1828.1 EDUCATION. 299 The law in question has been in many instances entirely and culpably neglected; in some but partially executed, and in others perverted and abused. The funds appropriated for this useful charity have, in some cases, been embezzled by the fraudulent agents in whom an unguarded confidence was reposed. speculation, than the important and legitimate end which nish them with the means of education; and such chilthey ostensibly announce to the public. Hence the ig-dren are required, or rather permitted, to be instructed norance, the inattention, and even the immorality of the at the most convenient schools, at the expense of the teachers of our common schools, have long been sub-several counties. jects of regret to the reflecting and benevolent class of our fellow citizens. Frequent efforts have been made by some of the more intelligent and public spirited to diminish, if not entirely to prevent, these evils in their respective districts, by organizing associations for the purpose of procuring suitable instructors for their children. The provisions of the act are incomplete, and fre This plan, when zealously pursued, has been attend-quently inoperative: no compulsory method is provided ed by the most beneficial results; but is necessarily limit- to ensure either a return of the number of children who ed, and generally transient in its effects; depending for are entitled to the bounty of the treasury, or to require its success, as well as its establishment and continuance, their attendance at school, when they are returned by on the zeal and intelligence of a few individuals. It is the assessors: hence the negligence of the free scholars, a common, but very true remark, that the performance united with that of the executive officers of the counties, of duties relating equally to the common interests of so- has produced results which the Legislature could not ciety, is too frequently neglected when the performance foresee. In some cases only a few children, two or of these duties is not specifically assigned to particular three in number, have been returned in each family; persons: hence the general inattention to the charac- and the remainder have been illegally, and intentionally ter of schoolmasters; in consequence of which individu- excluded from receiving any participation in the bene. als are frequently permitted to usurp this important sta- fits of this charity, which was intended to be universal. tion, who are entirely incapable of filling many of even From a parsimonious desire of saving to the county treasu the humblest occupations of society. In accepting the ry, the cheapest, and consequently the most inefficient, very small salaries with which many of them are content- schools have been usually selected by the commissioned, they at once gratify the unwise parsimony of the pa- ers. Even this miserable substitute for education is imrents of their pupils, and attach at least a modest valua- parted in some of the counties, only during a few months tion to their own services. Even these apologies for in each year. In a few districts only, has the system esschools have not been universally established throughout tablished by law been faithfully pursued, but the result our commonwealth. In some districts no schools of any has not equalled the expectations of the Legislature, cidescription exist! no means whatever of acquiring edu- ther in regard to the economy or efficiency of the plan. cation are resorted to. Teachers are unwilling to incur The sums drawn from the county treasuries for defraying the expense of establishing seminaries, unless some pro- the education of the poor is partially, but, notwithstandbability exists of obtaining a sufficient number of pupils ing all their researches, not accurately known by your to afford them the means of maintenance. The differ- committee, but they are induced to suppose that the ences of opinion, and the jarring interests of the inhabi-annual amount at present expended by the public and tants, in relation to suitable sites for school-houses, and by individuals to support the existing imperfect seminasometimes the culpable apathy of the population, occa- ries, is perhaps equal to the expense of the highly effision whole districts to remain destitute of these all-im- cient systems which are in successful operation in some portant institutions. It is almost unnecessary to state of our sister states. that ignorance, and its never failing consequence crime, prevail in these neglected spots to a greater extent than in other more favoured portions of our state. poorer classes will not permit them to enroll themselves as paupers, in order that their children may receive their education from the charity of the public. Hence this proud feeling, whether censurable or otherwise it is not our intention at present to inquire, frequently deprives them of the only means of instruction offered to their ac ceptance. We have reserved hitherto our opinion of the great and radical defect, the incurable evil, which is inherent in the school system of Pennsylvania-a system which is It is a fact well known, both in Europe and in the U. in opposition to the most sensitive and the strongest moStates, that of the number of those criminals who are ar-ral feelings of citizens. The feelings of many of the raigned at the bar of the courts of justice, a very large proportion consists of these unfortunate individuals whose education has been neglected; of those to whom literary or religious instruction have never been imparted in schools or places of worship. Deeply impressed with the truth of this statement, your committee are reluctantly compelled to state that they have received information from the most unquestionable sources that many children are permitted to remain, in some parts of our commonwealth, to whom no religious instruction has ever been imparted; to whom the attributes of their Creator, and the great end of their existence, are alike unknown. The simple statement of this lamentable and opprobrious fact, speaks more than the most laboured dissertation on the neglect of education in Pennsylva nia. This appears to your committee to offer an adequate cause for the failure of the present well meant legislative provision: a provision made without a due regard for or knowledge of the deep and cherished feelings of our citizens. The pride of independence scorns to receive even the greatest blessings which man can bestow, when the proffered boon is offered for acceptance in the humiliating form of a public charity. This feeling has Such are the present means of diffusing elementary In our large cities, where pauperism has long preeducation to the children of those whose pecuniary cir- vailed, misery and demoralization necessarily diminish cumstances enable them to afford the benefits of instruc- the sensibility or degrade the feelings of a large class of tion. But the pernicious effects of the present system the population, whose daily means of subsistence are are peculiarly experienced by that class of our popula- supplied by public or private charity, or whose uncertion who are either unable or unwilling to defray the ex-tain and unprofitable labour yields an inadequate and pense of educating their offspring. The eighth article of the constitution of Pennsylvania contemplates the instruction of all classes of her citizens: the legislative enactment of 1809 requires the assessors in the respective counties to ascertain and return the number of children whose parents are unable, through poverty, to fur Many of the tenants of our penitentiaries can neither read nor write. precarious support. The feeling of humiliation is lessened by the number of the indigent who participate in misfortune: consequently charity, in any form, will be received with eagerness. Hence, in Philadelphia, many of the indigent do not hesitate to avail themselves of the means of instruction which are offered to them gratuitously in the well conducted public schools of that city. With such excep tions, we believe that the feelings of the majority of our prevented, and, whilst human nature remains the same, always will prevent, the success of all similar legislative enactments. The experiment has been tried for twenty years in Pennsylvania; it has been tried in Virginia, in South Carolina, and in other states; and the unvarying result has been a failure, complete, unequivocal, but, we venture to hope, not uninstructive. Your committee have now performed the laborious but useful task of investigating the complicated subject to which their researches have been directed. They have endeavoured briefly to describe "the state of Education in Pennsylvania." In another report they will endeavour to submit to the society a system which they are induced to suppose is suitable for adoption in our Commonwealth. Signed, ROBERTS VAUX, PHILADELPHIA, April 12, 1828. Constitution of the Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Public Schools. Convinced of the powerful agency of education, in forming the characters of Nations; stimulated by the noble example and enlightened policy of other states, as well as by a knowledge of the advantages which have resulted from the establishment of public primary schools in the first school district of Pennsylvania; and desirous to give efficient operation to the constitutional injunction, that schools shall be established throughout the State, so that the poor may be taught gratis-We, the subscribers, for the more effectual promotion of that important object, have associated ourselves and adopted the following Constitution for our government. Article 1. The association shall be denominated "The Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Public Schools." cond, Corresponding Members. Third, Honorary Article 10. Any person who shall give his assent to the provisions of the Constitution by subscribing his name thereto, shall be considered a contributing member of the Society. Article 11. This Constitution may be altered at any stated meeting of the Society, a majority of the members | present consenting thereto. Article 12. Each contributing member shall pay annually two dollars. Article 13. The election of Honorary and Corresponding Members shall be by the Council. Any member may propose any person to the Council as an Honorary or Corresponding Member.-Two thirds of the votes of the members of the council present shall be necessary for the election of an honorary member, and a majority of such votes shall be necessary for the election of a Cor. responding Member. Officers and Council of the Society. President. Roberts Vaux. PENNSYLVANIA CANAL. SERIES 6. tion. Article 2. The object of the Society shall be the promotion of education throughout the State of Pennsylvania, by encouraging the establishment of Public Schools, in which the elementary branches of education shall be taught in the respective counties of the Commonwealth; First Report of De Witt Clinton, jr. on the Juniata locafor the attainment of the end, the Society shall open and maintain a correspondence with such zealous, intelligent and patriotic citizens, as may be induced to co-operate with it, and shall from time to time communicate to the public, through the medium of pamphlets and newspapers, such information as it may deem expedient, and adopt such other measures as may appear to be best calculated to accomplish the object of its creation. Article 3. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, two Vice Presidents, two Corresponding Secretaries, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and fifteen members, who, in addition to the preceding officers, shall compose the council. Article 4. There shall be two stated meetings of the Society in each year, viz. on the first Monday in March, and the first Monday in October. Article 5. The officers of the Society shall be chosen by ballot, at the first stated meeting of the Society in each year. Article 6. If a vacancy in office occur, it shall be filled by the Council until the next annual election of the Society. Article 7. If the Society omit to hold an annual election, the existing officers shall continue in office until the next annual election. Article 8. The duties of the officers respectively and of the Council, shall be such as the By-Laws shall from time to time define and require. To the honourable Board of Canal Commissioners of Penn- I have the honour to report, in part, my opinion of the relative advantages of the sides of the Juniata river for the construction of a canal, from Lewistown to the Susquehanna river. In submitting my views on this subject, I remark, that I have predicated them on a careful examination of the economy of the work and the benefits which will result to the citizens, from the location of the line. I therefore recommend, that the canal should commence at the mouth of the Kishocoquillis creek, at Lewistown, and continue on the north side of the river to North's Island. At this point to cross, by a dam, to the south side of the river, and end for the present at or near the head of Duncan's Lower Island, until new examinations can be made to establish the most eligible point to terminate the canal on the Susquehanna river. Respectfully submitted, DE WITT CLINTON, JR. Engineer. Harrisburg, July 1, 1827. First Report of Mr. Guilford on the Juniata location. To the Board of Canal Commissioners of Pennsylvania. GENTLEMEN, Article 9. The members of the Society shall consist In compliance with the resolutions of the board, diof three classes. First, Contributing Members. Se-recting Mr. Clinton and myself to "make further exam poorer citizens will continue to render the law of 1809 in a great measure inoperative. inations on each side of the Juniata, between the mouth of that river and Lewistown, in order to ascertain which side of the river is most favourable and most proper to be adopted for the construction of a canal," I have the honour to report. That, from an examination of the north and south sides of the Juniata river, from Duncan's Lower Island to North's Island, near Millerstown, I concur with Mr. Clinton in the opinion that the south bank of the Juniata, from Duncan's to North's Island is the most proper to be adopted for the location of the canal. I have not had time, since the resolution of the board, to finish the surveys on the Susquehanna and make further examinations on the Juniata river; but, from the descriptions given by Mr. Clinton, Mr. White, and respectable people who are acquainted with the topography of the country, in the vicinity of the Juniata, above Millerstown, I believe the north side of the Juniata is the most suitable for the construction of the canal, above that place. Respectfully submitted, GENTLEMEN, On the first of last month we had the honour of sub Three locks of stone on eastern side of the Canal from the aqueduct to the eastern divi- Dam of stone across the Susquehanna at Fos- If an aqueduct is not constructed, there must Add for the turnpike and tow path bridge Deduct from this sum the difference in cost 301 24,0001 30,595 16,650 $240,687 161,391 $79,296 73,043 6,000 9,157 167,496 15,000 $ 152,496 Estimate of the cost of uniting the Juniata and Susmitting our views on the location of a canal, from Lewis-quehanna canals, on the south side of the Juniata river, town to the head of Duncan's Island. We have since, in compliance with our instructions, completed the necessary examinations below that point, and the surveys and soundings of the several proposed places of crossing the Susquehanna with a canal. We have now the honour to mention the result, with a comparative estimate of the cost of the several places. The first consideration is the crossing of the Susquehanna with a dam. This latter work is necessary on the present location of the eastern division of the canal, and a dam is commenced for this purpose on Foster's upper rift. The places that have been proposed to cross the Susquehanna, is at Duncan's Lower Island and Clark's Lower Ferry. The dam constructing on Foster's Rift will not raise the water sufficiently high to allow boats to cross in low water at Duncan's Island. We consider the construction of a channel at that point impracticable. It would therefore be necessary, in crossing on a low level at this point, to construct a dam three feet high, the top of which to be only eighteen feet below the level established for the aqueduct. 6,000 14,869 $225,666 On a review of our several estimates, and a careful comparison, we are satisfied that the crossing of the canal, either on a high or low level, at Duncan's Lower Island, would be the most proper place. We would also remark, that if an aqueduct is necessary, that it would be much more economical to construct it at this time than hereafter. If the lower level should be adopted for the present, it will occasion the expenditure of fiftyeight thousand dollars, on works which will be rendered entirely useless, should the aqueduct be found unnecessary hereafter, which in our opinion it will be. We beg leave to submit, for the consideration of the board, the following comparative estimates of the several plans: Estimate of the cost of uniting the Juniata and Sus- Five locks of wood and rough stone quehanna canals, near the head of Duncan's Island, and constructing a canal upon a high level across the island, for the purpose of crossing the Susquehanna river by an aqueduct, or by a tow path connected with a turnpike bridge, above the mouth of the Juniata. 8,739 7,880 7,393 4,477 85,485 22,343 16,650 9,000 $161,967 quehanna canals upon a low level, and crossing the Sus- 15,395 Dam across the Juniata river 8,739 7,880 8,500 Canal on Duncan's Island Canal from the bridge to eastern division of Dam of stone across the Susquehanna RECAPITULATION. Cost of uniting on the south side of Juniata, and crossing at Clark's lower ferry Difference in favour of upper ferry 7,393 of our people, and to prevent any trouble we come to renew our former bond of friendship. When William 73,043 Penn first came, he made a clear, and open road, all the way to the Indians; we desire the same may be kept 15,595 open, that all obstructions may be removed, of which, 9,157 on our side, we will take care. Let the peace be so 9,000 firm, that you and us, joined hand in hand, even if the greatest tree falls, it shall not divide us. As our fathers $ 139,307 have been in peace, so let us, and our children as they come into the world hereafter, be in peace, that it may be continued from generation to generation, forever." Cost of uniting the canals on the north side of the Juni- Such were the noble sentiments, the grateful recolata, and crossing the Susquehanna by an aqueduct lections, and the honourable desires, of that high-minded at Clark's upper ferry $240,887 race; and the promulgation of them is the more remark. able, because, before the council terminated, the same 295,088 chief uttered the complaint of his nation, in this fearless and sarcastic strain: "I will now speak of the trade be$54,201tween you and us. It has been like a house with two doors, one for us, and one for the English, but the goods on a high were placed in the dark, so that we did not know how we were dealt with. We want the terms of trade set152,496 tled, so that we may no longer be in danger of being 225,666 cheated. We are often imposed upon by the lightness of your money. You certainly know the value of ours. I wish this evil put out of the way."-Vaux's Anniversary Discourse. Cost of uniting the canals at the above places level with tow path bridges. At upper ferry Lower ferry Difference in favour of upper ferry $73,170 The cost of canals on the low level for the purpose of crossing the Susquehanna with a tow path bridge. At Clark's lower ferry do. upper ferry Difference in favour of upper ferry REMARKS. $161,967 CHESTER COUNTY CABINET OF NATURAL SCIENCE. We have been favoured with the Report of a Committee of the "Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science," from which we make some interesting extracts, not having space for the whole report. Such instituIf the canal should cross the Susquehanna river at any point below Clark's lower ferry, it will increase the tions, as the Athenæum (noticed in our last) and the length of an aqueduct or bridge, more than eight hun- Cabinet are highly creditable to Chester County, whose dred feet. Should they cross at Cove mountain, aque-natural resources, if investigated with the zeal at present ducts will be necessary over the Little Juniata and Sher-manifested, must soon become well ascertained—were man's creek. In estimating the expense of constructing the aque.every county in the state to imitate the laudable examducts and bridges, calculations have been made for ple of Chester County, what an interesting amount of stone abutments and piers, with superstructures of wood. information, would in a few years be collected; and The piers of the aqueduct across the Susquehanna to be what a salutary tendency would such institutions have one hundred feet span, and the bottom of the superstructures twenty feet above the river, at low water. The to enlighten and enlarge the minds of the citizens! piers of the bridges are calculated to be two hundred feet span, and the aqueduct across the Juniata 50 feet span; the width of the aqueduct eighteen feet in the clear. In estimating the expense of uniting the Juniata and Susquehanna canals on a low level, with the eastern division of the Pennsylvania canal, on a level three feet higher than the canal is located at present, nothing has been added for the cost of a lock three feet, which would be necessary. As the expense of the lock, if located about a mile and a half below the falls, would be less than the expense of rock excavation which would be saved by such location, without increasing the walling and embankment, or any part of the line. It does not appear that any thing had been done in the Science of Zoology, in Chester County; but the study of Minerals received considerable attention, and Botany was cultivated with much interest, at an early period. In the year 1774, the late Humphrey Marshall established his Botanic Garden, at Marshallton: he appli ed himself very diligently to the improvement of the place, and to the collection of plants, especially such as were indigenous to the United States. The Garden soon obtained a reputation; and for many years before the death of Mr. Marshall, it had become an object of curiosity to men of science: Mr. Frederick Pursh informs us, that it was the first place of a Botanical character visited by him, after his arrival in America. After the decease of Mr. Humphrey Marshall, in the year 1801, we believe that no improvements were made in the garden, and since the death of Doctor Moses Marshall, in 1813, the Botany of the place seems to have been entirely neglected. But it still exhibits many interesting relics, as pine and fir trees-the willow leaved and English oaks, the Kentucky nickar tree, the buckeye, and several specics of magnolia. The trees we A conference was held at Philadelphia in 1715, and have mentioned, with various interesting shrubs and attended by a large number of Delawares; on that occa-herbaceous plants, which survive the general ruin, are sion, Sassoonan, one of their chiefs, said, Respectfully submitted, Signed DE WITT CLINTON, JR. Harrisburg, August 2, 1827. (To be continued.) INDIAN SPEECH. Engineers. "The calumet, which we carried to all the nations, we have now brought here;-it is a sure bond of peace amongst them, and between us and you;-we desire, by holding up our hands, that the God of heaven may witness, that there may be a firm peace between you and us forever. We heard of some murmurs among some memorials of the interest which was formerly taken in the garden by its venerable founder. Humphrey Marshall was born 10th October, 1722, O. S. in West-Bradford township, near the West Branch of the Brandywine, and died 5th Nov. 1801. His father, Abraham Marshall, emigrated from Derbyshire, En gland, at the age of sixteen, having, about that time, be come a member of the society of Friends. He first settled near Darby, where he married, and shortly afterwards removed to the forks of the Brandywine, and purchased large tracts of land among the Indians. For many years he was a preacher among the Friends. He died at the advanced age of one hundred and three years, very highly respected. Humphrey received an ordinary English education, and went very little to school; what Latin he knew, he acquired by occasional lessons from a schoolmaster who was engaged in the neighbourhood. He was almost wholly self-taught, and as his father, by continued industry, had obtained a large property, our Botanist was permitted to gratify his propensity for reading. In botanical excursions, he was remarkable for the rapidity with which he detected plants; but towards the close of his life, he was afflicted with blindness. His disposition was benevolent, his judgment vigorous, his memory retentive. The science of plants was his favourite study, and before he established his botanic garden, at Marshallton, he had cultivated one on a smaller scale, on the plantation now occupied by Joshua Marshall. In 1785, he published the Arbustum Americanum, or catalogue of American Forest Trees and Shrubs, in which he was assisted by his nephew, the late Doctor Moses Marshall, who was a botanist of considerable merit, and, at the request of his uncle, had travelled through many of the States, in search of American plants. The next garden in botanical importance is that founded by the late John Jackson, in the township of London-Grove. Mr. Jackson was a member of the Society of Friends: he was an excellent gardener, and a highly respectable botanist. He was born in LondonGrove, the 9th of November, 1748, and died in the same township, the 20th of December, 1821. The garden was commenced in the year 1776 or 1777: it contains about an acre and a half of ground, and is located in a lime-stone valley of extraordinary beauty and fertility. A small green-house is attached to the place: a spring yielding an abundant supply of water, takes its rise near the centre of the garden, and affords an opportunity for the growth of aquatic plants, and some others, which delight in a humid soil. The place presents a numerous collection of foreign and indigenous plants of much interest to the student of botany. Mr. Jackson was a plain, unostentatious man, of mild and amiable manners, and sincere hospitality. He also paid attention to mineralogy. His son, William Jackson, the present proprietor of the garden, inherits his father's love for natural science, and employs himself in making gradual improvements in the establishment. 303 educated, and had entered upon the study of botany as a science.-From the many notes and remarks left among his papers, since destroyed, relative to plants, their classification, &c. it may be presumed that he intended, at some period, to publish a work upon that subject. He was also versed in mineralogy; but the specimens which he left were not accompanied with any memoranda, to distinguish their character or location. He was an eminent surgeon and physician, and during the revolutionary war, he was engaged with honour in the continental service. He deceased May 11, 1813. Doctor William Baldwin, a very zealous botanist, was born in Newlin township, on the 29th of March, 1779. His father, Thomas Baldwin, was a preacher among the society of Friends. William received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, on the 10th of April, 1807, and in the autumn of 1811 he removed to the Southern States. Mr. Elliott's sketchu bears ample testimony to the ability and extent of his researches, not to mention other publications. During his residence in the South, he traversed the greater part of East-Florida, and much of Georgia, on foot, in quest of plants. Many of the specimens collected by him, in that region, are contained in the Herbarium of our Cabinet. In 1812 he was appointed a Surgeon in the Navy of the U. S. and in 1817 he made a voyage to Buenos Ayres, in a national vessel-during which voyage he made large additions to his botanical collections. By the appointment of government, he attended Major Long in his expedition to the Yellow Stone river, upor which occasion he fell a victim to the pulmonary consumption, which was hereditary in the family. He died on the Missouri, on the 1st Sept. 1819, universally regretted. A more amiable and genuine philanthropist has seldom lived: he was as free from guile, as the simple Nature in which he so much delighted. At his death, his Herbarium, which was very large and valuable, passed into the hands of Zaccheus Collins, Esq. of Philadel phia, who purchased it, as was understood, for the Academy of Natural Sciences. Our situation forbids us to enlarge upon the character and botanical acquirements of Doctor William Darlington, but his merit is so well known to us that it is unnecessary to bestow any eulogy upon him. By botanical exploration, in the vicinity of West-Chester, accompanied with a familiar and easy mode of imparting instruction, he infused a love of Natural Science into many persons who are now engaged in the study of Nature. His persevering exertions contributed, in a great measure, to the formation of our cabinet, and much of the success which has attended our operations, is to be Two brothers, Joshua and Samuel Pierce, about the ascribed to his ardour in the cause. He deposited his year 1800, commenced the cultivation of rare and inter- extensive and valuable Herbarium in the cabinet, at the esting trees, on their farm, in the township of East-Marl-organization of the society; he assisted us also with doborough. The collection is particularly rich in hardy nations of minerals; and, in the botanical department, evergreens from the northern regions of this continent: almost every thing has been supplied by his skill and the long and shaded avenues, in the summer time, exhi- labour. bit a beautiful scenery. Several springs exist at the eastern termination of the walks, the waters of which, being collected into a basin, have been partially applied to plants of the aquatic kind. The taste and industry of these gentlemen, have rendered their seat one of the most delightful spots in Chester County. Such indications of attachment to the amiable pursuits of Natural Science, as are displayed in the establishments of Mr. Jackson and the Pierces, are highly creditable to the proprietors, and operate beneficially upon the community in which they are located. These it is believed, are all the establishments of a botanical character, heretofore made in Chester County; but, in addition to the gentlemen we have mentioned, we can name other native botanists of reputation. Doctor Francis Alison was born March 28, 1751, at New-London cross-roads, in this county. His father, shortly afterwards, removed with his family to Philadelphia, and became well known as a celebrated teacher in the University of Pennsylvania. Francis was liberally Many other persons in Chester county, before the cabinet was instituted, had turned their attention both to Botany and Mineralogy; but we do not know that any of them had collected Herbaria, though several had made collections of minerals. The cabinets of Doctors Alison and Michener are represented as being very respectable. Mr. William Jackson, son of the late John Jackson, and the present owner of the Botanic Garden in London-Grove, we have already noticed as a Botanist and Mineralogist of considerable merit. Mr. Joel Bailey, of East Marlborough, has devoted himself with much industry and success to the Science of Minerals, and his cabinet is represented as being the most extensive and scientific in the country. We must not omit the names of Lewis W. Williams, Abraham Marshall, Esq. and John W. Townsend, who are among the original members of the cabinet. These gentlemen generously presented the society with the minerals they had collected, and by this seasonable supply, encouraged us in the labours which attended the commencement of our undertaking. |