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W.TJ.FRANCIS, PROPRIETOR.
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To the Public.
In conformity with my Card of the
28th, I now lay my Add ress before the
public. In so doing I feel that an
apology is due. The Address was not
written to publish, nor did I ever im
agine that circumstances couild occur,
which would render its publication ne.
cessary. It was my expectation sim
ply to discharge a duty which had
been assigned me by my class-mates.
deliver the Address, and therc let it.
rest. But I have not been permitted
thus to act. The fierce and unrelent
ing measures which have been pursued
against me, leave mc no alternative,
but to obtrude my vi"ws upon the
public, painful as the duty is.
As to the views contained, I desire
to be fully and distinctly understood.
I assert positively that the Add ess ai
now published, contains precisel the
same and all the positions and princi
pIles, which I advanced at its delivery.
that the language of the manuscript
itself has been accurately fallowed, ex
cept in such slight verbal alterations
as were necessary to accuracy, and
that hetyond this the only changes in
it,are in those sho t passages which
t hra kets to which Lcall
._?tx sim . , uttae'ed no )sentiment
'inconsistent with.' or more extreme
than these. This is my emphatic and
truthful declaration.
With it I give the Address to the
public with cheerful confidence. I doubt
not but that to many the views will
seem unsound, impracticable and vis
sionary. but I feel safe in believing
that the candid and impnrtial reader
will fail to discover a particle of that
arrogant and intolerant spirit, or a
syrptom of those aristocratic and ty
rannical sentiments which are so ab
horrent to true lbpublieanism, but
which have been ascribed to me. I feel
sure that when the Ad'lre-s is soberly
and impartially perused, the communi
ty will be at a loss to discover any
just cause in it, lir all the clamor and
bliterness against the author ; and that
it will be as ready to meet out warm
justice, as it has been to p ejudge and
denounce. To all who have spoken
timely words in my behalf; I return
my most heartfelt thanks. And to
those who have misapprehended, I can
oniPy say, here is the Address, judge
for yourselves.
Respectfully,
W. R. T.tBEa, Jr.
Essentials of a RiepublIc.
When Thomas Carlyle declared that
. " after age~s of constitutional geive, n.
.ment, manskind knew but imnperfuctly
yet what liberty anid slaver, is," lie
uttered a sentiment, as Issortifying to
the vanity of the evangelists of mod
ern demoucracy, as it is badly and cer.
.tainly true. 4ndeed, the assertion that
!.wonderfuj and permanent advances
h~ave been made towards the absolute
prfectility of' human government., has
a all times, and in ntone morie than
our onn, been exulantly made by those
whom a calm philosophy brands as po
litical outlaws 'and high way men. We
need not tax history further than the
last half century, to furnish ample coil
ination of this. It'any thinsg can add
bitterness to the woes of the French
Revolution ; if it were possible to ag
gravate the ho~rroir~with which fienmdit~h
and bloody doctrines widowed that
beautiful land, it is the reflection that
the miserable victims wer'e at <aeb
step deluded by chimneras of liberty
aned happiniess, porItrasyed in goldesn
hsues, by the very workers of their (Ie
etruetion. -
And in our own day, have wve not
seen thes people of llinngary, Italy,
Gersmany and .Fratnce too again, isnci
ted by the declamation of political
uioonslmgs, launch inito revolutions,
frou ,itch, after perilling all the ac
qmsiion offormer toil ansd exper'i
encee, they have sunik back into i mipo.
lent exhnaustion, into abhysses of' msise
sy and oppression, snore i..tulerauble
thani besfore 'I
'1'he political rev'olustions in Europe
.darimig thes last, hluleentusry, have vtery
* e"te'ally assumed the Democratie
Ly pe.
'lepressure oif Ploplution, wiith
other causes, has hanced the hard.
ships of poverty, a arrayed in fear.
ful antagonism-the despised and grim
suns of labor, and the bloated posses.
sors of wealth. From this anta.onism,
our country has hitherto enjoyed con.
parative immunity ; and the spectacle
which she has exhibitediof precocious
growth in wealth and power, of plenty
and individual liberty, has excited
among the masses of Europe a thirst
for democratic institutions, in the fool
ish hope that their establishment would
be the d.yspring of realizations, long
dreamed of and panted after. They
have been told by their leade.is, that
property was a crime against the
equality of nature-that royalty and
kingly institutions were 'monstrous
usurpations-that government, was a
puppet to be put up, or east down, as
it favored or opposed their rampant
ideas-that all governments were des
potismus, wh--rein any limitations were
imposed upon the will of the nmob ; in
a word, that the only lawful and just
govertnmcnt was the mlajority of titum
bers; aid that, upon the graves of
kings, and the ruins of antcietit systems,
a secure freedom would bloom forth.
to bless with peace and abundance.
Need we tell how in every case
these fair hopes have been wrecked ?
Hlow in Germany.* " when her freely
chosen representatives n setbled in
atncient 'ranikfort, in the Ruoer Saal,
the Hall consecrated by so many gi,)
ries of the past, where Frede'rie i0arba
rossa, the Othus, and the Henrys, the
IIohenstaulken and the Ilapshurger re
ceived the silver crown of Ciarleim
agne ; how they marched thence, amid
the shouts of the people, the thunder
of artilery, and the waving of national
flags of black and gold, to commence
their solemn deliberations in the
Churcb of St. Pau:," and how, as the
fruit of this bright promise, true free
dom went down beneath the orgies of
red repuhlicaiisi !
Or shall we tell of Hungary, that
bulwark of European civilization,
ainst which the D% s1enm .host was
enthusiast, dashed like caged birds
against their bars, longing fur the frce
air without, whih had they reached,
their weak pinions would have essayed
in vain. Arid of Itality, torn and
bleeding now, her families decimated
by execution :ad exile-the terrible
retribution of the lessons of her demo
cratic leaders.
Such is briefly a sketch of Democra
ey in Europe during th.- last halfeen
tury, and full indeed of warning to us
-the sains and citizetis of this great
Republie. Is lation from the iuilu
enee (if other nlati.'I is impossible ntow,
when steam, the press, and free emi.
gration are cmmringliig the race of
men, and levelling stational peculiari
ties. Our rich arg sies are frighten
ed with more that the production of
distant skies. They bring to us the
opintinis and influences (if every schlia
and people-the noxious as well as the
good. To analize and discriminate so
as to adopt or reje t, is a nece'ssity
demanded by our hose- and our ex
istence , fo'r nothing catn ho clearer thanti
that the seeds of death are a ready
fruetifying among us, and that princi
pIes fatal to republicanism are gaining
rapid raast erv.
I w uitld then, gentlenton, address
you, the youing soldiers ofi p riniph-ils
sanctiflied wit ii atrit'iic bloo~d and w is'
dotm, ye u t he haopes oft a belo vedl State(,
seconid to none1 iti the excllence of' her'
inlstitut ons yout, lastly thle foster soans
of' thtis Cil lege, utpotn a few of' those
proinent princi ples. whieb conistituite
the essentials of a true and enidur'iina
republic.
The two greatest datiger's which lbe'
set all humani goverinmlentsv are thte
eXtremes of Radicalism orn the the (one
hiatnd, and stagnant iniacti vity on the
oithier. JBothI are equtally host ile to
liberty and civilization, just as the un
fettered violence of the madmiani, anid
the stupor of the opium eater, a like
canniot consist with individual well.
being. The tendencies to eithar var'ies
greatly with the character of thle pieo.
ph', aitd thle polJi tical system under
which they live. With absolitte atid
despotic govcrntments, the tenideticv is
most, intense to the latter; buiit wvith
thte free and Iliber'al, the proeli vity is
eqgnallhy str'ong towards the oIjposite
extt'eme oft radicalismt. In this, as ini
all thinigs else, the path of soutnd wis
dom lies, in that htappy mrediumt which
we call Conservatism A nd bienee it is.
that, a peoiple which t etmpers its pro
gi'ess by thle experienice of' thu past.
exhibits the first elemrent (if a great
and lasting prosperty. TIhat policy
which ignores the past arid its sober
lessonis, which rejects as adequated aind
iinbesile, whatever is wounitding to
vatity', oir un welcomie to gr'aspinig am-t
bit ion--m., a word, that, policy whtich
suibstitutes the ideal for' the teal, the
*See Garnett' Address before theo Virginia
tinmversity, to which 1 take thme pteasure of ae
knoawledgrmg grent enklbtelaems in the pre.pa
lieul of' this n -irea=
mushroom for the oak. blights every
thing it touches with distemper and
death.
"Government," as has been well
said, "is a contrivance of human wis
dom to provide for human warts ; }"
and the greatest of all wants, at least
in a Republic, is se/f control. That
Government which limits and restrains
least, depends for permanency upon
the stable and harmonious character of
the people.
And if it be true, that "that is the best
government which governs I ast ; it is
so only where its action is suppressed
by the wholesome self controll of the
governed. The Autocrat of Russia
can well be indiflerent to the opinions
which ferment and threaten in the bo.
sots of his subjects; fur the dread
Knoot is his ready minister, and bayo
nets bristle at his beck. IUere is a
government of force, and not of opin
ion. The wildest and most heretical
doctrines may agitate the hearts of the
masses; but they move not the deep
planted rock, against which, they fret.
Conservatism, in such a system, in
any, where force compels obedience,
is the certain policy of the government.
It wants no change which may loosen
the erasp, conservatism is the safeguard
of the people. They constitute tie
governent, and they have nothing to
tear from it, but what they should fear
from themselves. Conservatism, there
fore, protect them against themselves.
I is a great public conscience which re
bakes the sacrilegious 'thought and
unnerves the reckless arm. It is that
hearty and steadfast discrimination
between the stable and transient which
is noit ebarmed with the fancies, nor
led blind by fair promises, but which
while it gropes through the night of
political crisis, ever and anon casts its
eye upwards to those unchanging stars
of truth and wisdom that have in all
generations gladdened the lHarts of
faithful men.
We are told that conservatism is an
antiprogressive principle, .and that the
The answer is si:nple and direct. True
conservatism, is the highest and only
sure clement of advancement. And
certain it is, 'that all this country has
achieved, wortlhy of a great people or
of history' all that will command the
admiration of fut ure ages, or abide ihe
shock of time, is the honest fruit of
this policy. And so it must be in the
future. The tree of a prosperous State
is no ii fspriig of a day. It. demands
a (rtful and elaborate culture. Its
growr h is of the past. Far down and
wide its roots extend, drawing thence
life and beauty.
In the eloquent language of Cole
ridge, "with blood was it. planted, it
was rocked in tempests, the goat, the
ass, and tihe stag gnawed it ; the wild
boar whetted his tasks on its bark.
''he deep scars are still on its trunk,
and the path of lightning may be
traced amo its higher brarches.
And even after its fuIl growth in the
season of its strength, when its height
reached heaven, and the sight thereof'
to all the earth, the whirlwind has
more than once forced its statelv top
to touch the ground; it has bent like a
bow, antd sprang back like a shaft."
In arms and in arts, in laws and
gotvernrnent, in science and morals, we
would see this abnost magic nId de
veloape and expan~d, unrtilI it overflow'
ed in pro~sperity3.
We wou~lld see our' Repubhlic like
some tree (If' thre pimteval fore'st,
spread inrg over thle farce of natunre its
stailwatrt amrs, defiant of'the stormn,
crowned with Itfu'itage and shootinrg
alt'ft perentiial green. But it cannot at
tain or atpproiximiate to this, under the
lead of i rreveret protpagartdists. Corn.
parem' thle conduclti oIf ]England int 1688,
atnd Fi'ance in 17900, and mark the con
trast. Sec how, amid allI the confo
%iont, blood andit farnaticismi of' that day,
the people of' Etnglanid still chieri-hed
lie maxims arid inistitlutionis of thte
ptast; how they clunrg to the old atrk
arid covenatti of Ii berfy, arnd law, and
at least, remrodeled a freer and more
enlig htented system,upfoni triied founda
titons. Shte came forthI fromr th t cri
5is vigot'outs and frill of' hope-the
heal thy blood b'oundinig thlrough hrer
veims--her head erect, anrd hter eye
cleatr, anid onward she .-trode, conquer-.
itng and to conqtuer. Not so with
FtInetn in her trial, a century later
witht this example by her side. In
lihe conifidencee of self-vaunnted wisdom
shte despised ever'ything which wore
the saniction (If' time, save crime atnd
irrpiety, and the world knows how
bittetr was the fruitioti, niot yet com-'
plete I H~ere were two nteightbors, the
one c'onservativye, the other radical.
Eiiglaitd's progress was thtat, of the sun
steadily cuhlninttting in thte heavens,
each step br'ighiter than the last. TIhte
progress of France, was the mneeor
swaullowved up in gloom. WVell may
we say with burke, "wej have cornsecra
ted the State, that no ma~n shotuld ap.
't Burka's Euay on hlt8 Ravolu.,,oan
proach to look into It ets, inr cor
ruptions, but 'with' 4 cautiop; that
he should dream of I 'nrnatlon by
its subversion; that' : lppronch
to the faults of tli?9
wounds of a .fatb l
and .te blung o fi
therefore," says Baoon out braie
ry or scandal of forme ti ies and per
sons; yet, set it down, to thyself as
well as to create a good'precedent as to
follow them."
Conservatism then, as we under
stand it, is the highesb type of progress.
I feel, gentlemen, in thus urging upon
you conservatism, as the bulwark of
republicanism, I speak to those in
whom education, habits of life, and
political position. dictate a ready &s
sent. I shall again recur to it., in a
practical manner. - -
It is now universally pdmitted that
the education of the people is essential
to the permanency of Republican insti.
tutions. To oppose this'doctrine is to
incur the charge of hostilitg to enlight.
enment, and a leaning to aristocracy.
The question, theref.seof the proprie
ty and policy of public education, may
be considered as passed upon. The
State, is the party to whom this duty
is very properly assigned, as corpris
ing the people in their; organic body,
and as demanding dutid and services
of the citizen, of the. nature of which
she should inform him. Republics,
more than all other political systems,
require ahigher sta4 of moral and
mental training in the' whole mass of
citizens. This, then, being the admit
ted object, the question remains as to
the best means to attain to it-a prob
lem far, very far from being successful
ly solved.
Above all ancient options, the sys.
ter of education 'tmon the Athenians
is most worthy of.:notice. A State,
whose territory was 1 than many of
our districts with a p jlation of but
20,000 voting citizen Iut which has
left models in politicspotry, history,
philocophy,.and thea 4t,whicicafter
1w9 h tidred
' ose mU.1, eme em
dire over tha iindir'bearts of men,
must have pursued a system of educa
tion as sublineand wie, as its achieve
ments are triuimphant and enduring.
In the language of another*, 'a people
who could bear to have their follies
lashed by an Aristophanes, who fully
appreciated the lofty attic tragedy. who
corrected the language (t' Demos.
thenes, must have had an intellectual
refinement never since equalled."
What then was the training which bore
such fruits?
The education of the Athenian was
chiefly oral rad public, though not in
the miiudein sense. oetry, like mus
ic, was then, given toqhe world not in
cold type, but the eoent, the voice,
the play ofcountenan -and the enthu
siasn of t he comp jr accompanied
his verse to th. hea . and i magiia
tions of his hearers. I (philosophy, elo
uiience, laws or mora s were taugi t the
Imllster of each sat albf in the orches
tra, his own instrumnt iri hand, per.
.rm1ing his part in thegrand harmony.
W ith each lesson was impressed the
veneratle mien, or the genius lit eye
of the speaker. There was no annoy
ance to tempt the pen of calumny or
scurility, to sc.reen the anarchist and
the poisonier, while it scattered the
I reaUsoi of the one, ofj thme hen bane of
the other. And iff they reaped the
evils of' the oral system, they certainly
escaped the equal if not greater of the
wfittell,
Itf the former made them the fitting
audience of the seductive orator, it
saved them from the noiseless and tire.
side polutioh of the latter. If vice and
dishonor hiad their eloquent advocate,
so alko had virtue and patriotism, and
if the A thenian chose Wrongly, lie at
least did not ignorantly. If' his. jud.e
ment wvas exercised hiastity ini the
crowdedl Agora, rather than'ealmly in
his closet, so neither did it fester over
incendiary -pam phlets and' chilling li
entiousness ! If' he was captivated by
brilliant sophiistries from the mouths of
deimagouges, lie was spared their deep
infusion into him from the press.
Bot the imost striking feature of the
ediiention oif thme younmg Athenian, was
its anmatinig and- .Jnspiring character.
See huim as liebends his lithe form in
mute attention to ithe disoussio'n, of
Plato and Anaxagoras-as he drinks.
ini at the Ecclesia a love of libei ty and
honor, fresh from the lips ofrdolon and
Decmosthenes-hear him as he joins in
the chaunt of' Iomerle songs-see him
as at the Theatre, his vivid nature
hangs entranced by the chorus of Eu
ripides-aIs at tha testivals and olymp-.
ics, the deeds of' heroes and sages nov.
er forgotten, are sung in ly rio num bers,'
tiring his young mind with dreams of
fame, as his love of. the beautiful is
steeped in admiration ofthe Parthenon,
and the decorations of the Propy lea
mark his breast swelling with pride of
eount ry, as ho beholds the bronze statue
Marathon, or enters th Odeon. whose
* tateama's Manual.
of Athena, 'made -from then '1ls of
roofs are timbers from the 'eptured
Persian ships, and that awning canopied
great Xerxes,.on the. morning of Sa
i misl--hear his plaudits, as they leap
-[gtIa thr*llgn soul, when the con
esttweet Eoles and oii Eschy.
lusis over, an youth has-pluoked- the.
tragic crown from the brow of age !f
See liini in all this, and answer, wheth
er the noble and generous, the beauti.
ful and the great, the chivalric and the
dignified, were notilall cultivated in
consummate harmony.
No smattering pedagogue was there
to drill his ziind in forms and phrases,
or strew his heart with vanity and mean
ambitions. But statesmen, orators and
poets were his schoolmasters, and a
splendid history his horn book. There
was no hum-drum, no belaboring of
stupidity with unwelcome tasks. All
the qualities of mind and heart were
called into nctive.life. The glory and
elevation of Athens was bequeathed to
sons from the dying lips of sires. It
was the dream which stirred the boy
in his sleep, and danced before his steps
as he trod the streets in mid-day. It
made the heroic love of woman more
heroic, and filled the mother's heart
with great thoughts for her of~spring,
Hence that public spirit which delight.
ed in sacrifices, when honor or coun
try called. -
'Their bodies, too," savs Thucydides
"they employ for the State, as if they
were any one else's but their own, but
with minds completely their own, they
are ever ready to render it service."
Hence, in a word, the immortality of
Athens,. and Athenian civilization.
here was education indeed, proven by
sublime tests !
It is no reply to this, to point to acts
of ingratitude, of cruelty, of short
sightedness or more than all. o tell us
of the final decay and fall of that noble
little State. The first will find their
apology in the frailties uhich beset hu
manity everywhere. And the causes
of her downfall must be sought in a
concurrence of. Orars and disasters,
Be it remet ra -w
Star of Bethldhem inith skyffnr her:
whose benign light might inspire her
philosophers and statesmen with truths
unknown before, and lead their gro
pihg steps to Faith and God. Yet
lacking this, she need not shrik from
bold comparison, in all that constitutes
a people truly great, with some nations
at least who boast their Christianity.
These remarks upon the e ucation
of the Athenians, are intended as in
troductory to a brief comment upon
the modern system.
Assuming th.t a Republic de
pends for permanency upon the mor
ality of the people, and that intellectual
cultivation is a means to that end,
there has been established. ;n some of
the States of this Union, what is term
ed a Common School system, the
range of which is reading and writing,
with a few rudiments.
Now, the tiist and fundamental er
ror in this system appears to be, in the
implied assumption that reading and
writimg either in themselves constitute
an eduention, or that, the majority of
those thus taught avail themselves of
it, as a startirig point for future culti
vation. I need not enter into an ela
borate argument to show that the
bare knowledge of reading and wri
ting constitutes in no true sense an
education, It certainly cannot of it
self' make a better mnan or a better cit
izen. (They are simply mans which,
to produce the end for w hich they
were intended, must be properly used.
Like the tooks of the artisaun, they
may be used to hew and destroy, as
well as to build and beautifv.) And
as to the second a wor-d w'ill suflice.
By far the larger portion of those who
attend the common school, come fr-om
the lap ofpovert-y anid toil. They be
long to that class to be ibund in ev
ery condition of society, bumt especially
in the more wealthy and civilized,
who(se livelihood is scantily had by the
hardest drudgery. Frotn this scene
they go to the common school, and
after receiving thetmodicum .of knowl
edge there given, they rettrn hene
they came, tg toil and struigle. TIhe
tast es, the occupations-t he o ppor tu.
niies of these, cannot be intellectual.
WVith the first light of morning they
go forth to thoir honest labor, and at
early eve sink exhausted to their
couches, y\Vhat trme is spared to
them for bhpks? - We know that thoere
are b)right exceptions, and we partici
pate in the pride of their names; men
whose mind's thirst was slacked in
lonely hours stolen froem sleep and
health. But they were of that stamp
born to triumph.-Their genima was
inspired at a higher fountain than the
common school.--Their lofty pumrptise
made themn independent of its meagre
charities, arnd would have achieved
success had they never,- entered its
portals. A systemi( then, which pro
poses to promote the mnental growth of~
this class by such mea'ns is j n the
t Garnett as above.
outset met by natural obstacles.
But again. Does this system. well.
nigh barren as it is of intellectual
fruit, cherish morals and instil virtue?
If it does not, the very objects for
which it is instituted, the promotion of
public virtue, as essential to republic.
anism, are defeated. This. is the test,
and the common school system must
stand or fall by it.
Now, let us admit, for the sake of
argument, that this system does edu
cate intellectually, it may well be
doubted whether it even then pro.
motes morals. Indeed. although at
the first glance there would seem to
be direct connection between intellec
tral enlightenment and virtue, that
the light which kindles the mind should
-also penetrate the heart; yet history is
full of examples of the highest illumin.
ation of the one, linked with the
deepest depravity of the other. The
last generation in France, and the pres
ent in Germany, are both melanchly
instances in point. "And the most
learned eras in modern Italy were
precisely those which brought the
vices into the most ghastly refine
ment." Mere intellectuality is de
(iant of God and man. It knows no
law, no impulses, no checks, save the
dictates of its daring ambitions. Its
type has been admirably drawn by the
great noveliest of England, in the char
acter of Randal Leslie-the man in
intellect--the demoun in heart.
But what is the state of morals
where this system prevails? In Prus.
sia, whose boast is the enlightenment
of her people, crime and vice are great
ly on the increae. lIn France, where
the Prussian syste.rn has been adopted,
they exhibit io diminution. - In the
United States there is, still a sadder
tale.* In New England, where, we
are told, this system has been eminent
ly successful, where reading and wri
ting are taught to all, crime, vice, and
infidolity are progressing in a fearful
ratio. It is attempted to explain this,
by the influence of emigration. But,
the statistics show the increase to be
and cstal is't this- mreager, insufficient
and unsatisfactory system of public
education, enjoys comparative and un
exampled immunity from all.
But this reading and writing sys.
tem, is not only not productive of pub
lic virtue, but tends directly to a men
tal de-moralization, no less fatal to Re
publicanism than licentiousness, and
vice. Place the young mind under a
tuition like this where no fixed prin.
ciples in morals or psAitics are taught,
where knowledge is circurnscribed
within a few dogmas, and where ev
en this narrow training ceases at the
very moment when the mind is awake
with inquiry and, speculation--then
turn it out to pasture in the "unweed.
ed garden," which a licentious Press
has planted, ar.d what is the result?
-Can it surprise us that such a mind.
vain because of its meager learning, not
yet subdued into that beautiful humili
ty which, according to Bacinr, true
knowledge fist. rs, should at once
launch into wild speculation? Need we
wonder that the instrument thus en
trusted to -unskiful hands, should be
used, not to prune, but to destroy? Or
that a mind so prepared, should at
once fill a victim to specious fallacies,
arnd mad theories; that, it should
greedily absorb the light and seduc
tive, and r eject the th >ughtful and so
ber? Here is (lie great clue to the
radicalism of the Nott. Hero 'is the
lihuntain of that torrent of ism s, which
is swallowinrg uip liter-ature, morals
and polities, and has east upon sooie
ty again, the buried offal of exploded
falsehood. The youth who leaves the
commiron seh..ol at the North feels the
pains of auathor-ship within him. Or ig
inality is Iris sole thought, and the
more extreme and radical he is, the
stronger uad better- his claim. Eager
publishers calculate the success of
the new work, by its congeniality to
popular ideas and passions, and fomrth
it goes in blue and gilt to minds as
anchirless and weak a-s his own. En
ter the cities of the North, embark on
her steamers, ride on her railroads,
go into the counitry, and every'where
yout will find the appetite cf her so
ealled Reading Pubhlic, dieted on lite
rary gar-bage. Cheap inifid elity.- social
ism, and v-ice, ar-c served up in ev
ery form to suit the palatesof the mnil
lion..
I yield to none In suppnrt of a toell
regulated free press. I know that,
it is the .tongue of liberly, and the
sword t9 ty rants; that it has disenthral
led and developed opinion. But the
conclusion cannot 1)e av'oided, that
among a people educated uip to the
point of' the Northern syistem, the ab
solutely Free Press will become a
stire demoralizer, hy ministering vici
ous food to van rndustab'e min-ds.
* At a Convention of thre Ip-n tendentm of
the Common Schools in New Rtjlad, held
this fall in New Hqven- thaaet .e p..
The chief defect Is, tha' it diee ?ot go .
far enough. ,Jt should be carried' be
yond the point of merely. ,saplr1ng'.
means. The State should see t, it -
as far as practicable, that the means
are nit abused. This is the basis of
all legislation against !the publication
of obscure and cortupt works. -And
theState when she as uines. he edu.
cation of the citizen, should 'zealou's
ly strive to protect him from pollution,
just as a wise parent watches ever the,
mind and heart of his offspring.
(With such safeguards, reading and'
writing would become the most benefi.
cent instruments in a people's progress,
and haippiness.)
If. then, this system fails; to elevate.
the people intellectually-if it does
not. diminish vice and crime; ifaided by
a licentious Press it fosters mental van
ity, wild speculation and immorality
-if, in a word, it falls short .of its
object, the welflre of the Republio,
what is the-systemn really conducive to;
that end?
The first. object of public education
should (and by public, I me.an State)
be to inform the people of the nature of
their government, the rights and duties
of the citizen. Prof. Lieber in his ad
inirable essay upon Anglican and Gal
lican liberty, onutherates tAis among
the duties of all free systems. We be.
lieve that, as iegards the larger portion
of the eitizens, government will fail
when it attempts more; and it em.cts
results grand and beneficient indeed,,
when it doesthis much.
And here we again recur with con
fidence to the Athenian system. It
was in the Ecclesia, in the public
courts, and t!h3 debates of statesmen
that the Athenian imbibed the princi
ples ofhis governm' nt, and learend
his rights which he so well defended',.
and the duties he so nobly performed'
We too have our Ecclesia in our
public assemblies,'our open Courts.
and our Legislatures, where the na
ture of our institutions are discussed.
and defined, and where a high publio
spirit can be fostered. To these sour,
with their grivernthuenr, arid the pat, I
otic spirit which distinguishes them..
From the lips of Calhoua and Mcd.uif..
fie they have been wisely taught the
rights and duties that befit and adorn
a free people. Tho lives and teach.
ings of such men are the best books hf
political wisdom, and they will be
remembered not because read, but
because they have been seen and heard
and will descend as heir looms from.
.ather to Jon.
.But there is a requisite higher than
this in the education of the citizens of
a Republic. It is an elevated tone of
honor and morals. And what schobl
so fitting as the home fur these? Home
education, enforced by the sweet in-.
fluence of the paront, and the, gentle
dependency of the child, can alone.
engraft upon the nature those quali
ties needful to the man-and the citizen.
No system, however comprehensive
can dispense with its blessings and,
benefits. A people whose homes are
the altars of principles and honor,
have the best of common schools at
their own hearths, to prepare them for
their career. Here indeed has 0o4
blessed the South. Around our
homes grow alike the hopes of y out
arnd the recollections of age; and ini
that social intercourse so fairly our
pride, generosity -and honor, purity
and intelligence find a genial soil,
These are the essentials of the edu
tions of tlie citizens of a Republic.
do not say that further education is
not highly advantageous to the oiti
zen of alepublic, nor do I deny that
in propotion to their progress In a
knowledge of all the arts and sciences,
will they prosper and develope. Bt
my subject is the "Essentials of a4
Republic," and I am seeking to define
accurately the limits of such an edL.
cation, without disputing the certaiun
blessings to flow from greater culture.]
But when~ State educetion goes fur
ther, whenu in keeping with the spirit
of' the age, it seeks a broader basis let
her rear institu'.iorns like this (the 8.
C. College.) Let her concentrete
Ilight upon the hill-top whence Ats rays
will p'ierce tilie dark valles a aril,
mfinI)Ghe path .of' the elimber, rathew -
than scatter feeble egrtdles, ~~
uncertain lights decoy ,the gn.war~
into pits and quagtnir.es. Let'
pupils of this and siilpr .inatltthti~
step forth into life deeply .irpbue$ ,4
with the spirit of our institutions en
'worthy principles. Mett whose prea
ence andl example shalil radiate patri
otisny apd .hnor, .and who in dthe
doubt and .fury of political orisis,
will command the game and and guide '~
the steps of the eriing. When ehe -~'~
does edgeoatse,'let iher.educate pilolii
Let, her build .spon the basis ot'-i
-home .and fimily, an tide it~
serstrtare, grand an t ph~t
with 8tete nrjde,mk
phr6 of the Btate a4t~
00OtIntslUbO ~oit t ' #