of his supervision and constant attention, cast a deep gloom upon the inmates; and the peculiar circumstances under which it took place were strikingly indicative of the vain and illusory nature of all human expectations. For several weeks previous to his death, Mr. Dwight had manifested much interest in devising appropriate means for the celebration of the opening of the school, on the 18th of December. Alas! how little could he imagine that the long line of Normal pupils with the children of the various public schools of the city, to whom also he had been a signal benefactor, and hundreds of his fellow-citizens should, on that day, follow his lifeless remains to their long home! At the close of the third term, March 18, 1846, a public examination was held which continued during four successive days, and convinced all who felt an interest in the Institution, that the work of preparation for the teacher's life was, in all respects, thorough and complete. The diploma of the Institution was conferred on 47 graduates. During this and the preceding term a valuable addition had been made to the Board of Instruction, by promoting to the charge of several of the principal departments, those graduates of the institution who now so ably and successfully preside over these departments. The Experimental School, organized at the commencement of the second term, was placed under the general supervision of its present teacher, and has proved an exceedingly valuable auxiliary in the practical preparation of the pupils of the principal school for the discharge of their duty as teachers. Two hnndred and five pupils were in attendance at the commencement of the fourth term, on the first Monday of May, 1846, of whom 63 received a diploma at its close in September following. During the fifth term, commencing on the second of November, 178 pupils only appeared, 46 of whom graduated in March, 1847. At the commencement however of the sixth term in May subsequently, 221 pupils were in attendance, of whom 64 received the diploma of the Institution in September; and at the re-opening of the school in November, 205 pupils appeared. Up to this period the number of names entered on the Register of the school as pupils, including those in attendance at the commencement at the seventh term was 737. Of these 254 had received their diploma as graduates, of which number 222 were actually engaged in teaching in the Common Schools of the State; and the residue, with few exceptions, in the different Academies or in private schools. Of those who had left the school without graduating, nearly all were engaged during a longer or shorter period in teaching in the several Common Schools. And now came that dark and gloomy period when the hitherto brilliant prospects of the Institution were overcast with deep clouds of melancholy and despondency—when that noble form and towering intellect which, from the commencement of the great experiment in progress, had assiduously presided over and watched its development, was suddenly struck down by the relentless hand of the great destroyer-when the bereaved and stricken flock, deprived of their revered and beloved guide, teacher, friend, mournfully assembled in their accustomed halls on that dreary and desolate January day at the commencement of the year 1848, to pay the last sad obsequies to the remains of their departed Principal. In the prime and vigour of his high faculties-in the meridian brightness of his lofty and noble career-in the maturity of his well earned fame as "first among the foremost" of the teachers of America, he passed away from among us, and sought his eternal reward in that better land where the ills and the obstructions of mortality are forever unknown; where the emancipated spirit freed from the clogs which here fetter its high action and retard its noblest development, expands its illimitable energies in the congenial atmosphere of infinite knowledge and infinite love. It is not for me, on the present occasion, to pronounce his eulogy, although I knew and loved him well. That has already been done by an abler hand, and it only remains to say that the impress which his masterly and well-trained mind left upon the Institution, the child of his most sanguine hopes and earnest efforts, and upon the interests of education generally throughout the State, of which he was the indefatigable promoter, has been of the most marked character, and will long consecrate his name and memory. Since this period the progress of the Institution, under the auspices of its present enlightened Principal, and his devoted corps of assistants has been uniformly onward and upward. At the close of the seventh term 50 pupils were graduated, and the eighth term opened with 208, of whom 46 received their diploma at its close. The ninth term opened on the first day of November last with 175 pupils, and at its close 43 were graduated, and the tenth term which has now just closed, opened with upwards of 200 pupils, of whom 36 are now about to graduate. During the Session of the Legislature of 1848, a bill was introduced in the Senate, providing the requisite funds for the erection of a new and suitable building in the City of Albany, for the permanent use of the Normal School, and rendering the annual appropriation for its support permanent. Through the active and unremitted exertions of the present Principal this bill became a law, and under its provisions the new and spacious edifice in which we are now assembled has been erected. A few weeks only have elapsed since the school was transferred to its new location; and notwithstanding the prevalence of a most gloomy and unhealthy season, the attendance of nearly 200 pupils of both sexes, upon the regular exercises of the Institution, during the whole of the term now about to close, indicates the firm hold which it possesses upon the affections and regard of its inmates. Through the merciful permission of a superintending power, one only of the pupils of the school has fallen before the devastating pestilence which has swept over our land. And while we bow in humble submission to the stroke which thus solemnly reminded us of our habitual dependence upon Him in whom we "live and move, and have our being"-we may, without presumption, offer up our grateful thanksgiving for the preservation of so many lives, thus fearfully exposed to the ravages of the destroyer. For all substantial purposes, therefore, the Normal School may now be regarded as permanently engrafted upon the settled policy of the State, as a portion of its noble system of public instruction. CANADIAN PRESS ON COMMON SCHOOL EDUCATION. EDUCATION AND MANUAL LABOUR.-It is evident that all may enjoy a good moral and industrial training, if those most interested, will only unite and apply their means and energies in bringing about such a desirable result. It has been remarked that a large majority in every civilized country must spend their lives at manual labour. This remark appears to us to be founded on a great, but prevalent misconception in regard to the nature and effects of manual labour. It has been long supposed, that its tendency and effect must be to deaden and paralyze the powers and faculties of the mind. The rudeness and ignorance, which abounded amongst the working classes; and which should have been attributed to the neglect and oppression of their superiors, were, by a strange perversion, ascribed to their occupations. It has also been objected, that a labouring man has no time for improving his mind, and that it is absurd to suppose that reading and thinking beings can be found out of those whose lives are doomed to never ending toil. The answer to these objections is, first, that labour has no tendency to debase and deaden the intellect. To say so, is to impeach the wisdom and goodness of that Being, who has made labour our great duty. It is to lose sight of the fact, that at no labour however humble or limited, knowledge and mental culture, will not greatly assist the workman in cheerfully and profitably performing it. If the working classes were better educated than they are at present, we would find thousands of them more provident in their habits, and more dignified in their pursuits, for surely the great Creator of the Universe, never intended that men should be condemned to one dull and unceasing round of toil,—No! a higher and nobler sphere of action, is open to all the members of the great human family; whose moral and intellectual faculties are brightened and regulated by a proper course of training. Secondly, it has been objected, that a life of labour affords no time for reading and self improvement. It cannot hardly be conceived of any employment so incessant or laborious, that it would not afford several hours in the week, besides many odd ends of time to be devoted to Books and useful learning. "I begin" says Lord Brougham,-" by assuming that there is no class of the community so entirely occupied with labour as not to have an hour or two every other day at least, to bestow upon the pleasure and improvement to be derived from reading; or so poor as not to have the means of contributing something towards purchasing this gratification, the enjoyment of which, besides the present amusement, is the surest way both to raise our character, and better our condition."-Port Hope Watchman, Feb. 14th. LIBRARIES AS WELL AS SCHOOLS.-It must be gratifying to the friends of education in this province to find that public attention has been very extensively directed to the establishment and prosperity of Common and Grammar Schools, and of public seminaries for learning.-A well arranged and extensive course of education is unquestionably calculated to expand the mind and to raise it above those low, grovelling ideas which the uneducated must necessarily entertain to a greater or less extent. We conceive, however, that apart from Schools, Academies and Colleges, the intelligent portion of the community has it in their power to advance the state of education. In their several families, a number of interesting and useful publications could be easily obtained. To the contents of these the minds of the youth of the present generation could be directed during the leisure hours which are to be found in every household, and which are especially available in the long evenings of our winter months. Besides such reading materials for the family, we have no hesitation in saying that every village and town in the province should have a circulating library for the benefit of their inhabitants and of those of their neighbouring district. By such means an extensive variety of useful books might be brought into a district, and the public mind supplied with fresh subjects for thought and reflection. The consequence of establishing and sustaining such libraries would be that men would have enlarged ideas of subjects with which they had been formerly unacquainted, additions would be made to their stock of knowledge, and friends and neighbours, in their social intercouse, would have varied subjects for agreeable conversation. The adoption of such means of education as we have mentioned, would tend to occupy leisure hours in useful pursuits, do away with the necessity of planning "how to pass away the time," and help to remove those temptations to immorality and crime which too many find difficult to resist.—Barrie Magnet, Feb, 14. FREE SCHOOLS.-We propose to offer a few observations upon the subject of "Free Schools." We do not think that we can render a better service than by calling attention to this question, and thus, if possible, to obtain for it a favourable consideration. We really do believe, that to make education free, to render knowledge easy of access to all, to open the door of the school house to the poor child as well as the rich, is one of our first duties. We believe further, that to secure this great accomplishment, is to render a great public service; for we are persuaded that in no way can the public interests be better promoted, in no way can the blessings of peace, prosperity and order be better obtained, than thus to make our population intelligent, peaceful and industrious. We are not going to enter into any lengthened arguments to prove the truth of this position, because we consider it to be unnecessary. We would not manifest so mean an opinion of people as to suppose them ignorant or careless of the benefits of education. We take it for granted that all classes are united in claiming it as indispensable and inseparable from their prosperity and success. Indeed we know this to be the case, and we feel proud to know it, and we rejoice that we are thereby enabled to look forward with satisfaction to the certainty of the happiness of the people, and of our country's greatness. But the great difficulty with us at present is, not that education is not appreciated, not that our population is indifferent to its acquirement-not the want of popular interest in its behalf-but the difference of opinion which exist as to the best means of its attainment. Many of its sincere and ardent supporters-many persons whose desires for general intelligence are generous and patrioticwhose efforts in the advancement of general education cannot be too much admired-are averse to the principle of rendering property the basis of its support. We have no doubt that they are perfectly conscientious in their objections, yet we would like to have them undeceived, and we are convinced that the time is not far distant when they will not only see, but admit their mistake. The opinion as to the right of every one to education is admitted. The existence of the necessity of knowledge is admitted also, but the right to provide the means for its universal attainment is denied. Here then is the difficulty, and, starting from this point, we have faith that this difficulty will be removed. We have confidence in the generosity and patriotism of onr people, and we therefore feel satisfied that reason and reflection will eventually lead them in the path of duty and justice. We have faith that when they shall have become convinced that individual security and happiness is greatly, and we may add, mainly dependant upon public intelligence and virtue, and that individual prosperity is more or less augmented by the habits of prudent industry, maintained by the country, and that education is the only sure guarantee of these-that then they will be willing to contribute of their means largely for these great ends. And most sincerely do we pray that this question may receive that attentive consideration which it so largely deserves. Most sincerely do we hope that all those possessing the ability, will give it their countenance and support, that they will strive to make it understood and appreciated, and then, when the public mind shall have been convinced as it surely will be--we shall see schools nobly encouraged, and in place of the comparatively few children in attendance upon them, we shall see all. Thus will we be spared the sorrow and humiliation of witnessing our population growing up in idleness and ignorance. We should like to see free schools established, if only for one year, by way of experiment, in this town, for we are persuaded that their beneficial effects would soon be felt and ack owledged.-Peterboro' Weekly Despatch, Feb. 21st. FREE SCHOOLS IN UPPER CANADA.-It is a good sign that the Free School system is generally approved in Upper Canada. We hope to see it adopted throughout the Province.-Montreal Pilot, Feb. 16th. EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE, THE DUTY OF THE STATE-A PLEA FOR FREE SCHOOLS. Oh for the coming of that glorious time For all the children whom her soil maintains To drudge through a weary life without the help Wordsworth, the present Poet Laureate of England. Miscellaneous. THOROUGHNESS IN TEACHING. Extract from the Hon. Horace Mann's Speech, at the close of the Convention of the friends of Education, held in Philadelphia, October 17th, 18th and 19th, 1849. We have before us the practical teachers,-men who devote themselves to the business of the school-room, who do not exercise a very diffusive influence in a broad sphere, but an intense influence in a narrow sphere, points of strong light thrown upon a small space, rather than wider radiations of a flame that is weakened by its expansion. What are the duties of the school teachers? I have not time to enumerate or define them. I cannot even mention the names in the long catalogue; but I will call your attention to one which comes very near to embracing all. By this one, I mean thoroughness, in every thing you teach. Thoroughness thoroughness and again I say, THOROUGHNESS is the secret of success. You heard some admirable remarks this morning from a gentleman from Massachusets. (Mr. Sears,) in which he told us that a child, in learning a single lesson, might get not only an idea of the subject matter of that lesson, but an idea how lessons should be learned, -a general idea, not only how that subject should be studied, but how all subjects should be studied. A child in compassing the simplest subject, may get an idea of perfectness, which is the type or archetype of all excellence, and this idea may modify the action of his mind through his whole course of life. Be thorough, therefore, be complete in every thing you do; leave no enemy in ambush behind you, as you march on, to rise up in the rear and assail you. Leave no broken link in the chain you are daily forging. Perfect your work so that, when it is subjected to the trials and the experience of life, it will not be found wanting. In It was within the past year that I saw an account in the public papers of a terrible gale in one of the harbors of the Chinese seas. It was one of those typhoons as they are called, which lay postrate not only the productions of nature, but the structures of man. this harbor were lying at anchor the vessels of all nations, and among them the United States sloop of war Plymouth. Every vessel broke its cable but one. The tornado tossed them about, and dashed them against each other, and broke them like egg shells. But amidst this terrific scene of destruction, our government vessel held fast to its moorings, and escaped unharmed. Who made the links of that cable, that the strength of the tempest could not rend? Yes! Who made the links of that cable that the tempest could not rend? Who was the workman, whose work saved property and human life from ruin, otherwise inevitable? Could that workman have beheld the spectacle, and heard the raging of the elements, and seen the other vessels as they were dashed to pieces, and scattered abroad, while the violence of the tempest wreaked itself upon his own work in vain, would he not have had the amplest and purest reward for the fidelity of his labor? So, in the after periods of your existence, whether it be in this world or from another world, from which you may be permitted to look back, you may see the consequences of your instruction upon the children whom you have trained. In the crises of business life, where intellectual accuracy leads to immense good, and intellectual mistakes to Immense loss, you may see your pupils distinguishing between error and truth, between false reasoning and sound reasoning, leading all who may rely upon them to correct results, establishing the highest reputation for themselves, and conferring incalculable good upon the community. So, if you have been wise and successful in your moral training, you will have prepared them to stand unshaken and unseduced amidst temptations, firm where others are swept away, uncorrupted where others are depraved, unconsumed where others are blasted and perish. You may be able to say that, by the blessing of God, you have hoped to do this thing. And will not such a day be a day of more exalted and sublime joy than if you could have looked upon the storm in the eastern seas, and known that it was your handywork that saved the vessel unharmed amid the wrecks that floated around it? Would not such a sight be a reward great and grand enough to satisfy and fill up any heart, mortal or immortal? From the New-York Commercial Advertiser. VOCAL MUSIC IN GERMANY,-HOW TAUGHT. BY WM. M. BRADBURY. Vocal music is, in Germany, deemed of such importance to all classes that, for generations, it has been introduced by Government as a prominent Branch of popular education. The child enters school at the age of eight years, and remains in the same school until fourteen of fifteen. There seem to be three paramount reasons for making music a branch of school education in Germany and Switzerland. 1st, its power as a direct means of mental and moral dicipline. 2d, Its attractiveness as an amusement or relaxation from laborious study. 3d, Its advantages in after life to the pupil, both as a social and a religious being. In all of these particulars it is considered of great importance; and in the best schools I have visited, viz: those of Leipzic and Dresden in Saxony, Zurich and Berne in Switzerland, the popular course has been to adapt each music lesson to one or the other or all of these branches. To be more explicit. The music teacher either gives at one season of the year his particular attention to instruction in the elements of music and music reading; at another to rehearsal or singing for relaxation or amusement; and at another to practicing the music of the church; or else, as is more generally the case, he combines the three departments in one, and each lesson has its share, viz, 1st, practice of the music of the church (choral singing ;) 2d, instruction in musical notation; 3d, singing of cheerful and lively juvenile songs, for recreation. This arrangement pleased me much. It affords great variety and does not become tiresome to the pupils. The pupils begin to study note singing at the age of nine or ten years. Previous to that they sing chiefly or entirely by note. This is considered advantageous until the musical ear is sufficiently trained and cultivated. The scale is first presented to the pupil, not by sight but by sound. The teacher sings it slowly and distinctly till all seem to understand, or at least to get some idea of its construction, and of the comparative relation of sounds, one to another. After explaning something of the formation of the scale, its intervals, &c. the teacher writes it upon the black-board, or calls their attention to it in the book, observing particularly the situation of the semi-tones. He now tells them that these characters (the notes) represents the sounds they have just sung, and that each sound has a name taken from one of the letters from the alphabet. This method is very thorough, although somewhat lengthy. The pupils sing almost entirely from books, the black board being used merely for illustration. The more advanced classes of pupils are improved by the frequent introduction and regular practice of new and interesting music, rather than by dry and unconnected exercises. Much time is spent, in the best schools, in practising the vowels, merely articulating them for the purpose of obtaining a good deliv ery, both in singing and speaking. But one of the pleasantest features of all this is that the pupils are not wearied by too hard study, or if they become a little fatigued at any time, they know that some delightful recreation is to follow. Variety and entertainment are mingled with instruction, and the pleasure of half an hour's social singing is a sufficient reward for persevering in any of the more laborious and less interesting exercises. I was much amused and delighted, on one occasion, to see the young countenances beam with a smile of approbation, amounting to "I thank you, sir," when the teacher, after a lesson of close elementary study, said, "Now we'll sing something lively," for it is natural to children to love that music best which is most like their own natures-light, joyous and free. Now they sing briskly, merily, heartily, because naturally. The little mill-stream, that has so long been dammed up that it may accumulate strength to drive the heavy wheel, when once more set at liberty goes leaping, and dancing, and singing along its sparkling way, rejoicing in its freedom. So do these little singers pass from the heavy and useful, but not dull choral practice and elementary confinement, to the merry song of the cookoo" and "the lark," to the singer's song," and the "song of father's birth day" to the songs of the season —of the sun, and stars, of the "beautiful world and the blessed giver God," with the ever dear and welcome songs of "Vaterland.” These are the daily occurrances of the "school room," and if you 66 With us in America it is different. As a nation we have neglected entirely this subject in our early education, and the natural result is that the large proportion of our adult population cannot sing, and thousands mourn over their loss when it is too late, or the pressure of care and business prevent them from attending to the subject. Could our school committees, trustees and parents, be prevailed upon to take this matter in hand, and be in earnest about it—if they would have it properly and on a permanent basis introduced into the schools as a branch of study, not of recreation merely an incalculable amount of good would follow. The next generation, at all events, would feel its revivifying influences, in their social and home circles and in the public worship of the sanctuary, and would "rise up and call us blessed." In a future article I will give the outline of a newly devised plan for imparting instruction in the elements of vocal music, and learning to sing by note, particularly adapted to classes of adults in which but little time can be devoted to study. I shall be happy also to be able to speak of the effects of the universal system of musical education, seen in Germany upon social life and upon the services of the church, making some farther suggestions relative to its introduction into the schools of their own land. COMMON SCHOOLS THE COLLEGES OF THE PEOPLE.-The following remarks, by a correspondent of the New-York State School Journal deserve the profound attention of every Christian philanthropist in Canada : "What nobler work can a people or a State engage in than that of fostering and cherishing a wise and judicious system of Common Schools? They are the People's Colleges. In them the great mass of mind must be educated. Let us then erect one of these noble institutions on every hill and on every valley of our lovely land. By making our schools free, let us place the means of knowledge at the door of all-the poor as well as the rich. Let us educate mind wherever we can find it, whether it be in the poor man's cottage or in the rich man's palace. In the school room, let us instil into the juvenile minds of our children a love of religious liberty, a spirit of free inquiry, and a thirsting after truth. If we do this, then our thousands of Churches, with their glittering spires pointing reverently to Heaven, will not have been erected in vain. If we do this, we shall raise up an army, not a "mighty army with banners," but an intellectual host, that will guard, cherish and protect our liberties." EXTRACT OF A LECTURE ON EARLY MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUTION, delivered to the Mechanics' Institute and Library Association, by the REV. JOHN Cоoк, D. D., Minister of St. Andrew's Church, Quebec. Suffer me to guard you against attaching too limited a meaning to the word 'education.' To many minds that word conveys only the idea of imparting and receiving knowledge. And so, whenever it is mentioned, it conjures up a vision of books, and teachers and schools, and colleges, the necessary means, as is supposed of all good or valuable education. Now beyond all doubt, the imparting of knowledge is one part, and a most important part of education; and he does good service, who either points out, what knowledge is the most valuable to be obtained, or the means by which such knowledge may be most conveniently and successfully communicated. But the word 'education' has a far more extensive signification than the mere communication of the knowledge to the mind That is but one branch of education,-teaching. There is another equally nay more important,-training. Between these it is very necessary we should distinguish. To teach is to communicate knowledge, to train is to establish habits. To teach a child duty is to show him what is right. To train up a child in duty is to make kim do what is right. It would be preposterous to undervalue either He of these, when both are necessary. A child must be taught. must be made to know what is required of him. But the teaching will avail little, if it is not followed by training: if after the child knows what is required of him, he is not made to do it, and so regularly and constantly, that it shall become easy, natural, nay even neeessary for him to do it. However, clearly, by teaching, a soldier be made to comprehend what is the exercise required of him, it will avail little, unless by training, he be also accustomed to go through that exercise. And so, with moral teachers. However clearly, by teaching you make a child know his duty, it will avail little, unless by training, you induce him to do his duty. By teaching you may commend yourself to his understanding and his conscience, and this it is well to do; but the impressions you make on these will speedily pass away, unless by training you establish in him the habit of acting according to the impressions which he has received. STUDENT-TEACHERS of the NEW-YORK STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. -A correspondent of the New-York District School Journal says: -"Graduates from this institution are now in nearly all the Northern States. I have met them in at least six different States of the Union." Another correspondent says,-"Scattered from Milwaukie to the Everglades, and from Connecticut to the rocky bluffs which confine the mighty Mississippi, the classes of '47 have carried with them those high principles with which they left the Normal Hall. I have heard of them in the sunny South; I have been with them where the Delaware and the Susquehanna spring first to the light of day. Then speeding as by magic to the far West, I have found upon the banks of Rock River, a little company of young immortals watched and taught by one who entered with me our ALMA MATER, and with me left her nourishing care." CAUSES OF A COUNTRY'S WEAKNESS AND OLD AGE.-I will not believe that the life of nations is like the life of trees; that by an inevitable law, they too have their periods of growth, maturity and decline; but I hold that it is sin alone that makes a people weak, and wickedness that makes them old, and that in the fear of God, and in the keeping of his commandments there is perpetual youth. Upon us, and those who are to come after us; upon the youth especially, who ever the patriot's hope and the good man's trust, and upon those to whom the training of the young is entrusted, whether as parents or teachers, does this great responsibility rest. -Hilliard's Lecture before the American Institute. THE TRUE END OF POLITICS.-ROLLIN, in his history of Egypt remarks that, "the true end of politics is, to make life easy, and a people happy." What a blessing it would be to mankind, was this great end of politics always kept in view by all who take part in them in Canada ! TRUE LIFE.-The mere lapse of years is not life. To eat and drink and sleep to be exposed to darkness and the light; to pace around the mill of habit and turn round the wheel of health; to make reason our book-keeper and turn thought into implements of trade; this is not life. In all this, but a poor fraction of the conciousness of humanity is awakened and the sanctities still slumber which made it most worth while to be. Knowledge, truth, love, beauty, goodness, faith, alone give vitality to the mechanism of existence; the laugh of mirth which alone vibrates through the heart; the tears which freshen the dry wastes within; the music which brings childhood back; the prayer that calls the future near; the doubt which makes us meditate; the death which startles us with mystery; the hardships that force us to struggle-the anxiety that ends in trust; these are the only true nourishment of our natural being. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. TORONTO, FEBRUARY, 1850. To the CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE, which occupies three pages of this number, and which will be continued in succeeding numbers, we refer our readers; and we cannot but express our regret, and that on the broadest public grounds, that there could be found persons in Upper Canadà anxious and ready, from personal or party considerations, to arrest and subvert a system which has yielded so early and valuable fruits,-gratifying to every heart of virtue and patriotism, and which are but the earnest of an abundant and general harvest. That there should be both personal and public opposition in a great work of this kind, is what the experience of every educationist and every country warrants us to expect. During the first few years of his labours, that eloquent and patriotic advocate of education, the Hon. HORACE MANN, was opposed by a powerful party and attacked with as much virulence as has been witnessed in Upper Canada. In his last Annual Report, Mr. MANN says, that he had experienced" years of endurance, suffering under misconstructions of conduct, and the imputation of motives, whose edge is sharper than a knife." And in referring to the authorities by which he had been appointed to office, and sustained in it, Mr. MANN makes the following significant remark : "I feel that had it not been for their confidence in me, during some of the years of doubt and struggle through which I have passed, the educational enterprise would have proved a failure in my hands ; and thus my name, in one of the noblest of human undertakings, would have been connected with the dishonour of defeat, and with the ridicule that pursues a visionary schemer." Thus had the intrigues against the Superintendent of Schools in Upper Canada been earlier matured, before statistical returns could have been obtained illustrative of the character and first results of his school system and labours, his name (to use the words of Mr. MANN) "in one of the noblest of human undertakings, would have been connected with the dishonour of defeat, and with the ridicule that pursues a visionary schemer." But it has happened, unfortunately for the success of those intrigues, but fortunately for the educational interests of the youth of Upper Canada, that the statistical school returns of two "years of doubt and struggle" have given in their testimony at the very time anticipated for inflicting upon the Superintendent "the dishonour of defeat and the ridicule that pursues a visionary schemer." And although he has experienced, perhaps more deeply than Mr. MANN, "years of endurance, suffering under misconstructions of conduct, and the imputation of motives, whose edge is sharper than a knife," he has reason to be thankful both to the Author of his being, and to the country of his birth and labours, that the duration of their "doubt and struggle" has been shortened, and not protracted as in Massachusetts; and while he is comparatively indifferent as to the result in reference to himself, he rejoices in the belief that the cause is safe, and that Upper Canada is destined, at no distant period, to be one of the best educated countries, (if not the best educated country) in America, or on the face of the globe. We hope that the following language which was employed by the Boston Transcript on Mr. MANN's retiring from office, may be applicable to Upper Canada twelve years hence. The experience of the last three years more than proves that what has been done for the advancement of education in other countries can be done in Canada : "Mr. Mann had already accomplished many works that were sufficient guarantees for his ability, and for his readiness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others; and his earliest Reports show that he did not undertake the work before he had calculated the labor and the cost. He saw the limited territory and population of Massachusetts, and her daily dimunition in rank and importance on this account, and he felt in its full force the truth that nothing could could save her from degradation but the superior intelligence and virtue of her citizens. The Common School system, which orignated with the founders of Massachusetts, and was a remarkable effort for their times, had fallen into disrepute, and become the mere shadow of a mighty name. So far from advancing beyond its original limits, as man advanced, and science spread, and means increased, it had come to a stand everywhere; the spirit had departed, and even the lifeless form was shrinking up through apathy and neglect. The State was improvident, the towns were indifferent, the parents were neglectful, and the teachers incompetent; and the work of awaking the State to its duty and its danger, of arousing the towns to activity, the parents to a sense of their responsibility, and the teachers to a sense of their incompetency; this, and nothing short of this, was to be done, in order to meet the exigency, and avert the danger. "This task, hopeless, and thankless, and profitless as it seemed to common minds, was the task set before Mr. Mann, and those only who know the condition of the State twelve years ago, and who are aware of its present animation and substantial improvement, can form an adequate idea of the zeal, and energy, enduring self-sacrifice, which have wrought out the reformation. To enumerate all the particulars of this remarkable work, would be to copy the twelve Annual Reports of MR. MANN, each a volume; the Annual Abstracts of the School Returns, each of them work enough for the years of whose labors it was but a small item; the ten volumes of the Common School Journal; and the volume of Official Lectures, unmatched for their wisdom, their beauty and their power; and even then we should have but a meagre record of what the pen has done, while all that the tongue has accomplished, to concilitate the hostile, to reconcile the conflicting, to instruct the inquiring, to encourage the despairing, and, as it were, to raise the dead, would remain untold. "This great work, however, has been done, and well done. There is sensation in every nerve, power in every muscle, and activity in every limb of the Commonwealth. The citizens of the districts, by their own voluntary act, have assessed themselves more than two millions of dollars for the erection and improvement of schoolhouses; they have doubled the amount paid to their teachers, and the quality of the teachers has risen in proportion at least to their increased remumeration; the discipline of the schools has been essentially ameliorated; the branches taught have not only been increased in number, but have been more intelligibly and thoroughly taught; the text books have become better adapted to practical instruction, but, what is perhaps of more importance, they have become uniform in each school, and generally, in each entire town; the classification of pupils, and the consequent gradation of schools into primary, grammar and high schools, will form an era in the history of education; the Normal Schools, established and successfully conducted so far, have leavened the mass of our teachers, and taught them their duty and their claims; the School Committees have become more vigilant, more earnest, more intelligent; the people have become more liberal, and disposed to claim as a right and a privilege, what before was a scandal and a burden; and, finally, the government of the State has begun to feel that its strength lies in general education, and that this saving education depends upon free Common Schools, and can be produced by nothing else. "His career was too brilliant not to excite envy, and too disinteresed not sometimes to have been unintelligible to narrower minds. The just and elevated principles in which the work was commenced, were never for a moment abandoned. The cavils of the would-bewise, the threats of the offended, and the anathemas of the bigoted, never turned Mr. MANN from his exalted purpose. He moved right onward, conscious of his integrity and singleness of heart, and patiently believing that those who misunderstood or perverted his motives, would at last be compelled to acknowledge their purity, and to rejoice in the result. If at any time he seems unnecessarily to have stepped aside to smite down an assailant who aimed to check his progress, let us believe that it was not so much from a desire to strive, as from an over-estimate of the danger to be apprehended for the great cause which occupied his heart." |