement +and exhaustion many centuries ago. Her recovery has been the work of +centuries,—ours may be accomplished in a few years, even within the +limits of a single life. The fact from which an improving system of +agriculture must proceed is apparent in the northern and central +Atlantic states, and is, in a measure, appreciated in the West. We have +all heard that certain soils were inexhaustible. The statement was first +made of the valley of the Connecticut, then of the Genesee country, then +of Ohio, then of Illinois, and occasionally we now hear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> similar +statements of Kansas, or California, or the valley of the Willamette. In +the nature of things these statements were erroneous. The idea of soil, +in reason and in the use of the word, contains the idea of exhaustion. +Soil is not merely the upper stratum of the earth; it is a substance +which possesses the power, under certain circumstances, of giving up +essential properties of its own for the support of vegetable and +ultimately of animal life. What it gives up it loses, and to the extent +of its loss it is exhausted. It is no more untrue to say that the great +cities of the world have not, in their building, exhausted the forests +and the mines to any extent, than to say that the annual abundant +harvests of corn and wheat have not, in any degree, exhausted the +prairies and bottom lands of the West. Some lands may be exhausted for +particular crops in a single year; others in five years, others in ten, +while others may yield undiminished returns for twenty, fifty, or even a +hundred years. But it is plain that annual cropping without rotation, +and without compensation by nature or art, must finally deprive the soil +of the required elements. Nor should we deceive ourselves by considering +only those exceptions whose existence is due to the fact that nature +makes compensation for the loss. Annual or occasional irrigation with +rich deposits,—as upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> the Nile and the Connecticut,—allowing the +land to lie fallow, rotation of crops and the growth of wood, are so +many expedients and provisions by which nature increases the +productiveness of the earth. Nor is a great depth of soil, as two, five, +ten, or twenty feet, any security against its ultimate impoverishment. +Only a certain portion is available. It has been found in the case of +coal-mines which lie at great depths, that they are, for the present, +valueless; and we cannot attach much importance to soil that is twenty +feet below the surface. Neither cultivation nor vegetation can go beyond +a certain depth; and wherever vegetable life exists, its elements are +required and appropriated. Great depth of soil is desirable; but, with +our present knowledge and means of culture, it furnishes no security +against ultimate exhaustion.</p> + +<p>The fact that all soils are exhaustible establishes the necessity for +agricultural education, by whose aid the processes of impoverishment may +be limited in number and diminished in force; and the realization of +this fact by the public generally is the only justification necessary +for those who advocate the immediate application of means to the +proposed end.</p> + +<p>And, gentlemen, if you will allow a festive day to be marred by a single +word of criticism, I feel constrained to say, that a great obstacle to +the in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>creased usefulness, further elevation, and higher respectability, +of agriculture, is in the body of farmers themselves. And I assume this +to be so upon the supposition that agriculture is not a cherished +pursuit in many farmers' homes; that the head of the family often +regards his life of labor upon the land as a necessity from which he +would willingly escape; that he esteems other pursuits as at once less +laborious, more profitable, and more honorable, than his own; that +children, both sons and daughters, under the influence of parents, both +father and mother, receive an education at home, which neither school, +college, nor newspaper, can counteract, that leads them to abandon the +land for the store, the shop, the warehouse, the professions, or the +sea.</p> + +<p>The reasonable hope of establishing a successful system of agricultural +education is not great where such notions prevail.</p> + +<p>Agriculture is not to attain to true practical dignity by the borrowed +lustre that eminent names, ancient and modern, may have lent to it, any +more than the earth itself is warmed and made fruitful by the aurora +borealis of an autumn night. Our system of public instruction, from the +primary school to the college, rests mainly upon the public belief in +its importance, its possibility, and its necessity. It is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> easy on a +professional holiday to believe in the respectability of agriculture; +but is it a living sentiment, controlling your conduct, and inspiring +you with courage and faith in your daily labor? Does it lead you to +contemplate with satisfaction the prospect that your son is to be a +farmer also, and that your daughter is to be a farmer's wife? These, I +imagine, are test questions which not all farmers nor farmers' wives can +answer in the affirmative. Else, why the custom among farmers' sons of +making their escape, at the earliest moment possible, from the labors +and restraints of the farm? Else, why the disposition of the farmer's +daughter to accept other situations, not more honorable, and in the end +not usually more profitable, than the place of household aid to the +business of the home? How, then, can a system of education be prosperous +and efficient, when those for whom it is designed neither respect their +calling nor desire to pursue it? You will not, of course, imagine that I +refer, in these statements, to all farmers; there are many exceptions; +but my own experience and observation lead me to place confidence in the +fitness of these remarks, speaking generally of the farmers of New +England. It is, however, true, and the statement of the truth ought not +to be omitted, that the prevalent ideas among us are much in advance of +what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> they were ten years ago. In what has been accomplished we have +ground for hope, and even security for further advancement.</p> + +<p>I look, then, first and chiefly to an improved home culture, as the +necessary basis of a system of agricultural education. Christian +education, culture, and life, depend essentially upon the influences of +home; and we feel continually the importance of kindred influences upon +our common school system.</p> + +<p>It will not, of course, be wise to wait, in the establishment of a +system of agricultural education, until we are satisfied that every +farmer is prepared for it; in the beginning sufficient support may be +derived from a small number of persons, but in the end it must be +sustained by the mass of those interested. Other pursuits and +professions must meet the special claims made upon them, and in the +matter of agricultural education they cannot be expected to do more than +assent to what the farmers themselves may require.</p> + +<p>An important part of a system of agricultural education has been, as it +seems to me, already established. I speak of our national, state, +county, and town associations for the promotion of agriculture. The +first three may educate the people through their annual fairs, by their +publications, and by the collection and distribution of rare seeds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> +plants, and animals, that are not usually within reach of individual +farmers. By such means, and others less noticeable, these agencies can +exert a powerful influence upon the farmers of the country; but their +thorough, systematic education must be carried on at home. And for local +and domestic education I think we must rely upon our public schools, +upon town clubs or associations of farmers, and upon scientific men who +may be appointed by the government to visit the towns, confer with the +people, and receive and communicate information upon the agricultural +resources and defects of the various localities. It will be observed +that in this outline of a plan of education I omit the agricultural +college. This omission is intentional, and I will state my reasons for +it. I speak, however, of the present; the time may come when such an +institution will be needed. In Massachusetts, Mr. Benjamin Bussey has +made provision for a college at Roxbury, and Mr. Oliver Smith has made +similar provision for a college at Northampton; but these bequests will +not be available for many years. In England, Ireland, Scotland, France, +Belgium, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and the smaller states of Europe, +agricultural schools and colleges have been established; and they appear +to be the most numerous where the ignorance of the people is the +greatest. England has five colleges<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> and schools, Ireland sixty-three, +while Scotland has only a professorship in each of her colleges at +Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In France, there are seventy-five agricultural +schools; but in seventy of them—called inferior schools—the +instruction is a compound of that given in our public schools and the +discipline of a good farmer upon his land, with some special attention +to agricultural reading and farm accounts. Such schools are not desired +and would not be patronized among us. When an agricultural school is +established, it must be of a higher grade,—it must take rank with the +colleges of the country. President Hitchcock, in his report, published +in 1851, states that six professors would be required; that the first +outlay would be sixty-seven thousand dollars, and that the annual +expense would be six thousand and two hundred dollars. By these +arrangements and expenditures he contemplates the education of one +hundred students, who are to pay annually each for tuition the sum of +forty dollars. It was also proposed to connect an agricultural +department with several of the existing academies, at an annual expense +of three thousand dollars more. These estimates of cost seem low, nor do +I find in this particular any special objection to the recommendation +made by the commissioners of the govern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>ment; any other scheme is likely +to be quite as expensive in the end.</p> + +<p>My chief objection is, that such a plan is not comprehensive enough, and +cannot, in a reasonable time, sensibly affect the average standard of +agricultural learning among us. The graduation of fifty students a year +would be equal to one in a thousand or fifteen hundred of the farmers of +the state; and in ten years there would not be one professionally +educated farmer in a hundred. We are not, of course, to overlook the +indirect influence of such a school, through its students annually sent +forth: the better modes of culture adopted by them would, to some +extent, be copied by others; nor are we to overlook the probability of a +prejudice against the institution and its graduates, growing out of the +republican ideas of equality prevailing among us. But the struggle +against mere prejudice would be an honorable struggle, if, in the hour +of victory, the college could claim to have reformed and elevated +materially the practices and ideas of the farmers of the country. I fear +that even victory under such circumstances would not be complete +success. An institution established in New England must look to the +existing peculiarities of our country, rather than venture at once upon +the adoption of schemes that may have been successful elsewhere. Here +every farmer is a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> laborer himself, employing usually from one to three +hands, and they are often persons who look to the purchase and +cultivation of a farm on their own account; while in England the master +farmer is an overseer rather than a laborer. The number of men in Europe +who own land or work it on their own account is small; the number of +laborers whose labors are directed by the proprietors and farmers is +quite large. Under these circumstances, if the few are educated, the +work will go successfully on; while here, our agricultural education +ought to reach the great body of those who labor upon the land. Will a +college in each state answer the demand for agricultural education now +existing? Is it safe in any country, or in any profession or pursuit, to +educate a few, and leave the majority to the indirect influence of the +culture thus bestowed? And is it philosophical, in this country, where +there is a degree of personal and professional freedom such as is +nowhere else enjoyed, to found a college or higher institution of +learning upon the general and admitted ignorance of the people in the +given department? or is it wiser, by elementary training and the +universal diffusion of better ideas, to make the establishment of the +college the necessity of the culture previously given? Every new school, +not a college, makes the demand for the college course greater<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> than it +was before; and the advance made in our public schools increases the +students in the colleges and the university. We build from the primary +school to the college; and without the primary school and its +dependents,—the grammar, high school, and academy,—the colleges would +cease to exist. This view of education supports the statement that an +agricultural college is not the foundation of a system of agricultural +training, but a result that is to be reached through a preliminary and +elementary course of instruction. What shall that course be? I say, +first, the establishment of town or neighborhood societies of farmers +and others interested in agriculture. These societies ought to be +auxiliary to the county societies, and they never can become their +rivals or enemies unless they are grossly perverted in their management +and purposes. As such societies must be mutual and voluntary in their +character, they can be established in any town where there are twenty, +ten, or even five persons who are disposed to unite together. Its object +would, of course, be the advancement of practical agriculture; and it +would look to theories and even to science as means only for the +attainment of a specified end. The exercises of such societies would +vary according to the tastes and plans of the members and directors; but +they would naturally<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> provide for discussions and conversations among +themselves, lectures from competent persons, the establishment of a +library, and for the collection of models and drawings of domestic +animals, models of varieties of fruit, specimens of seeds, grasses, and +grains, rocks, minerals, and soils. The discussions and conversations +would be based upon the actual observation and experience of the +members; and agriculture would at once become better understood and more +carefully practised by each person who intended to contribute to the +exercises of the meeting.</p> + +<p>Until the establishment of agricultural journals, there were no means by +which the results of individual experience could be made known to the +mass of farmers; and, even now, men of the largest experience are not +the chief contributors.</p> + +<p>Wherever a local club exists, it is always possible to compare the +knowledge of the different members; and the results of such comparison +may, when deemed desirable, be laid before the public at large. It is +also in the power of such an organization thoroughly and at once to test +any given experiment. The attention of this section of the country has +been directed to the culture of the Chinese sugar-cane; and merchants, +economists, and statesmen, as well as the farmers themselves, are +interested in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> speedy and satisfactory solution of so important an +industrial problem. Had the attention of a few local societies in +different parts of New England been directed to the culture, with +special reference to its feasibility and profitableness, a definite +result might have been reached the present year. The growth of flax, +both in the means of cultivation and in economy, is a subject of great +importance. Many other crops might also be named, concerning which +opposite, not to say vague, opinions prevail. The local societies may +make these trials through the agency of individual members better than +they can be made by county and state societies, and better than they can +usually be made upon model or experimental farms. It will often happen +upon experimental farms that the circumstances do not correspond to the +condition of things among the farmers. The combined practical wisdom of +such associations must be very great; and I have but to refer to the +published minutes of the proceedings of the Concord Club to justify this +statement in its broadest sense. The meetings of such a club have all +the characteristics of a school of the highest order. Each member is at +the same time a teacher and a pupil. The meeting is to the farmer what +the court-room is to the lawyer, the hospital to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> physician, and the +legislative assembly to the statesman.</p> + +<p>Moot courts alone will not make skilful lawyers; the manikin is but an +indifferent teacher of anatomy; and we may safely say that no statesman +was ever made so by books, schools, and street discussions, without +actual experience in some department of government.</p> + +<p>It is, of course, to be expected that an agricultural college would have +the means of making experiments; but each experiment could be made only +under a single set of circumstances, while the agency of local +societies, in connection with other parts of the plan that I have the +honor diffidently to present, would convert at once a county or a state +into an experimental farm for a given time and a given purpose. The +local club being always practical and never theoretical, dealing with +things always and never with signs, presenting only facts and never +conjectures, would, as a school for the young farmer, be quite equal, +and in some respects superior, to any that the government can establish. +But, it may be asked, will you call that a school which is merely an +assembly of adults without a teacher? I answer that technically it is +not a school, but that in reality such an association is a school in the +best use of the word. A school is, first, for the develop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>ment of powers +and qualities whose germs already exist; then for the acquisition of +knowledge previously possessed by others; then for the prosecution of +original inquiries and investigations. The associations of which I speak +would possess all these powers, and contemplate all these results; but +that their powers might be more efficient, and for the advancement of +agriculture generally, it seems to me fit and proper for the state to +appoint scientific and practical men as agents of the Board of +Agriculture, and lecturers upon agricultural science and labor. If an +agricultural college were founded, a farm would be required, and at +least six professors would be necessary. Instead of a single farm, with +a hundred young men upon it, accept gratuitously, as you would no doubt +have opportunity, the use of many farms for experiments and repeated +trials of crops, and, at the same time, educate, not a hundred only, but +many thousand young men, nearly as well in theory and science, and much +better in practical labor, than they could be educated in a college. Six +professors, as agents, could accomplish a large amount of necessary +work; possibly, for the present, all that would be desired. Assume, for +this inquiry, that Massachusetts contains three hundred agricultural +towns; divide these towns into sections of fifty each; then assign one +section to each agent,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> with the understanding that his work for the +year is to be performed in that section, and then that he is to be +transferred to another. By a rotation of appointments and a succession +of labors, the varied attainments of the lecturers would be enjoyed by +the whole commonwealth. But, it may be asked, what, specifically stated, +shall the work of the agents be? Only suggestions can be offered in +answer to this inquiry. An agent might, in the summer season, visit his +fifty towns, and spend two days in each. While there, he could ascertain +the kinds of crops, modes of culture, nature of soils, practical +excellences, and practical defects, of the farmers; and he might also +provide for such experiments as he desired to have made. It would, +likewise, be in his power to give valuable advice, where it might be +needed, in regard to farming proper, and also to the erection and repair +of farm-buildings. I am satisfied that a competent agent would, in this +last particular alone, save to the people a sum equal to the entire cost +of his services. After this labor was accomplished, eight months would +remain for the preparation and delivery of lectures in the fifty towns +previously visited. These lectures might be delivered in each town, or +the agent might hold meetings of the nature of institutes in a number of +towns centrally situated. In either case, the lectures would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> be at once +scientific and practical; and their practical character would be +appreciated in the fact that a judicious agent would adapt his lectures +to the existing state of things in the given locality. This could not be +done by a college, however favorably situated, and however well +accomplished in the material of education. It is probable that the +lectures would be less scientific than those that would be given in a +college; but when their superior practical character is considered, and +when we consider also that they would be listened to by the great body +of farmers, old and young, while those of the college could be enjoyed +by a small number of youth only, we cannot doubt which would be the most +beneficial to the state, and to the cause of agriculture in the country.</p> + +<p>An objection to the plan I have indicated may be found in the belief +that the average education of the farmers is not equal to a full +appreciation of the topics and lectures to be presented. My answer is, +that the lecturers must meet the popular intelligence, whatever it is. +Nothing is to be assumed by the teacher; it is his first duty to +ascertain the qualifications of his pupils. I am, however, led to the +opinion that the schools of the country have already laid a very good +basis for practical instruction in agriculture; and, if this be not so, +then an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> additional argument will be offered for the most rapid advance +possible in our systems of education. In any event, it is true that the +public schools furnish a large part of the intellectual culture given in +the inferior and intermediate agricultural schools of Europe.</p> + +<p>The great defect in the plan I have presented is this: That no means are +provided for the thorough education needed by those persons who are to +be appointed agents, and no provision is made for testing the qualities +of soils, and the elements of grains, grasses, and fruits. My answer to +this suggestion is, that it is in part, at least, well founded; but that +the scientific schools furnish a course of study in the natural sciences +which must be satisfactory to the best educated farmer or professor of +agricultural learning, and that analyses may be made in the laboratories +of existing institutions.</p> + +<p>It is my fortune to be able to read a letter from Professor Horsford, +which furnishes a satisfactory view of the ability of the Scientific +School at Cambridge.</p> + +<p class='right'>"<i>Cambridge, Sept. 19, 1857.</i></p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Sir</span>: The occupation incident to the opening of the term has +prevented an earlier answer to your letter of inquiry in regard to the +Scientific School.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The Scientific School furnishes, I believe, the necessary scientific +knowledge for students of agriculture (such as you mention), 'who have +been well educated at our high schools, academies, or colleges, and have +also been trained practically in the business of farming.' It provides:</p> + +<p>"1st. Practical instruction in the modes of experimental investigation. +This is, I know, an unrecognized department, but it is, perhaps, the +better suited name to the course of instruction of our chemical +department. It qualifies the student for the most direct methods of +solving the practical problems which are constantly arising in practical +agriculture. It includes the analysis of soils, the manufacture and +testing of manures, the philosophy of improved methods of culture, of +rotation of crops, of dairy production, of preserving fruits, meats, &c. +It applies more or less directly to the whole subject of mechanical +expedients.</p> + +<p>"2d. Practical instruction in surveying, mensuration, and drawing.</p> + +<p>"3d. And by lectures—in botany, geology, zoology, comparative anatomy, +and natural philosophy.</p> + +<p>"Some of them—indeed, all of them, if desired—might be pursued +practically, and with the use of apparatus and specimens.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span></p> + +<p>"This course contemplates a period of study of from one year to two and +a half years, according to the qualification of the pupil at the outset. +He appears an hour each day at the blackboard, where he shares the drill +of a class, and where he acquires a facility of illustration, command of +language, an address and thorough consciousness of real knowledge, which +are of more value, in many cases, as you know, than almost any amount of +simple acquisition. He also attends, on an average, about one lecture a +day throughout the year. During the remaining time he is occupied with +experimental work in the laboratory or field.</p> + +<p>"The great difficulty with students of agriculture, who might care to +come to the Scientific School, is the expense of living in Cambridge. If +some farmer at a distance of three or four miles from college, where +rents for rooms are low, would open a boarding-house for students of +agriculture in the Scientific School, where the care of a kitchen garden +and some stock might be intrusted to them, and where a farmer's plain +table might be spread at the price at which laborers would be received, +we might hope that our facilities would be taken advantage of on a +larger scale. As it is, but few, comparatively, among our students, come +to qualify themselves for farming."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>I should, however, consider the arrangements proposed as temporary, and +finally to be abandoned or made permanent, as experience should dictate.</p> + +<p>It may be said, I think, without disparagement to the many distinguished +and disinterested men who have labored for the advancement of +agriculture, that the operations of the government and of the state and +county societies have no plan or system by which, as a whole, they are +guided. The county societies have been and are the chief means of +influence and progress; but they have no power which can be +systematically applied; their movements are variable, and their annual +exhibitions do not always indicate the condition of agriculture in the +districts represented. They have become, to a certain extent, localized +in the vicinity of the towns where the fairs are held; and yet they do +not possess the vigor which institutions positively local would enjoy.</p> + +<p>The town clubs hold annual fairs; and these fairs should be made +tributary, in their products and in the interest they excite, to the +county fairs. Let the town fairs be held as early in the season as +practicable, and then let each town send to the county fairs its +first-class premium articles as the contributions of the local society, +as well as of the individual producers. Thus a healthful and generous +rivalry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> would be stirred up between the towns of a county as well as +among the citizens of each town; and a county exhibition upon the plan +suggested would represent at one view the general condition of +agriculture in the vicinity. No one can pretend that this is +accomplished by the present arrangements. Moreover, the county society, +in its management and in its annual exhibitions, would possess an +importance which it had not before enjoyed. As each town would be +represented by the products of the dairy, the herd, and the field, so it +would be represented by its men; and the annual fair of the county would +be a truthful and complete exposition of its industrial standing and +power.</p> + +<p>Out of a system thus broad, popular, and strong, an agricultural college +will certainly spring, if such an institution shall be needed. But is it +likely that in a country where the land is divided, and the number of +farmers is great, the majority will ever be educated in colleges, and +upon strict scientific principles? I am ready to answer that such an +expectation seems to me a mere delusion. The great body of young farmers +must be educated by the example and practices of their elders, by their +own efforts at individual and mutual improvement, and by the influence +of agricultural journals, books, lecturers, and the example of +thoroughly educated men. And, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> thoroughly educated men, lecturers, +journals, and books of a proper character, cannot be furnished without +the aid of scientific schools and thorough culture, the farmers, as a +body, are interested in the establishment of all institutions of +learning which promise to advance any number of men, however small, in +the mysteries of the profession; but, when we design a system of +education for a class, common wisdom requires us to contemplate its +influence upon each individual. The influence of a single college in any +state, or in each state of this Union, would be exceedingly limited; but +local societies and travelling lecturers could make an appreciable +impression in a year upon the agricultural population of any state, and +in New England the interest in the subject is such that there is no +difficulty in founding town clubs, and making them at once the agents of +the government and the schools for the people.</p> + +<p>In the plan indicated, I have, throughout, assumed the disposition of +the farmers to educate themselves. This assumption implies a certain +degree of education already attained; for a consciousness of the +necessity of education is only developed by culture, learning, and +reflection. Such being the admitted fact, it remains that the farmers +themselves ought at once to institute such means of self-improvement as +are at their command. They are, in nearly every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> state of this Union, a +majority of the voters, and the controlling force of society and the +government; but I do not from these facts infer the propriety of a +reliance on their part upon the powers which they may thus direct. +However wisely said, when first said, it is not wise to "look to the +government for too much;" and there can be no reasonable doubt of the +ability of the farmers to institute and perfect such measures of +self-education as are at present needed. But the spirit in which they +enter upon this work must be broad, comprehensive, catholic. They will +find something, I hope, of example, something of motive, something of +power, in their experience as friends and supporters of our system of +common school education; and something of all these, I trust, in the +facts that this system is kept in motion by the self-imposed taxation of +the whole people; that all individuals and classes of men, forgetting +their differences of opinion in politics and religion, rally to its +support, as being in itself a safe basis on which may be built whatever +structures men of wisdom and virtue and piety may desire to erect, +whether they labor first and chiefly for the world that is, or for that +which is to come.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Hon. George S. Hillard.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="ADVERTISEMENTS" id="ADVERTISEMENTS"></a>ADVERTISEMENTS</h2> + +<h3>JUVENILE BOOKS.</h3> + +<h4>THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST ENTERTAINING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN EVER +PUBLISHED.</h4> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h3>MR. CRANCH'S ILLUSTRATED STORIES.</h3> + +<p>THE LAST OF THE HUGGERMUGGERS: a Giant Story. By <span class="smcap">Christopher Pearse +Cranch</span>. With illustrations on wood, from drawings by the author. Printed +on fine, hot-pressed paper, from large, fair type. Price $1.00.</p> + +<p>This book has been received with the utmost delight by all the children. +Mr. Cranch is at once painter and poet, and his story and illustrations +are both characteristic of a man of genius.</p> + +<p>KOBBOLTOZO; being a Sequel to "The Last of the Huggermuggers." By +<span class="smcap">Christopher Pearse Cranch</span>. With illustrations by the author.</p> + +<p>The hand of the author in the tale, and especially in the drawings, is +freer than in his former work. The pictures are exquisite, and much more +numerous than in the "Huggermuggers." Both these books will please the +larger or grown-up children, as well as those still in the nursery.</p> + +<p>Uniform in style with its predecessor. Price $1.00.</p> + +<h3>COUSIN FANNIE'S JUVENILE BOOKS.</h3> + +<p>EVERY BEGINNING IS EASY FOR CHILDREN WHO LOVE STUDY. Translated from the +German, by <span class="smcap">Cousin Fannie</span>. Largo quarto, with elegantly colored +lithographic plates. Price $1.00.</p> + +<p>Altogether one of the most attractive books, both in matter and style, +ever issued in this country.</p> + +<p>AUNTY WONDERFUL'S STORIES. Translated from the German, by <span class="smcap">Cousin Fannie</span>. +With spirited lithographic illustrations. It has proved immensely +popular among the little folks. Price 75 cents.</p> + +<p>RED BEARD'S STORIES FOR CHILDREN. Translated from the German, by <span class="smcap">Cousin +Fannie</span>.</p> + +<p>The illustrations for this book are of a most novel and taking +character. They are in imitation of the <i>silhouettes</i> or pictures cut +out by scissors, in which our ancestors' portraits have often been +preserved. The pictures are numerous, spirited and effective. The +stories are worthy of their elegant dress. Price 75 cents.</p> + +<p>BRIGHT PICTURES OF CHILD-LIFE. Translated from the German, by <span class="smcap">Cousin +Fannie</span>. Illustrated by numerous highly-finished colored engravings. +Price 75 cents.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<p>VIOLET; A Fairy Story. Illustrated by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 +cents.</p> + +<p>The publishers desire to call attention to this exquisite little story. +It breathes such a love of Nature in all her forms; inculcates such +excellent principles, and is so full of beauty and simplicity, that it +will delight not only children, but all readers of unsophisticated +tastes. The author seems to teach the gentle creed which Coleridge has +embodied in those familiar lines—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<div>"He prayeth well who loveth well</div> +<div>Both man, and bird, and beast."</div> +</div></div> + +<p>DAISY; or the Fairy Spectacles. By the author of "<span class="smcap">Violet</span>." Illustrated. +Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 cents.</p> + +<p>THE GREAT ROSY DIAMOND. By <span class="smcap">Mrs. Anne Augusta Carter</span> With illustrations +by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt 75 cents.</p> + +<p>This is a most charming story, from an author of reputation in this +department, both in England and America. The machinery of Fairy Land is +employed with great ingenuity; the style is beautiful, imaginative, yet +simple. The frolics of Robin Goodfellow are rendered with the utmost +grace and spirit.</p> + +<p>TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE. Designed for the Use of Young Persons. By <span class="smcap">Charles +Lamb</span>. From the fifth London edition. 12mo. Illustrated. Price, bound in +muslin, $1.00; gilt, $1.50.</p> + +<p>These tales are intended to interest children and youth in some of the +plays of Shakspeare. The form of the dialogue is dropped, and instead +the plots are woven into stories, which are models of beauty. What +Hawthorne has lately done for the classical mythology, Lamb has here +done for Shakspeare.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<p class='center'>PUBLISHED BY<br /> +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston,<br /> +And for sale by all Booksellers in the United States.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h3>JUVENILE BOOKS.</h3> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<p>THE ROLLO BOOKS. By <span class="smcap">Rev. Jacob Abbott</span>. In fourteen volumes. New edition, +with finely executed engravings from original designs by Billings. Price +$7; single, 50 cents, Any volume sold separately.</p> + +<p>Rollo Learning to Talk.<br /> +Rollo Learning to Read.<br /> +Rollo at Work.<br /> +Rollo at Play.<br /> +Rollo at School.<br /> +Rollo's Vacation.<br /> +Rollo's Experiments.<br /> +Rollo's Museum.<br /> +Rollo's Travels.<br /> +Rollo's Correspondence.<br /> +Rollo's Philosophy—Water.<br /> +Rollo's Philosophy—Fire.<br /> +Rollo's Philosophy—Air.<br /> +Rollo's Philosophy—Sky.</p> + +<p>This is undoubtedly the most popular series of juvenile books ever +published in America. This edition is far more attractive externally +than the one by which the author first became known. Nearly one hundred +new engravings, clear and fine paper, a new and beautiful cover, with a +neat box to contain the whole, will give to this series, if possible, a +still wider and more enduring reputation.</p> + +<p>The same, without illustrations, fourteen volumes, muslin, $5.25.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h3>EXCELSIOR GIFT BOOKS.</h3> + +<p>Six volumes, large 16mo., illustrated. Price, in cloth, 75 cents per +volume; gilt, $1.00.</p> + +<p>Christmas Roses.<br /> +Favorite Story Book.<br /> +Little Messenger Birds.<br /> +The Ice King.<br /> +Youth's Diadem.<br /> +Juvenile Keepsake.</p> + +<p>A beautiful series of books, and universally popular.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<p>VACATION STORY BOOKS.</p> + +<p>Six volumes, with fine wood engravings. Price, in cloth, 50 cents per +volume; gilt, 75 cents.</p> + +<p>Estelle's Stories about Dogs.<br /> +The Cheerful Heart.<br /> +Little Blossom's Reward.<br /> +Holidays at Chestnut Hill.<br /> +Country Life.<br /> +The Angel Children.</p> + +<p>A series of stories that will give unfailing entertainment and +instruction.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<h3>JUVENILE STORY BOOKS.</h3> + +<p>Seven volumes, illustrated. Price, in cloth, 37 1-2 cents per volume: +gilt, 50 cents.</p> + +<p>Aunt Mary's Stories.<br /> +Gift Story Book.<br /> +Good Child's Fairy Gift.<br /> +Frank and Fanny.<br /> +Country Scenes and Characters.<br /> +Peep at the Animals.<br /> +Peep at the Birds.</p> + +<hr class='smler' /> + +<p>LITTLE MARY; or, Talks and Tales for Children. By <span class="smcap">H. Trusta</span>. Beautifully +printed and finely illustrated. 16mo. Price, muslin, 60 cents; muslin, +full gilt, 88 cents.</p> + +<p>UNCLE FRANK'S BOYS' AND GIRLS' LIBRARY. A beautiful series, comprising +six volumes, square 16mo., with eight tinted Engravings in each volume. +The following are their titles respectively;</p> + +<blockquote><p>I. The Pedler's Boy; or, I'll be Somebody.<br /> +II. The Diving Bell; or, Pearls to be sought for.<br /> +III. The Poor Organ Grinder; and other Stories.<br /> +IV. Loss and Gain; or, Susy Lee's Motto.<br /> +V. Mike Marble; his Crotchets and Oddities.<br /> +VI. The Wonderful Letter Bag of Kit Curious.</p></blockquote> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Francis C. Woodworth</span>. Price, bound in muslin, 50 cents per volume; +muslin, gilt, 75 cents per volume.</p> + +<p>Catalogues of the publications P. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions + +Author: George S. Boutwell + +Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #19056] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THOUGHTS ON EDUCATIONAL *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Martin Pettit and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +THOUGHTS + +ON + +EDUCATIONAL TOPICS + +AND + +INSTITUTIONS. + + + +BY + +GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. + + + +BOSTON: +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY. +MDCCCLIX. + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by +GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of +Massachusetts. + + +STEREOTYPED BY +HOBART AND ROBBINS, BOSTON. + + +To + +THE TEACHERS OF MASSACHUSETTS, + +WHOSE + +ENLIGHTENED DEVOTION TO THEIR DUTIES + +HAS + +CONTRIBUTED EFFECTUALLY TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING, + +This Volume + +IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. + G. S. B. + + +CONTENTS. + + PAGE +THE INTRINSIC NATURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING, AND ITS +INFLUENCE UPON LABOR, 9 + +EDUCATION AND CRIME, 49 + +REFORMATION OF CHILDREN, 75 + +THE CARE AND REFORMATION OF THE NEGLECTED AND EXPOSED +CLASSES OF CHILDREN, 86 + +ELEMENTARY TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 131 + +THE RELATIVE MERITS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENDOWED +ACADEMIES, 152 + +THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM, 164 + +NORMAL SCHOOL TRAINING, 203 + +FEMALE EDUCATION, 221 + +THE INFLUENCE, DUTIES, AND REWARDS, OF TEACHERS, 241 + +LIBERTY AND LEARNING, 274 + +MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND, 308 + +A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, 339 + + + + +THE INTRINSIC NATURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING, AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON +LABOR. + +[Lecture before the American Institute of Instruction.] + + +Words and terms have, to different minds, various significations; and we +often find definitions changing in the progress of events. Bailey says +learning is "skill in languages or sciences." To this, Walker adds what +he calls "literature," and "skill in anything, good or bad." Dr. Webster +enlarges the meaning of the word still more, and says, "Learning is the +knowledge of principles or facts received by instruction or study; +acquired knowledge or ideas in any branch of science or literature; +erudition; literature; science; knowledge acquired by experience, +experiment, or observation." Milton gives us a rhetorical definition in +a negative form, which is of equal value, at least, with any authority +yet cited. "And though a linguist," says Milton, "should pride himself +to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he have +not studied the solid things in them, as well as the words and +lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man, as any +yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother dialect +only."--"Language is but the instrument conveying to us things useful to +be known." + +This is kindred to the saying of Locke, that "men of much reading are +greatly learned, but may be little knowing." We must give to the term +_learning_ a broad definition, if we accept Milton's statement that its +end "is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know +God aright;" for this necessarily implies that we are to study carefully +everything relating to the nature of our existence, to the spot and +scene of our existence, with its mysterious phenomena, and its +comparatively unexplained laws. And we must, moreover, always keep in +view the personal relations and duties which the Creator has imposed +upon the members of the human race. The knowledge of these relations and +duties is one form of learning; the disposition and the ability to +observe and practise these relations and duties, is another and a higher +form of learning. The first is the learning of the theologian, the +schoolman; the latter is the learning of the practical Christian. Both +ought to exist; but when they are separated, we place things above +signs, facts above forms, life above ideas. Law and justice ought always +to be united; but when by error, or fraud, or usurpation, they are +separated, we observe the forms of law, but we respect the principles of +justice. This is a good illustration of the principles which guide to a +true distinction in the forms of learning. Of all the definitions +enumerated, we must give to the word _learning_ the broadest +signification. It is safe to accept the statement of the great poet, +that a man may be acquainted with many languages, and yet not be +learned; even as the apostle said he should become as sounding brass or +a tinkling cymbal, if he had not charity, though he spoke with the +tongues of men and angels. Learning includes, no doubt, a knowledge of +the languages, the sciences, and all literature; but it includes also +much else; and this much else may be more important than the enumerated +branches. The term _learned_ has been limited, usually, by exclusive +application to the schoolmen; but it is a matter of doubt, especially in +this country, upon the broad definition laid down, whether there is more +learning in the schools, or out of them. This remark, if true, is no +reflection upon the schools, but much in favor of the world. Those were +dark ages when learning was confined to the schools; and, though we can +never be too grateful for their existence, and the fidelity with which +they preserved the knowledge of other days, that is surely a higher +attainment in the life of the race, when the learning of the world +exceeds the learning of the cloister, the school, and the college. + +In a private conversation, Professor Guyot made a remark which seems to +have a public value. "You give to your schools," said he, "credit that +is really due to the world. Looking at America with the eye of an +European, it appears to me that your world is doing more and your +schools are doing less, in the cause of education, than you are inclined +to believe." For one, though I ought, as much as any, to stand for the +schools, I give a qualified assent to the truth of this observation. +There is much learning among us which we cannot trace directly to the +schools; but the schools have introduced and fostered a spirit which has +given to the world the power to make itself learned. It is much easier +to disseminate what is called the spirit of education, than it was to +create that spirit, and preserve it when there were few to do it homage. +For this we are indebted to the schools. Unobserved in the process of +change, but happy in its results, the business of education is not now +confined to professional teachers. + +The greatest change of all has been wrought by the attention given to +female education, so that the mother of this generation is not compelled +to rely exclusively upon the school and the paid teacher, public or +private, but can herself, as the teacher ordained by nature, aid her +children in the preparatory studies of life. This power does not often +manifest itself in a regular system of domestic school studies and +discipline, but its influence is felt in a higher home preparation, and +in the exhibition of better ideas of what a school should be. And we may +assume, with all due respect to our maternal ancestry, that this fact is +a modern feature, comparatively, in American civilization. Female +education has given rise to some excesses of opinion and conduct; but +the world is entirely safe, especially the self-styled lords of +creation, and may wisely advocate a system of general education without +regard to sex, and leave the effect to those laws of nature and +revelation which are to all and in all, and cannot permanently be +avoided or disobeyed. + +The number of educators has strangely increased, and they often appear +where they might least be expected. We speak of the revival of +education, and think only of the change that has taken place in the last +twenty years in the appropriations of money, the style of school-houses, +and the fitness of professional teachers for the work in which they are +engaged; but these changes, though great, are scarcely more noteworthy +than those that have occurred in the management of our shops, mills, and +farms. When we write the sign or utter the sound which symbolizes +_Teacher_, what figure, being, or qualities, are brought before us? We +_should_ see a person who, in the pursuit of knowledge, is self-moving, +and, in the exercise of the influence which knowledge gives, is able to +appreciate the qualities of others; and who, moreover, possesses enough +of inventive power to devise means by which he can lead pupils, +students, or hearers, in the way they ought to go. We naturally look for +such persons in the lecture-room, the school, and the pulpit. And we +find them there; but they are also to be found in other places. There +are thousands of such men in America, engaged in the active pursuits of +the day. They are farmers, mechanics, merchants, operatives. They do not +often follow text-books, and therefor are none the worse, but much the +better teachers. Insensibly they have taken on the spirit of the teacher +and the school, and, apparently ignorant of the fact, are, in the quiet +pursuits of daily life, leaders of classes following some great thought, +or devoted to some practical investigation. And in one respect these +teachers are of a higher order than _some_--not all, nor most--of our +professional teachers. They never cease to be students. When a man or +woman puts on the garb of the teacher, and throws off the garb of the +student, you will soon find that person so dwindled and dwarfed, that +neither will hang upon the shoulders. This happens sometimes in the +school, but never in the world. + +The last twenty-five years have produced two new features in our +civilization, that are at once a cause and a product of learning. I +speak of the Press, and of Associations for mutual improvement. + +The newspaper press of America, having its centre in the city of New +York, is more influential than the press of any other country. It may +not be conducted with greater ability; though, if compared with the +English press, the chief difference unfavorable to America is found in +the character of the leading editorial articles. In enterprise, in +telegraphic business, maritime, and political news and information, the +press of the United States is not behind that of Great Britain. + +It must, however, be admitted that a given subject is usually more +thoroughly discussed in a single issue from the English press; but it is +by no means certain that public questions are, upon the whole, better +canvassed in England than in America. Indeed, the opposite is probably +true. Our press will follow a subject day after day, with the aid of +new thoughts and facts, until it is well understood by the reader. +European ideas of journalism cannot be followed blindly by the press of +America. The journalist in Europe writes for a select few. His readers +are usually persons of leisure, if they have not always culture and +taste; and the issue of the morning paper is to them what the appearance +of the quarterly, heavy or racy, is to the cultivated American reader. + +But the American journalist, whatever his taste may be, cannot afford to +address himself to so small an audience. He writes literally for the +million; for I take it to be no exaggeration to say that paragraphs and +articles are often read by millions of people in America. This fact is +an important one, as it furnishes a good test of the standard taste and +learning of the people. Our press answers the demand which the people +make upon it. The mass of newspaper readers are not, in a scholastic +sense, well-educated persons. Newspaper writers do not, therefore, +trouble themselves about the colleges with their professors, but they +seek rather to gain the attention and secure the support of the great +body of the people, who know nothing of colleges except through the +newspapers. We have always been permitted to infer the intellectual and +moral character of the audiences of Demosthenes, from the orations of +Demosthenes; and may we not also infer the character of the American +people, from the character of the press that they support? In a single +issue may often be found an editorial article upon some question of +present interest; a sermon, address, or speech, from a leading mind of +the country or the world; letters from various quarters of the globe; +extracts from established literary and scientific journals; original +essays upon political, literary, scientific, and religious subjects; and +items of local or general interest for all classes of readers. This +product of the press, in quantity and quality, could not be distributed, +week after week, and year after year, among an ignorant class of people. +It could be accepted by intelligent, thinking, progressive minds only; +and, as a fact necessarily coexisting, we find the newspaper press +equally essential to the best-educated persons among us. The newspaper +press in America is a century and a half old; but its power does not +antedate this century, and its growth has been chiefly within the last +twenty-five years. What that growth has been may be easily seen by any +one who will compare the daily sheet of the last generation with the +daily sheet of this; and the future of the American press may be easily +predicted by those who consider the progressive influences among us, of +which the newspaper must always be the truest representative. + +Within the same brief period of time it has become the fixed custom of +the people to associate together for educational objects. + +As a consequence, we have the lyceum for all, libraries for all, +professional institutes and clubs for merchants, mechanics, and farmers, +and, at last, free libraries and lectures for the operatives in the +mills. Where these institutions can exist, there must be a high order of +general learning; and where these institutions do exist, and are +sustained, the learning of the people, whether high or low at any given +moment, must be rapidly improved. Yet some of these agencies--lectures +and libraries, for example--are not free from serious faults. It may +seem rash and indefensible to criticize lectures upon the platform of +the lecturer; but, as the audience can inflict whatever penalty they +please upon the speaker, he will so far assume responsibility as to say +that amusement is not the highest object of a single lecture, and when +sought by managers as the desirable object of a whole course, the +lecture-room becomes a theatre of dissipation; surely not so bad as +other forms of dissipation, but yet so distinctly marked, and so +pernicious in its influence, as to be comparatively unworthy of general +support. Let it not, however, be inferred that wit, humor, and drollery +even, are to be excluded from the lecture-room; but they should always +be employed as means by which information is communicated. Between +lecturers equal in other respects, one with the salt of humor, native to +the soil, should be preferred; but it is a sad reflection upon public +taste, when a person whose entire intellectual capital is wit, humor, or +buffoonery, is preferred to men of solid learning. But it is a worse +view of human nature, when men of real merit and worth depreciate +themselves and lower the public taste, by attempting to do what, at +best, they can have but ill success in, and what they would despise +themselves for, were they to succeed completely. Shakspeare says of a +jester: + + + "This fellow's wise enough to play the fool; + And to do that well, craves a kind of wit: + + * * * * * + + This is a practice + As full of labor as a wise man's art: + For folly, that he wisely shows, is fit; + But wise men, folly-fallen, quite taint their wit." + + +A kindred mental dissipation follows in the steps of progress, and +demands aliment from our public libraries. In the selection of books +there is a wide range, from the trashy productions of the fifth-rate +novelist, to stately history and exact science. It is, however, to be +assumed that libraries will not be established until they are wanted, +and that the want will not be pressing until there is a taste for +reading somewhat general. Where this taste exists, it is fair to assume +that it is in some degree elevated. The direction, however, which the +taste of any community is to take, after the establishment of a public +library, depends, in a great degree, upon the selection of books for its +shelves. Two dangers are to be avoided. The first, and greatest, is the +selection of books calculated to degrade the morals or intellect of the +reader. This danger is apparent, and to be shunned needs but to be seen. +Books, of more or less intrinsic value, are so abundant and cheap, that +common men must go out of their way to gather a large collection that +shall not contain works of real merit. But the object should be to +exclude all worthless and pernicious works, and meet and improve the +public taste, by offering it mental food better than that to which it +has been accustomed. The other danger is negative, rather than positive; +but, as books are comparatively worthless when they are not read, it +becomes a matter of great moment to select such as will touch the public +mind at a few points, at least. It is indeed possible, and, under the +guidance of some persons, it would be natural, to encumber the shelves +of a library with _good books_ that might ever remain so, saving only +the contributions made to mould and mice. + +Now, if you will pardon a little more fault-finding,--which is, I +confess, a quality without merit, or, as Byron has it, + + + "A man must serve his time to every trade + Save censure--critics all are ready made,"-- + + +I will hazard the opinion that the practice of establishing libraries in +towns for the benefit of a portion of the inhabitants only is likely to +prove pernicious in the end. To be sure, reading for some is better than +reading for none; but reading for all is better than either. In +Massachusetts there is a general law that permits cities and towns to +raise money for the support of libraries; yet the legislature, in a few +cases, has granted charters to library associations. With due deference, +it may very well be suggested, that, where a spirit exists which leads a +few individuals to ask for a charter, it would be better to turn this +spirit into a public channel, that all might enjoy its benefits. And it +will happen, generally, that the establishment of a public library will +be less expensive to the friends of the movement, and the advantages +will be greater; while there will be an additional satisfaction in the +good conferred upon others. + +We shall act wisely if we apply to books a maxim of the Greeks: "All +things in common amongst friends." Under this maxim Cicero has +enumerated, as principles of humanity, not to deny one a little running +water, or the lighting his fire by ours, if he has occasion; to give the +best counsel we are able to one who is in doubt or distress; which, says +he, "are things that do good to the person that receives them, and are +no loss or trouble to him that confers them." And he quotes, with +approbation, the words of Ennius: + + + "He that directs the wandering traveller + Doth, as it were, light another's torch by his own; + Which gives him ne'er the less of light, for that + It gave another." + + +A good book is a guide to the reader, and a well-selected library will +be a guide to many. And shall we give a little running water, and turn +aside or choke up the streams of knowledge? light the evening torch, and +leave the immortal mind unillumined? give free counsel to the ignorant +or distressed, when he might easily be qualified to act as his own +counsellor? In July 1856, Mr. Everett gave five hundred dollars toward a +library for the High School in his native town of Dorchester; and in +1854 Mr. Abbott Lawrence gave an equal sum to his native town for the +establishment of a public library. These are not large donations, if we +consider only the amount of money given; but it is difficult to suggest +any other equal appropriation that would be as beneficial, in a public +sense. These donations are noble, because conceived in a spirit of +comprehensive liberality. They are examples worthy of imitation; and I +venture to affirm, there is not one of our New England towns that has +not given to the world a son able to make a similar contribution to the +cause of general learning. Is it too much to believe that a public +library in a town will double the number of persons having a taste for +reading, and consequently double the number of well-educated people? +For, though we are not educated by mere reading, it is yet likely to +happen that one who has a taste for books will also acquire habits of +observation, study, and reflection. + +Professional institutes and clubs also serve to increase the sum of +general learning. They have thus far avoided the evil which has waited +or fastened upon similar associations in Europe,--subserviency to +political designs. Every profession or interest of labor has peculiar +ideas and special purposes. These ideas and purposes may be wisely +promoted by distinct organizations. Who can doubt the utility of +associations of merchants, mechanics, and farmers? They furnish +opportunities for the exchange of opinions, the exhibition of products, +the dissemination of ideas, and the knowledge of improvements, that are +thus wisely made the property of all. Knowledge begets knowledge. What +is the distinguishing fact between a good school and a poor one? Is it +not, that in a good school the prevailing public sentiment is on the +side of knowledge and its acquisition? And does not the same fact +distinguish a learned community from an ignorant community? If, in a +village or city of artisans, each one makes a small annual contribution +to the general stock of knowledge, the aggregate progress will be +appreciable, and, most likely, considerable. If, on the other hand, each +one plods by himself, the sum of professional knowledge cannot be +increased, and is likely to be diminished. + +The moral of the parable of the ten talents is eminently true in matters +of learning. "Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have +abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that +which he hath." We cannot conceive of a greater national calamity than +an industrial population delving in mental sluggishness at unrelieved +and unchanging tasks. The manufacture of pins was commenced in England +in 1583, and for two hundred and fifty years she had the exclusive +control of the trade; yet all that period passed away without +improvement, or change in the process; while in America the business was +revolutionized, simplified, and economized one-half, in the period of +five years. In 1840 the valuation of Massachusetts was about three +hundred millions of dollars; but it is certain that a large portion of +this sum should have been set off against the constant impoverishment of +the land, commencing with the settlement of the state,--the natural and +unavoidable result of an ignorant system of farm labor. The revival of +education in America was soon followed by a marked improvement in the +leading industries of the people, and especially in the department of +agriculture. The principle of association has not yet been as beneficial +to the farmers as to the mechanics; but the former are soon to be +compensated for the delay. With the exception of the business of +discovering small planets, which seem to have been created for the +purpose of exciting rivalry among a number of enthusiastic, well-minded, +but comparatively secluded gentlemen, agricultural learning has made the +most marked progress in the last ten years. But an agricultural +population is professionally an inert population; and, therefore, as in +the accumulation of John Jacob Astor's fortune, it was more difficult to +take the first step than to make all the subsequent movements. Now, +however, the principle of association is giving direction and force to +the labors of the farmer; and it is easy for any person to draw to +himself, in that pursuit, the results of the learning of the world. + +Libraries and lectures for the operatives in the manufactories +constitute another agency in the cause of general learning. The city of +Lawrence, under the lead of well-known public-spirited gentlemen there, +has the honor of introducing the system in America. A movement, to which +this is kindred, was previously made in England; but that movement had +for its object the education of the operatives in the simple elements of +learning, and among the females in a knowledge of household duties. An +English writer says: "Many employers have already established schools in +connection with their manufactories. From many instances before us, we +may take that of Mr. Morris, of Manchester, who has risen, himself, from +the condition of a factory operative, and who has felt in his own person +the disadvantages under which that class of workmen labor. He has +introduced many judicious improvements. He has spent about one hundred +and fifty pounds in ventilating his mills; and has established a +library, coffee-room, class-room, weekly lectures, and a system of +industrial training. The latter has been established for females, of +whom he employs a great many. This class of girls generally go to the +mills without any knowledge of household duties; they are taught in the +schools to sew, knit," etc. + +But, in the provision made at Lawrence for intellectual culture, it is +assumed, very properly, that the operatives are familiar with the +branches usually taught in the public schools. This could not be assumed +of an English manufacturing population, nor, indeed, of any town +population, considered as a whole. Herein America has an advantage over +England. Our laborers occupy a higher standpoint intellectually, and in +that proportion their labors are more effective and economical. The +managers and proprietors at Lawrence were influenced by a desire to +improve the condition of the laborers, and had no regard to any +pecuniary return to themselves, either immediate or remote. And it would +be a sufficient satisfaction to witness the growth of knowledge and +morality, thereby elevating society, and rendering its institutions more +secure. + +These higher results will be accompanied, however, by others of +sufficient importance to be considered. When we _hire_, or, what is, +for this inquiry, the same thing, _buy_ that commodity called, _labor_, +what do we expect to get? Is it merely the physical force, the animal +life contained in a given quantity of muscle and bone? In ordinary cases +we expect these, but in all cases we expect something more. We sometimes +buy, and at a very high cost, too, what has, as a product, the least +conceivable amount of manual labor in it,--a professional opinion, for +example; but we never buy physical strength merely, nor physical +strength at all, unless it is directed by some intellectual force. The +descending stream has power to drive machinery, and the arm of the idiot +has force for some mechanical service, but they equally lack the +directing mind. We are not so unwise as to purchase the power of the +stream, or the force of the idiot's arm; but we pay for its application +in the thing produced, and we often pay more for the skill that has +directed the power than for the power itself. The river that now moves +the machinery of a factory in which many scores of men and women find +their daily labor, and earn their daily bread, was employed a hundred +years ago in driving a single set of mill-stones; and thus a man and boy +were induced to divide their time lazily between the grist in the hopper +and the fish under the dam. The river's power has not changed; but the +inventive, creative genius of man has been applied to it, and new and +astonishing results are produced. With man himself this change has been +even greater. In proportion to the population of the country, we are +daily dispensing with manual labor, and yet we are daily increasing the +national production. There is more mind directing the machinery +propelled by the forces of nature, and more mind directing the machinery +of the human body. The result is, that a given product is furnished by +less outlay of physical force. Formerly, with the old spinning-wheel and +hand-loom, we put a great deal of bone and muscle into a yard of cloth; +now we put in very little. We have substituted mind for physical force, +and the question is, which is the more economical? Or, in other words, +is it of any consequence to the employer whether the laborer is ignorant +or intelligent? + +Before we discuss this point abstractly, let us notice the conduct of +men. Is any one willing to give an ignorant farm laborer as much as he +is ready to pay for the services of an intelligent man? And if not, why +the distinction? And if an ignorant man is not the best man upon a farm, +is he likely to be so in a shop or mill? And if not, we see how the +proprietors of factories are interested in elevating the standard of +learning, in the mills and outside. But they are not singular in this. +All classes of employers are equally concerned in the education of the +laborer; for learning not only makes his labor more valuable to himself, +but the market price of the product is generally reduced, and the change +affects favorably all interests of society. This benefit is one of the +first in point of time, and the one, perhaps, most appreciable of all +which learning has conferred upon the laborer. As each laborer, with the +same expenditure of physical force, produces a greater result, of course +the aggregate products of the world are vastly increased, although they +represent only the same number of laborers that a less quantity would +have represented under an ignorant system. + +The division of these products upon any principle conceivable leaves for +the laborer a larger quantity than he could have before commanded; for, +although the share of the wealthy may be disproportionate, their ability +to consume is limited; and, as poverty is the absence or want of things +necessary and convenient for the purposes of life, according to the +ideas at the time entertained, we see how a laboring population, +necessarily poor while ignorance prevails, is elevated to a position of +greater social and physical comfort, as mind takes the place of brute +force in the industries of the world. Learning, then, is not the result +of social comfort, but social comfort is the product of intelligence, +and increases or diminishes as intelligence is general or limited. It is +not, however, to be taken as granted that each laborer's position +corresponds or answers to the sum of his own knowledge. It might happen +that an ignorant laborer would enjoy the advantages of a general +culture, to which he contributed little or nothing; and it must of +necessity also happen that an intelligent laborer, in the midst of an +ignorant population, as in Ireland or India, for example, would be +compelled to accept, in the main, the condition of those around him. But +there is no evidence on the face of society now, or in its history, that +an ignorant population, whether a laboring population or not, has ever +escaped from a condition of poverty. And the converse of the proposition +is undoubtedly true, that an intelligent laboring community will soon +become a wealthy community. Learning is sure to produce wealth; wealth +is likely to contribute to learning, but it does not necessarily produce +it. Hence it follows that learning is the only means by which the poor +can escape from their poverty. + +In this statement it is assumed that education does not promote vice; +and not only is this negative assumption true, but it is safe to assume, +further, that education favors virtue, and that any given population +will be less vicious when educated than when ignorant. This, I cannot +doubt, is a general truth, subject, of course, to some exceptions. + +The educational struggle in which the English people are now engaged has +made distinct and tangible certain opinions and impressions that are +latent in many minds. There has been an attempt to show that vice has +increased in proportion to education. This attempt has failed, though +there may be found, of course, in all countries, single facts, or +classes of facts, that seem to sustain such an opinion. + +Now, suppose this case,--and neither this case nor any similar one has +ever occurred in real life,--but suppose crime to increase as a people +were educated, though there should be no increase of population; would +this fact prove that learning made men worse? By no means. Our answer is +apparent on the face of the change itself. By education, the business, +and pecuniary relations and transactions of a people are almost +indefinitely multiplied; and temptations to crime, especially to crimes +against property, are multiplied in an equal ratio. Would person or +property be better respected in New York or Boston, if the most ignorant +population of the world could be substituted for the present +inhabitants of those cities? The business nerves of men are frequently +shocked by some unexpected defalcation, and short-sighted moralists, who +lack faith, exclaim, "All this is because men know so much!" Such +certainly forget that for every defaulter in a city there are hundreds +of honest men, who receive and render justly unto all, and hold without +check the fortunes of others. So Mr. Drummond argued in the British +House of Commons against a national system of education, because what he +was pleased to call _instruction_ had not saved William Palmer and John +Sadlier. But the truth in this matter is not at the bottom of a well; it +is upon the surface. Where it is the habit of society generally to be +ignorant, you will find it the necessity of that society to be poor; and +where ignorance and poverty both abound, the temptations to crime are +unquestionably few, but the power to resist temptation is as +unquestionably weak. The absence of crime is owing to the absence of +temptation, rather than to the presence of virtue. Such a condition of +society is as near to real virtue as the mental weakness of the idiot is +to true happiness. + +Turning again to the discussion in the British Parliament of April, +1856, we are compelled to believe that some English statesmen are, in +principle and in their ideas of political economy, where a portion of +the English cotton-spinners were a hundred years ago. The +cotton-spinners thought the invention of labor-saving machinery would +deprive them of bread; and a Mr. Ball gravely argues that schools will +so occupy the attention of children, that the farmers' crops will be +neglected. I am inclined to give you his own words; and I have no doubt +you will be in a measure relieved of the dulness of this essay, when you +listen to what was actually cheered, in the British Commons. Speaking of +the resolutions in favor of a national system of instruction, Mr. Ball +said: "It was important to consider what would be their bearing on the +agricultural districts of the country. He had obtained a return from his +own farm, and, supposing the principles advocated by the noble lord were +adopted, the results would be perfectly fearful. The following was the +return he had obtained from his agent: William Chapman, ten years a +servant on his (Mr. Ball's) farm; his own wages thirteen shillings, +besides a house; he had seven children, who earned nine shillings a +week; making together twenty-two shillings a week. Robert Arbor, fifteen +years on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week, and a house; six +children, who earned six shillings a week; making together nineteen +shillings. John Stevens, thirty-three years a servant on the farm; his +own wages fourteen shillings a week; he had brought up ten children, +whose average earnings had been twelve shillings weekly, making together +twenty-six shillings a week. Robert Carbon, twenty-two years a servant +on the farm; wages thirteen shillings a week; having ten children, who +earned ten shillings a week; making together twenty-three shillings a +week. Thus it appeared that in these four families the fathers earned +fifty-three shillings weekly, and the children thirty-seven shillings a +week; so that the children earned something more than two-thirds of the +amount of the earnings of the fathers. He would ask the house, if the +fathers were to be deprived of the earnings of the children, how could +they provide bread for them? It was perfectly impossible. They must +either increase the parent's wages to the amount of the loss he thus +sustained, or they must make it up to him from a rate. Then, again, +those who were at all conversant with agriculture knew that if they +deprived the farmer of the labor of children, agriculture could not be +carried on. There was no machinery by which they could get the weeds out +of the land."--_London Times_. + +The light which this statement furnishes is not hid under a bushel. The +argument deserves a more logical form, and I proceed gratuitously to +give the author the benefit of a scientific arrangement. "If a national +system of education is adopted, the children of my tenants will be sent +to school; if the children of my tenants are sent to school, my turnips +will not be weeded; if my turnips are not weeded, I shall eat fat mutton +no more." + +After this from a statesman, we need not wonder that a correspondent of +Lord John Russell writes, "That a farmer near him has been heard to say, +he would not give anything to a day-school; he finds that since +Sunday-schools have been established the birds have increased and eat +his corn, and because he cannot now procure the services of the boys, +whom he used to employ the whole of Sunday, in protecting his +fields."--_London Times, April 13th, 1856._ + +Now, I do not go to England for the purpose of making an attack upon her +opinions; but, as kindred ideas prevail among us, though to a limited +extent only, the folly of them may be seen in persons at a distance, +when it would not be realized by ourselves. Moreover, the presentation +of these somewhat ridiculous notions brings ridicule upon a whole class +of errors; and when errors are so ingrained that men cannot reason in +regard to them, ridicule is often the only weapon of successful attack. +And it is no compliment to an American audience for the speaker to say +that their own minds already suggest the refutation which these errors +demand. If the chief end of man, for which boyhood should be a +preparation, were to weed turnips or to frighten blackbirds from +corn-fields, then surely the objection of Mr. Ball, and the complaint +and spirit of resistance offered by Lord John Russell's farmer, would be +eminently proper. But Lord John Russell did not himself assent to the +view furnished by his correspondent. Mr. Ball's theory evidently is, +"Take good care of the turnips, and leave the culture of the boys and +girls to chance;" and Lord John Russell's wise farmer unquestionably +thinks that cereal peculations of blackbirds are more dangerous than the +robberies committed by neglected children, grown to men. + +Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston jail, says: "Thirty-six per cent. come +into jail unable to say the Lord's Prayer; and seventy-two per cent. +come in such a state of moral debasement that it is in vain to give them +instruction, or to teach them their duty, since they cannot understand +the meaning of the words used to them." Here we have, as cause and +effect, the philosophy of Mr. Ball, and the facts of Mr. Clay. And, +further, this philosophy is as bad in principle, when tried by the rules +of political economy, as when subjected to moral and Christian tests. + +Mr. Ball says there is no machinery by which the farmers can get the +weeds out of the land. This may be true; and once there was no +machinery by which they could get the seed into the land, or the crops +from it. Once there was little or no inventive power among the +mechanics, or scientific knowledge, or even spirit of inquiry, among the +farmers. How have these changes been wrought? By education, surely, and +that moral and religious culture for which secular education is a fit +preparation. The contributions of learning to labor, in a pecuniary +aspect alone, have far exceeded the contributions of labor to learning. + +It is impossible to enumerate the evidences in support of this +statement, but single facts will give us some conception of their +aggregated value and force. + +It was stated by Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of +Agriculture, in his Annual Report for 1855, "That the saving to the +country, from the improvements in ploughs alone, within the last +twenty-five years, has been estimated at no less than ten millions of +dollars a year in the work of teams, and one million in the price of +ploughs, while the aggregate of the crops is supposed to have been +increased by many millions of bushels." From this fact, as the +representative of a great class of facts, we may safely draw two +conclusions. First, these improvements are the products of learning, the +contribution which learning makes to labor, far exceeding in amount any +tax which the cause of learning, in schools or out, imposes upon labor. +Secondly, we see that a given amount of adult labor upon a farm, with +the help of the improved implements of industry, will accomplish more in +1856, than the same amount of adult labor, with its attendant juvenile +force, could have accomplished in 1826. If we were fully to illustrate +and sustain the latter inference, we should be required to review the +improvements made in other implements of farming, as well as in ploughs. +Their positive pecuniary value, when considered in the aggregate, is too +vast for general belief; and in England alone it must exceed the +anticipated cost of a system of public instruction, say six millions of +pounds, or thirty millions of dollars, per year. But learning, as we +have defined it, has contributed less to farming than to other +departments of labor. + +The very existence of manufactures presupposes the existence of +learning. There is no branch of manufactures without its appropriate +machine; and every machine is the product of mind, enlarged and +disciplined by some sort of culture. The steam engine, the +spinning-jenny, the loom, the cotton-gin, are notable instances of the +advantages derived by manufacturing industry from the prevalence of +learning. It was stated by Chief Justice Marshall, about thirty years +ago, that Whitney's cotton-gin had saved five hundred millions of +dollars to the country; and the saving, upon the same basis, cannot now +be less than one thousand millions of dollars,--a sum too great for the +human imagination to conceive. When we contemplate these achievements of +mind, by which manual labor has been diminished, and every physical +force both magnified and economized, how unstatesmanlike is the view +which regards a human being as a bundle of muscles and bones merely, +with no destiny but ignorance, servitude, and poverty! + +Ancient commerce, if we omit to notice the conjecture that the mariner's +compass was in possession of the old Phoenician and Indian navigators, +reproduced, rather than invented, in modern times, did not rest upon any +enlarged scientific knowledge; but, in this era, many of the sciences +contribute to the extension and prosperity of trade. After what has been +accomplished by science, and especially by physical geography, for +commerce and navigation, we have reason to expect a system, based upon +scientific knowledge and principles, which shall render the highway of +nations secure against the disasters that have often befallen those who +go down to the sea in ships. Science gave to the world the steamship, +which promised for a time to engross the entire trade upon the ocean; +but science again appears, constructs vessels upon better scientific +principles, traces out the path of currents in the water and the air, +and thus restores the rival powers of wind and steam to an equality of +position in the eye of the merchant. Will any one say that all this +inures to capital, and leaves the laborer comparatively unrewarded? We +are accustomed to use the word prosperity as synonymous with +accumulation; and yet, in a true view, a man may be prosperous and +accumulate nothing. Suppose we contrast two periods in the life of a +nation with each other. Since the commencement of this century, the +wages of a common farm laborer in America have increased seventy-five or +one hundred per cent., while the articles necessary and convenient for +his use have, upon the whole, diminished in price. Admit that there was +nothing for accumulation in the first period, and that there is nothing +for accumulation now,--is not his condition nevertheless improved? And, +if so, has he not participated in the general prosperity? + +Indeed, we may all accept the truth, that there is no exclusiveness in +the benefits which learning confers; and this leads me to say, next, +that there ought to be no exclusiveness in the enjoyment of educational +privileges. + +In America we agree to this; and yet, confessedly, as a practical result +we have not generally attained the end proposed. There are two practical +difficulties in the way. First, our aim in a system of public +instruction is not high enough; and, secondly, we do not sufficiently +realize the importance of educating each individual. Our aim is not high +enough; and the result, like every other result, is measured and limited +by the purpose we have in view. Our public schools ought to be so good +that private schools for instruction in the ordinary branches would +disappear. Mr. Everett said, in reply to inquiries made by Mr. +Twistleton, "I send my boy to the public school, because I know of none +better." It should be the aim of the public to make their schools so +good that no citizen, in the education of his children, will pass them +by. + +It is as great a privilege for the wealthy as for the poor to have an +opportunity to send their children to good public schools. It is a maxim +in education that the teacher must first comprehend the pupil mentally +and morally; and might not many of the errors of individual and public +life be avoided, if the citizen, from the first, were to have an +accurate idea of the world in which he is to live? The demand of labor +upon education, as they are connected with every material interest of +society, is, that no one shall be neglected. The mind of a nation is +its capital. We are accustomed to speak of money as capital; and +sometimes we enlarge the definition, and include machinery, tools, +flocks, herds, and lands. But for this moment let us do what we have a +right to do,--go behind the definitions of lexicographers and political +economists, and say, "_capital_ is the producing force of society, and +that force is mind." Without this force, money is nothing; machinery is +nothing; flocks, herds, lands, are nothing. But all these are made +valuable and efficient by the power of mind. What we call +civilization,--passing from an inferior to a superior condition of +existence,--is a mental and moral process. If mind is the capital,--the +producing force of society,--what shall we say of the person or +community that neglects its improvement? Certainly, all that we should +say of the miser, and all that was said of the timid servant who buried +his talent in the earth. If one mind is neglected, then we fail as a +generation, a state, a nation, as members of the human family, to answer +the highest purposes of existence. Some possible good is unaccomplished, +some desirable labor is unperformed, some means of progress is +neglected, some evil seed, it may be, is sown, for which this generation +must answer to all the successions of men. But let us not yield to the +prejudice, though sanctioned by custom, that learning unfits men for +the labors of life. The _schools_ may sometimes do this, but _learning_ +never. We cannot, however, conceal from our view the fact that this +prejudice is a great obstacle to progress, even in New England; an +obstacle which may not be overcome without delay and conflict, in many +states of this Union; and especially in Great Britain is it an obstacle +in the way of those who demand a system of universal education. + +In the House of Commons, Mr. Drummond opposes a national system of +education in this wise: "And, pray, what do you propose to rear your +youth for? Are you going to train them for statesmen? No. (A laugh.) The +honorable gentleman laughs at the notion, and so would I. But you are +going to fit them to be--what? Why, cotton-spinners and pin-makers, or, +if you like, blacksmiths, mere day laborers. These are the men whom you +are to teach foreign languages, mathematics, and the notation of music. +(Hear, hear.) Was there ever anything more absurd? It really seems as if +God had withdrawn common sense from this house." Now, what does this +language of Mr. Drummond mean? Does he not intend to say that it is +unwise to educate that class of society from which cotton-spinners, +pin-makers, blacksmiths, mere day laborers, are taken? Is it not his +opinion that the business of pin-making is to be perpetuated in some +families and classes, and the business of statesmanship is to be +perpetuated in others? And, if so, does he not believe that the best +condition of society is that which presents divisions based upon the +factitious distinctions of birth and fortune? Most certainly these +questions indicate his opinions, as they indicate the opinions of those +who cheered him, and as they also indicate the opinions of a few in this +country, who, through ignorance, false education, prejudice, or sympathy +with castes and races, fear to educate the laborer, lest he may forsake +his calling. With us these fears are infrequent, but they ought not to +exist at all. The question in a public sense is not, "From what family +or class shall the pin-maker or the statesman be taken?" There is no +question at all to be answered. Educate the whole people. Education will +develop every variety of talent, taste, and power. These qualities, +under the guidance of the necessities of life and the public judgment, +will direct each man to his proper place. If the son of a cotton-spinner +become a statesman, it is because statesmanship needs him, and he has +some power answering to its wants. And if Mr. Drummond's son become a +cotton-spinner, it is because that is his right place, and the world +will be the better and the richer that Mr. Drummond's son is a +cotton-spinner, and that he is a learned man too; but, if Mr. Drummond's +son occupy the place of a statesman because he is Mr. Drummond's son, +though he be no statesman at all himself, then the world is all the +worse for the mistake, and poor compensation is it that Mr. Drummond's +son is a learned man in something that he is never called to put in +practice. + +When it is said that the statesmen, or those engaged in the business of +government, shall come from one-tenth of the population, is not the +state, according to the doctrine of chances, deprived of nine-tenths of +its governing force? And may not the same suggestion be made of every +other branch of business? + +But I pass now to the last leading thought, and soon to the conclusion +of my address. The great contribution of learning to the laborer is its +power, under the lead of Christianity, to break down the unnatural +distinctions of society, and to render labor of every sort, among all +classes, acceptable and honorable. Ignorance is the degradation of +labor, and when laborers, as a class, are ignorant, their vocation is +necessarily shunned by some; and, being shunned by some, it is likely to +be despised by others. Wherever the laboring population is in a +condition of positive, or, by a broad distinction, of comparative +ignorance, society will always divide itself into two, and oftentimes +into three classes. We shall find the dominant class, the servient +class, and then, generally, the despised class; the dominant class, +comparatively intelligent, possessing the property, administering the +government, giving to social life its laws, and enjoying the fruits of +labor which they do not perform; the servient class, unwittingly in a +state of slavery, whether nominally bond or free, having little besides +physical force to promote their own comfort or to contribute to the +general prosperity, and furnishing security in their degradation for a +final submission to whatever may be required of them; and last, a +despised class, too poor to live without labor, and too proud to live by +labor, assuming a position not accorded to them, and finally yielding to +a social and political ostracism even more degrading, to a sensitive +mind, than the servient condition they with so much effort seek to shun. + +All this is the fruit of ignorance; all this may be removed by general +learning. If all men are learned, the work of the world will be +performed by learned men; and why, under such circumstances, should not +every vocation that is honest be equally honorable? But if this, in a +broad view, seem utopian, can we not agree that learning is the only +means by which a poor man can escape from his poverty? And, if it +furnish certain means of escape for one man, will it not furnish equally +certain means of escape for many? And if so, is not learning a general +remedy for the inequalities among men? + + + + +EDUCATION AND CRIME. + +[Extract from the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.] + + +The public schools, in their relations to the morals of the pupils and +to the morality of the community, are attracting a large share of +attention. In some sections of the country the system is boldly +denounced on account of its immoral tendencies. In states where free +schools exist there are persons who doubt their utility; and +occasionally partisan or religious leaders appear who deny the existence +of any public duty in regard to education, or who assert and maintain +the doctrine that free schools are a common danger. As the people of +this commonwealth are not followers of these prophets of evil, nor +believers in their predictions, there is but slight reason for +discussion among us. It is not probable that a large number of the +citizens of Massachusetts entertain doubts of the power and value of our +institutions of learning, of every grade, to resist evil and promote +virtue, through the influence they exert. But, as there is nothing in +our free-school system that shrinks from light, or investigation even, +I have selected from the annual reports everything which they contain +touching the morality of the institution. In so doing, I have had two +objects in view. First, to direct attention to the errors and wrongs +that exist; and, secondly, to state the opinion, and enforce it as I may +be able, that the admitted evils found in the schools are the evils of +domestic, social, municipal, and general life, which are sometimes +chastened, mitigated, or removed, but never produced, nor even +cherished, by our system of public instruction. In the extracts from the +school committees' reports there are passages which imply some doubt of +the moral value of the system; but it is our duty to bear in mind that +these reports were prepared and presented for the praiseworthy purpose +of arousing an interest in the removal of the evils that are pointed +out. The writers are contemplating the importance of making the schools +a better means of moral and intellectual culture; but there is no reason +to suppose that in any case a comparison is instituted, even mentally, +between the state of society as it appears at present and the condition +that would follow the abandonment of our system of public instruction. +There are general complaints that the manners of children and youth have +changed within thirty or fifty years; that age and station do not +command the respect which was formerly manifested, and that some +license in morals has followed this license in manners. + +The change in manners cannot be denied; but the alleged change in morals +is not sustained by a great amount of positive evidence. The customs of +former generations were such that children often manifested in their +exterior deportment a deference which they did not feel, while at +present there may be more real respect for station, and deference for +age and virtue, than are exhibited in juvenile life. In this +explanation, if it be true, there is matter for serious thought; but I +should not deem it wise to encourage a mere outward show of the social +virtues, which have no springs of life in the affections. + +And, notwithstanding the tone of the reports to which I have called +attention, and notwithstanding my firm conviction that many moral +defects are found in the schools, I am yet confident that their moral +progress is appreciable and considerable. + +In the first place, teachers, as a class, have a higher idea of their +professional duties, in respect to moral and intellectual culture. Many +of them are permanently established in their schools. They are persons +of character in society, with positions to maintain, and they are +controlled by a strong sense of professional responsibility to parents +and to the public. It has been, to some extent, the purpose and result +of Teachers' Associations, Teachers' Institutes, and Normal Schools, to +create in the body of teachers a better opinion concerning their moral +obligations in the work of education. It must also be admitted that the +changes in school government have been favorable to learning and virtue. +For, while it is not assumed that all schools are, or can be, controlled +by moral means only, it is incontrovertible that a government of mild +measures is superior to one of force. This superiority is as apparent in +morals as in scholarly acquisitions. It is rare that a teacher now +boasts of his success over his pupils in physical contests; but such +claims were common a quarter of a century ago. The change that has been +wrought is chiefly moral, and in its influence we find demonstrative +evidence of the moral superiority of the schools of the present over +those of any previous period of this century. Before we can comprehend +the moral work which the schools have done and are doing, we must +perceive and appreciate with some degree of truthfulness the changes +that have occurred in general life within a brief period of time. The +activity of business, by which fathers have been diverted from the +custody and training of their children; the claims of fashion and +society, which have led to some neglect of family government on the +part of mothers; the aggregation of large, populations in cities and +towns, always unfavorable to the physical and moral welfare of children; +the comparative neglect of agriculture, and the consequent loss of moral +strength in the people, are all facts to be considered when we estimate +the power of the public school to resist evil and to promote good. If, +in addition to these unfavorable facts and tendencies, our educational +system is prejudicial to good morals, we may well inquire for the human +agency powerful enough to resist the downward course of New England and +American civilization. To be sure, Christianity remains; but it must, to +some extent, use human institutions as means of good; and the assertion +that the schools are immoral is equivalent to a declaration that our +divine religion is practically excluded from them. This declaration is +not in any just sense true. The duty of daily devotional exercises is +always inculcated upon teachers, and the leading truths and virtues of +Christianity are made, as far as possible, the daily guides of teachers +and pupils. The tenets of particular sects are not taught; but the great +truths of Christianity, which are received by Christians generally, are +accepted and taught by a large majority of committees and teachers. It +is not claimed that the public schools are religious institutions; but +they recognize and inculcate those fundamental truths which are the +basis of individual character, and the best support of social, +religious, and political life. The statement that the public schools are +demoralizing must be true, if true at all, for one of three reasons. +Either because all education is demoralizing; or, secondly, because the +particular education given in the public schools is so; or, thirdly, +because the public-school system is corrupting, and consequently taints +all the streams of knowledge that flow through or emanate from it. For, +if the public system is unobjectionable as a system, and education is +not in itself demoralizing, then, of course, no ground remains for the +charge that I am now considering. + + +I. _Is all education demoralizing?_ An affirmative answer to this +question implies so much that no rational man can accept it. It is +equivalent to the assertion that barbarism is a better condition than +civilization, and that the progress of modern times has proceeded upon a +misconception of the true ideal perfection of the human race. As no one +can be found who will admit that his happiness has been marred, his +powers limited, or his life degraded, by education, so there is no +process of logic that can commend to the human understanding the +doctrine that bodies of men are either less happy or virtuous for the +culture of the intellect. I am not aware of any human experience that +conflicts with this view; for individual cases of criminals who have +been well educated prove nothing in themselves, but are to be considered +as facts in great classes of facts which indicate the principles and +conduct of bodies of men who are subject to similar influences. In fact, +the statistics to which I have had access tend to show that crime +diminishes as intelligence increases. On this point the experience of +Great Britain is probably more definite, and, of course, more valuable, +than our own. The Aberdeen Feeding Schools were established in 1841, and +during the ten years succeeding the commitments to the jails of children +under twelve years of age were as follows:[1] + + + In 1842, 30 In 1847, 27 + + 1843, 63 1848, 19 + + 1844, 41 1849, 16 + + 1845, 49 1850, 22 + + 1846, 28 1851, 8 + ___ ___ + 211 92 + + +In the work of Mr. Hill it is also stated that "the number of children +under twelve committed for crime to the Aberdeen prisons, during the +last six years, was as follows: + + + Males. Females. Total. + + 1849-50, 11 5 16 + + 1850-51, 14 8 22 + + 1851-52, 6 2 8 + + 1852-53, 23 1 24 + + 1853-54, 24 1 25 + + 1854-55, 47 2 49 + + +"It will be observed that in the last three years there has been a great +increase of boy crime, contemporaneously with an almost total absence of +girl crime, though formerly the amount of the latter was considerable. +Now, since this extraordinary difference coincides in point of time with +the fact of full girls' schools and half empty boys' schools, the +inference can hardly be avoided that the two facts bear the relation of +cause and effect, and that, so far from the late increase of youthful +crime in Aberdeen any-wise impairing the soundness of the principle on +which the schools are based, it is its strongest confirmation. In moral +as in physical science, when the objections to a theory are, upon +further investigation, explained by the theory itself, they become the +best evidence of its truth. Indeed, it is proved, by the experience, not +only of Aberdeen, but, as far as I have been able to ascertain, of every +town in Scotland in which industrial schools have been established, +that the number of children in the schools and the number in the jail +are like the two ends of a scale-beam; as the one rises the other falls, +and _vice versa_. + +"The following list of imprisonments of children attending the schools +of the Bristol Ragged School Union shows considerable progress in the +right direction: + + +____________________________________________________________________ + |1847.|1848.|1849.|1850.|1851.|1852.|1853.|1854.|1855.| +_____________|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| + Imprisoned, | 12 | 19 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | +_____________|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| + +Imprisonments in } 66, averaging 16.5 per year on number of 417 +the first four years} children. + +In subsequent five } 3, averaging 0.6 per year on number of 728 +years, } children. + ____ + Difference, 15.9 + + 16.5 : 15.9 :: 100 : 96.36. + + +"Thus," says Mr. Thornton, "it appears that the diminution of the +average annual number of children attending our schools imprisoned in +the latter period of five years, as compared with the annual average of +the previous four years, is ninety-six per cent.--a striking fact, which +is, I think, a manifest proof of the benefit conferred on them by the +religious and secular instruction they receive in our schools, or, at +the very least, of the advantages of rescuing them from the temptations +of idleness, and from evil companionship and example." + +I also copy, from the work already referred to, an extract from a paper +on the Reformatory Institutions in and near Bristol, by Mary Carpenter: +"In numberless instances children may be seen growing up decently, who +owe their only training and instruction to the school. Young persons are +noticed in regular work, who, before they attended the Ragged Schools, +were vagrants, or even thieves. Not unfrequently a visit is paid at the +school by a respectable young man, who proves to have been a wild and +troublesome scholar of former times." + +Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, in a charge to the grand jury, made in +1839, speaking of the means of repressing crime, says: "It is to +education, in the large and true meaning of the word, that we must all +look as the means of striking at the root of the evil. Indeed, of the +close connection between ignorance and crime the calendar which I hold +in my hand furnishes a striking example. Each prisoner has been examined +as to the state of his education, and the result is set down opposite +his name. It appears, then, that of forty-three prisoners only one can +read and write well. The majority can neither read nor write at all; and +the remainder, with the solitary exception which I have noted down, are +said to read and write imperfectly; which necessarily implies that they +have not the power of using those great elements of knowledge for any +practical object. Of forty-three prisoners, forty-two, then, are +destitute of instruction." + +These authorities are not cited because they refer to schools that +answer in character to the public schools of Massachusetts, for the +latter are far superior in the quality of their pupils, and in the +opportunities given for intellectual and moral education; but these +cases and opinions are presented for the purpose of showing what has +been done for the improvement of children and the repression of crime +under the most unfavorable circumstances that exist in a civilized +community. If such benign results have followed the establishment of +schools of an inferior character, is it unreasonable to claim that +education and the processes of education, however imperfect they may be, +are calculated to increase the sum of human progress, virtue, and +happiness? + + +II. _Is the particular education given in the public schools unfavorable +to the morals of the pupils, and, consequently, to the morality of the +community?_ I have already presented a view of the moral and religious +education given in the schools, and it only remains to consider the +culture that is in its leading features intellectual. It may be said, +speaking generally, that education is a training and development of the +faculties, so as to make them harmonize in power, and in their relations +to each other. Among other things, the ability to read is acquired in +the public schools. In the individual, this is a power for good. It +opens to the mind and heart the teachings of the sacred Scriptures; it +secures the companionship of the great, the wise, and the good, of every +age; and it is a possession that, in all cases, must be the foundation +of those scientific acquisitions, intellectual, moral, and natural, +which show the beneficence and power of the Creator, and indicate the +fact and the law of human responsibility. The natural and general effect +of the sciences taught in the schools is an illustration of the last +statement. Moreover, the mere presence of a child, though he took no +part in the studies of the school, is to him a moral lesson. He feels +the force of government, he acquires the habit of obedience, and, in +time, he comprehends the reason of the rules that are established. This +discipline is essentially moral, and furnishes some basis, though +partial and unsatisfactory, for the proper discharge of the duties of +life. But it is to be remembered that the power of the school is but in +its beginning when the presence of a pupil is recognized. The constancy +and punctuality of attendance required by all judicious parents and +faithful teachers are important moral lessons, whose influence can never +be destroyed. The fixedness of purpose that is required, and is +essential in school, remains as though it were a part of the nature of +the child and the man. School-life strengthens habits of industry when +they exist, and creates them when they do not. It is, indeed, the only +means, of universal application, that is competent to train children in +habits of industry. Private schools can never furnish this training; for +large numbers of children, by the force of circumstances, are deprived +of the tuition of such schools. Business life cannot furnish this +training; for the habits of the child are usually moulded, if not +hardened, before he arrives at an age when he can be constantly employed +in any industrial vocation. The public school is no doubt justly +chargeable with neglects and omissions; but its power for good, measured +by the character of the education now furnished, is certainly very +great. It inculcates habits of regularity, punctuality, constancy, and +industry, in the pursuits of business; through literature and the +sciences in their elements, and, under some circumstances, by an +advanced course of study, it leads the pupil towards the fountain of +life and wisdom; and, by the moral and religious instruction daily +given, some preparation is made for the duties of life and the +temptations of the world. + + +III. _Is the public school system, as a system, in itself necessarily +corrupting?_ As preliminary to the answer to be given to this question, +it is well to consider what the public-school system is. + +1. Every inhabitant is required to contribute to its support. + +2. It contemplates the education of every child, regardless of any +distinction of society or nature. + +3. The system is subject in many respects to the popular will; and +ultimately its existence and character are dependent upon the public +judgment. + +4. In the Massachusetts schools, the daily reading of the Scriptures is +required. + +The consideration of these topics will conclude my remarks upon the +general subject of the moral influence of the American system of public +instruction. In New England it is very unusual to hear the right of the +state to provide for the support of schools by general taxation called +in question; but I am satisfied, from private conversations, and from +occasional public statements, that there are leading minds in some +sections of the country that are yet unconvinced of the moral soundness +of the basis on which a system of public instruction necessarily rests. +Taxation is simply an exercise of the right of the whole to take the +property of an individual; and this right can be exercised justly in +those cases only where the application of the property so taken is, +morally speaking, to a public use. The judgment of the public determines +the legality of the proceeding; but it is possible that in some cases a +public judgment might be secured which could not be supported by a +process of moral reasoning. On what moral grounds, then, does the right +of taxation for educational objects rest? I answer, first, education +diminishes crime. The evidence in support of this statement has already +been presented. It is a manifest individual duty to make sacrifices for +this object; and, as every crime is an injury, not only to him who is +the subject of it, but to every member of society, the prevention of +crime becomes a public as well as an individual duty. + +The conviction of a criminal is a public duty; and, under all +governments of law, it is undertaken at the public charge. Offences are +not individual merely; they are against society also, inasmuch as it is +the right of society that all its members shall behave themselves well. +And, if it is the right of society that its members shall behave +themselves well, is it not the duty of society to so provide for their +education that each individual part may meet the demand which the whole +body asserts? And, further, as a majority of persons cannot individually +provide for their own protection, it is the duty of society, or the +state, or the government, to furnish the needed protection in the most +economical and effective manner possible. The state has no moral right +to jeopard property, life, and reputation, when, by a different policy, +all these might be secure; nor has the state a moral right to make the +security furnished, whether perfect or not, unnecessarily expensive. It +is the dictate of reason and the experience of governments that the most +effectual method of repressing crime is to diminish the number of +criminals; and, though punitive measures may accomplish something, our +chief reliance must be upon the education and training of children and +youth. The facts drawn from the experience of England and Scotland, +which have been quoted, lead to the conclusion that schools diminish the +number of criminals, and consequently lessen the amount of crime; but I +think it proper to add some extracts from a communication made, in +August, 1856, by Mr. Dunne, chief constable of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to +the Secretary of the National Reformatory Union.[2] + +"I know, from my own personal knowledge and observation, that, since +parental responsibility has been enforced in the district, under the +direction of the Secretary of State, the number of juvenile criminals in +the custody of the police has decreased one-half. I know that many of +the parents, who were in the habit of sending their children into the +streets for the purposes of stealing, begging, and plunder, have quite +discontinued that practice, and several of the children so used, and +brought up as thieves and mendicants, are now at some of the free +schools of the town; others are at work, and thereby obtain an honest +livelihood; and, so far as I can ascertain, they seem to be thoroughly +altered, and appear likely to become good and honest members of society. +I have, for my own information, conversed with some of the boys so +altered, and, during the conversation I had with them, they declared +that they derived the greatest happiness and satisfaction from their +change in life. I don't at all doubt the truth of these statements, for +their evident improvement and individual circumstances fully bear them +out; and I believe them to be really serious in all they say, and truly +anxious to become honest and respectable. I attribute, in a great +measure, this salutary change to the effects arising in many respects +from the establishment of reformatory schools; but I have more +particularly found that greater advantages have emanated from those +institutions since the parents of the children confined in them have +been made to pay contributions to their maintenance; for it appears +beyond doubt that the effect of the latter has been to induce the +parents of other young criminals to withdraw them from the streets, and, +instead of using them for the purposes of crime, they seem to take an +interest in their welfare. And I know that many of them are now really +anxious to get such employment for their children as will enable them to +obtain a livelihood; and it is my opinion that the example thus set to +older and more desperate criminals, belonging in many instances to the +same family as the juvenile thief, has had the effect of reforming them +also; for many of them have left off their course of crime, and are now +living by honest labor. The result is that serious crime has +considerably decreased in this district, so much so that there were only +six cases for trial at the assizes, whereas, at the previous assizes, +the average number of cases was from twenty-five to thirty, which fact +was made the subject of much comment and congratulation by Mr. Justice +Willes, the presiding judge." + +These remarks relate chiefly to the reformatory schools, but we know +that the prevention of crime by education is much easier than its +reformation by the same means. Indeed, it is the result of the +experience of Massachusetts that the necessity for reform schools has in +a large degree arisen from neglect of the public schools. It is stated +in the Tenth Annual Report of the Chaplain of the State Reform School +that of nineteen hundred and nine boys admitted since the establishment +of the institution, thirteen hundred and thirty-four are known to have +been truants. It is also quite probable that the number reported as +truants is really less than the facts warrant. It may not be out of +place to suggest, in this connection, that when a boy sentenced to the +Reform School is known to have been guilty of truancy, if the parents +were subjected to some additional burdens on that account, the cause of +education would be promoted, and the number of criminals in the +community would be diminished. From the views and facts presented, as +well as from the daily observation and experience of men, I assume that +ignorance is the ally of crime, and that education is favorable to +virtue. It is also the result of experience and the dictate of reason +that general taxation is the only means by which universal education can +be secured. All other plans and theories will prove partial in their +application. If, then, it is the duty of the state to protect itself +against crime, and of course to diminish the number of criminals; if +education is the most efficient means for securing these results; if +this education must be universal in order to be thoroughly effective; if +the state is the only agent or instrumentality of sufficient power to +establish schools and furnish education for all; and if general taxation +is the only means which the state itself can command, is not every +inhabitant justly required and morally bound to contribute to the +support of a system of public instruction? + +It will not necessarily happen that public schools will furnish to every +child and youth the desired amount of education. Professional schools, +classical schools, and academies of various grades, will be continued; +but there is an amount of intellectual and moral training needed by +every child which can be best given in the public school. This training +in the public schools ought to be carried much further than it usually +is. In the city of Newburyport, as I have been informed, there are no +exceptions to the custom of educating all the children of the town in +the public schools up to the moment when young men enter college. In +large towns and cities there is no excuse for the existence of private +schools to do the work now done in such schools as those of Newburyport +and other places where equal educational privileges exist. + +The chief objection brought against the public school, touching its +morality, is derived from the fact that children who are subject to +proper moral influences at home are brought in contact with others who +are already practised in juvenile vices, if they have not been guilty of +petty crimes. I am happy to believe that this statement is not true of +many New England communities. The objection was considered in the last +Annual Report,--it has been often considered elsewhere; and I do not +propose to repeat at length the views which are entertained by the +friends of public education. + +I have, however, to suggest that while this objection applies with some +force to the public school, it applies also to every other school, and +that the evil is the least dangerous when the pupil is intrusted to the +care of a qualified teacher, who is personally responsible to the public +for his conduct, and when the child is also subject to the restraints, +and influenced by the daily example and teachings, of the parents. + +Moreover, it is to be remembered that the great value of education, in a +moral aspect, is the development of the power to resist temptation. This +power is not the growth of seclusion; and while neither the teacher nor +the parent ought wantonly to expose the child to vicious influences, the +school may be even a better preparation for the world from the fact that +temptation has there been met, resisted, and overcome. It is also to be +remembered that the judgment of parents in a matter so difficult and +delicate as a comparison between their own children and other children +would not always prove trustworthy nor just; and that a judgment of +parties not interested would prove eminently fruitful of dissatisfaction +and bitterness. + +If all are to be educated, it only remains, then, that they be educated +together, subject to the general rule of society, that when a member is +dangerous to the safety or peace of his associates, he is to be excluded +or restrained. Nor is this necessity of association destitute of moral +advantages. If the comparatively good were separated from the relatively +vicious, it is not improbable that the latter would soon fall into a +state of barbarity. It seems to be the law of the school and of the +world that the most rapid progress is made when the weight of public +sentiment is on the side of improvement and virtue. It is not necessary +for me to remark that such a public sentiment exists in every town and +school district of the state; but who would take the responsibility in +any of these communities, great or small, of separating the virtuous +classes from the dangerous classes? Parents, from the force of their +affections, are manifestly incompetent to do this; and those who are not +parents are probably equally incompetent. But, if it were honestly +accomplished, who would be responsible for the crushing effects of the +measure upon those who were thus excluded from the presence and +companionship of the comparatively virtuous? These, often the victims of +vicious homes, need more than others the influence and example of the +good; and it should be among the chief satisfactions of those who are +able to train their own children in the ways of virtue, that thereby a +healthful influence is exerted upon the less fortunate of their race. +There is also in this course a wise selfishness; for, although +_children_ may be separated from each other, the circumstances of +maturer years will often make the virtuous subject to the influence of +the vicious. The safety of society, considered individually or +collectively, is not in the virtuous training of any part, however large +the proportion, but in the virtuous training of all. I cannot deem it +wise policy, whether parental or public, that takes the child from the +school on account of the immoral associations that are ordinarily found +there, or, on the other hand, that drives the vicious or unfortunate +from the presence of those who are comparatively pure. When it is +considered that the school is often the only refuge of the unhappy +subject of orphanage, or the victim of evil family influences, it seems +an unnecessary cruelty to withhold the protection, encouragement, and +support, which may be so easily and profitably furnished. It is said +that a sparrow pursued by a hawk took refuge in the bosom of a member of +the sovereign assembly of Athens, and that the harsh Areopagite threw +the trembling bird from him with such violence that it was killed on the +spot. The assembly was filled with indignation at the cruelty of the +deed; the author of it was arraigned as an alien to that sentiment of +mercy so necessary to the administration of justice, and by the +unanimous suffrages of his colleagues was degraded from the senatorial +dignity which he had so much dishonored. + +It does not seem necessary to offer an argument in support of the +position that the public school is not unfavorably affected, morally, by +the fact that it is subject to the popular judgment. This judgment can +be rendered only at stated times, and under the forms and solemnities of +law. The history of public schools would probably furnish but few +instances of wrong in this respect. The people are usually sensitive in +regard to the moral character of teachers; they contribute liberally for +the support of the schools, are anxious for their improvement, and there +is no safer depositary of a trust that is essential to a nation in which +is the hope of freedom and free institutions. + +And, last, a school cannot be truly said to be destitute of moral +character and influence in which the sacred Scriptures are daily read. + +The observance of this requirement is a recognition of the existence of +the Supreme Being, of the Bible as containing a record of his will +concerning men, and of the common duty of rational creatures to live in +obedience to the obligations of morality and religion. + +It has been no part of my purpose, in this discussion of the public +school as an institution fitted to promote morality, to deny the +existence of serious defects, or to screen them from the eyes of men. +The public school needs a more thorough discipline, a purer morality, a +clearer conception and a more practical recognition of the truths of +Christianity. But, viewed as a human institution, it claims the general +gratitude for the good it has already accomplished. The public school +was established in Massachusetts that "learning might not be buried in +the graves of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth;" and, in some +measure, at least, the early expectation thus quaintly expressed has +been realized. Learning has ever been cherished and honored among us. +The means of education have been the possession of all; and the +enjoyment of these means, often inadequate and humble, has developed a +taste for learning, which has been gratified in higher institutions; +and thus continually have the resources of the state been magnified, and +its influence in the land has been efficient in all that concerns the +welfare of the human race on the American continent. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The Repression of Crime. By M. D. Hill. + +[2] The Repression of Crime, pp. 358, 359. + + + + +REFORMATION OF CHILDREN. + +[Address at the Inauguration of WILLIAM E. STARR, Superintendent of the +State Reform School at Westborough.] + + +Neither the invitation of the Trustees nor my own convenience will +permit a detailed examination of the topics which the occasion suggests; +and it is my purpose to address myself to those who are assembled to +participate in the exercises of the day, trusting to familiar and +unobserved visits for other and better opportunities for conference with +the inmates of the institution. + +As the mariner, though cheered by genial winds and canopied by cloudless +skies, tests and marks his position and course by repeated observations, +so we now desire to note the progress of this humanity-freighted vessel +in its voyage over an uncertain sea, yet, as we trust, toward lands of +perpetual security and peace. All are voyagers on the sea of life. Some, +with the knowledge of ancient days only, grope their way by headlands, +or trust themselves occasionally to the guidance of the sun or the +stars; while others, with the chart and compass of the Christian era, +move confidently on their course, attracted by the Source and Centre of +all good. And it is a blessing of this state of existence, though it may +sometimes seem to be a curse, that the choice between good and evil yet +remains. The wisdom of a right choice is here manifested in the +benevolence of this foundation. + +The State Reform School for Boys has now enjoyed eight full years of +life and progress; and, though we cannot estimate nor measure the good +it may have induced, or the evil it may have prevented, yet enough of +its history and results is known to justify the course of its patrons, +both public and private, and to warrant the ultimate realization of +their early cherished hopes. The state is most honored in the honor +awarded to its sons; and the name of LYMAN, now and evermore associated +with a work of benevolence and reform, will always command the +admiration of the citizens of the commonwealth, and stimulate the youth +of the school to acquire and practise those virtues which their generous +patron cherished in his own life and honored in others. Governor +Washburn, in the Dedication Address, said, "We commend this school, with +its officers and inmates, to a generous and grateful public, with the +trust that the future lives of the young, who may be sent hither for +correction and reform, may prove the crowning glory of an enterprise so +auspiciously begun." Since these words were uttered, and this hope, the +hope of many hearts, was expressed, nearly two thousand boys, charged +with various offences,--many of them petty, and others serious or even +criminal,--have been admitted to the school; and the chaplain, in his +report for the year 1854, says that "the institution will be +instrumental in saving a majority of those who come under its fostering +care." This opinion, based, no doubt, upon the experience which the +chaplain and other officers of the institution had had, is to be taken +as possessing a substantial basis of truth; and it at once suggests +important reflections. + +Massachusetts is relieved of the presence of a thousand criminal, or, at +best, viciously disposed persons. A thousand active, capable, +industrious, productive, full-grown men have been created; or, rather, a +thousand consumers of the wealth of others, enemies of the public order +and peace, have been transformed into intelligent supporters of social +life, into generous, faithful guardians of public virtue and +tranquillity. Nor would the influences of this degraded population, if +unreformed, have ceased with its own existence; every succeeding +generation must have gathered somewhat of a harvest of crime and woe. A +thousand boys, hardened by neglect, educated in vice, and shunned by +the virtuous, would, as men, have been efficient missionaries of +lawlessness, wrong, and crime. And who shall estimate how much their +reform adds, in its results, to the wealth, the intellectual, moral, and +religious character, of the state? The criminal class is never a +producing class; and the labor of a thousand men here reclaimed, if +estimated for the period of twenty years only, is equal to the labor of +twenty thousand men for one year, which, at a hundred dollars each, +yields two millions of dollars. The pecuniary advantages of this school, +as of all schools, we may estimate; but there are better and higher +considerations, in the elevated intellectual, moral, and religious life +of the state, that are too pure, too ethereal, to be weighed in the +balance against the grosser possessions and acquisitions of society. We +thus get glimpses of the prophetic wisdom which led Mr. Lyman to say, "I +do not look on this school as an experiment; on the contrary, it strikes +me that it is an institution which will produce decidedly beneficial +results, not only for the present day, but for many years to come. I do +not, therefore, think that it should, even now, be treated in any +respect in the light of an experiment, to be abandoned if not +successful; for, if the school is introduced to public notice on no +better footing and with no more preparation than usually attend +trial-schemes of most kinds, the probability is that it will fail, +considering the peculiar difficulties of the case." Here is a high order +of faith in its application to human affairs; but Mr. Lyman saw, also, +that the work to be performed must encounter obstacles, and that its +progress toward a perfect result would be slow. + +These obstacles have been encountered; and yet the progress has been +more rapid than the words of our founder imply. But are we not at +liberty to forget the trials, crosses, and perplexities, of this +movement, as we behold the fruits, already maturing, of the wisdom and +Christian benevolence of our honored commonwealth? + +We are assembled to review the past, and to gather from it strength and +courage for the future; and we may with propriety congratulate all, +whether present or absent, who have been charged with the administration +of this school, and have contributed their share, however humble, to +promote these benign results. And we ought, also, to remember those, +whether living or dead, whose faith and labors laid the foundation on +which the state has built. Of the dead, I mention Lyman, Lamb, Denny, +Woodward, Shaw, and Greenleaf,--all of whom, with money, counsel, or +personal service, contributed to the plan, progress, and completion, of +the work. + +The good that they have done is not interred with their bones; and their +example will yet find many imitators, as men more generally and more +perfectly realize the importance of faith in childhood and youth, as the +element of a true faith in our race. If this enterprise, in the judgment +of its founder, was not an experiment ten years ago, it cannot be so +regarded now; yet the public will look with anxiety, though with hope, +upon every change of the officers of the institution. The trustees +having appointed a new superintendent, he now assumes the great +responsibility. It may not be second to any in the state; yet a man of +energy, who is influenced by a desire to do good, and who will not +measure his reward by present emoluments or temporary fame, can bear +steadily and firmly the weight put upon him. The superintendent elect +has been a teacher elsewhere, and he is to be a teacher here also. His +work will not, in all particulars, correspond with the work that he has +left; yet the principles of government and education are in substance +the same. The head of a school always occupies a position of influence; +the characters of the children and youth confided to him are in a great +degree subject to his control. Here the teacher is neither aided nor +impeded by the usual home influences. This institution is at once a home +and a school; and its head has the united power and responsibility of +the parent and the teacher. Here are to be combined the social and moral +influences of home, the religious influences of the Sunday-school, with +the intellectual and moral training of the public school. He who to-day +enters upon this work should have both faith and courage. He is to deal +with the unfortunate rather than with the exceptional cases of humanity; +for all these are children whom the Father of the race, in his +providence, has confided to earthly parents to be educated for a +temporal and an immortal existence. That these parents, through crime, +ignorance, indolence, carelessness, or misfortune, have failed in their +work, is no certain evidence that we are to fail in ours. May we not +hope to see in this school the kindness, consideration, affection, and +forethought, of the parent, without the delusion which sometimes causes +the father or mother to treat the vices of the child as virtues, to be +encouraged? And may we not expect from the superintendent, to whom, +practically, the discipline of the school is confided, one +characteristic of good government, not always, it is feared, found in +punitive and reformatory institutions? I speak of the attributes of +equality, uniformity, and certainty, in the administration of the law. +To be sure, a school, a prison, or a state, will suffer when its code is +lax; and it will also suffer when its system is oppressive or +sanguinary; but these peculiarities in themselves do not so often, in +any community, produce dissatisfaction, disorder, and violence, as an +unequal, partial, and uncertain administration of the laws. If at times +the laws are administered strictly according to the letter, and if at +other times they are reluctantly enforced or altogether disregarded; if +it can never be known beforehand whether a violation is to be followed +by the prescribed penalty--especially if this uncertainty becomes +systematic, and a portion are favored, while the remainder are required +to answer strictly for all their delinquencies; and if, above all, these +favored ones are recognized as sentinels, or spies, or informers in the +service of the officers,--then not only will the spirit of +insubordination manifest itself, but that spirit may ripen into +alienations, feuds, and personal enmities, dangerous to the prosperity +of the institution. Here the scales of justice should be evenly +balanced, and the boy should learn, from his own daily experience, to +measure equal and exact justice unto others. I do not speak of systems +of government: they are essential, no doubt; but they are not to be +regarded as of the first importance in institutions for punishment or +reformation. Establish as wise a system as you can; but never trust to +that alone. Administer the system that you have with all the equality, +uniformity, and certainty, that you can command. As a general truth, it +may be said that the law is respected when these qualities are exhibited +in its administration; and, when these qualities are wanting, the spirit +of obedience is driven from the hearts and minds of the people. + +But we are not to rely altogether, nor even chiefly, upon the visible +weapons of authority. Especially must the mind and heart of childhood +and youth be approached and quickened and strengthened by judicious +appeals to the sentiments of veneration and love, and to the principles +of the Christian faith. In this institution, one serious obstacle is +present; yet it may be overcome by energy, industry, and a spirit of +benevolence. I speak of the large number of inmates to be superintended +by one person. Men act in masses for the removal of general evils; but +the reformation of children must be individual, and to a great extent +dependent upon the agency, or at least upon the cooeperation, of the +subjects of it. It is not easy for the superintendent to make himself +acquainted with the persons and familiar with the lives of six hundred +boys; yet this knowledge is quite essential to the exercise of a +salutary influence over them. He may be aided by the subordinate +officers of the institution; and that aid, under any circumstances, he +will need: but, after all, his own influence and power for good will be +measured by the extent of his personal acquaintance with the inmates as +individuals. First, then, government is essential to this school; not a +reign of terror, but a government whose majesty, power, equality, +certainty, uniformity, and consequent justice, shall be experienced by +all alike; and, being experienced by all alike, will be respected, +reverenced, and obeyed. + +And next the social, intellectual, and moral influences of the school +and the home should be combined and mingled, or else the visible forms +of government become a skeleton, merely indicating the figure, +structure, and outline, of the perfect body, but destitute of the vital +principle which alone could render it of any value to itself or to the +world. + +This institution is not an end, but a means. The home itself is only a +preparatory school for life. This is a substitute for the home, but is +not, and never can be, its equal. It therefore follows that a boy should +be removed whenever a home can be secured, especially if his reformation +has been previously so far accomplished as to render the completion of +the work probable. + +A great trust has been confided to the officers of the Reform School; +but the power to do good is usually proportionate to the responsibility +imposed upon the laborer. In this view, much will be expected; but the +expectations formed ought not to relate so much to results as to the +wisdom and humanity with which the operations are conducted. +Massachusetts is charged with the support of a great number of +charitable and reformatory institutions. Their necessity springs from +the defects of social life; therefore their existence is a comparative +rather than a positive good; and he is the truest friend of the race who +does most to remove the causes of poverty, ignorance, insanity, mental +and physical weakness, moral waywardness, and crime. + + + + +THE CARE AND REFORMATION OF THE NEGLECTED AND EXPOSED CLASSES OF +CHILDREN. + +[An Address delivered at the opening of the State Industrial School for +Girls, at Lancaster, Massachusetts.] + + +In man's limited view, the moral world presents a sad contrast to the +natural. The natural world is harmonious in all its parts; but the moral +world is the theatre of disturbing and conflicting forces, whose laws +the finite mind cannot comprehend. The majesty and uniformity of the +planetary revolutions, which bring day and night, summer and winter, +seed-time and harvest, know no change. Worlds and systems of worlds are +guided by a law of the Infinite Mind; and so, through unnumbered years +and myriads of years, birth and death, creation and decay, decrees whose +fixedness enables finite minds to predict the future, and rules whose +elasticity is seen in a never-ending variety of nature, all alike prove +that the sin of disobedience is upon man alone. + +But, if man only, of all the varied creations of earth, may fall from +his high estate, so to him only is given the power to rise again, and +feebly, yet with faith, advance towards the Divine Excellence. This, +then, is the great thought of the occasion, to be accepted by the hearts +and illustrated in the lives of all. The fallen may be raised up, the +exposed may be shielded, the wanderers may be called home, or else this +house is built upon the sand, and doomed to fall when the rains shall +descend, the floods come, and the winds blow. The returning autumn, with +its harvest of sustenance and wealth, bids us contemplate again the +mystery and harmony of the natural world. The tree and the herb produce +seed, and the seed again produces the tree and the herb, each after its +kind. There is a continued production and reproduction; but of +responsibility there is none. As there is no intelligent violation of +law, there is no accountability. Man, however, is an intelligent, +dependent, fallible, and, of course, responsible being. He is +responsible for himself, responsible in some degree for his fellow-man. +There is not a chapter in the history of the human race, nor a day of +its experience, which does not show that the individual members are +dependent upon, and responsible to, each other. This great fact, of six +thousand years' duration, at once presents to us the necessity for +government, and defines the limits of its powers and duties. Government, +then, is a union of all for the protection and welfare of each. This +definition presents, in its principles and statement, the highest form +of human government,--a form not yet perfectly realized on earth. It +sets forth rather what government ought to be, than what it has been or +is. Too often historical governments, and living governments even, may +be defined as a union of a few for their benefit, and for the oppression +of many. The reason of man has not often been consulted in their +formation, and the interests and principles of the masses have usually +been disregarded in their administration. + +A true government is at once representative, patriarchal, and paternal. +In the path of duty for this day and this occasion, we shall consider +the last-named quality only,--governments should be paternal. The +paternal government is devoted to the elevation and improvement of its +members, with no ulterior motive except the necessary results of +internal purity and strength. Every government is, in some degree, no +doubt, paternal. Nor are those governments to be regarded as eminently +so, where the people are most controlled in their private, personal +affairs. These are mere despotisms; and despotism is not a just nor +necessary element of the paternal relation. That government is most +truly paternal which does most to enable its citizens or subjects to +regulate their own conduct, and determine their relations to others. In +the midst of general darkness, the paternal element of government has +been a light to the human race. It modified the patriarchal slavery of +the Hebrews, relieved the iron rule of Sparta, made European feudalism +the hope of civilization in the Dark Ages, and the basis of its coming +glories in the near future; and it now leads men to look with toleration +upon the despotism of Russia, and with kindness upon the simplicity and +arrogance of the Celestial Empire. + +We complain, justly enough, that the world is governed too much; and +yet, in a great degree, we neglect the means by which the proper +relations of society could be preserved, and the world be governed less. +In what works are the so-called Christian governments principally +engaged? Are they not seeking, by artifice, diplomacy, and war, to +extend national boundaries, preserve national honor, or enforce nice +distinctions against the timid and weak? Yet it is plain that a nation +is powerful according to the character of the living elements of which +it is composed. If it is disorganized morally, uncultivated in +intellect, ignorant, indolent, or wasteful in its labor, its claims to +greatness are destitute of solid foundation, and it must finally yield +to those that have sought and gained power by the elevation of the +individual as the element of the nation. + +That nation, then, is wise, and destined to become truly great, which +cultivates the best elements of individual life and character. It is not +enough to read the parable of the lost sheep, and of the ninety and nine +that went not astray, and then say, "Even so, it is not the will of your +Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish," +while the means of salvation, as regards the life of this world merely, +are very generally neglected. Such neglect is followed by error and +crime; and error and crime are followed by judgment not always tempered +with mercy. + +While human governments debate questions of war and peace, of trade and +revenue, of annexations with ceremony, and appropriations of territory +without ceremony, who shall answer to the Governor and Judge of all for +the neglect, indifference, and oppression, which beget and foster the +delinquencies of childhood, and harden the criminals of adult life? + +And who shall answer for those distinctions of caste and systems of +labor which so degrade and famish masses of human beings, that the +divine miracle of the feeding of the five thousand must be multiplied +many times over before the truths of nature or revelation can be +received into teachable minds or susceptible hearts? And who shall +answer for the hereditary poverty, ignorance and crime, which +constitute a marked feature of English life, and are distinctly visible +upon the face of American civilization? These questions may point with +sufficient distinctness to the sources of the evils enumerated; but we +are not to assume that mere human governments can furnish an adequate +and complete remedy. Yet this admitted inability to do everything is no +excuse for neglecting those things which are plainly within their power. +Taking upon themselves the parental character, forgetting that they have +wrongs to avenge, and seeking reformation through kindness, criminals +and the causes of crime will diminish, if they do not disappear. This is +the responsibility of the nations, and the claim now made upon them. +Individual civilization and refinement have always been in advance of +national; and national character is the mirrored image of the individual +characters, not excepting the humblest, of which the nation is composed. +Each foot of the ocean's surface has, in its fluidity or density or +position, something of the quality or power of every drop of water which +rests or moves in the depths of the sea. What is called national +character is the face of the great society beneath; and, as that society +in its elements is elevated or debased, so will the national character +rise or fall in the estimation of all just men, and upon the page of +impartial history. Government, which is the organized expression of the +will of society, should represent the best elements of which society is +composed; and it ought, therefore, to combat error and wrong, and seek +to inaugurate labor, justice, and truth, as the elements of stability, +growth, and power. It must accept as its principles of action the best +rules of conduct in individuals. The man who avenges his personal wrongs +by personal attacks or vindictive retaliation, must sacrifice in some +measure the sympathy of the wise, the humane, and the good. So the +nation which avenges real or fancied wrongs crushes out the elements of +humanity and a higher life, which, properly cultivated, might lead an +erring mortal to virtue and peace. The proper object of punishment is +not vengeance, but the public safety and the reformation of the +criminal. Indeed, we may say that the sole object of punishment is the +reformation of the criminal; for there can be no safety to the public +while the criminal is unreformed. The punishment of the prison must, +from its nature, be temporary; perpetual confinement can be meted out to +a few great crimes only. If, then, the result of punishment be +vengeance, and not reformation, the last state of society is worse than +its first. The prison must stand a sad monument of the want of true +paternal government in the family and the state; but, when it becomes +the receptacle merely of the criminal, and all ideas of reformation are +banished from the hearts of convicts and the minds of keepers, its +influence is evil, and only evil continually. + +Vice, driven from the presence of virtue, with no hope of reformation or +of restoration to society, begets vice, and becomes daily more and more +loathsome. Misery is so universal that some share falls to the lot of +all; but that misery whose depths cannot be sounded, whose heights +cannot be scaled, is the fortune of the prison convict only, who has no +hope of reformation to virtue or of restoration to the world. His is the +only misery that is unrelieved; his is the only burden that is too great +to be borne. To him the foliage of the tree, the murmur of the brook, +the mirror of the quiet lake, or the thunder of the heaving ocean, would +be equally acceptable. His separation from nature is no less burdensome +than his separation from man. The heart sinks, the spirit turns with a +consuming fire upon itself, the soul is in despair; the mind is first +nerved and desperate, then wandering and savage, then idiotic, and +finally goes out in death. Governments cannot often afford to protect +themselves, or to avenge themselves, at such a cost. There may be great +crimes on which such awful penalties should be visited; but, for the +honor of the race, let them be few. + +We may err in our ideas of the true relations of the prison to the +prisoner. We call a prison good or bad when we see its walls, cells, +workshops, its means of security, and points of observation. These are +very well. They are something; but they are not all. We might so judge a +hospital for the sick; and we did once so judge an asylum for the +insane. + +But what to the sick man are walls of wood, brick, granite, or marble? +What are towers and turrets, what are wards, halls, and verandas, if +withal he is not cheered and sustained by the sympathizing heart and +helping hand? And similar preparations furnish for the insane personal +security and physical comfort; but can they + + + "Minister to a mind diseased; + Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow; + Raze out the written troubles of the brain?" + + +And it may be that the old almshouse at Philadelphia, which was nearly +destitute of material aids, and had only superintendent, matrons, and +assistants, was, all in all, the best insane asylum in America. + +We cannot neglect the claims of security, discipline, and labor, in the +erection of jails and prisons; but to acknowledge these merely will +never produce the proper fruit of punishment--reformation. Indeed, +walls of stone, gates of iron, bolts, locks, and armed sentinels, though +essential to security, without which there could be neither punishment +nor reformation, are in themselves barriers rather than helps to moral +progress. Standing outside, we cannot say what should be done either in +the insane hospital or the prison; but we can deduce from the experience +of modern times a safe rule for general conduct. In the insane hospital +the patient is to be treated as though he were sane; and in the jail the +prisoner is to be treated, nearly as may be, as though he were virtuous. +This rule, especially as much of it as applies to the prisoner, may be +recklessness to some, to others folly, to others sin. + +"The court awards it, and the law doth give it," is no doubt the essence +and strength of governmental justice in the sentence decreed; but it +would be a sad calamity if there were no escape from its literal +fulfilment. And let no one borrow the words of Portia to the Jew, and +say to the state, + + + "Nor cut thou less nor more, + But just a pound of flesh." + + +As the criminal staggers beneath the accumulated weight of his sin and +its penalty, he should feel that the state is not only just in the +language of its law, but merciful in its administration; that the +government is, in truth, paternal. This feeling inspires confidence and +hope; and without these there can be no reformation. And, following this +thought, we are led to say, it is a sad and mischievous public delusion +that the pardoning power is useless or pernicious. It is a _delusion_; +for it is the only means by which the state mingles mercy with its +justice,--the means by which the better sentiments of the prison are +marshalled in favor of order, of law, of progress. It is a _public +delusion_; for it has infected not only the masses of society, who know +little of what is going on in courts and prisons, but its influence is +observed upon the bench and in the bar, especially among those who are +accustomed to prosecute and try criminals. This is not strange, nor +shall it be a subject of complaint; but we must not always look upon the +prisoner as a criminal, and continually disregard his claims as a man. +It is not often easy, nor always possible, to make the proper +distinction between the _character_ and _condition_ of the prisoner. But +the prison, strange as it may seem, follows the general law of life. It +has its public sentiment, its classes, its leading minds, as well as the +university or the state; it has its men of mark, either good or bad, as +well as congress or parliament. As the family, the church, or the +school, is the reflection of the best face of society, so the prison is +the reflection of the worst face of society. But it nevertheless is +society, and follows its laws with as much fidelity as the world at +large. + +It is said that Abbe Fissiaux, the head of the colony of Marseilles, +when visiting Mettray, a kind of reform school, at which boys under +sixteen years of age, who have committed offences without discernment, +are sent, asked the colonists to point out to him the three best boys. +The looks of the whole body immediately designated three young persons +whose conduct had been irreproachable to an exceptional degree. He then +applied a more delicate test. "Point out to me," said he, "the worst +boy." All the children remained motionless, and made no sign; but one +little urchin came forward, with a pitiful air, and said, in a very low +tone, "_It is me._" Such were the public sentiment and sense of honor, +even in a reform school. This frankness in the lad was followed by +reformation; and he became in after years a good soldier,--the life +anticipated for many members of the institution. + +The pardoning power is not needed in reform and industrial schools, +where the managers have discretionary authority; but it is quite +essential to the discipline of the prison to let the light of hope into +the prisoner's heart. Not that all are to enjoy the benefits of +executive clemency,--by no means: only the most worthy and promising +are to be thus favored. But, for many years, the Massachusetts prison +has been improved and elevated in its tone and sentiment above what it +would have been; while, as it is believed, over ninety per cent. of the +convicts thus discharged have conducted themselves well. If the +prisoner's conduct has not been, upon the whole, reasonably good, and +for a long time irreproachable, he has no chance for clemency; and, +whatever may be his conduct, and whatever may be the hopes inspired, he +should not be allowed to pass without the prison walls until a friend, +labor, and a home, are secured for him. And the exercise of the +pardoning power, if it anticipate the expiration of the legal sentence +but a month, a week, or a day even, may change the whole subsequent +life. Men, criminals, convicts, are not insensible to kindness; and when +the government shortens the legal sentence, which is usually their +measure of justice, they feel an additional obligation to so behave as +to bring no discredit upon a power which has been a source of +inestimable joy to them. And prisoners thus discharged have often gone +forth with a feeling that the hopes of many whom they had left behind +were centred in them. + +Mr. Charles Forster, of Charlestown, says, in a letter to me: "I have +been connected with the Massachusetts State Prison for a period of +thirty-eight years, and have always felt a strong interest in the +improvement, welfare, and happiness, of the unfortunate men confined +within its walls. I am conversant with many touching cases of deep and +heartfelt gratitude for kindly acts and sympathy bestowed upon them, +both during and subsequent to their imprisonment." And the same +gentleman says further, "I think that the proportion of persons +discharged from prison by executive clemency, who have subsequently been +convicted of penal offences, is very small indeed." To some, whose +imaginations have pictured a broad waste or deep gulf between themselves +and the prisoner class, these may seem strange words; but there is no +mystery in this language to those who have listened to individual cases +of crime and punishment. Men are tried and convicted of crimes according +to rules and definitions which are necessarily arbitrary and technical; +but the moral character of criminals is not very well defined by the +rules and definitions which have been applied to their respective cases. +Our prisons contain men who are great and professional criminals,--men +who advisedly follow a life of crime themselves, and deliberately +educate generation after generation to a career of infamy and vice. As a +general thing, mercy to such men would be unpardonable folly. Of them I +do not now speak. But there is another class, who are involved in guilt +and its punishment through the defects of early education, the +misfortune of orphanage, accident, sudden temptation, or the influence +of evil companionship in youth. + +The field from which this class is gathered is an extensive one, and its +outer limits are near to every hearthstone. To all these, prison life, +unless it is relieved by a hope of restoration to the world at the hand +of mercy, is the school of vice, and a certain preparation for a career +of crime. As a matter of fact, this class does furnish recruits to +supply the places of the hardened villains who annually die, or +permanently forsake the abodes of civilized men. What hope can there be +for a young man who remains in prison until the last day of his sentence +is measured by the sun in his course, and then passes into the world, +with the mark of disgrace and the mantle of shame upon him, to the +society of the companions by whose influence he first fell? For such a +one there can be no hope. And be it always remembered that there are +those without the prison walls, as well as many within, who resist every +effort to bring the wanderers back to obedience and right. I was present +at the prison in Charlestown when the model of a bank-lock was taken +from a young man whose term had nearly expired. The model was cut in +wood, after a plan drawn upon sand-paper by an experienced criminal, +then recently convicted. This old offender was so familiar with the +lock, that he was able to reproduce all its parts from memory alone. +This fact shows the influence that may be exerted, even in prison, upon +the characters of the young and less vicious. Now, can any doubt that +these classes, as classes, ought to be separated? Nor let the question +be met by the old statement, that all communication between prisoners +should be cut off. Humanity cannot defend, as a permanent system, the +plan which shuts up the criminal, unless he is a murderer, from the +light of the human countenance. Such penalties foster crimes, whose +roots take hold of the state itself. + +The result of the exercise of the pardoning power is believed to have +been, upon the whole, satisfactory. This is the concurrent testimony of +officers and others whose opinions are entitled to weight. Permit the +statement of a single case, to which many similar ones might be added. +In a remote state of the West there is a respectable and successful +farmer, who was once sentenced to the penitentiary for life. His crime +was committed in a moment of desperation, produced by the contrast +between a state of abject poverty in a strange land, at the age of +twenty-three, and the recollection of childhood and youth passed beneath +the parental roof, surrounded by the comforts and conveniences of the +well-educated and well-conditioned classes of English society. This, it +is true, was a peculiar case. It was marked in the circumstances and +enormity of the crime, and marked in the subsequent good conduct of the +prisoner. But can any one object, that, after ten years' imprisonment, +this man was allowed to try his fortunes once more among his fellow-men? +Are there those who would have had no faith in his uninterrupted good +conduct; in the abundant evidence of complete reformation; in the fact +that, in prison and poverty and disgrace, he had allied to him friends +of name and fortune and Christian virtues, who were ready to aid him in +his good resolutions? If any such there be, let them visit the solitary +cell of the despairing convict, whose crime is so great that executive +clemency fears to approach it. Crime and despair have made the features +appalling; all the worst passions of our nature riot together in the +temple made for the living God; and the death of the body is almost +certainly to be preceded by madness, insanity, and idiocy of the mind. +Or, if any think that this person escaped with too light an expiation +for so great a crime, let them recall the incident of the youth who was +questioned because he looked with fond affection into the babbling face +of the running brook, and, apologizing, as it were, in reply said, "O, +yes, it is very beautiful, and especially to me, who have seen no water +for four years, beside what I have had to drink!" + +Nor is it assumed, in all that is said upon this subject, that the laws +are severe, or that the judicial administration of them is not +characterized by justice and mercy. In the ordinary course of affairs, +the pardoning power is not resorted to for the correction of any error +or injustice of the courts; but it is the means by which the state +tempers its justice with mercy; and, if the penalties for crime were +less than they are, the necessity for the exercise of this power would +still remain. It assumes that the object of the penal law is +reformation; and if this object, in some cases, can be attained by the +exercise of the pardoning power, while the rigid execution of the +sentence would leave the criminal, as it usually will, still hardened +and unrepenting, is it not wise for the state to benefit itself, and +save the prisoner, by opening the prison-doors, and inviting the convict +to a life of industry and virtue? And let it never be forgotten, though +it is the lowest view which can be taken of crime and prisons, that the +criminal class is the most expensive class of society. In general, it is +a non-producing class, and, whether in prison or out, is a heavy burden +upon the public. The mere interest of the money now expended in prisons +of approved structure is, for each cell, equal annually to the net +income of a laboring man; and professional thieves, when at large, often +gather by their art, and expend in profligacy, many thousand dollars a +year. And here we see how much wiser it is, in an economical point of +view, to save the child, or reform the man, than to allow the adult +criminal to go at large, or provide for his safe-keeping at the expense +of the state. + +Under the influence of the pardoning power, wisely executed, the +commonwealth becomes a family, whose law is the law of kindness. It is +the paternal element of government applied to a class of people who, by +every process of reasoning, would be found least susceptible to its +influence. It is the great power of the state, both in the wisdom +required for its judicious exercise, and in the beneficial results to +which it may lead. Men may desire office for its emoluments in money or +fame; they may seek it in a spirit of rivalry, or for personal pride, or +for the opportunity it brings to reward friends and punish enemies; but +all these are poor and paltry compared with the divine privilege, +exercised always in reference to the public welfare, of elevating the +prisoner to the companionship of men, and cheering him with words of +encouragement on his entrance anew to the duties of life. + +Yet think not that the prison is a reformatory institution: far from it. +If the prison should be left to the influence of legitimate prison +discipline merely, it is doubtful whether the sum of improvement would +equal the total of degradation. This may be said of the best prisons of +America, of New England. The prison usually contains every class, from +the hardened convict, incarcerated for house-breaking, robbery, or +murder, to the youth who expiates his first offence, committed under the +influence of evil companions, or sudden temptation. The contact of these +two persons must be injurious to one of them, without in any degree +improving the other. Therefore the prison, considered without reference +to the elevating influence of the pardoning power, has but little +ability to reform the bad, and yet possesses a sad tendency to debase +the comparatively good. + +We miss, too, in the prison, another essential element of a reformatory +institution. Reformation in individual cases may take place under the +most adverse circumstances; but an institution cannot be called +reformatory unless its prevailing moral sentiment is actively, +vigorously, and always, on the side of progress and virtue. This moral +influence must proceed from the officers of the institution; but it +should be increased and strengthened by the sympathy and support of the +inmates. This can hardly be expected of the prison. The number of adult +persons experienced in crime and hardened by its penalties is usually so +large, that the moral sentiment of the officers, and the weak +resolutions of the small class of prisoners, who, under favorable +circumstances, might be saved, are insufficient to give a healthy tone +to the whole institution. The prison is a battle-field of vice and +virtue, with the advantage of position and numbers on the side of vice. +Indeed, there can hardly be a worse place for the young or the +inexperienced in crime. This is the testimony of reason and of all +experience; yet the public mind is slow to accept the remedy for the +evil. It is a privilege to believe that the worst scenes of prison life +are not found in the United States. Consider this case, reported in an +English journal, _The Ragged-School Magazine_: + +"D. F., aged about fourteen. Mother dead several years; father a +drunkard, and deserted him about three years ago. Has since lived as he +best could,--sometimes going errands, sometimes begging and thieving. +Slept in lodging-houses when he had money; but very often walked the +streets at night, or lay under arches or door-steps. Has only one +brother; he lives by thieving. Does not know where he is; has no other +friend that he knows; never learnt to read; was badly off; picked a +handkerchief out of a gentleman's pocket, and was caught by a policeman; +sent to Giltspur-street Prison; was fed on bread and water; instructed +every day by chaplain and schoolmaster; much impressed with what the +chaplain said; felt anxious to do better; behaved well in prison; _was +well flogged the morning he left; back bruised, but not quite bleeding_; +was then turned into the street, ragged, barefooted, friendless, +homeless, penniless; walked about the streets till afternoon, when he +received a penny from a gentleman to buy a loaf; met, next day, some +expert thieves in the Minories; went along with them, and continues in a +course of vagrancy and crime." + +And what else could have been expected? The government, having sown +tares, had no right to gather wheat. Yet, had this boy been provided +with a home, either in a family or a reform school, with sufficient +labor, and proper moral and intellectual culture, he might have been +saved. Of the three thousand persons annually in prison at Newgate, +four hundred are less than sixteen years of age; and twenty thousand +children and youth under seventeen years of age yearly pass through the +prisons of England. "Many of the juvenile prisoners," it is said, "have +been frequently in prison, and are very hardened. Some, from nine to +eleven, have been in prison repeatedly, and have very little fear of +it." + +The officers of the Liverpool Borough Jail are united in the opinion +that, when a boy comes once, he is almost certain to come again and +again, until he is transported. And, of every one hundred young persons +discharged from the principal prisons of Paris, seventy-five are in the +custody of the law within the next three months. A professed thief said +to the Rev. Mr. Clay, of England, "I am convinced of this, having too +bitterly experienced it, that communication in a prison has brought +thousands to ruin. I speak not of boys only, but of men and women also." +And Mr. Hill, Recorder of Birmingham, says of the sentences imposed in +his court, "We are compelled to carry into operation an ignorant and +vengeful system, which augments to a fearful extent the very evils it +was framed to correct." A few years ago, there was a lad in a New +England prison whose experience is a pertinent illustration of the evil +we are now considering. His father, a resident of a city, died while +the boy was in infancy. He, however, soon passed beyond the control of +his mother, and at an early age was selected by a brace of thieves, who +petted, caressed, and humored him, until he was completely subject to +their will. He was then made useful to them in their profession; but at +last they were all arrested while engaged in robbing a store,--the boy +being within the building, and the men stationed as sentinels without. +In this case, the discretion of the court, which distinguished in the +sentence between the hardened villains and the youth, was inadequate to +the emergency. The child, unfit for the prison, and sure to be +contaminated by it, ought to have been sent to a house of reformation, a +reform school, or, perhaps better than either, to the custody of a +well-regulated, industrious family. Now, in such cases, the distinction +which the law, judicially administered, does not make, and cannot make, +must be made by the executive in the wise exercise of the pardoning +power. But this power, in the nature of things, has its limits; and on +one side it is limited to those who have been convicted of crime. + +At this point, we may see how faulty, and yet how constantly improving, +has been the administration of the criminal law. First, we have the +prison without the pardoning power, except in cases of +mal-administration of the law,--a receptacle of the bad and good, where +the former are not improved, and the latter are hurried rapidly on in +the path of degradation and crime. Then we have the prison under the +influence of the pardoning power, more or less wisely administered, but, +in its best form, able only to arrest and counteract partially the +tendencies to evil. Next, from the imperfections of this system an +advancing civilization has evoked the Reform School, which gathers in +the young criminals and viciously inclined youth, and prepares them, by +labor, and culture of the mind and heart, to resist the temptations of +life. But this institution seems to wait, though it may not always in +reality do so, until the candidate is actually a criminal. + +Hence the necessity which calls us to-day to consider the means adopted +elsewhere, and the means now to be employed here, to save the young and +exposed from the dangers which surround them. + +Passing, then, in review, ladies and gentlemen, the thoughts which have +been presented, I deduce from them for your assent and support, if so it +please you, the following propositions as the basis of what I have yet +to say: + +I. Government, in the prevention and punishment of crime, should be +paternal. + +II. The object of punishment should be reformation, and not revenge. + +III. The law of reformation in the state, as in the family, is the law +of kindness. + +IV. As criminals vary in age and in experience as criminals, so should +their treatment vary. + +V. Prisons and jails are not, in their foundation and management, +reformatory institutions, and only become so through influences not +necessarily nor ordinarily acting upon them. + +VI. As prisons and jails deter from crime through fear only, exert very +little moral influence upon the youth of either sex, and fail in many +respects and in a majority of cases as reformatory institutions, we +ought to avail ourselves of any new agency which promises success. + + +Influenced, as we may reasonably suppose, by these or kindred +sentiments, and aided by the noblest exhibitions of private benevolence, +the state has here founded a school for the prevention of crime. As we +have everywhere among us schools whose _leading_ object is the +development of the intellect, so we now dedicate a school whose +_leading_ object is the development of the affections as the basis of +the cardinal virtues of life. + +The design of this institution is so well expressed by the trustees, +that it is a favor to us all for me to read the first chapter of the +by-laws, which, by the consent of the Governor and Council, have been +established: + +"The intention of the state government, and of the benevolent +individuals who have contributed to the establishment of this +institution, is to secure a _home_ and a _school_ for such girls as may +be presented to the magistrates of the state, appointed for that +purpose, as vagrants, perversely obstinate, deprived of the control and +culture of their natural guardians, or guilty of petty offences, and +exposed to a life of crime and wretchedness. + +"For such young persons it is proposed to provide, not a prison for +their restraint and correction, but a family school, where, under the +firm but kind discipline of a judicious home, they shall be carefully +instructed in all the branches of a good education; their moral +affections be developed and cultivated by the example and affectionate +care of one who shall hold the relation of a mother to them; be +instructed in useful and appropriate forms of female industry; and, in +short, be fitted to become virtuous and happy members of society, and to +take respectable positions in such relations in life as Providence shall +hereafter mark out for them. + +"It is to be distinctly understood that the institution is not to be +considered a _place of punishment_, or its subjects as criminals. It is +to be an inviting refuge, into which the exposed may be gathered to be +saved from a course which would inevitably end in penal confinement, +irretrievable ruin, or hopeless degradation. + +"The inmates are to be considered hopeful and promising subjects of +appropriate culture, and to be instructed and watched over with the care +and kindness which their peculiar exposures demand, and with the +confidence which youth should ever inspire. + +"The restraint and the discipline which will be necessary are to be such +as would be appropriate in a Christian family or in a small +boarding-school; and the 'law of kindness' should be written upon the +heart of every officer of the institution. The chief end to be obtained, +in all the culture and discipline, is the proper development of the +faculties and moral affections of the inmates, however they may have +been heretofore neglected or perverted; and to teach them the art, and +aid them in securing the power, of self-government." + +Under the influence of these sentiments, we pass, if possible, in the +work of reformation, from the rigor of the prison to the innocent +excitement and rivalry of the school, the comfort, confidence and joys +of home. This institution assumes that crime, to some extent at least, +is social, local, or hereditary, in its origin; that the career of +hardened criminals often takes its rise in poverty, idleness, ignorance, +orphanage, desertion, or intemperance of parents, evil example, or the +indifference, scorn and neglect of society. It assumes, also, that there +is a period of life--childhood and youth--when these, the first +indications of moral death, may be eradicated, or their influence for +evil controlled. In this land of education, of liberty, of law, of labor +and religion, we may not easily imagine how universal the enumerated +evils are in many portions of Europe. The existence of these evils is in +some degree owing to institutions which favor a few, and oppress the +masses; but it is also in a measure due to the fact that Europe is both +old and multitudinous. America, though still young, is even now +multitudinous. Hence, both here and there, crime is social and local. +The truth of this statement is proportionate to the force of the causes +in the respective countries. + +We are assembled upon a sloping hillside, over-looking a quiet country +village. Happy homes are embowered in living groves, whose summer +foliage is emblematical of innocence, progress, and peace. We have here +a social life, with natural impulses, cultivated worldly interests, +moral and religious sentiments, all on the side of virtue. Crime here +is not social. If it appear at all, it is segregated; and, as the +burning taper expires when placed at the centre of the spirit lamp's +coiling sheet of flame, so vice and crime cannot thrive in the genial +embrace of virtue. + +Circumstances are here unfavorable to crime; it is never social; but +sometimes, though not often, it is hereditary. A family for many +generations seems to have a criminal tendency. Perhaps the members are +not in any generation guilty of great crimes, but often of lesser ones; +and are, moreover, in the daily practice of vices that give rise to +suspicion, neglect, and reproach. Here together are associated, and made +hereditary, poverty, ignorance, idleness, beggary, and vagrancy. Surely +these instances are not common, probably not so common as they were in +the last generation. But how is the boy or girl of such a family to rise +above these circumstances, and throw off these weights? Occasionally one +of great energy of character may do so; but, if the children of more +fortunate classes can scarcely escape the influence of temporary evil +example, how shall they who are born to a heritage of poverty, +ignorance, and ever-present evil counsel and conduct under the guise of +parental authority, pass to the position of intelligent, industrious, +respectable members of society? Some external influence must be +applied; by some means from without, the spell must be broken; the +fatal succession of vicious homes must be interrupted. The family has +here failed to discharge its duty to itself and to the state; and shall +not the state do its duty to itself, by assuming the paternal relation +under the guidance of that law of kindness, which we have seen effectual +to control the insane, and melt the hardened criminal? But in cities we +find vice, not only hereditary in families, but local and social; so +that streets and squares are given up, as it were, to the idle and +vicious, whose numbers and influence produce and perpetuate a public +sentiment in support of their daily practices. This phase of life is not +due to the fact that cities are wealthy, or that they are engaged in +manufactures or commerce; but to the single fact that they are +multitudinous, and their inhabitants are, therefore, in daily contact +with each other, while, in the country, individuals and families are +comparatively isolated. Yet some may very well doubt whether such an +institution as this, with all the benign influences of home which we +hope to see centred and diffusive here, will save a child of either sex, +whose first years shall have been so unfavorable to a life of virtue. + +The answer is plain: as in other reformatory institutions, there will be +some successes and some failures. The failures will be reckoned as they +were; the successes will be a clear gain. + +But investigation and trial will show a natural aptitude or instinct in +children that will aid in their improvement and reformation. There has +been in one of our public schools a lad, who, at the age of fourteen +years, could not recall distinctly the circumstances of his life +previous to the time when he was a newsboy in the city of New York. He +was ignorant of father, mother, kindred, family name, and nation. At an +early age, he travelled through the middle, southern and south-western +states, engaged in selling papers and trash literature; and, for a time, +he was employed by a showman to stand outside the tent and describe and +exaggerate the attractions within. When he was in his fourteenth year, +he accepted the offer of a permanent home; his chief object being, as he +said, to obtain an education. "I have found," said he, "that a man +cannot do much in this country unless he has some learning." This truth, +simple, and resting upon a low view of education, may yet be of infinite +value if accepted by those who, even among us, are advancing to adult +life without the preparation which our common schools are well fitted to +furnish. And the case of this lad may be yet further useful by showing +how compensation is provided for evils and neglects in mental and moral +relations, as well as in the physical and natural world. Though ignorant +of books, he was thoroughly and extensively acquainted with things, and +consequently made rapid progress in the knowledge of signs; for they +were immediately applied, and of course remembered. In a few months, he +took a respectable position among lads of his age. The world had done +for this boy what good schools do not always accomplish,--made him +familiar with things before he was troubled with the signs which stand +for them. There is an ignorance in manhood; an ignorance under the show +of profound learning; an ignorance for which schools, academies and +colleges, are often responsible; an ignorance that neither schools, +academies nor colleges, can conceal from the humblest intellects; an +ignorance of life and things as they are within the sphere of our own +observation. From this most deplorable ignorance this boy had escaped; +and the light of learning illumined his mind, as the sun in his daily +return reveals anew those forms of life, which, even in an ungenial +spring and early summer, his rays had warmed into existence, and +nourished and cherished in their progress towards perfection. + +And, ladies and gentlemen, let us indulge the hope that the events of +this day and the faith of this assembly will declare that it is +possible to save the children of orphanage, intemperance, neglect, scorn +and ignorance, from many of the evils which surround them. Let it not be +assumed and believed that the task of training and saving girls is less +hopeful than similar labors in behalf of the other sex. It has been +found true in Europe, and it is a prevailing opinion in this country, +that, among adults, the reformation of females is more difficult than +the reformation of males. But an analysis of this fact, assuming it to +be true, will unfold qualities of female character that render it +peculiarly easy to shield and save girls who are exposed to a life of +crime; for, be it remembered, this institution deals with mere children, +who are exposed, but not yet lost. It differs, in this respect, from +most institutions, although many include this class with others. And it +may be well to remark, that every reformatory school in Europe, even +those altogether penal,--as Parkhurst in England, and Mettray in +France,--have had some measure of success. Eighty-nine per cent. of the +colons, or convicts, at Mettray, have become respectable and useful; +while, of the youth sent to the ordinary jails and prisons, seventy-five +per cent. are totally lost. It is not fair, therefore, to assume that +this attempt will fail. The degree of success will depend upon +circumstances and causes, to a great extent, within human control. +There are, however, three elements of success, so distinct that they may +well stand as the appropriate divisions of what remains for +consideration. They are the right action of the government; the faithful +conduct of superintendent, matrons, and assistants; the sympathy and aid +of the people of the state in matters which do not admit of legislative +interference. + +The act of the Legislature, though voluminous in its details, +contemplates only this: A home for girls between seven and sixteen years +of age, who are found "in circumstances of want and suffering, or of +neglect, exposure, or abandonment, or of beggary." The first idea of +_home_ precludes the possibility of the inmates being sent here as a +punishment for crime; therefore they are neither adjudged nor actual +criminals, but persons exposed to a vicious life. Secondly, the idea of +home involves the necessity of reproducing the family relation, as +circumstances may permit. Hence, the members of this institution are to +be divided into families; and over each a matron will preside, who is to +be a kind, affectionate, discreet mother to the children. + +And here, for once, in Massachusetts, a public institution has escaped +the tyranny of bricks and mortar; and we are permitted to indulge the +hope, that any future additions will tend to make this spot a +neighborhood of unostentatious cottages, quiet rural homes, rather than +the seat of a vast edifice, which may provoke the wonder of the +sight-seer, inflame local or state pride, but can never be an effectual, +economical agency in the work of reformation. Every public institution +has some great object. Architecture should bend itself to that object, +and become its servant; and it must ever be deemed a mistake, when +utility is sacrificed that art or fancy may have its way. + +Reformation, if wrought by external influences, is the result of +personal kindness. Personal kindness can exist only where there is +intimate personal acquaintance; this acquaintance is impossible in an +institution of two, three, or five hundred inmates. But, in a family of +ten, twenty, or thirty, this knowledge will exist, and this kindness +abound. Warm personal attachments will grow up in the family, and these +attachments are likely to become safeguards of virtue. + +Nor let the objection prevail that the expense is to be increased. It is +not the purpose to set up an establishment and maintain it for a +specific sum of money, but to provide thorough mental and moral training +for the inmates. Make the work efficient, though it be limited to a +small number, rather than inaugurate a magnificent failure. + +The state has wisely provided that the "trustees shall cause the girls +under their charge to be instructed in piety and morality, and in such +branches of useful knowledge as shall be adapted to their age and +capacity; they shall also be instructed in some regular course of labor, +either mechanical, manufacturing, or horticultural, or a combination of +these, and especially in such domestic and household labor and duties as +shall be best suited to their age and strength, disposition and +capacity; also in such other arts, trades, and employments, as may seem +to the trustees best adapted to secure their reformation, amendment, and +future benefit." + +It is sometimes the bane of the poor that they do not work, and it is +often equally the bane of the rich that they have nothing to do. The +idle, both rich and poor, carry a weight of reproach that not all ought +to bear. The disposition and the ability to labor are both the result of +education; and why should the uneducated be better able to labor than to +read Greek and Latin? Surely only that there are more teachers in one +department than in the others; but a good teacher of labor may be as +uncommon as a good teacher of Latin or Greek. There is a false, vicious, +unmanly pride, which leads our youth of both sexes to shun labor; and +it is the business of the true teacher to extirpate this growth of a +diseased civilization. And we could have no faith in this school, if it +were not a school of industry as well as of morality,--a school in which +the divine law of labor is to be observed equally with the laws of men. +Industry is near to all the virtues. In this era every branch of labor +is an art, and sometimes it is necessary for the laborer to be both an +artist and a scientific person. How great, then, the misfortune of +those, whether rich or poor, who are uninstructed in the business of +life! We should hardly know what judgment to pass upon a man of wealth +who should entirely neglect the education of his children in schools; +but the common indifference to industrial learning is not less +reprehensible. Labor should be systematic; not constant, indeed, but +always to be reckoned as the great business of life, never to be +avoided, never to cease. + +Labor gives us a better knowledge of the fulness, magnificence and +glory, of the divine blessing of creation. This lesson may be learned by +the farmer in the wonderful growth of vegetation; by the artist, in the +powers of invention and taste of the human mind and soul; by the man of +science, in the beauty of an insect or the order of a universe. The +vision of the idle is limited. The ability to see may be improved by +education as much as the ability to read, remember, or converse. With +many people, not seeing is a habit. Near-sighted persons are generally +those who declined to look at distant objects; and so nature, true to +the most perfect rules of economy, refused to keep in order faculties +that were entirely neglected. The laborer's recompense is not money, nor +the accumulation of worldly goods chiefly; but it is in his increased +ability to observe, appreciate, and enjoy the world, with its beauties +and blessings. Nor is labor, the penalty for sin, a punishment merely, +but a divine means of reformation. It is, therefore, a moral discipline +that all should submit to; and especially is it a means by which the +youth here are to be prepared for the duties of life. But industry is +not only near to all the virtues; it is itself a virtue, as idleness is +a vice. The word _labor_ is, of course, used in the broadest +signification. Labor is any honest employment, or use of the head or +hands, which brings good to ourselves, and consequently, though +indirectly, brings good to our fellow-men. + +The state has now furnished a home, reproduced, as far as practicable, +the family relation, and provided for a class of neglected and exposed +girls the means of mental, industrial, moral, and religious culture. The +plan appears well; but its practical value depends upon the fidelity of +its execution by the superintendent, matrons and assistants. I venture +to predict in advance, that the degree of success is mainly within their +control. This is a school, they are the teachers; and they must bend to +the rule which all true teachers willingly accept. + +The teacher must be what he would have his pupils become. This was the +standard of the great Teacher; this is the aim of all who desire to make +education a matter of reality and life, and not merely a knowledge of +signs and forms. Here will be needed a spirit and principle of devotion +which will be fruitful in humility, patience, earnestness, energy, good +words and works for all. Here must be strictness, possibly sternness of +discipline; but this is not incompatible with the qualities mentioned. +It is a principle at Mettray to combine unbounded personal kindness with +a rigid exclusion of personal indulgence. + +This principle produces good results that are two-fold in their +influence. First, personal kindness in the teacher induces a reciprocal +quality in the pupils. The habit of personal kindness, proceeding from +right feelings, is a potent element of good in the family, the school, +and the prison. Indeed, it is an element of good citizenship; and no one +destitute of this quality ought to be intrusted with the education of +children, or the punishment and reformation of criminals. + +Secondly, the rigid exclusion of personal indulgence trains the inmates +in the virtue of self-control. And may it not be forgotten that all +apparent reformation must be hedged by this cardinal virtue of practical +life! Otherwise the best-formed expectations will fail; the highest +hopes will be disappointed; and the life of these teachers, and the +promise of the youth who may be gathered here, will be like the sun and +the winds upon the desert, which bring neither refreshing showers nor +fruitful harvests. Every form of labor requires faith. This labor +requires faith in yourselves, and faith in others;--faith in yourselves, +as teachers here, based upon your own knowledge of what you are and are +to do; and faith in others upon the divine declaration that God breathed +into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul,--not merely as +the previous creations, possessed of animal life; but as a sentient, +intellectual, and moral being, capable of a progressive, immortal +existence. + + + "'Tis nature's law + That none, the meanest of created things, + + * * * * * + + Should exist + Divorced from good,--a spirit and pulse of good, + A life and soul, to every mode of being + Inseparably linked. + + See, then, your only conflict is with men; + And your sole strife is to defend and teach + The unillumined, who, without such care, + Must dwindle." + + +And always, as in the beginning, the reliance of this school is upon the +people of the commonwealth, whose voice has spoken into existence +another instrumentality to give eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, a +heart for the work of this life, and a hope for an hereafter, to those +who from neglect and vicious example would soon pass the period of +reformation. But may the people always bear in mind the indisputable +truth, that schools for the criminal and the exposed yield not their +perfect fruits in a day or a year! They must, if they will know whether +the seed here planted produces a harvest, wait for the birth and growth +of one generation, the decay and death of another. Yet these years of +delay will not be years of uncertainty. The public faith will be +strengthened continually by cases of reformation, usefulness, and +virtue. But, whether these cases be few or many, let no one despond. The +career of the criminal is, often in money and always in influence, the +heaviest burden which an individual can impose upon society. + +This is a school for girls; and we may properly appeal to the women of +Massachusetts to do their duty to this institution, and to the cause it +represents. We can already see the second stage in the existence of many +of those who are to be sent here; and there is good reason to fear that +the relation of mistress and servant among us is in some degree +destitute of those moral qualities that make the house a home for all +who dwell beneath its roof. But, whether this fear be the voice of truth +or the suggestion of prejudice, that woman shall not be held blameless, +who, under the influence of indolence, pride, fashion, or avarice, shall +neglect, abuse, or oppress, the humblest of her sex who goes forth from +these walls into the broad and dangerous path of life. But this day +shall not leave the impression that they who are most interested in the +elevation and refinement of female character are indifferent to the +means employed, and the results which are to wait on them. + +The greatest delineator of human character in this age says, as the +images of neglected children pass before his vision: + +"There is not one of them--not one--but sows a harvest mankind _must_ +reap. From every seed of evil in this boy a field of ruin is grown that +shall be gathered in, and garnered up, and sown again in many places in +the world, until regions are over-spread with wickedness enough to raise +the waters of another deluge. Open and unpunished murder in a city's +streets would be less guilty in its daily toleration than one such +spectacle as this. There is not a father, by whose side, in his daily or +nightly walk, these creatures pass; there is not a mother among all the +ranks of loving mothers in this land; there is no one risen from the +state of childhood, but shall be responsible, in his or her degree, for +this enormity. There is not a country throughout the earth on which it +would not bring a curse. There is no religion upon earth that it would +not deny; there is no people on earth that it would not put to shame." + +This institution, then, in the true relation of things, is not the glory +of the state, but its shame. It speaks of families, of schools, of the +church, of the state, not yet educated to the discharge of their +respective duties in the right way. But it is the glory of the state as +a visible effort to correct evils, atone for neglects, and compensate +for wrongs. It comes to do, in part at least, what the family, the +school, the press, the library, the Sabbath, have nest yet perfectly +accomplished. As these agencies partially failed, so will this; but, as +the law of progress exists for all, because perfection with us is +unattainable, we may reasonably have faith in human improvement, and +trust that the life of each succeeding generation shall unite, in +ever-increasing proportions, the innocence of childhood with the wisdom +of age. + + + + +ELEMENTARY TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. + +[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Education.] + + +We are still sadly defective in methods of education. Until recently +teaching was almost an unknown art; and we are at present struggling +against ignorance without any well-defined plan, and attempting to +develop and build up the immortal character of children, without a +philosophical and generally accepted theory of the nature of the human +mind. There are complaints that the duties and exactions of the schools +injure the health and impair the constitutions of pupils; that the +progress in intellectual attainments is not always what it should be; +that the training given is sometimes determined by the wishes of +committees against the better judgment of competent teachers; that the +text-books are defective; that the studies in the common schools are too +numerous; that the elements are consequently neglected; and that, in +fine, too much thought is bestowed upon exhibitions and contests for +public prizes, to the injury of good learning, and of individual and +general character. For these complaints there is some foundation; but +care should be exercised lest incidental and necessary evils become, in +the public estimation, great wrongs, and exceptional cases the evidence +of general facts. + +It is to some extent true that the duties and exactions of the schools +seriously test the health of pupils; but it is, as I believe, more +generally true that many pupils are physically unable to meet the +ordinary and proper duties of the school-room. School life, as usually +conducted, is physically injurious, and our best efforts thus far have +been limited to the dissemination of elementary knowledge of physiology +as a science, and to an acquaintance with a limited number of important +physiological facts. Yet even here little has been accomplished in +comparison with what may be done. In this department there is much +instruction given that has no practical value, and children are often +permitted to live in daily and uniform neglect of the most essential +truths of science and the facts of human experience. Neither physiology +nor hygiene can be of much value in the schools, as a study, unless +there is an application of what is taught. Great proficiency cannot be +made in these branches in the brief period of school life; but a +competent teacher may induce the pupils to put in practice the lessons +that are applicable to childhood and youth. If, however, as is sometimes +the case, pupils are undermining the physical constitution in their +efforts to know how they are made, the loss is, unquestionably, more +than the gain. Physical health and growth depend, first, upon +opportunity; and hence it happens that, where physical life is most +defective, there the greatest difficulties in the way of its improvement +are found. Boys born in the country, living upon farms, accustomed +continually to outdoor labors and sports, walking a mile or more every +day to school, have but little use, in their own persons, for the +science or facts of physiology; and it is a very rare thing, where such +conditions have existed, that any teacher is able to exact an amount of +intellectual service that proves in any perceptible degree injurious. + +But these opportunities are not so generally enjoyed by girls, and the +mass of children in cities are wholly deprived of them. In the country, +and even in villages and towns of considerable size, there is no excuse, +better than ignorance or indifference, for the lack of judicious and +efficient physical training of children and youth of both sexes. But +ignorance and indifference are facts; and, while and where they exist, +they are prejudicial to the growth of mind and body. The age at which +children should be admitted to school has not been ascertained, nor can +a satisfactory rule upon this point ever be laid down. If children are +not in schools, they are yet subject to influences that are formative of +character. When proper government and methods of education exist at +home, the presence of the child in school at an early age is not +desirable. Even when education at home is not methodical, it may be +continued until the child is seven or even eight years of age, if it is +at once moral, intelligent, and controlling. It is not, however, wise to +expect a child who is infirm physically to perform the labors imposed by +the necessary and proper regulations of school. When children enjoy good +health, and are not blessed with suitable training at home, they may be +introduced to the school, at the age of five years, with positive +advantage to themselves and to society. + +When the child is a member of the school, what shall be done with him? +He must first be taught to take an interest in the exercises by making +the exercises interesting to him. That the transition from home to the +school may be easy, he should first occupy himself with those topics and +studies that are presented to the eye and to the ear, and may be +mastered, so as to produce the sensation that follows achievement with +only a moderate use of the reasoning and reflective faculties. Among +these are reading, writing, music, and drawing. This is also the time +when object lessons may be given with great advantage. The forms and +names of geometrical solids may be taught. Exercises may be introduced +tending to develop those powers by which we comprehend the qualities of +color, size, density, form, and weight. Important moral truths may be +presented with the aid of suitable illustrations. In every school the +teacher and text-books may be considered a positive quality which should +balance the negative power of the school itself. In primary schools +text-books have but little value, and the chief reliance is, therefore, +upon the teacher. Instruction must be mainly oral; hence the mind of the +teacher should be well furnished, and her capacities chastened by +considerable experience. As the pupils are unable to study, the teacher +must lead in all their exercises, and find profitable employment for the +children, or they will give themselves up to play or to stupid +listlessness. Of these alternatives, the latter is more objectionable +than the former. + +It is, of course, not often possible for a teacher to occupy herself six +hours a day with a single class in a primary school, especially if she +confines her attention to the studies enumerated. In many schools, of +various grades, gymnastic exercises have been introduced with marked +advantage. There are many such exercises which do not need apparatus, +and in which the teacher can properly lead. + +These furnish a healthful variety to the studies usually pursued, and +they prepare the pupils to receive appropriate instruction in sitting, +standing, and in the modulation and use of the voice. Indeed, gymnastic +exercises are indispensable aids to proper training in reading, which, +as an art of a high order, is immediately dependent upon position, +habits of breathing, the consequent power of voice, and expressiveness +of tone. I am fully satisfied that much more may be done in the early +period of school life than is usually accomplished. In the district +mixed schools the primary pupils receive but little attention, and they +are not infrequently occupied from one to three years in obtaining an +imperfect knowledge of the alphabet. Usually much better results are +attained by the combined agency of the home and the school, but there is +an average loss of one-fourth of the time employed in teaching and +learning the elements of our language. + +Mr. Philbrick, Superintendent of Public Schools in Boston, has taught +and trained a class of fifty primary-school pupils with a degree of +success which fully sustains the statement of the average waste in +schools generally. Twenty-two lessons of a half-hour each were given; +and in this brief period of time the class, with a few exceptions, were +so well advanced that they could write the alphabet in capital and +script hand, give the elementary sounds of the letters, produce and name +the Arabic characters and the common geometrical figures found upon +Holbrook's slates. I saw a girl, five and a half years of age, write the +alphabet without delay in script hand, in a manner that would have been +creditable to a pupil in a grammar school. + +I present Mr. Philbrick's own account of his mode of proceeding, in an +extract from his third quarterly report to the school committee of the +city of Boston. + +"The regulations relating to the primary schools require every scholar +to be provided with a slate, and to employ the time not otherwise +occupied in drawing or writing words from their spelling lessons, on +their slates, in a plain script hand. It is further stated, in the same +connection, that the teachers are expected to take special pains to +teach the first class to write--not print--all the letters of the +alphabet on slates. + +"The language of this requirement seems to imply that the classes below +the first are to draw and write words, in a plain script hand, without +any special pains to teach them, and that by such occupation they were +to be kept from idleness. As I saw neither of these objects +accomplished in any primary school, I thought it worth while to satisfy +myself, by actual experiment, what can and ought to be done, in the use +of the slate and blackboard, in teaching writing and drawing in primary +schools. To accomplish this object, I have given a course of lessons in +a graded or classified school of the third class. The number of pupils +instructed in the class was about fifty. The materials of the school are +rather below the average; about twenty of the pupils being of that +description usually found in schools for special instruction. The +school-room is furnished, as every primary school-room should be, with +stationary chairs and desks, and Holbrook's primary slates. Twenty-two +lessons, of from thirty to forty minutes each, were given, about +one-third of the time being devoted to drawing, and two-thirds to +writing. As to the method pursued, the main points were, to present but +a single element at a time; to illustrate on the blackboard defects and +excellences in execution; frequent review of the ground passed over, +especially in the _first_ steps of the course; a vigorous exercise of +all the mental faculties requisite for the performance of the task; and +a desire for improvement, encouraged and stimulated by the best and +strongest available motives; the greater part of the time being +bestowed upon the dull and backward pupils. + +"The result has exceeded my expectations. About three-fourths of the +number taught can draw most of the simple mathematical lines and +figures, given as copies on the slates used, with tolerable accuracy, +and write all the letters of the alphabet in a fair script hand. This +experiment satisfies me that, with the proper facilities, the three +upper classes in graded primary schools can be taught to write the +letters of the alphabet in a plain script hand, and even to join them +into words, without any material hindrance to the other required +studies; and, moreover, that the great remedy for the complaint of want +of time, in these schools, is the increase of skill in the art of +teaching." + +It is well known that in this country and in Europe methods of teaching +the alphabet have been introduced which materially diminish the labor of +teachers, and lessen the drudgery to which children are usually +subjected. The alphabet is taught as an object lesson. The object is +usually an animal, plant, or flower. More frequently the first. The mind +of the child is awakened either by the presence of the animal, or by a +brief but vivid description of its characteristics. The children are +first required to pronounce properly the name of the animal. Here is an +opportunity for training in the use of the voice, and in the art of +breathing, with which the general health, as well as the vocal power, is +intimately connected. The word which is the name of the animal is +analyzed into its elementary sounds. It may then be reconstructed +without the aid of visible signs, either written or printed. Next the +teacher produces the signs which stand for the several sounds, and gives +their names. The letters are presented in any way that suits the +teacher. There may be no better method than to produce them upon the +blackboard, as this course encourages the pupils to draw them upon their +slates, and thus they are at once, and without formal preliminaries, +engaged in writing. + +An outline of the animal may be drawn upon the blackboard, which the +pupils will eagerly copy; and though this exercise may not be valuable +in a high degree, as preparation for the systematic study of drawing, +yet it trains the perceptive and reflective faculties in a manner that +is pleasant to the great majority of children. It is also in the power +of the teacher, at any point in the exercises, and with reference both +to variety and usefulness, to give the most apparent facts, which to +children are the most interesting facts, in the natural history of the +animal. This plan contemplates instruction in pronunciation in +connection with exercises in breathing, in the elementary sounds of +words both consonant and vowel, in the names of letters, in writing and +drawing, to all of which may be added something of natural history. It +is of course to be understood that such exercises would be extended over +many lessons, be subject to frequent reviews, and valuable in proportion +to the teacher's ability to interest children. The outline given is +suggestive, merely, and it is not presented as a plan of a model course; +but enough has been done and is doing in this department to warrant +increased attention, and to justify the belief that a degree of progress +will soon be made in teaching the elements that will mark the epoch as a +revolution in educational affairs. It is to be observed that the system +indicated requires a high order of teaching talent. Only thorough +professional culture, or long and careful experience, will meet the +claims of such a course. It is quite plain, however, that no advantage +would arise from keeping pupils in school six hours each day; and that, +regarding only the intellectual advancement of the child during the +elementary course, his presence might be reduced to two hours, or +possibly in some cases to one: provided, always, that he could enjoy, +with his class associates, the undivided attention of the teacher. In +this view of the subject, it would be possible, where the primary +schools are graded, as in portions of the city of Boston, for one +teacher to take charge of two classes or schools, each for an hour in +the forenoon and an hour in the afternoon. This arrangement would apply +only to the younger pupils; yet I am aware that parents and the public +would be solicitous concerning the manner of employing the time that +would remain. In the cities this question is one of magnitude, and there +are strong reasons for declining any proposition to reduce the school +day full one-half, which does hot provide occupation for the children +during the remainder of the time. It is only in connection with such a +proposition that projects for gymnastic training are practicable. When +children are employed six hours in school, it is not easy to find time +for a course of systematic physical education; and physical education, +to be productive of appreciable advantages, must be systematic. When +left to children and youth, or to the care of parents, very little will +be accomplished. Children will participate in the customary sports, and +perform the allotted labors; but in cities these sports and labors are +inadequate even for boys, and in country, as well as city, girls are +often the victims of neglect in this respect. Availing ourselves, then, +of the light shed by recent experience upon the subject of primary +instruction, it seems possible to diminish the length of the school day +with a gain rather than a loss of educational power. This change may be +followed by the establishment, in cities and large towns, of public +gymnasiums, where teachers answering in moral qualifications to the +requisitions of the laws shall be employed, and where each child, for +one, two, or three years, shall receive discreet and careful, but +vigorous physical training. After a few years thus passed in +corresponding and healthful development of the mind and body, the pupil +is prepared for admission to the advanced schools, where he can submit, +with perfect safety, to greater mental requirements even than are now +made. The school, as at present constituted, cannot do much for physical +education; and it must, as a necessity and a duty, graduate its demands +to the physical as well as the intellectual abilities of its pupils. But +I am satisfied that it is occasionally made to bear a weight of reproach +that ought to be laid upon the customs and habits of domestic, social +and general life. + +Assuming that the principal work of the primary schools, after moral and +physical culture, should be to give instruction in reading, spelling, +writing, music and drawing, it is just to say that special attention +should be bestowed upon the two branches first named. So imperfectly is +reading sometimes taught, that pupils are found in advanced classes, and +in advanced schools, whose progress in other branches is retarded by +their inability to read the language fluently and intelligently. When +children are well educated in reading, they find profitable employment; +and they are, of course, by the knowledge of language acquired, able to +comprehend, with greater facility, every study to which they are called. + +Pupils often appear dull in grammar, geography and arithmetic, merely +because they are poor readers. A child is not qualified to use a +text-book of any science until he is able to read with facility, as we +are accustomed to speak, in groups of words. This ability he cannot +acquire without a great deal of practice. If phonetic spelling is +commenced with the alphabet, he will be accurately trained in that art +also. It is certain that reading, writing and spelling, have been +neglected in our schools generally. + +If there is to be a reform, it must be commenced, and in a considerable +degree accomplished, in the primary schools. These studies will be +taught afterwards; but the grammar and high schools can never compensate +for any defect permitted, or any wrong done, in the primary schools. +Reading is first mechanical, and then intellectual and emotional. In the +primary schools attention is first given to mechanical training, while +the intellectual and emotional culture is necessarily in a degree +postponed. When the first part of the work is thoroughly done, there is +no ground for complaint, and we may look to the teachers of advanced +classes and schools for the proper performance of the remaining duty. +The ability to spell arbitrarily, either in writing or orally, and the +ability to read mechanically,--that is, the ability to seize the words +readily, and utter them fluently and accurately,--must be acquired by +much spelling and much reading. + +This work belongs to the early years of school-life; and, if it can be +faithfully performed, the introduction of text-books in grammar, +geography and arithmetic, may be wisely postponed. But it is a sad +condition of things, which we are often compelled to contemplate, when a +pupil, who might have become a respectable reader had the elementary +training been careful, accurate and long-continued, is introduced to an +advanced class, and there struggles against obstacles which he cannot +comprehend, and which the teacher cannot remove, and finally leaves the +school without the ability to read in a manner intelligible to himself, +or satisfactory to others. It is the appropriate work of primary +schools, and of the teachers of primary classes in district schools, to +develop and chasten the moral powers of children, to train them in those +habits and practices that are favorable to health and life, whether +anything is known of physiology as a science or not, and to give the +best culture possible to the eye, the ear, the hand and the voice. This +plan is comprehensive enough for any teacher, and it will be found +sufficient for any pupil less than ten years of age. Nor am I speaking +of that culture which is merely preparatory for the life of the artist, +but of that practical training which will enable the subject of it so to +use his powers as to render his life valuable to himself, and valuable +to the world. There will be, in the exercises comprehended by this +outline, sufficient mental discipline. It will, of course, be chiefly +incidental, and it may well be doubted whether studies that are merely +disciplinary should ever be introduced into our schools. There are +useful occupations for pupils that, at the same time, tax and test the +mind sufficiently. The plan indicated does not exclude grammar, +geography and mental arithmetic, but text-books will not at first be +needed. Grammar should be taught by conversation, and in connection with +the exercises in reading. Grammar is the appreciation of the power of +the words of the language in any given relations to each other, and a +knowledge of grammar is essential to the ability to speak, read and +write properly. Therefore, grammatical rules and definitions are, or +should be, deduced from the language. Hence children should be first +trained to speak with accuracy, so that habit shall be on the side of +taste and science; next the offices which words perform in simple +sentences should be illustrated and made clear; And thus far without +text-books; when, finally, with their help, the pupils in the higher +schools may acquire a knowledge of the science, and, at once, as the +result of previous training, discern the reason for each rule and +definition. The study of grammar requires some use of mental power; but +when it is presented to pupils by the aid of an object which, in itself +and in what it does, illustrates the subject and the predicate of a +sentence, the work of comprehending the offices which words perform is +rendered comparatively easy. Having the skeleton thus furnished, and +with the eyes and minds of the pupils fixed upon an object that +possesses known and appreciable powers and qualities, it is not +difficult for the teacher to construct a sentence that shall contain +words of several parts of speech, all understood, because the +grammatical office of each was seen even before the word itself was +used. This work may be commenced when the child is young, and very +satisfactory results ought to be secured as soon as the pupil is in +other respects qualified to enter a grammar school. The pupil should be +trained in reading as an art; that is, with the purpose of expressing +whatever is intellectual and emotional in the text. Satisfactory results +cannot at first be secured by much reading; it seems wiser for the +teacher to select an extract, paragraph, or single sentence only, and +drill a pupil or a class until the meaning of the author is +comprehended, and accurately or even artistically expressed. This can be +done only when the teacher reads the passage again and again in the best +manner possible. The contrary practice of reading volumes of extracts +from the writings of the most gifted men of ancient and modern times, +without preparation by the pupil, without example, explanation, +correction, or questionings, by the teacher, cannot be too strongly +condemned. The time will come when these selections may be read with +profit; but it is better to read something well than to read a great +deal; or there should be at least thorough drill in connection with +every exercise, until the pupils have attained some degree of +perfection. It may not be best to confine advanced pupils to the +exercises in the text-books. If such pupils are invited occasionally to +make selections from their entire range of reading, the teacher will +have an opportunity to correct whatever is vicious in taste; and the +pupil making the selection will be compelled to read in such a manner +that those who listen can understand, which is not always the case when +the language is addressed to the eye as well as to the ear. + +The introduction of Colburn's Intellectual Arithmetic was an epoch in +the science. It wrought a radical change in the ability of the people to +apply the power of numbers to the practical business of life. Its +excellence does not consist in rules and illustrations by which examples +and problems are easily solved, but in leading the mind of the pupil +into natural and apparent processes of reasoning, by which he is enabled +to comprehend a proposition as an independent fact. Herein is a mental +discipline of great value, not only in the sciences, but in the daily +affairs of men of all classes and conditions. It is to be feared that +equally satisfactory results have not been attained in what is called +written arithmetic. This partial failure deserves consideration. The +first cause may be found in an erroneous opinion concerning the +difference between mental and written arithmetic. Written arithmetic is +mental arithmetic merely, with a record at given stages of the process +of what at that point is accomplished. But, as written arithmetic tends +to lessen the power of the pupil for the performance of those operations +that are purely mental, he should be subjected, each day, to a searching +and rapid drill in mental arithmetic also. This neglect on the part of +teachers explains the singular fact that pupils, well trained in mental +arithmetic, after attending to written arithmetic for three or six +months, appear to have lost rather than gained in their knowledge of the +science as a whole. + +The second cause of failure may be found in the fact that rules, +processes and simple methods of solution, contained in the books, are +substituted for the power of comprehension by the pupil. He should be +trained to seize an example mentally, whether the slate is to be used or +not, and hold it until he can determine by what process the solution is +to be wrought. Nor is it a serious objection that he may not at first +avail himself of the easiest method. The difference between methods or +ways is altogether a subordinate consideration. There may be many ways +of reaching a truth, but no one of them is as important as the truth +itself. The text-books should contain all the facts needed for the +comprehension and the solution of the examples given; the teacher should +furnish explanations and other aids, as they are needed; but the +practice of adopting a process and following it to an apparently +satisfactory conclusion, without comprehending the problem itself, is a +serious educational evil, and it exerts a permanent pernicious +influence. + +The remarks I have now made upon methods of teaching, which may seem to +have been offered in a spirit of severe criticism, should be qualified +and relieved by the statement that our teachers are as well educated as +any in the country, and that they are yearly making progress in their +profession. Indeed, I am encouraged to suggest that better things are +possible, by the consideration that many instances of distinguished +success in teaching the alphabet, reading and grammar, are known to me; +and that teachers are themselves aware that the work is, upon the whole, +inadequately performed. If, as is generally conceded, the highest order +of teaching talent is required in the primary schools, then that talent +should be sought out by committees; the persons possessing it should +enjoy the best means of preparation; they should receive the highest +rewards, both in money and public consideration, and they should be +induced to labor, without change or interruption, in the same schools +and the same people. + + + + +THE RELATIVE MERITS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENDOWED ACADEMIES. + +[Remarks before the American Institute of Instruction, at Manchester, N. +H.] + + +Indebted to my friend on the other side, and to you, sir, and this +audience, for inviting me to take a position on this floor, I am still +without any special preparation to discuss the subject. I have thought +upon it, because any one, however humbly connected with free schools in +this country, must have done so. And especially just now, when, in the +educational journal of Massachusetts, a discussion has been conducted +between one of its editors and Mr. Gulliver, the able originator of a +school in Norwich, Ct., and the advocate of the system of school +government established there. And, therefore, every one who has had his +eyes open must have seen that here is a great contest, and that +underlying it is a principle which is important to society. + +The distinguishing difference between the advocates of endowed schools +and of free schools is this: those who advocate the system of endowed +academies go back in their arguments to one foundation, which is, that +in education of the higher grades the great mass of the people are not +to be trusted. And those who advocate a system of free education in high +schools put the matter where we have put the rights of property and +liberty, where we put the institutions of law and religion--upon the +public judgment. And we will stand there. If the public will not +maintain institutions of learning, then, I say, let institutions of +learning go down. If I belong to a state which cannot be moved from its +extremities to its centre, and from its centre to its extremities, for +the maintenance of a system of public instruction, then, in that +respect, I disown that state; and if there be one state in this Union +whose people cannot be aroused to maintain a system of public +instruction, then they are false to the great leading idea of American +principles, and of civil, political, and religious liberty. + +It is easy to enumerate the advantages of a system of public education, +and the evils--I say evils--of endowed academies, whether free or +charging payment for tuition. Endowed academies are not, in all +respects, under all circumstances, and everywhere, to be condemned. In +discussing this subject, it may be well for me to state the view that I +have of the proper position of endowed academies. They have a place in +the educational wants of this age. This is especially true of academies +of the highest rank, which furnish an elevated and extended course of +instruction. To such I make no objection, but I would honor and +encourage them. Yet I regard private schools, which do the work usually +done in public schools, as temporary, their necessity as ephemeral, and +I think that under a proper public sentiment they will soon pass away. +They cannot stand,--such has been the experience in Massachusetts,--they +cannot stand by the side of a good system of public education. Yet where +the population is sparse, where there is not property sufficient to +enable the people to establish a high school, then an endowed school may +properly come in to make up the deficiency, to supply the means of +education to which the public wealth, at the present moment, is unequal. +Endowed institutions very properly, also, give a professional education +to the people. At this moment we cannot look to the public to give that +education which is purely professional. But what we do look to the +public for is this: to furnish the means of education to the children of +the whole people, without any reference to social, pecuniary, political, +or religious distinctions, so that every person may have a preliminary +education sufficient for the ordinary business of life. + +It is said that the means of education are better in an endowed +academy, or in an endowed free school, than they can be in a public +school. What is meant by _means_ of education? I understand that, first +and chiefly, as extraneous means of education, we must look to a correct +public sentiment, which shall animate and influence the teacher, which +shall give direction to the school, which shall furnish the necessary +public funds. An endowed free academy can have none of these things +permanently. Take, for example, the free school established at Norwich +by the liberality of thirty or forty gentlemen, who contributed ninety +thousand dollars. What security is there that fifty years hence, when +the educational wants of the people shall be changed, when the +population of Norwich shall be double or treble what it is now, when +science shall make greater demands, when these forty contributors shall +have passed away, this institution will answer the wants of that +generation? According to what we know of the history of this country, it +will be entirely inadequate; and, though none of us may live to see the +prediction fulfilled or falsified, I do not hesitate to say that the +school will ultimately prove a failure, because it is founded in a +mistake. + +Then look and see what would have been the state of things if there had +been public spirit invoked to establish a public high school, and if the +means for its support had been raised by taxation of all the people, so +that the system of education would have expanded according to the growth +of the city, and year by year would have accommodated itself to the +public wants and public zeal in the cause. Though these means seem now +to be ample, they will by and by be found too limited. The school at +Norwich is encumbered with regulations; and so every endowed institution +is likely to be, because the right of a man to appropriate his property +to a particular object carries with it, in the principles of common law, +and in the administration of the law, in all free governments, the right +to declare, to a certain extent, how that property shall be applied. +Rules have been established--very proper and judicious rules for to-day. +But who knows that a hundred years hence they will be proper or +acceptable at all? They have also established a board of trustees, +ultimately to be reduced to twenty-five. These trustees have power to +perpetuate themselves. Who does not see that you have severed this +institution from the public sentiment of the city of Norwich, and that +ultimately that city will seek for itself what it needs; and that, a +hundred years hence, it will not consent to live, in the civilization of +that time, under the regulations which forty men have now established, +however wise the regulations may at the present moment be? + +One hundred and fifty years ago, Thomas Hollis, of London, made a +bequest to the university at Cambridge, with a provision that on every +Thursday a professor should sit in his chair to answer questions in +polemic theology. All well enough then; but the public sentiment of +to-day will not carry it out. + +So it may be with the school at Norwich a hundred years hence. The man +or state that sacrifices the living public judgment to the opinion of a +dead man, or a dead generation, makes a great mistake. We should never +substitute, beyond the power of revisal, the opinion of a past +generation for the opinion of a living generation. I trust to the living +men of to-day as to what is necessary to meet our existing wants, rather +than to the wisest men who lived in Greece or Rome. And, if I would not +trust the wise men of Greece and Rome, I do not know why the people, a +hundred years hence, should trust the wise men of our own time. + +And then look further, and see how, under a system of public +instruction, you can build up, from year to year, in the growth of the +child, a system according to his wants. Private instruction cannot do +this. What do we do where we have a correct system? A child goes into a +primary school. He is not to go out when he attains a certain age. He +might as well go out when he is of a certain height; there would be as +much merit in one case as in the other. But he is advanced when he has +made adequate attainments. Who does not see that the child is incited +and encouraged and stimulated by every sentiment to which you should +appeal? And, then, when he has gone up to the grammar school, we say to +him, "You are to go into the high school when you have made certain +attainments." And who is to judge of these attainments? A committee +appointed by the people, over whom the people have some ultimate +control. And in that control they have security for two things: first, +that the committee shall not be suspected of partiality; and secondly, +that they shall not be actually guilty of partiality. In the same +manner, there is security for the proper connection between the high +school and the schools below. But in the school at Norwich--of which I +speak because it is now prominent--you have a board of twenty-five men, +irresponsible to the people. They select a committee of nine; that +committee determines what candidates shall be transferred from the +grammar schools to the high school. May there not be suspicion of +partiality? If a boy or girl is rejected, you look for some social, +political, or religious influence which has caused the rejection, and +the parent and child complain. Here is a great evil; for the real and +apparent justice of the examination and decision by which pupils are +transferred from one school to another is vital to the success of the +system. + +There is another advantage in the system of public high schools, which I +imagine the people do not always at first appreciate. It is, that the +private school, with the same teachers, the same apparatus, and the same +means, cannot give the education which may be, and usually is, furnished +in the public schools. This statement may seem to require some +considerable support. We must look at facts as they are. Some people are +poor; I am sorry for them. Some people are rich, and I congratulate them +upon their good fortune. But it is not so much of a benefit, after all, +as many think. It is worth something in this world, no doubt, to be +rich; but what is the result of that condition upon the family first, +the school afterwards, and society finally? It is, that some learn the +lesson of life a little earlier than others; and that lesson is the +lesson of self-reliance, which is worth more than--I will not say a +knowledge of the English language--but worth more than Latin or Greek. +If the great lesson of self-reliance is to be learned, who is more +likely to acquire it early,--the child of the poor, or the child of the +rich; the child who has most done for him, or the child who is under the +necessity of doing most for himself? Plainly, the latter. Now, while a +system of public instruction in itself cannot be magnified in its +beneficial influences to the poor and to the children of the poor, it is +equally beneficial to the rich in the facility it affords for the +instruction of their children. Is it not worth something to the rich +man, who cannot, from the circumstances of the case, teach self-reliance +around the family hearth, to send his child to school to learn this +lesson with other children, that he may be stimulated, that he may be +provoked to exertions which he would not otherwise have made? For, be it +remembered that in our schools public sentiment is as well marked as in +a college, or a town, or a nation; that it moves forward in the same +way. And the great object of a teacher should be to create a public +sentiment in favor of virtue. There should be some pioneers in favor of +forming a correct public sentiment; and when it is formed it moves on +irresistibly. It is like the river made up of drops from the mountain +side, moving on with more and more power, until everything in its waters +is carried to the destined end. + +So in a public school. And it is worth much to the man of wealth that +there may be, near his own door, an institution to which he may send his +children, and under the influence of which they may be carried forward. +For, depend upon it, after all we say about schools and institutions of +learning, it is nevertheless true of education, as a statesman has said +of the government, that the people look to the school for too much. It +is not, after all, a great deal that the child gets there; but, if he +only gets the ability to acquire more than he has, the schools +accomplish something. If you give a child a little knowledge of +geography or arithmetic, and have not developed the power to accomplish +something for himself, he comes to but little in the world. But put him +into the school,--the primary, grammar, and high school, where he must +learn for himself,--and he will be fitted for the world of life into +which he is to enter. + +You will see in this statement that, with the same parties, the same +means of education, the same teachers, the public schools will +accomplish more than private schools. + +I find everywhere, and especially in the able address of Mr. Gulliver, +to which I have referred, that the public schools are treated as of +questionable morality, and it is implied that something would be gained +by removing certain children from the influence of these schools. If I +were speaking from another point of view, very likely I should feel +bound to hold up the evils and defects which actually exist in public +schools; but when I consider them in contrast with endowed and private +schools, I do not hesitate to say that the public schools compare +favorably; and, as the work of education goes on, the comparison will be +more and more to their advantage. Why? I know something of the private +institutions in Massachusetts; and there are boys in them who have left +the public schools because they have fallen in their classes, and the +public interest would not justify their continuance in the schools. It +was always true that private schools did not represent the world exactly +as it was. It is worth everything to a boy or girl, man or woman, to +look the world in the face as it is. + +Therefore, the public school, when it represents the world as it is, +represents the facts of life. The private school never has done and +never will do this; and as time goes on, it will be less and less a true +representative of the world. From this point of view, it seems to be a +mistake on the part of parents to exclude their children from the world. +Is it not better that the child should learn something of society, even +of its evils, when under your influence, and when you can control him by +your counsel and example, than to permit him finally to go out, as you +must when his majority comes, perhaps to be seduced in a moment, as it +were, from his allegiance to virtue? Virtue is not exclusion from the +presence of vice; but it is resistance to vice in its presence. And it +is the duty of parents to provide safeguards for the support of their +children against these temptations. When Cicero was called on to defend +Muraena against the slander that, as he had lived in Asia, he had been +guilty of certain crimes, and when the testimony failed to substantiate +the charge, the orator said, "And if Asia does carry with it a suspicion +of luxury, surely it is a praiseworthy thing, not never to have seen +Asia, but to have lived temperately in Asia." And we have yet higher +authority. It is not the glory of Christ, or of Christianity, that its +Divine Author was without temptation, but that, being tempted, he was +without sin. This is the great lesson of the day. + +The duty of the public is to provide means for the education of all. To +do that, we need the political, social, and moral power of all, to +sustain teachers and institutions of learning; and, endowed or free +schools, depending upon the contributions of individuals, can never, in +a free country, be raised to the character of a system. If you rob the +public schools of the influence of our public-spirited men, if they take +away a portion of their pupils from them, our system is impaired. It +must stand as a whole, educating the entire people, and looking to all +for support, or it cannot be permanently maintained. + + + + +THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM. + +[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the Powers Institute, +Bernardston.] + + +There cannot be a more gratifying spectacle than the universal homage +offered to education and to the young. Childhood is attractive in +itself; and it is peculiarly an object of solicitude for its promises +concerning the future. Hence the labors of philanthropists, reformers, +and Christians, as well as of teachers, are devoted to the culture and +improvement of the rising generation, as the chief security possible for +the prevalence of better ideas in the state and in the world. + +Massachusetts has been peculiarly favored in the means of education; and +we ought ever to recognize the divine influence in the wisdom which led +our fathers to lay the foundations of a system that contemplated the +education of the whole people. The power of this great idea, universal +education, has not been limited to Massachusetts; the states of the +West, the states of the South, receive it as the basis of a wise public +policy; and had our ancestors contributed nothing else to the glory of +the republic, they would yet be entitled to the distinguished +consideration of every age and people. The vigor of our culture and the +hardihood of our institutions are more manifest out of Massachusetts +than in it. The immigrant in his new home in the great valley of +prairies, on the northern shores of the American lakes, in Oregon, +California, or the islands of the Pacific, invokes the spirit of New +England in the establishment of a free church and a free school. And in +the spirit and discipline of New England, the thoughts of her sons are +turned homeward in adversity, seeking consolation at the sources of +early, vigorous, and happy life; or, in prosperity, that they may offer, +in gratitude to man and to God, some tribute, always noble, however +humble, to the principles and institutions that first formed their +characters, and then controlled their destiny; or, in old age, the +wanderer, like Jacob in Egypt, with his blessing upon the tribes and +families of men, says, "I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with +my fathers." This occasion and its honors are due to the memory of him +whose name this institution bears; and his last will and testament is an +illustration, or rather the cause, of these prefatory remarks. As the +reasonably extended and eminently prosperous life of your wise +benefactor approached its close, he, in the principles of Old England +and of New England, ordered and directed the payment of all his just +debts; and then, secondly, expressed the wish, "if practicable, to be +buried by the side of his parents in the cemetery at Bernardston." First +justice, and then affection for parents, kindred, and home, animated the +vital, never-dying soul, as the life of the body ebbed and flowed, and +flowed and ebbed, to flow no more. For every good the ancients imagined +and named a divinity; and there is in every good something divine. + +We do not deify the living nor the dead; yet such foundations and +institutions as the Lawrence Scientific School, the Peabody Institute, +the Powers Institute, will bear to a grateful posterity a knowledge of +the virtues of their respective founders, and of the exactness, +rectitude, and wisdom, of the public sentiment which religiously +consecrates the means provided to the ends proposed. + +But just eulogy of the dead is the appropriate duty of those who were +the associates and friends of the founder of this school.--It will be my +purpose, in the humble part I take in the services of this honored +occasion, to point out, as I may be able, the connection between +learning and wisdom, and then, by the aid of some general remarks upon +education, to examine the fitness of this foundation, and the rules +here established, to promote human progress and virtue. + +The actual available power of a state is in its adult population; but +its hope is in the classes of children and youth whose plastic minds +yield to good influences, and are moulded to higher forms of beauty than +have been conceived by Italian or Grecian art. Excellence is always +adorable and to be adored. If it appear in beauty of person, it commands +our admiration; and how much more ought wisdom, which is the beauty of +the mind and the excellency of the soul, to be cultivated and cherished +by every human being! "For what is there, O, ye gods!" says Cicero, +"more desirable than wisdom? What more excellent and lovely in itself? +What more useful and becoming for a man? Or what more worthy of his +reasonable nature?" + +But wisdom cannot be acquired in a day, nor without devotion and toil. +It is the achievement of a life. It is to be pursued carefully through +schools, colleges, and the world,--to be mastered by study, intense +thought, rigid mental discipline, and an extensive acquaintance with the +best authors of ancient and modern times. It is not the child of ease, +indolence, or luxury; and it is well that it is not, The best of human +possessions are cheapened their attainment is no longer difficult. The +wealth of California and Australia has made silver, as an article of +luxury, the rival of gold; and the pearl loses its beauty when the +mountain streams are as fertile as the depths of the sea. Wisdom +comprehends learning, but learning is often found where wisdom is +wanting. Wisdom is not accomplishment in study, or perfection in art, or +supremacy in poetry or eloquence. Learning is essential to wisdom, for +we cannot imagine a wise man who is not also a learned man; and the +extent and soundness of his learning may be a measure of his wisdom. +Wisdom must always have a basis of learning, but learning is not always +a basis of wisdom. Learning is a knowledge of particulars, of details; +wisdom is such a combination of these particulars as enables us to +harmonize our lives with the laws of nature and of God. + +Learning is manifested in what we know; wisdom in what we are, based +upon what we know. Philosophy, even, is love for wisdom rather than +wisdom itself. The old philosophers defined wisdom to be "the knowledge +of things, both divine and human, together with the causes on which they +depend;" and in the proverb of Solomon, "The fear of the Lord is the +instruction of wisdom." Purity, truth, and justice, are also of its +foundation. Wise men of the Jewish and Pagan world built on this +foundation, and the Christian can build on none other. Having combined +learning with these essential virtues, a liberal, symmetrical, +comprehensive character may be built up. In the formation of such a +character, industry, powers of observation, strength of will and +intellectual humility, are requisite. The virtue and the glory of +industry cannot be presented too often to the young. I know of no +worldly good or human excellence that can be attained without it; nor is +there any inherited possession of name, or wealth, or position, that can +be preserved in its extent and quality without active, systematic, +judicious labor. + +It is not necessary to consider industry as habitual diligence in a +pursuit, manual or intellectual; but rather as a judicious arrangement +of business and recreation, so as always to have time for the necessary +duties of life. Mere diligence is not industry in a good sense; it is +labor in a bad sense. Our time should be systematically appropriated to +our employments, and each measure of time should be equal to the work or +duty appointed for it. Moreover, each work or duty should be +accomplished in its appointed time; and this can be secured only by a +strong will. The power of will admits of education, culture, +improvement, as much as any faculty of the mind or quality of +character. A fickle, planless life cannot accomplish much. System in +our plans, and firmness of will in their execution, will place us beyond +the reach of ordinary disasters; yet how often do young men go through a +course of school studies without a plan, even for the moment, and enter +upon life the slaves of chance, the victims of what they call fortune, +while they might by industry, system and firmness of will, rise superior +to circumstances, and extort a measure of success not unworthy of a +noble ambition! + +Idleness is a wasting disease, a consuming fire, a destroying demon; in +youth it is a calamity, in the vigor of manhood it is a disgrace and a +sin, and in old age it can be honorably accepted only as the symbol of +reflective leisure earned by a life of industry and virtue. Industry is +a badge of honor, an introduction everywhere to the true nobility of the +world, the security that each may take of the future for his own +happiness and prosperity in it. + +Cardinal, personal virtues shrink and wither, or are blasted and die, in +the company of idleness; and, without firmness of will, the noblest +principles and purest sentiments sometimes wear the livery of vice, and +often they give encouragement to it. Good principles, good purposes, +good ideas, are made fruitful by a strong resolution; while without it +they are like bubbles of water, brilliant in the sun-light, but destined +to collapse by the changing, silent force of the medium in which they +float. And can any life, not positively vicious and criminal, be less +desirable than that of the young man who quietly accepts whatever +condition circumstances assign to him? I speak now of his moral and +intellectual condition rather than of his social position among men. The +latter is not in itself important, and only becomes so through the +exhibition of high qualities of mind and character. Social and political +consideration we cannot demand as a right; but we may acquire knowledge, +develop qualities of character, give evidences of wisdom that entitle us +to the respect of our fellows. + +It may be agreeable, but it is not absolutely essential, for us to enjoy +the public confidence, or even the public consideration; though we can +be happy ourselves only when we are conscious of not being totally +unworthy. But no social or political concession or consideration is +acceptable to a noble mind, that is grudgingly yielded or doubtingly +bestowed; and the lustre of great intellects is dimmed when they become +subservient to claims that they despise. + +But can we acquire a knowledge of things, either divine or human, unless +we cultivate our powers of observation? Partial or inaccurate +observation, especially of natural things, is a great defect of +character; and in New England, where the aim of educators and of the +public in matters of education is elevated, a remedy for this defect +ought at once to be sought and applied. Our ideas are vague concerning +many subjects of common sight and common observation. Is adult life, +even among the educated classes, equal to a description of the common +animals, trees, fruits and flowers? Who will paint with words the elm or +the oak so that its species will be known while the name is withheld? +The introduction of drawing into the schools will improve the power of +observation among the people, especially if the pupils are required to +make nature their model. And this should always be done. O, how is +education belittled and the mind dwarfed by those teachers who keep +their pupils' thoughts upon signs and definitions, when they ought to +deal continually with the facts, things and life of the world! It is no +fable that a student of the higher mathematics, when his master, a +practical engineer upon the Boston water-works, required his services, +exclaimed, "I had no idea that you had sines and tangents out of doors." +With such, + + + "Nothing goes for sense or light + That will not with old rules jump right; + As if rules were not in the schools + Derived from truth, but truth from rules." + + +And Butler, in his satirical description of Sir Hudibras, ascribes to +his hero more practical philosophy than he appears to have intended, and +more, certainly, than is found in some modern systems of education: + + + "In mathematics he was greater + Than Tycho Brahe or Erra Pater; + For he, by geometric scale, + Could take the size of pots of ale; + Resolve by sines and tangents straight, + If bread or butter wanted weight; + And wisely tell what hour o' th' day + The clock does strike, by algebra." + + +Another prerequisite of wisdom is intellectual humility, Solomon, says, +"Before honor is humility;" and humility is before wisdom, and even +before learning. We ought not to be ashamed of involuntary ignorance. +Franklin, when asked how he came to know so much, replied, "By never +being ashamed to ask a question." + +It is idle for any one to imagine that there is nothing more for him to +learn. Indeed, such a theory is good evidence of defective education and +limited attainments, if not of a defective mental and moral structure. + +Naturalists delight and instruct their pupils and auditors with the +wonderful truths folded in the flower, garnered in the plant, or +imprisoned in the rock. Yet how much more there must be of God's wisdom +in the humblest of the beings created in his image! There are +distinctions among men; and out of these distinctions come the truth and +the necessity that each may be both a teacher and a pupil of every +other. No man, however learned he may be, does know or can know all that +is known by his neighbor, though that neighbor be the humblest of +shepherds or of fishermen. We are not independent of each other in +anything. The earnest and faithful disciple of wisdom goes through life +everywhere diffusing knowledge, and everywhere gathering it up. Over the +great gateway of life is the inscription, "None but learners enter +here;" and along its paths and in its groves are tablets, on which is +written, "None but learners sojourn here." He is a poor teacher who is +not a learner, and he is but little of a learner who is not something of +a teacher also. The best teachers are they who are pupils, and the best +pupils are already teachers. Such was the real and avowed character of +the great teachers of antiquity; such is the best practice of modern +continental Europe, and such is the requirement of nature in all ages. +He who does not learn cannot teach. Socrates professed to know only +this, that he knew nothing. Plato was a disciple of Socrates and +Euclid; a pupil in the school of Pythagoras; and, as a traveller, under +the disguise of a merchant and a seller of oil, he visited Egypt, and +thus gained a knowledge of astronomy, and added something to his +learning in other departments. He numbered among his pupils Isocrates, +Lycurgus, Aristotle, and Demosthenes; and for eight years Alexander the +Great was the pupil of Aristotle, while Demosthenes + + + "Wielded at will that fierce Democratie, + Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece + To Macedon, and Artaxerxes' throne." + + +Thus we trace Demosthenes and Alexander, the master spirits in the +struggle of Grecian independence against Macedonian supremacy, through +teachers and culture up to Socrates, the wanderer in the streets, and +the disturber of the peace of Athens. + +It is stated that a distinguished modern philosopher often says, "I +don't know," when the curiosity or science of his pupils suggests +questions that he has not considered. If we respect and admire the +wisdom of the wise, how ought we to be humbled, intellectually, by the +reflection that the unknown far exceeds the known, and that all become +as little children when they enter the temple of the sages! The +ancients prized schools, teachers, and learning, because they were +essential to wisdom; and wisdom enabled them to live temperately, +justly, and happily, in the present world; while we prize schools, +teachers, and learning, because they contribute to what we call success +in life. The population of New England, is composed of skilful artisans, +intelligent merchants, shrewd or eloquent lawyers, industrious and +intelligent farmers; and to these results our system of education is too +exclusively subservient. These results are not to be condemned, nor are +the processes by which they are secured to be neglected. But our schools +ought to do something always and for every one, for the full development +of a character that is essential to artisans, merchants, lawyers, or +farmers. Learning should not be prized merely as an aid to the daily +work of life,--though this it properly is and ever ought to be,--but for +its expansive power in the mind and soul, by which we attain to a more +perfect knowledge of things human and divine. There are many persons who +accomplish satisfactorily the tasks assigned them, but who do not always +comprehend the processes of life, in its political, social, literary, +scientific and industrial relations, by which the affairs of the world +are guided. + +Something of this is due, speaking of America, and especially of New +England, to the universal desire to be engaged in active business. Young +men destined for the farm or the shop, the counting-house or the store, +leave home and school so early that their apprenticeship is ended long +before their majority commences; and they are thus prepared to enter +early and vigorously upon the business of life. This course has its +advantages, and it is also attended by many evils. Our youth have but +little opportunity for observation, and a great deal of time for +experience. They fall into mistakes that should have been observed, and +consequently shunned. Moreover, this custom tends to make business men +too exclusively and rigidly technical and professional; that is, in +plain language, speaking relatively, they know too much of their own +vocation, and too little of everything else. Business life follows so +closely upon home life and school life, that the lessons of the latter +fail to exert an immediate and controlling influence, and it is often +only in maturer years that the fruits of early training are seen. The +connection is such that the boy or youth becomes a devotee of business +before he is developed into complete manhood. This is movement, but not +true progress; activity, but not culture; appropriation and +accumulation, but not natural development. This peculiarity is less +prominent in England, and it is hardly known in the central states of +Europe. It is to some extent a national, and especially is it a New +England characteristic. It is a manifestation of the forward moving +spirit of our people, and it is also at once a promise and the security +for the ultimate supremacy of the American race and nation in the +affairs of the world. In Athens young men attained their majority when +they were sixteen; but they usually prosecuted their studies afterwards, +and Aristotle thought them unfit for marriage until they were +thirty-seven years of age. This rule was observed by Aristotle in his +own case; but we are unable to say whether the rule was made before or +after his marriage, which is a fact of much importance when we consider +the wisdom of the precept, and the real principles and philosophy of its +famous author. Moreover, regardless of one-half of creation, he has +neither stated the age at which females are marriageable, nor given us +that of his own wife. This neglect justly detracts from his authority; +and it will not be strange if young men and women view with distrust an +opinion that is so manifestly partial and one-sided. If schools make +merely learned people, in a narrow and technical sense, they are not +doing their whole work. Such learning makes an efficient population, +which is certainly desirable; but it ought also to be a well-educated +population in a broad, comprehensive, philosophic sense. By the force of +nature and the developing influences of society, including the church, +the school, and the home, we ought first to be educated men and women, +and then apply that education to the particular work we have in hand. By +learning, in this connection, I do not mean the learning of Agassiz as a +naturalist, the learning of Choate as a lawyer, or the learning of +Everett as an orator; but a more general and less minute culture, by +which men are prepared to form an accurate judgment upon subjects that +usually attract public attention. + +In the gardens of the wealthy, we often see peach-trees and pear-trees +trained against brick or stone walls, to which they are attached by +substantial thongs. These trees are carefully and systematically +trained, and they are trained so as to accomplish certain results. They +present a large surface, in proportion to the whole, to the sun and air; +in addition to the direct rays of the sun, they receive the reflected +and accumulated heat of the walls to which they are fastened; and they +furnish ripe fruit much in advance of trees in the gardens and fields of +the common farmers. Here art and nature, in brick walls, manure, the +germinating power of the peach or pear, and rigid training and pruning, +have produced very good machines for the manufacture of fruit; but for +the full-grown, symmetrically developed tree, or even for the choicest +fruit in its season, we must look elsewhere. And who does not perceive, +if all the trees of the gardens, fields, and forests, were treated in +the same way, that the world would be deprived of a part of its beauty +and glory, and that many species of trees would soon become extinct? Who +would not give back the luscious pear and peach to their native +acritude, rather than subject the highest forms of vegetable life to +such irreverence? And, upon reflection, we shall say that such cruelty +to inanimate life can be justified only as we justify the naturalist who +dexterously and suddenly extracts a vital organ from a reptile, that he +may observe the effect upon that form of animal existence. + +But the tree is not to be left in its native state. By culture its +growth is so aided, that it is first and always a tree after its own +kind, whether it be peach, pear, apple, elm, or oak; at once ornamental +and graceful, stately or majestic, according to the germinating +principle which diffuses itself through each individual creation. "For +the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the +ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So in the human heart, mind, +and soul, nature bringeth forth fruit of herself; and it is the work of +schools and teachers to aid nature in developing a full and attractive +character, that shall yield fruit while all its powers are enlarged and +strengthened, as the almond in the peach is not only more luscious in +its fruit, but more graceful in its branches. Culture, in a broad sense, +is the aid rendered to each individual creation in its work of +self-improvement. It is not a noble and generous culture which dwarfs +the tree that early ripened or peculiarly flavored fruit may be +obtained; and it is not a noble and generous culture of the child which +forces into unnatural activity certain faculties or powers that surprise +us by their precocity, or excite wonder by the skill exhibited in their +use. Rather let the child grow, expand, mature, according to the law of +its own being, giving it only encouragement and example, which are the +light and air of mental and moral life. I am not conscious that any one +has given us a philosophical, logical system of development, that +relates to the physical, intellectual, and moral character; and to-day I +state the educational want in this particular, but I do not attempt to +supply it. Yet in nature such a system there must be, and only powers of +observation are needed that we may avail ourselves of it. And in stating +this want more particularly, I offer, as my first suggestion, the +opinion, common among educators, that, speaking generally and with +reference to a system, we have no physical training whatever. + +In the days of our ancestors, one hundred or two hundred years ago, this +training, as a part of a system of education, was not needed. We had no +cities, and but few large towns. Agriculture and the ruder forms of +mechanical labor were the chief occupations of the people. Populous +cities, narrow streets, dark lanes, cellar habitations, crowded +workshops, over-filled and over-heated factories, and the number of +sedentary pursuits that tax and wear and destroy the physical powers, +and undermine the moral and mental, were unknown. These are the +attendants of our civilization, and they have brought a melancholy train +of evils with them. In the seventeenth century, men perished from +exposure, from ignorance of the laws of health, from the prevalence of +malignant diseases that defied the science of the times; and, as a +consequence, the average length of human life was not greater than it +now is. At present, there is but little exposure that is followed by +fatal results; malignant diseases are deprived of many of their terrors; +rules of living, founded upon scientific principles, are accessible to +all; and yet we daily meet young men and women who are manifestly +unequal to the lot that is before them. In some cases, the sin of the +parent is visited upon the children, and the measure of life meted out +to them is limited and insufficient. In other cases, the individuals, +first yielding in their own persons, are the victims of positive vice, +or of some of the evils stated. Civilization is not an unmixed good; and +we cannot offer to the city or the factory any adequate compensation for +the loss of pure water, pure air, and the healthful exercise of body, +which may be enjoyed in the country villages and agricultural districts +of the state. + +Yet even in cities and large towns the culture of home and school should +diminish these evils; and it is a pleasure to believe that our system of +domestic and public education is doing something at the present moment +in behalf of the too much neglected body; but nowhere, either in city or +country, do we observe the evidences of juvenile health and strength +that a friend of the race would desire to see. And it is, I fear, +specially true of schools, and to some extent it is true of teachers, as +a class, that too little attention is given to those exercises and +habits which secure good health. There are many causes which tend to +lower the average health and strength of our people. 1st. The practice +of sending children to school at the tender age of five, four, or even +three years. Every school necessarily imposes some restraint upon the +pupils; and I assume that no child under five years of age should be +subject to such restraints. But the education of the child is not, +therefore, to be neglected. Parents, brothers and sisters, may all do +something for the young inquirer; but he should never have lessons +imposed, nor be subject to the rules of a school of any description. The +moment of his admission must be determined by circumstances, and the +force of the circumstances must be judged of by parents. If a child is +blessed with kind, considerate, intelligent parents, the first eight +years of his life can be spent nowhere else as profitably as at home. +The true mother is the model teacher. No other person can ever acquire +the control over her off-spring that is her own rightful possession. +When she neglects the trust confided to her, she is guilty of a serious +wrong; and when she transfers it to another, she takes upon herself a +greater responsibility than she yields up. The instinctive judgment of +the world cannot be an erroneous judgment. The mother has always, to a +great extent, been made responsible for the child; and the honor of his +virtues or the disgrace of his crimes has been traced through him to +her. + +2dly. Some portion of every school-day should be systematically and +strictly devoted to recreation, physical exercise and manual labor; and +the hours given to study ought to be defined and limited. Some persons +say, "Let a child study as much as he will, there is time enough to +play." This may be generally true, but it is not universally so. I +cannot but think that the practice of assigning lessons and giving the +pupil the free use of the four-and-twenty hours is a bad practice. Would +it not be better to give to each pupil certain hours for study?--assign +him lessons, by topics if possible, allow him to do what he can in the +allotted time, and then prohibit the appropriation of an additional +minute? Why should a dull scholar, or one who has but little taste or +talent for a given study, be required to plod twelve, sixteen, or +eighteen hours at unwelcome tasks, while another more favored disposes +of his work in six? Why should a pupil, who is laboring under some +mental or physical debility, be required to apply his mind unceasingly +when he most needs rest and recreation? Why should the pages of a +spelling-book, grammar, geography, or arithmetic, be the measure of each +pupil's capacity? Lessons are to be assigned, not necessarily to be +mastered by the pupil, though they should have just reference to his +capacity, but as the subject of his studies for a given period of time. +The pupil should be responsible for nothing but the proper use of that +time. Two advantages might result from this practice. First, the pupil +would acquire the habit of performing the greatest amount of labor +possible in the given time; and, secondly, he would naturally throw off +all care for books and school when the hour for relaxation arrived. If +particular studies are assigned to specified hours, the pupil must +master his thoughts, and give them the required direction. This in +itself is a great achievement. I put it, in practical value, before any +of the studies that are taught and learned in the schools. The danger to +which pupils are often exposed, in this connection, is quite apparent. A +lesson is assigned for a succeeding day. The attention is not +immediately fixed upon it. One hour passes, and then another. Nothing is +accomplished, yet the pupil is continually oppressed by the +consciousness of duty unperformed, and the result is, that he neither +does what he ought to do, nor does anything else. Would it not be better +to measure and assign his time, and then require him to abandon all +thought of the matter? This practice might give our people the faculty +and the habit of throwing off cares and occupations, when they leave the +scenes of them. It is a just criticism upon American character, that our +business men carry their occupations with them wherever they go. I +should put high up among the elements of worldly success the ability to +give assiduously, studiously and devotedly, the necessary time to a +subject of business, and then to throw off all thought of it. There can +be no peace of mind for the business man who does not possess this +quality; and I think it will contribute essentially to a long life and a +quiet old age. No wise man ever attempts more than one thing at a time; +and the man who attempts to do more than one thing at a time has no +security that he can do anything well. The statements of biography and +history, that Napoleon was accustomed to do several things at once, rest +upon a misconception of the operations of the human mind. His facility +for the direction and transaction of business depended upon the quality +I am now considering. He had the faculty of giving his attention, +undivided and strongly fixed, to a subject for an hour, half-hour, +minute, half-minute, or second, and then of dismissing the matter +altogether, and directing his thoughts, without loss of time, to +whatever next might be presented. One thing at a time is a law which no +finite power can violate; and ability in execution depends upon the +ability to concentrate all the powers of the mind, at a given moment, +upon the assigned topic, and then to change, without friction or loss of +time, to something else. + +The institution is a high school, and the question is now agitated, +especially in the State of Connecticut, "How can the advantages of a +high school education be best secured?" This question I propose to +consider. And, first, the high school must be a public school. A _public +school_ I understand to be a school established by the +public,--supported chiefly or entirely by the public, controlled by the +public, and accessible to the public upon terms of equality without +special charge for tuition. + +Private schools may be established and controlled by an individual, or +by an association of individuals, who have no corporate rights under the +government, but receive pupils upon terms agreed upon, subject to the +ordinary laws of the land. + +Private schools may be founded also by one or more persons, and by them +endowed with funds, for their partial or entire support. In such cases, +the founder, through the money given, has the right to prescribe the +rules by which the school shall be controlled, and also to provide for +the appointment of its managers or trustees through all time. In such +cases, corporate powers are usually granted by the government for the +management of the business. But the chief rights of such an institution +are derived from the founder, and the facilities for their easy exercise +and quiet enjoyment are derived from the state. + +Such schools are sometimes, upon a superficial view, supposed to be +public, because they receive pupils upon terms of equality, and no rule +of exclusion exists which does not apply to all. And especially has it +been assumed that a free school thus founded, as the Norwich Free +Academy, which makes no charges for tuition, and is open to all the +inhabitants of the city, is therefore a public school. These +institutions are public in their use, but not in their foundation or +control, and are therefore not public schools. The character of a +school, as of any eleemosynary institution, is derived from the will of +the founder; and when the beneficial founder is an individual, or a +number of individuals less than the whole political organization of +which the individuals are a part, the institution is private, whatever +the rules for its enjoyment may be. To say that a school is a public +school because it receives pupils free of charge for tuition, or because +it receives them upon conditions that are applied alike to all, is to +deny that there are any private schools, for all come within the +definition thus laid down. + +Nor is there any good reasoning in the statement that a school is public +because it receives pupils from a large extent of country. Dartmouth +College is a private school, though its pupils come from all the land or +all the world; while the Boston Latin School is a public school; though +it receives those pupils only whose homes are within the limits of the +city. The first is a private school, because it was founded by President +Wheelock, and has been controlled by him and his successors, holding and +governing and enjoying through him, from the first until now; while the +Boston Latin School is a public school, because it was established by +the city of Boston, through the votes of its inhabitants, under the laws +of the state, and is at all times subject, in its government and +existence, to the popular will which created it. When we speak of the +public we do not necessarily mean the world, nor the nation, nor even +the state; but the word _public_, in a legal sense, may stand for any +legal political organization, territorially defined, and intrusted in +any degree with the administration of its own affairs. And the public +character of a particular school, as the Boston Latin School, for +example, may be determined, by a process of reasoning quite independent +of that already presented. The State of Massachusetts, a complete +sovereignty in itself, has provided by her constitution and laws, which +are the expressed judgment of her people, for the establishment of a +system of public schools, through the agency and action of the +respective cities and towns of the commonwealth. These towns and cities, +under the laws, set up the schools; and of course each school partakes +of the public character which the action of the state, followed by the +corporate public action of the city or town, has given to it. Thus it is +seen that our public schools answer to the requirement already stated. +They are established by the public, supported chiefly or entirely by the +public, controlled by the public, and accessible to the public upon +terms of equality, without special charge for tuition. Nor is the public +character of a school changed by the fact that private citizens may have +contributed to its maintenance, if such contributors do not assume to +stand in the relation of founders. It is well understood that the +beneficial founder of a school is he who makes the first gift or bequest +to it, and the legal founder is the government which grants a charter, +or in any way confers upon it a corporate existence. If a town establish +a high school, as in Bernardston to-day, and accept a gift or bequest, +the character of the school is not changed thereby. Mr. Powers did not +attempt to establish a new school. He gave the income of ten thousand +dollars for the aid of schools then existing, and for the aid of a +school whose existence was already contemplated by the laws of the +state. No change has been wrought in your institutions; they are still +public,--your generous testator has only contributed to their support. +And, in considering yet further the question, "How can the advantages +of a high-school education be best secured?" I shall proceed to compare, +with what brevity I can command, the public high school with the free +high school or academy upon a private foundation. My reasoning is +general, and the argument does not apply to all the circumstances of +society. It is not everywhere possible to establish a public high +school. In some cases the population may not be sufficient, in others +there may not be adequate wealth, and in others there may not be an +elevated public sentiment equal to the emergency. In such circumstances, +those who desire education must obtain it in the best manner possible; +and academies, whether free or not, and private schools, whether endowed +or not, should be thankfully accepted and encouraged. Nor will high +schools meet all the wants of society. There must always be a place for +classical schools, scientific schools, professional schools, which, in +their respective courses of study, either anticipate or follow, in the +career of the student, his four years of college life. With these +conditions and limitations stated, the point I seek to establish is that +a public high school can do the work usually done in such institutions +more faithfully, thoroughly, and economically, than it can be done +anywhere else. + +1st. The supervision of the public school is more responsible, and +consequently more perfect. In private schools, academies and free high +schools which are endowed, there is a board of trustees, who perpetuate, +as a corporation, their own existence. Each member is elected for life, +and he is not only not responsible to the public, but he is not even +responsible, except in extraordinary cases, to his associates. +Responsibility is, in all governments, the security taken for fidelity. +The election of representatives, in the state or national legislature, +for life, would be esteemed a great and dangerous innovation. + +It maybe said that boards of trustees are usually better qualified to +manage a school than the committees elected by the respective cities and +towns. Judged as individuals, this is probably true; though upon this +point I prefer to admit a claim rather than to express an opinion. But +positively incompetent school committees are the exception in +Massachusetts; usually the people make the selection from their best +men. But in the public school you get the immediate, direct supervision +of the public. Not merely in the election of committees, but in a daily +interest and vigilance whose results are freely disclosed to the +superintending committee, as every inhabitant feels that his +contribution, as a tax-payer, gives him the right to judge the character +of the school, and makes it his duty to report its defects to those +charged with its management. The real defects of a school, especially of +a high school, will be first discovered by pupils; and they are likely +to report these defects to their parents. In the case of the endowed +private school, the parent feels that he buys whatever the trustees have +to sell, or takes as a gift whatever they have to offer free; and he +does not, logically nor as a matter of fact, infer from either of these +relations his right to participate in the government of the school. In +one case you have the observation, the judgment, the supervision, of the +whole community; in the other case you have the learning and judgment of +five, seven, ten, or twelve men. + +2dly. The faithfulness of the teacher is very much dependent upon the +supervision to which he is subject. This is only saying that the teacher +is human. In the public school there is no motive which can influence a +reasonable man that would lead him to swerve in the least from his +fidelity to the interest of the school as a whole. No partiality to a +particular individual, no desire to promulgate a special idea, can ever +stand in the place of that public support which is best secured by a +just performance of his duties. In the private school, with a +self-perpetuating board of trustees, the temptation is strong to make +the organization subservient to some opinion in politics, religion, or +social life. This may not always be done; but in many cases it has been +done, and there is no reason to expect different things in the future. I +concur, then, unreservedly in the judgment which has placed this +institution, in all its interests and in all its duties, under the +control of the inhabitants of Bernardston. When they who live in its +light and enjoy its benefits cease to respect it, when they to whom it +is specially dedicated cease to love and cherish it, it will no longer +be entitled to the favorable consideration of a more extended public +sentiment. As all trustworthy national patriotism must be built on love +for state, town, and home, so every school ought to esteem its power for +usefulness in its own neighborhood its chief means of good. + +It will naturally be inferred, from the remarks made upon the singleness +of purpose and fidelity of the public school to the cause of education, +that the instruction given in it is more thorough than is usually given +in the private school. But, in examining yet further the claim of the +public school to superior thoroughness, I must assume that it enjoys the +advantages of comfortable rooms, adequate apparatus and competent +teachers. And this assumption ought to be supported by the facts. There +is no good reason why any town in Massachusetts should be negligent or +parsimonious in these particulars. True economy requires liberal +appropriations. With these appropriations, the best teachers, even from +private schools and academies, can be secured, and all the aids and +encouragements to liberal culture can be provided. Is it possible that +any of the means of a common-school education are necessarily denied to +a million and a quarter of industrious people, who already possess an +aggregate capital of seven or eight hundred millions of dollars? But the +character of a high school must always depend materially upon the +previous training of the pupils, and the qualifications required for +admission. When the high school is a public school, the studies of the +primary and grammar or district schools are arranged with regard to the +system as a system. There is no inducement to admit a pupil for the sake +of the tuition fees, or for the purpose of adding to the number of +scholars. The applicant is judged by his merits as a scholar; and where +there is a wise public sentiment, the committee will be sustained in the +execution of just rules. + +In the public high school we avoid a difficulty that is almost universal +in academies and private schools--the presence of pupils whose +attainments are so various that by a proper classification they would be +assigned to two, if not to three grades, where the graded system +exists. The vigilance, industry and fidelity of teachers, cannot +overcome this evil. The instruction given is inevitably less systematic +and thorough. The character which the high school, whether public or +private, presents, is not its own character merely; it reflects the +qualities and peculiarities of the schools below. It follows, then, that +the attention of the public should be as much directed to the primary +and grammar or district schools as to the high school itself. Of course, +it ought not to be assumed that the existence of a high school will +warrant any abatement of appropriations for the lower grades; indeed, +the interest and resources of these schools ought continually to +increase. + +Nor can it be assumed that your contributions to the cause of education +will be diminished by the bequest of your generous testator. He did not +seek to lessen your burdens, but to add to the means of education among +you. + +There is also an inherent power of discipline in the public schools, +where they are graded and a system of examinations exists, that is not +found elsewhere. Neither the pupil nor the parent is viewed by the +teacher in the light of a patron; hence, he seeks only to so conduct his +school as to meet the public requirement. Moreover, as admission to a +high school can be secured by merit only, the results of the +preliminary training must have been such as to create a reasonable +presumption in favor of the applicant, mentally and morally. Hence, the +public schools are filled by youth who are there as the reward of +individual, personal merit. Practically, the motive by which the pupils +are animated has much to do with their success. If they are moved by a +love for learning, they attain the object of their desires even without +the aid of teachers; but where they are aided and encouraged by faithful +teachers, the school is soon under the control of a public sentiment +which secures the end in view. + +This public sentiment is not as easily built up in a private school; +for, in the nature of things, some pupils will find their way there who +are not true disciples of learning; and such persons are obstacles to +general progress, while they advance but little themselves. + +And, gentlemen trustees and citizens of Bernardston, may I not +personally and especially invite you to consider the importance of a +fixed standard of admission and a careful examination of candidates? +This course is essential to the improvement of your district and village +schools. It is essential to the true prosperity of this seminary, and it +is also essential to the intellectual advancement of the people within +your influence. You expect pupils from the neighboring towns. Your +object is not pecuniary profit, but the education of the people. If your +requirements are positive, though it may not be difficult to meet them +in the beginning, every town that depends upon this institution for +better learning than it can furnish at home will be compelled to +maintain schools of a high order. On the other hand, negligence in this +particular will not only degrade the school under your care here, but +the schools in this town and the cause of education in the vicinity will +be unfavorably affected. Nor let the objection that a rigid standard of +qualifications will exclude many pupils, and diminish the attendance +upon the school, have great weight; for you perform but half your duty +when you provide the means of a good education for your own students. +You are also, through the power inherent in this authority, to do +something to elevate the standard of learning in other schools, and in +the country around. What harm if this school be small, while by its +influence other schools are made better, and thus every boy and girl in +the vicinity has richer means of education than could otherwise have +been secured? Thus will tens, and hundreds, and thousands, of successive +generations, have cause to bless this school, though they may never have +sat under its teachers, or been within its walls. + +In a system of public schools, everything may be had at its prime cost. +There need be no waste of money, or of the time or power of teachers. As +the public system must everywhere exist, it is a matter of economy to +bring all the children under its influence. The private system never can +educate all; therefore the public system cannot be abandoned, unless we +consent to give up a part of the population to ignorance. It may, then, +be said that the private schools, essential in many cases, ought to give +way whenever the public schools are prepared to do the work; and when +the public schools are so prepared, the existence of private schools +adds their own cost to the necessary cost of popular education. + +But we are not to encourage parsimony in education; for parsimony in +this department is not true economy. It is true economy for the state +and for a town to set up and maintain good schools as cheaply as they +can be had, yet at any necessary cost, so only that they be good. +Massachusetts is prosperous and wealthy to-day, respected in evil report +as well as in good, because, faithful to principle and persistent in +courage, she has for more than two hundred years provided for the +education of her children; and now the re-flowing tide of her wealth +from seaboard and cities will bear on its wave to these quiet valleys +and pleasant hill-sides the lovers of agriculture, friends of art, +students of science, and such as worship rural scenes and indulge in +rural sports; but the favored and first-sought spots will be those where +learning has already chosen her seat, and offers to manhood and age the +culture and society which learning only can give, and to childhood and +youth, over and above the training of the best schools, healthful moral +influences, and elements of physical growth and vigor, which ever +distinguish life in the country and among the mountains from life in the +city or on the plain. And over a broader field and upon a larger sphere +shall the benignant influence of this system of public instruction be +felt. In the affairs of this great republic, the power of a state is not +to be measured by the number of its votes in Congress. Public opinion is +mightier than Congress; and they who wield or control that do, in +reality, bear rule. Power in the world, upon a large view, and in the +light of history, has not been confided to the majorities of men. +Greece, unimportant in extent of territory, a peninsula and archipelago +in the sea, led the way in the civilization of the west, and, through +her eloquence, poetry, history and art, became the model of modern +culture. Rome, a single city in Italy, that stretches itself into the +sea as though it would gaze upon three continents, subjugated to her +sway the savage and civilized world, and impressed her arms and +jurisprudence upon all succeeding times; then Venice, without a single +foot of solid land, guarded inviolate the treasure of her sovereignty +for thirteen hundred years against the armies of the East and the West; +while, in our own time, England, unimportant in the extent of her +insular territory, has been able, by the intelligence and enterprise of +her people, to make herself mistress of the seas, arbiter of the +fortunes of Europe, and the ruler of a hundred millions of people in +Asia. + +These things have happened in obedience to a law which knows no change. +Power in America is with those who can bring the greatest intellectual +and moral force to bear upon a given point. And Massachusetts, limited +in the extent of her territory, without salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or wealth of mines, will have influence, through her people at +home and her people abroad, proportionate to her fidelity to the cause +of universal public education. + + + + +NORMAL SCHOOL TRAINING. + +[An Address delivered at the Dedication of the State Normal School, at +Salem.] + + +The human race may be divided into two classes. One has no ideal of a +future different from the present; or, if it is not always satisfied +with this view, it has yet had no clear conception of a higher +existence. + +The other class is conscious of the power of progress, is making +continual advances, and has an ideal of a future such as, in its +judgment, the present ought to be. Both of these classes have +institutions; for institutions are not the product of civilization, as +they exist wherever our social nature is developed. Man is also a +dependent being, and he therefore seeks the company, counsel and support +of his fellows. From the right of numbers to act comes the necessity of +agreement, or at least so much concurrence in what is to be done as to +secure the object sought. The will of numbers can only be expressed +through agencies; and these, however simple, are indeed +institutions--the evidence of civilization, rather than its product. +They are always the sign, symbol, or language, by which the living man +expresses the purpose of his life. Therefore, institutions differ, as +the purposes of men vary. + +The savage and the man of culture do not seek the same end; hence they +will not employ the same means. + +The institutions of the savage are those of the family, clan, or tribe, +to which he belongs. There the child is instructed in the art of dress, +in manners and language, in the rude customs of agriculture, the chase, +and war. This with him is life, and the history of one generation is +often the history of many generations. Their ideal corresponds with +their actual life; and, as a necessary result, there is little or no +progress. + +But the other class establishes institutions which indicate the +existence of new relations, and exact the performance of new duties. As +man is a social being, he necessarily creates institutions of government +and education corresponding to the sphere in which he is to act. If a +nation desires to educate only a part of its people, its institutions +are naturally exclusive; but wherever the idea of universal education +has been received, the institutions of the country look to that end. + +When Massachusetts was settled there were no truly popular institutions +in the world, for there was really no belief in popular rights. And why +should those be encouraged to think who have no right to act? The +principle that every man is to take a part in the affairs of the +community or state to which he belongs seems to be the foundation of the +doctrine that every man should be educated to think for himself. Free +schools and general education are the natural results of the principles +of human equality, which distinguish the people and political systems of +America. + +The purposes of a people are changeable and changing, but institutions +are inflexible; therefore these latter often outlast the ideas in which +they originated, or the ideas may be acting in other bodies or forms. +Institutions are the visible forms of ideas, but they are useful only +while those ideas are living in the minds of men. If an institution is +suffered to remain after the idea has passed away, it embarrasses rather +than aids an advancing people. Such are monastic establishments in +Protestant countries; such is the Church of England, as an institution +of religion and government, to all classes of dissenters; such are many +seminaries of learning in Europe, and some in America. + +Massachusetts has had one living idea, from the first,--that general +intelligence is necessary to popular virtue and liberty. This idea she +has expressed in various ways; the end it promises she has sought by +various means. In obedience to this idea, she has established colleges, +common schools, grammar schools, academies, and at last the Normal +School. + +The _institution_ only of the Normal School is new; the _idea_ is old. +The Normal system is but a better expression of an idea partially +concealed, but nevertheless to be found in the college, grammar school +and academy of our fathers. Nor have we accepted the institution so +readily from a knowledge of its results in other countries, as from its +manifest fitness to meet a want here. It is not, then, our fortune to +inaugurate a new idea, but only to clothe an old one again, so that it +may more efficiently advance popular liberty, intelligence and virtue. +And this is our duty to-day. + +The proprieties of this occasion would have been better observed, had +his excellency, Governor Washburn, found it convenient to deliver the +address, which, at a late moment, has been assigned to me. But we are +all in some degree aware of the nature and extent of his public duties, +and can, therefore, appreciate the necessity which demands relief from +some of them. + +Massachusetts has founded four Normal Schools, and at the close of the +present century she may not have established as many more, for she now +satisfies the just demands of every section of her territory, and +presents the benefits of this system of instruction to all her +inhabitants. The building we here set apart, and the school we now +inaugurate to the service of learning, are to be regarded as the +completion of the original plan of the state, and any future extension +will depend upon the success of the Normal system as it shall appear in +other years to other generations of men. But we have great faith that +the Normal system, in itself and in its connections, will realize the +cherished idea of our whole history; and if so, it will be extended +until every school is supplied with a Normal teacher. + +This, then, is an occasion of general interest; but to the city of +Salem, and the county of Essex, it is specially important. Similar +institutions have been long established in other parts of the state; but +some compensation is now to be made to you, in the experience and +improvements of the last fifteen years. Intelligent labor sheds light +upon the path of the laborer, and, though the direct benefits of this +system have not been here enjoyed, many resulting advantages from the +experience of similar institutions in other places will now inure to +you. + +The city of Salem, with wise forecast, anticipated these advantages, and +generously contributed a sum larger even than that appropriated by the +state itself. This bounty determined the location of the school, but +determined it fortunately for all concerned. + +Salem is one of the central points of the state; and in this respect no +other town in the vicinity, however well situated, is a competitor. +Pupils may reside at their homes in Newburyport, Lynn, Lawrence, +Haverhill, Gloucester and Lowell, or at any intermediate place, and +enjoy the benefit of daily instruction within these walls. This is a +great privilege for parents and pupils; and it could not have been so +well secured at any other point. Here, also, pupils and teachers may +avail themselves of the libraries, literary institutions and cabinets of +this ancient and prosperous town. These are no common advantages. + +We are wiser and better for the presence of great numbers of books, +though we may never know what they contain. We see how much perseverance +and labor have accomplished, and are sensible that what has been may be +equalled if not excelled. In great libraries, we realize how the works +of the ambitious are neglected, and their names forgotten, while we +cannot fail to be impressed with the value of the truth, that the only +labor which brings a certain reward is that performed under a sense of +duty. + +Salem is itself the intelligent and refined centre of an intelligent and +prosperous population; and we may venture so far, in just eulogy, as to +attribute to it the united advantages of city and country, without a +large share of the privations of the one, or the vices of the other. Of +the four Normal Schools, this is, unquestionably, the most fortunate in +its position and surroundings. We, therefore, ask for the concurrence of +the public in the judgment which has established it in this city. If it +shall be the fortune of the government to assemble a body of instructors +qualified for their stations, there will then remain no reason why these +accommodations and advantages should not be fully enjoyed. + +The Normal School differs from all other seminaries of learning, and +only because it is an auxiliary to the common schools can it be deemed +their inferior in importance. The academy and college take young men +from the district and high schools, and furnish them with additional +aids for the business of life; but the Normal School is truly the helper +of the common schools. It receives its pupils from them, fits these +pupils for teachers, and sends them back to superintend where a few +months before they were scholars. The Normal Schools are sustained by +the common schools; and these latter, in return, draw their best +nutriment from the former. This institution stands with the common +school; it is as truly popular, as really democratic in a just sense, +and its claim for support rests upon the same foundation. + +In Massachusetts we have abandoned the idea, never, I think, general, +that instruction in the art of teaching is unnecessary. + +The Normal School is, with us, a necessity; for it furnishes that +tuition which neither the common school, academy, nor college can. These +institutions were once better adapted to this service than now. There +has been a continual increase of academic studies, until it has become +necessary to establish institutions for special purposes; and of these +the Normal School is one. Its object is definite. The _true_ Normal +School instructs only in the art of teaching; and, in this respect, it +must be confessed we have failed, sadly failed, to realize the ideal of +the system. It is not a substitute for the common school, academy, or +college, though many pupils, and in some degree the public, have been +inclined thus to treat it. There should be no instruction in the +departments of learning, high or low, except what is incidental to the +main business of the institution; yet some have gone so far in the wrong +course as to suggest that not only the common branches should be +studied, but that tuition should be given in the languages and the +higher mathematics. A little reflection will satisfy us how great a +departure this would be from the just idea of the Normal School. Yet +circumstances, rather than public sentiment, have compelled the +government to depart in practice, though never in theory, from the true +system. + +It so happens that much time is occupied in instruction in those +branches which ought to be thoroughly mastered by the pupil before he +enters the Normal School,--that is, before he begins to acquire the art +of teaching what he has not himself learned. + +Such is the state of our schools that we are obliged to accept as pupils +those who are not qualified, in a literary point of view, for the post +of teachers. By sending better teachers into the public schools, you +will effectually aid in the removal of this difficulty. The Normal +School is, then, no substitute for the high school, academy, or college. +Nor do we ask for any sympathy or aid which properly belongs to those +institutions. He is no friend of education, in its proper signification, +who patronizes some one institution, and neglects all others. We have no +seminaries of learning which can be considered useless, and he only is a +true friend who aids and encourages any and all as he has opportunity. +What is popularly known as learning is to be acquired in the common +school, high school, academy and college, as heretofore. The Normal +School does not profess to give instruction in reading and arithmetic, +but to teach the art of teaching reading and arithmetic. So of all the +elementary branches. But, as the art of teaching a subject cannot be +acquired without at the same time acquiring a better knowledge of the +subject itself, the pupil will always leave the Normal School better +grounded than ever before in the elements and principles of learning. It +is not, however, to be expected that complete success will be realized +here more than elsewhere; yet it is well to elevate the standard of +admission, from time to time, so that a larger part of the exercises may +be devoted to the main purpose of the institution. The struggle should +be perpetual and in the right direction. First, elevate your common +schools so that the education there may be a sufficient basis for a +course of training here. If the Normal School and the public schools +shall each and all do their duty, candidates for admission will be so +well qualified in the branches required, that the art of teaching will +be the only art taught here. When this is the case, the time of +attendance will be diminished, and a much larger number of persons may +be annually qualified for the station of teachers. + +Next, let the committees and others interested in education make +special efforts to fill the chairs of your hall with young women of +promise, who are likely to devote themselves to the profession. It is, +however, impossible for human wisdom to guard against one fate that +happens to all, or nearly all, the young women who are graduated at our +Normal Schools. But this remark is not made publicly, lest some anxious +ones avail themselves of your bounty as a means to an end not +contemplated by the state. + +The house you have erected is not so much dedicated to the school as to +the public; the institution here set up is not so much for the benefit +of the young women who may become pupils, as for the benefit of the +public which they represent. The appeal is, therefore, to the public to +furnish such pupils, in number and character, that this institution may +soon and successfully enter upon the work for which it is properly +designed. + +But the character and value of this school depend on the quality of its +teachers more than on all things else. They should be thoroughly +instructed, not only in the branches taught, but in the art of teaching +them. + +The teacher ought to have attained much that the pupil is yet to learn; +if he has not, he cannot utter words of encouragement, nor estimate the +chances of success. It is not enough to know what is contained in the +text-book; the pupil should know that, at least; the teacher should know +a great deal more. A person is not qualified for the office of teacher +when he has mastered a book; and has, in fact, no right to instruct +others until he has mastered the subject. + +Text-books help us a little on the road of learning; but, by and by, +whatever our pursuit or profession, we leave them behind, or else +content ourselves with a subordinate position. Practical men have made +book-farmers the subject of ridicule; and there is some propriety in +this; for he is not a master in his profession who has not got, as a +general thing, out of and beyond the books which treat of it. + +Books are necessary in the school-room; but the good teacher has little +use for them in his own hands, or as aids in his own proper work. He +should be instructed in his subject, aside from and above the arbitrary +rules of authors; and he will be, if he is himself inspired with a love +of learning. _Inspired with a love of learning!_ Whoever is, is sure of +success; and whoever is not, has the best possible security for the +failure of his plans. There cannot be a good school where the love of +learning in teacher and pupil is wanting; and there cannot be a bad one +where this spirit has control. As the master, so is the disciple; as the +teacher, so is the pupil; for the spirit of the teacher will be +communicated to the scholars. There must also be habits of industry and +system in study. We have multitudes of scholars who study occasionally, +and study hard; but we need a race of students who will devote +themselves habitually, and with love, to literature and science. + +On the teachers, then, is the chief responsibility, whether the young +women who go out from this institution are well qualified for their +profession or not. The study of technicalities is drudgery of the worst +sort to the mere pupil; but the scholar looks upon it as a preparation +for a wide and noble exercise of his intellectual powers--as a key to +unlock the mysteries of learning. It is the business of the teacher to +lighten the labors of to-day by bright visions of to-morrow. + +There is a school in medicine, whose chief claim is, that it invites and +prepares Nature to act in the removal of disease. + +We pass no judgment upon this claim; but he is, no doubt, the best +teacher who does little for his pupils, while he incites and encourages +them to do much for themselves. Extensive knowledge will enable the +teacher to do this. + +He is a poor instructor of mathematics who sees only the dry details of +rules, tables and problems, and never ascends to the contemplation of +those supreme wonders of the universe which mathematical astronomy has +laid open. The grammar of a language is defined to be the art of reading +and writing that language with propriety. The study of its elements is +dry and uninteresting; and, while the teacher dwells with care upon the +merits of the text, he should also lift the veil from that which is +hidden, and lead his pupils to appreciate those riches of learning which +the knowledge of a language may confer upon the student. + +It is useful to know the division of the globe into continents and +oceans, islands and lakes, mountains and rivers--and this knowledge the +text-books contain; but it is a higher learning to understand the effect +of this division upon climate, soil and natural productions--upon the +character and pursuits of the human race. Books are so improved that +they may very well take the place of poor, or even ordinary teachers. + +Explanations and illustrations are numerous and appropriate, and very +little remains for the mere text-book teacher to do. But, when the +duties of teacher and the exercises of the school-room are properly +performed, the entire range of science, business, literature and art, is +presented to the student. May it be your fortune to see education thus +elevated here, and then will the same spirit be infused into the public +schools of the vicinity. + +The Massachusetts system of education is a noble tribute to freedom of +thought. The power of educating a people, which is, in fine, the chief +power in a state, has been often, if not usually, perverted to the +support of favored opinions in religion and government. The boasted +system of Prussia is only a prop and ally of the existing order of +things. In France, Napoleon makes the press, which has become in +civilized countries an educator of the people, the mere instrument of +his will. Tyrants do not hesitate to pervert schools and the press, +learning and literature, to the support of tyranny. But with us the +press and the school are free; and this freedom, denied through fear in +other countries, is the best evidence of the stability of our +institutions. It is now a hundred years since an attempt was made in +Massachusetts to exercise legal censorship over the press; but we +occasionally hear of movements to make the public schools of America +subservient to sect or party. The success of these movements would be as +great a calamity as can ever befall a free people. Ignorance would take +the place of learning, and slavery would usurp the domain of liberty. + +No defence, excuse, or palliation, can be offered for such movements; +and their triumph will safely produce all the evils which it is possible +for an enlightened people to endure. Our system of instruction is what +it professes to be,--a public system. As sects or parties, we have no +claim whatever upon it. A man is not taxed because he is of a particular +faith in religion, or party in politics; he is not taxed because he is +the father of a family, or excused because he is not; but he contributes +to the cause of education because he is a citizen, and has an interest +in that general intelligence which decides questions of faith and +practice as they arise. It is for the interest of all that all shall be +educated for the various pursuits and duties of the time. The education +of children is, no doubt, first in individual duty. It is the duty of +the parent, the duty of the friend; but, above all, it is the duty of +the public. This duty arises from the relations of men in every +civilized state; but in a popular government it becomes a necessity. The +people are the source of power--the sovereign. And is it more important +in a monarchy than in a republic that the ruler be intelligent, +virtuous, and in all respects qualified for his duties? + +The institution here set up is an essential part of our system of public +instruction, and, as such, it claims the public favor, sympathy and +support. + +This is a period of excitement in all the affairs and relations of men, +and America is fast becoming the central point of these activities. They +are, no doubt, associated with many blessings, but they may also be +attended by great evils. We claim for our country preeminence in +education. This may be just, but it is also true that Americans, more +than any other people, need to be better educated than they are. Where +else is the field of statesmanship so large, or the necessity for able +statesmen so great? + +With the single exception of Great Britain, there is no nation whose +relations are such as to require a union in rulers of the rarest +practical abilities with accurate, sound and varied learning; and there +is no nation whose people are so critical in the tests they apply to +their public agents. We need men thoroughly educated in all the +departments of learning; to which ought to be added, travel in foreign +countries, and an intimate acquaintance with every part of our own. Such +men we have had--such men we have now; but they will be more and more +important as we advance in numbers, territory and power. A corresponding +culture is necessary in theology, in law, and in all the pursuits of +industry. + +No other nation has so great a destiny. That destiny is manifest, and +may be read in the heart and purpose of the people. They seek new +territories, an increase of population, the prosperity of commerce, of +all the arts of industry, and preeminence in virtue, learning and +intellectual power. And all this they can attain; for the destiny of a +people, within the limits prescribed by reason, is determined by +themselves. If, however, by conquest, annexation and absorption, we +acquire new territories, and strange races and nations of men, and yet +neglect education, every step will but increase our burdens and perils, +and hasten our decay. + + + + +FEMALE EDUCATION. + +[An Address before the Newburyport Female High School.] + + +I accepted, without a moment's delay, the invitation of the principal of +this school to deliver the customary address on this, the fifteenth +anniversary of its establishment. My presence here in connection with +public instruction is not a proper subject for comment by myself; but I +have now come, allow me to say, with unusual alacrity, that we may +together recognize the claims of an institution which furnishes the +earliest evidence existing among us of a special design on the part of +the public to provide adequate intellectual and moral training for the +young women of the state. + +Those movements which have accomplished most for religion, liberty, and +learning, have not been sudden in their origin nor rapid in their +progress. Christianity has been preached eighteen hundred years, yet it +is not now received, even intellectually, by the larger part of the +human race. Magna Charta is six centuries old, but its principles are +not accepted by all the nations of Europe and America; and it is not, +therefore, strange that a system of public instruction, originated by +the Puritans of New England, should yet be struggling against prejudice +and error. In Asia woman is degraded, and in Europe her common condition +is that of apparent and absolute inferiority. When America was settled +she became a participator in the struggles and sufferings which awaited +the pioneers of civilization and liberty on this continent, and she thus +earned a place in family, religious, and even in public life, which +foreshowed her certain and speedy disenthrallment from the tyranny of +tradition and time. Her rights with us are secure, and the anxiety and +boisterous alarm exhibited by some strong-minded women, and the +horror-fringed apprehensions and prophecies of some weak-minded men, are +equally unreasonable and absurd. Woman is sharing the lot of humanity, +and therewith she ought to be content. Man does not remove the burden of +ignorance and oppression from his sex, merely, but generally from his +kind. At least, this is the experience and promise of America. If woman +does not vote because she is woman, so and for the same reason she is +not subject to personal taxation. It is an error to suppose that voting +is a privilege, and taxation, ever and always, a burden. Both are +duties; and the privilege of the one and the burden of the other are +only incidental and subordinate. The human family is an aggregation of +families; and the family, not the man nor the woman, is the unit of the +state. The civil law assumes the existence of the family relation, and +its unity where it exists; hence taxation of the woman brings no revenue +to the state that might not have been secured by the taxation of the +man; and hence the exercise of the elective franchise by the woman +brings no additional political power; for, in the theory of the relation +to which there are, in fact, but few exceptions, there is in the +household but one political idea, and but one agent is needed for its +expression. The ballot is the judgment of the family; not of the man, +merely, nor of the woman, nor yet, indeed, always of both, even. The +first smile that the father receives from the child affects every +subsequent vote in municipal concerns, and likely enough also in +national affairs. From that moment forward, he judges constables, +selectmen, magistrates, aldermen, mayors, school-committees, and +councillors, with an altered judgment. The result of the election is not +the victory or defeat of the man alone; it is the triumph or prostration +of a principle or purpose with which the family is identified. + +Is it said that there is occasionally, if not frequently, a divided +judgment in the household upon those questions that are decided by the +ballot? This must, of course, be granted as an exceptional condition of +domestic life; but, for the wisest reasons of public policy, whose +avoidance by the state would be treachery to humanity, the law universal +can recognize only the general condition of things. So, and for kindred +but not equally strong reasons, the elective franchise is exercised by +men without families, and denied to those women who by the dispensations +of Divine Providence are called to preside in homes where the father's +face is seen no more. But why, in the eye of the state, shall the man +stand as the head of the family, rather than the woman? Because God has +so ordained it; and no civil community has ever yet escaped from the +force of His decree in this respect. Those whose physical power defends +the nation, or tribe, or family, are naturally called upon to decide +what the means of defence shall be. Is not woman, then, the equal of +man? We cannot say of woman, with reference to man, that she is his +superior, or his inferior, or his equal; nor can we say of man, with +reference to woman, that he is her superior, or her inferior, or her +equal. He is her protector, she is his helpmeet. His strength is +sufficient for her weakness, and her power is the support of his +irresolution and want of faith. Woman's rights are not man's rights; nor +are man's rights the measure of woman's rights. If she should assert +her independence, as some idiosyncratic persons desire, she could only +declare her intention to do all those acts and things which woman may of +right do. Given that this is accomplished, and I know not that she would +possess one additional domestic, political, or public right, or enjoy +one privilege in the family, neighborhood, or state, to which she is +not, in some degree, at least, already accustomed. + +These views and reflections may serve to illustrate and enforce the +leading position of this address--that we are to educate young women for +the enjoyments and duties of the sphere in which they are to move. We +speak to-day of public instruction; but it should ever be borne in mind +that the education of the schools is but a part, and often only the +least important part, of the training that the young receive. There is +the training of infancy and early childhood, the daily culture of home, +with its refining or deadening influences, and then the education of the +street, the parlor, the festive gathering, and the clubs, which exert a +power over the youth of both sexes that cannot often be controlled +entirely by the school. + +Womanhood is sometimes sacrificed in childhood, when the mother and the +family fail to develop the womanly qualities of modesty, grace, +generosity of character, and geniality of temper, which dignify, adorn, +and protect, + + + "The sex whose presence civilizes ours." + + +The child, whether girl or boy, reflects the character of its home; and +therefore we are compelled to deal with all the homes of the district or +town, and are required often to counteract the influences they exert. +Early vicious training is quite as disastrous to the girl as to the boy; +for, strange as it may seem, the world more readily tolerates ignorance, +coarseness, rudeness, immodesty, and all their answering vices, in man +than in woman. In the period of life from eight to twenty years of age +the progress of woman is, to us of sterner mould, inconceivably rapid; +but from twenty to forty the advantages of education are upon the other +side. It then follows that a defective system of education is more +pernicious to woman than to man. + +We may contemplate woman in four relations with their answering +responsibilities--as pupil, teacher, companion, and mother. As a pupil, +she is sensitive, conscientious, quick, ambitious, and possesses in a +marvellous degree, as compared with the other sex, the power of +intuition. The boy is logical, or he is nothing; but logic is not +necessary for the girl. Not that she is illogical; but she usually sees +through, without observing the steps in the process which a boy must +discern before he can comprehend the subject presented to his mind. In +the use of the eye, the ear, the voice, and in the appropriation of +whatever may be commanded without the highest exercise of the reasoning +and reflective faculties, she is incomparably superior. She accepts +moral truth without waiting for a demonstration, and she obeys the law +founded upon it without being its slave. She instinctively prefers good +manners to faulty habits; and, in the requirements of family, social, +and fashionable life, she is better educated at sixteen than her brother +is at twenty. She is an adept in one only of the vices of the +school--whispering--and in that she excels. But she does not so readily +resort to the great vice--the crime of falsehood--as do her companions +of the other sex. I call falsehood the great vice, because, if this were +unknown, tardiness, truancy, obscenity, and profanity, could not thrive. +Holmes has well said that "sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle +that will fit them all." + +In many primary and district schools the habits and manners of children +are too much neglected. We associate good habits and good manners with +good morals; and, though we are deceived again and again, and +soliloquize upon the maxim that "all is not gold that glitters," we +instinctively believe, however often we are betrayed. Habits and manners +are the first evidence of character; and so much of weight do we attach +to such evidence, that we give credit and confidence to those whom in +our calmer moments we know to be unworthy. The first aim in the school +should be to build up a character that shall be truthfully indicated by +purity and refinement of manner and conversation. It does, indeed, +sometimes happen that purity of character is not associated with +refinement of manners. This misfortune is traceable to a defective early +education, both in the school and the home; for, had either been +faithful and intelligent, the evil would have been averted. And, as +there are many homes in city and country where refinement of manners is +not found, and, of course, cannot be taught, the schools must furnish +the training. In this connection, the value of the high school for +females--whether exclusively so or not, does not seem to me +important--is clearly seen. Young women are naturally and properly the +teachers of primary, district, and subordinate schools of every grade; +and society as naturally and properly looks to them to educate, by +example as well as by precept, all the children of the state in good +habits, good manners, and good morals. We are also permitted to look +forward to the higher relations of life, when, as wives and mothers, +they are to exert a potent influence over existing and future +generations. The law and the lexicons say "_home_ is the house or the +place where one resides." This definition may answer for the law and the +lexicons, but it does not meet the wants of common life. + +The wife will usually find in her husband less refinement of manners +than she herself possesses; and it is her great privilege, if not her +solemn duty, to illustrate the line of Cowper, and show that she is of + + + "The sex whose presence civilizes ours." + + +It is the duty of the teacher to make the school attractive; and what +the teacher should do for the school the wife should do for the home. +The home should be preferred by the husband and children to all other +places. Much depends upon themselves; they have no right to claim all of +the wife and mother. But, without her aid, they can do but little. With +her aid, every desirable result may be accomplished. That this result +may be secured, female education must be generous, critical, and pure, +in everything that relates to manners, habits, and morals. Much may be +added to these, but nothing can serve in their stead. We should add, no +doubt, thorough elementary training in reading, writing, and spelling, +both for her own good and for the service of her children. Intellectual +training is defective where these elements are neglected, and their +importance to the sexes may be equal. We should not omit music and the +culture of the voice. The tones of the voice indicate the tone of the +mind; but the temper itself may finally yield to a graceful and gentle +form of expression. It is not probable that we shall ever give due +attention to the cultivation of the human voice for speaking, reading, +and singing. This is an invaluable accomplishment in man. Many of us +have listened to New England's most distinguished living orator, and +felt that well-known lines from the English poets derived new power, if +not actual inspiration, from the classic tones in which the words were +uttered. + +A cultivated voice in woman is at once the evidence and the means of +moral power. As the moral sensibilities of the girl are more acute than +those of the boy, so the moral power of the woman is greater than that +of the man. Many young women are educating themselves for the business +of teaching; and I can commend nothing more important, after the proper +ordering of one's own life, than the discreet and careful training of +the voice. It is itself a power. It demands sympathy before the +suffering or its cause is revealed by articulate speech; its tones awe +assemblies, and command silence before the speaker announces his views; +and the rebellious and disorderly, whether in the school, around the +rostrum, or on the field, bow in submission beneath the authority of its +majestic cadences. It is hardly possible to imagine a good school, and +very rare to see one, where this power is wanting in the teacher. Women +are often called to take charge of schools where there are lads and +youth destitute of that culture which would lead them to yield respect +and consequent obedience. Physical force in these cases is not usually +to be thought of; but nature has vouchsafed to woman such a degree of +moral power, of which in the school the voice is the best expression, as +often to fully compensate for her weakness in other respects. + +It is unnecessary to commend reading as an art and an accomplishment; +but good readers are so rare among us, that we cannot too strongly urge +teachers to qualify themselves for the great work. I say _great work_, +because everything else is comparatively easy to the teacher, and +comparatively unimportant to the pupil. Grammar is merely an element of +reading. It should be introduced as soon as the child's reasoning +faculties are in any degree developed, and presented by the living +voice, without the aid of books. The alphabet should be taught in +connection with exercises for strengthening and modulating the voice, +and the elementary sounds of the letters should be deemed as important +as their names. All this is the proper work of the female teacher; and, +when she is ignorant or neglects her duty, the evil is usually so great +as to admit of no complete remedy. + +Reading is at once an imitative and an appreciative art on the part of +the pupil. He must be trained to appreciate the meaning of the writer; +but he will depend upon the teacher at first, and, indeed, for a long +time, for an example of the true mode of expression. This the teacher +must be ready to give. It is not enough that she can correct faults of +pronunciation, censure inarticulate utterances, and condemn gruff, +nasal, and guttural sounds; but she must be able to present, in +reasonable purity, all the opposite qualities. The young women have not +yet done their duty to the cause of education in these respects; nor is +there everywhere a public sentiment that will even now allow the duty to +be performed. + +It is difficult to see why the child of five, and the youth of fifteen, +should be kept an equal number of hours at school. Each pupil should +spend as much time in the school-room as is needed for the preparation +of the exercise and the exercise itself. The danger from excessive +confinement and labor is with young pupils. Those in grammar and high +schools may often use additional hours for study; but a pupil should be +somewhat advanced, and should possess considerable physical strength and +endurance, before he ventures to give more than six hours a day to +severe intellectual labor. It must often happen that children in primary +schools can learn in two hours each day all that the teacher has time to +communicate, or they have power to receive and appropriate. Indeed, I +think this is usually so. It may not, however, be safe to deduce from +this fact the opinion that children should never be kept longer in +school than two hours a day; but it seems proper to assume that, if +blessed with good homes, they may be relieved from the tedium of +confinement in the school-room, when there is no longer opportunity for +improvement. + +We are beginning to realize the advantages of well-educated female +teachers in primary schools; nor do I deem it improbable that they shall +become successful teachers and managers of schools of higher grade, +according to the present public estimation. But, in regard to the latter +position, I have neither hope, desire, nor anxiety. Whenever the public +judge them, generally, or in particular cases, qualified to take charge +of high schools and normal schools, those positions will be assigned to +them; and, till that degree of public confidence is accorded, it is +useless to make assertions or indulge in conjectures concerning the +ability of women for such duties. It is my own conviction that a higher +order of teaching talent is required in the primary school, or for the +early, judicious education of children, than is required in any other +institutions of learning. Nor can it be shown that equal ability for +government is not essential. There must be different manifestations of +ability in the primary and the high school; but, where proper training +has been enjoyed, pupils in the latter ought to be far advanced in the +acquisition of the cardinal virtue of self-control, whose existence in +the school and the state renders government comparatively unnecessary. + +Where there is a human being, there are the opportunity and the duty of +education. But our present great concern, as friends of learning, is +with those schools where children are first trained in the elements. If +in these we can have faithful, accurate, systematic, comprehensive +teaching, everything else desirable will be added thereunto. But, if we +are negligent, unphilosophical, and false, the reasonable public +expectation will never be realized in regard to other institutions of +learning. + +The work must be done by women, and by well-educated women; and, when it +is said that in Massachusetts alone we need the services of six +thousand such persons, the magnitude of the work of providing teachers +may be appreciated. Have we not enough in this field for every female +school and academy, where high schools are not required, or cannot +exist, and for every high school and normal school in the commonwealth? +If it is asserted that the supply of female teachers is already greater +than the demand, it must be stated, in reply, that there are persons +enough engaged in teaching, but that the number of competent teachers +is, and ever has been, too small. It is something, my friends, it is +often a great deal, to send into a town a well-qualified female teacher. +She is not only a blessing to those who are under her tuition, but her +example and influence are often such as to change the local sentiment +concerning teachers and schools. When may we expect a supply of such +persons? The hope is not a delusion, though its realization may be many +years postponed. How are competent persons to be selected and qualified? +The change will be gradual, and it is to be made in the public opinion +as well as in the character of teachers and schools. And is it not +possible, even in view of all that has been accomplished, that we are +yet groping in a dark passage, with only the hope that it leads to an +outward-opening door, where, in marvellous but genial light we shall +perceive new truths concerning the philosophy of the human mind, and +the means of its development? At this moment we are compelled to admit +that practical teachers and theorists in educational matters are alike +uncertain in regard to the true method of teaching the alphabet, and +divided and subdivided in opinion concerning the order of succession of +the various studies in the primary and grammar schools. Perfect +agreement on these points is not probable; it may not be desirable. I am +satisfied that no greater contribution can be made to the cause of +learning than a presentation of these topics and their elucidation, so +that the teacher shall feel that what he does is philosophical, and +therefore wise. + +The only way to achieve success is to apply faithfully the means at +hand. Generations of children cannot wait for perfection in methods of +teaching; but teachers of primary schools ought not to neglect any +opportunity which promises aid to them as individuals, or progress in +the profession that they have chosen. As teachers improve, so do +schools; and, as schools improve, so do teachers. The influence exerted +by teachers is first beneficial to pupils, but, as a result, we soon +have a class of better qualified teachers. With these ideas of the +importance of the teacher's vocation to primary instruction, and, +consequently, to all good learning, it is not strange that I place a +high value upon professional training. A degree of professional training +more or less desirable is, no doubt, furnished, by every school; but the +admission does not in any manner detract from the force of the statement +that a young man or woman well qualified in the branches to be taught, +yet without experience, may be strengthened and prepared for the work of +teaching, by devoting six, twelve, or eighteen months, under competent +instructors, in company with a hundred other persons having a similar +object in view, to the study, examination, and discussion, of those +subjects and topics which are sometimes connected with, and sometimes +independent of, the text-books, but which are of daily value to the +teacher. + +At present only a portion of this necessary professional training can be +given in the normal schools. If, however, as I trust may sometimes be +the case, none should be admitted but those who are already qualified in +the branches to be taught, the time of attendance might be diminished, +and the number of graduates proportionately increased. There are about +one hundred high schools in the state, and, within the sphere of their +labors, they are not equalled by any institutions that the world has +seen. Young men are fitted for the colleges, for mechanical, +manufacturing, commercial, agricultural, and scientific labors, and +young men and young women are prepared for the general duties of life. +They are also furnishing a large number of well-qualified teachers. Some +may say that with these results we ought to be content. Regarding only +the past, they are entirely satisfactory; but, animated with reasonable +hopes concerning the future, we claim something more and better. It is +not disguised that the members of normal schools, when admitted, do not +sustain an average rank in scholarship with graduates of high schools. +This is a misfortune from which relief is sought. It is a suggestion, +diffidently made, yet with considerable confidence in its practicability +and value, that graduates of high schools will often obtain additional +and necessary preparation by attending a normal school, if for the term +of six months only. And I am satisfied, beyond all reasonable doubt, +that, when the normal schools receive only those whose education is +equivalent to that now given in the high schools, a body of teachers +will be sent out who will surpass the graduates of any other +institution, and whose average professional attainments and practical +excellence will meet the highest reasonable public expectation. Nor is +it claimed that this result will be due to anything known or practised +in normal schools that may not be known and practised elsewhere; but it +is rather attributable to the fact that in these institutions the +attention of teachers and pupils is directed almost exclusively to the +work of teaching, and the means of preparation. The studies, thoughts, +and discussions, are devoted to this end. If, with such opportunities, +there should be no progress, we should be led to doubt all our previous +knowledge of human character, and of the development of the youthful +mind. + +And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude, allow me to remove, or +at least to lessen, an impression that these remarks are calculated to +produce. I have assumed that teaching is a profession--an arduous +profession--and that perfection has not yet been attained. I have +assumed, also, that there are many persons engaged in teaching, +especially in the primary and mixed district schools, whose +qualifications are not as great as they ought to be. But let it not be +thence inferred that I am dissatisfied with our teachers and schools. +There has been continual progress in education, and a large share of +this progress is due to teachers; but the time has not yet come when we +can wisely fold our arms, and accept the allurements of undisturbed +repose. + +Nor have I sought, on this occasion, to present even an outline of a +system of female education. In all the public institutions of learning +among us, it should be as comprehensive, as minute, as exact, as that +furnished for youth of the other sex. Nor is it necessary to concern +ourselves about the effect of this liberal culture upon the character +and fortunes of society. I do not anticipate any sudden or disastrous +effects. The right of education is a common right; and it is +unquestionably the right of woman to assert her rights; and it is a +wrong and sin if we withhold any, even the least. Having faith in +humanity, and faith in God, let us not shrink from the privilege we +enjoy of offering to all, without reference to sex or condition, the +benefits of a public and liberal system of education, which seeks, in an +alliance with virtue and religion, whose banns are forbidden by none, to +enlighten the ignorant, restrain and reform the depraved, and penetrate +all society with good learning and civilization, so that the highest +idea of a well-ordered state shall be realized in an advanced and +advancing condition of individual and family life. + + + + +THE INFLUENCE, DUTIES, AND REWARDS, OF TEACHERS. + +[A Lecture delivered at Teachers' Institutes.] + + +It is the purpose, and we believe that it will be the destiny, of +Massachusetts, to build up a comparatively perfect system of public +instruction. To this antiquity did not aspire; and it is the just boast +of modern times, and especially of the American States, that learning is +not the amusement of a few only, whom wealth and taste have led into its +paths, but that it is encouraged by governments, and cherished by the +whole people. Antiquity had its schools and teachers; but the latter +were, for the most part, founders of sects in politics, morals, +philosophy, religion, or the habits of daily life; while its schools +were frequented and sustained by those who sought to build on the +civilization of the times such structures as their tastes conceived or +their opinions dictated. + +There were not in Athens or Rome, according to the American idea, any +schools for the people; and Carlyle, Brownson, and Emerson, are such +teachers in kind, though not in power and influence, as were Socrates, +Plato, and Aristotle. These men were leaders as well as teachers, and +their followers were disciples and controversialists rather than pupils. +But it is not possible for modern leaders in politics, philosophy, and +social life, to rival the ancients. Manual labor is not more divided and +subdivided than is the influence of the human intellect. The newspaper +has inspired every man with the love of self-judgment, and the common +school has qualified him, in some degree, for its exercise. The +ancients, whose names and fame have come down to us, taught by +conversations, discussions, and lectures; the moderns, as Carlyle, +Brownson, and Emerson, by lectures, essays, and reviews. But these +systems are quite inadequate to meet the wants of American civilization. + +Indeed, however men of talent may strive, there cannot be another +Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle; for the printing-press has come, and +their occupation has gone. Teachers were philosophers, pupils were +followers and disciples, while learning was devoted to the support of +speculations and theories. + +But, while we have no such teachers as those of Athens, and need no such +schools as they founded, we have teachers and schools whose character +and genius correspond to the age in which we live. Teaching is a +profession; not merely an ignoble pursuit, nor a toy of scholastic +ambition, but a profession enjoying the public confidence, requiring +great talents, demanding great industry, and securing, permit me to say, +great rewards. To be the leader of a sect or the founder of a school, is +something; but the acceptable teacher is superior to either; he is the +first and chief exponent of a popular sovereignty which seeks happiness +and immortality for itself by elevating and refining the parts of which +it is composed. The ancient teacher gathered his hearers, disciples, and +pupils, in the streets, groves, and public squares. The modern teacher +is comparatively secluded; but let him not hence infer that he is +without influence. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, had their triumphs; +but none more distinguished than that of a Massachusetts teacher, who, +at the age of fourscore years, on a festive day, received from his +former pupils--and among them were the most eminent of the land--sincere +and affectionate assurances of esteem and gratitude. The pupil may be +estranged from the master in opinion, for our system does not concern +itself with opinions, political or religious; but the faithful teacher +will always find the evidence of his fidelity in the lives of those +intrusted to his care. No position is more important than the teacher's; +and his influence is next to that of the parent. It is his high and +noble province to touch the youthful mind, test its quality, and develop +its characteristics. He often stands in the place of the parent. He aids +in giving character to the generations of men; which is at once a higher +art and a purer glory than distinguishes those who build the walls of +cities, or lay the foundations of empires. The cities which contested +for the honor of being the birthplace of Homer are forgotten, or +remembered only because they contested for the honor, while Homer +himself is immortal. If, then, the mere birth of a human being is an +honor to a city, how illustrious the distinction of those who guide the +footsteps of youth along the rugged paths of learning, and develop in a +generation the principles of integrity and mercy, justice and freedom, +government and humanity! If in a lifetime of toil the teacher shall +bring out of the mass of common minds one Franklin, or Howard, or +Channing, or Bowditch, he will have accomplished more than is secured by +the devotees of wealth, or the disciples of pleasure. As the man is more +important than the mere philosopher, so is the modern teacher more +elevated than the ancient. + +The true teacher takes hold of the practical and elementary, as +distinguished from the learning whose chief or sole value is in display. +Present gratification is desirable, especially to parents and teachers; +but it may be secured at the cost of solid learning and real progress. +This is a serious error among us, and it will not readily be abandoned; +but it is the duty of teachers, and of all parents who are friends to +genuine learning, to aid in its removal. We are inclined to treat the +period of school-life as though it covered the entire time that ought +properly to be devoted to education. The first result--a result followed +by pernicious consequences--is that the teacher is expected to give +instruction in every branch that the pupil, as child, youth, or adult, +may need to know. It is impossible that instruction so varied should +always be good. Learning is knowledge of subjects based and built upon a +thorough acquaintance with their elements. The path of duty, therefore, +should lead the teacher to make his instruction thorough in a few +branches, rather than attempt to extend it over a great variety of +subjects. This, to the teacher who is employed in a district or town but +three or six months, is a hard course, and many may not be inclined to +pursue it. Something, no doubt, must be yielded to parents; but they, +too, should be educated to a true view of their children's interests. As +the world is, a well-spoken declamation is more gratifying to parents, +and more creditable to teachers, than the most careful training in the +vowel-sounds; yet the latter is infinitely more valuable to the scholar. +Neither progress in the languages nor knowledge of mathematics can +compensate for the want of a thorough etymological discipline. This +training should be primary in point of time, as well as elementary in +character; and a classical education is no adequate compensation. + +Elements are all-important to the teacher and the student. It is not +possible to have an idea of a square without some idea of a straight +line, nor to express with pencil or words the arc of a circle without a +previous conception of the curve. Combination follows in course. We are +driven to it. Our own minds, all nature, all civilization, tend to the +combination of elements. + +We think fast, live fast, learn fast, and, as the fashion of the world +requires a knowledge of many things, we crowd the entire education of +our children into the short period of school-life. Here, and just here, +public sentiment ought to relieve the teacher by reforming itself. + +It should be understood that school-life is to be devoted to the +thorough discipline of the mind to study, and to an acquaintance with +those simple, elementary branches, which are the foundation of all good +learning. When a knowledge of the elements is secured, then the +languages, mathematics, and all science, may be pursued with enthusiasm +and success by a class of men well educated in every department. Public +sentiment must allow the teacher to give careful instruction in reading +and spelling, for example, in the most comprehensive meaning of those +terms--in the sound and power of letters, in the composition and use of +words, and in the natural construction of sentences. This, of course, +includes a knowledge of grammar, not as a dry, philological study, but +as a science; not as composed of arbitrary rules, merely, but as the +common and best judgment of men concerning the use and power of +language, of which rules and definitions are but an imperfect +expression. + +Nor do we herein assign the teacher to neglect or obscurity. He, as well +as others, must have faith in the future. His reward may be distant, but +it is certain. + +It is, however, likely that the labors of a faithful elementary teacher +will be appreciated immediately, and upon the scene of his toil. But, if +they are not, his pupils, advancing in age and increasing in knowledge, +will remember with gratitude and in words the self-sacrificing labors of +their master. + +We are not so constituted as to labor without motive. With some the +motive is high, with others it is low and grovelling. The teacher must +be himself elevated, or he cannot elevate others. The pupil may, +indeed, advance to a higher sphere than that occupied by the teacher; +but it is only because he draws from a higher fountain elsewhere. In +such cases the success of the pupil is not the success of the master. He +who labors as a teacher for mere money, or for temporary fame, which is +even less valuable, cannot choose a calling more ignoble, nor can he +ever rise to a higher; for his sordid motives bring all pursuits to the +low level of his own nature. + +Yet it is not to be assumed that the teacher, more than the clergyman, +is to labor without pecuniary compensation; for, while money should not +be the sole object of any man's life, it is, under the influence of our +civilization, essential to the happiness of us all. Wealth, properly +acquired and properly used, may become a means of self-education. It +purchases relief from the harassing toil of uninterrupted manual labor. +It is the only introduction we can have to the thoroughfares of travel +by which we are made acquainted personally with the globe that we +inhabit. It brings to our firesides books, paintings, and statuary, by +which we learn something of the world as it is and as it was. It gives +us the telescope and the microscope, by whose agency we are able to +appreciate, even though but imperfectly, the immensity of creation on +the one hand, and its infinity on the other. The teacher is not to +labour without money, nor to despise it more than other men; and the +public might as well expect the free services of the minister, lawyer, +physician, or farmer, as to expect the gratuitous or cheap education of +their children. While the teacher is educating others, he must also +educate himself. This he cannot do without both leisure and money. The +advice of Iago is, therefore, good advice for teachers: "Go, make money. +* * Put money enough in your purse." The teacher's motives should be +above mere gain; though this view of the subject does not, as some might +infer, lead to the conclusion that he ought to labor for inadequate +compensation. + +When George III. was first insane, Dr. Willis was called to the +immediate personal charge of the king. Dr. Willis had been educated to +the church, and a living had been assigned him; but, becoming interested +in the subject of insanity, he had established an asylum, and gained a +distinguished position in his new profession. The suffering monarch was +sadly puzzled to know why Dr. Willis was with him, and how he had been +brought there. The custodian was not very definite in his explanations, +but suggested that he came to comfort the king in his afflictions; and, +said he, "You know that our Saviour went about doing good."--"Yes," +said the king, "but he never received seven hundred pounds a year for +it." This was good wit, especially good royal wit, because unexpected. +But there is no reason why actual monarchs of England, or coming +monarchs of America, should be treated or taught gratuitously. The +compensation, the living of the teacher, is one thing; the motive may +and ought to be quite different. The teacher should labor in his +profession because he loves it, because he does good in it, and because +he can in that sphere answer a high purpose of existence. These being +the motives of the teacher, he should educate, draw out, corresponding +ones in his pupils. + +The teacher is not to create--he is to draw out. Every child has the +germs of many, and, it may be, quite different qualities of character. +Look at the infant. It is so constituted that it may have a stalwart +arm, broad chest, and well-rounded, vigorous muscles; but yet it may +come to adult age destitute of these physical excellences. Yet you will +not say that the elements did not exist in the child. They were there; +but, being neglected, they followed a law of our nature, that the +development of a faculty depends upon its exercise. Nature will develop +some quality in every man; for our existence demands the exercise of a +part of our faculties. The faculty used will be developed in excess as +compared with other faculties. It is the business of the teacher to aid +nature. For the most part, he must stimulate, encourage, draw out, +develop, though it may happen that he will be required occasionally to +check a tendency which threatens to absorb or overshadow all the others. +He must, at any rate, prevent the growth of those powers which tend +towards the savage state. + +While the teacher creates nothing, he must so draw out the qualities of +the child that it may attain to perfect manhood. He moulds, he renders +symmetrical, the physical, the intellectual, the moral man. Nature +sometimes does this herself, as though she would occasionally furnish a +model man for our imitation, as she has given lines, and forms, and +colors, which all artists of all ages shall copy, but cannot equal. But, +do the best we can, education is more or less artificial; and hence the +child of the school will suffer by comparison with the child of nature, +when she presents him in her best forms. + +In a summer ramble I met a man so dignified as to attract the notice and +command the respect of all who knew him. I was with him upon the lakes +and mountains several days and nights, and never for a moment did the +manliness of his character desert him. I have seen no other person who +could boast such physical beauty. Accustomed to a hunter's life; +carrying often a pack of thirty or forty or fifty pounds; sleeping upon +the ground or a bed of boughs; able, if necessity of interest demanded, +to travel in the woods the ordinary distance which a good horse would +pass over upon our roads; with every organ of the arm, the leg, the +trunk, fully expressed; with a manly, kind, intelligent countenance, a +beard uncut, in the vigor of early manhood, he seemed a model which the +statuaries of Greece and Rome desired to see, but did not. He had at +once the bearing of a soldier and the characteristics of a gentleman. He +was ignorant of grammatical rules and definitions, yet his conversation +would have been accepted in good circles of New England society. This +man had his faults, but they were not grievous faults, nor did they in +any manner affect the qualities of which I have spoken. + +This is what nature sometimes does; this is what we should always strive +to do, extending this symmetry, if possible, to the moral as well as to +the intellectual and physical organization. This man is ignorant of +science, of books, of the world of letters, and the world of art, yet we +respect him. Why? Because nature has chosen to illustrate in him her own +principles, power and beauty. + +That we may draw out the qualities of the human mind as they exist, we +must first appreciate our influence upon childhood and youth. Our own +experience is the best evidence of what that influence is. All along our +lives the lessons of childhood return to us. The hills and valleys, the +lakes, rivers, and rivulets, of our early home, come not in clearer +visions before us than do the exhortations to industry, the incentives +to progress, the lessons of learning, and the principles of truth, +uttered and offered by the teachers of early years. In the same way the +lines of the poet, the reflections of the philosopher, the calm truths +of the historian, read once and often carelessly, and for many years +forgotten, return as voices of inspiration, and are evermore with us. + +That the teacher may have influence, his ear must be open to the voice +of truth, and his mouth must be liberal with words of consolation, +encouragement, and advice. He rules in a little world, and the scales of +justice must be balanced evenly in his hands. He should go in and out +before his scholars free from partiality or prejudice; indifferent to +the voice of envy or detraction; shunning evil and emulous of good; +patient of inquiries in the hours of duty; filled with the spirit of +industry in his moments of leisure; gathering up and spreading before +his pupils the choicest gems of literature, art, and science, that they +may be early and truly inspired with the love of learning. + +The public school is a little world, and the teacher rules therein. It +contains the rich and the poor, the virtuous and the corrupt, the +studious and the indifferent, the timid and the brave, the fearful and +the hearts elate with hope and courage. Life is there no cheat; it wears +no mask, it assumes no unnatural positions, but presents itself as it +is. Deformed and repulsive in some of its features, yet to him whose eye +is as quick to discover its beauty as its deformity, its harmony as its +discord, there is always a bright spot on which he may gaze, and a fond +hope to which he may cling. Artificial life, whether in the select +school or the select party, tends to weaken our faith in humanity; and a +want of faith in our race is an omen of ill-success in life. Teachers +should have faith in humanity, and should labor constantly to inspire +others with the belief that the true law of our nature is the law of +progress. + +Those who come early in life to the conclusion that the many cannot be +moved by the higher sentiments and ideas which control a few favored +mortals, cease to labor for the advancement of the race. They +consequently lose their hold upon society, and society neglects them. +For such men there can be no success. + +Others, like Jefferson and Channing, never lose confidence in their +species, and their species never lose confidence in them. When the +teacher comes to believe that the world is worse than it was, and never +can be better, he need wait for no other evidence that his days of +usefulness are over. + +The school-room will teach the child, even as the prison will instruct +maturity and age, that few persons are vicious in the extreme, and that +no one lives without some ennobling traits of character and life. The +teacher's faith is the measure of the teacher's usefulness. It is to him +what conception is to the artist; and, if the sculptor can see the image +of grace and beauty in the fresh-quarried marble, so must the teacher +see the full form of the coming man in the trembling child or awkward +youth. + +The teacher ought not to grow old. To be sure, time will lay its hand on +him, as it does on others; but he should always cultivate in himself the +feelings, sentiments, and even ambitions of youth. Far enough removed +from his pupils in age and position to stimulate them by his example, +and encourage them by his precepts, he should yet be so near them that +he can appreciate the steps and struggles which mark their progress in +the path of learning. There must be some points of contact, something +common to teacher and pupils. Indeed, for us all it is true that age +loses nothing of its dignity or respect when it accepts the sentiments +and sports of youth and childhood. But above all should the teacher +remember the common remark of La Place, in his Celestial Mechanics, and +the observation of Dr. Bowditch upon it. "Whenever I meet in La Place +with the words, 'Thus it plainly appears,' I am sure that hours, and +perhaps days, of hard study, will alone enable me to discover _how_ it +plainly appears." The good teacher will seek first to estimate each +scholar's capacity, and then adapt his instructions accordingly. Though +he may be far removed from his pupils in attainments, he should be able +to mark the steps by which ordinary minds pass from common principles to +their noblest application. + +This observation may by some be deemed unnecessary; but there are living +teachers who, having mastered the noblest sciences, are unable to +appreciate and lead ordinary minds. + +The teacher must be in earnest. This is the price of success in every +profession. The law, it is said, is a jealous mistress, and permits no +rivals; the indifferent, careless minister is but a blind leader of the +blind, and the "undevout astronomer is mad." + +Sincerity of soul and earnestness of purpose will achieve success. +According to an eminent authority, there are three kinds of great men: +those who are born great, those who achieve greatness, and those who +have greatness thrust upon them. If we take greatness of birth to be in +greatness of soul and intellect, and not in the mere accident of +ancestry, it is such only who have greatness thrust upon them; for the +world, after all, rarely makes a mistake in this respect. But there is a +larger and a nobler class, whose greatness, whatever it is, must be +achieved; and to this class I address myself. + +Success is practicable. There need be no failures. A man of reflection +will soon find whether he can succeed in his pursuit; if not, he has +mistaken his calling, or neglected the proper means of success. In +either case, a remedy is at hand. If a teacher is indifferent to his +calling, and cannot bring himself to pursue it with ardor, it is a duty +to himself, to his profession, to his pupils, to abandon it at once. It +is idle to suppose that we are doing good in a work to which we are not +attracted by our sympathies, and in which we are not sustained by our +faith and hopes. The men who succeed are the men who believe that they +can succeed. The men who fail are those to whom success would have been +a surprise. There is no doubt some appropriate pursuit in life for every +man of ordinary talents; but no one can tell whether he has found it for +himself until he has made a vigorous and persistent application of his +powers. If the teacher fail to do this, he need not seek for success in +another profession, when he has already declined to pay its price. + +The choice of a profession is one of the great acts of life. It should +not be done hastily, nor without a careful examination and just +appreciation of the elements of character. A competent teacher may aid +his pupils in this respect. A mistake in occupation is a calamity to the +individual, and an injury to the public. Our school-rooms contain +artists, farmers, mathematicians, mechanics, poets, lawyers, statesmen, +orators, and warriors; but some one must do for them what Shakspeare +says the monarch of the hive has done for all his subjects--assigned +them + + + "Officers of sorts; + Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; + Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad; + Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, + Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds; + Which pillage, they with merry march bring home + To the tent-royal of their emperor; + Who, busied in his majesty, surveys + The singing masons, building roofs of gold; + The civil citizens kneading up the honey; + The poor mechanic porters crowding in + Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate; + The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum, + Delivering o'er to executors pale + The lazy, yawning drone." + + +Teachers are so situated that they may give wholesome advice; while +parents--and I say it with respect--are quite likely, under the +influence of an instinctive belief that their children are fitted for +any place within the range of human labor or human ambition, to make +fatal mistakes. While all pursuits and professions, if honest, are +equally honorable, the individual selection must be determined by taste, +circumstances, individual habits, and often by physical facts. It is not +for one person to do everything, but it is for each person to do at +least one thing well. As a general rule, the painter, who has spent his +youth and manhood in studying the canvas, had better not study the +stars; and the artist, who has power to bring the form of life from the +cold marble, has no right to solve problems in geometry, weigh planets, +or calculate eclipses. The proper choice of the business of life may do +much to perfect our social system, and it will certainly advance our +material prosperity. There is everywhere in our civilization mutual +dependence, and there must be mutual support. In no other way can we +advance to our destiny as becomes an enlightened people. + +But all of life and education, either to pupil, teacher, or man, is not +to be found in the school-room. The common period of school-life is +sufficient only for elementary education. The average school-going +period is ten years. Of this, one-half is spent in vacations and +absences, so that each child has about five years of school-life. Only +one-fourth of each day is spent in the school-room; and the continuous +attendance, therefore, is about fifteen months, equal to the time which +most of us give to sleep, every four or five years of our existence. +This view leads me to say again that it is the duty of the teacher in +this brief period to lay a good foundation for subsequent scientific and +classical culture. More than this cannot be accomplished; and, where +this is accomplished, and a taste for learning is formed, and the means +to be employed are comprehended, a satisfactory school-life has been +passed. + +Education--universal education--is a necessity; and, as there is no +royal road to learning, so there is no aristocracy of mental power +depending upon social or pecuniary distinctions. The New England +colonies, and Massachusetts first of all, established the system of +education now called universal or public. It was not then easy to +comprehend the principle which lies at the foundation of a system of +public instruction. We are first to consider that a system of public +instruction implies a system of universal taxation. The only rule on +which taxes can be levied justly is that the object sought is of public +necessity, or manifest public convenience. It quite often happens that +men of our own generation are insensible or indifferent to the true +relation of the citizen to the cause of education. Some seem to imagine +that their interest in schools, and of course their moral obligation to +support them, ceases with the education of their own children. This is a +great error. The public has no right to levy a tax for the education of +any particular child, or family of children; but its right of taxation +commences when the education or plan of education is universal, and +ceases whenever the plan is limited, or the operations of the system are +circumscribed. + +No man can be taxed properly because he has children of his own to +educate; this may be a reason with some for cheerful payment, but it has +in itself no element of a just principle. When, however, the people +decide that education is a matter of public concern, then taxation for +its promotion rests upon the same foundation as the most important +departments of a government. Yet, many generations of men came and +passed away before the doctrine was received that, as a public matter, a +man is equally interested in the education of his neighbor's children +as in the education of his own. As parents, we have a special interest +in our children; as citizens, it is this, that they may be honest, +industrious, and effective in their labors. This interest we have in all +children. + +The safety of our persons and property demands their honesty; our right +to be exempt from pauper and criminal taxes requires habits of universal +industry; and our part in the general wealth and prosperity is increased +by the intelligent application of manual labor in all the walks of life. + +A man may, indeed, be proud of the attainments of his family, as men are +often proud of their ancestry; yet they possess little real value as a +family possession. The pride of ancestry has no value; it + + + "Is like a circle in the water, + Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself + Till, by broad-spreading, it disperse to naught." + + +I pass from this digression to the statement that the chief means of +self-improvement are five: Observation, Conversation, Reading, Memory, +and Reflection. + +It is an art to observe well--to go through the world with our eyes +open--to see what is before us. All men do not see alike, nor see the +same things. Our powers of observation take on the hues of daily life. +The artist, in a strange city or foreign land, observes only the +specimens of taste and beauty or their opposites; the mechanic studies +anew the principles of his science as applied to the purposes of life; +the architect transfers to his own mind the images of churches, +cathedrals, temples, and palaces; while the philanthropist rejoices in +cellars and lanes, that he may know how poverty and misery change the +face and heart of man. + +An American artist, following the lead of Mr. Jefferson, has beautifully +illustrated the nature of the power of observation. We do not see even +the faces of our common friends alike. The stranger observes a family +likeness which is invisible to the familiar acquaintance. The former +sees only the few points of agreement, and decides upon them; while the +latter has observed and studied the more numerous points of difference, +until he is blind to all others. Hence a portrait may appear true to a +stranger, which, to an intimate acquaintance, is barren in expression, +and destitute of character. Therefore, the artist wisely and properly +esteemed himself successful when his work was approved by the wife or +the mother. The world around us is full of knowledge. We should so +behold it as to be instructed by all that is. The distant star paints +its image on our eye with a ray of light sent forth thousands of years +ago; yet its lesson is not of itself, but of the universe and its +mysteries, and of the Creator out of whose divine hand all things have +come. + +Conversation is at once an art, an accomplishment, and a science. It +leads to valuable practical results. It has a place, and by no means an +inferior place, in the schools. Facts stated, questions proposed, or +theories illustrated, in conversation, are permanently impressed upon +the mind. It is in the power of the teacher to communicate much +information in this way, and it is in the power of us all to make +conversation a means of improvement. + +But, when the pupil leaves the school, _reading_, so systematic and +thorough as to be called study, is, no doubt, the best culture he can +enjoy. In the first place, books are accessible to all, and they may be +had at all times. They can be used in moments of leisure, in solitude, +in the hours when sleep is too proud to wait on us, and when friends are +absent or indifferent to our lot. Conversation may be patronizing, or it +may leave us a debtor; when the book-seller's bill is settled, we have +no account with the author. + +If I am permitted to speak to all, pupils as well as teachers, I am +inclined to say, "Do not consider your education finished when you leave +home and the school." Your labors of a practical sort ought then to +commence. With system and care, you may read works of literature and +history, or devote yourself to mathematics in the higher departments of +science. As a general thing, however, it is not wise to attempt too much +at once. The custom of the schools is to require each pupil to attend to +several branches at the same time; but this course cannot be recommended +to adult persons with disciplined minds. It seems better to select one +subject, and make it the leading topic, for a time, of our studies and +thoughts. It may also be proper to suggest that works of fiction, +poetry, and romance, ought not to be read until the mind is well +disciplined, and a good foundation of solid learning is laid. Such works +tend to make one's style of thought and writing easy, flowing, and +agreeable; but they are also calculated to make us dissatisfied with the +more substantial labors of intellectual life. Having obtained the +elements of learning, one thing is absolutely essential--system in +study. I fancy that there are two prevalent errors among us. First, that +men often attain intellectual eminence without study; and, secondly, +that exclusive devotion to books is the price of success. Whoever +neglects study, whatever his natural abilities, will find himself +distanced by inferior men; and, on the other hand, whoever will devote +three hours each day to the systematic improvement of his mind will +finally be numbered among the leading persons of the age. But, while we +observe, converse, and read, the power of memory and the habit of +reflection should be cultivated. The habit of reflection is a great aid +to the memory, and together they enable us to use the knowledge we daily +acquire. + +No previous age of the world has offered so great encouragement, whether +in fame or money, to men of science and literature, as the present. +Formerly, authors flourished under the patronage of princes, or withered +by their neglect; but now they are encouraged and paid by the people, +and reap where they have sown, whether kings will or not. The poverty of +authors was once proverbial; but now the only authors who are poor are +poor authors. Good learning, integrity, and ability, are well +compensated in all the professions. Some one remarked to Mr. Webster, +"That the profession of the law was crowded."--"Yes," said he, "rather +crowded below, but there is plenty of room above." Littleness and +mediocrity always seek the paths worn by superior men; and the truly +illustrious in literature and science are few in number compared with +those who attempt to tread in the footsteps of their illustrious +predecessors; but none of these things ought to deter young men of +ability, industry, and integrity, from boldly entering the lists, +without fear of failure. The world is usually just, and it will +ultimately award the tokens of its approbation to those who deserve +success. + +And there is a happy peculiarity in talent,--the variety is so great +that the competition is small. Of all the living authors, are there two +so alike that they can be considered competitors or rivals? The nation +has applauded and set the seal of its approbation upon the eloquence of +Henry, Otis, Adams, Ames, Pinckney, Wirt, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, +not because these men resembled one another, but because each had +peculiarities and excellences of his own. The same variety of excellence +is seen in living orators, and in all the eloquence and learning of +antiquity which time has spared and history has transmitted to us. It is +said that when Aristides wrote the sentence of his own banishment for a +humble and unknown enemy, the only reason given by the peasant was that +he was "tired with hearing him called the Just." And the world sometimes +appears to be restive under the influence of men of talent; but that +influence, whether always agreeable or not, is both permanent and +beneficial. + +Not only does each generation respect its own leading minds, but it is +submissive to the learning and intellect of other days. The influence of +ancient Greece still remains. We copy her architecture, borrow from her +philosophy, admire her poetry, and bow with humility before the remnants +of her majestic literature. So the policy of Rome is perceptible in the +civilization of every European country, and it is a potent element in +the laws and jurisprudence of America. The eloquence of Demosthenes has +been impressed upon every succeeding generation of civilized men; the +genius of Hannibal has stimulated the ambition of warriors from his own +time to that of Napoleon; while Shakspeare's power has been the wonder +of all modern authors and readers. It is a great representative fact in +mental philosophy, which we cannot too much contemplate, that +Demosthenes and Cicero not only enchained the thousands of Greece and +Rome in whose presence they stood, but that their eloquence has had a +controlling influence over myriads to whom the language in which they +spoke was unknown. The words that the houseless Homer sung in the +streets of Smyrna have commanded the admiration of all later times; and +even the mud walls around Plato's garden, on which are preserved the +fragments of statuary with which the garden was once adorned, attract +and instruct the wanderers and students about Athens. + +But let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that we can illustrate +anew the greatness which has distinguished a few men only in all the +long centuries of the world's existence. Be not imitators nor followers +of other men's glory. There is a path for each one, and his duty lies +therein. Yet the leading men of the world are lights which ought not to +be hid from the young, for they serve to show the extent of the field in +which human powers may be employed. The rule of the successful life is +to neglect no present opportunity of good either to yourself or to +others; and the rule of the successful student is to gather information +from whatever source he may, not doubting that it will prove useful to +himself or to his fellow-men. + +Our own age has furnished two men,--one living, the other dead,--quite +opposite in talents and attainments, whose power and influence may not +have been surpassed in ancient or modern times. I speak of Kossuth and +Webster. Our history has no parallel for the first. Most men, young or +old, gay or severe, radical or conservative, were touched by his +mournful strains, and influenced by his magic words. He came from a land +of which we knew little, and so laid open the history of its wrongs that +he enlisted multitudes in its behalf. I speak not now of the views he +presented, nor of the demands he made upon the American people. If he +taught error and asked wrong, so the more wonderful was his career. No +doubt his cause did much for him; but other patriots and exiles have +had equal opportunities with Kossuth, yet no one has so swayed the +public mind. + +He was distinguished in intellect, a master of much learning, a man of +nice moral feeling and strong religious sentiments, all of which were +combined and blended in his addresses to the people. But he spoke a +language whose rudiments he first learned in manhood. In his speech he +neglected the chief rule of Grecian eloquence. With one theme, +only,--the wrongs of Hungary; with one object, only,--her relief and +elevation,--he commanded the general attention of the American mind. The +mission of Kossuth in America deserves to be remembered as an +intellectual phenomenon, whose like, we of this generation may not again +see. + +Mr. Webster had never great personal popularity. His presence was +majestic, but forbidding. His manners were agreeable, and sometimes +fascinating to his friends, when he was in a genial mood; but he was +often reserved or even austere to strangers, and terrible to his +enemies. His style of thought was mathematical, his language expressive, +but never popular. He wrote as a man would dictate an essay which was to +appear as a posthumous work. His eloquence was not that which often +passes for eloquence upon the stump or at the bar. He seldom attempted +to court the people, and when he did, it was as if he mocked himself, +and scorned the spirit which could be moved by the breezes of popular +favor. He was not free from faults, personal and political; yet he +acquired a control which has not been possessed by any man since +Washington. Whenever he was to speak, the public were anxious to hear +and to read. Hardly any man has had the fortune to present his views in +addresses, letters, and speeches, to so large a portion of his +countrymen; yet the people whom he addressed, and who were anxious for +his words and opinions, did not always, or even generally, agree with +him. Mr. Webster's power was chiefly, if not solely, intellectual. He +had not the personal qualities of Mr. Clay or General Jackson; he was +not, like Mr. Jefferson the chosen exponent of a political creed, and +the admitted leader of a great political party; nor had he the military +character and universally acknowledged patriotism of General Washington, +which made him first in the hearts of his countrymen. Mr. Webster stands +alone. His domain is the intellect, and thus far in America he is +without a rival. To Mr. Webster, and to all men proportionately, +according to the measure of their gifts and attainments, we may apply +his great words: "A superior and commanding human intellect, a truly +great man, when Heaven vouchsafes so rare a gift, is not a temporary +flame, burning brightly for a while, and then giving place to returning +darkness. It is rather a spark of fervent heat, as well as radiant +light, with power to enkindle the common mass of human mind; so that, +when it glimmers in its own decay, and finally goes out in death, no +night follows, but it leaves the world all light, all on fire, from the +potent contact of its own spirit." + +Some humble measure of this greatness may be attained by all; and, if I +have sought to lead you in the way of improvement by considerations too +purely personal and selfish, I will implore you, in conclusion, as +teachers and as citizens, to consider yourselves as the servants of your +country and your race. There can be no real greatness of mind without +generosity of soul. If a superior human intellect seems to be specially +the gift of God, how is he wanting in true religion who fails to +dedicate it to humanity, justice, and virtue! + +An eminent historian, seeing at one view, and as in the present moment, +the fall of great states, ancient and modern, and anticipating a like +fate for his own beloved land, has predicted that in two centuries there +will be three hundred millions of people in North America speaking the +language of England, reading its authors, and glorying in their +descent. If this be so, what limits can we assign to the work, or how +estimate the duty, of those intrusted with the education of the young? + +Who can say what share of responsibility for the future of America is +upon the teachers of the land? + + + + +LIBERTY AND LEARNING. + +[An Address delivered at Montague, July 4th, 1857.] + + +I congratulate you upon the auspicious moments of this, the eighty-first +anniversary of our National Independence; and its return, now and ever, +should be the occasion of gratitude to the Author of all good, that He +hath vouchsafed to our fathers and to their descendants the wisdom to +establish and the wisdom to preserve the institutions of Liberty in +America. + +And I congratulate you that you accept this anniversary as the occasion +for considering the subject of education. Ignorant and blind worshippers +of Liberty can do but little for its support; but, whatever of change or +decay may come to our institutions, Liberty itself can never die in the +presence of a people universally and thoroughly educated. It is not, +then, inappropriate nor unphilosophical for us to connect Education and +Liberty together; and I therefore propose, after presenting some +thoughts upon the Declaration of Independence, and its relations to the +American Union, to consider the value of political learning, its +neglect, and the means by which it may be promoted. + +The events and epochs of life are logical in their nature, and are +harmonious or inharmonious as the affairs of men are controlled by +principle, policy, or accident. Humboldt, Maury, and Guyot, Arago, +Agassiz, and Pierce, by observation, philosophy, and mathematics, +demonstrate the harmony of the physical creation. In the microscopic +animalculae; in the gigantic remains, whether vegetable or animal, of +other ages and conditions of life; in the coral reef and the mountain +range; in the hill-side rivulet that makes "the meadows green;" in the +ocean current that bathes and vivifies a continent; in the setting of +the leaf upon its stem, and the moving of Uranus in its orbit, they +trace a law whose harmony is its glory, and whose mystery is the +evidence of its divinity. + +National changes, the movements and progress of the human race, as a +whole and in its parts, are obedient, likewise, to law; and are, +therefore, logical in their character, though generally lacking in +precision of connection and order of succession. Or it may be, rather, +that we lack power to trace the connection between events that depend in +part, at least, upon the prejudices, passions, vices, and weaknesses, of +men. The development of the logic of human affairs waits for a +philosopher who shall study and comprehend the living millions of our +race, as the philosophers now study and comprehend the subjects of +physical science. We have no guaranty that this can ever be done. As +mind is above matter, the mental philosopher enters upon the most varied +and difficult field of labor. + +Keeping this fact in mind, it appears to be true that every person of +observation, reading, and reflection, is something of a mental +philosopher, though much the larger number have no knowledge of physical +science. And especially must the student of history have a system of +mental philosophy; but often, no doubt, his system is too crude for +general notice. Every historian connects the events of his narrative by +some thread of philosophy or speculation; every reader observes some +connection, though he may never develop it to himself, between the +events and changes of national and ethnological life; and even the +observer whose vision is limited by his own horizon in time and space +marks a dependence, and speaks of cause and effect. All this follows +from the existence and nature of man. Man is not inert, nor even +passive, merely; and his activity will continually organize itself into +facts and forms, ever changing in character, it may be, yet subject to +a law as wise and fixed as that of planetary motion. + +The Independence of the British Colonies in America, declared on the 4th +of July, 1776, is not an isolated fact; nor is the Declaration itself a +hasty and overwrought production of a young and enthusiastic adventurer +in the cause of liberty. + +The passions and the reason of men connected the Declaration of +Independence with the massacre in King-street, of March 5th, 1770; with +the passage and repeal of the Stamp Act; with the attempt to enforce the +Writs of Assistance; with the act to close the port of Boston; with the +peace of 1763; with the Act of Settlement of 1688; with the execution of +Charles I., and the Protectorate of Cromwell; with the death of Hampden; +with the confederation of 1643; with the royal charters granted to the +respective colonies; with the compact made on board the Mayflower; and, +finally, and distinctly, and chiefly,--as the basis of the greatest +legal argument of modern times, made by the Massachusetts House of +Representatives, from 1765 to 1775,--with the events at Runnymede, and +the grant of the Great Charter to the nobles and people of England in +1215, which is itself based upon the concessions of Edward the +Confessor, and the affirmation of the Saxon laws in the eleventh +century. Our Independence is, then, one logical fact or event in a long +succession, to the enumeration of which we may yet add the confederation +of 1778, the constitution of 1787, the French Revolution of 1789, the +rapid increase of American territory and States, the revolutionary +spirit of continental Europe, the reforms in the British government at +home, the wise modifications of its colonial policy, and for us a long +career of prosperity based upon the cardinal doctrine of the equality of +all men before the law. + +Nor can any reader of the Declaration itself assume that it contains one +statement, proposition, idea, or word, not carefully considered, and +carefully expressed. It was not the production of hasty, thoughtless, or +reckless men. The country had been gradually prepared for the great +event. States, counties, and towns, had made the most distinct +expressions of opinion upon the relations of the colonies to the mother +country. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, +moved, in the Congress of the United Colonies, a resolution declaring, +That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British crown, and that all political connection between them and the +state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. The +subject was considered on the tenth; and, on the eleventh instant, the +committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Dr. Franklin, +Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed. On the +twenty-fifth of June, a Declaration of the Deputies of Pennsylvania, in +favor of Independence, was read. On the twenty-eighth, the credentials +of the delegates from New Jersey, in which they were instructed to favor +Independence, were presented; and on the first of July similar +instructions to the Maryland delegates were laid before Congress. At +this time Congress proceeded to consider the Declaration and resolution +reported by the committee. The Declaration was carefully considered, and +materially amended in committee of the whole, on the first, second, +third, and fourth, when it was finally adopted. It was then signed by +the president and secretary, and copies were transmitted to the several +colonies. The order for its engrossment, and for the signature by every +member, was not passed until the nineteenth of July, and it was not +really signed until the second of August following. It is not likely, +considering the circumstances, and the known character of the members of +Congress, among whom may be mentioned John Hancock, Samuel Adams, +Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris, Benjamin Harrison, Elbridge Gerry, John +Witherspoon, a descendant of John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, Charles +Carroll, and Samuel Huntington,--all distinguished for coolness, +probity, and patriotism,--that the immortal document can contain one +thought or word unworthy its sacred associations, and the character of +the American people! + +And it is among the alarming symptoms of public sentiment that the +Declaration of Independence is by some publicly condemned, and by others +quietly accepted as entitled to just the consideration, and no more, +that is given to an excited advocate's speech to a jury, or a +demagogue's electioneering harangue, or the daily contribution of the +partisan editor to the stock of political capital that aids the election +of his favorite candidates. And upon this evidence is the nation and the +world to be taught that but little was meant by the assertions, "that +all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with +certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are +instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the +governed"? Would it not be wiser to test the government we have, by a +statesmanlike application of the principles of the Declaration of +Independence in the management of public affairs? + +The Union is connected with the Declaration of Independence. The Union +is an institution: the Declaration of Independence is an assertion of +rights, and an exposition of principles. When principles are +disregarded, institutions do not, for any considerable time, retain +their original value. And it would be the folly of other nations, +without excuse in us, were we to worship blindly any institution, +whatever its origin or its history. I do not, myself, doubt the value of +the American Union. It was the necessity of the time when it was formed; +it is the necessity of the present moment; it was, indeed, the claim of +our whole colonial life, and its recognition could be postponed no +longer when the colonies crossed the threshold of national existence. + +The colonies had carried on a correspondence among themselves upon +important matters; the New England settlements formed a confederation in +1643, that was the prototype of the present Union; and the convention at +Albany, in 1754, considered in connection with various resolutions and +declarations, indicated a growing desire "to form a more perfect union, +establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common +defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of +liberty" to the successive generations that should occupy the American +continent. + +For these exalted purposes the Constitution was framed, and the Union +established; and the Constitution and the Union will remain as long as +these exalted purposes, with any considerable share of fidelity, are +secured. The Union will not be destroyed by declamation, nor can +declamation preserve it. Words have power only when they awaken a +response in the minds of those who listen. The Union will be judged, +finally, by its merits; and they are not powerful enemies for evil who +attack it through the press and from the rostrum; but rather they who, +clothed with authority, brief or permanent, interpret the constitution +so as to defeat the end for which it was framed. Nor are they the best +friends of the Union who lavishly bestow upon it nicely-wrought +encomiums, as though the gilding of rhetoric and the ornament of praise +could shield a human institution from the judgment of a free people; but +rather they who, under Heaven, and in the presence of men, seek to so +interpret the constitution as, in the language and in the order of its +preamble, "to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure +domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the +general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty" to themselves and +their posterity. Words are powerless, and enemies--envious, jealous, or +deluded--are powerless, when they war upon a system of government that +secures such exalted results. And, if in these later days of our +national existence patriotism has been weakened, respect and reverence +for the constitution and the Union have been diminished, it is because +the actual government under the constitution has, in the judgment of +many, failed to realize the government of the constitution. + +But let no one despair of the Republic. Men are now building better than +they know; possibly, better than they wish. A great government, powerful +in its justice, and therefore to be respected and maintained, must also +be powerful in its errors, prejudices, and wrongs, and therefore to be +changed and reformed in these respects. The declaration "that all men +are created equal" is vital, and will live in the presence of all +governments, strong as well as weak, hostile as well as friendly. It has +no respect for worldly authority, so evidently is it a direct emanation +of the Divine Mind, and so does it harmonize with the highest +manifestations of the nature of man. But the Declaration of Independence +does not, in this particular, assert that all men are created equal in +height or weight, equal in physical strength, intellectual power, or +moral worth. It is not dealing with these qualities at all, but with the +natural political rights and relations of men. In its view, all are born +free from any political subordination to others on account of the +accidents or incidents of family or historic name. And hence it follows +that no man, by birth or nature, has any right in political affairs to +control his fellow-man; and hence it follows further, as there is +neither subjection anywhere nor authority anywhere, that all men are +created equal, that governments derive their "just powers from the +consent of the governed." And hence it must, ere long, be demonstrated +by this country, under the light of Christianity, and in the presence of +the world, that man cannot have property in his fellow-man. + +And, again, let no one despair of the Republic or of the Union; nor let +any, with rash confidence, believe that they are indestructible. They +are human institutions built up through great sacrifices, and by the +exercise of a high order of worldly wisdom. But the government is not an +end--it is a means. The end is Liberty regulated by law; and the means +will exist as long as the end thereof is attained. But, should the time +ever come when the institutions of the country fail to secure the +blessings of liberty to the living generation, and hold out no promise +of better things in the future, I know not that these institutions could +longer exist, of that they ought longer to exist. To be sure, the +horizon is not always distinctly seen. The sky is not always clear; +there are dark spots upon the disk of Liberty, as upon the sun in the +heavens; but, like the sun, its presence is for all. And, whether there +be night, or clouds, or distance, its blessings can never be wholly +withdrawn from the human race. + +It is not to be concealed, however, that the affections of the people +have been alienated from the American Union during the last seven years, +as they were from the union with Great Britain during the years of our +colonial life immediately previous to the Massacre in King-street, in +1770. This solemn personal and public experience is fraught with a great +lesson. It should teach those who are intrusted with the administration +of public affairs to translate the language of the constitution into the +stern realities of public policy, in the light of the Declaration of +Independence, and of Liberty; and it should warn those who constitute +the government, and who judge it, not to allow their opposition to men +or to measures to degenerate into indifference or hostility to the +institutions of the country. + +A little distrust of ourselves, who see not beyond our own horizon, +might sometimes lend charity to our judgment, and discretion to our +opposition; for, in the turmoil of politics, and the contests of +statesmanship, even, it is not always + + + "----the sea that sinks and shelves, + But ourselves, + That rook and rise + With endless and uneasy motion, + Now touching the very skies, + Now sinking into the depths of ocean." + + +And, as there must be in every society of men something of evil that can +be traced to the government, and something of good neglected that a wise +and efficient government might have accomplished, it is easy to build up +an argument against an existing government, however good when compared +with others. This is a narrow, superficial, unsatisfactory, dangerous +view to take of public affairs. + +We should seek to comprehend the relations of the government, the +principles on which it is founded; and, while we justly complain of its +defects, and seek to remedy them, we ought also to compare it with other +systems that exist, or that might be established. This proposition +involves an intelligent realization by the people of the character of +their institutions; and I am thus led to express the apprehension that +the popular political education of our day is inferior to that of the +revolutionary era, and of the age that immediately succeeded it. + +There is, no doubt, a disposition and a tendency to extol the recent +past. The recollections of childhood are quite at variance with the real +truth, and tradition is often the dream of old age concerning the +events of early life. As rivers, hills, mountains, roads, and towns, are +all magnified by the visions of childhood, it is not strange that men +should be also. Hence comes, in part, the popular belief in the superior +physical strength and greater longevity of the people who lived fifty or +a hundred years ago. Each generation is familiar with its predecessor; +but of the one next remote it knows only the marked characters. Those +who possessed great physical excellences remain; but they are not so +much the representatives of their generation as its exceptions. The +weak, the diseased, have fallen by the way; and, as there is an intimate +connection between physical and intellectual power, the remnant of any +generation, whatever its common character, will retain a +disproportionate number of strong-minded men. Hence it is not safe to +judge a generation as a whole by those who remain at the age of sixty or +seventy years; especially if we reflect that public opinion and +tradition are most likely to preserve the names and qualities of those +who were distinguished for physical or mental power. Yet, after making +due allowance for these exaggerations, I cannot escape the conclusion +that we have, as a people, deteriorated in average sound political +learning; and I proceed to mention some of the causes and evidences of +our degeneracy, and of the superiority of our ancestors. + +I. _The political condition of the country has been essentially +changed._--General personal and family comfort, according to the ideas +now entertained, was not a feature of American society for one hundred +and seventy years from the settlement at Plymouth. Life was a continual +contest--a contest with the forest, with the climate, with the Indians, +and especially was it a continual contest with the mother country. The +colonists sought to maintain their own rights without infringement, +while they accorded to the sovereign his constitutional privileges. +Conflicts were frequent, and apprehensions of conflict yet more +frequent. Hence those who had the conduct of public affairs were +compelled to give some attention to English history, and to the +constitutional law of Great Britain. Moreover, it was always important +to secure and keep a strong public sentiment on the side of liberty; and +there were usually in every town men who thoroughly investigated +questions of public policy. There was one topic, more absorbing than any +other, that involved the study of the legal history and usage of Great +Britain, and a careful consideration of the general principles of +liberty; namely, the constitutional rights of a British subject. Here +was a broad field for inquiry, investigation, and study; and it was +faithfully cultivated and gleaned. There has never been a political +topic for public discussion in America more important in itself, or +better calculated to educate an American in a knowledge of his political +rights, than the examination of the political relations of the subject +to the crown and parliament of Great Britain previous to the Declaration +of Independence. It was not an abstraction. It had a practical value to +every man in the colonies, and it was the prominent feature of the +masterly exposition made by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, +to which I have already referred. And we can better estimate the +political education which the times furnished, when we consider that the +revolutionary war was made logical and necessary through a knowledge of +positions, facts, and arguments, scattered over the history of the +colonies. But, when our Independence had been established and +recognized, constitutions had been framed, and the governments of the +states and nation set in motion, the beauty and harmony of our political +system seemed to render continued attention to political principles and +the rights of individual men unnecessary. Hence, we may anticipate the +judgment of impartial history in the admission that public attention was +gradually given to contests for office which did not always involve the +maintenance of a fundamental principle of government, or the recognition +of an essential human right. It does not, however, follow, from this +admission, that we are indifferent to our political lot,--occasional +contests upon principle refute such a conjecture,--but that men are not +anxious concerning those things which appear to be secure. And the +differences of political parties of the last fifty years have not been +so much concerning the nature of human rights, as in regard to the +institutions by which those rights can be best protected. Therefore our +political questions have been questions of expediency rather than of +principle. And, if there is any foundation for the popular impression +that public offices are conferred on men less eminently qualified to +give dignity to public employments, the reason of this degeneracy--less +noteworthy than it is usually represented--is to be found in this +connection. + +Governments and political organizations accept the common law of +society. When an individual or a corporation is prosperous, places of +trust and emolument are often gained and occupied by unworthy men; but, +when profits are diminished, or when they disappear entirely; when +dividends are passed, when loss and bankruptcy are imminent, then, if +hope and courage still remain, places of importance are filled by the +appointment of abler and worthier men. The charge made against official +character, to whatever extent true, is better evidence of confidence and +prosperity than it is of the degeneracy of the people; and a public +exigency, serious and long-continued, would call to posts of +responsibility the highest talent and integrity which the country could +produce. But it is, nevertheless, to be admitted as a necessary +consequence of the facts already stated, and the views presented, that +the average amount of sound political learning among those engaged in +public employments is less than it was during the revolutionary era. It +is, however, also to be observed, that, when such learning seems to be +specially required, the people demand it and secure it. Hence the work +of framing constitutions, even in the new states, has, in its execution, +commanded the approval of political writers in this country and in +Europe. And it must, also, be admitted that peace and prosperity render +sound political learning and great experience less necessary, and at the +same time multiply the number of men who are considered eligible to +office. Candidates are put in nomination and elected because they have +been good neighbors, honorable citizens, competent teachers of youth, or +faithful spiritual guides; or, possibly, because they have been +successful in business, are of the military or of the fire department, +or because they are leaders and benefactors of special classes of +society. In ordinary times these facts are all worthy of consideration +and real deference; but when, as in the Revolution, every place of +public service is a post of responsibility, or sacrifice, or danger, +candidates and electors will not meet upon these grounds, but, +disregarding such circumstances, the canvass will have special reference +to the work to be done. For civil employments, political learning and +experience are required; and for military posts, skill, sagacity, and +courage. It may be said that our whole colonial life was a preparatory +school for the revolutionary contest; and, therefore, the major part of +the enterprise, ambition, and patriotism, of the country, was given to +the training, studies, and pursuits, calculated to fit men for so stern +a struggle. But now that other avenues are inviting in themselves, and +promise political preferment, we are liable to the criticism that our +young men, well educated in the schools and in a knowledge of the world, +are not well grounded in political history and constitutional law, +without which there can be no thorough and comprehensive statesmanship. +And, as I pass from this branch of my subject, I may properly say that I +do not seek to limit the number of candidates for public office; for +every office is a school, and the public itself is a great and wise +teacher. Nor do I ask any to abandon the employments and duties, or to +neglect the claims of business and of social life; but I seek to impress +upon our youth a sense of the importance of adding something thereto. +The knowledge of which I have spoken is valuable in the ordinary course +of public business, and absolutely essential in the exigences of +political and national life. And it is with an eye single to the +happiness of individuals, and the welfare of the public, that I invite +my fellow-citizens, and especially the young men of the state, to take +something from the hours of labor, where labor is excessive; or +something from amusement, where amusement has ceased to be recreation; +or something from light reading, which often is neither true, nor +reasonable, nor useful; or something from indolence and dissipation; +and, in the minutes and hours thus gained, treasure up valuable +knowledge for the circumstances and exigences of citizenship and public +office. + +II. _The claims of business and society are unfavorable to political +learning._--I assume it to be true of Massachusetts that the proportion +of freehold farmers to the whole population is gradually diminishing, +and that the amount of labor performed by each is gradually increasing. +From the settlement of the country to the commencement of the present +century, there was a great deal of privation, hardship, and positive +suffering; but the claim for continuous labor was not exacting. + +The necessary articles of food and clothing were chiefly supplied from +the land, and the majority did not contemplate any great accumulation of +worldly goods, but sought rather to place their political and religious +privileges upon a sure foundation. Agriculture was in a rude state, and +consequently did not furnish steady employment to those engaged in it. +It is only when there are valuable markets, scientific, or at least +careful cultivation, and large profits, that the farmer can use his +evenings and long winters in his profession. These circumstances did not +exist until the present century; and we have thus in this discussion +found both the motive and the opportunity for political learning among +our ancestors. + +It is also possible that the increased activity of business and business +men is unfavorable to those studies and thoughts that are essential to +political learning. Commerce and trade are stimulated by never-ceasing +competition; and manufacturers are not free from the influence of +markets, and the necessity of variety, taste, and skill, in the +management of their business. If the larger share of the physical and +mental vigor of a man is given to business, his hours of leisure must be +hours of relaxation; and to most minds the study of history and of +kindred topics is by no means equivalent to recreation. Moreover, +society presents numerous claims which are not easily disregarded. +Fashionable life puts questions that but few people have the courage to +answer in the negative. Have you read the last novel? the new play? the +reviews of the quarter? the magazines of the month? or the greatest +satire of the age? These questions have puzzled many young men into +customary neglect of useful reading, that they may not admit their +ignorance in the presence of those whom they respect or admire. + +But, everything valuable is expensive, and learning can be secured only +by severe self-sacrifice. With our ancestors, after religious culture, +historical and political reading was next immediately before them; but +the youth of this generation who seek such learning are compelled to +make their way without deference to the daily customs of society. There +is no fashionable or tolerated society that invites young men to read +the history of England prior to the time when Macaulay begins. Nor does +public sentiment recommend De Lolme on the British constitution, the +Federalist, the writings of Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, Story, and +Webster, upon the constitution of the United States, and the practice of +the government under it. Not but that these topics are considered in the +higher institutions of learning; but I address myself to those who have +enjoyed the advantages of our common schools only, where thorough +instruction in national and general political history cannot be given. +This kind of learning must be self-acquired, and acquired by some +temporary sacrifice; and the sooner, in the case of every young man, +this sacrifice is contemplated and offered, the more acceptable and +useful it will be. And the acquisition of this kind of learning does +not, in a majority of cases, admit of delay. It should be the work of +youth and early manhood. The duties of life are so constant and pressing +that we find it difficult to abstract ourselves and our thoughts from +the world; but, from the age of sixteen to the age of twenty-five, the +attention may be concentrated upon special subjects, and their elements +mastered. + +By the Athenian law, minority terminated at the age of sixteen years; +and Demosthenes, at that period of his life, commenced a course of +self-education by which he became the first orator of Athens, and the +admiration of the after-world. The father of Demosthenes died worth +fourteen talents; and the son, though defrauded by his guardians, was, +as his father had been, enrolled in the wealthiest class of citizens; +yet he did not hesitate to subject himself to the severest mental and +physical discipline, in preparation for the great life he was to lead. + +"Demosthenes received, during his youth, the ordinary grammatical and +rhetorical education of a wealthy Athenian.... It appears also that he +was, from childhood, of sickly constitution and feeble muscular frame; +so that, partly from his own disinclination, partly from the solicitude +of his mother, he took little part, as boy or youth, in the exercises of +the palaestra.... Such comparative bodily disability probably contributed +to incite his thirst for mental and rhetorical acquisitions, as the only +road to celebrity open. But it at the same time disqualified him from +appropriating to himself the full range of a comprehensive Grecian +education, as conceived by Plato, Isokrates, and Aristotle; an education +applying alike to thought, word, and action--combining bodily strength, +endurance, and fearlessness, with an enlarged mental capacity, and a +power of making it felt by speech. + +"The disproportion between the physical energy and the mental force of +Demosthenes, beginning in childhood, is recorded and lamented in the +inscription placed on his statue after his death.... Demosthenes put +himself under the teaching of Isaeus; ... and also profited largely by +the discourse of Plato, of Isokrates, and others. As an ardent +aspirant, he would seek instruction from most of the best sources, +theoretical as well as practical--writers as well as lecturers. But, +besides living teachers, there was one of the last generation who +contributed largely to his improvement. He studied Thucydides with +indefatigable labor and attention; according to one account, he copied +the whole history eight times over with his own hand; according to +another, he learnt it all by heart, so as to be able to rewrite it from +memory, when the manuscript was accidentally destroyed. Without minutely +criticizing these details, we ascertain, at least, that Thucydides was +the peculiar object of his study and imitation. How much the composition +of Demosthenes was fashioned by the reading of Thucydides, reproducing +the daring, majestic, and impressive phraseology, yet without the +overstrained brevity and involutions of that great historian,--and +contriving to blend with it a perspicuity and grace not inferior to +Lysias,--may be seen illustrated in the elaborate criticism of the +rhetor Dionysius. + +"While thus striking out for himself a bold and original style, +Demosthenes had still greater difficulties to overcome in regard to the +external requisites of an orator. He was not endowed by nature, like +AEschines, with a magnificent voice; nor, like Demades, with a ready flow +of vehement improvisation. His thoughts required to be put together by +careful preparation; his voice was bad, and even lisping; his breath +short; his gesticulation ungraceful; moreover, he was overawed and +embarrassed by the manifestations of the multitude.... The energy and +success with which Demosthenes overcame his defects, in such manner as +to satisfy a critical assembly like the Athenians, is one of the most +memorable circumstances in the general history of self-education. +Repeated humiliation and repulse only spurred him on to fresh solitary +efforts for improvement. He corrected his defective elocution by +speaking with pebbles in his mouth; he prepared himself to overcome the +noise of the assembly by declaiming in stormy weather on the sea-shore +of Phalerum; he opened his lungs by running, and extended his powers of +holding breath by pronouncing sentences in marching up-hill; he +sometimes passed two or three months without interruption in a +subterranean chamber, practising night and day either in composition or +declamation, and shaving one-half of his head in order to disqualify +himself from going abroad."[3] Yet all this effort and sacrifice were +accompanied by repeated and humiliating failures; and it was not until +he was twenty-seven years of age that the great orator of the world +achieved his first success before the Athenian assembly. + +But how can the youth of this age hope to be followers, even at a +distance, of Demosthenes, and of those his peers, who, by eloquence, +poetry, art, science, and general learning, have added dignity to the +race, and given lustre to generations separated by oceans and centuries, +unless they are animated by a spirit of progress, and cheered by a faith +that shall be manifested in the disposition and the power to overcome +the obstacles that lie in every one's path? + +Such a course of training requires individual effort and personal +self-sacrifice. It would not be wise to follow the plan of the Athenian +orator; he adapted his training to his personal circumstances, and the +customs of the country. His history is chiefly valuable for the lessons +of self-reliance, and the example of perseverance under discouragements, +that it furnishes. But it is always a solemn duty to hold up before +youth noble models of industry, perseverance, and success, that they may +be stimulated to the work of life by the assurance of history that, + + + "Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, + Is our destined end or way; + But to act, that each to-morrow + Find us further than to-day." + + +III. _The popular reading of the day does not contribute essentially to +the education of the citizen and statesman._--It is not, of course, +expected that every man is to qualify himself for the life of a +statesman; but it does seem necessary for all to be so well instructed +in political learning as to possess the means of forming a reasonable +and philosophical opinion of the policy of the government. It is as +discreditable to the intellect and judgment of a free people to complain +of that which is right in itself, and rests upon established principles +of right, as to submit without resistance or murmur to usurpation or +misgovernment. I do not mean to undervalue the periodical press; but it +must always assume something in regard to its readers, and in politics +it must assume that the principles of government and the history of +national institutions are known and understood. + +But the young man should subject himself to a systematic course of +training; and I know of nothing more valuable in political studies than +a thorough acquaintance with English history. Our principles of +government were derived from England; and it is in the history of the +mother country that the best discussion of principles is found, as in +that country many of the contests for liberty occurred. But, as our +government is the outgrowth rather than a copy of British principles and +institutions, the American citizen is not prepared for his duties until +he has made himself familiar with American history, in all its +departments. How ill-suited, then, for the duties of citizenship and +public life, in the formation of taste and habits of thought, is much of +the reading of the present time! And I may here call attention to the +fact that each town in Massachusetts is invested with authority to +establish a public library by taxation. This, it seems to me, is one of +the most important legislative acts of the present decennial period; +and, indeed, a public library is essential to the view I am taking of +the necessity and importance of political education. Private libraries +exist, but they are not found in every house, nor can every person enjoy +their advantages. Public libraries are open to all; and, when the +selection of books is judicious, they furnish opportunities for +education hardly less to be prized than the common schools themselves. +The public library is not only an aid to general learning, a contributor +to political intelligence and power, but it is an efficient supporter of +sound morals, and all good neighborhood among men. + + +If the public will not offer to its youth valuable reading, such as its +experience, its wisdom, its knowledge of the claims of society, its +morality may select, shall the public complain if its young men and +women are tempted by frivolous and pernicious mental occupations? It is, +moreover, the duty of the public to furnish the means of self-education, +especially in the science of government; and political learning, for the +most part, must be gained after the school-going period of life has +passed. + + +Let American liberty be an intelligent liberty, and therefore a +self-sustaining liberty. Freedom, more or less complete, has been found +in two conditions of life. Man, in a rude state, where his condition +seemed to be normal, rather than the result of a process of mental and +moral degeneracy, has often possessed a large share of independence; but +this should by no means be confounded with what in America is called +liberty. The independence of the savage, or nomad, is manifested in the +absence of law; but the liberty of an American citizen is the power to +do whatever may be beneficial to himself, and not injurious to his +neighbor nor to the state. The first leaves self-protection and +self-regulation to the individual, while the latter restrains the +aggressive tendencies of all for the security of each. The first is +natural equality without law; the second is natural equality before the +law. With the first, might makes right; with the latter, right makes +might. With the first, the power of the law, or of the will of an +individual or clan, is in the rigor and success of execution; with the +latter, the power of the law is in the justice of its demand. We, as a +people, have passed the savage and nomadic state, and can return to it +only after a long and melancholy process of decay and change, out of +which ultimately might come a new and savage race of men. This, then, is +not our immediate, even if it be a possible danger. But we are to guard +against intellectual, political, and moral degeneracy. We are, through +family, religious, and public education, to take security of the +childhood and youth of the land for the preservation of the institutions +we have, and for the growth, greatness, and justice, of the republic. +Liberty in America, if you will admit the distinction, is a growth and +not a creation. The institutions of liberty in America have the same +character. By many centuries of trial, struggle, and contest, through +many years of experience, sometimes joyous, and sometimes sad, the fact +and the institutions of liberty in America have been evolved. It has not +been a work of destruction and creation, but a process of change and +progress. And so it must ever be. Reformation does not often follow +destruction; and they who seek to destroy the institutions of a country +are not its friends in fact, however they may be in purpose. Ignorance +can destroy, but intelligence is required to reform or build up. Let +the prejudice against learning, not common now, but possibly existing in +some minds, be forever banished. Learning is the friend of liberty. Of +this America has had evidence in her own history, and in her observation +of the experience of others. The literary institutions and the +cultivated men of America, like Milton and Hampden in England, preferred + + + "Hard liberty before the easy yoke + Of servile pomp." + + +It was the intelligence of the country that everywhere uttered and +everywhere accepted the declaration of the town of Boston, in the +revolutionary struggle, "We can endure poverty, but we disdain slavery." +Ignorance is quicksand on which no stable political structure can be +built; and I predict the future greatness of our beloved state, in those +historical qualities that outlast the ages, from the fact that she is +not tempted by her extent of territory, salubrity of climate, fertility +of soil, or by the presence and promise of any natural source of wealth, +to falter in her devotion to learning and liberty. And I anticipate for +Massachusetts a career of influence beneficial to all, whether disputed +or accepted, when I reflect that, with less good fortune in the presence +and combination of learning and liberty, Greece, Rome, Venice, Holland, +and England, enjoyed power disproportionate to their respective +populations, territory, and natural resources. And, while the object for +which we are convened may pardon something to local attachments and +state pride, the day and the occasion ought not to pass without a +grateful and hearty acknowledgment of the interest manifested by other +states and sections in the cause of general learning, and especially in +common-school education. The Canadas are our rivals; the states of the +West are our rivals; the states of the South are our rivals; and, were +our greater experience and better opportunities reckoned against us, I +know not that there would be much in our systems of education of which +we could properly boast. It is, indeed, possible that North Carolina, +untoward circumstances having their due weight, has made more progress +in education, since 1840, than any other state of the Union. + +Education is not only favorable to liberty, but, when associated with +liberty, it is the basis of the Union and power of the American states. +As citizens of the republic, we need a better knowledge of our national +institutions, a better knowledge of the institutions of the several +states, a more intimate acquaintance with one another, and the power of +judging wisely and justly the policies and measures of each and all. +These ends, aided or accomplished by general learning, will so +strengthen the Union as no force of armies can--will so strengthen the +Union as that by no force of armies can it be overthrown. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[3] Grote's Hist., vol. xi., p. 266, et seq. + + + + +MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND. + +[Extract from the Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the +Board of Education.] + + +The Massachusetts School Fund was established by the Legislature of 1834 +(stat. 1834, chap. 169), and it was provided by the act that all moneys +in the treasury on the first of January, 1835, derived from the sale of +lands in the State of Maine, and from the claim of the state on the +government of the United States for military services, and not otherwise +appropriated, together with fifty per centum of all moneys thereafter to +be received from the sale of lands in Maine, should be appropriated to +constitute a permanent fund, for the aid and encouragement of Common +Schools. It was provided that the fund should never exceed one million +of dollars, and that the income only should be appropriated to the +object in view. The mode of distribution was referred to a subsequent +Legislature. It was, however, provided that a greater sum should never +be paid to any city or town than was raised therein for the support of +common schools. There are two points in the law that deserve +consideration. First, the object of the fund was the aid and +encouragement of the schools, and not their support; and secondly, the +limit of appropriation to the respective towns was the amount raised by +each. There is an apparent inconsistency in this restriction when it is +considered that the income of the entire fund would have been equal to +only forty-three cents for each child in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and that each town raised, annually, by +taxation, a larger sum; but this inconsistency is to be explained by the +fact that the public sentiment, as indicated by resolves reported by the +same committee for the appointment of commissioners on the subject, +tended to a distribution of money among the towns according to their +educational wants. + +As early as 1828, the Committee on Education of the House of +Representatives, in a Report made by Hon. W. B. Calhoun, declared, "That +means should be devised for the establishment of a fund having in view +not the _support_, but the _encouragement_, of the common schools, and +the instruction of school teachers." This report was made in the month +of January, and in February following the same committee say: "The +establishment of a fund should look to the support of an institution for +the instruction of school teachers in each county in the commonwealth, +and to the distribution, annually, to all the towns, of such a sum for +the benefit of the schools as shall simply operate as an encouragement +to proportionate efforts on the part of the towns. A fund which should +be so large as to suffice for the support of the whole school +establishment of the state, as is the case in Connecticut, would, in the +opinion of the committee, be rather detrimental than advantageous; it +would only serve to draw off from the mass of the community that +animating interest which will ever be found indispensable where a +resolute feeling upon the subject is wished for or expected. Such a +result is, in every sense, to be deprecated, and whatever may tend to +it, even remotely, should be anxiously avoided. A fund which should +admit of the distribution of one thousand dollars to any town which +should raise three thousand dollars, in any manner within itself, or in +that proportion, would operate as a strong incentive to high efforts; +and, if to this should be added the further requisition of a faithful +return to the Legislature, annually, of the condition of the schools, +the consequences could not be otherwise than decidedly favorable." This +report was accompanied by a bill "for the establishment of the +Massachusetts Literary Fund." The bill followed the report in regard to +the proportionate amount of the income of the fund to be distributed to +the several towns. This bill failed to become a law. + +In January, 1833, the House of Representatives, under an order +introduced by Mr. Marsh, of Dalton, appointed a committee "to consider +the expediency of investing a portion of the proceeds of the sales of +the lands of this commonwealth in a permanent fund, the interest of +which should be annually applied, as the Legislature should from time to +time direct, for the encouragement of common schools." The adoption of +this order was the incipient measure that led to the establishment of +the Massachusetts School Fund. On the twenty-third of the same month, +Mr. Marsh submitted the report of the committee. The committee acted +upon the expectation that all moneys then in the treasury derived from +the sale of public lands, and the entire proceeds of all subsequent +sales, were to be set apart as a fund for the encouragement of common +schools; but, as blanks were left in the bill reported, they seem not to +have been sanguine of the liberality of the Legislature. The cash and +notes on hand amounted to $234,418.32, and three and a half millions of +acres of land unsold amounted, at the estimated price of forty cents per +acre, to $1,400,000 more; making together a fund with a capital of +$1,634,418.32. The income was estimated at $98,065.09. It was also +stated that there were 140,000 children in the state between the ages of +five and fifteen years, and it was therefore expected that the income of +the fund would permit a distribution to the towns of seventy cents for +each child between the afore-named ages. This certainly was a liberal +expectation, compared with the results that have been attained. The +distributive share of each child has amounted to only about one-third of +the sum then contemplated. The committee were careful to say, "It is not +intended, in establishing a school fund, to relieve towns and parents +from the principal expense of education; but to manifest our interest +in, and to give direction, energy, and stability to, institutions +essential to individual happiness and the public welfare." In +conclusion, the committee make the following inquiries and suggestions: + +"Should not our common schools be brought nearer to their constitutional +guardians? Shall we not adopt measures which shall bind, in grateful +alliance, the youth to the governors of the commonwealth? We consider +the application, annually, of the interest of the proposed fund, as the +establishment of a direct communication betwixt the Legislature and the +schools; as each representative can carry home the bounty of the +government, and bring back from the schools returns of gratitude and +proficiency. They will then cheerfully render all such information as +the Legislature may desire. A new spirit would animate the community, +from which we might hope the most happy results. This endowment would +give the schools consequence and character, and would correct and +elevate the standard of education. + +"Therefore, to preserve the purity, extend the usefulness, and +perpetuate the benefits of intelligence, we recommend that a fund be +constituted, and the distribution of the income so ordered as to open a +direct and more certain intercourse with the schools; believing that by +this measure their wants would be better understood and supplied, the +advantages of education more highly appreciated and improved, and the +blessings of wisdom, virtue, and knowledge, carried home to the fireside +of every family, to the bosom of every child." The bill reported by this +committee was read twice, and then, upon Mr. Marsh's motion, referred to +the next Legislature. + +In 1834, the bill from the files of the last General Court to establish +the Massachusetts School Fund, and so much of the petition of the +inhabitants of Seekonk as related to the same subject, were referred to +the Committee on Education. + +In the month of February, Hon. A. D. Foster, of Worcester, chairman of +the committee, made a report, and submitted a bill which was the basis +of the law of March 31, 1834. The committee were sensible of the +importance of establishing a fund for the encouragement of the common +schools. These institutions were languishing for support, and in a great +degree destitute of the public sympathy. There were no means of +communication between the government and the schools, and in some +sections towns and districts had set themselves resolutely against all +interference by the state. In 1832, an effort was made to ascertain the +amount raised for the support of schools. Returns were received from +only ninety-nine towns, showing an annual average expenditure of one +dollar and ninety-eight cents for each pupil. + +The interest in this subject does not seem to have been confined to the +Legislature, nor even to have originated there. The report of the +committee contains an extract from a communication made by Rev. William +C. Woodbridge, then editor of the _American Annals of Education and +Instruction_. His views were adopted by the committee, and they +corresponded with those which have been already quoted. The dangers of a +large fund were presented, and the example of Connecticut, and some +states of the West, where school funds had diminished rather than +increased the public interest in education, was tendered as a warning +against a too liberal appropriation of public money. On the other hand, +Mr. Woodbridge claimed that the establishment of a fund which should +encourage efforts rather than supply all wants, and, without sustaining +the schools, give aid to the people in proportion to their own +contributions, was a measure indispensable to the cause of education. He +also referred to the experience of New Jersey, which had made a general +appropriation to be paid to those towns that should contribute for the +support of their own schools; but, such was the public indifference, +that after many years the money was still in the treasury. Hence it was +inferred that all these measures were ineffectual, and that mere +taxation was, upon the whole, to be preferred to any imperfect system. +But the example of New York was approved, where the distribution of a +small sum, equal to about twenty cents for each pupil, had increased the +public interest, and wrought what then seemed to be an effectual and +permanent revolution in educational affairs. These facts and reasonings, +say the committee, seem to be important and sound, and to result in +this,--that no provision ought to be made which shall diminish the +present amount of money raised by taxes for the schools, or the interest +felt by the people in their prosperity; that a fund may be so used as +satisfactorily to increase both--and that further information in regard +to our schools is requisite to determine the best mode of doing this. +These opinions are supported generally by the judgment of the present +generation. Yet it is to be remarked, by way of partial dissent, that +the public apathy in Connecticut and the states of the West was not in a +great degree the effect of the funds, but was rather a coexisting, +independent fact. It ought not, therefore, to have been expected that +the mere offer of money for educational purposes, while the people had +no just idea of the importance of education or of the means by which it +could be acquired, would lead them even to accept the proffered boon; +and it certainly, in their judgment, furnished no reason for +self-taxation. It is, however, no doubt true that the power of local +taxation for the support of schools is in its exercise a means of +provoking interest in education; and it is reasonable to assume that a +public system of instruction will never be vigorous and efficient at all +times and under all circumstances where the right of local taxation does +not exist or is not exercised. When the entire expenditure is derived +from the income of public funds, or obtained by a universal tax, and the +proceeds distributed among the towns, parishes, or districts, there will +often be general conditions of public sentiment unfavorable, if not +hostile, to schools; and, there will always be found in any state, +however small, local indifference and lethargy which render all gifts, +donations, and distributions, comparatively valueless. The subject of +self-taxation annually is important in connection with a system of free +education. It is the experience of the states of this country that the +people themselves are more generous in the use of this power than are +their representatives; and it is also true that when the power has been +exercised by the people, there is usually more interest awakened in +regard to modes of expenditure, and more zeal manifested in securing +adequate returns. The private conversations and public debates often +arouse an interest which would never have been manifested had the means +of education been furnished by a fund, or been distributed as the +proceeds of a general tax assessed by the government of the state. + +I have no doubt that much of our success is due to the fact that in all +the towns the question of taxation is annually submitted to the people. +It is quite certain that the sum of our municipal appropriations never +could have been increased from $387,124.17, in 1837, to $1,341,252.03, +in 1858, without the influence of the statistical tables that are +appended to the Annual Reports of the Board of Education; and it is also +true that the materials for these tables could not have been secured +without the agency of the school fund. Our experience as a state +confirms the wisdom of the reports of 1833 and 1834; and I unreservedly +concur in the opinion that a fund ought not to be sufficient for the +support of schools, but that such a fund is needed to give encouragement +to the towns, to stimulate the people to make adequate local +appropriations, to secure accurate and complete returns from the +committees, and finally to provide means for training teachers, and for +defraying the necessary expenses of the educational department. The law +of 1834, establishing the school fund, was reenacted in the Revised +Statutes (chap. 11, sects. 13 and 14). The Revised Statutes (chap. 23, +sects. 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67) also required that returns should be +made, each year, from all the towns of the commonwealth, of the +condition of the schools in various important particulars. The income of +the fund was to be apportioned among the towns that had raised, the +preceding year, the sum of one dollar by taxation for each pupil, and +had complied with the laws in other respects; and it was to be +distributed according to the number of persons in each between the ages +of four and sixteen years. These provisions have since been frequently +and variously modified; but at all times the state has imposed similar +conditions upon the towns. By the statute of 1839, chapter 56, the +income of the school fund was to be apportioned among those towns that +had raised by taxation for the support of schools the sum of one dollar +and twenty-five cents for each person between the ages of four and +sixteen years; and, by the law of 1849, chapter 117, the income was to +be apportioned among those towns which had raised by taxation the sum of +one dollar and fifty cents for the education of each person between the +ages of five and fifteen years. This provision is now in force. By an +act of the Legislature, passed April 15th, 1846, it was provided that +all sums of money which should thereafter be drawn from the treasury, +for educational purposes, should be considered as a charge upon the +moiety of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands set apart for +the purpose of constituting a school fund. This provision continued in +force until the reoerganization of the fund, in 1854. By the law of that +year (chap. 300), it was provided that one half of the annual income of +the fund should be apportioned and distributed among the towns according +to the then existing provisions of law, and that the educational +expenses before referred to should be chargeable to and paid from the +other half of the income of said fund. These provisions are now in +force. + +The limitation of the act of 1834, establishing the fund, and of the +Revised Statutes, was removed by the law of 1851, chapter 112, and the +amount of the fund was then fixed at one million and five hundred +thousand dollars. By the act of 1854 the principal was limited to two +millions of dollars. The Constitutional Convention of 1853 had, with +great unanimity, declared it to be the duty of the Legislature to +provide for the increase of the school fund to the sum of two millions +of dollars; and, though the proposed constitution was rejected by the +people, the provision concerning the fund was generally, if not +universally, acceptable. Under these circumstances, the legislature of +1854 may be said to have acted in conformity to the known opinion and +purpose of the state. + +On the 1st of June, 1858, the principal of the fund was $1,522,898.41, +including the sum of $1,843.68, added during the year preceding that +date. In this statement no notice is taken of the rights of the school +fund in the Western Railroad Loan Sinking Fund. + +It may be observed that the committee of 1833 contemplated the +establishment of a fund, with a capital of $1,634,418.32, and yet, after +twenty-five years, the Massachusetts School Fund amounts to only +$1,522,898.41. Its present means of increase are limited to the excess +of one-half of the annual income over the current educational expenses. +The increase for the year 1856-7 was $4,142.90; and for the year 1857-8, +$1,843.68. With this resource only, and at this rate of increase, about +one hundred and sixty years will be required for the augmentation of the +capital to the maximum contemplated by existing laws. But the +educational wants of the state are such that even this scanty supply +must soon cease. It is then due to the magnitude of the proposition for +the considerable and speedy increase of the school fund, that its +necessity, if possible, or its utility, at least, should be +satisfactorily demonstrated; and it is for this purpose that I have +already presented a brief sketch of its history in connection with the +legislation of the commonwealth, and that I now proceed to set forth its +relations to the practical work of public instruction. + +When the fund was instituted, public sentiment in regard to education +was lethargic, if not retrograding. The mere fact of the action of the +Legislature lent new importance to the cause of learning, inspired its +advocates with additional zeal, gave efficiency to previous and +subsequent legislation, and, as though there had been a new creation, +evoked order out of chaos. + +Previous to 1834 there was no trustworthy information concerning the +schools of the state. The law of 1826, chapter 143, section 8, required +each town to make a report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, of the +amount of money paid, the number of schools, the aggregate number of +months that the schools of each city and town were kept, the number of +male and female teachers, the whole number of pupils, the number of +private schools and academies and the number of pupils therein, the +amount of compensation paid to the instructors of private schools and +academies, and the number of persons between the ages of fourteen and +twenty-one years who were unable to read and write. The Legislature did +not provide a penalty for neglect of this provision, nor does there seem +to have been any just method of compelling obedience. The Secretary of +the Commonwealth sent out blank forms of returns, and replies were +received from two hundred and fourteen towns, while eighty-eight were +entirely silent. + +The returns received furnish a series of interesting facts for the year +1826. There were one thousand seven hundred and twenty-six district +schools, supported at an expense of two hundred and twenty-six thousand +two hundred and nineteen dollars and ninety cents ($226,219.90), while +there were nine hundred and fifty-three academies and private schools +maintained at a cost of $192,455.10. The whole number of children +attending public schools was 117,186, and the number educated in +private schools and academies was 25,083. The expense, therefore, was +$7.67 per pupil in the private schools, and only $1.93 each in the +public schools. These facts are indicative of the condition of public +sentiment. About one-sixth of the children of the state were educated in +academies and private schools, at a cost equal to about six-sevenths of +the amount paid for the education of the remaining five-sixths, who +attended the public schools. The returns also showed that there were +2,974 children between the ages of seven and fourteen years who did not +attend school, and 530 persons over fourteen years of age who were +unable to read and write. The incompleteness of these returns detracts +from their value; but, as those towns where the greatest interest +existed were more likely to respond to the call of the Legislature, it +is probable that the actual condition of the whole state was below that +of the two hundred and eighty-eight towns. The interest which the law of +1826 had called forth was temporary; and in March, 1832, the Committee +on Education, to whom was referred an order with instructions to inquire +into the expediency of providing a fund to furnish, in certain cases, +common schools with apparatus, books, and such other aid as may be +necessary to raise the standard of common school education, say that +they desire more accurate knowledge than could then be obtained. The +returns required by law were in many cases wholly neglected, and in +others they were inaccurately made. In the year 1831 returns were +received from only eighty-six towns. In order to obtain the desired +information, a special movement was made by the Legislature. The report +of the committee was printed in all the newspapers that published the +laws of the commonwealth, and the Secretary was directed to prepare and +present to the Legislature an abstract of the returns which should be +received from the several towns for the year 1832. The result of this +extraordinary effort was seen in returns from only ninety-nine of three +hundred and five towns, and even a large part of these were confessedly +inaccurate or incomplete. They present, however, some remarkable facts. + +The following table, prepared from the returns of 1832, shows the +relative standing and cost of public and private schools in a part of +the principal towns. It appears that the towns named in the table were +educating rather more than two-thirds of their children in the public +schools, at an expense of $2.88 each, and nearly one-third in private +schools, at a cost of $12.70 each, and that the total expenditure for +public instruction was about thirty-six per cent. of the outlay for +educational purposes. + +Column Headings: +A - Amount paid for public instruction during the year. +B - Whole No. of Pupils in the Public Schools in the course of the yr. +C - Number of Academies and Private Schools. +D - Number of Pupils in Academies and Private Schools and not attending +Public Schools. +E -Estimated amount of compensation of Instructors of Academies and +Private Schools. + +==============+============+========+=====+=======+============ + TOWNS. | A | B | C | D | E +--------------+------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Beverly, | $1,800 00 | 580 | 28 | 490 | $2,365 33 +Bradford, | 750 00 | 600 | 9 | 177 | 1,725 00 +Danvers, | 2,000 00 | 873 | 6 | 150 | 1,500 00 +Marblehead, | 2,200 00 | 650 | 31 | 650 | 3,800 00 +Cambridge, | 8,600 00 | 970 | 16 | 441 | 5,782 00 +Medford, | 1,200 00 | 284 | 6 | 151 | 2,372 00 +Newton, | 1,600 00 | 542 | 3 | 100 | 2,975 00 +Amherst, | 850 00 | 556 | 2 | 270 | 4,600 00 +Springfield, | 3,600 00 | 1,957 | 4 | 800 | 2,500 00 +Greenfield, | 633 75 | 216 | 2 | 65 | 1,400 00 +Dorchester, | 2,599 00 | 613 | 15 | 124 | 1,800 00 +Quincy, | 1,800 00 | 465 | 7 | 106 | 2,741 50 +Roxbury, | 4,450 00 | 836 | 12 | 313 | 8,218 00 +New Bedford, | 4,000 00 | 1,268 | 15 | 537 | 6,300 00 +Hingham, | 2,144 00 | 703 | 8 | 180 | 2,625 00 +Provincetown, | 584 32 | 450 | 4 | 140 | 800 00 +Edgartown, | 450 00 | 350 | 10 | 100 | 2,700 00 +Nantucket, | 2,633,40 | 882 | 50 | 1,084 | 10,795 00 + |------------|--------|-----|-------+------------ +18 Towns, | $36,894 47 | 12,795 | 228 | 5,378 | $64,948 83 +==============+============+========+=====+=======+============ + + +The evidence is sufficient that the public schools were in a deplorable +and apparently hopeless condition. + +The change that has been effected in the eighteen towns named may be +seen by comparing the following table with the one already given. In +1832, 64 per cent. of the amount paid for education was expended in +academies and private schools, while in 1858 only 24 per cent. was so +expended. In the same period the amount raised for public schools +increased from less than thirty-seven thousand dollars to more than two +hundred and fifty-nine thousand dollars. At the first period, the +attendance of pupils upon academies and private schools was nearly 30 +per cent. of the whole number, while in 1858 it was only 8 per cent. The +private schools of some of these towns were established recently, and +are sustained in a degree by pupils who are not inhabitants of the +state, but who have come among us for the purpose of enjoying the +culture which our teachers and schools, private as well as public, are +able to furnish. If, as seems probable, the number of foreign pupils was +less in 1832 than in 1858, the decrease of pupils in private schools +would be greater than is indicated by the tables. The cost of education, +as it appears by this table, is rather more than thirty dollars per +pupil in the private schools, and only eight dollars and forty-nine +cents in the public schools. In the following table, Bradford includes +Groveland, Danvers includes South Danvers, Springfield includes +Chicopee, and Roxbury includes West Roxbury. This is rendered necessary +for the purposes of comparison, as Groveland, South Danvers, Chicopee, +and West Roxbury, have been incorporated since 1832. + +Column Headings: +A - Amount paid for Public Schools in 1857-8, including tax, income of +Surplus Revenue, and of State School Fund, when such income is +appropriated for such schools, and exclusive of sums paid for +school-houses. +B - Whole No. of pupils attending Public Schools in 1857-8--the largest +No. returned as in attendance during any one term. +C - Number of incorporated and unincorporated Academies and Private +Schools returned in 1858. +D - Estimated attendance in Academies and Private Schools in 1857-8. +E - Estimated amount of tuition paid in Academies and Priv. Schools in +1857-8. + +=============+=============+========+=====+=======+============ +TOWNS. | A | B | C | D | E +-------------+-------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Beverly, | $5,748 20 | 1,114 | 1 | 10 | $100 00 +Bradford, | 2,416 47 | 513 | 2 | 84 | 1,720 00 +Danvers, | 14,829 52 | 2,066 | 1 | 40 | 360 00 +Marblehead, | 7,311 10 | 1,188 | 6 | 160 | 1,390 00 +Cambridge, | 37,420 86 | 4,710 | 14 | 400 | 15,000 00 +Medford, | 7,794 44 | 837 | 5 | 130 | 3,800 00 +Newton, | 12,263 50 | 1,138 | 8 | 308 | 22,800 00 +Amherst, | 2,142 80 | 536 | 5 | 121 | 3,934 00 +Springfield, | 27,324 84 | 3,864 | 6 | -- | -- +Greenfield, | 2,627 50 | 589 | 2 | 25 | 1,800 00 +Dorchester, | 22,338 51 | 1,795 | 1 | 31 | 600 00 +Quincy, | 8,861 46 | 1,260 | 2 | 20 | 225 00 +Roxbury, | 50,000 00 | 4,400 | 25 | 561 | 10,600 00 +New Bedford, | 36,074 25 | 3,548 | 20 | 434 | 15,074 00 +Hingham, | 4,904 13 | 728 | 2 | 71 | 1,717 56 +Provincetown,| 3,147 26 | 689 | -- | -- | -- +Edgartown, | 2,578 63 | 380 | 8 | 96 | 200 00 +Nantucket, | 11,596 27 | 1,198 | 13 | 259 | 3,466 23 +-------------+-------------+--------+-----+-------+------------ +Totals, | $259,379 74 | 30,553 | 121 | 2,750 | $82,786 79 +=============+=============+========+=====+=======+============ + + +The Legislature of 1834 acted with wisdom and energy. The school fund +having been established, the towns were next required to furnish answers +to certain questions that were substituted for the requisition of the +statute of 1826, and any town whose committee failed to make the return +was to be deprived of its share of the income of the school fund, +whenever it should be first distributed. (Res. 1834, chap. 78.) + +Those measures were in the highest degree salutary. There were 305 towns +in the state, and returns were received from 261. There was still a want +of accuracy and completeness; but from this time forth the state secured +what had never before been attained,--intelligent legislation by the +government, and intelligent cooeperation and support by the people. + +In December, 1834, the Secretary of the Commonwealth prepared an +aggregate of the returns received, of which the following is a copy: + + +Number of towns from which returns have been received, 261 +Number of school districts, 2,251 +Number of male children attending school from + four to sixteen years of age, 67,499 +Number of female children attending school from + four to sixteen years of age, 63,728 +Number over sixteen and under twenty-one unable + to read and write, 158 +Number of male instructors, 1,967 +Number of female instructors, 2,388 +Amount raised by tax to support schools, $810,178 87 +Amount raised by contribution to support schools, 15,141 25 +Average number of scholars attending academies + and private schools, 24,749 +Estimated amount paid for tuition in academies and private + schools, $276,575 75 +Local funds--Yes, 71 +Local funds--No, 181 + + +Thus, by the institution of the school fund, provision was made for a +system of annual returns, from which has been drawn a series of +statistical tables, that have not only exhibited the school system as a +whole and in its parts, but have also contributed essentially to its +improvement. + +These statistics have been so accurate and complete, for many years, as +to furnish a safe basis for legislation; and they have at the same time +been employed by the friends of education as means for awakening local +interest, and stimulating and encouraging the people to assume freely +and bear willingly the burdens of taxation. It is now easy for each +town, or for any inhabitant, to know what has been done in any other +town; and, as a consequence, those that do best are a continual example +to those that, under ordinary circumstances, might be indifferent. The +establishment and efficiency of the school-committee system is due also +to the same agency. There are, I fear, some towns that would now neglect +to choose a school committee, were there not a small annual distribution +of money by the state; but, in 1832, the duty was often either +neglected altogether, or performed in such a manner that no appreciable +benefit was produced. The superintending committee is the most important +agency connected with our system of instruction. In some portions of the +state the committees are wholly, and in others they are partly, +responsible for the qualifications of teachers; they everywhere +superintend and give character to the schools, and by their annual +reports they exert a large influence over public opinion. The people now +usually elect well-qualified men; and it is believed that the extracts +from the local reports, published annually by the Board of Education, +constitute the best series of papers in the language upon the various +topics that have from time to time been considered.[4] By the +publication of these abstracts, the committees, and indeed the people +generally, are made acquainted with everything that has been done, or is +at any time doing, in the commonwealth. Improvements that would +otherwise remain local are made universal; information in regard to +general errors is easily communicated, and the errors themselves are +speedily removed, while the system is, in all respects, rendered +homogeneous and efficient. + +Nor does it seem to be any disparagement of Massachusetts to assume +that, in some degree, she is indebted to the school fund for the +consistent and steady policy of the Legislature, pursued for more than +twenty years, and executed by the agency of the Board of Education. In +this period, normal schools have been established, which have educated a +large number of teachers, and exerted a powerful and ever increasing +influence in favor of good learning. Teachers' institutes have been +authorized, and the experiment successfully tested. Agents of the Board +of Education have been appointed, so that it is now possible, by the aid +of both these means, as is shown by accompanying returns and statements, +to afford, each year, to the people of a majority of the towns an +opportunity to confer with those who are specially devoted to the work +of education. In all this period of time, the Legislature has never +been called upon to provide money for the expenses which have thus been +incurred; and, though a rigid scrutiny has been exercised over the +expenditures of the educational department, measures for the promotion +of the common schools have never been considered in relation to the +general finances of the commonwealth. While some states have hesitated, +and others have vacillated, Massachusetts has had a consistent, uniform, +progressive policy, which is due in part to the consideration already +named, and in part, no doubt, to a popular opinion, traditional and +historical in its origin, but sustained and strengthened by the measures +and experience of the last quarter of a century, that a system of public +instruction is so important an element of general prosperity as to +justify all needful appropriations for its support. + +It may, then, be claimed for the Massachusetts School Fund, that the +expectations of those by whom it was established have been realized; +that it has given unity and efficiency to the school system; that it has +secured accurate and complete returns from all the towns; that it has, +consequently, promoted a good understanding between the Legislature and +the people; that it has increased local taxation, but has never been a +substitute for it; and that it has enabled the Legislature, at all times +and in every condition of the general finances, to act with freedom in +regard to those agencies which are deemed essential to the prosperity of +the common schools of the state. + +Having thus, in the history of the school fund, fully justified its +establishment, so in its history we find sufficient reasons for its +sacred preservation. While other communities, and even other states, +have treated educational funds as ordinary revenue, subject only to an +obligation on the part of the public to bestow an annual income on the +specified object, Massachusetts has ever acted in a fiduciary relation, +and considered herself responsible for the principal as well as the +income of the fund, not only to this generation, but to every generation +that shall occupy the soil, and inherit the name and fame of this +commonwealth. + +It only remains for me to present the reasons which render an increase +of the capital of the fund desirable, if not necessary. The annual +income of the existing fund amounts to about ninety-three thousand +dollars, one-half of which is distributed among the towns and cities, in +proportion to the number of persons in each between the ages of five and +fifteen years. The distribution for the year 1857-8 amounted to twenty +cents and eight mills for each child. The following table shows the +annual distribution to the towns from the year 1836; the whole number +of children for each year except 1836 and 1840, when the entire +population was the basis; and the amount paid on account of each child +since the year 1849, when the law establishing the present method of +distribution was enacted: + + +=================================================== + | | | Income + | | | per +Year. | Children. | Income. | pupil. +---------+--------------+---------------+---------- +1836. | 473,684 |$16,230 57[5] | -- +1837. | 160,676 | 19,002 74[6] | -- +1838. | 174,984 | 19,970 47 | -- +1839. | 180,070 | 21,358 81 | -- +1840. | 701,331 | 21,202 64[7] | -- +1841. | 179,967 | 32,109 32[8] | -- +1842. | 179,917 | 24,006 89 | -- +1843. | 173,416 | 24,094 87 | -- +1844. | 158,193 | 22,932 71 | -- +1845. | 170,823 | 28,248 35 | -- +1846. | 195,032 | 30,150 27 | -- +1847. | 197,475 | 34,511 89 | -- +=================================================== + +=================================================== + | | | Per Pupil + | | | in Cents +Year. | Children. | Income. | & Mills. +---------+--------------+---------------+---------- +1848. | 210,403 |$33,874 87 | -- +1849. | 210,770 | 33,723 20 | -- +1850. | 182,003 | 37,370 51[9] | .205 +1851. | 192,849 | 41,462 54 | .215 +1852. | 198,050 | 44,066 12 | .222 +1853. | 199,292 | 46,908 10 | .235 +1854. | 202,102 | 48,504 48 | .240 +1855. | 210,761 | 46,788 94 | .222 +1856. | 221,902 | 44,842 75 | .202 +1857. | 220,336 | 46,783 64 | .212 +1858. | 222,860 | 46,496 19 | .208 +=================================================== + + +It was contemplated by the founders of the school fund that an amount +might safely be distributed among the towns equal to one-third of the +sums raised by taxation, but the state is really furnishing only +one-thirtieth of the annual expenditure. A distribution corresponding to +the original expectation is neither desirable nor possible; but a +substantial addition might be made without in any degree diminishing the +interest of the people, or relieving them from taxation. The income of +the school fund has been three times used as a means of increasing the +appropriations in the towns. It is doubtful whether, without an addition +to the fund, this power can be again applied; and yet there are, +according to the last returns, twenty-two towns that do not raise a sum +for schools equal to $2.50 for each child between the ages of five and +fifteen years; and there are fifty-two towns whose appropriations are +less than three dollars. When the average annual expenditure is over six +dollars, the minimum ought not to be less than three. + +It is to be considered that, as population increases, the annual +personal distribution will diminish, and consequently that the bond now +existing between the Legislature and people will be weakened. Moreover, +any definite sum of money is worth less than it was twenty years ago; +and it is reasonably certain that the same sum will be less valuable in +1860, and yet less valuable in 1870, than it is now. Hence, if the fund +remain nominally the same, it yet suffers a practical annual decrease. +It is further to be presumed that the Legislature will find it expedient +to advance in its legislation from year to year. A small number of +towns, few or many, may not always approve of what is done, and it is +quite important that the influence of the fund should be sufficient to +enable the state to execute its policy with uniformity and precision. + +As is well known, the expenses of the educational department are +defrayed from the other half of the income of the fund. From this income +the forty-eight scholarships in the colleges, the Normal Schools, the +Teachers' Institutes, the Agents of the Board of Education, are +supported, and the salaries of the Secretary and the Assistant-Secretary +are paid. As has been stated, the surplus carried to the capital of the +fund in June last was only $1,843.68. The objects of expenditure, +already named, may be abolished, but no reasonable plan of economy can +effect much saving while they exist. It is also reasonably certain that +the expenses of the department must be increased. The law now provides +for twelve Teachers' Institutes, annually, and there were opportunities +during the present year for holding them; but, in order that one agent +might be constantly employed, and a second employed for the term of six +months, I limited the number of sessions to ten. + +The salaries of the teachers in the Normal Schools are low, and the +number of persons employed barely adequate to the work to be done. Some +change, involving additional expense, is likely to be called for in the +course of a few years. + +In view of the eminent aid which the school fund has rendered to the +cause of education, with due deference to the wisdom and opinions of its +founders, and with just regard to the existing and probable necessities +of the state in connection with the cause of education, I earnestly +favor the increase of the school fund by the addition of a million and a +half of dollars. + +Nor does the proposition for the state to appropriate annually $180,000 +in aid of the common schools seem unreasonable, when it is considered +that the military expenses are $65,000, the reformatory and correctional +about $200,000, the charitable about $45,000, and the pauper expenses +nearly $250,000 more, all of which will diminish as our schools are year +by year better qualified to give thorough and careful intellectual, +moral, and religious culture. + +This increase seems to be necessary in order that the Massachusetts +School Fund may furnish aid to the common schools during the next +quarter of a century proportionate to the relative influence exerted by +the same agency during the last twenty-five years. Nor will such an +addition give occasion for any apprehension that the zeal of the people +will be diminished in the least. Were there to be no increase of +population in the state, the distribution for each pupil would never +exceed forty cents, or about one-fifteenth of the amount now raised by +taxation. + +So convinced are the people of Massachusetts of the importance of common +schools, and so much are they accustomed to taxation for their support, +that there is no occasion to hesitate, lest we should follow the example +of those communities where large funds, operating upon an uneducated and +inexperienced popular opinion, have injured rather than benefited the +public schools. The ancient policy of the commonwealth will be +continued; but, whenever the people see the government, by solemn act, +manifesting its confidence in schools and learning, they will be +encouraged to guard and sustain the institutions of the fathers. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] An eminent friend of education, and an Englishman, speaking of the +reports for the year 1866-7, says: "The views enunciated by your local +committees, while they have the sobriety indicative of practical +knowledge, are at the same time enlightened and expansive. The writers +of such reports must be of inestimable aid to your schoolmasters, +standing as they do between the teacher and the parent, and exercising +the most wholesome influence on both. Let me remark, in passing, that I +am struck with the power of composition evinced in these provincial +papers. Clear exposition, great command of the best English, correctness +and even elegance of style, are their characteristics." + +[5] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to an Act of 1835. +(Stat. 138, Sec. 2.) + +[6] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. (Rev. Stat., +chap. 23, Sec. 67.) + +[7] Income distributed among the cities and towns, according to +population, under an Act passed Feb. 22, 1840. (Stat. 1840, Chap. 7.) +This act was repealed by an act passed Feb. 8, 1841. (Stat. 1841, chap. +17, Sec. 2.) + +[8] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of four and sixteen years. (Stat. 1841, +chap. 17, Sec. 2.) + +[9] Distributed among the cities and towns, according to the number of +persons in each between the ages of five and fifteen years. (Stat. 1849, +chap. 117, Sec. 2.) + + + + +A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. + +[An Address before the Barnstable Agricultural Society, Oct. 8, 1857.] + + +In the month of February, 1855, a distinguished American, who has read +much, and acquired, by conversation, observation, and travels in this +country and Europe, the highest culture of American society, wrote these +noticeable sentences: "The farmers have not kept pace, in intelligence, +with the rest of the community. They do not put brain-manure enough into +their acres. Our style of farming is slovenly, dawdling, and stupid, and +the waste, especially in manure, is immense. I suppose we are about, in +farming, where the Lowlands of Scotland were fifty years ago; and what +immense strides agriculture has made in Great Britain since the battle +of Waterloo, and how impossible it would have been for the farmers to +have held their own without!"[10] + +It would not be civil for me to endorse these statements as introductory +to a brief address upon Agricultural Education; but I should not accept +them at all did they not contain truth enough to furnish a text for a +layman's discourse before an assembly of farmers. + +Competent American travellers concur in the opinion that the Europeans +generally, and especially our brethren of England, Ireland, and +Scotland, are far in advance of us in scientific and practical +agriculture. This has been stated or admitted by Mr. Colman, President +Hitchcock, and last by Mr. French, who has recently visited Europe under +the auspices of the National Agricultural Society. + +There are good reasons for the past and for the existing superiority of +the Old World; and there are good reasons, also, why this superiority +should not much longer continue. Europe is old,--America is young. Land +has been cultivated for centuries in Europe, and often by the same +family; its capacity tested, its fitness or unfitness for particular +crops proved, the local and special effects of different fertilizers +well known, and the experience of many generations has been preserved, +so as to be equivalent to a like experience, in time and extent, by the +present occupants of the soil. + +In America there are no family estates, nor long occupation by the same +family of the same spot. Cultivated lands have changed hands as often as +every twenty-five years from the settlement of the country. The +capacity of our soils to produce, when laboriously and systematically +cultivated, has not been ascertained; there has been no accumulation of +experience by families, and but little by the public; and the effort, in +many sections, has been to draw as much as possible from the land, while +little or nothing was returned to it. Farming, as a whole, has not been +a system of cultivation, which implies improvement, but a process of +exhaustion. It has been easier for the farmer, though, perhaps, not as +economical, if all the elements necessary to a correct opinion could be +combined, to exchange his worn-out lands for fresh soils, than to adopt +an improving system of agriculture. The present has been consulted; the +future has been disregarded. As the half-civilized hunters of the pampas +of Buenos Ayres make indiscriminate slaughter of the myriads of wild +cattle that roam over the unfenced prairies of the south, and preserve +the hides only for the commerce and comfort of the world, so we have +clutched from nature whatever was in sight or next at hand, regardless +of the actual and ultimate wrong to physical and vegetable life; and, as +the pioneers of a better civilization now gather up the bones long +neglected and bleaching under tropical suns and tropical rains, and by +the agency of trade, art, and industry, extort more wealth from them +than was originally derived from the living animals, so we shall find +that worn-out lands, when subjected to skilful, careful, scientific +husbandry, are quite as profitable as the virgin soils, which, from the +day of the migration into the Connecticut valley to the occupancy of the +Missouri and the Kansas, have proved so tempting to our ancestors and to +us. But there has been some philosophy, some justice, and considerable +necessity, in the course that has been pursued. Subsistence is the first +desire; and, in new countries where forests are to be felled, dwellings +erected, public institutions established, roads and bridges built, +settlers cannot be expected, in the cultivation of the land, to look +much beyond the present moment. And they are entitled to the original +fertility of the soil. Europe passed through the process of settlement +and exhaustion many centuries ago. Her recovery has been the work of +centuries,--ours may be accomplished in a few years, even within the +limits of a single life. The fact from which an improving system of +agriculture must proceed is apparent in the northern and central +Atlantic states, and is, in a measure, appreciated in the West. We have +all heard that certain soils were inexhaustible. The statement was first +made of the valley of the Connecticut, then of the Genesee country, then +of Ohio, then of Illinois, and occasionally we now hear similar +statements of Kansas, or California, or the valley of the Willamette. In +the nature of things these statements were erroneous. The idea of soil, +in reason and in the use of the word, contains the idea of exhaustion. +Soil is not merely the upper stratum of the earth; it is a substance +which possesses the power, under certain circumstances, of giving up +essential properties of its own for the support of vegetable and +ultimately of animal life. What it gives up it loses, and to the extent +of its loss it is exhausted. It is no more untrue to say that the great +cities of the world have not, in their building, exhausted the forests +and the mines to any extent, than to say that the annual abundant +harvests of corn and wheat have not, in any degree, exhausted the +prairies and bottom lands of the West. Some lands may be exhausted for +particular crops in a single year; others in five years, others in ten, +while others may yield undiminished returns for twenty, fifty, or even a +hundred years. But it is plain that annual cropping without rotation, +and without compensation by nature or art, must finally deprive the soil +of the required elements. Nor should we deceive ourselves by considering +only those exceptions whose existence is due to the fact that nature +makes compensation for the loss. Annual or occasional irrigation with +rich deposits,--as upon the Nile and the Connecticut,--allowing the +land to lie fallow, rotation of crops and the growth of wood, are so +many expedients and provisions by which nature increases the +productiveness of the earth. Nor is a great depth of soil, as two, five, +ten, or twenty feet, any security against its ultimate impoverishment. +Only a certain portion is available. It has been found in the case of +coal-mines which lie at great depths, that they are, for the present, +valueless; and we cannot attach much importance to soil that is twenty +feet below the surface. Neither cultivation nor vegetation can go beyond +a certain depth; and wherever vegetable life exists, its elements are +required and appropriated. Great depth of soil is desirable; but, with +our present knowledge and means of culture, it furnishes no security +against ultimate exhaustion. + +The fact that all soils are exhaustible establishes the necessity for +agricultural education, by whose aid the processes of impoverishment may +be limited in number and diminished in force; and the realization of +this fact by the public generally is the only justification necessary +for those who advocate the immediate application of means to the +proposed end. + +And, gentlemen, if you will allow a festive day to be marred by a single +word of criticism, I feel constrained to say, that a great obstacle to +the increased usefulness, further elevation, and higher respectability, +of agriculture, is in the body of farmers themselves. And I assume this +to be so upon the supposition that agriculture is not a cherished +pursuit in many farmers' homes; that the head of the family often +regards his life of labor upon the land as a necessity from which he +would willingly escape; that he esteems other pursuits as at once less +laborious, more profitable, and more honorable, than his own; that +children, both sons and daughters, under the influence of parents, both +father and mother, receive an education at home, which neither school, +college, nor newspaper, can counteract, that leads them to abandon the +land for the store, the shop, the warehouse, the professions, or the +sea. + +The reasonable hope of establishing a successful system of agricultural +education is not great where such notions prevail. + +Agriculture is not to attain to true practical dignity by the borrowed +lustre that eminent names, ancient and modern, may have lent to it, any +more than the earth itself is warmed and made fruitful by the aurora +borealis of an autumn night. Our system of public instruction, from the +primary school to the college, rests mainly upon the public belief in +its importance, its possibility, and its necessity. It is easy on a +professional holiday to believe in the respectability of agriculture; +but is it a living sentiment, controlling your conduct, and inspiring +you with courage and faith in your daily labor? Does it lead you to +contemplate with satisfaction the prospect that your son is to be a +farmer also, and that your daughter is to be a farmer's wife? These, I +imagine, are test questions which not all farmers nor farmers' wives can +answer in the affirmative. Else, why the custom among farmers' sons of +making their escape, at the earliest moment possible, from the labors +and restraints of the farm? Else, why the disposition of the farmer's +daughter to accept other situations, not more honorable, and in the end +not usually more profitable, than the place of household aid to the +business of the home? How, then, can a system of education be prosperous +and efficient, when those for whom it is designed neither respect their +calling nor desire to pursue it? You will not, of course, imagine that I +refer, in these statements, to all farmers; there are many exceptions; +but my own experience and observation lead me to place confidence in the +fitness of these remarks, speaking generally of the farmers of New +England. It is, however, true, and the statement of the truth ought not +to be omitted, that the prevalent ideas among us are much in advance of +what they were ten years ago. In what has been accomplished we have +ground for hope, and even security for further advancement. + +I look, then, first and chiefly to an improved home culture, as the +necessary basis of a system of agricultural education. Christian +education, culture, and life, depend essentially upon the influences of +home; and we feel continually the importance of kindred influences upon +our common school system. + +It will not, of course, be wise to wait, in the establishment of a +system of agricultural education, until we are satisfied that every +farmer is prepared for it; in the beginning sufficient support may be +derived from a small number of persons, but in the end it must be +sustained by the mass of those interested. Other pursuits and +professions must meet the special claims made upon them, and in the +matter of agricultural education they cannot be expected to do more than +assent to what the farmers themselves may require. + +An important part of a system of agricultural education has been, as it +seems to me, already established. I speak of our national, state, +county, and town associations for the promotion of agriculture. The +first three may educate the people through their annual fairs, by their +publications, and by the collection and distribution of rare seeds, +plants, and animals, that are not usually within reach of individual +farmers. By such means, and others less noticeable, these agencies can +exert a powerful influence upon the farmers of the country; but their +thorough, systematic education must be carried on at home. And for local +and domestic education I think we must rely upon our public schools, +upon town clubs or associations of farmers, and upon scientific men who +may be appointed by the government to visit the towns, confer with the +people, and receive and communicate information upon the agricultural +resources and defects of the various localities. It will be observed +that in this outline of a plan of education I omit the agricultural +college. This omission is intentional, and I will state my reasons for +it. I speak, however, of the present; the time may come when such an +institution will be needed. In Massachusetts, Mr. Benjamin Bussey has +made provision for a college at Roxbury, and Mr. Oliver Smith has made +similar provision for a college at Northampton; but these bequests will +not be available for many years. In England, Ireland, Scotland, France, +Belgium, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and the smaller states of Europe, +agricultural schools and colleges have been established; and they appear +to be the most numerous where the ignorance of the people is the +greatest. England has five colleges and schools, Ireland sixty-three, +while Scotland has only a professorship in each of her colleges at +Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In France, there are seventy-five agricultural +schools; but in seventy of them--called inferior schools--the +instruction is a compound of that given in our public schools and the +discipline of a good farmer upon his land, with some special attention +to agricultural reading and farm accounts. Such schools are not desired +and would not be patronized among us. When an agricultural school is +established, it must be of a higher grade,--it must take rank with the +colleges of the country. President Hitchcock, in his report, published +in 1851, states that six professors would be required; that the first +outlay would be sixty-seven thousand dollars, and that the annual +expense would be six thousand and two hundred dollars. By these +arrangements and expenditures he contemplates the education of one +hundred students, who are to pay annually each for tuition the sum of +forty dollars. It was also proposed to connect an agricultural +department with several of the existing academies, at an annual expense +of three thousand dollars more. These estimates of cost seem low, nor do +I find in this particular any special objection to the recommendation +made by the commissioners of the government; any other scheme is likely +to be quite as expensive in the end. + +My chief objection is, that such a plan is not comprehensive enough, and +cannot, in a reasonable time, sensibly affect the average standard of +agricultural learning among us. The graduation of fifty students a year +would be equal to one in a thousand or fifteen hundred of the farmers of +the state; and in ten years there would not be one professionally +educated farmer in a hundred. We are not, of course, to overlook the +indirect influence of such a school, through its students annually sent +forth: the better modes of culture adopted by them would, to some +extent, be copied by others; nor are we to overlook the probability of a +prejudice against the institution and its graduates, growing out of the +republican ideas of equality prevailing among us. But the struggle +against mere prejudice would be an honorable struggle, if, in the hour +of victory, the college could claim to have reformed and elevated +materially the practices and ideas of the farmers of the country. I fear +that even victory under such circumstances would not be complete +success. An institution established in New England must look to the +existing peculiarities of our country, rather than venture at once upon +the adoption of schemes that may have been successful elsewhere. Here +every farmer is a laborer himself, employing usually from one to three +hands, and they are often persons who look to the purchase and +cultivation of a farm on their own account; while in England the master +farmer is an overseer rather than a laborer. The number of men in Europe +who own land or work it on their own account is small; the number of +laborers whose labors are directed by the proprietors and farmers is +quite large. Under these circumstances, if the few are educated, the +work will go successfully on; while here, our agricultural education +ought to reach the great body of those who labor upon the land. Will a +college in each state answer the demand for agricultural education now +existing? Is it safe in any country, or in any profession or pursuit, to +educate a few, and leave the majority to the indirect influence of the +culture thus bestowed? And is it philosophical, in this country, where +there is a degree of personal and professional freedom such as is +nowhere else enjoyed, to found a college or higher institution of +learning upon the general and admitted ignorance of the people in the +given department? or is it wiser, by elementary training and the +universal diffusion of better ideas, to make the establishment of the +college the necessity of the culture previously given? Every new school, +not a college, makes the demand for the college course greater than it +was before; and the advance made in our public schools increases the +students in the colleges and the university. We build from the primary +school to the college; and without the primary school and its +dependents,--the grammar, high school, and academy,--the colleges would +cease to exist. This view of education supports the statement that an +agricultural college is not the foundation of a system of agricultural +training, but a result that is to be reached through a preliminary and +elementary course of instruction. What shall that course be? I say, +first, the establishment of town or neighborhood societies of farmers +and others interested in agriculture. These societies ought to be +auxiliary to the county societies, and they never can become their +rivals or enemies unless they are grossly perverted in their management +and purposes. As such societies must be mutual and voluntary in their +character, they can be established in any town where there are twenty, +ten, or even five persons who are disposed to unite together. Its object +would, of course, be the advancement of practical agriculture; and it +would look to theories and even to science as means only for the +attainment of a specified end. The exercises of such societies would +vary according to the tastes and plans of the members and directors; but +they would naturally provide for discussions and conversations among +themselves, lectures from competent persons, the establishment of a +library, and for the collection of models and drawings of domestic +animals, models of varieties of fruit, specimens of seeds, grasses, and +grains, rocks, minerals, and soils. The discussions and conversations +would be based upon the actual observation and experience of the +members; and agriculture would at once become better understood and more +carefully practised by each person who intended to contribute to the +exercises of the meeting. + +Until the establishment of agricultural journals, there were no means by +which the results of individual experience could be made known to the +mass of farmers; and, even now, men of the largest experience are not +the chief contributors. + +Wherever a local club exists, it is always possible to compare the +knowledge of the different members; and the results of such comparison +may, when deemed desirable, be laid before the public at large. It is +also in the power of such an organization thoroughly and at once to test +any given experiment. The attention of this section of the country has +been directed to the culture of the Chinese sugar-cane; and merchants, +economists, and statesmen, as well as the farmers themselves, are +interested in the speedy and satisfactory solution of so important an +industrial problem. Had the attention of a few local societies in +different parts of New England been directed to the culture, with +special reference to its feasibility and profitableness, a definite +result might have been reached the present year. The growth of flax, +both in the means of cultivation and in economy, is a subject of great +importance. Many other crops might also be named, concerning which +opposite, not to say vague, opinions prevail. The local societies may +make these trials through the agency of individual members better than +they can be made by county and state societies, and better than they can +usually be made upon model or experimental farms. It will often happen +upon experimental farms that the circumstances do not correspond to the +condition of things among the farmers. The combined practical wisdom of +such associations must be very great; and I have but to refer to the +published minutes of the proceedings of the Concord Club to justify this +statement in its broadest sense. The meetings of such a club have all +the characteristics of a school of the highest order. Each member is at +the same time a teacher and a pupil. The meeting is to the farmer what +the court-room is to the lawyer, the hospital to the physician, and the +legislative assembly to the statesman. + +Moot courts alone will not make skilful lawyers; the manikin is but an +indifferent teacher of anatomy; and we may safely say that no statesman +was ever made so by books, schools, and street discussions, without +actual experience in some department of government. + +It is, of course, to be expected that an agricultural college would have +the means of making experiments; but each experiment could be made only +under a single set of circumstances, while the agency of local +societies, in connection with other parts of the plan that I have the +honor diffidently to present, would convert at once a county or a state +into an experimental farm for a given time and a given purpose. The +local club being always practical and never theoretical, dealing with +things always and never with signs, presenting only facts and never +conjectures, would, as a school for the young farmer, be quite equal, +and in some respects superior, to any that the government can establish. +But, it may be asked, will you call that a school which is merely an +assembly of adults without a teacher? I answer that technically it is +not a school, but that in reality such an association is a school in the +best use of the word. A school is, first, for the development of powers +and qualities whose germs already exist; then for the acquisition of +knowledge previously possessed by others; then for the prosecution of +original inquiries and investigations. The associations of which I speak +would possess all these powers, and contemplate all these results; but +that their powers might be more efficient, and for the advancement of +agriculture generally, it seems to me fit and proper for the state to +appoint scientific and practical men as agents of the Board of +Agriculture, and lecturers upon agricultural science and labor. If an +agricultural college were founded, a farm would be required, and at +least six professors would be necessary. Instead of a single farm, with +a hundred young men upon it, accept gratuitously, as you would no doubt +have opportunity, the use of many farms for experiments and repeated +trials of crops, and, at the same time, educate, not a hundred only, but +many thousand young men, nearly as well in theory and science, and much +better in practical labor, than they could be educated in a college. Six +professors, as agents, could accomplish a large amount of necessary +work; possibly, for the present, all that would be desired. Assume, for +this inquiry, that Massachusetts contains three hundred agricultural +towns; divide these towns into sections of fifty each; then assign one +section to each agent, with the understanding that his work for the +year is to be performed in that section, and then that he is to be +transferred to another. By a rotation of appointments and a succession +of labors, the varied attainments of the lecturers would be enjoyed by +the whole commonwealth. But, it may be asked, what, specifically stated, +shall the work of the agents be? Only suggestions can be offered in +answer to this inquiry. An agent might, in the summer season, visit his +fifty towns, and spend two days in each. While there, he could ascertain +the kinds of crops, modes of culture, nature of soils, practical +excellences, and practical defects, of the farmers; and he might also +provide for such experiments as he desired to have made. It would, +likewise, be in his power to give valuable advice, where it might be +needed, in regard to farming proper, and also to the erection and repair +of farm-buildings. I am satisfied that a competent agent would, in this +last particular alone, save to the people a sum equal to the entire cost +of his services. After this labor was accomplished, eight months would +remain for the preparation and delivery of lectures in the fifty towns +previously visited. These lectures might be delivered in each town, or +the agent might hold meetings of the nature of institutes in a number of +towns centrally situated. In either case, the lectures would be at once +scientific and practical; and their practical character would be +appreciated in the fact that a judicious agent would adapt his lectures +to the existing state of things in the given locality. This could not be +done by a college, however favorably situated, and however well +accomplished in the material of education. It is probable that the +lectures would be less scientific than those that would be given in a +college; but when their superior practical character is considered, and +when we consider also that they would be listened to by the great body +of farmers, old and young, while those of the college could be enjoyed +by a small number of youth only, we cannot doubt which would be the most +beneficial to the state, and to the cause of agriculture in the country. + +An objection to the plan I have indicated may be found in the belief +that the average education of the farmers is not equal to a full +appreciation of the topics and lectures to be presented. My answer is, +that the lecturers must meet the popular intelligence, whatever it is. +Nothing is to be assumed by the teacher; it is his first duty to +ascertain the qualifications of his pupils. I am, however, led to the +opinion that the schools of the country have already laid a very good +basis for practical instruction in agriculture; and, if this be not so, +then an additional argument will be offered for the most rapid advance +possible in our systems of education. In any event, it is true that the +public schools furnish a large part of the intellectual culture given in +the inferior and intermediate agricultural schools of Europe. + +The great defect in the plan I have presented is this: That no means are +provided for the thorough education needed by those persons who are to +be appointed agents, and no provision is made for testing the qualities +of soils, and the elements of grains, grasses, and fruits. My answer to +this suggestion is, that it is in part, at least, well founded; but that +the scientific schools furnish a course of study in the natural sciences +which must be satisfactory to the best educated farmer or professor of +agricultural learning, and that analyses may be made in the laboratories +of existing institutions. + +It is my fortune to be able to read a letter from Professor Horsford, +which furnishes a satisfactory view of the ability of the Scientific +School at Cambridge. + + + "_Cambridge, Sept. 19, 1857._ + +"MY DEAR SIR: The occupation incident to the opening of the term has +prevented an earlier answer to your letter of inquiry in regard to the +Scientific School. + +"The Scientific School furnishes, I believe, the necessary scientific +knowledge for students of agriculture (such as you mention), 'who have +been well educated at our high schools, academies, or colleges, and have +also been trained practically in the business of farming.' It provides: + +"1st. Practical instruction in the modes of experimental investigation. +This is, I know, an unrecognized department, but it is, perhaps, the +better suited name to the course of instruction of our chemical +department. It qualifies the student for the most direct methods of +solving the practical problems which are constantly arising in practical +agriculture. It includes the analysis of soils, the manufacture and +testing of manures, the philosophy of improved methods of culture, of +rotation of crops, of dairy production, of preserving fruits, meats, &c. +It applies more or less directly to the whole subject of mechanical +expedients. + +"2d. Practical instruction in surveying, mensuration, and drawing. + +"3d. And by lectures--in botany, geology, zoology, comparative anatomy, +and natural philosophy. + +"Some of them--indeed, all of them, if desired--might be pursued +practically, and with the use of apparatus and specimens. + +"This course contemplates a period of study of from one year to two and +a half years, according to the qualification of the pupil at the outset. +He appears an hour each day at the blackboard, where he shares the drill +of a class, and where he acquires a facility of illustration, command of +language, an address and thorough consciousness of real knowledge, which +are of more value, in many cases, as you know, than almost any amount of +simple acquisition. He also attends, on an average, about one lecture a +day throughout the year. During the remaining time he is occupied with +experimental work in the laboratory or field. + +"The great difficulty with students of agriculture, who might care to +come to the Scientific School, is the expense of living in Cambridge. If +some farmer at a distance of three or four miles from college, where +rents for rooms are low, would open a boarding-house for students of +agriculture in the Scientific School, where the care of a kitchen garden +and some stock might be intrusted to them, and where a farmer's plain +table might be spread at the price at which laborers would be received, +we might hope that our facilities would be taken advantage of on a +larger scale. As it is, but few, comparatively, among our students, come +to qualify themselves for farming." + +I should, however, consider the arrangements proposed as temporary, and +finally to be abandoned or made permanent, as experience should dictate. + +It may be said, I think, without disparagement to the many distinguished +and disinterested men who have labored for the advancement of +agriculture, that the operations of the government and of the state and +county societies have no plan or system by which, as a whole, they are +guided. The county societies have been and are the chief means of +influence and progress; but they have no power which can be +systematically applied; their movements are variable, and their annual +exhibitions do not always indicate the condition of agriculture in the +districts represented. They have become, to a certain extent, localized +in the vicinity of the towns where the fairs are held; and yet they do +not possess the vigor which institutions positively local would enjoy. + +The town clubs hold annual fairs; and these fairs should be made +tributary, in their products and in the interest they excite, to the +county fairs. Let the town fairs be held as early in the season as +practicable, and then let each town send to the county fairs its +first-class premium articles as the contributions of the local society, +as well as of the individual producers. Thus a healthful and generous +rivalry would be stirred up between the towns of a county as well as +among the citizens of each town; and a county exhibition upon the plan +suggested would represent at one view the general condition of +agriculture in the vicinity. No one can pretend that this is +accomplished by the present arrangements. Moreover, the county society, +in its management and in its annual exhibitions, would possess an +importance which it had not before enjoyed. As each town would be +represented by the products of the dairy, the herd, and the field, so it +would be represented by its men; and the annual fair of the county would +be a truthful and complete exposition of its industrial standing and +power. + +Out of a system thus broad, popular, and strong, an agricultural college +will certainly spring, if such an institution shall be needed. But is it +likely that in a country where the land is divided, and the number of +farmers is great, the majority will ever be educated in colleges, and +upon strict scientific principles? I am ready to answer that such an +expectation seems to me a mere delusion. The great body of young farmers +must be educated by the example and practices of their elders, by their +own efforts at individual and mutual improvement, and by the influence +of agricultural journals, books, lecturers, and the example of +thoroughly educated men. And, as thoroughly educated men, lecturers, +journals, and books of a proper character, cannot be furnished without +the aid of scientific schools and thorough culture, the farmers, as a +body, are interested in the establishment of all institutions of +learning which promise to advance any number of men, however small, in +the mysteries of the profession; but, when we design a system of +education for a class, common wisdom requires us to contemplate its +influence upon each individual. The influence of a single college in any +state, or in each state of this Union, would be exceedingly limited; but +local societies and travelling lecturers could make an appreciable +impression in a year upon the agricultural population of any state, and +in New England the interest in the subject is such that there is no +difficulty in founding town clubs, and making them at once the agents of +the government and the schools for the people. + +In the plan indicated, I have, throughout, assumed the disposition of +the farmers to educate themselves. This assumption implies a certain +degree of education already attained; for a consciousness of the +necessity of education is only developed by culture, learning, and +reflection. Such being the admitted fact, it remains that the farmers +themselves ought at once to institute such means of self-improvement as +are at their command. They are, in nearly every state of this Union, a +majority of the voters, and the controlling force of society and the +government; but I do not from these facts infer the propriety of a +reliance on their part upon the powers which they may thus direct. +However wisely said, when first said, it is not wise to "look to the +government for too much;" and there can be no reasonable doubt of the +ability of the farmers to institute and perfect such measures of +self-education as are at present needed. But the spirit in which they +enter upon this work must be broad, comprehensive, catholic. They will +find something, I hope, of example, something of motive, something of +power, in their experience as friends and supporters of our system of +common school education; and something of all these, I trust, in the +facts that this system is kept in motion by the self-imposed taxation of +the whole people; that all individuals and classes of men, forgetting +their differences of opinion in politics and religion, rally to its +support, as being in itself a safe basis on which may be built whatever +structures men of wisdom and virtue and piety may desire to erect, +whether they labor first and chiefly for the world that is, or for that +which is to come. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[10] Hon. George S. Hillard. + + + + +ADVERTISEMENTS + + +JUVENILE BOOKS. + +THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST ENTERTAINING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN EVER +PUBLISHED. + + +MR. CRANCH'S ILLUSTRATED STORIES. + +THE LAST OF THE HUGGERMUGGERS: a Giant Story. By CHRISTOPHER PEARSE +CRANCH, With illustrations on wood, from drawings by the author. Printed +on fine, hot-pressed paper, from large, fair type. Price $1.00. + +This book has been received with the utmost delight by all the children. +Mr. Cranch is at once painter and poet, and his story and illustrations +are both characteristic of a man of genius. + +KOBBOLTOZO; being a Sequel to "The Last of the Huggermuggers." By +CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH. With illustrations by the author. + +The hand of the author in the tale, and especially in the drawings, is +freer than in his former work. The pictures are exquisite, and much more +numerous than in the "Huggermuggers." Both these books will please the +larger or grown-up children, as well as those still in the nursery. + +Uniform in style with its predecessor. Price $1.00. + + +COUSIN FANNIE'S JUVENILE BOOKS. + +EVERY BEGINNING IS EASY FOR CHILDREN WHO LOVE STUDY. Translated from the +German, by COUSIN FANNIE. Largo quarto, with elegantly colored +lithographic plates. Price $1.00. + +Altogether one of the most attractive books, both in matter and style, +ever issued in this country. + +AUNTY WONDERFUL'S STORIES. Translated from the German, by COUSIN FANNIE. +With spirited lithographic illustrations. It has proved immensely +popular among the little folks. Price 75 cents. + +RED BEARD'S STORIES FOR CHILDREN. Translated from the German, by COUSIN +FANNIE. + +The illustrations for this book are of a most novel and taking +character. They are in imitation of the _silhouettes_ or pictures cut +out by scissors, in which our ancestors' portraits have often been +preserved. The pictures are numerous, spirited and effective. The +stories are worthy of their elegant dress. Price 75 cents. + +BRIGHT PICTURES OF CHILD-LIFE. Translated from the German, by COUSIN +FANNIE. Illustrated by numerous highly-finished colored engravings. +Price 75 cents. + + +VIOLET; A Fairy Story. Illustrated by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 +cents. + +The publishers desire to call attention to this exquisite little story. +It breathes such a love of Nature in all her forms; inculcates such +excellent principles, and is so full of beauty and simplicity, that it +will delight not only children, but all readers of unsophisticated +tastes. The author seems to teach the gentle creed which Coleridge has +embodied in those familiar lines-- + + + "He prayeth well who loveth well + Both man, and bird, and beast." + + +DAISY; or the Fairy Spectacles. By the author of "VIOLET." Illustrated. +Price 50 cents; gilt, 75 cents. + +THE GREAT ROSY DIAMOND. By MRS. ANNE AUGUSTA CARTER With illustrations +by Billings. Price 50 cents; gilt 75 cents. + +This is a most charming story, from an author of reputation in this +department, both in England and America. The machinery of Fairy Land is +employed with great ingenuity; the style is beautiful, imaginative, yet +simple. The frolics of Robin Goodfellow are rendered with the utmost +grace and spirit. + +TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE. Designed for the Use of Young Persons. By CHARLES +LAMB. From the fifth London edition. 12mo. Illustrated. Price, bound in +muslin, $1.00; gilt, $1.50. + +These tales are intended to interest children and youth in some of the +plays of Shakspeare. The form of the dialogue is dropped, and instead +the plots are woven into stories, which are models of beauty. What +Hawthorne has lately done for the classical mythology, Lamb has here +done for Shakspeare. + + +PUBLISHED BY +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston, +And for sale by all Booksellers in the United States. + + +JUVENILE BOOKS. + + +THE ROLLO BOOKS. By REV. JACOB ABBOTT. In fourteen volumes. New edition, +with finely executed engravings from original designs by Billings. Price +$7; single, 50 cents, Any volume sold separately. + + + Rollo Learning to Talk. + Rollo Learning to Read. + Rollo at Work. + Rollo at Play. + Rollo at School. + Rollo's Vacation. + Rollo's Experiments. + Rollo's Museum. + Rollo's Travels. + Rollo's Correspondence. + Rollo's Philosophy--Water. + Rollo's Philosophy--Fire. + Rollo's Philosophy--Air. + Rollo's Philosophy--Sky. + + +This is undoubtedly the most popular series of juvenile books ever +published in America. This edition is far more attractive externally +than the one by which the author first became known. Nearly one hundred +new engravings, clear and fine paper, a new and beautiful cover, with a +neat box to contain the whole, will give to this series, if possible, a +still wider and more enduring reputation. + +The same, without illustrations, fourteen volumes, muslin, $5.25. + + +EXCELSIOR GIFT BOOKS. + +Six volumes, large 16mo., illustrated. 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Price, muslin, 60 cents; muslin, +full gilt, 88 cents. + +UNCLE FRANK'S BOYS' AND GIRLS' LIBRARY. A beautiful series, comprising +six volumes, square 16mo., with eight tinted Engravings in each volume. +The following are their titles respectively; + + + I. The Pedler's Boy; or, I'll be Somebody. + II. The Diving Bell; or, Pearls to be sought for. + III. The Poor Organ Grinder; and other Stories. + IV. Loss and Gain; or, Susy Lee's Motto. + V. Mike Marble; his Crotchets and Oddities. + VI. The Wonderful Letter Bag of Kit Curious. + + +By FRANCIS C. WOODWORTH. Price, bound in muslin, 50 cents per volume; +muslin, gilt, 75 cents per volume. + +Catalogues of the publications P. S. & Co. sent, post paid, upon +application. + + +PUBLISHED BY +PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO., Boston, +And for sale by all Booksellers in the United States. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thoughts on Educational Topics and +Institutions, by George S. 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